Aftermath - Starlight I

"AAAAHHHH! ENOUGH! NO MORE INTERFERENCE!" Soldier Boy recovers just as fast turning towards Starlight, his body resuming his death glow brighter than before.

Time slows as she feels the heat radiating off him, stinging her skin, burying itself inside of her.

She sees the mutated faces of Butcher and M.M shouting but the sound takes its time to reach her ears.

Her eyes turn back to her assailant.

The small movement takes an eternity, as the red intensifies. Her stomach drops and knees tremble, she is weak, the radiation is making her weak.

She sees it happening but can't move.

'I'm going to die' is the single clear thought that resonates as certainty.

"Annie!" The scream hits like a wave.

In a blur he's there enveloping the glowing death from behind.

His eyes meet hers and a shiver goes up her spine lightning fast.

In another explosive blur they are both gone, time resuming its normal course as the sound of the crashed window and wall reaches all of them.

'Homelander saved me' was the first thought that popped into her mind as she watched the confused looks of everyone around her.

'He saved all of us. He…'

She didn't have time to finish the thought as a flash of red and 'BRAAKNGG!' the building shook along with crashing sounds of broken glass, steel beams falling and cement scraping.

"Cherrie!" Frenchie says as he rushes to Kimiko.

His scream brings everyone out of their shock.

"Hughie!" She says loudly mostly to herself while rushing to his side.

"What the fuck was that?" M.M asks as he rushes to the window.

"Hopefully that's Cunt Boy blowing up Homelander." She hears Butcher say as he joins M.M by the opening in the side of the building.

"YEA and HALF OF MANHATTEN WITH HIM." She hears M.M say with fury. "ALLYING WITH THAT MAD MAN!"

"Hughie!" She screamed as she saw he was bleeding from his mouth and having a hard time breathing along with a bruise starting to swell on the side of his head.

She tries to help him but is distracted by a desperate call from Frenchy.

"Guys!" She turns and sees Frenchie and Kimiko, the girl already recovered, backing away from a slowly advancing Noir.

"Well, the little black dog wants to keep playing." She hears Butchers say while ignoring the furious looks from M.M . "An attack dog without a master well that won't due, we'll just have to put you down now won't we."

A sputtering cough brings her attention back to her boyfriend.

Her resolve steels and she screams. "ENOUGH!"

Everyone's attention is on her.

She turns to them with righteous fury.

"BUTCHER! NOIR! STAND DOWN! NOW" The lights flicker all around them and her eyes start glowing.

Noir stops for a moment to look at her tilts his head to the right then relaxes his stance and gives her a mock salute.

"Good dog." Butcher quips which only enrages her.

"YOU! YOU SELFISH PRICK!" She starts advancing on him. "Hughie is dying and you want to keep fighting!"

That seemed to bring Butcher back to reality as a pang of shame colored his features. "Hughie!" he said as he rushed to the replacement little brother.

"Look at all this destruction! Soldier Boy could have brought the whole building down! Thousands could have died!"

Butcher looked at her from Hughie's side with resigned determination.

"It wasn't supposed to go down like this, the plan was..."

"Man, your plans are always fucked up! They never work!" M.M said frustrated. "But this Butcher! This takes the fucking cake!" M.M said resentfully looking out the city skyline. "I see at least half a dozen buildings with damage, debris falling everywhere, how many people died tonight because of you?" he said with anger as he turned back towards the group. "How much blood until you are satisfied?"

She could see Butcher was about to respond so she interfered.

"Enough! No more fighting! Hughie needs help. We need to take him to a hospital!" Butcher reluctantly nodded and so did M.M.

Butcher picked up Hughie and carried him as they made their exit to the stairs.

As she passed the stoically looking Noir she saw him sign rapidly with his hands and give her a nod once he was done.

Confused she turned to Frenchie for translation.

The man's face scowled but translated nonetheless.

"He said The Seven need their Light."

Annie couldn't help but feel an anxious knot in her chest.