Want to Fight?

After telling Quicksilver about his father's identity, Ron and Emma left his home. He told Emma to keep an eye on Quicksilver's family and make sure the government didn't find out.

The future mutant kingdom would need a powerful mutant like Quicksilver.

As for him being Magneto's son, what did that matter? He'd said himself that he was irreconcilable with evil.

After spending a bit more time with Raven, Ron gave Emma information on a few other mutants, told her to find a way to recruit them, then took an Adamantium blade and returned to The Boys Universe.

Nearly a month had passed there.

But in The Boys Universe, only an afternoon and an evening had gone by.

The weather was clear, the sun bright.

In a low-key, minimalist apartment, in front of the floor-to-ceiling balcony window.

Ron looked out at the city streets below, then drew the long blade.

The silver sword forged from Adamantium—its edge thin as paper, reflecting light, razor-sharp.

Not even a hundred tons of force could bend it.

"It's a good blade."

But he didn't know if it could hurt Homelander. He gave it a light flick, sheathed it, and set it down.

The X-Men universe still had its previous spacetime coordinate flow speed.

For him, building a country wasn't hard.

"But building a country that can fully and independently shelter all mutants in the world—that's not easy."

A nation made up mostly of mutants would easily stand against the entire world. Gathered together, mutants could become a target for nuclear bombs.

He was controlling the pace of things. He needed to solve this problem before formally founding the nation.

Otherwise, as soon as he became the leader of mutants, a nuke might land in his country. He himself couldn't survive a large-yield blast.

In the X-Men universe, human hostility and exclusion toward mutants were never in doubt. Mutants had been wiped out by humans more than once.

And now, in the X-Men universe, the relationship between the two sides was even more tense and dangerous.

"I just dealt with two muggers on the street nearby. Was heading back to the company when I happened to see you, Dark Star."

A voice suddenly came from the balcony. Homelander, arms crossed, slowly descended from the sky, a bright smile on his face.

"My new teammate. The Vought Tower gives every member of The Seven their own private room. Not comfortable enough?"

He looked friendly, like a captain concerned about his new recruit.

"I don't like staying in other people's places."

Ron stared coldly at Homelander descending from the sky, not believing his excuse for a second.

Happened to see him? More like he came looking on purpose.

"Why 'other people's places'? You joined The Seven—we're all family now."

He walked in with a smile.

But Ron didn't give him any face.

"Is there something you need?"

Homelander's smile didn't waver.

"Nothing much, just..."

Mid-sentence, he suddenly moved. The space around him seemed to slow as he reached out at over a dozen times the speed of sound, aiming for Ron's shoulder.

"Let me see what you've got, kid.

Whether you have power close to a god's!"

His face stayed still, but inwardly he sneered.

Homelander was only testing him, not really attacking. Faced with a sudden move, anyone would react instinctively.

That would let him judge Ron's speed.

One meter... half a meter... closer and closer.

Ron showed no reaction or movement, his eyes coldly fixed on Homelander, as if he hadn't noticed a thing.

"Too slow. I knew it..."

After half a meter with no response from Ron, a smile began to bloom on Homelander's face, arrogance rising in his eyes.

No one could approach a god!

He was a great miracle. Even Vought, who created him, couldn't replicate him.

Homelander prepared to finish the motion, naturally press Ron's shoulder, and say a few words of care and encouragement to his new teammate.

"This pathetic knockoff has no idea that in less than a millisecond, I've already seen through his whole act."

But the next instant.

Just as Homelander's hand was about to land on Ron's shoulder, barely ten centimeters away—

Slap!

"Talk if you want, but keep your hands to yourself."

Ron's face was expressionless. Without even looking, he casually caught Homelander's wrist at nearly twice his speed, speaking slowly.

"Are we that close?"

"..."

His wrist caught, Homelander's smile froze instantly.

Ron had reacted—and not only that, his speed had just surpassed Homelander's by nearly double.

"Impossible!"

"What's impossible?"

Homelander exclaimed, then immediately sneered in retort.

Ron could tell Homelander had just been trying to test his strength.

"How can you have speed like that!"

Shaking off Ron's hand in one sharp motion, Homelander's face darkened. Unable to accept it, he wrenched his hand free, his eyes glowing red.

Though he didn't show much anger, unprecedented panic and fury spread through his heart.

From childhood, he'd grown accustomed to being the one and only, accustomed to being far above everyone else. Arrogance was soaked into his bones—he couldn't accept this.

"There can only be one Homelander in this world!"

He stepped forward and grabbed Ron by the collar, murderous intent barely restrained, each word a cold, sharp warning.

"Listen to me. I don't care who created you. Don't think that just because you're a little faster, you can compare to me—or replace me..."

"Want to fight?"

Knowing this was anger born from fear and panic, Ron remained calm. He casually picked up the blade resting beside him, cutting him off.

"You think I wouldn't dare? You damn brat!"

Homelander took it as a provocation. Each word was gritted out, vicious, as if he were on the verge of losing control. The red light in his eyes flared, but he still didn't make a move.

He was clearly still restrained—bound by the chains of popularity and fans.

"Then let's go."

But Ron was actually inviting him, genuinely wanting to fight and see if he could surpass Homelander now.

Boom~

On a certain deserted island in the Atlantic Ocean.

Ron appeared there, with Homelander in tow.

Endless sea, crashing waves, barren island, sandy beach.

"Where is this?"

The scenery shifted around them. Homelander stepped back, looked around, and asked in a dark tone.

Having seen this ability of Ron's before, he wasn't surprised—just asked where they were.

"Somewhere in the Atlantic. Here, you can unleash your power as much as you want. No need to worry about destroying anything, losing fans, or dropping in popularity.

There's nothing but endless water."

Red light flared around his entire body. Ron spread his hands, as if showing off this domain to Homelander, his tone mocking.

"Of course, no audience, no spotlight, no cameras—your favorites. I wonder if you can even get excited."

"Good. Very good!"

After thinking for a few seconds, Homelander clenched his fists. Like a terrifying volcano that had been suppressed for too long and was about to erupt, he stared at Ron, gritting his teeth with a cold smile.

"From childhood to now, no one has ever told me I could let loose with my power without restraint."

Even though he'd been slightly slower than Ron, the gap wasn't big—and speed was his weakest attribute anyway.

"Do you really think that just because you're fast, you can challenge me—challenge the most powerful superhero on this planet?"

He roared, his voice like thunder. With a single stomp, a crater several meters wide exploded into the sand. In an instant, he was in front of Ron, swinging his fist down.

"I'll show you how wrong you are!"

Tens of thousands of tons of terrifying force nearly compressed the air into solid matter.

The fist wind tore through the air, roaring violently.

Whoosh!

Ron sidestepped, drawing his blade.

"You talk too much."

The battle begins!