The first prince of Asgard, Thor Odinson, stood awkwardly beside his older brother. In one hand he gripped the mighty hammer Mjolnir, and in the other he held a glowing blue cube that pulsed like a living heart: the Tesseract.
"We're heading out," Thor announced to everyone present. "Thank you for your help. Asgard owes you a debt. I will take responsibility for the Tesseract… and for him."
Loki, gagged and bound, could only answer with an angry muffled sound.
"Alright, blondie, bye bye," Tony Stark said with a casual wave. "Next time you bring Bambi over, bring a Christmas gift."
Steve Rogers simply nodded, stern as ever. "He needs to answer for what he's done."
"He will," Thor replied, his expression heavy with understanding.
He activated the Tesseract. Blue light surged around them, swallowing the two brothers whole. As the energy wrapped around them like a storm, Loki cast one last spiteful look at the room. His gaze swept past the Avengers and locked onto Marcus Lee.
In those cold eyes, beneath layers of fury, there was something else.
Fear. A deep, lingering fear.
A flash of light erupted, and Thor and Loki were gone.
If Loki had been the external threat, then everyone knew the only danger left in the room was internal.
Every set of eyes Tony's, Steve's, Natasha's, Clint's, Banner's turned toward the man standing in red and blue, cape still fluttering behind him.
"Well, now that the one stealing the spotlight is gone," Stark said, crossing his arms, "Captain Star-Spangled Banner… we need to talk."
Marcus slowly turned around.
"Of course, Mr. Stark." His voice was warm, rich, almost calming. "I imagine all of you have a great many questions."
"Oh, absolutely," another voice cut in, deep and commanding.
Director Nick Fury strode into the room with the confidence of a man used to walking into crises. His long black coat rippled behind him, and his single eye fixed on Marcus with the intensity of a hunting bird.
"New York appreciates your performance, Mr. Homelander," Fury said, without a hint of appreciation in his tone. "I hate surprises."
He narrowed his eye. "And you are the biggest surprise of the day."
"Director," Marcus greeted politely, giving a friendly nod. "Nice to meet you. I assume that means you're the one in charge here."
"My name is Nick Fury. Walk with me," Fury said. No threats, no explanations. Just an invitation that felt like an order. "We're changing locations for this conversation."
The airborne carrier's circular conference room was filled with the top minds and strongest fighters humanity could offer.
Fury sat at the head of the long table, anger simmering beneath his composed exterior. Under the light, his solitary eye looked sharper than steel.
Maria Hill stood at his side like a silent sentinel.
Tony Stark lounged comfortably in his chair, legs crossed, wearing an expression that said he had paid for front-row tickets to whatever happened next.
Steve Rogers sat upright, posture perfect, jaw tight.
Natasha Romanoff rested in the shadows, as still as a panther waiting for the right moment to move.
Bruce Banner and Clint Barton were absent, undergoing their own medical evaluations.
"Your performance today was remarkable, Mr. Homelander," Fury said, his tone icy cold. "Flawless. So flawless it doesn't feel real."
"Director Fury," Marcus replied with a patient smile, "I only did what I was supposed to do."
"Did you?" Fury gave a humorless laugh. "Your version of 'supposed to' seems very… expansive."
"Relax, Nick," Tony interrupted, waving a hand. "Show-off or not, he saved my life, and he saved this city. So, Homelander, who are you really? Where did you come from? And whose design is that suit? It's actually pretty nice material."
"I'm here to help, Mr. Stark," Marcus began, slipping naturally into the persona he had practiced countless times. "I come from a faraway place…"
"A faraway place?" Fury cut in sharply. "Smallville, Kansas? Or perhaps the planet Krypton?"
"Nick," Steve warned, clearly disliking the interrogation. "He saved our lives. He deserves respect."
"Respect is earned, Captain," Fury replied without looking at him. "A fancy suit doesn't earn it. I'm asking the real questions. Are you an alien? Why does SHIELD have no record of a superhuman like you? Who do you work for? And why did you appear today of all days?"
The room fell silent.
Natasha's hand remained casual, but it never drifted far from her holster.
Thor was gone, back to Asgard. The rest of them were powerful, but in Marcus's eyes, they might as well have been ordinary civilians.
Yet the actor inside him the performer who once lived for applause, for stage lights, for cameras whispered that the show must go on.
This was his first true performance since being reborn.
"I…" Marcus began, preparing to tell the fabricated story of the distant Nebula M78.
"Director!"
Agent Hill hurried in, breath slightly quickened, holding a tablet in both hands. Her expression was shaken.
"Sir, you need to see this."
Fury took the tablet with visible irritation. But as soon as he looked at the screen, his eye widened slightly.
Tony leaned in. "What is it? Bad news?"
His smile vanished.
"Wow. That is… that is really not good."
"I know who you are now," Fury said. His voice dropped lower, sharp enough to cut through steel.
Marcus froze for half a second.
What?
He knows?
He knows I crossed dimensions? That I was reborn? That I died in another world?
"Then explain this, Mr. Homelander."
Fury slapped the tablet onto the table and slid it across to Marcus.
Marcus picked it up and stared.
On the screen was a file.
And a photo.
A young man.
Blond hair.
Blue eyes.
Handsome.
The same face Marcus now saw in the mirror every morning.
Except the boy in the photo was wearing a Columbia University T-shirt and smiling shyly at the camera.
Name: Anthony Starr
Date of Birth: October 25, 1992
Status: Missing, presumed dead
Bio:
Freshman at Columbia University, majoring in Literature.
Parents: Edward Starr and Martha Starr, founders of Starr Group. Both deceased in a plane crash three years ago.
Incident: October 25, 2011. Anthony Starr disappeared during the sinking of a private yacht near the Hamptons. His body was never recovered. He remains missing.
Marcus felt his mind blank out.
Anthony Starr.
Anthony Starr?!
That was the name of the actor who played Homelander in The Boys back in his previous world.
The man whose performances Marcus had studied obsessively.
Now that same person had existed in this version of Earth. And apparently… died.
Marcus swallowed hard as a terrifying realization settled in.
Parallel worlds were real.
Marvel existed.
And so did versions of people from his past life.
His thoughts fired off like sparks inside his skull.
Abandon the old backstory… rewrite everything…
Because this world was even stranger and more dangerous than he had imagined.