Free Web NovelChapter 60: Chapter 60: I Don’t Have Anyone to Call
Chapter 60: I Don’t Have Anyone to Call
"A bunch of useless deadweights," Benjamin said, entirely exasperated.
Anika said softly, "I’m sorry, sir! That was a misjudgment on my part. I initially believed Starlight’s light manipulation capabilities would be sufficient to handle most rogue Supes. But with everything the former CEO, Edgar, did behind the scenes, the number of rogue Supes has skyrocketed. The company’s high-tier combat personnel are severely strained right now. You are the only one available to deploy."
Anika then bowed deeply. "I hope you can go support Starlight."
Benjamin didn’t berate her further. "Give me the file, let me see."
In truth, Benjamin’s hands were itching for a fight anyway. Aside from that exhilarating battle alongside Homelander against over thirty Supes, he hadn’t had many opportunities to cut loose lately. Well, his hand-to-hand combat with Stormfront last night didn’t count.
Anika hurriedly handed over the tablet. Benjamin looked down. On the screen was a highly pixelated piece of street surveillance footage. In the frame, a man clad in a tattered hoodie stood dead in the middle of the street, the ground completely blanketed by a thick layer of ice. With a violent sweep of his hands, countless sharp ice spikes materialized out of thin air. Squaring off against him was Starlight, her body already showing signs of frostbite from the freezing temperature.
Then, a massive pillar of ice erupted from the ground, slamming violently into Starlight and launching her clean through a brick wall. On the screen, Starlight’s status was unknown, though she was highly likely still alive.
In Benjamin’s estimation, Starlight’s durability was at least around Level 4, maybe even borderline Level 5. Though her offensive output was nothing to write home about, she could take a hell of a beating; even Butcher’s large-caliber sniper rifle hadn’t done much damage to her. It was the same in her fights with others—plenty of people had pummeled Starlight, yet failed to inflict any real, lasting harm.
As for this ice-controlling rogue Supe—credit where credit’s due, that power was actually pretty formidable. At least in this world, he would easily rank as a top-tier threat with devastating destructive capacity.
However, in the original timeline, a character like this had never surfaced. But that wasn’t surprising—the world was a massive place. The original plot only showcased the tip of the iceberg, so he had likely just gone unmentioned. He had probably been dealt with by Homelander, Maeve, or some other high-tier Supe. Across the vast expanse of America, and even the world, there were plenty of rogue Supes running around, manufactured by the Compound V his dear son had distributed worldwide.
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Becca and Ryan’s cottage.
Click. The wooden door was pushed open gently. Homelander walked in. On the living room carpet, Becca was helping Ryan stack building blocks. The smile on Becca’s face instantly froze.
Homelander didn’t even glance at Becca, his eyes locking onto Ryan instead. "Hey, Ryan," Homelander greeted him. He leaned down slightly, shaking a baseball glove he’d procured from god-knows-where. "The weather’s beautiful out. Want to come play some catch with me in the yard?"
Ryan blinked in surprise. The little guy first looked up at Homelander, a wave of excitement and anticipation flickering in his bright blue eyes. But he didn’t give an immediate answer; instead, showing manners beyond his years, he turned his head to look at Becca beside him.
Seeing the desperate yearning in her son’s eyes, Becca felt incredibly uncomfortable. But there was nothing she could do; she knew she couldn’t stop it. "Go ahead and play, Ryan," Becca said, taking a deep breath and forcing a tight smile.
Out on the lawn, the father and son began playing catch. To be honest, Homelander was still a bit nervous. This was his first time playing baseball with his son. Furthermore, he had to carefully restrain his strength to avoid accidentally hurting the boy.
"Great catch, Ryan! You’re a literal genius!" Watching Ryan clumsily trap the slow-moving baseball with his glove, Homelander showered him with loud, unreserved praise. Seeing his son so happy playing catch with him, Homelander felt a profound surge of bliss. So this is what it feels like to be a father...
Happy times are always fleeting. Night fell. Having finished his bath, Ryan was tucked neatly into his small bed wearing his pajamas. The orange bedside lamp cast a soft, warm glow across the room. The door pushed open gently, and Homelander crept inside with soft steps.
"Ryan." Homelander looked around the room, combining his observations from the past two days, and asked, "I noticed... you don’t seem to have a phone?"
"No," Ryan shook his head, a trace of innocence in his clear eyes. "Mom says I don’t need a phone."
"Don’t listen to your mother. You’re a big boy now, you need one of these." Homelander pulled a sleek black box from behind his back and presented it to Ryan. It was a top-tier, latest-model iPhone. Ryan’s eyes widened.
"Cool... Fuck! Thank you!!"
The air in the room went dead silent for a split second.
"Ahem... You’re welcome, son." Seeing the ecstatic grin on his son’s face, Homelander smiled too, even if Ryan had accidentally dropped a swear word. Whatever, it didn’t matter—Becca would be the one dealing with the headache anyway.
Ryan excitedly ripped open the packaging, cradling the iPhone in both hands, swiping left and tapping right, completely enamored with it. But after a few moments, the light in Ryan’s eyes gradually faded. He lifted his head, an unmistakable look of disappointment and confusion surfacing on his small face.
"But..." Ryan’s voice dropped very soft. "I don’t think... I have anyone to call."
Having grown up inside this sealed community since infancy, Ryan had no friends and no classmates. The only "neighbors" and "teachers" he knew were entirely actors staged by Vought International. He possessed the most advanced communication device on the planet, yet discovered that in this world, he was nothing more than an isolated island cut off from any signal.
The smile froze on Homelander’s face. He felt like he was looking at his childhood self all over again. Back then, he hadn’t possessed a single toy, let alone a phone. He had only had a blanket. And back then, of course, he hadn’t had anyone to call either.
Homelander took a deep breath and said, "You can call me. Or... call your grandfather. Whenever you want to talk... or if you get scared... or if you just feel like you need your dad and your grandpa... you just call us. Anytime, day or night." freēwēbnovel.com
Ryan nodded, glancing at Homelander, a profound sense of security wrapping around his heart. Homelander continued, settling onto the edge of Ryan’s bed, "Ryan, did you know? Before your grandfather came back, I never had a mom or a dad. Not in a real sense..."
"Wait, where was Grandpa back then?" Ryan asked curiously, looking at the suddenly somber Homelander.
"He was victimized by bad guys back then, and so was I... the two of us, father and son, only crossed paths a short while ago," Homelander explained.
"Do you play catch with Grandpa now?" Ryan asked.
Homelander paused, then said, "No, but your grandfather and I go out for barbecue together, and we build model airplanes together. I never got to experience any of that when I was a kid, so even though I’m experiencing it now, I still... feel incredibly happy."
Ryan sat up in bed, quietly observing Homelander. He could genuinely feel that Homelander was happy. But then another question popped into his head. "Barbecue? What’s barbecue?" Ryan asked with absolute curiosity. Children were always like this, endlessly curious about one thing after another.
Homelander stared at Ryan. He had initially intended to just wish him a good night and leave, but a bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind. Why not just scoop him up right now and take him out for barbecue with his grandfather?
"Ryan, do you want to eat some barbecue? I could take you out right now if you want. Of course... if you don’t want to, we can always go some other time."
A spark of eagerness flashed in Ryan’s eyes. At that exact moment, standing right by the bedroom doorway, Becca’s expression turned incredibly ugly.
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