[New Jersey]
A pickup truck rattled into a motel. With a puff, it belched out a cloud of exhaust, filling the air with black smoke.
The door opened, and a tall black man jumped out, covering his nose with a handkerchief.
"Frenchie, can't you get a decent car?"
"Damn it! You're going to smoke me to death."
The man walked to the side, pulled out a wet wipe, and started wiping himself down.
The shorter driver got out of the pickup.
"Quit complaining. You know what situation we're in."
"We're still wanted, man."
"At least the Seven haven't been coming after us lately. Come to think of it, I'm just glad they've finally stopped doing free hero work."
He glanced at the man, who was still wiping his face.
"Damn! When did you become such a clean freak?"
"No matter how much you scrub, you're not going to make that big dark face any lighter."
The man glared at him, "Shut up, Frenchie."
"I just have OCD, not a cleanliness obsession."
"Enough," A nearby window opened, revealing the face of an elderly woman.
"Are you two planning to keep arguing outside until the police notice you?"
"Or are you going to get in here and talk business?"
Frenchie and the man looked at each other, then fell silent.
A moment later, they met the woman.
Though age had left its mark on her face, judging by her features, she must have been a beauty when she was younger.
"Good evening, Mrs. Mallory."
"Hello, ma'am. It's been a long time."
Mother's Milk and Frenchie greeted her in their own ways.
"Yes."
"I thought I'd never see either of you again."
"Mother's Milk. Frenchie."
Mallory looked around.
"It's a shame Butcher isn't here anymore."
"Otherwise, at a time like this..."
"Forget it."
Mallory took out a bottle of liquor and poured three glasses.
"Have a drink. Given my current situation, I'm sorry I can't offer you anything better."
Mother's Milk and Frenchie smiled and picked up their glasses.
After thinking for a moment, Frenchie said, "To Butcher."
Mallory nodded.
"To Butcher."
The three clinked glasses.
After drinking, Frenchie said, "Ma'am, we're wanted now. I'm afraid we won't be much help."
"For the past few months, we've been hiding underground like rats."
"I can barely remember what sunlight feels like."
Mallory said, "My situation isn't much better than yours. Fortunately, Homelander seems to have forgotten about me for the time being."
"Which is why I think it's time to act."
Mother's Milk set down his glass.
"Ma'am, do you really think we still have a chance against Homelander?"
Frenchie lowered his voice.
"I heard something."
"I don't know if it's true or not."
"Apparently the government launched an operation against Homelander."
"It failed."
Mallory's expression turned serious.
"It's true."
"A friend of mine in the intelligence bureau recently passed me the information."
"The government carried out an operation against Homelander in the Pacific."
"They even used nuclear weapons."
"Unfortunately, Homelander is still alive."
"Meanwhile, the government lost several people, including former Secretary of Defense Wilson... and the superhero Stormfront."
Mother's Milk's expression changed.
"Stormfront?"
"That woman died too?"
"Didn't she join Homelander?"
He had witnessed it himself.
Stormfront had betrayed Butcher and personally ended Butcher's life.
Mallory poured herself another drink.
"Stormfront came to see me too."
"But I convinced her."
"I told her there might be a weapon capable of killing Homelander."
"Unfortunately, she didn't have the patience to wait."
"And her impatience cost her her life."
Mother's Milk and Frenchie were both shaken.
"A weapon that can kill Homelander?"
"Is that really true, ma'am?"
Mallory took a sip of her drink, "It's possible."
"But before we can discuss that, we first need to find someone."
"Or rather, confirm his situation."
The two men asked in unison, "Who?"
Mallory paused and looked at Mother's Milk.
"Soldier Boy."
"What?"
It was as though Mother's Milk had been struck.
He shot to his feet.
"No, I shouldn't be here."
"I never should've come."
He turned to leave.
Mallory quickly stood and said, "Soldier Boy was just as powerful as Homelander."
"But something happened back then."
"He may have been killed."
"If that weapon could kill Soldier Boy, then it can kill Homelander!"
Mother's Milk turned back, "I don't care how he died."
"That's a lie."
Mallory looked at him, "Don't think I don't know you've been investigating Soldier Boy."
"Think about your father."
"You shouldn't run away from this."
Mother's Milk wiped his face, "My father died curled up over his desk."
"He obsessed over a dead man while ignoring his two living children."
"I almost ended up treating my daughter the same way."
"Yes, that's right."
"I investigated Soldier Boy."
"But that's over now."
"Now all I want is to be with my daughter."
"Watch her grow up."
"Watch her get married."
Mallory raised an eyebrow, "Then that's all the more reason to investigate Soldier Boy."
"If Homelander doesn't die, do you really think you'll ever stop being wanted and get to see your precious daughter again?"
"No, you know that's impossible."
"Stop being naive."
"Homelander is our biggest problem."
"As long as he's alive, we'll have to keep living like rats hiding in the dark."
Mother's Milk fell silent.
Frenchie stood up to persuade him, "I think the lady's right."
"Maybe we should investigate Soldier Boy."
Mother's Milk sighed and sat back down.
"So where do we start?"
Mallory said, "Soldier Boy was the first superhuman Frederick created after defecting to the government."
"After World War II ended, the newly established Vought formed a superhero team called Payback with Soldier Boy as its leader."
"They specialized in cleaning up the government's messes."
"Doing all the dirty work."
"But just like Homelander today, Soldier Boy's power was too great."
"He gradually became uncontrollable."
"So Vought took advantage of a secret mission and ordered the other members of Payback to eliminate Soldier Boy."
Frenchie frowned, "But if Soldier Boy was as strong as Homelander, then even if the others teamed up, they shouldn't have been able to beat him."
"Exactly," Mother's Milk nodded, "If Vought gave them some special weapon to kill Soldier Boy..."
"Then why not use it to kill Homelander?"
"Unless..."
Mallory finished the sentence for him.
"Unless that weapon isn't in Vought's hands."
"But what that weapon is, and who has it..."
"I'm afraid only the members of Payback know."
"So I need you to investigate the surviving members."
Frenchie asked, "Who's still alive?"
"Crimson Countess."
Mallory counted them off, "Gunpowder."
"And a few others."
"We'll split up."
"You two investigate Crimson Countess and Gunpowder."
"I'm leaving the country."
"I had some dealings with that team back then."
"And I heard a different version of what happened to Soldier Boy."
The two men looked at her questioningly.
Mallory said, "I heard the team never actually killed Soldier Boy."
"He was taken away by the Soviet Union."
"You two are wanted now, so crossing the border won't be easy."
"So I'll have to investigate that myself."
As she spoke, she took something out of her pocket and placed it on the table.
Frenchie and Mother's Milk looked over.
Several green vials.
"Ma'am, what's this?"
Mallory said, "Temp V."
"A watered-down version of Compound V."
"After using it, you'll temporarily gain superpowers."
"As for whether you use it..."
"That's up to you."
"I brought some with me anyway."
Mother's Milk said in surprise, "Where did you get these?"
Mallory smiled, "I know a lot of people."
"There are always ways."
"All right."
"Get moving, boys."
Frenchie and Mother's Milk exchanged a glance.
Each of them took three vials of Temp V, put them into their pockets, and left the room.
———
Inside the old manor, Alex and Angelina were engaged in a fierce battle.
After fighting all night, even though Angelina was no longer an ordinary human, she still drifted off to sleep.
Alex, on the other hand, was full of energy and had no desire to sleep.
Lying on the bed, he checked his status.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Name: John (Homelander)]
[Life Level: Level 6 (Legendary)]
[Status: Normal]
[Talents: Thermonuclear Heat Vision (0/5000), Deep Space Flight +1 (42/300), First Cosmic Velocity +1 (297/300), Absolute Domain +1 (0/8000), Divine Strength +4 (349/1000), Super Regeneration +1 (268/300), Eye of the Truth (162/200)]
After his trip to the Marvel Universe, all of Alex's talents had improved compared to before he left.
Especially Heat Vision.
After using an Awakening Stone to break through its limit, it had evolved into Thermonuclear Heat Vision.
[Thermonuclear Heat Vision: While retaining all the properties of Heat Vision +5, your beams can now trigger thermonuclear reactions. The immense energy released can be confined within a limited area or allowed to erupt and spread freely.]
Simply put, after awakening Heat Vision, every one of Alex's attacks could now produce an explosion comparable to a hydrogen bomb.
More importantly, he could confine that power to a limited area.
As a result, its destructive power naturally surpassed that of a hydrogen bomb exploding normally.
He had also raised Absolute Domain by one level.
While retaining all of its original effects, its range had become much larger.
Now, if Alex wished, it could cover an entire New York City.
In addition, the previously added Magic Resistance effect had evolved into Magic Reflection.
Whenever Alex was attacked by magic, Absolute Domain now had a chance to reflect the spell.
Even with two awakened talents, Thermonuclear Heat Vision and Absolute Domain, his life level remained at Level 6.
"So just as I thought."
"If I want to take another step and become a Celestial, simply raising my talent levels won't be enough."
He had already reached this conclusion before, so he wasn't particularly disappointed.
Just then, a message flashed before his eyes.
[Warning: 72 hours and 3 minutes remain until the disaster event.]
"A disaster event?"
Alex was slightly disappointed, "I thought the Ultimate Mission had finally been approved."
"But this disaster event is giving me a full three days' notice."
"Looks like it's not going to be a small one."
"Worth looking forward to."
———
Time passed to nine o'clock in the morning.
[Federal Aerospace Administration]
"Did you watch the game last night? The Giants were incredible."
"No kidding. That last-second winner was amazing. I was stunned."
It was working hours, but as usual, the employees who had just arrived at work weren't in any hurry to start.
Like every day, they gathered together first, drank some coffee, chatted about the previous night, and only then got to work.
At that moment, an alarm suddenly sounded from one of the computers.
An employee noticed it.
He put on his glasses and walked over.
After staring at the screen for a while, he said,
"Come take a look."
Several staff members gathered around his computer.
"What is it, Gene? What do you want us to see?"
"Don't tell me it's your ex-girlfriend's bikini photos."
"Wait..."
"What's this?"
"A meteor?"
"It's enormous."
"It's about the size of Nevada."
Gradually, the relaxed expressions on everyone's faces disappeared.
They all turned serious.
"Quick."
"Calculate its trajectory."
Clack! Clack! Clack!
The sound of keyboards filled the room.
A moment later, cries of alarm rang out.
"My God, it's heading for Earth."
"But according to the projected trajectory, it'll hit the Moon."
"That isn't good news either."
"It's so huge that the Moon could suffer serious damage."
"It'll arrive in seventy-two hours."
"Hurry, notify the Department of Defense."
The commotion spread from this small department outward until the entire aerospace administration was in an uproar.
———
[The White House]
The President hurried toward his office while listening to his secretary's report.
"The Aerospace Administration really said that?"
"A meteor the size of Nevada is heading toward Earth?"
"And it'll arrive in seventy-two hours?"
"Yes, sir."
"That's what they reported."
"According to their simulations, it'll collide with the Moon."
"But they can't guarantee the Moon won't be seriously affected."
The secretary answered quickly, "This really couldn't be any worse."