Chương 21

Homelander stared at the news screen. His eyes widened as the broadcast showed the masked man carrying Flight 37 onto the baseball field. Madelyn Stillwell stood from her chair and looked toward Homelander. Before speaking to him, she turned to the two associates in her office.

"Leave us." The associates looked at each other before walking out. The door closed behind them, leaving Madelyn alone with Homelander.

"What is happening?" Madelyn asked.

"I sent you there to save that plane. Tell me what happened." She pointed toward the screen.

"You were supposed to bring those people back alive. Now the whole world is watching someone else do it." Homelander did not answer her. He kept staring at Adam's face on the screen. Copper covered almost all of it, leaving only his eyes visible. Homelander slowly turned toward Madelyn. Red light appeared in his eyes.

"I need answers from you." Madelyn backed away from him. Her voice shook when she spoke.

"What are you doing?" Homelander pointed toward Adam's face on the screen.

"Who is he?" Homelander demanded.

"Did you make another version of me because you were planning to replace me behind my back?" The office door opened before Madelyn could answer. Stan Edgar entered the office. Homelander turned toward him. Stan did not react to the red glow in Homelander's eyes. He looked at the screen once before facing Homelander.

"Nothing like that happened," Stan said.

"We learned about him at the same time you did." Homelander glared at him, his eyes still red. Stan walked to the desk and switched off the news.

"Find this man as soon as possible," Stan said.

"I also want an investigation." Homelander looked at him.

"What investigation?"

"I want a full investigation into exactly how Compound V got out of this company," Stan replied.

"Someone with the same powers as our most Branding asset is walking around outside." Stan turned away from Homelander and looked at Madelyn. Stolen novel; please report.

"Your team will be part of that investigation too, Madelyn." At the baseball field, reporters were questioning the survivors of Flight 37. They asked what had happened inside the plane, but no one spoke about Homelander or Queen Maeve. A short time earlier, Adam had stood inside the plane with the passengers gathered around him. The emergency slide had already been opened. Before they left, Adam raised one hand and asked them to wait.

"Thank you for staying patient through all of this," Adam said.

"But I need to ask one thing from you." Every passenger turned to look at him. Adam removed the damaged copper mask from his face.

"When you go outside, please do not tell anyone what Homelander and Queen Maeve did," he said.

"Vought's people will come to you soon. Listen to what they say." Several passengers became angry.

"No," one man said.

"He left us to die. He has to pay for that." More passengers raised their voices in agreement. Adam took a deep breath and raised his voice.

"You were about to die. Do you want to die again?" The passengers fell quiet after hearing that.

"Can any of you fight Homelander?" Adam asked.

"Do you think you're the first people he has done this to? You aren't, and you won't be the last." Adam looked across the people standing inside the plane.

"His strength is not the only thing that makes him Homelander. Vought stands behind him." Adam waited until every passenger was looking at him.

"I know you're angry, and you should be. After what he did, I would be angry too. But anger won't protect you when Vought comes after you." The passengers looked at one another, but no one answered Adam.

"I'm not trying to protect Homelander or Vought," Adam said.

"I'm warning you because once you speak, they will do anything to silence you. They won't fight fair, and they won't care that you're innocent." He lowered his voice.

"If you still want to fight them, remember that Vought may take everything from you," Adam said.

"You can still tell the reporters whatever you want. I only wanted you to know what Vought might do before you decide." The young girl Maeve had held stepped closer to Adam.

"But that's wrong," she said.

"Then he can hurt anyone he wants. He can kill someone, and nobody will ever make him answer for it." Adam looked at her before looking at the other passengers.

"Don't worry. People are already fighting Vought, and I'm one of them," Adam said.

"Soon, everyone will know who is fighting back. Our group will bring Vought and its Supes down." Adam covered his face again before leaving the plane. Then he flew away. Outside, none of the survivors changed their minds. No one told the reporters what Homelander had done. Whenever a reporter asked about the plane, the survivors spoke as if Homelander and Maeve had never been there. One reporter pushed a microphone toward a passenger.

"Who was the hero who saved you? Did you see his face?" The passenger shook his head.

"No, we don't know who he was. His face was covered." Adam had not worried much about showing them his face. The Boys' identities would soon be exposed anyway. Another reporter moved toward the young girl.

"Did Homelander come to save you?" The girl gave a small smile.

"No. None of the heroes from The Seven came to save us." At Vought Tower, Homelander sat in The Seven's meeting room. Queen Maeve was there with A-Train. Starlight and Black Noir were also watching the interview. Homelander had feared the survivors would reveal what happened on the plane. He had been waiting for one of them to name him. When the girl denied seeing him, Homelander leaned back in his chair and finally relaxed.

'They are not as stupid as I thought,' Homelander thought.

'At least they have some sense.' Maeve watched the girl on the screen and released a deep breath. Maeve decided to find the masked man herself. After that, she would go back and meet the girl again.