All I Saw Was a Pilot Taking Off

The next morning, Lucian stood at the dormitory entrance carrying two large plastic bags.

The email had arrived at eight that morning, with Godolkin Logistics listed as the sender. Its contents were brief: Building D, Room 317, double occupancy. Please collect your key from Logistics and check in as soon as possible.

After collecting his key and checking in, he had made a trip to Walmart first. He had bought some new daily necessities.

On the third floor of Building D, Room 317 stood halfway down the hallway. Some kind of noise came from inside.

Listening to the sound, Lucian pushed the door open in confusion.

"My roommate's already here? What's he doing making that noise?"

He inserted the key and opened the door. The curtains inside were drawn tight, leaving only the blue light of a laptop screen to illuminate the room.

Lucian saw a pilot taking off.

On the bed by the window, a white man lay on his back.

He looked to be in his early twenties, his blond hair slicked back flat against his scalp. His blanket was piled at the foot of the bed, and his pants were down around his ankles.

Hearing the door, Rufus raised his head.

His face was flushed red, his forehead covered in sweat, and a trace of clear liquid still hung at the corner of his mouth. Seeing Lucian standing in the doorway with two Walmart bags, Rufus stopped moving his hand.

"Fuck," Rufus swore, irritated at being interrupted. "Don't you fucking knock?"

Lucian stood in the doorway, looking at Rufus's hand, which was still occupied, then at his flushed face.

"Don't you lock the door before takeoff?" Lucian said.

"Fuck!" Rufus wiped his hand on the sheet. He sat up, grabbed the blanket to cover his lower half, and rushed into the bathroom.

"I'll deal with you when I get out!"

The bathroom door slammed shut, followed by the sound of the toilet lid being lifted, then more hurried, more muffled noises.

Standing in the room, Lucian set the plastic bags at his feet. He recognized this man.

He took his phone from his pocket and searched for Rufus. There were several anonymous posts on Godolkin's internal forum, their wording veiled but their meaning clear. A reply from an account called "Anonymous User 2077" said: Don't get caught alone, don't drink water he hands you, and don't let him touch your forehead.

Lucian turned off the screen and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

The noises in the bathroom grew louder, Rufus's panting carrying through the door.

But he was thinking about another question now.

Rufus's ability-mind control. It could erase memories. Implant false memories. Hypnotize at close range.

This ability was useful to him. Very useful.

He would have to make contact with Vought's upper management, get close to Homelander, and copy abilities right under the Seven's noses. If he could alter memories, implant false commands, and erase witnesses' awareness, his plan would be ten times safer.

Rufus was a pervert. But Rufus's ability was a good one. In the story, he had tried to use it to prey on Marie, only for Marie to blow up his "engine" instead.

The noises in the bathroom reached their peak, followed by a long, deflated sigh, then the sound of flushing.

Lucian straightened and walked over to the door. He took a deep breath, holding his hands loosely cupped together before his chest. The energy blast he had obtained from Jordan began compressing between his fingers as he stared at the bathroom door.

The handle turned.

Rufus pushed the door open and walked out, wiping his hands with a tissue. He had pulled his pants up, but his belt was still unbuckled, and the hem of his T-shirt was bunched up. His face had already switched to post-nut serenity, his gaze unfocused and a smile still on his lips.

He looked up, saw Lucian standing in the doorway, and froze for a moment.

"What the fuck are you standing here-"

Lucian thrust both palms forward.

The shockwave left his hands and struck Rufus square in the chest.

Bang.

Rufus's back slammed into the bathroom doorframe with a dull thud. His eyes flew wide, his pupils rolled upward, and the tissue in his hand fluttered to the floor. His body slid down the frame and slumped limply onto the tiles at the bathroom entrance.

Lucian walked over and crouched down.

Rufus's chest was still rising and falling, but his breathing had become long and heavy, as though he had fallen unconscious. Lucian reached out and pressed his palm against his head.

Skin contact. A panel appeared in his field of vision:

[Copyable target detected: Rufus Miller]

[Available abilities]

[Super physique LV2]

[Mind control LV3]

"Select mind control LV3."

[Selected: Mind control LV3]

Estimated completion time: 30 minutes

[Copy progress: 0%]

Lucian moved his left hand away from Rufus's face and held it in midair, keeping it charged. An energy blast gathered and circulated in his left hand, giving off a faint blue glow. If Rufus so much as moved or opened his eyes during these thirty minutes, this energy projectile would put him back to sleeping like a baby.

His right hand remained pressed firmly against Rufus's head.

Time began to pass.

The dorm room was quiet. Occasionally, someone passed through the hallway, their footsteps approaching from a distance before fading away again. Someone was playing music in the room next door, the subwoofer making the wall buzz.

Lucian remained crouched. His eyes stayed fixed on Rufus's eyes, though they were tightly shut, the eyeballs beneath the lids occasionally twitching as if he were dreaming.

The progress bar crawled slowly along the edge of his vision.

3%... 7%... 12%...

Rufus's breathing suddenly quickened. His fingers twitched, as though reaching to grab something. Lucian's left hand tightened slightly, and the shockwave in his palm glowed a brighter blue. Rufus's fingers dropped again, and his breathing steadied.

Lucian continued watching him, expressionless.

18%... 25%... 31%...

Sweat slid down Lucian's temple, ran along the bridge of his nose, and dripped onto Rufus's T-shirt. Holding this position for half an hour was more tiring than he had imagined. Controlling the energy in his left hand required constant concentration. But he did not move, much less let his guard down.

Perhaps this ability would not work on those powerful superhumans, but for him, while he was still developing, it was undoubtedly the best gift.

In the story, this man had not only preyed on girls; after his engine was destroyed, he had even developed a taste for one-sided S&M with men, controlling a few men whenever he had nothing else to do and strolling around campus with them as though walking dogs.

Lucian did not want to wake up one day and discover he had forgotten why he had come to Godolkin, so he had to obtain this key.

45%... 58%... 67%...

72%... 81%... 89%...

Lucian's left hand began trembling slightly. Using an ability continuously for nearly half an hour took its toll on his LV2 shockwave control, too. The blue light in his palm flickered. But he gritted his teeth and steadied the energy again.

94%... 97%... 99%...

100%.