Chapter Ten

A/N: This chap will make a huge change in MC's life. For good or bad, that's in the future, I guess.

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The sky above was an inky black, punctuated only by the occasional flicker of city lights far in the distance. The road was deserted, stretching ahead of them like an endless ribbon. Inside the car, the atmosphere was heavy, the adrenaline from the bank heist still buzzing in their veins.

Derek sat in the passenger seat, leaning back with his arms folded over his chest. His eyes traced the path of the moonlight streaming through the window, but his mind was elsewhere. Valerie, behind the wheel, was silent, her sharp gaze focused on the road ahead. The tension between them was palpable, like the calm before a storm neither of them wanted to acknowledge.

Valerie finally broke the silence, her voice steady but carrying an edge. "Nice job back there. You're getting better at this."

Derek smirked, though his expression was more thoughtful than arrogant. "Thanks. Still doesn't feel real sometimes, you know? It's like this power—" He raised his hand, and tiny sparks of lightning flickered between his fingers. "—It's there, but it's not fully mine yet."

She glanced at him briefly, her brows knitting together. "What's stopping you?"

Derek considered the question, his gaze falling to the crackling electricity. "I don't know. It's like I can feel the potential, but there's a wall. Something I haven't broken through yet. I've only tapped into part of what I can do."

Valerie nodded, her eyes returning to the road. She understood power. She knew what it was like to push yourself to the limit and still feel like you were only scratching the surface. But she also knew that Derek had something different. Something far more dangerous than even he realized.

As they drove through the empty streets, the system interface suddenly popped into Derek's mind, breaking through his thoughts with a snarky tone.

*System Notification: Impressions earned—+500 for successful heist. Current balance: 850 points. Insufficient for major upgrades. Try harder next time, sport.*

Derek winced at the system's sarcasm. It never failed to mock him at the most inconvenient moments. "Thanks for the pep talk," he muttered under his breath, earning a curious glance from Valerie.

The system wasn't done. *Lottery will unlock at 1000 points. Might get something useful if you stop messing around.*

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Noted."

"Talking to your imaginary friend again?" Valerie teased, her lips twitching into a faint smirk. She didn't understand how the system worked, but she could tell when it was interacting with Derek by the distant look in his eyes.

"You could say that," Derek replied, shaking off the interface as it blinked out of his mind. He leaned forward, eyes narrowing as the road ahead seemed to blur in his vision. Something didn't feel right.

Valerie noticed it too. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, her posture shifting. "You feel that?"

"Yeah," Derek muttered, his voice low. His Asgardian senses, still new to him, were tingling—an electric hum beneath his skin. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. "We're not alone."

Before Valerie could respond, a massive force slammed into the side of their car, sending it skidding off the road. The vehicle flipped once, twice, before crashing onto its side in a twisted heap of metal. Derek's instincts kicked in, and a shield of crackling lightning enveloped both him and Valerie, cushioning them from the worst of the impact.

"Shit!" Valerie coughed, crawling out of the wreckage as sparks flew from the mangled car. Derek followed, already on high alert, his body still humming with residual energy.

And then they saw him.

Homelander.

He descended from the sky with the same smug, terrifying confidence that made him the apex predator of this world. His cape billowed behind him, and his eyes glowed with a dangerous red hue, casting an eerie light over the scene. Homelander's grin was wide, but there was no warmth in it—only cold amusement.

"Well, well, well," Homelander drawled, landing gracefully in front of them. "What do we have here? A couple of thieves playing hero?"

Valerie stood tall, defiant despite the overwhelming threat standing before her. She spat blood from her lip and drew her weapon, leveling it at Homelander without a second thought. "You don't know what you're getting into, asshole."

Homelander tilted his head, that ever-present grin never faltering. "Oh, I know exactly what I'm getting into." His eyes flicked to Derek, a flicker of recognition passing through them. "I've heard about you. Derek Storm, right? Or is it just 'wannabe god' now?"

Derek's fists clenched, sparks of lightning dancing between his fingers. He could feel the storm building inside him, but he forced himself to stay calm. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, Homelander."

Homelander chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. "Is that so? Because from where I'm standing, you're just another bug to squash."

Valerie took a step forward, her gun trained on Homelander. "Back off, or I'll—"

Before she could finish, Homelander moved. His speed was terrifying—a blur of motion that even Derek struggled to track. In the blink of an eye, he swatted Valerie aside with a casual flick of his wrist, sending her crashing into a nearby wall with a sickening thud. She slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Valerie!" Derek shouted, his heart pounding. Rage flared inside him, and the lightning that had been simmering under his skin exploded outward in a violent storm. His eyes glowed with Asgardian power as he faced Homelander head-on.

"You shouldn't have done that," Derek growled, his voice crackling with electricity. He raised his hand, summoning a bolt of lightning from the sky. It struck his palm, the energy coursing through him, amplifying his strength.

Homelander raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Impressive. But you're still not in my league, kid."

Derek didn't give him time to gloat. He charged forward, his movements fueled by the raw power of Thor's legacy. His fists crackled with electricity as he delivered a series of rapid punches, each one accompanied by the deafening roar of thunder. Homelander was forced to take a step back, clearly surprised by the ferocity of the attack.

For a moment, Derek had the upper hand. His strikes were relentless, and the power coursing through him made him feel invincible. Homelander's smug expression faltered as Derek's lightning-charged punches slammed into him, sending shockwaves through the air.

But then Homelander smiled.

It was the kind of smile that sent chills down Derek's spine. Homelander had been holding back.

"Nice try," Homelander said, his voice low and dangerous. "But playtime's over."

Before Derek could react, Homelander moved faster than he thought possible. One moment, Derek was landing blows; the next, Homelander had grabbed his arm, twisting it with a sickening crack. Derek cried out in pain as Homelander flung him across the clearing, his body crashing into the ground with bone-shattering force.

Homelander was on him in an instant, delivering a series of brutal punches to Derek's face and torso. Each blow felt like a truck hitting him, and Derek's Asgardian durability was the only thing keeping him conscious. But even that was starting to fade.

"You thought you could take me on?" Homelander sneered, his fist connecting with Derek's jaw. "You're nothing but a glorified battery. A wannabe god playing with lightning."

Derek struggled to summon more power, but his body was already at its limit. He tried to raise his hand, to call down another bolt of lightning, but Homelander grabbed him by the head, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.

"You're not a god," Homelander said, his voice cold and mocking. "You're just another disappointment."

Derek's vision blurred as Homelander's grip tightened, and the last thing he saw was the glint of red in Homelander's eyes before everything went dark.

The wind howled through the wreckage as Derek lay unconscious, his body battered and broken. Blood dripped from his forehead, mingling with the dirt and debris on the ground. He was barely breathing, the faint rise and fall of his chest the only sign he was still alive.

Homelander stood above him, his smirk wide and satisfied. He was calm, composed, and entirely unbothered by the devastation around them. His fists were still clenched, the residual heat from his laser vision flickering in his eyes as he looked down at Derek's lifeless form.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Homelander mused, tilting his head as if studying a wounded animal. "I'll give you credit, though. You had me worried for a second." He crouched down next to Derek, his voice dropping to a whisper. "But it's over now, kid. Time to die."

The words barely registered in Derek's mind as he hung somewhere between consciousness and oblivion. The pain was numbing, like every nerve in his body had been seared by Homelander's heat vision and then drowned in the raw impact of his fists. His hand twitched, trying to summon the strength to fight back, but there was nothing left. No power. No lightning. Only darkness.

Suddenly, a faint, crackling sound echoed in the back of Derek's mind.

*System Notification: Vital signs critical. Combat effectiveness at 10%. Emergency healing activated.*

The system's voice cut through the haze, a lifeline in the abyss. The words barely made sense to Derek, but he felt a slight tingle of energy crawling through his veins. It wasn't much—just a trickle of life—but it was enough to pull him back from the edge of death. His vision flickered, and his fingers twitched again.

Homelander noticed.

"Oh?" Homelander leaned in, his face inches from Derek's. "Still alive, huh? That's cute. But not for long."

Before Homelander could deliver the final blow, a loud *crack* echoed through the air, followed by a blur of movement. A chunk of debris flew through the air, slamming into Homelander's side and forcing him back. He barely flinched, but the impact was enough to distract him.

Valerie staggered to her feet, blood dripping down the side of her face from where Homelander had tossed her earlier. Her eyes blazed with fury, and in her hand, she held a makeshift weapon—a jagged piece of metal torn from the wreckage of their car.

"Get away from him, you psycho!" Valerie shouted, hurling another piece of debris at Homelander. It bounced off his chest harmlessly, but the distraction was enough to give her a chance to close the distance.

Homelander turned toward her, his smirk never faltering. "And what are you going to do, sweetheart? Throw rocks at me?"

Valerie didn't respond. She charged forward, swinging the jagged metal like a bat. Homelander caught her wrist mid-swing, his grip tightening until the metal clattered to the ground. He yanked her close, his lips curling into a mocking smile.

"You should've stayed down," Homelander whispered, his voice dripping with menace.

But Valerie wasn't finished. She twisted her body, using her momentum to land a solid kick to Homelander's chest. It barely moved him, but it gave her enough leverage to pull away from his grip. She stumbled back, breathing hard but still defiant.

Homelander shook his head, almost disappointed. "You humans are all the same. So fragile, so desperate to prove you're something more." His eyes began to glow, the familiar red light intensifying. "But you're not. You're just dust."

The heat from Homelander's laser vision was palpable, even before the beams fired. Valerie's eyes widened, but there was no time to react.

The deadly red beams cutting through Valerie's chest.

She gasped, her eyes wide with shock as she collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"NO!"

A surge of lightning exploded from Derek's palm, intercepting the beams mid-flight. The force of the blast sent a shockwave through the air, pushing Valerie back and momentarily stunning Homelander. Derek's eyes snapped open, glowing with Asgardian fury as the lightning arced between his fingers.

"VALERIE!" he screamed, his voice raw with anguish. He crawled toward her, tears streaming down his face as he reached for her, but she was gone.

The storm inside Derek raged again, but this time it was different. It wasn't just power—it was fury, grief, and pain all rolled into one violent surge of energy.

Lightning exploded from his body as he turned to face Homelander, his eyes glowing with pure rage. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

He charged again, faster, stronger than before. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he swung his fists, unleashing the full power of the storm.

But Homelander was ready.

With cold, calculated precision, Homelander blocked every strike, every bolt of lightning. And with each failed attack, Derek's strength waned. His body weakened.

"I'm not done yet," Derek growled, his voice crackling with power. He forced himself to his feet, every muscle in his body screaming in agony, but he didn't care. The storm inside him was raging again, fueled by anger, desperation, and a single purpose: survival.

Homelander blinked, clearly surprised by Derek's sudden resurgence. But the surprise quickly melted away, replaced by cold amusement. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Derek didn't answer. Instead, he let the lightning flow through him, filling the air with a deafening roar. He raised his hand, summoning another bolt of lightning from the sky, and hurled it directly at Homelander.

This time, Homelander didn't dodge. He let the lightning hit him square in the chest, the force of it sending shockwaves through the ground. But when the smoke cleared, Homelander was still standing, completely unharmed.

"That all you got?" Homelander taunted, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder. "You're going to have to do better than that."

Derek clenched his fists, frustration boiling inside him. He had thrown everything he had at Homelander, but it wasn't enough. Even with the power of Thor running through his veins, he was still outmatched. Homelander wasn't just strong—he was invincible. And worse, he knew it.

But Derek wasn't ready to give up.

With a roar of defiance, he charged at Homelander again, lightning crackling around him like a storm. He landed a solid punch to Homelander's jaw, followed by a swift kick to his ribs. The blows barely made a dent, but Derek didn't stop. He kept swinging, kept fighting, refusing to let Homelander win.

For a brief moment, Derek thought he had the upper hand. His strikes were landing, and Homelander seemed to be on the defensive. But then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

Homelander struck.

A single punch, faster than Derek could react, sent him crashing to the ground. Blood poured from his mouth as he struggled to move, but his body refused to obey.

Homelander knelt beside him, grabbing him by the head, his fingers digging into Derek's skull. "You put up a good fight. But now... it's over."

Derek's vision blurred, his strength fading as Homelander's grip tightened. He could feel his skull cracking under the pressure.

With a sickening grin, Homelander tightened his grip, squeezing until Derek's vision started to blur. He could feel his strength fading, the lightning inside him sputtering out like a dying flame. He tried to fight back, to summon more power, but there was nothing left.

Homelander said with a sadistic smile, the red glow of his laser vision flickering to life again. "Time to squash you for good."

This was the end.

Valerie was gone. He had failed.

As darkness closed in, Derek's last thought was of her—her smile, her laugh, the way she had always believed in him. And now, she was gone.

With a final, sickening crack, everything went black.