A-Train

  Running down a street, A-Train took deep gasping breaths. He was having to pace himself. He’d been worried about a short second of running, now he was at about twenty minutes. Though this was easier, competing not for pure speed but for fighting. It reminded him of his Teenage Kix days. Not competing with anyone, just being a famous kid fighting easy thugs.

  Course, badniks were stronger than those thugs. As he turned into the next street, he found himself facing a fuckton of them.

  The various badniks apparently had names. After he and Shockwave had a fight with them, the leaderboard would show how many of each one they defeated, and that helped solidify in his mind what each type of badnik he fought was.

  What, was Eggman trying to market the damn things?

  But now, they were almost done. The final stage was up ahead. Shockwave was running alongside him. A-Train glanced over at him.

  Goddamnit, Shockwave really was faster. That hadn’t mattered too much during all the chaos, since A-Train was apparently a better fighter, but Shockwave was just barely a step ahead. A-Train thought of the hit of V he hadn’t been able to grab before Eggman had shown up.

  Maybe he could rush back- What the hell was he thinking?! A-Train grit his teeth and ran harder, just barely catching up to Shockwave as they reached their destination. They stopped on the outskirts of the building and A-Train glanced at the sign on the fence surrounding the facility.

  ‘Red River Institute’ the sign said, proclaiming 24 hour security.

  Shockwave looked around quickly, befuddled. “Okay… this is the place, right?”

  A-Train glanced at his rival, then shrugged. “Fuck man, I don’t know. The coordinates led here. What the fuck is this place?”

  “An orphanage,” A hologram fizzled into existence. Eggman, standing with his back to them. He was staring at the building before them. “The Red River Institute. A place for the forgotten. For those who were labeledlabled ‘not good enough’. Not ‘right’. The problems of those within are solvable. Even without my brilliant mind, those within could be given a life of peace and happiness. But they aren’t. Because it ruins the bottom-line.”

  Eggman’s hologram glanced over at them, red eyes glowing under pince-nez glasses. “And they call me a villain.”

  A-Train looked from Eggman to the building. Inside, a small girl with dark black skin was staring out at them. She met eyes with him, then hid away. He swallowed an uncomfortable feeling down.

  “So are we doing this, or…?” Shockwave asked, sounding a bit befuddled.

  Eggman’s hologram faded away, but his voice remained. “In thinking of who would be the perfect final boss for you, I considered many things. Perhaps myself once again, in one of my battle suits? Maybe a swarm of small robots to flood the area with? A giant bot with the strength to tear cities apart? And that’s when it occurred to me… why not go with a classic?”

  It came from the sky. A-Train, the hyperfast way he could comprehend information, saw it in near slow-motion as a massive crate came crashing down. He hopped back with super-speed, Shockwave just a step slower, and watched the metal crate smash into the fence around the building, leaving a twenty foot crater around it. A-Train stared at the crate. It was taller than Homelander and around five feet around.

  Shockwave had been sent flying from the crate’s entrance. Spitting out dust, he tried to stand up. A-Train saw the crate shake, then explode apart. He moved on instinct, pushing Shockwave back into the dirt before one of the crates panels could take his rival’s head off. Then he rolled to face the crate, his eyes widening behind his goggles.

  “...screeee-chonk. Screeee-chonk. Screeeee-CHONK.” Each step sounded with the buzz of gears, then the booming echo of metal slamming concrete. It rose out of the crater. A mane of spiked bright silver hair of pure metal. A pair of large triangular ears. Red-eyes set into a black abyss. It slowly approached them until it was standing over them. Taller than both of them by a couple of feet, built like a robotic linebacker, its hands tipped with claws sharp enough to cut the air.

  It should have looked ridiculous,like the other badniks. A weird animal robot, more meant to be a mascot than a fighter.

  A-Train swallowed as he stared at it. It didn’t look ridiculous. It looked like a killer.

  “I’m afraid you won’t appreciate the second part of the name, so I’ll have to simplify it. Gentlemen. Meet… Silver. The Alpha threat.”

  “...Fucking get it!” Shockwave shouted, standing up and rushing for the robot. A-Train joined him, going for the robot’s right side as Shockwave charged in at full speed.

  Badniks were fast, but not a single one was a match for either of them. If they moved quickly and pummeled the thing, they could finish it off in moments.

  A-Train pumped his arms and ran around the robot’s side as he watched as Shockwave rushed directly towards Silver.

  And then… in slow motion, Silver’s eyes turned. Red eyes the crimson of blood slid slowly before meeting A-Train directly. A-Train’s jaw dropped.

  It saw him. It could track him. No one but another speedster could do that. Silver’s hand rose up just as Shockwave reached him. The hand didn’t move as quickly as they could, but it was fast enough that Shockwave couldn’t stop before Silver’s claws were wrapped around his throat.

  “URK!” Shockwave choked, as much from the sudden impact as from Silver’s grip. The robot turned around in slow motion and tossed Shockwave at A-Train. A-Train ducked and spun out of the way, only to have to avoid a claw slice.

  One slow step, then another, and another, the robot approaching him step-by-step and forcing A-Train to keep moving.

  Silver was slower than him, but only barely. He was fast enough that A-Train couldn’t just burst in and attack, he could only dodge.

  “...FUCK YOU!” Shockwave shouted, speeding in with a piece of metal from the crate containing Silver had dropped. He smacked the robot in the back of the head, denting the spikes there slightly.

  Shockwave had a massive bruise across his throat and a mad look in his eyes. When Silver spun around to claw at him, the robot sliced his arm, sending a burst of blood outwards. Shockwave cursed, running back.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  A-Train struck, zipping forward and jumping with both of his feet forward in a flying drop kick. His feet smashed into the robot’s side, denting the steel there.

  His brief surge of joy was followed by horror when he realized something. When he was in the air, he didn’t have super-speed. He could move and perceive things at super-speed, but until he could touch the ground, he was at gravity’s mercy. And gravity was slow. Slower than him. Slower than Silver.

  As he slowly fell, Silver spun around and punched.

  “GAAAAH!” A metal fist blasted him in the stomach, sending A-Train bouncing across the ground as he screamed in pain. His scream was cut off by a flood from his stomach, then he threw up across the grass.

  Woozily, he forced himself to his feet, barely stepping back when Silver attacked him again.

  Two dents. They had caused two dents, and nothing else. But A-Train’s mind was racing now.

  “He focuses on whoever hit him last!” A-Train snapped out, spitting out the last of his vomit.

  “I fucking noticed!” Shockwave ran forward, smacking the metal piece in his hands across Silver’s neck. The robot spun around, kicking Shockwave and sending him through the fence and then through the doors of the building, Silver following him inside.

  A-Train grabbed one of the metal poles of the now destroyed fence and rushed in. He found Silver and Shockwave inside the halls of the building as kids and their caretakers ran. A-Train had a moment to realize some of the kids were… weird. They had strange body parts, one was running on the walls, and another straight up jumped like a frog.

  Refocusing, A-Train ran into the hallway just as Shockwave had been forced back into a wall, unable to dodge the next hit before A-Train rushed in and speared Silver with the metal pole in his hands.

  The pole smashed through the casing of the robot’s back, barely stabbing in a couple of inches. The robot spun its head 180 degrees, its arms spinning to do the same. Claws sliced through the metal pole in a set of four cuts, leaving A-Train with a foot shorter metal stick.

  A-Train backed up, but this time when Silver turned around fully and started slashing at him, he used the remains of the pole to parry each strike, barely diverting Silver from cutting into him. The bot adjusted quickly, and soon A-Train was getting shallow cuts all across his body. Metal knuckles scraped across his chin, leaving him stumbling. His chest was exposed in a cutting slash, then punched, leaving him cut and bruised.

  Shockwave rushed in, smashing Silver across the back of the head, but Silver ignored him.

  “What the hell!?” A-Train ran back, Silver following him like a metal demon.

  “I think you made him mad!” Shockwave shouted, continuing to bang and dent Silver’s back while getting ignored.

  “Target: Prioritized.” For the first time, Silver spoke.

  “Jesus Christ, he sounds like the Terminator!?” A-Train ran up some nearby stairs as clawed hands reached for him.

  Scarlet eyes glared. Then, in almost slow motion, the robot’s arms and legs curled in. It turned into a ball of silver spikes, then began spinning.

  And suddenly A-Train was running from a spinning ball of spikes.

  “HOLY FUCK!?” A-Train ducked Silver, then kept running up the stairs, barely avoiding getting sliced in his hip by another pass. The damn thing bounced, going from wall to wall, forcing A-Train to keep dodging and running, sometimes using the pole in his hand to parry the slower bounces.

  On the next floor, he had room to really push himself, zipping down the hallway. The spin dashing Silver tore the tile floors to pieces, sending shrapnel flying into the walls, slicing apart crayon drawings and brightly colored posters.

  A-Train saw the kids in moments. They were being guarded at the end of the hall by a series of adults. The kids were all clearly supes of various ages. Toddlers, teens, one kid had to be his oldest nephew's age. They all stared in horror as A-Train approached with a metal demon spinning after him.

  If he didn’t stop himself or the robot… he refused to think about it as another idea came to him, ironically inspired by the very death machine chasing him and his younger days playing sports before he got his powers.

  He spun around, metal pole in hand. Silver bounced upwards, aiming for his chest.

  “RAAAAAAUGH!” With everything he had, A-Train spun around and around and around, turning himself into a living top, sending wind bursting out from around him. When Silver got close enough, A-Train swung harder than he ever had before.

  The pole smashed into silver quills. The pole was sliced apart even as it bent against the robot’s body. A-Train spun around again, adding to the blow with his fist. His knuckles split across the metal, his forearm bent the wrong way, and he screamed.

  Silver went flying back. Behind him, Shockwave thrust forward the piece of metal in his own arms. The metal panel stabbed through the robot before Shockwave was hit by the giant ball of spikes and steel, smacking him into the floor.

  A-Train gasped, grabbing at his forearm and staggering. Shit… was it broken? He was bleeding everywhere, his clothes were ripped down to mere scraps covering his legs, and his goggles had fallen off at some point. He felt like hell. He checked on the kids behind him.

  They were staring at him with the same eyes as the ones he’d saved earlier. Kids like him. Supes. But they were looking at him like he was… a hero.

  “Creator Authorization Granted.”

  “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

  A-Train turned to see Silver struggling to kneel. Eggman was projected from his chest, staring into A-Train’s eyes. “Being treated like a hero. A real hero. No cameras, no fakery. Just you and knowing you did the right thing.”

  Eggman smiled sinisterly. “It’s too bad that you aren’t one.”

  A-Train scowled, staggering forward. “Fuck you man. Just tell us the score, turn off the bombs, and get the fuck out of here.”

  “Oh, I will… But I have to ask, what kind of hero, after running through a woman at full-speed, reducing her to a messy smear, complains that he swallowed her tooth? Lies about feeling sorry about it to the face of the man she loved? Blames her for the horrific crime of standing on the edge of the street, when he knows it was his fault?”

  Every word slammed into him. A-Train stared at Eggman. The super-villain chuckled, adjusting his glasses.

  “Don’t worry. When it comes to superpowers killing people, you are in good company. The only difference is, you weren’t punished.”

  A-Train swallowed. He glanced behind him.

  The kids were staring at him. And their eyes had changed. They were judging. Understanding. Guilty. And envious.

  What… what was this place?

  “Ah well… questions for later. Silver, try killing him one more time.”

  “Order Acknowledged.”

  The robot began to rise, struggling. Fucking hell! A-Train stumbled over to a nearby trash can, grabbing the lid off of it. It was thicker and heavier than normal, probably because the kids were supes.

  A-Train spun in place again, not as fast as before, but fast enough. Just like his days in track and field. He let go of the heavy piece of metal, the heavy lid acting like a discus and whistling through the air. The thick metal sliced deep into Silver’s head. Sparks flew around the embedded piece of metal.

  Silver’s red eyes faded away. It fell to its knees, the sound of gears and metal fading away slowly. For a moment, sitting there, it looked almost… holy. A silver monstrosity at peace, shining in the light as sparks stopped shooting out of it.

  “FUCK YOU!” Shockwave smacked it to the ground. He began to stomp on it over and over again, screaming. “Son of…fucking…piece of… Filthy motherfuck-!”

  “Awwww… that’s mean,” Eggman grumbled. “Anyways, the bombs are disabled. All but one, left for Queen Maeve. As for the score…”

  A holographic board appeared next to him. A-Train stared. And stared. And stared some more. “A tie.”

  “Yes. A tie.”

  “A FUCKING TIE!?” Shockwave shouted, a piece of Silver getting thrown through Eggman’s hologram with no effect.

  “Well, better luck in the next game,” Eggman gave them both a cheeky smile. “Buh-byyyyyyyeeeee! Hahahaha!”

  The screen left. Shockwave kicked Silver’s corpse, spitting out some blood. “Fucking asshole!”

  “Yeah… yeah,” A-Train looked back at the kids. They still stared at him. Judged him and seemed to find him... lacking. A-Train swallowed, then looked at the adults.

  “T-Thank you,” One woman said.

  “No problem,” A-Train stumbled, walking forward slowly. When he almost fell, Shockwave, to his surprise, caught him.

  “What a fucking asshole,” Shockwave said again, throwing A-Trains arm around his shoulder and helping him walk. “Right? A tie. I mean, we both kicked ass, one of us deserves to win.”

  “I’ll beat you next time,” A-Train said. To his surprise, he didn’t feel any real heat behind it.

  Shockwave laughed. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  The two speedsters stumbled out of the building as police and Vought personnel arrived.

  Still… what had Eggman meant when he said he left one for Queen Maeve?

  Author's Note: Silver is fucking awesome and he will return. I love Silver's design. I know Mecha gets the love, and for good reason, but Silver Sonic is cool as well.