SRA: VS Victer

VS Victer
Hurdles; For the Bridgeway

The summer sun was beginning to set over the Arena as Tomio rolled up to the on-ramp for the Bridgeway, where the challenge was set to begin. He ran his hand over the circular Crossroads sticker that covered his, which itself sat atop an old Silver Rush sticker. The last remnants of the orange sky were fading away, leaving a deep purple canvas in the sky. He checked his watch. Two minutes early. He smirked and slipped his sunglasses off, slipping them into the inside pocket of his jacket.

As he did so, the roar of rushing air met his ears and he turned to face the half-man, half-robot that had taken Shockwave from the previous leader in a bold move that had gone practically unnoticed in the Arena.

Tomio's blonde hair blew in the blast of air as the new guy skidded to a halt next to him. Their eyes locked for a brief moment. No words were necessary as they stood and stared at each other. The clock in town struck eight, each gong echoing across the choppy water under the Bridgeway.

"We go when the last gong sounds." Tomio raised an eyebrow, hearing Victer's voice for the first time, then nodded, his eyes never leaving his opponent. The wind died just as the final gong sounded, and both men took off, their AT wheels spinning and skidding as they began the race. The objective: Hurdle the giant tower in the middle of the bridge, touch the radio antennae at the top, retrieve the tollbooth key at the end of the bridge, and then do it all again, in reverse.

Victer had the advantage from the start, seeing as friction didn't affect him since nothing was actually touching the ground. Tomio admired the tech that Victer had managed to install into himself. It was quite impressive, but Tomio couldn't afford to dwell on it. He had to win this race, for the sake of his newly-formed team.

The first suspension cable was coming up on Tomio's right, and he threw himself into the air, his feet landing squarely on the grating that ran up to the top of the tower. He glanced over towards Victer, who seemed to be having a bit of trouble staying balanced on the grated walkway. The air being shot out of his treks wasn't getting the thrust and was just blasting dust away from underneath the grating. A smile crossed Tomio's lips as he approached the top of the tower. With a simple push, he flipped up and over the top of the tower, his fingers tapping the antennae lightly as he passed. Victer did the same, landing precariously on the downward cable. Tomio paid him no mind. The tollbooth key sat on top of an old RedRum barstool in the center of the road, and he intended to grab it first.

But being back on firm ground gave Victer the upper hand again. He rocketed forward and managed to snatch the key out of Tomio's outstretched fingers. The blond boy spun on his heel, his eyes fixed upon his opponent, who was heading back up the suspension cable already.

"Oh no, you are NOT taking my territory." He rocketed up the same cable, closing fast as his solid wheels gripped the metal grating. "Not when I've worked so hard to keep my team together!" A burst of speed put him in the slipstream of Victer, in perfect passing position.

He caught up with his opponent at the very top of the tower, where his cold eyes glared at the man who stood between Shockwave and their old territory. The tollbooth key hung loosely in Victer's hand, but Tomio was not focused on that. He darted forward, his fist coming up to meet Victer's face – but in an instant, he was gone, his Road sending him across the top of the tower. Tomio laughed a little and turned back to him, hitting a button on his watch. A little blue light began to flash.

"Your BlueTooth connection will not work on me, shadow rider." Victer's voice cut through the night air like a knife. "I have too many firewalls installed to let that happen." Tomio smirked, shaking his head a little.

"You did your homework. But this is a new assignment." He darted forward again, his foot rising towards Victer's stomach. The man's eyes closed and he thought to himself "What if… I could dodge this"… and nothing happened. Tomio's foot connected squarely with Victer's metallic abdomen, which sent him flying toward the side of the tower, towards the water. Before he could fall, however, Tomio grabbed the key that hung in his hand. "Not such a good idea to be a robot when your opponent uses an EMP."

Tomio yanked the key from Victer's hands, which sent the cyborg man plunging down into the frigid water below. Tomio turned to leave the battle, but discovered he hadn't properly sealed all of his electronics – his ATs were fried in the EMP's discharge. He laughed to himself and folded the collapsible treks into his pants leg and began walking down the grating to the finish line, where he unlocked the tollbooth and slapped the Ragnarok sticker back in its rightful place on the window.