"You serious?"
Vera, with her short platinum-blonde hair and earrings, raised an eyebrow.
"You're planning to give Apokolips an advantage?"
Homelander smiled and shrugged, "Even if my overall strength drops by another 10%, dealing with Steppenwolf will still be easy."
"You're very confident."
Vera nodded, "Fine, then I'll play with you."
Bruce cleared his throat.
"You two, could you take this outside?"
He knew very well how strong the Conqueror was. Once they started fighting, there was no way his secret base would remain intact.
However, neither Homelander nor Vera paid any attention to him.
Almost at the same moment, golden flames shot from both their eyes, blasting blazing streams of energy toward each other.
Heat Vision!
Unlike Martin's heavily unbalanced version of Homelander, Vera had clearly strengthened her basic talents as well.
Her Laser Vision had also upgraded into Heat Vision. The only question was what level it had reached.
The two golden energy streams collided in the air, canceling each other out as they pushed against one another.
Vera said arrogantly, "What, is this all you've got?"
Homelander chuckled, "I've got a lot more than this. I'm just afraid you won't be able to handle it."
Without changing expression, Vera replied, "Stop talking and start proving it. You sound just like those people who only know how to brag."
"They talk like they're unbeatable, but when it actually matters, they're done in three minutes."
Homelander laughed, "I'd never lie to you. If you tried it, you'd know I could keep you busy all night."
As he spoke, he increased the level of solar radiation.
The stream pouring from his eyes immediately thickened to the width of an arm.
The temperature in the air rose sharply.
The outer shell of Bruce's jet quickly turned red-hot, and sparks began flying from many of its circuits.
Bruce immediately ran into the aircraft and put on his Batsuit.
As Homelander continued increasing the output, the power and temperature of the Heat Vision climbed steadily.
Soon, it was approaching ten thousand degrees.
Vera's expression became serious.
Although she could still match Homelander's beam, she was no longer as relaxed as before.
She snorted, suddenly increased her output, and forced Homelander's beam back a short distance before stopping her Heat Vision.
The boots on her feet tore through the airflow, creating winds like a storm.
She vanished from sight in an instant.
However, Homelander's Absolute Hit wasn't just for show.
Even though Vera had disappeared, the Heat Vision suddenly curved and blasted toward the space to Homelander's left.
"Huh?"
Vera's figure appeared there.
She clearly hadn't expected Homelander's Heat Vision to track targets.
She immediately gave up the idea of circling behind him and shot upward instead, causing the Heat Vision to chase her into the sky.
Homelander didn't pursue her.
He continued firing the beam and further increased the level of solar radiation.
The temperature of the Heat Vision had now exceeded twenty thousand degrees, and its surface had become so bright it was difficult to look at directly.
High above, Vera rapidly gained altitude and then raised Mjolnir.
The weather in the upper sky suddenly darkened with thick clouds.
Bolt after bolt of lightning struck down and gathered onto Mjolnir.
Holding the hammer wrapped in electric light, Vera swung it downward and smashed it into the pursuing Heat Vision.
Bzzz!
A dull sound echoed through the sky.
A ring-shaped ripple spread outward, scattering the clouds overhead and leaving the sky above Bruce's secret base completely clear.
On the lake below, the reflection of Homelander's golden beam shooting upward like a pillar of light first swelled, then, in the next moment, flames filled the sky.
The terrifying explosion covered the entire sky in fire.
Blinding flames swept across everything.
The sky instantly became a sea of fire.
Within that sea of fire, countless secondary explosions continued to erupt while thick bolts of lightning lashed in every direction.
Terrifying energy surged up and down.
The clouds at high altitude were completely wiped away, while thick white steam rolled across the lake below.
Inside the secret base, flames forced their way through every crack and gap, blasting through every corner.
Inside the jet, Bruce grabbed a nearby handhold to keep himself from falling.
Heavy impacts continuously struck the outside of the aircraft, producing endless clanging sounds.
It seemed the rock layers of the cave ceiling were collapsing, making Bruce wonder whether he was about to be buried alive.
He could only rush to the cockpit and start the jet, despite it never having been tested.
However, Homelander had just finished fixing the aircraft's software.
In theory, the jet should now be usable.
Bruce quickly powered it up, sealed the hatch, and opened the flight exit.
Then, beneath flashing signal lights, he shoved the control stick forward.
The jet immediately ignited its engines, roared down the runway, and shot out.
As the aircraft exited the tunnel, Bruce saw that his base had completely collapsed.
Lake water was pouring in.
Judging by the damage, repairing it would require a huge amount of work.
He flew the aircraft and looked up.
The sky was still burning, but inside that sea of fire, violent collisions kept erupting and sending rings of ripples outward.
Every impact gave the feeling that the sky and earth were breaking apart.
The shockwaves alone caused the jet to sway back and forth as though it might crash at any moment.
Inside that sea of fire, Homelander and Vera flashed across the sky as they repeatedly clashed.
Homelander's fists and Vera's war hammer collided again and again.
During the battle, Homelander's Multi-Hit appeared from time to time.
Whenever it did, Vera's body swayed through the sky like a drunk person.
Homelander's Multi-Hit carried three different effects: Shock, Impact, and Explosion.
Whenever Multi-Hit activated, the three effects appeared in random combinations.
As a result, Vera couldn't figure out its pattern.
This time it might be Shock, Shock, Impact, Explosion, Shock.
Next time it might be Impact, Shock, Explosion, Explosion, Impact.
Each appearance of Multi-Hit created a different combination of kinetic force from the three effects, tearing at Vera's bio-force field.
Likewise, Vera's Mjolnir sometimes unleashed powerful electric currents.
Other times, it shattered into hundreds or thousands of charged fragments and attacked.
Clearly, this wasn't Thor's Mjolnir.
It was the one used by Jane Foster, the Mighty Thor, in Thor: Love and Thunder.
As Vera charged forward once again, Homelander suddenly used Mind Transfer and teleported beside her.
Then he raised both arms and slammed the Bracelets of Hercules together.
Bzzz!
A vast white shockwave burst outward.
The ripple spread rapidly.
Wherever it passed, the surroundings became blurred, and space itself seemed to fold slightly.
Vera opened her mouth in surprise.
Her body immediately curled up as she assumed a defensive posture.