Homelander paced the meeting room, unable to sit still. He kept walking up and down the room, arms moving from being folded over his chest to resting on his hips and then laced behind his back. Deep, Noir and Firecracker were sat at the table and Homelander was trying to figure out the best plan of action. They were all silent, not daring to say anything to Homelander. They were clearly scared of him and he knew it. He wasn't going to bother telling them not to be. He didn't care enough. The ringing in his ears continued as his wife's voice echoed around the room.
"And I know that how I've behaved in the past has been hypocritical. I am well aware of that, but being married to Homelander wasn't easy. What me and my husband had was difficult and our marriage wasn't perfect. I wanted to work on it. I wanted him to understand that supes and humans could co-exist and I guess a naïve part of me thought that he might. He married a human. But he doesn't. He thinks supes are supreme and I can no longer stay with him and sit back while he spouts that…those views…the claim that only supes can save America because I don't agree with it. And I need to stand up and say that now. My word probably means nothing to most people. Why should it? I know I'm a no one. I don't pretend to think that what I say has value…but I just feel that there's more people out there who know that this is wrong…who know that we can co-exist. Supes and humans can get along. Why do we need to fight? We don't. And that's why I'm saying this now. I'm saying this because if I didn't then I'd just be a coward-"
Homelander grabbed hold of the remote and paused the recording. His wife had gone on social media and done a live stream, explaining her position. She'd told people that she'd left her husband because she no longer agreed with his politics. She said that she had to stand up and finally use her voice. The reaction had been mixed. Some people had criticised her, claiming that she was naïve to the ways of the world. Then there had been those who had praised her, saying how they understood that it couldn't have been easy for her to leave someone like Homelander and that she had the right beliefs.
"Can we not get her off air?" Homelander demanded, but he knew that the people in the room weren't exactly those who could help him do that. Ashley had gone missing and they had no idea where she might be.
"We can get her off of VNN news, but we don't control all the other stations, sir," Firecracker told her boss. "I have an episode of Truthbomb to record this afternoon where I can make it known that she's with them…say what I need to say to discredit her even further."
Homelander considered that option. He looked to the screen and stared at the image of his wife on it, her face showing signs of exhaustion and her hair mussed up on top of her head. But then he remembered how less than twenty-four hours she'd been underneath him on the staircase moaning in pleasure and kissing him. He knew that she still loved him. He knew that she still had feelings for him and so that gave him hope. She could go off and do her little speeches to try and make herself feel better, but she would always come back to him.
"No," Homelander settled on saying to Firecracker. "I don't need to discredit her."
"Sir, with all due respect, shouldn't we be slightly concerned?" Firecracker wondered and she peered down at her own phone that she had sat down on the table. She looked at the screen, eyes fixed on it as she took in the numbers in front of her. "She's currently at over ninety million views and around fifty million likes. That's far more than I've ever received for my clips from Truthbomb."
"People will listen to her, but it doesn't change the fact that we're the ones in charge," Homelander declared. "My wife might be an internet sensation as things currently stand, but she can't maintain that level of fame. She won't be serious opposition for us."
"Why not?" Deep was the one who asked and Homelander flashed him a look of annoyance. "I just mean…how can we be so sure that she won't be a problem?" he asked, trying to get out of Homelander's bad books. He didn't entirely want to be there. He wanted to be on his side and so far he had been. He'd taken care of everyone who would cause them a problem at Vought. But he had let Ashley get away.
"Because my wife hates the limelight," Homelander said. "She will be under too much scrutiny and she won't be able to handle it. Why did she stay with me if she believed what she did? Why did she decide to leave now? She won't tell the truth, of course she won't. She knows that is futile because she has no evidence to back her claims up and she'll just come across as desperate to discredit me…bitter…and Victoria is clever. I am not denying that she is clever, but she can't handle the level of scrutiny that is going to come with speaking out against me now. She can't handle it and she can't tell the full truth. She'll be done within the week and back here."
None of them said anything to contradict Homelander. They knew that they couldn't. But they didn't entirely share his optimism. Homelander looked back to the screen and his wife's face, moving closer towards it before whispering under his breath.
"You'll be home soon, sweetheart. We both know it," he whispered to her image.
…
"You know what you did…I mean…fuck, it's all anyone can talk about."
Victoria had asked to meet Alex the following morning. She had slept with her daughter in the king-sized bed, but it had been fitful. She kept waking up and checking her phone, seeing the notifications come in from the video she'd posted. The reaction had been what she'd expected, but she just ignored the hateful comments that called her derogatory names and made threats against her. She was used to it and she knew that if she was going to do this then she had to develop a thick skin. She was prepared for that.
She had asked Natalie to stay with her for the next couple of days and the woman had agreed. She told Victoria that she'd stay with her for as long as she needed. Victoria knew that her long-term solution couldn't be to live in a hotel forever, no matter how nice the hotel was. She had to find somewhere to live. She had to find Ryan too. She had to think about how things were going to work in the long run for Evie. She didn't know if she wanted shared custody, but she knew her husband would never give his daughter up and so she might have to play nice. But there was no way that Evelyn was going to live with him. And then there was the fact that she'd need to file divorce papers. She had no idea how he'd react to that, but she guessed it wouldn't be good.
"I was a rambling idiot," Victoria said to Alex.
She had text him that morning and asked him to meet her in Central Park. They sat on a bench out of the way, wrapped up in winter coats and holding onto takeaway coffee cups. Victoria tucked her hair behind her ear and she glanced across to the man next to her with his square, strong jaw and kind eyes that were set on her. She was going to break his heart and she wasn't sure if she was prepared for that.
"You were not a rambling idiot," Alex told her and peeled the lid off the cup and took a sip on it.
They had made sure to stay away from the path, well aware of what was at stake if Alex was spotted. Thankfully, it was foggy and early and most people seemed to be too wrapped up in their own business.
"I didn't know what to say because all of it felt so fake," Victoria said to him. "I mean, I don't know what I'm expecting to come from it. It's not as if I can…what? Form a rebellion against Hometeamers? That's not what I want to do. Starlighters…Hometeamers…fighting has done nothing but cause pain and we all know that. I just had to say something, but now I don't know what. I don't know what I should do."
"You keep going," Alex said to her. "You keep talking out against your husband. You keep saying what needs to be said because people listen to you. People listen to you because you're in the limelight. You have a platform and you need to use it for good."
"Is it going to be enough?" Victoria wondered from Alex. "People are asking why I didn't speak out sooner and it's not as if I can go on television and tell them that it was because I was scared of what might happen if I did? I was scared what my husband might do because he has a history of violence…but I accepted him for it because I even encouraged it at times? I can't say that and I know he won't bring it up either."
"You tell them that you didn't leave him because things were complicated," Alex said. "You don't owe anyone any explanation about your marriage to him. You just say that you hit a point where you couldn't keep quiet anymore and your differences became irreconcilable."
Victoria's lips arched for a moment before she glanced to Alex. "You're good at this, you know?"
"Years of Vought PR training," he said to her. "You don't become part of the world's biggest boyband and not know how to handle the press."
"Well, you know your stuff," Victoria said to him. "And I don't. I never was good at any of it. As soon as things got tough, I let John take the lead. He would get me out of difficult situations."
"Not all of the time and you know it," Alex said to her, voice slightly firmer. "You need to give yourself more credit, Vic. You can do this. You keep speaking out for what's right. You keep doing that because he won't hurt you. You can only gain momentum. Annie…he's ruined her…he's ruined all of us…and you can't go on TV and defend us because the evidence is against us. He will make sure of it. You just need to keep fighting the fight Annie started."
"I'll try and clear your names. You know that, don't you?" Victoria said to him. "I'm not going to stop fighting for that."
"The only issue there is that you'd have to turn your brother in," Alex said to her. "It was him who killed Neuman."
"Trust me, I wouldn't mind seeing him rot in a cell for that," Victoria grunted as she felt a flutter of annoyance pass through her at remembering what her brother had done and how he had ruined things. Of course he had ruined things. He wasn't capable of thinking rationally when it came to supes.
"You don't mean that," Alex said.
"Do I not?" Victoria wondered. "He ruined the one chance we had to maybe stop this, but instead my husband is probably going to be running the White House and God only knows what that will look like. Not to mention the fact he has the virus…a virus which could kill my kids."
"I know," Alex said and he reached into his pocket and tugged out the vial of V he'd kept on him. "Annie gave me this," he said to her. Victoria looked at the bright blue liquid as Alex twirled it between his fingers. "She told me that it was a 'just in case' but I couldn't take it. I mean, I remember being a supe. I remember what it had been like…but it had never been as good as when I've been a human."
"I just wanted you to be protected," Victoria said to him. "I didn't mean you had to take it, but I just…I was scared he'd come after you and what he might do."
"Vic, baby, even if I took this we both know it wouldn't protect me against him. He's the strongest supe there is," Alex said. "No one can kill him. Neuman couldn't and she was the only one who I thought might be able to."
Victoria agreed with him on that point, but it hadn't happened. Victoria folded one leg over the other and took a sip of the hot coffee, feeling it burn her tongue. She knew that she had to go soon. Being out in the open was too risky for Alex and she couldn't let him risk himself for her.
"That's why it comes down to you," Alex said. "You're the one woman he won't ever hurt and so you can take him on and people will listen to you. You might not want this popularity. You might not want to be a figurehead, but you are. You can do good. You can fight him."
"I just don't know why people would listen to me," Victoria confessed to Alex. "I mean, when I was going to go with Neuman, I got it. People listened to her. She had credibility. I'm not Victoria Neuman."
"No, you're Dr Victoria Anderton," Alex said. "You're the cleverest woman in know. You see yourself as just Homelander's wife, but you're not. You spent years fighting for human rights. You might have married Homelander, but look at what you did. You worked for civil society organisations while you were with him. You worked on asylum and immigration charities…you championed numerous causes while you were with him. You've done so much more than you know and people see that. People see what you can't see."
Victoria never thought about that. She never thought about what she'd done because she had never done it for glory. She did it because she wanted to. She did it because she tried to do good.
"I'm not a good person, Alex," Victoria said to him. "You know I'm not."
"No one is perfect."
"Not many people have ever excused their husband for killing people who have wronged them," Victoria retorted quickly. "And I did. I did that and John was right when he said that I only apply my morals when I want to."
Alex watched her and he could see that she was struggling with all of this. He didn't know what more he should say to her, but he needed her to understand that she was the only one who could do this. He just needed her to believe in herself.
"You have a dark side to you, but we all do," Alex said. "And honestly, when people threaten the people we love…threaten to kill them like they did Evie…then I dare you to find anyone who wouldn't want revenge."
"And if people find out? If people find out that I let him do that?"
"Then it looks just as bad on him as it does you and that is why no one will find out," Alex said confidently. "He won't want people to know and you know that. It seems to me as if you're making excuses for why you shouldn't do this and the Victoria I know doesn't back away from adversity. She doesn't hide and cower out of fear."
"Does she not?" Victoria questioned from him and she felt him pick her hand up. He looked down at her fingers, thumb running over where her engagement and wedding band had sat.
"No. If she did then she'd still be with him, but she's not," Alex said. "You left him. You left him and now you have to try and stop him. You might not succeed, but you have to try and you're the only one who can."
Victoria knew that Alex was trying to be supportive and that was why it made it so much more difficult for her to do this. Setting her cup down next to her, she reached her hand to his and prised it from her fingers, setting his hand back down in his lap. Victoria laced her fingers together and looked straight ahead.
"When do you leave?" Victoria asked from him and Alex frowned at the fact she'd moved his hands from hers.
"Tomorrow morning. M.M. is working on getting us fake passports," he informed her. "I'm going to go with Hughie and Annie. I know I'll be a third wheel, but Annie insisted I go with them."
"And the others?"
"Frenchie and Kimiko are going together and M.M. is off to meet his family," Alex said and he fidgeted in the seat before setting his cup down on the bench next to him. "I mean…if you want me to stay here then I can. I don't want you to do this on your own."
Victoria shook her head. "He'll come looking for you," she said. "You can't stay here. You're wanted for killing Neuman and we both know what will happen if you're caught. You need to get away."
"You know that I don't want to, don't you?" Alex said to her. "I'd rather stay here with you and Evie."
"I know you would," Victoria assured him, "but you can't, Alex. You need to get away and this time it's me who will fight to keep you safe and clear your name. I won't stop, I promise you…but we…I don't know what's going to happen, Alex, and you can't pin all of your hope on us. We don't know if there can ever be an us."
"Do you want there to be an us?" Alex asked her and Victoria wanted to nod her head. She wanted to tell him that it was all she desired, but she couldn't. She couldn't and so she didn't. She just looked him in the eye and he saw that there was hesitation there. He nodded his head once and gulped, chuckling darkly. "You're not sure, are you?"
"It feels like a pipedream, Alex," Victoria confessed to him. "What you said yesterday was right and it's not fair on you. I can't promise you something that might not happen. I love you, I do…I just…"
"Just not as much as you love him," Alex concluded.
"I don't understand it myself," Victoria confessed to him. "I'm going to divorce him. I've left him. I don't want him…but it's like he's always there…always in the back of my mind and I don't know how to get rid of that. That's why I can't give you false hope. I can't promise you that those feelings will go away. I can't give you all of me, Alex, because he…he still has a part of me and I need to work out how to get it back."
Alex wanted to cry. He wanted to beg her not to say that. He wanted to get on his knees and wrap his arm around her waist, bury his cheek against her lap and tell her that he would love her better than Homelander ever could. He just wanted her to see that they could be good together. But that wouldn't be enough and it wouldn't work. She needed time. She needed space and so he would give her it.
"You know…chances are I won't move on, right?" Alex checked with her. "I mean, being on the run means it would be difficult to date."
"Even so, don't wait for me, Alex," Victoria urged him. "You deserve someone so much better than me. You deserve someone who loves you unconditionally…someone who can give themselves fully to you."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Don't pull that bullshit with me," he urged from her. "The whole 'you deserve someone better' and 'it's not you, it's me.' I deserve better than those cliches, Victoria. I ran away for you. I faked my death for you. I thought what we had was real."
"It was," Victoria promised him. "And I wish that he had never found us. I wish that we still had that life, but the fact is that he did find us. I went back to him."
"We can get back to that place if we tried," Alex said to her. "You know we can. You can be free from him."
"I don't know if I can be," Victoria said. "And I don't want you to wait for me to hit that point because what if it doesn't come? What if I can never stop loving the memory of him? It's not fair on you, Alex."
"I don't want to argue over this," Alex said, trying to calm his voice and Victoria wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "I love you, Victoria, and you love me. I don't want to compete with him and I'm not doing that. You need to figure your shit out, but all I know is that loving you…it's the easiest thing I've done and I don't want to let go without a fight…but I need to know there's something worth fighting for."
Staring into his eyes, Victoria saw the hurt then and her stomach churned. She closed her eyes for a second, blinking back the tears that had spilled and she knew she had to tell him. She had to tell him because it was the only way he was going to leave her. It was the only way she could push him away completely and she had to do that for his sake.
"I slept with him," she confessed and it was his turn to look confused.
His face scrunched up and he cocked his head to the side as he took in her words. Watching her, he saw a single tear roll down her cheek. His hand wrapped around the back of the bench tightly, his grip almost breaking it. "When?" he asked.
"Last night," Victoria said and Alex let out a bark of laughter in disbelief. "I didn't mean to."
"You just slipped underneath him, huh?" Alex asked from her and his hurt turned to rage. Moving to his feet, he shook his head and Victoria remained seated. She saw him reach for his cup of coffee. He took the lid off and emptied the liquid into the soil to the side of the bench. "You know, I've tried to work it out in my head. I've tried to work out how you could still love someone like him. All of those magazine covers with you smiling…that fucking trip to Liberty Island…you looked so genuinely happy and Annie assured me it was fake. You were just a really good liar, but that's shit, isn't it?"
Victoria remained silent. She let him rant at her because she deserved it and she knew that she did. Alex stood in front of her after throwing his cup down into the bin with anger.
"You're so infatuated by him despite the fact he's not the man you fell in love with. He never really was that man. He faked it for you, but you can't get that into your brain, can you? He's not him and he never will be him…but you're clinging onto that…and I don't know why. I thought that maybe it stemmed from your childhood and I got that. I got why it would after everything you went through, but now I'm not sure. Now, I don't know," Alex said to her. "And to know that you went back to him last night…after everything…and you slept with him…you know, I don't agree with what your brother said, but maybe you really are lost to him. Maybe there is no hope for you. How long before you end up back with him? How long before you're back dangling off of his arm and living in hope that you can change him?"
"I'm not going back," Victoria simply said, her voice small.
"I'll believe it when I see it," Alex said. "But I think you're right, Victoria. I think I do deserve someone better."
Victoria didn't argue with him any further. She just remained sat on the bench and watched him turn around and walk away from her. And she let him. She let him go because she knew she had to. She'd broken his heart and she wanted to tell him how sorry she was, but saying sorry wouldn't help him. It wouldn't make him feel any better.
…
Victoria closed her eyes and tried to have a moment of peace. Ever since she'd spoken with Alex, she'd just walked around New York City, keeping her head down and trying not to cry for what she'd ruined. She knew that she'd made a mess of things. She knew that she had pushed Alex away and she doubted she'd ever get him back. She knew that wasn't going to happen and a part of her felt relieved. She needed to sort her own life out. She needed to focus on Evie and Ryan, if he came back to her.
But then Victoria had received a text from Annie asking to meet her. She was prepared for her to friend to lay into her. She called Natalie on the way to the Starlight House where Annie had asked to meet her. Evelyn was fine and that was the main thing. Ryan hadn't responded to Victoria's messages, but she had told him that she was staying in a hotel and had given him its name.
Entering the Starlight House, Victoria saw that it was covered in graffiti. The furniture had been thrown over and there were papers scattered everywhere, broken photo frames, smashed lights and debris from smashed walls. The entire place was dark and decrepit. It was like nothing Annie had built.
Sitting on the edge of one desk, Victoria saw Annie there waiting for her. She was wearing a white shirt and a grey jacket with jeans, her hands were no longer bandaged and Victoria guessed that she healed quicker than normal humans did. Moving to sit down on the desk besides her, Victoria gripped the edge of it.
"Did he tell you?"
"He came back to the safe house in a foul mood," Annie said. "I had to prise it out of him."
"Is he okay?"
"What do you think?" Annie replied, voice harsher than she had intended for it to be and she noted Victoria wince. Moving a hand down her ponytail, Annie took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She had told herself that she was going to come here with an open mind and so far she was failing.
"I know I've fucked things up," Victoria said to Annie.
"Big time," Annie agreed on that point. "You know, I've spent the last several months promising him that there was nothing going on between you and Homelander. I told him that all of the interviews were fake…that all of your smiles were forced…that you didn't want to be with him, but then I find out you've been willingly sleeping with him and it makes me doubt everything. It makes me doubt you. How do I know we can trust you?"
"I'm still me, Annie," Victoria protested her innocence.
"Are you?" Annie asked her. "Because I don't know anymore. I really don't know."
"You think it's easy?" Victoria asked her. "I went back to him because there was no choice. I went back and I didn't see an out at the time. I thought that was going to be my life forever…and he…you don't see him when he's by himself. He makes it so easy for me to be with him and I hate that, Annie. I hate that I feel that way."
"Have you heard yourself?" Annie demanded from her. "You're just giving excuses, Victoria. You always have done when it comes to him. You know what he's done. You know how many people he's hurt. You know all of that…you knew it all and you still slept with him. You might have taken your wedding ring off, but that doesn't mean anything, does it? You're still his. Deep down, you'll always be his."
"I'm not," Victoria said with a shake of her head and she knew she was going to start crying again. She knew that she deserved their anger. She knew it was all warranted and she knew that she had it coming. "Annie, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that things aren't messed up because they are. Everything has been ruined and I know that. I know that I…I know that things are a mess, but I am going to try and fix them. I'm going to speak up."
Annie looked upwards. "You think that will be enough, but it won't be," she said. "I tried to go against them and I failed."
"But we can't stop trying," Victoria said. "And I know that you might not trust me, but I am going to do everything I can to try and fix this mess. I am going to do everything I can to make this right and clear your names."
"And how long before he has you back where he wants you?"
"Things are different this time."
"I've heard you say that so many times before, but you still end up in bed with him," Annie replied and Victoria could hear the disappointment in her voice. She slipped from the desk and stuffed her hands into her jean pockets. "I love you, Vic, you were a friend to me when I had no one. I will always love you, but you…you say the same thing over and over again. You say that you don't want him, but you always end up back with him. I just…I want to trust you…I want to trust that you won't go back to him, but I don't know if I can because you can't get away from him. And the worst part is that I don't know if you want to."
"I do," Victoria said. "I really do."
"Then you need to prove it," Annie said to her, "but we can't stick around and help you anymore. We need to get out…you're on your own…and I'm sorry it is this way, but your brother made sure it was."
"And I know he messed things up, but I am going to try and sort it. I promise you."
"Yeah," Annie said weakly. "I guess we'll see."
She began to walk away and Victoria watched her as she took hold of the door handle. She let her hand grip it tightly and she squeezed her eyes shut, cursing herself before she turned around and quickly walked back to Victoria who was also standing up and getting ready to leave. Victoria was taken off guard as Annie wrapped her arms tightly around her and she almost doubled over, but she gripped hold of her.
"I just want the best for you, but you need to work out who you are," Annie said to her. "You need to do that and you need to do it on your own. We can't help you."
"I know," Victoria agreed with her on that point and Annie gave her one final squeeze before she left, taking off without looking back and Victoria just watched someone else she loved walk out of her life.
…
Homelander had been asked to go to the White House. He was going to be asked to take charge of the situation where riots had broken out across the country over what had happened. He was going to be given the opportunity to herald a golden age of supes and he was looking forward to it. Of course, there had to be a lot of planning in advance of that. He needed to make sure that he surrounded himself with people who he could trust. He imagined that meant he would need Sage back at some point. She'd proven herself trustworthy and he respected her.
His wife was still holed up in some hotel and her face was still plastered all over the news, but she wasn't top of the hour news now. By the time Homelander did his speech at the White House, she'd be long forgotten and he knew that. Ryan hadn't come home yet either, but Homelander had tried calling him and leaving messages which he wasn't replying to.
Homelander knew where his wife was and he had gone to find her, needing to talk to her. She hadn't been in the hotel room when he'd arrived. Instead, it had been the Vought babysitter with his daughter. Natalie had looked shocked to see him there, but she had let him, clearly knowing that she had no other option but to do so. She had watched as he sat with his daughter and it was like he was a different man entirely, cooing over her and holding her to him, reading a story to her.
Natalie had just sat in the corner of the room, observing silently. She wasn't leaving and Homelander didn't ask her to. It was only fifteen minutes later when the door beeped and Victoria walked in, dropping the keycard onto the sideboard. She looked surprised when she saw her husband sat on the sofa, Evie on his lap and her stuffed giraffe in his hand.
"What are you doing here?" Victoria demanded to know from her husband, voice on edge and he honed in on her, seeing that she'd been crying. She smelt of cold, but also of something other than her Chanel perfume.
"I'm entitled to see my daughter, aren't I?" Homelander said and he tickled Evie's sides and she laughed, nestling closer against her father. "My little girl was just telling me that you're reading her The Penguin and the Lion," he added on and Victoria nodded.
"We were until daddy got rid of it," Victoria said, referencing the fact that it had been in the living room and he'd destroyed everything.
"Daddy will buy her another copy," Homelander said.
"Can I talk to you?" Victoria asked and Homelander rolled his eyes, but kissed his daughter on the top of her head. Natalie swept in and took hold of Evelyn.
"I'll take this one down to the playground outside," Natalie said and Victoria mouthed a 'thank you' to her before moving into the bedroom until Natalie got Evie ready. Homelander followed her, cape flowing out behind him as he tugged his gloves from his fingertips, tossing them down onto the end of the bed that was perfectly made. Victoria shut the door to the bedroom behind him as Homelander pressed his hand down on the mattress.
"You know, you just have to ask if you want to fuck me," Homelander said to his wife, a smirk on his face. Victoria looked to him and rolled her eyes, unbuttoning her red coat and tossing it over the beige chair in the corner. "I'd be more than happy to oblige you again."
"I'm sure you would be," Victoria retorted with annoyance, "but I didn't ask you in here so that we could have a quickie."
"Who says it has to be a quickie?" Homelander wondered, finding it entertaining to wind her up and watch her cheeks tinge red.
"You don't seem to have the stamina to go for much longer these days," Victoria retorted, unable to help herself. Instead of being annoyed, he seemed amused though. He sat down at the end of the bed, moving his cape to the side. Victoria leant against the desk across from it, her backs of her thighs hitting the wood.
"I never heard you complain before," Homelander said. "But we can get to that in a minute. I did come here to discuss business."
"What?" Victoria questioned with a haughty voice.
"Your little video played nicely for about twenty-four hours," he assured his wife. "But now it's slipping down the news schedule. By tomorrow, you'll be long forgotten, especially when I'm in the White House. It's me who they want, Vicky. The President will deputise hundreds of supes who will report to me. It will be martial law. I'll be in charge."
"Well, you finally got what you wanted."
"And you know what that means, don't you?" Homelander asked from her. "Your friends won't be on the run for much longer. It will be a new age of superheroes."
"You can try and catch them," Victoria said to him, "but we both know you can't imprison thousands of people who speak out against you."
"Vic, sweetheart, come on," Homelander said with another roll of his eyes. "We both know that I can. I will find every Starlighter who dares to threaten me. I will find whatever rock they're hiding under and they will be brought to justice."
"Well, good luck," Victoria said to her husband, "but there will always be people who are against you."
"And I will deal with them."
"Not if it's your wife."
Homelander laughed then. "Darling, you're not grasping the situation, are you?" he asked from her and he stood up. He ambled towards her as she folded her arms across her chest and went defensive. "Anyone who I deem to be a threat will be dealt with. You can shout from the rooftops. You can try to mobilise the masses…start protests…do what you want…but if you do that then I will deal with them. I will stop any dissent that comes my way because I need to keep this country safe."
"If you were so concerned with keeping America safe then you'd be nowhere near the White House," Victoria snapped at him. "What you're doing is dictatorial. You're going to shut down any healthy debate that takes place.
"Oh, I am very happy to engage in debate," Homelander assured his wife, "but I just wonder if people will want to debate if they know the consequences."
"You really do underestimate people, John," Victoria said.
"No, I just know people," Homelander said to his wife. "And the fact is that this is happening. This is a new age and you can try and keep speaking against me or you can accept it. It'll make your life easier, sweetheart. You can come home and be back where you belong. You know that's what you want, right?" he asked from her, fingertips grazing over her cheek as she kept on watching him. "You want to come home where you know I'll love you. I'll give you anything you want. You want holidays on secluded islands? You can have it. You want date nights at Gio's? You know that's yours. You just need to say the word and you can come back and be with the only man who has ever accepted you…seen you for who you are…the good, the bad, the ugly. I know there's a dark side to you and I accept it because I accept you, Vicky. I'm the only one who does."
She said nothing to him then, letting his hand stroke along her cheek and a part of her thought about how easy it might be to take him up on that offer. She knew it would be easy. Peering up at him, she let her eyes search his light blue gaze and she realised that this was what he wanted. He wanted her to feel weak and powerless. But she wasn't going to let him have that.
"I could do that," Victoria said. "I could come back with you and I know you want that. You see me? Well, guess what, John, I see you too…and I know that you'll try and thwart anything that I do. I know that and I'm going to be prepared for it. Whatever you throw at me, I'll throw right back at you. That's what I'm going to do. You want to arrest everyone in the country who goes against you? Fine. Good luck with that. But we both know that there's one person you won't arrest or throw into your little prison."
Homelander's lips arched dangerously at that and a part of him had to admit that he was intrigued by his wife's defiance. It felt different this time as to previously. Victoria felt his chest brush against hers as he leant down, his hands gripping the edge of the desk around her, trapping her against it as he brought his forehead down to hers. She didn't shrink back from him.
"You know, this could be a fun little dance," Homelander said to his wife. "I see that…I mean…there is something about you being stubborn that does get me going, but we both know that you'll come back to me."
"Not this time."
"You know, I can read your body, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear hotly, lips close to pressing against her flesh. "I can hear your heart race. I can hear your breathing speed up. I can see your pupils dilate, but…more than that," he said and he moved his leg between hers, hearing her breathing hitch as he let his thigh sit in between her legs, lifting her from the floor and onto her toes as she leant back on the desk, hands grasping hold of it. "I can smell how much you want it…me…" he said to her.
Victoria looked to him and cocked her head. He thought he had the upper hand. "You know, it's funny," she said to him as she grabbed hold of his chin and forced his face from where he had been blowing against her ear. She forced him to look her in the eye, squeezing his chin forcefully but hardly bothering him. "You need your superpowers to know all of that about me, but it's very different when it comes to men. You like to think you're so special…a God…but you're like every other man on the planet," Victoria said and she moved her other hand down his chest, slipping past his stomach until she grabbed his crotch forcefully, feeling the hardness there and she heard him gasp as she kept him in her hand. "You want me. You always will want me because you know nothing will ever compare…but you can't have me, not now," she said and she moved her own mouth to his ear, whispering into it and he took his turn to shudder. "And you think I won't have control over this situation? I will, John. I'll have control…and I'll fight for as long as I have to because we both know you won't keep me quiet."
She moved her hand from him and pushed his face off to the side before she removed herself from between his body and the desk. She tugged her short skirt down and rolled up the sleeves of the green jumper she wore. Homelander looked at her over his shoulder as he tried to adjust his pants so that they were more comfortable. He chuckled darkly at the sight of her running her fingers through her hair, combing it down.
"I think I'm almost going to relish the challenge," Homelander confessed to his wife.
"You and me both," Victoria retorted.
"Well, if you insist on being stubborn, we need to sort something out for Evie."
"You can see her on Saturdays, but I will be there to supervise."
"You think I'm going to be content having one day with her?"
"You're going to be busy running the country, aren't you? Besides, it's not as if you know where Ryan is, do you?"
"Neither do you."
"You have more resources to find him."
"The boy is a supe. If he doesn't want to be found then he won't be," Homelander said, "but I am sure he is fine. He'll come home soon and when he does, you know I have sole custody over him."
"And if he doesn't want to stay with you?"
"He will," Homelander said confidently.
"He might not," Victoria said and he leant against the desk with his arms crossed. "If he wants to stay with me then you should let him. If you care about him then you'll let him come with me."
"It's because I care about him that he'll be staying with me," Homelander snapped back and Victoria held her hands up.
"You know what? How about we put this argument on pause until we actually have Ryan back home?" she asked from her husband. "In the meantime, you can have Saturday with Evie, but I'll be there."
"I want more time."
"No, because you've hardly been present for those kids in the last few weeks. You'd spend an hour with them and then what? Have Natalie look after them for the rest of the day?"
"That's rich coming from you," Homelander retorted. "Wasn't it you who shipped her off to nursery as soon as you could so that you could go back to work? You left her alone today so that you could go and…what? Spend time with Annie? Alex? Or was it both of them?" he questioned and he moved around her, sniffing in her scent. "I think it might've been both and judging from how you came in here, I take it that it didn't go well seeing as you'd been crying. What happened? Did they tell you that they were done with you? I can imagine Alex would be. Did you tell him what we did last night?"
She was quiet then and Homelander looked entertained as he swept her hair over one shoulder and ran a finger along the length of her spine.
"You told him," he said confidently. "You know, when I round him up I might spend quite a bit of time explaining to him in detail what you're like. I'd hate for him to die without even having some idea of what it's like to fuck you considering he's so obsessed with you."
"You're disgusting," Victoria hissed through clench teeth, whirling round to face him.
"I'm the man you married, gorgeous," he said. "Till death do us part."
"You know that divorce exists, right?"
Homelander chuckled and shook his head. "Trust me, sweetheart, it won't get to that stage," he assured her. "But I'll indulge this little defiant act of yours. It'll make it even sweeter when you come crawling on your knees back to me."
"I'm afraid that's an image you're just going to have to keep in your head," Victoria said to her husband. "It isn't happening."
"We'll see," Homelander whispered and he bent down to kiss the side of her head as he swept by her. "I'll see you soon, sweetheart," he said and he left the room without another word, picking his gloves up on the way, Victoria glaring after him.
She stood in the doorway as left the hotel room and she exhaled a shaky breath before looking in the mirror in the living room, noticing her flushed cheeks and wide eyes. She was about to go and sit down for a moment to compose herself, tugging at the tights under her black skirt, but there was a knock on the door. She went to open it, half-expecting to see Homelander stood there. But it wasn't him.
"You look like shit."
Victoria chuckled. "I feel like shit," she confessed. "How did you find me here?"
"Someone on Twitter saw Homelander coming into the hotel. Figured I'd find you here…found your nanny outside and asked her which room you were in. She recognised me from some photo she'd seen when she was unpacking your case."
"She's my babysitter, not nanny," Victoria corrected and stood by the let her into the hotel room. "And why are you here? Is it to have a go at me because you'd be the third person whose done that today."
"I could have a go at you, but no, I'm here for a different reason."
"What?" Victoria wondered and she just smiled at her. Victoria flapped her arms by her side. "What is it, Daniella?" she wondered from her friend.
Daniella continued smirking. "I'm here to help you bring down your husband."
...
A/N: So things are imploding on Victoria - Alex, Annie are upset...Homelander is loitering...I think I have another couple of chapters left to come to see what Victoria might do. As always, love to read your comments so let me know what you think!