Chapter Text
Ryan
It had been four years since the world had watched as Ryan took part in the chaotic standoff in the Oval Office which culminated in his father’s death. Whether he wanted to or not, he unconsciously separated his life into two parts, based on this event – the ‘before’ and the ‘after’. Most people barely recognized him ‘after’. Thankfully, his looks had changed quite dramatically during his adolescence; he was able to live a mostly normal life thanks to being legally adopted by his step-father’s best friend.
When he turned eighteen, Ryan filled out the paperwork to legally take his mother’s maiden name as his last name - Saunders – which had further helped his anonymity as he began college across the country from where it all happened. He had graduated from high school with honors and was now pursuing a degree in Biology at UCLA, hoping to start on a pre-med track if things went well during his first year.
It was all so incredibly normal that he found himself starting to forget that he still had Homelander’s blood coursing through his veins – that he was the first ‘natural born’ supe, even if he also had his mother’s blood in him to keep him human, to keep him grounded and good.
The unraveling of this normal life began at a random house party across town. He hadn’t even wanted to go, but he was the one with a car and he also didn’t drink, so his roommate had guilt-tripped Ryan into being the designated driver. Ryan made his way through the crowded living room and into the back yard, where just a few students were sitting around a fire pit and either drinking or smoking cigarettes.
Ryan’s eyes absently swept over the people across from him, their faces glowing softly from the light of the fire, obscured behind waves of heat and tiny orange embers flickering up into the night sky. He blinked hard, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him since he had stayed up too late studying the night before. But even when he moved around the side of the circular pit to get a closer look, this one guy looked exactly like him. His hair was cut shorter than Ryan’s and he was leaner than Ryan was, but their faces were nearly identical.
It was almost like a scene out of a movie – a horror movie, probably – as the other kid lifted his eyes and met Ryan’s. They looked at each other in utter disbelief for several beats before both of them somehow reached an unspoken agreement to start walking toward the big oak tree near the edge of the yard.
“What’s your name?” Ryan asked, still shaking his head in disbelief.
“Nick,” the other kid said. “Nicholas Crovetti. Are we- like, related or something?”
“I’m Ryan Saunders.” Ryan hesitated for a moment before adding, “Butcher.”
“This is super weird, Ryan Saunders-Butcher,” Nick remarked with a soft, nervous laugh. “I mean, I guess- it could be possible we’re related. I was adopted as a baby. Were you?”
“I…” Ryan hesitated, brow furrowing. This was why – even though his life was so seemingly normal – he avoided letting anyone get too close. He hated having to explain the bizarre circumstances of his childhood, or alternately, having to make up a lie. But he knew the only way to get down to the bottom of this was with the truth. “I um- I lived with my mom until she died when I was ten. After my dad and my stepdad both died, my stepdad’s best friend adopted me.”
“Where was this?” Nick asked.
“New York,” Ryan replied. “You’re from here? Southern California?”
“Yeah, I grew up in Ventura County. Do you go to school at USC, too?”
“No, I go to UCLA,” Ryan murmured. “It’s my first semester. I just turned eighteen.” The gears in his head were turning about a million miles a second though, as he considered the numerous possible explanations. “Do you have any contact with your birth parents at all?”
“No,” Nick shook his head. “It was a completely closed adoption. Eighteen years ago.”
Ryan chewed on his lip for a moment before leaning in close and asking, “Do you have anything, like… weird about you?”
Nick laughed, probably wondering if Ryan was drunk or high or something, but then he shook his head, looking puzzled. “What do you mean ‘weird’? Bro, this whole conversation is weird.”
Ryan sighed, feeling absolutely insane, but he couldn’t turn back – not now. He lowered his voice, glancing around to be sure no one was eavesdropping. “Do you have any powers? Like those Supes you see on TV?”
“What? No,” Nicholas chuckled, a skeptical look on his face. He probably thought Ryan was completely insane by now.
“I…” Ryan sighed again. “Look, I know this all seems nuts. My dad – my birth father – was Homelander. I inherited pretty much all his powers.”
“Dude, for real,” Nick laughed. “Who put you up to this – was it Travis?”
Ryan huffed in frustration, grabbing a hold of Nick’s arm and pulling him toward the gate bordering the back yard. The noise from the party faded to a soft din as they moved several yards together into the woods behind the house. Before Nick could question anything else, Ryan turned to face a tree a few feet away and lasered a strip across it, leaving a flaming slash of burned bark a few inches long on its trunk.
“What…” Nick breathed, eyes widening as he turned to meet Ryan’s gaze. His half-formed question lingered unfinished, hanging in the air between them for several long moments.
“I can fly, too,” Ryan told him. “And I’m really fucking strong.”
“I believe you,” Nick finally replied. He wasn’t laughing anymore at least, but now he looked absolutely terrified.
“I’m nothing like him,” Ryan added. “Like my dad. If that’s what you were wondering. I almost never use my powers anymore.”
“I’m wondering about a lot of things right now,” Nick murmured. “Maybe I should talk to my mom and dad about this.”
“I don’t… I don’t think you should,” Ryan disagreed. “You have no idea if they’re in on it; if you can trust them.”
“In on it,” Nick repeated in disbelief. “In on what? They’re my parents. You’re telling me I can’t trust them, and I’m supposed to trust you? We just met ten minutes ago.”
Ryan frowned, frustrated and confused, but still desperate to figure out what was going on. “Look at me,” he pleaded, pausing until Nick lifted his eyes to meet Ryan’s gaze again. His eyes were identical to Ryan’s, wide and steel blue. “You can’t possibly believe all of this is a coincidence. Us being the same age; you being adopted as a newborn. We look exactly the same.”
“Finding your long lost twin is something that only happens in soap operas,” Nick shook his head. “I’m sorry if I need a minute to process.”
Ryan nodded and drew in a deep, steadying breath, realizing only then that he was shaking a little and not because it was chilly out here in the woods. “Look, I get it. I’m freaked out, too. But you can’t tell anyone about this,” he said quietly. “Vought isn’t… They're not the good guys. I have no idea why they’d separate us or what their end game was.”
“Okay,” Nick said, nodding and exhaling shakily. “I guess you’re right. But we definitely need more information before we can figure out the next step. What do you think we should do?”
“We should try and get our hands on my birth records,” Ryan said thoughtfully. “Chances are they documented the fact that my mom – our mom – gave birth to twins. Maybe we’ll find some clue as to why they split us up after that. Do you know anyone who can, like, hack into a database?”
To Ryan’s surprise, Nick smiled faintly. “I didn’t mention what I’m majoring in, did I?”
“No,” Ryan shook his head, a small, confused smile tugging at his lips.
“Computer engineering. With a cyber-security focus.”
“Well there you go,” Ryan said, his smile widening. “It’s like… it was all meant to be.”