So like I said last time, let's check back in on our heroes, who are getting ready for one of the most popular events in the galaxy!
"Honestly, with all the chaos over Aleph Zero, ah'm shocked they didn't cancel this," Numbuh 6 Shot commented. Everyone had gathered in the cockpit of the ship, giving them a view of the next planet they were set to visit-Numbuh 417 and Numbuh 666's homeworld of Dragox.
"C'mon, Hatty!" Numbuh Hang 10 began as he slung an arm around his boyfriend. "You know they'd never cancel the Bonta Eve Classic unless the war was taking place directly on Dragox!"
"Er, what is that?" Maurice asked for all the humans.
"Only the greatest racing event in the universe!" Numbuh 417 boasted as she pulled out what looked like a phone and then pulled up a video, showing a series of high tech cars driving along a track that was covered in obstacles and hazards that the racers were skillfully driving around. "Basically, it's a race around the capital where just about anything goes!" As if to show what she meant by that, the video then showed one racer destroying the back half of the car in front of theirs via a series of buzzsaws mounted to the front of the car, allowing them to blast ahead.
"Looks pretty dangerous," Numbuh 60 couldn't help but note.
"Oh it is!" Numbuh 666 piped up. "And this is just the driving section! There's flying and water parts to the race too!" Once again, the video synced up perfectly with the speaker, as several cars were shown jumping off ramps into a series of rapids full of what appeared to be mines or outright taking flight, with their vehicles shifting accordingly to match.
"Now that is my kinda race!" Numbuh 4 declared.
"Gonna have to agree with him, that looks like a blast," Chad said with a nod. A few other operatives seemed to have interest in joining the race.
"Well, remember that while we will be entering, it will mainly be a mission to watch out for Numbuh Aleph Zero and his minions," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years warned the group.
"I mean, if some of us aren't planning to race, can't we just have people watch the stands?" Numbuh 417 pointed out with a tone that made it very clear her goal was winning the race.
"I suppose that could work," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years admitted. "But the racers will still have to be careful."
"Don't worry about it!" Numbuh 666 assured him. "No one can get into our garage!"
"...Actually, once we land, we should check on the lab too," Numbuh 417 realized. "Just to make sure that nothing got out."
"...Yeah, that might be a good idea," Numbuh 666 realized as he brought the ship in for a landing. From what everyone could see, the place seemed to have various different biomes, from a lava field to an icy wasteland, although the place they were going to appeared to be a city that was a mix of high tech and medieval architecture with dozens of roadways running through it and out of it.
"Welcome to the capital of Dragox-Spyroic City!" Numbuh 417 declared to the group. "Our garage is a little bit out of town, so we'll have to drive out."
"So we ride the bus?" Numbuh 3 asked, which was met with uproarious laughter.
"We do have public transport, but we're all WAY too cool for that," Numbuh 417 declared. "So we're going to use our personal rides!" Before anyone could question what that meant, they heard the sound of two engines revving up. Turning around, everyone saw two monster truck-like vehicles roll out of a nearby garage. One had more of a dragon-like design while one was decidedly more sturdy and both were decently dinged up.
"You drive that!?" Numbuh 2 asked in awe.
"We built them ourselves!" Numbuh 417 bragged, only to get a nudge from Numbuh 666. "Okay, Witherton did most of the work, but I helped!"
"Er, as cool as these are, I think we're gonna have to make trips," Numbuh 362 noted. "There's not enough room to fit all of us!"
"Don't worry about that! We got some help!" Numbuh 417 assured her. Before anyone could question that comment, two more cars drove up behind the group. One driver was a greyish Dragconious wearing sunglasses and with a bunch of swords, other bladed weapons strapped across his body and extremely sharp claws. The other was a female Combinabax who, much like Numbuh 666, appeared to be somewhat humanoid, with her sporting glasses, brownish hair a fox's tail, cat ears as well as human like ones, bat wings along her arms and what appeared to be sheep wool forming a scarf like shape around her neck. "Meet Sabor and Astoria! They used to serve with Doc and I back in our Kids Next Door days. Not as good as us, but still pretty solid operatives."
"We will ditch you, Flarias," Sabor gruffly said.
"Sorry," Numbuh 417 said as she climbed into her own car, with Numbuh 666 doing the same. "Now, everyone pick a car! We have places to be!" Everyone quickly took that as a cue to take a seat. It was still a bit of a squeeze, but everyone was able to get buckled up.
"Now…you may want to hold onto something," Sabor declared as he pushed his glasses up. No one had a chance to question that before all four vehicles roared to life and raced off. Even without being in a race, the four drivers drove like they had something to prove and with how windy and, in some cases, narrow, the roads were, operatives were getting tossed around like ragdolls.
"You guys can drive upside down!?" Numbuh 4, one of the few people actually enjoying the ride, asked upon taking notice of a series of roads that twisted around.
"Yep!" Astoria declared happily. "In fact…it looks like we're going that way anyways!" With a laugh, she pressed the gas pedal down further, resulting in the car rocketing forward before suddenly beginning to drive upside down. Driving this way gave the car a look at the other three. Numbuh 417 had opted to switch her car into jet mode, allowing her to fly over to them.
"Enjoying the ride?" She asked.
"Heck yes!" Numbuh 4 cheered. "I can't wait to do this tomorrow!"
"No kidding!" Numbuh 2, who was seated in Numbuh 417's passenger seat, agreed.
"Speak for yourself!" Numbuh Infinity, who's claws were now digging into the seat, called back.
"Wimp," Numbuh 4 taunted, earning himself a weak glare. Numbuh 417 just rolled her eyes and flew back towards the road, landing on it easily. Much to the relief of most of the group, the garage wasn't that far.
"Is that what the race is like!?" Numbuh 86 exclaimed as she clutched her stomach. She was pretty sure she was going to be sick.
"Pretty much," Numbuh 6 Shot grumbled as he tried to pull the terrified Silvo off his arm before he lost all circulation in it.
"You're underselling it. If anything, it's even crazier," Numbuh 8 Infinity said as she tried to steady herself.
"Lightweights," Sabor grunted before turning to his friends. "See you both behind me at the race tomorrow!"
"You are going down!" Numbuh 666 challenged as Sabor and Astoria drove off, most likely to their own garages.
"I think you're all being a little dramatic about this," Numbuh 417 noted as she leaned against the wall and looked over the people who weren't used to the same adrenaline that she and Numbuh 666 were.
"Most of us are…not used to that," Was all Numbuh 362 could manage to say.
"Yeah, our way of life is a little…intense for some," Numbuh 666 admitted as he emerged from a nearby room. "On the plus side, all my experiments are still locked up!"
"Oh thank the elders!" Numbuh 417 exclaimed with a laugh. "I never want to get partly digested ever again." As per the course, she seemed oblivious to all the concerned stares she got from this. She then clapped her hands together. "So, who actually wants to join me, Doc, Hook and Leo in the big race tomorrow?"
"Wait, those two are gonna race too?" Numbuh 5 asked as she pointed to the latter two names that Numbuh 417 had mentioned.
"Duh!" Numbuh Hang 10 said with a chuckle. "This race is awesome!"
"I always enjoyed watching the races," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years admitted. "So, when I was offered a chance to join myself, I couldn't help myself."
"So, which of you kids want to join in?" Numbuh 666 asked. Almost instantly, Numbuhs 2 and 4's hands shot up. Cree's hand was the next to go up, which was then swiftly followed by Chad, Numbuh Vine, Numbuh 9L, Numbuh 5, Numbuh 60 and finally Numbuh 362. "Okay! Solid group!"
"So what are we going to be building with, anyways?" Numbuh 4 questioned. Numbuh 417 and Numbuh 666 simply smirked before turning on the lights, revealing that the group was surrounded by various parts. Two other cars sat in the corner, somewhat dusty but still clearly in good condition to drive.
"We have some part time deals with the local scrap yards," Numbuh 417 explained as everyone looked around in awe. "Also…I'm a bit of a hoarder, which is why we have so much."
"So we can use anything we find?" Numbuh 2 asked like a kid in a candy store.
"Anything you wanna use, it's yours. We can help you put it together," Numbuh 666 offered before grinning. "Now…shall we get started?"
Needless to say, the answer was unanimous.
Insert montage of everyone putting the cars together, with even those not planning to race or with already finished cars helping
"Gotta say, I think we did pretty well for our first time making these things," Numbuh 60 noted as he looked over his own vehicle. Most were rather standard looking, but still had the personal flare that would give away who was driving it.
"Now remember everyone," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years spoke up. "We also need to keep an eye out for anyone who may try to crash the race."
"Translation-make sure that the Galactic Kids Next Door doesn't do anything stupid." Numbuh 417 said before firing up her engines. "Now let's get to the starting line! I'm not missing the start of the race because you guys were too slow!"
"You weren't kiddin' when you said this race was popular!" Numbuh 5 marveled. Upon arriving at the starting line, the group was shocked to see dozens of cars already present as well as completely packed stands.
"Well, it is one of the longest running racing events in the universe," Numbuh 417 noted as she fiddled with her dashboard, trying to put on a decent song to set the mood. "Besides, with all the panic over you know what, people want a chance to relax."
"Numbuh 5 understands that," The younger girl mumbled. But before either girl could respond again, a loud chime sounded.
"Attention racers! Start your engines!" An announcer declared. The crowd went wild at this while the racers all quickly took the cue to finish up whatever preparations they had left and then get ready to race. Much to the relief of those racing from Earth, the starting system was the same-they just had to wait for the light to turn green and as soon as it did, they were off.
It was still fairly early into the race and Numbuh 666 was feeling pretty good. He and Numbuh 417 had taken the chance to memorize the track layout this year in order to map out the best routes possible, so he knew where to go. And so far, no annoying Galactic Kids Next Door members had shown up yet!
"So, doc! Does your breath still smell like dirtian!?"
So maybe he spoke too soon.
"Oh come on! Don't be a stick in the mud!" Numbuh 55555 yelled out as he drove onto the track before quickly blasting two racers away. Numbuh 666, for once, opted not to yell back, instead opting to focus on finding anything he could use to knock the jerk away.
And luckily, the race track was quick to provide him with an option.
"To any operative in my area, on my signal, start shooting down the fruit you see hanging from the trees!" Numbuh 666 called out to his communicator, hoping that the mad villain driving behind him didn't notice.
"How is a bunch of cruddy fruit gonna help us!?" Numbuh 4 snapped back.
"Because it's what we like to call Boom Fruit!" Numbuh 666 called back. "If it hits the ground with enough force, it will explode everywhere! If we can lead Numbuh 55555 into the blasts, we should be able to knock him off course!"
"Sounds like a plan, Numbuh 666!" Numbuh 9L declared. With some of the racers having already taken new paths or having been blasted away, he actually had a clear view of the two other operatives. Turning around, he noticed Numbuh 55555 having just entered the area where the Boom Fruits were growing.
"Okay, start blasting!" He ordered. Almost instantly, fruits began dropping and exploding. Numbuh 55555, who had been so caught up in attempting to blast the operatives, didn't notice anything amiss until the fruits were already hitting the ground.
"Whoa! Whoa!" He called out as he tried to swerve around the track. Of course, with all the sap and juice now coating the track, this was easier said than done. Thus, it wasn't long before he ended up driving straight into a blast, sending him flying off the track. This time, however, he wasn't able to make an escape before a series of drones, normally used to collect racers that were left unable to race, grabbed him.
"So, they brought you back out, huh?" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years noted to one of the Project Z victims, which had driven up behind him. He knew they wouldn't respond to him, but he couldn't help but note how weird it was that they were willing to play so loosely with robots that they most likely couldn't replace them any time soon if they were to lose them. Much like Numbuh 666, Numbuh 4.3 Light Years took a chance to look around for a way to disable the robot. The part of the track he was on was a narrower one, meant to funnel into a series of dark caves. He could see Numbuh Vine, Numbuh Hang 10, and Numbuh 5 nearby. He then took notice of the upcoming path-the main track would abruptly cut off, leading straight to a wall no less, as it narrowed down into a single file line. It was a risky play, but also the one that stood the best chance of getting rid of the Project Z victim.
"Numbuh Vine, Numbuh Hang 10, Numbuh 5, I have a plan to deal with this member of Project Z. However, it's highly risky. Can I ask you to trust me?" He asked over the com channel.
"I already do trust ya, Leo!" Numbuh Hang 10 responded almost instantly. "I'll do whatever ya need!"
"Well, you've proven yourself to Numbuh 5, so she's in with whatever ya got planned!" Numbuh 5 was the next to respond.
"Hey, a plan is better than no plan!" Numbuh Vine piped up. Numbuh 4.3 Light Years sighed with relief.
"At the end of this tunnel, the track cuts off, but there are two roads near the end. If we drive into them face enough, we should be able to trick this member of Project Z into hitting the walls," Numbuh 4.3 Light Years explained, still waiting on the backlash.
"Sounds good to Numbuh 5!" Numbuh 5 responded. Numbuh Hang 10 and Numbuh Vine said nothing, but Numbuh 4.3 Light Years could tell they agreed with her. Soon, they were all lined up, with the Project Z mech still trying to blast away. Everyone was sweating. One wrong move and not only were they out of the race, but they were most likely going to be seriously injured. Soon, it was time.
"TURN NOW!" Numbuh 4.3 Light Years roared from his spot in the back. Everyone quickly turned, with Numbuh 4.3 Light Years being the last to turn. As he took a moment to steady his heart, the explosion behind him barely registered.
"What's the matter, teenager?!" Numbuh 11:11 sneered as she tried to hit Cree with a missile, only narrowly missing. "Still afraid!?"
Cree grit her teeth. "Don't let her get to you. Don't let her get to you. DO NOT LET HER GET TO YOU!"
"Cree, you good?" Chad asked as he drove up next to her. They, along with Numbuh 417, had hit a water section of the track and needless to say, the explosions were spraying water everywhere.
"Would love to make her shut up!" Cree snapped. She knew that pretty much everyone knew that she was still fairly scarred from what had happened to her and had been wanting to get even with Numbuh 11:11 for quite some time.
"Luckily for you, I've got a plan!" Numbuh 417 declared as she pulled up to the group. "I'm gonna pull ahead. You guys box her in and then lead her into that stalagmite!"
"Sounds like a plan!" Cree said with an eager grin. Chad simply nodded. Numbuh 417 sped forward while Chad and Cree backed up, making sure they were lined up completely with the mad bird-like alien.
"Oh? Finally here to face your demons?" Numbuh 11:11 asked with a mocking grin.
"You could say that," Cree replied with a grin of her own. Before Numbuh 11:11 could react, both teenagers slammed into the mad child, keeping her exactly where they wanted her.
"Hey! What are you two doing!?" Numbuh 11:11 yelled out over the metal smashing together.
"Knocking you out of this race!" Chad declared for Cree as they sped off together. Before Numbuh 11:11 could react, she had already smashed directly into the stalagmite.
"Guys, I could use some help here!" Numbuh 362 called out as she tried to move away from Numbuh XXX, who was trying to shoot her with some type of laser in hopes of disabling her car.
"Hang on!" Numbuh 60 called out as he drove up next to her. This, however, resulted in another Project Z mech coming up behind them.
"Thanks for the back up!" Numbuh XXX mocked as the Project Z joined in on the attack.
"Numbuh 60, that's not helpful!" Numbuh 362 snapped at her longtime friend.
"I know, but I'm not the one who was attacking," Numbuh 60 declared. Numbuh 2, who had spent most of the race in the air, suddenly flew in and fired a lightning bolt down on the two attackers, sending them spinning into each other.
"Thanks for the help, Numbuh 2!" Numbuh 362 thanked the other boy.
"No problem, supreme leader!" Numbuh 2 responded. Numbuh 362 didn't have the heart to correct him.
Numbuh 74.239 was fairly certain he was about to die of a heart attack. They were down to just himself, Numbuh Aleph Zero, the last Project Z mech and Numbuh Blob.
Yet, in spite of this, Numbuh Aleph Zero seemed almost happy.
"Uh, sir?" Numbuh 74.239 nervously asked.
"What?" Numbuh Aleph Zero responded, still sounding almost happy.
"Isn't this a bad thing?" Numbuh 74.239 had to ask. "I mean, we just lost Numbuh 55555, Numbuh 11:11 and we're down to our last Project Z robot!"
"That may be true…but I think Numbuh Blob will be able to handle them. After all, they'll never attack him with how he is now," Numbuh Aleph Zero responded. Now, Numbuh 74.239 was smirking.
They'd never know what hit them.
Once again, we have another cliffhanger! See you next chapter for our race's after party!