#g20

“Homelander, you’re taking this the wrong wa-”

“Wrong way? You’re trying to add another member to The Seven without even asking me!”

“He’s not joining The Seven! He’s here to deal with the less delicate matters… the dirty stuff that your pristine gloves can’t be allowed to touch.”

“What? He’s the fall guy?”

“No. He’s the shadow. He’s the man in the dark that no one sees until it’s too late. He’s the one that takes care of the things that your reputation needs to be kept away from. He’s the problem solver.”

---

Homelander stiffened as the new guy walked into the room. He heard Deep gasp and watched as Maeve went incredibly pale.

His shoulders were broad, like his. He walked with purpose, like he did. He didn’t acknowledge the lesser beings in the room. No, pale blue eyes were locked directly onto Homelander's face. His mirror image walked into the room and sucked all of the oxygen out of it. They were the same, but different. His hair was the darker, dirty blonde that John’s naturally was without the bleach. His facial hair was dark and kept short, whereas John shaved and plucked his daily to perfection. The smile… the smile was the same. As dangerous and toothy as a shark about to bite. For the first time in his life, John felt sick. His nostrils were overcome with the scent of gunpowder and blood, along with a masculine musk. Traces of something sweeter could be detected, but John was certain it wasn’t him that the scent belonged to.

“Homelander, meet Edward.” Madelyn gave a bright smile as she motioned towards the man in black.

“What the fuck is this?”

“Vought knew you were strong from a young age… but they needed to make sure there was insurance just in case they did accidentally go too far one day. So, Vogelbaum replicated your DNA."

“I-I don’t understand.” Homelander stood toe to toe with his doppelganger. He felt like he was drowning. He’d always been enough, he’d always been the best, and now he was faced with something that shouldn’t exist. They doubted him?

“Things have been getting muddied. The water is murky, Homelander, and we need that to stop.” He knew Madelyn was referencing the few instances where his publicity hadn’t been squeaky clean. “So, we use Edward to do things in the dark whilst you’re out and in the public eye. If someone decides to say Homelander did it then we have the evidence that that is impossible, because Homelander was right in front of all of those cameras.”

---

“Well, this family reunion has been fun, but I need my bag.” As if on cue, an intern lugged a black suitcase behind him. “Be careful.” Edward chided, his eyes flashing in warning, as they tugged a bit too hard and caused it to tilt. “I’ll take it from here.” He grabbed the handle and effortlessly hoisted the luggage on to the table. He waited for the intern to disappear before carefully unzipping the top.

“Holy shit.” Maeve exclaimed as he reached in and grabbed a handful of hair, a flushed tear-stained face became visible. The girl had a gag in her mouth but she took in deep breaths through her nose as she was finally released from the small, dark space.

“There’s my girl.” Her face looked tiny being cupped by his black gloves. “Tut. I told you not to panic, it was only temporary.” More tears spilled down her face as she tried to nod and agree with him. “We have a whole new life ahead of us.”