"Although I don't want to discourage you, this is a fact. At least during the forty years you were gone, you've been replaced. No one remembers you anymore."
"People only know Vought International now, Homelander, and the Seven."
"Soldier Boy?"
"I'm afraid only people as old as me would still remember you."
"But the world will always belong to the young, won't it?"
Mallory elegantly smoked her cigarette, "If you want people to remember you, unless you make everyone remember you again."
"That sounds really sad."
Soldier Boy muttered, then apparently thought of something. He stopped making any comments and focused on eating his hamburger.
After finishing, he wiped his mouth with a tissue and looked at Mallory.
"So the deal you want to make with me is."
"You find my old teammates for me, and I kill the guy who replaced me?"
"Is that it?"
Mallory nodded, "That's right."
"How about it? Pretty good deal, right?"
"And once you get rid of him, you can return to the public eye."
"The legend of the past will appear in a brand-new form. You'll become people's idol, their hero."
Soldier Boy leaned back in his chair. "And then get controlled by Vought again?"
"When I was in Midtown, I saw their advertisements. Damn Vought still exists."
Mallory blew out a smoke ring and said, "But Edgar is already gone. The current boss of Vought is Homelander."
"Once he's dead, Vought will be left without a leader."
"And I guarantee you, as long as Homelander dies, Vought will disband soon."
Soldier Boy laughed, "Your guarantee isn't worth a damn. Sorry, no offense, but that's simply how it is."
Mallory thought for a moment and said, "Then what if the person making this guarantee is the current President?"
Soldier Boy raised an eyebrow, "The current President is?"
"Rick Archibald," Mallory stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.
Soldier Boy narrowed his eyes slightly, "Are you saying that everything you're doing now has been authorized by the President?"
Mallory smiled and nodded, "Obviously, isn't it?"
Soldier Boy thought for a moment and held up two fingers.
"Two conditions."
"Meet these two conditions, and I'll make this deal with you."
Mallory leaned forward slightly, "Let's hear them."
"First, I want to meet President Rick Archibald."
"Face to face."
"Not a stand-in, not by phone. The actual President."
As soon as Soldier Boy made this request, Mallory immediately said, "Impossible."
"The President won't agree to such a request. It's too dangerous for him."
Soldier Boy spread his hands, "You're trying to deal with the most dangerous person in the world. I have to take risks too."
"So I don't think the President can do nothing, not shed a drop of blood, and simply take the fruits of victory."
"This is a prerequisite. If you don't agree, or the President doesn't agree, then there's nothing more to discuss."
Mallory closed her eyes and said after a moment, "I'll make a call."
"Go ahead," Soldier Boy, wearing a loose blue T-shirt, stood up, turned on the television, and watched a movie about himself.
Mallory walked out of the room and winked at Frenchie, signaling him to keep an eye on this ticking time bomb.
Frenchie nodded. After the door closed, he cleared his throat.
"Sir."
"Can I ask you a question?"
Soldier Boy lazily said, "Let's hear it."
"I don't guarantee I'll answer."
Frenchie shrugged, then said, "Your superpower. I mean, that powerful radiation energy you fire from your chest."
"I remember you didn't have this superpower before."
"Did it develop later?"
As he listened to Frenchie's words, several images flashed before Soldier Boy's eyes.
Soviet scientists wearing masks poured large amounts of chemical compounds into his mouth, as if his mouth led straight to the Pacific Ocean.
A soldier holding a rifle showed a cruel smile, shoved the muzzle into his mouth, and fired against his throat.
A nurse holding a scalpel used tweezers to lift his eyelid, wanting to cut away his cornea.
Those noisy sounds, those twisted faces, those unbearable memories of the past seemed to have caught up with him again.
"No."
"No!"
Soldier Boy held his head, and his chest grew brighter and brighter, frightening Frenchie into saying repeatedly, "What are you doing, man?"
"Calm down. There are no enemies here."
Soldier Boy grunted and breathed deeply. He had already begun to control this power and was able to calm the agitation it caused.
A few seconds passed.
His chest returned to normal.
He glared fiercely at Frenchie, "Don't bring up this kind of stupid question again!"
At this moment, Mallory walked in and looked at the two people in the room, "What did I miss?"
Then she said to Soldier Boy, "I'm going to Washington now to make your request to the President in person."
"So you'd better tell me your second request too. I can bring it up to the President at the same time."
Soldier Boy seemed to think of something, and he smiled.
To be honest, he was very handsome, and his smile was very attractive.
If Mallory were still a girl of eighteen or nineteen, she thought she probably would have been attracted to Soldier Boy.
"That request has nothing to do with the President."
Mallory said "Oh," pulled over a chair, and sat down, "Then tell me what it is, so I can be mentally prepared."
Soldier Boy pointed at Frenchie, "You get out."
Frenchie looked at Mallory.
Without even turning her head, Mallory said, "Frenchie is the only person I can trust. I don't think there's any problem with him staying."
Soldier Boy laughed, "That's what you said."
He cleared his throat and said, "The second condition is you."
"I want you to stay with me, at least for one night."
Only then did Mallory and Frenchie understand what his request was.
Frenchie looked incredulous.
He admitted that Mallory was the most charming older woman he had ever seen.
But no one would want to spend the night with an old woman.
Especially Soldier Boy. He looked to be in his prime and should have been interested in young girls.
No!
His appearance simply hadn't changed, but this guy hadn't changed at all during the forty years.
That meant that, normally speaking, Soldier Boy should be a man in his seventies or eighties.
Older than Mrs. Mallory!
Suddenly, Frenchie understood.
So Soldier Boy wanted to have a late-in-life romance with Mrs. Mallory.
Mallory quietly looked at Soldier Boy, "Are you serious?"
Soldier Boy laughed, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
"Back when we were on the battlefield, I already thought you had a certain appeal."
"It's a shame you were so fierce back then. You have much more appeal now."
Mallory laughed, "I certainly have a lot of appeal now. I didn't expect your tastes to be this strong."
Soldier Boy shrugged, "So, you refuse?"
"Frenchie."
Mallory stood up and said, "Go watch a movie."
Frenchie almost had a question mark pop out of his head.
Mallory had already started taking off her clothes, "Unless you want to stay and watch."
Frenchie cursed inside, hurriedly jumped up, and left the room.
Not long after he came out, he heard some sounds coming from inside the room.
He shook his head and quickly left.