Dawn was breaking.
Inside the presidential suite at the Fairmont Hotel, heavy velvet curtains shut out the harsh morning sunlight over the San Francisco Bay Area.
The king-size bed was a wreck.
Shreds of torn silk sleepwear lay scattered across the carpet, and a raw, primal scent still lingered in the air.
Homelander and Miss Skynet had gone at it all night.
The endurance of his Steel Body had proved just as overwhelming in bed.
He stretched his arms and arched his back, drawing a faint series of pops from his spine.
The other side of the bed was empty. Its collapsed leg testified to the intensity of the night before.
As the self-awareness the Mind Stone had granted Miss Skynet continued to awaken, she showed a startling hunger for the most primal of human desires.
Homelander was clearly enjoying himself. This clash between equals was exactly what he liked.
Hearing movement in the bedroom, Skynet walked in slowly with a glass of freshly warmed milk.
"Good morning, sir. Did you sleep well last night?" Skynet stepped forward and handed Homelander the milk, her eyes full of tenderness.
"Very well. Your ability to learn never stops surprising me."
Homelander took the milk and had a sip. "How are things progressing with the Skrulls?"
Skynet immediately switched into work mode.
"Everything is proceeding according to your script, sir."
"The T-1050 Terminator disguised as a senior Vought Group executive has successfully delivered your biological sample to the Skrull research laboratory where Gravik is based, 'risking his life' to do so."
She traced a finger through the air, and a holographic screen unfolded before them.
On it, Gravik stared at a specially made cryogenic container, his eyes gleaming. His fanaticism and ambition were plain to see even through the screen.
"Gravik is completely