The smell of motor-oil and burnt rubber was hated by many but, to the good people of Junkpyle, it was a smell sweeter than any rose. Probably what was expected for a small factory town, known for crafting specialty car parts. Magical specialty car parts to be exact.
"Man, look at the smoke coming from the factory pipe! See those yellow sparks? Pretty sure those are thunder ore sparks! Pretty rare huh? Makes it almost as cool as fire ore!" A young man pointed up at the overcast sky, excited to see black cloud filled with light dust rise above his head. The smokes's coloration bore remarkable resemblance to his own mess of shaggy hair. He had distinctly dark locks, with flame-like streaks that bore a striking resemblance to the decals of an old hot rod. As funny as it may sound, in a magical world like Axle, this type hair wasn't out of the ordinary. Though the same couldn't be said for his enthusiastic behavior.
"Ahem!" Behind the hyper teenager, was a dainty woman in a lab coat. Her clean, even-cut, bob hair had the same pattern as him, and the red eyes behind her glasses matched his as well. Her olive skin-tone was much paler though, and while she was thin her body was soft and delicate. It was clear that she didn't see the outdoors much, and was probably grateful that the cloudy skies kept her nemesis, the sun, far away. "Honestly Miles, what is it with you teenage boys obsessing over such destructive magic types? Earth magic is a million times more useful, I would think. After all, without the ground, where would the metal come from that we use to make magi-karts?"
The boy wasn't even affected by her snide tone. He was actually pretty used to it. He turned around to face her, walking backwards with his hands folded behind his head as he did so. It was a bad habit of his that the sister wasn't too fond of. Especially since she wasn't in the mood for another trip to the ER. Telling him to stop was pointless though. He would just do something even more reckless as payback. "Man sis, can't we have one convo without you trying to start a debate?"
"..." The sister's already slow walking came to a crawl, she was probably over-thinking a simple question as per usual.
"Sheesh, what are you going to do in the big city by yourself? It's bad enough all you have for pals is your foster siblings, extremely rad brother, and a bunch of dusty engineering books! Your crappy communication skills are probably going to turn you into a laughing stock without me there to protect you!" He moved his hands from the back of his skull into the pockets of his hoodie. His posture improved slightly, but not enough to stop the young woman from worrying that he would trip over a fire hydrant and knock his teeth out.
"I'll manage just fine. I am there to invent, not make shallow friendships with others. What do you take me for? Some airhead that wants to talk about clothes and boys with a bunch of gossipy city girls?" Miles sighed, all his sister seemed to know about her own gender was high school dramas she briefly glanced at as she walked by the TV. She might have been book smart, but she was street-brain-dead and he was her life support. There was no way this upcoming move would end well for her.
"You know you could stand to know a little bit more about style. I am pretty sure you wore the same jumper for three days straight!" Miles managed to sense his heel brush against a brick from a crumbling building, and gracefully stepped over as if he had a third red eye in the back of his skull.
"No, I just bought the same jumpsuit in bulk online! I have enough sense to practice the bare minimum of hygiene!" Miles frowned and shook his backwards facing head. He didn't know what was more frustrating, the fact his sister was such a weirdo or that he adored her in-spite of it. Sometimes he wondered if his life would have been easier if he was stuck with a sibling that was easy to hate, at least then he would not be constantly worried that they screwed up.
"Well, at least Jett can rest easy that you won't find a boyfriend when you are out there in the big bad world!" His sister wrinkled her nose as if she just smelt the ripest of manure piles. She was unaware of the tall shadow hovering over her from behind.
"Must you bring up that delinquent on such a lovely afternoon? I do hope you have given up playing match maker. I am married to my work, thereforeI have no time to be courting an overgrown trout-man who can't go five seconds without breaking the law.!" Miles felt a little sting at his sister's harsh words. He knew that his friend wasn't the most upright citizen, but he was a pretty cool guy who always had his friends' backs. Although, ironically, said friend didn't have his back at the moment. Instead he was behind his sister's.
"Yo Kilo, I think Miles mentioned 'that delinquent' because he is right behind ya!" A deep, smug voice called to her from behind. She slowly turned her head around to find her dainty nose pressed against scaly blue abdominal muscles. Her pale face flushed as her head jerked up to make eye contact with two orange irises. "Nice to see the younger Ahead being a good wing-man, much appreciated!" The shark-like man with fins for ears stood tall and proud. He wore no shirt, just bloodied bandages from his latest skirmish, and has a splintered wooden bat at his side. His two rows of sharp teeth were in a sinister looking smile.
"How long were you behind us this time?" croaked Kilo. Her eyes darted to her plain flats as if she was trying to hide her flushed face. "Don't you have any shame spying on a girl like some sort of creep?"
The pompadoured aquatic man shrugged with a smug laugh. "Aw please, if it really bothered ya that much you would've straight up asked me to leave ya alone. Sides, teasing you is almost more exciting than any turf war! Just go ahead and tell me you want me to stay away forever, and I'll do as the lady says. Until then your stuck with this big oaf, as long as you can tolerate it." The young woman crossed her arms, unamused. "Believe it or not though, there is a reason I stopped by besides saying hi to my little buddy and his adorable sis! You are looking at a new magi-kart owner!"
Miles lit up brighter than the thunder ore sparks in the sky. "No way! Seriously? How did you get the license to drive one with your record?"
The shark man smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "It's simple bro, I just didn't!"
There wasn't a hint of worry in Miles's eyes. "Okay! In that case can we have a lift? Please!?" He clasped his hands together while his sister merely sighed. The two of them looked at each other silently for a moment.
"Even if he didn't kill us with his unqualified driving... Aren't you at least a little worried what Pops would say?"
"He'd probably kick us out of the foster home, but it would be totally worth it! He'll probably disown me when he finds out I want to be a racer anyways. Might as well go out in a blaze of glory! Is your car a flame one? Please say yes!" Miles rocked back and forth on the tips of his heels. Both his friend and sister watched him wide-eyed, unable to imagine how wasn't making himself seasick.
"Pfft, sorry little man. 'Fraid my wheels are of the aquatic variety like me. You'll have to wait until your an adult and get your own flaming engine. Your still welcome to get a lift, both of you!" He winked at a displeased Kilo. She have the ground an uncertain glance, but could see the blurry outline of her brother's smile in her peripheral vision.
"I suppose a quick lap around the block would be fine, town's quiet today anyways." So the odd trio made their way to the back alleys of the small city. Unaware of the racing legends the three of them were to become. This is a story about magi-karts and the daring people who drive them. Buckle up, because adventure is in the horizon!