DEJA-VU [SOL Race pt1]

Earlier than the present day...

There was a transmission recieved from space! Anything which could theoretically recieve the transmission would either find the visage of an alien lifeform dressed in some kind of space suit, or be able to only hear it's message. "Joop ottipap yyype po you kototep yitipibapiot! p as pke yossiyyiotet ot pke japaypiy yol tayitj otjatibapiot!" The Figure spoke in an introductory manner. There was a pause as text started to appear on televisions, cycling through until it became readable, followed by a vocal translation. "Good orbital cycle to you honored civilization! I am the commissioner of the Galactic SOL Racing Organization!" Was what they seemed to say.

"je kate yose ttos tat tat ajay, koppitj ykeyiap tayitj yoskepipioty pktoujkoup pittetetp yyypesy atp kpatepy. Atp ot pkiy katpiyuat yyype, je kate yose po you, yeekitj po po yo otye sote!" They continued with a dramatically charismatic gesture. It should be mentioned that their voice seemed to be distorted with an unusually high almost squeaky pitch. "We have come from far far away, holding special racing competitions throughout different systems and planets. And on this particuar cycle, we have come to you, seeking to do so once more!" Was the translation. And for everyone's convenience, we shall only focus on the translations. "It would be beneficial to both of us to seek cooperation in this endeavor, and in addition we offer those willing to host compensation. Resources? We got them. Advanced technology? Definitely. Riches beyond yer wildest dreams? Most probably," the commissioner continued in a giddy-like manner as a holographic image swapped between different items.

"And this wouldn't be much of a race without participants! We already have several participants on board with us but are always happy to accept locals who think they have what it takes. In addition to the host's compensation, we are also offering wonderful prizes to the winner and runner ups. First second and third places will all recieve some kind of reward, and a trophy for bragging rights. They are also eligible to participate in our next race if they so choose to, and continue racking up fame, glory and riches!" The Commissioner continued in what was becoming his normal, showman tone of voice. "A representative of ours us already en route, to sort out the details for anyone interested. And once again I remind you, that cooperation would be most beneficial to both of us. So I look forward to your answer!" And with that final bit the transmission ended.


The Present Day...

There were probably more willing hosts than there should've been, they all were enticed with what the commissioner was offering. But in the end through some negotiations, California had won out on the grounds that they had far more land for which the race could use- that and there was interest in the unusual phenomena of the snow. After some back and forth, The Commissioner's ship arrived to begin preparations of the track. Meanwhile, some of the crew and the other racers wanted to stretch their legs. So with alittle spending money, they came down to Jump City to see the sights. In addition, The Commissioner's assistant was looking to sign up any last minute entries from the locals.

She was an exotic looking "elven" woman with ornate looking geometric markings on her face. She wore a similar designed spacesuit as the commissioner, except she wasn't wearing a refridgerator on her head. Her companion was a contrast of big, burly, and with four arms, clad in equally bulky looking armor. Whereas she looked stoic and professional, he was stoic and.... alert. It was clear his duty was protecting her. Meanwhile, there would be few other unknown aliens in their spacesuits- outside of the obvious color, there was a difference of helmet design for the most part.

Two of the other racers were infact inside Sconehenge with the Commissioner's Assistant and bodyguard. One was a male, evidently the same species as the C.A. The other looked like one of the spacesuit aliens- until they took their fishbowl hemet off and revealed... a blue female alien made entirely of a jello-like substance. She was apparently getting distracted by some of the local miscreants... Steves. And they seemed to be taking a fancy with her too, all vying for her attention.

It could be safely said that this was quite the opportunity for those bold enough, and skilled enough, to take on the race, and soon enough one of these challengers strode through the door. His face and features were hidden, for the most part, behind a cloth mask, but the young man's eyes twinkled with a confident light as he glanced around for a quick second, taking in the various aliens, and possibly other Earthborn racers, around him. "I'm guessing this is where we sign up." After that, he'd stride up to the representative and her companion, giving them a cheeky salute. "Yo! Name's 10-Hander. Welcome to Jump City."

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After the swaggery racer came in, a much smaller figure entered behind him. Tazi had to admit, he had been tempted to join the race, or at least attempt to as well, but the boy didn't want to worry the others. He also really only wanted one thing, and that wasn't something that he thought these people capable of giving him, even as advanced as they are. instead, the young halfling was here for the sake of curiosity.  This was, after all, a chance to meet, or at least see, not just more people new to him, but people who sailed across the stars! (And possibly even snag a few tasty treats while he was  at it.) As he walked into the cafe, Tazi would glance around at the otherwordly guests with wide, slightly awed eyes, giving a small, shy wave to any being that greeted him.

When Simon first saw the broadcast of the alien announcing the SOL race he got pretty excited. It offered him a chance to really put Verdant Gale's name on the map, and the idea of meeting aliens was really interesting to him. Hopefully it would go a little better than his last encounter with an alien. Now that DOMA was gone he didn't have to avoid becoming Verdant Gale in public, so this was perfect.

Days later Simon heard rumours of the arrival of the aliens and, more importantly, rumours that they were signing up locals to join the race. With a smirk Simon excused himself and made his way to a secluded area where no one would see him. With a flash of green light Simon Camden would don the Wind Ranger suit, becoming Verdant Gale.

Minutes later Simon would arrive by flying down from the sky. Normally this caught peoples attention and made him the star attraction, but now the aliens had captured everyone's attention and people only give him a cursory glance, wondering where all that wind had come from. Simon didn't let that bother him and marched his way over to the aliens. Even if they had no knowledge of humanity at all it would be clear to the aliens that he was not an ordinary human just by the contrast between him and everyone else there "Greetings, you stand in the presence of VERDANT GALE! I'm here to join the race!"

He'd hammed up his introduction slightly, but he was just excited about his first public appearance in a long time.

The aliens wearing "mini-fridges" for helmets would notably have oddly pitched voices, much akin to someone inhaling helium with their helmets' voice modulators giving it that auto-tune quality. The Assistant meanwhile would look up at 10-hander, briefly fiddling with what looked like a headphone for a moment with confusion. He didn't look like he had 10 hands, currently. "Read thoroughly, sign and fill out," she said with a heavy accent, offering him some kind of handheld device which had walls of disclaimers and legal jargon. It'd also mention that there was a high chance of injury, perhaps death depending on the other occupants which could have their vehicles armed. It'd also briefly mention what few rules there was, which mostly pertained to no flying vehicles, and something about not using "Boomtubes" either.

After that there'd also be a brief questionnaire asking mode of transportation, specifics of that transportation like top speeds, armaments, etc. It would also inquire what 10-hander wished for a reward, in addition to the bragging rights and trophy already guaranteed. The Assistant's companion would also look down at 10-hander with a look of not quite hostility, just alertness. A couple Steves would be watching from the sidelings, clearly intimidated by the big burly alien with four arms.

A small entourage of Steves would pour in after Taz, threatening to sweep him up into the little moshpit as they headed over to where the blue goo-lady was.

And then Simon arrived! The Assistant blinked and didn't seem to look like she was overly impressed. She had seen much stranger looking people anyway as she pulled out another little "datapad" and offered it toward Simon. "Um, sure- read thoroughly, sign and fill out," she paraphrased what she told 10-hander a moment ago.

"Yey, keppo pipppe ote! You'te yo yupe~" The blue goo-lady cooed as she started picking up Steves and sitting them on her table. One Steve started messing with her discarded helmet, looking inside of it curiously.

Alex nodded, grinning beneath his mask as he took the device. "Can do!" As he took in the veritable fortress of legalese, the hero gave a low whistle. This was thick, though he supposed that was to be expected. Shrugging, Alex continued reading. Spotting the mention of danger, he gave a acknowledging nod, grinning again.  It sounded like this was going to be fun! Spotting the mention of something called Boomtubes, a brow raised. "Boomtubes?" What were those?

Giving a mental shrug, the hooded hero continued onto the questionnaire. He entered in Motorcycle, and it's top speed of 295,  and paused at the question about his bike's weapons. He considered how exactly how to answer that for a second, then grinned beneath his mask before entering in [Hand Cannons and Melee ARMaments] with a amused, "Heh." After he finished that question, he turned his attention to the last one, giving a thoughtful hum before turning his attention back to the Assistant and her Guard. "Hmm...Hey, I don't suppose I could have both some knowledge shared with  Jump's Universities (or otherwise helping the city's education) and some tech upgrades for my ride as a reward?" As Simon made his rambunctious entrance, Alex turned his attention over to the younger hero, giving him a nod in greeting. "Heh, Nice entrance, and nice suit, my dude.  Look forward to racing you."

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Meanwhile, Taz was gazing curiously at the otherworldy guests, though his attention turned to the goo lady surrounded by Steves. His head tilted curiously, but he gave a surprised squeak as another entourage of Steves swept him up from behind and pushed him forward. He started trying to wriggle his way out of the mobile moshpit, but Simon's entrance distracted him. Spotting the armor the green-clad hero was wearing, Taz's eyes widened. Ooooh...That hero looked so cool! Maybe he was someone like the Galactic Guardians from that one show Taz'd been watching? Noticing that he'd been deposited near the goo lady and her group of steves, the young halfling blinked before giving her a small, shy wave in greeting.

There were not many people out there who could honestly claim that when they first saw Verdant Gale in his full hammy glory they were underwhelmed by the masked hero, but the Alien Assistant was certainly a special case. Simon supposed that it was not much of a leap in logic to assume that an alien who travels the galaxy was just used to seeing much weirder stuff. On the bright side it seemed that the locals were a bit more interested in him, with one of his fellow racers complementing his entrance and suit and a younger boy staring at him in awe.

Simon gave Taz a thumbs up before turning to Alex, boldly projecting his voice to be louder than it really needed to be, though not to the point where he was shouting "And the same to you, friend. If your skills behind a wheel are as refined as your taste then this will be a race for the ages!"

Having successfully made a scene of himself the young hero would take the data pad from the assistant and would look over the legal texts and the rules. Squinting his eyes from behind his mask at one of the rules he would make himself known to the assistant "This rule here that says 'no flying vehicles', I err, am my own vehicle, and I can fly. Is that a problem?" As he spoke his voice was much more normal sounding than before, for the moment not putting on his 'Verdant Gale' voice, though he would be speaking quietly enough that only the assistant would hear him.

The assistant would address them in order. "That will be at the discretion of The Commissioner as to whether or not he wants to. However, whatever tech you may win can be used as you see fit. You could share the knowledge of your tech if you so desire," she replied softly to 10-hander. It wasn't often that they got a charitable request. "As for flying- if you have no alternatives, you would be expected to keep near the ground at the very least. If you veer too far off to avoid another racer trying to ram into you for example, you may forfeit your reward," she continued to Simon. It was just an example, and so far there weren't any outliers known for their overly aggressive racing tactics. So far. On that note, one of the Steves hopped out of his seat and waddled up. He was dressed in a snazzy officer-styled attire. It was Supreme Chief Officer Steve! He was The Steve behind the USA! Or, the United Steve Army. He took credit for kicking DOMA out, and had so far been fortunate that his fellow Steves didn't look too much into it and had no access to The Internet or TV.

He slid a piece of paper onto the table before The Assistant who took a long hard look at it. Surprisingly, it was readable. How was this possible you might ask? Don't worry about it. "Sure..." she said simply.
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"Keppo pkete. P as So! jko ate- jaip jaip," The Goo lady greeted Taz before taking her helmet back from The Curious Steve. She took something off the side of it where someone's ear would be, offering it to Taz as she fished a similar looking device out of a sci-fi looking satchel bag. She brushed some of her head... tendrils? Hair? She brushed it aside and popped it in. "Hello there! I am Mo~ Who are you?" She'd speak in english, assuming Taz put on the little headphone.

As the assistant responded to his question, Alex would nod, giving a thoughtful hum. "Hmm...Alright. Thank you kindly, Miss." Giving her a playful salute in gratitude, the masked hero would turn his attention back to the data pad. Rubbing at his chin as he considered for another few seconds, Alex entered in his response to the question about the reward. As the other racer boisterously responded to his greeting, Alex chuckled, nodding before he'd give  the green armored form a finger gun in response before holding out a hand to shake. However, as his own hands were occupied, (and feeling the need to show off a little), large arms of glowing bronze energy would form behind him to give the gestures instead as he held out the tablet for the assistant. Noticing the kid staring at the two, another would form to give him a quick thumbs up as well before he turned his attention to Gale. As the thumbs up and finger gun arm dissipated, Alex's eyes would wrinkle as he grinned beneath his mask. "Oh, you bet, buddy. I've got the feeling that this race is gonna be one heck of a rusher."

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As Gale gave him a thumbs up, Taz would give a small, happy grin, which widened a little when the other racer gave him one as well, and his eyes widened at the casual display of a interesting power. Though he'd been surprised at finding himself standing before the goo lady, a small smile would follow the wave as she greeted him, though his head tilted slightly at the language she spoke. As she offered a headphone device to him, Taz would give a chirping, curious hum and his head would tilt again as he regarded the device.  That said, he followed the lady's suit and put on the headphone. As she introduced herself, Taz would blink then give a small grin, bouncing slightly on his toes. He could understand her now! Giving another small wave, the young hafling responded. "I am Taz, Miss Mo. It is nice to meet you."