At the last possible second Kimiko shot out of the room like a cheetah and slammed the bald woman flat on the floor.
The second the attack broke, Mother's Milk hauled the unconscious Frenchie up and yelled back into the room, "Oh shit, I think he's dying! We have to get the fuck out of here right now. Forget the goddamn files, saving him comes first!"
Billy hesitated, still pissed about the data, then ripped the USB out anyway. "Move!"
Meanwhile Kimiko was straddling the bald woman, raining punches and dumping every bit of rage she had. The bald woman clearly sucked at close combat. She could only block for a few seconds before she shoved both hands forward hard.
Bang! A massive force smashed into Kimiko's chest.
In the same instant her sternum cracked. She flew backward and crashed at Billy's feet. Blood poured out of her mouth the second she opened it, a few drops landing on Billy's shoes.
Save her or not?
Billy emptied his magazine into the bald woman. Starlight finally stepped in, draining every nearby electrical device. Gold light flared in her eyes and a bright golden beam blasted from her hands. It looked flashy as hell but barely did anything, just shoved the bald woman back a few steps.
"Go!"
Starlight hauled Kimiko onto her back and they all tore off after Billy. As they passed one of the patient rooms a thick snake-like tentacle smashed through the glass in the steel door and wrapped around Hughie's neck.
Hughie caught the familiar rank smell and immediately wanted to die. Billy reacted fast, pulled a backup pistol, and dumped several rounds into the giant python.
Bang bang bang! The skin was tough but not tough enough for multiple bullets in the same spot. With a wet splat blood sprayed out like a showerhead and soaked Hughie from head to toe.
Hughie just stood there stunned. Billy snapped, furious, "You don't move your ass right now and you can get buried with that big fucking cock!"
That woke Hughie up. He wiped the blood off his face and kept running with Billy.
On the other side.
Slime and his crew stormed a room and dragged out the unconscious Lamplighter.
The original patient in that room just huddled in the corner, not making a sound.
Bang! Slime put a round in him, then ordered the other three to load both bodies onto a gurney and push them out of the hospital.
By now the whole place was pure chaos.
Patients pouring out of their rooms were taking savage revenge on the nurses and doctors. The bald woman especially. She just pinched one doctor lightly and the man popped like a watermelon under a hydraulic press, turning into a wet pile of meat.
"Bomber, you clear the path. We need to get the fuck out of this shithole."
"No problem. Watch this."
Bomber grinned like a maniac, stuck his ass out at a wall, and with Shit Heroine's help his shit flew out like a steady stream of grenades. The wall got blasted into scrap. The chain of explosions set off every alarm in the building.
"This way." Billy heard the blasts, cut hard, and found the Slime crew.
Slime took one look at the beaten-up Billy and the others and couldn't help laughing. "Looks like your little op didn't go so smooth. But hey, we're a team. I don't mind lending a hand."
Hughie clenched his fists. He really wanted to punch that asshole in the face a few times.
If those idiots hadn't made so much noise and woken up every supe locked in the wards, they would've already had the files and been long gone.
"There's a real pain in the ass behind us. You sure you can handle her?" Billy glanced at Lamplighter on the gurney and deliberately mocked them.
"Heh. Trash is trash. No idea why the Church leader even bothers working with you people."
Slime shoulder-checked Billy out of the way, then puked a huge puddle of slime all over the corridor.
Starlight's face twisted in pure disgust.
"With my slime covering the place, even a lion couldn't take a step." Slime looked proud of his masterpiece.
Billy didn't waste another word on them. He leaned in close to Hughie's ear and muttered, "You take Frenchie and the others back to the van. I'm staying to see how this plays out."
"You sure?"
"Shut up and go."
Hughie led Starlight and the rest out of the hospital the same way they came in, slipping back through the high-voltage fence.
Billy turned and ran into the bald woman again.
"That pain in the ass you mentioned, it's not her, is it?" Solime patted Bomber's shoulder like it was nothing.
"Got it."
Bomber spun around and launched another round of high-explosive shit.
Even the blank-faced bald woman frowned when she saw the brown lumps flying at her. She waved one hand casually. The shit, the slime on the floor, the floor tiles, and the wall plaster all came flying straight back at Bomber.
Billy was ready. He squinted and put a round into the back of Slime's head, then shoved the gurney and charged straight through the hole Bomber had just blown in the wall. The whole move was clean and smooth as hell.
Slime never saw the bullet coming from behind.
Bang!
The flames ballooned outward. A terrifying shockwave and a deafening roar ripped through the entire hospital. Concrete and steel beams from the ceiling came crashing down.
Billy got launched clear because he wasn't at the center of the blast, and the soft lawn behind him cushioned the landing. He only picked up a few bruises.
He rubbed his aching chest and looked back at the spot he'd just been standing. Holy shit. Nothing left but pure rubble.
The Church crew had to be dead as hell.
Billy didn't stick around.
He got up, walked over to the gurney, yanked the sheet off, shoved the extra body onto the grass, and dragged the gurney toward the hole in the fence.
What he didn't know was that after he left, the bald woman picked a charred wallet out of the ruins. Inside, along with a few hundred bucks, was a Church of the Collective business card.
...
In the van, Hughie sat in the passenger seat still going on about how strong that bald woman's powers were. A little spark of envy even showed in his eyes while he talked.
"You should be worrying about whether Frenchie's gonna live or die, not sitting here running your mouth about bullshit."
"Fine. I'll shut up." Hughie stared out the window.
The whole op had been a complete wash. They never found the injured Stormfront, Frenchie was out cold, and the only thing they walked away with was one of Vought's old superheroes.
With nothing better to do, Hughie pulled out his phone and started looking up Lamplighter.
"Didn't expect the guy used to dress pretty cool."
The screen showed one of Lamplighter's old promo shots. Black robes, a black-and-red flame mask, holding a torch that looked like a staff. The whole vibe screamed medieval wizard, mysterious and powerful.
But the rule still held: never get too close to your idols. The Lamplighter lying in the back of the van wasn't tall or jacked. He was decent-looking, kind of like some Hollywood actor Hughie couldn't quite place.
About half an hour later.
Billy pulled up to a private hospital run by someone he knew. Calling it a hospital was generous. It was more like a private clinic.
In the operating room the doctor finished checking Frenchie and pulled his mask down. "Not too bad. Neck's a little out of place and some of the soft tissue is damaged. He should wake up on his own pretty soon."
"Thanks." Billy dug out his wallet and started fishing for cash that didn't exist. Even with a face as thick as his, it got awkward. He coughed hard a few times.
"Here."
Starlight handed the doctor the money without missing a beat.
"That covers it. Keep the change."
"Oh, beautiful lady, you're a lot more generous than a certain someone." The doctor took the cash, looked satisfied, and left.
"Guess that's what a multi-million-dollar superhero salary gets you. Big spender."
Billy still had the energy to dig at Starlight.
"Wait… I'm not dead?" Lamplighter opened his eyes on the next bed. All he saw was a clean white ceiling.
"Assholes usually live forever, so you not dying is pretty normal."
Starlight figured they didn't need her anymore and headed back to Vought Tower. Staying gone too long would make Homelander suspicious. Her tracker was still in her room, but Homelander didn't give a shit about that. In his own words, he went wherever the fuck he wanted.
While Billy and Lamplighter were talking.
Frenchie woke up. Kimiko grabbed his right hand the second she saw he was okay, looking thrilled.
"Where the hell am I?" he asked, confused.
"Hospital. Not the mental one. We got you out. Well, more accurately, Kimiko got you out." Billy had already gotten the story from Lamplighter.
Sage Grove mental hospital. Vought was behind the whole thing. They were using adults as test subjects, trying to cook up a version of Compound V that stayed stable in grown-ups.
"Lamplighter!" Frenchie had been about to comfort Kimiko. The second he saw the man he tried to scramble out of bed. "Why aren't you dead?! Why the fuck aren't you dead?!"
"I thought I was done for too. Turns out you people saved me." Lamplighter stared straight up at the ceiling.
His face was flat and empty, like being rescued didn't make him happy at all.
"Why the hell did you burn Mallory's grandkids?! You ruined everything for me, you piece of shit!"
"Then why didn't you stop me? I know you were following me that day."
Lamplighter's question shut Frenchie right up. He let out a long breath. It wasn't just Lamplighter who wanted that answer. Mother's Milk and Billy wanted it too.
Hughie just sat there with a look that said he was ready for the drama.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69