Doomsday Clock Strikes to Ten

Part 3

The sun's rays were comfortable…

It soothed him after a long day's work of dealing with various teachers. Not that he hated those sessions. He learned quite a lot from them too! Things that made his mom proud. Things that made him feel happy for himself having learned about them.

Yet, it was also taxing and as the days went on, after being exposed to the same people over and over again, he found himself frustrated and bored. He didn't want to sound or act rude to any of the kind people who were teaching him or helping him in some manner that he found no true purpose or understanding of.

What only truly mattered was this sense of yearning for him.

Like a chest opened from one of those video games that they allowed him to play.

A treasure unearthing a sense of importance, a sense of power, and weight with his mostly uninteresting life. His mother taught him a lot of things, good things, but deep down he questioned if this was really what he wanted. This 'stillness' that his young mind couldn't wholly explain or understand in full context.

Bringing it up was embarrassing at first until it grew into resentment later.

He didn't hate his mother, nor did he condemn her for not wishing to talk about his 'abilities' because based on how she saw him react to his enthusiasm, the little boy could feel even through his age that she was being cautious, concerned even.

He loved her dearly, but the boy found out that other emotions started to develop deep within him when he tried to push this idea forward after being met with countless ignorance multiple times in his recent past. A sense of rebellion rose, it was not as terrible nor as far gone as Becca, his mother would fear with utmost anxiety night by night…

"Mom." He said with a flat tone.

…but it was something with this specific circumstance that made her feel as if everything she had ever built was about to collapse unto itself.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I want to… train my powers."

"Hm? But you will… I always promised you that." He heard his mother say as her eyes stared at him in question. A part of Ryan was still scared to push further, but his heart willed it so.

Homelander always taught him to follow his heart.

"No… I want to train my powers so we can… l-leave. S-So I can see the outside. Meet other people."

"But sweetie you always meet a lot of people and they're-

BAM!

"But they're all fakes!" Ryan felt his sudden spike of anger rise and quickly fall. Their wooden table buckled as the plate where his hand had hit shattered into a bunch of pieces. A pang of pain riddled his fist as after raising it, a trickle of blood dropped on the ceramic mess.

Almost instantly, his mother ran to his side in horror and concern.

But the fervor of rebellion burned within Ryan's heart still. Even as the small ceramic shards that did penetrate a degree of skin flared in pain. It added to his already growing resentment as his face shifted from doubt into resentment.

"Let's get this cleaned up sweetie, come on we'll have to wash it first before we can stop the ble-

"I can do it myself!" he shouted, making his mother freeze in place. His voice amplified by a bit to the point that some of the glassware on the table vibrated slightly. The ringing was in Becca's ears, yet at the same time what froze her was the complete utter shock of this…

"I d-don't need your help."

…behavior. Ryan may not have understood it then, but his mother conveyed an expression that would ultimately haunt her to the grave. She was even shaking slightly as she stared by while Ryan's fist continued to bleed.

"Ryan… sweetie. Why are you saying these things?" he heard his mother ask yet the tone of her voice while still filled with concern was now wrapped with complete fear.

Ryan tried to close his fist as blood oozed over. The pain gripped him and his mental state as he recalled how his friend, Homelander talked to him about why he wished to be strong. Why he wanted to be free from an unloved life by parents who didn't treat him right…

And why he wanted to show the world that he could do good with his powers.

They were holding him back. Just as his mom was holding him back.

"M-Mom… why can't we leave? Why… are we stuck in this place? D-Did we do something wrong? W-Was my dad a… c-crook?" Ryan asked, begging for an answer as Becca once again changed expressions. If Ryan had been a lot more mature and older at that very moment, what he would come to see was his mother being effectively disturbed by him.

"How many times have you been talking to him?" his mother asked suddenly. Her voice was cold but concerned as the two exchanged glances.

"B-but Homelander's right! If I want to do good… if I want to see what's out there, I need to train and be a hero!"

"Homelander is stupid." Becca suddenly said. The bitterness in her tone equaled that of her husband, not that Ryan would know, but the seething anger within her showed its fangs as despair started to dawn on her. The boy did not expect his mother to act this way as she was now standing up pointing at him with unbridled, despairing fury. "You're just a young boy. My son… that doesn't understand the lengths that I had to endure just to see you born and now… now he's trying to make you like him. He's… fu-making you be the one thing that I didn't want or wish for you."

"But Homelander's a hero! Isn't he right? W-What's so wrong about wanting more? About wanting to be free?! I've been here since I was small, mom. I see the same people over and over again and nobody could tell me why we could never leave in the first place. Why it's so bad that we couldn't go out there and-

"And you are right to feel that way, Ryan!"

It was the boy's turn to ultimately freeze in shock. To stare in a pale, scared manner at his mother who was now looming over him with emotions that took a toll on her psyche and heart. Her despair was now at its zenith as tears started to trickle from her cheek.

"…You don't know or understand that I feel the same way. That if it were possible I'd take you and we would leave this stupid place forever, never looking back." Ryan then saw his mother sit back down on the chair closest to him. Defeat replaced her anger as she started to sob. Guilt racked Ryan's heart as he watched his mother tear up. "… but we can't… I couldn't leave you here. I will not leave you here, I don't want you to be like them. To have them turn you into what they want."

"I… I don't understand, Mom."

"You wouldn't… because if I explained it to you… you'd be lost from me forever."

"W-What?"

Becca started looking around, realizing that it was futile as Ryan saw his mother look at him. She then gently pulled his wounded hand, trying to stop the bleeding as their eyes continued to stare into each other. "…Sweetie. I love you with all my heart. I… I only want what's best for you… I… I can't stop you from wanting things to be better. I can't stop you from wishing to be free."

Ryan then felt his mom gently squeeze his hand, even through the pain as he felt himself tearing up too. "I just want you to promise me… that you'll stay who you are. My lovely, little boy that I raised with all the love and kindness I can give."

"W-Why are you telling me this Mom?"

"Because I'm scared you won't be my son in the future."

Ryan immediately tackled his mother in an embrace. Even if blood started to ruin her shirt as they squeezed each other sufficiently for their emotions and bond to grow.

"I just want to see what's outside, mom."

"We both do… honey. We both do."

"I'm sorry," Ryan whispered. Becca did not reply back, but it was probably the last close interaction the two had for the young boy was still drawn to curiosity. That thirst of wanting more even as he continually remembered the words of his mother.

If anything, his hero Homelander visited him much more frequently than before, talking about family, what it was like to have friends, to love, to learn, to understand…

He learned a lot; he even found some new appreciation to his teachers…

But the more he mingled, the more he saw that his mother continued to subtly despair for him, and he didn't know why. She still labored to show him all the love and heart she could muster but the pull towards the other direction was fierce.

Even beyond that of Homelander.

His teachers, both new and old alike, asked him if he wished to be more.

Even Homelander suggested to him that if he wished he could take him away and show him how beautiful the world was, how his potential could grow. How he could be stronger.

His teachers gave him a solution, even outside of Homelander's knowledge.

"…Yes." He said.

…And the young Ryan, being far too swept up from all the support found himself with the worst decision he had ever partook in his life.

He recalled his mother crying that night as Ryan tried to convince her.

She tried to believe in him, she really did but as Ryan was pulled by this urge to prove himself, to use this nascent power that many others, such as his hero Homelander and his teachers, did Becca realized that she had… failed.

She did not know if she could steer her son away from that dark path.

Not that little Ryan would know where this path led.

The worst part was Ryan's late realization, was that he consented to this idea his teachers proposed. They were scared about it at first, but Ryan wanted to prove himself, so they begrudgingly accepted. Ryan was ecstatic but as soon as that day came…

"I love you." His mom would say.

…he found only pain.

It was small at first, as he watched his mother through the transparent window. His teachers, wary at first, ultimately decided to heed his words. Then as he felt a rush of excitement and power overflowing through his veins, he opened his eyes as the searing burn surfaced.

His eyes turned red.

Then it was just chaos.

He began to cry. Yet the burning sensations evaporated his tears before they could even manifest. The pain turned to desperation as he forced his eyes shut. The overwhelming senses around him only further add to his stress and frustration.

But… he heard her. Labored breaths.

"M-Mom!" he cried out in fear, in regret, in pain, in sorrow.

"R-Ryan… R-Run… r-run honey."

"M-mom?! Where are you?! Why are you-

Shouts of frightening men started to fill around him as Ryan continued to tear up.

"RUN, RYAN! Run… please… don't let them get you…"

"M-Mom! No…" he didn't want to open his eyes, but he could hear it. Had the boy seen his mother, split in two by his own doing, Becca would have seen her son be captured, and Ryan would be far too gone to even think of running away.

In a fit of desperation and pure fear, the boy did what the only thing he knew to follow at that chaotic moment, and that was to heed his mother's words.

Crying with tears in his eyes and a newfound power that he did not truly understand…

Ryan opened them again and everything after was the color red and screaming.

…

"AAAAAAAAAAGHHH!" Ryan screamed awake as he tried to grab onto something…

"Atalanta dear, the cup, quickly!" a sweet, motherly voice said with a degree of panic and alertness. Ryan continued to wail and cry as he grabbed onto the sweet voice's body. Clinging onto her as if his life depended on it. She was soft. Far too soft and comfortable as he wet his cheeks upon the woman's skin. He had calmed down somewhat the moment he had this connection, this contact yet he still cried, whispering in pain over and over…

"…momma… I'm sorry… momma…"

"Shhhhhhhhh… beloved child, I'm here. I'm here."

Ryan knew it was not the voice of Becca, his mother, so he continued to cry even as the woman, kind as she was continued to sway him into her arms.

Only then did he calm down and return to his slumber, with his eyes still covered by a special blindfold did his two tenders sigh in relief and exhaustion. The poor boy was now very thin, barely eating anything they gave, and was so depressed that not even her main tender, Lady Europa herself, could make him stable.

"It's been weeks, my Lady. I'm scared of what will happen." His other tender, Atalanta said.

Europa, sporting a very rare and concerned frown filled with some defeat could only nod.

"Yes… but we must try, Atalanta. We must… try. I don't wish for this child to stay this way."

"But… what can we do?"

"Perhaps, other measures are needed."

…

"You know ma'am, when you briefed me about all of the things, Vought's done, I couldn't believe it at first," Hughie said as he looked at the boy who was sleeping in Europa's lap while Heracles talked with her in a low voice.

Medea and Hughie on the other hand, were a bit further away as she continued to test and fix a probable solution that would help Ryan from seeing again with some normality.

"Often there's a reason why I despise hero worship, Hughie. Because things like that end with this… and it's never pretty. Not even in the slimmest sense." She finished the last few parts of the mystic code as she bid the young man to come closer.

The sleepy murmurs of the little boy are heard by the two as Heracles frowns…

"I taught you the basics, correct? This should be good enough as a practical lesson." Medea said as Hughie came over and took a deep breath. Nervousness wracked his form as he raised his hand toward the device and felt something surge within him,

"Επιδιόρθωση"

A small violet glow wrapped the entire object before all its internal workings finally fused together into one coherent thing as the mystic code reached finality. Hughie on the other hand, despite possessing a smile of triumph felt his feet wobble before Medea caught him in time.

She then made the object levitate as she analyzed it with a glance.

"The effort you put in might have been a tad too excessive, Hughie dear."

"I-it worked, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did, but you should know that while I am impressed, this is by no means an excuse to hurt yourself. You're valuable to me, you understand?" Medea firmly stated as he nodded slowly.

"Good… though I'm surprised you trusted me that much to do it."

"I… I had a good teacher, 'suppose."

"Trusting a witch is never good. Even for someone as kind as you." She teased as Heracles was now walking towards them. Hughie merely smiled.

"You're a hero. That's all I need."

"And sadly that's something that I need for you to change, that mindset… isn't that right, Heracles?" Medea said as the large man hummed in agreement.

"Her wisdom is sound, son of Campbell. Frankly speaking, while I do not wish to make you doubt or think ill about the idea of the word, I will warn you of the consequences of separating right and wrong into two places. Lines are far more blurrier than you think and sadly that is the way of the world that we step on. However, trust is a good concept to lean on. Especially to those that earn it."

Medea slaps the man's arm.

"You forget trust is also the reason that little boy right there has lost everything," Medea warned as he looked at Hughie. "…I think the best way to simply think of it is that you best be wary of who you willingly place your full trust in. Especially to strangers, you don't know in the first place. That's where the greedy breed their followers. That's where blind trust and obsession over a lie takes root."

"…And where noble intentions turn into something more despicable." Heracles provided as Hughie looked at the two. Shifting to get his balance back, he took the words of the two by heart and looked at the little boy who was now slowly awakening.

He wanted to say something more when the door slid open.

Atalanta stepped inside with another person behind her as Hughie found himself bubbling with excitement after an admittedly, serious few moments earlier.

"I brought her, Lady Europa. I hope, respectfully that your decision is sound." Atalanta said as the much more energetic person behind her placed an arm around her with glee.

"What the heck's the fuss all about with… oh," Drake said as she stared at the little boy now trying to squeeze into Europa's grasp. "Uh… what exactly did you guys need me for?" she asked the others in the room with her as Europa stood up with Ryan in her arms.

"We ask aid with the child, dear Drake," Europa said with a small frown and a wisp of hope in her eyes.

"Come again?"

The sound of Elena pouring tea lulled Margaret back to the present.

Her focus was previously on the little girl, Maya her name was, while she watched her cartoons with such intensity on Elena's TV. The little girl had a tan skin tone, beautiful brownish-black hair, and a face that had a certain allure that made Margaret smile inwardly.

She had a green scarf around her neck, complimenting her beige little dress as she stood up and started to imitate the dancing on the TV. Margaret found himself amused as she eventually heard Elena pitching in with her own voice.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes." Margaret dreamily said.

"Do you remember when-

"-When we talked about, getting married, finding a home together, trying to imagine what our daughter would look like?" Margaret finished for Elena as the two found themselves smiling at each other. Eventually, it was Margaret who broke the gaze first when she heard Elena sigh.

"She's perfect." She whispered as Elena hummed in agreement. "It's like she's exactly what we both pictured… I couldn't believe it at first."

"Yeah."

Margaret then began to fidget with her cup of tea as the noise of Maya's cartoon started to drown in the background. Bottled-up emotions started to fill her up again as she never thought that her confrontation would so far be this… amicable. Previous animosities seemed absent at the moment but she knew perfectly well that it wouldn't last.

"Was this the reason why you're here? The last call… didn't leave much to the imagination. In fact, I was worried for you." Elena started as a small blush appeared on Margaret's face.

"Would you believe me if I said no? B-But I guess… it was part of that. I would never have pictured you to be the type to have a kid. I felt…"

"…betrayed?" Elena provided, her tone unreadable to Margaret as she tried to look away in shame. Especially with how their relationship had ended the last time they met.

"…if you describe it like that, then yes." She freely admitted. Her emotions were undeniably broken after everything that occurred in her life leading to this talk, but it was still painful having to face her like this, even if most of her emotions were dull.

"Maybe I was just lonely. Maybe I just wanted something in my life that meant something beyond being miserable with myself. It can be any reason, but I'll be upfront that it was never because of you. At the very least I didn't run to someone else's bed the second I found them attractive."

Margaret found herself cringing, hoping to not break the mug but the words stabbed her deep.

"I see."

Elena then sighed as she looked at her child. "None of that matters anymore though, I'm over it. You should be too… but for the record, I would never find myself with anybody again, I have… too much to focus on right now, with Maya and all." She offered as a small smile of content appeared on her face. Margaret tried to smile back.

"I'm happy for you then."

"Yeah, funny story I didn't want to at first. It felt, odd trying to picture myself as a parent, but you know my job had me to interact with people. In this case, it was a small joint co-op with my company and Olympia's…"

Margaret perked up from those words. "Olympia's?"

"Yeah… is there a problem?" Elena asked, confused at first before realization kicked in. "Oh… I forgot that you're-

"No… just… continue with the story. We… we can talk about it later."

"…r-right. Well, it was a relief effort for these homeless people, most were immigrants. I won't spare you any of the problematic details, but Olympia spearheaded a lot of it and they amazingly did a lot to smoothen the process of helping those people. I imagine they had a lot of pull, otherwise, things would have been bad."

"hm."

"…but then I saw her, Maya, she called herself. We couldn't even track down who her parents were, but our Olympia liaison helped in trying to get her settled or at least had temporary means to keep herself fed and safe. The day ended with most of our objectives completed and I was left with caring for the kid until Olympia arrived. I even watched them take her away kindly as I was left in the street thinking about it all."

Elena then shifted in her seat with a smile after taking a sip of her tea.

"…days later they called me, I was shocked at first I didn't give them my contact details that day but it was about something pressing. They told me Maya was asking for me. I was, scared at first and unsure but I went down to their local orphanage branch and met with a certain individual."

"…let me guess, Atalanta?" Margaret asked, she had no true opinion of the woman but given her impact around the world despite some flack with a few people, her influence was undeniable. If anything, Margaret considered the woman more of a hero than Lancer was, just by virtue of how much she heard about her deeds.

"No, it would have been amazing if it was, but I met with someone else. She… she reminded me of my mom. A very kind, affectionate woman named Europa."

"This is the first I've heard about this." She knew Olympia had a lot of Supes but given the strange name and how Elena described her, this was definitely one of them.

"I don't imagine she's the type to be a combative hero if we're being honest, but she was amazing. She taught me a lot and after that, I kept coming day by day to visit Maya." she proudly said as Margaret listened on. Elena smiled at the memory as her hand slowly drifted to her chest. "One thing led to another, and I was properly convinced by her that I needed to take this step… and after that, I've never been happier since."

"They never asked you to pay for anything or hash out a deal for her custody?" Margaret probed. Elena simply laughed it off as if she was ridiculous while sipping another round of her tea.

"If the whole ordeal had multiple lawyers and suits looking over my shoulder I wouldn't have taken it, but no… I'm happy to say that it was a very good deal, and I became someone that I finally found myself being proud of."

"That's great." She said, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, don't tell me you're jealous. I know Vought isn't shitting out money as it used to but that's not an excuse to get mad about it. They're doing good not just in the hero business but of many things." Elena happily said as Margaret stared at her.

She sighed.

"Margaret…"

"Yeah?"

"What is this about? Because I guarantee you Maya is most definitely not a-

"Oh God, no… no… nothing like that Elena. With how Olympia treasures its humanitarian efforts I don't doubt for a second that Maya is a charity case like a thousand others that Olympia has helped." She explained, tapping her fingers nervously as she looked at her former lover.

"Then why exactly are you here? Because I know for sure this isn't just for a cordial visit."

"Would you have welcomed me if it was?"

Elena looked away. "Perhaps. Like I said… I'm through with it. You should too."

"Thank you." She said as she leaned closer and squeezed Elena's hands, much to the woman's shock, but she was already shivering in her seat as she tried to reign in her emotions.

"Elena… my dad's dead."

There was a small bit of silence between them as Elena stared at her in confusion.

"And?"

Margaret let go of her arms as she deflated in her seat. "They… found him early today, with the house burned and my mom's ashes on the lawn. It was a murder with a specific intention as they both trashed the house and defaced a lot of things… related to me."

Elena became quiet as she sat up straight.

"We still don't know who was to blame for it and I wouldn't have brought this up to you given I know you're aware of how much I fucking hated my old man, but it gets deeper."

"Explain." Elena coldly said.

"The scandal with that town In Vermont did a lot of things. Rightfully speaking, a lot of Vought's dirty laundry got publicized to the masses and it had a very negative effect on basically anybody related to the company. Especially its heroes."

Elena continued to look at her as she started to recall the various news headings appearing on TV and on the internet.

"Many people are unhappy, and I don't blame them but as the days go on with more and more news being revealed, sentiment has been very extreme. It's gotten so bad that anybody with a resemblance of a connection to Vought has been either harassed or worse…"

"Margaret… don't tell me…"

"… I can't do anything Elena, I can't even go outside with my face exposed without somebody screaming at me. The others can't even do work without most of the public forcing them to leave. Some downright lie that they're either independent or are working closely with Olympia… it's terrible. Not even Homelander is exempt from it."

Elena continued to stare, deathly quiet as Margaret wanted to shrink down on herself.

Scared to say the next few bits as she looked at her.

"We have… supports of course but given the rising public sentiment against us, many in Vought's inner circle are either planning something big or are downright wishing to jump ship. I don't personally know anything but I hear a lot from Ashley who's being screamed at day by day by Stillwell then-

"Get to the fucking point…" Elena said with some degree of hostility much to Margaret's shock, but given the implications that she was already given, she knew that Elena had every right to feel that way around her.

"…Elena, I didn't want this to affect you, I didn't know that it would get this bad, but I assure you I'm trying here. I'm here because I care… I'm here because-

Margaret stopped as she saw Elena's glare, it tore open her heart.

"…Did you hear about A-Train's outburst?"

Elena nodded slowly.

"He's disappeared since then, I don't know where he went, John won't tell me, nor has he left his room after every excursion, but… his brother was beaten so bad he's in a coma. Deep's 'friends' are left either dead or injured by unknown parties. Translucent ever since his disappearance almost lost his wife and kid after some people attempted to murder them…"

Margaret continued to explain with sparse but disturbing detail about the various things that were happening both inside and outside of Vought, and with each second Elena grew pale.

"…I don't know what's going on, t-the last time I heard any investigation they called themselves 'Polis' but we don't know if it's a terrorist group or just a bunch of-

"STOP. For God's sake, stop. I-I've heard enough." Elena said as she stood up audibly.

Maya even looked in their direction.

"M-Mama? Is everything okay?"

Both Elena and Margaret stared at the little girl, fear riddled their emotions, most of all in Elena's case as panic and worry now started to affect her deeply. It didn't help that she was now standing there as her imagination and anxiety started to fill in the dots.

"Get out," Elena said as she looked at her.

"Elena, please… I just wanted to make sure that-

"Who the fuck saw you when you were heading here?"

"Nobody! I swear I didn't see anybody that mistook me as Queen Maeve."

"That's not fucking good enough!" she shouted, scaring even Maya.

"Mommy?" Maya said as Elena in panic ran to her daughter's side and picked her up.

"You need to fucking leave. NOW!"

"Elena! I assure you nobody saw me!"

"How am I supposed to trust you?!" Elena shouted back as Maya started to cry. The tension escalated to an extreme as Maya held onto her shoulders and neck. "You said it yourself, you don't know what's happening. A person could have seen you out there right now, walking into my apartment… my apartment. My home with my goddamn daughter, Margaret! Don't you realize that!? You don't know if you could have led them to us… to my family."

"I…" Margaret said as she had no other excuse to say. "I-I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to cover Me and My Daughter being killed!"

"I'm sorry," Margaret repeated as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Get out… for fuck's sake… please! I beg you."

"Elena… I could help! We can run away, we can hide… I don't need to be Queen Maeve anymore, we can be free! We can throw everything away to-

SLAP!

Despite her superhuman biology, Margaret found that slap to be the most painful thing she had ever felt in her entire life.

"The last time you promised things like that… you left me for Homelander."

Margaret was rendered speechless as Maya continued to cry.

"None of your promises are worth shit. So, for the love of God… p-please, just go."

A good minute with Maya's incessant crying filled the air between them as Margaret in defeat nodded with confirmation as she looked at Elena. The poor mother continued to shiver in fear as tears flowed freely on her face while she tried to console her daughter.

"I'm sorry." she finally said as she slowly walked towards the door, feet shivering slightly as emotions rolled across her. "I just wanted to help… I really did." She whispered.

"Just leave… Margaret." Elena stressed, begging her even as they both stared deeply into each other's eyes. "You've done enough."

Without another word, she left the apartment as Margaret stood still outside of the door.

She wiped her tears.

She wanted to scream, to yell, to cry out in pain…

But after everything, she just felt done. She quietly walked away and left the building.

Entering her car, she sat there for a few seconds before she screamed her frustrations away.

A second later, she just sat there in complete and utter silence.

She would stay that way for an hour before she left with duller emotions than before.

At least until she received a notification on her phone from Ashley.

Vought wanted her for something.

…

Elena on the other hand scrambled for her phone.

Maya was still in her arms, lightly weeping as in her panic she started to fumble with the number that she tried to dial. She was scared to the point of it being crippling as she didn't know what to do…

Thankfully, someone was able to accept the call and Elena felt relief amidst her fear.

Despite everything, she also felt scared for Margaret.

Scared that she was alone at this time.

"Didn't I say last time, that if you don't leave me the fuck alone, I would ram my spear into your ass faster than you can even think?" Caenis said as she continued to enjoy her sunbathing session in one of her favorite beaches down south of the United States.

It was closer to the feeling of the Mediterranean enough for her enjoyment that she considered buying a villa in that specific spot for lazy days like this.

Unfortunately, she had company, and it was the worst kind.

Floating there, ogling her possibly, was the Blonde-Haired bastard who was looking at her with some intent. Strangely, he was not sporting a cocky smirk nor the same aura he always had when interacting with her as Caenis took off her sunglasses.

She then cracked her knuckles as she materialized her spear a second later into her hand.

"That was your last warning, if you don't fly the fuck away right now, I'll be lenient enough to let you go this instant." She angrily said as she stood up from her lounger and looked at him directly.

She hated that she couldn't kill him this early, but given her master's soft warning about this, she had to wait for him to move first before engaging.

Well, taunting someone to come at her was not her engaging first… so perhaps it was, okay?

A grin flashed in her head for the opportunity to humiliate this bastard.

Floating down she was ready to lay waste to him until he spoke…

"I… I need your help."

What?

TO BE CONTINUED…

AN: Polis is the term for Greek City State or a community of citizens under one banner based on the place they were situated in Ancient Hellenistic Greece. Examples include Sparta, Athens, Arcadia, etc. Polis can also refer to a group of individuals that prefer a God in Olympus' Pantheon.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, a bit of a somber chapter, but I promise you a bit of light moments in the next, with a certain Electrician bringing Queen Maeve back to her mojo and reason for existing. Should be cool and with Achilles tagging along… things would be okay.

Oh, and Caenis is practically shocked by what Homeboy wishes to do, she does not expect it but is also quickly angered at the fact that it involves Wodime.

Lastly, the upcoming Kore Chapter takes place on Homelander's POV leading up to this ending scene.