Black King unleashed crimson shockwaves that wreaked havoc on the entire floor.
Homelander grew frantic, firing his Heat Vision with everything he had to keep Fang Yuan's location from being hit.
That's right—Homelander was trying to save Fang Yuan from Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan was almost moved to tears, then channeled that gratitude into raw power and returned it all to Homelander.
Fang Yuan just hates being indebted to anyone.
As expected, Homelander was pummeled again; Fang Yuan outclassed him in strength and skill by a mile—Homelander had zero room to resist.
But this time Fang Yuan hadn't come just to beat Homelander for fun.
While fighting, his Black King disguise inched closer until it reached the door of the room housing Fang Yuan's Stasis Pod.
Homelander's eyes nearly burst; his Heat Vision had never been thicker. Yet Fang Yuan was still his Big Brother, so Black King charged into the room through the onslaught.
Homelander was almost berserk, each strike heavier than the last, but Black King simply pinned him in place with one hand.
"What has you so riled up?" Black King asked, genuinely puzzled.
He opened the pod and saw the body inside.
"Eh?"
Black King gave a soft exclamation, then cried out in surprise: "This is…?"
Suddenly Homelander realized Black King's power was waning; he counter-attacked and confirmed it wasn't his imagination—the man's strength had indeed dropped.
And—
Bang!
Crack!
Homelander's punch landed on Black King's arm—only to snap it; the once-invulnerable limb actually broke!
The arm regenerated in moments, but the injury thrilled Homelander.
After so long, he'd finally hurt Black King.
Black King spun toward the body in the pod. "It's him!"
Laser beams erupted from his hands to destroy the corpse. Homelander rushed to block, yet a stray beam still struck Fang Yuan—who healed just as quickly as Black King.
Furious, Homelander used his new edge to throw a wild barrage, keeping Black King on the defensive and away from the pod.
Black King's strength plummeted to mere tons; he couldn't match Homelander anymore, but superior skill and regeneration let him hold his ground.
Still, he kept glancing at the body, then finally gave up and flew away.
At least that's how it looked to Homelander; in truth Fang Yuan never left—Black King's departure was an illusion planted in Homelander's mind, while the real Fang Yuan swapped places with the body in the pod.
And the security cameras "happened" to have no view of the pod area.
Normally Homelander would have pursued, leveraging his physical advantage—especially against someone who'd thrashed him twice.
But this time he didn't; his super-hearing caught a faint sound coming from Fang Yuan's body.
He spun around to see the corpse actually move.
"Ugh… ah."
Fang Yuan's eyes fluttered open, then snapped shut again, as if unaccustomed to light.
Homelander was overjoyed; he tiptoed forward and gently lifted Fang Yuan.
"Hmm? *Cough cough!*"
Fang Yuan looked utterly bewildered, coughing for a while before he could speak.
"Is this the afterlife? Heaven?"
Those words told Homelander that his brother's memory still froze at the instant of Death, and joy flooded his heart anew—Fang Yuan had endured all this for him.
"Big Brother!" he finally shouted.
Fang Yuan flinched, confusion written across his face; between acting chops and Mystique's facial control, even the performance-savvy Homelander detected nothing off.
"It's me, Big Brother!"
Homelander crouched, trying to shrink to the height of a five-year-old.
"It's me—John!"
Homelander's smile was radiant, his voice gentle; anyone seeing it would swear he was high.
He'd never been this soft, not even with fans!
"John?"
Fang Yuan stared, unable to reconcile the hulking creep before him with the cute little boy in his memory.
Knowing his brother had just awakened, Homelander hurried to explain: "It's 2019 now—thirty-three years have passed, Big Brother."
"What?" Fang Yuan rubbed his forehead, still unable to accept it. "But I remember dying."
"You did—in the explosion," Homelander said, voice turning fierce. "Vought did it, but luckily you can regenerate!"
"Vought never imagined that after thirty-plus years you'd finally come back!"
Stan Edgar's worries were spot-on: Fang Yuan would indeed sway Homelander; barely a minute after reuniting, Homelander already loathed Vought.
Vought: "So what were my thirty years of effort worth?"
Just bad luck—stuck with a star as love-starved as Homelander.
Then again, Vought engineered that very personality; now the boomerang has come home to roost.
But Vought had their own excuse—who could have guessed that someone shattered to pieces could come back to life?
The bullet Fang Yuan had fired thirty-plus years ago had finally struck Vought at this very moment.
Fang Yuan, naturally, knew when to quit while he was ahead.
Capturing Lamplighter was only a pretext; Fang Yuan's real goal was to take control of Vought Corporation—why would he damage his own company's assets?
He'd had Black King kick up this storm just so Fang Yuan's body could awaken with perfect justification; now the time was almost right.
"John, is it really you?"
Homelander's eyes shone with delight as he nodded again and again, trembling with excitement.
Fang Yuan finally accepted reality. He shook his head and laughed softly. "Never imagined you'd grow this big—older than me now."
"No!" Homelander hastily shook his head, speaking with absolute certainty. "No matter what I become, you'll always be my Big Brother!"
"Good!"
Fang Yuan beamed, that warm smile exactly as Homelander remembered, and Homelander answered with a blissful grin of his own.
"Right—where are we, anyway?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Big Brother, it's like this…"
Homelander gave Fang Yuan a quick rundown of the current situation, and Fang Yuan looked thoroughly pleased.
"Vought's superstar—wonderful, John. Seeing you like this, even if I'd really died thirty years ago, I'd have no regrets." Fang Yuan smiled.
Gratitude flooded Homelander's face again, though faint anger quickly followed.
"It's all Vought's fault—stealing more than thirty years of your time!" he fumed.
Fang Yuan nodded inwardly; those caring words just now had really been meant to highlight those thirty-plus years once more.
Those thirty-plus years were entirely his sacrifice for Homelander!
"Be careful, John," Fang Yuan cautioned. "You're tied to Vought now; don't let anyone overhear talk like that."
Homelander obediently shut his mouth and switched to cursing in his head.
That's more like it, Fang Yuan thought, raising an eyebrow.
"Say it aloud and the anger just vents—how can that compare to keeping it bottled up?"
Vought had truly hit the jackpot landing an enemy like him.
Fang Yuan had more scripts ready. He suddenly frowned at Homelander. "Now that I'm awake I'll be a thorn in Vought's side—they'll never want me influencing you."
He made to leave. "I can't stay; I have to get out of here, or Vought might do something to hurt you!"
Homelander jumped up to block him, emotions running sky-high.
"No one's taking my Big Brother away from me again!"
His voice rang with solemn purpose. "This time, it's my turn to protect you!"
High spirits—Fang Yuan was moved, but it wasn't enough.
He reached to pat Homelander's shoulder, only for Homelander to crouch so Fang Yuan's hand landed right on his head.
Fang Yuan blinked, then ruffled Homelander's hair the way he used to.
"I'm glad you feel that way, but Vought is a giant; it was powerful before, and after thirty-plus years it can only be more terrifying. I can't burden you."
Homelander suddenly recalled something he'd once said, blurting it out: "Then I'll give Vought to my Big Brother!"
I told you before—hand Vought over so you can do whatever you want without them blocking you!"
The more he thought about it, the more workable it felt.
"I'm not afraid of Vought anymore, and I've followed your advice: when I couldn't replace them, I obeyed. Now I've got high-level access inside!"
"Take out Edgar and we seize Vought!" Homelander exclaimed.
Fang Yuan promptly doused the flames.
"What about the shareholders? They're the real owners—and do you know how to run a company?"
Homelander frowned; he hadn't thought that far. Like a kid, he shoved the problem to the grown-up.
"I don't care. Just stay with me—whatever you arrange, I'll do!" he insisted, shaking his head.
Fang Yuan sighed at last. "Fine, I'll stay—but we agree: if danger comes and I tell you to run, you don't hesitate."
Clearly, Fang Yuan planned to shoulder any risk himself.
That was only Homelander's impression; Fang Yuan knew almost nothing in this World could harm Homelander.
Except Fang Yuan himself.
Homelander thumped his chest. "I'm strong now—I can handle any danger!"
"Strong or not, you're still my little brother!" Fang Yuan declared. "If the sky falls, Big Brother holds it up first!"
Homelander didn't mind the scolding; he savored the feeling of being cared for.
Little did he know that Fang Yuan, scheme accomplished, was secretly overjoyed.
The plan had worked perfectly—both Fang Yuan and Black King's identities were now secure!
But for every joy there's a sorrow; when Stan learned what had happened and reviewed the surveillance, it felt like the sky was caving in.
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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