Chapter Text
You sit in your favorite local coffee shop—Starleaf Café—taking slow sips from your raspberry hibiscus tea when the news breaks. The barista turns up the volume of the small TV mounted on the wall above the register. A Closer Look with Chris Hansen plays a reenactment of William Butcher blowing up Madelyn Stillwell’s residence, with himself, Madelyn, and baby Teddy inside.
You sigh. Madelyn played a big part in your development as a Vought International employee. You’d caught her attention three years back when you were an intern.
There’d been an incident involving some lower-tier heroes visiting Vought Tower that terrorized some of the interns, causing disturbances in the day’s workflow. Your quick thinking and calm demeanor allowed you to corral the remaining interns and staff to put out the figurative (and literal) fires.
Madelyn called you for a meeting the following week, smiling sweetly as she asked you to sit next to her on the cream-colored couch in her gold-accented office. She held up your resume.
“Your resume is surprisingly full.”
You straightened your back, hands folding neatly in your lap, tilting your neck slightly.
“I like to be busy.”
“At Vought, we’re always busy,” she said, her smile soft, betraying nothing. Her eyes flickered up and down as she took you in.
“How do you like it here? I heard you had particularly a hectic day last week.”
You shrug simply, fidgeting with the singular ring on your middle finger.
“I love it,” you confess. “It’s only been a few weeks but I’m learning how all the parts of Vought work together to present The Seven, and I love it.”
She tilts her head at you now, looking unsurprised. “You want to work with The Seven.”
You shake your head with a light chuckle, running your hand through your hair to smooth it down. Your eyes flicker over the office. It’s pretty generic—no family pictures—and messy. Her desk has papers clustered in piles, pens sprawled. It’s a reflection of a person with no time to tidy.
“No, no, I want to know how The Seven work. I’m interested in the behind-the-scenes. I want to learn the history of Vought, how it came to be, and how you’re able to churn out so much goddamn content.”
From there, you began shadowing Madelyn. You amused her with your genuine curiosity, the way you took in every word she said, absorbing every lesson. You took over emails and filing, your friendly demeanor allowing you to get to know as many members of Vought’s departments as possible—from the IT department to the kitchen staff.
Despite this, you never got too close to The Seven. Sure, you’d been shoulder-checked by A-Train a few times, and you’ve witnessed firsthand Queen Maeve down several shots in a row. You’ve even crossed paths with Homelander during his frequent visits to Madelyn’s desk, but generally, they seemed not to notice you. Homelander specifically never gave you more than a glance, hyper-focused on Madelyn.
Ashley, on the other hand, took the brunt of the abuse from the supes. She’s five years your senior, incredibly passive-aggressive, and manages Vought’s social media.
You sigh again, gently pressing the cup against your temple at the oncoming headache—you can already hear her grating voice in your head.
You get up, slinging your purse over your shoulder as you make your way out of the shop, already calling an Uber to Vought Tower.