While Samuel was busy envisioning an entire logistics empire of Super Soldiers, the newly empowered Billy Butcher lunged forward. Using every ounce of his newfound strength, Butcher wound up and delivered a heavy, bone-crushing punch toward Samuel's chest.
BANG!
"Be careful! Get out of the—!" Starlight's warning died in her throat as she realized it was unnecessary.
Samuel looked down at the fist pressed against his sternum, then slowly raised his gaze to meet Butcher's eyes. Butcher's expression of rage had instantly shifted to one of agonizing realization.
Does it hurt? Samuel thought. Of course it does. You probably just shattered your knuckles against me.
Butcher, refusing to back down, ignored the shock and threw a desperate uppercut toward Samuel's face with his other hand.
Attacking the face? Samuel's eyes narrowed. I'm not Homelander; I didn't give you a cuckold's hat and a secret kid. Have some manners.
Samuel raised his leg. Just as Butcher's fist was about to graze his chin, Samuel's foot connected with Butcher's gut. The force was astronomical, sending the man flying backward. A hair's breadth in distance, yet an unreachable shore in capability.
Butcher streaked through the air, heading toward the end of the alley. The wind suddenly whipped up, and Starlight barely had time to flatten her hair before she saw something impossible.
Butcher wasn't flying through the air anymore. He was being held aloft by Samuel, who was gripping him firmly by the throat.
Starlight blinked, certain she was seeing things. Butcher had been halfway across the alley, so how had Samuel caught him like a common chick in the blink of an eye?
Butcher was stunned. Hughie was paralyzed. Even Samuel was enjoying the moment.
"You... you're a Zoom too?" Hughie stammered, his mind immediately jumping to A-Train. "That's how he killed my girlfriend... so fast I didn't even see it. But wait, you have the Hot Ray like Homelander too. Why do you have so many powers? How did you turn him? Who the hell are you?!"
Hughie's voice rose to a panicked shriek until Samuel shot him a single, cold look. Hughie instantly went silent, lowering his head and backing away with a practiced, heartbreaking submissiveness.
Samuel didn't waste time on Hughie, nor did he intend to kill Butcher. He was in too good a mood for that. The "nesting doll" exploit was working perfectly. Fighting Starlight had dropped the Serum; fighting Samuel had dropped the Serum again.
Is my luck just that good, or is the drop rate rigged? Samuel wondered with a smirk.
"Why?!" Butcher growled, his face flushed and pained as he gripped Samuel's wrists. He roared through gritted teeth, "Why turn me into one of them? Are you an enemy... or a friend?!"
"Enemy or friend?" Samuel repeated with a sneer. He released his grip, letting Butcher drop to the dirt. "That's a question for you to decide."
Without another word, Samuel walked toward Starlight. He wrapped an arm around her waist and, with a powerful boom, ignited his flight, shooting into the vast New York night.
Down in the alley, Butcher silently gathered the scattered documents from the pavement. He had expected the stranger to kill him or hand him over to Vought. He never expected to be given the very thing he hated most: power.
"Are you okay?" Hughie asked, looking at Butcher's dejected figure. "Do... do you know who they are?"
"I'll find out," Butcher whispered.
The woman was one thing, but that man—he was an anomaly. He possessed Hot Rays, Super Speed, Flight, and God-like strength, yet he could also manufacture other Supes. What was his game? Why turn me?
Butcher limped out of the alley toward a nearby bar, Hughie in tow. He needed to show Hughie the evidence to seal his resolve, and he needed a drink to process the fact that he was no longer a mortal man.
High above the city, Samuel felt the rush of the wind. He had used Butcher as a lab rat to confirm the Serum's success rate. If it had failed, Butcher would have died—and Samuel wasn't about to risk his own future employees on an unverified product.
Now he had his answer. The Serum worked on humans. His next step was to see if it could be layered onto existing Supes. If Compound V and the Super Soldier Serum were compatible, his future army would be beyond anyone's comprehension.
"You... where are we going?" Starlight finally mustered the courage to speak. "Can I go home now?"
"Your feet belong to you," Samuel replied indifferently. "Where you go is your own business."
Starlight bit her lip. "But you said... you said I made your heart flutter. You're just letting me go like that? Don't you feel any regret? Or was that all just a fake line?"
Samuel looked at her, a half-smile playing on his lips until she awkwardly looked away.
"Things that are easily lost aren't worth the regret," he said leisurely.
Starlight felt a sting of indignation. Easily lost? Because she didn't want to join The Seven, she was suddenly "disposable" to him?
Do you have any idea how much resolve it took for me to find you? she thought angrily. How can you call my life 'easily lost'?
"I'm going home!" she snapped, her voice stiff.
Samuel waved a hand casually without slowing his pace. "Goodbye then."
Starlight stared as he walked away into the darkness, not even glancing back. "I hope I never see you again, you bast—"
Samuel suddenly paused and looked back over his shoulder. Starlight's curse died in her throat. She immediately pretended to hail a cab, looking left and right with frantic interest.
Only when she was sure he had truly disappeared did she dare to look back. He was gone. A mix of anger, grievance, and a strange, unacknowledged sense of rejection bubbled up inside her. She stomped her foot in a fit of pique.
The concrete beneath her heel instantly shattered, caving in under the strength she still hadn't fully mastered.