It was an average day in Starlite City; the FAST crew was gathered in the clubhouse, playing a game on the smartphone. Their cheers and shouts filled the air as they tapped wildly at the keys.
Suddenly, Skidmark came sliding into the room, his eyes darting back and forth like they did every time he thought of another conspiracy. "Quick, team!" he shouted. "Vampire worms have taken over City Hall! We have to stop them before it's too late!"
The other FAST crew members looked up from the screen, eyes rolling.
"Skid," Whiplash muttered. "Did you really come in here and interrupt our Laser Pigs game for that?"
Smoove Move blinked. "Yo, Skid baby, enough with the conspiracies," he said in his usual smooth tone.
The snails turned back to the smartphone, resuming their game.
"It's true!" Skidmark protested to his teammates' backs. "I read it on the Internet!"
"And that makes it accurate, I suppose." Chet mumbled without glancing up.
"Look, Skid," Burn turned to the blue snail, her gaze meeting his."We don't have time for your wacked-out theories. We ain't boarding the crazy train today."
"That's what I'm saying," Whiplash agreed.
"Can't you go bother those 'alien glow worms' you found in Griffith Park?" Burn muttered. "We're busy, Skidmark."
Skidmark blinked, then slowly slid out of the clubhouse, his head hanging.
Turbo hurried after him, leaving the rest of the crew to resume their game without him. "Skid, wait!"
Skidmark looked up. "I suppose you're here to mock me out like everyone else?" he demanded scathingly.
"What? No!" Turbo had never heard his friend sound so hurt. "I just-" he broke off. He wasn't really sure why he'd rushed after Skidmark without hesitation. He paused for a moment, then realization spread over him.
Of course.
"Skid, I know how you feel." Turbo began. "People used to laugh at me all the time."
Skidmark blinked. "R...really?" He knew that some humans had been skeptical about Turbo racing in the Indy 500, but he couldn't imagine the famous, beloved racer being mocked.
"Yep," Turbo replied, memories swirling in his mind. "Even Chet used to think I was crazy for wanting to race."
"No kidding?" Skidmark looked surprised.
"No kidding." Turbo confirmed. "And working at The Plant was the worst. I remember when I got into a pretend race with an overripe tomato," he chuckled. "I thought my co-workers would never let me hear the end of it."
Skidmark laughed, his hurt seeming to melt away. "Wow. I never knew you went through the same things I do."
Turbo nodded. "I guess that's part of the reason I'm always going along with your crazy plans," he teased.
"...And because you don't want to spend the rest of your life as a servant to a colony of vampire worms, right?" Skidmark asked hopefully.
Turbo chuckled. "Right."