Jack, being used to checking on small details at the speed of sound, was rather excited about the prospect of this whole race. He was already a track star in school before he got his powers, and he was always the most adventurous on the cross country team. So, with his wind back, he was preparing himself mentally to win.
Until Violet fell, however.
His competitive mindset made him block things out, and his hand wasn't fast enough to catch hers as she made her fall. He saw her pop her hand back into place and grimaced, worried more for her than the damn bathrooms.that moment of hesitation cost him a bit of ground. Seeing her take off, he realized that he was about to put himself in a bad spot.
Jack took off at full speed, remembering that his training wasn't all superpowers. He began to do what a speedster does best: think on his feet. If I can dodge things moving at super speed by seeing it, he'll have to dodge ahead of time. He started to duck and weave as he moved, dodging the shots and taking care not to trip up.
Never stopping his feet, Jack was careful to keep an eye ahead, ready for the next obstacle. He leapfrogged across the pool, then continued to hop the ledge as he carefully gripped each handhold, closing his distance between the front runners as fast as possible, making sure not to miss a beat. He was reasonably confident he would score in the top, but some of the others here looked pretty ready and capable. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Jack cleared the pit and made a lot of ground.
Next, the hall. All of the electric poles didn't frighten Jack too badly. He was used to dodging between obstructions well enough, although there were more than enough close calls as he weaved around them to leave his hair standing on end.
"I guess being a bit behind isn't all bad..." Jack muttered as he eyed the next obstacle. Now that he'd know better than to fall, Jack planned his movements ahead of time, always keeping his eyes on the next panel. "It's a good thing that my powers don't include smarts." He'd say again quietly.
Clearing the panels cleanly and feeling pretty good about it, he couldn't help but wonder how much more he would have to do. The turrets couldn't keep up with him at this rate, focusing on easier to hit targets, and the rest of the obstacles seemed... commonplace for a course. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure what place he was in as he hit the final room.
Thinking quickly, he decided that hesitation would be the end of him and thanked his lucky stars as he began to move through the water. His costume was a frictionless material, which minimized all resistance and made sure it wouldn't tear off and leave him naked at super speeds. It was also waterproof. This gave Jack a definite advantage as he began to weave brought the nets and pits, continually dipping and even hitting the water to make sure he wasn't shot. While he did have a better chance with the reduced water drag, it didn't stop him from taking some heavy hits from the rubber bullets, slowing him down more than he wanted. He had to lt something hit him though, to allow time to dodge those nasty nets and whatever the other things were, he didn't have time to think about it. Whatever the cost, Jack trudged forward, hoping that Violet was near and all right...