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Brooks.
Wasn't he the owner of this tomb?
Homelander glanced at the empty stone coffin, clicking his tongue in mild annoyance. Wherever Brooks had vanished to, he'd missed the chance to turn him into a training dummy for his skill upgrades.
An Elder of the Immortals… Surely, he'd have been a more rewarding opponent than those Black-Robed Guards.
Just then, Professor Nick exclaimed softly, examining a section of text closely. "This... This seems to be a set of coordinates."
"Hmm… Here it mentions 'My dear friend, Omar Midor'—likely another Elder. This could mark the location of his tomb."
Homelander's interest piqued instantly. These Immortals seemed like in-game side quests, each one offering skill points and new items.
"Can you pinpoint the location?" he asked.
"Not right away."
The professor pulled out a notebook and began carefully transcribing the inscriptions. "I'll need some time back at the lab to decode it fully, maybe consult a few sources."
Homelander thought for a moment before asking, "Do you have a phone?"
A moment later, Homelander entered his number into the professor's phone.
"If you find anything, contact me immediately."
The professor looked surprised. "I never thought you were so invested in archaeology."
"No problem," he said with a nod. "If I uncover anything, I'll have Amy call you."
With the matter settled, Homelander flew the professor out of the tomb and set off for New York.
By the time he arrived back at the Seven Towers, night had fallen.
Entering the command center, he was surprised to see Queen Maeve, Black Noir, Starlight, and the others all gathered, deep in conversation. As he walked in, they burst into applause.
Homelander raised his hands, smiling. "What's the celebration?"
Ashley approached him with a big grin, visibly ecstatic. "Homelander, haven't you heard?"
"The Department of Homeland Security withdrew their lawsuit and made a public apology on television."
"They admitted they'd failed to thoroughly investigate and sincerely apologized for the damage to your reputation."
Homelander raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise. "Did they really?"
Ashley laughed delightedly. "See, I told everyone he'd say that!"
Homelander gave her a confused look.
Ashley continued, brimming with excitement. "When you skipped the hearing today, it was all part of the plan, right? You knew you'd already won!"
"You had everything planned out before you even struck back."
"While everyone else assumed you were being reckless, you secretly had someone leak that video online, didn't you? That video completely turned public opinion in your favor."
"Homeland Security had no choice but to back down—this dramatic reversal was a masterstroke!"
"No wonder you didn't look worried. No wonder you didn't attend the hearing or offer any explanations!"
"Because you'd already orchestrated everything, knowing exactly how it would play out!"
Maeve chuckled, shaking her head. "Though you could've given us a heads-up, just so we wouldn't stress out so much."
"No, Queen Maeve!" Ashley interrupted, her eyes alight. "Keeping us in the dark was also part of Homelander's strategy!"
"Because only then would our reactions be genuine."
"If we had known, Homeland Security would have suspected something, and the final blow wouldn't have had the same impact!"
"Right, Homelander? Am I right?"
Homelander could only think, You sure know how to fill in the blanks.
He gathered from her rambling that someone had indeed posted a video supporting him and that the video must have been so persuasive that Homeland Security was forced to backtrack and publicly apologize.
He didn't bother explaining. Instead, he simply said, "Ashley, arrange for dinner to be sent to my room."
Seeing him heading for the door, Ashley called after him, "Homelander, don't you have anything to say to the team?"
"Not tonight." Homelander waved as he left.
Ashley persisted, "So, when should we announce that the Seven are resuming regular activities?"
Ignoring her, he returned to his room, where dinner soon arrived.
As the server entered, the door shut behind him, and in a flash, the figure morphed into a rotund, greasy-faced man.
Doppelganger.
"Good evening, Homelander." Doppelganger greeted him carefully.
Homelander glanced at the food trolley, arranging the dishes himself as he set the table.
After savoring a small bite of pan-seared fish and dabbing his mouth with a napkin, he finally asked, "Did you find anything?"
"Yes, I did."
Doppelganger pulled out his phone, selecting a video and placing it before Homelander.
On the screen, Homelander saw footage of Senator Hope and Deputy Director Hanson from Homeland Security.
"Quite the foresight, Senator, to press charges against Homelander in the Supreme Court. You had him cornered right from the start."
Hearing this, Homelander smirked, nodding approvingly.
"Well done," he said. "What reward do you want?"
Doppelganger hesitated, then cautiously said, "There are... some problematic records of mine within Vought's archives. I was hoping, perhaps, you could have them... removed?"
Homelander looked him over. "I'll pay a visit to the Crime Analysis Department tomorrow."
"Thank you so much." Doppelganger returned to his chef disguise, pushing the empty trolley out.
The next morning, Homelander arrived at the Crime Analysis Department, where he found Annika sipping an energy drink.
Drinking that stuff this early? Is she trying to end up in a hospital?
Out of concern for his personal investigator, he quickly scanned her health and, seeing no issues, cleared his throat.
"Boss, when did you get here?" Annika quickly stood up, glancing at her drink with a sheepish smile. "Want a sip?"
"I'll pass."
Homelander placed Doppelganger's phone on her desk and played the video clip of the senator. "I was wondering if you could make this a household story?"
After watching just a few seconds, Annika's eyes lit up. "So, it was this fat cat causing trouble! Boss, you have no idea how worried I was!"
"We can't let this guy off the hook."
Then she hesitated, a bit unsure. "But when it comes to spreading it online, I'm not exactly an expert."
"But I have a friend who can make this video today's hottest story."
"Of course, this might involve a few... legal boundaries."
Homelander clapped her shoulder. "Go ahead and do it."
Grinning, Annika pocketed the phone and dashed out of the room.
Homelander chuckled to himself, then returned to the command center, recalling he still had an unopened Multi-Dimensional Treasure Chest.
Taking it out, he reached inside. Just like last time, his hand plunged deeper and deeper, seemingly without end, until his fingers grazed something.
Gripping it, he pulled out a soft, glowing orb of light that expanded, then contracted, and finally dissolved into a newspaper in his hands.
The Perpetual Planet Daily: Updated Daily with the Latest News from Metropolis in the DC Universe.
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