"My people..."
Homelander's voice rang out.
There was no static, no interference. His voice reached every ear with perfect clarity, its warmth almost magical in its power to soothe.
"...you have suffered."
"I know you've lost loved ones, lost your homes, lost the dignity of being human."
"I know you hide in the dark, afraid to make a sound. I know you look up at the sky and see no hope, only fear."
"I also know you once put your trust in someone."
"A god from the stars. A savior in a red cape."
"But he betrayed you."
"He turned this beautiful planet into hell. He made you slaves. He stole your freedom and your smiles."
In an underground shelter, a mother in ragged clothes held her child tight. She stared at the cracked screen of her phone as tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
"I am Homelander."
"I came from the stars too, but I'm not like him." Homelander pressed a hand to his chest. "The same blood runs through my veins as yours."
Then he lifted his gaze slightly and began recalling a past that had never existed.
"...like you, I was once an ordinary human being from Earth."
"When I was a child, a group of aliens from deep space took me away."
"To turn me into their 'perfect superweapon,' they isolated me, brainwashed me, and threw me into an incinerator, watching my pain for amusement."
"They wanted to make me a weapon to invade Earth."
Homelander clenched his fist, the muscles beneath his skintight suit bulging.
"But I never gave in. Nothing they did to my mind could change my love for my home."
"I fought my way out of that laboratory, wandered the universe, and battled all kinds of alien tyrants."
"But I never forgot