No Storm Shocks occurred that day, giving Vert plenty of time to formulate a plan. Sage had given him the details surrounding the nighttime pattern of their mystery driver and he'd mapped out the place they were most likely to appear. There was decent cover in the area for Zoom, Stanford and him in the form of some large rock formations. Whoever this was couldn't be too dangerous and he didn't want to risk being spotted by bringing along the heavy hitters. Tezz, much against his will, was left out because the glow from his car would call too much attention to itself.
Secretly, he was surprised to learn that the external lights could not be turned off–he always saw Tezz as a conservative guy who didn't care for flashy things and just assumed the lights served more purpose than decoration. Power running through his car, for example. In any case, the scientist was put on standby with the others while he and his chosen few headed out into the Salt Flats.
"Stay frosty, team," he advised, crawling to a stop behind the rocks. "We don't know where or when this guy will show up."
"If he's out here causing anomalies and such, I think we'll spot him pretty easily," Stanford said, reclining his seat. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and given how most of the readings were picked up in the deep of night, they'd probably be out there for a while. Thankfully, a Storm Shock was unlikely to occur. Something about the lack of radioactive energy from the sun, or some such nonsense.
"There wasn't anything weird about them the other day," Zoom piped in. "All we saw was just a car in the desert. Nothing special."
"And that's why we're gonna keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. Right, Stanford?"
He groaned and brought the seat back up, having just gotten comfortable. "I hope you're prepared to make it up to me for ruining my beauty sleep. It's almost as important as good hair gel."
"Something tells me that's no big loss," Zoom muttered to himself with a chuckle.
Stanford's speakers relayed the words crisp and clear. "You go ahead and say that when I win Grace over with my charm and good looks," he retorted. "As it stands, I think I have a much better chance."
"Guys," Vert admonished. "We're on a mission, remember?"
They both mumbled their apologies.
Hours passed as they waited, giving occasional updates to HQ and watching the stars reveal themselves while Zoom and Stanford had the occasional squabble. Vert was considering calling the whole thing off when his dash lit up. "Heads up, guys, I think this is our man." The blip was going about eighty miles an hour, less than a minute from rushing right past them.
"I'm ready," Zoom said, hand on the throttle.
"Huh? Oh! Uh, Reverb locked and loaded." Stanford, having just woken up from a nap, had to reorient himself. He spied the car's trajectory on his radar. "What's the plan, Vert?"
"Don't fire at him unless he's dangerous. Let's just chase him down." He readjusted his grip on the controls.
Seven more seconds before...
"Go!"
They launched from behind their cover and raced after the vehicle, lights on and engines roaring. The driver swerved a bit, seemingly startled by their sudden presence. The taillights left blurs as they turned sharply.
Zoom was the first to catch up to the car, trying to peer through the driver's window as he rode alongside it. "Hey!" he called. "Pull over!"
Vert and Stanford were already pulling up behind and beside them, boxing them in.
Vert smashed the accelerator and gave a warning prod to the rear of the car. They tried to speed away but he kept up. He gave another push, this one less friendly.
The car almost lost control but regained its grip and leaned left again, nearly taking Zoom out. The scout had to fall back and they sped on, trying all sorts of maneuvers in an effort to lose the BF5. With nothing but open desert for miles, there wasn't anywhere they could go.
Stanford pulled ahead and tried to trip them up, swinging Reverb too close for comfort. The driver slammed the brakes, did a one-eighty–narrowly dodging Zoom and Vert–and rocketed in the opposite direction.
Vert grit his teeth. "Enough is enough. Guys, emergency maneuver seven." Zoom shot ahead, doing a brief wheelie in the process, while he and Stanford rode side by side.
The scout sped along until he could launch himself in front of the vehicle and hit the brakes hard enough to turn sideways. The car did its own rapid deceleration and swerved right when Stanford appeared and did a pit maneuver. The car spun out and before the driver could regain control Vert pulled up, twisted the Saber's controls, and spun the tail end into it. The car skidded and bounced to a stop and they surrounded it before it could move.
Zoom, having the convenience of a motorcycle, called out, "Sorry about the harsh treatment, dude, but we've got some questions for you." Now that it wasn't moving and their lights were on it, he could see that it was an old '69 Camaro. It was all black and didn't look unlike any other black Camaro from the time period, aside from the large supercharger sticking through the hood. No doubt it was fast, but still not the image he had in mind. Was this really what was causing all those strange readings?
The passenger window rolled down and a girl with sharp blue eyes and brown hair met him. "What the hell is your problem?!" she shouted, making him flinch. "And who do you think you're calling a dude? What, a girl can't drive for once?"
The scout looked worriedly at Vert, who had climbed out and was striding over.
"We weren't trying to hurt you," he said, voice calm. He brought his hands up in a passive gesture. He wasn't expecting this situation at all and wondered if they'd made a mistake. Nothing about her or her car seemed out of the ordinary. The only thing it had in common with the car he'd seen the other day was its color. She could've just been a regular person out doing time trials in the desert. He had no idea what to say.
The girl glared at Vert so intensely that Stanford thought she was trying to set him on fire. He had been thinking of going over to introduce himself but seeing the sheer ferocity in her made him stay put inside Reverb, where it was safe and less likely to spontaneously combust. His thumb absently hovered over the trigger out of habit.
"Back off," the girl said when Vert was within a few feet of her front bumper.
"Sorry." He stopped. "What's your name?"
"Buddy, you've got ten seconds before I decide screw it and commit vehicular manslaughter. I don't know who you creeps are but if this is some kind of game-"
"It's not a game, really," Zoom said when she looked like she might keep her word. "We just... Uh, I think we might actually be having a misunderstanding." He chuckled nervously at her hard gaze.
"You thought I was someone else?"
Zoom blanched and looked at Vert, hoping he had an answer. The normally fearless leader was looking a little torn.
"We... Yeah. We thought you were someone else. They also drive a black car and have been tearing up our stuff for some time now," he lied. "We're sorry about going after you." He twitched when she swung open the door.
She stepped out of the car and, side-eying Zoom and Vert, walked around to the back. Some nicks and scratches and the mother-of-all dents from the red-clad freak's uncovered tire, but nothing horrendous. She could get it fixed in a couple of days. She walked back to the driver's side.
"You're lucky it's not worse," she said, ducking in. "Otherwise, I'd have to pay for it with your teeth. Now move, or I really will run you over."
Vert obliged and watched her rev the engine before darting between the Saber and Reverb, taillights fading into the distance.
"Well, that could've gone better," Stanford supplied amidst the silence. "Was she even the one we were looking for?"
Zoom ran a quick scan. His instruments weren't as sensitive as the Buster's or Splitwire's but his bike was still more than capable of picking up anything that matched the frequency of the anomalies. "Um, I don't have anything weird here."
"Great, so we just chased down a local for nothing." Vert watched the specks of red and pulled up a map. "She is heading in the direction of that town though."
"So what? She's not the only one that lives there, Vert. Face it, we messed up. Now we just have to hope that little miss spitfire doesn't get any ideas."
Stanford had a point. Although...
"She never once said anything about our cars." Reverb was the only one that could pass as normal, as long as the cannons were hidden. Maybe he was too used to getting odd looks and comments about the Saber, but it didn't sit well with him to have someone just not care.
"Dude, we really ticked her off by running her off the road. Pretty sure that was her top priority." He almost shivered at the way she'd glared at him, though he couldn't blame her.
"Let's head back, guys," Vert said, climbing into his car. "We'll try and figure this out in the morning. Maybe we just have to try something else."
"Might I suggest chasing the right person this time around?" He yawned. "Don't talk to me until I've had some sleep. You'll be dealing with a tyrant far worse than Krytus if you do."
Reverb sped off, the Chopper and Saber in tow.
Vert stayed up late to talk with Sage while everyone else turned in. When she verified, for the hundredth time, that there were no new readings and that they really had just chased down a civilian, he headed to bed as well. The thought that he'd made such an ignorant mistake kept him up for many hours until he drifted off from exhaustion.
