Rescue

"God, please save us..."

A woman aboard a passenger plane held her child tightly and prayed under her breath.

Three hijackers paced the cabin with guns in their hands, saying nothing.

Surely no one would dare resist now. This terrorist attack should go smoothly.

Then the cockpit door opened, and one of their accomplices flew out screaming.

The other two went on guard, but a moment later, Homelander and Maeve slipped in and took them down, one each. That made all three hijackers.

"Good job, everyone."

Homelander smiled and greeted the people around him, just as he always did.

"Especially you. You're a mother, and you and your daughter are going to be saved."

Maeve said nothing. She headed for the cockpit, which had gone far too quiet.

"Homelander?"

Only after delivering an inspiring speech did Homelander follow Maeve into the cockpit.

Their intelligence had been wrong. A fourth hijacker had a gun pointed at the pilot's head.

The soundproofing had kept him from hearing what happened behind him.

Now the cockpit door was open. He turned in a hurry and saw Homelander and Queen Maeve.

He knew he was finished.

So he pulled the trigger without hesitation, and the pilot's head jerked to one side.

At that moment, Homelander put his brilliant little mind to work.

The instant the hijacker turned, Homelander used Heat Vision to sever the arm holding the gun.

He also destroyed the cockpit controls and windows.

Wind roared through the breach. Homelander returned to the passenger cabin as though nothing had happened.

"Don't worry, everyone. It's just a little turbulence."

But the plane's violent shaking only made the passengers more doubtful. The experienced flight attendant could feel it losing altitude fast.

Another jolt hit, and panic visibly spread through the crowd.

"Save us! Please!"

Even looking out the window, they could tell the plane was plunging.

It was still gliding, so for the moment, they were all right.

But for the passengers, those moments would be the most agonizing of their lives.

There was nothing they could do but watch themselves hurtle toward death.

Dreams, loved ones, unfinished business—all of it would end here.

"Can't you hold the plane up? Or carry them down to the sea one by one?"

Maeve couldn't bear it. She had to ask.

"What do you think this is, a movie? I'd punch straight through the plane like a needle."

Homelander couldn't lift the plane. It was beyond his abilities.

But he had expected as much.

Before the world, he could not afford to be a flawed god.

Here, though, it didn't matter. He let his other side show completely.

"Get to the back, all of you! Don't follow me, or I'll burn you to death with my lasers."

When the crowd still refused to give up, a scarlet glow lit Homelander's eyes.

The threat of death sent them scrambling back. Maeve turned away, unable to watch the horror unfolding before her.

"Shall we?"

Homelander tore open the cabin door and beckoned Maeve over.

"Can we at least take those two?"

Maeve pulled over the mother and daughter who had greeted her earlier and pleaded with him.

"Please. If those two are the only ones who survive, what will people think of me? Come on..."

Maeve knew the impact when the plane hit the sea would kill everyone aboard.

Staying would accomplish nothing.

She went to Homelander's side, and the two quickly flew clear. They watched the smoking plane sink slowly toward the sea.

People rushed to the opening and stretched out hand after desperate hand.

Their cries did nothing. Homelander held Maeve in his arms and considered what expression to wear when he recounted this later.

"We're a superior species. We don't need to care about them."

Homelander shrugged. His warmth toward his fans was just an act, a way to gain more attention and worship.

Deep down, he believed Supes should naturally stand above humans.

Though he was merely a product of science, Supes outclassed humans in every way.

That was why the world ought to be ruled by Supes.

"Everyone, back to your seats!"

The powerful voice calmed the people in the cabin a little. At last, the thin air and cold of high altitude began to take their toll.

As their adrenaline ebbed, the crowd numbly obeyed the voice.

Rorschach emerged from the cockpit, dragging a pilot in each hand.

"Put on your oxygen masks and fasten your seat belts!"

Rorschach's strong voice gave everyone a strange sense of safety.

The flight attendant who had hurt her back in the turbulence slowly straightened and began directing passengers through the fierce wind.

"Secure these two for me, please."

A superhero? But hadn't they just left?

Questions raced through their minds. Was this man a passenger or part of the flight crew? No one cared anymore.

Either way, they were headed for the sea.

Rorschach climbed out of the cabin. As the passengers cried out, he moved beneath the plane and held it up with one hand.

He had spent two thousand points on a ten-minute Superman experience card. There was no way Rorschach would let anyone die in this crash.

Holding the plane by its landing gear, Rorschach gradually slowed its descent.

In fact, Superman's bioelectric field would have let him lift the entire plane from inside without any problem from the pressure on its structure.

But that would have been a little too theatrical.

When the passengers felt the descent slow, they could hardly believe it.

Is this real? Am I dreaming?

Each of them checked again and again, afraid fate might play one last cruel trick.

A muffled splash confirmed they were safe.

Even the pilot who had been shot in the head got up and checked his skull.

Why hadn't he died?

The instant the bullet left the barrel, Rorschach had spotted it from afar with his super vision and melted it with Heat Vision.

A layer of steam formed from the moisture on the pilot's skin kept the superheated liquid metal from actually touching him.

The molten metal scattered and cooled in the air into countless tiny crystals.

It might leave a few wounds, but nothing fatal.

The bullet's impact had knocked the pilot unconscious; unfortunately, it had struck his temple.

But pilots were generally in good physical condition, so Rorschach was confident his life was not in danger.

"Wh-what's your name?"

The man before them wore ordinary clothes and looked like an unremarkable boy from next door. One passenger finally found the courage to raise his phone and turn on the camera.

"Superman." He smiled at the passenger, then walked over to the little girl whose face was streaked with tears.

"Don't worry. You and your mom are safe now."

People all around them kept praying, grateful that just when their lives had plunged to their lowest point, a "Superman" had come to save them.

"What the fuck?!"

Rorschach hadn't lifted the plane just for the people inside to see. He had done it for Homelander, too.

"Is that all you've got?" Rorschach curled his lips at the dumbstruck Homelander and Maeve.