He's Slandering Me!

[Key Character · Maeve — Emotional Changes: Shy, Shocked, Curious, Both (♂/♀)]

[Ability Points Gained: +8,567]

Current Ability Points: 119,774/250,000

Oh!

Kissing Maeve once earned me that many ability points?

Or was it because getting a cool, mature beauty worked her up so much?

The next day.

Lu Chen went to find A-Train early. He was curious about how the guy had been making a living lately.

After leaving The Seven, A-Train had received a hefty payout. He should have had plenty of time to enjoy himself.

But it seemed he wasn't doing so well.

Brooklyn, an old apartment building.

Lu Heng stood in the hallway, looking at the peeling door in front of him.

A smell of cheap perfume and weed seeped through the crack.

Lu Chen knocked politely.

"Who the fuck's knocking?"

A sharp female voice rang out.

Popclaw wore a loose tank top. Her eyes were dark-ringed, and her hair was a mess, but she had an incredible figure.

Popclaw: A pretty useless power, a third-rate actress, and hoping to go public with A-Train.

But now, all she could do was go after A-Train's money.

When she saw Lu Heng, her pupils visibly trembled.

"G-Guardian?"

"I'm here to see A-Train. Ugh, what's that smell? It reeks of weed and pussy. Don't you two have anything better to do?"

Popclaw moved aside, and Lu Heng floated in.

The apartment was small, with one bedroom and one living room. Takeout containers and empty bottles of alcohol littered the place.

There was some leftover "protein powder" on the coffee table, along with a cloth bag. His X-ray vision revealed little bottles of blue liquid inside.

Compound Five.

One dose of Permanent Compound Five was worth twenty million dollars, and the black-market price was even higher.

Had A-Train blown his entire life savings on it?

A-Train lay on the living-room couch, lost in a blissful hallucination.

In his fantasy, he had returned to The Seven and become its leader. Even Homelander was groveling at his feet, while that damn Guardian was reduced to licking his cock!

Then a soft cough sounded from above.

"Looks like you've been living pretty comfortably since you left The Seven."

A familiar voice, with a familiar tone.

"Fuck off!" A-Train said dismissively.

Couldn't a man even get some peace in his own dreams?

Lu Heng glanced with interest at Popclaw. A poster of her own glamour shot hung on the wall behind her.

Now, she looked terrified.

"Hey, A-Train, wake up! Guardian's here to see you!"

Popclaw shook her fuck buddy, but A-Train acted like he couldn't hear her.

"Lick my toes, fuck Guardian!"

"Where's your bathroom?" Lu Heng asked.

"I-In there!"

Popclaw was so flustered that her low-cut tank top had slipped down to her navel. Lu Heng had seen more than enough of her.

Well...

Druggies did absolutely nothing for him...

Lu Heng wrapped a basin of water in his force field and dumped it over A-Train.

"Fuck!!!"

A-Train jolted awake in bed. A foul stench rose from his own body.

"What's that damn smell? Popclaw, where'd you get the water?"

Lu Heng floated in midair, pinching his nose.

"From the toilet, obviously. You left some leftovers in there, too. You sure know how to eat!"

At the sound of Lu Heng's voice, A-Train froze.

His expression turned terrified.

"G-Guardian?"

"That's right. It's your daddy!"

Lu Heng nodded.

A-Train instinctively stepped back, then accidentally sped straight into the wall.

"W-What are you doing here? I've already left The Seven. I have nothing to do with you anymore!"

"Oh, talking to Daddy like that really hurts my feelings!"

Lu Heng floated toward A-Train.

"Expelling you from The Seven was supposed to be a test. I didn't expect you'd still be such a hopeless case."

Drugs, sex, and depression weren't the whole story. A-Train's physical condition was terrible.

His blood was as thick as jelly, and his heart was in serious trouble. Even if he never used his powers again, he wouldn't live out the rest of his life in good health.

"W-What did you say? I still have a chance to return to The Seven?"

Like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline, A-Train's face instantly lit up.

But Lu Heng simply stared at him without saying a word.

A-Train immediately realized what he had to do and slapped himself twice.

"I'm a piece of shit! How dare I ask you to lick my cock!"

"I was wrong. I'll never do drugs again!"

"I'll do anything if you'll just let me back into The Seven!"

Popclaw watched from the side, delighted rather than surprised.

If A-Train had a chance to return to The Seven, then she could ride his coattails, too. Her popularity would soar, and she could make a triumphant return to the film industry!

"That's right, A-Train knows he was wrong. Please forgive him, sir!"

"Good grief!"

Lu Heng shook his head, looking disgusted.

"Just look at you. You were the fastest man in America. At your peak, even Homelander had to work to catch you. Now you've fallen so low that you're doing drugs with a third-rate actress. You haven't exactly made a convincing case for yourself!"

Popclaw's face went pale.

"I remember A-Train used to be such a sunny, cheerful young man. When did he turn into this? Could it have been after he met Popclaw, when she got him into bad habits and sent him spiraling downhill?"

As Lu Heng spoke, A-Train's confused expression suddenly cleared.

He nodded vigorously.

"That's right! It's all Popclaw's fault! I grew up in a poor Black family. My father disappeared when I was little, leaving my mother to raise me and my brother on her own. Once I grew up, I studied hard and worked to bring the world a little happiness!"

"Th-Then I met Popclaw, and that's when I became like this!"

"Sir! You have to save me! You're the only person in the world who can!"

Lu Heng grinned. "Hey, the kid isn't stupid! He knows how to go with the flow!"

As the conversation continued, Popclaw's face grew paler.

Th-That wasn't how it happened...

A-Train was already a regular at the supe club. He was already a druggie...

I didn't do this to him...

He's slandering me! He's slandering me!!!

But Lu Heng merely shot her a look, and Popclaw was too scared to speak.

That was Guardian, after all. With a pair of laser eyes powerful enough to vaporize a bunker in the Middle East, who would dare act up in front of him?

"Get yourselves cleaned up. You two are a pair of useless slobs who spend all day screwing around. I've got a job for you, A-Train. Report to Vought tomorrow."

Lu Heng used his force field to pull a towel out of the bathroom and tossed it at A-Train's face.

As if sensing something, he glanced instinctively at the camera.

"Holy shit!"

"Can someone tell me why Guardian is here?"

"And A-Train was kicked out of The Seven by him? I thought it was Homelander!"

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