Chapter 200: The Crushing Betrayal

Suddenly interrupted by Ashley, Homelander was visibly displeased. He turned around to face her and said, "Ashley, do you really have to interrupt me while I'm introducing my father to everyone?"

Realizing her mistake, Ashley quickly apologized, "I'm so sorry, but you need to see this." She put down her tablet and switched on the television. On-screen, a breaking news broadcast was playing.

"Soldier Boy is being accused of involvement in the recent terrorist activities, and it appears that Homelander has been desperately trying to keep this under wraps. Shocking new information suggests that Soldier Boy is actually Homelander's father!"

"Leaked photos confirm that Soldier Boy didn't die but was, in fact, transported to a Soviet experimental facility by none other than the former Vought CEO, Edgar, and the rest of Payback…"

[Ding! Side Mission Complete: Bring Down Vought Corporation. Reward: 1500 Penalty Points.]

Hearing the system's notification in his ear, Jon smiled.

Homelander watched the broadcast in disbelief, shaking his head. "What the hell is this? This can't be happening… It's not possible…"

He felt as though the world was spinning around him. Soldier Boy, noticing this, reached out to steady him. "Hey, don't tell me you're going to let something like this bring you down."

Homelander turned to Soldier Boy and asked, "Father, what should I do now?"

Soldier Boy looked him in the eye and said, "You find the bastard behind this, and you kill him. Simple as that."

Gritting his teeth, Homelander agreed, "You're right. I'll find whoever did this, and I'll make them wish they were never born."

"There's no need. I already know who did this," Phoenix Warrior suddenly spoke up, standing from his seat. "Think about it—besides me, who else knows the truth?"

Soldier Boy answered without hesitation, "It must have been Payback. Damn it, I knew I should've finished them off. I thought I could let them go, but I was wrong."

Phoenix Warrior shook his head. "The Payback members have had years to spill the truth about you being sent to Russia, yet they remained silent. Now that you're back and no longer hunting them down, why would they suddenly decide to expose it now? It doesn't make sense—they'd want to stay out of your crosshairs, not jump back into them."

"Then who else could it be?" Soldier Boy asked, bewildered.

"I only found this out recently," Jon said, pulling out his phone. "Take a look at this."

On Jon's phone was surveillance footage from a random street, showing Hughie—alive and well.

"Is this… old footage?" Homelander asked, confused. He distinctly remembered Jon killing Hughie with his flames.

"No, this is from earlier today. He was probably going to buy some meds," Jon explained.

"What do you mean? I thought you killed him," Homelander said, still in disbelief.

"I didn't," Soldier Boy interjected suddenly. "I just remembered—those two are also supes."

"That's impossible!" Homelander said, shaking his head.

"I saw it every time they went out with me. They would inject themselves with some green substance—a temporary Compound V. It gives them superpowers for twenty-four hours," Soldier Boy elaborated.

Soldier Boy looked at Jon. "That punch you threw, Jon—it'd kill any regular person, but not a supe. And Hughie, his power is teleportation. He must've teleported away before getting roasted."

Homelander listened, anger bubbling beneath his calm facade. "Where did they even get that stuff?"

"Doesn't matter," Jon replied nonchalantly. "What matters is that it had to be them. They witnessed everything."

"Then I'll track them down and finish them!" Homelander snarled.

"Wait." Jon raised a hand to stop him. "Aren't you curious how they got hold of so many classified documents? They might have witnessed what happened, but there's no way they could get all this proof."

Homelander paused, turning his gaze toward Starlight. "Looks like we've got a rat among us, don't we, Hughie's girlfriend?"

Starlight tensed, taking a deep breath. "No, it wasn't me. I swear, I don't know anything about this."

Jon stepped in, "Don't bother blaming her, it wasn't her." 

"it was me."

The words hung in the air, and silence descended upon the room. All eyes were on Jon, their faces a mix of disbelief and shock.

"You're joking," Homelander said, a hint of hope in his voice.

Jon shook his head. "Do I look like I'm joking? You forget, Homelander—those documents, I gave them to you. If I could give them to you, I could just as easily give them to anyone else."

Homelander seemed to shrink for a moment, bewildered and at a loss for words. For a split second, he looked like a child—lost, fragile. He bit his finger, something akin to panic flashing across his eyes. "Why… Why would you do this? I thought we were friends… Why would you betray me?"

Jon's face twisted into a mocking grin. "Oh, you pathetic, sobbing mess. Did you really think I'd want to be friends with filth like you? Never forget, I'm the guy who hunts scumbag supes—I'm the one who killed that Nazi bitch. What made you think I'd let you slide?"

"Everything I did was to bring Vought down—to bring you down. Did you think I gave you control because I believed in you? I put you in charge because you're a bumbling fool. Vought was always going to crumble in your hands. And when the time came, I'd kill you, kill your precious daddy, and finish what I started."

Homelander's eyes brimmed with tears, his face contorted as he fought to hold them back. Soldier Boy, watching, shook his head. "I misjudged you, son. I thought you were tough like me. But look at you now—a sniveling wimp."

Homelander froze, wiping his eyes and steadying himself. "You're right. I've been betrayed countless times, but I always keep going. And this time, I'm gonna kill you!"

Soldier Boy grinned. "That's the spirit. Even if he managed to bring us down, we're gonna make him regret it. We're gonna finish him."

------------ (A/N: If you want to see more chapters, go to my Patreon to see more chapters ahead. patreon.com/TheMightyZeus ------------

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Author-Sama is here: Hey everyone, I'm back! It's been a year full of ups and downs, which made it difficult to upload regularly, but now I'm finally back on track. I've wrapped up 'The World of Boys' arc and have officially started the 'Battle of New York' arc. Stay tuned for more!