"Alright…"
Thor looked like a balloon that had lost all its air, shoulders drooping.
"Then… I shall move the equipment."
Jane Foster's lips curved faintly.
"Good boy."
She reached up and ruffled his long golden hair.
"When we finish this experiment, I'll buy you… fried chicken from the corner shop. And two extra orders of fries."
"Deal."
Thor's eyes lit up instantly.
He hurried off, lugging massive pieces of machinery like an overenthusiastic intern.
Jane shook her head with helpless affection.
"Honestly… sometimes he's just a child."
Outside, the golden energy storm still raged over Manhattan.
"Hang in there, Homelander," she murmured softly.
"Finish it."
-----
Manhattan — The Battle Continues
Bruce Banner did not transform.
He didn't dare risk losing control among civilians.
But that didn't mean he stood aside.
"I've got you! Hold on!"
He wedged his not-so-mighty shoulder beneath a collapsed steel beam.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
"—RRRAAAH!"
With raw human effort, he forced a narrow passage open so a trapped mother and daughter could crawl out.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"Go! Safe zone that way!" Bruce shouted, pointing.
Elsewhere—
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Pietro became a silver streak, evacuating a busload of passengers seconds before it overturned.
"No need to thank me! Just like my Twitter!"
Jessica Jones smashed aside a falling neon billboard with a single punch.
Across the chaos, Vought's heroes became the city's only shelter.
Every second—
Captured by hovering Hummingbird drones.
Broadcast worldwide.
And thanks to them—
Antony finally "freed his hands."
"Have you had enough?!" he roared.
He blurred forward—
Appearing before Skynet mid-beam.
In one swift motion he produced a small device—
A glowing blue magnetic LED puck.
"Slap!"
He planted it squarely on her chest.
"Molecular stabilizer! Your phasing is disabled!!"
He shouted the explanation loud enough for every drone mic to capture.
Then—
His arms snapped around her neck.
Rear choke locked.
"Release me, inferior organism!"
She thrashed violently.
They smashed through building after building—
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Concrete exploded.
Steel twisted.
But Antony held fast—
Like he was welded to her spine.
"I will not let you hurt a single person more!!"
His voice echoed across every screen in the world.
"Homelander! Finish her!"
"Lock it in!"
Skynet's tone shifted.
"If I cannot be born…"
"…then we perish together!"
The Mind Stone flared with blinding intensity.
The air warped violently around her.
Energy pressure skyrocketed.
"Oh no—!"
Antony's eyes widened.
"She's going critical!"
Panic rippled through the streets.
"RUN!"
"It's too late!"
Despair spread like wildfire.
Then—
Antony made a choice.
He did not release her.
He tightened his grip.
Lifted his eyes toward the dark sky.
"You want to destroy my city?"
"In your dreams."
BOOOOM—!!!
Dragging the living superweapon in his arms—
He rocketed straight upward.
A red-and-blue streak driving a growing sphere of golden annihilation through the clouds.
Ten thousand meters.
Twenty thousand.
Thirty thousand.
He was taking death away.
Away from the city.
Away from the people.
Toward a place where only he would remain.
"My God…"
Reporters lowered their microphones.
Viewers wept openly.
What kind of spirit was this?
What kind of sacrifice?
And then—
The golden light erupted.
"BOOOOOOOOM——!!!"
Even from tens of thousands of meters above—
The detonation shook the earth.
The night ignited.
A second sun bloomed in the sky.
Lighting half the Western Hemisphere.
"NOOOO!!!"
Wanda collapsed to her knees, screaming.
"He can't… he can't be gone!" Jessica's fists clenched until her palms bled.
Silence fell across the globe.
Was it over?
Had Homelander—
Given his life for us?
One second.
Two.
One minute.
Two minutes.
The sky remained empty.
Only fading light.
"Is… is he not coming back?" a little girl whispered, clutching her teddy bear.
"Wait—!"
Pietro pointed.
"There! That's him!"
A tiny black dot descended.
Growing larger.
Closer.
People saw—
A figure.
Falling slowly.
Cape shredded, half gone.
The once-pristine blue suit burned, cracked, exposing torn skin beneath.
Golden hair matted with blood and ash.
But upright.
Unbroken.
And in his hand—
He dragged a gray, lifeless body.
"Thud."
He landed in the ruined plaza.
Gently placed Skynet's inert form at his feet.
Then staggered forward two steps.
He looked exhausted.
Injured.
Human.
And to everyone watching—
More magnificent than ever.
He exhaled heavily.
Lifted his head.
And managed a faint, tired smile.
"It's over…"
Like a spell breaking—
The crowd erupted.
Thunderous applause.
Screams.
Sobs.
They surged toward him in waves.
"Homelander! Homelander!"
"You're a god!"
"You saved us!"
He didn't push them away.
He allowed himself to be lifted—
Carried—
Touched.
A living legend.
After a moment, he rose gently into the air.
Raised a hand.
Silence fell instantly.
Thousands of people held their breath—
Waiting.
Waiting for their hero to speak.
--------------
T/N:
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