Vaudevillain

Dr. Zlo weaved in behind Jack as he and Valiant caught up, keeping his foot on the accelerator as they made it to the skyscraper. A crowd stood in the building, watching as the racers made their way down the straightaway. Heroes and villains stood and cheered as the racers rushed down the track. A few players had started up a series of bets on the side, enticing players with the promise of Alienite and Phlebotinium winnings.

"Dr. Zlo seems to be cheating," Nikola commented to Dextra. The player held a bucket of popcorn in hand, something one of the watching players made to snack on. It didn't take long for others to copy the idea, and soon a vending stall popped up in the middle of the crowd, selling refillable buckets for cheap materials.

"I doubt he thinks so," Dextra said, looking down at the racers.

The pack leaders were approaching the parking lot now, the first genuine obstacle outside of Dr. Zlo's interference. The trees planted on the curbside shook as Riptide, Bart, Jack, and the skateboarder passed. The four players were locked in battle, sending their attacks at each other like children throwing food in a cafeteria. Dr. Zlo and Valiant followed close behind, the two players catching up to the lead pack. Behind them raced Sweet Dream and Oro, the two players going at each other like cats and dogs. Finally, bringing up the rear came the clown car, coffin car, and surprisingly the stereo car from the beginning of the race. The driver had gotten his car back up and running and without anyone to interfere, was now back in the race, albeit with less booming music.

Raiders surrounded everyone as they entered the parking lot, guns blasting at the racers. Bullets pinged off the ground as the lead racers came to the first wacky addition, a ramp leading up the side of the central skyscraper. The racers would make their way up a constructed ramp to take them up the skyscraper's side and into a clear tube twisting around the side.

The construct was a collaborative effort between the crafters in Menagerie. Gravity plates built along the tube were there to keep the cars inside, the crafters knowing that regular physics wouldn't cut it for this race. The pipe ran straight up the skyscraper, cresting the top of the building in a spiral and shooting straight back down.

The racer's fights grew more chaotic as they approached the tube, each player hoping to push the rest out of the way. Riptide and Bart continued their clash, the two crashing into each other as they came to the tube. Jack followed behind, having slipped past the skateboarder, the racer having to shrink slightly to fit inside.

Riptide tightened his face in concentration as he neared the tube's entrance. He had a plan in mind to deal with Bart and Quartet, but it would take a bit of timing to get right. The villain waited for Bart's next ramming attempt, activating his power in the seat. A moment later, Bart swerved his truck to the side.

Riptide took the blow, using his ability to lift off the road and into the air. A quick twist of the boatmobile brought him on top of the tube. Bart looked up in surprise as he entered the pipe; Riptide had cut himself off from the pack once again.

But during their fight, Jack had slipped between the two to take the lead position, entering the tube before anyone else and breaking away. Riptide only noticed a moment later, the player's mouth opening in slight surprise. Jack waved to him, her top speed greater than the boatmobile.

"Cass, can we get a lock on Riptide?" Dr. Zlo asked as he raced to the tube.

"We don't have enough time, boss!" Cass exclaimed.

Dr. Zlo slammed a fist onto the steering wheel, activating the horn, "Blast! We'll have to catch up to him on the next trap! Good thing it's my most devious!"

The villain caught up with Bart a moment later, the player turning all his attention to the skateboarder. Quartet immediately turned on the player, using his powers to knock the man off his skateboard. The man went down, creating a small obstacle on the road that Oro and Sweet Dream easily avoided. Bart slowed and turned his attention to the rear players, meeting up with Leatherface on top of Oro's car.

"Time to put the pedal to the metal, Cass!" Dr. Zlo whooped. He slammed his foot on the accelerator, letting the Zlomobile's engine open up.

The villain's car started to push forward, slowly edging away from Valiant as it climbed the tower. Valiant seemed to scowl, flipping a few switches on his vehicle. The hero's car opened up, a pair of jet engines appearing out of the back and igniting the air around them.

Valiant shot forward, passing by Dr. Zlo as he accelerated to the top. Players inside the skyscraper cheered, excited to see what happened next.

"Boss, we're losing them!" Cass said, pointing at the escaping enemy.

"I can see that, Cass!" Dr. Zlo answered sarcastically. "Next time, tell me something I don't know!"

Dr. Zlo kept his foot on the pedal, reaching top speed in a few moments. It wasn't enough to catch up to Valiant or Jack, but he was edging closer with every passing second.

Once Valiant passed by Jack, the hero returned the jet engines inside his car, letting it coast on the extra speed. Riptide and Jack raced behind him, their cars on opposite sides of the pipe. Dr. Zlo moved closer, his Zlomobile catching up as the cars entered the corkscrew turn at the top.

The turn resembled a lightbulb filament, looping around itself and shooting down. Dr. Zlo instantly saw the trick to it. The Zlomobile would have to come out of the turn at the right angle so the car didn't fly off the track. If Dr. Zlo emerged out of the corkscrew wrong, he would crash right into the other side, getting rid of all the speed he'd built up and falling to the ground ––which would most likely kill him and prevent him from winning the race.

The tube started to lean left as the cars entered the corkscrew. Jack, Valiant, and Dr. Zlo all moved to the inside, heading into the corkscrew horizontal to the ground. Riptide was the only one who ignored the sideways loop, surfing through and going down the other side a second ahead of the others.

The Zlomobile shook as it took the turn, Dr. Zlo fighting to hold the wheel steady as the car performed its loop in the sky. As he reached the end of the turn, the player nudged the wheel slightly to the left. The Zlomobile spun out of the turn, spiraling down the skyscraper and picking up speed. Valiant and Jack had the same idea, the three cars heading down in a dizzying display of speed.

Riptide took a moment to look back at the others as he made his way down with G.W. To his surprise, the others were catching up to him, catching up to him fast.

Contrary to his belief, Riptide's decision to take the outside wasn't the quicker route. The corkscrew shrank as it looped around the skyscraper, which meant the cars' angular momentum pushed the car faster as the loop shrank. Jack, Valiant, and Dr. Zlo all found themselves moving more quickly as they conserved momentum out of the turn. That, combined with the downward acceleration of gravity, caused the three cars to rocket down the tube, shooting past Riptide faster than he expected.

"Oh, dude! No fair!" the villain shouted as the group passed by him.

No one inside the tube bothered to pay attention to Riptide, their focus solely on keeping their cars steady. Jack arguably had the easiest time: She'd built her formula one car to stick to the road after all. But the Zlomobile was no slouch either. Dr. Zlo's many additions to the vehicle made sure it kept its speed as it went down the road. The only one who had to slow was Valiant, and that was because his rocket thrusters gave him a tad too much speed coming out of the corkscrew.

The three players shot out of the loop, Jack in front with Valiant hot on her heels.

"Cass, ready the lasers," Dr. Zlo said.

"Aye aye, boss," Cass said, saluting.

The minion grabbed the trigger for the lasers, aiming at both vehicles ahead and unleashing volleys of red energy. Valiant simply brought a hand up to ward off the blows, the shield also protecting Jack as they raced to the next turn.

The upcoming turn was a gradual slalom around a series of brightly colored buildings. Players stood on top, cheering for the racers as they approached. But a few seemed to have ulterior motives, something each racer noticed as they arrived.

Dr. Zlo's attempts to stop the competitors had gotten some of the players wondering. Was this event meant to have outside interference? The first attempt with Mabel made some sense. The minion was one of Dr. Zlo's, after all. But Bart and the others were players inside Menagerie. Meaning if they could join in on the fun, others could too.

Eager players ready to interact with their favorite icons moved to the forefront of the crowds, readying powers and weapons to rain down on the racers.

"Cass, monitor the shield and tell me if it gets low," Dr. Zlo said as he looked up at the various powers activating about him. "We're about to have a bit of rain."

"You got it, boss," Cass answered. The minion's eyes moved straight toward the console, not even blinking as he watched the shield's batteries.

Powers started to rain down from on high. Gunfire, energy blasts, exploding unicorns, anything a player could think of fell from the sky at the racers. Again, Valiant simply raised a hand, his shield preventing the most harmful effects from reaching him. Dr. Zlo acted similarly, only dodging if he thought the incoming attack was magical. Jack had it the hardest, the player not having a powerful shield like the others.

Jack made up for it with superior handling and a durable chassis. Nothing seemed able to scratch Jack's racer, though the coat of paint did fall off as lasers and explosions hit. But eventually, the three made it out of the turns, heading toward the halfway mark that was the crafting district.

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