Chapter 14

[Homelander's POV]

I carefully focused on each step and made sure my left foot fell roughly fifteen centimeters from the beginning of the lane.

Just as the last step went by my ankle, I let go of the ball with a slight bend.

The ball rolled down the lane as I focused on the result of my throw, then I sighed in disappointment.

"Not a bad throw,"

Annie smiled, giving me an encouraging pat on the back.

"Really? Seriously?"

I responded with thinly veiled sarcasm, glancing at the pins standing completely untouched.

"Yeah, not knocking down a single pin in eight frames... that's quite an achievement."

Annie's smile turned crooked, and she burst into laughter, holding her stomach.

"And it's not my fault the ball is too light."

I huffed, picking up the ball and effortlessly tossing it into the air like it was a mere toy.

"Maybe I should get a ball made of platinum?"

"Better make it out of iridium to be sure."

Annie smirked.

"Though it's radioactive, it probably wouldn't hurt Homelander much."

"Homelander is more worried about anything that might hurt Starlight. So, let's stick with platinum."

I smiled, pulling her close.

"Bowling is definitely not my thing."

"Well, I thought the same until I spent months learning it."

Annie smiled, giving me a gentle kiss on the lips before pulling away.

"I even participated in a few tournaments but didn't succeed much."

With those words, she took my ball and walked casually to the lane.

She released it, and the ball rolled straight, knocking down all the pins except one on the edge.

She didn't react to this and picked up another ball.

"That's why I didn't succeed in it."

Annie shrugged, and with another throw, she finally knocked down all the pins, defeating me in our little bowling match.

The time I spent with a pretty girl was definitely good for me.

I had almost forgotten all the schemes and Stan's plans to gain leverage over me. I didn't even want to think about the various events I was "required" to attend.

I could already feel the nausea from the thought of promotional photoshoots for milk.

The sound of Annie's phone ringing stopped my thoughts.

"It's Ashley,"

She sighed, glancing at the screen.

"You can answer it."

"Hi, Ashley,"

She nodded and answered the call.

I gazed thoughtfully at the pins in the distance, slowly getting lost in my own thoughts.

I needed to do something about Butcher.

Butcher didn't seem scared of me at all; if anything, he looked furious.

A person like that wouldn't stop at anything... unless he realized his actions were based on false information.

Butcher was out for me because of Rebecca's disappearance, and he may blame me for it.

He might lose his desire to seek out supers if I show him that Rebecca is still alive and well.

The only problem was that I had no desire to do that.

They had been monitoring one of the locations where the V compound was being transported for the past week.

Honestly, it would be better if they had exposed this place.

I had already talked to A-Train about stopping the supply of the compound to outside sources, specifically to terrorist organizations.

I couldn't allow this to continue because I didn't need that damn military contract, unlike Homelander.

It was even worse to have supers with terrorists.

Fortunately, only about twenty doses of the compound had ended up with them.

It was a shame I couldn't just fly over and take them by force, as that would be beyond my jurisdiction.

The commotion would be so massive that it would be better to blow up the White House figuratively speaking of course.

"Sorry, but I need to go."

Annie sighed, interrupting my thoughts.

"Do you need a ride?"

I smiled, turning my gaze to her.

"Well, I wouldn't mind."

She smiled back.

"Linda, the check, please."

I called the waitress.

"And how do you always remember their names?"

Annie asked with surprise.

"Just a good memory."

I boasted as I paid for the meal.

After leaving the place, we headed to the alley to avoid drawing attention, but the opposite turned out.

"Hand over the cash, quick!"

A man with a knife approached us.

Annie and I exchanged automatic glances, both finding the situation amusing.

I shook my head at the unspoken question from her and looked at him.

"Put the knife down, buddy. You don't want any trouble, do you?"

I asked politely, but that only seemed to make him angrier.

"I'll stab you right now, damn it!"

He shouted, not at all uneasy by our calm demeanor.

"You're really leaving me no choice."

I sighed and grabbed his hand, holding the knife.

He stared in shock at the steel grip I had on his wrist.

In a moment, I let him go, taking the knife from him.

"I suggest you find a job instead; it'll save you a lot of hassle."

I looked at him sympathetically and bent the knife in front of his eyes with my fingers.

"Holy God!"

He screamed and simply ran away from us.

"Aren't you being a bit harsh on him?"

Annie scoffed, watching the whole crime with interest.

"It's just what he deserved."

I smiled, lifting her up as if she were a princess.

I slowly ascended into the sky to fly silently to the Vought Tower.

We didn't get caught flying supers during the day without costumes and got there without any problems.

Soon after, we went our separate ways, and Madelyn sent me a message.

I entered the elevator and headed to the right floor, not caring about my appearance.

Then it stopped, the doors opened, and Queen Maeve appeared in all her glory.

She glanced at me and stepped inside, apparently not recognizing me as a Homelander.

She then looked at the buttons before engaging herself in her smartphone.

"..."

I had nothing to say.

Madelyn wouldn't have known who I was if Maeve didn't recognize me.

The elevator opened on the desired floor, and Maeve exited first, apparently heading toward the conference room.

I followed her, which she couldn't have missed but chose to ignore. Our boss was already waiting at the entrance, typing on a tablet.

"Why did you call?"

Maeve asked immediately, drawing attention.

"Finally, you're here. And where is... Homelander?"

Madelyn looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Homelander?"

Maeve stared at me in shock.

"What? Am I not allowed to dress like an ordinary person now?"

I smirked, removing my glasses.

"Why did you call Madelyn? Is it something urgent?"

"Yes... yes, very urgent,"

She nodded, regaining her composure.

"Seven minutes ago, a plane from Paris to Chicago was hijacked mid-air over the ocean."

"So, seven minutes ago..."

"We have our people on the scene."

"How many hijackers?"

Maeve decided to ask.

"It seems there are three."

"So, possibly three."

She corrected her.

"Please leave us,"

Madelyn requested that people be ushered out of the meeting room.

"International waters,"

I smirked, seeing the plane's location on the screen.

"Yes, if you intervene, no one will object."

She smiled, looking at us.

"If you return all the passengers alive, no congressman will vote against our bill."

"Understood."

I nodded, grimly staring at the thick dot on the screen.

"Get changed, and quickly."

She smiled.

"Every second counts. You'll get a brief consultation right now."

Madelyn sent an assistant to fetch my suit while we were briefed on how to handle the situation without casualties.

It was basically easy. Opening and then closing the plane door to keep it from decompressing.

Then, neutralize the terrorists as quickly as possible, and ideally, keep at least one pilot alive.

That was all.

We sprang into action the moment I wore my suit.

I hugged Maeve by the waist and flew at full speed toward the plane.

Opening the plane's door was easy, but making sure it wouldn't break was hard.

I pushed Maeve out first and watched as she efficiently took out the terrorists with precision, avoiding unnecessary bloodshed.

She tossed the first one out while the door was still open.

The second one had his neck snapped, and the third received a concussion from a well-placed blow to the head.

It was quite a sight, both effective and swift.

"Everything will be alright."

She began reassuring the passengers while I closed the door behind us.

"Homelander!"

A girl screamed upon seeing me.

The other passengers quickly turned their attention to me, showering me with applause.

However, I had no time for that.

The good news was that one of the pilots was still alive. The bad news was that the second pilot had a gun pressed to his head.

Maeve couldn't see this through the closed door, but I could.

In an instant, I burst through the weak door with my body, turning the gun away from the terrorist's hand and directing it away from the dead pilot as a precaution.

Another moment to disarm him, and I tightened my grip around the terrorist's neck.

A gasp of breath followed by the crunch of breaking bones marked the end of the unlucky hijacker.

It was my first kill, and somehow, I felt absolutely indifferent.

"Are you okay, sir?"

I asked the pilot, who was shocked as he looked at me.

"Yes, I'm fine."

He nodded, then glanced at the body of his co-pilot.

"Can you continue flying?"

"The plane's on autopilot."

He replied, looking again at the second pilot's body.

"I'm feeling a bit unwell."

"You can go to the restroom."

I patted the pilot on the back in a gesture of support. After he exited, I turned to Maeve.

"What?"

"What happened?"

Maeve frowned.

"You're usually more composed."

"Maeve, we almost lost the plane with hundreds of passengers. Do you think I should be calm in this situation?"

I sighed, looking at the bodies.

"We need to move them somewhere. The pilot doesn't like the sight."

"Where to?"

"Somewhere out of sight. We still have four hours here. And I don't like the smell of corpses and shit."

I grimaced, and Maeve nodded in agreement.

Fortunately, a hatch in the cockpit led to the cargo hold.

This ensured no unpleasant odors and a relatively comfortable flight for our two unexpected passengers.

We even managed to find two seats next to each other for them.

Now, all that was left was to wait for landing and probably sign autographs for a hundred people.

What could be simpler?

...

[A/N: Pleave leave some honest review on the novel and each powerstone really do make difference to the fanfic.