Vought Tower, top-floor office.
Madelyn forced herself to remain calm as she looked at the man standing before the floor-to-ceiling window with his back to her.
Homelander wore his iconic Stars and Stripes suit.
The blonde hair falling over his forehead perfectly concealed the increasingly obvious red blister-like rash.
"The Department of Defense rejected the authorization again," Madelyn said, her voice dry. "Secretary Robert is a stubborn old fool."
Homelander didn't turn around. He simply picked up the freshly heated glass of milk from the table and downed it in one gulp.
His Adam's apple bobbed, making a gulping sound as if he were drinking some divine nectar.
"And?" he asked, his voice so soft it made Madelyn's heart suddenly clench.
"We need..."
"I don't need anything," Homelander interrupted, slowly turning around.
A cold smile hung on his face, one that made Madelyn feel increasingly alienated and terrified.
"I only do what I want to do."
"And I can do whatever I want!"
He stepped forward, reaching out to pinch Madelyn's chin, forcing her to look up.
"You just need to prepare enough drinks for me, and shut up."
"This time, I'll get a little myself first." With that, Homelander pushed Madelyn down, selfishly indulging in his favorite little beverage.
Deep within his azure eyes flickered a sense of pure, unadulterated pleasure.
...
A Gulfstream G650 private jet flew smoothly at an altitude of ten thousand meters.
Inside the cabin, Secretary of Defense Robert was enjoying a rare vacation with his family.
Sunlight streamed through the windows, warm and cozy.
Suddenly, a red and blue blur flashed through the clouds at a terrifying, supersonic speed.
Homelander seemed to just be on a "routine patrol," his flight path having a minuscule intersection with the plane.
*Bang!*
As if making a mistake, Homelander crashed directly into the plane's tail. The entire tail section instantly twisted, deformed, and tore away from the fuselage.
The aircraft lost its balance, shrieking and spinning as it plummeted toward the azure ocean below.
Homelander hovered a short distance away, his arms crossed.
A smile hung on his face as he quietly watched the falling plane.
He could clearly hear the despairing cries and screams from inside the cabin, and he could see the twisted, terrified faces behind the windows.
These sounds, these sights, brought him an unprecedented sense of peace and satisfaction.
*Boom—!*
The plane smashed into the surface of the sea, exploding into a brilliant firework.
A few hours later, Vought News headlines displayed the accident.
"A tragic plane crash caused by mechanical failure. Let us observe a moment of silence for the Secretary of Defense."
Over the following days, Homelander's behavior became increasingly reckless.
The destruction and losses caused by his so-called "rescue operations" even exceeded the disasters themselves.
But Vought International always found the perfect excuse, and their PR team always managed to mold him into that compassionate, sorrowful hero.
....
"Maximum priority alert! Maximum priority!"
The piercing blare of the alarm interrupted Madelyn's thoughts.
She stared at the information popping up on the screen, her pupils shrinking sharply.
A Pan Am 747 passenger jet, flying from Los Angeles to the Huaxia capital.
Just as it was about to leave American airspace, a sudden fire broke out in the cockpit, and both engines failed completely.
The plane was plummeting toward the vast Pacific Ocean at a speed of thousands of meters per minute.
Three hundred lives were hanging by a thread.
The string of names on the passenger manifest made Madelyn's breath catch in her throat.
Over half of them were top Huaxia scientists who had previously traveled to the US for academic exchanges and were now preparing to return home, along with several highly influential Huaxia businessmen.
A shrewd, fanatical light instantly erupted in Madelyn's eyes.
An opportunity!
An absolutely perfect opportunity to prove to the whole world—and especially to that damn Huaxia Justice League—who the real savior of the world was!
She immediately contacted Homelander.
"Get to the Pacific immediately! A 747 is going down! Save it! The whole world is watching you!"
"This is our chance to snipe the Huaxia Justice League!"
Homelander tore through the sound barrier, streaking across the sky like a red and blue meteor.
He quickly found the steel behemoth tumbling and wailing in the air.
Without the slightest hesitation, he used his body to smash right through the cockpit wall.
Pungent, thick smoke instantly enveloped him.
The two pilots were already slumped over the instrument panel, suffocated to death by the thick smoke.
The entire console was burned black, sparking with dangerous electrical arcs.
He didn't know how to fly this mortal tin toy, nor did he care to learn.
He also couldn't just hold the entire plane up with his hands like a hero in a comic book.
The only thing he could do was use brute force to push it, and the result would only be smashing this fragile plane into a pile of scrap metal.
As for using his flight to carry them down one by one, that was too exhausting. He didn't want to do it.
He turned around and looked into the cabin.
Through the warped, fire-damaged cabin door, he saw the faces of the passengers.
Terror, despair, but the moment they saw him, an incredibly intense burst of gratitude and hope erupted.
Especially the faces of those Huaxia people.
Every single one of those Eastern faces seemed to be silently mocking him.
Mocking the glory that had been stolen from him by that man, mocking his dignity that had been trampled underfoot by the Huaxia Justice League.
The patch of Crossed red rash on his forehead suddenly flared with a burning pain.
A vicious, insane, yet incredibly tempting thought was born.
Save them? Too troublesome, and it would expose his incompetence.
But what if... they all died?
Died outside of American airspace, died after he had "done his best."
They were important to Huaxia, so this would be the best revenge against Huaxia, and especially against that damn Justice League!
The irritation on his face vanished without a trace in an instant.
Replacing it was his signature, most comforting, "America's Sweetheart" smile.
"Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen."
His voice carried clearly to everyone's ears over the howling wind.
"I've got this."
The next second.
Under the hopeful gazes of three hundred pairs of eyes.
He abruptly turned, raised his foot, and viciously kicked open the adjacent cabin door.
The massive pressure difference instantly sucked a flight attendant out of the cabin, turning her into an insignificant black speck in the high altitude.
Then, Homelander turned into a streak of light and flew away without looking back.
Meanwhile, at the Huaxia Justice League headquarters.
Inside a magnificent base located on a sky island suspended ten thousand meters in the air.
Azure Dragon, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open.
Within his pupils, the brilliant golden light of divine power surged, as if the Gods of the Five Elements were rotating within his eyes.
"Not good!"
His voice echoed throughout the entire base like a massive, ringing bell.
"One of our nation's flights is going down in the Pacific! Three hundred lives are hanging by a thread!"
"Homelander... he abandoned the rescue!"
He had sensed everything through his divine power.
"Move out, everyone!"
At his command, the figure of Evil God in the training room instantly transformed into a streak of red and gold lightning.
He grabbed Shangguan Lieyang beside him.
With a burst of the Speed Force, the two of them rushed toward the coordinates in the Pacific at extreme speed.
The next second.
When the red and gold lightning appeared in the sky above that storm-ravaged stretch of ocean.
Both Evil God and Shangguan Lieyang froze.
The massive 747 passenger jet was being held up by an invisible force. Although it was still slowly descending, its speed had completely stabilized.
And directly beneath the plane.
A figure wearing a military green greatcoat stood with his hands behind his back, quietly hovering in the air.
The violent air currents whipped the hem of his coat wildly, yet they couldn't shake him in the slightest.