The Big Guy

Point Check: November 22nd, 2020 - November 28th, 2020

Breakdown:

Current Points: 690

GIF chat / para replies: 2 (20) 

Open / Closed starters: 0

Self para / writing task: 1 (20) 

Replying to an open starter: 1 (15) 

Meme / ask box response: 0

Points of the week: 55

Looker wasn’t exactly happy with how things had gone. She didn’t know it would end up like that and, despite how much she came across as a bitch, even she was shocked and a little bit emotional. She even felt a little guilty receiving the honour Payback did. “Looker, remember, big smiles.” She adjusted herself and flashed the smile again as she held the article of Payback’s most recent success, surrounded by policemen who also posed for the picture, also having a sneaky pick at the revealing costume. “Give us a quote!” The cameraman shouted as they were also filming the segment. She even seemed a little hesitant at first, having flashbacks in her head before she offered the smile she was trained to. “Crime fighting has never looked so good.” She beamed as they wrapped up, walking down the steps of the monument where they took the picture. Seeing the someone walk over to her, Katia looked up as she grabbed her coat. “What do I owe the pleasure?”

   Stan had never given the supes much attention truthfully. He left it all to Madelyn. He was under the presumption that she knew what she was doing. That perception was now changing, now that Stan had had the chance to personally oversee the various teams. She had clearly favored the Seven, and especially Homelander. Upon review however, Payback was far better. They took orders better, they were more interesting, and far more likable. Soldier Boy was now outpolling Homelander, and Stan could understand why. “Looker, I wanted to comment on how well you were during all of this. Payback has been quite impressive these past few days. I will be watching you all far more closely. I think Payback truly has set the standard of what it means to be super, and I think it’s time we set the sun on the Seven, and let it rise for Payback.” 

Lamplighter glanced at the manila envelope and wanted to set it on fire but it wouldn’t matter since Vought had more copies. A part of him wanted to snap off a smart ass comment but he knew there was no way out of this and Vought had him exactly where they wanted him. He picked up the manila envelope and took out the pictures going through each one. He swallowed and flipped though the various pictures that were caught of him.

“New happiness?” He shoved the pictures back into the envelope and scoffed. The Supe leaned forward and picked up the pen resisting the urge to stab Mr. Edgar with it. “How long do I have to fucking work at this new place?” Lamplighter signed the paper and refrained from also drawing a middle finger on the document. He couldn’t believe that he was so careless and this was happening.

   When he was asked how long that it would be lasting, Stan smiled a little more. He knew that they had Lamplighter in a position where there was no space for snide comments, the word no, or the ability to walk away. He had to do whatever the company asked of him. “Yes. New happiness, we will be moving you to Sage Grove, a facility where we are pushing boundaries and making massive breakthroughs in the world of science. You will be assisting with patient care. For how long? That question is harder to answer. You will be working there until we deem your services are no longer required. I expect you to do far better at Sage Grover than you ever did as a member of the Seven.” 

“I know who was responsible for the murder of Translucent. It wasn’t all of them like we thought. Turns out it was just Hughie Campbell, Billy Butcher and Serge who they call Frenchie. Marvin Milk and Kimiko weren’t involved in that.” He hated that they had killed one of the Seven. “A direct line would be more than helpful. It means I can get information to you discreetly. Anything I find, I’ll pass it on. So far, I’m just building trust but its like the statue says: let justice be done though the heavens fall.” The phrase from the Seven statue that was almost like a mantra.

   Interesting. Not that it mattered now. Marvin Milk, and Kimiko were now just as wanted as the other three. Regardless of who was actually at fault for the death of Translucent. Not that Stan particularly cared for the supe, but he wanted a message sent that if anything happened to their heroes ever, you would pay for it tenfold. Smiling when the CIA agent mentioned a direct line being helpful. That was the exact reason Stan had suggested it. “Do not worry, justice will be served to all the members of this so called organization just as justice was served to Naqib and to Kenji. With your help Thomas, justice will be swifter, and far more decisive. Vought is very appreciative of your efforts, especially Homelander and the Seven.” 

    The Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Defense Award                                          Episode 4 Plot Drop

Point Check: November 15th, 2020 - November 21st, 2020

Breakdown:

Current Points: 590

GIF chat / para replies: 10 (100)

Open / Closed starters: 0

Self para / writing task: 0 

Replying to an open starter: 0

Meme / ask box response: 0

Points of the week: 100

Even a little bit of help or information that he could provide could help Vought and the superheroes. Whatever he had, he would give it willingly and freely. “I want to help them to make as big an impact as they can. I’ve been successful in getting reassigned to the Boys team so I’ll be in direct contact with William Butcher and his team. So far, I’ve met Marvin Milk and he seems to be trusting but I know Butcher will be the hardest in that respect. Mallory mentioned that he is looking for his wife and it might be something to do with Vought. Sir,” he began, “if you know anything about that it could help me gain that trust I can use it to help you.” It would be his offering to his Gods. 

   When the CIA agent admitted to being assigned to work with the Boys, the group that had been harboring the supe terrorist that they just managed to take down, Stan raised an eyebrow before smiling a little. Yes, perhaps Thomas Raynor could be more help than he first thought. When he went on to share how Mr. Butcher was looking for his wife, something that didn’t quite surprise him he nodded. At the moment he couldn’t quite share anything about her location as the situation was far too precarious for his liking. “If I come across anything that could help you get into his good graces than I most certainly will share it with you Mr. Raynor.” Pausing for a moment, before a thought struck him. “Is there anyway we could set up a direct line between ourselves, so that if you come across any useful information you can directly patch it through to me?” 

Lamplighter clenched his jaw in frustration as he glanced over the papers Mr. Edgar had laid out on the table. Why the need for an NDA? He knew Vought loved their paperwork to help stay out of legal trouble but couldn’t understand why they needed him to keep working for Vought. He was ready to leave and retire somewhere far away from everything that reminded him of being a superhero.

At the mention of the morality clause Lamplighter frowned and glared at Mr. Edgar. He listened to the older man as anger started to boil up inside of him. Was Stan Edgar really implying what Lamplighter thinks he was implying? “What?” He paused and continued, shaking his head. “What the fuck are you implying?” He pointed his fingers holding the cigarette towards the smug man across from him.

“There is no fucking way you know what goes on in my personal life or what I do in my free time to blackmail me.” Lamplighter painfully remembered the last time someone had tried to blackmail him and ended up accidentally killing her kids. This was different though as he was half expecting Vought to outright fire him back when the incident with Mallory happened.

There was no way that Stan Fucking Edgar was implying that Vought knew about his secret.. the one secret that Mallory had found out about him and tried to use against him. He thought he was being so careful back then but he was being tailed by Mallory’s team who caught him..

   “What am I implying? Absolutely nothing, implying means we are simply hinting at what we have. In the manila envelope on the table next to the NDA, you will find over a hundred photographs of various escapades you have taken part in during your time on the Seven. If those photos were to get out, well Vought would of course have to denounce you. We would have to have you repay all the money you’ve made off of Vought, and I am not sure your family could handle that financially.” Motioning to the envelope, “Please look through them, to verify that is you in all of them. Feel free to take them, we have more than enough copies of our own.” Stan knew that Vought had Lamplighter right where it wanted him. There was no way he could tell them no. 

“Once you are done looking through those pictures, I would appreciate if you could sign the NDA so that I can begin to tell you about where we will be relocating you to. I think in this new location you’ll find new happiness. It is filled with endless potential, and most suited for a man of your talents.” 

Vought were only as good as their athletes and if A-Train was truly declining, Andrew knew that Vought would want to replace him sooner or later. The problem wasn’t with who, it was when. A-Train still had a fanbase and Vought hated to piss off the public. “Then make them race again but this time we drug test him.” The last time, Andrew was forbidden to test anything of A-Train. Shockwave was another situation but all of the tests had come back clean. The choice couldn’t be more obvious. “Another race but this time we make it public that it’s not for some shoe but for The Seven.” It would show people how competitive The Seven was and it could show the supes just how replaceable they were.

Andrew wanted to press the issue of Ryan Butcher but he didn’t go to a great college to make stupid moves. Instead, Andrew remained silent but still plotting his way to the kid. To  create the opposite effect of Compound V was almost impossible but Andrew had what most didn’t; his father’s old notes. “I don’t care about a Noble Prize,” It was a complete lie but Andrew could play humble well. “If it got out that we had a chance to stop the supes, everyone would be begging for it.” The CIA, multiple law enforcements, the list was endless. Andrew would surpass his own father’s work and strike fear in the Supes like The Homelander. “I know I can make a breakthrough, I’ve started some work on the genetics of it and the results are promising.” A new generation of supes would always be coming up and if they had supe parents, it could unlock everything.

   Dr. Langer was good.....very good....one of the best when it came to the research, and science behind Compound V and creating Supes. Stan would never deny that. However, when it came to the marketing aspect, he worried that Dr. Langer was too narrow focused once he set his mind to something. “The public would know something was remiss if we called another race so soon again, and so publically for a spot on the Seven. Especially if it somehow was discovered we were mandatory drug testing both Shockwave and A-Train. Noses would go where they shouldn’t.” No, supes were predictable, A-Train at some point will make a mistake that Vought could capitalize on to replace him. “Shockwave’s time will come naturally, if we force it, people will whisper. Just like Mr. Marathon’s time came naturally.” 

A small chuckle left Stan’s lips when Dr. Langer mentioned how everyone would want access to a serum that rendered supers powerless. He certainly was not wrong, but such a serum could never be public knowledge. “Vought would make quite a bit of revenue off such a thing yes. However we would have to market it as something else. If Homelander ever realized such a thing was made, well I imagine he would be able to turn quite a few of our own supes against us.” The last thing Stan ever wanted was a rogue Homelander. “Very good though, keep up that work. I don’t need to tell you to do everything in your power to make sure it remains a secret however.” 

Thomas had heard a lot about Stan Edgar from a variety of channels but nothing compared to meeting him in person. There was an intimidation and power that he hadn’t experienced even though he’d met dangerous and powerful people. “She is,” he answered not even hesitating or thinking of being anything other than honest. “I didn’t even know you had heard of me. I’m honoured.” Hearing of his sister-in-law he could understand but not him. “Enjoying myself immensely. I have to ask, Mr Edgar, do you know much of the Greek myths? Your heroes are just like that. Homleander is God like in his leadership and Maeve, it is so clear what they are.” His faith in them was determined and blind to every flaw they did. He wanted to help but to just offer it up seemed unworthy of them all.

~

   When the other confirmed that his sister in law was in fact Susan Raynor he smiled a little more. Good, that meant he was going to turn out to be far more useful than first expected. To have a mole in the CIA in such a lucrative position would be.....most opportune. When he mentioned that he was honored that Stan knew who he was, he chuckled. “I make it a habit of trying to know who as many people are as possible. You will never know who can help make the biggest impacts on the world.” When he was asked if he knew much about the Greek myths, he raised an eyebrow. Stan knew a moderate amount, he found a few interesting. When he preceded to compare Homelander, and Maeve to the Greek Gods, he could have laughed, though Stan knew that Mr. Raynor was quite serious, it was interesting but again...opportune. “Yes, their power, and leadership is quite inspiring for everyone. I feel quite lucky to get to be the CEO of the company that helps them in the day to day affairs of their heroism.” 

Lamplighter sighed before he took another drag of his cigarette and was a little disappointed that Mr. Edgar seemed to ignore his smoking inside of his office. He made his way over to the table and glanced at the papers on the table before sitting back down. The Supe raised an eyebrow at Edgar’s comment of not leaving the Vought family. “What?” He chuckled at the fact Vought International still wanted him to work for them even after giving them the I don’t give a fuck attitude.

“No.” Lamplighter took another drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke in Edgar’s direction. “I’m done with Vought and I have no interest in working for you anymore.” He sighed and continued as he shook his head. “Find someone else to help you with your side projects.”

   A small smile slowly creeped onto Stan’s face when he was told no by Lamplighter. When heroes acted in this manner it was rather amusing. Most of the time Stan allowed them to keep the illusion that they had a semblance of something you could call a choice. This was not one of this times. “You seem to be under the impression that this transfer is a choice. It is not.” Motioning down to the papers. “These are all NDA’s, you will sign them. What they say is that you will not share what you see in the facility that you are being transferred to, to big your new place in the Vought Family.” 

He paused for a moment, before speaking again. “And if you refuse to sign and go along with what Vought has planned for you, well then.....I would hate to have to have someone announce that the reason you are leaving the Seven is because you’ve broken the morality clause in your contract. Vought would naturally have to get ahead of the photos that would somehow end up in the hands of the tabloids. And I would hate to see you go down the same path as say....Popclaw?” Leaning back in his chair, he folded his hands over his lap waiting for the heroes response. 

Closed Starter For: @stanedgar​ Location: Vought Tower - Flashback

Lamplighter had a good idea of why he was called into Stan Edgar’s office for a meeting after being on sabbatical. It was regarding his future with the company after his declining performance with The Seven. He was getting rather tired of having Ashley scream at him for missed expo events and he knew Vought was getting tired of him coming in drunk most of the time smelling like a bar. The Supe was put on a sabbatical for a few weeks.. or had it already been a few months by now? Lamplighter wasn’t keeping track of the time to be honest and was hoping Vought would fire him so he could finally just be done with the superhero business.

So here he sat waiting for Stan Edgar to arrive to speak with him. Well, he was sitting in Mr. Edgar’s chair with his feet propped up on his desk. Lamplighter was smoking a cigarette and every so often he flicked the ashes from the cigarette into the trash can. He was in his street clothes and was over do for a shave but he wasn’t too concerned with keeping up his appearance. He heard the door to Edgar’s office open and he took a long inhale of his cigarette.  

   Stan smiled when he saw Lamplighter was already in the office. Sitting on the couch that was towards the door of his office he began laying the papers on the coffee table. “We will be sitting over here, if you could please make your way over here.” He wasn’t going to entertain his childish behaviour with any sort of reaction. Besides Stan knew that the heroes time here at Vought’s headquarters, and on the Seven was officially over. They had already found his replacement. After the matter with the CIA, and the fact that Lamplighter had become compromised because of information they had on him. Basically what the papers he was outlining would be Lamplighter’s new life under Vought, as he knew too much and could not just be allowed to be let go into the world. 

“Your time here with the Seven is coming to an end, Lamplighter, however that does not mean you are leaving the Vought International family. We have a facility that we think someone with your abilities would be more than suited for.” 

event starter for @stanedgar​

Having worshiped the supeheroes for so many years and dedicating his life for it, Thomas stared in awe at the statue of the Seven. Each one of them immortalised like the statues in ancient Greece and Rome as they should have been. Ever since he had begun worshipping them, he offered his service and his life for them. It started with work, to feed any and all information the CIA had to the Seven and Vought to protect them. All in service to them. Even when he heard someone coming towards him, it took him a few minutes to end his prayer and turn to the new person. “Mr Edgar,” he greeted a little shocked and in awe, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thomas Raynor.” He was unsure if Edgar knew who he was, if he was even worth knowing to Vought. 

   Stan knew he who most people were in any sort of position that he could use to better his own, or Vought’s position. Including CIA agents who have been feeding them information, especially CIA agents in that position actually. Making his way over as saw the other man looking over the statue of the Seven he smiled when he introduced himself. Offering a hand, “Mr. Raynor, the pleasure is all mine. Your sister in law is the Deputy Director is she not? And I here you yourself are a great asset to the CIA. I hope you know everyone at Vought is proud of all of members of law enforcement and what they accomplish on a day to day basis. Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. Raynor?” 

Public perception was everything to supes. It was the one thing that made the shareholders and the big guns at Vought take them seriously and when the public turned against the Deep, so did Vought. The two went hand in hand but right when he needed them, Vought no longer answered his call. “But it’s already swinging that way.” It was hard for the Deep to not sound desperate. He was desperate. The Deep missed the life he had with the Seven and with Vought but they seemed to be doing just fine without him. “The Church are honest with me, they’ve had a plan to help me.” While Vought had nothing but he knew better than to say that with Stan Edgar. “If you could give me a date when the sabbatical will end, that could help.” 

He wasn’t an idiot. The Deep knew that the environmentalists and animal rights groups had been protesting at Vought but they had no grounds. The press didn’t mention the Deep only that the supe terrorist and his allies had killed a whale but nothing about supe involvement was there. Unless Payback were getting the blame then the Deep really couldn’t care less. “It just shows I can still be an asset to the team!” He was like a child begging for ice cream or something. The Church had said how Vought was reluctant to speak about the Deep but what else could he do? The Church seemed to be the only ones who had any motivation to get him back. It broke the Deep’s heart that Lucy had died but he didn’t want her death to be in vain. 

   “The Church has a plan to help you? And let me guess that plan to help you includes you signing over your bank account? Giving them access to everything you own? Paying for access to higher levels of understanding within the Church?” Stan knew how these churches worked, they were scams, cheap ways to get money out of the desperate, the dumb, and the naive. Somehow, the Deep seemed to fall into all three of those categories. “The Church of the Collective is looking to help you, because it helps them. I think it helps them even more then it helps you. You think you get back on the Seven and then all the things they are currently seeping from you ends? No, it will only get worse.” When he was asked for a date on when his sabbatical would end, Stan paused for a moment. “I will be honest with you, we do not have a singular date yet. I can tell you however, that I think it could be soon. Like I said within the rest of the year.” 

A-Train was a great hero at first, but like the majority of them, A-Train soon found a way to squander it all. “We both know that A-Train had a little bit of help with that race.” Andrew had drug tested Shockwave, a precaution Madelyn had said. They needed to know that if Shockwave beat A-Train, they either needed to prove he was cheating or that he was clean enough to swap out the supes. Andrew had more access to information that most people at Vought. For one, Andrew’s father had become more talkative in his retirement and more so after The Homelander had injured him. “I’m aware,” Andrew smirked. He had to wonder how much Stan Edgar knew and if the man knew more than Jonah. 

Andrew couldn’t comprehend Stan’s reasonings. With the compound V leak, Ryan Butcher was Vought’s biggest asset and now he was letting the opportunity pass him by. “These are all the same,” Andrew pulled up the camera’s from each cell. “Yes, their powers differ but their origins remain the same. They were engineered by us, Ryan Butcher is the anomaly that my father dreamed of.” Granted, it was a dream that Andrew shared but the man was furious. Andrew’s father had sacrificed almost everything and now his own son couldn’t build on his father’s legacy.  Andrew took a breath. “Fine. We’re clear on Ryan Butcher.” Andrew spoke through gritted teeth. 

The thought of being a handler made Andrew shudder. “What if there was a way for us to take that threat away?” Andrew had questioned his own father about this. Jonah had said his main focus was to build up the supes. To make them truly heroic but nothing about control or a contingency plan had crossed his father’s mind. “Yes, they can crush us with minimal effort but we need to take that threat away.”

   Stan nodded, a small smile on his lips. They both knew the truth about A-Train, he was getting slow. Much slower then what he used to be. The public did not, and after that race they would question the swap. Right now the last thing that Stan thought Vought needed was more questions. “We do both know that. But the average person on the street does not. The public may now know about Compound V being the reason we have super powered individuals. What they do not need to know is that some of our heroes regularly use Compound V to enhance those abilities we have given them.” 

“They were my husband’s favorites–Ryan loves chocolate chip, but I figured I’d try an old favorite,” Becca muses, a little dryly. She leans forward and makes her tea; a splash of cream and three spoonfuls of sugar. Listening, she sips her tea and crinkles her nose. Of course she understood the position Edgar was in, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. “You don’t understand…I…I think he murdered Madelyn Stillwell.” She’d been holding onto that nugget for weeks–since Vought Con. Since he felt the need to continue weaving his lies for Ryan.

And he thought she believed him. Fucker. 

“He brought me and Ryan up to crime analytics…and I know he’s trying to pin it on Billy but…” She shakes her head. She knew her husband was guilty of things, things they’d have to discuss when and if they ever get the chance. But right now, she needs to try and get rid of Homelander. “There’s something fishy about the footage. If he’s a murderer…I…he can’t be around me and Ryan. Please, there has to be something you can do,” Becca pleads softly.

   “Well there’s nothing wrong with using an older recipe if you know it works.” Smiling when she mentioned Ryan liking chocolate chip. Good, an American cooke. That would go well with his future apparel audience. “Does he prefer his chocolate chip cookies hard or soft? I know I am an absolute sucker for Pepperidge Farm’s soft baked Montauk cookies. They use milk chocolate for the chips, absolutely to die for in my opinion.” When she explained that she was under the belief Homelander killed Madelyn Stillwell, something that he himself partly suspected, and had confirmed by Mr. Butcher during their joyride together. Making his own cup of tea as her comment was left lingering, he used a dash of milk, and two sugar before he drank. Putting the cup down, he nodded. “Yes I know. So you can understand why that makes my position ever the more difficult. I want you Ryan and yourself to be safe, but I cannot do that if I am dead.” 

Point Check: November 8th, 2020 - November 14th, 2020

Breakdown:

Current Points: 520

GIF chat / para replies: 5 (50)

Open / Closed starters: 0

Self para / writing task: 1 (20) 

Replying to an open starter: 0

Meme / ask box response: 0

Points of the week: 70