Chapter 14
Adam sat across from Starlight in the cafe. Starlight still looked troubled.
She was still trying to hide how troubled she felt. Adam watched her face before speaking.
"Looking at you, I feel like you want to quit your job."
Starlight kept staring at him after hearing that. Adam remained serious.
After a few seconds, she released a deep breath. "No. I think you misunderstood."
"You're lying," Adam said. "It's written all over your face."
Starlight lowered her eyes toward the table.
"If you want to share your thoughts, you can tell me," he said. "Whenever I see you in this condition, I don't feel good at all."
Starlight remained silent, so Adam continued.
"I keep feeling that I should speak to you. Maybe I cannot solve your problem, but I can listen while you share some of that pain."
Starlight's gaze stayed on the table as she thought about the life she had expected after joining The Seven. She had believed reaching the team would be the happiest moment of her life.
She had wanted to become a real hero. She had thought that being inside The Seven would finally give her the chance to protect people according to the values she had carried for years.
What happened after she joined was nothing like that dream. The difference between her hopes and her new life had become harder to ignore each day.
Starlight released another deep breath and finally spoke.
"Things are nothing like I thought they would be."
Adam nodded. "Yeah. The first time we enter a place, we often need time to adjust. Looking at you, I thought the same thing had happened."
Starlight looked at him with surprise and quickly shook her head.
"No, you don't understand. This place is completely different," she said. "Things there are much worse."
Adam could see that she was not ready to explain everything. He did not push her for the reason and instead answered the part she had managed to say.
"It isn't like I can say a few words and suddenly make your pain disappear," Adam said. "But if you tell me what is inside your mind, I can at least share some of that stress."
Starlight slowly raised her eyes from the table. Adam's voice stayed calm as he looked back at her.
"I only want to say one thing. When I first saw you, I thought you were a strong woman."
Starlight did not interrupt him.
"You looked like someone who would stand by her values and principles even if the whole world stood against her," Adam said. "And I still believe you will do that."
Starlight kept looking at him. His words had reached the exact part of her that had started doubting whether she could remain the person she once wanted to be.
Neither of them spoke for a few seconds. Then Starlight's phone began to ring on the table.
She looked at the screen and saw Ashley's name.
Starlight picked up the phone but did not answer it yet.
"I'm sorry. I have to go."
She stood from her chair and took one step away from the table. Then she suddenly stopped before leaving.
Starlight turned back toward Adam. "Can we meet again?"
Adam smiled.
The entire conversation had passed through the communication device he was still wearing. Butcher had heard every word from his position inside the stadium.
In the original timeline, Hughie had turned off his communication device while speaking privately with Starlight. Adam had not done the same thing.
That did not remove Butcher's suspicion. It only gave him more to think about because Adam's words had sounded far more personal than a simple distraction for the mission.
Butcher stayed quiet for now. His attention returned to the race area where he and M.M. were watching A-Train.
A-Train stood near his position while waiting for the race to begin. Then his body suddenly vanished from their sight.
Butcher and M.M. looked toward the place where he had been standing. A-Train returned a few seconds later in the position he had left.
Butcher and M.M. understood what those missing seconds meant.
A-Train had taken the Compound V.
Adam left the cafe after Starlight moved away to answer Ashley's call. He walked out of the area where he had been posing as a reporter and stepped outside.
The first person who caught his attention was Homelander.
Adam looked at him, but before he could decide what to do, a blue system window appeared in front of his eyes.
[Congratulations, Host.]
[Template Synchronization Increased]
[Current Synchronization: 20%]
The change started inside Adam's body. His body felt much lighter, as if a weight he had never noticed had suddenly disappeared.
Adam breathed in. His chest expanded further than before, and he felt as though his lungs could draw in far more air with one breath.
Then the sunlight touched his skin.
The warmth felt good, but this was more than simple heat. His body was pulling energy from the sunlight and changing it into power.
Adam could feel that energy spreading deeper into him. It felt as if the sunlight was passing through his skin instead of only resting on it. Each second under the sun added a little more strength to his body, while every breath now came more easily.
At ten percent synchronization, his solar absorption had been slow enough that he could barely notice it. Now he could feel the sunlight feeding his power without needing the system to explain it.
The longer he remained in the sun, the stronger he would become.
Adam looked at Homelander again as he felt the new strength settling inside him. One realization became clear in his mind.
He could now fight Homelander properly.
Adam still did not know whether he could win. He only knew that he could finally give Homelander a real fight instead of depending on one surprise attack.
Before he could think any further, Butcher's voice came through the communication device.
"Head back, team."