North America, Manhattan, Vought Empire State Building top-level studio.
The lights were bright, and hundreds of Video Camera and spotlights were pointed at the man in the center of the studio.
"Cut! Perfect! This one passes!"
Following the chief director's trembling cry with excitement, thunderous applause erupted in the studio.
Eighteen-year-old John stands in the spotlight.
He has completely grown into a young man with a tall and straight body and an impeccably handsome face.
He was wearing the Stars and Stripes battle suit, his golden hair was combed meticulously, and he showed a sunny and confident perfect smile to all the busy staff in the audience.
This smile is enough to make any ordinary person feel at ease.
After all.
The man in front of me is All-America's hero!
When the director announced the end of work, John turned around and walked to the backstage lounge.
The smile on his face seemed to have been pressed by the delete button, disappearing without a trace in an instant, turning into an unfathomable indifference.
In the corridor of the lounge, a young girl with curly hair and a business suit has been waiting for a long time.
She is Ashley, a fledgling intern who has just graduated from college, and a newly promoted secretary.
At this time, she was a newbie in the workplace with fanatical admiration in her eyes.
Seeing John coming over, Ashley was so excited that her whole body was trembling slightly, and she quickly handed over the folder she had held in her arms for a long time.
"Sir... sir! This is the urgent report just sent by the Security Department."
John didn't stop, he took the folder and opened it.
The report reads:
This afternoon, a Second-Tier Superheroes affiliated with Vought caused the death of two innocent hostages on the spot when Chicago rescued bank hostages.
At present, public opinion has been forcibly suppressed by the Public Relations Department.
John Looking at the words above, Azure's eyes did not waver at all.
He closed the folder with a snap and threw it back into Ashley's arms:
"Tell that idiot to come see me later."
Ashley hurriedly hugged the folder, her face turned pale because of nervousness.
"Where's the news about Marge and Duke?"
This is a question John asks Ashley every day.
"No." Ashley shook his head.
John nodded, as if she was used to it. She stopped and turned her head to look at the rookie secretary.
He stretched out his hand and patted Ashley's stiff shoulders twice, with a smile that was as refreshing as spring breeze on his face.
"Don't be nervous, Ashley, you did a great job."
Feeling the encouragement from this human god, Ashley's eyes turned red.
She quickly stood up straight, her voice a bit sharp due to excitement:
"I'm not afraid! Sir! I'm just... I'm just so excited! As a new intern, it is the greatest honor of my life to be able to be with such a great hero like you and to serve you!"
In the eyes of Ashley, the man in front of him is the symbol of America, the embodiment of justice and strength, and the perfect god.
John looked at her enthusiastic eyes, nodded, turned around and walked out of the studio.
The automatic sensor glass door slides open to both sides.
John reached the highest point of the tower.
The strong wind from high altitude made his Stars and Stripes cloak rustle.
He stood on the edge of the building, looking down at this huge steel jungle.
Wherever he could see, his flawless face was printed on the giant LED screen of Times Square, on the bodies of every passing bus, and even on the huge posters of skyscrapers in the distance.
Next to the poster, in the most eye-catching gold font, it reads, "Homelander--America The greatest hero."
New York, Manhattan Seventh Avenue.
The streets are busy with traffic, and pedestrians are rushing to their destinations.
Everything seemed so peaceful until a sound of tearing steel suddenly exploded from hundreds of meters in the air.
A heavy-duty tower crane that was constructing a new construction building let out a desperate cry due to sudden metal fatigue in the base bearings.
The steel crane arm weighing more than 200 tons and the dozens of tons of concrete prefabricated panels hanging above it were pulled by gravity, like a mountain bearing down on top, and crashed down towards the intersection with the densest flow of people below!
"Oh God!"
"Run--!"
The screams instantly tore through the tranquility of the street.
Passers-by raised their heads in horror, looked at the huge shadow that was rapidly enlarging, and closed their eyes in despair.
With this kind of coverage, no one can escape.
However, at that moment when the dozens of tons of prefabricated concrete slabs were less than ten meters from the ground, the violent wind pressure had already blown people's hair flying.
Boom!
A sonic boom that broke the sound barrier exploded over the city.
The red and blue afterimage tore through the air like lightning and crashed into the shadow of death right below.
There was no flying flesh and blood as imagined, nor was there the trembling roar of the earth.
The steel giant, which weighed hundreds of tons and was enough to smash the entire intersection into rubble, stopped abruptly in mid-air.
The strong wind dispersed.
Everyone opened their eyes tremblingly, and then the whole street erupted into fanatical screams.
Above their heads, the man wearing the Stars and Stripes battle suit, with his cape flapping in the wind, was holding up the huge tower crane arm with one hand.
The golden sunshine shines on his flawless face, just like Apollo who came to the world in Greek mythology.
"Is everyone okay?"
John was suspended in mid-air, lowered his head, and showed a warm smile to the shocked crowd below.
"It's Homelander!"
"Oh my god! Thank you! Thank you for saving us!"
"Long live Homelander!"
The citizens on the street cheered wildly, and countless people took out their mobile phones to record the moment of the arrival of the god with tears in their eyes.
John maintained that impeccable smile, held up the several-hundred-ton tower crane with one hand, flew upwards lightly, and placed it steadily on a nearby open and safe construction site.
Afterwards, he didn't even stay much, he just waved to the camera and turned into a stream of light again, heading to the next place where he was needed.