Elena and Queen Maeve's Apartment | Sunday Morning

[defenderofdesmoines]

So, Butcher's big plan had been to get this Dr. Vogelbaum guy to testify at the hearing -- and before that, his big plan had been to get Lamplighter to testify, and thus far, they were oh for two.

And while Annie had volunteered to testify herself, she was actually an escaped convict at this point, so that wasn't going to work. But she did know one other person who she knew didn't think any of this was right, and who she knew had been screwed by Vought, and...maybe she'd help.

So Annie had gotten a set of keys from MM and tossed them to Diego -- her mom wasn't the only one who was nervous about driving in the city -- and sent a text on their way.

Now, as they were buzzed in by a discreet doorman and took an elevator up, Annie let herself relax for a moment as she looked over at Diego. "Ready for this?" she asked with a tiny, wry smile. "I'm not really sure what to expect, here."

She wasn't really worried about how this'd go. She was more just, like, tired of all of this. But part of her still thought it was kind of a big deal to be going to visit Queen Maeve. She'd saved Annie twice now, after all.

Diego	"How bad could it be?" he asked. Sure, Queen Maeve was a bit of an alcoholic, but she was the one member of The Seven (aside from Annie) Diego was fairly sure wouldn't try to kill him.
Annie	"I mean, last time I saw her, I asked her to come with me and she said no," Annie noted, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "But maybe now that we're real desperate, she'll reconsider? We might be able to appeal to Elena, too." Annie had only talked to Maeve's girlfriend a couple of times, but she'd always seemed kind and reasonable.
Diego	"Couldn't hurt to try," Diego said. "Though I would understand if Elena doesn't want to get involved after seeing someone's head explode on TV."
Annie	"A lot of someones," Annie agreed with a tired sigh. She winced slightly, adjusting her position against the wall so she wasn't pushing on her bruises. "I wish I could just do it." She'd risk her own head being exploded, sure, since that was apparently on the table now, but then she wouldn't feel like she was putting Maeve on the spot, at least.
Diego	"I know," he said with a frown. "It was smart of them, making you the villain. Probably Stormfront's idea." He doubted Homelander's ability to think of the big picture.
Annie	"She's smart," Annie agreed with a matching frown as the elevator approached Maeve and Elena's floor. "I wish I could figure out her endgame. Like, she accused me of being a Vought spy, I think she's racist or something, there's the whole Sage Grove thing, there's the thing where she's with Homelander...." There had to be a way all of this actually fit together.
Diego	"Yeah, that is actually disgusting." It was bad enough he had to watch a fake Homelander have sex when he was stuck with Lamplighter.
Annie	"Right?" Annie agreed, wrinkling her nose. "And I can't tell if he's complicit in the -- whatever, or just too dumb to realize he's being used." Little bit of both, actually. The elevator dinged and the doors opened, and Annie led the way down a hallway to the correct door. She'd never been here before, but Maeve's only response to the text had been her address. "Here goes nothing," she murmured, lifting her hand to knock.
Queen Maeve	Maeve answered the door fairly quickly, looking them both over before wordlessly leaving the door open and walking back into the apartment. She was also fully suited up; Annie had never really considered it before, but she'd never seen Maeve out of uniform. She didn't even know her real name. The place was, not to put too fine a point on it, a wreck. Maeve strode past the bong sitting out on the coffee table, and sent a dozen cans and bottles chorusing on the floor as she returned to the couch and picked up a lit cigarette from an ashtray. "You were stupid to text."
Diego	Diego wasn't exactly sure what he had in mind when picturing Maeve's place but it certainly wasn't...this. This looked like how Klaus' apartment would look like if he were ever sober enough to hold a job. He looked over at Annie, not exactly hiding his surprise. Was she always like this?
Annie	Annie gave him a look of open concern, because no, this was worse than usual. Like, Maeve was -- like the bong wasn't a surprise, but she was usually more...discreet? And Annie kind of figured she'd at least clean up after herself? Though, really, that just made Annie wonder -- "Where's Elena?" She looked around, but it didn't look like anyone else was here. Or, really, like anyone had been here for awhile, besides Maeve.
Queen Maeve	Maeve ignored her question, instead flicking her gaze over to Diego. "This is the guy?" Obviously. She recognized him from Homelander's little Show and Tell. You were so goddamn stupid, Annie. Why didn't you listen?
Diego	"Yeah, I'm the guy," Diego said with a nod. "Nice to meet you."
Queen Maeve	Maeve gave him a long, appraising look without responding before looking back over to Annie. "Do you not understand the concept of a secret?" she asked, gesturing to Diego with her cigarette. "Because this right here is the fucking opposite of keeping someone a secret. Didn't I tell you to break up with him?"
Annie	"Not in so many words," Annie said carefully, eyes on Maeve. She had a feeling this was less about Diego and more about...you know. The state of the apartment. Wherever Elena was. "He's here to help. And I have to ask you something."
Diego	"And from what I've heard it's a bit late to keep me a secret anyway," Diego said with a shrug. "I'm sturdier than I look." Not that Maeve couldn't break every bone in his body with little effort even while blazed out of her mind.
Queen Maeve	Maeve glanced back over to him. "I could split that shit like dry firewood," she observed laconically, almost smiling.
Annie	"I --" Annie hesitated, because it really was a lot to ask of anyone, but especially of Maeve, how she was acting now. "I need you to testify. On the record. Against Vought, against Homelander, Stormfront -- everything."
Queen Maeve	"And why would I do that?" Maeve asked, flicking ash into the tray.
Annie	"Because things are really bad," Annie said patiently. Come on, Maeve, you'd had to drag Black Noir off of her. You knew things were bad. She looked over to Diego, already feeling a little hopeless about this. "You're our last chance."
Queen Maeve	"Pass," Maeve said immediately, barely above a whisper.
Diego	"Do you seriously not care?" Diego asked. "Stormfront and Homelander are fucking insane."
Queen Maeve	"I've been on this team for ten fucking years. Don't talk to me about Homelander," Maeve snapped, her mouth setting in a little line. His being here was just reminding her of who wasn't.
Annie	"Look, I get that this is dangerous," Annie ventured.
Queen Maeve	"It's suicide," Maeve told her. "But that's not the reason."
Annie	"Then what is?" Annie demanded, clearly starting to lose patience.
Queen Maeve	Maeve shrugged. "I'm tired." That simple, kids.
Diego	That was something Diego didn't comprehend. Then again, he was raised from birth to believe that being a hero was the only reason he was on the planet. You didn't get to be tired of it. He looked over at Annie, not even sure how to even respond to that.
Annie	"We're all tired," Annie said softly, glancing worriedly at Diego before taking a careful step towards Maeve. She, herself, was absolutely exhausted. She'd been beaten within an inch of her life, she'd escaped from custody, she was a wanted fugitive -- if she could keep going right now, so could you, Maeve. "I get that it's easier to just disappear inside of yourself. Trust me. It's all I want to do. But we can't, Maeve. We can't. This is a war, now --"
Queen Maeve	Maeve had been listening for as long as she could stand it, and on the word war, her face scrunched up in disgust. "Shut the fuck up," she interrupted, staring at Annie. "Christ, you..." She shook her head, getting angrier and louder. "Haven't I done enough for you? Didn't I save your fucking life?" She looked over to the guy -- the guy who apparently was sturdy enough to deal with the consequences of being Starlight's boyfriend, sure -- with something almost like pity if it hadn't been so bitter, and then looked back to Annie. "You know why I told you to keep him on the down-low?" she asked, gesturing to Diego with her cigarette. "You should ask the producer I was seeing a few years ago. Except you can't, because there was a fire in his office. They found his head in one room, and his body in another, after Homelander found out about him." Maybe this answered the question of where Elena was. Or maybe it just introduced a new possibility.
Diego	Well. Okay, yeah, he could see why she gave Annie that warning if that is what happened when Homelander didn't get to vet your significant other. Still, there was no way he hadn't gotten tagged on camera with Lamplighter when Annie escaped Vought Tower--not to mention Sage Grove--so it was way too late for secrecy now. "Look, I'm sorry that happened," Diego said. "Homelander is a dick. Don't you think we should be punishing him for being a dick when we've got the chance to do it?"
Queen Maeve	"Am I talking to you?" Maeve asked him, too dismissive to even be cold about it. (No, she was just talking about him.)
Annie	"Maeve --" Annie ventured, looking absolutely horrified. It was definitely too late for secrecy -- Homelander had known about Diego for weeks, anyway, but Annie just wanted to spirit him back to Fandom right now, hearing that.
Queen Maeve	"Listen." Maeve's voice was sharp, but there was a wobbly edge to it. "It doesn't matter what we do. Nothing changes. Nothing ever changes, or gets better." She blew out a shaky breath. "And I'm tired. Just. Leave." And when Annie didn't move right away, she started yelling. "Go! Get the fuck out of here!" Like Elena had.
Annie	Annie closed her eyes, absorbing that and letting Maeve's words wash over her, before turning to Diego. "Okay. Come on."
Diego	Diego followed Annie out the door, already pulling the car keys out of his pocket. That really could not have gone worse. "Now what?"
Annie	Annie hit the button on the elevator and covered her face with her hands. "I don't know," she murmured, clearly miserable. "That was all I had." Maybe they could just go back to Fandom now. Leave Butcher and Hughie and MM to figure this out.
Diego	"Hey," Diego said, reaching out to pull her into a (gentle) hug. "We'll figure something out." He didn't know where to start with that, exactly, but they could work on that later.
Annie	Annie leaned into him, kind of wanting to cry. "I don't know why I thought she might do it. But that was bad, Diego. Something happened." Again, Elena's absence was conspicuous, especially considering how she'd been pulled into the spotlight with Maeve lately
Diego	"I know." Something had clearly happened, but he was holding out hope that Elena was still alive. He (hoped) Maeve would have been more proactive if something really bad had happened to her. "Here I thought Homelander was just going to give me a stern talking to if we ever met." Was now the time to pull that joke?
Annie	The elevator dinged to let them on, and it gave Annie an opportunity to pull back and shoot him a slightly shiny-eyed look to communicate how not funny she found that. "I should have never asked you to do this," she said softly, shaking her head. "I didn't know -- I mean, Maeve's never told me that story before." But she'd known Homelander was dangerous, and that no, he probably wouldn't just ask Diego sternly about his intentions, if they crossed paths.
Diego	"It wouldn't have changed anything," Diego said, stepping onto the elevator, but keeping a hold of Annie's hand. "I would have gotten involved anyway."
Annie	"I know you would have," Annie admitted softly, pressing the lobby button and then just immediately going to lean against him again. She really hoped Elena was okay. "I guess we just go back to the pawn shop," she said, sighing. "And tell Butcher that we have, you know, nothing." That would go well, surely.
Diego	"Maybe I'll break that news." Butcher was at least nice (ish) to Diego so long as he didn't know he had powers. "Who knows, they could have thought of something else while we were gone." That was very optimistic of him. Someone had to pick up the slack while Annie was upset.
Annie	"Maybe," Annie said reluctantly. "MM seems smart." If, like, maybe also a little...obsessive-compulsive. She'd noticed some things. "I could still testify, in a pinch. Maybe. Even if I'm, like...a wanted criminal," Annie added. Which meant potentially having her head exploded on live television, or potentially being recaptured by Vought (and then being killed by them.) It was not a great plan, no.
Diego	"No offense, but I don't know if the testimony from a wanted criminal would fly," Diego said. "I could go, since I don't think I'm technically wanted by the police. Then again, I'm nobody here, so that wouldn't work either."
Annie	"Absolutely not," Annie said, shaking her head as the elevator slowed. "What do you think Vought would do with the guy who busted their favorite traitor out of custody?" Technically speaking, she'd busted herself out, but there was no way she'd gotten all of the cameras on their way out.
Diego	"Probably be quicker than what they would do to you," Diego pointed out, stepping out of the elevator once the doors opened. "But I'm guessing that's not a very comforting thought."
Annie	"It's not," Annie agreed, clearing her throat a bit. The less she thought about -- any of that, the better. "Let's call that...like, Plan Z." She flipped her hood up as they left the building, her mind still racing. "God, maybe Butcher?" she tried. "Because -- he and Homelander have some history, I guess." Hughie had never explained what that comment about Mrs. Butcher had meant, down in the tunnels, but Annie could make some guesses. "But he's still wanted for Ms. Stillwell's murder." Also, you know, if he could do it, he probably would have offered by now.
Diego	"Aren't all of them wanted for something?" Diego wasn't judging, but still. It didn't really help their situation right now.
Annie	"Kinda, yeah," Annie agreed. "Hughie killed Translucent, Serge did -- lots of things, it sounds like. I think MM's clean, just -- you know, mixed up with these guys." Guilty by association, just like you, Diego. "Kimiko's a Supe. She could testify." Yep, she heard how dumb that sounded, too. Like what, Kimiko would get up on the stand and Serge could stand there and translate while she signed?
Diego	"Okay, that's Plan Y, before me testifying," Diego said, unlocking the car door as they approached it. Because that wouldn't go well. Especially if Stormfront was present at the hearing.
Annie	Yeah, Annie hadn't gotten the full story on Kimiko and Stormfront -- it wasn't like Kimiko was going to tell her -- but it was obvious something had happened there, considering how Kimiko reacted when she saw or heard Stormfront anywhere. "If we hadn't sent my mom off, she might've worked," Annie sighed, sliding into the passenger's seat. "But like anyone's gonna listen to some stage mom from Iowa, anyway." She lightly rest her head against the window, feeling overwhelmed with how hopeless this seemed. "Maybe this just shouldn't be our problem anymore," she said softly. "Maybe we should just cut our losses and go back to Fandom."
Diego	"And, what, keep letting Vought do whatever they want?" Diego asked as he started the car. Considering he was used to driving a jalopy in the unnamed city, he had no problem maneuvering through NYC. "That doesn't sound like you."
Annie	"They've been doing whatever they want for years," Annie said quietly, looking over. "I got Compound V to the press. Isn't that enough?" She sounded like Maeve. Annie heard it. "Maybe Gecko," she added, not especially optimistically. That bridge was pretty burned. "He got me the V in the first place."
Diego	"Maybe." It didn't seem like an idea that would work, but he wasn't going to mention that when he was supposed to be optimistic one today. "Thankfully it's not just us working on the problem." Because if it had been just the two of them they'd be a little screwed right about now.
Annie	Annie almost pointed out that Colonel Mallory had apparently started this little operation, like, around the time Annie was in junior high and they still hadn't solved this problem, but she didn't need to keep dragging things down. Instead, she reached over across the center console to lightly touch his arm. "I'm selfishly really glad you're here," she said, managing a tiny smile. Sure, she might get him killed -- honestly, the fact that he'd made it out of the Sage Grove Center and Vought Tower was doing a little bit to restore her faith in a higher power watching over them -- but selfishly, Annie knew she'd be way more of a wreck right now without Diego along. Not to mention Steve and Danny back at the hideout, who were possibly even more vulnerable (though also very -- selfishly -- comforting to have here.)
Diego	"It's not selfish," he said, giving her a small smile in return. "We're supposed to do this stuff together." Sure, other couples' problems didn't exactly involve chopping off hands and getting yelled at by an inebriated superhero, but whatever.
Annie	Annie's smile widened a fraction, and like -- okay, they couldn't exactly pull the car over and make out for awhile, but the idea crossed her mind, and that was an improvement over the constant dread she'd been feeling since leaving Maeve. It really did help that he was here, even if she felt kind of guilty about it.
A-Train	And that was when there was an abrupt zipping noise, a brief change in the air pressure, and a voice from the backseat. "What's up, shitbirds?" A-Train greeted them.
Diego	"Jesus Christ!" Okay, nobody could blame Diego for swerving the wheel when getting surprised like that. He was trying to course correct quickly but, uh, be grateful for the seatbelt if you were wearing one.
Annie	Yeah, Annie was just going to straight-up actually scream in surprise. (And pain, a little; she was wearing her seatbelt, but that did not feel great on her injuries.) God, you'd think they'd be used to this with Five around. At least they were just trying to drive a car and not, you know, attempting to have sex with each other or anything. "Jesus!" she yelled, looking over her shoulder at A-Train, who looked placidly back through his goggles, before yelling at Diego, "Pull over, pull over!"
Diego	"Yeah, I got that!" Diego quickly pulled off the street, hitting the curb a little bit in his rush but at least the car was stopped and not in the middle of traffic.
Annie	Annie barely waited for the car to stop before throwing open her door and running towards the front of the car so that she could put herself between A-Train and Diego if she needed to. "How did you find us?" she asked A-Train, breathless and still clearly shaken.
A-Train	"Please." A-Train took his time exiting the vehicle, clearly not especially put off by their reaction. "I can cover the boroughs in like, three hours. I went looking. That's all."
Diego	That would have been a cool fact if he wasn't such an asshole. "What do you want?" Diego asked, hand going to one of the knives he kept on him. Hey, he knew a knife to the eye worked. Just had to lose those stupid goggles first.
Annie	"I'm surprised your heart can take it," Annie commented, anxiously rocking on the balls of her feet as she watched A-Train. It had really not been that long since they'd fought, and if he was back on his feet and running around already -- she knew he could outrun her blasts. She wasn't sure if he could outrun Diego's knives, but she didn't especially want to find out, either.
A-Train	"My heart's just fine," he told her, and even if they couldn't see his eyes, his body language read eyeroll loud and clear. "Take a step closer and I'll show you." He nodded to Diego. "So is she cheating on Campbell with you, or is it the other way around?"
Annie	"Christ," was Annie's only comment on this question, though she did casually stick an arm out in front of Diego to just, you know, underline how worried she was that A-Train was going to try something.
Diego	"Dude, gross." Anybody else and Diego would have been threatened, but Hughie? Absolutely not.
A-Train	You know, maybe he just wanted to see that kid move on after A-Train had blasted through his girlfriend (who had been in the middle of the street like a crazy person, and all.) But he noticed the way Starlight over there was acting, so he couldn't resist flashing forward to get right up in this dude's face in under a half-second.
Diego	Diego couldn't help but flinch (super speed was not a power he grew up around), but to his credit he didn't immediately resort to stabbing A-Train right away. It would be useless, and the fact that they weren't being swarmed by Vought or Homelander right now told him that they probably didn't know A-Train was here. Still, he hated the fact that he flinched.
Annie	Annie reacted as predicted -- by shoving herself in between them and defiantly lifting her chin up at A-Train. Go on, dude, keep trying it. Unlike last time, she had nothing to lose by fighting you, now.
A-Train	But A-Train simply took this opportunity to place a folder into her hands, now that he was close enough. "We're even now, bitch. You saved me before, I'm saving you now, we're done."
Annie	Annie immediately flipped open the folder, which read Klara Risinger on the front, and started paging through the contents. It was...photos of Stormfront. Old-timey ones. Of her and -- "Holy shit. Is this true?" Annie asked, unable to look away from the photograph of Stormfront standing next to Adolf fucking Hitler.
Diego	"What--" Diego looked over Annie's shoulder to see what was in the folder. "Is that Hitler?" Not a sentence Diego thought he would ever say in seriousness. "Stormfront's a fucking Nazi?" An either immortal or time traveling Nazi?
A-Train	"Everything makes a little more sense now, doesn't it?" A-Train said, lifting his brows. You know, how Stormfront was a racist piece of shit and all?
Annie	"Where did you get this?" Annie asked, letting out another gasp as she paged through and pulled out a marriage certificate between Klara Risinger to Frederick Vought -- accompanied by their wedding photo, complete with a Nazi flag behind them.
A-Train	"I didn't get anything. I was never here. You got that shit on your own, you got me?" A-Train corrected.
Diego	"We got it," Diego said, giving him a nod. He wasn't about to outright thank the guy since he was still a dick, so a bro nod would have to do.
Annie	"Why are you doing this?" Annie asked, almost on the verge of issuing that thank you, even as she flipped through the folder and came across one of Stormfront doing the, like, Nazi salute arm thing. Good God.
A-Train	"I want back in. Which means she has to go," A-Train explained. He shook his head, blowing out a breath. "Fuck that Nazi bitch." And with that, he took off down the sidewalk in a blur.
Diego	"This is way better than any of us testifying," Diego decided. "I've never taken down a Nazi before." Great, this will give him even more reason to think he could kill Hitler with a butter knife in the future.
Annie	"This is amazing," Annie agreed reverently, sifting through photos and certificates. "Diego, she was married to Frederick Vought, which means he was a Nazi." Probably not exactly great to sound thrilled about that, but oh well.
Diego	"Vought being founded by a Nazi is the least surprising thing I've heard today," he said with a smile. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of them. Weird how A-Train was responsible for it.
Annie	"Yeah, it's not exactly shocking," Annie agreed, slowly drifting back towards the passenger side of the car as she read. She wanted to do cartwheels, and A-Train was responsible, and that was -- huh. Whatever, she'd take it. "She was the first Compound V subject. It says here that they used some of her DNA to make Homel...." Annie trailed off, looking over at Diego in horror. "Oh, ew." Way to hook up with your mom or whatever, Homelander.
Diego	"Ugh. Gross," Diego said, moving to get back into the car. "I guess Compound V would also explain why she doesn't look old as hell?"
Annie	"Probably?" Annie guessed, getting in and frowning at the pages. "I mean, I thought we aged normally." Like, obviously, Maeve and Homelander were clearly in their mid-thirties, though Annie wondered if they might not be older and V just hid it well? "This came from the Church of the Collective," she added, closing the folder to study the front of it before offering it over to show Diego. "The Deep just joined them." So they were probably cool, solid people.
Diego	"They sound fun," he said. "And obviously need better security." He doubted they just handed this information to A-Train.
Annie	"Or at least to, like, keep Supes in mind if they're gonna recruit us," Annie noted dryly. The fish guy wasn't gonna do much, but she vaguely remembered that Eagle the Archer was a member, too, and obviously A-Train had made off with this. "This is a miracle." Like, A-Train was an asshole forever, but all she needed now was to put all of this stuff on the internet and Stormfront -- and Vought -- would have a lot to deal with.
Diego	"Yeah, it really is." Diego wasn't necessarily one to believe in such things but this was everything that they needed right now. "Looks like Butcher won't have anything to bitch at us about." Well. He'd probably figure out something.
Annie	Yeah, Annie just gave him a little look for that, 'cause she'd believe that when she saw it, but she was smiling, and that was a huge improvement, right there. "We have a bunch of work to do," she acknowledged. "But I think everyone'll be in a better mood after they see this."

[NFB/NFI/OOC welcome! Preplayed with knife_bender and taken from The Boys 2.08, 'What I Know,' with a little rearranging and remixing.]