Pursue Not a Desperate Enemy

"According to reports, Homelander and Queen Maeve killed three hijackers, but lost control of the situation when they confronted the remaining hijackers in the cabin."

"On the out-of-control plane, Homelander refused to rescue a single passenger. He and Queen Maeve pulled open the cabin door and left together."

"Then a superhero calling himself 'Superman' appeared and carried the plane to a safe landing on the sea."

"All crew members and passengers have now been rescued by a passing cruise ship. No one was harmed."

"Now, please watch a video provided by one of the passengers. We also have a question for Vought International—"

"Is the development of superheroes truly for humanity's benefit? Or even for the benefit of our country?"

The image switched to Homelander's face, twisted with rage.

"Back off! All of you, back off! Or I'll burn you to death!"

The reputation Homelander had spent years building collapsed in a single day.

Footage of him threatening the passengers in the cabin sparked heated discussion within minutes and spread rapidly.

Soon, people no longer saw Homelander as the hero who kept them safe.

Instead, they looked at him with deep unease.

Whether Homelander might threaten ordinary people became the most hotly debated question.

With that much power, what was stopping him from doing whatever he wanted?

Most people figured that if they had such power themselves, they would never hold back.

That was exactly what worried them.

Of course, Homelander rarely held back himself.

But at least he had kept that side of himself out of public view.

"What do we do now?"

Madelyne looked at the two marketing managers, Seth and Ivan.

Maeve had rushed back to Seven Tower as fast as she could and told them everything.

Stormfront had also pulled Homelander from the sea and was bringing him back.

"He called himself Superman, but apart from some obscure comic called 'Detective Comics' from the last century, we can't find any trace of him."

"Was he the result of a breakthrough in the research upstairs? Or from the other side..."

Madelyne fell into thought.

It had happened so suddenly, and she had no leads at all.

As an executive, she knew most of the company's secrets, but this man who had appeared out of nowhere was definitely not among them.

"Focus on a response first!"

Madelyne had done everything she could to suppress the footage of Rorschach beating Homelander. If that got out, they would lose both the fight and their reputation.

If people started questioning their heroes' abilities too, Vought International's name would be ruined—and her days as CEO would be over.

"Could we say he's from another country? That we were on a joint patrol mission?"

"No. The moment he speaks up, that story falls apart. If he so much as shows his face here, we'd have to mobilize every hero Vought has."

Madelyne shook her head, rejecting the suggestion.

"What about admitting we were wrong? Showing our sincerity and commitment?"

"That would destroy what's left of Homelander's image. We'd have to change the company's entire direction."

Madelyne shook her head again. Looking at the two men at a loss, she felt a headache coming on.

The man had been clever. After saving everyone, he had vanished.

Even searching as far as the outskirts of New York City had turned up only two videos, both from security cameras.

That meant if they dared make up a story, he could come forward and tear it to pieces.

Judging by the injuries Stormfront had described, Homelander had already been hurt.

That gave them even more reason to watch every word they said.

"Postpone the congregation gathering for at least three days."

"Announce that we'll hold a press conference to address the questions raised by the video."

"Get Maeve in here. We need every detail of what happened on that plane."

Madelyne's expression turned grave.

She had thought she would soon be able to step down and focus on raising the child she had worked so hard to have.

Instead, one disaster after another had left her nearly exhausted.

She had barely managed to stock up any milk these past few days. Work had consumed all her time.

"They postponed it?" Rorschach hadn't expected the gathering to be delayed too.

"Because Homelander can't attend?"

Thinking back, perhaps he had hit Homelander harder than he meant to.

He had tried to judge his strength against an ordinary person's, but maybe he still hadn't held back enough.

Yet as he watched his Defense-Break Points soar, the smile on his face only grew.

"So are we postponing our operation?"

Butcher glanced at the discussion that had dominated television all day, then at Rorschach.

Could he really be a Supe even stronger than Homelander?

Then Butcher thought of how thoroughly Rorschach had him and the other three members of the team under control.

He had managed that without even using superpowers. Surely he wouldn't send The Boys to their deaths.

Still, the timing was too convenient. Less than half an hour after Rorschach had gone out that morning, news of the hijacking and the passengers' rescue had come one after the other.

Butcher couldn't help making the connection.

"How are Kimiko and Frenchie doing?"

Rorschach picked up a bottle of makeup remover and wiped the makeup from his face as he asked.

"They seem able to communicate now."

"Good." Rorschach went into the room, drank a bottle of water, and thought for a moment.

Would it have been simpler if I'd killed Homelander out at sea?

After all, if he wanted to expose Homelander's true nature, Becca was still a living witness.

And to bring down Vought International, he only needed to expose Compound V.

But Rorschach didn't see it that way.

If he went too far now and frightened them too badly,

Vought International might resort to its backup plan.

They must have some way to control Homelander and keep him from running wild.

After all, there was no point making that money if they didn't live long enough to spend it.

Rorschach simply didn't know how powerful that backup plan might be.

So in the end, he had chosen not to finish Homelander off.

As long as Homelander remained in the open, he would still be Vought International's strongest fighter.

But if Rorschach pushed Vought International into a corner, he wasn't ready to face the full force of that giant's retaliation.

Homelander had always been a grave threat, but Rorschach's real opponent had always been Vought International.

"They said they're holding a press conference."

Marvin came in too. After spending the night with his family, he had planned to attend the gathering with the others today.

"Let them hold it. I'm taking you to see something."

Rorschach thought for a moment before speaking.

He had been putting pressure on Vought International for a long time, but he still lacked the strength to wipe it out in one stroke.

At least for now, he couldn't tear away its false facade in front of the public.

It was time for The Boys to learn the cruel truth about the world.

As the whole city reeled, Vought International announced a press conference, canceled every other activity, and maintained its silence.

But when Madelyne saw Stormfront bring back a battered Homelander, her jaw nearly dropped.

"Who could have done this to him?"