Sitting down in the restaurant, Victoria wasn't entirely certain what was going on. She had been busy for most of the day, running errands for Ashley to try and appease her. She'd been doing interviews for most of the afternoon with some women's magazines, detailing how she balanced being married to Homelander and also working for Vought's charity. Victoria wasn't used to doing interviews by herself. She was usually always with Homelander, letting him take the lead and she just followed. She wasn't sure if she'd done a good job, but she'd had Ashley shadowing her for most of them, ready to jump in if she said something she shouldn't.

But Ashley didn't. She just remained in the background, fingers clicking against the screen of her phone. Victoria kept glancing to her, ready for her to say something, but she didn't. Victoria even got a 'good job' on her way out of the boardroom. She'd taken the elevator up to the penthouse and had seen the roses on the sideboard along with a note from her husband, informing her that he'd meet her at a restaurant at seven p.m. She didn't even know what restaurant they were going to, but he'd told her a car would be waiting for her.

Once they pulled up to the restaurant, she'd been amazed to see that it was her favourite Italian she always insisted they order from. While Vought's chefs were amazing, they had nothing on Gio's spaghetti carbonara. She remembered how Homelander would have it waiting for her whenever she went to his penthouse after a day in the library.

Entering the restaurant, she felt slightly overdressed. Gio's was nice, but it wasn't a Michelin star restaurant. She'd tried to find a dress that would work for anything, but the long-sleeved black dress seemed a bit over the top. It came out in swathes from her waist to her feet, a slim red belt around her middle. She'd left her hair down and was nervously tucking it behind her ear.

One of the waiters came over to her and guided her upstairs and she saw that it was completely empty. Only one table was set with a large bouquet of flowers adorning it and a bottle of champagne sat in the silver ice bucket at the side of the white-table cloth. Victoria took a seat and waited patiently for her husband, pulling her phone out and firing off a quick text to Ryan to make sure he was okay still. Apparently Homelander had asked him to look after Evie for the night. Victoria thought he was a bit too young, but she also knew he was responsible.

"Sweetheart."

Looking to the staircase, she saw Homelander moving up from the steps. He was still wearing his supe suit and he had a wide smile on his face.

"Hey," she greeted him. "What's going on?"

"You don't know?" Homelander asked her.

"I know it's not our wedding anniversary…and it's not my birthday or your birthday," she said and he finally stopped by her side, a hand going to hold onto the back of her chair and he bent down, kissing her sweetly. He pecked her lips gently before brushing his forehead against hers.

"It's five years since we met," he said to her and her eyes widened at that as he kept on smirking and he went to sit down in the chair across from her. He took it upon himself to pour them both a glass of champagne. "And I thought it would be nice to celebrate considering we don't usually go out."

"Five years?" she checked with him.

"Five years since I found you in that alleyway trying to beat up that guy," Homelander confirmed for her and Victoria shook her head, taking hold of the stem of the champagne flute.

"Why does it both feel like longer and also no time at all?" Victoria questioned and Homelander held his glass in her direction. She moved to clink the edge of hers against his. They both took a sip and Victoria set the glass down. "Then again, it's not entirely like things have been smooth sailing all of the time."

"Perhaps not before," Homelander said, "but things are great now," he said and Victoria wondered if he truly believed that. Maybe she was that convincing of an actor? Was she even acting? She had no idea at times. "And did you like the bouquet?"

"It was really nice," Victoria said with a nod of her head. "And also very extravagant."

"Only the best for my wife," Homelander said and he slipped his gloves from his fingers, leaving them down on the edge of the table. "And as far as I'm concerned, you deserve everything. You've…you're really exceeded all my expectations so far, sweetheart."

Victoria arched a brow and cocked her head. "Like a well-behaved dog?" she asked him and he laughed at her comment, despite the fact she wasn't entirely sure if she meant it in a joking way. He shook his head, teeth bared.

"We both know you are nothing but a smart, independent woman, Victoria," Homelander said. "Believe me, your stubbornness has done nothing but cause me problems a lot of the time…but it's the one thing I respect about you. You have your own opinion. You're not scared of voicing it…and I admire that."

"I'm not sure it's always a good thing," she replied and took another sip of champagne. "I mean, it's gotten me in trouble a time or two and I think it's drove Ashley up the wall as well. Did you know that I got a 'good job' from her today after the interviews? I felt like a kid getting a gold star."

He laughed again and even Victoria chuckled.

"She had you doing interviews?" he double-checked.

"I think after the entire Starlight House episode, she wanted me to try and rectify my image, you know, devoted wife and mother," Victoria said and Homelander watched her in amusement. "I said what I thought she'd want me to say and it turned out okay. She didn't have to jump in once and I don't think I caused her a panic attack."

"You've become quite the pro," Homelander said.

"After five years of experience, I guess it's about time I got used to it," Victoria said. "Although I don't usually do those things solo. It felt weird not having you there with me…made me think of all of the ridiculous interviews we used to have to do…and the photoshoots…my God," she balked at the memory and a waitress brought out the bread basket and Victoria thanked the young woman with a kind smile.

The waitress seemed slightly on edge, scurrying away as soon as she'd served them. Victoria picked up a slice of bread and began buttering it, finding her stomach had started rumbling angrily.

"What do you think was the worst one?" Homelander questioned her.

"Remember that one we did at Christmas? They dressed me up in that long-red dress and had me sat beneath the tree, handing you a decoration…and then I had to take that turkey out of the oven and serve it to you to carve…that dress was also one size too small for me and I thought I was going to pass out," she said and Homelander remembered it all too well. Victoria took a bit of the bread as he also reached for a slice. "And yours?" she wondered from him.

"I mean, that one is up there," Homelander agreed with her. "It was almost too sickly sweet, but I think the worst one we did had to have been the one where you wore that poodle skirt and we were in that diner…sharing a milkshake and fries."

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Victoria exclaimed with a clap of her hands. Shaking her head, she laughed heartily. "I think that might've been the worst milkshake I'd tasted too and they just kept telling us to drink it."

"Not top ten," Homelander confirmed.

"You have a top ten for milkshakes?"

"It's essential," he said to her and his eyes lit up at hearing her laugh again. She tore off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth. "Anyway, we've done some things, haven't we? I mean, I don't think we can ever say we've been bored."

She shook her head. "Definitely not bored," she assured him on that point. "I just…growing up I never thought I'd be here. I never thought any of this would've happened."

Homelander scoffed. "You didn't think it would happen?" he echoed back. "I was pushing forty and had never been in a committed relationship. I mean, I think the closest thing to one of those back then had been what I'd had with Maeve, but that can't even compare to what we had…even at the very beginning…I don't know…I just knew that you were different."

"I don't think either of us thought we'd be here that night you saved me in the alleyway."

"So you admit that I saved you?" he said and she rolled her eyes, but the smile remained on her face. Homelander chuckled and reached across for her hand, taking hold of it inside of his and laying their fingers down against the table. Victoria kept staring at him and his thumb moved over her knuckles slowly, the motion tender and soft.

"Fine, you might have stepped in at just the right time, but that's all you're getting," Victoria warned him. "Besides, Ryan told me that he wants to help people the other night. You haven't spoken to him about that, have you?"

Homelander shook his head as Victoria ate another bit of bread with her free hand. "I've tried to give him space since we argued," he said. "What did he say to you?"

"He just said that he wanted to help people. He wants to use his powers to do good and he thinks that would be what his mum would've wanted," Victoria said and she almost felt some kind of nauseous feeling at the thought of Becca. She was sat at the table, holding hands with the man who had raped her: the man who Victoria was now back with, sleeping with, comforting. She remembered Becca's face on that CCTV video after she'd left Homelander's room and she knew it all too well because it used to be how Victoria had looked in the mirror too.

But Victoria was doing what she had to. She was doing what was necessary to survive Homelander and keep Ryan and Evelyn safe. That was the mantra that went round in her head all of the time. It was what she told herself whenever he was between her legs or holding her hand. She just despised herself for how easy it sometimes felt.

"He said that?" Homelander checked.

"He's a good kid," Victoria said. "I don't think he's interested in TV shows or films. I think he genuinely wants to help people."

Homelander nodded thoughtfully at that piece of information. The waitress returned and took their order. Victoria opted for her usual carbonara and Homelander went for some gnocchi he'd glanced at on the menu. When she was gone, Victoria slipped her hand from his and picked her champagne glass up again.

"I think that's great," Homelander suddenly declared. "He wants to help people and be a supe? That's pretty awesome."

"And while I would usually agree with you," Victoria said and Homelander wanted to roll his eyes, sensing that she wasn't, in fact, going to agree with him. "Just…he's still only twelve. He's so young and I don't want him to jump into something that is too much, too soon."

His lips tugged upwards at her hesitation. He should be used to it by now. "I know, but he is a supe and he is my son," he reminded her. "No matter what, I'll look out for him. I won't push him into anything. He can make his own choices, but if that's what he wants to do then I'm proud of him."

Victoria sensed she was going to lose this particular fight. "But no pressure on him to join The Seven, right?"

"None at all," Homelander said.

"Good, because I think you've got enough problems going on there…what with hiring an actual paedophile to join."

"I take it we're talking about Firecracker?"

"Unless you've hired someone else who I don't know about?" Victoria retorted and Homelander's face stiffened for a moment as a course of annoyance shot through him. He was trying to have a nice dinner with his wife, but she just couldn't help herself, could she? He bit down on his tongue for a moment and then Victoria continued speaking. "I might've been sixteen when Eddie did what he did to me…but I was still a child. He still groomed me."

"She insisted it was consensual."

"At fifteen that's not legal," Victoria said back to him. "I'm serious, John. How is it that Annie's being dragged through the mud because she had an abortion, but there's nothing on Firecracker? She's allowed to get away with it and is even being praised for being so honest. It's ridiculous."

Homelander considered what she was saying. He remembered his relationship with Madelyn. He'd also been young when that had started. He remembered how she'd spoken to him and whispered sweet nothings in his ear. He remembered how she'd been so sweet and nurturing to him. He knew that it had meant nothing, of course it hadn't. How could it? She just used him for her own gain and to control him. And he was tired of people doing that.

"Unfortunately, she's part of the team now."

"Aren't you the leader of The Seven? Can't you kick her out?" Victoria questioned from him and he let out a deep breath and Victoria rolled her eyes at hearing it. "Let me guess? You could, but you're not going to because you need her for what she brings? Even if she is an actual criminal."

"She's polling well…she has a core fanbase…and she's just joined. I can't kick her out. It wouldn't work because we have a long-term plan," Homelander said and Victoria chewed down on the inside of her cheek. "I know what she did was wrong. You think I don't know that?"

"You know it, but you're just not willing to do anything about it," Victoria hissed at him and his fingers clenched into fists on his thighs. "It's wrong, John. Someone like her should not be in The Seven and you know it. Is this vendetta you have against the world so important that you're happy to have someone like her on your team with you?"

"You know what we're facing out there, Victoria?" he demanded from her. "Do you know what is going on? This country…it needs saving."

"Have you heard yourself?" Victoria retorted, well aware that they were now having a full-blown argument. She didn't want to argue. She'd prefer it if they could remain civil, but she knew that wasn't going to happen because when they both got worked up over something, tensions escalated. "You think by having someone like her in The Seven that's going to save the country? It's not, John. It's not going to do anything but cause more tension. I mean, it wasn't bad enough that you first had a Nazi in the team, you trying to outdo that, huh?"

"Enough," he said, the one word enough to make Victoria consider stopping, but then she looked at him and she saw the anger in his eyes. She saw that he was annoyed, but what he didn't understand was that she was just as mad.

"Well, you kissed the Nazi and clearly Firecracker wants you. Is that why you're keeping her around?"

"I said enough," he snapped then and he stood up, flinging the table off to the side as if it weighed nothing. Victoria heard everything crashing to the ground, glasses smashing on the floor, the flowers scattering around. Victoria said nothing for a moment, her hands holding onto the arms of the chair she was sat in.

Homelander's chest heaved and his teeth ground together, lips pursed. Victoria moved to her feet and just continued glaring at him, refusing to back down. She could hear her pulse in her ears and her cheeks had tinged red. She knew that she had overstepped and that she was on dangerous ground. There was just something about him that made her want to push sometimes. She knew she should be quiet. As a kid, she'd learned when to shut her mouth. But with Homelander, she sometimes found it difficult.

"Do you feel better now?" she questioned him, looking to the smashed table, bread scattered around it and wood splintered.

"I planned this for our fucking anniversary," Homelander snarled at her. "And you have the audacity to stand there and ask if I feel better now? Why did you have to push it, Victoria? Why did you have to do this?"

"So I'm the bad guy?" she asked him. "I'm the bad guy for actually having an opinion and disagreeing with what you're doing?"

"It's the way you do it…turning things round on me."

"Because you're the one in charge," Victoria yelled back at him. "You have all of this power, John! You run fucking Vought, for Christ's sake. You say you want to make the world a better place for our kids. How are you doing that? How are you doing that when you let people like her have a platform? Giving her a voice to spew her hate!"

"You're only saying this because she went against your precious Annie," Homelander's voice was full of menace, face contorting and spit flying from the corner of his mouth.

"Even if she didn't have a vendetta, I'd still be saying it," Victoria snapped at him. "I'd still be saying it because it's true…because it shows me that you're not actually the man who I thought you were…"

"And who was that?"

"A man who actually, maybe deep down, does care about making a better world for his kids," Victoria said. "A man who maybe, despite everything he's done, knows that keeping someone like her on The Seven is wrong…because his own wife knows what it's like to be groomed by someone…"

Homelander watched as his wife's eyes brimmed with tears from anger and he let out a shaky breath. She turned on her heel and left him then. She moved towards the bathroom, the door slamming shut behind her. Homelander moved his hands to his hips and he looked down, thinking about what she'd said to him. She didn't get it and he knew she didn't. But then he thought of Victoria as a teenager. She'd been sixteen when Eddie had first raped her. She'd been of legal age, but she had still been a kid. Shaking his head, he knew that he couldn't leave things like this.

A part of him wanted to go in there and tell her to accept that Firecracker was here to stay and nothing was going to change that. Another part of him wanted to go back to The Tower and find her and demand to know the truth from her before firing her. But he knew he wasn't going to do that. And so he had to find a middle ground. He tried to calm himself down before he went into the bathroom to find Victoria. He wasn't leaving without her.

He let the door close quietly behind him and saw that only one bathroom stall was locked. He stood at the row of sinks across from the stalls and folded his arms over his chest, looking at the locked door. He could see she was in there, sat on the closed toilet seat lid, crying with her head bowed. He heard her sniffles echo the tiled space.

"Did you know that he waited until I was sixteen before he actually did anything?" Victoria suddenly spoke, knowing that he was out there. "It was my sixteenth birthday when he first kissed me. I…every other kid in my class had a sixteenth birthday party and I didn't. I just went home, did my homework and ate some cake that my mum had bought that had the same day expiration. He was there and he…he waited until my dad was passed out and mum had gone to work before he sat next to me on the sofa…wrapped his arm around me and kissed me. It was my first kiss, John, and I remember feeling so dirty…but he said it was okay. He said it was alright because I was an adult and he cared about me."

Silence enveloped the room then and Victoria wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Homelander took tentative steps closer to the bathroom stall. He moved a hand to press against the white wood, fingers touching it gently.

"And Firecracker might say that boy agreed to what they did. He might even think that it was consensual…but she had a position of power and she abused it. It was wrong and she shouldn't be excused and to hear you defend her…say that she has to stay…it makes me feel sick."

Homelander knew that all roads led back to her childhood. He knew it when he'd first started getting to know her. He knew what she'd gone through and he knew that she suffered with it.

"Open the door," he urged from her, voice calmer than it had been last time he spoke to her.

He waited patiently, counting in his head and thinking that he might have to break it down if she didn't open it. Eventually, she leaned across and slid the lock. He pushed the door open and stepped into the stall. Kneeling down on the cracked tiles, he moved a hand to her cheek, thumb brushing away the tears that stained her pale skin.

"Eddie can never hurt you again," Homelander said to her.

"I know that, but it's not about that…it's you…by letting her stay in The Seven it feels like you're saying that what she did is fine…and that what Eddie did was fine too," Victoria said. "And then there's The Deep after what he did to Annie…I just…none of it's right."

She didn't mention how even he had raped Becca. She knew that would definitely be crossing a line. It was like they never dared to mention it. Victoria could only imagine what Ryan would do if he found out.

"Come here," Homelander urged from her and he moved to his feet, taking his wife's hand and hauling her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and she had no choice but to move hers around him, hands flat on his back. He cupped the back of her head gently and pressed her cheek against his neck as his other hand soothingly moved along her back. "No one is every going to hurt you again. Do you understand me? I will always, always protect you."

Victoria wanted to scream at him that wasn't the point. She wanted to yell at him and tell him that he was missing the point entirely. But she didn't because she knew it would only fall on deaf ears. She knew it would be a waste of breath. And so she just stood there and let him hold her, the screaming staying entirely in her mind.

Standing in the meeting room, Homelander looked at Sage as she explained the socials to him of everything that had gone on while he'd been away. He was also due at V-52 later in the morning and Victoria had agreed to go with him. He'd been asked to be in a meeting with Ryan about some teen show that Vought wanted to pitch to him. He'd agreed to go along and Ryan had also said he'd turn up, but Homelander sensed he had no interest in doing the show, not that he could blame him. It did sound lame.

"Ryan's also polling consistently well and his socials have blown up since his save," Sage continued talking. "You're also polling nicely. I mean, the V-52 Expo couldn't come at a better time for you. People love you. They adore you. Your wife, on the other hand, is still having some issues that I'm struggling to sort out…mainly because she doesn't seem to want to play the game."

Homelander scoffed, hands laced behind his back. "Victoria never wants to play the game," he said to Sage. "You get used to it."

"Well, if you want to destroy Starlight then you need her on side."

"She won't go on television and destroy Starlight," Homelander said. "She won't publicly support her, but she won't publicly denounce her either. She'll just be silent."

"Sometimes silence is more damaging than speaking," Sage said.

"That it might be, but she'll be fine in the long run," Homelander said. "But we do need to talk about Firecracker. Did you know about her background when you recruited her?"

"No one knew," Sage said. "That secret was buried deep. I thought that it might fuck with us, but it turned out that she weathered that storm quite well. The plus side was that we got to see her beaten to a pulp."

"Which was part of the plan, right?" Homelander checked.

"I quite enjoyed it. She is a racist, homophobic, piece of trash after all," Sage said with a nod of her head and then glanced up to Homelander who had his eyes set on the video playing of his wife helping Starlight move away from Firecracker who was laid on the floor, withering in pain. "Your wife wasn't happy with the decision, however."

"I know."

"I take it you smoothed things over?" Sage checked.

Homelander chuckled. "Trust me, after years of doing things she doesn't agree with, I know how to smooth over the cracks," he said to Sage and she didn't doubt that. It made her wonder how real he thought his relationship with his wife was considering that he spent most of his time just smoothing things over with her and never really getting to root of their problems: that they were incompatible.

"Telling her what she wants to hear?" Sage asked.

"It usually works," Homelander confirmed with a nod of his head. "As much as I wish she stopped caring about these people, she won't. I know she won't and there is no point in trying to get her to. It will only end in an argument and we've done enough arguing to last us a life time. No…sometimes humouring her is easier than fighting with her...hiding the truth…keeping her sheltered…I do it all for her own good."

Sage was well aware that wasn't the foundation for a healthy relationship, but he seemed to think it was. He seemed to think that it worked for the two of them. He claimed that Victoria accepted who he was, but how could she when she didn't know the entire truth? She had no idea he had been involved in framing those Starlighters. She had no idea he had three of his fans beaten to death to do it. She didn't know that he had lasered Annika's brain because he thought that she was the mole. She really didn't know much of anything. Sage guessed that even if she did know, would it really make a difference? There was no chance she was getting away from Homelander. He'd done awful things in the past and she was still with him. Had they reached a point where she'd even stopped noticing what he did?

"But…Firecracker," Homelander suddenly said and he hated the fact he was going to ask this, but the previous night kept going round in his head. "Do we really need her?"

Sage blinked profusely then. "Do you not trust me?" she wondered from him.

"I just wonder if we really do need her for what we intend to do," Homelander replied.

"She serves a purpose and is a means to an end. She's not going to be here forever," Sage said. "Trust me, I know you don't like her or want her on the team. Do you think I do? But she's here and there's a reason for it. She's just not smart enough to know it herself. Why do you suddenly ask? You said that you could handle being challenged, but I'm beginning to wonder if that's true."

"Trust me, I can handle it," Homelander said to her. "I just wanted to know if she was a necessity."

"Did you want to know or did Victoria want to know?" Sage decided to ask and Homelander went quiet then, his jaw tensing and his eyes flickering around the television screens in front of him. She knew the answer to her question. "I get that she's your wife and you talk, but she doesn't appreciate what we're doing here."

"I know that."

"Then don't let her get inside your head."

"She's my wife," Homelander retorted. "That's easier said than done."

Watching Homelander, Sage was doing her best to work him out, but he seemed like he was in a world of his own. She remained stood next to him in silence. Did his wife actually have more influence on him than Sage initially thought?

"If I told you that there was a virus that killed supes, what would you say?"

"I'd tell you that I'd heard it was being cooked up in Godolkin U, but it's not exactly full strength."

Billy frowned, brows knitting together. He was sat with his sister in the park just by the Flat Iron Building. Victoria had walked from the Tower to meet him that morning. Homelander had told her that it was fine for her to go so long as it was just her brother she was meeting. He didn't need her near Starlight and photographed with her. He could do without that entirely.

"You fucking knew?" Billy asked her.

Victoria sighed and placed her takeaway cup of tea on the bench besides her. Crossing one leg over the other, she tucked her dark hair behind her ears and glanced across to her brother. "He told me a few weeks ago, but he said that he'd dealt with it. He said that the lab where they'd been cooking up the virus had been shut down."

"But he didn't tell you that the virus was stolen, did he?" Billy asked her and Victoria's eyes widened. She turned her upper body to face him. Billy chuckled. "Didn't think so. He might think it's under control, Vic, but it's not. It's still out there…I'm sure of it…and I'm going to get my hands on it."

"How?"

"Don't you worry about that. I have my ways," Billy assured her, not wanting to tell her about the plan he had. He knew that he needed Stan Edgar. He knew that it was Victoria Neuman who had the dose. But he wasn't going to tell her because a part of him didn't trust her not to tell her husband. He hated that, but he also knew that it was for the best.

"No fucking way," Victoria hissed at her brother and she looked around quickly, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. "Billy, this is insane. That virus is a deadly weapon." Victoria sunk back against the bench, shaking her head.

"It's not strong enough to kill Homelander, but it's a start."

"A virus that kills all supes," Victoria deadpanned with him. "Billy…I don't know if this is a good idea. If something like that gets let loose in the world then you know what could happen, right? You know what that might mean for Ryan…Evie…Annie."

"I also know that if we don't get this virus then that's it. There's no killing Homelander."

"You just said that the virus wasn't strong enough to kill him," Victoria retorted.

"Not in its current form," Billy confirmed for her and folded his arms over his chest. "But there might be ways to develop it…make it stronger…we just need to find it. If we get them then there's a chance we can do this."

"Or there's a chance you release a supe killing virus into the world," Victoria said and Billy's brows furrowed at hearing her. He looked to his sister with a narrowed glare.

"You almost sound like you don't want this."

"I'm not sure this is the best way to do it," Victoria said. "I have a baby, Billy. I have a little girl who is a supe and Ryan…he's my step-son. This could hurt them and I don't want that. I don't want them to grow up in a world where they're scared of being supes because people want to kill them…out of fear of what they could do."

"Careful," Billy warned his sister. "You're starting to sound like him."

"No, I'm not," Victoria snapped at him, hand curling around the back of the bench as she focused entirely on her brother. "I just think that this could be too much. Not every single supe is bad. Some of them want to do good."

"Even when they want to do good they do bad," Billy said. "Look at your little friend, Starlight. She blinded someone. She's hurt people before who have stood in her way."

"Does that mean she deserves to die?"

"And the people they hurt? The people that they kill? Do they deserve to die?" Billy retorted and Victoria was quiet then because she knew they didn't. She just wasn't entirely sure how this conversation was going to go because it was clear that they had differing viewpoints. "I don't want the virus to kill supes, Vic. Ryan…my niece…I know they're innocent in all of this, alright? You think I don't wake up at night and remember Becca begging me to save Ryan? Telling me that he's good? You think that this doesn't go against everything I've ever believed in? Caring about a supe?"

"Supes have humanity in them too, Billy," Victoria replied. "They're not all bad and you know that."

"Nah, they're not, but they shouldn't exist."

"Perhaps not, but they do," Victoria agreed with him on that point. "I want them to get on and be able to co-exist, but that's not going to happen so long as we're always at war…so long as we want to hurt each other. How's that gone so far, Billy?"

Billy was quiet for a moment then and Victoria picked up her tea, taking a sip of it despite the fact it had gone lukewarm. The two siblings sat in silence together, watching as peopled walked on by.

"You know I'm not going to stop, don't ya?" Billy suddenly checked with his sister. "I'm not going to stop trying to kill Homelander. If this virus is the only way to do it then so be it. I'll find it and I'll get it to work."

"And if you unleash it into the world? If it gets out of control and kills others?"

"Then so be it," Billy said. "You know as well as I do that he has to die. You know it, but you just won't accept it, will you?"

"Not when it could be at the cost of thousands of innocent lives if that virus is unleashed," Victoria said with a firm shake of her head. "Not when it could risk my daughter and Ryan…Annie…what about Kimiko? Do you even care about them? Do you truly care about them, Billy?"

Silence sat between them then.

"And if he lives? If he continues on this path he's on? Have you seen what he's doing to this country? You know that if we don't kill him then you're stuck with him…or is that what you want, Vicky? You want to be with him?"

"You know I don't," Victoria snapped back at her brother. "I'm with him because I have no choice…and if I stay with him…then maybe eventually I can get through to him. I used to be able to. In the past there were times when I could. Besides, if staying with him means that other people don't die because of this virus then I'm willing to do that."

"Well, ain't you Mother Theresa."

"No, I'm just not a selfish asshole who is willing to risk other people's lives," Victoria said, voicing rising an octave as she stood up and looked down to him, knowing that this wasn't a conversation that was going to end well. "I know who you are, Billy. I know you're the biggest dickhead going, but somewhere deep down you actually have a heart and do care about people: not many people, granted, but there are times when I think you're so blinded by revenge that you don't see that your actions have consequences."

"And you're so blinded by needing someone to love you that you're willing to stay with that monster."

Victoria stood up then and tossed her cup into the trashcan next to the bench.

"Is that what you think?" she asked him. "You think that I don't know who he is and what he's done? I fucking know, Billy. I know what he is, but I also know how powerful he is and I'm not going against that."

"You always were a martyr."

"And you were always a self-centred prick," Victoria snapped back at him. "Guess some things never change."

"Guess they don't," Billy said.

Turning on her heel, Victoria walked away from the park, tears falling down her cheeks. Billy remained sat on the bench, arms stretched along the back of it and head tilted back as he realised that he'd messed things up with his sister. But if it got her away from Homelander in the long run then it was worth it. She would see that.

"Hey, hey, hey, come here."

Homelander was stood in the meeting room with Sage, the two of them still plotting. Victoria had come up and asked him if he wanted her to go and pick Evelyn up from nursery or if he would do it in an hour. She'd been short with her question and he'd noticed the way her cheeks were tinged red and her eyes were swollen and also red. She'd been crying and was upset. Before she could escape the meeting room, he reached for her waist, dragging her back to him and she looked at his shoulder.

He moved his finger to her chin, tilting her face up so that she was looking him in the eye. "What happened?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she said.

"Vicky, don't lie to me," he urged from her as Sage remained stood by the monitors, cautiously observing the sight in front of her. "Sweetheart, come on."

Victoria sniffed again and her eyes flickered in Sage's direction for a brief second. Homelander noticed and he glanced to his colleague.

"Sage, can we have the room?" he asked her.

"We still need to discuss the Expo," she said.

"And we will after," Homelander said and she sensed that his word was final on this.

She didn't bother to argue. She just left the room, the doors closing behind her and leaving the married couple alone. Homelander stroked his wife's cheek with his right hand, the leather of his glove slightly cool against her skin. She exhaled a sharp breath and knew that she had to tell him something.

"Billy," was all she said to him.

"I take it the meeting with William did not go well?" Homelander asked and a part of him felt almost gleeful at knowing that. He didn't want her with William. He wanted her nowhere near her brother.

"He's such an asshole," Victoria said, voice on edge as she moved away from her husband and began pacing the meeting room, hands on hips. "He knows about the virus Godolkin. He seems to think that there might be a way to replicate it. You told me that you handled the situation there," she concluded.

"I did," Homelander promised her. "I destroyed the lab and shut it down."

"Well, Billy seems to think that there's a way to replicate it. He didn't tell me how, but he thinks there has to be," Victoria said.

Homelander shook his head. "Absolutely not. The scientist behind it died and there were no remaining samples," he said. "Besides, if there was anyone trying to recreate it then I'd know. Your brother is clutching at straws and we both know it. That virus is never going to exist."

Victoria wasn't entirely sure if that was true, but she wasn't going to argue with him on it. "Either way, he was sat there spouting about how the virus would basically be the answer to all of our prayers," she said. "It's like he forgets that he has a niece who is a supe…Ryan is a supe…if that virus ever got out into the world then it would kill them. It would be a deadly weapon and that's not right. My little girl doesn't deserve to die because she was born a supe…and the idea that my own brother doesn't seem to care makes me feel sick because he just sees her as collateral…collateral to kill you."

He watched as she stood by the window, peering down onto the skyline beneath her. She crouched down, arms folded in her lap and skirt fanning onto the floor around her. Taking tentative steps towards her, Homelander stood behind her and reached down, a hand going to her shoulder.

"Your brother will get nowhere," he said to her.

"He might not, but we…we argued…said some things…and I don't think he's very happy with me," Victoria simply said, remembering how he'd told her that she was so desperate for love. "I just hate fighting with him, especially when I know he's ill, but he's so deep down this path…hellbent on revenge…that he doesn't see the bigger picture. He doesn't see what could happen."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"I don't think that would help, John," Victoria replied and moved her hand over her chest to sit on top of his on her shoulder. "I'm just tired of it all."

"Come here," Homelander encouraged from her and he hauled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. She pressed her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes as he stroked her hair. He dropped his chin to sit on top of her head. "I've got you, sweetheart. I've always got you."

A/N: V-52 Expo coming up very soon! I've extended that to be a few chapters...as always, would love your thoughts! New episode tonight!