The Price of Salvation (Homelander x Reader)

Chapter 12: A Harsh Consequence for a Simple Mistake

You reach your hand out to shake Black Noir's, but he just stares at you. You awkwardly scratch your head with your extended hand trying not to embarrass yourself.

"So not much of a talker, huh?" You ask Chris giving an awkward smile.

"Well he's Black Noir" he says stupidly. "He's been in like 9 movies. No sorry, he's had 9 movies made about him. He's part of Vought International's 'The Seven'".

"Yeah, doesn't ring a bell, sorry. And who are The Seven?" You ask confused.

"Where did you say you were from again?" Chris asks. Trying to make small talk.

"I'm not sure actually. And neither does anyone else apparently."

"Well do you know what a superhero is?" He asks

"Well I'm not fucking stupid. I didn't forget English dip shit", you said, offended.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." He says apologetically. "Uh, how about we do a quick spar, just so I know how much you know".

You nod in agreement. He gets into a typical boxing stance and you just stand still and straight. You didn't understand the importance of hand to hand combat when you have ranged powers.

"I'm not sure what to do here. I don't think I've ever fought anyone before", You say embarrassed with red cheeks.

"Well just try to throw a punch at me. I just wanna see how much you know."

"No, you try to punch me first", you say agitated.

"I mean if you insist", Chris says motioning towards you.

As his fist comes close to your face you dodge it by an inch, attempting to punch his ribs. He follows your arm motioning backwards. He grabs it turning around, throwing your over his shoulder.

"Urg, you're just lucky", you say groaning in pain, laying on that mat.

Chris laughs "Well I can see we're gonna be busy here. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

You rest for another moment on the ground before getting up, preparing for a round two.

"So I want your dominate foot in front." He says pointing down to your legs. "Kinda stand sideways, with your body facing forward. Only use your powers if you need to. It's best to be a strong fighter than cheating with superhuman abilities. Always be aware of your surroundings. There's always more than one threat at a time. Got it 27?".

"Yeah yeah", you rush, "Oh so like this", you say while positioning your body into a somewhat sloppy stance.

"I guess that'll do", Chris says with a smile. "Are you ready for round 2?"

You give him a sly grin preparing yourself for a real fight this time.

You lock eyes with Chris slowly circling each other around the mat. Quickly he runs at you swinging his arm across your face. You dodge it with your arm trying to make space between him.

You step closer to him as he throws another punch. He gets a good hit between your ribs, as you use your hand to uppercut his jaw, knocking him back as you recover from his hit.

"There we go!", He says excitedly. "Keep going".

You give a slight smile, proud of what you just did. It was a small step but a step nonetheless. You realign your feet, readying yourself for the next hits to come.