The Boys - Chapter 150: The Supe Virus (Patreon)

Firecracker’s account changed completely just a few hours later.

More than two hundred videos. Every single one deleted. Her comments, favorites, even her bio had been wiped clean.

Her two million followers woke up to find the creator they followed had an entirely empty page.

“What happened to Firecracker? Did she get banned?”

“She wasn’t banned. She deleted everything herself. Every video’s gone.”

“You don’t think Arke threatened her, do you...?”

Speculation spread like wildfire online, but nobody could get in touch with her. Her phone was off, her social media had gone silent, and she seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.

Good girl.

That’s more like it.

...

That same night, at the abandoned apartment building on Manhattan’s West Side.

Hughie showed up in the third-floor hallway right on time. His steps were heavier than they had been the day before, and dark circles hung beneath his eyes. He clearly hadn’t slept all night.

He pushed open the door that had been left slightly ajar.

Neuman was already inside.

Two cups of takeout coffee sat on the couch. Neuman was looking down at something on her phone and only raised her head when she heard the door.

“You look like shit.”

Hughie ignored that and walked straight over to sit across from her. He rested both hands on his knees and stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking.

“We brought in someone new.”

Neuman raised an eyebrow, placed her phone facedown on the coffee table, and leaned forward slightly.

“Who?”

“A Supe. Codename Sage. Her ability is superintelligence. No physical offensive powers, just a freakishly powerful brain.”

Hughie spoke slowly, as though weighing every word before letting it out.

“Mallory brought her in. Says she can help us take down Arke.”

Neuman’s expression quickly shifted from curiosity to seriousness.

She leaned back against the couch and considered what that could mean.

That kind of ability was incredibly rare among Supes. No brute force, no flashy powers, just a mind capable of crushing everything in its path.

If Sage really was on their side, then a lot of things that had once seemed impossible suddenly weren’t.

“Can she be trusted?”

Hughie gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

“No idea. But Mallory trusts her. For now, anyway.”

“We gave her Cold War-era Supe experiment files as part of the deal. She agreed to help.”

Neuman fell silent for a few seconds, studying Hughie’s face.

“Hughie, having another Supe on our side is a good thing.”

“My powers aren’t on Damien’s or Homelander’s level. If I had to face either of them head-on, my odds would basically be zero.”

She lowered her voice, her tone turning cautious.

“If we want to bring Damien down, a handful of regular people with a few guns isn’t going to cut it. You know that.”

Hughie didn’t argue.

Because she was right.

Since Butcher’s death, The Boys’ combat strength had taken a nosedive. Without temporary V or any Supe-level firepower, they couldn’t even get close to a monster like Damien.

Just then, the phone in Hughie’s pocket vibrated.

He glanced at the caller ID.

Sage.

Hughie hesitated for two seconds before answering and putting the call on speaker.

Sage’s voice came through the phone, as flat and matter-of-fact as someone reading the weather.

“Hughie, I just finished cracking the Cold War files Mallory gave me. There’s something in there you need to know about.”

Hughie frowned.

Across from him, Neuman’s eyes shifted to the phone.

“What?”

Sage paused for a second, and a faint trace of excitement entered her voice.

“The Godolkin Virus. A Soviet biochemical experiment from the Cold War designed specifically to target the genetic structure of anyone carrying Compound V.”

“Put simply, it can kill Supes.”

Hughie’s breath caught.

Neuman leaned forward, her eyes locked on the phone, lips parting slightly.

“What did you just say?”

Sage continued at the same measured pace.

“Once released, the virus would infect anyone with Compound V in their system. The fatality rate is extremely high.”

“The records are incomplete, but based on my preliminary calculations, mortality within seventy-two hours of infection exceeds eighty percent.”

There was a brief silence.

Then Sage added,

“Of course, right now it’s still theoretical. The prototype needs further synthesis and testing, but I already have the key genetic sequence.”

“Take some time to process that. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

The call ended.

Hughie looked up at Neuman.

Their eyes met.

Neuman’s eyes were shining.

“Hughie, did you hear that?”

She stood, walked over to him, and lowered her voice, but every word carried weight.

“A Supe virus. That’s the key.”

Hughie swallowed, his head buzzing.

He wanted to object.

Wanted to say this was too extreme.

Wanted to point out that a virus like that could kill every Supe, not just the ones they were targeting.

But before he could say any of it, the image of Damien cutting Butcher in half flashed through his mind.

Neuman watched his expression change without pushing him.

She simply waited.

After a long silence, Hughie finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

“Even if the virus is real... how the hell do we make sure it doesn’t get out of control?”

Neuman sat back down across from him and crossed her legs, her voice returning to that calm, almost cold tone.

“That’s why we need Sage.”

“Her brain can calculate the exact release method. The range, the intensity, everything. A controlled, pinpoint strike.”

Hughie stared at her for a long moment.

Then, finally, he gave a slow nod