defenderofdesmoines | Vought Tower

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Vought Tower | All Day Monday

Annie had been sure that telling people about what had happened with The Deep would actually hurt her. That it would have destroyed her career, her relationship, her friendships....

But instead, she felt so much stronger today than she had in weeks. She wasn't even wearing her cape -- much less the new uniform -- when she made her way to Madelyn Stillwell's office this morning. She was Annie, and that was enough.

She'd been through enough already.

"Thank you for coming, Starlight," Madelyn greeted her with a broad smile, after she'd called for her to come in.

Annie took a seat in the chair in front of Ms. Stillwell's desk quietly, considering how weird that smile looked in light of why Annie was here.

"So I would like you to take this in the constructive spirit in which it is intended," Madelyn opened.

"...okay," Annie agreed slowly.

"You are a selfish, arrogant child," Madelyn told her, smile dropping off her face.

"Wow," Annie replied, blinking. Sure didn't seem constructive to her. Wow indeed.

"Back in Iowa, and then in Maryland," Madelyn continued, "I bet you watched a lot of Queen Maeve's movies, right? She was a rebel. Didn't take anyone's shit, didn't play by the rules. That's who you wanted to be. That's what American heroes are. But it's a myth. I should know, because I wrote it."

Madelyn got up from behind her desk, coming over to sit beside Annie. "The truth is, dozens of people in this company spent hundreds of hours to create the thing that is you."

And while weeks ago, she would have just taken a comment like that, right now every ounce of Annie was screaming BULLSHIT.

"I never asked for that," she replied, calmly.

"Then why don't you burn the sparkly outfit and become a cop?" Madelyn asked frankly. "You want to be a superhero. You want to be famous. But nobody's famous alone. So, why don't you cut the petulant diva shit, show a little fucking gratitude, and let us do our job?"

And on that dismissive note, Madelyn stood to get up from her chair.

Annie watched her, breathing deep as she considered how to answer that. Did she deserve that? She had said all of that, on live TV.

And then she remembered what Diego had said, about how bad this all looked for Vought, and how much worse it could look.

"No," she said simply.

"I'm sorry," Madelyn said, spinning to look at her, because surely she had heard that wrong.

"I mean, I don't mean to be ungrateful," Annie explained. "But...no red carpets. No reality TV. No Noxema commercials. And I want my old uniform back." She lifted her chin, a little defiant. "I'm gonna save people."

"Then I think we may need to reconsider your position in The Seven," Madelyn replied evenly, despite how Annie could clearly tell she'd made her angry.

She took a deep breath, watching Madelyn closely. "And I think that firing an employee after she reported a sexual assault on live TV might tank your stock price."

She had her there. Annie knew she did. (And Diego had known even before Annie had, so really, if this worked, she was going to tell him roughly a thousand times how smart he was.)

Madelyn surveyed her for a moment before sighing and crossing her arms. "I admire you wanting to tell the truth. I have to say, all of us were just shocked."

Annie shook her head. "Oh, I think you knew," she replied quietly. Because Maeve had known. Maeve had absolutely not been surprised. "I think you've known for a long time."

Madelyn watched her a moment longer, quiet and still. "Thank you for coming, Starlight," she told her softly. "I have a lot to think about."

Annie got up, shut the door -- and couldn't miss the sound of glass shattering as soon as she did.

Queen Maeve	Of course, Stillwell's office was a few floors down from ninety-nine, where Annie lived. And it just so happened that Queen Maeve was slouched in the corner of the elevator that came to greet Annie here, already having a whole day. And you know what, the sight of Starlight in her little plaid shirt there was just too much. "Boy, you're really milking this thing for all it's worth."
Annie	"Excuse me?" Annie replied, turning to look at her and keeping her face carefully neutral. She'd had multiple conversations this past weekend about Maeve and her either refusal or inability to actually act heroic when Annie had needed her most; she wasn't especially in the mood for tricksy little comments today.
Queen Maeve	"This empowerment act," Maeve elaborated. "I mean, every time I do press for anything, now, they're asking me how I'm supporting Starlight. But hey -- as long as you're trending, right?"
Annie	"I know that you might not get this," Annie said slowly, huffing a breath out through her nose, "but it's not an act. I'm just trying to be honest." And it felt amazing. She was standing up straight for the first time in weeks.
Queen Maeve	"Okay. Yeah." Maeve said with a little disbelieving snort and a roll of her eyes.
Annie	Okay, you know what? Annie was sick of this. Of all of this, but Maeve and her attitude were a huge part of it. "When I was younger," Annie said, "I read your autobiography so many times, I wore it out. I had to buy a second one. I wanted to live my life exactly like yours. Because you didn't just break all the bones in your right arm stopping that school bus from falling off a bridge, but you also went to every kid's physical therapy afterwards. Just to show the world they were heroes, too."
Queen Maeve	Maeve stayed quiet, the smirk slowly fading away from her face as she leaned a little more heavily into the corner. Like she could get away from what Starlight was saying if she retreated.
Annie	"You really stood for something." And then the elevator chimed, and Annie smiled a little ruefully as she stepped off. "But now, I'm pretty sure that was just written by the marketing guys," she noted, shooting Maeve a look over her shoulder as the elevator doors shut behind her.

Annie didn't look back as she strode off to her own apartment, pulling her phone out to text Jessica along the way that she could feel free to swing by whenever -- and once Annie let herself in, she double-checked that the hoodie and jacket she'd borrowed were professionally cleaned and set aside, along with a bottle of actually good bourbon.

[preplayed with myself again, taken from The Boys 1.06, 'The Innocents.' expecting one, but we are also open for texts/calls/etc! warning for discussion of sexual assault in Jessica's thread]

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"Ninety-nine," Ashley called, hurrying over because that was what she did. "She's on the left. Door marked Starlight. Do you need an escort?"

She kind of wanted to send one, just because. (Also, Jesus, Starlight, friends like this were not going to help your image. Between this and the unfriendly guy with the scars, that girl kept some interesting company.)

"Do I look like I need an escort?" Jessica snarked vehemently back at Alt-Robyn.

Technically she probably did. Especially since Jessica had started drinking before even arriving at Vought. But that wasn't going to stop her from pressing the elevator button.

"I'm sure you can find someone else to babysit."

Uh, yeah, she did, but she was also headed up to the ninety-ninth floor, which meant that if this was all lies, Jessica here would have to tangle with Homelander.

Ashley did not feel like tangling with Homelander herself, after the morning she'd had -- and for that matter, she especially did not feel like seeing Starlight and her smug, little, female-empowered face again.

"You're not worth the hassle," she decided, and as the elevator doors closed, Ashley was already pulling out her phone to send a whole screed to that dippy little blonde about what kinds of friends she was allowed to have visit her.

"Glad we finally agree on something," Jessica shot back as the elevator opened up and she stepped inside.

God help her, if the elevator opened up and an Alt-version of Ruben was on the 99th floor, Jessica would lose her shit.

Nah, that dude hung out in a different city. Off with Tek-Knight's knockoff.

Instead, Annie was actually waiting for Jess at the elevator bank, phone in her hand because wow, Ashley, that was a lot of words.

"So I see you're making friends," she greeted her.

"Yeah, what the fuck is it with your universe and doppelgangers from mine?" Jessica said stepping off the elevator. "Because that bitch downstairs is a dead ringer from someone in my building. Same personality too."

And deep down somewhere Jessica realized that maybe getting snarky with Annie right off the bat was something she didn't need at the moment.

"Anyway. It's Monday. So..."

She held up the bottle as if that explained everything.

"Jeez, my sympathies," Annie said with some alarm, raising her brows at both the bottle and the doppelganger factor. (Probably best not to share that there was a Supe around here with that name.) "I didn't know the universe would be so cruel to make two of them."

She nodded down the hall, starting to lead the way. "Come see my apartment that's too nice for me. I have your jacket, too -- that was a lifesaver with getting me out of there."

"I'm beginning to think the universe has a sick sense of humor," Jessica replied as she followed Annie to her room. "And I'm glad the jacket helped. Wasn't really much I could offer otherwise."

She took a moment and studied Annie to get an idea of how she was feeling. "You holding up okay?"

"I'm okay," Annie told her honestly, quirking a little half-smile over. "I mean, it hasn't been a super easy couple of days, but it's...better than I thought it would be. I had a meeting with my boss this morning and I think it might actually turn out in my favor, all of this."

They reached her apartment, and Annie opened the door to a spacious, light-filled apartment with high ceilings and modern, gold-and-white décor. "Make yourself at home."

Jessica looked around the room, not in awe but definitely in disbelief. "Well if it was my home, there would definitely be more holes in the wall and broken doors. Plus my dirty laundry would be all over the floor."

And like a moth drawn to a light, Jessica headed to the fully stocked bar in the room. However she opened her own bottle and poured herself a drink. "I'd offer you a glass of my stuff but most people consider it only useful for stripping furniture."

"There's nice stuff over there," Annie noted mildly, but she was smiling. (She'd missed you, Jessica.) "But I'm good, anyway, for the moment. There was a lot of tequila on Saturday night. Diego and I cleaned out our hotel's minibar."

Perhaps understandable.

"On Vought's dime."

There had been multiple motivations at work.

"Hooray for petty vengeance," Jessica said, immediately downing her drink in one gulp and pouring another. "And I think your good stuff would be wasted on me."

She stood there for a moment looking and feeling a bit awkward. "Listen, I know I apologized before but I was really shitty with you at the Expo. I know who you are and... I'm just an asshole and you didn't deserve that."

Edited 2021-05-17 16:42 (UTC)

"I kind of did," Annie told her gently, shaking her head as she took a seat on one of her couches. "Seriously, don't feel bad, that place is a shitshow, and I can't believe I told a whole tent full of teenagers I'm a virgin."

She shook her head, clearly still disappointed in herself. "You're not an asshole. I was acting like one. Vought kinda...forces your hand, sometimes."

At least, until you forced back.

Jessica nodded slowly and took a deep breath and finished her next drink and then began pouring another. "I can understand that."

She frowned a bit. "Can I be... fuck. Look, I just have something I need to get of my chest? I've told maybe two people on the island this story and... I don't know. I think it's time I told you this shit."

"Of course," Annie said softly, watching Jessica closely. "Is everything -- are you okay?"

Like, obviously she was not, but Annie suspected this was one of those things that had been not-okay for a long time, rather than a recent development.

"I'm fine," Jessica said with a ragged sigh. "It's a long story but I think I'm ready to tell you about it."

She took a seat on a bar stool and poured herself a drink. "When I was about fifteen I was in a car accident with my family. I woke up in a hospital to find out I had been in a coma and that my parents and brother were dead. I was adopted into this... family and during an argument I broke an entire marble sink. That's how I learned I got powers from strange that happened. I still don't know how it happened."

She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "I never wanted to be a hero. I thought I was just a freak. I finished high school and part of college. I bounced from temp job to temp with my adopted sister always pushing me to do something with my abilities. Then one day I saw this kid about to step in front of a car on an New York City street. I didn't think I just stepped out and stopped the car. Only people who really saw what happened was just me and the kid but for a brief moment I thought I could make a difference."

She poured herself another drink and continued her story. "So I start patrolling. Like an asshole. Petty crime. That kind of bullshit. One day I stopped a mugging and this man in a suit started applauding."

Jessica took a deep breath. "His name was Kilgrave. Because of some weird experiments he could control people's minds. Just saying a few words would make people do anything he wanted. And right there he wanted me."

Jessica emptied her glass and refilled it. "He took me over. I had no control of anything for six months. He... used me. Mentally and physically. I was just like a doll he could play with."

She paused for a moment. "Then one day he had me kill someone. He told me to finish her and I punched her so hard she never woke up. What I didn't know is that when that happened, I broke out of his control. He ran after me and then got run over by a bus chasing me. For a long time I thought he was dead."

She paused a moment and looked over at Annie. "I'm not telling you this to lessen what happened to you. I'm telling you this because I never stood up and told the world what he did to me. I never thought about the others who he affected. I just disappeared and hoped the world would forget me. So... what you did the other day? I find that pretty fucking heroic. So yeah. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself."

She slumped a little taking a breath and another sip of her drink. "So if any of those assholes try to take that away from you? What you did is going to help a lot of people."

Annie stayed quiet through all of that, listening and occasionally making a move like she wanted to get up and go over to Jessica -- and if had been anyone else, she would have. This was the kind of story that inspired comfort, but Annie knew Jessica well enough to know that any comfort she could offer would probably be more for Annie's own benefit than for hers.

But now everything made so much sense. Why Jessica was -- prickly. The drinking. The obvious self-loathing.

"Oh, Jessica," she finally breathed, softly. "Holy shit."

In a minute, Annie would internalize the pride at how Jessica was right, and she knew she had saved dozens more women from that asshole. She knew that.

But for right now, she was just going to concentrate on her friend. "You -- you thought he was dead?" She'd start there, because if this Kilgrave motherfucker was alive, she was going to take a little field trip and cut his fucking vocal chords.

Jessica sighed. And poured herself another drink.

"Yeah. He survived. A few months later I was working on a case about a girl named Hope Schlottman. Kilgrave got her like he did to me. I found her in a hotel room where he abandoned her."

Jessica took a long paused. "It was a trap for me. Hope was under his control still and she ended up killing her parents. She went to jail because no one believed that a man could control our minds. I got her out of jail but he showed up and she killed herself rather than having to face him again."

She pondered long and hard if she should say what she said next. "Hope looked exactly like you."

She shuddered a bit. "I know it's weird. And I know you aren't her. I would like to think though if Hope saw what you did the other day she may have survived that mess."

She finished her drink and almost poured herself another drink but stopped. "After Hope killed herself, I went after Kilgrave. And I killed him. He was all set to murder half of New York and kidnap my sister and I couldn't let him get away."

She took a moment to inhale and let it go. "It was then that I found out he was trying to escape to Fandom. That's how I ended up on the island. Can you imagine the mess that could have been?"

She poured herself one more glass and polished it off. "Anyway. What you did on Saturday is going to help a lot of people. Not just who the Deep hurt but anyone who has ever been a victim."

Annie had always known something terrible had happened to Hope, and that Jessica blamed herself, but the truth of it was worse than she could have ever imagined.

It was a good thing she'd spent yesterday rehydrating, because by the time Jessica was done, Annie was tearing up. She was trying not to call attention to it -- this wasn't about her, right now -- but the idea that she might have helped someone like Hope --

It was a lot.

"Survivor," she said after a second, clearing her throat. "You're not a victim. Neither am I."

She paused before adding, "I'm really glad you killed him, Jessica."

Annie wasn't really the type to wish death on nearly anyone -- she really believed most people could be rehabilitated -- but there were exceptions.

There was just a moment where Jessica let her cynicism drop. And then she pulled herself together, grabbing her jacket and putting it back on and wiping her eyes that totally hadn't teared up. Nope not at all.

"Yeah. Well. I wish I had done it sooner," she said with a weak scoff.

She then shook her head. "Sorry. I made this all about me, didn't I?" she muttered. "You're getting shit on and all I do is lay my crap on you. Sorry."

"You didn't," Annie said immediately, shaking her head and getting up to go over to her. Like, she wasn't going to hug -- look, she had gotten away with two hugs in like, a matter of months, and Annie was grateful to have her arms, still -- but she was going to reach out comfortingly to touch Jessica's arm. "There's no point in regretting shit like that. We all wish we'd done stuff sooner, you know?"

And while Annie not speaking out about The Deep sooner was her big regret, she could see plain as day why Jessica blamed herself for Hope.

"It wasn't your fault," she added, very softly. "It really wasn't, Jessica. None of it was."

Jessica didn't flinch or pull away from Annie. Instead she took a deep breath and pulled herself together a bit more. "Thanks," she said hoarsely and gave Annie's hand an awkward pat before standing up. "Maybe someday I'll believe that."

And now there were emotions. Ew. These were the things that Jessica tried to avoid.

"Look, I'm hardly one to be giving advice but whatever's going on here... don't sink to my level. You deserve better than that."

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Vought Tower | All Day Monday

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