Author's Note: I do not own Storm Hawks, etc.
Chapter Two – Before the Race
By the time he was finished with all his commissions, it was two in the morning. Stork gently opened the door and closed it behind him. He opened the fridge and put some leftovers in the oven. He saw a single plate and utensils standing in the drying rack. He sighed feeling a little heartbroken that Steela had to eat dinner alone, but it was his job that kept the house they were living in.
As his dinner was heating up, he walked upstairs feeling his heart was heavy. He creaked her door open and silently stepped inside her room. A smile appeared on his face as Steela peacefully slept beneath her covers.
"Your mother would be so proud." He said and then let his mind drift back to the past.
The fire had died out and Stork just left the charred remains of the Condor as he carried all he could salvage with him. Piper sat up against a rock feeling nauseous as Stork got all the supplies together.
"Let's see…some food, a few engine crystals, some charred maps, a couple of spare parts and my tools survived. We were less doomed that I thought."
"Did you find any other crystals? Like a teal colored one?"
"Oh yeah, I found it in your workbench."
"Give it to me."
He reached into his pocket and placed it in the palm of her hand. She then bent over and yelped in pain.
"What's wrong?"
"The baby just kicked me."
"Oh is that all, for a moment there I thought…WHAT? When did this happen?" He said eyeing her stomach, which had bulged out slightly.
"I'm in my fifth month now."
"Who's the father? Wait, I rather not know…oh man, I feel a rash coming on." He said scratching his side.
"Stork, it's not you…we never even went to dinner together, let alone that."
"Please tell me it's not Finn. I mean he's a good friend, but nowhere near father material."
"Isn't it kind of obvious who the father is?"
He thought for a moment before speaking again, "Does Aerrow know?"
She shook her head, "No, I've tried to tell him, but I was too scared of how he would react."
"He can be a bit touchy about these subjects, but pregnant at sixteen? I thought you knew better."
"Hey! It wasn't like we planned it, it just happened. We planned the dinner, the flowers, then we just felt it and we let ourselves go. I know he is going to find out though, eventually my belly will be too large to cover up."
"I understand that, but first we need to get out of here."
"What about the Condor?"
"I thought I could fix it, but it lost one of its blimps and the other one has lost all pressure as well as the fact that the engines have been disintegrated, not to mention the fire damage. Right now all we can do is try to fix your heli-scooter, it is the only way off this rock."
"Do you think you can?"
He inspected the damage, "I will give it my best shot, but that doesn't mean we're not doomed."
"Oh, I see." She said then eyed her teal crystal. She put it away in her pocket deciding not to use quite yet, but smiled and patted her belly with the baby inside.
Steela rolled over in her blankets breaking Stork's recollection. He smiled as he watched her dream for in a way, she was his own. Then a whiff of smoke floated through the air and he realized that his dinner was burning. He quietly exited her room before dashing down to the kitchen in hopes of salvaging his dinner.
"Listen, kid. It is two in the morning and there is no way I am going to sell you this."
The black-haired boy readjusted his case that hung over his shoulder, "I've been walking all day to every shop that sells skimmers looking for this one. I am not leaving without it."
"Look, I have a collector from Terra Atmosia who is here for the race and unless you have 200,000 on you right now, he is going to get this Talon Switchblade Elite."
"This is one that is rumored to have been owned by the Dark Ace."
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"My mother told me the story."
"Your mother must have known her rides."
"You could say that. My payment is inside the case." The boy said, the devilish smile appearing on his face. The dealer's face lit up with anticipation as his mind thought the case to be lined with all the money he could ever want. The boy laid it down and opened it. The blinding light shone once again and the dealer covered his eyes. He didn't see the zanbatou cut through him, putting an end to his worthless life.
In a few minutes, the boy threw the body down the sewers and took the time to fill out the paperwork. He was smart and knew the difference between theft and ownership was the paperwork.
He placed his blade back into the case before strapping it onto the back of the Switchblade. With the prize he had taken, he jumped in the driver's seat and drove off into the night.
Steela wiped her eyes as she yawned. She was used of waking up early for school, but it was six in the morning.
"Why are we going to school this early?"
Stork smiled, "We are not going to school today."
"What? Then where are we going?"
He pulled something out of his pocket and gave it to her. She looked at it and her jaw dropped in excitement.
"A VIP pass to the Grand Slam Race? But how did you get it?"
"Well…while I was working on all the skimmers, one of the pilots dropped by. It seemed that his cousin was one of the people for making this race possible and so had a few extra passes."
Still gleaming from holding the pass in her hand, a question came to mind, "Wait… thought you said this race was dangerous."
He pointed a finger in the air, "I said dangerous to race, not dangerous to watch."
She smiled, "Thanks, uncle Stork."
"Not a problem, kiddo. I had nothing else to do today since everyone is at the race and therefore, no commissions. Besides you've been stressed lately with studying for your finals and me not being there."
"I understand…" she noticed they were near the coliseum, "…so where are our seats?"
"The skybox."
"No way."
"Why else would we have VIP passes?"
She lunged up and hugged him, "I love you, uncle Stork."
"Of course, you only say that when I give you something."
She rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, you know I love you."
"And I love you. Now do you wanna know the real reason why I dragged you down here this early?"
"No, why?" She asked and then answered her own question when she saw the Blue Falcon squadron of sky knights. There stood standing with his squad was Wallace Porter. She ducked behind Stork as she felt her heartbeat quicken.
"Oh my god, that is…that is…but I am not in good clothes and I haven't showered. Oh my god, I am a mess and there he is standing like an ivory god. Oh please we can't go over to meet him, we just can't, not like this."
Stork smiled and continued to walk toward the squadron leaving Steela behind, she reached out for him, "Uncle Stork…uncle Stork, oh man." Then she smiled and walked over to them.
Wallace smiled, "Hey Stork, everyone this is the genius mechanic who fixed up my ride yesterday."
"Not a problem and thanks for the passes. Oh I want to introduce you to somebody. Wallace, this is Steela."
She smiled and gave a little wave, but kept quiet.
"She's always wanted to meet you. Come on, don't be shy."
He grabbed her and shoved her gently in between them.
She blushed and didn't make eye contact with Wallace, "Um…hi."
"Hello Steela, your uncle has talked quite a bit about you."
She perked up, "He has? Nothing bad I hope."
"No, he told me that you have a poster of me on your wall."
"Yeah, you are one of my favorite…I mean my favorite racer."
Stork smiled and excused himself, leaving the two to talk. He looked back to see his Steela smiling and laughing again for has been quite a while.
An hour later, they took their seats and Steela was smiling wide staring at the back of her hand. Before he left for the race, Wallace bowed and kissed her hand like a gentleman.
She thought, "I am never washing this hand again."
The announcer shouted, "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Terra Tecnos Grand Slam. Today, these racers will be competing for a rare Ambrosia Crystal. Racers line up in your assigned starting…" He paused as a messenger whispered something in his ear, "…nothing to worry about, ladies and gentlemen, we have a late entry just entering the coliseum. Now everyone get into your starting positions."
The boy flew his Switchblade Elite into his assigned starting position as well as the other racers. The announcer counted down from five.
He could tell the other skimmers were upgraded for this race, but he didn't care as long as he remembered all that his father taught him about flying.
His father smiled, "Keep your skimmer leveled, keep an eye on your fuel gauge, remember to weave, turn, and barrel roll, but the most important thing to remember is…"
A tear fell from his eye as he remembered the most important thing. Then the horn blared and the race began.
The Race and all its glory is the next chapter. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. I have more ideas for chapters and stories, anyway I wish you a good day(or night) and bye bye.
