[Yellowstone National Park, Campground]
Several older children were putting up a tent.
Suddenly, one of them stood up.
"Jack, what are you doing? Hurry up and help."
"Jack, don't tell me you're trying to be lazy. I'm telling Mom. She'll punish you by not letting you eat dinner tonight."
The children immediately started shouting.
The boy named Jack raised his hand and pointed toward the distant forest, "Look, there are fireworks over there."
"That's such a lousy excuse. Where would there be fireworks here?", A little girl stood up and instinctively looked in the direction Jack was pointing, then cried out in surprise.
"What's that!"
Right in the direction Jack was pointing, behind the forest, a pillar of light shot into the sky.
Even in broad daylight, its radiance could not be concealed.
"Are those really fireworks?"
"No, that's the exhaust from a rocket booster!"
"Impossible. I didn't see any rocket. Besides, there isn't a rocket launch site here."
"You've all got it wrong. I'm sure that's an alien. It's a UFO!"
"How come I don't see a UFO?"
"Because it's invisible!"
———
Just as the children were chattering among themselves and discussing the pillar of light, inside the military base, the light on Soldier Boy's chest gradually dimmed. He had already released all of his energy.
There was nothing more he could do.
"So, like I said, the wind-up time for this ability is way too long."
"If you want to hit a target, you also need your teammates to help control it."
"Otherwise, if they're just a little faster, all you can do is hit the air."
Homelander was making his comments when his eyes suddenly lit up, "Right, how could I have forgotten about that?"
"I know how to deal with you now."
Hearing the words "deal with," Soldier Boy suddenly had a bad feeling. He struggled desperately, but Homelander's two hands were like pincers, holding him firmly in place.
Soldier Boy suddenly shouted, tore open his uniform, and with a sudden twist, landed on the ground.
Homelander looked at the clothes he was holding, smiled, tossed them aside, and said, "I advise you to stop struggling for nothing."
Soldier Boy turned and ran.
Suddenly, wind rose behind his head.
He had no time to turn around.
A bang sounded behind his head.
Then the world began spinning before his eyes.
Soldier Boy had no idea what had happened, but the reporters in the helicopter saw it clearly.
They saw Homelander catch up from behind and, with a wave of his hand, send Soldier Boy tumbling 360 degrees through the air.
Soldier Boy crashed heavily onto the ground. He shook his head and tried to get back up.
Something suddenly pressed down on his back.
It turned out Homelander had already planted one foot on him.
Then the reporters in the helicopter watched as blazing, high-temperature golden beams shot from Homelander's eyes and landed on Soldier Boy's back.
The man pinned beneath Homelander immediately began screaming.
In the end, Homelander used his laser eyes to blast straight through the man.
The man's body convulsed for a moment, then fell still.
Dead.
One reporter made the sign of the cross over his chest, while others quietly discussed with their colleagues what would happen next.
What they did not know was that what they had seen was merely an illusion Homelander had created with "Reality Warping."
The truth was that Homelander had fired blue rays from his eyes.
The "Modification Ray" plundered from Starro.
This innate ability originating from the AllSpark of the Transformers universe could transform any target it struck into a mechanical life-form.
And it would make them obey the user of the ray unconditionally.
When the "Modification Ray" landed on Soldier Boy, his entire body began to tremble. His form of life began to change.
Every cell, every molecule in his body underwent a drastic transformation.
His skin took on a metallic quality.
Electric sparks flickered in his eyes.
Under the effect of the "Modification Ray," he changed from a human into a mechanical life-form, and a program commanding him to swear unconditional allegiance to Homelander was entered into his central processor.
This was the lowest-level program, and also the highest-priority program.
In the blink of an eye, Soldier Boy's transformation was complete.
He stood up.
Blue electric fire flickered in his eyes.
He knelt on one knee before Homelander.
Homelander looked at him and said, "Change your appearance. Looking like this will make people associate you with your former identity."
"Yes, sir."
Soldier Boy said this, and then his face began to deform and adjust.
The distance between his eyes increased, his eyes became slightly smaller, his nose lengthened a little, his lips became thinner, his hair grew thick like a rock singer's, and the beard on his face disappeared.
Soon, he had become a different-looking person.
At least, judging only by his appearance, there was no way to connect him with Soldier Boy.
"You also need to change the way you release your energy. You can't fire that energy cannon from your chest. Fire it from your palms instead. Adjust yourself."
Homelander gave another command.
Soldier Boy immediately raised his hand. After his arm transformed and reassembled itself, it became a hand cannon resembling Cyborg's white-noise cannon.
It was full of a technological feel.
Homelander nodded in satisfaction, "That'll do. Now return to New York on your own and hide under the identity of an ordinary person. I'll contact you when I need you."
"Yes, sir."
A flickering light immediately appeared over Soldier Boy's body. He used "Holographic Imaging" to disguise himself as a base soldier and quickly left.
"How convenient, mechanical life."
Homelander shrugged, "But I'll never become something like that. It may be convenient, but you lose too much of the fun of being human."
With that, he flew into the sky and came near the helicopter where the reporters were.
"Everyone, the press conference is over."
"You should know what to do next without me having to say it, right?"
Batalon immediately said, "I'll edit it when I get back, then make this news public."
"However, the Federation will very likely issue a gag order."
The other reporters also nodded.
Homelander laughed, "You can rest assured."
"With me here, there will be no such thing as a gag order."
"Feel free to send this news out through every channel you have access to."
"Also," He pointed at Batalon, "I can give you an exclusive interview."
Batalon's eyes immediately lit up, "Thank you so much, sir!"
Homelander smiled and said, "If you really want to thank me, then do a good job with this news."
"Everyone, there's a party at the Seven Towers tonight. I hope you'll all do me the honor of attending."
"I'll be going ahead."
Since he no longer needed to act as a "guide," Homelander flew into the air with a "boom," scattering a white cloud before speeding away, leaving a cloud trail in the sky that lingered for a long time.
———
[Washington, White House]
Back in his office, Rick Archibald sat down with a grim expression.
General Mac and the other officials who had heard the news hurried into the office.
"Mr. President, how could this happen? Why would Homelander appear at Yellowstone Park?", a senior federal official could not help asking.