Maeve
Well, it's been about two weeks now, and I gotta say, Starlight is really eating this shit up. The whole thing with the Deep, and she's trying to be this rebellious little girl.
I gotta say, I'm impressed.
Won't last long though. The house always wins.
Still though, it's kickstarted this whole thing. There's like a movement, if you want to call it that, to stand behind Starlight. To show support for her.
Honestly, she could be genuine, she may not be, I don't really care. One way or another, this fucking hell will wear her down, break her until she's something like me or something like A-train or Homelander…
I'd like to hope it doesn't come to that. If we're lucky, or her, then she'll have a helluva lot stronger will than I ever would be. This won't break her. Maybe she'll break them.
I doubt it, but I can hope though, right?
I will say this, though, one thing that's changed is that a certain someone's image certainly has skyrocketed.
About a day after his debut at that expo, a video went viral of John signing one of his flannels and giving it to some girl his age. A small girl, nervous, bright-eyed… looking like she would fall over at the slightest breeze.
And John… that kid made her fucking life.
You can see it in the video. Maybe it's where he's her age, or so young in general, or maybe he's just that good of a person. It's been so long since I've seen something that genuine from… well, anyone like us.
After he signed his shirt and gave it to her, he actually hugged her when she started crying her little eyes out. And it wasn't like one of those stiff-armed hugs, or one of those scripted things you see in our movies and shit.
This kid actually offered a hug, an honest one, took her into his arms, and apologized for making her cry. Now, it's nothing but people talking on Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, all that shit about how good of a guy John is. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm doing right now, scrolling through Twitter and looking at one of the many tweets of the video. Well, mainly the replies.
Homelanderlover: Wow, look how genuine this kid is! The newest member of the Seven, people!
MooneyHoongry: don't see much like this. Juggernaut ftw! #Juggernaut!
Supermama: Look at how happy that girl is! Hearing this boy actually apologizing for her tears is just phenomenal! #Juggernaut!
pheonixforce1996: Omg that was so cute! XD I love this kid already! And look at how gentle he was with that girl, despite having super-strength!
hungrylady15: Oooh lala… look at those muscles. He's someone who's actually built instead of using some kind of suit… he's the same age as me, isn't he? Fifteen? XD
TStephenson1966: Now that kid was raised right. So glad to see superheroes who are humble in this day and age. Especially one so young.
IcePrincessOfficial: Good job on the debut, buddy! You made that girl so happy! #Juggernaut!
I can't help but to roll my eyes at some of these. In particular, this hungrylady15 girl and Ice Princess. One's clearly a hormonal teenager without much self control. And as for Ice Princess, she's just trying to look nice for the public. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't even her, but someone from Vought managing the account.
Still, though, the amount of love and respect John has managed to gain is insane. I feel like it was an accident rather than intentional, personally. John clearly doesn't care too much about his image, or he would've done exactly what Ashley had planned for him.
Speaking of the red-headed demon, Starlight's little stunt at the expo had a very fortunate side effect of getting her fired. Now she isn't here to bug any of us anymore, and I am thankful for that.
John's presence has had one hell of an effect, that's for sure. Quite the positive one, if I'm being honest. Though… I'm not exactly sure that it's completely a good thing.
First off, A-Train's jealous. This new guy, a teenager mind you, just showed up on the team, is only there for a week, and on his debut, he gets so much more popular than the veteran.
A-Train doesn't like the fact that John is already outdoing him in a day, compared to what A-Train himself did in weeks.
And his points have skyrocketed. That's the best way to put it.
Honestly, I feel like there might've been a time where I cared about this, but I'm not exactly concerned over the fact that I'm not second place anymore.
I'm third.
You heard that right. In the short time he's been on the Seven, and in the public eye mind you, John has skyrocketed up there in popularity. Polls, income, you name it, he's second only to Homelander.
They already had action figures, dolls, all kinds of stuff like that made for marketing within his first week, ready to release upon his debut. I've seen pictures posted on Twitter, Facebook, all of it. Parents taking pictures or videos of their kids playing with their Juggernaut action figures, or adults showing them off and reviewing them, keeping them as collectibles.
Seriously, this kid has become one of the most popular superheroes out there in no time.
And the funny thing? I don't think he did any of it on purpose.
I watched his debut, just to see how it went. It didn't last as long as I figured it would, but considering the panic attack he nearly had from the one girl's question about the source of his powers.
I recognized the little fan girl in the video. The cameras stayed on him when he jumped off the stage to hear her question better, and the little Queen Maeve shirt the kid wore kind of stuck out.
These days, things like that aren't anything big, but it's still nice to see people who actually do like me. Even if they don't really know me.
But something tells me I'm the kid's second favorite superhero now.
John doesn't even seem to care all that much about the fame anyway. His paycheck is the only thing he really wants out of this, and that's fine. We all want to keep our paychecks too, even Homelander. But a few of us want the fame and the fortune.
Like John, I only really care about the fortune. Unlike him though… that's all I really care about.
There was a time when I was eager and determined to help people, just like Starlight. The doe-eyed little girl with powers, hoping to make a difference.
And then I found out what it was really like.
Now, as long as I keep getting my paycheck, I could really care less about much else. I don't even go on patrols like I used to anymore.
Being honest, I kind of miss it. The way things felt back then. How good it felt to actually save people.
But I just don't have it in me to try. The house always wins. It doesn't matter what I do, they'd make it some kind of publicity stunt.
I shake those thoughts away and go back to scrolling through my phone. Honestly, I think I'm just curious to see more shit people are posting about John.
John.
It's kind of funny… it's just a name, so many people have the same name, and yet, I never thought I'd think about that name with anything but disgust.
After all, there two Johns in the Seven. The Juggernaut… and Homelander.
But unlike Homelander, John Gallagher is the real person. Not the mask.
I scroll through Twitter, only for my eyes to catch something that passes by. I frantically scroll back up, and my eyes fly wide at what I see.
Slaughtermaster75: Holy shit! I know the Juggernaut! I'd recognize that red shirt anywhere! That's John Gallagher, from PWHS in Portsmouth Ohio!
Crap, John's already been made. But then again, something tells me he doesn't really care about any of that. Otherwise, he probably would've opted for some custom made superhero outfit.
I scroll through and look at some of the replies. Many of them are John's former classmates, from the looks of it. There are occasionally people who have seen it and are making surprised and shocked responses, but other than that, it looks like it's mainly the classmates for now.
As I scroll through, my eyes catch on particulate thread from one of the replies.
AllyCatatPO: Hey, madmaddie02, that is the John I think it is, isn't it?
madmaddie02: Yes, Allison, that is my John.
AllyCatatPO: Oh, your John, huh? :) XOXO
madmaddie02: Not like that! We aren't like that, Allie! You know what I meant!
AllyCatatPO: Someone's falling in love! Good for you, little sis!
JGall/MercerGuy: You two do know that I do get notifications when ya'll make a tweet, right? Lol
It takes me a moment to really get what this comment is about. I vaguely recognize the madmaddie girl. She's the blonde that was in the background of the video that's got John so popular. His best friend, if I remember right.
It's easy to guess that JGall is John, considering the way he responded, and the next couple of replies confirm it.
AllyCatatPO: The man of the hour! How's everything up at New York?
JGall/MercerGuy: Busy, loud, never shutting up. I miss the damn countryside.
I can't help the genuine laughter that escapes me when I read that. I've only known him a little over a week, but I'd recognize that smartass snark anywhere.
A knock at the door throws me from my jubilance, and my positive mood immediately fades in place of irritation as I jump up off my couch, grumbling to myself.
When I reach the door, I throw it open in frustration. "What?" I make my annoyance known before I even see who's on the other side.
Only to immediately feel like I just kicked a puppy.
"Bad time?" That familiar grin that I've come to get used to stares my shocked expression down as John himself stands on the other side of the door, rather than someone I was expecting. I was thinking it was Stillwell or Homelander, no John.
"Um, no." I shake my head quickly, giving a friendly smile, a genuine one. One I never thought I'd give again. Yet here's this fifteen year old kid changing that. "I just thought you were someone else."
"Ah." John nods his head. "Well, I'm not a dipshit. I wanted to ask if you wanted to head out on patrol."
That makes my eyes fly wide open. Whatever I was expecting him to ask, it certainly wasn't that.
"Patrol?" I can't help but to repeat back to him. I haven't been on an actual patrol in so long. "You mean, actually going out into the city, right?"
John's grin fades slightly, and he raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Is there another kind of patrol I don't know about?"
I open my mouth to make a joke, but immediately close it when I realize that said joke about my sex life will probably make him a bit uncomfortable.
"Um, no." I settle with shaking my head. "It just caught me by surprise. I haven't really had anyone invite me for patrol, and I'd have figured you rather go with Starlight."
John chuckles at that, shaking his head in amusement. "I like Starlight, don't get me wrong, but I don't have to carry you all over the place." He reasons, and I get what he means.
I can jump onto the roof of a five story building. Starlight can't.
"If you don't want to, that's fine-"
"No, I'll go." I shake my head before the kid gets the wrong idea. I already gave him a bad first impression when we met considering he thought I hated him or something. And honestly, I can take the chance to get to know the kid a little better.
I've been keeping an eye on him like I told Edgar I would, but outside of being a country boy from Ohio, I don't really know much about him.
I could say it's because he's the first genuine person in this business at all that I've met in a long time, but that place belongs to Starlight.
The thing is… as bad as it sounds, an adult is one thing. Regardless of whether they know what they're getting into, an adult makes the conscious choice to get into this business and do what they can to get to the top.
But… John isn't like that. He's perfectly content with just the paycheck. He doesn't really want fame or anything like that, and he's only sixteen. Most kids his age would be ecstatic to the opportunity he has, supe or not.
He's not just a good kid. He's a good person.
Good thing I wear my outfit a majority of the time. I step out of the hallway. John steps out of the way to give me some room as I turn around and shut the door, locking it before slipping the key into my boot.
"Let's go." I say as I turn to look at him, giving him a small smile.
I can see another good reason why John asked someone to tag along at all.
He doesn't know jack shit about Manhattan. He asked for some places with pretty high crime rates, and I ended up taking him to East Harlem.
I know we probably should've run this by Stillwell. I know she won't like the fact that we did this without her say-so.
What did John have to say about that when I asked him though?
"The bitch can take it up with Edgar."
I don't know exactly what it is, but he does not like Stillwell. At all.
And who am I to judge? I don't like the old cunt either.
At this point, we're just making our way along rooftops in the area, taking quick glances here and there to see if there's anything going on where we need to step in. So far, it's been surprisingly quiet for East Harlem.
In the meantime, outside of few jokes here and there about me vs him, there isn't really much we've said to each other.
Time to change that.
"So, where'd you say you're from again?" I ask him, hoping to spark up a conversation as I take a quick glance over to him.
"Doubt you've heard of it." He admits with a slight chuckle, glancing down into one of the alleys to check for anything. "I went to school in Portsmouth till I moved to Manhattan for this whole superhero thing. But I'm from a little area called Blue Creek."
"Blue Creek?" I can't help but to ask, giving him a questioning glance, causing him to chuckle.
"Little area, Otway addresses." He explains with a chuckle, glancing over at me with that grin on his face. "If you ain't from there, chances are people ain't got a fucking clue where you're talking about."
I look at him for a few moments, before laughing a little as we hop over onto the next building.
"You really are a country boy, aren't you?" I joke with an amused shake of my head. "I'm from New York myself. Grew up in Queens." I admit with a slight smile. "Granted, my childhood was probably very different from yours. You got your powers almost half a year ago?" I think I remember him saying something like that at his debut.
And just like that, it's like his whole demeanor changes. It only lasts for a second, not nearly as long as his mini-panic attack during his debut, but it's noticeable nonetheless when he tenses up, his expression dropping to one of hatred.
"Yeah." He says with a shake of his head, his lips tightening for a moment.
I think it might be best if I continue my story, so I give him a small smile. "Well, while you were going to elementary school, I was getting homeschooled while focusing on superhero pageants and races and contests and shit." I tell him, causing him to glance over at me for a few moments.
Finally, the smile is back on his face.
"Fuck a bunch of that." He says with a shake of his head as we take glances over the building once more before hopping to the next building. "But to be honest, even if I had been born with these powers, I know enough about Mamaw and Papaw to tell you that they would've raised me normal. Well… as normal as they could."
I can't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "What makes you say that?"
At that, he looks at me with an honest to god smile. "You wanna know what Papaw said to Edgar when he told us how much we'd be getting paid as a benefit?"
"What?"
"What else?"
I can only look at him for a moment. "Are… are you asking me what else he said?"
John actually laughs at that as he peers down to look in another alleyway. "No." He assures as his laughter dies to chuckles. "When Edgar told Papaw what my paycheck would be, he literally responded with 'Yeah, what else?'"
My eyes widen in disbelief at that. This kid's grandfather wasn't impressed by the money? At all? From what little I know, it sounds to me like they need the money they're getting.
"I thought you accepted because of the paycheck?" I recall him mentioning that at some Papaw, to which John nods.
"I did. Thing is, if Papaw had said no, I would've said no." He explains as he turns to look back at me. "We don't really need the money, it just makes things easier. We had a stable life, and Mamaw and Papaw made sure me and my siblings whenever they were over were happy."
I nod my head as I listen to him. Still though, that doesn't really guarantee that he'd have had a stable life.
Almost like he reads my thoughts, he speaks up once more. "Then again, if I had powers out of the womb, my mom probably would've stayed and used me as a cash cow." He remarks. The joke is so dark, and it catches me off-guard, but he's still got a smile on his face. "Actually… I probably would've been a very different person."
"What do you think about your powers?" I can't help but to ask him. Personally, I'm kind of happy I have them. But at the same time, I absolutely hate them.
They've put me in a good place for money, but they've caused me so many problems in my life. In my personal life.
John just shrugs in response, raising a hand up and flexing it a bit. "I can't complain too much. Super-strength was always my favorite power… when I found I had it, I was fucking bouncing all over the place. I was running as fast as I could, hitting shit in the woods, just testing myself. And I didn't even know I had the healing until around the time I got my strength."
"At least you have healing." I can't help but to joke, raising my right arm and placing my opposing one on my wrist. "I broke every bone in my arm saving a bus full of kids once. My radial never healed right."
"Damn." John can't help but to say, looking at my arm with slightly widened eyes. "I can't imagine that shit. Then again, I honestly don't know how my healing works when I break a bone. For all I know, my arm heals too quickly and I'm stuck at a permanently awkward angle." He remarks, before shaking his head. "Can you imagine how many people I would creep out with an arm that bends against my elbow instead of with it?"
I honestly can't help but to laugh at the image that pops into my head of John casually bending his arm backwards and scaring the hell out of Starlight or A-Train or someone.
Speaking of Starlight…
"What do you think about everything happening with Starlight?" I ask John as we come to stop, since the next building requires a little more than just what's a quick hop to us.
How quickly John's face turns to one of utter contempt and hatred may as well have gave me whiplash.
"I'd like to get my hands on the slimy fucker." John admits, his hands clenched into fists as he says it. "Rip his dick off, stick it in his gills, see how he likes that."
Okay, I do get the anger. I don't really doubt that Starlight went through that shit. The Deep has tried to do the same shit to other people, and he's had a lot of sexual harassment complaints made against him. The only person who really had any worse ones was Translucent. And even then, I can't really say they're worse, because sexual harassment is bad, but rape of any kind is a completely different level.
To be honest, I was pissed beyond belief at first when I found out who did it to Starlight, but now it just feels like she's basking in the limelight, and I think that's really what killed most of my sympathy for her.
"Well, he's been in Sandusky, Ohio as punishment. A sabbatical, they called it." I recall, glancing over at him to see what his reaction would be.
"I don't give a shit what they call it. I see him, he's a dead man." That… that catches me off-guard.
Not the fact that he said it. I've met a lot of people who have said the same thing about rapists in general, supes and regular people. But what gets me is the fact that John means it. I can tell from his entire demeanor. The way he says it, the way his lips pull back into an almost snarl, the look of rage hidden in his blue eyes…
The Deep signed his death warrant when Starlight joined the team, and he doesn't even realize it.
After a few moments of silence, John shakes his head and glances up to the top of the next building.
And just like I can do, he leaps right up with surprising mastery, landing on the next roof as if he'd done a little hop in place. He turns back to look down at me, and I take that as a sign that he's waiting on me.
So, I jump right up after him, landing right next to him.
"So, this was a question I know you've been asked: Who's your favorite superhero?" I ask, hoping to get the conversation back to a more light-hearted topic.
John smiles for a moment. "Superman."
Well, I wasn't expecting that for an answer.
"Superman?" I can't help but to ask, looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a grin on my face. "The comic book character? A superhero who is completely fictional and unrelated to Vought in any capacity?"
John simply shrugged his shoulders in response, taking the joking jab in stride. "'I've always been into DC and Marvel more than I ever was the real ones. Hell, the only reason I know Homelander is because, let's face it, who doesn't?" He jokes as he looks over at me. "Real superheroes are cool and all, and I certainly appreciate what they do," I can't help but to inwardly cringe at that. If only he knew. "...but let's be honest: no real supervillains? It's the same story over and over, same shit every day. And no offense, but the one Vought movie actually ever saw wasn't that good."
"Which one did you watch?" I can't help but to ask curiously. I'm actually kind of wondering if it was one of my movies.
"Queen Maeve: Her Majesty." He answers, and I can't help but to actually cringe when I hear which movie it is.
"Oh god…" I can't help but to pretty much facepalm in response. "It couldn't have been one of my better movies?"
"The sad part is you weren't half bad." John admits with a chuckle, glancing over at me with a smile. "When Maddie spent the night at my apartment, I let her pick a movie and she picked that."
"Shooting that movie was a nightmare." I can't help but to admit as I remember the demanding director, the uptight cast that they put me with, the deadlines… it was a toxic work environment, that much is clear.
Then again…
"Everything else?" John actually cringes as he remembers the film. "How the hell does the dialogue sound worse the the original Resident Evil games? Not to mention the acting in general. And the CGI, do not forget the CGI…"
"I've seen video games better than the CGI in that movie.' I don't even play video games, so the fact that I can say that for certain is actually pretty embarrassing.
John outright laughs at that, and after a few moments, I slowly find myself joining in.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually having fun. Even though he's sixteen, John actually comes off as just some guy you can talk to, and it helps that he's just really friendly in general.
But still, it honestly surprises me that laughs that escape me aren't cold, forced, or fake. They're sounds of genuine laughter of amusement, and I can't even try to stifle them.
When they finally die down, we take a breath as we hop down to the next building again.
"So, I have to ask, what was with that girl in the video?" That's honestly been on my mind for a good while now. "You made her day, gave her your shirt and everything."
John smiled at the question. It was a softer smile, more out of fondness than sheer amusement as it has been. "We had a stable income, but we could never really go out to places like Kings Island or events like the Expo. I know what it's like to be in that position, and apparently the poor girl is an outcast at school. To tell the truth, she reminds me a lot of myself, just a helluva lot more shy." John actually chuckles at that. "I didn't mean to make her cry like that. I was just trying to do something nice."
"Well, you definitely went out of your way." I tell him with a smile of my own. "I haven't seen any of the others do anything like that. Either not in a long time or at all."
"It wasn't anything to brag about." John replies with a shrug, glancing over at me. "I'm glad I made her happy, but in the end, I didn't do anything but take a picture, a video, and give her a shirt that was definitely a little worn out."
"You know how many people would do something like that?" I can't help but to ask him with a raised eyebrow, shaking my head slightly at the thought of someone like Homelander doing something so kind. "To you, it might not seem like you did much. But to her, you probably made that girl's world. I take it, you still remember her name?"
"Krystal Satterfield." John nods his head in reassurance. "It hasn't been that long, and even if it had, I said I'd remember and I meant it." He sounds so sure of his words, most sure than I've honestly been in a while.
It's kind of embarrassing, actually, that a sixteen-year-old apparently has more confidence than I do.
"Well, she's got a friend in you, it seems."
"Damn straight."
I can't help but to laugh at his response, causing John to smile in amusement once more.
The sound of a ringing phone interrupts our conversation, and at first, I assume it's mine. But John pulls out his phone before I do (kind of making me wonder why he brought his phone on a patrol in the first place), and swipes to answer.
"Hello?" He answers into the phone as he puts it up to his ear, before his face visibly falls. "What do you want?"
The way he says it, his voice is filled with complete and utter irritation. He clearly doesn't like whoever is on the other side of the call.
"I'm out on a patrol with Maeve." A few seconds pass by, and he rolls his eyes. "No, I didn't think to ask for your permission."
Ah, it's Stillwell. That explains a lot.
"Look, you can sit here ordering me to do this and that all day," John speaks up, whether in response or as an interruption, I don't really know. "You think I give a damn what you think? There's a reason I go straight to Edgar for permission. He's the only one I really trust, and you were there when we went over that contract. If you're gonna sit here and throw a fit because I went out to help people without your say-so, then fuck off."
And with that, he hangs up his phone without a care in the world, slipping it back into his pocket with a sigh of frustration.
And I can't help but to be impressed.
"Was that Stillwell?" Even though I already know the answer, I ask anyway just to be sure.
"Yeah." John answers with a short nod, clearly annoyed with the woman. "She's throwing a fucking fit because I didn't ask her permission for this damn patrol."
I figured it was something like that. Unless your name is Homelander, Stillwell expects to have everyone under her thumb completely.
"Did you get permission?" I can't help but to ask, even though I think I already know the answer.
"From Edgar." John said with a nod. "Made sure to ask if I could bring you too. He said that it was fine. 'Superheroes are heroes for a reason' he says."
I can't help but to roll my eyes at that. The fact that Edgar told John that, and yet he lets everyone get away with so much fucked up shit is beyond hypocritical. Still…
"Seems like you've got Edgar's ear." I comment with a raised eyebrow, to which John chuckles.
"I guess so. One of the things we agreed to when my contract was written up was that I wouldn't be a damn show-pony. The only control Stillwell has over me is marketing, and that's it." He explains as he glances over at me. "I manage my own persona, my own outfit, all of that."
I can't help but to widen his eyes. That explains a lot, actually, how he seems to get away with so much shit. He's a good kid, but… well, his outfit is literally just plain old clothes. Anyone else would get one helluva bitching for something like that.
I'm actually a little jealous. I didn't get that kind of deal when I got drafted into the Seven.
"Well, that's great, at least. You know Edgar's got your back if Stillwell pulls something."
John shrugged his shoulders in response to that. "Sure," he agreed. "To an extent. Movies and video games, I still have to do. I'm set to be in that Dawn of The Seven movie you guys got going on, so there's that."
I can't help but to wince. That's not gonna be fun, I can see it already. "Well, good luck-"
"I said NO! "
The frantic and panicked cry of some woman cuts into our conversation, and John looks at me in alarm for a moment for we rush to the source.
It sounded like it came from a nearby alley.
John and I run to the edge of the building we're currently standing on, coming to a stop at the edge of the roof and peering down into the alleyway behind the building.
Down in the alley, we see a couple of people, a man and a woman down in the alley. The woman is backed against another building, blocked off by the man in front of her. The woman looks scared to death, but the guy looks extremely aggressive, looking at the woman with a darkened gaze.
"I don't care what you want." The man almost growls, taking a step forward towards the cornered woman. "You think you can just leave me like that? No one's ever gonna love you like I do."
"L-Leave me alone…" The woman sounds absolutely terrified, sliding down the brick wall and looking up at the man in a type of fear I can only imagine.
And my face twists into a look of pure hatred. This piece of shit wants to act all big and bad?
Fine then. I can be big and bad too.
I jump from the roof with ease, landing on the ground and cracking the concrete underneath me.
Both the man and the woman jerk their gazes towards me, the man jerking his entire body to face me as I look over at him.
"You think you're some big tough shot, scaring a woman like that?" I growl at him, marching right up to him as he stumbles to back away, falling right on his sorry ass. Suddenly, the fearsome man turns into an absolute coward.
"I-It was just a misunderstanding, I-"
What happens next… well, I'd be lying if I said it didn't scare the shit out of me.
Even being a supe, and one of the strongest ones at that, the first thing that flies through my mind is the thought that Homelander has arrived when a mass crashes down with thundering and deafening force, kicking up dust and small bits of rock, causing me to immediately jump to the woman in an effort to shield her from any possible threat, though none of it is big enough to cause anything more than light bruising.
After a few moments, I turn to look back down the alley. The scumbag who was harassing this poor girl is now twisted from his spot on the ground, look up into the dust cloud that is still dissipating. It won't be long before the authorities or possibly some supes arrive in response to that noise.
Dammit, Homeland- wait a second.
As the dust clears, I see a familiar silhouette within it. And rather than seeing the familiar combed blonde hair and blue muscle suit, I see a familiar red flannel and long, wild black hair.
That wasn't Homelander. That was John.
I can just barely see the color of his flannel and the dust obscures his face. It's like he's staying in place to allow the dust to settle.
"Queen Maeve?" The woman I shielded slowly speaks up, looking up at me in complete disbelief.
I look down at the woman, and whether it's out of habit or out genuine concern, I begin checking the woman over.
"You okay?" I ask her, gently feeling around her for any bruising or possible injuries, and after I find none, I wait for her to answer as she slowly shakes her head.
"I'm not a big fan of assholes, buddy." John's voice rings through the alley with a sense of calm rage, a combination that is never good in any sense of the word. His voice sounds almost deeper, a low rumble of clouded hostility. "But you managed to do one of the few things that set me off like fucking bomb."
John comes marching out of the still dissipating cloud, his pace brisk. His expression is darkened, twisted into one of absolute fury mixed with a coldness that doesn't really suit him.
The coward of a man goes scrambling to his feet, frantically trying to scurry away from the kid who could mangle him with one hand.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. I'd have never imagined that John could be this…
Well, to be honest, he's downright terrifying, even more so than Homelander in a way. Homelander can do a lot of things, and he will, but his image above all is the most important thing to him.
John doesn't have that restraint. From what I know about the kid so far, the only thing that holds the kid back is his own morality.
And clearly… he has limits.
"I-I was just-"
"You really wanna try and justify that to me?" John interrupts the sniveling bastard with a downright snarl, looking into his eyes with a look that promises pure agony. "Do you really think you can justify that stunt at all? Look at that poor woman."
The man takes barely a glance at his would-be victim, who is now on her own feet next to me. When his eyes fall even slightly upon her, the poor woman moves to hide behind me in fear.
I don't blame her.
"Y-you can't d-do this!" The man suddenly speaks up in what looks to be a one time bout of courage. Though, it's not very effective with the still fear-filled stutter. "D-Do you know what I can do to you, you stupid-HRK!"
I admittedly jump when John lunges forward, snagging the man by his jaw and lifting him up off the ground, forcing the man to look into his own burning blue eyes.
"Do you know what I can do to you ?" John downright growls, throwing the man's words right back at him, not that he can respond very well. Just from what I'm watching, the man is gonna be really bruised up from that grip alone.
If he survives.
"Do you think I care about your money, your 'power', or any sort of connections you have?" John's question is rhetorical, both due to tone and due to the fact that the man can barely speak at all with John's hand grabbing his jaw. "I don't care about any of that. The only thing I care about is you giving me a good reason not to turn you into a bag of broken bones."
At those words, the man begins struggling as best as he can manage. It's useless effort obviously, as John's arm doesn't even budge. It doesn't wiggle, it doesn't shake from the bastard's struggles. It may as well be a piece of rebar holding the man up.
John just watches him struggle. His expression doesn't change, he just… stares.
And then his expression darkens, and he grits his teeth.
Then he's swinging around, and the man is flying into the building on the opposite of the alley.
I don't even need to hear the snap to know that the man's spin is broken. To be quite frank, he'll be lucky if he ever walks again.
When he lands on the ground, he's shouting, screaming bloody murder as he reaches towards his back.
The woman behind me jumps and screams at the impact, and I don't blame her. This is… insane. I don't think I'd ever have imagined John being this violent.
Makes me wonder how much I really need to learn about him. He honestly seems like a decent person, and it's not like he's doing this for his own amusement. He's just that pissed at what he saw.
"M-My back!" The man shouts, trying to keep himself up or soothe pain as best as he can manage. Which is rather poor, I might add. "Y-you broke my back!" He says as he looks up at John…
Just in time for John's fist to embed itself in the bricks of the building right next to the bastard's head.
"You'll be lucky if that's all I break." John growls, pulling his fist free and crouching down so that he's more level with the man. "I personally don't care if you walk again. Actually, to tell the truth, I kind of hope you don't."
Jesus… that's dark…
"But if you do, I'll leave you with one warning." John leans in closer until his face is inches from the man, staring scared bastard straight in the eyes. "If something happens to that woman over there, I will find you. And I will kill you."
Silence rings through the alley at that declaration, and John continues staring at the man. The man stares back, wracked with pain and filled with fear.
"Do you understand?" John asks the man, who nods vigorously.
"Y-Yes, I understand! Please god, just don't hurt me anymore!"
John says nothing in response, standing to his feet and leaving the whimpering mess of a man to suffer until some kind of help arrives as he makes his way towards us.
I kinda gathered that John had a bit of an angry bone in him… but in the time I have known him, I never would've imagined that he could be so vicious. When he asked me to go on patrol with him, I'd have expected us to stop a few crimes and that be it.
Instead, we come across some asshole terrorizing a woman, and John snaps his spine for it.
John approaches me and the woman, and his entire demeanor changes, looking at the woman with a concerned expression. All of the anger just disappears in that moment as he speaks.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" He asks, looking at the woman behind me.
After a few moments, the woman steps out from behind me, looking up at John with a nervous gaze.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine." She nods her head, gulping a little. I hate to say it, but John probably scared the hell out of the poor girl. Whether he meant to or not.
"Good." John nods his head in response, actually looking relieved. "So, can I ask what the deal is with that asshole?" He asks the woman, jerking his thumb towards the still whining trainwreck at the other end of the alley.
"He's my ex-boyfriend." The woman answers, calming down slightly as she answers the question, and I finally tear my eyes away from the bastard to pay attention. "I left him about a month ago, and it's mostly just been texts and voicemails of threats. I… I never would've thought…"
"Hey, it's okay." I put a hand on the woman's shoulder and give her the most reassuring smile I can manage. "Nobody really expects these things, do they? As long as you're okay, that's the important part."
"Are you sure you're okay?" John asks, causing both mine and the woman's eyes to turn back to his concerned face. "He didn't hit you, didn't touch you or anything, right?"
The woman shakes her head in response. "No. You guys stepped in before it got that far."
After dealing with Homelander for so long, and due to the display I just witnessed, I'm half expecting John to be looking for an excuse to hurt the man some more.
So the look of relief that crashes down upon him… it's relieving in and of itself.
"Good." He says, nodding his head before giving the woman a genuine smile. "Well, I don't want to keep you any longer than I have too, and you've answered the only questions I had. If Maeve doesn't have any questions, we won't keep you any longer than you already have."
The woman damn near faints with relief, before giving me and John both a look that I can only describe as grateful. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She says as she begins making her way out of the alley.
Before she can, however, I realize something.
"Miss, wait just a moment, please!" I say, jogging up to her as she turns around to face me. "Can we get a name, please?" I ask her as I come to a stop in front of her. "We can handle calling the police, but we'd like a name in case they need a witness statement."
The woman suddenly looks nervous once more, and her gaze wanders between me and John, before falling onto the broken man.
What has that bastard done to her that despite seeing him broken like that, she's still scared.
"Do… do I have to?"
"Well, no, but-"
"You don't owe us anything, ma'am." John speaks up as he approaches, causing me to look at him in confusion. "If you don't want to share your name, that's fine. We ain't gonna sit here and badger you about it."
I mean… He's right that she doesn't owe us anything, but if the police get a witness statement from her, that'll make things much easier. At least in the idea of the bastard facing proper justice.
"Are… are you sure it's okay?"
"No problem." John waves off the concern, giving her a grin that manages to somehow give a reassuring affect. "We can handle things from here if you'd like to remain anonymous."
The woman stares for a moment, before nodding, giving John a thankful smile. "Thank you."
John chuckles in response, before nodding his head. "No problem. Try to enjoy the rest of your day ma'am."
With a nod of acknowledgment and a smile on her face, the woman turns and makes her way out of the alley, leaving just me and John, and one broken bastard.
"You know that getting her name would've been best, right?" I ask John as I turn to look at him, to which he nods his head in response.
"I know, but the woman's been through enough I say." He says as he meets my gaze, raising an eyebrow as he does so. "Besides, do you see any security cameras? Sure, I could be looking at an excessive force charge and I won't lie about it. But in the end, it's our words against his. And I do like the chances with that."
I look at John for a moment, before sighing. "Fair enough." I give him a small smile as I continue. "You know you scared the hell out of me, right?"
John lets out a nervous chuckle in response, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. "My bad… I saw what was happening and I got pissed."
"No shit." I joke with him, laughing a little at the sheepish look on the kid. "I can't say I blame you though. It pissed me off too. Maybe… let's just work on your temper."
John nods his head in agreement with my words. "Yeah, that's fair." He admits.
Both our eyes turn to look and the man that John basically broke, just staring at him for a moment, before I pull out my phone and dial the police.
"Hopefully they get here quick." I comment as I give John a small grin. "This one got intense, but this patrol isn't over yet."
John smiles in response.
What I don't let him know… is that he's on my watch list too.
Giving him a little bit of leeway, yes, he's a fifteen year-old kid. And I still think he's a good kid. But clearly, he's got more issues than I thought, considering his reaction to this incident. And I think John being angry… is a helluva lot scarier than Homelander capacity.
It really shouldn't spook me as much as it does, I know, but the fact of the matter is that this kid is likely just as strong, maybe stronger than Homelander from what I know. I still worry that Homelander would find a way to hurt him, but in the end, John has the capacity to become something just as bad, if not worse than Homelander.
Or, maybe I'm just paranoid, overthinking it. I don't know. You work enough in this business, you start seeing issues that aren't.
The only thing I can say for certain is that John has one explosive temper… and I don't want to see him ruin his life with it.
A/N: After a bit of writers block here and there and throwing around a few ideas, I finally finished this chapter. One thing I wanted to make clear is that while John is admittedly a much better person than just about anyone in The Boys (keywords being 'just about'), he's definitely no saint. His temper can be hit or miss depending upon what sets it off, and it's almost always explosive.
Now, he's not gonna go down some dark path, I don't have that planned, but this being The Boys, there would definitely be people who would get weary over the fact that John is just as powerful as Homelander. Whether they're friend or foe.
I didn't originally intend it, but honestly, I think this chapter worked out best being written entirely from Maeve's perspective, because I also wanted to at least try and get some character development between the two of them. John's only gonna have two real allies within the Seven, and we all know who they'll be.
So yes, while Maeve is a bit weary after the sheer brutality John displayed, it's not meant to come across as immediately seeing him as Homelander 2.0. It's mainly just for her to realize that as good of a person John comes across as… he's got some very real issues that she has no clue about.
Anyway, that's about it for this Author's Note and this chapter. I can't promise when the next chapter will be out, but I can promise one thing…
I think a couple of you have been waiting for the next chapter.
So stay tuned…