We regrouped at the safe house three hours later. Everyone had escaped the lockdown—Annie by using her position as a Seven member, Butcher's crew by slipping out in the chaos I'd created.
"That was a clusterfuck," Butcher said, but he was grinning. "But a successful clusterfuck. You went toe-to-toe with Black Noir and lived. That's impressive."
"I didn't beat him," I corrected. "I survived him. There's a difference."
"But you could have killed him," MM observed. "You had the opening. Why didn't you?"
It was a good question. One I'd been asking myself during the entire ride back.
"Tactical decision," I said finally. "Killing Black Noir in the middle of a crowded convention would have created too many complications. Every Supe there would have become an enemy. Better to cut our losses and escape."
"Bullshit," Butcher said bluntly. "You're developing a conscience. You're starting to see these Supes as people instead of just power sources."
He wasn't entirely wrong.
"Maybe," I admitted. "Black Noir is complicated. He's dangerous, trained to kill, but he's also a victim of Vought's experiments. A weapon they created and aimed at threats. Killing him felt different than killing the others."
"That's called moral complexity," Hughie said. "It means you're still human."
"Or it means I'm going soft," I countered. "In a war, hesitation gets you killed."
Annie spoke up from where she'd been sitting quietly. "You made the right call. Killing Black Noir would have made you the villain in everyone's eyes, including the Supes who might have eventually joined our side. What you did was strategic and moral. Both matter."
"Agreed," Frenchie said, pulling up data on his laptop. "Plus, we did get valuable intelligence. Black Noir communicated with someone during the fight—probably Madelyn Stillwell. They know now that there's a powerful Supe actively hunting their people. They'll increase security, change protocols."
"Which means our next operations will be harder," MM concluded.
"But I'm stronger," I pointed out. "Ten powers now. I took down Black Noir's initial assault. I hypnotized dozens of Supes simultaneously. I'm approaching the threshold where I can actually challenge the top-tier threats."
"How many more do you think you need?" Annie asked.
I considered it carefully. "Five more? Maybe ten? It depends on what abilities I acquire. If I can get healing factors, energy manipulation, reality warping... the right powers matter more than the quantity."
"So we keep building the target list," Butcher said. "But we need to be smarter about it. No more big public operations. We go surgical—isolated targets, minimal witnesses, perfect execution."
We spent the next two hours reviewing potential targets and planning new approaches. The Supe convention had been a learning experience—I now knew my limits better, understood what worked and what didn't.
More importantly, I'd confirmed that I could survive against the best Vought had to offer. That knowledge was power in itself.