"Why did you stop talking?"
Stormfront hung in midair, her feet kicking feebly.
Her throat was clamped shut, preventing air from entering her lungs. She clutched Lucian's forearm with both hands, trying to pry those rigid fingers loose.
They did not budge.
This was impossible.
Who was she? She was the perfect product of the first generation of Compound V, a pureblood Supe who had lived for over a century. Those mongrels with their inferior genes weren't even worthy of looking her in the eye. In her mind, nonwhite Supes like Lucian could only ever be second-class citizens.
And now a second-class citizen had lifted her off the ground with one hand?
The humiliation eclipsed even the agony of suffocation. Purple plasma arcs began dancing across her skin.
Crackle.
The pungent smell of ozone filled the corridor. High-voltage current surged wildly down her wrists into Lucian's arm. She was going to electrocute this second-rate cripple who didn't know his place until he was nothing but charcoal.
Lucian did not dodge.
Not only did he refuse to release her, but his fingers tightened further.
The current coursed into Lucian's body, and his own Supe physique withstood it head-on. His flesh stung slightly, but with his healing ability, he paid it no mind.
More importantly, the system was working.
[Copyable ability detected]
At the other end of the corridor.
Homelander finally moved.
His hands remained clasped behind his back as he approached at an unhurried pace.
This woman had been stealing his spotlight with her livestreams lately, reducing him to a backdrop. Watching a newcomer choke her until her eyes rolled back filled Homelander with indescribable satisfaction.
But he did consider himself the captain, after all. He had enjoyed enough of the show. Rules still had to be established.
"Enough."