[15] : The Price of Love, Deep Sinister Find
Homelander was selfish and possessed an unimaginable desire for exclusivity.
He once liked Maeve, or rather, he fancied her unilaterally and wanted Maeve to bring him more traffic, so he considered her his possession.
Anyone who set their sights on Maeve, such as the producer mentioned earlier, would be brutally killed by Homelander.
So, Maeve didn't dare tell Homelander that she actually had a girlfriend outside and that she was bisexual. She feared that if she said it, Homelander would kill Elena just like he killed that producer.
Thus, Maeve left Elena's side without saying goodbye or personally breaking up with her, as if she had suddenly disappeared from Elena's life.
This was to protect Elena because Maeve knew what Homelander would do if he found out about Elena. Homelander wouldn't spare Elena just because of her gender.
He wouldn't let go of anyone who made a move on Maeve.
Maeve and Elena were separated for many years, with no contact between them.
However, today, when Maeve knew that Homelander was no longer Homelander, she immediately thought of Elena. Moreover, Roger wanted to find a safe place for Kimiko, which made Maeve even more eager to see Elena.
The anticipation of meeting her ex-girlfriend made Maeve ignore the potential danger it could bring to Elena. It wasn't until she personally arrived at Elena's house and saw her ex-girlfriend again that Maeve realized the danger this situation posed to Elena was no less than telling Homelander about her.
Maeve didn't want to trouble Elena any further, but unexpectedly, Elena willingly agreed to take care of Kimiko.
The situation was already settled, and Kimiko had no other place to go, so she could only stay at Elena's house.
Before leaving, Maeve told Elena that if she noticed anything unusual, she must call Maeve or Roger immediately and not be afraid of bothering them.
Although before that, Roger needed to add a pocket to his hero suit to hold a phone...
"Now that Homelander is gone, would you consider trying to reconcile with her?" Roger asked Maeve.
He wasn't Homelander and didn't fancy Maeve, so he didn't care who Maeve ended up with, nor did Maeve need to worry about him doing anything to Elena out of possessiveness.
But Maeve responded, "It's too late."
"How can you know without trying?" Roger remembered that in season two of "The Boys," Maeve and Elena got back together even when Homelander was still around and hadn't changed much.
Now that Homelander was completely gone, things shouldn't be worse than in the original story.
But Maeve said, "There's no need to try. I understand Elena. Unless something extraordinary happens, we won't have a chance in the future."
"Oh..." Roger thought of what caused their reunion in the original story.
Back then, Maeve and Homelander went to save a plane hijacked by terrorists, but an accident led to the plane spiraling out of control and crashing into the sea.
Homelander, knowing it was hopeless, decided to abandon all the passengers. Maeve, not wanting to give up, was forced to abandon them under Homelander's threat.
Afterward, Maeve was wracked with guilt that she couldn't share with anyone, leading her to Elena, who eventually took her back.
But the current Maeve...seemingly didn't need to go through such an ordeal.
As Roger recalled the details from the original story, Maeve's phone suddenly vibrated.
Bzzz—
The vibration brought Roger back to reality. Maeve glanced at her phone and told Roger, "It's Ashley."
"Probably urging us to return?"
"Most likely." Maeve said, answering Ashley's call, and soon Ashley's voice came through:
"Maeve, did you find Homelander?"
"Yes, he's right next to me." Maeve glanced at Roger.
"Great, come back quickly. CEO Madelyn wants to see you. Something seems to have happened."
"What happened?"
"Not sure. Just come back first."
Ashley and Maeve ended the call, and Maeve exchanged a glance with Roger, saying, "Ashley said something happened..."
"Something happened?" Roger frowned slightly, calculating the time, and suddenly asked, "…Could it be Translucent?"
At this time, if something had happened, it would be to the long-missing Translucent. The company likely discovered his corpse by now.
Maeve said, "I don't know. Let's go back and see, but we can't take our time getting there."
"Alright, I'll fly you back. Also, I need to change back into my hero suit… By the way, can I change that cape? Homelander's sense of style is appalling. That cape is hideous."
"You'll have to discuss that with the image department. Telling me won't help."
Chatting with Maeve, Roger grabbed her and shot into the sky, flying towards Vought Tower.
…
At Vought Tower, the headquarters of Vought International, in the Ninety-Ninth Floor's Seven Conference Room, Madelyn stood next to a screen, irritably changing channels.
The Deep stood nearby, feeling somewhat at a loss. At his feet, a zinc-coated box lay on the floor.
Honestly, the Deep felt a bit nervous. The atmosphere here seemed a bit off, and with Madelyn present, he didn't even dare snack on his hidden treats.
Of course, given the current situation, he didn't have the appetite for snacks anyway. He could only wait with Madelyn for Homelander and Maeve to arrive.
Before long, Roger and Maeve, now in their hero suits, walked in. Roger, feigning a relaxed demeanor, asked Madelyn, "What's going on? Why the sudden recall? Did something happen?"
"Where were you?" Madelyn first inquired about Roger's whereabouts.
Roger glanced at Maeve, about to explain when Maeve suddenly said, "We were discussing…getting back together, so it took some time."
Madelyn didn't respond, but the Deep exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, the most popular couple is getting back together?"
Maeve smiled at the Deep without saying a word.
Madelyn glared at the Deep but didn't pursue Roger and Maeve's activities further, stating, "We'll deal with the reunion later through Ashley. Right now, we have another issue to address."
"So, what happened?" Roger asked, glancing knowingly at the box by the Deep's feet.
Madelyn signaled the Deep with a look, and the Deep understood, saying, "Ahem, this morning, a friend of mine found this at the port."
"A friend?" Roger raised an eyebrow.
"It's a harbor porpoise. You know porpoises, right? They're adorable creatures..."
"Deep!" Madelyn cut him off, preventing him from digressing.
The Deep cleared his throat and continued, "Ahem, anyway, my friend found this box at the port, and inside the box..."
He paused for dramatic effect.
"What's in the box?" Maeve prompted.
With a heavy tone, the Deep said, "It's Translucent."