Anybody like that comes around out of this, we'll be first to stop them.
[ Has he got Charles's back? Yeah. Always will. He's also aware Charles is an idealist. Sees the good in too much too hard. But that's why he's here, why he won't abandon Charles or his lofty dreams. To him, they mean something that's hard to put in words. He just knows he can't find it in himself, but he can see it in somebody else. ]
[ It takes her a few minutes to even get her thumb to press down on the send button. Feeling exposed as a raw nerve, she pushes through the worse of her bashful cowardice. ]
[ His answer takes longer than it should. He wants to say no. He wants to say he'll never let anything happen to Charles, but he watched him die once and he apparently let him die again in the future. It stings. It fucking hurts knowing he'll falter. That there's things no one can stop.
But as long as Charles is around, yeah. He'll protect him. ]
[ Coming from Logan, from someone she's grown to trust over the past couple of months, she almost crumples. The desire to say yes to him is overwhelming. But she also can't help but see this as the first inch of a slippery slope. She's worried about Charles, yes, but she also can envision a future unfolding where this collective stops thinking they're subject to the same rules as everyone else in the city.
They could ferment the next Homelander, the next Stormfront, the next Lamplighter. ]
If YOU ever need me, I'll be there in an instant. But I can't promise anything else.
[ It's happened. Might be that Logan has more faith because he has seen what Charles does when their own start to chase mutant superiority. He's got no lost love for Erik or Ravenโbut they mean a lot to Charles. Leaving them behind to protect the humans, half of them who wouldn't do the same in return, that's not a choice just anyone would make.
The next Homelander is already out there. They'll deal with it.
But he gets it. At the end of the day, his people are more than just who's in or out. It's not about having her on their side or anything so basic. It's that he wants her to know she's not alone. ]
no subject
Always.
But I can't help anybody there anymore.
[ Because she's here, skinning her teeth trying to understand these new rules. ]
no subject
[ Has he got Charles's back? Yeah. Always will. He's also aware Charles is an idealist. Sees the good in too much too hard. But that's why he's here, why he won't abandon Charles or his lofty dreams. To him, they mean something that's hard to put in words. He just knows he can't find it in himself, but he can see it in somebody else. ]
no subject
You won't let him get hurt, right?
no subject
But as long as Charles is around, yeah. He'll protect him. ]
He's got me.
He's got all of us.
[ A pause. ]
We could use you, too.
no subject
They could ferment the next Homelander, the next Stormfront, the next Lamplighter. ]
If YOU ever need me, I'll be there in an instant.
But I can't promise anything else.
no subject
The next Homelander is already out there. They'll deal with it.
But he gets it. At the end of the day, his people are more than just who's in or out. It's not about having her on their side or anything so basic. It's that he wants her to know she's not alone. ]
Not asking for promises.
And that goes both ways.
[ She can call him any time. ]