Inside the Boys' hideout, CIA Deputy Director Susan Raynor stood across from Butcher, Mother's Milk, Hughie, and Frenchie. Her expression was serious.
"Well, Butcher, you've been found out. Vought is investigating you and your little French friend."
Mother's Milk frowned. "Wait... how the hell did they find out about us?"
"I don't know. They haven't told us how much they know, but they've started digging. It won't be long before Vought identifies every one of you."
Mother's Milk's face immediately changed. He looked at Butcher. "If they identify you and Frenchie, I'm next. My family's in danger."
Hughie lowered his head. "My dad..."
The room went quiet.
Butcher looked at Raynor. "Well... it's about bloody time you kept your promise." He had handed the CIA the Compound V sample and all the evidence they needed to move against Vought. In return, he had demanded one thing — protection for his team.
Raynor nodded. "I've already arranged it." She looked at Mother's Milk. "Your family can be relocated to a secure location under federal protection." She then turned to Hughie. "Your father will also be moved somewhere Vought won't be able to find him."
Mother's Milk let out a relieved breath.
"That was the main reason I came here," Raynor continued.
"From this point forward, all of you need to disappear. Keep your heads down, avoid public places, and don't contact anyone unless it's absolutely necessary. Once Vought confirms your identities, you'll be the most wanted people in the country."
Butcher gave a small nod. "What about the other thing I asked for?"
"The Department of Justice is preparing a case against Vought. The Compound V evidence is enough to trigger a federal investigation." She paused. "But Homelander is off the table."
Butcher's expression hardened. "Why the bloody hell not?"
"Because nobody has a way to stop him. Trying to arrest Homelander without a guaranteed method of containing him isn't law enforcement." She looked Butcher directly in the eyes. "It's suicide."
"But—"
"No." Her voice was firm. "You've done your part. Let us handle Vought."
She picked up her briefcase and walked toward the exit. The door closed behind her.
Silence filled the hideout. Butcher looked at the floor. The government was finally moving against Vought — but the one man he wanted to destroy most remained untouchable. That frustrated him more than anything else.
***
Later that day, Homelander paid Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum a visit. He didn't come to exchange pleasantries. He wanted answers.
Vogelbaum looked at him for a long moment. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before you came."
"What happened to Becca Butcher?"
The old scientist fell silent before slowly answering. "Becca Butcher was pregnant."
Homelander frowned. "That shouldn't be possible."
"We thought the same thing. Every test suggested you were incapable of having children."
"Then how?"
Vogelbaum let out a weary sigh. "Nature can be... unpredictable. Against every expectation, Becca became pregnant with your child."
Homelander's expression remained unreadable. "And the child?"
"The baby lived all of ten seconds," Vogelbaum said quietly. "It drowned in its mother's blood."
For several seconds, Homelander didn't speak. Billy Butcher had spent eight years investigating Compound V. Becca had disappeared eight years ago. Now he had learned she had been carrying his child. Someone inside Vought had hidden the truth from him.
Vogelbaum looked at him with obvious regret. "When I created you, I believed power was all that mattered. I thought if I made the strongest man on Earth, everything else would take care of itself. I never stopped to think about what growing up without parents, without affection, or without a normal childhood would do to you."
He slowly lowered his head. "I spent years convincing myself the results justified the methods. They didn't. I failed you, John."
Homelander's jaw tightened. "You call me your failure?"
"I call myself the failure. You are the consequence of my mistakes. I created the most powerful human being on Earth, but I never taught him how to be human."
Homelander stared at him. "I'm the greatest superhero in the world. You gave me abilities no one else possesses. My suffering was worth it."
Vogelbaum slowly shook his head. "No, John. It wasn't."
Homelander said nothing else. He turned around and walked out of the house into the daylight, one thought remaining in his mind — for eight years, Vought had hidden the truth from him.
***
Later that night, Billy Butcher sat alone inside a parked car across the street from Madelyn Stillwell's house. The engine was off. As he watched the house through a pair of binoculars.
He had spent months watching Homelander. Bullets were useless. Bombs were useless. There wasn't a prison in the world that could hold him. But people weren't machines — every person had something they cared about.
From everything Butcher had seen, Madelyn Stillwell was the one person Homelander always came back to. He listened to her. He sought her approval. He trusted her more than anyone else.
Butcher lowered the binoculars. "If I want to hurt the bloody bastard," he muttered, "I don't go after his strength."
His eyes returned to the house. "I go after his weakness."
He continued watching the lights inside, patiently waiting. Sooner or later, Homelander would show up.
***
A/N: And on Patreon, The Boys arc started.
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