Chapter 1

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***

The simple rostering mirror I was looking into showed a crooked grin on my face. More from embarrassment than from realising what was happening. For in front of me stood a tall muscular man, blond with blue eyes, straight teeth and a symmetrical face. A true Aryan, no less.

Add to this a blue suit, a long coat, stylised under the US flag and of course yellow shoulder pads in the form of eagles on each shoulder, with a buckle of the same colour on the belt. This is how you get the most famous superhero image in the whole fucking world, the local Superman, in every sense. The only thing missing is the red pants on top of the costume, but that's not the point.

Homelander is the strongest superhero in this bizarre world. Someone who could be called the ideal, a superhuman without flaws. He was an alien born on a distant dying world. As an infant, he was placed in a rocket and sent from his home planet to Earth before it exploded. He reached Earth and landed in the United States, where he was found by an elderly couple who named him John and raised him, teaching him the highest and purest American values of patriotism, altruism, and respect for truth and justice. Eventually, when his powers manifested, John decided to defend his new home and became Homelander - the most powerful and righteous superhero the world has ever known.

A beautiful legend that became the backstory of Homelander in the comics and then the films. Even though it's plagiarised from Superman, who is Kal Al, no one like that existed in any form in this world. So it's plagiarism only on a multiverse scale.

Except few people know the truth that John, as his creator named him, was literally raised in a controlled environment. The child was strapped with a hydrogen bomb in case he tried to escape. At the same time, he was explained how he should behave in public and created the myth of Homelander, the greatest hero in history, who led the greatest team of superheroes in the world, called the Seven.

A kind of "Justice League" or "Avengers", where they gathered the greatest heroes of the Earth. And as you can easily guess, there were only seven of them. The team had its own black speedster, cosplay on Batman, parody on Aquaman, which this time really sucks and its own Invisible Man. There was also its own Wonder Woman, with Superman in my face.

And they were all given their powers at the whim of the only company that monopolised superheroes - Vought International. An American multibillion-dollar corporation, now headed by Stan Edgar. In charge of creating films, TV series, comics and merch based on their own superheroes. Homelander was created by them, literally created and nurtured at their behest.

Now the question is: Who am I, then, if I don't associate myself with Homelander? Just a simple operator trying to make ends meet. An ordinary, run-of-the-mill man with quite simple desires. At least until recently.

To wake up in bed, dressed in this ridiculous costume, which my predecessor didn't film very often at all, was very unexpected. What can I say? My body did not sweat, which already excluded a lot of inconveniences from the constant wearing of this suit.

I felt a slight confusion as I realised that I knew everything that the Homelander himself knew. His entire memory, from his childhood memories in the lab to what he had recently eaten, was now in my head. Standing in front of the mirror, I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into or who had set it all up. To go to sleep a simple man with excess weight, and wake up ideal in the eyes of the majority. What could be better? Only that for such a service they might well demand payment, because I didn't believe that it was free of charge.

- I need to get some air," he hummed, taking a few steps toward the door. But he stopped abruptly, turning to the spacious balcony, from which it was convenient to.... to take off from. - Why not?

Already standing on the balcony a few seconds later, he swallowed the drool that had become viscous, looking at the tarmac below. As far as the Homelander could remember, there were at least eighty floors. And he himself lived on the seventieth, which wasn't that low. If you couldn't fly up, you could fall down and crush a passing person or car. Not much can happen to me, except for a drop in ratings. And Wout will deal with it quickly, not letting such news get out of the company.

I let go of the railing, which bent slightly from the force of the compression. My eyes closed on their own, and I concentrated on the feel of the wind in my face. I raised my arms up, bending my knees slightly, and brought them down sharply, bouncing. My legs literally pushed me into the sky, where my body was already completely free to fly.

I opened my eyes, seeing the night sky approaching me, or rather my body approaching the sky. My heart was beating as if frantically, and the speed of flight only increased. My hands moved forward, clenching into fists. The speed of flight increased even more, and my body broke the sound barrier with a pop.A couple of seconds and I see a crust of ice forming on my red gloves. But no coldness was felt by my body, instead there was only the urge to continue. I was aware that this was not the limit... no limit at all. So the speed increases again, reaching the maximum.

After another couple of seconds, the crust of ice disappears, as well as any sounds. Flying becomes much easier and I come to a smooth stop. My breathing is even, even though you can't breathe in the stratosphere. But it's better to blame it on the peculiarities of the super's body than to contemplate it.

Slowly I turn around, looking down, straight at the city. Neither clouds nor anything else prevented the enhanced vision, coupled with the X-ray, from seeing the city in all its glory. The possibilities were incredible, and it seemed to me as if the whole city was nothing more than a constructor that could easily be taken apart piece by piece. It was, and that's what was scary. But, I had to admit.

- This is fucking awesome! - He exhaled, only now noticing how his eyes were glowing with a scarlet light. The slightly reddish surroundings hinted at that.

I felt like a fish in water in the sky, despite the fear that I would have to retrain myself to use my abilities. As practice had shown, I didn't have to do anything like that. A smile froze on my lips as my gaze surveyed the city from a height that birds couldn't reach if they wanted to. Coupled with the glowing red eyes, it sure looked pretty ominous from the outside.

***

Landing smoothly on the balcony, I calmly stepped inside the spacious, no-frills flat. Nothing had changed since Homelander had moved in. There was a framed picture of Stillwell with him on the desk, though. The completely fake smiles on display in the picture now only made him feel annoyed instead of nostalgic.

- What did he see in her? - He muttered, looking at a younger version of the blonde, though not by much. She had wrinkles even back then, though they were masked behind expensive cosmetics.

Taking the frame in his hands, he looked at it for just a second and indifferently let it go, straight into the rubbish bin. Not feeling any response inside himself about it, he shrugged his shoulders and sat back in his chair. Tilting his head back and looking at the white ceiling, he simply exhaled, letting go of the worries that were unnecessary now. It was better to deal with problems as they came, rather than shiver in fear at every rustle.

The knock on the door came as a surprise, as did the fact that someone had opened it unhindered. A woman with blonde hair entered the flat calmly. Her clothes were as practical and tasteful as ever. And twenty years ago she'd been a sex bomb, but not now.

- Homelander. - Madeline smiled when she saw me in the chair.

- Madeline. - I nodded indifferently.

I had no desire to talk to this woman. If Homelander was literally obsessed with her, I was completely indifferent to her. My predecessor had realised that he and his affection were being taken full advantage of. But I found it unacceptable to do the same to myself.

- I thought you wanted to help Maeve with the robbers today," Madeline said, stopping a few metres away from me. - But you were gone all day. So I got worried.

- Worried? - I smiled, trying to hold back a laugh.

There was a reason I'd compared Homelander to Superman, because he literally had all the powers of a Kryptonian. Except he couldn't freeze with his breath. Supposedly, even a nuclear blast wouldn't do me any harm. So the words of concern from someone who was well aware of this sounded like some kind of joke.

But what was unknown to me was the fact that I had spent the whole day in the sky. Let's just say it was amazing to fly. Perhaps fans of skydiving will understand me, though for me it was more like swimming, when you just don't want to get out of the water. And given that I could easily ignore hunger, I flew for hours on end without noticing the time.

- Did she manage without me? - I asked, not seeing a shadow of concern on her face at her atypical behaviour. It was still the same smile.

- You know she's a professional. - Madeline replied, her face unchanged.

- Good, good for her," I told her, smiling. - I hope you don't have any more questions for me.

- No," Stillwell replied, a look of concern in her eyes for a moment. - But it made her rating rise marginally higher than if Homelander had been present with her.

- 'What a pity,' he muttered indifferently, looking her straight in the eye. And I could see her pulse quicken at that; she was wary of me. - Maybe I could be present during another mission?

- You mean Starlight? - The woman asked, surprised at my initiative.

- Yes. It's happening tonight, right?

- Depth has already volunteered...

- I think I can change his mind. Would you be kind enough to send me the text I'm to read out?" he hummed, standing up from his chair and walking a couple of steps forward. - What is it?

Fear. I managed to see it in her eyes, her heartbeat, her knees that trembled. Homelander didn't allow himself that, he didn't want to ruin the illusion that he cared about this woman. I had been indifferent to her from the start, and so I saw right through her.

- I'll talk to Deep. - Stillwell smiled, and walked away. I should have started to admire her ability to hide her emotions, except that.....

- How's Teddy doing, by the way?

...we all have our weaknesses.

Suddenly, she froze with her hand on the doorknob. A second, a second and she exhales quietly, so as not to appear vulnerable in front of me.

- He's feeling fine, already crawling on all fours. - Madeline answered without turning round to face me.

- What a good boy he is.

The oppressive silence began to weigh on the woman who couldn't even see my face. It was in my power to cause her natural terror, so that she would simply be wary of using me for her own purposes. But that was enough for now.

- I'll see you around, Madeline.

- See you, Homelander. - The woman replied in a less calm voice and walked out the door.

Where she exhaled in relief, taking a few seconds just trying to normalise her breathing. Only then did she cast a wary glance at the door, turned around and fixing her hair, went into her office.

- The only thing missing was popcorn or crisps. - I muttered thoughtfully, watching Stillwell walk away from my apartment. But I couldn't help but recognise that she was a very strong character. It was even admirable. Just a little bit.

*** 

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