Author's Note: It's still early in the second season, but I got a few new ideas and they're waiting to get out. Like before, I'll write twenty of these "Data Drafts", I may add a few extra ones if you want to.

Disclaimer: The Hot Wheels series is owned by the Mattel Toy Company, "Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5" is owned by Mattel and Nerd Corps Entertainment.

Data Drafts: Fused

Draft 21: Unite and Strike!

Light cracked through Vert's murky haze of vision as he came to. The fight with the Red Sentients in the Ice Zone took a lot out of him and the Saber. He was beaten up, his glasses broken, and he caught a slight cold. A small coat of snow covered his Battle Suit, but he was still sustaining body heat.

He stood up slowly and brushed the snow off of him. During the fight, each member from each team got separated. With the team split up, the Battle Force Five had to fight their counterparts alone. What made things worse, however, was that prior to this, their teamwork was waning.

The war with the Red Sentients was straining their friendship. Everyone got aggravated at even the smallest things. Nerves were getting frayed. People were on edge.

And then things blew up.

"All that frustration…" Vert said weakly as he made his way to his car. "We should have let it out earlier …"

He opened the Saber's windshield and got in. After checking to see that it was still running, he started it up and took off. "Agura! Stanford!" he spoke into the communicator. "Zoom, Sherman, Spinner! Can anyone hear me?" he called out worriedly.

No response. 'Bad signal here,' he predicted as he warmed up more. 'I hope everyone's having a better time than me.'

A very cold Zoom looked at what was behind him. Up ahead was a red vehicle coming his way. 'Krytus,' he thought, trying to stand up amidst his shivering. 'Kytren definitely doesn't chill here.'

He was in bad shape. Kytren had knocked Zoom off the Chopper and nearly buried him and the motorcycle in an avalanche. Kytren surprisingly left him afterward, likely having given the order to let him die of hypothermia.

As his vision got back into focus, however, he saw that the car coming wasn't the Syfurious. It was the Saber, and it came to a stop near the Chopper. "Zoom!" Vert called as he ran out.

"H-h-hey…" Zoom greeted. Vert got on his knees and picked the younger teen up. He held him close to his body. "D-d-don't b-b-bother," he said, teeth chattering.

"And let you be a Zoom-sicle? Not a chance," he told him. "Don't try to talk."

Zoom tried his best to nod. The two remained like this for what felt like an eternity. Vert was sharing his body heat with him in the hopes it would help him warm up.

"That fight," Zoom began after the long moment of silence. "I'm sorry."

"My bad, actually," Vert apologized, also upset. "I thought I could handle it. I didn't want to put you all in danger."

"So you did forget," Zoom told him.

"I didn't forget about you guys, but I did want this over with. I know, not like me at all."

"At least I hung onto it. Agura wanted you to have it when we found you."

"Huh?"

Zoom took out a small metal sphere with a blue energy core glowing in it. "A Binary Fusion Pod!" Vert exclaimed as he recognized the item. He took it from him. "Do you know where the others are?"

Zoom, having warmed up considerably, got out of his friend's arms. "Got the Buster's coordinates," he explained. "Let's use the SkyKnife to track them down and rescue them."

"All right, Rescue Protocol, going up!" Vert said with some of his confidence restored.

Both went into their vehicles and rode off. Vert fired the Binary Fusion Pod up ahead. It activated and opened two portals, one red and one blue, connected by a path of white energy. Vert went in first, followed by Zoom.

Above them, Krytus and Kytren were witnessing the fusion. The duo raced out to try and jump them before they could fuse.

Vert turned the dial and he and Zoom's uniforms changed colors to white with their respective theme color on their suits. Their vehicles changed to white.

"Unite!" Vert began.

By the time the two Red Sentients arrived, the hybrid vehicle had taken off into the air.

"And Strike!" the two finished in unison.