"He... he's really a superhero?" Paxton looked Scott up and down, his eyes full of doubt.
"What can he do besides wiring things wrong and picking locks? Are you sure Vought Group hasn't made a mistake?"
The female executive gave Paxton a cold glance. "Vought Group doesn't make mistakes. Now take off the handcuffs."
Paxton hesitated, but at the precinct chief's urging, he had no choice but to pull out his keys.
"Dad, what's your superpower?"
Cassie ran over to the table and gripped its edge with both hands. Her eyes shone as she gazed at Scott, full of curiosity and admiration.
Scott met his daughter's expectant gaze and smiled bitterly to himself.
Superpower?
Like hell I have a superpower. I can't even break out of these alloy handcuffs.
To keep things from getting too awkward, Scott pretended to stretch his wrists and gave the chain between the cuffs an absentminded tug.
The instant he pulled,
the pendant on his chest seemed to sense what he wanted once again.
Liquid metal flowed over his wrists and forearms as though it were alive.
Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, Scott's arms transformed into a pair of heavy silver gauntlets that looked like something from the future.
Crack! Clang!
A sharp snap of metal rang out.
The high-strength alloy police handcuffs burst into several pieces under the expanding gauntlets and clattered to the floor.
It happened so fast that it almost seemed like an illusion.
But the fragments scattered across the floor proved it had been real.
Maggie covered her mouth in shock. Paxton still held the keys he had meant to use, frozen in place. As he stared at Scott, something beyond shock entered his eyes.
That was real superhuman power! He really was one of Vought's superheroes!
"Wow!"
Cassie's excited shriek broke