Homelander took off into the sky as soon as he could. Nobody could tell where he was going, but he didn't take even a glance backward. Superman stayed around quite a while longer, flying the critically injured to the nearest medical attention, tending to the wounded, and helping clean up. Meanwhile, The Boys rendezvoused just outside of the grounds of the Believe Expo.
"Hughie, what the fuck happened?" Butcher asked Hughie.
"Homelander gave some whacked-out speech, then that... Whatever the fuck from the bowling alley showed up and kicked his ass."
Butcher tried to keep his face straight, but his mouth spread into a wicked grin.
"Oh, did it?" He asked sadistically. "Tell me it broke a few bones."
"Uh, maybe?" Hughie said as an expression of discomfort crossed his face. "I couldn't tell, but it tore the hell out of his suit. For as strong as he is, he's scrawny as hell under that thing. I knew it was padded, but I didn't think they puffed him up that much."
"Guess it was too much to ask that thing squeezed the life out the bastard, huh? Well, at least it tarnished his image." Butcher said with a sarcastic chuckle. "So what, did your girlfriend pull his star-spangled arse out of the fire, or did the rest of The Seven have to step in?"
"Neither, actually." Hughie replied. "It was Superman, and Homelander didn't seem happy about it."
Butcher sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"Of fucking course." He said with a barking scoff. "Everywhere that thing goes, this new cunt follows. I'd wager a goddamn fortune Vought made that thing in a lab just like they did the Supes."
Hughie's eyes went wide. "Wait, what the fuck?"
Mother's Milk tossed a vial of blue liquid to Hughie, who caught it, and examined it.
"They're puttin' this shit in babies and kids, probably all over the country." Milk said, disgusted. "Been doin' it for decades. That's how we got generations of Supes."
Butcher smirked. "And I'd betcha anythin' Superman and Homelander were made in the same lab as all the rest of this shit." He said, making a circular gesture with one finger. "They're probably setting up some stupid team-up like this is professional fuckin' wrestling."
Butcher pointed his index finger at Superman in the distance as he departed the Believe Expo.
"Look at him. He's a ready-made rival for the star-spangled wanker. Fuck, he even looks like one of those knockoff Homelander costumes from Spirit Halloween." Butcher said with a laugh. "He's just tryin' to get boys arguing who'd win in a fight, stans arguing on Twitter and make middle-aged women wet their panties. Mark my words, he'll cut Homelander's legs out from under him and take his spot as the world's number one hero like any other ego-driven cunt would."
"You think so?" Hughie asked, tossing the vial of blue liquid back to Milk. "I didn't really get that vibe from him."
Butcher rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious!" Hughie protested. "When I met Homelander, he was so... Slimy. He acts like he's all down to Earth, but there's something... Something just off about him. Every time I've seen Superman though, he seems... Genuine. Grounded. Human, even."
Butcher gave Hughie a knowing smile and shook his head.
"That's just what they want you to think." He said haughtily. "Wee Hughie, still naive as a babe."
Mother's Milk shook his head. "The kid's right, Butcher. This guy doesn't seem to match the profile. He doesn't showboat for the cameras, you never see him waiting around to get involved with something, he never talks to the press, he doesn't pose for pictures, he only sticks around long enough to make sure everyone's safe, and then leaves to go save someone else. Did you see him posing for selfies tonight?" Milk asked Hughie, who shook his head in the negative. "Point proven, Butcher. Fuck, the only reason anyone knows his name is because Homelander asked, and someone else overheard."
Butcher turned to Milk with an air of exasperation. "MM, we've seen this shit before. He's just another Supe! The best we can hope for is to stoke whatever fake tensions he and Homelander have into real ones and get them to kill each other before they can kill us."
"Butcher-" Hughie protested, but Butcher cut him off.
"Oh, don't you start!" Butcher interjected. "I worked with people like him for years! Once upon a time, I thought Homelander was the best of the bunch. He was the only fucker in this sick number they call 'superheroes' who I couldn't find any dirt on! Then, the day after our anniversary, he raped and murdered my wife!"
Butcher's tirade left everyone shocked, and silent, until Hughie broke the tension.
"...Shit."
"The only reason you ever think anyone is squeaky-clean is because they're better at hiding all the dirty shit they get up to than the others." Butcher said in a low, aggressive whisper. "Nobody's that pure, not in this world! Mark my words, there's some angle to him. Mark my fucking words."
"Are those bruises?" Maeve asked as Homelander stripped off his ruined costume. "Bruises all over your body?"
"Shut the fuck up, Maeve!" John said as he stormed to his room. "I'm gonna find whatever hole that bastard calls home and make him regret that!"
"Regret what?" Maeve snarked as she followed him through the hallway. "Saving your life?"
"Bringing that thing onto my turf!" Homelander growled as he stripped the last of his ruined costume off, leaving him in his underwear. He hadn't bothered to close his door behind him. "We had everything going our way until he showed up."
"You're actually afraid." Maeve said as she leaned on the door-frame.
"I'm not afraid, I'm angry." Homelander said as he pulled a fresh costume off a hanger in his closet.
"Keep telling yourself that." Maeve said. "I'm just happy someone's doing some goddamn hero-work around here for once in a long fucking time."
Homelander pulled the new costume on, and shot Maeve a dirty look. "If you wanted to do more hero-work, you could quit drinking and clam-jamming with that girlfriend of yours."
"Still jealous I'm not with you anymore?"
John rolled his entire head around and gave a growled sigh that puffed out his cheeks.
"Maeve, shut the fuck up." He said as he finished pulling his boots on. "It might save your life." With that, Homelander stormed back through the hallway to the landing platform and jetted away, leaving a sonic-boom in his wake that blew Maeve's hair around wildly.
Homelander hadn't bothered keeping track of the time that had passed. It was at least a day and a half. Probably more. John didn't care. He wanted to find Superman. He'd burned the section of the screen of his phone with the clock on it out so he wouldn't know how long he'd been at this in the first two hours, but he kept the device with him anyways so he could keep an eye on his numbers. The numbers that represented what he meant to the world. What people thought of him. Those numbers showed John what he was worth, not only to the world, but to Vought, and himself. All night, every time the Believe footage played, he dropped. Every time he dropped, he heard Stan Edgar's threat in his head, and what he'd said about it not being the first time they'd done something like that...
He planned this. John thought. That's why he told me to take care of it. He wants to know what both of us can do. Well, I'll show him!
Homelander tracked Superman's locations, flight patterns, response times... He triangulated everything, drew lines across the globe, and every line crossed a spot at the North Pole.
John landed on a mountain of ice in the most remote, unexplored, uninhabitable section of the North Pole. He scanned the formation with his X-Ray vision until he found something out of place. A hole.
He located the entrance, and found that the hole led into a larger cave, one that had clearly been bored by lasers. In the depths of the tunnels, he found a spartan living arrangement, consisting of an industrial wardrobe, containing a lead-lined radiation suit, a single rug on the floor, an LED lamp, a desk, an office chair, and a laptop computer connected to a satellite uplink. This curious arrangement was powered by what appeared to be a miniature nuclear reactor. Next to the reactor, there was an empty lead-lined case labeled "STAR Labs: 'K' Sample 1 of 2.'"
"It's not polite to snoop in someone else's things." A commanding voice said from behind Homelander. John turned around quickly to see Superman standing behind him with his arms crossed. Homelander once again found himself looking up at the much taller man, and likewise, found himself intimidated by Superman's physique.
"I was just trying to find you." Homelander said with a shrug. "You don't have a door, so I let myself in. Is that... A nuclear reactor?" He asked, pointing at the box.
Superman nodded.
"You know it's illegal to operate one of those without a license." Homelander said, smugly. "And I'd like to know where you got that fissile material."
"If you want to bring an inspector out here to certify that it's safe, feel free." Superman said, dismissively. "I happen to know quite a bit about containing radiation."
"I'm sure you do." Homelander said, dryly. "That's not why I'm here. I know what you're doing, and I want you to back off."
Superman raised an eyebrow, curiously.
"And what exactly is that?" He asked, inquistively.
"You're after my spot." John said, matter-of-factly. "You want to be the most popular hero on the planet, and you think you can do that at the expense of everything I've been working for at Vought!" He snarled.
"What the hell is Vought?" Superman asked.
Homelander's eyes shot wide open, and he sputtered.
"Are you a fucking alien of something?" He demanded in disbelief.
"I already told you I wasn't from this planet." Superman said with a small smile.
"Bullshit." John declared.
Superman uncrossed his arms and made to walk to his desk. "Did you really come here to threaten me for making your job easier? For saving your life?"
Homelander stepped between Superman and the desk defiantly. "Fuck the hell yes, I did! I'm down twenty-five points in the polls because of you!
Superman shook his head. "Well, maybe you should spend more time doing hero work and less time starring in reality shows and movies."
That pushed Homelander's buttons, and his eyes lit up a firey red in rage.
"WATCH YOUR FUCKING TONE WITH ME, KAL!" He roared.
Half an instant after John finished speaking, Superman's eyes lit up an even brighter red, lighting up the mountain inside and out. If one had been standing outside the entrance, one could have seen how the glow changed from red to purple to blue and faded away even from a distance of a mile. Homelander fell flat on his back in shock, and he truly felt how small he was compared to Superman for the first time in their encounters. Homelander's heart felt like it was racing in his throat, and he felt the chill of their surroundings for the first time since he'd set foot in the cave. His body shook and tingled as he retreated from Superman. John could feel the power, the control, the precision when Superman lit up his eyes. It was nothing like he'd ever felt before.
The blue glow faded from Superman's eyes as he continued to close the distance Homelander tried to put between them. Homelander quickly backed himself into a wall, and knew there was nowhere to run.
"I have two teenage sons back home." Superman said as his eyes returned to normal. "Both of them are more powerful and better behaved than you." An alert sounded from the laptop, and Superman and Homelander both turned to look at it. It was a 999 call in England.
"Now, if you'll excuse me." Superman said as he turned away, his red cape billowing as he did so. "I'm going to do whatever the hell I want. You can feel free to try and stop me, but only if you want to see those precious numbers of yours drop into the negatives."
Superman took off down the tunnel in a snap. Not fast enough to let off a sonic boom, but fast enough to sound like a gunshot.
John picked himself up off the floor of the cave, and gathered his thoughts. He briefly considered trashing the cave, but thought the better of it. He'd find me and put my head on a platter. He thought to himself. Holy shit, he could actually do that. John pushed that thought away. Then, he caught another glimpse of the industrial wardrobe, with the lead suit inside.
Wait a goddamn second. He thought. What the hell does an indestructible man need with a radiation suit?
Homelander trained his vision on the reactor. All that was inside the fuel chamber... Was a collection of green crystals. He opened the chamber. They emitted radiation that might be harmful to a regular human in large enough doses, but to Homelander it was nothing... But he recognized the wavelengths, and the shade of glowing green. It was the same as the blade the monster had attacked him with.
It expected this thing to work on me... John thought to himself. Why? What the hell is... And then he put the pieces together. It thought I was like Superman, because we have similar powers! It must have used this stuff on Superman before! That's why he uses the radiation suit, and the lead in the case and the reactor! The radiation hurts him!
Homelander grabbed one of the middling-sized crystals, large enough it might be of use, but not large enough Superman might notice if he checked the reactor in the future, and tucked it into the front flap of his suit, and took off for Seven Tower as quickly as he dared.
Kal-El, you gave me my silver bullet... Or maybe a bright green one!
