Chương 58

Homelander sat in his office and watched the internet move without him in silence. Most of the posts were about Stormfront. The internet had turned her attacks on Vought into the main topic. Her name appeared on every screen, and Homelander understood why his office had become impossible to sit in. Then one meme about Stormfront caught his eye. Homelander saw the meme and stood up. He left the office without saying anything and went straight to the place where Stormfront had been staying.

Stormfront was still there when he arrived. She looked surprised to see him, but she did not move away. She looked up as Homelander entered. The surprise lasted only a second.

"You're using Vought as a springboard so that people talk about you.," Homelander said.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice what you were doing?" Stormfront said nothing. Homelander stepped closer.

"You keep attacking the company because you want to become famous." Stormfront smiled.

"Now I get it. You have an attention problem." Homelander looked confused, then anger replaced it.

"Boss," Stormfront continued, "you should see a doctor. This could be a serious problem." Homelander's eyes began to glow.

"You don't seem to understand who you're talking to." Stormfront did not move away. Stormfront stayed calm while the glow filled Homelander's eyes.

"If this were the old Homelander, maybe I would be scared." His eyes widened.

"The old Homelander? What does that mean?"

"The old Homelander was the one who hadn't been beaten by a man named Adam." Homelander's hands began to shake. His eyes grew wider as the memory returned. Adam's fists had struck him in front of the Seven. The second punch had sent him through the building and left a pain he had never felt before. The memory of Adam's face had stayed in his mind since the fight, and Stormfront could see that she had touched it. He took one step toward Stormfront.

"But I have a solution for you," she said quickly. The anger in Homelander's face did not disappear, but he stopped moving.

"What kind of solution?" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Stormfront leaned back against the table.

"Don't you think Vought is too careful around Adam? Look at that group. People know them now, even though Vought calls them criminals. The masked man saved those people, and Vought still keeps him out of sight." She watched his reaction.

"Doesn't that make you think Vought is planning something against you?" she asked.

"Vought is keeping you away from him. The question made Homelander's glow burn hotter." The light in Homelander's eyes burned brighter. Stormfront smiled at him.

"Join me, and I can show you how to beat him." Homelander did not listen to the rest. He turned around and walked out. Outside, Annie said goodbye to Adam before leaving. Adam watched her go, then joined M. M. and Hughie on their way back to the hideout. Frenchie and Kimiko were not there when they arrived. M. M. saw what had happened. Kimiko had been badly affected by the incident, and she had withdrawn from everyone. Frenchie tried to calm her. Kimiko did not reply and looked cut off from the rest of the room.

He stayed near her without forcing her to answer. Kimiko's hands moved restlessly while she stared at the floor. Hughie took out his phone and called Butcher. Butcher answered after a few rings.

"We found out who Liberty was," Hughie said.

"She was Stormfront." Butcher stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "I'm sorry, Hughie. I'm taking early retirement and going to Argentina." Hughie stared at the phone.

"What?" The call ended. Hughie held the phone near his ear for another second, as if Butcher might change his mind and come back. When nothing happened, he slowly lowered it. M. M. watched his face and understood that the call had not gone the way Hughie expected. Butcher was standing inside a toy shop. He looked over the shelves until he picked up a small toy. Its sound traveled through the phone before the call disconnected. Hughie lowered the phone. M. M. looked at him.

"I think Butcher is in trouble," Hughie said. M. M. knew where Hughie had been before he made the call. Adam knew it too. Adam knew this was the part that followed Becca's rejection. Butcher refused to treat Ryan as his son or give him any importance. M. M. looked at Adam.

"Something must have happened to him. We need to find him."

"I heard a toy in the background," Hughie said.

"It sounded like he was buying one." Adam studied the clue.

"Maybe he was buying it for his dog." M. M.'s eyes widened as he recognized the clue.

"I know where his dog is. Let's go," he said. Hughie looked from M. M. to Adam. Nobody needed to explain why the toy mattered. Butcher had cut the call too quickly, and the sound in the background had been the only clue he had left them. Adam stood up first, and the other two followed him toward the exit. After filming for Dawn of the Seven ended, Ashley walked toward Homelander with a tablet.

"What is that?" Homelander asked. Ashley pressed play on the tablet. Homelander watched without blinking until the mother appeared beside the child. The video showed Homelander killing a criminal with his heat vision. The beam killed an innocent child after it killed the criminal. Homelander flew away as the mother cried. The video had spread across the internet. People kept sharing it before Vought could remove it. Ashley kept the tablet between them and waited for Homelander to finish watching.

Homelander watched the screen.

"Don't they have water?" Ashley looked at him.

"And they're walking around with smartphones?" he added. Ashley swiped to another video. This one showed crowds gathered in the streets. The protesters held signs and shouted at the cameras. Their voices filled the recording as they raised the signs toward the cameras. Their message was repeated across the screen. Homelander was being declared a war criminal.