The success of Claw Woman's enhancement confirmed Samuel's theory: the Super Soldier Serum obtained as a battle reward not only boasted a 100% success rate but was also fully compatible with Compound V.
By extension, the reverse had to be true as well.
This meant the Super Soldier Serum and Compound V could complement one another, pushing an individual's overall strength and potential far beyond their original limits. If this trend held, other enhancements—like the serum from the Red Room used to control Black Widow or the Extremis virus—should follow the same logic.
This realization solidified Samuel's plan to return to the Marvel Universe.
That universe was his base of operations, his foundation, and where his true career had only just begun. It wasn't wise to be away for too long. Since he could return to the world of The Boys at any time, there was no reason to rush his stay here.
Samuel looked over at Claw Woman, who was waiting for an explanation. "Life is just one foolish thing chasing another, and love is two foolish things chasing each other," he said dryly. "You—take care of yourself."
"You're leaving?" Claw Woman's eyes widened in shock. "Just like that? You're just going to walk away?"
"Why not? Did you want to kowtow in gratitude, or were you planning to offer yourself to me?"
Samuel believed that in the journey of life, whether one experiences fine dining or simple fare, you have to taste everything to make the trip worthwhile. While he usually preferred to leave the "best" for his younger self's interests, if Claw Woman truly intended to offer herself, he wasn't about to refuse out of some false sense of modesty. He certainly wouldn't be the one at a disadvantage.
Claw Woman blinked, stunned. The idea of kowtowing or "offering" herself didn't bother her as much as the sheer confusion of the situation. She didn't know exactly what he had injected her with, but it was clear her physical abilities had been permanently augmented.
The stranger didn't want to kidnap her for research, nor did he intend to kill her to keep the serum a secret. Was he not afraid of others finding out—like A-Train, who had fled thinking he was a dead man?
Thinking of A-Train sparked a fresh wave of resentment in her. The rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and bad luck always finds the miserable. If luck isn't on your side, use courage, she thought. Since I have nothing left to lose, why hesitate?
Taking a deep breath, Claw Woman looked steadily at the man who had rewritten her destiny. "Stay... or I'm coming with you!"
"This place is too small to contain me," Samuel replied. Then, seeing her face darken, he added, "Pack your things and follow me. You likely won't have a chance to see this place again."
Overjoyed, Claw Woman rushed into her room, rummaging through drawers and cabinets to gather her life.
Though her original superpower wasn't particularly elite, her new Super Soldier physiology made her a much more formidable asset. More importantly, she was a walking factory for Samuel to replicate the Super Soldier Serum and Compound V. He couldn't find a single reason to leave her behind.
Activating his Super Hearing, Samuel sifted through the chaotic noise of the city until he locked onto his target.
Behind a heavy iron door in the corner of a supermarket, a dim corridor led toward a deep storage room. At the end of that hallway, inside a room caged by iron bars, a television blared music. A disheveled young girl—Kimiko—was huddled under a table, hugging her knees and staring blankly at the screen.
Outside the cage sat a man at a round table, a pistol and a submachine gun resting nearby. He was eating noodles, occasionally humming along to the music, completely unaware that a figure had materialized silently behind him.
"Finished eating?"
Samuel waited patiently until the man set down his bowl and chopsticks before speaking. He figured he should let the man have his "Last Supper."
"Who's there?!"
The man lunged for his pistol, spinning around to aim at the intruder. "Who the hell are you? How did you get in here?!"
Samuel ignored him, standing unbothered by the muzzle pointed at his chest. "Are you full? Because if you are, I'm sending you on your way."
The man wasn't a fool; he knew a threat when he heard one. He pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets slammed into Samuel's body. Smoke filled the small room, and spent shell casings clattered to the floor. The man watched in horror as Samuel, his clothes riddled with holes but his skin untouched, stood perfectly still. He fumbled, dropped the pistol, and snatched up the submachine gun, emptying the entire magazine.
"No—this is impossible! Impossible!"
When the gun clicked empty, the man collapsed in a panic, swinging the heavy weapon at Samuel as a club.
Sizzle—
A searing Hot Ray lanced out, effortlessly piercing the man's heart.
Samuel wondered if the man's associates would blame Homelander when they found the body. After all, the cauterized wounds of a Hot Ray were easy to identify, and only Homelander was known to possess them. Since Homelander was the one supplying them with Compound V, they were technically on the same side. They would likely assume this man had simply offended the "hero" and paid the ultimate price.
Tsk, tsk, Samuel thought. Homelander would be sitting at home while blame rained down on him from the heavens. He couldn't escape being the scapegoat for this one.
In the comics, Black Noir—another member of The Seven—was actually a clone of Homelander who committed heinous acts to frame the original. As a result, the comic-version Homelander actually believed he had dissociative identity disorder, thinking his mind was creating a violent second personality.
Eventually, that Homelander snapped, broke free from Vought Company, led a superhuman uprising, and slaughtered everyone in the White House. Only then did Black Noir unmask himself, revealing he was the one who had framed the original the entire time. Homelander was eventually killed by his own copy.
Framed by a clone until a mental breakdown, only to be murdered by his own image—Samuel had to admit, the Homelander in the comics was much more miserable than the one he was currently tormenting.