Murderous Cinderella 2 - or 'What if Homelander was born with a Twin Sister?' (The Boys AU)

Hugh Campbell wasn't sure if he had died, gone into a coma- anything that was reasonable that could explain how he ended up getting laid by Patriot girl.

As the post-coitus clarity hit him hard mixed with a degree of hangover from drinking booze for hours yesterday, Hughie couldn't help but think that this was… odd. Like, really odd. The girl went on to tell him what happened the night before.

She had come to check on him after what happened with Robin on a job from Vought and wanted to offer her condolences, but due to his drunken behavior, the two ended up talking for a while. He ended up sobbing on his shoulder, she got a bit drunk herself and they ended up going at it for hours.

The more she- Janet spoke, the more the memories of the previous night reached him. The pleasure, the care, the devotion, the hunger and the pure love that came from the girl. All so unforgettable and intoxicating.

"Hm~? You don't like it?"

The blonde's question brought him out from the brief remembrance. "I do."

Quiet and curt, but he meant it. The scrambled eggs were basic, but she had done them quite right.

"I didn't…" He started to say, trying to deflect a bit. "You know, I didn't know you knew how to cook. You and the others."

The blonde didn't look offended by this, leaning back and thinking of it for a moment. "I suppose it's weird since we are seen as stars but… most of us do."

Hughie nodded, thinking she would leave it to just that but-

"My brother is worthless in the kitchen," The girl admitted, smiling so… wonderfully. "He tried, once, out of curiosity and… the results are hidden behind a few NDA contracts."

He drew an amused sigh, the smile on the young woman widening.

"How is he… you know, behind the smashing smiles and all of that," Hughie decided to press on, feeling almost irritated by the mirthfulness of the morning.

He just lost his girlfriend by a day- a day since she died because of a speeding bastard that couldn't stop for a moment.

"He's… a normal man. Flawed, not always perfect but… he is my brother," Janet replied happily, yet restraining something as she paused a few times in her answer. "I am actually surprised you wanted to know more about him than me."

"W-Well, it's just that… I think I get you."

She raised an intrigued brow. "Oh? Do you?"

Why does this feel like I am a mouse about to be jumped by a cat?

Then again, he did hear her purr a bit as she said that.

"I think you are a nice girl that just didn't get the chance to meet people and make experiences and… It was your first time."

"It was," Janet confessed shamelessly. "And I regret none of that."

"You don't regret doing it with a drunk guy?" Hughie asked back, which prompted a melodious giggle from the superheroine.

"I don't regret doing it with such a handsome young man. Likewise, I don't hear any complaints about doing it with a drunk girl that could have easily broken your pelvis."

It sounded like Janet wanted it to be a boast for him to claim, but to Hughie it all felt like a lucky chance. After all, being drunk, wouldn't she have had trouble holding back her strength?

"But let's not focus on yesterday's night for now… how are you?"

The sheer concern hit him hard, as if he had been asked this by Robin himself. Hughie caught himself from going back to the sobbing mess of yesterday, looking away from Janet for a moment as he thought of this.

How was he?

He felt empty, numb but… he was alive. And while far from happy, yesterday night gave him a bit of a 'boost' over his confidence. He fucked Patriot Girl (more like the opposite now that he thought about it) and he was… happy. But also vengeful as he demanded retribution.

"Angry."

Janet nodded. "I am sorry for what happened to her. You repeated her name a lot."

His shoulders sagged a bit in embarrassment for being caught calling for Robin, which he knew a woman would feel quite upset about while he was fucking them, and because he heard something he had been hopelessly expecting to hear from someone without being too drunk to remember.

Sorry. And a genuine one at that.

But it didn't feel enough. It was a good starting point, but not the end of it. There was just so much to pour out, so much that alcohol couldn't make him forget about that tragedy.

"It's just… unfair. The news said she was in the middle of the road, but- but she wasn't- I was literally holding her hands when that happened and we were by-by a parking spot!"

Hughie expected to hear denial, he expected to hear Janet deflect on the matter but the woman merely nodded. She wasn't upset at him, he could tell the blonde was more perplexed by something else.

"Oh really? Do tell me more about A-Train. I think he may have… forgotten a few details when he mentioned the accident."

For some reason, her smile had gotten more vicious for a moment before turning back to the normal one.

Despite this weird development, the young man spoke as truthfully as he could, ending up crying on her shoulder once more. She listened, looking sad and then dropping a soft and tempting kiss on his cheek, quite close to his lips.

Right as he waved at her retreating figure, Hughie was sure he spotted a giddy smile on her face and… it made him shudder.

Janet looked ready to go on a warpath.

"I think this is highly unnecessary."

Madelyn Stillwell was, as one would imagine, not pleased with the idea forwarded by Janet. Which was sad, really, as Janet wasn't planning to back down on this topic.

Stan Edgar had been 'curious' over where Janet had spent the night, but he was glad that the blonde made it back to 'home' at the starting hours of her workday. The fact she wanted to have a meeting with him, Madelyn and also her brother there too truly brought out a greater interest on what she had to say on some 'developments on the A-Train' situation.

"Why?" Janet shot back, and her brother remained quiet as he had no genuine opinion on the matter to intervene. "I mean, you get the chance to have that lying idiot to save face, make him sound like someone that owns up to mistakes-"

"The Eight don't make any mistakes," Madelyn argued with the classic mantra adopted by recent efforts to cover for their most renowned assets from public backlash in case they exceeded their duties. "It would just show us as unreliable if we admit they can be flawed."

"Or more human, something which would help our PR campaign better," The younger blonde argued, a topic which Stan took a moment to ponder about.

It's been a few years now since they have gone with Madelyn's experiment of letting them go without a leash for so long, and while most of the Eight knew how to cover up for any fuck-ups they created, this one was a concerning sight.

A-Train ran through a pedestrian- which clearly wasn't in the middle of the road as the junkie had blatantly lied about in his explanation and that he did it while also being close to kill two for one.

"You don't have the qualifications to establish that, Jan. And I am sure Stan can-"

"I actually find Janet's proposal worth of merit," The bespectacled CEO interjected, surprising his direct subordinate with that response. "Despite it being quite generic and that it would need some specific planning to it, I think that A-Train delivering an apology could help getting more people to respect him. Perhaps we could arrange a proper visit to the church where the girl's funeral will be held and have him go through a confession by one of the priests."

"And maybe punish him for lying to us," Homelander jumped at the opportunity, with Madelyn looking mildly irritated by this perspective, perhaps expecting help from him. "He lied to us all when we are meant to be open about… everything."

I wonder if he suspects his sister hadn't been out of the building just to investigate this matter.

Stan didn't entertain this thought just yet. He felt this would perhaps instigate a dangerous reaction from many elements. Homelander being one as he was protective as a brother should with his sister.

Not in a sick and twisted way, that sort of stuff was aimed at Madelyn as far as he was aware of (and he was confident he was entirely aware of it), but rather in a genuine and thus more worrisome degree.

Another issue was Madelyn herself. She got to Homelander and sunk her teeth on him from a young age, but Janet had always eluded her.

Due to Janet's impressive mind in enduring the conditioning, she didn't see a reason to share the same therapist with her brother- in fact, Madelyn's behavior had been enough to level a decision on giving the task to someone that could be leashed if going too far.

Someone with an existing commitment and that wouldn't dare to treat a child like Madelyn did with little John. Truly saddening that she managed to get to the point where touching her would mean unraveling some unpleasant cans of worms all at once.

"Stan, this- the Eight's reputation-"

"Will remain intact as far as anyone cares. In fact, I bet that the people would appreciate more and we would have to pay less than a major cover-up would imply."

Stan nodded slowly at this response by Janet, further reinforcing that the idea was, within logical reasons, a better option to follow through.

"And I would go as far as second this option because we need to put our focus on the more advantageous options for the company. I am afraid that you have yet to raise a valid counter-argument for me or anyone in the Executive Council to ignore this idea."

Madelyn picked silence at this, her lips forming a thin line on her face as she was visibly irked by this development. Not like that was going to win her any favor, and Stan decided to wrap up some general points to follow through to allow this idea to be as successful as needed.

He was going to entertain a few more talks with proper specialists that could gauge the matter better, but it still sounded like an excellent idea to save face and punish the asset in a reasonable manner.

But right as the meeting was called to an end, he decided to finally entertain the main issue he had with Patriot Girl.

"Janet?"

The young woman paused, but so did the other two former guests.

"Do stay behind, I have a task for you to discuss."

Madelyn narrowed her eyes at it, but she decided against lingering, and Homelander didn't seem to understand there was something else in the 'task' he had in mind for the young woman.

She took a seat and he leaned forward to look at her better.

"Where have you been yesterday?"

Her lips twitched. "At Hugh Campbell's house."

"...And?"

"And that's where I spent the night."

Stan frowned deeply at this. "You sleep on his couch?"

"I sleep on his bed. With him."

"...Why?" The CEO inquired, surprised by the honesty but also by the facts themselves.

Janet was never the one that would take this sort of rebellious initiative. Out of the Eight, Janet was the one with the cleanest conscience among them and… hearing from her own voice that she had sex with someone she met in a single day was…

Well, concerning.

"I like him."

The admission further confused Stan. "Truly?"

"Don't sound like this is odd. Love comes at unexpected times."

…Love?

"Janet- Jan, what are you talking about?"

"I love him. I love how cute he is, how he smiles, how he feels to hug and to nuzzle on-" She shuddered, pausing a moment before smiling again. "Stan, I love him."

"Even though he just came out from a relationship where his girlfriend died?"

"A tragedy," Janet admitted, nodding respectfully. "For Hughie."

But not for the girl that died.

It was clear that Janet may have found a reason to obsess over this individual. Hugh Campbell… Stan was quite certain the young man held no threatening information on him. Quite the standard 'average joe' that lived with his father, worked at an Electronics Shop, and had just a girlfriend known through his social media.

He was… plain. Not hideous or too unpleasant to one's sight, but he couldn't see anything that could differentiate him from a standard guy from the streets. Despite that, Janet was head over heels for him and that could be a double-edged blade.

He could become a trustworthy 'stabilizer' in case she needed a shoulder to cry on, a bed to rest in and… private businesses. On the other hand, he could also become someone that would end up causing her to do stupid and… damaging things in the name of love.

It was best to let this happen for a while, but also set up some coverage of this young man's patterns from this point onward.

Something told Stan that he may be onto something alright…

AN

Billy Butcher may soon have it rough to try and recruit Hughie.