Chapter 10

I was interested and even excited as I read a pretty big book while leaning against the wall.

They might think that I was engrossed in the plot or something unexpected.

twist.

Not at all.

It would be clear to anyone standing close enough to see the book's cover that this wasn't the case.

"Since when have you been learning Spanish?"

Maeve asked with interest, sitting in a chair and sipping on some wine.

"Since yesterday, I've made a lot of progress. This is already the fourth book."

I boasted, closing it halfway.

"I bought it two hours ago."

"You wouldn't have done this before... So who influenced you?"

"My son."

I shrugged, not intending to make a secret of it.

"You adopted a child?!"

"No, no, he's my biological son. My blood and flesh."

"How is that possible?"

Maeve muttered in shock while finding the news absurd.

"I don't know. Maybe not all of us are sterile."

I speculated.

"Or it's just a case of chance."

"And... how? How long were you planning to keep this a secret?"

"I found out three days ago."

I said grimly.

"And he's already eight."

"So... wow."

Maeve said, falling silent.

The silence lasted a few seconds until she couldn't hold back.

"What's he like? Your son."

"He's grown up to be a good, kind kid and smart too. Much smarter than I was at his age."

"Yeah, kids are much smarter than us at their age."

Maeve smiled and sighed, pressing her lips together.

"Does he have powers?"

"He does, but he doesn't develop or realize them, which is for the best."

I replied, glancing at the wall beyond, which was a cheering crowd of fans.

It wasn't the first race of its kind that Train-A had participated in.

Over the years, no one had been able to outrun him to take his place in "The Seven". 

In addition to getting both runners more attention, the race usually leads to huge sales of a wide range of merchandise, no matter who wins.

"You're very lucky."

Maeve said it with a sad smile.

"I know."

This reminded me of how much she loves children.

She literally cried when she found out she couldn't have them.

Homanlander had then taken advantage of the situation and seduced her, but that's a whole other story.

"It's your turn."

Ashley entered the room, as always on edge.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Ashley. You can go now."

I smiled at her and gave her a pointed look while hoping she'd leave quickly.

"Maeve, start without me. I need to cheer up our friend."

"Okay."

She shrugged, left her drink on the table, and went out.

I looked through the walls to see the locker room that A-Train exclusively used.

I didn't really like what I saw.

...

[3rd POV]

A-Train or Reggie was nervous, holding the V serum in his hand.

The blue liquid in the glass vial caught his eye and made him gulp nervously.

He was sweating profusely and anxious about what he was about to do.

Homelander's words had imprinted on his mind much more strongly than his mother's whining and his brother's lectures.

"Damn it!"

Reggie hissed through his teeth while squeezing the vial in his hand.

He didn't want to die, but he also didn't want to lose everything he had now either.

He had spent his whole life achieving success by any means possible.

He had a lot of hard training, which affected his body, and the V serum was easier to use.

It was easier than pushing himself to the limit for an extra millisecond, and overtaking competitors was a pleasure.

But everything has its consequences.

"Damn it!"

A-Train shouted, throwing the vial against the wall in frustration.

"What a waste."

A red-gloved hand easily caught the vial in mid-air, preventing it from breaking.

"Homelander..."

A-Train flinched when he realized he was being watched.

It was only at the last moment that he saw the blurred figure of Homelander rushing into the locker room.

He sometimes forgot that Homelander could compete with mid-level speedsters even in speed.

As for how fast he was in flight, that was a different story.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was terrified of him.

Homelander was incredibly dangerous and unpredictable.

He had recently found this out the hard way when not even Madeline, let alone Stan Edgar, was able to do anything.

It was best to play by his rules.

"This stuff is worth millions."

Homelander smiled, tucking the serum into his pocket.

"I... wasn't planning to use it. It just got left in my bag."

A-Train tried to justify himself but only received laughter in response.

"Oh, come on. I don't care how it ended up with you. What matters is that you didn't do anything irreversible."

Homelander smirked and, approaching, placed a hand on his shoulder, making him unable to breathe from fear.

"I didn't come here to lecture you. I just came to support you."

"You want to get rid of me? Is it because of my addiction?"

A-Train asked anyway.

"Not at all. If I wanted to get rid of you, I wouldn't be helping."

"Helping?"

"I'll talk to your rival and ask him to slightly reduce his speed. But you'll have to manage on your own from there."

Homelander frowned, showing how much he disliked this idea.

"You have a year to get back into shape."

"I'll manage!"

He responded a bit sharply, but quickly realized his mistake.

"I'm sorry. And... thank you, Homelander."

A-Train sighed with relief.

"You owe me."

Homelander nodded and left the room towards his team member's rival.

...

[Homelander's POV]

The shockwave from the landing on my knees and the cheering crowd's enthusiasm were overwhelming.

The fans were happy when I stood up and waved...

After that, I turned my gaze to the seated ladies who were anxiously watching me.

"Sorry for being late. I was rescuing cats from trees."

I smiled, causing the journalist to respond with a genuine smile.

"Is there a place for me?"

"Of course."

"You're as charming as ever, dear."

I shook her hand and looked at the gathered people.

"So, are you ready for the race?!"

The gathered crowd began to scream to show their excitement.

I took my prepared spot only after that, and the interview began.

The questions were mainly about the superheroes joining the military and a bit about the upcoming race.

Shockwave, A-Train's opponent, resisted when I tried to convince him. Unfortunately, I had to resort to more straightforward threats.

It wasn't hard to scare him, just needed to choke the upstart a bit and shine my eyes to make him feel the heat.

He nearly wet himself, but eventually agreed to cooperate.

Meanwhile, the interview came to an end, and the race began.

All cameras focused on the main participants, who were already waiting for the start.

I glanced at Shockwave, and he abruptly turned to me while feeling an intense heat on his face. His heart was beating faster, much faster than a human's.

Seeing the nod from me, he exhaled and nodded in return.

Homelander rarely used his heat visions even though he could easily melt steel with them.

It was more of a marketing influence, with red beams being considered cooler and more marketable.

It seemed like a better way to use eye beams to me, and it also didn't look as scary,

"Oh, you scared the kid. Are you proud of yourself?"

Maeve pretended to be angry, standing beside me.

"Only a little... But I'm not proud of it."

A shot rang out, and the red and blue speedsters took off at the same moment, disappearing from sight.

Time seemed to stand still for me, and the speed of the two competitors no longer seemed so extraordinary.

A-Train ran with all his might, trying to outrun Shockwave, but it was clear that the latter was already on par with him.

It was evident that Shockwave was only a fraction away from overtaking A-Train.

However, Shockwave slowed down—just a bit at some point, but noticeably for such fast runners.

A moment later, A-Train crossed the finish line, and my perception of reality returned to normal.

A lot of people held their breath.

The screen showed slow-motion clips of the last few milliseconds of the race, which made it clear who won.

"And A-Train wins again!!"

The announcer shouted, and the cheering crowd celebrated their idol's victory.

"Incredible! Simply incredible! A-Train has won!!"

The speed and numbers on the screen were no longer important to anyone.

What did it matter how much slower the speedsters became?

The main thing was that expectations were met.

I turned around with a smirk and went to see Starlight who was signing autographs for the first time.

She was doing quite well, except for Ashley who was making sure she didn't mess up.

I walked up to her with a grin and a nod to Black Noir, who was also signing autographs.

"Ashley, do you mind if I steal Starlight?"

I asked her, just for form's sake.

"I..."

"Thanks for agreeing."

I smiled at her, leading the delighted Starlight out of the hall.

She had very few visitors, mostly children.

However, everyone had already gotten what they needed, and she was just being held back.

It seemed like Madelyn wanted to teach her a lesson, but your humble servant intervened.

"So where are we going?"

She asked with interest.

"I want to treat you to the most expensive beer they have here."

I replied, causing her to smile.

"Only if there are some really pricey nachos too."

I enthusiastically nodded, and we headed towards the bar inside the building.

However, we were shocked to see that no one was there. This meant that everyone had gone to see the race in person.

They were probably a bit disappointed when they saw only the beginning and the end, as they couldn't physically see anything else.

"So you got punished?"

"Kind of, I guess... You don't usually give autographs to people at such... official events, do you?"

She decided to change the subject of the conversation.

"Very rarely. Usually, in such situations, we end up with a huge crowd that gets in everyone's way."

"But Black Noir doesn't have that problem."

She recalled their team's silent member signing autographs with her.

"You wouldn't believe it, but no one knew he was going to be here except for Madeline and Ashley, who set everything up. So the main fans didn't come."

"I see."

Starlight nodded thoughtfully.

"And what's it like? Knowing that everyone wants to sleep with you?"

I asked, smiling, and glanced over her figure.

She's quite nice, actually, and that's without X-ray vision. With it...

"I don't think it's like that."

Starlight replied uncertainly, averting her gaze.

"I'm more like an innocent little lamb than a sex symbol."

"Believe me, that's exactly what attracts people."

I smiled at her, taking a sip of orange juice.

"Do you really never drink?"

She asked, trying not to look me in the eyes.

She tried to change the subject and didn't work well this time, but I decided to indulge her to avoid making her too uncomfortable.

"It's true, Starlight. I never drink or use anything... illegal."

"Can we call each other by our first names?"

She asked hesitantly, expecting a refusal from me.

"With pleasure, Annie."

A smile naturally appeared on my face.

"My name is John."

"I'll remember that, John."

Annie smiled genuinely, and there was something different in her gaze.

It's something subtle but intuitively understandable.