[🎉 Shoutout to Azure & Kk for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]
Brooklyn Bridge, a grand suspension bridge linking Manhattan Island and Brooklyn, was buzzing with traffic. Cars moved in a steady flow, their lights stretching into the night.
In a Cadillac, a young boy of about eight or nine was leaning against the window, gazing out at the sparkling lights of Manhattan in the distance.
"Mom, look! There's a shooting star!" he exclaimed, spotting streaks of light arching across the Manhattan skyline.
His mother, engrossed in a phone call, held up a finger for silence. The boy obediently covered his mouth and turned back to the window, eyes wide as he watched the streaks move closer, descending toward the East River.
As he watched, those glimmers in the sky came into focus, revealing figures clad in sleek, silver, streamlined armor. They flew across the river, trailing smoke and flames.
The boy's Cadillac wasn't spared either; like all the other vehicles on the bridge, it began to slide, tilting precariously toward the churning water below.
Soon, similar chaos erupted on other bridges connecting Manhattan to the outer boroughs. Flames lit up the night sky, one bridge after another falling to destruction. The terrified screams of the people and the grinding sounds of steel echoed into the night.
New York was plunged into yet another sleepless night.
After devastating the bridges, the silver-armored figures darted toward the heart of New York City.
In another part of town, an image flickered on the lenses of a pair of glasses, showing the trails of these speeding figures as they tore through the air. The reflection revealed Jeff, the former Olga Corporation engineer, smirking as he watched the armors break into a distant building.
That building was none other than Olga Corporation's product development headquarters.
Through his glasses, Jeff shifted his view back to the Empire State Building, the image focusing on Arnold, his face as pale as a ghost.
"Thought it over yet, Arnold? My patience has limits," Jeff's voice growled through the Titan armor. "Don't test me."
As he spoke, the scene in his lenses switched back to the panicked guests, and with a quick gesture, the Titan armor raised its gun and fired a few rounds into the crowd.
Screams erupted as people scrambled to avoid the bullets. Federal officials in the crowd shouted at Arnold to give in to Jeff's demands, but Arnold remained silent, his face tight with anger, refusing to budge.
Jeff wasn't worried. He knew his plan was in motion. The development building began to light up with explosions, and soon, high above, walls shattered, sending debris flying as more silver-armored figures emerged.
These Raptor units didn't fly out alone. Four of them carried something massive between them, resembling a secure bank vault, while a fifth held a three-meter-high metal crate.
As the four carrying the vault took off toward Manhattan, the fifth, clutching the crate, landed right in front of Jeff.
The Raptor's arm extended, and with a swift motion, a gleaming silver blade emerged, slicing through the metal crate with ease.
Inside lay a suit of armor, pitch black and dripping with an ominous aura. Unlike the sleek lines of Yuri's Titan, this armor had the brutal contours of ancient battle armor. The back bore a black cape made of a flexible metallic material, capable of becoming as hard as steel or slicing through enemies in battle.
"Behold, the Dark Lord," Jeff murmured, a grin spreading across his face. "The ultimate weapon against Homelander. Every parameter we have is theoretical, but this armor should be more than enough to challenge him."
Jeff approached, unlocking a hidden panel on the armor and inputting a series of complex commands.
---
Empire State Building, Manhattan.
Back on the platform, Yuri's Titan armor had gone silent once more. Just then, a man in his thirties stepped forward from the crowd, raising his voice toward Homelander floating above.
"Hey, Homelander!"
"Why aren't you stopping him? Get us out of here!"
Homelander chuckled, barely sparing the man a glance. "If I recall correctly," he said coolly, "Colonel Yuri here has publicly assured everyone multiple times that situations like this no longer require superheroes."
"They can protect us, remember?" he added with a smirk. "So sit tight. I'm sure Colonel Yuri will save you all."
Though unable to speak outside his suit, Yuri's cheeks burned red beneath his visor. He could hear everything—and was silently grateful his face was hidden from view.
The man, not so easily cowed, glanced at the blood splattered on the floor. He raised his voice again. "I don't care about that! Listen, I'm Joel from Homeland Security, and I'm ordering you to get us out of here!"
Homelander raised a brow, shaking his head with a sigh. "Don't order me around, Joel. I don't answer to you. I'm not your father."
Joel's face flushed with anger. A woman next to him, eyes red from fear, tugged on his sleeve, voice trembling. "You told me even Homelander has to listen to Homeland Security… Were you lying?"
"No, sweetheart, it's not like that!" Joel's eyes darted around, his voice rising to rally the crowd. "People, don't you think it's Homelander's duty to save us? Isn't this his obligation as a superhero?"
"But look at him!" Joel's voice dripped with disdain. "He's just standing there, doing nothing! Where's his so-called hero's code?"
His words stirred murmurs in the crowd, and more voices began to rise in agreement.
"Homelander! If you just stand by tonight, you don't deserve the title of hero!"
"Homelander, kill those bastards!"
"Take them down!"
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥰 Support the translation and help me grow.🤓
Read upto 20 Extra chapter in Patreon
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y