Whoosh whoosh!
The wind suddenly picked up, slicing through the night like a blade, making pedestrians' hair and skirts flutter in the breeze.
Watching his completely unaware target, A-Train couldn't help but feel a bit dismissive.
A few minutes ago, under Homelander's orders, he had discovered this man and used his super speed to tail him. He had been observing everything clearly.
He didn't understand why Homelander wanted him to monitor this seemingly average, unremarkable Asian man.
But he didn't dare question the order. He couldn't.
The incident where he accidentally killed someone had damaged his popularity. Although the company helped cover it up, they were clearly dissatisfied with the fallout. It seemed they were considering replacing him with another speedster, Shockwave, which A-Train could not accept.
Homelander had promised that as long as he successfully monitored and investigated this Asian man, he would pressure the company to let him stay in The Seven.
Seeing his oblivious target, A-Train was confident this mission was in the bag.
"God is fair. He gave you an ugly face, so naturally, he had to balance it out with low intelligence so you wouldn't look too out of place."
Fenris continued pretending that the showboating A-Train didn't exist, instead using his super hearing to locate a certain someone.
Half an hour later, A-Train was starting to feel uneasy.
This was his girlfriend's neighborhood.
"So late at night... what's he doing here? Does he live in the area too? What the! He went into my girlfriend's apartment!"
Seeing Fenris enter the building with clear intent, A-Train cursed under his breath and followed quickly.
There were a lot of people living in this apartment complex, so maybe it was just a coincidence–
No way!
A-Train froze when he saw Fenris knocking on his girlfriend's door.
He was really here to see her?
He had come from so far away, this late at night, and had gone straight to her place. There was no way this guy didn't know her. No one would believe otherwise.
Damn it. Was Popclaw cheating on me?
Rage surged in A-Train's chest. Just as he was about to make the cheating couple pay, Fenris suddenly turned and flashed him a mocking smile.
"Surprised? Didn't see this coming, did you?"
"You–" A-Train's eyes widened in disbelief. What did he mean by that? Had he known he was being followed this whole time?
No. That was impossible.
He was way too fast. There was no way this guy could have noticed. And if he had, why wait until now–
"Who is it?" a woman's voice came from inside the apartment.
Then the door opened.
At that moment, A-Train was horrified to find Fenris's mocking smile growing impossibly larger in an instant. Before he could react, Fenris was suddenly right in front of him.
Bang!
A-Train felt himself lifted off the ground, then slammed into the living room of Popclaw's apartment.
His neck stung, and he quickly realized that Fenris had grabbed him by the throat and thrown him inside.
How did he do that?
Was he a speedster too?
Was he actually faster than me?
A-Train's first thought was denial. No way there was a speedster he didn't know about. And no way someone was faster than him.
"Who are you?"
"A-Train? Wh-What happened to you? Are you okay?" a woman in casual clothes rushed over, first startled by the appearance of Fenris, then alarmed when she saw A-Train on the floor.
She tried to help him up, but A-Train pushed her away and stood up by himself, staring at Fenris.
"Are you a speedster?"
"You really thought I didn't notice you running back and forth around me like a show pony? Come on. Did you honestly think you could follow someone even Homelander wouldn't dare trail without getting caught?"
No need to ask. A-Train was clearly following orders from Homelander.
Sure, Homelander had acted like a scared mouse around Fenris, but anyone with half a brain could guess he wouldn't just let it go. He had to be investigating, trying to learn more about who Fenris was.
A-Train's dark skin somehow looked even darker with shame. The mockery made it clear. He had probably been set up by Homelander.
"You got beef with Homelander?" Fenris asked.
Shouldn't I be the one asking that? A-Train thought bitterly, but he shook his head. "Of course not. What kind of question is that?"
"Then why did he send you to follow me? Oh... wait. Don't tell me you didn't even know the real reason? Poor guy."
"Know what?" A-Train's nerves kicked in, and he pressed for answers.
"Doesn't matter anymore." A syringe filled with super soldier serum appeared in Fenris's hand out of thin air.
Compound V?
It looked similar, but A-Train couldn't be sure. Either way, he couldn't take any risks.
Whoosh
A-Train bolted, planning to confront Homelander and figure out what was going on.
But Fenris moved like a shadow, always one step ahead, blocking every path.
Faster. Faster. Faster.
I have to go faster.
Again and again, A-Train tried to escape. But no matter how fast he moved, Fenris kept up with ease.
No! He was faster.
As the syringe in Fenris's hand drew closer, A-Train's overworked heart began to throb in pain.
He had abused Compound V like a stimulant for too long. His heart couldn't handle prolonged high-speed movement anymore.
This isn't going to work. If I keep this up, my heart's going to give out. I need to find a way to escape!