A Family of Four, Harmonious and Happy?

Maeve felt that the scene unfolding before her eyes was surreal.

So, this was a family of four, enjoying a happy, harmonious moment?

Inside the film set, long since abandoned by the crew, small tables from the snack and beverage area had been pushed together to form a makeshift dining table.

Sitting around it were Homelander, Ryan, Becca, and Billy Butcher.

I must be hallucinating.

"Maeve, come over here!"

Azu suddenly called out to her.

She looked over and saw the slightly lonely-looking Homelander waving at her repeatedly.

Oh... the little boy feels left out and has started calling for his mommy, has he?

On her way over, Maeve heard this biting remark from Billy and immediately raised her guard.

The catering staff had already left, and there were no outsiders present. With Homelander's sensitive ego being poked like that, a blast of Heat Vision would surely follow in the next second...

However, a scene that surprised her once again occurred.

Homelander did not get angry; instead, he looked at her with a gentle expression. "Maeve, you handled those three supes who wanted to attack me and Ryan. Although this is a family dinner, I think you can join us."

"After all, you are Ryan's combat instructor now."

"Combat instructor? Ryan, you're practicing combat?"

Becca's volume spiked as if she had been triggered. "That's violence! You can't do that, you aren't that kind of boy!"

"Mom..."

Just as Ryan was about to speak, Becca whipped her head around to glare at Azu. "You arranged this, didn't you? You want to turn this child into someone just like you!"

Azu continued to smile. "He is Homelander's son."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, glanced at Azu, and muttered to himself, wondering if he had been pushing a bit too hard. Had Homelander turned into Mr. Never-Gets-Angry?

"Mom!"

Before his mother, Becca, could vent any more of her fear, Ryan raised his voice as well. "I'm filming a movie, that's why I begged Maeve to teach me how to fight so it looks good. It has nothing to do with Dad."

He paused, then added with a touch of exhaustion and confusion, "Why does everyone keep saying I'm just like Dad, yet hope that I'm not?"

"It's so annoying! I don't understand what you people mean at all. Can you please stop arguing? I just missed you, Mom. Can't we just have a happy meal together?"

The moment the words "happy meal" left his lips, everyone at the table, including Maeve who had just sat down, felt a sense of absurdity rise within them.

Having a happy meal with Homelander?

Billy and Becca exchanged a glance, both wearing extremely strained smiles.

Having a happy meal with Homelander, his child's biological mother, and her original husband?

Maeve looked at Ryan with admiration.

Kid, even though I don't know what's going on with this family dynamic of yours, I really wish I could be as innocent as you.

Maeve remained silent, determined that she would absolutely not participate in this dinner.

Azu picked up a pastry. "Son, we are happy. Come, try this puff pastry cake. The fresh cream flavor is very rich; you'll like it."

The cozy dinner, which had left every member of The Boys—except for Billy and Becca—terrified, finally came to an end.

With Becca looking back every few steps, the group boarded the cars they had arrived in.

The car sped away, with Mother's Milk practically flooring the accelerator.

It wasn't until they were far away from the city that they slowly pulled into a gas station.

"Did we... survive?"

"Yeah, Hughie. We survived Homelander, who just dropped out of the sky. I told you we should have evacuated immediately."

Mother's Milk sounded a bit angry. "Billy, you know I have a daughter. She's waiting for me to come home after I finish dealing with this mess. We could have totally waited until next time to..."

"Mother's Milk, are you thirsty? Come on, let's go to the convenience store and grab some beer."

Hughie suddenly cut him off. After saying this, he turned to look at Kimiko, who possessed the power of Self-Healing and had already recovered from the unknown toxic gas exposure.

"How are you feeling? Want a cold beer?"

Kimiko, who could not speak, nodded.

Frenchie, who had been guarding her the whole time, grinned and nodded along. "Good, let's go buy some beer. Billy, Becca, are you two coming?"

Hughie slapped his own forehead.

He had never realized Frenchie could be so oblivious. He grabbed him and pulled him away. "Let's go, we'll just bring some back for Billy and the others later."

"But guys, seriously, did you notice that the Homelander we saw this time seemed a bit... off?"

"When has he ever been normal..."

The voices of Hughie and the others faded into the distance, completely muffled once they stepped inside the convenience store.

The spacious car fell into a sudden silence.

Billy looked at his wife, who remained lost in thought, and reached out to pull her into his arms. "Don't dwell on it, Becca. Ryan is doing just fine right now."

"He doesn't want to leave with me."

Becca gripped Billy's arm. "Ryan has been changed by Homelander. The thing I've always feared has finally happened."

"Billy, didn't you see it?"

"When Ryan flew down with Homelander, those three supes that Maeve and you guys killed were lying in a pool of blood! Yet when Ryan saw them, he didn't show any fear or surprise at all!"

Billy frowned, then quickly smoothed his expression. He comforted her, "That was a film set. Maybe Ryan thought they were..."

Becca shook her head. "You're lying. I know you, Billy."

She stared at her husband. "You only wanted to take me away from the start. You were actually happy with Ryan's choice that night, weren't you?"

"I..."

Billy was left speechless.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he said urgently, "Back at the dinner table, didn't Ryan ask us to have a child?"

"We can do it, Becca. We can get away from all of this and start over."

Becca felt an unspeakable sorrow in her heart and couldn't help but hug her husband. "A child—I owe you that."

"But Billy, Ryan is my child too. I can't just pretend nothing happened and go have another one when I haven't even managed to look after him properly."

Billy deflated, but he forced himself to stay strong and patted her shoulder. "Then we'll look after him. We'll find another way to make him see Homelander's true colors."

"It's no use!"

Becca pulled away from Billy's embrace and sat up. "Homelander is a master of disguise. You provoked him like that during dinner, yet he didn't lose his temper in front of Ryan."

"He was holding back. I could tell!"

Becca became even more certain of her suspicion. "Homelander is using that mask to deceive Ryan, and my foolish son—he believes it all."

With that, she pulled out her phone with a look of grim determination.

Seeing this, Billy asked hurriedly, "Becca, what are you doing?"

Becca dialed a number she knew by heart, one she had thought she would never call.

Before the call officially connected, she said to Billy, "I have no other choice, Billy, but I know someone. If he agrees to our deal, he'll have a way."

"What deal?"

"Trading the dirt we found on Stormfront—that she's Liberty, that she's a Nazi."

Billy frowned. "That was our leverage to weaken Vought International..."

"Stormfront is dead!"

Becca stated firmly, "Homelander will never let her go, not after she hurt Ryan."

Billy recalled the cuts and bruises on Ryan's face and body, and after a moment of thought, he nodded in agreement.

"Fine. I'll tell the others."

A look of relief crossed Becca's face, and without another word, she dialed the number she had entered.

The phone rang for a short while before someone picked up.

A voice came from the other end: "This is Stan Edgar. Who is this? How do you have this number?"