Victoria knew that she had to move quickly. She had gone back to the guest room where Homelander was staying with Evie and she knew that she had to get her daughter away from him. She had sat on the other end of the sofa to Homelander, both of them saying nothing before he had left her at about six a.m. without another word. She had waited five minutes before she moved. She'd woken Evelyn up and dressed her quickly in a pair of jeans, jumper and her winter coat. Evelyn had complained, wondering where they could be going.

She was still tired and Victoria knew that what she was about to do was dangerous. She snuck out of the Tower, carrying Evelyn against her hip and urging her daughter to keep quiet. She'd pulled her hat onto her head and gloves onto her fingers before she'd gone, but Victoria could still feel the cold. She hailed a cab from the sidewalk and gave the address of the CIA bunker where Billy was holed up.

By the time she got there it was seven a.m. Security were apprehensive to let her in considering it was still so early, but she was persistent. She had to do this before she bottled it. She took the elevator down to the room where her brother was and saw that he was awake, but he looked like he'd just woken up.

"One of the nurses in 'ere told me that you were banging on the door to get in," her brother said to her.

"Is she safe here?" Victoria demanded to know from her brother and Billy sat up even further, back pressed to the cushions as he watched his sister storm into the room, her little girl on her hip with her face burrowed against her mother's neck, almost as though she was scared and tired.

"Vicky, what're-"

"-I don't have time, Billy," Victoria interrupted her brother. "Is my daughter safe here with you? Yes or no?"

"Yes," Billy said and Victoria nodded her head, knowing that she had to trust her brother. She was running out of people to trust. Victoria moved towards the chair by her brother's side and set Evelyn down onto it, the little girl's wide, light blue eyes staring up at her mother intently. Victoria watched her back, looking over her face and reaching a hand up to cup her cheek.

"Hey, baby," she said to her, "I just need to go and do something, alright? I need you to stay here, okay? Your Uncle Billy is going to look after you, I promise."

"Where are you going?" Evelyn questioned.

"Just to work," Victoria said to her with a forced smile, "but I will be back in a couple of hours, I promise. I just need you to stay here and be a good girl for your uncle. I know you've only met him a handful of times, but he's not as mean as he looks, I swear," Victoria said and she tickled her daughter's sides and saw her eyes light up as a giggle escaped her. "Alright, sweetie," Victoria said and she kissed her on the forehead, her lips lingering there for longer than usual. A part of Victoria was scared. She was scared that if things didn't go to plan, then she wouldn't see Evie again. She was scared that she would mess this up and Homelander would find her. But she couldn't sit by idly anymore. "Mummy loves you," she said.

"I love you too, mummy," Evelyn replied and Victoria kissed the top of her head once more before she straightened herself up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. Billy had tried to move out of bed, but he found himself too weak to be quick enough to stop his sister if he wanted to. He sat on the edge of it, legs dangling over but feet not touching the floor.

"What's going on?" Billy demanded to know from his sister.

"I found out what he's planning," Victoria said to her husband. "I know how he intends to kill Singer."

"The shape-shifting supe, yeah, we know, but it got away."

"It didn't get away," Victoria said. "It got Annie."

Billy's brows knitted together as Victoria moved forwards and grabbed his forearms. She could see him digesting the information and she was aware that it was a lot to take in in such a short space of time. Victoria held onto her brother tightly, almost as though that might ground her somewhat.

"He's using the shifter to frame Annie for killing Singer. I know where he's holding her and I'm going there now, but I can't get through to Alex or Hughie…but that's probably because it's early in the morning and no one is checking their phone."

"You can't go after her," Billy said firmly. "You don't know if the shifter is going to be there or not. It's a fucking suicide mission."

"I need to find her," Victoria just said to Billy. "While I'm gone, try calling Alex for me. I don't think it's wise to call Hughie. We don't want the shifter catching on if she's with him. We can't let that happen because it might jeopardise everything. If we stop the shifter then we might not save Singer…because God knows what Homelander might do…but we stop Annie from being framed."

"You still can't go there-"

"-I promise I'll be careful," Victoria interrupted her brother. "But once I've done that then I know that Homelander might find out. I know that I can't…I might not be able to escape him, but I need you to promise me that you'll take Evelyn and you'll keep her safe," Victoria spoke in a hushed whisper to her brother and Billy shook his head quickly as the little girl sat on the chair, her head bowed and her brows furrowing. Victoria was clearly trying to speak quietly so that she didn't hear. "I need you to do that, Billy. She needs to be safe. You promised me that you could keep her safe…her and Ryan…no ulterior motive…just the two of them together and away from Homelander."

"You can go with them."

"And I want to," Victoria said, eyes closing and tears threatening to spill. "I want to go with them, but I might not be able to because I need to do this. I need to stop him…I need to stand up and do the right thing for once in my life. I need to stop hiding and being scared of him. I don't know what he'll do, but I just know that I can't let him keep using my kids against me. So…just promise me…please…promise me you can keep them safe."

"Don't do this," Billy urged from his sister, but he knew how stubborn she was. She wasn't someone who took no for an answer. She had her own mind and clearly she'd made it up and he wasn't strong enough to stop her.

"I don't want to. Trust me, I don't want to," Victoria promised Billy and she squeezed his hands. "But he needs stopping and I'm done being silent. I want to be someone Ryan and Evie looks up to. I want to be their mum…step-mum…but I need to make them proud of me."

"Vicky, just think before you run off," Billy demanded.

"Trust me, I am thinking," she promised her brother and she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Billy."

She stepped away from him and he watched her crouch back down in front of her daughter and embrace her tightly one final time before she stood up and fled. Billy looked to Evelyn as she just stared back at him and he wondered just how he was going to stop his sister.

Of course, they wouldn't hold Annie in a five-star hotel. Victoria had taken a cab towards the address she'd seen in the file. It was some old apartment block that was derelict and due to be bulldozed in the future for a new block of apartments and a shopping complex. Victoria had paid the cab driver and climbed from the back of it as the clock struck nine. She checked her phone, but there was no message from her husband so he didn't know she was missing yet. She could bide her time a little longer.

Moving into the building, Victoria was quiet. She knew that she had to keep quiet. She also knew that Victoria Neuman was due to go on TV very soon with her husband and so that meant he'd be back at the Tower. How long would it be before he started looking for his wife?

Climbing up the stairwell, Victoria tried not to let the wood creak under her weight, but it was proving difficult. She kept moving up the steps and came to the first floor. She moved down the corridor and listened out for any noise, but she didn't hear anything. She tried pushing at the door to each apartment, seeing the brass numbers on them identifying what number apartment each one was. She couldn't get into any. The doors weren't budging. Victoria moved to the next floor and kept going along the second floor before her phone began vibrating in her bag. She cursed under her breath and scrambled around in her bag before she found it. Tugging it out, she saw that it was Alex calling her.

"Vic, you okay?" Alex wondered from her.

"Why weren't you answering your phone?" she tried to hiss quietly in case anyone could hear. She dashed into the stairwell and pressed her back against the brick wall, looking up and down out of paranoia.

"We've had a crazy few hours," Alex said to her. "All of the files on Neuman have vanished. Frenchie is making the virus, but we don't know if it's going to be ready in time yet…M.M…I think he wants us to go underground. He wants us to get Singer to safety."

"I think that's sensible," Victoria agreed, "but you can't let Annie in there with them because she's the shifter."

"What?" Alex snapped.

"Don't freak out or attract attention to her," Victoria urged from him and she continued climbing the staircase up to the next floor. "I'm trying to find the real Annie, but if she's not here then I don't know where to look."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked. "Vicky, where are you?"

"Some abandoned apartment block in the west of the city," she answered. "I found Homelander's plan in the safe. It detailed exactly what would happen…where Annie should be held…who the shifter is. But even if you stop the shifter then you know that Homelander isn't going to stop trying, right? I don't know if he'll find Singer himself, but I wouldn't put it past him-"

"-Can we just hold up a minute and backtrack," Alex interrupted her. "You're looking for Annie? What if the shifter comes?"

"You're not with them?"

"Hughie and Annie are supposed to be meeting us at the bunker," Alex said. "I don't have eyes on her right now. You need to get out of there."

"We both know that's not going to happen," Victoria retorted to him. "I need to go because if she's here then I need to get her. You get Singer to safety and be careful if the shifter is still there…just promise me that you'll be careful, okay?"

"I promise, but-"

Victoria hung up on him and put her phone on silent, declining the the incoming call from Alex. She kept on going up the building before she heard a yell. It sounded muffled and distant, but it was definitely a person. Victoria climbed even quicker at the noise of it. She ran up the staircase until she came to the top floor that had a wooden door leading to some kind of attic. Pushing it open, Victoria stepped inside hesitantly and then saw Annie there.

"Annie," Victoria breathed her name out and she rushed into the room, seeing that she had one hand out of the cuffs that were attached to the floor, but she was bleeding and her skin had peeled off. "Jesus, Annie," Victoria said as her friend sat there in front of her and Victoria knew that she had to get Annie some medical care sooner rather than later. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"I need to get out of here," Annie said.

"Okay…let me…I can see if we can find something to use," Victoria said to her, but Annie shook her head.

"We don't have time," she said in a strained voice as she pulled her hand against the cuff. She screamed in pain, but Victoria couldn't stop her as her hand slipped out of the restraint. She collapsed back against the ground and Victoria crawled around to her and helped her up, arm going around her waist.

"Annie…oh my God," Victoria whispered as she looked to her friend's hands that she was holding in front of her face. "We need to get you to the ER."

"I don't have time, I have to get to Singer," Annie said quickly and moved to stand on her feet, but she was shaky. Her grey tee was dirtied and there were rips in her jeans. Her hair was greasy and limp and her face also covered in dirt stains. Victoria didn't know how long she'd been there for, but she'd guessed that it had been a while. "How did you know where I was?"

"I found Homelander's plan," Victoria said to her. "He had everything detailed including payment to the shifter and where they could hold you up. I had to come. I had to find you, but I…clearly I wasn't that much help."

"But you came," Annie said. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"We're not exactly on speaking terms," Victoria said and she kept an arm around Annie as she limped for the first few steps towards the exit of the attic room. "I need to do something that I'm not entirely sure is sensible, but I don't think there's any other option, not really."

"What're you going to do?" Annie asked from her and they moved down the stairwell.

"I'm going to try and get him to stop," Victoria said. "I need to find Ryan too. There was a massive argument last night and Ryan ran away. I need to get him and I need to make sure he gets away from Homelander."

"You're running?"

"Yeah," Victoria confirmed, not wanting to get into it with her friend. She wasn't going to tell her that she wasn't running. She wasn't running away because she'd spent her entire life running and it was time to stop. "I need to get the two of them away from him because he's not good for them. I can't let him be involved in raising them, not when I've seen how he's been treating Ryan."

"Good," Annie said with a gasp of breath. "And you…if you go with them…we won't stop fighting him, you know? We can never stop trying to fight him."

"I know," Victoria promised her and they came to the bottom of the stairwell as Annie took in some deep breaths once they came outside and stood in the alleyway off the main road. Annie shielded her eyes from the sun as it beat down over them, breaking through cloud. She let her eyes adjust, blinking profusely before removing her hand from her forehead.

"You should go," Annie said.

"So should you," Victoria said to her. "But just…before you go…give this to Alex," she fumbled in her bag for the vial of Compound V. Tugging it out, the blue liquid shimmered in the sun. "He doesn't have to take it, but consider it a just in case. I don't know what Homelander has planned and I don't want him to be unprepared."

Annie just nodded her head once and she took the V. She understood why Victoria was giving it to her, but it had to be Alex's choice at the end of the day if he wanted to take it. She slipped it into her jean pocket and Victoria was content that it was going where it needed to go.

"You know, I never thought that any of this would happen when we first met…you were so shy and nervous to be in The Seven, but look at you now," Victoria said to her friend. "You're so brave, Annie. You know that, right?"

Annie scoffed and shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I don't feel brave," she said honestly to Victoria. "I feel like I'm failing. I don't know who the fuck I am anymore. Starlight…Annie…I don't know."

"Being a supe doesn't define you, Annie," Victoria said to her friend, "but I get the feeling that there is more of Starlight in you than you first thought there might be. You just need to accept her and not hide from her."

Annie said nothing to that. She just leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around Victoria, careful not to get her bloodied hands on her coat. Victoria didn't entirely care though. She just leaned forwards and wrapped her own arms around her waist.

"Look after yourself, Vic," Annie urged from her. "And that goddaughter of mine."

"Always," Victoria promised her. "I love you, Annie, you know that, right?"

Annie's squeeze around her waist increased and she pressed her face against her shoulder. "I love you too," she replied and the two women pulled away, looking each other in the eye and knowing that they had to go their own separate way.

Victoria had seen the Firebomb programme and she knew that Homelander had made a mess of things. He had outed Neuman as a supe, just as Victoria had suspected he might do. There had been no news on the assassination attempt as of yet. Victoria had tried to call Alex, but she couldn't get through to him. Chances were that there was no cell phone signal in the bunker for his cell. Victoria had gone to the last place she imagined she might go. Standing outside the townhouse, she knocked on the door and waited patiently for an answer. There had been two secret service agents outside, but Victoria had given them her ID and waited for them to check with the woman in the house that she was receiving visitors.

The door opened after a few moments and Neuman stood there, looking at Victoria with guarded caution. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I like to be full of surprises," Victoria replied.

Neuman was dressed in the same pastel pink suit she'd been wearing on the interview. She stepped aside and let Victoria into her house. There were only a few boxes left in the space. The floors were wooden and the paint was white on the walls. The intricate lighting decorations were still fitted to the ceiling and the sleek kitchen looked spotless except for the bottle of brandy that was open on it.

"Did you see what your husband did?" Neuman questioned Victoria.

Victoria unbuttoned her red coat and draped it over the banister at the bottom of the stairs. She didn't bother to take her shoes off. She dropped her bag onto the bottom step and folded her arms over her chest before moving further into the living room.

"I saw," Victoria said. "I'm amazed it took him this long, to be quite honest. I assume you tried to pop his head as soon as he did it?"

Neuman didn't say anything to that and so Victoria took it to mean that she'd tried but failed. She wasn't surprised. A part of her was beginning to think no one was strong enough to kill him. Neuman went to pick up the bottle of brandy and handed it to Victoria. "I take it you're not against day-drinking?" she checked with her.

"Not when we're in dire situations," Victoria replied and she took a swig of it. "What're you planning to do now?"

"Fuck knows," Neuman retorted, fingers combing through her hair and she sunk down to sit on the ground, not bothering to stand on ceremony. She folded her legs beneath her and pulled her heels from her feet. "Singer has already called for me to resign. Whoever he sent to assassinate him, it failed. He's failed."

"And you think that he'll accept that?" Victoria wondered from Neuman and she sunk down, legs crossed and pleated skirt fanned out around her. Victoria folded her arms over her lap and handed the bottle back across to Neuman. "I think he might kill Singer himself if he has to. He's driven to have you be the President, but we know what that would mean, don't we? Riots…unrest…it'll be chaos out there."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Neuman asked. "Because in case you haven't noticed, he's pretty much in control here. I can't kill him. I can't stop him."

"What if we don't need to kill him? What if it stops? This cycle…violence…hurting those who hurt us…surely it's enough?" Victoria questioned from her. "Aren't you tired of it? Aren't you tired of fighting?"

Neuman remained silent and took another swig of brandy before placing the bottle down in the middle of the two of them. She leant back against the wall of her staircase, bending her leg and draping an arm over her kneecap. She shook her head and looked to the ceiling, almost as though she was trying to compose herself.

"Singer's going to come after me," Neuman said. "He's going to insist that I resign and that means I give all of this up…everything I've worked so hard for…worked for years on…"

"I know," Victoria agreed with that.

"But there's no other option, is there? I just…I don't know how to get away from him," Neuman confessed. "I want to protect Zoe. All I want to do is protect my daughter and I don't know how. I either go with him or I go against him. Either way, she's at risk and I can't let that happen. I can't risk her…she's the only thing that matters to me."

"That, I understand," Victoria said with a nod of her head.

Neuman looked at her suspiciously. "Why are you here?" she finally asked her. "Is it to do his bidding?"

"I'm here because I think that, maybe despite everything, we're not entirely different," Victoria said to her. "We both know what it's like to be under Homelander's thumb and we both want out…but what Singer is proposing…I don't agree with it either. I think that supes and humans can live harmoniously. I agree with everything that Hughie has said. I agreed with every point he made, but I was just too scared to do anything about it at the time."

"And now?" Neuman asked.

"I'm petrified," Victoria assured her and she reached for the brandy. She took another swig and looked Neuman in the eye. "But I have a daughter and a stepson who I need to look after. I can't let them live in whatever world Homelander is planning. His idea of supes being in charge…humans being thrown in camps if they disagree…that's disgusting and he can't do it. But, equally, I don't think that supes should be persecuted because of who they are. Singer would consider my daughter a threat. He thinks of her as nothing more than an entertainment figure and I want more for her than that. I want her to grow up to be anything she wants to be. I don't want her to be scared of being persecuted for who she is, but not at the expense of thinking she's some immortal God."

Neuman considered what she was saying then and she understood. She understood what Victoria was saying because she wanted the same life for Zoe.

"I know you spent your entire life hiding the fact that you were a supe," Victoria continued, "and I don't think you should've. Being a supe is nothing to be ashamed of…it's how you use those powers…that's what should make you ashamed…how you view humans…who you are fundamentally as a person is what should make you ashamed. And I know you've done bad things. I'm not excusing that because I'm not exactly a beacon of morality, but I don't think you want this. I don't think you want to be President at this much of a cost."

Victoria wasn't sure if her plan would work. She was relying entirely on the woman in front of her to help her. She knew it was risky, but she was running out of time and of options. Neuman just sat there silently before she looked to the side and saw a piece of paper poking out of the box next to her. Reaching for it, she tugged it all the way out and saw the drawing that Zoe had done for her when she'd been youngers, but Victoria had insisted on keeping it on the fridge.

"She never was good at art," Neuman muttered and turned the drawing in the direction of Victoria to show her. "But I just could never throw this away."

"I've got all of Evie's drawings in a box," Victoria said, agreeing with the sentiment.

"How can you guarantee her safety?" Neuman asked.

"Honestly? I don't know if I can. My brother…Hughie…they can tell you how," Victoria said. "I left my daughter with Billy this morning. I made him promise that he would keep her safe in case I didn't come back and the idea of never seeing her again is tearing me up inside, but I need to do this. I need to do this because someone has to stand up against him and we're running out of options for who that could be…and because I need to give Evie and Ryan a better world than this. I need them to know that their mother did the right thing, no matter what might happen…I did the right thing to try and give them a better life."

Neuman blinked quickly, trying not to tear up as she looked at the drawing again and set it down on top of the cardboard box next to her. Victoria gave her a moment to compose herself before she sniffed and the businesslike demeanour was back in an instant.

"Then what do we do?" Neuman asked.

"We need to tell the world that you're resigning," Victoria said. "It will ruin Homelander's plan and he'll be pissed, but we can do it together. We go on TV and you tell the truth. You tell people that you are a supe, but you tell them why you were so scared to tell the world…but we make it clear that they have nothing to fear from you."

"And you'll be there with me?"

"If you want me to be," Victoria confirmed for her with a nod of her head. "I think together…maybe we can try and make people see that there can be a middle ground. We don't need to be at war with each other."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then we cross that bridge when we come to it," Victoria replied, "but if we don't do this then he wins and then what do we do? We just let him? No. I'm fed up of being under other people's influence. I'm fed up of not being able to stick up for myself."

Before Neuman could say anything else, her phone began to ring. She uncurled herself from the floor and stood up, moving to the kitchen island and picking it up. She looked at the caller ID and then glanced to Victoria. "Your husband," she said.

"Answer it," Victoria urged from her.

"Your plan failed," Neuman snapped at him down the phone and any trace of upset seemed to vanish into anger. She put him on speakerphone and Victoria heard his voice flood the room.

"Well, there's nothing on the news," Homelander replied.

"Because he's keeping it quiet so that he can hit me back and I'm fucking sure he has the means to do it," Neuman said to him. "Where's Sage anyway? Maybe she can dig you out of this hole you've shovelled yourself into?"

"Fuck Sage. We don't need her," Homelander said. "I will end Singer myself if I have to and you will be President. And you will go along with every word I say as if my hand was jammed up your tight puckered little asshole like the puppet you've always been."

Victoria stood up from the floor then too as Neuman looked at the phone with a mixture of horror and disgust.

"And Victoria if you stray even an inch off that path, I will make sure Zoe will know nothing but pain for the rest of her life and I will send you a piece of her every year for the fucking rest of yours. There is no fail," he snarled.

Victoria urged for Neuman to hand her the phone and she did so. Taking it off speaker, Victoria placed it to her ear as Neuman slumped down against the wall, looking lost and helpless.

"That was some imagery, John," Victoria spoke and she turned on her heel, moving towards the staircase. She sat down on the third step and waited for him to reply. It took his a moment before he did so, speaking to her in a low voice.

"What are you doing there?" he demanded from his wife.

"It doesn't matter why I'm here," Victoria said to her husband. "None of it matters anymore, John, and you know that. You made your choice. I found Annie. I know what you intended to do."

He remained silent for a second. "Clever plan, huh?" he said.

"It would've been if it worked," Victoria said, not biting at his smarmy tone. "But I found her and she was free, John. She was on her way to stop the shifter and she must have succeeded because there's been nothing on the news, has there?"

"And you think that's going to stop me?"

"I think that's the issue, John," Victoria said. "I don't think there is any stopping you now and I was stupid enough to think that your family might have been enough to put an end to all of this madness, but we're not, are we? We're never going to be enough and I see that now. I understand it. I mean, I fucking hate it, but I'm done trying to persuade you otherwise."

"So what? What are you going to do, Victoria?" he demanded from her. "We made an agreement last night."

Victoria chuckled at that. "And when have our agreements ever meant anything but shit?" she questioned from her husband. "They're pointless and we both know it, but we're done now, John. We have to be done because there's nothing left for us."

"Don't say that," Homelander snapped down the phone. "You don't get to say that."

"But I did," Victoria said. "We're done and that's on you. You can go through with this, but prepare for the consequences. Half of Vought will be against you. Half the country will be against you. I don't think you know what that means or what it will look like. You won't have enough prisons to lock everyone up in. You won't be able to do it."

"You think I didn't think of that?" Homelander questioned from his wife.

"I don't think you think that far in advance," Victoria said honestly to her husband. "You're impulsive. It's why you killed everyone who could've been the leak before you got to the truth. I think it's why you told Sage to leave. It's a weakness of yours and you might think that you don't have weaknesses, but you do, John. You really do. And you know your biggest weakness? Needing love…because no matter what you say or do…you need it…you need your family and you could've had them. You could've had us, but you made a different choice."

"You think that I won't get what I want?"

"Not if I have my way."

She swore she heard him snarl on the other end of the line. "I've warned you what I'll do if you dare go against me. You said it yourself, I'm impulsive, Vicky. I'll kill them if I have to. I'll find them all and I'll kill them."

"But that's the thing," Victoria said, shrugging her shoulders. "You know that if you do that then I'd never want you. I'd hate you forever. It's why you've never done it so far because, no matter what you say, you want me still. You want me to love you and killing people I love…hurting them…you know it's the only way that will turn me completely against you. And it would. It would make despise you even more than I currently do, but you can't stand that, can you? Because you think that I'll get over this. You think I'll get over you trying to take control of a country…but you know I'd never get over it if you killed Annie…Hughie…Daniella…and that, no matter what you say, scares you."

He said nothing then, but Victoria wasn't naïve enough to think she had the upper hand against him. She knew how he operated.

"You're my wife, Victoria," Homelander simply said to her. "You're my wife."

"And that is why you won't do this," Victoria said. "Because I'm your wife…because that does mean something to you…and at one time I thought that I meant everything to you just like you meant everything to me, but it's destroyed, John. We're destroyed."

"Don't you dare leave me," he said to her, but there was a tone of desperation underneath his anger. "Don't you dare."

"I don't want to," Victoria said to him. "If you'd have said that this had gone too far. If you'd have told me that we could leave when I asked you to go with me then we wouldn't be here, but we are here. We're here and we've got to deal with the consequences."

"Where are you?"

"You think I'd tell you?" Victoria questioned from her husband. "I need to go."

"Don't you even-"

"-Goodbye, John," Victoria said and she hung up the call.

She buried her head into her hands, still clinging onto the phone as she thought about what she'd just done. She'd left him. She'd told him that they were through. She only hoped that her hunch about him was right and that he would do exactly as she'd said he would do. He wasn't entirely stable and Victoria knew she'd taken a risk. She just needed it to pay off. Moving to her feet, she knew that he would probably try to start tracking her down.

"You need to call Hughie and tell him that you want help," Victoria said to Neuman, handing her the phone.

"Okay," Neuman agreed with her on that point. "And where are you going to go?"

"I need to try and find Ryan," Victoria said, "before he can get to him. After that, I'll meet you, okay? Hughie and the rest of The Boys are hiding out in this warehouse. I imagine they'll ask you to meet them there. I'll come and we'll do this together, okay? We'll do this side-by-side and sort this mess out."

"And you're sure he won't come after me?"

"He will and that's why you need to move fast," Victoria said. "But I've bought you some time."

"How so?"

"Because he'll come after me first."

Homelander knew that he had been impulsive to throw his phone against the wall. It had been done in anger after his wife had told him that she was leaving him. He growled lowly as he paced the ruined penthouse, his hands on his hips and his eyes looking around and glowing red as he tried not to laser anything else. What did she think she was playing at? What did she think she was going to do? She wasn't going to leave him because he wasn't going to let her.

He considered going downstairs and demanding for someone to find him all of her friends. He could line them up in front of her and threaten to laser each and every one of them unless she did as he asked. And she would crumble. Of course, she would. She was human and she was weak. She had emotions and he knew that. He played off of that.

But then she'd be with him because she had to be. She'd resent him. She'd hate him for the rest of her life. And he didn't know if he could handle that either, not after he knew how it could be and how it should be. But how was he going to get back to that stage? He didn't know if he could.

He didn't know if there was a way back.

And so he just looked in the cracked mirror on the wall and for the first time in a long time, he saw himself and his lips curved upwards menacingly.

"If she wants a war then she can have it," he decided on saying, looking at himself in the eye. "And in time she'll see nothing compares. She'll see."

Victoria took the metro as far as she could towards the CIA facility where Billy was being kept. She'd gotten to the final stop without anyone stopping her or recognising her. Homelander hadn't shown up either and he hadn't tried to phone her. Coming to the CIA facility, Victoria handed in her ID again and she went through the usual security protocols. Before she stepped into the elevator, she heard her phone begin to vibrate and she looked down to see Ashley calling her. She let her finger hover over the decline button, but she decided against it.

"Ashley?" she asked.

"Where is it?" Ashley asked her in a panicked voiced.

"Where's what?" Victoria wondered back.

"The Compound V he keeps in the apartment. Where is it?"

"Why do you want-"

"-Victoria, I've saved your ass more than enough times in the past," Ashley interrupted her. "I just need this one thing from you. I need to know where it is. They're making a list of everyone at Vought who knows too much and do you know who is top of that fucking list? Me! So I need V…I need to save myself."

"You're sure?" Victoria checked.

"Yes and I don't have much time so where is it?" Ashley asked her.

"Upstairs in the walk-in wardrobe," Victoria said, standing to the side of the elevator and mouthing a 'sorry' to the guard who was escorting her. She could hear Ashley gasping for breath on the other end of the line, no doubt running through the penthouse.

"Okay…wardrobe…I'm in," she said.

"Push Homelander's suits out of the way. There's a fake wooden panel," Victoria gave her the next instruction.

"Got it…yeah…" Ashley said.

"The code is one-five-zero-six-one-nine," Victoria said to her and she could hear the buttons beeping in the background. "Are you in?"

"I'm in," Ashley said to her. "Thank you. Thank you."

"Just…be careful, Ashley, okay?" Victoria said to her and the CEO hung up and the line went dead. Victoria put her phone into her bag and wondered just how scared Ashley must be. Despite the CEO being a pain in Victoria's ass, she was still a human. She actually had compassion. She wasn't a terrible person. Moving down the elevator towards Billy's room, Victoria wondered just what she was going to do next.

She had to get back to Hughie and the rest of them, but she had to do this first. She had left Neuman's house when Ryan had text her to say that he was going to go and see Butcher. Victoria knew she had to get to him first and tell him that he had to stay there for her. She wanted to see him to make sure no one ruined that for her.

Coming to the room, Ryan was already there. Billy was sat in a chair with a Connect Four board on the table between them and Evelyn sat on Ryan's lap. Grace was knelt down by his side and Victoria walked in at the exact moment she started telling him the truth.

"The assassination attempt, it was on your father's orders," she said and Victoria realised it wasn't just Ryan hearing this, but her daughter too. Her little girl might only be a toddler, but she still took things in. Things like this could scar children.

"No!" Victoria yelled, storming into the room and looking to Ryan as he glanced at Grace with confusion etching his features. "You're not doing this."

"Flight 37…Homelander killed every single one of them," Grace continued and Victoria stormed by her.

"Stop talking," she demanded from her and looked to her brother, anger apparent in her face. "You promised me that you wouldn't do this. You swore to me!"

"I didn't want to," Billy said, "not like this."

Victoria reached for her daughter and Evelyn called out for her mother. Picking her up, she managed to carry her with one hand, holding her to her hip as her other hand went to Ryan's elbow and she urged him to stand up. Grace stood then as well as the young boy continued watching the scene unfold with confusion.

"He needs to know, Victoria. He needs to know because he's the only one who can help us."

"I said no," Victoria snarled, teeth bared and voice raised. "He's too young and you are not doing this to him. Do you think that I'm going to let you? I know what it did to John. I'm not letting you do it to him. Ryan, come on, we need to go."

"If you go then you lose our protection," Grace said.

"I don't need it," Victoria retorted quickly. "Because what you're doing isn't protection."

"He's murdered countless people, Ryan," Grace continued. "And he isn't who you think he is and Victoria knows that. She knows everything that he's done, but she's too scared to get away from him. That's who he is, Ryan. He's a man who scares people. And he wasn't having an affair with your mother."

"No!" Victoria snapped at Grace and Ryan froze by the end of the bed.

"He raped her," Grace said and Victoria felt her stomach churn and everything collapse around her.

There was a silence then and Ryan looked at the three adults in the room. He saw how Victoria's bottom lip was over her top one, a pained expression on her face as her eyes closed. Glancing to Billy, Ryan looked him in the eye and the man simply just shook his head once.

"I'm sorry, son," was the only offering he could give him.

"And?" Ryan asked. "All of your hearts are pounding. There's something you're not telling me."

"Please," Victoria looked to her brother. "Billy, please," she pleaded with him and Butcher knew that he was going to break her heart once more.

"You're the only one who can kill him," Billy said to Ryan.

Victoria managed to crouch down, setting Evelyn on her feet and stroking her daughter's hair, offering her some comfort as she remained scared and confused by the entire situation that was going on.

"No," Ryan said firmly. "I can't do that. I can't. Don't ask me to."

"No one is asking you too, honey," Victoria quickly promised him and she reached for his shoulders, taking hold of them and keeping him in front of her as she tried to make him calm down. Truth be told, she was slightly apprehensive about what he might do if he lashed out. She shook her head and cupped his cheeks. "No one is making you do that. I promise you. We're going to go, okay? We're going to leave."

"You're strong," Butcher said to the kid.

"He's stronger," Ryan said, moving from Victoria's grip ad looking at Billy. "So this is why you want me to go with you? So you can teach me how to kill my dad?"

"Vic had nothing to do with it," Billy defended his sister on that point.

"I just want to go," Ryan said firmly and he looked to Victoria. "Can we just go? Please?"

"Yeah, sweetie," Victoria said to him and she picked Evelyn back up before she felt Ryan reach for her hand and they started to move towards the door, but Grace blocked them, arms outstretched and refusing to let them bypass her.

"Just stay," she pleaded with them, voice trying to be reasonable. "We can talk it out together."

"I don't want to talk, I just want to go," Ryan said. "I need to think…please…I can come back, but I need to think."

"You need to let him go," Victoria said. "This isn't doing anyone any good. You need to give him some space."

"Vic, come on," Butcher said and he forced himself to stand up. "There ain't going to be another time for us, you know that? Let's just take a breather."

"Yes, we can," Victoria said and Ryan took another step forwards, but Grace took one back, still blocking his path. "Grace, get out of our way," Victoria demanded from her.

"You can't leave," she said, voice becoming even more desperate.

It was then when Ryan used his powers, his face turning to one of confusion and his lip trembling. "Wait," he said. "These walls are six feet thick."

"This is the CIA's Hazlet safe house," Grace explained. "It's designed to hold people like you. I can seal us in here, flood the room with halothane, but I don't want to do that, kiddo."

Turning to her brother, Victoria felt the disappointment she'd felt so many years ago when he'd left her come back to her. He'd lied to her. He had never told her that was why he was here. This was his plan all along and he had lied to her. "You never intended on being honest with me, did you?" she asked from him.

"I'm sorry, Vic," Billy said to her. "But it's the only way."

"Just because it's your way doesn't mean it's the only way," Victoria said to her brother.

"They brought me here to trap me," Ryan said, voice growing louder and more scared.

"No, we brought you here to help ya," Billy assured him.

"You're locking me in a cage unless I agree to be your weapon, just like they did my dad," Ryan said.

"That ain't the way it is, honest," Billy said.

"Honest?" Victoria threw the word back at him. "Don't even go there, Billy. You haven't been honest since I came here to see you so why start now? You know what, don't bother. We're going. We're leaving and you can't stop us and you know you can't. So move," Victoria directed the instruction at Grace, but she still refused.

"Ryan, when I lost my grandkids it left this big empty black hole inside of me and then the greatest miracle came along…you…I love you, kiddo," she said, crying and edging closer to the door, arm lifting upwards to press something on the other side.

"Aunt Grace, please," Ryan said, "I want to leave."

"Grace, just move," Victoria said in exasperation.

"I'm sorry," was all Grace said before Ryan stormed forwards and pushed her.

"No!" Billy yelled as Grace flew through the air. Victoria shrieked loudly and pressed Evelyn's face to her shoulder, not letting her look at what had happened as she began to cry loudly. Grace's body hit the wall and slumped to the floor and Victoria knew that Ryan had used his strength. The noise of her body hitting the wall echoed in Victoria's mind as Ryan stepped towards her and looked down at her. She was dead, there was no denying that.

"Ryan," Victoria spoke his name, voice shaking.

But he looked up and stared at her. There were no tears in his eyes. He just looked at Victoria with anger and she swore that he looked exactly like his father at that moment in time.

"You lied to me," Ryan said to her. "You've been pretending to be my mom, but you lied to me."

"No, I was trying to protect you. All I want to do is protect you, Ryan. Please-"

"-Do you even love me?"

"Of course I do," Victoria promised him. "I love you like my own son, Ryan. I know what happened was an accident. I know that wasn't you. We can talk about it, okay? We can go and we can talk."

"No," Ryan said and he took off before Victoria could stop him.

She started to follow after him, but her brother grabbed hold of her arm and stopped her. Victoria turned to him as Evelyn continued crying loudly in her arms. Shoving her brother in the arm, she watched him stumble slightly.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded from him, angry tears staining her cheeks. "Why did you push him?"

"You saw what he did, Vic. He doesn't want you to go after him…he didn't even stay…the way he looked at Grace," Billy said with a shake of his head. "You won't see it because you're blind, but he's going to turn out exactly like his father."

"No, he's not," Victoria snapped.

"Yes, he is," Billy said and he looked to Grace, finding an aching feeling forming in his chest. "He killed someone he loved and just walked away. He's a supe. He's his father's son and you can't see it because you're naïve. You think we can co-exist? We can't. We never will be able to."

"And the alternative?" Victoria questioned her brother. "War? You think that's what anyone wants?"

"It's what we're going to have if your husband get his way, but that keeps you safe, doesn't it? Being in bed with him?"

"Don't," Victoria warned her brother.

"You're so fucking blinded by him that you don't see him. He's evil. He's a monster. But you love him. You love him and you had a kid with him. You think she's going to grow up to be anything other than his little clone? No. She won't. They're all the same. Supes are all the same and you're too fucking naïve to see it."

"So what do you want me to do? Ryan and Evie…they're my kids, Billy. I need to protect them."

"They won't protect you. They'll turn on you. If you're lucky then they'll kill you quickly, but they will. Look at what Ryan did," Billy said. "We need to kill them before they kill us and you'll never understand that or get it. You'll never see it."

Victoria shook her head and stepped away from her brother. "She's my daughter," Victoria whispered. "She's my baby. I'd never let anything hurt her, just like I'd never let anything hurt Ryan."

"Then I suggest you get out of here," Billy said. "Get out of here and go back to where you belong…being his cheap little whore."

Victoria tried not to sob at his comment as she cried, the tears now streaming from her cheeks and onto her chest as she held the back of her daughter's head and clung to her tightly. Looking to her brother, Victoria knew that they were done. He was lost. "What would Becca say?" was all that Victoria could ask before she turned on her heel and ran away, knowing that she had to find Ryan before Homelander did.

...

A/N: And so it is all comes crashing down! Only a couple more chapters before things are wrapped up. Vic v Homelander is also coming up but in a different way than we're used to!