The Ridiculous Race

"I heard Vought made nearly a hundred million dollars from ticket sales, various sponsorships, and broadcasting rights for this event."

With her golden, wavy hair draped over her shoulders and a gold-and-white battle dress that made her look like a beautiful goddess, Starlight waved to her adoring fans as she smiled and chatted with Ron beside her.

"People spent dozens, even hundreds of dollars just to watch a race that lasted less than two seconds."

Ron stood with his hands behind his back, coldly watching the people in the stands.

"I wonder what the point is. Some people probably barely sat down before the race was over."

"This race of the century will determine whether A-Train stays and whether the members of The Seven change."

Queen Maeve, who stood nearby with a valiant air, kept a bright, polite smile for the fans as she explained.

"A-Train was only able to join The Seven because of his title as the fastest man in the world.

"If he loses that title, the company will immediately kick him out and bring Shockwave in as the new fastest man in the world."

The fastest person in the world could draw enormous popularity. Second place was destined to attract less attention than first.

Everyone in the stadium had come to witness this, to see whether A-Train could retain his place as number one in the world.

Boom!

Suddenly, their vision blurred as an indistinct figure descended at tremendous speed from the horizon. It was nearly teleportation. He shattered the ground beneath his feet as he landed before the four of them, straightened his slightly bent legs, and waved to the crowd.

"Homelander! Homelander!"

The entire audience erupted in cheers.

"The fastest man in the world?"

Homelander arrived with his sunny smile intact, waving at the crowd. Yet his voice was full of contempt. While in the air, he had heard what Queen Maeve said.

"When I was ten, I was already who knows how much faster than those two pieces of trash down there."

He disdainfully glanced at A-Train and Shockwave warming up on the massive track below as though they were insects.

Homelander's greatest speed was his flight speed, but his other speeds were not slow either.

Why had A-Train always feared Homelander? He knew that even his proudest asset, his speed, was nothing before Homelander.

"These idiots paid money and came from all over just to watch two kindergarteners race."

Homelander continued mocking the spectators in the stadium without restraint, all while smiling and waving at the fervent audience.

The spectators remained completely unaware, still excitedly shouting Homelander's name.

"..."

Queen Maeve and Starlight exchanged a glance but dared not say anything. Maeve had long understood Homelander's personality, and Starlight had long known that Homelander, like the other superheroes she had met, was not as righteous and kind as Vought advertised.

"The attention-starved 'superboy' is dissatisfied again, but there's nothing he can do about it."

A smile appeared at the corner of Ron's mouth. He knew Homelander was once again angry over Vought's restrictions. In Homelander's eyes, he was probably the fastest person in the world, and the fans who liked A-Train and Shockwave should have belonged to him.

Homelander was the most powerful superhero on Earth. Anyone paying attention knew that.

Even as a teenager, he had possessed strength surpassing nearly every other superhero.

Yet Vought never promoted him in that light. Instead, it deliberately suppressed the media from describing Homelander that way.

"Vought is a business. It won't put all its eggs in one basket, and it has to stop Homelander from gaining enough influence through his massive fanbase to affect Vought."

His desire for attention and affection was Homelander's fatal weakness.

Within Vought International as it stood, Ron had more freedom than Homelander. Other than the fact that he had no interest in being Madelyn's "oversized good boy" to please her...

"Most importantly, I haven't shown any weakness they can exploit at will, so Vought doesn't dare act rashly."

Ron smiled as he looked at the enormous, spacious track below.

"A-Train, you're the best! No one can surpass you!"

"Shockwave, beat him! Carry our hopes and become the new fastest man in the world!"

Not long after appearing on the platform, Homelander and Queen Maeve went down for an interview. The race was also about to begin.

Below in the stadium, the two true protagonists of the world sprinting contest, A-Train and Shockwave, entered the arena. They waved to the crowd, warmed up, then bent down into their starting stances.

"Racers, on your marks!"

Bang!

The starting pistol fired, its report echoing through the stadium.

With a whoosh, two figures, one blue and one orange, nearly instantly circled the track and reached the finish line.

The sound of the gunshot had not yet faded from the empty sky above the stadium.

The race had already been decided. In the blink of an eye, everyone saw the two men standing at the finish line, unable to tell with the naked eye who had been faster.

The giant screen lit up.

Everyone watched anxiously.

Under the thousandfold slow-motion replay, the winner was determined.

"Let's congratulate A-Train on winning this championship!"

The host shouted, and the crowd cheered.

At a speed of over 370 meters per second, breaking the sound barrier, A-Train defended his title as the fastest runner in the world.

"A-Train! A-Train!"

Shockwave had lost. As the race ended, cheers rang through the stadium, calling A-Train's name.

"What a ridiculous race."

In a tent outside the venue, Homelander was being interviewed. He perfunctorily dealt with the reporter as he mockingly swept his X-ray Vision over the two racers who had finished in the stadium.

To the audience, A-Train and Shockwave were as fast as whirlwinds. To him, they were slower than tottering, trembling old people in their seventies and eighties at a nursing home.

"No, this race seems to have some meaning after all."

But in the next second, Homelander looked thoughtful, as though he had thought of something. A cold smile curled across his lips.

"At the very least, those two pieces of trash gave me an idea."

For days, one question had been troubling him—how could he determine the limits of Ron's abilities?

Attack Ron directly?

If Ron's strength truly approached his own, a fight would inevitably cause a huge commotion. Homelander did not want to alert Vought, much less cause damage or even accidentally kill someone and lose a large number of fans.

But if he did not make a move, how would he know whether Ron was a "weapon" Vought had replicated from him to deal with him?

But just now, he had thought of a way—speed!

He had never encountered an opponent in speed. If Ron was far slower than him, then he would not need to take Ron seriously.

"If he can't even keep up with my weakest attribute, that proves he's just another piece of trash like everyone else."

The test was simple. He would use his super speed to circle around Ron, make a few movements in front of him, and see whether Ron could react.

However, Homelander was currently being interviewed and could not conveniently leave. He sneered inwardly.

"Once this interview is over, I'll go see my new teammate and find out whether he reacts to my movements like a laughably slow turtle."