Chapter 30: Hero ?
As the remaining fingers of the Hand watched in stunned silence, their confidence shattered, Ashley's gaze turned cold and predatory.
Without warning, she shot forward with inhuman speed, her right hand transforming into molten, bubbling lava.
Marukami barely had time to raise his blade before Ashley's fist plunged through his chest, the heat instantly cauterizing the wound as her hand emerged from his back.
He convulsed once before crumbling to the ground.
Bakuto, seeing his comrade fall, attempted to defend himself, but Ashley was faster.
She twisted her arm in a fluid motion, transforming it back into human flesh for a split second before she lashed out, punching clean through his ribcage.
Her hand bubbled again like an erupting volcano as Bakuto's body shook violently from the impact.
Ashley pulled her arm back, and Bakuto dropped to his knees, dead before he hit the floor.
Despite the brutal nature of her attack, not a single speck of blood stained her clothes.
The transformation between molten lava and human flesh left her garments untouched, as if her body obeyed a law of nature that reality itself dared not defy.
Ashley stood over the fallen bodies, her eyes now locked on the three remaining members of the Hand.
A small, cruel smile played across her lips as she reached into her coat pocket and withdrew three small vials of crimson liquid. "You see," she began, her voice eerily calm, "Master gave me Five vials, but I couldn't help myself. His blood… I wanted to taste it, to feel it coursing through me. So I heped myself with... two of them."
The room fell into a thick, tense silence as Ashley approached, her smile widening. "That means two of you… had to go."
She held up the three vials, her eyes gleaming with malevolent intent. "As for the three of you," she continued, "Master has a special use for you."
In one swift motion, she loaded a vial into a strange injecting gun, her steps unhurried but filled with purpose.
Gao, the most seasoned and feared among them, tried to speak, to reason, but Ashley was already upon her.
"Too late," Ashley whispered as she pressed the gun against Gao's forehead and pulled the trigger.
Hundreds of tiny needles pierced Gao's skull, injecting the blood directly into her brain.
Gao's body convulsed violently before her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the floor, her consciousness slipping into darkness.
Ashley watched with satisfaction. "She's having a chat with Master right now," she said softly.
"And since she's in contact with his blood, he's already taken what he needs. Information, memories… perhaps even added her to the hive mind he's building."
The remaining two members of the Hand barely had time to react before Ashley repeated the process.
One by one, she calmly injected them with the vials, their bodies falling limp as they were absorbed into Homelander's growing collective.
Once her task was complete, Ashley stood in the center of the room, surveying the carnage.
With a flick of her wrist, she called forth her molten powers once more.
The walls, the floors, the very foundation of the room began to melt as lava flowed from her body, consuming every trace of evidence.
Soon, there was nothing left but molten rock and ash.
Satisfied, Ashley turned and walked out, her steps with a skip in them like an excited child.
Behind her, the room was nothing but a smoking ruin, the Hand's leadership obliterated in one swift stroke.
Her master's will had been done.
---
As Ashley approached the outside near the Hand Hideout she was met with chaos on the street, she paused for a moment in a nearby alley, hidden from view.
She saw a mutant Boy probably awakening his ability for the first time casuing the surroundings to freeze.
She took a deep breath, her mind flashing back to the last conversation she had with her master.
His words echoed in her thoughts.
"There some of chnage of plans in your debut , Less like me. More like them. You need to be seen as someone they can relate to—a hero who can walk among them, not a god descending from the heavens."
She smirked at the memory, reaching into her pocket to pull out a small mask.
It was sleek, designed to cover theher face while leaving enough to express her emptions recognizable enough to the public.
She activated a small mechanism hidden in her coat, feeling the fabric subtly shift and transform around her.
Her outfit became simpler, more functional.
A long coat and gloves remained, but the overall look was different from her usual appearance as Ashley.
Now, she was someone else. A hero.
With her new look, she stepped out of the alley and headed toward the boy whose powers were spiraling out of control.
She could feel the cold in the air intensifying as she approached, but she pushed forward, her steps steady as she mentally prepared herself for what she had to do.
She emerged from the alley and walked into the chaos, drawing the attention of onlookers who were still in a panic.
The sight of her calm approach contrasted sharply with the swirling ice and wind surrounding the boy at the center of the destruction.
The kid's power was erratic, his fear amplifying the icy spikes that shot out from him in every direction.
Ashley clenched her fists, feeling the heat bubbling under her skin.
She needed to control the situation, but this time, she wasn't going to be the overwhelming force.
She was going to be the hero.
She moved closer to the boy, raising her hand as she walked, sending out gentle waves of warmth to melt the ice in her path.
She could feel the eyes of the crowd on her, but she focused on the kid. His panic was written all over his face, his body trembling as his powers raged.
"It's okay," she said, her voice cutting through the icy wind like a blade. "I'm not here to hurt you."
The boy looked at her, his eyes wide with terror, but his powers didn't slow.
He was lost in the chaos of his own making, unable to stop the destruction around him. Ashley moved closer, unbothered by the cold.
She activated her powers subtly, allowing the heat to radiate from her without overwhelming him. "You don't have to be afraid," she said softly.
The boy flinched as another spike of ice shot out from him, but Ashley stood her ground, letting her warmth melt it before it could harm anyone.
"You're not alone," she told him as she got closer.
The boy's eyes were filled with tears, his body trembling as his powers started to falter. Ashley knelt in front of him, her heat melting the last remnants of ice around them. She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We've got this," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "I'm not going anywhere."
With her presence calming him, the boy's powers slowly subsided, the freezing air warming as his fear ebbed away.
The destruction stopped, leaving only the two of them standing in the middle of the street.
Ashley looked at him with a small smile beneath her mask. "Let's get you somewhere safe."
As she led him away, she felt a sense of satisfaction.
This was her role now—her master had reshaped her path, and she would fulfill it as he wished.
Just as Ashley was about to guide the boy away, a sudden shift in the atmosphere caught her attention.
The crowd, which had been panicked just moments ago, began to murmur darkly.
The fear and anxiety that had once been directed toward the destruction had now turned into something far more sinister.
A group of men, emboldened by the return of order, stepped forward, their faces twisted in anger and hatred.
One of them picked up a broken piece of debris, his intentions clear. "That freak almost killed us!" he shouted, rallying the others. "He doesn't deserve to walk away from this!"
The boy, still trembling from the aftermath of his outburst, recoiled at their words.
He shrank back toward Ashley, his eyes wide with fear once more.
She could feel his anxiety rising again, threatening to spiral back into chaos.
Before she could say anything, the man hurled the debris toward the boy with deadly intent.
But Ashley moved faster.
With a burst of strength, she scooped up the boy in one fluid motion and leaped into the air.
Her powerful legs propelled them both up onto the first-floor ledge of a nearby building, well out of reach of the crowd. She landed lightly, keeping the boy close as she surveyed the scene below.
The men who had attacked stood frozen, their eyes wide as they realized what they had just attempted.
The rest of the crowd began to murmur in confusion and shame, some people stepping back, realizing the horror of what had almost happened.
Ashley narrowed her eyes, the heat inside her simmering just beneath the surface.
She could feel her anger rising at the cruelty she had just witnessed, it remindedher of her own experiences with others, the raw humanity of it all.
These people, so quick to turn on a child in their fear and ignorance.
"Stay here," she told the boy quietly, setting him down on the ledge. "I'll be right back."
Without waiting for a response, she jumped back down to the street, her feet hitting the ground with a thud that reverberated through the air.
The crowd instinctively backed away as she stood tall before them, her expression unreadable beneath her mask.
"You don't get to decide who deserves to live or die," she said, her voice low and dangerous. "Not here. Not ever."
The men who had attacked shrank back, realizing too late that they had crossed a line.
Ashley didn't need to use force, didn't need to threaten them with her power.
Her enhanced presence and disappointed tone alone was enough to make them realize their mistake.
With that, she turned away from the crowd, her back straight as she hopped back up to the ledge, rejoining the boy.
She took his hand gently, her anger subsiding as she focused on keeping him safe.
"Let's go," she said softly, leading him away from the scene. The boy clung to her hand, still shaken but no longer afraid.
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