The girl looked at me uncertainly, while I watched her expectantly.
She let out a quiet sigh and opened her palms.
A golden glow slowly flickered to life in them.
Little by little, the light grew stronger, and the electrical devices around us began reacting to the sudden drain of electricity.
Then the light went out.
The blonde looked at me doubtfully.
“John… Are you sure I can do this?” Starlight finally asked, apparently unsure whether she wanted to continue the experiment.
“You’re having doubts?”
“A little.”
“Annie, I understand why you’re worried. But you need to understand that I know a lot more about this than you do.” I gave her an encouraging smile, shamelessly lying through my teeth.
“And if my theory is correct, you’ll be able to do it. Just give it a try, then we’ll see what happens.”
You might be wondering what’s going on here and what exactly I’m trying to accomplish.
Well, I’m trying to unlock the potential of someone who could very well become the second strongest member of the Seven.
I may not know much about the abilities of supes, but I do know at least a little about physics.
And according to what I understand, flying should definitely be possible for her.
“All right. You can do this, Annie,” Starlight exhaled, pointing her palms downward in a pose straight out of Iron Man.
What happened next was a blinding flash of light that would have burned the eyes out of any ordinary person.
Then Annie shot upward and backward.
She would probably have slammed straight into the wall if I hadn’t been standing nearby.
Fortunately, that was exactly why your humble servant was there.
I had no trouble catching her before she hit the wall.
As for the fact that my hand happened to squeeze her firm ass in the process, well…
That was an accident.
“You overdid it,” I observed with a smirk when I saw her frightened expression.
“Yeah.” She apparently took that as a question and nodded awkwardly.
I snorted and slowly lowered us back to the floor, reluctantly releasing her from my arms.
She awkwardly adjusted the skirt of her superhero costume and looked at me.
Something in that look told me she’d figured me out.
Then again, I would have been surprised if she hadn’t.
“I can fly!”
She suddenly squealed like a little kid and happily wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling her legs up.
I didn’t bother correcting her.
I simply patted her back supportively.
After a moment, she stepped back a couple of paces without taking her eyes off me.
The uncertainty in her eyes had disappeared.
In its place was absolute confidence that she could do this.
“Will you spot me?” she asked with a smile.
“With pleasure.”
I answered with a simple nod.
My hands settled around her waist, keeping her from suddenly flying off in some random direction.
Starlight didn’t object or complain about it either, which I took as a sign to continue.
So, slowly but surely, I began reducing the distance between our bodies.
Half an hour later, I was practically pressed against her from behind.
“Ha…” Starlight quietly exhaled as she maintained her balance in the air with the help of the light pouring from her hands.
The lights in the training room flickered constantly, visibly showing just how much energy she was expending to stay airborne.
But that wasn’t what had her tense.
Surprisingly, such a short amount of practice had been enough for her to become reasonably comfortable with her new ability.
She could forget about flying outside the city or reaching particularly high altitudes for now, but this was already a major improvement.
“I’m letting go,” I warned her before stepping away.
“What?”
Starlight asked the question before realizing what had happened.
“Oh, shit!”
She cried out, but still managed to keep her balance.
She even turned toward me.
She had to lean forward slightly to keep her body balanced in the air.
And I already knew exactly how to make that pose look a little more aesthetically pleasing.
“You’re doing great, Annie.”
I smiled openly as I landed smoothly on the floor.
“Thanks.”
She nodded and followed my example, although her landing was considerably less graceful.
I didn’t catch her.
I could have prevented the fall, but I deliberately let her experience it.
Her body could easily withstand pistol rounds without even bruising, so a little fall like this wasn’t exactly dangerous.
It was like learning to ride a bicycle.
She needed to develop a sense of independence if she wanted to truly master flying.
Constantly catching her would only slow down her progress, which wasn’t exactly fast to begin with.
“You definitely need to work on your landings, though.”
I smiled and helped her back to her feet.
“Yeah.”
Starlight answered while unconsciously biting her lip.
I looked into her brown eyes and met her gaze.
Annie stared back at me expectantly without looking away.
I smiled slightly, then slowly leaned closer and gently kissed her lips.
She returned the kiss.
Our first kiss was soft and bittersweet.
I desperately wanted to take things further, to let my hands wander, but through a heroic display of self-control, I managed to restrain myself.
Instead, I kept my arms around her waist and enjoyed the taste of her lips, as well as the nimble movements of her tongue as it met mine.
Things didn’t go any further after that.
Starlight still needed the practice, and I didn’t want to take that away from her.
We also spent some time talking and sharing pieces of our personal lives, occasionally interrupting the conversation to refresh our memories of each other’s lips.
Surprisingly, it was incredibly pleasant.
Even Ashley’s arrival couldn’t ruin the mood.
She had come to pick up the heroine for yet another event, leaving me alone.
The warm sunlight felt pleasant against my skin.
A gentle breeze cooled me down, while the scent of fresh grass filled my lungs.
Well, this place was certainly suitable for living, assuming you ignored the fact that it was essentially a prison.
A comfortable prison, perhaps, but still completely isolated from the outside world.
“Good afternoon.”
The blonde smiled as he adjusted the collar of his new shirt.
“A pink shirt?”
Becca stared at him in disbelief when she opened the door.
The choice of a pink shirt seemed strange to her.
Maybe it was because of her husband, who had always worn dark colors.
Or perhaps it was because of Homelander’s image, which revolved around an almost idealized form of masculinity.
John, however, had a different opinion.
“What’s wrong with it? I walk around every day wearing a blue suit with the American flag as a cape, and you’re judging me for wearing a pink shirt?”
He pretended to be offended, making her laugh.
“That’s a double standard, sweetheart. And society strongly condemns those.”
“Sorry… Hah… sorry.”
Becca tried to catch her breath.
“It’s just so unusual. Men are usually pretty strict about the colors they wear.”
“Come on. Pink isn’t going to diminish my masculinity. If anything, it’ll emphasize it.”
John smiled and adjusted his glasses.
“Well, come in.”
Becca stepped aside with a quiet laugh, finally noticing the black bag in his hand.
“Did you bring something?”
“It’s certainly not Gone with the Wind, but it’s still worth watching.”
John grinned and pulled a Blu-ray box from the bag.
The cover featured the fourth episode of Star Wars.
“Is this a new movie?”
Ryan had quietly come downstairs without his mother noticing and was now looking at the box with interest.
“It’s a legendary movie that once determined the future of cinema.”
John handed him the box.
“Interested?”
“Why is it Episode Four?”
Ryan asked with genuine confusion, having noticed the strange detail in the title.
“Because that’s what Lucas decided.”
John delivered the answer with complete confidence before laughing at his own words.
“Actually, the creator of these movies originally envisioned the story in a different chronological order. He simply didn’t have the opportunity to film the prequel story at the time. So yes, the story starts in the middle.”
The boy stared at the box in amazement.
“At least, that’s how he justified putting a four in the title of the first movie.”
John chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair.
“Interested?”
“Of course!”
The boy sounded almost offended by the question.
He looked at the cover, then turned toward his mother with an imploring expression.
“Can we watch it?”
“Can we, Rebecca?”
John attempted to imitate the boy’s pleading expression.
It looked far more comical than convincing.
“All right, all right. You can watch it.”
The woman finally surrendered to the combined pressure, smiling at the lighthearted atmosphere.
“But only after your lessons!”
“But mooom!”
“After your lessons, Ryan. That’s final.”
Becca put her foot down.
“Fine.”
The boy sighed, then immediately brightened.
“I only have math left!”
Before she could say another word, the boy had already disappeared into his room, clearing every obstacle in his path within seconds.
Becca gave Homelander a disapproving look.
He merely smiled sheepishly and handed her the bag containing the other six movie boxes.
“He isn’t going to be able to sleep tonight.”
Becca sighed as she took the bag.
“Only the first movie.”
The blonde smiled.
“The rest tomorrow.”
“Are you staying to watch it?”
She walked into the living room and placed the bag on the table.
“If you don’t mind… But I’m not insisting.”
John assured her.
“You can stay.”
She resigned herself to having him there.
“Just behave yourself.”
“Of course.”
The blonde nodded.
Then his phone suddenly rang.
He didn’t receive calls very often, so Homelander immediately picked up.
“Hello?”
His relaxed expression became tense within seconds as he listened to whoever was speaking on the other end.
Homelander frowned as the person practically shouted into the phone.
“Calm down.”
His voice remained completely calm despite the hysterical voice coming through the receiver.
“Where are you? I’m already on my way.”
“Is something wrong?”
Becca asked worriedly.
“Don’t worry. It’s work.”
A smile appeared on the blonde’s lips, but this time it was obvious that the smile was completely fake.
“Go ahead and watch it without me. I’ll try to sort this out as quickly as possible.”
“Okay.”
Becca nodded as she walked him to the door.
The moment Homelander had taken a couple of steps away from the porch, he shot into the sky.
For the first few seconds, only the blurred silhouette of Earth’s strongest superhero could be seen.
Then even that disappeared from view.
Becca stared after him with a worried frown.
If even Homelander was genuinely concerned, then the situation must have been serious.
There was no other explanation.