Vought Tower | Friday Afternoon

[defenderofdesmoines]

When your boss's boss -- like, the boss of everyone -- called a meeting, you cleared your calendar.

And that was exactly what Annie had done (or, well, had her assistant do) when the request had come down from Mr. Edgar for them to meet this afternoon.

Of course, she had kind of figured it was a private meeting, so she was a little surprised to see Homelander there. Not so surprised she didn't give him a deferential nod in greeting, but surprised all the same.

Homelander	Homelander was just as surprised to see her, not that it showed. He didn't nod back, since that would suggest that he in any way wanted her there. "Excuse me, Starlight, I need the room. I have a meeting with Stan." So skedaddle.
Stan Edgar	"Actually, I invited you both," Stan corrected from where he was standing at the front of the table, and gestured expansively to them both. "Have a seat." That wasn't ominous, right?
Homelander	"...great." It was not great. At all. Just excuse him while he pushed past Starlight to get the good chair. His chair.
Starlight	Well. Awkward. Annie carefully wound her way over to her own chair, wondering whether she was in trouble for something as she carefully smoothed her cape and took a seat. She was pretty sure she wasn't? Or at least -- she shouldn't be, right?
Stan Edgar	"I remember when you first arrived, Starlight," Stan began, smiling at her in a way that was probably supposed to be reassuring. "A farm girl from Kansas. Bright-eyed like Dorothy in Oz."
Starlight	"Iowa," Annie corrected swiftly, her smile going a little strained. "And not a farm." No big deal, just her...you know, actual identity.
Stan Edgar	"Oh, well." Stan wasn't going to correct that. All the square states were the same, anyway. "Look how far you've come. Polling at 96 -- a new Vought record. I don't have to tell you that our brand has been a bit...tarnished since that nasty business last year." That was putting things quite lightly. "But you have restored a wholesome, trustworthy image to the company when we needed it the most. Which is why...the board wants to make you co-captain of The Seven."
Homelander	There weren't a whole lot of things that could take Homelander by surprise. But that? That was one of them. "What?"
Starlight	Annie was, quite possibly, even more surprised, somehow. "Co-- co-captain?" she repeated, actually stuttering over the words. "But -- but Homelander is captain." That was a stupid thing to say. Everyone here knew Homelander was team captain, but she was both too surprised and too worried about his reaction to this news to really worry about coming across dumb. "I mean," she added, now looking across the table to Homelander, "you're captain."
Stan Edgar	"This will be beneficial to you both," Stan continued, as though neither of them had spoken. He turned to Homelander, dismissively casual. "Your numbers are down, what, uh, double digits? The public still associates you with Stormfront. This would be a real bump. A rising tide lifts all boats."
Homelander	Homelander had been looking at Starlight like this had been her idea, but was shaken out of the staring by the mention of Stormfront. Always had to come back to that, didn't it? "That's very thoughtful of you, Stan," Homelander said, trying to school his features into something like casual passivity. "When does the board vote?" So he knew when to schedule his mental breakdown.
Stan Edgar	"They already did this morning." And was there a certain smugness to Stan's expression that he'd already taken care of this before Homelander could throw his tantrum? Maybe. He'd been dealing with this particular product for a very, very long time. There was a certain way to hold the leash, sometimes. "All that's left is for Starlight to say yes."
Starlight	"No," Annie said, as soon as she'd processed what he said, and an apologetic smile flew to her face. "I mean -- I mean, I'm flattered, thank you, but...no thank you." Like, of all the things she hadn't expected. Maybe someday, but she'd only been on the team for a year, and it felt like jumping rank. Plus, there was Homelander. That was definitely a factor, here. She could tell he was furious, and that wasn't going to be a situation that improved if she accepted. "If anybody, it should be Maeve."
Stan Edgar	"Maeve," Stan replied smoothly, "doesn't have a 96." There was exactly one reason Starlight was being singled out here, and it was because she was popular. The lesbian thing hadn't boosted Maeve enough to counter the fact that she was a woman over 30 and, therefore, practically dust in the wind.
Homelander	"Nobody does," Homelander said. He flashed Starlight a smile that didn't meet his eyes. "Except you, apparently."
Stan Edgar	Stan let the silence linger just long enough to make it awkward -- it wasn't as though he didn't know why Starlight was refusing. She might be popular, but she really needed to work on her poker face. "Homelander? Could you give us a moment?"
Homelander	Uh, no. Absolutely not. "Look, I'd really like to keep discussing this." And maybe somewhere during the conversation he could finally figure out a way to successfully threaten Stan Edgar.
Stan Edgar	"Absolutely. Set a time with Samantha, and we'll get you in," Stan replied easily. Here he hadn't thought he'd get another opportunity to further demean Homelander in this conversation, and then it was handed to him, just like that.
Homelander	Oh, you dick. "Great. No problem," Homelander said, getting up from his chair. "My schedule is pretty full, but I'll try to find you a window." He didn't bother looking at Starlight again as he made his exit. To go stand outside the door and listen.
Starlight	Annie watched the doors slide shut after Homelander before turning to Stan with wide, slightly-panicked eyes. "Okay, sir? There is no way. I mean, you saw him. He's --"
Stan Edgar	"He can get as pissy as he wants," Stan interjected, scoffing and dismissively waving both hands like a fed-up parent. "As long as I'm CEO of Vought, he's under control, and we both know why."
Starlight	Well. Annie knew why, but she did not know that Mr. Edgar knew about that video Maeve had shown her. That was a pretty close-kept secret, she thought. She hadn't even told Diego about it. Interesting. Maybe he meant something else. Besides -- "You...you know he can probably hear you," Annie ventured, darting a glance at those closed doors.
Stan Edgar	"Good. I hope he does," Stan replied easily. He didn't give a single whit about Homelander right now. He needed to convince this bright-eyed farm gir -- okay, look, she sure seemed like she'd come from a farm, anyway. "Starlight," he continued, quiet and serious and focused on her. "Real power isn't this." He thrust one hand out in front of him, an obvious imitation of her -- or any Supe -- using her powers. "It's the ability to bend the world to your will. You would decide what The Seven do. What causes they support. Full authority to fill the team's empty slots. I'm offering you real power." He got up, and smoothly moved the chair he'd been sitting in at the head of the table to one side, before adding another. Two seats at the center of that V. Two leaders. "You should think about it." And on that note, he gave her a small smile, and left the same way Homelander had.
Starlight	Annie watched him go before carefully standing up out of her own seat to examine those chairs. Those chairs. This conference room. It was hard not to think about her first night here. But as she reached out and gently ran her hand over the leather of the chair that would be hers, if she accepted this offer, it actually bolstered her to think about that first night. If she was co-captain, she'd be able to make sure things like that didn't happen. She could change the team, focus everyone away from sleaziness and market shares and movies. She could make things better -- not for Vought's image, but for the whole world. ...maybe. Maybe she could do that. It sounded absolutely impossible, but...maybe.

[taken from the Boys 3.01, 'Payback,' and preplayed with the ever-fabulous knife_bender as Homelander. NFB, NFI, and OOC welcome!]