Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

20

"We need a contingency plan."

The Seven and Nina were in the conference room. They had some of these meetings without the assistant, but Homelander thought it would be best if she knew what they would discuss that time. Some of them looked annoyed, some exhausted, some were tired to hear Homelander's voice again. None of them wanted to be there. The Deep followed Homelander like a puppy, Nina came in feeling weird. Maeve, A-Train, Noir and Starlight followed.

"I thought we did have one," said Maeve, "to stay indoors until we were attacked."

"Yes," Homelander's face twitched. "But not everybody is following the rules. Right, Starlight?"

He turned to her, who was sitting across the table, far from him. His eyes were full of anger. Annie felt nervous. She was sure he didn't know. Everybody now was looking at her.

"Popping lightbulbs, sneaking out late at night," He smiled at her, a smile that never touched his eyes. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I..."

"What the fuck were you doing?", he shook his head, now serious.

"I'm so sorry," she looked frightened, a bit too much. "I did sneak out and I'm sorry."

"Who was it?", he was frowning.

"What?"

"You went out to see someone," said Homelander. "who was it?"

Nina was starting to feel afraid.

"My father... I needed...."

Father? She doesn't...

Nina knew it must have been the contact Annie talked about. She knew Homelander would find out. She didn't know how Starlight had managed to get out of the building during that forced quarantine, and now that the leader knew about it, he would probably lash out at her. It's not like he hadn't done that before, but he was seeming way more aggressive than usual. The conference room doors opened, interrupting Starlight.

"Hi guys..."

Nina got confused for a second because Annie was the one entering the room. Before she could process anything, the other one leapt from her seat to attack Maeve. A loud boom was heard and shockwave could be felt as Homelander caught the creature by the neck and forced it down on the V shaped table, cracking it.

"Where are the other ones?", he shouted. Nina had never heard him like that. His voice sounded like thunder, deep and hoarse, proportionate to the anger he was feeling.

The shapeshifter started to laugh. It was chilling to see someone with Annie's face laughing so diabolically. Even while being choked, it didn't seem like it was afraid of Homelander. "You can't stop us."

"Where are they?", he screamed, inches away from the creature's face. It didn't seem like it would give anyone away. It still laughed, as if taunting him.

He screamed in anger as he threw the shapeshifter out of the window, smashing the glass into pieces. The cold air of New York invaded the room, every second of the encounter feeling more and more dreadful. He flew through the shattered window and as the body was flying, he stomped over the head and forced it the ninety-nine stories down to street level. Another boom was heard, and the building shook like it was ready to collapse. Nina was teary-eyed. She had never seen him so angry, and she had never witnessed him killing someone so brutally. She couldn't even imagine the state of the body. It had probably turned into mush. He flew back to the conference room, still furious, blood splattered all over his blue suit and his face.

"That's why I told you... Not. To. Leave!", he yelled, addressing the Seven as he walked to the door. Annie was still a bit shocked and he pointed at her.

"If you do this again, I'll break your neck."

He walked away and everybody was left feeling uneasy. Annie looked at Nina and noticed how open wide her eyes were. Starlight and Maeve were right, to a degree. He wasn't that wholesome, but the assistant still thought that it was due to the circumstances. He did tell Annie not to go anywhere and she did, which jeopardized their safety, and broke his trust. The shapeshifter probably knew she would leave once more and took her place. They didn't know how long it was pretending to be Annie. It was sitting too far for Homelander to smell it, perhaps. The problem was that the shapeshifter was strong, and fast. Homelander was faster than it, A-Train and Maeve could probably stop one. But how many times? How many of them would attack? Nina feared for everybody, but most of all, she thought about the possibility of being the first to go. She was expendable, and she didn't even need to ask. One by one, the Seven went back to their rooms, leaving Nina behind. She looked out the broken window and shivered. She went back to her bedroom and locked the door, as if it would keep the danger away. Maybe her mom was right.

She was still bruised from the other attack and it was very difficult to process all of what was happening. She was in extreme danger, danger that even the Seven were failing to prevent. She never thought she would see them like lost puppies looking at each other. She was scared to talk to the boss after everything, thinking that he could snap at her like he did with Annie. He was feeling the pressure... To Nina, his actions were somehow justified. Threatening to break her neck was a little out of line though. Nina could sense the fear in Annie's face when Homelander pointed at her. She just shook her head and tried not to think of it actually happening. He obliterated a shapeshifter and just to feel the ground shaking was enough to give her nightmares for days.

Nina knew that Homelander was terrified on the inside. His outburst was probably due to the frustration of not knowing when the Tower would be attacked. She wanted to comfort him like she did the other day. That hug meant so much to her, and it felt so... human. He had been her hero throughout her teenage years, and that time it felt like he was being himself for the first time. Admitting a flaw. She felt bad about it, but there was nothing that she could do. She hugged her Homelander plushie wondering if he would let her in if she tried. If he would let her crawl under the sheets with him, if she could feel him. Not just his room, but his life. His heart. It was a silly thought, but it was a thought she couldn't help having. Even America's favorite superhero needed a hug. She wondered if people hugged him... not just for promotional photos. His problems wouldn't be solved with hugs, but she wanted to show that she was there for him.

She needed him to know that.