Spending

Billy hadn't given much thought to whether Ryan would spend any money.

"Forget the sorry-looking ones in this place. If you're interested, I'll take you somewhere better."

"Somewhere better?"

"Heh-heh."

Billy smiled mysteriously and turned his attention to the surveillance footage.

It showed an enclosed space.

The private room was lavishly decorated, with drinks set out on the table.

A man in a blue athletic tank top sat on the sofa at the center.

Ryan remembered him.

A-Train.

Hughie was watching the footage too. He remembered A-Train's face even more vividly.

A-Train had become the stuff of his nightmares.

In his dreams, Hughie had already put A-Train through eight Texas Chainsaw Massacres.

In reality, though, A-Train sat on a nightclub sofa, enjoying life.

Hughie's face twisted with anger.

He was so furious that he copied Billy, working up a mouthful of spit to spray at the screen.

Billy noticed. Being the understanding sort, he knew just what it was like for someone who'd been hurt by a superhero.

"If you spit on that screen, I'll make you lick it back up."

"..."

Hughie looked at Billy's thick arms, then at his enormous fists.

Even now, Hughie's face still ached faintly.

With no other choice, he spat furiously onto the floor instead.

Then he politely ground the spit away with his shoe.

Billy gave him a warning for good measure.

"Mop that spot later."

"O-okay."

Hughie was as meek as a little rabbit. Ryan, on the other hand, had no habit of spitting.

He watched the footage.

"Keep quiet while we watch."

"..."

"..."

At last, the room fell silent. Only the conversation from the recording could be heard.

Every word came through clearly.

A-Train was speaking.

"I was running down the street the day before yesterday and splattered some woman into a mosaic. I feel so bad. Kinda wish I'd hit her boyfriend too."

A-Train laughed openly, as if he'd told a hilarious joke.

He sounded as unconcerned as a driver whose windshield had caught a bug on the highway.

The recording cut off abruptly. Women had begun entering the private room, and Ryan stopped the video.

What happened next

was the sort of thing minors watched to broaden their horizons.

Billy didn't object. Hughie had seen what Billy wanted him to see. Billy then raised a question.

Through his own contacts, Billy had learned that A-Train hadn't gone to stop a bank robber that day.

That contradicted the statement he'd given after hitting Hughie's girlfriend. So why had A-Train lied?

What had he actually been doing that day?

It was worth finding out.

Billy gave Hughie that task.

"Go plant a bug. You want revenge for your girlfriend too, don't you? We're on the same side."

"What kind of friend sends someone off to die?"

Hughie was angry, but the task Billy had given him terrified him.

His fear swelled until it gradually overwhelmed his anger.

He often wandered near Vought International's Seven Tower. Every time he saw the building,

he couldn't help feeling a sense of awe at its grandeur.

But the thought of going inside to do something illicit sent his fear to a peak.

Seeing how frightened Hughie was, Billy decided to reason with him.

He would help Hughie understand which was scarier: Billy's fists or Seven Tower.

But Billy had barely shifted a foot when Hughie bolted like a startled animal.

He ran so fast that he vanished from sight in no time.

Even Billy was stunned by how quickly he'd moved.

"Am I that scary? Why did he run like that?"

Billy looked at Ryan with puzzlement and displeasure.

Ryan didn't know the answer, but he knew how to solve the problem.

"Lock the door next time."

"Good idea."

After a few more words, Billy grinned and asked Ryan if he wanted to have some fun.

Ryan replied, "Fun, my ass. Take me back."

Billy still had things to do, but for some reason, he studied Ryan for a moment and agreed.

He found it surprising himself.

"If I had a kid, he'd probably be about your age."

"There it is. The wistful speech from a childless middle-aged man."

"I'm going to knock you around, kid."

"You're the one who'd end up on the floor."

They traded a few more remarks as Billy drove Ryan to the area near Seven Tower.

Billy remarked on how busy Ryan's neighborhood was and said his parents must be doing well for themselves. Then he drove away.

Ryan returned to Seven Tower.

He had been assigned a bedroom there too. It wasn't as spacious as the villa outside the city, but it was comfortable enough.

Back in his room, Ryan ran a hot bath and washed up.

Only then did he lie on the bed and check his phone. There was a message from Madelyn.

She wanted him to help with something.

She called it a favor, but it was practically work.

Madelyn probably figured that since Ryan was using a Vought International card and would draw a sizable salary in the future,

he ought to handle a few small tasks in return.

Ryan read through her message.

Her words were brief.

They were easy enough to understand. Madelyn planned to make him a member of The Seven.

The team had never had a young hero like him, so he was bound to be a hit.

Madelyn had also arranged for someone to join at the same time as him.

She was a girl named Annie, who would likewise be made into a superhero.

Madelyn's request concerned her.

Ryan was to bring Annie to Seven Tower. She could have taken a car there,

but having someone from the tower pick her up personally would better demonstrate Vought International's goodwill.

Madelyn had also arranged Ryan's meals and accommodation for the trip.

He could treat it as a vacation. Ryan had no objection.

He turned off the light in his room and closed his eyes.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the curtains.

Ryan climbed out of bed. It was still a little cold—the kind of season that made him want to stay under the covers.

He pulled back the curtains and looked outside Seven Tower.

There were already plenty of pedestrians on the streets.

Not wanting to get up was one thing. Being able to stay in bed was another.

Being late because of the cold would get their pay docked, and their coworkers would laugh at them too.

Ryan had no such worries. He washed up at his leisure, then called the internal line to order breakfast.

Vought International's breakfast really was refined and delicious.

After eating, Ryan set off to find Annie, the new superhero.

His means of transportation was himself, of course.

After all, few things were faster or more convenient than flying under his own power.

Annie lived in Iowa. Ryan descended from the sky and knocked on her door.

That was when he saw her for the first time.

She was bright and energetic, with golden hair and a well-proportioned figure, as though God had made her with particular care.

She opened the door and saw a boy outside. Well brought up, she crouched down and asked what he wanted.

When he told her he'd come to invite her to become a superhero,

she believed him without suspicion. Joy spread across her face, plain for all to see.

"So that means I'm a superhero?"

"That's right. You're going to be a member of The Seven."

"Thank you. I... I'm so happy I could burst."

Annie was beautiful when she smiled—and beautiful to begin with.

She happily invited Ryan inside, practically hopping with excitement.

Seeing her like that, Ryan couldn't help smiling too.

Ryan's sense of humor was decidedly strange.

Unlike Annie, Ryan didn't follow her inside right away.

He looked at her yard, where green vegetables grew in the soil.

He looked beyond it. There were few cars on the quiet Iowa street, and Annie's neighbor was humming an off-key tune inside his little house.

Only a gentle place like this could have raised a girl as innocent as Annie.

That was what Ryan had wanted to see.

Still smiling, Ryan followed Annie inside. She noticed his expression.

"With a handsome face and a smile like that, who knows how many girls you'll break hearts over someday?"

"If we both feel the same way, no hearts get broken."

"What are you smiling about? Tell me."

"I'm happy you're joining The Seven."

Ryan's smile faded, and he grew calm again as he looked at Annie, who was still brimming with joy.

He could already picture this angelically innocent girl

being stained a different color by New York and all its glittering excess.

Annie was a good host. She brought out some cookies and milk

and set them in front of Ryan.

"Seven Tower is in New York, right?"

"Yeah."

"I've wanted to go there for as long as I can remember."

"And it's been waiting for you, Annie."

The warm exchange put Annie at ease, and she happily began talking with Ryan about superpowers.

As they chatted, Ryan learned that she had dreamed of becoming a superhero ever since discovering her powers as a child.

She had worked harder for it than most people could imagine, training her abilities day after day.

At home, she punched bricks. Outside, she ran marathons. Those were only a few of her exercises.

Even wind and rain had never made her abandon her training. She would finish it soaked through if she had to.

Her mother had been there all along, supporting her.

And now, at last,

Seven Tower had invited her. It meant she could fulfill her dream and become a superhero.

Ryan listened without much interest. He sat on the sofa, eating crisp baked cookies while Annie told him about her past.

It was a story about hard work and patience finally bearing fruit.

But the flower that bloomed might not be the one she hoped for.

After sitting in the house for a while, Ryan looked toward the door as someone opened it and came in.

The newcomer was an elderly woman who resembled Annie.

Annie called her Mother. When her mother asked where Ryan had come from, she was told he was from the Seven Tower.

She seemed doubtful, but then she saw Ryan use Laser Eyes to carve a precise image of a Traptrix monster into a cup.

Though she had no idea what the image meant, she immediately grew warm toward him. Anyone who could use a superpower with such control

had to be from Vought International. There was no other possibility.

She gave him a gentle, friendly smile.

"Welcome."

As she spoke, her smile deepened the lines on her face. She was decades older than Ryan, yet she was fawning over a child.

Ryan couldn't bear to watch. He turned to Annie.

People said children were their family's hope. Annie was no different; she carried the weight of her mother's expectations.

"I want to see your powers."

Having made his request to Annie, Ryan got up and headed outside.

Annie followed him nervously.

"Huh? O-okay."