LRAB Chapter 6 Maeve's Myth
Chapter 6 Maeve's Myth
Joey didn't even turn around, but dodged the thrusting sword by tilting his head. He had to let go and slam the locomotive to the ground. Caught off guard, the locomotive braced itself on its calves, and immediately let out another series of wailing screams.
"This is really a misunderstanding."
Joey retreated backward with his feet off the ground, occasionally ducking and turning to dodge thrusts and slashes from tricky angles.
No matter how skillfully the woman wielded her longsword, like a butterfly flitting among flowers, and how powerfully her silver-red and gold-trimmed Greek classic half-armor and gleaming silver fish-scale battle skirt moved with her attacks, she could not allow her blade to truly touch a single hair on his head.
"Wonder Woman... Ah, Queen Maeve, my conflict with A-Train was absolutely a misunderstanding!"
After waking up from the initial delusions of the Speed Force, Joey, having calmed down, had essentially given up on the possibility of turning back time for the Speedsters. This "Locomotive" was all talk and no action, and didn't seem like someone capable of taking on any responsibility. Since that was the case, there was no need to clash with the superhero team of this world; he had more important things to do.
"Kill him, Maeve!"
While clutching his leg and wailing, the locomotive not far away still managed to shout at Maeve, "That kid's a complete lunatic! I didn't do anything, and he tried to kill me the moment he saw me!"
Joey was rather helpless. It seemed that Train was holding a grudge too much. All he had done was break one of Train's legs. It wasn't like he had done anything heinous. It wouldn't even take the Speedster a minute for that leg to heal! This was really troublesome. After all, compared to a complete stranger like himself, Queen Maeve would definitely trust her Super Seven partners who she had spent every day with.
Joey considered his options. He knew that defeating an Amazonian demigod, the daughter of Zeus, would be impossible without going all out. To prevent the battle from escalating to a cataclysmic level, he planned to find an opening to force Queen Maeve back, retreat from the area, and then figure out a solution later.
At this moment, Queen Maeve, who had been relentlessly attacking, gradually slowed her sword strikes. Her voice was delicate yet firm, as crisp as a sword being drawn from its sheath:
"I'll count to three, and then we'll both stop, okay?"
Taking advantage of the opening, Joey instantly retreated hundreds of feet, slowly spreading his hands: "You were the one who started it all, I didn't do anything."
Bang! Joey's ears caught the distant gunshot. He turned his head to try to dodge it, but unfortunately, the bullet still grazed his ear.
Looking up, the helicopter door in the distance was wide open, and a soldier in a black combat uniform was lying prone on the cabin floor. The nameplate on his shoulder read "[Wot Group - Honghe Security Company]", and the first wisp of smoke was just emerging from the anti-material sniper rifle in his hand.
"That sniper was good; he was a master. To fire from such a distance, in such an unstable environment as a helicopter, and hit the target with a single shot."
Joey slowly pried the badly deformed bullet off his earlobe, examined it closely, and then handed it to Maeve in front of him:
"But it's not very useful."
Maeve shuddered, her relaxed nerves tensing up again. Her palms, gripping the sword hilt, were slightly sweaty, and she cursed the Red River Security personnel countless times in her mind.
I've said it so many times: conventional firepower has very limited effect on a small number of powerful superpowered individuals. I finally managed to calm them down, and now these scoundrels from Honghe are adding fuel to the fire!
As for how the train engine's leg was broken, that's completely unimportant. People like the train engine have never been very bright. If he was the one who provoked the other party, wouldn't it be his own fault if his leg was broken?
"Calm down, calm down~"
These words weren't spoken by Maeve, but by Joey—
Joey discovered that losing his anger had one advantage: normally, everyone has a temper, and a single heat vision would have sent the group on the helicopter to the resurrection round.
At this moment, Joey is able to face this highly aggressive superhero organization, which resembles a gang of thugs, with a tolerance comparable to that of Jesus on earth.
Bang! Just as he was speaking, another bullet came flying. Joey reached out and took the bullet, then turned his head and used his thermal vision to precisely melt the guns in the hands of the group of people on the plane.
"You bastards, who gave you permission to fire without my orders?"
Maeve finally realized what was happening and screamed into the microphone. It was a matter of life and death. She was facing a superhuman with almost the same abilities as Homelander, who could fly, was invulnerable to bullets and blades, and even had heat vision. Moreover, he was likely on the verge of going out of control.
But this group had no discipline whatsoever; they would randomly grab their fire sticks and start beating people.
"That's incredibly unprofessional! If there's a next time, I'll personally go to the 46th floor and rip your head off! I'll fuck all of you..."
Before Maeve could say a few more words in Tibetan, the call was transferred, and the voice on the other end of the line made her wisely shut up.
The person on the other end of the phone wasn't even Madeline Stillwell, the Vought Executive Vice President who wielded immense power throughout the entire Vought Corporation and could decide the fate of most superheroes with a wave of her hand.
Instead, it was a big shot from the 82nd floor of the Water Tower: "If he's willing to cooperate, bring him back."
Maeve was still somewhat taken aback. She had been thinking of stalling for as long as possible until Homelander arrived to help clean up the mess, but she never expected that the Vought leadership would choose a solution that she could not understand at all.
She saw everything when she came over in the helicopter. Unless someone is crazy, no one would want to take back a time bomb that could level hundreds of acres!
But an order is an order. Maeve was still racking her brains trying to figure out how to talk to this little boy and get him to come back with her, but she didn't expect him to already look like he was ready to leave at any moment. He even wiped the blood that had long since congealed from his upper body and face, revealing clearly defined and powerful muscles and a handsome yet calm face. A pair of deep, azure eyes were calmly staring at her.
"I've heard you. Let's go—yes, my name is Joey, Joey Joseph Kent."
Maeve had to admit that if little Joey hadn't been covered in blood just ten seconds ago, from a legal standpoint, the kid was sunny and healthy enough. Those broad shoulders, taut waistline, sharply defined abs, and perfect head-to-shoulder ratio—he was definitely her type, just like Homelander before…
Just like Homelanders...
Upon realizing this, Maeve felt a chill run down her spine, not only because of the terrible memories of her time with Homelander, but also because she seemed to have figured out some key points.
This prompted me to reflect on why the Walter Corporation was so friendly towards this out-of-control individual:
It can fly, is invulnerable to swords and bullets, has heat vision, immense strength, and super hearing... This is a complete replica of Homelander.
And he's just a teenager, so he's incredibly malleable.