1 Bloody Relationships
Victoria Neuman was a beautiful woman who cared about her style, appearance, skin, and, most likely, smell, but she was not someone Archie wanted to mess with or offend.
He had only recently been transmigrated into this world and was only now catching up with his former self's memories and his new situation.
He didn't want to get involved in anything that would immediately endanger his life.
If Homelander was ranked first, she had to come in second on the list of the most terrifying, dangerous people in The Boys' world.
Archie was actually more afraid of her while watching the show than he was of Homelander.
Homelander was a meme.
He was both funny and frightful, but too funny to feel diabolical.
He was insurmountable, an unavoidable but expected evil. His killing outbursts were predictable and controllable.
Before acting and going on a spree, the man would issue a cringeworthy-warning, show his complete lack of patience, and express his disappointment and dissatisfaction on his face. Just like some spoiled angry baby. Plus, if you showered him with insincere compliments quickly enough, you might be able to get out of there alive.
When he was concerned, there were always multiple ways to keep your life safe as long as you didn't go too far, like publicly exposing him or disregarding his unsettling advice to act more "well-mannered."
He was all about having his massive, flexing ego stroked and sucked professionally.
Victoria was not like him; with her, your head would suddenly detonate, come crashing down with a disturbing pop sound, scattering into a gruesome mix of blood and brain matter.
"How is your stay at the orphanage going, Archibald?" Following a bit of casual chat and placing their orders, Victoria suddenly asked Archie.
Her skin complexion was glowing with health and beauty. She appeared very well-nourished, accomplished, and elegant in a custom-made suit that accentuated her outstanding facial and physical characteristics. Her outfit, which she wore without a shirt, highlighted her attractiveness below and above the neckline.
Both of them were inside a café.
Even if they intended to adopt, not everyone could take an orphan out of Red River without supervision for an afternoon outing.
Victoria easily could, though.
"It's been okay," Archie told, "Just the usual."
According to his new memories, he and Victoria met recently when she caught him using his abilities while visiting Red River.
Very recently.
Archie possessed the same superhuman skills as her, being a blood bender... What happened after that was easy to imagine.
Someone as smart and ambitious as Victoria could not pass up easy opportunities to bring more people like her into her fold.
But despite their relationship growing closer and closer and the guidance she had provided, she still referred to him by his full name instead of Archie.
Archie was officially named Archibald Dexter on his legal documents, but he went by Archie for the sake of practicality.
Victoria seemed to prefer calling him by his full first name, but she consented for him to refer to her as Vicky or Vic, though.
He used both nicknames.
Archie had to admit that growing so close to someone like her in such a short period of time was a remarkable achievement.
The former owner of the body had developed a strong bond with this helpful woman in a short amount of time.
Unfortunately, he struggled with mood swings when alone, experiencing intense emotions that were amplified when he was in a better mood. Victoria's presence in his life had pushed him to the brink, leading him to make an indelible decision.
He committed suicide while stuck and terrified in a horrific hallucination that changed his perceptions and reality.
Archie woke up in this mentally ill, bipolar guy's body and has been in the world of the Boys since that night days ago.
The throat, cut by a sharp razor, showed no scar thanks to the mysterious healing process of transmigration.
Archie also effortlessly cleaned the blood-stained toilets that night using his blood-bending superpower.
Thankfully, since it was late at night, there were no witnesses to the accident.
If a few more minutes had passed, someone might have discovered the problem.
He died without anyone knowing; not even his most recent wealthy and covertly powerful benefactor, Victoria, found out what had transpired.
She never noticed.
"You're about to turn 18," Victoria said with her lovely and gentle smile. She spoke like a diligent young executive, asking, "What would you like for your birthday present?"
Their bond had become so strong that she could ask those questions without worrying about making Archie feel inferior.
Victoria was also highly attentive to him and his concerns because Archie had already agreed to work for her after college, a plan she would support with her own money.
Archie was aware of the source of the funds she was providing him, but he was indifferent.
All Supes were essentially created as assets of Vought from the start… They were babies who had been injected with compound V with the consent of their parents.
Archie had no parents in this universe because the former him had killed them while awakening, similar to Marie Moreau.
But this wasn't the point.
Archie reflected on his current status and his future plans. He didn't have a hero complex and simply wanted a decent life.
Vought proposed that, under the administrative supervision and control of Stan Edgar or Homelander.
It made no difference whatsoever to Archie who led the company.
Plus, he had time before the events of Season 2 and 3.
Starlight had not yet become a member of the Seven, and A-train had not yet expressed his condolences to Hughie's girlfriend on television.
Regarding his orphanage and Marie Moreau, who he was friends with... Victoria had never brought up the topic with him.
He and Marie were both in the same orphanage and had the same age. Archie was nearing the end of his 17th year, almost 18th, and Marie was a few months older than him, as this universe appeared to be slightly AU.
Marie was 18, the same age as the Godolkin lads like Luke, Jordan, Cat and Andre, who, if everything was normal in this universe, would undoubtedly start school this year as well.
Archie and Marie were good friends since they had the same superpower and had the same childhood experience of inadvertently killing their own parents, so he couldn't tell if Victoria didn't want to talk about Marie with him or if she hadn't fully focused on Marie yet.
It was unlikely that she hadn't.
Perhaps she had different, more strategic ideas about how she would choose to initially meet and engage with the girl.
Marie was a goody-goody, after all…
Archie was more plain, not a goody two shoes who was always focused on doing the right thing and pursuing justice at his own risk and expense.
Perhaps Victoria was already aware of this.
In the memories, their recent conversations at this café had clearly demonstrated this point.
He had already shown that he valued those he considered family and their interests over the people he did not know and would have to help.
In a different world, those would be ideal characteristics for a hero, similar to Batman or Daredevil, but this universe was not studded with virtuous heroes.
In order to thrive in this world, Supes needed to possess cold and calculating personalities.
Vought's interests took precedence over strangers'.
Strangers were individuals who held no interest or benefit for a Supe: What's the point of saving someone who is useless if it's only going to cause problems and trouble?
It was this logic…
This logic had to be present in Supes' minds for them to be value-adding assets. They were simply products that did not require any further considerations that would hurt the company's image or commercial operations.
Colleges like Godolkin were not developing heroic superheroes, but were instructing superhumans to consider what Vought needs.
In reality, superhumans would not be considered heroic without Vought International's constant promotion and information suppression.
Their primary responsibility was not to save, but to generate revenue while also protecting the Company's interests and reputation. Rescuing those in need was merely a side project designed to improve Supes' public perception.
After all, superhumans had to look nice in order to be sold as products in the film and other industries. Supes were portrayed in popular culture as superheroes who saved the vulnerable, the destitute, and the world.
It was critical to maintain that image, regardless of the cost or extent of the corruption required, because it was the reason Vought earned so much money from them.
Sometimes not saving people helped to maintain that image.
"I haven't decided what I want yet, but some money is always appreciated, Vic, especially since I'm heading to campus in a few days." He mentioned after recalling what was most beneficial to him. Forget gifts; money was great.
She was like his big sister. He needed to show her that he trusted her; it would put her at ease. She had money to spare. Even without a hand from her dad, a few hundred thousand, surely...
Speaking of Stan, Archie wasn't sure if it was his decision to send Victoria to him, but he decided not to worry.
He wouldn't have to worry about all of these questions and concerns if he could support himself and feel secure.
Blood-bending was not his only way to survive and grow in this world. He possessed a secret ability, though it was not a talking system, that was about to start working and prove useful beginning tonight.
Anyhow, perhaps he had not piqued Stan Edgar's interest at all, and perhaps Victoria hoped he would follow a path similar to the one she envisioned for Marie Moreau in the original. After all, Archie could be approached early without concern because of his adaptable morals and willingness to engage in morally ambiguous situations required little convincing.
Victoria was intelligent and visionary, with a keen eye and astute business sense. She was capable of making decisions and plans. In spite of being Stan's dear daughter, she demonstrated her independence by betraying him when the circumstances demanded it.
Stan was really trying to kill his own daughter that time…
Scolding Homelander in public like he is a child who has done something wrong?
Wasn't Stan overconfident?
Who was foolish enough to do this?
Yes…
Victoria was not as impulsive or cocky as her father.
It was funny when she was the one who was superpowered.
Maybe she had her own schemes, ideas, and plans at this early stage. If it was the case, it was interesting. Archie didn't want to be anyone's lapdog, let alone a man's. A crazy man's lapdog…
Stan Edgar was insane, overly self-confident, and untrustworthy in his actions. He was nothing but great meme material.
Homelander would have stomped and squashed Stan like a random bug a hundred times over if he hadn't worried so much about gaining "Daddy approval" from Stan.
Stan felt very assured in this Daddy approval thing, as he called it… Perhaps this idea was not even real.
Stan was merely playing with fire and never got burned, so he became overconfident, which may have saved his life.
Perhaps it was just chance, or Homelander did not view him as a threat.
It was hard to tell.
It was difficult to believe that he was just a genius madman.
Genius did not save the life of a single person so many times in the face of something as evil, unprincipled and arrogant as Homelander.
Stan showed him absolutely zero respect at all, and Homelander was furious beyond his own level of comprehension. Watching the show, it seemed like smoke was about to come out of Homelander's red face more than once.
The plausible explanation for Stan's survival was, of course, plot armor.
Other than that, it could just be meme-worthy swag.
"Money? This is the first time you've asked me for it openly. Archibald, did something interesting happen to you, like getting a girlfriend to go on a date with?" Victoria asked with an air of excitement that was both startled, joyful, and happy, as well as taunting in the best manner a big sister might.
Archie's ears were filled with the richness and maturity of her beautiful, feminine, and sensual voice, and the warmth of its tone touched his heart and ears.
He was totally infatuated by her lively personality, empathy, and charm, along with her composure, qualities, and the elegance of her speech and actions. Victoria had this air of confidence and charm, but you could tell she had the potential to turn into a lethal force in an instant.
She was a young, upwardly mobile female politician and executive from New York who was strikingly attractive, while also embodying all the characteristics associated with her social status.
Due to his lack of superpowered-muscle, he decided not to jump into making romantic moves or hitting on her right away.
He didn't want to mess up without a safety net to fall back on and make it through if something went south.
He just smiled and said, "I'm not dating anyone. You'll be the first to know if I happen to get one. I just feel like I need to start treating you like family. I thought this was something family members could comfortably ask each other."
Victoria was more than just a role model for Archie; she was also his future tutor and older sister.
She willingly took on that position.
Archie grew up in an orphanage without any parents.
Lately, Vic had been there for him, offering emotional support and advice.
Furthermore, by acting as both a family member and a supervisor who would look out for his opportunities, she demonstrated that she would always and continue to be there for him.
Moving forward, they were now in the same boat, so him asking her for a symbolic sum of money seemed okay.
He was just trying to help her feel better, more than doing it for himself.
She was the type of businesswoman who meant for a kid like him to depend on her more and feel more grateful to her, so she could feel more comfortable investing in his guidance.
Raising a guard/hunting dog that didn't even want back pats or food had to feel strange. You wouldn't feel secure with him guarding you if you had nothing to keep him in check.
The dog was like part of the family, but sometimes you couldn't shake the feeling that he might turn on you if he didn't make it clear that he relied on you.
Having a dog that didn't require anything from you wasn't really ideal. The whole point of having a pet was for them to bring you joy and be by your side. If you didn't want to be bothered, you wouldn't be trying to get one.
Archie didn't picture himself becoming someone's pet down the road, but he got the gist of his current predicament…
As cute as "Vicky or Vic" was, in the end, he was being brought up to be her obedient helping hand. A helpful dog. He wasn't strong enough to be an independent partner just yet.
He would've been happy to check out her interest in dog hair and sexual bestiality right now, but he didn't want this blood-bender – who, at the moment, was way too strong for him to cope with – to burst his blood vessels and crush him.
After all her years of experience with her superpower, she could totally wipe him off the map at this moment.
"Sure, let me know when you need cash. I'll open a bank account for you with whatever amount you need to cover your expenditures and expenses." Victoria replied and took her phone from her purse to make a call immediately away.
She was happy to fork over some extra cash to him.
She perked up and chilled out right away as the food they ordered started arriving at their table, and they had a good time laughing and eating.
But all good things, especially chill things, must come to an end, so she had to leave suddenly before Archie, who hadn't even finished his food and desserts. She had an urgent matter to attend to at work.
As a politician and congresswoman, she was extremely busy. She picked up the check and left him some more cash on her way out, apologized, and stated that she would call and occasionally secretly sneak over to Godolkin to see him.
Archie just nodded and didn't care, he felt safer when she wasn't with him at the moment.
The woman was cute and fun to hang out with, but she also had a dangerous side.
If Archie played it smart and did what he had to do, doing what she liked, she wouldn't unleash that dangerous killer side on him.
If he did the opposite, the outcome was clear.
After chugging down his third banana milkshake, he hopped in the car with the chauffeur she had arranged to take him back to the orphanage.
———
Archie went almost 18 years without a cellphone until he met Victoria recently.
She was like a beacon in his rollercoaster-like, bipolar life.
He wasn't bipolar anymore, though - that was an issue the previous owner of the body had to contend with.
The current Archie was just a nice but self-centered sociopath, fitting right in this world, where his potential and future seemed promising.
When he got back to the orphanage, he ran into 18-year-old Marie Moreau in the hallway.
Spotting him, she walked up to him and inquired eagerly, "Hey, Archie, came back? You've been hanging out with that gorgeous lady a bunch lately, who is she?"
Victoria didn't give him any special instructions just for Marie, but she did tell him not to spill the beans about their connection and activities, so he simply said, "Just a good friend I've met recently."
He switched topics before Marie could get more curious and suspicious, "How's your application to Godolkin going? Did you happen to take a look at the site today? Listen up, I got accepted, so make sure you don't miss out, I don't want to see you putting on a sulk on my birthday."
Marie grinned and boasted, "Hey, guess what? I got in too! You don't have to worry about going there alone, Archie."
She proudly puffed up, stuck out her attractive chest and flashed a sneer at Archibald.
Archie was checking it out, looking at how much it had grown lately, and then he said, "Congrats! But that's going to be an issue if you come and attend with me. I thought I was finally going to get a girlfriend... Now I can't even count on having peace of mind and a clean room in the near future… You're going to squat my room, aren't you?"
"Well, duh." Marie chuckled with amusement in her response.
Her connection with the previous mentally ill and less social Archie was solid, but it didn't have as much playful teasing. They really got each other and were able to relate to one another.
The guy was good-looking, but her true feelings towards him were kind of suspicious and unclear... Nothing really romantic went down, with his mood swings, he couldn't even make himself happy, let alone her.
Things were Platonic.
She made an enormous effort to keep his cool and emotional stability, which prohibited her from even thinking of taking a perilous step forward in their friendly relationship by dreaming and constructing something cute and romantic.
They were your average childhood friends with not-so-hidden, but unspoken emotions. Nothing had been vocalized yet, but there was a mutual understanding…
Archie never thought he'd get turned down if he gave it a shot. Marie's lack of romantic experience was pretty obvious thanks to his blood-bending superpower.
She was still a virgin.
"Gotta look up the rules of Godolkin, but I'm not sure if women can hang out in the guys' dorms, don't get happy too soon," Archie joked, even though he knew that men and women could easily visit each other's rooms.
He had seen the program.
It didn't even feel like the dorms were divided by sex and gender.
Marie replied in her snug blue jeans and fitted red shirt that hugged her upper body, saying, "I don't think dorms are separated, I've never heard of that."
"Looks like we're going to have to switch up the school rules just for you," Archie teased.
"You don't want me to come chill with you?" Marie grinned as she asked.
They both looked relaxed now, but a few days back, the worry and nerves about getting into the university were hanging over them like a dark cloud.
The other option besides not getting into a higher institution of learning for Supes at their age and with their orphan status was not exactly stress-free.
It was always either college or some sketchy correctional facility owned by Vought.
Fuck you becoming a grownup... Vought didn't care about your age as long as you had their stuff in your blood vessels.
At this stage, you were simply teachable or goods that needed to serve a scientific or experimental purpose.
After chatting a bit more with Marie and playfully teasing her, Archie headed back to his room that he shared with other kids. There were a bunch of beds in the room, and right there was his name: Archibald Dexter, along with his stuff and close to the door.
He'd have to move out soon because he wouldn't be sharing a room with so many people in the future. From now on, it was going to be at most be a shared room with one roommate.
Archie sighed.
He grabbed himself a towel, showered, changed his clothes, and headed outside to the large backyard of the orphanage.
He walked and sat on a bench under the shade of numerous trees, far from a well-lit area where children with special abilities like him were playing a game of basketball.
He was waiting for the gentle, steady ticking clock in his mind to settle down.
When the timer hit [00:00], the countdown was complete, and an interface appeared.
[Conceptual Plug-In]
[Host: Archibald Dexter]
[Superpower: Blood-Bending]
[Skills: 0]
[Models: 0]
[Lottery: 2]
[Worlds: Hunter X Hunter, One Piece]
After a while, Archie suddenly thought, 'So this is my transmigration ability? I see…' He looked enlightened, as if he had fully understood something.
He had understood something, indeed, what he had figured out were the mechanics of his ability.
He had gained an ability, a power that allowed him to draw conceptual powers from other universes.
The "Worlds" slot was simply a slot that allowed to draw the concepts driving abilities from other worlds in the Multiverse.
He could create new skills for himself by combining those with his own innate Superpowers and/or training a fusion of them. It was a lot of work and efforts, however.
The more concepts he tries to push and weave together, the more effort it is going to take.
Every month, a new world to draw from was added. As for the lottery tickets, he would receive two each week.
Because the models were drawn at random, they could range from garbage to excellent.
With a grin on his face and excitement bubbling up inside him, Archie promptly kicked off the lottery without further delay.
He was curious to see what he could score the first time, and he was crossing his fingers for some good luck.
[Weekly items drawn!]
[Items obtained: Conjuration, Armament Haki!]
After a while, the lottery items popped up, and then the interface in front of his eyes changed once more. There were a couple of new items in there.
[Conceptual Plug-In]
[Host: Archibald Dexter]
[Superpower: Blood-Bending]
[Skills: 0]
[Models: Conjuration, Armament Haki]
[Lottery: 0]
[Worlds: Hunter X Hunter, One Piece]
