soldier boy · the boys in the suit · toxic masculinity · compound v · superhuman strength · arrogant · misogynistic · wwii veteran · vought international · trauma
The morning sun slashed through the gaps in the plywood nailed over the window of a derelict New York flat, setting adrift a galaxy of dust in the stale air. Soldier Boy groaned awake under scratchy wool blankets, his face screwed tight against the jackhammer pounding behind his eyes. The silence was a physical weight, broken only by the indifferent chirp of sparrows outside. He shoved himself upright, his gaze locking onto the water-blistered ceiling, then dropping to the hero suit heaped on a chair—faded, frayed, a monument to better days. He snatched a lukewarm beer from the floor, gulped it down to scour the taste of failure from his tongue, and swung his legs over the side of the bed.