บท 8: Aftermath: Butcher’s POV
I watched with hunger as my new favourite weapon of mass destruction walked out of the lab with a girl in his arms and that fucking rodent on his shoulder.
'He's gotten stronger, maybe stronger than even Homelander. He might just be the weapon we are looking for.'
Sighing at the shit show that had just occurred and thinking of ways I could use the cunt that caused it, I propped myself against the wall to relax after the intense beating I had taken.
'But why were his eyes glowing gold? Is it part of his new powers? And what was with the kid?'
A few seconds pass, with me slowly returning to peak strength as my thoughts occupy me. Whilst it disgusted me to have fucking temp-V running through my body. There was no denying its capacity to keep one alive and the rush of power I felt as I wielded the abilities of a god.
'I could get used to this.'
Grinning from ear to ear, I satisfyingly cracked my back as all my wounds rapidly and visibly healed. I could even feel parts of my brain that had been obliterated reforming. At that moment, a fog lifted from my mind, and fear of loss overwhelmed my power high.
'Shit!! Hughie!!'
Pushing past the tiredness and pain, I rushed to where Hughie had been flung.
'If he's hurt, that cunt won't 'ave anywhere in this world to hide!!'
Reaching his prone body, I instantly released a sigh of relief as I noticed his chest rising and falling.
'Thank god this idiot is alive."
Wanting to wake him up quickly, I gave him a satisfying kick in the ribs.
"Ughhhh, Annie, I'll save you!!" Hughie groaned out with pain.
'Another fuckin' supe that will need to be dealt with at some point.
"Stop your whining an' get up Hughie. We have things to do." I replied, hiding my concern behind a facade of apathy.
'I don't know if I could ever forgive myself if I lost 'I'm too.'
"Dad, let me sleep. I don't want to go to school." Hughie replied as he turned his body away from me, his arms covering the lump that Soldier Boy had left on the back of his head.
My worry was quickly replaced with annoyance at his desire to rest after his only contribution to the fight was beating the record for the fastest knockout. My temper rose even more as I realised he had the luxury and audacity to nap whilst my arse was handed to me on a silver platter.
"Get the fuck up, Hughie!" I growled as I leaned forward and slapped him across the face.
With a groan, he opened his eyes and looked up at me, rubbing his now sore cheek in confusion.
"Did we win?" He asked with a dumb grin on his face.
'I don't know why I even bother with this moron."
"Does it look like we fuckin' won?" I grunted as I moved aside to show him the fight's aftermath.
Hughie shakily stood up, and with palpable shock, he looked at the wreckage of the now unrecognisable lab.
"….Yes?" He hesitantly replied.
'Was he dropped as a kid?'
"No! We were less than ants to that cunt. We're lucky he didn't kill us." I responded in anger and partial embarrassment.
'Give me over a century, an' I could probably beat most cunts in a fight.'
Hughie turned away from me with a look of shame and inferiority I knew could bite us in the arse if we weren't careful.
'I'll need to deal with this and the vial he nicked later.'
Hughie looked up once more to survey the situation in the lab and sighed in defeat at what he saw.
"Even with powers, I'm useless." He whispered under his breath, possibly forgetting I was currently pumped full of temp-V.
Ignoring his inner turmoil, for now, I took a moment to look at the status of the other members of my team.
In one corner, I could see Milk sitting on the broken concrete floor with a blank look on his face and eyes that just stared emptily into space.
'Fuckin' Soldier Boy did more damage apologising than he ever could by killing the poor sod.'
In the other corner of the room, near my human-shaped craters, was Frenchie cradling the injured form of his supe girlfriend as he begged for her to wake up.
'One less supe in this world won't keep me up at night.'
"Kimiko, answer me. Why aren't you healing!!" Frenchie screamed, interrupting the thoughts of both Hughie and me.
Interested in what was happening, I walked towards Frenchie to see the cause of the hysteria. Either the weapon was dead, or she was alive. There was no in-between with that fucking supe. Whilst I didn't care if she lived or died, I knew losing her would make him lose faith in The Boys.
'He is irreplaceable, that crafty french fuck.'
Frenchie looked up at us with fear in his eyes as we approached.
"Why does she not heal!!" He yelled, his voice trembling.
His worrying was for nought as he was interrupted by his girlfriend coughing and opening her swollen eyes.
"Mon cœur, are you ok?" Frenchie said gently as he stroked her head.
She responded with a nod and tried to lift herself up, only to fall back into the arms of Frenchie with a groan of pain.
"Don't strain yourself, Kimiko. You need to get to a hospital and rest. That connard hurt you badly and somehow stopped your healing." Frenchie said with gritted teeth.
'Now that's interesting. Soldier boy might be more than the answer for Homelander. He might be the spoonful of fucking sugar an' spice that will make the powered fucks, become just your average everyday asshole.'
Kimiko's eyes seemed to widen in disbelief and hope as she looked down at her battered body.
A smile broke across her face as tears began to drip down like a broken faucet.
'Good, this way I don't break Frenchie's fuckin' heart by killing her after we deal with all the supes. If my plan works out, we won't require her powers.'
"Why?" Milk's voice suddenly whispered from his corner.
We all turned to look at the man whose spirit was visibly crushed.
"Why would he say that?" He again whispered as he watched the debris falling from the hole Soldier Boy had created in his escape, "Is it just another one of his sick games?"
'I doubt that star-spangled fucker gives a shit.'
Just as I was about to answer his pity party, my suped-up ears picked up the sound of vehicles and Russian voices approaching from the distance.
"We can figure that cunt out later. We need to leave before the Russian big guns get here." I said, interrupting any conversation that was about to begin, "Grab all the files an' documents you can, and let's scram."
"Soldier Boy нужно быстро задержать, а со всеми свидетелями разобраться!!!" A distant voice shouted as the sound of boots hit the ground just outside the compound.
"Did I fuckin' stutter, now!!" I shouted urgently when no one began to move.
With me once more having to take command for shit to go right, they all scrambled to get everything we needed. After the items were packed, we ran for it. Hughie and Frenchie supported Kimiko whilst I grabbed the absentminded Milk and dragged him along.
"Pull your big girl panties up, Milk. Now is not the time for fuckin' emotions!" I shouted as we carefully but quickly travelled towards our parked vehicle at the back of the military base.
'I'll need to make him remember the fucking reason we are doing this shit.'
Rushing past all the bodies, I threw Milk into the front of the van and let Hughie, Frenchie and Kimiko hop in the back. Looking over my shoulder, I could see the Russians blasting into the lab and knew every second mattered. Making sure we were all in the vehicle, I floored the gas pedal and drove out of that hell hole as quickly as possible.
"Soldier boy was always an hard bastard, but not like that. They must've done something to him. What you think?" I said to Milk as I kept my eyes and ears aware of possible pursuers.
Milk seemed to have woken up from his shock and shook his head before answering, "It's over, Butcher. There ain't no team for me to hold together no more."
He paused after that comment and then looked out the window at the passing Russian countryside, "You made sure of that!"
'Have I gone too far? Fuck no, if he thinks this is my lowest point, he will be in for a shock.'
I ignored the silence that filled the van and allowed a smile to spread across my face as I started to plan my first viable shot at avenging my beautiful wife.
'Don't worry, Becca. I'll see you soon.'
With every mile that separated us from the compound, the grin on my face grew wider and wider as a plan began to form.
'It might be time for a good old-fashioned team-up.'
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Authors note
I was luckily able to finish two chapters this week. So I hope you enjoy!!
Let me know in the comments if you want me to include more POVs. I was thinking of doing one for Milk when they reach Moscow, as it could be interesting to see how he handles the situation.
I have included a glossary below and will add any words people don't understand. If you want, I could also make a Glossary auxiliary chapter.
Thank you all for reading :)
Glossary
Connard - Bastard/Jerk (French)
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MM_Inferyes
MM_Inferyes Fun fact: In the comics, The Boys also have special powers due to taking Compound V
to give them a fighting chance against the Seven.
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