Chapter Text
“Hey Hydra!” Greaseball shouted at the new tanker. He hadn’t been expecting her to yell at him- Well. Actually he had. He was not surprised by her yelling at him. She seemed to yell at everyone. What he didn’t expect was for her to yell at him to get his attention and then wave him over .
A little confused, but optimistic as he was whenever he was new to a test bed, he rolled on over with a grin plastered on his face. “Yeah?” he said, a bit of hope in his voice.
“You’ve been touting that fancy fuel that’s supposed to be good for the environment, trying to get people to convert, right?”
Hydra’s eyes lit up at the mention—well more allusion to—hydrogen as a fuel source. His usual grin softened to one more genuine at the possibility that Greaseball might be asking him about converting. If they could successfully convince a diesel to convert, surely the white coats would consider this test bed the ultimate success. “Yes! Were you-”
“Starlight, no,” she said, cutting his rambling off with a sharp laugh. Hydra’s smile faltered slightly, but he tried not to let it show. He doesn’t know why he thought she’d agree, she was just going to make fun of him like she does with all the other freight and carriages. “But—” his eyes widened “—if you can race with one of those steamers and win. Then maybe I’ll consider it. But you gotta prove you’re fast first. Got it?”
Hydra smiled brightly as he nodded, “Got it.” He started to roll backwards, not being able to help the quick little dance in place that he started to do before he turned to run off and find Momma or Rusty.
“Are you actually serious, Greaseball?” Dinah asked, looking up at her girlfriend.
The diesel engine squawked out a laugh, “Ha! No.” The small smile that had been on Dinah’s face instantly disappeared. “Do you know how damn heavy that freight is? Momma is so old, she has no chance of winning with him. Hell, Momma probably wouldn’t even let him race with her. But he’s pretty persistent, and none of the other freights would wanna race with either of those steamers. And all you coaches are taken,” she said, reaching up and twirling a bit of Dinah’s hair around her finger. “So really, that just leaves Hydra or one of Electra’s components.”
“Greaseball, that’s cheating…” Dinah said, a frown on her face as she took her other hand.
“No. Suggesting he offer to race isn’t cheating. It’s just giving him an idea.”
“Yeah, but you’re manipulating him by making him think you’ll convert.”
Greaseball rolled her eyes as she pulled away and started to skate off, “I did say maybe.”
Dinah sighed as she followed after.
Hydra found the two steamers as Momma started to sing. Now, he might still be new to the yard, but he knew better than to interrupt someone. So he stayed at the top, watching as Momma sang. Something about her was comforting. There were plenty of older engines at the previous yards, but very few of them had kids, let alone having freight as kids. There was a brief moment when he thought that it would be nice to have someone to look up to while at the yard, but he quickly shook that thought off as he remembered that he probably wouldn’t be at the yard long. And even if he was, the other freight didn’t like him being around.
His attention was drawn back to the trains below when he heard Momma call, “Who’ll come with me?” On impulse, Hydra raised his hand despite the others not seeing him. He quickly dropped it as they all called her mad. He watched her try to convince the other freight and get turned down, so he took his chance.
He skated backwards, singing cheekily, “Hy-dro-gen,” and started to laugh.
He wasn’t surprised by their chorused, “Oh no, not you again.”
He pointedly ignored the reaction as he rolled down the hill, humming to himself, “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” When he got down to the bottom of the track, he turned to Momma. He threw his arms wide and gave an overly eager, “I’ll go with you!” He quickly recomposed himself and repeated just a little calmer, “I’ll go with you,” trying to play off the repeat as if he hadn’t seemed like a desperate child. If he could just play it cool…
His heart dropped as she started to point out that she was strong. He knew where she was going with this. He knew he was heavier than the other freight, but she had been willing to take them… “You’re out of touch,” he blurted out, rolling forward just a bit. Maybe, just maybe he could get her to see that if she used hydrogen, it’d work out. He just needed someone to believe in him once and give him a chance to show them.
A frown crossed her face as she shook her head, “Your tank weighs too much.” He couldn’t help but flinch back at the comment. He knew she was right, but if she would just give him a chance.
“Please, Momma take me,” he begged.
He was surprised when Rusty cut him off this time, “No way it’s all over. The race is full up and he’d blow you away.” Hydra couldn’t help the offended look on his face. Lumber and Porter both looked at him with brief surprise before starting to laugh at him. He let out a sigh. He knew his fuel was explosive, but the engineers worked hard to make sure he was safe before putting him out on the rails. He wouldn’t just blow up for no reason. If they would just listen or give him a chance .
He could feel himself getting overwhelmed. This wasn't going anywhere and there's gonna be no way he can convince someone to even try using hydrogen for a bit. This site will be considered a failure and he'd be moved on to start from scratch. He turned, starting to roll away because clearly they’re not going to listen to him. He didn’t get very far when Control interrupted about a competitor not showing up. A smile returned to his face as he spun to look at Momma. Surely. Surely this would be his chance.
Momma started to sing about the light at the end of the tunnel again and he joined her, excitement clear on his face, ignoring the exasperated looks of the other freight. He rolled up next to her with a pleading look. She let out a reluctant, “Come on, Hydra,” before rolling past. He did a little fist pump and followed behind her to quickly get ready.
Hydra rolled along behind her to the tracks once Control introduced her. He purposefully waved the smoke that came out of her funnel towards Green Arrow just to piss them off. Just a little bit… Hydra shifted from foot, excited energy building up in him, as Momma did a battle cry just like the other engines.
As Control told them to get on their tracks, they rolled along behind her to the starting block. He took the few seconds Control started counting down to do a happy little dance. He couldn’t help it. He was so excited to show them what he could do. Momma hadn’t converted, so technically she wasn’t hydrogen powered. But if the old racer could win this and get into the final race, then he could try to convince her to at least try using hydrogen then. Baby steps and all.
He got into position as the countdown got to three, he was ready to go… And then Momma didn’t move. He looked around in exasperation, seeing the others get a head start. Was he really that heavy… Rusty was able to pull him and the other freight into the yard… But that was at a much slower pace…
Finally, she started moving. He just had to hope she could make up the lost ground. He relaxed just a bit as Orange Flash fell. Hopefully they were okay, but that meant Momma only had to get in front of one more person and they’d make it to the final race.
As they raced to catch up, Green Arrow and Golden Eagle started fighting, getting disqualified. A grin spread across his face. Now Momma just had to finish and they’d win. Surely that was a sign by the Starlight Express and it had him giddy with excitement.
As soon as they got past the finish line, they uncoupled and started to celebrate. Momma pulled him into a hug before rolling away to do a quick cool down lap.
They did it! They made it to the final race! He spun with joy in a circle. Oh they just had to win the final race and he’d show them just how useful he could be- How useful hydrogen could be!
Hydra rolled around lazily as the energy dissipated. He stumbled back as Momma rolled past and collapsed onto a cable drum, a guilty look forming on his face as he saw how exhausted she was.
He watched Rusty roll over, excitement clear on his face. “Hey there Momma, you were great!” Hydra could feel a pit forming in his tank as Rusty's face fell as he checked on her, “Your boiler’s cold.”
He looked between her and Rusty with a guilty look, shying away just a bit. “That’s my fault,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “My tank’s too heavy for an engine this old.” She must have used up a lot of energy pulling him
He flinched back when Porter pointed an accusing finger at him, “She should not be pulling freight.”
Hydra glanced between the two steamers. Neither really were paying him any mind and Porter already yelled at him, so he took that as his cue to leave. He frowned as he turned and rolled off. The excitement of winning shattered by the realization that he was too heavy, at least for Momma. And she clearly wasn’t fit to run in the final race. Any chance of showing how good hydrogen was in this competition dashed. He would just have to work harder on jobs to show his use- hydrogen’s use in other ways.
Rusty started to look for someone to go with him. Despite the results of the last race, Hydra was so tempted to offer, but he still felt guilty for exhausting Momma. He didn’t get a chance to even suggest it to Rusty before Slick offered to go with him. That should have been a red flag given how quickly she had turned down Momma, but she also knew how much Rusty wanted to race, so to Hydra, he just thought she was willing to race for her brother. As it turned out, it seems her joining him wasn’t innocent, ending with Rusty crashing .
Hydra had a twisted feeling in his gut. On one hand, he felt so bad for Rusty. Slick had sabotaged him; based on what he heard, Lumber and Porter were in on it too. But with the race ending up a mess, Control decided to run it again, which gave Hydra a chance to ask Rusty to race with him.
“Go away, Hydra. My way is steam,” Rusty dismissed the noisy tanker before he could even get a word out.
Hydra kept his smile up, it was a bit harder after what happened with Momma, but he was holding out hope. It wasn’t like Rusty had anyone else to race with… “I’m still steam and we can work as a team,” Hydra explained, trying not to sound too desperate as he made his plea. He couldn’t help it, he started to ramble on about hydrogen and that if Rusty used it—barring the fact that his tank was heavier than Lumber and Porter—the fuel itself was lighter and would work for a steam engine.
Hydra’s smile brightened up a little bit with amusement as Rusty’s next question was to ask if he would still whistle. Of course of all the things that would come with converting to using hydrogen, whistling was his main concern. “Of course,” Hydra said with a grin. He could feel energy building up in him as Rusty held out his hand. He fought back the urge to do a little dance in place as he shook Rusty’s hand.
“We better go see one of the engineers before the race to see if they could do anything about making it so you can take hydrogen. When Momma raced with me, she only pulled me, she didn’t use my fuel,” Hydra explained, shifting from foot to foot. If this went wrong and Rusty lost, he was almost certain that no one at this yard would agree to convert to hydrogen. A hydrogen tanker that causes steam engines to get overworked? Absolutely useless. Why would anyone convert to hydrogen after that?
“I’ll go talk to the engineers,” Rusty said with a smile, turning and leaving Hydra there.
Hydra relaxed just a little. Focusing on the tiny shred of hope in his chest. He went off after Rusty so he could talk to the engineers. They had some idea about how Hydra worked since they were given his handbook, but he was always antsy about new trains trying to use hydrogen. Maybe only a handful in previous test beds had agreed, but it wasn’t for anything like a race and they usually had more time to convert.
They get set up on the tracks, and Hydra couldn’t help the small little wiggle he did before the race. He was so full of energy. If this went well, then this little excursion would be marked a success.
Rusty started with ease and Hydra relaxed just a bit. He knew that on the downhill track, his extra weight was an advantage, but there was still that worry at the back of his mind that what had happened with Momma would happen with Rusty.
The race was going good, even better than good in fact, but the second he saw Greaseball ditch Pearl, his heart sank. He knew it sucked getting ditched and that Pearl needed to be moved off the track, but Rusty taking the time to move her might just cost them. He kept his mouth shut, deciding to deal with his conflicted feelings about it later. The sooner they got Pearl to safety, the sooner they would get back on track.
What he hadn’t expected was to see Electra and Greaseball start fighting despite having the lead. A smirk crossed his face as he rolled along behind Rusty. As they moved past the two arguing engines, he stuck his tongue out and gave a cocky little peace sign.
When Rusty was announced the winner, Hydra felt the excitement run through him. He started zipping around with joy. They won. They actually won. Rusty had converted and won. Oh, the white coats were going to be ecstatic when they heard about this. Hopefully they wouldn’t make a comment about how fast they were going, but still. It was proof that hydrogen worked. As he skated up the ramp to do a little jump, Greaseball rolled over and shoved him down the second he was in reach. “You were supposed to make him lose!” she shouted.
The adrenaline of winning was quickly overtaken by the adrenaline of panic as he quickly assessed himself, making sure his tank didn’t bust. Something about what Greaseball said nagged at him, but he didn’t have time to question what she said until he was certain that he didn’t need to start running. What he could see over his shoulder of his tank seemed fine, sliding the guard out of the way so he could check his gauge, and relaxing just a bit when he saw they were fine.
Rusty’s voice was the first thing he heard when he zoned back in to what was happening around him. “Hydra? You were trying to make me lose?”
“Wha-” Hydra said, blinking slowly, confusion clear on his face.
“He was supposed to ,” Greaseball spat as she gave Rusty a glare.
“I thought I could trust you,” Rusty said, before Hydra could even question what the Greaseball meant by ‘supposed to.’ He shook his head and turned, “I need to go find Pearl,” leaving before Hydra could defend himself. Which he needed to do apparently?
He turned his attention to Greaseball. “The fuck you mean, supposed to ?” he asked, frown clear on his face.
“You’re heavy, freight. You were supposed to slow him down enough that he’d lose.”
“But I thought-”
“I lied,” Greaseball said with an eye roll, “Why would I convert from diesel? Doesn’t matter how quick a steamer is. I just wanted to make sure Momma and Rusty couldn’t beat me.”
Hydra opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. He didn’t get to even say anything to the engine before she was off as well. It just left him to sit there with his thoughts.
He should have figured that Greaseball was yanking his chain. The focus was on the race, not on fuel. He should've realized it was an attempt at sabotage after the first race with Momma. She had been so exhausted after pulling him.
He stayed on the ground processing it all. He should've expected this. He was the odd truck out, why would it suddenly change. And surely because of his “betrayal” (He didn't even do anything! He was tricked!) Rusty wouldn't keep using hydrogen.
He had been so oblivious and now everything was crashing around him, even with winning the race. Which, thinking about it, would probably get him an earful from the engineers about being careful since if they had crashed at the high speeds, his tanker would've definitely exploded and that would've made a whole heap of other problems.
His spiral was interrupted by Control announcing that Rusty was needed at the track for his victory lap or it would be cancelled. He watched as the other carriages, freight, and even engines started getting ready to go look for him.
Momma approached Hydra where he sat. “Hydra, do you know where Rusty went?” she asked.
He gave a shrug, finally getting up from the ground. “He went to go find Pearl, but I'm not sure. I'd go check, but I'd need an engine to pull me back.”
“Well, let's go find him,” Momma said, offering her hand.
“What?” Hydra said, confusion clear on his face as he looked between her hand and her face.
“You said you needed an engine and you might know where he is, so I'm going to take you.”
A frown crossed Hydra's face, “You can't pull me. My tank's too heavy.”
“Hydra,” Momma said, a small frown crossing her face, “I will be honest, you are heavy and I am older, but pulling you to check on something is different from trying to race with you.”
He shifted from skate to skate, “You should ask another engine to go with me or I could go on my own.” He would just be stuck, but that was fine. The engineers would notice and get him eventually.
“You don't have to go with me, but you should tell someone else where he's probably at because you're not going on your own,” Momma sighed, looking around for a free engine. “And after Rusty's victory lap, I want to talk to you. Got it?”
He nodded, a frown back on his face, “Got it.” He had a sinking feeling he was going to be told to leave the yard. He turned to head back to the freight shed. He might as well pack what few things he had since he was about to be kicked out.