Victoria served dinner while Ryan and Homelander sat at the dining table in the kitchen. He had come back from going to see Black Noir and seemed to be in an okay mood. If anything, he wasn't snapping at her because Ryan was there. He wanted to act like a good parent. He had told her that he would bring Evelyn up after dinner, saying that she was sleeping soundly in the nursery when he'd walked by. Victoria had set the table, her teeth clenched as she felt anger run through her at the situation.

"Victoria bought me so many toys," Ryan commented as Victoria placed the pasta onto three plates, pouring the sauce over it and holding the ladle firmly in her grip. Homelander picked up his glass of water and took a sip, brows on his forehead as he watched his wife's back.

"Did she really?" Homelander questioned. "Well, that's because she's a good mother…and I know she's not your real mom, but she is your step-mom."

"Mum," Victoria instantly corrected him without thinking. She picked up two plates and headed over to the table, setting them down in front of Homelander, at the head, and Ryan to his left. She went to pick her own plate up, a hand ruffling Ryan's hair as she walked back to the counter and carried it to her usual seat. Sitting down, she looked across to the young boy. "But, I mean…I don't have to be like that…it's a lot for you to get used to so you can just think of me however you like," she urged from him and he seemed slightly relieved at that, his nose un-scrunching. "Tuck in."

"Yeah, but you are his step-mum," Homelander said, emphasising the final word and causing Victoria to look in his direction once more. "I've told Ryan that he can stay with us now, you know, be a proper family."

Victoria didn't quite understand if Homelander was deluded or if he truly thought this was what a family should be like. She didn't push it. She just picked her fork up and stabbed a piece of penne before shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, I know," she said to her husband, playing along for his sake. "But I'm just saying that it's a lot to adjust to. I don't want him to feel overwhelmed."

"You're not overwhelmed, are you, buddy?" Homelander checked as Ryan swallowed a piece of pasta and cocked his head to the side.

"I guess not," he said with a shake of his head and Homelander's smile widened on his face, eyes turning dangerously back to his wife.

"See?" he said to her and she forced her own smile back, wondering if he knew that Ryan was just humouring him. "We're all good here, right? One big happy family."

"If you say so," Victoria muttered.

"I do," he said, voice sterner this time, smile on his face sinister. Victoria turned to look to him once more as he took a bite of his dinner and held his fork in his hand tightly, trying to refrain himself from snapping it in two. He didn't need this. He didn't need this constant level of sass that he received from her. She was supposed to be dutiful. She was supposed to give him exactly what he needed.

"Dad," Ryan began, voice soft and tentative. Homelander turned his glare from Victoria, eyes softening as he looked to his son, the smile on his face also mellowing.

"Yeah, buddy?" he questioned from him.

"Do you have a phone charger I can borrow? I didn't get chance to pick mine up from the bedroom before we left. Aunt Grace said it's only for emergencies…but it has games and stuff…and just her number on it," Ryan said and Homelander looked apprehensive, wondering if the phone had a tracking device on it. Ryan pulled it from his pocket and set it on the table.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea having that phone on, buddy," Homelander confessed, picking the device up.

It was nothing fancy. It was just a cheap android phone with no password on it. Homelander swiped to open up and saw that it was on the call log. Someone had dialled from it just an hour ago. Homelander frowned and Victoria looked over to him, eating her dinner. She crossed her ankles underneath the table and kept her fork dangling in her hand, her other arm on her lap.

"Did you call someone earlier, Ryan?" Homelander asked and Victoria's eyes widened as he held the phone up and showed it to his son. "I'm not mad, champ…but you can't be calling people while you're here."

Ryan went silent and his gaze flickered over to Victoria for a brief second. She looked to him and Homelander picked up on the change of her heartbeat. Her pulse quickened and he sighed. He knew instantly what had been going on and he felt his temper begin to snap. He slammed the phone down onto the table, the glasses of water jumping and then tumbling to the side, liquid pouring from them and drenching the table. Victoria visibly jumped back, dropping her fork onto her plate and looking to him as he stood up.

"Ryan, can you go upstairs, please?" he asked, trying to keep himself in check for the sake of his son. He didn't need him here. He didn't need him to hear the argument that was about to take place.

"Dad, I-"

"-Just do it," Homelander interrupted, tone terse and he glanced to his son. "Please?" he added on and Ryan did as he was asked. Scraping his chair back, he slipped from it and left the kitchen.

Homelander sat back down, turning the phone in his hand slowly. He waited until he heard the door to the guest room close before speaking. Victoria was still looking down to her lap, fear radiating from her. He decided to look to the spilt pool of water on the middle of his marble kitchen table. His eyes focused on it, squinting and then widening, lines forming on his forehead.

"If I dial this number, who will pick up?" he demanded from her.

"John-"

"-Don't fucking John me," he demanded from her sternly. He turned to look to her, hand covering the phone and letting it sit on the table. He saw the way she was looking down still, hair falling over her cheeks. He let his eyes roam down her neck and over her chest, settling on her stomach that had grown with his child in the last few weeks.

"Tell me," he demanded from her.

He saw that she had started to cry, tears silently falling down her cheeks. At one stage he might have softened at the sight of her crying, but not now. He wasn't going to soften. He wasn't going to mellow. He was sick of her. He was sick of the lies and the deceit.

"Answer me right now, Victoria, or I swear to God…" he left the threat hanging. He didn't need to yell at her to get the point across.

"Alex," she said his name.

He was going to find out. He would just call the number back and Alex being Alex would pick up. He'd think that it was her and he would answer. Victoria gulped back a sob, trying not to hyperventilate. She wasn't going to break down just yet. If she had to plead for Alex's life then she would. She would do anything to keep him safe. She hated herself for begging him, but if it was the only way then she'd do it. She'd put him at risk. She'd done this to him. Why had she not just deleted the call log? Why did she not do that?

"Of course," Homelander said. He wasn't shocked. He should be, but he wasn't. He sat back in his chair and picked up his fork with his other hand. Victoria dared to peer over to him, seeing that he was picking at the pasta once more. He shoved a forkful into his mouth, chewing angrily down onto it. "It's amazing," he said after swallowing hard. "You're here…carrying my baby…married to me…and it's still him. It's always going to be him, isn't it?"

"He's just a friend."

"You're such a lying whore," Homelander spat out, the venom in his voice palpable. Victoria tried to ignore it, but she couldn't. She recoiled and he continued eating his dinner. "I've done everything for you, Victoria. I've done things I fucking hated. I've pretended to be nice to people I don't want to give the time of day to…I protected you from Edgar…I saved our daughter from people who would have hurt her…I've done everything and it still isn't enough, is it? It's just never going to be enough for you because you can't look past what I've done, even if it has been for us…to give us this life."

"I never wanted that," Victoria said with a shake of her head. "I just wanted the man I fell in love with, but I know he's not real. I see that now and you…I've tried to make this work, but it can't, John. It can't work because we're just not compatible and you know that. You know we're not…and we can try to convince ourselves differently. We can try, but we know it's a lie."

"You really think that?" he demanded from her. "Because I know that you love me and despite everything you've done…I still love you. That's what hurts me the most, Victoria. I fucking love you and you continue to defy me. What's it going to take, hmm? What's it going to take for you to realise that?"

"Nothing," Victoria said to him, her voice croaking and he dropped his fork again, hearing it clatter onto his plate.

"You think I want to be this man for you?" he demanded from her. "I don't want to be him. I want to be the man you fell in love with when you didn't know anything…when you just loved me…I want to be him, but you won't let me. I've tried to be him, but you…this is all on you, Victoria. I've never done anything to hurt you, not really. I've threatened you, but that's because I have to, but it's just not working, is it?"

"That's not love, John," Victoria added on.

"No, clearly not," he concurred with her. "But maybe it's time for me to act, hmm? Maybe it's time for me to do something so that you take this seriously and act like the good, dutiful wife I always wanted you to be."

"I told you that I'd stay here," Victoria said to him, voice barely above a whisper. "I just called Alex to tell him that I'm safe here and I don't want him to do anything stupid."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You can believe what you want," Victoria said to him. "All I want is my daughter back."

"And you think you're getting that now?" Homelander demanded from her. "You think I'm letting her near you? No. Not right now. You don't deserve it. You don't deserve it because I don't trust you…and I don't know how I can…you just continue to push back. You continue to go against me and it's exhausting. I don't want it to be like this, Victoria. I don't want to do this to you, but I'm out of options. I don't know what more I can do."

"What?" Victoria asked, wondering what he was talking about.

"Stand up."

"John, what are you going to do?" she demanded to know from him, voice shaking.

He let out a deep breath and moved to his feet. "Stand up and don't make me drag you there."

"No," Victoria said, scared of what he was planning.

He exhaled a sharp breath and then moved quicker than she had anticipated. She couldn't get away from him as a hand wrapped around her wrist and he hauled her to her feet. She tried to fight him off, screaming and pushing at him, but he easily overpowered her, pulling her from the kitchen and towards the elevator. He didn't notice Ryan sat on the stairs watching as the two of them fought, Victoria's yells and pleas filling his ears and he wondered where Homelander was taking her.

…

Alex wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. He had no idea if Annie would forgive him, but he had a sense that this was the only play he had. He was on his way back to the office to meet Annie and the rest of them, but he knew that he had to go with the others. He had to try and stop Homelander. He didn't know if it would work. He arrived at the office before any of the others and he was grateful for that. He pushed the door open and heard familiar voices inside. They stopped talking as soon as he walked in, dressed in his shirt and jeans, looking nothing like a supe.

Butcher was hunched over a table, pouring over large A3 drawings while Soldier Boy was stood on the other side of it, sipping on a beer from a bottle. Alex held a hand up and moved slowly towards them. "I'm not here to stop you," he said to them. "The cavalry are on their way to do that."

"I take it you mean Hughie and Starlight?"

"Add Maeve, M.M., Frenchie and Kimiko to that list," Alex said and Billy stood up straight, eyes moving over the supe in front of him. Alex kept his arms down by his side, head cocked to the side as he tried to weigh the man in front of him up. He didn't know if he could entirely, but he guessed they had one thing in common: Victoria.

"So why are you here?" Butcher wondered.

"Victoria called me," he said and Billy picked up his own bottle of beer. "She said that Homelander has Ryan with him."

"Shit," Butcher muttered.

"Who's Ryan?" Soldier Boy asked.

"No one," Billy said, not wanting to tell him that he was his grandson. He didn't want that to impact what was going to happen. Alex didn't correct him either, figuring that there was some game plan. "What else did she say?"

"He's taken Evelyn from her," Alex added on. "He's refusing to let her see him."

"What's she like?" Soldier Boy suddenly asked, his interest piqued about Victoria and Evelyn. He'd been thinking a lot more about Homelander ever since he'd heard the news. He was his flesh and blood. He was the only kid he knew about. He always wondered if there were others, but he didn't know about them. But he knew all about Homelander. He knew about him from what he'd seen of him on the screen in his short time, but he didn't know if that was accurate.

"Who?" Alex wondered.

"Evelyn…Victoria…" Soldier Boy said.

"Victoria's…" Billy trailed off. What did he really know about his sister? He'd missed years of her life because he hadn't protected her. Soldier Boy looked to him.

"Your dad beat her like he beat you?" he wondered and Billy only flinched slightly. He didn't want to go back to that time. He didn't want to think about it. Alex was amazed Billy had told him that.

"Yeah," Billy confessed. "He did."

"And Homelander? You think he hurt her?"

"Maybe not physically, but he's keeping her there against her will," Alex was the one who spoke then. "She's good, alright? She doesn't deserve to be trapped with him and I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

"You think he'd be different if I'd raised him?" Soldier Boy wondered.

"No," Butcher said. "Because he's Vought's. He was raised in a lab. He was made in a test tube. He's not yours, not really. He was made to replace you. We have a deal to bring him down. We need to do that. We need to deal with him and sentiment…it has no place here, alright?"

Soldier Boy took another long swig of his beer and then placed the bottle down. "I'm going to get some air."

He left the two of them alone in silence that seemed to stretch far longer than they'd hoped it would. Butcher watched intently as Alex looked down onto the plans he had laid out over the table of the Tower. Alex's brows knitted together. They were clearly going to attempt to break in and take Homelander down there. It was dangerous. It was high-risk and people could get hurt.

"Do you love her?"

Alex looked up from the plans and stared straight at Butcher. The older man's stare was unrelenting, not backing down and intimidating. But Alex held his own. He was going to be honest. He knew that it would be for the best.

"No," he admitted to Butcher. "I don't love your sister."

"So why are you here?"

"Because I care very much for her," Alex said, laying his hands flat on the table. "Now, if you were going to ask me if I could see myself falling in love with her then the answer is yes. I find her smart…witty…and despite everything he's done to her, she's nothing but kind. She's under my skin and I want to help her. She's no damsel in distress. We both know that. She's strong and more intelligent than both of us put together, but when it comes to Homelander…she can't beat him, not on her own. She needs us and I want to help her. I want to get her from him."

"No matter the cost?"

"If you're asking me if I'd prefer no one were to get hurt then the obvious answer is yes," Alex said. "I don't want to see a repeat of Herogasm and I doubt Victoria would either…but this is Homelander. He's not going to go down quietly."

"Then you need to make your choice," Butcher said to him. "I don't doubt your backup will be here soon."

"If you can't beat him," Alex said, not wanting to think that, but knowing it might be a possibility. "Then what do we do?"

Billy looked uncomfortable telling him his plan. But he was running out of people he could trust. He knew that the chances of him getting his sister himself if he was going to fight Homelander were slim. And Alex, despite being a supe, seemed to care for her. She clearly adored him too.

"I have money and fake passports," Billy admitted to him. "There's a plane, courtesy of an unsavoury character, waiting for her at a private air base. It's there to get her and her tot away from here…you…if we go to the Tower…your priority is to get her out. Do you understand?"

"He's got her locked in the penthouse," Alex said.

"There's a security override if we can set off the security alarms," Billy said. "You go up there and get her when I have eyes on Homelander."

"And Temp-V?"

"What about it?"

"If you go up against him then you're going to take it, aren't you?"

Billy shrugged. "Don't see how that's any of your concern," he said.

"It's not, but your sister did ask me to pass on a message," he said and Billy's lips curved despite himself. He took another drink of his beer. "She told me to tell you not to do it. I said it wouldn't mean anything coming from me, but she seemed to think you might listen to her."

"Yeah, might have done if circumstances were different, but they're not," Billy said. "So are you with me or not?"

"I don't want people to get hurt and Victoria wouldn't want that either," he said, not giving Billy a definitive answer. There was no chance he was getting that from him until he had more of his own questions answered. "And Ryan. Do you intend on telling Soldier Boy who he is?"

"I'll get Ryan out of there," Billy said.

"We need to get everyone out of there. If Soldier Boy pulls another Herogasm then people are going to die. I know you might not care about that, but I do…and so would your sister," Alex pointed out and Billy kept silent, knowing he had a point. "So we evacuate the building. You let me pull the alarm when we get in and you can do whatever you want to Homelander…and I'll get Victoria out of there."

Billy considered his offer before nodding his head solemnly. "We have a deal."

…

Victoria insisted on betraying him. She was constantly pushing his buttons. She was constantly trying to undermine him, no matter what he did for her. He was exhausted by it all, but then he'd met Noir in the meeting room and he had tried not to get angry with his friend. The question had been playing in his mind all day since he'd come back to the Tower. Did he know about Soldier Boy being his father? Did he have any idea what had happened to him? He'd gone to find him and intended on talking it through. He was sharpening his sword and Homelander chuckled.

"You can sharpen that thing all you want, it won't do anything to pierce Soldier Boy's skin," he said to Noir and walked around the table, looking at all of the seats that had once been filled by the people who he had thought were his family.

He felt the wedding ring on his finger, brushing against it with his other hand and knew that he had only Ryan and Evelyn left. He could try and get Victoria back, but he knew it was going to be a long road unless he managed to wipe her memories again. He ignored the glint of the ring and slipped his gloves onto his fingers that he'd been carrying.

"You were in his team," Homelander commented, knowing he'd get no response. "You knew him." Noir stopped sharpening the blade. "What was he like?"

He went to the paper he had left on the table and wrote on it, the word sticking out to Homelander. Bad.

"Come on," Homelander exhaled, "nobody's all bad."

Noir then underlined the word with the marker. Homelander's brows rose on his forehead at that and his eyes shifted from side to side.

"He's my father," he admitted to Noir. "I didn't believe him at first. I ripped apart the company archives, and…it's true," he let out a small laugh. "It's true. They lied to me my whole life. Surprise," he added on sarcastically and looked off into the distance, feeling that anger begin to surface once more. "The thing I needed most as a kid and they kept it from me."

Noir started writing again. Must kill him.

"I'm not sure I want to," Homelander confessed. "It's funny. Everyone thinks of you as this unreadable sphinx. A mystery," he chuckled. "Not me. I see through that mask. Literally. I can see through it to your face…your battle scars…the crooked old smile of yours. I know when you're happy, sad, telling the truth…lying," Homelander said, walking towards him and eyeing him suspiciously, looking straight through the mask and reading everything about Noir. "Did you know?" he asked. "Did you know he was alive this whole time? That I had a father out there?"

He didn't need to do anything. Homelander knew the answer. But then Noir just softly nodded once. Homelander looked to him. He was the one person he thought was an ally. He had been there for him through everything. He had stood by his side when Victoria had tested him. He had been there when Evie had been sick in hospital. He had helped him go against Butcher. He had helped him get rid of Maeve. He had never let him down.

Moving a hand to his shoulder, Homelander gripped it tight as tears began to cloud his vision. "Fuck," he gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?" he wondered and he knew there would be no response. He'd been betrayed by the only person in the Seven he thought he could trust. That hurt him more than he could begin to comprehend. And that hurt turned to anger. It boiled to the surface and before he could stop himself, he balled his hand into a fist and punched Noir straight in the stomach, ripping out his intestines as Noir reached for him. Homelander pushed him back, watching him stumble to the fall, collapsing into a heap.

He tossed down the bloody guts, his gloves dripping. He looked to Noir on the floor, hearing the man gurgle for breath. He blinked away the tears that were threatening to spill over and just sniffed. "You should have told me," he said to him one final time before leaving him alone on the floor of the Seven's meeting room to die on his own.

…

Homelander had left Noir's mask on the coffee table up in Ashley's office after demanding a meeting with all of them. He had told the Deep that he needed him to do something. It was part of his deal with Neuman. She wanted a senator dead, no doubt so she could join the presidential race. That didn't interest Homelander. He had his son back. She could have the power she craved. He understood it. He understood that entirely. A-Train had been there too and Homelander had heard everything about him and Blue Hawk. He brought it up, questioning how he could kill one of his own kind. He had been cruel. He had been unnecessarily mean and he didn't care. He had brought up Deep fucking an octopus. He had brought up A-Train's dodgy heart. He'd made Ashley take off her wig. He couldn't believe that Vought had thought he'd be happy with a family like this. They weren't his family. He would have his own family and he would make sure of it.

He had left them alone, smelling the fear coming from all of them as they realised that Noir had gone. If Homelander had killed Noir then nothing would stop him from killing them. They knew that. He had gone down to the cells, hands behind his back and eyes set straight ahead. The door to the cell at the end of the corridor opened and Homelander looked to his wife. She was sat on the mattress against the wall, her legs curled up into her chest, arms hooked around them.

She peered over to him and Homelander looked to her, seeing how her cheeks were red and her eyes wet. She had been screaming and crying when he had left her there the night before. She must have exhausted herself. She kept silent, her curly hair falling down her face and back. The skirt she wore hung over her legs and the black jumper was untucked from it. Homelander heard the door hiss closed behind him and he leant against the wall.

Victoria said nothing. She just watched him as he remained mute, clearly contemplating what he was going to do. A part of her wondered if he would just killed her. She wondered if she had pushed him too far already and there was no going back. She remained silent, her hands clenched into fists on her legs and Homelander finally looked back to her.

"I killed Noir," he said, admitting it to her. "He knew all about Soldier Boy being my father. I had no other choice."

"You always have a choice, John," Victoria said to him, her voice low and almost like she was filled with defeat.

"Not when it comes to people who betray me. He had to go. I can't trust him."

"Then why am I still here?" Victoria wondered and Homelander let out a deep breath and he moved further into the room.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he left a small gap between the two of them. Victoria kept mute as she observed his profile, drinking in his strong jaw and his slender nose and thin lips.

"I'm starting to struggle to answer that question," he confessed to her.

"What do you want from me, John?" Victoria wondered then, tucking her hair behind her ear. She watched him as he moved back on the bed, resting against the wall next to her. He moved to take hold of her hand, his fingers running up the sleeve of the jumper she wore and peeling it back from her wrist and up to her elbow. He peered down and looked at the scars on her arm, fingers running over the raised lumps gently.

"You know…when you told me what your father had done to you…what Eddie had done to you…I wanted revenge for you. I spent hardly enough time with Eddie. I tortured him, of course, and managed to cover it up, but it wasn't as long as I'd have liked. I loved you that much, Victoria. I would scorch the earth for you. I would burn anything and anyone who harmed you or threatened to harm us…the only difference now is that it wouldn't change anything, would it? Nothing I do is enough to get you to love me like you did."

He pulled her sleeve back down her arm and kept her hand inside of his.

"I want that back, Victoria, because I want you," he said. "I want it to be how it was and I know that it can be. We just need to get back to that place and that's why I have to keep you here…I'll deal with your brother…Alex…I'll make you forget all about them and everything I've done."

"And how will you do that?" Victoria asked. "You can wipe my memories, John, but I can watch the news. I can see what you've done."

"True, but not if you live somewhere like Becca did with our children."

Victoria's mouth gaped at that and she shook her head, snatching her hand from his. "Are you kidding me? You're going to wipe my mind and force me to live in some kind of fake neighbourhood? You hated that Becca did that to Ryan, but you're willing to let me do it."

"It'll be different," he promised her. "We can still come into the City when we have to, but it'll help…keep you sheltered…keep you happy…and then you can have Evelyn back. You can have her back and we can have the marriage we always should have had. It will be perfect."

"You're going to control my thoughts…lock me away. How will it be perfect?"

"Because you'll be happy. You'll be as happy as you were when we first got together. I can give that back to you. I can give it to you and we both know that's when you were your happiest. You told me."

"It doesn't mean I want this," Victoria said. "John, you can't do this to me. You can't do this to Alex or Billy…Annie…it's not right. Don't kill them just because you think that we can have the perfect marriage."

"But we can," he protested, not backing down. "And we will. I want my family, Victoria. I want you…this one inside of you…Evie…Ryan…and now I have a father. We can have everything, but I just need to make you accept it. So I have to keep you locked in here until I can achieve that. It's for the best and in the end, when you've forgotten all of this, you'll see that."

But Victoria wasn't convinced. How could she be? He might be able to erase her memories, but surely she would know when something was wrong? She would know if he forced her to live in some fake town? She watched as he moved to his feet and sniffed. He almost looked upset by all of this. He glanced down to her once more, seeing her stare up at him almost pleadingly.

"It's for the best," he assured her.

"For who?" Victoria wondered.

"For both of us. For our family."

"Evie needs me now, John. It's not fair to keep me from her."

"Evelyn is fine," Homelander promised her. "I'm going to go and get her right now. I'm going to keep her safe and happy. She will be fine without you for a few days or weeks."

"Please," Victoria said, the noise nothing more than a whisper that was barely audible. She closed her eyes once more and tears fell down her cheeks. Homelander's jaw locked and he tried not to waver while watching her. He bent down towards her once more and pecked her on the forehead, letting his lips sit there.

"I know it's hard for you to be apart from her because you're her mother," Homelander promised her, a hand cupping her cheek and tilting her gaze up to meet his once more, a thumb running over her chin slowly. "But until you're how you were, I can't trust you with her after the incident the other day. I need you to be my old Victoria and then everything will be perfect."

Victoria didn't bother to plead with him anymore. She knew it would do no good. He kissed her once more on the forehead before leaving her in the cell alone once more.

…

Holding Evelyn in his arms, Homelander stood in the archive room of Vought's newsroom. His daughter was squirming slightly as he tried to keep her settled. He'd put on the video of Soldier Boy during the Second World War, watching the Vought propaganda in black and white. Evelyn was muttering incoherently, the occasional word coming from her mouth that sounded like 'mummy'. Homelander bounced her softly in his arms, letting her reach up to touch his chin.

"Mummy," she said again and Homelander looked into her familiar blue eyes.

"Mummy is fine, sweetheart," he assured his daughter. "She's going to be back soon, but daddy is here."

"Daddy."

He wasn't sure he heard her as she watched him with those wide eyes. He moved down slowly, his forehead brushing against hers gently before he kissed the top of her head, joy taking hold of him at her saying that. He'd never heard Ryan's first words. Vought had taken that from him, but they weren't taking anything from him now. His lips arched as he nodded.

"Daddy," he confirmed to her. "Daddy's here, baby."

He heard footsteps approaching then and he turned to see Ryan walking towards him. His son had just gone to the bathroom, but he was slightly on edge. He moved into the archive room, dressed in a grey top with a plaid shirt open over it, his jeans slightly too baggy and his sneakers scuffed. He brushed his hair on his forehead before he stood next to his father and looked up to him.

"Why are we here, dad?" he asked from him.

"Because there's going to be someone I want you to meet," Homelander informed his son. "I know it's a shock, but I found my father. He's going to be here soon. I want you to meet him and I want you to know that you have a grandfather."

Ryan looked shocked at that. "You have a dad?"

"I do, buddy, just like you do," Homelander said with a wide smile and nod of his head. "So, we're going to be a family, alright? We're all going to be together."

"And Victoria?"

Her name hung in the air and Homelander looked away from Ryan then and down to Evelyn, his daughter still slipping around in his arms, clearly longing to get back on the ground and crawl around.

"I heard you fighting last night," Ryan confessed to his father. "I didn't want to get her in trouble. She's nice, dad. I like her. I don't want you to fight."

"I don't want to fight with her either, buddy," Homelander promised his son. "And we're going to be alright. Victoria's just had to go away for a little while because the pregnancy is hard for her. She needs to be around doctors and people who can look after her. Once she's had the baby then she'll be back and things will be fine…she'll be alright."

"Really?"

"Really," Homelander confirmed to him.

He didn't need to know the truth. There was no need for him to know anything. When Victoria came back then she'd be the perfect stepmother. His ears pricked up once more as he heard footsteps enter the television studio. There were four of them. Homelander didn't need to turn around to know who they were. He could smell Butcher distinctly and then Maeve. He suspected Alex was also with them and then there was Soldier Boy. He looked up as the alarm began ringing above, the red light flashing around and urging for people to get out of the building.

"Scorched earth, hm, William?" Homelander whispered, wondering if the man had taken Temp-V so that he could hear him. It turned out that he had.

"Scorched earth," Butcher agreed.

Homelander began to turn around after turning the computer off, Ryan still by his side. The little boy looked to Billy and met his gaze. Butcher knew that he had messed up when it came to Ryan. He knew that he had to do more to look out for him. This wasn't what he'd wanted. He hadn't wanted to run him straight into the arms of Homelander, but he had.

"Where's Noir?" Soldier Boy asked.

"He's dead," Homelander answered honestly. "I killed him."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't tell me about you," Homelander said and looked to his father, trying to weigh him up. He kept Evelyn firm in his grip as Maeve looked to the baby, hands dropping to her hips as she wondered how to get her away from him. Alex stood by her side, also watching Evelyn and knowing that his time was limited if he was to get away with this plan. He'd changed into his supe suit, regretting leaving Annie in the safe back at the office. But he had to do this. He had to help stop Homelander. If the alarm gave them time to get on with the task then there would be no casualties – or so he hoped.

"I just want to talk," Homelander said to Soldier Boy. "I know what it's like to have your team betray you," he threw a glare to Maeve. "But with you and I together…they wouldn't stand a chance. Nobody would."

Soldier Boy tilted his head slightly, agreeing with that point, brows knitting together on his forehead and frown lines appearing. He began to move towards Homelander, steps slow and steady. "Unless we kill each other first," he contradicted.

Maeve and Alex exchanged anxious looks.

"Why?" Homelander wondered. "Because he said so?" he asked, motioning to William. "He's human. He's nothing."

"Don't you listen to this fucking twat," Billy said. "He ain't your kid."

"Yes, I am," Homelander growled and Evelyn started to sob softly, her cries echoing in the room as she sensed her father's anger. "I am your son. I am your blood. That's all that matters," he said to Soldier Boy, longing for him to accept him.

"Maybe," Soldier Boy said and his eyes darted down to Evelyn and he considered the fact that was also his flesh and blood.

"This is my son. Ryan," Homelander said and Billy shook his head slowly. This couldn't be happening. Was he really going to use his own children to try and get out of this? Of course he was. Billy should have seen that coming.

"Ryan?" Soldier Boy shot a look at Billy who remained silent. He'd heard of him in the office when Alex had come in, but he hadn't told him who he was.

"And my daughter. Evelyn," Homelander said. "I have another child on the way…but these are your grandkids," his voice was almost croaking and cracking.

"Hi, grandpa," Ryan said, not entirely sure what he should do as Homelander managed to hold Evelyn in one arm, his other hand dropping to Ryan's shoulder and squeezing it tightly. Soldier Boy looked down to the kid and Billy let out a deep breath. Alex noted Homelander step forwards towards Soldier Boy who then looked down to Evelyn, seeing her blue eyes and chubby cheeks as she continued crying gently.

"We're your family," Homelander said.

"And Victoria?" Alex demanded from him. "Where is she?"

Homelander remained silent, glaring at Alex and ignoring him. He turned back to Soldier Boy as his father placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's a shame that I've missed so much," he confessed. "I wish I could've raised you…and taught you, father to son." He said.

"Me too," Homelander said, voice breathless. This was all that he'd wanted. He just wanted a father to be with him. "But it's okay."

"Maybe if I'd have raised you, I could've made you better," Soldier Boy said and the docile smile fell from Homelander's face, replaced with a frown and a look of confusion. "And not some weak, snivelling pussy starved for attention. But there's no fixing that now."

"Weak?" Homelander asked, tripping over the word, any trace of gentleness leaving him. "But I'm you."

"I know," Soldier Boy said. "You're a fucking disappointment."

And then he moved. He grabbed hold of Homelander by the chin as Maeve and William launched into action. Alex was there too, grabbing hold of Evelyn from her father's arms. He took her as Homelander remained where he was, Maeve and Billy not relenting.

"Go," Butcher demanded from Alex who wasted no time and took off with the baby. "Ryan, get out of here."

"No, stop it, leave him alone!" Ryan snapped loudly, pushing at William and trying to get him away from Homelander as he still struggled in all of their grips. Soldier Boy prepared to use his powers, a soft light starting to glow around him and hum.

"Ryan, go!" Billy demanded from the kid.

But Ryan didn't go. He used his powers against Soldier Boy, eyes glowing red and then beams shooting from them. He launched Soldier Boy into the glass panel connecting the studio to the archive room. Homelander took a deep breath as he realised his son had just saved him. Evelyn had been snatched from him and he had no doubt that the plan was to find Victoria and get her away from the Tower. Looking at his son, Homelander bent down and placed his hands onto his shoulders.

"Ryan, get upstairs, right now," he demanded from him.

Before Ryan could even move, Soldier Boy had attacked him, hitting him with his shield and tossing him into a shelving unit. The boy hit it, falling to the floor with a thud as papers scattered around him. Billy looked on, mouth gaping at the sight of his wife's boy and Homelander instantly springing to attention.

"Ryan," he shouted his name and collapsed onto the floor next to him, on his knees with his hands rolling Ryan onto his back, looking at the cut on his forehead. Ryan's eyes remained closed as Soldier Boy began to get ready to use his powers.

"You little shit," he commented.

Homelander was too concerned with his son, checking that he was okay and trying to get him to open his eyes. He heard the hum of Soldier Boy behind him and only moved once he was certain they were running out of time. Standing up, he let his eyes glow red, anger taking hold of him. But it wasn't just him using his powers against Soldier Boy. Billy's eyes were burning yellowy orange, hitting Soldier Boy with the help of Homelander and throwing him into the TV studio. The two men exchanged glances with each other before William went after Soldier Boy and Homelander went back to Ryan. He knelt on the ground again and continued holding his head in his hands. His son slowly came round, eyes opening.

"Dad?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's alright," Homelander said in a gentle whisper. "You're okay," he promised him and brushed a thumb along his forehead as Ryan's eyes slowly closed again. But he was awake. Homelander moved to his feet and he knew that he had to get rid of Soldier Boy before he went to find where Supersonic had taken his daughter.

"Hey, asshole," Maeve said to him and he was unprepared for her punch to his right cheek. His head turned to the side and he grunted, shrugging off the pain.

"Not now, Maeve. We have bigger fish to fry," he snapped at her.

But she shook her head. "I don't," she replied. "I'm doing what I should've done a long time ago."

And she threw another punch that he dodged. Homelander didn't want to fight Maeve. He knew that every second that went by was another second it gave Victoria to get away if she could.

…

Alex had managed to get into the penthouse considering the alarm had tripped out the security code. But she wasn't there. There was no sign of Victoria. He had ran around the rooms, shouting her name and begging for her to come out. He didn't know where else she could be. Evelyn was still crying gently in his arms, the noise soft and dying down as she exhausted herself. He knew that the rest of them could only hold Homelander for so long and, judging by the way the building was still intact, Soldier Boy hadn't used his powers yet.

He ran down the corridors and checked the nursery, but she wasn't there. He managed to hide from Annie and Hughie as they headed towards the TV studio. She wasn't in the medical bay either. The entire building had pretty much been evacuated, but then he saw her. Ashley was going up the stairwell, no doubt to the helicopter pad on the top of the building.

"Where is she?" Alex demanded to know from her.

She was wearing an animal print dress with a light jacket over it, her bag in the crook of her arms and red hair swaying down her back.

"Who?"

"Victoria," Alex said her name. "She's not in the penthouse. What has he done with her?"

Ashley's mouth opened and closed for a moment before speaking. "He has her in the cells. They're all locked. The generator backs up…you need the code...or pass" she blabbered.

"Then give me the code," Alex demanded, but Ashley looked hesitant. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Jesus Christ, Ashley, we don't have time for this. Either this entire building is going to blow or Homelander is going to come for me before I can get her away. You know this is the right thing to do. She-"

"-Here," Ashley said to him, pulling a card from her pocket. "It's my pass. Use it and get her out. I'm not going with you."

Alex took hold of it, clinging tightly to it in his fingertips. He nodded once. "Thank you," he said to her and took off down the steps once more.

He ran as fast as he could, not wanting to waste any time. He made it to the cells, noting that they were abandoned and he almost wondered if it was a trap. His steps echoed on the floor before he came to the final cell he could find and saw that she was in there, stood up as a red light shone around the room, the whirring noise loud and painful. Pressing the key card to the pad, the door hissed open and Alex stepped into the room. Victoria looked to him, completely and utterly confused with how he was there.

"We don't have time for me to explain what's going on," Alex said. "I need to get you both out of here."

"How did you get her?" Victoria wondered from him, rushing forwards and taking her daughter from his arms, holding her tightly to her chest, hand holding the back of her head as she relished the feeling of her back where she belonged.

"Soldier Boy is upstairs dealing with Homelander. Your brother and Maeve are with him too," Alex said and he moved a hand to the small of Victoria's back, guiding her from the cell and forwards, directing her as she looked around anxiously. "I need to get you out of here, alright? Your brother has plans in place."

"No, I need to see him. I need to see Billy if he's taken Temp-V then-"

"-Victoria, there's no time for that," Alex said as she tried to divert. He grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. Watching her, he shook his head firmly, seeing that she wanted to go but knowing that he had to do everything in his power to stop her. "If this doesn't work then this is your only chance to get away and Billy knows that, alright? He knows what he's risking and he…he wants you to go. We need you to go and you need to think of this one, alright?" he said, motioning to Evelyn with a brief nod of his head. "You need to think of her and the baby inside of you. They're your priority and you need to get away from here."

"I…he's my brother," Victoria said pitifully.

"I know," Alex said softly. "And that's why he's doing this, alright? He's doing it for you. So let him."

Victoria just nodded her head once, knowing that he had a point. She had to get Evelyn away. She let him move an arm around her shoulders as they power walked out of the Tower and towards the fire exit which led to the alley where Billy had left his car. Alex reached into his pocket for the keys, unlocking it and opening the back seat. He helped Victoria settle Evelyn into the car seat, looking at the baby and then pecking her on the forehead.

"You be a good girl, okay?" he urged from her, voice soft and he brushed Evelyn's dark hair on the top of her head.

Standing up, he shut the car door and walked Evelyn around to the driver's side. He opened the door and tried to urge her into the car, but she didn't go. She stood on the other side of the door, holding the top of it and looking at Alex with a frown.

"Come with us," she said to him, but he shook his head.

"They've been in there too long…something must have gone wrong. I have to help them," he said to her but Victoria shook her head.

"Don't go back in there," she pleaded from him.

"Annie's in there, Vic," Alex said with a shake of his head. "I need to go and help them. Once this is done…if we do this then I will find you, alright? I'll come and find you, but I need to make sure Annie is safe and my family too…I just need to keep them safe and once I've done that then I'll come for you. I'll come and find you and I will take you on that date, yeah?"

He saw her crying and he tried not to let his own emotions take hold. He smiled at her, knowing that he had to be strong. He had to be brave and make sure that she was going to be okay. He moved a hand to her cheek, cupping it tenderly.

"There are instructions in the envelope…the location you need is in the GPS…follow it and get away from here. Take Evelyn and get out," Alex continued talking and Victoria moved a hand to take hold of his from her cheek before she moved quickly, leaning over the door and pressing her lips against his, kissing him firmly.

Alex moved so that he was able to wrap his arms around her, kissing her firmly and memorising the feel of her against him. Wrapping a hand into her hair, he felt the softness of her locks as she moved a hand to his neck, not wanting to let him go as his hand dipped into the small of her back, keeping her front pressed against his.

He pulled back after a moment and saw her cheeks flush before tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'll miss you," Victoria whispered to him.

"I'll miss you too," Alex assured her. "But I'll do everything I can to get back to you, you got that?"

"Promise."

"I promise," he said to her. "Now go, baby…get out of here."

He urged her into the car, crowding her until she sat down in the driver's seat and he handed her the keys. She shakily placed them into the ignition and started the engine. Alex gave her one final kiss, tasing the salt of her tears on his lips. He drew back and shut the door, forcing himself to step away from the car. Victoria looked to him once again before she pulled the handbrake off and put the car into drive. He managed a smile for her that she could hardly reciprocate. He knew that she wanted to stop the car and come back with him to find her friends and brother, but she wouldn't. She wouldn't because of Evelyn.

"Bye, Vicky," Alex whispered as she drove off and final focused on the road ahead. He waited until she had merged with the traffic before going back inside and preparing for whatever might come his way, even if it meant he didn't make it out alive.

...

A/N: Some foreshadowing there! The fight continues in the next chapter with more twists and turns to come! As always, I would love your thoughts - not long to go now until the end!