Falling Rain

Even missiles had failed to kill Homelander.

Ryan hadn't known until he'd fought him.

Only after fighting Homelander for so long did Ryan truly grasp how powerful his own abilities were.

There was no question: he could use them without restraint.

High in the air, Ryan tilted his head back.

The rain was growing heavier, its drops joining into visible streams.

Homelander walked along the ground. He smoothed back his hair so the soaked strands would stop dripping onto his forehead.

He looked around. Everyone had fled, leaving an empty street behind. Rainwater washed over the pavement.

By the time the fight reached this point, Homelander had begun to realize he couldn't do much to Ryan.

And Ryan couldn't do much to him.

More importantly, the longer he looked at Ryan's face, the more familiar it felt.

"What's your name?"

Homelander looked up at the boy who seemed to be standing in the sky, then asked again.

"What's your name?"

"What does that have to do with our fight?"

"...But I grew up in a research facility. I never met my father or my mother. Even if you're trying to get a rise out of me, it doesn't mean much to me."

With Homelander calm again, Ryan didn't know what to say. He'd only said it to make Homelander angry.

He wanted to keep the fight going, but Homelander no longer seemed interested.

What a strange guy. Ryan had just beaten him up.

Then again, Ryan knew Homelander hadn't been born this way. The reason lay in the laboratory he'd mentioned.

Homelander had grown up in a laboratory, burdened with expectations and made to train his powers constantly. His longest-standing companions had been its white walls.

It was hard for anyone to grow up normal in a place like that.

After a silence, Homelander spoke again.

"Someone with powers who won't obey orders like me could never retire peacefully like Lamplighter. If Vought International comes after me one day, whose side will you be on?"

Ryan thought for a moment.

"I'll stand on the side of justice."

"Which side is that?"

"Whichever side I'm on."

"You really are like me."

Homelander looked at Ryan. The boy reminded him of himself as a child, as though his younger self were living his life all over again.

People could only resemble one another so much. Everything about Ryan was so uncannily familiar that Homelander was taken aback. He waved a hand to signal that the fight was over.

Then he took off.

Ryan followed. With his ability to fly, he was the only one who could keep up with Homelander.

"You didn't decide to stop fighting. You've just had enough, haven't you?"

"There's more to life than fighting. You should find something else to enjoy."

"What happened to the guy who was so eager to kill me a minute ago?"

"I have no idea."

Homelander put on a look of utter bewilderment. Ryan thought back to their earlier agreement.

They were supposed to fight to the death.

But now Ryan found that difficult, too. For one thing, Homelander was so tough he seemed almost impossible to kill. And there was another reason—the most important one.

Even if Ryan won a fight to the death against someone as powerful as Homelander, it would be a costly victory. Weakened afterward, he'd probably be captured by Vought International.

The two flew back to Seven Tower. Homelander said he wanted to ask Madelyn a few things about Ryan, then left.

Ryan sat in the conference room, thinking about what came next.

He knew that, in the original story, Vought International had a copy of Homelander.

Vought International had created it specifically to keep Homelander in check. Ryan already had enough trouble dealing with one Homelander.

If Vought International used that copy against him later, he could be in serious trouble.

To change that,

he needed stronger powers. Knowing the original story had never seemed more useful to Ryan.

According to the story, Homelander and the others hadn't inherited their powers the way Ryan had. They hadn't been born with them.

Their powers were connected to the research facility Homelander had mentioned.

They came from science.

From a drug called Compound V.

Maybe Ryan could start there. By studying Compound V, the source of those powers, he might figure out how to strengthen his own.

Ryan tapped his fingers against the conference table. As he recalled, the easiest Compound V to get his hands on was with A-Train.

He was still working out his next move when someone knocked on the conference room door.

A woman in a revealing outfit came in.

Ryan didn't recognize her at first. Then he realized it was Starlight.

Looking worn out from her journey, Starlight had changed into her superhero costume as soon as she reached Seven Tower.

It showed off her figure, every curve emphasized by the outfit's generous display of skin.

She looked like a beauty pageant contestant.

Ryan stared for a moment, then beckoned to her.

"Come here."

"Huh? Isn't the meeting already over?"

"Can't we have another one?"

The meeting was mostly about superhero exploits and other matters. Once it was over, Ryan found he couldn't stand Starlight's outfit.

He'd lived here a long time, but he still couldn't get used to this sort of thing.

"Don't wear that anymore."

"Why? Do you want me to quit? It's only my second day on the job. Please don't fire me. I'll work hard."

"I wonder what your fans would think if they saw you acting so timid."

"It's just the two of us in this conference room. Besides, we've done worse things."

"You were the one who went too far. I'm still so young. What you did harmed my innocent little heart."

"What did you say?"

Starlight was the one who got angry, of course. Sometimes she seemed timid enough for anyone to push around; other times, she was as stubborn as she'd been when she argued with Ashley.

No one could talk her out of anything when she got like that.

Ryan coaxed her for a while, then called Ashley and told her to have a proper costume made for Starlight.

Ashley objected. Ryan's reply was casual.

"If you won't do it, I'll find someone who will."

Ryan had no authority to replace her, of course. But Ashley preferred not to cross any member of The Seven.

She'd picked on Starlight because Starlight seemed easy to push around.

Ashley had also seen Ryan and Homelander fighting above the crowd without a care for anyone below.

If she'd been there, she'd have been one of the people fleeing through the streets.

Nervously, Ashley agreed over the phone. Ryan's proposal was just like an unreasonable demand from a client.

Her original promotional strategy for Starlight had been to present her as a young, beautiful heroine who helped others.

Because of Ryan, she now had to put Starlight in a more conservative costume and market her as a heroine for little girls.

Little girls were children. Children had no income of their own, so there was little reason to expect much spending from them. Ashley had no choice.

All she knew was that Ryan's call had added a great deal to her workload.

Meanwhile, Starlight touched the outfit she was wearing after Ryan hung up.

"I don't have to wear this anymore?"

"No. Take it off."

"Here?"

"If you want."

"No!"

Starlight cried out. She touched her blond hair and thanked him.

Looking much brighter, she left the conference room with a spring in her step.

She was probably going to change.

Ryan had no reason to stay in the conference room alone, so he went to look for A-Train as he'd planned.

With X-Ray Vision, finding someone was easy. Ryan found A-Train in a changing room.

His locker was full of identical blue costumes.

When Ryan spotted him, he glanced at what A-Train was doing.

"Why are you taking off your pants?"

"To let my ass breathe."

"Fair enough. Airflow's important."

Ryan had answered without thinking before he remembered why he was there.

He hadn't come to watch A-Train change. He scanned everything in sight.

With X-Ray Vision, nothing could stay hidden.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything that looked like a vial.

In the original story, A-Train took Compound V, but he didn't seem to have any on him now.

"Who won your fight with Homelander?"

A-Train looked at Ryan in confusion. Ryan drew his gaze back. He'd considered demanding an answer about Compound V.

But A-Train probably wouldn't tell him the truth unless Ryan beat him up again.

Ryan didn't want to hit anyone without a reason. He wasn't a violent person.

"Neither of us won. Where are you headed?"

"Since when do I have to report where I'm going?"

"I want to know."

Ryan didn't actually care, but he'd come looking for A-Train and needed some excuse.

A-Train hesitated. After thinking it over, he answered.

"The Female. I'm going on a date with my Female. You want to come along?"

Ryan knew a little about The Female.

She was another of Vought International's superheroes, though she wasn't nearly as prominent as The Seven.

She'd appeared in several superhero movies years ago, but nobody paid her much attention now.

Ryan hadn't expected A-Train to be involved with her.

He frowned.

"Wasn't she widowed?"

"Isn't 'widow' a wonderful word to a man?"

"That's just your opinion."

Ryan had no intention of intruding on A-Train's date, so they parted ways.

Before they did, A-Train gave him a warning.

"Keep my date with The Female to yourself."

"I gain nothing by telling people about your private life."

"But I could lose plenty."

Now dressed, A-Train walked out of the changing room with Ryan and began to complain.

"My image is that of a nice single guy. If people find out I'm seeing a woman in secret, I'll lose fans. Sales will drop, and I won't get ad deals."

"And then you'd have to go keep Lamplighter company."

"I'm not retiring early."

Most of A-Train's complaints were aimed at the paparazzi.

They followed superheroes around with cameras, photographing their private lives and selling anything scandalous they could find.

These days, he even had to be careful when he went out for a meal.

Ryan didn't feel much sympathy. He remembered the surveillance footage Billy had given him.

A-Train hadn't looked the least bit miserable when he was throwing money around and living it up at nightclubs.

They parted at the entrance to Seven Tower.

After A-Train left, Ryan thought about visiting the video store.

He'd been busy these past few days, and he'd just fought Homelander.

It had been a long time since he'd gone there. He searched his memory for the way.

He had just got his bearings when he heard someone behind him.

It was a voice that instantly put Ryan on guard.

Homelander's voice.

Ryan turned and saw that Homelander had changed into a different outfit.

Clean, fresh, and pleasing to the eye.

Ryan wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but the way this person looked at him had gone beyond warmth. It was almost maternal.

So maternal that Ryan thought of Becca.

This person had gone to see Madelyn earlier. Judging by that look, maybe Madelyn had told her everything.