Rhett was blasting the radio in his car. The song on the cd player was a classic. Ring of fire by Johnny Cash. It was mid afternoon as Rhett's 67' Charger barreled down the road. The window was down and his arm was hanging out of it. The wind lightly whipping around his brown and silver hair. There was a big grin on the old man's face. Ever since he could remember life was about having fun. Screwing the rules and doing whatever you wanted. Who was going to stop him after all? He mostly did what he wanted and didn't care about the consequences. Speeding past another speed limit sign Rhett laughed his ass off when his eyes caught glimpse of the speedometer. He was going well above the posted speed limit.

Buckled into the passenger seat was a small Teddy Ruxpin doll. The teddy bear turned his head and looked at Rhett for a moment, before looking back at the cd player in disgust. "What the hell is this crap? Why do we always listen to this county bullcrap Rhett?" The teddy bear said, now staring at Rhett in defiance.

Rhett stole a few glances at his traveling companion as he weaved in and out of traffic. "What's wrong with that? It's Johnny Cash!" Rhett defended. The bear reached over and ejected the cd. Chucking it in the backseat he popped in a new cd. One much more in line with his mood and liking. This argument was weirder than it first appeared. Rhett was not driving around a sentient teddy bear. He was telepathically controlling it and playing out both sides of the argument in his own head. Simply put. Rhett was crazier than all the bats in his bellfree.

The song came on the radio. Rhett started laughing his ass off as his telepathically controlled companion started to head bang. Ok Rhett thought. This is an acceptable alternative to Johnny Cash. Rhett turned the wheel hard as the metal coursed in the background turning down the next street. He was heading to the park. He had to meet a guy about a thing. It was nothing major, but he still had to meet this joker. This guy was supposed to be giving him blueprints to a bank. A disgruntaled teller who wanted to screw over his job, but didn't have the balls to rob it himself. Rhett lit up a cigarette as they pulled into the park's parking lot. 

The music blasted through the rolled down windows. Rhett looked over at his little furry companion. He wasn't head banging anymore. he was staring at Rhett with almost a concerned look on his face. Rhett stared back at him. Silver smoke driving up to the roof of the car as Metallica's enter the sandman said their bedtime prayers on the radio. Rhett reached over and cut off the song. "You think we can trust this guy?" Teddy asked. "We're going to find out!" Rhett said pulled the key's from the ignition and getting out. He telepathically made Teddy unbuckle himself inside the car and get out himself. Just a grown ass man and his Teddy bear meeting a guy in a public park. That's not so weird right?

Another quiet day at the park, after all the craziness didn't Max deserve at least that? He was sitting on a park bench enjoying a sandwich when a beautiful charger caught his eye pulling into the nearby parking lot. Max's father loved cars and though Max lacked his paternal influences obsession with them he still had a healthy respect for a good machine.

He stood up and walked over to the car just in time to see it shut off. An older man exited out of one side and basically screamed mid life crisis. What caught Max's attention more however was the Teddy Bear that exited with him. The thing hopped out of the car like a love animal and Max found himself laughing hysterically. It was one of the strangest sights he had ever seen.

He approached the man and gave a short wave.

"Nice ride man. Tell me do you usually have such a furry Co pilot?" He asked jovially.

Rhett walked around the front of the car as he was approached by a young man. His eyebrow raised a bit.  At first he wasn't even sure what the younger man was laughing and smiling at. Then he remembered. Teddy. His name was actually Teddy to Rhett. He didn't see any shame in a grown man having a Teddy bear for a best friend. Especially when the dam thing talked to you! Rhett thought about the question for a moment before sly smile spread across his face like an infection. He asked if he had such furry companionship all the time. Rhett took only a split second to think about the last few actual women he had been with and answered his question with complete confidence and no shame. "Yes, actually." She said with a grin. He may not pick up on Rhett's joke, but Rhett found it freaking hilarious.

Teddy looked at Max with wonder as he stood outside the car.  "Close the door." Rhett said. Teddy placed his paws on the door and had to run to close it. Throwing all of his tiny weight on the door. The door slowly, but eventually swung closed. "Say, you're not the guy are you? You look a little young to work in a bank." Rhett said. He was pulling a bank job. He needed those blue prints.

Rhett settled himself on the hood of his car. Leaning and sitting on his car he reached into the inner lining of his jacket and pulled out his cigarettes. Pulling out he put it between his lips. He pulled out a second cigarette and handed it to Teddy who put it between his furry little bear lips and Rhett handed him a lighter. Teddy lit up his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke in Max's direction. "What the hell's this kid staring at Rhett?" Teddy asked. Rhett smirked. Only Rhett could hear Teddy, his voice was his own subconscious thoughts that seemed to emanate from the doll, but he wasn't actually speaking. He was just looking around silently and smoking a cigarette.

Rhett looked at Max shaking his head lightly.  Taking the lighter back he cupped his hands to protect the flame while he lit up his smoke.  Speaking with a muffled voice through the cigarette Rhett said what was on his mind. "Apologies for my friend.  He's sort of a rude little fucker. HAHAHAHAHA"  Rhett burst out laughing.  As he spoke the cigarette bounded on his lip, but it didn't fall.  Rhett eyed the young man with a big smile.  He still thought Max was the guy he was supposed to be meeting in the park.  Teddy blew another puff of smoke at Max and his eyes seemed to narrow at him like he was angry, for what wasn't exactly clear but the bear seemed to have an attitude. 

This guy seemed a tad off to say the least. As he jovially replied to Max's question Max watched the bear close the car door as instructed. It was a very strange sight to say the least. Was the stuffed animal some kind of weird mutant? His thought was quickly interupted.

-"Say, you're not the guy are you? You look a little young to work in a bank."

The question seemed to be delivered matter of factly but Max had no idea what the guy was talking about. He was at the park, what did banks have to do with it? Max was a fraction of a second from asking the man if he had dementia when the bear hopped up on the hood if the car and started smoking with his older companion. The beady eyes of the thing narrow down and Max felt a wave of dicomfort. The older man gave Max an apology for the bear before bursting out into laughter.

"Not a bank guy no. Though I think there's an atm not to far from here," Max said awkwardly.

He kept glancing at the bear as it smoked and it only seemed more irritated by him.

"No need to apologize, I have a GI Joe that has a temper like you wouldn't believe." Max said sarcastically.

Was NY always filled with weirdos?

Rhett's expression changed when the kid said he wasn't his contact from the back.  To be honest he had never met the guy.  Only talked to him over the phone.  Dam it!  Is no one reliable?  The bear stood up on the hood of the car grabbed the window and swung himself into the passenger seat.  He still had the cigarette hanging in his little bear mouth.  Rhett watched with a sort of quiet fascination even though he was the one pulling the strings here.  The bear chucked the cigarette out the window and the but nearly landed in a fold on Max's pants leg.  Rhett smiled a big toothy grin.

Rhett was a character.  That was for sure.  He honestly believed his animated toys to be alive.  Though he was controlling them himself with subconscious thought.   He wanted to see how he reacted and he had made a joke about GI Joes.  Rhett finished his cigarette and dropped it on the ground.  Crushing the life out of it with the heel of his cowboy boot he looked up and blew out the smoke in a heavy sigh.  "Well that's unfortunate."  He said as casually as if he had just found out the store was out of jam.  This wasn't a major wrinkle in his plan.  Maybe the bank guy had cold feet.  He sounded like a sputtering spineless type over the phone.  It wouldn't really surprise him.

Rhett looked into the window and stared at Teddy.   The teddy bear's facial expression changed to a soft questioning look.  It's eyebrows arched and its' face curled into a cute frown.  "He's not going to show is he?"  The bear asked Rhett.  "I think he chickened out."  Rhett replied.  Leaning up Rhett stared at the kid.  His smile faded.  Thanks for being the bearer of bad new kid.  He thought.  He saw a police car casually strolling down the road.  Reactively the teddy bear slunk down into the seat trying to get out of sight and Rhett himself shielded his face.  He acted as if he was scratching his head as he turned his face away from the police. 

When the cop left Rhett turned back to the kid.  He eyed him up and down.  He was kind of a scrawny little so and so.  But maybe, just maybe he'd be up for a little fun.  Rhett was always in the mood for fun.  "Hey kid.  How would you like a little race?"  His question sounded absurd out loud, but he was serious.  He was going to see if the kid wanted to street race against Teddy.  "You want to race against my little buddy Teddy here?"  Rhett loved to gamble.  Pulling out a couple thousand dollars from his pocket like it was nothing.  "What's your wadger kid?  My afternoon just cleared up.  Looks like i got some time to kill."

The bear karate jumping into the car took Max's attention, as did the flying ember of a cigarette that came at him. He moved his leg so as to avoid being burned. Little bear had attitude. The man looked sissapointed that Max wasn't who he thought he was. Max prepared to leave the man to his devices.

That was until the guy pulled out a few thousand dollars and challenged Max to a bet. What was up with this dude? He asked Max if he wanted to street race against the man's bear. A preposterous idea but the money was tempting.

"Sorry man. I got no car, though speed racer in there does seem like a fun challenege." Max replied.

A thought struck Max and he grinned. Maybe he could make this work after all. A little extra cash would do him wonders. He reached into his fanny pack and pulled out his wallet. He had five hundred dollars in his wallet. It be a start.

"I got five hundred though. How about we make it interesting. Anyone can press an accelerator, even a bear. We are five blocks from the Central Mall parking garage. I'll take your bear on, I'll race him without a car, first one to the roof of the garage wins. If I win I want two grand though." He said sweetening the pot for himself.

Rhett rubbed at his chin. Looking at the kid he thought he was the crazy one out of the two of them. Finally though, he shrugged and threw his hands up. "Your money kid!" Rhett climbed into the passenger seat as the Teddy bear moved over to the driver's seat. Rhett set him up with a nice little booster seat. A six pack of Miller Highlife that was sitting in the back getting warm. Rhett looked over to Max and gave a little salute as a few action figures on the floorboard reved the pedal. He was in control of the vehicle through telepathic commands but it was Teddy driving. It was wild. It was fun. It was going to be A HELL OF A GOOD TIME!!!!!!!!

Rhett looked out the passenger window with a big wicked grin. "You ready chumbo? 3.....2..."  He didn't even get to one Rhett gave the order and a Buzz lightyear doll he had in the car threw it's weight into the gas. The tires squealed as they sped off. This was easy money. Rhett was laughing his head off as they barreled down the road.

Behind the wheel Teddy was smiling too. Teddy looked over at Rhett. "What a chump!" Teddy said. "Yeah well, some people are just crazy Teddy. It's easy to take their money." Rhett watched the road. Telepathically telling Teddy when to turn, and telling buzz when to jump on the brakes or gas. It was a good challenge for Rhett to flex his mental muscle. He was always up for a good challenge. He didn't care that he was ripping this kid off. He didnt' even stop to consider the kid might be some kind of mutant. He just saw a sucker and some easy money. Maybe the kid thought he wasn't going to be able to work a car. Hell he didn't know why he agreed to it all he was thinking about was how he was going to use that kid's money to light a cigar while he gloated. Rhett didn't need the cash he was flush with cash. He was doing this for the thrills.

The man took the bet and Max nodded. As the older man went to enter the car Max started stretching. Crossing arms one over the other, a few quick lunges. This was going to be interesting. The man got in the car and started a count down. Max got ready to run. Before he say go however, the car took off, tires screeching. Max watched the car speed off.

"Not one to play fair huh? You just wait." He said to himself.

He sprinted across the street and onto an alley. Now came the fun part. With a surge of his power Max turned gravity upside down. He flipped in the air as he rose upward and crested the rooftops. Drive as fast as you like, you still have to use streets, Max however could make a straight line.

He angled himself toward the parking garage and them changed gravity. He was propelled forward at double earth's gravity and shot through the sky like a rocket. He was nervous about being seen, but most people down on Earth were too busy with their own day to look up.

He fell between two office buildings and spotted the garage off in the distance. His speed picked up as he fell uninterrupted sideways. Using his power to fly was all about force, acceleration, and mass. Hurling along at twice the speed of gravity gave him roughly 28 meters per second. His terminal velocity would be somewhere over two hundred miles an hour but he would never reach that speed in my five blocks. Instead as he approached the garage he let his power go.

He fell down towards the roof at a breakneck speed. Going fast was easy, slowing down was not. He reversed gravity on himself, fighting to slow down before finally placing a bubble of zeros gs on himself. He skidded to a halt on the edge of the roof and stumbled a few steps. Made it. He leaned against the railing of the roof in plane sight of the only entrance ramp to the roof.

"Where are you teddy?" He said to the open air.

The charger whipped around another corner. "YEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHE!" Rhett wailed out the window as the tail end of the charger took out a United States Postal Service box. Mail went flying everywhere and people on the sidewalk screamed. "Dam Teddy you can't drive for shit!" Rhett laughed. Teddy turned his head to Rhett and gave him a pissed off look. Rhett telepathically controlled the conversations and the back and forth in his own mind. He even went as far as to emote their expressions in response to what he said. It was all in his head. His subconscious mind filling in the blanks to give the illusion of companionship. "Screw you Rhett. There's $500 on the line! I'm going to win that shit and buy myself a girlfriend." By girlfriend Teddy meant a female teddy bear though the logistics of that were incomprehensible.

Rhett laughed again as the car found the parking garage. Rhett made Teddy barrel through the little gate and the car shot sparks from underneath it as it bounced roughly hitting the slight incline. The sound of the car was thunderous as it echoed in the garage. Tires squealing and rubber burning as the car started heading up. Rhett didn't know that he had already lost the bet.

Rhett was laughing hysterically thinking about what he was going to do with the money. It sure as shit wasn't going to be to buy his furry little friend companionship. Rhett gave a telepathic command to Buzz Lightyear to press harder on the gas. He could see the finish line. Buzz pressed down and the car lurched forward and almost flew up the ramp to the top of the garage.

The car fishtailed and swerved as it came to a stop. Rhett stepped out of the car lighting a cigarette and turned to the entrance way. He was half expecting to see the kid come up in the next ten minutes or so. He figured he had some time to kill. Rhett about choked on the cigarette smoke when he turned and saw Max waiting for them already. Smiling. "What the hell?!?!? Okay. What the hell is going on here?" Rhett said. He sounded more amused than angry. Rhett wasn't about money he was about fun and this interesting development had to be explored further. Something here was fishy.

He heard them before he saw them. The engine revving madly as tires screamed in protest to turns. Max let out a little laugh as he listened to what he assumed was the older man and his bear heading up the garage. They burst onto the rooftops triumphantly and Max saw the older man get out, grinning from ear to ear and smoking in celebration. The look on his face when he saw Max made the young mutant fight not to laugh.

"What the hell?!?!? Okay. What the hell is going on here?"

"Well to me it seems like I just got two thousand dollars richer." Max said with a grin.

He glanced around the deserted rooftop and then back at the older man. He allowed himself to float a few inches off the ground.

"I agreed I wouldn't use a car, never said I wouldn't fly." He grinned.

He floated back down to the roof and extended his hand.

"I'd like that in hundreds please, carrying small bills can be a real pain." He finished.

"I'm not a bank kid." Rhett said slapping the money into the kid's open palm. He felt a bit cheated, but he had to give the kid credit for originality.  Rhett loved theatrics and he couldn't rightly be mad at anyone who played him so dam well. It was something he'd have to remember for later.

Rhett looked at him taken his cigarette out of his mouth after one final puff. Rhett flicked it carelessly over the edge of the parking garage. Blowing out the cloud of smoke he looked at Max for a moment. He was young. If Rhett had to guess he would have said about 15 or 16. He had that whole backup dancer for NSYNC thing going on. "What do they call you anyways?" Rhett asked. "They call me Puppeteer." She said with a warm smile as a creepy ventriloquist dummy crawled out of the backseat and sat himself on the window seal of the car.

The dummy was wooden and hand painted he wore a light colored sweater and a pair of jeans with some old ruddy sneakers.  Rhett raised his hand above it's head and mimicked puppeteering him without any strings or controls.  As Rhett waves hid fingers in theatric fashion the dummie reacted and moved though he was doing it through telepathy rather than string and wire. 

Rhett made the dummy hop down and walk over to Max. The dummy strolled up to him casually under Rhett's control and looked up at him with that creepy hand painted dummy smile.  "I have a few friends that help me get things done.  What about you? You fly what else do you do son?"

Two thousand dollars felt like a very hefty wad of bills when thrust into your hands. Max was grinning from ear to ear. The man seemed only slightly annoyed, and Max could tell he was more curious. He introduced himself as Puppeteer and Max found himself understanding the Teddy bear incident better. It also showed Max the man was going by a codename.

"Grav Bomb, or GB for short." He answered.

He gave a start as he noticed the dummy walking over to him. The thing gave him the chills, reminding Max of some B rated horror flick he'd watched as a child. He watched Puppeteer demonstrate his ability and found himself a little creeped out.

You fly what else do you do son?"

Max considered for a moment how to reply before giving a little shrug.

"What you see is kind of what you get. I control gravity through touch. So I can fly or float or I can make other stuff fly and float." He explained.

This man was giving off a sketchy vibe. Weird puppet men driving fancy cars with loads of cash on them asking random people he sees if they are "The guy from the bank."

Rhett smiled and put his sunglasses back on. He was getting out of here. He had a bank heist to pull and he didn't feel like Max was going to be the one to help him get it done. Max seemed like to much of a good guy. He carried a fanny pack for Christ's sake. Rhett walked around the car and opened the car door. Pausing a moment to look back at Max.

The dummy stared up at Max with large glassy blue eyes. It's eyes were fixed steadily at Max. It's hand painted rosy cheeks seemed anything but innocent. It's carved wooden smile indicated not happy, but creepy. The dummies sweater had light blues and soft pinks and pale greens. It almost seemed Eastery. The dummy stared at Max. Rhett gave it some thought as he watched from his car door. The dummies hand sunk into it's pocket. There was a switch blade in it's pocket. It's small wooden hand wrapped around it. It stopped moving waiting for Rhett's command.

Rhett knew that he couldn't just trust everyone he met. He had said more than he should have with this kid. Asking him if he was the guy from the bank. No witnesses. Still, he was a mutant. Rhett thought better of having his dummy kill this kid. A smile washed across Rhett's face and the dummies' hand in it's pocket clutching the knife relaxed. "Come along Carson." The dummies' mouth fell open. It seemed to silently scream at Max.

It turned and walked back over to Rhett who bent down and scooped him up. Rhett was holding the dummy in his arms like a child. "Say goodbye to the kid Carson." The dummy slowly turned it's head and looked back at Max. Lifting it's hand it waved by opening and closing it's fingers. Rhett set him in the passenger seat and the thing crawled in the backseat.

Climbing in the charger himself Rhett hung out the window. He had his toys behind the wheel still. Teddy was sitting in the driver's seat while his toys worked the pedals. Rhett leaned out the window and looked at Max. "Look me up kid if you ever wants some work.  If you don't mind bending a few rules that is. Clearly you don't play fair... I like that.  You might actually be useful for a few things I got on the backburner."  Rhett said and tapped the side of the door with his hand.  Teddy turned the key and turned the car back on.  "We're mutants kid.  We gotta look out for each other."  Rhett said as the car sped off out of the parking garage.  He thought about killing Max briefly.  There would have been no witnesses up there on that lonely parking garage.  Though, he thought maybe he could use him for some jobs in the future.

Being stared down by a seemingly sentient ventriloquist dummy is an incredibly uncomfortable experience. The blue eyes bored into him and he wished he knew what the little man was thinking. That was followed quickly by the thought of how stupid it was to be contemplating the thought process of an inanimate object. After a moment the dummy turned and returned to its owner and his car.

Rhett said his goodbyes and Max gave him a nod. Usually after losing a few grand on a bet someone wouldn't just bail. Rhett was obviously not just any old someone.

"We're mutants kid. We gotta look out for each other."

Something wasn't sitting right with Max. He had originally thought Rhett was a senile old man. He was slowly getting the impression that he was something far more dangerous. He had made a remark about breaking rules, and earlier had mentioned a guy from a bank. Somehow Max didn't think he was an angel.

"And what business is it of yours?" His inner self asked.

"Depends on who gets hurt if he's trying anything." He countered.

He had a decision to make. He could go about his business, stay out of the guys way, or...

Max reached the edge of the roof and saw Rhett car barrel out of the garage. Max leapt off the roof and to one nearby, running and keeping a bit of distance behind the vehicle. He'd just see where the guy was heading, no harm in that.