Disclaimer: I do not have enough money to own either the X-Men or a new T-
Bird. All part of being a college student, I guess.
Lance and Kitty pulled up to the filming site to find Logan already waiting for him. Logan looked at Lance suspiciously as they got out of the jeep.
"What is he doing here?" Logan asked Kitty as he pulled her aside.
"He's just here to watch," said Kitty.
"As if I didn't have enough on my hands," Logan muttered.
Kitty walked into a trailer and emerged a few minutes later wearing a gray fire proof racing suit and carrying a helmet under her arm. "Like, don't they have anything in a more Fall color?" she asked.
Logan rolled his eyes. Here she was, potentially about to wreck half the city, and all she could think about was how she looked! She wasn't even going to be on camera! How vain!
He grabbed her shoulder as she was getting into the car, a brand-new white T-Bird. "Ok, I won't be able to be in the car with you during any of this, so please, PLEASE just stick to the script. Don't try and improvise anything,"
"Relax, Mr. Logan, everything will be fine," Kitty said.
Logan didn't quite share her confidence. They'd reconfigured the Danger Room so that Kitty would be able to practice the stunts, but there was one she had still not been able to get quite right. Logan just hoped that all would go well.
"Good luck, kid," he said as Kitty closed the door.
The director picked up a bullhorn and turned it on. "Ok, people, it's time to film the big chase scene! Now we only have enough daylight to do this once, so it has to be absolutely perfect! Places everybody, and 3, 2, 1, action!"
Kitty started up the car and waited for her cue. A half a block behind her, a woman ran out of a building, holding a bag in one hand. She opened the door of another T-Bird, identical to the one Kitty was sitting in. That was Kitty's cue to start her engine. A few seconds later, 3 black sedans pulled out from the alley behind the building, and Kitty took off, with the sedans in hot pursuit.
Kitty was driving at about 60 mph. Occasionally, one of the sedans would get close enough to take a stab at her bumper, as the script called for, but for the first couple minutes, she was able to stay ahead. The movie called for the gangsters to try and intimidate the jewel thief at this point, and that's exactly what an observer would have seen.
She threw the car hard around a corner, the back end fishtailing a bit as it took the corner at the high speed. The sedans followed closely. One of them crashed through the front patio of a sidewalk café, sending chairs, tables, and actor/patrons scattering in its wake. Next, she hopped the curb through a small park, sending a flock of pigeons flying away.
It was getting time for the first stunt. She could see the trucks up at the top of the small hill she was about to climb, and floored the gas. Suddenly, she felt a bang as one of the chase cars slammed into her from the right side. Another one formed up on her right side, and the cars began to take turns smashing into her as they climbed the hill. Kitty kept her cool; this was just another part of the script.
She hit the gas, pulling away from the two cars just as the first truck began to pull through the intersection. The truck was carrying a large pane of glass that was easily the length of the intersection. The back end of the glass pane was being held up by another truck about 5 feet off the ground. Kitty saw it growing closer and closer, and gave the car one last spurt of gas to help her clear the top of the hill. A few seconds later, she felt the car lift off, and she crashed head on through the giant piece of glass. Shards went flying everywhere as the chase cars followed through the glass shower. One of the cars tried to dodge the pieces as it jumped over the hill, and wound up taking a bad angle and crashing through the window of a storefront. The back end hung out of the window, its wheels spinning madly as its driver crawled out of the wreckage.
Kitty could only imagine the footage and the angles being used for her stunts, but as far as she was concerned, she had the best seat in the house. She turned down a side street and headed for the freeway. This next stunt was going to require perfect timing.
Logan sat next to Forest as they both rode in the helicopter that was filming the aerial footage for the scene. Logan was very nervous about what this particular stunt would involve; it was something he didn't think he'd be able to pull off without a LOT of practice, and Kitty had only had two days worth in the simulator. Even with that, she had only been able to land this stunt about half the time.
Kitty zoomed towards the freeway on-ramp, the chase cars right on her bumper. She saw the semi-truck that was supposed to be her target. It looked like everything was in place. Here goes, she thought, and drove up the ramp at well over 100 mph.
She launched into space, and landed on top of the semi's trailer just as it passed under the bridge. The car skidded along the roof of the trailer, drove down the cab, and landed on the freeway with a hard jolt. She heard the truck driver sound his horn in scripted shock as her car drove down the hood of his cab. Kitty lost control of the car as it landed and it spun out, stalling.
She was very nearly clipped by an on-coming car as traffic began to back up behind the semi. Behind her, she saw the lead chase car attempt the same stunt, but it came up well short and crashed through the back of the semi. The second one, as scripted, played it smart and drove down the opposite on- ramp, heading straight for her.
Back at the control tent, Lance watched the action as it was being filmed. To say he was impressed would have been a gross understatement. "Summers wouldn't even be able to pull THAT one off!" he said, feeling extremely lucky to have Kitty as his girlfriend.
Kitty struggled to re-fire the engine. At the last second, she got it started and sped out of the way before the third car could ram her. The chase car did a 180 and resumed the pursuit.
Kitty drove down the expressway, looking for the exit she was supposed to take leading to the next part of the scene. She saw it, but there was a problem; a tanker truck was in the lane between her and the exit, and at the speed she was going, there was no way she'd be able to make it unless.
Forest and Logan watched nervously up in the helicopter. Forest had seen the tanker and was very worried that Kitty wouldn't be able to make to the exit. Suddenly, he saw Kitty's T-Bird veer towards the tanker. "What is she doing!" he shouted.
Logan knew exactly what Kitty was doing, and grinned as Kitty drove beneath the oil tanker. She had just enough clearance that she wouldn't have to phase through it, which was a good thing since there was a camera pointed directly at her from the exit. She made it over and sped down the off-ramp, the chase car still in pursuit.
Kitty swerved around corners and down alleys, trying to lose the last car. As scripted, it stuck with her, debris bouncing off its fenders as Kitty drove through stacks of newspapers and boxes to try and shake him off. She saw the entrance to a construction site and power-slid around the corner, her destination in site.
She drove through the entrance of the site, breaking down the wooden fence that had been placed there. She slalomed around girders and construction equipment. Suddenly, she heard a shot ring out. As scripted, the last bunch of gangsters had grown impatient and had begun to shoot at her, with empty bullets of course. She heard the shots ricochet off her bumper and fly off every which way. One "bullet" struck a propane tank and it exploded (with a little help from the stunt crew), jumping into the air and nearly crashing into Kitty's car. The gangsters had to swerve to miss it, and kept following.
Another "shot" went through the hood of a crane. It "hit" the driver in the chest, who "died" as scripted, falling onto the crane controls. The girder it had been hoisting came crashing down into a pre-dug ditch, sticking up in the air and forming a perfect ramp. Kitty aimed at it, ready to pull off her last stunt.
Lance panicked when he saw the bullets start flying. "They're shooting at her!" he shouted. Several crewmen gave him a "Well, duh!" look, but one came up and reassured him. "Don't worry, kid, they're just blanks. Nothing's going to happen today unless we plan for it to happen," Lance relaxed a little, and went back to watching Kitty drive.
Kitty drove straight up the girder without hesitation and landed back outside the construction site. Inside, the driver of the last car panicked and hit the brakes. He did not slow down in time, and the gangster car flew off the girder and landed inside a large cement mixer.
"Brilliant!" cried Foster in triumph. "She got it in the can on the first take! I'll tell you something, Mr. Logan, you have a real gem on your hands! How'd you ever find her?"
"Long story, bub," said Logan, thankful that the only things that had gotten blown up were the ones that were supposed to.
Next time: An unexpected visitor crashes the party. Buckle up, this scene's just getting started!
Lance and Kitty pulled up to the filming site to find Logan already waiting for him. Logan looked at Lance suspiciously as they got out of the jeep.
"What is he doing here?" Logan asked Kitty as he pulled her aside.
"He's just here to watch," said Kitty.
"As if I didn't have enough on my hands," Logan muttered.
Kitty walked into a trailer and emerged a few minutes later wearing a gray fire proof racing suit and carrying a helmet under her arm. "Like, don't they have anything in a more Fall color?" she asked.
Logan rolled his eyes. Here she was, potentially about to wreck half the city, and all she could think about was how she looked! She wasn't even going to be on camera! How vain!
He grabbed her shoulder as she was getting into the car, a brand-new white T-Bird. "Ok, I won't be able to be in the car with you during any of this, so please, PLEASE just stick to the script. Don't try and improvise anything,"
"Relax, Mr. Logan, everything will be fine," Kitty said.
Logan didn't quite share her confidence. They'd reconfigured the Danger Room so that Kitty would be able to practice the stunts, but there was one she had still not been able to get quite right. Logan just hoped that all would go well.
"Good luck, kid," he said as Kitty closed the door.
The director picked up a bullhorn and turned it on. "Ok, people, it's time to film the big chase scene! Now we only have enough daylight to do this once, so it has to be absolutely perfect! Places everybody, and 3, 2, 1, action!"
Kitty started up the car and waited for her cue. A half a block behind her, a woman ran out of a building, holding a bag in one hand. She opened the door of another T-Bird, identical to the one Kitty was sitting in. That was Kitty's cue to start her engine. A few seconds later, 3 black sedans pulled out from the alley behind the building, and Kitty took off, with the sedans in hot pursuit.
Kitty was driving at about 60 mph. Occasionally, one of the sedans would get close enough to take a stab at her bumper, as the script called for, but for the first couple minutes, she was able to stay ahead. The movie called for the gangsters to try and intimidate the jewel thief at this point, and that's exactly what an observer would have seen.
She threw the car hard around a corner, the back end fishtailing a bit as it took the corner at the high speed. The sedans followed closely. One of them crashed through the front patio of a sidewalk café, sending chairs, tables, and actor/patrons scattering in its wake. Next, she hopped the curb through a small park, sending a flock of pigeons flying away.
It was getting time for the first stunt. She could see the trucks up at the top of the small hill she was about to climb, and floored the gas. Suddenly, she felt a bang as one of the chase cars slammed into her from the right side. Another one formed up on her right side, and the cars began to take turns smashing into her as they climbed the hill. Kitty kept her cool; this was just another part of the script.
She hit the gas, pulling away from the two cars just as the first truck began to pull through the intersection. The truck was carrying a large pane of glass that was easily the length of the intersection. The back end of the glass pane was being held up by another truck about 5 feet off the ground. Kitty saw it growing closer and closer, and gave the car one last spurt of gas to help her clear the top of the hill. A few seconds later, she felt the car lift off, and she crashed head on through the giant piece of glass. Shards went flying everywhere as the chase cars followed through the glass shower. One of the cars tried to dodge the pieces as it jumped over the hill, and wound up taking a bad angle and crashing through the window of a storefront. The back end hung out of the window, its wheels spinning madly as its driver crawled out of the wreckage.
Kitty could only imagine the footage and the angles being used for her stunts, but as far as she was concerned, she had the best seat in the house. She turned down a side street and headed for the freeway. This next stunt was going to require perfect timing.
Logan sat next to Forest as they both rode in the helicopter that was filming the aerial footage for the scene. Logan was very nervous about what this particular stunt would involve; it was something he didn't think he'd be able to pull off without a LOT of practice, and Kitty had only had two days worth in the simulator. Even with that, she had only been able to land this stunt about half the time.
Kitty zoomed towards the freeway on-ramp, the chase cars right on her bumper. She saw the semi-truck that was supposed to be her target. It looked like everything was in place. Here goes, she thought, and drove up the ramp at well over 100 mph.
She launched into space, and landed on top of the semi's trailer just as it passed under the bridge. The car skidded along the roof of the trailer, drove down the cab, and landed on the freeway with a hard jolt. She heard the truck driver sound his horn in scripted shock as her car drove down the hood of his cab. Kitty lost control of the car as it landed and it spun out, stalling.
She was very nearly clipped by an on-coming car as traffic began to back up behind the semi. Behind her, she saw the lead chase car attempt the same stunt, but it came up well short and crashed through the back of the semi. The second one, as scripted, played it smart and drove down the opposite on- ramp, heading straight for her.
Back at the control tent, Lance watched the action as it was being filmed. To say he was impressed would have been a gross understatement. "Summers wouldn't even be able to pull THAT one off!" he said, feeling extremely lucky to have Kitty as his girlfriend.
Kitty struggled to re-fire the engine. At the last second, she got it started and sped out of the way before the third car could ram her. The chase car did a 180 and resumed the pursuit.
Kitty drove down the expressway, looking for the exit she was supposed to take leading to the next part of the scene. She saw it, but there was a problem; a tanker truck was in the lane between her and the exit, and at the speed she was going, there was no way she'd be able to make it unless.
Forest and Logan watched nervously up in the helicopter. Forest had seen the tanker and was very worried that Kitty wouldn't be able to make to the exit. Suddenly, he saw Kitty's T-Bird veer towards the tanker. "What is she doing!" he shouted.
Logan knew exactly what Kitty was doing, and grinned as Kitty drove beneath the oil tanker. She had just enough clearance that she wouldn't have to phase through it, which was a good thing since there was a camera pointed directly at her from the exit. She made it over and sped down the off-ramp, the chase car still in pursuit.
Kitty swerved around corners and down alleys, trying to lose the last car. As scripted, it stuck with her, debris bouncing off its fenders as Kitty drove through stacks of newspapers and boxes to try and shake him off. She saw the entrance to a construction site and power-slid around the corner, her destination in site.
She drove through the entrance of the site, breaking down the wooden fence that had been placed there. She slalomed around girders and construction equipment. Suddenly, she heard a shot ring out. As scripted, the last bunch of gangsters had grown impatient and had begun to shoot at her, with empty bullets of course. She heard the shots ricochet off her bumper and fly off every which way. One "bullet" struck a propane tank and it exploded (with a little help from the stunt crew), jumping into the air and nearly crashing into Kitty's car. The gangsters had to swerve to miss it, and kept following.
Another "shot" went through the hood of a crane. It "hit" the driver in the chest, who "died" as scripted, falling onto the crane controls. The girder it had been hoisting came crashing down into a pre-dug ditch, sticking up in the air and forming a perfect ramp. Kitty aimed at it, ready to pull off her last stunt.
Lance panicked when he saw the bullets start flying. "They're shooting at her!" he shouted. Several crewmen gave him a "Well, duh!" look, but one came up and reassured him. "Don't worry, kid, they're just blanks. Nothing's going to happen today unless we plan for it to happen," Lance relaxed a little, and went back to watching Kitty drive.
Kitty drove straight up the girder without hesitation and landed back outside the construction site. Inside, the driver of the last car panicked and hit the brakes. He did not slow down in time, and the gangster car flew off the girder and landed inside a large cement mixer.
"Brilliant!" cried Foster in triumph. "She got it in the can on the first take! I'll tell you something, Mr. Logan, you have a real gem on your hands! How'd you ever find her?"
"Long story, bub," said Logan, thankful that the only things that had gotten blown up were the ones that were supposed to.
Next time: An unexpected visitor crashes the party. Buckle up, this scene's just getting started!