[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: Size Stretching (Stretchy Man)]
A one-hit kill. Not bad at all.
"Are you going to seek justice for him and uphold righteousness now?"
Samuel looked at Starlight with a mocking glint in his eyes. Starlight stared blankly at Stretchy Man's abandoned corpse, her lips pressed into a tight, silent line. At that moment, she deeply regretted agreeing to meet Samuel.
The depravity of the nightclub and the jagged, ugly corner of the real world Samuel had forced her to look at had shattered her long-held beliefs. She watched as Samuel turned to walk away, hesitated for a few heartbeats, and then followed him out into the night.
Nightclub, Security Room.
Big Beard Billy stood over the shoulder of the terrified security guard, Hughie hovering anxiously behind him.
"Pull up the footage from last night," Billy commanded.
The screen flickered to life. On the monitor, A-Train was seen sitting at a table, drinking and laughing.
"Wait, is A-Train still here?" Hughie asked, his voice shaking.
"He was. This was recorded last night," Billy said. "Turn up the audio."
On the screen, another Supe sat down next to the speedster.
"I can't believe you ran that bitch over into a meat paste," the man on the screen said.
"You want to hear something crazy?" A-Train's voice crackled through the speakers. "I was running so fast when I went through her that I swallowed one of her molars—just like a bug on the highway!"
"Dude, that's disgusting!"
"Hahaha!"
Both men on the screen burst into raucous laughter, treating the death of Hughie's girlfriend as a hilarious bar story.
"They're laughing..." Hughie whispered, his knuckles turning white as he stared at the screen. "She's just a joke to them. They're fucking laughing!"
In that instant, Hughie's fear and hesitation evaporated, replaced by a cold, burning determination. Billy looked at him, his expression grim. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
Hughie met his gaze, his eyes hard. No words were needed.
The Alleyway Outside.
Samuel leaned against a brick wall, raising a hand to greet Hughie and Big Beard Billy as they emerged from the nightclub.
"Hey. Come over here. Let's chat."
The duo stopped dead. They had witnessed Samuel execute Stretchy Man earlier. Hughie's heart hammered against his ribs—this man had the same Hot Ray as Homelander.
Billy frowned, his face twisted in a mask of pure disgust. He loathed Supes as a rule, but he had a special kind of hatred for anyone who shared the abilities of the man who destroyed his life.
Samuel's smile was polite, but it carried the weight of a death threat. As the two walked over reluctantly, Samuel pointed at Billy and looked at Starlight.
"He has something on him that can give you the answer you're looking for."
Starlight looked at Billy. He was wary, his hand hovering near his jacket. Needing to know the truth, she stepped forward. "I don't know what it is, but please... give it to me."
"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't have anything for you!" Billy spat.
Starlight's patience was reaching its limit. Faint threads of electric light began to dance in her eyes. The air hummed with ozone, and the streetlights at the end of the alley shattered one by one, plunging them into darkness.
"I don't want to hurt you," she said, her voice crackling with power. "Just give me the thing."
Billy realized she was a Supe, too. His eyes grew sharp and ferocious. "Fine. I'll give it to you..."
He reached into his trench coat. Seeing his compliance, Starlight began to relax—and that was exactly what he wanted.
"Go to hell!"
Billy whipped out a pistol. Without a second's hesitation, he aimed for Starlight's chest and pulled the trigger, simultaneously grabbing a startled Hughie to make a break for it.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The muzzle flashes lit up the alley. Starlight stood frozen as the bullets streaked toward her—only for a figure to blur into her path. Samuel stood like a wall, the bullets flattening harmlessly against his chest and falling to the pavement.
For a moment, Starlight just stared at his back. An inexplicable sense of safety and trust washed over her.
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: 3 Points]
"If you don't make your move, they're going to get away," Samuel said, his voice calm and unbothered.
"Right—!" Reacting instantly, Starlight stepped around Samuel and thrust her hands toward the fleeing pair.
ZZZZZT—!
Two blinding arcs of electricity lanced through the air, striking Billy and Hughie square in their backs. They both let out a strangled scream before collapsing into the dirt.
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: Release Strong Light and Absorb Energy and Electricity (Starlight)]
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: 1 Point]
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: 5 Points]
Listening to the rhythmic chime of the notifications, Samuel felt that the "Omniscient and Omnipotent" title of his System was well-deserved. In just a few days, he had harvested a small treasury of powers.
It didn't matter who the target was; if he wanted their ability, all he had to do was witness the struggle. Even if he acquired the same ability multiple times, the effects seemed to stack. He was already physically superior to the originals.
Samuel thought of a god-level character from the Marvel Universe—The Disciple, a being capable of infinitely replicating and stacking powers. His path was becoming identical to that, but his ceiling was even higher.
The Disciple couldn't replicate Samuel's System, but Samuel could eventually harvest The Disciple's gifts. Even if OAA (One Above All) were to step onto the battlefield, Samuel would have a chance to claim that ultimate power.
With the ability to travel to worlds outside of Marvel, there would be bread, there would be milk—there would be everything.