A Remote Spot in Upstate New York | Monday Afternoon

[defenderofdesmoines]

The plan was a little complicated, and it barely held together, but it was the best one they had.

Annie, Diego, Danny, Steve, and Butcher and his associates all piled into three cars to make the trip upstate, towards where Becca had told them that Homelander had probably gone with Ryan. Butcher and Becca had gone first to plant the speakers in the woods, where they would affect only someone with super-hearing -- like Homelander, and the boy they were up here to rescue.

Meanwhile, Annie had spent the drive watching her phone as news alert after news alert had poured in about Stormfront. And not just the news, but the memes. So many cartoons of her goose-stepping. So many photos of Stormfront with big, white Impact text over them. So many hashtags.

Annie was pleased as punch, even if she knew there would definitely be consequences for this.

When they arrived at the rendezvous point, it was actually a little quiet for awhile. Butcher and Becca were off in their car, getting Ryan away from his father, and the rest of them were left waiting for now.

Annie	"Look," Annie giggled, holding out her phone to anyone who'd look to show off a guy with a huge Youtube following doing a video about Stormfront. He'd somehow made a photo manipulation of Stormfront actually holding up her arm in a salute, and she was sporting a teeny little Hitler mustache. "Oh my God, she's trending so hard." Which, like, Stormfront usually loved, so....
Danny	"With being canceled, right?" Look at Danny knowing a single internet word! It was probably due to Grace. Because he was from a CBS show and thus aimed at the older folks.
Diego	Diego rolled his eyes. "Yes, grandpa, with being canceled."
Steve	"Hashtag sorry not sorry." Steve. Steve, no.
Annie	At least he said 'hashtag' and not 'hashbrown,' like some other out-of-touch middle-aged-ish characters one might mention. "She's probably really mad," Annie mused (as her Youtuber finished declaring, "I don't know who needs to hear this, but, um, don't be a Nazi?"), sounding equal parts pleased and nervous about that. "And it looks like Vought's scrambling, too, based on the radio silence out of there." Given how flat the landscape was, it was easy to see the little sedan a ways off that was heading towards them, and Annie wouldn't admit how relieved she was that the Butchers had been quick about getting Ryan. Maybe, if they were very lucky, they could all just get out of here without having to tussle with either Homelander or Stormfront.
Danny	It was a pound sign and you all knew it! "You're the same age as me, babe," Danny muttered at Steve, shooting him an amused look once he was done rolling his eyes at Diego. He checked the gun that Steve picked for him again maybe just a little anxiously. "We ready for this?"
Diego	"No, but we gotta do it anyway," Diego said. This plan was a little shaky, even by Hargreeves standards.
Steve	Steve made an obnoxious pound sign hashtag sign with his fingers. "YOLO, Danno," he deadpanned. Stop texting with Grace, Steve. "The plan is...fluid," he admitted, "but we're well trained, so we'll be able to adapt."
MM	"Fluid's the only kind of plan we run around here," MM observed dryly as the car approached and slowed.
Butcher	Butcher hurled himself out of the driver's seat, immediately tossing the keys to MM, who in turn threw him a different set as Butcher started heading towards the car they'd actually be taking. The plan was not only fluid, it was complicated. Perhaps needlessly so.
Becca Butcher	And moving just slightly slower than Butcher was Becca, who'd emerged from the backseat of the car holding the hand of a boy of about seven, who was wearing a Vought-branded jacket and a pair of protective earmuffs, like one might wear while operating heavy machinery.
Ryan Butcher	Ryan gave the assembled group a wary look, trailing a half-step behind his mother before tentatively reaching up to pull off his earmuffs. "Who are all these people?" he asked softly.
Becca	"They're Bil -- they're my husband's friends," Becca told him softly, smiling and giving his hand a squeeze before looking out at the group. "Are we ready?"
Butcher	"Who's coming?" Butcher asked, with one foot inside the other car already. "Hurry the fuck up before he realizes." He would be driving, so he needed someone to cover them, and obviously was expecting either Frenchie or MM to hop in with him.
Steve	"C'mon, Danny," Steve said, already heading for the car.
Danny	Danny had been busy trying to give the kid a reassuring smile when Steve went and dragged him into danger there. Because Steve. Always because Steve. "I really hate you, Steven," Danny shouted after him, hurrying to keep up.
Becca & Ryan	Becca and Ryan followed suit, with her making sure he was very firmly buckled in before climbing in herself. The little boy was eyeing both Steve and Danny with slight suspicion as Butcher started the car, though he'd clearly gotten a little more comfortable with the idea of fewer people than the whole group.
Annie	"You're staying with me," Annie told Diego as she watched Danny and Steve run off, reaching out to lightly touch his arm. "Please." It was the closest she'd come to admitting how fucking scared she was right now, because while she was hoping (fine, praying) that this would be okay, she wasn't dumb enough to think they'd made it anywhere near close to safety yet, and she couldn't protect him if he wasn't with her. (As it was, she was so nervous about Steve and Danny getting into that car that she kind of felt like throwing up, but she couldn't focus on that right now.)
Diego	Diego nodded, moving closer to her. He was not willing to leave Annie right now either. "They'll be okay." Hopefully.
Steve	Well, they were at least used to stupidly complicated car chases? Steve gave the kid a smile and pulled out his gun (because that was super reassuring? Sort of?). "Nothing's gonna go wrong."
Danny	"We're gonna help you and your mom out here," Danny said with a friendly if strained smile for the kid and his mother both. "I'm Danny and this is Steve. We're cops."
Ryan	"Hi," Ryan said hesitantly. "I've never met a cop before."
Becca	Becca, meanwhile, mouthed, 'Thank you.' It had already been a really overwhelming couple of days for Ryan, who had only ever seen maybe three or four people together at once, before this week. Plus his dad kept throwing him off of roofs and abducting him, so. Hard couple of days.
Butcher	Meanwhile, Butcher had finished adjusting his mirrors and was starting the car across the field. They'd be meeting Colonel Mallory a few miles away, where they would once again swap cars, and he wasn't entirely sure where Mallory would be sending them from there, but Mallory had yet to steer him wrong when it came to a civilian's safety. But everyone had to know this was going too well, right? Because this was going way, way too smoothly. And the first sign that they were out of luck was the bolt of lightning that shot down from the sky, forking across the ground in a series of arcs.
Danny	Well. Shit. This was going as well as most plans Danny had been part of since meeting Steve. "Okay, this might get bumpy, so I'm gonna need you to stick close to your mom and keep your head down, alright?"
Diego	Diego knew what the random lightning meant. The speakers really didn't do shit for someone who didn't have super hearing, did they? "Oh shit."
Steve	Steve did not know what the lightning meant, but he lowered the window, braced his arm in the hole and got his gun out, just in case. Not to shoot lightning--he was Navy, not a complete idiot--but, well, better to be prepared.
Stormfront	Stormfront touched down directly in front of the car, looking absolutely furious. Her feet had barely touched the ground before she had both hands out in front of her, shooting dual bolts of lightning out to seize the vehicle, lift up into the air, and toss it aside carelessly. The car spun through the air for one long moment before hitting the ground and flipping twice -- three times. Stormfront paid no attention to the car, the occupants within, or anyone's panic or bullets. She only had eyes for one person here. "There you are, you slippery little bitch," she called out, walking right towards Annie.
Diego	Diego bolted off towards the flipped car, not even thinking about where Stormfront could be. He'd turn back to face the actual Nazi once he was sure everyone in the car was okay(ish) and heading off towards the woods. It might not hide them for long, but it was their only shot.

Annie	Annie knew this had been going too well. She actually felt her heart stop when Stormfront lifted the car in the air, and she watched in horror for a long moment before it hit the ground, and she could hear Stormfront yelling at her. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, please be okay --
Stormfront	"I assume it's you who leaked all those lies to the press?" Stormfront continued, her tone amiable as she strode towards Annie.
Annie	And that brought things into focus for Annie -- she couldn't go over there and check on Danny or Steve or Butcher (oh god there was a child in there) -- because this, right here, was something only she could do. That was the definition of bravery, right? Being fucking terrified, and walking right out to meet the thing that was scaring you. "They're not lies!" Annie yelled, feeling a sort of calm come over her as she walked out to meet Stormfront. She was vaguely aware of Diego running off towards that now-smoking car, and while she couldn't spare the mental bandwidth to think about it, she knew she'd be grateful that he did, later. She felt, rather than saw, Kimiko's presence a few feet off to her left as the other woman strode out to confront her brother's murderer. And without thinking too much about it, Annie decided she'd let Kimiko have the killing blow, if they got that lucky.
Stormfront	"Please," Stormfront sneered, "the pictures are clearly deepfakes, and you're a lying slut." Stormfront was clearly absolutely enraged, though she hadn't done anything yet beyond throwing the car. But she'd taken note of the other people assembled besides Annie, at least, and spared them a dismissive, hateful glance each.
Annie	Annie was trying to build some awareness of what she had at her disposal, here. There were two cars back there. They had an RPG in one of them, as well as all those guns. She had Kimiko. She had Frenchie and MM. She had Diego, though part of her hoped he'd stay back -- she really couldn't think about that right now. Stormfront was too strong for her to try to focus on anything but defeating her. Dully, Annie ached. Her bruises from fighting Noir were only just beginning to fade, but that was another thing she couldn't think about.
Stormfront	"People love what I have to say," Stormfront continued, nostrils flaring. "They believe in it. They just don't like the word 'Nazi,' that's all."
Annie	"And what about the truth?" Annie asked, her voice loud and clear in spite of how terrified she was. Her fingertips twitched at her side as she waited for Stormfront to make a move.
Diego	After making sure that everybody in the wrecked car was heading towards the woods, Diego ran back to where Stormfront was posturing at Annie. He knew was extremely out-powered here, but he had a knife out anyway. He'd help hold her off as best he could while everyone else got away. He did stand behind Annie and Kimiko though because he wasn't that stupid.
Stormfront	Stormfront lifted a brow delicately. "What truth? What is the truth?"
Annie	Annie's ears were ringing as she focused in on Stormfront, shoving down the emotions she was battling -- worry about Danny and Steve, utter disgust and hatred for the woman in front of her, fear for herself -- as she slowly started to pull power from one of the cars. And then she stopped, because she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Kimiko	Next to her, incongruous and light, Kimiko was laughing. Giggling, even. Considering Annie had never heard literally a single sound out of her, she whipped her head to look at her. What could possibly be funny right now? Was she having some kind of, like, mental break? Oh, God, Kimiko, she understood, but it so wasn't the time.
Diego	"Uh..." Look, he couldn't blame Kimiko for having a mental break but having it right now was just making things awkward.
Kimiko	Kimiko was still smiling (with an adorable dimple -- did you all know she had an adorable dimple? Because there it was) when she looked over to a very puzzled Frenchie. She moved her hands in a series of gestures, and the crudeness of one may have been a clue even before Kimiko concluded.
Frenchie	"She says," Frenchie called out in a clear voice, a smile playing about his lips as he addressed Stormfront, "the truth is, she's going to stick her boot up your Nazi kitty." Oh.
Annie	Stormfront spared a mean, little smile for Kimiko before her eyes went silver, but Annie had been waiting for exactly this moment and moved quicker. She fired blast after blast straight at Stormfront, striding forward as she did and watching the other woman stagger back with the impact of each tiny explosion hitting her.
Kimiko	Kimiko was fast, too, and made sure to keep her back to Annie's blasts as she caught up with the staggering Stormfront and punched her hard in the face. She grabbed at Stormfront's wrists, twisting to bend them so she could break them -- so Stormfront couldn't do her little magic hands. Just like she'd done to Kenji.
Annie	She didn't get that far, though, because Annie was right there to kick Stormfront in the teeth as hard as she possibly could, and God, that was so satisfying.
Stormfront	At least, it was until Stormfront reared back up and hit her with twin blasts of electricity, lifting Annie roughly a dozen feet in the air and flinging her away like a rag doll. Oof. Ooof.
Diego	"Annie!" Diego at least pushed down his kneejerk reaction to tackle Stormfront because that wouldn't go well. At least he knew Annie enough to know she wasn't about to be brought down by that, even if it looked like it hurt a lot. He looked over at Frenchie and MM like they were going to be able to help somehow.
Frenchie	"The RPG! It's our only chance!" Frenchie yelled as he and MM both started running back towards where they'd parked the cars. You know, the cars with the many, many, many guns? And the grenade launcher? They probably should have been preparing for an ambush instead of giggling over YouTube, huh?
Diego	Diego followed after Frenchie and MM, because Frenchie was right, it was their only chance. He had thought it was a little overkill when he saw them loading up the car earlier, but right now he was so grateful for their paranoia. And if he got to see someone use a grenade launcher it'd be a good story to tell if they lived through this. Which was looking to be a major 'if' at this point.
Stormfront	It was stupid to announce it like that, you know. Stormfront pushed herself to her feet and raised her hands, her eyes glazing over in a bright silver as she arced electricity over to both cars. The cars, and the weapons within, ignited in an enormous explosion. So much for that, oh well.
Kimiko	Stormfront didn't have all that long to be smug about it before Kimiko had grabbed her by the shoulders and was trying to slam her head into the ground.
Diego	That really had been stupid. He probably should have expected something like that to happen. Also probably should have expected just how big a blast from a car full of explosives would be. But he hadn't expected it, and ended up flying backward, hitting the ground hard.
Kimiko	MM and Frenchie thudded into the ground beside Diego, each of them fumbling for a moment before trying to find their guns. Kimiko and Stormfront were still duking it out, with Kimiko apparently trying to break Stormfront's neck (or maybe rip off her face?) before Stormfront reached up and seized the other woman with a little arc of lightning. And once she had Kimiko in her grasp, it only took a second before there was a loud, neat crack, and Stormfront dropped her body to the ground.
Annie	Annie was pushing herself up off the ground, feeling out for any source of power now that the cars were gone (fuck.) Her hopes fell with Kimiko. "No." No, no, no, she couldn't have already killed one of them. (The only other Supe, too, which meant they were so fucked, no --)
MM & Frenchie	Wordlessly, MM and Frenchie both opened fire on the utterly impassive Stormfront.
Diego	Diego pushed himself off the ground, feeling a deep sense of relief when he saw Annie moving around as well. The relief only lasted for as long as it took for Stormfront to break Kimiko's neck. They were so fucked right now. Diego scrambled for an idea, because he knew Frenchie and MM were doing jack all to Stormfront by shooting her. He took pulled out another knife (the one he had in his hand went far away after the explosion) and thought back to Sage Grove. It had worked on one Supe, why wouldn't it work on her? He just needed an opening.
Stormfront	Stormfront was mostly just pissed that these guys were shooting at her -- she was bulletproof, you fucking chumps, what did you think was going to happen here? With a sneer, she lifted her hands out towards them and grabbed all three men with crackling bolts of electricity and flung them away like the irritants they were.
Diego	At least that time Diego had been a little more prepared so he didn't completely eat shit when he hit the ground. Still, he was going to be feeling that lightning thing later on if he managed to live through this.
Annie	And you know what was going to get Annie up off the ground, no matter how much she hurt right now? Fucking with her boyfriend. She pushed herself up, eyes flashing as she drew power into herself (not that there was much), and fired a set of blinding blasts at Stormfront. She was trying really hard not to look over at Kimiko on the ground, there, though it just made her more mad, too, and that helped.
Stormfront	At least, it helped until Stormfront rounded back on Annie, knocked back by the blasts but hardly incapacitated. She flung a hand out towards the other woman, throwing her another dozen feet.
Annie	And this time, Annie didn't stir right away. It felt hopeless. They were five -- no, wait, four. Fuck, four -- people, against the strongest Supe Annie had ever met. She was in more pain than she'd ever felt in her life. She was being knocked down every time she stood up. The only other person who stood a chance of taking out Stormfront was crumpled on the ground over there. Annie didn't even dare to look back to where she'd seen Diego hit the ground. She couldn't. She just needed a second, and she'd get back up. She could do it. She'd either take this bitch down, or die trying.
Stormfront	Stormfront, meanwhile, was pretty pleased to see everyone lying on the ground. And now she just had to walk over and make sure each of them was as dead as the girl at her feet.
Diego	Okay, fuck waiting for the right moment. Diego pulled himself up, giving a worried glance over at where Annie was on the ground. He forced himself to look away and not think about it too hard, he needed to focus. This was definitely one throw he couldn't fuck up. He was limping a little, and, okay, the likelihood of him not having a mild concussion was low, but he was determined to hurt this bitch a least a little before she killed all of them. So he took the knife in his hand and threw it, whipping it around to nail her right in the eye.
Stormfront	Stormfront let out a pained, feral scream as the knife embedded itself in her left eye. "Fucking --" Whatever it was she called Diego was lost to a sudden gust of wind, and Stormfront reached up to furiously yank the knife out of her eye, reaching a hand out towards Diego as she stalked towards him.
Annie	And from where she was on the ground, Annie smiled. Not just because she was so proud of Diego (who was alive, thank you, God) that she could actually cry, and not just because it had looked like he'd really hurt Stormfront, there. No, because she saw where that gust of wind had come from. From where she was lying on the ground, Annie could see the tiny speck of a woman incoming for a moment before Maeve's boots hit the ground, and as a result, Annie was beaming by the time Stormfront was treated to the closest thing she'd get to a warning.
Queen Maeve	"Hey, kraut." Queen Maeve didn't like to use her leaping power all that often -- usually just in emergencies -- but when Stormfront had left the tower in the midst of her little Reich-heavy media blitz, Maeve had followed. And now she was really glad she had, because Stormfront only had time to turn around with a tired, bleeding sneer before Maeve decked her right in the bad eye. She'd never liked this bitch, anyway.
Kimiko	If that wasn't enough for hope, Kimiko was also moving -- slowly, yes, but she was pushing herself up off the ground and cracking her neck back into place as though she'd just fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position.
Diego	Diego had never been so happy to see a woman who once said she could split him like dry firewood. He would never admit it out loud but he seriously thought he was going to die when Stormfront started walking towards him. And then Kimiko was getting up and he started believing they might be able to do this. Well, they might be able to do this. Diego knew that he got very lucky with the knife to the eye.
Annie	Annie was pushing herself up off the ground with a surge of renewed energy as soon as she saw Kimiko moving, because, like...fuck, yes. Maybe they had a shot. Especially with Maeve, who was beating the shit out of Stormfront. But Annie wanted a piece of the action, too, and so she ran over and threw her fist into Stormfront's mouth as hard as she could, pleased to see blood go flying.
Kimiko	Kimiko came darting over to fling her fist into Stormfront's face with something almost like glee, and from there, it began to descend into chaos.
GIRLS GET IT DONE	Maeve grabbed Stormfront by the hair, holding her still so that Annie could whip her fist at her face again, Kimiko coming at her other side. And once Stormfront was on the ground again, all three women were stomping on her as hard as they could. Indistinct cries of, "Fucking bitch!," and, "Fuck you!" and a particularly un-Annie-like, "Eat my shit, you Nazi bitch!" could be heard over Stormfront's groans. Why use your Vought-given superpowers when you could take out your aggression via a good, old-fashioned streetfight?
Diego	"Whoa." Diego had thought he had seen some beat downs in his day, but this was a whole other level. He looked over at MM and Frenchie, glad that they seemed to be mostly okay. He looked over at Stormfront getting the shit kicked out of her again. "Girls do get it done."
MM	"Look at them go," MM marveled softly, rifle hanging at his side. This was very much not how he'd thought this was going to go, no. He'd been pretty sure he was never seeing his girls again, and instead, he kind of wanted to remember every second of this so he could tell Janine when she was old enough.
Stormfront	Stormfront managed to get herself up off the ground long enough to headbutt Annie directly in the face, only to have Maeve grab her by the hair again and throw her back to the ground. The girls got a few more hard kicks in before Stormfront apparently got it together enough to throw some arcs of lightning at the ground and shoot up into the air, taking off vaguely in the direction the other group had traveled with a sonic boom.
Annie	Annie watched her go, adrenaline still pumping. So, Stormfront had gotten away, but they'd really fucked her up, and...you know, maybe that would be enough? Probably not, but maybe. Annie tried to catch her breath as she looked around at the other two women. She was both very glad Kimiko wasn't dead, and really surprised to see Maeve. But considering that the last time she'd seen her, Maeve had told her to get out of her fucking apartment, Annie wasn't really inclined to give her a high-five or anything. Instead, her gaze fell on the three men back by the smoldering ruins of their cars, and her feet were moving before she had even really made a decision. "Are you okay?" she asked, flinging herself at Diego and throwing her arms around him without any real coordination. Look, she'd just gotten her ass kicked and then beat up a Nazi. She was a little dazed, still.
Diego	Diego let out a little grunt of pain, but it didn't stop him from wrapping his arms around Annie. "I'm okay. Are you okay?"
Annie	"Shit, ow, sorry. Sorry. I'm okay," Annie said, still a little out of breath and now kind of realizing just how bad she hurt, too. Like, going through solid marble had hurt, yes, but being electrocuted and thrown through the air also left a mark, it turned out. "I -- holy shit, we almost had her."
Frenchie	Frenchie passed off his gun to MM so he could hug Kimiko, who'd come running over to him, as well.
Maeve	And Queen Maeve was left standing a little awkwardly off where they'd been gathered around Stormfront, though she was the only one looking off in the direction that asshole had flown off to. She didn't have anyone who needed a hug -- unless that burly guy wanted one, she supposed, but no thanks -- but Stormfront wasn't going to stop just because she'd lost an eye and maybe a tooth or two.
Diego	Even sore as hell he wasn't about to let go of Annie any time soon. He did unwrap one arm so he could get a good look at everyone else. It was a fucking miracle none of them had died. "What next?" he asked. "The guys were okay after the car flipped but they went off into the woods on foot."
Annie	"Shit, okay." Annie nodded, like she didn't want to just lay down on the ground here and sleep for a thousand years instead of probably going on a little hike. "Okay. Um."
MM	"Butcher'd call if he needed help," MM offered, looking absolutely exhausted. Which was of course when a far-away, urgent shout of, "Help us!" could be heard. Naturally.
Diego	"I guess that's our cue," Diego said, though he didn't look exactly excited about it. He didn't think he was up to actually running into the woods. It'd be more like a brisk walk-limp.
Annie	"Jesus." Annie also didn't look excited about any of this -- again, this was the third time she'd gotten beaten up this week -- but she slipped an arm across Diego's back. "Okay, let's --"
Maeve	Queen Maeve glanced back at the group for a moment before taking a running start and jumping up into the air, hurtling herself in the direction the cry had come from.
Annie	"-- go," Annie finished weakly, watching. "You know what, I think she's gonna beat us there." Which meant maybe they could walk. Quickly.

Danny	Danny really wished he could say that this was the first time that he'd been in a car crash like this. But it wasn't. It just wasn't. "Shit," he hissed once the car stopped moving. "Everyone still breathing?" He was already twisting in place to check on the two civilians next to him.
Steve	"I'm good," Steve said, "though the gun's...somewhere. Everyone else?"
Becca & Ryan	Becca was woozy but at least able to meet Danny's eye and nod before she was checking on her son. "Ryan? Ryan?" "Mom, I'm fine," he said quietly, though he was clearly pretty scared. "Why's Stormfront -- that's my dad's girlfriend...?" Nothing made any sense right now. Nothing had made sense for days.
Butcher	And Butcher, in the driver's seat, was already taking his crowbar to his window so he could get them out. "Hurry," he grunted. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, but that was it. (What a remarkably safe vehicle this was! This should be a car commercial!)
Danny	Yeah, but would it ever be sponsored by the Hilton? Yeah. We thought not. "C'mon," Danny said, helping both mother and child out as best he could to follow after a guy more emotionally stunted than anyone he'd ever met. Which was an accomplishment! Congrats, Butcher! "I think we need to get moving before--" Well, he didn't rightly know.
Steve	"The car explodes or that woman figures out we're not dead?" Steve said, yanking at his seatbelt, which had gotten jammed. His fingers swiped against empty candy wrappers and an old Fresca can--clean out the car, God--before he finally gave up and reached for his ankle holster and the knife he kept there.
Diego	"Is everybody alive?" Diego called as he approached the car. He just needed an okay and then he was running back to his girlfriend, sorry. You all had this handled!
Steve	"We're good!" Steve yelled back, tumbling out of the car and waving his hand in the shaka sign.
Danny	Yeah, Danny was sighing very heavily as he kept a hand on Becca's arm to stick close and guide her and Ryan along. "We've got this, help Annie keep that Nazi chick off our backs!"
Diego	"All I needed to hear," Diego said, turning right back around. It was a good thing he was in good shape otherwise this running would be a pain in the ass.
Butcher	"This way!" Butcher yelled, making sure he had both his pistol and his crowbar before gesturing towards the woods. Thankfully, Butcher was enough of a survivalist weirdo to have a compass just in case things went wrong (which, you know, they had), and started leading the way through the woods at a steady clip.
Becca & Ryan	Becca was staggering along as fast as she could, grateful for Danny's support there -- whoever these guys were, she was really glad Billy had made friends with them -- as Ryan hurried along beside her. "What if my dad finds us?" he asked fretfully, unsure of the answer. If Stormfront was acting like this...he wasn't sure what his dad was going to do, too.
Danny	"Hey, we'll figure it out," Danny said in that one soft tone reserved for kids. "Steve here is a Navy SEAL. He, Butcher, and I are gonna do our best to keep that from happening, okay?"
Steve	Steve nodded and opened his mouth to offer his own reassurances when the woods were rocked by a huge explosion. Ohhhh, those poor guns. "Moving much faster now," Steve said instead. Sorry, Butcher, Steve will remember you're in charge in a sec.
Butcher	Butcher wasn't exactly going to argue with the direction to run faster, no. "C'mere," he said, pausing just a second to run over and gruffly pick up Ryan, who immediately wrapped his arms around his neck. Butcher exchanged a quick, wordless look with Becca before taking her hand and moving at an even quicker clip.
Ryan	Ryan, peering over at Steve and Danny from Butcher's shoulder, also looked back towards where the explosion had come from. "I hope those people are okay," he offered, hanging on tight as he was carried.
Danny	Danny shot Steve a sideways look at that exchange between the Butchers before he took up a position covering their rear, gun drawn. "Let's worry about you and your mom right now, buddy. Okay?"
Steve	"Annie can take care of the others," Steve said, entirely to reassure himself and Danny.
Butcher	For what it was worth, Butcher looked like he actually believed Annie could take care of the others, and that was a real change from where they'd been less than a week ago. "Got a couple miles to go," he called. "We've got this." If they were listening closely, they might have heard a sonic boom. (Sonic booms in this universe never, ever meant anything good.)
Steve	Steve tilted his head. "Was that a sonic boom?" he asked Butcher. Were there F-15s incoming?
Butcher	"Shit," Butcher answered, setting Ryan down so he could get his gun out. Which meant yes, yes it was a sonic boom, and that no, there would be no F-15s. They should be so lucky.
Stormfront	Instead, about twenty feet out in front of them, Stormfront dropped to the ground in a flurry of lightning. She was covered in blood, her cape ripped, and she was notably missing her left eye. "Come here, Ryan," she said, her voice high and reedy in contrast with the commanding tone she'd taken with Annie earlier.
Danny	"That's not happening, lady," Danny said, kinda really proud of whatever the hell Annie and the others did to her back there.
Steve	"Ever," Steve added, positioning himself in front of Butcher and Danny despite having only a knife for a weapon.
Becca	"Stay the fuck away from my son!" was Becca's contribution, also positioning herself in front of Ryan despite absolutely being the most helpless person here.
Stormfront	Stormfront gave Danny, Steve and Butcher a passing glance before lifting a hand and flinging them out of the way with an arc of lightning. It was weaker than what Annie and Diego had been treated to, but it still probably hurt. Stormfront didn't care, since she was busy grabbing Becca by the throat and shoving her into a tree. "You're not like her, Ryan," Stormfront continued tonelessly as Becca struggled and Ryan started to cry in fear. "You belong with us."
Danny	Okay. So. That wasn't ideal. Also, know who didn't have experience with being tortured with electricity in the group? This guy right here. "Jesus Christ," Danny muttered, trying to move his limbs again and failing for the moment.
Steve	It was definitely doing good things for their long-term heart health, as was whacking into trees! "Danny?" Steve called out. "You good?"
Butcher	Butcher, for his part, staggered to his feet and started shooting completely ineffectively at Stormfront, while Becca clearly struggled to breathe in Stormfront's grip. "Let her go!"
Ryan	"Mom," Ryan whimpered. "Please let her go -- Mom. Mom!"
Danny	"Fine." He was not, but they had more important things happening here. Danny looked up to see what was happening with Becca and Stormfront and scrambled unsteadily to his feet. "Shit. C'mon, we gotta--stop a superpowered Nazi somehow." Now would be the only time Danny wouldn't complain about a grenade hidden in one of those cargo pants pockets.
Steve	"Working on it," Steve said, panting a little as he stood up and his vision went hazy. Getting electrocuted a few times in a month: probably bad. "Still have ammo?"
Butcher	Hopefully Danny had some ammo, since Butcher was out and had rushed forward to start whacking Stormfront with his crowbar. It was extremely ineffective. Stormfront barely even moved with each blow, and Becca was getting paler. Not that bullets would help much, either.
Danny	"Still got some ammo," Danny replied, taking aim at Stormfront's head in the hopes of at least breaking her comcentration here. "Usual spot for spare clip." Normal partner stuff in the field.
Steve	It's very normal to rifle through another dude's pockets like this, okay. Steve reloaded his gun and aimed for her spine, just to mix things up.
Stormfront	"Look at me," Stormfront was whispering to Becca as she struggled. "I like to see the light go out."
Ryan	Ryan was getting steadily less coherent in his sobbing and pleading, his emotions ramping up into a full-on blind panic. You know that old trope about trauma manifesting superpowers? Well. Ryan didn't notice when his eyes lit up. He didn't even notice how everything around them started to go hot and bright. All he knew was that he had to protect his mom. The whole world went blindingly bright for a moment in an explosion not unlike a flash grenade, and when everyone had their vision back, they'd notice a few things. First, that Butcher had been flung away from Stormfront in the explosion, and was laying in some ground cover. Second, that Stormfront was also laying on the ground. She was also missing all four of her limbs, each one ending in a burned stump. And thirdly, that Ryan was crying even harder now, and repeatedly murmuring, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mom, no --" Because Becca was slumped against a tree with a blood-covered hand clasped to her neck. "It was an accident," Ryan insisted, unable to stop staring at her. "I'm sorry, Mom -- Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Danny	Once Danny's vision cleared, he put a hand on Steve's arm. "Steve," was all he said, fully expecting him to know what he was really saying before going to Ryan.
Steve	"Careful," Steve murmured. He liked all of Danny's limbs. He gave Stormfront a coldly assessing look--blame years and years and years of wetwork ops for him being able to just get past that--and then made his way over to where Butcher had landed. "You okay?"
Butcher	Butcher pushed himself up dazedly. "Fine," he assured Steve, blinking as he took in Stormfront. Then Ryan and Danny. Then -- "Becca!" Look, no one needed to tell Butcher that that woman was a goner, but he had just gotten her back, and he couldn't -- "Help us!" Butcher shouted as loud as he could as he ran over to where Becca was sputtering around the blood pouring out of her neck, which would only serve to tip off any other nearby Supes (maybe even ones with super-hearing who might have dispatched those speakers already, who could say.) It wasn't fair.
Ryan	Ryan, meanwhile, was weeping with abandon, and couldn't stop staring at what he'd done. He hadn't known he could do that. His dad -- Homelander had said, but.... "Mommy," he said softly, his face crumpled.
Danny	Danny carefully scooped the kid up, turning him away from his mother and the mess that was left of Stormfront as best he could. "Shhh, she knows, buddy. She knows you didn't mean to. You were trying to help."
Ryan	"It was an accident, I didn't mean to," Ryan chanted, hyperventilating still. He calmed down a tiny bit once he wasn't looking at them anymore, but he had to keep saying that. "I didn't know -- he said --" He stole a glance back over at his mom, who was now very, very still, even if Butcher was still bent over her.
Steve	Steve's hand was hovering at Butcher's shoulder, not certain if any kind of comfort would be welcomed.
Butcher	Smart hesitation there, Steve. Butcher was quiet for a moment before he looked over at Ryan, ignoring his own tears for now as he fumbled around on the ground for his crowbar. Obviously had to be done. Becca would disagree, and he knew it, but it was the little Supe's fault she couldn't weigh in, wasn't it?
Steve	"No," Steve said sharply, shifting to block Butcher's path to the kid. "There's been enough death."
Danny	Danny went tense at that, glaring over at Ryan's shoulder at Butcher with the promise he'd have to go through both of them to get to the kid. "We're gonna get you out of here. It's what your mom wanted, right?"
Ryan	Ryan nodded mutely, managing a few shaking breaths. It was what Mom had been trying to do, right? The last few days had been the most confusing and horrifying days of Ryan's young life, so it was all kind of -- running together. And most confusing of all was the way he felt when he looked up and saw who was slowly, gently floating down to them.
Homelander	Homelander took his time with his descent, once he found the group. He was covered in blood -- it had been a busy afternoon -- but he didn't seem to care, in light of how he focused right in on Stormfront and knelt at her side. Apparently Stormfront was still alive, based on the indistinct German she muttered as she looked up at him, but he knew it was over, even if she didn't, and he had had a hard enough time this afternoon that he actually started crying at the sight of her. He'd deal with the rest of you in a second.
Danny	Well, shit. Danny pulled the kid closer like he could protect him from Captain Psycho there. He glanced over at Butcher, but mostly at Steve with more than a little barely concealed panic.
Steve	"Terrific," Steve said, dividing his attention between Butcher and Homelander. They were hilariously outgunned right now, except he was almost out of bullets and it wasn't remotely funny.
Homelander	"Ryan." Homelander's voice was strained as he clasped his fist to his mouth. And then he noticed Becca, and he was torn between despair and surging pride all over again. "Did you do this?"
Ryan	"I didn't mean to," Ryan answered in a very small voice.
Homelander	Homelander straightened up, looking down at Stormfront one last time before addressing his son. "Let's go." Be grateful for Homelander's indifference to you all, adult men. It was as good as mercy. When Ryan didn't move, Homelander tried again. "Come on."
Danny	"He's not going with you." Oh god, someone stop Danny from being the reckless one.
Steve	"Ryan," Steve asked quietly, "do you want to go with--" this angry, blood covered dude? Rephrasing... "--do you want to stay with Danny?"
Ryan	"I --" On the one hand, that was his dad. He knew that. And with his mom -- with her gone, he should probably go with him, right? But Ryan was a smart kid, and he knew that the terrible thing that he had just done would only be the beginning if he left with Homelander. And so rather than answer, he shuffled a little closer to Danny, and ventured a cautious look over to Butcher. He was his mom's husband. She'd said he could trust him.
Butcher	Something protective and primal in Butcher had unlocked at the way Homelander had looked at Becca's body, and so he was slowly crossing over to stand next to Steve, between Ryan and Homelander. "No," he said simply. Steve was right; there'd been enough death today, already.
Homelander	Homelander actually wheezed out a deeply unhappy-sounding laugh at seeing them band together to protect a kid who could, clearly, kill them all where they stood. Did you all forget about the dead woman over there? This kid was a liability to you normal humans. Plus, Homelander was nothing if not possessive. "He's mine."
Danny	"He's a kid," Danny said, lifting his chin like he could actually do something here. "He's not a puppy. He's not a thing. No."
Homelander	"What, you're gonna blow yourselves up," Homelander asked softly, "to save the little shit who murdered his mom? Who murdered your wife?"
Maeve	A soft breeze blew, and behind Homelander, a statuesque redhead they might recognize as one of Annie's other teammates touched down, bending her knees to make the impact of her landing as soft as possible. Queen Maeve glanced over at Becca, realizing quickly she had actually been too slow to answer the cry for help she'd heard. But it wasn't too late to save these guys from her favorite monster, at least. Maeve made eye contact with Steve and held a finger up to her lips as she quietly fished something out of a small pouch on her uniform.
Danny	"You think you're his dad?" Danny demanded, putting himself in front of Ryan now, a hand still on the kid's shoulder to keep contact. "That it? You don't know the first thing about being a parent. Being a parent means putting the kid first and not being a selfish prick. You're just a--a genetic donor, that's it."
Steve	Steve gave Maeve a tiny smile in reply and shifted so he was shoulder to shoulder (...ish, Danny was short) in front of Homelander, blocking him from the kid.
Homelander	If Danny's words hadn't been enough to make Homelander absolutely furious, that shift in posture would have done it. That was his son. What was a little more blood on his uniform, at this point? "Have it your way," he sighed, sounding tired as his eyes began to burn red.
Maeve	"Stop," Queen Maeve called out, holding something in her hand now. (Jesus, Maeve, way to be the most dramatic with your timing, there. Ten seconds ago might have been nice.)
Homelander	Homelander did stop, though. He closed his eyes, tipping his head back in exhausted irritation. "What," he asked softly, turning towards her, "are you doing here?" Just because he had turned did not mean it was a good idea to make any sudden moves, gang.
Danny	Yeah, look. He and Steve took turns doing the dangerous thing sometimes. And most of the time it was Steve's turn. But there was a kid here, so it was all on Danny. He let out a quiet breath, risking a glance over at Steve.
Steve	Steve's hand twitched, telling Danny to stay still. This was a little like facing off against some kind of enraged animal, and for once, Steve wasn't the big dog in the fight. He discovered immediately that he hated that feeling.
Maeve	"You're going to let them go," Maeve told Homelander, her tone brokering no questions. This was not up for discussion.
Homelander	"And if I don't?" Homelander replied. He had absolutely no intention of doing such a thing. Maeve had to know that, so what was her game?
Maeve	She held up the cell phone she'd gotten out of her pocket -- one of the passengers from Flight 37 had recorded a goodbye message to his family. She'd had to get Deep to go looking for the black box to find something like this, and Maeve had been waiting, with this smoking gun, for a long time, until she had the right moment. Though it might have been hard to see exactly what was on the phone, the scene was one of chaos on a clearly-endangered airplane. In the background, Maeve and Homelander were clearly visible, arguing about taking passengers off the plane with them before Homelander took her by the waist, and they both left via the emergency exit. And then the plane continued to crash, with almost two hundred innocent civilians aboard. "Let them go," Maeve ground out, staring straight at Homelander as the video played in her hand. "You're going to stop hunting Starlight and her boyfriend. You're going to leave me and Elena alone. Or I release this."
Danny	Would that work? Danny had, you know, kinda jabbed him with a sharp stick emotionally. Because he was an idiot. He pushed his shoulder into Steve's arm (stupid, tall partners) as he waited.
Steve	Well, Steve was definitely not inclined to let Ryan go off with a unhinged murderer of civilians, so he leaned back into Danny's arm and tried to think of ways he could take out, you know, a superhero, with what he had available (not much).
Homelander	"If you do that," Homelander said slowly, staring at Maeve, "I'll destroy everything. And everyone." Starting with all of you here in the woods with him, right now. He might still spare Ryan. Might.
Maeve	"Great," Maeve replied easily. Everything had already been taken from her, and this gambit was her only chance of getting any of it back, so she didn't really care. "As long as everyone sees what a fucking monster you really are." A small, unkind smile spread across her face. "As long as no one ever loves you again." The quickest way to a narcissist's heart was to threaten their position in everyone else's.
Homelander	Homelander was quiet, still save but for how he moved to look back over at Ryan again. It only took a moment of observing the child's utter terror before it set in for Homelander how right Maeve was. His face crumpled and he reached one gloved hand up to cover his eyes as he wept. And then, without any warning, he shot up into the air, careening off into the sky with one of those telltale sonic booms.
Danny	Somehow during that, Danny's hand had latched onto Steve's wrist and only now did it relax. "Jesus Christ," he muttered, letting out a relieved sigh.
Steve	"What a drama llama," Steve said, now that the guy was (hopefully) safely out of hearing range.
Maeve	Maeve rolled her eyes up to look in the direction he'd gone -- Homelander was probably far enough off that he hadn't caught that, but way to tempt fate, Steve. "You're all okay?" she asked, passing a glance over Danny, Steve, and Butcher, and her expression softened into a very slight smile when she caught Ryan's eye. She wasn't even going to comment on the woman over there. She didn't need the guilt.
Danny	"Been better," Danny said with another sigh. "The others--?"
Maeve	"Following on foot," Maeve told him succinctly. "She did a number on them before I got there, so it might be a minute." But at least they'd all been standing when she'd taken off a moment ago, if perhaps leaning on one another a bit.
Steve	Steve eyes shifted over to where Stormfront had fallen. "Everything still...intact, though?"
Maeve	Maeve's gaze slid over there as well, though she wrongfully assumed Homelander had done it. (Wouldn't exactly be the first time he lost his temper on a girlfriend, after all.) "Stormfront broke the little one's neck, I think," Maeve offered. "But she's got a healing factor. Got right back up after I got there." Lucky. "Everyone else looked fine." And by 'fine' she meant they all probably had concussions and maybe some internal bleeding.
Danny	"Thank you," Danny said. "For helping us." Because he super would have died due to some righteous papa bear stuff.
Steve	That was Steve's definition of fine, too! His hand was still in Danny's and he'd forgotten about it as he nodded. "We were completely outmatched," he said.
Maeve	"Yeah, well, if he'd gotten violent, we would have lost," Maeve said with a very slight smile. "But I'm hoping this keeps him leashed for awhile." Her gaze rested briefly on their joined hands -- she really needed to see if she could get Elena to talk to her, now that she'd solved their problem -- before she looked past them to Ryan, and held up her hand in a little wave. "Hey, buddy."
Ryan	"Hi," Ryan said softly, a little wary since he knew that lady worked with his dad. (He had also seen her on a box of lasagna once.)
Danny	Well, Danny seemed to realize the whole hand holding thing at the point, giving Steve's hand a quick squeeze before letting go. "We're gonna get you somewhere safe, okay?" Danny said to the kid, glancing over at Butcher to confirm it.
Butcher	Butcher had been absorbed in staring over at Becca, lost in his own thoughts now that Homelander had departed. "Yeah," he replied, catching himself and turning to address Ryan with something almost like gentleness. "I've got a friend for you to meet who'll get you somewhere very safe. Her name is Grace." Of course it was.
Steve	Steve's smile was involuntary and immediate. "We have good luck with people named Grace."
Danny	Of course Danny had to smile at that too, offering Ryan a genuine one at that. "See?"

Annie	They were quite a ways behind Queen Maeve, yes, but Annie and Diego (along with MM, Kimiko, and Frenchie, but we know who you all really cared about, here) eventually managed to find their way to the others. They were both pretty banged up -- Diego probably more visibly so -- and obviously limping and supporting one another as they approached. But that didn't stop Annie from calling out a soft, "Oh, thank God, they're over there. Hey! Hey, guys!" And everyone even looked okay from here! (She would notice Becca in a second.)
Danny	Also Vader!Stormfront there! Danny let out a relieved sigh again to see everyone, mostly, in one piece. He waved over at them as they stumbled into view. "Annie, I say this with all love, but I need your whole thing to calm down a little."
Diego	Diego got momentarily distracted by Stormfront because, yikes, that was not how they left her. That was the second crispy body he had seen in a handful of days. "You seem to have handled it okay."
Steve	"We're still standing," Steve agreed, tilting his head and giving Diego an assessing look and then moving over closer to him so he could, you know, lean all cool and uninjured against Steve while still helping Annie. Like a bro-code hug.
Annie	"Oh my God, who did that?" Annie asked, eyes wide as she took in Stormfront. "Oh -- oh, no." And that was her noticing Becca, yes.
Maeve	"You just missed him," Maeve replied, crossing her arms and instantly regretting saying anything. "He's gonna leave us alone."
Annie	Annie looked over at her, curious as to how such a peace could have been brokered, but you know what, she didn't really feel like questioning it if Maeve had somehow gotten Homelander to back down. "Huh." She looked down at Stormfront, still muttering softly to herself in German, and Annie resisted the urge to go over there and stomp on her face. Instead, she proudly told everyone, "Diego did that to her eye." And Diego would be getting all kinds of thank you kisses for it once they were all, like, cleaned up and checked for injuries.
Danny	Danny put a hand on Ryan's shoulder, not about to tell the truth about what happened right now. But it'd come once they got the kid out of here. "Congrats, Diego," Danny said with far less enthusiasm than Steve would have. Mostly because it was pretty gross. And he'd worked a lot of homicide cases, y'all.
Diego	"Thanks," Diego said, putting some weight on Steve since Annie had been doing most of the heavy lifting to get here. "Worth the concussion I think I got." If his siblings had been around they'd probably say Diego getting a head injury was no big loss.
Steve	Steve was totally shooting him a covert little thumbs up because the eye thing was both gross and effective and he appreciated effective. He'd had enough gross for the moment, honestly. "Is there a hospital you trust?" he asked Annie.
Annie	"...you know," Annie said, thinking about it, "the only hospital I've been to recently is, like, fifty miles southeast of the city." But they'd taken really good care of Hughie there!
MM	"Mallory'll get us to one," MM contributed from where he was uselessly checking Becca over. "But I can check anyone else over before then for a little peace of mind. Used to be a medic when I was in the Marines." To Diego, he added, "You absolutely have a fucking concussion, man, she threw us pretty hard." Which meant that he and Frenchie needed to be checked over, too, since they probably had matching head injuries. It was a good thing Steve had asked since MM was pretty inclined to insist that at least the non-super-abled people here get themselves checked out.
Danny	Danny was giving MM a look like he was so very glad to have one sane person here. "What about her?" he asked, nodding at Stormfront.
Diego	"Oh yeah. Hadn't really thought about that." What do you do with a burnt up, de-limbed Nazi?
Steve	Steve looked at Annie. "Does Vought have a clean team or something? Wetworks specialists?" So many euphemisms for "those who make bad shit go away."
Annie	Annie was nodding along, even if the terms weren't exactly familiar. (Not something she was really involved in, given that most of Annie's work with Vought, thus far, had involved photoshoots and the like.) She looked over at Maeve, because they definitely needed to get Vought out here to clean up Stormfront. But they needed to be far away, first. "Can we get a couple hours, you think?" They'd need that time to reconvene with Colonel Mallory, and even if Annie wasn't saying it aloud, they needed to make sure Becca went with them, too.
Maeve	"Yeah. I'll make sure." Maeve looked up through an opening in the tree cover before looking back at the group again, her gaze drifting over Diego before resting on Annie again. "I'll see you back at the tower. I'm not doing press on this alone." And with that, she took a couple steps back before leaping up into the sky, leaving the rest of the group to -- once again -- travel on foot.

[AND THAT'S A WRAP. preplayed with knife_bender, hatesparadise, and grenadesandohana, warning for character death and a different character's dismemberment and blinding, NFB/NFI/OOC welcome, and thank you all for coming on this utterly nutso ride with me the last couple months. HURRY UP, SEASON 3, I'M GONNA ADAPT YOU TOO.]