Why did it have to be man-eating robot sharks? Why can't we ever just get giant fluffy bunnies as a Code Purple? I'd LOVE that. -and I could go home without having to explain to my Mom why my trousers are damp all the time.

BAM!

"oof."

At the sudden sound of these noises, everyone turns around to see Brandon, on the floor, sprawled out on his beanbag chair. Ouch! He must've flipped the switch too hard. Let me tell you, I did that once with my rope, NOT a good day. Ended up belly flopping onto a cold, hard, metal floor. Only difference is that I wasn't lucky enough to have a beanbag cushioning my fall. There's a good reason why I don't go to the pool shirtless anymore…

I would ask if the guy's okay, but remembering how that went last time, I keep my lips zipped.

"Brandon!", Wyatt shouts (I don't know why, exactly. He's behind us, not a mile away.) "Git your tail over here! We got some shark-wranglin' to do!"

Larry stops what he's doing to look over us at Brandon. He seems concerned, but like I said before, it's hard to tell with him.

"Hit the switch too hard, son?" he asks.

Surprisingly, Brandon immediately sits up at this. He scratches the back of his head, looking kind of humiliated and nods.

"You injured? Nothing broken or bruised? ", the boss inquires some more.

Brandon responds with a shake of his head.

"Alrighty, then." Larry says, "Back to your mission. Where's my assistant?"

"I'm up here!"

I have to crane what little neck I have to look upward to see that the source of the voice that just responded is Wheelie… on the ceiling?! She's hanging upside down from a ceiling light by her legs, (how she gets up there, I'll never know).

Again, I'M supposed to be the crazy one? That light is like, twenty feet off the ground! Does she have something against ladders?!

"Sorry, boss." she says, seeming flustered. "I heard the alarm, just trying to finish up that list of things you asked me to repair last week."

I look to see the boss' glasses slide all the way down his nose as his eyebrows go upward.

"Child, where's that helmet I told you to wear when you're fixing on my ceiling?" he asks, narrowing his eyes like an old man trying to see something too far away for his old eyes to pick up.

Wheelie, who is definitely not wearing a helmet, doesn't answer at first.

"Um, well- ", she starts.

"She don't need it!", Wyatt interrupts. "Jus' like me! A Dandelion doesn't need safety equipment! We got natural-born skill! She's a chip off the ol' block!"

Weird. I didn't know Wheelie and Wyatt were related. I knew she was GAGE'S cousin, (they used to live in the same house when we were little, good times) but not this. Does that mean GAGE and WYATT are also related? That would explain SO much! …Like why they fight all the time! Or why I've never seen Wyatt's parents before! Or -

"Wyatt, for the quintillionth time, I'm not your real sister!" Wheelie shouts down, seeming slightly annoyed.

Awww, man. I thought I had something there.

For a split second, I think I catch a glimpse of sadness in Wyatt's eyes, but he readjusts the brim of the rugged old cap on his head to hide his face.

"I- I know." he says, kinda too quiet for Wheelie to hear. "I know."

I feel my heart sink for him. Wyatt can be kind of a jerk sometimes, but I know he's a pretty sensitive guy deep down. He's just too scared to show it.

RUMBLE RUMBLE

Oh geez! That was my stomach. I've got the rumblies? Weird. I ate like fifteen minutes ago.

Gage, who is right next to me, jumps at the sound of my tummy. Everyone turns to look at me again (even Wheelie, who is STILL hanging from the CEILING), this time with curiosity in their eyes.

"Whoa, dude." Gage says, slowly backing up a bit, like I'm an old bomb that might blow if he gets too close. "What did you eat this morning?"

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE

Wait…

RUMBLERUMBLERUMBLE

Oh.

OH.

OH NO.

I completely forgot what happens when Rhett's stomach sounds like that.

Fault's on me, completely. It's happened quite a lot throughout our childhood together, so I should've recognized it on the spot. I wanna chalk it up to my tunnel vision but, let's be real, if you forget your best friend's stomach grumbles can predict the future, you can't really blame anything but yourself.

We call it the Rumble of Doom. Why, you ask? Just watch.

"OH NO!" Rhett yells in sudden distress.

He runs over to the Bossman Larry and starts shaking him around, like a kid in full panic mode. In his defense, that's exactly what he is right now.

"We have to get out of here!" he says, in full crisis mode.

I, still standing near the Big Screen with Wyatt and Brandon, still haven't yet recalled Rhett's Rumble of Doom at this point, but someone else has.

"Oddio!" Wheelie shouts from her hanging place. "Rumble of Doom!"

Her words hit me a little too late.

The lights in the Garage Room go dark. In fact, everything goes dark.

What the… Did the power just go out? We don't have TIME for a blackout right now, the city is in danger! Those Robo-Shark's are probably out there eating half the city away, and we've already wasted enough time waiting for Brandon!

No shade towards Brandon, I just HATE waiting. There are SO any better things to do with my time, so why would I spend it standing around WAITING for something to happen? If you want something, go get it and don't stop for anything! That's my motto. (That and 'It always comes down to speed -and waffles-.' That motto needs, uh, more context to sound as cool as the other one.)

…and right now, I want to stop those (admittedly cool looking) shark robot creatures from destroying our home.

This Garage is literally a secret underground base powered by liquid imagination. How does something like that go out? Surprisingly, through the pitch darkness, I hear Brandon of all people pipe up with the same thought.

"Wha- uh, d-did the power go out?"

I squint through the dark, trying to make my eyes adjust faster. Can't react the way I need to if I can't see where I'm going. Doesn't hurt to try moving too, so I reach out my arms and start feeling around for a wall or something.

Everyone's voice's echo throughout the room, each one trying to find the next.

"Boss? Guys!? I can't see!"

"Alrighty then, did the room just go dark, or did the blood rushing to my head finally get to me?"

"HANG TIGHT, WILLY! I'll come git ya!"

"Wyatt, you're, uh… on my foot."

I see a flashlight come on and scope around the room. It's Larry, I think. No one else is that tall.

"Alright now," he says, sounding like an old man about to grab his belt and start whooping somebody, "Who's been messin' with my power grid?!"

tink

CRASH!

I flinch at the sudden noise and, before my brain can react, my body immediately whips around to come face to face with a pair of glowy purple eyes, accompanied by 50 or so jagged metal teeth.

Guess, I don't have to worry about finding the Robo-Sharks anymore…

They already found us.

Ha HA! I'm late, but I deliver! Finally! Action! Intrigue! Drama!

Well, not yet, but the setup is complete! That's progress! I fully intend on showing out the next chapter, so say your prayers everyone, we're in for a bumpy ride!

Oh, and P.S., there's a lore blog I've complied for your viewing pleasure right here: team-hot-wheels-imaginators (it's a tumblr blog, just copy/paste the name into the tumblr searchbar and you should find it)

It's got illustrations of all the main characters and mini-bios for each one. I'm going to add other things, like mini-comics and lore bits here and there as time goes on, so feel free to check it out!

As for Gage, hopefully you liked how I wrote him, because I'm on edge. If received word from an advisor that I my writing from the boys' perspective is a a little lackluster in comparison to Wheelie. I DO NOT want that. All these character are equally charming and should be written that way. Please let me know if he's interesting enough for you.

Until next chapter, my lovelies! 3