"I think you called this one, Soren," Adam said. The two of them were currently standing in a garage, preparing a car for them to race in. The key they were after happened to be in the trophy of the Radiator Springs Open, which was why they were getting a vehicle in the first place.
"This is my fault," Soren sighed. "I thought we could use my infinity-sided dice to instantly nab the key, but all it really did was make the key harder for us to get."
"Well luckily for us, I have a driver's license," Adam said. "And a boating license, and a pilot's license- though it's provisional on that last one."
"They really make a license for everything in your time," Maid Marian giggled. "Almost anyone that can ride a horse can pull the carriage."
"All in the name of safety, Marian," Jake stated. "Speaking of which, how's the car coming?"
"This is basically just a modified Test Track racer," Adam explained. "I've removed the limiters so we can get up to Nascar speeds, but other than that all I can change is the paintjob. Just finished the tune-up it needed."
"Oh, can we put wings on the side?" Soren asked.
"I think a nice sunset orange will work well for the body," Marian added.
"And we need a logo on the front," Jake said.
"I'll get those in short order," Adam said. Tapping a few buttons, the car's frame shimmered before turning sunset orange with blue wings painted on the sides, a compass logo painting itself onto the hood. "Behold, the Sunset Charger!"
"Looks awesome!" Soren said. "I call shotgun!"
"Jake, you can stay with me," Marian said, holding the mouse in her hands. "I don't think the seatbelts will fit you."
"Yes, everyone fasten your seatbelts," Adam said as he got in the driver's seat. "I don't want an accident going down in this vehicle."
"Want just a moment!" called Luigi, coming into the room. "Allow Guido to give you a special pair of our signature tires. It's good luck for the race."
"Sure, go for it," Soren said.
"Pitstop!" Guido said, quickly zooming around their car and changing the tires into ones with a white trim.
"Now this is a fancy ride, mate," Jake nodded in approval.
"Thanks guys, and give our thanks to everyone else in town for the parts and workspace!" Adam said. He revved up the engine of the Sunset Charger and pulled out of the garage, going down the road of Radiator Springs to where the race would begin.
Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater were waiting for them, with McQueen serving as commentator (as he was retired from racing now) and Mater being the flag bearer to start the race. "Glad that you made it," Lightning said. "We're still waiting for the other racers, though."
"Oh, I can provide that," said a voice. Hex suddenly floated down. "Hey Dream Keepers! I was wondering where you all went off to. Having fun out here in the desert?"
"I mean, Route 66 isn't all desert," Adam pointed. "It goes from Chicago to Los Angeles, so there's mountains and plains and other places."
"You're ruining the moment," Hex sighed. "Anyway, I don't have a lot of time to mess with you directly, so how about I give you so real competition?" In a blur of corrupted cubes Hex created three hologram copies of Lightning McQuuen's greatest racing opponents: Chick Hicks, Francisco Bernoulli, and Jackson Storm. "If any of these guys will, I'll be taking that tropy for myself."
"You sure you guys still want to race?" Mater asked. "These are some folks that even my buddy Lightning had a hard time winning against."
"Don't worry Mater, we got this," Soren said confidently.
"Soren, turn on the radio," Adam ordered. "I'll need some music to focus on this race."
"Okay everyone, let's get started," Lightning said.
Soren turned on the radio, and Adam revved the engine as a country song started blasting out of the speakers. Mater raised his flag. "Are you ready? Get steady… And Go!"
I'm American made,
Apple Pie, Chevrolet,
My momma taught me wrong from right
Adam floored on the gas as everyone went flying down the dirt track.
I was born in the South,
Sometimes I have a big mouth,
When I see something that I don't like
I gotta say it
The Sunset Charger was in the middle of the pack, with Jackson Storm in the lead.
Well, we've been drivin' this road,
For a mighty long time,
Givin' no mind to the signs
Adam carefully steered the car as they drove up the curved road, pulling tight to the inside so they could try to pull ahead to the front.
Well, this neighborhood's changed,
It's all been rearranged,
We left that dream somewhere behind
"How about a change of pace?" Hex suddenly called. He created a portal for everyone to drive through, and suddenly they went from the desert to the busy streets of Tokyo.
Slow down,
You're gonna crash!
Baby, you're a-screamin'
It's a blast, blast, blast!
"Watch out, coming through!" Adam called, weaving through traffic of the neon city.
Look out babe, you've got your blinders on
Everybody's lookin' for a way to get real gone
Real gone
Going off of a jump, the Sunset Charger landed and went into a drift, quickly turning down a sharp corner and pulling ahead of Francisco.
Real gone
"Next location!" Hex called, opening another portal and changing the race track to the winding coastline of Italy.
But there's a new cat in town,
He's got high-paid friends,
Thinks he's gonna change history
As they went through the small town side, Adam decided to have some fun. Turning the car around, he drove backwards down the road, catching the rest of the team off-guard.
You think you know him so well,
Yeah, you think he's so swell,
But he's just perpetuatin' prophecy
Come on, now!
Once they got close to Chick Hicks, Adam quickly flipped the car back around and hit the gas, pulling ahead into second place.
Slow down,
You're gonna crash!
Baby, you're a-screamin'
It's a blast, blast, blast!
Hex opened another portal, dropping everyone off onto a more traditional racetrack, with a race already in progress.
Look out, you've got your blinders on
Everybody's lookin' for a way...
"Sing it guys!" Soren cheered as everyone sang along with the song.
To get real gone (Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
Real gone (Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
Real gone (Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
Real gone (Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah)
"Wow!" Adam screamed, shifting into high gear as the instrumental kicked in. They pulled up right next to Jackson Storm, neck-and-neck as Hex opened a portal to the stormy streets of London.
Well, you can say you want,
But you can't say it 'round here,
'Cause they'll catch you and give you a whippin'
Jackson Storm eyed them, then gasped as Adam took a sharp left towards a bridge just as it was pulling up for a boat to pass under.
Well, I believe I was right,
When I said you were wrong,
You didn't like the sound of that
Now, did ya?
"Adam?" Marian asked worriedly.
"We got this!" Adam said. He pressed a button and activated the hidden nitro, shooting them across the bridge and ahead of Jackson Storm. They were in the lead now!
Slow down,
You're gonna crash!
Baby, you're a-screamin'
It's a blast, blast, blast!
Look out out, you've got your blinders on
Everybody's looking for a way to get real gone
One last portal, and this one went back to Radiator Springs.
Well, here I come,
And I'm so not scared,
Got my pedal to the metal,
Got my hands in the air
They raced up and Willie's Butte, right into the last corner of the track.
Look out, you take your blinders off
Everybody's looking for a way to get real gone
"Right to go left!" Jake called.
Adam understood the reference and went into a long drift, seamlessly going around the turn and cruising towards the finish line.
Real gone!
Real gone!
Ooh!
Real gone!
Real gone!
Mater waved the flag as the Sunset Charger crossed the finish line, announcing the victory of the Dream Keepers. "That's how you get 'er done!" Mater cheered.
"Great job guys," Lightning said, presenting them with the trophy. "I recognized some of those moves out there. Doc would be proud."
"I've got these guys here to thank for supporting me," Adam said, turning to his team.
"Next time, can we drive at a bit more leisurely pace?" Marian asked, her legs a bit wobbly as she got out of the car. "I don't think I'm used to those high speeds."
Soren flew over to help Marian steady herself. "Don't worry Marian, that feeling is only temporary."
"Along with the trophy, we got the key as well," Jake said, holding up said object.
As the heroes went to bring it to their friends, Hex just sighed. "I knew I should have given every region more equal attention. That just means I need to beef up security in other areas they haven't been to yet."
Author's Note
Another fun chapter, this time all about racing! The Test Track car is a reference to how I'm pretty sure Radiator Springs Racers, the ride in Cars Land, runs on the same track style as Test Track.
The song used this time is "Real Gone" from the first Cars movie, though I based this off the Billy Ray Cyrus cover of the song. All of the racetracks they went through are from the Cars movies as well, mostly from the second one (which is probably the worst one, but only because they decided to make it a spy movie starring Mater for some reason instead of focusing on the world racing aspect).
Also yes, Hex didn't try very hard in California Adventure. Looks like our heroes caught him off-guard on that decision. The Marvel chapter is next time, so see you then!