Homelander: New Legacy

~ Support & Read 11 Advanced Chapters on My Patreon!

~ Drop some Power Stones 💎💎

<><><><>

The location of Starlight's disappearance was a small, inconspicuous town.

There were rumors of strange monster sightings and human body parts in this town, leading to speculation that a superhuman criminal might be responsible.

Starlight had arrived to investigate, but less than half a day into her search, she vanished without a trace—leaving no clues behind.

The only footage captured by a surveillance drone showed Starlight walking into the town before the signal abruptly cut out, after which she disappeared entirely.

Queen Maeve speculated that someone had isolated the entire town's transmission signals, rendering all the electronic devices Starlight carried completely useless. That's why Starlight vanished so suddenly.

"Damn, if only Starlight's tracker was still in place."

Since the Seven transitioned to Super Entertainment, their internal trackers had been removed and destroyed by Tek Knight. As a result, they couldn't use those trackers to locate Starlight now.

No one had anticipated such a situation where a superhero would go missing.

As for external trackers, signal jamming and the likelihood that Starlight's electronic devices were confiscated if she'd been captured made pinpointing her location impossible.

That's why Maeve had to turn to Roger for help.

Roger's x-ray vision could penetrate buildings and uncover hidden spaces below ground.

But—

"They came prepared…"

When Roger arrived in the town, he discovered that most of the buildings had walls layered with zinc. His x-ray vision couldn't penetrate them.

He even suspected that the underground areas might be similarly shielded. However, since undisturbed ground appeared as an indistinct black void to him, he couldn't confirm if underground spaces existed.

Considering the other obstacles, Roger deduced there were indeed hidden underground facilities, also sealed with zinc to block his vision.

The only entities who knew of this limitation in his abilities were Vought International and a few superheroes Roger was acquainted with.

Roger didn't even need to think hard to realize that Vought remnants were behind this.

Like a stubborn parasite, Vought clung on, refusing to die. Even in its current state, the corporation still schemed to retaliate against him.

Roger was certain now: Starlight's disappearance was a ploy by Vought to target him.

Although Roger had kept a low profile since his return, Vought's prior influence within the government likely enabled them to detect his presence.

As a result, Starlight had become collateral damage in their efforts to strike at Roger.

"Let's hope Starlight is alright…"

The town was bustling, and Roger couldn't discern who among the residents might be with Vought and who were simply locals.

To avoid alerting his enemies, he had to investigate cautiously, a process that would take considerable time.

During that time, Vought could very well harm Starlight. Roger could only hope her situation wasn't dire; otherwise… revenge would be all he could offer her.

Disguised in civilian clothes with sunglasses and a changed hairstyle, Roger ensured he wouldn't be immediately recognized.

Still, he remained cautious, wary of supers who might identify him based on other traits. Walking through the town, Roger kept his super senses fully alert, scanning for anything suspicious.

"Hm?"

Soon, his vigilance paid off—he spotted several figures that didn't fit.

These individuals were wrapped in cloaks, immediately suspicious in appearance. What caught Roger's attention more was that his x-ray vision couldn't penetrate their bodies despite the thin material of their cloaks.

"Oh? Specially made cloaks to block x-ray vision? Impressive effort," Roger chuckled, trailing behind the cloaked individuals.

The moment they noticed him, the cloaked figures turned and ran. Roger didn't rush after them but followed leisurely, observing as they disappeared into an underground entrance.

As he suspected, there were underground tunnels in this area. If he guessed correctly, Starlight was likely being held below.

After all, among all superheroes, Starlight had one of the most constrained abilities.

Her powers required electrical energy nearby to activate. Without electricity, Starlight was reduced to relying solely on her enhanced physical attributes, which, while superior to humans, weren't invincible.

By cutting off electricity and confining her to a single location, Starlight was utterly powerless to escape.

It was a scenario pulled straight from a playbook—her capture mirrored a past episode from the series.

Standing at the entrance to the underground tunnel, Roger observed the surroundings and muttered to himself, "A trap? They're so sure I'll step right in?"

Given that his x-ray vision was useless and Starlight might be below, Roger couldn't simply destroy the area indiscriminately without risking harm to her.

Under normal circumstances, he'd be compelled to enter.

But Roger wasn't foolish enough to walk blindly into an obvious trap. Even though Vought's remaining supers combined couldn't defeat him, he wasn't about to needlessly endanger himself.

After a moment's contemplation, Roger pulled out a satellite phone to call Tek Knight.

"Hey, Tek? Tell Thor to stop gaming and come lend a hand."

Faced with a potential trap, Roger decided to call in reinforcements.

<><><><>

In a dimly lit room, the faint glow of fluorescent lights cast a pallid sheen.

Dressed in her hero costume, Starlight sat slumped against the wall after yet another failed attempt to summon her powers.

It had been an elaborate ambush.

They'd baited her with reports of superhuman crimes and, once she arrived, cut off all electricity in the area, rendering her powerless.

Finally, they sent in enhanced superhumans to capture her.

And just like that, Starlight had been taken.

"Vought…"

Who else but Vought International could know her weaknesses so well and have the means to create so many supers?

Even though Vought was a universally despised pariah, its remnants hadn't stopped their actions. If anything, they'd doubled down by targeting superheroes.

Starlight couldn't understand their motives. Both Roger and Thor were the strongest supers in the world.

As long as those two remained, any attempt by Vought to resurface would be crushed.

Yet here they were, acting boldly now of all times.

Did they have something to rely on? Had they developed some kind of anti-superhuman weapon or serum during their disappearance?

It wouldn't be out of character for Vought, a pharmaceutical company, to do so.

Rat-tat-tat!

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of gunfire echoing from outside her room.

Starlight immediately stood and pressed her body against the door, listening intently.

Someone was here to rescue her—but who? Roger? Maeve? Perhaps the entire team?

The more people, the better. This was clearly a trap. If only Roger came, he might fall for it. With more allies, they could watch each other's backs.

Click.

As she speculated, the door's lock clicked, startling her. Starlight quickly stepped back, feigning nonchalance as she returned to her original position.

The door swung open, revealing Vought CEO Edgar, accompanied by a massive figure entirely wrapped in white plastic.

"Well, you seem to be doing well, Starlight."

"Edgar… so it's you," Starlight growled.

Her suspicions confirmed—this was Vought's doing.

"Of course. Who else could know you so well?" Edgar replied smugly.

"Oh, really? Then maybe you don't know me well enough. The moment you opened this door, you stopped being able to contain me!"

Starlight declared confidently.

The instant Edgar had opened the door, she sensed the electrical currents flowing in the hallway.

With access to electricity, Edgar and his lone companion were no match for her, unless the hulking figure beside him was an exceptionally powerful super.

Yet Edgar seemed completely unfazed. Calm and confident, he said, "Oh, I know you quite well. Go ahead, try using your powers."

"!!"

A sense of foreboding washed over Starlight.

She raised her hand, attempting to unleash her light beam, but nothing happened. No glow, no gathered energy.

"WTF—?!"

"One, it's your turn," Edgar said with a smirk, addressing the hulking figure.

One?

Before Starlight could comprehend, the massive figure approached her.

"Stay back!" she shouted, retreating instinctively while trying desperately to activate her powers.

But just like before, her abilities refused to manifest.

Though she could sense the electricity outside, she couldn't channel it—like her powers had been stripped away.

With her beams useless and her physical strength inferior, Starlight was quickly subdued by the giant and slung over his shoulder like a sack.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!"

"Oh, we're just delivering a gift to our dear Superman. You wanted to see your teammate, didn't you? We're here to make that happen," Edgar said with a sinister smile.

A cold sense of dread settled over Starlight.

She didn't know what Edgar intended, but she was certain that his idea of a "reunion" was anything but innocent.

<><><><><>

Support & Read 11 Advanced Chapters. Ahead of the rest!

https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

There is 9 Exciting Fanfics already available on my Patreon!