Bab 180: Chapter 178: Stormfront
In Manhattan, New York, Jon, cleverly disguised as a Caucasian man, stood before a residential building. He scrutinized the structure meticulously, ensuring it was the correct target before gearing up for his assault.
Jon typically initiated his attacks with a devastating gravity wave, aimed at annihilating the residence. His ultimate goal was to draw out the superhero dwelling within and eliminate him in direct combat. Jon's strategy was crafted to create the impression of a killer with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, adhering rigidly to a specific modus operandi. This facade served as a safeguard, deterring any potential connections between the name Phoenix and these murderous acts. Although it seemed unlikely anyone would make the connection, Jon preferred to err on the side of caution.
But today's events took an unforeseen twist. As he raised his hand to launch the attack, he detected a presence behind him.
Simultaneously, he sensed a distinct, almost intoxicating aura of malevolence.
"Searching for a hero to slaughter, Gravity Psychopath?"
A figure clad in a black bodysuit and cape descended from above, landing with grace behind Jon.
"It's Stormfront!" exclaimed several bystanders, clearly taken aback.
Jon, however, remained composed and unsurprised by her appearance. In his recent escapades, all but two members of the Seven—Homelander and Stormfront—had pursued him, yet he had consistently eluded capture with the aid of his mystical abilities.
"Let it go, Stormfront. You and I both know he's no hero—just a regular person enhanced with Compound V," Jon retorted as he turned to face her. "And really, 'Gravity Psychopath'? You must agree that you can come up with something more original for a supervillain's nickname."
Unfazed by Jon's sarcastic tone, Stormfront, who had endured for decades as a female Nazi, brushed off the taunt. Simple provocations like these were insufficient to rattle her.
"Looking for a more flattering nickname? I'm afraid that's not something a villain of your caliber is worthy of," Stormfront snapped back. "In just the past week, you've taken down numerous superheroes, notably ten who were white. By focusing your attacks on them rather than those of color, you reveal yourself to be the true menace of this world, a betrayal to your so-called noble race."
As she spoke, Stormfront's hands crackled with electricity, her body surrounded by a growing storm of energy, signaling her readiness for confrontation.
Just as she moved to strike, another voice interrupted from behind her.
"Stop, villain! Surrender now!"
A voice rang out from behind Stormfront, distinctly righteous yet tinged with a hint of cringe. She turned, her expression twisting into a frown, only to find a figure cloaked in a fiery red battle suit. This suit bore an exaggerated phoenix emblem on the chest and a cape adorned with flame runes.
It was Phoenix, another guise of Jon, made possible by using Alessa's power to create illusions. This technique allowed him to temporarily split into two, mimicking a cloning effect.
Phoenix's dramatic entrance stirred the crowd once more.
Stormfront's gaze shifted to Phoenix, her eyes a cocktail of disgust and hatred. As an extreme nativist and adherent to white supremacist ideologies, she believed that people of color sullied the purity of the noble white race. During her missions, she would occasionally exert lethal force on minorities, later pinning the blame on supervillains.
Despite her fervent beliefs, Stormfront maintained a level of rationality. Mishandling the situation could draw unwanted scrutiny to the Seven. Although such concerns about public image didn't personally bother her, she upheld the supremacist notion that beings like herself and Homelander were destined to dominate and cleanse the world, establishing a regime dominated by white supremacy.
Taking a deep breath, she managed a patronizing tone. "Wow~! You're the new guy? But if you're here to catch the Gravity Psychopath, you can leave because I'll handle it~!"
Phoenix responded with a calm demeanor, "No, upholding justice is the duty of every superhero. I won't let you fight alone."
He then addressed the villain as Stormfront had referred to him, "Surrender now, and your life will be spared!"
Stormfront fought to keep her rising anger in check. While she could easily eliminate an unarmed human, she couldn't risk the public's wrath, particularly not when Phoenix, a new hero, was gaining public support, potentially surpassing even the least popular member of their group, Shockwave.
But then, the unexpected occurred once more. The Gravity Psychopath burst into laughter. "Hahaha, think you can catch me? Let's see if you have what it takes~!"
With a menacing grin, he aimed his palm at the ground, unleashing two potent gravity waves. The ground trembled violently beneath them, and suddenly, the ground beneath the Gravity Psychopath collapsed.
"Damn!" Stormfront cursed under her breath, but it was already too late.
Chapter 178: Stormfront
The Gravity Psychopath, capitalizing on the disturbance he had created, launched himself off the crumbling ground and soared skyward. "Let's follow him!" Phoenix exclaimed, propelling himself in pursuit.
Reluctantly, Stormfront trailed behind. They rocketed across the Manhattan skyline, but by the time they reached where the Gravity Psychopath had been, he had vanished without a trace.
"He got away again, just like the last few times!" Stormfront said, her expression souring as she shot a sharp glance at Phoenix. She had intended to capture the Gravity Psychopath herself, fulfilling an assignment from Homelander and reveling in the slow ebbing of life from her target. But Phoenix, the new interloper, had disrupted her plans.
Her resentment toward Phoenix deepened, and she plotted to find a pretext to confront him directly today, consequences be damned.
As she contemplated her next move, Phoenix suddenly turned to face her. With a mocking sneer, he challenged her, "Hahaha~! Now, it's your turn, bitch~!"
Stormfront recoiled, stunned by his audacity. His words sliced through the air, leaving a palpable tension. Had this new hero really just insulted her directly? This bold, reckless provocation was unlike anything she had expected from him.
Bab 181: Chapter 179: Bitch’s Fall
"What did you just say?" Stormfront demanded in a deep, thunderous voice.
Jon, however, didn't bother with a lengthy reply. His words were short and to the point. "I said Go TO HELL, you SLUT~!"
"Hellfire Flame Fist!"
As he declared his attack, Jon concentrated the fiery hellfire into his fist and struck Stormfront without hesitation.
Stormfront, caught completely by surprise, faltered. Her powers had rendered her ageless and immortal, possessing extraordinary abilities to heal. Rarely did she ever feel the need to defend herself. So, she faced the full brunt of Jon's attack head-on.
"Darn it!"
She recoiled, flying back a short distance, a searing, stinging sensation blazing across her face.
"You miserable fool, go to hell!"
In her intense rage, Stormfront's façade crumbled, revealing her true self.
"Don't rush," Jon said coolly, noticing her haste. "Don't you notice something unusual?"
Paused in mid-air, about to retaliate, Stormfront suddenly felt something alarming.
Pain! Normally, any pain she felt was fleeting, quickly erased by her healing powers. But this time, the burning pain on her face lingered stubbornly.
Touching her face, she discovered a burn mark that refused to heal.
"What is this?!" The shock in Stormfront's voice was unmistakable, and a deep, creeping fear started to take hold.
It was the fear of death, an emotion she hadn't experienced in over a century.
"The Hellfire is sacred," Jon taunted, his tone mocking yet serious. "It's no surprise it scares a sinner like you!"
"Absurd!" Stormfront retorted, unable to accept her newfound vulnerability.
Stormfront's anger intensified, with bursts of purple electricity crackling in her hands. At the same time, Jon launched another attack. For a brief, chaotic moment, lightning and fire clashed spectacularly, their black and red energies swirling together in the sky.
Below them, the crowd was in a state of confusion and excitement.
"What's happening up there? Is that Stormfront and Phoenix? Why are they fighting each other?"
"I have no clue. Do they have some sort of feud?"
"Or maybe they're just sparring?"
As the crowd speculated, the aerial duel escalated in intensity.
Purple lightning and hellfire intertwined as Stormfront and Phoenix continued their fierce confrontation.
To the onlookers, it appeared that they were equally matched, with neither combatant managing to land a decisive blow. However, Jon was merely toying with her. Beneath her black bodysuit, Stormfront was sweating heavily, her breath coming in short gasps. The toll of the hellfire on her stamina was much more severe than it seemed.
Meanwhile, Jon, still not resorting to his full Spirit of Vengeance form, was comfortably handling the clash. His arsenal was formidable, including magic from the world of Harry Potter, the dark powers of the Darkhold, and the enigmatic abilities of Alessa. Unless he faced Homelander, he anticipated no significant challenges.
Yet, as the battle waged on, Stormfront began to recover her composure.
Initially enraged by the injury and the insult from what she perceived as a "nobody" superhero, she now grasped the full peril she was in.
She realized that if this new adversary could potentially kill her, he might also pose a threat to Homelander.
With this realization, she knew she could no longer afford to engage in this fight. She needed to retreat and warn Homelander about the true danger; Phoenix was now a greater threat than any they had previously considered.
As she thought about withdrawing, Jon's mocking voice cut through her thoughts.
"Thinking of running away again, are you?" he taunted sharply.
"Well, it's too late for that. I've had my fun. Now it's time to send you straight to hell."
Jon had strategically extended the duel instead of swiftly defeating Stormfront. His goal was subtle; he didn't want to reveal the full extent of his capabilities. Revealing too much power too soon could attract unwanted scrutiny from Vought, possibly even more than Homelander received. It was a delicate balance if he hoped to infiltrate the ranks of the Seven unnoticed.
Amidst the battle, a sudden, unsettling fear gripped Stormfront. With no time to ponder, she spun around, attempting to escape.
"Stay where you are, villain! Feel the wrath of my Bone-Melting Inferno Palm!"
As Stormfront turned to flee, Jon condensed a more potent ball of hellfire in his palm and struck her squarely in the back.
The impact was immediate and devastating. Stormfront experienced an intense burning that felt like it was piercing through her. Jon, manifesting his Spirit of Vengeance form only in his hand, thrust it forward. A skeletal, flame-engulfed hand burst forth from her chest.
This horrifying spectacle was somewhat obscured from the crowd below due to their high altitude, sparing the spectators from the full gruesome details.
Stormfront stopped dead in her tracks, her expression a mix of disbelief and despair.
Jon swiftly pulled back his hand, and blood spurted from Stormfront's wound as she plummeted from the sky. The once-noisy crowd below fell into stunned silence.
Another superhero had been defeated, fallen at the hands of an emerging new force.
Questions buzzed through the crowd. Why were these heroes fighting among themselves? Had their conflicts become irreversible?
And most importantly, if even superheroes turned on each other, who was left to protect the people?
With a heavy thud, Stormfront's body hit the ground, shattering the momentary calm. Chaos erupted among the crowd; some people ran in every direction, others snapped photos, while some remained frozen, shocked by the unfolding events.
Jon descended slowly, landing near Stormfront, who lay critically injured on the ground. He detected a faint hint of life in her, but she was effectively defeated.
He prepared to deliver the final blow, summoning hellfire in his palm once again. But before he could act, two red beams struck him, sending him flying back several meters. Regaining his balance in the air, he identified the source of the attack.
Homelander.
The iconic superhero, clad in a suit adorned with the American flag, approached furiously.
"Well~ well~ what do we here~?" Homelander bellowed, his eyes seething with anger, smiling like a maniac.
Jon responded with a cold sneer, then turned and flew away without a word.
Homelander hesitated, torn between chasing Jon and attending to Stormfront. Ultimately, he swooped down to her aid, cradling her injured form.
***
As Jon retreated, Alessa's voice rang out, questioning his motives. "What were you thinking?! Didn't you want to join the Seven? Why attack one of their own?"
With a mischievous smile, Jon replied, "What if, tomorrow, the world learns of Stormfront's dark secrets, exposing her true nature? How will people view our fight then?"
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