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Entering the grocery store was easy.
Starlight, dressed in ordinary clothes with her hood up, was unrecognizable as the famous Starlight Annie.
Kevin, having learned his lesson from yesterday, not only wore a baseball cap but also a pair of black-rimmed, non-prescription glasses.
With this disguise, not to mention ordinary people, even Homelander might not recognize Kevin without his X-ray vision.
Two seemingly ordinary people entering the grocery store wouldn't attract any attention.
After all, if you don't say anything, who knows if you're there to buy something or do something else?
The boss couldn't possibly stare at the surveillance cameras all the time.
Starlight and Kevin followed the person in front of them until they saw him enter a basement and lock the door, only then did they stop.
Looking at the locked door, Starlight pointed at it, then turned to Kevin and asked, "What now?"
"...You're asking me?"
"Miss, you're the mastermind, I'm just an accomplice! You're asking me?"
"Wait, why am I categorizing myself as a criminal...?"
Starlight also realized she had asked a foolish question. The door was locked, and neither of them had the ability to pick locks. Aside from forcefully breaking the door down, there seemed to be no other way to get in.
It was a pity it wasn't an electronic lock; otherwise, Starlight could have tried using her powers.
"Okay, I'll distract the people outside, and then you find a chance to break the door open."
Starlight thought for a while and came up with a seemingly workable idea.
Kevin rolled his eyes.
"And then people recognize you as Starlight and me as Kevin, ending up plastered all over tomorrow's headlines?"
"Then what do you suggest? We don't have a key!"
"Tsk, troublesome, wait a moment."
Kevin scratched his head in annoyance, then, while no one was looking, quickly grabbed a bottle of mineral water from a nearby shelf.
Starlight looked at him with a bit of confusion. Kevin didn't explain, taking the mineral water and leading Starlight to the door, then unscrewed the cap.
"You're...?"
"Don't talk, I'm just trying. If it doesn't work, we'll keep watching and wait for them to transfer the victims at night, then we'll make our move."
Though that would likely mean running into A-Train or Homelander...
Kevin grumbled internally, but his hands were quick.
He used his Water Manipulation ability to control the water flowing out of the bottle.
Starlight's eyes widened at the sight. She had never seen Kevin possess such an ability. The new power Kevin displayed truly astonished her.
Under Kevin's control, the water flowed into the keyhole. Kevin closed his eyes, sensing the flow of the water, allowing it to Shape within the keyhole.
Finally, he distorted his right hand slightly, and with a 'click,' the lock opened.
"It opened!"
Starlight exclaimed in surprise, looking at Kevin with an unconcealed admiration.
Now this girl probably liked Kevin even more.
Referring to a fan's affection for their idol.
Successfully using his ability to open the lock, Kevin also let out a sigh of relief.
With Water Manipulation upgraded to LV3, Kevin could not only control water over a larger area but also perform more precise actions.
For example, transforming water into various sculptural Shapes, or, as now, allowing water to enter certain places and then Shape it.
It was because of this new ability that Kevin wanted to try if he could 'create' a master key himself.
He didn't expect it to actually work.
New usage of ability: get!
"Alright, let's go in."
Kevin retrieved the water that had flowed into the keyhole back into the bottle and casually put the bottle into his pocket.
His Water Manipulation ability was good in many ways, but he couldn't create water out of thin air. Perhaps LV3 Water Manipulation wasn't enough to achieve this, so if Kevin wanted to Exploit this ability, it was best to carry a water bottle with him.
Of course, this was limited to 'infiltration' type missions.
If it were an overt battle, Kevin could easily draw water from underground or from the surrounding shops for his use.
After all, in the city, water was the most abundant resource.
Even, if it was disgusting, sewage wouldn't be out of the question...
The basement door opened, and Starlight and Kevin crept inside.
Upon entering the basement—or rather, the underground warehouse—Kevin and Starlight immediately became alert.
They knew what they were doing; they weren't here as Superheroes to investigate, but infiltrating as individuals.
Therefore, they should avoid being seen if unnecessary, at least until they found the victims or evidence of these people illegally imprisoning others, they should remain as concealed as possible.
Once they found the victims or the evidence, it wouldn't be too late to act.
Kevin thought this way; he didn't want to cause too much commotion.
However, unfortunately, as soon as he and Starlight entered, they ran into a man who was just about to leave.
The man was wearing a yellow T-shirt, holding a half-eaten lunchbox, walking and eating, looking as if he was going to get something.
And unluckily, he walked to the entrance of this basement and came face to face with the newly arrived Kevin and Starlight.
"WT..."
Seeing strangers enter his territory, the man instinctively dropped the lunchbox in his hand and reached for his waist.
There was a gun there.
"!!"
Whoosh—!
But before the man could fire, there was a deafening sound. Kevin felt as if he had eaten a flashbang; his vision suddenly went white, then immediately black.
After a second, when his vision returned, Kevin noticed that the unlucky man had already been sent flying by a 'Starlight Cannon' from Starlight.
His chest was charred black; he clearly wasn't going to make it.
Seeing this, Kevin turned to look at Starlight.
This was undoubtedly Starlight's power.
Starlight Annie's Supe ability was like this: gathering light beams and then emitting them, somewhat like an extremely weakened version of Captain Marvel.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me? I was startled just now! Uh... Is he dead?"
Startled by the man and reacting instinctively, Starlight now realized that she might have used a bit too much force. The enemy she hit with her 'Starlight' was probably not going to survive.
Kevin was too lazy to complain about why the previously agreed-upon covert investigation had now turned into a direct assault, because Reality simply didn't give him a chance to complain.
The commotion made by the man killed by Starlight's blast still alerted the others in the basement.
These people reacted quickly and brutally; they seemed not to care what had happened, directly rushing out with rifles.
Seeing Kevin and Starlight, they immediately pulled the trigger, unleashing a barrage of gunfire.
Gunshots rang out, sparks flew. Kevin immediately grabbed Starlight and ducked behind a nearby pillar, then unscrewed the cap of the water bottle in his pocket, controlling the water to form three arrows suspended in the air.
In the dim basement, the transparent water arrows suspended in the air were inconspicuous. Kevin's control was extremely fast; before those people could react, the water arrows accurately pierced their throats.
Pfft—!
The sound of blades piercing flesh rang out almost simultaneously. At the same moment, all the gunshots ceased, and three armed strongmen fell straight to the ground.
With the enemies dealt with, Kevin led Starlight out from behind the pillar.
Starlight looked at the bodies lying on the ground, silent for a long time, then after a while, she said to Kevin, "You didn't have to hide me just now. I'm not afraid of bullets."
Starlight's Supe abilities, besides emitting 'Starlight,' also included Supe physique and Supe defense.
In the original story, Butcher used a sniper rifle to shoot Starlight at a very close range, and Starlight was only thrown back by the impact, not actually injured.
Therefore, ordinary rifle bullets were ineffective against Starlight.
They were also ineffective against the current Kevin.
"I know, but do you know? The bullet marks on a Supe and on a wall are different. Don't you want to keep a low profile? Then try not to let the company know about this."
Mainly, try not to let Homelander know.
Otherwise, if Homelander comes with his red eyes, both of us might be finished.
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