[The Secretary of Defense's Office]
The atmosphere was tense.
Wilson knew there was a good chance Homelander wouldn't play by the rules. He might even make a move against him.
That was why he had Ryan brought over.
Even so, he hadn't expected Homelander to waste no words at all.
The moment he arrived, he demanded that Wilson deal with the video. Otherwise, the Federation would be getting a new Secretary of Defense.
'So overbearing.'
Wilson sat still.
His hands rested on his knees. Just above his right hand, hidden beneath the desk, was a concealed button.
With one press, alarms would ring throughout the Department of Defense building, and within one minute, a specially trained armed team would arrive.
But Wilson didn't move.
Because one minute was enough time for Homelander to kill him several times over.
"Homelander, do you know what you're saying?"
After a minute of silence, Wilson finally spoke, "You're threatening a federal official."
"You're actually demanding that the Federation clean up your mess!"
"Don't you think you're asking too much?"
Alex picked up a photo of Wilson with several other officials. He glanced at it, then put it back.
"I admire your courage, Mr. Wilson."
"But if you think that little kid in the room can protect you, then you're completely mistaken."
Alex wasn't stupid. When he arrived at the Department of Defense building, he had already scanned Wilson's office.
He found two people hiding in Wilson's private room.
One of them was Ryan, the original Homelander's son.
The moment Alex found him, he cursed Edgar in his head a hundred times.
'That old bastard was a huge.'
Edgar wasn't the only one who knew where Becca and Ryan were.
Now that Wilson had brought Ryan into his office, he either wanted to use the little Homelander's power against him, or use Ryan's identity to threaten him.
Unfortunately, Wilson didn't know that inside Homelander's body was the soul of a man from another universe.
No matter what Wilson was planning, it had no chance of succeeding from the start.
When Alex exposed him so directly, Wilson's face darkened.
After thinking it over, the secretary said, "Fine. I accept your demand."
"I'll take care of it."
With his hands behind his back, Alex walked over to Wilson and smiled.
"Then we're still good friends."
The next second, he vanished from the office and left using Teleportation.
Only then did Wilson finally relax.
He felt that now wasn't the time to completely fall out with Homelander.
Besides, although Ryan had abilities similar to his father's, he had never been in real combat.
Expecting him to fight Homelander right away wasn't realistic.
After weighing it carefully, Wilson decided to give up using that video to bring Homelander down.
The door to the room opened.
The officer came out with Ryan. The eight-year-old boy clenched his fists tightly, and his eyes glowed red.
"He's the one who killed my mom?"
Wilson nodded.
Ryan gritted his teeth, "I'm going to kill him!"
Seeing how deeply the boy hated Homelander, Wilson was pleased.
This was exactly the result he wanted, "You'll get your chance."
"But not now."
Wilson said seriously, "You're still young. There's still a big gap between you and him."
"And he's been through countless battles."
"If you want revenge, then you need to study hard."
"I'll find you the best teachers."
"I'll train you to become the Federation's 'Guardian'!"
———
After leaving the Department of Defense, a message appeared across Alex's vision.
[Warning: 18 hours and 27 minutes remain until the disaster event.]
'A disaster event?'
And this time, the warning came eighteen hours early.
Based on past experience, the earlier the warning appeared, the greater the disaster would be.
This was very likely another major event after the Fall of Manhattan.
The corners of Alex's mouth lifted slightly.
With his current strength, even if this planet exploded, he wouldn't die.
As for these disaster events, he was more curious and excited than anything else.
But after the previous multiverse event, and after meeting Vera, Alex had become deeply interested in these so-called disaster events and the ones controlling the multiverse behind them.
'What kind of beings are they?'
'How does the multiverse work?'
'Everything these people and I experience in this universe...'
'Is it just a story to them?'
'Or a TV series?'
'Vera also mentioned "correction."'
'That means those "Administrators" can interfere with the multiverse.'
If possible, Alex wanted to become an "Administrator."
That was clearly a lifeform far beyond any living being in the multiverse.
The reason he had this idea wasn't only because he admired a higher form of life.
It was also because he was afraid.
Alex worried that one careless mistake might get him "corrected."
But if he became an "Administrator," he wouldn't have to worry about that.
Still, he had no idea how to become one, or whether it was even possible.
"I still know too little," Alex muttered.
By then, he had already returned to Seven Tower.
Below, a huge crowd had gathered.
They surrounded Seven Tower, holding all kinds of signs in protest.
"Bring Homelander out!"
"Hand over the murderer!"
"He owes us an explanation!"
Someone in the crowd spotted Alex and pointed into the sky, "He's here! Homelander's here!"
Alex thought for a moment, then flew down and landed on the stage.
Ashley, who was holding a microphone, jumped in surprise.
She had been trying to calm the crowd down. Homelander suddenly showing up was the last thing she wanted.
Just as Ashley was about to tell Alex to go back into Seven Tower, he took the microphone from her and walked to the front of the stage with a smile.
"You know?"
"I kept trying to convince myself. I kept telling myself that you're good people, so it's easy for others to stir you up."
"But I found out I was wrong. I was completely wrong."
"You're not good people at all."
"You're a bunch of pigs!"
"Your brains are probably only as big as walnuts."
"That's why you can't tell right from wrong."
"That's why a few words are enough to push you into the streets."
"You take your anger over your lives, your bosses, your wife or husband, your parents, or your children... and dump all of it on me."
"Do you think you're standing up for justice?"
"No. You just want someone to dump all the hate inside you on."
"You idiots, go home."
"Now. Right now."