Several days had passed since his last fight with Homelander. Lu Wen had been staying at Marvin's house to recover.
His injuries had actually healed on the first day. It was just that this germophobic black guy kept his home so clean, and it was far better than camping, staying in motels, or hanging around Hughie's pigsty.
So, until he got what he wanted, he stayed put and refused to leave.
Marvin was a decent guy and hadn't tried to kick him out or anything. He just kept a sour face and never gave him a friendly look.
That was fine. Lu Wen had thick skin. He could stay.
Ever since they'd let Homelander escape that day, Hughie hadn't contacted him, almost as though he'd forgotten him entirely.
But that was fine too. When they finally made their move, he could just move along with them.
As long as someone could keep Homelander occupied for a little while, he could achieve his goal and leave.
The doorbell rang. Frenchie, who had vanished for... who knew how many days, appeared at the door with Kimiko. Both were covered in injuries, as though they'd been hit by a truck.
Once those two arrived, Lu Wen got up, stretched, and prepared to go out for a walk.
The main reason was that he didn't really want to smell Frenchie smoking weed.
"I'm heading out for a bit. Introduce me to your friends or don't. Either's fine."
Lu Wen said a word to Marvin and nodded to Frenchie as he passed him, by way of greeting.
"Who's that Asian dude?" Frenchie pointed at Lu Wen's retreating back.
"No idea, but he's one badass motherfucker!"
A few hours later...
Lu Wen got out of the car outside a lush green grove.
Hughie had finally shown him mercy and replied to his message. At last, he had something to do! All that waiting had left him bored out of his mind.
Following the GPS coordinates Hughie had given him, he found Butcher, whom Mind Stone Storm had lulled to sleep.
"This lunatic almost looks like a proper human being when he's quiet."
Wearing a pair of fully mirrored sunglasses, Lu Wen poked Butcher's nose with a stalk of grass.
Whoosh!
Two stark-naked men appeared beside Lu Wen.
Hughie, who didn't dare open his eyes, and an agitated Mind Stone Storm.
"What are you looking at? Fully mirrored sunglasses, specifically for dealing with you! And turn around. I don't want to look at a naked old man."
"Lu Wen? Is that you? Oh my God, you got here fast! Wait, let me deal with this first."
Hughie hunched over, not daring to open his eyes.
Lu Wen ducked behind a tree. He'd only come to watch because he had nothing to do. He didn't want to get involved in anything that had nothing to do with him.
Hughie did have a few tricks up his sleeve. He'd talked quite a few people around! Including this scrawny old man with bipolar disorder.
Butcher woke up. The first thing he did after emerging from the illusion was apologize to Hughie, who resembled his younger brother. Then he noticed Lu Wen...
"What the fuck? What are you doing here?" Butcher was thoroughly surprised, then guessed the reason and rolled his eyes at Hughie.
He'd gone off alone precisely because he didn't want to drag more people into this! That included this Asian kid who was a complete unknown. To play it safe, he'd even abandoned the idea of letting the Supes fight like dogs!
But Hughie had gone ahead and called the kid over without asking again! Hopefully, nothing would go wrong.
"You bastard. I really should've tied your tongue in a knot while you were asleep."
Lu Wen stood up, cursing with a grin, then took out another pair of fully mirrored sunglasses and tossed them to Mind Stone Storm.
"Put those on, old man. Those eyes of yours make people nervous."
Mind Stone Storm was still very tense, but after glancing at Hughie, he put the sunglasses on anyway.
Just as Hughie was about to take Mind Stone Storm away, Soldier Boy suddenly appeared!
This time, however, he hurled his heavy shield at Lu Wen's head, then pulled out a dagger and threw it at Mind Stone Storm.
Lu Wen reached back and caught the shield, but Mind Stone Storm wasn't so lucky.
Soldier Boy charged like a raging bull, tackled Mind Stone Storm, swiftly covered his head, then knocked him out with a punch!
Then he glared at Lu Wen and the other two.
"What the fuck are you looking at? Huh? What the fuck are you looking at?" Lu Wen wasn't any friendlier. He cursed as he hurled the shield back hard.
Soldier Boy caught it and swept his gaze across the three of them.
"You know each other?"
Hughie said, "Yeah..."
At that, the fury in Soldier Boy's eyes burned even hotter!
"Hey! Wait, I think this is a misunderstanding..."
Hughie still tried to step forward and break things up, but the sight of him only made Soldier Boy angrier! This meddling little shit had nearly cost him his target!
He raised his hand to punch Hughie, but Lu Wen caught it with one hand.
"I was going to deal with you last."
"What's a slow old turtle like you doing talking so big?"
Neither would back down, and the two immediately came to blows!
Lu Wen casually flung Hughie behind him, then raised his fist and slammed it into Soldier Boy's!
A dull impact sent out a ring of air. Neither gave an inch! They stood right there, trading punch after punch!
Soldier Boy's fist slammed into the hollow of Lu Wen's shoulder. Lu Wen swayed slightly but didn't retreat, throwing a punch into the other man's chin and knocking Soldier Boy's face to one side.
The corner of Soldier Boy's mouth split, seeping a little blood, but he kept swinging as though he couldn't feel it.
Lu Wen's knuckles were already red. Every blow against the other man felt like punching an iron plate, sending waves of pain through his fists, but he didn't stop.
The ground beneath their feet had been churned into a mixture of dirt and torn grass, as though it had just been plowed. Their breathing gradually grew heavier too.
"You punch like a woman! You think you can stop me with that little strength?" Soldier Boy's mouth kept working as he swung.
"Really? I wish your fists were as tough as your mouth!" Lu Wen tilted his head to dodge a punch, then drove an elbow back at him.
Soldier Boy gritted his teeth and said nothing more, his punches falling a little faster than before! Lu Wen took two punches head-on, his chest aching from the blows. He braced his right foot against the ground behind him to keep from being driven back.
He caught an opening between the other man's punches and slammed his fist into Soldier Boy's temple, using eighty percent of his strength! Soldier Boy's head jerked sideways, and he stumbled half a step, but once he steadied himself, he turned back, the light in his eyes growing darker.
Just then, Hughie's voice came from beside them. "Enough! Mind Stone Storm's still alive! If you keep fighting, he'll die! You two aren't supposed to be enemies, are you?"
"This guy attacked me before!" Soldier Boy pointed at Lu Wen's nose, accusing him of his misdeeds!
凸(艹皿艹 ) "That was because you went fucking crazy and nearly blew me up!"
"I didn't do it on purpose!"
"You nearly blew up half a street without meaning to! What would happen if you did mean it? Would you blow the sky apart? You nasty old popsicle!"
The retort stunned Soldier Boy for a moment. Then he stiffened his neck and blustered, "I'm fucking Soldier Boy! Back when I fought the Nazis, bombs going off target happened all the time! You've got thick skin anyway, kid, and it didn't actually hit you. What are you yelling about?"
Lu Wen immediately shot back!
"Pah! You, fighting Nazis? You really think I don't know what you're worth? 'Happened all the time,' my ass! Who even knows if you can throw a fucking bomb? What's so surprising about you missing? Been an old popsicle so long your skin's frozen thicker, has it? Did the Russians strengthen your skin while they were experimenting on you too?"
"Say one more fucking word of that bullshit!" Soldier Boy's face went green, and he reached up to roll his sleeves up.
"Hey, hey, hey! Stop! Both of you, stop!" Hughie hopped anxiously between them, reaching out to intervene but not daring to actually touch them. "Stop fighting! Stop!"
Zzzzt-
Golden beams swept across the space in front of the three men. Now awake, Butcher's eyes shone gold.
"You two bitches can fight later. Right now, we've got business!"
Soldier Boy clenched his jaw so hard it creaked, a vein throbbing at his temple. He glared fiercely at Lu Wen for several seconds before finally yanking down the sleeve he'd half rolled up. He snorted heavily through his nose and said nothing more.
It was true. Business came first right now! There would be plenty of time to deal with this bastard later!
Soldier Boy didn't reply again. He bent down, hoisted Mind Stone Storm off the ground onto his shoulder, then turned and strode deep into the woods.
At first, his footsteps fell heavily on the dead leaves. After a dozen or so steps, the sound gradually grew distant. A while later, it faded entirely out of earshot.
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