Two Guys and a GOAT

Posted on Mon Aug 10th, 2026 @ 3:00pm by Drew Williams & Lucas Mercer

1,751 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 8: Shadows Over Avalon
Location: Garage
Timeline: March 22, 1992 - Late Afternoon

Drew was in the garage giving a 1968 Pontiac GTO a gentle wipe down with a buffing rag. Being a speedster, he often would do chores ar super speed to finish quickly. That wasn't the case for this particular task. He always took his time when he washed and waxed the GOAT of muscle cars. He stood back and looked the car over to see if there was any smudge that could mar the image of this automotive classic. He swas so distracted he didn't even notice that someone had walked in the big, open bay door until the let out a whistle.

"Noooo," Lucas followed up the whistle, to really drive home the point of his surprise. "Baby, look at you!"

Don't worry, he was staring at the car, hardly seemed aware anyone else was in the garage either.

He wandered closer almost on instinct, slowing as he got within a few feet. His eyes traveled over the gleaming paint, the chrome, the hood, trying to take in every inch of it.

"A '68 GTO..." he breathed, shaking his head with an appreciative grin. "That's so choice." Lucas stopped himself before reaching out to touch it, catching his hand halfway there and tucking it back into his pocket to stop himself from messing with the polish.

"Sorry," he laughed, finally realizing someone else was actually in the garage with him. "I just... man, they don't make 'em like this anymore." He glanced back at the Pontiac almost immediately. "Is she yours?"

Drew nodded and gestured at the car with a light chuckle. "It’s okay. You can touch it." He rested a hand on the driver's side hood as if to emphasizepermission. "It was originally my dad's when he was growing up. He sold it when he started college. I was about six years old when he found it and bought it back."

Lucas pulled his hand free again, given permission, and ran it reverently over the hood. There was something about touching a machine like this that made it so much more real and enhanced the experience. He let his finger trail along as he walked up to peer inside. "Wow, lucky find, to get this back," he confirmed. "My dad has a Boss 351 that he never let me drive no matter how much I begged."

It was Drew's turn to give a whistle. That model of the 1971 Ford Mustang was extremely rare with just over 1800 units ever being manufactured. He gave Lucas a smile. "That is impressive. Let me guess, fire engine red with black trim."

"I wish," Lucas chuckled, "Red is what I would have picked.". Yeah, his dad has some money to get his hands on one of those, but Lucas didn't share it like a story to boast about. It was just a thing he'd grown up around. "Yellow and black, like a big ol' bee. I always thought the paint job was bogus, but I still wanted to drive it."

Drew chuckled. "That was going to be my second guess." He turned back to the GTO and traced a hand along the driver's side roof. "My dadtook ne to the DMV and I got to use this baby to take my driver's test in. He said if I could drive a stick shift, an automatic would be no problem. He also let me be a relief driver on family trips during my junior year."

"Wicked! Oh man I bet your friends were jealous as H-E-L-L." Lucas actually spelled out the word rather than saying it outright. "Dad taught me on the three-hundred E they mostly drove around. Said if I could drive without thinking about shifting, I'd have enough to worry about already. He kept promising we'd tackle the Mach's four-speed once I stopped driving like a teenager."

His smile vanished only temporarily as he realized that was another thing that wasn't going to happen anymore now. It came back quick though.

"Can we look under the hood?"

Drew immediately moved to the driver's side door, a moment later he had popped the hood release and stepped around to lift the hood so Lucas could take a look. He stepped to the side so Lucas could have a look. "Dad and I refurbished most of the original parts bought a few new ones, but it's pretty much been rebuilt to original manufacturer specs."

As Drew went to lift the hood, Lucas crowded in eagerly. "Still running the stock four-barrel carburetor, or'd you swap in a Tri-Power?" His eyes wandered over the engine bay, taking in the massive V8, polished air cleaner, valve covers, and surprisingly tidy wiring. It looked almost too clean to drive.

Drew looked at the engine he and his Dad had rebuilt. "Dad wanted to restore her ro original condition, so its running with the four-barrel carburetor. I haven't really had the time to do any modifications to her." He took time and looked at the engine. His expression saddened. He would never work with his dad on the car again or have his mother bring a pitcher of lemonade out after spending hours working on the GTO.

Lucas had glanced up with a big smile on his face, about to ask more, but hesitated when he saw Drew's expression. Something was off. Lucas could be a little slow on the uptake at times. He replayed the last words in his mind, the multiple mentions of a father. "Oh." Compassion drove Lucas to reach out a bit, giving Drew the space he needed to back off from the topic or open up as he wanted. "Is your dad...?"

Drew looked up when Lucas spoke. His sad expression evident. "My parents and grandparents died in a house fire a little over a year ago. Angela and I were enrolled here. My great aunt pulled us out and...it was not the most pleasant of situation. We both left on our eighteenth birthday and moved to New York City to enroll for summer semester at Empire State University. When Angela contracted the Legacy Virus, I called the school and spoke with the Headmistress. An hour later, with the help of the Headmistress, Doctor Reyes and Alaric we were here."

"That's..." Lucas wasn't sure what to say for a moment, trailed off, shook his head. He could only sympathise, having never lost anyone like that, having never gotten sick. Nothing he could say or do could make any of that better. "Too much. I'm so sorry, Drew." The car, no wonder why it meant so much. "It's good you have this still."

Drew nodded. He did appreciate Lucas' sympathy, but was even more grateful for the subject change back to the GTO. He put the hood down and turned to Lucas. His expression curious. "You hungry?"

"Right." Lucas nodded, understanding the unspoken need to switch topics away from Drew's losses. It was enough that his new friend had shared, and that Lucas could be an ear when needed. His smile returned, "I could eat. My metabolism kicked into overdrive when I got my powers, but I bet that pales in comparison to you, Speed Racer. Wanna go raid the kitchen?"

Drew dug into his front pocket and pulled out his car keys. "Actually, I was thinking pizzas from town. Maybe some cheesy garlic bread also."

"Right on, pizza is great," Lucas said, and turned. He took a step even before he froze. It must have looked silly, the dawning realisation on his face as he turned back around and stared at the Pontiac. Confusion, surprise, moving into amazement and hope. "You mean, in this?"

Drew nodded and smiled as he tossed the keys to Lucas. "I wasn't planning on running...though it might be quicker if I did."

Lucas snatched the keys out of the air and the dumbfounded expression was even stronger. If Drew had intended to short circuit Lucas' brain, he had succeeded.

Eventually, some thought rattling around in the blonde's head seemed to turn his own engine over, and he quite literally began to glow even as he burst into a radiant smile. Lucas didn't seem to notice at all he was about as bright as a flashlight, golden light coming from his skin all over, as he walked around to the driver-side door.

"Duuude..." He opened the door, climbed inside, and took a seat. His hands moved reverently over the steering wheel for a moment before he put his seatbelt on. "I promise, not a scratch."

Drew slid into the passenger seat while holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the glare, not only coming off Lucas, but the windshield as well. "I'm going to hold you to the no scratch promise, but you need to turn off that Megawatt light bulb to see out the windshield to drive. Okay?"

"Oh-" Lucas flushed as he took control of himself first, before ever putting the key near the ignition. The glow subsided after a couple of seconds. "Sorry, sometimes I just can't help it." He took a deep breath and only then did he start the engine, careful with the clutch.

He almost, almost lit up again, but he expected the surge of excitement as the beautiful roar of the V8 came to life.

"Okay, one of the best days of my life," Lucas said as he put the GTO into gear and pulled out of the garage ever so carefully. He kept it in first as they cleared the doors and then started down the drive towards the gates. The sound lowered to that deep, uneven rumble as if the car couldn't wait for the open road itself. "I'm buying the pizza, by the way. Paybacks for this!"

Drew looked at the excited Lucas and wondered if it was really a good idea to let the guy drive his car. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Just keep to the speed limit and we'll uh split the cost. Sound fair?"

"Relaaax," Lucas said, trying to radiate chillness as easily as he had light. "I got this. And I always follow the law, don't worry." They rolled sedately out of the gates and onto the main street, where Lucas finally shifted up and let the engine sing its deep song. True to his word though, he kept them just at the speed limit, even if he was grinning ear to ear at that point. "Pizza, here we coooome!"

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