Outside, a sonic boom echoed. Homelander hovered over the Manhattan skyline, his eyes scanning.

“That’s not a set,” Hughie breathed.

“Roll credits,” he said, and stepped out into the night.

“The show within the show,” Butcher grunted. “Meta. I hate it. Get to the point.”

Hughie clicked play. On screen, a grainy, behind-the-scenes clip from the fictional The Boys season three began to roll. It was the infamous “Herogasm” set—actors in ridiculous, blood-splattered costumes, laughing between takes. But as the video played, strange green artifacts flickered in the corners. Then, the image collapsed.

Butcher smiled—a wolf’s grin. “Then let’s give him a season finale he won’t walk away from.”

“Milo figured it out,” Hughie said, scrolling through notes. “Every time Vought streamed an episode of The Boys , they used this specific codec to piggyback actual Temp V schematics and containment protocols to their sleeper agents. The show is the cover. The codec is the courier.”