Chapter 112: Mister Marathon’s Gratitude
In fact, Benjamin had never had any way to contact Bombsight before. The guy had gone missing a long time ago.
Running into him today at Mister Marathon’s villa was pure dumb luck. Since Benjamin had stumbled onto him, there was no way he was letting a chance like this slip by.
As for kidnapping that defenseless Golden Geisha, then using her as bait to threaten him and draw Bombsight out?
Benjamin had no interest in stooping to that kind of lowlife shit.
If he wanted something, he would ask for it straight.
Bombsight fell silent.
It was true. What he feared most was losing her. What he feared most was the loneliness of watching the woman he loved grow old while he could do nothing about it.
Unfortunately, the Golden Geisha really would not take the V1 injection.
And Bombsight respected her choice.
Still, Bombsight argued back.
"What the hell do you know? I’ll convince her to take it!"
His voice was loud, but there was no real confidence behind it.
Because he knew.
Benjamin was right. Once the Golden Geisha made up her mind, she would not change it, and he had no way to force the injection on her.
...
Before long, Benjamin gave a quiet laugh and said,
"How about we split the difference? I use my Superpowers to destroy the V1 in your bloodstream, and you give me that vial of V1.
That way, you get to grow old with your Golden Geisha. I’m right, aren’t I?"
Bombsight was silent for a moment.
His expression barely changed, but his eyes gave him away.
A flicker of struggle passed through them.
Thinking about it carefully, it actually did not sound bad.
After all these years, he had long since gotten sick of living.
Bombsight had extraordinary speed, a nearly undying body, and power that made countless people fear him. But none of it had made him feel fulfilled.
To put it plainly, he was tired of being alive.
The only thing that changed that was the Golden Geisha.
If one day the Golden Geisha really did die of old age, with no V1 and no Immortality, then what was the point of him living on alone in this world?
The ridiculous thing was, precisely because V1 existed, he did not even have the right to end that suffering himself.
Immortality. What a damn ironic word.
Of course, Bombsight could also let Benjamin beat him to death.
But being beaten to death by someone else and dying of old age were two completely different things.
So when Benjamin proposed this compromise, deep down, Bombsight actually felt a sense of relief he had not felt in a very long time.
Maybe this was the best choice.
"Why are you helping me?"
Bombsight asked.
The second the words left his mouth, he realized it might have been a stupid question.
So he did not wait for Benjamin’s answer. He simply waved a hand.
"Give me a minute. I’ll be right back, Ben."
Bombsight’s tone had softened a little.
As soon as he finished speaking, his entire body turned into a blurred afterimage and shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he vanished beyond the horizon. He had gone to get that vial of V1.
Only after Bombsight had completely disappeared from sight did Mister Marathon, who had been wound tight the entire time, finally let out a long breath.
He had been huddled in the back the whole time, barely daring to breathe.
Otherwise, if those two monsters started fighting again, it would not just be his house getting smashed to pieces.
Now that one of them was gone, he finally dared to speak.
"Sir,"
Mister Marathon’s voice still carried a trace of lingering fear, but even more confusion.
"Why did you come looking for me? Don’t tell me it was for the V1 in his hands?"
Benjamin shook his head.
He turned his gaze to Mister Marathon and looked at him seriously, with no hint of insincerity in his eyes.
"No," he said. "Mainly, I came because of you."
Mister Marathon froze.
"Me?"
"I want to invite you back to Vought,"
Benjamin said bluntly.
"To join the Speedsters Superhuman Squad. And I can also give you a chance to compete with the current captain of the Speedsters Supe Squad."
Mister Marathon opened his mouth, but for a moment, he had no idea what to say.
Of course he had heard about Vought’s reforms lately.
When Edgar had been running Vought, almost all the company’s resources had been poured into The Seven. Second-tier Supes were basically just filler, tools to patch whatever gaps were left. Nice to have, but not necessary, and never truly taken seriously.
But things were different now.
The new policies had begun directing a small share of resources downward.
And among the resources being shifted, the ones receiving the most attention were precisely Speedsters like him.
They were fast, practical, and extremely useful in rescue operations, transport, emergency response, and all kinds of situations.
Compared with Supes who were only good at fighting, Speedsters were clearly more versatile and efficient when it came to keeping a city running.
Mister Marathon had been hesitating for a while.
Should he take this chance and go back?
After all, he did not exactly have warm feelings for Vought. When he left back then, there had been no small amount of disillusionment mixed in.
But now the wind had changed. The treatment was better, and there was room to grow. Saying he was not tempted would be bullshit.
And before he could even make up his mind, Benjamin had personally shown up at his door.
What did that mean?
Who was Benjamin?
He was someone who could walk sideways through Vought, and even the whole damn world. A big shot who could change a Supe’s entire future with a single sentence.
And someone like that had come to find him in person and personally invited him back.
Just thinking about that recognition was enough to make his chest burn.
"Sir,"
Mister Marathon’s voice trembled a little, filled with genuine gratitude from the bottom of his heart.
"I never thought you... that you valued me this much."
He felt overwhelmed by the honor.
Sure, he had no way of squeezing into The Seven. That position was too far away. He did not even dare dream about it.
But the Speedsters Superhuman Squad was already the top of the second tier.
And if he could take the captain’s seat, the treatment would be almost on par with The Seven.
Of course, it would not be easy.
The current captain of the Speedsters Superhuman Squad was Shockwave, someone who could go head-to-head with A-Train in speed.
It was obvious how hard it would be to take the captain’s position from him.
But at the very least... there was hope now, wasn’t there?
Compared to the gray, dead-end life he used to see stretching out in front of him...
Now, at least, he had a goal worth fighting for.
Even if the chance was slim, it was still a chance.
Benjamin reached out and patted Mister Marathon on the shoulder.
"Be a proper superhero, Mister Marathon,"
Benjamin said calmly, but there was an unquestionable seriousness in his voice.
"From now on, quit all your shitty habits. Otherwise, when you’re out on superhero missions, like rushing emergency patients to the hospital when every second counts, things can go wrong real damn fast."
Mister Marathon’s expression stiffened slightly.
Who did not know he was an addict?
After he got kicked out of The Seven, he had spent his days drifting around in a daze, not giving a damn what anyone thought of him. But now things were different.
If he really wanted to go back, if he really wanted to stand in front of the public as a superhero again, then under Vought’s current rules, all that messy crap really did have to be cut off completely.
Mister Marathon had heard about that too.
It made him nervous.
Quitting those bad habits... that was no easy thing.
But then he thought about it again.
He could return to Vought. He could gain far more fame and money than he had at this low point, earn more respect, get a brighter future, and receive the approval of the man standing right in front of him.
This was recognition from Soldier Boy himself!
To Mister Marathon, the name Soldier Boy itself was practically a belief. He was someone Mister Marathon had grown up watching on TV, someone he had worshiped in his heart since he was a kid.
Being personally invited by his idol, then having that idol pat him on the shoulder and tell him to do a good job, that carried enough weight to crush every bit of hesitation.
Mister Marathon nodded solemnly.
He was deeply grateful to Soldier Boy.