Chapter 4

The first step, it was normal, same as every other that I had taken. The second, I started feeling something thrumming in my veins, pushing me forward. It was the third step where everything clicked, where everything came into focus.

It wasn't a spark like in The Flash, or everything slowing down that clued me in. It was a feeling. A feeling of something running, racing, coursing through my veins. It filled me, revving my body like an engine.

When my foot next hit the ground, it was like I had shot off like a rocket. I was running faster and faster! The burning feeling coursing through me, getting stronger with each step. The blaze of fire became an inferno of flame. I ran through the streets, seeing people and objects moving so slow. It was as if they were at a standstill, not daring to move in anyway as I raced down.

My body, muscle memory easily directed me to Vought. I stood there for a second, the world still frozen as my power filled me. Fuck, it felt so Good! If I could, I would want to feel like this all the… time.

This feeling was why A-Train took the Compound V. It wasn't only the fear of not being the fastest speedster in Vought. This feeling of power, of speed was addictive. It was a drug that had no antidote, no way to come down except to stop and realize.

I waited there, the world becoming normal as I, for a lack of better words, took my foot off the throttle. I did not feel it anymore, that rush, that need or want to keep on running to feel that feeling again.

I may not truly be A-Train, but this was my life now. I am the maestro of my fate and the controller of my life. Not the former A-Train, not Vought, not Homelander and damn sure not Madelyn Stillwell.

I walked into Vought, taking the elevator up to her floor. I walked to her door and pushed it open. She looked at me, a glare clear on her face. "A-Train, it's nice to see that you are finally here." I scoffed.

Really, she was immediately going for a power play. "Stillwell, I am not getting into a game of powerplay with you. This is what is going to happen. I will be visiting the aggrieved." I said, not allowing her to get a word in at all.

"I will admit to my issues with drug use and go to Rehab and probably join a support group for it. If you have a disagreement with anything that I said, look at my hand for the response you will be getting." I raised my hand, raising my middle finger clear and high to her face.

She rose out of her seat, anger and disbelief clear on her face. "Do you really think that I will allow any of that! I am the Senior Vice President of Hero Management. I have the say over who is in the Seven or who is in the washout trash bin that Vought's older, weaker, slower heroes go to. This meeting will decide if you are going to be a team player and say what I tell you to say or to be booted out of the Seven, replaced by a younger faster hero, like Supersonic, or maybe a heroine. We have been getting low in the female demographic, haven't we and Pace is getting up there in the popularity rankings, isn't she?" She said, a smug smile replacing her anger.

I hid my expression of confusion behind one of apathy. Who in the hell was Pace? I ran back through my memories as A-Train. I found a memory of him looking over the popularity rankings of Speedsters. Pace had recently entered the top 15 of the Speedster rankings.

He actually had been afraid of being looked over in favor of Pace. A young, female supe, especially a black woman, was a likely candidate for his spot. She had the skin color for the minority demographic and the gender for the female demographic. She even had the demographic of the weight challenged with how much she ate. She would be a triple hit in the Seven!

"Do you really think that you understand me? That you can manipulate me with what you wrongly perceive to be my weakness?!" I felt the heat pool in my head, feeling my rage climb with each second that I looked at her smug smile. Then a memory of the show hit me, of that A-Train poisoning Charlotte with drugs and disgracing her memory. I couldn't be like him. So consumed with disrespect and arrogance that I forget about the consequences of reality.

I took a deep breath, calming myself. Anger would not help the situation, only cloud my mind, and allow her to get into my head. "Madelyn let's be honest here. The only way for Vought to spin the tragedy of Robin Ward's death is for it to be an accident, one that came about in a chase of criminals. Not that that would be believable with the cameras in the street or the bystanders that were there, that saw everything. Do you really think that you will be able to find all of the witnesses? Or that you could stop a family member from walking into Vought with a home-made explosive? I will survive."

I put myself in a thinking pose before pointing at her, "You will not. There is an obvious way that allows me to get what I want and allows Vought to use it as a way to clean up house. To finally rehabilitate the piece of shit Supes that have been leaking out of Vought these past few decades." She made a motion for me to go on, an expression of curiosity, badly hiding one of interest.

"If I come clean about my battle with drug abuse and mental health issues. It would lead to a huge bump in multiple demographics. It would bring in those that suffer under normal means, drugs, alcohol, mental illness. You can use it to launch a multi-point campaign for drug and alcohol/mental illness counseling. It gives the Seven an in with schools, colleges, high schools, allowing us to get an in with the younger crowd, become more mentors than heroes. Something that you have been trying to do for more than a decade. You could even use that to create a school where Vought could mold the best heroes and supes possible, it even allows for Vought to fix the crappier, less tolerable heroes. They could be sent to that school, telling the public that they were being sent there for bodyguard duties or as the teachers, while they are really there for an education on how to be better people."

I took a breath, my mouth parched from all the sense that I was making. I took the cup off of the tray that she had in her office and poured myself a lemon water drink. Tsh, it was too bitter! I put the half-filled cup down and went to finish speaking.

"Supes are widely seen as infallible, invincible do-gooders that never make mistakes. To the minority that know about the Supes that don't care, we are seen as monsters. If one of us were to seek treatment, it allows humanity, even those that hate us, to view Supes as everyone else. That would boost all demographic polls and even possibly give our military contract wanters, such as yourself, an easier time to do so. It tells the naysayers that we can control our people and that they 'are just like us', so are able to be military contractors and follow orders when needed. You might have to send some Supes to Basic Combat Training to keep in line with that thought but, you gotta do what you gotta do."

With each salient point that I made, her brows rose higher and higher. It was easier to convince people like Stillwell of things once you were able to speak their language. Promotions and good opportunities were the equivalent of candy to a child.

Stillwell took a couple moments to write down everything that I said. I could see some things that I had not thought of such as Supe support groups and Supe psychologists. One of the names that she had circled was Mesmer.

"It is good to see some initiative in you, A-Train. It seems that all the lectures that I have given you have finally begun to stick." She rose from her seat, away from her desk and began to walk to me, swaying her backside as she did so. She put her hand on my side. Wow, she really believed that she could seduce me, like she did a young Homelander. I removed her hand from my side and backed away.

"Give me the address of Robin Ward's family and friends. I am going to set up something to make amends."

When she looked at me in confusion, I said, "It will be easier for the press release if I have some of the people that will be protesting for me to be imprisoned to be placated before we go out with the statement."

She nodded her head, an inquisitive look on her face. She grabbed the folder off of her desk and handed it over to me. When I grabbed it, she rubbed her thumb across my hand. I pulled my hand away, holding back a shudder. "I will go do it now." I walked out of the room, looking at the folder in my hands.

First name and picture in the list, hmm. It was, weirdly, not her parents, but her boyfriend. The main character of the show, Hughie Stanton.