Ever since the Genesis Pod disaster left Kane limping away from a humiliating defeat, the dictator-billionaire had started to crack down mercilessly on Motorcity, each attack more heinous than the last. On any given day, newly modified drones with dangerous upgrades prowled the streets wreaking havoc as the citizens of Motorcity struggled to repair their city and clean up the mess left behind from previous attacks.
But today a new swarm of bots had descended upon the city, small and like nothing the Burners had seen before. However, Julie knew why they were here and what they were about to unleash. As the bots swarmed the streets of a neighborhood, there wasn't much she could do short of pulling 9-Lives over and getting out to verbally warn the residents in the street. She didn't see it coming until it was too late; a bot hovered low overhead and began spewing noxious fumes into the air.
Covering her nose and mouth, Julie fled back to her car as fast as she could but little did she realize how rapidly the odorless gas had invaded her lungs. It was just seconds before her legs stopped working. Her feet, suddenly too heavy to lift, felt as though they were cemented to the ground. The natural response to catch oneself during a fall never happened because her arms didn't work and she collapsed like a dead weight onto the ground just feet away from 9-Lives.
Now, with the tarmac pressed hard against the bony curves of her face and a bruise throbbing on her forehead, she lay helplessly sprawled on the ground, unable to move or speak. Even her eyelids felt as if they'd been glued shut. Incapacitated, all she could do was lie there breathing, terrified, trapped within the confines of her own body and completely vulnerable. Cold air crept over her but the immobilizing chemicals prevented even the slightest hope of a shiver. Five minutes passed. Then seven. Every second crawling at an eternity's pace. Her limbs were useless but Julie could still feel the cold ground beneath her and with no way to keep warm, she was slowly going numb. All she could do was pray that Kane's troops wouldn't arrive to storm the premise only to find her lying here beside a Burner car with no means of escape.
That's when she heard it. Distant at first, the familiar roar of fast approaching engines was the most beautiful sound in the world. The relief was so great it sprung tears to leak from her closed eyes. Her heart leapt in both joy and terror that if her friends weren't careful, they too would meet the same fate. But as they climbed out of their cars calling her name, she could tell by their muffled voices that they were wearing protective respiratory gear.
Roth whirred ahead of them monitoring the air quality and, after a moment's calculations, deemed it breathable, most of the gas having already dissipated. The Burners unmasked as they gathered watchfully around Julie. It seemed the swarm of bots had moved on to new ground.
Mike was the first to kneel beside her and rolled her over to place an ear to her chest. At the sound of a quick pulse, he raised his head to address the others with uncertainty, "She's alive but... unconscious?"
No no no, not unconscious! Julie screamed as loud as she could inside her mind, but the mental exertion was utterly pointless. No one short of a mind-reader would hear her shouts.
"Texas," Mike called over his shoulder. "Take her back to HQ and keep an eye on her."
"On it." Texas' low voice was above her as she was passed into a strong pair of arms that lifted her easily off the ground.
For once, Texas did as told. Julie's body hanging lifeless in his arms thwarted any thought of protesting Mike's orders. She looked dead and she felt so cold and limp he couldn't help but hold her closer, hoping the pressure would rouse her or elicite some response. Of course, nothing happened. Though he'd never know it, the squeeze was quite welcome as all Julie wanted right now was to be as close as possible to a source of heat—the closer, the better.
With Julie taken care of, Mike turned to the other Burners, "Chuck and Dutch, you're with me. We've got to find a better way to warn everybody."
"Then what?" Dutch was saying as they hastily turned back to their cars. "Tell the whole city to hold their breath until Kane's bots leave? Not sure that's gonna work."
"We'll figure something out on the way," Mike shot back. "Come on, maybe we can blow this gas outta here somehow."
Normally, Texas would have laughed at that particular phrasing, but not this time. He was too focused on climbing into his car without bumping Julie.
"Don't worry, Julie. Texas has got you covered," he was saying. She could tell he was concerned from the way he used her real name.
Once seated in the driver's seat with Julie on his lap, Texas took a moment to brush aside her bangs and gently wipe away bits of grit and gravel embedded in her fair skin. A tender contusion had formed above her eye that his big fingers managed to skirt. He wasn't the least bit hesitant about wiping away that embarrassing trickle of drool at the corner of her lip. While she still couldn't move, Julie was starting to feel much better.
Stronghorn emitted a thunderous growl as Texas fired up the engine and the vehicle began to roll. Rather than place her in the passenger seat behind him where he couldn't see her, Texas held her in his lap and strapped them into the driver's seat together. Here he could keep her warm and secure with her legs slung over his thigh and her back supported by his arm as he gripped the wheel.
"Alright, 9-Lives is all hooked up and ready to go," he assured once 9-Lives was hitched to the back of his car. "Texas is gonna take you back to HQ, put you somewhere comfy and then he's gonna get every blanket he can find and put it on ya. And maybe get some ice for that nasty goose-egg on your forehead."
Even if she couldn't respond, it was nice just to hear him speaking to her, addressing her like a conscious person. The closeness of his voice, the subtle vibration of his big chest with every word he spoke, the comforting warmth of his body heat that was quickly seeping into her and pushing out the cold — it all felt absolutely wonderful. She could hear his heart thrumming at full throttle against her ear but his breaths were deep and controlled. "Mike and the guys'll have this all figured out soon, just hang in there, okay? We need you."
Never before had she witnessed Texas acting like this. It was as if he'd grown up and developed a serious side without anyone noticing. Since when did Texas care about her so much and behave like a responsible adult? The way he kept doing and saying all the right things made her wish she could just curl into him even closer, or at least offer an encouraging smile. The threat of Kane against Motorcity was still present in her mind but after those long, agonizing moments spent lying there immobilized, the thought had taken a backseat to great relief.
In the meantime, Texas kept talking to her. There was always a chance she could still hear him, which he doubted, but he did it anyway. "Yeah, I bet it sucks being so gorked out like that, huh. You're probably gettin' pretty thirsty by now. And hungry."
Uh, now that you mention it... she replied in her mind, feeling a little thirsty.
"Bet your nose is all itchy and stuff, too."
Oh no. Texas, no. Don't-
"And you probably have to go to the bathroom really bad!"
TEXAS!
"Man, I hope this stuff wears off soon." He was quiet for a moment, just the hum of Stronghorn's engine in the background. The longer Julie remained unresponsive, the more worried he became. Supposedly, Kane was still experimenting with the toxin and its affect on people. What if she had too much and never came out of it? The thought made his chest ache. "Look, I know I don't say it often enough but you're one heck of a Burner, Julie. Don't ever think otherwise. Without you our cars would probably be crushed up into little cube things by now and with us still inside 'em! You're important is what Texas is trying to say. Just wish I could tell you that now and you could, y'know, hear me and stuff."
Texas... I do hear you.
From outside came the low mechanical whine of a grunt bot and sounds of lasers firing at the vehicle. "Looks like we got company. Hang on, Julie, Texas has got this," he said reassuringly. Julie couldn't see it but could readily visualize the confident grin on his face.
His thighs parted as Texas stomped down on Stronghorn's dual booster pedals and Julie sank a little lower in his lap. The following burst of acceleration held her snug against his body as the car blasted forward like a missile, jets of red flame shooting from its exhaust and all six tires ripping at the earth. Something struck the car, rattling it in its chassis, but Julie wasn't worried. For the first time she felt like she could count on Texas to keep his word and have her back while she was down.