Billy Butcher had a thick file on him, a collection of evidence he had painstakingly gathered over the years regarding Supe crimes and Vought Company's elaborate cover-ups.
This was the dossier he had prepared for Hughie. He wanted the young man to see the rot beneath the surface, to understand the darkness that existed under the sun, and to stand with him in the war against Vought and their so-called "heroes."
Starlight flipped through the pages, her expression shifting from disbelief to a heavy, solemn anger.
"Samuel was right," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I was too naive. These 'heroes' are nothing but scumbags wearing a mask of righteousness."
She looked up at Samuel, her eyes hard. "I... I don't want to join The Seven anymore."
"As you wish," Samuel replied.
His sheer indifference caught Starlight off guard. There had been a deal between them, a set of conditions—and he was just giving up on it that easily? For a fleeting moment, she felt a strange sense of loss, as if she had expected him to fight for his "prize."
Samuel, however, didn't care. The deal had only ever been a means to an end. His true goal was for Starlight to mature, to shed her innocence in the crucible of the real world. Only by losing her naivety could she truly become useful to him in the future.
His gaze drifted between the unconscious Hughie and Butcher, finally settling on the bearded man. Butcher, Samuel thought. Arguably the unluckiest man in this world. Cuckolded by Homelander, and then forced into the role of a father to a Supe child.
You hate Homelander, don't you? You hate Supes?
Well, if you don't become one of them, how do you expect to defeat them?
Samuel retrieved a vial of Super Soldier Serum from his inventory. He pressed it against the side of Butcher's neck and slammed the plunger home.
"Ugh—grrr—" Even in his unconscious state, Butcher let out a guttural moan. His body began to convulse, his limbs twitching violently as the serum began its work.
"What did you do to him?" Starlight asked, her voice hushed with worry.
Samuel didn't answer. He watched the process with clinical interest. If this worked, it meant the Super Soldier Serum extracted through the System had a 100% success rate upon re-injection. It meant he could cultivate his own private army of Super Soldiers whenever he pleased.
More importantly, a powered-up Billy Butcher would be a much more effective weapon to keep The Seven and Vought Company in check. Samuel couldn't stay in this world forever, and he needed someone to keep the chaos churning so he could maximize his interests even in his absence.
As the minutes ticked by, Hughie groaned and blinked his eyes open.
"I'm... I'm not dead?" He exhaled a breath of pure relief, his head instinctively turning to find Butcher.
Butcher was right there, but something was wrong. He was clearly in pain, but his physique was shifting. His clothes, which had fit perfectly minutes ago, were now straining against his frame. His muscles were bulging, their outlines sharp and defined beneath the fabric.
"What did you do to him?!" Hughie repeated.
Samuel ignored him. Starlight remained silent. All that could be heard was the ragged, heavy breathing of Billy Butcher.
Then, Butcher's eyes snapped open. The Super Soldier Serum was a success.
"Are you alright?" Hughie asked, helping him up. He grunted under the weight. "God... you're heavy!"
Butcher exhaled a cloud of stale air, his mind clearing. He could feel the change immediately—a surging, raw power that felt both alien and exhilarating. His vision was slightly higher; his muscles felt like coiled springs.
"You... you turned me into one of them?" Butcher glared at Samuel with a look of pure horror.
Samuel beamed, his face glowing with genuine joy. "Congratulations, Butcher! Welcome to the ranks of the Super Soldiers."
"Impossible!" Hughie shouted, his reaction even more visceral than Butcher's. "That's impossible! Supes are born, not made! Except for Homelander... and he's an alien! How could you just turn someone?"
"When you eliminate all other possibilities," Samuel said, quoting the classics with a smirk, "whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
"I don't believe you!" Butcher roared. He lunged at Samuel, throwing a punch fueled by pure, unadulterated rage.
Zzzzzzt—!
Starlight moved instinctively, unleashing a bolt of electricity.
Last time, a blast like that would have sent Butcher into a dead faint. This time, it only stopped him for a fraction of a second. With gritted teeth and a ferocious snarl, Butcher forced himself forward through the crackling energy, closing the gap between himself and Samuel step by step.
Starlight's eyes widened. She poured more power into the attack, the air humming with ozone, until her internal reserves were tapped and the light flickered out. She still couldn't stop him.
It wasn't that Butcher was inherently more powerful than Starlight; it was a matter of mechanics. Starlight was essentially a high-capacity power bank—she didn't generate electricity; she only stored what she absorbed. Butcher, on the other hand, was driven by the legendary "Captain's resolve." A brave man in a rage draws his sword against the strong; a coward draws against the weak. Butcher was the definition of brave.
Combining a Super Soldier's physique with a spirit that was willing to go toe-to-toe with a god like Homelander—it was only natural he could push through.
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: Super Defense (Starlight)]
[Ding! Battle detected. Reward dropped: Super Soldier Serum (Billy Butcher)]
Super Soldier Serum?! Samuel's eyes lit up.
The battle between Starlight and Butcher had actually dropped a fresh dose of the serum. He had used a serum extracted from a Super Soldier to create a new one, and then that new Super Soldier had provided a new dose of the serum during a fight.
What is this? Samuel laughed inwardly. Infinite nesting dolls?
This was the ultimate exploit. He could create Super Soldiers for free, and then use those same soldiers to "farm" even more serum. He could scale his forces infinitely.
Even though Super Soldiers were common in the later stages of the Marvel Universe, the idea of having an entire organization of them was intoxicating.
Na Du Tong Express Logistics Company, Samuel thought with a grin. In the future, every single person delivering a package for me is going to be a Super Soldier. Let's see if the world is ready for that.