After Ryan and Doomsday vanished, the crowd dispersed, and the night gradually passed.
Homelander stood in the street, clutching his head in a daze. He dug a deep pit with his hands, but found nothing.
Despair and barely contained rage sent him soaring into the sky. One thought rose in his mind: This world isn't worth protecting anymore.
Red beams erupted from his eyes, cutting a nearby skyscraper in two.
Dawn was breaking. Reporters arrived on the street, ready to turn the disappearance of Ryan and Doomsday into a story that would draw attention.
Unaware of what had happened, people went about their morning routines. It was time to head to work.
Then they saw the beams burn straight through the middle of the building. A new crisis had begun.
The man hovering in the sky, the Stars and Stripes fluttering behind him, had become the city's greatest fear.
Edgar of Vought International received the news at once. He called Stormfront. "Is there any way to stop him?"
"Homelander has been holding himself back for a long time," Stormfront told him. "He's always wanted to watch the world burn. There's nothing he won't do now."
Then she added, "With Ryan dead, I don't see the point of a future for Supes, either. Let this pointless world be destroyed."
The call ended. Edgar listened to the dead line, threw the receiver aside, and leaned back in his office chair. He looked up at the sky. "If Ryan disappears, does the world disappear with him?"
Some people were driven to rampage by Ryan's disappearance. Others were left grieving.
Inside Vought International's tower, Starlight sat at her place in the conference room.
There was no meeting today. The vast room was empty.
When someone vanished, photographs preserved the face they had left behind.