Boom!
The temple dome shattered like a fragile eggshell, sending rubble raining down.
Then a pillar of light shot through the hole in the dome.
At its center, a figure in red and blue slowly descended.
The Stars and Stripes Cape billowed behind him in the turbulent air, while the perfect contours of his muscles showed through his skintight suit.
On the Infinity Gauntlet, concealed by reality, the red gem gave off a faint glow.
He had adjusted the atmosphere's refractive index and altered the color temperature of the light.
He had made dust motes drift through a pale golden glow, creating shafts of light that lent the scene an epic, dreamlike beauty.
He had tinted the clouds behind him a somber, deep purple, setting off the vivid colors and hope embodied by his Stars and Stripes suit.
Hovering in midair, Homelander lowered his head slightly. His golden hair seemed to burn in the light.
His eyes were hidden in backlit shadow, with only two crimson sparks glimmering there, as though a god were looking down upon mortals.
Perfect.
Homelander gave himself full marks. If someone froze this image, it would have more artistic value than the paintings that had hung in the Louvre for centuries.
At the same time, a sweeping musical score filled the livestream on Earth, bringing the hero's arrival to a crescendo.
It was Skynet's work. She had caught her boss's entrance at precisely the right moment and brought in the background music without missing a beat.
After all, her boss had once said that a hero making an entrance without music was like fries without ketchup: bland.
Of course, her boss had supplied the music too. He had said it suited a caped hero.
Around the world, viewers fell briefly silent, overwhelmed by what