Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me.
Chapter 8 – Goodbye Rust-Eze
After Tex had gone on his way, Doc nudged Lightning in the direction of the medical centre. Lightning held back, dragging his tyres.
"Doc, I'm okay," Lightning insisted. "I don't need to go to the medical centre."
Doc frowned sternly at him. "Do you wanna race on Sunday or not? Because if you do, that dent needs to be fixed. You know the officials won't let you race with an injury like that."
Lightning relented with a heavy sigh. He knew that Doc was right. With a great deal of reluctance, Lightning followed Doc inside the medical centre. They were met by the Piston Cup's head doctor, Dr Motors.
"Morning, Hudson," Dr Motors greeted them. "What brings you in here this morning?"
"Lightning got involved in a fight," Doc explained, nudging Lightning further into the room. "I need to have some x-rays taken of his side. I'm hoping there's no serious internal damage done."
Dr Motors glanced at Lightning's dented side, which was still mostly covered by the icepack. "I see… Does it hurt?"
Lightning shrugged indifferently. "Not really. The ice is helping."
"Good. Let me bring up his medical record on the computer first…"
Doc saw Lightning glancing nervously around the medical centre. Lightning flinched when he saw a male forklift nurse emerge from one of the treatment rooms. Doc sighed. He'd tried so hard over the years to help Lightning cope with his Tomophobia (fear of medical procedures) and Merinthophobia (fear of being restrained), but none of his methods had helped much. Sadly, the psychological damage done to him as a child would never go away.
"Here we go," Dr Motors said once he'd brought up Lightning's file from the database. "Okay, Lightning. Let's get those x-rays done first. Follow me."
Lightning reluctantly followed Dr Motors into the x-ray room. X-rays were one of the few medical procedures that Lightning could tolerate without suffering a panic attack. Doc gently removed the icepack from Lightning's side. Then, Dr Motors positioned Lightning in front of the x-ray machine.
"I'll take one from the side, and another from above," Dr Motors explained. "Just stay as still as you can, Lightning."
Doc followed Dr Motors behind the safety screen. After Dr Motors had taken the first x-ray, he returned to Lightning so he could reposition the machine for the second x-ray. Meanwhile, Doc examined the first x-ray image, which had already appeared on the computer screen in front of him.
Doc zoomed in on the x-rayed area behind the dent, looking for micro cracks in Lightning's roll cage, and any other internal injuries. He was still looking when Dr Motors returned to take the second x-ray. Within a few seconds, the second x-ray came up on another screen. Dr Motors examined the second x-ray.
"I can't see any internal damage," Doc said after a moment. "Looks like it's just the dent and some bruising that needs to be taken care of."
"Yeah, I'm not seeing anything significant from this angle either," Dr Motors agreed. "I can see some welding scars from some of the damage he sustained in his big wreck, but I don't think they've changed. I'll bring up his old x-rays later and compare them, just to be sure. It looks like everything's holding together nicely regardless. Are you happy to take care of the dent, or would you like me to do it?"
"You can do it," Doc decided. "I'm happy to supervise. Saves me from doing the paperwork."
Dr Motors chuckled. "Fair enough! I'll get the equipment set up in the examination room. I won't be able to give him any painkillers since they won't be out of his system before qualifying on Saturday."
"That's fine," Doc replied. "A sore side might just be enough to remind him not to try fighting Jackson again."
"He took on Jackson in the fight?" Dr Motors gasped. He shook his front in disbelief. "He's either brave or foolish."
"Foolish mostly," Doc scoffed.
The two doctors drove out from behind the screen. While Dr Motors went to start setting up his equipment, Doc drove over to Lightning.
"Good news, Rookie. There's no internal damage done, so now we can fix that dent."
"Are you gonna do it?" Lightning asked hopefully.
"Doctor Motors is going to carry out the procedure, sorry. I'm gonna supervise."
Lightning gulped. "Please, Doc…"
"I can't always be around to help you whenever you decide to do something stupid," Doc grumbled. He nudged Lightning out of the x-ray room and across the hall to the examination room.
Lightning froze in the doorway when he saw the sterile hydraulic lift in the middle of the examination room. He started hyperventilating.
"No… No, I can't do this!"
Lightning spun around to try and escape, but Doc blocked his path.
"Monty, we've been through this before," Doc calmly reminded him. He rarely used Lightning's real name, but when he did it was either to help calm him down, or to reprimand him. "Remember your exercises? Deep breath in and slowly let it out…"
Lightning managed to follow Doc's instructions. Within a minute, he'd stopped hyperventilating.
"Lightning, I need you to get on the lift, please," Dr Motors instructed.
Lightning hesitated before he slowly drove onto the lift. He shivered and closed his eyes, anticipating what was coming next. Sure enough, Dr Motors activated the wheel clamps, which secured Lightning to the lift. Lightning yelped and he immediately started trying to free himself from the restraining clamps.
Doc drove in front of Lightning. He could see that his protégé was on the verge of suffering from a full-blown panic attack.
"Monty, settle down," Doc soothed. "Remember what I've taught you? The clamps are there for Doctor Motors' safety as well as your own. The faster you settle down, the sooner this will all be over."
Keeping his eyes tightly closed, Lightning focused on getting his breathing rate back under control. Using a stethoscope, Dr Motors took a moment to listen to Lightning's heart and lungs.
"I need him to calm right down, Doc, before I can proceed. His RPMs are racing at the same rate as when he's in the middle of a race! I could give him a sedative, but it'd mean he wouldn't be able to race on Sunday without a special exemption since it'd still be in his system."
Doc frowned thoughtfully. He needed to think of a way to distract Lightning without the aid of drugs. Then, he remembered the one thing that would naturally calm Lightning down.
"Do you have a blanket?" Doc asked Doctor Motors.
"I think I do actually. Stay with him while I go and look."
Lightning was still struggling to prevent a panic attack when Dr Motors returned to the room a few minutes later. He'd managed to find a blanket, which he passed over to Doc.
"What's that for, Doc?" Lightning whimpered nervously. He wriggled, trying desperately to escape from the clamps. They held his wheels firmly in place.
"Since we don't happen to have a car cover handy…" Doc explained as he unfolded the blanket. "…this will have to do." And with that, Doc used his claw arm to toss the blanket right over Lightning, covering him completely.
"Hey!" Lightning protested. "Doc, I-"
"Would you prefer a sedative via a needle and the possibility of not being able to race?" Doc interjected.
Lightning merely whimpered in response. It took a few more minutes for Lightning to calm down to a level that Dr Motors was happy to work with. Once he was satisfied that Lightning would stay quiet, Dr Motors set to work repairing the dent. First, he lifted the blanket up high enough to uncover Lightning's lefthand side. With Doc's assistance, they secured it with magnets to prevent it from falling back down and getting in the way. Dr Motors gave the dent and surrounding area a wipe over with alcohol to sterilise it. Then, he placed a large suction device over the entire dent.
"Okay, here we go…" Dr Motors said. Using his claw arm, he squeezed the trigger on the device, which created a vacuum inside. The vacuum slowly pulled Lightning's damaged metal skin back into its correct shape.
Lightning hissed as he felt the vacuum pulling at his body. It was more like a dull throb instead of a sharp pain, mostly due to the area having been pre-numbed by the ice. Lightning's side finally made a loud popping sound, indicating that the vacuum had now pulled the dent back into its correct shape.
Dr Motors removed the device. "There! That's all over and done with now, Lightning. That wasn't so bad now, was it? You can barely even tell that you had a dent."
Lightning just moaned softly in reply. He was feeling very sore and sorry for himself now. Dr Motors turned his attention to Doc.
"I'd like to examine him again before the race," he told Doc. "In the meantime, try and ice the area for twenty minutes every two hours during the day. If he complains of being sore, let me know."
"No worries," Doc agreed.
…
Twenty minutes later, Doc, Lightning, Tony, and Terri arrived back at the Ferrari Palace Hotel. None of them were particularly surprised to see a huge media presence gathered in front of the main entrance.
"Not again," Lightning groaned. His side was aching, and he was hungry for lunch, so the last thing he wanted was to be hounded by the press.
Unfortunately, even in his Dinoco blue paintwork, Lightning stood out in a crowd. Upon seeing him, the reporters pressed forward eagerly, all shouting questions over the top of each other. Most of the questions were incoherent to Lightning, but he managed to unscramble a few of them.
"Did Jackson Storm injure you?"
"What happened with the officials?"
"Are you still going to race on Sunday?"
"What's going on with Rust-Eze?"
"Do you know what Mr Dinoco is going to say at this afternoon's press conference?"
Lightning ignored the questions as he, Doc, Tony, and Terri attempted to push through the crowd. However, the reporters only pressed in tighter, eager to hear anything from Lightning. Finally, Lightning had had enough, and he snapped.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Lightning bellowed so loudly that the crowd immediately fell silent. Even Doc was taken aback by Lightning's outburst.
Some of those closest to Lightning moved back in anticipation, but they kept their microphones and cameras trained on him.
"That's better!" Lightning continued, composing himself. "I've had a very eventful morning, so I'll answer just three questions, and then I need to go and have my lunch. Yes, Kori?"
Kori Turbowitz, Lightning's favourite journalist, drove forwards a little. "Lightning, are you able to tell us what happened during the officials' inquiry this morning?"
"Sorry, Kori, that's confidential for now," Lightning answered. "I'm sure the officials will disclose that information later today in their report." He pointed to a male journalist with his tyre. "Yes?"
"Do you know what the press conference this afternoon with Tex Dinoco is about?"
"I didn't even know that a press conference had been called," Lightning replied. "One last question." He pointed to another male journalist.
"I saw Jackson Storm injure you this morning. Are you gonna be okay, or are you now out of Sunday's race?"
"I'm fine. It was just a minor dent. Nothing serious. It'd take a lot more than that to make me withdraw from a race. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and eat before I pass out."
The journalists begrudgingly parted, allowing Lightning and his entourage to finally enter the hotel. Lightning breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the main doors closed behind him.
"You handled that well, Rookie," Doc praised.
Lightning smiled slightly. "I learnt from the best. Now, let's see what's available for lunch. I could murder a burger right now!" He started to make his way towards one of the hotel's restaurants when his phone rang. With a groan, Lightning answered it.
"Hello?"
"Lightnin'? It's Tex. Where are ya, and is Doc with ya?"
"Yeah, he's with me, and we've just arrived back at the hotel," Lightning replied.
"Good. I want ya to come to my suite immediately."
"But I'm hungry!"
"You can eat after. This is far more important."
With a reluctant sigh, Lightning turned around and he headed towards the elevators. "Fine. We'll be up there in a few minutes." Lightning hung up and he looked at Doc. "That was Tex. He wants us to meet him in his suite right now."
"This is probably to do with what he told us about earlier," Doc said as they entered the elevator along with Tony and Terri. "About his announcement regarding the future of the team."
Lightning gulped. "You don't think he's gonna, you know…"
"Sack you?" Doc finished. He shook his front. "I seriously doubt it. He spent the better part of a decade trying to get you to race for him, and now that he's got you, he's never going to let you go."
"But what if he forces me to quit like Sterling tried to do?"
Doc sighed. "Let's just hear what he has to say before we jump to any conclusions."
The elevator stopped on level six, and they drove into the hallway. Doc led the way to room 601, where Tex was staying on his own. The door was open, and Lightning could see that Cal, Cruz and their crew chiefs were gathered around Tex in the lounge area. Smokey, Michael and Bryan were also in the room, along with a few more Dinoco personnel from Cal's and Cruz's pit crews.
"Ah! Lightnin' and Doc," Tex greeted them. "Thanks for comin'. Close the doors, please, Terri. I don't want this news gettin' out to the press yet."
Lightning parked between Cal and Cruz. "Do you guys know what's going on?"
"Not yet," Cal replied. "Shh!"
The room fell silent, waiting for Tex to speak. After a moment, he began.
"First of all, ya should know that I've called a press conference for one o'clock this afternoon, so until that happens you must keep this news to yourselves. It's imperative that nobody else finds out about it until then, including the rest of the team. I'm only telling you guys this in confidence because I don't want you to be surprised by it.
Late last year, I was approached by a Japanese billionaire who made me an offer to purchase Rust-Eze. His offer included the purchase of the Rust-Eze division of the racin' team, which would have meant the inclusion of the Rust-Eze team's racin' licence. That would mean that one of you three…"
Tex glanced pointedly at Lightning, Cal and Cruz,
"…would either have to race primarily for Rust-Eze or find another team. Naturally, I declined the offer and thought nothin' more of it. Then, just before the Daytona Five Hundred, he contacted me again with another offer. It seems that he's decided to sponsor a Formula One racer instead, so he's no longer interested in holdin' a NASCAR team licence. Immediately after the Daytona Five Hundred, I went to New York for a meetin' with my shareholders regardin' the buy-out. The decision was made to go ahead with the sale of Rust-Eze, and that's what I'm gonna be announcin' to the press in a couple of hours."
Lightning glanced at Doc in confusion before he looked back at Tex. "I'm sorry, Tex, but I don't quite understand…"
Tex gave Lightning a small smile. "Since this mostly affects you, I'm happy to explain what it'll mean for you on a personal level. Basically, ever since I purchased Rust-Eze from Sterlin', you've officially been racin' under the joint banner of Dinoco / Rust-Eze, unlike Cal and Cruz, who have been racin' under the Dinoco banner only. Now that I'm sellin' Rust-Eze, your racin' licence will be transferred over to Dinoco. Rust-Eze will formally transfer to the new buyer at eight o'clock tomorrow mornin', and so all mention of Rust-Eze as a sponsor will be dropped from the team before Sunday's race. Does that make sense now?"
Lightning nodded slowly as he absorbed that information. "So, I'm still gonna be racing for you?"
Tex nodded. "You'll need to get a new paint job before Sunday though. It'll be similar to Cal's and Cruz's, but I'm happy to let you keep your lightnin' bolt and flame design. That's unique to you, and helps the fans recognise you."
Again, Lightning nodded slowly. He was too stunned to think of anything else to say.
"Please remember to keep this news to yourselves for now," Tex reminded everyone. "You may talk about it after I've made the announcement to the press, but not before. You may all go now."
Everyone started to leave the room, except Lightning. He remained where he was, pondering Tex's announcement. He didn't realise he was the last one left in the room until Tex cleared his throat.
"Ya takin' root there or somethin'?"
"What? No! I'm just… Trying to process everything, I guess. You know I always wanted to race for Team Dinoco, but it was nice being able to keep my link with Rust-Eze until now."
Tex smiled kindly. "I know, Lightnin'. But it had ta happen someday. Ya know, I only bought Rust-Eze from Sterlin' so I could get you to race for me. That was the only way I was gonna getcha."
Lightning nodded, remembering. Tex gave him a friendly nudge.
"Now, didn't you say somethin' about wantin' lunch?"
At the mention of the word 'lunch', Lightning's stomach rumbled hungrily. Tex couldn't resist chuckling.
"Go on and get somethin' ta eat! Sounds like ya need it."
Lightning sheepishly left the suite. Tony and Terri were waiting for him in the hallway.
"Lunch?" Terri asked hopefully.
"Lunch," Lightning confirmed. And they headed towards the elevators.