"No! Stop!!" Bruce seemed to realize what was about to happen and instinctively reached for his belt.
Fzzzt!!
Two searing beams of Heat Vision shot from Homelander's eyes and pierced the precision-built Cosmic Treadmill.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The machine exploded in rapid succession under the intense heat.
Sparks flew. Metal twisted.
The machine that held Batman's hope of victory became a heap of smoking scrap in the blink of an eye.
"What have you done?!"
Barry Allen clutched his head and screamed, staring at the wreckage in horror.
"You destroyed our hope!!"
Steel Bone's arm instantly transformed into a high-energy plasma cannon and aimed at Homelander.
"You..." Bruce stared straight at Homelander, fury blazing in his eyes. "Have you lost your mind?!"
The tension was ready to snap.
But Homelander didn't care.
"Me?"
He stood amid the flames, his cape billowing in the hot air.
"I'm weaning you off your crutch."
"Stop dreaming, Bruce."
"There's no undoing this. No chance to start over."
"We're standing here, on this ground, protecting the people still alive behind us."
Homelander's voice rang through the cavernous bunker.
"If I were you, even with the odds stacked against me, I wouldn't pin my hopes on some unreachable past."
"I'd clench my fists and fight for a future for this world and the people still living in it!"
"Even if I failed, I'd die as a warrior, charging forward!"
"That beats sitting here with you North American cowards, indulging in some impossible fantasy!"
With that, Homelander spun around. His cape swept through the air as he left them with the sight of his resolute, imposing figure.
"Listen up, you losers."
"I'm going to save the world. Actually save it."
"My way."
His fifty-percent charisma boost reached its peak at that moment.
In the dim light, his