ic Run Fast [IC]

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Pacer would be running. Of course she would be. After all, that was the entire reason that she had been chosen for this. A blur had raced past, and she had heard a single sentence spoken, with a voice that was almost like a whisper. The accent had been strange, nothing she could place from anywhere she had run to on the Earth. The message was simple, and yet enough to attract her attention: "Catch me if you can." Then she had seen the blurred being rush past her in a straight line.

 

The other runner had the headstart, but she was slowly catching up, and she was starting to spot him. A golden blur, leaving behind a trail of sparks. Like a lighter that failed to ignite a flame.

[EternalPhoenix]

Tch. Who did this guy think he was, interrupting her mid-morning run? As opposed to her early morning run, her late morning run, and all the other runs throughout the day. Mona was tempted to just dust him. But the unfamiliar accent had piqued her interest, no matter how little she wanted to admit it. She opened the throttle just enough to completely catch up, and then matched him stride for stride. “Gotta be faster than that, big guy. But it’s your lucky day. I’ll show you what speed really is.” Then she opened the throttle all the way and simply moved. It was effortless, it seemed. So far past the speed of sound the speed of light itself wasn’t so far away.

[RocketLord]

The moment she caught up to the runner, Mona could fully see him. He was tall. Much taller than her, at least 8 feet. He had long, almost elongated limbs, his legs ending in hooves, his arms in three fingered hands. His body was slim, but athletic. His head was equine, narrow at the front, broad at the back. His eyes were thin slits, resembling af lizard's, more than anything. He was entirely golden, though whether it was a suit or his skin was difficult to tell. The sparks exploded from where his hooves hit, be it ground or water. He stared, as Pacer moved past him. His eyes widened in what seemed like surprise.

 

And then Pacer was past him, rushing across the Pacific Ocean. She could hear something resembling laughter in tone, even if the actual sounds were alien to her. Qaqaqaqa... It was a weird sound, really. The golden horse was clearly left behind, stumbling from the shock of being overtaken and skidding across the water far far behind Mona.

[EternalPhoenix]

Mona literally danced across the virtually motionless waves. She had a showoff streak, especially when it came to her speed, and she was embracing it wholeheartedly. Grinning widely, she danced in wide circles around him, well out of arm’s reach but within the limits of normal human vision. “Catch you? You gotta be faster than that, sparky. You’re already boring me.” With a foot dragging, water spraying flourish, she once again cranked up the throttle and found the nearest Pacific Island. Well, with you know, people and civilization on it. She never packed a lunch, and she was feeling maybe a bit peckish. Heh, Britishisms.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The alien horse man tried to stop his laughing, and started to float up, while Mona was dancing around him on the waves. Whatever else, his perception could at least keep up with Mona. "Ha, yes, yes, I must imagine I am!" Another laugh. Qaqaqaqai. And she was off. He started flying after, building up speed, until touching down and starting to run on the waves, and this time, he actually started catching up with her. "But, you see, this was but a test! And you passed, wonderfully and with such haste!" He was almost up to her, and somehow, she could hear his voice even before he reached her. "This is an invitation! To the great race! Speedsters from across the multiverse, racing across all that is and might be!"

[EternalPhoenix]

In the spare moments she was not in view, Mona had acquired fish, fruit, and coconut milk. From where, you ask? A fine question. She was having her meal on an empty beach when the golden..horse…man? (seriously aliens are weird [said the girl powered by a cosmic energy being in place of a soul, so grain of salt]) Man, he found her fast. He was a he…right? She considered, while eating. Gonna go with he, yeah. Wait, was he doing more talking? Crap, what did he say? A race? She considered, again while eating. Tch, nah. Paradoxically, Mona wasn’t a fan of races. All the winning tired her. Wait, hold on. Other fast people’d be there too? Multiverse? All of time and space? She considered a third time, while eating. Then there was no more to eat, and Mona was sad. Full, but sad. Oh, what the heck. She’d been everywhere interesting on Earth, anyway. And besides, wasn’t like she’d lose, or anything. “Okay. So let’s go. If they’re all as slow as you I’ll be back in a flash.”

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Brilliant!" The alien horse man was obviously excited, moving his hand to his belt, he pushed a button, a shimmering golden gate appearing before them. "Move fast, now!" He waits for Mona, who would probably be into the portal already, then follows.

 

And then, she is somewhere else, which is clearly not the Earth. Mona was met with a rainbow of color. They seemed to be in outer space, with a dark area above and around them, filled with stars in all imaginable colors. Super novas and galaxies were visible around them, moons and planets, and the sky surrounded them was absolutely filled with spaceships. As for her feet, Mona found herself standing on a large golden platform in outer space, but without any need to breathe or gasp. It was connected to similar platforms, all perfect circles, with golden pathways. On each of the portals, she saw beings like the alien horse man, joined by a colorful array of beings. Some seemed human, some were obviously not. A streak of living lightning, that zipped around its platform. A large rhino man, towering high above Mona. A glowing ball of light, glowing with black light, almost like it was sucking brightness in. What appeared to be man sized squid, with 8 arms and legs, glowing with an inner red glow. They were a rainbow of color, many dressed in red, yellow, orange or white, but many other colors as well. A quick count saw twenty other contestants. Mona would feel something familiar in them all. A need to run.

 

"Why, yes, I do hope the others are faster than me!" Mona's horse man said, as he spread out his arms to present the other contestants. "After all, I was just the invitation! Now, these are the contestants!"

[EternalPhoenix]

Mona was instantly dressed as Pacer. “Neat.” And then she wasn’t beside the glowing horse man anymore. She zipped around the entire area. Was she checking out the competition? Nah. That would require her considering them competition in the first place. No, they were all far from human looking and she wanted to get a real good look at the freakishness. It wasn’t like…racism, or whatever. Pacer was always craving something new and different to think about. And boy, were all the other contestants new and different. All new and all different, one could say.

Edited May 29, 2019 by EternalPhoenix

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Pacer might be zipping around faster than the eye could follow, but she wasn't unnoticed. Others were, like her, moving around. Some just stood still, watching and following her movements across the area. The glowing ball of black light seemed to follow her, quickly floating around her, starting to take a shape that mimicked Pacer's. The rhino man just grunted in acknowledgement of Pacer's speed, while the Squid's glow grew more intense as it watched her.

 

With a loud grunt, the Rhino man set into speed. It was not nimble and elegant like Pacer, but seemed to move with an almost thundering speed, each step it took pounding through the area. It kept pace with Pacer, even if she tried to build up speed. Soon, they were joined by others. The ball of black light seemed to move in almost a dance, the rainbow of color appearing as an unending streak. They followed her, creating a blur of movement for any onlookers, until finally, the rhino man stopped and spoke. "I am Kasi of the Endless Plains. Well met, racers." The ball of black light introduced itself with a mental message. It was more of an image than a sound, something that resembled a black hole, only with lightning sparking through it. The rainbow were silent, flickering around them.

Edited June 6, 2019 by RocketLord

[EternalPhoenix]

Pacer did not crank the throttle all the way up with the Rhino man. No reason to, really. Most people didn’t see it when she ran. The cosmic energy crackling off her. It was only there when she cranked it up past hypersonic, anyway. But Rhino man and the black light would certainly see it, and so would anyone else who bothered to look. Then the Rhino man greeted her with his name, and the black light did it’s best. She stopped dead in front of them, energy dissipating back into her as if it never was.  The former (Kasi of the Endless Plains, apparently) had 3 feet and probably like a full ton on Pacer. So she looked all the way up at him. “Man, you’re huge. Got some speed, tho. Neat. I’m Pacer. Not ‘of’ anywhere. Just Pacer.” And at the black light. “Mmm. Don’t speak whatever that was, bro. So Bolt Hole it is.” Following her train of thought was often just as challenging as following her in the flesh. Lightning Bolt+Black Hole, for the record.

Edited June 4, 2019 by EternalPhoenix

[RocketLord]

GM

 

It was difficult to tell, but the black light did not seem displeased with the name. It projected something, what was likely a good feeling, to Pacer, in response to the name. Kasi of the Endless Plains huffed, breathing out heavily from his huge nostrils. There was some shock to his voice as he spoke. "Is that so? Do you not have a people, or a world to call your home?" He seemed somewhat shocked by the concept. "Are you a star traveller, like this racer?" He gestured towards Bolt Hole, who was simply floating motionless in the air. 

 

The rainbow wave moved around them, getting real close to Pacer for a moment, almost touching but not quite, a whisper reaching her, though seemingly unheard by the rest. "Fast. Will be faster still."

 

There was some commotion near the glowing starting line. Some of the racer were standing on the glowing rainbow colored road, speaking loudly among themselves. There seemed to be some pushing involved as well.

[EternalPhoenix]

Pacer blinked, momentarily confused. “Oh, is that what you meant? I thought that was, like, your name. See, when I’m dressed like this my name is Pacer. When I’m not it’s something else. It’s a superhero thing. Dunno about a ‘people”, but I’m from Earth. Got an aunt, uncle, brother. None of ‘em are like me, though. Planet full of slowpokes.” She blew air out through her lips. “S’lame.” Oh, hello understatement. We meet again. But before she could dwell on that, Bolt Hole was waaaay too close. So Pacer instinctively moved about a yard away. At top speed. “Personal space, Bolt Hole. Maybe you don’t like having it, but I do.” Was that whispering creepy? Did she not know what they were talking about? Yes, and yes.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Ah, Pacer of Earth, then!" Kasi thundered, pounding his chest with one giant fist. He looked like he could lift Pacer with one hand without even breaking a sweat. If he could catch her, of course. "What a strange world you are from, Pacer. On the Endless Plains, we are all fast. We stampede across the world, faster and faster." He let out a chuckle. "Of course, none are as fast as Kasi!" Again, he pounded his chest with one giant fist. It sounded almost like thunder. The pride in his voice was hard to miss. "I look forward to this challenge, my young friend."

 

Bolt Hole hovered a bit in the air in the spot where Pacer had moved from. Then it moved, at a speed that matched Pacer's. It was almost, but not quite, up in her face, before it backed away. Again the whispering voice reached her ears. "Much to learn. Much to see. Much to be."

 

Kasi breathed out heavily, placing a hand in between Bolt Hole and Pacer, waving the black hole off. "Do not mind it. It speaks of strange things. We should prepare, the race will begin."

Edited June 12, 2019 by RocketLord