You jolt awake to the smell of motor oil and the distant thrum of engines. Your head pounds with disorientation as fluorescent lights buzz overhead, illuminating a workbench cluttered with tools you shouldn't recognize but somehow do.
"What the hell?" you mutter, then freeze—your voice sounds different, deeper. As you stand, something flashes in your peripheral vision:
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[Welcome, Michael]
[Health: 100/100]
[Wanted Level: ★☆☆☆☆]
[Skills Unlocked: Instant Mastery]
[Current Location: Toretto's Garage]
The text hovers like a heads-up display only you can see. Memories flood back—Mark, lightning, three wishes, a mocking deity's laughter—but they feel distant, like a movie you watched years ago. This is real now.
You stumble to a grimy bathroom mirror and a stranger stares back: athletic build, stubbled jaw, calloused hands that have clearly worked on engines for years. Not your old body. Not your old life.
"Hey, new guy! You planning to admire yourself all day?" A female voice, raspy and impatient, cuts through your existential crisis.
You turn to find a woman leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over a grease-stained tank top, dark hair pulled back. Your system helpfully supplies:
[Letty Ortiz]
[Relationship: Neutral]
[Skills: Expert Driver, Mechanic, Street Fighter]
"Dom needs that Supra's transmission fixed before the race tonight. You claimed you could do it in two hours." Her eyes narrow suspiciously. "Unless that was just talk?"
Panic rises—you've never fixed a transmission in your life. But as your eyes dart around, you notice mission text appearing:
[MISSION: Prove Your Worth]
[Objective: Fix the Supra's transmission before Dom returns]
[Reward: Respect +15, $500]
[Failure: Reputation damage, possible expulsion from garage]
When your gaze lands on a wrench, something remarkable happens. Knowledge floods your consciousness—torque specifications, transmission fluid viscosities, gear ratios—a complete understanding of automotive repair downloads into your mind like a software update.
"I'll have it done," you say with newfound confidence, reaching for the wrench. The moment your fingers close around it, your Instant Mastery skill activates:
[Skill Activated: Automotive Repair - Master Level]
[Duration: While tools are in hand]
[Bonus: 200% work efficiency]
Time blurs as you work, your hands moving with practiced precision you never earned. Components disassemble and reassemble under your touch, problems diagnose themselves through your enhanced perception. What should be impossible becomes effortless.
Ninety minutes later, you're wiping your hands on a shop rag when the garage door rumbles open. Sunlight silhouettes a muscular figure followed by three others.
[Dominic Toretto]
[Relationship: Employer - Cautious]
[Skills: Master Driver, Tactical Leader, Brawler]
[Warning: High Influence in Los Angeles Underground]
Dom approaches the Supra, eyebrows raised. "Letty says you finished already." His voice is exactly as you remember from the films—deep, commanding, but fair. He inspects your work with expert eyes while the crew watches.
After an agonizing minute, he straightens and gives you an appraising look. "Not bad. Not bad at all. Where'd you learn to work like this?"
Before you can formulate a convincing lie, your minimap flashes red. Outside, sirens wail in the distance.
"Cops!" shouts a crew member—Vince, your system identifies. "Someone must've tipped them about tonight!"
Dom curses under his breath. "We've got ten cars ready for the race with modified engines. If they search the place—"
"Five minutes," Letty interrupts, already moving. "We need at least five minutes to hide the evidence."
Your system flashes urgently:
[ALERT: Police Approaching]
[Current Wanted Level: ★★☆☆☆]
[Time Remaining: 4:32]
Dom turns to you, decision made in an instant. "Michael, take the Supra. Lead them away from the garage. You said you can drive—time to prove it."
He tosses you keys that gleam in the garage light. The moment they touch your palm, another flood of knowledge crashes through you—racing lines, drift techniques, engine performance metrics, escape tactics.
[Skill Activated: Professional Driving - Master Level]
[Special Note: High-Speed Pursuit Tactics Available]
"But Dom," Letty protests, "we don't even know if—"
"We don't have time," Dom cuts her off, then fixes you with an intense stare. "Family protects family. You want in? This is your chance."
The Supra's engine roars to life under your touch. Through the windshield, blue and red lights flash at the end of the street.
Dom's final words follow you: "Don't get caught. And don't wreck my car."
The garage door opens fully. Freedom—and danger—await.