Believe Expo | Saturday, All Day

[defenderofdesmoines]

The sun was shining, it was a balmy eighty or so degrees, and the massive open-air concert-slash-carnival-slash-mass-conversion-event that was Believe Expo was under way!

There were multiple stages set up, featuring worship singers (with actual, wide-spanning angel wings), motivational speakers (whose motivational speeches all had a real specific, Christ-is-the-answer sort of tone), and tents with different panels and roundtables taking place in each.

There was also totally a carnival, with rides and everything, as well as concessions featuring typical carnival fare. There was also totally an abundance of merchandise booths, featuring charming items like T-shirts featuring generic figures and reading "MARRIAGE = ONE WOMAN + ONE MAN," or posters with Homelander saying FLY STRAIGHT, and pretty much anything you could want with a crucifix or the phrase #Believe on it!

Welcome to Believe Expo!

Summer	Don't mind Summer. She was a woman on a mission. And that mission was to find and track down the most ridiculous pieces of propaganda and merch regarding Satan or the Devil, etc., etc., etc...so that she could snap pictures of it to send off to Lucifer and ask him if he would sign it all for her if she brought any of it back. What? She thought it was hilarious.
Starlight	"Are you taking pictures of anything specific?" Starlight asked when she found her. Look, it was Summer. Taking pictures of things with her phone was sort of her raison d'être, and Believe certainly had lots of things to take pictures of -- though, really, Starlight would have probably figured the stage to be more interesting than the merchandise booths....
Summer	Summer slid a devious smirk over at Annie...er, Starlight... before her expression went totally sweet and perfectly innocent as she turned her phone toward her to show off her latest capture, a booklet proudly proclaiming The Devil and Deceit! Sliding down Satan's Slippery Slope of Secularism!, complete with a truly spectacular piece of art involving a boy and a girl descending on a literal slide to hell while the disembodied red face of the devil loomed menacingly over them. "I thought maybe a friend back home would find this particularly relevant to his interests," she explained, before adding, "Hey, do you think anyone would believe me if I told them about the time I punched Satan in the stomach and curb-stomped his groin? I get the feeling that could get me some major points with this crowd." Probably definitely skipping all the parts before that, though.
Starlight	"Did you punch Lucifer?" Starlight asked in response to that, 'cause that was a story she needed right now if so. "I mean, folks around here would love it but they'd also think that you were being metaphorical." Probably. Probably.
Summer	"No, that was Lucius," Summer said, smiling a bit fondly, though there was definitely an edge to it, "different devil." But she'd definitely thought about punching Lucifer enough that it counted for something, right? "Honestly, An--" She stopped. Corrected herself. "Starlight, with my experience? The fact that I didn't just burst into flames the moment I stepped foot in this place is miracle enough." Ooh, but maybe she could use that? ...Summer. Summer, no. You were here for moral support for Annie, even if all this was total garbage, not to manipulate impressionable minds to make your second weird cult before even the half-way mark on this year....
Starlight	"You're baptism fodder," Starlight warned with a little lift of her brows. "Like, watch it before someone tries to save you from damnation with that kind of talk." Seriously, Summer was in real danger of someone trying to take her hand to pray with her, given what Starlight remembered about how Believe crowds tended to go.
Summer	"So what you're telling me," said Summer, with an absolutely shameless grin because you really just handed this one to her, Annie, "is that there's just a whole mess of people here who can't wait to get me wet." Seriously, though, were she not a taken woman, she could probably clean house here. You could cut through repression like this with a plastic knife...
Starlight	"Oh my God, Summer." Starlight actually covered her face with a hand, because she couldn't laugh at that as hard as she wanted to, just in case someone had overheard. Also, seriously, she probably wasn't wrong, either. "Well, and don't forget -- anything you do pre-baptism is washed away." Annie was Catholic. She very well understood the inherent hypocrisy of exploiting that whole 'all sins are forgiven' thing. (Though, really, for her the hypocrisy kicked in when you weren't expected to sin again, or...you know, ever? Like, humans were fallible. Even super-abled ones. Did people forget that?)
Barry	"At least you found a way to enjoy all this shit," Barry said smirking a little at Summer's attitude. And that's when he noticed someone staring at him because of him swearing. "Yeah. Shit. Fuck. Motherfucker. What are you going to do about it?" The woman in question hightailed it away from him.
Summer	"Careful," Summer warned him with a grin as that all went down, "according to Annie...sorry, Starlight...baptism is exactly what they'll do about it." At least there should be nothing deemed too offensive about the chaste little kiss Summer leaned in to plant on Barry's cheek after that, because if there was? The yikes about this whole place just got way deeper. "We're here to give her immoral support," she reminded him, especially since she knew just how much support Annie really did need right now, "so might as well make the best of it. I'm literally annoying the devil right now, that should be right up their alley, right?"
Barry	"Well are you doing it for fun or for these fucks?" Barry smirked and jabbed his thumb at another passerby giving him a look. Barry gave them a look. "Not that it matters. As long as you're having fun." Barry glared as another guy with a bigoted t-shirt walked by. "Would it be a dick move to buy all this merchandise and burn it later?"

Diego	Diego had been raised in a strictly atheist household so this was all...a lot. He mostly wanted to laugh at everything but some of it was just really gross. His mission today was to make sure Five didn't start a fight with an evangelist.
Starlight	"Hey, you." Oh, look, the person Starlight had been kind of the most nervous about coming here, in a way? Believe Expo had been such a big part of her life growing up, and even now this was kind of the closest she was willing to come to bringing Diego home to meet people. Which, speaking of, her mother was around here somewhere, and needed to be avoided at all costs. "Are you, like, completely weirded out?" she added with a little smile. Because she always figured that Diego would find the whole Vought everything weird if he was ever brought into the midst of it, and...like, Believe Expo was even Vought-ier than the Tower was, plus it was a lot more aggressively...message-y than she'd remembered, too.
Diego	"Just a little," he admitted. "I knew this would be all religious and stuff but I wasn't expecting it to be so...uh...blatantly bigoted, I guess?"
Starlight	Starlight nodded slowly, glancing over at one of the many merchandise booths. "Yeah, I don't really...remember it being like this when I was younger." It couldn't have been. She would have noticed, right? Though it also seemed like the sort of thing her mom would have avoided mentioning until she was older and then just not mentioned ever, too. "It used to just be all, like, kettle corn and baptisms," she added, wincing.
Diego	"I guess kids wouldn't really notice," Diego said. "Has it been awhile since you've been here?" He knew Annie didn't believe in all this stuff but participating regularly and just ignoring it wasn't great either.
Starlight	"I didn't go last year," she admitted slowly, breathing out a little sigh. "But, like, I made my Starlight debut at Believe Expo when I was a teenager, and I've been kind of a...headliner a few times." Not quite like she was this year, but it wasn't like this hadn't been exactly her scene for years. This was kind of her...base, was the thing.
Diego	"I mean, this kind of stuff is hard to not notice after a certain age," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Diego didn't want to start a fight here but there was a booth with homophobic merchandise like ten feet away from them.
Starlight	"It's gotten worse," Starlight decided quietly, trying to sound more sure about that. Because yeah, she'd always been aware of -- like, the way people would pick and choose things from the Bible that supported their message, and that there were people who...found different things in their faith than she did. But this was -- there was a lot here she wasn't comfortable with. "I wouldn't...like, co-sign all of this. You know that." Except for how she kind of was, by being here and not saying anything about it.
Diego	"I know," he said, wanting to reach out and touch her but knowing that wasn't an option right now. "Are you okay? This has got to be a lot."
Starlight	"I'm fine," she said way too quickly to be believable, flashing him a smile. "I mean, I have to be. I've got way too much public speaking lined up to not be okay, you know?" She could be not-okay later, when she wasn't on camera or addressing people who had paid multiple hundreds of dollars to hear her speak.
Diego	"Yeah, okay," he said with an equally unbelievable smile. "This would be the part where I'd kiss you if we weren't here."
Starlight	Starlight reached out for his hands in a way that, you know, could just be an effusive way to greet a fan. Maybe they were praying, okay? "You can kiss me later," she offered, smiling up at him just a bit more genuinely. "If you want." Even if she felt weird and disconnected and a little -- off, she could at least fall back on her feelings for Diego being real. The idea of being able to be alone together later might get her through what was already looking to be a pretty trying day.
Diego	Diego's shoulders relaxed a little when she touched him. This whole thing was just so weird, but this part at least felt natural. "You can count on that."

Five	"...what the hell did you make me come to?" Five asked, fitting in unintentionally with his weird schoolboy outfit. Please keep this child away from Butcher.
Diego	"Oh yeah, like it's possible to make you do anything," Diego said, rolling his eyes. "You came to watch the weirdos."
Five	"True," Five had to agree, glancing around. "I'm suddenly very glad that dad wasn't religious."
Diego	"Chalk that up as the one thing he did right," Diego muttered. "Klaus would have a field day here."
Five	Yeah, even Five had to smother a laugh at the image of Klaus here. "And Annie is speaking here?"
Diego	"Starlight," Diego corrected. "She's Starlight in uniform. But, yeah, she's got some Q&A for teens and I think she's supposed to have some speech later."
Five	Oh, that would only end in tears. "Should I call you The Kraken here too?"
Diego	"I'm not in uniform," he pointed out. "Should I be calling you The Boy?"
Five	It was a weird distinction when you'd seen the person puke up ice cream not too long ago. "Ended up a little too on the nose, didn't it?"
Diego	"Just a bit," Diego said. "By the way, cool it on the powers around here. You don't want to be wrangled by Vought and sign a contract to be the official superhero of Pittsburgh or something."
Five	"Really?" He'd like to see them try. He was already in a fight with a inter-temporal, inter-dimensional agency.
Diego	"Being a superhero is a business in this universe," Diego said, looking as disgusted as he felt about that whole thing. "Dad would be jealous of how controlling they are over powered people."
Five	Oh, the face Five made at that. "That bad, huh?"
Diego	"That bad," Diego confirmed with a nod. "So try to act like a normal human being for once?"
Five	"No promises." He walked away to go find someone who he could make cry rather than teleported, so it was probably going to be fine.

Steve	Steve had grown up in a church-going family and had gone to the Naval Academy, where chapel attendance had been mandatory until 1972 and was still considered...pretty much mandatory if not exactly enforceable by law. And even with that background, this was all deeply uncomfortable. But as a white dude with a military-short haircut, at least he blended in, and his look of mild constipation could be interpreted as "too manly to show his feelings."
Starlight	"Thanks for coming, Steve," Starlight greeted him with a tiny smile. She was totally interpreting that look as, 'this place is effing weird,' if only because she'd been seeing a lot of that on her friends' faces already. And...honestly, there was a lot of stuff here that she thought was weird, too, and she'd already had to check herself at Ashley's direction a couple times today.
Steve	Steve smiled back. "Nice outfit."
Starlight	"You don't know the half of it." Because this was the good version, Steve. "I think you're just jealous you don't have a cape." The cape was the best part, and honestly, modesty aside, it was one of the biggest flaws of the new bodysuit. No cape!
Steve	"I did used to pretend to be Really Strong Guy Who Could Fly when I was a kid," Steve said. "My pillow case was epic."
Starlight	"Oh, see. Some things transcend universes. You might like Homelander," Starlight offered. "I think he's my world's answer to that guy." But then again, he might really not like Homelander, all things...considered.
Steve	Steve grinned a little-boy smile. "Yeah? That could be cool!" Or so, so disappointing.
Starlight	"He's very -- his cape is an American flag," Starlight told him as an opener, because either Steve was going to be all about that, or super-not. "He's speaking later, before I do."
Steve	"Huh," Steve said because, the cape-thing could go two ways and the general vibe of this place was...not optimistic. "So he's your opening act?"
Starlight	"More like he's the headliner and I'm the afterparty," Starlight noted, amused. "He's sort of my boss, actually." In a way. She kind of thought of Ms. Stillwell as being her boss, more? But Homelander was in charge of the team itself, should it ever act as...you know, a cohesive team rather than seven superheroes who walked red carpets separately.
Steve	"Sort of your boss?" Steve repeated. "Like he tells you to do stuff and you ignore him?" That's you and Danny, Steve, which is a whole other thing.
Starlight	"Oh no, you don't ignore Homelander. He has laser vision," Starlight explained helpfully, mostly meaning that as a joke and not really knowing how very cavalier Homelander was about using those laser eyes when he wanted something. "But he's the leader of The Seven, and we follow his orders when he gives them." Though she hadn't really been given any orders by Homelander, so far? It was usually more like, 'Here's your itinerary of crimes, heroes.'
Starlight	"Like when you get invaded by giant bears?" Steve guessed. "Or aliens or killer drones?"
Starlight	"Smugglers, thieves, that kind of thing. Human threats," Starlight supplied, even if those had been staged. "And there was a terrorist attack a few days ago that I think Homelander wants us to do something about." Which was why she had a little black ribbon pinned to her bust, even if Starlight wasn't exactly sure what Homelander thought they could do about terrorism.
Steve	Steve frowned thoughtfully. "I'm in the counter-terrorism business. It's not generally all that flashy." And flag capes sounded flashy.
Starlight	"But people with superpowers helping wouldn't...be a bad thing, right?" Starlight tried. This was Homelander's whole thing, really. She was happy enough just stopping muggers and rapists, personally.
Steve	"I think it depends on their training," Steve said. "The people who take out terrorists: we train for years to do it effectively and with the least possible amount of blowback. If it becomes public--they blow something up, so we blow something bigger, so they do something worse--it's a cycle that no one wins."
Starlight	Starlight nodded, crossing her arms around herself. "It was a plane crash," she offered quietly. "A few days ago. I don't know what we're doing in response -- because, like, that's up to Congress, not The Seven or Payback or any of us but...I think Homelander would like it to be something bigger." Something flashy, probably.
Steve	"Commercial jet or something smaller?" Steve asked. "And was the op run by a state-sponsor of terrorism like Iran or something more like al Qaida?" It wasn't often that his Naval intelligence background came up, but he wasn't just abs.
Starlight	"Commercial jet. I think it was like a 747?" Starlight said, thinking about it. "And...I'm not sure? They're talking like it was just an isolated group, but they don't know who was responsible yet." This was why maybe -- just maybe -- a twenty-three year-old superhero in a sparkly outfit didn't need military clearances?
Steve	"So Homelander wants to retaliate against an as-yet unnamed group," Steve said. The "that's stupid" was unspoken but definitely there.
Starlight	Starlight nodded slowly, hearing that unspoken comment loud and clear. She didn't exactly disagree. "He and Queen Maeve tried to stop it but they didn't get there in time," she contributed. "So I think he feels guilty."
Steve	"That's pretty much a giant reason to not let him get involved," Steve said. "When it's personal, you get sloppy." His mother taught him that! Steve's family was so messed up.
Starlight	"Maybe that's why there's a holdup," Starlight suggested thoughtfully. "Vought's been trying to get us higher clearances for years, and now Homelander's really pushing for it 'cause it's an emergency, but it's still going before Congress first."
Steve	"Unless this is the first terrorist attack in your world's history, it's not an emergency," Steve said. "There are other people more trained to deal with it."
Starlight	"But they don't have laser eyes?" Starlight tried. It was a pretty weak argument. She knew it, too.
Steve	Steve snickered. "But they do have laser-guided missiles."
Danny	"Well, this is a new one," Danny said, falling into place next to Steve like he belonged there. Because he did, damn it.
Steve	"Makes the comic and Elvis convention people look almost normal," Steve said because his show was written super-judgey about nerds.
Danny	"Oh, I'll take one of those conventions over this any day of the week." Which was saying something. Because yes. The judgement of nerds. Peak CBS.
Steve	"I've never felt so judged, and I went through BUD/s where they were literally judging my every move," Steve muttered.
Danny	"Different kind of judging," Danny replied, expression going tight at how many kids were running around like this was all completely normal. "I don't think Joe White could actually manage eternal damnation no matter how hard he tried."
Steve	"Don't tell Joe that," Steve said, snickering, "because he still thinks he could."
Danny	"God forbid," Danny said, shooting Steve a sly grin. Because thankfully he got how weird all this was. Not that it was something he should have worried about. Steve was Steve. (He still worried.)
Steve	"Did you get a load of that 'fly straight' sign?" Steve asked, rolling his eyes.
Danny	"Straight up bullshit," Danny agreed readily. "What next? Advertisements for conversion therapy?"
Steve	"I wouldn't look too closely at the pamphlets, Danno," Steve said.
Danny	"Oh, I'm gonna deck someone, Steven." Stop him from decking someone, please.
Steve	"I don't think Starlight would appreciate that," Steve said.
Danny	"I got enough damnation talk as a kid," Danny replied, holding up a finger. "I don't need it as an adult."
Steve	"I'm not sure we're the target demographic," Steve admitted. "Pretty sure they think we're here because we already agree with all of this. They're aiming at the kids." Which did not make it better at all.
Danny	"That makes it worse," Danny grumbled.
Steve	"Not disagreeing at all, buddy," Steve said.

Rey	Rey had been curious enough about what this was like, but it was clear pretty early on that this was very much not her scene. As someone who'd more or less been atheist until she's essentially gotten superpowers this was... a lot. And she didn't like some of what she was picking up. She did a lap to see what was there and then found somewhere off to the side to sit.
Summer	It didn't take long for Summer to realize that, as far as she knew, almost everyone Annie had brought along with her to thing thing had at least some kind of cultural context for it, probably...except Rey. So she wasn't at all surprised when she spotted her sitting off to the side by herself. "Hey," she offered, "want some company?"
Rey	"Of course," Rey said, patting the seat next to her. "Having a good expo?" She was also not entirely clear on what an expo was.
Summer	"I've been mostly tracking down anything I can find disparaging Satan and the devil and sending it to Lucifer," Summer offered as she took a seat and gave her a small smile that went along with not expecting her to really follow why that was as funny as it was. "Which means he's probably going to block me before it ends up overloading his phone because, Rey? It is a loooooot. "How about you?"
Rey	Rey would just smile and nod with the Lucifer stuff, since she purposely avoided the guy anyway. "It's.... good," Rey tried, badly. It was so weird for her, for so many reasons.

Starlight	"Are you like totally overwhelmed by weirdness?" Starlight asked when she spotted Rey, going to take a seat next to her. "I know this has to be, like, a lot." It was honestly kind of a lot for her, and she'd grown up with all of this.
Rey	"It's fine," Rey sahd, almost automatically. "But I understand none of this." And a lot of it felt weirdly gross!
Starlight	"If it helps," Starlight told her with a little smile, "it's not exactly -- this is the most extreme version around of the various tenets of my religion. They're kind of all in on it, around here."
Rey	There was a brief, brief pause before Rey admitted, "I don't know if that makes it better."
Starlight	"No," Starlight agreed quietly. "But maybe easier to digest, if you take into mind that there are a lot of ways to be a Christian, and this place is...one really loud version." And for that matter, it was a version that Starlight wasn't a hundred percent sure she was okay endorsing, anymore.
Rey	"That helps." Sort of. There were plenty of people who were perfectly fine. There were other people whose viewpoints on display were so rooted in hate that Rey had a hard time understanding how that wouldn't be dark side. But given that answer, she asked, "How are you doing with all this?"
Starlight	Starlight gave a little shrug. "I'm okay," she said, not exactly believably. "I mean, this is all -- either it's different from how I remember, or it's changed. I remember Believe Expo always being a really...like, positive place?" And there was a lot of non-positivity going on in the messaging here. "But I'm okay. I've got that teen thing and a speech later," she offered optimistically. "So that might be kind of fun."
Rey	"You're not nervous?" Rey would be nervous. Need her to stop an explosion or fight someone terrifying? Sure. Give a speech? Hell no.
Starlight	"Oh, no, this is the easy part," Starlight assured her easily. "I've been on that stage a bunch of times. The teen thing'll be a little harder because it's a question-and-answer thing so I can't really prep, but it's just...talking." And talking she was usually pretty good at!
Rey	"I'm sure you'll be great at it," Rey told her, genuinely.
Starlight	"Thanks," Starlight sighed gratefully, because she kind of needed to hear that today. "Is this weird for you as like...someone from another religion?" Which was, like, certainly a way to put that.
Rey	By the look on her face Rey still had some trouble classifying it that way. "Yes and no? I didn't really ever have exposure to anything like this. There was a species on Jakku that believed in a god there, but good or bad, nothing they did to appease it ever made a difference," she explained. "And Jedi teachings are a lot different than here, I think."
Starlight	"I think there's common principles, from what you've told me. Temperance, connection with something bigger than the individual, compassion...." Starlight said, glancing around. "Even if they're maybe not on display here." No, mostly it looked like it was all about unquestioning worship and judgement, from where she was sitting. So maybe the Believe-goers had more in common with the species on Jakku than with the Jedi.
Rey	"It's hard to see how a lot of this comes from a good place," Rey admitted. She didn't want to be insulting. But there was a lot of rough stuff here.
Starlight	"...I get that," Starlight admitted. She considered what she wanted to say for a moment before venturing, "I think sometimes it's easy to sneak anything you want into your message, if you claim it's all coming from a place of love." And it was supposed to be coming from there! Even if Starlight could see one of those horrible marriage banners from here. "But it's a lot more complicated than that."
Rey	"Complicated how?" Rey wondered.
Starlight	"The teachings that we follow have been around for thousands of years, and passed through a lot of hands," Starlight said slowly. "And we've changed a lot as a culture since then, too, so some people -- like me -- think that you can leave some of that old stuff behind, and take the message about compassion and loving your fellow humans and move forward."
Rey	"That part makes sense," Rey said, nodding. "That's basically what I'm doing with the Jedi texts."
Starlight	"Is there stuff you're kind of regarding as outdated?" Starlight asked, curious. "Or does it all still apply?"
Rey	"Well... the Jedi have been around for a thousand generations. Some of the books... no one even speaks those languages anymore," Rey told her. "They didn't really get into social aspects much at all. But the base principles have stayed the same. It's mostly things where I look at them and I know that this practice didn't work because something in a later work contradicted it, or something was too dangerous to continue. Or there are things like their ideas on attachments that I logically understand but have no idea how they thought that would work in reality."
Starlight	"What, like, is it a whole ascetic monk thing where you're not supposed to have any attachments?" Starlight guessed skeptically. "We have a bit of that. Again, kind of outdated for the average person." Though, again, her religion didn't give people space wizard powers, for the most part. (Superpowers, occasionally, sure. But not space wizard ones.)
Rey	"The Jedi way is to love all things equally, rather than focusing on one person. That way supposedly leads to fear or losing them, jealousy, other things that set you on the path to the dark side," Rey explained. "But then they'd pair a student up with a master for several years and I guess expect them not to care for each other more than other people so who knows. It makes less sense to me as an outsider than someone who'd been raised in the Order, probably."
Starlight	"...what about families?" Starlight had to ask, a little puzzled. "The Bible teaches us to love our neighbors, but it doesn't...preclude bonds with our families or with, like, a partner." As long as that partner was of the opposite sex and you didn't touch them until God said was cool, anyway.
Rey	"Families would let Force sensitive children be raised by the Order." Rey had a giant problem with that one, for reasons. "From everything I've been able to find so far, Uh, casual stuff seemed to be fine, but actual romantic relationships weren't allowed." So, you know, the opposite of all this.
Starlight	"But Jedi aren't supposed to get together and have Jedi kids?" That was where Starlight was getting hung up, since, yeah, the whole idea of a family unit and keeping your faith going through your offspring was kind of a big part of not just her own religion, but organized religion in general. "That's...huh. I could see that both preventing and causing a lot of problems."
Rey	"I'm sure Jedi kids probably happened sometimes." If the casual thing was true, anyway. And also because hello, presenting both of her masters. "It seems to have worked out for them for a long time at least, somehow." Until it super, super didn't. "Here it seems like family is stressed more." Which was a thing Rey was choosing to ignore. There was too much else going on.
Starlight	"Family's kind of everything," Starlight admitted with a nod. "And, like, there's a big emphasis on marriage. Our thing is, like, if you have two people who believe in the same thing, and they have a child, then the child is probably going to grow up in the church, and it keeps going that way, you know?" Which, when she said it like that, didn't sound great.
Rey	"And if they don't believe in the same thing?" Rey checked.
Starlight	"The idea is that you've set it up so that they do," Starlight said carefully, "but that's where you get things like how I'm not really as religious as my mom would like me to be, despite being raised in a Christian house." She shrugged a shoulder, glancing over at that awful marriage banner again. "I just don't think the God I believe in would care about a lot of this stuff," she added. And she wasn't going to say it aloud yet, especially when she was trying to leave Rey with some kind of positive impression of her faith, but it all just kind of reeked of a need to control people.
Rey	"They probably don't." If they existed. Rey was still iffy on things outside the Force. "A lot of this is specific." Like someone got mad about something and decided to say it was against god and everyone went along with it.
Starlight	"A lot of this is actually in the Bible," Starlight admitted quietly. "But there's some picking and choosing going on here, too. Like -- okay, there's a verse in Leviticus about not marking our bodies with tattoos." Starlight just gestured to a poster of Ezekiel, with his very blatant arm tattoos. "Some rules are okay to ignore, I guess, and some are...being reinforced extra, for some reason."
Rey	"And there's no explanation why?" Rey asked.
Starlight	"Not a nice one," Starlight told her with a little half-smile.
Rey	"Are you sure you're okay being here?" Rey checked.
Starlight	Starlight took a long moment to answer. "I kind of have to be," she finally said, shrugging a shoulder. "I'm donating my appearance fee, so that makes me feel a little better about it, but...." She sighed. "Maybe by this time next year, I can...get things changed around here." That was an optimistic thought. She could use her Seven-given public goodwill to maybe get some changes in effect. Maybe.
Rey	As someone who was going to have to figure out where the Jedi went from here with no one else to worry about, Rey knew better. But she liked hope. "You never know unless you try," she smiled.

Jessica	Jessica stuck out like such a sore thumb here. Don't get her wrong. She liked Annie and all but this... This was hell on Earth for Jessica. She could just feel the judgmental looks from everyone around her as she walked through in her heavy metal t-shirt and leather jacket. The one thing she truly wanted right now? A bar. The flask would have to do for now.
Starlight	"Scale of one to ten, how weirded out are you right now?" Starlight asked, popping up at Jessica's elbow. Which, you know, kind of helped with the judgmental looks for a moment. Look, Ms. Metal Shirt here obviously was cool with Starlight, so....
Jessica	Jessica gave Annie an uncomfortable look. "I'm fine. Pretty sure if the Tammy Faye look a like over there stares at me any harder I'm going to burst into righteous flame." She gave "Tammy" a fake grin which prompted the woman to turn away. "You may not want to hang to close to me. I may tarnish your image."
Starlight	"I'm shining yours up," Starlight teased lightly, smiling up at her. "But watch it before someone tries to baptize you. That's really the thing you're in danger of, here." If she hadn't been there in her official capacity, Starlight might have had fun collecting tracts with Jessica and seeing how many people tried to convert them throughout the day.
Jessica	"Pretty sure I'll start smoking and burning if get any holy water on me," Jessica joked. "I wonder what would happen if I told them about drinking with the actual devil on a weekly basis." She looked around at all the merchandise tents. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not judging your beliefs or anything but... Do you like any of this?"
Starlight	Starlight huffed out a breath, shrugging her shoulder. "I believe in God," she said firmly. "And I'm -- I mean, I'm not like, strict about it, but I go to church. But...this?" She glanced over at a tent with some truly disgusting homophobic shit, and just...visibly wilted a little. "It's not like how it was when I was a kid." Unless she'd just never noticed? But how could she not have noticed?
Jessica	Jessica just nodded. Doubtfully. "You get paid for this gig?" she asked. Okay. Now she was getting slightly judgemental.
Starlight	"I'm donating my appearance fee," Starlight offered hoping that that might make up for it a little? Because yeah, she was being paid quite a bit to be here.
Jessica	"How very tax deductible of you," Jessica commented, doing her best not to roll her eyes. "That'll do some good at least."

Stark	Stark, having had no experience with this specific type of event, was trying to take it all in. Stark was also somewhat regretting a good portion of what he was taking in. Don't mind the alien who was absolutely staying where he could see someone he knew at all times, fellow Fandomites. It just seemed safer that way.
Starlight	"It's a little intense, huh?" Don't mind one of those Fandomites showing up all be-caped and sparkly at your side, Stark. Starlight offered him a reassuring little smile, though. "I've been coming to this for so long that I've forgotten how much it can be for an outsider." Though, honestly, the really gross stuff was either...new, or she had a worse memory than she'd thought. There was no explaining any of that away.
Stark	"It's not what I expected," Stark said carefully. "But I'm not sure what I expected." Something that didn't come across as hostile in places, maybe. "I do feel out of place." The crowd didn't really come across as being vaguely mystical alien-friendly.
Starlight	"I think a lot of the people I invited feel out of place," Starlight told him, though what she wasn't going to add was that just being spotted with her was probably going to help keep curious stares at bay a bit. She was kind of popular around here. "But that's probably not a bad thing." Unless Stark wanted a #Believe shirt to fit in better? Maybe a #Believe balloon?
Stark	He could get a #Believe hoodie to hide in? "Probably not," Stark agreed. "We can all be out of place together." That was his plan anyway. Stay near the people he knew and try not to stand out too much in spite of the shiny metal mask covering half his face. "I'm sure it will be fine." He wasn't all that sure but it seemed like the thing to say.
Starlight	"I've got a couple of events where I'm speaking," Starlight told him, "but otherwise I'll be around all day. And I know that, like, Danny at least for sure knows what he's looking at, so he can explain anything that doesn't seem to make sense." For that matter, a lot of the Fandom people knew what they were looking at, but Danny's explanations stood a better chance of reflecting the intent of the message than, say, Summer's probably would.
Stark	Summer's explanations might be more entertaining though. "I'll ask if I need to," Stark assured her. "It's not all entirely unfamiliar. People are people everywhere and some people are always..." He was going to say "terrible" but decided against it. "Some people are always like this."
Starlight	"If it helps," Starlight said slowly, "this is about as extreme as my religion gets." It got even more extreme in some places, let's be honest, but Starlight knew Believe was a lot, and...look, she didn't remember it being this bad, but there was a lot of stuff here she didn't agree with. "I don't actually endorse all of this," she added. Except for, you know, how she was here as a headlining event and allowing her image to be used to promote all of this.
Stark	"I didn't think you did!" Stark said hurriedly. He knew better than that and wanted to be sure she knew that he knew better than that. "Of course you don't." "There are always extremes," he added in a softer voice.
Starlight	"Exactly," Starlight agreed, visibly relaxing a little. "Just -- try to keep that in mind. I remember it being a lot of fun. Like, there's carnival rides and stuff!" Oh, sure, that made it all fine.
Stark	"I'm sure I can find something," Stark said. "There's always food." Hopefully the food wasn't preachy.
Starlight	But it was! It all was. "And the people coming out who aren't me are also pretty fun," Starlight offered with a tiny smile. "Like, Ezekiel's always kind of fun to watch just 'cause his power's entertaining, and Homelander -- he's kind of my boss -- is speaking before I do."
Stark	Stark would at least find something tasty to balance out the preachiness. Maybe even from a food truck with a terrible pun for a name. "I should watch those two then. And you, of course." That was why he was here, after all. "What does Ezekiel do?"
Starlight	"He can stretch," Starlight told him with a little smile. "Like, his limbs are elastic. He could give that guy over there a high five from where we're standing." She indicated a man about fifty feet away, shrugging one shoulder. "It's pretty cool."
Stark	"I haven't met anyone who could do that," Stark said, considering the idea. "Could be a very useful ability. And interesting to see."
Starlight	Yeah, and as he said that, Starlight had to wonder if Ezekiel had ever actually used his ability for much of anything? She'd seen him show off a bunch, but...hm. "And Homelander flies," she added with a little smile. "Like, I don't think they'll have me do a demonstration when I'm onstage," because she could hurt people and all, "but those guys will be kind of unavoidably noticeable when they show up."
Stark	"Oh, flying," Stark said. Honestly not that impressive as far as superpowers went, especially for someone coming from Fandom. "The stretching is more interesting. You I've seen a little." Blender tricks would probably not go over well with this crowd and neither would accidentally burning out anyone's eyes. Probably for the best if there were no glowy demonstrations.
Starlight	The gloves that went with her new uniform allowed her to do some minor, non-blinding demonstrations, but Starlight was still pretty grateful to not be wearing the new outfit, anyway. "Flying's just the showiest thing he can do," she added. "He also has laser eyes and X-ray vision." You know, that old thing. "And I think some other Supes who I don't actually know are coming." The gal with the wings she vaguely knew by sight, if not by name.
Stark	The gloves were the only practical part of that outfit, weren't they? "Laser eyes...that could end poorly." There were so many people here. "Flying is probably best for demonstrating." How would you even show off x-ray vision? "Are there usually a lot of you, of the Supes, at this?"
Starlight	Starlight nodded quickly. "The company I work for -- Vought -- is the sponsor," she said, indicating a stylized V at the bottom of one of the banners. "And their whole thing is that they manage Supes. Like, I worked for them in Des Moines and Fandom, too." She paused, debating whether to add this part, and then went for it. "And since we were blessed with our powers, I feel like it's...I don't know, easy to believe." At least, she had always found it easy. "We were chosen."
Stark	Stark nodded. He had at least a vague understanding of sponsorships. "You all work for them?" He had to consider her next statement for a moment before responding. He wouldn't call himself blessed with his own abilities. They were more responsibility than blessing, most of the time. Sometimes a burden. "Belief is good to have. Good to hold on to."

Barry	Barry was looking around at this shitshow and doing his best not to swear up a storm. Coming to a expo to celebrate religion is one thing. Coming here and seeing ridiculous merchandise was just disgusting. Especially the posters. Then he saw the "Fly Straight" posters and lost the filter going to his mouth. "What the actual fuck? Seriously? Jesus fucking Christ." Yeah. That probably garnered him some looks.
Starlight	"You might," Starlight suggested, catching up with Barry and falling into step with him, "just a thought, want to cool it on the F-bombs while we're here." Like, Starlight herself did not give a flying fuck, but people around here were the type to have, like, swear jars in their homes.
Barry	Barry looked around and blinked. "Oh. Shit." And then realized what he just said. "Fuck!" There was wincing. Lots of wincing. "Okay. I can do this," he said taking a deep breath. "Sorry. I'll keep it under control."
Starlight	"Just to, like, avoid stares," she said in an undertone, smiling a little and offering a comforting wave to those wincing. "Like, you don't have to go full 'We're watching this on an airplane' levels of no-swearing, but you know." She slanted a look over. "People around here actually care." It was a little weird for her, too, even if she was used to keeping it clean.
Barry	"I f-" He tried again. "i care," Barry replied. "I just care about different shhhtuff."

Liam	Boy, this sure was A Lot, wasn't it? Liam was not gawking, because he absolutely had a better poker face than that. His habitual scowl maybe was a little deeper than usual, though. He'd started out with the intention of maybe finding something cool to bring back for Verity and/or Nina. Now... ooof. Not so much.
Stark	"Were you familiar with this sort of thing?" Stark asked quietly.
Liam	"Not... exactly?" Liam said. "Religion's never really been my thing." Aside from how he was a God in one, now, technically. "The closest I ever got was when I went undercover as a missioner with the Church of the Companions." Which had... not been a good time, to put it lightly.
Stark	"I was never particularly religious," Stark said. He said it quietly though. Somehow he had a feeling saying that too loudly here might have unpleasant results. "And the ones I knew from before were different." Understandably. "I don't remember anything quite like this even from anyone else." Not a lot of space Jesus festivals out there, at least not where Stark or anyone he'd crossed over had been.
Liam	"The superhero aspect does add a unique- flair- to the whole thing," Liam added with a bit of a grimace.
Stark	"We didn't have any of those," Stark said. At least he hadn't heard of any superheroes floating around the UTs. "That I knew of. But I think any unusual abilities would change things. Have to adjust the whole belief system to account for it if it's a new development. Or build around it to begin with. But this would feel strange even without that aspect, I think. Although we wouldn't be here so I don't really know."
Liam	Liam winced a little at the mention of 'adjusting the whole belief system', and he found himself wondering if Annie's world had experienced anything like Companion Reaction Syndrome when superheroes first went public. "They weren't religious, but people in my world did like to put together festivals with a very pro-Taelon agenda pretty often," Liam told him. The Taelons had not exactly discouraged the practice, shockingly.

Starlight	"Did I sufficiently prepare you for this, or, like, no?" Starlight greeted him, popping up at Liam's side with a sheepish little smile. She knew the answer was, 'Like, no,' because it had been with everyone else, but she still wanted to check in.
Liam	"It reminds me a little of some of the pro-Taelon propaganda events that used to be held back home," Liam admitted. That was not a good thing, in case you were wondering!
Starlight	"It's different from how I remember it being when I was younger," Starlight admitted, 'cause yeah, it did not sound like a good thing. "It used to just...be like, a carnival with a lot of praising of Jesus." And those were things she was generally super down for, at least!
Liam	“Do you think the festival itself has changed, or do you just notice things now that you hadn’t then?” Liam asked, curious. He didn’t have any real experience with his perspective changing as he grew up, but he knew it was a thing that happened!
Starlight	Starlight hesitated for a moment before answering, completely honestly, "Both?" Because there was no way this had all sprung up overnight -- she suspected the change had been so gradual that she just hadn't noticed until it was everywhere. Either that or her mom had kind of kept her away from it all, which was also very possible. "I've been coming for years -- I made my superhero debut on that stage, actually. But they're...emphasizing different things than they used to."
Liam	"Can't say I'm a fan," Liam replied. And then had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Sorry."
Starlight	"You don't have to be," she told him with a little smile. "I'm not really sure I'm a fan, I just...work here. And I won't blame you guys if anyone leaves early -- I mean, I don't go on until tonight, but there's no reason you have to stick it out through this."
Liam	Liam shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’m not here for any of this, I’m here for you. And-“ his gaze lost focus for just a moment, easy enough to miss if you weren’t paying attention, “- You’re going to need some friendly faces in the audience,” he finished.
Starlight	Starlight's smile widened a fraction, because she interpreted that as nothing more than support from someone who maybe didn't enjoy public speaking the way she did. Everyone had been a lot more nervous about her speech than she was; that was always the easy part of this kind of thing. "All right. But don't be, like, too supportive out there. If you guys start a wave or something, you might attract attention from the press," she warned.
Liam	Liam thought about correcting her, telling her he was pretty sure something was going to happen while she was up on stage, but- Sometimes the Sight was just that, a glimpse of future events, and sometimes it was just a feeling. This was definitely the latter, and without anything more substantial to go on, he wasn't going to risk making it worse by putting her on edge. (He'd be on edge enough for the both of them, waiting for the proverbial ball to drop.) Instead, he just pulled out his Global. "Damn it," he sighed. "I'll tell Diego the wave plan's a no-go."
Starlight	You know, if he'd said anyone else, Annie might have believed they were really planning a wave? (Okay, no -- Jessica would have also raised suspicion.) But she snorted, shaking her head. "Yeah, let's keep this some low-profile support if we can. No wave, no signs," she added, holding up an admonishing finger, "no airhorns...."
Liam	"No promises now," Liam shook his head, "but we'll certainly do our best not to embarrass you horribly."

Danny	Yeah, Danny wasn't really bothering to keep his look of deep judgement off his face as he looked around the place. And he had even some confusing religious shit in his family to fuel all this judgement! "Wow," he said dryly. "Big wow."
Donna	"First time at Believe?" asked a nearby woman in a twin set, overhearing that comment. "It can be a little overwhelming if you don't know where to start." Naturally, she was not picking up on any dryness or judgement.
Danny	"Definitely," Danny agreed. First and hopefully last. "I'm not exactly a convention person." Though he'd take that weird furry thing over this right now.
Donna	"There's something here for everyone," Donna replied with a firm little smile. "What brought you out this year?
Danny	"Ah, supporting a friend," Danny said, able to focus on that rather than pointing out how many bullshit signs he saw.
Donna	"Well, if it's your first time, you'll definitely want to see all the headliners," Donna advised. As though there was any way for anyone to miss Homelander, for one. "And if you have any young people with you, I think there's probably still room at Starlight's roundtable." And then, clearly unable to resist, she added, "That's my daughter."
Danny	No way in hell would he bring Grace here, thanks. "Ah," Danny said, getting that one look on his face that he got in the fleeting interactions with Doris. Which possibly only Steve would recognize as A Thing. "That is actually the friend I'm here to support."
Donna	And Donna's whoooole attitude changed at that as she gave Danny a conspicuous once-over. "You know Starlight?" she asked with obvious skepticism. "From Maryland?" Because she'd know him if he was from Des Moines or a regular Believe attendee.
Danny	"From Maryland," he agreed placidly, offering a hand to shake. "Detective Danny Williams."
Donna	"Donna," she replied as she delicately took that offered hand. Because you didn't use your last name when your daughter still had a secret identity to worry about (ostensibly.) "You're not -- you're not the boyfriend, are you?" Annie had said he was a cop, but Donna was almost positive that the man in the picture on her daughter's phone had not been blond.
Danny	Wow, way to completely throw Danny off there, Donna. "No, not the boyfriend," he replied slowly, wondering just how much Annie actually told her mom about her life. And deciding it was probably a justified amount from this brief interaction and what he'd heard about the woman. "Just a friend. Most of the station is actually here for her, actually." Was he going to point out which one was Diego? Nah.
Donna	Annie told her mom about as little about her life as she could get away with. Which might have been even more obvious when she said, "That doesn't seem very safe for your town, is it? With your hero and most of the police force gone?"
Danny	Well, that was fair. "We got a sitter to watch the place for us," Danny said without skipping a beat and so very deadpan.
Donna	Donna looked like she didn't quite know what to do with that, because she had no sense of humor. "Vought lets you do that?" she said, confused. "Well, at least it's for a good cause. Believe is so important. Starlight's been coming since she was very young, you know."
Danny	"Yeah, the, uh, the indoctrination is really something," he said in that very same bland tone. Sometimes it was Steve who was the impulse control in their little partnership. This was one of those times.
Donna	Donna's eyes narrowed just a tiny bit. "Well, when you've been given a gift like hers, it's important to express gratitude to where it came from," she noted a little sharply. Of course, Donna was an enormous hypocrite, since she knew perfectly well where Annie's powers had come from -- and it certainly wasn't from any higher power.
Danny	"Oh, you meant god," Danny said, nodding along. "I thought this crowd was more 'thoughts and prayers', honestly. Less action." DANIEL WILLIAMS.
Donna	Donna bristled, taking a step back from Danny. "Prayer is action," she snapped. "And it's hard to say we're not about action when Homelander and Starlight are keeping the world safe with God's divine blessing." Sure.
Danny	Well, his general aura of 'heathen damnation' might have caused that. Danny hummed and at least appeared to contemplate it. "Well, see. That's where I'm gonna have to get off the ride. Now, it's been a while since I went to church, but I'm pretty sure idolatry and the opposite of loving thy neighbor might be an issue." Why was he left without supervision here? Why? "But then, maybe I read a different bible."
Donna	"We love our neighbors," Donna replied, her frown deepening. "It's love to save people from themselves." She had a guess where that was coming from, yes. Annie had seemed a little put off by some of the signage around Believe this year, too, but it had never bothered Donna.
Danny	"Ah, well, if it's saving." That little 'hmm' there was all silent judgement.
Donna	"Enjoy the expo," Donna said after a little moment of staring at him. "Seems like you could use it." She was going to need to see if Annie knew she brought some kind of faithless insurrectionist. Maybe alert security, too.
Steve	Steve had a sixth sense for when Danny had gotten into trouble, which was why he was looping back around from his futile search for non-Jesus-themed...anything. "There a problem here?" he rumbled, placing his hand on Danny's back.
Donna	"Oh, that explains it," Donna said with a little snort and a roll of her eyes. She was going to need to talk to Annie about the company she was keeping, evidently.
Danny	"Real nice meetin' ya," Danny said with that one level of aggressive cheer that basically said 'fuck you too'.
Donna	"You too. I'll be praying for you." Lies, she would not be doing any such thing.
Steve	"Appreciate it," Steve said, all faux-sincerity.
Danny	Did Danny have to move into Steve's personal space that much? No, never. But he always did. So deal with it. "So, that was Annie's mother," he said with a quiet undertone that he knew Steve would get.
Steve	Steve's eyebrows went way up. "Really."
Danny	"Yeah." They were having an entire conversation with looks here. "I might need to apologize to Annie later." For some reason.
Steve	That scored him some Aneurysm Face. "Do I wanna know?" he asked, steering Danny away with a hand on the small of his back. As one does.
Danny	"This place," Danny said, sighing and gesturing around as he let Steve lead him away without complaint or comment on it. "These people."
Steve	"Lose your cool a bit?" Steve guessed.
Danny	"Little bit." It wasn't like he was a hothead or anything.
Steve	Never! "This place is creepy," Steve decided.
Danny	"Immensely creepy," Danny agreed, so glad to find Steve was on the same page as him.
Steve	"And so self-righteous about it," Steve said, making a face.
Danny	"Thank you!"
Steve	"That was the part that set you off, huh," Steve guessed.
Danny	"Like it doesn't annoy you," Danny replied.
Steve	"Oh, it totally annoys me," Steve said, "but I don't tell it to the people here."
Danny	"I did my best to not--" You know. Insult everyone. Which was debatable. "Evangelical stuff will never make sense to me."
Steve	"I've run into a few in the military," Steve said, "but this is really in your face, even for them."
Danny	"An echo chamber," Danny muttered.
Steve	"And you tried to break through it?" Steve guessed.
Danny	Danny pinched his fingers together to show just a little bit. But Steve actually knew him, so...
Steve	Steve reached out to stretch those fingers a lot further apart, smirking.
Danny	"Jackass." It was said with love.
Steve	Steve grinned. "Yup."

Starlight	Starlight was so glad they'd let her wear her old uniform for this (even if the admission that this was the family-friendly outfit just kind of made her hate the new bodysuit even more.) She wandered the grounds of the expo, taking the occasional autograph and keeping an eye out for the people she'd invited. (She also had her phone in her little pouch, so she'd also occasionally check her texts -- but she was avoiding that, since every time she looked, her screen was filled with angrily-punctuated messages from Ashley.)
Hughie	"Annie?" Hughie stopped in his tracks, frowning at -- okay, no, that was Starlight, but she looked just like...Annie? From the park bench? He was here for his own reasons -- well, Butcher's own reasons -- but what a hell of a coincidence.
Starlight	"Hughie?" she answered, not even bothering to correct the use of her given name. Look, she'd blown her secret identity already, she wasn't feeling all that fussy about it. "Oh my gosh, hi!"
Hughie	"Oh, wow." He caught himself belatedly and added, "Sorry -- Starlight, I mean. Wow, I didn't realize you -- " And then the rest of the conversation from that bench caught up with him. "Hang on. Is this the job -- this is your job?" The job where something so upsetting had happened to her?
Starlight	Starlight paused for a moment before nodding, her mouth setting in a little line. "This is my job," she said, and the don't mention what I said about it went unspoken.
Hughie	Well. That complicated things a bit, didn't it? He'd have to tell Butcher. But more importantly, right now, he was remembering everything she'd said back on that park bench. "Are you okay?" he asked after a moment, wanting to be careful. Who knew what kind of awful thing had happened to her at this job? Knowing what he did now about Supes, Hughie's mind was immediately filled with images of all kinds of awful shit that could have happened to her.
Starlight	"I'm fine," she said with a quick, easy smile. "But like, also kind of a headliner, so -- "
Hughie	"Right," Hughie agreed quickly, nodding too many times to look normal or casual about it. "Sure. Yes. Um, I'll catch up with you later, maybe?"
Starlight	"I'm really glad we ran into each other," Annie told him, reaching out to lightly touch his arm with a smile before she was waving to a vendor she recognized and walking away. She didn't think he realized how much his words had helped, that day. He was still the nicest person she'd met since moving to the city.

Starlight	The roundtable took place in a white event tent, with chairs laid out in a spacious circle and huge windows that let in the daylight. There was even an area where parents could linger - or, you know, any conspicuous adults who wanted to peek in on one of Starlight’s big headlining events and pretend to be parents.
Stark	Stark had, on his way in to the tent, encountered a thoroughly unpleasant woman who had demanded to know what he was doing there. "Supporting a friend," he said quietly. "Dressed like that?" "Like what," he asked, bewildered. He had on perfectly normal clothes! "That mask," the woman hissed, "is incredibly inappropriate! Flaunting your deviant lifestyle and around the children no less!" "I have a medical condition," Stark snapped back. That was the answer he'd taken to giving in non-Fandom situations and had the benefit of being almost true. Then he shook his head and moved away. He'd just stand behind someone he knew and try to look unobtrusive.
Diego	Well of course Diego was going to hang around in the background and witness this. For both supportive boyfriend reasons and just morbid curiosity
Steve	"I would've brought popcorn," Steve said, "but I think it all has crosses on it." And that's just weird.
Diego	Diego smiled slightly. "This whole place kind of makes me nauseous anyway. Last thing I need is to throw up and people think I'm possessed by Satan."
Steve	"Exorcism's probably a little too Catholic for this crowd," Steve muttered. "This is terrifyingly perky 'don't you want to join my prayer group and you better not say no' all the way."
Diego	"See, I don't even know the difference between Catholics and...whatever this is," he said. "I really should have put a leash on Five. I can be quietly horrified but he doesn't have the self-restraint."
Steve	"In that case, we'll definitely hear when he gets in trouble," Steve said, which was not as reassuring as he was aiming for. "This feels very evangelical--the military's had a problem with the link between white nationalism and this strain of Christianity for a while." And this was before Steve heard Homelander's little speech, even.
Diego	"This is my first time seeing something like this," Diego admitted. "I kind of just thought people were exaggerating...I was very wrong."
Steve	"This is a lot," Steve agreed.
Diego	"Just promise you'll save me if I get cornered by one of these people," Diego said.
Steve	"The power of Christ compels me," Steve teased with a grin.

Pastor John & Starlight	“I know what you’re thinking,” opened Pastor John, from his seat next to Starlight. “Holy mackerel, Starlight? From The Seven? Here with us? Well, I knew her when she was still in pigtails and braces, and she’d sit right where you’re sitting.” Starlight actually laughed genuinely, because...it was true. Pastor John had been the youth leader at Believe Expo for years. And honestly, the pigtails and braces had only been about a decade ago, even if it felt a lot longer. “So don’t be shy. You ask what’s on your mind. Starlight is here for you.” He pointed to one girl, who had started to shyly raise her hand. “Yeah?” “I have this friend from my soccer team, Sunji? She’s Hindu,” the girl said, addressing Starlight. “I know it’s kind of my responsibility, I guess, to get her to accept Jesus, but it...feels weird to me.” Of course it felt weird to her. “Well. Jesus also says to love your neighbor,” Starlight said, smiling slightly. “But if you love your neighbor,” Pastor John interjected, “don’t you want to save them from damnation? You have a chance to help your friend find eternal life, right?” And now Starlight was sneaking a look over at him, because...that was not actually not how she felt, nor was it a message she felt super comfortable enforcing.
Stark	Stark was trying not to glare at the pastor during this exchange. Really he was. But there would be an afterlife for this child, and her friend, without anyone needing to be saved. Just not necessarily the same afterlife for both. A spiritual leader ought to know better.
Pastor John & Starlight	Pastor John called on a gangly, awkward boy, who shyly asked Starlight, "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" And for someone who was such a bad liar, Starlight was a pretty good improviser. "Well, yeah." She was pointedly not looking near the adults near the entrance of the tent - not because she didn’t want to acknowledge her very real, actual, current boyfriend, but because she didn’t want him to get mobbed with questions. "Yeah, I have. I was with this...really amazing, sweet guy for a long time." And she still was! Not daring to look over at him, but hopefully Diego would understand. And as soon as Starlight had answered the awkward boy's awkward boyfriend question, another girl’s hand shot straight into the air. “Um.” The girl cleared her throat. “Did you have...sex with him?” A titter rose up from the group, and now Starlight was definitely not catching the eye of anyone in the back, because, like, please. She was actually deliberately not looking anywhere over there as she carefully considered her answer. “Well, I....” Starlight wanted to tread carefully here. On the one hand, it was Believe Expo, but on the other, there was a real chance for her to deliver some honest, thoughtful advice to these kids. To be a real role model. “You know, I think - I think everyone hopes that when they fall in love with someone, they’re the one. And...it’s private, but….” But there was Pastor John, leaning into her peripheral vision. Starlight stopped mid-sentence as she made eye contact with him, and understood what he was trying to say. What she needed to say. “I’m a virgin,” she said after a very long pause, smiling over at the girl who had asked the question. “Yeah. I’m...saving myself for my future...husband.” She was such a bad liar. There was no way anyone in that tent had believed that. And now she hated herself for saying that. These kids didn’t deserve to be lied to, or controlled, they deserved an honest and frank talk about - their hormones and birth control and how a loving God wouldn’t have given them erogenous zones if He didn’t want them to take joy in their bodies. “See? Hebrews 13:4,” Pastor John continued confidently, picking up where she had faltered. “‘Let the bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral.’”
Diego	There was a loud snort in the background that Diego tried to cover up as a cough.
Starlight	Starlight of course knew exactly where that snort-cough had come from, and her cheeks heated up with a blush even as she pointedly kept her eyes on the girl who'd asked the question. She already felt bad about lying, but at least it didn't seem like he was -- you know, offended by her whole denial thing, there. (Starlight was kind of offended on her own, anyway, even if she wasn't...like, dealing with it right now.)
Jessica	Jessica didn't laugh. Nope. Not at all. If anything she just frowned... looking a little disappointed in Annie's response. Not saying anything else, she walked away. This all stopped being amusing.

Homelander	In the mid-afternoon, there was a sonic boom from overhead as something too small to be the jet it sounded like flew above the crowd, and Homelander landed in a suitably heroic pose on the main stage. "Let's hear it for Jesus!" Homelander called, his arms outstretched toward the crowd. "Yes! One more for the guy upstairs!" And as the crowd's cheers died down, he laughed ruefully, waving. "Ah, I love you guys. Let me tell you something -- I am so thrilled to be here. Truthfully. Are you?" And again, he paused to allow the crowd to scream their agreement, before sobering slightly. "Yeah? A terrible tragedy befell our nation this week. Terrible. And let's not mince words about this -- we...were...attacked. America was attacked." The crowd applauded, as Homelander nodded approvingly. "Some people, they want me to come out here and speak empty platitudes to you all. A little bit of corporate talk. But I don't want to do that. I can't do that. You want to know why?" The crowd, obediently, shouted, "Why?" "Because I believe that's what God wants me to do is get on over there, find the filthy bastards that masterminded this -- whatever cave they're in -- and introduce them to a little thing called God's judgement! That's what I think!" The crowd was getting riled up, obviously motivated by Homelander's words. "Sounds like the American thing to do!" cried the superhero with an American flag for a cape. "Sounds like the right thing to do. But no, no, no, no no -- apparently, I've got to wait for Congress to say it's okay." The boo that rose up from the crowd was both inevitable and deafening. "Right? And I say -- I answer to a higher law. Wasn't I chosen to save you? Is it not my God-given purpose to protect the United States of America?" And now there was a continuous chant of "Homelander, Homelander!" rising up out of the crowd, as people clapped in rhythm. So what choice did Homelander have but to begin to levitate above the stage as he cried out, "Psalm 58:10 -- 'the righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance, and he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked!'" He floated out into the crowd, arms outstretched. He allowed them to touch his feet. He graced them with his hands. He had won. Vought would have to deal with what he'd said, whether they liked it or not. And he would get to have military clearances now, so help him.
Steve	"What the hell?" Steve muttered probably a little too loudly.
Diego	See, this is why Diego preferred Queen Maeve's movies. This right here. What a douche.
Five	"Oh, so he's insane," Five said, sipping a soda like this was the most entertaining thing he'd seen so far.
Liam	It was funny, in a way, because this guy? This guy reminded Liam of Zo'or. Not because of the content of his speech- Zo'or didn't give a crap about God or America or even about pretending he cared about either of those things. It was how he said it, that absolute belief that he himself had all the answers, that was what did it. Liam did not like this guy, not at all.
Rey	This all sounded strange enough to Rey, but she didn't agree with most of the viewpoints she'd seen today. At least, that was easy enough to think until he started winding down, and then she realized that it might be a big problem that this many people were into it.
Jessica	"I have never wanted to beat the shit out of anybody more in my entire life," Jessica said staring at the asshole floating in the air and acting like god's gift to man.
Steve	"He instantly cracked the top three," Steve said, making a face, "and I shoot terrorists for a living."
Jessica	"Going to need more than bullets for that asshole," Jessica agreed and looked around at the people cheering for Homelander. "What the fuck are they cheering for?"
Steve	"Groupthink is a hell of a drug?" Steve offered.
Jessica	"I feel dirty just being here," Jessica said shaking her head. "I'm just disgusted to be human today."
Steve	"This really isn't a high point for our species at all," Steve agreed, making a face. "And that asshole is Starlight's boss. Sort of."
Jessica	"This is why heroes fucking suck," Jessica agreed, shaking her head. "I'm done now. I'm fucking out of here."

Starlight	Starlight did not like how her roundtable had gone, no, and it showed all over her face as she wandered around the expo to kill time while waiting to go on for her speech tonight. Believe Expo had changed. She hadn't remembered the -- Fly Straight posters, or the...marriage stuff she kept seeing, or anyone talking this much about sex. And the black ribbon she was wearing just kept reminding her that Homelander seemed to have another agenda she didn't agree with, either.
Donna	"So what were you supposed to say," Donna offered in greeting when she spotted her daughter. "'Yes, I've had premarital sex, go nuts'?" Of course Donna had been in that tent. She'd also heard the snort from the group of people including that short, rude detective from earlier, and she hadn't especially loved that, but right now she had more pressing concerns. Namely, that her daughter remember who she worked for, here.
Starlight	"Well, I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to lie to them, Mom," Starlight protested, shaking her head.
Donna	"Aw, baby." Donna stopped, holding a hand out to touch her arm. "You're Starlight, of The Seven. Millions of kids are looking up to you now. You're a shining light to them."
Starlight	"How am I supposed to live up to that?" No, seriously, how. She wasn't sure she could do it, now that she realized how much went into that...shining light thing.
Donna	"Because that's the way God made you," Donna assured her. "You're a miracle. You're my miracle."
Hughie	"Hey, you two," Hughie said, clearly nervous as he approached. "How's it going?" Look, Annie's mom was clearly a very...rigid sort of person, and Hughie generally did not think he made a good impression on people, so. Also he had to ask for a favor.
Starlight	"You know what, I'll catch up," Starlight told her mom, ushering her along. "I'll be right there." Did she really want to talk to Hughie right now? No, not especially, but she really didn't want to talk to her mom, so...Hughie was the better option.
Hughie	Hughie watched Donna wander off in her twin set, making sure she was out of earshot before asking, "You okay?" He didn't know her that well, but Annie didn't...seem okay.
Starlight	She nodded slowly, sighing out a breath. "Yeah. It's just...this place isn't what I remember."
Hughie	Hughie took a step closer to her, because -- look, she was obviously very attractive, it wasn't like he hadn't noticed, but something in her tone made him just want to be there for her. "Hey -- " And then he paused, because he could have sworn he saw Robin over there. But it was some other woman. And his guilt.
Starlight	"Hughie?" Starlight prompted, looking over her shoulder in the direction he was staring.
Hughie	He shook his head, clearing it. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
Starlight	Considering that none of the teens at her roundtable had extended her the courtesy of asking for permission before invasively questioning her, Starlight had to huff out a little laugh. "Anything."
Hughie	"Is there any way you could hook me up with one of those Diamond Club passes?" As soon as he saw the look on her face, he hated that he'd asked. But he needed to get in to see Ezekiel, and...he'd promised Butcher. "You -- y'know, to see Ezekiel. I mean, I couldn't get one unless I robbed a bank. But...you know."
Starlight	Starlight...kind of couldn't believe this. On multiple levels. Like, Hughie just did not seem like a huge fan of, "Ezekiel?"
Hughie	"Yeah," Hughie said hurriedly. "Yeah, yeah, um, okay, confession time: my dad is, like, Ezekiel's number one fan." That...seemed believable, right? He actually did not enjoy lying to Annie -- aside from the whole secret identity thing, she seemed like a really honest person, and...lying to someone who might actually believe your unbelievable lie did not really feel great.
Starlight	"Hmmm." The thing was, she actually...super did not believe him. Like, congratulations, Hughie Campbell, you are the one person on the planet who made Starlight a little suspicious with a story like that. Also, honestly, this kind of just felt like shit. She might be naive, and trusting, but she knew when she was being used to get some free Diamond Club passes.
Hughie	"So what do you think?" Hughie blurted, clearly a little nervous. "Pull a few strings, you know? Hook me up with some tickets?"
Starlight	Starlight inhaled slowly through her nose, because wow, this was -- like, this was kind of bold, Hughie. Wow. "Yeah," she agreed slowly. "Yeah. Sure, of course." And she had to find a way to justify this to herself, at least -- especially since she'd probably have to justify it to Ashley when she asked. "It's the least I could do." He had been nice to her a couple times, after all, in a way that no one had been nice to her since she had joined The Seven. (At least, no one outside of Fandom. Maybe she just didn't need friends in New York, anyway.)

Danny	Yeah, it was all... a lot. "You okay there?" Danny asked, having spent most of his time there feeling like he might deck someone. But he wasn't a surly 19 year old, so he settled for unimpressed judgmental looks.
Starlight	"I'm all right," Starlight told him, managing a little half-smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's just -- this is kind of getting to be a long day." What a generous way to put things.
Danny	"Yeah, I can imagine," he said, unable to keep from making a face at the nearby signs. "C'mere. You need a hug. We can leave room for Jesus." Because of course he had to make that joke so dryly that anyone nearby might think it was sincere.
Starlight	Starlight snorted, going in for the hug. "Thanks. I think Jesus probably has some questions for me, today, anyway." Because seriously, none of this today was really lining up with how she saw her faith, or what she herself believed in. It was all this...weaponized, hateful bullshit.
Danny	That was people for you. People were terrible. "Nah, pretty forgiving guy if I remember right," he said, hugging her tight like that would fix that bruised look in her eyes.
Starlight	"This isn't how it used to be, when I was a kid." She'd been saying that all day, and it was clear by now that she was really questioning how true that was. "Or at least I don't remember it being like this."
Danny	Danny sighed and shrugged. "We don't always see it," he replied. "This stuff is just--if you'll pardon the term--the gospel truth. Not something you need to think on. But you get older, you see the cracks, you see the hypocrisy of the people who were once above question..."
Starlight	"The party line," Starlight supplied quietly. "The way it's used to control people." Because that was what was really getting to her about what she'd said back in that tent -- she was contributing to the guilt and confusion of so many kids. And she'd been such a nervous, controlled kid herself, it just...made her a little sick.
Danny	"Yeah," Danny agreed, just as quiet. "Yeah, it is. They make you fear damnation to fit the little mold they want you in."
Starlight	"I used to be so scared of Hell," she admitted. "I mean, I'm not so much anymore, but it's not for...like, lack of trying." She gestured expansively at their surroundings. She could probably play a little I Spy and spot twenty references to the place if she looked.
Danny	"I was raise Catholic, trust me, I get it," Danny said, gesturing like it could be considered a one-to-one level of existential angst thanks to religion. "Catholic with a smattering of Judaism on Ma's side. So, I was doomed on the guilt front." He nudged her slightly, inviting her to laugh at that one.
Starlight	She almost did. She at least smiled a lot more genuinely than she had most of the day. "You can tell," she added, slanting a little look over at him. "And like, my whole thing is -- you know, most of what we're taught is about forgiveness?" So like why weren't they allowed to forgive themselves? Why did it seem like no one wanted to be able to count on God's forgiveness, even if it had been promised already?
Danny	"Forgiveness and to love the people who need it the most," Danny replied with a small, answering smile.
Starlight	"So how come they're so determined to make it about hate?" Starlight asked softly, her gaze falling on a booth with that awful banner about marriage, with the wedding cake toppers.
Danny	Danny followed her line of sight and sighed. "I used to think I was going to hell because I was as attracted to Billy Russo as I was to Mary Ryan," he said. "And I wish someone out there had let me know otherwise." He had to clear his throat for some reason. "I think that's the first time I've said that without Fandom being weird or while in therapy."
Starlight	Starlight watched him, quiet for a moment. "I'm glad you felt like you could say it now," she offered, reaching out to touch his arm. It wasn't exactly something she'd heard explicitly confirmed, even if they'd had a fairly frank talk about Steve.
Danny	He'd been married! He had a kid! "Well, I've been told I can be pretty contrary from time to time," he said, gesturing at some of the signs.
Starlight	That was not the side of this that had needed confirmation. "All the time," Starlight offered, teasing a little. All right, there was some of her good humor back. "Oh my God, Danny, I still have to go on tonight." And it was going to be more of what had been going on back in that tent. Maybe fewer comments about the state of her precious maidenhood, but it wasn't going to be that different in tone.
Danny	Danny let out another frustrated sigh. But it was on her behalf at least. "We can't sneak out outta here?" Hey, he had to offer. Steve would definitely be down for it. Diego probably too.
Starlight	"I would get so fired." Not that that was looking like such a bad thing, as time wore on. "I mean, you guys can go," she added quickly. "Don't feel like you have to stick around to see me make more of an idiot of myself."
Danny	"No, no. You're here through all this, we're here with you," Danny said like that was a given. Team player that he was.
Starlight	"You're a good friend, Danny," she decided, exhaling a shaky little breath. "At least this'll be the easy part." She had a script for this portion of the day, so what could go wrong?
Danny	"We'll be in the crowd if you need to catch a friendly face." But, you know. "You should be able to see Diego and Steve for sure." Ugh, tall people.

Billy Butcher	"I'm saying," said the bearded man in the Hawaiian print shirt in a clear, accented voice, "if there is some geezer up there with a big white beard, he's a world heavyweight cunt." "I'm sorry," said the pastor that Butcher was talking to, "did you just call God...a C-word?" "Yeah," Butcher continued easily. "He's got a hard-on for mass murder and givin' kids cancer, and his big old answer to the existential clusterfuck that is humanity is to nail his own bleedin' son to a plank." He gestured to the pastor with one kettlecorn-holding hand, as though he'd made a great point. "That is a cunt move, even you have got to agree."
Marvin Milk	"Hey, hey, hey." MM could only let him go on like this for so long before it started feeling downright irresponsible. "We're sorry, sir, we apologize."
Butcher	"We should just lob a fuckin' nuke at Him and be done with it," Butcher concluded helpfully.
MM	"Sir, we are so sorry," MM said again before turning to Butcher. "My man. Come on." This was the exact opposite of keeping a low profile, Billy.
Butcher	"Right. Think about it," Butcher advised the pastor as MM ushered him away. "I'm here all day, all right?"
Jessica	Jessica couldn't help but smirk at the two of them. "Don't shut him up," she said pointing at the guy who swore more than she did. "He's the only one making fucking sense around here."
Butcher	"Damn right I am," Butcher told her affably, gesturing to this new person with his kettlecorn as MM heaved an audible sigh. "If God's such a great bloke, why d'you lot need this whole dog'n pony show to tell him so? You'd think everyone would already know, right?"
Jessica	Sorry Billy. Jessica's stealing some of your kettle-corn. "And last I saw God didn't need t-shirt sales or merchandise," Jessica snarked. "So are you a true believer or just here to keep the holy rollers honest?"
Butcher	"The latter," Butcher said, clearly amused at the kettle corn theft. "I'm a sucker for public hypocrisy."
MM	"Ma'am," MM offered, leaning over Butcher's shoulder, "I am so sorry if he's being offensive again." He hadn't heard what had been said, no, but MM knew perfectly damn well that he was looking at Billy Butcher's Exact Type, right there, and that was a distraction no one needed today, thank you very much.
Jessica	Jessica snorted in amusement. "He's not offending me at all," she said giving both MM and Butcher the onceover. "And I definitely need to hear someone with some sense talk today."
MM	"That's not usually how people describe him," MM noted with a snort.
Butcher	"Maybe it's 'bout time people did," Butcher said loftily, and pointed at Jessica. "I like this one."
Jessica	Yeah, Butcher was getting a big grin now. "Want to go around and knock people over and see if they turn the other cheek?" Jessica offered.
MM	Butcher did not get the chance to answer, because MM was already slipping an arm around his shoulders and trying to steer him away. "We have to get going. Maybe another time," MM told Jessica, as Butcher looked back over his shoulder to salute her with his kettlecorn. "You have fun without me, yeah?" Butcher called, as MM muttered something that absolutely sounded like scolding, yes.
Steve	"Hard to find a loose nuke around here these days, anyway," Steve piped up from where he was definitely not reading the varied and terrible Revelation-loving novels that were in front of him. "Nice shirt."
Butcher	"Sure it is," Butcher agreed with a conspiratorial wink, as MM looked like he just wanted to dig a hole and die in it already, please. "Why's it gotta be a loose nuke, though? We ought to have 'em aimed up at the sky just for days when the big guy really does a number. Dedicated god nukes, I think."
Steve	"Probably trying to convince China and Russia they aren't secret China and Russia nukes," Steve said. "They get paranoid."
MM	"Bu -- Billy, we have to go," MM sighed. To Steve, he added, "I'm very sorry for bothering you, sir. He's not well." Well, with that kind of talk, he clearly wasn't, even if the stinkeye that Butcher was giving MM now might have indicated that he was perfectly in control of his faculties. Just a little pissy is all.
Steve	"Are you taking him to get prayed over?" Steve asked, trying not to look super-weirded out by the idea.
Butcher	"Think it'll help?" Butcher asked with a bright, slightly manic smile, even as MM was nodding and trying to take him by the shoulder.
MM	"Yep, we're gonna pray for his immortal soul," MM said briskly. "I'm not optimistic, but you do what you gotta do."
Steve	"I'm not optimistic either," Steve said. "Good luck. Don't nuke God."

Starlight	As the sun set, the main stage was set up with a backdrop of twinkling stars, the overhead lighting rigs were illuminated, and two discreet teleprompters were added downstage. And, a few minutes after she was actually due to go onstage, Starlight was ushered out as music blared, her arms in the air as she waved to the crowd. “Hello there, Believe Expo!” At least this felt real. This stage had always been somewhere she was comfortable, and in a lot of ways, these were still her people. “I am so honored to be here tonight,” she told the audience as she beamed out at them. “Did you know that my first public appearance was right here, on this very stage, with Ezekiel and the rest of the family?” Starlight nodded, allowing the crowd time to applaud -- as her teleprompter told her to -- before taking a breath and continuing. “Today, I wanted to share with you how I accepted Christ as my personal savior.” Another smile, another long breath, a bit of bracing herself because...this was where it started falling apart. Well. Really. It had started falling apart so much earlier in the day. She scanned the crowd, trying to find Diego or Danny or Summer or someone she knew so she could focus on them. “How His way is the only way,” she continued, and...and there was her mom, just offstage. She could see her mom, and Ezekiel, and Ashley, and -- you know, maybe if she had seen someone who really knew her in the crowd, it’d be different. She might have been able to keep to the script if she knew for sure that there was someone out there who could see her. But instead, Starlight stopped. The teleprompter rolled. Her smile slid off her face as the music kept blaring and the lights kept twinkling around her. “Uh. Just...just please stop the music. Please stop.” She looked offstage towards her mother, her disappointed mentor, and her agent with her clipboard. “You want me to just suck it up and do this for you?” she asked, ignoring the crowd as the murmurs and whispers started up. At this point, it had to be clear she was completely off-script. “Hmm? You have no idea what you’re really asking. You have no idea what I’ve really been through.” And now...Starlight turned her attention back to the audience. Her mic was still live. She had to say something to them. “Every single word that I say up here, I’m reading from a script. I didn’t write any of these words. I don’t even know if I believe in them.” Okay, no, that wasn’t wholly true. “I mean,” Starlight amended, holding her hands up as she worked through what she wanted to say, “I believe in God, I love God, so much, but -- honestly? It’s just...how goddamn certain everyone is around here.” And there went up some noises from the crowd, because this was the kind of place to really notice if you took the Lord’s name in vain. “I mean, tickets start at -- what, a hundred and seventy bucks so that these people can tell you how to get to Heaven? How do they know? How does anybody know? When the Bible was written, life expectancy was thirty years old. I mean, I’m not so sure you’re supposed to take it literally. It also says it’s a sin to eat shrimp.” Starlight felt completely out of control, but also, for the first time in weeks, there was a calmness that had overtaken her. She knew what she was saying was true. “What, if you’re gay or if you’re Gandhi, you’re going to Hell? I mean….” Her breath caught in her throat as Starlight shook her head. “And if you have sex before marriage, that’s -- that’s not immoral. That’s human.” She was so far past being embarrassed, now. She needed every kid who had been in that tent with her to hear that. She was quiet for a long moment. It was amazing no one had cut her mic, and that Ashley hadn’t come out on stage and ripped it off her face. There was even still a chance she was on TV. “What’s immoral,” Annie said slowly, needing to get this out but still unsure if she could, or if she could find the right words, “was when The Deep shoved his dick in my face.” There. Those words worked. Every single person in that crowd heard her. Maybe every single person watching this broadcast.
Jessica	Jessica had spent the day wondering if she knew Annie at all. And as soon as she started going off on everything around her she suddenly realized that what was around them wasn't her friend at all. And then there was that revelation. Her response was simple and very Jessica. "I'm going to rip his dick off."
Rey	Rey had gotten a voicemail after Annie's first day, she'd gotten a visit at the end of her first week, and it had been very clear that something had happened, but she hadn't known what and certainly hadn't jumped to that particular conclusion. She really should have threatened the guy with more than just punchings.
Barry	"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck." Barry had been enjoying everything Annie had been saying up until this point. He even had his phone out to record everyone's reaction. Now Barry just stood there stunned. He knew that this place was a shit show and that there was a dark side to being a super hero but... This was not what he expected. His phone dropped down and the video deleted. He just stared and watched... because there was nothing else he could do
Stark	The beginning of Annie's speech had felt uncomfortable, like nearly everything at this event had. Then Annie had begun to sound more like herself and Stark found himself nodding. Then there was that revelation and he flinched. His very soft "oh, Annie," would have been barely audible even to someone standing right beside him.
Steve	Steve's jaw clenched in a way that was going to be very, very bad for long term dental health as he glared around at every stranger in eye range who might be the least bit inclined to say something horrible right now. The Deep, huh? He'd be doing some immediate, intensive recon into this asshole. Maybe he'd even get there before Diego helped Annie rip his dick off.
Diego	When Annie first started going off book with her speech Diego had felt a surge of pride. He could understand what it was like to be brainwashed by a parent into believing stupid shit and seeing her take a stand so publicly was awe inspiring. Then she mentioned what happened with The Deep and he didn't really hear the rest of the speech. He had known something was off with Annie since she joined The Seven, but he attributed it to all the changes going on. But she had been through some serious trauma and he had been too stupid to see it. He felt sick to his stomach as shame set in. Diego had to walk away, pushing though the shocked crowd. He didn't know if he was going to throw up or cry or what but he knew he needed to be alone when he did it.
Annie	Annie looked offstage, catching her mother’s eye. She’d never felt like she’d disappointed her so much, but she was - there was a clarity that came with knowing something to be so true. She knew she was right. There would be consequences - oh, God, so many consequences - but she couldn’t begin to think about that right now. The truth was sort of intoxicating, now that she’d tapped back into it. “Here’s the truth. Anyone who tells you they know the answers is lying.” She took a deep breath, shaking her head. “And I know - I know, I’m supposed to be this hero-idol-symbol-whatever, but I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” Her voice was shaking, but for once, she didn’t...mind. She didn’t mind people seeing her like this. Maybe they could stand to know that she was human, just like them. “I’m just as scared and confused as the rest of you. I’m done pretending. And I’m done taking any more shit.” There was a long pause, as she swallowed thickly, and added, “Thank you.” And then she walked off the stage to absolutely no fanfare.

Annie	Annie found herself a spot behind a few of the vendor tents where she didn't think anyone -- including her mother, her friends or her agent -- would look for her. (She supposed Homelander could find her here, if he cared, but she was also pretty sure he'd left awhile before her speech, anyway.) And yes, she was still wearing her cape, and yes, she had just spoken to the entire world as Starlight, assuming they hadn't cut the feed, but -- Annie was here, behind the lemonade tent and within sight of the Ferris wheel, and it was Annie who had her arms crossed around herself, and Annie couldn't stop crying. That had been...building for awhile, and she didn't regret a thing she had said, but -- it had been such a long day. The roundtable, and her mom, and having her friends here (her friends who all now knew everything), and those fucking Diamond Club passes for Hughie, and -- She was just going to sit here and cry for a bit. It wasn't the most private place, just the most private place she could find, and it'd have to do until she...figured something else out. 'Cause at this point, she knew she couldn't go back to the Tower tonight, and she wasn't sure she could face anyone else, anyway.
Danny	While Steve planned out a kidnapping and murder, Danny made his way through the crowd to find where Annie was holed up. And once he saw the crying, he hurried forward over to her. "Hey," he said, keeping his voice down mostly to not draw any attention around them as he moved to sit next to her.
Annie	Annie, who had had her face in her hands, looked up at the sound of his voice. And on the one hand, she sort of wanted to crawl into a hole or something rather than face anyone, but she also couldn't deny that part of her was immediately comforted by Danny's presence. "Hey," she replied, swiping at her eyes. "So. That could've gone better, right?" It hadn't really been the easy part, after all.
Danny	Danny gave her a look that was dryly amused at the humor attempt before he opened up his arms to hug her. "You did something really brave there."
Annie	"It just got to me," she admitted, gratefully leaning into the hug. "I just -- I couldn't do it anymore." She figured he'd get that, after their chat earlier.
Danny	"It never should have been put on you to begin with," he said fiercely, hugging her a little tighter. Was he maybe thinking what he'd do if she was his Grace? Yes, definitely.
Annie	"None of this has gone how it was supposed to," Annie mumbled, trying not to get his shoulder all wet and probably failing pretty bad, there. "This whole place is different, and -- it's all bad." And the job, obviously, was terrible. She wasn't really up for hiding that anymore.
Danny	If she thought he gave a damn about his shirt right now, she'd be wrong on that count. "That doesn't define you," he replied. "You're more than that, you got it?" He might offer tips to Steve for what to do to the guy.
Annie	"I know," she said, quietly, but she also still needed to hear it. Annie was quiet for a long moment before she pulled back enough to look at him. "I'm probably going to get in so much trouble. But I'm -- there's no way I'm the first girl he's done that to, Danny." So maybe it was worth it to get fired or whatever, if Vought had to now deal with actually acknowledging that they had a predator on their payroll.
Danny	"They do anything, they better do it to him." He wasn't going to call her a victim here. Because that was another sort of attack on her well-being. "We won't let this happen again, okay? You're not gonna be alone here."
Annie	Annie managed a little smile at that. "I should've told someone sooner," she acknowledged, shaking her head. "There were better ways to -- do that." She'd told Summer, who had told her to tell someone in charge -- and Annie still didn't think that would have accomplished anything, considering she was pretty sure she hadn't really broken any news to Madelyn Stillwell or Stan Edgar tonight -- but Annie was starting to realize how short-sighted she'd been to blame herself and internalize this whole thing, these last few weeks.
Danny	"Maybe, but this was also a way that no one could ignore it," Danny replied, knowing full well how people would rather sweep this sort of thing under the rug to keep the show going rather than to do the right thing.
Annie	"That was my thought. I mean, as much as I was thinking up there," Annie said with a rueful little snort. "He's scared of me, now, so I'm not worried about me or anything. But at least this way Vought can't...pretend it didn't happen."
Danny	Danny tugged her into another sideways hug. "I'm proud of you for speaking up," he said. And then added, before she could talk down to herself, "Don't matter if you needed time for it. You did it. There's gonna be people out there who needed that push for themselves."
Annie	Annie nodded slowly, leaning into him. That was a helpful way to think about it, at least. Like maybe she'd done something good with all of that. "Everything about all of this is fake," she said quietly, gesturing vaguely to the whole expo. "And I bought into it all enough to lie for Vought for weeks. But I'm done."
Danny	"I'm sorry for that," he replied with feeling behind it. It was very clear how much it had been her dream job. "You wanted it to be true. That's a being human thing."
Annie	Annie shrugged a little. "I guess I kept thinking that something had to be like...not corrupt, you know? But no -- the thing with The Deep happened my first night, and it's all...." She angled her hand out in a downward slope. "Downhill or same from there."
Danny	Danny gave her another hug for that. And also a clenched jaw because he'd be very willing to deck the guy and live with the broken hand. "I ever tell you about my original training officer?"
Annie	"Nope." Annie shook her head, lightly shifting a gauntlet so she could swipe a sleeve across her eyes. "What, was he an asshole?"
Danny	"He was a dirty cop," Danny replied. "I joined the force to make a difference and to help people, and here's this guy who just... took bribes without battin' an eye. And no one did anything about it. Blue line bullshit."
Annie	Annie actually shifted so she could look at him, frowning. "And no one cared?" she said, unsurprised even if it didn't sit well with her. "Like, you know higher-ups knew for sure?"
Danny	"Enough of them knew," Danny muttered with an annoyed little sigh. "And here I am, fresh out of the academy. Having to learn from this guy. Make the choice between going along to get along and sayin' something. I'd like to say I reported him right away, but..."
Annie	"But you didn't want to make waves, or lose your position, or piss off the people in charge?" Annie supplied softly, and a tiny bit of tension left her shoulders.
Danny	Danny nodded. "When I say I'm proud you spoke up, I mean it. It takes a lot to push back when it feels like it's just you against the whole system."
Annie	Annie considered that for a moment before softly offering. "That helps." It was a moment longer before she added, "Did you tell someone eventually?"
Danny	"Yeah," he replied. "Testified against him and everything." And then later on shot the guy in the knee for touching Grace.
Annie	Wow, so scumbags like this existed across all kinds of universes, huh? "And did he actually face consequences?" Because that was something Annie was vaguely concerned about. She knew she was going to get in trouble, but even having named him, she wasn't sure Deep would.
Danny	They really, really did. "Went to prison," Danny said, nodding. Then muttered, "Not for long enough in my opinion."
Annie	"I'm surprised Steve let him off with just jail time," Annie noted. "If he knows about it." There were several reasons she hadn't shared what had happened with The Deep before now. Diego wasn't exactly the only person she knew who probably wouldn't agree that whatever consequences he faced were -- enough.
Danny	Danny took a deep breath at that. "He means well," he said, unable to keep from drawing that comparison. "But love can mean a shared pain as well as shared happiness. And it's hard to wanna share that sort of thing."
Annie	"I didn't want to burden anyone," Annie added quietly. "I thought I could just -- you know, handle it." Maybe it was kind of the same thing?
Danny	"Yeah, I get that," he promised her, giving another of those sideways hugs.
Annie	Annie leaned into him gratefully, sighing. "I'm sorry for asking you all to come today," she added. "But I'm really glad you stayed for my speech." She wasn't sure whether she would have gone through with all of that if she hadn't known they were out there. Like, if she had been able to see them, it might have made a little bit of difference, but knowing that people were out there who knew Annie rather than Starlight had made the words finally come, at least.
Danny	"We are all here to support you and that has not changed," Danny promised.

Jessica	So. That whole speech. Yeah. That had been a difficult thing to watch. This whole day had been a difficult thing to watch. [Well except for that gruff unshaven guy. He was pretty cool. Then again, Jessica usually had bad taste in men.] So when Jessica found/stumbled upon a crying Annie she pretty much looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Part of her just wanted to walk away. Emotional support was not her forte. Trish would probably know what to say, not Jess. Instead she just sort of stood over Annie not saying anything for a moment or two before pulling out her flask and offering it. "That was... pretty brave thing you did up there," she said slowly and awkwardly.
Annie	It took her a moment before she acknowledged Jess, but it was mostly because she was expecting...condemnation? Judgement? Scolding? "Thanks," Annie said quietly, glancing over and scrubbing a hand across her eyes before reaching for the flask. "I think I just got my ass fired." Maybe not the worst thing?
Jessica	"No offense but your job fucking sucked," Jessica quipped. "Besides. It's been weeks since someone tried to forced horrible mixed drink on me." Sorry, Annie. Jessica wasn't one for great emotional support. Bad jokes were her usual offerings. Jessica gestured around her. "Seriously. Fuck this noise. You got a poster boy for psychotic narcissism floating around thinking he's a god and spouting bullshit. You're better than this shit. You stood up to all of that and-" Fuck. This one is going to hurt. She was looking at anywhere but Annie now." "Yeah. Okay. I'm proud of you. For just being a decent fucking human being and speaking your mind. That's braver than any of those shits you work with." God help her, Annie. Jess is emoting. Do you see what you've done to her?
Annie	Annie's smile was wobbly, but genuine. "Oh my God, listen to you," she noted, because even as upset as she was, look at that. "Yeah. I mean, thank you." She blew out a breath, rolling her eyes upwards to try to stop the tears that way, if she could. "I'm sorry for asking you to come to this." Because Annie was now at the point where she was actually ashamed of having endorsed this whole thing. Like, sure, she'd spoken out, but not before lying to a tent full of teenagers about whether she was sexually active or not.
Jessica	"Yeah. Well. I'm a sucker for kettle-corn," Jessica quipped, because that whole emotional reveal that happened a few seconds ago needed to be covered up quick. "Also this whole thing just reaffirmed my dislike for all organized religion." She paused for a second before giving Annie a look. "And if I ever run into this Deep douche I'm ripping off his junk and shoving it somewhere uncomfortable."
Annie	"I told him if he ever tried to touch me again I'd burn his eyes out," Annie told her flatly. "But your way keeps him from trying something like that again." Annie was a hundred -- a thousand -- percent sure she wasn't the first woman he'd done that to.
Jessica	Jessica looked at her friend and took off her jacket. "Listen. I'm-" She paused and took a deep breath. This was something she rarely said. To anyone. And then she took off her hoodie, revealing just a t-shirt underneath. "-Sorry. I was a total bitch today and really pissed off but... I get it. And when I came here. Well... Okay. I'm just a bitch. Let's just leave it at that." She held out her jacket and hoodie.. "Cover up. You shouldn't be seen with a deviant like me."
Annie	Annie eyed the jacket and the hoodie for a moment. "I mean, I do need a way to get out of here," she noted, managing a little smile as she took them both. "The hood'll help, but -- " But this was your jacket, Jess. Like, Annie felt like she was taking temporary possession of someone's child, practically. But she also recognized the gesture for what it was. "Thank you," she said, simply, and she was going to at least attempt a hug before putting her new disguise on. "You're my favorite deviant, just so you know."
Jessica	This was like... two hugs in a matter of three months, Annie. You're lucky that Jessica liked you. She let the hug happen though there was a lot of eyerolling and awkward back patting. "Yeah. Well. You're my favorite.... Something. I don't know. Just know that-" Ugh. Emotions. "-I'm here for you. Okay?"
Annie	"I'll remember that," Annie decided, pulling back because it wasn't like she didn't know she was making Jessica profoundly uncomfortable and all. "You might regret it." Because, like, look at the nightmare Annie was dealing with these days.
Jessica	"I've got plenty of regrets already," Jessica said with an awkward shrug. "Being a friend to you is never going to be one of them." Okay. There was a deep breath after that. This was waaay too emotional for her right now and the awkwardness was making her extremely uncomfortable. "Okay. That's enough girl talk. I'm going to find a drink somewhere in this ridiculous place." And then because she doesn't deal with this well: "The jacket is just a loaner."
Annie	"I'll get it back to you by next week," Annie promised, patting the jacket reverently. A pause, and then she pointed. "Take a right as you exit the fairgrounds, and there's a bar about a quarter mile down the road. North side of the road." She made a little face, and added, "This crowd doesn't drink much, so you won't find much here, but that's where post-Expo dates usually end up going."
Jessica	“Excellent. Time to convert some people to my religion,” Jessica said walking away. “The holy church of bourbon and regrets in the morning.”

Liam	She might have thought no one would look for her in her hiding spot, and maybe... maybe if we were strictly talking people from Annie's world, that might be the case. Fandom folk weren't so quick to give up, though, and so Liam was just the latest in a series of people who had in fact found her and wanted to check in. "Hey," he said, announcing his approach. "Annie? It's Liam."
Annie	"Hey." Annie took a minute to compose herself a little, with a few audible sniffles and a swipe of her eyes. "Sorry for making you come to this." That was where she was, by now. Mostly just sorry that she'd put anyone she knew through a whole day of hate speech just so they could see her make an idiot of herself at the end of it all.
Liam	"Don't be," Liam said firmly. "Because it looks like you could use a hug right about now, and if you hadn't invited me, I wouldn't be here to offer you one."
Annie	Yeah, Annie was just going to wordlessly close the distance for that hug, though she was also clearly doing her best to compose herself in the process, too. Hugs were good. Hugs were kind of different from what she thought she'd get? Like, not that she didn't think she deserved them, but Annie had braced herself so thoroughly for what she imagined her mom and her publicist might have to say to her that simple kindness and understanding were...unexpected.
Liam	Liam let the silence stretch on for a few moments as he wrapped his arms around her. "That was really brave, what you did up there," he said finally.
Annie	Annie gave a little huff of a laugh as she pulled back. "Maybe. It was a long time coming." All of it. The speaking out part, the talking about what had happened part.... "I could've been a little better about it."
Liam	"Maybe," Liam acknowledged, because sure, she could have delivered a more polished speech (confession seemed like the wrong word, especially considering... everything that was Believe Expo, because confession carried the connotation that she'd done something wrong). "If you'd planned to say what you did from the start. But it seemed very- spur of the moment."
Annie	"It's been a long day." That was her whole explanation, really, but that wasn't actually the whole truth. "A long few weeks," Annie amended. "Pretty sure I just threw away my job by doing all that." Because there was no way in hell Ms. Stillwell didn't have a few things to say to her about just going ahead and naming a fellow member of her team as someone who had assaulted her.
Liam	"Full offense to them, but they never deserved you on their team in the first place," Liam said firmly.
Annie	Annie managed a small smile. "Thank you for saying so," she said, sincere. "I take it you caught Homelander?" It would have been hard not to, but it also would have probably informed Liam's -- and everyone else's -- opinion of that team she was on. (Had been on, probably.)
Liam	“Hard not to,” Liam said dryly, echoing the narrative. “I’m not sure that guy’s even familiar with the concept of low-key.”
Annie	"He never has been," Annie replied with a humorless little snort. "And I didn't realize how manipulative he is until today." Because that was good, right? A guy with laser vision with that personality. "The whole team's nothing like what I thought." Obviously Homelander, perhaps even more obviously The Deep, but...all of them.
Liam	"Kind of like... this thing, huh?" he said, gesturing at, well. Everything that was Believe Expo. "Not so great once you peel the facade away?"
Annie	Annie thought about it, and shook her head once. "I've saved one person since I started on the team," she admitted quietly. "I don't think they really care about heroics, or...belief, or anything. They just want us all to look like we do." Her new uniform was a really good indicator of that, too.
Liam	Liam frowned. "I know you have a contract and everything," he said. "But can you, uh- go back to being a free agent?" It seemed like she'd be able to do more good that way than staying tied to this particular team.
Annie	"Maybe," Annie said with a rueful little sniffle. "Like, Liam, I'm probably not gonna really have a choice. They're probably gonna fire me." She'd gone off script, she'd talked about premarital sex and gay people, she'd straight-up named her assailant...Annie was not, like, optimistic.
Liam	Yeah, he’d assumed that. But he also wouldn’t have been surprised if her contract had something in it that would’ve prevented her from making a go at it as a solo hero if the parting was on bad terms, because that was the sort of petty bullshit he associated with, you know, massive corporations worth billions. “Would you want to stay on with a group like that even if they didn’t fire you?” he asked.
Annie	She was quiet for a long moment, because of course her immediate answer was a resounding no. But...this had been her whole life. She couldn't just turn her back on it now. "I could do so much good. So much more than on my own." If she could just figure out how to sort of...work around Vought, anyway.

Hughie	"Hey." Hughie should really know better than to startle superheroes, given what he knew, but he definitely surprised Annie. "Hey, easy," he added, holding up a hand when she reared around to look at him. "That -- that was a great speech. I mean -- come on, I know your audience, but that was Joel at the Garden. That was -- "
Annie	"I'm so glad you enjoyed it," Annie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm even through the scratchiness of her throat. "I'm so glad. How was your quality time with Ezekiel? Huh? Any more VIP tickets I can get for you? Because I am so here for you." Like, you had some fucking nerve, daring to even come talk to her after that stunt, Hughie.
Hughie	"It's not like that," Hughie started to protest.
Annie	"You sure?" Annie snapped. "'Cause I can get you a commemorative cup. Or I can get you an Ezekiel figurine, or a goodie bag -- "
Hughie	"My girlfriend died." She stopped her tirade at that, and Hughie found himself speaking something like the truth, even if it wasn't...a hundred percent there. "Happened not too long ago, and I came here looking for a way to get out of the shit that I'm in right now. And that wasn't fair to you, and I'm so sorry."
Annie	Annie watched him, her own anger forgotten right now as she studied Hughie. She wondered if it was the girl from Rockefeller Center.
Hughie	"I don't think there's anything that can help it anymore, or fix it...or make it better?" Hughie was actually getting a little choked up. All of this was true. He missed Robin every day, and nothing was helping it. Not a thing. Not killing Translucent, or Butcher's quest for revenge. "And everything I heard here? Well, that helped a total of jack shit. Except for what you said. I mean, you're right -- nobody knows. And that's the only fucking thing I've heard all day that's made any sense at all, and that is the God's honest truth."
Annie	Annie managed a watery little smile before hesitantly walking over to him. "I'm so sorry," she said gently, before carefully leaning up for a hug. It was just instinct. He'd hurt her, but she knew why, now.
Hughie	Hughie carefully wrapped his arms around her, a little surprised. And now he sort of felt like shit, since there was so much he wasn't telling her, now. "No, no. I'm sorry."

Diego	Yeah there was several headless bits of Deep merchandise at the booth now. Diego kept cycling between wanting to cry and being angry beyond belief (which is when the decapitated merch happened). He knew he had to get it together and go to Annie but he wanted to make sure his messy emotions wouldn't get in the way of comforting her. He just needed a minute. And maybe he needed to go back to The Deep booth and stab some more. Either/or.
Steve	Steve recognized murder face on someone else's expression, which was why he was giving Annie some time to not have a big, white dude impose himself on her and went to check on Diego instead. "You good?" Stupid question, but bro code required such things.
Diego	"Just contemplating murder." Like one does in this situation.
Steve	"Completely fair reaction," Steve agreed.
Diego	"That's probably not what she is going to want to hear from me." He was an idiot a lot of the time but he wasn't that much of an idiot. At least part of the reason she hadn't said anything to him was because she didn't want him retaliating.
Steve	"Well, yeah, but it's your honest reaction," Steve said. "It's also a long stretch from saying it and actually killing the guy." He reached out to squeeze Diego's shoulder. "So get it out now so you can be supportive later."
Diego	Diego huffed. "God, there are so many other people here that are going to be better at that than me." He was going to go, he was. But seriously, he was so bad at being supportive.
Steve	Steve laughed. "Why do you think I'm over here and Danno's over there?"
Diego	"That was probably a wise decision," Diego said. "I don't think I can take Danny mothering at me right now."
Steve	"I promise not to tell you to channel your anger in productive ways," Steve said.
Diego	"What kind of advice would you give me?" Diego asked.
Steve	Steve blew out a long breath. "I'm shit at advice, too. Just...think about why you want to kill this asshole, and maybe why Annie didn't. Make sure you're thinking about her best interests and not your wounded feelings."
Diego	"I'm always thinking of her best interests." Which was why he hadn't pushed in the first place and believed her when she said she could handle the bad shit happening at work. He didn't want to be That Boyfriend. "I wouldn't actually kill the guy," Diego said, like that made things better. "And not just because the superheroes here are mostly impossible to kill."
Steve	"That makes him being an asshole like this so much more of a dick move," Steve muttered. "You know if he's lived consequence free this wasn't his first time doing something like that." Because they all knew Those Guys. Steve had spent his entire life in the military punching Those Guys in bars.
Diego	"It's definitely not," he said. "But now Annie's made it public maybe the guy will face some consequences." Either that or she's about to be in deep shit with Vought. He really needed to get himself together and find her. She was probably freaking out right now.
Steve	"And if he doesn't?" Steve asked quietly.
Diego	Diego shrugged. "Someone will just have to make sure he does." Not naming names, but one could probably guess.
Steve	Steve gave him the kind of smile that had rightfully scared terrorists. "Let me know."

Five	Five knew his brother well enough still to know where to find him after that speech. "I can probably kill him for you," he offered, already working through the potential plan in his head. He knew where his talents lay and they weren't in traditional forms of comfort.
Diego	Honestly, it was probably best that it was Five that found him. If anybody tried traditional methods of comfort it would not go over very well. "You have no idea how much I want you to."
Five	Yeah, Diego was the semi-feral cat to his feral cat in response to affection. "It'd be messy, but doable." Somehow he doubted it being messy was the issue here.
Diego	That got an amused little huff out of Diego. "I have no doubt you could pull it off." Really, Five and Butcher should never spend too much time together otherwise Butcher would come away with way too many suggestions on how to kill superheroes. "I'm such a fucking idiot."
Five	"Yes, you are," Five agreed, looking confused. "But not how you're probably thinking."
Diego	"You mean not in the way where I knew something was wrong and didn't do anything about it?" he asked.
Five	"Didn't do what?" Five asked. "Make her talk when she didn't want to?"
Diego	Ugh, Five, don't make him think about why she didn't say anything to him because that brought on a whole other set of insecurities. "I don't know! Something!" The hero complex didn't always make sense, okay?
Five	That much was true, yeah. "Well, maybe when you've stabbed this asshole's effigy enough, you can go do something now." The plan featured C4 now. Also, please don't ask him what to do to comfort Annie. He'd offer murder there too.
Diego	Oh man, if Diego needed help in that area Five would be the last person he'd ask. He'd ask Homelander before he'd ask Five. "Yeah, I know. I will." He had just needed a few minutes to cool off. "If you're going to kill that guy can you make sure I'm around to watch?"
Five	Whoa now! That was just rude. Five was at least slightly better than that guy. "Sure," Five said like it was no skin off his nose. "You know, if you asked Allison to help, we could really drag it out." Family bonding via torture.
Diego	"You've been away too long." Allison was a family woman now who didn't do such things. Unless it was to advance her career. Or love life. Or to get her child to go to sleep. "I'll go find Annie," he said. "Thanks. For not being a dick." And for maybe killing a guy later. That too.
Five	It was Hargreeves for 'I love you' and they both knew it. "For what it's worth, she's okay." Oh god, that was the most praise he could give and she wasn't even here to hear it.

Diego	Diego had stabbed a few things, cried a little and talked to his brother. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to Annie but he knew he'd feel a lot better when he found her. Which wasn't exactly a hard thing to do since it wasn't that big of a place. Still he cleared his throat a little to make his presence known, and give her the chance to tell him to fuck off or something if she needed to be alone.
Annie	Annie looked up. She had thought that maybe she was done crying, but one look at Diego and she was swallowing around the lump in her throat all over again. She swiped a hand up across one eye, taking a shaky breath. "I should have told you," she said softly, clearly absolutely miserable with herself. It wasn't like she hadn't wanted to. She just hadn't been able to find the right words. Not that what she'd said up on stage there had been anywhere near what she'd thought the right words would be. They'd just...been the ones she could find. But Diego had deserved better than finding out like that.
Diego	"You didn't have to tell me anything," Diego said, immediately going to put his arms around her. Yeah, it really wasn't great finding out the way that he had, but honestly, it hadn't been his decision to make.
Annie	"I didn't mean to keep it a secret," Annie told Diego, not bothering to hide her tears anymore even as she felt herself relax just a tiny bit in his arms. "It wasn't -- I just didn't know how to tell you." So instead she'd acted weird and a little distant and had insisted she could handle this mysterious bad thing that had happened at work, instead.
Diego	"I know," he said, holding her a bit tighter and blinking back his own tears. He wished she hadn't felt that way, but he understood where she was coming from. "I'm so sorry, Annie."
Annie	"You didn't do anything." Annie couldn't stand the thought of Diego feeling any worse about this, and the idea that he felt like he had any reason to say he was sorry just made her cry a little harder. "I'm sorry." For not telling him about The Deep. For acting weird. For denying their relationship all day. For inviting him to this ridiculous thing in the first place. For being a coward.
Diego	Diego really hated that she felt the need to apologize. He didn't think turning this into a "no, I'm sorry" back and forth would help anything though. He pulled away slightly so he could look at her, even if it meant she could see he had been crying too. "What you said up there--I am so proud of you."
Annie	The fact that he'd been crying too just kind of broke Annie's heart a little. Again, maybe if she'd figured out a better way to do this, she could have spared Diego a little bit? She hated that she'd hurt him with this, even if she didn't think there was a way she could have told him where it wouldn't have hurt. "Yeah?" She gave him a watery little smile. "Well, I'm probably getting fired for it." Or at least severely reprimanded.
Diego	Diego didn't think that would be all that bad, at this point. But still, he knew this had been her dream even if it hadn't turned out the way she thought it would. "Well, whatever happens I'm on your side, okay?" he said. "There's nothing you can do or say that will make me love you any less."
Annie	She was just going to keep crying, wasn't she? Oh well. It took her a second more to get herself under control again to the point where she could actually talk, because after today, hearing that was just going to send her into another bout of tears. "I love you so much," Annie murmured when she could, reaching a hand up to swipe at her eyes as her shoulders relaxed just a fraction more. "Diego, I -- nothing happened. With The Deep. I mean, I didn't...." She really, really needed Diego to know that. Like, just for his own sake. It had been traumatizing, it had been awful, and that asshole ruined an incredibly special thing, but he ultimately hadn't gotten what he'd wanted from her.
Diego	Well now he was just going to hug her again. He kind of hated the fact that some part of him did need to hear that, and it just made him angry at the situation all over again. "Tell me what I can do," he said quietly. "Anything--I'll do anything."
Annie	"This is good." She was going to get his shoulder all wet, though. She was quiet for a moment, and then added, "Promise me you won't try to hurt him." Because she loved Diego, so much, but part of the reason Annie hadn't told him sooner was that she didn't completely trust him not to go get his ass kicked by some moron who could talk to fish.
Diego	"I won't." He had the feeling that was part of the reason she hadn't told him right away. It wasn't like his temper and lack of impulse control was some big secret. However, she didn't say anything about Five hurting him and he would totally use that loophole to his advantage. "He deserves to be hurt though."
Annie	"I told him if he ever came near me again, I'd burn his eyes out." So, like, she had it covered. She was positive that by now, The Deep was actively avoiding her at the Tower, and Vought hadn't gotten any further dumb ideas about pairing them up so far. Though now she kind of wondered what they'd do about him. She hadn't exactly been discreet up there.
Diego	Hearing that did make Diego smile a little, even if The Deep deserved more than threats. "Good. He deserves it," Diego said. "I love you." He really needed her to know that right now.
Annie	"I love you, too." And you know what, fuck the whole secrecy thing, and kind of fuck how she was a weepy mess, because she was just going to go ahead and lean up to kiss him. Whatever. She probably didn't even have a job anymore, anyway, so it probably wouldn't even matter if someone saw them. (Though there didn't seem to be much of anyone around, either.)
Diego	At this point Diego didn't really give a fuck either. About the secrecy or the weepy mess thing because he had been crying too, and it meant a lot that she made the move first. So it wasn't exactly the best kiss, but it was really needed right now.
Annie	"Wanna get out of here?" Annie asked quietly, pulling back just a little but staying close. "I don't think I can go back to the Tower tonight, but I have a really kickass per diem we can throw at a hotel." It would have to be paid in cash, and he'd have to check them in, but Annie could like really get into the idea of holing up somewhere private with Diego for a little while this blew over.
Diego	"Yeah," he said, looking visibly relieved. He really didn't want to be separated from Annie right now. "Let's get the hell out of here."

[Lots of this is lifted right from The Boys 1.05, 'Good for the Soul,' and Billy Butcher shows up in this post so please consider yourself warned for liberal use of the C-word, as well as general homophobic/misogynistic/nationalistic gross shit (though that's not Butcher's fault.) Preplayed with *deeeeeep breath* knife_bender, apocalypsehow, thatwaslucky, somethingwithturquoise, firstofitskind, grenadesandohana, hatesparadise, superjoanjett, stykera, and badassprodigy. Good god no this is not open for interaction (I coded almost 500 comments, ffs), but OOC is so, so welcome!]