Will You Turn Into a Lizard? No, Then...

The more anxious the enemy, the steadier I must remain.

Over the next two weeks, the polishing of the script entered a cycle of constant rejection, revision, and further rejection.

During this period, Azu's state of mind fluctuated wildly.

He was caught between worrying about how the public increasingly wanted to see him lose his superpowers in the film, and his persistent, desperate desire to reject the very premise that he could ever lose them.

That was just too un-Homelander!

Time slipped away as Stormfront grew increasingly irritable, the Boys grew more anxious, and Stan Edgar's deployments became ever more secretive.

Everyone was waiting for the production to start as soon as possible, hoping to achieve their own respective agendas.

Until...

"Dad, I want to give you a gift."

Azu, who had known about this for some time, finally waited for this day to arrive.

He took the small box from Ryan's hands and feigned ignorance, asking, "Son, what is this?"

Ryan kept the answer to himself, merely raising his wrist to show him.

"Look, Dad."

A child's wristwatch was strapped to Ryan's slender wrist.

In the center of the dial, aside from the hands, the most prominent feature was a black button.

"Last time I flew out to play and lost cell service, you were really worried, so I secretly had Ashley make this for me."

Ryan opened the box. What was revealed to Azu wasn't a matching watch, but a small chest badge.

The outline of the badge replicated Azu's classic star emblem, fitting perfectly with the uniform he wore at all times, ensuring it wouldn't look out of place once pinned on.

Ryan picked up the badge and, without a word, floated up to hold it against Azu's chest. "This is a dedicated pager for Dad. Only the two of us can use it."

"That way, the next time my phone has no signal, I just have to press the button..."

Ryan pressed the button on his watch.

The badge already pinned to Azu's chest immediately emitted a series of extremely faint buzzing sounds.

Though the sound was subtle, to the father and son who both possessed super-hearing, it was as clear as a normal volume.

At the same time, a tiny aperture on the front of the badge began to receive satellite signals and lock onto a location.

Then, a laser beam shot into the air, forming a signal indicator that could adjust its direction in real-time.

The position the cursor was currently pointing to was none other than Ryan, standing right in front of Azu.

"This way, you never have to worry about not being able to find me again."

Late at night, in a house hidden away by Homelander.

This was a place that belonged solely to him.

It was his sanctuary for when he felt lonely, heartbroken, or aggrieved after Madelyn's death.

Only this time, he was incredibly happy; for the first time, he felt the urge to share his mood with someone else.

But after thinking it over, he realized with a pang of sorrow that this seemed to be the only place he could come to—a place where he could let his guard down and pour his heart out.

"Madelyn, you know what? I have a son. Oh, I already told you that, haha. He gave me a gift today."

In the quiet house, Homelander's eager desire to share was like that of a child who had just received a birthday present.

"Look, doesn't this badge go perfectly with my uniform?"

A gentle female voice immediately responded to him, "Yes, it's very nice."

"That's good. I really like it. It's my first gift." He nodded, seemingly very satisfied with Madelyn's response.

He then adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable as he lay on the woman's lap, his expression relaxing even further.

The woman's soft arms patted his body rhythmically, as if she were coaxing a small baby to sleep.

Suddenly, Homelander, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be drifting off, asked a question completely unrelated to the previous topic.

"Can you turn into a lizard?"

"A lizard??"

The woman let out a startled sound. Terrified that Homelander might get angry, she hurriedly replied, "I haven't tried it, but as long as you bring me a lizard, I can give it a try!"

"Homelander, you know, I'm willing to do anything for you."

"Yeah, that's what Madelyn said, too. But in the end, she told me she was afraid of me!"

Azu opened his eyes and stared fixedly at that familiar face. "Are you... afraid of me?"

On the sofa, the woman wearing only a thin nightgown shuddered, and her entire body began to tremble.

As the woman trembled, her entire body twisted and began to swell.

Azu was stunned, and by the time he reacted, he found himself lying in the arms of a fat man.

He lifted his head in agony and turned it away, avoiding contact with the man's body and the sight of this nauseating form.

"Damn it, change back, now."

"Ye... yes, I, I am just... no, no, I'll change back immediately."

As soon as the man finished speaking, his body began to shift once more.

The nightgown that had been stretched tight became loose again, his figure turned slender, and fragrant, flowing hair fell across Homelander's face.

Azu managed to calm down and lay back into the woman's arms: "Madelyn, Ryan is truly wonderful. He is so thoughtful, he loves me, and he isn't afraid of me!"

"Is, is that so? That's great."

The Shapeshifter Madelyn felt numb inside.

He truly didn't know what was wrong with Homelander today; he was so jumpy and terrifying.

Wasn't he supposed to have received a gift from his son? Shouldn't he be happy? Why did he look like he had suffered some great grievance that he only dared to bottle up?

Was he going to kill him?

Just then, a sentence that made his skin crawl left Homelander's lips.

"He's starting to have ideas of his own!"

"What, i-ideas?"

"The entire movie script was basically based on his vision. I tried to change it many times."

"But every single time, he found a way to make me change my mind. He could even make me happily accept his ideas. Tell me, isn't he full of his own ideas?"

"I, I don't know!"

The Shapeshifter Madelyn was on the verge of losing his transformation.

To save himself from death, he tried to soothe Homelander in the usual way, his hand moving downward bit by bit...

"Slap!"

Azu gripped his arm tightly: "You really make me sick!"

"No! Don't... kill me!"

"I can turn into a lizard, I really can..."

Azu's other hand rested on his jaw.

He had always known clearly that this wasn't Madelyn, but a pathetic, shameful Shapeshifter without a shred of dignity or personality.

An emotional crutch. A substitute.

But now, he no longer needed this substitute.

"Wh... why?"

Snap—

After the sound of bone displacement, the Shapeshifter's head folded backward, and he lost his life completely.

Azu tossed him aside casually, not bothering to answer his confusion.

Because he didn't even know what was wrong with himself; one moment he felt happy, and the next, he felt angry.

After leaving this secret location he would never visit again, Azu flew at high speed back to the Seven Tower.

Upon his return, Ashley, who was waiting outside his room, immediately reported: "Sir, the launch ceremony for tomorrow is all prepared."

"It is scheduled for 8:00 AM. Do you need me to arrange a car for you and Ryan?"

"No need, we'll fly..."

Suddenly, just as Azu was about to explain how they would arrive at the ceremony, he inadvertently locked eyes with Ashley's new assistant.

His heart, which had calmed slightly after killing the Shapeshifter, suddenly felt agitated again.

Waving his hand impatiently, Azu said: "Ashley, you handle the arrangements. Let Ryan go over first tomorrow."