It was already late at night, but Vought International was still brightly lit, countless employees busy dealing with an urgent PR crisis.
Ashley told Homelander every last detail.
Homelander's room was pitch-black. Hidden in the darkness, he had refused to take part in the emergency PR response, as if sulking.
He stood alone by the window, as though this could temporarily free him from those troubles.
Below him, New York City spread out like a galaxy, scattered headlights flickering as they moved slowly along the streets.
"Superheroes... why won't these idiots thank me?"
Homelander muttered resentfully to himself. Finally unable to bear the oppressive feeling, he left Vought Tower and shot into the night sky with an enormous sonic boom.
The city lights gradually shrank, soon becoming a blurry sea of light. The night wind howled past his ears as those comments replayed endlessly in Homelander's mind, along with that maliciously captured screenshot.
"Murderer!"
"Disgusting executioner!"
"Pervert who likes kids!"
Without realizing it, he had flown above an alley-the place where Raymond had been disposed of.
Homelander stopped. He began to wonder whether he really had done something wrong.
Wouldn't it have been better if he had temporarily stood aside, let Vought build up publicity in advance, then stepped forward at the right moment and wiped out all the gang members and Supervillains in one fell swoop?
The audience and his fans would certainly have been more satisfied.
What if he had taken Balding Man to the police station, provided some testimony, and left it to the local police?
He began imagining one possibility after another, as though he were actually living through them.
Bang!
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out below him.
The piercing shot tore through the sky and reached Homelander's ears, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He