Starlight rushed out of the building with an injured man's arm around her shoulder, and laid him on the sidewalk next to the others.
"That's everyone, right?" Hughie asked, looking up and down the line as the others attended to their charges.
"Everyone who was alive..." Starlight replied, darkly. "Now we check the upper floors, make sure the path is-"
An explosion from underground rocked a corner of the building, sidewalk, and street, and the ground began to buckle as flame and smoke exploded from the cracks in the pavement.
"SHIT!" Hughie exclaimed.
The cracks spread, and the building itself began to sag into the ground.
The Boys exchanged a brief look of horror, before MM snapped them out of it.
"Move, dammit!" He shouted over the screams of civilians and crunching concrete. "Butcher!"
Butcher pulled up beside them in a red SUV and rolled down the window.
"Hotwired us a getaway ride while you were gawking! Get in!"
The Boys piled into the vehicle, and Butcher stamped on the gas... Just as a stone sculpture of an eagle shook itself free from the building and crushed the hood of the SUV.
"Any more bright ideas?" Annie asked as the building continued to sag, sag towards them...
Then, it slowed... Not just slowed, but stopped, then reversed.
The corner that had fallen so far into the ground pushed up, and up, until they could see a pair of red gloves at the end of thin, muscular, blue-clad arms, pushing the building back into place.
Homelander's face was screwed up with the effort, and his teeth were gritted, but he managed to hold the building in place even without a spot to stand. His cape billowed behind him as he glanced around to make sure he hadn't pushed too far.
How the hell am I doing this? He wondered. This shouldn't be possible, right? God, this fucking hurts.
It felt like every fiber in his body was burning. He'd never engaged his muscles like this before, and between the effort to lift while flying, and the effort to not just break through the fragile concrete, it became even harder... But it felt good.
Superman raced through the building, and grabbed everyone he could find. One by one, he raced them to the nearest accessible exit. From the bottom to the top, in a matter of minutes, Superman cleared the building of every living person inside, and placed them safely on the rooftops of nearby buildings or on the street below.
He was making one last pass through the building when he felt the foundation buckle again, and begin to sag.
Superman flew through the nearest exit and saw that the floor Homelander was pushing against had given way, and he was struggling so much to keep the building balanced on the floor above it, his eyes had involuntarily shut from the effort.
In an instant, Superman snapped to John's side, and pushed alongside the blonde man. Homelander felt the pressure abate, and opened his eyes to see Superman beside him, lifting the building as well.
Superman gave him a small nod as the flash of a phone went off in front of them.
Homelander felt a genuine smile cross his face. We did it. We really did it.
"Can't believe that worked." Homelander said with a strained grin. "I've never held up something without a ground to push off."
"It's all about how you lift, and where you put your hands." Superman replied, holding steady. "You can't unleash everything at once... Not all the time."
"How... How do you do all of this so easily?" Homelander whispered. "It's like it comes naturally to you, and you..."
Kal glanced around at the foundation of the building to make sure everything was still steady.
"People like you and me... We live in a world of cardboard. Everyone else can rely on the rules of the world to hold them back a little. We have to test our limits, and find out how to limit ourselves, to make sure we don't cause more harm than good."
Homelander raised an eyebrow at Superman. He's actually serious.
"How are you so..." Homelander struggled to find the words. "So... Big? Especially since you seem like you're stronger than I am. I've tried so many ways to put on mass that didn't work."
A small smile spread across Kal's mouth. "Guess that's why you used to wear that padded suit. You're an alien, right?"
"Yeah. Don't tell me you think-"
"Did you ever find out the name of our home planet?" Superman asked, cutting Homelander off before he could finish.
Homelander blinked in surprise. Oh god, think quick.
"Uh, no." He looked away from Superman. "My dad had to use a fire axe to bust me out of the ship before it exploded. When I was old enough to know, the ship was already beyond fixing. Anything in its' computer was-" Homelander grunted, and shifted his hands on the concrete.
"Krypton."
Homelander glanced over at Superman.
"What?"
"The planet Krypton. It was twenty-seven-point-one light years from Earth. For generations, the population was engineered, inseminated, gestated, and born artificially. All of them were programmed before birth for a task, to fill some role. I was the first natural birth on Krypton in over four-hundred years. Free to forge my own destiny. You were probably meant for a role on Krypton that required a lean build, or just... Didn't require a large one."
Homelander was shocked by Superman's response. Is he... Is he actually serious about this?
"Wow... That explains so much." And yet so little. Good god, he's actually serious. He's the real deal, isn't he?
The rescue teams arrived with support equipment a few minutes later, and had the building stable enough for Superman and Homelander to leave it be.
As the press and public gathered around them, Superman left Homelander to talk to them as he searched for, and found Billy Butcher.
Superman set down on the ground near the ruined vehicle as Butcher just shook his head.
"You lied to us." Butcher said, flatly.
Superman nodded. "I did."
"You're not even gonna try an' pretend you didn't?"
Superman shook his head.
"It wouldn't help, and it wouldn't be right, anyway."
Butcher let out a sigh, and turned away from Superman, staring off into the distance.
"Boy, you really are, one of a kind, eh?" He wondered aloud. "What was with all that song and dance, anyhow?"
"I didn't think you'd take anything Superman said seriously. I thought you'd relate better to Clark Kent."
Butcher made a sound of annoyance.
"You got my fuckin' number a mile off..." Butcher said, still staring off at nothing. "I should've known by the look on Mesmer's face."
Butcher glanced over at Superman.
"Everything else you said though... That was true, wasn't it?"
Superman nodded.
Butcher felt a tight pain inside his chest he hadn't felt in a long time. A pain he hadn't thought he'd ever feel again.
"Fuck. Two kids and a wife, eh? Probably killin' themselves tryin' to find you. Doin' anything to figure out what happened."
Butcher looked back over at Superman.
"And you'd do just about anything to get back home to them, I see..."
Superman lowered his head in response.
"I'm sorry." He said, softly. He levitated off the ground, and turned to leave, but Butcher raised a hand.
"Hang on!" Butcher said as he opened the door and exited the vehicle. "I have a question..."
Superman turned around, and set back down on the ground.
"You didn't ask for anything in return before you told me what Vought did with Becca."
Superman nodded in response.
"Why?"
"It wouldn't have been right to try and hold that over you. You've upended your entire life looking for her, trying to make things right. I wanted you to know, whether you agreed to help or not. If something like that happened to my wife, I'd hope someone else would do the same."
Butcher shook his head, and let out a dry chuckle.
"You're a real piece of work, mister Kent."
Butcher walked up to Superman.
"Alright... I made a promise. Got debts to pay, might as well balance the books. I'll help you." Butcher extended a hand, and Superman shook it. "Besides, if that thing takes Homelander with it, I want to be there."
"Alright. Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
Superman nodded, and flew back over to Homelander, between the glut of adoring press.
"Tell Stillwell I want to do this tomorrow." Superman said under his breath, extending a hand to Homelander.
Homelander grinned, and shook Superman's hand.
"Say no more."