Free Web NovelChapter 22: Chapter 22: My Son Is the Most Powerful Supe in the World
The first ray of morning sunlight squeezed through the gap in the curtains that had not been fully drawn, painting a long, thin line of gold across the carpet.
Homelander lay in his bed.
A gray cashmere blanket covered him, its corners tucked in neatly.
Of course, he had not tucked them in himself. He never tucked in blankets.
The apartment door closed softly.
Footsteps faded down the corridor, steady and powerful. Benjamin had left.
Homelander opened his eyes the moment the door shut.
He was not drunk. A body built by Compound V metabolized alcohol more than ten times faster than an ordinary person’s. The kick from those few glasses of whiskey had only stayed in him for less than twenty minutes before being broken down completely.
He had been sober the whole time.
Including when Benjamin pushed the third glass of whiskey toward him at the bar and said,
"Drink it slowly. Don’t choke on it like a woman."
Including when he pretended to slump drunk over the table, and when Benjamin hooked one of his arms over his shoulder, half-dragging and half-carrying him back to Vought Tower.
...
And including just now.
At the time, Homelander had kept his eyes closed, feeling a blanket being shaken open and gently laid over him.
The movements were clumsy and stiff, clearly not the hands of someone used to doing things like this.
Then Homelander seemed to feel that hand pause above his head for two seconds.
With his senses, he could clearly feel a warm palm hovering in the air, as if hesitating over whether to come down. In the end, it withdrew.
After the door closed, Homelander opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, pulling the blanket higher until it reached his chin.
He took a deep breath.
Eating with family... drinking with his father.
Being carried home after getting drunk, and having someone cover you with a blanket.
In the world of ordinary people, these were things they got used to from childhood.
But it had taken him thirty or forty years to experience them for the first time.
He turned over, buried his face in the blanket, and the corners of his mouth curved in a smile even he did not notice.
...
[You allowed Homelander to experience the discipline of a strict father, as well as the heavy love of a caring father.
Although he was genuinely hurt when he heard you say you were disappointed, your encouragement made him very happy. You are also teaching him how to become a real man, a true good boy.
Reward obtained: Nuclear Blast Lv3 has been upgraded to Lv4.]
[Current Abilities:
Nuclear Blast Lv4 (Can release high-intensity radioactive energy capable of burning away everything and erasing Compound V from a target’s body.)
Super Strength Lv6 (Possesses the top-tier superhuman strength of a Supe.)
Super Defense Lv5 (Impervious to blades and bullets, immune to conventional firearms and most superpowered attacks.)
Self-Healing Lv5 (Extremely high cellular activity, capable of rapidly repairing fatal injuries.)
Radiation Resistance Lv5 (Completely immune to nuclear radiation and all harmful rays.)
Super Speed Lv1 (Possesses the speed of an ordinary Supe.)
Ageless Longevity (Body remains forever at peak condition.)]
"Fuck."
Benjamin, who had already left, was a little speechless. Where were his Super Speed and Super Flight? Why did the rewards keep giving him abilities he did not use that often?
Still, since Nuclear Blast had leveled up, it should reduce the cooldown on his nuclear blast and increase the damage, right?
Soldier Boy felt that he should now be about as strong as Homelander after taking V1 in Season 5. Maybe even a little stronger.
Assuming that little bastard did not use Super Speed and Super Flight to kite him.
Nine in the morning.
Vought Tower.
When Benjamin stepped out of the elevator, he saw Starlight standing outside his office from a distance.
She was not wearing her golden Supersuit today. Instead, she had changed into a dark blue training uniform, her hair tied up in a high ponytail. She looked as bright and energetic as a freshly fired shell casing.
She held her phone in her hand, constantly swiping across the screen, her face lit up with excitement she could not suppress.
"Did you fucking win the lottery?"
Benjamin walked to the door and took out his key.
Starlight looked up, her eyes bright enough to be used as a flashlight.
"No, Mr. Soldier Boy. Last night, on my way back to my apartment, I saw two men cornering a girl in an alley."
Benjamin’s hand stopped at the keyhole, and he turned to look at her.
Oh, the Season 1 storyline. You won’t be smiling in a minute, you dumb little girl.
"I beat them up."
Starlight spoke quickly, as if she had held it in all morning and had finally found someone she could tell.
"Two bad guys. One tried to run, so I grabbed him by the collar, threw him back, and slammed him into a trash can. The other tried to fight back, so I knocked him down!"
Benjamin pushed the door open, leaned his shield against the desk, sat in his chair, and looked at her.
"Good job, Starlight."
He said,
"Even though you look pretty naive, like a big dumbass. No, like a big fucking idiot. But I’m still happy for you about this."
Starlight ignored the profanity. She stood in the doorway, looking very pleased.
"Thank you, Mr. Soldier Boy. You really are a good person."
"By the way, the reason I called you a big fucking idiot is because PR is going to come after you in a minute. But don’t worry about it. I’ll cover you, you little moron."
Benjamin said,
"You saw two men bullying one woman, and you went up and beat them down."
"That’s called standing up for what’s right. If you run into this kind of thing again, as long as you’re sure it’s the right thing to do, then do it. Got it? Don’t worry about the PR department coming to give you trouble afterward."
Starlight froze.
She had not thought of that...
"They... they probably won’t, right? PR..."
Soldier Boy waved his hand, telling her to leave.
Just then, Ashley appeared with a dark expression, high heels clicking as she led Starlight away.
As Starlight followed Ashley, she carefully glanced at Ashley’s face and thought back to the crude words that had just come flying out of Soldier Boy’s mouth.
...
...
After being scolded, Starlight returned to Benjamin’s office with her head hanging.
"I... I didn’t think it would turn out like this."
"That’s why I said this damn place is rotten to the core. Always thinking about profit, always putting on a show."
"You should know by now, right? Damn Vought hands out scripts. All kinds of scripts where superheroes fight crime, but those criminals are just actors.
"And when you actually run into something where a superhero should step in, Vought won’t let you do it. If this place isn’t rotten to the fucking core, then what is it?"
Benjamin complained while cursing Vought.
"Sir, I think you’re right." freёwebnovel.com
Starlight nodded and looked at Benjamin, a flicker of light passing through her eyes. Maybe Soldier Boy, Homelander, and Queen Maeve were the real superheroes. Oh, of course, and herself too.
"Don’t worry about the damn PR department. Don’t worry about Vought. Go do your good deeds. Fuck you."
Benjamin pointed at Starlight.
Starlight blushed and ignored the last "fuck you."
She knew that was Soldier Boy’s catchphrase, not him actually trying to proposition her.
"Thank you, sir..."
After saying that, Starlight suddenly seemed to remember something. She pulled her phone from her pocket, checked the time, and quickly said,
"Sir, can we have lunch together? Twelve o’clock, at the Italian restaurant downstairs."
Benjamin raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
Starlight turned and walked out of the office, her steps so light they seemed to bounce.
...
...
Eleven fifty at noon.
Homelander stepped out of the elevator, his hair perfectly groomed. He had deliberately arrived ten minutes early, thinking he could talk to his father about what had happened after they drank last night. For example, whether he had said anything embarrassing while drunk, and how his father had carried him back.
There was also the event that afternoon.
He went through those questions in his mind, the corner of his mouth carrying a casual smile as he turned the corridor corner and reached Benjamin’s office.
The door was open, and no one was inside.
He took out his phone and casually opened Starlight’s social media page.
The latest post had been published three minutes ago. The picture was a plate of freshly served pasta, tagged at the Italian restaurant downstairs from Vought Tower. Benjamin, looking ridiculously handsome, was also in the photo.
Homelander shrugged and spread his hands. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Fine. Dad was picking up girls. He could not really say anything about that.
Homelander called Maeve, but Maeve was busy too.
...
Three in the afternoon, Vought Tower press conference hall.
Reporters from major media outlets across the country filled all three hundred seats. In the back rows, cameras formed a dense wall of lenses, every single one aimed at the two people on stage. Camera flashes went off like a never-ending thunderstorm.
Homelander stood in front of the microphone, wearing his iconic Supersuit, his cape hanging straight behind him.
Benjamin stood half a step to his left, his shield hanging from his left arm. His deep green Supersuit reflected a calm sheen beneath the bombardment of flashbulbs.
"Today, I want to announce something to the people of America."
Homelander’s voice was clear and solemn, carrying a kind of seriousness rarely seen in him.
"Soldier Boy, Benjamin, from this day forward, is my father."
"This is not a storyline. This is not a Vought PR campaign. This is not anyone’s arrangement."
"He is my biological father. In the biological sense, and also because I choose to acknowledge him."
The audience was silent for a full second.
Then the flashes exploded. Shutters clicked so densely that people could barely hear their own heartbeats.
Countless hands shot up at the same time, every reporter shouting questions.
Vought’s PR department had arranged a separate interview segment for them.
A female CNN reporter was the first to stand, pointing the microphone at Homelander.
"Mr. Homelander, what does publicly acknowledging a previously undisclosed father-son relationship mean to you?"
"It means... everything," Homelander said. "He is the first real family member in my life."
The reporter turned to Benjamin. "Mr. Soldier Boy, do you have anything you’d like to say?"
Benjamin thought for a moment, then pulled the microphone toward himself.
"Hello, I’m Soldier Boy... Shit, fuck, everyone in the world knows who I am. Why the hell am I opening with that? Fucking Vought. Edgar, fuck you."
The reporters looked at one another.
Benjamin was a little annoyed, but he soon continued.
"As for what I want to say, my son is the most powerful Supe in the world..."
"From now on, I’ll teach him properly. I’ll teach him how to become a real superhero and do good for the people. But before that, if anyone bullies my son..."
He paused.
"Then they’ll have to get through me first."
Several veteran reporters lowered their heads and frantically took notes. A young female reporter looked at Soldier Boy, a trace of admiration appearing in her eyes.
Homelander turned his head to look at Benjamin, the corner of his mouth moving slightly.
