Michael got out of bed, showered, and got dressed. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had somehow forgotten something, but when he looked back on it, he had simply returned home after a successful mission. He supposed he dosed off in the back of Evelyn's Tesla on the return home.

Michael stepped outside while he waited for Michelle to finish breakfast. He opened the news section of his watch's interface, and found another massive bombardment of articles.

"Mysterious Vigilante Driver Stops Mecha Terrorist Attack"

"Second Viral Video of Racing Vigilante Surfaces on Internet, Existence Proven"

Michael hadn't considered the fact that his exploits we're now proven. Last night's exploit was on national news as a top story, not a footnote among others like his first mission.

Michael scrolled through several stories and even found a criminal profile expert being interviewed on the subject. He decided it was the most interesting and clicked on it

*******

"This is Live News 64, I'm your host, Steve Brown, and today I'm joined by major crimes expert Carmen Espinoza," A handsome, middle aged anchorman in a blue suit said to the camera.

"Thank you Steve, always a pleasure to be on the show." Carmen, a younger Hispanic woman in a pantsuit said, sitting across from the anchorman while various holograms flashed around them.

"So, as you already know, this Asphalt Knight character is making waves on the Net, do you have any insight into his motivations?" The anchorman said keenly.

"Well, Steven-"

"Please, call me Steve-"

"Steve, It seems as if this mysterious Vigilante is not only seeking justice, but also attention. He-"

"So you're saying they're male then?"

"To the contrary Steven-"

"Call me Steve-"

"Steve, I would say this Vigilante is female, given the use of a voice changer, as a young woman would be more likely to brag about their exploits via social media... Look at how the footage is cut together on the Vigilante's YouTube channel, it's color corrected and shown from the best angles. It clearly aims to glorify them as some kind of celebrity, Iike a famous actor-"

"So you're saying she is doing this for social media attention?"

"And for company profit. Look at the quality of the vehicle she uses, it's clearly well designed and features some of the latest military technology. The vehicle is shown "drifting" which within the urban street racing community is considered stylish. The whole focus of the Asphalt Knight character is around this vehicle. My theory is that a a wealthy socialite has partnered herself up with a private military company in order to market new vehicles."

"What an interesting theory Carmen, anyways, we're out of time... This has been Live News 64, sponsored by Senator Joey Shnider, Stay Classy, Palmont City!"

**********

Michael could barely contain his laughter.

None of what he had just heard made the slightest bit of sense. A conspiracy by some female internet celebrity to help market PMC equipment? It couldn't be further from the truth.

He was just a farm boy who was doing this because his crazy aunt and random people who he met while racing told him to because of some prophecy.

Come to think of it, that didn't make much sense either.

Michael was so caught up in the fact that he was supposed to do this that he never questioned why.

He supposed it was the right thing to do, he was given power, might as well be responsible.

His watch abruptly began to buzz. It was a call from Evelyn.

"Eve- I mean Evelyn-..."

"Did you see the Carmen Espinoza interview this morning?"

"Actually, I did-"

"What a load of horseshit... Look, I'm sending you an email and password to a Twitter account that's synced to appear at the same IP address of the YouTube channel, so they know it's official. "

"What do I use that for?"

"Look, the internet is going insane looking for who you are, and more importantly, how they can get a few extra likes from getting closer to you... Give the people what they want, show them a little bit of who you are... It will build your reputation..."

"Uh, ok. But can't they trace us?"

"I've put some insane security on you're watch..."

Michael realized he had never used Twitter before. That had always been Michelle's thing, communication with others.

For the first time, Michael thought what would the Asphalt Knight say?

The Knight character he played while he was behind the wheel was a heroic, stoic and cocky individual. Surely he would crack the occasional quip every now and then.

Michael logged in to the account. It was already set up with a grey and black emblem will the Racing Authority logo on it as it's profile picture. It otherwise had a simple black unmarked banner.

@ AsphaltKnightOfficial

Michael copied the link to the interview he had just watched, and then tweeted,

"I'm actually a guy lol"

"Is that Twitter? OMG you using Twitter now? Lemme see!"

Before Michael could protest, Michelle (who was now fully dressed) had grabbed his arm and has gazing into the shimmering blue hologram. Michael immediately yanked his hand back. But it as already too late.

"Why is there an RA logo for your profile pic?"

"Uh... Michelle, I need you to trust me right now. Promise me you WON'T freak out..."

"What is it!?" Michelle said excitedly.

Michael took a deep breath.

"Promise me you won't tell ANYONE, it's for your safety and mine-"

"Yeah Yeah Yeah! Just tell me!"

"I'm the Asphalt Knight."

Michelle burst into laughter. Before long, tears were streaming for your eyes, and she was rolling on the floor.

"Really? You! I didn't know you could tell jokes that were actually funny, brother!"

"No really!"

Michelle's laughter intensified.

"I mean seriously! You, the Asphalt Knight! Hahahaha! You can't drift like that! Or get ahold of a car like that! You're hilarious!"

Michelle eventually stood up and headed over to her car, still giggling.

Michael suddenly felt relieved. His sister knew him better than anyone else in the world. If she wouldn't believe it was him, then well no one would, right? He walked over to the raggedy Foxbody
Seeing it in the light made it so much worse.

The body panels were completely trashed, almost none of the primer that covered them was intact. None of the Foxbody's traditionally straight and muscular lines were now bent out of shape. Interestingly enough, seeing the vehicle in the daylight revealed to Michael that underneath some of the grey primer and rust, was a bright red color.

The Foxbody had originally been painted bright red from the factory. Michael had even considered the fact had once been purchased more than 70 years ago, by someone.

Michael wanted to know more. He realized this car wasn't just a utility he used, but an artifact, a piece of history. A piece of history he had defiled the night before without a thought.

He wanted to know more about it.

But he had know idea how. He supposed he'd ask Ed, since he was the closest thing that an expert he knew.

He got inside and started the car. Surprisingly, it coughed to life rather quickly, and idled comfortably.

He put it in gear, and followed Michelle to Ed's shop.

************

When they arrived, they found Amelia, Nick and Alex already there, since apparently Michelle had texted them to get an AutoBus ride to the nearby shop. Michael parked the Mustang on the street outside Ed's shop, since the garage doors were both shut.

Amelia was dressed in her baggy, dark green mechanics jumpsuit, and her hair was in a bun beneath a red bandana that was wrapped around her hair.

Nick wore his usual yellow hoodie and jeans, and Alex wore an orange McLaren T-shirt.

"Hey man, I saw what happened on the Livestream last night." Alex said anxiously, "That's a tone of aero damage, it would be difficult to repair before tomorrow night."

"Well, what if we doon't instead?" Amelia said as she paced about around the disheveled car.

"What do you mean?" Michelle said anxiously.

"Well, wot if we werre too focus on the vehicle's performance? Like install some upgrades! Leave the body as is, maybe remove some bits and replace essentials like windooos, but otherwise..."

"We could ditch the front and rear bumpers since the rear one fell off and the front is toast, could help save weight..." Nick said in a thoughtful tone.

Before Michael could make a decision, there was the rumble of a some kind of engine.

A black 1983 GMC Vandura pulled up from the alleyway where Ed's GT350R was parked. The garage door to the shop opened and the van parked inside.

Ed hopped out of the van, a big grin on his face.

"Glad to see you kids back! I just got this van..."

Michael spoke nervously.

"Did you see our race last night?"

"No, I heard you won, congrats man!" Ed said distractedly as he opened the hood of the van.

"Yeah... You might wanna come outside..." Michelle added.

Ed frowned and followed Michael and Michelle to where the Foxbody was parked.

"Woah! HOLY shit... ohh. Was it the little kid in the Mercury?"

"Yeah. And she challenged my brother here to a pink slip race." Michelle said

"Was it the Kempton Mile?"

"Yeah... I was wondering what that was actually..." Michael said.

"Oh man. When's the race?

"Tomorrow night."

"Phooey, ok."

Ed paced back and forth.

"That little kid... Has wrecked so many beautiful rides, and I've lost so many customers to her pink slip races... Come on in guys."

The team shuffled inside after Ed, and Ed snapped his fingers, the garage door shutting behind them. He waved his hand, and pulled up a massive hologram, and flicked through various videos in various files till he found the one he was looking for.

It was a bumper cam recording of some loud V8 powered muscle car going at breakneck speed through a train yard, closely following a red Chevrolet Chevelle.

The cars pick up speed, and the camera car moves to overtake the Chevelle, but then a set of massive LED lights blinds the camera.

There is a loud crash and the footage cuts to static.

"And that kids, is what happens when an AutoTram hits you in the face. That's the Kempton Mile. It's drag racing with a deadly twist."

"Wait, soo yoo have to race someone and Dodge trains at the same bloody time!?" Amelia gasped, eyes wide.

"Yeah..."

"Oh man, and that Mercury has got some killer straightline speed..." Nick added.

"Even if you survive the trains, you're more than likely to loose, especially with the Foxbody in that shape." Michelle said, for once with a concerned expression on her face.

"Look guys... If she can dodge those trains, then so can I... I've beaten her once, I can do it again."

Ed smiled.

"I can't tell if you are incredibly brave, or dumb as a personal assistant AI, but... In that case... I'm gonna give you all the help I can. All the parts we use on this will be sold to you at cost for this job, and I won't charge for labor. Our time is limited, so there is only a few things we can do to the old Mustang right now, but I have a little item I've been saving for a special occasion."

Ed whistled, and the garage doors opened, and the droids wheeled the Mustang on to one of the lifts.

"Alright, follow me back into the warehouse."

The team followed Ed deep into the back part of the storage unit behind the shop.

They walked for several minutes until Ed found a gold plated wooden chest.

"It was this, or a free Typhoon dune buggy kit when the my Shelby won best in show at the Monument Valley Motorstorm festival 6 years ago... I've regretted that decision until now."

Ed rubbed his hands together and reached into his pocket and pulled out a a silver key. He put the key in the locked chest and opened it. A soft gold glow permiated the room.

"Woah... I must be bloody dreamin'" Amelia said, as she sank to her knees.

"Its beautiful..." Alex said.

"Uh, this is nice and all, but it's just a really fancy looking fire extinguisher." Michael said.

"This..." Ed said with a dramatic pause, "Is of pure Artisanally made pure, Lemon Scented Midas Super Nitro... They only made 50 bottles of this for the entire world in the 2020s, and I have one of them. Aged to perfection, kept nice and warm in this tank here."

"Uhh, what's different about this kind of nitrous than other kinds?" Michael asked.

"Oh my boy, this is a special secret formula... I personally have no idea what the ingredients are, but basically it cools the engine when used, I got no idea how, but it does, and living within the glorious liquid is a special genetically modified algae that cleans the engine. Also it's supposedly lemon scented when used, whatever that means."

"So this stuff will help me go faster, huh?" Michael said.

"Yup, it will give that old Foxbody an extra 300 horsepower for about 10 seconds, and it won't blow up the motor because of what we are gonna do to it."

"How much is this gonna cost?" Michael asked with a concerned expression.

"It's my gift to you, son."

"Really?"

"Yeah I was probably never gonna use it. Plus I want to be there to see if it is truly lemon scented when used..."

"Uh ok. Let's get started.

********

The team got to work.

They started with assessing the damage to the Foxbody. There was no time to order new body panels, so they elected to remove the front and rear bumpers. Ed remarked that the chassis was relatively in hardened due to the roll cage and crumple zones provided by the now ruined body panels. He suggested seam welding the chassis to increase stiffness so the car would be more stable.

Nick, given his expertise from suspension tuning in video games was in charge of re aligning the suspension, with the help of Ed's AR goggles and a YouTube tutorial.

Alex 3D printed lexan windows using Ed's printer to replace the shattered glass ones.

Michael and Michelle worked together to bolt in the delicate bottle of in the trunk of the Foxbody, whilst Ed ran the fuel line for the nitrous through the interior to the front of the car.

Amelia in the mean time was preparing the motor for the nitrous upgrades.

She pulled the 302-X from the car, removed the heads, and took the pistons out, removing the piston rings and trimming them in order to compensate for their expansion from the increased pressure and heat from the sudden extra power they would be subjected too. This would keep the engine from blowing up due the pistons shattering from having nothing to keep them from warping.

*******
After a few hours, the team took a break for lunch while Ed started the long and arduous process of seam welding the chassis.

Amelia and Michael shared an AutoCab to get some food from the local McDonald's to bring back to the team.

Michael hadn't ridden in an AutoCab in a very long time, not since he took the AutoBus to school.

It was almost silent, save for an almost imperceptible amount of wind noise. It's airless polymer tire absorbed every bump in the Asphalt like jelly. Michael felt as if he wasn't moving at all. The machine seemed to glide down the road with ruthless efficiency.

To Michael it felt like a bad dream, because it made maneuvers, such as turning to switch lanes in a sluggish and deliberate slog like you do in when you try to move in a dream.

The interior was made almost entirely of plastic, and the glass sunroof seemed to Michael and Amelia like ants under a magnifying glass held by a cruel child.

Several holograms flashed in Michael and Amelia's faces, advertising various items such as the latest smart watch, VR games, magic weight loss pills and RE ELECT SENATOR JOEY SCHNIDER.

Michael motioned to touch the air conditioning system, but Amelia slapped his hand away.

"Doon't or else-"

"You appear to be experiencing discomfort from your travel... Would you like to pay an additional 500 credits for access to our in cab refreshment and climate control for this journey?"

Amelia clapped a hand over Michael's mouth and put a finger to her lips to motion for Michael to be quiet.

"Nooo, thank you."

"We're sorry, we didn't understand what you have to say."

"You have got to be feckin pulling me leg!"

"You appear to be distressed. Do you require medical assistant? If so, we can dispatch medical assistance for you shortly."

"doon't, say anything..." Amelia whispered. After a few moments, the AutoCab system spoke again

"We take your silence as a yes, we will be providing refreshment and climate control. The credits will now be deducted from your account."

"YOU FECKIN PIECE OF SHIT!! Sorry love..." Amelia moaned.

"It's fine" Michael sighed. He wasn't too fussed about the money since Ed wouldn't be charging nearly as much as for the engine swap.

"At least we have air conditioning now, right?" Michael said.

"I guess sooo..."

Michael reached for the air conditioning dial and turned it up to the highest setting. At first, nothing.

Then they were bombarded by the most putrid smell they could imagine, and no cold air.

"THE FECKIN THING HASNT EVEN BEEN SERVICED PROPERLY!!!" Amelia fumed and shut off the air conditioning.

"Dispensing your refreshment."

A slot from behind the vehicle's dashboard opened and a two tiny bottles of water and an ancient bag of pretzles were served on a tray.

Amelia grabbed on of the water bottles and dumped it's contents on her head.

"I'm bloody roasting...' she grumbled.

Michael sighed.

"Honestly I'd rather bloody walk back then take one of these bloody things again. Yeh know I used to ride a bicycle everywhere back in Scotland, livin in a smole toown and all..."

She turned away from Michael and stared out the window.

Even sweaty and disheveled as she currently was, Amelia still looked beautiful to Michael.

Michael turned towards the other window and watched the scenery go by.

**********

After the AutoCab took them through the McDonald's drive through, Michael and Amelia returned to the shop and worked with Ed and the team to out the car back together.

The engine was reassembled, and put back in the car, Amelia messed with the ECU to make sure the nitrous injection rail they installed would function properly, Ed put the finishing touches on the the seam welding, and Michael installed a new set of high performance tires on the cars old rims.

Meanwhile, Nick, Michelle and Alex zip tied and duct taped the fenders and panels that were salvageable, and tossed the front bumper in favor of a metal front bash bar.

It was nearly midnight by the time the car was finished.