Vought tactical training facility was situated forty miles outside of the city limits, hidden within a sprawling expanse of forested acreage.
It was a open air compound designed to simulate an urban environnt, complete with fake concrete storefronts, abandoned sedans and a towering observation deck.
Holander stood in the center of a simulated intersection, his hands resting on his hips, his Arican flag cape billowing majestically in the artificially generated wind from the facility’s massive turbines.
Standing in a attentive row before him were the three newest mbers of The Seven.
"No, no, no," Holander said, shaking his head, his voice echoing across the empty mock city. He uncrossed his arms and walked slowly toward Justice. "You’re slouching, Julian. Your shoulders are dipping forward. It makes you look apologetic."
"Apologetic, sir?" Justice asked, his voice maintaining the perfect pitch of a devoted student.
"Exactly," Holander said, placing his gloved hand on Justice’s shoulder and physically pushing it back. "We do not apologize. Ever. We are the gods looking down at them. Chin up. Chest out. Let the golden eagles catch the sunlight."
Justice imdiately adjusted his posture, puffing out his chest, his face adopting a mask of serene nobility. "Like this, Holander?"
"Better," Holander purred, a wide smile spreading across his face. He paced down the line, stopping in front of Flash. "And you, Felix. When the caras are on you, stop shifting your weight. You are a speedster, yes, but stillness is power. If you are constantly vibrating, you look like a squirrel. Are you a squirrel, Felix?"
"No, sir," Flash said, planting his feet firmly, his devastatingly handso face entirely serious. "I am a mber of The Seven."
"Damn right you are," Holander bead, clapping him on the back.
He moved to Elias, who stood perfectly still in his matte black and neon blue armor. "Electro. You have the brooding thing down. The public loves that. It gives them a thrill to think you might zap soone. But rember, the smile is the leash. You show them the danger and then you smile to let them know the danger is on their side."
Electro offered a perfectly calibrated smile. "Understood, sir. The danger is on their side."
Holander threw his arms wide, turning his back to them and walking toward the center of the intersection.
He was practically vibrating with narcissistic joy. The previous team had been a nightmare of egos, addictions and complaints. But these three? They were a blank canvas. They hung on his every word. They worshipped him.
"You see, boys, this is what Stan Edgar will never understand," Holander announced, gesturing to the sky. "He thinks we are products in a catalog. But a product doesn’t make a hundred thousand people weep in a plaza."
He turned back to face them, his eyes manic.
"We are symbols," Holander whispered, his voice carrying perfectly on the wind. "And to be a symbol, you have to cut away the doubt. When you look at the crowd, you must rember that they need us to be perfect. They need ."
"We understand completely, Holander," Justice said, taking a synchronized step forward alongside Flash and Electro. "You are the absolute pinnacle."
"I am," Holander agreed, his chest heaving slightly with the sheer pleasure of the validation. "Now, let’s see how you handle yourselves in a combat scenario. I want to see the raw output. Show how you clear a room."
"Actually, sir," Justice said, his tone shifting imperceptibly. The forced reverence was replaced by a flat calm. "We were hoping for a more... hands on demonstration."
Holander frowned, his perfect smile faltering. He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. "A hands on demonstration? What are you talking about, Julian?"
"We want to see if the god can bleed," Electro said.
Holander stared at the three n. The eager to please expressions had lted off their faces like cheap wax. Their eyes were completely devoid of fear.
A hot sensation of profound insult crawled up Holander’s neck.
"Is this a joke?" Holander asked, his voice dropping to a rumbling whisper. The red light began to pool behind his irises, casting a crimson glow on his cheekbones. "Because if this is a joke, Julian, it’s a very bad one."
Justice raised his hand.
Telekinesis (Tier 1).
A wave of crushing force, capable of lifting a thousand tons, slamd into Holander’s chest.
The impact sounded like a bomb detonating in a vacuum.
Holander’s feet left the asphalt. He was launched backward with catastrophic velocity, crashing through the brick facade of a simulated bank building, shattering three concrete walls before his body embedded itself deep into the steel support beams of the structure.
Dust and pulverized brick rained down on the training course.
"What the fuck?!" Holander scread from the rubble.
He exploded out of the debris, floating ten feet in the air, his eyes blazing like miniature suns.
He was covered in white dust, his pristine suit torn at the shoulder. He looked down at the three n, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. The sheer kinetic force of the blow had actually bruised his ribs.
"You..." Holander shrieked, his voice cracking with pure rage. "You insignificant little worms! I will burn you to ash!"
He unleashed his heat vision. Twin beams of blinding hot crimson tore through the air, aid directly at Justice’s chest.
Flash vanished.
Super Speed (Tier 1).
At Mach 30, the world was a frozen painting. Flash stepped into the path of the beams, wrapping his arms around Justice’s waist and moved them both fifty yards to the left in a fraction of a millisecond.
The heat vision struck the empty asphalt, instantly liquefying the road into a bubbling pool of molten tar and rock.
Holander tracked the beams, dragging the lasers across the street, tearing a glowing trench through the mock city.
But Flash was already behind him.
Flash leaped into the air, launching off the hood of an abandoned sedan and delivered a high velocity dropkick directly into the back of Holander’s neck.
The impact broke the sound barrier. The thunderclap echoed across the forested valley.
Holander was knocked completely out of the sky. He crashed face first into the asphalt, leaving a crater shaped like his own body.
Before Holander could push himself up, Justice was there.
Super Speed (Tier 1).
Super Strength (Tier 1).
Justice dropped his knee squarely onto the small of Holander’s back, pinning him to the cratered ground. Holander roared, bucking wildly, his Super Strength flaring as he tried to throw the weight off.
"Get off !" Holander shrieked, reaching back blindly, his gloved fingers clawing at Justice’s armored suit.
Justice caught Holander’s right wrist. His grip was an iron vice. The bones in Holander’s wrist creaked under the imnse pressure.
"Let go!" Holander scread, genuine panic threading through his rage for the first ti in his life. He had never t anyone who could physically hold him down.
Flash materialized on Holander’s left side. He slamd his boot onto Holander’s left shoulder, pinning the joint to the asphalt and gripped Holander’s left wrist with both hands.
"He’s strong," Flash comnted casually, leaning his weight back to hyperextend Holander’s left arm.
"You... you’re not..." Holander gasped, his face pressed into the dirt and broken asphalt. His red eyes flared, trying to angle his heat vision upward to blast Justice’s face, but Justice easily leaned his head back out of the firing line, pulling Holander’s right arm higher, threatening to dislocate the shoulder.
Electro walked slowly toward the crater. His boots crunched softly on the broken asphalt.
Holander thrashed, his legs kicking wildly, shattering the ground beneath him.
"Edgar!" Holander scread, spitting blood and dirt from his mouth. "Edgar sent you!"
"Wrong," Electro said, stopping right in front of Holander’s face.
Electro knelt down. He reached out and placed his hands firmly on either side of Holander’s head, his thumbs pressing against the temples.
"What are you doing?!" Holander scread, thrashing his head side to side, but Justice and Flash held him completely immobilized.
Disempowernt (Tier 1).
Electro forced the highly concentrated energy directly through his palms and into Holander’s biological structure.
The reaction was instantaneous.
Holander’s eyes went wide. The glowing red heat behind his irises flickered and died.
A pale green illumination pulsed through the veins in Holander’s neck and face. He let out a horrifying gasp as the radiation flooded his circulatory system, hunting down the very essence of his power.
The Compound V, the miraculous chemical that had rewritten his DNA in the womb, began to boil. It vaporized inside his bloodstream, sizzling and evaporating under the overwhelming radioactive suppression.
"No... no... please..." Holander whimpered. His voice had lost its thunderous resonance.
The unyielding density of his muscles began to slacken. The impossible hard structure of his bones felt suddenly brittle. The invincible god was draining away, leaving behind a terrified man lying in the dirt.
"I feel... weak," Holander whispered, tears streaming from his blue eyes. He looked at Electro, his face a mask of absolute terror. "I can’t... I can’t feel it anymore."
PS: The novel is already completed on Patreon. If you want to read the whole story at once, there are 2 advance Chapters available. patreon. com/Drrajnove
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