Chapter 1: The Adventure Continues

Sounds of clanking metal echoed through the garage of the Racer household as Sparky worked on replacing the Mach 5's suspension after the Multi-Peak Race. "How's it going, Sparky?" a friendly voice asked. Sparky rolled himself out from under the Mach 5 to see his best friend, Speed standing there with a smile.

"I'm great, Speed. I'm almost done fixing up the Mach 5, last week's race was absolutely stellar; we need to have a repeat performance."

Speed leaned up against the wall next to the door, "Come on, Sparky, I finished in third place… thought for sure that I would've been able to beat Alpha Team but they sure got better after that performance last year when they almost killed me and Racer X."

"Don't worry, Speed, outta the three races you ran this year, you've get a win and two podium finishes, don't beat yourself up so much about it. Besides, the next race is the No Limit World Race, the only real challenge for the Mach 5 was the Mammoth Car."

"Oh man, the Mammoth Car, huh? I remember that race pushing all of us to our limit."

"Just imagine, if the Mammoth Car wasn't there, you'd have been a shoe-in for sure!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It just makes me nervous remembering that race, especially when we almost got blown up. If Racer X wasn't there…"

"But he was there, Speed. You and Trixie are safe and so is the Mach 5. Besides, I thought that your escape from Lake Icy Chill was even more harrowing."

"You know what is nice, though?"

"What is it, Speed?"

"Not having Spritle and Chim Chim stowing away in the trunk since we started checking." The two friends laughed until Mom poked her head through the door.

"Okay boys, lunch is ready. Sparky, you shouldn't be in the garage so much, you'll work yourself to death." Mom informed.

"Don't worry about me, Mom. I'm always in the mood for a good lunch, even if that means leaving the Mach 5 alone for a while." Sparky reassured as Speed turned out the light and the two left the garage. As they walked into the living room, they heard the TV blaring away as Pops watched with Spritle and Chim Chim.

"I'll catch up with you in a second, Sparky. Gonna let Pops and Spritle know that everything is ready." Speed said.

"Okay Speed, but don't keep us waiting. If Mom's cookies are there, I might just eat em' all." Sparky acknowledged.

Speed walked over to the living room and saw Pops getting frustrated at a commercial, Speed was only able to catch the last bit of the commercial but it was to sell autonomous cars which made Speed roll his eyes. "What fun is it to not drive a car, anyway?" Speed asked aloud.

"I agree, Speed, that's just what I was thinking. Cars driving themselves just isn't natural!" Pops said.

"I think cars driving themselves is a groovy idea! No work, more time to eat!" Spritle chimed in.

"Be quiet, Spritle, you're too young and lazy to understand the risks of self-driving cars! They're dangerous, no regard for anyone or anything besides their programmed destination, you can't trust them!" Pops explained.

"Gee, Pops, I didn't think of it that way." Spritle submitted.

"You have an opinion on everything, huh, Pops?" Speed chuckled. Pops folded his arms, smiling, silently agreeing with Speed. "Oh, I almost forgot that lunch is ready."

Spritle and Chim Chim ran out of the room at full speed, "You have to get all of the nutrients you can, Speed. It's going to be a twenty-four hour race in a couple of days. Speaking of, where's Trixie? I haven't seen her anywhere." Pops asked.

"She's on her way, Pops. Now let's get some food."

As they were walking out, Speed heard the Mach 5's engine roaring through the TV, he looked back to see a talk show, showing the highlights of the three races run this season as the hosts added context. "Speed Racer, driver of the Mach 5 for Mifune Motors' 'Go Team' was the upset champion at last year's Earth Grand Prix. A race that spanned all terrain and went around the world! Speed has made the podium at all three races run this year so far, winning the second race at his home track, Thunderhead Raceway. Speed, now nineteen years old and coming out of his exciting rookie season is back for more WRL racing in his sophomore attempt at world champion glory. But first, we should recount what happened at last year's No Limit World Race when the Mach 5 was put up against the Mammoth…"

The TV was cut off and Speed felt arm caressing him from behind, "I wonder who that could be." Speed joked.

"It's your favourite navigator!" Trixie laughed.

"Glad you were able to make it, Trixie." Speed said, turning around.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it."

"You just can't let me down, huh? Not even once?" Speed chuckled.

Trixie kissed Speed, then held his hand, "No way. Now let's go outside, you must be starving."

As Speed and Trixie joined the rest of the Racer family and friends, a small drone hovered above the house, watching them closely. As Speed and Trixie started taking their food and became distracted, the drone silently slipped into the garage and attached itself to the bottom of the Mach 5; the drone made a whirring noise before detaching itself and soaring into the air as quickly as possible. The drone silently made its way to a small, secluded high class hotel situated in the woods and landed on the balcony of the penthouse where someone was waiting for it. The mysterious person took the drone to a computer on a desk and placed it on a white pad that was plugged into the computer via USB. The drone made another whirring sound when it was placed on the pad and the computer screen flashed, opening many windows with data sheets about the Mach 5.

"That was easier than I had expected." A feminine voice said. "Now I have all of the schematics about the Mach 5 and I didn't need that idiot, Ace Deucey's help to get it." She took a puff from her cigarette as she picked up her phone from her desk and dialed a number. "Yes, this is Oriana Flub, I have the schematics to the Mach 5." The mysterious voice mumbled something but Oriana answered, "Yes, it was very easy to do. We finally have the power to make the Mach 5 and every car like it obsolete! We can be the fastest in the world without the V Gas!" Oriana informed. The voice inaudibly mumbled something else, "Thank you, I will talk to you again tomorrow at the test track." With that, the mysterious caller on the other end hung up and Oriana followed suit. She turned over to look at her TV, watching the same talk show that Speed was earlier, she saw a clip from last week's race and began to laugh maniacally as highlights of the Mach 5 sped across the screen.