Author's Note: HELLO INTERNET PEOPLE!!!! okay, this is my SECOND series of oneshots and the FIRST SPEED RACER TNG FANFIC IN SPEED SR'S POV! (I can't stop shaking with excitement!!!)This chapter is set in Part 3 of "The Great Escape". I haven't seen the episode in a while, so sorry if the dialouge is a little messed up.

Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own Speed Racer or Speed Racer TNG. And what's worse, I CAN'T THINK OF NEW AND EXCITING WAYS TO MAKE MY DISCLAIMERS FUNNY!!!:(

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I took a deep breath. I had to do this. I had to make sure Speed and X were on their guard. Annalise was right, Speed hadn't had to deal with her before. And what's worse, the Committee was thinking about just killing them both now. I had made a huge mistake by avoiding the Committee for a while,... not getting into secret car chases,... they must think that Sparky and I are BOTH dead in order for them to try to do something like that when they could just as easily get first-hand information. Why can't people invent their own ways to power robot armies programmed to take over the world? I sighed. I had to time this just right. Luckily, I already knew where Speed's dorm room was. I slowly, very quietly, opened the car door. Everything about it was the same. The same gadgets, the same body, the same engine,... I had tuned it just right... the only thing was different was the fact that if anybody saw this car they'd think it was fake. The truth was, I'd switched the real Mach 5 (which I had now) with a working fake in order to dial it in a little. Sparky, Pops, and I were the only three people in the world who knew how to work the Mach 5 to perfection. Connor did better that most. What I hadn't known then was that Speed would crash and total the fake Mach. I was extremely thankful that I had installed an emergency ejector seat, but my heart skipped a beat when the parachute didn't open. Stop. I thought to myself. You have to focus. Lose your focus for even a second and it will all be over for Speed and X.

I quietly closed the car door and walked to the Grand Prix Building. It was just like any other, but I felt like I was walking into an asylm. The air got really stuffy. It was getting hard to breathe. The last time Speed and I had seen each other face to face, he was just a baby, not even a day old. It's amazing how much things can change in 18 hours, 37 minutes, and 49 seconds. I was very nervous. I knew that he wouldn't know it was... me... but if he found out, then I wouldn't be able to protect him anymore. I wouldn't even be able to protect X. As much as I wanted to come back, now just wasn't the time. I heard a faint rustling coming from Speed's room and saw the knob jiggle a bit. I tensed up, preparing to run. Sweat started to run down my face a little. If it was Connor, then I would have to go and warn X. Mabye I should be warning him. There was less of a chance somebody else would see me if I did. I heard the door open. I saw my son walk out carrying a toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Speed. Psst. Speed." I wispered, trying to get his attention without waking anyone up.

"What? Who's there?" Speed said as he quickly turned to face me. I could tell by the look on his face that he couldn't see mine. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. He had grown so much since I'd hid him away. All of his baby fat was gone. He had his mothers looks. Same hair, same skin. But his face, his face was like looking into a mirror. He had my chin, and my eyes. A tear ran down my face, that, again, Speed could not see.

"Shhhh. We don't want to wake the other students."

"Who are you? Spritle, is that you?" Close. I thought. Once Spritle had gotten a little older, people started mistaking us for each other. A lot.

"No. Listen, Speed, you and your brother are in a lot of danger. There are powerful forces still at work. Don't trust anyone until this is over." I said as calmly as I could.

"Does this have anything to do with Zile Zasic?" Speed said. I clenched my fists. I couldn't help thinking of the newborn baby that I had left on the steps of an orphanage. I couldn't help thinking of what that must have done to Speed. At that moment, I wanted to rush up and hug him, tell him how much I love him, how much I missed him. I wanted to tell him everything.

"I have to go. Remember what I told you." I had to keep all the tears from spilling, I had to keep my voice from cracking. I turned around and walked away, my speed increasing with every step. I had only felt this terrible once. That was 16 years, 9 months, 12 days, 22 hours, 31 minutes, and 27 seconds ago. I tried to block the image of an infant Speed on the steps of an orphanage from my mind. I tried to block the image of a crying toddler X from my mind.

"Wait! STOP!"Speed yelled behind me. I was already in the Mach 5 and driving away. I drove and drove until I reached my secret hideout. Just beyond the junkyard, north of the Pineview, on top of the mesa. Well actually, IN the mesa. It had a perfect view of the Academy. I waited all that time. It was only about a five minute drive, but it felt like forever. It all felt like forever. Going into hiding, leaving Speed and X, breaking Trixie's heart, doing to Spritle what Rex had done to me, it all felt like it happened forever ago. Like it had been forever. Like today was the day after forever. Once I was sure that I hadn't been folowed to my hideout, I cried. I cried so hard, it amazed that my, or any, body could carry that much water. I vowed that the next time I spoke to Speed, I would be coming back. For good.

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Author's Note: Okay, be honest. How many of you remembered that Speed's dorm was in the Grand Prix Building from "The Begining"???

Further Disclaimer: I also do not own Citizen Soldier by 3 Doors Down. It's such a good song!!!