Victory party

Homelander was dazed for a moment, staring at Maeve in disbelief. For an instant, he wondered whether he had misheard.

Ever since he and Maeve had broken up, he had grown used to her coldness.

Yet Maeve had actually spoken up for him just now, not because of a script, but because she had chosen to step forward herself.

"Miss Maeve, twelve people still died in the end. If Homelander really did everything he could..."

The middle-aged reporter stepped forward again, deftly shifting his line of attack.

"Fuck you!" Soldier Boy hurled his cigar.

The still-burning cigar landed squarely on the middle-aged male reporter's face, scalding him and making him howl.

Soldier Boy strode over and grabbed the reporter by the collar. Under everyone's bewildered, shocked gazes, he said:

"Why do I want to slap you in the mouth every time you speak?"

His tone was full of curiosity, without a trace of anger, like a scholar seeking knowledge.

The middle-aged male reporter raised his hand in terror and pointed at Soldier Boy's nose. "What are you doing? Let go! Do you know which media outlet I'm from?"

Smack!

The sharp sound rang through the venue. Soldier Boy slapped him, and five distinct finger marks instantly appeared on the reporter's face.

Before long, his face had swollen up like a pig's head.

"Helb me!"

The middle-aged male reporter struggled in pain, mumbling an indistinct plea for help as he spat out blood mixed with several teeth.

The venue descended into chaos as the reporters recorded the scene.

Homelander smiled in satisfaction, a hint of smugness in his smile.

Soldier Boy gritted his teeth and tossed the middle-aged male reporter aside. "Clara, show them the footage."

Stormfront raised her head at his words. She had collected first-person footage recorded on the survivors' phones beforehand.

The projected image changed.

The camera shook constantly, and the noise was deafening, but it was immediately clear that this was first-person phone footage taken during the plane crash.

First came the captain's perspective, showing Homelander trying to lift the plane by its nose. Next came a passenger's perspective, showing Homelander attempting to straighten the wing. Finally, it showed Homelander personally carrying people back to the ground.

Of course, none of it showed him using Heat Vision to force the passengers to cooperate.

The footage on the screen was broadcast live.

Both the reporters present and the viewers watching on their screens could see from the footage that Homelander had truly tried everything he could to save people.

"All right, dumbasses, question time is over."

"Everyone, follow me." Soldier Boy gave the order and waved for the others to follow.

His eyes shining, Homelander was the first to rise. Maeve followed close behind and took his arm.

A-Train said nothing, still looking somewhat worried.

The supes soon left, leaving only Stormfront behind to deal with the reporters.

Someone tried to stop Homelander, but Soldier Boy scared them off with a raised hand.

"Sir, is it really okay for us to just leave like this?"

Starlight jogged a few steps to Soldier Boy's side and asked quietly.

She glanced back at the still-chaotic press conference. The reporters were still clamoring to ask questions, and Stormfront was completely surrounded, while those directly involved had simply walked out.

This was completely different from how she had imagined they would handle it.

Soldier Boy kept walking. "What's the problem?"

Starlight froze. She hesitated before saying, "The media still seem very angry. If this keeps escalating..."

Starlight opened her mouth, but for a moment, she had no idea how to continue.

Soldier Boy glanced at her. "Kid, do you think we have to keep explaining ourselves as long as someone's unhappy?"

Starlight nodded hesitantly.

"Then you'll never get a break for the rest of your life." Soldier Boy laughed.

Starlight sank into thought, her gaze softening as she looked at Soldier Boy.

Vought was nothing but a company driven by profit. Thank goodness there were superheroes like Soldier Boy and Homelander!

Soldier Boy took out a fresh cigar, lit it with a click, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled the smoke.

Homelander smiled as he recalled everything that had just happened. Both Soldier Boy and Maeve had chosen to stand by his side.

It was like a dream.

Most of the gloom in his blue eyes had already dissipated.

Before today's press conference began, he had prepared for the worst. He had been through this far too many times, and every time, it had been apologies, apologies, and more apologies.

But this time, the outcome had been completely different. Almost single-handedly, Soldier Boy had stood at the front and shouldered all the pressure.

"Shit."

Everyone turned to see A-Train let out a heavy breath. "Those reporters were like rabid dogs. I thought they'd never let us go."

Clearly, Soldier Boy's willingness to take responsibility had eased his mind considerably, too.

"Will the company have a problem with this?" Homelander suddenly asked.

He thought of Madelyn, then Edgar.

Soldier Boy scoffed:

"If the sky falls, I'll hold it up. As long as I'm not dead, those useless fucks don't get to climb on top of you and shit on your heads."

The almost matter-of-fact protectiveness in those words put Homelander's anxious heart at ease.

A-Train paused, then laughed. Soldier Boy was actually pretty likable when he wasn't beating him up.

Having a boss like this seemed pretty comfortable.

Homelander raised his eyebrows. "Seriously, I'm starting to like you, old man."

"Fuck off," Soldier Boy snapped bluntly. "You look like you want to fuck me, you homo."

The corners of Homelander's mouth instantly drooped, his face twisting into an expression of utter disgust. "No!!!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Maeve, usually the most serious of them, laughed until her shoulders trembled slightly.

Everyone felt unusually relaxed. In the past, whenever something went wrong at Vought, their first reaction had been to worry about who would take the blame. But ever since Soldier Boy arrived, everything had changed. None of them had to grovel before the media and apologize endlessly anymore.

[Ding]

[A change in Homelander's mindset detected. For the first time, he has experienced the joy of genuinely saving people.

[Reward: Super Speed upgrade ×1]

[Current Super Speed: Level 3]

Soldier Boy smiled. What an unexpected bonus!

The only fly in the ointment was that the system still hadn't unlocked flight.

Soon, with Soldier Boy leading the way, they reached the door to his room.

The corridor was utterly quiet. Smiling, Soldier Boy reached out and pushed the door open.

The next second, several pops rang out, and countless streamers burst forth. Multicolored confetti fluttered everywhere, and everyone froze in place.

The room had already been redecorated, and the table was covered with food.

Barbecue, steaks, burgers, fried chicken, pizza, and desserts piled into little mountains filled the table, with dozens of expensive bottles of liquor in the center.

Soft light suffused the room, making the whole place look like the venue for a huge party.

"Music!" Private Angel snapped her fingers, and melodious music played from the speakers.

She spread her arms, a smug smile on her face. "Welcome back, heroes!"

Translucent and The Deep popped their heads out, smiling too.

But everything suddenly fell silent. Clearly, none of them had expected this.

Private Angel looked from side to side. "What? Nobody's touched? We spent all afternoon preparing this."