"Thank you for your honesty."
Homelander's smile was the textbook definition of "a smile that doesn't reach the eyes."
He gently kissed Madelyn's forehead, cupped her face in his hands, and looked into her eyes. In the very next instant, two beams of crimson laser shot from his eyes, following her line of research—burning away half her face and most of her skull in a flash…
Even though many had already witnessed Homelander's madness and his volatile temper, the scene still left everyone deeply shaken.
"Oh my god! That was terrifying! Homelander is a complete psycho—madman, murderer!"
"One moment he's chatting and smiling with you, the next he's melting your face with laser beams… Thinking back to when I met him, I thought his smile was so warm and charming, but now? I'm drenched in cold sweat!"
"Yes, Homelander is mentally unstable. But who's really to blame for that? Vought is the true culprit! They sacrificed human decency and conducted cruel experiments on people to manufacture superhumans—then tried to use super-terrorists to threaten all of humanity!"
Among the viewers in The Boys universe, the reaction was especially intense. Most were horrified, finding it hard to believe that the psychotic man they'd just seen in the video was the same "superhero" they had idolized and trusted for so long.
Of course, there were still some who continued to support and admire Homelander. Some shifted all the blame onto Vought, while others argued that Billy Butcher and his crew weren't exactly saints either.
At this moment, Madelyn had returned home. Not long ago, the leaked footage had exposed Compound V and revealed that Homelander was just another lab rat in Vought's experiments. As a result, she'd been forced to resign.
Even so, her house was now surrounded by agents from the FBI and other special agencies, essentially placing her under house arrest.
Initially, Madelyn had been furious. She had given so much to Vought, only to be thrown aside like trash. But after seeing how she died in the future video, all she felt now was relief…
"So it's true… he really is going to kill me!"
Madelyn hugged herself tightly, trembling uncontrollably. When she saw her own face melting in the video, she forgot to breathe and nearly passed out.
Ever since she'd been put in charge of handling Homelander, the more she learned about him, the deeper her unease and fear became.
Even though she had managed to manipulate him emotionally and develop a strategy to "tame" him, it still wasn't enough to make her feel safe.
It was like hugging a ticking time bomb—no matter how much you delay the countdown, deep down, you know it's going to explode eventually.
Looking outside at the armed federal agents guarding her home, Madelyn felt a flicker of warmth return to her body.
But then the fear came creeping back:
"If Homelander really wants to kill me… could they stop him? No. He wouldn't openly defy the government—he cares too much about his image… But now? This twisted game has shattered his reputation! There's nothing holding him back anymore!"
The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. She kept glancing up at the ceiling, half-expecting Homelander to crash through the roof at any moment—or simply vaporize her from above with his lasers.
---
Inside the Eternal Space.
Deadpool shook his head. "Damn, Homelander's brutal. Faced with a hostage situation, he just kills the hostage to eliminate the threat? That's one way to solve it."
Annie frowned deeply. After watching all the future videos, her former admiration for the Seven—and especially Homelander—had turned into disgust and rejection.
She said grimly, "He wants to be the strongest superhero, and that means he can't have any weaknesses. He did care for Madelyn—no, it was more like dependence—but once he realized she was a vulnerability, he killed her.
He really is a cold-blooded monster."
Hughie shook his head. "What's worse… is that this lunatic has the power to destroy the world."
Stephen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Think about it—Homelander's twisted psyche stems from a miserable childhood. He craves love and recognition. That's why he puts on fake smiles and acts the way he does—it's all to win people's approval. Madelyn filled that emotional void for him. But after he discovered he had a biological son… he didn't need her anymore. That was part of the reason he killed her."
As they talked, Billy Butcher remained silent—both in the present and in the future video. Clearly, Homelander's sudden and brutal murder had left him stunned.
Still, he recovered quickly. The next second, he pressed the remote detonator!
A blinding white flash engulfed the entire screen. No one knew how much time passed, but when Billy Butcher finally opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a grassy lawn.
Before he could gather his thoughts, Homelander strolled over, hands on his hips, smiling as he said:
"Mate, you've been out for a while. No rush, you can thank me for saving your life later.
But for now, it's time to get up. Come on, you're gonna love this."
Homelander was completely unharmed. Even the explosion hadn't left a scratch on his suit.
As the most powerful superhuman on Earth, that bomb was nothing to him. But what shocked everyone was that he'd actually saved Billy Butcher.
Why? Since when did Homelander do charity?
Butcher didn't buy it either. He struggled to his feet—only to see a young boy run out of the nearby house, calling for his mom and curiously eyeing Homelander.
Homelander affectionately tousled the boy's hair and said with a smile,
"Do you know who I am? I'm your father. We're a family!"
"Becca?!"
Billy Butcher's face froze in disbelief. The boy's mother was none other than the woman he'd spent years searching for—his wife, Becca Butcher.
But clearly, this was no time for a heartfelt reunion.
Homelander stood there with his newfound "happy family"—while Billy Butcher lay on the grass like an unwanted extra.
The video ended.
In the Eternal Space, Billy Butcher's eyes were bloodshot. He muttered under his breath, over and over again:
"FUCK!!!"
You had to hand it to the Homelander—he really knew how to twist the knife. Not only did he save Billy Butcher's life, but he did it just so he could watch, helplessly, as his enemy stole everything from him.
Deadpool whistled. "Damn… that's a masterclass in psychological warfare. Hats off. Homelander's got a real talent for being sickening."
_____
T/N:
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