C594 Spider-Man (Patreon)
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Upon Peter's return, everyone was ready to leave, their bags packed and stacked by the door.
“?” As Peter stepped out of his portal, in a good mood after his successful meeting with the president, he couldn’t help but ask. “Huh? What’s with the suitcases?”
“Well…” MJ efficiently explained the recent events. Peter listened intently, his gaze shifting from one hero to another as they recounted the encounter with Mesmer and the mysterious attackers.
With the briefing complete, MJ led Peter to the front of the house. There, a neatly arranged pile of deceased and captured soldiers lay restrained, their fate awaiting the inevitable arrival of law enforcement. After all, this is a suburban neighborhood, so someone had to have called the police by now.
MJ gestured toward the subdued group. "Vought sent those guys after Ryan. I read their minds. It seems like Vought is starting to panic now that Homelander is gone, alongside the team that was sent to rescue him."
Peter surveyed the scene, his eyes narrowing in concern. "I guess we shouldn’t stay here. I mean, we could stay and just kill anyone who comes next, but…” he said as he turned to Ryan and his mother, who seemed shaken from everything that’s happened.
“Yeah, it’s probably better if we just change locations.” MJ nodded in agreement.
As if on cue, the distant wail of police sirens grew louder, signaling the approaching authorities. Seeing that it was time to leave, Peter waved his hand and conjured a portal, which everyone stepped through, more than ready to avoid the police, as they would be nothing but a headache.
Before leaving, MJ gestured to Mesmer, who was passed out in the floor. “What about him?”
Staring down at the sleeping telepath, Peter recalled his story from the show…
…
In the Boys, Mesmer’s telepathic superpowers launched him to stardom at a young age allowing him to become a celebrity for Vought. In the 1990s, Mesmer starred in the hit television series The Mesmerizer, where he portrayed a psychic detective.
But unfortunately, just like all child stars, Mesmer's career didn’t last long as he succumbed to the temptations of his powers. Engaging in illegal activities, he misused his telepathic abilities for insider trading, resulting in his termination from Vought and subsequent conviction.
Throughout his troubled past, Mesmer had a daughter named Cleo; however, his criminal record and drug abuse led to him losing custody of her. While part of him yearned for a reunion with Cleo, his primary focus shifted towards reclaiming his former fame. Consequently, Mesmer resorted to sustaining himself by attending conventions, where he would sign DVD copies of his old show, a stark reminder of his faded stardom.
…
Feeling a small bit of pity for the child star, Peter shook his head. “Let’s just leave him here. It’s not like he did anything worth killing him over…” He says as he walks over and kneels down beside Mesmer. “But first let’s seal his power. After all, he’s a little too useful to Vought right now.”
After all, Mesmer’s mind control could easily be used to help Vought regain some of their lost influence. All he would have to do is mind control the right people to say the right things and boom… problems solved.
MJ shrugged uncaringly as she stepped through the portal. Peter stayed behind long enough to cast a quick enchantment on him, completely sealing his powers before following after her, closing the portal behind them.
As the house emptied, leaving only Mesmer sleeping on the floor, suddenly, a stream of police cars arrived outside, lights and sirens blaring.
————
Stepping out of the portal, the group found themselves in a vast, windowless room filled with an assortment of machinery, resembling a secret underground workshop or factory.
“Where the hell are we?” Starlight questioned, her gaze sweeping across the unfamiliar setting.
Peter, wearing a confident grin, stepped forward, the portal closing behind him. “This is our new base. A secret underground bunker, known only to the President's closest allies. We'll be safe here.”
Billy, ever the skeptic, raised an eyebrow. “And how the bloody hell did you manage that?”
Peter chuckled, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “I made a little deal with the President. Now, let me show you around.”
As Peter guided them through the underground facility, Starlight couldn't help but voice her curiosity. “What kind of deal did you make?”
Peter's smirk widened. “I'm going to create an army. An army that will police the supes. Keeping them in check, arresting them, and killing them if need be…”
The room fell silent as the weight of Peter's words sank in. Billy spoke up, “How do you plan on doing that?”
Peter's eyes sparkled with excitement. “You'll see soon enough.”
Perplexed, the group exchanged puzzled glances. Without revealing any specifics, Peter's vague assurance left them extremely skeptical. ‘Maybe he plans to reproduce Compound V?’ They thought, thinking his army would be made up of more super-powered individuals.
Eager for answers, they prodded Peter for details, only to be met with his persistent smirk. “Why don’t you guys go find rooms for yourselves and settle in,” he said, “I'll start working in the mean time...”
As the group reluctantly walked off, leaving Peter and MJ alone in the work shop, Peter couldn’t help but smirk as he turned to his beautiful wife. “You down to help make my first robot army?”
MJ couldn’t help but laugh, amused by how excited Peter seemed to be. “Sure, just tell me what to do…”
…
In the dimly lit workshop, Peter stood amidst a sea of holographic blueprints and schematics, his mind consumed by the intricate details of his ambitious plan. MJ approached him with an excited smile. "So, where do we start?"
Peter pointed to the meticulously drawn designs. "Okay, first off, these babies are going to be specifically engineered to hunt down supes. Of course, we’ll make it so they don’t just indiscriminately kill all of them since there are still many good heroes out there, however little they may be."
MJ raised an eyebrow. "How are they supposed to tell the difference between a normal human and a person with superpowers?"
"Our Sentinels will be outfitted with a compound V detection device which will allow them to target supes by detecting the lingering traces of Compound V in their systems." Peter explained as he pulled out his laptop and showed the ingredients for the serum, which they stole from Vought, but never released. “But I still have to figure out how that’s going to work, but it shouldn’t take me long. I already know how to make the device, I just don’t know how it will detect Compound V yet.”
Putting that idea to the side for now, Peter gestured towards the blueprints displaying the colossal Sentinel Mark I model that he designed. "These bad boys will stand 18 feet tall, weigh around 4,800 lbs, and boast energy thrusters on their hands and feet. Imagine Iron Man, just bigger and badder."
MJ looked at Peter curiously. “Are they all getting an arc reactor as well?"
“No, that’s a bit too much power, I think.” Peter shook his head side to side. “We’ll have to make them chargeable, since I’d rather not give this world infinite energy…”
As he spoke, Peter's fingers danced across holographic displays, adjusting specifications and fine-tuning the Sentinel's design. "And of course, turrets for added firepower. No hero will stand a chance, especially now that Homelander is dead."
MJ leaned against a worktable, watching Peter with a mix of admiration and amusement. "So, you're basically building an army of superhero-killing robots." She said, finding their situation quite odd. “You know, if we were still back home, we’d be considered pretty evil for doing something like this…”
Peter grinned, his excitement infectious. "Well, here, we get to be the villains. Isn’t it fun?"
MJ's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Maybe a little bit~"
With that, Peter and MJ dove into the nitty-gritty of converting the secret underground bunker into a state-of-the-art Sentinel production facility. They tinkered with machines, programmed assembly lines, and utilized Peter's ingenuity and magic to streamline and quicken the process.
————
Meanwhile, at Vought Tower, Stan Edgar's normally composed demeanor turned stormy as he received the unsettling news about the failed retrieval of Homelander's son. His eyes narrowed, and he clenched his jaw, displeasure etched across his face.
“What do you mean, he's gone?” Stan barked at his subordinate, who nervously relayed the unfortunate information.
The subordinate stammered, “I-I apologize, sir. But we didn’t stand a chance. Soldier Boy, Black Noir, Starlight, and Queen Maeve seem to be protecting him for some reason..."
Stan Edgar sighed deeply, his frustration evident. "Find him. Now. We can't afford any more setbacks, especially with Homelander out of the picture."
As the subordinate hastily left the room to execute Stan's orders, the ominous air in the room thickened. However, Stan's attention was quickly diverted to another troubling matter… Mesmer's sudden loss of his telepathic abilities.
Annoyance and curiosity mingled in Stan's expression. Mesmer, once a valuable asset for Vought, stood nervously in front of Stan's imposing desk, clearly scared and upset. "I don't understand… My powers just vanished. How could they disappear like this?”
Stan studied Mesmer with a calculating gaze. "Useless," he muttered under his breath. "Take him to facility 5722," Stan ordered his subordinates, his tone cold and unforgiving.
Mesmer's eyes widened in fear as realization struck him. "No, please! You can't do this! I've been loyal to Vought!"
Ignoring Mesmer's pleas, Stan motioned to his subordinates. "Thoroughly test him. Find out why his powers are gone, and if there's any way to restore them."
As the subordinates closed in on Mesmer, his attempts at bargaining and pleading fell on deaf ears. "Please! Don’t send me there! I’m loyal, I swear! You can't just do this to me!"
But the subordinates, unmoved by Mesmer's desperate words, surrounded him and forcefully dragged him out of Stan's office, his protests echoing through the hallways.
Stan Edgar, left alone in his office, watched the scene unfold with a calculating gaze. Mesmer's unexpected loss of power was both worrying and intriguing. Though he wouldn’t know much until they’re done dissecting him.
A/N: 1718 words :)