"Are we rolling?"

"And action!"

Homelander's blank expression instantly grew into a smile.

"Oh, the old piano! My mom used to play so many songs on this thing. Gotta be honest with you, me and my dad mainly were just building model airplanes. Dane, would come over every Saturday to help. You remember that, man?" The blond turned to face The Shadow as the cameraman followed to do the same.

"Yeah, of course." Dane immediately smiled as he moved closer, staring over Homelander's shoulder at the miniature airplanes fondly.

"Dane's family didn't have a whole lot when we were kids so he practically lived here. Isn't that right?" Homelander inquired.

"Yeah," Dane murmured, acting sorrowful before he instantly beamed. "But I had this guy to take care of me." He nudged the other man's shoulder before wrapping an arm around him.

"Oh, and here's the bedroom!" Homelander shouted as he moved across the set. He pointed out a couple framed photos and trophies. "Or what you could call the baseball hall of fame." He chuckled quietly before picking up a picture frame, pointing at it with a gloved finger.

"Here we are, thick as thieves. Little league. Go tigers." He raised a fist in a mock cheer, before holding the photo out to Dane as he walked into view of the camera's frame.

"I remember I had a hard time saving up for the uniform that year and refused any help, but your mom slipped a few tens across the kitchen table the morning before school." He smiled at the photo of kids he didn't recognize, a place he had never been, and memories he never had, before handing it back to Homelander.

"It's so special to come back." The blond smiled before turning to the bed. He stared at it for a few moments.

"What the fuck is this?" He shouted.

"W-what?" The director asked.

"This. This fucking blanket. Who put it there?"

Dane eyed the baby blue blanket, moving to run a tentative hand over a long line of crude stitching.

-

"Dane!" The blond boy laughed, tossing his blanket atop the smaller boy's head.

"I'll—I'll get you for that!" Dane shouted at the other, tossing the blanket aside and chasing after him.

They never had many toys beside Blanky and Teddy, so they always made do when they were allowed "play time". Even though they were twelve and ten respectively, they still adored both their toys and their time together.

The darker haired boy grabbed at the blanket, throwing it around above his head as he aimed to launch it at the taller of the two.

The sound of stitching ripping apart caused both of them to freeze. Dane lifted the hand that clutched onto the piece of fabric, seeing a very noticeable tear.

"Sorry, John." He muttered sheepishly, looking down at his bare feet.

"You—you." The blond boy began, hands balled into fists at his side.

"I didn't—I didn't mean it!" The boy pleaded, dropping the ruined blanket to the linoleum floor.

Dane saw a flash of red before he was clutching his left arm to his chest. The smell of burnt flesh radiated from his forearm. The heat from the still searing wounds rose to warm his teary eyed face.

He choked on a sob as he looked at the two holes that went clean through.

-

Dane picked at the two large, circular scars on his forearm. He eyed the thin scars that ran beside them as he did so. Reconstructive surgery was a bitch.

The grill was hot, crowded, and loud. He hated it. But Starlight wanted him there. To meet up with Hughie.

"Hey, sorry we're late." Starlight smiled, an awkward Hughie behind her.

"All good, have a seat." The Shadow quickly smiled, holding a hand out to shake Hughie's as Starlight took a seat across from him and Hughie moved to sit just beside him.

"Homelander let you off your leash?" Starlight spoke up, nodding for a waiter to come over.

"Yeah," He grimaced, crossing his arms over the table. "Doesn't do it very often, does he?"

"Oh," Hughie began, sitting up straight. "Are you, uh, are you and Homelander..."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Starlight muttered, messing with her napkin. Hughie looked to her before his eyes darted back to Dane.

"No. He's just." Dane made a wild gesture with his hand. "We're just... He's a little protective that's all. He looks out for us."

Hughie nodded, eyebrows furrowed in deep confusion. Starlight laughed at him, to which both men let out a chuckle.

"Now that we have that figured out. Who's ready to eat?" She cheered.

"Always focused on food, aren't you Annie?" Dane teased with a small smile.

"Of course." She smirked. "I do hate not being able to fit in my costume, though."

Dane hummed in agreement. "Amen." He spoke up.

"You can relate, Shadow?" Hughie smiled with a tilt of his head.

"Just call me Dane," The man reassured before leaning back in his seat. "And definitely." He laughed and Hughie soon followed.

"Hey, so have you guys always had powers?" Hughie began awkwardly.

Starlight smiled at him before answering. "I mean, I don't remember, but my mom said that when I was born, I almost blinded the doctor." She chuckled quietly. "So, I had powers from the start. Why?"

"No, no," Hughie began, tilting his head. "I'm just, uh, curious."

She hummed in reply, looking at Dane for a moment before turning to Hughie. "Do you mind if we just... not talk about hero stuff tonight?"

"Yeah," Hughie nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "Yeah. Bad day at work?"

"Yeah. It's an understatement." She smiled between the two men, taking in a deep breath. "You know, there's this beach in the Bahamas where the sand in pink, like cotton-candy pink."

"What's it called?" Hughie smiled.

"Pink Sands." She dipped her head, to which all three of them chuckled.

"Great name." Dane commented with a smirk, a pint in his hand.

"It's not the most creative name, but... let's just go." She murmured, eyeing the two.

"Yeah. no, Dane and I can, uh... learn how to play the steel drum. You can get cornrows." Hughie laughed.

"How about tonight?" Annie chuckled.

Hughie snapped his fingers, with a smile. "Book that ticket."

There was a moment of silence, soon filled by Dane's sigh as he ran a tired hand down his face. Hughie turned to look at him brows furrowed before he looked to Annie.

"Are..." He began. "Are we talking about this?"

"I don't know. I..." She murmured with a small smile before it quickly faltered. "I just know that, for me, New York had been such an endless shit show. Except for you and Dane." She smiled again, though it was small, reserved.
"Somehow, in the middle of it all..." She leaned in closer to Hughie, a melancholic smile. "You found me."

He slowly leaned in to kiss her, to which Dane reeled slightly with a grimace, closing his eyes. Had they forgotten he was here?

"Hughie," A warbled cockney accent called out.

Dane opened his eyes to see a scruffy looking man. He was rather large, dark hair and a beard to match.

"I thought that was you." The man smirked. "Ha. Oh, oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, please do." Dane joked quietly, to which his friend blushed. The stranger gave out a hearty laugh.

"Hi, I'm Annie." Starlight smiled, holding out a hand.

"Billy." The man took her hand, shaking it lightly. "Old mate of Hughie's."

"Ah, boy, you really..." Starlight let go, turning to face Hughie. "You have a lot of friends showing up here."

"Yeah." Hughie awkwardly agreed. "Seems like it."

"Hey, you're The Shadow!" Billy snapped his fingers, waving an index finger in the air at Dane with a grin. "And you're that new girl, ain't you?" He looked to Annie.

Dane merely nodded his head politely as Annie did the very same.
"Guilty." She answered.

"Wow. It is a pleasure to meet you. And I must say how marvelous it is that so many more women are in positions of power. You know what I mean?" Billy went on.

Annie only hummed, tilting her head slightly.

"You know," The man continued, moving to take a seat at the table giving a quick smile to Dane. "I-if I'm perfectly honest, Translucent's always been my favorite. What's he up to?"

Starlight took a deep breath before she spoke. "I think he's on a mission."

"Huh." Billy murmured. "Yeah, I think I read that, actually. He's been gone a long time though, hasn't he?" He turned to look at Hughie with a narrowed expression.
"I do hope he's all right."

There was a moment of silence.

"You know what?" Annie started, sensing some sort of tension. "I'm gonna go... get us a pitcher."

"That's perfect. I need a bathroom break anyway." Dane smiled, placing a hand on Hughie's shoulder as he moved to stand up.

"Sounds good." She smiled before quickly turning to the new addition of their group. "Billy, you like... Let me guess. Guinness?"

"I like what y—"

The rest of what the man said wasn't heard as Dane made his way toward the restroom.

The place was rather dingy, just two graffitied stalls, one sink and a mirror to match. He noticed the night sky creep through the small window.

He stared at his reflection in the foggy mirror for a few minutes, glaring at his features.

The door kicked open, an incessant squeak signaling someone was there. He payed no mind to it, quickly running a hand over his face.

The sound of the bathroom door's lock clicking into place caused his eyes to narrow. He began to crane his neck, only to feel a warm hand wrap it's way around his eyes before being quickly replaced by cool metal. The other arm moved to put him in a headlock.

Dane thrashed wildly, kicking back with his foot to land it onto the stranger's groin.

There was a pained exhale as the arms around him dropped.

He flipped around to face his attacker, hands quickly flying up to his face. He reached at the odd blindfold, tugging at the strong metal to find it wouldn't budge.

This guy was smart and must have not wanted him to teleport.

"What...the—fuck?" He began, only to be tackled to the ground by brute force. It only took a moment of his struggling before he was thrown of his stomach with a boot to his neck.

"Quit moving or the toilet cover goes "thwack" onto that pretty lil' head of yours."

Dane immediately froze.

"Atta' boy." He could hear the smile in the man's voice—Billy's voice as he heard the ceramic cover get set down on the ground. The man made quick work of tying his hands and feet together, before he heard the window slide open.

"What the hell is this?" He heard another voice call out, a deeper one. American.

"Don't thank me all at once. Give me a hand with him." The British accent muttered out before Dane felt strong hands grab at his shoulders, hoisting him onto his unsteady feet.

"That bit of metal worked like a charm, French—"

"Help! Help, some—" A hand slapped onto Dane's mouth with a quiet curse.

"Goddamnit, get me something to stuff his mouth with." The deep voice bit out.

"I've got somethin' better." He could hear a smile in Billy's voice. The sliding of porcelain across the dirty tile floor caused Shadow to immediately stiffen.

An abrupt pain at the side of his head, caused it to immediately drop, lolling to the side in unconsciousness.