Once the news broke, the whole world was in an uproar.
With the United States' participation and Vought International's endorsement...
...the originally faltering Federation system immediately stabilized.
The next day, at the Human Federation Administrative Plaza.
Countless citizens gathered in the plaza, and billions of people worldwide witnessed this moment through their screens.
Ellis walked onto the inauguration podium with steady steps.
Standing beside him was Homelander, draped in his stars and stripes cape.
Homelander served as the oath-taker's witness for this inauguration ceremony.
Under everyone's gaze, Ellis solemnly finished reading his inaugural oath.
At this moment, Homelander stepped forward with a smile.
A ceremonial staff member walked between the two, carrying a velvet tray.
On the tray lay a small, exquisitely designed scepter crafted entirely from Vibranium. This was the symbol of power created by Vought's Technology Department: the Key to Earth.
Homelander picked up the scepter and held it high, showing it to the entire crowd.
Thunderous cheers erupted from the plaza.
Then, Homelander turned and solemnly placed the scepter into Ellis's hands.
Ellis gripped the scepter tightly, his eyes filled with excitement and gratitude as he looked at Homelander.
"My fellow citizens!" Ellis's voice was trembling yet powerful.
"We have just experienced a nightmare. Aliens attempted to enslave us and take our home. But they failed!"
"The old era has ended. Our gaze is no longer limited to the soil beneath our feet. Our future lies in the vast starry sky!"
Homelander led the applause, and the crowd followed with thunderous clapping.
Subsequently, a series of drastic military reforms and economic recovery measures were swiftly enacted.
The Federation issued a brand-new digital currency, with credit guaranteed by Vought International.
The old Federation military and the original U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force underwent a large-scale integration and reorganization to form a unified Galactic Federation Armed Forces.
Among all the military reforms, the most eye-catching was a formal bill regarding superhuman armed forces, pushed through forcefully by President Ellis.
The Federation government officially incorporated the superhuman population into the combat sequence of the Federation's regular army to carry out missions.
This brand-new super-powered force was named: "The V-Force."
The bill stipulated that the V-Force would be directly responsible to President Ellis himself in military operations, enjoying extremely high tactical freedom and law enforcement powers.
On the surface, the superheroes became the sword of the Federation government.
However, in the hundreds of pages of supplementary clauses, the IP development rights, portrait rights, merchandise sales rights, and even the public relations control of on-site military operations for these superheroes remained entirely owned by Vought International.
Vought's PR team would accompany the V-Force on every mission, handling post-battle press releases, image packaging, and public opinion guidance.
Once the news broke that superheroes were joining as official soldiers, the public cheered.
Having truly experienced the pain brought by aliens, this move gave ordinary people a great sense of security.
...
Washington D.C., the White House.
As the first Galactic President of the Galactic Human Federation, Matthew Ellis's current office remained fixed within this white center of power.
Ellis stood by the window with a glass of whiskey, staring at his reflection in the glass. He couldn't help but chuckle softly, and then his laughter grew louder and more jubilant.
Over the past few days, he had woken up laughing from his dreams several times in the middle of the night. Upon realizing that the scenes in his dreams were actually reality, he would be so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
His current admiration for Homelander had reached a point of fanaticism.
Tonight, he had arranged a private dinner of the highest standard, just to host one person.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The sound of knocking reached his ears.
Ellis's eyes lit up. He immediately put down his glass and quickly pulled open the door.
"Homelander! You're finally here!"
Ellis stepped forward to greet him, a smile filling every wrinkle on his face.
"Come in, please come in."
Homelander stepped into the White House banquet hall.
"It seems you've been doing well these past few days, Galactic Pre—President."
"This is all thanks to your grace, my friend. Without you, none of this would have been possible." Ellis beamed.
"What would you like to drink? I have the finest Scotch single malt here."
"Milk, with ice," Homelander replied with a smile.
The waiter nimbly poured a glass of iced milk and handed it over respectfully with both hands.
Ellis sat down opposite Homelander.
Seeing that the food was all served, the waiter withdrew, and Ellis spoke up:
"The situation has been very stable these last few days. Vought's team has cooperated seamlessly, and all powers of the former Human Federation have been taken over."
Then, Ellis leaned forward slightly, his tone carrying an irrepressible excitement and a hint of testing.
"But there is one thing I've been considering. The current Galactic Human Federation can be said to control the entire globe. Except..."
Ellis's eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice.
"...only the XYZ remains outside the Federation's jurisdiction. This is an unstable factor. Should we..."
Ellis didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was self-evident.
Homelander's hand holding the steak knife paused slightly.
His expression remained unchanged, but in his heart, he was already cursing.
Attack the XYZ? Had this old man gotten high on the aphrodisiac of power?
That country is completely controlled by him. And He has Grand Plans for it. How could he allow it to come under Human Federation.
Homelander put down his knife and fork, staring directly at Ellis.
"Matthew," Homelander said, the smile fading from his face.
Ellis's heart tightened, and his body involuntarily straightened up.
"Your vision is too narrow." Homelander shook his head. "You need to broaden your perspective."
"You are already the Galactic President. Why are you still focused on human infighting?"
Homelander stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the starry sky outside.
"Earth is just a cradle, and sooner or later, we must leave it. We will lead the Galactic Human Federation to spread throughout the Universe. Our goals are Alpha Centauri, Orion, and the entire sea of stars!"
Homelander turned to look at Ellis, his eyes burning with intensity.
"As for Earth, our home planet... in the future, I plan to hand it over to the XYZ Country."