I'm a Homelander

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The office doors opened abruptly, letting me walk confidently inside. The secretary's reassurances didn't do much to stop the locomotive that was me, and this visit came as a complete surprise to Stan Edgar. He'd just been watching some programme that featured Victoria Newman. She was the congresswoman who openly opposed the Vought initiative. An interesting person to follow, knowing the positive response from the public.

- You got your finger on the pulse, Stan? - I asked with a smile, looking at the perfectly calm man.

- I have to," he replied briefly, turning the TV volume down to a minimum. - What are you here for?

- A question, of course.

- Well, if that's the case, ask it. - He waved to the secretary, who nodded and walked out the door.

- Who's the leader of the Seven, Stan? Enlighten me.

- As far as I'm concerned, he's standing in front of me. - The black-skinned arsehole replied nonchalantly.

- Oh, really? - Delanno was surprised at his words, staring intently into his eyes. - I thought you took over today. Which certainly even sounds. funny.

- If you're concerned about Stormfront's appointment to the Seven, it's out of the question," Mr Edgar said, realising where this conversation was going. - Any other questions?

- I'm not worried about Stormfront, it's not important at all," I shook my head, looking into the calm eyes of the 'boss'. - What does matter is your interference in the affairs of my team.

- Your team? - He arched an eyebrow, looking at me as if he saw me as a child. - I hate to break it to you, but Seven belongs to the Vought Corporation, and no one else.

- I'm aware of that," I sighed softly, seeing the reflection of my blue eyes in the general manager's glasses, which had red glints in their depths. - The only catch is that you yourself agreed that the team was mine. A short time ago, as I recall. Doesn't your word have any validity?

- I don't have a bad memory, and neither do you. And mind you, I have not personally violated our agreement. You're still minding your own business and I'm still minding mine. No members of your team have been forced to do anything. Is that correct? - Edgar waited for my nod and continued. - Adding a new member to the team is not an interference that should have angered you. We had to make a hasty choice as circumstances dictated.

- Well, enlighten me. What made you in such a hurry?

- Money," Stan shrugged, taking off his glasses. - The death of Mr Blink hit us hard, in terms of stock, that's for sure. You didn't think the sudden death of a member of the strongest superhero team in the world would have any effect on Wout, did you?

I had no answer to that question, as the CEO's words had an understandable logic to them.

- We are now doing everything we can to minimise the damage and even make money out of it. Stormfront was supposed to show that Seven is still in service. As far as I know, she's strong enough to meet your criteria.

- You could have at least given me some warning. in advance. - I sighed, accepting the fact that he was right.

- I have already informed Miss Stillwell that Stormfront will be accepted into the Seven from tomorrow. - He looked at me with incomprehension.

- 'Then why did she come to the film set, to 'say hello' to us? She said it was your decision.

- I guess it was her own initiative," Edgar said, wiping his glasses with his handkerchief and putting them on. - As far as I know, you've already taught her a lesson for that behaviour. How the public will react is another matter. I think you should take that up with Miss Stillwell.

- Yes, I should. - I nodded in agreement. Without saying anything else, I turned round and walked out.

- Goodbye, John. - I heard his voice behind me, but I didn't answer. It would be fine.

As I got into the lift, I thought about today and how it would affect the future. As far as I remembered, feminism and other dubious social movements that advocate equality reigned in America. But for some reason, the "oppressed" in this movement want to be more equal than the "oppressors". As Marcus Tullius Cicero said: "A slave does not dream of freedom, a slave dreams of his slaves". As far as I was concerned, it was the same situation here.

If a person has been denied by the world around him from his earliest childhood the opportunity to choose his own values and be free, then he responds to the world around him in the same way. He takes revenge for his helplessness. If a person has been restricted in his freedom of action since childhood, all he dreams of is to be able to restrict the freedom of action of others. Actually, it's not about equality, it's about being superior and taking the place of the former "oppressors". Nice.

- I'm gonna get shit-faced. - I made a verdict from my reflections, and sighed, taking it for granted. What the experience of the Homelander had taught me was that people have surprisingly short memories. In any case, things would settle down soon enough.

The lift stopped on my floor and I stepped out of the cubicle. After walking only a couple of steps down the corridor, I found myself in front of the most ordinary door, which I opened with my key card. It was so dark inside that it would take at least a minute for a normal person's eyes to adjust to it. Sighing, I simply shone my x-ray vision through everything, and then closed the door behind me, continuing on my way. This time, I was standing in front of yet another door, but this time it had been kicked in by someone strong enough. Considering that the owner of this apartment was a Homelander, it was easy to guess who had come up with such a brilliant idea. And I had such a candidate, two of them.

Silently I went inside and went straight to the living room, where the television was on. Only there was no one sitting on the sofa in front of it. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to sit down on one of the sides and leaned back relaxed. On the screen there was a programme showing the life of different inhabitants of our planet. Like sharks, that's what they were talking about. The ocean was shown as an extremely mysterious place, with a lot of unknowns. I wonder what Depth would say about that. To him, there's nothing undiscovered there at all, that's for sure.

- Very unexpected, Kimiko. - I commented languidly, feeling like I was trying to wring my neck. A kind of greeting, from her.

After my words, the savage had already stopped trying to wring my neck and switched to an objectively easier way of physically harming me. But no matter how hard she tried, tearing my hair out wasn't really working. Only myself, and Maeve, of course, could do that. It was easier to cut it off, though, though the blades dull very quickly.

- How was your day? - I asked her as she sat down on the couch, not expecting her to answer.

Kimiko shrugged her shoulders as she continued to draw on the sheets. From what I understood, it was a shark. Unfortunately, she couldn't speak, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. Only this affliction was not physical, but rather psychological. So we only learnt of her name through the telepath, Mesmer. He was the closest to the tower at the time, and could find out a lot through touch, which gave me a lot of information about the girl. And that she was basically a terrorist, which I already knew. And that her former employers still had a brother, Kenji.

I didn't know what to do with her. In the end, I decided to keep her, since she wasn't willing to go to any trouble. The team had been wary of her at first, but now they were used to her presence. She was placed across the hall from my apartment, so she often visits me, but I don't know why. She had no feelings for me, but was rather afraid of me. So the logic of her behaviour remained a mystery to me.

- Why did she break the door? Again. - I looked with interest at this insolent person, who froze after my words and looked at the key card on the table.

Turned her head in my direction and ducked her eyes like a guilty child. And when it came to her pretty face, the effect was killer. She started to use this forbidden technique too often. I don't know who she learnt it from. She shouldn't have been left alone with Annie and Maeve, they'd even taught her how to put on make-up. They're a bad influence.

- Let me guess. You forgot your key card at my place and that's why you broke the door down," she nodded gently, causing me to sigh in doom. - I'll have to replace the door, don't forget the card again.

My response was a vigorous nod with a grin, making it appear on my face as well. It was hard to be angry with Kimiko, perhaps also because I felt responsible for her. And the offence wasn't that significant, at least she didn't hurt or kill anyone. I feel like these women are just stringing me along! I can't fight back. Perhaps it's also because the demands were not so great.The next hour passed in peaceful silence, which only sometimes I interrupted myself. We managed to finish watching the film with sharks, I looked at her drawings and how she was learning the alphabet. As the ladies who spent the most time with her reasoned, it was a good idea for her to learn to write in English so that she could communicate with people. I did not object to this and now I periodically help her to learn the language. So far, it's working out pretty well.

And then I flew out of the balcony, speeding out of Wout Tower. It took me a dozen minutes to get to my cabin in the forest, silently sneaking into the guest bedroom and changing clothes. After which, as he always did before, he went downstairs and entered through the door. I should stop these games and admit to Ryan what I was doing and start training him. I need to stop putting off such an important thing.

- Becca, Ryan, bon appetit. - With a smile, I walked into the kitchen where they had already started lunch.

- En español. - With a playful sternness Becca looked at me while Ryan watched with a smile.

- Lo siento, lo olvidé," I apologised to her and repeated my wish already in Spanish. - Buen provecho.

- Gracias. - They answered me, looking at me with a smile.

I shook my head at such an insolent mockery of the strongest creature on the planet, and sat down at the table, where I was prepared a separate plate. Though I'd kind of mentioned that I probably wouldn't be coming. Even though it was a small thing, it made me feel good.

- ¿Calentar? - She asked me.

- No, puedo hacerlo yo mismo. - I refused to reheat the slightly cold food, winking at her with a smile.

Becca rolled her eyes at my behaviour and poured cold milk into a glass, to which I nodded gratefully. Still, things were working out pretty well for me, unlike before. Without that oppressive feeling of loneliness that Homelander was always feeling. I wondered for a moment how he would have handled things around here. It was no use spoiling his mood with things that had not and would not happen. You might spoil your appetite, which would be unacceptable because Becca might be upset by such neglect of her cooking. So let's switch off our brains and enjoy the food, not forgetting to praise the cook.

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