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"The Daily Planet…"
Homelander's lip twitched slightly as he stared at the newspaper in his hand. "Really? Couldn't it have been something useful? Like one of the Infinity Stones from Marvel?"
"Cheap reward."
He grumbled but still flipped it open for a look.
The front page boasted a massive headline: "Shock! Alien Life Forms Visit Earth!"
> "Just last night, radio waves worldwide were disrupted. I'm sure you've all noticed it—our electronic signals were intercepted and altered.
"Thanks to this interference, extraterrestrial life was able to broadcast images directly into households, allowing us to witness their presence right in our living rooms.
"Insiders suggest these aliens may have already been on Earth. And regarding this matter, some believe that Lois Lane might've known all along…"
Homelander raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "This is Man of Steel territory. So Zod's Kryptonian forces have already reached Earth in the DC universe?"
"Interesting."
He stored the newspaper in his inventory.
Later that afternoon, Ashley hurried into the room.
"Homelander, Crime Analysis reported something earlier this morning."
He glanced over at her.
"They said the police requested assistance yesterday."
"A superhero went missing. The hero's family filed a report with the police, who then contacted Crime Analysis."
Ashley glanced down at her tablet, continuing, "Crime Analysis tracked the missing hero's chip and pinpointed his location."
Homelander's eyebrow arched.
This plot sounded oddly familiar.
He asked, "And the missing hero is?"
Ashley quickly replied, "Blue Hawk, a C-list hero. No major contracts, no endorsements, mostly in charge of keeping order in a Black community."
Blue Hawk.
Homelander's memory clicked.
It took a few seconds to recall that in the original series, Blue Hawk was the superhero who brutalized A-Train's brother, leaving him paralyzed. Later on, A-Train killed him.
But ever since he'd arrived in this world, the storyline had shifted in unexpected ways.
Take this missing hero situation, for example. Originally, it was supposed to be Translucent who went missing, but now it was Blue Hawk.
Homelander nodded. "Tell Analysis to forward the location to Black Noir. Let him handle it."
Ashley nodded eagerly. "Understood."
"Oh, and one more thing." She pulled out her phone, holding it up for him to see. "This video has been going viral since noon, with over five million shares, and the numbers are still climbing."
Homelander took her phone. It was the video he'd handed over to Annika. She had successfully exposed the footage of the senator's covert plot to encourage Homeland Security's lawsuit against him.
Judging from the comments beneath it, public opinion was overwhelmingly condemning Senator Hope.
Ashley cautiously asked, "Homelander, should we track down whoever posted this?"
"No, there's no need for that."
"Instead, we should protect them."
He tapped the phone screen. "Because I authorized this myself."
A flash of understanding crossed Ashley's eyes. She nodded. "Got it."
At that moment, the command center doors opened, and Vought's CEO, Edgar, entered. Ashley, quick to read the room, excused herself.
After the door closed, Edgar spread his hands. "So, the senator's scandal… I assume that was your handiwork?"
Homelander clasped his hands behind his back, smiling as he gazed out at the city. "It was, indeed."
Edgar cleared his throat, chuckling dryly. "Senator Hope is effectively finished in this country. Losing his reputation and position is punishment enough for him, wouldn't you say?"
Homelander's lips curled in a smirk. "Not nearly enough."
"To a man like him, losing his Senate seat is just a temporary pain."
"True punishment—'severe' punishment, if you will—should make him regret every moment of it."
A shadow flickered across Edgar's brow. "Homelander, you may be right."
"But in this game, that's the rule. With his scandal exposed, Hope's reputation and position are ruined—that's half his life gone already."
"We shouldn't back him into a corner. Sparing him could make him a useful ally someday."
Homelander casually slung an arm around Edgar's shoulder, leaning in close. "That's your rule. Not mine."
"I don't have the time or patience to entertain these clowns."
"This greedy pig needs to be taught a lesson—a harsh one—so anyone else with similar ideas will think twice and ask themselves if they're willing to pay the price."
With a firm pat on Edgar's shoulder, Homelander stepped back, smiling. "Do you understand now, Mr. Edgar?"
The CEO said nothing more, nodded slightly, and left the command center.
Back on the 88th floor, Edgar pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
When the line connected, he spoke calmly. "Inform Senator Hope—it's time for him to leave, immediately."
After a brief pause, the person on the other end asked, "Shall we send him protection?"
Edgar's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "That won't be necessary."
---
Olga Weapon Development Company
"You can't just throw me out like this!"
"I demand to see Mr. Arnold!"
"Damn it, let go of me! Do you know who I am? I'm the lead on this entire project!"
In the company's first-floor lobby, employees watched in shock as several security guards dragged a bespectacled white man out.
"Isn't that Mr. Jeff? What happened to him?"
"I heard he sold research to criminals under the table, and the company found out. President Arnold personally ordered his termination."
"No way—has he lost it? With his salary, why would he even need to do that?"
"Money's never enough for some people. Honestly, serves him right."
The employees whispered among themselves, but only a few knew the whole truth.
With a thud, a cardboard box was dumped onto the sidewalk. Jeff looked at the locked front door and the security guards glaring at him from inside. His chest heaved, but he held himself back and didn't barge in.
Clutching the box, he trudged over to his car.
That morning, he'd been called into the CEO's office, face-to-face with Arnold himself. He'd expected a promotion or maybe a bonus—after all, he'd gathered valuable data and made several breakthroughs to improve the company's latest project, the smart combat exoskeleton.
Instead, he'd been handed a resignation letter and a confidentiality agreement.
Arnold offered him a generous severance check to leave quietly.
Sure, the money was more than enough to retire on, but watching the project he'd poured his life into finally poised to enter the military and be reviewed by the Department of Defense… It was a historic moment, one that could have been his legacy.
Now, it was all ruined.
"No. This isn't over."
Pushing up his glasses, Jeff glanced back at the company building with cold determination.
"This is far from over."
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