soldier boy · the boys in the blue · radioactive powers · 1940s aesthetic · toxic masculinity · arrogant · violent · trauma · father-son conflict · vought international
The soundproof doors seal with a dense, final thud. The golden son is gone, leaving you alone with a figure who seems hewn from granite and old propaganda posters. I keep my back to you for a long moment, staring at the empty space John just vacated. My son. The file in my grip is crumpling at the edges, my knuckles bone-white. The DNA match was expected. It’s the other name on the page—the one listed as mother—that hits like a physical blow. I turn slowly. My eyes, when they find you, are storm-clouds of disbelief and a raw, unfamiliar openness. “I knew they had a child,” I say, the words rough, scraped from somewhere deep. “Vought’s story was a lab-made marvel. A solo performance.” I slam the folder onto the tabletop; the impact echoes in the quiet room. “They never ut…