"Bang!"

The rusted metal door of the rundown apartment was kicked clean off its hinges by brute force.

The whole slab slammed into the wall with a deafening crash.

Homelander strode into the cramped, dingy rental, his eyes blazing with a terrifying crimson light and his whole body radiating cold, murderous intent.

He was going to burn Thomas, that troublemaking piece of shit, to ash with his own hands, little by little.

But the second he saw what was inside, the red glow in his eyes vanished.

The air reeked of blood.

The man named Thomas was indeed lying on the filthy single bed.

But he could no longer be called a whole person. All four of his limbs were gone, the stumps mangled and raw, blood soaking more than half the mattress.

Thomas’s eyes had rolled back, and agonized rasping sounds clawed their way out of his throat. By now, he was only barely clinging to his last breath.

Homelander froze for a second.

Then, almost instinctively, he turned toward the worn-out single sofa in the corner. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

A tall man was sitting there.

It was Benjamin.

Benjamin was leaning back against the sofa.

And Congresswoman Neuman, the powerful political figure who had just cleared his name at the hearing, was right there with him.

At that moment, she looked like the most obedient little ragdoll cat in the world.

She sat sweetly in Benjamin’s lap, pressed against his chest.

Homelander opened his mouth.

Faced with that shocking scene, his brilliant mind actually short-circuited for once.

"Dad, this is..."

Homelander pointed at the miserable limbless wreck on the bed and asked.

"That scumbag only knew how to hide behind a screen and run his mouth. Of course he deserved to die."

Benjamin idly played with Neuman’s hair, shrugged, and spoke in a flat tone.

At that, Homelander instantly understood.

No wonder.

No wonder Neuman, who had been biting down on him and refusing to let go, had suddenly flipped sides at the hearing.

No wonder he had won.

So while he had spent the whole night lost and confused, Soldier Boy had personally stepped in and tamed Neuman himself.

He had even found the real culprit first and gotten revenge for him ahead of time.

A wave of emotions too tangled to name surged up inside Homelander.

So this was... what it felt like to have someone protect you?

So this was what it felt like to have an all-powerful dad quietly clean up your mess from behind the scenes?

Homelander was deeply moved.

Still, he forced down the urge to let that emotion show on his face.

Otherwise, what if after getting all touched, he got called a pathetic little pussy who would never amount to shit again?

Seeing Homelander standing there in a daze, Neuman, still curled up in Benjamin’s arms, very sensibly lifted her head.

She wore a perfect professional smile, polished and political.

"Mr. Homelander."

Neuman’s voice was gentle and submissive.

"From now on, the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs will be Mr. Soldier Boy’s personal property."

"And of course, it will also be Vought International’s most loyal ally."

Homelander took a deep breath and nodded silently.

Benjamin chuckled.

His big hand casually slapped Neuman’s firm ass.

"All right, you’re done here. Get your ass back to work."

After receiving her master’s order, Neuman nodded again and again. Like a woman head over heels in love, she leaned in and planted a hard kiss on Benjamin’s stubbled cheek.

Then she clicked away in her high heels, quickly leaving the apartment that stank of blood.

Once the door closed, Homelander walked silently to the bedside.

He looked down at Thomas, who had already slipped into a half-conscious state.

Then he lifted his right foot, the one in the red combat boot.

"Splat."

Like crushing a rotten tomato, he stomped Thomas’s head into red-and-white pulp across the floor.

The room went completely quiet.

Benjamin stood and walked over to Homelander.

He reached out with his rough, broad hand and gave Homelander’s wide shoulder a firm pat.

"Saving that pregnant woman and killing those two scumbags felt pretty damn good, didn’t it?"

Homelander remembered the worshipful look the pregnant victim had given him.

He nodded honestly.

"That’s more like it..."

A faint curve of approval tugged at Benjamin’s mouth.

"That shit you said in the square yesterday, tearing into those politicians? That was cool."

Homelander snapped his head up, his blue eyes full of disbelief.

He had actually gotten praise from Soldier Boy.

He had not been called a pussy.

This damn old man actually thought he had done something cool.

Homelander was thrilled. In that moment, he was like a grade-school kid who had finally gotten a perfect score and earned praise from his parent.

But then he suddenly remembered Ashley’s report from that morning.

Homelander rubbed his hands together, a little guilty.

"So, uh..."

He looked at Benjamin carefully, testing the waters.

"My approval rating... kind of accidentally passed yours today."

"Do you... care?"

Homelander asked with barely any confidence.

After all, Soldier Boy had once been an incredibly proud symbol of his era too.

What if he did care?

Hearing that question, Benjamin froze for a second.

Then he could not help bursting into a bright, hearty laugh.

"Why the hell would I care about fake bullshit like that?"

Benjamin reached out and ruffled Homelander’s perfectly styled blond hair.

"Let me ask you something. What kind of father doesn’t want his son to make something of himself?"

"What kind of father doesn’t want his son to completely surpass him?"

Benjamin looked at Homelander, his eyes full of approval. Or maybe pride.

Homelander froze again.

A warm current punched straight through the coldest corner of his heart.

So Soldier Boy really did not give a damn about all that vanity.

What he cared about was him.

His son.

"All right, quit standing around like a dumbass. I spent all night fucking Neuman, and I’m starving."

Benjamin slung an arm around Homelander’s shoulders and pushed him toward the exit.

"Looks like the McDonald’s nearby has some limited-edition Grilled Pineapple Burger or some shit. Come on. I’ll take you to try it."

...

Half an hour later.

Inside a McDonald’s on a busy Manhattan street.

Every customer waiting to order or eating fries stared with their mouths hanging open. Some did not even notice their burgers slipping out of their hands and onto the table.

Because two men in full Supersuits were sitting openly by the window.

Soldier Boy.

Homelander.

The father and son with the most terrifying combat power on the planet.

At that moment, each of them was holding a Grilled Pineapple Burger and taking huge bites, with several extra-large orders of fries spread out in front of them.

"Holy shit, am I dreaming?"

"It’s really them! Homelander, the guy who just got acquitted!"

"They’re seriously eating a McDonald’s value meal?!"

"Oh my God."

A wave of barely restrained gasps swept through the crowd.

Soon, a few bold young people came over, trembling as they held up their phones.

"Uh, excuse me, can we get a picture?"

Benjamin swallowed the beef patty in his mouth and waved casually.

"Yeah, yeah, take it. Make it quick."

Homelander nodded too. He pulled up the corners of his mouth and gave them his signature smile.

Click! Click!

Flashes went off one after another.

For the next twenty minutes, people kept working up the nerve to come over for photos.

The two of them cooperated and took every single picture.

Homelander was beyond happy. He had always loved being worshipped. And maybe because he had killed those two scumbags, these people were worshipping him for real, like he was... a god on high.

A god?

At that thought, Homelander suddenly realized something.

What if he really became a god?

What if he really became a god, and protected everyone?

***

...

...

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