maskormenace | Capsule 002 💊 (Video)

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Capsule 002 💊 (Video)

[Good morning Nonah/Heropa/De Chima/etc. residents. Hope you've been enjoying it, because you'll need something to buffer here. Kaneda's already outside, lounging on his bike with his feet kicked up, hands behind his head and looking at the sky. Kaneda, you couldn't look more bored if you tried.]

So I guess I'm supposed to give you guys traffic updates or something. And you know me--I've got a burning desire to be an upstanding citizen.

[He turns his communicator about 30 degrees to the left, showing a patch of empty road that his bike was parked next to. Insert the cliche tumbleweed for some added aesthetic.]

Whooooooo-oooo! Brutal out there, guys! Stay safe!

[Okay, even he can't hide his smirk anymore.]

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[He doesn't notice it at first, turning into the roundabout and starting to follow its path. By now he was wondering just where she'd veered off to. There's plenty of ways he could go here, and if she was out somewhere else, then she had to have good guesswork.

But he spoke too soon. The moment he lifts his head to go see if she was anywhere around, he feels an arm around him, eyes widening as they look down to notice some familiar yellow plating resting there.

That head leans a little back.]

Well, I was in the middle of a race~

[She didn't need the rest, but god this bike is amazing. She's almost paying more attention to it than she is to him. She's not holding on too tightly, not want to bug him with her chest plating, and is instead turning her head to look at the trailing tail lights.]

Oh? Were you winning?

[Honestly, even if she was, he wouldn't exactly be complaining. He was just as much of a fan of his bike as she was, maybe even more. He makes a turn off the roundabout, heading down the next freeway.]

She had me there for a moment, but something tells me I caught up.

[A little smirk and a wink]

[She turns back towards him, leaning her weight gently to the side, trusting he'll compensate to keep the bike steady, and peers up at him.]

And what if you found out she had you right where she wants you?

[The bike keeps steady, his hand tilting more as she shifts. There's a moment where he glances at her arm, trailing it to her before smirking and tilting his head towards her.]

Wouldn't be so bad.

[There's a nondescript 'hm' sound from her and she plants her feet to stand, leaning into him, and flips her visor open just so he can hear her clearly as she nearly whispers into his ear.]

Tag.

[And then she's rolling backwards off the bike, releasing him so she doesn't pull him off balance, the maglev snapping to her wrists in an instant to catch her in a glorified handstand. She'd given herself enough space between him and the next motorist to get back to her feet, and gives him a cheeky wave before sliding the visor back down and taking off in another direction.]

[That word makes a chill run up his spine, unable to hide that smile anymore. A hand reaches up to try and run along that arm, only to see it escape him as she slides off his bike, catching herself on those wrist maglevs.

Yeah, okay you have his attention for like...life.

The cheeky wave doesn't help either. He grabs the handle more firmly with one hand to turn, using the other to bring up the navigation as he goes to pursue.

This chase wasn't done just yet.]

[She's faster now, skating full tilt and lower to the ground to catch less wind. She runs like she lives on the road, weaving between cars and taking gaps that would be too narrow for a bike.

Several times she makes pinpoint turns without warning, tilting almost to the ground in a baseball slide to shift momentum. She can feel the burn in her legs now, several minutes of solid running and pulling stunts starting to take a toll.

Show her what your bike is made of, Kaneda.]

[Oh he will, as its engine roars to life and takes off after her. The lights trailing farther now that he's going faster, leaving behind a little smokey glow.

He has to admit, it's a bit of a strain on his bike--as awesome as she was, she couldn't make the turns as seamlessly as Gogo on those maglevs. She pulled it off, of course, Kaneda was a natural behind the handlebars, but he lost a little time with each one.

Thankfully, he makes it up in other ways: suicidal turning. Taking it earlier, drifting and skirting just before the sidewalk made up for it. She was still ahead of him, but he wasn't about to be left completely in the dust.]

[If she didn't have respect for him before, now she does. He's a racer through and through. It brought back to mind her high school days, watching the street racers and learning the streets to be able to ride them better than all the others.

She'd been thinking of that time way too often lately.

There's a slight stumble around the next turn. She has to grab the street light post to swing herself back on track, the impact smarting her palm. Focus, Gogo. Not the time or place for conflicting memories best left buried.

There was a highway exit coming up soon. If they left the city they could really open it up. End this the way it was meant to be.]

[It'd been a long while since he'd had this kind of fun. The Clowns back home were the normal rivals, but they didn't have the same adrenaline rush that this was giving him. This was friendly, playful...and he can feel his bike actually starting to heat under all the pressure he was putting it to.

Good.

She makes that turn, and he watches her swing along the lamp post and continue. He leans in as he normally does, green electricity spiderwebbing along the pavement as he drifts, wheels screeching for mercy as he rounds it. It's not as graceful as his last attempts, but he makes it, bike stabilizing after a moment and taking off after her. She gained a little ground for that, but honestly, the chase was enough for him.

This was an exit, and if this led to open road, then he'd see her to the end of it.]

[She cuts down the turn onto the highway and decides to test her limit. She knows the speed she's capable of, but she also knows she can't reach it yet with sacrificing her reflexes. She'd rather not take another fall. Unlike Kid Flash, Kaneda wouldn't be able to catch her in time.

But pushing herself well over the speed limit was easy on a long stretch of road like this and as soon as they're away from the majority of traffic she stops holding back. She lets her maglev do its work, once again pleased that the porter gave her g-force immunity. There is no wall of pressure to fight through.

It is a thrill and a risk as she speeds up to the very edge of her comfort zone, hyper focused on what's in front of her to avoid collision. She has to dodge last second a few times as people tap their breaks unexpectedly, a few calls just a liiiittle too close for comfort. But every success it makes her want to crow in pure joy.

She forgets, for a bit, that she's racing. Lost in the freedom of the wind rushing past her body.]

[Ah, the free road. With a few exceptions of some straggling amounts of traffic, the road was basically free--their playground of sorts. Weaving in and out of the few cars, he gets upon the open stretch, eyes glued on her to see what she'd do.

He didn't know her awfully well, but he could tell that she brought him out here to show him something. And he wasn't wrong. Her speed picks up, brows raising in surprise at it as he turns his handlebars to accelerate. And accelerate.

There's a quick glance to his battery--a habit to check before he goes all out and hits a button on his interface. And then giving one aggressive turn of his handlebars once more. The bike roars to life, green electricity circulating around the wheels as it dashes off after her. Kaneda's eyes focus on the road, knowing that he'd be splattered across the road should he lose focus.

But it's hard, when the wind is whipping across your face, hair practically plastered back, chills going up his spine as that spedometer climbs higher and higher. He can feel his blood pumping and heart leap as he swerves around the cars that Gogo had only dodged moments earlier. His wheels squeal at the amount of rubber they're burning.

And all he can do is laugh. This is what he missed.]

[She loses track of how long they race, leaving the city and urban civilization well behind. She's breathing hard keeping up the pace consistently, not used to hold one high speed for lengthy amounts of time. Something to work on later.

A rock kicks up from a semi ahead of them and cracks against her armor. Wincing, she shifts to cut her speed and slows in degrees until she can safely come to a stop.]

[It's easy to lose track when the road's so open, it's like you could go on forever. And that's certainly what they do, until the city seems to disappear into the distance, nothing but a long stretch ahead of them.

He sees her struggle a little, having to barely avoid the rock that bounces off her lest he want to be thrown off balance. If that rock hit the wheel, who knows what would have happened. And Kaneda wasn't at a speed that he wanted that to happen. He sees her start to come to a stop, watching the closer and closer he was getting. His handlebars get an aggressive tug forward, his legs immediately shooting out and hitting the pavement as he turns his bike sideways. Green electric tendrils snake along the blacktop as he kids to a stop, feeling the rubber of his boots practically asking him to pull his feet up.

The bike eventually passes her, about thirty feet off as it slowly rocks back into position from the force of the stop, Kaneda putting his kickstand down before shakily getting off of it.

It'd been a long while since he'd tested himself like that. And it felt amazing. The blood was still running rampant through his veins, and everything seems so crisp and bright. Like his senses were heightened by the sheer high of the chase. After a moment more of silence...

He bursts into pure laughter, collapsing on the side of the road on his back, arm holding his goggles draped over his eyes.]

[She watches him skid past her, holding one hand to her shoulder as she disables her maglev. Burning rubber hits her nose and she raises an eyebrow when she notices that he stopped with his feet as much as his brakes.

There's a smile as he bursts into laughter. God, she remembers that feeling the first time she'd done this. A few days after arriving here, meeting Kid Flash and going for the run of her life.

She sets the discs together and attaches them to her back before pulling off her helmet and going over to sit near him in the grass. There was pure exhaustion in her limbs, shaking a little as the adrenaline begins to wear off; the tiredness of a good run.]

Yeah.

[He's panting, not from exhaustion, but from the sheer feeling that he's coming down from, arm still plastered over his eyes to keep from being overstimulated. His other hand's eagle spread, enjoying the nice cool air for a moment longer.

He'd been in plenty of biker fights, but with that came the sacrifice of speed. Staying on your bike was top priority. But here...

That was pure speed, and he loved every moment of it. Since his arrival, he'd been out on his bike, but this time he shared it with someone. And he missed that more than he cared to admit.

But that was neither here nor there.]

So.

[His hand pushes up from the ground, arm sliding off his face and pointing at her.]

Triathlete?

I placed twice.

[She didn't lie. She IS a triathlete. Her face deadpans and she points back before pulling off her chest plate to check her armor. There's a sizeable scuff from the impact. Worth it, she thinks as she can't help but smile again.]

[His neck cranes over to look at it, surprised that the armour was able to take that kind of hit and look as good as it did.

Nice workmanship.]

Sure it was even a race? Does it count if you cross the finish line before they even start?

[Yes, he is being a cheeky asshole now.]

Hey now, I play fair in an official competition.

[Her shoulder aches, nothing a little ice won't fix. The armor would take a bit of work to return to normal, but Hiro's suits were pretty solid. For this reason, if nothing else.

Man, she will never get over the pure joy of a run. The best thing to come out of this world.]

[He can't help but laugh again, not at her but still coming down from the rush, leaning back on his hands as his head looks up at the sky. Seeing stars for the first time in...probably a long time. Neo Tokyo was a metropolis filled with skyscrapers and lights. Stars were...well.

Almost a myth.]

Well I'm impressed! Not just anyone can keep up with me!

[Kaneda, you were behind her.]

Well, when you find someone who can only keep up with you, let me know. I'd like to trounce them, too.

[She goes to push herself to her feet and stops about halfway up before slowly lowering back to the ground. Her legs are starting to feel like jello. Whoops. Pushed herself too hard on too little sleep today. Give her about ten minutes and she'll be able to start heading back.]

Hey, you got a head start! Next time, you better watch out.

[He watches her get up, slowly grabbing his goggles and snapping them back on his left arm. He probably only had half his battery left, or lower, so no speeding back for him.

When she comes back down, he smiles.]

C'mon, I'll give you a ride when you're ready.

[She blinks, and then smiles at the offer. The idea of skating back was a little daunting with her limbs shaky like this.]

I'm not even on top of my game right now.

[Not that she hadn't been close. He pushed her to her limit to keep ahead of him. That's no small matter. She hadn't had anyone yet that she could race and tie with, at least.]

And to be fair...I offered you a head start.

[If this wasn't her top game, then that just got him even more excited for their next run. They were testing the waters this time, feeling out if the other was worthy.

Now that they'd mutually accepted that? No bars held. When they've both better rested, they could have another.

Because if this did anything, it was take the edge off of things.]

Didn't know the offer went to you if I said no!

[But it's playful as he leans against his bike, still feeling its warmth.]

Capsule 002 💊 (Video)

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