A Race Car In Axle City

Testing Starla

"Are you okay, Speedrick?" Blaze asked as he and AJ helped their race car friend down from the building.

"Y-Yes!" Speedrick shuddered as he spoke, relieved when his tires finally touched the ground. "But man, your friend's psychotic!"

"Sorry, Pickle's not usually like that," AJ told him. "He's usually so nice and friendly. We don't know why he blasted you out of the Monster Dome,"

"God, it was terrifying," Speedrick grimaced. "He acted so nice then he became so terrifying!"

"In that case, we should stay away from the park since Pickle and Crusher are moving their date there," Blaze offered his friend a smile.

"Let's head to Gabby's Garage to make sure you're okay," AJ suggested. "Gabby's a mechanic. She'll be able to fix any dents and broken parts,"

"Yeah, that's... that's a good idea," Speedrick nodded, eager to get away from any chance of meeting Pickle as he followed after his friends.

They soon made it to Gabby's Garage, where the mechanic was tuning up Watts for the next race.

"Hey, Gabby! Hey, Watts!"

"Oh, hi, Blaze! Hi, AJ!" Watts greeted them.

"And hi to you too, Speedrick," Gabby turned to the race car. "What brings you here?"

"Speedrick was blasted out of the Monster Dome, and we wanna make sure he's okay," Blaze told them.

"Alright, let's take a look," Gabby gave a nod as Watts moved out of the way for the race car came forward.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Speedrick cried out in relief, driving towards the mechanic with such a... dramatic attitude. "I was so scared when that psychotic truck suddenly blasted me off!"

"Psychotic truck?" Watts raised an eyebrow at the pair.

"For some strange reason, Speedrick was able to piss of Pickle, of all people, and he blasted him out of the Monster Dome with his wand," Blaze told her with a wince.

"Speedrick was able to piss off PICKLE?!" Watts's jaw dropped. "THE Pickle?! The one who's able to bear Crusher for years?! THAT Pickle?!"

"I know, right?" AJ gave a shudder. "We were shocked too,"

"Wow," Gabby chuckled as she checked Speedrick's parts for any damage. "How did you manage to do that, Speedrick? The only one who's ever seen Pickle mad is Crusher, Stripes and Starla, and Stripes and Starla had regretted it ever since,"

"I don't know!" Speedrick sighed. "All I did was introduce myself, and he blasted me off!"

"Maybe it's because of the fact that you act a little like Crusher," Watts pointed out.

"Watts," Blaze gave her a disapproving glare.

"Sorry, Blaze, but it's true," Gabby turned to them with a sigh. "And if Pickle was annoyed, that means you acted WORSE than Crusher would ever be,"

"How could you say that?" Speedrick looked offended as he frowned.

"Speedrick, Pickle is dating Crusher," Watts deadpanned.

"Yeah..." Blaze sighed in defeat. "And Pickle has never so been pissed at Crusher to blast him out of anywhere before, so... yeah,"

"By the way, Gabby, can you take a look at Blaze's engine too?" AJ asked, dismounting from his best friend's driver seat. "It hasn't been sounding right like it should be,"

"Well, Speedrick should be alright, so sure!" Gabby nodded and headed towards them, leading them to another stand for her to do her work.

Speedrick waited until the trio were a bit far away before turning to Watts, who had also watched them leave. He grinned and drove towards her.

"So... you come here often?"

"What?" Watts turned to him with an annoyed look. "Of course I do. I live here. Gabby offered to house me in when I came to Axle City a few years back,"

"So you're not from around here?" Speedrick smirked. "Have you seen Velocity Ville? I can give you a tour, if you want?~"

"Um, no thank you," Watts declined, shifting uncomfortably while she internally hoped that Starla was nearby to help her out before she herself will electrocute the race car out of lack of self-control.

"Come on, now," Speedrick reached over to hold her tire with a flirty smirk, causing her to tense up. "Velocity Ville is such a wonderful place~ I can invite you over at my place, if you want~"

Watts growled, her electric tires sparking in irritation. Who did this punk think he was, inviting her over as if he was SO special? She was ready to electrocute him when a gun shot cut through the air.

BANG!

"OH MY GOD!" Speedrick shrieked, backing up and immediately letting go of Watts's tire before they turned to see Starla at the door. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"She said 'No', you ass." Starla snarled, her eyes glaring at the race car dangerously as she came in, a double barrel shotgun in her tires. "Either you take the 'no' or deal with ME."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Speedrick huffed, causing the cowgirl to tense and grip the shotgun tighter.

"MY girlfriend," Watts said coolly, a smug look on her face. "so if you want to live, I suggest that you run,"

"And since I'm feeling generous, I'll give ya a five-second head-start." Starla hissed with a wicked grin. "One... Two..."

"SHIT!" Speedrick gulped and drove off as fast as he could.

X

"And that... should... do it!" Gabby sighed in relief as she fixed up the red truck's engine. "Alright! Give it a try, Blaze,"

"Alright," Blaze nodded and activated his engine, releasing a strong, gentle purr.

"It's fixed!" AJ grinned. "Thanks, Gabby!"

"No problem, you two," Gabby giggled. "If there's anything else, I'm sure I could—"

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The trio turned to see Speedrick racing out of the garage, his eyes wide and panicky.

"Speedrick?" Blaze drove up to his frightened friend. "What's wrong?"

"That cowgirl friend of yours is also psychotic!" Speedrick cried out. "She... She threatened time shoot me, and—"

"FIVE!"

BANG!

"GAAAAH!" Speedrick jumped and dashed off. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Oh NO, ya don't!" Starla emerged from the garage, the shotgun in her tires as she grinned, clearly pissed off before she took off after the race car. "COME BACK HERE, YA BITCH!"

Blaze, AJ and Gabby glanced at one another as they watched their friend drive off after in rage. They heard a chuckle, and they turned to see Watts come out, looking amused.

"Hey, Watts, what happened?" Gabby asked, walking towards her best friend.

"Speedrick was flirting with me," Watts replied with a shrug. "Starla overheard him, and... well, you know the rest,"

"Bless Speedrick and his mistake," AJ shook his head.

"Maybe we should save him before Starla actually shoots him," Blaze suggested.

"Oh, alright," Watts let out a sigh. "but let's give it five more minutes. Speedrick deserves it, after all,"

"I'm with Watts on this," Gabby seemed to agree, hopping into the pink truck's driver seat. "Let's give it five minutes then we'll head over to save him,"