(A/N: Smut incoming)

Flashback

Ben and I were sitting in his living room, enjoying some drinks. It had been almost ten years since I got the divorce from Adam and it's been the best feeling I've felt in a long time. After the confrontation between Ben and Adam, it did take a couple of days before Ben talked to me again and he told me what happened before Adam ambushed him.

When he told me what his father said to him, it made me feel bad for him and we had some drinks and talked for sometime after that. Ever since that day, we basically became friends as well as being teammates.

After Adam and I got a divorce, I hadn't really been with any man. Maybe a couple or three, and they were just normal men I met from some annual dinners Vought would host. There are still some people that think Ben and I were a couple but we said no, that the kiss we had when we got back from war was just a caught up in the moment type of kiss.

But it didn't stop me from having this attraction to Ben. There have been times where I've wanted to tell him but he would always have these beautiful woman just hanging onto him and he would go home with them.

"You should've gone to the theater with me. That film was fantastic." I tell Ben. "Well, why don't you tell me about it?" He asked me with a smile and I chuckle. "I don't want to ruin the film for you. You should go see it. It was pretty suspenseful and James Stewart was amazing!" I said. "Well, of course, it's James Fuckin' Stewart! And Alfred Hitchcock is a fuckin' fantastic director." Ben said and I laugh a little.

"Maybe some other time." Ben said and I shake my head and take a drink of the whiskey. "So, I was wondering..." Ben said and I lower my glass to look at him. "You doing anything this weekend?" He asked me. I think for a moment then shake my head. "I don't believe so..." I said.

"Well, you know, Herogasm is this weekend and I thought maybe..." Ben said and I roll my eyes at this. Couple years ago Ben and this other hero, Liberty, created this event for other Supes to get together and just have a big sex party, either they sleep with each other or these sex workers. Ever since then, Ben has been trying to get me to go but I decline.

"Ben, how many times do I have to tell you, that is not my kind of thing." I said. "Oh c'mon! I think you'll have a great time. I mean, when was the last time you've fucked a man?" Ben asked me. "Uh...about a few months ago, when Vought had that dinner trying to get sponsors again. There was a man in a nice suit that caught my eye..." I said and start to smile to myself as I see Ben giving me this look that I could've sworn was jealousy.

"Really? Nice suit?" He asked. "What can I say? I have a thing for a man in a suit." I said, giving a flirty smile towards him as I take a sip of my drink again. "Man in a suit? Duly noted." Ben said as he takes another sip of his drink. I giggled as I shake my head and sip on my whiskey again. "What else are you interested in a man?" Ben asked me and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Why do you ask?" I asked him. "Just indulge me for a bit." He said and I rolled my eyes and start to think. "I'm gonna sound like any girl out there but I'd like a man that is kind, caring, can make me laugh, strong and I would say make me feel safe but I can already do that..." I said then I hold up my free hand and made a small shield appear on my hand then disappeared. "He also needs strong broad shoulders." I said, in a joking manner, and Ben scoffs out a laugh.

"Seriously, Ben, why are you asking me this? You trying to get an idea on how to impress someone?" I asked him. "You could say that." Ben said and he roams his eyes over me and I start to feel my face heat up. Could he be talking about me? But he couldn't be, he is Soldier Boy! America's Son! He could have any woman he wants, hell I've seen him take two or three beautiful women home with him.

"See, there is this woman that I've been interested in ever since I laid my eyes on her. Unfortunately, she was already taken. But her marriage was falling apart and I felt sorry for her as she seemed very upset with what her bastard of a husband did to her." He said and I let out a small gasp as he starts scoot closer to me on the couch. "Then we started to work together and I started to like her more and more."

He then got right next to me as he gives me this look I've never seen a man give to me, not even my ex-husband gave to me. My heart raced as I stare into his green eyes and he continues. "And thanks to me, she was able to get away from her husband and we kept working together. I've been wanting to make a move on her but I knew that it was too soon. So I would get with other women but this particular woman is the only one on my mind." Ben said and I couldn't help but feel excited at his confession.

"Well, maybe this woman can't stop thinking about you too." I said as I scoot a little closer. "Really? You think so?" He asked me and I smiled at him. We were now sitting shoulder to shoulder when I leaned into him and kissed him.

This kiss was just as amazing as the one he gave me when we returned from the war. But this time I didn't have anything holding me back and I wanted more of it, more of him.

I feel his tongue running along my bottom lip, begging for entrance, and I opened my mouth to let him explore. I moaned as the kiss got more heated and intense. Ben breaks the kiss and I actually let out a whimper as his lips left mine, I slowly open my eyes and he smiles. "So needy." He said in a low voice which made me shudder.

Then he grabs my waist and pulls me to his lap, having me straddle him. I go and kiss him again and he places a hand on the back of my head to hold me in place and his other hand was on my back until he lowered it to my ass.

I placed one of my hand on his neck and the other hand was buried into Ben's hair. We continue to make-out and I start to move my hips against him, earning a grunt from him and I feel something growing underneath me. "You're driving me crazy, sweetheart." He mutters once he pulls back and I smirk. "Likewise." I whispered then he goes to attack my neck and goes to remove my blouse.

I let out a moan and move my hips faster against him as he bites my neck then runs his tongue over the spot he bit. He groans as he starts to run his lips down my chest then he grabs my hips, stopping me. "Why don't we take this to the bedroom?" He asked me and I smiled.

Next thing I knew, we entered his bedroom and we started to make-out again, running our hands all over each other as well as removing each other's clothing. Once our clothes were removed, I couldn't help but admire Ben's body, it was like he was perfectly sculpted by God himself. Strong toned chest, broad shoulders, perfectly sculpted abs...I just couldn't help but stare at him.

Then I noticed that he had his eyes roaming down my body and I felt a bit bashful as I lower my head down and started to cross my arms. "Don't." He said and I look up at him as he places his hands on my shoulders. "You have an amazing body, don't hide it from me." He tells me and I smiled, feeling a bit confident.

He pulls me to his chest and leans down to kiss me, passionately. He places a hand behind my head and buries his fingers in my hair then starts to kiss my neck, I lean my head back and close my eyes as I enjoy the feeling of his lips. My right hand goes up into his short hair and my left arm was around his shoulder, I then leave a trail of kisses on his shoulder then to his neck for a moment before I lean up to his ear and, gently, bite it.

He growls and pulls back to look at me, his eyes darken with lust, then he pushes me back towards his bed and I fall back on the bed. He gets on top of me then opens my legs wider as he starts to settle himself in between them. My breathing gets heavy and I let out a small whimper as I feel him rubbing the tip of his cock against my entrance.

"Ben..." I whispered and he looks me in the eyes. "You sure you want this?" He asked me and I nodded. "Yes, please, I need you." I plead, softly, and he smiles. "If that's what my girl wants..." Ben said then he sheaths himself in me with just one powerful thrust.

I let out a loud scream that quickly changes to a pleasurable moan once he started moving his hips, slamming into me over and over again. Just from the feeling, I could tell he was much bigger than any man I had been with. And I just knew from this moment, other men were ruined for me because I knew there was no other men that could compete with Ben.

"God, you feel so good." Ben moans in my ear as he continues with his thrusts, making me moan. My eyes were closed but I could feel them rolling back as he continued slamming himself into me. Then I feel his lips on mine and he kisses me, hungrily, while I dig my nails in his back and leave my own mark on him as I run my nails down his back.

About a half an hour later, both Ben and I were laying on our backs on the bed, Ben had lit up a cigarette and takes in a puff of smoke before slowly letting it out through his mouth then passes the cigarette to me and I take in a drag of the lite cigarette.

"I gotta admit, sweetheart, that was better than I could ever imagine." Ben said as I blow out the smoke. I giggled as I hand back the cigarette to him. "Really?" I asked as he takes another drag then blows it out. "Yeah. Actually, I'll say probably the best sex I've ever had." Ben said and I turn on my side to look at him.

"Seriously? After all the women you've had, including people you've had during Herogasm?" I asked him and he gives me that damn cheeky smile. "Well, most of the women I've been with weren't Supes themselves. And I had to kinda hold back, sure it still felt good but it wasn't completely satisfying. But with you..." Ben said then he whistles. "I'm starting to take back what I said that you should go to Herogasm. I wanna keep you all to myself." He said and I smiled as he reaches over to his bedside and stamps the cigarette out on the ashtray.

"Well, that's a relief." I said as I bring my right arm under me, helping me rise up as I look down at him. "Because after that, I don't think I could go back to any man, Supe or not." I said then I climb on top of him. "Whoa!" He said, surprised, but he had this excited gleam in his eyes.

I run my hands over his chest and I start to slowly move my hips against his. He hissed and groaned at this as he grabs my breasts, squeezing them, and I let out a small moan at this. "Already up for more?" He asked then lets out a groan as I rub my entrance against his growing erection. "Oh, I'm not done with you yet, Soldier Boy." I said, in a sultry voice, and he gives me a lustful look. "I was actually thinking the same thing, sweetheart." He growls and I smile, lean down and capture his lips in mine.

And for the rest of the night, we had gone a few more rounds after that and I'm gonna be truthful, we weren't exactly quiet. I'm sure that night, everyone in Vought Tower could hear us and I did not care if they did.

Present Day

I wake up from my sleep and just lay in bed for a moment before getting up and get ready for the day. After getting showered and dressed, I go over to the jewelry box on my dresser and found a silver chain necklace that had a beautiful white pearl as the pendant.

I smile at it as it was one of the gifts Ben gave me. We had broken up for the first time after being together for about six or seven years and almost a year later, he came back to me and presented me with this gift as his way to say sorry. Which I did accept as I did miss our times together. After that we were together for a few more years before we broke up again. And so on and so forth.

The reason we kept breaking up was because of how Ben would treat me like a child during our missions, like I didn't know what I was doing. I was so sick of it that I had to break it off with him and just step back from our relationship. But Ben would always find ways to get me to come back, which it honestly didn't take much as I still loved him.

He never did anything malicious to me and never was abusive towards me, it was just sometimes we drove each other crazy to the point we needed a break from one another. And once we realized other people didn't satisfy us, we always got back together.

I shake my head, pulling myself out of my thoughts in the past when I look at my watch and realized I was running a little late for work. "Shit!" I grumbled as I put the necklace on, put my shoes on then head out of the house.

Later, I was walking around the aisle of the bookstore and placed the new books that got shipped in on the shelves. Yeah, I know, working at a bookstore is a far cry from being a Supe but it is very relaxing and quiet...just how I like it.

Just then, I hear footsteps coming up next to me and I hear a voice behind me. "Excuse me..." a male voice said and I turn to him to see a man about in his forties standing behind me. "Yes, sir, how can I help you?" I asked and I noticed his eyes had widen and a look of recognition flashed on his face.

"Wait! Aren't you Mystic Shade?" He asked me and I bite the inside of my cheek at this. "I was..." I muttered and the man smiled. "Oh, man, I-I-I hope I don't sound too crazy but...I use to have a massive crush on you when I was younger." He said and I give a small smile at this. "It's alright, I get that a lot. But I am flattered." I said, nicely, and the man smiles.

"Um, can I get a picture?" He asked me and it was like old instincts kicked in and I nodded. "Yeah, sure, anything for a fan." I replied, instinctively, which was weird as I haven't been ask for a picture in years. But I guess old habits die hard.

The guy smiles and pulls out his phone as I start to stand up straight. Then the man places his left arm around my shoulder and I place my right hand on his back as he holds up his phone with his right hand and angles it to get both of us in the camera.

We smiled and he takes the picture then he pulls away from me. "Perfect! Thank you, Mystic! I honestly was afraid the rumors about you were true." He said and I furrowed my brow. "Rumors?" I asked. "Oh, there's been a rumor going around saying you're dead." He said and I shake my head. "Nope, just retired." I said. "I had a feeling what with what happened to Soldier Boy..." the man said and my smile falters as I look down.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry..." he stammers and I shake my head. "It's okay..." I said and the man bites his lips, embarrassed. "I'm, I'm sorry, what was your name, sir?" I asked him. "Jimmy." He replied. "Well, Jimmy, I appreciate this visit and talk but...I have to get back to work." I said and he nods.

"Oh, yeah, I was gonna ask where you keep the fantasy books." Jimmy asked me. "Oh, yeah, it's down the hall and to the left." I instructed and he nods. "Thanks!" He said and he goes down the hall and even though I always hated taking pictures, bringing a smile to that guy made me feel a little better.

I sigh, happily, and get back to work.

*3rd Person POV*

"Neuman's head of the bureau because I said so. I tried to save her from the attack on Congress that she fսcking caused." Mallory tells Butcher, Hughie and M.M. after they arrived at her hideout home. "Well, at least you didn't spend the last year getting her oat milk lattes and every piece of intel she asked for." Hughie said to her and Mallory stares at him.

"I would very much like to know the plan to eliminate her." She said to the men. "Well, that depends on what you can tell us about your little holiday down in Nicaragua." Butcher said. "I've never been to Nicaragua." Mallory said after a moment of silence. "Really? 'Cause a little birdie told me you were Payback's case officer down there, on a classified job that Soldier Boy never come back from." Butcher said and Mallory scoffs then turns her back to the men as she looks out the window.

"Colonel?" M.M. asked her then she turns to the men. "Whatever it is William thinks he may have heard, he's mistaken." Mallory said and she turns away from them and looks out her window. "Is he?" Butcher asked her but she doesn't answer. "You know that safe you got in your home office? The one behind the picture of Bush number one? Well, I borrowed a ledger from it, the one with all your assets around the world. How long do you think them and their families will last when I put every one of their fսcking names on Facebook?" Butcher asked her, threateningly.

"You'd sign the death warrants of dozens of innocent people who had nothing to do with this?" Mallory asked. "I'm embarrassed for the both of us that you're asking." Butcher growls. "Nicaragua's ancient history. Not to mention I could be killed just for telling you." Mallory said. "And all your agents will get killed if you don't. Blimey. What a pickle." said Butcher and Mallory glares at him before she lets out a sigh.

"It was part of Operation Charly." Mallory said and Hughie furrows his brow while M.M. and Butcher share a look. "Operation...Charly?" He asked, confused. "Reagan's pet project, off the books. Help the Contra rebels fight the Russian-backed Sandinistas, but we needed a way to pay for it. Some of the cash came from selling arms to Iran, Oliver North's epic fսck up. But the rest? If there's one thing that the Contras had plenty of, it was cоcɑіnе. I was in charge of trafficking the coke into the U.S. and then using the profits to buy more weapons. In the fight against the Reds, whatever it took." Mallory explains.

"That's some self-justifying bullshit. Were you part of that other thing, too?" M.M. asked her. "What other thing?" Hughie asked him. "She knows." M.M. replied then looks at Mallory. "Tell him."

"The unwritten policy was to sell the cоcɑіnе strictly to minority neighborhoods. Destabilize, demoralize, while staying out of white ones. Late in '84, we were gearing up for a major offensive, so the higher-ups, in their infinite wisdom, decided it was the perfect time to throw a wrench in the works." Mallory explains, an annoyed tone in her voice.

Flashback

Malloy was in her tent when she hears cheering outside. She runs outside to see the team Payback had arrived. Swatto, Crimson Countess, Mindstorm, Black Noir and The TNT Twins were all posing and showing off in front of people. Mallory was beyond pissed to seeing this then she noticed Mystic Shade, who was in a dark blue body suit, with matching boots, a chest armor and wrist gauntlets and a short cape draped over her shoulder and a dark blue eye mask, standing off to the side with her arms crossed as she watches her teammates act like fools. Then Mallory sees Soldier Boy holding a rocket launcher and Gunpowder was behind him, holding the end of the launcher.

"What do you say, Gunpowder? Give them the Fourth of July?" Soldier Boy asked and the soldiers begin to cheer. "Let's light them up, Soldier Boy." Gunpowder said, excitedly.

"Please put that down." Mallory demanded him and Soldier Boy looks at her then smiles. "Ah, well, didn't realize they made case officers as pretty as you. We're just having some fun." Soldier Boy said. "Our munitions dump is in that direction. You're about to blow up half the camp. Put it down." Mallory demanded and Soldier Boy pushes the launcher off of his shoulder, Gunpowder catches it, as Soldier Boy saunters over to Mallory. "I do like the assertive type. You know, with a figure like yours, you are wasted down here." Soldier Boy flirts as he walks up to Mallory, who didn't look at all impressed.

Mystic Shade was watching Soldier Boy, rolling her eyes at him, while Crimson Countess looks over at her with a gloating smile. "My humblest apologies." A voice said behind Mallory and she turns to see a young black man. "I'm sure this is...disorienting. Let's start over. Officer Grace Mallory, isn't it? Stanford Edgar. I'm an associate with Vought American." Edgar introduced.

"Do you want to explain what the fսck this freak show's all about?" Mallory asked him, angrily, as she walks past him and he follows him. "Vought American has entered into a partnership with the U.S. government in the global war against communism. Payback will embed themselves and fight alongside the Contra rebels. Think of it as a trial run." Edgar said to her as they walk off. "A trial run for what?" Mallory asked. "Superheroes in the military, of course. For the first time in over 30 years. Just imagine how dominant we'd be." Edgar said as they hear buzzing above them.

Mallory looks up and sees Swatto flying around. "Jesus Christ. Get down!" Mallory shouts and Swatto lands. "What's the problem?" He asked and Mallory furrows her brow in anger. "The...problem is that the enemy might spot a fսcking flying man above the tree line and find our position." Mallory shouts. "She's right, Swatto. No flights without Officer Mallory's clearance." Edgar said, calmly, and Swatto walks away and Mallory turns, sharply, to Edgar.

"Is this a joke? Supes aren't soldiers. They're undisciplined dip shits. Untrained and untested. They do not belong in a war zone. They belong on That's Incredible!" Mallory argues with Edgar. "Tell that to Soldier Boy and Mystic Shade. They are living, breathing American heroes." Edgar said and Mallory huffs at this. "I'm not allowing this." She growls but then Edgar holds out an envelope to her. "I'm sure Director Casey will address any concerns you may have." He said as Mallory takes the envelope.

"Oh, and, uh, we need a couple of your men to fetch water for our tents. Thank you so much." He calls out and Mallory sighs in frustration.

Afterwhile, Mallory was walking around the camp and see the other heroes all just relaxing like they were on vacation. Mallory scoffs but then sees Mystic Shade actually looking like she was working as she uses her telekinetic power to throw knives at a board some feet away from her.

The knife hit the middle of the board and Mallory was surprised then looks over at Mystic Shade, who looked over at her. Mallory gave her an approval nod and Mystic Shade smiled as she goes back to throwing knives at the board and Mallory walks away from her.

"I do love a working girl." Soldier Boy said as he comes up to Mystic Shade once Mallory left. "Really? Thought you said you like the assertive type." Mystic Shade said, in a bit of a sassy voice, as she looks over at her boyfriend. "Oh, c'mon, sweetheart, you know I wasn't serious about that, right?" He asked her as he walks up to her.

Mystic Shade plays with her knife before she looks back at him. "Oh, I know. Because if you take it further than harmless flirting..." she said then she, quickly, turns to Soldier Boy and placed the tip of her knife under his chin. "...then I'll turn you from a rooster to a hen in one quick motion." She threatens with a smirk and Soldier Boy grins at her.

"See? This is why you're my favorite girl. Hard working, assertive and sexy as hell." He said as he gives her serious bedroom eyes. Her smile widens and she moves the knife away from him and puts the knives away in a box. He then comes up behind her and places his hands on her hips and pulls her to him.

"I love you, you know that, right?" He asked her and she turns in his arms. "I love you too." she said as she places her hands on his chest then she leans up and the two share a kiss. "I just can't wait to get this shit done and get back home." Mystic Shade said once they break the kiss and Soldier Boy leans his forehead against hers. "I just don't understand why it couldn't just be us dealing with this." She continued.

"Cause we're a team..." Soldier Boy said and Mystic Shade scoffs. "Please, you know as well as I do that these fuckers don't know their ass from a hole in the ground." Mystic Shade said as she gestures to Countess, the Twins, Swatto and Mindstorm. Soldier Boy chuckles and nods a little. "Can't argue with that. But you know how Vought is." Soldier Boy said and Mystic Shade sighs.

"But I do agree about wanting to go back home. Mainly, you and me have a special day coming." He said and she turns to look at him, confused. "What are you talking about?" She asked. "Well, it's about to be the anniversary of the day we met." He said and she chuckles. "And they say you're a cocky asshole. I should go and tell the news stations that you're just a big old softie." She teased. "Hey, you're the only one that gets to see this side of me." He said. "Oh? And what about Crimson? Or those other girls when you and I were on our many breaks?" Mystic asked him and he shakes his head.

"Only you." He said and she gives a smile at this then she leans up and kisses him. She pulls back, smiles at him again then goes over to the box that held the knives. "I'm gonna put these away and maybe help these guys out some since these lazy ass fuckers won't." She said as she nods towards the team. "Okay, I'll talk with you later." Soldier Boy said and Mystic Shade winks at him then walks away and his eyes roams her body as she walks off.

He lets out a heavy sigh then digs in one of his belt pockets and pulls out a small ring. He still was in shock that he was seriously thinking of asking Mystic Shade to marry him but the thought of her being his wife and having kids with her kept growing and growing. He was still trying to figure out how he'd do it, he just knew he wanted to do it on the anniversary of their first meeting. He puts away the ring and goes off to look around.

"Claudio. Mets don't stand a chance in hell this year." Mallory calls out to one of her men as they walk past each other. "Señorita, fսck the Yankees." Claudio said and they laugh as Mallory continues walking off until she gets to an area that had a stone wall around it and hears voices. She stops and hides as she hears two men talking.

"Will the others go along?" Edgar asked Black Noir, who has his mask removed. "Everyone but Gunpowder and Mystic Shade." Noir tells him. "Good luck, Earving." Edgar said as he eats on his bag of peanuts. "Can you please stop eating those in front of me. I'm allergic." Noir pleads to him and Edgar stares at him before he puts another peanut in his mouth and Noir sighs. "I have to ask, why couldn't they also take..." Noir started to ask but Edgar speaks over him.

"I know what you're going to ask and I'll say they wanted her as well but we think she is an important asset to Vought." Edgar said and Noir sighs again. "So, listen, if I'm gonna take a more central role on the team, then I want to lose the mask." Noir said. "Silent ninjas score extremely high with boys seven to ten years old. The mask lends a certain mystique." Edgar tells him.

"Well, fսck mystique. People don't even know it's me under this thing. I got to wear it just to get a cab." Noir argued. "Payback is the country's premier superhero team. The whole country. Sadly, a Black member's still a nonstarter below the Mason-Dixon." Edgar informs. "Well, I could be bigger than that. I could be Eddie Murphy." Noir said as Edgar crunches on his peanuts again the Noir looks over at his mask then shakes his head.

"I'm not wearing the mask." Noir said, firmly. "Your choice. Though, once you're farmed out to Minneapolis-St. Paul, you'll want the mask simply for...warmth." Edgar said and Noir just glares at him while Mallory, quietly, walks away.

"You should smile more." A voice said to her and she turns to see Soldier Boy leaning against the stone fence with a smile. "I bet it's a beautiful smile." He compliments as he walks up to her. "Okay, look, as an ambassador from Planet Actual Woman, I just...I got to tell you, I know that you think these lines work, but..." Mallory said until Soldier speaks over her. "Oh, they do. Just ask Loni Anderson." He said, with a cocky smile.

"They don't, and they never have." Mallory sneered and Soldier Boy rolls his eyes. "The women are either humoring you, or they're scared of you, but none of them like you." Mallory said and Soldier Boy was taken aback by this, his lips quivered for a second, before he feels a bit offended and angry. "You know, if you were a little nicer, maybe you'd find a man, instead of out here playing Captain Lesbo." Soldier Boy spat at her and Mallory rolls her eyes and then walks off.

Mystic Shade was walking around the grounds, keeping track of the team until she noticed that Swatto was nowhere to be found. "Has anyone seen Swatto?" She asked around just as Soldier Boy comes up to her. "Hey, have you..." She asked but he grabs her arm and takes her over to a private area. "Ben? What are you doing?" She asked him, confused, as he takes her over behind a large military truck.

"Ben?" She asked as Soldier Boy pushed her up against the truck. He bores his eyes into her but she noticed that he had this look like he wanted to say something but didn't know what to say. "What's wrong?" She asked him and he sighs. "You're not afraid of me, are you?" He asked her and she gives him a confused look. "What? No, why the hell would you think..." Mystic started to said but stops when she started to realize something.

"Oh, did your new girlfriend say something to you?" She asked, a bit teasingly. He stares at her and was about to say something until they heard an explosion nearby. They jumped, slightly, then they run out and see some of Mallory's men shooting and fighting at some Russian soldiers. Mystic and Solider Boy get determined face and Mystic turns to him. "We'll talk about this later." She said and he nods then she places a hand on his cheek, leans up and kisses his lips. Once they break the kiss, he smirks a little before they head off to fight.

Turned out that Swatto went flying again and the Russians had found their location and launched their attack with their special forces. All of Mallory's men went to fight and some of the members of Payback tried to fight back.

Crimson, at one point, issues her powers on a couple of men and exploded them. Those are my men!" Mallory shouts at her and Crimson looks at her, confused, then runs off. Gunfire continues and Mallory ducks down then runs off and fires at some of the Russian soldiers. She ducks down as Edgar and a few other men run then Noir comes up and slices at the Russian soldiers.

Mallory then runs over behind a truck as Swatto runs past her. "Fuck, fսck, fսck!" Swatto exclaimed, panicking, then he flies up in the air but a missile fires and hits him, killing Swatto.

Mallory turns around and sees a man getting thrown out of a small shed and she raised her gun, only to see Soldier Boy fighting off a couple of soldiers on his own. Then another Russian soldier tried to sneak up on Soldier Boy but Mallory shoots him. Soldier Boy turns around and sees her then gestures a thank you to her then uppercuts a man with his shield, making the Russian soldier fly into the air then falls and gets impaled on a pole some hundred yards away.

Soldier Boy runs off and Mallory turns another way just as four Russian soldiers come upon her. She goes to raise her gun but then four knives fly through the back of their heads. The fall to their knees then their side and Mallory sees Mystic Shade was standing behind them. She smiles and gives a two finger salute to Mallory before she heads into another direction, the knives flying over to her and hover over her shoulder as she runs.

Then Mallory hears a Gatling gun and she looks over to see Gunpowder at the gun and he kept shooting at people. "Oh, yeah!" Gunpowder said, excitedly, as he kills the Russians and some of Mallory's men. "Gunpowder! Will you please fսcking stop?" Thomas, one of the TNT Twins, shouts as he, Mindstorm and Tessa cowered behind Gunpowder

Mallory runs but then missiles were fired and she dodges them as best as she could until one hit very close to her and the blast hurls her in the air and she hits one of the stone building and gets knocked out.

Eventually, Mallory wakes up and hears fire crackling, smoke billowing around her. She gets up and saw that it looked like slaughter house. She starts to walk around, shell shocked, when she heard someone cough then grunting and gasping.

She follows the noise and sees it is Black Noir, with a long, deep gash on the top of his head. Mallory looked at this horrified, then she goes to stand in front of him and saw that half of his face was burnt. He looks up at her then he goes to reach for his helmet then he grunts at Mallory as she turns away when she hears a woman crying.

Off to the side, she sees Tessa was crying as she leans against a wall while her brother tends to her wound. Mindstorm was helping Gunpowder to sit up and give him some water as Crimson Countess comes up to Mallory, crying. "Oh, God. They killed Soldier Boy." She cries and Mallory furrows her brow, confused.

"What? Who?" She asked. "The Russians. They had some kind of gun or-or weapon or something." Crimson cries. "That's impossible." Mallory said, disbelieving. "No! We saw it. We saw it. They took his body." Crimson cries and she points up just as they hear helicopter blades.

Mallory turns around and sees a helicopter fly off then she turns to Crimson. "Where's Mystic Shade?" She asked. Before Crimson could reply, Thomas shouts. "Here! Got her!"

They all look and see Thomas and Mindstorm carrying Mystic Shade, Thomas had his hands under arms and Mindstorm was carrying her feet. Then they set her down on the ground as she groans. Mallory noticed that she had a gash on her forehead but not as deep as Noir's wound.

"Oh, Misty! Are you okay?" Crimson asked as she kneels next to Mystic Shade, who slowly opens her eyes. "Wh-W-What h-h-happen...?" Mystic Shade groans out. "What do you remember?" Thomas asked her and Mystic places her hand over her face. "I-I remember...fighting some...soldiers with..." she stops then she goes to sit up but everyone tells her to take it easy.

"Where's Ben? Is he okay?" She asked, worriedly. The others give a look then back at Mystic. "He's gone, Misty. The Russians killed him." Crimson said and Mystic's eyes widen at this, then she shakes her head. "No...No! You're lying!" She shouts and she looks around at everyone, who all looked sullen.

Mystic Shade looks down then she hyperventilates as she felt her heart break into a million pieces. She places her hands over her face then begins to cry and Gunpowder comes up to her and hugs her as does Crimson, who also cries with Mystic Shade.

Present Day

"I lost 116 men. And Vought got full immunity. That was the day I decided to make them pay." Mallory tells the boys. "Well, ain't that a wonderful story. Tell me, Grace, where did the Ivans take this...Supe Gun?" Butcher asked her as she turns to look at her. "The trail went cold behind the iron curtain. It's the truth. My reach only goes so far." Mallory said.

"You knew what Soldier Boy did to my family, but you didn't think I needed to know the truth?" M.M. asked her, with a growl. "It wasn't that simple." Mallory said but M.M. wasn't buying it while Butcher stands up, an angry look on his face.

"Marvin, Hugh, give us the room." Mallory asked them and Butcher turns to them and nods at them, then they leave. Butcher looks over at Mallory and walks up to her. "You came to me after Becca disappeared and promised me Homelander's head. And all this time, you knew there was something that could do the job, and you never said a fսcking word." Butcher growls at her, angrily. "Whatever this weapon is, it probably won't work on Homelander." Mallory said.

"And what if it does?" Butcher asked. "Even worse. Because it wouldn't end with him. You'd go after another Supe, then another, then all of them." Mallory said. "If you'd have told me about this sooner, Homelander might already be dead. Ryan wouldn't be running from one safe house to the next, wondering when his nutter dad's gonna drop out of the sky. And Becca...Becca might still be alive. And for that...I'll never fսcking forgive you." Butcher yells then he starts to walk away.

"This was never about Ryan or Becca. It was always selfish. Always and only for you. For the hate inside that you want to let loose on the world." Mallory said and Butcher stops and turns to her. "I thought maybe you changed, but I was wrong. You are your father. Always have been." Mallory said, her voice shaking, then Butcher walks off and outside.

"What happened?" Hughie asked Butcher as he walks out. "We're off." Butcher said as he walks to his car and Ryan runs to him. "Butcher, wait up. Where-where are you going?" Ryan asked him. "The city." Butcher said. "When will I see you again?" Ryan asked him. "You won't. Ain't safe for you." Butcher said but then Ryan gets in front of him and stops him.

"Wait! What are you talking about?" Ryan asked him. "I got to go." Butcher said but Ryan grabs his arm. "Ryan, let go." Butcher growls. "No. You said you'd always watch out for me. You promised!" Ryan exclaims. "Ryan, let go." Butcher demanded. "I won't let you!" Ryan shouts, upset. "Well, maybe I don't want to look at you. After what you done to my Becca. Did you ever think about that?" Butcher asked and Ryan lets go of his arm and stares at him, shocked and hurt.

His eyes turn red and his breathing trembles, everyone watches in fear as does Mallory. Then his eyes go back to normal and he digs into his shirt and pulls off the necklace Butcher gave him, which was from Becca. Then Ryan tosses it down in the ground, glaring at Butcher. "I hate you." He growls as he continues to glare at Butcher and he runs off back to the house and slams the door behind him.

Butcher looks down, feeling a little guilty, then turns as Mallory shakes her head and scoffs then heads inside after Ryan.