[83] : Superpower Suppression Device
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The Stormfront situation was swiftly dealt with by Roger.
Shockwave and Mesmer, who had control of the nuclear codes and keys, were also given special treatment. Roger didn’t inquire about their ultimate fate.
The other members of The Seven were imprisoned as well, even though they had indeed been coerced by Stormfront. Legally speaking, they deserved leniency.
However, in a place like the U.S., where they had offended so many politicians, getting leniency was unlikely. Now, it was up to Vought International to see if they could pay a heavy enough price to buy their way out of this mess.
But even Vought itself was in trouble. Whether Deep and Lamplighter would ever be released was still uncertain.
It was only when Roger thought about Vought that he finally understood Stormfront’s final smile.
While Stormfront was attacking the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives had been massacred by unknown superhumans, with nearly half of the members having their heads blown off. Vought's CEO Edgar and Vice President Madelyn had disappeared without a trace.
After Stormfront's death, numerous superpowered criminals appeared across the U.S.
These criminals were spread out across the country, with almost every city having at least one or two of them.
In addition, several top politicians from various states were also assassinated by superhumans, leading to a partial collapse of the U.S. political system. The lack of a timely response from the various states and cities allowed these superhuman criminals to run rampant, causing chaos across the country.
Roger sat in the conference room, watching the news, his expression heavy.
Superhuman criminals were a small problem. Many of these superhumans weren’t all that powerful, and if the military got involved, they could be dealt with relatively easily.
The real problem was that the simultaneous appearance of so many superhuman criminals sent a signal to the world:
*Humanity is no longer in control. This world now belongs to superhumans.*
Vought had been laying the groundwork for this for a long time, filling the world with superhumans. A conservative estimate put their number in the millions worldwide.
If these superhumans ever united into a force that feared no government, it would be a massive problem for the entire world.
This was the issue Roger and the others were now discussing.
“So, extracting an antidote from Compound V… is impossible?”
Roger asked Banner.
After Banner arrived in this world, Roger had given him the task of developing a drug from Compound V that could strip superhumans of their powers.
Roger didn’t understand medicine or biology, so he didn’t know if such a drug could even be developed, but he believed in Banner. Banner was a genius with multiple PhDs, one of which was in biology.
Unfortunately, despite Banner's intelligence, he hadn’t been able to create a drug that could negate the effects of Compound V and strip people of their superpowers.
“For many people, Compound V was injected when they were children. As their bodies grew, the Compound V became a part of their system. Trying to remove the effects of Compound V would be like trying to remove a critical cell from the human body. Forcing it out would result in…”
Banner trailed off, but everyone understood what he meant.
Roger rubbed his face with both hands and asked, “What about those who were injected as adults? Many of these superhuman criminals were injected as adults. There should be a solution for them, right?”
“In theory, yes. But… you’d have to be prepared for the possibility that they might die.”
“…Forget it.”
Roger sighed.
Not all of the adults who had been turned into superhumans were criminals. Many were innocent people abducted by Vought.
Moreover, the number of criminals wasn’t that high. Even if they were stripped of their powers, it would only be a drop in the ocean. It would be more efficient for Roger to just hunt them down one by one.
That would be simpler, faster, and would save a lot of research funding.
As silence fell over the group, Tek Knight suddenly asked, “So, does that mean we’re stuck catching them one by one?”
No one responded to Tek Knight. Banner frowned, thought for a moment, and then suddenly said, “Wait a minute. I may not be able to develop a drug that strips people of their powers, but I might be able to create a device that suppresses them.”
“What do you mean?”
Roger’s eyes lit up as he looked at Banner.
Banner organized his thoughts before speaking, “Before I left Earth… not this Earth, a different one, I traveled to a planet called Sakaar, ruled by an alien known as the Grandmaster.
“He had a place similar to a Roman gladiator arena where he forced powerful aliens to fight each other. Thor…”
Banner paused, glancing around to make sure Thor wasn’t present before continuing, “Thor was captured by the Grandmaster and forced to become one of his ‘champions.’”
There was a brief silence in the room before Natasha asked, “I’m sorry, but what does this have to do with the problem we’re facing?”
“Uh… the important part isn’t the gladiator fights. It’s how the Grandmaster kept those powerful aliens from escaping, he used a type of restraint device, something that even Thor couldn’t break free from.”
Banner had finally made his point: “So, I’m thinking, what if we designed a device that could suppress the superpowers of people in this world, just like the restraints on Sakaar?”
Roger immediately understood what Banner was suggesting.
It was similar to the mutant suppression collars in the *X-Men* series.
Or, like the Seastone handcuffs from *One Piece*.
It was a very viable solution. Roger quickly made a decision: “Let’s do it. Banner, how long will it take to make one?”
“If nothing goes wrong, I should have a prototype ready within a month, and a fully functional version within two.”
Banner’s answer reassured Roger.
Two months was more than enough time. Roger’s dimensional travel device required three months to recharge, and less than a week had passed so far. This gave Banner plenty of time to develop the suppression device and even take Black Widow, Natasha, out on a date.
With time to spare, Roger relaxed. He said to Banner, “Dr. Banner, I’ll leave the development of the suppression device in your hands.”
Banner nodded to Roger and smiled at Natasha before heading back to the lab prepared for him.
Even without Roger’s urging, Banner was eager to finish the device as quickly as possible. He certainly didn’t want to stay in this world for three months, or even longer.
With a solution for the superhuman problem in sight, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
While Banner worked on the suppression device, Roger and his team played the role of global firefighters, preventing the superhuman criminals created by Vought from causing further destruction.
A week passed quickly. Thanks to the team’s efforts, superhuman criminals around the world began to lay low, fearing that Roger’s superhero squad would come after them.
Banner's suppression device was also making good progress, with the prototype expected to be ready by the third week, one week ahead of schedule.
The world of *The Boys* seemed to be returning to normal. Apart from the disappearance of Vought’s top executives, there weren’t many more issues.
However, there was one thing Roger hadn’t anticipated. Just as he was about to take a break after a hectic week, the Winter Soldier, Bucky, came to see him.
It seemed that, like Thor, Bucky didn’t want to go back.
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