Worlds Collide: A Cars Fan Fiction

New Kids in Town

Nikki had been wrong. It took a mere fifteen seconds (and a screwdriver that Zane had in his backpack) for her to dismantle the trap. 

"Why do you have a screwdriver in your backpack, anyway?" 

Zane looked a little embarrassed as he took the tool back from Nikki. "You know my dads. They're a little...overprotective. They insist that I never leave the house without a first aid kit, nonperishable food, and a screwdriver." He gestured around, as if taking in their situation. "It's weird that their paranoia really paid off."

Mater was so happy to be free that he drove around in circles, backwards. Hector tried to chase him, but eventually fell to ground, out of breath and grinning from ear to ear. 

Nikki watched, amused at Mater's and Hector's antics (and also proud of herself for having sprung the trap so quickly). She was pulled from her train of thought by someone shoving a piece of paper into her hands. She looked up to see Elsie, who pointed at the note in Nikki's hand, looking deadly serious. She quickly read the note.

We just did Mater a favor. Now's the perfect time to ask for help.

Nikki looked up at her friend, and nodded. Leave it to Elsie to be one step ahead. She then walked towards the tow truck, nervously twisting one of her cornrows as she did. She wasn't used to asking for help.

Once Mater had calmed down, Nikki was able to get his attention. "Mater, we need to ask you something."

"Well, shoot, what'cha need?"

"This isn't easy to explain, but we humans are from another world. We ended up here by mistake, and some bad scientists are after us. They already caught our friend, Abbey."

Mater looked horrified. "That's terrible! Where is she, I'll take you there now!"

"Thank you, but we can't rescue her yet. We've been walking in the desert for hours; we need a place to get some sleep and make a plan."

"Okay, I can do that. We're only a few minutes from Radiator Springs, the cutest little town in Carburetor County. Once my friends know what's goin' on, I just know they'll help you!"

"Thank you so much." Nikki turned to the others, who'd been listening in. Elsie gave her a thumbs-up.

The walk to Radiator Springs was a bit awkward. Mater, being a vehicle, could go much faster than a human. Twice they had to shout for him to slow down. Eventually he decided to travel at a mere three miles an hour, and kept himself entertained by peppering Zhara (who was always chatty) with questions about humans.

Nikki was silent the entire way to Radiator Springs. While she was relieved that they were (possibly) getting help, worry gnawed at her. They had no way of knowing how the vehicles in Radiator Springs would react to humans. True, Mater had been fairly accepting of them, but they'd freed him from the trap. Maybe his acceptance was out of gratitude.

Then there was the trap itself. She'd destroyed it, but it had left her uneasy. While she had no real proof, her intuition told her that the trap had been set by the scientists. The air had warmed considerably since the rain stopped, but Nikki felt a chill go down her spine.

---

After the tractor fiasco, everyone had returned to Flo's. After a few rounds of oil, the entire thing was practically forgotten. McQueen was fully enjoying himself. In his opinion, the tractors had only added to the fun. He was waiting for Mater to come back so he could thank him.

After a while, McQueen saw Mater's one headlight making its way back to town. The race car excused himself from his conversation with Ramone and drove over to his friend. 

"Hey, Mater!"

The tow truck froze. McQueen thought that it looked like he was whispering to someone. As he got closer, he saw Mater holding uncharacteristically still, with a clearly fake grin on his face.

He wasn't fooled for a second. "Mater, what's going on?"

"Nothin's goin' on! I'm here alone, and no one followed me to town!"

"Someone's with you?"

Mater gulped, realizing his mistake, and shot a glimpse at a nearby bush before smiling again (although he looked more nervous than before). 

"Nope, nobody!"

McQueen was curious. It wasn't like Mater to lie (with the exception of his tall tales). Had he brought someone he shouldn't have to Radiator Springs?

"Mater..."

A sneeze came from a nearby bush. McQueen, startled, looked over at the foliage. Mater quickly got between the bush and his friend. He looked a little panicked.

"Mater, what's going on? You can tell me."

"Okay, buddy." Mater took a deep breath. "I met someone when I was out in the desert. Actually, five someones. And they need our help real bad...but they're hiding right now because...well...because they ain't cars."

"So....they're forklifts?" McQueen was trying to understand. If the strangers Mater had met needed help, then why were they hiding behind the bush?

"No, they ain't like anything from 'round here. Nikki said that they're from another world."

"What?" Another world? McQueen thought. What did he mean? And who was Nikki?

From behind the bush, a girl's voice spoke up. "I think I can take it from here, Mater." Mater seemed conflicted for a moment, then drove out from between his friend and the bush. 

Out stepped a creature that McQueen couldn't begin to describe. As Mater had said, it certainly wasn't a car. "Otherworldly" was the only word that came to mind. It had dark brown eyes, dark brown skin, and black hair worn in cornrows (he learned the names of these things later). The creature approached slowly, stopped five feet away from McQueen, and smiled. 

"My name is Monique Washington, but you can call me Nikki. I'm a human. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," McQueen muttered, still in shock. 

"Sorry to surprise ya like this, buddy," Mater said. "I meant to get them into town before I introduced them to everyone."

"Them?" McQueen asked.

Another creature (human, he corrected himself) stepped out from behind the bush. This one was slightly taller than Nikki, and his hair was shorter. This human introduced himself as Zane Shing. 

A second later a smaller human shot out of the bushes. He introduced himself as Hector Vasquez, and then proceeded to ask more questions in one breath than McQueen thought was possible. 

Hector was pulled away from the race car by Nikki, who asked him to be patient and ask his questions later. That's when McQueen noticed a fourth and fifth human. One of them had shorter, golden brown hair, and smiled at McQueen while making rapid movements with what the one of the humans called her hands. The other human, this one with medium brown skin and a long black braid, called the movements sign language, and introduced them as Zhara and Elsie Anthony. 

"Nice to meet you all," he said once they'd all come out of the bush. He still wasn't certain about these  creatures (or how the rest of the town would react to them), but Mater trusted them, and that was good enough for him. Plus, if these kids really were from another world, than they'd need the town's help.

He introduced himself to the humans. "My name's Lightning McQueen. Welcome to Radiator Springs."