Marvel: Starting with the Homelander Template

"Alright, I do have some information to share."

Under the weight of expectant gazes, Alex exhaled slowly. His voice was calm, but each word landed like a hammer. He recounted the clash between him and Nathaniel Essex—how they'd battled relentlessly for four hours, neither able to dominate the other.

The room grew eerily silent. Not a breath. Not a shuffle. Only the faint hum of the war room's ceiling lights filled the space.

A mutant who could match Alex—the one they had seen crush gods, machines, and armies—blow for blow?

For four hours?

It defied everything they thought they knew.

If Alex himself hadn't said it, they would have assumed it was some kind of sick joke.

But his expression told them everything—they could see the subtle tightness in his jaw, the way his fists remained lightly clenched. This wasn't bravado. It was truth.

The name Nathaniel Essex instantly carved itself into their minds like a scar.

"While we don't yet know Essex's ultimate goals," Alex continued, scanning their stunned expressions, "one thing is clear—he's been capturing and experimenting on mutants for a very long time. That facility we raided? Just one of many."

His voice grew heavier with every sentence.

"And now, I'm one of his targets. As for who else he'll go after next..." He shrugged slightly, but his tone left no room for comfort. "That's up to chance—and his agenda."

Vanessa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, then gave a dry, bitter laugh. "So... a psychotic mutant as strong as you now has us in his crosshairs. Fantastic."

Emma arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Being hunted is a new experience for me."

There was an odd gleam in her eyes—wary but intrigued. Neither woman showed even a hint of fear. They were seasoned in battle, hardened by experience.

But even seasoned warriors knew what kind of storm was brewing.

"Essex goes by another name," Alex added, his voice lower now. "He's known as Mister Sinister."

Gasps were stifled, but not the sharp looks that followed.

"He took you two as bait to lure me out," Alex said, turning to Emma and Vanessa. "So you're probably safe now."

He didn't add the rest, but everyone could hear the unspoken warning loud and clear: The rest of us may not be.

Sinister's threat now hung over them like a guillotine—silent, poised, and lethal.

Charles, who had remained unusually quiet throughout, finally stood straighter. His voice was firm. "We need to find him. The Cerebro chamber—now."

A threat of this magnitude couldn't be left to fate.

But Alex raised a hand. "It won't be that easy. From what I've seen, Sinister has multiple abilities—flight, seismic waves, telekinesis... and very likely telepathy. The people who died in that facility? Their brains were liquefied—probably from a long-range psychic attack."

The effect on the room was instant.

Raven stared. "Flight? Telekinesis? Seismic waves?" Her voice cracked with disbelief. "You're telling me there's another freak like you out there?"

Emma blinked, for once caught off guard.

Even Hank muttered, "That's not just a powerful mutant. That's a walking extinction-level threat."

Charles remained calm, but his fingers curled around the back of his wheelchair just a bit tighter.

The idea was absurd. Mutants with even one power like Alex's were vanishingly rare. But two near-omnipotent beings? Opposed to each other?

And now one of them had set his sights on them.

Still, they had to be sure. Without wasting a second, the group hurried toward the Cerebro chamber.

Inside, Charles lowered himself into the chair, Emma helping secure the amplifier unit to his head.

The room fell into anxious silence as Charles focused, tapping into the endless psychic currents of the world.

Minutes ticked by. His expression remained unreadable.

Then, with a soft click, he removed the helmet and exhaled slowly.

"Nothing," he said quietly. "Alex was right. If Sinister has telepathy, he's shielding himself."

A heavy silence followed. The implications were terrifying.

He was not just powerful. He was prepared.

Alex clenched his jaw. He hated that kind of enemy the most—the ones who didn't just rely on raw strength but layered their strategies like chess moves.

But he wasn't about to let this moment break the team's momentum.

"Sinister's strong," Alex said, voice cutting through the gloom like steel, "but he's not invincible. I couldn't beat him. But he couldn't beat me either."

There was defiance in his words—measured, not arrogant.

Raven cracked her knuckles. "If he wasn't afraid of you, he wouldn't have stooped to kidnapping and using bait."

Charles added with quiet certainty, "We've faced powerful enemies before. If the day comes when one defeats us... it won't be today. And it won't be Sinister."

Their words were enough to restore the room's center of gravity.

Shoulders straightened. The weight of dread lifted slightly, replaced by something sharper—resolve.

As plans were finalized, Charles returned to his own base to coordinate contingencies.

Alex, meanwhile, summoned Selene. She appeared silently, her dark gaze steady and unreadable.

"Use every resource we have," Alex ordered. "If Sinister exists within the human world—he leaves traces. Find them."

The vampire coven under Alex's command had grown vast and terrifyingly efficient. With the combined intelligence networks of the Originals, Volturi, and Marcus's line, they were more than capable of uncovering any hidden thread.

And if Sinister thought he could hide in the shadows, he was about to learn otherwise.

Alex also instructed Emma to begin regular Cerebro sweeps. A long shot, perhaps, but every sliver of information mattered.

As the meeting drew to a close, Hank stepped forward, eyes bright with something entirely different—excitement.

His glasses gleamed faintly in the dim light.

"Alex, got a minute?"

That tone—Alex knew it well. It meant Hank had discovered something important.

A grin tugged at Alex's lips. The tension of the day didn't vanish, but it softened.

"Show me."

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