Pack Him Up and Take Him Away

The lights in the shop flickered.

Translucent recovered and sprang up from the glass-strewn floor, frantically rubbing his body with both hands and shaking off every drop of water. His carbon skin bent the light again, and he vanished completely into thin air.

Heavy breathing echoed between the shelves, drifting unpredictably from left to right.

Butcher stepped forward, carrying the heavy metal crowbar.

"Hide-and-seek's over, naked boy."

He swung the crowbar in a full arc, bringing it down hard toward the source of the breathing. It whistled through the air and smashed the edge of the checkout counter, sending wood chips flying. A miss.

"Can't hit me, moron!"

Translucent's wild laughter rang out to Butcher's right. A fist tore through the air and slammed into the side of Butcher's face.

Butcher staggered back two steps and crashed into the wall, a trace of crimson seeping from the corner of his mouth. He wiped the blood away with his thumb. Rather than getting angry, he flashed a vicious grin like a beast scenting blood.

Three meters away, Lucian lowered his center of gravity slightly.

His LV1 Super Senses worked at full capacity. The faint resistance of moving air and the crunch of broken glass under pressure all fed into his auditory network. But Translucent had gotten smarter. He kept his steps light, denying Lucian a clear fix on his position.

"I'm one of the Seven! You sewer rats can't even touch me!" Translucent's voice dripped with arrogance.

Lucian scanned the wreckage on the floor. In the corner sat two half-used buckets of bright red rustproof paint left over from renovation work. The fighting had knocked their lids loose.

He drove off his right foot, striking the lower edge of a paint bucket precisely with his toe. Both buckets flew into the air, tumbling.

Without the slightest pause, Lucian whipped up his right hand. LV2 Shockwave became an invisible sledgehammer of air and shot straight upward.

Bang!

The two metal buckets burst apart two meters above the floor. Thick red paint poured down like a rainstorm, spreading in a fan over a large area ahead.

"Fuck!"

A furious, startled curse rang out.

Amid the red downpour, the paint fully exposed a broad-shouldered, thick-backed human outline. Bright red paint clung to the smooth carbon skin, dripping steadily.

Hughie hid behind the overturned counter, clamping a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide.

Lucian gave Translucent no chance to wipe it off. His LV3 Super Physique erupted at full power, his leg muscles tightening as he tore through the air in a blur.

Translucent had only just raised a hand to wipe his face when Lucian was already upon him.

A powerful straight punch, trailing a shrill whistle, struck him squarely in his red-painted face.

Thud! The dull impact resounded through the little shop, and Translucent staggered.

Before he could regain his balance, Lucian drove his left knee hard into his stomach. Then he clamped both hands onto Translucent's shoulders and used his falling weight to slam him into the floor.

"I'll kill you..." Translucent spat red-and-white paint from his mouth.

Lucian did not answer. His right fist rained down.

His fist hammered against the carbon skin with dull, metallic blows. Every punch carried the terrifying strength of LV3, sending shockwaves through the skin and directly into the vulnerable organs beneath.

"Your skin really is tough." Lucian straightened and shook the red paint off his hands.

His gaze shifted to the electrical panel at the very back of the shop.

High voltage. Carbon was an excellent conductor. Perfect.

Lucian walked over, grabbed Translucent by one ankle, and dragged him toward the electrical panel like a dead dog.

Sensing danger, Translucent began struggling wildly.

"No! Let go of me! I work for Vought! You can't..."

His voice cut off abruptly.

The muscles in Lucian's right arm bulged. With a sharp twist of his waist, he swung the two-hundred-plus-pound Translucent straight into the air. Then an unstoppable front kick landed squarely on Translucent's chest.

Boom!

Translucent flew sideways, smashing through the electrical panel's metal casing with unerring precision. Thick high-voltage cables snapped, and ghostly blue arcs instantly found the perfect outlet.

Bzzzt!!!

Blinding electrical light illuminated the entire shop. High-voltage current instantly coursed through that indestructible hide, turning it into a deadly conductive network.

Translucent's entire body convulsed violently, his limbs twitching at grotesque angles.

The sparks flickered a few times, then died completely. Translucent slid stiffly off the electrical panel and hit the floor, motionless.

The shop fell deathly silent.

Hughie sat slumped on the floor, his mind blank. That lofty superhero had been beaten down, just like that.

Lucian grabbed a dry towel from a nearby shelf and leisurely wiped the blood and paint from his knuckles.

Butcher planted the crowbar on the floor and walked over, stopping three paces from Lucian as he looked the young Asian man up and down.

Two equally dangerous, equally ruthless men of the same kind met each other's eyes for the first time in the wrecked electronics shop.

"Even the night owls usually steer clear of this street." Butcher fished a crushed pack of cigarettes from his pocket, tapped one out, and caught it between his teeth. "Then a stranger like you shows up and plucks the flashiest bird in the cage. That's some savage handiwork."

Lucian casually tossed the dirty towel onto Translucent's face.

"Depends what kind of bird you're dealing with. Some birds shit on everyone's heads every day. Someone has to put up a net. And that stick you're holding doesn't look like it's for fixing pipes."

Butcher struck a match, its orange flame lighting his rugged face.

He took a deep drag and exhaled thick white smoke, prodded the charred Translucent with his crowbar, then bared his teeth in a silent laugh.

With the cigarette clenched between his teeth, Butcher strode over to Translucent.

He bent down and grabbed Translucent's thick arm. Lucian walked over and lifted an ankle at the other end. Working in perfect unison, they hoisted their two-hundred-pound trophy.

A few minutes later, in a back alley in Queens beneath the night sky.

The trunk of an old black sedan slammed shut with a heavy bang. Translucent had been stuffed inside like a torn sack, with two filthy, oil-stained towels beneath him.

Butcher got into the driver's seat and turned the ignition. The engine roared.

Hughie sat in the passenger seat, clutching his seat belt with both hands, his face deathly pale. He did not even dare look back.

Lucian opened a rear door and got in.

Beyond the windows, the light and shadows of streetlamps streamed backward. Rain struck the glass, washing away the hypocrisy on the city's surface.

Lucian leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Deep in his mind, a faintly glowing virtual panel quietly appeared.

[Replicable target detected: Translucent]

[Extracting ability...]

[Replication progress began ticking: 2%]

Lucian tapped his fingers lightly against his knee.

Hughie's fuse had been lit, and the blade that was Butcher had been successfully placed in his hand. The stagnant pool that was Vought International would soon churn with real waves of blood. All he needed to do was acquire what he wanted, step by step, amid this grand chaos.

Soon, that carbon skin would be his.