◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 are free Chapters. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
Anthony had enjoyed all of this enough. He took Jessica Jones's hand, who stiffly complied.
They walked off the stage and returned to the reserved VIP seats.
The theater lights slowly dimmed.
Before the last trace of light vanished, Anthony turned to Jessica and whispered in her ear:
"Well done, Queen. Also, tonight... you look truly beautiful."
"..."
Jessica Jones trembled all over, feeling like her ears were burning up.
She abruptly shook off his hand.
"...Shut up, blond bastard." She cursed softly.
But for some reason, she didn't get up and leave immediately, as she usually would.
She just sat there stiffly, her heart beating like a drum.
The giant screen lit up.
A colossal, flame-engulfed title burst into everyone's view:
"homelander: origin"
The movie theater lights went dark.
In the main screening hall of the Grand Theater, only faint breathing could be heard.
"fuck."
Jessica Jones sat beside Anthony and cursed under her breath.
She felt like she was being choked by the white "Queen" uniform, and now she was stuck here watching this blond bastard's biographical film.
"How did my life end up like this?" she muttered to herself.
"Shh." Anthony turned his head, leaned closer, and made a silencing gesture towards her.
"Watch closely, darling. This is art."
"Art my ass." Jessica rolled her eyes, grabbed a large handful of popcorn, and chewed angrily.
Not far away, Tony Stark was sitting with his legs crossed, wearing a cynical expression.
"Alright, Capsicle," he whispered to Steve beside him, "Ready to be baptized by the 'American Spirit'? I bet ten bucks there'll be a slow-motion flag shot within the first five minutes."
Steve Rogers ignored him.
He simply sat up straight, his expression serious.
He wasn't fond of this Hollywood-style extravagance, but he wanted to believe... believe that the young man who said "I just did the right thing" on the White House lawn was a true hero.
Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous corner in the back row of the theater, a small figure was trembling with excitement.
He had secretly slipped out of Queens and spent three months' worth of allowance on this damn scalped ticket, just to catch a glimpse of him.
"Wow..."
The giant screen brightened.
"Starr Group Presents"
"Vought Pictures Production"
The film begins.
Hampton. An extremely lavish yacht party.
Anthony Starr was wearing flashy swim trunks, holding a martini, and surrounded by bikini models.
He was frivolous, rich, and empty.
"Ha." Tony Stark scoffed.
"Wow, that's good acting! He plays me really well!"
Then, the storm came... Anthony was battered by giant waves.
Then, darkness.
The scene shifted to a dark laboratory.
Anthony was tied to a metal bed, covered in tubes.
The villain from the "Chaos" organization was giving a long-winded speech.
"God damn it..." Tony was already getting impatient.
"Can't these villains ever change their lines?"
When the syringe filled with compounds was plunged into Anthony's neck, Anthony's Oscar-level performance, delivered via the IMAX Giant Screen, shocked everyone's retinas.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulged from his neck all the way to his forehead, and he struggled wildly, his handsome face twisted by extreme pain and unwillingness!
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh—!!!!"
The inhuman roar, piercing through the Dolby Sound system, struck straight at the heart.
"..." Steve Rogers subconsciously clenched his fists. The scene of the serum injection during World War II flashed through his mind.
Only Tony Stark switched which leg was crossed.
"Good acting, truly. If this guy doesn't get an Oscar, it's a disgrace to the committee."
The movie continued.
Anthony died in torment and was reborn in chaos.
He feigned submission, and then... he counterattacked.
When he first broke free from his restraints, and first shot Heat Vision from his eyes, incinerating the villain who tormented him...
"fuck!" Jessica Jones dropped her popcorn bucket.
She remembered... Kilgrave.
She remembered that night, those two beams of Heat Vision, equally ruthless and precise.
Homelander destroyed the "Chaos" Base, wearing a battle-damaged uniform, hovering over the raging ruins.
He saved all the hostages tortured by the experiments.
The leader of "Chaos" had half his body charred. He lay paralyzed on the ground, delivering his final curse to Homelander:
"You saved them... haha... you saved these ants!"
"Do you think they will thank you?! They will only fear you! They will treat you like a monster!"
"You possess the power of a god! Why would you... why would you stand with these insects?!"
The veteran actor's performance was flawless.
The camera focused on Anthony.
On his face, blackened by smoke, there was no anger, only a kind of... god-like compassion.
He slowly descended and walked up to the villain.
He crouched down, looking directly into those resentful eyes.
His voice, transmitted through the cinema's surround sound system, filled every corner, so clear it felt like a whisper in the ear.
"You ask me why?"
He slowly stood up, turning his back to the camera. The Stars and Stripes Cape, illuminated by the flames, seemed to be burning.
He looked up at the sky, seeming to look through the screen and into the soul of every audience member.
"I don't know either... I don't know where this power came from, I only know that I must use it to do what is right."
"Because..."
He turned around, a close-up shot revealing "indestructible" conviction in his deep blue eyes.
"With great power comes great responsibility!!"
"..."
"..." Steve Rogers suddenly sat bolt upright.
That line struck his heart forcefully.
He looked at Tony beside him and noticed that Tony, for once, had dropped his mocking expression.
"With great power comes great responsibility..." Steve repeated softly. He looked at the figure on the screen, and the last bit of doubt in his heart completely vanished.
Tony Stark was silent.
He didn't speak.
He just... remembered the cave in Afghanistan.
He remembered the man who protected him with his life, Ethan.
"Don't waste your life."
"Shit." Tony cursed under his breath, picked up the cola beside him, and drank it down in one gulp.
Goddamn it... this blond bastard... he actually convinced me?