Speed Racer: The Secret Plan (Part 1)
[Intro Music]
Chapter 1: Nairobi
The starting grid was alive with music and performances in the Kenyan city of Nairobi for this year's Trans-Africa Grand Prix. Speed, Trixie, Sparky, and Spritle hung out next to the new Mach 5 as Speed answered questions about the car and took pictures for the press and with fans. "I'm glad we actually made it this year, Speed." Sparky commented.
"Yeah, last year was a disaster. We couldn't get to the start in-time because customs gave us grief after news broke about the giant apes destroying tanks and the whole volcano thing." Speed closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, "It gives me a headache just thinking about it. That was one of the most insane experiences of my life."
A voice then greeted them from behind, "Hey Mach 5 Team!" the group turned around to see Lovelace Goldminter walking up to them.
"Hiya, Lovelace!" Speed greeted back as they shook hands.
"Hey, Lovelace! This is your first Trans-Africa race, isn't it?" Trixie asked, shaking Lovelace's hand after Speed.
"That's right, and from what I hear, it's yours as well."
"Uh-huh. We kinda had a crazy thing happen last year and we couldn't make it." Speed said.
"Always an adventure with you guys." Lovelace chuckled.
"Yeah, adventure isn't usually too far behind when we're around." Sparky interjected.
Lovelace sized up the young mechanic, "I've seen you before, but I don't believe we met. I'm Lovelace."
"I'm Sparky, I'm the mechanic and co-builder of the Mach 5. I accompanied Sped during the Race Around the World." Sparky boasted.
"Well, you've done a very good job, Sparky." She complimented.
"All drivers to your cars, mechanics make your final checks!" the announcer called.
"Well, that's my cue. Don't get lost, I really wanna race this time." Lovelace challenged before heading back to her car.
Speed, Trixie, and Sparky all strapped on their helmets and Sparky did his fifth check on the car before he hopped in, "Alright, Sparky, you take care of Speed, okay?" Trixie said.
"Don't worry, taking care of the Mach 5 is a hefty job, so it can't be too hard to make sure Speed comes out of it." Sparky answered confidently.
"Alright, me and Spritle won't be far behind with extra supplies in the helicopter when you need it." Trixie reminded.
"Got it, be safe, Trixie." Speed said, giving her a hug before getting in the driver's seat.
"All teams, clear the grid! Drivers, start your engines!" the announcer called as the cars waited impatiently for the green flag to drop.
Chapter 2: Through Kenya and Behind the Scenes
Speed's hand lay firmly on the gear shifter as he waited for the green flag, a bead of sweat already dripping from his face. The other cars on the grid revved wildly in anticipation, the excitement mounted until the flagman dropped the green flag! Speed hit the gas, hitting the rev limit of the first gear, he pushed the clutch and slammed the Mach 5 into second gear as grand touring and rally cars from manufacturers and drivers based all around the globe took off on one of the most unique races of the season that would take them from Kenya and up to Morocco. But first, Speed and Sparky would have to battle their competitors in the heart of the African jungles.
"Don't be afraid to use the new saws if you have to, Speed. Pops made new diamond-tipped ones, so there's no way that they'd fail." Sparky notified.
"Got it." Speed said, his eyes focused on everything around him as the cars left the city and headed towards the more suburban and rural areas of Kenya, "Any ideas when we're gonna hit the jungle?"
Sparky looked at the map, "It'll definitely be nightfall by the time we hit the jungle, we'll be in the Central African Republic by the time we hit anything that's heavily wooded. It'll mostly be flat savannah, so you won't have to worry." Sparky informed.
Speed then pressed the A Button, launching the Mach 5 into the air as a car slid under them, Sparky yelped in surprise, holding his head. As they landed, Speed looked over at the car that tried to wreck them and commented, "There's always something to worry about in these races, Sparky." The car came at them again, but this time Speed lowered his speed and allowed the other car to over-shoot and slide into the dirt and sand, causing it to flip over onto its roof
"Will these guys ever learn?" Sparky scowled, embarrassed from getting scared as the Mach 5 carried on through Kenya and into Uganda.
Meanwhile, in a secluded shack in the country of Chad, strange things are afoot. The click-clacking of shoes against metallic floors echoed through an empty underground chamber, five men, three in suits and two soldiers walked up to a blast door that opened automatically before them, "How is the progress on the weapon?" one man asked.
"Our top engineers are almost finished with it, Mr. Diamond. It should be ready by the time the cars arrive to cross over." A second man answered.
"Good! This will be our first show of power, Mr. Silver. Once we destroy all the contenders of the Trans-African race with this weapon, the world will finally see us out in the open as a threat." The group walked up to a platform with a railing and Mr. Diamond looked in shock before laughing maniacally, "It's perfect! It's massive and it's perfect!" he continued to laugh as the others look on.
Mr. Silver leaned over to the other man in the suit, "Mr. Bronze, were you able to secure our contingency in the case of our unforeseen circumstance?"
Mr. Bronze looked over, "I did, I've planted headhunters in the race to take care of the Mach 5. Speed Racer is the only contender that has any chance at foiling our plans, so hopefully, the hunters love money enough to actually try and stop the kid for good."
"Brilliant, gentleman! Brilliant! Soon, we'll be the ultimate warlords of this continent! All will bow to us and we will become gods!" Mr. Diamond shouted, his hands raised in the air.
"What about Mr. Gold, sir?" Mr. Bronze asked.
"That doesn't concern either of you. Mr. Gold is laying low by my instruction. Now, let's let the mechanics finish the weapon and we'll go see if the headhunters you hired are any good." Mr. Diamond said as the three left the huge underground garage.
Chapter 3: Welcome to the Jungle
It has been a few hours since the race began, and the Mach 5 had been having a smooth race since starting in Kenya. Speed and Sparky had been through Uganda and South Sudan only having encountered a couple of dirty drivers along the way as they entered the underdeveloped areas of the Central African Republic where the thick of the jungle began to surround them as the paved roads became dirt and mud. "Alright, Sparky, hang on." Speed warned as he pressed the B Button to deploy the belt tires and the D Button, deploying the deflector shield so the two wouldn't get pelted with mud as they continued through the rough roads. "This feels much smoother than when I usually use the grip tires, did you and Pops add something, Sparky?" Speed asked.
"I did!" Sparky said proudly. "Now, when you activate the belt tires, the suspension slightly raises the Mach 5, pushes the wheels out a little bit, and softens for a smoother drive while also adding more grip! Groovy, huh?"
"I'll say. You and Pops really outdid yourselves." Speed complimented. "Hey, Sparky, can you radio Trix for an update?"
"I'm right on it." Sparky picked up the radio and called, "Mach 5 to Trixie, Mach 5 to Trixie, do you have an update for us?"
Trixie's voice crackled through the car, "You guys are currently in seventh place behind Lovelace and some others. But now you two have the complete advantage, so you should be catching them soon. They didn't have much of a lead to begin with, so I'm confident that you could keep going without any resistance." Trixie radioed back.
"I like the sound of that, let's punch it!" Speed grinned, pressing harder on the accelerator, going deeper and deeper into the jungle. Night quickly fell as darkness overtook the African landscape, Speed and Sparky still trudged along through the night as the red lights of the Mach 5's evening eye shone through the rugged terrain. "Oh! Look up there!" Speed pointed out. Sparky, who was napping, awoke to see three cars stuck in the mud ahead, including that of Lovelace Goldminter, and it looked like she was in trouble as the other drivers and navigators surrounded her car.
"Go away, you jerks!" she shouted.
"Leave it to girly over here to churn up all the mud and get us all stuck!" one driver said.
"Yeah, we should teach her a lesson and tear her car to pieces, so she can never stick her rich nose where it don't belong!" another said, taking out a wrench and raising it before a yellow-gloved hand grabbed his wrist. Speed took the wrench from the man and threw it behind him, before shoving him away from Lovelace's car.
"You shouldn't treat someone like that, who do you think you are?" Speed said.
"Well, what do you know, Speed Racer has come to save the day!" another driver shouted.
"I'm not saving the day, I'm just telling you guys that you need to race square is all!"
"Sure, you are, Speedy boy. But come on, it's four against one here what chance do you think you have of stopping us from getting her outta the race? Oh well, now we get the bonus of taking care of you, maybe we'll finally have a chance at winning for once!"
"You'd have a chance if you'd just race fair!" Speed argued.
"Easy for you to say when you have the best racing car in the world, kid! I'm sick of losing, I wanna win!"
"Then speed up and you won't have that problem!" Speed shouted.
"Smart kid!" one driver said as he threw his helmet at Speed! Speed dodged the helmet causing it to hit Lovelace's car, the driver ran up to him and tried to fight, but Speed was able to clock him with an uppercut! His navigator was about to hit Speed with a blow to the back, but Sparky jumped in by grabbing his arms, allowing Speed to elbow the navigator in the stomach. Sparky let go so Speed could grab the guy by the arm and flip him over his shoulder, the navigator hit the muddy ground with a fair bit of force. The team from the other car both went for Speed at the same time, but Sparky was able to tackle the other driver out of the way as Speed got behind the other navigator and chopped him on the neck, causing the navigator to pass out.
"Alright, now you guys drive fair or else that'll happen again!" Sparky boasted, grinning and flexing his arm as Speed went over to Lovelace's car.
"Are you alright, Lovelace?" he asked.
"I'm alright, but I didn't need saving!" she pouted, folding her arms and pointing her nose to the air.
Speed shrugged, "Alright, I was gonna help tow you outta the mud, but I guess you can handle it."
This made Lovelace snap out of it and scurry over to Speed, "Alright, alright, I need your help!" Speed and Sparky both had a chuckle as they got right to helping Lovelace out of the mud. Soon after, Sparky was untying the rope from Lovelace's car and he tossed it over to Speed who was leaning on the Mach 5, "Thanks you two. I don't know what I would've done without you." Lovelace sighed.
"Never be afraid to ask for help from us, okay?" Speed said, catching the rope and tossing it in the Mach 5's trunk. Lovelace nodded in agreeance as she noticed Sparky looking around her car.
"What's wrong, Sparky?" she asked.
Sparky scratched his head, "You're doing this rally without a navigator?" he asked.
"Oh yes. My daddy had so many revolutionary and new communications devices installed that it negates the need for someone to be there." Lovelace explained.
"But can you trust it? Don't you get lonely?" Sparky added.
"I can trust it, it's all state-of-the-art new! My daddy wouldn't equip my car with some technology that's set against me." She said and paused to think of Sparky's last question, "And what do you care if I'm lonely? Maybe I like being lonely, that's none of your business!"
"Alright, alright, you like being lonely!" Sparky defended.
"Sparky quit fooling around, we need to get back in the race!" Speed called out, already strapped into the Mach 5.
"I'm coming, Speed!" Sparky said, running back to the Mach 5 and vaulting himself into the passenger seat.
"We'll see you at the finish line, Lovelace! If you get into trouble, don't be afraid to ask for help!" Speed repeated before reactivating the Mach 5's deflector and evening eye to continue through the jungle.
"I will, Speed. I will." Lovelace sighed before climbing back into her car and driving along the same path as the Mach 5.
The drivers now approach Chad, where the secret organization waits to strike! Who are Mr. Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Bronze? What is "the weapon"? Will the headhunters reach Speed and put him out of the race permanently? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of, Speed Racer!
[Outro Music]