Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

28

"Is this Nina Oliveira?"

"Yes. It's Nina."

"My name is Billy Butcher. I'm sorry for all of this, but we need to talk."

Nina was walking around Times Square talking to a stranger on the phone. Starlight seemed worried, looking around nervously. It made Nina feel uneasy. She knew that Homelander shouldn't find out about the conversation they were about to have, and there was no way he would find them that easily on that sea of people. Nina hoped that the call was actually important, and not revealing things about him that she already knew. The man on the phone sounded cautious, very serious. He had an accent, perhaps English. She didn't know how he looked like, or what was the reason she couldn't meet him in person. The truth was that her curiosity got to her, and she wanted to know what was so urgent about Homelander. There was a possibility that the Butcher guy knew what Homelander never wanted to tell her.

"What do you want me to know?"

"You work for Homelander, is that right?"

Nina nodded, even though Butcher couldn't see her. "Yeah, I do."

"For how long?"

"Uh... four to five months," said Nina. "Why is that?"

"How is he like... as a boss?"

"He's... kind for the most part," Nina scratched her head. "Sometimes he can get really angry, but anyone in his position would feel the same. He has a lot to do."

"What does he do?"

"He saves people, you know. He's a superhero."

"He's not a superhero," Butcher snickered. "He's a fucking Supe, a freak. You know he could destroy the entire world if he wants to, don't you love?"

"I know that," Nina sighed. "But I also think that people don't understand what he goes through. Most people wouldn't be able to fill his shoes."

"Well, your cunt of a boyfriend hurt a lot of people. People I care about. How do you feel about that?"

"Listen, what am I supposed to take from this? Do you really have to talk like that?" Nina seemed annoyed and Starlight started to feel angry. She knew Butcher was probably being Butcher once again. It wouldn't help their case.

"I just want you to understand that you're working for a monster. Starlight swore you have nothing to do with his wrongdoings. So you tell me, Miss Oliveira. What do you really do?"

"I help him with his daily tasks... and get him new super suits. I go with him to press conferences. I hand headshots for him to sign and we visit schools to talk to kids. That's what I do."

"I can confirm to you that Homelander's life is way more than fake smiling for a camera," said Butcher. "You're the one who doesn't see it."

"Okay, sir," Nina blinked twice. Walking in circles around Times Square was starting to tire her. "If all of what you said it's true, why don't you prove it to me? Because Maeve and Starlight told me the same things you are telling me right now. Why can't we meet?"

"Because the cunt can smell who you were with. And then, our chance goes bye-bye."

"Chance? What chance?"

Butcher changed the subject. He was starting to dislike the conversation and he would probably blow the whole operation by talking too much. "Don't you think it's unfair that someone like Homelander has so much power over us? You know that he could kill you if he wanted to, right?"

"Yes. I once was held at gunpoint while leaving the Walmart I worked at, late at night." Nina shook her head, remembering the situation. "When it's time to go, it's time to go."

"I promised Starlight that I would be nice," he said, sounding annoyed. "Leave before it's too late."

Nina remained silent. Butcher hung up. Nothing made sense. Should she bring this up to Homelander? She hated keeping secrets from him. But Starlight was adamant that he shouldn't know. She looked at Annie, a bit disappointed and sad.

"Annie... just tell me. Tell me what you want me to know."

Before Annie could say anything, they heard a big thud. The ground started to shake. It felt like an earthquake, people started to scream and buildings started to explode before the two. Nina looked up and saw bodies flying, shattering the displays around Times Square. The sea of people started to disperse, running around, trampling over each other. Both Annie and Nina were pushed around by the terrified people who ran randomly, following their instincts just to get out of there. The asphalt started to crack, and then Nina realized that it wasn't an earthquake. She thought briefly about what Butcher said, about how Supes had too much power. That kind of destruction wasn't caused by natural phenomena. It was a Supe. A very strong one. During the mess, Nina could catch a glimpse of red hair as she was trying to protect herself.

Maeve.

It was Maeve... but not really. Back at the conference room, Nina, Ashley and the Seven were discussing the shapeshifters and Maeve herself was the one who asked if the shapeshifters could replicate their powers. Both shapeshifters Nina saw being destroyed, were destroyed by Homelander himself, the strongest Supe of all. That only confirmed their fear - shapeshifters were posing as the Seven, and were as powerful as the Seven themselves. Nina ran away to protect herself and Starlight tried to stop the shapeshifter, throwing blasts of light in its direction. Times Square was almost empty now, except for the disfigured bodies smashed against the ground. Some of them were moaning in pain, others were silent, immobile. It was horrifying. Nina almost tripped over one while trying to run. Starlight got between her and shapeshifter Maeve, trying to stop her at any costs. Everything happened so fast, all Nina could see was a blur.

As she stumbled to ran away from the line of fire, Nina remembered Homelander's words and started to think he was right. He told her not to go. She wanted to stay behind and help Annie, but she didn't know how. She wanted to help the people hurt on the ground, the ones who were still alive wouldn't be alive for long. Anything she tried would be useless, the people would end up dying and she would end up being killed. She took her phone out and dialed 911, which slowed her down. Nina took one last look over her shoulder to see Annie on the ground and fake Maeve running towards her. She couldn't even process the information when she was quickly pushed away from the shapeshifter's path.

Nina fell on her butt. It felt a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't really hard. She looked up and saw an asian woman, looking worried. She motioned for Nina to run and ran away herself. Nina got up and saw something ripping through the air. The same force came in to punch Maeve square in the face, so hard and fast that she flew, her body fell down and grazed against the asphalt for miles. No one would've survived that. Not a human at least. Nina was horrified, but also thankful. He told her nothing would happen to her as long as he was around.

It was him. It was John.