"How did it go?"

In the top floor meeting room of the Vought Tower, Maeve asked Roger as he returned.

Roger exhaled slowly, looking at his dark red gloves, as if he could still see the blood of the psychologist on them. He said to Maeve, "...I broke her hands."

"Is that all?"

"?"

Roger looked puzzled.

Seeing his confusion, Maeve explained, "If it were Homelander, he wouldn't have shown any mercy to someone trying to invade his mind."

"I couldn't just kill her."

"That's the difference between you and Homelander."

Maeve smiled, stepping forward to pat Roger on the shoulder. "Although you broke her hands, at least she's still alive."

Roger remained silent. He could still hear the psychologist's screams as he broke her hands.

It wasn't that Roger pitied the psychologist; rather, he was surprised to find that after doing what he did, he felt no guilt or remorse.

It felt as if what he did was justified, that the psychologist had brought it upon herself. From a certain perspective, she had indeed brought it upon herself. However, Roger's current state of mind was also abnormal.

Before crossing over, Roger had lived in a peaceful country, arguably one of the most peaceful in the world.

Growing up, Roger had barely seen blood except for minor injuries. He had never hurt anyone and had grown up in a friendly and peaceful environment.

Despite inheriting Homelander's memories and powers, Roger should still feel some guilt after hurting someone.

When he killed the hijackers on the plane, Roger had noticed he had no qualms about killing, though at the time, he could justify it by thinking they were hijackers and deserved it. But now, he couldn't find a way to comfort himself.

Perhaps... there really was something wrong with his mind.

"Don't think too much about it. Vought probably won't keep an eye on you anymore. What are your plans next?"

Maeve's gentle voice pulled Roger from his thoughts.

Gathering his thoughts, Roger responded, "First, attend the charity event, then eliminate the terrorists injected with Compound V one by one to prevent them from causing trouble."

"The Department of Defense will soon agree to the inclusion of superheroes, even without those terrorists…"

"They won't." Roger interrupted Maeve. "I'm certain they won't."

"As long as you're confident. Do you need my help?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Not for now. When I truly need it, I'll come to you."

Roger said earnestly.

Maeve nodded. "Alright, I'll prepare for the event. You go to the charity event. I can't be idle either."

"Mm, Maeve…"

As Maeve was about to leave, Roger suddenly called her.

She turned back, looking at Roger with some confusion.

Looking into her eyes, Roger sighed and said, "Thinking about what I'm about to do, I suddenly feel... I'm not a good person either."

"Compared to others, you're already good enough."

Maeve replied, then turned and left.

What Roger was about to do had nothing to do with being a good person. He was about to expose the dark secrets of some heroes, turning these seemingly glamorous superheroes into reviled outcasts.

Some of these heroes deserved it, but others were merely blinded by the power given to them by Vought. But Roger had no choice; this was a crucial step in bringing down Vought.

This made Roger feel he wasn't a good person. A good person wouldn't use any means necessary to achieve their goals.

"…Oh well, I never thought of myself as a good person anyway."

Roger sighed, feeling a bit of regret. He had initially wanted to be like Superman… How had things come to this?

…

On the day of the charity event, Roger arrived at a bench near the park where the event was being held.

There, Tek Knight, already in disguise, was sitting on the bench feeding pigeons. White pigeons gathered at his feet, eating the rice from his hands.

Roger approached, and the pigeons didn't fly away, merely shifting slightly to continue eating the food Tek Knight had thrown on the ground.

"Homelander?"

Although Roger was in plain clothes, Tek Knight recognized him immediately.

Roger scrutinized Tek Knight and said, "You look different from the photos."

"Are you referring to those photos on the eighty-second floor? Yes, I do look different. I've aged and can't fight like I used to."

Tek Knight chuckled.

Roger had seen photos of Tek Knight, showing him as a burly, robust man, even more muscular than Mother's Milk from The Boys. In the photos, he stood beside his custom-made battle suit, made from the finest materials available at the time, impenetrable by ordinary superhumans. Just looking at the photos, one could feel his imposing presence.

But now…

His body had shrunk, his back slightly hunched. Although his muscles under his clothes showed he hadn't neglected training, he was far from his former self.

Seeing Tek Knight now looking like an old man, Roger couldn't help but lament the cruelty of time.

"So you've decided to help me against Vought?"

Not wanting to dwell on it, Roger got straight to the point.

Tek Knight glanced at Roger and said, "I have. If even Vought's strongest asset is against them, what reason do I have not to decide?"

Previously, Tek Knight had only collected dirt on Vought's heroes but hadn't exposed it, mainly because of Homelander. As long as Homelander was on Vought's side, Tek Knight wouldn't dare oppose Vought, knowing Homelander would come and incinerate him and his suit with heat vision at the slightest hint of rebellion.

But now, with Homelander against Vought, Tek Knight had no reason to hesitate. Besides Homelander, he feared no one else, not even Stormfront, previously known as Liberty.

However, before proceeding, Tek Knight needed to confirm one thing:

"By the way, are you really Homelander?"

Tek Knight's puzzled eyes met Roger's.

He initially thought Roger was just a stand-in for Homelander with similar powers. But after meeting Roger, Tek Knight was confused because Roger seemed to be Homelander. Yet, his actions didn't match what Homelander would do.

Anticipating this question, Roger quickly replied, "I am Homelander and not Homelander. You can think of me as his second personality."

"I see, that makes sense..."

Tek Knight, like Maeve, quickly accepted this explanation. He murmured, "Though it's a far-fetched reason, I can't think of any other explanation for such a drastic change in Homelander's behavior. By the way, since you claim to be Homelander's second personality, will the original Homelander ever come back?"

"Don't worry, he will never come back."

Roger confirmed confidently.

After all, Homelander had merged with him completely.