"In the name of the father."
At that thought, Becca sprang to her feet and gestured for Ryan to be quiet.
"Ryan, don't make a sound. Go hide in the closet, quick!"
Ryan startled, dropping his fork onto his plate with a clatter.
"Mom, what's wrong..."
"Don't ask! Go!"
Becca's voice was already thick with tears as she pushed Ryan toward the bedroom.
But it was already too late.
Click.
The lock made a soft sound.
It was the sound of metal melting under intense heat.
The door was burned open, just like that.
Cold air poured in from outside, carrying autumn's chill, making the candles on the dining table flicker and almost go out.
A tall figure stood perfectly straight in the doorway, backlit.
Blue uniform, red cape.
Sunlight shone from behind him, stretching his shadow far into the room, its darkness covering every piece of furniture inside.
Becca felt cold all over.
Her blood seemed to freeze, her hands and feet went numb, even breathing became difficult, and the urge to urinate began to build.
She stared fixedly at the man in the doorway, her lips trembling, unable to get a single word out.
Homelander.
He had actually found her.
"Oh, look at this. What a lovely family..."
Homelander stood in the doorway, slowly sweeping his gaze around the house.
Originally, he hadn't taken Crow's words seriously. He was just some third-rate student assistant.
But while following the trail from the abandoned parking lot...
He had found a photograph left behind in the lot, torn into several pieces.
Homelander picked up the pieces and put them together. There, unmistakably, was a log house in the woods.
So he searched everywhere for traces of that house, until today, when he finally found it.
And so he came.
Homelander looked around the interior.
A simple wooden house, ordinary furniture, and steaming food on the dining table.
It was cozy, filled with the feeling of "home."
That was a luxury he had never experienced.
Then his gaze finally settled on Becca.
He hadn't seen her in eight years. She seemed to have changed a little. Hmm, her cheekbones were a bit more gaunt, and her breasts sagged a little more.
But he recognized that face at a glance.
"Becca."
Homelander spoke.
His voice was deep, rough with a slight catch, and filled with the excitement of recovering something he had lost.
"I finally found you."
He stepped inside, his boots making dull thuds against the wooden floor.
Every step seemed to land on Becca's heart.
It was fear in the face of immense, irresistible pressure.
Becca instinctively backed away, shielding Ryan behind her.
"Don't come any closer."
Her voice shook, but she forced herself to hold on.
"Leave. You're not welcome here."
"Oh, what a beautiful little boy..."
Homelander stopped.
His gaze passed over Becca and landed on the little boy behind her.
Ryan hid behind his mother, half his face peeking out, his blue eyes wide as he looked at him curiously.
The exact same eyes.
And the exact same hair color.
Even the way he frowned was identical to Homelander's as a child.
At the sight, Homelander's breath suddenly caught, and his eyes instantly reddened.
(Not Heat Vision.)
He felt gratified, moved, and even extremely lucky that his loveless life had gained another "gift."
His son, carrying his blood.
For the first time in all his years, he had a true blood relative who belonged to him.
Not a product manufactured by Vought, nor the fake affection that bitch Madelyn offered him, but real flesh and blood carrying his blood.
"My darling boy..."
Homelander murmured.
He took two steps forward, staring feverishly at Ryan as though he were a treasure.
"Your name is Ryan, isn't it, son?"
He made his voice very soft and gentle, as though afraid of frightening the child, but his uncontainable excitement still spilled into his tone.
"I'm your dad. Your biological father."
Ryan hid behind Becca, shrinking fearfully into his mother's arms.
He had never seen this man before. To be precise, the one he had met was John.
But that John was completely different from this "creepy uncle."
The "him" before Ryan had an intensely aggressive, possessive look in his eyes, and it made Ryan deeply uncomfortable.
"You're lying! Ryan, don't listen to him."
Becca shielded Ryan even more tightly.
"He's not your son! He's my son! He has nothing to do with you!"
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Nothing to do with me?"
Homelander smiled and spread his hands.
"Could you have given birth to him without me? Becca, look at his eyes, the way he smiles. He's so much like me..."
He approached one step at a time, the oppressive pressure growing stronger.
"And you, a self-righteous woman, thought you could hide here and keep him hidden forever?
You think a mortal can properly raise a god's child?"
"He's just an ordinary person! He's just a child!"
"He's not an ordinary person."
Homelander shook his head, his tone utterly certain.
"He's my son. My blood flows through his body. He's destined to follow the same path as me and become the most dazzling being in this world."
Then he walked over to the dining table and stopped, only two steps away from Becca.
"My child... oh, no, Ryan. Come here."
He held out a hand to the little boy, his tone especially gentle.
"Come with Daddy. Daddy will show you a bigger world. Whatever you want, Daddy can give it to you."
(Actually, sometimes I wonder if saying this counts as taking advantage of you readers.)
As Ryan watched the "creepy uncle" draw closer and closer, his aversion grew stronger. He clung tightly to Becca's waist, shaking his head, his voice thick with tears:
"I'm not going... I only want Mom..."
"Be good."
Homelander's tone suddenly cooled a little.
"What a foolish idea. The mortal world isn't for you. You should go where you belong."
At that, Becca couldn't take it anymore.
She abruptly shoved Ryan:
"Ryan! Run! Run into the woods!"
After shouting, she lunged at Homelander herself, trying to stop him.
She knew she couldn't stop him.
But as a mother, even if she died, she had to buy her son a little time.
Watching Becca lunge at him, Homelander frowned.
A trace of impatience flashed in his eyes.
Why couldn't she have even a little self-awareness? Buzzing around me like a fly.
Noisy.
So he merely raised his hand casually and flicked it toward Becca.
"Get lost."
Bang!
The next second, Becca flew sideways like a kite with its string cut, slamming hard into the fireplace's stone wall.
Then she gave a muffled groan.
Blood immediately flowed from the corner of her mouth, staining the front of her clothes red. She slid to the floor, struggling, trying to crawl forward.
"Mom!!"
At the sight of his mother's terrible condition, Ryan's eyes stretched wide as though their corners would split, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"I'm going to... I'm going to kill you!"
He stopped, turned around, and charged at Homelander with all his strength like a furious little beast.
"You bad guy! Don't you hit my mom!"
He rushed up to Homelander, clenched his little fists, and slammed them hard into Homelander's leg.
But the child's fists were soft and weak. To Homelander, they felt no different from a feather brushing past.
Looks like he hasn't awakened his powers yet...
Seeing that it was useless, Ryan grew even more frantic.
He opened his mouth and used his most effective means of attack, biting down viciously on Homelander's arm.
Homelander lowered his head and looked at the little head against his arm.
Never mind breaking the skin-he hadn't even left a tooth mark.
Homelander suddenly laughed.
"Ha... hahaha..."
"Yes! That's it!"
He reached out and rubbed Ryan's hair with his rough palm.
"Just like that! You've got spirit! Like me! Now that's my son!"
Ryan bit for ages, until his teeth ached, but the man seemed completely unharmed.
Then he raised his head, tears in his eyes, and glared at Homelander with anger and stubbornness.
A faint red glow appeared in his eyes.
It was very faint, vanishing in an instant.
But Homelander's super vision saw it perfectly clearly.
It was the precursor to Heat Vision.
Exactly like when he was little.
"Good! Wonderful!"
Homelander grew even more excited.
Now he didn't even need to consider whether this child might not be his.
Because there was no need for doubt.
These powers, this temperament, this refusal to admit defeat-whose seed could he be, if not his?
Perfect.
So fucking perfect.
This was exactly what his perfect heir should be.
The sole member of his own kind in this world whom he acknowledged, the one and only.
"Heh... see that, Becca?"
Homelander turned to look at Becca on the floor, the corners of his mouth lifting smugly.
"Look at him. You were teaching him to be an ordinary person? What an utter waste of heaven's gifts."
With that, he bent down and scooped Ryan up.
Ryan kicked, hit, scratched, and bit in his arms, tears covering his face.
"Ah-let me go! Let me go! I want Mom!"
"Be good. Stop fussing."
Homelander held him with a forceful grip that allowed no escape.
"From now on, Daddy will teach you. Teach you to fly, teach you Heat Vision, teach you how to become a real supe."
As he spoke, he tucked Ryan under one arm, turned, and headed for the door.
Becca was still sprawled on the floor, struggling to crawl forward, reaching out and crying:
"Give me back my child... Homelander, give him back! He's my son!"
Homelander reached the doorway and stopped. He glanced back at Becca.
There was nothing but indifference in his eyes.
"If I get the chance, I'll bring him back to see you."
Then, holding Ryan, he bent his knees slightly and shot into the air.
With a whoosh.
The high-speed airflow blasted through the cabin's ceiling in an instant. His red cape unfurled in the gale as he shot straight into the clouds.
Only the wreckage inside the cabin remained.
The collapsed ceiling, scattered wood chips, overturned dining table, and food spilled all over the floor.
Becca lay on the floor, staring at the gaping hole overhead, staring at the empty sky, and broke down.
She lay there, covering her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
Butcher did not return home until half an hour later.
When he returned, he was carrying a paper bag containing chocolate and bread, along with the new passports Mallory had given him.
But the moment he reached the yard's entrance, a powerful instinct told him something was wrong.
A section of the fence had fallen, and the dog lay in the yard, no longer breathing.
There was also a huge hole in the roof up ahead, with black smoke billowing out through it.
Something had definitely happened...
Butcher's heart lurched, and the paper bag in his hand dropped to the ground with a slap.
Something suddenly occurred to him. He immediately rushed over like a madman and pushed the door open.
"Becca! Ryan!"
The room was in complete disarray.
The dining table had overturned, and food covered the floor.
Becca lay beside the fireplace, her face pale and the corners of her mouth covered in blood that had yet to dry. She stared vacantly at the hole in the ceiling, utterly lost.
"Becca!"
Butcher rushed over, crouched down, and held her shoulders.
"What happened? Who was here? Where's Ryan?"
Becca merely turned her head slowly and looked at him in despair. Two streams of tears immediately spilled from her eyes.
"He came... Butcher, he came..."
Her body and voice shook uncontrollably.
"It was Homelander. He found this place, and he took Ryan away..."
At those words, a buzzing filled Butcher's head.
His mind went blank.
Homelander... that animal had snatched Ryan away?
A chill shot from the soles of Butcher's feet to the crown of his head, followed by towering rage.
He sprang to his feet, clenching his fists.
"Fuck!"
He slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a shallow dent in the stone. Thin streams of blood seeped between his fingers.
But he felt no pain.
Only anger, and immense guilt, enough to swallow him whole.
He had promised Becca he would protect her and her son.
And what had happened?
He had only gone out once, and disaster had struck.
(I'm Butcher. Cuckold Man is officially online.)
"Which way did he go?"
Butcher gritted his teeth, his voice thick with killing intent.
Becca merely shook her head, crying too hard to speak.
Seeing this, Butcher drew a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
It had already happened. He absolutely could not panic.
Once he panicked, everything would fall apart.
He took out his phone and immediately called Mallory.
It rang for a long time before she answered, and Mallory's voice came from the other end:
"Butcher? Didn't you only just leave? What happened?"
"Homelander took Ryan."
Butcher's voice was hoarse.
"Help me look. Track his flight path, check anywhere he might go. I'm going to take the kid back."
After hearing Butcher's words, Mallory fell silent for a few seconds.
"Butcher, you need to calm down. Take a child from Homelander? What are you going to use to do that? Your life?"
"I don't care."
Butcher gritted his teeth.
"That kid absolutely cannot be left in his hands. If he stays with him, his whole life will be ruined."
"I know."
Mallory sighed.
"I'll look into it... but promise me first that you won't act rashly. Wait until we've worked out a plan."
"A plan? What fucking plan? I'm already out of time. I can't wait!"
Butcher immediately hung up.
There was no way. Who else was there...
Right, John!
He was the one who had been working with me all along. He had the same abilities as Homelander, even more, and then there were his looks...
As for his identity, Butcher had once asked the CIA to investigate people named John. Across the entire United States, their enormous database had failed to turn up a single matching face and name.
His identity was extremely mysterious, and his purpose was unclear.
But the arrow was already on the string. Butcher could no longer afford to worry about all that.
Butcher closed his eyes briefly, quickly composed a text, and pressed send, sending it to Mother's Milk.
Turning off his phone's screen, Butcher crouched down and helped Becca up.
"It's all right, Becca."
"I'll bring Ryan back. I will."
Becca leaned into his arms without speaking, only trembling continuously.
Meanwhile, inside the abandoned subway station base.
Lamplighter was sitting on the floor, meditating.
Frenchie crouched nearby, organizing the refrigerator that stored the new version of the compound, occasionally looking up to glare at Lamplighter.
Kimiko sat curled up on the makeshift bed, holding her feet and silently watching the television in front of her.
Just then, Mother's Milk walked in with his phone in hand, his expression grim.
"John," he called.
John, who was asking Cate for more information from Black Noir's memories about manufacturing V1 and other matters, looked up.
"Something happened on Butcher's end."
Mother's Milk spoke in a grave voice.
"Somehow, Homelander got information that led him to the cabin, and he took Ryan.
Becca's hurt, but not too badly.
Butcher said he agrees to that matter involving Compound V1 you discussed before, as long as you're willing to help."