Outskirts

After hearing A-Train out, Ryan hung up.

According to A-Train, Homelander had the Compound V. Ryan could try asking for it first. If that failed, they might have to fight again.

Ultimately, he and Homelander were evenly matched. If they fought, it would just be a punch from one and a kick from the other.

Besides, he no longer had a reason to fight Homelander.

Ryan shifted position on the sofa. He had been gauging how much his powers had grown.

The answer was that he improved every day, but he doubted Homelander had been standing still.

Beside Ryan, Kimiko sat with her head buried against her knees, lost in thought.

She did her best to radiate an air of "stay away," but then she heard someone call her name.

She raised her head.

"What?"

"Go make dinner."

"Me?"

"Yeah. The kitchen's over there. There's an apron inside, and fresh ingredients in the fridge."

Ryan pointed it out. Though he had not been here in a long time, his X-Ray Vision showed no dust in the house. There was bread and drinks, too.

It seemed Vought International had kept sending people over to clean and maintain the place.

Kimiko, meanwhile, froze at his request.

She had spent so long eating things in the basement that barely counted as food. Now this man was telling her to cook.

She had not touched kitchen utensils in ages. It would be easy to cut herself.

Kimiko looked at her fingers. She had just scrubbed them carefully with body wash, and now they had the tender pink softness of a baby's.

The scent of body wash still lingered on them. Kimiko herself was not used to this body.

She had been given Compound V in the basement and gained the power to regenerate. Though they had never done that to her,

the three men down there had made lewd jokes that even if she became a woman someday, she would turn back into a girl.

But they had been too afraid to open the bars and come near her, so that particular theory had never been tested.

Beside the sofa, Kimiko lowered her legs to the floor. Reluctance was written all over her face, but under Ryan's gaze, she forced herself to move.

She headed for the kitchen.

"If I accidentally cut off a finger, it'll grow back anyway."

She said it with so much resentment that she seemed like the last person who wanted to cook.

Ryan did not quite know what to make of that.

"Just be careful with the kitchen tools."

"I'm a careless woman. If I cut one off and it falls into the soup, consider it extra protein."

The thought made Ryan uneasy. He could not eat something like that. He was about to say, "Forget it,"

but Kimiko had already ducked into the kitchen and was putting on an apron.

A woman in an apron bustling around the kitchen made for a pleasant sight. Seeing that she had already rolled up her sleeves, Ryan did not stop her.

He leaned back on the sofa and considered everything that had happened.

Hughie and the others were ordinary people, yet they kept stumbling into Vought International's secrets, marching farther down a path that would get them killed.

A-Train's race to decide his fate was coming up.

And Madelyn had taken an interest in Ryan's ability to reproduce. She wanted him to become a father.

For now, he still lacked the strength he needed.

Compound V was essential if he wanted to defeat Black Noir. Ryan had considered teaming up with Homelander to gang up on him.

But in the original comic, Black Noir had blown Homelander's head apart with one punch. Bringing Homelander along felt like calling the top laner over so they could feed the enemy a double kill.

Ryan turned his head helplessly and saw Kimiko working in the kitchen.

With one chop, she split the cutting board in two, mixing the pork tenderloin with splinters of wood.

Then she casually dumped the lot into a pot and started cooking it.

Ryan watched in silence. The banging from the kitchen sounded like someone repairing a machine, and his appetite vanished.

He walked to the kitchen doorway.

"What are you making, Kimiko?"

"Lime Meat. It's a dish from my hometown. You slice the meat thin so it absorbs the lime juice better, then add Salad, Lemon Herb, and Fish Sauce. It's sweet and savory."

Kimiko answered without turning around, but Ryan noticed the blade in her hand.

The knife could not withstand Kimiko's rough handling. Its edge had already curled, and she had tossed the metal shavings into the pot along with everything else.

Eating that would make my mouth bleed. Ryan knew he had superpowers now, and a few sharp metal flakes might give his intestines a good workout.

But he could not look forward to the taste.

So he said he was going out.

Only then did Kimiko stop what she was doing and turn around in surprise.

"You're leaving me here alone?"

"Yeah. You should know A-Train. He's outside looking for you. Please don't wander off."

"But Kimiko wants to go home."

"There's a vast ocean between you and your hometown. Besides, didn't you say you were looking for your family?"

"Maybe they're dead."

"Even if they are, there'll be bodies or ashes. I can help you find your family. Then we can cross the ocean and go back to your hometown together."

"Why would you help me?"

"Because you look like you need help."

"..."

Kimiko regarded Ryan warily, but he replied, "Have we reached the point where people are suspicious of anyone who offers to help?"

His answer moved Kimiko a little.

Perhaps the boy beside her was not as awful as he had seemed when they first met.

As her opinion shifted, her voice softened.

"I'm making a lot. Should I save you some?"

"You eat it. You just got out of the basement, didn't you? You need something nutritious."

With that, Ryan left her there.

He opened the window and flew into the sky under Kimiko's baffled stare, as if she were asking why he had not used the door.

High above, Ryan flew toward the Seven Tower.

If A-Train said the trail to the Compound V led back to Homelander, Ryan would go find him.

As for Kimiko, Ryan did feel a little guilty.

What he had just told her could only be called

a lie.

Kimiko's regenerative ability was bound to yield something if she was put in the Laboratory.

Ryan had kept her close because he saw her value.

The wind brushed his cheeks as white clouds drifted around him.

He could not help feeling sorry for Kimiko.

Once he had dealt with Madelyn and had some time, he would put her in the Laboratory. Kimiko would merely go from one basement to another.

She would probably spend the rest of her life behind bars, looking out at the world.

While Ryan flew through the sky, Homelander followed Madelyn through the Seven Tower.

Madelyn held a child in her arms. The baby had tiny, delicate fingers and wide eyes that gazed at the world with curiosity.

Everything about him seemed to say one thing.

I'm adorable.

Homelander seemed to notice it, too. He looked at the baby, and the baby looked back at him.

Suddenly, the baby gave him a friendly smile.

He let out a baby's distinctive giggle.

But Homelander did not smile back. His face was like the iceberg that sank the Titanic, cold and merciless.

"Madelyn, you're too concerned about this child."

The remark came out of nowhere. Madelyn glanced back at Homelander, then looked away and kept walking.

"Who should I be concerned about, then?"