Perfect Symbol
Summary: USO Girl is surprised and angry at during press.
Forty goddamn years in a Russian laboratory. Another few years spent frozen and somehow Vought was still putting her on stages. Different audience. Same bullshit.
Firecracker’s voice droned through the auditorium, praising Soldier Boy like he was some kind of American saint. USO Girl stared out at the crowd of reporters. Every one of them eating it up. Beside her, Soldier Boy shifted his weight. That alone was enough to keep her grounded.
The applause rose again as Soldier Boy accepted the medal. USO Girl plants a perfectly placed kiss on his cheek. Something she’s done tons of times on the cameras. Then Homelander stepped forward. The room practically held its breath. “I’m also very proud to say that this great hero is my father.” Questions immediately started flying. USO Girl rolled her eyes. Of course Homelander would take Soldier Boy’s moment and make it all about himself. The whole damn country loved a family story. Especially one Vought could sell. She was already planning her escape route when Homelander’s voice cut through the noise again.
“And America’s Sweetheart here…”
Her stomach dropped. “Oh no. No. Absolutely not.” She thought to herself the moment he opened mouth “…is my mother.” For a moment she thought she’d misheard him. Then the reporters exploded. Camera flashes fired like machine guns. Questions came from every direction. “How does it feel to be the mother of Homelander?”
“America’s first superhero family!”
“Do you see yourself in him?”
“Will the three of you be appearing together?”
“What does Soldier Boy think?”
She didn’t answer. Not one word. Because she knew exactly what would happen if she did. One quote. One reaction. One soundbite.
And suddenly every headline tomorrow would read:
America’s First Family.
The Original Superhero Mother.
Homelander’s Mom Speaks.
She’d seen this machine before. Hell, she’d spent decades feeding it. The microphones were already moving toward her. People shouting her name. Wanting reactions. Wanting quotes. Wanting her face attached to whatever insane narrative Homelander had just invented. USO Girl slowly turned her head. Homelander was smiling. Not looking at her. Looking at the cameras. Like this was done, she’d already agreed. Like she was another fucking poster. Something inside her snapped. Just a quiet, exhausted break. She leaned slightly toward him, and said just to Homelander. “Fuck off.” The smile twitched. Just for a second. It was worth it. Then she turned around and walked away. The reporters immediately swarmed. Questions chased after her. She ignored everyone, the cameras, the shouting, the security guards trying to keep up. All of it. By the time she pushed through the doors of the meeting room, her pulse was hammering. Not because she was nervous. Because she was furious.
Mother.
The word made her laugh. A short, humorless sound. She’d spent most of her life being told who she was supposed to be. America’s Sweetheart. The nation’s darling. The perfect woman. The perfect symbol. Now Homelander had decided she was somebody’s mother, without asking or a warning. Without so much as a conversation. The hallway was blissfully empty... For about five seconds. Then the doors opened behind her. She didn’t have to look. The footsteps gave him away. “Really?” she asked. Homelander stopped beside her. “You could’ve warned me.”
“I thought it was nice.” She stared at him. “Nice?”
“It is.” His expression didn’t change.
“We’re family.”
“No.” The answer came immediately. Flat. Certain “No, we’re not. You didn’t come out of my vagina. You may be Soldier Boy’s son but you are not mine.”
His jaw tightened. For the first time all day, she felt a tiny bit better. “Good, let him be uncomfortable for a change” she thought to herself. A handler appeared at the end of the hallway. “Sage needs everyone back in the meeting room.” USO Girl pushed off the wall. “Fantastic.” She says sarcastically. Without another word, she walked past Homelander and headed for the meeting room, leaving him standing there alone.
The conference room felt blessedly quiet after the circus died down with the reporters. USO Girl sat slouched in one of the leather chairs, arms crossed. As far away from Homelander as possible but still next to Soldier Boy. Unfortunately, Homelander kept talking.
“Forty years out of the spotlight, you still got it, huh?” He says to his father. Soldier Boy snorted. Homelander chuckled like they were sharing some private joke. “Sage tells me socials are blowing up.” Neither of them answered. “People Magazine’s calling us America’s Sexiest Dynasty.” USO Girl barked a laugh. “Me and Soldier Boy, sure. Addin’ you? Jesus Christ, there goes the ranking.” Homelander fake smiled. “You believe that?”
“No.” Soldier Boy didn’t even look up. Homelander’s smile faltered. Then he shifted gears. “I would’ve never sent you in there if I knew Butcher had the virus.” USO Girl responds “bullshit!”
“I wouldn’t have.” Homelander defends himself. Soldier Boy stared at him. Expression unreadable “Swear to God.” USO Girl rolled her eyes.“Although,” Homelander continued, “I did tell you not to engage, so if we’re pointing fingers, I don’t think I should be exclusively at fault here.” The doors slid open. Sister Sage entered carrying a tablet. The room immediately changed. “Lab results are in.” Now Soldier Boy looked up. Sage tapped the screen. “Frederick Vought’s first iteration of Compound V. V1’s ten times more potent than today’s formula, Highly unstable.” She glanced toward Soldier Boy. “Only worked on a handful of early Supes.”
Her eyes shifted to Soldier Boy “You.” Then to USO Girl. “You.” That caught Homelander’s attention. Sage continued. “Bombsight. Torpedo. Private Angel….. Stormfront.” Soldier Boy frowned. “Who the hell is Stormfront?” Sage looked up from the tablet. “Dr. Vought’s wife, Clara.” Nobody reacted then she continued “I think you knew her as Liberty.” The conference room fell quiet as Sage scrolled through the report. The room went still. USO Girl slowly lifted her eyes. Soldier Boy was already looking at her. A single glance. The woman who’d drifted in and out of their lives for years. Herogasm, Vought parties, Press tours. Late nights. Soldier Boy looked away first. USO Girl followed a moment later. The conversation continued. But neither of them were really listening anymore.
“Bring me some.” Homelander demands like a child. Sage didn’t even look up from her tablet. “I can’t.” Homelander’s jaw tightened. “Why not?”
“Vought destroyed every vial, there’s none left. The room fell silent. For a moment, nobody moved. Then Homelander stood. “No.” Sage blinked. “No?”
“There has to be some left.” “There isn’t.” “Search again.” “Search harder.” Sage stared at him. USO Girl rolled her eyes. “Oh, for Christ’s sake.”
Homelander’s head snapped toward her. “What?”
“You heard her.” She says in a very obvious tone. “There has to be some.” Homelander insists “There isn’t, dickhead.” She says now fully annoyed. “You don’t know that.” He whines
“And you don’t know how to take no for an answer.” Her voice firm the room went still. Homelander’s stare sharpened. “You got something to say?” She laughed, a short, humorless sound. “Plenty.” Soldier Boy leaned back in his chair. Already sensing where this was going. Homelander folded his arms. “Then say it. USO Girl met his gaze. “You’ve spent the last twenty minutes demanding things like the universe owes them to you.” His expression darkened. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.” She pushed herself out of her chair. “I’ve got eighty years of people telling me what I am, where I go, and what I’m worth.” Homelander scoffed. “That’s not the same thing.”
“No. It ain’t.” She took a step closer. “Because when somebody finally tells me no, I don’t throw a damn tantrum.”
Soldier Boy covered his mouth with his hand. Poorly disguising a grin. Homelander noticed. His eyes narrowed. “You think this is funny?”
“I think,” Soldier Boy said, “you’re proving her point.” That only made Homelander angrier. USO Girl shook her head. “You know what your problem is?” She argued. “Enlighten me.” Homelander says sarcastically.
“You didn’t get told no enough.” The room went quiet. Even Sage stopped pretending not to listen. Homelander’s smile appeared. Dangerous and forced. “What is that supposed to mean?” USO Girl shrugged. “It means if Ben had actually raised you, you would’ve gotten the belt a few times.” Soldier Boy choked, a startled bark of laughter escaping before he could stop it. Sage looked down at her tablet to hide her expression. Homelander stared at both of them, completely stunned. For one glorious second, he actually looked speechless. Then his face hardened. “Get out.” USO Girl smiled. The first genuine smile she’d worn all day. “Gladly.”
—
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