Forgotten Annals IV: The King of Speed

It had been a full month since Perseverance had lost consciousness. However, there was no sign that he'd be waking up soon. Archie had been up and moving for a while. To their amazement the doctors stated he'd fully recovered as if he'd never been shot. Dr. Sue sat next to the unconscious here. Normally, she'd monitor his brain waves or use the silence to escape her work.

However, she was doing something different. She was fascinated by the energy the hero had given off during his enraged battle and the energy he'd give to Archie. She hooked up electrodes to his body and watched the meter. She nodded with delight, as the meter moved up and down unsteadily. It was the same reading she'd gotten from her multimeter before it shorted out. She looked up at the monitors and stood up. The hero's brain wave activity was off the charts. "Just what are you doing in there?" She muttered under her breath. 

Meanwhile, deep within the Perseverance's subconscious mind, Lemuel, John, Stagolee and someone new, were all looking for the Ghost. 

"This is his mind?" A voice, with an Indianaian accent, said as the four vestiges marched into the mind of the Ghost.

"It wasn't like this before. I remember being forced awake. It was like..." Lemuel had started to say when he was cut off.

"It was like pure seething rage consumed all of us." Added John, who'd cut off Lemuel. As they'd been speaking, the new vestige stopped them and glared at Stagolee.

"The hell you do?" The, black and white hued vestige of Charlie Wiggins said. He glared at Stagolee even harder than before.

"You'd best answer me, for I am the Negro King of Speed. Best tell me what the hell ya did, before I get out the ole "Charlie Special" and make you talk." The Midwestern Racing Legend wasn't letting the Gambler have a break. 

"I'll make two things clear. One, I didn't do shit so let's make that clear. Two, Lemuel, you were screaming earlier how you was gonna rip this kid's head off and don't even care to ask if his Grand-Pops was okay."

"His Grandpa? The hell does that..."

Stagolee took off his Stetson hat and shook his head. "His Grand-Pops was shot by a traitor posing as a potential new ally. All that resulting rage was all the Ghost needed to go flying over that there edge, you'd all call crazytown. Last thread of that boy's sanity was cut that day." His thick, bayou accent faded off as he glared at John and Lemuel. They'd been pissed the Ghost force activated them, and were now both looking mighty ashamed. 

"Last thing I heard him yell before the rage took me too, was "Torque Over" or something like that."

Charlie shook his head in shock and looked a bit horrified. "This, Ghost fella, managed to force-activate my facet."

"Your facet?" Asked John.

Charlie nodded. "My facet isn't one he could use at the time. It's simply too powerful for his body to handle. Anywho, it's called Torque-Overload. With the force activation of all of us, he used a last ditch effort move known as Overclocked Willpower."

"What's your facet do, Charlie?" Asked Lemuel.

"Firsty, let's break down the facets." Started Charlie as he held up one finger. "Firstly, John's Epicyclic Gear gives the Ghost crazy levels of strength. Secondly, your Centrifugal Torque, Lemuel, gives the Ghost the ability to utilize impact recoil. He raised a second one after speaking to Lemuel. "Thirdly, Stagolee's V-Steam Transfer not only gives the Ghost access to bayou voodoo, it empowers the two of your abilities by acting like a giant steam screw that regulates how much energy is released per punch, kick, toss, you name it." As Charlie held up his third and fourth fingers, he sighed. "In an understandable fit of pure enraged madness, he activated mine. My Torque-Overload normally would give the user about fifteen-percent extra power over their limit, while maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of every action they make.."

"Normally? So this wasn't normal?" Said Lemuel as the trio looked at Charlie. 

"No, it was anything but normal." Said Charlie as he raised his thumb. "When you factor in the Ghost's own facet of indomitable willpower, then couple the fact that all of our facets draw power from this..."

"He went over his limit." Said John.

"No. He blew past it. That willpower acted like the highest octane fuel for all of us. Normally, people can hit one-hundred and twenty-percent with their limits. Now factor in that enraged madness and you get the Ghost was firing his body at one-thousand-percent. Nine-hundred and sixty-percent over his limit, his limit being a hundred-forty percent."

Their faces were horrified at the thought. He went well over his limits to avenge the man who'd shown him how to be, act, and how to hold up the world upon his shoulders. However, their moment of horror quickly faded as the sounds of distant sobs filled the air. 

"That must be him!" Said John. 

"Then what are we waiting for rail boy! Summon that spirit-train and get us moving!" Exclaimed Charlie with a grin. 

As John summoned his spirit-train, they all boarded and chugged along looking for the Ghost. The sound would alternate between sobbing and hysterical laughter.

"This poor kid." Said Charlie trying to look out for the Ghost. John suddenly slammed on the brakes of the train. Once it has rolled to a halt, they get off to find the child-version of the Ghost. 

"Woah! That's a cool train, sir!" Exclaimed the young boy. 

"I'll take you for a ride in it if you can help us find our friend."

The boy nodded and pointed at a distant mountain. Overhead of it, a violent storm raged.

"He said not to play over there."

The four got back on the train as it steamed towards the mountain. As they approached, lightning ripped apart the ground and sky around the mountain. The four dismounted the train and followed the kid towards the mountain. The only sound now was the screams of rage that swirled around the mountain deafeningly. As they all covered their ears, they entered a cavern. The kid looked up at them and signaled them to uncover their ears. 

"What's up kid? Why'd we stop?"

The boy shimmered before saying, "Listen to the silence. For it isn't really silent at all."

As the four vestiges looked back at the boy, he was standing in front of the various versions of the Ghost. Once they'd vanished, the four pressed on deeper into the cavern, listening to the silence as they went.