[The Seven Tower]
"In a couple of days, it'll be my birthday. There's somewhere I want to go. Can you come with me?"
Ryan looked up at Homelander.
Homelander glanced at him curiously, "Where do you want to go?"
"Here. Love Island. It's an island in the Pacific. It got its name because it's shaped like a heart."
Ryan took out a brochure. Across the top was the slogan: [Looking for a romantic encounter? Come to Love Island! Round-trip flights to Love Island now starting at 70% off!]
Homelander looked at Ryan in surprise, "You're still a kid. Do you even know what love is?"
Ryan shook his head, "I don't. But when Mom was still around, she always said she wanted to visit Love Island."
"She's gone now, so I want to go see it for her."
Homelander shrugged, "All right. When's your birthday?"
"The day after tomorrow."
"Then we'll leave the day after tomorrow."
———
At that moment, in the Pacific Ocean over a hundred nautical miles from Love Island, a cargo ship sat motionless on the sea.
Suddenly, thunder roared overhead and lightning flashed as a figure descended onto the deck.
Surrounded by crackling electricity, Storm straightened up and looked toward the captain and crew, who had already been waiting on deck after receiving advance notice.
They wore different kinds of clothing and looked like civilian sailors, but in reality they were Federal Navy soldiers, and the captain himself was a colonel.
"Good morning, Colonel Rodrigues," Storm said with a smile, "I assume you've received the notification."
The colonel nodded, "Below us is a nuclear missile with no national markings. It can be launched at any time."
"It only takes one minute to reach Love Island."
Storm nodded, "Where's Mr. Wilson?"
"Mr. Wilson said that this operation is entirely under your command, ma'am."
Storm let out a snort and muttered, "That old fox. Trying to keep his hands clean?"
"Whatever. I don't care."
She clasped her hands behind her back, "So, how are the other preparations coming?"
"Everything is ready," the captain replied.
"However, judging from Homelander's past performance, he may actually be faster than the missile. I suspect he could leave the blast zone before the nuclear explosion. Even if he's caught in the shockwave, the damage won't be maximized."
Storm nodded, "You're right, Colonel Rodrigues."
"Killing Homelander won't be easy."
"Even a nuclear weapon will probably only injure him."
"Even so, we can't afford to waste even the smallest advantage."
"To make sure the missile hits him, we need a net. A net that can keep Homelander firmly pinned to Love Island."
Colonel Rodrigues frowned, "Do we have such a net?"
Storm smiled, "We do."
"That net is called Ryan."
———
[Two Days Later]
The weather was clear. Bright sunlight shone over the Pacific.
A whale surfaced from the sea, exhaled, and sent a spray of water into the air.
Ryan watched the whale with curiosity.
"It's my first time seeing a live whale. Before this, I'd only seen them in pictures or videos."
"If you want, I can take you down to the bottom of the ocean. There are a lot more strange things down there," Homelander said with a smile.
Ryan shook his head, "Let's just go to Love Island."
Homelander shrugged as he flew beside Ryan, "I've got something to show you. It's about your mother."
Ryan looked at him in confusion, "What is it?"
"A video."
"I think you'll be very surprised," Homelander smiled.
"I wanted to show it to you a few days ago, but since today is your birthday, I think it'll mean more."
Ryan had no idea what Homelander was up to. Being a child, he simply nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
———
The two of them sped across the ocean.
Before long, they saw an island shaped roughly like a heart.
[Love Island]
Quite a few recreational facilities had already been built there, but the island was empty.
The two landed.
"You can look around by yourself," Homelander said, "Come back when you're tired, and I'll show you something."
Homelander found a shaded canopy and sat down leisurely, as though he were on vacation.
High above them, in outer space, a military satellite was closely monitoring the island.
More than a hundred nautical miles away, aboard the cargo ship, Storm stood with her hands behind her back, watching the satellite feed on the monitors.
"Homelander is here."
She said, "Prepare the nuclear missile. It could be launched at any moment."
Colonel Rodrigues nodded and picked up the radio, "Enter the launch codes. Apocalypse is on standby for launch."
Apocalypse was the codename of the nuclear missile.
At that moment, Storm also picked up her phone and sent a message.
On Love Island, the phone in Ryan's pocket rang.
He took it out and saw Storm's message.
[Begin the operation.]
Ryan turned around and looked at Homelander, who was resting under the canopy.
Scenes from the past month flashed through his mind.
They had eaten hamburgers together.
They had ridden the pirate ship together.
They had gone through a haunted house together.
One memory after another appeared, leaving Ryan's eyes filled with uncertainty.
"He doesn't seem to know anything about us being attacked."
"Did Mr. Wilson lie to me?"
Suddenly, Ryan shook his head hard, "No."
"He did it on purpose!"
"He's the one who killed Mom. I can't let him fool me."
"Ms. Storm warned me about this too."
"I can't fall for it."
"Today..."
"I'm going to avenge Mom!"
Homelander was talking on his phone, "Yeah, I'm on Love Island right now."
"It's a small island in the Pacific."
"You're coming over?"
"All right. Suit yourself."
After hanging up, Homelander put his phone down.
Then he saw Ryan flying back.
He opened his photo gallery, found a video, and smiled as he held up the phone.
"Come on, let me show you something."
But at that moment, Ryan's eyes lit up.
Two eye beams shot out and pierced straight through Homelander's phone.
Homelander looked at the shattered remains of the phone, "I just bought that."
He looked up at Ryan with a smile, "Care to explain, Ryan?"
Ryan clenched his fists, "Stop smiling at me, you devil!"
"That same hateful smile was on your face when you killed my mom!"
"Homelander, today I'm going to avenge my mother!"
With a shout, he charged forward and punched Homelander in the face.
Homelander's expression immediately darkened.
Inside the cargo ship, Storm stood before a row of monitors.
On the screen, the canopy suddenly exploded as two figures shot into the sky. One of the smaller figures suddenly accelerated.
Ryan!
He intercepted Homelander in midair and punched him back down onto Love Island.
Storm smiled and looked at Colonel Rodrigues.
"So? Not bad for a net, is it?"