Mirage led Todd through the bustling streets of downtown into a sleek, modern skyscraper.
The SDN headquarters was luxurious, polished marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, and subtle superhero memorabilia displayed tastefully on the walls.
They took a private elevator to the top floor and stepped into a spacious office with a panoramic view of the recovering city.
She gestured toward a plush seating area near the window.
“Please, make yourself comfortable, Mr. Homelander.”
She walked over to her desk, her movements graceful and poised.
“Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Something stronger?”
Todd walked over, his cape swishing softly behind him, and sat down casually.
“Milk, if you have it.”
Mirage paused for just a fraction of a second, her eyebrows lifting slightly in faint surprise, before a smooth, amused smile returned to her lips.
“Milk. Of course.”
She tapped a command on the sleek communication panel built into the wall beside her desk, relaying the order.
They waited in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
When the door opened, an assistant entered carrying a tray with a tall glass of cold milk and a steaming cup of coffee for Mirage.
She thanked them, set the glass down in front of Todd, and took her own seat opposite him.
She took a sip of her coffee before beginning, her tone warm and professional.
“As I mentioned earlier, I’m Mirage, and I handle special operations and recruitment here. You’ve certainly seen our logo around the city, but let me formally explain who we are. Superhero Dispatch Network, or SDN for short, functions exactly as the name implies. We operate globally, people, companies, or even governments subscribe to our service. When trouble happens, disasters, crime, attacks like today, they call us, and we dispatch the right hero or team to handle it. We don’t just send people out; we provide support, intelligence, equipment, and coordination so heroes can focus on what matters most: saving lives and keeping the peace.”
She spoke with pride, outlining the structure and the reach of the organization, explaining how they bridged the gap between ordinary people and those with extraordinary abilities.
She spoke of resources, of funding, of how they helped heroes build their public image and keep the cities safe.
Todd listened politely, swirling the milk in his glass before drinking it down.
When he finished, he set the glass down with a firm clink against the tabletop.
He looked at her, his expression shifting from polite interest to sharp focus.
“Ms. Mirage,” he interrupted calmly.
“Don’t beat around the bush, please tell me why you really need me here.”
Mirage smiled, unfazed.
She had expected nothing less from someone of his caliber.
She leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on her table.
“Very well.
Straight to business, as expected.
Here is the truth, Mr. Homelander.
SDN is expanding.
We are creating something new, a premier strike force.
This team will be the new face of our organization.
It won’t just be a group of heroes; it will be the team.
The strongest, the most capable, the most visible.
And naturally, a team like that needs a leader.
Someone powerful enough to command respect, capable enough to handle anything, and charismatic enough to represent us.”
She paused for effect, then continued.
“We want you to be that leader. We will provide you with resources, funding, anything you could possibly need. We can design new suits, better gear, anything to make you even greater. The heroes you saw today. Blonde Blazer, Brickhouse, Equilibrium, they are already hand-picked to be your core members. We are still scouting for more, but the foundation is set. We just need you to say yes.”
Todd leaned back, thinking seriously.
At first, he had no interest in joining any team.
It would restrict his freedom but with the Splinter template, things had changed.
He could be in multiple places at once.
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.
He looked at Mirage.
“May I know the name of the team?”
Mirage’s smile widened, bright and confident.
She could tell by his tone that he was already leaning toward acceptance.
She had him right where she wanted him.
“We are calling them… The Seven.”
Todd chuckled softly, a genuine smirk playing on his lips.
He liked the sound of it.
“I like it.”
Mirage leaned forward eagerly.
“So… are you joining us, Mr. Homelander?”
“Maybe,” Todd said slowly, tilting his head.
“If I do… I have a favor to ask.”
Mirage’s eyebrows raised slightly, curious but agreeable.
“A favor? Name it. If it’s within our power, consider it done.”
“I want someone else to join the team as well,” Todd said, his voice dropping an octave, serious and firm.
“Don’t worry about his powers or his strength. Just know this, he can stand toe-to-toe with me. He is every bit as capable, every bit as durable, and just as dangerous. You won’t find a better hero.”
Mirage studied him, sensing that this person was very important to him.
“Who is it?”
Todd smiled darkly.
“His name is Black Noir.”
Flaxan Dimension
The Alpha clone that had slipped through the portal stood on the lip of a massive volcano overlooking a science facility.
The landscape around him was a wasteland of ruined cities and scorched earth.
It had been five months since the Flaxan army had launched their fourth invasion of Earth and five months since they had retreated, dragging the portal shut behind them… but bringing Omni-Man along with them, trapped inside their own dimension. The source of this chapter is novelping(.)com.
It had been a disaster for them.
For the last five months in this dimension, Nolan Grayson had done exactly what he did best when provoked.
He had torn their world apart.
City after city, fortress after fortress, he had leveled them all.
The once-mighty Flaxan empire was now a wasteland of ruins and ash, their advanced technology was useless against the sheer power of a Viltrumite.
The time stream here worked differently.
Five months had passed in the Flaxan dimension, but only an hour had gone by on Earth according to the memories shared through the hivemind.
An hour on Earth was roughly five months here.
Every minute on Earth was about 2.5 days in this dimension.
He watched from his vantage point as Omni-Man stood in the distance, amidst the ruins of what used to be their capital.
With one hand, the Viltrumite casually held a massive mountain peak he had ripped from the ground, using its weight to crush the last remaining line of defense.
Below, terrified Flaxan scientists worked frantically around a massive machine, fingers flying over holographic controls.
They were terrified, desperate, working only because they hoped to open a portal send him back to Earth so he would stop destroying their home.
Finally, a portal ripped open.
Omni-Man hurled the mountain aside and shot through it.
The portal closed, and the mountain began to fall, threatening to crush the scientists.
The Alpha clone moved like lightning.
He flew down, scooped up the family of four, and carried them to safety just before the mountain crashed down, shaking the ground violently.
Below, a small group of Flaxans huddled together in the open courtyard, paralyzed with fear as the shadow of the falling rock swallowed them whole.
They squeezed their eyes shut, embracing each other, waiting to be crushed into paste.
But the impact never came.
Instead, they felt a sudden rush of wind, a sensation of weightlessness, and then a soft landing on solid ground far away.
The rumble of destruction echoed behind them, but they were untouched.
The family slowly opened their eyes.
They were no longer in the courtyard, but standing safely on a high ridge, away from the destruction.
They looked up at their savior.
Standing before them was a man who towered over them.
He was wearing a dark blue suit with metallic sheen, red gloves and boots, gold shoulder pads and bracers, and a flowing cape patterned like the American flag.
His blonde hair was slicked back, and his eyes were a striking green.
He gazed down at them, a confident smile on his face and his arms resting on his hips.
With the sun shining directly behind him, he was bathed in light, appearing radiant and almost divine.
“You are safe now,” Homelander or rather, his Alpha Clone said.
The Flaxans stared up at him, trembling, confused, but overwhelmingly relieved.
They didn’t know who he was or where he came from, but in a world that had become hell, he was the only thing that had saved them.