AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
On the screen, on the lush, green deserted island, two figures were locked in intense combat at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, everything around them was affected and destroyed, almost like a natural disaster raging.
Nearly half of the island, spanning almost a hundred square kilometers, had been destroyed, with large areas of trees, rocks, and sea cliffs vanishing from the surface...
The land was scarred, with deep trenches and huge pits everywhere, like a tragic battlefield bombed by tactical nuclear weapons.
"..."
Staring at the screen, even Edgar couldn't help but slowly rise from his seat in silence, a hint of shock in his eyes.
Even he, who had always controlled and managed Vought International, had never seen such a scene.
No one had ever fought Homelander to such an extent, for such a long time.
Because Ron's displayed abilities were somewhat different from Homelander's, he had once doubted if Ron truly possessed power comparable to Homelander's.
"But now... there's no problem, it's just... this isn't a good thing!"
He took a deep breath, watching with a grave expression.
On the screen, facing Homelander, Ron seemed to have the upper hand, with Homelander being tossed around like a sandbag, only occasionally landing a counterattack.
"The destruction caused by their combined power has exceeded that of a 30-megaton hydrogen bomb.
If this had happened in New York, conservatively estimated, at least several million people would have died by now!"
A technician, analyzing the data on the computer, turned pale with fright and stammered.
The others watching the screen also felt fear in their hearts, their teeth chattering.
They actually worked and lived in the same building as monsters possessing such power every day!
What was the difference between this and working on a nuclear bomb? It was even worse!
"At least... at least two nuclear bombs won't fight each other because they don't like each other!"
They thought, terrified.
No matter how powerful the descriptions on paper, they were just dry lines of text; how could they compare to the shock of truly witnessing the destruction caused by such power?
Madeline's mouth was slightly agape, her eyes wide with shock; she had never seen Homelander, who was always obedient to her, even infatuated with her, look so terrifying, so horrific.
Just a few days ago, Homelander had, to please her, destroyed a plane carrying a mayor.
And Ron...
"Homelander's punches landed on him, but couldn't even budge him; instead, Homelander was often sent flying by his punches, either high into the sky or deep into the ground."
"A younger, even more terrifying Homelander has truly appeared!"
...
In a flash, over an hour had passed.
The two continued their intense battle, without a moment's pause.
"I'm Homelander! I'm the strongest!"
Homelander roared fiercely, flying up to deliver continuous close-range attacks; he had never felt so disheveled and powerless.
He hadn't even managed to hurt a single hair on Ron's head.
"No one can compare to me."
"Hiss!"
After an attack was dodged, his eyes lit up, and he unleashed his Heat Vision once more; the rays, capable of cutting through all matter on Earth, shot out!
"It's useless, how many times have you tried?"
In the sky, Ron's eyes glowed like two miniature crimson Suns, both emitting rays.
The two rays collided, sparking energy and evaporating everything.
"I saw through your ability long ago; it has a limit, you're just pretending to be relaxed!"
Roaring loudly, Homelander's face was distorted in a grimace, his teeth gritted, as he unleashed his Heat Vision with all his might.
Although he said so, he knew that Ron's ability was unique, able to absorb various powers to become immune to damage, and had been trying to overload Ron.
But Ron's ability to absorb energy was like a bottomless abyss, like a giant Black Hole, without limit.
This made him feel powerless, leading to uncontrollable rage and fury.
"Is that so?
Then give it a try!"
Ron sneered, unleashing his energy rays to a greater extent.
Every ability has its limits; in fact, during the high-speed battle, there were a few times when Homelander came very close to the limit of his energy absorption.
But he quickly released the accumulated energy, turning danger into safety.
If Homelander had been faster, and could have landed more and quicker attacks on him, he would have been in danger.
"It's just a pity there's no 'if'..."
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"
The two rays collided, emitting high temperatures and rolling heat waves, and a large Fire ignited on the island.
At the center of the collision, because the energy output was too fast to annihilate each other, a huge energy ball had accumulated, expanding more and more.
Finally, after dozens of seconds, the several-meter-wide energy ball seemed to reach a certain limit.
"Bang!"
An Earth-shattering explosion sounded, and endless light and heat erupted.
A Sun suddenly rose in mid-air.
The heavens and Earth seemed to tremble, and a black, gaping crater appeared at the center of the island; the poor deserted island finally could not withstand the destruction of their combined power, becoming completely barren, with everything on its surface vanishing!
A huge Impact swept for dozens of miles, and both of them were blown away.
After several somersaults, they stabilized themselves in the air.
"Do you still want to fight?"
Ron and Homelander hovered in mid-air, facing each other from a distance, their gazes seemingly sparking and rubbing; he asked indifferently.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you?!"
Homelander, his face grim, clenched his fists and said, enunciating each word, but he did not move again.
Now his hair was a mess, his face smudged with dirt, and his clothes tattered, like a homeless person on the street; he had never been so disheveled.
"Heh..."
Seeing through his facade, Ron, with his hands behind his back, sneered and said nothing, then vanished with a bang.
He had no confidence in killing Homelander, and continuing the fight was meaningless.
Neither of them could defeat the other; although he landed more attacks on Homelander, Homelander's most severe injury so far was only a slight reddening in some areas.
Through their fight, he verified one point—Homelander's greatest strength was indeed his defense!
However, relatively speaking, Homelander had even less confidence than him; Ron's nonchalant blocking and catching of his attacks was truly disarming, and after fighting for so long without any effect, Homelander had already lost heart.
After Ron left, Homelander remained, his face so grim that Water could almost drip from it; he stayed motionless for a long time before finally breaking the sound barrier repeatedly, leaving behind deafening sounds, and turning to fly away at extreme speed!
"It's over..."
Inside the office.
As the battle between the two concluded, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Homelander... did he lose?"
A hesitant, uncertain voice broke the silence of the office.
They looked at each other: "It... it seems so."
This battle seemed to have no clear winner; both still had the strength to fight.
But in their eyes, Ron's hair wasn't even messy, while Homelander was beaten to that state; it was truly hard to say that Homelander had won.
"Enough, you may leave now; go sign a non-disclosure agreement. No one is to speak of today's events!"
Madeline, with lingering shock on her face, stopped their discussion and told them to go sign the non-disclosure agreement.
After the technicians left.
She looked anxiously at Edgar.
"Sir, what do we do now?"
Will Homelander think the company created Ron, and thus become resentful and lose control?
And what about Ron?
He's younger, but his strength is no less than Homelander's, and the company hasn't found a way to firmly control him yet!"
Madeline, having witnessed their destructive power, was in a state of turmoil and couldn't help but feel even more terrified.
Edgar, who usually took everything in stride, sat back in his office chair, expressionless, lost in thought.
"Given Homelander's temperament, he won't."
"The once incredibly arrogant him wouldn't, and now that his pride, which made him think he was unique and superior, has been shattered by Ron, he certainly won't."
After a while, he finally spoke; unlike Homelander, whom he understood very well, he fell into a period of silence when it came to Ron.
"As for Ron..."