High above the city of Rome, the sky darkened as a massive, serpentine shape coiled through the clouds, an asian dragon, long and sinuous, covered in shimmering emerald-green scales that glinted like polished jade.
It had no wings, yet it moved effortlessly through the air, rippling and twisting like a living river of light.
Long, flowing whiskers trailed from its snout, while its eyes burned with ancient, golden fire.
It roared, a sound like rolling thunder that shook the ground below, and continued its rampage.
Military fighter jets swarmed around it, firing volley after volley of missiles and high-caliber rounds straight into its body.
The explosions bloomed across its length, fire and smoke engulfing the serpent completely.
But as the haze cleared, not a single scratch or mark could be seen on its scales.
The dragon merely shook itself, as if shaking off dust, completely unbothered.
It dove downward, its long body smashing through historic columns and walls, reducing centuries-old architecture to rubble as it coiled around towers and tore through the district.
Civilians ran screaming in every direction, desperate to escape the devastation.
Amidst the chaos and dust, moving unnoticed through the ruins of a famous museum that the dragon had just toppled, walked a man of immense stature.
He was Chinese, broad-shouldered, and built like a living fortress.
In one arm, he held the limp, unconscious body of an elderly man.
The old man looked frail, his skin wrinkled with age, and most notably, a large portion of his lower jaw and neck was replaced with cold, gleaming metal, cybernetic parts keeping him alive.
With his free hand, the giant man swiftly slipped an ancient artifact, taken from the museum’s vault, into a secure pouch hidden under his coat.
To anyone else, they were just two more people fleeing the destruction; nobody realized they were the source of it.
Todd arrived high above the scene, floating calmly in his suit.
His earpiece crackled to life.
“Homelander, situation update,” Mirage’s voice came through, professional and urgent.
“The dragon has already destroyed three city blocks. Civilian casualties are rising. The new Guardians are still en route.”
Todd listened, his eyes tracking the massive beast.
He didn’t need intelligence files to know exactly what this was, or who was inside.
He already knew the full story, pieced together from comics and show he watched from his previous life.
Centuries ago in China, a massive dragon had destroyed a village and killed an entire family.
Sorcerers had managed to trap its soul by binding it into a living human.
A man named Liu had volunteered and they drew powerful magic runes on his chest, sealing the dragon inside him forever.
As he aged, the seal weakened.
He replaced most of his body with cybernetics just to stay alive and keep the monster contained.
Todd knew exactly how strong that dragon was.
Years ago, when Liu had attempted to expand his criminal empire, The Order into Taiwan, Omni-Man himself had stepped in.
The resulting battle had lasted ten straight hours.
It was one of the few fights on Earth that had actually pushed Nolan to fight for hours, a testament to just how powerful the dragon truly was.
Even Invincible had only managed to defeat him years later, and not by fighting the beast.
He won only because Machine Head had betrayed Liu and shot his real, mortal body while it lay defenseless.
That was its weakness.
When the dragon soul came out to fight, Liu’s real body fell into a deep, helpless sleep.
It was fragile, old, and human.
If that body died, the seal broke forever and the dragon would be free, or simply vanish along with its cage.
Todd tapped his earpiece, his gaze shifting from the dragon down toward the streets and wreckage below.
“Mirage, use every camera in the area. I need you to find a very large Chinese man. He will be carrying an unconscious old man. Specifically, look for an elderly man with a mechanical lower jaw.” This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
“Understood. Processing visual data now… tracking movement through debris… Got them,” Mirage replied seconds later.
“North wing of the collapsed museum, moving toward the exit. Two individuals matching your description exactly.”
“Good.”
Todd didn’t waste another second.
He folded his arms and shot downward like a missile, the sound barrier shattering behind him.
He landed softly amidst the rubble inside the museum ruins, right in the path of the giant bodyguard.
The big man stopped instantly, eyes widening as he saw the red and blue clad hero standing directly in front of him.
He shifted his grip on the unconscious Liu, stepping back and raising his free arm, muscles tensed and ready to fight.
He knew who Homelander was, the new powerhouse, the one everyone was talking about.
Todd kept his hands behind his back, smiling pleasantly, relaxed and confident.
“Easy now, big guy. I don’t want any trouble. Just hand over the old man you’re holding, and I promise everything ends here peacefully.”
The giant man didn’t speak.
He just let out a low, menacing grunt, shielding Liu’s body with his own frame.
He was loyal to the end; his job was to protect him at all costs.
Todd’s smile widened, his eyes gleaming with amusement and power.
He shook his head slightly.
“I warned you.”
From Great Wall’s perspective, Todd suddenly vanished.
One second he was standing ten feet away, the next he was right in his face, faster than the human eye could track.
WHAM!!
A single blow struck him square in the stomach.
It was like being hit by a speeding train.
The air left his lungs instantly, his feet lifted off the ground, and he was sent flying backward, crashing through stone pillars and concrete walls.
The impact forced him to drop the unconscious Mr. Liu.
Todd caught the old man effortlessly before he hit the ground, holding him up by the back of his neck with one hand, keeping him suspended in the air.
The big guy grunted in pain, crawling forward on one hand.
“S… Stop…”
“You’re very tough, aren’t you?”
He crouched down as the big man grabbed tight onto his boot, refusing to let go even while bleeding and broken.
Todd sighed and raised his free hand.
BANG!
A precise, heavy strike to the side of the head knocked the giant instantly unconscious.
His grip went limp, and he slumped onto the debris.
Todd stood up, clamping his grip firmly around Mr. Liu’s and the big guys neck, holding their body high in the air.
He shot straight up through the broken roof and back into the open sky, shouting loud enough to echo over the roaring wind.
“Hey, lizard!” Todd shouted toward the rampaging dragon.
“Look at what I’m holding!”
The massive emerald dragon, which had been coiling to strike down upon the city, froze instantly.
When it saw the limp, small form of of his human body dangling in Todd’s grip, a wave of pure rage seemed to radiate from it.
“YOU!!” The dragon’s voice boomed like thunder, shaking the clouds.
“HOW DARE YOU?! PUT MY BODY DOWN OR I WILL BURN THIS WHOLE CITY TO ASHES!”
It surged forward instantly, its long body lashing through the air, jaws opening wide to snap him in half, claws reaching out to tear him apart.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Todd said calmly, his voice cutting through the air as he smiled coldly.
He tightened his fingers just slightly around Liu’s neck, making the threat crystal clear.
“I will snap this frail, old neck of yours in two before you even cover half the distance.”
The dragon halted in mid-air, rippling and coiling with frustration and fury.
It knew Todd was right.
It knew how fragile the human body was, and how much power the man holding it possessed.
If he moved even an inch too fast, his body would die.
“What do you want?!” the dragon roared, smoke pouring from its nostrils.
“Release my body! Or suffer my wrath! I have fought aliens and monsters for centuries, do not think I fear you!”
“I don’t want a fight,” Todd replied, keeping his grip firm and unyielding.
“I just want you to stop destroying this city. I want you to withdraw back into your body so we can talk like civilized beings. You and I both know you can’t win this fight, not when I hold your life in my hands.”
Liu’s dragon form snarled, swirling in the air, torn between rage and survival.
“How do I know you won’t kill him the moment I return? How can I trust you?”
“Look at me,” Todd said, his tone shifting to something more serious, powerful, and absolute.
“If I wanted you dead, I could have killed this fragile body the moment I found it. But right now, I am the one holding the cards. You have no choice. Come back inside, and we discuss terms. Refuse… and I drop your old body from the stratosphere.”
After a long, tense moment, the dragon snarled and dove toward its body.
Its glowing emerald form began to shrink, compressing, swirling like green smoke.
It twisted and folded in on itself, growing shorter and shorter until it was nothing more than a streak of light that shot straight into the unconscious body of the old man in Todd’s hand.
Todd lowered them both to the ground gently.
“Good choice.”
From his earpiece, Mirage’s voice came through, sounding impressed.
“Congratulations on your first mission, leader. The threat is neutralized.”
“Just doing my job,” he said simply.
Todd smirked, looking down at the still-sleeping Mr. Liu and the unconscious bodyguard he had grabbed under his other arm.
He turned toward the horizon, and with a powerful push, he shot forward, speeding away from Rome toward the west, heading straight for Nomanisan Island.
Down on the streets, amidst the dust and the shocked crowds, Debbie Grayson wiped soot from her face, staring up at the empty sky where the great green serpent had just vanished.
She watched the red, white, and blue figure of Homelander disappear into the distance, carrying his prizes with him.
She turned to Nolan, who stood beside her with his arms crossed, looking unimpressed and slightly annoyed that his vacation had been interrupted at all.
“He resolved the issue so fast, huh?” Debbie murmured, surprised.
“That new hero… he’s really something else.”
Nolan frowned, his eyes tracking the spot where Todd had been just a moment ago.
“Yeah,” Nolan said quietly, a heavy tone in his voice.
“He did.”