CRACK—
Samuel gripped the locked iron grate with one hand and gave a casual pull. The metal frame groaned as the lock snapped like wet paper, and the door went flying.
CLANG!
The grate struck the far wall and hit the floor with a heavy metallic boom.
The girl huddled under the table didn't flinch. She hadn't reacted when Samuel first appeared, nor when the guard was firing his weapon, nor even when the Hot Ray had ended the man's life. It was as if nothing in the world mattered to her except the flickering light of the television.
However, the moment the cage was breached, she finally moved. Her body slid out from under the table, and her head snapped toward the door.
The second the grate hit the ground, she pounced on Samuel like a starving wolf. Her eyes were cold and hyper-focused; her hands were hooked like claws, sharp as surgical knives. She lunged for his eyes, his throat, and his heart—every fragile, fatal point on his body.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Her hands blurred through the air with ghostly speed.
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: Self-healing (Kimiko)]
"Well, these are officially unwearable now." Samuel looked down at his clothes, which were already riddled with bullet holes and were now being shredded into rags by the girl's relentless assault.
He didn't regret the loss of the shirt. After all, what was a piece of fabric compared to a Self-healing factor? If he could drop a reward like that every time, he'd open a clothing factory just to give her something to scratch.
Her claws, gleaming with a predatory light, went straight for his jugular. Samuel, who stood more than a head taller than the girl, suddenly vanished from her line of sight. The moment before her claws connected, he shrank to the size of a thumb.
This was the Size Stretching ability he had harvested from the nightclub.
"So tall..." Samuel muttered, looking up at the girl. From his current perspective, she looked like a towering mountain. He shot upward like a bullet, his tiny, miniature fist slamming directly into her jaw in a specialized uppercut.
BANG!
The force of the blow lifted her off her feet. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed into unconsciousness.
Whoosh—
Samuel instantly returned to his normal size and caught the falling girl before she hit the floor.
Beneath the grime and matted hair was a delicate, lovely face. Looking closely, Samuel realized she looked remarkably familiar—almost exactly like Katana from the DC Universe. He thought back to Big Beard Billy, too. In the Marvel Universe's Thor: Ragnarok, wasn't there an executioner named Skurge who wielded twin submachine guns?
Skurge's beard wasn't that long, and he was bald, but the resemblance is there, Samuel mused.
Holding the unconscious "Wolf Girl," Kimiko, he returned to Claw Woman's apartment. She was already waiting, standing by a single suitcase. She looked at the disheveled girl in Samuel's arms with curiosity but decided it was better not to ask.
"Ready?"
"Yes."
Samuel gripped Kimiko in one arm and took Claw Woman's hand with the other. In an instant, they vanished.
Marvel Universe.
Na Du Tong Express Logistics Company, New York Branch.
Samuel flicked on the light in the master bedroom on the third floor. He set Kimiko down on the bed and told the anxious Claw Woman to wait. He turned and headed for the storage room.
Inside, he located a magical artifact: the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak. He had scavenged these from the ruins of the New York Sanctum in the Void. Originally a treasure of Kamar-Taj, the Bands were the ultimate tool for restraining an enemy. The only drawback was that they forced the prisoner into a rather embarrassing, rigid posture—just ask Kaecilius, who had been famously "gifted" that posture by Doctor Strange.
"Samuel? Is that you?"
"You're back?"
As Samuel emerged from the storage room with the glowing red bands, he heard Jessica Jones calling out from downstairs.
"It's me. Come up," Samuel replied, walking back toward the bedroom. A few moments later, Jessica appeared in the doorway, dressed in her usual casual home clothes.
"You're finally back!" Jessica launched into a flurry of complaints the moment she saw him. "Do you have any idea what it's been like? I didn't dare go out during the day or sleep at night. I was terrified someone would break in and steal something and I'd fail your trust. I'm telling you right now: don't you ever ask me to house-sit again!"
"If something gets lost, we find it. If we can't find it, you can just pay me back by working for me forever. I wouldn't have blamed you, so what were you so worried about?" Samuel joked, pushing open the bedroom door. "Come in. I want to introduce you to two new colleagues."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Oh, so I should be thanking you for your generosity?"
"No need to thank me. Just plan on being my loyal servant in the next life, too."
This bastard is so annoying! Jessica glared at Samuel's back but followed him into the room, her curiosity getting the better of her.
When she stepped inside, she froze.
There were two women she didn't recognize. One was standing by a suitcase, looking stiff and incredibly nervous. The other looked like a homeless person—her clothes were shredded, her hair was a mess, and she was lying motionless on the floor.
"These..." Jessica asked, pointing at them. "These are the 'new colleagues' you mentioned?"