[Hobbit Burger]
As one of the Federation's best-known burger chains, every Hobbit Burger location was packed every day.
Alex changed into casual clothes and brought Ryan there. The long line outside gave him a fright.
"How about we go somewhere else?", Alex suggested.
Ryan shook his head, "I want this place. The TV says the food here is really good, and the kids' meal comes with a limited-edition Jedi toy."
"Alright. Alright."
Alex took Ryan's hand and joined the line. Looking at the queue that seemed to stretch on forever, he muttered, "I really want to sweep a laser through it."
"What did you say?", Ryan looked up at him.
Alex waved a hand, "I didn't say anything."
"You're lying again," Ryan looked away.
"Grown-ups always say you shouldn't lie to other people, but they're always lying themselves."
Alex shook his head. He couldn't understand why the original Homelander had liked being a father so much.
It wasn't fun at all.
Just then, Ryan suddenly said, "I don't know where I came from. I've asked a lot of people, but none of them knew what the place I lived was called."
Alex looked down at the little boy in surprise.
"I promised you. If you bought me a hamburger, I'd answer your questions."
"I keep my promises."
"I'm not like grown-ups who always lie to kids."
Ryan said it seriously.
Since Ryan was willing to answer, Alex didn't mind the child's little bit of sulking.
"Where's your family?", Alex asked.
Ryan shook his head, "There was a disaster where I used to live."
"My mom died. That's when I learned how to fly and shoot laser beams."
'Becca died?'
Alex was surprised.
"Your mother died?"
"What kind of disaster happened?"
A flash of anger crossed Ryan's eyes, "You really don't know what happened?"
Alex sensed the boy's anger and found it curious, "I'm not God. I can't know what's happening in every corner of the world."
"So no, I really don't know what you've been through."
"If you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to answer."
Ryan frowned, "You really don't know?"
Just then, someone tried to cut in line. Alex grabbed the person and pulled him out of the queue before saying, "Why do you think I'd definitely know?"
Ryan shook his head, "Nothing."
"Someone attacked the place where we lived. A lot of people died. They wanted to capture me too, but I killed them."
"Then I escaped."
Alex led him forward a few steps and blocked an overweight black man who was trying to cut in line, "When did this happen?"
"One month ago? Or two?"
Ryan looked confused.
"I don't really remember."
Alex said in surprise, "That long ago? Then how did you get to New York?"
Ryan looked down at his toes, "After I left, I hid under an overpass for several days. Then one day, the army surrounded the place."
"After that, a man took me away."
"He looked like this. Like this."
Ryan gestured with his hands. From the description, Alex immediately thought of Wilson.
"He took me to a base, where the people there taught me how to fight."
"But I didn't want to fight. Then, a while ago, lots of monsters appeared in New York. That man told me to go kill the monsters. After I left, I never went back."
Alex raised an eyebrow slightly.
From Ryan's account, he had roughly pieced together what had happened.
After Becca and Ryan were attacked, Becca died, and Ryan awakened his powers and escaped.
Wilson found him afterward. Seeing that the boy had abilities similar to Homelander's, it was only natural that he took him in.
Training him in secret was also completely in line with the Federation's usual methods. That also explained why Alex had seen Ryan in Wilson's office the last time.
Then came the Boiling Midnight incident. Ryan had been sent out on a mission but never returned. As a result, the Federation treated him as one of the local residents and quarantined him, until he was exposed only recently.
From Ryan's story, Alex had grasped the outline of the whole affair.
That was thanks to how organized Ryan's account had been.
'But... Could an eight-year-old really have such clear logical thinking?'
'Or... Has someone written this script for him?'
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.
He decided it was necessary to investigate the so-called attack, as well as the cause of Becca's death.
———
[That Night, inside Wilson's Bedroom]
The old man let out a long breath and lay on the bed.
"I'm done."
Storm lay on top of him.
"The first step of the plan has already succeeded."
"Ryan has successfully made contact with Homelander. As long as he does what I told him, I'm confident Homelander will fall for it."
The old man panted as he spoke in broken sentences, "I'm worried Ryan will be found out... after all, he's still just a child."
Storm smiled, "It's normal for him to have flaws. Those flaws are exactly why Homelander won't see through him."
"Alright. Don't talk now."
"Focus."
———
Another month passed in the blink of an eye.
During that month, Ryan stayed by Alex's side, but Alex never revealed his identity.
He never told Ryan that he was his father.
After all, he wasn't the original Homelander. Alex had no interest in raising a child.
Keeping Ryan around was mainly to figure out what Wilson was planning.
That day, Alex finally obtained the location of the town where Ryan and Becca had lived.
It hadn't been difficult. With his current abilities, uncovering such secrets only took a little time.
At noon, Alex appeared above the town.
The town had already been abandoned.
From the air, Alex could clearly see a house that had been blown apart.
Everything looked exactly as Ryan had described.
Alex landed in the town and stopped in front of the ruined house, frowning as he looked around.
His gaze swept the area, and he noticed surveillance cameras installed in several corners.
That was perfectly normal. Vought had installed cameras throughout the town to monitor Becca and Ryan.
With this surveillance network covering almost every angle, he might be able to find something.
Thinking that, a stream of data extended from Alex's fingertip and connected to an underground network cable.
The network held no secrets from Alex. He went straight in and found the surveillance control terminal, only to discover that the data had already been deleted.
Alex smiled.
For anyone else, that might have been a problem.
But for someone who could become a digital lifeform, nothing on a network was ever truly deleted.
He began restoring the erased data.
———
That same day, at his villa, Wilson picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"The time is ripe. Initiate the Swordbearer Plan now."
"Activation code, Homelander."
After putting down the phone, Wilson smiled, poured himself a glass of red wine, then placed a vinyl record on the gramophone.
As beautiful music filled the room, Wilson imagined a world without Homelander.
The next second, his head burst apart with a pop. A bloody piece of scalp fell into the wine and floated there.
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