Frenchie pressed both hands against the ground, sweat dripping onto the concrete. The steel rebar beneath twisted, bursting through the cent, coiling around Holander's legs like serpents.
Holander looked down and yanked hard. Several rods snapped—but more burst from the walls and ceiling, wrapping around his arms, waist, and neck.
"This scrap tal—"
Hughie appeared behind him, jamming a syringe into the back of his neck.
Holander spun, firing heat vision—but Hughie vanished, reappearing five ters away in the hallway.
The anesthetic spread through his bloodstream. His limbs went numb. His reactions slowed—just a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
Butcher charged from the side, his fist slamming into Holander's ribs. Golden energy gathered around his knuckles, landing solidly.
Holander staggered back two steps—his rib cracked. He clutched his side.
"You broke my rib?"
Butcher shook out his fist.
"That's just the beginning."
Mother's Milk stood at the corner, eyes closed, sensing.
"He's about to use heat vision—targeting straight ahead at Butcher."
Hughie teleported in, grabbed Butcher's shoulder—both vanished.
A red beam blasted through the wall, blowing a massive hole. Debris scattered, dust filling the air.
They reappeared to the left. Butcher rushed in, landing a hook to Holander's jaw.
His head snapped back—he bit through his tongue. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
He had never been hurt like this.
For thirty years, he had been invincible—a god.
Now these "insects" were tearing him apart, bite by bite.
Benjamin climbed out of the rubble, ribs already healed. With a low roar, he drove a straight punch toward Holander's face.
Their fists collided—shockwaves burst outward.
Holander stumbled back three steps. Benjamin only one.
The gap in strength was shrinking.
No—
He was getting weaker.
Holander glanced at the golden runes on the floor. They writhed faintly, continuously draining his energy.
Damn trap.
He flexed his arms, snapping the rebar—but Frenchie gritted his teeth, forcing more steel out of the building's structure, binding him again like chains.
"Mother's Milk—where's his weak point?" Butcher panted.
MM opened his eyes, veins bulging at his temples.
"Right shoulder joint. Lowest concentration of Compound V. Damaged from injections when he was a kid."
Butcher's eyes lit up. He gestured to Hughie.
Hughie teleported in—grabbed him—
Next second, they appeared at Holander's right side.
Golden patterns flared across Butcher's body, all energy converging into his right fist.
He punched.
The air compressed into visible white ripples.
The blow landed on Holander's shoulder—
Bone shattered.
Holander scread. His right arm went limp.
He tried to lift it—only searing pain answered.
"Impossible—impossible—"
Benjamin charged head-on, smashing a punch into his chest. Holander blocked with his left arm—but lacking strength, he was driven back five steps, slamming into the wall.
Cracks spread across it like a web.
Frenchie manipulated the steel within the walls. Rebar burst through, pinning Holander in place—locking him against the wall.
He struggled—but the more force he used, the tighter the bindings beca.
The rooftop door opened.
Queen Maeve and Starlight walked in.
Maeve looked at him—emotions flickering in her eyes. Twelve years as teammates. Twelve years of oppression, fear, and rage—all surfacing at once.
She stepped forward—and punched him in the face.
No powers. No energy. Just raw physical force.
His nose broke. Blood sprayed.
"This one's for the teammate you pushed off a building."
Second punch.
"This one's for the innocent people you threatened."
Third punch.
"This one's for ."
Holander's face swelled grotesquely. Three teeth fell out. His eyes bruised dark.
His eyes glowed red—he tried to fire heat vision—
Starlight blasted him.
A beam of golden light struck his eyes. He scread, shutting them tight. The backlash exploded within his eye sockets—his vision blurred.
Starlight stepped beside Frenchie.
"Can you make a conductive grid?"
Frenchie nodded through gritted teeth, hands on the ground.
The rebar reford—interweaving into a dense tallic sh, fully enclosing Holander.
Starlight inhaled deeply, gathering energy. Golden currents surged in her palms, growing stronger.
She pressed her hands against the tal grid.
Electricity surged through it—flooding the entire structure.
Holander convulsed violently. Muscles spasd uncontrollably. His voice failed—only ragged growls escaped.
The current lasted ten seconds.
When it stopped—
He hung limp, twitching. His suit was charred in multiple places, exposing burned flesh. His hair was scorched, the air thick with the sll of burning.
MM opened his eyes, sensing again.
"Compound V energy's down to less than thirty percent. Still dangerous. Watch for a last stand."
Right as he spoke—
Holander lifted his head.
His eyes were bloodshot, pupils shrunk to pinpoints. No longer rage—only raw, frantic fear.
"You insects… you damned insects—"
His voice was broken, dragged from deep in his throat.
He began struggling wildly.
The rebar groaned, bending, snapping one by one. Frenchie's face went pale—he pushed with everything he had—but even at thirty percent, Holander's strength was terrifying.
"He's breaking free!" Butcher shouted.
Holander tore loose, slamd his feet into the ground—
The concrete exploded—
He shot upward.
Barely five ters—
His body jerked, dragged down by an invisible force.
Golden runes flared throughout the building.
The alchemical field surged to full power. Space solidified, crushing down on him.
Holander gritted his teeth, channeling every remaining ounce of Compound V into his legs. Muscles bulged, veins popping.
He was fighting the weight of the entire building.
"Break—!"
He forced himself another half ter upward.
That was it.
Benjamin leapt up, grabbing his ankles, dragging him down. Butcher and Maeve jumped too, seizing his other leg.
Three people, plus the field—
He couldn't rise.
Like an insect pinned midair, he thrashed uselessly.
Hughie teleported above him, holding a reinforced injector filled with alchemically enhanced anesthetic.
He drove it into Holander's neck—injecting everything.
Holander's body jerked—
His flight failed.
All of them crashed down.
Boom—
Five bodies slamd into the ground, blasting a crater into the concrete.
Dust surged. Debris scattered.
Holander lay at the bottom, limbs limp.
He tried to push himself up—
Benjamin stepped on his back, forcing him down again.
"No… no no no—"
For the first ti—his voice trembled.
He turned his head, looking at those standing around the crater.
Butcher looked down at him, eyes cold. Hughie. Frenchie. MM. Maeve. Starlight.
All watching.
Those who once knelt before him—
Now stood above him.
His breathing quickened.
He tried to activate heat vision—his eyes flickered faint red—
Then went dark.
His energy was gone. His body was on the verge of collapse.
"Please… I can give you money… a lot of money…"
Butcher crouched, staring into his eyes.
"Becca begged you like that too, didn't she?"
Holander's pupils shrank violently.
Butcher stood, turning to Benjamin.
"Get him up."
Benjamin grabbed his hair, dragging him out like a dead dog. Holander tried to struggle—but his shattered arm and the anesthetic left him powerless.
He was thrown down in front of Butcher.
Golden patterns flowed under Butcher's skin. His life energy was nearly spent—enough for one last strike.
"Thirty years," he said calmly. "Every day I woke up thinking about how to kill you."
"I thought of guns. Knives. Bombs. Poison. A thousand ways."
He clenched his fist, golden light gathering.
"But turns out… the simplest way is enough."
Holander tried to speak—only broken whimpers ca out.
Butcher raised his fist—
The rooftop door opened again.
A figure in a black coat stepped in. Footsteps echoed in the empty hall.
Hang's clone.
He walked over, looking down at Holander.
A thirty-year myth—now broken, twisted, bleeding on the ground.
The clone raised a hand.
A strand of golden light drifted from Holander's forehead into his palm.
A faint conceptual fragnt—
False Divinity.
Thirty years of Vought's propaganda had made Holander believe he was a god. That warped belief had ford a twisted concept within him.
Now—
It shattered.
The clone closed his hand, storing it. Then he looked at Butcher.
"Go on."
Butcher inhaled deeply. Golden light peaked around his fist.
Holander opened his mouth—trying to beg, to say anything that might save him.
The punch fell.
No technique. No flourish.
Just raw strength—and thirty years of hatred.
The fist pierced through his chest.
Golden energy detonated inside—shattering his heart, spine, organs.
Holander's body convulsed twice—
The light in his eyes went out.
Butcher pulled his hand free. Blood dripped from his arm.
He looked at the corpse.
There was no satisfaction.
Only emptiness.
Becca wasn't coming back.
The clone of Hang glanced over the group—finally resting his gaze on Queen Maeve and Starlight.
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