The rest of the flight went surprisingly smoothly, despite John’s earlier concerns.
There were far fewer people asking the superheroes for autographs, around forty or so.
Selfie enthusiasts, on the other hand, were everywhere.
He had a sneaking suspicion that someone had already taken a picture of him while he was asleep.
Other than that, everything went quite well, and Maeve seemed pleased.
She even started chatting with the children, telling them stories from the early days of her career, carefully choosing the most heroic ones.
There had been plenty of those back then, enough to keep her talking for hours.
Which was exactly what she did, exhausting the children so thoroughly that they were all fast asleep before the plane even landed.
“You don’t often smile like that,” John remarked when she sat down beside him.
“I’d like to see it more often.”
“They just remind me why I became a hero in the first place,” Maeve said with a smile, glancing at him.
“Don’t you feel the same way when you look at your son?”
“Well, considering he has no idea what his father actually does for a living… probably not,” John replied, shaking his head after a moment’s thought.
“No. But I do feel something else. Something much stronger than impulse, duty, or desire. It’s more like an instinct to protect a part of yourself from anything and everything… at any cost. You understand?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t,” Maeve murmured thoughtfully, turning toward the window.
She could no longer see Homelander’s expression, but she was certain he was wondering what had gotten into her.
She didn’t want to continue the conversation.
Not least because of the bitter envy she was feeling, and she was afraid that if she kept talking, she might say something she would regret.
The landing went smoothly, and the passengers even broke into applause for both the pilot and the heroes.
Outside, reporters were already waiting with cameras, along with plenty of other people.
In other words, paparazzi.
They had learned what happened during the flight, as well as who had saved the day.
Homelander and Maeve stepped forward to draw the press’s attention.
“Want me to handle it?” the blond asked.
“I’ll pass. You love the attention,” Maeve immediately replied, stepping aside to let him take center stage.
“Homelander, was what you did actually legal? You’re prohibited from interfering in the affairs of other countries!”
The reporters immediately swarmed them, camera flashes going off in their faces.
“Flight 37 was passing over international waters, which gave us a little more freedom to act. And with so many innocent lives on the line, we couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Fortunately, everything worked out,” the blond said with a smile, barely suppressing the urge to blast away from the irritating crowd like a cork from a bottle.
“Were there any casualties?”
“The co-pilot was shot before we arrived. Unfortunately, we learned about it too late,” Homelander continued, putting on a sorrowful expression.
The questions continued for another thirty minutes.
John would later consider them some of the most irritating minutes of his life.
Homelander might have considered attention from the public a perfectly normal part of his existence, but that trait had definitely not carried over to John.
He eventually had enough and flew away from the reporters, grabbing Maeve around the waist as he did.
Before long, they were back in New York, landing smoothly in front of Vought Tower.
They walked inside at a leisurely pace, hearing congratulations from the employees after their successful operation.
Silence finally descended when they entered the elevator and found themselves alone.
It didn’t last long.
“How are things going with Starlight?” Maeve suddenly asked.
“We’ve been on four dates.”
“Have you managed to get her into bed yet?”
“Working on it.”
He answered and immediately caught a very distinctive scent, one that was difficult to mistake for anything else.
The conversation suddenly died there.
“Want to come over for some tea?” Maeve asked “casually” when the elevator doors opened on her floor.
“Gladly.”
John smiled, receiving an identical smile in return.
That meant she knew that he knew that she…
Whatever.
It didn’t matter.
A few minutes later, they were inside Queen Maeve’s apartment.
She even had a spacious room specifically designed for sword training.
As far as John knew, she used to train for three hours every day.
These days, however, their relationship with Homelander had never been close enough for him to know much about it.
Not that he had ever cared enough to ask.
Maeve went into the bathroom, claiming she was covered in dust.
Fortunately, John didn’t have that problem.
At a certain speed, no obstacle could cause him any discomfort, dust included.
He sighed, dropped onto the couch, and turned on the television.
He quickly found a news report about their recent feat.
John might have wanted to hear what the media thought about what they had done, but the sound of water droplets hitting his partner’s body made that difficult.
No matter how strong his willpower was, he couldn’t resist looking toward the bathroom.
Someone might wonder why he bothered, considering he could see through clothing whenever he wanted.
Years ago, Maeve had coated her armor with zinc specifically so that one particular pervert couldn’t keep staring at her.
And good for her.
For years, Homelander hadn’t been able to see Maeve naked, at least not through her armor.
What appeared before his eyes now was quite a sight, and his heart immediately began beating faster.
Maeve stood inside the shower with her back to him, completely naked.
Her long, wet red hair cascaded down her pale back like a bloody waterfall, mingling with the droplets of water running over her skin.
John’s gaze drifted lower, finally allowing him to fully appreciate her toned, firm backside.
Just looking at her was enough to make his pants uncomfortably tight.
Under the hot stream of water, Maeve slowly ran her hands over her body.
Her fingers glided across her smooth skin as she shifted through simple yet incredibly seductive poses.
It didn’t take long for John to realize that she had been waiting for him.
And making a woman wait had never really been his style.
He immediately stripped off his one-piece suit, leaving himself completely naked.
The unlocked bathroom door opened without making a sound, and his footsteps were quieter than a whisper through the grass.
None of it mattered.
Maeve still heard the door over the sound of the running water.
There was no point hiding anymore, so John calmly approached her from behind.
“Been waiting long?” he breathed into her ear, pressing his erection against her thighs.
“I was starting to think you’d chickened out,” Maeve said with a smile, leaning back against him.
One of his hands settled on her full breast, squeezing it firmly.
His other hand slid downward, tracing a path from her smooth, flat stomach to her groin.
His fingers teased her clitoris, and he could feel her body reacting to his touch.
A pleased moan escaped her lips as she arched her back.
She had always liked it when he did that.
John leaned down and kissed her neck gently.
A second later, she slapped him across the face.
Frowning, Maeve shoved him backward into the glass, cracking it from the impact.
John stared at her in surprise.
Maeve didn’t waste the opportunity.
She grabbed him by the balls.
Unfortunately for him, she was being quite literal.
“Whoa. Easy,” John said, not daring to make any unnecessary movements under the determined stare of her gray eyes.
“Then be rougher,” Maeve growled, finally letting him go.
“I’m not made of glass. I won’t break!”
A moment later, John had her pressed against the tiled wall.
Her hands were held above her head, pinned there by him.
He thrust inside her, and Maeve let out an unintelligible growl as she wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him closer.
“Mmmh!”
For several seconds, they stared into each other’s eyes, as though their little battle for dominance were still going on.
John eventually grew tired of waiting and started moving.
His steady but forceful thrusts quickly became faster and harder, eventually cracking the tiles beneath them.
Neither of them cared.
They surrendered themselves completely to a rough, hungry kiss, one intense enough that an ordinary person would have been left with bruised and bleeding lips.
“Aaah! Mmm!”
Moans mixed with cries as they continued fighting for dominance, changing positions every few minutes.
Eventually, they made their way to the bed, where their marathon continued.
Maeve took control, riding him while he grabbed her breasts and attacked her nipples with his mouth, biting and sucking until she moaned.
John was perfectly happy with the arrangement.
“Ohh…”
John exhaled as he felt his climax approaching.
Apparently sensing the same thing, Maeve became even more frantic.
A moment later, he came inside her.
The red-haired beauty closed her eyes and bit her lip as she felt his warmth inside her.
John leaned back, savoring the aftermath.
Maeve lay beside him, staring at the ceiling.
“Why?” John finally asked, breaking the silence with a gesture of his hand.
“Lately, you haven’t even wanted to talk to me. And now… this.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re… not Homelander,” Maeve replied.
John froze.
A chill ran down his spine.
“Looks like I’ve really changed a lot.”
The blond smiled, feeling an enormous sense of relief that she hadn’t figured him out.
“Yes. And I want the same thing.”
Maeve spoke firmly as she propped herself up, leaning slightly over him.
“The same thing?”
“My own Ryan.”
The red-haired beauty smiled when she saw the surprise on his face.
She slowly lowered herself and began licking his still-erect cock.
John had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to give her a son, but he certainly wasn’t about to turn down sex like this.
He simply tilted his head back and silently enjoyed the experience.
I stared thoughtfully at the large plasma screen, pressing buttons on the controller with the determination of a man doomed to lose.
On the screen, Homelander was beating the crap out of A-Train, who was racing around the arena at super speed.
What can I say?
Fighting game logic.
Realism takes a back seat when every character needs a fair chance to win.
That’s why The Deep could easily beat Queen Maeve in a game, even though in reality he’d be lying on the floor with his face turned into ground beef within a minute.
The same thing applied here.
A-Train couldn’t physically move me even at full speed, yet in the game he could spin Homelander around like a toy.
It was annoying, but tolerable.
A-Train finally finished his special move, giving me enough time to fire a laser beam at him before that dark blue locomotive slammed into me again.
In the end, as I suffered my final defeat, I could only watch A-Train run around the arena in a circle before finishing his opponent with one final hit.
“Annoying and completely unfair.”
That was all I could say as I watched the black speedster’s victory dance.
“Well, you’re the one who brought the console,” Rebecca said with a smirk from beside me.
“Sorry,” Ryan said shyly.
“You just don’t know how to use Homelander’s advantages. Maybe you should pick an easier hero?”
“I don’t know how to use Homelander’s advantages? Well, I’m still learning.”
I smiled at him and adjusted my glasses.
“Why do we fall, Ryan? So we can learn how to get back up.”
“Okay,” the boy replied, looking confused.
“You’ll understand what I mean someday.”
I ruffled his hair and stood up from the couch.
“We’ll play again when I get back.”
“You’re leaving already?” Ryan asked sadly.
“I can’t stay tonight. I have an important event to attend.”
I smiled openly as I hugged the boy goodbye.
“But tomorrow, we’ll spend the whole day together. You, me, and Mom.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Ryan smiled before happily going back to his games.
Of course, plenty of people might think I was going to spoil him by doing this.
But they had to understand that there was practically nothing around here for dozens of kilometers.
No other children.
No playgrounds.
The only entertainment available over the past few years had been reruns of melodramas and fairy tales that were far too childish for him.
Naturally, Rebecca would have opposed such drastic changes, so we introduced everything gradually.
First came movies, especially Star Wars.
Then we moved on to books that were more appropriate for his age.
Harry Potter was the obvious choice.
After that, I had to argue with his concerned mother about letting him keep a new toy at home.
Since the argument was happening right in front of Ryan, Rebecca couldn’t resist those pleading blue eyes for long.
Naturally, there were no games in it that would traumatize a child’s psyche.
I had to convince her of that too.
The last thing I needed was for the kid to get scared and accidentally shoot lasers from his eyes.
“You two have really gotten close,” Rebecca said with a smile as she walked me to the door.
“He does nothing but talk about you. Should I start getting jealous?”
“You know I could never replace you.”
“You’re all they talk about on the news,” she casually remarked.
“Really? I hardly ever watch the news.”
“I wanted to thank you.”
Rebecca sighed and looked seriously into my eyes.
“You saved them. Because of you, they’ll be going home to their families.”
“You don’t have to thank me for them. You don’t even know them.”
“They could have been my relatives, John.”
Rebecca sighed again.
“I haven’t been in contact with them for a long time, but I still worry about my sister, my mother, and my father.”
“And William?”
“Him most of all.”
“See you tomorrow, Rebecca.”
I nodded and headed toward the garage.
I had to keep my clothes somewhere, after all.
“Becca.”
“What?”
I stopped and looked back at her questioningly.
“My friends call me Becca. And… you can call me that too.”
Becca answered before retreating into the house in embarrassment under my surprised gaze.
“Got it, Becca.”
A grin appeared on my face as I watched her panic over her own decision.
It was both amusing and incredibly cute.
After that, I changed back into my suit and took to the sky.
But I wasn’t heading to Vought Tower this time.
I was going to a gathering of religious fanatics.
Just like Homelander before me, I saw nothing but fear of the unknown in these people, not genuine faith.
They were nothing more than fanatics willing to believe anything as long as they were promised eternal life after death.
And I didn’t like fanatics.
Homelander had attended this event before, where people practically worshiped him as a second Jesus.
Unfortunately, now that I was in his body, I had to attend as well.
I had Elastic Ezekiel to thank for that.
He organized this event every year, with Vought sponsoring it.
He was a holy super in every sense of the word, at least according to himself.
He claimed that faith could cure anything, even homosexuality.
He really ought to remove a few things from his ass and mouth before preaching that kind of nonsense.
In his case, faith had clearly lost that hopeless battle.
The crowd of fanatics looked up and immediately began shouting my name.
Using an American flag as a cape really gave you away, especially when flying at low altitude.
I snorted and landed at the entrance of one of the tents reserved specifically for me.
Unlike Homelander, I had absolutely no desire to mingle with crowds of fans.
“Homelander! Phew, here’s your speech.”
Ashley rushed inside and handed me several pages.
“What a load of hypocritical crap.”
I muttered the words after reading the entire speech in a few seconds.
“Do you like it?” the girl asked, having failed to hear what I’d said.
“Like it? That’s putting it mildly, Ashley. Very mildly.”
I sighed and waved my hand as though shooing away an annoying fly.
She understood perfectly and immediately left the tent, leaving me alone.
After a while, I stepped outside to “take a walk.”
More accurately, I was looking for a certain beautiful woman who was also attending the event.
I found her quickly enough in one of the tents.
She wasn’t alone, though.
A group of teenagers had gathered around her, along with a priest and Starlight herself.
Ashley stood off to the side, absorbed in her phone beside some woman.
There was also a crowd outside watching everything.
It was obvious what this was about.
Everyone had gathered to listen to the priest’s sermon and interact with the famous heroine.
“I know what you’re thinking. Starlight from the Seven! Here with us!”
The priest smiled.
“I remember her back when she still had braids and braces. She used to sit right where you are now. Don’t be shy. Ask her anything you want.”
He pointed toward a girl who had raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“I have a friend on my team named Sanji. She’s Hindu. I understand that it’s my duty to convince her to accept Jesus, but somehow it feels strange to me.”
“And once you love someone, you want to protect them! You want your friend to have eternal life, don’t you?”
The priest twisted her words into something else entirely.
Starlight couldn’t really argue with him, even though she was clearly both offended and embarrassed.
“Have you ever had a boyfriend?” someone else asked.
“Yes. I dated a boy once.”
“And… did you have sex before marriage?”
“That’s a rather… personal question.”
Starlight spoke hesitantly after meeting the priest’s intense stare.
“No. I’m a virgin, and I’m saving myself for my husband.”
The whole thing finally ended about thirty minutes later.
Starlight walked out looking so thoroughly rattled that she didn’t even notice me standing beside her.
“You know, lying is a sin.”
I smiled, drawing the thoughtful girl’s attention.
“What the?!”
Starlight nearly screamed and jumped two meters away.
“You scared me!”
“Really?”
I smirked and calmly walked toward her.
“Sorry.”
“You didn’t sound very sincere.”
Annie frowned at me in annoyance.
“We’re both guilty of that.”
I smiled when she gave me a confused look.
Rolling my eyes, I explained.
“So you’re a virgin, and I should forget about sex until marriage?”
“What? No!”
She immediately protested.
“Which question were you answering? The virginity question or the sex question?”
I grinned, teasing her.
“Both.”
She stared firmly into my eyes.
Before answering, she had also let her gaze travel over my body.
That look sent an actual shiver through me.
“I hope you’ll stay this honest.”
I smiled and even slipped an arm around her seemingly fragile shoulders.
She didn’t object, despite the people watching us with interest.
“I like you much better this way than as a twenty-three-year-old virgin.”
“Hey!”
She punched me in the side.
“That hurts.”
I recoiled in mock offense.
“Do you realize you could bend steel with a punch like that?”
“Don’t exaggerate. You deserved it.”
Starlight shook her head, then sighed quietly and fell silent for a moment.
“Do you think I’m supposed to be a role model? You know, with… all this?”
“First and foremost, you need to remain human.”
This time, I looked at her with complete seriousness.
“It’s incredibly easy to become arrogant once you start thinking you’re chosen. Even a god.”
“A god?”
Annie looked genuinely surprised, as though the idea hadn’t even occurred to her.
“A god. When you’re above everyone else… it’s a disgusting feeling, and it’s incredibly easy to get lost in it. You stop being able to tell reality from the image people have created for you.”
I looked directly into her eyes.
“That’s exactly why your honesty is so refreshing to me. It’s your thing… and it’s what will allow you to change the world.”
“That’s a little too dramatic.”
Annie smiled, but then her expression became serious.
“I’ll remember that. Thank you.”
“Hey, Starlight. Can I get a picture? With you and… Homelander?”
A man finally worked up the courage to ask.
“Of course, Uncle Sam. If you don’t mind.”
Starlight looked at me.
“Not at all.”
I smiled and let the man take a couple of pictures.
That was only the beginning.
Before long, it turned into a full-blown fan gathering.
We were finally able to escape ten minutes later, when Starlight asked everyone to disperse.
What surprised me was how many of the people there she actually recognized by face.
“Wow. Looks like you know everyone here.”
“Well, my mom and I used to drive all over the country attending Christian events. We wore those tires down to nothing. These people are like family to me, and I’m happy to see them again.”
She smiled faintly.
“Although it feels like a lot has changed since then.”
“Hm. I get it.”
“Starlight, we need to get ready for your appearance. Come on?”
Ashley hurried over to us.
“See you later?”
“Of course. I’ll be there too.”
I nodded and watched them walk away.
As for me, I decided to look around the fair for something interesting.
It wasn’t long before I stumbled across someone I never expected to see here.
Especially after what happened yesterday.
“I don’t quite understand you, son.”
The old man spoke with obvious confusion.
“Long story short, if there’s some bearded guy floating around in the clouds, he’s one hell of a bastard.”
My old acquaintance answered calmly and confidently while tossing another piece of popcorn into his mouth.
“Did you just call God a bastard?”
“Yeah. The bastard gets off on mass murder and kids with cancer. Then he tries to solve the absolute clusterfuck called ‘humanity’ by nailing his son to a piece of wood.”
He shook his head.
“He’s a real piece of shit. Even you have to agree with that.”
“All right, enough.”
The large black man tried to stop him.
“He deserves to get nuked and forgotten about. Simple as that.”
The man continued under the old man’s horrified stare.
“William Butcher. What a surprise.”
I smiled openly as I approached them.
The old man was delighted to see me, like an excited fan.
The black man wearing glasses beside William, however, was clearly uncomfortable.
William himself was, predictably, furious.
“Well, this really is a surprise.”
Butcher grimly agreed with me.
“Where’s your friend? The skinny, tall one.”
The black man immediately tensed and reached toward the gun tucked into his pants.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t a figure of speech.
It was exactly what he was doing.
“He lives with me. Or didn’t you notice when you were peeking through my house last night?”
The bearded Brit grinned.
“Like what you saw when I wasn’t wearing any underwear?”
The expression on the other man’s face made it obvious that he hadn’t been told the details of what happened the previous night.
That surprise didn’t stop him from reaching for his gun, though.
“Who the hell carries a gun in his pants? What kind of idiot does that?”
I frowned at the equally bearded black man.
“What, are you going to shove it into your underwear next? We’re at a bloody gathering of peaceful religious fanatics, not in some damn ghetto. Relax.”
“Yeah, MM. Relax.”
Butcher ordered him to stand down, and MM reluctantly obeyed.
“What do you want, caped wonder?”
“Just a little advice, nothing more.”
I stared heavily into his eyes.
“Don’t cause trouble here. Give me even the slightest excuse, and you’ll be spending the night in a cell.”
“And why not just send us straight to the afterlife?”
Butcher smirked.
“Because today, I’m Homelander.”
I grinned and patted him on the shoulder, making him grimace.
“Enjoy yourselves. And tell Hughie that nobody’s looking for him, and probably won’t be. Consider that my way of saying thanks.”
With the last word, I walked away and headed backstage, where Ezekiel had already begun his speech.
My turn would be coming soon.