Cake

"Calm down, Homelander." Soldier Boy stopped the woman from being killed just in time.

The red glow remained in Homelander's eyes as he stared at the woman and said seriously, "If even one of them tells the media about us, we're all finished."

"I'm telling you, what you're doing right now is no different from Frank." Soldier Boy forced down his anger, his patience nearly exhausted.

Homelander's extremism was even more twisted than he had imagined.

"When Frank and the others hurt you, they never thought about how much you would suffer," Soldier Boy continued. His voice wasn't loud, but it forced Homelander to suppress his urge to kill.

"They watched you cry and could even laugh about it. They never thought about how badly I'd want to fuck them up when I found out about all this," Soldier Boy continued.

Crude. Far too crude.

The others in the laboratory kept deathly silent, inwardly mocking the World War II veteran.

Yet those very crude words gradually dimmed the glow in Homelander's eyes.

What truly stopped Homelander was Soldier Boy's last remark.

Homelander could tell that Soldier Boy was furious about what Frank had done to hurt him.

"Don't bite everyone you see like some rabid dog," Soldier Boy added for good measure.

Homelander looked conflicted, but in the end, he still didn't want to upset Soldier Boy.

So he waved at the woman, who was nearly scared senseless. "You can go. Don't say anything. Just hurry up and leave."

The most dangerous beast in the world had successfully been soothed.

"All right, I'll have PR handle things. It doesn't matter if you want to let a few people go." Homelander's tone finally relaxed.

Soldier Boy flexed his wrists. He had been thinking that if this little bastard kept going berserk, his old man would use his super strength to beat some sense into him.

He hadn't expected Homelander to actually give in.

He looked very reluctant, but he had done it anyway.

It worked! He's not beyond saving.

"You little punk." Soldier Boy smiled in satisfaction.

Homelander's expression froze. No one had ever called him that before.

Vought called him Homelander, the media called him a hero, his fans called him an idol, and the people in the laboratory called him a test subject.

Little punk? What kind of name was that?

Those words sent ripples through his heart that refused to settle for a long time.

For the first time, Homelander truly felt he was being treated like someone's child.

"All right." Homelander shrugged. "Let's keep going."

A dangerous smile returned to his face as he followed behind Soldier Boy.

He looked as smug as a little brat taking his parent to another kid's house to tattle.

"Hey, you bunch of cowards!" Soldier Boy shouted. "Get your asses over here and line up!"

The people in the laboratory were scattered too far apart. Going over to them one by one took too much time.

The researchers exchanged glances, none of them wanting to move first.

"Line up. Right now." Homelander's heat vision lit up.

The researchers scrambled to form a line. They had just seen it clearly: Soldier Boy still had some humanity left, while Homelander was worse than an animal.

So no one dared disobey Homelander. Every extra moment alive counted.

Soldier Boy frowned. Was I being a little too nice?

Surely not?

He glanced back in puzzlement. There were quite a few corpses on the floor, and the smell of charbroiled Frank still hung in the air.

As he turned, he happened to catch Homelander's boastful gaze.

That look clearly belonged to a child seeking praise from his father.

Soldier Boy wasn't about to indulge him. "Fuck, you look like you want some milk."

Homelander blinked, feeling a little guilty, because he really couldn't quit milk.

The lab workers stood in a long line like lambs awaiting slaughter, waiting in despair for the blade to fall.

"Are you going to tell me yourself, or is Homelander going to help you?" Soldier Boy shot a look at the unlucky person at the front of the line.

"I-I never hurt John." It was a kindly-looking old woman, but her eyes trembled behind her reading glasses.

Soldier Boy glanced back at Homelander and found that he seemed lost in thought.

They had already passed judgment on several people, but this was the first time Soldier Boy had seen Homelander react like this.

"Well now, little girls who lie get slapped across the face." Soldier Boy grabbed the old woman by her collar.

Little girl?

The corner of Homelander's mouth twitched. She was practically ancient.

Then it occurred to him that, in Soldier Boy's eyes, someone in their sixties or seventies really was a child.

"Wait. She's telling the truth," Homelander stopped him.

Soldier Boy sucked his teeth. "Then why did you look like you'd just eaten shit?"

"On my seventh birthday, she went behind Barbara's back and secretly brought me a piece of cake."

Homelander sounded cheerful, as though the sweetness of that cake still lingered in his mouth.

"Your name's Nika, right? I remember you." Homelander tried his best to look friendly.

The kindly old woman nodded. She no longer remembered when she had brought Homelander cake.

She had helped too many people in her lifetime.

"Oh, looks like you've forgotten. That's okay. I still remember." Homelander felt a little disappointed, but quickly composed himself.

"You can go. Vought will give you early retirement. Don't worry, your retirement benefits will be enough to support you."

Nika looked at Homelander several times before leaving. With fate's intervention, a casual act of kindness from long ago had earned her peaceful twilight years.

Soldier Boy was greatly surprised.

He remembered that in the original show, this old woman named Nika had stayed huddled in a corner. In the end, no one in the laboratory survived, so Nika must have died.

But now Homelander had personally let her go.

It seemed coming to the laboratory had been the right choice after all. Homelander had still changed in some small way.

"Homelander," Soldier Boy said evenly.

"Hmm?"

"Didn't you say you didn't want to let anyone go? How come...?" There was a teasing note in Soldier Boy's voice.

Homelander lowered his head and thought for a moment. "I just remembered that piece of cake."

He answered casually, looking around in search of someone.

Suddenly, Homelander pointed at a sleazy old man in the line. "You. You were the one who turned up the lights in the bad room every time."

The sleazy old man was nearly scared out of his wits.

The next moment, a red beam sliced straight through his head, splattering red and white everywhere.

"Hahaha." Homelander laughed with cruel, sick delight.

The remaining lab workers didn't dare look at the sleazy old man's headless body. One glance would make them vomit.

The laboratory's red light flashed on and off, illuminating the last glimmers of these people's lives.

In the end, Homelander couldn't resist doing it himself.

In less than a minute, more than half of them were dead. Only a dozen or so remained alive.

"All right. Everyone who deserved to die is dead." Homelander gave a sweet smile.

"Get lost, you puny ants." Soldier Boy drove the living away.

They weren't survivors. They simply hadn't taken part in hurting Homelander.

Homelander looked displeased, but still let them leave.

He desperately needed an outlet for his frustration.

"Marty."

Homelander looked at Marty, who had passed out after having his balls kicked to pieces.

"I know you're awake."