Chương 42

Adam dropped back to the floor. A-Train kept his runner's stance near the far wall. His eyes moved over Adam's face, then to the soldiers behind him. The smirk stayed, yet it looked forced now.

"Homelander has been looking for you," A-Train said.

"Good," Adam said. A-Train leaned forward. The floor cracked under Adam's feet. Before A-Train could move, Adam vanished from his sight and appeared right in front of him. A-Train's eyes widened, but his body was too late. Adam's hand closed around his throat and lifted him off the floor. The soldiers froze. A-Train tried to twist free. His legs blurred in the air and scraped sparks from the floor when his boots touched down for half a beat. Adam lifted him higher before he could find balance.

The runner who had turned people into red mist now hung there with both hands locked around Adam's wrist. A-Train grabbed Adam's wrist and kicked at the air. His speed meant nothing when he had no ground to push from. Adam held him up with one hand and looked through his chest. X-ray vision opened inside Adam's sight. A-Train's heart was in bad shape. The muscle looked strained. Compound V had pushed him too far, and Popclaw's death had not stopped him from abusing it.

Adam's grip tightened just enough to stop A-Train from talking. A-Train's face changed as he realized Adam was staring at his chest, not his face.

"Your heart is in critical condition," Adam said. That scared him more than the hand around his throat. Adam let go. A-Train hit the floor and rolled onto one knee, coughing hard. He held his neck with one hand and pressed the other against his chest. More soldiers flooded into the open area. They raised their guns toward Adam. The captain shouted for them to fire, then stopped when A-Train was still on the floor between them. None of them wanted to be the man who shot a member of The Seven by mistake.

That pause gave Adam one breath to listen past the guns. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Adam landed fully and smiled. He had felt her before she entered. That was why the smile came even with rifles aimed at him from every side. The shutter near the entrance blew inward. Starlight stepped through it with both hands raised. The bulbs over the facility burst bright. White light filled the room and hit the soldiers straight in the eyes.

Men shouted and covered their faces. Adam did not blink. He rose into the air and floated toward her. Starlight stared at him. The anger on her face cracked for half a second, replaced by surprise.

"You can fly," she said. Adam stopped in front of her.

"I missed you. Did you miss me?" Her stare hardened again.

"Get everyone out first. Then talk." Adam glanced back. M. M. was already moving with Frenchie. Hughie had one arm around Kimiko, helping Frenchie keep her on her feet. The soldiers were still half-blind, and the path to the exit was open. M. M. looked at Adam.

"Go," Adam said.

"I will catch up." M. M. nodded. He did not waste time arguing. Frenchie and Hughie pulled Kimiko through the broken shutter. M. M. followed after one last look at the room. Starlight kept her hands raised until they were gone. Then A-Train came back into view. He staggered at first, then forced himself upright. His pride was louder than his breathing.

"Fucking hell," he said.

"You have no idea what you just did." He looked at Starlight.

"You betrayed The Seven. Homelander is not going to like that." Adam smiled, but there was no humor in it.

"Tell Homelander this," Adam said.

"If he puts even one finger on Starlight, Superman will cut that finger off. Say it exactly like that. His face will tell you why he fear me." A-Train laughed once. It was a weak laugh.

"You think you're him now?" Starlight's hands flashed again.

"Adam, go. I can handle him." A-Train bent his knees, ready to sprint. Adam placed one hand on Starlight's shoulder.

"Stop." She looked at him.

"What?"

"Don't waste it." Starlight hesitated, then lowered her light. A-Train took that as his opening. He shot forward. Three steps in, his body failed. His face twisted. His hand clutched his chest, and his speed broke apart under him. He crashed to the floor before he reached them. Starlight stared down at him.

"What happened?"

"Heart attack," Adam said. A-Train gasped on the floor. The smugness was gone now. He was just a man in pain, scared of the body he had ruined. Starlight looked from A-Train to Adam.

"Your powers," she said.

"They are like Homelander's, aren't they?" Adam shook his head.

"No. Mine are better." Even after everything, Starlight gave him a look.

"Yeah. I thought mine were enough too until I stood in front of him." Adam almost smiled. Then A-Train coughed again, and the sound killed the moment.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Adam said. Starlight frowned.

"He was hunting you, He...."

"And he is dying." Adam held out his hand. Starlight looked at it, then at him.

"What is that for?"

"I will fly him there," Adam said.

"And you." Her face went flat.

"I can walk."

"I need balance."

"You are taking advantage of this situation."

"A little," Adam said. For the first time since the church, her mouth almost curved. She hated that it did.

"Fine," she said.

"But if you drop me, I will blast you." Adam picked up A-Train by the back of his belt and caught Starlight carefully around the waist. She stiffened for one second, then grabbed his shoulder. Adam pushed off the floor. The broken facility dropped under them as he shot into the air, carrying A-Train toward the nearest hospital with Starlight held close against his side.