The police in New York usually move quickly. As soon as they received a call about disturbances, many units surrounded the area. By that time, people had already started to distance themselves from the conflict zone where Allen and the siblings were fighting.
Such scenes are common in a world with superpowered individuals. It wasn't as chaotic as in the movies with people shouting and running around. Instead, people quickly moved away from the area without wasting any time.
If you were to ask a police officer or an ordinary person what they feel in these situations, the answer would be frustration. But they have no other choice. Most of the time, there will be many casualties if they try to intervene, and that's the harsh reality for ordinary people.
...
Allen closed his eyes for a moment and felt the people moving away from the area; his spider sense had stopped alerting him.
Allen had been delaying and limiting the fight as much as he could to allow people to clear out. Fortunately, people are quick in such situations.
On the other hand, when his opponents decided to get serious, Allen did the same. They were undeniably strong, and after using Compound V, they had become monstrous.
Aizen – I'm surprised. The plan to contain and neutralize Homelander with his clone was perfect... though perfection is just an illusion.
Urahara – And yet, if it weren't for Allen's abnormal presence in this world, that plan might have been perfect. But regardless, Edgar-san has these two as contingency measures…
Rick – Big deal. He's just a paranoid lunatic.
Athena – Says someone who prepared clones to be reborn in multiple universes in case of being killed.
Rick – Tsk. There's no privacy in this place!
...
Allen narrowed his eyes as the ground beneath him cracked, resuming the fight. He leaped back, and just a moment later, Sam appeared, aiming a punch at Allen's jaw. However, he only managed to graze his chin.
Allen countered with a punch of his own, accelerating through the air with momentum. This time, Sam was able to keep up with his speed and caught Allen's fist, creating a small shockwave that set off car alarms. Sam gritted his teeth and held Allen's hand where it was.
"A trap?" Allen remarked rhetorically.
Luke appeared from behind and attacked with fire hot enough to turn rock into magma. Everything began to melt.
The avenue quickly turned into a sea of fire.
Allen and Sam were engulfed in the incinerating fire that spread down the street, consuming cars and entering buildings, causing them to explode in flames, fortunately, they were empty.
"This should affect him, right?" Luke watched the fire intently, hoping it would cause some damage even if it didn't defeat Allen.
"I'm sorry…" Allen's hand cut through the fire and grabbed Luke's face, leaving him in shock.
The fire was abruptly pushed away in all directions, or rather, extinguished by Allen's energy.
Allen, standing with Luke in his hand and no visible injuries, smiled. With his other hand, he held Sam by the neck.
"Good move, but to think I wouldn't be able to withstand something that your brother can is a bit naïve, don't you think, Golden Boy?"
Luke's gaze filled with desperation. 'We knew he was strong! We knew he killed Black Noir! But I didn't think he'd go this far!!'
Allen was covered by a faint golden aura as he silently stared at Luke. It would be a lie to say he was as merciless as he was with Black Noir.
These two weren't sick cannibals. They had tragic lives; one spent his life in confinement, and the other was abused and brainwashed. However, these two were not the Luke and Sam Allen and his Chat remembered. They had lived under Stan Edgar's control. Knowing how meticulous, ruthless, and macabre Edgar could be when doing something, Allen didn't believe simple words would make the brothers stop fighting. There was no alternative but to defeat them.
Energy gathered in Allen's hand that was holding Luke.
"Hmph!" Luke tried to free himself, but it was futile.
Sam reacted and kicked Allen behind the knee, causing him to lose his balance. Both brothers seized the opportunity and struck Allen's arms, making him release them.
They both took a step back.
Without losing their rhythm and surprisingly without the desire to escape, they continued their attacks.
Luke ignited his hands, slammed his foot on the ground, and propelled himself towards Allen. In an instant, he struck Allen in the face, creating a ring of heat and fire around them.
Just after Luke, Sam appeared and attacked with a full-force kick to Allen's side, sending him flying through three buildings.
Luke extended his hand, and Sam grabbed it. Then Sam began to spin, using the centrifugal force to launch Luke at Allen like a cannonball.
In an instant, Luke was in front of Allen, and he aimed to punch him in the face. At least that's what Luke thought. His smile quickly faded when Allen appeared, holding his fist.
Allen tightened his grip on Luke's fist and struck him in the stomach, chest, and face. Luke tried to break free but couldn't.
'Damned! Each punch makes me feel like I might lose consciousness. Each hit makes me want to escape. After taking a beating from Black Noir and John, I can confirm this guy hits much harder!'
Sam, furious, interrupted the beating of Luke. Allen threw Luke into a building. Sam dodged the first attack and assumed a boxing stance. Allen evaded another blow and delivered a knee strike to Sam's stomach. After Sam's defense opened up, Allen hit him with an uppercut, sending him skyward. Allen fired three bursts of energy that exploded in the sky like Tomahawk missiles, causing building windows to shatter.
Luke appeared behind Allen and embraced him. "You're not the only one who can make explosions!" he yelled, unleashing all his flames.
A massive explosion destroyed the entire street, knocking down a building in its wake. This alarmed the people of New York.
This alarmed the people of New York. Fifteen seconds later Allen appeared on another street, his clothes slightly burned.
His spider sense activated as Sam appeared above him. His special suit was torn, and he had blood on his mouth and nose, but he was still able to fight.
Sam fell on top of Allen, crashing through the building to the ground. Allen struck him in the stomach, sending him into the street. Before Sam could react, Allen appeared and kicked him in the stomach, then in the jaw, and finally, with a burst of energy, buried his fist in Sam's nose.
"Fly…" Allen said.
As Sam was propelled away, he crashed into the concrete, sending debris flying.
'It hurts... he's so strong... we're going to die...'
Like his brother, Sam felt that they were no match for Allen and, at this rate, would be finished.
Both brothers recovered and attacked once more.
Allen smiled. He appreciated their courage to stay and fight even knowing the power difference.
...
Butcher returned in good spirits from visiting Mallory. On the way back, he noticed Hughie seemed somewhat down.
"Something bothering you?" Butcher asked.
Hughie's voice was subdued, and he hesitated before responding. "I'm not sure if we should involve someone who really has no intention of doing so…"
"Mallory is a strong woman. If she weren't, we wouldn't even see her as healthy enough to want to rip my balls off," Butcher said, shaking his head with a frown. "She has nothing left to lose. Unlike you or MM, the only reason she gave up is because she realized we couldn't win."
"Do you think that's the reason?"
"What else could it be?" Butcher clapped Hughie on the shoulder. "If you really want to help Grace, bring that bastard Lamplighter tied up and let her slit his throat."
Hughie regretted bringing up something like this with Butcher.
They were heading back when they received a call from Frenchie, explaining everything that had happened.
Butcher was furious. How the hell had they found Frenchie and Popclaw?
Butcher knew that if there was one thing Frenchie was good at, it was avoiding detection when he didn't want to be found, so it shouldn't have been his fault that they were located. As for the possibility of Popclaw betraying them, that was unlikely, since Homelander wanted her dead and she was constantly being monitored to prevent that from happening.
'Tsk, I can't figure anything out from here... I need to get back!'
Allen was facing two new Supes at a level close to Homelander's. Butcher wasn't too alarmed; Allen should be able to defeat both of them.
Butcher decided returning quickly was the best course of action; he would find out why they managed to locate Popclaw so easily later.
...
Allen watched the two young men giving it their all. If he had been the Allen before facing Black Noir, he might have lost. Unfortunately, they had arrived a little too late.
Luke and Sam were gasping, with one knee on the ground as Allen approached. Surrounding them were cars and buildings in flames and ruins.
If they were superheroes, they might have been more aware of their surroundings, but they were not. They were trained simply to win, whether it was against Homelander, Black Noir, or any other opponent. They had been trained to defeat their adversaries regardless of collateral damage.
Artoria – 'You better defeat him or the structural damage will only increase...'
In times of crisis, worrying about damage is secondary, but people need to live, work, and go about their daily activities.
"I'm trying, but these two are withstanding my hits very well…"
Gil-chan – Idiot, don't be ridiculous. I can see easily that you haven't attacked them seriously…
Kara – You too? Leave that to my cousin and break their teeth.
"Hehe, well, I admit I'm not actively trying to kill them. I can't help but think that both had miserable fates and even now are just pieces for Stan Edgar…" Allen wiped the smile off his face and became serious. "However, it's not like I'm holding back…"
...
"Urgh..."
"...!"
Luke clutched his stomach and vomited a bit of blood. Both he and Sam had several internal bleeding issues, broken bones, wounds, bruises, and muscle tears. There was nothing to be done if their opponent was at that level.
"I'm fine, Sam."
Luke smiled at his worried brother. Sam's endurance was better than Luke's, but conversely, Luke's destructive power was greater than Sam's. They complemented each other well. But none of that seemed to be working this time. Allen's worst was terrifying, but more than that, his fighting style. Each punch was designed to inflict massive damage, and he easily read the movements of both young men.
Luke panted, 'It's not just skill; it feels like he's so accustomed to fighting, he simply has no openings in his defenses. Every attack of ours is countered and masterfully executed!'!
Luke's gaze sharpened, 'Fighting at close range isn't an option. I'll make Sam go on the defensive, and I'll attack from a distance.'
Luke and Sam exchanged glances. Sam didn't need his brother to speak to understand his intentions.
Allen noticed this change and knew the situation would get worse, so he moved at great speed.
"Sam, be careful!"
Allen clenched his fist, this time with the full intention of knocking one of them out.
"What a monster…"
An arrogant female voice appeared just as Allen retreated while several lightning bolts struck where he had been.
From the sky descended a Caucasian woman in a superhero costume. Electricity emanated from her body as she used it to fly.
Felicia – Hey, isn't that Hitler's daughter?
PercyJ – Damn, I can't believe she showed up so soon!
JackBlack– She's a fucking b*tch…
'Stormfront...' Allen thought as he watched the woman land near the young men.
Allen frowned. With those two already being a challenge, dealing with Stormfront at the same time, and not knowing if Homelander would join the fray at any moment, seemed risky.
Unpleasant as it was, Allen decided to retreat this time. Besides, his objective was achieved when he rescued Frenchie and MM.
The Chat supported Allen's decision, and he left, leaving the trio in silence.
"Wait!" Luke shouted.
"Shut up, you little brat!" Stormfront scolded. "You don't know how lucky we are that that monster left without fighting further…"
Sam and Luke bowed their heads in frustration. Both were severely injured, but Allen had remained in perfect condition the entire time, almost as if he had been toying with them.
"We'll beat him next time!" Luke said, and Sam nodded in agreement.
Stormfront rolled her eyes at this. 'Are these kids stupid? He almost killed them!'
...
Madelyn Stillwell was not a fool, but she tended to underestimate others. She had underestimated her influence over Homelander. It was true that there had been a time when she was everything to him. However, over time, as Madelyn contradicted Homelander's opinions more and more, he became less attached to her.
That wasn't so severe; she just needed to rebuild their relationship slowly. However, an unexpected event occurred that destroyed Madelyn's relationship with Homelander.
She still remembered Stan Edgar's words over the phone.
"He will discover your lies and kill you…"
Madelyn wasn't stupid and had several secrets that could turn Homelander against her. However, her confidence that nothing would come of it was her downfall.
All Supes had a tracker, and whenever Homelander went out, Madelyn would secretly investigate him. This time, she saw him go to Dr. Vogelbaum's mansion.
Madelyn immediately left her office and took her son to stay in a secret apartment she had acquired without telling anyone.
She thought she might be overreacting, and just as she was about to call Ashley, she received a notification from the security cameras at her house, which used motion detection.
"MADELYN!!"
Madelyn grabbed her son as she stared horrified at the screen.
Homelander was furiously destroying everything in his path. Madelyn knew; that Homelander had discovered the existence of her son and now knew all her sins.
Madelyn had hidden Rebecca Butcher and Homelander's child. This act of betrayal was too much, and she knew that if Homelander found her, it would be her end.
Madelyn sat in a chair in despair. It was over; no more meetings, no more charity dinners, no more speeches. She had lost her place at Vought.
Madelyn remained silent for several hours until she picked up the phone and called someone she thought she would never call.
"Hello, Billy Butcher…"
"Oh? I don't know who you are, but I dislike your voice. Speak quickly!"
"This is Madelyn Stillwell... and I know where your wife is…"
===
A/N: Sorry for the delay 🗿
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