Chelsea walked backward slowly away from Homelander's terrifying eyes, refusing to accept her fate. Her tears would not evoke a shred of compassion from Homelander. On the contrary, her distress only drew his disdain and disgust.
"No, of course, you don't want to die!" Homelander pointed at her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You just want to grab attention, but guess what? Today is my birthday! Why did you choose today to try to steal attention from me?! WHY?!"
"S...sorry"
Chelsea shuddered, trembling and shaking her head in denial, but her pleas and signs of weakness fell on deaf ears. Homelander cared little for Chelsea's life; even if Allen had never existed, or if none of the events leading up to this moment had occurred, his indifference towards Chelsea would remain unchanged.
"Apologies are useless!... look at you, you are just like them, they are all afraid of me... everyone hates me, they accuse me of all sorts of things... and maybe they're true, but I've also spent years saving their butts! I made just one mistake! JUST ONE! And now it seems like all my years of being their protector were for nothing..."
Homelander's reason for saving lives had always been to get something in return—appreciation, praise, and fans who loved him unconditionally. But what drove this need? Was it a lack of parental love? Yes, but there was an even more powerful reason.
"I'm sorry... please forgive me, I don't want this—"
"Actually... today isn't my birthday... today is just a random date the marketing team chose for me... so I wouldn't have to remember that I was born from a test tube, HA! a so-called immaculate conception! F*ck them"
Homelander's desires were always at the forefront of his mind, and lately, he had been unable to fulfill them. For someone with his power, this created a great deal of stress.
"You know what, Chelsea? I don't think you're worth the trouble, so just jump!"
"NO PLEASE!"
"It wasn't a question Chelsea..."
Homelander's eyes lit up. At this point, he didn't care about the cameras; he didn't care if he was caught on camera killing Chelsea or what would happen afterward. After all, he was invincible—what did he have to worry about?
In tears and terror, Chelsea instinctively felt that Homelander was going to kill her. Why? She was about to die in such an irrational way, but those who pushed her to this point would continue laughing and enjoying their lives.
'It's so unfair... someone... help me...'
Life isn't fair; it never has been. People can do horrible things and live peaceful, happy lives until the end. The only consolation is that life isn't fair to anyone, whether they are good or bad, and good people can also experience good things.
Just before Homelander could fire his laser vision, his eyes dimmed.
"Huh?"
Homelander was stunned for a moment, but he couldn't use his powers. From a distance, someone clicked their tongue.
Chelsea didn't understand what had happened to Homelander, and the fear of this invincible monster from The Boys caused her to back up to the edge. Homelander didn't kill her, but it was like the world wanted Chelsea to die, because a gust of wind made her lose her balance.
"AH! NOOO!"
She fell into the void. Unlike in the movies, Chelsea's time before hitting the ground and dying horribly wasn't long—just a few seconds.
It was true that the world was unfair, but luckily for Chelsea, she lives in a slightly less strict world that allows for miracles from time to time.
One second to regret thinking of such a foolish idea.
It's not a guess but a reality: people who want to commit suicide do it quietly, in closed rooms or isolated places to ensure no one will help them. Those who go to visible places like Chelsea don't really want to do it, whether consciously or subconsciously. Unfortunately, by the time she realized she didn't want to jump, it was too late—the devil had come to help her with her decision.
Chelsea closed her eyes in terror, hoping everything would end quickly and at least she wouldn't feel pain.
"Mom..."
"You have terrible luck, Chelsea..."
Far from feeling the pain of her body being shattered by the concrete, Chelsea landed in a warm embrace, accompanied by a pleasant and kind male voice in her ear.
"Hom-?"
Chelsea cut herself off because it was impossible that the previous monster had helped her. She opened her eyes and found herself looking into a face she would remember for the rest of her life.
"Hello."
"Ah..."
At Allen's casual greeting, Chelsea could only open her mouth, which made Allen laugh.
"Who is that?!"
"Is that the villain Walker?!"
"How do you know his name?"
"He said it once on camera..."
"But wasn't he a villain?"
"He is, but they say he has a habit of saving people occasionally. He did it with the plane and the bank last month!"
Media and the public looked up at the white cape soaring in the sky as Allen carried Chelsea. Ashley's team, which had been recording to see Homelander save the girl, was stunned, for Homelander was supposed to be up there.
Allen didn't care about the commotion below and flew away with Chelsea.
Homelander had already left, losing his laser vision must have frightened him. Allen regretted this outcome but understood that given the number of powers Homelander possessed, all of which were high-level, it was unlikely to take away his invulnerability, which would have been checkmate. Nonetheless, Homelander lost his most used and dangerous offensive power—his laser vision, which seemed to be the most powerful among similar abilities, not even Butcher's could compete with it at the time.
...
(One of these days they're going to arrest Allen 🍷🗿)
...
The girl clung to Allen tightly.
"You know, Chelsea, you don't have to hold on so tight..."
Chelsea had her arms around Allen's neck while she buried her head in his neck.
"I'm scared of heights!" the girl responded in panic, hiding her embarrassment.
Gwen – Yes, of course -_-
MJ – That's why she chose to jump from a building...
Natasha – Allen, remember she's fifteen years old or even younger...
Allen shuddered as he heard that, Cate was already a red flag at this point; he would truly end up being a criminal.
Allen had used a shield so he could talk to Chelsea even in the air.
"Chelsea, why did you want to jump?"
"..." Chelsea didn't speak and lowered her head.
Allen stopped and looked her in the eyes. "Can you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you!" Chelsea quickly answered; he had just saved her from the worst misfortune of her life. It would be foolish not to trust him.
Allen listened to Chelsea's story...
"I see..." Allen sighed, holding back his anger, and smiled at Chelsea. "Don't worry, I have a policy of seeing things through to the end..."
Chelsea started to tremble, Allen, noticing this, hugged her a little tighter. Chelsea felt the comforting warmth and smiled.
...
Homelander returned to the Vought tower and ran to a bathroom and saw his reflection. His expression was one of unyielding tension, with wide-open eyes and a pale complexion.
Homelander couldn't activate his laser vision, no matter how hard he tried.
Homelander began to gasp, feeling short of breath. He could endure the scorn of the people, be accused of all they wanted, be despised, and accept that there were others at his level, but there was one immutable thing—his powers.
Homelander had always believed he was the epitome of the supes, and all the tests he had undergone confirmed it. Even with the existence of Allen, his power was an immutable concept.
Because there might be someone stronger, but that didn't mean he was weak. Now, for the first time, Homelander felt weaker.
Homelander's fingers dug into the sink as his whole body trembled.
"It's a lie... LIE, LIE, LIE!"
...
"Calm down."
Behind Homelander came the voice of the only person who could affect him in this situation.
Homelander didn't turn around despite recognizing the voice behind him; his face turned blue, knowing that his greatest value as a "son" was his power, and without it, he feared Stan Edgar would abandon him.
"It seems it finally happened..."
Ignoring Homelander's state, Stan Edgar approached.
"Look at me."
Homelander didn't turn even when given the order.
"Look at me, John."
When called by his name, Homelander turned, unexpectedly finding no contempt or disappointment in Stan's eyes—it was as if he already knew this would happen.
Stan grabbed Homelander's chin with one hand and, with the other, opened his eyelids one by one, checking in detail.
"Physically, there are no changes, yet you can no longer use your laser vision."
"Father, I..."
Homelander trembled again upon hearing the uncomfortable reality he still couldn't accept. Was this his end? Was he destined to lose his power?!
"Don't be dramatic..."
"..."
Homelander looked confused at Stan Edgar; his current behavior did not match what he knew of him, and he seemed like a different person.
Stan Edgar sighed with a face of relief yet maintained his severity. "This was the best outcome..."
"What?"
Stan Edgar didn't answer Homelander's question but instead looked at his reflection in the mirror.
For Allen Walker, Stan Edgar was a monster, an unknown man with terrifying intelligence and thousands of aces up his sleeve.
For Stan Edgar, Allen Walker was a monster, a young man with seemingly limitless power, capable of seeing through his plans and with the ability to destroy them if he made the slightest mistake.
During this time, people thought that Allen had been postponing facing Stan Edgar and vice versa, but it was the opposite.
There was nothing one wanted more than to get rid of the other, even knowing that Stan Edgar had respect for Allen won't change that.
Then why hadn't it happened?
Stan Edgar took out his phone and called Sister Sage.
"Where is he?"
"In the air..."
"I see, thank you"
Stan ended the call and looked at Homelander. His gaze was full of mystery.
"Mutual destruction..."
"What?"
"The reason the world maintains a relative balance is because of the threat of mutual destruction." Stan Edgar paused, "Both he and I have things to lose so we avoid killing each other until we have a sure shot at each other's hearts."
Homelander couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had thought that Allen's reluctance to confront him, even though he always knew where he was, was out of fear... fear of Homelander.
Allen did indeed exercise caution around Homelander, especially if he used Compound V to enhance his abilities, but that caution was only in case Homelander went mad with the realization that he could not win and attacked civilians in desperation.
"He is a terrifying young man, not just because of his immense power..." Stan looked at the dazed Homelander and clapped him on the shoulder, "Control yourself, we're not dead yet!"
"We're not dead?"
"There was an absolute defeat condition we had to avoid..."
A young man with the power to overwhelm both Homelander and Black Noir, not just with power but also with the intelligence to foil his plans, and now with the ability to strip powers from other Supes.
How many villains would run out the door knowing that?
How many people would simply give up?
The reality was that Allen Walker was an absurdly formidable enemy on despairing levels. However, Stan Edgar was not a man to despair like a secondary villain.
He had been thinking about how to defeat Allen all this time, and although Allen recently proved to be even more terrifying than before, it wasn't the end for Stan Edgar. But to fight, Stan had to avoid instant loss, and this would happen if any of these conditions were met:
– If Vought was destroyed before Stan Edgar was ready, it was checkmate.
– If Homelander died, it was checkmate, of course, losing his invulnerability or his strength would lead to this point.
– If Allen Walker discovered the existence and location of Soldier Boy, and consequently stripped the power to nullify powers, it was checkmate.
– If Allen Walker found and stripped the intelligence of Sister Sage, it was checkmate.
Finally, Stan Edgar pulled a small vial from his coat and looked at it closely. Homelander initially thought it was Compound V, but it was golden in color, which did not match any of the variants he knew.
"It's an advantage to have the smartest person in the world under your command..."
...
(One hour later)
Homelander had to endure going on stage once more, and this was for his birthday party that had been planned for him.
Black Noir appeared with a handmade sign wishing Homelander a happy birthday, which was the only good thing about this farce, and made Homelander smile for a moment before the staff announced that Maeve had not come.
Homelander forced a smile, this upset him but did not make him lose his mind.
Deep took the stage to give him a really cloying, fawning speech. Homelander knew Deep's appreciation was false and that he was just afraid, but he nodded at his effort.
Deep opened his eyes wide and smiled; it was rare that Homelander approved of something he had done. Ashley, beside Homelander, smiled despite the lack of Maeve and the incident with Chelsea; this birthday might still be salvageable.
Then came Supersonic, who sang a love song, which seemed to be directed at Starlight, or so it was implied between the lines. Homelander clenched his teeth, was the little bastard using his birthday to confess his love?
Ashley swallowed hard and shrunk in her place, but Homelander did not interrupt the song and let it finish. Ashley sighed in relief for a moment but knew that Homelander wouldn't endure another mistake; everything would be fine, right? Just A-Train left...
Ashley was naive...
Her jaw dropped when she saw A-Train go up on stage in a different suit. It was primarily brown, with blue, red, and yellow—it was merging his superhero suit with the South African flag. A-Train congratulated Homelander on his birthday in one sentence and immediately spoke about returning to his roots in Africa.
Homelander could no longer endure and went up on stage. A-Train approached and greeted him in front of the cameras.
"What are you doing, you damn son of a *****?!" Homelander whispered.
"I just..."
"I can see your girdle from a mile away, you fatso, get out before I strangle you with it!" Homelander said without ceasing to smile.
A-Train knew he had angered Homelander and hurried away.
Homelander looked at the audience and the cameras; he had lived the last decade under spotlights and eyes and had never felt as uncomfortable as he did now.
Homelander knew that Stan Edgar had not abandoned him and believed that was enough, but it was not. Homelander would not be satisfied with just that.
Homelander held a speech in his hand that he had planned for this moment, a speech to appeal to nostalgia and try to regain his popularity, but he decided to throw it away.
"That's enough..."
Stan Edgar, who had been watching Homelander's birthday with a glass of wine, stopped drinking and looked at the screen.
"That's enough!"
"All my life, they told me I was special! And you know what? I am, and I'm tired of pretending otherwise!"
"I'm tired of being hunted for my strength! Yes, I'm stronger! I'm smarter! I'm better! I AM BETTER!"
"You should be grateful because, despite that, I chose to save you!"
"And what did I receive in return?! Your hatred! Your contempt! Your judgment!"
"You should be grateful that the man in the sky is me!"
"I am the hero!"
"I AM THE REAL HERO!"
The world fell silent as Homelander exploded in front of the cameras. Homelander released what he had been holding back.
Unlike the Homelander canon, he already had control of Vought, so his speech was not centered on his freedom as in the original... but on a reality that he had to accept in this world.
"I'm better... I'm the real hero..." muttered Stan Edgar not knowing if they were words to him or someone else.
===
A/N: I had some doubts about this chapter but I guess it's okay.
My new patreon is: Patreon.com/_Aizen