The Choice

"You can tell them the truth. No need to hide it."

Rorschach kept his head down, studying the book in his hands. Its philosophy was genuinely profound.

"You weren't satisfied with the CIA's offer, so you chose to come back and bring down Vought International with Rorschach."

The CIA still had to serve the country. Given Vought International's influence, destroying it outright would hardly serve the national interest.

Imposing a host of restrictions on it would already count as a major victory.

After all, since its founding, Vought had barely hit a setback.

With Supes as its selling point, it had made a fortune across all sorts of related industries.

It also stood alone in the world, with no competition whatsoever.

But if Compound V fell into the hands of agencies like the FBI or the CIA, the scandal would undoubtedly send Vought's stock price plunging.

Fortunately for Vought, it had contingencies. Edgar, who controlled everything from behind the scenes, was only one of them.

Homelander and Madelyne alone would give those intelligence agencies plenty of trouble.

Besides, Vought had a top-tier public relations team and countless friendly media outlets.

Vought might be a little lost right now, its plans thrown into disarray.

But Stormfront was making a splash on-screen, and a joint film featuring three heroines might be in the works.

As a result, Vought International was actually showing signs of recovery.

"All right. That's the truth."

Butcher admitted it readily. The CIA could deal Vought another heavy blow, but it had no way to hurt Homelander.

After all, he truly had no natural enemy in this world.

Apart from Rorschach, who had briefly gained Superman's powers.

"Damn it... Damn it!"

Marvin was still struggling with the decision.

To someone as obsessive as him, it was like a tangled mess of wires that somehow kept the whole system running just fine.

Should he leave the mess alone, or sort it out and risk getting electrocuted?

"Take your time thinking it over. No operations for now."

Rorschach laid the book over his face and prepared to take a nap.

If Rorschach hadn't turned Starlight and brought Translucent under his control, The Seven might actually have been united by now.

But with Rorschach around, Vought and The Seven could only fall further. They had no chance of climbing back up.

Still, he needed to be more careful with his next move. He couldn't keep acting recklessly just to break through their defenses.

Come to think of it, A-Train's death had earned him nearly two thousand points. That was a respectable haul.

But points would probably be hard to come by after this, unless he went to Atlanta to find The Deep.

Just as he thought of The Deep, a system notification arrived: he had gained another hundred-odd points.

Had The Deep conquered Atlanta?

"Keep your heads down for now. There's a big operation coming up. We might have to head out west."

"You mean Los Angeles?"

Butcher found that odd. New York was the superheroes' home base.

"Farther west."

After saying that, Rorschach fell silent. With the book over his face, he slowly drifted off.

"Marvin..." Butcher sat down beside his old friend, sounding wistful.

Marvin almost wondered if he was hearing things. Butcher hadn't called him by his nickname, "Mother's Milk."

After all their years together, was this the first time Butcher had opened his heart to him?

"Know why I picked you out of that group of Marines?"

There was nostalgia in Butcher's voice. Back then, he hadn't even begun to show signs of exhaustion.

Now, if the fire of revenge weren't keeping him going, he probably would have collapsed long ago.

"Wasn't it because you dug up every last detail of my past?"

Marvin turned his head away. He didn't want Butcher to see his expression.

"No. You were just standing there, but everyone gathered around you."

"We were walking a tightrope back then. If something happened to me, I needed someone who could hold the team together."

"Walk away, Marvin. Go home to your wife and kid. Life can still be good."

Butcher meant every word.

Before, he had kept Marvin around so The Boys would have someone to carry on its cause if disaster struck.

"But if I run from Soldier Boy... I'll spend the rest of my life..."

Marvin had learned from Rorschach that Soldier Boy was still alive. Avenging his family had long been his deepest wish.

But now, to keep his wife and daughter from being dragged into the turmoil, he had to make a difficult choice.

"Think it through."

Seeing this, Butcher said no more. He only let out a heavy sigh.

If someone hadn't taken Becca from him, he would have done no more than curse those freaks dressed as superheroes in private.

But the quiet, ordinary life he'd enjoyed was gone. So was his happiness. That was how he'd become the wreck he was now.

For the truth and for revenge, he would stop at nothing.

Meanwhile, Rorschach wondered whether he should give Starlight some combat training and teach her how to deal with Homelander.

He could also take the opportunity to study the effects of Compound V more closely.

"I can have Maria stay a little longer tonight to help me look after Taylor."

Madelyne smiled as she spoke to Homelander.

"Really?"

Homelander could hardly believe it. He saw the weariness on her face and couldn't help feeling tender toward her.

"Really. We can talk about how things have been. Just the two of us."

Madelyne moved closer to Homelander. Time had left its marks on her face, but she had lost none of her allure.

As the woman he watched every day drew near, Homelander's breathing grew heavy.

He was eager to turn them over and take control.

But she gently stopped him and settled on top of him instead.

Madelyne made him feel something entirely different: another kind of loving caress.

"My good boy."

Madelyne's hand brushed gently across Homelander's cheek.

"Compound V doesn't work well on adults, but I finally succeeded. Using A-Train, I really did create a Supervillain."

"After that, we can push the Act forward."

Madelyne was pleased, but Homelander's thoughts had already drifted far away.

He remembered the state A-Train had been in, and the meeting where The Seven had come together but felt nothing like a team.

But their time was short. Madelyne might have to go home and look after her child at any moment.

So he rose, swept her into his arms, and, to Madelyne's startled cry, unleashed Crescent Moon Heaven-Charging into the New York night.