Chapter Text
Hughie was the second Hugh Campbell of his family and the third supe of it. John Campbell was one of the unfortunate few caught during World War II and experimented on. By the time that the Allied Powers managed to shut down the lab, it was already too late for him and he ended up carrying home the ability to see and interact with the spirits of the dead. Hugh Campbell was born with his ability – the ability to slide right out of people’s perception. They could be looking right at him, even speaking with him, and then fail to see or remember that he’d been there at all. It was useful to make sure that no one found out anything that he didn’t want them to know as it even worked with cameras. Hughie was just a bit different though.
Hughie wasn’t just the descendant of a supe created in a Nazi lab, but he got it honestly from both sides with a little too much extra. His mother was a Vought supe, she had spent a whopping one night with his father and then showed up six months later with premature Hughie. She didn’t want to be a mother and left Hughie on the doorstep – he was lucky that he wasn’t picked up by any random yahoo. Being born premature left him struggling without the support of a NICU unit and on a doorstep. His father was a homebody at the time and quickly found him. It was then that Hugh Campbell had to make a choice.
Hugh Campbell knew what had given Hughie’s mother her own abilities, the Compound V that Vought secretly dosed a chosen few with. He also knew that putting Hughie in the hospital was asking for trouble if any potential powers happened to pop up. But when you have the ability to slip in and out of wherever you want without notice – several new opportunities open up. John watched Hughie as Hugh worked his magic at a Vought lab. The problem was that he didn’t know how much was needed and he certainly wasn’t going to take any chances.
A few extra trips to a low population NICU saw his apartment kitted out with everything he needed to make sure that Hughie would be fine. It was a struggle to figure all of the equipment out and get everything set up with a Compound V drip, but he was nothing if not determined to make sure that his child was safe and healthy. John covered the time that Hugh was at work, making sure that the drip never stopped and that Hughie was fed and changed as needed. It was a paired effort that paid off when Hughie reached the correct weight and didn’t need any of the NICU equipment anymore – it was mysteriously returned once it was no longer needed.
(B)
Hughie grew up with a couple of cardinal rules from his father. Never tell anyone that he or his father had powers because Vought wouldn’t be happy about it and the gangs would probably come after them. Don’t demand anything – they found out early on that anything Hughie demanded happened, anything. Demanding a sunny day to demanding that his favorite cartoon play over again on television – that had caused some commotion when the television channel executives put out a statement about how the station must have been hacked as the Looney Tunes played for three hours straight. Hughie was also not allowed to meet any other Supes. The first and only time that his father took him to the Supe Con, he had almost been kidnapped by every Supe that he made contact with and it took all of Hugh’s power to lose them on the way home.
There were some detrimental effects to Hughie’s rules, of course. Being constantly told that he wasn’t to demand anything at all made it to where he even had problems with asking for things – even simple things. He ate what his father made without ever asking for anything different, he had trouble making friends as he was afraid that he would influence them and was far too terrified to ask anyone out on a date. Not being able to attend any of the supe conventions or events and having to run away during all school supe events certainly didn’t do him any social favors either. As a result, Hughie was largely considered the weird, quiet boy that no one really knew and who never stood up for himself.
There were a couple bright spots, there always have to be at least one or two. Hughie did have two friends. Anthony was his protector and didn’t seem to care that Hughie didn’t stand up for himself as he was more than happy to do it for him. Later on, he was joined by Robin who seemed to make it her life’s mission to make sure that Hughie got what he wanted, even if he wouldn’t ask for it. Neither one of them questioned why he didn’t go on the field trips where Superheroes were supposed to show up – they weren’t all that fond of them either. Hughie was somewhat less than surprised when Anthony and Robin started dating in high school – though he was surprised that he never felt like the third wheel.
(B)
“I’m going to have to have words with that man.” Robin was trying out blonde highlights this week, and they glowed a bit as her hair bounced with her agitation. Hughie and Anthony both followed behind, making sure that she couldn’t see their grins. “You are the only one in that store that makes sales and actually knows what the hell they’re talking about Hughie, and he treats you like dirt! That man wouldn’t even have that business if you didn’t work there!”
“Gary treats everyone that way, perfect equality.” Hughie shrugged with a grin. “I’ve actually been working on a side business with installations. Gary won’t offer it, because he doesn’t want to spring for work vehicles – but I’ve been offering to do it after work and picked up at least five to ten a week since. People don’t mind paying in cash if they don’t have to figure out how to set up their surround sound.”
“I knew you had it in y…” There was a rushing sound in both Anthony and Hughie’s ears as Robin seemingly disappeared right in front of their eyes the moment that she stepped off of the sidewalk. It took what seemed like forever for them to notice the blood, bones and viscera seeming to float in the air for a split second before splashing on the ground. In shock, they both followed the line with their eyes and found A-Train at the end – covered in the remainder of what was once Robin.
“I can’t stop…I can’t stop.” A-Train looked twitchy and barely took the time to look at Anthony and Hughie before speeding back off.
Twin screams burst out of both Anthony and Hughie as the reality of what just happened hit home as the hordes of bystanders descended to catch a glimpse of collateral damage.
(B)
Robin’s service was closed casket for obvious reasons. Anthony and Hughie stood semi-guard over her coffin as a seemingly endless array of people milled through. Anthony got tenser and tenser as most of them just wanted to see if they would be allowed or could sneak a peek at what was left of Robin’s body. Their whispers were driving him mad. “I heard that she popped like a balloon and that the blood hung in the air because of the back draft before it hit the ground.”
Hughie noticed the clenching of Anthony’s jaw and he could feel his own stomach turn. He waited until his father left the venue for a breath of air and cleared his throat. “Anyone that did not know Robin personally will leave and go home. You will not gossip about the accident and what you think happened. You will respect Robin and her friends and family.” Hughie’s voice barely managed to stay steady as he issued his first demands in his adult life and he held in his flinch as all of the gawkers’ eyes unfocused slightly before clearing as they left quickly and silently.
Anthony had never heard Hughie demand anything or even ask for anything and was too busy staring in wonder at Hughie to notice the eyes of the gawkers and didn’t think it was a case of anything other than shame that made them leave. Any normal, sane individual would feel bad about being called out like that at a funeral, right?
Robin’s other friends and family members were just so glad that the horde had left that they didn’t question the reason, nor did they bring it back up when Hughie’s father came back in. Anthony just clapped Hughie on the back and used the sudden peace to find somewhere to sit and think.
(B)
After the service Anthony pulled Hughie after him after letting Hugh know that he would drop him back home the next day after a boy’s night to grieve. They plopped down on the sofa with a beer each and Anthony flipped the television on mid-fall.
They were both immediately bombarded with the sight of the Seven’s handler and A-Train situated at a press stand with the tag line “Civilian killed in bank robbery chase.”
Anthony’s hands tightened into fists, and he exhaled loudly through his nose as A-Train’s voice filled the room. “I was on the way to a bank robbery, and she was just in the middle of the street. I couldn’t go around her in time.”
Anthony snorted and took a more than healthy swig of beer. “Bullshit! She had just stepped off the fucking curb! They’re trying to make it sound like it was her fault that he ran through her like she wasn’t even fucking there!”
Hughie glanced at Anthony and the television – noticing that it was a live feed. The volume was pretty high, but he whispered just in case. “A-Train will tell the truth about what happened with Robin.”
“There was no bank robbery, I lied. She was just a step off the curb and I wasn’t watching where I was going and I was going way faster than I should have been in the city.” It looked like he would have continued but the handler pulled them back as the whole group of reporters collectively lost their shit.
Anthony’s beer hit the table and he leaned forward with a manic look in his eyes the moment that the doorbell rang and the feed for the press conference ‘mysteriously’ cut. Anthony grinned at the television before standing at a second rapid knock. “Hold your horses, I’m coming.”
The door to the apartment opened to reveal the stereotypical legal rep down to the generically colored tie and bland expression. “Are you Anthony Sheridan?”
Anthony’s eyebrows went up before a possible reason for this visit popped into his head. “I am and I take it that you were sent by Vought to buy my silence about the death of the love of my life.”
Hughie shuddered a bit as the man’s bland expression didn’t even shift. “I am deeply sorry for your loss. Vought is not trying to buy anything from you. We only wish to compensate you as best as we can for the loss of your loved one and money is our greatest resource.”
Anthony snorted and waved the man in as a couple of doors in his hallway started to crack open. “I’m sure that you say that to all of the collateral damage sufferers from your company’s Supes. I also know that your ‘help’ will likely come with an NDA.”
The man settled into the chair of the dining area and eyed Hughie before his eyes registered a glimmer of knowledge and Hughie knew that Vought had him on the line for an NDA too. “An NDA not only protects the heroes of Vought from the negativity that could come from misunderstandings regarding accidental deaths, but also protects you from the anger of the public over the potential damage to their favorite heroes. Vought is more than prepared to offer not only $40,000 to you Mr. Sheridan and $20,000 to Mr. Campbell; we are also more than willing to offer free counselling as well as relocation assistance and even employment to help not only ease the loss but allow you to start fresh somewhere else as well.”
Anthony snorted and eyed the checks that the man had laid out as well as the two NDA agreements with their respective names typed in. “Hughie, you’re the brains of this outfit with legal and tech – proof these for us.”
Hughie stood and strode the table quickly – noting the surprise that flashed through the rep’s eyes at his height. There were a few things that Hughie picked up from the contracts immediately – they had to be off of a template with the somewhat generic and multi-use terms and that they would be airtight about any communication regarding Robin’s death and A-Train. They wouldn’t be able to tell anyone how she died other than ‘it was a tragic accident’. “It’s off of a template and it’s pretty airtight. A single word about what really happened to Robin will give them the right to not only sue but have us arrested too. The counselling isn’t optional either – it’s a requirement at an approved ‘Collateral Damage Sufferers’ group meeting that Vought runs. I wouldn’t even sign this if A-Train hadn’t just spilled the beans on live national television.”
They both found it funny when all of the blood left the rep’s face and he twitched. “What?”
Anthony smiled and leaned against the other side of the table. “Your hero just said that there was no bank robbery, and that Robin was a step off the curb. Neither one of us is going to sign one of these and you can return those checks to the Seven’s handler.” Anthony plucked the checks and contracts off the table and walked to the door. “Out you go.”
(B)
Anthony honestly wished that he wasn’t a waiter tonight – he honestly wished it every night, but more so now that everyone wanted to know about Robin. He ended up begging one of the others to cover the rest of his shift just to get the hell away from all the idiots asking if he remembered the moment of impact – people suck. Anthony packed his shit and hit the back door so hard that the person waiting on the other side almost got hit.
The man was scruffy and there was a fairly deep scar through one of his eyebrows. He was about Anthony’s height but a lot broader and had a smirk on his face that Anthony would have loved to smack off since it looked like the man was actually waiting on him – great.
(B)
“So, this shady looking dude took you into a Supe Bar where a tiny Supe jumped into a woman and Ezekiel was in a Manwich with three dudes.” Hughie pinched the bridge of his nose and counted down from ten and then twenty. “After seeing that he took you to the security room and you saw a recording of A-Train joking about swallowing Robin’s molars with another Supe.” Hughie turned decidedly green and Anthony contemplated grabbing the trash can. “This man, Billy Butcher, wants us both to agree to the NDA’s and payoffs to plant a bug in the most protected building in the city.”
Anthony shrugged and took a sip of the still hot coffee that Hughie had handed him before the story. “It wasn’t his idea to have you come along as well – just one of us would work, but Vought wouldn’t budge unless it was both of us. They don’t want a loose end with the disaster A-Train caused with his bout of honesty. I was able to talk them into doubling the payoff amount and made the counseling optional. The only downside is that I had to make a reason to have it in the Vought Tower – so A-Train will be there to apologize in person.”
Anthony was fully expecting Hughie to baulk hard, he never wanted to be within touching distance to a Supe and he wasn’t surprised when Hughie’s head started shaking before the words finished meeting the air. “I do not want to be in the same building as the most powerful Supes in the world and they don’t have enough money in the world to make me want to be in the same room with A-Train of all people.”
Anthony scooted forward on the couch and grabbed both of Hughie’s shaking hands. “Hughie, I know that you don’t like being around Supe’s and with everything that happened – I’m not looking forward to it either. This is a chance to avenge Robin though, to make Vought pay for it in more than just a few thousand dollars that they won’t even miss.” Anthony squeezed Hughie’s hands and smiled when he squeezed back. “If I could do it alone, I would, but they specifically said that it had to be both. I’ll do all the talking; you know I will. All you will have to do is follow me in, sit pretty and sign when it’s over. Please do this for Robin – I can’t stand the thought of him walking around with no consequences and I know you can’t either.”
Hughie grimaced and thought about all of the times that Robin and Anthony had to fight his battles for him. It was time for him to start carrying his own weight. All he had to do was make sure not to touch any Supes – most of them wore gloves anyway, so it shouldn’t be too hard. “For Robin – just keep me as far from A-Train as possible and I’ll be fine.”
(B)
“You want me to spy on the two nerds from A-Train’s biggest and most public fuck up?” Translucent leaned against the side of the desk and locked eyes with Stillwell. He honestly couldn’t stand the bitch – but dealing with her was necessary and the product points alone would see his kid through college.
Madelyn sighed and rubbed her temples at the thought of all of the PR hours that they were throwing at the mess. A-Train’s point losses were still hovering around a ten point drop even with the extra man hours. The race would be a saving grace or last nail depending on who won. “There is something more going on with those two. A-Train works well off of a script – even if he absolutely has to have one to function. He was following it that day and then suddenly couldn’t lie about what happened and blurted out the truth. We’ve tried to have him stick to the script in the Tower and he still can’t do it.”
Translucent’s eyes widened. “You think one of them might be an unregistered Supe? Capable of making someone tell the truth from any distance? Shit, that would be bad to have out there with a grudge.”
Madelyn groaned quietly and leaned her head back. “Precisely. We already ran a complete background on this Robin’s family, and it came back negative. They have all been to the hospital at some point and have had bloodwork with negative results. Both of the other two are unknowns. The Sheridan boy had been healthy with no major hospital visits and no close living relatives. The Campbell boy was a homebirth who’s never been to a hospital and had all of his primary care done at a clinic – but no bloodwork either. They are the most likely suspects and I would prefer to find out which one it is quickly.”
“Are we looking to recruit or eliminate?” Translucent was hoping for option one frankly. One of the only things that he never argued with Homelander about was in the line of thinking that Supes were pretty much a completely different species at this point and should stick together. Mind you, enemies were enemies, but this Supe was taking it out on just the Supe that deserved it.
Madelyn took a deep breath and glanced at the photo of her little boy on the desk. “Recruit is the only option that we’re considering right now. With all the attention on this Robin’s death, both of them would be missed if they were to disappear. This ability to completely remove someone’s ability to lie at distance and about such a specific subject is also invaluable – especially if it is just the tip of the iceberg. A-Train can still lie about everything else, just not what happened to this Robin and it doesn’t seem to be fading.”
Translucent whistled – that was damn fine control. “There are two of them – so am I going to swap or rotate which one I’m watching?”
“Mr. Sheridan has agreed for them both to come to the Tower to sign the NDA’s and to get a personal apology from A-Train later today. I would like for you to observe them both while they are here and then continue to follow the most likely suspect first.” Madelyn tapped her fingers on her desk and tilted her head slightly. “Mr. Sheridan originally only agreed to come himself, but it was made clear that it had to be both – which makes me lean a little more toward Mr. Campbell being the Supe if it truly is one of them. Taking an unregistered Supe into the headquarters of the people most used to spotting and managing Supes would be a last resort.”
(B)
Homelander hummed from where he was walking around the Tower two floors down from Stillwell’s office and smirked as one of the lowly humans scuttled past him. A Supe that could exercise some kind of control over even another Supe – as pathetic as A-Train was – would be an excellent resource. Unregistered Supes also tended to be more flexible and powerful than many of the lightly dosed babies that Vought favored. The new ‘Starlight’ was a perfect example. Mildly powerful, but fairly generic and naïve in a way that irritated him.
Homelander would have to have a talk with Translucent about this latest mission. The potential recruit would need to be brought in the right way to make sure that Vought couldn’t sink their claws too deep. Supes shouldn’t be loyal to those lower than themselves, it was insulting.
(B)
“Here’s the plan.” Butcher held up what Hughie realized instantly was a fairly low-tech bug. “This little beauty goes into your phone case. It won’t be picked up in the metal detector and the dobbers working security won’t see anything but the phone. Once you’re in – a quick trip to the bog, remove the plastic back, flush the plastic and palm the bug. When you get back to the room, a little stretch to plant the bug and Bob’s your uncle. Easy.”
“I just have to avoid being noticed planting a bug in a Tower full of Supes and those used to working with them. Not to mention that I will be doing it in front of A-Train.” Anthony rolled his eyes and took his phone back after Butcher handed it to him with the bug in the casing. “If Homelander is in the building all he would have to do is use his x-ray vision and he’d have us.”
Butcher grinned and shrugged. “The executives keep their Supes on short leashes, dogs that they are. Probably got tons of rules about what powers they can use around the Tower and you won’t be giving him a reason to look.”
(B)
Translucent pinged the two potentials the moment that they entered the building from just how out of place they both looked. He could identify them from the files that Madelyn had forwarded to him, but it was obvious who they were even without it.
Anthony Sheridan was a very well put together and attractive young man that seemed a hundred percent comfortable in his skin. He joked with the security guards and took all of the attention from his companion completely. Smooth skin tone and interesting features paired well with his outgoing personality. Translucent immediately placed a negative mark for him being the unregistered Supe for that alone – unregistered Supes were often hard to pick out of a crowd while this man would be an easy spot.
Hughie Campbell was nervous and quiet, especially when compared to his companion. Taller than most but whipcord thin, his features were elongated and softer than Translucent was expecting from the height. He didn’t engage in any conversations and looked like he would rather be facing down a firing squad. A positive mark was added to Hughie mental scorecard, and it was immediately followed by another when Hughie’s eyes lingered on the corner he was standing in longer than normal. Supes, observant ones anyway, had the tendency to know when they were being watched and from where.
Translucent followed at a comfortable distance but was forced to take another elevator up with just how observant Hughie was. Every time that he got within six feet of the potential, he looked like his muscles were going to snap from the tension. He already knew which one he was going to be following from the Tower. Sheridan seemed to know that something was up with Hughie but didn’t seem to be picking up on anything else.
When he restarted his trip behind them after the elevator ride the tension poured back into Hughie but he was managing the signs better. Sheridan probably gave him a pep talk on the way up. They were shown into the conference room and Translucent slipped in while they were offered water while they waited for A-Train to arrive. A-Train was likely being scripted and prepped. He still couldn’t lie directly about what happened so they were working on him redirecting the conversation to how sorry he was about it. They found that he had to focus on how sorry he was for the loss of points rather than the girl to allow that little lie to work – it just couldn’t be a full lie.
Sheridan seemed perfectly content to stand in one place, leaning against the table while Hughie sat in the seat occupied by Lamplighter first and now their newest naïve member, Starlight. Hughie looked mildly comfortable in the seat, at least he didn’t look as ready to bolt. “I refuse to touch him.”
Sheridan snorted a laugh and looked back to where Hughie was almost pouting in the seat. “Wouldn’t dream of making you. I’ll handle interactions with the murderer and you just make sure that they didn’t modify the NDA from what was agreed upon. You think he feels even the slightest bit bad?”
Hughie snorted and swiveled the chair back and forth. “Not in the least. He might have if he had done it right after getting out of the projects, but now he’s been trained not to. Can’t have effective ‘heroes’ that feel bad about killing people – accidentally or not. Vought is about the bottom line not saving the world. Makes a good front though ‘We make heroes, super’.”
“Got to love the cynicism.” Sheridan smiled and received a return smile before the doors opened and Translucent moved to behind Hughie as the annoying PA – Ashley, and the legal rep entered at a fast clip, followed by a bored looking A-Train. Translucent fought the urge to facepalm as A-Train even failed to look like he felt bad – spy work was definitely not in his future.
“Now this apology is not indicative of any culpability on Vought’s or A-Train’s part and cannot be used to assign fault.” The legal rep managed that in one breath and sat both of their NDA’s in front of Hughie before turning to A-Train and motioning him forward.
A-Train almost rolled his eyes and stepped up to Sheridan. “Sorry about your girlfriend.” It was the sorriest excuse for an apology that Translucent had ever heard.
Sheridan’s smile was almost glacial as his hand shot forward and Translucent could see that he was using a lot of force with the way that A-Train’s brows furrowed. “I’m sure you are, even if it’s only because you had to come in here to say it.” He released A-Train’s hand without dropping the ice smile.
A-Train looked over to Hughie but Sheridan moved swiftly to cut off his line of sight. “That’s all that I wanted and Hughie already heard you just fine. You can go now.” It was highly amusing to see A-Train flounder before the PA grimaced and led him out by the elbow. “Hughie, go through those NDA’s while I hit the head, yeah?”
Hughie nodded, already digging through the NDA for Sheridan before the legal rep stood and motioned to the door. “I’ll lead the way. Wouldn’t want anyone to wonder why you are here that shouldn’t after all and the two bathrooms are pretty similar and aren’t marked for gender.”
It was a breach of protocol to leave someone unattended in the team room, but it was also against protocol to leave someone free to roam. Translucent was glad for it as it left him alone with Hughie to observe him when he was fairly alone.
The second that Sheridan and the rep left the speed of Hughie’s reading picked up to just under supe speed and Translucent could almost feel his desire to read faster. Another positive mark to the Supe odds. A small notepad came out of a pocket and he started writing notes at the same speed that he was reading and Translucent noticed with amusement that he was working out the loopholes. Doing a damn fine job of it too.
As he started focusing completely on the contracts, he relaxed and Translucent drifted closer. There was a smell of electricity around Hughie that caught his attention and a feel of power just under the surface. He was about to reach out to touch when Sheridan reentered the room and he was forced to step back as Sheridan took up the post behind Hughie. Translucent idly noticed that the notebook was already out of sight.
“You have the chance to go through them?” Sheridan was leaning over Hughie’s seat with one shoulder in his grip – it seemed to have a calming effect.
Hughie nodded and signed the one with his name on it quickly. “The counselling was moved to optional and everything else is the same as the first one. Nothing more underhanded than usual.”
Sheridan nodded and signed his own name before sliding the NDA’s to where the rep was hovering and accepted the two checks that the rep practically forced into his hands. It was amusing to see how unnerved the rep was with both of them looking at them. “Well, this has been an absolute blast, but we have better places to be.” Sheridan waited while Hughie stood and then they both followed the rep from the room with Translucent following just a bit behind.
(B)
The trip out was quicker than the one in and it looked like neither one of them wanted to hover around. Sheridan moved toward an antique car in fairly poor condition and looked back at Hughie when he wasn’t followed. “You coming Hughie?”
Hughie looked up at the sky for a minute before shaking his head. “No, I think I’ll head to the park for a bit. Clear my head.”
Sheridan nodded and continued on to the car. Translucent noted that the driver looked fairly familiar and seedy as hell. A bookmark to check up on later. Following Hughie through the crowded New York streets was difficult, but he was an old hat at it by now. The crowds thinned as they neared the park and Translucent was amused to note that out of all the benches in the city, Hughie sat at the one with their newest member of the Seven in street clothes.
Translucent didn’t have much of an opinion on the girl except that she was still a child. Hopeful that she would actually make a difference, save the world. Judging from the tears in her eyes, she had probably already run afoul of the Seven’s sexual assault case waiting to happen. He was a creeper – he knew himself well – but he never used force, didn’t have to.
(B)
Hughie sighed as he sat down and only then noticed how upset the girl next to him seemed to be about something. It reminded him of how much the last week had sucked. “Are you alright, that seemed like a really tough call?”
The girl looked at him and her smile looked painful. “I’m fine, just having a bad day.”
Hughie gave his own painful looking smile and looked down at his hands. “Me too. Is it a work thing, or a life thing?”
The girl closed her eyes for a moment and then looked right at Hughie. “It’s a work thing. You?”
Hughie grimaced and tightened his grip on his knees. “A life thing.”
The girl seemed to contemplate something before speaking again. “You know how you have this image of yourself, of who you are.” She smiled and looked darkly amused. “I thought that I was so strong, made of steel – a fighter. Then I was put in a horrible situation with this asshole and all I could hear was my mother’s voice saying that the show must go on and I didn’t fight. And now I just feel sick. Partly because I did it but mostly because it turns out that I’m not who I thought I was.” It seemed to take a few seconds for her to realize what all she had just said and to whom – some random guy. “Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to just dump all that on you.”
Hughie just smiled and tightened his hands on his legs again. He wanted to offer comfort, but he was wary of touching anyone without being 100% sure that they weren’t a Supe. “No, it’s totally fine that you dumped that on me.” He was quiet for a moment. “Listen, do you like your job?”
The girl smiled. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”
Hughie smiled back. “And it’s a good job? You’re not selling kids smack?”
“No, it’s a great job.” The girl’s face turned wistful. “I could help a lot of people.”
“Thing is, I used to know this girl who would go ice skating with me and our friend Anthony all the time at Rockefeller Square.” Hughie smiled a bit as he remembered. “Her and Anthony both would just charge straight for the center. They weren’t good and they fell, like a lot. She would always say that ‘just because you fall on your ass, doesn’t mean that you have to stay there’.” Hughie waited for a moment and saw when the girl started really thinking about that. “So, you fell on your ass. That’s not who you are, so who are you?”
The girl smiled and shrugged. “I’m a fighter. I’m gonna fight. Yeah.” She started nodding. “I’m going to take that son of a bitch’s head clean off his body.”
Hughie felt amused with how close that was to something that Robin would have said. “Okay, wow. That was…okay…cool. A little scary but cool.” Hughie decided to throw caution to the wind and held his hand out. “I’m Hughie by the way.”
Hughie recognized his error when he felt her hand in his and a connection instantly form. Her eyes lit up for a split second but she didn’t go all crazy like the others had. “My name’s Annie.”
(B)
Translucent grinned as he got the confirmation that he needed for both why Hughie didn’t want to touch A-Train and for who the Supe was. He watched them for a bit until he noted the meeting text pop onto Starlight’s phone. He didn’t need to keep following Hughie and there were a couple of things to go over in the meeting.
Translucent slipped into the Tower and made it to the meeting five minutes early to start going over the product numbers. The uniform itched when he was using his ability but Maeve complained when he went naked.
Translucent only vaguely paid attention to the entrance of Starlight, late despite receiving the notice at the same time that he did. It appeared as if Hughie’s words or touch did something for the girl’s backbone as she managed to politely threaten Deep. He threw in his standard bitch about how much copyright infringement was hurting the bottom line – it pissed him off when it effected his son’s nest egg. Homelander made his grand show of being heroes for the new girl and they all resigned themselves for a drawn out meeting with ‘who they saved’.
(B)
“What did you learn?” Homelander kept him behind like he knew that he would while the others seemed all too eager to leave.
Translucent turned his ability off and joined Homelander as they made their way to the roof – the only place not monitored. “Hughie Campbell is our guy. Nervous to be in the Tower like any unregistered and picked up reading speed as soon as he was ‘alone’ in the room. Met Starlight on a park bench right before the meeting.”
Homelander hummed and shifted. “I take it that he didn’t know her, bit too new to the scene for instant recognition.”
Translucent nodded. “The Deep apparently already played his shit game with her. Hughie gave her the advice that saw her grow a backbone today. Didn’t introduce each other until the end of the conversation and Hughie made a mistake.”
Homelander turned toward Translucent with a more interested look on his face than his teammate had seen in years. “A mistake?”
Translucent smirked. “The entire time that Hughie was in the Tower he did not look directly at A-Train and outright refused to touch him. When he introduced himself to Starlight – he looked her dead in the eyes and shook her hand. I don’t know exactly what it did, but her eyes lit up and the backbone that he grew back with his words went to steel. He’s definitely our guy and a lot more talented than Vought thinks.”
“What did you get from the other one and the situation?” Homelander turned his gaze back over the city and Translucent would lay odds on him scanning for Hughie.
“The other one is human, but one with a backbone. Handled A-Train better than Stillwell. Left with a real sketchy guy in what I would bet was a stolen car. My guess is that the human was put up to this by someone with an extra-large chip for us. Money is on bugging the team room to try to get dirt.” Translucent snorted and put his hands behind his back. “The only ones dumb enough give something away there would be the Deep and A-Train.”
Homelander nodded and then his plastic smile crossed his face. “Maybe we should give them something to see how far the rabbit hole goes.”
Translucent’s eyebrow went up and thought about what they could do. “Getting A-Train on the hook for V would be easy, he’s a junkie with that side piece of his. Might damage Vought’s stock price depending on how effective they are, but it shouldn’t affect our personal points unless they’re very good. Could have a discovery moment with the bug and send someone after them, but that could backfire depending on who we send and how many resources they have. The death of a Supe would do a lot of damage if it got out, though I wouldn’t mind seeing a few meet their ends.”
“The V issue might come up anyway.” Homelander still hadn’t decided on what he was going to do about the Baltimore mayor. Threatening Stillwell with that gem would normally have him ready for blood, but an unregistered Supe was more interesting. “It apparently made its way to that slimeball Baltimore mayor and he used it in bargaining with Stillwell. If he knows than there’s a good chance that the only thing stopping the public knowing is a lack of proof. A-Train’s stupidity will eventually pull back the veil anyway, we should have a little more control.”
“No way to guarantee that they’ll take the bait though.” Translucent ruffled the back of his head and mulled it over. “Could throw out a B squad supe friend of A-Train’s to give them a more believable source after discovering the bug. One that knows just enough but isn’t dangerous enough to let too much go under pressure, but that might turn Campbell to the other side so to speak.”
Homelander nodded and clapped a hand on Translucent’s shoulder. “I’ll leave that in your hands while I deal with Stillwell and how much she should know about our new friend.” Homelander knew that Madelyn would expect him to come to her with Translucent’s report. They might be at each other’s throats personality wise, but they shared a common disdain for the company and for humans in general.
(B)
Homelander entered Madelyn’s office without knocking to find her gazing at her drool machine’s picture. “Translucent brought back his current report and I thought you would like to hear what he has so far, even if he’s just started.”
Madelyn gave her normal maternal smile that used to mean something to him before the ‘baby’. “Of course. It was bad timing with the weekly meeting but he’s always been good at intelligence gathering.”
Homelander gave his standard smile and walked to her office windows. “As of the moment he can’t say for certain which of the two is the Supe, but all evidence does point to it being one of them. Mr. Campbell showed stress at being in Vought, which is typical of unregistered but was otherwise unremarkable. Mr. Sheridan was more comfortable in the building and showed lower amounts of fear or awe toward A-Train than most humans. This could be the result of his own abilities or the events of his girlfriend’s demise. He followed Mr. Campbell, but was unable to obtain any additional information before being called back for the weekly meeting. I have sent him back out to keep an eye on them both. I believe he has a Make a Wish kid and a team up in his schedule. A-Train is clear for the kid as long as he’s scripted and Starlight would probably love to get out a bit.”
“That’s great work and thinking.” Madelyn came up beside him and he went through the motions of accepting her false affection – listening to her heartrate to confirm the lie.
(B)
Translucent wouldn’t say that he hated A-Train, he barely spent any time with the idiot, but he wasn’t a fan of people with zero self-control. He had his benders, but most of them were covers for the rare opportunities to spend some time with his son. Vought protection kept him safe but made it a bitch to visit, even invisible. If Maverick was any less his son it wouldn’t be worth it, but the kid was smart and knew how to make use of guard details and limited communications. He loved his brat.
“What the hell did you want Translucent?” A-Train was jittery and Translucent knew that he was probably already desperate for a hit.
“I have to recon on the two men from your recent little stunt.” Translucent injected as much of his irritation as he could into his voice. “Homelander had to have Stillwell clear my damn schedule and I’m going to miss prime marketing to monitor your mess.”
A-Train looked like a petulant child. “It’s not like I meant to run through the bitch. I misjudged my damn speed and couldn’t turn in time. Stillwell has already jumped me for the accident and for not being able to stick to script on it. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
Translucent managed to position them both close to where the bug was – he confirmed earlier – as it was a pretty low power model. “Was your damn visit to Popclaw worth it?”
Seeing A-Train’s twitchy response was almost worth bringing it up without the bug to play to. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right, you want to tell the spy that he doesn’t know what you’re doing. You visit her pretty damn regularly for a relationship that’s supposed to be over.” Translucent enjoyed the way A-Train looked around like Stillwell was going to pop up like some supervillain. “I know for a fact that that was where you were that day, during one of your ‘deliveries’. What would Stillwell say if she knew that you were feeding Popclaw’s habit and probably your own?”
A-Train jumped and whirled to face where he thought Translucent was. “Man, this isn’t funny. I get that I fucked up with the run through and I’m sorry that she’s cleared your schedule, but I don’t know what you want. I need to focus on winning this race to get my points back up, everything stops after that.”
Translucent walked up behind A-Train and clapped an invisible hand on his shoulder. “It had better. The last thing we need is your little scandals dropping all of our points just by associating with you. If that happens, well, who knows what Homelander would do.”
(B)
In an old Cadillac, Billy Butcher gave a manic grin and plans started to form. The nerd and his handler did a bang-up job with the bug job and he would need at least Frenchie and Mother’s Milk to do this right. He’d already gathered that Campbell was the tech and legal guy – something his team lacked he would admit – and the Sheridan bloke was a guy after his own heart. Frenchie was the weapon’s man and Mother’s Milk was always the planner. He’d have to get them in separate though. Campbell would make a good draw for Frenchie, the over affectionate sod would probably become a caretaker – too sentimental, that one. Mother’s Milk would be a tough nut but since no one’s been hurt so far and they still have a potential smoking gun, might be able to pull him in with it being a different rodeo.
(B)
Hughie stared at Anthony like he had two heads. “You want to join this ‘Butcher’ to go after A-Train and Vought?” He felt like he needed a stiff drink, but one of his ‘rules’ was to never get drunk – not a good idea for someone like him. “What happened to ‘we’re just going to plant a bug’?”
Anthony pulled the face that he knew that Hughie couldn’t say no to and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “C’mon Hughie. Butcher picked up some chatter that made it sound like A-Train was visiting his girlfriend before he killed Robin and it almost sounds like he was high. Could you imagine the chaos it would cause if that were true? One of the vaunted Seven not only killed a girl, but did it while high as a kite. Don’t you want to make him pay?”
Hughie could almost feel the migraine. “Why does he need us? Isn’t he supposed to be some kind of FBI guy?”
Anthony rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. “Apparently he’s more of a contractor that works with them sometimes. He needs concrete proof that something fishy is going on before they’ll get involved. He’s got some other teammates that he’s going to pull in for it, but he could use the extra hands. Please?”
“Fine, but I reserve the right to blame you when this goes wrong.”
(B)
The abandoned looking warehouse was not inspiring confidence. Butcher knocked a tune out and grinned back at them both.
The door opened to reveal a relatively scary looking woman with long black hair that looked bored as she looked over Butcher and then Anthony. When she looked Hughie over there was a glimmer in her eyes. She invaded his personal space and ran her hands over his face while he stood stock-still, afraid to move. It lasted for several moments until she suddenly spun and entered the warehouse.
Butcher just smiled even wider. “You’re going to love this guy.” Oh yeah, Hughie could so see that happening…
(B)
Apparently Frenchie was a weapon runner, joy. There was an entire table full of guns in various build states while a man with a buzz cut listened to loud French music and assembled them to the music – yeah, they were going to love this guy. The woman turned the music down, gave this Frenchie a cigarette and then somehow had a glass of water for Hughie. He just smiled and took it – he did not want to piss off the creepy lady.
“So, you have the 40k you owe me? After all, why else would you show your face here?” Great, Butcher brought them to someone that he owed a lot of money to that was a gun runner.
Butcher just smiled that manic grin of his. “How would you like to double your money with the hottest tip we’ve had in a tick?”
Frenchie snorted. “The double of zero is zero. Who are those two?”
Butcher just kept on smiling as he motioned to where Anthony and Hughie were standing on the other side of the table. “These two worked with me on a little job.”
Frenchie looked them both over. “And they’re still alive?” Hughie would like to mention that his confidence level in Butcher just dropped into the negative.
Butcher just seemed even more amused. “We’ve worked together and you’re still in one piece.”
“Am I?”
“Look, do you want to know the job or not?”
(B)
Once Frenchie listened to the tape he looked back at Anthony and Hughie. “You actually managed to bug the Tower and not die. I am impressed.”
“You know, this doesn’t exactly make me feel comfortable with this whole operation.” Hughie didn’t care that the others were now looking at him in amusement. “It wasn’t that hard but you all make it sound like death was immanent the whole time and now you want to do something that sounds dangerous – we’re all going to die.”
Anthony sighed and wrapped his arm around Hughie. “C’mon Hughie. Popclaw is a C squad Supe at best and I doubt it’s going to be that hard to get some dirt on her and A-Train. We’ll be fine.”
“If I die I will haunt all of you.”
(B)
Butcher mentioned setting up a van for surveillance and took Anthony with him, leaving Hughie with Frenchie. Frenchie hummed as he finished one of the guns on the table and looked Hughie over a couple of times before he spoke. “How did you end up working with Butcher? Your friend holds much hate in his heart, he is no surprise, but you are too soft and kind for this work Petite Hughie.”
Hughie shifted and ate another bite of the sandwich that the scary woman had brought him – it was pretty good. “A-Train ran through Anthony’s girlfriend and my friend Robin. He broke out with the truth on television right before they showed up with the NDA and check. We refused so when Butcher convinced Anthony to plant the bug – Vought demanded that we both do it at the same time. I went and somehow got dragged into this too.”
Frenchie hummed and moved around the table to be closer to Hughie while slowing his hands. Hughie found himself memorizing the movements without thought. “I can see your friend wanting revenge, as I said, there is hate in him. I do not sense that hate in you, why continue with this?”
Hughie mindlessly reached forward and started putting the guns together just to have something to do with his hands. Frenchie just hummed in approval and picked up another. “Anthony and Robin have been my only two friends for as long as I can remember. Anthony was the one that defended me physically when needed. His temper isn’t that great, but he kept the bullies away from me. Robin was there for emotional defense, making sure that I never let them get to me with their words and she calmed Anthony’s temper. I know that Anthony is in a lot of pain, and he doesn’t have that support now. I know that he probably won’t stop until he makes A-Train suffer, but I can’t leave him to go down that path alone.”
Frenchie looked over at Hughie with a look that he couldn’t identify before smiling and returning to what he was doing. “You are a good friend, Petite Hughie.”
(B)
What Hughie was not expecting when he entered the generic moving van was for a very large man to make an attempt on Frenchie’s life immediately. There was shouting in English and French from them both while Butcher held the large one back and Hughie somehow found himself holding Frenchie – with knife in hand – back without thinking about it. Anthony just looked amused from the back of the trailer portion. “Can someone tell me what the hell is going on here?!”
Butcher had that damn grin on his face again. “It’s all water under the bridge.”
The big man did not take that well. “Water under the bridge? Tell that to Mallory’s grandkids. Tell them that it’s water under the bridge.”
Frenchie pulled against Hughie’s hold and he had to actually pick him up to keep him back. His height certainly came in handy. “It was not my fault.”
Anthony looked between the two. “Who’s Mallory?”
Butcher pulled the big guy back and glared at Frenchie. “Alright, knock it on the head now!”
There were a couple seconds of quiet before the big guy’s ringtone started going off and Hughie did his best to ignore the obvious spouse conversation as he released a much calmer Frenchie. Both Butcher and Frenchie lost it when the man made kissing noises over the phone. Anthony just shook his head while Hughie tried not to make eye contact. “Fuck all of you.”
Butcher controlled his grin and made the two obviously not on good terms men shake before doing the introductions. “Hughie, this is Mother’s Milk. Mother’s Milk, this is Hughie Campbell. The other one that helped bug the Vought Tower. Now we have work to do.”
Hughie would have said something about the name, but honestly – he was already worn out. He checked out for a bit and only came back to himself when he noticed all the crap that they had for ‘surveillance’. “Where did you get this shit, Circuit City?”
Mother’s Milk laughed. “Right? He’s a cheap bastard.”
Hughie looked to where Anthony was giving him a pointed look and sighed. “You don’t need to sneak in anywhere. All I need is her ISPN number and any smart device or camera in the room can be hooked up. I bet she has one in every room.”
“Even the bathroom.” Frenchie looked entirely too interested.
“Not the bathroom Frenchie.” Hughie couldn’t stop the smile and it mirrored the one on Frenchie’s face. Butcher seemed happy with the joking, but Anthony did not. “I only need in for five minutes. In house service is my specialty.”
(B)
Translucent was actually enjoying himself. Watching the humans was more interesting than he thought it would be. The French one was particularly amusing and he now had so much information that he could use to bury them later. After all, how many Mother’s Milk could there be in New York – not that he would be surprised if there were a couple with the current generation’s naming habits. The potential Supe was also endearing. Going through all this trouble for a human that was obviously going to go in a bad way – Translucent had seen that look before and it never ended well.
He kept a good enough distance and made sure to make it up the fire escape to Popclaw’s window before Hughie and Mother’s Milk entered her apartment with a service man guise that should not have been that easy. Mother’s Milk laid on to the fan mode to draw attention from Hughie and the attention whore fell for it hook line and sinker before going to her room – probably to celebrate having fans still. Hughie was quick on the computer, only briefly pausing when her desktop picture of her and A-Train popped up. They would likely have to get rid of A-Train to keep Hughie, not a big loss. They were in and out in five minutes with the only true hiccup being a run in with A-Train outside her door which just proved A-Train was a failure when he didn’t even notice who Hughie was, just pathetic.
Parking himself outside of the van he had the chance to listen in to both the conversations between the humans and between Popclaw and A-Train. He had already known that A-Train was an addict but judging from Popclaw – he was in it bad. It might be understandable, losing this race after his poor ass showing with that Robin girl would end his career on the Seven, but V would end his life if not handled correctly. The shit gave Supes their powers, but in grown Supes it could strengthen their powers, but had severe emotional/mental side effects and if you didn’t have durability as a power – the stress could fry your organs. Not pretty.
Translucent smirked at the speed that they put everything together and made for the Tower as soon as he had what he needed for step two.
(B)
“They’re efficient at least, or A-Train is really that pathetic.” Homelander huffed a laugh and shook his head. “Probably both. I actually can’t wait to see what they pull off. Make sure to keep your eyes on Hughie, we need something to pull him in with.”
(B)
Hughie felt more than a bit nervous about being in the same stadium as so many of the Seven as a reporter while Anthony was shadowing Butcher. That was a pairing that was bound to end up bad, Christ. The actual reporters were irritating and Hughie ended up in the front despite the fact that most of the other reporters were shorter than him.
Butcher gave the signal for Frenchie to start and Hughie’s heart almost stopped as Starlight walked around the corner toward the locker room and it was Annie – he had touched a member of the Seven. He jolted as she neared the door and was seconds away from revealing Frenchie. “Annie!” She turned and the partially opened door softly closed. “Wow, I didn’t know you were Starlight. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”
Hughie was a little offput by how focused Starlight’s attention was on him immediately. “I’m kind of glad that you didn’t honestly.”
Hughie knew that he needed to keep her busy. “How about you let me buy you an overpriced beer.” He ignored Butcher’s voice in his ear. ‘Bloody hell, Hughie, you know Starlight.’
Annie smiled and turned to face him fully. “Throw in some overpriced nachos and you have a deal.”
(B)
“I can’t believe you’re Starlight. I mean you just seemed like a normal girl.” Hughie was just a touch nervous about her hyper focus.
Annie looked down and fiddled with her hair. “Yeah and now you know that I’m a freak.”
Hughie felt his heart lurch at a term he could remember using in his own mind and discreetly turned his radio off. “No, I’d be a complete hypocrite if I thought you were a freak. I just meant that I didn’t get any Beyonce vibes from you on the bench – getting them now though.” He smiled as she laughed.
“I was messing with you, but what do you mean by being a hypocrite?” Annie was smiling and Hughie was hoping that this wasn’t going to blow up in his face later – it definitely was.
“One of the first lessons I learned was to never use my powers.” Hughie smiled as he popped a nacho in his mouth and watched Annie’s jaw drop. By the time that he finished chewing she was almost recovered. “My father made very sure to let me know what going public that young would mean – so it would make me a huge hypocrite to consider you a freak all things considered.”
Annie shook her head and leaned forward. “What can you do? Why have I never heard of you? Are you in any team?”
Hughie laughed and shook his head as he leaned back. “My powers are a little hard to explain, they’re a little too temperamental to use outside of emergencies. I tend to avoid the limelight for the same reason. You’re a beacon of light, but Vought would have a hard time selling me so no teams either.”
Annie raised her eyebrows and smirked. “Prove it then – promise I won’t tell anyone.”
Hughie snorted and looked around at their secluded corner. This was a bad idea, but he did know a couple of things that he could do that wouldn’t completely out him – simple things that he practiced when he was little. He cupped his hands together and mentally demanded what he wanted. He had been ten when he finally realized that a mental command worked just as well as a verbal one. When his hands opened there was a palm sized crystal on the table between them with Annie’s exact expression from seconds before right in the middle. It wasn’t an etching, but a perfectly clear picture. “Mostly a useless part of my ability, but it makes a killer gift.”
Annie picked the crystal up and twisted it from side to side. “It’s 3D, like a memory caught in a crystal. It is kind of useless for fighting crime, but awesome anyway.”
(B)
Translucent smirked invisibly and shook his head. This kid was out of this world. First, he’s got some form of permanent mind whammy/truth thing, then there was the whole glow thing with Starlight and now making a memory crystal from absolutely nothing. Incredible.
(B)
Watching Popclaw shooting up V and going nuts was terrifying. She went from a mild mannered girl to a ball of anger and violence. Hughie felt his stomach twist as she screamed while lifting weight.
MM was shaking his head at the screen. “She’s been at it for hours.”
Butcher leaned forward and shook his head. “How’d you know?”
MM pointed to one of the other cameras – the living room one. “See that red case. That’s a fix kit if I ever saw one and she told A-Train that V is a slippery slope – she’s got experience. I figure you put two and two together and you’ll get nasty.”
“Isn’t this more interesting than watching over a bunch of juvies?”
(B)
Anthony sneered as Popclaw successfully seduced her boss. “I break my back for minimum wage plus tips and this bitch is paying her rent with sex. Talk about gender inequality.”
“Seriously dude, so not the issue here.” Hughie sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
A short while later saw Hughie struggling in Anthony’s grip with a hand clapped over his mouth as Popclaw smashed the man’s head with her thighs. He was in such a panic that he couldn’t even form a demand in his mind before it was all over. Anthony released him and he shook as he fell to his knees. “We just let that man die.”
Butcher and Anthony both sneered. “So you can run across the street and up four flights of stairs in seconds like some kind of Supe?” Butcher’s voice was beginning to grate on Hughie’s nerves and he completely blanked out the rest of the conversation, curling up in a ball in a corner of the trailer.
Frenchie motioned for Butcher to take Anthony with his instead and sat next to Hughie. “Petite Hughie, the man’s death is not your fault. Such a man, who would allow himself into that position knew the possibility of his death. We will now use his death to learn what we need to strike at Vought. That will be on Butcher and us, not you. Breath with me now.”
MM watched with a bit of shock as Frenchie coached Hughie through a breathing exercise that he was surprised that he even knew. The main thought in MM’s mind was that they needed to find a way to get Hughie the hell out of this mess or he wasn’t going to make it.
(B)
Translucent was on the phone before Butcher and Anthony even made it up to the apartment. Homelander picked up quickly and hummed twice to confirm that he was in a clear area. The phones that they were using were encrypted models bought outside of Vought. “They have Popclaw in a vise. Stupid bitch did a shot of V and smashed her landlord’s head like a watermelon during rent sex – just nasty.” Translucent was glad that he just heard it rather than watched it. “She’s A-Train’s first visit after a V pull so she’ll be able to give up the location of that pet project in Chinatown. They’ll have V but not the info to back up what it’s for.”
Homelander hummed again and Translucent could see the unconcerned look on the prick’s face. “Making life difficult for Vought isn’t my problem, they can handle their own crap. What about our Hughie?”
Translucent smirked. “He’s most definitely a Supe and his power’s more than we think it is. He distracted Starlight when they were searching the locker room during the race. Hughie not only had her completely wrapped around his finger, he also confessed to being a Supe and created a crystal with a 3D image in it from absolutely nothing. Something tells me that he’s not just an unregistered Supe – he might be more than that. He’s soft hearted though – a caregiver not a fighter. These idiots are going to throw him off a mental cliff. If we’re going to get him loose – we’ll need to get things moving soon.”
“Right now, he still has some attachment to the human boyfriend of the girl and he’s creating a bond with our naïve little Starlight. Continue to monitor the situation, but if it looks like he’s about done for, do what you have to in order to bring him in – in one piece.”
(B)
Hughie was starting to really worry about Anthony. He was starting to act more like Butcher than himself. He could understand being angry at A-Train, but Anthony was starting to view all Supes as the enemy – it didn’t bode well at all. Even MM and Frenchie were starting to give Anthony strange looks after his half hour bitch fest about a Deep radio commercial during the stakeout of the Noodle Shop. “You should explore Chinatown Anthony. The three of us will keep watch.” Frenchie smiled and motioned to the side door and his smile widened when Anthony huffed and exited the van. He watched as he disappeared in the crowd. “Now the air is much lighter. Has he always been so…Butcher like?”
MM snorted and Hughie leaned back to give it some thought. “Yes and no. He was always the fighter of the three of us. Robin was the confidence and the drive while he was the one that would defend physically. Robin used to say that she was the heart, I was the brain and Anthony was the brawn. Losing her is like losing his compass and I don’t think it will stop with A-Train.”
Frenchie hummed and scanned the crowd before looking back at Hughie. “What about you Petite Hughie? What do you think about Supes?”
Hughie shifted uncomfortably and didn’t notice the gleam in Frenchie’s eyes. “They’re humans with powers. Some are bad and some are good. The system though, with all the shit that Vought parades them through and having Vought train them to not care about collateral damage has to do a number on them. I want A-Train to suffer because he killed Robin – not because he’s a Supe.”
MM suddenly leaned forward and cursed. “Noodle guy is packing.”
Frenchie immediately turned to the door. “Finally!”
Hughie slid out of the van and looked to where Anthony had disappeared in the crowd. “Should we get Anthony?”
MM shook his head and started for the Noodle Shop. “No, having someone like Butcher around is only good if you’re trying to get caught or kill a whole bunch of people. I would rather keep my ass alive and slip in quietly.”
The three made their way into the Noodle Shop and followed the man at a distance and watched as he discreetly made his way to the basement. “We have to go down there don’t we?”
Frenchie cocked his head to the side. “Do not worry Petite Hughie.”
Hughie rubbed his forehead. “Could you not call me that? I’m 6’1”.”
MM smirked and motioned to the door and they made their way down with MM first, then Hughie and Frenchie following behind. MM and Frenchie were packing while Hughie was debating whether it would be worth it to demand discretion – they would probably notice if no one saw them even if they were standing in front of them though.
The workers were huddled together in one room playing some kind of card game with liberal amounts of alcohol, so it actually wasn’t that hard to sneak by. The most promising room was just beyond them with tons of boxes thrown around and they all split up to look for the V. Hughie mindlessly drifted around the room – there was something or someone here more than usual. He had had the feeling of being followed for a while now, like there was always someone there but now it was like there was someone new nearby – someone much angrier.
Hughie almost missed the tiff between MM and Frenchie, but he did not miss the gunmen coming into the room screaming or the small woman that immediately shot out of the room and attacked one of the gunmen. She leapt onto him and then dug her fingers into his eyes. Hughie felt the distinct urge to puke. “Oh my god!”
There was even more screaming as she ran to the next gunman and used her bare hands to practically rip his stomach open and kept at it until the last gunman ran into the room. He took one look at the woman and the dead men and killed himself on the spot. Hughie shook with horror and eyed where Frenchie and MM were already in the cell that she apparently came out of. They were motioning to him but there was a very small chance that he would reach that cell before she ripped him open like tissue paper.
She turned to look at Hughie and he looked right back. Choices lined up in his head – so many, but which one was right? “Hi, I’m Hughie. You already killed the ones here that hurt you, I’m not one of them. There’s no one out there to keep you here. You won’t attack anyone else here.” What Hughie did not notice was the way that the woman swayed as her eyes half closed before she turned and ran out of the basement. MM was too busy focusing on Hughie but Frenchie noticed and nodded to himself with a smile.
MM was the first back out of the cell and he looked Hughie over with a critical eye. “It’s a good thing that you’re about as threatening as dandelion fluff.”
Hughie’s nose scrunched up and he swore he could hear a huff of laughter from somewhere behind him. “Normally I would at least put up a token protest, but yeah, it works.”
Frenchie smiled manically and clapped Hughie on the shoulder. “You and I can search down here while MM waits out by the van for Butcher and Anthony.”
MM turned to Frenchie and an eyebrow went up. “And why am I the one that gets stuck babysitting the homicidal maniacs?”
“It is your job, no?” Frenchie’s grin widened as MM’s scowl deepened. “I am the crazy one, Hughie is the brains, Butcher is the loose cannon, Anthony is the grunt and you are the counsellor to keep us from going completely mad. Who better to wait for the least predictable ones?”
MM pointed to Frenchie and then kept looking him right in the eyes as he pointed to Hughie. “For once, stick to the plan and keep the kid safe.”
The grin dropped off of Frenchie’s face and he nodded solemnly. MM stared a couple of seconds more before nodding sharply and leaving the basement. Frenchie waited until he was sure that MM was out of range before looking right at Hughie. “So, you are a Supe, no?”
Hughie sputtered and reeled back but Frenchie just smiled at him so he waited a moment to allow for his heart to calm back down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Frenchie shook his head and started looking through boxes quickly. “You are not a very good liar, Hughie. There is a feeling about you like electricity and power. Cherie noticed it about you. The girl did not leave because you were harmless, as you are not, but because you told her to.”
Hughie groaned and rubbed his temples. “You cannot out me. Anthony and Butcher would kill me even if MM would probably be alright with it.”
“Oui, Butcher has a hatred for all Supes because he hates Homelander and considers all Supes as belonging to him. Your friend is the same, but with fewer years to become dangerous.” Frenchie made a whistling noise as he found a syringe with V in it. “Your secret is safe with me Hughie, but you should not be here with them.”
“Anthony protected me through most of my childhood.” Hughie knew that it was a weak excuse. His father had already had a panic attack over the phone and threatened to bundle him up and take him to Alaska. “I can’t abandon him in that much pain, and I can’t just forgive A-Train either.”
Frenchie sighed and nodded. “You are too good of a friend. I shall have to watch you and make sure that you’re not hurt by Anthony or Butcher.”
(B)
Anthony was in rare form when MM sent him down to the basement while he continued to wait for Butcher. “So, they had some drugged up Supe bitch down here that went all psycho when you opened the door?” Anthony looked at the bodies and shook his head. “Damn, almost sorry I missed it.”
Frenchie looked at Hughie and raised an eyebrow, Hughie sighed and shrugged. “Wasn’t something I would want to see again. She almost crushed one guy’s head and used her bare hands to destroy another’s whole torso. The last man was so scared of her that he shot himself – not exactly family friendly.”
Anthony just shrugged and bent down to get a better look at the one where the woman had smashed his torso in and Hughie fought the urge to puke again. “Lot a rage here. Just what the world needs a crazy Supe woman with rage issues, not that much different than the other ones though.”
Frenchie sneered and was clutching something in his hand. “Would you not do the same to those that imprisoned you and injected you with strange things? Why is such behavior unacceptable for a Supe?”
Anthony huffed and stood up to glare down at Frenchie from his greater height. “She was a fucking Supe! She probably deserved to be in that damn cage! A-Train and Popclaw shot that V shit up willingly, so I doubt it’s all that bad for the Supe. They get away with everything and nothing ever happens to them!”
As Anthony’s voice rose Hughie backed up until he hit a wall and tried to control his breathing – in and out. At some point Butcher and MM came down and the situation calmed to mostly grumbles and speculations about finding out where the woman went. Hughie just checked out until his phone started chirping and Butcher, of course, noticed.
Butcher sauntered up to Hughie and held his hand out imperiously. Hughie contemplated refusing for a split second before he caught the negative shake of Frenchie’s head. It took seconds for Butcher to cycle through the messages. “Been talking with Annie – Starlight?” An eyebrow raise from Butcher and a constipated look passed over Anthony’s face.
“Kind of. While we were at the race we were talking and she gave me her number.” Hughie made sure not to lock eyes with either Butcher or Anthony. Starlight had almost reminded him of a fangirl by the time that the nachos were gone. He didn’t know if it was the fact that he touched her or what, but it was a little creepy. “She’s been talking with me off and on since.”
Butcher pinched the bridge of his nose but it was Anthony that spoke first. “Dude, I know that she’s decent to look at, but she’s a fucking Supe.”
Butcher made a shushing motion at Anthony but didn’t seem to really disagree. “So, here’s the job. You’re going to go out with Starlight and hack her phone. The Tower bug will be picked up by the Vought security team on a sweep and wasn’t that high quality anyway. You hack her phone and we’ll hear everything the bint talks about, savvy?”
Hughie shifted and desperately wanted to take his phone back. “She’s not a bad person, she’s not like A-Train.”
Butcher and Anthony both suddenly looked pissed off. Butcher was the one to speak, but Anthony was nodding along. “She’s a fucking Supe Hughie. She’s just like the rest of them. There’s no such thing as a good Supe.” Butcher stalked out of the room while Hughie paled and watched as Anthony scowled.
“He’s right Hughie.” Anthony glared at Hughie’s phone where Butcher had shoved it back into his hands. “A-Train is just one of them and they all need to go down. They aren’t human and don’t deserve mercy.” A chill passed over Hughie’s spine and he felt the urge to puke. “We’ll go after psycho bitch, and you bug this Supe’s phone. I know you don’t have much of a backbone, but just think about Robin.”
Hughie felt his vision go a little red and had to take a deep breath and focus on Frenchie frantically shaking his head. “Whatever. Looks like I’m going bowling.” He ignored Anthony as he went to follow Butcher and started typing on his phone. Robin would be so ashamed of Anthony, and he had no intention of shaming her memory – he was not going to bug Annie’s phone.
(B)
The bowling alley was fairly hopping, and Hughie actually found it to be relaxing since no one seemed to know who Annie was. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” Hughie was never one much for bowling – but it wasn’t so bad. His first roll was a split.
Annie smiled and clapped her hands together before moving to get a ball while Hughie took the chance to sit back and not think about what the others were doing. He didn’t even glance at her phone while she lined up and threw one of the worst balls he had ever seen. “I thought you said you had bowled before?”
Annie turned around and shrugged. “I’m just a little rusty. You?”
Hughie sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, it’s been a while but I used to bowl here. I’ve been in this area my whole life. My friend Anthony had his first kiss in the men’s bathroom with Amy Seely when we were fourteen. It was very romantic I heard.”
Annie shook her head and laughed. “I’m sure that that’s exactly how she pictured her first kiss.”
“What about you?” Hughie did not want her to notice that he hadn’t brought up his first kiss – he hadn’t had one. It terrified him that he might unconsciously demand something that the other person didn’t want.
“It was prom. It was amazing.” Annie smiled and turned to take her second shot while Hughie tilted his head in thought.
“Wait, senior prom? So, your first kiss was when you were eighteen?” Hughie wasn’t judging, but Annie was a pretty girl and a Supe – it didn’t really compute. Annie made an agreeing noise. “Which you’re not joking about and that’s great, it just doesn’t seem like a girl as pretty as you would be lacking in offers.”
Annie blushed heavily and moved to where Hughie could get his ball. “I had a very Jesus-centric childhood.”
Hughie managed to pull out a strike and rolled his shoulders. This was actually pretty relaxing.
(B)
Homelander would have rather been doing anything else. It was irritating to have to take Maeve with him to stop just a few terrorists on a damn flight just for brownie points. Translucent had sent a few pictures of Hughie as well as a transcript of the last little incident with the little Anti-Supe organization. Hughie having the ability to command another Supe practically made his mouth water, and his little human friend was doing an excellent job in separating them all by himself. This whole saving the plane thing would put him in a good light too, which would unfortunately be shared with Maeve.
It was child’s play to come alongside the plane and slip in the emergency exit midflight. The intelligence had pinged three hostiles, but a quick view of the plane showed an extra one in the cockpit. Maeve took one of them on while he dispatched two in quick succession before leaving Maeve to deal with the humans. Using his heat vision would be quicker, but more likely to cause an accident – not normally his problem, but he was trying to look good. A burst of speed once the door was open had the gun out of the terrorist’s hand – well the hand still gripped the gun, but the terrorist was no longer attached to it.
Homelander took the chance to enjoy the look of pain and horror on the human’s face before snapping his neck and smiling at the pilot. “The plane is all clear and they should have a runway lane clear for you in New York – Vought cleared one of theirs.”
The pilot only stared at the dead man for a moment or two before turning wide eyes to Homelander – the awe was standard and a little boring. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s what I do. Just be thankful you were over international waters – we still can’t act in foreign territories.” A pat on the pilot’s back and he made his way back to Maeve – honestly, if it wasn’t for how good this would make him look, he wouldn’t have bothered.
(B)
“You said that your powers were different, and that the crystal was just a small part.” Annie was more than a little interested in Hughie. It was rare to find a Supe that wasn’t in the spotlight or at least part of Vought and he was just so gentle that it really didn’t seem to fit.
Hughie rubbed his hands down his arms and shrugged. “I can’t really control my powers the way most can. It’s not like yours where you have to want to control the electricity to make it work or like Translucent who can be visible or not. They are always active, and a single slip would be horrible.”
Annie moved from where she had been about to take a shot and sat across from Hughie. “It can’t be that bad. That crystal was beautiful.”
Hughie shrugged and looked to where a few friends were having a blast next to them. “That was me using them on purpose. It doesn’t turn off though. I could do so much damage if I let go, so I can’t let go.”
Annie reached forward and gripped Hughie by his covered forearm – she had noticed that he didn’t seem to like skin to skin contact. “Why have you never gone to Vought? They have all kinds of training programs that might have helped you.”
“I’m not a first generation Supe like you or the other famous Supes. I’m third generation and my grandfather and father had a number one rule that you stay away from Vought. I don’t want to be studied or used for propaganda.”
Annie’s heart pounded as she thought about Hughie being a third generation Supe – she had never heard of a second generation Supe let alone a third. “Why didn’t they train you?”
Hughie shifted and sighed. “Grandpa’s powers were just there – he didn’t have any control and they were pretty calm. Dad’s powers are mostly harmless and reactionary – kind of like a fight or flight instinct heavy on the flight. Mine are dangerous.”
“You should definitely have someone to train you. Your powers are part of who you are and you shouldn’t be afraid of yourself.” Annie looked to where The Believe Expo was being advertised and pointed to the screen. “The Believe Expo is a huge gathering and there will be several Supes there including Homelander. He’s got a couple of powers that require a lot of control so he should be able to help. I still have some trouble controlling mine when I’m angry, but he should be able to help.”
Hughie looked to the screen where Homelander’s face flashed across the screen and then thought about the look on Anthony’s face when he was talking about Supe’s. “I’ll go – even if I chicken out it’d be nice to hang out.”
(B)
Translucent made his way to the roof with a tremble to his hands that he was glad that his invisibility hid. He barely waited until the access doors closed before he started talking. “Hughie Campbell is a third generation natural born Supe.”
Homelander stilled and turned to where Translucent was standing – x-ray vision made it easy to find him. “A natural supe is Vought’s wet dream.”
Translucent nodded and started pacing. “I think that there’s even more to it though. He confessed to Starlight but didn’t mention his mother at all. With the timelines his grandfather might have been a Nazi camp Supe and his father a natural born with a passive power from what he was saying, but that doesn’t explain how they would know about Vought enough to warn him.”
Homelander’s hands clenched to fists. “You think that the mother was a Vought controlled Supe?”
Translucent pulled on one of the uniforms that he had stashed on the roof and went visible when it was on. It was more comfortable, and it wasn’t like he was truly invisible to Homelander anyway. “It would explain the jump from passive powers to his which seem to be varied and a mix of passive and active. None of the female Supes I’ve met would make a good mother, so she likely dropped Hughie off and disappeared. I know that a couple of females who did try to have children never made it to term so it’s likely that Hughie was premature at best.”
Homelander glared at the horizon at the thought of a mother just dropping her child and leaving like Madelyn dropped him for that drool machine. “He has no hospital records.”
Translucent nodded and joined Homelander in glaring into the distance. “I did some digging into hospital records from around his birthday. NICU equipment went missing for a few months and then mysteriously reappeared later on – like it was never fucking missing without a single camera shot of who took it. Vought also reported huge losses of Compound V during the same time frame – once again without a single frame of who did it.”
Homelander’s eyes widened, and he felt a shiver work its way up his spine. “A third generation Supe that was given large amounts of Compound V on top of that…Vought would have absolute kittens and Hughie would end up in a black site. We have to frame this right.”
Translucent breathed out through his nose. “Starlight pushed for him to find someone to train him – he has no control. The Believe Expo was her push with you as a trainer. It gets him into your sights naturally and gets around Stillwell almost entirely. The big problem is what I tell Stillwell today. She’s pushing for a report, she knows that I know something after all of this time – I’m not shit at this kind of thing.”
Homelander snorted and rolled his shoulders. “We’ll go with semi-truth. Hughie Campbell is the Supe. The loss of Compound V during that time would likely help explain him being an undocumented case as he was kept to private clinics it might have been fed through there or a shady doctor to keep him out of the hospital. We don’t mention his other abilities – the truth thing is enough to keep Vought salivating and it will double as a way to keep him out of danger too. His connection to Starlight and her pushing him toward me will give Vought a pass to be lazy about the acquisition and they’ll mostly stay out of the way.”
Translucent nodded. “A-Train will be the problem though. Hughie might not be violent, but the idiot did run through one of his best friends. He’s also very attached to one of the humans he’s with and it’s not his other human friend from before.” He looked over to see the eyebrow raise. “There’s a gun runner in their little band named Frenchie. The guy knows that Hughie is a Supe and hasn’t said a word to the others. He seems rather fond of Hughie, and it goes both ways. Guy is hilarious for a human and seems extremely perceptive toward Supes.”
Homelander sighed. “A-Train is a gimmick at best and a complete failure at worst. He should have never been made a part of the Seven with just his speed to work with. I personally would have preferred just about anyone else, but he was supposed to be the ‘rags to riches’ story. Even just putting Hughie forward with his ability to make people tell the truth would be enough to get him a spot – we have enough active powers, and he would be great for interrogations and employee loyalty issues. Hard to have information leaks when you have someone that can ensure that everyone tells the truth.”
(B)
Translucent entered Stillwell’s office quickly and collapsed into the sofa – waiting for her to sit primly on the other side. She made a grand show of adjusting her clothes just so. “I’m sure that a spy of your skill has more than enough to go on at this point.”
Translucent smirked and stretched. “Of course. I knew which one the Supe was pretty damn quick but figured that a little more detailed information would make things easier, and it proved to be an excellent idea.” He waited until her eyebrow went up to continue. “The Supe is Hughie Campbell. Vought records show that a shipment of V went missing around the time that he was born and with his clinic only visits, he was likely dosed there. Sheridan does not know that he’s a Supe and is now extremely anti-supe, which makes Hughie’s position dangerous at best with a non-battle power set.”
Stillwell settled a little deeper into the sofa and her brow furrowed. “What would you recommend for acquisition?”
“That’s the best part.” Translucent enjoyed knowing more than everyone around him. “Hughie made the acquaintance of our own little Starlight and they have been communicating back and forth – even going bowling.” Up the other eyebrow went up. “Our Starlight managed to get him interested in finding someone to ‘train’ him and support him – a mentor. With Believe Expo coming up it was an easy sell for her to put Homelander up as a potential.”
The worry that immediately sprang up in Stillwell’s eyes almost made him want to sneer. She was one of the main reasons that Homelander was the way that he was, and she thought she had the right to worry about it. “I don’t know if Homelander would be the best match for something this delicate.”
Translucent smiled and tossed one of the pillows into the air. “Hughie’s powers aren’t going to protect him from physical threats, which is exactly what Homelander excels at. It gives Hughie someone to protect him while he comes out of his shell, and it gives Homelander someone that will rely on him.”
Translucent could see the wheels turning in Stillwell’s mind – a little more and he would have her. “Homelander needs someone that’s his – his to protect and who will care for him in return. You have your own baby to take care of and should focus on him. Hughie Campbell is a natural caregiver – kid is all soft angles and concern. The only hiccup will be A-Train and he’s practically throwing himself to the curb even without Hughie’s help.”
Stillwell sighed and messaged her temples. “Even winning the race isn’t turning his point losses around and even scripted he screwed up the Make a Wish kid. It wouldn’t be a big loss but would have to be managed carefully.” She leaned back and rolled her shoulders. “I know that Homelander has already agreed to do it as he always sticks his nose into intel matters.” Translucent just shrugged. “This will have to be gentle. Vought has already lost trust with Mr. Campbell and Homelander will have to rebuild that. Starlight was the perfect first step with the Seven, but she’s too green to convert – so her putting Homelander into the situation was a boon. I would also like you to continue to monitor him. That way we will be able to pull him in if anything goes wrong and you’ll be able to help Homelander with inside information. I’ll have the PR team log a ‘mission’ for you requiring a long radio silence.”
Translucent stood and tipped his head to Stillwell. “It would be my pleasure. Kid’s a hoot and watching Starlight flirt badly with him is pure entertainment. My money is on Hughie batting for the other team because he has zero game.”
(B)
Hughie was somewhat happy to see Annie but was more than a little uncomfortable with the fact that everyone, but Frenchie and the Female were also at the Expo. Anthony was getting more and more angry the longer he spent around Butcher. “I like this outfit a lot better. The other one is a little too showy to me.”
Annie grimaced and slid to the side to avoid the mass of Believe balloons. “They’re only letting me wear this one because its more family friendly. I can’t stand the other one.” She looked up and half waved as someone else called her Supe name.
Hughie smiled and finished off the last bit of the pretzel he had gotten earlier. “Seriously, do you know everyone here – or just like 99% of them?”
Annie blushed and slid some hair behind her ear. “My mom and I used to do the whole circuit of conventions in her old brown Honda Civic. Everything from Capes for Christ to the Believe Expo.”
Hughie shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve tried to stay away from large groups my entire life, but I have spent some time in Sunday school, so I’m not a complete newbie.” He couldn’t say that he was never allowed to go anywhere a Supe was likely to show up, especially not with the wire that Butcher had forced him to wear while here. Anthony was also supposed to be mingling and trying to help figure out how to get close to Ezekiel but was probably spending his time attached to Butcher.
Annie nodded and then hurried up just a bit. “Mother!” The woman she stopped in front of looked very well put together, but there was something about her that just set Hughie’s teeth on edge. She reminded him of those mother’s that dictated their children’s lives to fulfill their own dreams. “How was your flight?”
“Oh, it was fine except we had a delay as they had to let the Flight 37 plane land first and we had to circle the airport. There was so much traffic, and the food was absolutely horrid but I’m here.” She looked over at Hughie when he stepped up and he moved with instinct to turn the wire off. “Do you want an autograph? Annie, give him an autograph.”
Hughie shook his head and smiled a bit. “I’m not here for an autograph ma’am. I’m a friend of Annie’s and she’s been showing me around. The name is Hughie Campbell.” He held his hand out and made sure that his grip wasn’t too firm.
Annie smiled and nodded along. “Hughie and I met a while back on a park bench. Neither one of us knew that the other had powers then and only found out later.”
Annie’s mother’s eyebrows went up and her interest in Hughie seemed to go up. “Oh, it’s nice to hear that you have made friends with other gifted people.” She leaned in conspiratorially and Hughie had the feeling that she was going to be a normal embarrassing parent. “She’s always been such a loner with other gifted people – nothing but rivals and competition except for that Drummer Boy and he was such waste.”
“Mother!” Annie almost squealed and probably would have said more if the Vought PA that Hughie remembered from the Tower hadn’t chosen to appear in semi-panic about the roundtable. Annie listened and nodded appropriately before turning to Hughie. “Are you going to be alright here, or do you want to come with me?”
Hughie motioned to the stage area and shrugged. “I’m a little old for a teen roundtable, but I’ll manage to keep myself amused for a while.”
Annie smiled and passed over an envelope she had somehow stuffed somewhere in her uniform. “Here’s the pass for the Diamond Club event. Homelander is going to be in there with Ezekiel, so that’s probably the best time to catch him. He also has a tent that I marked in case you wanted to talk to him first.” She patted him on the arm and hurried to catch up with the other two women that had walked off before she had handed him the envelope.
Now Hughie had a problem – did he go to where Butcher, MM and Anthony were right away, or did he try to talk with Homelander first? The Diamond Club pass was exactly what Butcher would need to get one of them in to talk to Ezekiel, but Hughie wasn’t really interested in adding blackmail to a potential rap sheet. There was the need he had to find someone that could help him control his powers too. It would be nice to not need to hide for the rest of his life.
(B)
Homelander was more than a little upset about his supposed talking points and the fact that Madelyn was abandoning a huge event for the damn baby. He would have gone after her, but Starlight had confirmed that Hughie was coming and had been thrilled when he gave her the Diamond Pass and his tent location. The potential for a Supe that was his outweighed the vindictive pleasure of pestering Madelyn.
The sounds from the Expo cycled through his ears without him paying much attention until he heard a soft male voice outside. “Um, Annie er Starlight told me that this was Homelander’s tent and that he was expecting me?”
Homelander was already moving when he heard the security guard answer. “Sure kid, Starlight would pay attention to someone like you and Homelander would let you into his tent. Why don’t you leave before we have to remove you?”
Homelander exited the tent in time to see Hughie flinch. The photos and surveillance did not do him justice. There was a softness to his features, and he was all leg. “Hughie! I was hoping you would stop by before the Diamond Club.” He turned to look at the guard that spoke and let the slightest glow enter his eyes – just enough to get his point across and ignored the slight scent of urine. “This is Hughie Campbell, he has access to any Vought event and any area that I am at.” He waited until both guards nodded and then turned back to Hughie. “Come on in. We have a bit of time until the Club meeting – so we can get to know each other a little better.” The blush that spread over Hughie’s face was enchanting and Homelander’s smile widened as he followed behind.
(B)
Hughie felt the tension leeching gradually out of him as he entered the tent and realized that it was just going to be Homelander and him. Homelander was powerful and probably should have terrified him, but he felt more comfortable when it was just Supes around him or Frenchie and that did make him a little anxious since he no longer felt that way with Anthony. “Thanks. Annie said I could come here but didn’t tell me that you would have guards.”
Homelander sighed and leaned against a bar top. “They’re mainly to make sure that a ton of fans don’t try to rush the tent. One year they did that with Maeve’s tent, and she sent two to the hospital. It’s safer to just have a couple humans out front with guns to keep them in line.”
Hughie nodded and moved to where a couple chairs were before looking to Homelander for permission to sit – which he granted with a nod and smile. “Yeah, it’s one of the things that scares me about Vought. I don’t like attention and they always put Supes out in front of the world.”
Homelander took a seat in one of the other chairs and stretched before peeling off his gloves. Hughie pulled his hands further into his lap just in case. “It has benefits and downsides. The world thinks that we owe them our privacy, but it gives us a lot of power beyond our abilities too. Vought likes to think that they control all of that power, but they only have it because of us. Starlight told me that you needed help controlling your powers, it would help if I knew what they were first.”
Hughie breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth a couple of times to calm his heartrate. He was going to break a lifetime rule with the most powerful known Supe in the world. “I’ve never really pushed it, but I know some things. There’s something with my touch that reacts with other Supes. When I was little, I went to a convention and when a Supe touched me they just went nuts. They tried to kidnap me, and my dad lost it. When I touched Annie, it was like a connection snapped into place and she was just like a childhood friend slash fangirl.”
Hughie looked to Homelander and saw that he was nodding and didn’t look freaked out yet. “I’ve never been sick or hurt but the only other ability I have for sure is the ability to demand.”
Homelander’s eyebrows went up and he leaned forward. “Demand?”
Hughie swallowed and nodded before closing his eyes. “I demanded that A-Train would tell the truth about what happened with Robin, and I stopped another Supe from attacking me by demanding that she leave. I also used a demand to create a crystal out of a memory for Annie, but that isn’t really useful. I haven’t really pushed that one so I don’t know what I could or couldn’t do. I don’t like speaking or asking for things because I’m always afraid that it will be a demand and not a choice for the person that I’m talking to.”
(B)
Homelander felt his mouth go dry. The ability to have or do whatever you wanted – just because you wanted it. Imposing your will onto someone else permanently or creating something out of nothing at all. He had asked Starlight what it had felt like the first time she touched Hughie. She had told him that it was like she knew him completely. She knew that he was quiet and nervous but ready to defend his loved ones. The best she could do to describe it was like instantly becoming his best friend. Perhaps the first Supes that he had met had been overwhelmed with who he was.
Homelander cleared his throat and shifted his shoulders forward. “I have spoken with Starlight about when you both first met and have a theory about that part of your abilities.” He brought one of his hands forward and held it out flat as Hughie looked at it like it was going to bite him. “She described it like knowing who you were in seconds. My theory is that when you touch another Supe – they get a glimpse of who you are. Please allow me to test the theory.”
Hughie shifted and wrung his hands together. “What if something bad happens? The first Supes didn’t react very well, and I don’t know if I just got lucky with Annie.”
Homelander smiled and made sure to keep his outstretched hand steady. “I am the strongest Supe Vought has ever had. Starlight kept her mind because she doesn’t want power for power’s sake and neither do I. I have power. Trust me Hughie.” He watched as Hughie took a deep breath and then placed his bare hand into Homelander’s.
It was like watching a planet being born, a whole galaxy spinning to life. Power flowing and ebbing in a constant battle between life and death. Beneath all of that power was Hughie. Caring, loving, nurturing, and protective – he was a mother, father, and child wrapped all into one. It felt like forever, but Homelander glanced quickly at the clock on the bar to find only seconds had passed. He closed his hand over Hughie’s and hid his now burning desire to possess this Supe behind the gentlest smile he could manage. “It is very nice to official meet you Hughie Campbell. My name is Homelander, though Vought did also assign me the name John – I’m not fond of it.”
Hughie smiled but also furrowed his brows a bit – Homelander was pleased that he didn’t pull his hand away. “So, the rumors that they raised you at Vought are actually true. Have you ever thought of making up your own name? It’s not like they could actually say anything about it without making the public wonder.”
Homelander lowered their joined hands but didn’t let go. “I’ve never thought of a human name I would actually want to answer to. Most of them are plain, especially the one that they assigned me – John couldn’t be any plainer if they tried.”
Hughie laughed and Homelander instantly decided that he quite enjoyed the sound and feel of it – of causing it. “I was named after my father, so I can’t really talk about having a unique name. It really isn’t about the name though because no one gets the chance to choose their own when they’re born, only later if they spend a lot of time and money to change it.”
“What name would you give me?” Homelander wanted to know what name this wonderfully powerful, caring Supe would give him. He wanted to be reborn through Hughie into someone different than John or Homelander.
Hughie’s eyes closed and he tilted his head to the side. “I would probably go with David. It sounds simple, but it’s meaning is beloved and I always thought that I would name my son that if I had one. Everyone always goes for the, in your face, kind of names that a kid or adult can’t live with – but I’d rather give one that they can fly under the radar with that still has a wonderful meaning.” Hughie’s eyes snapped to Homelander, and a brilliant blush lit up his face. “Sorry, got a little carried away there.”
Homelander felt a genuine smile cross his face as he thought about the recent efforts of Vought to create a ‘backstory’ for him. It wouldn’t be too hard to get the writers to throw out ‘John’ and change it to David, it isn’t like anyone actually knows his name anyway. “I think that I like it much better than John and Vought would likely accept the change without too much fuss.” Hughie’s blush nearly went nuclear as it filled his entire face and traveled down his neck.
Hughie’s attention snapped to his phone as it started to go off and Homelander hid his rage as Hughie pulled his hand out of his to answer it. “Um hey Anthony.” It made him even angrier that it was for the human. “Oh, I was with Annie for a while, and I was just checking out some booths.” Hughie started to fidget and Homelander decided to listen in.
“You were supposed to meet us during the whole freak show portion of the Expo.” The human sounded exasperated and irritated. “The security is too tight here to get to the stretchy bastard without a Diamond Pass to his little VIP session.” Hughie’s eyes shot to Homelander’s, and he just smiled and leaned back. “You should get your little Supe friend to give you a pass – I’ll use it to get into the VIP event and you can distract her.”
Hughie was still staring at Homelander and seemed almost stunned that Homelander was still smiling. Homelander just reached over to the side table and lifted up a Diamond Pass and handed it to Hughie while mouthing ‘one for you and one for him’. “I already have a Diamond Pass for both of us. We’ll both be able to get into the event.”
“How in the world did you get two passes from her? Give her head in a Jesus booth?” Homelander felt his rage start building again at the words and the way that Hughie paled. “Doesn’t matter, we’d probably be better off if you gave yours to MM. You don’t do well under pressure.”
Homelander shook his head and then motioned to himself. He didn’t want to have another human in the pathetic event. Hughie bit his bottom lip and took a deep breath in. “Annie already registered me for the event by name and told Homelander that I was going to be there. It would look suspicious if I wasn’t there and I doubt that they would believe that either of you were Hughie Campbell.”
There was a heavy sigh from the other side of the phone and Homelander consciously relaxed his grip on the arm of his seat to keep from breaking it. “Fine, you can be a distraction for when I’m working on stretch boy. Just get your behind and the passes to the stage area.” The line when dead without a goodbye.
Homelander watched Hughie wince and put the phone back in his pocket. He leaned forward until he could lock eyes with Hughie. “I know about your little friend’s revenge plot and all the others of your group. I’m not Vought’s or A-Train’s biggest fan. Vought uses Supes like commodities and A-Train gives us a bad name with his ‘habit’ and behavior. As long as they stay away from me and mine – I’m not going to crush them like bugs.”
Hughie’s pupil’s dilated and Homelander almost thought him terrified until he caught a familiar smell that was much sweeter coming from Hughie – arousal. The thought of Homelander crushing those that would come after him and those he cared about was an arousing thought to Hughie. It made sense that he would seek a protector, he could be every bit as strong, fast, and powerful as Homelander – he just didn’t have the desire to fight. “Umm, I should get going. Thank you for the other pass and I guess I’ll see you in a bit?”
Homelander tipped his head with a smile and watched Hughie scurry out of the tent. A couple seconds later saw Translucent in a spare uniform he had brought taking Hughie’s spot. “So, what was touching him like? I haven’t had the opportunity yet – kid’s jumpy.”
Homelander rumbled a laugh and found that the thought of Translucent touching Hughie wasn’t negative – Translucent was straight as can be. “You see and feel his power along with who he is at his core. The first few Supes he touched were likely has been C squad rejects that felt that power and wanted it for the fame. Starlight is too naïve and soft hearted to want power for power’s sake and I don’t need it. He has all that power and absolutely no desire to use it.”
“How much longer are we going to leave him with the humans?” Translucent snatched a half full glass of whiskey from the table and downed it. “With what they’ll get off of Ezekiel they’ll be able to get their hands on V and put two and two together. A-Train is liable to do something stupid about them letting that Chinatown experiment that he was supposed to be watching out and there’s no telling when his friend is going to go off the rails. The kid stares at his dead girlfriend’s picture and talks to it.”
Homelander snorted. “Humans are just weird.” He slapped his thigh and stood. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind pulling him now, but I want to make sure that all of his ties to the humans are gone.”
Translucent slid to his feet and stretched. “You might have to put up with the Frenchie one. The bond between those two is only growing. The MM human is somewhat warm to Hughie, but not nearly as observant to Supes. I don’t think Frenchie would be a liability though – he’s crazy as a basket of cats, so he’d fit right in. They have him watching the Chinatown female.”
Homelander shook his head. “A-Train has pulled Black Noir in to check out Hughie’s friend Anthony’s place. Apparently Popclaw had a Teddy Cam. We’ll have to keep an eye out to make sure that he doesn’t go after Hughie. I filled Noir in enough to cut that off at the pass, but A-Train’s always been a loose cannon.”
(B)
Hughie ignored the impatient foot tapping from Anthony and just handed over the spare pass. MM’s eyebrow went up when he noticed that Hughie’s not only had his name on it, but was also signed by Starlight, Homelander and Ezekiel. “Damn, she must really like you if she got you a personalized invite and also had it autographed.”
Butcher snatched the pass out of Hughie’s hand and both of his eyebrows went up. “When you have time to string the bint on that well?”
Hughie huffed and snatched the pass back. He knew that letting them believe that Annie had gotten him the pass would be better, but she had only invited him here – everything else was Homelander. “Actually, Annie just invited me here. Homelander was the one that got me the passes.”
The stillness that passed over Butcher was a little frightening. “Homelander gave you two Diamond Passes and personalized one of them?”
Hughie shifted and looked to where MM was slowly backing up. Anthony’s mouth was hanging open. “Um, yeah. Annie had to do this roundtable thing with teens, so she let me know where Homelander was. We talked for a bit, and he gave me the passes. He’s part of the whole VIP thing.”
“That thing paying attention to you is not a good thing Hughie.” Butcher started crowding Hughie and Hughie could practically feel the tension rolling off of him. “You need to stay away from that cunt. He’s the worst one of the bunch, bad enough your little girl Supe threw you into his crosshairs. You go to this thing so Anthony can work his magic on the stretchy cunt and then you get the hell out of dodge. We’re going to have to keep you under wraps after this if he’s caught your scent.”
“He was just interested because I was friends with Annie, that’s all.” Hughie backed up a bit and held in a flinch as Anthony tossed an arm over his shoulder.
“Right, Hughie. The strongest Supe in the world just wanted to get to know a fellow Supe’s friend and suddenly decided to drop 30k on a personalized VIP pass with a plus one for no reason.” Anthony snorted and his arm tightened. “Robin always said that you were catnip to protector personalities. She used to have to beat older guys off with a stick that wanted to be your Sugar Daddy. My money is on Homelander seeing a doe eyed young man with long legs that needs taking care of. You just distract him with those big eyes of yours, yeah?”
(B)
A-Train growled as he turned the apartment upside down looking for clues about what the hell this Anthony Sheridan was doing in Popclaw’s apartment. He hadn’t even remembered the asshole until he had seen that smug grin on the television, smirking at Popclaw as he walked into the room. “Got to be some kind of revenge thing for his damn girlfriend, but how the hell did he figure out all this shit and get to where he could blackmail Popclaw? It doesn’t make any damn sense. The kid’s a nobody with no connections and yet he’s shaking down Supes?”
Black Noir was looking through a bunch of photos and apps on the kid’s tablet. He froze for a minute before handing the tablet over to show the kids search history on his map app. One destination was marked as a favorite with the tag line ‘crazy Supe bitch’. “Kid is definitely a civilian, needs to learn to erase his history and not save important locations. Makes our job easier.”
(B)
The tent was fairly open, not too many people were willing to shell out 15k – even for a VIP Supe experience. Hughie watched as Anthony immediately made for the alcohol and started chatting an elderly couple up. He just shook his head and made his way to a nice, shaded corner to pretend that his friend was not here to blackmail someone.
“Well, your little ‘friend’ is good at talking other humans up, I’ll give him that.” Homelander was suddenly at Hughie’s side with a glass of what looked to be orange juice that he passed over gently. “It’s non-alcoholic.”
Hughie smiled and sipped the juice, it was pretty good. “Thanks, I don’t drink for obvious reasons. Do you know everything about what we’re here for?”
Homelander hummed and moved a little closer. Hughie could practically feel the heat that he was giving off and resisted the urge to sidle up even closer – he was always cold. “Mostly yes. Some of Vought’s dirty laundry could use a little airing. I’m not pleased that they are dragging you through all of this due to your loyalty to a friend that doesn’t treat you like one.”
Hughie looked over at where Anthony now had a small group of people surrounding him. “I wouldn’t have made it through school without him acting as my bodyguard.”
“That doesn’t mean that he has the right to drag you into dangerous situations now. I would wager that he got just as much from your friendship, if not more.” Homelander seemed a bit tense but smiled when he noticed Hughie looking. “I’m sure that you were probably the main reason that Anthony and Robin ended up together in the first place. You were the common ground, so you don’t owe him nearly enough to put yourself in harm’s way.”
Hughie was going to answer when Ezekiel came from the back and started motioning everyone to follow him into the other tent. “Come friends. It is time for the event you have all been waiting for.”
(B)
Homelander watched through lowered eyelids as he walked up to the platform where Ezekiel was nattering on, and Hughie joined his human with the crowd. The human was all smiles but there was something dark lingering in the depths of his eyes – the beginnings of a mad man. It took Ezekiel leaning into his space to remind him of the ‘show’ he was supposed to put on and he smiled for the humans as Ezekiel crowed about him being a minister and how they would all be re-Baptized.
What followed was a supreme test of his patience and ability to not kill those that annoyed him. Human after human barely resisted the urge to fawn over him as he repeated the words he didn’t believe and dunked them briefly under the water. It was tempting to hold them under for just a moment or two longer than they could survive, but he managed to resist by the skin of his teeth. Hughie’s little friend had a manic smile on his face and Homelander wasn’t able to completely resist the urge to hold him under for just a second or two too long. He locked eyes with him when he was gasping after he was pulled up and smiled in the way that normally set Madelyn on edge – it worked just as well on this human.
Hughie slid through the water to him with a calm smile on his face – he was the last one to be Baptized. Homelander was far gentler with Hughie than the others and made sure that the fall was not too quick or rough and that he was only under just long enough to complete the human ceremony. It was also Homelander that walked with Hughie from the pool and took the offered towel to dry Hughie first and then himself. The human friend looked rather constipated but took the obvious opportunity to pull Ezekiel from the couple he was winning over.
“Your friend definitely fails on common sense and subtilty. One of my lesser known, but still known powers is super hearing. He’s in the same tent as me, blackmailing a fellow Supe.” Homelander shook his head and guided Hughie to where the food was laid out – mostly finger sandwiches and overly complicated appetizers. “A sensible villain would have waited until I left before committing a crime.”
Hughie ducked his head and pulled a few sandwiches onto a plate. “Anthony has always been a straightforward kind of guy – Robin was the mastermind.”
(B)
Hughie watched from the stage as Annie broke down and grimaced as he could only imagine what the media and the hateful people on social media were going to say. He was off like a shot as soon as she started to go off stage and found himself in the dressing rooms before she reached them – blinking as he realized that either he had moved much faster than normal, or he had teleported. The backstage crew didn’t even blink, likely used to Supes just popping up. Annie’s mother looked like a stone statue, and he walked around her to make sure that he was the first thing that Annie saw.
Annie’s eyes were red rimmed, but she wasn’t crying and Hughie was proud of her for every word she had said on that stage. He didn’t bother saying anything but pulled her into the kind of hug that Robin had always said made her feel safe. It seemed to work just as well here as Annie fell into the hug like her strings had been cut. “You are an amazing and powerful woman who deserves so much more. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about speaking out.” He stiffened a bit at making a statement like that, but he relaxed when he didn’t feel the rush he normally felt when his powers took over. He didn’t want to force her and he didn’t.
“I probably shouldn’t have done it here.” Annie pulled back just far enough to send a rueful smile up at him. “The executives at Vought are going to be pissed that I didn’t stick to my script.”
Hughie shrugged and smiled. “Homelander didn’t either. I read his script and it was awful. The only part that he stuck to was the introduction. Vought needs to have a reality check every now and then I think. Besides, your message needed to be said and whoever forced themselves on you needs to answer for it and you should accept nothing less.” He looked up and caught Annie’s mother’s eyes. She was crying but seemed a little proud – hopefully it would last.
Annie’s back straightened and she managed a smile. “Thank you. You’re right. He shouldn’t get away with what he did to me and probably others. This might not have been the best time to do it, but Vought will have to deal with him this way.”
Hughie pulled back and rested his hands on her shoulders. “You have to get in front of it though. If you pull back to the shadows after an awesome speech like that the media will eat you alive and even if you still get the right end result – it will allow doubt to fester. Get out there and show them that you aren’t the one that has something to be ashamed of.” Hughie could see that she had been planning on hiding away but she wouldn’t now. “You are Annie – Starlight of the Seven. There is no one that has the right to make you feel like you are anyone else.”
(B)
Frenchie felt that something was very wrong. He had a nose for trouble and the smell was all around him. This safe house was a little known haunt of his but he somehow knew that it had been made. He made for the room that the female was in with determined strides, he would not leave her here as Butcher would have had him do.
(B)
Hughie only listened with half an ear as MM went over what they had found out about Compound V. Frenchie had already regaled them with the story about how the female had saved his life to allow her to walk around so most of Hughie’s time was spent trying to subtly avoid touching her skin to skin.
Anthony was, however riveted to the whole explanation. “So, all Supes are lab rats? Not a single one of them was born with powers?”
Butcher seemed to catch on and shot a superior look at Hughie. “Even Starlight is nothing more than a doped up experiment.”
The female walked into the room and started grabbing pens from the table. MM looked like he was praying for patience. The second time that she came in she grabbed papers and knocked some off MM freaked out. “I’m here trying to give a tremendous fucking Ted Talk here and she just…” MM looked to Frenchie. “Can you control her?”
Hughie knew that he was shooting MM the same pissed off look as Frenchie from the way that MM stepped back and Anthony’s eyebrows went up. Frenchie’s accent seemed deeper. “I do not control her.”
Butcher looked like he was going to step in but Hughie was just tired. He moved around Frenchie and took a deep breath as he moved toward the female, maintaining eye contact. “Hey, why don’t we just go into the other room? If you want anything else to draw on just let me or Frenchie know and we’ll get it for you, okay?” He moved slowly and stood between her, Butcher and Anthony all the way back into the other room. When they stepped down her hand brushed against his but she only looked up with a smile before moving back to where she was drawing the same symbol over and over.
Anthony was semi-glaring at him by the time he came back. “Are you only going to go for Supe bitches now that you’ve had luck with Starlight?”
Hughie felt his head thump and didn’t have to look to know that Frenchie was sending that look his way that seemed to ask why he was still here. “Annie and the woman in there are people. I highly doubt that either one of them consented to having Vought shoot them full of Compound V. Annie was a baby and she was held against her will in a Noodle Shop basement. You are blaming them for powers that they did not ask for, that they did not want! What right do you have to judge all by the actions of a few? Is A-Train responsible for Robin’s death? Yes! Is Annie? No!” Hughie gripped the edge of the table as Anthony tried to loom over him. “I am tired of you putting the blame for a singular death on every single Supe – put the blame where it belongs – A-Train for her death and Vought for making it seem acceptable.”
Butcher grimaced like the barb had managed to hit him instead but Anthony just glared. Hughie huffed before throwing up his hands. Butcher grabbed Anthony by the arm and started towing him out of the building. “We’ll head out together – stop by Raynor’s after a quick pit stop.”
Frenchie waited until it was clear that they were both gone before looking at Hughie. “You would be better off with Vought.”
MM’s head turned so quick that Hughie knew that it had to hurt. “Excuse me?”
Frenchie shrugged and motioned to Hughie. “Petite Hughie is not violent enough to do what Anthony is looking to do. It would be safer for him to go to Vought. They would protect him.”
MM looked at Hughie and then the female before pinching his nose. “She didn’t leave you alone because you’re not threatening, but because you’re a Supe. For once, I agree with the French idiot. You should not be anywhere near Butcher or your crazy ass friend.”
Hughie didn’t even feel the urge to argue anymore. “I really don’t like Vought and I don’t even want to be in the same building as A-Train.”
“You are now friends with Homelander, yes?” Frenchie arched his eyebrows and ignored the fact the MM was now massaging his temples. “Homelander could have A-Train removed and it has seemed to me that Homelander is not as in Vought’s pocket as he was before.”
“Truer than you know.” The voice didn’t have a body and Hughie’s eyes shot to the corner of the room. “Vought would like to think that they have us all too well trained to buck the reins, but it’s not like they could actually stop Homelander when he decides enough is enough.”
Hughie groaned as the female ran into the room and all three of the others scanned the room for something that they couldn’t possibly see. “Translucent. You’ve been following me since the original trip to the Tower, haven’t you?”
There was a chuckle. “I pegged you for a Supe right away. Too careful, too observant. Madelyn Stillwell knew that there had to be a Supe with an interest in Robin’s death for the whammy on A-Train. She sent me to find out who it was and how to bring them in. Homelander had a different plan of course. Vought would have kittens over you, so he’s been running interference with my help to make sure they only know enough to make you worth having and protecting.”
Frenchie hummed before zeroing in on the corner that Translucent was in before the other two. “If Hughie went with you now, would he be safe?”
“Homelander already has everything set up to put A-Train out of the Seven. His drug habit isn’t that well-hidden and the damage that much V is doing to his organs will pop in his upcoming physical. They will probably ‘retire’ him to a black site or strip him of everything and relegate him to a backwoods. For him it’s a fate worse than death.” Translucent didn’t even sound the least bit sorry about A-Train’s fate.
“No honor among Supes?” MM finally clicked on to Hughie and Frenchie’s focused stares as did the female.
Hughie had the feeling that Translucent shrugged and he could almost swear that he could see an outline of where he was. “A-Train is a drug addict that killed Hughie’s friend on a damn high. I can admit to my vices – primarily being invisible watching women, but mine don’t result in death. I have never and will never force myself on someone and I don’t kill civilians. He took to the training Vought gives like a duck to water – the only thing he cares about is fame and fortune.”
“What about you?” MM started fixing the table up from the earlier mess but looked back at the corner every few seconds.
“I have a brat. Vought’s money protects him and my product points will put him through college. His mother is a piece of work, but he’s my boy.” Translucent’s voice was warm and it was easy to tell that he did love his son. “Maeve was naïve in the beginning but Vought squashed that pretty damn fast – now she’s pretty apathetic to everything. Black Noir can’t have a normal life outside of Vought but he’s big on loyalty to other Supes. Deep is a piece of slime – one that isn’t long for the team. Starlight is still in the naïve stage but with Hughie around she’ll likely stand her ground.”
Frenchie was rubbing the side of his face. “And Homelander?”
“Vought raised Homelander. Their ultimate success. He’s got a laundry list of disorders that Vought has taken advantage of.” There was a trace of amusement in Translucent’s voice. “They’ve dictated his entire life and controlled every relationship to the point that they think that he would never break the yolk. He’s let them for the most part, but he’s getting to the point that he’s about done – their greatest weapon to control him isn’t working, even though he lets them think it is.”
MM tapped his fingers on the edge of the table. “How hard are they going to come after us for V?”
“Vought will activate a backup plan to get Supes in the military and they will find a way to turn the V issue around eventually.” Translucent moved and Hughie tracked him with the others taking their cues from him. “There are already whispers about V in the government circles – you’ll just be bringing it up. It might help shift the power a bit from Vought to Supes but won’t shut Vought down. Why do you think that that girl exists? She isn’t the only one and if necessary, they’ll bring them to the light of day to prove why Vought and Supes are needed. After all, the only way to take down a villain with superpowers is with a hero with them.”
“Fuck!” MM ran a hand over his head and threw the pen in his hand across the room. “We’ll bring V up and we’ll have fucking supervillains roaming around.”
“To be fair, they already exist so you would just be pushing up the timeline.” Translucent picked up one of the pens. “It would be inevitable even without them hand choosing villains. After all, Vought is putting V into babies with no way of knowing how they’re really going to turn out. Hell, half the supposed heroes are toeing that line every day.”
“Would she have been one of those experiments?” Hughie leaned his head toward where the female was tracking the pen.
Translucent waved the pen back and forth. “Yes, there’s a team in Vought that focuses on the need for terrorists. Most of the people that they pull are non-military civilians. They don’t want villains that might actually win through skill, but ones that are sufficiently scary without being a true threat.”
“So, there’s no way for her to go to Vought for help – they’d likely just trap her again.” Hughie tapped a finger against his bottom lip and thought it over before sighing and extending his hand to her. “Let’s give this a try.”
She looked at his hand before nodding harshly and gripping his hand just a little too tightly if he had been human. Hughie closed his eyes as he noticed hers light up and focused on his desire to know who she was and how she got here.
Hughie shuddered as the memories flew by and leaned heavily against the table. “Her name is Kimiko and her and her brother were both taken from their home and experimented on. She was smuggled here and her brother was not. None of the people that she was exposed to look like Vought’s except for A-Train.”
“Most are just Vought funded or supplied through shell companies as a just in case. There won’t be anything that directly links her to Vought. Everything will either lead to the shell company or to A-Train specifically.” Translucent put the pen back exactly where he found it and made sure that they lined up. “They won’t target her specifically and Homelander isn’t keen on going after Supes for no reason either. She lays low and she’s fine.”
Frenchie noticeably relaxed. “Can you take Petite Hughie to Vought now? He is not safe with Anthony or Butcher – especially when they are not able to take down Vought and Homelander with V.”
“It would be better if he headed out to Homelander. They have him out in the suburbs doing a fluff piece on the childhood that he didn’t have. Homelander is an old pro at Vought bullshit.”
(B)
Madelyn approached Homelander slowly where he was gazing out of the barn in the yard of the home they had bought for his backstory. There was a pensive look on his face and for once Madelyn had absolutely no idea what he was thinking. Right when she was thinking about speaking up – Hughie Campbell came into view in front of Homelander. “Hey, Translucent told me to come over, is it a bad time?”
Madelyn watched in wonder as the pensive expression melted off of Homelander’s face like it had never been there. “Of course, not Hughie. Just a bit of a mix up in their layout of the ‘background’ story they cooked up.” There was no surprise on Campbell’s face and that made her realize that he knew that Homelander didn’t have a backstory. “Did something happen that made Translucent show his cards and send you here?”
Campbell ruffled the hair on the back of his head and looked her way for a moment. “Things were getting a little too rough so he figured it would be better to send me here than have me with Anthony. Are you done here or do they need another story?”
Homelander grimaced and she watched as he fisted one of his hands before forcing himself to relax. “They still want a fluff story about a mother.”
The grimace on Campbell’s face matched Homelander and Madelyn realized that Campbell’s records didn’t list a mother. “Rough. Why not just think about someone else while you’re reading the script?”
Homelander smiled and walked toward Campbell, throwing an arm over his shoulder before steering him toward where the crew was waiting. “You can grab a water and watch – might make it easier to spew out the fluff.”
Madelyn felt a chill work its way down her spine and tried to shake off the feeling of being replaced. Campbell was a Supe – he couldn’t take her place. He wasn’t even a mother figure, she would still have her position – he was just the new shiny toy and a useful asset for Vought.
(B)
Homelander called a meeting the moment that Hughie and he got back to the Tower. While waiting for the others he arranged for Hughie to be in his apartment in the Tower – he had an extra bedroom until he managed to talk Hughie into joining him – as well as arranging for a proper backstory and Supe identity to be fashioned. “The PR team will likely come up with an absolutely horrid name for you, but you can always veto the truly awful ones.”
Hughie shrugged. “It is what it is. Their naming habits are pretty well known to be horrible. The Deep is bad enough but you have A-Train which sounds like you’re catching a subway train and Translucent – which means semi-transparent and not invisible. It’s pretty sad all things considered.” Hughie nodded to Translucent, visible for the moment, and took the seat between him and Black Noir while Homelander stood at his. None of the other were there yet. “Lamplighter is pretty low key for someone who controlled flame – make it sound like he’s maintenance at Central Park. I’m sure that it will be sufficiently cringe worthy.”
Homelander laughed and sat down. Normally he wouldn’t until everyone was present, but he was enjoying himself. “They do tend to either be rather blunt in their naming or sound as if they just pick the names up on the way into work one day.” He leaned back and watched as Hughie chuckled and leaned back. The young man looked like he belonged at their table, but he could use a new wardrobe.
Maeve was next to enter the room and Homelander could tell that something had unsettled her but she was quick to put up her wall of apathy. “Is there a reason you called us here and who is that?” Homelander could tell that she was curious but a bystander would only pick up boredom.
“We’re going to have to go through some changes – that’s why we are here.” Homelander smiled in the way he knew unsettled Maeve and then motioned to Hughie. “This is Hughie Campbell, his Supe name is still pending, and he will be taking Deep’s spot since Starlight’s maneuvering landed him in Sandusky, Ohio.”
Maeve let out a put upon sigh and practically flopped into her seat. Starlight was the next to enter the room and she lit up as soon as her eyes landed on Hughie – he would have to keep a close eye on her. “Hughie! I didn’t know that you were coming here! Are you just visiting?”
Hughie rubbed the back of his head and looked briefly over at Homelander, it was good that he was already looking to him. “Some not so great things happened and so it was pretty much decided that I would be better off here. I don’t have a Supe name yet – kind of dreading that.”
Starlight smiled and slid into her seat quickly at Homelander’s raised eyebrow. “My mother chose mine. What I’ve seen and felt so far with yours leads more to the mind than anything else – so they’ll probably use that.”
“Ten bucks on Mind Games.” Translucent grinned and leaned back.
Hughie rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. “That sounds horrible, they are definitely using that one.” Hughie looked to the door a split second before it opened to reveal a rather pissed off looking A-Train with Madelyn Stillwell walking calmly behind him.
Homelander suppressed his smirk as A-Train almost powerwalked to the table before slamming his hand down on the table and spinning to face Madelyn. “You can’t just ‘retire’ me! I won that damn race – I’m still the fastest.”
Madelyn got some points for maintaining the calm expression but lost points for the sweat that Homelander could smell. “Your point losses from the girl still haven’t turned around and your last physical showed major organ damage. You are a ticking time bomb A-Train. Either the public will turn on you for incident, or your body will turn on you. You’ll still have your product points and won’t have to do anymore guest spots or team ups. Think of it like an extended vacation.”
A-Train tensed and pointed at Madelyn with a trembling finger. Sad how fast the withdraw symptoms were kicking in. “Not being one of the Seven will kill my product sales, especially without exposure. I can’t believe you’re just going to bury me after all the crap I’ve done for this company. What would you do if I just let all the dirty laundry of Vought out there for the world to see?”
Homelander just smirked as Madelyn’s eyes tracked to him. He certainly wasn’t going to offer her an out this time. Madelyn looked back to A-Train and squared her shoulders. “You and I both know that there is nothing that you have that will trace back to Vought. If you try to place the blame with us, we’ll make sure that every stitch of evidence points directly at you.” Madelyn smiled that patented fake maternal smile and straightened her dress. “Now, the lawyers are already in the conference room on the 40th floor with your separation contract. I suggest that you don’t keep them waiting any longer.”
A-Train clenched both of his fists before stomping from the room like a four-year-old. Madelyn turned to look at the entire table. “Well, now that that is out of the way we can go over a couple of companywide items before I leave you to it.” She motioned with her hand and her PA rushed over with a tablet that Madelyn relieved her of quickly. “The military bill has officially made it to the floor for voting, so we should have that in the bag soon. Deep has been reassigned off of the Seven to a city for the time being at least. Jonathan will be handling the transition team.”
Madelyn shot a smirk at Starlight before looking back to the tablet. “Hughie Campbell has been picked up to replace Deep. His powers are still a bit of a grey area that I’m sure that he’ll clear up in intake.” She glanced at Hughie with an eyebrow raised. “PR is currently throwing out mind and truth related names and Costumes is working on something unrestrictive. Let Ashley know if there is anything you need specifically.” She motioned negligently to the PA. “That does leave us one short, however, Recruitment is currently working on demo tests for a new member. Any questions?” Madelyn waited precisely four seconds before nodding and gliding out of the room.
Homelander waited until he knew that both humans were out of range and then scanned the room for bugs – clear. “Well, now that that lovely interlude is done – we can get to business.” It was fun to see how each member reacted. Translucent smirked and leaned back, Hughie smiled and leaned forward, Black Noir only moved his head, Maeve seemed to deepen her slouch while Starlight resembled a puppy jerking to attention. “Deep isn’t going to come back to the team – Starlight saw to that. Hughie will be filling that spot permanently.”
Maeve glanced over Hughie quickly before tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair. “What can the kid do?”
Translucent laughed and threw a leg over the arm of his chair. “The better question is ‘what can’t the kid do’. Kid has a lot of versatility, but Vought is only getting the ability of minor mind control. A-Train’s burst of honesty is his doing and the idiot still can’t lie about his fuck up.”
There was a spark of interest in Maeve’s eyes that she hid quickly, but he saw it. “So, you’re the reason that he can’t stick to script. That was one hell of a mind job. Is it permanent?”
Hughie shifted and rubbed one hand down his arm. “As long as I don’t release it, yes it’s permanent.”
Maeve laughed and sat up straighter. “Damn, just for that, Vought’s going to kiss your ass. Are we going with only minor truth telling, items they know are controlled or are you going with full on mind whammies?”
Hughie looked to Homelander and it was an ego trip to know that such a powerful Supe was willing to cede to him. “We’ll go with full but simple mind control – minor behavioral or opinion changes but keep away from total or major renovations.” Homelander tapped his chin and tilted his head. “Probably have to limit the effect on Supes to simple commands with humans posing less resistance, though I doubt that’s true.”
Hughie smiled self-consciously and shrugged. “Supes are actually easier to work with in all areas. They respond faster and adhere closer. Both are easy enough though.”