Chapter 2
Adam did not go home.
He left the office building without looking back. His boss was still shouting somewhere behind him, but the words no longer reached him properly. The only thing Adam could see was the blue system message that had appeared in front of his eyes.
[Synchronization: 100%]
After waiting for years, the number had finally moved.
Adam wanted to open the system right there in the street, but he forced himself to keep walking. This was The Boys universe.
He needed somewhere quiet.
He had chosen the place a long time ago.
It was an abandoned factory near the edge of a half-dead industrial area. The building had broken windows, rusted shutters, cracked concrete, and old warning boards that nobody cared about anymore. Trucks did not come there. Workers did not come there. Even homeless people avoided it because the place smelled of damp metal and old oil.
For Adam, that made it useful.
If his system ever activated, this was where he had planned to test it.
By the time he reached the factory, the sky had started turning darker. Adam slipped through a gap in the side fence and entered the yard. He stopped near the open loading area and looked around carefully.
There were no voices, no footsteps, and no moving lights anywhere around him.
The place was empty.
Only then did Adam let out the breath he had been holding.
He had not opened the system once on the way here. He had waited because he did not want to lose control in public. Now, standing inside the abandoned factory yard, he finally allowed himself to think the command.
'System window,' Adam thought.
A blue screen appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations, Host.]
[Template System Activated]
[Template Acquired: Kryptonian Template]
[Primary Reference: Kal-El / Clark Kent]
[Variant: Man of Steel]
Adam stared at the words.
For a few seconds, he did not move.
Adam recognized the names Kal-El, Clark Kent, Superman, and the Man of Steel at once.
Adam had imagined many templates over the years. He had thought about Saiyans, ninjas, pirates, monsters, and strange anime abilities, but he had never truly expected something like this.
In this world, the name Superman was not just strong.
It was dangerous.
Because Homelander already existed.
Before Adam could think further, new words appeared.
[Initial Synchronization Starting]
[Current Template Synchronization: 5%]
The moment the message appeared, pressure slammed into his chest.
Adam staggered back and grabbed the nearest concrete pillar.
His heart began beating so hard that he could hear it in his ears. His muscles tightened, then loosened, then tightened again. It felt as if his body had suddenly become too small for the power pouring into it.
"Ah..."
Adam clenched his teeth.
Heat spread under his skin. His bones ached for a few seconds. His shoulders twitched. The veins on his hands stood out, then slowly settled again.
The pain did not last long, but it left him breathing heavily.
The blue window changed.
[Initial Synchronization Complete]
[Unlocked Abilities At 5% Synchronization]
[Enhanced Strength]
[Enhanced Durability]
[Enhanced Hearing]
[Enhanced Vision]
[Enhanced Smell]
[Short-Distance Flight]
[Limited Heat Vision]
[Minor Regeneration]
Adam read every line twice.
Another note appeared under the list.
[Further abilities and higher output will unlock as synchronization increases.]
[Current flight output is unstable and limited to short bursts across a few meters.]
[Current heat vision output is limited to a few seconds.]
[Warning: Until template synchronization passes 25%, heat vision use will cause temporary eye strain and pain.]
[Minor regeneration will assist with internal strain and small injuries.]
Adam slowly lifted his hands.
They looked the same.
No glowing veins. No cape. No symbol on his chest. No obvious transformation.
But he could feel the difference.
The factory did not sound empty anymore. He could hear water dripping somewhere deep inside the building. He could hear a loose sheet of metal tapping softly in the wind. He could hear a rat moving behind a broken wooden crate.
His eyes also felt sharper.
When he looked across the yard, he could see cracks on the far wall that he would not have noticed before. Dust floated in the air, thin and clear under the weak evening light.
Adam swallowed.
"This is real."
His voice sounded strange to his own ears.
The system had said enhanced strength.
Adam looked toward an old concrete wall near the side of the factory. It was already cracked, but still thick enough that a normal man would only hurt his hand on it.
He walked toward it.
His excitement came back all at once.
For years, he had waited. For years, he had imagined this moment while living like an ordinary man in a world where ordinary men could die because a Supe was careless.
Now the power was finally inside him.
Adam stopped a few steps away from the wall and pulled his fist back.
He did not punch the wall directly.
He only punched the air.
The result still made his eyes widen.
A sharp burst of wind exploded forward from his fist. Dust flew across the ground. Loose papers near the wall scattered. The air struck the concrete hard enough to send small flakes falling from the surface.
Adam froze with his arm still extended.
Then a laugh escaped him.
It was short and disbelieving, and it sounded almost wrong in the dead factory yard.
"Five percent," he whispered. "This is only five percent."
For the first time in years, the word helpless did not fit him. He was not safe yet, but he was no longer just another normal man waiting for a Supe to ruin his life.
Adam lowered his fist and took out his phone.
His hands were still shaking a little, but this time it was not from anger.
He opened the news feed.
The first headline made his smile fade.
A-Train's picture filled the screen.
The report said that during a bank robbery rescue earlier that day, A-Train had accidentally killed a young man caught in the middle of the incident.
Adam stared at the screen.