Marvel : Homelander

After vaporizing his uncle's neck, Niklaus stood frozen for a moment, watching the lifeless body slump to the floor.

The sickening smell of burning flesh hung in the air.

He clenched his fists, trembling not from fear but from the torrent of memories flooding back into his mind.

The life he'd forgotten? Yeah, it was all coming back now.

His father—a washed-up junkie, barely coherent most days.

His mother? No better, lost in her own haze of drugs and neglect.

The only thing they ever did right was sell him off to his uncle.

The bastard had paid them off, probably for the sole purpose of using him to fulfill his sick, twisted fetish.

It was disgusting, revolting, and the thought of it ignited a fire deep in Niklaus' chest.

His eyes blazed with red searing heat as anger flared.

The alleyway around him lit up, and the dogs nearby whimpered and backed away, tails tucked between their legs.

He could barely contain it, his whole body shaking with the force of his emotions.

This was his life? This was what this poor soul been dealt with?

He tried to retrace his steps, to figure out where the hell he was supposed to go.

But nothing.

His mind was blank.

The bastard had knocked him out before dragging him to God-knows-where.

He couldn't even remember the way back to the hellhole he called home.

"I wish I had a damn game-like map that showed everything," Niklaus muttered in frustration.

And then, just like that, his vision shifted.

Reality warped around him as a glowing map appeared in his mind, showing his surroundings in meticulous detail.

Streets, buildings, alleys—it was all laid out before him as if he were some kind of player navigating through a game.

But with that surge of power came an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.

His body swayed as his energy drained in an instant, like someone had just pulled the plug on him.

He gasped for air, his legs buckling slightly beneath him.

"Shit," he whispered, steadying himself against the wall.

After calming down, Niklaus couldn't shake the confusion swirling in his mind.

Heat vision? Reality shifting or some sort of Genei thing ?

None of the two powers made sense together, but he couldn't deny what had just happened.

Driven by curiosity, he turned his attention to a large metal dumpster nearby.

There was no way a kid his size should be able to lift it, but he had to know.

He approached the dumpster and, with a steadying breath, hooked his finger under the edge.

To his amazement, he lifted it effortlessly with just one finger.

He chuckled to himself.

'Super strength.'

It was unreal for an average joe like him, but it felt right.

He was starting to feel something he hadn't in a long time—control.

But there was more to test.

Niklaus bent down and ripped off a small piece of the dumpster's metal.

Holding the sharp edge, he dragged it across his arm.

Instead of feeling pain, the metal bent against his skin as though it had struck something far stronger.

"Guess I'm pretty durable too," Niklaus whispered, his thoughts that of giddiness.

---

All these powers—super strength, heat vision, and what he could only describe as reality-bending—seemed like something out of a comic book.

'Either I've got Superman's powers,' he mused , walking through the darkened streets, 'or some cheap knockoff version.'

'And god forbid , Let's just hope I didn't land in a bad Disney remake.'

The sun was still down, so he couldn't test any of the more solar-dependent abilities.

But the hunger pangs in his stomach took precedence. "Alright, priorities," he muttered, feeling his stomach rumble, since he didn't have money he returned to that bastard's house.

"Let's get some food."

When he arrived back at his uncle's now-empty house, Niklaus quickly got to work.

After rifling through every drawer, cupboard, and box taling all the cash, he stopped in front of a wall panel, thinking there had to be something hidden since he seemed like that kind of guy.

As he pondered, his vision suddenly changed.

For a second, he panicked, stumbling back as everything around him appeared transparent.

'What the—X-ray vision? Seriously?'

He blinked a few times, shaking his head, but the ability remained.

He could see through the walls, through the furniture, and then… 'Oh, lovely. That's where you kept all your toys, huh, "Uncle" ?'

Through the walls, he spotted a hidden stash of sex toys in a secret compartment.

Though Most of them looked more like torture devices than anything meant for pleasure. 'Really? You just had to live up to every creepy uncle stereotype, didn't you?' Niklaus felt a flicker of dark amusement rather than horror.

'Well, thanks for making this easier. Now I don't feel bad about anything, not that i did before that'

He shook off the sight, focusing instead on something more useful—a small packet of blue crystal tucked away in a corner.

'Ah, jackpot,' he thought, grabbing the packet already thinking off selling it off to some desperate folk.

'Guess that's your rainy-day stash. Too bad it won't do you any good now.'

With that sorted, Niklaus moved to the fridge, pulling out a frozen pizza and some milk.

As the smell of his uncle's burnt remains started to seep through the house, he paused and grimaced.

'Oh, right. That's still here.' Aiming his eyes at the body, he unleashed another blast of heat vision, turning the remains to ash.

'There. Better. Can't have a post-traumatic snack with you stinking up the place.'

After some time he finally stopped with the precise lasering as he didn't want to burn the place yet.

'Glad to be rid of that shit. Onward and upward, right?'

The microwave beeped, and he yanked the pizza out, not caring that it was still somewhat half-frozen in the middle.

He wolfed it down anyway, gnawing on the edge of the crust as he thought about what had just happened.

'So, what are we thinking? I'm either Superman or some cheap knockoff. Or maybe both. X-ray vision, heat vision, super strength—I'm hitting all the basics.'

He chuckled, smirking to himself as he leaned back in the chair.

'And that wish thing… Yeah, that's new. I don't remember Superman pulling that one out of his ass.'

He took another bite, chewing thoughtfully.

'But then again, who cares? I've got all the time in the world to figure this shit out now.'

'Hell, I can make this world whatever I want it to be, right? It's like someone handed me the keys to the castle and said, 'Go ahead, do whatever the fuck you want.'"

A thought crossed his mind, and his smirk grew wider as he glanced at the busted lock on the door, the flickering light in the corner.

'And why the hell not? I mean, with power like this, what's the worst that could happen? I should be practically untouchable to normal humans now.'

'No more Wall Street bullshit. No more shady deals to make a buck. Just… me. And whatever the fuck I decide to do."

Finishing the last of the pizza, Niklaus stood up, stretching as he wiped the grease off his hands.

'Alright then. First things first: get the hell out of this shithole. Second? Maybe figure out what I'm really working with here since whoever dumped me in this place didn't bother with that'

'But hey—at least I showed up at the right time. Saved my ass , Quite literally, and took out a pedophile in one go.'

He glanced back at the now empty room, the charred remains of his uncle's body nothing more than ash and a faint black smudge on the floor.

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Stones and Reviews please