Marvel : Mutant God

A-Train stood confidently on stage, delivering the carefully scripted announcement prepared by Vought's PR department. With a dramatic flourish, he raised his right hand toward the entrance and declared passionately:

"Although Lamplighter and Deep have retired from The Seven, the legacy of our team will not end here." He paused for effect, his voice resonating through the hall. "Now, I'd like to introduce our newest members of The Seven—'Silver Angel' Richard and 'Starlight' Annie!"

As A-Train finished, the circular spotlight swept across the stage and settled on the entrance. All eyes in the crowd turned to watch as Richard, wearing a sleek black coat, and Starlight, resplendent in her platinum uniform, strode onto the stage one after another. They approached A-Train at center stage and waved to the assembled shareholders and reporters below.

Richard didn't particularly enjoy this kind of public spectacle, but he recognized its necessity. To complete his world challenge before the deadline, he needed to follow Vought's marketing strategy. Relying solely on his own strength would make finishing the challenge on time nearly impossible.

After acknowledging the audience, Richard and Starlight each picked up their microphones and delivered brief greetings, reading from the teleprompter exactly as instructed. The speeches—A-Train's introduction and their responses—had all been meticulously prepared by Vought's public relations department early that morning. Their only job was to recite the words as they appeared.

Once they'd finished their PR-approved speeches, there was nothing more for the two new heroes to do on stage. A-Train led them to the elevator and up to the 99th floor—the uppermost level of The Seven Tower.

As the public face and signature brand of Vought, all members of The Seven resided in this impressive skyscraper. The 99th floor and several levels below it served as their living quarters and operational headquarters. The corporate leadership of Vought, including CEO Stan Edgar and Vice President Madeline Stillwell, maintained their offices on the 82nd floor.

The three supes arrived at the conference room that occupied most of the top floor. With Deep having been eliminated by Richard beforehand, A-Train had assumed the responsibility of showing the newcomers around. Although they were now teammates, A-Train displayed little genuine interest in either Richard or Starlight. In truth, if not for Vice President Stillwell's direct orders, he wouldn't have bothered playing tour guide at all.

After escorting them into the spacious conference room, A-Train gestured broadly and explained in a detached tone, "This is where we hold our meetings and discuss important operations. Vought has two WorldView-4 satellites orbiting Earth that can clearly read license plate numbers from over 600 kilometers above ground."

He pointed toward the massive display screens lining one wall. "Intelligence agencies share criminal data analysis on these monitors. But frankly, this information is mostly window dressing. Whether we actually deploy depends on joint approval from the crime analysis department, public relations, and marketing." He snorted slightly. "Most importantly, any team action requires direct authorization from Vought."

A-Train paused, indicating two seats positioned farthest from the primary chair at the head of the table. "These belonged to Deep and Lamplighter. They're yours now. Take whichever you want." He turned toward the exit, adding dismissively, "If you have questions, don't ask me—find Ashley."

Without waiting for any response, A-Train turned and strode toward the conference room doors, disappearing from their sight moments later.

After A-Train's abrupt departure, Richard walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows that dominated one side of the conference room. He gazed out at the Empire State Building standing just a few blocks away, taking in Manhattan's glittering nightscape.

"Um... nice to meet you. You can just call me Annie," Starlight approached Richard, extending her right hand politely.

"Likewise. You can call me Richard or Wesley," he replied, accepting her handshake.

"Are you from New York?" she asked, attempting to break the ice.

"No," Richard shook his head.

"Which city were you active in before this?"

Starlight's question came from genuine curiosity. While riding the elevator to the 99th floor, she had quickly searched for information about Richard on her phone and found nothing about his previous heroic activities. There was plenty of content about him online now, but it was all clearly promotional material produced by Vought's PR and marketing departments—nothing of substance. The only useful information she'd discovered was a brief overview of some of his powers.

"I haven't done the hero thing in any city," Richard admitted candidly. "To be precise, I've only been in New York for about two weeks."

He turned to look at Starlight, assessing her casually. Her appearance and figure were certainly attractive, though not devastatingly so. In more practical terms, she matched the average beauty standard of Hollywood actresses—not a world-class beauty, but among the female heroes in this universe, Starlight's looks placed her at the top tier. The other heroines, including Queen Maeve, didn't quite match her natural appeal.

Noticing Richard's undisguised assessment of her physique, Starlight's brow furrowed slightly. Her initial impression of Richard hadn't been negative, but she didn't appreciate his current appraisal. At twenty-three and no longer naive, she recognized exactly what his gaze implied. Though displeased, she maintained her professional smile, not allowing her discomfort to show.

As she prepared to change the subject, the conference room doors swung open. Homelander entered first, followed closely by Queen Maeve.

Starlight's expression immediately transformed—first to surprise, then to barely contained excitement. Like most Americans, Homelander and Queen Maeve had been her idols growing up. She'd participated in superhero auditions since childhood, partly at her mother's insistence, but also because she'd been influenced by Vought's pervasive propaganda that elevated The Seven to legendary status. Though she wasn't exactly a fanatical fan, she couldn't help feeling a thrill at seeing Homelander and Queen Maeve in person.

Unlike Starlight, who could barely contain her excitement, Richard's expression remained unchanged at the sight of Homelander and Queen Maeve. His demeanor was as calm and composed as ever.

As they approached, Homelander flashed his trademark smile—the professional, practiced expression that had been drilled into him since childhood and now came to him instinctively. "Welcome to The Seven," he said smoothly.

"It's my pleasure!" Starlight replied immediately, her enthusiasm obvious.

Richard, however, merely nodded in acknowledgment.

His silent response only deepened Homelander's already-forming dislike for the newcomer, though America's greatest hero maintained his façade. "Starlight, you haven't seen your quarters yet," Homelander continued without missing a beat. "Maeve, would you show Starlight around? I have something to discuss with Silver Angel."

Although Homelander's tone remained pleasant and his smile unwavering, Queen Maeve—who knew him better than most—immediately sensed something was off. After a moment's hesitation, she replied, "Okay. Starlight, follow me."

Maeve turned toward the conference room door, and Starlight quickly fell into step behind her.

Once they were alone, the practiced smile vanished from Homelander's face. His expression hardened as he addressed Richard directly: "Listen, kid, I don't know why Edgar insisted on bringing you into The Seven." He stepped closer, his voice low and threatening. "But don't say I didn't warn you. If you damage the reputation of The Seven in any way, I'll remove you myself—even if you are Edgar's pet project."

Remove me?

Richard shook his head dismissively at Homelander's threat. Though Homelander possessed strength far beyond ordinary humans—essentially a weakened version of Superman—Edgar's assessment of him had been remarkably accurate: Homelander was nothing more than an overgrown child with immense power. Despite being in his forties, he remained, at his core, an absolute man-child.

"Since you're being direct, I'll skip the pleasantries as well," Richard replied coolly. "First, you lack the strength to remove me. To be more precise, you can't even harm me."

He locked eyes with Homelander, continuing without a trace of fear. "Second, if you maintain a low profile around me, you can continue serving as captain of The Seven for a while longer. Otherwise, you'll be the third member to leave after Lamplighter and Deep."

The moment Richard finished speaking, Homelander's voice rang out: "YOU ARE INSANEEEE!" His eyes glowed crimson, primed to unleash his heat vision at any moment.

"It's not insanity if it's true," Richard countered. "Since you need convincing, allow me to demonstrate."

In a blur of movement, Richard appeared behind Homelander like a phantom and gripped his shoulders firmly. Without hesitation, he activated his teleportation ability, instantly transporting them both from The Seven Tower to the airspace above the forest where he had previously demonstrated his powers to Edgar.

Upon arrival, Richard applied slight pressure with his right hand and launched Homelander hundreds of meters away. Rather than pressing his advantage, Richard allowed Homelander to regain his equilibrium.

As Homelander hovered in the air, glaring with undisguised fury, Richard called out: "If you can last one minute against me, I'll resign from The Seven immediately."

One minute?

Homelander's face contorted with rage at the insult.

"I'll give you this chance," Homelander began. "If you can hold on for one minute, I will also—"

Before he could finish, Richard teleported directly in front of him.

Heat vision!

Twin beams of intense crimson energy erupted from Richard's eyes, striking Homelander squarely in the chest. Though Richard possessed numerous abilities, he chose not to employ his full arsenal against Homelander—this demonstration would suffice.

For all his superhuman reflexes, Homelander was completely outmatched by Richard's speed. As the heat beams connected with his chest, Homelander's expression shifted from anger to shock. Though not yet injured, he could immediately confirm one disturbing fact: the temperature of Richard's heat vision far exceeded his own.

The beams, phenomenally hot, instantly melted through the uniform covering Homelander's chest. For the first time in his life, he felt genuine heat against his supposedly invulnerable skin.

How is this possible?

Disbelief flashed across Homelander's face. While heat vision wasn't an ability exclusive to him, it was rare—and more importantly, he was experiencing the searing pain of being burned by temperatures he'd never encountered before.

Though stunned by the revelation that Richard possessed heat vision superior to his own, Homelander quickly composed himself. He engaged his flight ability, attempting to evade Richard's attack.

He managed barely a meter of movement before Richard's heat vision struck again, this time hitting his back, completely incinerating his American flag cape and the uniform beneath it. In mere seconds, his iconic costume was reduced to tatters, leaving him looking thoroughly disheveled.

Never having experienced such humiliation, Homelander felt uncontrollable rage building within him.

Kill him! He must be killed!

The murderous thought had barely formed when Richard appeared before him, driving his right fist into Homelander's chest with the force of a cannonball.

BANG!

The impact resonated like a war drum. Before Homelander could react, he was propelled hundreds of meters backward. Sharp pain radiated from his chest, intensifying his already murderous intent.

Yet he had no opportunity to act on his rage. As he hurtled backward, Richard streaked across the sky like lightning, intercepting him mid-flight. Richard clasped his hands together and delivered another devastating blow to Homelander's chest.

BANG!

Homelander plummeted like a meteor toward the forest below—or what remained of it—crashing into the massive crater he'd created during their previous encounter.

After driving Homelander into the pit, Richard followed instantaneously, landing with his right foot planted firmly on Homelander's chest. "It's only been less than ten seconds," Richard taunted. "You'll need to try harder."

With that, Richard raised his foot and stomped down hard, driving Homelander deeper into the mud.

THUD!

After receiving three consecutive powerful blows to his chest, Homelander coughed up blood uncontrollably. Richard quickly used his mana to contain the expelled blood, preventing any evidence of their altercation from escaping. Then he grabbed Homelander by the throat and lifted him effortlessly.

"There are still fifty seconds left," Richard said calmly. "I hope you can hold out."

Richard released his grip on Homelander's neck, then unleashed a barrage of punches that connected with machine-gun speed and precision. To prevent Homelander from being knocked away, Richard employed his matter manipulation ability to fix him in place like a punching bag.

WUDAWUDAWUDAWUDAWUDAWUDA...

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The dull impacts echoed like war drums, creating a percussive rhythm that reverberated through the deserted crater.

Though Richard was holding back considerably, Homelander could not withstand the assault. In less than thirty seconds, America's greatest hero fell unconscious under the relentless beating.

...

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