Nicholas, Report to the Principal's Office

It probably shouldn't be a surprise that you were met with cheering crowds nor people chanting your name. In fact, the only thing that was said to you was by a prim secretarial woman, hair pulled into a tight bun as she met you at the elevator.

"Mr. Edgar would like to see you in his office."

Somehow you doubted that Edgar was going to give you an 'atta boy' or a pat on the back. More than likely, you were staring down the barrel at a lecture, and the only reason you would hold on to your job was your unparalleled ability, which probably wasn't the attitude to have before meeting one's boss.

So, you did something that did not come naturally to you, you focused, not staring at how the secretary's pencil skirt framed her hips, nor the soft smell of her perfume. You stared straight ahead in silence as the elevator dinged and followed three steps behind her in synchronicity to Mr. Edgar's office.

You entered with a quick nod as she closed the door behind you, and stood at attention, hands behind your back, wringing your wrist like a child in timeout as Mr. Edgar stared imperiously at a tablet, the quiet noise of your recent stunt just barely audible.

"Do you have any idea how much of a mess you've made?" Stan Edgar stated, not asked.

"Sir?" That felt like less than a rhetorical question.

"I would've expected such a thoughtless stunt from Homelander, but you took a steaming pile of waste and dropped a live bomb in it." Edgar said, finally looking up as he placed the tablet down.

"Homelander was going to-"

"To what, make a fool of himself in front of millions of people. Please don't insult my intelligence or piddling opinion of you by finishing that excuse. You've made your feelings about him clear on multiple occasions; you didn't care if he went down there to play the clown." Edgar said, his voice still even.

"Yes sir, but I thought if Homelander showed up, it would damage Vought's reputation." You stated as Stan looked at you with barely concealed doubt.

"Lies, excuses, passing the blame, those kinds of things might work on a kindergarten teacher, but this is the big leagues, boy. You didn't care about any of that, otherwise you would've stopped Homelander before he left, you've been having 'secret' meetings all day, why should this have been any different. No, you wanted him to go, so you could show up to save the day, to show how much better you are at handling our products. I thought you understood when I had you removed from the sector, but it seems you have more in common with our Supes than I hoped." Edgar exclaimed, rising from his desk.

"You're on probation for a month. Unlike Homelander, you can disappear for that long without raising questions, and then maybe you can understand how we kept Vought running before you, and when you return, we'll discuss your position in our company." Stan ordered as you reeled as if struck.

"Sir, I don't... what do you mean, what am I supposed to do?" You stuttered.

"Figure it out, you never had a problem doing whatever you wanted before, why should this be any different." Mr. Edgar exclaimed as you were left stunned.

"I'm sorry, sir please just let me-" Whatever you were about to beg, it was cut off at his look as you turned, head down. "I'll see you in a month, sir."

"I should hope not, with any luck, I'll never see you again, or at the very least at my retirement." Mr. Edgar sat back down, turning his chair to the side as he resumed looking at the tablet, taking in everything about the multiple news stories covering your latest and greatest fuckup.