Homelander stood in the middle of the hallway, hands behind his back, his head tilted as he studied Lucian.
"You look... rather familiar."
Annie's body tensed.
Lucian didn't move. His expression remained calm.
He had indeed met Homelander before. The last time had been after Translucent disappeared, when he had held Homelander up for a few minutes while Homelander was investigating leads.
"We have met," Lucian said casually. "I asked you for help while I was out running nearby at night."
Homelander's expression changed.
Hands behind his back, he began slowly circling Lucian.
One lap.
Ashley had already taken half a step back to stand by the wall, making herself as inconspicuous as possible.
Two laps.
Homelander stopped.
He returned to stand in front of Lucian, a smile resurfacing on his face. This time it was a little wider, with a touch of exaggerated wonder.
"Wow," he drawled. "Who would've thought? That little guy who needed me to save him has gone and become a member of the Seven?"
He brought his hands together and clapped twice.
"Now that's an... American dream story."
Lucian smiled. "I got lucky."
"I hear Edgar personally recruited you too?" Homelander dropped his smile and asked bluntly.
"Not exactly." Lucian shook his head. "I got here today entirely through my own hard work. Probably not quite the kind of private promotion you're thinking of."
Homelander paused.
He was listening to his heartbeat, his breathing rate, listening for any physiological signs of lying.
Homelander raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on his face. It was actually true?
"So-" Homelander stepped forward, closing the distance between them to less than a meter. "What's your superpower? Running fast?"
He tilted his head and glanced at the spot in the conference room where A-Train had once