Mallory sat at her desk reviewing the files she managed to get from the CIA relating to Earth One, specifically A.R.G.U.S., Amanda Waller, and the various supervillains. From what she gathered A.R.G.U.S. was a UN-funded organization tasked with overlooking the superhuman community. Their relationship with the League and other hero teams was mixed. On the one hand, she read that an agent, Steve Trevor, has a long-standing relationship with Wonder Woman. Then of course there was Amanda Waller who had no trust in them. Overlooking Waller's file she found a rather interesting tidbit, she was a former Cabinet member to one Lex Luthor. Until she quit following Luthor's mental breakdown which nearly led to the president allowing a meteorite made out of something called Kryptonite to hit the planet. The more cynical part of her was surprised to see that Luthor actually got impeached for this stunt. Although apparently, Luthor ran as a third-party candidate and won by an impressive margin not unlike Nixon in '72.

"Fucking fairy tale land." She grumbled down at the desk.

It was there that she saw a file at the top of the Supervillain file and found "Lex Luthor" on it. She decided to look it up and was surprised to see that he was considered to be Superman's arch-enemy. He had no superpowers yet somehow he was the arch-enemy of a significantly stronger version of Homelander. A part of her almost respected him for that, if not for the fact he almost doomed his world. He was the smartest man on Earth One apparently having made his own multi-billion conglomerate formerly known as LexCorp. She was surprised to see that he never tried to make Superman a corporate mascot, but rather opted to kill him. In fact, he and by extension, LexCorp was allegedly responsible for the creation of numerous supercriminals that have fought Superman.

She then saw what appeared to be notes from Luthor's trial and read the notes.

Judge: Mr. Luthor how do you plead?

Luthor: Superman made me do it.

Judge: Mr. Luthor are you implying that Superman told you to let an asteroid composed of one of the few things that can seriously harm him, strike the planet.

Luthor: No, everything I have done has been in service to the human race. The rest of you may all pretend that as long as Superman is around we will all be safe. But the truth is, Superman and his compatriots will only bring stagnation. Human achievement will dwindle as long as we rely on them. Or worse, how long until Superman decides he's had enough and takes over the planet? I will not allow my planet to be held in the iron fist of a Man of Steel.

Judge: Enough Mr. Luthor

For some reason, the notes were cut off. Mallory looked up the date of the court and looked it up. To her shock, Luthor had poisoned the entire court there was even a video of it. She watched it. As the judge was reading his verdict he violently coughed as did the jury.

"Don't I am willing to resign." Luthor said, a smirk on his face.

The guards went up to him and proceeded to bring him down on the table as he was hauled away. Mallory realized that, unlike Edgar who seemed to be motivated by greed, Luthor was motivated by pride. The man pissed away a multi-billion fortune just so he could kill Superman.

Waller stood in front of the Squad this time composed of Soldier Boy, Captain Boomerang, and the Boys.

"So we're going after Crimson Countess now?" Hughie asked.

"There's been a change in plans Mister Campbell." Waller told him.

"Excuse me?" Soldier Boy spoke up indignantly.

"We will get to her eventually, right now something more concerning. We have reason to believe that the CIA of your world has gotten a new version of Compound V." Waller said.

This got the Boys' attention.

"So Langley is finally kissing Vought's ass?" Butcher asked.

"Not necessarily. We planted a bug there during our previous mission there. From what we have gathered this version works only for twenty-four hours." Waller said.

"Vought couldn't have made that, it seems too advanced. When we broke into Sage Grove we learned that Vought's formula still didn't work properly on adults." Frenchie said.

"We figured you would know more about this than we did. Our working theory is that Vought is working with someone from our world." Waller said.

"You don't think it's the League?" Butcher asked.

"Unlikely, they would never work with Vought on a project like that let alone hand it over to the CIA. We need you to steal a sample and bring it over here. Also, keep in mind, you may have to take lives, I don't want you hesitating." Waller told the squad.

"Do they have nuns working on the CIA now? Why the fuck would anyone hesitate?" Soldier Boy asked.

"Because former Deputy Director Grace Mallory is no exception." Waller said her gaze directly at The Boys. A picture of Mallory appeared on the screen.

The Boys were all paralyzed, Frenchie and even Butcher being the numbest. The silence was broken by Soldier Boy who whistled at the picture.

"You will likely have to terminate her, do you understand?" Waller asked.

The Boys were silent for a moment until Butcher spoke up.

"Sure thing, she lied to us for years. At this point, she's dead to me." Butcher said.

"Good." Waller said.

"One last thing, I want to bring MM on this mission." Butcher said.

"And have him get us all bloody killed no way!" Boomerang argued.

"You got a problem Con?" Butcher asked.

"Con? You fuckin' Pom I oughta..." Boomerang said.

"Enough, I usually hesitate to agree with Boomerang on anything. Do you want your lives to be at even greater risk?" Waller asked.

"Ever since his talk with the professor, he hasn't tried to kill Soldier Boy now has he?" Butcher asked.

Waller silently contemplated, unaware of the look Butcher gave to Frenchie.

"We can talk him into it." Frenchie said.

"Fine, but remember it's your neck on the chopping block, not mine." Waller said.

"Appreciate it love." Butcher said as the Boys followed suit.

Hughie went up to Butcher and whispered into his ear.

"You have a plan?" Hughie asked.

"Yes I do, but keep quiet. Frenchie and I will explain later." Butcher said.

Maeve was lying down on her bed having finished another bottle of vodka that littered the floor alongside its countless brethren. Elena kept sporadically calling her yet she did not say anything, usually hanging up as soon as Maeve answered. None of the texts Maeve sent elicited a response, the phone says she was reading them. She heard someone knocking at the door. All this emotional pain, distracted her from the physical pain she felt looking at a mirror. Her body was littered with scars, she had plenty of them on her cheeks all thanks to Cheetah.

"Not now, Ashley." Maeve said.

"Not Ashley, it's me." Donna said.

Maeve sighed.

"Come on in." She said.

Donna entered the room knocking aside the liquor bottles.

"How are you feeling?" Donna asked.

"Like shit." Maeve said. "How did you get in here?" Maeve asked.

"A girl has her ways." Donna said. "How are things going on the search with Elena?" She asked.

"Someone keeps calling me on her phone." Maeve said sounding frustrated.

"Who?" Donna asked feigning ignorance.

"I don't know they keep hanging up and won't answer me when they call!" She said tears running down her face.

"Hey easy, you'll find her." Donna said. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love, but you will get them back." She said a determined look in her eyes.

"Look at me! I'm a fucking mess!" Maeve cried out.

She proceeded to hug Donna, much to the surprise of Circe, to the point it nearly broke the facade.

"It's not too bad." Donna lied caressing the large scar going down from her cheek.

"Homelander's going to do something terrible soon I can feel it." Maeve said.

"How so?" Donna asked her curiosity piqued.

"He threatened to kill A-Train's brother's family. The way he said that, made it clear that he was not going to send someone to do it." Maeve explained.

"What if I told you I can give you a way to not only fight back, but crush Homelander like the pitiful bug that he really is." Donna told her.

"What are you talking about?" Maeve asked.

"I'm an expert at the arcane of Earth One. Superman can be damaged from magic, you really don't think Homelander would be immune to that do you?" She asked.

Maeve was shocked to learn this.

"You're serious?" She asked.

"I am." Donna said, fully confident.

Maeve started to ponder this for a moment.

"I don't know…" Maeve asked.

"I get it, Maeve it sounds scary, so I'll give you time to think about it." Donna said.

"Take care." Maeve said sounding almost hopeful.

Donna walked out the door when she saw Stormfront and Homelander.

"Well, it looks like Maeve has a new special friend." Homelander remarked.

"Which of you is the butch?" Stormfront said.

Circe smiled at the pair.

"Charmed I'm sure you must be Homelander and Stormfront. You two make such an eye-catching couple." Circe said, her hands behind her back. Unbeknown to the two she cast a spell that let her into the minds of both. Her compliments seemed to ease Homelander.

"No, look have you seen a little boy? He has brown hair and blue eyes." Homelander asked.

"No can't say I have." Circe said.

The spell told her that the boy was his son. It almost reminded Circe of Lyta, but she pushed that aside.

"He's probably left now, my own son thinks I'm a fucking fraud." Homelander said.

"No, he doesn't you'll prove them wrong." Stormfront said. She then proceeded to whisper something in his ears. Circe knew all too well what that meant as Homelander left them and rolled her eyes.

"You and Maeve can get back to getting on. Girls get it on, am I right?" Stormfront mocked her.

Circe let out a chuckle before casting another spell on Homelander and Stormfront. This spell would make whatever rendezvous they had planned impossible for the time being. As well as any future rendezvous too. A true goddess was not going to let their remarks go unpunished.

She was about to teleport, when she saw her. Wonder Woman making her way down the hall making her pause. Diana looked at her, but Circe kept up her facade.

"Do I know you?" Diana asked.

"No, I believe this is the first time we've met. I must say I am a fan." Circe said.

"Thank you!" Wonder Woman said still studying Circe's disguise.

She walked past the Sorceress who went straight to the elevator.

Elena tried to free herself from the chair she was tied to. The room was dark although her mouth was still covered by the duct tape Harley Quinn put on her. She heard a door open and the lights turned on. Her cell was filled with abandoned circus and amusement park props, such as a dunk tank. She hoped that it was Maeve or someone else here to save her, but her hopes were dashed when she saw that it was her captors.

"So good news on the Queen Maeve line, I've just received word that she's alive." Joker said. "Which means I don't have to chop you up, feed you to the Hyenas, and sell your organs on the street. Well, at least not now anyway." He added before letting out a chuckle.

Elena pleaded, so Joker yanked off the duct tape.

"Please… Please let me go…" She pleaded.

"Now why would I do that, when you are so important to my plans." Joker said.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Word through the grapevine is that your girlfriend damning evidence regarding Homeboy." Joker said.

Elenas' eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" Elena said.

"Oh don't play coy with me. Flight 37, you know the one that crashed into the ocean." Joker told her.

"Terrorists caused that what does that have to do with Homelander?" She lied.

"HAHAHAHA!" Joker laughed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a switchblade knife. He held the blade mere inches from her eye. His smile turned into an angered glare that bore through her soul.

"Don't play stupid with me." Joker threatened before he smiled once more. "I know that Milksop and your girlfriend were on that plane and it crashed because of their screwup. From what I heard, your gf managed to get video footage of that whole ordeal." Joker said.

"Maeve and I are no longer together, how do you know she'll go through with it." She said upon instinct.

Joker and Harley looked surprised to hear that.

"Oh dear, that is quite unfortunate, to say the least." Joker said.

"Yeah, sorry to hear about that." Harley said.

"So what you're trying to tell me is that you might no longer be of any use to me, is that it?" Joker questioned.

"No!" Elena spoke up.

"I don't know it looks like to me that you might be dead weight." Joker said pulling out his revolver. He pulled back the hammer and pointed the gun between her eyes.

"NO! PLEASE!" Elena pleaded, her eyes started to tear up.

"Too late. Come to think of it your corpse could work as well. Yeah, I can just kill you know and tell Maeve you're alive with her none the wiser." Joker said.

"PLEASE!" Elena said.

"Harley get the butcher knife looks like Bud and Lou are getting fed after all." Joker said.

"Aw, but Mistah J you know Bud has been having digestive problems." Harley brought up.

"Don't care, I'm not taking him to the vet again not after last time. Those bills are murder." He told her now pointing the gun at her.

"Yes she has a video of it, just don't kill me!" Elena yelled.

"Good." Joker said now pointing the gun at Elena.

He pulled the trigger and Elena clenched her eyes shut. All she heard was a pop and felt something made of paper hit her face. When she opened her eyes, sticking out of the gun was a flag that merely said "BANG!"

"Gotcha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He said before laughing up a storm.

"With all due respect, go eat a gonorrhea-infected cock!" MM told Butcher and Frenchie.

"Look I don't like the cunt at all, but it's our only way to get out of this fuck up." Butcher told him.

"Please, I know how we can get out, mon ami." Frenchie told MM.

MM sighed.

"What's your plan?" MM asked.

"The bombs are weak to electrical shocks. The CIA still has all my old equipment in storage." Frenchie said.

"You're sure?" MM asked.

"Certaine." Frenchie told him.

"Either way we stay here and risk dying for that bitch every day of our lives to not die in prison." Butcher said.

"Where do we go next then?" MM asked.

"We try really fucking hard not to bump into Mallory. Or else Waller expect us to capture her." Butcher said.

MM looked conflicted upon hearing this.

"Look I don't blame you for being pissed at her about lying to us for all those years. I say you have the most right to be crossed with her, but she's our only option. Either Mallory helps us or she dies too. Hell, chances are they might kill her anyway. I heard they fed Gunpowder to the Shark." Butcher said.

"They did, threw up his helmet right in front of me. I'm pissed at her for what she did, but even I think getting eaten by a man-shark is too much." MM said.

"So are you in or out? This might be our only way out of this cluster fuck." Butcher asked.

"Even if it means teaming up with Soldier Boy?" MM asked.

"Look at this way, you can try and screw him up along the way." Butcher said smiling.

"I'm in." MM said, a determined look on his face.

The League stood silent upon hearing Black Canary's revelation. Green Arrow was with her.

"She confessed?" Batman asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

This got the League's attention.

"You knew?" Dinah asked.

"I was looking over Butcher and his gangs' movements on their Earth before being brought over to ours. Not far from Sage Groves, there was a dead motorist found along the road. He cracked his skull after something broke his ribs. The motorist's car was dropped off at a hospital where Hugh Campbell was brought over by Butcher and January." Bruce told her.

"So what now do we just throw her back to the authorities?" Flash asked.

"You are positive she's not taking the blame for Butcher?" J'onn asked.

"No, I don't think she is. Ollie can attest to that." Dinah said.

Oliver stepped up, his usual confident demeanor was replaced with one of guilt.

"You all might remember this, but it was a while ago back when I was traveling with Hal. My shoulder got banged up and because of that I killed a perp." Green Arrow said, old wounds starting to surface. "But this was a civilian, so I'm at a loss."

"She was exposed to the Scarecrow's fear toxin. Crane's gas can linger in peoples' minds bringing out more psychological issues that were previously repressed. I think she is telling the truth." Batman said before turning to Wonder Woman. "Diana, didn't you mention that Wonder Girl told you that Annie hates Butcher?" He asked.

"Hate would be a strong word, but she's not fond of him. She wants to protect the others, especially Hugh Campbell." Diana said.

"Young love." Oliver remarked.

"Alright, but won't we look like hypocrites?" Flash asked.

Wonder Woman stood up.

"Life is sacred in my eyes regardless of their crimes. Yet I have killed before, it's something that I am not proud of. Even when it came to Maxwell Lord, I always chastise myself for not doing better or stopping it in the first place. I am a guardian of peace, not a warrior. At the heart of all things, people can change. I think Annie is one of those." Diana said.

"Stormfront and her followers have no right to use that against us. Especially from her of all people." Superman said.

"She's a Nazi who gives a shit?" Oliver asked.

"Agreed on that, but the kid, she's hurting." Black Canary said.

"As horrible as it is, she made a mistake." Flash said.

"One she'll have to live with for the rest of her life." Aquaman said.

"Earth Seven will judge her, I pity her, but the law is the law." Batman said.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. I think we all agree with that on some level." Superman said.

The League nodded.

"So we're in agreement?" Superman asked.

"Yes we are. What about Butcher and his crew?" Aquaman asked.

"So who gets to speak with the kid?" Green Arrow asked.

"I will, though if anyone wants to join me feel free." Superman spoke up.

"You're the best person for the job, Clark. You both share similar backgrounds." Batman said.

"Agreed, the kid probably needs to hear a signature Superman pep talk." Green Arrow said.

The Suicide Squad was now at the back of the George Bush Center for Intelligence.

"Your sure you know where they're keeping this stuff?" Soldier Boy asked.

"I'm positive, mate." Butcher lied.

The door opened and the lights were off. As part of a temporary outage that the emp brought along with the teleporter, the Squad entered the room. All of a sudden, a flashlight shined on them, from a security guard.

"Show me your hands!" The scared guard said.

He looked like a deer in headlights, he prepared to call on his walkie-talkie when Soldier Boy ran up to him and crushed his head against the wall. His brains and pieces of his skull were now on the wall and dropping to the floor. Soldier Boy looked at the rest of the squad non-plussed. Boomerang did not look shaken up at all. Whereas, The Boys had various looks and reactions. Hughie was shocked and horrified upon seeing this, Frenchie looked disgusted, Kimiko looked away slightly ashamed, Butcher seemed annoyed, whereas Mother's Milk was angered.

"What? It was him or us?" Soldier Boy asked. "Now let's get a move on ladies."

"You go on ahead, we'll watch your back." Butcher said.

Soldier Boy and Captain Boomerang went up ahead as the Boys slinked away behind them.

"How far is it?" MM asked Frenchie.

"Not far, should be just about here." Frenchie told him.

Soon enough they found the storage room "Storage B".

"How did you know that was the room?" Hughie asked.

"We used to come here every so often, Storage B was where Mallory dumped all the garbage Frenchie used on the missions." MM said.

"Let's try not to get nostalgic. We turn the bombs off then we go." Butcher said.

The door opened and they saw someone they recognized.

"Butcher?!" Mallory asked, surprised.

Butcher shushed her.

The Boys entered the room, and he noticed a notepad with a pen next to it. He grabbed both and began to write on it. He wrote:

"Amanda Waller, put bombs in us, will kill us if she finds out we're here with you."

A look of realization began to dawn on Mallory. She gestured to the note pad and Butcher handed it to her. She wrote:

"That bitch wants me dead?"

Butcher nodded. Frenchie looked around the room and found nothing to his dismay.

"They're not here!" He whispered, though the dread in his voice made it sound less like a whisper.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Waller asked over their comms.

The Boys all froze upon hearing her voice.

Superman entered the cell and saw Annie huddling in on herself, her eyes were puffy.

"Miss January, or would you prefer I call you something else?" Clark asked her sitting next to her.

Annie was silent, she refused to talk. Superman could feel her heartbeat.

"I know what Homelander is and I understand why you don't want to talk with me." Superman told her.

Superman let out an annoyed sigh.

"What you did was wrong, I cannot argue against it. After reading about you, I cannot fathom why that happened." Superman told her.

"Hughie… We needed to go to a hospital or else he'd die. The driver pointed a gun at us, and I panicked. I shot him with an energy blast and he cracked his head against the pavement." Annie told him.

"I know." Superman said.

"I could have just blinded him or even let him shoot me instead." Annie said.

"Maybe, but what's done is done, none of us can change that." Superman told her.

"I know." She said.

"What you did was wrong, but you are remorseful, it's a good sign. Just because you did that it does not make you pure evil." Superman told her. "In fact, it's almost refreshing, most murderers I've spoken to show no regrets." He said.

"How do you do it?" Annie asked.

"What do you mean?" Superman asked.

"I mean you've been exposed to all of the corruption, how do you look at all that and still smile? I mean for Christ's sake herogasm was a thing? Or Homelander? You know what he's done." Annie asked.

"Because at the end of the day, I've seen worse. War World and Apokolips are far worse than Earth Seven. The likes of Brainiac, Mongul, and especially Darkseid are worse than Homelander not just in power but cruelty. Homelander is nothing more than a schoolyard bully. Sure Homelander and Stormfront still have supporters, but there are plenty of people who support us. Besides our Earths are more similar than others may realize." Superman told her.

"What?" Annie asked.

"Your world has a lot of filth, but your world is not entirely devoid of hope. Your world still has beauty to it. Your world is not tarnished. However, humanity will always do the right thing no matter what. Do you still believe that" Superman told her.

Annie processed his words, remembering the car crash at the motel. How ordinary people risked their lives in order to save others. Everything about him made him seem different from Homelander. With Homelander every word felt recited as though they were from a script, but with Superman, everything felt natural. Every world felt natural, as though he spoke from his heart, not from a script.

"The "S" on my chest is my birth family's crest, and it stands for hope. They knew that sending me to Earth was not meant for just me but for everyone on this planet. My parents adopted me despite the fact that I was not human, but they still raised me as their own. Everything that I believe in comes from the fact that two farmers decided to raise me. Krypton is my birthplace, but Earth will always be my home. I know your mother treated you as a meal ticket, but your ideals were not found in that. You didn't do all that because you wanted fame, you wanted to protect and help people. Good is its own reward, you believed in that just as I do." He told her.

Annie kept listening.

"Your world is not doomed, there are clean spots. There always is Annie and I am sorry you forgot to see that." Superman told her looking into her eyes.

Annie started to cry, and she wrapped her arms around the Man of Steel. Superman hugged her in return.

"I know you have made mistakes, but your life is not over, not yet. I know that Annie, a better tomorrow is always around the corner." Superman told her, as he started to pat her on the back.

Annie freed herself from his hug.

"You know there is something wrong with them?" Annie asked.

"Hughie and the rest have been inducted into Task Force X, the Suicide Squad. I promise you, on my soul, I will do everything within my power to save them." Superman told her.

"Kill her." Waller ordered Butcher.

Butcher raised his gun at Mallory who seemed to have resigned herself to her fate. His hands kept shaking.

"Billy it's alright I understand, we both know I have a lot less to live for than all of you. Do what you have to do?" Mallory told him.

Butcher still hesitated.

"I'm sorry, Colonel." Butcher told her, a regretful look on his face.

"Butcher don't!" Hughie blurted out.

Butcher turned to him.

"We can get out of this, we always do." Hughie said.

"We are hard-wired to explode, kid! There is no way out!" MM told him.

"Then you do it, Marvin." Mallory said.

MM pulled out his gun, he was shaking with anger.

"I know you were involved with Operation Charly." He told her sternly.

Mallory sighed.

"Did you know that the Reds took Soldier Boy?" MM asked.

Mallory was shocked to hear confirmation.

"So he never died at all?" She asked.

MM hesitated.

"Enough of this." Waller said.

"Do it!" Waller ordered.

The Boys all looked at one another. MM dropped his gun.

"Do what you gotta do." He said

Kimiko held onto Frenchie's hand, while MM hugged both of them. Hughie looked over to Butcher, desperation in his eyes locked with Butchers' look of remorse.

"Hughie, you were a good lad. Glad I met you." Butcher told him.

They all waited for the inevitable end… Except nothing happened. No explosions, and none of their brains coated the walls.

"Are we dead?" Frenchie asked, hesitantly.

"I don't know." MM said touching his head.

"This doesn't make sense I mean we all remember getting the bombs injected into us, right?" Hughie asked the others. They all nodded.

"Maybe they glitched, now let's get out of here." Butcher said.

Back on Earth One, however, Waller kept pressing the button to kill the Boys.

"Where are the fucking bombs then?!" Waller demanded.

"We have no idea ma'am. One moment they were there next thing after you ordered them to be detonated their signals just vanished." One of the techies said.

Waller rubbed her temples in frustration she took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Soldier Boy and Boomerang you have five new targets. Butcher, Campbell, Milk, Miyashiro, and the Frenchman have gone AWOL. I want at least one of them alive, so they can be questioned." She told them.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted that Pom and those friends of his." Boomerang said.

"Understood Waller." Soldier Boy said.

He turned to Boomerang.

"Dundy, grab the vial, I'll handle the rats." He said.

"Right." Boomerang said.

As Soldier Boy left Boomerang he turned around for a moment.

"Also what the fuck's a Pom?" Soldier Boy asked.
"Prisoner of Mother England. It's an Aussie thing." Boomerang said.

Soldier Boy left the room.

"Bloody stupid Seppo is gonna have me killed." He said.

At that point the power turned on and an alarm went off much to Boomerang's chagrin.

"Fuck!" He yelled, his anger overrode his confusion at the moment.

Homelander and Stormfront were on their way to the George Bush Center for Intelligence, their evening tryst fell flat much to the couples mutual irritation. To their surprise, clear signs of destruction, there was a fight happening there.

"Looks like they're under attack." Stormfront said.

"Good." Homelander said.

An idea popped into his head and he smiled.

"I suppose it wouldn't be a problem for our plans if we helped them out." Homelander said.

"I agree, after all, it's a matter of National Security." Stormfront said.

The couple floated down, Homelander scanned the scene and noticed someone familiar.

"Oh look, it's Butcher and his friends. I almost kind of missed them." Homelander said.

"Same, I guess ripping them apart might give us some satisfaction." Stormfront said rubbing his shoulders.

Homelander's smile dropped upon seeing someone else steadily approaching them from another corridor.

"It can't be…" He said.

"What is it?" Stormfront asked.

"It's… It's Soldier Boy." Homelander said.

"You have some shit to explain to us, Colonel!" MM said.

"I will in a moment, and stop poking me with that thing!" Mallory said before scolding Butcher who had a gun behind her back.

"It's better this way, you wanna come out of this looking clean do you." Butcher said.

"What the hell is going on, do you know about the V-24?" Hughie asked.

"How do you know?" Mallory asked.

"Waller had us come to get it alongside killing you, madame." Frenchie said.

"Does it work?" Butcher asked.

"Yes it does, but we're still not sure about it." Mallory said.

"DUCK!" Hughie yelled as they all got down on the ground. Soldier Boy's shield was thrown at them.

"Have to say Butcher sharing top secret info to the enemy, not a good look. I thought you were a soldier?" Soldier Boy said, before gazing at Mallory.

"Agent Mallory, it's good to see you again." Soldier Boy said smiling.

Mallory rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've aged like milk." Mallory told him.

"I love milk." Soldier Boy said.

The Boys were all taken aback by Soldier Boy's comment. Each of their faces varied levels of disgust that went like this from least to greatest: MM, Mallory, Butcher, Frenchie, Kimiko, and Hughie.

The Task Force X room stood silent upon hearing that.

"Fucking hell mate she's practically a grandma!" Boomerang said from his comm.

"Hey man the older they get the more delicious and the drier." Soldier Boy said.

"I wish my head exploded." An unblinking Hughie said.

"Still no fucking way." Mallory told him.

Soldier Boy looked almost hurt upon hearing that.

"So I take it you're now Director Lesbo, is that right?" Soldier Boy asked.

"Hi, there. I'm Homelander, world's greatest superhero. I just wanted to know why the fuck the CIA is ruining my plans butlook who it is." Homelander's voice announced.

Everyone except for Butcher froze upon hearing his voice. Homelander walked through the corridor. Stormfront was with him, which caused Kimiko to drop her fear and focus on her hatred toward her brother's killer.

"How have you been? I heard you were run out of the furry's city." Homelander taunted.

Butcher smirked.

"And I saw you get your ass kicked by a mentally challenged Superman on the tele. Tell me are your arms still hurtin'?" Butcher said.

Homelander's smile turned to one of anger, his eyes turned red. Butcher spread his arms, a smile on his face, goading the sociopath in front of him.

"Go ahead, I can die 'appy after not just seein' your body get crushed, but your pride too." Butcher said.

"My only regret is the Justice twats decided to save you, your cunt girlfriend, and the rest of you." Butcher said.

Soldier Boy's gaze was directed at Stormfront. He squinted as though he recognized her from somewhere, when a look of recognition appeared on his face.

"Holy shit, Liberty. Is that you?" Soldier Boy said recognizing Stormfront.

"You have me confused for someone else." Stormfront denied.

"Bullshit I recognize that rack and hips anywhere." Soldier Boy said.

"Oh come now love you don't remember startin' herogasm with Soldier Boy 'ere. He told us everythin', tell me somethin' did all those trains run on time for you?" Butcher said.

Butcher turned to Hughie and Frenchie. MM looked confused, but Kimiko looked like she was about to laugh.

"Yeah, Soldier Boy told us everything. He said you started it in 1952." Hughie said.

"I heard the stories of Herogasm, you two must of had some crazy times together, no?" Frenchie asked, his question had some authenticity to it as well.

MM looked surprised to hear this as did Kimiko, but realized they were trying to have Homelander and Soldier Boy focus on one another. It appeared to be working, Homelander started to look uncomfortable.

"I see that you downgraded." Soldier Boy said a confident smile on his face.

"No, I upgraded, I never gave a shit about you. You never had what it took to carry our true purpose." Stormfront said.

"His costume has padding in it for fuck's sake. He's even wearing a cape, you and I both know what that means." Soldier Boy said.

Homelander looked confused and turned to his girlfriend who looked hesitant to answer.

"What does he mean?" Homelander asked turning to Stormfront.

"It means she's the one who takes you from behind." Soldier Boy said.

With that, Homelander tackled Soldier Boy into the wall. The two pushed back against one another, before eventually trading blows. Soldier Boy managed to knock Homelander down on the ground with his shield by slamming it against Homelander's face. The new shield proved tough enough to block Homelanders' attacks as well as draw blood. Soldier Boy began to punch Homelander on the ground before getting shocked by Stormfront's lightning. Soldier Boy screamed in pain before he fought through the pain and threw his shield at her. Just as Stormfront got up Kimiko attacked the supe from behind, ripping off her eyepatch and jabbing her fingers into the empty eyesocket. Stormfront screamed in pain. She threw Kimiko off of her before clutching at her wound. When she recovered she saw that Kimiko was running towards The Boys. She fired a lightning blast at Kimiko only for the lightning bolt to miss due to her lack of depth perception. Angrily she grabbed the eyepatch and put it on before pursuing her chase.

Meanwhile, Homelander tackled Soldier Boy outside. Soldier Boy kicked Homelander away, putting him back into the building. Soldier Boy noticed a nearby car and grabbed it, just as Homelander charged again he was nearly flattened by the car. Homelander caught it and began to float in the air trying to push Soldier Boy down. Meanwhile, civilian workers who managed to get outside started to record the fight. Soon enough it became a global hit "Homelander vs Soldier Boy" was trending worldwide.

One of those viewers was Black Noir who stared at his phone upon seeing Soldier Boy. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his head, images of Soldier Boy bashing it all while pinning his face to the red-hot steel of that car. By accident, he crushed his phone and walked towards the elevator. He pulled out one of his knives and started to stab his wrist. He paid no mind to the screams let out by the other passengers with him in the elevator. Noir pulled out the tracker and handed it to one of the terrified passengers before walking out the door.

"E-e-e-arving a-a-are you s-s-s-sure you want to l-l-l-leave?" Buster asked him. His anthropomorphic companions with him.

Noir turned to his friend and nodded. The Justice League could handle this he was not needed, not anymore.

The Boys were in a CIA lab desperately looking for a way out.

"Okay we have two of the most powerful supes in history practically on our tail and a Nazi supe chasing us right now, what do we do?" Hughie asked.

"A what?" Mallory asked.

"Long story." Frenchie said.

Kimiko was about to go out the door.

"With Homelander and Soldier Boy just around the corner, you won't live." Frenchie told her.

Mallory sighed.

"I might have a solution." Mallory said revealing a vial of V-24. "To answer your question, Hughie. It does work, human testing has shown no adverse side effects."

"Colonel with all due respect, no way." MM said.

"I'll take it." Butcher said to the surprise of everyone else.

"Butcher are you sure, I mean I figured that you would be the last one to become a supe." Hughie said.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Butcher said he looked at MM.

"I can't say that I agree with this. After all, you and I both said that with great power comes the absolute certainty that you'll turn into a right cunt." MM said.

"Twenty-four hours isn't long enough for that." Butcher told him.

"MM please we might not make it out of this." Frenchie said.

MM sighed.

"Fine." He answered reluctantly.

Mallory took out a syringe and injected Butcher. There seemed to be some mild discomfort and his eyes were clenched shut.

"Butcher are you alright?" Hughie asked. Butcher opened his eyes and nothing happened.

"I'm fine." Butcher said.

"Did it work?" MM asked.

"Don't know." He said.

Just then Stormfront destroyed the door.

"Congratulations, mud people, you've proven yourselves to be a major pain in the ass." Stormfront said.

"More than Homelander and Soldier Boy? No wait scratch that first one." Butcher said.

Stormfront was about to charge at Butcher until he brandished his crowbar at her. She chuckled.

"Oh how cute, you actually think that's going to wor…" She said before Butcher hit her with all his strength. The crowbar snapped in two, but Stormfront was launched back like a baseball.

"Get out as far away as you can. If I'm not with you in the next five minutes go on without me." Butcher told them.

"Where are we going?" Hughie asked.

"The Colonel's home, and before you get all upset. You'll tell everyone I threatened to kill you if you didn't help us." Butcher told Mallory.

"Fine." Mallory said.

With that Butcher left the room.

Back on the surface, Homelander was trying to crush Soldier Boy with a car. Soldier Boy pushed the automobile aside.

"What are you doing?" Waller asked.

"Kicking his ass." Soldier Boy told her as he kicked Homelander in the ribs before standing up.

"Butcher!" She told him.

Soldier Boy dodged a punch from Homelander, hitting him in the kidney.

"As long as this flying pussy is in the way, I'm not going to get any of them." Soldier Boy told her.

"Who the fuck are you talking to?" Homelander asked.

"Classified, dipshit." He said before Homelander caught one of his punches.

"I knew you were almost stronger than me. Almost." Homelander said.

"Oi." Butcher's voice called out as he tapped him on the shoulder.

An annoyed Homelander rolled his eyes and dismissively turned to the source… Only to get knocked back when a punch from Butcher managed to hurt him. A couple more managed to bring him down to the floor.

"What the fuck?" Homelander asked, rubbing his cheek.

Only to get hit once more by Butcher stomping on his face. Butcher put all focus on Homelander at the moment, only for Soldier Boy to step in by punching Butcher across the face. Soldier Boy was prepared to bring his shield down on Butcher's face when, Butcher blasted him in the eyes, temporarily blinding Soldier Boy. Butcher got up and proceeded to head-butt Soldier Boy. Homelander then tackled Butcher into the side of the building. Homelander and Butcher punched one another, Homelander was confused while Butcher smiled in excitement. After all these years he could physically fight Homelander for all the things he had done to Becca and other innocent people.

Homelander fired his eye beams at Butcher knocking him back. Butcher could feel them burning slowly burning his skin as he tried to get back up only to get knocked down once more. Homelander continued to spam them keeping the vigilante at a distance when suddenly, Butchers' eyes felt a strange sensation. When he opened them, two beams of light were fired at Homelander knocking him down to the ground.

Butcher was surprised, to say the least.

"Fuckin' diabolical!" He said before continuing the onslaught.

Butcher relished Homelander's groans and screams of pain. Until he unleashed an angered roar, Homelander got up and fired his own laser beams. The two entered a beam struggle with both hated adversaries trying to get the advantage. Homelander started to say in the air, pushing it down. It looked like Homelander was about to win the struggle. Soldier Boy tackled both of them, he turned to Butcher and both silently agreed to a temporary truce. Temporary as long as Homelander was still present. The two began to tag team Homelander with Butcher punching Homelander causing him to walk into Soldier Boy who slammed him onto the ground. Homelander grabbed both of them by the throat and proceeded to choke them out, only for Butcher to punch him in the nose, breaking it. Soldier Boy grabbed Homelander and pinned him to the ground preparing to blast him. Homelander snarled as he attempted to free himself, he was still a little hurt from Bizarro. Just then, Soldier Boy was attacked by lightning, causing him to release Homelander. Stormfront used all of her power to push Soldier Boy back. Stormfront leaped onto the scene and flew off with Homelander, his leg in between his legs. Butcher angrily watched as they fled, but found enjoyment after what just happened. Butcher went off to join the Boys, they were free, and 24 hours of superpowers or not he was not going to waste his time by fighting Soldier Boy. Just as Soldier Boy got up, Waller commed him.

"Return to base." Waller sternly told him.

Just then, Soldier Boy was teleported back to Belle Reeve.

Grace Mallory sat in her office at the George Bush Center for Intelligence, staring deadly at the destruction caused by the destruction. Finally, the technicians put her computer screen back and she could watch the battle which unfolded. She saw how well Butcher did against Homelander once he got a shot of V24, not as well as she hoped. Homelander's laser was stronger, Homelander himself was stronger and even with powers, Butcher was going to get killed by their Earth's strongest supe.

"You've seen this shit?" Mallory asked the scientist.

"Yes, ma'am." She answered. "As much as we studied the V24, we couldn't predict how strong Homelander would be. I'd say, based on Mr. Butcher's performance, a six-man squad should be able to do… The job."

"Make it 12 men."

"That's your shot to call, but…?"

"Speak up."

"Earth One heroes do provide an alternate route."

As the scientist said that, Mallory opened her desk, and saw the communicator Batman left her. Then, she saw a body being taken through the hallway, the security guard murdered by Soldier Boy, seeing that, she closed the drawer.

"No, these fuckers have been out there for too long. We need to end them, permanently. We are getting a squad, and we're going to stomp the shit out of Homelander."