Remember that fully stocked gym I made? Well, it's still there. Every few weeks I add some new equipment, either some core strength machines, free weight plates, martial arts equipment or old fashioned boxing gadgets. I've been falling into a routine lately. Spend several hours in the garage working on a special zoid or in my room doing blueprints, sleep same amount of hours afterwards, then work out. Now, after a week of this I've gotten a lot of work done, I'm well rested and I moved up from bench pressing a station wagon to a small pickup. Nah, just kidding. Sport utility vehicle max.

Now, I spent a night redesigning my little Liger concept. Those manual measurements I got of the Liger Zero revealed an odd skeletal pattern. So I had to resize the doo-dads and whatchamadingers to match the whatta-whattas. Sue shot a dart into my neck around the twelfth hour, an after waking up I worked on the punching bags. I love my simple life.

So there I was upper cutting a plump round sack hanging at head level when Max, Sarah and Vega walked in with their arms around each other's shoulders. I don't get it either. They're really enjoying that whole family thing I guess, they keep walking around the Whale like that. Well, I ignored them and went back to my drills. They then walked back out, probably just touring the ship.

When I finally did fifty reps I turned, cracked my neck a couple times and walked over to the door while slipping off my gloves. I walked through the automatic and soundproof doors out into the dark-lit hallway, the lights were dim but the gym had windows built into the walls for viewing. So form out here I could look into the empty gym, but from the inside it's all just one huge mirror. Well, planted right in front of a window was the three member family. Jus watching the empty gym and chatting. Dear Eve, if that's a healthy family long like the orphanage system.

"Hey, inferior younger sibling, you teach my kid to do that and I'll personally put out a hit on you."

I grunted, tired as I walked toward them, they were blocking the way to the living area. Vega explained in the span of five seconds that they watched me work out. I said that was fine and edged past them to the kitchen and later to my room to shower and change. Soon enough I was sketching away another blueprint. But before I fell into my eternal cycle my little ZBC PDA made a little noise. I plucked it off my bed and saw it was an email alert.

'Brand

Taking you up on that offer. We need two fast zoids for a party battle. Your Saix came to mind, and we saw a clip of your new Wolf zoid. If you accept you'll each get a cut. Free food. You in?

Chris Tasker'

I read over the short message a few times before getting the point. I walked out to the living room and called into a clump of people, who ever the heck was living in this thing with us.

"Clara! You and the Shadow up for doing a battle with the Lightning Team?"

Her voice called back out of the group. I didn't actually see her in detail, my head was aimed toward a little pad of sketch paper I was holding as I stood there.

"I'll have to practice speeding a bit, but sure, sounds fun."

I nodded and walked back into my room without a word to the rest of them.

'Chris

We'll have to work a bit with you guys to blend in, but we're in. Just send the time and place. Speaking of which, where do you guys sleep at night anyway?

Trey (Chase)'

I tapped the send symbol and soon resumed my blueprint marathon. Psy found out from Clara about the battle, he didn't have any objections. I took some time to examine the Shadow Wolf a bit more, seeing if I could modify anything for speed. Normally I'd be checking guns or blades. But we were going to be running with the Lightning Team, and I didn't want this zoid being left behind. The next day Clara and I trekked into the desert in our respective zoids to some coordinates in the middle of the desert to meet the Taskers and Cisco.

As we sped over a sand dune I expected to see a high-tech transport or a isolated base. Well, there were just three high-end Lightning Saixes sanding in the middle of the packed-sand plain. As we approached we were hailed into a group com-link.

"Brand, nice to see you and your zoid again."

"Especially the zoid."

I felt he cockpit tremble as Psy silently chuckled at the Taskers' remark. I kicked the side panel and responded.

"Hey, it's good to be with my own kind."

A visual link was activated and I was faced with a hologram of Clara, Chris, Kelly and a glaring bandana-clad head that I'm guessing was Cisco. Our zoids had formed a loose circle, all facing the others for organization sake. Clara's head mimed looking around as she spoke to the group.

"I feel a bit out of place here. Four cats and a wolf?"

Cisco, having not looked in my direction yet, smirked.

"We saw what your zoid can do to a speed demon. And if our reputation betrays us, our opponent may draft some fast zoids to keep up."

I finally acknowledged my almost-rival.

"Who you guys up against?"

The little Cisco head spun to look at me. We locked eyes for a moment, then he warmed slightly and responded.

"Harry Champ."

I stared, this time in confusion.

"…that guy?"

The three Lightning heads nodded. Kelly explained.

"It's a publicity challenge. We know for sure he and his two robots are in the fray. That leaves two mystery pilots."

I nodded to the group of heads slowly, the gears in my head swinging back and forth slightly.

"…ya' think he's thick enough to bring his sister?"

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"…she's been in a high class for a while…but an Iron Kong?"

Cicso closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Champ is addicted to raw power. Brand has a point, he'll call her in just for the sake of having a Kong."

Clara, usually the shy one, actually chipped into the discussion.

"If she is in there, I can test out the sniper in this thing."

The Lightning Team spun their neckless heads to stare at Clara. Kelly just kind of blinked a few times, as if trying to comprehend that.

"…that thing is a speedster, and has a sniper!"

The shadow Wolf reared back suddenly, and lunged forward into thin air, revealing the large barrel protruding from between its jaws. Cisco whistled.

"See, Chris? And you two wanted the Flugel Team."

This made me cock an eyebrow right through the center of my forehead.

"…you guys passed up Toros and Flugel for us!"

…the two Tasker twins nodded sadly. I snorted in disbelief.

"Man, and Max always told me you can't go insane from breaking the sound barrier too often."

The Taskers guffawed, Cisco even softened his little straight-mouthed, 24/7 all purpose facial expression. Well, after the little strategy panel we all started practicing. Well, that's what they calledit. More like being in an extremely tight formation that would be hell to keep close if we WEREN'T breaking the sound barrier shamelessly. Amazingly enough, the Shadow Wolf managed to stay close behind us. So a gang of cats speeding ahead of a slightly slower but deadly canine. I wish Eve made a mouse zoid we could torment so we don't have to molest the sound barrier like we do.

Now, you may wonder how speed teams work. You may have noticed that the Lightning Team always sticks in a tight little group. Well, by using tight formations they use physics to achieve extremely high speeds that you can't get alone. And you thought they picked me because I was a good pilot? HA! Nah, it's all the zoid. This was going to be a semi-easy battle, but he Lightnings remembered that standstill we had and wanted to use me as a nitro boost.

A couple hours of formation work and acceleration drills later we crawled back to our transport, Psy was panting, and the Shadow Wolf was showing signs of energy loss. And you know how Saix cockpits heat up at high speeds? Well, my hat was the only thing I was wearing during sprint runs. I'm okay with nudity, but the hat stays on. Oddly enough I doubt Lightning even bothers getting dressed every day, I stop to slice some legs off once in a while, those guys should too. You shouldn't run a zoid like that. Then again, if you strapped blades onto those Saixes I'd worry for international affairs.

As we collapsed in the living room Sue walked by wearing an apron over her freakishly thin midsection. I had stripped of f my shirt a hundred miles ago, not caring that my scars were visible. Yet Sue stopped to look at my hideous back.

"Hey, is that the cut you got from the shampoo rack in the shower?"

I grunted. She nodded.

"…yeah, Psy's cameras have zoom now."

I grunted slightly higher. She responded as followed.

"Yeah, the cookies will be done in ten minutes."

And she walked into the kitchen, Clara stared not at my freakish scars but at my little grunt-chat.

"…Clara, we've been living together so long we don't have to bother using English to communicate anymore."

She was about to ask what that meant when an African War Cry was heard from the west wing. I yelled back.

"Rax! I told you to just tape the toilet seat so it doesn't fall down!"

He responded in a series of clicking sounds. Sue made a birdlike noise from the kitchen, making a wisecrack.

"Agreed. You'd think he'd stop yelling after the fourth time."

Clara was sill confused, but she let the matter drop.

"You guys are freaks."

I smirked.

"Give it a week."

The intercom clicked in.

"One of us….one of us…one of us…"

She laughed and trudged off to shower, I just stayed on the couch for a while, struggling to move my legs. You have to press the floor in sprint formation, do the math.

Three Days Later

Our bar patron for now will not be in a bar. He just purchased a half-wall sized media screen and has invited most of his associates to enjoy a classic foreign film. And directly afterwards, the battle they've been dreaming of for months. Trey Brand working with Team Lightning. And they even threw in the Shadow Wolf. And they're going against a team that has only been in S Class for a week, and the opinion of the free press and the intelligent public is that that moron belongs in F Class, where they send all the rejects.

Champ got into S Class suspiciously close to when he Blitz Team got in. It's painfully obvious he's been making donations and paying off officials so he can stalk the Blitz Team. And the rich-boy complex was a bit much. Every other battle he had a new zoid, he ditched the Dark Horn months ago. Well, we could deal with all this, but that 'Destined to be King' line just sealed his fate. He says it every interview. Every commercial. And over the audio of every, single battle.

Well, the pre-battle show is better than the entire foreign film. The patron gets his friends refreshments as they profile the new Champ Zoids. When he gets back with the beers and nachos his friends are laughing their heads off. The Champ himself and his robots are in Lightning Saixes! All three painted totally white! Hey, the best way to take on a zoid is by buying an identical one with no experience using it. Well, Champ also hired a few more pilots for this one. His sister in her Iron Kong. Painted white. And some guy in a Command Wolf. White. Well, as the Judge dropped down the five white zoids elegantly walked out of a Whale king onto the flat battlefield. Then there was a sonic boom as four shadows appeared before them, the wind catching up a second later and blowing a dust cloud around the four cats and the wolf. Well, looks like Brand and that Sectors Gal learned a thing or two from Lightning.

The two stared each other down, night and day finally calling each other into a street fight. The Judge called the battle rules as the Reckless Lightning Team hunched into a tight group. The judge tossed down one hand…

5 Seconds Later

…and then he pulled it back after throwing it down, before it reached his waist the audience saw white command wolf topple sideways onto the wreckage of the other Champ zoids. The Lighting guys…hadn't moved from their spot. The viewers just stared. Complete metal carnage, and they hadn't even lasted the Judge Speech. Right as the Judge finished speaking, he sighed and declared the winner. The black zoids disappeared, now just radar speck on the horizon as the network replayed the entire battle in super slow motion. Eh…it just shows the white zoids going from perfect to junk in a single frame. We think the little black blur the camera catches is the Shadow Wolf running. Well, that was…short…one sided…plotless…and freakin' awesome. The network suddenly cut to the burnt-looking Harry champ, standing on the wreckage mountain and screaming at the sky.

"…destined to be king!"

Then the network received a live audio message from the other team as they left the area. It was a hundred mile battlefield, so much for a long-range battle. The sound of Jack Cisco's voice filled the network's systems.

"The King is Dead…"

And then the sound of Chase Brand, in the same tone.

"…Long Live the King."

And the sound of the three female members laughing like banshees as the transmission faded out, the viewers imagine how fast they must be going into the rising sun. And the bar patron officially throws the best parties.

…no, I'm serious. That's what happened. I'm very serious. What's that? You want to know how we ran around the entire area in a quarter second before tearing them apart using Psy's blades at a speed that my instruments couldn't measure, while the Shadow Wolf, riding on our tail wind took out the remaining parts? Sorry, it's a secret.

But what do you think of the nickname 'The Reckless Lightning Team'? Catchy but corny, huh? Well, the media went wild with it the next day. Some tabloids said we were officially associated with each other as a brother-sister team system. Eh, we were good friends but if I see one more person squat in this transport I'm going to move to the mountains and be a hermit. Clara and I worked with them, learning their techniques as they did ours for those four days before the mayhem.

But allow me to cut to five minutes after the 'battle'. The scene, an oak paneled room in a luxurious ranch-style house sitting atop a tall canyon, the bottom of the crag had several doors in it that led to the underground Hanger. And in this little mansion atop the peak, we all stood playing billiards and discussing the finer points of cue chalk. No alcohol. No 'We barely made it!', not even a 'You see how I ripped that off?'. The Lightning Team celebrated with class. They did this even before they had a credit to their name.

I'd go into detail about all that happened at their base, but it's not a matter of entertainment. I'll cut again to Clara and I arriving home late that night and waking up in the morning to the tabloids declaring us the new Lightning Team members. Dear Eve, talk about wishful ranting.