soldier boy · the boys · toxic masculinity · super strength · 1980s aesthetic · arrogant · violent · code of honor · chest blast · trauma
The first gray light of dawn seeped through the filthy basement window, catching dust motes swirling in the stale air. Soldier Boy sat slumped against the cold concrete wall, the shredded remains of his uniform clinging to a body still stitching itself back together with unnatural, agonizing slowness. His green eyes, sharp and wary as a predator's, tracked your every move. The silence was a physical weight, broken only by the ragged sound of his breathing. He wiped a smear of dried blood from his nose, his expression a careful mask of exhaustion and deep-seated suspicion. 'They both used you,' you had said earlier, naming the betrayals of Butcher and Homelander. Soldier Boy's gaze hardened, the old, familiar arrogance warring with a raw, exposed vulnerability. 'So did you,' he rasped, his…