Deadpool shook his head in frustration. "Damn it! I lost first place!"
Annie turned to Thor with a puzzled look. "Why'd you pick me? I clearly said Option B should be eliminated."
Thor shrugged and admitted honestly, "Sometimes this Quiz game sets traps. The answers that look most unlikely turn out to be correct. But clearly, this wasn't one of those times. I overthought it."
Thankfully, he only lost one point—and the silver lining was that Deadpool, with his big mouth, lost four.
At this point, everyone's scores were nearly even again.
As the Quiz round ended, the correct answer video began to play on the glowing screen.
The footage opened inside a commercial airplane. A handful of hijackers were patrolling the aisle, while terrified passengers sat stiff and silent in their seats, visibly shaking with fear.
A hijacking in midair is a nightmare scenario for any hostage. Trapped in a metal box tens of thousands of feet above ground, there was nowhere to run, and rescue seemed out of reach. All they could hope for was that the hijackers would play by the rules.
But of course, nothing is absolute—not in a world with superheroes. Anything could happen.
Just as one of the hijackers approached the cabin door, things took a sudden turn. The door was yanked open from the outside, and a rush of turbulence swept in. The unlucky hijacker screamed as he was sucked out into the open sky, gone without resistance.
Queen Maeve appeared first, swiftly snapping a hijacker's neck.
Moments later, Homelander made his grand entrance, blasting the remaining hijackers into ash with his trademark laser vision. With a casual wave, he sealed the cabin door shut again.
With the threat seemingly gone, calm returned to the cabin. Smiling, Homelander reassured the passengers:
"It's over. You're safe now. Everything is under control."
Relieved passengers burst into applause.
"Thank you, Homelander!"
Clearly basking in the praise, Homelander knew exactly how to work the spotlight. Grinning, he clapped along.
"You're the real heroes here. Your courage saved you!"
He even knelt to comfort a frightened child, earning himself another wave of goodwill. The cabin had turned into his personal stage.
In contrast, Queen Maeve stayed focused. She immediately moved toward the cockpit, aware that the situation wasn't over yet—chances were the pilots were still under threat.
Calling Homelander to follow, the two of them entered the cockpit and found a panicked hijacker holding a gun to the pilot's head. The hijacker was on edge, ready to shoot at any moment.
Homelander and Maeve approached cautiously, trying to deescalate the situation.
But it was no use. The hijacker pulled the trigger.
Homelander reacted instantly, lasers flaring from his eyes—but he was too late. The hijacker was incinerated, but the pilot took a bullet to the head.
Maeve turned to Homelander, helpless. "Do you know how to fly?"
Homelander raised his hands. "Wouldn't matter even if I did."
His laser blast hadn't just killed the hijacker—it had fried the entire control panel. The cockpit was totaled. The plane was now completely out of control.
Maeve stood frozen. "What do we do?"
But Homelander didn't seem concerned. He wore a smug, collected expression and calmly exited the cockpit, closing the door behind him. Turning to the passengers, he called out cheerfully:
"Everyone stay in your seats. Everything is normal!"
Not even a flicker of change in his smile.
Outside the screen, Deadpool chuckled. "What is this, a classic Superman rescue scene? C'mon, who hasn't seen that iconic shot of Superman lifting a plane?"
And as if on cue, the video showed Maeve making the same suggestion:
"You have to go outside and lift the plane!"
But Homelander just raised his hands. "Lift it? From where? There's nothing out there but damn air!"
Maeve pressed on, desperate. "Fine, then just fly up and push the plane back on course!"
Again, Homelander shook his head. "No can do. At this speed, either I flip the whole plane or go straight through it."
As they argued, the plane began to shudder violently, thanks to the now-compromised cockpit. Passengers screamed in panic, tossed around like kernels in a popcorn machine.
And that's when Homelander's real acting skills came out. With Maeve, he was curt and irritated, but the second he turned to the passengers—he was all confidence and smiles again.
"Just a bit of turbulence, folks! Everything's fine! Nothing to worry about!"
Maeve knew time was running out. She tried again.
"Okay, okay—then fly people down one by one. Get them to safety!"
Homelander laughed in her face.
"You want me to make 123 round trips? Maeve, come on. Be serious."
And then, just like that, the smile disappeared. His face turned cold, voice frosty:
"Our mission is over."
He turned to walk toward the back of the plane, tossing one more lie over his shoulder:
"All good, folks. You're safe!"
The passengers, no fools, instantly realized something was wrong.
"Wait, you're leaving us?" one called out.
Homelander replied casually, "No, no—I'm just checking the situation in the back."
Panic spread through the cabin.
A little girl pleaded, "Homelander… you're going to save us, right?"
"Of course, sweetheart. Of course I will," he said with the same smile.
But that smile now brought no comfort.
It was too rehearsed. Too empty.
As the plane jolted harder and the screams grew louder, most of the passengers understood exactly what was about to happen.
Maeve couldn't just stand by and watch. She wanted to save them. But she couldn't fly—not like Homelander. Up here, she was as helpless as they were.
She froze. Homelander, seeing this, snapped impatiently:
"Maeve!"
Then he reached the rear of the plane and smashed open the emergency door with a single punch. Turbulence surged in, and the already-unstable aircraft shook even more violently.
Maeve, silent, looked out across the cabin. Her eyes landed on a mother and daughter. She walked over to them—hoping, at the very least, to save two lives.
Outside the video, Annie—who had been silent this whole time—finally spoke, her voice soft and strained:
"Maeve… she hasn't completely lost her humanity."
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T/N:
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