บท 286: 286 The Boys: The Shattered Queen, Maeve and The Convictions of an "Ordinary" Man.
Madelyn hung up the phone after a conversation with Stan Edgar about the mysterious Supe. It could be related to Homelander and A-Train, who had a small project involving Compound V.
Madelyn looked to the front where two men sat with flattering smiles.
Madelyn Stillwell looked at her two creatives, who were tasked with helping her craft different narratives for each of the Seven.
"A kidnapping!" one of them said excitedly. "Homelander needs to take advantage of this period of relaxation. We could have him rescue someone from a group of kidnappers, but it has to be someone famous. We could use Justin Bieber."
The other creative interrupted, snapping his fingers. "No, I have a better idea. Let it be Jimin from BTS. He's known for his charisma, dancing talent, and visual appeal. If he's kidnapped, his massive fanbase will adore Homelander for rescuing him. Plus, it'll help Homelander project a more global image."
Madelyn shook her head. "We can use someone else for that. Homelander is a national symbol, period!"
One of the creatives bit his nails until he came up with an idea. "What if we put him on a reality show? It'll be like *My Life with Homelander!*"
Madelyn smiled, resisting the urge to fire them both. They didn't understand how temperamental Homelander was and how difficult it was to please him. If they approached him with such foolish ideas, he would throw them into space.
Madelyn sighed, paying no more attention to the pair in front of her who kept spouting mediocre ideas.
At that moment, Queen Maeve knocked on the door and entered.
"You two, we'll see each other later. Think of ideas that maintain Homelander's patriotic image."
Both creatives noticed Madelyn's bad mood and quickly left. Madelyn indicated a chair without rising from her desk.
Maeve sat down in silence, and both women remained quiet.
Madelyn had postponed many things, even almost giving up on the plan to have the Supes enter the military. However, she hadn't forgotten a crucial issue: Maeve's involvement in everything that had happened.
"Maeve, what happened there?"
Maeve not only visibly jeopardized Vought while attempting to save passengers, but when Homelander was in trouble, she did nothing to help him.
"..."
Madelyn squinted. "Have you been drinking?"
Maeve visibly flinched but didn't deny it. Madelyn grew impatient but gave Maeve time to think.
"I... couldn't..."
"Couldn't what?" Madelyn began tapping her fingers on the desk. Depending on Maeve's answer, her career here might end.
"I couldn't intervene. They were too fast, and I couldn't react in time. By the time I realized it, Homelander had disappeared into the sea, and Black Noir... what exactly is Black Noir?"
Madelyn broke her severe gaze, showing that Maeve's excuse was good enough to be accepted. Certainly, no Supe could keep up with Homelander or Stan Edgar's monster.
Madelyn took out a manuscript and handed it to Maeve, who looked at her in confusion.
"What?" Madelyn said. "Come on, darling, you've been in this business for years. It's your script. Memorize it. You're going to be mentally controlled for a while. Everything will end when Homelander defeats the villain and saves you..."
"What?!"
Maeve stood up abruptly. This was essentially kicking her out of the Seven.
"It'll only be temporary. This time we need something more than just smiling at a camera!" Madelyn stood up and looked at Maeve sternly. "I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. Maeve, I shouldn't have to tell you twice."
Maeve, dissatisfied, left the room. She walked down the hall and stopped at a place where there was a picture of herself carrying a child away from a burning building.
When it comes to why Vought chooses to invent problems, most of the time it's due to the variable nature of the situation.
Reality isn't like a movie. Criminals aren't scripted. Nothing guarantees that a criminal won't go crazy during a robbery and kill the hostages. Nothing guarantees that in a chase, the fugitive won't crash into an orphanage.
...
Maeve arrived home, threw the manuscript onto the couch without caring about it, and walked to her personal bar. There was trash and empty whiskey bottles scattered on the floor.
Maeve grabbed a bottle and was about to drink when she saw her own reflection in the glass of the cabinet. Annoyed, she threw the bottle against the wall, then took the showcase filled with over a hundred thousand dollars worth of expensive alcohol and smashed it against the wall.
"AAHHHH!..."
Maeve, feeling overwhelmed, backed away and slumped against the wall. Sitting down, she remained silent for a while.
"I hate this job..."
All members of the Seven have their own issues and flaws.
Homelander is addicted to fame, popularity, and the affection of the masses.
A-Train struggles with substance addiction, recently even becoming addicted to Compound V.
Translucent was a perverted exhibitionist who enjoyed spying on others.
The Deep is too stupid to function and has sexual fetishes involving marine creatures.
Black Noir...
Maeve, Queen Maeve, has significant issues with alcohol, not to mention she was an alcoholic at one point. However, everything has a reason.
Maeve's life, or rather the life of Margaret "Maggie" Shaw in this world, was tragic. She was the first version of Starlight among the Seven. Indeed, she arrived at Vought as a girl full of dreams and a desire to be a superhero, but like Annie, she ran into the harsh wall of reality. She saw the unpleasant side of this world, but unlike Annie, no one came to her rescue.
Of course, it wasn't as if she had made any effort on her part.
Homelander was right. Queen Maeve ended up being a coward and didn't escape this world when she had the chance. Then came the moment when she had to get her hands dirty, and once she did, there was no turning back.
Maeve had to kill a witness who had seen Homelander's true face.
Maeve had to abandon innocent people in a fire because they were part of a TV network that used to be against Vought and the Seven.
Maeve had to lie, blackmail, murder, and threaten, all while accompanied by a bottle of alcohol to forget her own actions. Before she knew it, she was already lost.
For a while, alcohol became her mainstay...
It was fine until her addiction started affecting her role as Queen Maeve. She was given an ultimatum, or rather, Homelander made it clear that if it happened again, he would take care of her.
Of course, Maggie, like everyone else, feared Homelander. She was terrified of the Homelander monster because she knew firsthand many of the atrocities he had committed, even though many were actually Black Noir, but she wasn't aware of that.
Maggie was a mess for many years, pushing away friends and family until she was left alone. Ironically, her fear of Homelander helped her overcome that problem.
Maggie became a nihilist and stopped caring about others. If the world and everyone allowed a monster like Homelander to exist, there was nothing she could do, so nothing mattered.
Thanks to this attitude, Maeve managed to get her life back on track. It was a life covered in mud and dirt, but it was a life nonetheless. However, her world was shaken by the arrival of Starlight. The girl reminded her of herself many years ago, and she knew what was about to happen, especially seeing her accompanied by The Deep in the tower.
Maeve decided not to intervene, no matter what happened, but she couldn't stay away and remained near the meeting room. At that moment, her world was shaken once more. She expected a tragedy, but that was the world—no heroes, no miracles, just the harsh reality.
But it wasn't like that. Almost as if it were a fantasy story, someone entered and saved Annie. She watched in disbelief as Allen entered the meeting room, then saw him smash The Deep's face and take down Black Noir.
Maeve watched in astonishment as the girl was held in Allen's arms. It was a scene that even the best special effects and the best script could never recreate.
Maeve was filled with panic and felt the need to tell Allen to get Annie out of there before that monster showed up.
"I see... you're here?"
Maeve froze and, peering out, saw Homelander floating. Her heart sank as reality hit her once again. It was true—the world was like that, with no happy endings, only blood and dead people.
Or so she thought, but the image of both of them becoming a red stain on the wall didn't happen. She peered out to see something incredible in her life—someone had stopped Homelander. Someone had faced him head-on!
Maggie, catching her breath, observed the young figure in front of her. Memories came flooding back, and she imagined what she once thought the world could be. She let tears fall as she heard Homelander being scolded, mocked, and humiliated.
Allen and Annie passed by her, but Annie didn't notice her presence. However, Allen did look at her for a moment without saying anything.
Maggie watched them walk away. Maybe deep down, she felt envy, but it didn't matter.
...
Maggie became Maeve again. She thought she should be happy that at least Starlight didn't have to go through everything she had.
That was enough to lift Maeve's spirits. However, she didn't realize that seeing her own reflection on Annie and the encounter with Allen had affected her more than she thought.
It wasn't until the airplane incident that she realized that deep down, she still harbored a longing to do what was right.
Hearing the cries for help, seeing people on the brink of death, and feeling that she had the means to do something, she felt she had to act for once. Unfortunately, the image of Homelander as a monster in her mind was too overwhelming. She stared dazedly at the falling plane.
In the end, this is what she is...
Even though she had abandoned those poor people, someone hadn't. Once again, he passed by her.
Maeve couldn't put into words what she felt for that person...
For a moment, all her despair, fear, and self-loathing disappeared, and the only thing that remained in her mind was the young man dressed in black with shining pieces of armor and a cape as white as the light of a thousand stars giving his all to save the airplane.
Maeve felt an urge to help him, but the insane, furious, murderous scream stopped her. She remembered whose side she was on and couldn't move from her spot.
In her mind, she wished, if it were still possible, that the mysterious young man would defeat Homelander and save that plane.
"Impossible," she said, trembling.
It was strange for Maeve to see what happened next... one-sided... it was a one-sided beating by the young man with white hair.
Homelander, who had once seemed a terrifying monster, couldn't even defend himself against the young man. Almost like a mockery, he was knocked down and thrown into the sea.
Maeve felt lost. Why did she fear that person?
No, that's not it. Homelander was a monster in every sense, and she had no chance of winning against him, but it was different for that person. Maeve seemed trance-like as everything else faded away, leaving only Allen in her view.
"Ah... I see... this is how it should have been..." she weakly smiled, deeply depressed.
"Black Noir!!"
Maeve snapped out of her thoughts at the sight of Black Noir standing in the sky.
"Wait, could he fly?!"
What happened next left Maeve feeling chills. There was a sense of terror deep in her heart as she watched the ensuing confrontation.
She felt as if she didn't know Black Noir, despite having been close to him for years.
She could be sure that even if she couldn't beat Homelander, she could land a few blows on the bastard before falling, but against the monster that turned out to be Black Noir, she felt she would die instantly.
Maeve couldn't understand how Madelyn could create something like that and remain calm. Maeve looked at Allen with concern but didn't dare intervene. Or rather, it wasn't necessary; Allen emerged victorious once again, though he was injured.
Black Noir rescued Homelander and left. Maeve bowed her head as they passed by, not daring to move a muscle.
She thought it was the end for Vought. She laughed and for the first time in years drank a little, but this time to celebrate. However, that wasn't the case. Vought proved it could endure such a thing.
Maeve was called in on the third day after the incident and was given another script. She almost laughed; even at this moment, she still had a chain around her neck.
...
Returning from her memories, Maeve looked at her hands—her bloodstained hands, her body, and a decayed soul.
She could die at Homelander's hands, and no one would care. She curled up on the floor, resigning herself to being Queen Maeve once more...
She thought of Starlight "What envy..."
Maeve's voice was so faint that no one should have heard it. It was just a final cry from the depths of her soul. However, she wasn't so hypocritical as to wish for something, after all she had done....
...
...
...
It was a cloudy morning in New York, and people were starting their day early, filling the streets with many individuals coming and going with their various activities.
The Boys is more than superheroes in a country with over a hundred million people; the story of a couple of dozen people as the main cast doesn't manage to capture everything happening in the world.
While Madelyn focused on her company...
Homelander prepared his speeches...
Butcher sought a way to kill Homelander and bring down Vought...
Life went on...
...
Sergeant Martinez approached the radio mic in his patrol car. The sounds of the city around him mixed with the firm, authoritative voice emanating from the speaker.
"Unit 27 to 10-90, I repeat, Unit 27 to 10-90," Martinez said with a tone of urgency that left no doubt about the severity of the situation.
From the dispatch center, the dispatcher's voice responded immediately, with a hint of urgency in its tone.
"Unit 27, received. What is the situation at the bank on Fifth Avenue?"
"Robbery confirmed at Central Bank on Fifth Avenue. The suspects have taken hostages. The description of the subjects is as follows: Three men between 5'8" and 6'1" (1,70 and 1,85) wearing black jackets and ski masks. Security cameras show that none of them are armed, but two are confirmed to have superpowers."
"Are there any injured victims?" the dispatcher asked gravely.
Martinez took a deep breath before responding.
"At the moment, there are two injured—security guards. The bank staff is in a state of panic."
The dispatch center fell silent for a moment as they processed the information. Then, the dispatcher's voice came through again, this time with a more decisive tone.
"Unit 27, proceed with caution. SWAT is being dispatched, and Vought will be contacted."
Martinez didn't seem too comfortable with the idea. It was rare for them to face a villain with superpowers, as most were usually defeated by Vought before the police could intervene.
Martinez always found it strange, almost as if Vought prepared villains and defeated them before police intervention on purpose.
"Send a negotiation team to the scene and ensure the perimeter is secured."
"Understood," Martinez nodded, though the other end of the radio couldn't see him.
He didn't like the idea, but the snipers had tried shooting one, and the bullets didn't seem to harm him.
...
Inside the bank, one of the robbers was furious with another.
"Idiots! I told you we needed to leave, and now we're stuck in the vault!" said one robber, lighting a cigarette.
"Shut up, I'm working!" said another, as he opened the vault. Absurdly, he wasn't using tools but instead emitting a laser beam from his fingers that cut through the metal.
"Damn it... Homelander will show up and kill us..." grumbled the cigarette-smoking robber as he incinerated the cigarette butt to ashes.
"LET HIM COME, I'LL KILL HIM!" exclaimed a very muscular robber as his arms turned to rock.
The first robber pulled out another cigarette and lit it between his fingers. He looked at his companions expressionlessly. Unlike them, he knew this was all a farce. The Seven would soon arrive, and they would have a confrontation. Then, the two idiots would be killed, and he would be captured.
Vought usually didn't use Supes with strong abilities as villains unless they wanted to make a big impression, but this time they spared no expense in sacrificing two.
One of the hostages got up and ran for the exit. The three robbers were near the vault, so no one was watching the hostages.
'It doesn't matter if one or two getaway in the end,' thought the smoking robber.
"Hey, bitch!!" The muscular guy yelled as he advanced on the woman trying to leave. His body grew as it was covered in rock like a golem. The snipers shot from a distance, but the bullets did nothing to the golem.
"Tsk, idiot!!" shouted the cigarette-smoking robber.
"NOOO!"
The woman screamed before being crushed by what was equivalent to a construction truck. There was an explosion, and dust filled the air. The police outside were also alarmed.
"There's no need to hurt anyone if you just want money."
The dust cleared, and the woman opened her eyes to see she was in the arms of a young man who was smiling at her. She couldn't speak and started to stammer.
"Who is he?!" shouted the cigarette-smoking robber. He hadn't seen the news and only knew that Vought was in crisis at most.
The golem stared in shock as a strange guy took the blow to his head from a golem while protecting the woman, and didn't even turn to look at him.
Allen slowly turned to look at the golem. The golem tried to retreat, but Allen grabbed the rock hand with his own. Then he nodded to the woman to move away. She gave a reluctant look but reluctantly complied.
"Let me go!" screamed the golem.
"What's wrong? Weren't you so eager to kill a woman who just wanted to escape?" Allen mocked.
The golem robber got angry and attacked Allen with his other hand, but this time, Allen also struck back. The golem's hand broke, and the robber's arm was shattered as well.
"AAAHHHHHGG!!! WHO ARE YOU?!"
Amidst the pain, the rock man managed to look at Allen, only to find a calm gaze with immense pressure.
"I don't reject power..."
"Nobody's asking you that!!" The other robber, who was opening the vault, pointed his fingers and shot several high-density lasers at Allen, similar to those used for cutting diamonds. However, they only struck him without even scratching him.
"I don't reject others having power, I don't reject selfish desires because humanity is like that... I don't reject hatred or revenge, nor evil because no one is perfect, and it's natural to have some darkness in every person..."
"What is this guy saying!" As if he were a copy of Colonel Roy Mustang, the cigarette-smoking robber snapped his fingers, creating a small spark. Soon after, an explosion enveloped Allen. Many people lying on the ground were caught in the explosion.
The robber lamented, "Damn it, Madelyn specifically said there should be no casualties. This was supposed to be a clean operation!"
"However, it seems very unfair to drag innocent people into your selfish desires... don't you think so?"
"Huh?!"
"It's impossible!"
"It's a monster!"
The three supes stared in terror as the fire cleared. The young man stood there, without a speck of dust on his body or a single stain on his cape. He looked at them calmly. The hostages caught in the explosion were perfectly fine, enveloped in a faint golden light that seemed to protect them from any harm.
Allen began to walk toward them. "I am not a hero, nor do I want to be one... but to you who live for a dark desire... to you who have not a shred of compassion for those who cannot defend themselves... to you who simply kill everyone because you can..." Allen's eyes lit up with a brilliant gaze full of massive power. "In front of me... I won't let you harm anyone... I won't let you spill cruelty and senseless violence... and I won't let you cause tragedies on a whim."
"F*CK YOU, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! LEAVE US ALONE!"
The three started attacking desperately with fire, lasers, and compressed rocks. However, all the attacks hit Allen's body without hurting him.
"Me?" Allen smiled. "Who knows..."
With every step Allen took, the robbers' desperation grew. Meanwhile, the people watched in a trance as the young man effortlessly took all the deadly attacks without a hint of doubt or fear while protecting them.
....
Superman – See, I told you, Bruce, hahaha.
Batman – ...
===
Absolute cinema
The next chapter is also 3.5k words long so look forward to it XD
A/N: I took a little liberty with Maeve's story to make it better.
PS: Batman has always been there but says nothing, because he is Batman.
My new patreon is: Patreon.com/_Aizen
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