Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
~ Nelson Mandela
____
Once the interview video was released, the internet completely split into two factions.
Stormfront had underestimated Hillel’s influence.
The fanbase of The Guardian was absolutely terrifying; they flooded into the communities of Homelander and Stormfront like a tidal wave.
Things were fine on Homelander’s side, as he frequently appeared on camera with Hillel, and in the public eye, his relationship with The Guardian was quite good.
However, Stormfront’s community was torn to shreds by criticism overnight.
@HotSingleMomKaren: You fucking whore, I can see you’re no good either!
@xQc: LMAOOOOO this bitch really tried to start a campaign against The Guardian 💀 Bro the Guardian’s fanbase just deleted her career in 4 hours
@ElonMusk: Attacking The Guardian is a national security threat at this point. Have you been to the Island too?
@Ironmouse: Who the fuck is this Stormfront chick and why is she talking shit about my man ’The Guardian’??
@MoistCritical: Trying to step on The Guardian to boost yourself is the worst career move of the year 😭 This is what happens when you underestimate the power of a man who can throw a politician into the sun.
@Foosh: Have some shame, will you? The Guardian has only been a superhero for a few months, and he’s already done several great deeds! Do you think you, Homelander, even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath?
@ErlingHaaland: Nice.
@MilkLover: Imagine spending millions on a PR campaign just to get ratio’d by people who still use the "In my name!" sound on TikTok
@Clavicular: The little slut hero has quite the ambition, she really thought she could cook 💀 Homelander’s new girlfriend is getting ratio’d into the shadow realm lol.
@Pokimane: The way they used dark filters on The Guardian’s face is so petty 😭 Girl really thought she was slick
@Ludwig: This is the most embarrassing L I’ve seen in 2026. This is why you don’t pick a fight with someone who has both aura and fanbase on a global scale.
...
Hillel’s office.
"The Guardian, I’ve found it."
A-Train appeared at the doorway like a gust of wind.
"Several Vought Tower executives have files on Stormfront in their homes. I followed her to a few places she frequents, and one of them looks like her hideout."
Before the words had even left his mouth, A-Train’s figure flickered.
When he reappeared, a safe had already appeared in front of him.
"I brought the entire safe over."
The safe wasn’t big, but the material was absurdly hard; even A-Train couldn’t pry it open.
What was most interesting was that the thing was wrapped in a layer of zinc plating.
A-Train marveled, "This thing is rare; it can even block Homelander’s X-ray vision. Whatever’s inside must be very valuable."
Hillel glanced at the safe.
His unobstructed X-ray vision instantly pierced through the thick metal.
What a piece of junk zinc plating.
It might stop Homelander, but it couldn’t stop his X-ray vision.
There were no nuclear launch codes or earth-shattering conspiracies inside the safe; it was simply stacks of yellowed old newspapers and magazines.
They were all news from the last century.
Hillel narrowed his eyes.
The headlines on the newspapers were all uniformly critical of Stormfront.
Racist! Nazi sympathizer! Disgrace to humanity!
The wording was extremely harsh.
Hillel understood.
This old Nazi was keeping these things like they were treasures.
It probably wasn’t for nostalgia; it was likely pure vengeance.
Stormfront had lived so long; she didn’t lack money or social status.
People like this, in the end, live purely for their ideals.
However.
Those newspaper offices that dared to report on her like that back then were long gone now.
Dead or bankrupt.
It was said that she also had a hand in the original superheroes.
"Tsk, quite a heavy grudge. Well, let’s add some fuel to the fire!"
Hillel raised his hand, his palm like a blade, and lightly sliced across the safe.
Swoosh!
The safe was sliced open by Hillel as easily as a block of soft tofu.
Hillel took out the contents and handed them to A-Train.
"Do me a favor—it’s also helping yourself. Take these things to Hughie. Let’s send this old Nazi down to meet her Führer, shall we?"
Seeing those headlines, A-Train was also a bit triggered.
Being a person of color, his reaction was naturally intense.
Vought Tower.
Hughie was sitting at his workstation, staring at his computer screen, having been dazed for half an hour.
On the screen were The Foundation’s reports. He was checking to see if those elites had tampered with anything, though they wouldn’t dare steal from The Guardian even if they were given ten times the courage.
But Hughie, maintaining a rigorous attitude, checked them bit by bit. Yet, as he watched, he remembered the call from Butcher last night.
The other party had disclosed a shocking piece of news.
Soldier Boy, the legendary first-generation superhero, was likely... not dead!
Moreover, the Russians had a lethal weapon capable of harming Supes, and it was that weapon they had used to take Soldier Boy away back then.
This intelligence all came from Butcher’s handler, Ms. Mallory.
Mallory had carefully explained the history with Payback, and Butcher and his team followed the clues, finding a few people who had dealt with the original superheroes, and after several threats and interrogations...
confirmed the accuracy of the news.
Butcher’s idea was simple and brutal: use that weapon to deal with Homelander.
What Hughie worried about was, if Butcher really wanted to do something against The Guardian, which side should he stand on?
The Guardian was a good person; he shouldn’t be treated like this.
"You don’t look so good, Hughie."
Cate’s voice rang out in his ear, without warning, startling Hughie so much he nearly jumped out of his chair.
He took a closer look.
Cate, he didn’t know when, was already holding a cup of coffee, leaning outside his cubicle.
Those beautiful eyes were staring at him meaningfully.
"N-nothing! I just didn’t sleep very well. I’ve been busy reviewing reports lately."
Cate took a sip of coffee, clearly not believing him. "Is that so? You should know that my power is telepathy."
"Although I usually need skin-to-skin contact to read someone’s thoughts."
She emphasized seriously, "But at such close range, even if I don’t touch you, I can vaguely perceive what’s going on in your head!"
Hughie broke out in a cold sweat instantly.
He had thought Cate could read minds, but he hadn’t expected her power to be so insidious.
Didn’t that mean he had been exposed back in the elevator?
No, he was already exposed.
To The Guardian, he was purely like Translucent.
Watching Hughie’s look of being faced with a formidable enemy, Cate sneered inwardly.
She was, of course, bluffing Hughie.
Her power required skin contact to take effect. Telepathy from a distance?
No way. The boss hadn’t had time to train with them recently.
Moreover, she felt her ability had reached a bottleneck.
"Spit it out. You’ve got at least three things to say!" Cate put down her coffee.
Hughie was the type of person who couldn’t hide things; his expression betrayed him.
Hughie hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth and leaned into Cate’s ear. "Let me ask you, if there were a Supe who could pose a threat to The Guardian’s life, what would you do?"
Cate was stunned for a moment.
She laughed instinctively.
Wait, have you lost your mind? You’re spouting such nonsense!
"Threaten The Guardian’s life? Is this a cold joke? If so, you win!"
Cate shook her head repeatedly. "Hughie, I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but in this world, there isn’t a single person who can harm a single hair on The Guardian!"
"I’ll tell you a secret too: The Guardian... is much more powerful than Homelander. If Homelander is the god of all humanity, then The Guardian is the god of all Supes!"
"Do you understand that distinction? And the gap is far, far greater than that!"
Cate had seen Hillel in action with her own eyes.
Based on information Hillel had inadvertently revealed during one training session, they had pieced together a terrifying fact.
That was that The Guardian’s power was currently still in its growth phase.
____
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