I'm a Homelander

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***

The measured footsteps slowly kicked up dust, which fell to the surface with equal speed. My bootprints were imprinted on it as if I'd stepped on fairly hard clay. I walked freely, as if I were on a sightseeing tour. Except you don't see people here, unless it's another visit to this world-famous satellite. Yes, it was the Moon, the one our ancestors gazed at night thousands of years ago, wondering what it really was.

What am I doing here? Probably resting. resting, although I'm having trouble breathing. I'm holding on to a single breath I took two hours ago, going where no Homelander has gone before. Oddly enough, this blond man has not visited not only the depths of the ocean, but also the Earth's satellite. As far as I could tell, he was afraid to suffocate and stayed out of orbit. And despite his absolute invulnerability, even he had quite understandable fears.

I reckon I could go without air for about eight hours. And considering that it took me two hours to get to the moon, I have four hours to spare. One good thing, I didn't feel any discomfort from holding my breath. And there was a lot to see, it was truly mesmerising. The same surface was not universally grey, as we see from the Earth when we look up at night. Orange earth with flecks of red, that's what the surface of the Moon really was.

Further out were craters and seas filled with cooled lava, the ground there covered in dark dust. But far more interesting was to look at the star-spangled flags, the same ones the Americans had left on this planet. Well, only five of the six were still standing, one lying on the ground. A more surprising and unexpected find was a metal ball, except it wasn't a simple one. It was a ball of pentagons, on each of which was the coat of arms of the USSR and the year 1959, September. Holding it in my hands, I couldn't understand how I felt about it.

Thousands of people had been working to get this metal ball to the moon for years, dreaming of someday sending a man here too. But those dreams were not to be realised, there was no nation that aspired to conquer new heights. I've travelled all this distance in just a couple of hours and I'm just walking around this deserted planet like a damn tourist. There was no goal, I just wanted to fly to the moon and walk around. The first super to get to the moon just by my own efforts, and there was no joy or at least no satisfaction in it. As I looked at the object in my hand. I was saddened by how easily I'd done it.

The orb slowly fell to the surface, kicking up dust. And my body rose up and flew swiftly towards the other orb that hung in space. Even in less than two hours, I was already in orbit, bypassing the space debris and entering the dense layers of the atmosphere. Unlike other flying machines, I had no trouble lowering my speed enough to avoid damaging my suit. I flew towards my home, soon landing on the green grass, breathing in the fresh air.

- Dad!

Ryan literally flew outside, seemingly having heard me coming.

- Ryan! - Becca shouted as my son ran at me, knocking me to the ground.

- I see you're getting the hang of it.

I gave him a smile and patted him on the head, watching as the worried mother ran out the door, only calming down when she saw me.

- Aha!" the boy shouted happily, clinging to me tightly. - Mum won't let me fly without you, let's fly together!

- Ryan, I told you not to fly at home," Becca sighed, apparently a little tired of her son's restless nature. - He's been looking forward to you.

- You can tell. All right, champ. Shall we fly?

- Yay!

The next couple of hours passed quietly, with Ryan's training carelessly disguised as games. The same height-restricted chasing in the woods that Becca was involved in. Interestingly, she was more effective than I was, even though I had no X-rays. The situation was repeated with hide-and-seek, where the boy had to look for the most unexpected places to hide. In general it was fun not only for the boy, but also for his parents. And most importantly, Becca realised where to put all the irrepressible energy of her son. For the next time you should buy a paintball gun to beat into him the instinct to dodge bullets. After that, you can start using air guns as an alternative to firearms. This will be useful for Rebecca, who needs it more than Ryan.

After having dinner with my family, I had to leave them because of an urgent matter that required my personal presence. It was because of this that I had to fly out towards Vaught Tower, just to reassure some of the team members who weren't too happy about the recent news. And first on that list was the one who was now lying on the floor in front of me, with an incredible amount of alcohol in his blood. It's a wonder he didn't drown himself.

- Eh, Kevin.My disappointed sigh had no effect on the unconscious Deep, lucky he hadn't gone for a walk around town. I shouldn't have left him unattended. Shaking my head, I had to pull the guy out from under a mountain of hot liquor bottles and carry him to the bathroom, where I started pouring cold water on his head.

- Kha! Ho hum... Ahem! Homeylander?

- Rise and shine, Underwater!

My smile was so bright that the poor guy even squeezed his eyes shut. He looked around the shower stall and his view to notice the lack of a suit top. Kevin didn't think long before covering his gills with his hands.

- I'm Deepness.

- Embarrassed? - He looked at his covered gills with a hint of embarrassment.

- I'm a freak.

- What makes you think that?

My sincere interest surprised the guy, who clearly didn't realise whether he was being mocked or not.

- I could have been a simple person, like all people, after all. If she hadn't agreed to me being injected with that stuff.... How is that fair?

- Is that how you see it?

- How else would I see it?! - Kevin raised his voice, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was scared shitless of me. He was shaking with tears, and he certainly didn't care. - I was at the mall at the time. We were walking past a pet shop and I heard goldfish begging not to be killed, just begging. And then the beach, the oceanarium, the fish restaurant. I thought I was going crazy! But my mum said it was a gift, that I was born that way. I could be normal.

Tears rolled down his cheeks. This news really hit him hard.

- You didn't call your mother, did you?

- Why would I call the one who turned me into this? this?

After saying that, he froze, staring at one point in front of him and lost in himself.

- You turned yourself into "it" by drinking alcohol by litres, - I again poured cold water on his handsome face to make him pay close attention to me. - Did she call?

- Yes, she did," he looked down, like a child caught in the act. - I didn't pick up.

- Do you remember the first time you came to the tower? She was with you, she was such a slightly well-fed but kind woman," I smiled, patting him on the shoulder. - Gloria was so complimentary of you and begged me for an autograph for you, since you were such an avid fan of mine.

- You've always been a role model for me, sir. - The guy got all weepy, almost crying at the fact that his idol remembered it all.

- I know, Kevin. I also know that Gloria had no choice, and you shouldn't blame her.

- What do you mean? - He finally lifted his head, looking at me with a question in his eyes.

- You were a sickly baby, born prematurely and had problems.... lungs," the boy's face stretched with shock and realisation with each word. - Your father left before you were born, and there was nothing your family could do to help. That's when the men from Wout came to offer salvation.

- So.

- You wouldn't have lived a month if your mother hadn't agreed. She even refused the money they offered her. All she wanted was for you to live a full life.

- Я... didn't know," tears sprang from his eyes, but he covered his face with his hands, no longer embarrassed by his gills. - I really didn't know.

- You're not a freak, Kevin. Just like I'm not a freak, neither is anyone else. We're all just victims of circumstance," I patted him on the back, doing the best I could. - You need to rest. for a week. Go home, talk to Gloria.

- Thank you. - He sounded muffled.

- Don't forget to tell your mother, she'll be pleased.

***

Leaving the guy to himself, I walked out of his room, heading for the next member of the team. I found her in the training room, beating up an iron mannequin that was barely halfway there. Maeve had clearly overdone it and she was very offended, so much so that she moved on to the next one, beginning to beat it mercilessly as well.

- Aren't you busy?

My voice was drowned out by the woman's panting and the clinking of metal that simply couldn't withstand her blows. Rolling my eyes at her ignore, I walked over to the mannequin and stood behind it, right in front of her.

- Get off. - She exhaled, continuing the beating.

- You're upset with me," I stated, tilting my head to the left. - That's what you're offended about? Nothing's changed much, and we won't have to look for work

- Ha! - With a belligerent shout, she kicked me in the head, hitting me on purpose, which pushed me slightly to the right.

It didn't hurt, but I didn't find it pleasant either. Stepping away from the mannequin, I approached her from behind, deciding not to be right in front of her after all.

- You made a deal with them! - With that shout, she elbowed me in the head, simply chopping it off.

- Would you want me to start a war with them? - She continued to strike the already headless mannequin, slapping her firm bottom. - Just relax.

As soon as I was distracted by the monotonous process, my head was pressed against the chest of the armoured bra of the heroine, who was diligently performing a chokehold, dragging me behind her before I could recover. But given my ability to hold my breath, such a hold wouldn't have worked anyway. So I calmly lifted her up by her arse, slipping my hand between her legs to throw her hard to the floor afterwards.

- What if I wanted a war? - Maeve frowned, looking up at me.

- My decision was the same," I leaned toward her. - You're not a little girl anymore, not to understand the consequences.

The kick hit me squarely in the head, disorienting me for a second, sending me to my knees. But they didn't let me get up, simply piling their weight on my back to pin me to the floor.

- So you're justifying your selfishness? - She growled back at me, stopping me from getting to my feet.

- Really?

Using a second's hesitation, I still managed to lean on my arms to start rolling across the floor. Maeve kept up with me, trying not to let me go. But eventually I was able to break free and almost get her on her back as she managed to unknowingly get on top of me, pinning my hands to the floor with her hips.

- You don't care about the people whose lives will be ruined by this drug. What if they keep making it and creating new supers?! They're children, John!

- That's not gonna happen.

- And where are the guarantees?

- It's no longer profitable for Wo Fat. It's more profitable to work with the military than to keep creating people like us.

- So they go unpunished.

- So it turns out. We could punish them, but the consequences would be unbelievable. All the shenanigans of people like us will become public knowledge and most likely we won't be able to hide from judgement either, - I patiently explain how I see future problems from her approach. - People like us will be imprisoned and heroic activities will be banned. Where will they go?

- They could become criminals.

- You've seen what one of them can do, what they can't hold back. What happens when there are dozens of them? Wout is a necessary evil, without which chaos will ensue.

There was a silence during which she considered my words, and I did not interrupt her.

- I hate it when you're right. - Maeve sighed and rose to her feet, striding confidently toward the exit.

- Does that mean we've settled this? - All I heard in response was the sound of the door slamming, and I had only one explanation for that. - Silence is a sign of agreement.

Well, at least now I could be sure there wouldn't be some shocking revelation from Maeve on the news. Which means the only thing left to talk to is Annie. And I even know where we can talk.

***

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