On the way back to the Long Island villa, the sea breeze rustled the lawn. Cate walked ahead, turning to talk to him, but her gaze kept drifting toward Lucian's right pocket.
Inside was the enhancement serum they had brought out of the underground base in Detroit.
"What are you looking at?" Lucian stopped.
Cate turned and pointed at his pocket. "That enhancement serum. Can I use it?"
"Why?" Lucian looked into her eyes. "You saw what happened in the isolation pod. Test Subject One still briefly lost control after the injection. The side effects haven't been completely eliminated."
Cate stepped closer, biting her lower lip and wringing her fingers together. Images flashed through her mind: the vast sterile laboratory beneath Detroit, the researchers in protective suits with fanatically obedient eyes, and the Supes strapped to lab tables like guinea pigs.
"Ever since I saw you fight Golden Boy, I knew you were hiding what you could do." Cate tilted her head up, her pale blond hair tousled by the night breeze. "But only in these past two days have I really seen how much power you have. The underground base in Detroit, the Vought Executives backing down-you don't even take Edgar seriously."
And what was she?
A defective product who depended on gloves to get by, a madwoman who could break down at any moment when her abilities went out of control.
"If I stay a useless wreck who can only get through life by comforting herself, sooner or later I'll become a burden to you." Cate took another step forward. "I don't want to be a caged bird who can do nothing but pick out sofas for your villa. I want to help you. I don't want to fall behind. If I can become stronger, I'm willing to