Gone in a Flash

Chapter 10: Hell Bent For Leather

*In a Long Beach Auto Shop...*

Inside of a full auto restoration shop, hustle and bustle is just too common.

A 1957 Chevy, with orange diamond tuck 'n roll with orange fur interior, a 1953 Corvette with the front and rear suspension being replaced with coils and airshocks, a 1950 Mercury, the chrome being stripped off, paint being sandblasted, and VentiPorts being brazed.

All under Celestia.

Recognized as the Southern California "Princess of the Engines," Celestia is a graceful woman who runs a 24-hour auto/body shop.

Her sister, Luna, handles the front desk.

Currently, Celestia is airbrushing a candy-colored, variegated design on the decklid of a 1973 Chevy Camaro.

It's painstaking work, but she's an artist.

Just then, Flash wanders into the shop.

Celestia immediately drops the brush and hugs him, squeezing the life out of him.

Sentry is somewhat stunned at the transformation of the shop.

Celestia: "Am I dying? Are all the angels returning to bid a final farewell? *She holds Flash at arm's length* And have my angels lost their fashion sense...?"

Flash Sentry: "Hello, Celestia."

Celestia: "You remember Luna?"

Flash Sentry: "Of course. Hello, Luna."

Luna: "Greetings, Mr. Sentry."

Flash Sentry: "What happened here?"

Celestia: "Whatever do you mean?"

Flash Sentry: "The chop shop...Where are the stripped cars? The rolled back odometers? The part bins?"

Celestia: "Old age, my dear. I tired myself of killing them. I woke up one morning and thought, 'I am no longer a destroyer.' I am means of resurrection. Now, we restore, we revive. There are so few things in this life that simply have to prevent from decay. Most, however, must die. These, these...projects, they do not have to."

She then calls over a man working on a 1970 Chevy El Camino.

Celestia: "It's three coats of primer, 12 coats of black acrylic lacquer before laying out the flames, fill the cab top with mylar flakes...They'll sparkle like....stars..."

She turned to Flash.

Celestia: "Flash, Flash, Flash...You look splendid."

She fled back to the Camaro to finish her work.

Celestia: "I heard rumors that you had come back. About young Bo..."

Flash Sentry: "He's gotten involved."

Celestia then looks up, slightly frustrated.

Celestia: "Luna, play something. I need to calm my nerves."

Luna, by command, walks to a boombox and puts in a cassette.

Engine noises rip from the speakers.

Celestia: "Yes...the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona. At the Le Mans. 1971. The quad cam V12. Do you hear how they got the engine up? Hear those exhaust notes...Yes...That's a high rev range. Here...and right here...it peaks at 5,500 RPM."

Flash weakly smiles.

Celestia: "Chrysalis. She's amplified so much sorrow on the streets."

Flash Sentry: "You think it can be done?"

Celestia: "Are you considering a comeback tour?"

Flash Sentry: "Tell me."

Celestia: "It can be done. Take two days to shop, one to prepare. I will offer up my bible for a small fee. You also have to hope Dawn's jerk-circus didn't undo Spitfire's linkage so much that she's setting up surveillance teams on each block. And I highly advise you get yourself a crew."

Flash Sentry: "The hard part."

Celestia: "'A people is a detour of nature to get 6 or 7 great men, yes, and then to get around them.' Nietzsche said that."

Flash Sentry: "Is he still working here?"

Celestia: "The old crew. Go find them. I can't help you with that. Since I've cleaned up my act a bit, they don't come around anymore. A pity how legitimacy makes you unpopular..."

Flash Sentry: "I just don't know how happy they'll be to see me."

Celestia finished the airbrushing, and looked up at Flash.

Celestia: "I remember I had a 1964 Buick Opal. Worst car ever built. Value job. Everything broke...And I fixed it. A coma car, built to German specifications. Plastic gas line. 3 speedometer head. On a quiet night, you could hear it rusting in the garage. But when that godforsaken car was gone...I missed it. If it came back driving in here right now, there'd be tears and laughter..."

Flash Sentry: "And the moral of the story?"

Celestia: "Go to them. They'll be happy to see you. Oh..."

As the scene fades...

Celestia: "8 to 8 to 1 compression..."