[Federal Aerospace Administration]
Several cars pulled up outside the entrance. The people who got out discussed something as they walked inside.
Soon, Director Stephen Burton hurried onto the command center's operations bridge and said loudly, "Can someone tell me what's going on?"
"That damn meteor is the size of Nevada. Is there any way we can destroy it?"
"And I also want to know..."
"If we can't stop it..."
"In seventy-two hours, where will it hit Earth, and what kind of damage will it cause?"
"Will humanity be wiped out?"
A few minutes later, a team of experts arrived before Stephen Burton.
An astrophysicist turned his laptop screen toward the director.
"According to our calculations, there's a certain chance the meteor will collide with the Moon as it approaches."
"If that happens, Earth may escape the direct impact."
"But, sir, given the size of the meteor, if it hits the Moon, there's a strong possibility the Moon will break apart."
"Without the Moon, the first major impact on Earth will be the tides."
"Right now, Earth's tides are mainly caused by the combined gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon, with the Sun accounting for only about one-third."
"Once we lose the Moon, high and low tides will become much less frequent and much less pronounced."
"After that, Earth's rotation speed will change. According to my calculations, a day on Earth will last only about eight hours, meaning Earth will rotate three times faster than it does now."
"In addition to the tides, Earth's magnetic field, rotational axis, and many other things will also be affected."
"Known consequences, unknown consequences... too many to count."
"But one thing is certain."
"If each day on Earth lasts only eight hours, humanity, having adapted to a twenty-four-hour day-night cycle, will find it extremely difficult to adjust."
"The result will be massive casualties because people's bodies won't be able to adapt."
Stephen Burton sipped his coffee, "So even if the meteor hits the Moon, we won't really be safe."
"We'll just be delaying the disaster."
"Yes, sir."
Another man spoke, "Director, we predict that the meteor will ultimately fall into the eastern Pacific Ocean."
"Is that so? Then how much damage are we talking about?", Stephen Burton asked.
The man smiled bitterly, "If it falls into the Pacific, it'll trigger a tsunami, sir."
"An extinction-level tsunami."
"According to the computer's calculations, once the meteor falls into the Pacific, sea levels will rise rapidly."
"The tsunami will first strike coastal cities."
"Then it will spread inland."
"In the end, it will flood the entire world."
"Furthermore, the impact of this meteor will be terrifying."
"When it crashes into the Pacific, an enormous amount of seawater will be vaporized instantly."
"After that, the Earth's crust will be affected, triggering a chain of disasters."
"Humanity..."
"At least ordinary humans..."
"Won't survive a catastrophe like this."
Stephen Burton covered his face, "All right, so what you're saying is..."
"If we can't destroy it, then whether it hits the Moon or falls into the Pacific..."
"We're all dead."
"Is that what you mean?"
Everyone nodded with heavy expressions.
The director spread his hands.
"Then can we destroy it?"
"What if we launch every nuclear weapon on Earth?"
A weapons expert shook his head.
"I'm afraid not, Director."
"Although nuclear weapons can be launched into space, there's no atmosphere there, so no shockwave will be produced."
"The heat from the explosion also dissipates rapidly in the form of radiation."
"While nuclear explosions in space still release heat, electromagnetic pulses, and nuclear radiation..."
"Even if every nuclear weapon in the world were used and successfully detonated on the meteor, it would still be extremely difficult to blow it apart."
"It's like holding your hand over a fire."
"Yes, your palm would be burned."
"You'd lose a layer of skin."
"Part of the muscle might even be charred."
"But your hand wouldn't be blown to pieces."
Stephen Burton said in disbelief, "Then what else can we do?"
"My God."
"The Aerospace Administration has nearly ten thousand employees."
"We've gathered the best minds in the entire country."
"Are you telling me none of us can come up with a solution?"
Everyone looked at one another.
Finally, one man cleared his throat.
"Director..."
"Perhaps Homelander has a way."
"He possesses incredible strength."
"He can fly."
"The beams he fires can cut through anything."
"Maybe he's our hope."
The director looked at him, "You mean we're supposed to entrust the safety of the entire planet to a madman?"
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.
People rushed into the conference room one after another.
"Director, the President is on the line."
"Director Stephen Burton, we've got bad news!"
"We've just detected that the Destroyer has begun to split apart."
"A portion of it has broken off into hundreds of smaller meteors."
"They're heading toward Earth at extremely high speed."
"According to our projections, they'll enter the atmosphere around midnight tonight."
Stephen Burton immediately jumped to his feet.
———
[The White House]
"So you've named the meteor 'Destroyer'?"
"That's not exactly a good name."
The President wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief before looking at Stephen Burton on the screen.
"How bad is the situation now?"
Stephen Burton answered nervously, ["Very bad."]
["Extremely bad."]
["We've just discovered that the Destroyer has undergone spontaneous fragmentation."]
["Part of its mass has broken into hundreds of smaller meteors."]
["The kinetic energy from the breakup has sent those meteors racing toward Earth."]
["If the computer's calculations are correct, they'll enter Earth's atmosphere around midnight."]
["The possible impact zones include, but aren't limited to, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles."]
["The smallest fragments are about the size of a basketball."]
["The largest is about the size of a football field."]
["The smaller ones can be ignored."]
["But the football field-sized meteor must be intercepted."]
["Otherwise, its impact will be enough to destroy an entire city."]
The President couldn't help groaning.
"My God."
He looked toward a general with stars on his shoulders.
"Can our Air Force intercept it?"
The general answered decisively, "We can send aircraft carrying nuclear warheads to detonate them at high altitude once the meteor enters the atmosphere."
Stephen Burton spoke from the screen, ["Even so, the resulting meteor shower will still cause immeasurable destruction on the ground."]
The general said gravely, "That's still better than losing an entire city."
Stephen Burton cleared his throat.
["Mr. President..."]
["What I mean is..."]
["Shouldn't we contact Homelander?"]
["With his strength, perhaps he can catch the meteor and move it somewhere safe."]
["For example, into the Pacific Ocean."]
The general immediately said, "Are we really incapable of surviving without that lunatic?"
"That bastard even threatened the President to force us to give him the rank of general!"
The Aerospace Director lowered his voice, ["General. This isn't the time for pride."]
["We're facing a global catastrophe."]
["A disaster that could wipe out humanity."]
["At a time like this, even if he's a madman..."]
["Even if he's a monster..."]
["We have to seek every possible form of cooperation."]
The President nodded, "Stephen is right."
"Secretary, please contact Seven Tower."
"Get in touch with Homelander."
———
[Seven Tower]
"Yes, understood, sir."
"I'm on my way to the command center."
"No problem, sir."
The elevator doors opened, and Vought employees saw Homelander's assistant Ashley hurrying out.
As she walked, she remained on the phone.
When she entered the command center, the doors slid open, but she didn't see the person she had been looking for.
"Sir..."
Ashley cleared her throat.
"He's not in the command center right now."
"No problem."
"I'll contact him immediately."
"Yes, I'll notify you as soon as I hear anything."
After hanging up, Ashley immediately dialed Homelander's emergency contact number.
It was part of an internal communication system Vought had established so they could reach superheroes at any time, using Vought's own global communications network.
However... No one answered.
"No..."
"Please don't do this to me, sir."
"The Department of Defense is going to skin me alive."
Ashley kept calling.
There was still no answer.
The doors to the command center opened.
People filed in one after another.
Maeve.
Electro.
Element Man.
Snow Princess.
"Ashley, why did you call us here in such a hurry?"
Ashley lowered her phone and clutched her head.
"Tell me."
"Do any of you know where Homelander is?"
Maeve and the others looked at each other.
No one had any idea where Homelander had gone.
"Shit!"
Ashley yanked out a few strands of hair.
She was on the verge of tears.
Electro tried to say, 'Miss Ashley, even if Homelander isn't here, we can still help."
"Help my ass!"
"Can you blow up a meteor?"
"Can you catch one?"
"That tiny little current of yours probably isn't even enough to give a meteor a massage."
Ashley rattled off a string of complaints before suddenly freezing.
"Oh no."
"I let it slip."
Maeve and the others looked confused.
"Ashley."
"What meteor?"
Ashley gritted her teeth.
She shut off every surveillance camera in the command center and locked the doors.
Only then did she speak, "The Department of Defense just called."
"The Aerospace Administration discovered a meteor the size of Nevada heading toward Earth."
"Now it's changed."
"Part of it has broken away, forming a meteor shower."
"Hundreds of meteors will enter the atmosphere around midnight tonight."
"Their targets include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities."
"The largest one is the size of a football field."
"Unfortunately..."
"It's heading for New York."
"If no one stops it, once it lands..."
Ashley made an exploding gesture, "In short, we're finished."
"The entire city will be erased."
"The Department of Defense currently has two plans."
"One is to use aircraft carrying nuclear weapons to destroy the meteor."
"But even then, fragments will still fall, causing catastrophic destruction."
"The other plan is to have Homelander catch the meteor and move it somewhere safe."
"Like the Pacific Ocean."
"The problem now is..."
"I can't reach Homelander."
"And judging from the current situation..."
"This is already beyond what any of you can handle."
"So either we find Homelander before tonight..."
"Or we leave New York before tonight."
"The public hasn't been informed yet to avoid unnecessary panic."
"But after tonight's attack..."
"Even if the city survives the first wave, the next forty-eight hours will turn this place into hell."
As she spoke, Ashley headed toward the exit.
"You decide for yourselves."
"As for me..."
"I'm leaving."
"I'm just an employee."
"I'm not about to lose my life over this."
After saying that, Ashley opened the command center's automatic doors and walked away.
Maeve and the others exchanged glances before hurriedly leaving the command center as well.
As for where Homelander was...
None of them knew.
———
[Hawaii]
Sunshine. Beaches. Bikinis. The land of the vacation.
Wearing beach shorts and holding a drink, Alex whistled at a sexy woman walking past him.
"Master, why did you suddenly decide to come to Hawaii for a vacation?"
Angelina wore a bikini covered by a sheer shirt.
A red hibiscus flower adorned her hair, giving her a mysterious yet beautiful appearance.
Alex took her hand and led her to a beach chair.
He gently pressed her down onto it before finishing his drink.
"When was the last time you took a vacation?"
As he spoke, he removed the sheer shirt from her body and motioned for her to lie face down on the beach chair.
Angelina thought for a moment, "I haven't rested since I took over my father's business."
"I don't want to rest."
"And I don't need to."
"Master gave me a new life."
"I'm full of energy now."
Alex unclasped the strap of her bikini top and poured sunscreen oil onto her smooth back.
Then he slowly spread it with both hands, covering every part of her back.
"Angelina, your life is going to be very long."
"You'll have plenty of time."
"There's no need to bury yourself in work every day."
"Once in a while, you should learn to relax."
"Like now."
"Close your eyes and enjoy it."
His hands worked the oil across her skin inch by inch.
Angelina said, "Master, this doesn't seem right."
"I should be the one serving you."
Alex smiled, "You don't understand."
"For men..."
"Sometimes doing this is enjoyable."
"It's a kind of pleasure."
Angelina lightly bit her lip, "Really?"
"As long as Master enjoys it..."
"As long as it makes you happy..."
"I'm willing to do anything."
Alex nodded in satisfaction.
"Good girl."
"Oh, right."
"Master, Miss Ashley has been calling repeatedly."
"Do you really not need to answer?"
Alex chuckled, "No."
"Hasn't the President been finding every excuse possible to delay announcing my promotion to general?"
"If that's the case..."
"Why should I come running every time they call?"
"It's time to teach them a lesson."
Angelina blinked, "How did you know it was the President looking for you?"
Alex lightly tapped his temple.
Angelina smiled, "Of course."
"Master is the smartest person in this world."
"Nothing can be hidden from you."
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