Hide your cruel side where the sunlight cannot reach

Just then, the apartment's communicator flashed with the red indicator light reserved for the highest priority.

Lynn walked over and pressed the answer button. Stan Edgar's low, steady voice immediately came through.

"Come to my office, Lynn. Immediately."

Lynn glanced at John, who was still fighting Buddy over a cushion, and frowned.

"Now? Mr. President, it's already ten at night."

"The military representatives left my conference room ten minutes ago. We need to discuss the next step for our little Chosen One. Come up alone."

The call ended.

Lynn changed into a suit and took the express elevator to the hundredth floor aboveground.

He pushed open the mahogany double doors to the president's office. Stan Edgar stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking down over New York's glittering nightscape.

Madelyn sat on the sofa, holding a freshly printed assessment report, her expression somewhat excited.

"Look at this, Lynn."

As soon as Lynn approached, Madelyn handed him the report.

"We edited a portion of the internal promotional film shot this afternoon and sent it straight to the Pentagon. After those fat-bellied generals watched the video, they were silent for a full three minutes."

Madelyn's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"They were utterly won over by John's overwhelming dominance and perfect obedience. The Department of Defense has even begun to soften its stance on considering a long-term proposal to incorporate Vought's Supes into the national defense system."

Lynn leafed through the data reports, but his frown only deepened.

"This is just a video of a staged performance. Those old foxes wouldn't be so easily fooled by Hollywood effects and planted extras, would they?"

"You're absolutely right, Lynn."

Edgar turned around, holding a glass of amber whiskey. "The people at the Pentagon may be stupid, but they aren't blind. They acknowledge John's deterrent power, but they question whether a weapon raised in a greenhouse like this will lose control or shrink back on a real battlefield filled with blood and chaos."

Edgar walked to his desk and opened a holographic projection.

A map appeared in the projection, with a location marked in Texas on the southern border of the United States.

"So they need a real performance. A field test that draws blood."

Edgar's voice was as cold as ice.

"In El Paso, on the Texas border, local police have become embroiled in a fierce firefight with a group of well-equipped armed drug traffickers in an abandoned steel mill. The traffickers have heavy weapons and may even be holding civilians hostage. The local police have already suffered heavy casualties and requested support from the National Guard."

"I bribed the local officials at the top and forced a four-hour delay in the National Guard's arrival. Before dawn tomorrow, we're going to airdrop John there."

Lynn's expression changed instantly.

"Sir, have you lost your mind? He's only eight!"

Lynn slapped the report onto the desk. "Having him fight sparring partners in a simulated studio is one thing, but now you want him to face real gunfire and a gang of ruthless killers? What if he loses control and kills the police and hostages along with them?"

"If he can't even handle a few drug traffickers with guns, then he doesn't deserve to wear that Stars and Stripes cape, and Vought International has no reason to keep pouring tens of billions of dollars in resources into him!"

Edgar's gaze was as sharp as a knife as he stared fixedly at Lynn.

"Lynn, this is his first real appearance as 'Homelander.' You can accompany him. You can direct him from the air over the communicator.

"I don't care how many drug traffickers die. All I want is to see him descend before the cameras in the most perfect manner, save those poor civilians, and then let the entire United States and the whole world see Vought International's power!"

Lynn took a deep breath. He knew that in this cold-blooded capitalist's eyes, John was merely a tool for boosting stock prices and securing military contracts.

"What if he encounters someone with supernatural powers who can actually hurt him?"

Lynn asked coldly.

"Intelligence indicates there are only ordinary people there."

Edgar took a sip of his drink.

"Even in the worst case, if there is someone like that, it would be the best possible tempering for him. Lynn, haven't you always wanted to teach him what true justice is? Go on. Let your god loose, and see whether he saves the world or destroys everything when he encounters real evil."

Two in the morning, in the underground apartment in Area B.

Lynn pushed open the door and found that John had not gone to sleep. Instead, he sat on the sofa, fully dressed.

Buddy, the little golden retriever, lay at his feet, whining uneasily as though sensing something unusual in the air.

When he saw Lynn enter, John stood up, a strange light flickering in his eyes.

"I heard."

John pointed to his ears.

His superhearing had just crossed a hundred floors of reinforced concrete and picked up the argument in the president's office.

"In Texas, real bad guys are shooting good people."

John walked up to Lynn. There was no fear of gunfire on his young face, but rather an eager impatience to try.

"Lynn, can we finally go out and teach those bastards who won't follow the rules a lesson?"

Lynn looked into those clear blue eyes, a dark red glow faintly flickering within them.

He knew he could no longer stop this war machine from starting up.

He stepped forward and took the dark blue Homelander suit from the wardrobe beside him, along with the neatly folded Stars and Stripes cape.

"Yes, we're going out."

As Lynn helped John adjust his golden eagle pauldrons, he spoke in an intensely grave tone.

"But you have to remember. The world outside isn't a studio. If someone fires a gun, the bullets can kill people. You don't just have to deal with the bad guys. You also have to protect those fragile civilians."

"And there's one rule more important than all the others."

Lynn fastened the cape's clasp and looked John straight in the eyes.

"When the cameras are rolling, you have to be perfect. No matter how badly you want to twist their heads off, you must keep smiling. Hide your cruel side where the sunlight cannot reach. Do you understand?"

John turned and glanced at himself in the mirror.

The dark blue uniform, the golden pauldrons, and the Stars and Stripes on his back, representing countless expectations.

He turned back and gave Lynn that flawless smile that felt like a warm spring breeze.

"Don't worry, Lynn. I'll be the most perfect hero. I'll make them understand that they can only stay alive by following my rules."