Soda
Powered
"The 'Ultimate Vanity
Racers' were one of the minion groups that did grunt work for the Lords of Sin.
Their theme was being pretty - very pretty. For the most part they were a girl
only group, but there were a couple of men amongst them. Of those, only one
didn't follow the vanity theme; he was married to one of the women and mostly
took a support role.
"Their signature moves
varied but were primarily based on something sweet - 'sugar cloud', 'sticky
jam' and 'fruit concentrate' are examples. Their names were similar; for
example 'Cream Brunette' and 'Strawberry Tornado'.
"One unusual aspect of
their powers - and the reason they had support runners - was that it required a
serum (generally referred to as 'pop' or 'soda') to activate. Although ninety
percent sugar, or more, it also included several ingredients that imbued
temporary power into the consumers. Combined with the alterations (see
[redacted]) that made them 'Ultimate Vanity Racers', this temporary infusion of
power when needed was the primary reason that they had some success working for
the Lords despite their strange theme and the lacklustre performance of the
majority of minion groups working under the Lords of Sin."
- Against Sin: An Encyclopaedia of the
Conflicts Against the Lords of Sin
Occasionally you'd see ads for
the 'Ultimate Vanity Racers' around the city, much like any other recruitment
posters for the Lords of Sin. Not many people realised that all the troubles of
the city could be traced back to those organisations; or that the Lords were in
almost complete control. That was why innocent idiots, enthralled by the
prospect of joining fascinating groups, frequently wound up truly corrupted.
The Racers offered beauty, style
and poise. Unusually, those things were given - along with an addiction to
'soda' and a fanatical devotion to their organisation. One day your plain-Jane
friend would mention finding the advertisements tempting, maybe checking it
out; the next day you'd spot someone who looked kind of like her robbing a bank
or doing a kidnapping. Your friend wouldn't be around anymore.
Fighting against the lords were
ordinary people. Despite the Lords favouring colourful, fantastic and usually
inept groups; despite the existence of similarly colourful 'heroes'; the real
resistance were ordinary men and women. In truth, most stood up because the
state of the city bamboozled them. Robberies openly committed by city-sponsored
organisations? People leaving their families and the police giving them no aid?
There was worse, and more.
The 'Sleepers' were the largest
resistance organisation, and after their leadership was deposed (one of the
Lord of Sloth's lieutenants had founded the organisation in an attempt to make
the resistance ineffective) they had quickly mobilised. For the most part, they
consisted of ordinary citizens that made a promise: if they see the Lords act,
they would stand in the way.
That promise was why four people
stood up when a ride of Racers tried to rob a bank (for the fifth time). The
Racers weren't impressed until one of the tellers pulled out a shotgun and
unloaded it into one of them.
"No!" yelled one of
the Racers, cutely. The four standing patrons pulled out blades - a couple of
machetes, a kitchen knife, and a tiny pocket knife - and rushed at the
remaining racers while the teller reloaded. A couple of the other tellers
fiddled around, going for their own knives.
"Frosting Spray!"
yelled one of the other Racers, spinning around on her skates. Her green dress
spiralled hypnotically as she prepared her attack, and a spray of acidic
frosting launched at the teller who'd fired first. They ducked down, then
screamed as the acid tore right through the window, counter, and their flesh.
That was all they managed to do
before the Sleepers were on top of them, knocking two of them to the ground and
getting the other two engaged in melee. The woman wielding the tiny pocket
knife died first - her target, a blonde in a purple dress, produced a giant
chocolate club from nowhere and crushed her flat. She yelled 'Chocolate Slam!'
as she did it.
The other fight wasn't so
one-sided. A man with a machete was hacking aside the razor-sharp but flimsy
decorations of a cyan-dressed brunette. She didn't say anything; the
decorations were the preparation for her actual attack, 'Sprinkle to Finish'.
Although one Racer was dead and
four were occupied, two others remained. One was their support - a well-endowed
strawberry-blonde in an orange dress; the other was the one who used 'Frosting
Spray'.
"Boost me!" yelled the
green-dressed girl, her black hair spinning as she held out her hand. Almost
immediately a bottle of soda flew through the air towards her -
And exploded apart as the
security guard nailed it with a pistol shot. The useless soda soaked the girl's
green dress, and she turned angrily. "Frosting Sp-" she began.
The rest of her attack's name
was drowned out by the guard firing again, hitting the girl right in the
centre. She crumpled immediately, clutching at her chest. Too-bright red blood
splashed onto the ground in front of her.
Through luck or skill the guard
knew what was coming next, and ducked under the purple girl's second 'Chocolate
Slam'. He rolled along the floor and unloaded several shots into the brunette
just as she managed to kill her attacker, killing her in turn. The two girls
who had been taken to the ground had little hope; the bloodied Sleepers rose
and turned their eyes to other Racers.
Seeing that they were
outnumbered - especially as two more tellers joined the fray - the two
surviving girls made a bolt for it. The security guard only got off one shot
before the purple girl downed an easily caught soda, boosting her speed enough
for her to disappear with the orange girl clutching her dress.
They left a lot of mess in their
wake. Two dead Sleepers, a dead teller, and three dead Racers. The green girl
was finished off by one of the Sleepers, bringing the total to four.
"Thank you," said one
of the bank's patrons to the security, finally standing up.
"Yes, thank you," said
someone else. More and more people rose, each echoing their thanks, until the
entire back was noisy with praise.
It was one of the first victories; a turning point in the fight against the Lords of Sin.
It was one of the first victories; a turning point in the fight against the Lords of Sin.
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