Who Could Outscheme Me?

What had happened?

Ryan sensed Homelander's odd behavior immediately.

As a gifted performer, paying close attention to your scene partner's emotional shifts, timing, and body language was basic.

Especially since Homelander had always been terrible at controlling his emotions.

The moment something seemed off, Ryan noticed.

He swallowed the words that had been about to leave his mouth.

They could bond and practice fighting anytime. Now that Homie was having emotional problems, none of that mattered.

The most important thing was figuring out what had happened.

Ryan stood obediently beside Homelander, waiting to see how things unfolded.

But as soon as Homelander finished speaking, Maeve blurted, "Just like you? Ha, I'm—"

She stopped halfway through, her overheated brain finally jolting back to its senses.

But it was too late.

Homelander's eyes were already bloodshot. The killing intent still burning in them flared up again, and all his pent-up resentment and savage fury poured out without restraint.

The air seemed to freeze, as if a sudden, merciless slaughter were about to begin at any moment.

Wait, what happened???

Ryan truly hadn't expected things to escalate so quickly.

What had Maeve said?

Why had her unfinished sentence set Homie off like a lit firecracker?

This was wrong. It shouldn't have happened. It didn't match what Ryan remembered from the story.

Ryan still remembered that fight between his dad and his granddad.

Even though Maeve had openly sided against Homelander and even attacked him, in the end, all Homelander did was blind her in one eye. Didn't that prove he had some feelings for Maeve?

After all, everyone else who betrayed Homelander had been killed outright.

So what on earth was going on?

"Wha... what, Maeve?"

Homelander leaned forward slightly, the posture he instinctively took when he was about to unleash Heat Vision.

His pressing questions and his current, barely restrained bloodlust had already awakened Maeve's deepest, long-rooted fear of Homelander.

"Just like me?"

Homelander repeated the words, the killing intent in his Heat Vision almost tangible. "You all think that?"

Just like me?

Who did that mean?

Me!

What was Homelander like? Was he starved for love?

No, that couldn't be the whole story.

Ryan and Homelander were different. Ryan had never lacked... Different?

Ryan caught hold of a thread in an instant.

Think, damn it!

Where had Homelander gone earlier?

He'd gone to see Stan Edgar because Ryan had pleaded for Ashley.

And what kind of man was Stan Edgar? A cold, rational, calculating capitalist, exceptionally skilled at manipulating people.

And Homelander was one of his most important assets.

Ryan's arrival was bound to affect Homelander.

No, it had already affected him.

It wasn't just Starlight and Maeve who had seen that interview. Homelander had to have watched it too.

So Stan must have said something to him, and that was why...

"Dad."

In a flash, Ryan pieced together everything that had led to this and even figured out Homelander's state of mind.

He was afraid!

Yes, you heard that right. Afraid.

Homelander was afraid of how different Ryan was from him.

That difference would eventually lead to the father-and-son conflict in the original story.

And the heart of the problem was still a lack of love.

The insecurity born of a lifetime without love, and the longing for it, had long since taken root deep in Homelander's soul. Stan Edgar must have used just the right words to strike that vulnerable spot.

He was trying to drive a wedge between Ryan and Homelander. He'd nearly succeeded.

Ryan's thoughts raced. He wondered if he was about to develop Super Brain.

As he thought, he worked himself into the right emotional state, drawing on his acting experience from his past life and every bit of skill he'd built up over the first eight years of this one.

"Dad, d-do you not want me to be like you?"

Ryan looked bewildered and hurt. His voice was soft and gentle, tinged with nervous uncertainty.

But his stumbling steps backward were heavy, as if he were afraid Homelander might not notice him otherwise.

And Homelander would notice him.

The invisible killing intent in the air abruptly broke off.

"I've always looked up to you!"

Ryan kept backing away. Homelander turned around.

And the instant Homelander looked at him, Ryan let the tears fall.

He stubbornly wiped his face, then shouted angrily at Homelander, "So that's what you think! You never loved me! You even got mad because you didn't want me to be like you..."

"Fighting with your girlfriend! I-I don't want to be friends with you anymore!"

After delivering that toe-curlingly embarrassing line—the kind not even a cheesy soap opera would dare put in its script—Ryan turned to run without another word.

He'd come this far into the scene. There was no way he could keep acting if he didn't run.

This was such an old-fashioned, melodramatic performance. He'd only resorted to it because he had no other choice.

But you had to admit, Homelander had never been subjected to lines like "You're heartless, cold, unreasonable!" and "I don't care! I won't listen! I don't want to hear it!" So this little one-two combo really did the trick.

Homelander shot forward and blocked Ryan at the door without a second thought.

But the flames of anger still smoldered in his mind, and Ryan trying to run away only left him more confused. He had no idea what was going on.

He just instinctively didn't want Ryan to leave, but he couldn't get past his anger.

So his voice remained stiff. "Ryan, where are you going?"

Someone, please explain what had happened to Homelander.

Deep down, he was worried that Ryan was different from him and would choose to leave someday. That was why he'd gotten so angry he'd lost control.

But how had Ryan ended up thinking that Homelander simply didn't want him to be like him?

It was a little confusing.

But let's sort it out from the beginning.

Stan Edgar: Ryan is different from you. He'll leave you and break your heart.

Homelander: Fear takes hold, and he lashes out in anger!

Maeve: Because Ryan isn't like you, I want him to grow stronger.

Homelander: His hidden fear becomes reality, and he flies into a rage!

Ryan: I know you want me to be as bad as you, so I won't leave you.

I also know you're angry because someone told you I'm different from you.

But I can only understand the surface meaning of what you're saying: I'll be like you, so you're angry.

You're angry, so I'll get even angrier.

Fight magic with magic.

What else can I do?

Stan Edgar had already made the first move and seized the advantage. No matter what empty platitudes Ryan offered, or what unverifiable promises he made, there was no way Homelander—teetering on the edge of losing control—would listen.

So Ryan could only use the childish way of throwing a tantrum, the way a son would, to interrupt Homelander's extremism and pull him out of Stan Edgar's mental trap.

The next step was to see the plan through.

Red-eyed, Ryan glared at Homelander, who was blocking his way, hurt and furious. "Move. Where I go is none of your business. You don't even love—"

Boom—

A sudden thunderous crash cut off Ryan's "you."