Van Terra

Chapter Thirty-Six ~ Vroom Vroom

Jasper stood at the edge of the roof while the team talked quietly behind her. The setting sun bathed the city in shades of red in front of her. No matter which way she turned her gaze, her mind was running in a million different directions at once.

Tonight's race was a straight shot across Sagev, through the Silvium Center, followed by a loop in the desert around the city. Jasper was determined to do well this time. Holly had a point about not drawing attention, but Jasper couldn't stand all those smug villains thinking they were better than her.

So, she had a few tricks up her sleeve for this race.

"I'm going," Jasper finally announced.

"Good luck," Grace said.

"Thanks." Jasper lifted her helmet and inspected the visor for smudges. "But I don't need luck." She'd learned to make do without it a long time ago.

"Stop being dramatic," Holly said. "I'd tell you to keep a low profile, but I feel like that's out the window at this point."

"It's not just out the window, it's in a whole different neighborhood." Jasper slid on the helmet and gave the team a thumbs up. "But thank you all for the words of encouragement."

"Grace is the only one who said anything remotely encouraging, and you dismissed it," Thea pointed out.

"I'd say good luck too," Jax said. "But—"

"All I hear is praise and admiration." Jasper laughed. "See you nerds later."

She jumped off the roof and landed on an apartment balcony. From there it was a few short drops to the ground where her motorcycle waited. The roar of engines in the distance grew as the racers converged on the starting point: an abandoned construction site waiting for demolition.

Jasper rolled up to an empty spot near the middle of the pack. When the countdown to the race she'd added to her screen reached zero, Ringmaster emerged from the shadows above, stepping into a shaft of red sunlight on a metal rafter.

"On your marks, racers." His voice echoed around the skeleton of a building. A golden platform appeared in the air in front of him. He jumped onto it.

Jasper did one last quick check of the tools she'd added to her belt: a few of her stronger smoke bombs, extra explosives, and a container holding a deep sea neoworm she'd nabbed from a pet store. She'd also strapped her longest sword to the side of her motorcycle. It wasn't strong—she doubted it could handle more than a few bullets, if any—but it would work for her purposes.

"Get set." The platform carried Ringmaster upward. "Go!"

Jasper kept at the edge of the pack. As she neared the front of the building, Ringmaster's platform carried him even higher, out of the construction site entirely. Why was he getting out so fast?

Jasper passed through the opening as Ringmaster lifted his hands. She glanced back. A golden orb appeared in the air in front of him and dropped down into the building. A detonator formed from his energy.

It was one of Ringmaster's signature moves.

Jasper was forced to slow as the course merged with Oasis Street. Without her even thinking about it, a countdown had popped up in the corner of her screen. The amount of time it typically took for one of Ringmaster's energy bombs to go off.

Jasper pulled onto the divider between the two directions of traffic and zig-zagged around the palm trees lining the center of the road. The ground shuddered. She threw another glance back.

The bottom sections of the building groaned as they collapsed. The upper levels followed.

"Leave it to Ringmaster to blow up a building for the drama," Jasper muttered, though some part of her wondered if he was trying to get people killed.