Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and a future character that we all know is mine, and I own some track elements. Sue me but I must warn you I am trained in Taekwondo so take heed and don't EVEN TRY!
A/N: I have to admit that when I first heard of SR:TNG I was inclined to resent the whole concept like I had rejected Batman Beyond because to me, the original show was canon, and to screw with canon is to mess it up completely. However, once I took a chance and viewed 'The Beginning' my outlook changed completely and I fell in love with the show. After watching 'The Fast Track' on YouTube, the concept of this fic nagged at me until I finally yielded. Enjoy the result, dig in and I hope this meets expectations. XD Please, please PLEASE alert me if you find any errors in character portrayal or anything else because I've only seen the aforementioned episodes because that is all I could find on YouTube so my knowledge isn't that extensive. :(
Shout out: This is for you, Kelly and GentleLady! Thanks for sticking by me through these mad whims that take flight! YOU GUYS ROCK!
Zile Zazic was tired. He was tired of Annalise bugging him for her allowance early. He was tired of Stan's incompetence. He was tired of dealing with the twins and their dimwittedness. He was tired and a bit vexed that he couldn't seem to get rid of Speed and the Mach 6. Zile HATED feeling tired of finding new ways to get rid of that confounded car! If only there was a way to simply blow it to unrepairable scrap metal! No. . . no, that's not it! Maybe my daughter has a few ideas! She is, after all, the girlfriend of one of Racer's offspring.
"STAN! Get my daughter on the phone!"
"Yes Mr. Z!"
GOSPEEDJRGOSPEEDJRGOSPEEDJRGO
X Racer floored the accelerator and pimped his boost system, blasting past his little brother a split second before the cars exited the Virtual Track's portal. The crowd went ballistic and the air was filled with flashbulbs as the paparazzi pushed the fans aside and caught pictures of the lucky winner. X shook hands with Speed, who was grinning ear-to-ear. The two high-fived and in true Racer fashion shook hands in good sportsmanship.
"Good race, X!"
"Yeah, it was a great race. If it hadn't been for my nitro boost you would have won again. Unlike you, I've got sponsors to please. If I had let you win, then I would have lost more than the race."
Speed was about to reply when X's snooty girlfriend, Annalise, tackled his older brother and knocked the wind out of the older driver while squealing in a high pitched whine,
"OH X! That was such an exciting race! How about you take me to the Pizza Shack and we'll celebrate?!"
Her boyfriend cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. The only thing he wanted to do right now was check to see that his car was ready for the next race. Once that was done, he had a promise to keep.
"Um, I'd love to Annalise, but I promised Speed and Conor that I'd help them fix up the garage then go over the Flex Course with Speed. Maybe next time we'll go for pizza."
The older Racer and his brother left with Conor and Lucy, heading for the garages and leaving the red-haired heiress glaring angrily at their backs. The sly mind of Annalise Zazic knew no bounds and she decided to follow them. Maybe Daddy will pay more attention to me if I dig up some info on the Mach 6! She thought as she arrived at the maze of garages. The fem fatale was unsuccessful at locating which of the car parks was the nerd's until she remembered that the virtual Conor's garage had been near the Dump. Fitting really, she sneered, considering what my Dad has planned for the Mach 6! The girl headed for the junk yard and sure enough, there was the nerdville rejects garage.
To Annalise's dismay, the door required a palm scan from one of the dweebs for entry. The girl growled in frustration and looked for another way in. Finding only an air vent, the daughter of Zile pouted and settled for just listening to what the dorks were doing.
Conor finished tweaking the engine of 'the sickest car ever built' and wiped the sweat from his brow, grinning as he announced proudly,
"She's ready for action! Now all we have to do is fix that bug in the comp system and we're all set. Chim-Chim, let's get down and digital!"
The Speed Racer Sr. fan's robot chimp gave a salute and promptly hacked into the Mach 6's computer. Over in a corner, X, Speed and Lucy were watching a simulation of the Flex Course on Lucy's laptop. After the sim was over the brothers asked to see it again. Once that was done, Speed wanted to see it one more time, then thought better of it and decided to see if the Mach 6 was ready for a test drive through the Virtual Track.
"Well, Conor is the comp ready yet?"
"No! When was the last time you ran the VP program on this thing?! It's chalk full of errors! I might as well just replace it with a new one and that'll take a while."
"Go ahead and do it then because I don't want to risk entering the Virtual Track without having some way to reach the outside. I swear, sometimes I wonder if the track is cursed!"
X snorted, "I never have any trouble with the track. If it was really haunted, it would affect everyone not just you."
"You're right but there is something strange about it though. If the track isn't haunted then I have a feeling that Zile Zazic hates me. After all, the last tampering had his fingerprints on it, remember?"
"Yeah but I know Zile and he doesn't seem the type to want anyone to get hurt. Although to tell the truth, the guy isn't very heartful, if you know what I mean."
Speed shook his head, "I don't know, X. There's something about Zile that kinda freaks me out."
Lucy loaded up the track sim again and called Conor over for a second.
"Bad vibes, Speed? Well this ought to cheer you up. I've set the sim to 'drive mode' just like I did for the Redwood Rally. The only difference is that you and X will play through VR goggles, so it will be as if you were actually racing each other. Cool, right? You'll even be able to communicate just like normal."
"Really? Well, I guess we could give it a go. Hook us up."
Lucy did so, and the brothers put on the VR goggles Conor handed to them while Lucy started the simulation. Inside the minds of Speed and X, the Virtual Track became a full environment. The Spy in Pink squinted to see what was happening on the laptop and snickered. This could get interesting!
TBC
Well, how was that for the first chapter? BTW, if anyone would care enough to upload more episodes on YouTube, a lot of fans would love you and would really appreciate it;) (I would but my computer sucks and I don't have any way of aquiring the episodes, sorry:( )
ANYWAY, the next chapter is on the way so keep an eye out! Review if you want and I'll respond as quickly as I can!