Pairing: TFP Vince/Knockout

Rating: Teen

Details/Themes: Post-Speed Metal, mutual admiration (separate reasons), illegal racing

Requested by Rynne

A muscle car supporting flames, sporty but classic, rolled up to the makeshift starting line, revving its engine as a challenge. A few others met it on the line but none had the same level of décor as the car. Without some detail, the car would feel insignificant as a racer. Vince would know.

He owned the roads in Jasper and everyone knew his name, his car, his love of racing. Not many could challenge him but Jack Darby did once. Damn near beat him, that pathetic wimp did. A shameful moment of his career but now, he was king once again and nobody was going to take it from him as long as he had a say in the matter.

Vince smiled with charm as a few of the girls from his high school waved at him, tauntingly spinning doughnuts to impress them. He was ladies' man, what could he say? He sent a few more fake kisses their way when suddenly, the color red filled his mirror.

An Aston Martin, sleek and slender, with maroon decals seductively drove up to park parallel to him. The gold metal of the rims just screamed to be admired from a museum. The beauty of the vehicle made even Vince's own fans faint in awe. He had to admit, the car was a trophy. It took restraint to not touch the rival but he wanted it, wanted to pet it, wanted to race in it. He wondered if he could use it as a tool for betting.

He rolled down his window and stuck his arm out to rest on top of his door. "Nice ride. I would be happy to take it off your chest once I run circles around you."

Little did he know who he was talking to. Behind the wheel and hidden by tinted glass, no one sat in the driver's seat but the pedals still operated tauntingly and the radio was tuned, not on a station but on something else. "I'd like to see you try, fleshling."

"Racers to the starting line!"

Seven vehicles lined up in front of a young redhead schoolgirl as she held two flags in the air. Engines seemed thrilled at the thought of racing, roaring in anticipation to win. Vince narrowed his eyes with a sly smirk at the Aston Martin, not realizing the car was smiling back with a few fangs. As soon as the flags dropped, tires screeched to their full capacity.

Vince's car jerked forward at the same time as the Aston Martin, the two neck and neck on the first straightaway. The bully glanced again at his new rival but his smirk became more confused when he thought he heard an unusual almost human-like purr and laugh roar from the cherry ride.

Knockout, however, was gleefully enjoying the rush and his competitor. It seemed the fleshling didn't recognize him as his kidnapper the last time they raced each other. A pity; it would have been such fun to watch the insect flee in terror. There was something interesting about the human though. He was a racing addict as much as Knockout was and wasn't afraid of destroying the opposition if need be. How ruthless, how Decepticon of the male. Now he kind of understood why the Autobots liked having humans around. This one was fun!

Around the bend they drove, drifting in sync and neither scratched the other. He could tell Vince was somewhat distracted by his alt mode and who wouldn't be? He was a gorgeous specimen of the Transformer population. He wondered though if the bully would appreciate his real form if he knew about them. No, some things were better off unspoken but that didn't mean his encounter would be the last.

"Give up, crimson, I have this race tagged and bagged!" Vince shouted.

Knockout pulled a one second wheelie to gloat before putting his enhanced speed to its limit and beyond. Cybertronian speeds were never limited by the alt mode they took; even Optimus could go well over 120 mph if he needed to without taking damage to his engine. Racing one was damn near impossible but they were nothing compared to Velocitronians who would leave every human vehicle, air or ground, in the dust. The cherry Aston Martin did nothing but grin as he accelerated and watched the human's face twist in disbelief. 100…120…140…the flamed car was starting to become a dot of a light in his rear view mirror while his HUD gauge surpassed his limit of 220 before the finish line girl ran out of the way as he crossed it.

Sliding to a halt with smoke emitting from his quick reflexes, he yawned as Vince finally caught up with him no less than 5.8 seconds later. The other racers eventually crossed too but were too slow for the Decepticon to care. He didn't wince as the redhead human slammed his car door shut and stomped towards him with a scowl.

"You think you've won? There's a series of circuit races happening for next week. I want you there and racing and we'll see if your luck will run out."

Knockout resisted a snort. As if this human could possibly take him on when he remained over his speed limit. He'd pay credits to see that actually happen. But then the Aston Martin was startled slightly when a fleshy hand brushed over his hood. Through sensors he could see the human studying his paint job in appreciation. A part of him wanted to run over the annoyance but the other part of him that was kind of winning was to let it occur just to see what the human would do. Silently, his breathing hissed through his grill which no doubt the human could feel.

Vince peered back into the tinted windshield with a rather calm expression. "One day, I'll own a car just like this. I really love the detailing on this ride. So beautiful. Hopefully, you won't crash it before I get my hands on it."

One more pat on the hood and the redhead was walking back towards his car before speeding off with the school girl inside. Knockout sat there for a good three minutes contemplating what he should do. His Decepticon brethren didn't exactly approve of his racing but how could he resist such a tempting challenge? Oh, that human was a real speedster, a moderate competitor but enjoyable nevertheless. As Knockout sped into the forest, he smirked.

AN: A perfect human companion for Knockout, huh? I would have loved to see a bit more interaction with Vince with Decepticons but I understand why they didn't want him to extend beyond three episodes.