Before Homelander, who'd followed in, could even speak, the last hijacker seemed to foresee his own fate.
The man suddenly grinned, turned around, and pulled the trigger!
Neither of the two top superhumans present expected him to make such a choice. Caught off guard, even Homelander could only watch helplessly through his super senses as the man completed the action. The muzzle pressed close to the back of the captain's head and burst into flames.
Gunshot rang out. Blood splattered everywhere!
The captain's head exploded. He died instantly.
Even so, the bullet's kinetic energy wasn't fully released. After penetrating the unfortunate man's skull, its momentum continued, piercing the aircraft's windshield.
With a cracking sound, the high-strength windshield suddenly split along a small gap. A blast of icy air rushed in.
Amidst Queen Maeve's cry, two laser beams shot out from behind her, killing the hijacker who'd turned his gun on himself. The beams nearly sliced the densely packed control panel in two.
A loud alarm sounded. The plane began shaking violently again after a turbulence.
Queen Maeve grabbed the captain's headset and tried calling air traffic control. No response.
"No signal. We're doomed. The plane is going out of control."
Upon hearing this, Homelander's heart sank. He realized he seemed to have messed something up.
"What should we do?"
Homelander did not answer Queen Maeve. His expression shifted several times before he finally curled his lip indifferently and turned to walk back to the cabin.
Passengers who thought everything was alright unbuckled their seatbelts and surrounded Homelander when he emerged. Some asked what happened. Others wanted to celebrate with him and give him a high-five.
Homelander stretched his signature smile across his face. "Everyone, stay calm. It's just a headwind. Stay in your seats, and we'll get you back!"
At this moment, the plane shook violently again. The passengers lost their balance and crashed heavily into the overhead luggage racks, then fell to the ground under gravity's influence, rolling in a heap.
This was clearly not the normal situation where hijackers had been dealt with smoothly. The passengers realized something was wrong. Some cried out. Panic spread once again.
Queen Maeve emerged from the cockpit with a grim face and saw that Homelander had already reached the hatch. She immediately understood what he wanted to do.
He's going to give up these people's lives!
She rushed to Homelander's side and whispered, "You have to save them! You can go outside and lift the plane up!"
"Are you kidding me?" Homelander looked at her like she was being ridiculous. "What do you expect me to do? It's all empty air outside. There's nowhere to stand!"
"How would I know what to do? The plane is stalling. You have to restore its balance."
Homelander rolled his eyes, his gaze filled with helplessness at the fact that Queen Maeve couldn't fly.
"Listen, at the speed of an airplane, no matter what I do, it will either flip over completely or break in half. There's no other possibility. Understand?"
"Okay, okay..." Queen Maeve realized what was happening, but still unwilling to give up, she proposed another solution. "You send the passengers back to the ground one by one..."
"And then?" Homelander interrupted her abruptly. "Repeat one, two, three times? Don't be naive, Maeve. Use your brain..."
"Our mission is over. These people are beyond saving!"
Queen Maeve was so frightened by the ferocious expression on Homelander's face that she took a half step back, as if something inside her was shattering.
The cries for help and screams of alarm from those around her seemed to be fading away. Weighing the pros and cons, she felt herself about to be persuaded by Homelander.
"You will save us, won't you?"
A little girl's voice rang out. Queen Maeve met her gaze, like a drowning person grasping at a straw.
The surrounding sounds returned to normal. She was overjoyed as she emerged from the suffocating silence. She rushed over, unbuckled the little girl and her sister's seatbelts, and carried them toward Homelander.
"Just two. Even if it's just to save the two of them..."
"And then let the whole world know that we abandoned everyone else, right?"
"Don't be silly. Either save them all, or save none of them!"
At this moment, not only did Queen Maeve completely break down, but all the passengers also heard this undisguised devilish statement.
No, you can't abandon us!
"Homelander, save me!"
"At least save the children!"
Seeing the excited passengers rushing over regardless of their own safety, Homelander's eyes shone with burning red light.
"Back off! All of you back off! Or I'll shoot you all dead right now!"
The enraged crowd was pushed to the ground by Homelander with one hand. People saw the red light surging in his eyes, almost bursting out, and realized the ferocious Homelander was not joking.
He really would kill someone!
Homelander moved his facial muscles and tried to control his expression.
He hid his ferocious, man-eating expression, replacing it with his usual sunny, boyish smile.
"Come here, Maeve."
He reached out his hand to Queen Maeve.
"Let's go. Let's not die here with them."
Queen Maeve realized what was happening and felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at Homelander's gentle, smiling face so close to her.
If he continues, this man will crash himself and the plane...
She stiffly released the two little girls, then grasped Homelander's strong hand.
The cabin door was opened again. This time, Homelander let the passengers be thrown about by the turbulence, showing no intention of closing the door.
"The right choice."
He put his arm around Queen Maeve's waist, lifted his feet off the ground, and gracefully flew her out of the completely out-of-control plane.
The two remained suspended in the sky, watching the tilted plane continue its flight toward the distant coastline.
It would likely crash into the sea or onto a beach.
However, it made no difference. The impact and explosion would kill everyone instantly.
No one would know what happened on the plane.
Watching the plane disappear into the distance, Homelander had already prepared a plan in his mind to completely shift the blame to the military, while the Seven would become the guardians who were delayed by bureaucracy and arrived too late, only able to watch the disaster unfold.
Based on his experience, the public would definitely empathize.
This narrative was absolutely perfect!
Just as Homelander was feeling smug, Queen Maeve, with her arms around his shoulders, suddenly asked, "Homelander, have you seen The Flash?"
"Uh, that guy..."
Homelander, snapping out of his reverie, paused for a moment, then remembered he still had a score to settle with that guy. He immediately snorted coldly.
"Just an arrogant idiot. Obviously, he couldn't make it here, and it's questionable whether he's even out of New York by now."
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