The all American hero could only stare at the head of Vaught in disbelief as the man polished his glasses.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Homelander's voice was dead calm, but serious as he stared at CEO Stan Edgar as if expecting him to jump up onto his desk and dance the macarena.
Mr. Edgar heaved a weary sigh, replacing his glasses back onto his face.
"I said, 'Apparently, you have another child'," he repeated himself. "Homelander, you can't keep doing this."
"I have another son?" the superhero gasped, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"No, a daughter," Mr. Edgar corrected the super in response to his question.
"A daughter?" Homelander's shoulders slumped in disappointment as he all but collapsed into a chair.
"Her mother, Elizabeth Harkler, was killed in a car accident eleven years ago," Mr. Edgar continued, ignoring the look on Vaught's top supe's face. "Since then, she's graduated from West Side High School with a GPA of 3.8, is a full time student at Julliard's, and works as a mechanic and babysits." It was evident that Mr. Edgar didn't think of either as being actual jobs, judging by the way his nose scrunched.
"How did she come up onto Vaught's radar?" Homelander asked, forcing himself to take deep breaths.
"She was involved in a severe car accident last week," was the causal answer as he handed over a thick file folder, which contained copies of medical records and pictures of the aftermath of the car crash.
"Oh my fucking god…" muttered the supe, quickly flipping through the file until he reached the end.
"Does she have superpowers?" he demanded.
"She does indeed have superpowers; what they are, is currently unknown," Mr. Edgar answered, handing the supe a photograph.
"So she's a supe," Homelander breathed, excitement growing in his chest. He couldn't help but imagine her having his superpowers- to be able to fly, to have x-ray vision…
"My daughter…" Homelander whispered softly to himself as he took in her flaming scarlet curls, piercing blue eyes and eyebrow scar.
Homelander flipped the picture around and smiled.
"Josie Harkler," he read, murmuring the name softly to himself. "How old is she?"
"She's nineteen as of September first," was the answer. "She's agreed to meet you on top of the Lady Liberty Library on Saturday at seven o'clock…"
"I want to meet her," Homelander interrupted. "I'll tell Ashley to clear the day for me."
And without giving Mr. Edgar a chance to say anything else, he swept out of the office, his red, white and blue cape fluttering behind him.
Mr. Edgar sat down slowly behind his desk.
"Oh dear," he murmured out loud.