Homelander told Ashley in no uncertain terms that her current position was entirely thanks to him. Her only job was to obey orders, act as his mouthpiece, and stop making independent decisions about recruiting new members.
From now on, all major decisions for The Seven would be his to make.
Ashley, pale and stiff as a board, could only nod frantically. She was terrified that if she hesitated even a second too long, Homelander might burn a hole through her skull with his laser vision.
With that, the video ended.
In the Eternal Space, Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like, on the normal timeline, after killing the woman he loved with his own hands, this guy has completely stopped pretending. He's basically turning Vought into his personal toy."
Natasha Romanoff, who had just been briefed by Tony on the state of The Boys' world, glanced at the impassive Homelander.
"If Homelander is this powerful, how does Vought even keep him in line?"
"Before, Vought used a softer approach," Tony explained with a shrug. "You saw it yourself — Homie's not without weaknesses. He's got a major mommy complex, which is why Madelyn could control him. On top of that, he cares about his public image, and that's been one of Vought's main levers over him."
Tony's analysis was smooth and confident, as if he'd spent years profiling the man.
In fact, back when Homelander was first exposed during an earlier round of the quiz game, the heroes of the Multiverse Defenders had already discussed him. His "template" was just too similar to Superman's.
And in the Justice League's future timeline, Batman had already labeled Superman a potential apocalypse-level threat.
Seeing Homelander's lawless behavior now only reinforced that instinct. The Defenders had even built a preliminary psychological profile for him based purely on the leaked videos — and it was proving disturbingly accurate.
Homelander listened to Tony's remarks with a cold, dismissive smile, revealing nothing about what he was really thinking.
Then the light screen displayed a new question:
[Can Homelander decide who the next member of The Seven will be?]
[A: Yes
B: No]
Erik glanced sideways at Homelander with a smirk.
"You're the top star at Vought, and from the future footage, you've placed your own loyalists in high positions. Sounds like you call all the shots, right?"
Chin tilted upward, Homelander replied,
"Even though all that so-called footage is fake news, my importance to Vought speaks for itself. Let's just say… they give my suggestions serious consideration."
Good grief — was he treating this quiz like a press conference? That was some PR-polished language.
Tony snorted.
"Drop the act, Homie. Seriously, being yourself would be less exhausting."
Bruce Banner chimed in.
"Yeah. Even if you're a villain, at least be honest about it. We've all seen your true colors."
Homelander chuckled.
"You're all being fooled. This is just the quiz game's conspiracy! All those so-called future videos are nothing but fabricated lies!"
Apparently, he'd found his ultimate self-cleansing strategy — label everything as fake news. Whether the audience believed it or not, he didn't seem to care.
Tony waved a hand.
"Forget him. It's a 50–50 question. Just pick one."
He personally leaned toward A.
As much as he disliked Homelander, Tony had to admit that the man was crucial to Vought. Back when Madelyn was alive, she could keep him in check a little, but from the future footage, once she was gone, it seemed like Vought was completely under his thumb.
The countdown began. The question looked straightforward, so everyone answered quickly. Only Bruce hesitated slightly.
In the end, Natasha got the buzz-in first.
Tony frowned playfully.
"Seriously, I think this game's rigged. Natasha, you've gotten more buzz-ins than anyone since we started."
Natasha shrugged.
"True, but I'm also taking big risks here… I'll go with B."
Tony raised his eyebrows.
"Wow, didn't expect that. You don't believe in our Homie's authority? I'm picking A — I believe in you, Homie!"
Erik chuckled.
"I'll go with A as well. You have my vote, Homelander."
Homelander heard the sarcasm in their voices but kept his face blank.
"A. The answer is definitely A."
Bruce finally gave in to the majority and picked A too.
When the countdown hit zero, the system announced:
[Congratulations to player Natasha Romanoff for answering correctly and earning 4 points]
[player Tony Stark, player Erik Lehnsherr, player Bruce Banner, and Player Homelander — all incorrect. Each loses 1 point]
The correct answer was the opposite of what most had picked — again.
"Damn it!" Tony barked. "Homie, I put my faith in you, and you let me down. You're useless!"
Homelander's jaw twitched, eyes wide with barely contained fury. He was clearly holding back some choice words.
Erik, curious, turned to Natasha.
"Most people, after seeing that video, would've chosen A. Why'd you pick B?"
Natasha brushed her hair back with a smile.
"Precisely because most people would choose A. This game loves to go against the obvious answer, right?"
Tony nodded.
"True, Natasha. Smart thinking — for a first-timer, you've already caught on to one of the game's patterns. But careful — that pattern doesn't always hold. In this case, I genuinely thought Homie had the power, but clearly… he doesn't. Very disappointing."
As they discussed, the light screen began playing the footage that revealed the real answer.
_____
T/N:
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