7076/Thors Amateur Grand Prix

Thors Amateur Grand Prix
Date of Scene:	22 February 2020
Location:	The roadway between Trista and Celdic
Synopsis:	Angelica Rogner invites multiversal bikers to a race. Things get pretty intense (and flashy)
Cast of Characters:	Rean Schwarzer, Alexis, Yang Xiao Long, Kotone Yamakawa, William Pauwel

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Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Everyone meeets up outside the eastern entrance to the village of Trista, where there's a long stone roadway stretching out into the distance.

There, you find Rean and three other students: a petite girl in the green version of the Thors blazer, a pudgy boy in yellow coveralls, and a tall, violet haired girl in a leather biking jumpsuit.

"What do you know, people actually came!" the violet haired girl says. She holds out a hand for people to shake. "Angelica Rogner. " She then gestures at a motorcycle behind her. It looks pretty stangard, just magenta in color, and a glowing element on the underside, presumably its power source. "And /that/ Is my- or well, /our/ baby."

George, the boy in the coveralls gives everyone a wave. "George Nome. The four of us - That's Angie, Towa, Crow and I- have been working on this prototype since the start of the year, with some help testing by Rean."

Rean sheepiushly rubs the back of his head. "It was pretty fun getting to ride it."

Towa, the petite girl speaks up next. "All of you are going to race up the road from here to Celdic, the next town over. George, Rean and I are going to wait alongside road as checkpoints. Just give us a wave as you pass by!"

Alexis has posed:
Alexis is always up for a challenge, even if it isn't a battle. Sometimes specifically because it isn't a battle. There's more to Training to staring some kid in the field in the eyes and then beating the snot out of his Lv30 Rattata that he refuses to evolve because then it wouldn't be in the top ten percentile of Rattata.

"Race, huh? Yeah, we can do that." But not with the bike she road up on. Not to mention she already put that away (somehow collapsed and shoved it into her hiking pack). No, she plucks one of her pokeballs, giving it a twirl on the tip of a finger as it expands. "But there's more than bikes to race out there." The ball is flicked in front of her. "Let's go, Roadburn!"

There's a brief flash of energy, and a loud neigh as a rearing stallion appears from it. But not just any stallion, as this one has a blazing mane and tail, and embers flickering around his hooves for feathering. Also a big sharp horn like a unicorn, even if the species is closer to a nightmare with all the fire and smoke.

Not that fire apparently poses a threat to the rider as Alexis hoists herself onto his back with little issue.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang comes riding up on Bumblebee. The deep growl of the engine heralding her approach long before she can be seen.

    The blonde comes skidding to a stop, turning her bike fully sideways and stopping with a practiced ease before taking off her helmet and dismounting. She's wearing a fully riding suit, much like Angelica's, but done in black and yellow. "Yo, name's Yang. Yang Xiao Long. I've worked with Rean a couple times. Thanks for the invite." she says, shaking the hand firmly with a big grin.

    She waits for everyone else to arrive, before remounting her vehicle.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa has heard the words bike race and that was more than enough to draw Kotone to it like a moth to the flame. She was clad in a form-fitting motorcycle suit bearing the logo of her garage business. She had a helmet cucked under her arm, and she's had her motorcycle delivered to the site of the race. It's a very sleek, looking craft with some glowing highlights and it a dark blue colour it has some sort of ID plate fit into the back of the cycle, it's not hanging from the seat. It's integrated into the back end just under it.

"So you been working on a cycle of your own?"

She grins for a bit having no idea if it's a new technology for the world or not. Though it has to at least be a brand new design.

"This is the Knight, I designed and built it myself. I admit I used some stock parts but that's how it is these days. I can take a look at yours after the race if you like!"

She's giving George and company bike a look over.

"What kind of engine you use? Combustion? Electic? Nuclear? Something else?"

She looks over to Alexis and yang with a big old grin on her face.

"Oh this is going to be fun."

Kotone would move to mount her cycle and pulls a cable out of it, thinking nothing odf it she would move to pull out several more which she plugs into the back of her neck. Whichg might not be something George and his friend would expect. She pulls her helmet on and then remounts her craft.

William Pauwel has posed:
"Y'all should have told me you were workin' on buildin' yerself a bike!" A vehicle that can only be described as 'some kind of sci-fi motorbike' rolls in on a set of armored wheels. Its rider, one William Pauwel Jr, grins from behind the controls as he rolls up to the starting line. "I would'a helped out iff'n I'd've known. Ah well, it is what it is.

"Name's Will," the scifi cowboy drawls up at the assembly of Super High School Level Bike Geeks. "And this here's my iron horse. The Mistral's been in the family for a couple generations now, and we ain't ever stopped improvin' it. She's got a built-in stable plasma generator paired to a couple of electric motors for propulsion. Frame's composite metamaterial for a strong, lightweight construction. But that's just the start."

"So, just to double-check the rules of this little competition. Y'all don't mind if we get a bit of air time here n' there, do you? Just, you know, t' check for sure."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Nice to meet other bike enthusiasts." Angelica says. Her eyes linger a tiiiiiiiny bit too long at Kotone and Yang's biker suits before she continues. "Also good to hear our underclassman's been making some impact out there."  

Towa looks up at Alexis' Rapidash, eyes wide. "Well, no one said you /couldn't/ race a horse...But sure, why not?" She then turns to Will. "Uh...As in launching yourself into the air? Well... What do you think, Angie?" Towa says. Angelica crosses her arms thinking about it for a moment.

"Y'know what sure. Let's do it."

"It's orbal energy, like most things out here. I guess you could say it's magic powered." George says.  "And wow...I'll have to talk to you guys after the race, I think. Just to see what I can implement for further updates to our design."

Once everyone's done talking, Rean and Towa start walking up the road to get to their checkpoint positions. George stands in front of the entrance, holding a green chunk of fabric. "Alright. Everyone, on your marks, get set..."

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Mn2mvlyNQ)

"GO!"

Angelica bolts off, rocketing up the road.

Alexis has posed:
"Oh don't worry. We'll be fine. Won't we?" The rapidahs wickers in agreement, and Alexis crouches down into a proper riding position on his back. "Ready when you are."

Wait.. wait.. and there's the flag. And a harmless but very flashing burst of flames behind the flaming equine as he takes off with the others. To be fair, Rapidash lives up to the parts of its name very well, and while not taking the lead has little trouble keeping within distance with the rest of the pack. There's a few sparks every time his hooves pound the road.

Once they're going Alexis leans forward a bit, and grins. "Let's make sure they actually have a challenge, cycle or not. Agility!"

Anyone that thought Alexis might be biting off more than she could chew with this bravado is quickly proven wrong as a tremendous burst of speed has Roadburn quickly pulling alongside the other vehicles, holding his own at a full out gallop.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang rolls up to the start line, and grins back at Kotone. She flips the visor down and revs her engine, a definite orange glow appearing within the central core of her bike's engine. When the call to GO is given, she revs and peels away, kicking up dirt and pulling a wheelie before slamming the front wheel down again and zooming off. Bumblebee isn't exactly a 'Super Bike' but she's heavy, good in turns and has a decent power to weight ratio.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa grins to George from under her helmet.

"I'd be happy to though it seems like I'd not be able to help on the power systems. Still, it's a nice looking ride."

With that Kotone will gun her engine, as the speaker system gives off the sounds of an old school motorcycle. Yes, they sell those given most places have internal combustion engines no longer street legal back home. With that, she will floor it as everyone else takes off from the starting line. She's considering Yang a Danger not from the Bumblebee, no it's more Yang's experience that worries her.

Kotone will pop on some music as she goes as some music older than her /dad/ starts playing. It's some kind of metal and the singer is going on about fuel and fire.

William? She has no idea about other than he'll likely be so crazy he'll be a danger to himself and Alexis? She does not know what to expect from the very long experienced Elite.

William Pauwel has posed:
"Ahahaha, that's all I needed to hear," Will answers Angelica with a laugh and a grin. "Well, I ain't really a very magical-y kind of guy, but if it's got movin' parts, I should be able to give y'all a hand down the line! But enough talk!"

A flag waves.

"HAVE AT THEE!"

Will guns the engine and slams his fist down on a button in the middle of his console. Acceleration is usually a slow thing, no matter what kind of vehicle you're driving. But Will... has apparently solved(?) that problem(??).

The back end of Will's sci-fi motorcycle blossoms open, revealing a STACK OF vernier THRUSTERS. Will's grin is visible for a split second before the roar of a half-dozen rockets igniting simultaneously sends him hurtling forward at frankly unreasonable speeds. His /everything/ struggles to hold on, desperately trying not to go flying out of his seat. The fact that his legs are neatly secured in place by a set of interlocking mechanical supports doesn't help particularly overmuch, and there's a brief moment where it seems like he's about to go tumbling into a ditch...!

But Will's a better rider than that. His tires grip the dirt road as he surges forward. Just as the bike hits its top cruising speed, the thruster array deactivates and folds back into the Mistral's chassis. The other two cycle riders might have their own advantages, and Alexis is riding a literal super-horse, but...

Will (re)built this bike with his own two hands. He's been riding it for years, and all its gadgets and idiosyncrasies are as familiar to him as the back of his hands!

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Everyone makes their way down East Trista highway, which is a mostly flat area lined with trees and bushes. there's a few creatures milling about in the distance, most closer to the Pokemon of Alexis' world than regular animals, like a rather large beetle or a very red and spiky wolf. Most of them seem to be staying away from the roadway, though - or maybe the lantern like lights lining it.


Will rockets ahead, with Alexis, Yand and Kotone not far behind him. Ange isn't too far off from them either.

Ange's bike is...a bike. Probably not as heavy as Bumblebee, and can't transform like the Mistral or even play music like Kotone's bike, but it's reliable. "Oh you are /not/ beating me that easily!" Ange shouts, and she floors it, zipping forward to trail after the others.

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang's bike doesn't have any special devices built into it. She jinks away as Will comes blasting past her, then leans forwards and guns the engine to try and close the distance again. Heavier bike means she's not picking up as much speed as quickly as the others, but it's a steady pace and she might just have a higher peak on the straights. The exhausts begin to emit orange flames as the engine reaches higher revs.

Alexis has posed:
Alexis glances over her shoulder with a smile at Ange. "That's the spirit! You only win when you keep trying harder!"

Then turns back forward and resumes her horse-jockey riding position, leaning into their run. "Thrusters, huh. Well we can do that too. Flame Charge!"

Roadburn leans forward, lowering his head to point his horn forward. There's a spark at the tip, which crackles back from it in streaks of red and orange sparks in an igniting corona. There's nothing to strike with the attack, but the blazing aura actually helps make things more aerodynamic and push a little more speed out of the pokemon's... well... horsepower.

Don't worry, Alexis is perfectly safe inside the blaze. Rapidash's flames will never burn a rider as long as it is comfortable with them.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa does not seem afraid to gun it, she will floor her bike and is going to push her creation as hard as she can. It also helps she can abuse a few things due to her nature and she's going to do that. She's out riding on a new road enjoying it no GPS, no freaking digital adds trying to pop up ion her face, it's wonderful. She does not care if she wins or loses. She floors it again trying to catch up to those in the lead.

William Pauwel has posed:
Wow, that horse is fast. How fast can a horse even really be!? It should have a single horsepower, right? That's only sensible. One horse, one horsepower. But that thing seems to have way more than just the one. Will regards Alexis and her mighty steed with a tip of the hat as she Flame Charges into the lead. This is a straightaway and his jets are still literally cooling. Aside from straight up /shooting/ the poor thing, there's not much else Will can really do to boost his top speed...

OTHER THAN THIS.

"Not bad!" William Pauwel, certified crazy man, grins as he unlimbers his favorite gun. Is he planning on shooting the horse after all!? No. Not quite. "But I ain't licked just yet! Judgment, I'm gonna need a boost!"

A boost how? Is he going to plug it into his bike somehow!?

Nope. It's stupider than that.

"Kinetic mode, wide area burst, low intensity, high fire rate-- Parameters set!" Will smirks as his weapon's glow turns from bright blue to blinding white. He turns and locks it to a rear-wheel-mounted gun bracket and holds down the trigger... With a string he's gripping between his teeth. A cone of pure force erupts from Terminal Judgment's barrel, adding the thrust of a makeshift impulse booster to his overall speed...!

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Further down the road you go, towards a wooden bridge crossing over a river. On said bridge is Rean, doing his job as checkpoint. "You're about halfway there!" He shouts, waving his arms.

If you look out ahead of the road, you might see some windmills in the distance...

The current rankings are something like Alexis, Will, Yang, Ange and Kotone.

Not wanting to be left behind by everyone pulling out different tricks, Angelica shouts, "ARCUS, Activate! CHRONO DRIVE!" A blue ring of light surrounds her, the sounds of gears and a ticking clock ringing out. Both Angelica and her bike gain a boost of speed, rocketing ahead of Yang and gaining speed on Will.

It's TECHNICALLY not cheating, right?

Yang Xiao Long has posed:
    Yang can't compete with people that literally have special boost skills and gear. She pulls back and drops in beside Kotone. "Looks like we're being left behind." she says, grinning behind her visor. "Should we just take it easy? I wasn't expecting all of these guys to have these special gizmos." She waves to Rean as she passes, not really taking the race all that seriously now, since she really can't compete.

Alexis has posed:
'Very competitive, this Pokémon will chase anything that moves fast in the hopes of racing it.' The old Pokedex entry sums up the scenerio very well here, as we've got several things that can move fast, the elmental equine included.
There's a river ahead. And there's Rean, waving his arms from a bridge crossing over it.

Alexis leans down, nudging heaving shoulders to actually steer her steed a bit off to the side. Towards the actual river bank instead. That thing is on literal fire, she's not going to run it into the water is she?

Nope. Alexis spurs her heels into his sides firmly. "Bounce!"

If there is one thing after running that Rapidash is really good at, it's jumping. Granted he's got to slow down slightly so they can time it right, but it's worth the spectacle of Roadburn leaping from one bank to the other with little difficulty, Alexis sitting partway up just to wave back at Rean as they lunge past.

Bridge? They don't need no stinking bridges!

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is pressing her bike hard. Will has surprised her in a rather good way and Alexis having a pokemon? Which could outpace her it does not shock her just given Alexis' reputation and length of activity in the multiverse? She keeps going pulling off several more tricks as she does so, and she's going to press it to catch up with the rest and she will be leaving Yang behind. She knows Yang has a talent for it just she's pushed more of her skills in what she does when she gets off her bike.

Kotone never wants to CQC Yang outside a friendly duel.

<<Oh so you want to play huh>>

She peeling rubber and pulling off manoeuvres which might be considered unwise it's like Kotone might not care too much if she wipes out...

William Pauwel has posed:
Will narrows his eyes at Alexis and her ride as they charge toward the riverbed. She has to slow down to make the jump, but...

That Rapidash isn't the only thing that doesn't need a bridge! After all, the Mistral is some kind of AWESOME SCI-FI MOTORCYCLE. It just wouldn't do if the thing couldn't jump a simple bridge...!

But. This is why... This is why Will had to ask...!

He grins and hits that big red button again. The motorcycle's back end unfolds into those thrusters again-- but more than that! Instead of just drawing his fist away, Will pushes it in deeper. The motorcycle's undercarriage opens up as well, revealing a secondary set of boosters! Jump jets!

"Hey Rean!" Will waves as he liberates himself from gravity's tyrannous grasp. "Watch this!" He reaches up and guns the Mistral's motor. Its thrusters flare, launching him up and over the river at top speed! There's no need to pause to brace for a launch, no need to calculate a trajectory...! Not when he can course-correct mid-flight, not when he can make sure he's going to land exactly where he wants to!

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Whoa!" Rean laughs as everyone starts taking off, with Will doing so literally.

As you approach Celdic, the scenery changes from trees and bushes to farmland and windmills. There's a few houses out here, with chickens and cows and the like.

The rankings are Will, Alexis, Ange, and Kotone, with Yang deciding to take it slow. Ange is still flooring it, her speed buff having worn off, and being a lot closer to Kotone now, especially with Kotone making her crazy maneuvers.

The town proper is coming up on the horizon, with Towa waving her arms near the town gate. Time for one last push to the finish line!

Alexis has posed:
With the jumping and flashy stunts over with Alexis settles her steed into a steady gallop once more. Sure Rapidash is said to hit upwards of 150mph or so at full throttle. But that would also crash and burn, possibly literally, pretty fast. A solid pace is the best way to go about a race, only pushing the limits when the time is right. Stamina is just as important speed, as is managing both.

Also who knows how accurate that measurement is. You don't get solid accuracy when you're sending out 10 year olds to help fact check your database.

"Not much farther, buddy. Just hold it steady." Some smoke puffs from the horse's nostrils like exhaust as he puffs a few times, and keeps galloping towards the town ahead of them.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa does not even stop she clearly playing hardball it would insult everyone else after all. George and his team are testing their design, Will is going all out Yang too would get mad if you went easy on her. Alexis? Well, she's not about to let a pokemon beat her without /fight/. She's loving it though it's like she does not have a care in the world as she keeps pushing after the rest of the pack and she won't be afraid to play a bit aggressively with everyone else either.

William Pauwel has posed:
They're in the home stretch now. The plains and wilderness have yielded to the idyllic, pastoral sights and sounds and smells of a rural town at the heart of a vibrant and thriving farmland. Will waxes nostalgic for a brief moment before the wind whipping against his face brings him back to the here and now. They're getting to the end. Close... To the end.

To the gate.

Will and Alexis are neck-and-neck. It can be anyone's race...!

Will slams his fist into another button on his console. He can't use the thrusters in a place like this-- it'd set this whole harvest on fire! So instead... He uses /something else./ At the very last moment, a pair of grappling hooks launch out of the front of his cycle's chassis, each one aimed at either side of the town gate. As soon as they make contact, he slams the button again! Twin servo motors whirr and reel in, slingshotting him with just a little bit more speed at the very last stretch...!

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
And thus, by a hookshot, the winner is Will! Alexis comes in a very close second, with Kotone, Angelica and Yang coming in not long after.

"Argh...I lost." Angelica says, pulling to a stop and getting off her bike. She then holds out a hand for Will to shake. "You pulled some crazy stunts, though so I'm not /that/ disappointed. You deserve it."

Rean and George eventually show up, also congratulating the racers as things wrap up. All in all, an exciting race.

Alexis has posed:
Or in this case, winning is as much being clever as it is fast. There's not much Alexis can do to counter that maneuver without causing some collateral damage due to riding something that is -on fire-. But she takes it in stride, as it was all in good fun.

Once she's reigned her mount to a stop she hops off, giving his side an affection pat. "You did your best, that's what counts." Nothing wrong with second place, either. Then she ambles over to give Will a slap on the shoulder. "That's some neat trickery you pulled out there, good job!" And smirks at the rest of Rean's group. "Well now you know what you have out there to contend with, shouldn't be hard to refine your work, right?"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa will come in at the end of the race she'll pull to a halt and she looks Angelic for a moment and looks at her for a moment she then move to pull the jacks out of her neck and she grins more.

"Look this is a new thing to your world? Mine has been making and improving on these for over a hundred years. So don't get down, you kept up better than our first workable design would have! I also make these things for a living when I'm not tromping about the multiverse. If you want some help I might be able to do so. So who wants to go get something to eat on me?"

William Pauwel has posed:
Will dashes first across the finish line! He... Has something of a time stopping. He has to fire another pair of those grappling hooks to arrest his velocity. In so doing, he almost launches himself clear off his ride! Fortunately, it's only his hat that goes flying!

It ends up on some unsuspecting NPC's head. Or potentially on a cow's. Either way, Will has to go retrieve it. But first...!

He has a hand to shake!

"Y'all didn't do too bad, yerself! That was some fancy... Magical nonsense? Back there? I couldn't really tell, t'ain't my wheelhouse." Will gives Angelica a broad grin. "My offer stands though! If y'all want some crazy stunts of yer own, jus' look me up!"

Someone slaps him across the shoulder. It's Alexis! Will offers her a hand to shake, too. "That was some fine riding on yer part, pardner. Ain't never thought there was a horse out there anything like thattun. I had to pull out all the stops, an' even then t' was a close thing."