Chapter Text
These parties bore him. The mindless chatters of the people around him irritates his ears. Top employees of Vought, politicians that are in their pocket, elites with financial interests in Supes, were all a part of the party. Other Supes, the rest of the Seven, and a few lesser-known Supes were among the partygoers. He stands in the corner, observing the masses with hidden contempt. He despises these special events that Vought forces him into. It’s a waste of his time. Forced to engage in these vapid conversations with people who are all beneath him. The only benefit they serve is to continue donating to Vought and funding their Supe lifestyle.
Homelander swallows his hate for the grunts around and smiles as one approaches him. Nothing they said was worth remembering. He nods and hums occasionally to whatever the person is saying. Eventually, they left and the hate rose in his throat. ‘Fuck this’ he thinks bitterly. He’s itching to leave, fly somewhere else and be alone, but there’s one thing preventing him. As much as he despises these people, he values the adoration they shower him in. The guests’ adoration wasn’t much, but it was intoxicating the way they dropped in compliments when they spoke to him, uneasiness emitting from their skin and the fear, yes, he loves how on edge he made them feel. He thrives off of it.
“You should mingle,” a familiar voice says behind him. The older woman slipped from behind and stood next to him, nursing a drink in her hand. Stillwell gives him a warm smile that makes him weak-kneed.
He scoffs, brushing off the infatuation, “Why?”
“You look awkward alone. So many people would love to meet you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure they do.”
“Come on, lighten up,” she playfully teases.
‘Lighten up?’ he thinks bitterly, ‘I could probably light up this whole party right now.’
He avoids the woman’s gaze. Instead, he scans the room. From far away, he sees Maeve, taking a glass from one of the servants as someone, presumably one of Vought’s guests, chats her up. Jealousy boils in his chest as he watches them exchange touches, a light pat on his shoulders, his fingers brushing hers, they’re practically fucking each other. Maybe at the end of this, he should pay that man a visit.
His eyes meet the glass doors leading to the balcony. The itch to leave came over him. Fortunately for him, there wasn’t anyone blocking the path, but he saw something green catch his attention. An emerald green dress that flows down the woman’s figure. She holds nothing in her hands. She stands there awkwardly, very stiff as well. She seems…dazed.
“Who is she?” Homelander asks without realizing.
“The one in the green?” He nods. They’re both looking over at her direction now. “She’s a trainee for our sidekick project.”
“Sidekick project?”
“It’s still in development. We have three others who are also a part of the project, but you shouldn’t worry about that. It’s only for the lesser-known Supes, to up their brand.”
His attention doesn’t waver as he stares at the woman. Upon closer inspection, she looks…young, way younger than any of the guests here.
“She’s young,” he comments.
“Sidekicks usually are.” Stillwell takes a sip of her drink then rests her hand on his shoulder. He hitches a breath at the touch. The tender touch disappears as she is whisked away into a conversation by one of the guests. He feels empty. He needs to leave, go outside right now.
The path is still clear, only the young sidekick standing next to the door. He watches her, curious to see her next move. Conflicted, he ponders on whether to escape this party or suffer here and approach the girl. Or she can answer that question for him. He takes a step forward, ready to join the girl outside.
“Homelander!” a man calls out. He stops in his tracks and turns around to see an older man, dressed in a casual suit. The man smiles and holds out his hand. “Senator Richards. I’ve been looking to talk to you all night.”
“Really?” He feigns interest. He was two seconds away from punching his fist through this man’s face.
“Oh yes, so-“
“That’s nice.” He pats the senator’s shoulder and walks away.
The cool air hit his face as he exited the main room. Below him the sounds of the city are faint. He sees the girl standing off to the side, away from the widows of the main hall. Her slim body leans over the plexiglass parapet. She’s smaller than he expected. Short, slim, he wonders how she got chosen to be a sidekick. He approaches her slowly like a predator assessing his prey. He can barely see her face, assuming the girl is too busy admiring the view of the city to notice his presence.
“You look new.”
Her shoulders jump and she whips her head in his direction. She looks taken aback as she turns her body to face him. “H-Hi…”
Homelander can see her now. The light shone over her face, highlighting her youthful features. He absorbed every detail of her face, from the faint freckles across her cheeks to her plump bottom lips. Her eyes are round, near doe-eyed. He notices golden flecks in the girl’s hazel eyes. Interesting features that don’t match her skin tone.
He flashes her one of his infamous fake smiles. “When did you arrive? I’m surprised I missed such beauty,” he says. He takes one step forward towards the young girl. She’s nervous, he can tell. Her eyes continuously dart around, avoiding his own. She’s imitated, but who isn’t when he’s around?
“I…Hi, I’m Lilian, but everyone calls me Lily, I know it's an old name, it was my grandma's name, sorry you didn’t ask that. Yes, I’m new and I don’t know when I came here.” She looks away, sheepishly, a red tint over her cheeks.
“Lily…what a beautiful name.” A very innocent name that fits the girl. He eyes her delicate yet curvy body. The green dress hugs nicely on her waist and hip and his hands twitch to grab them. Now, why would they choose such a provocative dress for her? Surely, it isn’t solely for his enjoyment. Vought has their ways of entertaining its guests. Teenage girls with nice bodies are some of the guests’ favorites. “You’re part of the sidekick project, right? The one Vought is running?”
Lily nods then smiles. ‘Cute.’ “Yeah, does my age give it away?”
“One of the things,” he answers. He edges closer to the girl, eyeing her up and down. Her breasts weren’t anything to fawn over, but the rest of her piqued his interest. “So what’s your special power?”
“It’s not that special, it’s actually not that useful.”
“Surprise me.”
“I can’t really show it unless you’re fine with me crash landing.” Lily laughs lightly but stops when he doesn’t react. “Sorry, dumb joke, I- this is a very weird request, but can you use your lasers on me?”
He looks at her, taken aback. “That… is new.”
She nods, smiling. She turns her back to him and he watches her carefully. She undoes the back zipper of her dress, bringing it halfway down her back. Her arms slip out of the straps of her dress and clutch the front of her dress for support. He stares at her exposed back. His face is burning and his chest is filled up with an unholy feeling. This girl…so naïve to expose herself like that to him. Does she know what he can do to her?
“Okay, hit me,” Lily says, pulling him out of his thoughts.
He blinks.
He can’t see her face, but there is no scent on her that indicates she’s nervous. Shrugging, his eyes glow red and he aims at the bare skin of her back. There’s no smell of burning skin or any sounds of mangled screams. The low hums of his lasers dissipate. There are no charred scars on her back, not even a small tear on her back.
“Wow…” he mutters almost breathlessly. The gears in his head are turning. Now, there exists one person in the world who can survive his lasers, someone he can’t kill.
The girl turns around and smiles. “See?” Her face is beaming as if she is proud that she clearly defied his powers.
Homelander stares at her long, attempting to form words in his mouth. “It’s…amazing.”
Her eyes light up. “Really? Thanks, I don’t know I- it’s not flashy like my teammates’ powers,” she pauses, cheeks flushed. “Sorry, I do that a lot.”
“I doubt your teammates’ power compares to yours. It’s…” Different? Intimidating? Or maybe an opportunity for him. “As I said, it’s amazing.”
Lily avoids his gaze. Her cheeks are still flushed. A sheepish grin parts her lips. “T-Thanks, it means a lot coming from you. I don’t know, I feel like it's not all that? I…sorry maybe I shouldn’t bore you with my problems.”
“Vought chose you, didn’t they?” He says. He takes one step forward. “Clearly, you are worthy enough to be a part of this family.” It was a dumb thing that Vought liked for him to say to the public. How everyone who works for Vought is a family, that the Seven act as one big happy family. It’s fictitious however the girl eats it up. He sees the glimmer in her eyes when he mentions “family.” He ponders on whether family is important to her.
He cracks a smile of his own, wide, warm, trusting, and clamps his hand on her shoulder. She jolts, but her focus on him doesn’t falter. “I think you’re in the right place and I hope you have a wonderful time with us.” ‘And I’ll have a wonderful time with you.’
She nods vigorously. Her face reddens and her eyes look away. “T-Thank you.”
Up close, she’s…fragile. If it wasn’t for her superpower, he could crush her without a second thought. She seems too delicate to be a Supe, nearly human-like yet Vought saw something in her. Maybe this is to spite him. The one Supe who can endure his strength, to keep him in check just like Edgar always wanted. Just to keep him under his thumb like a mindless grunt. Or maybe a gift for him for something more sinister. There are too many hush payments Vought has to sign off on.
He tilts his head. She’s still avoiding his gaze. He lifts his hand from her shoulder and draws his thumb across her cheek. Immediately, her head shoots up.
“I…”
“Sorry.” He pulls his hand away. “There was something on your cheek.”
“Oh, tha…thanks.” This time she steps back, once again looking away from him. “I should go. I don’t want to hold you up. You are the star of the party.”
For a second he frowns. Why leave so early? "You’re right. There’s still a party going on. I hope we keep in touch though?”
She nods vigorously. “Of course.”
Homelander watches her enter back into the event hall and disappear into the crowd. A burning sensation ignited in his chest. He couldn’t tell if he despises her or is excited by her. He wants to grab her, drag her back to his room, and keep her there for the remainder of the night. He wants to humiliate her, make her fear him. The audacity of her to flaunt herself like that. Was she trying to prove that she can stand up to the Homelander? Yet she’s a nervous wreck in front of him. That’s good, he still holds some power over her, a power he can surely abuse in the future.
He tears his gaze from the window and looks over the city’s skyline. The girl’s face was still vivid in his mind. Everything in his current life is so mundane. It wouldn’t hurt to toy with a new interest of his.