[#]: Enjoy!!
In an alley near the hotel, Queen Maeve was pacing back and forth. Not long after, Roger arrived with burgers and juice. He handed so food to the still-hungry Kimiko and then offered so to Maeve, asking, "Would you like so?"
"No, thanks!" Maeve stopped walking and asked Roger, "What's going on here?" She wanted to lash out at Roger, but the negative impressions of Holander kept her restrained. Swallowing a few F-words, Maeve tried to maintain her composure.
"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Roger asked.
"What?" Maeve was taken aback.
Roger sat beside Kimiko, watching her eat, and said, "The lie is that I found this girl locked in a basent while I was passing by, and I rescued her out of a mont of compassion."
"And the truth?" Maeve inquired.
"The truth..." Roger sighed and lowered his voice, "The truth is, this girl is a victim of Vought. They transford her into a superhuman, planning to unleash her to create chaos. Then, we superheroes would co in to 'save the day.' That way..."
"... the Departnt of Defense would approve superheroes joining the military," Maeve finished Roger's sentence. Hearing this, she imdiately grasped Vought's intentions. They had always wanted superheroes in the military to gain more power.
But what shocked Maeve more was Roger's behavior. He told both a lie and a truth, but to Maeve, both sounded like lies. The real Holander would never do sothing against Vought's interests. Moreover, if Vought truly planned what Roger said, Holander would benefit the most, gaining more fa and adoration, becoming the world's brightest star—exactly what Holander always desired.
"You're not Holander..." Maeve suddenly stated. She took a few steps back, looking at Roger with a mix of fear and realization, "You're not Holander at all!"
"I..."
Roger wanted to deny it, but Maeve continued, "Do you rember the Oscar ceremony for '12 Years a Slave'? The producer sitting next to ?"
"He sat next to and chatted all day, but two days later, he was found dead in his office."
Maeve's ntion triggered Roger's mory of Holander's past actions. That incident happened a long ti ago, shortly after Maeve joined the Seven. Holander wanted to pair up with Maeve as an on-screen couple and had arranged for her to team up with him. A movie producer who fancied Maeve tried to pursue her, but his advances led to his death. Holander had visited his office, used his heat vision to decapitate him, and then burned the entire office down. Maeve knew about this and from that mont, always complied with Holander in public. They beca an on-screen couple, and although they eventually broke up, fans still saw them as the perfect match.
Maeve knew what Holander was capable of, how dark his heart was, and that he was a murderer who acted recklessly under the spotlight. Seeing Holander rescue soone and appear here for Kimiko made Maeve instantly realize this person couldn't be Holander. Even if he looked like Holander and had his powers, he wasn't Holander!
"So you're not Holander. Who are you?" Maeve asked seriously.
"I'm not Holander... but I can explain..." Roger said, feeling a bit dry-mouthed. He glanced at Kimiko, who looked puzzled, and patted her head reassuringly. Kimiko didn't understand their conversation; she didn't speak English and was mute, so Roger felt safe discussing Vought's secrets in front of her.
Facing Maeve's interrogation, Roger presented the reason he'd prepared long ago. He knew he was different from Holander and that one day, soone would question his identity. So, he had a cover story ready.
"Have you heard of dissociative identity disorder?" Roger asked, avoiding Maeve's fearful gaze. "You can think of as... Holander's second personality."
"Dissociative identity disorder?" Maeve's first reaction was disbelief.
"Yes, DID. Holander and I are two sides of the sa coin, but I've always been suppressed by him. Recently, for so unknown reason, his personality started to fade..."
"So, you erged?" Maeve asked.
"Exactly. Do you believe ?" Roger looked up at Maeve in surprise.
He had prepared for a lengthy explanation, but Maeve seed to believe him already. Maeve thought for a long ti and then said to Roger, "Why wouldn't I? Holander would never rescue soone like you did. If there's no other explanation, could you be Holander's doppelganger?"
Maeve pointed to Kimiko, emphasizing that Holander would never rescue soone without caras around, nor would he do anything against his own interests. If Kimiko's existence were exposed, it would harm Vought and the many superheroes under its umbrella, including Holander.
So Roger's claim of being Holander's second personality was believable to Maeve. If Holander were replaced by a doppelganger, Vought wouldn't let him roam freely. And a doppelganger having the sa appearance and powers as the original was too far-fetched. The DID explanation was more plausible.
Knowing the person in front of her wasn't Holander, Maeve felt relieved. She looked at Roger and felt a strange impulse. "We need to find a place for her," Maeve said, "and you need to explain Vought's superhuman project to in detail."
"Of course. Now that you know, I won't hide anything. Once she's settled, I'll tell you everything. But be prepared," Roger warned Maeve.
Since Maeve already knew, there was no point in keeping secrets. Roger needed a true ally in this world.
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