A/N: Alright, here's the final chapter of this story's first volume! As I said in the last author's note, I'm going to hold off on uploading chapters for a while, until all the episodes are released! Until then, enjoy reading this one!

Annie sat in her mother's kitchen in Iowa, staring at the counter. No matter how long she stared, she couldn't get Frank's words out of her head.

It's about Compound V. It's a drug. All supes are given it when they're born.

Annie admitted it, she felt some form of love for Frank, but not in the romantic sense. More of a father-daughter way. He must've felt the same way too, if she reminded him of his late daughter.

She wasn't sure how long she sat at the wooden table, staring at the red and white table cloth, but her gaze was interrupted, when Donna walked through the door.

"Oh my god!" Donna cried out on instinct. "Annie, I didn't realize you were coming over!"

"Mom?" Annie asked, looking up. "What's Compound V?"

"Compound V?" Donna repeated, gulping as she did it. "I… I don't know. Should I?"

Annie stood up, approaching her mother. She could tell in her voice that she was lying.

"How old was I?" she asked, her voice becoming harder. "How old was I, when you let Vought pump me full of drugs?"

"Annie, I don't know what you're talking about-"

"How old was I when you let them turn me into a freak?!" Annie asked, feeling tears well in her eyes.

"Annie, you're not a freak!" Donna shouted.

"Oh my god." Annie gasped, seeing the truth in her mother's eyes. "It's all true."

Annie backed away, beginning to breathe heavily.

"Did Vought tell you this?" Donna asked.

"No, a friend told me." Annie told her. "How much do they pay you?"

"It wasn't about money." Donna revealed. "They paid for the medical bills. They said you'd have a chance for an extraordinary, successful life."

"You made me think I was chosen by God!" Annie said, her voice filled with resentment.

"You were!" Donna protested. "He pushed Vought to us, and he made all this possible-"

"BULLSHIT!" Annie yelled. "YOU DID! And then you controlled every aspect of my life! Every minute! You woke me up at five in the morning for all those lessons and pageants."

"I gave up my life for yours!" Donna still defended her actions. "This was our dream-"

"This was your dream!" Annie accused. "You never gave me a choice! No wonder I don't know who the fuck I'm supposed to be!"

"Annie!"

Annie stared at a picture of herself, her mother, and her father, suddenly getting a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Did Dad really leave because of investments?" Annie asked. "You said he lost all our savings."

"He agreed to all of it." Donna told her, going back to everything Starlight did as a child. "Then one day… he didn't. So he walked out on us."

"Maybe he didn't want to lie to me, like you did." Annie whispered.

"So I'm the bad guy now?" Donna asked. Annie scoffed, and shook her head. Even now, she was trying to make herself look like the victim.

Not wanting to hear her anymore, Annie stormed outside, slamming the door shut, ignoring her mother calling for her. Once she was a distance away, she looked up to the sky, and flew away from Iowa, back to New York.

Music: "Jekyll and Hyde" by Five Finger Death Punch

Butcher and Frank exited the brown car when they reached a house with large glass windows, with a woman wearing a black coat and having platinum blonde hair walking towards the door.

"William." she said begrudgingly. "I thought I told you I didn't want to see you again."

"Yeah, but you know a lot about broken promises, don't you?" Butcher sneered, before pointing to Frank. "This is Frank Castle. We got the Boys back together."

"Grace Mallory, founder of your little club." the woman introduced herself. "I heard of you, Mister Castle. I was an associate of Rawlins, and I can't say he didn't deserve the beating you gave him."

Frank smirked, and nodded.

"Listen, I didn't come here because I wanted to, but I need your help." Butcher told Mallory. "And you're gonna fucking help. You owe me."

"I can't help you." Mallory shook her head. "What more can I say?"

"You'll have to do better." Butcher pressed. "You made me a damn promise-"

"And then my grandchildren got incinerated." Mallory snapped. "Tends to change one's perspective, especially when Lamplighter burnt them so badly, there weren't even teeth left."

"And what about what you did to me?" Butcher snarled. "You trained me, manipulated me, pointed me at Homelander like a fucking Howitzer, but when it didn't fit your agenda anymore, you threw me away like gutter trash."

"Not a day goes by where I don't regret that." Mallory murmured.

"A day late, a dollar short.: Butcher sneered. "And I'm fresh out of dollars. Now, I'm going to finish what you started, and I need your help. Please."

"I'll give you something. If you promise to leave, and never come back." Mallory said reluctantly. "And keep your damn promise this time."

Butcher grimly nodded.

"Madelyn Stillwell. Vought's VP and Homelander's main account." Mallory told them. "The two of them have an intimate relationship."

"How do you know this?" Frank asked.

"Still have some contacts." Mallory told them. "You want to kill yourself William, that's your right. But don't drag anyone else down with you."

Butcher nodded, whispered a thanks, and began walking away.

"Frank!" Mallory called out, causing Castle to look back at her. "Vengeance isn't a path to glory. It's just a dead end."

"This isn't vengeance. It's punishment." Frank muttered, and walked away. "And I'm not the one who dies. I'm the one who does the killing."

Dax, Diggle, and Allyson, having the mask tucked in her shirt like a cushion, sat in the hotel room, waiting for Butcher and Frank to return, when a small black canister was thrown in. The top popped off, and both ends began spewing smoke. Allyson went to the door, but it was flung open in her face, and a man in a black uniform bashed her in the head with the butt of his rifle. She was about to fight back, but suddenly began to feel weak, and she slowly faded into unconsciousness. The last thing she saw before slipping into the black were Diggle and Dax being hauled away, also knocked out from the gas.

Butcher and Frank drove back towards the motel, but Castle felt something was off. Castle looked out, seeing one of the windows broken into, with a black van in the lot. Frank's eyes widened, realizing it wasn't their van.

"Shit. They took them." Frank swore. Butcher held a grim expression, as they kept driving.

"Either Vought or the Feds." Billy muttered, eventually stopping in an alleyway to switch the license plates.

"So what's the plan to get them back?" Frank asked.

"We're on our own." Butcher told him. "We gotta get to Stillwell before a war happens."

"Fuck Stillwell, we have to rescue them!" Frank shouted.

"You don't get it, Frank." Butcher said, looking up at him. "We got a few hours till they find us, so we gotta keep moving."

"You're abandoning them." Frank realized. "Diggle has a family."

"Yeah, and they'd want us to finish the job-"

"Your job!" Frank yelled. "You never leave your brothers behind! Or is it all about Homelander to you?"

"And A-Train." Butcher countered, slamming the trunk. "I promised you payback, didn't I?"

"Mallory gave you that same speech?"

"Yeah, she did." Butcher admitted. "Only, I keep my promises."

"That can wait, we have to save the rest of the Boys." Frank declared. "I want to punish these assholes too, but we need to get the others back!"

"We don't have time for this shit, get in the fucking car!" Butcher yelled.

"No." Frank said defiantly. "Mallory's right, you're going to drag everyone down with you. But not me. Not anymore."

Butcher glowered at Frank, who held his ground.

"Goodbye Castle."

Butcher got into the car and slammed the door shut, driving off and leaving Frank in the alleyway.

Annie sat at one of the back pews at the Clinton Church, listening to the choir, when she heard footsteps sit down right behind her. Someone cleared their throat, and she turned around, seeing Frank's face.

"You have a lot of balls coming here." Annie whispered harshly.

"Maybe." Frank nodded. "But I need your help."

Annie shook her head, and got up, leaving the church. Frank sighed, and got up to follow her.

"Kid, wait!" Frank called out, once they were outside.

"What, you gonna tell me about more drugs I was dosed with as a kid?" Annie asked, the hurt palpable in her voice.

"I thought you wanted to know the truth-"

"Oh, so now you're about the truth?" Annie asked sarcastically.

Frank stepped back, feeling the bite of her words.

"I never lied to you." Frank murmured. "But Vought is giving the Compound V to assholes all over the world. That terrorist that popped up earlier today? That was them?"

"That's insane!" Annie protested.

"It's true." Frank insisted. "My friends tried to stop them, but they got arrested. I was hoping you could help me in locating them."

"Frank, I almost got killed for just knowing you." Annie told him. "I had to convince him I was an idiot who got played, and now you want me to help your psychotic friends?"

Frank didn't say anything. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't have asked her.

"You have thirty seconds to get the Hell out of here." Annie told him. "Before I arrest you for real."

"Okay. Sorry." Frank mumbled, and began to walk away.

"I mean, why would I ever help you?" Annie asked, prompting Frank to turn back around.

"Because Vought decides what the truth is." Frank said. "And the world needs to see the truth. And it needs a superhero."

"A superhero." Annie scoffed. "I can't remember the last time I saved anyone."

"You saved me." Frank told her. "I wasn't lying when I said you reminded me of Lisa."

With that said, Frank walked away, leaving Annie to think about what he told her about Vought.

Later that night

Black Noir stood still as a statue, overlooking the party that Vought threw to celebrate getting supes in the military. He didn't drink. He barely ate. But he had to be there, on orders of Vought.

"Hey, there he is!"

Black Noir looked up, seeing Homelander descend the stairs, and everybody applauded him. After all, it was he who found the super steroid used by the terrorist Naqib that gave him his powers. Then again, Black Noir was almost positive Homelander was the reason Naqib had powers in the first place. He knew about the Compound V, and how he had used A-Train to smuggle them across the world.

Noir shifted his gaze over to Madelyn Stillwell, who was being talked to by Edgar, her superior. He didn't really like her, or either of them, for that matter. After what he learned from Wynn, he wanted nothing more than to kill them both. Hell, he wanted to kill Wynn as well, but none of those options were on the table as of now.

Black Noir's gaze trailed down another flight of stairs, seeing Starlight talking with a drunken army officer.

"Electricity goes in… light comes out." Starlight said.

"That's one Hell of a party trick." the officer giggled, clearly having too much to drink, as he touched her arm. Black Noir glowered at him, feeling anger rise in his chest. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly had an urge to kill this man, even greater than with Stillwell and Wynn. But why? Why was he feeling protective over Starlight? Moreover, why did she somehow remind him of that girl who pulled his mask off, and revealed his true face?

"Wanna know a secret?" Starlight asked, leaning close. "Sometimes, my eyes glow when I…"

Starlight suddenly hesitated, making Black Noir tilt his head.

"I'm sorry, I need to go." Starlight hastily told the officer, and she walked up the flight of stairs, past Black Noir. Maeve suddenly stepped next to him, with a worried look on her face.

Maeve. She was one of the only good ones in the Seven, Black Noir remembered. Or at least, she was. Something happened before he joined, that made her jaded. He just knew it. He could always see the reluctance in her face, or the guilt written on her features, especially when Homelander gave a speech about Flight 37. Noir himself was piecing together what really happened, but a small piece of his mind refused to believe it was true.

Queen Maeve walked into the women's restroom, finding Starlight puking her guts out into the toilet.

"You want me to hold your hair back?" Maeve offered.

"I'm not in the mood." Starlight muttered, standing up and going to the sink. "Just say it and leave me alone. Or turn a blind eye. It's what you're good at."

Maeve felt like a dagger penetrated her heart, knowing everything she said was true.

"Look, I'm sorry for not supporting you when they assaulted you." Maeve apologized. "And I should have fully been on your side when you finally told the truth."

Starlight stared at her idol, in disbelief and curiosity.

"I was just like you." Maeve explained. "Bright eyed, innocent. Wanted to save the world. I really did care. But then I started giving pieces of myself, until I gave up my very soul. So… be original. Be the goody goody asshole you're meant to be. One of us has to."

Maeve left the bathroom, leaving Starlight to stare at herself in the mirror. Amazing. That's twice now that she received similar advice. One, from a man she saw as a father figure who also killed a member of the Seven, and one, who she loved as a child, but now saw as a jaded shell of herself.

As Starlight thought about all this, she stared at herself in the mirror.

What kind of person are you going to be?

Diggle woke up, finding himself surrounded by a cage of iron bars. If he didn't know better, he'd think he was back in the little jail cell he and Team Arrow had back in the bunker in Star City.

"Well, good morning sleepy head."

Diggle looked around, seeing Dax sitting next to him.

"Not the worst prison we could be in."

"The Hell are you talking about?" Diggle asked, irritated.

"Well, I was once in a Gulag, and there is a torture involving milk and honey-"

"Man, just shut up." Diggle shook his head, looking around.

"Why are you so worried?" Dax asked. "Is it because of your son?"

"JJ and Lyla were the best things about my life." Diggle confessed. "Now, I might never see them again."

"They made you better people." Dax smiled, looking down.

"Hey, Allyson's gonna be okay."

"Oh, so you DO know her name!"

Music: "The Punisher" from Daredevil season 2's score

Frank entered the Boys' safehouse, finding the place untouched. Good. That means all their weapons were still there. He was afraid that after the CIA classified them as fugitives, they'd have raided the place, but it looks like Rawlins missed it. Whether that was intentional or not didn't matter. Castle grabbed a black duffle bag on the floor, beginning to load up as many guns as he could. Assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, anything he could fit in there.

As he loaded the bag, Frank stopped, staring past the guns and seeing a bulletproof vest. Castle stopped, pulling it out, and noticed that the design on the front looked similar to a skull. Moreover, that triggered a memory of his son, Frank Junior, and how he loved wearing that black T-shirt with the white skull on it. Lisa had always thought it was scary, and Maria thought it a bit macabre, but he didn't care.

Remembering his son gave Frank an idea, and he looked around the safehouse, eventually spying a spray paint can. Castle walked over, grabbed the can, and shook it a few times, before spraying it all over the vest. By the time he was done, he held the vest up, marvelling at the crude skull he painted.

Frank wasted no time, shedding his current clothes and putting on black tactical gear he and Russo had left in the warehouse. Once the gear was on, he put extra magazines and clips into the cargo pouches and belt, and slipped the bulletproof vest over himself.

Ten minutes later, Frank tossed the duffle bag of guns in the back of the black truck outside, and drove off, back towards the motel. He sped there as fast as he could, not slowing down one bit until he arrived. Upon seeing the black truck with the flowers still there, Frank floored the gas, ramming into the truck like a battering ram. By some miracle, the vehicle wasn't completely destroyed.

Frank got out of his van, as three men with black armor and masks crawled out. Castle took the shotgun off his back, and fired a slug into the first commando's head, shattering the helmet and splattering the pavement with his brains. The second commando was about to stand up, but Frank pulled out a knife and stuck it in his neck, just beneath the jugular. Castle turned back to the third commando, who was fumbling for his weapon, and pulled out his pistol, firing at the hip and catching him in the leg. The commando yelled in pain, and fell back to the ground.

"Where'd you take them?" Frank asked in a low growl.

"Who?" the commando asked. Castle looked to the side for a moment, before pressing his boot on the bullet wound.

"The ones you took from here. Two men and a woman. Where are they?" Castle growled.

"Come on man-"

"Enough bullshit!" Frank yelled, shooting him in the leg.

"Okay, okay!" the commando yelled. "They're at a Vought facility in Upstate New York! Can you stop now?"

"Yeah." Frank grunted, and shot the man in the head. He had a pretty good idea where they were being kept…

Allyson gasped awake, attempting to sit up, but found she was restrained by thick steel cuffs. She looked around, seeing a doctor in a lab coat approaching her, having slicked white hair, and a nametag reading Wynn.

Allyson's eyes widened, recognizing the man, and she attempted to struggle even more.

"Good to see you again, Miss Nelson." Wynn said politely, hiding his cruel nature. He held up the bleached white mask with black hair, before tossing it to the side. "I see you retrieved Michael's mask.

His face, Allyson thought. His face.

"Shame your new friends broke you out." Wynn shrugged. "But now, I have orders from Stillwell to brainwash you to forget everything and do our bidding. Maybe Vought will have you dropped off in the Middle East like Naqib. Or maybe they'll have you wear a mask… just like Michael."

Allyson's eyes widened with terror. She now wanted more than desperately to break out and kill this man; this monster, for what he did to her. For what he did to Michael. Unfortunately, just like with Sartain, and just like when she was in that cage, she had no power here. She was just that scared little girl in the back of that police car again.

Music: "Heads Will Roll" from The Punisher OST

Frank parked the black van across the street from the facility. Just as he thought. They took over the Avengers' old facility. Castle sneered in disgust. They have no shame.

Getting past the radar was easy. These weren't trained professionals, they were paid off by Vought. Sloppy. He had more trouble infiltrating that compound back in Kandahar. Finding that stairwell that gave him access to the roof and onto a catwalk inside, piece of cake. Locating the Boys, now that was hard. The place was like a maze, and Frank had no way of finding any of them, until something caught his eye.

Just below the catwalk was a room with a glass window in it, guarded by two of the commandos. Frank squinted, barely able to make the form of a woman struggling on a gurney, her arms restrained, as a doctor in a white coat pulled out a scalpel. Next to his array of tools, was a white mask with black hair. Frank grit his teeth and bit back a curse, realizing Allyson was in there.

"God dammit." Frank muttered, pulling out his pistol and expertly fired two rounds, cleaning killing them with headshots to the face. Frank vaulted over the catwalk and jumped down, startling the doctor as he kicked the door down.

"Who are you?" the doctor asked, clearly nervous. Frank casually shot him in the leg, causing a scream to piece the area.

"How do I get her out?" Frank asked, pointing the gun at his head.

"She's dangerous." the doctor tried to reason.

"To you." Frank said coldly, racking the slide on the pistol. The doctor gulped, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys and tossing them to Frank. Castle paid no mind to the doctor, and quickly freed Allyson, who slowly got up from the gurney. She looked over to Doctor Wynn with nothing but hate, and immediately grabbed his head, plunging her thumbs into his eye sockets. Wynn screamed, fumbling with his coat pockets, and pulled out a needle with some type of fluid in it.

Allyson began bashing the doctor's head against the wall, ignoring the stab of pain she felt in her thigh. It wasn't until she finished splitting Wynn's head completely open did she finally feel the effects of whatever was in that needle.

"You done?"

Allyson looked up at Frank, and dazedly nodded. Frank gave a short nod as well, and looked outside the room.

"We need to find Dax and Dig."

Allyson nodded again, and after grabbing Michael's face, she and Frank left Wynn's doctors room. She took a few steps, but suddenly stumbled, and would have fallen, if not for Frank slinging her arm over his shoulder.

"Hey, I got you." Castle promised her. The two of them made their way through the maze like facility, as more commandos came near them.

"Shit." Frank groaned, pulling out his assault rifle and firing at them with one hand. As more armed men ran towards them, Castle gently put Allyson down, using both hands to stabilize himself, and mowed them all down.

Stillwell entered her home, squinting her eyes in the darkness, and wondering where the nanny to her child was.

"Maria?"

"Kid's a sound sleeper."

Madelyn slowly turned around, seeing Billy Butcher sitting in the corner.

"Don't worry, he's not hurt." Butcher told her. "Neither is the nanny. Just a bit of chloroform, and she's napping."

"William Butcher." Stillwell sharply inhaled. "The CIA showed me your file. What do you want?"

"You know what I want." Butcher smirked sinisterly.

"I don't understand how threatening my child will bring you Homelander." Madelyn pointed out.

"It won't." Butcher agreed. "But I've spent nine years searching for his weakness, and I've finally found it."

"Homelander has no weaknesses." Stillwell said smugly. "There is no weapon on Earth that they haven't thrown at him."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Butcher smirked. "I'm talking about you. You're his weakness."

"Fuck." Frank muttered, hearing the click of the gun. He was empty, and had no time to reload. Fortunately enough, that was the last of the commandos- for now. Frank grabbed Allyson's hand, and slung him back over his shoulder, opening a set of dark blue doors to find a cage of iron bars, where Diggle and Dax stood against the wall.

"Frank, you came!" Dax said happily. "Where's Butcher, is he with you?"

"No, the asshole left us." Frank growled, taking out his shotgun and shooting the lock off the door. Just as Dax and Diggle got out, Castle felt bullets rain down on his back, hitting the bulletproof vest.

"Take cover!" Frank yelled, leading all of them behind a large piece of rubble. Frank handed Diggle the pistol, and Dax the reloaded assault rifle, and they all began firing on the commandos. Unfortunately, it seemed like whenever they killed just one, another would take their place.

"Dammit, I'm out!" Diggle shouted, seeing the slide get locked to the rear.

"So am I!" Dax shouted, hearing the click of the assault rifle.

"Copy." Frank muttered, also hearing a click from the pump action. Four commandos swarmed around the rubble, facing them.

"Hands behind your head! Turn around! On your knees!"

The Boys did what was asked, with Allyson fading into unconsciousness. Frank was sure he could take them all out, but not before they killed one of them. Besides, they were too close.

Just as the commandos were about to shoot, Frank saw the rubble get illuminated in blinding white light, and one of the guards was thrown past them. Castle stood up slowly, and turned around, seeing Starlight standing several feet from them, her eyes glowing bright. One of the commandos ran to her, and she instantly blasted him with a light beam. Another tried sneaking up from behind, but Annie quickly turned around, elbowing him in the face, before delivering an uppercut. She quickly turned around, punching the third guard in the face, and pressed her fist at his chest, blasting him with light and launching him into the air.

With the threat eliminated, Starlight walked up to Frank, who couldn't help but smirk.

"You came."

"What can I say, you give great pep talks." Annie grinned. "It's like you said; I'm a fucking superhero."

Frank smiled, and the five of them made their way to the parking garage. After making sure the coast was clear, Diggle and Dax all but carried Allyson to the garage doors, with her somehow still holding onto the white mask, while Frank pressed the button to open them.

"Holy shit!"

Music: "Frank's Choice" from The Punisher OST

Frank grimaced, and turned around, seeing A-Train standing in the middle of the garage.

"Go!" Frank shouted to the Boys, shutting the gates. "I'll be alright!"

"Homelander was right." A-Train sneered, as Starlight walked towards him. "You are a fucking rat. And you, Frank?"

Frank stepped closer, letting the light reflect off his bulletproof vest.

"You're the jailbreaker?" A-Train asked. "You got some new threads too? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Frank Castle died with his family, when you ran through them." Frank growled. He remembered what Butcher told him, back at the Continental Hotel.

"You just walk up to a speedster and put a bullet in his head like you're some sort of punisher bloke?"

"I am… the Punisher." Frank told him, and cracked his neck.

"Frank, go." Starlight whispered. "I got this."

"No. He wants me. Here I am." Frank told her. "We do this together."

Starlight nodded, and turned back to A-Train.

"Please. Just walk away."

A-Train grit his teeth in anger, and began to run. Starlight absorbed the electricity in the room, making the lights above her spark, and fired blasts of light from her hands. Castle held up a hand to shield himself, trying to track the speedster, but he was too fast. Before he knew it, Annie was on her back, and A-Train was right in his face. He tried throwing a punch, but the speedster easily dodged. He threw another, but felt the supe trip him on the ground. As Frank struggled to get up, A-Train grabbed him by the collar of his vest.

"You killed the only thing I ever loved." A-Train yelled.

"I didn't kill her, asshole." Frank spat out blood.

"I know… I did." A-Train hung his head, then looked at Frank in anger. "But it was your fault."

Before A-Train could punch his fist through Frank's head, he suddenly stopped, and clutched his chest. Confused, Frank stood up, as A-Train staggered to the floor.

"He took the Compound V." Castle realized.

"What?" Starlight asked, confused.

"He took the V, and he's having a heart attack." Frank told her, as A-Train's body stilled.

"He'll never stop looking for you." Starlight said sadly.

"Yeah." Frank said slowly, pulling out a small pistol from his boot. He pointed the barrel right at A-Train's head, just above the glasses.

"One Batch. Two Batch. Penny and Dime."

Frank pulled the trigger, and a bloody hole the size of a quarter formed on A-Train's head. He'd thought about this moment ever since his family died. How he would torture the supe to no end, before eventually ending him. But no, it's like what he learned in the Marines. One shot, one kill. And now, he just felt… empty.

Frank holstered his pistol, and looked at Annie.

"Call them." Frank told her. "Tell them I killed him, and you arrived too late."

"You'll never stop running." Annie said, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "You'll never stop hiding."

"I know." Frank nodded, pulling her in for a tight hug. "But I have to."

The embrace was broken off, and Castle held Annie at arm's length, wiping her tears away with his thumb. It's strange really, how after a week of knowing her, he was already proud of her like she was his own daughter. Maybe he wasn't truly empty inside.

Frank turned away, towards the door. Just as he opened it, he looked back towards Annie, who was calling in support. From Vought or the Seven, it didn't matter.

"I will see you again. I promise." Frank told her, before the garage door closed, leaving Annie alone with A-Train's body.

Butcher had just finished tying up Stillwell and rigging her to a dozen blocks of C4, when he heard the sound of something landing on the roof.

No, not something. Butcher thought. Someone.

"About fucking time." Butcher muttered. "I know you can see through the ceiling, and you can hear me. Try to kill me, my trigger finger goes soft. So how about you come down here and stop playing rapey Santa. Let's talk."

A few seconds later, Homelander walked into the darkened house, holding onto Stillwell's crying baby.

"Shh." the supe taunted. "Take it easy. Don't want to upset the baby, now do we?"

Butcher widened his eyes in mild surprise. Homelander was even sicker than he thought.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Stillwell asked, panicking.

"Don't worry, everything's fine." Homelander grinned. "You alright?"

"No." Madelyn snapped. "Take Teddy upstairs."

"Everything's fine." Homelander said nonchalantly, before turning to Butcher.

"Billy Butcher." he smirked sinisterly. "Is it okay if I call you Billy? Because I gotta say, I'm impressed by you. Especially since you're… one of you. I mean, most people would be pissing their pants by now."

"I've faced worse than you can imagine." Butcher scoffed. "The kind that would make you shit yourself."

"I doubt that."

"You don't know the first thing about me, creep." Butcher growled, dropping his British accent for a split second. Luckily, Homelander didn't seem to notice.

"I know your heart's pounding, but not in fear." Homelander told him. "It's in anger. It's a new one for me."

"Homelander, please take him upstairs." Madelyn begged, but was ignored.

"And all because of your wife, Becca." Homelander smirked. "Gotta say, she was a tight squeeze. Made me cum three times! Man, she was a good lay."

Homelander paused, placing the baby in the crib.

"I want you to take him out of here!" Stillwell protested.

"But that's not it, is it?" Homelander asked, stepping towards Stillwell. "You think I'm responsible for her death, right? So now, you have a hostage that I care about, correct? So, what's your endgame here? You want a confession or something?"

"I'm just gonna hurt ya." Butcher said in a low snarl, almost a whisper. "I mean really fucking hurt you. And that'll be good enough for me."

"So, you don't want anything. You just want to blow her up, in front of me." Homelander's eyes widened in surprise. "Holy fuck, that is dark! And honestly, I like it."

"Will you please take Teddy upstairs." Stillwell begged.

"But, just ask one question for me, will you?" Homelander asked. "What evidence do you have that I killed her? You must have some rock solid proof?"

"You raped her, then killed her." Butcher said gruffly. "I saw Vought's footage of you following her into an office."

"But you didn't actually see us fucking?" Homelander asked, disappointed. "Man, that would have been one Hell of a sextape! But really, all of this is just based on feelings, and a hunch?"

Butcher stayed silent, and exhaled through his nose.

"But hey, I'll give you this one for free," Homelander grinned even wider. "Yeah. I raped your wife Becca. You know why? Because I'm the world's greatest superhero. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And no one would believe little Becca Butcher. Just like no one would believe Starlight."

Butcher's eyes widened,, his finger trembling on the detonator, remembering what Frank had told her about the girl. So she really was innocent in all this. Fuck, he messed up.

"Will you take Teddy upstairs-"

"Madelyn, not now-" Homelander told Stillwell, but was cut off.

"TAKE HIM UPSTAIRS-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Homelander yelled, pointing his finger at Madelyn. The supe closed his eyes and calmed down, before looking at Butcher.

"Excuse me for a moment." Homelander addressed Billy, before getting up in Madelyn's face. "You promised me no more lies. You fucking promised. But your story didn't quite match up with Vogelbaum's, no matter how close it was, so I went back to him, and I squeezed the truth out of him. The real truth."

"I'm so sorry." Stillwell apologized. "I shouldn't have lied. I know now you don't need to be protected."

"Did you ever care about me?" Homelander asked.

"You mean everything to me."

"No, no, no. I mean everything to your job." Homelander shook his head. "You care more about the fucking baby than me."

"No, I love you, I swear." Stillwell pleaded.

"But?" Homelander asked. "Tell the truth, or I walk right out, and Billy here can have his fun."

"I'm scared." Stillwell whispered. "I'm scared of you."

"Come again?" Homelander leaned in close.

"I'm afraid… of you!" Stillwell said again, raising her voice by an octave.

"Thank you." Homelander smiled, resting his forehead on hers. "Thank you for finally being honest."

Homelander pulled back, and his eyes shot laser beams right into hers. Butcher stood, shocked, as he melted her eyes and brain, until there was nothing left but a hollow skull.

Butcher stared at the charred remains of Stillwell's face, his shock replaced with annoyance. Damn. Now he had no more cards to play.

"Now… what was that plan again?" Homelander asked, turning towards Billy.

Butcher smirked. He was out of tricks, out of options. But god dammit, if he didn't go out on his own terms-

"Oh well."

Butcher smiled, accepting this was his end, and released his finger on the detonator.

Butcher woke up to the sound of a water sprinkler going off, and he looked up to see Homelander standing over him, his hands on his hips.

"Hey buddy!" Homelander smiled. "You've been out for a while! You can thank me later for saving you. But hey, come on, you're gonna love this!"

Butcher looked over to his left, as Homelander walked towards a house, just as a little kid with blonde hair walked out.

"Hey Mom, look!" the boy shouted, causing his mother to walk outside as well.

"Well, look at this handsome devil." Homelander grinned. "Do you know who I am?"

"Homelander!"

"Yeah, exactly!" Homelander laughed.

Butcher struggled to get up, seeing the mother as plain as day. It only took a second for him to notice the red hair she had. Just like…

No, it can't be… Butcher thought.

"Becca?"

"You know what else?" Homelander teased. "I'm also your father. And we… are going to be a family."

As Homelander and his son embraced, Becca and Billy stared at each other, neither one believing what they were seeing. Upon seeing his wife, seemingly back from the dead, it was all too much for Butcher, what with the shock from the blast, in addition to seeing the love of his life back, and he passed out on the ground.

End of Volume 1

A/N: And there's the ending of the season 1 chapters. So far, I've been writing these right after watching the new episodes. I got lucky though, because it turns out, where I'm from, I don't have to wait until Saturday to see them.

Speaking of, I was able to see episode 2x04, and without giving away spoilers, I am completely changing all of Butcher's scenes when a write the chapter that correlates with that specific episode. Everything else with the other characters will play out more or less the same, but with Frank, Diggle, Dax, or Allyson, but for Billy, nearly every scene he's in for that will be completely different than what happens in the actual episode. Just a forewarning.

Oh, and I decided to kill off A-Train because let's be real, now that Frank is the Punisher, he wasn't going to let him go. If it turns out A-Train does anything that directly affects the overall narrative in season 2, I'll think of something.

Lastly, I'm not sure when I'll update. It might be the day the finale drops, or the week before. Depends on how many I have done by then. I am going to leave the status as in progress though, just in case I forget.

Until next time. Stay safe out there.