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Before leaving Vought Corporation, Norin used large-scale telepathy to blur the memories of almost every ordinary person who had seen him.
Then, he replaced his image with that of a stranger.
The people would now think it was just another superpowered individual who attacked Vought's headquarters—not Norin.
The Seven managed to kill the invaders, but at a cost. Several superhumans were severely injured in the fight.
Still, The Seven claimed victory once again.
Norin made sure all videos related to him were deleted.
This wasn't hard for someone who wielded the full power of Jean.
As for The Seven and Medelyn, Norin left their memories mostly intact. He only made a few minor adjustments—very small ones.
He wanted them to feel fear.
Fear was the best way to control people like them.
It was the ultimate deterrent.
Fear would keep them in line and make them do what he wanted.
Since Norin planned to establish his own base in this world, he couldn't let things spiral out of control.
Even without tapping into the Phoenix Force, his current strength was more than enough. He could use his thermal vision to destroy an entire city in half an hour.
And if he unleashed the Phoenix Force? Wiping out human civilization would be effortless.
But was it necessary?
Destroying everything would only waste time. People would just rebuild, and he'd be back to square one.
A simpler solution existed: telepathy.
By controlling a small group of powerful individuals, Norin could control the world's resources.
And he wouldn't have to worry about consequences.
This wasn't Marvel or DC.
In this world, Norin was unstoppable.
His first goal was to take over Vought.
The Seven would serve as his enforcers.
They were the darkness this world needed. Some tasks required their brutality.
If anyone dared to resist, Norin would let The Seven handle them.
For now, Norin couldn't alter the will of every person on the planet. He only had a fragment of the Phoenix Force, not its full power.
Before meeting with Edgar, Norin had a conversation with Homelander. He didn't say much—just a warning to stay obedient and honest. If not, Norin would replace him with someone more compliant.
At first, Homelander didn't understand.
But when Norin left and the crowd began cheering, it hit him.
He realized Norin had tampered with the memories of everyone around him—hundreds of people—and they had no idea.
Homelander remembered Norin's words: "Be obedient, or I'll replace you with someone who is."
That meant Norin could alter his will without him even noticing.
Under the blazing 30-degree sun, he felt nothing but cold.
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On the other side,
Medelyn and The Deep finally breathed a sigh of relief as they watched Norin leave.
The A-Train, lying motionless on the ground, half-opened his eyes to make sure the enemy was gone, then struggled to get up.
"Fuck! That guy was brutal! He broke both my hands! Next time I see him, I'll—"
"What?"
The cold voice of Homelander cut through the air.
The A-Train looked up and saw Homelander's glowing red eyes, as if daring him to finish that sentence.
He immediately swallowed his words. He had no idea what Homelander was thinking.
Didn't he just want to say something tough to impress him? Why did it feel like he'd stepped on a landmine?
If he hadn't reacted quickly and used his hands to block the attack, it wouldn't have been his hands broken—it would've been his chest. He'd done his best, damn it.
In the distance, Tranclucent also stood up, clutching his stomach. Two gaping holes in his abdomen bled profusely.
Thankfully, his superhuman durability kept him alive. Otherwise, that blow would've killed him.
Norin hadn't even used his full strength against the Locomotive and the Invisible Man. It was just a casual strike, and it still left them half-dead.
The Deep, hiding behind the crowd, saw the battle was over but still hesitated to move. He was debating whether to make a run for it when he caught Homelander's warning glare.
"Get over here."
He obeyed, his legs trembling as he walked over.
Queen Maeve approached as well, showing no fear of Homelander.
Norin had already recognized her and used his telepathy to assign her a task: monitor the others and report back to him later.
When Homelander saw Queen Maeve, he wanted to kill her on the spot. But the thought of Norin stopped him.
Fear flooded his mind again.
He took a deep breath and said, "From today on, Queen Maeve is the captain of The Seven. Everyone will follow her orders. Any objections?"
His tone left no room for argument.
The team was stunned. They didn't understand what was happening with Homelander.
Queen Maeve had defected to the enemy.
Wait—did that mean Homelander had surrendered too?
Did their leader just switch sides?
The Deep's mind raced. He wondered if he'd been too cautious. If he hadn't run away and had surrendered before Queen Maeve, maybe he'd be the leader now.
What a mistake.
He glanced at Queen Maeve out of the corner of his eye. He'd always thought she was just a brute with no subtlety. Turns out, she was better at reading the room than he was. Never judge a book by its cover.
---
Manhattan Villa District
Stan Edgar, CEO of Vought International, paced anxiously in his villa, waiting for news from Medellin.
Something felt off.
Today's events had spiraled completely out of his control.
Who was this guy with powers rivaling Homelander's?
How strong was he? Where did he come from? What did he want?
And what was happening with The Seven?
Why hadn't Medelyn reported back yet?
Surrounded by guards, Edgar paced the living room, glancing at his phone every few seconds. But there was no update from the company.
This wasn't good.
Boom!!
The sound of gunfire erupted outside, followed by the blaring of alarms.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Edgar's face turned pale. His worst fear had come true.
The Seven had failed to capture the enemy, and now the enemy had found him.
Edgar racked his brain, trying to think of who he might have crossed who had the power to strike back like this.
But it didn't make sense.
Vought's enemies had either been eliminated or were too weak to pose a threat.
If it were the military or police, he could handle it.
But this? This was clearly someone with superpowers.
Could it be 'him'? (TN: Probably Solder Boy.)
No. He couldn't fly, and he didn't have heat vision.
Despite the armed soldiers stationed inside and outside the villa, Edgar felt no sense of security.
As the head of Vought, he knew all too well how terrifying someone like Homelander could be.
Capturing someone like that was nearly impossible without resorting to nuclear weapons.
The hundreds of guards around him were just for show—a false sense of safety.
Edgar waited anxiously for the inevitable.
When the door opened, he saw a sight he would never forget.
The men he'd stationed outside followed a stranger into the room.
It was then that Edgar realized the gunfire outside hadn't lasted long.
And the guards inside the villa? They stood frozen, doing nothing as the intruders approached.
"Who are you?" Edgar asked, though he already had a guess. The stranger likely had mind-control abilities. But he'd never seen anyone control hundreds of people at once.
Psychics had appeared before, but none had demonstrated power like this.
Edgar would never have allowed someone like this to exist.
"My name is Norin. Didn't you say you'd hand over Vought to me for free?" Norin's eyes glowed red.
"Of course, Of course!" Edgar forced a smile. "I'll have the contracts drawn up immediately!"
As Edgar hurriedly contacted his lawyer, Norin sat on the sofa like he already owned the place.
This was the correct use of telepathy.
Of course, this only worked in a world like The Boys. The stakes here weren't as high as in Marvel or DC.
If he went too far, the world wouldn't be able to handle the destruction.