A-Train shot a frantic glance at the worried Claw Woman, who was still scanning the room for their blurring figures. In a move of sheer desperation, he lunged forward and shoved her directly toward the descending syringe.
Samuel's eyebrows quirked slightly, but he didn't pull back.
"Ah—!" A pained scream rang out as Claw Woman collapsed.
She stared at the open door and the fading streak of her boyfriend in utter disbelief, unable to fathom that the man she loved and trusted could commit such a betrayal. He had sacrificed her just to buy himself a chance to escape.
Samuel didn't bother chasing A-Train. While injecting a Supe with the Super Soldier Serum carried certain risks, his experience suggested a high probability of a perfect success rate.
If A-Train had stayed to face the needle instead of sacrificing Claw Woman, the serum likely would have repaired the heart damage caused by his Compound V abuse, making him faster and stronger than ever.
Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what the next one will taste like. This was a lesson A-Train learned in his flight, and one Claw Woman learned as she lay there, certain she was about to die.
As a side note, the encounter with A-Train only netted Samuel 5 points.
...
Sitting on the sofa and waiting for the results, Samuel closed his System panel and turned his attention to Claw Woman, who was finally stirring. She lay motionless on the floor, her eyes dull and vacant. Beads of sweat rolled down her skin, and her loose loungewear now strained slightly against her frame.
The Super Soldier Serum had done its work; her physique was now more symmetrical and defined than ever before.
"Good evening," Samuel greeted her. "Or perhaps it isn't. That's up to you."
Claw Woman remained paralyzed by the weight of her boyfriend's betrayal. She neither spoke nor moved, staring into nothingness as she drowned in her own grief.
Samuel's expression soured. He unleashed a Hot Ray, searing a smoking hole into the floor inches from her face.
"If you want to keep playing dead, I'll be happy to grant your wish and make it permanent," he said coldly.
The sudden heat and the threat in his voice finally forced a reaction. Claw Woman slowly pushed herself up.
"Quit being melodramatic," Samuel said dismissively. "Even boiling water at a hundred degrees eventually cools down; a human heart is no different."
Claw Woman blinked, a flicker of life returning to her eyes. She shook her head, her voice slightly hoarse. "You don't understand."
"Don't I? I understand perfectly. Most relationships are the same: a short story that isn't hard to tell. You meet with blushing faces and end with red eyes. In this day and age, everyone leaves someone eventually. A-Train wasn't your first boyfriend, was he?"
Claw Woman instinctively shook her head.
Samuel continued impatiently, "Then stop acting like a walking corpse. Get up. Tell me how your body feels and if your original abilities have been affected."
The sharp scold snapped her into a more alert state. She stood up, sensing the new strength thrumming through her limbs. She raised her wrist, and a slender, razor-sharp bone spur slid out—the signature ability that earned her the name Claw Woman.
"I... my abilities are fine. I feel like I'm full of inexhaustible energy. I'm definitely stronger." She paused, looking at the new muscle definition in her arms and the clear-cut abs on her midsection. "What exactly did you inject me with?"
She looked at him hesitantly. "At first, I thought you were trying to kill A-Train—that the syringe was full of poison or a virus. But I didn't die. I got stronger. This feels a bit like the serum A-Train uses, but that only gives a temporary boost and makes you manic, like a high. My head feels clear. My body is stable. So... what is it?"
The substance she was referring to was Compound V.
To bolster his own legend, Homelander had secretly tasked A-Train with smuggling Compound V to various terrorist organizations. By creating "Super Villains" for himself to defeat, Homelander could maintain his heroic image and increase his political leverage. Though A-Train had never met the terrorists personally, he had begun secretly injecting the substance himself, becoming hopelessly addicted. Claw Woman had tried to talk him out of it many times, but her pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
Thinking ahead, Samuel knew that one of his primary goals before returning to the Marvel Universe was to find another victim of Homelander's plan: the Wolf Girl, Kimiko.
If A-Train hadn't followed him after he left Starlight, Samuel would have already gone looking for her. Compared to Queen Maeve or Starlight, Kimiko had fewer ties to this world—only a younger brother who would eventually become a "Super Terrorist" himself.
Both siblings possessed incredible potential. The sister had a powerful self-healing factor and a beast-like fighting style reminiscent of Wolverine, earning her the nickname Wolf Girl. However, because she was injected with Compound V as an adult, her cognitive and linguistic abilities were impaired.
The brother's time in the spotlight was short before he was killed by Stormfront, but his telekinetic abilities made him a formidable copy of Magneto. They were exactly the kind of "scavenged" talent Samuel was looking for.