In the dimly lit basement, the entire Boys team was gathered. With Soldier Boy's sudden betrayal and Butcher paying the price, Mother's Milk had no choice but to put his grudges aside and stick with Butcher. Not that he had forgiven him—but if anyone could help him take down Soldier Boy, it would be Butcher and his small anti-superhero squad.
"Ugh!" Butcher leaned over the sink, retching violently. Hughie stood by his side, concerned. "Are you alright?"
Butcher didn't answer. Instead, he kept his head down. Hughie spoke again, "What are we gonna do now?"
Silence followed. Butcher had no answer. Every time they thought they'd found a way to challenge Homelander, that hope had been dashed. He was nearly defeated. The only thing left in him was a desire to save his wife from Vought's clutches and disappear forever.
"Who the hell are you? This isn't a place for you! Get out, right now!"
Suddenly, from the entrance, there were shouts, followed by screams. This basement was home to some of Frenchie's old associates from his days in the criminal underworld, and the Boys had been staying here for the time being. The guards stationed at the entrance were among those old friends.
Hearing the commotion, Butcher, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie all grabbed their guns, aiming toward the direction of the noise.
The guards rolled down the staircase, and moments later, a young, pale-skinned man with black hair casually descended after them.
"You guys sure know how to hide~!" Jon said calmly.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" Butcher growled.
Jon shrugged. "Come on, mate, we just met yesterday. A little uniform swap, and you already forgot?"
Butcher's eyes widened in realization. "Bloody Phoenix Warrior!" He cocked his gun, ready to fire.
Hughie quickly grabbed Butcher's arm, stopping him. "Wait, hold up! He saved us, remember?"
Jon smirked. "Looks like this one's a bit smarter."
Butcher shook his head. "No, you didn't save me. You stopped me from getting my revenge on that bastard Homelander."
"Think whatever you want, but you might wanna put those guns down. If I was here to cause trouble, you'd all be ash by now." Jon's words were cold, but not without a hint of humor.
The group hesitated, then slowly lowered their weapons.
"Why are you here?" Hughie asked.
"Good question." Jon clapped his hands. "That reunion yesterday—touching, wasn't it? Father and son, united at last."
"Spit it out," Butcher snapped impatiently.
"Alright, alright, no need to get your knickers in a twist." Jon smiled. "What if that reunion, that heartfelt moment, went public?"
The room fell silent. Each of the Boys processed what he'd said.
"Now consider this," Jon continued, "Vought is no longer under Edgar's rule; it's run by Homelander—an impulsive idiot. If we leak this information, it'll send him into a complete spiral. He can't handle the fallout. And let's not forget all the dark secrets buried in Soldier Boy's past. We put all of that out there, and I guarantee it'll take the public a while to digest. But one thing's for sure: Homelander, Soldier Boy, and Vought itself will be destroyed."
"Your plan has some holes." Butcher said, voice cold. "One, we have no proof. Even if we leak it, Homelander's brainless supporters will believe whatever he says. Two, we can't prove the recent chaos was Soldier Boy's doing. Homelander will deny his existence, just like before."
Jon smiled. "You really underestimate me, don't you, mate? Didn't you wonder how Homelander found out Soldier Boy was his dad so suddenly?"
He pulled out some documents, which Hughie took and skimmed through.
"Holy shit! This stuff is real?" Hughie looked astonished. "If we release this, Vought and the Seven are finished."
Butcher eyed Jon. "Why the hell are you doing this?"
"My goal is to bring down Vought. The reason doesn't matter to you." Jon said bluntly. "I came to you lot because of your CIA connections. This isn't something a small-time media outlet can handle; we need to make sure Vought burns."
Butcher flipped through the documents, then nodded. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's ruin those bastards."
"Wait a second!" Hughie interjected. "If this gets out, yeah, Vought is done for. But what do we do about Homelander and Soldier Boy?"
The room went quiet again. Hughie looked at his teammates. "If Vought falls, Homelander and Soldier Boy are gonna be unchecked. They could destroy everything. So many innocent people could die."
"Not my problem," Butcher muttered.
"But—"
Jon cut in, "You don't need to worry about that. I'll handle Homelander and Soldier Boy."
Mother's Milk looked skeptical. "You think you can kill them?"
"Did you forget how I roasted that Nazi bitch?" Jon smirked. "Don't worry. I'll make sure those two scumbags burn too."
Butcher looked at his team, then gave the nod. "Alright then, boys, let's do this."
***
In the superhero council room of the Seven, Queen Maeve, Starlight, Shockwave, and Phoenix Warrior sat quietly in their respective seats. Ashley, the assistant, stood off to the side.
Homelander, wearing his trademark sunny smile, addressed everyone. "Today, I want to introduce someone very important to me. Come on in, Father!"
At Homelander's words, both Queen Maeve and Shockwave looked astonished. They had never heard of Homelander having a father. Starlight and Phoenix Warrior, however, were well aware of the situation. Starlight had heard it from Hughie, while Phoenix Warrior was the orchestrator of this entire play.
A man dressed in a tight uniform, wielding a triangular shield, walked in—a dashing figure, though clearly aged.
Homelander gestured towards him. "Everyone, meet Soldier Boy. He was the leader of Payback, the predecessor to the Seven, and most importantly, he's my father. The most important person in my life."
As Homelander spoke, Ashley suddenly shouted, "What the hell is going on?!"
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