Chapter Text
After the harrowing events of the Racing Realms, the Teku and the Metal Maniacs had forged an uneasy truce, setting aside the deadly rivalry that once stifled friendships and alliances. Yet, for those left behind—teammates who hadn’t ventured into the Realms—the sudden friendship was met with skepticism. No explanation had been given for the months-long absence of their teammates and leaders. Trust was thin, and questions lingered, but every time someone asked, they would get the simple answer: “It’s confidential”.
Months passed, and the once-cutthroat rivalry began to soften into a tentative camaraderie. But not everyone embraced the change. Among the Metal Maniacs, one member had chosen to remain in the shadows: Rosa Flores—though everyone called her Rose—, the niece of Santiago, A.K.A Gasket, the Metal Maniacs’ tall and skinny head mechanic. Rose is one of the two women in a team of rowdy, destruction-prone men. Racing had never been her passion, neither cars were in her list of interests, but due to circumstances she’d rather forget, she had been led to become one of the team’s mechanics, working alongside Monkey and her uncle. Despite her years with the Maniacs, she avoided the drama and danger of the street racing world, preferring the solitude and safety of the garage.
One evening, Gasket convinced her to attend one of the joint parties organized by the Teku and Metal Maniacs— the one who came up with the idea? the one and only Vert Wheeler, Teku's well-known and charismatic leader.
Rose had heard his name in passing, usually accompanied by tales of his racing prowess and some grand, mysterious achievement she’s only heard whispers about.
But to her, he was just another guy with a fast car.
Despite her mood, she agreed to go.
After all, she wanted to make a change in her life. Maybe a party could be the small first step.
The party was in full swing at the Teku HQ, the air thick with electro beats that she’s not a fan of, but still tolerated. The room buzzed with chatter, laughter, and the clinking of glasses as members of both teams mingled.
Rose stuck close to Gasket and his circle of Metal Maniacs, hesitant to engage with the Teku. But as the night wore on and the drinks flowed, curiosity got the better of her. She slipped away from her group, wandering through the HQ to explore the domain of their now-supposed allies.
Across the room, Nolo, the former leader of the Teku, and Vert were discussing the possibility to participate on a drift show on another state.
“Dude, Tennessee is too far away from here,” Nolo argued.
“Yeah, but, we could get more sponsors from brands that aren’t from here.”
“We don’t have the money for it, though.”
“How do you know?”
“Vert.” He exhaled, “have you checked the finances of the last quarter?”
He rolled his eyes and brushed the topic off.
Then Nolo nudged his shoulder. “Hey, do the Metal Maniacs have a woman on their team?” he murmured, his voice barely audible over the music.
Vert followed Nolo’s gaze to Rose, who was examining a wall of racing posters, observing them as if they were paintings, the Metal Maniacs’ logo emblazoned on the back of her jacket.
“Not that I know of,” Vert replied, his brow furrowing. “A new member, maybe?,” he murmured to himself.
Nolo raised an eyebrow, “You’re the leader and you don’t know?
Vert rolled his eyes, “Oh, did you know?”
Nearby, Markie—formerly known as Wylde—overheard the exchange and his eyes followed theirs, landing on her, interrupting their heated conversation that was growing. “Oh, hey, Rose actually came to the party” he said casually, drawing their attention.
“Rose?” Nolo asked.
“You guys never told us you had a woman on your team,” Vert added, his tone lightening.
“She’s been with us for a couple of years. Just keeps to herself.” Markie explained with a shrug.
“Why haven’t we heard about her before? You know, after all these years?” Nolo pressed.
“She’s not into the racing scene,” Markie recalled how she was introduced to the Maniacs. “Sticks to the garage. Doesn’t come to parties or races. And you know how Tork is, he told us to respect her choice.”
Vert’s curiosity was piqued. “So, what does she do if she doesn’t race?”
“She’s one of our mechanics and livery designers,” Markie said, gesturing quotes with his fingers. “But she stays out of the ‘drama’.”
Markie called out to her, to hopefully get her mingle with the group. “Hey, Rose!”
She turned, but upon seeing him with the Teku—too many of them for her taste—she shook her head and disappeared into another room. leaving Markie to shrug to the others, his gaze saying “told ‘ya”.
“You’ll have to do some team bonding with her, leader” Kurt remarked with a chuckle.
“Maybe later,” Vert said, though his eyes lingered on the doorway she’d vanished through. He nudge Nolo, “Where were we?”
Rose kept moving through the labyrinth of rooms in the Teku HQ, her eyes catching the curious glances thrown her way—mostly by the Teku. She ignored their scrutiny, her focus fixed on finding a place that felt familiar amidst the chaos. Eventually, she found herself standing in the doorway of the garage, the only place that felt more like home than any other part of the unfamiliar HQ, a small smile appearing on her lips.
The sight that greeted her was breathtaking.
Rows of sleek, meticulously maintained cars lined the space, their polished surfaces gleaming under the fluorescent lights. The Teku’s signature white, blue, and orange tones stood in stark contrast to the battered, worn out vehicles full of black and red the Maniacs usually brought to her. For a moment, she was transfixed, her fingers itching to inspect every curve and design.
Her trance was broken by a booming voice. “Look who finally decided to show up!” Porkchop’s familiar voice echoed through the garage, followed by a hearty slap on her back that nearly sent her stumbling. Despite the force, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“We thought you’d chicken out and stay hidden in the garage,” Monkey chimed in, grinning as he stepped forward. Her smile faltered slightly when she noticed Shirako—a Teku—lingering behind them, his usual quiet demeanor on full display.
“Yo,” Shirako said simply, his tone flat but not unfriendly.
“Yo,” Rose replied, mimicking his tone with a hint of amusement.
Monkey stepped in to make proper introductions. “This is Shirako, the Teku’s mechanic—or something like that,” he said, shooting a knowing glance at Rose. “Shirako, this is Rose. My partner in crime when it comes to keeping the Maniacs’ rides in one piece.”
Rose nodded politely. “Pleased to meet you.”
Shirako returned the nod, his expression neutral but not unwelcoming.
Porkchop clapped a hand on Rose’s shoulder, steering her toward the door. “Come on, Rose! Let’s get back to the party. You’re missing all the fun.”
She planted her feet, resisting his pull. “I’m… actually taking a break from the party. Too much noise. And alcohol. You know how it is.”
Porkchop raised an eyebrow but didn’t push further. “Suit yourself. Just don’t get too cozy with their cars,” he teased. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll steal a secret or two from the Teku.”
Monkey laughed, slinging an arm around Shirako’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s leave her to her wrenches. Have fun!”
As the three of them headed back to the party, Rose exhaled, her gaze drifting back to the rows of pristine vehicles. The garage was quiet now, save for the faint hum of the overhead lights and the distant rumbling of the music. She ran her fingers along the hood of the nearest car, her mind already wondering about its design and performance.
For the first time that night, she felt at ease. The garage was her domain, a place where she could lose herself in the intricacies of machinery and forget about the chaos outside, or inside her mind. But even as she immersed herself in the familiar space, a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder if staying in the shadows was truly where she belonged.
And yet, she was doing it again. Staying away from others, in a garage of all places, as if the one she spent hours working in just today wasn’t enough A hint of shame bubbling up in her insides.
With a defeated sigh, Rose wandered deeper into the garage alone. She ran her fingers along the hood of one of the cars, marveling at the craftsmanship. She read the note in the car with the repair order.
“Do these races really pay this well?” she muttered to herself, her eyes scanning the intricate details of expensive pieces, paint and decals that covered the cars.
Her gaze lingered on the engine bay, and before she knew it, she was popping the hood of one of the cars.
Then, a playful voice interrupted her inspection.
“I hope you’re not trying to steal our cars, Maniac.”
Rose spun around, startled, to find a not-so-tall blonde guy in a white jacket and blue cargo jeans leaning casually against a car. His tone was light, but his blue eyes were sharp.
“No, I was just—” she pulled her hands away as if the car burned hot, flustered.
“Relax,” he said, holding up his hands in a gesture of peace. “You’re Rose, right? Markie mentioned you. I’m Vert. Leader of the Teku.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Oh. I’ve heard about you.”
“Good things, I hope,” he said with a grin. “But I can’t say the same. Never knew the Maniacs had a woman on the team, let alone a mechanic. That’s… a bit of a surprise.”
“It’s not a big deal,” she replied, her tone guarded. “Just a long story.”
“I bet,” Vert said, crossing his arms, sizing her up. “You don’t seem like the party type. Took me forever to plan this thing, you know?”
Rose raised an eyebrow, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “Sorry?” She paused, her gaze lingering on him. “So, you’re the leader now? What happened with Nolo?”
His silence lingered a moment too long. “Just a long story.” He finally replied, mimicking her previous answer.
“Does it have to do with the ‘thing’ you did?”
“Maybe.” He let out a chuckle, “you have no idea?”
“About what?” Rose asked, confused by the question.
“You should talk to the others more.” He said with a grin, gesturing to the door, “Wanna head back to the party or you want to stay drooling with our cars?”
“I’m not droo—“ She exhaled, then took a deep breath, hesitating. “Alright.”
“Good.” He said, pushing himself out of the car, walking in front of her, “cause’ you have a lot of people to meet.”
As Vert led her back to the main room, Rose couldn’t shake the unease creeping over her. She’d spent years avoiding the spotlight, content to stay in the background. But Vert’s persistence was unsettling, making her wonder why he was putting effort into involving her when they just met, a part of her annoyed by it, the other was grateful.
Yet, as Vert introduced her to each Teku teammate, Rose noticed the tiredness and disinterest in his demeanor, his smiles a little too fake and his tone too light when they joke about her going under his radar, his eyes rolling discreetly, as if he was supposed to know it all.
Meanwhile, she barely said a couple of forced greetings, her body stiff and awkward.
It felt like paperwork.
It felt… new.
When they finally reunited with Gasket, he was in deep conversation with Tork.
“Well, well,” Tork said, spotting Rose. “Your uncle finally dragged you out of the garage, huh?”
“Something like that,” she muttered.
“You kept her hidden away for a good while.” Vert nudged Tork, “is she a secret weapon or something?”
“She is a good mechanic, yeah,” Gasket winked, making Rose roll her eyes, “learned from the best.”
“Where did you find her?” Asked Tork, curious to see both Rose and Vert arrive together.
“Oh, I caught her stealing some stuff in the garage.” Vert joked in good nature.
“Rose, you can’t do that,” Tork crossed his voluptuous arms in his chest, his toned authoritative but not unkind, “you’re going to break the truce.”
“I wasn’t—” she started, but Vert cut her off.
“Relax, I was joking, she was just curious. But you guys really should’ve mentioned her sooner. Keeping secrets isn’t great for a truce, you know?”
“Oh, you didn’t miss much with her.” Tork quipped, the comment making her slump her shoulders. “She’s not much for the spotlight, or racing.”
“Oh, really?” Vert raised an eyebrow, “Then how do you know your cars are good to go, lady?”
“Monkey is my guinea pig.” Rose grimaced.
“He hasn’t blown up luckily,” Gasket snickered.
”Hey, I try to make my work high quality, I’d never let Monkey explode in my hands.” Rose retorted, while Vert’s gaze lingered on her. He noticed her accent, which was a little rough around the edges and guessed she’s not from around here.
“I thought Monkey was like the mad scientist of the Maniacs.” Vert added.
“Oh, he’s like a stunt man with a death wish, for sure.” She attempted to joke, making the three men laugh along her.
“Hey, Vert, when’s the next race for the Teku?” Tork asked, changing topics.
“We have one next week, apparently some guys that just arrived in Cali think they can beat us in our streets,” Vert said with such confidence that made Rose jealous. “They offered a good prize for the bet.”
“Thanks for the invite.” Tork quipped, sarcasm dripping in his voice.
“Hey, you guys know you’re always welcome to come watch.” Vert retorted.
“So who's driving?” Gasket asked.
“Me, of course,” Vert grinned widely, “they challenged the leader, as usual. You guys coming or what?”
“Hell yeah,” both Maniacs replied in unison, but Rose stood her ground. Vert looked at her with a hopeful smile, Tork and Gasket looked at each other, already knowing the answer.
“No, sorry.” She finally said.
Vert sighed, not out of disappointment, but made him wonder why she chose to stay behind the scenes after all this time.
“Alright, then, I’ll see you on Friday, 10 P.M., in the abandoned warehouse of the coast,” Vert extended the invitation to everyone anyway, as he stood up, stretching his arms up. “Gotta go, I have to supervise those nerds to keep them from setting fire to the HQ, you know, leader stuff.”
As Vert retreated from the group, Tork and Gasket kept their banter between them with the usual man jokes and engine talk. Despite being in the team for years, she still felt left out for being one woman in the Metal Maniacs space, even if she has a hard time admitting it to herself.
As the night wore on, Rose found herself caught between her desire to remain unseen and the curiosity of trying something new. Vert’s efforts to include her were puzzling, but for the first time, being in the spotlight hadn’t felt catastrophic.