Replacing the original junior template with Translucent, Russell felt his skin change in the blink of an eye, but he didn't experiment with his ability here. After dealing with Translucent, he turned and left without delay.
"Th-thank you..."
Hughie struggled to his feet, wanting to thank the person who saved him.
However, the other person acted as if he didn't see him, walked straight past, pushed the door open, and left.
"Uh..."
Hughie stood awkwardly with his hand extended.
Butcher Billy Butcher, who had burned his bridges, felt a little guilty and wanted to come back to see if Hughie was okay after the consecutive blows.
But when he came back, he saw a scene that stunned him.
The record store was a mess. Translucent lay on the ground, smoking, faintly emitting the smell of burnt meat.
"Oi, did you do this, Hughie?"
"What? Butcher, no..." Hughie snapped back to reality. That person had left, but how should he deal with the unconscious Translucent? He felt a headache and fear.
...
Russell had more important things to do tonight and no time for idle chat. He walked out, pulled off his hood, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Claw Woman's residence, who was A-Train's girlfriend.
In this world, Superheroes are equivalent to entertainment stars.
Claw Woman was once a third-tier hero, an outdated third-tier minor celebrity.
If one was determined to investigate, it wasn't difficult to find her address.
Through the light of the TV from the window, one could see a short-haired woman with a slightly attractive appearance in the apartment on the first floor.
She had some freckles on her face, wore a beige tank top and yoga pants, and sat barefoot cross-legged on the sofa, eating potato chips and watching a boring soap opera.
Russell observed for a while, confirming that A-Train was not at Claw Woman's place. He frowned slightly.
A-Train had been caught on camera losing control and hitting someone to death while high on Compound V, causing a huge uproar. He had been overwhelmed with public relations issues recently. Could it be that he didn't even have the mood to visit his secret lover?
"This won't do."
Not having Translucent's ability wasn't fatal, but without A-Train's ability, he would definitely not be able to get to the Global Guardians headquarters in time to acquire the abilities of Red Rush and others.
"Time for Plan B." In the shadow under the streetlamp, Russell put on his hood and strode towards the apartment.
He had to find a way to lure A-Train over.
Claw Woman possessed superhuman strength and could extend two sharp, thick bone spurs from her arms. She might also have some self-healing ability.
If it were before, he might not be her match in a one-on-one fight.
Fortunately, things were different now.
As he crossed the street, Russell raised his arm, admiring how his entire arm gradually became transparent under the dim yellow light, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Knock knock!" A knock sounded.
Claw Woman inside was watching TV. Hearing the knock, she shouted towards the door without turning her head: "Who is it?"
"Cable service inspection."
"TV inspection? I didn't call for an inspection?"
Claw Woman padded on her slippers and walked to open the door in confusion, wondering if someone had come to the wrong place.
In this world, there were only Superheroes, no supervillains, so she had no vigilance at all.
As soon as she opened the door, a fist rapidly enlarged before her eyes.
"Bang!"
As if hit in the face by a hammer, Claw Woman's nose sprayed blood, and she staggered back a few steps before standing firm. Attacked, her eyes turned fierce, and bone spurs immediately popped out of her arms.
"Who are you? So young and not learning good things, learning from others to break in and rob?" She stared fiercely at Russell and said, "Then you've got the wrong person. Do you know who I am?"
Russell wore a black hood, but from his build and visible eyes, it was clear he was very young.
"An outdated third-rate Superhero," he closed the door behind him and turned around, smiling.
This person actually knew who she was. Could it be that he wanted to do something to her? Claw Woman was startled. At this moment, Russell swung a punch, deliberately exposing a weakness.
Claw Woman reacted, her bone spurs mercilessly stabbing towards his abdomen, already imagining the unlucky robber's intestines spilling out in the next second.
The bone spurs did hit, but the sensation was completely unlike piercing flesh and blood; it was more like a plastic toy poking a rhino with thick hide armor.
At the same time, Russell's fist hit her hard.
Taking another heavy punch, Claw Woman fell backward beside the sofa. Her face covered in blood, she looked at the young man in front of her in horror, looked at the two bone spurs on her arms, and then looked at Russell's chest and abdomen, where only his clothes were torn, realizing something was wrong.
"You... you're a super-human?"
Carbon structural material couldn't even be pierced by a Barrett rifle, let alone mere bone spurs. Russell didn't answer and pounced coldly.
"Help... help... ngh."
Claw Woman turned to crawl away but was mercilessly pulled back, her mouth covered. Soon, she was tied up with a bedsheet, her own sock stuffed in her mouth.
Russell held Claw Woman's unlocked phone, the cold light of the screen reflecting a pair of cold, ruthless eyes. He operated it skillfully.
Vought Tower, inside A-Train's luxurious apartment.
A-Train, who had just finished showering, hummed a tune and walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He picked up his phone to see if public opinion had improved.
In fact, he was in a good mood today. The cowardly boyfriend of the woman he hit and killed had settled with the company and signed a non-disclosure agreement. With Vought's public relations capabilities, this matter would soon be suppressed. However, Vice President Madelyn warned him to keep a low profile recently and not cause any more trouble.
That's why he hadn't even gone to see his secret lover, afraid of being photographed by paparazzi and causing more problems.
"Ding dong," his phone suddenly received a message:
"I'm pregnant, A-Train. What should I do?"
"Huh?" Seeing the word "pregnant," A-Train's eyes widened, and he sat up abruptly.
"How could this be? Was it that time two weeks ago? Damn it!"
Just solved one problem, and here comes another!
Without time to think, A-Train changed clothes at supersonic speed and rushed to his girlfriend's residence.
All the way there, he was calculating how to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion and save his career.
Arriving at his girlfriend's apartment door, he found it wasn't completely closed, leaving a gap with light showing through, as if the door was left open for him on purpose.
A-Train took a deep breath, adjusted his expression to one of heavy concern, and pushed the door open.
He saw his girlfriend's feet exposed at the edge of the bedroom bed; she seemed to be lying on the bed on her back, in a bad mood.
"Darling, I..." As soon as he entered, A-Train pretended to choke up, focusing entirely on his performance, completely unaware of a hooded head peering out from the shadow behind the door, and a crowbar raised high.
"Bang!!"
"Ah... my leg!"
Amidst the crisp sound of bone breaking, this heavy blow directly broke one of A-Train's legs, the intense pain causing him to fall to the ground and wail.
Before he could recover, the second crowbar fell again, breaking his other leg.
Whoosh!
"You..."
Those eyes were cold and emotionless. Seeing the crowbar whistling and about to smash down on his head immediately, A-Train widened his eyes, quickly used his hands to support himself on the ground, and fled into the inner room at a speed difficult for ordinary people to react to.
It was then that he saw clearly that his girlfriend, Claw Woman, was tied up and thrown onto the bed.
Hearing the commotion, Claw Woman saw A-Train with both legs broken and completely despaired.