The sun shone on the streets of Brooklyn, indicating that it was still early in the morning when Allen decided to return to his apartment.
When he arrived, the place was in an eerie silence.
'System?'
[Kimiko, Annie, and Cate are home]
'So I wasn't mistaken.'
Both Allen and the system could easily tell if the girls were at home, but Allen decided to be more cautious since Mindstorm. Maybe he was in the middle of an illusion, who knows?
2B approached Allen, she wore an apron with a heart pattern over her black gothic dress.
"Welcome, Master," she said as she took off Allen's overcoat.
"Thank you... Is there any news?" Allen asked. There should have been some, considering 2B's existence had been revealed. It was necessary, as Allen disliked hiding the dolls, and Annie, Cate and especially Kimiko were not going to leave Allen's apartment.
"None…" 2B replied, which made Allen suspicious. However, trying to get information out of 2B was complicated, so Allen decided to check on the girls himself.
In the living room, the three girls were sitting on the couch, completely silent.
Allen entered and greeted them without receiving a response. He then walked over and sat on a single couch next to the silent trio and remained quiet as well. Annie had her arms crossed, Kimiko was hugging her knees, and Cate stayed beside them, quite confused about the situation.
Cate smiled at Allen, but just as she was about to speak, Annie placed her hand over her and hugged her, covering her mouth.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Annie asked while holding a struggling Cate. This was amusing, but Allen didn't laugh.
"...?" Allen decided to feign ignorance and just blinked innocently. Allen was sure this must have annoyed Annie, as she blushed, but not out of embarrassment.
2B approached, still wearing the heart-patterned apron and carrying a tray with cookies and a teapot.
"2B?" Allen was surprised by this.
"They are freshly baked cookies," she said, lifting her chin slightly, showing a hint of satisfaction for her actions, though her expression remained neutral. "Master had a cup of coffee, but he hasn't had breakfast."
"Oh, I see. Thanks." Allen took a cookie while 2B observed each of his movements. "Wait, how did you know what I drank?" Allen immediately ignored his question; one of the girls must have told 2B telepathically.
Allen took a bite of the cookie, which had a vanilla aroma and a slight warmth. It crumbled easily, filling Allen with its sweet flavor and pleasant texture.
Allen smiled at 2B. "Delicious, it's impressive for being your first time cooking, haha."
2B's eyes brightened slightly as her expression softened a bit, and her tone of voice became warmer.
"It's no problem, Master… I have a detailed memory of all the times you've cooked, and I've simulated doing it 71,459 times…"
Allen had told 2B that she didn't need to monitor him every night and could do something she enjoyed. She said that he was her sole interest, hobby, and pleasure. Nonetheless, Allen insisted, and she agreed, so one of 2B's pastimes was simulating Allen's cooking until she could replicate it and thus serve her master in this regard.
It was an unexpected reward for her to be praised, and she was glad to have thought of it as a hobby.
"I see." Allen smiled softly. "You put in a lot of effort. Thank you, 2B."
Upon hearing Allen's words, 2B felt extreme joy and a sweet sense of satisfaction and warmth. Although she kept her expression neutral, it was easy to see her hidden feelings in her flushed cheeks.
*Cough*
Allen turned to look at the three women. Cate looked jealous, Annie was jealous and angry, and Kimiko seemed to revert to her wild state and was about to leap at Allen.
"I'm sorry, she's 2B." Allen chuckled, breaking the tension. "I was waiting for you to ask who she is."
"That doesn't answer the question!" Annie shouted.
...
In the morning, Annie woke up quickly, suspecting that something had happened during the night but unsure what.
"The clothes!!"
Annie noticed clothes on the floor that seemed familiar and then remembered they were Cate's. She ran to Allen's room, hoping to catch him in the act. To her and Kimiko's surprise, they found an extremely beautiful woman with platinum hair and blue eyes changing clothes.
Annie nearly swore in shock and, as she planned to seek out Allen and ask for explanations, 2B interrupted her.
"Good morning. Master asked me to prepare breakfast and was probably expecting me to serve cereal with milk, but I would like to cook something…"
2B's simple and direct attitude, combined with her neutral gaze, made it difficult for Annie to raise her voice. Kimiko instinctively sensed danger and stepped back.
2B passed by them and found Cate yawning, emerging from her room. She was also impressed by 2B's presence and envious of her figure. Then she looked at Kimiko and Annie and realized that they were in shock, so none of them knew who 2B was.
They only knew that she enjoyed serving Allen and had spent the night with him.
Annie wanted to be angry, but she didn't know much about Allen, nor was she his girlfriend, so she couldn't say anything. Cate had even less right to say anything, and Kimiko merely regarded her with caution.
"Do you have any idea what we've been through?!" Annie yelled, feeling the injustices that had occurred in such a short time.
Allen stopped joking with Annie. "I'm sorry; it was just fun teasing you… I'll explain who 2B is. She is my… maid!?" Allen smiled toward 2B, "2B am I right?"
Allen proceeded to give a half-truth.
"My life belongs to you for now and forever, master," 2B replied matter-of-factly.
2B said she had dedicated her life to Allen, and this declaration coming from such a beautiful girl made the women frown, but at the same time, they sighed almost defeated, 2B's feelings were so sincere, huge, and pure that they made the girls feel ashamed.
(2B maid is now canon 🍷🗿)
...
This led them to be more curious about Allen's identity. Who was he and why was a woman like her willing to devote herself to him at that level?
The rest of Allen's day was quiet until he received a message from Butcher that he had captured A-Train.
Allen smiled pleasantly upon seeing that Butcher hadn't simply killed him, as his ruthless comic book version would have.
At night, Annie realized that 2B would be sleeping with Allen again, and despite her fierce instinct that she had no right, she had to obey her heart.
However, she was surprised to find that the silver-haired girl was not there. When she questioned Allen, he said that 2B could teleport. (He wasn't lying.)
Annie's eyes widened, and she began to understand why 2B had appeared out of nowhere. This reassured her, knowing she wouldn't have to lie down and think that Allen was with the beautiful 2B.
When she left, Rebecca and 2B appeared, both sleeping in Allen's arms.
...
(The next day)
A-Train returned to Vought in the morning, a strange feeling of persistent fear weighing on his heart as he moved through the hallways.
People were walking around normally, and it seemed incredible that just two days before, this place had been thrown into chaos due to Stan Edgar's disappearance.
A-Train was heading toward the meeting room but decided to change direction and visit Deep instead. Unlike A-Train, Deep had lived here for a while and should have a better grasp of what had happened yesterday since he couldn't come due to Butcher and his team.
A-Train arrived at Deep's personal quarters.
The Seven could choose to live in private residences outside the tower, but if they chose to stay here, they were given private quarters.
As A-Train was about to open the door, he felt a pain in his abdomen. 'Damn, bastard!' A-Train bitterly recalled the events of the previous day and his misfortune of falling into The Boys' hands. Now, A-Train was in a delicate situation. He had two options: go to jail since Butcher had a recording of the attempted murder of Popclaw, and A-Train was sure his ex-girlfriend wouldn't show him any mercy in court. However, the other option wasn't much better—becoming Butcher's informant within Vought.
A-Train gritted his teeth in frustration. Of course, he chose the second option; he wasn't about to throw away all his fame and prestige by being arrested.
A-Train shook his thoughts away and opened the door. "Hey, buddy, you—oh God, no!"
A-Train saw Deep with his pants down and an octopus in his crotch. He immediately regretted coming to see this degenerate.
Deep's room had a large aquarium, which was quite suitable for a superhero like him. Deep had recently introduced a new friend to the aquarium, an octopus. However, no one expected that Deep's "friend" would be more than a simple companion.
"It's not what you think!!" Deep shouted as he tried to remove the octopus from his crotch.
...
(On another floor of the Vought building)
Maeve walked through the hallways of Vought. The staff greeted her respectfully as usual, and she forced a cheerful (but false) smile as always.
'The world has returned to normal at Vought…' Maeve thought.
Maeve appeared strong, but emotionally and mentally she wasn't. But she could mask that weakness very well. Recently, though, she found it difficult to maintain her nihilistic mindset. Reality was hitting hard, and she began to feel that her own life might be in danger. With each passing day, Homelander became more unstable, and now that they were practically shattered, only a few remained to bear his frustration.
Fortunately, Deep was still around, though he had unwittingly become Homelander's punching bag. Whenever Homelander wanted to insult or humiliate someone, Deep was first on the list. Of course, feeling sorry for someone like him was unnecessary, considering what he had tried to do to Starlight.
Maeve noticed two teenagers standing in front of a picture of Homelander.
Maeve was surprised because, at this time, there shouldn't have been any tours within the tower.
The young Caucasian with curly hair looked at him without expressing anything. Maeve noticed he had some sort of electronic device on his neck, which caught her attention.
"I can help you, young men," Maeve said, trying to be kind and, if possible, steer them away from Homelander.
"I'm very sorry, Miss Maeve," said the second teenager with a short hairstyle and a model-like smile. Maeve recognized the second teenager; he had been in the news, the young promise, Golden Boy.
"Forgive my brother... he doesn't usually talk much. I'm Luke Riordan, and this is Sam Riordan."
"Queen Maeve… a pleasure," Maeve said, puzzled. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd stay at the Godolkin Academy until your graduation."
Golden Boy had secured a spot in The Seven for some time, and who would be replaced was of little importance.
Luke didn't know how to respond but was saved by Madelyn and Ashley, who arrived down the hallway.
"They're the new members of The Seven, Maeve."
"What?!" Maeve blinked in disbelief. "But they're kids!"
"Maeve, one of them is already eighteen, and they're much more capable than you think."
"But there are dozens of superheroes more qualified for this. Why them!" Madelyn frowned; it was unusual for Maeve to object so strongly, but since the airplane incident, Madelyn knew Maeve was at her breaking point.
"Qualified? Like Deep? Like Translucent? Like you?!"
"I…"
"Nothing. On the plane, in both attacks on the tower, you did nothing!" Madelyn looked at Maeve with distaste. "Listen, John doesn't want to expel you, but if it were up to me, you wouldn't be part of The Seven anymore, Maeve! I can't understand how you went from being the powerful Queen Maeve to just the alcoholic Margaret!"
"...!"
Madelyn walked past her with the two young people, who remained silent the whole time. Maeve stood there in silence until she couldn't take it anymore and began to get angry.
She punched the wall, creating a hole. "What the hell is this about the powerful Queen Maeve?! It was all just smoke and mirrors, don't screw with me!!"
Maeve turned around and left the Vought tower without looking back. There was a meeting today to introduce the new replacements for Translucent, Starlight, and Black Noir, who was gravely injured while protecting Stan Edgar—or so the media said.
Maeve didn't know where she was going but took her vehicle and began driving recklessly, wanting only to get away from that place.
She ended up driving around Manhattan Island until she reached Central Park.
'I hate it! I hate Madelyn!, I hate Vought!, I hate Homelander!, I hate The Seven! I've been following all their damn orders for years and can't even express my discontent!!' Maeve began to drive faster, even running several red lights. She didn't care about crashing; after all, she wouldn't be hurt. Of course, at that moment, she hated thinking about the other side of the situation if she were to crash into someone.
'EVERYONE CAN GO TO HELL!!'
As if on cue, Maeve saw in slow motion as a school bus appeared in front of her. At that moment, Maeve realized her mistake, and once again, life in The Boys was marked with brutality.
"NOOO!"
Of all the vehicles she could have encountered, it had to be a school bus. Maeve slammed her foot down, pressing hard on the brake, her foot digging into the concrete to stop her car, which was going 150 mph (241 km/h).
Due to her actions, her Mustang lifted off the ground and became a giant metal projectile heading straight for the bus.
Maeve lamented, 'Why is it always like this?...' She couldn't even express her anger without harming others or herself.
Maeve closed her eyes, bracing for what was about to happen. However, nothing occurred, and, unnaturally, her car stopped mid-air. She was surprised; even if a superhero was stopping her, she should have been thrown by the kinetic force, but that same force had vanished, and she came to a gentle stop.
Her car lowered back to the ground as she heard the screams of the children on the bus.
"Homelander?... No."
Maeve looked at the person standing in front of her vehicle.
With white hair and golden eyes, dressed in an immaculate white cape and light armor, she knew him. How could she not, given this young man had been flooding her thoughts since she first met him?
Their gazes met once more. Maeve felt embarrassed, her makeup smeared and her appearance unkempt, but Allen seemed only to check if she was okay before turning his attention to the bus and then flying away.
"Wait!" Maeve shouted as she got out of the Mustang, but it was too late; Allen had already flown off.
Maeve reached out her hand, but she couldn't catch him. However, thanks to her enhanced vision, she saw that Allen had descended on the other side of Central Park.
Maeve hurried over, ignoring the growing crowd. She knew this would bring trouble, but she didn't care anymore. Her fame and image no longer mattered; she only wanted to catch up with that person.
...
Allen left the scene without looking back.
Rebecca – 'What terrible luck! There are so many vehicles to crash into during a fit of rage, and she chose to crash into a school bus!'
Artoria – Queen Maeve, huh? I thought she resembled the Amazons, but she doesn't have the heart of a warrior.
Nokotan – That sister had serious issues with anger and alcohol. I hope this experience makes her reconsider.
Bocchi – ... fortunately, no one was hurt...
2B – Master, she seemed to call you...
"It doesn't matter. Maeve is still part of The Seven, so technically, we're enemies. I don't want to get involved with her..."
The spider-sense can sometimes be quite troublesome. Allen was in his apartment when he felt a strong chill, indicating a great danger that would lead to many deaths. He immediately left his apartment and went to the scene.
Who would have expected it to be Queen Maeve herself causing the accident?
Allen turned his thoughts away from Maeve.
"let's go back... hm? "
Allen was about to return when his spider-sense tingled slightly. He looked down and saw an eight-year-old blonde girl climbing a tree. She was about to fall.
Allen flew quickly and caught the girl in his arms.
"Uwa?! What are you doing?!" the little girl shouted angrily.
"That's my question, little Tarzan!" Allen laughed. "Next time, climb more carefully; you almost hurt yourself." Allen lowered to the ground with her in his arms.
"I'm rescuing Lord Meowington," said the girl, pouting.
"And who might Lord Meowington be?" asked Allen, confused.
The girl looked at him as if he were a fool and pointed to the tree she was climbing. There was a fluffy white cat with blue eyes and a collar resembling a light-colored tie. The cat had a condescending look.
Gwen – Uwa, I've never felt so underestimated by a cat before.
MJ – That's quite a pompous look -_-
Felicia – It's the most pretentious name I've ever heard for a cat...
"I see... Are you sure Lord Meowington is stuck?" Allen asked, setting the little girl on the ground.
"That's obvious, brother," said the blonde girl with a desolate look. "Lord Meowington is a sensitive and kind cat, and he's terrified of his situation."
Allen listened to the girl, but the cat maintained its condescending stare as if evaluating him critically. He had received such looks before from George, Gwen's father when they first started dating.
"I think he'll come down when he wants to..." Allen said, convinced that Lord Meowington was up there by choice. But the girl began to sob, and Allen patted her head. He had no choice but to sigh and help the arrogant cat.
"Don't worry... I'll help your cat." Allen placed the girl on the ground and began to float.
"Thank you, brother... wait, you can fly!!"
Allen nearly fell to the ground upon hearing that. He had been floating the whole time, but the girl hadn't noticed.
Allen looked at the girl with sparkling eyes and swallowed the words he was about to say.
"Yeah, I can fly..."
"Then you're a superhero!!" the girl jumped with joy. "Lord Meowington will be safe now!!" she shouted.
Allen reached the height of the cat, which watched him silently. The cat then tilted its head and blinked a few times without reacting further.
"Brother, Lord Meowington is waiting for you to introduce yourself. It's a courtesy among gentlemen!"
"But it's a cat..." Allen replied.
"And that means it can't be a gentleman?!" the girl responded, leaving Allen speechless and causing his Chat to burst into laughter.
Thor – I can't find any flaws in her logic hahaha...
Carol – The cat is definitely the most elegant gentleman I've seen lol
Nikky – Captain, you must show respect to Lord Meowington, hahaha!
Allen coughed and felt embarrassed. He couldn't believe the situation he was in. It turned out to be easier to save thirty children from a horrible accident than to deal with getting a cat down from a tree.
Allen gave up and decided to be serious. He straightened up and then bowed slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Meowington. My name is Allen Walker."
"Meoww... *courteous meow*"
Rick – Hahahaha what the hell am I watching?!!
PercyJ – Wtf hahaha
Rogue – Lol...
Allen became the subject of ridicule in the chat, but it seemed the cat accepted his introduction and was willing to come down from the tree with him.
"No, brother!" the girl interrupted. "What kind of superhero name is that?!"
"Huh?! But I never said I was a superhero," Allen replied, his expression blank, he struggled to process the conversation with the girl while the cat was already agreeing to come down.
"Huh?! You have a cape, right?... You're a superhero!!"
Allen reacted and shrugged. "Listen little girl the villains, and wizards also wear capes."
"Well, do you have a cool wizard or villain name?!"
"…"
Allen had no...
His Chat burst out laughing again.
...
Maeve watched this interaction between Allen and the girl from a distance. For many, it might be funny, but for Maeve, it was something that left her speechless. A simple, ordinary, mundane interaction between a powerful being like Homelander and a little girl with her cat was, to Maeve... for that lost and broken Maeve, it was so... dazzling.
===
A/N: Lord Meowington 🍷🗿
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