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Homelander remained surprised as he looked at Adam. Adam moved slightly forward and sat on a chair beside him. The crew became tense when he did, but they began to calm after noticing Starlight was still there. Annie was also surprised by Adam's sudden entrance. Homelander assumed Adam had come for her. He chose to ignore him and picked up his script instead. Even after Adam's arrival, Homelander remained secure in his own strength; the surprise did not make him feel weak.

Adam settled into the chair without looking at him.

"I'm beginning to understand your character better." Homelander felt surprised by the question, though he continued looking forward.

"Oh? How so?"

"Most of my attention was on you," Adam said.

"I spent so much time judging what you might do that I failed to see the chain closing around me. While I watched you, Vought found a way to catch me." This time, Homelander could not stop himself from turning toward Adam. He knew Adam worked with the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. If Vought had caught Adam through that work, then the FBSA was another part of Vought's control. What surprised him even more was how easily Adam had revealed it. Homelander faced forward again without saying anything.

Victoria was the head of the FBSA. Homelander had never known her as part of Vought, yet Adam had spoken as if that connection was certain. If Victoria was tied to Vought, how had she hidden it? What exactly linked them? Adam noticed his confusion.

"I've found out a lot of things," Adam continued, still looking ahead.

"But I have to admit something about your character."

"The part I understand now is your refusal to accept the restraints placed around you. That same refusal gave me the courage I needed, and I finally decided to break what held me." Adam continued, "In a few days, you'll see me do something completely opposite to my character. I didn't want to do it, but they forced me." Homelander was deeply surprised. Homelander had heard praise from everyone for as long as he could remember. Because it came from everyone, another compliment normally changed nothing inside him.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. The people who refused to praise him belonged to a small group. From Homelander's point of view, they were at least saying what they believed was true. He did not accept their belief as the truth, but he knew it belonged to them. Adam was neither of those kinds of people. He was a Supe who stood at Homelander's own level, so his words carried a different weight.

Hearing praise from him eased something that had remained buried inside Homelander for a long time. Even the depression pressing on his mind felt lighter. Homelander could not stop himself from smiling. He turned toward Adam.

"Oh, so you've become my fan too?"

"I can see that you're slowly getting stronger," Adam cut in without looking at him. Homelander understood what the remark meant. Adam had already noticed the growth in him. He leaned back properly in his chair.

"I thought you were free. You had more freedom than anyone. You could go wherever you wanted and do whatever you wanted. I believed you would always stay outside every trap Vought uses on people." Homelander laughed.

"I had no idea you would get caught in all this too." Adam said nothing. The smile disappeared from Homelander's face. Anger took its place.

"These fucking bureaucrats. These marketing people..." His jaw tightened, and his voice grew harsher.

"They keep trying to bind everything I do. What makes them think they can control me?" He looked at Adam.

"You must understand my position now. So let's make one promise..." Adam finally turned toward him.

"Let's promise that we will kill each other when the chance comes," Adam said before Homelander could finish.

"If either of us gets the opportunity, we take it.... Become as strong as you want. Bring as many Supes as you want. But when you die, I will be the one who kills you." Homelander stared at him in shock. Then he smiled.

"If anyone else said that to me, I would put a hole through their chest right now." His expression became serious.

"But you are different, Adam, just as both of us are different from everyone else." Homelander held his gaze.

"You are right. This rivalry between us will end with one of us killing the other." Homelander was more pleased than he wanted to show. Adam had finally named what stood between them as a rivalry between equals. When they had first met, Homelander had seen Adam as a cheap copy. He had believed Adam had somehow obtained Compound V and gained powers similar to his. Every similarity had seemed like proof that Adam's strength came from the same source in an inferior form.

Even if those powers copied his own, Homelander had been certain they could never match the original. He no longer believed that simple answer was enough. Adam might have been created secretly by Vought. Or a foreign country could also have created him without anyone in America knowing. Homelander was not the only one who had considered those possibilities. Many government officials thought the same thing, and their doubt kept them from fully trusting Adam. None of them knew where his powers had truly come from.

Adam stood up. He did not look at Homelander. His eyes moved toward Annie instead.

"That's the difference between you and me, Homelander. It's true that you and I are unique. We are the most powerful."

"You are proud because of what you can do," Adam said.

"That is what frightens me." Homelander was surprised, but he remained silent and listened.

"I like being with people," Adam said.

"Especially the people who like me and care about me. They are my own people, and I want to remain beside them. Power does not make that need disappear."

"You're the opposite because you're completely alone. Who do you have?" Homelander opened his mouth, but no answer came.