That afternoon, the annual race between A-Train and Shockwave was held as scheduled at the Vought-sponsored tLife Stadium.
The circular track had been laid with a special Supe-grade surface, able to withstand the intense friction heat produced by speeds breaking the sound barrier.
The stands were packed, and the cheers were deafening.
Benjamin sat in the reserved section for Vought executives, bored out of his mind, so he went down and swept his eyes over the press area. He did not see Hughie.
That was a little different from the original plot. A small change had occurred.
Of course, Hughie might still have joined The Boys in the end. Otherwise, Translucent would not have been captured.
As for the fan-signing area, Starlight had changed back into her original, proper Supersuit, so no one there was making crude comnts about her body.
Also, Starlight had not gotten to know Hughie, since Hughie had a girlfriend now.
These three things were all minor details, but they were changes all the sa.
It was also worth ntioning that quite a few people ca to Benjamin for autographs.
Benjamin naturally would not refuse sothing so trivial.
Especially when it was young guys asking. Seeing those immature boys made Benjamin think of Holander.
...
The starting gun fired.
A-Train shot forward like a blue bullet, with Shockwave close behind.
Soon, A-Train crossed the finish line half a body ahead. The numbers on the big screen froze. He had won.
Benjamin looked at A-Train’s ti on the screen, expressionless.
That ti was faster than A-Train’s personal best. With a Compound V booster shot involved, an improvent like that could not possibly have co from training alone.
He had doped.
He had not listened to Benjamin.
...
After the event ended, night fell.
A-Train drove a black sports car, with his older brother sitting in the passenger seat.
The brothers had just turned out of the stadium’s staff exit, ready to celebrate.
The excitent on A-Train’s face had not fully faded, but his fingers kept tapping lightly against the steering wheel.
It was not an excited rhythm. It was an anxious twitch.
He knew what he had done.
Before the race, he had secretly injected himself with an enhanced dose of Compound V, an even larger dose than last ti, because the previous dose was no longer enough to break through his limit.
The effects had not completely faded yet. He could hear his heart pounding inside his chest, louder than the engine.
...
The next mont, the headlights lit up a figure standing straight in the middle of the road ahead.
A deep green Supersuit. A white eagle diamond shield. Both arms folded across his chest.
Benjamin stood in the center of the road. His expression could not be seen clearly under the glare of the headlights, but A-Train did not need to see it.
His foot slipped off the gas, and his entire right leg trembled.
The sports car slowly ca to a stop.
A-Train pushed open the door, got out, and took a step back.
"Sir."
His brother got out from the passenger side, still smiling.
He had not noticed that A-Train had retreated half a step.
"Soldier Boy?"
His brother sounded excited.
"Hey, sir, did you co to congratulate A-Train in person? That’s huge! My brother beat Shockwave, did you see that? He was fucking..."
"A-Train."
Benjamin’s voice cut off that stream of flattery.
He did not look at A-Train’s brother. His gaze stayed nailed to A-Train like two spikes.
A-Train took another step back.
"You wimp who nearly ran a woman over."
Benjamin slowly walked toward him. His pace was not fast, but the pressure was suffocating. "Looks like you didn’t take my words seriously. You drugged-up piece of trash, relying on outside help just to beco the fastest man in the world. Oh, no. Wait. You should be second fastest. Because without drugs, you’re nowhere near as fast as my son."
He stopped in front of A-Train, less than a step away.
The shield hung from his left arm, completely still.
"You useless piece of shit. What I despise most is a wimp who takes shortcuts."
As Benjamin said that, for so reason, he thought of the original body’s father.
Back then, the original body’s father seed to have said sothing very similar.
The smile on A-Train’s brother’s face finally disappeared.
He snapped his head toward his younger brother. He had warned him. He had warned him countless tis not to take the drugs.
Now Soldier Boy was standing in front of them, and every word out of his mouth confird the thing he feared most.
"You..."
His brother opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing to A-Train, and also wanting to plead with Benjamin.
But A-Train was already backing away, his knees trembling, his pupils darting wildly in their sockets.
He wanted to run. Once he started running, no one could catch him. There were only a handful of people in the world who could.
Soldier Boy could not fly, and he was slow. As long as A-Train activated his power...
"If you fucking run, you never co back to The Seven."
A-Train’s feet froze in place.
His heart was hamring inside his chest.
He knew the side effects of the Compound V booster shot better than anyone. Tachycardia was the mildest symptom. After that ca arrhythmia, then myocardial fiber necrosis, and finally heart failure.
And right now, fear was magnifying those side effects to their limit.
He could feel his heartbeat getting faster and faster.
"Sir," his brother stepped in front of A-Train, raising both hands to chest level, palms out, his voice humble.
"I apologize for my brother. I really am sorry. He won’t do it again. I promise. I promise for him. Really..."
"Get lost."
Benjamin finally turned his gaze toward him. "Or I’ll punch your head apart."
"Don’t hurt my brother!"
A-Train suddenly rushed out from behind his brother and stood in front of him.
His legs were still shaking, and his heart was still pounding, but he stood there anyway.
Because this was his brother.
Benjamin looked at him without saying a word, then threw a punch.
The fist struck the side of A-Train’s face with such force that his entire body flew sideways, bounced once off the road, and rolled twice before stopping.
He lay face-down on the ground, his mouth full of blood. Several of his teeth had shattered, and one rolled to the edge of his brother’s shoe.
His brother lowered his head and looked at that bloody tooth. His legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees.
"Oh my God. God. How could you hit him? You..."
"Better to be beaten to death by than die in agony from a heart attack, isn’t it? At least dying by my hand is a little more honorable."
Benjamin cursed coldly.
"And from the look of that dose, it’s almost ti. When it happens, A-Train, you’ll clutch your heart and die in unbearable pain."
"Even if you sohow survive, you’ll be lying in a hospital bed like a cripple."
"And Shockwave? He’ll beco the fastest man in the world, join The Seven, and enjoy all the glory you used to have."
"The whole world will praise Shockwave and spit on you, the drug cheat."
"Then Shockwave will bring your girlfriend to your hospital bed to show off. He might even kick you out of that bed. And you’ll only be able to watch helplessly as your woman and your enemy, right there on your hospital bed..."
"Stop! Please, sir, please don’t say anymore!"
A-Train curled up on the ground, both hands clutching his chest. Blood and tears mixed across his face.
Soon, his heart began pounding at a frequency he had never experienced before.
Every beat slamd pain through his chest.
Then his eyes rolled back, his body twitched once, and he went still.
His brother stood frozen, watching his younger brother collapse on the ground. His lips trembled, and his whole body swayed as if the bones had been pulled out of him.
Benjamin glanced down at A-Train, then looked up at his brother.
"Fuck, why are you still standing there? Give your damn drugged-up brother CPR. Then call a fucking ambulance."
His brother imdiately dropped to his knees, stacked his hands over A-Train’s chest, and began pressing down desperately.
As he perford compressions, he called ergency services with a trembling voice. When the dispatcher’s voice ca through the phone... he suddenly realized sothing.
The things Soldier Boy had said.
Everything about Shockwave replacing his brother, the heart attack, the hospital bed. It did not seem like simple insults.
He had been telling his brother in advance what would happen if he kept doping.
In an incredibly brutal way, he had shown him the end of that road ahead of ti.
He looked up at Benjamin.
Maybe he had co to save A-Train.
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