"Apologies cannot change the fact that you tried to destroy Earth."
"And Ikaris's crimes are not for you few aliens to solve behind closed doors."
"His judgment must be decided by all of humanity."
Homelander smiled slightly at the camera.
"Am I right? My family in the live stream."
The barrage scrolled frantically, covering the entire screen once again.
[Right! Kill, kill, kill!]
[Leave it to us! Hang him!]
[Death penalty! Execute immediately!]
[Support everything Homelander decides!]
...
"See? This is public opinion," Homelander said with satisfaction. "I will take him away and lock him in Vought's special prison for superhumans."
"Afterwards, he will face a public trial by all of humanity at the Federal Supreme Court."
His gaze swept over Sersi and Makkari.
"And as for you, given your special status as Eternals and the danger you pose, all Eternal members must accept Vought's comprehensive supervision and safety assessment. No privileges, no negotiation."
Sersi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at the oppressive feeling brought by Homelander's expressionless face, she ultimately swallowed her words.
Homelander ignored Sersi's reaction and turned his head to look at Pietro, who had been staring intently at Makkari.
"Pietro."
"Here, Boss!" Pietro immediately stood up straight, putting away that lecherous expression.
"I'm taking this blind man back to V.G.D. Headquarters now. I'm leaving these two in your care, any problems?"
"Absolutely no problem, Boss!" Pietro patted his chest in assurance. "Leave them to me, and I guarantee they will cooperate obediently."
As he spoke, Pietro turned his head and winked at Makkari again.
Makkari rolled her eyes hard, her face full of disdain.
But she didn't move, just silently stood by Pietro's side, which counted as tacit approval of the arrangement.
Sersi looked at Makkari with some curiosity.
She didn't understand why the usually rebellious Makkari would look at this frivolous human with special regard.
But she was also very clear that without Makkari's help, she couldn't possibly take Ikaris away in front of Homelander.
She could only sigh helplessly and walk to Ikaris's side.
Pressing her forehead against his, she made a final, silent farewell.
Homelander couldn't be bothered to watch this tearful scene.
He faced the camera and put on a gentle, kind smile.
"Everyone, that's all for today's live stream. Thank you all for your company. Vought will continue to guard the safety of this World. Have a wonderful day."
After harvesting a huge wave of popularity value and a screen full of 'Long live Homelander', Homelander ended the stream.
He put away his phone, stepped forward, grabbed Ikaris by the back of his collar, and lifted him up like a dead dog.
"Whoosh!"
Homelander shot into the sky, disappearing above the firmament of Alaska.
...
Not long after ascending, just as he reached the stratosphere, Ego suddenly sent a message.
Homelander's eyes flashed; he directly channeled The Force, and a psychic shock slammed into Ikaris's brain.
The already weak Ikaris didn't even groan; he instantly fell into a deep coma.
Confirming that Ikaris had completely lost consciousness, Homelander paused in the air and directly opened a portal to the Earth's core.
After flying in, he examined the center of the Earth's core.
Originally, this should have been the place where that infant God, Tiamut, was sleeping.
But now, that infant was gone.
In the center of the core, only one figure was curled up.
His body had become exceptionally tall, and his skin was covered with a layer of dark gold material. And on his face, six eyes emitting a faint glow had grown in an orderly fashion.
It was exactly the same as Arishem the Judge, who had descended before.
"Master."
Seeing Homelander descend, this new form of Ego with six eyes immediately shouted respectfully.
"You've finished assimilating?" Homelander looked up and down at Ego's new look, asking curiously.
"Yes, Master. I have synchronously transformed Tiamut's energy and matter and absorbed them into my body."
"Now, I am a complete God semi-finished product."
Complete? Semi-finished product?
Homelander asked with a confused face: "Then in your current state, how many Arishem the Judge can you beat?"
Ego was silent for a while, then sighed helplessly.
"Can't beat even one."
Homelander frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Master, although I have assimilated Tiamut's power, he is only a sleeping God right now. Because he has not experienced the process of 'Emergence'..."
"The 'Emergence' is not just breaking out of the shell; it is a ritual that absorbs the energy of all intelligent life on the entire Planet, thereby activating all the cosmic law powers within the God. Without having experienced the 'Emergence', my power is incomplete, and I cannot activate the full divine might."
Seeing that Homelander's expression was off, Ego quickly told him the good news.
"But Tiamut's potential is extremely huge! Master, as long as you allow me to complete the 'Emergence' on Earth and become a complete entity! By then, let alone one, even if you let me fight three Arishem the Judge, it would be no problem at all!"
Hearing this, Homelander's face darkened, and red light surged in his eyes.
"You're getting bold again, aren't you? Daring to target my fans?!"
Ego trembled all over, hurriedly admitting his mistake: "No! I dare not! Great Master, please calm your anger!"
"This... this was just an immature thought of mine, I swear I will never do this!"
"Even thinking about it is not allowed; thinking about it is also a crime!"
Homelander pointed at Ego's newly grown head and warned him word by word.
"If you dare to have such thoughts of sacrificing my fans again, I will have you annihilated immediately, without leaving even a single molecule. Do you understand?!"
"Yes! Yes! Ego understands! Ego will never dare to offend again!" Ego promised repeatedly, all six eyes dimming, looking extremely humble.
After the beating, Homelander reined in his killing intent.
"Earth won't do, other Planets won't do." Homelander rubbed his chin and proposed an alternative plan.
"We'll go into the Universe, find another Planet with intelligent life for you to complete the 'Emergence', won't that work?"
Ego gave a wry smile.
"Theoretically feasible, but it requires an extremely long cycle."
"For a God to achieve 'Emergence', the conditions are very harsh. It must simultaneously satisfy two conditions: a high level of civilization and intelligence, and a huge population base."
Ego sighed and said: "Many civilizations in the Universe have extremely high levels of intelligence, but low birth rates, slow population growth, and even annual declines."
"A Planet like Earth, which can rapidly reproduce billions of people and also burst with such a level of intelligence, is quite rare in the Universe."
"Many infant Gods have slept for hundreds of millions of years and have never waited for the day of 'Emergence'."
Homelander frowned; never mind waiting a hundred million years, in ten years the Avengers would already have their finale.
He didn't have that kind of spare time; Arishem the Judge would arrive with a gang of thugs before he knew it.
"Then there is no other way for you to become a complete entity?" Homelander pressed.
"There is another way, Master. It's slightly more troublesome than the 'Emergence'."
***************************
Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌