[ As soon as Wally agrees, Homelander seems to realize that there's nothing left standing between him and the distinctly unappealing prospect of telling the truth. It's not that he's a born liar — far from it, he's never had much of a poker face — but he's— it makes him something different, he thinks, to have to confess to this. Something less. And he can't stand that.

Immediately, the bridge of his nose wrinkles, his lips curling back over his teeth as he lets out an unhappy hiss. ]

So it's— [ start again ] —shit. Okay. Basically, yes. Vought owns supes because they're the only ones, theoretically, who can make them. But it's not like they can have that getting out, right? So they say we're born with it, since Compound V's permanent, not this temporary shit. No re-ups, no problem. Not even most of the supes know. None of 'em knew, until pretty recently.

But I'm not—

[ And here's the catch, the thing that makes it tough for him. He reacts as though it's something to shy away from physically, shaking his head before switching, hardly subtle, to a completely different tack. ]

—What the fuck are metahumans?