Author's note: I had to make some changes to the last two chapters to fix some issues. Might want to re-read those before starting here. Well, on with the story!
Segment 4: Board Brains
Chapter 3: The Back of My Hand
(Leo)
While Kim and I were waiting for this Wave girl to finish whatever she had just gotten an idea for, I decided to strike up a chat with Jet. "When did you start with this Extreme Gear thing?" I asked.
"It runs in the family," Jet explained. "The three of us- we're the descendants of a race called the Babylonians. They were way ahead of their time; they were masters of the sky, and Extreme Gear specialists."
Babylonians? Kim snapped her fingers. "That explains the mark on the side of this airship. So why'd you take the palace?"
"Pardon?"
"Babylon Palace," Kim explained. "You hauled it up into the airship. Why'd you do that?"
"Well…" Jet hesitated here. "Listen, besides being masters of the sky, and of Extreme Gear, the Babylonians were expert thieves, and so are we. We aren't called the Babylon Rouges for nothing, y'know."
"So you hauled it up for a bit of pillaging," I figured. "I guess you sent Storm in for an initial search of the place."
"Yeah. The palace isn't too big, so I find it a bit odd that Storm would take so long to come back. Of course, that guy would have trouble finding his way out of a washroom."
The three of us all laughed at that last part. "Come on, let's walk down to Wave's lab," Jet decided once we were done. "Don't worry, I'll lead the way. I know this airship like the back of my hand."
As Jet, Kim and myself walked through the mazelike halls of the airship- which, Jet told us, was called the Babylon Wing- he told us about an interesting event called the EX World Grand Prix. Apparently, it had been quite a mess.
Around then, Kim and I noticed Jet fidgeting with an odd glass cube. When Kim inquired about it, Jet reacted somewhat angrily. "Mind your own business! It's a family heirloom." That's all he said about it.
Ten minutes and three wrong turns later, Jet stopped us at the door to Wave's lab. "She might be in the middle of something," Jet mentioned. "We'd better knock first. The last time I came in without knocking, neither of us could sit down for a week."
Saying these words, Jet raised his fist and knocked gently but loudly on the door. "Is that you, Jet? Come in," Wave's voice called from the other side of the door.
Jet swung the door open. The interior of Wave's lab was very similar to Tails', but at the same time it was very different. Several blueprints littered the floor; I recognized a schematic of Jet's Extreme Gear, the Type J.
Wave was busy drawing something on a sketchpad. She stopped drawing as the three of us approached. "Oh, hello, Jet. Leo, Kim, nice to see you again."
I folded my arms. "Nice to see you too, Wave. We would've gotten here sooner, but Jet here doesn't know the back of his hand too well." I don't think Wave got the joke.
Completely ignoring me, Jet asked Wave how the job was coming. "You're just in time," Wave explained. "I just finished the first part of my plans. Leo, Kim, could you come here a moment?"
Kim and I stepped closer to Wave, who took a tape measure and began measuring our bodies horizontally, vertically, and everything in between. She called out so many numbers that I kept expecting her to yell "Hike!"
A few minutes passed as Wave worked like crazy. She ran back and forth, first drawing a full to-scale blueprint, then beginning the actual construction. Jet, Kim and myself fetched tools and did all kinds of tasks for her.
At last, Wave finished up. She approached us holding some kind of device, and told Kim to hold still. I have to say I was mystified as I watched Wave slip the device over Kim's shoulders and into a secure position. A large clamp was on the back of it.
"What is it?" I finally asked. Instead of answering, Wave displayed something else: a custom Extreme Gear board made just for us. The underside was silver, just like Jet's board, and the exterior was my red in front, fading into Kim's purple at the rear.
Kim took the board and examined it. "Looks pretty neat. Does it have a name?"
"I name all the Extreme Gear I make," Wave explained, displaying a small card with the board's picture on it. On the other side was printed:
Created by Wave. Speed-type board for use by Leo and Kim.
Kim raised an eyebrow. "Speed-type? What does that mean?"
"That determines what kind of a racer you are," Jet interjected. "It's an essential to Extreme Gear, because it determines what shortcuts you can take to stay ahead of your foes. There are three types, Speed, Flight, and Power."
"I'm personally a Speed-type," Jet continued. "That defines my ability to grind down rails on my Extreme Gear for shortcuts. Wave's a Flight-type, so she can get some good air off certain ramps and zoom through the air."
"Would it be safe to assume that Storm is a Power-type?" I inquired.
"Of course," Wave answered, taking the Gemini Dash back. "He's a Power-type because he can bust some obstacles like cars and barrels. I could tell just by looking at you two that you'd make a good Speed-type team, if you could ride as one."
Those words said, Wave skipped around behind Kim and held the Gemini Dash up to the device she'd put on, top of the board facing away from Kim and the front facing up. The clamp on the device received the board, securing it in place.
Wave then motioned for me to get out of the way as she pushed Kim forward. My sister yelped as she fell onto her hands and knees. "What was that for?" she yelled.
"It's all part of the plan," Wave assured Kim as she handed me a pair of shoes that quite resembled the ones I was already wearing. "Put these on, please."
I didn't see why, but I changed shoes quickly. Then, Wave told me to stand on top of Kim. I obliged, putting one foot on the surface of the Gemini Dash, then the other, and straightened myself carefully.
Wave reached down and pressed something on the side of the Gemini Dash, and all of a sudden, we lifted up a few feet off the ground. The shoes Wave had given me were outfitted with metallic soles which were now electromagnetically attached to the board.
"The main quality of Extreme Gear," Wave explained, "is its ability to float above ground. I'll explain the technical details on our way to the training room." She turned off the board, Kim stood up, and we exited Wave's lab.
Whoa. Is it my imagination, or did this chapter turn out really long?