Starlight left.
Stormfront pulled down her baseball cap, left the library through another door, and slipped into an ice cream truck.
Butcher, wearing a striped delivery uniform and sporting a big beard, was looking at his phone.
"What are you looking at?", Stormfront glanced at his screen.
"Just finished chatting with your little Annie."
Butcher raised his head, "So, how'd it go? Did she get scared enough to wet herself?"
Stormfront smiled, "She's the bravest girl I've ever seen."
"I believe she'll steal some Compound V for us."
"I'm already starting to like her."
Butcher let out a dry laugh, "She can't satisfy you anyway. What's the point of liking her?"
Stormfront looked at him, "You really are crazy. Always looking for a way to die."
"You still haven't told me what you're looking at."
Butcher turned the phone screen toward her, "You sound like one of those neurotic wives worried about their husband cheating."
Stormfront burst out laughing, "Don't worry, I won't fall for you."
Then she looked at the screen.
"Isn't that your good friend?"
"They escaped?"
On the phone was a news report about Frenchie and Mother's Milk escaping not long ago.
And the Bear Man who intercepted the prison bus.
"Well, that's good. You can go find them. The more friends we have, the better."
Butcher put away his phone, "I'm not going to find them."
Stormfront wasn't surprised, "At least you have some self-awareness. They went to prison because of you, and you don't even show a bit of concern."
"I'm doing this for their own good."
"You see? Didn't they escape?"
Butcher smiled faintly as he started the ice cream truck, "Besides, how do I know this isn't some act staged by The Seven?"
"Maybe the moment I go looking for those two idiots, Homelander will be standing behind me saying 'hello.'"
Stormfront nodded, "In the past, I definitely wouldn't agree with you, but now…"
Butcher curled his lips into a smile, turned on the music, and drove off.
———
That same day.
Homelander brought Kimiko to an apartment building in Chinatown and opened a room on the second floor.
Right above this room was where Caitlin lived.
But right now, Caitlin was at work.
"This will be where you live from now on."
Homelander tossed the key to Kimiko.
Over the past few days, Kimiko had been hidden by him, and he had given her a complete makeover.
Her hair had been cut short, and she was wearing new clothes. She now looked like a quiet female college student.
"You only have one task."
Homelander took out a photo and handed it to Kimiko, "Protect the person in this picture."
"I don't want her to be harmed in the slightest."
"If you do that, I'll help you find your brother."
Kimiko took the photo. In it was an Asian girl wearing sunglasses and holding a white cane.
The wolf girl couldn't help but feel confused.
She signed, [This girl is blind?]
"Yes."
Homelander smiled and pointed at the ceiling, "She lives right above you."
"If anything happens upstairs, you should be able to sense it, right?"
Kimiko nodded.
Homelander continued, "Come on, I'll take you to her workplace."
———
A moment later, the two arrived across the street from a music shop.
Homelander pointed at Caitlin, who was tuning an instrument, "See her? She's right there."
"You'll protect her for me 24 hours a day, but don't let her notice your presence."
"At the very least, don't let her or her coworkers realize someone is following her during her commute."
Kimiko signed, [No problem. Then when will you help me find the Mouse?]
Homelander smiled, "I can't give you an exact time."
"How about this."
"Within one year, I guarantee I'll find him."
"If it goes beyond that, you can leave anytime, or make another request of me."
Kimiko signed, [Deal.]
———
After settling Kimiko, Homelander returned to the Chinatown apartment.
He opened the shop and looked at the rune stone section.
[Runestone "Crimson Bands of Cyttorak": After equipping, you can use the corresponding magic. This magic has a "strong control" effect.]
[Note: You can equip up to three runestones at the same time.]
[Price: Proficiency Essence *20]
Homelander chose to exchange it. With a flash of light, a plain rhombus-shaped crystal appeared in his hand.
Inside it, faint red bands of light flickered from time to time.
Just as Homelander was wondering how to equip it, the crystal suddenly turned intangible and sank into his hand.
New information appeared in his mind. He looked at the coat rack by the door and flicked his hand toward it.
Immediately, several deep crimson light bands, covered in mysterious symbols, shot out and wrapped around the coat rack.
"Good."
"With this, I now have a control-type ability."
Homelander raised his hand and looked at the Traveler's Ring on his finger.
"Right now I have 15 Dim Essence and 6 Proficiency Essence left."
"That's more than enough to open a multiverse world once."
The reason he chose to exchange the runestone was to prepare for entering a multiverse world.
He had already rested for a while, and there hadn't been any disaster events recently.
With no "income," Homelander could only set his sights on the multiverse.
Next, he spent 5 Dim Essence and chose to randomly enter a multiverse world.
The reason he didn't use 1 Proficiency Essence to select a specific world was because he had tried before to enter the Marvel world.
But the ring responded that it hadn't been 30 days since his last visit to the Marvel Universe.
The Marvel Universe was still on cooldown and couldn't be accessed through the ring.
So now, although he was only spending 5 Dim Essence to enter randomly, since Homelander had only experienced two different universes, the one he would enter would definitely be the DC Universe.
Immediately, his ring emitted a blue glow.
A mass of dark blue flames swallowed Homelander.
He vanished into thin air.
Just like entering the multiverse through Caitlin's portal, Homelander barely felt any transition before he heard a scream.
He had already crossed universes and entered the DC world.
Before entering, Homelander had protected himself with a bio-force field, and he was wearing the vibranium battle suit along with the Justice Cloak.
With all these layers of protection, even if Superman blasted him with heat vision the moment he arrived, Homelander believed he could withstand it.
His vision blurred.
The person he saw wasn't Superman.
Instead, it was a beautiful woman with nearly white blonde hair crashing straight toward him.
Homelander raised his hand to block her face, then looked around and realized he was inside a metal cage.
Behind him was the cage door, and outside stood several figures resembling guards.
Fully armed, even carrying guns, they clearly weren't ordinary guards.
At the moment, these people were stunned, probably not expecting Homelander to suddenly appear inside the cage.
All of them were shocked.
"What's going on?"
"Where did this man come from?"
"Who are you? Tell me your name now!"
One of the guards even pointed his gun at Homelander.
Homelander's eyes narrowed slightly. The guard's expression instantly turned to fear.
Then the gun barrel moved to his own chin.
Bang!
He shot himself.
"Mind Invasion."
Homelander used this psychic ability to teach the guard a lesson for daring to point a gun at him, then looked at the woman in the cage.
She was beautiful, with platinum-blonde hair, though her face and legs were covered in messy patterns, giving her the look of a mad beauty.
At that moment, information appeared in Homelander's vision.
[You have successfully entered the DC Universe using the Traveler's Ring.]
[Timer and cost have begun. Staying in this universe consumes 1 Dim Proficiency Essence per day.]
[If insufficient, higher-tier essence will be automatically deducted until you leave this universe.]
[Note: If all essence is depleted, you will be forcibly returned to your main universe.]
[You have triggered a multiverse event.]
[Event Name: Task Force X.]
[Description: After the "Dawn of Justice" incident, fearing the threat posed by superhumans, Amanda gathered a group of super criminals to work for the government in order to counter such threats. At this moment, Amanda is persuading the government at the Pentagon to launch the Task Force X project. Your arrival at this time—will it bring unpredictable variables to this plan?]
[Event Requirement: None.]
[Note: You may act freely. When you leave this universe, the event will end, and rewards will be evaluated based on your actions.]
[Event Start!]
After quickly reading through this information, Homelander understood.
The mad beauty in front of him was the Joker's girlfriend, Harley Quinn.
Homelander knew that the old woman gathering these super criminals did so to guard against powerful beings like Superman.
What he couldn't understand was, if Superman was their hypothetical enemy, what made those people think this team of assassins, gangsters, and criminals could stand against him?
All he could say was, 'These people are far too arrogant.'
"Hey, how did you get in here?"
"Are you a magician?"
Harley Quinn circled around Homelander twice, then laughed, "Can you take me out?"
"Take me with you, and I'm yours."
"What do you think?"
Just like in the movies, the beautiful woman stuck out her tongue and tried to lick Homelander's face.
Homelander pushed her away.
Smiling, he said, "Ma'am, you should take a shower."
Harley sniffed her arm, then here and there, and said, "Do I smell that bad? Why can't I smell it?"
At that moment, the guards outside the cage shouted, "Put your hands up where we can see them!"
"Or we'll open fire!"
Harley poked her head out from behind Homelander and laughed loudly, "I'm still here, you know. You trying to kill me too?"
"Then hurry up. I can't wait to see Puddin' slice your throats."
But at that moment, with a soft sound, Homelander had already used "Teleportation" to leave the cage.
Harley froze for a moment, then burst out laughing, "He really is a magician."
———
Meanwhile—
[Inside the Pentagon]
"Suppose Superman suddenly decides one day to descend from the sky, rip open the White House, and drag our highest leader out of his office."
"Who could stop him?"
"What if the next Superman is a terrorist?"
"Amanda has a solution."
A woman walked to the big screen and spoke confidently. She was Amanda, the initiator of the Task Force X project.
She then presented "The Enchantress," a witch from another dimension.
Afterward, the witch obtained intelligence from an underground weapons department in Tehran.
This allowed the Secretary of Defense to approve the Task Force X project.
Just as the meeting was nearing its end, the door was suddenly thrown open. A staff member rushed in, pale-faced.
"A superhuman!"
"A superhuman has torn open the roof of the White House!"
Instantly, panic filled the conference room.
The Secretary of Defense looked at Amanda, "Quick, implement your plan."
Then he shouted, "Get me a live feed from the White House!"
Moments later, the big screen displayed the White House.
The roof was gone. Smoke drifted above the building, with faint flames visible inside.
Above the White House, in the sky, a figure floated.
"Is it Superman?", the Secretary shouted, "Zoom in!"
The image quickly zoomed in.
But the figure floating in the air wasn't Superman.
It was another blonde white man.
"Mr. John?", A general stood up, shocked.
The Secretary of Defense looked at him, "What do you mean, Mr. John?"
The general quickly replied, "One of the participants in the Metropolis destruction incident."
"The one who clashed with our forces in the desert and later reached an agreement with us."
This general was Achir, the same one who had previously ordered the army to attack Homelander, nearly getting his entire force wiped out.
The Secretary froze, then said, "Isn't he our ally?"
"Why is he attacking the White House?"
Achir couldn't answer that.
At that moment, they saw the man in the footage suddenly flash and rush into the White House.
The Secretary muttered, "Luckily, that gentleman isn't at the White House today."
"Quick, contact the National Guard. Surround the White House."
"Have our fighter jets on standby. We may need to engage in a limited air battle."
Then he said gravely, "Let's hope Amanda and her people make it in time."
General Achir shook his head. No matter how fast they moved, Amanda and her not-yet-formed team wouldn't make it to the White House in time to stop "Mr. John."
Achir said, "Maybe we can ask someone else for help."
———
[New York, White House]
Homelander walked straight into a luxurious office.
Inside the White House, people were running in panic, shouting in alarm.
No wonder they were terrified, the roof had been ripped off. It would be strange if they stayed calm.
Homelander sat in the chair usually reserved for the nation's highest leader and rudely propped his feet on the desk.
Then he shook his head.
"The president's chair isn't as comfortable as I imagined."
He had flown here just now.
He saw that Metropolis hadn't been fully rebuilt yet, still bearing the scars of the last destruction.
That meant, not much time had passed since his last visit to the DC Universe.
At that moment, outside the White House, tanks rolled in, surrounding the area.
In the sky, two fighter jets roared past, then began circling overhead.
Homelander looked up at the planes circling above him.
Then he smiled, "You really like sneak attacks, don't you?"
Behind him, Batman landed silently.
Bruce Wayne said in a low voice, "You're back."
"I knew you would return."
Batman glanced at the building with its missing ceiling, the sky visible above.
"I just didn't expect you to show up like this."
Homelander spread his hands, "Don't you think this kind of entrance suits my identity better?"
"Besides, I'm surprised."
"It's you who came."
"I thought it would be Superman."
Batman fell silent for a moment, then said, "He's lost his will. He doesn't want to deal with this world anymore."
Homelander turned to look at him, "Sounds like you've seen him."
Bruce's gaze dimmed, "I had to. After all, I killed his woman."
"And he didn't kill you?"
Homelander sighed, "He really is a good man."
Batman let out a breath, "His heart is dead."
"He doesn't even have the will to kill me anymore."
Homelander shook his head, "That won't do."
"Looks like I'll have to go talk to him."
Batman immediately grew alert, "What are you planning?"
Homelander stood up and laughed, "Relax."
"I just plan to give him a little 'stimulant.'"
Batman said in a low voice, "Don't go bother him."
"He just doesn't want to deal with the world anymore."
"I don't want him destroying it."
Homelander looked at him, "If I remember correctly, I don't have to take orders from you."
Whoosh!
A loud sound came from the sky.
Then someone descended from above, landing beside Bruce Wayne.
Batman glanced at her, "Looks like you got my message."
She smiled, "Or maybe I just needed to watch the news."
Long hair flowing, clad in armor.
Heroic and imposing.
Wonder Woman!
Homelander smiled, "Hello, Diana."
"Want to come with me to see Superman?"
"If so, I think you should change outfits, and bring a gift."
Diana's lips curved into a smile, "On this, I agree with Bruce."
"I think it's better if Superman isn't disturbed."
Homelander shook his head, "Is that so?"
"What a shame."
"Looks like I'll have to visit him alone."
Wonder Woman took up her shield and god-slaying sword, smiling, "I think it's best if you don't go anywhere."
Homelander let out a dry laugh, his feet slowly lifting off the ground, "What if I refuse?"
———
[Kansas]
In a field, a man drove a tractor into a barn.
His beard was unkempt, clearly not trimmed for a long time.
He wiped his face with a towel, then picked up a cup beside him and drank a few mouthfuls of plain water.
At that moment, the radio beside him was playing a news report.
["Just now, the White House was attacked by a mysterious individual."]
["Witnesses have identified him as one of the participants in the recent Metropolis destruction incident."]
["Just now, we also saw Batman—"]
When the man heard "Batman," he paused mid-drink.
Then he walked over and turned off the radio.
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