A simple full-length mirror, which I was looking into, showed a crooked smirk on my face. More out of awkwardness than from an awareness of what was happening. After all, standing before me was a tall, muscular man—a blonde with blue eyes, straight teeth, and a symmetrical face. A true Aryan, no less.
Add to that a blue suit, a long cape styled after the US flag, and of course, yellow pauldrons in the shape of eagles on each shoulder, with a buckle of the same color on the belt. That's how you get the most famous superhero image in the entire fucking world, a local Superman, in every sense. Only the red trunks over the suit are missing, but that's not the point right now.
Homelander—the strongest superhero of this bizarre world. The one who could be called the ideal, a superhuman without flaws. He was an alien born in a distant, dying world. While still an infant, he was placed in a rocket and sent from his home planet to Earth just before it exploded. He reached Earth and landed in the USA, where he was found by an elderly couple who named him John and raised him, teaching him the highest and purest American values—patriotism, altruism, and respect for truth and justice. Eventually, when his powers manifested, John decided to protect his new home and became Homelander—the most powerful and righteous superhero the world had ever known.
A beautiful legend that became Homelander's backstory in comics and later in movies. Although ripped off from Superman—who is Kal-El—no such person existed in any form in this world. So, it's plagiarism only on a multiversal scale.
Only a few know the truth: that John, as his creator named him, was literally raised in a controlled environment. In case of an escape attempt, a hydrogen bomb was attached to the child. At the same time, they explained to him how he should behave in public and created the myth of Homelander—the greatest hero in history, who led the greatest superhero team in the world, called The Seven.
A sort of "Justice League" or "Avengers," where the greatest heroes of Earth were gathered. And as you might guess, there were only seven of them. The team had its own black speedster, a Batman cosplay, an Aquaman parody who actually sucks this time, and its own Invisible Man. There was also a Wonder Woman, with Superman in the form of myself.
And all of them were endowed with their abilities at the whim of the only company that monopolized superheroes—Vought International. An American multi-billion dollar corporation, currently headed by Stan Edgar. It is engaged in creating movies, TV shows, comics, and merch based on its own superheroes. Homelander was created by them, literally fashioned and raised at their command.
Now, a question: Who am I then, since I don't associate myself with Homelander? A simple operator who was trying to make ends meet. An ordinary, most average person with quite simple desires. At least until recently.
Waking up in bed dressed in this ridiculous costume, which my predecessor rarely took off, was very unexpected. What can I say? The body didn't sweat, which already eliminated many inconveniences from constant wearing of this suit.
I felt a slight confusion when I realized that I knew everything that Homelander himself knew. All his memory, starting from childhood memories in the laboratory and ending with what he recently ate, was now in my head. And so, standing in front of the mirror, I completely didn't understand what I had gotten into and who had arranged all this. To fall asleep as an ordinary person with excess weight and wake up as an ideal in the eyes of the majority. What could be better? Only, for such a service, a price might well be demanded, because I somehow didn't believe that this was free of charge.
"I need to get some air," I grunted, taking a few steps toward the door. But I stopped abruptly, turning toward the spacious balcony, from which it was convenient to... fly. "Why not?"
A few seconds later, standing on the balcony, I swallowed my now-viscous saliva, looking at the asphalt below. As far as Homelander remembered, there were at least eighty floors here. And he himself lived on the seventieth, which was clearly not that low. If I failed to fly, falling down could turn a passing person or a car into a pancake. As for me, little could happen, except that the ratings would drop. And even then, Vought would quickly deal with that, preventing such news from leaving the company.
Exhaling, I let go of the railing, which had bent slightly from the force of my grip. My eyes closed on their own, and I focused on the feeling of the wind hitting my face. I raised my arms, slightly bent my knees, and sharply brought them down, jumping up. My legs literally pushed me into the sky, where my body already flew completely freely.
I opened my eyes, seeing the night sky approaching me, or rather, my body approaching the sky. My heart beat like crazy, and the flight speed only increased. My hands instinctively moved forward, clenching into fists. The flight speed increased even more, and my body broke the sound barrier with a sonic boom.
A couple of seconds and I see a crust of ice forming on the red gloves. But the body felt no cold; instead, there was only a desire to continue. I knew this wasn't the limit... not the limit at all. So the speed increases again, reaching the maximum.
After a few more seconds, the ice crust disappears, as do any sounds. Flying becomes much easier and I smoothly stop. My breathing is steady, although one cannot breathe in the stratosphere. But it's better to chalk everything up to the features of a Supe's organism than to dwell on it.
I slowly turned around, looking down right at the city. Neither clouds nor anything else hindered my enhanced vision, coupled with X-ray, from looking at the city in all its glory. The possibilities were incredible, and it seemed to me as if the whole city were nothing more than a construction set that could easily be taken apart. And so it was, and that was exactly what was frightening. But, it had to be admitted...
"This is fucking awesome!" I exhaled, only now noticing how my eyes glowed with a scarlet light. The slightly reddish surroundings eloquently hinted at this.
In the sky, I felt like a fish in water, despite fears that I would have to relearn how to use my abilities. As practice showed, nothing of the sort was required. A smile froze on my lips as my gaze surveyed the city from a height that birds cannot reach even with all their desire. Coupled with the glowing red eyes, from the outside, it definitely looked quite ominous.
Landing smoothly on the balcony, I calmly stepped inside the spacious apartment, devoid of excesses. Since Homelander moved in here, nothing had changed. Although, on the desk, a frame appeared with a photo of Stillwell together with him. The absolutely fake smiles demonstrated in the photograph now caused only irritation instead of the usual nostalgia.
"What did he see in her?" I muttered, looking at a younger version of the blonde, though not by much. She had wrinkles even then, though they were masked behind expensive cosmetics.
Picking up the frame, I looked at it for only a second and indifferently dropped it from my hands, straight into the trash can. Feeling no internal response regarding this, I shrugged and sprawled in the chair. Throwing my head back and staring at the white ceiling, I just exhaled, letting go of worries that were unnecessary right now. Better to solve problems as they come, rather than tremble with fear at every rustle.
A knock at the door came as a surprise, as did the fact that someone opened it unhindered. A woman with blonde hair walked calmly into the apartment. Her clothes, as always, were practical and chosen with taste. Twenty years ago, she was quite the sex bomb, but not now.
"Homelander." Madelyn smiled, seeing me in the chair.
"Madelyn." I nodded to her indifferently.
I had no desire to talk to this woman. If Homelander was literally obsessed with her, I was absolutely indifferent to her. Even my predecessor understood perfectly well that he and his attachment were being used to the fullest. To me, such a thing regarding myself seemed unacceptable.
"I thought you wanted to help Maeve with the robbers today," Madelyn said, stopping a few meters away from me. "But you weren't around all day. So I got worried."
"Worried?" I smiled, trying to hold back the laughter that was threatening to burst out.
I didn't compare Homelander to Superman for nothing, for he literally possessed all the powers of a Kryptonian. Except he couldn't freeze things with his breath. Presumably, even a nuclear explosion wouldn't cause me any harm. So the words about worry from someone who is perfectly aware of this sounded like some kind of joke.
But I wasn't aware that I had spent the whole day in the sky. Let's just say, flying was amazing. Perhaps skydiving enthusiasts would understand me, though for me it was more like swimming when you just don't want to get out of the water. And considering that I could easily ignore hunger, I flew for hours on end, not noticing the time.
"Did she manage without me?" I asked, not seeing even a shadow of concern on her face due to the atypical behavior. Still the same practiced smile.
"You know she's a professional," Madelyn responded, her expression unchanging.
"Excellent, glad for her," I told her, smiling. "I hope there won't be any more questions for me?"
"No," Stillwell replied, for a moment showing concern in her gaze. "But because of this, her rating rose insignificantly compared to if Homelander had been present with her."
"What a pity," I said indifferently, looking her straight in the eyes. And I could see how her pulse quickened from this; she was afraid of me. "Maybe I can be present during another mission?"
"You mean Starlight?" the woman asked, surprised by my initiative.
"Yes. That's happening tonight, right?"
"The Deep has already volunteered..."
"I think I'm in a position to persuade him otherwise. Be so kind as to send me the text I'm supposed to read," I grunted, getting up from the chair and taking a couple of steps forward. "Well?"
Fear. I managed to see it in her eyes, her heartbeat, her knees that began to tremble. Homelander didn't allow himself this; he didn't want to break the illusion that he mattered to this woman. I, on the other hand, was initially indifferent to her and therefore saw right through her.
"I'll talk to The Deep myself." Stillwell smiled and headed for the exit. I should have begun to admire her ability to hide her emotions, except...
"By the way, how is Teddy doing?"
…everyone has weaknesses.
Suddenly she froze, her hand on the door handle. A second, a second more, and she quietly exhales so as not to accidentally appear vulnerable before me.
"He's feeling great, he's already started crawling on all fours," Madelyn replied, still without turning to me.
"What a good boy..."
The oppressive silence began to weigh on the woman, who couldn't even see my face. It was in my power to cause her genuine terror so that she would simply be afraid to use me for her own purposes. However, this was enough for now.
"See you later, Madelyn."
"See you, Homelander," the woman replied in a more or less calm voice and went out the door.
Where she exhaled with relief, for a few seconds just trying to normalize her breathing. Only after that did she cast a wary glance at the door, turn around, and after adjusting her hair, walk to her office.
"Only popcorn or chips are missing," I muttered thoughtfully, watching Stillwell move away from my apartments. But I couldn't help but admit that she has a very strong character. It even evoked admiration. Just a little bit.