8671/Racing Is Such a Drag

Racing Is Such a Drag
Date of Scene:	06 August 2019
Location:	Front Yard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Peter Parker and Kitty drag race scooters down the drive, with Shannon flying, and Samuel and Scott watching
Cast of Characters:	Shadowcat, Spider-Man, Nightingale, Cannonball, Cyclops

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Shadowcat has posed:
Some time back at the beginning of summer, a truck had pulled up to the school. Beeping as it backed up to the garage. Kitty Pryde had hopped out of the cab as people had started drifting out to see what was going on. She'd opened up the back of the large rental to reveal... old motorbikes. A plethora of them, some complete, others little more than frames needing motors, or motors needing frames. Dirt bikes, choppers, street bikes, a little bit of everything. Purchased from the Carmichaels, a couple with a farm nearby the school.

There was also an old car frame, a 1950s Buick Roadmaster. Lorna unloaded everything, her mutant power making it easy, while Kitty has announced the bikes could be taken by any student or staff as a summer project to restore them.

Many weeks later, a lot of them have been restored by now. Kitty's was a 1965 Vespa scooter, probably the slowest thing in the bunch of old bikes. But the style of it called to her. With the help of one of the students learning Italian, the motor was now rebuilt and running.

And so it is that Kitty, in the Rec Room in front of quite a few, had challenged Peter Parker to a drag race down the front drive. The sound of her Vespa's engine precedes the little scooter, puttering around the corner and purring like a kitten. She's painted it and decked it out, and added a skullcap helmet for herself and a pair of old driving goggles and gloves. Kitty pulls up to a stop in front of the school and looks around for Peter.

Spider-Man has posed:
This was an interesting connundrum.

Peter didn't have a project motorcycle to work on this summer. Sure, he'd done a little bit with some of the other students, helped them with the mechanic work or engineering fine tuning, but he'd neglected to pick a suitable selection for himself to spend his time on this summer. There was a lot going on back then, it seemed like an extra time drop he didn't really have to drop.

So when he's challenged, immediately accepting for the record, it comes with a whole new concern: What, exactly, is he going to race her on?

So he spent the time between the challenge and the start going around asking some of the students if he could use their bike. Most said no... One tried to blackmail him for an A in class... but the third, bless his green scalely little heart, had lent the weird Biology teacher with enough nerd shirts to open a Spensers at the school his pedal start scooter.

Which only runs because Peter spent the last twenty minutes working on the wiring and reconnecting the engi- "Seriously, we talked about this LAST WEEK, man? What were you doing..." Peter gripes good natured and he and Tommie, the scalely blessed student, walk out from the garage pushing the pedal motor scooter out towards where Kitty is sitting on her vespa. "I hope you're ready to get SMOKED..."

Cockiness is going to be his undoing in this race, of that even he is certain.

Nightingale has posed:
     It didn't take very long for word of a drag race to get around, and Shannon couldn't resist the chance to get outside for a little while. She'd been enjoying the occasional flight around the grounds, some training in the danger room, and the occasional ahem, extracurricular outing, as her time at the school wore on and she grew more comfortable with the people and surroundings. So it was that curiosity got the best of her, and she headed outside to see just what was going on. She's dressed in her ribbon-embroidered blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and her working sneakers; basic, simple, and nothing immodest if she were to take to the air.

     She waves to Kitty and Peter, and smiles, though her eyebrows go up when she sees what they were both going to race. An idea begins to form, but would she be stepping on toes she ought not to step on? "Hi, guys... ummm, kind of getting an idea here, but if you want to say no this time it's okay...."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has a motorcycle, Captain America even rode it. Sam is not bringing it out no. He walks out to see what is up, and as he hears drag racing and sees the vehicles he chuckles softly to himself as he walks up.

Cyclops has posed:
Word has spread. First by those who had witnessed the challenge itself. Like wildfire, information was blazing through the student hotline through word-of-mouth and text messages. Then those who had been approached in the hopes of borrowing a scooter got involved.

There were even bets being made.

Through the many whisperings and flying thumbs typing messages, the word had made it to the one person that everyone probably had hoped to keep out of it. The door to the mansion opened and out strode Scott. He was not known for his support of such enterprises. In fact, most considered him the ultimate stick-in-the-mud.

It only took him a moment to spot the gathering participants and he moved to join the small gathering at a good clip. He stopped when he was within earshot, looking from the Vespa to the scooter and back. He shook his head but said nothing for long moments. Finally he spoke. "Just do me a favor and don't crash."

Shadowcat has posed:
Hambone and a few other students are standing there with a small whiteboard, scribbling the odds on them for people to place their bets. When they see Scott come out, one of them hurriedly rubs over the board with his arm, ending up with blue ink on his skin. Hambone starts stuffing bet chits they had made into his pockets, spilling a good dozen of them on the ground, then trying to look nondescript about it all.

From somewhere up around the roof, a purple dragon flies down to circle about the proceedings. Lockheed zeroes in on Kitty, moving to land in her basket, his front feet gripping the edges and looking ahead like he's ready to zoom off to infinity and beyond!

Kitty eyes Peter with a mock serious glare. She points two fingers at her eyes, then points them at Peter. Then she pats her bike, rubbing a hand over the flower-decaled frame. "Daisy is going to leave you eating dust, Parker!" she calls over to him, unable to keep the grin from her lips.

And then Scott comes out. Jinky, it's the fuzz!

Kitty flashes Scott a soft grin. "Oh, no worries. Though I might have to run Slowpoke Parker off the road if he gets too close," Kitty warns.

She gives Samuel a little salute in greeting, and looks over to Shannon. "Oh, ideas are good things. Usually. What is it?" Kitty asks the winged mutant.

Spider-Man has posed:
Alright, let's try this one more time.

My name is Peter Parker and for the last twenty minutes I've been trying to make a beat up old pedal scooter start. Me and my main man Tommie finally got the thing to crank, but the second we went out to the starting line, traitor Tommie immediately sided with the enemy, slinking over to the Kitty Pryde fan section.

"Tommie! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal..." Peter gasps in mock surprise and even deeper scorn for the... well it's also scorn. Glancing around at all the students that have made their way out there to watch the impromptu race with a pensive expression. "This was... probably not... a good idea." Grunting the bike up to beside Kitty's with a glance at Lockheed settling into the basket at the front of the Vespa. "Harsh, bro... harsh."

She has a lucky dragon.

This bodes ill.

Peter smirks at Kits mockery, confident in his handie work, and throws a leg over with a little bounce upon the seat. He's not yet seen Scott's arrival, but certainly it couldn't make THIS anymore AWKWARD for Peter, so...

One foot then the other start pedalling to get send off a spark to the ignition... only for nothing to happen... another attempt sends up a puff of grey smoke.. BUT THE THIRD.. the third does nothing either.

Fourth times a charm.

Peter glances over at Kitty, squinting. "It's on.. loser pays for dinner?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Hopefully, it wouldn't get any more awkward all around! Shannon's not met Scott yet, but it's a little bit too late to let nerves get the better of her, so she simply inclines her head to him and offers a tentative smile, before turning to Kitty. "It's a little stupid, but I'm kind of wondering if it's possible to keep up with you two. If it's okay to try?" Hambone gets a smile of recognition from her; she recalled him from the birthday party by the pool just a couple days after her arrival at the school, and oh my, there's that blush she's worn on her face many a time since!

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to them, and chuckles a bit more. He will look over, and says "So, this to the end of the drive, or only going half way so not to stress the engine on them?" He asks as he does move over to the board, and says "Ah got 2 hours of chores on Nightingale." He grins "Ah am pretty sure she can beat both bikes, as long as Lockheed aint helping."

Cyclops has posed:
For a moment, Scott's attention diverts from the competitors to Hambone and his friends. A glance to the chits on the ground, then back to Hambone. A note made of the smeared white board and the blue arm. Then just a long, long look at the group. No words. He doesn't need them. The ability to make people feel guilty with a glance should be one of his super powers.

Then he glances back over to the racers, specifically to Parker. "I'll bet dishes duty for the week on Parker."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty raises a hand to point over to Samuel. "I'll take that bet!" she calls over to him. "Hambone, you still playing bookie and got that down?" she asks him.

Hambone's eyes widen. "Miss Pryde, I don't know what you mean. We were just doing... statistics homework over here," the student says, doing his best not to glance at Scott as the student can feel the man's eyes on him.

Kitty grins and tells Shannon, "I don't see why not. Just stay on the left side of the drive? Though this is a grudge match so you're going to have to be like, the secondary race." She nods to Samuel and says, "Just 2/3 of the way down the drive so we've got plenty of room to stop. There's a couple of students with a little tape thing down there for the finish," she says. Which there are, they wave at everyone from a few hundred feet away.

The young woman looks back to Peter. "Ooo, I already know which steak at Ruth's Chris I'm going to order," she tells Peter, rubbing her driving glove covered hands together. "You got it started, so maybe I won't /totally/ embarrass you, Parker," she tells him.

Kitty nods to one of the students who goes out a little bit ahead with the cliche red bandana. She lifts it in the air. Kitty guns her engine a few times, the purring sound turning into... a slightly louder purr. The student looks back and forth to see if Peter is read before dropping the bandana!

Spider-Man has posed:
"Who said that." Peter's head perks up when someone bets on him, turning to look around until he spies Scott over there looking... stoic... "My man." Pointing both index fingers over at him, which nearly loses the balance of the bike.. at least it appears that it does. Honestly, Peter could keep this thing level just by wiggling his legs, but it looks good on paper to be clumsy.

"Ruth Chris? Really? On a teachers salary?" Pete blinks a few times, smooths his hair back with the palm of his hand, only to have it fall right back in his face, "I hope they have a dollar menu..." He murmurs jokingly. Glancing up and over at Shannon, "Uhhh.. Yeah, I'm about to get smoked.." All very good natured, glancing back to Kitty on her vespa as she guns the engine into a purr...

"Right, dramatics..." He twists the throttle and it sounds like someone dying. Seriously, it's more like squealing gears and broken glass than a combusion engine. "Yeeeeaaaa..." He twists the throttle again, "You hear that baby purr? That's a fine piece of machinery..." It is not.

The Biology teachers hand comes up signaling he's ready, leaning way forward like they do in the moving picture films. "Tommie, you're going to regret not staying loyal, pal."

Nightingale has posed:
     Somehow, Shannon had a feeling she was going to be doing a little more than flying, if the look of Peter's bike was any indication. She double facepalms, groaning softly in a mixture of embarrassment and sympathy. Well, give him points for pluck, he had it in spades!

     She looks up, nodding to Kitty and smiling, holding up her hands. "Not interested in winning or losing, just want to see if it can be done." Sam's bet is not lost on her and she turns a bit more red. "I hope you don't wind up regretting that bet... but thanks for the vote of confidence."

     It felt good to get in the air again, hovering just above and slightly behind Kitty and Peter, with enough distance between them where she will not accidentally hit them with her wings. Honestly, it looked like poor Peter had his hands full just keeping his bike together, without adding that to it!

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie chuckles and will walk over towards Scott, and says "Think Ah should challange the winner?" He jokes a bit at this. He looks around and hmms a bit "Ah think maybe we should start doing a summer and winter Xavier games here."

Cyclops has posed:
"Do you actually own a moped?" Scott counters. He watches as the pair prepare, the flag person waves the bandana and then it's down to the race itself. "I have a bike but we would need a lot longer track cause this wouldn't take but a second or two." He keeps his voice low, not wanting to have Hambone and crew overhear him. He also knows none of that bunch have heightened hearing so he should be safe.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty gasps over to Samuel. "THAT, sir, is a fantastic idea," she tells him. Kitty waves a thumb at Samuel as she glances to Scott, making sure he heard the Xavier's School Olympics idea.

Of course in Kitty's mind it's already taking form more like the Laugh-Olympics cartoon.

Kitty looks over as Peter guns his engine. Maybe 'guns' is too strong a term. Slingshots? Weakly thrown stick? Whatever. She looks over, putting her game face on, staring over at him like it was a stare down rather than a race.

She almost misses the bandana going down! Kitty guns the throttle, bringing her feet in to sit looking all nice and prime with fabulous posture on the seat, knees together in front of her. The Vespa with the daisies on it takes off, propelled forward and starting to gain speed. Lockheed leans forward, raising his wings to whistle in the increasing wind as the bike heads down the driveway towards the finish!

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter holds up a finger and slides on a pair of racing goggles. "Alright, I'm ready." He shouts, twisting the throttle for a third time with similiarly gutteral response, like a panting ardvark trying to swallow a razorblade. He hears the idea and glances back at Sam with a clipped nod, "Heck yea, man. Water polo, amirite?"

Then he actually DOES miss the bandana going down.

But responds quickly with another twist of the throttle to... rocket is a not an appropriate description. Somewhere between a creep and a brisk jog... yeah.. Peter twists the throttle and somewhere between a creep and a brisk jogs forward after Kitty.

No matter how many times he tries to pedal, it does not add power, since that's not at all what the pedals on the scooter are for! But he's moxie and dedicated, so pedal he does! Leaning forward as it actually does begin to pick up speed rather sharply once he actually gets properly going!

If anyone is curious which one is him, it's the one bellowing smoke out the back.

Unmistakable.

Nightingale has posed:
     Oh, good God. That smoke! Shannon gets a good faceful of it, coughing as she takes off after the pair, wings moving her through the air as fast as she can manage. It takes a few downstrokes for her to pick up speed, but once she does, she's well able to keep up with Kitty and Peter. She's not trying too hard to pull ahead of them, though, more interested in testing herself than winning any competition. Still... those bikes...

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smirks and looks over to Scott for a moment and says "Ah got a motorcycle ah restored but Ah was thinking more along the line of following Shannon's example and flying for the race. Sam smirks and yea the guy who can go around mach 1 was going to fly for the race.

Cyclops has posed:
Watching the wheezing beast of a machine putter off in a cloud of smoke, Scott can just shake his head again. "Obviously someone needs more time in the garage." He glances over to the young man who actually owns the bike. "Get with me tomorrow and we'll see if we can do better with that thing."

Which might just terrify the kid to death but Scott doesn't seem aware of that fact. He's just wanting to get that engine right. If it doesn't fall out of the bike before the finish line is reached. That could make it a few more days work.

Keeping his eyes on the race, he does speak to Sam. "Pretty sure that would be cheating." Then he switches to the suggestion that had been made. "Olympics based on what? Classic events from the real Olympics or more school and power focused?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty's scooter heads down the paved drive, fast enough to have her hair streaming behind her where it sticks out from beneath the skull cap. Which really doesn't mean all that fast. Her engine races, sounding like a... mosquito, the engine whining for all its worth as she has the throttle wide open.

Kitty looks over at Peter's bike as he catches up after his slow start. "No fair using smoke screens!" she calls to over to him, lifting a hand to wave a fist defiantly, the gesture completely at odds with her huge grin.

Up ahead there are students on both sides of the drive, holding a thin bit of tape that will break easily when they reach it, whether scooter, moped or flyer. Kitty leans forward, and Lockheed does too, sticking his nose out of the basket trying to gain Kitty every last inch!

Spider-Man has posed:
It actually looks like there's some juice in the ol'beast yet! Peter is gaining ground and laughing as he does, brown, lightly curled bangs dancing backwards in the little whip of wind passing over his goggled face, "Si vis pacem, para bellum, Kits!" He shouts over the little bit of space that seperates their two vastly different machines. Her's a buzzing mosquito of well tamed power, his a growling monster that looks angry at life and probably needs a therapist.

He's almost right up beside her when he starts to horse around a little, waving a little towards her, but in no way close enough to suggest he would dare nudge her with the smoke gurgling pedalmotor. Still grinning over at her, he leans towards the side and tapping the breaks to start slowing down as they approach the finish line. Unfortunately, only one of the breaks works, and when he cranks the handle it jerks the wheel violently out of his hand.

The tire turns in and the pedal-bike flips immediately.

So, you know that moment where you're suspended in mid-air and know for a fact that you're going to hit the ground, but all you can do is eat it? Peter Parker sees these moments a little different than other people. He can distinctly make out the situation and determine precisely how he could not just get out of it, but probably still win this race... Plant a hand, twist his thighs, flip the bike right back onto two wheels and keep going like a boss...

But he can't do that can he?

Nope... So he goes into damage control mode. Alright buddy, this is going to hurt "I know..." Her grumbles at the revelation and dives forward over the handlebars, feet touching the throttle for just a second as he springs forward as if he were thrown, which he was, he just did it himself.

Likewise, it stops the forward momentum of the scooter DEAD where it was flipping to keep it from crashing into students at the little finishline... Peter, mid-air as he is.. plants a hand on the gravel, immediately he's no longer falling, at least not out of control. His other hand comes down into the gravel to crawl, one, two, three steps on his palm and then drop forward across his shoulder like an expert who knows just how to land without breaking anything, but still make it look like it hurt like hell.

Then it's just a matter of rolling, which doesn't hurt so much as get gravel in places he'd rather not think about right now.

The scooter grunts as it flips straight over and lands flat where the wheel twist. Peter is laying on his back a half dozen feet away, staring up at the sky..

Nightingale has posed:
     The bike flipping over... Peter rolling on the gravel in a rather unceremonious fashion... it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Shannon catches sight of the mayhem below, and winces, any thought of testing herself or winning chased clear out of her head. She stops just shy of the thin tape, angling her wings to stop herself mid-air and hover for a moment. There would be other times. For now, she twists herself about, turning away from the finish line and winging her way through the air to Peter, coming to a slightly less-than-graceful, but accident-free, landing beside him. "Oh god... are you okay?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will start to kick his jets in to get down to the line but it is pretty much all over even before he gets there. He does come up a bit shorter than normal as he does not want to plow into Shannon, letting the girl take the lead see how she handles this.

Cyclops has posed:
As he sees the bike start to shift incorrectly, Scott is already running that direction. No chance he'll get there in time. All he can do is watch as Peter is flung over the front of the bike and into the air, hitting the ground and landing on his back. The bike goes down in a heap.

His eyes narrow slightly as something there catches his attention during the entire crash.

He is behind Shannon and Samuel in his arrival but no less concerned. He is about to point out this is just what didn't need to happen but really, it is unnecessary. They all know this is not how it was supposed to go. The question is already hanging in the air about his condition so Scott holds his tongue. For now.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty looks over and sees Peter's bike lose it. Her reaction is what you might expect, a gasp and an instantaneous worry. Though after a second or two she relaxes. She's braking already before reaching the finishing line, breaking through the tape and immediately circling back as soon as her momentum slows enough the scooter can take the turn.

Daisy, as her Vespa is affectionately known, putters over to where Peter is lying on the ground. She parks it and then gets up to go over to where Shannon is standing, and Peter lying on his back. She crouches down beside him, resting her hands on him. "Are you ok?" she asks him gently. Looking Peter up and down for broken bones. But truly, not expecting to find any. "If I find out you bet on me, I think that'll get us arrested," she points out to him, injecting a little humor to accompany his road rash.

Spider-Man has posed:
Peter stays laying on his back staring up at the sky.. but looks far better than he has any right to given the nature of that accident. Even at low speeds there should be some scraps... and there might be.. but they're tiny and more abrassion than cuts. He does look a little dazed, looking at the faces peering down at him, reaching out to take Kitty's hand when it lays on him. "Oh auntie Kit.. It's you.. it was terrible!" He says in mock confusion, "It wasn't a dream, it was a place..." Pointing a finger up at Scott, then Shannon, and Samuel, "and you, and you, and you where there..."

Slowly, steadily, he sits up and coughs up dirt into his fist, sitting now with his arms dangling over his knees butterflied out to the side, "There's no place like home..." Slumping over towards Kitty with a whismical smile to accompany her teasing attempt to interject humor into the situation.

"I feel like an accident of that caliber frees me from any bet obligations?" Glancing up, then over at the others with a help a brother out look. Ruth Chris is expensive....

Nightingale has posed:
     Crouching down next to Peter, Shannon glances over him from head to toe. It didn't look as if he'd sustained any major injuries, though how that happened was something of a miracle in of itself. But with his hands down on the ground like that, she frowns slightly, reaching out towards them. "Please, may I see them?" If he allows it, she gently turns his hands over, trying to focus on feeling rather than healing the cuts, as she had been training to do. No such luck this time, though. The moment she touches his hands, she winces. Where abrasions and some pretty decent nicks criss-crossed his palms, they soon faded. However, on her own hands, matching scratches soon became visible. Thankfully, though, they were minor. "I'd let someone check you out just to be sure... how do you feel?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will look to the group and says "Ah will go grab a first aid kid." And he is jetting off to get one. He seems to have expected what happened with Shannon but wanted to see for sure.

Cyclops has posed:
Watching the remake version of the Wizard of Oz, Scott just waits for Kitty to help Parker to his feet. He watches Shannon's interaction, making a note he nees to look up her file later and find out the full story on the winged healer.

"I think all bets are off considering the accident. A rematch can be planned for another time," he adds, so they know there is a chance for them to continue their person grudge match later.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde helps Peter up to his feet when he seems ready to stand. "Maybe steaks out on the back porch?" she suggests to Peter, grinning over at him probably a little more than she probably should given the fall he just appeared to take. Though there's a warmth in her eyes as she dusts him off. "Now you have to help rebuild the moped," she points out, looking back at the vehicle. "Though it probably still runs better than before you borrowed it, I'm guessing?"

Kitty smiles over to Shannon. "You're really quick, Shannon. Nice job," she tells the 16-year-old. Lockheed takes wing and flies over to land on Peter's shoulders. He sticks his snout into his hair and comes out with some gravel which he spits aside. Aw. He's grooming him?

Kitty looks over to Scott and says, "And so... a great safety moment is born, right?" She taps her helmet, wrapping it with her knuckles. "This is why we wear helmets," she says.

'Spider-Man has posed:
How does he feel?

"Like a jerk.. why would you do that?" Peter frowns at Shannon, "It was just some scraps.. I get worse than that getting out of bed. You realize if you get lime juice in those it's going to break my heart, right?" He makes a big show of working his way to his feet, but there's plenty of spring in his step, even if he's kind of, but not really, using Kitty as a crutch. "I can handle steaks on the back porch." He agrees with a glance over at her that carries as much warmth in her eyes as her's at him.

"I'm kidding by the way. We can still go to Ruth Chris." He has a thousand a week paycheck he doesn't have to account for! peddling Superhero abilities for the Avengers like a street-hero, hey, I got that wallcrawlin', who wants some wallcrawlin.

Another glance over at Shannon, "Get those cleaned okay? I feel awful that you did that for some papercuts."

From Scott, to Kitty, to the scooter.. "Hey wait.. does this make us Scooter buddies?" Wondering curiously, wiggling the finger around her shoulder at the two mopeds. "I know... Tommie and I will start to getting it running again in the morning.. right now I could use some tylenol and a bubble bath."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon nods, and smiles. The cuts don't seem to be hurting her too much, even as she flexes her fingers slightly. "It's okay, they'll be healed by morning, probably. But you're right, I should go clean them." She ducks her head to both Kitty and Peter, turning red to the tips of her ears. "It's just what I do... please don't feel bad." Pushing herself to her feet, she takes a few steps back from the pair. "You two 'kids' keep out of trouble, okay? Maybe we'll have to make it an actual race next time!" She smiles and turns back to the mansion, heading inside to go do what she has to do, to make sure she's not the one who needs a healer next.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde watches Shannon absorb the cuts with a little concern. "Yes, definitely get them taken care of. And if you see Josh, he might be able to heal them," Kitty says. She slips an arm about Peter's waist. In a quieter voice for Peter's ears only, she says, "Though, having to wait for them to heal might be a good reminder she has to be careful."

Kitty looks over to Peter, her head tilting as she looks at him. "I was worried for a second before I remembered," she tells him, briefly resting her forehead against the side of Peter's head. She lets him go though, avoiding too much PDA with the students around. Though it probably confirms any rumors born from Betsy's party. "And I do have that dress I mentioned... seemed like the kind of place to wear it for dinner," she tells him, arm about his waist as they start the walk back to the school.