Before Frenchie and Mother's Milk could answer, someone had already responded for them.
The Ice Princess.
This beautiful woman with a supermodel figure raised her hand and hurled a frost spear straight at the Bear Man outside.
With a sharp whoosh, the spear cut through the air and shot toward the gap in the vehicle.
Where the ice spear passed, the temperature inside the bus dropped suddenly, and a thin layer of frost formed everywhere.
Frenchie shivered, then sneezed several times in a row.
Outside the vehicle, the Bear Man let out a roar. He raised his claw and slapped, shattering the ice spear into pieces.
But the chill from the spear quickly formed a thick layer of ice over his bear paw.
At that moment, the police escorting the prisoners got out of the police car ahead, raised their pistols at the Bear Man, and fired repeatedly.
The Bear Man used his frozen paw to block. In an instant, the ice layer was shattered by bullets, and then he grabbed a car parked by the roadside.
With a forceful shove, the car flew through the air with its alarm blaring. The police hurriedly ducked, holding onto their hats.
Bang!
The police car was knocked back, its windshield shattered. The airbags deployed as it slid backward, knocking over two officers.
At this time, a gust of cold wind blew out from the gap in the bus. The Bear Man raised his hand to block, but frost rapidly spread over half his body, icicles forming and hanging from him.
Inside the bus, the Ice Princess continued to blow out freezing air toward the gap.
The Bear Man suddenly turned around, shattering all the ice covering his body, icicles clattering to the ground.
Then the black fur on his body suddenly turned gray-white, and his form began to change.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a Bear Man into a gray werewolf.
The werewolf dropped onto all fours and ran.
"Don't run!"
The Ice Princess seemed to forget her duty. She jumped out of the bus, her long legs landing on the ground and leaving behind a smooth layer of ice.
The ice extended forward, forming a path that chased after the werewolf.
The Ice Princess slid along this icy path, like a figure skater, pursuing the werewolf through the busy street without letting up.
The werewolf ran along the road, leaping onto car roofs one moment, then crashing into the interior of a bus the next.
Screams erupted all over the street.
Frenchie poked his head out of the bus gap to take a look, then said to Mother's Milk, "Should we go?"
"If we don't go, are you seriously planning to go sit in prison?", Mother's Milk jumped off the bus and ran toward a nearby alley, still wearing handcuffs.
"Hey, stop!", The police chased after them.
Frenchie quickly followed Mother's Milk. The two pushed through traffic and ran into the alley.
———
After some time, they temporarily shook off the police.
In an alley, the two looked at the handcuffs on their wrists and the prison uniforms on their bodies.
"I bet if we walk out like this, we'll be back in prison by this afternoon," Frenchie rummaged through a nearby trash bin for something.
Mother's Milk shook his head, "No. I'm absolutely not going back to prison."
"I still need to see my wife and kids."
"If you want to see your wife and kids, then come help me. Let's see if there's anything we can use to pry off these shiny bracelets on our hands."
Frenchie was practically climbing into the trash bin.
Mother's Milk walked over, cursing under his breath, about to help, when voices of police suddenly came from outside.
"Surround this place. A passerby said two suspicious guys ran in here."
"They're probably the ones we're looking for."
Mother's Milk immediately yanked Frenchie out of the trash bin, "Looks like we don't have time to dig through garbage."
The two hurried toward the end of the alley. After just a few steps, they froze.
It was a dead end.
Mother's Milk grabbed Frenchie by the collar angrily, "Damn it, don't you always say you're a walking map?"
Frenchie already didn't get along with him, and immediately shot back, "Maybe it's because my 'map' hasn't been updated recently."
While the two were arguing, figures had already appeared at the alley entrance, followed by police walking in.
As they spun around in panic like ants on a hot pan, their shoulders suddenly tightened, and something lifted them upward.
They looked up and saw a man flapping huge wings, looking like an eagle.
That face, it was the Bear Man from before.
Frenchie was about to speak, but the man, now transformed into a winged eagle-like figure, shook his head, signaling them not to talk.
He lifted them and flew into the sky, quickly leaving.
———
[Inside a Warehouse]
With a snap, Frenchie's handcuffs were easily torn open by the eagle-man. Then the eagle-man walked into a container. When he came out again, he had already turned into a white man and was wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
He tossed two sets of clothes over, "You might need these."
Frenchie threw away the handcuffs, stripped off his striped prison uniform, and put on the clothes the man had given him. He tossed one set to Mother's Milk.
"Thanks, brother."
"You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"
Mother's Milk suddenly called out, "I remember now. Your name is Levin."
"The soldier who got injured because of Queen Maeve."
Frenchie was startled and quickly stepped back, staring at Levin.
"What's going on?"
"Weren't you paralyzed?"
"How can you turn into a bear one moment and an eagle the next?"
Levin nodded, "I was paralyzed, but I'm better now. As for how I became like this…"
"Sorry, that's my secret."
Mother's Milk changed into the clothes. "Everyone has secrets."
He paused, then asked, "But why did you save us?"
Levin narrowed his eyes, "You said it yourself just now. I was injured because of Queen Maeve."
"If that hadn't happened, I'd still be in the army."
"But after that incident, guess what I got?"
"Besides some money, I got nothing."
"If you insist on calling it a gain, I did gain a lot of ridicule."
"So after I got powers, I decided something."
"I want revenge."
Frenchie glanced at Mother's Milk, then asked, "If you want to go against those superheroes, do you want to join us?"
Mother's Milk turned around and said softly, "Are you serious? You want to go find that bastard?"
Frenchie lowered his voice, "I don't want to either, but we're fugitives now."
"So I think… yeah. Other than going to Butcher, we probably don't have anywhere else to go."
Mother's Milk said in a deep voice, "No! Absolutely not!"
"That bastard has already screwed us over enough."
"Listen, Frenchie."
"I don't like you, but I like that guy even less."
"Don't you know some people around here? We can hide."
Frenchie thought for a moment, then said, "Alright, but we have to bring this soldier along."
"You saw what he can do. If The Seven come knocking, he can help us."
Mother's Milk looked at Levin, hesitated, then nodded.
———
That night, deep into the late hours—
Arthur Sam, who ran a small restaurant, was getting ready to close up.
Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the kitchen.
"Damn rats," he muttered, picking up a baseball bat and quietly heading toward the kitchen.
The kitchen lights were off. The dim yellow glow of the streetlights outside shone in through the window, casting long shadows over everything.
Arthur immediately saw that the refrigerator door was open. Right in front of it, behind the kitchen counter, there was a constant sound of chewing, as if a rat was stealing his ingredients.
Arthur took off his shoes and walked over silently on bare feet.
When he reached the counter, he shouted and swung the bat down.
But the thing crouching by the fridge wasn't a rat.
It was a person. A woman.
Her hair was messy, her clothes stained with dark, dried blood.
Filthy all over, she was wolfing down food.
Hearing Arthur's shout, she turned around.
Seeing the bat in his hand, a fierce glint flashed in her eyes.
Using both hands and feet, she darted forward, slipping between Arthur's legs in an instant.
Then she leapt up from behind him, both hands tearing at his neck from either side.
Arthur's neck was instantly ripped open with multiple gashes. Blood sprayed out like a fountain, splattering onto the refrigerator and the floor.
His eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe he would die in his own restaurant tonight.
Thud!
His body fell to the ground.
The girl looked at her hands, then turned on the tap and washed them.
She carefully took some food from the fridge, packed it up, and silently slipped out through the window.
Landing barefoot on the ground, she looked around. After confirming the alley was empty, she prepared to leave.
Suddenly, a voice sounded from above.
"Kimiko?"
The girl's whole body tensed instantly. She jumped up, then instinctively shrank into a corner, pressing her back against the wall to avoid being attacked from behind.
Like a wolf, she arched her back, eyes filled with ferocity. Beneath her messy hair, her delicate face lifted as she looked upward.
Above the alley, a figure floated in midair.
A red cape fluttered like flames in the wind. His black battle suit carried a strange metallic sheen, with red patterns that echoed the cape behind him.
The girl stared at the man warily.
Not just because he was Homelander.
But because Homelander had called out her name, Kimiko.
She had almost forgotten how long it had been since anyone called her that.
Floating in the air, Homelander curled his lips into a smile as he looked at this "wolf girl."
She looked exactly like in the TV series, but her eyes were much fiercer. The whole person felt like a she-wolf.
Homelander landed and glanced into the restaurant kitchen, "Wow, that's brutal."
"His neck's practically cut off. Must've been pretty painful before he died, huh?"
As he said that, his figure suddenly blurred, and he blocked Kimiko's path.
While he was distracted, the girl tried to seize the chance to escape.
But there was no hiding it from Homelander's eyes.
Seeing her path blocked, Kimiko instinctively jumped back to create distance, then threw the food she had stolen from the restaurant at him.
Homelander's eyes lit up slightly, and he fired two heat beams, blasting the packaged food apart.
At that moment, Kimiko shot out from beneath the exploding food, grabbed Homelander's foot, and bit down.
Crack!
Her sharp teeth sank into the vibranium suit. Not only did she fail to bite through it, but the bio-force field snapped several of her teeth.
However, she had regenerative abilities. It wouldn't take long for new teeth to grow back, but the pain made her eyes roll. With blood filling her mouth, she sprang backward.
A rush of wind sounded by her ear.
Then she heard Homelander's voice behind her.
"Biting people on sight. You really are wild."
"Looks like you need some proper training."
Kimiko shuddered and spun around, her ten fingers clawing toward Homelander's chest.
The result was that all ten of her nails were torn out, making her body tremble slightly from the pain.
Looking at Homelander, she felt despair for the first time.
But the girl was stubborn. Gritting her teeth, she still lunged forward.
Homelander simply shifted his body, grabbed her, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and smacked her backside again and again like disciplining a child.
Only after her backside turned red did he toss Kimiko onto the ground.
Tears rolled fiercely from the corners of her eyes. Her backside burned, this felt worse than being killed.
Seeing that she still looked defiant, Homelander smiled and said, "Do you want to find the Mouse?"
Kimiko froze, her eyes widening instantly, "Yes, your brother."
"You should know who I am."
"I can help you find your brother."
Homelander beckoned with a smile, "If you want to find him, come with me."
"And from now on, you'll listen to me."
"You'll obey every command I give."
Kimiko hesitated for a long time before stepping forward. She gestured in sign language, 'Can you really help me find my brother?'
Homelander laughed, "Of course. If even I can't find him, then no one in this world can."
Kimiko nodded and gestured again, 'As long as you help me find the Mouse, I'll do anything you say.'
"Good."
Homelander pulled her into his arms and flew up into the night sky.
———
It was the weekend.
At lunch, Starlight seemed a bit distracted.
She tried hard not to think about what happened in the subway with Stormfront, but over the past few days, every word Stormfront said kept echoing in her ears.
Even now, she wasn't sure if she should go to the Federal Library in the afternoon.
After lunch, with her wavy hair loose and dressed in revealing clothes, Starlight entered the command hall.
On the TV inside, a news report was playing.
A restaurant owner had been brutally killed in his own kitchen.
According to the kitchen surveillance footage, the murderer was the mysterious woman who had killed several people in recent days.
Starlight saw Homelander also watching the news. After a moment, she said, "Good afternoon, Homelander."
Homelander glanced at her and smiled, "Finished lunch?"
Starlight nodded, "Yes, just did."
She walked over beside him and looked at the news, "Aren't we going out?"
"Going out?"
"Why?", Homelander shrugged, "The police haven't asked us for help."
"Besides, this kind of thing is too boring. I'm not interested."
Starlight clenched her hands, "But aren't we superheroes?"
"Helping civilians, isn't that what we're supposed to do?"
Homelander turned off the TV and walked toward the door, "Miss, we're superheroes, not saviors."
"Every day, thousands suffer in this world. Can you save them all?"
Then he left the command hall.
Starlight stared at the closed door, silent for a long time.
———
[4 P.M., Federal Grand Library]
Wearing sportswear and jeans, with sunglasses on, Starlight entered the grand library.
She came to the bookshelf Stormfront had mentioned.
But she didn't see Stormfront.
Then a voice came from behind the shelf, "Pick up a book and flip through it. If you come to a library and don't read, people will get suspicious."
It was Stormfront's voice.
Starlight casually picked up a book titled "Self-Training for Workplace Dummies," flipped it open, and said, "You were right. Homelander doesn't care about people's lives at all."
"He's just playing a game. A game that might be fun for him."
From the other side of the shelf, Stormfront chewed gum and said, "Looks like you've figured it out."
"Congratulations, Starlight."
"You've held onto your true self."
"You really are a superhero. A real superhero."
"No wonder you're my idol."
Starlight shook her head, "I don't care whether I'm your idol. I just want to know, what's your plan?"
"Before we talk about plans."
Stormfront moved a book aside so Starlight could see her, "Have you ever heard of 'Compound V'?"
Starlight looked puzzled, "Never."
"Then what I'm about to say, you'd better not react too strongly."
"You might want to steady yourself first."
"Because what I'm about to tell you could overturn your worldview and values."
"You might even think I'm talking nonsense."
Starlight nodded and took a few deep breaths, "Go ahead."
"Listen carefully, then."
"Superhumans are not chosen ones."
"They're not people favored by God."
"They're made using 'Compound V.'"
Stormfront's words were shocking, "Since World War II, Vought has been researching Compound V."
"In the end, they succeeded."
"Of course, Compound V doesn't always create superhumans."
"There have been many failures."
"You just don't see those in the news."
"You, me, Homelander, all superhumans only gained powers after being injected with Compound V."
"When we were young, before we had memories, those bastards injected a little blue substance into our bodies."
"And then we became superhumans."
Starlight stood there, stunned. Then she laughed, "That's impossible."
"I'm so stupid. Why did I even come here?"
"I think I should go."
Stormfront didn't stop her, only said, "You can go home and ask your mother. Ask her if she took money from Vought when you were little."
"As far as I know, Vought spends a huge amount of money every year looking for 'volunteer' families, letting their children become superhumans, so the company can have a steady supply of superheroes to sell to other countries."
Starlight, who had been about to leave, stopped.
Stormfront continued, "After you figure it out, if you still want to stop Homelander, go to the lab and get some Compound V."
"I can use it to expose Vought's scandal and tear apart this century-long lie "
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