I'm a Homelander

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The city at night. Noisy, restless, and the crowds are thick as an anthill, spewing out lives left and right. What beauty of the city can we talk about when you can't walk a step without meeting another tourist. There is rubbish everywhere, horrible smells of cheap fast food, only the rain helps to get away from it all, falling in large drops on the asphalt. It was nice to inhale that specific earthy smell that you never get tired of.

- Do you like rain?

- I love it, but I prefer to be under an umbrella.

There was laughter in response, but it was a bit fake. I turned around, looking at Starlight, who was in full costume. The costume was of better quality, not as cheap looking as it had been before. Now she looked not only innocent, but also spectacular. The demand for adverts with her and merchandise had increased recently, not least because of this. She walked over to the window and stood next to me to look at the neighbouring house I had been watching before.

- So that's where the drug dealers had settled?

Her gaze was directed at the basement, where a tall black man in a leather jacket stood at the entrance. And he had a gun on him, which he had stuffed down his trousers. I hope he at least had the safety on. No, he didn't. If it wasn't for the lack of a neat, short beard, he could easily have been confused with Marvin Milk. Very similar, only this one is even more incompetent with firearms.

- Cheeky blokes, new to town. Probably mistakenly think they can hide in a city patrolled by the Seven.

- And this flat they were being followed from? - She looked round the dark room in this one-room flat.

- No, they weren't followed from here.

- So this place has nothing to do with tracking criminals?

- That's correct. I rented this place to make it more convenient for us," I shrugged at her surprised look. - Checked the weather forecast.

- Seems the choice was more of a forced one.

The girl's face creased with restrained disgust as she directed her gaze to the bed. She had seen a couple of large cockroaches there a couple of minutes ago, which had been safely roasted by her flashes. She didn't go near that furniture after that, and I didn't bother to mention that there were almost five dozen of them living there. I didn't want to make her more nervous, especially after the bloodstains on the floor. And they weren't drips at all, but full-blown puddles. The careless disguise of their presence with an old rug had failed.

- Bingo.

- Okay, let's get back to the task at hand," she jumped with anticipation. - How many of them are there?

- Thirty people, pretty crowded.

- That'll do. I just want to blow off some steam.

Starlight's eyes lit up with a dull glow, and there was an anticipatory smile on her lips. She was clearly in a bad mood, though she tried not to show it. And she was doing a good job of it, she had to admit.

- I'll stay out of the way and stand aside. I've got nothing to counter that kind of pressure.

- Thank you," she smiled at my simple joke. - I'll make the most of it.

We were down the stairs a minute later, and then we were outside, heading straight for the basement. To be honest, there was no desire to curry favour with either me or her. So the thug was greatly surprised by the heroes in bright costumes who confidently approached him, on this cloudy evening.

- Good evening, young man. Would you like to talk about the Great Ancient God, the lord of the worlds, sleeping at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean - Cthulhu?

The bully's reaction was expected, but no less hilarious. You can't fake a face so devoid of reason.

- Stop it!" The girl's elbow hit my side, though she could barely contain her smile.

- You can't mention Nyarlathotep, can you? He's just a messenger! - I was sincerely indignant, not forgetting to rub the "bruised" place.

- What?

The extremely sparse answer disappointed us both, but we did not lose our enthusiasm.

- No, Homelander," the blonde sighed, shaking her head. - We can't expect him to understand, so we'd better get straight to the point.

- All right. My partner, Starlight, is extremely irritated by recent events and wanted to, as she put it, blow off some steam. And I thought your joint would be a good place to do it.

And the answer is silence.

- I don't think he's quite over his past issues yet," Starlight suggested, seeing the man's confusion. So she decided to change the subject. - Is there a camera?

- There won't be, I've arranged that. But please, no killing, - after my words the blonde literally glowed. - Although, in fact, they're all yours.

- You hear that, big guy? Respect my authority!

Shouting the last sentence like a battle cry, the fragile girl technically delivered a knee strike to my stomach. This was followed by an elbow attack to the jaw, which definitely knocked out the guy who was bent over in pain for a long time.

- Not bad. - I nodded, assessing the unconscious body that fell to the concrete floor. Good thing there was a mat.

- Thank you.

We entered like cultured people, simply opening the unlocked door. Even said hello to the first person we came across before my partner sent him to sleep. The same thing happened to the next three before we were still uncovered. That's when it got fun.

Starlight was already throwing every person she saw into the next one like she was knocking down skittles. Flying bandits, with bright golden flashes and sparks all over the basement. And of course, how could you not have machine gun fire in a confined space? Most of the criminals will definitely hear much worse now than they did before. Ear trauma is no joke, especially for ordinary people. For me, it's more of an annoyance during the work process, and you can tell the same from Starlight's appearance. At least she's not in danger of blindness, which is not the case with criminals.

Deciding not to interfere with the lady scattering and beating up drug dealers, I stepped back against the wall and leaned on my shoulder. I'd rather be a spectator of this action than an unnecessary participant. There was something mesmerising about a girl beating the shit out of bad guys. You can't say the same about a man when he's maiming other men. I guess it's all about the flexibility that is inherent in the female gender.

Unfortunately, it was over quickly. And not because she had time to beat everyone up. It was because the remaining handful simply surrendered to justice and showed every respect for her authority. Eventually the police arrived and rounded them all up, and we managed to escape before the reporters arrived. So the sharks of the pen will have to gather information from eyewitnesses and from the taciturn police officers. We went to the park, where we decided to eat some junk food.

- Oh, my God, this is delicious! - Starlight expressed her delight loudly, before she could finish her bite of shawarma.

- Don't choke on it. - Phlegmatically answered her after a few seconds, not wanting to take her example.

- Okay, Daddy.

Smiling at me, she shoved me with her elbow again. My indignation was boundless!

- What are you in for now?

- What are you up to? - She asked with a suspicious look in her eyes.

- What am I up to?

- You can't answer a question with a question!

- Who said that?

- It's elementary rules of etiquette. - There was a convincing reply.

- Then how do you dodge questions you don't want to answer?

- That's ingenious.

- So Jews are allowed, but I'm not?

- Are you a Jew?

- What, you can't dream now?

- You've done it again," she smiled, and we sat in silence for a while. - And yet?

- I wanted to see if you were okay.

- I'm definitely okay. - She pressed her lips together, showing her displeasure.

- What happened. it's a lot of stress. You shouldn't keep it all inside.

- You're my psychologist? - Starlight said grudgingly, furrowing her brow.

- Sort of. I hope you don't mind," he smiled at her, preferring not to notice her long, heavy sigh. - Don't worry, it's cheap.

- How can you be so carefree?

- I'm at my easiest, I knew that when I was barely twenty.

- And you didn't tell me!

- Ah! There was a hint. - A smile never left my lips.

- That doesn't count!

- That doesn't count? Let me guess-- etiquette?

- Only women have that privilege!

- No, I'm not backing down this time.

- Stubborn. - Annie snorted, sighing heavily again.

The silence lasted much longer now, which was better than talking about distractions. And this time could be spent eating shawarma, which had managed to cool down a bit. Lucky for me, I liked it better that way. I didn't have to waste heat rays heating up the food. Therefore, the junk food of the gods was eaten by me in the shortest time possible, not counting the moment I savoured the taste.

- I had a fight with my mum. Because of... all of it.

- She confessed?

- The first day.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a plain, classic-looking pipe. She looked at the object as if it meant more to the girl than just a smoking instrument.

- This object seems to have a history," I said calmly. - Would you share it with me?

- My father loved to smoke from this pipe," Annie said thoughtfully, not taking her eyes off the object. - I loved to watch him do it. He enjoyed it so much after a hard day's work. And afterwards he would carefully clean it so it would rest. I had no idea what that meant then.

She took a pause in her story to gather her wits. It was really hard for her to discuss such a thing, especially with a stranger. I didn't rush her, waiting silently for her to continue.

- Daddy loved me, but he was gone. I even stole his phone and hid it, hoping he would come back for it and never leave again. And now I understand why he left," the blonde continued with conviction. - He was ashamed of what he'd turned me into. And he just couldn't live with that realisation, around me.

- My... creator hates me. - Thought I'd speak up since it's revelation day.

- What? Starlight looked at me in shock.

- Dr Vogelbaum, he created me from a test tube. Without him, I wouldn't have been born.

- But why does he hate you? Why did he torture you? - She recalled a recent conversation about the same man.

- That's why he hates me, because I remind him that he failed.

- What does that mean? - Annie asked, already perplexed, looking at me sympathetically.

- I've grown cruel and cynical, though you can't see it in public.

- And I do not think so, - said the girl, looking seriously into my eyes. - It is not for a man like Vogelbaum to decide whether you are cruel or not. He has become a monster in human form, torturing you like that.

- You're probably right about that. But there is a grain of truth to his judgement.

- So what? It doesn't change anything, and it won't change the opinion of me or any other member of the Seven.

- You know how to give a pep talk. - I remarked, causing her to smile.

- I've been taught that since I was a kid. Diction work and singing in general came first, after dancing. You have to know how to dance too, to win at super kid competitions. - Annie finished with a sour face, shoving her smoking pipe back into her bag.

- I'm sure you're a good dancer. And well deserving of the awards you got for it. You've won awards, haven't you?

- Of course I have, what kind of question is that? - The girl looked at me indignantly, and the lights around her even flickered for a second.

- Just clarifying. Anyway, the important thing is that you're okay.

- I think I need to talk to my mum..... face to face.

- Can you handle it?

- I'm not a little girl. I'll manage somehow! - The blonde said expressively, only to add quietly. - I just need to cool down.

- Is that it?

- I guess so. - The girl shrugged, looking at me expectantly.

- So, you don't want to make a scandal and you're not going to sob on live TV about your hard luck?

- I don't think so," she smiled wryly. - Do you need to? If necessary, I can play the offended innocence.

- Well, if you don't want to, then don't. - I shrugged my shoulders, not falling for provocation.

- Good. - Annie nodded and pressed her lips together, looking at the rest of the shawarma. - Shall we get some more?

- That's a great idea.

I agreed thoughtfully, considering finding a place to sit quietly. I'd like some tea with milk, and three spoonfuls of sugar. Just right to relax over a conversation in the company of a pretty girl.

***

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