The crack of me breaking the sound barrier lasted a full two seconds, which irritated me slightly considering how sensitive my hearing was.
But immediately afterward came silence, a silence I could only describe as truly divine.
My body felt as though it were inside a protective cocoon, with the only sensation reaching me being the temperature.
Not that it was a disadvantage.
Reaching the city at that speed took practically no time at all.
I did have to slow down to the bare minimum, though, otherwise the shockwaves would have shattered every window around me.
There had been one incident like that before.
But that was beside the point.
As usual, I landed on my balcony.
From there, I headed into the corridor and took the elevator.
I entered Stillwell’s office without knocking.
I knew she was waiting for me, and there was no chance she was occupied with anyone else right now.
“Good afternoon, Madelyn.” A smile appeared on my face the moment I saw her.
“Homelander.” The woman smiled back and pointed toward the chair opposite her.
“Sit.”
“Looks like this is going to take a while.” I gave an exaggerated sigh, wrapping my cape around my arm as I sat down.
“No, it won’t take long. It’s just…” She paused dramatically.
I immediately disliked that.
“I have some excellent news.”
“Madelyn, don’t keep me in suspense.” I smirked and waved a hand dismissively.
“Come on, tell me.”
“The Seven are officially part of the military!”
The woman nearly squealed with excitement, clearly expecting me to react the same way.
Instead, the same smirk remained on my face.
Even if only for a second, it froze there.
There was no way this could have happened.
Not after the situation the company had been in just yesterday.
“Congratulations!” I spread my arms as though I were about to hug her.
“But how?”
And that was where the good news ended.
The smile disappeared from her face.
She turned her laptop toward me and started a recording.
The quality wasn’t exactly great, but that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was what was happening in the footage.
It appeared to be some kind of special forces operation.
Soldiers had entered a building and were systematically eliminating everyone inside.
They moved efficiently, eventually taking out their primary target.
Then came the usual search of the building.
That was when one of the soldiers spotted a shirtless man with Arabic writing across his chest.
The soldiers didn’t hesitate.
They immediately opened fire on the arrogant-looking Arab who had stepped toward them with an intimidating expression.
A few seconds later, however, they realized he wasn’t an ordinary man.
The bullets did absolutely nothing.
They struck his bare skin without causing even the slightest injury.
The man raised an arm to shield his eyes, although it looked more like a reflex than a conscious attempt to protect himself.
Then came the part that made it painfully obvious why Congress had approved the bill so quickly.
A soft yellow light appeared inside the man’s chest.
Within seconds, it grew brighter and brighter until it became almost unbearably intense.
Then the man exploded.
The footage immediately switched to a drone recording from outside.
The same man calmly walked out of the burning building and stared directly at the drone, his expression clearly threatening.
“What do you think?” Madelyn asked, carefully watching my reaction.
“How could this happen?” I frowned and looked at her.
At that moment, more than anything in the world, I wanted to strangle one particularly gifted idiot of a blond man who had caused all of this.
And the bastard had known it could happen.
Of course, given the circumstances, there was nothing I could do about what my predecessor had already done.
Even the real Homelander hadn’t personally flown out to meet the terrorists.
He had simply sent the shipments through A-Train.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t change the past.
I’d have to deal with the situation as it was.
“Perhaps someone sold them the formula for the Compound,” Madelyn suggested with a sigh as she leaned back in her chair.
“Vogelbaum?” I answered shortly, remembering the retired old man.
“You’re too prejudiced against him.”
“Am I?” I stood up and took a few steps toward her.
“Wasn’t he the one who suggested keeping Ryan in a preserve like some exotic animal?”
I stopped beside her.
“What do you think, Madelyn? Senility isn’t exactly uncommon at his age.”
“No, he couldn’t have sold the formula.” She forced a smile and sank deeper into her chair.
“Really? But that’s not what I asked.” I smiled openly, amusement visible in my eyes.
“Relax. I was joking.”
I looked at her for a moment.
“When was the last time you slept?”
“I…” She hesitated.
“Two days ago.”
She looked confused as I approached her.
“See? You desperately need some rest. At least a couple of days.”
I stepped behind her.
“You could take Teddy and fly to Harbor Island. It’s a beautiful place. I’ll even lend you my plane.”
“Homelander, I can’t…”
“Refusal isn’t an option.”
I began gently massaging her tense shoulders.
“While you’re resting, I’ll help the U.S. military deal with the problem of super… terrorists.”
“I can’t just leave my position.”
She tried another argument.
“When has that ever stopped us?”
I continued massaging her shoulders with a faint smile.
“All right.”
Madelyn finally relaxed.
Maybe she hadn’t treated my son particularly well, but I couldn’t deny that she was useful as a handler.
The last few days had been extremely stressful for her, and she wasn’t far from a complete breakdown.
As for me, I’d have to adjust my plans and deal with the people Homelander had sent Compound V to.
Marvin impatiently tapped his fingers against the steering wheel while keeping his eyes on the road.
Every now and then, he glanced at the equally thoughtful passenger sitting beside him.
The Black man had his reasons for joining William Butcher’s team again, despite everything that had happened what seemed like an eternity ago.
He knew he couldn’t spend his life sitting behind a desk, keeping an eye on juvenile criminals.
Deep down, he was glad that asshole had come back to him.
But that had been then.
Now Marvin was angry.
He had no idea where their leader’s plan would take them, but he was still following him.
And once again, he had gotten burned.
The look on his wife’s face when she and their daughter were being taken to safety had been… unpleasant.
Extremely unpleasant.
So much so that once all of this was over, the big man had decided he would quit working for Butcher.
He couldn’t risk losing his family because of his own mistakes.
“Butcher.”
M.M. called out to their unofficial leader.
Butcher looked at him questioningly.
“We’re here.”
“Right.” Billy nodded as he glanced at the motel they had arrived at.
“Let’s go.”
Marvin sighed and climbed out of the van after Butcher.
They had spent more than thirty minutes sitting in the vehicle.
Frenchie and Hughie were already inside the room.
M.M. couldn’t stand Frenchie because of how chaotic his decisions tended to be, while Hughie was still the newest member of the group.
Even so, Hughie had managed to prove his usefulness and commitment in a surprisingly short amount of time.
“Frenchie, did you do what I told you?” Butcher asked immediately after entering the room.
“Of course. I did everything.” Frenchie answered in his noticeable accent, but something in his tone immediately bothered Butcher.
“You really left that psychopath there?”
Billy frowned.
He already knew the answer.
He could read his team like an open book.
“She… couldn’t have survived there. She would’ve starved.”
Frenchie barely had time to explain before Butcher slapped him across the face.
“Oh, shit!” Hughie shouted, staring at what had just happened.
He wisely chose not to get involved.
“Raynor’s people were supposed to pick her up!” Butcher snarled as he moved toward Frenchie.
“She was supposed to be evidence that Vought is pumping people full of that blue shit!”
M.M. immediately stepped in and restrained the furious Billy before he could do anything worse to Frenchie.
Whatever else Frenchie was, a drug addict and a completely irresponsible idiot, he didn’t deserve that kind of humiliation.
It didn’t take long to calm Butcher down.
He quickly stepped away from the idiot and pulled out his phone.
A few minutes later, the leader of the Boys was pacing around the room, arguing with Raynor in a raised voice.
“What the fuck do you mean the Pentagon classified everything about the Compound?”
“That’s how it is. Naqib’s appearance did the job. Supes are now considered necessary for the military.”
“What kind of fucking stupid name is Naqib?”
“It means ‘Captain’ in Arabic.”
“They created that bastard themselves!” Butcher snapped, his anger boiling over.
“I’ve even got proof sitting in my basement, chained up!”
“The contract’s already been signed, Billy. They don’t care who you have in your basement anymore. Vought is already looking for you with the feds.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
“I’m sorry, Billy. But all of you are wanted now. Good luck.”
“Fuck.”
Butcher sighed, realizing there was nowhere else they could turn for help.
“We leaving?”
Frenchie’s question was rhetorical.
Hughie, meanwhile, still couldn’t fully process what had just happened.
Silence settled over the room.
Their leader was the one who finally broke it.
“No. We haven’t used our ace yet.”
Billy smirked as he put on his usual black coat.
“We don’t have an ace,” Frenchie said grimly.
“Wait here. I’ll make a call.”
Butcher left the room, having the final word as usual.
A second later, Marvin followed him.
It immediately became obvious that this so-called ace was questionable even in theory.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to Stillwell,” M.M. said as he caught up with him near the van.
“I’m not.”
“What if she’s not his weakness? This is suicide.”
“Don’t you understand, Marvin?”
Butcher climbed into the van.
“We’re already dead.”
“You won’t call her, will you? You’ll actually die just to spite Homelander.”
“Keep an eye on those fuckers.”
Butcher smirked and drove away, leaving the motel behind.
Marvin watched the van disappear, realizing that this was probably their last conversation.
By tomorrow, Billy Butcher would be dead.
Night was a blessed time of rest and dreams.
Unfortunately, the night in the city of Tell Rifaat offered no rest to one arrogant, blue-eyed blond man who had been having things far too easy lately.
And here I was, looking down at the ground, completely unnoticed by anyone below as I hovered in the air.
There was certainly plenty to see.
The building below was filled with people currently packaging drugs.
At the same time, soldiers were sneaking toward the structure, preparing to raid it.
Normally, this wouldn’t have concerned me personally.
But this was the exact place where Compound V had been sent.
I landed directly in front of the soldiers and gave them an open smile when they immediately pointed their assault rifles at me.
I raised my hands, showing them that I wasn’t a threat.
Naturally, the soldiers relaxed somewhat after recognizing the brightly colored suit and that ridiculous cape styled after the American flag.
They didn’t lower their weapons, though.
“Good evening, boys.”
I waved at them, doing my best to appear friendly.
“I’ll handle this myself, if you don’t mind. You can make sure nobody gets away.”
“Yes, sir.”
The apparent leader of the squad nodded.
Apparently, someone had already informed them that the Seven were now working alongside the U.S. military.
“Excellent. I’ll be quick.”
I smoothly took off, landed on the roof, and stood beside the entrance.
Then I sighed.
Strangely enough, deciding how to deal with criminals was difficult.
On one hand, these people sold drugs, murdered people, and generally did horrible things.
On the other hand, nobody intended to take them alive.
They were doomed to die anyway.
But I wasn’t some divine hand of judgment deciding who deserved to live or die.
Still, I wasn’t going to interfere.
First impressions were important.
I didn’t want the soldiers thinking I was some kind of maniac.
Taking a breath, I pushed open the door and confidently stepped inside.
A man smoking near the staircase immediately threw away his cigarette and stared at me in shock.
It took him a couple of seconds to recover enough to even begin backing away.
By then, it was already too late.
A sharp strike to a specific area of his neck knocked him unconscious for at least ten minutes.
What can I say?
X-ray vision is incredibly convenient when you actually know how to use it.
I continued down the stairs just as calmly, watching everyone below panic after hearing the sound of the falling body.
For the silence that had filled the place before I arrived, it was like a thunderclap.
So I wasn’t surprised when dozens of men grabbed their rifles and started firing at the highly visible and convenient target standing in front of them.
Me.
“How many fucking times do I have to teach you people?”
I smiled, trying to speak over the gunfire without actually raising my voice.
I had no desire to burst their eardrums.
My eyes began glowing red, making me look particularly sinister from their perspective.
The bullets simply flattened against my body and dropped to the floor.
Vought’s scientists called this effect a biophysical field.
Every physically enhanced supe possessed one, although its strength varied from person to person.
They didn’t understand its exact nature, but one thing was always consistent.
A supe was as durable as they were physically powerful.
In other words, if a supe could lift dozens of tons, no ordinary human could move them, and neither could another supe if they were significantly weaker.
Even if the stronger supe stood there without resisting.
That was why no modern weapon could harm Homelander, the strongest supe in history.
Which meant none could harm me, either.
Even a nuclear bomb would probably cause nothing more than an itch instead of piercing my skin.
The bullets weren’t even noticeable against my body.
They were boring.
The terrorists, however, were terrified by the sight of those two bright red points where my eyes should have been.
I yawned.
A bullet flew straight into my mouth.
With an irritated expression, I spat it out.
I’d had enough.
I confidently approached them and simply took their firearms away.
Then I incapacitated them using the same method as the first man.
Unfortunately, those three weren’t the only people who needed to be… calmed down.
Eventually, I stood surrounded by the unconscious bodies of men and women who had been packaging the drugs.
Once everything was quiet, I carefully scanned the room, my vision passing through every corner.
Then I spotted a vial filled with blue liquid inside one of the boxes.
Bingo.
“Captain, I found this.”
I handed the vial to the soldier after walking outside.
“And there’s about thirty people unconscious inside. You can handle them, right? I’m off.”
I placed the Compound V directly into his hands, gave them a smile, and took off into the sky.
I disappeared from sight almost immediately.
As they say, if you can’t beat them, lead them.
Perhaps that’s why, a couple of hours later, I was sitting across a negotiation table from Robert Singer, the U.S.
Secretary of Defense.
Since I’d sent Madelyn on vacation for a couple of days, I had to take over some of her responsibilities myself.
The bearded old man, wearing horn-rimmed glasses and an expensive suit over his aging body, was clearly surprised to see me.
He didn’t let it show, though.
“I’m afraid she has some urgent business to attend to. I’ll be taking her place for now.”
“A superhero?”
“That’s right, Secretary.”
I answered confidently, holding the old man’s evaluating gaze.
“Consider me Miss Stillwell’s trusted representative.”
“Then let’s get straight to business.”
Singer nodded and picked up the vial of Compound V.
“ISIS isn’t exactly a hub of scientific innovation. Yet they managed to reproduce your Compound?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“How did they obtain the formula?”
“We’d like to know that ourselves.”
“Perhaps you have a theory, Homelander? Maybe some tourist? Or perhaps Miss Stillwell…”
“Don’t test my patience, Singer.”
I answered coldly, narrowing my eyes.
I immediately noticed the old man’s uneasiness.
“You’re not the only one who dislikes what’s happening. If it were up to me, everything would have stayed exactly where it was.”
“Then why did you retrieve this Compound? Why participate in the operation at all if you disliked the situation so much? You volunteered.”
“Do you know why people used to become heroes, Mr. Singer?”
“Enlighten me.”
The Secretary leaned back in his chair.
“Back then, a decisive and strong-willed person was elevated above everyone else. Someone who refused to simply tremble in fear and instead claimed the right to act. That’s why they were called heroes.”
I smiled when I noticed his interest in the familiar subject.
“I’ve always admired stories like that. People who took matters into their own hands.”
I paused.
“But their time is over. These days, heroes are chosen by a corporation, the only one of its kind.”
“What exactly is your point?”
“My point is that nobody can stand against Naqib and the other superhumans except superheroes.”
I leaned toward him, looking directly into his eyes.
“No assault rifle, grenade, missile, or any other piece of conventional weaponry can hurt them.”
I let the words sink in.
“The age of old-fashioned heroes is over, Secretary.”
My gaze remained fixed on him.
“And it doesn’t matter anymore how the Compound ended up in the hands of terrorists. What matters is that without Vought and its heroes, you have no way to protect this country.”
My eyes carefully studied Robert’s face.
The slightest shadows of emotion were as obvious to me as painful grimaces.
He had no choice.
And he knew it.
Unfortunately, I also had no choice.
That night, I’d have to attend yet another event celebrating the Seven joining the military.
Annie watched with boredom as important military officials celebrated the army’s new cooperation with Vought.
Everyone wore cheerful smiles, but the hypocrisy behind them was impossible to miss.
Men kept approaching her, trying to get her attention and charm her.
Yet beneath every word they said was a mixture of envy and desire.
Those emotions weren’t directed at Annie January, though.
They were directed at Starlight.
A heroine who radiated brilliant light.
Nothing more.
“What happened? Did one of these old men upset you?”
Those blue eyes carefully studied her, searching for signs of something only he seemed to know.
“No, John. Everything’s fine.”
The girl smiled sincerely as she looked at the only person in the entire room who saw her simply as Annie.
“I do see something genuinely wonderful in this hypocritical society, though.”
She glanced at him.
“Do you?”
“Are you fishing for a compliment?”
Annie answered while trying not to look into those captivating eyes.
“I’m not denying it.”
“Madelyn looks pretty good tonight.”
Annie nodded toward the woman.
“Almost like she’s gotten younger.”
“You’re cutting me without a knife, Starlight.”
He dramatically clutched his chest.
“That actually hurt.”
He said it with amusement.
For a brief moment, his eyes met Stillwell’s.
It looked suspicious, to say the least.
Suddenly, the soft piano music stopped.
His attention immediately shifted toward the instrument.
There was anticipation in his eyes as he looked over, then he subtly drew Annie’s attention toward it as well.
Starlight turned around curiously.
Black Noir was sitting at the piano.
At that very moment, he began playing.
He immediately picked up a fairly fast tempo, contrasting sharply with the slow background music that had been playing before.
“He plays the piano!”
Starlight nearly shouted as she looked at John.
“Looks like he’s in the mood tonight.”
Annie barely heard him.
She was completely focused on the music.
It seemed to radiate happiness, a thirst for life, almost a sunny warmth.
As though he wanted to share that feeling as quickly as possible, Noir played at such speed that parts of the melody almost blurred together.
Then he would slow down again, seemingly trying to show off the beauty of the piece for the small number of people actually listening.
“That was beautiful.”
Annie breathed the words, genuinely moved by the short but wonderful performance.
“That’s Chopin. More specifically, Minute Waltz.”
John’s voice drew her attention back to him.
“Unfortunately, it gets annoying pretty quickly, at least to me.”
“How can something like that get annoying?”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“And you know classical music?”
“No, not really.”
He shrugged.
“It’s just that Noir plays it every time he wants to lighten the mood.”
He smiled.
“It’s hard not to know what your colleague is playing when you’ve worked with him for twenty years. That answers both your questions.”
“I get it already.”
Annie nudged him with her elbow.
He actually staggered backward from the impact.
“My God, look how far I’ve fallen.”
John pretended to clutch the injured spot.
“Now I’m getting beaten up by my own subordinates.”
But he suddenly stopped playing.
It was as though he’d heard some sharp sound.
His attention immediately shifted to Stillwell’s back.
She was standing near a table not far away.
A few drops of spilled champagne were scattered across the table.
It wasn’t difficult to figure out what had caused the sound.
“What happened?”
Annie asked worriedly after noticing his strange behavior.
“Nothing.”
Homelander turned his attention back to her.
“I just need to step away for a moment.”
“I’ll be quick.”
“Take your time.”
Annie smiled mischievously.
“There are plenty of men in uniform around here. I’m sure I can keep myself entertained until you return.”
She deliberately glanced around the room.
“Don’t tempt me, Annie January.”
John smiled back.
“I might get jealous.”
With that, he headed toward Stillwell.
On the way, he nodded toward Maeve, who was predictably surrounded by men practically hanging off her.
Then his attention returned to Stillwell’s back.
His eyes immediately saw through her.
The woman was clearly worried about something.
Considering her recent conversation with Stan Edgar, who had finally decided to grace the event with a few minutes of his time, whatever was troubling her had to be something serious.