The gas… it was draining…
No… no more tests…
No more experiments…
Then again… why would they stop now?
He had no idea how much time had passed…
He just knew that when the gas drained…
Soon after came the pain…
He knew that when he escaped… he'd kill all of them…
Then he'd find his team…
And he'd make every single one of them pay…
"Oh, Soldier Boy…"
That voice…
That wasn't one of the scientists…
Wait, he knew that voice…
Suddenly, it occurred to him that the large metal door covering his pod… was gone.
And in it's place was a woman…
Freeing him…
A woman in an unrecognizable outfit… but a face he knew, all too well.
"Ben… what did they do to you?"
Liberty… Klara…
"K-Klara?"
The brunette woman in front of him… he'd founded herogasm with her… long before Countess…
The rubber belts confining him were ripped away from him, causing him to fall forward, into the arms of the woman before him.
His mask was torn from his face, something he was thankful for, and his vision slowly returned to him.
"Ben… my god, what have they put you through…"
"How did you… how did you find me?"
His vision cleared slowly, and he could see the beautiful features of the woman holding him, her face twisted in one of sympathetic sadness.
"Vought… Vought's gone down… all of their files of have been released." She told him, holding him in her arms as he recovered his strength. "I found out what happened to you."
Ben continued to breath, the Novochik leaving his lungs in place of fresh air. Something he was thankful for.
"Novochik… they used it to sedate me…" Ben told her, groaning as he made an effort to sit up from her grip, though the woman still helped him.
"Christ… were they experimenting on you, all this time?"
"Yeah…" Ben nodded, slowly climbing to his feet. "How… how long? How long had it been?"
Klara looked at him, sympathy in her eyes. "You poor soul… it's been almost forty years…"
Ben's eyes widened, shock flooding through his system. "F-Forty years? No… that's not possible…"
"Vought told everyone you died in a nuclear reactor, saying us all." Klara told him walking up to him. "I… I thought you were dead…"
It was only now that Ben examined the room he was in.
Bodies littered it. Well, it would be more accurate to say, what remained of bodies littered it.
Everywhere he looked, was a body, or a body part. Some were charred, fried to a crisp. Others were violently ripped apart.
Internal organs were thrown everywhere, and it was now that he noticed Klara, bathed in blood.
"W-What happened?" He asked, in reference to her uniform.
Klara gazed down at her uniform at his words, and then looked back up at him.
"I… I had to get you out of here… What Vought did… it wasn't right." She said, closing what little distance remained between the two, wrapping her arms around him, leaning her head into his bare chest.
"What… what happened to you?" He asked, looking down at her. "You disappeared in 1979…"
"Vought rebranded me… told me that it was time Liberty disappeared." She told him, keeping him pulled close. "They told me I wasn't allowed to be seen as Liberty… they said I couldn't stay with you…"
Ben wished he could say he was surprised… but after what Vought did… and his team… he wasn't… he wasn't surprised at all…
"I… It's so good to see you…" Ben said, running a hand through the brunette locks of her hair. "What are you… what are you called now?"
"Stormfront." Klara answered, looking up at Ben with a smile. "I'm called Stormfront."
Ben nodded, and wrapped his arms around Klara's form. "Thank you. You saved me."
Klara smiled, and tucked her head back into Ben's chest. "I'm sorry… I wasn't sooner."
"You saved me." Ben smiled, hooking a finger under her chin, and dragging her gaze to his own. "When Vought, and my own team, left me to the dogs, you saved me, Klara."
Klara smiled. "Always…"
The two stayed in their embrace for some time, simply enjoying each other's presence. Ben, happy to be free, in the arms of his first love… his true love.
And Stormfront, happy for a mutitude of reasons… but mostly, because she was back with the man who she'd fallen for, so long after Frederick had died.
After a few moments, Stormfront pulled away, looking around, before she looked up at Ben. "We should leave."
Ben nodded. "The Legend… He might know something… if I'm lucky-"
"He has your suit." Klara interrupted, nodding her head. "And your shield."
Ben smiled. "You know me so well."
Klara returned his smile with one of her own, a she raised herself to her toes, bringing her face closer to his. "It's my job, Ben."
Ben didn't hesitate, leaning down so that the two could finally meet their lips after decades, no more secrets between them.
Ben was free. Klara had the one she loved, he equal, back.
That was all that mattered to both of them. When they pulled away, both were panting, looking at each other.
"The whole facility is dead… no one will be here for a while…" Klara informed through her panting, looking into the eyes of her lover.
Ben grinned. "Then let's make up for lost time."
Nolan laughed as he watched the tv, Sam sitting right next to him on the couch.
To make up for what had happened to interrupt their date that morning, Nolan had suggested they watch a movie or something.
Sam had picked the film, Mrs. Doubtfire, as the film they would watch.
Nolan could safely say that at first, the entire premise of the film was completely ridiculous. A man pretending to be a woman? No way anyone would fall for that!
But Sam had told him the ridiculousness, accompanied by the fact that it actually worked in the film, is what made it so funny.
And she was right.
Watching the celebrity, Robin Williams, prancing around in a dress, with a wig and makeup that made him look like an old woman, was so unbelievably hilarious, Nolan found laughing scene after scene during the whole thing.
"Why is this so funny?" Nolan questioned as he came down from another laughing attack.
"Because of how absurdly stupid this is?" Sam suggested through her own giggles.
Nolan nodded in agreement as he chuckled. "That's my guess."
Sam suddenly had an idea. "I should show you Jackass. See what you think of that."
"Jackass?" Nolan asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why does that already sound hilarious?"
Sam grinned. "Well, it's not even a typical movie, or a documentary, or anything. It's literally just a bunch of guys doing a bunch of stupid pranks and stunts, and seeing how bad they can fuck themselves up."
Nolan looked at her in disbelief. "And that shit's funny?"
"You're telling me that you've never found it funny watching someone get hurt? Especially from sheer stupidity?" Sam questioned.
"Fair point." Nolan admitted. "Maybe we can watch it after this."
"Oh, I'm excited." Sam grinned.
They continued watching the movie, laughing as they simply enjoyed each other's presence.
It was time to wind down from the madness of the day.
A knock at Sam's door interrupted their laughter.
Jumping to her feet, Sam was walking to the door in no time. "Just a second!" When she reached the door and opened it, she was surprised to see Ellis on the other side. "Ellis?"
"Hey Sam." Ellis greeted with a small smile. "I was coming by to see if everything was okay, with Nolan on the news and all."
Sam smiled. Despite how their relationship had ended, they'd stayed best friends, and Ellis was always looking out for her. "I'm fine, Ellis. In fact-"
"How you doing, Ellis?" Nolan's voice from right behind her made Sam jump completely out of her skin, and she spun around to glare at the man while Ellis looked at him in surprise.
"Don't do that, Nolan!" She exclaimed, causing the man to chuckle.
"Sorry." The man didn't sound apologetic in the slightest, just amused. "Anyway, how you doing, Ellis?"
Ellis looked at the man surprised. "Pretty good, considering today's events." The man responded. "Kind of surprised to see you here, in all honesty. I thought you'd be out, dealing with Vought."
Nolan chuckled. "Vought's grave is sealed, just gotta let the public tear them into the ground." He said. "Not much for me to really do at this point unless something involving a supe comes up."
Ellis nodded, smiling. "Well, it's good that Vought's done. I gotta ask, what caused you to reveal everything there, anyway?"
Nolan looked somewhat sheepish. "Honestly, it was a bit of an emotional reaction. I was pissed that they were gonna try and spread some lie about me."
"Well, more good than bad came out of today." Ellis remarked, furrowing his brow as a thought occurred to him. "Though I am curious. That guy, Clockwork…" He looked up at Nolan. "Does he… really control time?"
Nolan chuckled as both Sam and Ellis looked at him in curiosity. "I met Clockwork back in my own universe, after an incident where… let's just say I cut loose." Nolan said, not interested in explaining the details of the Flaxans. "After everything that I did back home, he's the reason I'm here at all."
"So he's the real deal and all?" Sam asked, eyes wide.
Nolan nodded. "He is."
"Woah…"
"Hey, Nolan?" Ellis spoke up, another question jumping into his mind. "What happened to Homelander's body?"
"I took the remains and threw them into deep space." Nolan said. "I don't know the possibilities, but I'm not running the risk of someone creating a possible Homelander 2.0."
Ellis nodded. "I don't blame you there." He smiled at the two. "Anyway, I was just stopping to check on Sam, make sure she was alright. It's good to see you though, Nolan."
Nolan returned Ellis' smile. "It's good to see you too. Ellis."
Ellis smiled, and turned to look at Sam. "Well, I'm glad your okay, Sammy. I'll see you later."
"Bye Ell." Sam said with a smile of her own.
As Ellis turned to walk away, a thought occurred to him, and he looked at Sam with a teasing grin. "By the way, make sure you watch where your eyes are when you look at Nolan, Sam."
Sam's balked at his words, causing both men to laugh, and Sam let out a groan of frustration. "Screw you, Ellis!" She slammed the door, but his laughter could still be heard from the other side, unhelped by Nolan's own.
"He's a got a point." Nolan said through his chuckles, grinning. Sam simply pouted.
"You're mean."
Nolan shook his head, gesturing back to the couch. "Well, how about I make it up to you by finishing this movie with you?"
Sam smiled. "I'd like that."
As the two returned to watching their film, they were interrupted by another knock at the door only ten minutes later.
When Sam answered, she was surprised to find not someone she knew, but an older woman with grey hair and a dark suit, standing at her door.
"Can I help you?" Sam asked with a furrowed brow, confused by who this visitor was.
The woman nodded. "Are you Sam Alcorn?"
Now even more confused, Sam nodded. "Yes… why?"
The woman smiled. "Is Nolan Grayson here?"
Sam's eyes widened at her words, but she didn't really get a chance to say anything before Nolan was at the door, his face firm.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" His voice was stern, and it was obvious he wasn't playing any games at all.
The woman simply smirked. "Well, Omni-Man. My name is Grace Mallory. And you've stirred up the hornets nest."
A/N: And that's the chapter.
So right away I know people are gonna be confused and a little put off by the beginning of the chapter, with Stormfront and Soldier Boy already having an established past. But trust me, while I took liberties, that's not something I created solely for the story.
In the episode "Herogasm", Soldier Boy remarks about how he founded the namesake orgy with Liberty, a former alias of Stormfront. And considering how he said it, it's not too far off to assume they had a sexual relationship of some kind.
Basically, instead of having to seduce him like she did Homelander, she already had a relationship with him… while keeping her Nazi ties a secret from him, of course. We all know that as much of an asshole as he is, he definitely hates Nazis. He was a WWII soldier after all, his name isn't just a title here.
Also, I debated seriously with myself on whether or not I should even have written out the sex scene, simply because I was unsure of how it would affect the impact of the story, and what I was trying to convey. So, I compromised. If you want to see the sex scene, you can read it on Ao3 (Archive of our Own). If you're fine without it or don't want to read it, you can read the chapter on FanFiction. As there is a warning in bold text before the sex scene starts, it's entirely up to the reader to choose whether they want to see it or not.
Anyway, that's all for the chapter, please don't forget to review, and I'll see you in the next chapter.