A/N: This chapter is also pretty straight forward similar to the third episode, aside from characters being replaced.
Frank quietly entered his house, walking slowly through the hallways and living room, finding himself at the piano. He smiled to himself, his fingers hovering over the keys, but suddenly placed his hand back at his side. He remembered when Lisa would put oatmeal raisin cookies under the piano bench, so she could have them for a snack later. That would result in usually having to clean it out for fear of ants.
Castle looked back up, remembering why he was there in the first place, and walked towards the basement of his house. When he reached the bottom, Frank walked over to a tall cabinet in the corner, and pulled the door off. Castle looked inside, seeing his military issued firearms in there. Frank smirked, taking his M16, pump action shotgun, and 1911 Colt pistol, and placed them into a duffel bag.
"Frank?"
Frank turned around, seeing Billy Russo standing in the doorway.
"Hey Bill."
"Are you going somewhere?"
Frank looked down at the ground, then gave his best friend a quick nod.
"Are you gonna stay here for a bit?"
"No."
Frank pushed past Russo, and began walking upstairs.
"Frank, I'm worried about you. I spoke to Doctor Edmonds-"
"I don't need a doctor, Bill." Frank gruffly responded. "And I don't need you to worry about me. I'll be fine."
Before Russo could say another word, Frank walked outside, shutting the door to find Butcher's black van waiting for him, with Dax leaning against the door.
"You followed me?" Frank asked, reducing his voice to a low growl.
"Yeah, but it was his idea." Dax jerked a thumb towards Butcher, who was still in the car.
"Get in, Frankie!" Butcher called out.
"Where are we heading?" Frank asked, climbing into the back.
"Popclaw's." Billy answered. "But first, I got to make one more stop."
Shortly after ARGUS was disbanded along with SHIELD, John Diggle converted the New York headquarters as a correctional facility for juvenile delinquents. At this moment, Diggle was signing paperwork, when he overheard people fighting in the recreational room. John sighed, reminiscing about how easy this would have gone if it was just someone like Deadshot or Ricardo Diaz. At least then he could just shoot them, and call it a day. But these were kids who were impressionable. He always feared that his son JJ would turn out just like the ones he's been trying to help.
John sighed, and walked out into the room, seeing two of the boys in a wrestling match.
"Hey, stop!" Diggle commanded, prompting the two boys to let go. "Did you two write your names on the ping pong board?"
"No, Mister Dig." both boys mumbled.
"Now, I know you can write in English, because I've seen it." Dig told them. "So put your names on the board- at the bottom of the list."
The two boys mumbled a yes, and Diggle left the room, satisfied. Just as he closed the door to his office, he turned to his right, seeing a familiar man in a black trench coat, Hawaiian shirt, and black beard standing in the corner.
"No." Diggle said, walking over to sit at his desk. "Whatever you're doing Butcher, count me out."
"What, can't drop by and say hello to an old friend?" Butcher asked innocently.
"Nope." Diggle said casually. "Because with you, man, it's never that simple."
"Fair enough." Butcher shrugged. "How'd you like to get the Boys back together?"
"No. Absolutely not." Diggle raised his voice slightly. "I'm happy now, man. I'm back with Lyla-"
"How is she, by the way?"
"Spits on the ground every time your name comes up." Diggle smirked. "And I'm helping these kids."
"Lord's work, that I can agree." Butcher shrugged, looking through the caged window. God knows he wouldn't have the patience, and would just shot the little juvies. "But a man of your talents is wasted here. You used to run around with the fucking Green Arrow and his team-"
"Well, that was a long time ago." Diggle reminded him. "After Crisis, the team went their separate ways. Felicity vanished to raise Mia. Curtis and Dinah got dusted by Thanos. Rene decided to run for mayor, only to 'mysteriously' end up with his head cut off in his own apartment. I can't put Lyla through that again man. I was in deep even before I met you and Mallory. Face it, man, the age of heroes is over, and the best we can do is keep our heads down, and pray the supes don't knock on our door."
Butcher hung his head, uncharacteristically quiet. He was right. The age of heroes was over. In a way, he knew it would happen, but he never thought it would've been this bad until he saw it with his own eyes.
"Speaking of dusting…" Butcher smirked, looking back at Diggle. "We just offed one of the Seven."
"You're lying." Diggle said, his eyes dilating.
"Translucent." Butcher grinned even wider.
"How?"
"Shoved a lump of C4 up his ass… boom." Butcher explained. "But before he blew up, he coughed up a lead. One that can expose Vought, and the Seven at the same time."
"And Homelander." Diggle pointed out. "This is about Becca, right?"
"As if you don't have your own ax to grind." Butcher scoffed. "What was your brother's name… Andy, right?"
"You keep his name out of your mouth!" Diggle shouted, before calming down. "You're not bringing in Dax, are you?"
"No, haven't seen him in years." Butcher lied. Diggle sighed, looking at a picture of his family.
"Fine." Diggle said reluctantly. "Let's finish this."
The two of them walked outside the facility and towards a black van, where Dax and Frank were waiting.
"I thought you said you haven't seen him in years!" Diggle shouted, pointing at Dax.
"Yeah, I might have not told you the whole truth." Butcher shrugged.
"The fuck is he doing here?" Dax yelled.
"Look, I need both of you to help!" Butcher exclaimed. "What happened between you two, water under the bridge!"
"Tell that to Mallory's grandkids!" Diggle growled, pointing at Dax. "Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake! He should be in Arkham Asylum!"
"That wasn't my fault." Dax protested. Just then, Diggle heard his cell phone ringing.
"Dammit." Diggle sighed, pulling out his phone and began speaking.
"Hey Lyla. Listen, I'm sorry for not marinating the tilapia, but I've been working late. No, I can just get some tenderloins and mushrooms on my way home. Okay, I love you."
Diggle hung up, and turned back to Dax and Butcher, who were trying hard not to laugh.
"Something funny?" John asked, furrowing his brow in annoyance.
"Nope, not at all." Dax said smugly. Diggle rolled his eyes, and turned to Frank.
"Frank Castle." Diggle nodded. "Heard about your work in Kandahar. You have my respect man."
"Same for you in Afghanistan." Frank replied, shaking the other soldier's hand.
"And he's the one who blew up Translucent." Dax added.
"Good to see you guys being buddy buddy at least." Butcher grunted. "Now, we need to get to Popclaw's, and stat."
The Boys parked their car on the streets of Brooklyn, just in time to see a woman in a blue hoodie and sunglasses speak to someone, before entering a brownstone apartment.
"That was her?" Frank asked.
"Yep." Butcher murmured, while he and Dax began setting up monitors in the back of the van. "Now we got to figure out how to place a bug in there."
"We might not have to." Diggle spoke up. "We can just get the IPV number on her computer, and connect it to her tv, pc, anything electronic and use the camera."
"How do you know this?" Frank asked.
"I knew someone who was a brilliant hacker." Diggle shrugged. "I picked up a few things from her."
"Right, so… you can go and figure that out then, Dig." Butcher smiled.
"I'm not going in alone." John countered. "I need someone to watch my six."
"I'll go." Frank volunteered. "I'll keep her busy, while you do what you need to do."
Diggle sharply nodded, and the two former soldiers left the van, walked into the apartment complex, and knocked on Popclaw's door.
"Hello?" Popclaw asked, wearing a yellow tank top and letting her short red hair show.
"Hi, we're with Lieberman's. I'm David, he's Frank." Castle told her, wearing old uniforms from his job. "We just need to check your router."
"But my landlord said everything's fine." Popclaw frowned.
"Here's the work order, ma'am." Diggle told her, handing a piece of paper.
"Okay, come on in." Popclaw shrugged, ushering the two men inside. Frank and Diggle stepped in, taking in the fact that there was a couch in the middle of the room, facing a tv, and on the walls were pictures of Popclaw herself.
"The computer's around the corner, take all the time you need."
Dig quickly nodded, and he sat down at the computer, booting it up. The moment the screen turned on, Frank saw a picture of A-Train kissing Popclaw, and he felt his fingers twitch again. That feeling quickly went away, when Diggle pulled open a black box on the screen, and began typing in commands.
Inside the van, Butcher noticed the monitors flashing, and four different screens turned on.
"Good work, Dig." Butcher smirked.
Back in the apartment, Diggle finished his hacking, and he and Frank began to leave.
"We're all done ma'am." John told her. "Lieberman's will bill you soon."
Frank turned a corner, where he bumped into A-Train walking through the hall.
"Whoa, watch where you're going!" the speedster shouted.
Frank stood there, stunned, but then he realized that the supe somehow didn't recognize him.
"Hey, haven't we met before?" Frank asked, testing the waters.
"Maybe." A-Train shrugged. "I meet heaps of people."
"C'mon, let's go." Diggle insisted, leading Frank away.
Once they were finally in the van, John hissed, "Are you trying to get us killed?"
"He didn't know who I was." Frank shrugged. "I had it under control."
Diggle rolled his eyes, and the Boys began watching A-Train talk with Popclaw.
"Baby, you look stressed." Popclaw told her boyfriend. "What's the problem?"
"The Flash." A-Train grumbled. "I'm just so nervous about tomorrow."
"C'mon, baby, you're the fastest man alive."
"No, he is!" A-Train snapped. "He's the fastest man alive! That's his brand!"
"He was the fastest man alive." Popclaw smiled at him. "But that was seven years ago. Now he's just washed up after his team left."
"Yeah, it's just… where's the Compound V?" A-Train asked. "I need it."
"Baby, that's a slippery slope." Popclaw reminded him. "The last time you took it, you ran through a woman and her kids."
"What's Compound V?" Frank asked, his eyes widening.
"Sounds like a steroid for supes." Diggle guessed.
"Jesus, he had that in him when he ran through Maria and my kids…" Frank held a fist to his mouth, trying not to cry.
"Look, just tell me where it is." A-Train demanded. Popclaw huffed a sigh, and left the room. When she came back, she was carrying a blue duffel bag. A-Train reached inside, pulling out a vial of blue liquid.
"Thank you." the speedster said. "I'll see you after the race."
"What?" Popclaw screeched. "I thought I'd be with you up there! Stillwell gave the okay that we were a couple… didn't she?"
A-Train had a sad expression plastered on his face, before leaving.
Butcher smirked at the whole ordeal, catching the ire of Diggle.
"What're you grinning at?" John asked.
"How about the fact that the Seven could just be some roid heads?" Butcher laughed.
"We gotta know what it does first."
"Dax, you think you can crack it?" Butcher asked.
"Probably. Once we get it. Might have to take some first."
"Great idea." Frank said sarcastically. "But where are we going to get it?"
"At the race, of course." Butcher smiled even wider.
The Boys arrived at the stadium where A-Train and the Flash would race, and they each went their separate ways. Butcher and Diggle would scout out in the stands. Dax would look for the locker rooms. Frank would pretend to be a reporter, taking pictures of the supes there. And all of them would be wearing earpieces to keep in contact.
"So, you killed Translucent." Diggle said through Frank's earpiece.
"Yeah." Frank admitted. "It's just… he mentioned he forced something onto a friend, and I guess I just… snapped."
No one spoke after that, despite Butcher trying to connect the dots. Frank's friend… the newest member of the Seven? Was that what he meant?
"Guys, I found it." Dax spoke, looking through the vents to see A-Train talking with someone wearing a light blue jacket.
"Hey, you got this." the man said, placing his hands on A-Train's shoulders. "You're great grandma Marie is watching down on you."
"C'mon Desmond, you know I don't believe that magic voodoo stuff." A-Train whined.
"I had you meet Constantine, remember?" Desmond reminded him. "He knew magic."
"Yeah, that's true." A-Train sighed. "Look, I got this."
"That's right!" Desmond grinned, slapping his brother on the shoulders.
In the stadium, Frank walked out and watched, as the announcers declared that Starlight, the newest member of the Seven walked out, accompanied by Black Noir. Castle nearly did a double take, squinting his eyes to see her change of clothes. Instead of the modest outfit, with the cape, she wore a skin tight suit that only covered her from the waist up, with knee high boots, and elbow length gloves. She was basically wearing a one piece bathing suit, with a V slit to show more of her body.
Butcher also noticed as well, but he wasn't thinking about the costume. He was thinking more about what Translucent said, how he, the Deep, and Homelander made her suck them all off. Shortly after, Frank had grabbed the detonator, wanting to finish him off right there. Through it all, Butcher wondered, what did he have with the girl?
Next to Starlight, Black Noir stood with his hands by his sides, as usual. He wasn't used to being around this big of a crowd, despite attending multiple social gatherings in his time. His mind still reflected to white Starlight had said to him, thanking him that he wasn't part of the blowjob orgy.
Black Noir silently sighed, as he and Starlight went to the signing booths in the stadium. For some reason, he had this subconscious urge to be protective of the girl. He couldn't explain it, but she reminded him of someone he once knew, but couldn't remember.
Frank noticed Annie leave the stadium, and opted to follow her. He nearly searched the entire stadium, until he finally found her booth, just in time to hear a guy yell, "Hey Starlight, show us your tits!", right as she was signing a little girl's photo.
Frank growled lowly, seeing the guy talking was a man with a short beard, glasses and a red ball cap. Starlight herself looked like she wanted to punch him out, but she was stopped by that same woman with the red hair.
"Hey asshole, knock it off." Frank said, stepping forward. The man turned around, seeing Castle.
"Ooh, come to be a white knight?" the man sneered. Frank looked at him in anger, before swinging his fist into his jaw. The man went down, his hat falling off, and his glasses shattered.
"Jesus, you broke my jaw!"
"Security!" the woman with red hair exclaimed.
"Wait, Ashley!" Starlight told her, walking up towards Castle. "He's with me."
Starlight and Frank waded through the crowd, until they were next to a restaurant.
"Didn't think I'd see you here." Starlight said. "But thanks for taking care of that creep."
"Wasn't a big deal." Frank shrugged. "You want a beer?"
"Can you throw in some ridiculously expensive nachos?" Starlight slyly grinned.
"Bloody Hell, Frankie, you know Starlight?" Butcher asked in Frank's ear. "Wait, that's who Translucent was talking about?"
Frank slowly reached towards his back pocket and shut the earpiece off, leaving Butcher to hear static.
"Aw, fuck it." Butcher growled, seeing A-Train walk out onto the track. "Dax, you're clear. Get the V."
Frank and Annie got their beers and nachos, and sat at one of the tables overlooking the stadium.
"You changed your costume." Frank noted.
"Yeah, Vought's making me wear it." Starlight sighed. "They think it's empowering."
"How is it empowering if they're making you do it?"
"See, that's what I said!" Annie exclaimed. "I don't know, it's just… it feels like Vought doesn't actually want us to be heroes. Just wants us to look like them."
"If they and the Seven are forcing you to make all these changes to your life, then why don't you just quit?" Frank suggested. "You have nothing to prove."
"That's the thing: I do have something to prove." Starlight countered. "I have to prove it to my mother, to make her proud."
Frank sighed. He knew how much kids wanted to prove themselves to their parents. It's why he joined the Corps, to impress his father. If his kids were still alive, he wondered if his son would have done the same.
"Annie… if you ever need someone to talk to-" Frank was about to say, but was cut off.
"Do you want my number?"
"What?" Frank asked, blinking in surprise.
"I mean, as friends, in case we ever need to talk." Annie explained.
"Sure." Frank smiled lightly.
Back outside, the Flash walked out onto the track, waving at everyone. He promised he would never do anything for fame or money, not after Oliver's sacrifice, but… he and Iris needed the money. He was working at NY Jitters, while Iris wrote articles at the New York Bulletin with Karen Page, and Barry could barely help people out anymore.
A-Train saw the Flash walking out, and began sweating profusely.
"Hey, bro, you okay?" Desmond asked.
"Yeah, Des, I'm good. I'm fast, and I'm ready!" A-Train said quickly jumping around.
Butcher watched both speedsters get ready on the track, seeing A-Train flailing around like he was hyped up on something.
"Bollocks." Butcher muttered. "He's jacked. He took the V before the race. We missed it."
Butcher looked towards the Flash, in his little red suit, and thought about how he was a real hero. He wasn't a supe, at least not a bad one. Diggle knew him well as Barry Allen, and specifically told Butcher not to go anywhere near him. According to him, he was one of his and Oliver Queen's best friends, and helped stop the Anti-Monitor Crisis a few years ago.
Speaking of Diggle, he began searching through the cameras in Popclaw's apartment, seeing her take something out of a bag.
"Yeah, don't be so sure." John mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Butcher asked.
"Let's just say I'm gonna go see a girl." Diggle said cryptically, before leaving.
Butcher looked back up the stands, seeing Homelander watching over everyone.
"On your marks."
Homelander surveyed the crowd, seeing a man in a Hawaiian shirt and unkempt black hair and beard staring at him.
"Get set…"
Butcher grinned, locking eyes with Homelander. He could tell from where he was standing them the supe was visibly uncomfortable.
"GO!"
The gun went off, and A-Train and Flash took off running. Exactly three seconds later, the instant replay went off, revealing that A-Train won, and the crowd cheered. Amidst the cheering Homelander broke off contact, beginning to clap as well, but by that time, Butcher had left his seat, and exited the stadium.
"So how do you know Starlight?" Butcher asked Frank, when they were in the back of the van.
"Met on that park bench." Frank muttered.
"You get her number?"
"Yeah." Frank nodded. "It's not what you think."
"Sure it's not." Butcher smirked. "Why else would you blow up Translucent after he said that?"
"I'm not trying to fuck her, Bill." Frank snarled.
"Whatever you say." Butcher shrugged, just as his phone rang. "What is it, Dig?"
"Popclaw's eyeing a bag of Compound V like it's candy. Get over there now. I'll catch up."
The van parked right next to the apartment complex, and Diggle climbed into the back, where they all watched the monitors, as Popclaw shot herself up with Compound V, began intensive work out, and begin to seduce her landlord.
"How'd you know she nicked some of the V for herself?" Butcher asked.
"I've been in the field and in the Glades of Star City long enough to know a fixkit when I see one." Diggle explained, just as Popclaw began sitting on her landlord's face. "Besides, she said herself it was a slippery slope. So she's had experience."
"That's some solid detective work." Butcher smiled. Frank stared back at the monitor, seeing Popclaw's claws protrude from her wrists, which she stabbed into the ground. All the while, her landlord's legs jerked around under her.
"He can't breathe." Frank murmured, pointing to his body.
"Then he's dead already." Butcher told him. "Think you can run up four flights of stairs to stop that?"
Frank reluctantly nodded, just as the landlord's head burst open like a watermelon.
"Now we got her right where we want her." Butcher wore a ghost of a smile. "Dax, let's go."
Butcher and Dax left the truck, leaving Diggle and Frank alone.
"You're not bothered by any of this, man?" Diggle asked.
"I've gotten used to it." Frank muttered. "After Kandahar, and aliens falling from the sky, seeing some of my brothers in arms turned to ash, and Maria… I've become numb from it."
"Yeah, I got a family of my own." Diggle said softly. "I don't even want to know what I'd do if they were taken from me."
Frank nodded, and looked at the monitors. He had nothing now, except the drive to see those who took his family punished.
Butcher and Dax entered Popclaw's apartment, holding their hands up in peace.
"Easy, we're not here to hurt you." Butcher insisted. "We're going to help you sort this mess out. If-"
He held up a vial of Compound V.
"You tell us what this is."
Madelyn Stillwell walked into the Seven's office, seeing Homelander, the Deep, and a large metal box on the floor.
"What's this about?" Madelyn asked. "I thought it was urgent."
"See for yourself." Homelander pointed at the box. Stillwell frowned, opening the lid, but gasped in shock, seeing bits and pieces of body parts.
"Is that Translucent?"
"Mm-hmm." Homelander nodded. "The Deep found it in the Hudson."
"What kind of maniac-"
"Nope, not a maniac." Homelander shook his head. "Smart. Very smart."
"The box is made of zinc." the Deep explained. "The one thing Homelander can't see through."
"Exactly." Homelander agreed. "And, they knew we'd eventually find Translucent, so they left us a message. A declaration of war."
Homelander opened the lid of the box again, revealing a message spray-painted in black.
Coming for you.
A/N: I replaced Shockwave from the show with the Flash because Barry will eventually re appear in the story. Not gonna say when though.
Also, A-Train's brother Desmond was Constantine's ex boyfriend from Legends of Tomorrow. I threw that in because both characters are played by the same actor. I'm not sure if I'll add Constantine to the fic though. If I do, it'll play around with the idea that Homelander might be vulnerable to magic like how Superman is in the comics.
The next chapter more or less combines a couple episodes together. Stay tuned to find out which ones.