"What's going on? I think I just heard an explosion."
"It came from the direction of Willis Pharmaceuticals. Wasn't the fire over there put out a long time ago?"
"It's so damn noisy. Are they going to let people sleep or not? I still have to work tomorrow!"
In the apartment buildings one block away from Willis Pharmaceuticals, people woke up by the sudden explosion and came to their windows or stepped outside to look.
They saw fire rising from the direction of Willis Pharmaceuticals in the distance, followed by thick smoke spreading rapidly toward them.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's not poison gas, is it?"
"Run! Get out of here! Those gases might be poisonous."
"Call the police! Hurry!"
People descended into chaos. Some of the quicker ones had already turned and run. More stood there at a loss until they saw others running, then started running as well.
However, the gas spread too fast. Before they could get very far, the thick fog had already surged over them, flooding one room after another and engulfing the people trying to escape.
Immediately, in the dense fog, people crashed into each other, ran into cars parked by the roadside, and even moving vehicles struck pedestrians.
Screams, cries of alarm, and curses rose one after another.
Amid those sounds, people soon heard another kind of sound.
The roars of wild beasts.
———
[Air Force Airbase]
After Ryan brought him there, the Secretary of Defense took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hurry, notify the Seven. Tell them to move out."
"Especially Homelander. Have him find a way to stop Compound No. 6 from spreading."
"What? Of course you can't say it's Compound No. 6. Make up whatever excuse you want. Yes, act now."
After putting down the phone, Wilson turned around and called out, "What's the situation in the city now?"
An official walked over and said, "It's very bad, Mr. Secretary. Quite a few civilians have already mutated."
"And the number is still growing exponentially."
Wilson looked at Dr. Kyle beside him, "Do you have any countermeasures, Doctor?"
Dr. Kyle shook his head.
Wilson immediately shouted, "Bring me a map! We need to quarantine more than half of New York City!"
———
[Seven Tower]
"Ashley, we're ready."
Starlight, dressed in her revealing combat suit, spoke to Ashley, who was on the phone.
Ashley put down the phone and forced a smile.
"Then what are you waiting for? Go, go, go. The people of New York are waiting for you to rescue them."
Starlight looked eager, "Our mission is only rescue?"
Ashley said impatiently, "Do whatever you want. Just hurry up and do something."
Starlight nodded, then looked at the superheroes behind her, Supersonic, Blind Hero Tony, Redemption Girl Sophia, and the others.
"Everyone, this is our reserve team's first battle. Let's go!"
Having recovered from the shadow of being parasitized by the Xenomorph, Supersonic was back to full health. He said with enthusiasm, "Let's win a beautiful victory!"
The Seven's reserve team left in high spirits. Watching their backs, Ashley shook her head, then continued into the phone.
"Okay, I'll go find Homelander."
"He didn't answer my call."
"Mm! I've already notified the other members of the Seven to head to the scene. The reserve team has also just set out."
"Please tell Mr. Secretary that Seven Tower will do everything it can to protect New York."
After putting down the phone, Ashley let out several frustrated screams.
"Why won't that damn bastard answer my calls?"
"I'm going crazy. I can't do this job anymore!"
Furious, she ran into the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened, Ashley straightened her hair and clothes before walking to Alex's room.
She forced a smile and pressed the doorbell.
The bell rang several times, but no one opened the door.
Ashley could only grit her teeth and press it again.
This time, Alex's voice came from the intercom beside the door, ["Ashley, you'd better have a reason for this. Do you know what time it is?"]
Ashley hurriedly said, "I'm very sorry, sir."
"I'm sorry to disturb you."
"But a major disaster has broken out in the city. Mr. Wilson from the Department of Defense hopes you'll take action."
"The other members of the Seven and the reserve team have already departed. May I ask when you're planning to leave?"
Ashley waited carefully for Alex's response.
What she got instead was the call being disconnected.
Ashley immediately grabbed at her hair.
"He didn't even give me a reason for refusing before hanging up on me!"
———
[Meanwhile, New York]
A Chimera with a crocodile's head and bat wings lunged out of the fog, opening its huge jaws to bite at Starlight.
A figure rushed over, picked up Starlight, and ran, causing the Chimera's bite to miss.
Only then did Starlight see that it was Supersonic carrying her.
"I'm fine. Put me down."
Supersonic let go and looked around.
Everything around them was gray and hazy. Monsters were everywhere. His face turned pale as he said, "Starlight, maybe we should think about retreating. The monsters here—"
Before he could finish speaking, his whole body jerked. Several sharp claws burst through his chest.
Supersonic immediately screamed.
Only then did Starlight see a Chimera standing behind him. Her eyes lit up, and with a shout, she unleashed a stream of light that blasted the monster away.
Supersonic fell to the ground, already struggling to breathe.
Starlight hurriedly released light from both hands, cauterizing his wounds.
"No, no. You'll be okay."
Supersonic was about to say something when a violent gust swept over his head. A Chimera with enormous wings grabbed him and flew into the sky.
"No! No!"
Light blazed from Starlight's eyes. She thrust a hand toward the sky, and a beam of light shot upward, blasting apart a patch of dense fog.
But behind the fog, there was no sign of Supersonic or the Chimera.
At that moment, Blind Hero Tony let out a scream. A gorilla-like Chimera had struck him in the ear, leaving it bleeding.
Several more Chimeras rushed at him, grabbed his body, and tore the superhero into several pieces.
"Help!"
"Help me!"
Sophia, dressed in religious robes and worshipping Saint Joan of Arc, came running over in panic, her eye makeup streaked from crying.
She was suddenly seized by a Chimera, which then spewed flames from its mouth.
Sophia immediately screamed in the flames.
She turned into a fireball, crashed into a car, and came to a stop.
A few seconds later, the car's fuel tank ignited. The violent explosion sent one of Sophia's charred hands flying, landing at Starlight's feet.
In the blink of an eye, three reserve team superheroes had died miserably. The remaining two were scared out of their wits and fled the dense fog as fast as they could.
———
[Seven Tower]
Ashley braced herself and rang Alex's doorbell for the second time.