The Boys: Viltrumite Bloodline Panel

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy.

~ Homer’s The Odyssey

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A foreboding tune began to play in Starlight’s brain...

What did Maeve mean?

What was that about "I think I’ve fallen in love with him"?

A public confession?

Getting right in her face?

Ignoring the rightful queen?

That bitch!

Starlight looked at Hillel, then back at Maeve!

No, she had to make it official!

Starlight pushed her way through. When the reporters saw Annie January walking over, they immediately pointed their microphones at her.

Today was simply incredible!

The scoops were endless; just a small snippet of what had happened in these few short hours could be blown up into a major story on internet news.

Between Rhode Island, The Guardian’s "fascist-style" speech, and Maeve’s public declaration...

Starlight immediately pressed herself in front of the microphones.

"I think everyone shouldn’t misunderstand. The love Maeve was talking about is the kind of love between friends, the kind of mutual admiration between warriors, not lovers."

The reporters had strange expressions.

Why was Starlight stepping up to explain this?

The cameras were aimed at Starlight. In full view of everyone, she slowly took Hillel’s hand, forced apart each of his fingers, and then interlocked them, gripping tightly.

Declaring her territory!

"Uh, Starlight, can we interpret your actions as a matter of course?" Steven pushed to the very front.

Hmm, America’s blonde sweetheart, paired with The Guardian.

Acceptable.

He approved.

"That’s right, the two of us have been together for a long time." Starlight admitted firmly.

Maeve just stood to the side, hands on her hips, watching The Guardian and Starlight under the camera flashes.

"The Guardian, is what Starlight said true?"

Swish, swish, swish!

Hundreds of gazes turned over at once.

Hillel nodded seriously. "It’s true. We’ve been together for a long time, but out of concern for Annie’s public image, I was afraid of embarrassing her, so we kept it from everyone and didn’t make it official!"

"Embarrassing?" Steven keenly picked up on Hillel’s word choice.

"Why does The Guardian... no, it should be Regent, why do you think being with Annie would embarrass her?"

Hillel admitted it openly. "It’s very simple. Starlight is one of the publicly recognized beauties in America, deeply loved by the vast majority of the American public, while I am just a Pole. As everyone knows, in America, Poles... have lower status than the dogs on the street!"

"No! No! No!" Steven said three times in a row, with even a hint of anger on his face.

"This is racism, this is absolutely racism!"

Whites look down on Blacks, Blacks look down on Poles. It has become something subconscious; there is nothing to deny. It’s just that after being said from Hillel’s mouth, other Poles might feel a bit better. (Except for the ones still in the closet)...

[Starlight — Extreme Emotions: Pride, Affection, Confirmation, Firmness, Feeling Honored]

[Ability Points Gained: +22,450]

...

Just as the many reporters were still feeling pleasantly surprised by the public declaration between "The Guardian and Starlight," a character who had been ignored for a long time stepped out, stomping on the speakers.

"Hey! My bro! Did you forget that there was someone else who accompanied you late at night to destroy the criminal den?"

Homelander pushed the crowd aside, wrapping his left arm around Annie and his right arm around The Guardian. He stood behind the two of them like a patriarch. While speaking, he winked at the camera.

Everyone finally reacted. Oh right, there was also a Homelander.

"Oh, sorry, forgot about you!" Reporter Steven handed over the microphone.

"May I ask Homelander, what kind of hero do you think The Guardian is? Under his supervision, is The Seven improving?"

"After all, we have all seen A-Train’s transformation!"

"He has transformed from that drug-addicted, depraved, vanity-obsessed supe into a true hero. This is all The Guardian’s credit. What are your thoughts on this?"

Homelander’s mouth twitched wildly.

Is he pointing fingers at me?

Who the fuck is this reporter? Get out of the industry! Get the fuck out!

"The Guardian is like a loyal friend. He guided the way forward for the confused A-Train. He is my good brother. Having said that, actually, having A-Train search for evidence of the crimes also had a share of my credit..."

"Alright, alright, thank you for your statement." Steven cut him off and kept going.

"I heard that this time it was The Guardian leading the team, and you and Queen Maeve as teammates personally wiped out the evil on Little St. James Island. What is your take on The Guardian’s combat power?"

Homelander’s smile was already struggling to hold on. But he still forced it and said, "That’s right, but you got one point wrong. This time, it wasn’t The Guardian leading the team. There is only one captain, and that is me... Under my leadership, The Guardian fought in the vanguard, Maeve cleared out the stragglers, and I was the first to discover the evidence of the crimes..."

"Alright, alright, it was The Guardian who took the initiative and broke into the enemy’s nest, is that right?"

Homelander’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. He subconsciously reached up to smooth his blonde hair back. Are you fucking lovesick?!

"It cannot be summarized so simply and crudely. What I want to say is that all of this was under my precise calculation, The Guardian was just..."

"Alright, alright, I have one more question, please answer, Homelander."

Steven only cared about shining the spotlight on Hillel, letting all of America’s eyes stay glued to him. As for Homelander? Honestly, he was blocking the camera a bit. He suspected the guy was trying to ride the hype, but he had no proof.

Seeing that Homelander was about to lose it, Hillel immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

"There is one thing I haven’t told you all, and that is why only three supes were dispatched this time, instead of the entire The Seven being present!"

The reporters swiveled their cameras over. Annie tactfully stepped back, leaving only Hillel and Homelander in the spotlight. Homelander’s earlier resentment slowly eased as Hillel spoke.

"Why is that? Is there some reason?" Steven followed up.

The other reporters glared at this guy, wanting to kick him to death. Your microphone is practically deep-throating Homelander. Let someone else ask a question!! Why are you so selfish?

"There is. It’s because Homelander didn’t allow anyone else to go out for the rescue!"

As soon as Hillel finished speaking, the smile on Homelander’s face vanished. He stared at Hillel, showing an expression of total disbelief.

[Homelander — Extreme Emotions: Stunned, Disbelief, Incredulity, Inability to Accept, Betrayal, Blank Mind, Stress Response]

[Ability Points Gained: +12,350]

...

The eyes of hundreds of reporters lit up.

Could there be inside information here?

Not to mention Homelander himself, even Edgar, A-Train, Starlight, and Maeve were all shocked.

Was Hillel going to take down Homelander and start his own Chapter?

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Early access to 12 advance Chapters.

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