[Homelander's POV]
"I apologize, Starlight. I should have asked them to behave more restrainedly."
I chuckled as we entered the training room.
There were dummies and everything for physical training here.
It's not that all of this was necessary for supers, but it's quite suitable for demonstrations.
There were targets made of metal plates, even the floor was metal, along with the ceiling and walls.
I had no idea what metals and alloys were used, nor did Homelander, but it seemed that everything here was extremely reliable for the safety of the other floors.
The entire hall belonged solely to the Seven, and judging by the perfectly intact equipment, they didn't come here often, only for cleaning.
Apparently, Vought expected combat training to be conducted here. However, they did not take into account the egos of the supers.
"Wow."
Starlight exhaled, looking around the empty room.
"Is this where you train?"
"We have five more like this so that we can use the spares during repairs."
Training has shown that such facilities don't last long.
That was the plain truth.
Homelander personally destroyed two of them by sweeping everything with his laser vision.
The other team members had more modest successes, but such training rooms quickly became irrelevant.
The obvious fact was that supers don't lose their powers without training.
Black Noir or Depth won't become less strong or fast without it, and the result is inevitable.
"Where do we start?
Starlight asked enthusiastically when realizing there was no need to worry about breaking anything here.
"And what can you do? Besides your superpowers."
"Taekwondo. I have a red belt."
She replied proudly, which raised my skepticism about her words.
"Will you show what you can do? I swear, I will only defend myself."
I smiled, raising his hand as if swearing to the Bible and considering that he was an agnostic.
"But it's clear that I'm weaker than you."
Starlight replied hesitantly.
"So? Your goal is to show your abilities, not to win, and it's not an exam."
I smirked and climbed onto what looked like an ordinary ring.
Everything here looked more classic, except for the for the iron ones surrounded the ring instead of simple ropes.
The floor of the ring was also made of iron plates.
A few sparring matches at half-strength would hold up, and replacement wouldn't be a problem.
"Alright."
She sighed and joined me.
"We don't need a referee. Begin."
I commanded and immediately moved to the right, dodging a sharp kick.
"Not bad."
The kicks were very good.
If a normal person could be pierced by her kicks at that speed, then her moves did not affect me not to mention that my speed and reaction were comparable to speedsters.
A-Train is definitely faster, but my speed isn't far behind.
I considered each kick from her was like a kick from a five-year-old because it was predictable and awkward.
I smirk as she almost kicked me in the head, then I grabbed her, threw her to the ground, and tripped her.
"Get up."
I smiled, looking down at her.
"Is this all you're capable of?"
Starlight's eyes flared with yellow light, and she sprang up from the floor.
This time she was much more aggressive, using her fists as well.
However, the result didn't change; she just made more mistakes and became distracted, ultimately leaving herself open to attack.
In an instant, my hands easily lifted her, grabbing her by the thighs and throwing her to the ground.
I immediately hovered over her and grabbed her wrists, not allowing her to move.
Starlight breathed heavily, her eyes shining even brighter as the ceiling lights began to flicker nervously.
"Begin swore you'd only defend yourself."
She exhaled, but there was no anger in her voice.
"Attack is the best defense."
I smirked while feeling her attempts to break free from my grasp cease.
Starlight's heartbeat quickened, and her gaze became too intense. My own gaze unconsciously moved to her tantalizingly slightly parted lips...
"You do know how to attack."
The ironic words came from a little off to the side.
"Maeve."
I forced a smile onto my face while feeling frustrated by the interruption at such an interesting moment.
Standing up, I looked at her who was watching us with interest.
Starlight also hastened to stand, smoothing her skirt.
She definitely felt at least a little uncomfortable.
"In the flesh."
Maeve scoffed, taking in both of us with a glance.
"Decided to relive your youth?"
"I was testing what Starlight is capable of... in terms of combat."
"And?"
She arched an eyebrow.
"Quite well, even excellently."
I assured her.
"Really? To me, you seem not entirely objective in this case."
Maeve smirked, glancing back at Starlight.
"It would be more honest if the sparring was with me. Don't you think?"
"I have no objections."
I smiled, watching as she easily jumped over the ropes and landed in the ring.
"Perfect."
"Well, please step to the center."
I decided to take on the role of a sort of referee.
They didn't object and now stood facing each other.
"I hope you both understand that this is just a friendly match. So please, don't be too rough."
"We understand."
Maeve smirked, throwing a glance at me.
"Start."
I stepped back, giving them space for the fight.
No miracles happened, and the match turned out almost identical to the previous one.
At first, Starlight gave it her all, trying to hit Maeve.
Maeve didn't even let her come close, and a minute later, after seeing all she needed, she simply laid her out on the ring floor.
"Really good."
Maeve concluded, extending a hand to her who had ended up back on the floor.
"You'd definitely tear apart The Deep. Well done."
"Thank you."
Annie didn't refuse the help and got back on her feet.
"Well, I'm off. Work waits for no one."
Maeve smirked and, glancing at me, jumped over the ropes and headed for the exit.
"What's up with her?"
I muttered, puzzled by her behavior.
"Between you two..."
"Oh no, not at all. We're just friends."
I refuted her assumption.
"Most likely... she just decided to have some fun."
The relationship between Homelander and Maeve was far from normal.
They had a rough relationship when they first met, but they had broken up and reconciled numerous times.
A little over six years ago, they finally decided to stay friends.
Maeve was the one who made the first move.
This annoyed Homelander but not me.
"I see."
Annie said uncertainly.
"Now it's time to test the power of your ability."
I decided to change the subject.
"By the way, what exactly does it do?"
"Well, it's something like a laser, but slower. It can push things away, and with prolonged contact, it can burn."
Starlight began to explain.
"And you draw energy from electrical devices."
I nodded, stepping down from the ring.
"Did you read my information?"
"No, I just guessed. I noticed how the lights flickered when your eyes glowed."
I lied easily when remembering every detail about her abilities.
"I only know the basics about your powers. So, what now?"
"Yes, that's right. I accumulate energy that way. I'm strongest in urban environments."
"And how long can you hold it inside?"
"A couple of days. If I hold it for too long, it becomes uncomfortable."
She grimaced, clearly recalling the unpleasant sensations.
"I see. Shoot at the target with all your strength."
I requested, and she raised her palm, gathering energy in it, and fired in less than a second.
The results were acceptable.
The target, the iron plate, had a neat round hole, but there was one nuance.
"Do you release this energy only from your hands or from your whole body?"
"From my whole body."
"Then why use your hands?"
"It's convenient?"
She answered uncertainly, seeming to have never thought about this question.
"Your eyes emit light. They glow the most during stressful situations, making them the easiest channels for energy."
I explained while observing her astonished face.
"I... wait a moment."
She focused again, this time lowering her hands with her eyes began to shine more intensely until they shot out a beam of light.
As a result, the second target had another hole, but it was half the size of the first one.
"It worked!"
Starlight exclaimed joyfully, practically jumping up and down.
There was clearly no discomfort for her.
"Yes, it worked."
I nodded, watching her happy face with interest.
It's interesting how many more heroes haven't even tried to understand their powers.
It seems like Vought didn't care at all about training for control over their abilities, which suggests they don't need professionals in their field.
The same can be said for tactics, hand-to-hand combat, and handling technology.
Even Homelander doesn't know how to drive a car, let alone a plane or a helicopter.
In many ways, he's completely incompetent, but his very first mission was a total failure because he decided to shoot a laser at a machine gun.
The result was fatal injuries to both hostages and perpetrators. That was definitely something to think about.
We spent another two hours in the training room, testing Starlight's abilities.
In the end, she was reasonably good at emitting beams from her eyes.
They were much safer than my lasers, only pushing away rather than burning through.
Returning to my apartment, I once again flew outside while beginning to reach incredible speeds.
This never seemed to get old for me, at least not in the next few weeks.
The exhilarating sensation was far more intoxicating than alcohol or even drugs.
In this state, I landed back on the balcony, smoothing my damp hair.
Who would have thought that flying through clouds would leave you wet?
I rolled my eyes at the silly thought and poured some milk into a glass after getting it from the fridge.
The refreshing liquid quickly disappeared from the glass, moving into my empty stomach.
'I should order something'
I wipe the remnants of the milk from my lips.
"What brings you here, Madelyn?"
I asked, not turning to the woman watching me from the couch.
It looked like today I would find out what was being kept from Homelander.
I was sure this initiative wasn't just from her.
Stan Edgar was definitely involved.
"We need to talk."
"I'm all ears."
I smiled, turning to face her.