The identical houses were quite depressing.
The "town" could use some work because everything looked the same, but the residents kept life lively.
People were selling all sorts of things, cooking some street food, and children were playing outside; everything was proceeding as usual.
They had nothing to do with the actions of some of their compatriots, manipulated from the outside.
They tried to live ordinary lives while avoiding drawing attention and wishing their peace remained quiet.
Unfortunately, I can't promise them that.
"Can you see anything under this blazing sun?"
Stormfront interrupted my thoughts, sitting on the edge of a residential building and idly swinging her legs.
We were on the roof of one of the houses, where other buildings were clearly visible.
The presence of someone on the roof was unlikely to interest anyone.
I briefly responded.
"It doesn't bother me."
"Really? It bothers me. It's irritating that despite superhuman abilities, I can't stand looking at the sun for long."
Well, it's definitely an annoying flaw.
I don't have such a defect myself.
"Are your eyes sensitive?"
I asked just for politeness, and it was obvious.
"You have no idea how much."
She huffed as she turned to me.
"It's the only flaw left in my humanity. The doctors say if they're damaged, they won't heal."
She's so fixated on this.
Why not just wear protective glasses like A-Train does?
It's better than constantly worrying about it.
"I could suggest not sitting in front of a computer for too long, but I don't think you'll listen to me."
"I can't live without gadgets. They're essential to me."
Stormfront confirmed with a smile.
"Got it."
I responded.
I shrugged and continued scanning the houses that came into view.
The goal was simple: find the person who had power.
It would take a long time to search by face because so many people look alike.
It would be a waste of time.
It's more important to find his people, as not all subordinates would be at the base.
What distinguishes a regular person from members of any gang or group?
It's the presence of weapons.
A large number of armed individuals would lead me to the target.
"And how long are you going to stare into the distance, proud eagle?"
"Until I find our target."
"Wouldn't it be easier to look from above?"
"That would notice us, and he might escape when realizing we're after him."
"Isn't that a good thing? They'll scatter like rats, and we'll know who to chase."
Stormfront smiled as if she were talking about something completely ordinary.
As much as I wanted to argue, there was something logically sound in her idea.
It's just not the method I would prefer to use.
"Or are you afraid of getting hit by stones?"
"We didn't come here to pose for cameras."
I reminded her of an important fact.
"We should not be here if you've forgotten. And I'd like it to stay that way. I don't need another scandal."
"From the latest news, it seems like you're actively collecting them."
Stormfront said with smirking.
I didn't respond to that. I didn't want to discuss recent events, especially with her.
Instead, I continued scanning through the buildings until I found what I was looking for.
"I think I've found them."
I broke the silence.
"And how do we proceed? You don't want to be noticed."
Stormfront smirked, rolling her eyes.
"If it goes quickly, no one will even know we were here."
I smirked and shot off towards the target.
However, the loud bang definitely reverberated throughout the town.
I soon crashed through the roof of the building and landed in the quarters of the bearded leader.
He was distinguishable not only by his long beard but also by his white clothing.
He had made himself comfortable, lying on an expensive bed that seemed out of place for this area.
"*****!!"
As soon as our eyes met, he yelled at his subordinates, and the bewildered men quickly got themselves together.
However, I wasn't planning to wait for them to aim at me and shoot.
Therefore, the leader watched vividly as a thin red beam cut through a group of armed soldiers.
I calmly looked at him, then turned to the door, making several holes with my heat vision.
The bodies on the floor and the absence of people in other rooms confirmed that no one would interfere with us.
"Am I interrupting?"
I asked as if nothing unusual had happened.
"You didn't waste any time."
Stormfront sounded, accompanied by the crackling of lightning.
She flew into the room after me and looked around at the bodies that were lying on the floor.
The result was quite impressive because it had only been a few seconds.
There was not even a single shot or scream, clean work, and the neighboring houses were unaffected.
She then briefly glanced at our target and looked at me expectantly.
"What's next?"
She asked.
"****!!"
I didn't have a chance to answer her as the bearded man began shouting and drew a pistol.
Stormfront reacted swiftly, shooting lightning from her fingers.
Therefore, the unprepared man was slammed into the wall.
"Be careful."
I said sternly, but she shrugged.
"The main thing is that he can think clearly."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"I didn't think you expected us to conduct a classic interrogation. We'd need to at least understand the language for that."
I pointed out the obvious problem.
"I know Persian."
She said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Why didn't you mention that earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
Stormfront smirked.
A response like that made me sigh as the disoriented terrorist got up from the ground.
Why couldn't she just tell us she knew the damn language beforehand?
"*****!"
He yelled something at Stormfront with fury and pointed his pistol at her, surprising her with one of those actions.
However, I noticed he could barely hold the weapon with trembling hands.
He must be terrified.
"Stop waving that thing around; you might hurt yourself."
I smirked, snatching the gun from his hand before he accidentally pulled the trigger.
"****!! ****** ****!"
He continued to shout at me while thrashing his arms.
I could roughly understand what he was saying even though I didn't know the language.
He was saying who he was and threatening with whatever he could, nothing new.
It was getting annoying hearing him yell, and his voice was anything but angelic.
"Shut up."
I reinforced my words with action, giving him a hefty slap across the face.
The reaction to such an action was indescribable, with his eyes bulging in genuine shock and anger.
I repeated to slap him, this time with the back of my hand, to make sure he didn't die.
When he tried to retaliate, I struck his hands and again resorted to my punishment.
Strangely enough, it worked.
The poor terrorist leader was now looking at me warily, his hands protecting his cheeks.
It looked somewhat amusing.
"Have you calmed down? That's good,"
I said with a soft smile, patting his cheek over his hands.
"Now, translate for me what he said."
There was silence in the room for a moment, broken only by street noise.
After a few seconds, I turned back with a requesting look because she hadn't responded.
Stormfront's utterly bewildered expression was a pleasant surprise because it's not every day you see that.
"Did you suddenly gone deaf, Stormfront?"
"What? No, of course not."
She snapped out of it, looking at me with a suspicious glare from nowhere.
"Then translate for me what he just said."
I repeated in a coaxing tone, feeling my patience wear thin.
"Please."
"He said he's become invulnerable, like us."
She straightened up and responded to me.
"As far as I can tell, he wouldn't lie about that."
"Really?"
I looked at this involuntary reaction and turned to our captive.
"Is this true?"
Stormfront kindly translated my words, and he hastily and sharply nodded.
It seemed he still felt pain, but his skin felt different under the slaps.
The next second, he rolled over and groaned in pain.
He even jumped up slightly, and the knee to the stomach was perfectly executed.
It could be used in any fighting game.
"The pain doesn't go away, does it?"
I addressed the bastard lying on the floor with a cheerful smile.
"You know, that's even good."
"It seems he was the first to test the Compound V on himself."
Stormfront said with noticeable glee.
"Can I try it too?"
We can skip over the fact that she knows about the drug and its side effects.
It was bound to happen when she suddenly appeared on the team.
"Only a little since we don't know his limits."
I replied without any particular dislike.
"I'll be very careful."
She said sweetly, approaching the soon-to-be victim.
Stormfont's eyes turned black, and thick purple lightning erupted from her hands.
A smile played on her lips, growing wider with each second.
He tried to fight back but could only make hoarse howls instead of screams. He was too weak by superhero standards, almost a regular person.
He was maybe a bit stronger, but it wasn't even noticeable.
Nevertheless, I felt no pity at all.
This Abu had too many sins for me to show him any sympathy. There was murder, violence, and a lot of other things I'd rather not recall.
He had a great time and loved being powerful. We're not in a hurry, and I let him suffer first.
Why am I encouraging Stormfront's sadistic tendencies?
The answer is simple: I need to get on her good side.
During Kenji's capture, I noticed her sadistic side. Honestly, she didn't hide it very well.
It was clear she wasn't holding back much.
I need to understand what Stan Edgar plans to know about his upcoming schemes and prepare for them.
Stormfront can help with that, especially since she seemed eager to get close to me.
I just need to pretend to share her worldview.
Then she'll open up to me.
A famous philosopher once said, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
The key is not to overplay it.
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Chapter 50New4 days agoShow less
[Homelander's POV]
I watched with interest as the new Ashley's face twisted with emotions.
It was an interesting sight, combined with her squeaky voice as she tried to scold me without crossing into serious insults.
Maeve would definitely agree with me if I asked her. She was watching just as attentively.
"Do you even understand what you've done?!"
Ashley screamed in panic, unable to contain her emotions.
"I'm going to get fired for this!"
"Really?"
Maeve asked in the most indifferent voice.
"Well, not you! I worked so hard for this position!"
Ashley blushed furiously.
"Pfff..."
I sighed, feeling tired of this conversation.
"Ashley, I apologize. I should have been more restrained."
She looked at me in surprise, not expecting those words.
But to be fair, this was entirely my fault.
"S-sorry for yelling at you."
Ashley sighed, quickly calming down.
"I'll talk to Madelyn myself and ask her not to punish you. Don't worry about it."
"Really?"
She looked at me with doubt, feeling like the scapegoat in this situation.
"Do I look like someone who can't be trusted?"
My playful squint made her smile, finally calming down completely.
"No, you don't."
"That's great. I was starting to suspect something was wrong."
I patted her lightly on the shoulder and moved on.
Maeve followed, as we still had to get to the movie set.
The most expensive scenes were filmed in the first few days, so my presence was mandatory.
The good news is that I won't be in front of the camera for long.
"That was noble."
Maeve decided to comment, walking beside me.
"Really? I thought I acted properly."
"Is there a difference?"
"To be noble, you need to at least consider the person you're helping as an equal. That means putting yourself in their place. In my case, I helped more for selfish reasons."
"And what selfish reasons did you have?"
Maeve smiled ironically, seeming to find it amusing.
"I don't think Madelyn can find a third Ashley. The name isn't as popular as Olivia, Sophia... or Alex."
"You're just too lazy to remember a new name?"
Maeve even stopped for a second to process that.
"It's not that I'm too lazy to remember. I just don't want to recall another myself. The name "Ashley" rolls off my tongue more easily than, say, 'Alice.'"
"I can agree with you on that."
Maeve said, pausing to think for a moment.
Stepping onto the studio roof, I took Maeve by the waist and flew.
The flight didn't last long, at least by the standards of ordinary people dealing with traffic jams.
I wonder how much time everything I manage to do would take if I couldn't fly.
I'm glad I wasn't stuck as someone like Deep who had trouble getting around the city.
That's why most of the crimes he prevented happened in the docks or on the water.
Seeing him at work in the city center was almost impossible.
We weren't behind schedule because we got there just in time for the shoot to start setting up.
With a sigh, I headed to the makeup artists who began redoing what had been used earlier at the studio.
It didn't take long, but then came the truly exhausting part.
It might look easy to make this kind of movie from the outside and fun to use superpowers on camera, blowing up a building or something.
After the tenth take, it's no longer fun but rather tiresome.
If you're not lucky enough to have a great director, the whole shooting process can be very annoying.
It took a lot of work to get details, close-ups, middle shots, long shots, and wide shots because the shooting schedule was planned down to the hour.
Those are just the six main shots, and there are four times as many!
Additionally, I had to shoot four different reactions for each scene to have options in the editing room.
Ultimately, the filming took much longer than I had anticipated.
"Cut! That's a wrap! Great job, everyone!"
Adam commanded, letting me relax.
"That was fantastic, Homelander! That look, that pose! You can really see the experience."
"Thank you, Adam."
I nodded, easily accepting the compliment from the director.
"Just wait till I tell my mom I filmed Homelander... she won't believe it!"
Adam laughed while pulling out his phone.
"I'm serious. Can we take a selfie so I can prove it to her?"
"I don't mind."
I smiled, taking a selfie with him.
"So, am I done for the day? You don't need me anymore?"
"No, you can rest. We'll manage with a stand-in for the remaining scenes. We'll shoot from the back."
I could finally finish what I started this morning now that I was free.
First, I needed to wash off all the makeup, which was really annoying, and then deal with the rest.
I might grab a bite at one of the restaurants along the way because I didn't want to have lunch with everyone else.
"Hey big guy, how's it going?"
Stormfront smiled, settling in on my left side.
"It could be better."
"How rude. I thought our conflict was in the past."
"True, the conflict is in the past."
I agreed with her.
"Then what's the problem? I did agree to help you catch him."
"Stormfront, if I always believed empty promises, I wouldn't have reached my current level of influence."
I replied firmly, turning to face her.
"You want to convince me that you're on my side? My advice to you: take action."
"I like that approach. I have something to show."
She nodded, then noticed the trailer.
"The exterior looks nice. Did you choose the color yourself?"
"Don't try to flatter me."
I scoffed while entering the trailer and leaving the door open behind me.
This was a sort of transportable home, just for filming.
Homelander himself didn't really use it, except for the status.
A trailer wasn't necessary for someone who could fly around the city in a few minutes.
However, it was there and looked like it was made of gold from the outside.
Stormfront had noticed that.
Inside, everything created the feeling that you were on a yacht.
There were also two fireplaces, five televisions, including one in each of the two bathrooms, and a shower.
This could all be mistaken for the inside of a five-star hotel room.
"I see you didn't cheap on comfort."
Stormfront smirked as she stepped inside.
"Leonardo DiCaprio recommended the designer. He has the same trailer."
"I love his movies."
She replied, looking around.
"So, what did you want to show me?"
I got straight to the point, not wanting to waste any time.
"Just a second."
She said as she looked through the bag she always carried.
"My costume doesn't have pockets. How about yours?"
In response, I silently pulled out a smartphone from a special pocket in my costume.
"Damn."
She scoffed and finally showed a photograph and placed it on the table.
"Here, take a look."
"And who is this?"
I asked, staring at a bearded man in the group photo.
Stormfront's finger was pointing directly at him, standing in the center.
"That's the leader of the terrorist group that managed to get their hands on Compound V."
She explained.
"He disappeared recently, and instead of his men, mutilated bodies were found at their base."
"So, the leader might still be alive?"
"There's a suspicion that he's being hidden in their small town. He could be hiding there for months until things settle down."
Stormfront continued, looking me in the eye with significant meaning.
"But we don't have that kind of time."
"And if you can see through walls, you could save us that precious time."
I voiced the unspoken thought.
"So, where did you say this town is?"
"I didn't say."
She smiled, casually leaning against the table.
"And what does that mean?"
I frowned, looming over her delicate figure.
"It means I'll be flying with you, big guy."
Seeing her victorious smile, I sighed in irritation, trying not to think about simply throttling the bitch.
That wouldn't help the situation.
"Fine, just don't fall behind."
"Don't worry about that,"
She replied, staring intently into my eyes.
I feel I might regret this decision.
...
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