◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones. or 500 Collections
◇ You can read 40 chapter ahead on P@treon. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
"My fellow citizens..."
Homelander's voice rang out.
No static, no interference. The voice was delivered clearly into everyone's ears, the gentle tone seemingly carrying a magic that soothed the soul.
"...You have suffered."
"I know you have lost your loved ones, lost your homes, and lost your dignity as human beings."
"I know you hide in the darkness, not daring to make a sound. I know you look at the sky, and your eyes no longer hold hope, only fear."
"I also know that you once trusted someone."
"A god from the stars, a savior draped in a red cape."
"But he betrayed you."
"He turned this beautiful Planet into a hell, he turned you into slaves, he took away your freedom, and took away your smiles."
In an underground shelter, a ragged mother tightly hugged her child, looking at the cracked screen of her phone as tears silently slid down.
"I am Homelander."
"I also come from the stars, but I am different from him." Homelander pressed his hand to his chest, "I bleed the same blood as you."
Then, he looked up slightly and began to recall a past that didn't exist.
"...Just like you, I was originally an ordinary Earthling."
"When I was a child, a group of aliens from deep space took me away."
"To turn me into the 'perfect superweapon' they wanted, they isolated me, brainwashed me, threw me into an incinerator, and watched my pain for amusement."
"They wanted to turn me into a weapon to invade Earth."
Homelander clenched his fists, the lines of his muscles bulging under his skin-tight suit.
"But I did not yield, because no amount of mental pollution could change my love for my home."
"I fought my way out of the laboratory, wandered the Universe, and fought against all kinds of alien tyrants."
"But I never forgot this place."
He crouched down, grabbed a handful of charred soil, and gently rubbed it.
"This is my home."
"Even from thousands of light-years away, I could smell the scent of this soil in my dreams."
Homelander stood up, letting the dust in his hands scatter with the wind.
"Until recently... on the other side of the stars, I heard cries."
"The cries of mothers losing their children, the roars of warriors before death, the moans of this World on the brink of breaking."
"And when I finally returned..."
A thin mist of water welled up in his eyes, and tears slowly slid down his cheek.
"...I saw my fellow citizens being slaughtered like livestock, I saw once-prosperous cities turned into ruins."
"I I once thought, I had become a monster in the Universe."
"But now I understand..."
"All the suffering I've experienced, all the torment I've endured... it was all for this moment!"
"To give me the power to come back and protect you!!"
"I am Homelander!"
"But more than that... I am your son, your brother, your family!"
Homelander suddenly swung his arm, the sadness in his eyes replaced by fury.
He pointed at the camera, his voice exploding like thunder.
"Superman—!!!"
"You hypocritical coward, you filthy alien scum!
"You have failed the land that raised you!!"
"Today, I, Homelander."
"Representing every human who has died, representing every free will that is still breathing."
"Will bury you!! Right where you grew up!!"
These words exploded across the globe like a thunderclap.
In this World under high-pressure rule, no one had ever dared to insult him so nakedly.
This was a declaration of war... South America, a hidden underground bunker of the Resistance.
A group of ragged warriors gathered around a radio, listening to that stirring voice, and color gradually returned to their numb faces.
"He's cursing him out damn well!" an old soldier spat, "That's how a man should talk!"
"Who is he?" a young soldier asked, "How does he dare..."
"He is a remarkable man." The old soldier wiped his gun, a glimmer in his eyes, "My brother in Europe told me he took out an entire alien legion single-handedly last night."
...Back to the live broadcast.
Homelander's speech reached its climax.
"All my fellow citizens! Warriors resisting in the shadows!"
"Do not put down your guns! Do not extinguish the fire in your eyes!"
"I stand here to tell you! To tell the entire Universe!"
"Earth belongs to humanity!"
"Whoever dares to lay a finger on our home, we will kill them all! Not one left!!"
"Humanity—will never be slaves!!"
Homelander raised his fist and let out a final roar toward the sky.
At that moment.
In countless corners all over the globe.
Those survivors who were originally prepared to save the last bullet for themselves tremblingly lowered their guns.
Those who had long been numb in despair gripped their weapons tightly again.
Hope spread like wildfire across the parched prairie.
"For humanity!!"
Someone in the ruins roared along.
"Homelander!! Kill all those alien bastards!!"
"We still have Homelander!!"
Countless voices converged; though separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, at this moment, the will of humanity was ignited once more.
Prompt! popularity value +778,520 gained!
Prompt! popularity value +988,522 gained!
Prompt! popularity value +111,452 gained!
...The numbers on the system panel jumped crazily, and those strings of Zero made Homelander ecstatic.
He had thought that because the setup time was too short, the gains would be greatly affected.
But he underestimated people in despair; even a tiny bit of light could ignite all their passion.
Meanwhile, in a certain abandoned amusement park.
A man wearing a tattered purple suit with hair so green it looked oily was sitting on a pile of dynamite barrels, playing with a playing card—the Joker.
He stared intently at a small television in front of him, where Homelander was giving a passionate speech on the screen.
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
"Quite a performance. This acting is even better than Harvey's back then."
He was not moved like the others. As the embodiment of chaos, he saw through a certain trait deep in that man's eyes at a glance.
"...Humanity will never be slaves!!!"
Hearing the roar from the screen, an extremely exaggerated, twisted smile slowly spread across the Joker's pale face, which was painted with low-quality greasepaint.
"Oh... hehe... hehehahahaha!"
He leaned in close to the TV screen, using the tip of a knife to gently scrape across Homelander's face on the screen.
"What beautiful lines... what a perfect hero."
"How many idiots actually believed it? How many fools are crying for him?"
"You don't care about the lives of these insects at all, do you? Blondie in the stars and stripes?"
The Joker turned around and drew a large smiley face with red chalk on an old blackboard, then drew a small figure wearing a cape next to the smiley face.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'll help you find your true self..."
"Hahahahaha—!!!"
The Joker began to dance around the amusement park; after all, there was no better toy than a hypocrite who cared about his image.