91 4.3

Stormfront's presence did change a few things for my plans, so I asked, "What about Stormfront being a Nazi?"

I couldn't ask obvious questions, such as if she's crippled or if her being a Nazi was released. God gave us an identity in these worlds, but asking questions my character should know the answers to could either result in a Spoiler, or in the character losing trust in me.

Faced with my ambiguous question, Stan replied, "I have no idea where you heard that, but it is outrageous."

So even that hadn't been released?

"I don't care about the origins of your organization. I'm not asking you to leak the irrefutable evidence of her being a Nazi either, that would only make everything worse."

While his face did not move, I sensed Edgar being a little interested as he went, "I'm listening."

So I explained, "You should release only enough to make it believable to the mass population, while still leaving room for her to defend herself. Then, when she is swarmed by the accusations against her, you start instigating Homelander. Compare him to Soldier Boy, humiliate him on his failures and downgrade him as a fool. That will piss him off, and make him fight Soldier Boy."

Stan stared at me for a moment, before saying, "This sounds like a well thought plan, but there is a variable you haven't considered. Or been made aware of."

Smiling under my mask, I asked, "Are you talking about Soldier Boy being Homelander's father?"

This time, even his expression changed as he showed his shock. He quickly corrected himself though as he coughed out, "Your information gathering skills are impressive. But since you know about it, you should also know that Homelander is a man child starving for attention, and the moment he learns Soldier Boy is his father, all he will care about will be to impress daddy dearest."

I shrugged, "Probably. But it doesn't matter. What I really want, is for Soldier Boy to become the center of Homelander's world. Then, if he doesn't discover the truth, they will meet to fight. If he does, they will meet still. And while Homelander won't be there for a fight, Soldier Boy is… of a different time. The idea that he is an honorable soldier has been so deeply ingrained in him that he started believing it himself. And because of our dear William Butcher, his mission is to kill Homelander. Son or not, he is going to do it. Or try, at least."

"But what if he doesn't?"

I shook my head, "Then it will be Midtown all over again."

Stan's eyes shone in recognition, although there was also a certain curiosity in his eyes.

"Fine. It seems like a good plan. I will be pulling my resources for the logistics of the plan, while you will be the muscles. You will be leaving for Vermont right now."

Saying that, Stan took out his phone, and called someone.

---

I stopped my Team at the edge of the forest in which Mindstorm, whose real name was Dan, was hiding. We were slightly more than three miles from his cabin, so out of range. He should not be out of mine, however.

Closing my eyes, I became one with the Force as I spread my senses.

The forest was full of life, but they were distinctly different from a human's.

There were also several human presences within the forest, from different distances. But I easily singled out Mindstorm's as the moment I probed him, I felt a response.

Well, at least now I'm sure he will see us coming.

However, as my senses spread further, I felt a second response. It came from a larger group, filled with several strong presences.

The Boys, along with whichever Team had joined them, I concluded. And they knew we were here too.

The timeline was a little off, as The Boys were supposed to take some time, weeks I think, after Herogasm to search through all of Mindstorm's hideouts. But the presence of the other Team easily explained this difference.

Fortunately, we were closer to Mindstorm, but it seemed that a fight was inevitable. If the person in the other Team could feel our presence, he was bound to be able to catch up to us.

One advantage though is that I felt the strength of the psychic in the other Team, and they felt weaker than Mindstorm. Much weaker. So their range of detection should be smaller than Mindstorm, giving us some time.

Opening my eyes, I ordered, "We're moving out, the other Team is coming."

Sarah asked, "Are we fighting them?" She did not look scared, but liked she was looking forward to it.

I nodded, "Most probably."

Asher frowned, "I won't be of much help in there. The trees block any kind of long range attack."

"And your shotgun would be of dubious efficiency. You will stay back, and cover us if need be. You will be taking a part of the Team with you." I pointed at the nearby town, which we could see from here. It was about a kilometer and a half from us.

Asher followed my finger, and nodded upon seeing the town. She looked at the team, and said, "I'm going to need help in case I get attacked too."

I nodded, and after a moment said, "I'm only taking the fast ones with me anyway. Jordan, Claire, you are with me."

The two nodded, as they were the two fastest in our team after me. I then looked at the newbies, and hesitated for a moment, "John, Hector and Maria, you will be coming along."

Everyone looked surprised by my decision, especially since I had said myself I would only be bringing the fastest among us. Any of my team members were faster than them.

What they didn't know, was that I only meant that for when we would be coming back.

Of course, it would also help to be fast on our way there, but it wasn't nearly as important. What was, was to deceive the enemy.

Through my earlier probing, I found out that they had 10 members in their group. Assuming the Boys brought the same people as in the show, they had Soldier Boy, Hughie and Butcher. That means the other Team brought 7 people.

That couldn't possibly be their entire team though, as we were in the same world, so they had to have left most of their team behind.

Considering the penalty on the deaths of team members, newbies or not, it would make the most sense for them to have hidden away their newbies for now, maybe with the rest of The Boys, and only brought their veterans here. I would have said they only brought their strong members, but even we only had 7 members, so I doubted a weaker Team would have that much more veterans than us.

So if they brought all their veterans, I should be able to get a good grasp on their team's strength. Were I to do the same, they would inevitably be able to earn an advantage.

But here's the twist. Just like my team was confused I brought weaklings with me, so would the other Team. Or rather, the possibility wouldn't even cross their minds as it didn't make sense.

In other words, this was to make the other Team underestimate my team.

This wasn't part of some grand plan either, but only to prevent one thing I really didn't want to happen: For the Seven and The Boys to team up.

In the show, this had actually happened, as The Boys fought against Soldier Boy alongside Homelander, and while this was only temporary, it was to deal with a strong outside foe.

Which is exactly what I am. I am an enemy to both groups, and to add to the injury, there are also the two player Teams allied to the two groups. They might be enemies, it would be far from impossible for them to convince their groups to ally against me.

For now, I could only hope they hadn't done it yet, although I doubted it as we hadn't met, but if we met with only three people on my side, this would probably lead them to overestimating my Team's strength, and get them to forge an alliance with the other Team.

So I had to find a balance between showing a Team that is stronger than them, to make the deception believable, and one that isn't so strong that their only solution is to ally with the other Team.

That's why I took the three newbies that seemed the most useless to me, and brought them with us.

Would they live past their status of baits? Improbable, but there were no better ways to prove their usefulness to me.

As for the more likely outcome, while the loss of 3 Scores would hurt, I was thinking long terms.

Besides, it's not like I'm bringing them along and leaving them to fend for themselves. I will try to keep them alive, although they are at the bottom of my protection list for now.