The Two Kings

The Great Wall Race

"Once a year, this city becomes more than a city. Once a year, these streets... become more than streets. This year... the winner will become... immortal!"

"A Peach of Immortality!" MK exclaimed, watching in awe at the tv screen which broadcasted the fruit. Mei shared a similar look of excitement, stars shining in the pair's eyes.

"A Peach of what now?" Pigsy asked the pair, causing the pair to gasp in horror. The pair began to rant to the pig man, absolutely appalled that he didn't know what the Peach of Immortality was.

Thankfully, Tang interrupted their ranting, holding a rather old book. "If you'll allow me."

"Ooh~" Parker appeared behind Tang, in awe at the book. The man pulled up his glasses and in a dramatic fashion, began to speak again.

"Legend says there is a sacred field of trees which grows in the Heavenly Realm, protected by the gods themselves. Every few thousand years, these trees bring forth the Peaches of Immortality. Against the wishes of the Heavenly Host, the Monkey King took them all, making himself immortal!"

"So he made himself that many times more immortal? What's the point of even erasing your name in the book if the dead then?" Parker asked.

"How'd you know that? I didn't tell you that im my daily Monkey King rant session." MK said to which Parker raised a brow.

How did he know that?  It wasn't like Parker ever gave any effort to learn anything about Wukong. All he knew about the Sage was that he was a complete dunce with an ego the size of the universe. Other than that? Absolutely nothing else.

"Maybe I read it in a book somewhere." Parker said, waving MK off.

"I didn't know you could read." Tang said to which Pigsy bonked him on the head. 

"You guys are clearly missing the point!" Mei interjected, "Whoever wins this race will live forever!" 

"I just don't see how a peach would grant you immortality." Parker said with his arms folded.

"Well, technically, the peaches grant you a couple thousand years of life. After that, you have to eat another one if you want to stay immortal."  Tang explained.

However, Parker remained unconvinced, questioning why the Monkey King would hoard such a valuable resource rather than sharing it more generously. "So Wukong has a whole stash of those things hidden somewhere? Seems kind of selfish, don't you think?"

MK could only stammer a defense, "Monkey King's not selfish! He's just, uh, impulsive. Narrow minded, that's all!" 

Parker scoffed at this weak excuse, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Oh, please," he retorted, "He stole those peaches for himself! He's obsessed! He's an obsessed demon with a god complex!" 

MK took offense at this characterization, firing back, "He is a god!"

"Not to me he's not!" Parker immediately realized he had gone too far, quickly retreating backwards and clamping his hands over his mouth. "I'm sorry. That was my fault, I shouldn't have shouted at you,"

MK, surprised by this sudden change of tone, simply uttered, "It's- it's okay" as Parker suddenly trudged forward towards the exit, the tense confrontation finally diffused, if only temporarily.

"I'll see you guys at the race." Parker uttered just before shuffling away.

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Parker had been keeping his car at a nearby garage for the past few weeks. Surprisingly, he discovered that he was very sharp with a few wrenches and screws. So, thanks to his new found abilities, he was able to upgrade the vehicle for more extreme situations. On either side of the car, he installed powerful boosters, while the bumpers were outfitted with smaller versions of the same technology.