…
Vought Tower
The Deep, currently serving as Head of Crime Analytics, was reviewing surveillance footage from around Crimson Countess' residence under the supervision of Homelander and Ashley.
"Stop."
"Back it up one frame."
Homelander suddenly spoke.
"Yes."
The Deep immediately rewound the footage by a single frame. Homelander and Ashley leaned in closer behind him.
"…Soldier Boy."
Having grown up on stories of Soldier Boy's so-called "glorious legacy," Homelander recognized Leon at a glance. His expression stiffened instantly.
"That's impossible," The Deep offered, applying his fish-level intellect to the matter. "Soldier Boy died like forty years ago. Could it be cosplay? Or CGI?"
"Shut up, Deep!"
"You don't even know what CGI is!"
With Homelander backing her up, Ashley—despite being a regular human—felt confident enough to snap at him.
"Both of you, shut up!"
Homelander roared, then muttered to himself:
"Look at his face. That's him…"
"What do we do now?" The Deep asked, pretending to be professional, though he had no grasp of what Soldier Boy's return actually meant for Vought—or for Homelander.
"I don't get it."
"If Soldier Boy didn't die… where's he been all these years? And why kill Crimson Countess? Weren't they supposed to be madly in love?"
"Fuck!"
Watching the footage—where Soldier Boy even seemed to wink at the security camera—Ashley felt a strange, inappropriate thrill.
Terrified that Homelander might notice, she quickly offered a suggestion:
"Real or not, we control most of the media. I'll call Vought News and have them report that we've already contained Soldier Boy—"
"Shut up, Ashley!"
Homelander's eyes glowed faintly red.
"You want to tell the world that Soldier Boy—the hero of heroes—came back from the dead and murdered his former girlfriend?"
"Before me, he was Vought's symbol. There's still a statue of him in front of Vought Tower."
"Ashley. Look at me."
"Tell me!"
"I—I'm sorry, Homelander. I didn't think it through…" Ashley forced herself to meet his gaze, tears pooling in her eyes, her voice trembling.
Despite his rage, Homelander restrained himself. He extinguished the glow in his eyes.
He couldn't kill her.
Who else was he supposed to rely on?
The Deep? That brainless octopus-fondling idiot?
Damn it!
Was there seriously no one in this entire company as smart and dedicated as him?!
"Oh God…"
Homelander tugged at his hair anxiously.
"If news gets out that Soldier Boy is alive…"
"Vought is finished."
"I'm finished."
"Fuck!"
"How does this happen to me?"
"It's not fair…"
"It's not fucking fair…"
He leaned against the wall, muttering to himself. His ears rang from the stress.
Nearby, The Deep and Ashley exchanged uneasy glances. They had never seen Homelander this shaken before. Neither dared to breathe too loudly.
After a long moment—
Homelander straightened up, reclaiming his usual arrogant, second-to-God posture. His voice still trembled slightly as he pointed at the two of them.
"Listen carefully."
"I'll handle this personally. I'll find him. And I'll kill him."
"And you—my friends."
"You will destroy all footage. No one sees this."
"If this leaks, you'll be the ones who suffer."
His red-rimmed eyes swept over The Deep—then Ashley.
Without waiting for confirmation, he hurried out of Crime Analytics, motioning for Black Noir—who had been silently pretending to be air the entire time—to follow him.
Once outside, Homelander couldn't hold back.
"Why would Soldier Boy kill Crimson Countess?" he asked his former teammate.
"…."
Black Noir remained silent.
"Okay."
Homelander didn't force him to speak. Instead, he patted Noir's shoulder with sudden warmth.
"You're the only real mentor and friend I've ever had."
"I'm glad you're standing with me."
"Honestly? The Deep, A-Train—trash. You're the only one I can count on."
For once, Homelander meant it.
As a veteran of Payback, Black Noir had been arranged by Vought to accompany Homelander through most of his life. In many ways, he was like a father figure.
However—
The moment they parted and Black Noir stepped into the elevator alone, he took out a small blade and dug the Vought tracking chip out of his arm.
He casually tossed it to a stunned female employee nearby.
That's right.
He was running.
Black Noir knew exactly how cruel Soldier Boy could be. He wasn't staying at Vought a second longer.
Run—and maybe live.
Stay—and certainly die.
…
Meanwhile
After eliminating Crimson Countess, Leon and Butcher had returned to their temporary base—the motel.
Leon was about to head to his room to rest and wait out the System cooldown when "America's Sweetheart" blocked his path.
"No need to look for Black Noir," Maeve said. "Unless he's on a mission, he's usually at Vought Tower. Hard to catch him alone."
"I suggest you go after the TNT Twins and Mindstorm first. I've gathered most of the intel."
"Fine. I'll take a nap. Wake me when you've got a location."
"Wait!"
Starlight stepped out of Hughie's room and called after him.
"Something wrong, America's Sweetheart?" Leon stopped in front of her.
He stood a full head taller. Combined with his Vibranium-enhanced physique and imposing frame, the pressure he radiated was undeniable.
Gulp.
The sheer difference in size, strength, and power made Starlight swallow nervously.
"You hurt Hughie!"
"Oh~ yes. I did."
Leon admitted it without hesitation. Then he stepped past her and looked into the room, where Hughie was now awake, leaning against the headboard.
"My friend," Leon called casually, "how are you feeling?"
"Uh… okay, I guess. Not dead," Hughie replied stiffly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried not to show how tense he was around the man who had nearly kicked him to death.
"Good. I owe you an apology, Hughie."
"An apology?"
"No, no, no!" Hughie blurted out. After the A-Train incident, the word "apology" practically triggered PTSD in him. "You really don't have to—"
"No. You deserve it."
Leon stepped closer to the bed, expression serious.
"I was locked up for a long time by those bastards. I wasn't in control."
"You were just trying to help your teammate escape. You never meant to hurt me."
"But I kicked you that hard anyway."
"You deserve this apology."
"I'm not a bad person."
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