Free Web NovelChapter 3: Chapter 3: Bullying A-Train
Chapter 3: Bullying A-Train
New York City, USA.
Benjamin stood on the rooftop of an old apartment building in Midtown Manhattan, clutching a recently activated smartphone as Vought International’s latest stock prices scrolled across the screen.
He shoved the phone into his jacket pocket, turned around, and headed downstairs.
A week ago, he was still in an abandoned military base near the Russian border. Now, having ditched the Russian military greatcoat, he wore a brownish-green leather jacket scored from a thrift store. With his beard and hair trimmed, he walked along the sidewalk of 7th Avenue in Manhattan, turning heads at an absurd rate.
To be honest, this face was undeniably handsome. After all, it had once been sat on by the Queen of England—
Passing by a convenience store’s glass window, Benjamin caught a glimpse of his reflection.
He was heavily built with rugged features, his face carrying all the maturity and sharpness one would expect from a man in his early to mid-thirties.
The unkempt vagrant look was completely gone. In his current state, nobody would doubt it if he claimed to be a washed-up Hollywood action star.
He stopped in his tracks, his gaze landing on a massive electronic billboard across the street.
The billboard showcased promotional events featuring Translucent of The Seven.
Benjamin stared at the billboard for five seconds, the corner of his mouth twitching upward slightly.
Translucent was still alive.
Now this was interesting...
He kept walking, crossed two blocks, and sat down at an outdoor table of a café. Ordering a black coffee, he began to sort through the current timeline.
An electronics store window on the street was broadcasting Vought News Network’s midday program.
The host was foaming at the mouth, hyping up a bank robbery foiled by Supes.
This was the very beginning of Season 1.
Queen Maeve was still serving as The Seven’s feminist poster girl, The Deep was still getting off to dolphins at the aquarium, and Homelander was putting on his usual righteous savior act.
And Starlight, Annie January.
That naive blonde girl hadn’t officially joined The Seven yet. freewebnøvel.com
Which meant Hughie Campbell’s girlfriend, Robin, was most likely still alive.
Benjamin finished his last sip of coffee, set the cup down, and used his phone’s navigation to find an electronics retail store.
The current Benjamin wasn’t the old Benjamin anymore; he wasn’t like that century-old fossil who knew absolutely nothing about modern gadgets.
He had spent three days scouting the place.
The shop’s location and that tall, lanky clerk with glasses who always wore a mild smile—Hughie—had been thoroughly mapped out by him.
Benjamin had even gone into the store specifically to buy a phone charger, just to observe this future core member of the Boys up close.
Hughie really was a good guy.
The kind of good that made it hard to watch him go through any tragedy.
Benjamin evaluated internally.
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8:00 AM the following morning.
Benjamin appeared right on time across the street from the Brooklyn electronics store.
In his hand, he carried a large metal bucket bought from a hardware store.
Inside was a full three gallons of industrial-grade lubricant. Highly viscous with top-tier adhesion, it could form an oil slick on the asphalt slicker than ice.
Finding a fire hydrant diagonally opposite the shop, he sat down and placed the bucket by his feet.
Through the store’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows, he could clearly see Hughie attending to a female customer.
Hughie was wearing a navy blue work uniform, holding a latest-model tablet, demonstrating some feature to the girl.
His body language as he spoke was full of enthusiasm, occasionally pushing up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his smile completely non-threatening.
Watching this scene, Benjamin expressionlessly unscrewed the lid of the metal bucket.
Right at the start of Episode 1, he noted inwardly.
Traveling from Russia back to the United States had taken him a full week. He didn’t have super speed or flight.
His speed was just like an ordinary person’s.
But that was precisely the part he was least worried about.
Educating Homelander would have to be put on the agenda sooner or later.
When the time came, there was a good chance he could acquire super speed and flight.
By then, paired with his current abilities, he would have zero weaknesses.
The shop door opened.
Hughie and Robin walked out hand in hand, chatting.
Hughie laughed as he talked, while Robin poked his waist with her finger, teasing him for getting too carried away.
They stood outside the shop for a moment, then slowly walked along the sidewalk.
A yellow taxi was parked by the curb near the shop, an A-Train poster slapped on its roof advertising display.
Benjamin picked up the metal bucket, stood up, and followed behind the pair.
Soon, Hughie and Robin stopped at an intersection.
Robin stood right on the edge of the curb; half a step further back was the street buzzing with traffic.
Hughie stood in front of her, gesturing with his hands as he spoke, making Robin giggle.
Benjamin stopped about a hundred meters away from Robin.
Bending down, he tilted the metal bucket, and the thick lubricant poured out of the spout, spreading across the roadside.
He pulled a discarded long-handled brush he’d scavenged from beside a trash can out of his pocket and spread the oil film evenly, ensuring the coverage area was sufficient.
This was A-Train’s mandatory path.
His speed was too fast—so fast that an ordinary person’s naked eye could barely catch his trajectory. freewebnσvel.cøm
Robin’s flesh and blood would explode into a mist of blood the instant he slammed into her.
A-Train’s speed meant trying to intercept him manually was unrealistic, as he could easily run circles around an old-timer.
Benjamin could have used his own body to block him in advance, but he didn’t need to do that.
Nor did he intend to get hit by A-Train, just to avoid getting covered in blood.
Besides, given his own physical durability, if A-Train rammed into him, the speedster would lose half his life even if he didn’t die outright. If A-Train’s body wasn’t tough enough, he might even be the one turned into minced meat instead.
Of course, if Robin still somehow ended up getting killed despite this, Benjamin wouldn’t have much to say—he’d already done his best, hadn’t he?
A low-frequency rumble echoed from the end of the street.
A-Train was coming.
And then, his right foot stepped right onto the slick of oil.
The next instant, A-Train’s body flew like a derailed artillery shell, slamming heavily onto the asphalt before sliding nearly twenty meters and coming to a halt by the curb.
"FUCK!!"
A-Train curled up on the ground.
Clutching his right knee with both hands, the leg armor of his suit was shattered, with blood faintly seeping through the cracks.
His face was smeared with lubricant and street grime, his expression contorted into a mask of pure agony as profanities continuously spewed from his mouth.
He snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes locking dead onto Benjamin, who was holding the oil bucket.
Benjamin shrugged, casually tossing the empty metal bucket to the side of the road.
Then, he took a few steps toward A-Train, looking down from above at this superhero of The Seven.
"Hey, you dumbfuck in a rush to get to your own funeral," Benjamin called out, "if I hadn’t tripped you up, you would’ve blasted right through that woman. Aren’t you going to get the fuck up and thank me?"
Startled by the massive crash, Hughie and Robin spun around at the same time.
Robin’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
She saw A-Train on the ground, saw the oil slick cutting across the lane, and tracing back from the remaining footprints on the oil, her gaze finally landed right on the curb beneath her feet.
She instinctively took two steps back, nearly stumbling before Hughie caught her.
Hughie’s hands were shaking.
He looked at A-Train on the ground, then at the oil slick, and then at where they had just been standing.
If A-Train hadn’t slipped.
Based on his trajectory, his next step would have slammed directly into Robin.
With A-Train’s speed and physical mass, Robin would have absolutely been obliterated...
Just like that guy said.
Hughie held Robin tightly in his arms, utterly terrified.
Benjamin glanced at him, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and snapped a photo of A-Train on the ground.
"Bitch," A-Train spat out an insult.
But he knew he was in the wrong.
Aside from cursing at Benjamin, he didn’t make any other moves, pushing himself up to leave.
"The fuck did you say?"
Benjamin turned his head, extended his fist, and brought it straight down onto A-Train’s head.
A sharp pain instantly exploded in A-Train’s skull.
This single punch left A-Train completely dazed, blood leaking from his nose. And he was a Supe!
A-Train was both shocked and furious.
"This is a lesson for your stupidity."
Benjamin swung his fist again, landing several heavy thuds right onto A-Train’s skull, pounding the speedster back to the ground until he was on the verge of blacking out.
While the A-Train of Season 5 would eventually find his redemption, the current A-Train was an absolute, unmitigated asshole.
He deserved a beating.
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A/n: If you want to read ahead and find out what happens next right away, you can read up to 20 Chapters ahead on my p@tr~on: [email protected]/ForgottenDaoist (@ = a, link is in my profile).
