After seeing the others off, the conference room fell quiet.
Homelander had just been about to pour himself a glass of milk when Ashley pushed the door open and entered.
"Sir, Instructor Rogers and Lieutenant Barnes are back."
"Oh?" Homelander chuckled. "That was faster than I expected."
"They're in the reception room downstairs. But..." Ashley paused. "They don't look very good."
"Have them come up. Hmm... and call Tony back while you're at it. Tell him an old friend is here."
Five minutes later.
Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes entered the conference room.
Steve's expression was grave, his brows tightly furrowed.
Bucky, meanwhile, kept his head lowered, his metal arm unconsciously clenching and relaxing.
"Welcome back, Captain."
Homelander leaned against the table with a glass of milk in hand. "Looks like your trip to find your roots was quite fruitful?"
"Anthony."
Steve skipped the pleasantries. He walked straight up to Homelander and placed a black hard drive on the table.
"We found an old Hydra base in Siberia."
"There were not only dormant super soldiers there..." Steve's face was heavy. "We also found some mission logs from back then. Including..."
"Including video footage dated December 16, 1991."
Homelander glanced at the hard drive, and the smile on his face faded somewhat.
"About Howard Stark?" Homelander calmly spoke the name.
The two centenarians looked at each other and saw the shock in one another's eyes.
"You knew?" Steve asked in surprise.
"I'm Homelander, Steve. I've heard more secrets on this planet than you've eaten loaves of bread." Homelander pointed to his ear. "If I want to know something, nothing can be hidden from me."
"Of course, most of the time I'm not that bored. I have a life of my own."
"Since you know..." Steve clenched his fists, his tone turning