American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

While Butcher electrocuted the Translucent again and, along with the others, brainstormed ways to stuff a bomb into his rear end, Alex had already left the safehouse.

To be honest, Alex had no interest in middle-aged men's rear ends—he found the whole thing revolting.

At the same time, Alex was eager to investigate the research facility he had mentioned. If he could gather some research reports on Compound V, it would be a significant gain.

Moreover, Alex wanted to understand the broader consequences of helping to overthrow Vought International. How would it affect this universe, born of corruption? After all, every clue so far pointed back to Vought.

Alex wasn't only curious about Vought International and the superheroes they manufactured. He also wanted to figure out the role ordinary people played in the grand scheme of this polluted world.

The mental institution Alex had mentioned to Butcher was called Sage Grove, a facility where Vought conducted research on Compound V and superhumans.

Similar to the "Woods" lab from Gen V, Sage Grove housed numerous superhumans—some with immense power, others with abilities uniquely suited to research.

The Woods lab specialized in creating bacteria-based viruses that targeted only superhumans. Once infected, victims would develop boils and die gruesomely within a week.

If unleashed, the virus could decimate the superhuman population—a doomsday weapon Vought created as a form of nuclear deterrence against unstable superhumans.

In contrast, Sage Grove was the polar opposite. This facility was dedicated to stabilizing Compound V to make it more widely usable.

At its core, Vought International was still a pharmaceutical company. Their ultimate goal was to militarize Compound V, granting them a foothold in national security and global power structures.

The primary issue with Compound V was that it only worked on newborns, introducing significant uncertainty and long developmental timelines.

Thus, Vought established Sage Grove to refine Compound V, enabling it to be directly injected into adults and transform them into superhumans.

This was the origin of Sage Grove.

Behind this facility was not only its chief architect, Stan Edgar, but also Stormfront—a superhuman who had lived since 1917.

Known simply as Stormfront, she had previously operated under the codename "Liberty" and was a soldier from Germany's bygone era, making her the first-ever superhuman.

Her powers granted her not only superhuman physical abilities and control over purple lightning but also extraordinary longevity. Despite living for over a century, she retained a youthful appearance.

Technically, Stormfront was one of Vought's founders. As a fervent racist, she was dedicated to sowing discord and even sought to reignite global conflict.

The Sage Grove facility, while ostensibly focused on creating super-soldiers for the military, was more about Stormfront's vision of assembling a superhuman army to launch aggressive wars worldwide.

By the time Alex arrived at Sage Grove, the sun was already up.

Having never been there before, Alex teleported multiple times before finding the exact location.

It had to be said—Vought was incredibly adept at hiding its facilities. To keep Sage Grove concealed, they had planted several decoy locations on maps, forcing Alex to expend considerable effort to track it down.

Sage Grove operated under a closed management system. Those inside, whether patients or researchers, rarely had a chance to leave.

Pulling out the Shadowcat card to replace Blink, Alex sank into the ground and began moving underground toward the facility.

Progressing cautiously, Alex took care not to stumble into any underground security rooms. The research facility's subterranean areas were equipped with numerous structures, so he moved with great vigilance.

Emerging from the ground, Alex glanced at a photo of medical staff on the wall. With a shake of his body, he transformed into a Caucasian doctor from the photograph, complete with the corresponding uniform.

The medical uniform was a short-sleeved blue scrub with the Sage Grove logo. Alex looked around, picked a direction, and began walking confidently.

As Alex moved through the asylum, the surroundings reminded him of the orphanage run by the White Queen. In some ways, the two places weren't that different.

The only notable distinction was that Sage Grove had some sunlight, while the basement of that orphanage was shrouded in eternal darkness, a pit of despair.

While Alex pondered how to gather intelligence from this research facility, two figures suddenly appeared in the corridor ahead.

Without drawing attention to himself, Alex glanced up. A woman in a combat suit was leading an older man with graying temples straight toward him.

"There's been some turmoil within the Seven recently. Vought has also been significantly affected. Your retirement caused quite a stir, but don't worry—I'll find an opportunity to join the Seven," the woman said arrogantly, not even sparing Alex a glance as she walked by.

The middle-aged man at her side, however, briefly glanced at Alex. He didn't say anything, merely following the woman silently.

"You should be familiar with the work here by now. From now on, stay put and follow orders. Remember, report any incidents to me immediately, or you know what will happen," the woman said.

"Yes," the man replied softly, nodding.

It wasn't until the two disappeared around a corner that Alex turned his head back.

Stormfront and Lamplighter?

What a coincidence—he had just entered and already run into these two.

Judging by their energy signatures, both of them were formidable. Lamplighter's full power was enough to overwhelm Starlight, but Stormfront was even stronger, capable of surpassing Queen Maeve in combat strength.

In this world, there weren't many superhumans capable of harming Homelander. Coincidentally, both Maeve and Stormfront were among them.

However, their ability to harm Homelander was situational and dependent on luck. If Homelander got the first strike with his laser vision, they'd likely be finished.

This fact underscored just how powerful Homelander was—there were virtually no challengers in this universe capable of defeating him.

Shaking his head, Alex continued walking. Following the facility's labeled signs, he quickly found the security room, where surveillance feeds for all the rooms were displayed.

Standing at the door, Alex saw two guards inside. He knocked on the door.

Hearing the sound, one of the guards immediately stood up. Upon seeing Alex, he quickly opened the door.

"Dr. Smith! Weren't you on leave? Is there something you need help with?"

It seemed the person Alex had transformed into held a high status. Blinking, Alex replied calmly, "I lost something important here. I came to check if you could help me find it."

"What did you lose?" The guard, without suspicion, stepped aside to let Alex in.

"Something very important."

Alex smiled faintly, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

The two guards, staring at Alex, suddenly froze. Their pupils reflected the same glow before their bodies collapsed limply to the ground.

Seeing the results of his actions, Alex smirked and pulled out a card adorned with an illustration of a stunning blonde woman.

"Lady Mastermind. Decent ability, though not exactly famous."

With a chuckle, Alex closed the door quietly and turned his attention to the large surveillance screen in the security room.

One by one, the superhumans imprisoned in Sage Grove appeared on the screens.

Some could float and fly, others had immense strength, some had telekinetic abilities—and some had... rather impressive anatomical features.

.....

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460. The Lamplighter and the Iceman!

461. Anti-Pollution!

462. The World Beyond the Well.

463. Apocalypse!

464. Action Plan.