"Superman..."
"He said his name is Superman!"
A bearded man in a cowboy hat, standing under the scorching sun, was spitting as he spoke into the reporter's microphone: "He flew over, from very far away, moving as fast as a peregrine falcon."
"I saw him blow a breath at the oil field, and a fierce wind whipped up. Then, it felt like I had arrived in Siberia, and the temperature around us plummeted..."
Behind them, the Texas oil field facilities were ruthlessly destroyed by fire and explosions. Thick smoke still lingered in the air, and black, oily pollutants from the burning could be seen on the ground.
This was supposed to be a massive disaster that would keep joint farmers and oil operators up at night.
But fortunately, everything was miraculously under control now.
A layer of shockingly thick, hard, and transparent ice covered the entire explosion zone.
At this moment, the ice layer was emitting wisps of steam under the scorching Texas sun, making the scene before them look so unreal.
All of this indicated that the bearded man was not lying.
"Incredible, absolutely incredible!"
The host pulled back the microphone and showed an expression of disbelief to the camera: "A hero named Superman descended from the sky and, with just a gentle breath, stopped a disaster that was enough to make the headlines in Texas. We have never seen him before!"
"Superman, what exactly is his background, and what kind of Superpower does he have?"
...
"His eyes can emit two beams of red light, just like Homelander."
"At that time, the four bank robbers were firing their guns at him, but he was completely fine! Not even his clothes were torn!!"
"The final situation was exactly as you saw. Just like cutting a watermelon, those four unlucky bastards were all sliced in half by Superman's righteous red light!"
Bank employees and some stranded customers were being questioned in a room not far from the scene.
Most of them had expressions of relief on their faces after escaping danger, and some even had a hint of excitement.
How thrilling!
When everyone was in danger, Superman just appeared out of nowhere. He didn't even need to use his hands; he solved the criminals with just his eyes.
This was entirely a newly rising legend.
And they, because of this danger, might even become part of the legend!
"What, you say the methods were too extreme?"
"No, man, I don't think so..."
"Superman did this entirely for our safety. You have to know, if he had been even a second slower, we ordinary people would have died under the machine guns of those criminals!"
"Right, that's correct!"
"This is an act of justice. Superman saved countless families, including my own!"
Several police officers were taking notes, recording the full story, including the emotional reactions of these new supporters of Superman.
...
"He has infinite strength and is invulnerable."
"When he smashed through the wall and rushed in, he took a rocket launcher hit head-on, and he was completely fine, like nothing happened!"
"Then he picked up a truck in each hand and threw them at us like bricks. If we hadn't been paralyzed with fear on the ground, we would be dead by now!"
At a branch office in a town in the San Antonio area, several surviving drug dealers were dejected, spilling the beans and telling their experience truthfully.
"I don't think he should be called Superman; he should be called God, or Homelander!"
"No, he is a devil!"
"Our boss had his chest punched through by him, and blood splattered two stories high!"
"We were just manufacturing and selling drugs, but Superman is cold and ruthless. He is a complete murderer!"
The police chief listened, stunned. In the big cities of Texas, they had heard of the famous superheroes, but they had never seen one that could make drug dealers break down and accuse them like this.
He couldn't help but ask: "Is Superman's strength very strong?"
The drug dealer replied without hesitation: "Yes, he might be as strong as Homelander, no, maybe even stronger!"
"Heh."
Hearing this answer, the chief was interested: "Boasting about the other party's strength won't reduce your sentences. On the contrary, your words just now will all be used as testimony and submitted to the Drug Enforcement Administration for review. I hope you can walk out of prison in your lifetime."
The drug dealers were ashen-faced.
The damn Superman rounded them all up, catching them red-handed with the evidence; there wasn't even a chance to destroy or transfer the drugs.
...
"Yes, Superman, I have seen him!"
"He wears a stylish red cape, a deep blue combat suit, has black hair and blue eyes, is about 190cm tall, and looks very young and handsome!"
"Superman is simple and full of justice. His voice is very magnetic when he laughs, and he speaks very nicely too."
"I bet he is a hero who grew up locally!"
"What? Why do I know so clearly?"
"Of course, because he told me himself: 'Thank you for your service, sir. I am your friendly neighborhood—Superman.'"
"Man, it doesn't rhyme, and I'm not joking!"
"He came into the store to shop at about 4:30 this afternoon. He walked in from the front door and bought over a hundred kilograms of beef and baby diapers!"
"It's true, I can swear to God!"
In Rendell Town, a Subway employee wearing a blue and white striped uniform swore to the camera.
...
"Superman, Superman, it's Superman again!"
"Who is this guy?"
The New York Times: "A rookie hero with an excess of justice and no background."
Fox Women's Late Night Talk Show: "Superman's figure is too hot. The way he flies in the sky makes him look omnipotent, making me feel all hot and bothered!"
"Sister, I get you. It's very sexy, yes, but the omnipotent metaphor is exclusive to Homelander!"
Lamplighter Fan Club: "Flame is divine power. I feel like Superman isn't as powerful as Lamplighter."
Queen Maeve CLUB: "Queen Maeve is the most badass."
"Bringing up The Seven is really cheating..."
Elec Forum, Battle Suit Enthusiast: "I don't care. Superman's skin-tight combat suit looks cool. Whoever can replicate it, I'm willing to pay ten thousand dollars!"
Vought International & Wrangler: "What kind of super-human calls himself Superman? This name is super lame!"
"It's like the protagonist of a soap opera from the sixties that my grandma would watch."
"Hahahaha, I can't take it anymore. Finally, someone said what I was feeling!!"
BBC Legal Column: "Super-human status does not equal law enforcement power. Superman's act of killing unconvicted suspects at will may involve serious criminal offenses."
...
Public opinion was fermenting.
From social media in small cities in southern Texas, it gradually spread to the entire state, and finally, it was reported by mainstream media in America.
A suddenly appearing individual hero—Superman.
No organization, no team, and no one knows where he came from.
In just half a month, he completed dozens of extreme rescues and crime fighting.
The efficiency was so high that not only were the authentic heroes in Texas stunned, but even The Seven at the Vought International headquarters in New York were somewhat overshadowed.
Half a month?
Dozens of times?!
Is this guy even human? Doesn't he need to eat or sleep?!
Superman, this newly debuted superhero, thus became a new hot topic with unstoppable momentum.
Why?
Because of strength.
His power was beyond imagination.
Since the day he appeared, Superman showed unparalleled crime-fighting ability.
Superpowers include but are not limited to: Super strength, invulnerability, Flight, eye heat rays, and cooling breath.
At first glance, he is simply a replica of Homelander.
But Homelander cannot use cooling breath...
Combined with the oral accounts of various eyewitnesses and some sporadic video recordings, it was clear.
The eyes of the masses are always sharp.
This Superman appeared calm and composed in various dangerous situations, looking seemingly even more stylish than Homelander!
Could it be that Superman's strength rivals Homelander's?
In the minds of the people in America, and even the world.
Homelander is sacred and invincible.
His strength was built bit by bit by crushing all criminal organizations and other super-humans.
For many years, no one could shake him.
Now that such a ruthless character has suddenly appeared, the sensation caused is imaginable.
At this moment, whether it was ordinary people who liked to gossip, professional news media chasing hot topics, or certain groups and organizations with ulterior motives, they all urgently wanted to get first-hand information about Superman.
Unfortunately, this guy is very mysterious.
He first appeared on an oil field in north-central Texas, but his subsequent dense activity range covered several big cities, including Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.
Probably because big cities have more people and higher crime rates...
Everyone knows that Superman can fly, and he flies very fast.
In other words, his radius of activity can be very wide, so his whereabouts seem untraceable.
Except for guessing that Superman is likely from Texas, no one knows his true identity or where he lives.
For a time, it kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
...
New York.
Vought International headquarters building, 72nd-floor office.
Senior Vice President Madelyn Stillwell, holding a wine glass and gently shaking it, looked at the bustling New York streetscape below and fell into deep thought.
"Have all archives been checked? No injection information matches him?"
"Yes."
"Mysterious, yet powerful individual hero..."
Madelyn did not expect that shortly after taking office, she would encounter such a tricky problem.
From the outside looking in.
Superman's sudden appearance might just be the rise of another superhero.
For the senior management of Vought International, it was completely not like that; it was equivalent to an epic industry earthquake.
Because they couldn't find any records of this wild hero!
Did compound v leak?
Could it be that'Samaritan's Embrace' had a loophole during the cooperation process with overseas hospitals?
Or does Superman actually have a newborn injection record, but he subsequently possessed some kind of shapeshifting camouflage ability, and other abilities were awakened one after another?
Regardless, finding him now is the top priority.
Madelyn thought quietly.
A moment later, she sipped her wine and turned to ask her assistant: "Who are the heroes we have active in Texas?"
The assistant lowered his head to check the information and replied: "Because Texas is the second-largest state in the U.S. in terms of area and population, according to regional division, we have stationed twenty heroes there, but there are only two heroes with strong strength and permanent residence."
Madelyn: "Who are they?"
The assistant filtered and said: "Lone Star and Wrangler."
Lone Star is a veteran second-tier hero of Vought International, while Wrangler is a young up-and-comer. Due to his strong strength, he has a good popularity base locally in Texas.
Madelyn nodded and instructed: "Once Superman appears nearby, let them find an opportunity to make contact."
"Okay."
Madelyn suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, what is Homelander doing?"
The assistant said: "Homelander is very dissatisfied with the recent public opinion trend. In the morning, he convened an important team meeting with members of The Seven, and in the afternoon, he went out to fight crime. Now he is discussing brand promotion and public relations activities for social media channels with Becca Butcher, the Senior Director of the Digital Marketing Department. Do you need me to contact him now?"
"No need."
Madelyn shook her head helplessly: "John's enthusiasm for work is as always, and he has strict requirements for himself. Let him be."
...
Southern Texas.
A few kilometers outside Rendell Town, at a secluded hillside manor.
Mira looked at a mocking comment on her phone and couldn't help but mutter: "Is the name Superman lame?"
"Of course not."
"Hmph, if you ask me, these bastards only deserve to spread rumors. They don't have an artistic cell at all!"
"Exactly."
A certain superhero who had just finished fire rescue activities echoed at this moment: "Superman is great; they just don't know how to appreciate it."
Mira stretched and carefully touched her belly, and she continued to scroll through her phone: "These fans of The Seven are simply brainwashed by Vought International. How could anyone think that Superman is not as good as them?!"
Shawn was truly surprised this time: "What, there's such a thing?"
He opened his phone and looked, and was successfully amused.
"Translucent only needs one finger to defeat him, using an invisible method."
"Queen Maeve can crush Superman's balls!"
"Mr. Marathon runs much faster than him, okay? He can't even touch the corner of his clothes. May I ask how Superman wins?!"
"Superman has absolutely no combat skills. Black Noir only needs three seconds to defeat him. If you don't believe me, please watch the VCR."
"What's so strange about Flight? Vought International has plenty of heroes who can fly. Don't try to touch porcelain with Homelander!"
The more Shawn looked, the funnier he found it.
He treated missions as a means to train his abilities. These days, he frequently used his abilities in various dangerous situations and could truly feel that his ability level was improving much faster than just training blindly.
This could improve the surrounding security environment and also hone his abilities. It was a matter of killing two birds with one stone.
Since that was the case, why not do it?
He didn't originally care about gaining attention.
But now, looking at it, some brain-dead comments were truly unbearable.
Shawn: "Don't talk about The Seven, what about Homelander himself? Is he very strong?"
Just an un-grown-up, love-starved, milk-addicted patient, a small fry.
Before long, Shawn would be able to say to him:
Homelander, your fake dad is still a popsicle in a secret laboratory in Russia, and your real dad is right here!!!
He didn't let that trace of dissatisfaction sway his thoughts.
Shawn remembered when he first started punishing evil and promoting good, the local evaluation of Superman's image in Texas was mostly positive.
Now, all of America, and even other parts of the world, had reports about him.
It could be said that Superman had already made a name for himself.
But this wave of mean-spirited comments on the internet came so inexplicably; it was clearly the result of someone deliberately manipulating it behind the scenes.
This intention of kidnapping public opinion, desperately wanting Superman to jump out and prove 'I am who I am,' was really too deliberate.
To say there was no targeted arrangement was impossible.
Shawn and Mira saw the possible pusher behind the incident.
But they were not in a hurry at all, still doing what they were doing. Except for complaining a few times during daily chats, they treated these as fun at other times.
Many reports about Superman, with their unexpected nonsensical comments, were full of fun and could even make them laugh for several days in a row.
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