Homelander: New Legacy

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The night breeze swept through the open window, and Roger's eyes suddenly snapped open, locking onto the figure perched by the windowsill.

Uninvited, Wonder Woman—Diana—had just climbed through the window into the room, only to meet Roger's gaze. For a moment, the two were locked in silent, awkward eye contact.

"..."

After a prolonged silence, Roger shifted his gaze toward the door and said, "You know, you could knock."

"Uh... force of habit?"

"Change your habits."

Speaking with exasperation, Roger resigned himself to the interruption. Sleep was no longer an option. He sat up in bed and turned to Diana, who had just closed the window behind her.

"Late night visit? What's the matter?"

"Sort of," Diana replied, stepping further inside. "I heard from Bruce that you've returned, so I came to see you. Though, it seems like there's some tension between you and him?"

"I'm just sulking."

Roger's voice was low, his expression neutral.

Diana raised a curious brow. "What happened?"

"Superman's death—you're aware of it, right?"

"Yes."

"I told Bruce before that he needed to trust Superman. If he had trusted him just a little more, Superman wouldn't have died. But it's too late for that now, and talking about it changes nothing."

Roger's tone was calm, but it carried a sense of regret and finality. He clearly didn't want to linger on the topic. Getting out of bed, he turned on the lights and changed the subject.

"I know why you're here. It's about Andrea, isn't it?"

"...Did you find her?"

Diana didn't deny it. Concern and a glimmer of hope filled her expression as she looked at Roger.

Recalling the events he'd experienced, Roger answered, "She's gone."

"What?"

"She died… sacrificing herself to save the world. I'm sorry."

Lowering his head, Roger paid a moment of silent respect.

Regardless of who Andrea was, her ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the world warranted his solemn regard.

Hearing Roger's words, Diana was momentarily at a loss. She had considered the possibility that Andrea might be in trouble but had never imagined she would die.

Andrea was far stronger than Diana—someone even Diana herself didn't feel confident about defeating when they first met. And yet, hearing of her demise now felt almost surreal.

"…She's dead?"

Diana exhaled deeply, her voice tinged with complexity as she murmured to herself.

Roger nodded. "Yes, and she's been gone for a long time. Time flows differently between universes. For you, it might have been decades. For her, it could have been centuries."

"I see." Diana steadied her emotions and offered Roger a small nod. "Regardless, thank you."

"Are you alright?" Roger asked, noticing the faint hint of daze lingering in her expression.

Diana gave him a faint smile. "I'm fine. It's been so long... Let's leave it at that and move on to more pressing matters."

"Hmm?"

"Bruce is planning to form a team. Are you aware?"

"Oh, so you're here to speak for him," Roger said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Diana replied, "Earth lost Superman. It's bound to attract all sorts of strange threats. I think forming a team is a good idea."

"No thanks. I'm not interested in seeing Bruce right now."

Roger immediately dismissed the idea.

He had no intention of joining the Justice League—or, more specifically, he had no intention of dealing with Steppenwolf just yet.

Sure, Roger could easily eliminate Steppenwolf and his invasion. But then what? Without the crisis Steppenwolf posed, what reason would there be to resurrect Superman?

Even if someone brought up resurrecting him, the safest course of action would still be to maintain the current status quo.

Roger had decided not to intervene this time, allowing the story to play out naturally. If the Justice League found themselves unable to handle it, he would step in at that point.

And by then, Superman's resurrection might render Roger's involvement unnecessary altogether.

Moreover, during this downtime, Roger planned to return to The Boys universe for a while.

With the multiverse crisis looming, Roger hadn't abandoned his plan to form his own team. He intended to recruit Thor and Bucky from The Boys universe into his ranks. After all, they weren't exactly busy over there.

And there was his estranged son—though they had no emotional bond, the boy was Roger's biological child. A young Superman left unchecked could become a future problem, so it was better to keep him close and guide him properly.

In any case, joining Bruce's team was out of the question.

The Justice League could handle Steppenwolf on their own.

"Alright, I didn't expect to convince you anyway," Diana said with a sigh, preparing to leave.

Though she'd only met Roger twice, Diana could already tell he was the kind of person who wouldn't change his mind easily once he'd made a decision.

Moreover, Roger wasn't even from this world. As someone from a parallel universe, he could leave at any time. If he didn't join, it wasn't a significant loss.

"Go back and tell Bruce this: to prepare for Earth's crises, Superman is crucial," Roger suddenly said as Diana was about to leave.

She paused mid-step and turned to him. "But Superman is already dead, isn't he?"

"He is, but that doesn't mean he can't come back. As for how… you'll understand once you find Cyborg."

"...Alright."

Diana didn't press Roger further on his cryptic remarks, seemingly accustomed to his enigmatic ways.

She opened the window to bid Roger farewell, but before she could leave, Roger grabbed her arm.

Diana turned back, puzzled, only to see Roger staring at her in exasperation. He gestured toward the door and said, "Use the door. And next time, don't come through the window… Actually, better yet, let's not have a next time!"

"..."

Watching Diana finally leave through the door, Roger let out a long sigh.

With the matter of Andrea settled, Roger had no intention of sharing unnecessary details with Diana. Telling her Andrea was dead was enough—there was no need to complicate things further.

As for other matters, Victor Stone—Cyborg—was still being tracked. Athena was searching carefully to avoid alerting the "god of networks," which slowed the process significantly.

Roger had temporarily instructed her to halt the search, knowing that Cyborg would eventually seek out Diana and Bruce himself.

Soon enough, the founding members of the Justice League would begin to take shape.

And that would be the time for them to face Steppenwolf.

"Whew, my energy's almost restored. Time to head back."

Calculating the timeline of the Justice League's confrontation with Steppenwolf, Roger felt the energy he had gathered was sufficient. He prepared to leave the DC universe temporarily and return to The Boys universe to recruit Thor and the others.

Thankfully, the passage between the DC universe and The Boys universe had already been established, meaning Roger no longer required the massive amounts of energy necessary to discover a new universe.

He even had some of the stolen energy from the Flash left over, which would easily suffice for his trip back and bringing a few recruits along.

To be honest, Roger was curious to see Thor face off against Steppenwolf. Would Steppenwolf's axe prove mightier, or would Thor's?

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The Boys Universe

It had been nearly six months since Roger left.

During that time, Vought International had almost completely disappeared, and superhuman criminals worldwide were now confined to a specialized detention island.

The superpower suppressant technology developed by Banner before his departure had been a massive help to human governments. With this device, authorities no longer needed to worry about superhumans causing chaos in prison.

Moreover, with Tech Knight's super entertainment empire replacing Vought's position, producing one superhero after another, the world was steadily improving.

Yet one thing remained largely unchanged: superheroes were still celebrities.

The difference was that, unlike the Vought era, these superheroes were genuinely heroic, thanks largely to Tech Knight's initiatives.

The Superhero Oversight Association, true to its name, monitored superheroes and assigned them rankings.

Registered heroes gained fame and fortune but were also held accountable by everyone—fellow heroes, the government, journalists, and even ordinary citizens.

Any hero caught violating their code—abusing their powers or engaging in crime—would immediately lose their status and face investigations by the government and the Association.

While the occasional hero might try to rebel, none dared openly defy the system—not even the once-unbeatable Homelander.

This oversight was enforced by none other than:

"Yes, that's right! It's me, Thor! Do you have a problem with that?"

Standing at a gaming meetup, an out-of-shape Thor, wearing sunglasses and holding his signature battle axe, addressed a group of high school students.

After a brief silence, the group erupted in cheers.

"It's really him!!"

"Thor!! I can't believe Thor loves gaming as much as we do!"

"This is awesome!"

Amid their excitement, Thor remained expressionless, clearly annoyed by their noise.

"Alright, alright, folks."

Seeing that they were too focused on him rather than the game, Thor had to intervene. "I know you're all thrilled to see me. Honestly, I'm thrilled to see you too. But let's put that aside for now and focus on why we're here, alright?"

Recently, Thor had become obsessed with shooter games featuring various cooperative and competitive modes.

Teaming up with some skilled players—his current audience—Thor had formed an elite squad that quickly became a dominating force in the game.

Naturally, where there's competition, there's rivalry.

When their team clashed with another formidable group, they decided to settle the score with an offline match.

And so, Thor found himself at the meetup, temporarily shedding his identity as the God of Thunder to become just another gamer.

Of course, using his godly reputation for psychological warfare was still part of Thor's strategy.

After all, how could the mighty God of Thunder lose to mere mortals?

Gripping his axe tightly, Thor's eyes gleamed with determination behind his sunglasses.

...

Having just returned, Roger spotted Thor from a distance. Watching the so-called God of Thunder immerse himself in gaming with such fervor, Roger couldn't help but cover his face, cringing.

Thor, you're the God of Thunder, a superhero! Do you really need to use intimidation tactics for a game?

Roger briefly considered dragging Thor away immediately but ultimately decided against it.

Compared to the version of Thor who became a recluse after Thanos' death, this Thor was at least marginally better.

The cinematic Thor had become a shut-in, spending his days drinking and eating junk food—a far cry from his former self.

At least this Thor was socializing.

Though his methods were unconventional, at least he hadn't fallen that far.

"...Fine. Let him play for now."

Temporarily setting aside his plans to recruit Thor, Roger decided to let him finish his game before approaching him.

In the meantime, Roger returned to Tech Knight's base to inquire about his estranged son, Ryan.

Now officially bearing Butcher's surname, Ryan Butcher had become the focus of attention from various factions, including the government and Tech Knight's team.

Ryan's mother, Becca, wanted him to live a normal life, but Ryan had other ambitions.

Learning about the wider world—and discovering his biological father was the infamous Homelander—ignited Ryan's desire to become a superhero himself.

This caused friction with the Butchers.

To be fair, Billy Butcher wasn't exactly the ideal father figure. Having grown up in an abusive household, Butcher carried his own violent tendencies.

His aggressive parenting style only fueled Ryan's rebellious streak.

If not for Roger's return, Tech Knight might have already intervened, placing Ryan in a more suitable environment.

But now that Roger was back, it seemed only fitting for him to take charge of Ryan's upbringing.

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