I Know Who You Are Now

Thor, Asgard's eldest prince and the god of thunder, stood awkwardly beside his brother.

He held Mjolnir in one hand and a container glowing blue in the other. Inside was the Tesseract.

"We're leaving." Thor looked at everyone present. "Thank you for your help. Asgard owes you a favor. I'll deal with the Tesseract and... him."

Bound by a muzzle, Loki could only make angry muffled noises.

"Okay, see you out, blondie." Tony waved a hand. "Next time you bring your Bambi brother around, remember the Christmas presents."

Steve nodded solemnly. "He has to pay for what he did."

"He will." Thor's expression was heavy.

He activated the Tesseract, and blue light enveloped the two of them.

At the very peak of the light, just before they were teleported away, Loki's gaze passed over everyone and finally locked onto Homelander's back.

In those eyes, besides hatred, there was also... fear buried deep within.

The light flashed, and Thor and Loki disappeared.

If Loki had been an "external problem," then only an "internal problem" remained in the room now.

Everyone's eyes—Stark's, Steve's, Natasha's, Clint's, Banner's—were fixed on that red-and-blue back.

"Well, the main character of that blockbuster is gone." Stark walked over, folding his arms. "Now then, Soldier Boy... care to talk?"

Wu Yanzu slowly turned around.

"Of course, Mr. Stark." His voice was gentle and magnetic. "I imagine you have a lot of questions."

"Oh, you got that right." A deep voice came from nearby.

Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., strode in wearing his trademark black trench coat.

His single eye locked onto Wu Yanzu like an eagle's.

"The people of New York thank you for your 'performance,' Mr. Homelander." There wasn't a trace of gratitude in Fury's tone. "But I don't like surprises."

"And you..." Fury narrowed his eye. "You're the biggest surprise today."

"Officer." Wu Yanzu smiled and nodded in greeting. "Nice to meet you. I take it you're the boss here?"

"My name is Nick Fury. Come with me." Fury did not waste any more words and directly extended an invitation. "Let's talk somewhere else."

Helicarrier, circular conference room.

At this moment, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top brass and the core members of the Avengers sat around the conference table.

Fury sat at the head of the table, his single eye particularly sharp beneath the lights.

Agent Maria Hill stood behind Fury.

Tony Stark sat with one leg crossed over the other, his face saying, Go on, start your show.

Steve Rogers sat upright, his expression solemn.

Natasha Romanoff was like a black panther poised to strike. She said nothing, merely observed.

Bruce Banner and Clint Barton did not attend. They needed rest and evaluation.

"Quite the performance today, Mr. Homelander..." Fury's tone was lukewarm. "Such a perfect hero. So perfect it almost feels fake."

"Director Fury," Wu Yanzu said, still smiling, "I merely did what I should have done."

"Did you?" Fury sneered. "Then there sure are a lot of things you 'should have done.'"

"Enough, Nick." Tony Stark was somewhat displeased with Fury. "Don't be so cold-blooded. This guy, no matter how much he loves stealing the spotlight, did save my life and this city. So... Homelander, who exactly are you? Where did you come from? And who designed that outfit? Nice fabric."

"I'm here to help, Mr. Stark." Homelander began the story he had prepared. "I come from a very distant place..."

"A very distant place?" Fury cut him off. "Smallville, Kansas, or somewhere called Krypton?"

"Nick!" Steve spoke up in warning. He clearly disapproved of Fury's interrogation. "He saved everyone. The least we can do is show him some respect."

"Respect means honesty, Captain. I can spot hypocrisy or sincerity at a glance." Fury turned his single eye toward Steve, then shifted it back to Homelander's face. "I'm asking you questions. Are you an alien? S.H.I.E.L.D. has never discovered a superpowered individual like you on Earth. Who do you work for? What is your purpose in appearing here?"

The air around them seemed to freeze.

"Director Fury," Wu Yanzu broke the silence, his voice even. "You just mentioned fighting for something. When the Chitauri Leviathans were ravaging the skies over Manhattan, was what you were fighting for launching a nuclear missile at those millions of civilians?"

Fury frowned, unsure how to respond.

"I was in the sky, catching falling chunks of buildings. I was in the streets, blocking lasers fired at children."

Wu Yanzu leaned forward slightly and stared directly into Fury's single eye. "And you were hiding on your ship, using your distrust and suspicion to interrogate someone who had just cleaned up your mess."

"Is this how S.H.I.E.L.D. operates?" Homelander swept his gaze across the room before settling it back on Fury, mockery on his face. "If so, then I have to say... this is truly disappointing."

The room fell silent for several seconds.

"Well said."

Tony Stark let out a loud whistle, breaking the deadlock. "Honestly, Fury, I like what he said. Compared to him, that council that wanted to nuke New York sounds more like a top-level threat."

Steve Rogers looked at Wu Yanzu, and there was now more approval and respect in his eyes.

He stood and walked to Wu Yanzu's side, facing Fury. "Fury, he's right. We're Avengers, not interrogators. He proved his worth—with his actions."

Fury's face darkened, then darkened further.

As the King of Spies, he was accustomed to controlling everything, accustomed to using intimidation and authority to pressure others.

But today, he had encountered someone tough. This Homelander... was surprisingly adept at shaping public opinion.

He knew he had lost this round. If he continued to press, he would only drive the Avengers apart.

"All right, perhaps my attitude was a little excessive." Fury's voice softened. "But S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to know where you came from. I hope you understand..."

"I..." He was just about to start spinning that classic story about the "M78 Nebula."

"Sir!"

Agent Maria Hill hurried over, holding a tablet with an extremely strange expression on her face.

"Sir, you'd better take a look at this."

Fury impatiently took the tablet, but when his gaze swept across the screen, his single eye suddenly widened.

"What did you find?" Stark leaned over curiously, and when he saw what was on the screen, he froze as well.

"Wow... this is really... holy shit."

"All right, I know who you are now." Fury's voice was full of pressure.

--??

Wu Yanzu's mind went blank for half a second.

What?

He knew?

Knew my ass! I'm a transmigrator!

"So, explain yourself, Mr. Homelander."

Nick Fury slapped the tablet onto the table, and it slid toward Wu Yanzu.

On the screen was a file.

Wu Yanzu's pupils contracted slightly.

The file contained an ID photo.

The person in the photograph had the exact same blond hair, the exact same handsome face, and the exact same azure eyes as him.

The only difference was that the person in the photo wore a Columbia University T-shirt, and his smile... was very youthful.

Name: Anthony Starr

Date of Birth: October 25, 1992

Status: Missing, presumed dead

Background:

Columbia University, Department of Literature, first-year student.

Parents: Edward Starr, Martha Starr (founders of Starr Group, both killed in a plane crash three years ago).

Incident Record: On October 25, 2011, Anthony Starr encountered a sudden storm while attending a private yacht party in Hampton, Long Island. The yacht sank. Of all passengers and crew members, only Anthony Starr's body... was never found.

Wu Yanzu's mind stopped functioning in that instant.

Anthony Starr...

Anthony Starr?!

Wasn't that fucking name the actor who played Homelander in The Boys back in his world?!

When he had been an award-winning actor in his previous life, he had even studied that fellow actor's performances!

"Fuck..." he cursed inwardly.

"A parallel world... this is the real fucking parallel world! This world doesn't just have Marvel; it also has people identical to those from my world!"

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Wu Yanzu's mind spun thousands of times within that single second.

"The original Space Guard script... is scrapped!"