"So, we're bugging the woman's house?" Nolan asked, glancing at Butcher as he and the others sorted through the massive amounts of equipment they had brought with them.

"Yep." Butcher answered without a second thought. "We got the disguises, all we need is someone distracting her while someone else does the work."

"Actually…" Hughie's voice caught their attention. "You don't even really need to do this at all."

Butcher rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're pussing out now, Hughie."

Hughie shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm saying there's an easier way."

He glanced at them. "All I need is to get in there and get her IPv6 number."

Nolan furrowed his brow. "What'll that do?"

"Well, any desktop, smartphone, any smart device… if it has a camera in it, we can turn it into our own spyware." Hughie explained. "We don't need to sneak anything in at all. Home service is my specialty, and I only need five minutes."

Everyone looked at each other, surprised by the news.

"Is it really that easy?" Frenchie asked, surprised.

Hughie nodded. "Yeah."

They all glanced at each other. "Well, who do we send in with you, then?" Nolan asked.

Slowly, everyone's gaze turned towards Nolan, who quickly caught on to what they were thinking.

"You really think it'll work?" He asked. "If this woman knows A-Train, she might know my face. I've already learned that hiding in plain sight doesn't work if you've seen me in person in my outfit."

"Well, it boils down to this." Butcher said, pointing at Nolan. "You two go in there, she knows you, you take her down, we interrogate her. Easy as rain."

"Or?"

"Or, you two go in there, she doesn't know you, and this is much easier and quicker."

Nolan looked at Butcher, and then looked at everyone else. "You're all on board with this?"

"Yeah, mate."

"Oui."

"Safer for you than us."

Nolan turned his gaze to Hughie. "You alright with that, Hughie?"

Hughie nodded. "I'd feel much better with you than one of these guys." He looked at them. "No offense." He turned back to Nolan. "If Popclaw comes after them, they gotta hope and pray. She comes after you, she's gotta hope and pray."

Nolan sighed, but nodded. "Alright, give me one of the disguises."

Homelander was frustrated beyond belief as he tailed Madelyn Stillwell to her office.

"Why the fuck are we still stupid race?" He asked, a growl in his voice. "We should be focused on finding that cocksucker who did this to me!" He said, gesturing to his black eye.

Stillwell sighed. "Edgar ordered us to continue with it, Homelander. We don't show weakness, give Omni-Man a sign that we're afraid."

"Who says I'm afraid? I'm the Homelander. I'm the strongest man on Earth. I'm pissed that we're letting him get away with it."

"Which brings me to the part of this you'll like." Stillwell said as she turned to look at him. "Edgar wants to let you turn this into a PR stunt."

"What?" Homelander asked.

"Right now the public opinion is on Omni-Man's side, but he hasn't done any interviews or interactions with anybody. So what would people think if they find out he assaulted the Homelander because he was offered a position on the Seven?"

Homelander looked at her, intrigued as he spoke, before he slowly let a smile grace his face.

"Suddenly, Omni-Man goes from superhero to supervillain." He said, smirking. "We destroy his reputation."

Stillwell chuckled deviously. "We didn't destroy his reputation. He did when he assaulted the leader of The Seven."

Homelander chuckled. "Now that, I like that."

Stillwell nodded as she took a seat at her desk. "Good. But you have to attend A-Train's race to do it. People will see the eye and ask questions. All you have to do is answer."

Nolan adjusted the collar of his shirt in irritation.

The disguise given to him was a pair of black dress pants, and a long sleeved button up shirt.

It hid his suit perfectly underneath, all he had to do was remove his gloves. But he was never a fan of the collars on shirts like that.

He stood next to Hughie, a falsified work order in his hand as Hughie rang the doorbell, a box in his hand.

It took a few seconds, but eventually, a short woman, with trimmed brunette hair answered the door.

"Hello ma'am, we're with Bryman Audio-Visual, we got the new router. My name is Gary, and this is Hughie." Hughie introduced them under their false names, Nolan stealing Hughie's name.

Nolan had demanded they practice a little bit before executing the plan, and it turned out to be a good idea, as Hughie had a bad problem of mixing up the names. Nolan had sat there and rehearsed it with him until he could call Nolan, Hughie, and himself, Gary.

"I didn't make an appointment." Popclaw said, more than a little confused.

"Oh, your manager did, he's upgrading the whole building." Hughie lied easily. Something he seemed to be getting better at.

"I just saw my manager. He didn't mention it." Popclaw remarked, now a little suspicious. Nolan decided to step in.

"Uh, ma'am, we got a work order right here." He said, stepping forward and extending the falsified document out to her. Popclaw took it, running her gaze over it as she scanned through the paper.

"It just takes a second." Hughie spoke up as she scanned the paper. "And we can get you all the way up to 1000 mbps." He said with confidence, another thing he rehearsed with Nolan, not caring how nerdy it sounded.

"Have confidence in your lies." Nolan had told him.

"Okay." Popclaw said with a smile as she handed the paper back to Nolan. "Come on in."

Hughie entered the place, scanning around the surprisingly nice apartment in wonder, Nolan trailing in behind him. Their attention was caught by a few pictures hanging on the wall of Popclaw posing nude.

Nolan scoffed silently. "What a joke." He muttered quietly.

"Computer's right over here if you need it." Popclaw informed as she walked past them.

Hughie nodded, tearing his gaze away from the portraits. "Uh, yeah, I just need to sign onto your server in order to download the service package."

Popclaw nodded. "Yeah, sure." As Hughie took a seat, she glanced at Nolan. "Have we met? You look familiar?"

Nolan shook his head without a second thought, both of them ignorant of how Hughie tensed up. "Nope. I've been told I look a lot like this Omni-Man fellow that's popped. That might be why."

Popclaw furrowed her brow, but nodded. "Alright. Well, let me know if you need anything else." She said, walking away and leaving the two alone. Nolan glanced at Hughie after she was gone.

"Try to work fast, that lie won't work if she sees a photo of me pops up on the TV." He warned. Hughie nodded and quickly opened the computer.

Only to freeze at the wallpaper.

It was a close-up of A-Train and Popclaw hugging each other, pulling each other closely. A-Train had his lips planted firmly on Popclaw's temple, and Popclaw was looking at the camera, a look of utter joy on her face.

Hughie wasn't sure whether to be pissed or sympathetic.

Pissed at A-Train. He gets to live peacefully with his girlfriend? As if his own didn't matter?

Meanwhile, He felt somewhat bad for Popclaw. She had no clue what she was being dragged into.

Nolan saw the turmoil Hughie was going through, and rested his hand on Hughie's shoulder. "We gotta work Hughie. Justice will come."

Hughie glanced at Nolan, his lips tightening, before he nodded. "Yeah."

He began tying on the computer, while Nolan stood back, letting him work. His eye caught a bright red pouch lying in the TV stand, pulling his gaze towards it.

Something about it… Nolan was unsure of why it caught his attention.

Hughie glanced over, and spotted Nolan eyeing the pouch. "Is everything alright, Nolan?"

Slowly, Nolan nodded. "Yeah. Just a handbag that caught my attention."

Hughie wasn't sure what to make of that, so he just nodded and got back to work.

He finished typing something, and then closed the window. Nolan watched him glance up at the camera, and smirk.

Nolan chuckled as he realized that Hughie was already finished.

"Okay, ma'am, all done!" Hughie called out as he closed the computer and stood to his feet.

Popclaw walked out of the bathroom, a smile on her face as she led the two to the door. "Thank you, gentlemen."

Hughie and Nolan both smiled as she opened the door for them.

"No problem."

"It was our pleasure."

As the two walked down the hall, they turned the corner…

…and Hughie immediately bumped into A-Train.

"Oh, excuse me, bud." He said, smiling as he glanced at Hughie.

Hughie's satisfied grin fell off his face as he took in who was looking at him. His ears began ringing as he looked at A-Train, shock beginning to flood his features.

A-Train looked at Hughie, confused. He had absolutely no knowledge of who he was looking at. He'd already forgotten.

"What, you want an autograph or…" A-Train trailed off as his eyes glanced behind Hughie, and Hughie noticed the speedster going stiff. "Oh shit."

"Hello, A-Train." Nolan's voice greeted from behind Hughie. And then it hit Hughie.

A-Train recognized Nolan.

All hell broke loose. All the sudden a strong breeze was blowing against Hughie as Nolan's hand grabbed the back of A-Train's collar, as A-Train tried to run past them, his goal being Popclaw's room.

"What the hell did you do to Popclaw?!" He yelled, completely forgetting that this was the guy who curbstomped Homelander in favor of concern for his girlfriend.

"Hughie, get to the van, now." Nolan ordered, his grip of A-Train never loosening.

Hughie gulped, but nodded. "On it."

While Hughie took off out of the building, Nolan dragged A-Train to Popclaw's door.

Twisting the knob, he was glad to see she hadn't locked it when Nolan and Hughie had left.

Pushing the door open, he tossed A-Train inside without a care in the world, walking in and slamming the door behind him as A-Train landed on a coffee table, shattering it.

Popclaw came running at the sound of the commotion.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed as she took in the site that greeted her.

A-Train jumped up at the sound of her voice, closing the distance as he wrapped his hand around her shoulders. "Babe, are you alright?!" He asked, his voice filled with fear.

Popclaw nodded, confused as to what was going on. "Yeah, why? Did something-" She cut herself off when she spotted Nolan standing behind A-Train at the door. "You?"

A-Train turned around as he let go of Popclaw, spreading his arms protectively as if to create a barrier in front of Popclaw.

"What the hell do you want, Man?" He asked, looking at Nolan who rolled his eyes.

"I already told you what I want. To take down Vought." Nolan answered without a second thought.

A-Train shook his head. "How the hell does Popclaw factor into this?!" He yelled, Popclaw's face twisting into one of fright as she realized that Nolan wasn't who he said he was.

"What the fuck did you do to my computer?!" She yelled, terrified at the intruder she had inadvertently allowed into her home.

Nolan rolled his eyes. "Sit down, both of you."

A-Train shook his head. "Fuck you man! Answer my-" A-Train went silent as Popclaw yelped in fright behind him when Nolan disappeared in a second, appearing at the other side of the room next to the TV, slamming his fist into the wall in a blur.

"No." Nolan said sternly as he removed his hand from the wall, his point made. "You'll answer my questions."

A-Train glanced behind him at Popclaw, who was looking at him, fear on his face.

With a sigh, A-Train moved to sit down on the couch, his hand gently wrapping around Popclaw's as he led her to follow him.

Nolan watched as the two sat down, before moving to stand in front of them.

A-Train glanced up at Nolan, pulling Popclaw into his side. "What hell do you want, man? What did Popclaw do?"

"What did Robin do?" Nolan retorted as he moved to sit down on the nearby chair. A-Train had a straight shot to the door, but he wasn't about to try and risk Omni-Man being able to catch him. If he was as strong as Homelander, he could be just as fast too.

A-Train's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Again with this girl? You're gonna kill Popclaw over an accident?!"

Nolan narrowed his eyes. "No. I was never going to harm Popclaw." He said firmly. "But I want to know where you were going when you ran into that poor girl."

A-Train shook his head. "What the hell are you-?!"

Nolan interrupted him. "Thanks to your recently deceased friend Translucent, I know that you were coming from here that day." He revealed.

A-Train's eyes widened as the revelation sunk in. "Translucent's dead? How?"

Nolan narrowed his eyes. "Not important. What is important is that I have now problem hurting you. Popclaw? She'll be fine. But you?"

Nolan stood up as he glared at A-Train, closing the distance. "Yes, Robin's death might've been an accident, but how many accidents happen with you scumbags on a daily basis?" He asked.

A-Train stuttered. "I-I… I don't…"

Nolan growled. "You kill innocent people all time, without a care in the world. All of you do." He wrapped his hand around A-Train's neck, picking him up off the couch. "Vought covers up your crimes so much that you've essentially reached the point that it's murder, regardless of the intention." He pulled A-Train close to his face, his eyes narrowed in rage. "Robin Ward's death may have been an accident, but you gave a half-assed apology, because to you, she was in your way, so it was her fault. Nevermind the fact that you move faster than any normal person can process."

A-Train clawed fruitlessly at Nolan's hand, his eyes growing wide with fear as Nolan spoke. "You think I wanted to kill her?"

Nolan growled. "Doesn't matter. You did. And you lied to get out of punishment. You said you were stopping two bank robbers." He tossed A-Train back onto the couch, causing the speedster to take in a gasp of breath as his throat was reopened. "But we both know that's not true. You were playing delivery boy."

A-Train gasped, looking at Nolan in surprise. "H-How did you-"

"Who do you think you ran into in the hall?" Nolan interrupted A-Train.

A-Train went silent as he thought for a moment, before his eyes went wide as he understood. "That was… that was that girl's boyfriend?" He asked, disbelief on his features. "I apologized. Both to the public and in person to him…"

Nolan growled. "You gave a half assed apology hoping to get out of punishment."

A-Train glared up at Nolan. "Screw you man! You don't know what I've been through to get where I am! You think I'm gonna let it get taken because of an accident?!"

Nolan gritted his teeth, and his hand lashed out before A-Train could react, his hand wrapping itself around Popclaw's throat.

"Well, if your position is what's more important to you, maybe you don't need a girlfriend." He growled as he lifted Popclaw into the air, cocking his fist back.

"NO! PLEASE!" Popclaw cried, trying desperately to claw and escape Nolan's grip, even trying to stab at his arms with her claws.

"NO!" A-Train jumped to his feet and tried to tackle Nolan, even using his superspeed in an attempt to bring him down. But Nolan stood his ground, barely reacting at all. "LET HER GO!"

Nolan scoffed. "Please." He wrapped his other hand around the back of A-Train's neck, and spun him around, dropping Popclaw as he threw A-Train into the wall, destroying the TV and the TV stand.

A-Train didn't even have a chance to get up before Nolan was on him, wrapping both hands around his throat as he lifted him up off the ground and slammed him into the wall.

"Looks like we're doing this the fun way." Nolan said, looking into A-Train's eyes.

"BABE, GET OUT OF HERE!" A-Train yelled, glancing at Popclaw, who was staring at the two in shock.

Popclaw jumped to her feet, and was about to run to the door when Nolan spoke.

"Do that and you won't have a boyfriend to come back to."

Popclaw froze, inches from the door.

She couldn't.

She couldn't leave A-Train to die.

Hesitantly, she backed away from the door.

"What do you want?" Popclaw whispered, her voice quivering as she looked helplessly at Nolan.

"I want to know what you were hauling around, A-Train." He said, his grip not loosening. "I want to know where you were going the day you added another victim to your tally.

A-Train gulped, and he eyed Popclaw. Nolan turned to look at her as she gazed, wide-eyed, at the two, before her gaze turned to the red pouch.

The one that had caught Nolan's site.

Dropping A-Train to the ground, he walked over and grabbed the pouch, unzipping it.

Inside were three vials, with a dark blue substance within them, and a needle.

Nolan glanced at A-Train.

"What the hell is this?"

A-Train looked at Nolan, and shook his head, realizing he wasn't getting out of this. "It's Compound V."

Nolan's eyes went wide. "This is what's used to make supes?"

Both Popclaw and A-Train looked at Nolan, confused.

"What?"

"No, man. We're born like this. That's just an enhancer."

Nolan looked at A-Train, more than ready to call him out on his lie, when he got a good look at his face.

A-Train was legitimately confused.

Nolan glanced at Popclaw, to see the same confusion on her face.

"You mean you two… really don't know?" He asked, glancing between them.

"Know what?"

Nolan sighed as he pulled out a vial. "This stuff isn't just an enhancer. Compound V is what makes supes." He revealed.

A-Train immediately denied it.

"No fucking way man. We're… we're born like this." He ripped off his glasses, showing his wide eyes, desperately trying to believe what he's saying.

Nolan shook his head. "No, your not. Vought picks babies at hospitals, and either offers, or secretly initiates operations to make supes." He held up the vial. "This shit is what they pump into the babies to make supes."

Both Popclaw and A-Train look like they'd just been struck by an actual train.

"N-No… you're lying…" A-Train's voice actually quivered at the thought that his life may have been a lie.

"We're… just Vought's products?" Popclaw was in tears at this point, sinking her face into her arms.

Nolan nodded. "I'm afraid so."

A-Train stumbled over to the couch next to Popclaw, stunned by this revelation.

His whole life, a lie.

Encouraged to get faster, to run, to break his back to reach this point.

And it turned out that he was just some freak made so that Vought can make money.

He gulped as he pulled Popclaw into his side, allowing her to cry as he tried to comfort her.

Nolan looked at the site, and he began to understand what Clockwork meant.

Despite what they've done, they really were nothing more than Vought's puppets. Many of them had no clue that their entire life was a lie.

A-Train glanced up at Nolan. "The day I ran through that girl, I was juiced on that stuff so I could move faster." He explained, catching Nolan's attention.

"Really?"

A-Train nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, it acts like an enhancer for us."

Nolan looked at A-Train. "Where were you going?"

A-Train went silent, then he sighed. "Homelander had me delivering batches of the stuff to some guys hiding out at Noodle Palace. On Division, in New York City."

Nolan raised an eyebrow. "Do you know why?"

A-Train shook his head. "No. I just know he'll kill me if I refuse."

Nolan sighed as he looked at the vial.

He glanced up at A-Train. "I'll be in touch. Tell anyone about Hughie, and I'll kill you."

With that, he walked out of the apartment, leaving A-Train and Popclaw reeling at the revelations.

A/N: And that's the chapter. Sorry I was late with this update, but I was struggling to decide whether to go ahead and reveal the truth to A-Train now, or let him continue on his path and find out later.

A-Train may have killed Popclaw, but I feel like that was because Homelander threatened him. Let's be honest, A-Train cared for Popclaw. His fear for Homelander is just greater.

I'm wanting to show that an outside influence could have a different effect on A-Train. Honestly, when it boils down to it, the only people on The Seven who were truly evil is Homelander and Stormfront.

Anyway, that's all. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to review. I'll see you all in the next chapter.