Homelander: New Legacy

[47] : Doubt and Trust

They decided to set off at sunset because it was already close to dusk. By the time everyone was ready, it would be sunset. It wasn't that they insisted on going out at night. Roger understood this, so earlier, he was just trying to lighten the mood with a small joke. Unfortunately, except for Spider-Man Peter, no one else appreciated his humor.

To reach New Jersey, where the message had come from, the fastest and most convenient way was by using the underground railway. So, the group decided to head to the central station in the city center.

The group was traveling in a car that Wasp had shrunk using Pym Particles, heading toward the central station. Roger, seated in the back of the minivan, looked out at the "giant" surroundings and suddenly asked Wasp, "Hope, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?" Hope replied, turning to look at Roger.

Roger asked, "Could you make suits like your father's that can shrink people down?"

"What do you need the suits for?" Hope asked.

After thinking for a moment, Roger explained, "I just thought of something. When I travel through the wormholes, I experience intense compression, like the pressure of deep-sea depths. My body is strong enough to withstand it, and Peter's is too. Dr. Banner can handle it when he turns into the Hulk. But... you guys are just ordinary people. If you really follow me to another world, you might get crushed by the pressure."

"So you want us to shrink and hide in a hard space while passing through the wormhole?" Wasp quickly understood and asked.

Roger nodded. "Exactly, that's what I was thinking."

"Then why not just put us in a large, sturdy object, like a jet... and then shrink the jet?" Hope asked, puzzled.

Roger: "..."

He had indeed overlooked that. It was a much more reliable method than what he had suggested.

At this moment, the usually silent Winter Soldier Bucky suddenly chimed in, "Maybe... he just didn't think of it."

Roger fell silent again.

He admitted that he had fallen into a mental trap. After all, in the fourth Avengers movie, the team had traveled through time by shrinking themselves, so it was the first thing that came to his mind to shrink them into suits.

But speaking of which...

"Hope, you reminded me," Roger said as he looked outside. "You see, I can fly, right?"

"Right."

"So... why not let me grab the shrunken minivan and fly you all to the location from the message?"

"...?"

The car fell silent.

This time, it was the Avengers who were left speechless. The Winter Soldier spoke up again, "...because... we didn't think of that?"

After this blunder, everyone realized just how much convenience their new ally Roger could actually bring them. However, even though that was the case, the Avengers still didn't feel comfortable entrusting everyone's lives solely to Roger.

Because once everyone shrunk, if Roger applied just a bit too much force, it could be disastrous.

It wasn't that the Avengers didn't trust Roger... well, maybe just a little bit. After all, compared to Banner and the others, Roger was a hero they had never known or seen before. Who knew what he might do?

Only Spider-Man Peter Parker fully trusted Roger. Having not yet experienced the harsh reality of Mysterio, he still retained a pure hope for society.

"Alright, everyone, we need to make a decision. Do we take the risk and find a train to our destination, or do I take you there as fast as possible? The choice is yours," Roger said calmly, noticing the group's hesitation.