Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Using Yesterday’s Data to Fight Today’s Me?
Jeff flinched.
Whipping around, he found Homelander standing there in his signature black suit, a smug, infuriating grin plastered across his chiseled face. His eyes gleamed with disdain, as if he were looking at a pest.
Inside the Black Sovereign armor, Jeff's face contorted with rage. He growled, "Homelander, why did you ruin my plans?!"
"You said you wouldn't interfere in this!"
Homelander chuckled lightly, shaking his head. He raised a finger and wagged it mockingly. "Oh, you misunderstood."
"I never said I wouldn't get involved. And even if I did... if I change my mind, that's my prerogative."
His smile widened, cold and sharp. "You don't get to tell me what I can or can't do. Understood?"
Jeff laughed bitterly. "I never wanted to be your enemy, Homelander."
"But don't mistake that for fear."
"I was just waiting for the right time. But since you've come to me..." Jeff's voice dripped with venom, "I don't mind letting the entire nation watch your myth crumble tonight."
Homelander smirked, his tone casual. "The last guy who said that... well, let's just say he didn't live to see another sunrise."
Jeff's response was swift—a clenched fist rocketed toward Homelander as his cape billowed behind him. The Black Sovereign armor propelled him forward at an astonishing 300 kilometers per hour, achieving max speed instantly.
BAM!
His armored fist collided squarely with Homelander's jaw, sending ripples through the air. Homelander's head tilted slightly upward from the force.
It connected!
Jeff couldn't help but burst into laughter. But the laughter died in his throat as Homelander slowly lowered his head, his face completely unscathed.
His mocking smile hadn't budged. His eyes gleamed with contempt.
"Is that all?"
With a casual wave, Homelander swatted Jeff aside like a pesky fly.
BAM!
Jeff hurtled through the air uncontrollably, flipping end over end before crashing through a shopping mall. Glass shattered everywhere, and rubble scattered.
Moments later, he emerged from the other side of the mall, rocketing toward Homelander again. With a furious roar, he threw another punch.
Homelander easily sidestepped and caught Jeff's arm mid-swing. He grinned, twisted the arm, and swung Jeff upward like a ragdoll before slamming him down with a sickening thud.
CRASH!
Jeff's impact formed a shallow crater in the concrete, cracks spiderwebbing outward for meters.
But Homelander wasn't finished. He lifted Jeff again, slammed him down repeatedly, each time widening the crater until the entire street collapsed, exposing the underground sewer system.
Hovering above the destruction, Homelander held Jeff aloft. The Black Sovereign armor's wrist-mounted laser cannons activated, firing twin red beams directly at Homelander's torso.
Homelander didn't even flinch.
The lasers stopped mere inches from his body, repelled by his biofield, dissipating harmlessly into the air.
"Nice try," he said, his smile unwavering.
He spun Jeff around and hurled him skyward, sending him crashing against the side of a skyscraper. Jeff ricocheted upward, his body scraping against the building's surface, leaving a jagged trail of destruction.
Regaining his balance mid-air, Jeff roared and dove back toward Homelander, who greeted him with a single kick to the chest.
CRASH!
Jeff slammed into the pavement, skidding across the street and leaving deep grooves in the asphalt before finally coming to a halt.
Desperate, he raised his arms and unleashed another barrage of lasers. Homelander casually deflected the beams with a sweep of his hand, redirecting them to sever nearby streetlights and vehicles in half.
Before Jeff could react, Homelander zipped forward, faster than the human eye could track, slamming into him with devastating force.
Jeff spiraled through the air once more, barely managing to stabilize himself. His sensors alerted him too late to the twin golden beams searing through the air toward him.
Panic-stricken, Jeff unfurled his cloak, transforming it into a makeshift shield.
The heat vision struck the cloak, quickly melting through its reinforced material. A fraction of a second later, the beams grazed Jeff's helmet, leaving a smoking gash along the left side.
Gritting his teeth, Jeff activated his shoulder launcher, firing a gravity grenade toward Homelander.
But before it could get close, Homelander's heat vision reduced it to ash.
Amidst the dissipating flames, Jeff frantically scanned his surroundings, searching for Homelander.
"Where is he?"
A voice from above sent a chill down his spine.
"Looking for me?"
Jeff instinctively glanced up, only to see the sole of Homelander's boot descending rapidly.
CRUNCH!
Jeff slammed into the ground once more, pinned under Homelander's weight. The pressure crushed him against the pavement, leaving his vision blurred and his pride in tatters.
Rage, humiliation, and fear surged within him.
"No! This can't be happening!"
"This is impossible!"
"I gathered data on you! I upgraded the Black Sovereign using that data! It's stronger, faster, more durable than you!"
"Why? Why is this happening?"
Homelander looked down at the broken man beneath him and chuckled coldly.
"Data?"
"You thought using yesterday's data would help you beat today's me? How naive."
Jeff froze, his mind racing, desperation clawing at him.
"Wait! Whatever the Feds offered you, I'll double it—no, triple it!"
"Together, we could control the world! With the Zero Prototype, no one could stand against us!"
Homelander smirked, raising a fist to his chin in mock contemplation.
"Triple the offer?"
"Well, that's tempting. But you see," his grin widened, menacing now, "you're worth more to me in another way."
"And honestly, I don't think you can afford my price."
"Which means..."
Homelander's eyes glowed, twin beams of golden heat erupting downward.
"Wait! The Zero Prototype isn't actually—"
Whatever Jeff intended to say was lost in the roar of searing energy.
The beams pierced his helmet, burning through his skull.
As the heat vision faded, wisps of smoke curled upward from the twin holes in Jeff's head. His lifeless body slumped beneath Homelander's boot.
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