Erik smirked. "Stephen's role has always been that of a tragic hero. That's fine, but the Watcher? He's the real problem. When Stephen was in trouble, the Watcher just stood by and watched. But the moment he was in trouble, he rushed to drag Stephen in to clean up the mess."
"And when the crisis was over, he climbed onto his moral high horse and told Stephen he had to sacrifice himself for the good of the multiverse… Why couldn't the sacrifice be him instead? Clearly, he's the most qualified person to do the job of a creepy voyeur."
Natasha spoke softly. "Becoming a superhero was never about gaining benefits. It's a responsibility, not just an honor."
Homelander scoffed. "Oh, please. That's just a double standard. Don't tell me you're all idiots. Forget the fancy speeches — who's really to blame for Ultron threatening the multiverse? Tony Stark? Sure, but that's not enough. The real culprit is the Watcher!"
"If he hadn't been lurking around spying and flapping his mouth, Ultron wouldn't have even noticed him! This was a mess he created, and in the end he found a bunch of people to clean it up for him. He didn't even have the guts to show up during the fight!"
"And now he's got Stephen guarding the pocket universe — which is really just him being afraid Stephen will turn into another Ultron.
"If I were Stephen, I'd take the Infinity Stones for myself, crush the Watcher under my boot, and make him pay the price he should have paid from the start!"
Strangely enough, in the Watcher's behavior, Homelander saw a reflection of Vought's corporate leadership.
When they needed you, they'd talk sweet, paint you a grand vision. But when they didn't, they'd drop you like garbage.
After being captured by the Multiverse Defenders, Homelander had initially hoped Vought — or even the American government behind them — would step in to rescue him. But that help never came.
Instead, the news he eventually received was that Vought and the government had not only made peace with the Defenders, they'd actually started cooperating with them.
Banner and Clark were the ones who told him — deliberately — to crush his hopes of rescue and force him to accept the idea of atonement.
From their perspective, it was a reluctant compromise. They couldn't deal with the Multiverse Defenders, and if the conflict escalated into an all-out war, it would be disastrous.
But to Homelander, it was nothing less than betrayal. After everything he had done to make money for Vought and serve America, they abandoned him.
Vought's executives had been near the top of his revenge list for a while now, and hearing the Watcher's story only triggered those feelings further. He took the opportunity to vent in full.
Tony and the others stared at the worked-up Homelander with amused expressions.
Honestly, the one who'd been screwed over was Stephen Strange — what did this have to do with Homelander? Why was he so invested?
Tony chuckled. "I'll admit I agree with some of Erik's points, but Homelander, even if the Watcher's a coward or whatever else you want to call him, he's still a million times better than you. You're not fooling anyone. And you don't understand Stephen at all. He's a hero. He destroyed his own world and lost the woman he loved."
"The Watcher may not have given him any material reward, but he gave him a chance at redemption. And someone like you will never understand how precious that is."
Hands on his hips, Homelander was now somewhat used to Tony's trash talk. He grinned.
"Tony Stark, insulting me just makes you look more guilty.
"You and your Multiverse Defenders are no different from the Watcher. You're all cowards and hypocrites who just watch from the sidelines when disaster strikes."
Natasha frowned. "This guy's not right in the head. No point arguing with him. Tony, do you know how to end this game quickly? Ultron's definitely going to make a move after seeing those videos. I need to get back and help."
Tony spread his hands in mock helplessness.
"Listen, Natasha, I'll say this one last time — we players don't decide when the quiz ends. From experience, every question ties to one of the chosen players. The last video involved you… maybe me… so that leaves Erik, Bruce, and Homelander. Then the game will probably wrap up."
Natasha sighed. "I just hope it's in time. I don't want to go back to find everything gone."
Erik suddenly spoke up. "Hey, Tony, you've seen previous quiz games — I mean the one where Stephen got picked. At that time, Stephen hadn't even become Doctor Strange yet. But from Natasha's story, their timelines don't seem to match.
"In other words, if the Watcher went to find Stephen right now, Stephen might still just be a regular guy."
"Not exactly," Tony said with a shrug. "Didn't he get a mysterious reward from that game? The multiverse is complicated. Look, the Stephen we saw and Natasha now seem to come from the same animated multiverse, but maybe there's more than one version of that multiverse — which means more than one Watcher, and more than one Ultron."
Having been through the quiz many times, Tony's understanding of the multiverse had reached a new level.
It was all nesting dolls — or, as he put it, the cockroach theory.
If you see one cockroach in the corner, it means there's a whole convention of them somewhere you can't see.
The multiverse works the same way. When you see one universe, it means there are countless others hidden behind it.
While they discussed, the light screen displayed a new question:
[Among the following options, who has a special fondness for drinking milk — and even thoughtfully warms it before drinking?]
[A: Tony Stark
B: Natasha Romanoff
C: Erik Lensherr
D: Homelander]
The players froze for a moment, then all wore strange expressions and shook their heads in unison.
_____
T/N:
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