Chapter Text
Lightning was in training with Doc to get back to what he used to be. During the early season he was in an accident and had to stop for a while. Now he was all set and getting ready for the piston cup.
“Alright rookie, your speed is 186. It was about 198 back then. You have 12 miles to get back. So let’s see if we can get you back.”
While they were training Lightning worked hard.
A few weeks later he wasn’t getting much faster. Now it was 190. Doc remembered his crew chief and friends from when he was racing. After his own crash he stopped because his company quit on him.
Ever since Lightning got him to come back he was getting closer to him. He knew his old crew chief and his old friends were always rooting for Lightning.
“Hmm, I wonder if Smokey can give me a little help with this.”
So he called him and waited.
“Hello?” Smokey said.
“Hey Smokey, it’s me, Hudson.” he said.
“Hey Hud, long time no hear. So how you doing?” Smokey said.
“I’m doing fine, just like I used to be. Training Lightning, racing him for fun, things like that.”
“How’s he doing? We saw the crash he was in. Reminds us of your own crash actually.”
“He’s doing pretty good, lost some of his speed after the accident though.”
“Is he gonna stop?”
“Well, if he wins the piston cup he can keep racing. But if not he stops and does something else his new sponsor wants him to do. Which in my opinion is stupid and a repeat of my own crash.”
So he explained things that were going on.
“Do you have any friends that have a speed like the new rookies?”
“Yeah actually I do know someone. And ever since he saw Lightning race his rookie year he loves him. Why?”
“I was thinking about seeing if he could get a better engine.”
“Well I’m sure he would switch with him. I can talk to him if you want.”
“That would be great. I’ll come visit you guys when you tell me what’s going on. And see if Lightning can come.”
So he hung up and went to bed.
The next day Smokey called him and said the boy would do it for him.
“Alright, thanks. I’ll go get Lightning and see what he thinks, see you soon. Same place?”
“Yeah.”
So Doc went to find Lightning.
“Hey rookie, I wanna talk to you about somethin’.”
“Hey Doc. What’s up?” Lightning said.
“My old crew chief knows someone that has a current engine and would be glad to switch places with you."
He smiled.
“Really?”
He nodded and smiled back.
“So, you up for a little drive to my old home?” he said.
Lightning smiled and nodded. So they left and headed to Doc’s old home town.
Chapter Text
When they got there he saw his old crew chief and friends.
"Hey guys.”
They all turned around and smiled.
“Hey Hudson, how you doing?” Junior said.
“Not bad. Lightning these are my old racing friends and crew chief. Smokey, Louise Nash, or Barnstormer, her racing name, River Scott and Junior Moon. Or Midnight, his racing name.”
“So this is the famous Lightning McQueen.” River said.
“Yeah, long story when I met Doc. We didn’t get along very well in the beginning. And have a feeling it was because I was a rookie and he had to stop racing after his crash. But I finally got him to snap back into his old self. I was having a little trouble focusing on my piston cup until I heard him.”
“Yeah, we’ve heard about it. After we saw Hudson back, just like everyone else in the world we were pretty surprised.” Louise said shaking her head.
They all smiled and nodded in agreement.
“And that crash, that couldn’t have felt good.” Junior said.
“Which one, mine or Doc’s?”
They all started laughing.
“Your crash Lightning.” Smokey said.
“Yeah, not fun at all.”
Doc thought for a second and smirked.
Everyone saw him and recognized it.
“What are you thinking about Hudson?” Junior asked.
“What do you say we show him what it looked like back then? Then you can see ours?”
They all smiled and nodded. So they went down to the racing place. Lightning saw the picture of Doc.
“Uh, Hudson? Can he race in dirt?” River said.
“You’re kidding right? I race and train him in dirt. When I started with my turn trick at one point he didn’t give up.”
“ That’s how he wasn’t out, you taught him one of your old tricks!” Louise said.
“Yup. All of them.”
So they got ready and nodded.
“Alright you four, let’s see what you still have. And show him what it used to be!” Smokey said.
People that were there were surprised to see Doc back and went to watch the first race in over fifty years.
So the four retired racers started their engines and waited.
“GO!” Smokey yelled.
So it started and they were all surprised to see how Doc still had it. Doc did every trick he could to show them all what they lost years ago.
A few laps later he won. The four former racers shook their head smiling.
“Looks like someone still has it in him.” Louise said.
They all nodded in agreement.
“Ready to show them what you have and then a race of our own?”
Lightning smirked a little.
“Ohhh yeah.” he said.
That got everyone excited and curious.
“Alright rookie, speed.”
He went as fast as he could.
“Turn.”
He did that and listened to to what he wanted. While they watched him they were surprised at how much he was like Hudson. When he was done he smiled.
“So, what do you think?”
They were all quiet for a minute and then snapped out of it.
“Jeez, he might as well be a young version of you.” Junior said.
“Ready to show them what our races are?” Lightning said.
Doc smiled and nodded. Then when Smokey said go they started. Everyone just stood there in shock at how good he was.
When they were done they just stood there.
“What? I told ya he was good at my own tricks.”
Then everyone started cheering loud getting Doc and Lightning to smile and remember what it felt like.
The next day they met who was switching places with Lightning.
“Hi, my name is William.”
“Hey William, I’m Lightning and this is Doc. Well Hudson, but we call him Doc at home.”
“So rookie, ready for a fresh start?” Doc said.
“Yup.” Lightning said.
“Alright, I’m not gonna be the one doing it but don’t worry. I won’t leave ya.”
Then they headed to where they need to go. When he was all set Doc left and was with his friends.
“Calm down Hudson, he’ll be fine.” Junior said.
“I know, but I’m used to it being me that does it not someone else! I haven’t been in a hospital since my own crash actually. And I can still remember that day.”
He shivered after that.
“Don’t worry about it, before you know it he’ll be the racer he once was.” River said.
“Yeah, just like you he’s just about everyone’s favorite. The top racers in the world are still you, The King and Lightning. And I have a pretty good feeling it’s gonna stay that way forever.” Smokey said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
A few hours later Doc was sitting next to Lightning waiting for him to open his eyes. A few minutes later he opened his eyes.
“Doc?”
He looked up and smiled.
“Hey Lightning, how ya feeling?”
“Good.”
“Do you hurt anywhere and anything like that?”
“Doc? You’re not the one working this time.” Lightning said.
“Oh, right. I’m used to it being me that does it not someone else.” he said.
Chapter Text
A few days later he was able too go home and see what it feels like.
“Alright Lightning, wanna see what it feels like?”
He was a little nervous but nodded.
“Let’s start off with your old speed.”
“Ok.”
Smokey, Louise, Junior and River were the only people watching them right now.
Lightning took a deep breath and started. He started on 75.
“Hud,” River said.
“What?”
He didn’t look at him because he wanted to watch Lightning.
“Is he ok?”
Doc sighed.
“Yeah, he’s just a little nervous. I was nervous when I was starting. Then I started to remember all the fun I had and was what snapped me out of it.” Then it hit him. “I started to remember all the fun I had. That’s it!” he said.
“What is?” Junior said.
Smokey could remember and smiled.
“You remember how much I loved to race and excited I was when we were going to one?”
“Yeah.” Louise said.
“Let’s see if I can get it to work on Lightning.”
They all smiled.
“Lightning, I was a little nervous when I was getting ready to come back. So when I was on my first training I went slow like you. I started to think of something that will get me back to my old self."
He was a little surprised that he was nervous back then.
“What did you do?”
“I thought about all the races from as young as when I was a rookie to the beginning of the race I stopped. What was it like when you were a rookie? From your very first race, to your first piston cup when I came back?”
He thought about it.
“It was awesome. I would win most of them and surprised people. I was tied with The King and Chick my first piston cup. And I ended up in Radiator Springs and had to fix the road. Then I started liking it and got you to come back. I almost won the piston cup but I stopped after the crash and saw the picture of your crash when I saw him. Dinaco offered me to join them but I stuck with Rusteze.”
He had a little trouble when he thought of Doc and The King’s piston cup crash.
“That’s it, what else?”
He was on 110 now.
“You taught me your tricks and won a lot of races when I used them. Took over you and became the third best racer thanks to you and the rest of Radiator Springs.” he said things from the beginning to today and went faster and faster.
Finally he was on his crash and slowed down. He saw the picture of it in his head now.
“Come on kid, do your friends want ya to slow down or come back?”
He took a deep breath and sped up again. Thought about his friends, pictures of him and his friends and watching Doc do things. He then stopped and was on 198. They all smiled.
“Nice job rookie.” Doc said.
“I can still remember how much trouble you had when you got to your own crash.”
Everyone agreed.
When they were home they would watch him come back. They stayed there when he started training him.
A week later he was on 200 and was doing what he did last week. And they would watch him. It had been a month and he was on 210. His limit was 220. Doc would have him work on his tricks after he got to 220 and used to it.
“Alright kid, let’s do it.”
Like he always did he took a deep breath and was pretending he was on a real race. He got it when he was done with his training for the day.
“YES!” he yelled.
Everyone cheered for him and Doc smiled.
“Now that’s my rookie!”
Later they had a little party to celebrate.
“We still gonna race for fun?” Lightning asked.
“Of course we are. And we’re gonna work on our tricks next week. Start out with your first one.” He smiled.
“Ok.”
Chapter Text
A week later he was starting with turn right to go left. He got it quickly after already knowing it.
While he was working on them he was getting them quicker than last time. Smokey, River, Louise and Junior were the only people aloud to watch him and still feel like they’re watching Doc either in a race or training.
It had been three months and he was finally done. He finally was back to his old self. Except nicer and had more friends than the beginning. They were going to leave tomorrow morning. Doc wanted to see how a race would look like if Lightning was there. So he has everyone doing a race with the both of them. Like last time people went to go watch them in even more excitement and curiosity.
Lightning was gonna stick with his first speed before his crash and switching speed with someone. Smokey was interested into seeing it the most. But the former racers were a little nervous now that two people know how to do Hudson’s tricks.
“On your mark, get set, GO!” Smokey said.
When it started they went on the usual way. Smokey was watching Hudson and Lightning the most to see exactly how much a like they are. Lightning was next to the wall and stuck between Louise and River. They were all waiting for him to flip over.
They were a little surprised at how good he was. Then he was a little stuck on his turn. He gave his turning a shot and had a little trouble with it this time and remembered one of his own tricks from Mater. He had enough room to turn around backwards while he turned. Junior, River, Smokey and Louise were surprised.
“Where’d he get that?” Louise asked Doc while she was close.
“Mater, he taught him that when he first came.” he said then sped up and did one of his own tricks himself.
It was five laps and Lightning and Doc were close.
“God, look at them.” River said next to Junior.
“I know!”
Doc flipped over Lightning and got in front of him. When they were on the last lap they were tied. Sure enough Lightning just barely won.
“Now that’s a repeat of my first piston cup!”
Doc nodded.
“A little bit of a repeat of my last one.”
They all started laughing.
The next day they said good bye and headed home. A few hours later they were back home and saying hi to their friends.
Chapter Text
A few weeks later they were on their way to California for the piston cup. When they got there they went and hung out for a little bit. A few hours later they were waiting for go.
“Alright kid, you can do it.” Doc said.
“Well would you look at who we have back for the piston cup this time! Even after so many people being done racing and saying he should give up Lightning McQueen is still going for it!” Bob said.
“I know! This is a bit of a repeat of his rookie piston cup with the Fabulous Hudson Hornet back after over fifty years. And as his crew chief with that! I’m excited and curious of what will happen this time.”
“Wait a minute, is that, Midnight, Barnstormer, River Scott and Smokey, Fabulous Hudson Hornet’s former crew chief and former racers?!” Bob said.
Like they did when Doc was at Lightning’s first piston cup the camera went to them.
“It is! How did they find the race and why are they here?”
“They must watch all the races in tv. And care for McQueen reminding them as the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.”
When they started Lightning was doing good until he got to where he had his accident and started to slow down.
“Well it looks like Lightning McQueen is having a little trouble focusing right here.”
“Snap out of it kid. You can do it, like we did back in training with my old friends. Think of all the good things. Your first race, our races at home, making friends with Radiator Springs.”
Finally he snapped out of it and focused on getting back to normal.
“That’s it, keep thinking about things like that. And that you wanna keep racing. And you’re not as bad as before now."
He took a deep breath and sped up.
“Well would you look at that, looks like McQueen got some more speed while he was gone for a while.”
“This will be interesting.” Bob said.
While Storm was in first place right now Lightning sped up and got to him.
“Well looks like you’re back this time. And you can get faster than before. But let’s see who wins.” Storm said and sped up.
Lightning was fifteen when he started racing and was the first rookie to win a piston cup. After Chick causing such a bad crash even though he won they didn’t give it to him.
There were 200 laps and Lightning was in first place and people were surprised at what he had done while he was gone. Finally it was the last lap.
“Alright rookie, last lap. You can do it just focus on winning.”
He heard Storm coming close. So he sped up a little more and was almost done.
A few minutes later he had won his 8th piston cup and now has the most piston cups in the world. The King ended with 7 and now Lightning had returned with 8. He smiled and drove over to get his trophy.
“Well, it feels great to be back. And if it weren’t for Doc, my friends and Doc’s old racing friends and crew chief, I don’t know if I’d be back. And especially thanks to William, he helped me with something that I can’t thank enough about.”
He looked at Doc. He smiled and nodded.
“He’s from the current time the rookies here. He lives in Doc’s old home, Thomasville. He was nice enough to switch his engine with me to get me back. When I was working hard with Doc at home the quickest I got was 190. He called his old crew chief, Smokey and asked if he knew anyone that might switch places with me. And I was lucky enough for him to know someone. When he asked him he said he would be glad to help me. So if it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have won. It took a while to get back to training like I used to because I still had what happened earlier this season in my mind and was a little nervous. And it’s more speed than I started with. But Doc said he felt the same way when he was ready to get back. So he thought about everything that he had done. From his first race, to his last one. I did it for training in the beginning and the beginning of the race. So thanks Doc, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
When he was done he smiled and went back to Doc. Then his company owner came.
“Well I guess you still have it. So you can keep racing."
Lightning and Doc looked at each other and smiled. Then they saw a few familiar people. Smokey, River, Junior, Louise, The King, Chick, Storm and someone Doc and his friends weren’t expecting. Striker, the racer that caused Doc’s crash.
“What are you doing here?” Doc asked.
Everyone but The King, Chick and Storm knew exactly what he’s like. Doc had told Lightning about it when he was still new at racing.
“Like you’re McQueen’s crew chief, I’m Storm’s.”
“How did you get as much speed as I have? You’re not from this time.” Storm asked and Lightning bit his teeth tightly.
“With some help from Doc and his friends.”
“I’m a little surprised you came back after over fifty years. Especially since your sponsor pretty much fired you.” Striker said smirking when he saw the look on his face.
“I’m surprised your’s didn’t fire you. After your own crash earlier.” Storm said smirking to.
Then they both froze and saw the memories of both their crash and after.
‘Your history‘
‘Your racing days are coming to an end‘
“Hudson, HUD! Snap out of it, it was over fifty years ago!” Smokey said.
Suddenly Doc came back.
“Huh?”
"You OK?" Louise asked.
"Yeah." he said.
"Good, cause a certain racer is still zoned out." River said pointing at Lightning.
Doc drove over to him and tried to calm him down.
“It’s OK Hotrod, you won and have what you need.” Doc said gently and Lightning took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s get out of here.” he said and Lightning nodded and they turned to leave but Lightning stopped and looked at them.
“Get ready for next season Storm. I’ll be there and ready.” Lightning said. “Remember this, I decide when I’m done.” he said and left.