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The Supe Devil 7
🕑 Added 2024-10-09 02:35:36 +0000 UTCChapter 7:
–Homelander–
Homelander grunted under the pressure of the machine, his muscles straining as he tried to lift the 400-ton weight pressing against him. The hydraulic machine hissed softly, as if mocking him with its mechanical indifference to his struggles. He felt a flash of annoyance as sweat trickled down his face. When was the last time he had actually sweated?
“Damn it, when did I become such a pussy?” he muttered to himself. Back in his twenties, this amount of weight would’ve been nothing to him. He used to be able to toss around oil tankers like they were toys, and now even 400 tons felt like the weight of the entire world was sitting on his chest.
He glanced over at Marcus, who was effortlessly curling multi-thousand-pound weights on the other side of the gym. His son's body was ripped with powerful muscles that must have taken years of intense training and dedication to develop. ‘Marcus really does look like he has the body of a god,’ Homelander thought with a mixture of pride and envy. ‘I used to look like that too—perfect, unstoppable.’
“Are you doing all right over there, Father?” Marcus called out while setting down his massively oversized dumbbells.
“I feel like a fucking weakling,” Homelander admitted bitterly. He grunted and put out one last push of effort before the hydraulic press turned off. “I can’t believe I just struggled to do 20 reps… I used to be able to do over 100.”
“You’ll get back there,” Marcus told him reassuringly. “You just let yourself get out of shape. I’m glad you accepted my offer to work out with me.”
Homelander grabbed a nearby towel and wiped some of the sweat off his face. “I’ll be in here every morning for the next couple of months at this rate.” At least, the upside was at the end of all this effort he won't have to continue padding his superhero costume.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Marcus said, moving next to Homelander and snapping a picture of both their sweaty faces. “Hitting the gym with my old man… and posted!” Marcus added with a grin.
Homelander wasn’t an expert on social media, so he wondered why anyone would want to see a picture of him and his son all sweaty. That seemed gross to him…
“Whoa! We’ve already got over a thousand likes in less than 30 seconds,” Marcus chuckled.
“The fuck?” Homelander’s eyes widened as he stared down at Marcus’s phone. “People like seeing pictures of us working out?” He was a superhero for god sakes! Why would people want to see him doing something so mundane?
Marcus shrugged. “It makes us look more normal, more relatable.”
The two of them took a small break and sat down on a nearby bench. Homelander gulped down three water bottles in a row before letting out a loud belch, which had his son chuckling.
Homelander wiped his face and glanced at Marcus next to him. “Your mom… what was her name again?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“Her name is Serafall,” Marcus told him. “Serafall… Sitri.”
“Right...” Homelander blinked. He honestly couldn’t remember. That part of his life felt so distant, a blur of faces along with so many tits and asses... Also, names were never his strong suit. “She wants to meet me again?” Homelander asked.
“She definitely wants to meet you,” Marcus smirked. “Her job just keeps her really fucking busy, unfortunately. Growing up, even I was lucky to see her more than two or three times a week.”
“The fuck kind of job does she even have?” Homelander asked in bewilderment.
"She’s in charge of stopping a bunch of idiots from accidentally kicking off the apocalypse almost every other day," Marcus explained.
To Homelander’s confusion, Marcus didn’t bother elaborating further. He naturally assumed his son was joking and figured it would be better to just ask the woman whenever she shows up in the future.
Homelander would definitely be having words with Serafall Sitri. The woman better have a damn good reason for keeping his son from him all these years! Homelander could feel his eyes starting to heat up in anger…
Before anything else could happen, the door to the gym swung open. Madelyn Stillwell entered with her head held high, her heels clicking sharply against the polished gym floor as she approached them.
“There are my two boys,” Madelyn cooed, her voice as sweet as syrup. Her gaze shifted between Homelander and Marcus. “How are you two doing? Keeping in shape? The analytics department has been monitoring your social media, Marcus. Good job on that picture!” she said cheerfully.
“I don’t care,” Marcus barely glanced at her, rolling his eyes.
Homelander frowned. Madelyn was important in his life, but so was Marcus. He hoped the two of them could get along, but nothing seemed further from the case. Marcus had met the woman yesterday and immediately seemed to hate her on sight, despite her best efforts to get him to warm up to her. He’d have to talk with his son later to find out what made him hate Madelyn so much.
Madelyn did her best to keep a straight face, though Homelander saw her eye twitch slightly.
“Is there a reason you’re here?” Marcus asked, irritation in his voice.
Madelyn shuffled in place and glanced down at the clipboard she was holding. “R-right. I was hoping you had reconsidered my proposal from yesterday?”
“No,” Marcus said bluntly. “I’m not going to be on some Supe teen drama TV show. I’m also not joining the Junior Seven,” Marcus added with a scoff.
“Being on both would really boost your ratings,” Madelyn tried to argue. “People just found out you exist, Marcus, but they all want to know more about you!”
“Then we can do an interview or something,” Marcus said with a shrug. “They can learn all they want from that. My name is Marcus Sitri, I’m Homelander’s son, and I have two extremely hot girlfriends. Possibly three if things work out with Annie,” he listed off.
Homelander chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief at his son’s boldness. “Already has two girlfriends and is trying to make Starlight a member of his harem. My son is awesome…”
He was fairly certain Starlight did not know Marcus already had two girlfriends though. He honestly wondered how Marcus was going to pull off that conversation.
Madelyn’s face flushed red with embarrassment, her lips tightening into a thin line. “Marcus, you can’t be going around with multiple girlfriends!” she snapped at him. “It’ll make Vought look bad! We’re a Christian company, after all!”
Marcus looked at her for a second, then suddenly erupted into laughter—a deep, uncontrolled bellow that echoed around the gym. It was as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.
Homelander raised an eyebrow, confused but intrigued by what was suddenly so funny.
Madelyn’s cheeks burned with frustration as she snapped again, “What’s so freaking funny about what I said?”
Marcus wiped a tear from his eye, still grinning. “...Do you even know the true origins of Compound V?” he asked.
Madelyn inhaled nervously through her teeth. “How do you know about Compound V!? That’s supposed to be a corporate secret!”
“And I own a shit ton of stock! Of course I know about V,” Marcus elaborated. “Anyways, do you know what I’m asking? The true origins of Compound V? How is it that a bunch of humans can be given the exact same serum and yet every single person develops a completely random power? Doesn’t that seem strange?”
The truth was, Homelander didn’t know much about the serum himself. He’d never cared about the scientific details—he left that to the nerds. But now… he was curious.
“What’s in it?”
“Even if Compound V existed—which it doesn’t,” Madelyn glared, “there’s nothing in it except some ordinary chemicals and maybe a teensy tiny bit of radiation,” she said confidently.
Ah, that’s what Homelander had pretty much assumed. Boring science stuff.
Marcus shook his head. “I don’t think so…” Madelyn looked like she wanted to cut Marcus off, but he kept going. “The formula for Compound V uses the DNA of a very special being. That’s what grants the random powers to everyone who takes it.”
Madelyn bit her lip in annoyance. “Alright, what the hell are you talking about? I’ve been inside the labs where V is made, we’re not harvesting the DNA from monsters or whatever crazy theory you have!”
Marcus shrugged. “Not anymore, you’re not. That’s why supes nowadays aren’t as powerful as they used to be. Now you guys are using artificial strains instead of the direct source, like with grandpa Soldier Boy.”
Homelander felt his brain temporarily come to a halt. “Soldier Boy was my father!?” he exclaimed, before really thinking about it. Soldier Boy was incredibly powerful, and so was he. Also, Soldier Boy had the same rugged good looks as Homelander and Marcus. The only thing that didn’t add up was that Soldier Boy allegedly disappeared years before Homelander was created. Although, considering he was created in a test tube, Homelander wouldn’t have put it past Vought to store some of Soldier Boy’s sperm…
Homelander noticed the nervous look Madelyn was giving him after this revelation. ‘She knew all along!’ A part of his mind felt betrayed. “I want to know why you didn’t tell me about this later, Madelyn!” he barked angrily at her.
Madelyn gulped and nodded.
Homelander turned back to his son. “Alright, so what being’s DNA was used in the original Compound V? Considering it was given to Soldier Boy, and we’re his descendants, that means the original formula is inside us as well. Is that why we’re both so much better than all the other supes?”
Marcus nodded. “That’s part of it, at least. As for what being they used…” he paused dramatically for a second and smirked over at Madelyn. “…it was the DNA of the first Devil, the Fallen Archangel Lucifer himself.”
Homelander’s heart skipped a beat. “You mean… the Devil? The actual Devil, himself? Isn’t he just a fucking fairy tale?” Homelander was a staunch atheist. He didn’t believe in anything except himself. Because if there was a god… why would he have let Homelander grow up with such a horrible childhood? Why did he allow those scientists to torture him for years!?
Madelyn’s expression tightened as she immediately denied Marcus’s claim. “That’s completely ridiculous! Everybody knows religion is made-up bullshit for the masses. Compound V was created by a bunch of crazy scientists, nothing more.”
Marcus shrugged at both of them. “I’m simply telling you what I’ve been told by the best scientist I know. He was shocked as well when he ran some tests on my own DNA during a routine physical.”
Madelyn decided she didn’t want to hear any more on the topic and addressed Homelander specifically. “You’ve got a TV interview scheduled on Vought News in a few hours,” she told him. “You need to address the viral videos of your son. People are asking questions.” Madelyn turned her attention to Marcus, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Oh, and by the way,” she added a bit vindictively, “some people are trying to pin murder charges on you for killing Magnetic Man and then posting the video online…”
‘They dare?’ Homelander thought to himself in rage.
Marcus snorted, completely unfazed. “I didn’t post the video. And why should I care what the humans think? How would they even manage to arrest me? What can they even do if I refuse to show up for a trial?”
His son’s words seemed to strike a nerve in Madelyn. Her friendly demeanor toward Marcus had already cracked. “Because it’s the fucking law, and no one is above it!” she snapped.
“That’s debatable…” Marcus replied, and Madelyn let out a shriek of annoyance before storming out of the gym.
Homelander sighed in irritation. “I have to go and get ready for that interview, son. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you later, Dad,” Marcus replied.
Despite all the crazy revelations he’d just heard, Homelander couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he followed Madelyn out of the gym. His son had called him Dad!
–Marcus–
I was lying back in bed with my phone pressed to my ear. Mom spoke to me energetically from the other end.
“I’m so happy you finally met your father!” she squealed. “And it went well! I knew it would!”
I couldn’t help but smile a little, though it still felt weird. “Yeah, it was... something,” I said. “He actually wants to meet you, although I could tell he’s really angry about me being kept secret all this time.”
There was a pause, followed by one of Mom’s overly dramatic sighs. “...I knew that was coming, and I’m sure he and I will get past it. I’d love to come visit right away, but things in the Underworld are complicated right now,” she lamented. “Some young noble devil is being stupid again and causing trouble for your momma! I wish being stupid was a crime punishable by death, but then our race would go extinct…”
I rolled my eyes. “So what did they do this time?”
“Apparently, a branch member of the Bune Clan tried sneaking into Tannin’s territory to abduct one of his granddaughters for his peerage,” she groaned. “And by peerage, I mean harem, of course.”
“Get the fuck outta here!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wait, but aren’t all of Tannin’s kids literal dragons?” For some reason, even though the Dragon King Tannin is an official devil, he and his descendants have never been able to assume human form. If a devil was attracted to one of Tannin's granddaughters… then that meant they were literally attracted to a giant flying lizard.
Even I was only into Tiamat when she was in her humanoid form…
“I’m not kidding, unfortunately,” she replied.
“So this Bune guy thought his little D was going to satisfy a 30-foot-tall giant lizard? How arrogant and dumb was this moron?”
“Oh, Marcus,” Mom sighed again. “You have no idea how stupid and perverted some devil men can be. And the Bune Clan? They’re some of the weirdest!”
I hesitated for a second, already feeling like I was about to regret asking, but I had to know. “How weird are we talking here…?”
"Scales are a turn-on for them," Mom groaned. "I once heard about a Bune member who took an actual crocodile as a concubine. So yes, he was regularly having sex with it…"
I grimaced, trying not to gag at the mental image. "That's... disturbing, Mom."
She giggled in my ear. "At least the story had a happy ending! That devil ended up losing his cock when he tried getting the very pissed off crocodile to give him oral."
"Okay, way too much information, Mom!"
"I'm just saying!" she teased. "You never know what kind of freaks are part of our race! And it’s always me who has to clean up after them!" she whined.
"Well, good luck dealing with your latest freak."
“Thanks, Marcus! I love you" she chirped. "And don't worry, Marcus, I'll find time to meet your dad. Soon."
"Love you too, Mom. Talk to you later," I said, smiling as I hung up. Sometimes I thought my life was weird, and yet she still manages to routinely top it.
After talking to Serafall, I sent a couple of quick texts to Rias and Akeno to check up on them as well, though I wasn’t expecting replies anytime soon. With the time difference between Japan and New York, they were probably both asleep. After slipping my phone back into my pocket, I left the apartment Vought had given me to stay in until I got my own penthouse or mansion.
As I stepped out into the hallway, I noticed Annie leaving her apartment at the same time as me. She was currently staying in the apartment directly across from mine.
It was a total coincidence, of course. I definitely didn’t set it up that way on purpose…I swear.
"Marcus?" Annie asked as we locked eyes. "Are you going out?" After having a day to calm down from the craziness of yesterday, she seemed back to her usual self, talking to me like everything was normal again.
I smiled at her, leaning in a little closer. “Yeah, I was actually about to knock on your door.”
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow.
“I was wondering if you wanted to go out and grab some dinner together,” I asked casually.
Annie blushed. “Like… a date?” she asked nervously. I loved how innocent she was still.
I couldn’t help but smirk. “I was hoping it could be a date. So, what do you say?”
Annie shyly nodded. “Okay, but…” She paused, her expression turning a little more serious. “...I still have a couple of questions I want you to answer for me. Yesterday was really confusing, and I feel like I kind of got shoved to the side because of it!”
I waited for her to continue.
“I didn’t even get to properly meet the rest of the Seven,” she complained, crossing her arms and huffing. “You and your dad just suddenly started beating each other up, and then everything happened so fast… it was just a lot.”
I could totally understand that. I hadn’t walked into the building planning to fight Homelander, but to be fair, she was the one who suggested I just do what felt natural. I told her I’d share whatever she wanted to know, within reason, of course. No way was I spilling all my secrets to a pretty face just yet.
I reached for Annie's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Now, let’s get out of here. I know a great restaurant just around the corner.”
A few minutes later, Annie and I were cozied up in a private booth at a nearby restaurant. The vibe was perfect—dim lighting, soft music, and, best of all, no crowds. In front of me was a perfectly cooked 16-ounce juicy steak, while Annie dug into a burger. I couldn't help but smile a little. I liked a girl who enjoyed her food.
My devil girlfriends back in Japan never had to worry about gaining weight—magic made burning calories ridiculously easy. They could eat whatever they wanted, toss around some spells before bed, and be back in perfect shape by morning. I wondered if Annie had some similar trick with her powers. Did her light abilities let her burn energy, or did she need to draw power from somewhere else? That was a question for later, once we got to know each other a little better.
Annie took a big bite of her burger and launched into the conversation. “So… yesterday. Was that really the first time you met Homelander?”
I nodded, taking a moment to chew my steak before answering. “Yeah. First time.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “So, why didn’t you grow up with him? He’s your dad, right? I mean, why keep it a secret?”
I leaned back in my seat, choosing my words carefully. “There were circumstances… dangerous ones. It made it so he couldn’t know about me.”
“Dangerous to the point that Homelander couldn’t help?” she asked, tilting her head.
I gave her a small knowing smile. “The world’s a lot bigger than you think, Annie January. Despite what people believe, Homelander isn’t the strongest guy out there.”
She blinked, confusion crossing her face. “Wait, what? He’s not the strongest?”
“Not even close,” I replied, cutting another piece of my steak and popping it into my mouth. “Not even in the top 20.”
Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. “He’s not even in the top 20?” she echoed, clearly struggling to wrap her head around what I was saying.
I leaned in slightly. “...There are things out there that would make even Homelander run for his life, Annie. But he doesn’t know that. He’s lived his whole life so far thinking he’s unbeatable.”
America was considered a neutral zone in the supernatural world. The nation was so new that no factions or Gods had even set up here yet. The humans basically had the run of the place to themselves with little to no interference.
Annie’s eyes widened. “So… who’s stronger than him? What kind of people are we talking about?” she leaned in and whispered.
I chuckled softly. “I’m not sure if I should shatter your world view on our first date. That seems more like a third-date kind of thing,” I teased.
“Oh?” Annie wiggled her cute eyebrows at me. “I thought the third date was usually reserved for something else?” she shot back, a playful smile on her lips.
I placed my hand over my heart and grinned at her. “The third date!? What kind of guy do you take me for? Obviously, I was planning on seducing you tonight!”
Annie reached over and playfully smacked my arm. “You are so bad, Marcus…”
She doesn't know how right she is…
–Billy Butcher–
Billy Butcher stared at his phone, his fingers gripping it tightly. The screen glowed in the dim light, reflecting his angry and worried expression.
“What’s wrong, Butcher?” Mother's Milk asked, concern written on his face. “You look pale as a ghost.”
Frenchie leaned in closer, curiosity dancing in his eyes. “What’s got you all twisted up like a pretzel?”
Billy held up his phone, showing them a social media picture. “What do you see here, gents?” he challenged.
“Homelander and his son bonding at the gym,” Mother's Milk replied, scratching his head.
“What’s so bad about that?” Frenchie asked, shrugging.
Billy let out an exasperated groan. “Look closer!”
Mother's Milk and Frenchie exchanged confused glances. They didn’t understand what was bothering him.
Finally, Billy snapped, “Homelander is sweating, you idiots! When have you ever seen him sweat in his entire life?”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen him sweat,” Mother's Milk admitted.
“Me neither,” Frenchie added, his brow furrowing as he processed this new information.
“That’s because he’s never had to!” Billy exclaimed, his voice rising. “Homelander’s starting to work out. That means he’s going to get stronger from here on out. Add in his son, and we’re out of our league. In a word, we’re screwed seven ways to Sunday.”
“That’s more than one word,” Frenchie pointed out with a grin.
Billy shot him a glare, frustration boiling over. “Don’t fucking start with me, Frenchie.” He slammed his phone onto the table, cracking the screen.
“What do we do about it?” Mother's Milk asked, crossing his arms and looking serious.
Billy rubbed his chin, thinking hard. Frenchie piped up, “We obviously need to start recruiting more people. Maybe we could pull some Supes over to our side to even the odds?”
Billy grimaced at that suggestion. The mere thought made his blood boil. He hated all supes with a passion and wanted nothing more than to see them all dead. “We’ll start trying to get a few more recruits to join The Boys, but we ain’t bringing in no fucking supes! I’ll think of something else,” he said, no room for argument.
“Alright, fair enough,” Frenchie said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “But we need a plan, and fast.”
“In the meantime,” Billy continued. “We need to find out more about Homelander’s brat. There was some kind of earthquake at Vought Tower yesterday that didn’t make the news, and I think the boy was the cause of it. A few employees ended up getting hurt, and sent to the hospital. I'm going to head over there and pretend to be an FBI agent, see if I can't get them to open up and tell me what happened.”
“Good idea, Butcher,” Mother’s Milk nodded. “I’m gonna try to keep hacking into Vought’s servers. I feel like I’m close to finding a back door that their programmers missed. We might have access to all of their security cameras if I get lucky.”
“I know a guy who owes me a favor and can supply us with all the guns and explosives we need,” Frenchie said.
“Alright then, gentlemen. Let’s fucking get to it!”
–Stan Edgar–
Stan Edgar leaned back in his chair, enjoying his warm cup of tea. This was a rare moment of peace after all the chaos from yesterday. As he sipped his tea quietly, his mind went through all the latest shocking revelations in order of importance. Homelander had a son. Homelander was no longer the strongest being in the world. Hoemlander’s son owned a substantial amount of stock.
And then there was the girl…
He glanced at the picture on his desk—a teenage girl with striking blonde hair and a bright smile. Asia Argento. She was one of the most valuable Supes they’d ever come across, and he hadn't even known she’d existed until yesterday. Stan had been working hard to create a solid identity and background for her. They couldn’t let anyone else take her away from Vought. Her healing abilities could bring in millions—no, billions—once they figured out how to market her properly.
But it frustrated him that she was only 17 and couldn’t be forced into full-time work, especially after what her previous captors had put her through. As an African American man in a position of power, Stan hated the idea of slavery. He would never put Asia through those same terrible conditions. Instead, he planned to win her over.
From what he knew, she was very grateful to A-Train and Marcus for saving her, seeing them as big brothers, even if she hadn’t spent much time with Marcus yet. Stan wondered if he could become a grandfather figure to her. It shouldn’t be too hard, and the benefits would be huge. If he could build a strong bond with Asia, he wouldn’t have to worry about sickness or injury ever again.
Just as he was working out the details in his head, the door to his office opened and Madelyn Stillwell slipped inside. She then proceeded to ask him one of the most random questions he’d ever heard in his strange life as the CEO of a Superhero corporation.
“Sir, is Comound V made from the DNA of the Devil…?”
XXX
Comments
David Beltran
Can't wait to see a full family reunion
Zero1zero1
TFTC!
couch
I hope stan get reincarnated as a pawn of serafall, he might now be powerful but his experience and mind would probably make him a big help and I could definitely see him wanting in
