[40] : Negotiating Terms

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"Still no sign of Homelander?"

At Vought Tower, on the 82nd floor, Edgar glanced at Madelyn as she came to report.

Madelyn pressed her lips together and shook her head at Edgar.

Edgar removed his glasses and stood up, pacing a few steps before asking Madelyn, "Is this what you call 'control'?"

"…Sorry, I was too..." Madelyn admitted her mistake, lowering her head. She knew that no matter what she said now, it wouldn't change anything. Roger had killed Black Noir, blocked his own tracking signal, and vanished without a trace. The situation had completely spiraled out of Madelyn's control.

She once believed she could control Homelander, but reality proved otherwise. Homelander had been missing for so long without even a single phone call. She didn't even know why he was doing this!

As she was speaking with Edgar, Madelyn's phone suddenly rang. It was the tech department, who had been monitoring Homelander's tracking chip. Ten minutes earlier, Homelander's chip had reappeared on the map, and his target seemed to be Vought Tower!

Madelyn and Edgar exchanged a look and then simultaneously headed to the rooftop, waiting for Homelander to arrive.

It took about three minutes before a figure descended from the sky like a god, Homelander, or rather, Roger in a new outfit.

"Homelander…?" Madelyn questioned, staring at the person before her. If not for the fact that he looked exactly like Homelander, she might have doubted her own eyes.

Roger was no longer wearing the previous blue costume with the American flag cape. Instead, he was clad in a black suit.

The hero suit was black, with a black cape flowing behind him. The only difference from Superman's black suit was the absence of a large 'S' symbol on his chest. Otherwise, it was almost identical.

This suit was custom-made by Tek Knight according to Roger's specifications, mimicking the black-suited Superman from the Justice League. The overall look was strikingly similar, though some details differed.

(IMG : )

Wearing the new suit, Roger felt a surge of confidence. And knowing that Vought had no telepaths, or even if they did, they couldn't do anything to him, Roger decided to completely liberate himself.

He had come alone to Vought, to meet Edgar and Madelyn face-to-face, ready to lay out his terms.

"Homelander, what are you trying to do? Why did you kill Black Noir?" Madelyn immediately approached and asked as soon as Roger landed.

Roger glanced at her, his eyes void of the affection and attachment he once held for her. Instead, they were filled with unfamiliarity and distance.

Madelyn could sense that if she took another step forward, Roger's heat vision might pierce through her body.

Feeling threatened, Madelyn halted. Roger then said, "Because I'm not Homelander. I think you've already guessed that, right? After all, Vought's psychologists aren't fools."

"…"

Edgar stared at Roger and asked, "Who are you?"

The Seven's psychologist had long reported Homelander's odd behavior. At some point, his psychological profile had changed completely.

The original Homelander was arrogant, narcissistic, filled with twisted control desires, and indifferent to human life.

But now, Homelander's psychological profile had started leaning towards more positive traits.

Empathy, compassion, respect for life, and respect for colleagues… His efforts to maintain good relations with Deep, Starlight, and others had all been noted by the company.

If Homelander's abilities weren't irreplicable, they might have suspected he had been replaced.

That's why they had sent Roger to see the psychologist, but the psychologist's demise only fueled their suspicion that Homelander was still the same but had learned to mask it better.

Edgar had thought the same, until today, when Roger openly admitted that he wasn't Homelander.

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I now possess the same abilities as Homelander, and Homelander will never appear before you again. So, you can think of me as another Homelander."

Roger spoke in a way that sounded almost like a tongue twister.

Edgar took a deep breath and said, "Fine, I don't care who you are. Since you've taken on Homelander's identity and powers, you should fulfill your role as the leader of The Seven. Why did you kill Black Noir? And why are you doing all of this?"

When Roger went to save Tek Knight, Edgar knew that the recent chaos Vought was facing was orchestrated by this man.

That was where Edgar's confusion lay.

Roger could have had unimaginable wealth and status without doing anything, so why would he destroy it all with his own hands?

"Because I can't stand it."

"Can't stand it?"

"Yes, I can't stand your disregard for life, nor do I want to be your tool for world domination, so I did what I did. Is there a problem with that?"

Roger spoke with conviction.

Edgar's face twitched as he asked, "Don't tell me you want to be some kind of true superhero, like Starlight… or Tek Knight?"

"Maybe," Roger replied nonchalantly, which only fueled Edgar's anger. But knowing how crucial Roger was to Vought, Edgar swallowed his rage and inquired about Roger's terms.

"So, what do you want now?"

Roger's presence at Vought to meet with Edgar indicated a willingness to negotiate.

That was good, Edgar's biggest fear was that he wouldn't negotiate.

Roger smiled and said, "It's simple. Starlight, Queen Maeve, and I will be leaving The Seven and Vought to form our own hero team."

"Forming a new team independent of The Seven?" Edgar glanced at Madelyn.

Madelyn hesitated before saying, "That would require PR to redesign the strategy…"

"You're mistaken. I'm not talking about new marketing or creating a 'celebrity' team. We want to be completely independent of Vought. Do you understand?"

Edgar was stunned. He stared directly at Roger and said, "Are you saying that you want to form a superhero team without relying on any corporate backing, one that isn't bound by any forces? Is that what you mean?"

"Bingo."

"Impossible!"

Edgar declared firmly, "There's no way we could agree to such an absurd condition, and the politicians wouldn't either!"

Allowing a group of superhumans to form their own independent organization was like letting a group of armed individuals establish their own militia.

If Roger and the others were backed by Vought, it would be one thing, but if they wanted to break away and operate independently, not only Vought but the government would oppose it.

Roger, however, was unfazed. He said to Edgar, "I'm not negotiating with you; I'm stating a fact. Don't misunderstand. As for the politicians, I have my own ways."

Roger's voice was calm.

Being independent of any forces was Roger's solution for achieving complete freedom.

He had the confidence and strength to make this happen; there was no need for him to stay at Vought and continue being Homelander.

...

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