Hughie quotes from The Boys

Hughie

Uh, hey. Is this you? You did it. We did it! Um, call me. Call me back when you get a chance.

Did what? [beat; watches the news for a moment] You did this?

Hughie

Uh, yeah. Starlight did mostly, I'm pretty sure. But I just gave her an old alley-oop.

Hughie… HUGHIE, YES! [hugs Hughie and lifts him up] HUGHIE! Dude, look what you fuckin' did! Oh, my God!

You lads touchin' your tips?

Look at what the kid just did.

Hughie

Me and Starlight, but yeah.

Frenchie

Petit Hughie?!

The fuckin' kid!

[laughing] Oh, shit!

Frenchie

Yes!

Nice one.

That's all you got? We've been trying to do this shit for years, Vought's finally fuckin' going down, the kid did it... and "Nice one"?!

Alright, real nice one.

Hughie

You can't even give me this, can you? Not one goddamn win.

I'll tell ya what. When we're all done here, I'll buy you a nice, big family-size bottle of top-shelf lube, and I'll tickle your balls till you beg me to stop. And even then, I won't. I just won't do it. But right now, we got a Supe terrorist below deck and shit could go sideways just like… [snaps his fingers] So all of ya, keep your fuckin' eyes on the ball, yeah?

Frenchie

Don't worry about him.

Yeah, fuck him. You did great.

[spits out whale blood] Fuckin' diabolical! Where's Hughie?!

Hughie! Oh, geez. You alright? Come on, son. We gotta leg it. Deep's here, and The Seven won't be too far behind.

Hughie

Um, you know what? You know, you guys go ahead. You guys go ahead. I'm good.

Eh? What?

Hughie

Just gonna sit here and wait, if you don't mind.

What the fuck are you waitin' for?!

Hughie

[sighs] My second wind.

Alright, son. Come on. [tries to get Hughie up] Come on.

Hughie

GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF OF ME!

Geez! Alright, fine. Suit yourself. [pause; to M.M. and Frenchie as he gets out] C'mon, let's go!

Whoa, we can't leave the kid, man.

Pinocchio is stayin' put. Have at it.

Hey, the kid's fallin' apart. You know that, right?

Well, what'd you expect? He's a fuckin' civilian.

No, no, no. It's not just him. It's all of us.

Frenchie

[to Hughie] Move the feet. Just move the feet, come on. Move.

We're at our breaking point–at each other's throats–and you keep pushin' us and pushin'. It's like–

Right over the fuckin' finish line. We just need to keep our shit together a little bit longer, okay? We hand that cunt over, and I get Becca, and you get your girls.

Butcher–

We're right fuckin'–

Butcher! Butcher, we're right there. Hughie's not gonna make it. And you need that kid more than any one of us. He's your canary.

My canary?

You let your canary die, how you gonna know when you've gone too far?

Oh… I mean, what a load of bollocks. [pause; looks briefly at Hughie] Hell, I tried, alright? The kid doesn't want a part of me, so fuck him.

Hughie

You got my message. Annie, I–

Homelander

Oh, come on! You gotta be fucking kidding me! This guy? Again?!

I did not know…

Homelander

Shut it. What, do you got rocks in your fucking head? Come here. Alright, I'd like you to do something for me, okay? Kill him.

N–No, wait. [stuttering] He… He–He's wanted. Shouldn't we... take him to the police?

Homelander

Yes, he is. Yes, we should. Kill him. Right now. [to Hughie] Chicks, right, Hughie? [pause; to Annie] Oh, for God's sakes. Come on, it's easy. Hands in the air, like you just don't care. [pulls Annie's fists up; chuckles] Kill. Do it. [beat; Annie is still silent] More incentive? Okay. You kill him or I'll fucking kill you both. Do it.

Oi, cunt!

Homelander

William. [laughs] What a surprise! Hey… You know, I had a great breakfast with your wife this morning. Pancakes. Mmmm, de-licious.

Yeah? Eat this, motherfucker.

I mean... It's been 48 years. What good is dredging all this stuff up now gonna do?

Honestly, we don't know. But we still need to hear it.

I tried to get people to listen. [laughs] Lord knows, so many times I tried. But a little black girl accusing a white superhero of murder in these parts?

Yeah.

It was during one of those summer rains that you just knew was coming by the smell in the air. I was eleven years old, asleep in the back seat of my folks' Ford. My brother Myron, he was driving.

What's the trouble, ma'am?

Get out. [tries to grab Myron]

Hey!

Your car was involved in a robbery tonight.

No, it wasn't. I–I had it. I don't know nothing about any robbery.

Just confess! [punches Myron]

Why are you doing this to me, lady? Ain't you supposed to be a hero?

I am a hero… for killing a black piece of shit like you.

I wanted to go to the police. But my folks, they thought it was pointless. So when that man from Vought–When he showed up and he offered us that money, we just took it. Two thousand dollars. That is what my brother's life was worth. Just two thousand dollars. But y'all have gotta promise me that you won't tell anybody that I sat here and I talked to you. Because if that woman finds out that I opened my mouth, she's gonna kill me.

Hughie

Ms. Hunter. That woman, Liberty… Nobody's seen her since 1979. I mean, she's probably dead by now.

[chuckles] Oh, no, no. [pause; grabs a newspaper from a table] Right here. That's her… right there. That's Liberty.

Hello?

Hughie

Oh. Sorry, I thought I was getting your voicemail.

That why you called five times?

Hughie

No, I just thought you should know Liberty–that Supe that Rayner was looking into… turns out it's Stormfront. Vought changed her name, they've been moving her around like a fucking Catholic priest.

Right.

Hughie

Um… She probably murdered Rayner. Annie's trying to figure out why, but... you know, who the fuck knows.

Well, as long as Starlight's on the job, we're sorted then, yeah?

Hughie

I'm not... I'm not mad, you know?

What d'you mean?

Hughie

I–I just want you to know that, um... Yes, you are leaving us holding the bag on this shitshow, but I want you to know that I–I get it. It's Becca. I'd do the same thing. I'm not mad.

Well... wouldn't matter if you were.

Hughie

How is she?

Lovelier than the day I met her.

Hughie

[pause; hears Butcher squeezing a dog toy] Where are you?

Headin' off grid. Argentina, maybe. Early retirement.

Hughie

Butcher?

Yeah, what?

Hughie

You could've said goodbye.

I know we've been through some shit together. [beat] You were... You were always like my canary, I suppose. Thank you. Goodbye, Hughie. [hangs up phone]

Hughie

Your canary? Hello?

Hughie

What are you watching?

A show called Eat My Dick.

Hughie

[defensively] Okay.

Have you seen Frenchie or Kimiko?

Hughie

No. No, not... for a while. Why?

[quietly] Fuck.

Hughie

Uh, listen. I just got off the phone with Butcher and I think something might be wrong. Like really, really wrong.

What would make you think that?

Hughie

He was nice and… called me his canary?

...Tell me everything he said.

That ninja cunt's here for me, isn't he?

Hughie

Yeah, but you can't go out there. He'll kill you. So… So that's it?

Expectin' a happy ending, were we? Well, I'm sorry, Hughie. It ain't that kind of massage parlour.

Well, well, well. What have we here?

Hughie

I know what you're gonna say, but we just took out her chip. Everything's fine.

Starlight, don't you just light up a room, eh? You're lookin' well.

Yeah, no thanks to the .50-caliber round that you pumped into my chest.

Well, what don't kill you makes you stronger. [to Hughie] What's she doin' here?

Hughie

She has a lead on Stormfront.

I broke into her laptop, and I got a look at the inbox. Dozens of e-mails from Stan Edgar.

Stan Edgar? And what does Vought's big slapper have to say?

How they're close to a breakthrough at the Sage Grove Center. It's a psychiatric hospital in Pennsylvania.

Hughie

Wait, what kind of breakthrough?

She came in before I could see any more.

Well, we better have us a little dekko at this loony bin, eh, lads? Starlight, would you be amenable to joinin' us on this little caper?

Hughie

You want her to come?

Oh, most definitely. If shit goes sideways, who do you think Vought's gonna go after? Us or their billion-dollar baby turned traitor who just ripped out her own fuckin' chip? Never go into shark-infested waters without chum.

[to Butcher] Seriously, what is your problem with me?

I ain't got no problem with you, love.

Really? That's why you won't even touch my hand?

Hughie

Okay, guys, come on. Not the time.

You know what? No. I think it's exactly the right time. I think the time is long overdue. [to Butcher] You know that I hate Vought as much as you do. You know that, but it doesn't even matter to you because what you can't stand is in my blood. I'm subhuman to you. Only good Supe is a dead Supe, right?

Your words, not mine.

Hughie

That's enough.

You know what? Underneath all that swagger, you're just a bigot and a bully. I know another guy just like that. He's got a flag for a cape.

Lamplighter

What do you wanna watch next? Uh, "Translucent: The Invisible Cock". "Queen Maeve: Pleasure Slave". Yeah, "Big Black Noir". Oh, "Starlight Pulls an A-Train".

Hughie

I'm good. I'm good, thank you.

Lamplighter

Okay. Different strokes, man.

Hughie

Please don't say that in this context. [pause] You know, this isn't healthy, man. You can't watch porn while the… sun's out.

Lamplighter

Look, if I get up at that hearing, I'm dead anyway. What difference does it make?

Hughie

Okay.

Lamplighter

Drop the remote, or I'll burn your fucking face off.

Lamplighter

Did you know I was a prodigy? A fucking prodigy. I lit my first fire at four, burned my whole house down. My dad… he was so proud. "My son's a Supe". [pause] I was gonna do great things. I almost did. Now, look at me. I'm like the cuck in the porn, sitting on the sidelines while the real heroes are out there doing the fucking.

Hughie

You wanna know why they left me to babysit you?

Lamplighter

Because you're useless?

Hughie

My mom… she, uh… [sighs] Never mind. After she was gone, I watched my dad do… nothing his whole life. But me, I thought I'd finally found… something. I thought I found what I was meant to do. But it turns out… I'm shit at that as well. You're not the cuck. I'm… the cuck.

Lamplighter

Actually, you're worse. You're the cuck fluffer.

Hughie

Oh, my God. Fuck.

Lamplighter

I bet you she's in 42D.

Hughie

[tries calling Butcher on his phone] Come on, Butcher. Where are you?

Lamplighter

If she's still alive.

Hughie

Wait, what's 42D?

Lamplighter

At the Tower. Supe-proof, mostly. Steel walls, six feet thick.

Hughie

How do I get in?

Lamplighter

Into the Tower? You don't. Sorry, man, but she's probably dead.

Hughie

There's gotta be something… A secret entrance?

Lamplighter

Maybe one or two, but forget it, man. It's crazy.

Hughie

Okay, show me. Come with me.

Lamplighter

You're still fucked up.

Hughie

Exactly why I need your help.

Lamplighter

Get your friends.

Hughie

Butcher isn't picking up. The others are halfway across the state. We gotta go! Now! Listen, Vought screwed you over, right? They're trying to do the same thing to her.

Lamplighter

This shit is over for me. My whole life is over, okay?

Hughie

This is your last chance to be the hero again. Come on. Do you wanna be the cuck or do you wanna be the guy who… fucks the wife?

Lamplighter

[pause] Okay, yeah.

Hughie

Yeah, let's go fuck the wife. Consensually.

I need to ask you something. It's a lot. I need you to testify.

Queen Maeve

Testify?

On the record. Against Vought, against Homelander, Stormfront, everything.

Queen Maeve

Why would I do that?

Because things are really bad, and… you're our last chance.

Queen Maeve

Pass.

Look, I get that it's dangerous.

Queen Maeve

It's suicide, but that's not the reason.

Well, then, what is it?

Queen Maeve

[shrugs] I'm tired.

Hughie

We're all tired… but they're hurting people. And sooner or later, they're gonna hurt someone you love.

Queen Maeve

Am I talking to you?

Look… I get that it's easier to just disappear inside of yourself. Trust me. It's all I wanna do, but we can't, Maeve. We can't. This is a war now, and we–

Queen Maeve

Shut the fuck up. Christ, you… Haven't I done enough for you? [pause] Didn't I save your fucking life?! It doesn't matter what we do; nothing changes. Nothing ever changes or gets better… and I'm tired. Just leave. GO! TAKE YOUR FUCKING TWINK AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!

Hugh Campbell. [shakes Hughie's hand] I don't know how to repay you for what you did.

Hughie

You know, I can think of a way.

Oh?

Hughie

You can... give me a job.

You serious? What about your team?

Hughie

Don't get me wrong, I–I still wanna fight Vought. I just... I wanna do it the right way. Not covered in quite as many guts. Look, the truth is, I never totally fit in with the guys. And... I think it's time I stand on my own two feet.

They know you're here?

Hughie

I haven't told them yet.

When can you start?

Give me a bite.

Hughie

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want the Valtrex before or after?

You love that bagel so much you're gonna fake herpes?

Hughie

I could have herpes. You don't think I could have herpes?

[smirks] How'd surveillance go with Termite last night?

Hughie

You know, I haven't checked in with Butcher yet, but… I'm sure it went fine. [pause; Neuman gives him a look of uncertainty] Don't–No, don't give me that face.

I'll bet you a crisp $100 bill something got fucked up.

Hughie

You don't know that.

[holds her hand out] Okay, take the bet.

Hughie

…I'm–I'm not gonna take the bet, but uh… [Neuman takes the bagel from him] Wow, really?

Mm-hmm.

Hughie

Okay, still, Butcher delivers every time.

And I have to apologize for him every time. Look, Butcher's the guy you want in a shooting war. No question. But we're in peacetime. [eats the bagel] Oh, my God. So worth the herpes.

Hughie

Yeah. So, uh, you gonna stay over again tonight?

Don't know. It depends. Um, you gonna bring Aquafresh?

Hughie

I would brush with Monistat if it meant I could have sex with you. Yes.

Who's Nadia?

Hughie

Nadia?

Yeah, Scotty said some guy came in yesterday, asking for Nadia.

Hughie

Yeah. Yeah, no, there was–there was a guy, and he... he was looking at your picture, he said your name was Nadia. Said he knew you… from, like, way back when.

You weren't gonna tell me?

Hughie

Uh, no. I mean, it was just some guy off his meds, seemed like. Yeah.

I'm sorry. I–I mean, you're missing work, your hand. A lot going on. Is there something I should know?

He was with me. I'm sorry for stealing him away from you, but… we had some things that we needed to discuss. Very loudly, actually. We made quite the scene at Panera.

Hughie

Oh.

I mean, it's a miracle nobody recognized me.

Hughie

Yeah, sorry. I was–I was trying to preserve just a tiny, little shred of my dignity, but uh… we had a fight.

We didn't leave things in the greatest place, so I thought I would come by and…

Hughie

Check up on me?

Well, I was worried about you.

Hughie

Yeah, well, you know I can handle some things by myself, right?

Okay, I'm just trying to help.

Hughie

I don't always need your help. I mean, you don't have to treat me like I'm a kid.

Here I was thinking that I was treating you like my boyfriend.

Hughie

Well, you–

You know, this is actually none of my business, so I'm just–I'm gonna go. Good luck with all of that. Oh, and Hughie?

Hughie

Yeah?

Cut her some slack. You shouldn't be afraid of a powerful woman.