High above in the sky, the wind roared.
Homelander stared in the direction of Manhattan below. At that moment, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
He saw a team of police officers near the Manhattan Arch, sneaking forward. Using buildings, cars, and green belts as cover, they quietly moved closer.
Beside the arch, a metal cylinder had been installed on the ground. Earlier, when Jeff demonstrated the "Earthshaker," Homelander had seen these cylinders placed in different corners of Manhattan start vibrating.
They were the ones that released the shockwaves and created that small earthquake.
Homelander glanced at the "Raptor" armor standing guard above the arch and chuckled, "Looks like they used the city's surveillance to find those devices."
"They want to try removing them before negotiations, so they can take the initiative?"
"They should know that's not an easy thing to do, right?"
Homelander shook his head, "Those pigs can't be that stupid. If they really were that stupid, the Federation would've been overthrown several times already."
"In that case, this is probably a smokescreen to confuse their opponent."
"So that means they're planning to rescue Arnold?"
"That won't be simple. Even if they send in their most elite troops, they probably won't be a match for those armors."
Homelander lightly slapped his forehead, "Looks like that old man Edgar has already teamed up with the Federation."
"Edgar is an old fox. He won't bite just any piece of meat."
"What did the Federation throw out? Sharing the 'Zero' armor technology?"
"That's probably not enough."
"Letting superhumans enter the military?"
The corner of Homelander's mouth lifted slightly as he looked toward the Empire State Building.
His gaze pierced through the building and landed on a familiar figure.
Maeve!
She was currently heading up to the top floor via the stairwell, skillfully avoiding all surveillance.
Homelander narrowed his eyes, "Edgar, you've stretched your hand out again."
He quietly made a note of that debt, then looked at the Empire State Building. He saw Maeve rapidly climbing through the fire escape, soon reaching the top floor.
At that moment, Maeve raised her wrist and said something into her wrist guard.
Homelander knew that inside their superhero suits were communicators exclusive to the Seven.
Maeve was probably contacting someone.
His gaze shifted, and he immediately looked into the hall, where he saw Starlight.
Homelander whistled softly, "Working together from inside and out, huh?"
"Go on. Let me see what tricks you can pull."
———
Inside the Empire State Building, Starlight suddenly heard Maeve's voice in her ear.
["Starlight, are you still in the hall?"]
Starlight's heartbeat sped up. She instinctively felt that something big was about to happen. She turned around, facing away from the stage, and said softly, "I'm here."
Maeve paused for a moment before saying, ["The Federation wants to get Arnold out. Now this task has fallen to the two of us."]
["This is what I'm thinking."]
["I'll charge in and draw the armors' attention. You take the opportunity to get Arnold out. Can you do it?"]
Maeve took on the hardest part, leaving Starlight with the easier one.
But the girl did not agree right away. She thought for a moment, then said, "What about the other hostages?"
"Even if we manage to rescue Arnold, Mr. Z will definitely hurt them, won't he?"
Maeve was silent for a few seconds before saying, ["That's not for us to consider. We just follow orders. The Federation will pressure the media. This will be handled quietly. We won't face any blame."]
Starlight shook her head, "That's not what I meant."
"I'm not afraid of being blamed. But I can't ignore the lives of so many people in this hall just for one Arnold."
"And I promised to protect them."
Maeve let out a bitter laugh, ["Starlight, even though we're superheroes, you've been at the Seven Tower for a while now. You should understand that many times, we're just acting like superheroes."]
Starlight said in disbelief, "How can you say that?"
"We are superheroes!"
"At least, that's what I see Homelander doing!"
Maeve said, ["Homelander?"]
["He's just playing a game called superhero."]
["If he were truly a hero, would he have killed so many people in this hall?"]
Starlight suddenly felt a wave of discomfort, as if something she had always believed in had just been smashed to pieces.
She gently bit her lip and looked toward the window. She saw a burning bridge, a city with thick smoke rising, and herself reflected in the glass.
Starlight took a deep breath and said firmly, "Even so, then at least tonight, I'm going to be a superhero."
"I'm going to keep my promise and protect the people in this hall."
In the fire escape, Maeve let out a slightly pained laugh, ["Then how about this. You draw their attention for me, and I'll handle the rescue."]
["Once I take Arnold away, they'll definitely chase after us. That way, you can lead the people in the hall out too. How about that?"]
This time, Starlight did not refuse, "Let's do it."
Below the stage in the hall, as Starlight and Maeve were talking, a man squeezed out of the crowd, raised both hands, and said, "I'm Sergeant Andrew. I belong to the Department of Defense."
"Secretary Wilson wants to negotiate with you regarding the Manhattan incident."
On the stage, the "Titan" armor, which had not moved much, turned around at this moment. Mr. Z's synthesized electronic voice sounded, "Put it on speaker, Sergeant."
Sergeant Andrew placed the phone with the speaker function turned on onto the stage. A voice came from it, ["This is Wilson."]
In the hall, Starlight looked around, then quietly walked beneath a crystal chandelier.
At that moment, she heard Mr. Z say from the stage, "That's impossible. I won't agree to such ridiculous terms."
"Also, tell your police on Manhattan Island to back off. Don't think I don't know what they're doing."
It sounded like negotiations had already begun between him and the Federation. This was a good opportunity.
Starlight raised her hand and whispered into the communicator in her wrist, "I'm moving. Wait for my signal."
Then she lowered her head, letting her hair cover her face. But her eyes lit up, as if powered by electricity, light flickering in her pupils.
As Starlight's eyes began to glow, the chandelier above her, whose bulbs had been shining at a moderate brightness, suddenly burst into intense light.
In the blink of an eye, the light became as bright as daylight. Countless sparks rained down from the chandelier, forcing the people below to dodge.
On the stage, the "Titan" armor noticed the abnormality and turned toward the chandelier.
Over there, Starlight suddenly raised her head, lifted both hands, and shouted, "Now!"
On the top floor of the Empire State Building, all the windows at once shone with blinding light, as if a sun had risen inside.
High in the sky, the corner of Homelander's mouth curled up. Watching the building light up from within, he parted his lips and softly said, "Wow~"
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