AN: Hey guys, before this chapter starts, I just wanted to mention the recent passing of Gilbert Gottfried, legendary comedian and the voice of Iago from "Aladdin." Like many other actors it's a shame to lose someone with as much wit and talent as Mr. Gottfried, and I wanted to give my thanks to him for voicing one of my favorite Disney sidekicks of all time. Rest in Peace, and may your legacy live on in the hearts of your fans.

With that out of the way, enjoy today's racing action!


Race 4: San Fransokyo

"Today is a sunny day in the high-tech city of San Fransokyo!" Mickey announced. "The racers are all gearing up for what's sure to be another day of high-speed action."

"The city's hills and tight corners are sure to make it interesting out there on the track," Lightning nodded. "Let's get down to the starting line so our racers can begin!"

[***]

Gabriel looked off the side of the Golden Gate Bridge, in awe at the architecture of the city ahead. "Seeing the city of San Francisco with Japanese influence up close… it's amazing! I gotta meet up with Hiro and his friends after the race."

"You and your superheroes," Jasiri chuckled.

"I'm feeling good about today, guys," Aline said to her team. "We're in the lead when it comes to points, so let's keep on the pressure!"

"Racers, let's get to your vehicles so we can begin!" Cruz called.

The teams all got in their cars, engines revved up and ready to go as the countdown began.

3

2

1

GO!

The racers tore up the streets as they zoomed down the Golden Gate Bridge. "The Hex Rider starts off in the first today, with Heart of a Jaquin close behind, followed by SEA Racer!"

"Let's keep our lead with a fireworks attack!" Luz said as they passed the first set of item boxes.

"On it!" Sprig said, firing off the item. The firework missed Toren, however, leaving the Jaquin to grin as his team used their own firework against the Hex Rider, taking the lead. "Talk about returning to sender!"

"Sweet, Eda got her special!" Beth cheered, all we have to do is-"

Eda suddenly slumped over, before sitting back up dazed as blue ghostly energy waved off of her. "Sorry, but I'll be taking this for my team," Melanie said, appearing over Eda.

"What was that!?" Bonkers said with fright.

"Melanie's special move is using her ghost powers to take other people's items, including specials!" Adam said, before his team used the boost special to get ahead. "See you guys at the finish line!"

"That's broken!" Beth shouted in annoyance.

"I think that's the first time I've seen Beth angry at anyone," Bonkers whispered to Perry, the platypus nodding in agreement.

"Shoot, we're behind in the race already," Vanellope said. She started glowing with her special ability. "Don't worry team, I'll move us ahead with a little glitch!" Their car teleported ahead two spots, landing just behind the Gracious Bird as it used a boost to maintain fourth place.

"Hey guys! Hope you're enjoying the race!" Della called back to them.

"We are, but you should help Logan focus on the road," Rachel called back.

The racers entered Downtown San Fransokyo, where tall skyscrapers with eco-efficient fish kite wind turbines floated overhead, bringing power to the city. "Now's the time to mention one of our sponsors for today's race: Krei Tech, always pushing towards the future at any cost."

"And without testing most of their products," Gabriel said, rolling his eyes. "Luckily for San Fransokyo, Big Hero 6 is here to stop whatever villains turn Krei Tech against them."

"Look, the Krei Trech building us just ahead," Lop said, pointing it out in the skyline.

The racers all made use of a temporary ramp to drive up onto the Krei Tech building, drifting around the roof to snag the next set of items as they headed towards Uptown San Fransokyo. Inside his office, Alistair Krei spit out his coffee as he watched the racers drive by.

"Judy, why are there cars driving on my roof?" Krei asked.

Judy, Krei's associate, held out her itinerary. "You signed off on the Magical World Grand Prix using our building in their race as part of a sponsorship."

"Oh, I did do that, didn't I," Krei shrugged. "It does give me a new idea, though: roads that go over buildings!"

Judy sighed as she made a reminder to call Hiro whenever Krei's new idea inevitably backfired on him. Back with the racers, they were in the hilly part of Uptown San Fransokyo, with Toren launching a firework back at Adam to maintain the lead. The cyborg didn't have time to recover either, as Aline launched her own firework against the SEA Racer as well, with a special fireball from Poe being the final insult to injury.

"Man, they really have it out for us today," Iron Man said.

"I think the kids these days use the phrase "Get Mario Karted" for incidents like this," Athena said.

"Good for you picking up modern lingo, Athena," Adam praised.

"Please focus on the road, dear," Melanie said as they fell towards the back of the pack.

"Della, can you get us through with your special move?" Logan asked.

The duck smiled, swapping seats as she took the wheel. "I'll dodge anything that gets in our way, because nothing stops Della Duck!" She drove the Gracious Bird down some back alleys, performing close-calls with other cars but expertly staying on track.

"These hills would be great to jump over," Beth mused.

"I can agree with that," Gabriel nodded. "Hey, with both have our specials, so why don't we duet with this one?"

"This'll be so cool, teaming up with the Dream Keeper in a duet!" Beth said with excitement.

Both team leaders activated their specials, with Beth singing out to boost her car while Gabriel transformed into his dragon form, pushing Fantasia magic to its limit to supercharge the Concerto Comet. The other racers watched as the two teams jumped over the hills in the road, singing all the way.

'Cause we could be immortals, immortals!

Just not for long, for long!

And live with me forever now!

Pull the blackout curtains down!

Just not for long, for long!

We could be immor- Immortals!

Immor- Immortals!

Both the Concerto Comet and Toon Buggy were now in second just behind Heart of a Jaquin as they came up to the pitstop challenge.

[***]

"Pitstop!" Guido announced.

"So, what's the challenge today, Cruz?" Toren asked.

"Well, this is San Fransokyo, so we wanted you guys to have a break to try out some of the local food," Cruz explained. "So we booked the Lucky Cat Café for all of you to enjoy."

"Sweet! This was on my list to visit!" Gabriel said excitedly.

The teams all entered the café, giving their orders to Aunt Cass as they sat at the tables and enjoyed the atmosphere. Gabriel and Rachel's teams sat together, with Gabriel ordering a strawberry banana smoothie with a BLT, Jasiri a Sakura green tea with roast beef sandwich, Rocket a boba tea with pastrami sandwich, and Lop an Oolong tea with egg salad. Rachel got a coffee with ham and cheese sandwich, Poe a boba tea with salted caramel macaroons, Vanellope a strawberry smoothie with cookies on the side, and Bruno an Oolong tea with an egg salad sandwich.

"You know, I thought there were some other robots that worked here, Aunt Cass," Gabriel asked as his food was served.

"Oh, you mean Noodle Burger Boy and his family? They decided to move to EPCOT and open another Lucky Cat Café there," Cass answered. "To be honest, as much help as they were, they could be a bit overbearing at times."

"Yeah, Season 3 had tonal issues compared to the more serialized first two seasons," Gabriel nodded.

"It seems that Disney shows can't catch a break going past the third season," Rachel mused. "Star Vs. got more controversial with the fans after Season 2, Jasiri knows all about how Lion Guard Season 3 was weird, and Big Hero 6 decided to drop down to eleven-minute episodes in their third season to focus on comedy."

"At least my show had an excellent run, though I would have liked to have gotten one more season," Poe said. "I hear Amphibia is going out with a bang as well."

"And the Owl House is as controversial as ever," Gabriel sighed.

"Wait, I thought you like The Owl House?" Jasiri questioned.

"I mean, I like parts of it, like Eda and Hunter and everything going on with the Emperor Belos subplot, but I feel like looking back on it, the first season could have been more streamlined to tell its overarching narrative better instead of doing silly things," Gabriel explained. "Like, did they need to waste time with a body swap episode instead of giving the audience more character development for Gus and Willow? Season 2 is better in that respect, but it almost feels like the show is playing on fast forward to catch up because they know they only have half a season and three TV movies left to tell their story."

"I can see your point," Aline said as she stopped by their table, a smoothie in hand. "I mean, I really love the show, but I can understand wanting to have more story-focused episodes in the first season."

"Exactly! For comparison's sake, Ducktales had a number of "filler" episodes too, but each one served to flesh out the cast for the big finale each season," Gabriel nodded. "But when you look at the first season of the Owl House, everything with Gus, Willow, and Amity doesn't matter as much because the finale only focuses on Luz, King, Eda, and Lilith. Compare that to the first season of Ducktales, where every one of the main characters participated in the Shadow War, and even minor characters like Glomgold and Gizmoduck at least cameoed to show what they were trying to resolve the situation as well."

"We should discuss this more another time," Aline said. "It's nice to hear someone else's opinion on the show."

"And it's nice to be able to talk with someone that doesn't immediately assume me criticizing the show means I'm a "hater" or make horrible accusations of what kind of person I am. I think Luz and Amity being together is't the problem, in fact they're the furthest away from that," Gabriel said. "It's cool to have that kind of relationship in a kids show involving the main character."

Aline nodded and walked away to her table. "Wow kid, it sounded like you had some of that held up inside for some time now," Rocket noted.

"Unfortunately, Rocket, some people on the internet don't take kindly to any kind of critique of something they love and feel the need to attack those critics as people instead of giving real counterarguments to said critiques," Gabriel explained. "It's a fandom thing, and that's why I tend not to voice my opinions on large fandom properties like the Owl House."

"Hah, fandom, more like "fan-dumb," am I right?" Toren joked, getting a chuckle out of the people in the restaurant.

"Indeed. A toast to reasonable discussions as normal people," Rachel said, holding up her drink.

"CHEERS!" everyone replied.

[***]

With their café break over with, the racers headed back out onto the track, refreshed and ready to race. "There's a three-way tie for first as Gabriel, Toren, and Beth all battle it out in Uptown San Fransokyo!" Lightning announced.

The race soon came up on the Fredrickson Mansion, with the next set of items sure to cause some chaos as they raced through the backyard of the house. "Sprig, put that special to use!" Aline ordered.

Sprig used his scattershot to target the lead racers, though he only got Beth in front of them as Toren and Gabriel used a boost to move head. "I got one more shot for the guys behind us," Sprig said. He aimed at the Gracious Bird, only for the car to suddenly blip out of existence. "Huh, where'd they go?"

There was a rumble beneath the Hex Rider as the car was suddenly sent flipping backwards, with the Gracious Bird appearing in front of them. "That's the power of Pym Particles for you!" Ant Man called.

"See you at the finish line!" Logan laughed as they pulled ahead.

"I've got the Sweet Vision in my sights," Athena stated, tossing a bomb so they could pull ahead of Rachel.

"The final stretch is up ahead," Mickey announced. "It's a downhill ride from here-"

"WAIT!" Jet Pack Guy called, flying up to where Toren and Gabriel were. "I just got visuals on the road ahead: it looks like someone blew up the sewer system, leaving the roads unusable."

"But there's nowhere else to go from here!" Toren replied. "And on top of that, if we stop now, all of us will crash!"

"That's where we come in," said a voice. Jet Pack Guy looked up to see Hiro and Baymax flying in, with the rest of Big Hero 6 there as well. "Don't worry guys, we'll secure the area so you can finish the race."

"Yeah, go Big Hero 6!" Gabriel cheered.

Honey Lemon used her Chem Purse to free the rushing water that shot out of the sewers, creating ice pillars that Wasabi easily cut through. As the racers went down the slick streets, one of the nearby warehouses started to collapse, only for Baymax and Fredzilla to jump in the way and hold the building in place.

"This building is very heavy," Fred said.

"Luckily, Hiro has modified our suits to deal with increased pressure from falling objects," Baymax stated.

"Heads up, racers, follow me and I'll lead you to the finish," Go Go said, speeding ahead thanks to her Mag-Lev skates.

"This is so cool, getting to see Big Hero 6 in action up close," Logan gushed.

"And their technology… I have to see if we could collaborate at some point," Adam mused.

"Don't forget about your internship with me, kid," Iron Man pointed out.

As Big Hero 6 continued to stop various unforeseen disasters on the track, the racers picked up some more items to battle with. Gabriel dropped a banana to slow Logan down, though Logan had a boost power to recover with, while Toren used a boost to keep his lead. Rachel managed to get her special, summoning Maleficent's Bane to speed ahead a few places and cut down more obstacles, helping Big Hero 6 in the process as well.

"Hey Wasabi, you should get a cool sword like that!" Fred said.

"He does have one, Fred, but only his Marvel Comics Universe version," Go Go said.

"Woah, we have alternate universe counterparts!?" Fred shouted.

"The racers are in the final stretch!" Lightning called. "Keep on dodging and racing to the finish line!"

"Here we are at the end," Silver said, moving up in the race.

"Maybe you could give Hiro an internship too, Mr. Stark," Adam suggested as they moved up a place.

"Rachel, thanks for making this race so much fun!" Beth said as she passed Sweet Vision.

"Glad you've been enjoying it, despite the interruptions," Rachel said.

"Just keep up the pace to the end," Aline muttered to herself.

"I'll make sure I outpace you then!" Logan said as they were tied neck-and-neck.

"Toren great job holding the lead today!" Gabriel said to the Jaquin.

"You never made it easy, Gabriel!" Toren laughed as the finish line came up, just outside the SFIT campus.

"Heart of a Jaquin takes first!" Mickey called as the flag was waved. "Concerto Comet comes in second, with Gracious Bird in third! What a "big" way to end the race, and thanks to Big Hero 6 for saving the race from that unexpected sewer burst."

Toren and Nico gave each other a high five as Daisy came to them for the interview. "Toren, you were the winning team this time. How does it feel being the youngest racer?"

"I'll admit, I think I'm more in this for the fun than for winning," Toren said. "But boy does it feel good to win!" And that last part of the race was crazy!"

"Those guys in colorful suits were cool too," Nico added.

"Not as cool as I'll be once you give me my trophy for winning," King butted in. Perry made a noise, making King look at him in shock. "Wait, we have to win that whole competition to get a prize? But I want a trophy now!"

"Don't worry King, we'll find something to serve as your prize," Toren assured his teammate.

As the other teams congratulated Toren, Gabriel and Rachel met with jet Pack Guy and Hiro to discuss the last part of the race. "So it can't be a coincidence that the sewers just randomly burst like that," Rachel said.

"Yeah, I have a hunch that whoever messed with the race back on Tatooine did this as well," Jet Pack Guy nodded.

"I need to thank you again, Hiro, for your team jumping in to save the race," Gabriel said.

"It's just what we do," Hiro said humbly. Suddenly a laugh was heard, and a smaller version of Baymax flew down and landed on Hiro's shoulder. "Mini-Max, what did you find?"

"I investigated the sewers and found this!" Mini-Max said, holding out what looked like a severed robot limb.

"So a robot caused this," Gabriel said. "Do you think it's one of your villains, Hiro?"

The superhero shook his head. "This doesn't look like any of Krei's tech, or anyone else from San Fransokyo either."

Rachel took a closer look at the robot limb. "Huh, it kinda looks like a bug leg of some kind. A spider, maybe?"

"Villains with a spider motif isn't a lot to go off of," Jet Pack Guy said. "I'll take it back to the lab and have Gary the Gadget Guy analyze it. If anyone can identify this robot leg, it's him."

"Keep us notified," Gabriel said.


Total Points

Gabriel (24)

Aline (22)

Toren (20)

Rachel (19)

Silver (18)

Logan (17)

Adam (12)

Beth (12)

Author's Notes


And that was San Fransokyo! If you haven't yet, I do recommend seeing "Big Hero 6: The Series" as it's a lot of fun and continues the story of the movie. The gang even get new upgrades for their outfits to become better heroes! The third season does fall off, though, so you can stop after the second season if you wish.

Gabriel's talk with Aline and Rachel in the Lucky Cat Café is my honest opinions on "The Owl House" at the time of writing this. I still watch the show, mostly for Eda and Hunter, but I'm starting to pick up on certain writing decisions that make me like it less than I originally did. As Gabriel said, while it's fine that I has some problems with the show, the real issue is one that a lot of fandoms have, where even if you have the slightest critique of the show people on the internet will dog you and have you "canceled" for it. As a creator I think that just ends up gatekeeping and turning potential watchers away from the show (the opposite of what any fandom wants), which is why I promote for people to have reasonable discussions and to hear out everyone's side of the story when it comes to topics like favorite shows. Heck, even some shows I like I have criticisms of, so don't be afraid to voice your opinion, as long as you do it in a way that is respectful and not demeaning to those that do enjoy the show (aka don't harass the fans or else you're just stooping down to their level of pettiness).

On another topic, looks like someone used some robots to attack the racers one more. I wonder who has spider-like robots like the one Mini-Max found? Gabriel and Rachel are on the case to look out for trouble, that's for sure…

Next Time: Life is like a hurricane in the next race!