I Have to Give Him Positive Feedback

At one point, Billy woke up.

Footsteps sounded. He squinted and raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight.

"You're awake, hey, buddy..."

Homelander waved cheerfully, barely able to contain his smugness. His delight was plain to see. "You were out for quite a while. You can thank me for saving you later. For now... come on, you're going to like this."

Like what?

Even with only Level One Super Hearing, Ryan had an extraordinary sense of hearing that no one knew about. He'd noticed the long-awaited moment arriving as soon as Homelander descended from the sky.

Hearing the teasing, ill-intentioned note in Homelander's voice, Ryan nearly burst out laughing.

Normally speaking,

his biological mother in this life—the woman sitting at the table, Becca—was Billy Butcher's lover.

He should have been their child.

But the unexpected could happen anywhere, especially in this world of superheroes... or, uh, supervillains... What were you supposed to call this bunch of psychos?

Anyway, nothing that happened in this world was a surprise. It was all just great fun.

Homelander, a superhero, had raped his mother, which meant his biological father had been replaced by someone else.

The encounter about to take place was, as expected, Homelander's sick idea of fun and revenge. He was going to claim his wife's child as his son right in front of Billy.

Ryan played along, feigning surprise. "Mom, I think I heard something outside."

After saying that, he jumped down from the table and ran toward the door.

Becca hurriedly put down her knife and fork, still wondering why someone from Vought International would show up while they were eating. What had happened?

Ryan had possessed all his memories from his previous life ever since birth.

He'd never experienced any mystery of memories from the womb, so he knew everything that was happening around him.

He clearly remembered how hard his mother, Becca, had fought, bargained, and compromised with Vought International to keep him safe.

His mother Becca believed that the only person who could defeat Homelander had to share his blood.

That person was him, Ryan.

Wasn't Vought International worried that Homelander might go out of control? They'd carefully instilled human weaknesses in him from childhood, but what if something went wrong?

So Ryan, the Supe: Son of Nature who'd inherited Homelander's blood, inevitably became the only person capable of keeping Homelander in check.

He was insurance.

At the age of two, Ryan naturally awakened his first superpower: Heat Vision.

That was when he unlocked his cheat.

Oh, of course, he'd kept all of it hidden.

At five, he activated his second superpower, Steel Body, using acting experience points. It had since reached Level Two.

He knew very well that Vought International and his mother, Becca, were currently focused on suppressing his powers and shaping him into a well-rounded person. So he continued to keep his abilities hidden without giving anything away.

When Ryan was six, he unexpectedly gained a massive amount of experience points after delivering an outstanding performance. As a result, he activated Super Hearing and Super Vision all at once.

Although all his superpowers were definitely watered-down versions compared to Superman's,

that didn't matter. What mattered was that Ryan had been looking forward to this moment every second of every day for years.

To prepare, he'd rehearsed how he would act in his mind every night when the world was quiet.

Overwhelming excitement?

No. He had a concept of what a father was, but the false Truman Show world Vought International had maintained for him had shaped his mind. He shouldn't feel a father-son bond.

Whether good or bad, it shouldn't happen to him.

He'd weighed every detail again and again, repeatedly rehearsing his expressions, tone, and mannerisms, hoping to get them just right without revealing a single flaw.

After all, Homelander hadn't yet turned everything upside down and gone completely dark.

He longed for love, but he detested being deceived.

He could even bring himself to kill Madelyn Stillwell.

This woman wasn't merely a powerful vice chairwoman at Vought International. She was also an important part of maintaining Homelander's human weaknesses.

For Homelander, she'd even had child after child over the course of several years, just so he could have some warm milk to drink.

But when Homelander learned that she'd deceived him, he still killed her without hesitation.

So when Homelander did his best to look casual and greeted him with, "Hey, kid. Do you know who I am?" Ryan threw himself into the performance with all his heart.

He tilted his head, feigning confusion. "Who are you?"

"Ha, ha. I'm your father, kid."

Ryan was clearly startled. He turned to Becca in confusion. "Mom, didn't Johnny say my father had died like a hero? He...?"

Becca's expression was impossible to read.

Her fear of Homelander had been buried deep inside her, but this sudden confrontation overwhelmed her completely.

"Johnny?"

A sinister glint passed over Homelander's face. That man was dead.

Ryan answered naturally, "Johnny manages this community. He always comes to see me, and I really like him."

"Although he gives me shots every time he comes. Oh, they hurt."

In the monitoring room,

Johnny, the person in charge, went deathly pale and dropped to the floor, unable to say a word.

He watched Homelander burst into a forced laugh on the screen, and in the blink of an eye, cold sweat covered his whole body.

"Good. Looks like you really like him. As your father, I'll be sure to reward him properly, son."

Homelander stepped closer and gently placed his palm against Ryan's cheek. "But Johnny got one thing wrong, son. Your father was a hero, but I didn't die."

"Someone as strong as me could never die."

"So you really are my... dad?"

"Of course! Of course! I'm your dad!"

Ryan's emotions came naturally. He sank into the state of mind he'd rehearsed countless times in the depths of night, playing the part of an innocent child who longed for his father's company.

A little moisture welled in his clear eyes.

It wasn't an abrupt burst of tears, but the bittersweet release of a long-suppressed hope.

With a hint of excited disbelief, Ryan said, "I didn't want to worry Mom, but Vicky and Finney... they all have fathers. When they're sad, or when they're in danger, their fathers are always there with them."

"Oh... son~"

Homelander felt an emotion he'd never experienced before.

He didn't know who Vicky and Finney were, but he truly felt it—that long-yearned-for bond that came from sharing the same blood.

His son wanted a father, too.

That was what mattered most!

At last, Homelander couldn't hold back. He pulled his son into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Son, I'll stay by your side from now on."

"Mm!"

Ryan answered in a muffled voice, "With Mom, too."

"Okay."

Ryan's performance continued. Though he said nothing more, happiness showed in every part of him.

That feeling even affected Homelander.

"Homelander..."

Homelander looked up. Becca gazed at him, fear and hatred mingling in her eyes, then glanced at Billy, her husband, standing behind him.

Her silent plea was clear: Let him go, or...

"I'll tell Ryan the truth!"