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You hear him, his rapid heartbeat, his panicked breathing, the shuffle of his cape and his uncoordinated footsteps, before you see him. You stay above him, jumping from fire escapes to rooftops to fences, wondering why he’s not taking off.
Approaching from another direction, you hear them.
Eddie pipes up.
— Better pick up the pace kid. You can play cat and mouse all night, but those guys are in this to win.
You nod, and drop down from your perch on a fire escape, cutting off your quarry’s escape route. He whirls and faces you, cape swirling behind him. His teeth are bared, and in the soft glow of his eyes, he looks feral.
You both cock your head at the same time, hearing your pursuers (and they’re yours now too, they’re hunting both of you) surround you. You hold up your hands, showing they’re empty. He takes a step back towards the wall. You can feel the world narrowing down to the two of you.
As you gesture to him—one hand signaling wait, the other reaching for your pad and pen—you hear the past rushing toward you. You close your eyes and let it wash over you. You can’t afford to get sucked back into it. Not now anyway. You focus on your breathing, focus on his, and when you look up, it’s darker. He’s relaxed, looking almost confused.
You write the same five words you did the first time, and once again, the Homelander stands down.
You tuck your pad and paper back into your belt, and grab his hand. You jerk it upwards, doing an awkward little half jump. He cocks his head, confused. You respond by shaking your head impatiently, never mind, and pull him into one of the abandoned buildings.
You grab a chair and wedge it underneath the handle. It won’t hold, but it’s better than nothing.
— Any ideas on what to do now, smart guy?
Your mind races.
Butcher and his friends are close. There are only a few ways out of this. The pad comes out again, and your messages are shaky and misspelled—you don’t have time to worry about legibility—but he understands.
can u fly
“I… I don’t know. Where? How do I do that—“ You hold up a hand, cutting him off.
peple coming
hurt u
have to trust me
The Homelander looks at you, his gaze shifting between panic and rage, fight and flight.
“I do. I think I do. But who are you?”
frend
tell mor later
You turn him around, facing away from you. He begins to voice a protest, but it cuts off as his cape falls to the ground. Glancing around, you search for somewhere to hide it. Chairs, desks, filing cabinets… this must have been an office. You end up shoving it in a half-opened filing cabinet leaning against a wall. You take his boots and gloves, and shove them in there too, forcing the drawer shut. You can come back for them later, you decide.
“What are you—” You silence him with a shhh! and remove your helmet and mask. The mask (really nothing more than a ski mask, at the end of the day) you slip over his face. The helmet goes back on you.
— N-n-nnnn-smart move, you hear Buster say. You ignore him the way you ignored Eddie.
You give the Homelander a final once-over. Okay, we’ve taken a target off him, masked him up. One last thing. You turn, back to him, bent slightly, and slap your shoulders.
“You… you want me to… get on your back?”
You crane around to look at him and nod urgently.
“Can you even carry me?”
You crane around to look at him and nod urgently. People will be looking for two figures together, not one, you think, but there’s no time to pantomime or write that.
“Okay if you’re sure…” And he climbs up, wrapping his arms around your neck and his legs around your middle. As you straighten up, you realize that he’s lighter than you thought. You grab his legs to support him, and try to find another exit in the abandoned building.