Noticing the fear on everyone's faces, Axel smiled, lowered his arm, then turned and waved at Homelander outside the window.
"Recovering quickly, aren't you? I just told Ashley to..."
"Die!"
A crimson beam tore through the glass before Axel could finish. The laser struck him directly.
Axel raised his hand and blocked it effortlessly. At the same time, he glanced at Queen Maeve and the others, who stood frozen.
"I was thinking about a proper welcome gift for all of you, then he showed up himself. Perfect timing."
Before he could continue, Homelander burst into the room and drove a punch toward Axel's face.
Axel caught the fist midair and drove a kick straight into Homelander's chest.
The impact shattered the room, sending everyone flying as the shockwave ripped through furniture and walls.
"Not much preparation," Axel continued calmly, "but I have plenty of ways to entertain you. Want to see him humiliate himself?"
His figure vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared in front of Homelander, who had been forced backward by the kick.
Axel grabbed him by the throat, dragged him back into the room, and slammed his foot down.
Crunch.
Homelander's ankle snapped.
A scream tore out of him, raw and unrestrained.
Axel flipped him onto his back, grabbed the broken leg, and forced it upward toward his face.
"This is impossible," Homelander gasped. "I am invincible. I am Homelander. I am a god. I have never been this strong..."
"You are a joke."
Axel shoved Homelander's foot into his own mouth.
Homelander's eyes burned red, but before the lasers could fire, Axel drove a punch into his eye socket.
The impact smashed Homelander through the floor.
Before anyone below could react, Axel dragged him back up and seized his arm.
Crunch.
The bone shattered.
Homelander tried to scream again, but Axel forced the foot back into his mouth, silencing him.
Then Axel pressed his fingers into Homelander's chest.
With a violent thrust, his fingertips tore through flesh.
Blood sprayed.
Axel drove both hands into the opening and pulled outward.
Crack.
Homelander's chest split open, exposing his still-beating heart.
Silence fell.
Then a faint dripping sound echoed.
Everyone turned toward Black Noir.
He stood motionless, but fear had completely overtaken him.
At that moment, Ashley Barrett burst into the room.
"Ancestor, Homelander is already..."
She froze mid-step, then collapsed to the floor, staring blankly at the exposed heart.
Axel glanced at her and smiled.
"Ashley, what were you saying?"
A muffled sob broke out nearby.
Black Noir had started crying uncontrollably.
Axel's expression turned cold.
"Quiet."
Black Noir choked on his sob and collapsed, unconscious.
Beside him, Translucent dropped to his knees, bowing his head in submission.
The Deep stood frozen, mouth hanging open.
Maeve swallowed hard, then broke into coughing as tears streamed down her face.
Axel pulled the foot out of Homelander's mouth and shoved him against a shattered mirror.
The reflection was gone.
So Axel forced Homelander to look directly at his own chest.
At his heart.
Axel flicked it lightly.
Then slapped him across the face.
Again.
And again.
"How is my technique?" Axel asked. "Do you like this kind of open communication? If not, I can try something else. You will recover anyway."
He turned and extended his hand toward Ashley.
"Do you have Compound V?"
"I do not... I..."
"There is some in Madelyn's office," Translucent said quickly, scrambling away and returning with a vial.
Axel took the blue serum and crushed it directly into Homelander's chest cavity.
The liquid seeped in instantly.
Within seconds, flesh regenerated, bone reformed, and the damage vanished as if it had never existed.
Homelander lay still.
His body was restored, but his mind was broken.
Axel slapped him.
"Get up. Say something."
Suddenly, Homelander moved.
He shot upward, smashed through the tower, and disappeared into the sky, flying toward the moon.
"Do not let him escape!" Maeve shouted.
Axel chuckled.
"No rush. Let him run."
He stepped out, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and returned, taking a long drink.
Then he pointed the bottle toward the sky.
"In ninety seconds, how far do you think he has gone?"
Maeve looked out, tense.
"At his speed, he could already be near lunar orbit."
"No."
Axel smiled faintly.
"He cannot escape."
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a flicker of heat distorted the air in front of him.
Homelander reappeared instantly, curled and trembling, his wrist caught in Axel's grip.
Axel tightened his hand.
Crunch.
"Aah! I was wrong, I admit it! It is my fault, I will not do it again, please!"
Homelander dropped to his knees, begging, his voice breaking.
At that moment, the door burst open.
A-Train stood there, breathing hard, his body still recovering from Compound V.
He took in the destroyed room.
Then he saw Homelander kneeling.
His face went pale.
Without a word, he dropped to his knees as well.
Axel looked around at them, smiling.
"Thank you for the warm welcome."
His gaze swept across the room.
"Although, it feels like someone is missing."
His smile faded slightly.
"I am not talking about retired nobodies. I mean the real head of this company."
His voice turned colder.
"If I am going to be the biggest star in Vought International, should Stan Edgar not come here personally to greet me?"