KNOCK.
KNOCK.
KNOCK.
"Come in," Erasmus called from the bed.
A pair of Vought security guards walked in, pushing heavy, lavish food trays. one of them stepped right up to the bedside and handed him a brand-new Vought-phone.
But before Erasmus could even hold it for more than a second, the screen lit up and the phone started ringing in his palm.
Erasmus looked up at the man face for a moment before sliding the green icon to answer.
"Hello?"
"HEY, BUDDY!" a loud, booming voice exploded through the receiver.
"Dad?" Erasmus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Of course it's me! I knew you wanted a phone, and of course I had to be the first person to call you on your brand-new number! Do you like it? I picked it out for you myself."
"Yes, thanks dad."
"So, what are you going to set my contact name as?"
Erasmus stared blankly at the wall. "I was thinking about... Dad. Or father."
"Oh, come on! I was thinking more along the lines of The Greatest Dad on Earth," Homelander chuckled, and Erasmus could practically see his father waving a the line through the air.
"Yeah, no. I'm not typing all that out. Listen, Dad, I have to go. I'm starving and the food is getting cold."
"Oh, you're not alone in that room, are you? Is Cate with you? Did you two continue the date?"
"No, Dad. I'm in our room alone with my dogs. Stop being weird."
"Hey, I was just messing with ya! Calm down," Homelander chuckled. "Anyway, listen, champ. I'm going to need you to get out of that room and get down to the Seven meeting room. Since I'm out of commission right now with your little brother you need to step up. Try and fill my boots for a minute, okay? We can't have someone other than us stealing the spotlight. Go get 'em, tiger. Love ya."
"Bye, Dad."
"Not so fast, young man. Where is my 'I love you, Dad'?"
Erasmus looked up from the phone, his eyes meeting the gazes of the two security guards still standing by the food trays. He covered the receiver with his palm and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Love you, Dad."
"That's my boy. Love ya, see you soon."
Erasmus pocketed the phone before looking up at the two security guards, who were visibly struggling to hold back their smiles. "What are your names?"
"Robert, sir. It's an honor to meet you," the first one said, instantly straightening his posture.
"Brian, sir," the second added.
"Thank you. I'm going to have to trouble you to bring those food carts behind me to the Seven conference room."
"Absolutely, sir."
Erasmus called out for his puppies as he walked out of the room, heading down the hall toward the conference room. The heavy doors slid open, immediately interrupting the man who was currently speaking inside.
"Vanguard, so lovely of you to join us. It's such an honor to finally meet you," Adam Bourke said, offering a eager handshake that Erasmus completely ignored as he walked right past him.
Ashley and the rest of the Seven looked up, completely surprised by his interruption. Since his father wasn't there, they hadn't expected him to show his face in the meeting room at all.
Erasmus walked directly to the head of the long table, casually patting Noir's shoulder as he passed him, and pulled out the massive chair where his father usually sat. Behind him came his puppies, followed closely by the sound of the metal food carts being pushed into the room.
Erasmus turned to Stormfront, who was sitting right next to him, and glanced down at the thick stack of papers she was holding. "What are we doing today?"
Stormfront scoffed, rolling her eyes as she waved the pages in the air. "Oh, this? We're shooting high-budget porno for Adam's sick fantasies, he'll have enough jack-off material to last until he gets a heart attack after we're done shooting this"
Erasmus turned to look at the man, who started sweating instantly under the weight of his stare.
"Stormfront, I can tell," Erasmus said flatly.
"Wait a second," Erasmus raised a finger, interrupting the director as Brian and Robert started placing the lavish food trays in front of him.
"The steak, sir," Robert said politely, setting down a perfectly seared, rare cut.
"Thank you."
Erasmus turned his head to look over at Stormfront, who looked genuinely surprised that he was actively choosing to talk to her today. He leaned back in his father's chair and gestured toward the rolling carts.
"This is kind of awkward," Erasmus said, looking over the silver carts. "The other plates are actually for my dogs, but I think it would be rude if I don't offer them around first. Anyone interested in some steak?"
"I wouldn't mind some steak," Stormfront said with a smile. She carelessly tossed the script across the table and watched as Erasmus took one of the plates and placed it right in front of her. "Thank you."
"Anyone else? Maeve?"
"No thank you, I'm good."
"I wouldn't mind some steak," Adam chimed in from the front of the room, desperately trying to get on the young Supe's good side.
Erasmus ignored the rest, looking past Stormfront down the long table. "Noir, why are you sitting so far away?" he called out.
Erasmus turned his head toward A-Train, who was sitting right next to him. "Get up," Erasmus said. His voice was entirely calm, completely devoid of any mockery or malice. A-Train froze. He looked at Erasmus, utterly stunned, before looking around for help.
"What?" A-Train asked, realizing he was completely on his own.
"I said get up. I want Noir to be near me."
A-Train threw his hands out to the side in a mix of pure confusion and insult. He opened his mouth to say something, but looking at Erasmus sitting in Homelander's chair, the words died in his throat. Swallowing his pride, A-Train stood up and walked further down the table to take Noir's old spot.
Noir didn't say a word. He simply walked over and sat down in the newly vacated seat right next to Erasmus. who reached out and pushed one of his own freshly delivered plates of food directly toward him.
"So, where were we?" Adam clapped his hands together, desperately trying to bring the room back to order.
Screeech.
The sharp, metallic scrape of a steak knife dragging heavily across a ceramic plate echoed through the quiet room. Erasmus was casually slicing into a thick piece of meat, completely unbothered by the tension.
"Stormfront, you had some notes on the costumes and the dialogue? We can tweak the dialogue right up until production day."
"It's not just tweaks," Stormfront said. "It's more global."
"Okay, yeah," Adam stammered. "What are... um, what are we thinking?"
"Oh, like, um, you write all women as either unknown Hitchcock bitches or Michael Bay fuck-dolls, I mean, look, I get it. A lifetime of jacking off to Transformers didn't exactly make you popular with the ladies. But a little effort would be nice."
"Language, Stormfront," Erasmus added casually.
Clink.
He bit into another perfectly sliced piece of steak, his eyes never leaving his plate.
"Yes, sir,"
"Good girl,"
Stormfront's heart skipped a beat, a genuine look of surprise flashing across her face. Where was all of this coming from? She was already completely turned on by the effortless way he had just humiliated A-Train, but this was on another level. She was enjoying this immensely, she was already flooding down there.
"Excuse me," Adam said, trying to defend himself, "but I have two sisters, thank you very much."
"Ahem, I've heard enough," Erasmus said, pushing his completely clean plate away. "From my understanding, this man here is a horrible director who, to compensate for it, is forcing our female members of the Seven to wear their usual revealing clothing and speak lines meant to arouse the audience, despite their deep reluctance to do so. Is that it?"
"That's about it," Stormfront nodded, her smile wide and amused, while Starlight and Maeve looked at the terrified Adam.
"Okay. So, as the temporary captain, how do we handle this?" Erasmus asked, looking around the table. "Do we vote to replace him? Do I just kill him? Can I fire him? What do you want me to do? Why am I forced to sit here and listen to any of this?"
"Actually, Erasmus," Ashley leaned in nervously. She had been standing behind him the entire time, but she couldn't risk putting her good relationship with him at risk by openly opposing him. "Your father really likes the script."
"Oh," Erasmus said. He couldn't really go against his father. Homelander was a deeply insecure man, and Erasmus couldn't jeopardize his progress over meaningless humans. "Well, sorry, ladies. You're on your own."
Stormfront frowned slightly as she looked at him. Her perfect prince, it seemed, was not entirely without flaws. While his weaknesses were far less striking than his father's loud, pathetic insecurities, the problem was still clear. Her desired prince was currently being shackled by his absolute obedience and bizarre attachment to his father.
As long as Homelander was around to hold the leash, Erasmus would never truly radiate the pure, unchecked dominance she so desperately wanted to see him unleash on the world.
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