Whoosh—whoosh—
The wind suddenly intensified, cutting through the night like a sharp blade, whipping the hair of pedestrians and tugging at their clothes.
Watching his unsuspecting target from the shadows, A-Train couldn't help but feel a surge of contempt. For the past half-hour, he had been following this man under Homelander's strict orders, using his Super Speed to track every move with crystal clarity.
He didn't understand why Homelander wanted him to monitor this seemingly ordinary, unremarkable Asian man. But he didn't dare refuse. In fact, he couldn't.
Since the "unfortunate" incident with the girl on the sidewalk, A-Train's popularity had been in a tailspin. Although Vought had managed the PR disaster, the company was clearly dissatisfied. Rumors were swirling that they intended to replace him with another Zoom named Impact. It was a humiliation he couldn't stomach.
Homelander had made him a promise: monitor this man, uncover his origins, and Homelander would use his own leverage to ensure A-Train kept his seat in The Seven.
Looking at the man walking ahead of him, A-Train felt this was the easiest mission of his life. God is fair, he thought mockingly. If He gives you an ugly face, He'll definitely give you a low IQ to match, just so you don't look uncoordinated!
Samuel, meanwhile, continued to play the part of the oblivious target. In reality, his Super Hearing was locked onto the rapid, frantic heartbeat of the speedster behind him. He was searching for a very specific location.
Half an hour later, the bored A-Train's expression shifted to one of confusion.
This is my girlfriend's neighborhood, he realized. It's so late—what is he doing here? Does he live here too? Wait... why the hell is he going into my girlfriend's apartment building?!
Seeing Samuel enter the building with clear intent, a wave of uneasy anger washed over A-Train. He cursed under his breath and blurred into the hallway after him.
What the fuck?!
A-Train skidded to a halt, invisible to the naked eye, staring at the figure standing directly in front of his girlfriend's door. Samuel didn't hesitate; he reached out and knocked.
He's here for her? At this hour?
Coming here from so far away, with such a direct purpose... there was no way this was a coincidence. A surge of jealousy and rage burned in A-Train's chest. Could Claw Woman be cheating on me? With him?
He was ready to burst into the room and make this "pair of curs" pay the price, but then Samuel did something that chilled A-Train to the bone.
Samuel turned his head toward the seemingly empty hallway and offered a mocking, jagged smile.
"Surprise, surprise," Samuel whispered.
"You—" A-Train froze, his eyes widening. What did he mean? Did he find me?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I'm moving too fast for a human to track. If he found me long ago, then why did he only...
"Who is it?" a woman's voice called out from inside the room.
The door began to open.
In that split second, Samuel's mocking smile seemed to expand. Before A-Train could even register the movement, Samuel was no longer at the door. He was in front of A-Train.
BANG!
A-Train didn't even have time to react. He felt his body go weightless for a moment before he went crashing into the center of Claw Woman's living room, skidding across the floor.
His neck throbbed with a sharp pain. It dawned on him then: Samuel had grabbed him by the throat and hurled him through the open door like a ragdoll.
How? Is he a Zoom too? Is he... faster than me?
The thought was a nightmare. There couldn't be a speedster he didn't know about, and there certainly couldn't be one faster than the fastest man alive.
"Who are you? A-Train? Oh my god, are you alright?!"
A short-haired woman in casual clothes—Claw Woman—stared at the intruder in shock before noticing her boyfriend sprawled on the floor. She rushed to his side, reaching out to help him.
A-Train didn't even look at her. He shoved her hand away, scrambled to his feet, and stared at Samuel with a mixture of fear and fury.
"Are you a Zoom?"
"Flirting with me by running back and forth the whole way... did you really think I didn't notice?" Samuel asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Do you truly think you can track someone that even Homelander doesn't dare to follow personally without being caught? No way... you can't be that stupid."
A-Train's face, already dark, seemed to turn a shade deeper. The mockery stung. He realized now that he had been set up—Homelander had used him as bait to test the waters.
"Do you have a grudge against Homelander?" Samuel asked.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" A-Train muttered, shaking his head. "We don't have any grudges. Why are you even asking?"
"If you don't have a grudge, then why did he send you to die?" Samuel's eyes flashed. "Oh, don't tell me you really don't know what's going on. You poor, stupid bastard."
"Know what?" A-Train pressed, his anxiety spiking.
"It doesn't matter anymore. Not for you."
In Samuel's hand, a vial of Super Soldier Serum appeared out of thin air.
Compound V? A-Train thought. It looked similar, but he couldn't be sure. He wasn't willing to take the risk.
Whoosh—!
A-Train blurred, intending to flee the apartment and demand an explanation from Homelander.
But the nightmare continued. Samuel followed him step-for-step, blocking his path at every turn.
Fast! So fast!
I have to be faster!
Every time A-Train tried to break away, Samuel was already there, waiting. A-Train's heart began to hammer against his ribs—not just from the exertion, but from the realization that his opponent was playing with him.
Because of his frequent injections of Compound V as a stimulant, A-Train's heart was already damaged. It couldn't handle prolonged, maximum-velocity running.
No... if I keep this up, my heart is going to explode. I have to find an opening! I have to get out of here!