As Fenris dreamed of an army of super soldiers, Billy, using every last ounce of strength, charged forward and swung a heavy punch straight at his chest.
Bang!
"Watch out! Get out of the way! Uh..." Starlight trailed off, rethinking her warning.
Fenris looked calmly at the fist pressed against his chest, then slowly raised his head to meet Billy's shocked expression.
"Does it hurt?"
Hurt?
His bones were practically shattered!
Ignoring his surprise, Billy quickly swung his other arm in a hook aimed straight at Fenris's face.
Hitting someone in the face? That's not polite. I'm not the one who made you raise another man's child like Homelander did.
Fenris lifted his leg, and just as Billy's punch was about to graze his face, he kicked him away.
A near miss is still a miss, and Billy was launched through the air.
Just as he was about to vanish from sight–
A sudden gust of wind blew by.
Starlight, brushing back her windblown hair, froze in disbelief.
Billy, who had just been kicked away, was now being held up by the neck like a helpless chick in Fenris's hand.
She thought she was seeing things.
How could that be possible?
Billy had been flung out of the alley. How could he suddenly be right back here, hoisted by the throat like nothing happened?
Starlight was stunned. Hughie was stunned. Even Billy himself was stunned.
"You... you're a speedster too?!" Hughie shouted in shock, immediately thinking of A-Train.
When A-Train had killed his girlfriend, it had happened just as fast. So fast no one could react.
"No, wait. You also used heat vision like Homelander at the nightclub. Why do you have so many powers? How did you turn him into a supe? Wh–What even are you?!"
Hughie shouted in disbelief.
And then one look from Fenris shut him right up.
He lowered his head and backed away, the picture of submission. His retreat was so quick and practiced, it was almost pitiful.
Fenris didn't argue with Hughie or Billy. It wasn't because he was forgiving; he was simply in a good mood.
When Billy fought Starlight, a super soldier serum dropped as a reward. When Billy fought him, another serum dropped.
Was Billy just that lucky, or was Fenris just absurdly fortunate?
"Why!" Billy gripped Fenris's wrist, his face flushed red and his voice strained through clenched teeth. "Why did you turn me into a supe? Are you an enemy... or an ally?"
"Enemy or ally?"
"That's up to you."
Fenris let go of Billy and walked toward Starlight. He wrapped an arm around her waist and blasted into the sky, vanishing into the night.
Billy silently picked up the file from the ground. He had expected to be killed or handed over to Vought. He never imagined he'd be turned into a supe.
"You okay?" Hughie asked gently, seeing Billy in a daze. "Do you... do you know who they are?"
"How do I know?"
Billy shook his head. That woman was one thing, but the Asian man...
He didn't just have heat vision, super speed, flight, and incredible strength and durability, he could also turn others into supes.
Who was this powerful, mysterious man, and where did he come from?
He seemed to know everything about Billy, including the evidence he had gathered on Vought and the supes. So why did he turn him into a supe? What was his goal?
Lost in thought, Billy limped away with Hughie, heading to a nearby bar.
He needed Hughie to read the files, to commit fully to the fight against Vought, and he needed to carefully consider the consequences of becoming a supe.
Fenris had chosen Billy for one reason only. To test the super soldier serum's success rate. After all, if it failed, it could be fatal. Better Billy die than someone from his own future team.
But it succeeded. Billy was now a super soldier. A supe.
And if it had failed, well... Fenris would've just killed Homelander for revenge. Simple.
Next, Fenris planned to test whether the serum could be used on existing supes and whether different powers could be combined.
If Compound V and the super soldier serum were compatible, then the power level of his future army could rise dramatically.
On the street, Starlight finally gathered her courage.
"Where are you going now? Can I... can I go home?"
"Your feet work. You can go wherever you want," Fenris replied indifferently.
Starlight couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you say I made your heart race? And now you're just letting me leave, just like that? Don't you feel any regret? Or was that all a lie?"
Her reaction felt off.
Fenris gave her a half-smile and watched her until she awkwardly looked away. Only then did he speak.
"Anything you can lose that easily was never worth regretting."
What was that supposed to mean?
Just because she didn't want to join The Seven and backed out of their deal, she suddenly became something disposable?
Didn't he realize how much courage it took for her to come to him?
Didn't he realize how much that supposedly worthless deal meant to her?
Jerk.
Starlight wasn't just some fragile doll. She might be afraid to lash out at Fenris, but that didn't mean she didn't have emotions.
"I'm going home!" she snapped, her voice stiff and firm.
Fenris waved casually. "Goodbye."
She stared wide-eyed as he walked off without even turning back, furious.
"Don't want to see you again, you bast–!"
But Fenris suddenly turned to glance at her, and she instantly clammed up, looking around as if trying to hail a cab.
Once she was sure his gaze was gone, she snuck a glance behind her.
He was already out of sight.
Frustration, disappointment, and something even she couldn't quite name swelled inside her.
She stomped the ground hard.
It cracked beneath her feet.