A/N: So, it looks like the idea I introduced in the last chapter had a bit of a mixed reception. Many of you are apparently done with the fic because of the idea of a clone, or you simply don't like the idea.

That's fine.

The clone is the start of an idea I had since before I wrote out the Homelander battle, and I feel like many of you are focusing on the 'Omni-Man clone' aspect, and not the fact that it was originally a Homelander Clone until Omni-Man's blood was added.

You don't have to like the idea, and it sucks to hear that some of you don't, but I know what direction I'm taking this fic, and I'm sticking to my guns.

Also, for those of you curious as to how they had a single drop of blood amidst all the commotion, Nolan's ears were bleeding and then he was slammed into a concret wall. It's not like they were bleeding for long, and there's only one place for his blood to really splatter.

As for how it was only a single drop of blood in the first place… well, I don't know if I specified this too well, but the clone was already in development before they added Omni-Man's blood. It was a late edition, not a key component in the creation.

Anyway, I stand by my decision on a clone, because it's not like they're gonna keep pumping out clones, especially once Nolan and the other Guardians find out.

Now that the rant is over, on with the story!

"The fuck makes you think I want to talk to you?" MM asked, glaring at Soldier Boy.

Soldier Boy shrugged. "You don't. You hate my guts."

"Glad we're on the same page."

"Thing is," Soldier Boy continued. "I remember that night very well. Want to know what I remember?"

"Not really."

Almost as if he was ignoring him, Soldier Boy kept talking. "You are absolutely right. Three idiots. A Mercedes Benz. I slipped my hand under the rear bumper and sent it flying."

MM gritted his teeth. "Are you here to just tell me exactly how you killed my family?"

Soldier Boy glared at MM. "I was saving the life of a young woman."

MM raised an eyebrow. "Bullshit."

Soldier Boy narrowed his eyes. "If you were paying any sort of attention to me that night, you wouldn't be saying that."

"Oh I was paying plenty of attention to you." MM growled. "When I saw you outside my window, I was hollering for my grandfather. 'Grandpa, Grandpa! Look, it's Soldier Boy!'" MM snarled as he recalled that night. "My grandpa was over by the window, and then he wasn't. The fucking Benz missed me by about an inch."

Soldier Boy nodded. "There was a young woman, walking up on us. Wanted my autograph or something, is my guess. Pretty little thing, blonde hair, blue eyes-"

"I didn't see no woman." MM interrupted Soldier Boy.

"Didn't you just say you were looking at your grandpa when I threw that car?" Soldier Boy retorted. "She calls out to me, I look at her, and then the engine starts." The superhero turned his gaze directly to MM's eyes. "I just barely caught it by the rear bumper, saved the woman from getting flattened."

"Yeah, instead, you chose to flatten my family."

"You think I was trying to kill your family?" Soldier Boy growled. "As a matter of fact, do you think I even thinking about where the car might go?"

"No, I know you didn't. None of you fucking idiots ever think about what your actions might do to us normal people." MM retorted, his gaze hard. "To us, your gods. To you, we're toys."

"You know, I've carried that night with me for years." Soldier Boy admitted, looking right at MM without batting an eye. "I've had to remember that little boy standing in the hole of a house staring at a space I thought was empty."

MM's eyes widened. "You actually saw me?"

Soldier Boy nodded. "Yeah. I watched the car fly through your house." The man shook his head as he recalled the memory. "Your face has been burned into my head. When I found out what I'd actually done, I marched into James Stillwell's office and told him that I wanted the public to know the truth."

MM's raised an eyebrow. "The truth?"

"Vought was going to spin it that your grandpa pulled a gun on me. Stillwell still refused to let me tell the truth."

"But…" MM trailed off as he remembered Soldier Boy's words on the news regarding the incident. "You did say it was an accident."

"Yep. I ignored their orders." Soldier Boy admitted. "Pissed them off big time, because they had no choice but to go with it."

MM shook his head, his thoughts jumbled. "I thought that night was just a speck… Something you never looked back on."

"Oh no, it's still fresh in my mind." Soldier Boy admitted. "Every time I close my fucking eyes, if it's not the Russians, it's this terrififed little face of a young boy who just watched his family get slaughtered because I was an idiot."

MM couldn't believe what he was hearing. His entire opinion of Soldier Boy had been made on the belief that Soldier Boy just really didn't care.

He thought Soldier Boy was trying to get out of trouble when he made the announcement about his family's deaths…

Instead, he stopped Vought from criminalizing his family.

"You don't have to like me, you can hate fucking guts, and I wouldn't blame you." Soldier Boy admitted, looking at MM. "I admit that I can be reckless, and your family is another burden I carry on my conscience. But I just want you to know, it really was an accident."

MM stared at Soldier Boy, his face blank as he processed his thoughts.

And then he furrowed his brow.

"I don't care if you're not as bad as I thought you were. Your stupidity killed my family, motherfucker." MM said. "I don't like you. I hate you, and I wish you would've stayed gone."

Soldier Boy sighed at MM's words. "Fair enough. But at the very least, don't pull a stunt like you did earlier."

MM raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I regret what I did?"

Soldier Boy narrowed his eyes. "Buddy, until you mentioned the Benz, I had no fucking idea who you were." He admitted, raising his shield. "I had just gotten shot in the face by a random stranger. Wouldn't you be pissed?"

Begrudgingly, MM admitted he had a point.

"Besides, was it really smart to pull a stunt like that in front of all those people?"

MM looked at Soldier Boy, surprised. "Excuse me?"

"All those people people just got off a plane that was hijacked by arms terrorists, including a supe." Soldier Boy spoke, his tone serious. "Both pilots are dead, and the first thing these people got to see or hear after landing is you, shooting me in the face."

MM shook his head as he thought it over.

And then he chuckled. "You want to hear something funny?"

At this, Soldier Boy's eyes widened.

"My friend, Frenchie. He has a habit of pulling the exact same impulsive shit, and I jump his ass for it." MM explained, shaking his head. "And here I am, pulling the same stunt on the second most powerful supe in the world."

Soldier Boy raised an eyebrow. "Sounds a little hypocritical."

"Fuck you."

Soldier Boy shook his head. "Well, I'm gonna get back out their and help these people. You can stay in here away from me, or get your head out of your ass."

Without any more words, Soldier Boy walked out the van's door, MM watching him.

After a few seconds of deep thought, MM followed him.

"So, what we looking at?" Billy asked as he and Nolan overlooked the evacuation.

"Only two dead, the pilots." Nolan started. "And all the injuries on the passengers are rather minor, except for one man having a third degree burn on his arm."

"Well, the magma cunt's gonna be away for a long time." Billy remarked. "And I'd say that most people are sold on this whole Guardians thing you got going on."

"That we got going on." Nolan corrected, glancing at Billy. "Don't forget that we work in tandem with you."

"Yeah…" Butcher trailed off. "Not gonna lie, I'm still not used to it. Being a high ranking government wanker."

Nolan chuckled. "You wanna hear something? Back home, there's a man I worked with. Cecil Steadman."

"Yeah?"

"He was like you in a lot more ways than you'd think. He was cruel, calculating. He did what he thought was best, by any means necessary."

"Is that right?" Billy asked with a raised eyebrow. Nolan nodded.

"Yep. Even would go out in the field if he could. He had a teleporter on him. After my true mission was revealed, he had the balls to actually confront me face to face." Nolan chuckled as he remembered that encounter. "I had just barely snatched his tie before he was gone again."

"Sounds like it would've ended worse for him if he'd have stayed," Billy remarked. Nolan nodded.

"It would've. But despite everything, all the decisions he'd made? He hated himself." Nolan revealed. "He absolutely despised himself with every fiber of his being."

"Sounds like me and him would've hit it off pretty well."

"You kidding?" Nolan laughed. "With how similar you two are, you would break his nose in a heartbeat. And without his teleporter? Good luck, Cecil."

Billy laughed at that remark. "If you say so." He glanced over at Nolan. "You still all set to start training Ryan next week?" He asked, wanting to change the topic.

Nolan nodded. "Yeah. You and Becca are still okay with me training him at the Guardians facility, right?"

Billy nodded. "Yeah, mate. Wherever you need to."

Nolan looked back out towards the evacuation. "You know, he looks up to you."

Billy snorted. "Doubt that."

"It's true." Nolan said, glancing to Billy. "Your gruff, rough around the edges, but you have a tough as nails attitude, and can be nice when you want to be."

Billy chuckled. "Now you're just rubbing salt on the wound."

Nolan continued. "Ryan wants to be like you, because he sees something even if you don't."

"And what's that?"

"You're a good man."

At those words, Billy actually laughed. "Me? A good man? I'm the same man who fucking loved watching you brain the invisible bastard."

"So? Here you are, working for the government, working with superheroes, keeping us in check, without jumping the gun and killing us." Nolan spoke. "Or, failing to, in my case."

"Don't fool yourself, Nolan." Billy said solemnly. "I'm trying to be good. For Becca, Ryan, Hughie… all of them. But I'm not a good man. I'm too far gone."

"You know what I've done, Butcher." Nolan spoke, glancing at Butcher with a raised eyebrow. "What makes you worse than me?"

"I enjoyed being a cunt." Billy admitted, glancing at Nolan. "A part of me enjoyed all the violence, the fighting, every bit of it."

"But you are still leaving it in the past."

Billy sighed.

"I hope so."

There was silence between the two for a moment, as they watched the evacuation.

"Hundred bucks says MM tries to punch Soldier Boy when he walks out of that van."

"You're on."

2 Hours Later

It had been a few hours, but they were finally clearing people to leave.

All of the terrorists had been accounted for, including the frozen corpse of the supe, who had yet to be identified. At the moment, people were calling him Magma Head.

Real original.

Since they were no longer needed, the Guardians of the Globe were now on the V-Tol on their way back to base, with the addition of Soldier Boy and Stormfront.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Ice Princess asked the couple, since it was very apparent they were close.

"Me and Stormfront met back in '56." Soldier Boy revealed. "We founded the annual Herogasm."

Their eyes widened, gasps of shock rowing through the bay.

"Herogasm?" Starlight asked, confused.

"It's an annual superhero orgy." Maeve explained, causing some of the younger heroes' eyes to widen. "It's not common knowledge on who founded it, and the files in the drive Noir gave to New York Times doesn't go back that far.

"We founded it as a way of escape." Stormfront explained. "Get away from the shitshow that is Vought America."

"Herogasm…" Love Sausage muttered. "I have heard whispers of the event. It is supposed to be one of the most depraved superhero events ever created."

Soldier Boy chuckled. "We actually didn't intend for it to be some depraved event. We saw it as more like a college party." He explained. "Celebrate, relax, take a break from being a hero."

"Well, it was definitely twisted in the years you've been gone." Maeve remarked. "I'm the only one here who's actually attended Herogasm, and I can safely say that it's a good thing Herogasm is gone now."

"I hesitate to ask, but how bad did it get?" Soldier Boy questioned, a look of discomfort on his face.

"They'd hire prostitutes who were desperate. I can't tell you how much pain they put those poor girls through for a little pleasure."

Both Soldier Boy and Stormfront's eyes widened, a disgusted look crossing both their faces.

"What the fuck?"

"Jesus Christ…"

"Yeah." Maeve nodded.

"Maybe now that you're back, you can put things back on track." Supersonic proposed. "Outside of Omni-Man, you are pretty well remembered."

Soldier Boy nodded. "Yeah… I uh, I gotta ask, that guy, Homelander?" At the mention of the former Seven leader, most of them immediately turned to look at him. "Was he really my son?"

Most of the group looked at each other, surprised by the rather downtrodden question.

"Uh… yeah." Starlight nodded, confirming his fears.

Soldier Boy sighed. "Of course he is."

"It was not you that made Homelander, Soldier Boy." Silver Kincaid spoke softly, sympathy in her tone.

"Maybe not." Soldier Boy nodded. "But it was my blood that they used to make that psycho."

"You are not Homelander, Ben." Stormfront rested her hand on Soldier Boy's leg, causing him to smile.

"Thanks, Klara."

"You were sold to the Russians because you wouldn't heed to Vought's wishes, right?" Maeve asked. Soldier Boy nodded.

"Something like that. Most of my team gladly took me down for the Russians." Soldier Boy explained. "A quick grab."

Most of the team had wide eyes at the revelation. "What?!" Starlight exclaimed. She turned her gaze towards Noir. "Is that true, Noir?"

Hesitantly, Noir nodded. Soldier Boy scoffed.

"He didn't help my team bring me down." Soldier Boy admitted. "But he fucking knew about it." He growled, glaring at the ninja.

Most of the team gave the ninja dirty looks. Noir didn't even try to defend himself, he simply averted his gaze. Their anger was completely justified.

"It's not the worst thing he's guilty of, admittedly." Maeve remarked with an eyeroll.

"Well, it's not like I was the nicest guy." Soldier Boy admitted. "I was an asshole."

"That's still no excuse." Supersonic said. "Their actions resulted in god knows what kind of horrors at the hands of the Russians. You didn't deserve that."

Kimiko was typing furiously on her phone, before shoving it towards Soldier Boy.

I know what it's like to be taken from my home, used like I have no will.

Soldier Boy read the message, and his eyes showed sympathy. "I hope you didn't suffer."

Kimiko didn't type any more.

"I'm not quite sure what you suffered because of the actions of your old team." Nolan's voice echoed through the room. "But I will say, it is an honor to meet a true veteran of this world's history."

Soldier Boy smiled at the words, the downtrodden mood of the prior conversation quickly being forgotten. "The honor is mine. I hear that you're a real hero."

Nolan chuckled. "I try to be. Someone needed to stand up to Vought and Homelander." He turned his attention to Stormfront. "I hear you were always against Vought. Had quite the social media presence."

Stormfront grinned. "Well, I always wanted to connect with the fans, and Vought's bullshit was never gonna control me."

Nolan chuckled. "I can appreciate that sentiment." He remarked, smiling at Stormfront. "I'm surprised Vought had as many heroes putting up with them as they did."

"Well, unfortunately, money talks." Stormfront replied with a roll of her eyes. "Most of them preferred their paychecks over their freedom."

Nolan nodded. "That is disappointing, but at least not all of them were like that." As he spoke, his eyes glided across the crowd.

Stormfront and Soldier Boy both looked around, following his gaze as they looked upon the heroes.

"You have a real team here." Soldier Boy commented, smiling at Omni-Man. "Full of good people." He gave a sideways glance towards Noir. "Even if I don't particularly like some of them."

Nolan followed his gaze. "I understand your reservations with Noir, and I won't pretend that it wasn't a severe action. But he understands what happened was wrong, and while he let it happen, he was against it in the first place."

Soldier Boy sighed, looking at Noir. "I guess."

Nolan looked at Soldier Boy. "I don't expect you to forgive him for his lack of action, but at the very least, don't hold it against him either."

Noir glance between the two now that all the attention was on him.

And Soldier Boy couldn't help but be reminded of the hopeful teenage boy who'd first joined his team all those years ago.

While Ryan was in the background, playing with his legos, Sam and Becca sat in the lounge room of the newly established Guardians base, conversing with each other.

"He did what?!" Becca exclaimed, an incredulous look on her face.

Sam nodded smiling widely. "Yeah! This guy doesn't want to leave us alone, he's smack talking Ellis, trying to flirt with me, and Nolan just walks right up to the guy, grabs the collar of his shirt, and starts dragging the guy out the door, kicking and screaming like a child!"

Becca giggled furiously at the thought of a grown man acting like a child in such a public place. "Did the guy try to come back in?"

Sam laughed as she recalled the memory of the incident days prior, during their shift at work. "He did, tried threatening Nolan, telling him he'd have the theater shut down, cost us our jobs, and Nolan looks him dead in the eye without blinking and says in the most dead tone 'When you're done compensating, feel free to leave."

Becca laughed at the story. "Oh god, that reminds of this incident Billy had with these three bikers while we were still dating."

"Oh, this I have to hear." Sam said, bouncing up and down as she grinned, more than willing to have some dirt on Billy.

"So, we're in the middle of a date, at this bar a block from my apartment, right?" Becca starts with a chuckle.

"Uh-huh." Sam nodded, urging her to continue.

"There's three big biker guys making a racket, and Billy's already drunk off his ass. One of them decides to walk up to me and make a move on me, even though I'm clearly with Billy."

"Oh no…" Sam giggled, already curious as to where this is going.

"He decides it's a good idea to grab my ass, and not even a second later, he's on the ground seeing stars cause Billy's bottle went from his mouth the the guy's skull!" Becca laughed at the memory.

"I'm gonna guess that his buddies didn't like that?" Sam asked with a giggle.

Becca shook her head. "Oh, way beyond didn't like it. One of them pulls a knife, and the other one puts on some brass knuckles. They're both a foot taller than Billy, so they think he has no chance to take them both."

"Oh?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "I take it that didn't go quite to their plan."

"Billy is ex British Special Forces. He was more than trained enough to take them down. After he's got them on the ground crying, though, he's fucking stumbling around, looking at me, crying, saying 'I'm sorry for causing a fuss Becky, please don't leave me!'"

Sam was giggling like a mad woman at the story. "He can be a real sweetheart when he wants to be, can't he?"

Becca nodded. "He can." Her gaze moved towards Ryan, who was still playing with his legos, oblivious to their conversation. "You know, I thought he would hate Ryan, because of who his dad is." She admitted, smiling fondly at her son. "But he's been doing everything he could to give him a normal, happy life."

"You know, when I met Butcher, he had interrupted a date between me and Nolan?" Sam revealed, causing Becca to laugh.

"He never was one for subtlty. I still think he teaches Ryan cusswords behind my back."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Sam remarked, smiling. "But he was surprisingly polite, considering what I hear about him."

"Chances are he just didn't want to piss off Nolan." Becca remarked, giggling.

"Probably."

"You know, Billy always put me on this pedestal, said I was the one who saved him." Becca said, glancing at Sam. "But ever since he's met Nolan, he's been more tame, less violent prone."

Sam nodded, smiling fondly. "Nolan has an effect on people, doesn't he?"

Becca nodded, looking at Sam. "You really like him, don't you?"

Sam nodded, blushing slightly. "When we first met, he caught me staring at his ass." She admitted, causing Becca to giggle.

"Oh, I'm well aware, Miss Ogler." She joked, causing Sam to pout.

"I'm sorry, he's hot!"

Becca shook her head, laughing. "I bet."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he didn't think I was weird for it. I was surprised he said yes to that first date." She admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "I uh… well, I had a personal moment, and he still didn't think I was weird."

"You know he likes you too, right?" Becca asked, causing Sam's eyes to widen.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Becca nodded. "Something's holding him back, but he likes you, a lot."

Sam could guess pretty easily what it was holding him back. "Well, he has only been here a week. He had a wife and kid back home."

Becca's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "I'd imagine it's hard to get over your first love that quickly."

"But he's still pursuing something with you." Becca spoke. "We've all noticed it. Even Billy, and he's dense as a rock. Maybe he's trying to get used to the possibility."

"Well, either way, I want him to be comfortable." Sam admitted. "I want him to actually want to be with me, if it happens."

Becca smiled. "You know, when me and Billy first met, he hated me."

Sam's eyes widened. "No way."

Becca nodded. "Oh yes. He hated that I had absolutely no problem yelling at him. I could scream just as loud as he could, and I would throw just as many insults his way as he did mine."

"What changed?" Sam asked.

"Billy the Butcher got butchered." She said, "That scar on his eyebrow? He got in a knife fight. He got sliced up pretty actually."

Sam's eyes widened. "Jesus Christ. Were you a nurse or something?"

Becca nodded. "He was still in the military when we met. I was a nurse in his brigade, and he had been ambushed by a group of terrorists during a patrol." She revealed. "Long before Vought. Anyway, I was his assigned nurse. One thing led to another, and a year or two after he was discharged from the military, we were married."

Sam was surprised at the news. "Wow, I always thought he was smitten with you or something."

Becca laughed. "Are you kidding me? I love the man, but he was not that approachable when we met."

Sam smiled. "No, I'd imagine not."

Suddenly, Ryan was rushing over to them.

"Mom, I hear the jet! They're back!" He exclaimed, excited to see Nolan and the others again.

Becca laughed and glanced at Sam. "Well then, let's go meet them, shall we?"

They two women stood up, following the excited young boy to meet the returning heroes.

In the back of her mind, Sam felt some weight off her shoulders. Perhaps she had at true chance with Nolan after all.

A/N: And that's the end of the chapter. Soldier Boy and MM confront each other, Stormfront and Soldier Boy are welcomed by the Guardians, and Sam and Becca bond.

As I said above, I know many of you are rather unhappy with the clone reveal, but it does serve a purpose, and all I can say is that if you are unhapy with the reveal, then there is nothing I can do.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to review, and I'll see you in the next chapter.