Become a Homelander and a Marvel superstar

"He betrayed me." Ellis's voice was filled with lingering fear and anger. "My vice president... damn it, he was involved too! He wanted me publicly executed! And then take my place!"

"Yes, he thought so." Azu turned around, his deep blue eyes revealing no emotion. "And he almost succeeded."

"And that scumbag S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Ellis slammed her hand on the table. "I'm fucking supporting that Nick Fury! The Security Council gave him hundreds of billions in funding! My Air Force One was hijacked! I was hanging from an oil tanker! Where is he?! Where is he?!"

Azu gave a perfectly timed sarcastic look. "Director Fury is probably assessing the threat level and analyzing intelligence. Maybe in two hours, he'll send a squad to... collect your corpse."

Ellis's breathing became heavy.

"And Stark?!" he roared again. "That Avengers! What the hell did he bring? A bunch of remote-controlled toys that just fly around!!"

President Ellis recalled that "battle".

More than a dozen armored vehicles were wiped out within twenty minutes.

Tony Stark, the billionaire, was trampled underfoot by Killian like a cockroach, unable to move.

"He..." Ellis's voice trailed off, "He's a loser, isn't he?"

“Arrogance is in his nature, Matthew,” Azu corrected. “He thinks he can handle everything. But he forgets that he’s just a man, a man hiding in a tin can.”

"And Killian... he's no longer human."

Ah Zu paced slowly, his acting prowess fully unleashed, his voice filled with a commanding presence:

"Matthew, you need to face one fact."

"Times have changed, Mr. President."

"The Battle of New York opened Pandora's box. Aliens... super soldiers... madmen who can grow bigger... This world is no longer under the control of you politicians in suits."

Azu walked up to Ellis and bowed slightly.

"Your NCPD is still using Glock pistols. But what about on the black market?"

"Chitauri energy guns cost $50,000 each, and gangsters are fighting over them. SWAT stormed a building, only to be blasted to smithereens by a particle cannon. What do you do?"

"Like tonight, Killian. Twenty or thirty Extremis soldiers—if regular troops went there, it would be a massacre. S.H.I.E.L.D. is too weak, and the Avengers are too slow."

President Ellis broke out in a cold sweat.

He found that every word the blond man said pierced his heart.

"What...what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying you need a... new team."

Ah Zu straightened up and gave him a "priceless" smile.

"A professional and efficient 'firefighting team'."

"A team... led by me."

“Mr. President,” Azu turned around, revealing his true intentions, “Walter, my company, is preparing to sell security to the entire United States…”

"sell?"

“A business model.” Azu’s tone became lighter. “The mayor of Los Angeles, if he wants to solve the rampant Chitauri weapons crime, he can hire us. Chicago, if they get another ‘Extremis virus,’ they can hire us too.”

“Of course, Washington, D.C., free.” Azu winked at him.

"This...this is protection money?" Ellis frowned.

“No, Mr. President,” Azu laughed, “this is capitalism. This is what Americans are best at.”

"Americans capitalize on healthcare, education, prisons... why can't they capitalize on 'superheroes' too?"

"I'm providing high-end services, Mr. President. High-end services naturally require... a certain fee. That's reasonable, isn't it?"

President Ellis remained silent.

He was a politician, and he instantly grasped the logic behind it.

Turn superheroes into a "commodity" rather than simply a "spiritual label".

Goods... can be "regulated" and "cooperated with".

He looked at Wu Yanzu: "Go on, Anthony. Your team... has it picked its players?"

"Of course." Wu Yanzu resumed his "sunny and upright" image.

"I," he pointed to the eagle emblem on his chest, "will be the captain and leader of this team."

"And," he smiled mysteriously, "I've recruited our second member. A... very powerful woman. She was once lost in the darkness, but now, under my guidance, she will embrace the light."

("Fuck!" Jessica Jones, who was being forced to do "smile training" in the Starr Building in New York, sneezed violently.)

"As for the others..." Wu Yanzu's gaze drifted to the window, "This world is never short of capable people, they just lack an agent like me."

President Ellis fell silent, his politician's mind racing.

This plan... is crazy. But... damn, it's incredibly tempting.

Outsource the mess that the superhumans made to a controllable private company.

"You..." Ellis's resolve began to waver. "What can you do?"

"We can do things the Avengers can't."

Azu walked back to his desk, placed his hands on it, and brought his handsome face close to Ellis's once again.

"Steve Rogers, that old popsicle, he'll argue with you about freedom and morality."

"Tony Stark, he'll show off his new toys to you and then leave you hanging."

"Nick Fury, he'll use ten lies to cover up one truth."

"And I, Matthew..."

Azu's smile became incredibly genuine.

"...I am your friend."

"You need to improve the government's image? No problem. Vought can arrange for my team of superheroes to conduct joint exercises with your Secret Service. The photos will be on the cover of Time magazine, and I've already come up with the headline—'Guardians of the New Era.'"

"You need to be a firefighter when disaster strikes? Of course. Hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks... while your FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is still in a meeting, we've already rescued people. And you just need to stand on the rubble, face the camera, and declare victory."

Ellis's breathing became rapid.

Ah Zu saw the ambition in his eyes.

"Matthew," Wu Yanzu's voice lowered, filled with seduction, "you're about to be re-elected, aren't you?"

"...Your popularity has plummeted because of tonight's attack. People will say you're incompetent, that your government couldn't even protect its own president."

"but……"

"What if...the hero who saved you, the Homelander loved by all of America, publicly stood by you?"

"What if I became your... presidential protector?"

"Your poll numbers," Azu snapped his fingers, "will soar into the stratosphere."

"You…" President Ellis's voice trembled with excitement, "What do you want?"

"All I want, Mr. President, is a permit."

"An official license. Permission for Vought International's superheroes to operate within the entire Federation."

"This is equivalent to... bypassing S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Ellis exclaimed.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Azu scoffed. "Matthew, haven't you seen it yet? S.H.I.E.L.D. can't protect you. Their internal structure... is rotten to the core."

"And I," Ah Zu pointed to himself, "am the one... who can help you clean house."

President Ellis fell into a long silence.

This deal... is too tempting.

In exchange for a license, one can secure their political life, a chance for re-election, and... an invincible "bodyguard".

As for Nick Fury's feelings? Screw him.

Tonight, Homelander saved him.

"How can I trust you?" Ellis asked one last question.

"You don't have to believe me, Matthew." Azu straightened up and resumed his holy appearance.

"You only need to trust... the people."

"The people love me. And you... need the people's love."

President Ellis smiled.

"You're a... born bastard, Mr. Starr."

"Likewise, Mr. President."