A Little Secret Between Father and Son

With that said, Homelander no longer cared if Ryan could actually fly or not.

The most crucial point was that his son trusted him.

For this, his adorable son Ryan would even reject the dissuasion of that woman, Becca.

This deeply touched Homie's heart.

Needless to say, he shed the violence and irritability he usually displayed at Vought International when facing chaotic situations and idiotic teammates, showing an abundance of patience instead.

Homie's gaze was incredibly gentle, an expression that had never appeared on him before.

Falling upon Ryan, he encouraged, "Son, perhaps your arms should be a little higher."

"Is it because my posture isn't accurate?"

After Ryan finished speaking, he didn't wait for Homelander to answer and added, "I've never done this before, Dad. Can you help me see what else is wrong?"

"Of course, I'm coming over right now, son. Here... here... yes, that's the right angle."

"Try it one more time."

"Okay!"

Becca's heart nearly shattered as she watched this absurd scene unfold before her.

Her dear Ryan was actually getting along intimately with her bitter enemy, performing a father-son bonding session right in front of her eyes.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Becca didn't want to endure it any longer, so she said in an eerily calm tone, "Ryan, rest if you're tired. Mom is going to the supermarket."

"Okay, Mom."

Afterward, Becca felt disgusted even glancing at Homelander, so she turned and left.

She drove out of the community, heading straight toward the estate where Dr. Vogelbaum—the chief scientist of Vought International and the former head of the Homelander project—resided, without once looking back.

Not long after the car left the community, Becca's peripheral vision suddenly shifted from the road ahead to the distant sky outside the side window.

There, two figures were slowly flying freely, facing each other.

Screech—

The tires smoked as the brakes locked them tight, grinding against the pavement.

Becca covered her mouth in shock and helplessness, whispering to herself in disbelief, "Impossible. Ryan, how, how could he learn to fly so quickly!"

This was the first time Ryan had soared freely through the sky after unlocking his flight ability.

The wind parted as Earth's gravity pulled at his body, preventing his extreme speed from breaking the first-level limit.

But that didn't matter!

At this moment, the sky was vast and the sea was wide; the gale wrapped around him, carrying freedom across his entire body. The moment he hovered, a sense of unbridled exhilaration rushed straight to the bottom of his heart.

For eight whole years, day after day, he had lived under his mother's strict control and omnipresent cameras, hiding his edge, suppressing his nature, and obediently playing the part of a well-behaved child.

Long-term forbearance and pretense had long since exhausted his body and mind; the repression and mania building up inside were nearly overflowing. Such extreme suppression was never something an ordinary person could endure.

Or rather, this was not something an ordinary person could do.

Ryan's mental state was, more or less, somewhat deranged—a trait inherited from his father (Homelander) and grandfather (Soldier Boy).

Even his mother, Becca, was somewhat paranoid.

"Son, I know that feeling. I also love flying in the sky."

Homie stood side-by-side with Ryan, placing a palm on his son's shoulder. "Although you are still flying quite slowly."

"It doesn't matter. Dad will train you."

"One day, you will fly as fast as I do."

Ryan quickly pulled himself out of his previous emotions.

By the time he turned his head, the sparkle in his pupils and the expression on his face had shifted to sheer excitement.

"I can really fly! By the way, Dad, how fast can you fly?"

Homie immediately put his hands on his hips and replied proudly, "I can fly at supersonic speeds."

Ryan tilted his head. "Supersonic? How fast is that exactly?"

"Uh..."

Homie couldn't explain it; he had never studied physics in his life.

Just as he was about to say, "I'll take you for a flight and you'll understand," he suddenly realized that his son's body might not be able to withstand supersonic flight.

So, he dropped the idea.

It was from this very moment that the plot of The Boys began to veer off course.

When had Homelander ever considered the tolerance of others?

Never.

Yet, facing his own biological son, he found himself instinctively worrying about his physical well-being, terrified that he might get hurt.

"Sigh!"

Suddenly, just as Homelander was contemplating how to describe his extreme flight speed, Ryan let out a soft sigh.

A trace of caution and vexation washed over the young boy's face.

As Homelander looked on in confusion, Ryan whispered, "Dad, can I tell you a secret?"

"Huh? Oh, of course!"

"Actually, I realized something was wrong a long time ago."

Ryan furrowed his brows. "I noticed that the people in the neighborhood, like Uncle Ram, Grandma Susan, and Aunt Jessica, do the exact same things every single day."

"Their smiles don't seem real at all."

"Sometimes I can hear them saying strange, inexplicable things, but Mom told me those were just illusions."

"Wait, Ryan, you can hear them talking? From how far away?"

"From places where I can't even see them."

Ryan's seemingly bewildered answer was actually a calculation he had been brewing for a long time.

He wanted to reveal his existing superpowers to Homelander bit by bit, turning them into a little secret shared only between the two of them.

Look, I haven't even told Mom, but I've told you everything without holding anything back.

What does that mean?

I trust you, Dad.

In this world, besides me, is there anyone else who treats you like this?

Homelander's focus shifted.

His attention moved from his son inheriting his bloodline powers to this sudden, intimate father-son conversation. He felt incredibly comforted, as if the distance between him and his son had closed just a little bit more.

Ryan waited a moment before continuing, "I didn't want to worry Mom, so I never mentioned it to her again after that. Dad, is the world I live in real?"

"A lot of the time, I even think that I'm just like the Vought cartoons—everything is scripted."

The moment Ryan's last sentence left his lips, Homelander was struck by a surge of intense, uncontrollable rage.

Scripted... a lab rat!

His only family, his son Ryan, was just like him—a lab rat for Vought International!

In an instant, Homelander flashed back to his own horrific, dark childhood.

"Absolutely not!"

"What?"

Crimson heat vision boiled like molten lava in Homelander's eyes, but it dissipated rapidly the moment he looked at his son beside him.

The outburst of heat vision was suppressed, but Homelander's eyes inexplicably reddened. "I mean, son, I'm going to take you away. The world you live in is... will you come with me?"

It's fake.

Homelander swallowed the words.

He was afraid that his son's young heart would be shattered by the cruel truth.

Ryan opened his mouth in slight surprise. "What about Mom? What will happen to Mom? I can feel that she's afraid of you, but I can also feel that you're a good dad. I don't want to leave Mom behind."

"Leave it to me. I'll take her with us when we leave this place."

Ryan shook his head. "Mom won't like that. I don't want to make her angry. Dad, can you tell me why Mom is afraid of you?"

Homelander was left speechless.

What mortal didn't fear him? Even Madelyn, whom he had treated like a mother, had ultimately spoken that truth: she was afraid of him.

And so, Homelander had killed Madelyn without mercy.

After a long while, Homelander hesitantly replied, "Our relationship, uh... isn't very good. You're still young, son; you'll understand when you grow up."