[38] : Worrying for Nothing

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"So, you acted impulsively after all," Tek said as he held a knife resembling a small electric saw near Roger's neck. The two were in one of Tek's secret bases.

Roger rolled his eyes and replied, "Who cares? I already killed him; there's no way I'm going back to apologize."

"If it were you, an apology might actually work. Even if Vought is unhappy with you, they wouldn't want to lose a cash cow like you," Tek remarked, shaking his head.

Roger had killed Black Noir, seemingly severing ties with Vought. But in reality, if Roger wanted, he could easily return to Vought and continue being Homelander. Vought would never abandon their most perfect experiment. In fact, since the incident, Roger's phone had been ringing nonstop with calls from Madelyn and Maeve.

Leaving Maeve aside, it's clear that Madelyn was calling to check on the situation and to find a way to keep Roger. Compared to Black Noir's death, losing Roger was something Vought couldn't accept.

But Roger was done playing along.

He'd spent all this time in Vought, biding his time to bring the company down without affecting himself. Vought would never suspect that Roger would betray them. He could have continued being Homelander. But with his plan to discredit Vought ruined and Vought uncovering the mess left behind by the original Homelander, Roger found himself increasingly frustrated.

He realized this was probably a "gift" from the original Homelander, a part of Homelander's personality that had been passed down to him. The growing frustration made it unbearable for Roger to keep being dominated by Vought. After all, the original Homelander had wanted to break free and rise above Vought.

So, when he saw that Tek Knight was about to be killed by Black Noir, one of his trump cards against Vought, Roger became inexplicably furious. Without hesitation, he killed Black Noir, saved Tek, and severed ties with Edgar.

After doing this, he didn't regret it; instead, he felt a strange sense of relief, as if this was what he should have done all along, without needing to play games with Vought for so long.

As for the contracts he had signed with Vought, Roger could completely ignore them. The only thing he might worry about was Vought freezing his bank accounts.

"Alright, it's done, so there's no need to keep fussing. But, are you sure this thing can cut through my skin to remove the chip?" Roger asked, looking at the device in Tek's hand.

He had come to Tek Knight to remove the tracking chip embedded in his neck. The chip, no bigger than a fingertip, was used to track the location of all Vought superheroes, including Starlight, who had just joined The Seven.

Homelander had one as well, but it was implanted when he was a child, back when his skin wasn't as tough as it is now. A special diamond-tipped tool was used to cut his skin and insert the chip. But now, Roger's skin had become far harder than most materials in this world, so he doubted that Tek Knight's device could remove the chip.

Tek shrugged and turned on the device, which made a sound similar to the tool used by dentists to grind teeth. He said, "I don't know. Let's give it a try. If this doesn't work, you might have to try using your teeth."

"You think I'd break my own teeth to remove a chip?"

"Well, then there's no other option unless you plan on wearing a suit made of tin foil all the time."

"..."

Roger took a deep breath and said, "Alright, go ahead and try."

"If this can really cut through your skin, it might hurt a bit, so brace yourself," Tek cautioned.

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