[35] : The Deep's Plea for Help

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....

It was as if they had planned it: other than the Seven, scandals erupted for all the other heroes.

Vought was overwhelmed with the fallout, while Roger stayed at the event, soothing the crowd with a new speech prepared by the company.

He also had to address the issue of Translucent's death during this speech.

Translucent's death couldn't be concealed. Not only had he been absent from the public eye for a long time.

but someone had provided undeniable proof of his demise. Just before the event started, an insider had leaked Vought's internal discussions on how to handle the news of Translucent's death.

The video, featuring high-ranking Vought executives, became irrefutable evidence of his passing.

Unable to keep the secret, Vought decided to announce it and plan a grand funeral for Translucent.

Roger was the main person responsible for this funeral, tasked with eulogizing Translucent as a hero who died saving others, despite everyone knowing that wasn't true.

"Vought is really pissed right now," Roger said.

In Kimiko's hideout, Roger and Maeve sat on the sofa, disguised in plain clothes, eating chips and watching TV.

"How did you pull it off?" Maeve asked, holding a chip.

Getting dirt on superheroes wasn't hard, nor was infiltrating the event. Spreading the dirt was simple too. But doing all this while avoiding Vought's suspicion and keeping himself out of the mess was extremely difficult.

Roger had managed to do it all without arousing Vought's suspicion, which puzzled Maeve.

"I... have a few friends," Roger replied with a smile, propping his chin on his hand.

Despite some tension with the Boys, they were perfect tools for this operation. Given a target and told it would severely hurt Vought, they worked tirelessly. Vought's current predicament was largely thanks to their efforts.

Without them, Roger wouldn't have achieved much beyond brute force.

"You have friends outside?" Maeve asked in surprise.

Roger shrugged. "Just met them. I wouldn't call them friends, more like partners with a common goal."

"I see..."

"Did Madelyn question you about Translucent?" Roger asked Maeve suddenly.

Maeve ate another chip. "Yes, she asked about Deep too. She wanted to know if we leaked Translucent's death, but we had an event that day with company cameras following us, so we were quickly cleared of suspicion."

Seeing Roger focused on the TV, Maeve asked, "Who's your next target? Another member of the Seven or... yourself?"

"What?" Roger blinked, then realized she meant blackmail material. "No, of course not."

Using public opinion to tarnish Vought's reputation hinged largely on Homelander. Vought and Homelander were intertwined, and Vought knew all of Homelander's secrets.

If Roger ever fully turned against the company, they wouldn't hesitate to reveal everything about him.

This was Homelander's biggest fear: losing his fans and his spotlight. If Roger were truly Homelander, Vought's actions would drive him insane, potentially leading to indiscriminate violence. This was something Vought might actually want to see.

Foreseeing this, Roger had to prepare. He needed a scapegoat to pin everything on.

Finding a suitable scapegoat was difficult. Maeve and Tek Knight easily believed the split personality story because Homelander was unique.

He was the most powerful superhuman, Vought's perfect experiment.

No one else had all of Homelander's abilities: strength, speed, flight, laser vision, X-ray vision, invulnerable skin... all combined to create Homelander. There was no second Homelander, making it hard to find a double.

Using the split personality excuse or claiming mind transfer abilities to justify his actions wouldn't work.

Split personality seemed plausible but lacked proof. Those familiar with Homelander might believe it, but strangers wouldn't.

Mind transfer was also problematic. Not only could Roger not do it, but even if he could, people would fear and shun him, not wanting someone who could take over their body and powers nearby.

Therefore, a scapegoat was crucial.

Buzz, Buzz,

As Roger and Maeve talked, his phone vibrated. Kimiko, engrossed in her studies, looked up at him. Roger patted her head, telling her to continue, then answered Maeve's questioning look.

"It's Deep."

"Is he trying to introduce you to his seafood friends again?"

"You shouldn't say that in front of him. He's fragile..." Roger said helplessly, answering Deep's call.

"Hello?"

"Homelander! Help me! I'm in trouble! What should I do?" Deep's panicked voice came through the phone.

Frowning slightly, Roger asked, "Calm down. Tell me slowly. What's going on? Has something been exposed?"

Roger hadn't targeted the Seven yet, but reporters had fabricated various rumors about them. Some rumors accidentally hit the mark.

If it were just rumors, Vought's PR would handle it, so Deep's panic indicated something more serious had been exposed, with concrete evidence.

Sure enough, Deep, still frantic, said, "It's Starlight! She exposed me! She's gone mad!!"

"...Maeve, change the channel," Roger said decisively, switching from a regular news channel to a superhero interview channel.

As soon as they switched, they saw Starlight in an interview room, revealing she had been harassed.

Though she hadn't named names yet, coincidentally, there was a rumor about Deep's misconduct circulating.

Putting this together with Starlight's resolute demeanor on TV, Roger felt a headache coming on.

...

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