Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Homelander (2) (Bonus Chapter)
"Replace us?" The Deep squeaked, looking over his shoulder at Homelander with wide eyes. "But... but we’re The Seven! We’re the premier superhero team in the world! They can’t just replace us!"
"They can, Kevin," Homelander said patronizingly, patting The Deep on the shoulder. The Deep flinched. "And they will. Unless we remind them why we are the ones who rule the sky."
Homelander walked to the head of the table. He slammed his fist down onto the mahogany. The wood cracked loudly, splintering under the impact.
"Edgar is weak!" Homelander roared, dropping the conversational tone entirely. "He wants to send a bunch of human security guards with sound guns to handle a squad of military Supes! He is a coward! He treats us like products on a shelf and he’s perfectly willing to let us be discontinued if it saves his bottom line!"
He glared at the four heroes.
"But I am not a product. And I am not going to sit in this tower and wait for some jarhead in black armor to come and put a bullet in my head. We are going to take the fight to them."
Maeve took a sip of her spiked coffee. "Take the fight to them where, John?"
"Fort Benning," Homelander said, his eyes flashing red for a brief second. "General Raddock’s base of operations. The Red Unit operates out of there. We are going to fly down there, tear the base apart, find these military knock offs and show them what real power looks like."
Starlight shot up from her chair, her hands flat on the table. Her face was pale, but her jaw was set with a stubborn bravery.
"Homelander, you can’t be serious," Starlight said, her voice resolute.
Homelander slowly turned his head to look at her. The room temperature seemed to drop ten degrees.
"Excuse me, Annie?" he asked, his voice a deadly whisper.
"You’re talking about attacking a United States military base," Starlight argued, desperately trying to appeal to logic. "That’s a federal installation. There are thousands of human soldiers there. If we attack them, it’s an act of terrorism. It’s a declaration of war against the United States government! We are supposed to be heroes, protecting the country, not fighting its army!"
Homelander stared at her. He began to walk toward her.
The Deep pushed his chair back, trying to distance himself from the impending explosion.
A-Train looked at the door, calculating his odds of escaping.
Maeve set her mug down, her muscles tensing, preparing for the worst.
Homelander stopped inches from Starlight. He was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She held her ground, staring up into his face, though her breathing was rapid.
"A declaration of war?" Homelander repeated softly. He leaned down, his face level with hers. "Annie, darling. They already declared war. They killed our people. They are building weapons to hunt us down like animals."
He reached up and gently tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ear. His touch was light, but it carried the threat of absolute violence.
"You talk about the government like they are our masters," Homelander said, his eyes beginning to glow with that faint red light. "They are insects. We are gods. You think I care about treason? I am the law. I am the power."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a hiss that only she could hear.
"If we sit here and do nothing, they will kill us. And if you refuse to fight for your family, Annie... if you refuse to stand with me against the people trying to destroy us..."
The red light in his eyes intensified, illuminating the tears welling up in Starlight’s eyes.
"...then I will assume you are with them," Homelander finished. "And I will deal with you right here. Right now. I will burn a hole straight through your pretty little head and I will tell the press that the Red Unit got to you."
Starlight trembled. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing but a bottomless void. He wasn’t bluffing. He would kill her without a second thought.
"John, stop it," Maeve said loudly, standing up and stepping between them. She placed a hand on Homelander’s chest, pushing him back a fraction of an inch. "She’s just scared. She doesn’t understand the stakes."
Homelander looked at Maeve, his eyes still glowing. For a second, it looked like he might laser Maeve as well. But Maeve held his gaze, refusing to back down.
Slowly, the red light faded. Homelander took a step back, smoothing his cape.
"Are you with me, Maggie?" Homelander asked, his voice challenging. "Or are you with the mud crawlers?"
Maeve swallowed the bitter taste of surrender. She knew what Raddock’s men were capable of. She had seen the files on the supe terrorists. If there was a military hit squad out there, it was kill or be killed.
"I’m with you, John," Maeve said, her voice flat, hating herself for the concession. "If they’re coming for us, we hit them first."
Homelander smiled. "Good." He turned to the other two. "Kevin? Reggie?"
The Deep shot out of his chair, standing at attention. "110 percent, Homelander! Absolutely! Nobody replaces us! We’ll show those army jerks who’s boss. I’m right behind you, man. Right behind you."
A-Train nodded frantically, wiping sweat from his brow. "Yeah. Yeah, boss. Whatever you need. If they got superspeed, I’ll take ’em down. I’m in."
Homelander looked back at Starlight. She was gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles white. She looked trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.
"Annie?" Homelander prompted.
Starlight closed her eyes, a single tear escaping down her cheek. "I’m in," she whispered.
"Perfect," Homelander beamed, clapping his hands together. "Family sticks together. We go in hard, we go in fast. We find the commanders, we find the lab and we tear the Red Unit to pieces."
He looked at the clock on the wall.
"You have thirty minutes to get your gear and meet me on the roof. If you are thirty one minutes late, I leave without you. And if I leave without you, do not be here when I get back."
He turned and strode out of the boardroom, the doors swinging shut behind him.
The remaining members of The Seven stood in the silence, the oppressive weight of Homelander’s insanity pressing down on them.
A-Train was the first to move, zipping out of the room in a blur of blue. The Deep scurried after him, muttering to himself.
Starlight collapsed back into her chair, burying her face in her hands. She began to sob silently, her shoulders shaking.
Maeve stood over her for a moment, an expression of profound pity and exhaustion on her face. She reached out, placing a hesitant hand on Starlight’s shoulder.
"I’m sorry, Annie," Maeve whispered quietly. "But in this world, you either do what he says, or you die."
Maeve turned and walked out of the room, leaving Starlight alone to face the terrifying reality of the war she had just been drafted into.
