About a day goes by since the Qualifying Race. In the Grand Prix building, the Transformatrix bearer Braedey Martin had the hood section open to take a look at the engine. He was very curious and wondered how much more there is to know about his new racing machine and what there is to witness in action.
The engine is a single-forge Cybertronian Tritanium Bernoulli Convergenator, which looks like that of a super-hypercharged 35,000hp quad-turbocharged W16 Bugatti Chiron engine, so the car will do 0-60 in under 1.5 seconds, and reach up to 500mph in under 120 seconds if the need arises.
"Have to admit, Rex had really pulled out all the stops when it came to building this racing machine." Braedey commented. He then goes and takes a scan of the car's computer and the main operating systems.
The car's internal CPU now allows interface with the Transformatrix, now allowing the user to transform the vehicle into any type of form selected from the watch.
"Definitely going to enjoy this..." Braedey commented. "Being able to change form while behind the wheel... Wonder what the car may look like with each change."
"Uh, excuse me?" A girl's voice spoke up, now getting Braedey's attention as he looks away from the engine. "I'm looking for a Mr. Braedey Martin."
Braedey looks over to see a teenage girl around 17 years of age, medium black hair and a pair of green eyes. She is wearing a white tank top, dark boots, and orange work overalls, the top part of the overalls rolled up.
"Hi. And that would be me. Who might you be?" Braedey inquired, him wiping his hands clean.
"The name is Rin." The raven-hair girl introduced herself, then she shook hands with Braedey. "I've heard about you, being the Transformer hero and all that."
"Nice to hear some positive comments from others." Braedey acknowledged with a shrug. "So, what's your story?" He asked back.
The daughter of a junkyard dealer, Rin grew up racing. She would even custom-build small karts to compete in any and all races she could enter into, her father her biggest supporter. She'd be either racing on dirt tracks or paved circuits, or even be working on cars to make them turn sharper, go faster, or brake harder. She soon got into a mechanics school to learn all she can about engines and vehicles, then she opted to try her hand at racing. About a month ago, she eventually decided to go with going to Racer Academy, though it did take her some time to get here.
"Talk about a journey for you." Braedey complimented to her. He then steps back away from the Transformer and gestured to the open back section. "Well, since you are a grease-monkey, why don't you take a look at this?" He gestured to the engine bay.
Rin goes ahead and she looks over at the engine, her eyes widening and looks on in awe. "Oh, wow. That's an awesome piece of machinery." She commented in awe. "This is wicked. What kind of numbers you got for this?" She inquired.
"Think of it as a super-hypercharged 35,000hp quad-turbocharged W16 Bugatti Chiron engine." Braedey explained. "Can do 0-60 in under 1.5 seconds, and can reach up to 500mph in 120 seconds if the need arises."
"Holy... moly..." Was all Rin could mutter out.
"Yeah. I've yet to put this car through its paces, but I've got a gut feeling that I'm definitely gonna leave everyone in the dust." Braedey chuckled.
"I can imagine." Rin nodded. "You've already gone through your qualifying round?" She inquired.
"Just did earlier today." Braedey answered. "What about you?"
"Same. I had to use a backup car, though." Rin clarified to the brunette. "I did see you earlier out, and I was pretty surprised when you performed that backwards driving thing. That was wicked."
"Hey, thanks. I was still coming to grips with the 180-wheel spin function." Braedey now moves one of the wheels around on its 180 axis before putting it back.
"Whoa... that's really cool." Rin commented, looking on at the wheel arrangement. "Imagine these wheels on a Formula One car."
"I can only imagine." Braedey chuckled out.
Over the next half-hour, Rin and Braedey have gone ahead to set up their dorm, the two getting beds all prepped for each of them, as well as putting up posters and other little items around. For Braedey, he opted to try and make the dorm feel as homely as possible, with Rin also putting her bags and books up on an adjacent desk.
"So you're a good mechanic and designer." Braedey mused.
"Well, I do design whenever I can, but I prefer to get my hands dirty and work on any machine that I can." Rin clarified. "Like you said, I am more of a grease-monkey."
"Well, you've got the best spot on campus for that, since I'm the Transformatrix Bearer." Braedey chuckled to himself.
"That is true." Rin smiled. "Though I am curious about the Racer brothers."
"Racer Brothers?" Braedey inquired in confusion.
Rin looked at Braedey as if he had two heads. "Are you serious? You don't know?"
"I've barely spent a day here at the academy." Braedey pointed out casually. "So I don't know much about anyone and everyone, let alone much about the racing world."
"Oh, fair enough." Rin shrugged, Braedey closing the hood section of the racecar. "Think we should go and get to class." She suggested.
"Well, since you know more about this place, maybe you can help me out." Braedey offered. Rin nodded back in understanding, both collecting their belongings before they go off to class.
The class turned out to be defensive driving while out on the track. The class had a number of students all in their seats and ready for the lesson, with a woman in a motorised wheelchair up front. This woman is known as Professor Susan Winn, an intelligent and level-headed woman who teaches in defensive driving techniques, and someone who once knew Speed Racer.
Braedey and Rin both took their seats on the left side of the classroom. As they sit down, Braedey takes note of the overalls girl, the redhead boy, as well as the tall boy with brown hair a row further down. Further over is a lean muscular boy with brown hair but with a noticeable X tattoo on the right arm, while he's in grey and black. Not far away from him is the orange-hair girl that was down on the track yesterday, as well as two twin brothers with similar yet opposite clothing.
"Okay. Down ahead of us are Lucy, Conor, and Speed." Rin whispered to Braedey.
"Speed? As in THE Speed Racer?" Braedey asked in surprise to his new friend. He was definitely taken aback by this.
"Well, his son. One of two." Rin clarified. "Speed is quite modest about his abilities and claims his manoeuvres result from instinct than skill. He is not in it for money or fame - he just wants to be "the best in the world", and to have fun."
"I see." Braedey mused.
"The fella with the tattoo on his arm is his older brother X. He is slick, handsome, and popular among the girls at school." Rin continued to explain. "That redhead girl over there, that's Annalise Zazic. She's a spoiled, selfish, whiny material girl, and she gets whatever she wants from her father, since they come from a rich family. And those two twins, those are Jared and Jesse. They often act as Annalise's bullish lackies and the school's worst students on campus."
"Noted." Braedey acknowledged back softly. "Thanks for the heads-up on that redhead and the two twins."
"Now, everyone." Professor Winn spoke up to everyone. "For defensive driving, you must keep your car under complete control and to make sure not to be too rough with your vehicle. What is the most common mistake that is caused by this?" She asked.
Braedey immediately raised his hand before anyone else could. "Overcorrection, Professor." He spoke up, everyone all looking over to him in surprise.
"Ah, I see we have two new students here on campus." Professor Winn turned to look at them. "May I have the honour of who you are?" She inquired.
Braedey stood up and adjusted his jacket as he stood to attention. "Braedey Martin, Professor Winn." He gave his name. Almost immediately, the students around the room began to whisper to one another in curiosity and suspicion.
"Please, call me Rin." The raven-hair girl next to Braedey stood up and gave her name before she sat down.
"Well, Mr. Martin, care to clarify by your answer?" Professor Winn asked to Braedey.
"Yes, Professor. Overcorrection means to oversteer when a driver feels loss of control of the vehicle. It's a common reaction that drivers must practice avoiding in the event that they would ever lose control of their vehicles." Braedey gives his explanation.
"Very good, Mr. Martin. Thank you." Professor Winn thanked, Braedey taking his seat. "Now, for this lesson, you will be thrown into a scenario on the Virtual Track. This scenario is to test you on how well you perform in these different environmental conditions and maintain control of your vehicle during defensive driving. No two tracks or environments are the same."
Braedey looks to Rin. "A Virtual Track. What's that?" He asked in hushed whisper.
"It's the most innovative piece of technology on the campus, as far as I've read. The Virtual Track can simulate environments or scenarios, and even different locations anywhere that cannot be replicated for real." Rin explained to him.
"I see. How intriguing." Braedey mused.
"Now, everyone. Let's make our way down to the track and see what you can do." Professor Quinn said to the students, all of them going down to the track.
"This will be an opportunity for us to see what my car can do in a different environment." Braedey said to Rin.
"Uh, excuse me." Braedey and Rin turn to see Speed, Conor, and Lucy walking up to them. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you in action back during the Qualifier. Nice on that backwards driving move." He commented.
"Uh, thank you." Braedey thanked back, then he shook hands with Speed. "Nice to meet you, Speed." He greeted warmly.
"I guess you already know who I am." Speed shrugged.
"Well, thanks to me." Rin clarified.
"And you know who I am as well." Braedey now took a guess.
"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you." Speed greeted. "I have seen you in action on the TV many times-"
"Hey, can you transform into one of your robots?" Conor immediately got into Braedey's face. "Maybe that black and yellow one- Wait, no- Do you have a giant robot monkey one? No- That bulky green guy- No-no-no, wait. Maybe you can change into that super-cool awesomeifying-" Conor was cut off when Lucy pulls him back and covered his mouth to shut him up.
"Thank you. His voice was making my ears bleed." Rin sighed in relief.
"This is definitely gonna be a tough one, since I don't know what's going to happen." Braedey now commented.
"I'm sure you guys will do great." Lucy reassured to the two.
"Speed, come on." X called out. "See you down at the track."
"Right behind ya!" Speed replied back, both Racer brothers heading off to the track.
"Let's go get our car." Braedey said to Rin. "See you guys there."
A few moments later, the cars were lined up down at the track. Speed's and X's cars, the Mach 6 and the Shooting Star, sat up front on the line, while Braedey's car, the Transformer, is parked up just behind both Racer brothers. Annalise's car, the Spoiled Brat, is just behind the two brothers and alongisde Braedey's car, while the twin's car, the Double Deuce, is behind them.
"Remember, class. This scenario is to test you on how well you perform in different environmental conditions and maintain control of your vehicle during defensive driving. No two tracks or environments are the same." Professor Winn said to the students. "Defensive driving is also in play, so be mindful of one another out there."
"This will be interesting." Braedey said to Rin, the latter with a Bluetooth headset on. "Alright. You'll be down by the pit lane, and you'll be able to see me while I'm out on the Virtual Track?" He asked.
"Yep. And be able to monitor your vitals and the car's body and engine parameters." Rin nodded back.
"Whoa... wicked sick." Braedey and Rin look over to see X and Speed walking over, taking a look at Braedey's car. "Gotta admit, your wheels look very awesome." X praised.
"Thank you. That means a lot from you." Braedey thanked to X, now shaking hands with him while Speed looks at the cockpit.
"Only one seat, yet looks like a fighter jet on the inside." Speed commented in surprise. "Looks kinda complicated to drive."
"Maybe so, but he's handled it well yesterday." Rin spoke up to Speed. "But can't wait to see what this car can do out on the Virtual Track."
"Same here. Good luck out there." Braedey said to the two Racer brothers.
"You too, Braedey." Speed thanked, he and X heading off to their cars.
"Same to you. Good luck." Rin said to Braedey, then she heads to the pits with Conor and Lucy and their station.
Braedey climbs into his car, strapping himself in as the cockpit canopy closes down and seals itself in. Speed and X both get into their cars and get ready to race. Annalise got into her car, the twins getting into theirs. Up above the track, the holographic countdown of lights flash up and begin to countdown. The drivers rev their engines, the ground shaking under their wheels. Inside his car, Braedey rolled his shoulders and grips the wheel. Sure enough, the horn sounds off as the lights go green, and all the cars launch off the line with the roar of their engines echoing out.
The Mach 6 and Shooting Star both take the lead ahead, the Spoiled Brat car struggling to find a path around. The rest of the pack bunch themselves around the track. With the Transformer, Braedey turns hard left, his car sliding its back end out while going on straight at speed, all wheels rotating in the process, spinning without total loss of control. As this goes on, the Double Deuce falls back a bit with some of the other students also jostling for position. As they drive along, a section on the track opens up to reveal some sophisticated technology and computer operating systems below. A moment goes by, then a pair of large metallic arches rise up before forming up together with a metallic clank. A moment later, within the interior of the arch, a blue portal energises within, almost like that of a Cybertronian Groundbridge.
"Virtual Track activated." An automated voice reported.
The cars make their turn around the track once more, the Mach 6 and Shooting Star both taking the lead, the Spoiled Brat car struggling to move, the Transformer just behind with the rest of the pack behind them. They soon began to approach the portal, and once they go through, they find themselves now located within a stormy tropical jungle, the wind whipping around with torrential rainfall, lighting striking in the darkened skies up above.
"Holy... Talk about wild weather in a jungle environment." Braedey muttered out to himself, then he swerves around to dodge a fallen tree on the muddy road, as well as large rocks and potholes in the road. "Whoa-oh!"
"The Jungle Storm course. Definitely didn't expect that one." Rin commented over the Comms. "This track is up to maybe five or six miles long, but it's hard to tell from the topography of the environment. Keep an eye out on the muddy tracks, as well as the rapids on the river, and any falling trees." She advised.
"Duly noted." Braedey replied, though his immediate concern was the lack of traction under his wheels. He turns hard, but the car was struggling for grip along the muddy roads. "Man, this is a lot harder than it looks. Not enough grip from these mud roads."
And the Transformer wasn't the only one. Some of the other students were not having the best of luck in the mud. Thinking fast, the Mach 6 deployed what look to be chunkier rubber tyres, allowing it to regain traction and drive ahead, the same being said for X's car at the same time. They accelerate away, with Annalise and the twins' car following on after them.
"Come on..." Braedey struggles with traction as his car slides through the mud. "Not gonna get any motion out here." He sees some cars managing to drive past, then looks to the hole in the dashboard by the left side, big enough to fit his hand and the Transformatrix in. "No time like the present to try this out." He said aloud. "Alright. Let's see what this machine can do."
Braedey raised his left hand and placed it into the hole, just as a thin clamp forms over the Transformatrix, the watch beeping in confirmation to this, Braedey pulling his hand back, the clamp connected via extending cables and pipes into the dashboard. He taps the black faceplate, the core popping up, which then brought up a blue, holographic image of a robot with doors on its back, and wheels on the shoulders and ankles. He scrolls through the playlist as he spins the dial, until he found the form he was looking for and gently pushes down the core and faceplate to select it.
Outside the car, the white paint now seems to disappear with a blue flash that washes over the car like a wave, the white paint giving way to a bright green colour scheme, the Transformatrix insignia now on the sides of the car. At the front of the vehicle, as art of hydraulic arms and metal beams protrude out, just as a bulldozer plough appears up front. At the same time, the wheels began to change shape and form, now becoming four separate tank treads, the suspension also adapting to this change.
"Boulder Mode. Wicked awesome." Braedey smiled, then he stomped down on the accelerator, the car now launching forward and racing on through the mud at high speed, mud flying away from the treads as he ploughs on ahead. "Whoo! Now THAT is fast! Roll to the Rescue!" He smiled.
"No way... your Transformatrix not just changed your car's appearance but gave it new abilities?" Rin questioned in shock and awe over the Comms. "That's amazing! Wonder what else your watch could do."
"No time to think about that now. I've got a race to finish." Braedey replied back, then turns hard right, the car now making the sharp turn like it was on rails. "Nice. The four tank treads are keeping this whole car stable and on course." He then felt the front of the car smash through a tree and large boulder in the process. "And definitely has the power to push through anything without hesitation."
"You're gaining back in positions, Braedey." Rin stated on Comms. "Up ahead are the twins and Annalise. Be cautious - the twins' car can split in two so they'll try a squeeze play on you." She advised.
"Thanks for that, Rin." Braedey acknowledged. He looks ahead and slams down hard on the accelerator. Yes, the plough ahead did block most of his view, but thanks to the external cams on the front of the plough, which connect to a screen on the steering wheel, he can see where he's going. "Time to plough the roads!"
Up ahead, the Double Deuce and Spoiled Brat cars were both struggling to keep up with the Racer brothers and their cars, the muddy roads and the wild weather around them definitely not making things any easier for them, and it certainly didn't help with the falling trees and debris, especially as they travel through a muddy tunnel and along an elevated S-curve section before a stone viaduct spanning a large river. But as the twins look back, they can see what looks like a green bulldozer charging towards them?! The twins both were concerned and worried, then they push a button on their dashboard to make their car separate and become two separate cars, splitting up and letting the bulldozer past. But as they look, they could see it was that sleek racecar from the start of the race, but painted in green? And with tank treads?
"Hey, it's that new guy from class!" Jesse realises.
"Who does he think he is?" Jared added.
"Let's give him what for!" Jesse declared.
"Time to put the squeeze on him!" Jared agreed.
Both twins began to drive up either side of Braedey's car, the brunette now taking note of this, but he stayed calm and relaxed. He takes note of the two smaller cars as they deploy buzzsaws, no doubt to try and slash at his treads. They close in, but then Braedey pushes a set of buttons on the steering wheel. A split second later, a set of jumpjacks deploy from under the front of the Transformer, making it perform a backflip as the two twins nearly crash into each other, the Transformer landing behind them on all four treads.
"Nice move, Braedey! You caught them off-guard!" Rin praised over the Comms.
"Okay. Let's get rid of these two clowns." Braedey now shifts up another gear. The Transformer charges on ahead at the twins' cars, now bumping them from behind. "No more Mr. Nice Guy."
Both Jessie and Jared attempt to drive away, but their car wasn't fast enough to outrun them. They try to get away, but they now saw the bulldozer car turn away, much to their relief, but they then saw they were approaching a cliff! The twins scream out before they go flying off the cliff, then they vanish from sight, both leaving the Virtual Track.
"Nice work. You've knocked those two drivers off the track. Now you've got only Annalise, Speed, and X to handle, and you could take the chequered flag." Rin said to Braedey on Comms.
"Consider that done and dusted." Braedey pushes a button or two on the dashboard, folding away the bulldozer plough, then he accelerates ahead, leaving only tank treads in his wake.
Speaking of Annalise, Speed, and X, all three of them were jostling about for the lead. Annalise was fuming, not just from the mud on her Spoiled Brat car, but also from her boyfriend and his brother blocking her from getting ahead and taking the win, and going through this mud was definitely not what she was planning to do for today. She then looks back in her rear-view mirror and she could not see either Jared nor Jesse, to her annoyance. But then, she could see a bright green racecar charging towards them on tank treads. She was going to question about this, but then saw the car drive past her, and she saw who was behind the wheel.
"Aloha." Braedey greeted casually before driving ahead of Annalise, inadvertently splashing mud all over her car and windshield.
Sure enough, Braedey caught up with the Racer brothers, but before he could even take the lead, the Transformatrix timed out with three beeps and the dial flashing red. The red flash washed over the car like the blue flash did beforehand, the green paint now fading away, the tank treads also changing back into the T-180 wheel design from before. Despite this, Braedey kept his foot down on the accelerator and chased after the Mach 6 and Shooting Star, the three cars exiting the Virtual Track via the exit portal. The three drive across the finish line and come to a stop.
Braedey panted and smiled to himself as he unstraps himself from his seat and opens the cockpit canopy. While he was climbing out of the car, Annalise did the same and she threw her helmet down at the ground in anger, the twins and X trying to calm her down, with Speed being greeted by Lucy and Conor, and their mechanical monkey.
"Wicked awesome. You dominated that race." Rin ran up and appeared beside Braedey.
"Thanks. Gotta admit, using Boulder's bulldozer mode was definitely unique." Braedey smiled back.
"I cannot wait to see what else you can do with that Transformatrix." Rin smiled. "If the watch could do that to your car, who knows what else can happen."
"Yeah. True." Braedey nodded, then he and Rin both now saw an angry Annalise stomping over. "Can I help you-" Annalise gave him a look. The brunette, however, was not even intimidated. He has stared down into the eyes of supervillains, calamitous creatures, monsters, the leader of the Decepticons, and even the Chaos Bringer himself, and not flinched.
"The only reason you got 3rd place is because of luck." Annalise said angrily at him. "Don't think you're better than me." With that, she stomped off with the twins in tow.
"What a royal brat and pain in the butt." Rin muttered.
"She will be okay after. She gets like this all the time." X reassured to them before following after his girlfriend.
"Hey, Speed." Rin spoke up, Braedey turning around to see Speed walking towards them with a smile.
"That was a great race today, and don't you mind Annalise." Speed stated, as if reading Braedey's mind. "She did the same thing when I beat her... every time. She is a bit of a sore loser." He shrugged.
Braedey peers over his shoulder at her, then back at Speed. "A bit?" He raised an eyebrow, and Speed laughed. "But hey. Thanks for that. Can't wait to race again." He thanked.
Speed began to open his mouth to say something else until we heard Lucy calling his name. "See you later then." With that, Speed turned on his heel and walked over to Lucy and the Mach 6.
"Humble and polite. He's a great guy." Braedey commented to Rin.
"Definitely. Kinda reminds me of when my Dad talked about Speed's father." Rin said.
"Your dad knew Speed Racer?" Braedey asked.
"Not personally, but on a professional level." Rin clarified. "Come on, let's get going."
"Right behind you." Braedey nodded, the two-person team going to move the Transformer back to the garage and be ready for the next class.