"Stormfront..."

Starlight watched Stormfront warily, while Kimiko beside her made no effort to conceal her hostility toward the woman.

Since Stormfront had replaced Homelander as the leader of The Seven, she'd consistently led the team in subtly and overtly undermining the Super League.

This rivalry wasn't out of place, after all, The Seven and the Super League were competitors, and so were the entertainment companies backing them. It was only natural that Stormfront would target them, nothing unusual about that.

The real issue lay with Stormfront herself. This seemingly perfect and kind woman was anything but, as her actions off-camera were shockingly cruel.

Starlight had once 'luckily' crossed paths with her during a mission to take down the same supervillain and had witnessed Stormfront brutally torturing and killing an innocent Black woman when the cameras weren't rolling.

At that moment, Starlight had even fought her. If not for the timely arrival of the camera drones from both companies, one of them might not have walked away from that confrontation.

Since that incident, whenever the Super League encountered Stormfront, they often came out worse for wear.

Now, with Homelander missing, the Super League was left with just a handful of members, while The Seven remained at full strength. They were no match.

Kimiko, for instance, had once had her right leg broken by Stormfront in one of these 'competitions.' Fortunately, Kimiko had the power of rapid healing; otherwise, she wouldn't be here today.

It was this complicated history that fueled Starlight and Kimiko's resentment toward Stormfront.

"Wow, those looks you're giving me aren't very friendly. Hey, girls, tone it down a bit, okay? We're superheroes, remember?" Stormfront said, smiling at the two.

Anyone unfamiliar with her true nature might think she was genuinely a kind-hearted superhero, but Starlight and Kimiko knew better. Stormfront only acted like this in front of the cameras.

Glancing at the hovering camera drones on both sides, Starlight sighed inwardly before forcing a smile and replying, "You're right. We *are* superheroes."

Kimiko continued to glare coldly at Stormfront. If this were the original version of her, she would have already leaped at Stormfront to protect her brother from potential harm.

But thankfully, after months of training with Tek Knight, Kimiko was no longer as impulsive.

Now, she thought more clearly. She understood that if she fought Stormfront over her brother with the cameras rolling, not only would she fail to save him, but she would also drag the entire Super League down with her.

Stormfront, still smiling, looked friendly toward Starlight, but her eyes darkened slightly when they fell on Kimiko.

However, she hid it well. She never let her true nature slip in front of the cameras. So, after Starlight finished speaking, Stormfront turned her gaze toward the nearby abandoned warehouse and said, "Alright, with the three of us here, that supervillain inside doesn't stand a chance."

"Yes," Starlight agreed, but then changed the subject, adding, "And since it's only one person, I don't think The Seven need to get involved. Don't you think so, Stormfront?"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Tsk, tsk. Haven't even caught the guy yet, and you're already trying to take credit?"

"I'm not saying that. I just think there are other places that could use your help more. Isn't it a bit of a waste to have so many heroes in one place?"

Starlight was openly challenging Stormfront, trying to make her leave. Ideally, she'd take the drones with her, giving Starlight and Kimiko time to deal with Kimiko's brother.

But Stormfront wasn't about to leave so easily. Her smile never wavered as she replied, "As long as we're saving civilians from these supervillain threats, it's never a waste of resources. Starlight, you seem overly eager. Is it because you're worried I'll steal the credit, or perhaps..."

Stormfront glanced at the camera drones around them, her smile widening as she said, "Is there someone inside you don't want them to see?"

Feigning surprise, she covered her mouth dramatically, adding, "Oh, my bad. You probably didn't want the media to hear that, did you? Did I just say something unnecessary?"

"…"

Stormfront's fake innocence only made Starlight angrier.

Starlight hated how Stormfront intentionally provoked her while pretending to be oblivious. She knew this was deliberate, yet she couldn't do anything about it.

As they exchanged verbal jabs, one of Vought's camera drones suddenly took off, heading toward the distance.

Starlight's expression changed. She knew the drone had detected the fleeing villain; otherwise, it wouldn't have left them and missed a single frame of footage of the superheroes.

Stormfront's smile grew wider as she watched the drone fly away, turning to Starlight and saying, "See? We've wasted too much time here. The supervillain is already escaping."

"Let's go!" Starlight snapped, too annoyed to continue arguing with Stormfront. She grabbed the Super Entertainment drones and, with Kimiko, ran after the drone.

But Stormfront was faster. Waving goodbye to them with a smug grin, her body surrounded by crackling blue-purple lightning, she floated into the air and said, "Looks like I'll beat you to it this time. Bye-bye~"

"!!"

Kimiko's eyes widened, and she prepared to leap at Stormfront to drag her down, but Starlight quickly restrained her.

"No! Calm down. The drones are still here!"

'But Stormfront...' Kimiko signed frantically, clearly upset.

Starlight's eyes gleamed as she glanced at the drones and replied, "Don't worry. I won't let her win."

Out of the drone's view, Starlight discreetly controlled the surrounding electrical energy.

Her power allowed her to release light energy, but it required an electric source nearby.

Even a car battery could provide enough energy for her abilities.

Since her powers were linked to electricity, she could also destroy the camera drones powered by it. Even if they had electromagnetic shields, Starlight could still take them out.

After reassuring Kimiko, Starlight destroyed the drones' power sources one by one, making them drop from the sky like birds losing their wings.

Kimiko watched, stunned, and signed to Starlight, 'Tek Knight is going to give you hell for this.'

"Doesn't matter. It's better than letting your brother die."

Starlight smiled and winked at Kimiko, who returned the smile. The two of them then sprinted toward the warehouse where Stormfront was headed, destroying any remaining drones along the way.

Stormfront noticed their actions, and her expression grew cold. She turned her attention to the fleeing young Asian man.

It was obvious to Stormfront that this guy meant a lot to Starlight and Kimiko, so she suddenly changed her mind. Instead of killing him, she decided to capture him and learn more about his connection to the Super League.

As drones from both sides lost track of her, Stormfront, surrounded by crackling lightning, reached out and used her powers to manipulate nearby metal, launching it toward Starlight and Kimiko.

A steel staircase was torn from its place, hurling through the air at them.

Starlight raised her right hand, emitting light energy to block the staircase, while Kimiko dodged swiftly, then grabbed a nearby trash bin and threw it at Stormfront.

With a crackle of electricity, Stormfront shattered the trash bin, sending its contents raining down from the sky.

Using this distraction, Stormfront flew toward the fleeing young man. But the young man suddenly stopped at the alleyway, hands raised as if gripping something in the air, aimed at the approaching Stormfront.

CRACK!

With a sharp sound, the walls on either side of the alley collapsed in an instant, like two mountains closing in, aiming to crush Stormfront in the middle!

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