"My name is Mehmet Paul. Hope you remember it." Then Mehmet deactivated his power. The rock layer covering his body shattered instantly, turning into sand that poured onto the ground.
"Got it, Rock guy."
Butcher pulled an old flip phone from his pocket and tossed it to the rock guy. "We'll use this to stay in touch. When the job starts, I'll text you."
There was no way Butcher was keeping two terrorists around. For one, Kimiko might lose control after too long. For another, what they were doing was highly classified. He couldn't risk any fuck-ups.
"Fine." Mehmet stuffed the phone in his pocket and left with Savant.
...
Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia.
Compared to the insane hustle of Manhattan, Philadelphia's buildings looked ancient. That didn't mean the city's economy or population was weak.
Quite the opposite.
As America's former capital, it was the biggest city in Pennsylvania, right behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.
It was also close to New York. When Vought announced the first fan meet-and-greet in Philadelphia, fans from New York and Washington were willing to drive for hours just to see their idols in person.
"Aaaah!!! Stormfront! I love you!"
"Homelander! Homelander!"
"Starlight, I'm your biggest fan!"
"The fastest man alive! A-Train!"
"Queen Maeve, I came here for you!"
"Black Noir, you're so cool!"
As The Seven appeared one by one on the high stage, the packed crowd of fans waved their flags like crazy and screamed their lungs out. The whole place had turned into a sea of pure frenzy. Their outfits varied, but the most common were people waving American flags. After all, Homelander's cape was the Stars and Stripes.
"Welcome everyone to Vought's Superhero Fan Meet-and-Greet Tour! Now let's have the superheroes say hello!"
Ashley stretched her arms out, pointing toward Homelander.
Homelander looked out at the surging crowd and felt his sense of crisis vanish. That confident smile returned to his face.
"Raise your American flags high! You, my friends, are the real heroes!" Homelander flashed his sunny smile and gave the crowd a big thumbs-up.
"Homelander! Homelander!" The fans chanted his name, some so excited their necks turned red.
The deafening roar made Homelander feel like he was in heaven. Right now he felt like he was wearing a cape woven from glory and a crown called power. Bathed in the light of worship, he felt more satisfied than ever before.
"How does it feel?"
Stormfront stood beside him with a smile, looking straight ahead at the crowd while waving to her fans.
"Look at them. From eighteen to thirty-four, thirty-four to fifty-four. They're all screaming my name. They all love me!" Homelander's smile was genuine. He turned to Stormfront with total confidence. "My position is something you'll never take."
Then he raised his arm to the crowd and shouted, "Tell me, who is America's real superhero?"
"Homelander!!" Their voices crashed like waves, growing louder and louder.
"Me!" Homelander pointed both thumbs at himself and roared, "Homelander! Haha, thank you for all your love, but as I said, the Police, the Army men, and you guys are the real heroes!"
Then he shot Stormfront a smug look.
Stormfront just shrugged. "I never wanted to fight you for any of this. Constantly chasing everyone's love is pretty pathetic. You already know you can't be liked by everyone. So why bother? Work with me instead. You've got the fans, I've got the fighters. Together we could rule the whole damn world."
The first half of Stormfront's words made Homelander's blood boil. But when she finished, his eyes went blank.
What the fuck?
Hadn't she been pushing herself so hard to replace him? And what did she mean by "fighters"?
"Thanks, but I don't need to team up with anyone."
Homelander was still suspicious of her.
"After the event, I'll send you a little gift. Then you'll understand."
Next it was Stormfront's turn to speak.
One sentence from her showed Homelander exactly what she meant by "fighters."
"We will always be great! This is our supreme nation! Make America great again! We are so back!"
If you weren't already one of her fans, you might not get the real meaning. Replace "we" with "white people" and it became crystal clear.
The next second, chaos broke out on the ground. One of Stormfront's die-hard fans punched a French guy in the face. "Fucking frenchie, get the fuck out of America! You don't belong here! You too Nigger, what are you smiling at! And you Asian monkey, go back to your country! Give America back to us!"
His move was the spark. It lit the powder keg. What started as one fight quickly turned into three, five, then dozens.
Everywhere you looked, people were either jumping in or getting dragged into the brawl. Terrified screams and crying exploded across the venue.
Ashley on stage turned deathly pale. What the hell was happening? She still had no idea.
"See that? Those are my fighters. Excitement and anger sell."
"What are you waiting for? Go stop this little circus. It's the perfect chance to show off." Stormfront smiled.
Homelander's face darkened. He didn't say a word. He looked at the chaos below and flew straight toward the worst area. "Get the fuck off!"
His roar made the fighting people freeze for a second.
In the middle of the battlefield, a Polish guy was still holding his own against three attackers. When Homelander arrived, he grabbed the man by the back of the neck, forced him to his knees, and pressed his knee against his throat. "Enough! Everybody stop right now!"
Then he fired a laser from his eyes that sliced across the sky and took off a corner of a banner.
It worked. The violent crowd was instantly intimidated.
The fans around them saw the red glow in Homelander's eyes. After a few seconds of silence, they erupted into another thunderous cheer.
"Homelander! You're the real hero!"
"Homelander, look over here!" Countless people pulled out their phones and snapped pictures.
Facing all the camera lenses, Homelander's lips curved into a bright, sunny smile.
Amid the cheers, no one noticed or heard the Polish man's dying gasps. "I can't breathe. I can't breathe."
___
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69