Marvel : Homelander [Rewrite]

The smell of coffee and fresh pastries filled the small café as the young man sat by the window, watching the city. New York was as busy as ever—cars honking, people rushing, the streets never stopping.

He was twenty-one, with messy blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. A black leather jacket rested on his shoulders, unzipped, showing a simple shirt underneath. Nothing fancy, nothing that stood out. Just another face in a city full of them. But this café was different. It felt familiar.

Madame Renée, the old French lady who owned the place, had been running it for years with her family. They served all kinds of baked goods—croissants, éclairs, tarts—too many to count. And, of course, the best coffee.

He came here almost every day. He didn't really plan it—it just happened. A small escape from the city's madness.

A voice pulled him from his thoughts. "The usual?"

He looked up. It was the waitress. She already knew the answer.

He nodded. "Yeah. You know me"

The man sat there, unmoved waiting for his order, as the café filled with early office workers grabbing their coffee and pastries before rushing off.

The noise of footsteps, hurried orders, and the hiss of the espresso machine blended into the usual morning chaos.

But stories don't happen when things stay ordinary.

The café door swung open with a sharp creak.

Three men walked in, their movements stiff and rehearsed.

One of them—a stocky guy in a dark hoodie—pulled out a handgun and waved it in the air.

"Alright, everyone! Empty your pockets!" he barked, his voice filled with forced aggression.

A few gasps echoed in the small space. Customers froze, eyes wide with fear. Behind the counter, Madame Renée's hands shook as she fumbled for the register, her once warm and welcoming expression now pale with fear.

At the window seat, the blonde man let out a quiet sigh.

He adjusted the cap on his head, stood up, and started walking toward them.

"You know," he began, his voice calm but loud , almost bored, "I get it. Crime's an easy way to make money."

The two other men—both holding pistols—whipped around, aiming straight at him.

"Shut the fuck up!.." one of them snapped, finger tight on the trigger.

The young man's face was still shadowed by his cap, making it hard for the robbers to see him clearly.

But something about his demeanor made the leader—gun still pointed at Madame Renée—shift uneasily.

Behind the counter, the old woman's hands stopped moving to fill the bag of money.

Her fear faded, replaced with something else.

Disappointment for the robbers.

The blonde man continued, his voice steady.

"And I get why people do it. Desperation, greed. Human nature, after all. But…" He tilted his head slightly, his tone turning sharp.

"Doing it after you've already suffered for it, Mr. Roberto? That's an insane use of free will."

The leader froze.

A ski mask covered his face, making it impossible for anyone to recognize him. Unless…it was HIM.

The man's whole body stiffened.

The gun in his hand trembled slightly as he turned around, slow and unsteady, like a man realizing he had just stepped off a cliff.

"H-H-Hom-m-m-lander…"

The blonde man smirked, tilting his head slightly.

"In the flesh."

---

The flashing red and blue lights bathed the quiet street outside the café as officers secured the scene.

The three men, trembling with fear, now sat in the back of a police cruiser, hands cuffed, their heads lowered in quiet acceptance.

They hadn't resisted. In fact, they had practically asked to be arrested.

A few feet away, Officer Gomez leaned against his squad car, jotting down notes while glancing at the blonde man beside him.

Homelander stood casually, hands in his jacket pockets, as if this whole thing had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

"You're really a great help to all of us, folks," Gomez said, shaking his head with a chuckle. " You and that Daredevil guy make our job a hell of a lot easier."

Homelander shrugged. "Eh, it's no big deal for me. Not like I'm putting my life at risk ."

Gomez gave him a smirk. "Yeah… must be nice being bulletproof."

Homelander grinned. "Has its perks."

As they spoke, the relatively quiet street outside the café wasn't so quiet anymore.

More and more people were slowing down, some even stopping altogether. Word was spreading.

Pedestrians whispered to each other, cameras started coming out, and within moments, the small crowd began to grow.

Gomez glanced at the increasing number of bystanders, sighing. "Yeah… you say it's no big deal, but half the block is already figuring out it's you standing here. "

"Give it five minutes, and we'll have a full-on crowd."

Homelander smirked but didn't turn to look. He could hear them. The murmurs, the hurried footsteps of people trying to get closer, the faint sound of someone typing furiously on their phone and cqlling their freinds.

Meanwhile, Gomez's partner had finished securing the suspects but hadn't returned to the conversation. Instead, she lingered near the squad car, hesitating.

Her fingers fidgeted with her phone, and every few seconds, she stole glances at the blonde man.

Homelander raised an eyebrow. "You need something, Ms…?"

The woman blinked, caught off guard. "Chen," she said quickly, clearing her throat. "I, uh… was just wondering if I could get a photo with you."

Homelander chuckled. "Oh, sure. No problem."

She grinned, unlocking her camera phone and stepping closer. "It's not every day you get to meet Homelander outside the suit."

Homelander tilted his head slightly, smirking. "Well… you'd be surprised."

Gomez scoffed, shaking his head. "Man, you're acting like this doesn't happen every damn time you step outside."

Homelander gave an amused sigh. "Yeah, yeah. Fame's a tough burden."

A few more people had gathered now, some braver ones already raising their cameras for pictures. Gomez let out another sigh. "Alright, let's wrap this up before we have to call for actual crowd control."

Homelander laughed, stepping closer to Chen for the photo. "Relax, Officer Gomez. I'll be out of here before you have to start signing autographs on my behalf."

---

With the photo done, Homelander turned to Officer Chen and casually pulled a few bills from his jacket pocket, handing them to her.

"Could you pay for my coffee?" he asked with a small grin. "I really don't want to make business unnecessarily difficult for Mrs. Renée with a ginormous amount of people flooding her cozy shop due to me."

Chen blinked, looking between him and the money. "You want me to—?"

"Please," Homelander added smoothly. "Just pay on my behalf."

She hesitated for a moment, then sighed and took the cash. "Alright, alright."

Shaking her head, she turned away, already walking toward the café when—

Whoosh!

A sharp gust of wind hit her, sending a brief chill through the air.

Instinctively, she turned back just in time to see Homelander in the air, hovering effortlessly above the street. He waved down at the crowd below with a casual, playful smile.

Then—BOOM!

With a sudden burst, he shot off into the sky, disappearing in seconds, leaving nothing but a faint echo of the wind in his wake.

Chen let out a low whistle, still gripping the cash in her hand.

Gomez walked up beside her, shaking his head. "Show-off he could've left silently "

Chen chuckled. "Yeah… but you gotta admit, that's cool."

Gomez just sighed. "Let's just get the coffee paid for before we get stuck dealing with a mob."

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Stones and Reviews please