Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

43

"Well, they're definitely together, I can tell you that," said Starlight, "but it won't take long until he freaks out on her."

Annie felt... weird. Butcher told her many times that Nina could be used in their favor, and that she could be Homelander's weakness, but she didn't like that Nina was involved with a Supe like him at all. She would end up being collateral damage and Butcher was too busy seeking revenge to be bothered about a civilian losing their life for the "greater good." She hesitated to tell anything to Nina, because Homelander could hear it, and it could fuck up the plan. Nina probably knew something that they didn't, something about his past, something about his suit, a weak part on his skull, something that could weaken him... being that emotional or physical. Butcher probably ended up scaring her since the call they had in Times Square. If Homelander knew that Nina was in contact with the Boys, it would be the end of them. Annie wasn't sure about his feelings for her, if she was a fuck toy, or if he really cared about her. She knew from brief talks with Maeve that his idea of "love" was twisted.

If he was intense as he was with Stormfront, they'd probably be fucked.

He had dated a literal Nazi, one who shook hands with Hitler. It was so fucked up and bizarre to think they almost had another crazy racist on the top of the world once more. Annie never thought that Homelander would stoop so low, he was extremely prejudiced, he was a pompous dick, but she never knew he would literally tolerate the idea of ethnic cleansing just for pussy. After Stormfront died, he was devastated, and unfortunately, the Boys didn't get a chance to obliterate him. His mental state started to deteriorate, and he became possessive and paranoid. His paranoia was what made him put the Vought Tower in quarantine, observing every move by the Seven. Unfortunately, he ended up being right. The shapeshifters infiltrated the building while Annie met with the Boys. She was lucky Homelander thought that the nightly escapades were something that the shapeshifters were doing, instead of Annie herself. It bothered her that Nina could just go in and ask him to end the quarantine and he did so. It was like he had no regard for anyone but her. Annie didn't like Homelander, hell, she didn't like a single Supe in the Seven, but if there's a godlike man who could crush her skull with one move, she wanted to be in his good side. Or at least, she had to pretend to be.

"He's gonna kill her," said Frenchie, "and I'm surprised it hasn't happened."

"He needs someone to French kiss his ass," said Butcher, "and she's the one doing it."

"Don't you know... you know," Hughie began, "any Supe that could fight him, or confront him in any way?"

"I don't work with filthy Supes," said Butcher, "and no, he's the strongest one."

"We also learned that the shapeshifters can replicate our powers, and we're on high alert."

"What have you been doing about it?", asked MM.

"Edgar is trying to find Supes that can extract info from it, but we don't know how long it will take."

Hughie sighed and put his hands over his face. After a pause, Annie continued.

"I'm just... so worried... about what could happen."

"What do you mean?", asked Frenchie.

"These shapeshifters they could just... you know. They could turn into Homelander any second, and they haven't done it yet," Annie seemed to disassociate as the words left her mouth.

"They never tried?", asked Butcher.

"Not to my knowledge, no," said Annie, "they want something else."

"You have one there... and no one tried to beat the shit out it?", Hughie seemed concerned.

"They tried, they really did. Homelander went there to try and intimidate it, but it turned into Stormfront, deformed body and all."

"Which means...", Hughie started.

"Which means that it potentially knows our secrets. It probably knows everything about us. I didn't visit it, nor the other Supes, because we're afraid."

"Afraid of what? That everybody finds out you're cunts?", asked Butcher, "We already know that's the case."

"Oh, fuck you Butcher..."

"Stop fighting, you two," said Kimiko.

Everybody went silent. MM felt shivers down his spine. Frenchie, who was sitting beside her, looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. Hughie took a while to process what had happened, and Butcher stared her while frowning. Kimiko had gone through traumatic experiences that rendered her unable to talk. She would communicate with sign language, and it was something only her brother could understand. She was very close to Frenchie, and taught him the language. If she wanted to say anything to the rest of the Boys or Annie, she would type something using the computer or a cellphone. But that day she spoke. She spoke in a sweet voice, a bit faint, but in plain English. She didn't stutter, neither her voice cracked, she said it nonchalantly, as if she was talking all the time prior to that. She talked gently, like a suggestion. It was weird, and it happened out of nowhere.

And that meant it probably wasn't her.

After less of a second, both Butcher and MM took out pistols and pointed at the thing. The shapeshifter smiled, still as Kimiko, and Frenchie jumped out of the couch, nervously screaming. He probably noticed it wasn't her.

"Where is she? Where is she?", Frenchie asked frantically, "What did you do to her?"

"Relax," said the shapeshifter, with a female voice, "she's tied up in her room. She's fine."

No one knew if that voice belonged to Kimiko or not, because none of them ever heard her talk. It was unnerving. Butcher tried to intimidate it by putting the gun closer to the shapeshifter's forehead. It smiled, as if the immediate threat of death was nothing but a joke.

"What are you doing here?", asked Butcher.

"The same thing you're doing," said fake Kimiko, "planning."

"Planning what? What the fuck?", asked Hughie, trying to make sense of that mess himself.

"I believe we have the same goal," fake Kimiko smiled, "and I think we could help each other."

"I don't work with Supes, freak," said Butcher, "now tell me what's stopping me from busting a cap on your head?"

"Go on, Billy. Kill me," said the shapeshifter, "and you'll lose the only opportunity to get rid of Homelander for good."