Stanley Litwak had not been nervous about a game for a long time. He told himself he was being ridiculous. The game in front of him was a brand new release, and had received praise from all the top reviewers. He couldn't deny that it looked impressive. There were two linked cabs, their monitors showing seven cars blasting around a brightly-lit stadium, a red car in the lead with a blue car tailing and a black car coming up the inside.

Each car was sleek, aerodynamic and moved wickedly fast. They shot past cheering crowds, the camera panning over them before it moved upwards, showcasing the city beyond. The camera cut again, this time showing the red car hurtling towards it. Its lights flashed and the screen turned white, then black. An X faded into view, followed by the rest of the game's title:

TurboTime X.

It was a franchise reboot, or so he'd been told. It had been made because the original's programmer had returned to the company at a time when they were desperate for ideas; so desperate, even resurrecting a thirty-year-old franchise seemed worth a shot. The 1980 original had become a rarity, like so many games from its era, Litwak's cabinet remembered only by his most die-hard customers. Litwak still had fond memories of the players it had brought – it had done so much for his arcade, which was what motivated him to buy the new one – but the one memory that stuck out the most was of that day in 1987...

He shuddered and forced himself to look around the arcade to remind himself that his games were working as they were supposed to. Pac-Man was in his maze, Ralph was wrecking Niceland while Felix fixed it, and the Sugar Rush racers were zooming around one of their tracks, Vanellope and Taffyta fighting for the lead. Everything was normal. All of the characters were where they were meant to be. TurboTime X would be no different.

Reassured, Litwak sat down and ran his hands along the steering wheel and gauges. He'd bought the sit down version as opposed the stand up, and placed it opposite Sugar Rush, in the spot Motoracing once occupied. He rooted around in his pockets for money. Ignoring his feelings about the old TurboTime and his memories of RoadBlasters, he found the right coins and put them in.

The theme music came pumping out, energetic and upbeat, Litwak recognising the first few bars from the original game's theme. All seven racers were playable, but he'd already decided who he was going to be.

The Turbo of 2013 was - well, Litwak couldn't think of any way to put it other than 'human'. Unlike his stout, chubby predecessor, he was tall and toned with realistic proportions. His skin was pale, though nowhere near grey. His hair was dark brown, greaser styled, and his irises were yellow as a nod to his original sprite. There was a large red T on his torso, the prongs covering his chest, while it was white on the sides. The outsides of his arms were red and the insides were white. His gloves were red on the back with white Xs on them and white on the undersides. The insides of his legs were red, while the outsides were white. His shoes were red.

There was a small cutscene that showed the racers in their cars before the race began; his helmet was similar to the original design, but it was half-white, half-red; white on the front and red on the back. The iconic red T was on front, albeit smaller than the T on the original Turbo's helmet, and there was a white X on the back.

Litwak slammed the pedal and tried his hardest to keep up with the other six cars, but his unfamiliarity with the game meant he crashed and came last. On his following attempts, he fared slightly better. He grew more familiar with the game, learning the layouts of each track and the strengths of his car. He kept the wheel steady and surged ahead of other racers, overtaking the black car to win. A fanfare played from the speakers as Turbo was handed his trophy by a NPC in a coat and top hat. He held it up high with one hand, a wicked grin on his face, and gave Litwak the thumbs up with the other.

The phone in Litwak's office rang, so he left the game there. Had he turned around, he would have seen the new Turbo lean against the screen and watch him leave with a smirk on his lips. He turned towards Sugar Rush, where Vanellope von Schweetz was in the middle of her victory celebration. Instead of sticking her fist out, however, she pressed her hands against the screen, her eyes widening as she looked from the new Turbo to the title of his game.

The new Turbo tilted his head, puzzled by her. Vanellope looked back at him as if she was having trouble deciding he was real. The new Turbo's attention drifted towards the trophy in her hand. Vanellope saw the trophy in his. The new Turbo chuckled, then lifted his hand and gave her a small wave. Vanellope, still looking hopelessly confused, managed a half-wave back.

It was then Litwak walked out of his office, causing both games to cut abruptly to their title screens. He stopped in front of TurboTime X and looked at it one final time.

"I hope you do for this place what the old one did. Just promise me you aren't gonna leave this place like the old one did."

He opened the doors to his arcade and greeted his customers with a warm smile. "Good to see ya, kids! Hey Travis, hey Connor, hey Suzy. Say, you kids oughta check out the game that's just come in. I can guarantee ya it'll be turbotastic!"