[21] : A-Train

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Roger parted ways with the members of The Boys and flew swiftly towards Evelyn's house. His super-vision scanned the area for A-Train's silhouette.

In fact, Roger didn't need Maeve to search; he could guess that A-Train was certainly the one looking for Kimiko now. After all, it was Homelander who came up with the idea of experimenting on adults by injecting them with Compound V, and A-Train was Homelander's accomplice. He helped Homelander distribute Compound V around the world while also conducting experiments locally.

Kimiko was the test subject A-Train was responsible for, and currently the only test subject in this city.

The place where Kimiko was held had been blown to pieces by the gas canisters Roger had thrown. The area was now cordoned off by the police. Even if A-Train wasn't the brightest, he would know that Kimiko must have escaped.

Normally, the first thing he should do would be to report this to Homelander, but he was worried that Homelander would punish him if he found out.

If the current Homelander wasn't Roger, Homelander would certainly do so.

Therefore, A-Train planned to find the person first, and if he couldn't, then he'd report to Homelander.

Roger could guess A-Train's thoughts, so he wasn't too worried about Evelyn and Kimiko. As long as it wasn't other superhumans from Vought or a member of The Seven like Black Noir who came, there wasn't much to worry about.

Even if it was someone from Vought, Roger could step in to handle it.

After searching in the air for a short while, Roger received a call from Maeve.

After the race, A-Train had indeed disappeared. According to his brother, he seemed to have gone to take care of some personal matters.

Upon receiving this news, Roger became more certain that Kimiko sensed A-Train was the one looking for her.

Increasing his flight speed, Roger arrived above Evelyn's house and searched the area. Finally, he found A-Train, who was darting through the streets so fast only his afterimage could be seen.

A-Train's speed was faster than Roger's. Although Roger was very fast, apart from flying upwards, he couldn't instantly disappear from sight like A-Train could.

Just as Superman's speed couldn't match the Flash's, Roger's speed couldn't match A-Train's. Otherwise, A-Train wouldn't have been a member of The Seven.

Having found A-Train, the rest was simple.

Aiming at the spot where A-Train was about to rush to, Roger dropped from the sky, landing at high speed in A-Train's path. He removed the hood from his head.

Bang!

The sound of a sonic boom stopped right in front of him. A-Train, dressed in his blue hero costume, halted before Roger. He looked at Roger with surprise and asked:

"Homelander? How... how did you..."

Seeing Roger standing before him, A-Train was momentarily panicked. He thought Roger had appeared here because he knew about Kimiko's escape.

Moreover, having just finished the race with Shockwave, the effects of Compound V hadn't yet worn off, making A-Train even more nervous facing Roger.

Roger observed A-Train's tension. Using his X-ray vision, he noticed A-Train's heart was beating rapidly, and the blood flow in his body was somewhat abnormal.

With an expressionless face, Roger looked at A-Train, placed his hand on A-Train's shoulder, and asked:

"The race just ended. Instead of bragging to reporters, why are you running around here?"

"I... I..." A-Train stammered, about to explain.

Roger slightly increased the pressure of his right hand and said to A-Train:

"Also, your heart is beating abnormally. Let me guess, you injected Compound V during the race, didn't you?"

"!!!"

Thump thump, thump!

Upon hearing Roger's words, A-Train felt as if his wildly beating heart had stopped for a moment.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, the glistening beads shining against his dark skin.

Roger smiled and said to A-Train:

"I remember telling you not to rely on Compound V, right? It seems you didn't take my words to heart."

"No... it's not like that... Homelander, I... I can explain. I was just worried... worried that I would lose the race if I didn't, so I... It was really just this once! I won't do it again! Trust me!"

A-Train was so nervous he could barely string a sentence together. He looked at Roger with a pleading gaze.

Roger smiled and patted his shoulder, saying:

"Don't be so nervous. Why are you so tense? I'm just... showing concern for you, that's all. I'm not planning to do anything to you. Brother, you should know that you can't continue injecting Compound V anymore."

"I... I know."

A-Train nodded repeatedly.

Roger continued: "Since that's the case, you should be able to promise me that you'll never touch that stuff again, right?"

"Of course! Of course!!"

A-Train nodded vigorously in agreement.

Roger smiled at him, patted his shoulder, and said: "That's more like it. That's the A-Train of The Seven we know."

Seeing Roger smile, A-Train managed to force a smile as well.

Roger had really scared him just now. He even thought he was done for.

But just as A-Train was starting to relax, Roger suddenly leaned in close to his ear and said:

"However, if I find out in the future that you're still secretly using Compound V, you can go collect your paycheck from the finance department and get out of The Seven, understand?"

"I... I understand."

A-Train nervously nodded.

Only then did Roger release his shoulder, rubbing his own hands as he said:

"Alright, now go back to the race track and face those reporters. You won the victory today, becoming the fastest superhuman in the world. You might be celebrating until late, so keep up your stamina."

"I... I got it. Oh, by the way..." Finally calming down a bit, A-Train remembered about Kimiko's escape and said to Roger:

"The... the test subject we kept locked up has escaped. What should we do?"

A-Train's heart was in his throat again as he said this. He knew he shouldn't bring this up right after being reprimanded by Homelander, but he was more worried about Homelander finding out later and giving him trouble.

Preparing himself for another scolding, A-Train nervously mentioned Kimiko's escape.

Roger looked back at him and said: "I'll handle this matter. You can go now."

"?"

Seeing that Roger didn't seem to be about to scold him, A-Train's eyes showed confusion.

This wasn't quite what he had imagined.

"What? You want me to scold you some more?" Roger asked, turning back to him when he saw A-Train standing motionless.

A-Train quickly shook his head.

Roger continued: "Then go back and attend your celebration party. Also, from now on, you don't need to worry about Compound V or test subjects anymore. Just focus on doing your own job well."

Hearing Roger say this, although A-Train still had some doubts in his mind, he didn't ask any more questions. Just as he was about to turn and leave the street, he suddenly heard Roger say:

"One more thing."

"?"

"Popclaw. Move her to a different location."

A-Train was surprised when he heard this and asked: "Is the escape of that test subject related to Popclaw?"

"I didn't say that. I just think it's not safe for her to stay there anymore. Isn't she your girlfriend? You should be responsible for protecting her."

"No... she's not..." A-Train was about to deny it.

"A-Train." Roger looked at him seriously and said: "Don't lie to me."

"..."

A-Train lowered his head.

Roger continued: "Protect your own girlfriend well. If possible, I'll talk to Madelyn about publicly acknowledging your relationship status. Now, you can go."

After standing there for a moment, A-Train left, and Roger slowly exhaled.

While talking to A-Train just now, Roger unconsciously used Homelander's tone. He believed that in A-Train's eyes, he must have seemed very frightening. This was the fear that Homelander had instilled in them.

However, it was good that he had sent A-Train away. Now he wouldn't have to worry about A-Train looking for Kimiko anymore.

As for Black Noir, another member of The Seven, unless ordered by Homelander and Vought's top management, Black Noir wouldn't act on his own. So for now, Evelyn and Kimiko were safe.

At least for the time being.

...

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