Forced to watch from the sidelines, The Boys stood frozen, watching Lu Wen ferociously take on the world's two strongest Supes at once.
"Did I get too high? Why else would I be hallucinating someone pinning Homelander to the ground and beating the shit out of him?"
Frenchie, who had arrived late because of his injured leg, stood beside Kimiko. He would rather question whether he had gotten too high than believe what he was seeing was real.
The sight of the buffed Lu Wen pinning Homelander down and pummeling him left The Boys, who had always lived in fear and relied on all kinds of schemes just to contend with Homelander, in indescribable shock!
Lu Wen had no time to care what they thought! He clenched his right fist. As his fourth punch came down, Homelander raised an arm to block it. The fist struck his forearm, driving his entire body another half inch into the floor.
Lu Wen pinned his other arm with his left hand and kept hammering away with his right. Two more punches landed, and blood ran from the corner of Homelander's mouth down his chin, dripping onto the shattered tiles.
A rush of wind came from behind.
Lu Wen tilted his head. Soldier Boy's knee slammed into his shoulder, knocking him off Homelander.
Lu Wen rolled halfway over and planted one hand on the floor, springing straight back up. By then, Soldier Boy's shield was already sweeping toward his face.
Lu Wen raised a hand and punched the center of the shield. A heavy metallic clang erupted. The punch forced Soldier Boy half a step back and left a shallow fist print in the shield.
Without waiting for him to adjust his stance, Lu Wen stepped in, struck his right arm with his left fist, then followed with a right to his chin. Soldier Boy's head snapped back, and his body swayed.
Homelander had already climbed off the floor. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced down at the red on his fingers. When he looked up again, the light in his eyes had darkened.
He charged Lu Wen, his fist slicing through the air toward the back of Lu Wen's head. As though he had eyes in the back of his head, Lu Wen ducked and drove an elbow backward into Homelander's ribs. After a dull thud, Homelander lurched sideways, and Lu Wen turned with the motion, punching him in the temple.
With roughly thirty seconds left on the trait's timer, he did not hesitate. He seized the edge of Soldier Boy's shield and yanked hard toward himself, dragging Soldier Boy over and smashing their heads together!
There was a dull thud. Soldier Boy staggered half a step back, his shield falling from his hand to the floor. He shook his head, his gaze briefly unfocused.
"What the fuck are you standing around for!" Lu Wen roared toward The Boys. "Get moving! I'm here to settle a personal score, not solve your problems for you!"
As he spoke, he raised a hand to block Homelander's Heat Vision and charged forward at full force!
Butcher reacted first. Having climbed out of the rubble, he was closest to Soldier Boy and lunged forward, locking him in a chokehold. Starlight and Maeve came up and pinned one of Soldier Boy's arms each, while Kimiko took the nerve agent Frenchie had prepared and pressed it against Soldier Boy's face.
Pinned down, Soldier Boy smelled the familiar scent and knew things were bad. Fighting through the dizziness, he began charging his Chest Cannon.
"I! Am not going back! Into that fucking box!"
Sensing the light behind him, Lu Wen, who was tanking the Heat Vision with his face, released his grip on Homelander's throat. He grabbed Homelander's shoulders with both hands and hurled him toward Soldier Boy.
At the same time, Lu Wen stood opposite Soldier Boy, facing his slightly unfocused gaze, and orange light began blooming from his own chest!
"Surprised, asshole? I copied your power! Mine doesn't have that power-erasing effect yours does, but it hits several times harder! Everyone, get out of the way!"
Then, under Soldier Boy's incredulous gaze, an orange shock wave fired from Lu Wen's chest first!
Homelander reacted fastest. The second he saw Lu Wen's chest light up, the scarlet faded from his eyes, replaced by terror! He flew sideways at a speed almost too fast for the naked eye to catch!
He smashed straight through the wall and flew out of Vought Tower.
Boom!
The orange shock wave slammed into Soldier Boy. Butcher and the other two had long since released their hold on him. The shock wave drove Soldier Boy through the wall, blasting him out of the building!
In the final second before he lost consciousness, Soldier Boy unleashed his fully charged Chest Cannon!
He thought he could at least do some damage to these bastards...
But Lu Wen's chest blast was stronger! Apart from producing a mushroom cloud in midair, Soldier Boy's blast only shattered Vought Tower's exterior wall.
Beyond that, it accomplished nothing.
The destructive energy dissipated, and Lu Wen's trait countdown officially ended. Everyone lying on the floor began getting back up.
"My God! Dude, you can do that too!" Hughie's eyes widened in shock. He could not believe he had brought in someone this badass.
"I knew it! When you said you'd hurt Homelander, you weren't lying! Good thing I believed you from the start." Marvin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke half-jokingly.
"Yeah, you've got a good eye!" Lu Wen replied with a chuckle.
No matter who you were, when you said something that sounded like bragging to everyone else, having someone believe you almost immediately would undoubtedly make you feel favorable toward them.
Besides, his stay at this cleanliness-loving Black man's home had genuinely been comfortable.
This Black guy was a good man!
With that thought, Lu Wen looked around at The Boys, finally turning his gaze to the silent Butcher.
After getting up from the floor, Butcher had been quietly brushing dust off his shoulders.
Lu Wen walked up to him. Butcher looked up, twisted his mouth, and said, "Thanks."
"Thanks, my ass!" Lu Wen snapped.
"Your team never figured out what the hell you wanted to do in the first place! You use each other, hide things from each other, then start infighting in the middle of battle. The only reason you're still alive is that the other side is even dumber than you.
"I honestly don't get what kind of luck you've had to survive this long without that overgrown baby lasering you in half!"
Butcher said nothing. Under the lights, his expression looked neither offended nor attentive. It was more as though he was waiting for Lu Wen to finish.
"How many doses of that V24 have you taken?" Lu Wen continued asking Butcher.
"You know taking too much of that stuff will kill you, right? You're trading your life for a fight you can't possibly win, and you even started elbowing your teammate halfway through! You think that's worth it?"
Butcher remained silent...
Finished tearing into Butcher, Lu Wen looked around at Starlight and the others.
Can't be bothered to say any more. They've all got something wrong with them! Yet somehow they can support each other, and each has a specialty that comes in handy!
Unbelievable!
"Forget it. I can't be bothered to keep complaining. Hope your luck holds up!"
Lu Wen's shoulders dipped slightly, and orange light shone from his chest again.
"Hey! Wait, what are you doing!"
"Dude, aren't we on the same side?" Hughie stepped in front of Starlight in a slight panic.
"You really do have something wrong with you..."
Somewhat speechless, Lu Wen turned around, facing Homelander just as he flew back.
Homelander hovered outside the broken wall, the Heat Vision brewing in his eyes an intense scarlet.
He had just witnessed that heart-pounding explosion.
After spending a while psyching himself up, he had decided to return and see whether he could pick up an easy win.
But when he actually saw Lu Wen charging his Chest Cannon again, he panicked a little...
Lu Wen raised both hands high, flipping Homelander off with both middle fingers! He fired a blast from his Chest Cannon straight at him!
Homelander unleashed Heat Vision far stronger than usual, meeting the blast head-on! But the two energy outputs were on different scales. Homelander could be said to be giving it everything he had!
Perhaps this brutal overgrown baby's life had also been built on tragedy! But that was not Lu Wen's concern. That was a job for transmigrators with redemption storylines! It had nothing to do with him!
Whether by accident or on purpose, the grudge between them had already been established!
"You and that old popsicle had better wait! Next time, I'm coming back with flight! Next time, I'll freaking kill you both! Kill you both!"
Lu Wen roared, and the energy pouring from his chest suddenly surged!
Under that surge, the point where the two streams of energy met instantly exploded!
The blast wave hurled Homelander far away! It also sent everyone inside the building tumbling.
Once the shock wave subsided and everyone looked again, Lu Wen was nowhere to be seen.
Homelander flew back. Unable to find Lu Wen anywhere, the caution on his face instantly turned dangerous.
As his gaze swept toward Butcher and the others, his eldest son, Lion El'Jonson, stepped forward...
Before you continue