It was a red-and-blue figure.
No doubt about it.
Homelander himself.
He stood with his back to the building, hands clasped behind him, as if quietly admiring his own statue.
Pietro's heart skipped violently.
Calm down. Pietro. Calm down.
He doesn't know. No one knows.
Just act natural. Say hello. Walk away.
He forced a smile, about to call out, "Captain Homelander—"
And then—
A primitive, animal fear seized his heart.
Don't greet him.
Don't get closer.
Run.
Run.
Run now.
Pietro trusted that instinct.
It had saved his life countless times back in Sokovia.
He said nothing.
Pretending he hadn't noticed anything, he tapped his toe—and his body snapped into acceleration.
The T-VEX was still at peak potency.
The world froze again.
Pigeons hung mid-air above the plaza, wings locked halfway through a flap.
Pedestrians' smiles crystallized on their faces.
Fountain droplets became suspended crystal beads.
In this motionless world—
Pietro was king.
He became a silver streak, carving a wide arc, trying to slip past Homelander's flank and bolt straight toward the far end of the street.
As long as I get around him…
He calculated trajectories in microseconds.
At fifty meters out, he executed an extreme directional shift.
And then—
Something horrifying happened.
In this frozen world—
That figure with his back turned…
That head that should have been as still as a statue…
Moved.
Just slightly.
About fifteen degrees.
But to Pietro, those fifteen degrees felt like the collapse of the sky.
He moved?!
Inside stopped time, he moved?!
Then came the moment that shattered Pietro's soul.
Homelander's blue eyes—
Were tracking him.
Pietro darted left—the eyes followed.
He cut right—the gaze followed smoothly.
It wasn't sight.
It was perception beyond time.
"A—AAAH—!!"
Pietro's mind exploded.
He knows.
He's been waiting.
"RUN!!"
All plans collapsed.
No disguises. No detours.
His legs became blurs of afterimages as he fled that gaze—fled that monster.
The Atlantic.
Run to the Atlantic. Use the ocean as a runway. Sprint straight to Europe.
"Faster—faster—FASTER!!"
His heart felt like it was about to burst, but he didn't dare slow down. Didn't dare look back.
One second.
Brooklyn Bridge vanished behind him.
Ten seconds.
He cleared Long Island.
Thirty seconds.
The endless Atlantic stretched before him.
He didn't decelerate.
He stepped onto the ocean surface.
The immense surface tension underfoot made the water feel solid. White wakes detonated behind him seconds later.
"Hah… hah…"
Even at super-speed, the sustained sprint left him gasping.
But relief crept in.
Endless deep-blue water. Nothing but wind and waves.
Did I lose him?
He slowed slightly and glanced back.
Empty.
Only the horizon.
"Holy—he's not human…"
"Um. Were you talking about me?"
A mild, curious voice spoke directly into his ear.
Pietro whipped his head around.
To his right.
Matching his speed.
Floating backward above the sea—
Homelander.
Casual. Effortless.
As if strolling through a park.
Not even his hair was out of place.
"You—"
Pietro's legs gave out.
He skipped across the ocean like a stone, tumbling dozens of times before crashing under the waves.
"Glug—glug—"
Seconds later, a hand grabbed his collar and hauled him up like a chicken.
"Cough—COUGH!!"
Pietro was dumped onto a lonely reef, vomiting seawater.
Soaked. Shaking.
Not from cold.
From despair.
Homelander hovered above him, the setting sun gilding his silhouette—holy and terrifying all at once.
"You're pretty fast, Pietro."
Homelander smiled as he descended, boots scraping wet stone.
"What is this? A new T-VEX trick? Ocean marathons?"
He crouched, reached into Pietro's jacket, and pulled out a lead-lined case.
Opened it.
Blue liquid shimmered inside.
"So this is the snack you stole behind my back?"
He closed the case and tossed it lightly in his hand.
Pietro rolled onto his back, staring at the darkening sky. Tears mixed with seawater.
"Kill me," he rasped, eyes shut.
"I betrayed Vought. I'm HYDRA."
"Why?" Homelander asked calmly.
"For money? Power? Or because you felt Vought treated you unfairly?"
"No! Not that!"
Pietro shot upright, eyes bloodshot.
"For Wanda!"
"She's all I have… I can't lose her…"
His voice broke. Tears spilled freely.
"If it was for family," Homelander said gently, almost kindly,
"then why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Pietro froze.
He stared at Homelander in disbelief.
"Y-You… you're not going to kill me?"
"Kill you?" Homelander laughed softly.
"For making a mistake to save your family?"
He sat down beside Pietro.
"Pietro, Vought isn't just a company. And we're not just a team."
"We're a family."
"From the moment you joined, Wanda wasn't your only family anymore."
"And in a family, risking everything for loved ones isn't a crime."
"It's a virtue."
He looked Pietro straight in the eyes. Something like disappointment flickered there.
"I'm disappointed, Pietro. Not because you stole something."
"But because you didn't trust me."
"When you were in trouble—why didn't you come to me?"
"Did you really think I'd stand by and watch your sister suffer?"
"I…" Pietro choked. "I thought—"
"Don't."
Homelander stood and tossed the blue vial back to him.
Pietro scrambled to catch it, stunned.
"Take it," Homelander said flatly.
"What?!" Pietro stared at him.
"If HYDRA wants it," Homelander replied calmly,
"then give it to them."
He turned toward the horizon.
"Go to Sokovia."
"Give them the serum."
"Bring Wanda back."
"But—this is the prime serum!" Pietro panicked.
"It's Vought's most valuable asset!"
Homelander turned back, his voice firm and absolute.
"No, Pietro."
"That isn't."
"You are."
"Vought's most valuable thing has always been you."
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