As Gloria drove, her smooth test-drive to that point pleased her. Thanks to the on-board radio, she tracked her colleagues' encounters with VENOM and made sure she kept a safe distance away from any trouble. However, as she drove up a hill, she noticed something peculiar.
"Hey, that's Iguana. It looks like Lester is picking on a defenseless driver. I'm sorry, Matt, but I guess I'll be seeing what this little baby can do," she said.
"Mask!" she called out. Her mask automatically dropped down on top of her head. She flipped the lever that switched the vehicle from normal driving to defense mode. Being a prototype, she had no idea what to expect. And, Matt was right. What if this vehicle had no functioning weapons? She realized her mask may be the only weapon she had at her disposal. But it didn't matter now; she had to do something before Lester did.
Her race car, still with no official name, went slightly airborne thanks to under-body thrusters. The sides of the vehicle slowly pulled away from each other and all four tires pointed away from and behind the vehicle. Thrusters inside the tires ignited and sent the vehicle further airborne. Meanwhile, the front portion of the vehicle, now the tips of its wings, opened to reveal micro-lasers.
This reminds me of Julio's vehicle, Firefly, Gloria thought. A quick look at her instrumentation revealed normal readings, but both her fire buttons were red. "That's not good, the weapons should be ready on transformation," she told herself. Another quick look showed that the smaller fire button now lit up green.
"Let's see what this one does," she said. She pressed the fire button, not sure what might happen. The micro-lasers fired towards Lester.
Back on the ground, Lester and Iguana continued to slowly close down on Ahsoka. Backing up further wasn't an option; another step back would impale her on cactus spikes. However, the business end of Iguana's shredder blade wasn't a better choice. An unexpected explosion, though, knocked her off her feet. Additionally, it took Lester by surprise.
"What? How did Trakker get here?" he yelled in disbelief as he saw the flying race car.
"Who says I'm Matt Trakker?" Gloria replied through the open frequency.
"Whoever you are, you're not going to ruin my shredding!" a defiant Lester yelled.
Gloria, undaunted, pressed the now-green large fire button. She felt the vehicle lurch slightly as a high-intensity laser beam shot out from the vehicle's oxygen intake. The explosion nearly knocked Lester off Iguana.
Ahsoka, having a chance to refocus, remembered she wasn't as defenseless as she initially thought. She quickly used the Force to pick up both Iguana and Lester and hurled both a distance away.
In the air, Gloria looked on in disbelief.
"Wow, that laser was sure powerful if it did that!" she exclaimed. She had no idea that it was Ahsoka who sent Iguana airborne. Still, she reached a point close to Ahsoka and converted the vehicle back to normal. After a smooth touchdown, she stopped in front of the Togruta Jedi.
"Hey, it's you. Are you okay?" Gloria asked.
Ahsoka caught her breath and regained her composure. "I'm fine, but my motorcycle isn't – no thanks to that weirdo," she replied.
"Let's get out of here before he comes after us."
Ahsoka nodded. "Good idea," she replied. She Force-pulled her lightsabers back to her hands and re-attached them to her belt. She could always remove Lester's hardened mud later. As she reached Gloria's race car, the sight of a second seat behind the main one surprised her.
"Room for two?" Ahsoka asked curiously.
"Pretty handy, huh? Let's get going," Gloria replied.
Lester got up and brushed the dirt off of himself. He had no idea what just happened, but he wasn't too pleased to be defeated—especially by women.
"I'll get you!" Lester yelled as he shook his fist. He then floored Iguana's accelerator.
"This guy doesn't give up," Ahsoka muttered.
"And neither do I," Gloria assured Ahsoka. "Aura, on," she called. Her mask fired a yellow wave of energy that knocked Iguana off balance once again.
This time, Lester conceded defeat. He pulled Iguana upright again and removed his mask. Pulling out his smart phone, he looked at it through his sunglasses.
"I've had it. I'm getting out of here before someone trashes my shredder blade. Hmm, there's a custard place five miles away. Ice cream sounds good about now. Ironic though, custard near a Native American reservation," he said as laughed hysterically. After putting his phone back into his pocket, he remounted Iguana and took off towards town.
As Gloria and Ahsoka sped off, Ahsoka reflected on her near-death experience. Oddly, his voice sounded familiar. But it can't be. I'd remember if I ever meet a sleemo like that before, she thought.
While Calhoun and Brad stood up to Vanessa's latest attack, she still succeeded in bombing the second crossing over the Rio Grande. Convinced there was no way she could be stopped, she flew Manta across the damaged bridge and sped on towards victory.
"What do we do now?" Brad asked Calhoun.
"Whatever we do, it has to be fast. Otherwise, Vanessa is going to win," Calhoun replied.
"If the crossing was smaller, I might be able to get Razorback across."
"That's it Brad. I have an idea, if you don't mind a temporary reduction."
Brad eyed his colleague suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?"
"Just get into Razorback. I have to do this now if we have any chance of winning."
Brad nodded and got back into his vehicle. Calhoun used his Gulliver Mask to shrink Razorback with Brad inside. It now stood about 3½ inches [8½ cm] tall. Calhoun quickly scooped up the miniaturized vehicle and secured it inside Raven.
Calhoun quickly converted Raven and drove toward the river. Although navigating the river's current was tricky, Calhoun managed to drive Raven to a spot not too far from the course's original crossing. As soon as he reached solid ground, he converted Raven back to a Corvette. He then grabbed the miniaturized Razorback and put it outside.
"Gulliver, grow!" he said. In a matter of seconds, Razorback—and Brad—returned to their original sizes.
"That was ingenious, but I hope I'm not that small again any time soon," Brad quipped.
"Thanks, but we've got a race to finish. And we need to warn Ali and Gloria," Calhoun replied.
"Ali should be okay. Bullet converts to a hovercraft. But Gloria might have problems. We better warn her."
"Thanks, Brad. This vehicle can convert to a jet similar to Firefly, but I'm quite low on fuel. I hope I have enough," Gloria replied through her mask's built-in radio.
"I just wanted to warn you. See you soon," Brad replied.
Ahsoka listened to the conversation. She felt she might be able to help Gloria if the latter trusted her.
"Gloria, I can help you cross the damaged bridge without flying. That way you save your fuel," Ahsoka stated.
Gloria kept her eyes on the road, but she acknowledged Ahsoka's statement. "How can you do that? It's not like you have Bruce's lifter mask," she replied.
"I can do it. You have to trust me. Let me help you for saving me from that maniac."
Gloria shifted in her seat. "If you can do what you say, go ahead. We're almost there," she replied.
"The only thing is that I need complete concentration. So until I'm done, try to be as quiet as possible."
Gloria nodded.
Ahsoka sensed the end of the road fast approaching. She closed her eyes and slowly raised her hands.
Feeling the vehicle raise off the ground surprised Gloria. Since it wasn't the result of jet mode, she wanted to ask how it was possible. However, she respected Ahsoka's request for silence.
Ahsoka, despite her closed eyes, continued to sense the vehicle as it crossed above the damaged bridge and the Rio Grande. Her montrals buzzed with various sensations, but she did her best to stay focused. Finally, she sensed solid ground and slowly lowered her hands until she felt the vehicle softly touch down again.
Gloria felt the vehicle briefly lurch as it retouched the pavement, but it quickly returned to normal.
"That was amazing. I just hope that saved us enough fuel. How did you do that, anyways?" Gloria asked.
"I have the ability to levitate objects in midair, provided I can keep my concentration," Ahsoka replied.
"Interesting," Gloria mumbled in a sub-audible voice. As curious as the comment was, she remained determined to reach the finish line.
Ace Riker flew as quickly as he could across the course. He was all too happy to help Brad and Calhoun track down Vanessa. He could only hope, however, he could find her before the finish line. Vanessa won once before at the Mesa Verde Memorial Road Race. If Ace had his way, it would remain her only win to date.
"It's time to slow her down. Cruise control, on. Snail pace," Ace said. Manta slowed down to a slight crawl.
Vanessa gnashed her teeth inside of her mask. She wasn't expecting Ace to interfere with her sure victory.
"You can't hold me forever, Riker!" she yelled.
"Guys, I got Vanessa. But cruise control's safety will shut it off if you don't make your move quick enough," Ace informed Brad and Calhoun.
"We're on our way!" Calhoun replied as both her and Brad floored their accelerators.
Meanwhile, Ace felt the cruise control beam slowly waver. He couldn't slow her down much longer.
"You only delayed the inevitable Riker. This time, MASK loses," she said.
Sure enough, the cruise control mask shut off. Ace remembered one last weapon he could try. If it failed, Vanessa's prediction would come true. As he sped up and flew over the top of manta, he dropped what looked like a depth charge. However, it wasn't a bomb in the usual sense. It exploded on its descent and released a fine orange-red powder.
Vanessa looked on in confusion. Ace's mask couldn't be slowing her down this time. Yet, Manta continued to slow down until it stopped moving altogether.
"What's happening?" she asked angrily while she frantically fiddled with her gearshift.
"I have an ace up my sleeve, Vanessa. I guess you've never encountered my metal freezing bomb ... until today," Ace replied.
Vanessa screamed in frustration. Once again, MASK foiled yet another bid for victory. To add insult to injury, Brad and Calhoun finally passed her up.
"Hey Vanessa, if you get hot under the collar, maybe you can thaw Manta out quicker," Brad said to tease her.
Vanessa shook her head in anger and banged her fist against the dashboard in disgust.
The races, if one could call them that, officially ended. Calhoun finished ahead of Brad in the four-wheel race. Ali finished the two-wheel race unchallenged. Gloria, with Ahsoka, also crossed the finish line.
As the group pulled into their garage, Duane waited for them.
"Duane, where's Matt and the chief?" Brad asked.
"They received a message that Miles was sighted in the pueblo's sacred grounds. They went to investigate," Duane replied.
Brad nodded.
Elsewhere, Ahsoka disembarked from Gloria's race car, surprising Cara.
"Ahsoka, what happened to you? And, where's your motorcycle?" she asked.
Ahsoka sighed, replying, "One of those masked weirdos sliced the front wheel off of it, and he nearly cut me in half, too."
"What about your lightsabers?"
Ahsoka detached them from her belt. "He shot this thick, icky mud at them. I couldn't use them. Thankfully, Gloria rescued me," she replied with a smile. She then tapped her lightsabers against the wall. Fortunately, the mud that encrusted her lightsabers fell off easily.
"I was afraid they'd target you," Cara said.
"I've been through much worse, master. It's not the first time I've cheated death."
"I just hope it's the last time for a while, Ahsoka. So, did you find anything out of the ordinary?"
"Just all those weird vehicles and masked drivers. I didn't sense any Sith presence at all."
"Me either, Ahsoka. We detained a few fans for disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, but that was it."
Ahsoka walked up to Gloria. "Thanks, again, for rescuing me from that weirdo," she said. She then looked at Gloria curiously.
Gloria had a puzzled look. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
Ahsoka smiled. "Not at all. I'm just glad someone else likes long boots, too. I get teased quite a bit because I wear them nearly all the time," she replied.
"Only when I'm with MASK. I like them, yes, but I like dressing like a girly girl, too."
Ahsoka nodded. Once again, she wasn't quite sure what Gloria's response meant.
"Thanks, again," Ahsoka said as the two women exchanged a handshake.
Clutch came running up to Ahsoka.
"There you are. I was able to find your motorcycle. Lester really did a number on it. Still, I could use it for spare parts. Would $50 be okay?" he asked.
Ahsoka turned to Cara. In her previous Jedi life, Ahsoka would likely turn down the payment due to her former order's rule restricting material possessions.
"It's okay Ahsoka," Cara assured her.
"Um, thanks," Ahsoka replied.
"Here you go: twenty, forty, and fifty," Clutch said as he gave her two twenty dollar bills and a ten dollar bill.
Ahsoka placed the money into the pouch attached to her belt. She didn't know what to do with it, but she promised herself she'd put it to good use somehow.
Calhoun came up to the group. He had a tray of small glasses holding a green liquid.
"As promised, a victory toast to celebrate with friends. Ladies, you can join us, too," he said.
As everyone picked up a glass, Cara looked at Ahsoka disapprovingly.
"Master, what's wrong?" Ahsoka asked.
"You're only 19. You have to be 21 to drink alcohol. A mint julep is alcoholic."
"Oh." Ahsoka's head-tail stripes darkened to convey her embarrassment.
"Hey, I have an idea. There's some limeade in this vending machine. I'll get you some," Gloria said. After dropping a number of quarters into the slot, she pushed a button. She then handed the bottle to Ahsoka.
"There. It's green, and you can drink it with us," she said.
Ahsoka nodded. "Thanks," she replied as she opened the cap. Everyone then toasted Calhoun for his first racing victory.
Buzzard continued to speed down an isolated highway.
"It's just over that hill, Maxie. We've found the albino cactus!" Miles exclaimed.
"And its potent juices will be all ours," Max replied.
The twin brothers parked Buzzard walked up to the top of the hill. As they spotted the cactus, something else caught their eyes. Matt Trakker and Nevada Rushmore waited for them on either side of the cactus.
"Miles, Max, what took you two so long?" Matt Trakker asked teasingly.
"Trakker! How did you get here?" Miles asked.
"Rumor has it the stork brought me."
Miles growled in frustration. "You can't stop me now, Trakker. It's too late. I've found the cactus," he said.
"But can you find it again?" Matt replied. "Shroud, on," he added. As his mask's visor blinked, thick purple fog started to surround the cactus.
"They can't fool me that easily. I'll get what I came for," Miles said as he pulled out a syringe.
"Miles, don't do it. It's too dangerous," Max warned.
"Brother, you stick to the low-risk stuff. I'll show you that not even Trakker can hide a cactus in the fog," Miles replied. He ran headlong into the purple smoke, eager to collect the sample he came for.
All of a sudden, Max heard his brother groaning and yelping in pain. As the fog lifted, there was no sign of the MASK agents. However, his brother laid on the ground flat on his back. Several cactus spikes protruded from his chest. More importantly, there was no sign of the syringe.
Max quickly ran over to his brother and gingerly helped him to his feet.
"Thanks," Miles said in a rare moment of gratitude. He then clenched his fist. "I may be stuck empty-handed, but I'll get you next time, Trakker," he vowed.
"Can you drive? We'll get you to the nearest hospital," Max said.
"I think so, but a seat belt is definitely out of the question."
"I could always use deep-freeze to numb the pain,"
Miles backed away. "You'd freeze me to death. No thanks!" he replied. He quickly entered his driving pod and revved the engine.
Max sighed. After all these races, he still didn't understand his brother's motives or his personality. All he could do is follow him and make sure he got the necessary medical attention.
"Maybe I should go back to robbing banks," he lamented.
"So, Nevada and you stopped Miles?" Clutch asked.
"Yup. Let's just say Miles got himself into a rather prickly situation," Matt replied. Everyone laughed despite the pun.
Nearby, Ahsoka and Cara had their own conversation.
"We should work on our reports so we can leave tomorrow morning," Cara said.
Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, master. The sooner, the better," she replied.
"Excuse me. Do you really have to leave so soon?" Nevada asked.
"Well, our part of the mission is over. You have no further need of us. So we need to return home, report about what happened, and be ready for our next assignment," Ahsoka explained.
"I'd really like it if you could stay tomorrow, even if only for the morning. The inter-tribal pow-wow will take place, and I'd love to have you as invited guests. You can even learn more about Native American culture and sample our food and wares."
Ahsoka appeared intrigued by the idea. "Can we, master?" she asked Cara.
Cara pondered the invitation. "I think we could stay for half the day. After all, this would give you a better chance to learn more about American culture. I can't see the Grand Master turning down a chance for you to learn more about that. I'll contact him now and make sure it's okay," she replied. She then left for their room.
"Ahsoka, you seem very interested in tomorrow's activities," Nevada told her.
"Very much. I have to leave now, but I would like to ask you some questions. It seems like you and I might have some things in common," she replied.
"I look forward to it. Sleep well and I'll see you tomorrow. We start at 9 o'clock sharp."
Ahsoka nodded and left for her room. She'd complete her report tonight, if possible. That way, she could enjoy at least one part of the mission. Although her race didn't end the way she had hoped it would, tomorrow's plans seemed interesting enough to make up for it.