After all, the handsome, powerful Homelander was right there in front of her, completely exposed.

"Your approval rating..." Ashley swallowed. "It’s gone up by a full thirty-five percent!"

As she spoke, her gaze started drifting again.

"Keep going."

Homelander slowly sat up.

"Don’t stop. And don’t look at it. Look at me, Ashley!"

Ashley flinched again.

She snapped her head up and said, "The public loved your speech yesterday! Especially white voters, and women across the board! They think you said what they were too scared to say!"

"Your approval rating hasn’t just avoided a drop. It’s broken the all-time record!"

Ashley waved her tablet, practically shaking with excitement.

"Your current approval rating has completely surpassed Soldier Boy’s from back in the day!"

"All time! You’re the most popular superhero in history!"

Silence.

A deathly silence fell over the living room.

At those words, the gloom in Homelander’s eyes vanished.

He had surpassed Soldier Boy?

An all-time high! 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Homelander had already said he didn’t give a damn what they thought, and he didn’t care about approval ratings anymore.

He was done being a puppet on strings.

But in that moment, hearing that his approval rating had gone up, Homelander was still pleased.

That was just how deeply contradictory Homelander was.

"Good."

The corners of Homelander’s mouth finally curled upward, impossible to hold back.

But Ashley’s next words killed his good mood.

"Oh, right, Homelander."

Ashley carefully glanced at her watch.

"You should get dressed. The congressional hearing... it’s about to start."

The moment he heard the word "hearing," the smile vanished from Homelander’s face.

His eyes turned dark and gloomy again.

Right.

No matter how much the public supported him, he still had to go face that pack of high-and-mighty, hypocritical politicians.

He still had this hurdle to get through.

What if those politicians insisted on convicting him?

...

Meanwhile.

Washington, D.C. The solemn, imposing Capitol Building.

The hearing room was packed.

Rows of media cameras were trained on Homelander, who sat in the center of the room.

Countless politicians whispered among themselves, waiting to watch this fallen god make a fool of himself.

Congresswoman Neuman walked into the chamber in a black turtleneck and high heels, her face cold.

The turtleneck was there to hide the horrifying red marks Soldier Boy had left on her neck the night before.

Just ten minutes earlier, she had signed the divorce papers with her husband, Sameer, without the slightest hesitation.

Sameer did not understand, but Neuman’s forceful attitude left him no choice but to agree.

Now, Neuman had completely cut off every way back.

She had only one master left.

...

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The judge struck the gavel, and the entire room fell silent.

Every eye turned to the person leading this hearing, Congresswoman Neuman.

Everyone believed this iron-fisted female politician, who had always dedicated herself to bringing down superheroes, would present the most lethal evidence and nail Homelander to the wall.

Even Homelander, seated at the defendant’s table, clenched his fists in irritation.

But then.

Neuman walked to the microphone and took a deep breath.

The sharp, camera-ready tone she usually used to tear into Vought was gone.

"Members of Congress, friends from the media."

Neuman’s voice rang clearly through the Capitol.

"Regarding the accusations that Homelander is suspected of murder, our side has conducted an extremely thorough reinvestigation."

"I must clarify one fact to the public."

Neuman suddenly lifted her head and swept her gaze across the entire room.

"Homelander did nothing wrong!"

The room erupted at once.

Countless politicians stared at Neuman with wide eyes, like they were looking at a lunatic.

They had clearly agreed on this beforehand.

They were supposed to drag Homelander down into the mud for good.

Even Homelander froze, disbelief written all over his face.

He knew perfectly well that Neuman was Edgar’s daughter.

And because of that, shouldn’t Neuman hate both him and Soldier Boy?

To be honest, he had been so busy lately that he had not done anything to Neuman. He had not even threatened her.

So in Homelander’s mind, Neuman should have been coming straight for him. He had originally planned to threaten Neuman after the hearing was over.

Neuman ignored the commotion below and continued speaking loudly.

"The two men killed by Homelander were pieces of shit with multiple criminal records!"

"At the time, they were trying to rape a defenseless pregnant woman in a dead-end alley!"

"Homelander killed them to save two innocent lives!"

Neuman’s tone grew impassioned, filled with the kind of inflammatory charisma only a politician could wield.

"That was, in every reasonable sense, an act of justice!"

"Are we seriously going to put a superhero who saved a pregnant woman on trial just to protect some scumbag’s human rights?!"

"He deserves forgiveness! He deserves our praise!"

The room completely exploded.

A huge number of people had already switched sides to support Homelander after his speech the previous day.

And now.

Even Congresswoman Neuman, the leader of the largest opposition party, had personally stepped forward to clear his name.

The situation reversed in an instant with overwhelming force.

Under the surging tide of public opinion and Neuman’s political maneuvering behind the scenes, this hearing, originally meant to punish Homelander, turned into a ridiculous commendation ceremony.

The judge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked down at the spectators cheering like mad.

With a trembling hand, he raised the gavel.

"Thump!"

"By unanimous decision of the committee!"

"Homelander... is acquitted!"

...

...

Twenty minutes later.

The underground parking garage behind the Capitol Building.

Dressed in his spotless Supersuit, Homelander strode through the dim corridor.

Homelander did not know what to say.

Not only had he avoided total disgrace, but thanks to his speech and Neuman’s defection, he had been lifted onto a pedestal no one else could reach.

It felt... damn good.

But...

Now that the big problem was solved, it was time to handle the little one too.

"Sir..."

Ashley hurried over in small, quick steps and respectfully handed him a phone.

"We’ve found the person you were looking for."

Homelander stopped.

He took the phone and glanced down at the screen.

On it was a photo of a man, with his home address and every social connection listed in detail beside it.

Thomas.

This reckless little ant was the one who had first posted that video online, trying to smear him.

This bastard was the one who had triggered every public relations crisis that followed.

Homelander stared hard at the face on the screen.

Slowly, the corners of his mouth stretched into that perfect, signature smile.

"Good work, Ashley."

Homelander casually crushed the phone into a twisted lump of scrap metal.

Then his eyes began to glow with an unbearably bright crimson light, and he left.

All that remained was Ashley, staring at her phone in heartbreak.