Chapter 9 : Starlight

"Heart, you gave me the first gift." The starlight did stir something in Jonny Blaze, but there are many kinds of hearts!

She will have to pay the price, but why settle for the likes of the Deep Sea when it could be me?

Isn't the biggest advantage of knowing the plot being able to use the foresight to your benefit?

"I believe you, but—" Starlight looked at Jonny Blaze, not convinced he could just join the Seven: "If you wanted to get to know me, there's no need for such an easily debunked lie."

Who's going to pay the price for being fooled in just a few sentences? The Deep Sea's lie wasn't that clever, was it?

"Ring-ring—ring-ring—"

Jonny's phone rang. Only Queen Maeve had his number.

He answered and put it on speaker. Queen Maeve's slightly nervous voice came through.

"It's me, Maeve. I've got a mission with Homelander, and I'm... I'm worried there might be trouble."

Maeve feared Homelander might take the opportunity to attack her during the mission. She knew he was the type who would do something like that.

"Can you come?"

Her apprehension and sincerity came through the phone.

Jonny glanced at the shocked Starlight and pulled her closer by the shoulders. She didn't resist.

"You're my person. If there's trouble, I won't just stand by. Send me the address."

Maeve exhaled, relieved. "Okay, I'll send it to you right away."

"Oh, by the way, Lamplighter retired and left the Seven. Do you have the authority to recommend someone new to join?" Jonny asked suddenly.

Starlight immediately perked up, looking at him with eagerness.

"I can recommend someone. As long as their abilities aren't terrible, there shouldn't be an issue."

"What about Homelander?"

"That won't be a problem either!"

Jonny nodded, giving Starlight a meaningful look. "Then it should be easy to reject a new recruit, right?"

"Yes, even easier."

"I see. I'll see you later."

"See you later."

After hanging up, Jonny turned to Starlight with a complicated expression. Although she was somewhat innocent, she wasn't naive. She understood the subtext of what had just been discussed.

"It's not that I want to know you right now. It's that you need to know me," Jonny said, handing her his phone.

After a moment of hesitation, Starlight entered her number and dialed herself, then handed the phone back to him.

"Wait for my call." Jonny smiled, shook the phone, and vanished into thin air, leaving Starlight staring at the empty space where he'd just been.

She reached out her hands to the spot where Jonny had disappeared, but all she felt was air.

...

The last remaining bank robbers were cornered. Homelander and Queen Maeve approached leisurely, while the bullets fired at them scattered harmlessly.

"Don't kill me! Please—don't kill me!" One of the robbers threw down his gun, trembling with fear as he dropped to his knees, begging for his life.

"You don't deserve to live," Homelander said coldly as he approached the man, lifting him by the throat.

Queen Maeve glared at Homelander, her face darkening. "What do you want to do?"

Homelander's eyes turned cold, staring at Maeve as if he wanted to tear her apart.

"I said—you don't deserve to live!" His hand plunged straight through the robber's chest.

In that moment, the overwhelming brutality Homelander displayed cast a long shadow over Maeve, as if it were her and not the robber who had just been pierced.

She couldn't help but tremble, her eyes darting away as she felt the urge to bow her head.

"Don't be afraid. I don't need to fear him anymore. He's no longer an invincible monster."

"Yes, don't be afraid!"

Maeve took a deep breath to steady herself, and her gaze grew firm as she stared back at Homelander.

To Homelander, her newfound courage was a provocation, an insult.

With a low growl, he dropped the robber's body like trash and glared at Maeve, his eyes glowing red with rage, ready to kill her at any moment.

"Boom!"

A scorching heat ray blasted Homelander in the leg, knocking him down to one knee in front of Queen Maeve.

"Who is it!" Homelander roared, turning his head in anger. But the moment he saw who it was—like a dog that's just seen its master's whip or a bully who's lost his gang—he immediately backed down.

"It's me. Do you have something to say?" Jonny Blaze floated down from the sky, his eyes cooling as the playful expression returned to his face.

The shadow Jonny cast over Homelander was like the one Homelander had cast over Maeve—eerily similar.

The last person Homelander wanted to see was Jonny. But Jonny, on the other hand, enjoyed meeting Homelander. Every encounter brought new rewards, like the Heat ray he acquired last time, or the Flight ability he just gained.

"Something to say? Then go ahead and say it!"

Jonny approached Maeve and looked down at the silent Homelander. "She's mine now. Unless you've got the power to flip the table, don't try anything."

"If you're a dragon, soar. If you're a tiger, lie low. If you're a dog, keep quiet around me."

"I think you know better than anyone that no matter who they are, they're just meat once you cut them open."

"So, got anything else to say?"

Faced with Jonny's warning, Homelander had nothing to say but silence.

Jonny picked up the robber's gun and handed it to Queen Maeve, who looked puzzled.

"Didn't you used to do this? Pretend you were attacked after killing someone. Now it's your turn."

Maeve caught on and, with a strange look, aimed the gun at Homelander.

"Da-da-da-da—"

The gun roared as bullets flew.

In the past, it had been Homelander pretending to be attacked by Maeve. Now, the tables were turned. Though it didn't harm Homelander, the experience was incredibly satisfying for Maeve.

For Jonny, it was even better.

His rewards from the encounter came as expected.

"Ding!"

"Battle detected, drop reward—"