When I harvest him later, my own calculation and analysis abilities will get another big boost.
His face stayed cold and blank.
"Looks like you've all got your gifts."
Ryan looked over the three newborn "monsters" with their different expressions and spoke in the tone of someone handing out favors that couldn't be refused.
"I'll give you time to get used to the changes in your bodies. But listen up. If you go poking Vought during this time and get yourselves killed, nobody's coming to save you."
"Of course," he switched tone, the corner of his mouth curling into a playful smirk. "If you actually want to get strong, if you want real revenge, today's dose is nowhere near enough. Compound V is a must."
He had successfully planted the seed of dependence deep in their heads.
"From today on, every two weeks I'll come back here with fresh supplies and move you to the next stage of enhancement."
The words were both a promise and a steel collar locked around their necks.
With that, Ryan stopped paying attention to the three stunned men.
He turned around. His body shifted once again into Translucent, and he slipped silently out of the underground room full of despair and fragile new hope.
Late at night on the streets of New York, a blond seven-year-old boy appeared quietly.
Ryan pulled out a brand-new phone from his pocket. The screen lit up his cold little face, showing a faint playful smile.
The display showed a detailed map of the city.
A blinking red marker pinpointed the apartment of A-Train's superpowered girlfriend, Pop Claw.
"A new hunt is about to begin!"
This was the superhero location data he had pulled straight from Vought using his old man's computer.
A-Train thought nobody at the company knew about his secret side piece.
He had no fucking clue Vought had already dug up every dirty detail on him.
A cold, hungry glint flashed in Ryan's eyes—the look of a predator spotting fresh meat.
He knew the big race coming up between A-Train and Shockwave, the one the media was hyping as the battle of the century, wasn't just about fame or money.
It was a do-or-die fight for A-Train to keep his fake crown as the "Fastest Man on Earth."
Under crushing pressure and terror of losing, that drugged-out speedster whose body was already rotting from the inside would definitely crank up his Compound V doses to make sure he didn't fuck it up.
That meant A-Train and Pop Claw had their own steady supply of the stuff outside Vought's official channels.
Ryan's plan was simple: two birds, one stone.
First, kill A-Train and steal his insane super speed.
That would be a massive boost to his own power, giving him total control whether he was chasing or running.
Second, rip the Compound V supply line straight out of Pop Claw's mouth.
This would give him a steady, endless "supply" to raise and control his three guinea pigs—Hughie, Butcher, and Frenchie—later on.
It would turn them into perfect "ingredients" ready for him to harvest.
Ryan pocketed his phone and walked expressionlessly into a dark, camera-free alley.
The next second his body blurred, turned transparent, and vanished completely like he had never been there.
Optical invisibility was his favorite hunting cloak in this concrete jungle.
...
Pop Claw's fancy downtown apartment had top-tier security.
In front of Ryan it might as well have been made of wet paper.
Invisible, he quietly opened the door and slipped into the master bedroom without a sound.
The room was dark, lit only by hazy neon glow leaking through the windows.
Thick stink of sweat and sex hung heavy in the air.
On the big round bed in the middle, two naked bodies were tangled up and going at it hard.
A-Train and Pop Claw were fucking wildly, slamming out a disgusting "Symphony of Fate" full of nasty animal grunts and moans.
Ryan watched the whole thing with zero emotion.
To him it wasn't hot or exciting. Just two beasts rutting before the slaughter.
He knew this was when the arrogant supes were most relaxed and least alert.
Prime time to kill.
But he didn't strike yet.
Like the most patient predator, he stood silently beside the bed and waited for their dirty symphony to hit its peak. He waited for them to finish cumming.
He waited for that empty, defenseless moment right after the high.
"Ahh~ baby, your dick is hitting my womb!"
"Ha! haah! I'm gonna pop that womb entrance and land my tip inside!!"
"Ahh~ babe, that's not scintifically possible~ ahh~ yes!"
"Can't stop the A-Train! Can't stop the A-Train!"
Ok, this was some loony fuckry, Ryan was finding it hard to suppress his laughter.
Time ticked by.
"Oh yes yes yes~~~"
"Ahh~! Fuck! Here comes the A-Train!"
Finally, A-Train let out a long, satisfied roar as he came.
He collapsed sweaty and spent on top of Pop Claw, panting like a dying fish, soaking in the double rush of drugs and sex.
Now!
A cold glint flashed in Ryan's invisible eyes. No hesitation.
With a single thought, the light power he'd stolen from Starlight exploded.
A blinding, white-hot ball of light detonated inside the dark bedroom like a hundred military-grade flashbangs going off at once in a sealed box.
"Ah!!!"
"My eyes!"
A-Train and Pop Claw screamed in agony as the retina-searing blast hit them. They couldn't open their eyes at all.
Their retinas got fried instantly, dropping them into total, pitch-black blindness.
And in that second of helpless darkness, the Grim Reaper moved.
His body, pumped full of multiple superpowers, unleashed terrifying strength.
He stepped to the bed, reached out with both hands, and clamped them around A-Train's thick neck like industrial steel vices.
A-Train never got a chance to react.
He only felt an unstoppable, god-like force lock down his entire body from his neck.
He tried to fight back. He tried to trigger the super speed he was so fucking proud of.
Too late.
Ryan twisted his hands hard in opposite directions.
Crack!
A sickening, bone-shattering snap echoed through the silent bedroom.
The so-called fastest man on Earth. Core member of The Seven.
A-Train's cervical spine broke clean.
His head flopped at a grotesque angle. The light in his eyes faded fast.
Life drained out of him like water rushing out with the tide.
[Plunder successful! Target: 'A-Train'.]
[Obtained: Super speed, accelerated metabolism...]
[Host's physical quality has been further enhanced!]
The cold system message rang in Ryan's head, sealing the quick kill perfectly.
Right then, Pop Claw—blind and terrified—finally realized an enemy had broken in and that A-Train was already dead.
Even though she couldn't see shit, she screamed and jumped off the bed using pure supe instinct.
As she leaped, a huge splash of foul-smelling liquid shot out from between her legs.
Ryan wrinkled his nose in disgust. The dirty fucking attack made him feel sick to his stomach.
He instantly pulled back dozens of meters, dodging the corrosive liquid that could melt steel with zero effort.
The next second he reappeared right in front of her, moving faster than sound, completely invisible to the naked eye.
He grabbed Pop Claw's skinny neck and slammed her hard against the cold wall.
The total power gap made all her struggling look weak and pathetic.
His cold, lifeless voice slid into her ear like a demon's whisper from hell.
"A-Train is dead."
"Now tell me, where the fuck did your Compound V come from!"
"Otherwise you're next."