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The night breeze swept through the open window, and Roger's eyes suddenly snapped open, locking onto the figure perched by the windowsill.
Uninvited, Wonder Woman—Diana—had just climbed through the window into the room, only to et Roger's gaze. For a mont, the two were locked in silent, awkward eye contact.
"..."
After a prolonged silence, Roger shifted his gaze toward the door and said, "You know, you could knock."
"Uh... force of habit?"
"Change your habits."
Speaking with exasperation, Roger resigned himself to the interruption. Sleep was no longer an option. He sat up in bed and turned to Diana, who had just closed the window behind her.
"Late night visit? What's the matter?"
"Sort of," Diana replied, stepping further inside. "I heard from Bruce that you've returned, so I ca to see you. Though, it seems like there's so tension between you and him?"
"I'm just sulking."
Roger's voice was low, his expression neutral.
Diana raised a curious brow. "What happened?"
"Superman's death—you're aware of it, right?"
"Yes."
"I told Bruce before that he needed to trust Superman. If he had trusted him just a little more, Superman wouldn't have died. But it's too late for that now, and talking about it changes nothing."
Roger's tone was calm, but it carried a sense of regret and finality. He clearly didn't want to linger on the topic. Getting out of bed, he turned on the lights and changed the subject.
"I know why you're here. It's about Andrea, isn't it?"
"...Did you find her?"
Diana didn't deny it. Concern and a glimr of hope filled her expression as she looked at Roger.
Recalling the events he'd experienced, Roger answered, "She's gone."
"What?"
"She died… sacrificing herself to save the world. I'm sorry."
Lowering his head, Roger paid a mont of silent respect.
Regardless of who Andrea was, her ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the world warranted his solemn regard.
Hearing Roger's words, Diana was montarily at a loss. She had considered the possibility that Andrea might be in trouble but had never imagined she would die.
Andrea was far stronger than Diana—soone even Diana herself didn't feel confident about defeating when they first t. And yet, hearing of her demise now felt almost surreal.
"…She's dead?"
Diana exhaled deeply, her voice tinged with complexity as she murmured to herself.
Roger nodded. "Yes, and she's been gone for a long ti. Ti flows differently between universes. For you, it might have been decades. For her, it could have been centuries."
"I see." Diana steadied her emotions and offered Roger a small nod. "Regardless, thank you."
"Are you alright?" Roger asked, noticing the faint hint of daze lingering in her expression.
Diana gave him a faint smile. "I'm fine. It's been so long... Let's leave it at that and move on to more pressing matters."
"Hmm?"
"Bruce is planning to form a team. Are you aware?"
"Oh, so you're here to speak for him," Roger said, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Diana replied, "Earth lost Superman. It's bound to attract all sorts of strange threats. I think forming a team is a good idea."
"No thanks. I'm not interested in seeing Bruce right now."
Roger imdiately dismissed the idea.
He had no intention of joining the Justice League—or, more specifically, he had no intention of dealing with Steppenwolf just yet.
Sure, Roger could easily eliminate Steppenwolf and his invasion. But then what? Without the crisis Steppenwolf posed, what reason would there be to resurrect Superman?
Even if soone brought up resurrecting him, the safest course of action would still be to maintain the current status quo.
Roger had decided not to intervene this ti, allowing the story to play out naturally. If the Justice League found themselves unable to handle it, he would step in at that point.
And by then, Superman's resurrection might render Roger's involvent unnecessary altogether.
Moreover, during this downti, Roger planned to return to The Boys universe for a while.
With the multiverse crisis looming, Roger hadn't abandoned his plan to form his own team. He intended to recruit Thor and Bucky from The Boys universe into his ranks. After all, they weren't exactly busy over there.
And there was his estranged son—though they had no emotional bond, the boy was Roger's biological child. A young Superman left unchecked could beco a future problem, so it was better to keep him close and guide him properly.
In any case, joining Bruce's team was out of the question.
The Justice League could handle Steppenwolf on their own.
"Alright, I didn't expect to convince you anyway," Diana said with a sigh, preparing to leave.
Though she'd only t Roger twice, Diana could already tell he was the kind of person who wouldn't change his mind easily once he'd made a decision.
Moreover, Roger wasn't even from this world. As soone from a parallel universe, he could leave at any ti. If he didn't join, it wasn't a significant loss.
"Go back and tell Bruce this: to prepare for Earth's crises, Superman is crucial," Roger suddenly said as Diana was about to leave.
She paused mid-step and turned to him. "But Superman is already dead, isn't he?"
"He is, but that doesn't an he can't co back. As for how… you'll understand once you find Cyborg."
"...Alright."
Diana didn't press Roger further on his cryptic remarks, seemingly accustod to his enigmatic ways.
She opened the window to bid Roger farewell, but before she could leave, Roger grabbed her arm.
Diana turned back, puzzled, only to see Roger staring at her in exasperation. He gestured toward the door and said, "Use the door. And next ti, don't co through the window… Actually, better yet, let's not have a next ti!"
"..."
Watching Diana finally leave through the door, Roger let out a long sigh.
With the matter of Andrea settled, Roger had no intention of sharing unnecessary details with Diana. Telling her Andrea was dead was enough—there was no need to complicate things further.
As for other matters, Victor Stone—Cyborg—was still being tracked. Athena was searching carefully to avoid alerting the "god of networks," which slowed the process significantly.
Roger had temporarily instructed her to halt the search, knowing that Cyborg would eventually seek out Diana and Bruce himself.
Soon enough, the founding mbers of the Justice League would begin to take shape.
And that would be the ti for them to face Steppenwolf.
"Whew, my energy's almost restored. Ti to head back."
Calculating the tiline of the Justice League's confrontation with Steppenwolf, Roger felt the energy he had gathered was sufficient. He prepared to leave the DC universe temporarily and return to The Boys universe to recruit Thor and the others.
Thankfully, the passage between the DC universe and The Boys universe had already been established, aning Roger no longer required the massive amounts of energy necessary to discover a new universe.
He even had so of the stolen energy from the Flash left over, which would easily suffice for his trip back and bringing a few recruits along.
To be honest, Roger was curious to see Thor face off against Steppenwolf. Would Steppenwolf's axe prove mightier, or would Thor's?
The Boys Universe
It had been nearly six months since Roger left.
During that ti, Vought International had almost completely disappeared, and superhuman criminals worldwide were now confined to a specialized detention island.
The superpower suppressant technology developed by Banner before his departure had been a massive help to human governnts. With this device, authorities no longer needed to worry about superhumans causing chaos in prison.
Moreover, with Tech Knight's super entertainnt empire replacing Vought's position, producing one superhero after another, the world was steadily improving.
Yet one thing remained largely unchanged: superheroes were still celebrities.
The difference was that, unlike the Vought era, these superheroes were genuinely heroic, thanks largely to Tech Knight's initiatives.
The Superhero Oversight Association, true to its na, monitored superheroes and assigned them rankings.
Registered heroes gained fa and fortune but were also held accountable by everyone—fellow heroes, the governnt, journalists, and even ordinary citizens.
Any hero caught violating their code—abusing their powers or engaging in cri—would imdiately lose their status and face investigations by the governnt and the Association.
While the occasional hero might try to rebel, none dared openly defy the system—not even the once-unbeatable Holander.
This oversight was enforced by none other than:
"Yes, that's right! It's , Thor! Do you have a problem with that?"
Standing at a gaming etup, an out-of-shape Thor, wearing sunglasses and holding his signature battle axe, addressed a group of high school students.
After a brief silence, the group erupted in cheers.
"It's really him!!"
"Thor!! I can't believe Thor loves gaming as much as we do!"
"This is aweso!"
Amid their excitent, Thor remained expressionless, clearly annoyed by their noise.
"Alright, alright, folks."
Seeing that they were too focused on him rather than the ga, Thor had to intervene. "I know you're all thrilled to see . Honestly, I'm thrilled to see you too. But let's put that aside for now and focus on why we're here, alright?"
Recently, Thor had beco obsessed with shooter gas featuring various cooperative and competitive modes.
Teaming up with so skilled players—his current audience—Thor had ford an elite squad that quickly beca a dominating force in the ga.
Naturally, where there's competition, there's rivalry.
When their team clashed with another formidable group, they decided to settle the score with an offline match.
And so, Thor found himself at the etup, temporarily shedding his identity as the God of Thunder to beco just another gar.
Of course, using his godly reputation for psychological warfare was still part of Thor's strategy.
After all, how could the mighty God of Thunder lose to re mortals?
Gripping his axe tightly, Thor's eyes glead with determination behind his sunglasses.
...
Having just returned, Roger spotted Thor from a distance. Watching the so-called God of Thunder imrse himself in gaming with such fervor, Roger couldn't help but cover his face, cringing.
Thor, you're the God of Thunder, a superhero! Do you really need to use intimidation tactics for a ga?
Roger briefly considered dragging Thor away imdiately but ultimately decided against it.
Compared to the version of Thor who beca a recluse after Thanos' death, this Thor was at least marginally better.
The cinematic Thor had beco a shut-in, spending his days drinking and eating junk food—a far cry from his forr self.
At least this Thor was socializing.
Though his thods were unconventional, at least he hadn't fallen that far.
"...Fine. Let him play for now."
Temporarily setting aside his plans to recruit Thor, Roger decided to let him finish his ga before approaching him.
In the anti, Roger returned to Tech Knight's base to inquire about his estranged son, Ryan.
Now officially bearing Butcher's surna, Ryan Butcher had beco the focus of attention from various factions, including the governnt and Tech Knight's team.
Ryan's mother, Becca, wanted him to live a normal life, but Ryan had other ambitions.
Learning about the wider world—and discovering his biological father was the infamous Holander—ignited Ryan's desire to beco a superhero himself.
This caused friction with the Butchers.
To be fair, Billy Butcher wasn't exactly the ideal father figure. Having grown up in an abusive household, Butcher carried his own violent tendencies.
His aggressive parenting style only fueled Ryan's rebellious streak.
If not for Roger's return, Tech Knight might have already intervened, placing Ryan in a more suitable environnt.
But now that Roger was back, it seed only fitting for him to take charge of Ryan's upbringing.
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