Chapter 4

"Now now, Gran, you know you can't do that..." Gran whirled around, almost apoplectic, which amused Roy even in his dazed and frightened state to no end. A dark haired man grinned at them warmly, crossing his arms over his chest. His legs, when Roy happened to catch the light glinting off of them, were a reddish automail, a kind he had never seen before that had brilliant yellow stones that covered his knees, reflecting all light that happened on the off chance to enter them into rainbows. The man crossed over to Roy and put a hand on his shoulder, and Gran yelled, spit flying, "I'll punish my own subordinates, Supersonic Alchemist!"

"Like I said, you know you can't do that. By all rights, those documents should be his. Unfortunately, I happen to be the second-oldest in the family, so..." he swiped the papers up into his hands deftly and gave Gran a grin. "No hard feeling, eh Gran? This is my props after all. You, Junior, can come with me," he said, waving to Roy. Roy stood rooted to the spot, mouth hanging.

"Are you deaf, kid? I said let's go!" Roy nodded and scooted past Gran quickly and followed the other man at his shoulder meekly. The man looked at him out of the corner of his eye, eyes twinkling. "Yep, you're a picture of your old man alright. Know who I am, kid?" Roy shook his head, then thought for a moment. "'Don't think too hard, you probably don't remember. You see...

"Your dad was my older brother, makes me your uncle, don't it? I haven't seen you since you were in the cradle, and a right long time that was! I couldn'tve been more'n fourteen or so... Your name's Roy, isn't it?" Roy nodded again, meekly.

"Come on now! I know you can't possibly be so timid, not with a father like your dad. Quite a show you put on in the lobby... if I hadn't leaped outta the way, I'd be Glenn Roadkill all over the Brig's splintered desk. Try to aim at something else next time, eh?"

"Yes, Sir, uh.. I mean..."

"Don't sweat, just call me Glenn."

"Did you hear about Dad...?"

Glenn's face darkened and he pulled his cowboy-esque hat over his eyes in respect for a second. "That I did. I... It's a downright shame... after all we'd been through. You the new Flame Alchemist, little guy?"

"I'm not a little guy! I... sorry, Sir... er... Glenn. Yeah."

Glenn laughed and waved off his embarrassment. "Don't sweat, don't worry. Just a word of healthy advice, tho': don't rile up Gran too much, it takes too much energy to save you from him, believe me. I saved Leroy's ass plenty of times from the guy; it's downright embarassing to be saved by the baby brother, let me tell you."

"Did you give him a choice?" Roy asked with interest.

"Not really," Glenn admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "I just got worried, what with an infant and all, and he's pickin' fights with the king of muscle heads... If you wanna know where you're goin', we're going to go hook you up with your sparrin' buddy. I think you two have met before, man is this guy a real piece of work, bundle of laughs, this one." He ushered Roy out the door into the courtyard and Roy sweatdropped heavily.

"Alex..."

"HO HO! IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU, ROY MUSTANG! I feared you were very much down..." Alex Louise Armstrong proclaimed, flexing his muscles. Even at eighteen, Alex Louise Armstrong had perfected many of the Secret Armstrong Family Techniques Passed From Generation to Generation of the Armstrong Family. He had even started sparkling, Roy couldn't help but notice as one particularly obstinate sparkle decided to slam and imprint itself into his forehead. He grappled with it for a few minutes before tossing it to the ground violently and stomping on it.

"Right-o, boys, you two are sparring partners. A piece of info, you two are both State Alchemists, ain't that grand?" Glenn beamed at the two of them and Roy turned his head, a desperate and hopeless look of pain and sorrow on his face. "You want me to be turned into lunch meat by Alex?"

"That was the ide- uh, I mean, you have to practice your dodging skills, don'tcha?" Glenn said, raising his palms up in an attempt to look innocent. His eyes narrowed suddenly, but he kept perfectly still. "Don't move, boys," he whispered. He put his arms down and turned slowly, scanning the courtyard with his eyes. "What is it, Glenn?" Roy asked, his eyes questing for the source of Glenn's disturbance and sudden change in character. Glenn shushed him hurriedly, then smiled. "Now you'll see why I'm the Supersonic Alchemist!" He clapped his hands together and held them in the air in front of him, and the air shimmered and seemed to become thicker. "You won't get past me!" He clapped them again and held them to his legs, and the jewels glowed. Roy's arms and legs felt heavy, as if everything now took much more energy than usual; it was a struggle to even blink! Then he realized.

"You can alter... time!"

"That I can. The very air around us contains thousands upon thousands of molecules and atoms. By slowing down their rates of collision, and stretching the effect as far as possible, namely the sun, I can slow time. Inertia and velocity is everything in alchemy, Roy. If you snapped right now, it would be childsplay to change the density of the air or the time it takes the air to react with a spark; in fact, I can stop it from reacting at all!"

He sped off around the courtyard, a blur to Roy and Alex's eyes. "Not only is he gifted with time slowing, but also an inhuman speed thanks to his automail legs," Alex murmured.

"So... So you truly are the strongest alchemist..." Roy murmured. "Time is everything."

In a matter of seconds, Glenn had rounded up all the invaders, and proclaimed them rebels from the east, carting them off to HQ and back. When he returned, Roy queried, "Are you the strongest alchemist?" Glenn laughed.

"Oho, I would like to think so; but there was no stronger man than your father. He could beat me any day of the week."

"But how?"

He regarded Roy. "It would be impossible for anyone who uses circles to defeat me, and so I am, in a sense, the strongest alchemist."

Lesse here... Glenn is the product of listening to Auron's Theme and Jecht's Theme on the FFX soundtrack waaaaay too many times. Glenn is a laid back kinda guy, just like the tunes in Auron and Jecht's Themes. Gotta love FFXs songs, man! - T A