Chapter 75 : Loser
Homelander slowly pushed himself up from the broken concrete floor. Blood trickled from one of his ears, and a dull ringing echoed through his head. His thoughts still felt sluggish, as though something had reached inside his mind and torn through it.
He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand. His eyes were filled with hatred.
"Mark..."
The name escaped through clenched teeth.
He hadn’t expected it. The Devil. Mark. They were the same person. The realization only made the humiliation worse — for all this time, he had treated them as two separate problems. Now he understood they had been one and the same from the beginning.
His fists slowly tightened. "I’ll kill you," he muttered. The words weren’t spoken in anger.
There had only ever been Mark.
Homelander shot into the sky. He had lost, and there was no way he could let the public witness that humiliation. The people below were left confused as they watched the fight end without explanation. To them, Homelander had simply flown away.
A few minutes later, he arrived at Vought Tower. Since he couldn’t find Mark, there was only one person he could confront — Starlight.
As he stepped inside, he spotted Annie walking through the hallway. She wasn’t alone. Mark was standing beside her.
Homelander’s jaw tightened, his teeth grinding as his eyes locked onto Mark.
"Oh, Homelander. How did the fight with the ’Devil’ go? I saw the news, although the broadcast stopped halfway through," Mark said casually.
Mark had already seen the footage. The live coverage had been cut off the moment Vought realized Homelander was losing. They had moved quickly to control the narrative, making sure the public would never know how the fight had actually ended.
"Mark," Homelander said quietly as he walked up to him, stopping only a step away. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to grab Mark by the collar, but he forced himself to stay in control.
"Annie, would you mind giving us a little space?" Mark asked.
From Homelander’s expression alone, Mark could tell he had figured out the truth. Annie looked between the two of them. She had no idea what was happening, but the tension was impossible to miss. After a brief hesitation, she walked away, though she remained close enough to keep an eye on them.
"Mark... you hid yourself very well," Homelander said.
"It was supposed to be a secret, so I’d say I did a pretty good job. The only reason you know now is because I wanted you to know that I’m the one who beat you."
The hallway fell silent as the two stared at each other.
"If you want to tell everyone, go ahead," Mark said without the slightest hint of concern. "Just remember what happens afterward. The entire world will know that you’re not the strongest anymore."
Homelander’s hand shot forward and grabbed Mark by the collar. "You didn’t beat me," he said through clenched teeth. "You caught me off guard. I wasn’t taking you seriously. If I had gone all out from the start, you’d be dead."
"Yeah?" Mark met his stare without flinching. "The loser doesn’t get to make excuses."
Homelander’s grip tightened hard enough to wrinkle Mark’s shirt.
"If you want to go another round, we can go right now," Mark said calmly as a faint blue glow spread across his eyes.
For the first time since grabbing him, Homelander hesitated. He remembered that overwhelming pressure, the complete loss of control, the helplessness of being utterly outmatched.
Starting another fight here, inside Vought Tower with employees and security cameras everywhere, carried too much risk. If he lost again, there would be no way to hide it.
After a long silence, Homelander slowly let go of Mark’s collar and straightened his cape. "This isn’t over. You got your little victory. Enjoy it while it lasts." He leaned in one last time. "Everyone has a bad day, Mark. The difference is that I always get even."
Without another word, Homelander turned and walked away. His pace never faltered, and anyone watching would have assumed he had been in complete control the entire time.
Mark simply watched him leave. "Homelander."
Homelander stopped but didn’t turn around.
"You’re always welcome to try again, but remember one thing. No one stays at the top forever. Everyone falls eventually. I’ll be waiting for the day it’s your turn."
For a brief second, Homelander remained perfectly still. Then he continued walking without looking back.
Mark smiled faintly. He knew Homelander had heard every word.
***
"So... Mark? Did something happen between you and Homelander?" Annie asked.
"Yeah," Mark replied. Then he remembered why Annie had called him in the first place. She had said it was urgent. "Why did you ask me to come?"
Annie’s expression grew uncertain. "You heard the news. Supes aren’t born that way anymore. They’re just... people injected with Compound V." She lowered her gaze. "What does that mean? What does that make me?"
Her voice was quieter now. "All this time, I thought I was chosen for something. That there was a reason I had these powers." She let out a bitter laugh.
"But now... that belief is gone. It wasn’t destiny. It was just a decision someone else made for me before I was old enough to understand it."
Mark internally sighed. In all the chaos surrounding Homelander, he had completely forgotten what Annie must have been going through.
"Well, that doesn’t change who you are," Mark said as he gently took her hand. "Whether your powers came from some chemical or not, you’re still you."
Annie looked up at him, listening quietly.
"I can say this with complete confidence. Out of all the heroes in the world, you’re my favorite. And it has nothing to do with your powers — it’s because of your ideals. You became a hero because you genuinely wanted to help people. That’s what makes you different."
A warm smile slowly spread across Annie’s face as the weight on her shoulders eased. "...Thanks, Mark," she said softly.
Without another word, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Mark smiled and gently returned it.
A/N : There will be Minor crossover and the next world is Jujutsu Kaisen
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A/N: Advanced Chapters are available on Patreon.
👉 /Mark841