The Boys: I Became The Soldier Boy

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: There is No God in This World

Chapter 30: There is No God in This World

Homelander held Mia, the little girl’s arms wrapped around his neck, her cheek pressed against his shoulder guard. Her body heat radiated through his suit, warm. Homelander suddenly realized one thing: he seemingly had absolutely no way to save this entire plane of people. No matter how fast he flew, there wasn’t enough time to ferry them down trip by trip...

No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t lift a passenger jet with no point of leverage, and he couldn’t fix a plane. Even though he was the most powerful Supe on earth, standing here holding a little girl who had smeared ice cream all over his pants yesterday, he could do absolutely nothing. Homelander’s breathing grew heavy as he began to gasp for air, his chest tightening as if something were pressing down on it.

Mia shifted in his arms, softly calling out, "Mr. Homelander," but he didn’t respond. His blue eyes stared blankly into space. Maeve stood at the cockpit door, watching Homelander hyperventilate while holding Mia. Her lips moved, wanting to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. She had almost never seen him completely breathless.

His phone rang. It was Homelander’s private number. He pulled the device from the inner lining of his suit, a contact flashing on the screen—"Father". He gently placed Mia down on her seat, stood up, walked to the rear of the cabin, and pressed answer.

"How’s the mission coming along?" Benjamin’s voice came through.

Homelander gripped the phone. He parted his lips, desperately wanting to say that he was fine, the mission was accomplished, and everything was going smoothly. But he couldn’t do it; he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his father.

"The plane... the plane is malfunctioning." His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone in the cabin heard it. After a brief silence, panic exploded like a bomb inside the cabin. Men were shouting, women were weeping, and the flight attendants, pale-faced, tried to maintain order, but no one listened. Someone curled up in their seat clutching their head, screaming, "I knew it!"

Benjamin’s voice wasn’t disrupted by the noise, remaining steady, though his pace was a few beats faster: "Oh, fuck... Listen, Homelander, I already prepared for this. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, it’s just that I figured putting a powerhouse like you inside a fragile plane was highly likely to end in disaster, and what do you know. There’s still time for everything, so keep your shit together."

"When you and Maeve left, I already coordinated with The Deep. The Deep has deployed a pod of dolphins waiting right along the plane’s flight path. No matter how fast the plane is moving, those goddamn dolphins are waiting ahead. You drop the passengers down one by one right now. Actually, take them two at a time, it’s more efficient. You don’t need to carry them to the shore, just drop them onto the surface of the sea. Those dolphin bastards will ferry them to the beach. Did you hear me clearly?"

Homelander gripped the phone, saying nothing. His breathing hadn’t completely stabilized yet, but the panic in his pupils began to recede.

"The Deep? That useless piece of shit?" Maeve was somewhat curious, her voice drifting over from the side. She had overheard the conversation over the phone.

"Did you hear me clearly?" Benjamin asked once more.

"I got it," Homelander said.

Then he hung up the phone, turning to face the cabin full of panicking passengers. Shoving the phone back into the inner lining of his suit, he took a deep breath.

"Everyone," his voice grew clear again. "There’s been a slight mishap. The plane was indeed broken by those criminals—but don’t worry, I am Homelander. Every single one of you will be safely delivered to the surface of the ocean. The Deep has already deployed a massive number of dolphins waiting down there, and the dolphins will ferry you to the shore. Do you understand?"

"What about our luggage—"

"Goddamn it, you moron, fuck! You’re thinking about luggage right now?!" a middle-aged man roared back at the person who asked. "We’ll be lucky to make it out alive, fuck!" fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Homelander turned to Maeve. "You stay on the plane and maintain order. I’ll drop them off. Open and shut the door carefully every single time, don’t let the slipstream suck the rest of them out."

Maeve gave a nod, staring at this somewhat unfamiliar Homelander. If it were the old Homelander, he would have absolutely chosen to abandon this plane without a second thought. She walked over to the cabin door, reaching out to grip the handle.

Homelander stepped up to Mia and her mother, bending down to scoop Mia up with one arm while wrapping his other arm around the mother’s shoulders. "Close your eyes," he said gently.

The mother and daughter closed their eyes simultaneously. Maeve yanked the door open, the wind howling as it rushed inside, and Homelander launched himself out, his red cape cutting a straight trajectory through the sky.

He decelerated just above the ocean, the sea breeze carrying a briny, salty mist right into his face. Looking down, a long line of gray dorsal fins cut through the water; at least dozens of dolphins were floating silently in a precise formation, lined up like soldiers waiting for inspection.

Sitting on the back of the leading dolphin was a single figure—The Deep. He wore his blue-and-green suit, and sitting behind him was a second-tier speedster Supe whose speed wasn’t anywhere near A-Train’s or Shockwave’s but was more than enough for a rescue operation like this. Otherwise, The Deep’s speed would be completely insufficient; moreover, he had already mobilized a massive number of dolphins in the vicinity by the time Homelander and Maeve arrived.

"Not bad, Deep." Homelander descended to the surface of the sea, his combat boots planting on the water as steadily as if he were stepping on concrete. "You actually have a goddamn brain."

"Mr. Homelander, it’s the least I could do," The Deep said sycophantically.

Homelander gently placed the mother and daughter onto the back of the leading dolphin. Mia opened her eyes, looking down at the smooth gray skin beneath her and the tiny eyes blinking up at her, her mouth forming a wide, surprised "O".

"Mommy! A dolphin! A real dolphin!"

"Yes, baby, the superhero Deep came to save us too."

"When we go back, I want to buy a Deep action figure!"

"We’ll buy it, we’ll buy the most expensive one, baby, thank God..."

"Mommy, it’s not God. There is no God in this world. It’s the superhero Homelander, the superhero Deep, Soldier Boy, and Maeve who saved us!"

Homelander glanced at Mia. Then, he continued, "Once the rescue is successful, I will suggest to Soldier Boy that you return to The Seven." Having spat out his piece to The Deep, Homelander didn’t waste any more words and launched back into the air.

One trip. Two trips. Three trips. Homelander streaked like a red meteor, shuttling back and forth between the thirty-eight thousand feet altitude and the surging waves of the Atlantic. Taking two people each time, he completed the entry and exit within three seconds of Maeve yanking open the door.

Maeve stood by the cabin door counting the numbers—open, shut, open, shut. One after another, the passengers were delivered to the surface of the sea, caught by the pod of dolphins, and then swiftly guided toward the coast by The Deep at the crest of the waves. By the sixtieth trip, everyone had been cleared. Scooping up the final passenger along with Maeve, he flew away from the plunging airplane.

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A/N: Next goal: 300 Power Stones = 1 bonus Chapter!

And if you want to read ahead and find out what happens next right away, you can get up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on:

[email protected]/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).