The Savior of American Comics? I'm the Subspace Evil God!

Chapters 408, 732, and 733: The "Headshot Woman" in a Desperate Situation

"This isn't difficult for me, but the problem is..."

Homelander stared blankly at Victoria Newman and asked, "Why should I help you?!"

"what?"

Victoria Newman was momentarily stunned by the question, and it took her a while to react before she said, "Aren't we allies?"

"ally?"

A mocking curve appeared at the right corner of Homelander's mouth, as if he scoffed at the word, and he said disdainfully:
"Are you referring to that useless Superhuman Affairs Bureau that you set up specifically to restrict Vought Corporation and the Super Seven, or the Anti-Superhuman Act that you secretly submitted to the Vice President?"

"You...how do you know?"

Victoria Newman was taken aback at first, then quickly realized what was going on and explained, "Oh no, listen to me, I didn't actually submit that bill. It's just that if I wanted to get on the vice president's campaign team, I had to come up with some decent proposal."

“Newman, that’s exactly the problem.”

Homelander completely ignored the other party's explanation, raised her index finger, and warned: "You want to cultivate an image of a shining female warrior against the Vought Corporation and superhumans in the eyes of the general public, while secretly obtaining huge benefits from the Vought Corporation and me..."

"Tell me, where in the world can you find such a good deal that allows you to have it both ways?"

"So, Newman, it's time to choose sides!"

"What do you mean?"

Victoria Newman looked at Homelander with a wary expression, but the latter said calmly, "It's simple. It's time to reveal your identity and let everyone know that you are also a superhuman."

"In this way, the [Vought Corporation] and I will fully support your campaign, and we will also help you run for senator, vice president, and even president in the future..."

"No."

However, before Homelander could finish speaking, Victoria Newman interrupted him, shouting angrily:

"Do you know that I have spent my whole life trying to keep this secret? For this, I even cooperated with you to send my adoptive father to prison!"

“In my opinion, secrets corrupt your soul,” Homelander retorted in the same tone. “And once you’ve told it, you’ll never have any burden left, so you should thank me!”

“No, I do not accept this proposal,” Victoria Newman protested firmly.

"Then there's no need to talk."

Homelander leaned forward slightly, adopting an aggressive posture. "Listen to me, Newman, if we join forces, we can change the world, even if it's just for our next generation, and theirs... You should still remember what happened to the mutants, right?"

Do you want your daughter to suffer the same fate as them?

At this point, his tone softened slightly, and he tried to entice her: "Try to imagine it, the first superhuman female president in the history of the United States?!"

"No, you're oversimplifying things, Homelander."

Victoria Newman shook her head and refused, saying, "If I did that, I'm afraid I'd be impeached and forced to step down before I even become president... and it might even attract the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Heh, S.H.I.E.L.D., who cares about them?" Homelander said with a look of utter disappointment, spreading his hands. "Why should we care about the thoughts of those useless idiots?"

"If I wanted to, I could smash through S.H.I.E.L.D. anytime, anywhere!"

"Newman, a new world, new rules... If anyone dares to stand in our way, why don't we just blow their head off?"

“Newman, you’d better come to reality sooner rather than later. From the moment you helped me get Stan Edgar, our fates have been intertwined. Now you only have me as your 'friend' left…”

"So, as long as you reveal your true identity, I will put you on the presidential throne. Then, you must obey me completely, like a puppet on a string. If you resist in the slightest or try to cheat, I will make sure that your daughter Zoe will live a life worse than death for the rest of her life, and you... will receive a part of your daughter's body as a Christmas present every year for the rest of your life."

"Do you understand what you should do now?"

Faced with Homelander's barrage of attacks, Victoria Newman's expression gradually shifted from initial shock to anger and helplessness.

She immediately stood up, wanting to say something, but was defeated again when she met Homelander's gaze. There was no doubt that she could neither kill him nor dare to fight him directly.

So he could only hastily leave behind the words "I need to think about it some more" before fleeing from the [Wotter Group].

……

night.

Victoria Newman huddled alone in a corner of the living room, like a wounded cat, quietly licking her wounds in the darkness.

Not far away, the news was playing on a television.

A tall, bald man, who looked like a giant bear, was talking animatedly to the camera.

"Good evening, people of New York. I am Wilson Grant Fisk. I love New York City because it is the place where I was born and raised..."

"But in the last two years, I've watched it descend into a seemingly endless chaos. Putting aside the alien invaders, the street disorder alone has almost reached a point of lawlessness. Those self-proclaimed righteous street heroes, and those organizations with grand-sounding names, are acting recklessly in the name of justice..."

"But in the end, it is still the people of New York who suffer. And the overstepping of those people has also made many good police officers feel fear and have been criticized by the public. On the contrary, some bad police officers who are mixed in with them do not care about the criticism from the outside world at all and remain indifferent."

“This city, and every street... is no longer safe for kind and righteous people, so I had to stand up at this critical moment and use my power to stop things from getting worse.”

"Yes, I have decided to officially run for mayor of New York City."

"I promise that if I become the new mayor of New York, I will improve the system, improve our city, and most importantly, I will find a way to bring peace back to the streets... We don't need a messenger of justice with devil horns on his head or a man in a spider suit to save us."

We will restore our glory, I will make this great city great again, and give all New Yorkers a new era full of hope…

Victoria Newman, who had been burying her head in her knees, suddenly raised her head, her tear-stained face now filled with determination.

She absolutely would not allow Homelander to act recklessly towards her daughter... Therefore, to prevent any potential trouble, she decided to strike first and find a way to eliminate him! But this meant she needed a capable ally to help her deal with Homelander!

The candidate needed to possess both a brilliant mind and the courage to face his countrymen without fear, and at the moment, she could only think of one person who could possess both of these qualities.

That is, his adoptive father Stan Edgar, whom he had personally removed from his position as CEO of the Water Corporation and sent to prison!

Having made up her mind, Victoria Newman slowly stood up, grabbed her coat, and drove away.

And at the same time on the other side.

[Hell's Kitchen].

The very top of a newly built skyscraper.

On the rooftop, Wilson Grant Fisk… also known as Kingpin, stood with his wife Vanessa Marianne, embracing each other, gazing at the dark night and the brightly lit streets below, talking about something.

“Darling, being the mayor of New York City…is this the life you want?” Vanessa Marianne asked softly, resting her head on Kingpin’s chest.

Jin didn't answer her question directly, but instead said with a double meaning, "I'm different now. I have higher pursuits and a greater mission!"

"mission?"

"Yes."

Jin gently embraced his wife with his strong arms, his gaze fixed intently on the distant starry sky, and whispered in a voice only he could hear:

"All of this was arranged by the Lord of Change!!"

……

Inside a prison.

Stan Edgar, dressed in a blue prison uniform, pushed open the door to the meeting room and was greeted by a familiar face that looked slightly haggard.

“My child, I knew that one day you would come here to find me.”

Stan Edgar wore a fatherly smile, as if he had never harbored any resentment towards the woman opposite him who had personally sent him to prison.

"I need help..."

Victoria Newman said, both helpless and defiant.

"I know."

Stan Edgar's smile deepened. He leisurely pulled out a chair and sat down, then pointed to the tear stains still visible at the corner of Victoria Newman's eye, and said in his characteristically understated manner:
"Well, now you understand, right? Homelander isn't as easy to control as you thought!"

Victoria Newman's eyes reddened again, but she stubbornly held back her words, looking like a rebellious teenager who refused to bow down and admit her mistakes to her father.

Stan Edgar, seeing this, remained unperturbed and continued, "The reason you've come to see me so quickly must be because the Homelanders' threat to you has suddenly escalated to a point where you're helpless..."

“Newman, to me, you are like my own daughter… Even though you betrayed me back then, it wasn’t your fault. It’s because I’ve raised you this way since you were little, so no matter what you do, I won’t blame you.”

It seemed that Stan Edgar's words had an effect; Victoria Newman's stubbornness finally crumbled, and she said in a trembling voice:
“You’re right. Homelander is completely out of control now. He won’t listen to any advice. He wants me to reveal my identity and promises to put me in the presidency.”

“But if I really do as he says, then I will undoubtedly become a puppet in his hands in the future… But if I dare to resist, then he… he will make a move on Zoe!”

"He dares?!" Stan Edgar's eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting Homelander to be so despicable as to use his 'granddaughter' to threaten his adopted daughter.

They have absolutely no bottom line.

“The Homelanderers are absolutely capable of doing it.” Victoria Newman grasped Stan Edgar’s hand, her voice choked with emotion, almost pleading.
"Help me! I can release you without charge, and I can even give you custody of Zoe, as long as you can help me defeat this demon. I will never allow anyone to threaten my daughter's safety!"

As she spoke, Victoria Newman pulled out a document from her pocket that had been granted an unconditional pardon. As long as Stan Edgar signed it, he could leave the prison immediately.

As a congresswoman and head of the Superhuman Affairs Bureau, it wouldn't be too difficult for Victoria Newman to obtain a pardon through her connections.

However, Stan Edgar did not look at the pardon document. Instead, he grasped Victoria Newman's hand earnestly and said solemnly:

"Silly child, even without this, I would never stand idly by... because I would not allow anyone to harm my granddaughter!"

……

after an hour.

Victoria Newman and Stan Edgar appeared at Starlight's bedside.

Why did we choose this place as our first stop?

Victoria Newman glanced at Starlight, who lay pale on the hospital bed, seemingly unconscious for an unknown period of time, and asked somewhat blankly:

"Didn't you say you had a secret weapon that could defeat the Homelander?"

"Wait a moment……"

Victoria Newman suddenly realized what was happening, pointed at Starlight on the hospital bed, and exclaimed in disbelief, "The secret weapon you were talking about, it couldn't be her, could it?"

“Of course not.” Stan Edgar smiled and shook his head. “It’s just that if we want to defeat Homelander, we need some decent manpower… and she is undoubtedly very suitable.”

“But…” Victoria Newman said, seemingly understanding, “She doesn’t seem to be able to help us deal with Homelander in her current state, does she?”

Stan Edgar didn't speak, only a mysterious smile on his face. Just as Victoria Newman was about to say something again, the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open by a burly man, who then respectfully handed Stan Edgar an injection gun containing a dark blue serum.

"Sir, here is what you requested."

(End of this chapter)