When Homelander returned to the shelter's bedroom, the first light of dawn was breaking through the thick gray haze.
Harley Quinn let out a lazy groan from the large bed and sat up, rubbing her tangled hair. The blanket slipped down, exposing her, but she didn't care.
She yawned and searched blearily for the blond man, her gaze finally settling on him by the window.
"Morning, Mr. Milk Candy..."
She was about to climb out of bed when her eyes caught the cape behind him.
Tilting her head, she looked him up and down.
"Wow, what's with the new look? You weren't wearing that yesterday."
Harley knelt on the bed and tugged at the red cape.
"Red? You sure you want to go out in that? If Bats sees you dressed like this, he'll pull a gun on reflex."
"Those poor people you just rescued might think the blue Boy Scout crawled back out of Hell to collect taxes. Ha!"
Harley giggled at her own joke.
Homelander froze for a moment. She had a point. He had overlooked that.
People around the world now had a serious case of post-traumatic stress when it came to red capes. He had worked hard to build his image as a savior; he couldn't let the color of a cape stir up the wrong associations. It might hurt his ability to earn Popularity Points.
Homelander immediately called up the system in his mind.
"Spend 500 Special Popularity Points to restore the cape's original Stars and Stripes appearance."
[Command confirmed. Appearance modification complete.]
Before Harley's astonished eyes, ripples spread across the surface of the red cape. Within seconds, the familiar Stars and Stripes pattern reappeared.
"Ooh!" Harley's eyes sparkled. "That is so cool! Can you do that to my jacket too?"
"Just a