(Moments earlier, shortly after V-25 escaped)
Billy Butcher, Frenchie, and MM were gathered on the rooftop of a building. It was night.
"Alright, let's get the hell outta here. It's not safe anymore. I'm leaving — you coming?" Billy asked.
"Of course. You coming, Frenchie?" MM asked.
"Yeah, of course," Frenchie replied, his accent thick.
"Good. The car's downstairs," Billy said.
They headed for the edge of the building. There was a stairway leading down into an alley, and they went down.
Down in the alley, there was a car — a black 1971 Dodge Charger. It was Butcher's car.
Butcher got in first, followed by the others, and started the engine.
"What a crazy night," Frenchie said from the front passenger seat.
"We've had worse," MM replied.
Butcher was about to drive off when his phone rang.
He grabbed it and saw Grace's name on the screen.
"Who is it, Butcher?" MM asked, visibly worried.
"It's Grace," Butcher answered.
"Oh shit… it's Grace," Frenchie muttered.
Butcher answered the call.
"Hello? Grace, what is it?" Butcher asked.
She got straight to the point.
"Did you do what I asked?" she asked.
"Well… it's complicated. There were more people than expected. We couldn't do everything…" Butcher replied.
"I knew you'd say that. And what about the boy? Where did he go?" Grace asked.
"Where did he go? How the hell should I know? The kid's a supe. He could be on the other side of the country by now. Who knows how fast that little bastard can run," Butcher said.
MM, who was sitting in the back, cut into the conversation.
"Give me the phone, Butcher. Let me talk to her," MM said.
"All yours," Butcher replied, handing him the phone.
"Hello, Grace. It's me," MM said after taking the phone.
"You, MM… who else is there with you?" Grace asked.
"Me, Butcher, and Frenchie," MM replied.
Meanwhile, Butcher stepped on the gas and started driving away from the area.
"I see. What do you want, MM?" Grace asked.
"What do I want? I want to know whose bright idea this was. Why did you send Butcher to help this supe escape? What's his deal?" MM demanded.
On the other end of the line, Grace took a deep breath before answering.
"Alright. You deserve to know. But I wasn't sure how Butcher would react, so I hesitated to tell you," Grace said.
"Okay. I don't know what it is, but you can tell me," MM said.
"A few years ago, I learned through reliable sources that Vought was trying to create another Homelander. Other people with the same powers. Knowing that, I couldn't allow it to happen without monitoring it."
As MM listened, his eyes slowly widened.
"Uh-huh… and?" MM asked, already smelling trouble.
"So I placed trusted people infiltrated in several Vought facilities. Unfortunately, a few hours ago, I got a call from one of them. Vought succeeded. They created a clone of Homelander," she said.
The moment she finished, MM couldn't hold it in.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" MM shouted, making everyone in the car turn to look at him.
Butcher and Frenchie stared at him, confused by his reaction.
"What the hell happened? What did Grace say?" Frenchie asked.
"Yeah, I wanna know too," Butcher said while driving.
"Shit… you didn't tell Butcher?" MM asked.
"No. I thought if I told him, he might do something stupid," Grace replied.
"Oh really? Like what?" MM asked.
"Like killing the boy. We both know how he reacted after Becca's death. And him being a Homelander clone… he could kill them," Grace said.
"But honestly, Grace — just between us — you should've told them," MM said.
"I know. But it doesn't matter anymore. The boy escaped, and we don't know where he's going or what his plans are. A supe loose in the wild is never good. Like it or not, supes are better in Vought's hands than running free. Vought keeps them under control. Now that he's loose… God help us," Grace said.
"That's true. But if we catch him, what then?" MM asked.
"I don't know. It's hard to say. It depends on how he reacts," she continued.
"But I know one thing — he'd be better in our hands than in Vought's. One Homelander is already too much," she said.
"I can't believe I'm saying this… but I agree," MM admitted.
Butcher, still driving, overheard and couldn't help himself.
"Oi, I don't like what I'm hearing. What the hell are you two whispering back there, huh? Having a little date?" Butcher said.
"I don't like what I'm hearing either," Frenchie added.
"So what do you intend to do?" Grace asked.
"We're going after him. We find him and see what his deal is," MM said.
"Didn't you say you lost him?" Grace asked.
"Yeah… but we'll figure something out," MM replied.
"Are you sure? It's dangerous," Grace warned.
"I don't want to… but if this matters, we'll do it," MM said.
"Alright. Bring him to me. Maybe then we can balance the game," Grace said.
She continued.
"Videos and images of the boy are already leaking. Vought will be busy trying to contain the damage. I'll see if I can create a distraction for you," Grace said.
"Any help would be good," MM replied.
"Now give the phone to Butcher," Grace said.
"She wants to talk to you," MM said, handing the phone back.
Butcher took it, still driving one-handed.
Frenchie and MM stayed silent, listening.
MM, honestly, was waiting for Butcher to explode.
"So, done flirting? What now?" Butcher said.
Grace was short and direct.
"Butcher, the boy is a clone of Homelander. You need to bring him to me before the worst happens," she said.
Butcher froze — and slammed the brakes.
"WHAT?! You've gotta be fucking kidding me! Why didn't you tell me this shit? What the fuck?!" Butcher exploded into a stream of curses.
"What the hell is going on?" Frenchie asked, completely ignored.
After an excessive amount of swearing—
"Are you done?" Grace asked.
"You should've told me. Little details like that matter. Like, hey Butcher, the supe you helped escape is actually a clone of the fucking Homelander. Why the hell should I help him? I should smash his head in with a baseball bat," Butcher growled.
"Oh my God… the boy is—" Frenchie started.
"The boy is…?" Frenchie asked MM, knowing Butcher wouldn't answer.
"Yes," MM said quietly.
"Butcher, I know. I understand. But he can't fall into Vought's hands. You know why. Bring him to me alive," Grace said.
Butcher stayed silent for a moment, weighing his options.
"Fine. But when this shit's over, if I survive, you'll owe me. Big time. Don't forget that," Butcher said.
Grace sighed.
"Alright. If you succeed, I'll be in your debt. I have to go," she said, hanging up.
The call ended. Butcher put the phone away. Silence filled the car.
"So… what do we do?" MM asked.
"We hunt the little bastard and bring him to Grace," Butcher said, pulling a pistol from under the seat.
Then he turned the car around, heading back toward the last place they'd seen the kid.
"And if he tries to kill us?" Frenchie asked.
"Then we die," MM replied.
"Or we kill him first," Butcher said.
As they drove back, sirens filled the air.
Police cars, ambulances, fire trucks — all heading toward the scene.
Strangely enough, they passed several police cars without being stopped.
"That's Grace's doing," Butcher thought.
When they arrived, they searched for tracks — anything.
Then Butcher saw them.
Footprints. Perfect footprints pressed deep into the concrete.
"There. That's where the little shit went," Butcher said.
"Those are footprints?" Frenchie asked.
"Yeah. I pity the cat that accidentally gets stepped on by this kid," MM muttered.
Butcher followed the trail by car.
But at one point, they reached a fallen streetlight, and the tracks ended at an open intersection.
"That's it. No more trail. He could've gone anywhere. We're not finding him. Fuck," Butcher said.
"So what do we do?" Frenchie asked.
"We go back," Butcher replied.
Before he could turn the car—
Something slammed down behind them at insane speed.
BOOM
The sound of someone landing from very high up, cracking the concrete.
Everyone in the car jumped.
"What the fuck was that?" Frenchie whispered.
"Shit… we're fucked. Someone's after us," MM panicked.
"Fuck!" Billy shouted.
Before they could even turn around—
The rear of the car lifted into the air.
BANG. BANG.
Metal crushed as the car was lifted, spun upright, front slammed into the ground.
Then it flipped completely.
BANG
The Charger landed upside down, wheels pointing at the sky.
Inside, they were thrown around, hanging upside down.
"Fuck! My car!" Butcher yelled.
"Oh shit, we're gonna die!" Frenchie screamed.
"I'm stuck! My seatbelt's stuck!" MM shouted.
"What the hell is happening?!" Frenchie asked, terrified.
"I don't fucking know!" Butcher replied.
Then they heard footsteps.
Light footsteps.
They turned their heads and saw a single foot standing near the car.
That's when they understood.
Someone had flipped the car.
Someone strong enough to do it with their bare hands.
"Shit," Butcher muttered.