What Homelander left Maeve with was the sight of his back, a sight she could not have known any better.
But to the Academy Supes facing him, his face was a nightmare-inducing horror.
Those scarlet eyes and the faint smile at the corners of his mouth made him look like a grim reaper holding his scythe high, mocking the insignificance of life.
"Do you enjoy attacking your own kind?" Homelander's tone said, you dumb shits are dead.
The Academy Supes fell collectively silent. Even their breathing became cautious as they adopted an ostrich-like avoidance, afraid that one wrong word would bring this terror's wrath down on them.
Homelander was not annoyed. Though his eyes glowed scarlet, his powerful Super Vision still let him see every detail.
Some faces held hatred, some eyes darted away, and some faces had gone pale.
The faces of dozens of academy students scrunched up, forming a jumble of negative emotions.
Their sole common trait was fear, a fear that sank into their bones.
Most of the special forces soldiers looked full of anticipation. Their fallen comrades had trained and eaten with them just yesterday, but today they could only live on in memory...
You mustn't let them go! Homelander!!!
The soldiers shouted in their hearts.
"Sir, actually, we..." A pockmarked Supe student tried to explain.
"No, no, no. Shut up." Homelander extended his index finger and wagged it from side to side. "What kind of animals are you?"
He practically forced the words through clenched teeth, one at a time.
"What?"
"Attack! He means to kill us!"
The students panicked, screaming, going wild...
Some fled, but most chose to fight back. They squeezed out every last bit of their potential and used every means at their disposal to bombard Homelander.
Homelander stood there, utterly unmoved.