Light Energy Manipulation

Starlight froze for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. She lowered her head and looked at a broken brick in front of her toes. "The real world is so fucking shitty."

"Always has been." Lucian slipped his hands into his pockets. "Need me to call you a cab?"

"No." Starlight looked up at him, her eyes red. "Are you underage?"

"I turned eighteen not long ago."

"All right." Starlight took a deep breath. "Have a drink with me. My treat."

They found a twenty-four-hour bar on the street corner, its neon sign still glowing.

They pushed open the door. Inside, there were only a few drunks slumped over the bar, snoring, and the air reeked of cheap beer and stale tobacco residue. The bartender was a man with a thick beard. Without even looking up, he pushed a few bottles of Budweiser and whiskey toward them.

Starlight grabbed a bottle and, without bothering with a glass, tipped her head back and downed half of it.

Lucian was in no hurry to drink. He leaned back against the leather sofa in the booth and watched the girl across from him. She looked nothing like the superhero who shone beneath the spotlights now, more like an unlucky college student whose boyfriend had just dumped her.

"You know what's the funniest part?" Starlight slammed her bottle onto the table. "I thought I'd beaten The Deep. I thought I'd held my ground. Then the PR department called me into a meeting this afternoon."

She opened another bottle, her voice thick with self-mockery.

"They designed a new costume for me." Starlight traced a ridiculously low neckline in front of her chest with a finger. "Here, right down to my stomach. And shorts that don't even cover the tops of my thighs. They said it was 'female empowerment,' that this was what audiences wanted to see now. Madelyn Stillwell wouldn't even hear me out."

"Sounds just like her." Lucian took a sip of beer. It tasted as weak as water.

"How do you even know about Madelyn?" Starlight's eyes widened.

"I'm a hardcore fan, remember?" Lucian lied without batting an eye. "Vought is essentially a pharmaceutical company and a financial conglomerate dressed up as an entertainment business. You're not heroes. You're products. Products don't need self-respect. They just need selling points. What you wear depends on market research data, not what you want."

The words were harsh, but, surprisingly, Starlight didn't argue.

She took another long swig, her eyes growing even redder. "I grew up going from one beauty pageant to another in Des Moines. My mom spent all our family's money trying to get me into The Seven. Every day, I practiced smiling, practiced looking devout and approachable on camera. I thought that once I joined The Seven, I'd finally be able to really save people."

Starlight slumped over the table, her voice gradually fading. "What am I even doing all this for..."

Lucian looked at her. "In this world, having powers is a stroke of luck in itself. As for how you use them, that's up to you."

Starlight didn't answer. She was already drunk.

Although a superhero's constitution was stronger than an ordinary person's, after an entire day of intense mental strain, alcohol could still numb her nerves.

Lucian sighed.

He stood up, walked over to Starlight, and patted her shoulder. "Annie, wake up. We need to go."

Starlight mumbled something, her head tilted to one side, and she fell completely asleep.

Lucian paid for the drinks, draped one of Starlight's arms over his shoulders, and half-supported, half-carried her out of the bar.

His LV1 Super Senses let him clearly feel Starlight's body heat and her steady breathing. Honestly, the woman had a nice figure. Even through her loose sweatshirt, he could feel the firmness that came from years of training.

But there was only one thing on Lucian's mind now: the progress bar.

Supporting Starlight, he found a motel in the next block that didn't require ID.

The drowsy, middle-aged Indian man at the front desk glanced at them, asked nothing, and tossed over a key. "Second floor, 204. Checkout is noon tomorrow."

A musty smell hit them as he pushed open the door to room 204.

Lucian tossed Starlight onto the double bed, its springs already somewhat warped. Starlight rolled over, pulled the covers around herself until she was bundled into a ball, and mumbled a curse about fucking Vought.

Without taking off his jacket, Lucian pulled over a battered chair and sat beside the bed.

Then he reached out and clasped Starlight's wrist where it lay outside the covers.

The instant their skin touched, the familiar translucent panel popped up in the corner of his vision.

[Target with copyable ability detected]

[Target: Annie January (Starlight)]

[Ability assessment: Light energy manipulation LV4 (flight undeveloped)]

[Time required to copy: 6 hours]

[Current progress: 0.01%]

Lucian's breathing paused for a moment.

LV4.

This was the second-highest-level ability he had encountered so far. More importantly, it was an offensive skill. "Looks like I won't have to hide in my shell anymore."

Light energy manipulation could absorb surrounding electricity and convert it into powerful blasts of light and shockwaves, not only blinding people but also causing physical destruction. More importantly, the system notification included the words "flight undeveloped."

That meant that once he acquired this ability and developed it properly, he would be able to fly.

In this world full of freaks and lunatics, being able to fly meant having an extra life. A large part of the reason Homelander held absolute dominance was his command of the skies. He could fight whenever he wanted and leave whenever he pleased.

Lucian shifted in his chair, settling into a more comfortable position. His right hand gripped Starlight's wrist tightly, as though he were holding a ticket to a new world.

Brooklyn remained noisy outside the window, with sirens and drunken curses rising and falling.

Lucian glanced at the progress bar.

[Current progress: 15%]

He closed his eyes and began the long wait.

The first ray of morning sunlight slipped through a gap in the motel's incompletely drawn curtains and fell across Lucian's face.

He opened his eyes.

His right hand was still clasped around Starlight's wrist. In the corner of his vision, the progress bar finally reached the end.

[Copy completion: 100%]

[Ability acquired: Light energy manipulation LV4 (flight requires development)]

[Ability made permanent.]

A strange warmth surged through his right arm and spread throughout his body. Lucian could feel something like an entirely new organ inside him. His skin seemed to be breathing, keenly sensing the faint current flowing through the wires inside the room's walls.

If he wanted, he could drain all the electricity from this rundown motel right now, then blow the building sky-high.

Lucian let go and rubbed his stiff wrist.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain open a little.