Godfather Owl: Guardian of Batman

Seeing Martha's warm smile, Homelander finally felt a sense of relief.

All it took was a small display of his super speed to make her so genuinely happy.

Her smile was heartfelt, unlike Madelyn's forced expressions. No matter how much he opened up to Madelyn, all he'd ever received in return was fear and unease.

The truth is, someone who truly loves you wouldn't fear your strength.

As this thought swelled within him, Homelander felt a surge of pride.

But then Martha spoke up, cutting through his musings.

"Who were you just thinking about?"

Her words hit him like a bucket of cold water.

Panicked, Homelander stammered, "No one! I wasn't thinking about anyone!"

"Is that so?" Martha's expression carried a knowing smirk.

Inwardly, Homelander cursed himself. Why am I even thinking about Madelyn? She's already dead!

He needed to move forward.

Feeling uneasy, he glanced at Martha. He knew she had an uncanny ability to see right through him.

To his relief, Martha didn't press further on the subject.

While part of him was grateful, another part felt oddly disappointed.

Why isn't she pressing me? Doesn't she care enough to be bothered?

"Let's get back to my friend," Martha said, steering the conversation. "She's a tragic figure. Her child was shot in front of her, and she was powerless to stop it. All she could do was cradle her baby's cold body and cry."

As Martha recounted this, sorrow filled her eyes.

Homelander, sitting obediently at the bar, listened intently, occasionally interjecting with sympathetic responses:

"Really?" "How could that happen?" "What a shame."

Martha continued, "Her grief drove her to madness. She kidnapped many children, forcing their parents to choose—save their child or save themselves."

Homelander nodded thoughtfully, feeling an unexpected sense of kinship with this unnamed woman.

"Whatever the parents chose, they would still end up dead, wouldn't they?" Homelander remarked. "If they chose their child, they'd sacrifice themselves. If they chose to save themselves, they'd prove unworthy as parents and deserve to die."

"You're very perceptive."

Martha's praise made Homelander's heart swell with excitement.

"But recently, her outlook has started to change because of Bruce Wayne," Martha continued. "She sees her lost child in him."

She added wistfully, "If her child had survived, he'd be around Bruce's age now."

Understanding dawned on Homelander.

So that's it. Martha's asking me to look out for Bruce on her friend's behalf.

No problem.

As the world's strongest superhero, it was only natural for him to take care of the next generation.

He pounded his chest with confidence. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Bruce!"

"Take care of him? That's unnecessary."

Martha shook her head. "Just promise me you won't harm him. Act as though he doesn't exist. Do your own thing."

That was easy.

Homelander immediately swore he wouldn't harm Bruce.

"That's all I ask," Martha said with a smile, her confidence in Homelander unshaken.

But then Homelander hesitated, a question forming in his mind.

"What about you?"

He asked, "Do you have children? You always seem to be alone in this bar, never leaving."

"Me?"

Martha thought for a moment before shaking her head. "God didn't bless me. I was never fortunate enough to have children by my side.

"There was a time, back when Bruce first became famous, that I thought about seeing him as my son.

"But to be honest, it's just not the same.

"Bruce isn't ready to be my son yet."

Homelander perked up at this.

He wanted to tell Martha that the Seven had more potential sons than just Bruce.

But he stopped himself.

No need to rush.

There's plenty of time. If I keep proving myself, Martha will understand my feelings.

---

Back to the present.

During the Seven's internal meeting, Homelander looked into Bruce's fearless eyes.

Despite feeling a twinge of annoyance, he suppressed it.

After all, he had promised Martha not to harm Bruce.

Even without that promise, Bruce intrigued him.

No fear? Not even a heartbeat spike? Interesting.

If Bruce had been bluffing, Homelander wouldn't have hesitated to crush him.

But now? He'd let it slide—for now.

Bruce continued pressing for an answer. "What was your reason for killing Madelyn?"

"Do I need to give you a reason?"

Homelander's voice turned icy. "Madelyn was nothing. I killed her because I felt like it. What's the big deal?"

Beneath the table, Starlight nudged Bruce with her foot, signaling him to back off.

She knew provoking Homelander was a dangerous game, one that rarely ended well.

"I'm not asking for myself," Bruce replied calmly, "but for the public. Madelyn's death can't be covered up. No matter how you spin it, you'll have to give the people an explanation."

Can't be covered up?

Homelander almost laughed. Vought has covered up worse things than this.

But just as he was about to retort, he noticed Ashley giving him urgent signals.

Though Ashley now held Madelyn's position, she was nothing more than a puppet—completely dependent on Homelander's favor.

If she had something to say, it had to be important.

Homelander paused, then deflected Bruce's question.

"Vought will handle the public statement."

He thought he was simply brushing off the topic, unaware of how his response had shocked the others.

Homelander backed down? Because of Bruce?

The rest of the Seven began to wonder:

Why is Bruce able to challenge Homelander so openly without consequence? Does he know something we don't? What gives him such confidence?

---

After the meeting, Homelander left the command room with Ashley following close behind.

"What did you want to tell me?"

Homelander's tone was sharp. "If it's not important, I won't hesitate to give you the same death Madelyn got."

"I'm so sorry!"

Ashley bowed repeatedly, her demeanor entirely devoid of authority.

"But this is really important! You need to know about it!"

"Spit it out!"

Ashley hesitated for a second before saying, "Mr. Homelander, Bruce was right—there's no way we can hide the truth about Madelyn's death."

Homelander frowned. "And why is that?"

"Because of this," Ashley replied, holding up her tablet. The screen displayed several case files.

Each one was a murder.

Each victim was a superhuman.

"There have been multiple cases of supes being killed recently," Ashley explained. "All of them were murdered. The killer remains unknown.

"What we do know is that this person has a deep hatred for Vought and is actively investigating us.

"With Madelyn's death being such a high-profile event, it's impossible they won't dig into it. If they investigate deeply enough, cracks will show."

Homelander listened, his expression incredulous, as though Ashley were spinning a science fiction tale.

"You're telling me that some regular person is hunting supes, and you can't even figure out who they are?"

His voice was laced with mockery. "Come on, Ashley, look at what you're saying—how many holes does your story have?"

Ashley stayed silent. She knew how absurd it sounded.

There were no signs of other superpowers at any of the crime scenes, so the killer was most likely an ordinary human.

But how could an ordinary human manage to kill supes—and multiple ones at that—without leaving any trace?

And how could Vought fail to uncover their identity?

"Put the rest of the Seven on this," Homelander ordered coldly. "Find out who's behind it.

"They can kill as many as they want, but if they dare challenge me, that's another matter.

"I'm invincible, but that doesn't mean I enjoy the idea of some little clown causing chaos."

Homelander turned to leave, but Ashley spoke up again.

"Mr. Homelander!"

"What now?"

"You know I have Vice President-level clearance now, right? I can access some of the company's classified records."

"And?" Homelander replied impatiently.

Ashley fidgeted nervously. "While I was reviewing some internal files, I found something… unusual. I thought it might interest you."

She handed Homelander the tablet, showing three surveillance clips.

The first clip showed Homelander escorting a woman into a room.

As the video played, his expression darkened, and his eyes glowed red with restrained fury.

"You're spying on me?"

His voice was low and threatening. "I'm Homelander. I can sleep with whoever I want. That's none of your concern!"

"That's not what I meant!" Ashley's voice cracked, panic overtaking her. "I swear on my loyalty to you! Without you, I wouldn't be where I am now. Please, watch the rest!"

Homelander let out an angry huff, retracting his heat vision. He gestured for her to continue.

The second clip began.

It showed the same room, three hours later. The woman he had entered with stumbled out, barefoot and disheveled, clutching her high heels. She leaned against the wall, visibly shaken.

Homelander's scowl transformed into a smirk.

"Not bad, huh?" he said smugly. "Three hours—most men could never pull that off."

Ashley bit her tongue, internally rolling her eyes at his sudden change in demeanor. Does he switch moods with super speed too?

She nodded in agreement, forcing a smile, and Homelander's grin widened.

Good thing Madelyn's gone, he thought. If that three-second incident had ever come to light, my reputation would've been ruined.

Then Ashley played the third clip.

Homelander's smug expression vanished the moment the footage began.

It showed the same woman, heavily pregnant, being wheeled into a secret birthing facility.

The timestamp was from ten months after their encounter.

Wait—

Homelander's eyes widened as the gravity of the situation dawned on him.

"That woman… she's pregnant?"

His voice was almost a whisper. "Is it possible… that it's my child?"

Ashley nodded solemnly. This was exactly why she had brought it to his attention.

"Was the child born?"

Homelander's tone shifted, his usual arrogance replaced with rare urgency.

For a supe like him, having a child was nearly impossible.

Now, suddenly faced with the possibility, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

But Ashley could only shake her head. "I don't know. I couldn't find any records about the child."

"That's fine. I'll find out myself!"

Homelander was unusually cooperative, eager to uncover the truth.

Am I a father?

"Now there's only one question left," he said after a moment of thought. "Who is this woman?"

The revelation left him with another problem: he had slept with so many women, how could he possibly remember who she was?

---

Meanwhile, outside Vought Tower, an owl swooped down and delivered a message to Bruce.

Kathoom, who had been eavesdropping near Homelander, had gone completely undetected.

"Someone's hunting supes?"

Bruce stroked his chin thoughtfully. "So, this world has its own resistance force?"

If that was the case, maybe he didn't need to act just yet.

"Don't get too excited," Kathoom said, cutting through Bruce's optimism. "If you leave things to this so-called resistance, the outcome may not be as satisfying as you'd hope."

The resistance Kathoom referred to was most likely The Boys.

They'd fight valiantly for at least four TV seasons, achieving significant victories along the way.

At the very least, they'd manage to kill Translucent.

Wait—Translucent was already dead?

Never mind, then.

---

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