Herman was, of course, quite magnanimous.
After all, he had the same bad habit of prying into other people's memories.
It wasn't a good habit.
But it was one every psychic fell into sooner or later. Even a saint like Professor Charles—hadn't he spent his youth constantly peeking into others' thoughts?
So when Jean Grey tried reading his mind, Herman understood her curiosity. He didn't hold her accountable. More importantly, even if he wanted to… there was no way he could stand against the Phoenix Force.
Bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Nothing shameful about that.
...
Herman took Jean and the mutant students around the set and, drawing on his knowledge of The Boys, explained the drama to them. Every character had depth. The good weren't entirely good, and the bad weren't entirely bad.
That was the show's greatest appeal… Of course, the twisted Homelander remained the biggest draw. When Skye found out Herman had ultimately put on Homelander's costume, she teased him for days, saying all his earlier resistance was just melodrama.
Since the students already saw Herman as one of their own—and maybe even imagined the show as some kind of effort for the future of mutants—plus his earlier flashy display of power, they now hung onto his every word.
Even Jean felt a pang of jealousy. She'd taught these kids for years, and yet they had never looked at her with such admiration.
...
Once Skye and three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived, filming for The Boys officially began. Everyone's acting was solid, and things progressed smoothly.
But some unexpected hiccups still happened—Jean already knew Natasha and the others were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
The mutant students didn't. Which was why, during the fight scenes, they were floored by how skilled Natasha and the others were.
After all, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters trained X-Men. The students had combat classes, and many thought themselves impressive fighters.
Who could have guessed…
The moment filming began, they realized they couldn't even keep up with three actresses.
"Has Hollywood gotten this competitive?"
The students sharing fight scenes with the agents were stunned. How could they train at the academy for so long, only to be outclassed by actors?
"Your form's wrong. It should be like this." Melinda May, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. instructor, naturally fell back into the habit of coaching others.
She explained seriously, her tone leaving no room for argument.
That alone was enough to make the proud mutant students feel ashamed. Many regretted not working harder at school.
If they couldn't even handle actors now, how would they ever fight dangerous mutants in the future? A number of previously confident kids suddenly looked deflated.
Herman caught Jean smirking quietly at the sight. He strongly suspected she'd let the students take this hit to knock them down a peg.
...
Meanwhile, the students weren't the only ones under pressure.
The three agents weren't doing much better. Natasha and her team had already confirmed the truth about the "actors."
They were all mutants. The whole set was filled with mutants.
Acting alongside a bunch of ticking time bombs, the three agents felt the weight pressing on their nerves. One slip, one uncontrolled burst of power, and they were finished.
Normally, actors had to pretend they had superpowers. Here, it was the opposite—they had to pretend they didn't.
The agents feared some student would get too immersed in the role and let their powers slip... and then? There wouldn't be a "then."
This mission was insanely dangerous.
Agent Hill had already reported this situation to Fury multiple times.
But…
The mission couldn't be called off.
The moment he learned the entire cast was made up of mutants, Nick Fury—the bald motherfucker himself—immediately took the situation far more seriously.
"Professor X's star pupils are all showing up… this series clearly isn't ordinary." Nick Fury instinctively suspected a conspiracy.
Natasha and the other two agents held the same view.
Otherwise, why would so many mutants gather in one place?
As for what exactly Xavier's Academy hoped to achieve, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s experts had studied it over and over but still couldn't figure out what benefit this show would bring mutants.
That only made Natasha and the others more cautious. They had to uncover what plans that world-ending mutant was hiding.
...
During filming, they occasionally gave the students pointers on their movements. In truth, it was just a way to build rapport.
Between casual chats, Natasha and the others tried fishing for information. And while the rookie students were no match for seasoned agents' tricks, the reality was they didn't know Charles' intentions either.
All they knew was that filming this series would somehow improve the situation for mutants.
When it came to their identity as mutants, though, the students were highly guarded. The agents could dig out only scraps of information. The one person who might actually know something, Jean Grey, didn't even acknowledge them.
That ice-cold beauty.
Aside from the occasional exchange with Herman, she mostly stood off to the side with her arms folded, silently watching the kids film.
"They're not good people."
One day, Jean suddenly warned Herman.
Probably afraid he didn't know Natasha and the others were agents.
"What!? They're not good people!?"
Herman exaggeratedly widened his eyes, but quickly realized he was overacting. He eased into a faint, casual smile.
"Just kidding. Don't take it seriously. I've known all along. Of course they're not good people—what good person becomes a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?"
Jean hadn't expected that answer.
"You knew their identities?" She looked confused for a moment, then her expression shifted to realization.
"Of course. With powers stronger than mine, reading their memories must've been easy." In her mind, Herman was already on Professor Charles' level.
Heh.
Herman didn't reply.
"If you knew they were agents, why let them in at all?" Jean pressed, unable to understand.
From her perspective, dogs of the state should be avoided at all costs.
"In my country, there's a saying: 'The bolder the man, the greater the harvest.' Them being agents doesn't stop me from putting them in front of a camera."
Through the lens, Herman watched with admiration as Agent Maria Hill, playing Queen Maeve, executed a series of difficult stunt fights.
"Look at that performance! Could I get this from some overpaid starlet for ten million?"