Darren Cross didn't give Homelander much time to think.
After the enraged Beast stabilized himself, he charged again like a wasp.
Homelander decisively pressed the button on his index finger, entering the Microscopic World in a brand-new way.
Two tiny figures began a deadly pursuit between the gaps of the lab bench and the intricate cables.
"Quick, this way!"
Taking advantage of the gap in the crossfire, Hank rushed to Hope's side, grabbed her by the shoulders, and helped her up from the cold floor.
"Hope, hold on, come with me!" Hank brought Hope to a storage cabinet on the side.
Hope gritted her teeth; the burn on her right ankle caused a piercing pain with every step.
Hank quickly took a first-aid kit from the storage cabinet, pulled out a potent burn gel, applied it evenly to the wound, and then wrapped it with sterile gauze.
"He won't last long, Father!" Hope's voice carried an undeniable worry, her eyes fixed on the distance where lasers and sparks flickered continuously. "He hasn't been trained for microscopic combat; we have to help him!"
"The performance of that suit is perfect." Hank lowered his head, continuing to secure the edges of the gauze. "He's smarter than we thought. For now, we can only trust him; he can handle it."
On the microscopic battlefield, Darren's attacks grew increasingly frantic.
"Can you only run, you dog of the Starr Group?!" Darren wildly unleashed firepower in mid-air.
Homelander rolled repeatedly, landing on the edge of a massive glass vessel.
He glanced back at the device behind him—it was the Quantum Centrifuge Hank Pym used to refine unstable compounds, filled with highly unstable high-energy particles.
"This is the spot." Homelander gave a cold smile.
He stopped in his tracks, deliberately exposing a flaw.
"Die!" Darren roared, the four Mechanical Arms lighting up with blue light simultaneously as full-power laser beams blasted out.
Homelander exerted force with his legs and leaped forward.
The laser beams precisely struck the storage tube for the high-energy particles.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening explosion thundered within the warehouse.
A massive orange-red fireball soared into the air, and a violent Impact swept through the entire space.
At the center of the explosion, the massive air pressure directly shattered the brick wall on the side of the warehouse.
In their shrunken state, Homelander and Darren were swept up by this terrifying Impact and blown straight out of the broken hole in the wall.
Outside the warehouse, the night wind was biting.
The two fell heavily onto the weed-covered mud.
"Cough, cough... cough..."
Darren deactivated his shrunken state, crawling out from the rubble in a disheveled state, gasping for breath.
"Come out! Don't hide like a rat!" Darren looked around, his gaze searching for Homelander's figure through the dust.
Ten meters away, the red suit rapidly enlarged. Homelander stood steadily under the moonlight, brushing the dust off his shoulder.
His movements were as composed as if he were attending a high-end dinner party, showing none of the disarray from having just survived an explosion.
"You think you can beat me with a few clever tricks?!" Darren's voice came through his mask, carrying a cold murderous intent.
Homelander tilted his head slightly, looking at the warehouse wall behind him that had been blown open.
The distance was far enough, and the angle was perfect. From their current position, the Pyms couldn't see what was happening outside.
"The game is over, Daniel." Darren slowly approached, the Mechanical Tentacles on his back baring their fangs and claws.
"It certainly is."
Homelander opened his mask, revealing a somewhat hair-raising smile.
Darren froze for a moment, sensing that the other's aura had undergone a World-shaking change in an instant.
Before he could react, Homelander's figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
The next second.
A large palm, like iron pincers, clamped tightly onto his neck.
Darren didn't even see how the other had crossed those ten-plus meters; he had already been forcibly lifted into the air.
"Let... let me go!"
Darren squeezed out a few words with difficulty, the four Mechanical Tentacles on his back frantically stabbing toward Homelander's face and chest.
Blue lasers blasted Homelander's face at point-blank range.
However, the expected scene of flesh and blood flying did not occur.
The man before him remained indifferent to his frantic attacks; the lasers hitting his face couldn't even singe a single strand of hair.
"You... what kind of monster are you..." Darren's breathing became more difficult, his voice starting to grow hoarse.
Facing Darren's question, Homelander smiled slightly, and the disguise on his face faded, revealing the face that originally belonged to Homelander.
By the pale moonlight, Darren saw the face clearly.
Golden hair combed back, deep blue eyes filled with coldness, and that signature smile.
Darren's brain felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer; all his thoughts came to a halt at that moment.
"You... you-you!!"
Darren began to tremble violently, a fear stemming from the depths of his soul.
In this World, there was no one who didn't recognize this face.
The strongest man on Earth!
Homelander!
"You know nothing of true power."
Homelander smiled slightly, giving Darren no chance to beg for mercy, and gently twisted the hand clutching his neck.
*Crack.*
Darren's body suddenly twitched, his eyes rolled back, and his limbs went limp.
This ambitious man who had plotted to control the Microscopic World died without even having time to leave any last words, ending his villainous life completely.
Homelander coldly carried Darren's corpse, his body taking off and disappearing into the night sky.
...
A few minutes later, Homelander landed on the helipad at the top of the Vought San Francisco branch building.
Miss Skynet had already been waiting for a long time.
Behind her stood two T-1050ti Terminators in their factory form.
"Sir, what you requested is ready." Skynet stepped forward, her gaze calmly sweeping over the corpse Homelander was holding.
Homelander tossed Darren's corpse onto the floor like trash, then took off the ant-man suit he was wearing and threw it aside as well.
"Strip him and put these on them." Homelander pointed at Darren on the ground, then at the ant-man suit.
Skynet immediately commanded the two Terminators to step forward and put on the ant-man suit and the Wasp Suit.
Once the two Terminators donned the suits, their Liquid Metal skin began to surge.
In just a few seconds, they transformed into the likenesses of Daniel and Darren Cross.
From their facial expressions to the wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, there were no flaws.
Seeing this, Homelander nodded with satisfaction.
"Has the script been uploaded?" Homelander looked at Skynet.
"It has been written, sir. They will perfectly present the emotional thresholds and movement details you require," Miss Skynet replied respectfully.
"Very well. I'll take them to the set now to start the next act."