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THE UNTOLD STORY OF CAROL DANVERS
CHAPTER TEN
Sudden Impact
Carol thought about what she was going to say to Ms. Cruickshank. She definitely wanted her sister to be able to compete in the relay for her final event. She did not believe that there would be a problem if she was able to make handoffs with her left hand. Carol and Betsy were willing to run either 3rd or 4th legs but it was probably better to have Carol handing off to Betsy to avoid having someone else have to hand off to Betsy and expose their secret. The girls were being selfish in that they did not want to cut Betsy's Olympic experience short. They also believed that both of them gave their team the best chance to win. Using the alternate girl may be more practical but she had finished a distant fifth among the five girls in the 200-meter trials and was nursing a sore knee as well. She had tripped out of the starting blocks in her heat. The girl had gamely gotten up and finished her heat but had finished last.
Lynne Cruickshank was also thinking about what she was going to say to her two athletes and their parents. Should she tell them about her mutant ability? How would they react? She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she did not hear Betsy ask her a question. All of a sudden, she felt Betsy nudging her. "Earth to Ms. Cruickshank," she heard. Lynne turned her attention to Betsy. "Sorry, Betsy. I must have drifted off. What did you say?"
Betsy looked at her coach and repeated her question. "Do you think I can run anchor tomorrow instead of starting the relay? I don't want to use the starting blocks because of my shoulder."
Ms. Cruickshank looked at her two stars. It was clear that they had been working on this plan among themselves. She realized that they wanted to keep Betsy's ability a secret. They talked for a little while about the relay and the condition of the team. Ms. Cruickshank listened attentively and finally decided what she must do. She knew they were right and agreed to let Betsy run the anchor leg. None of them had considered using Betsy's ability on their teammate as an option. Unfortunately events were about to happen which could make that option a necessity.
Back at the dorms, the three other girls involved in the Massachusetts 4x200 meter relay team was discussing the day's events. They had not seen Betsy but had heard that she had been shot. They all knew that Betsy had been asked to run the first leg of the relay based on her showing in the 200-meter race. The girl who had fallen was very willing to allow Betsy to take her place. She now thought she might have to run anyway since Betsy was injured. She looked at the deep purple spot on her left knee. Her normal position was the starter on the relay but she saw no way to use starting blocks with a very tender bruise on her knee. As the three girls were talking, one girl was leaning back on her chair. Suddenly, she fell over and was knocked unconscious.
Back at the restaurant, Ms. Cruickshank was talking to Mr. and Mrs. Danvers about what to do with Betsy. She was just about to tell all of them about her own secret ability, when she heard one of her students crying out for help in her mind. Frowning a little, she excused herself and went to the ladies room to concentrate on what she was sensing. She quickly discovered that another one of her charges was injured. It was not turning out to be a good day for the Massachusetts delegation. She made her way back to the table and told the Danvers family about the situation and that she had to leave right away. No one questioned how she had found out about the incident.
After she had left, Carol and Betsy told their parents that they would have to get back to their dorm and rest. They both had big days ahead of them. In addition to the relay trials and hopefully the finals as well later in the day, Carol also had the finals of both of her swimming events to contend with. They both hugged their parents and left to go their dorm. Their parents paid their bill and took the rest of their dinners to go and went to their hotel. Both Marie and Joe Danvers were wondering what was going to happen next. Their whole world had just been turned upside down. Little did they know that events were about to transpire which would change their lives forever.
The next morning dawned bright and clear. Once again, Marie and Carol were the first ones up in their room. Each one showered and packed their swim gear. They then got their track outfits on and woke up Betsy. After Betsy had showered and changed into her track outfit, taking care not to ruin her bandage in the process, they left for the breakfast hall. As they were walking, Marie asked Betsy what happened in the Judo hall. Betsy told her that as she had been about to engage her opponent, she had felt something enter her shoulder. Fortunately, a doctor had been there and had been able to remove the bullet fairly quickly. It had not gone very deep and he was able to stitch her up. She was hoping to run in the relay if she could move her arm properly and without too much pain.
Marie could only marvel at her friend's courage. She hoped that she would be as brave under the same circumstances. When they got to the track after breakfast, they discovered that Mississippi's team would be in the first heat of the 4x200 meter relay qualifying. That meant Marie was in the first heat. Tabitha whose delegation was in the third heat soon joined them. Carol and Betsy pulled Tabitha aside and cautioned her not to say anything about Betsy's injury. She already knew that her friend was a mutant because she was with the professor at the judo venue. Then they checked in and found that the Massachusetts delegation was in the fifth and final heat of the day for qualifying. Once again the winners of each heat would advance to the finals with the remaining five places to be determined by their times in the qualifying heats. Carol and Betsy had a little while to wait for their heat so they moved into the infield to practice handoffs. Betsy had to learn to reach her left hand back as her sister came up to her. This was more difficult than it sounds because Betsy was normally right-handed. The first couple of handoffs were not smooth at all and Betsy dropped the baton. Not only was the handoff difficult but getting their footwork right was also a problem. However, by the time the fourth heat rolled around, they had figured out what to do. They were just about to report to the track for their heat when Ms. Cruickshank came up to them. "I am afraid that we may have to scratch out of the relay girls," she said to Carol and Betsy. "Remember how I had to leave last night because one of our girls got hurt?" She asked. "The girl was Cassandra. She fell and hit her head. I just left the hospital. She is going to be okay but she has a concussion and the doctor does not want her to race. As you know, Melody has a bruised knee and cannot run real well either."
Carol then spoke up. "Can Angela start the race for us? Then Melody would not have to use starting blocks. It may help her with her knee, Ms. Cruickshank."
At that moment, Betsy walked over to Melody. Melody was stretching and getting ready to try to run on her knee. "Hi, Melody, how's the knee feel?" Before Melody could answer her question, Betsy reached out and put her hand on Melody's knee. All of a sudden, she felt the strange force again flow from Betsy into Melody's knee. When Betsy removed her hand, Melody felt the knee loosen up. There was no pain at all. It was like her bruise had just disappeared. Melody looked up and Betsy had already moved over to Ms. Cruickshank. "Melody will be okay," she said. Just then, Melody came over to them. Ms. Cruickshank noticed that she was not limping. With a smile, she told the group how she wanted them to race. The four girls took their positions with Angela in the starting blocks. Melody and Betsy moved over to the far side of the track. Melody was running the second leg while Betsy was going to run the final stretch of the race. The starter called the contestants to their marks. Angela stepped into the starting blocks and put the baton in her hand. The gun sounded and Angela was off like a shot. She was not usually the starter and she really enjoyed the first leg. It was like a regular 200m race to her. As she moved around the turn, she could see Melody start to move a bit with her hand outstretched. Angela suddenly realized that just before the handoff, she was well in front of everyone in the heat. As she handed the baton to Melody, she continued on but stayed within the handoff zone until everyone else had made their handoffs as well. Melody took the handoff and turned on the jets. She had been expecting her knee to hurt but she did not feel anything. She increased the lead up to 50 meters when she handed the baton to Carol. Carol immediately shifted the baton to her left hand as she crossed out of the handoff zone. She too took off like a shot. As she approached the end of the curve, she glanced behind her. The lead had grown to 65 meters. She slowed down a bit so that she would not mess up the handoff to her sister. Carol quickly handed her sister the baton in her left hand. The exchange went perfectly. Betsy flew around the turn. She was really moving. When she crossed the finish line, the other teams were at most halfway through the final turn. It was a rout. Not only had they qualified for the finals, but also they had seized the coveted lane four from the Mississippi delegation. And they had done so in Junior Olympic record time. Carol and Angela crossed the infield to celebrate with Betsy and Melody. Each of their splits had been personal best for them. The Massachusetts delegation had served notice that they meant business in the relay. Melody was the happiest of them all. She had run her best ever and five minutes before the race she wasn't even sure she could run at all. Carol and Betsy exchanged knowing glances and smiles. A few minutes later, Marie and Tabitha came up to them. "We'll see y'all in the finals," said Marie.
A little while later, Marie and Carol left the stadium to change. Carol had to get ready for her 200-meter breaststroke finals in the swimming event. Marie was also going to the swimming Venue. She wanted to scout Carol Danvers in the 200-meter breaststroke event. Marie was hoping Carol might be a little tired when the 400-meter backstroke finals rolled around. It might be her only opportunity to catch Carol either in the pool or on the track. Immediately after that race was the 4x200 meter relay finals. She had already seen how fast Carol and Betsy's team was. She did not hold out much hope for victory in the relay. No, her best chance would have to be in the 400-meter backstroke. Unbeknownst to either one of the two friends was the fact that fate and history awaited them both.
After they had changed, Marie was sitting in the stands to watch her friend in the 200-meter breast stroke event. By this time, Betsy, Tabitha and Carol's parents had joined her. Carol had taken her position in lane four as the favorite in the race. Everyone held their collective breaths as the starter called the swimmers to their marks. Carol and the other swimmers stepped onto their starting blocks. They all leaned forward as the starter told them to get set. As the horn sounded, they all leaped into the water. Carol was the first one to surface. Her powerful strokes soon gave her a two-body length lead as she made the first touch at the far wall. Watching Carol was like watching a dolphin in the water. She seemed nearly as graceful as she bobbed and kicked effortlessly in the pool. By the time of the second touch, her lead had widened to four lengths. Still she continued her powerful thrusting strokes and kicks. Carol was not going to be caught in this race, it was obvious. As she came to the third touch she seemed to relax a bit. While her strokes on the final lap were still strong and powerful, her lead of six lengths allowed her to slow down a bit and still coast to an easy victory. She did not set a record but her easy triumph caused Marie to wince. Catching the strong blonde swimmer would not be easy, she decided.
Carol got out of the pool and dried herself off. She went over to her family and Marie. With a big smile, she greeted them. "Good job, Carol," Marie said. "It looks like you were pretty loose out there. I hope you did not overexert yourself in that race. I want a good race in the backstroke."
Carol looked at her roommate. "Don't worry, Marie. I will be ready for that one too," she replied. They all talked a little bit longer and then Carol had to go for her medal ceremony. As she stepped upon the gold medal platform, she had the biggest grin on her face. When the gold medal was placed around her neck, her whole face lit up with joy. She had worked hard to be the best and now she was. After the medal ceremony was completed, Carol rejoined her family and Marie for a brief lunch. After lunch was over, she had to get back to the track for the 4x100-meter relay finals. Her team had qualified earlier and she was going to run the anchor leg. Her coach had taken the chance of qualifying without Carol because she was afraid that Carol would be too tired. She would be shuttling back and forth between the pool and the track venues the rest of the day. She took her position in the final 100 meters of the track and awaited her teammates. Carol noticed that Tabitha was in the lane ahead of her. Carol was in lane three while Tabitha was in lane 4. "I just wish I had an event that none of my friends were in," she thought. "I am getting tired of competing against my friends." The race started and the New York delegation had taken the early lead. Soon it was time for the final handoff. Tabitha was the first to receive her baton and took off around the final curve. Carol received hers next and took off after Tabitha. She was really moving around the curve as well. When they came into the homestretch, Carol had closed the distance between her and Tabitha. In an all out sprint, the two friends quickly left the rest of the field behind. In the final ten meters, Carol managed to pull ahead just slightly. However, at the finish line, the officials had to go to a photo once again to determine the winner. They studied the picture for a long time before declaring Carol the winner by the slimmest of margins, one one-hundredth of a second. Once again, the Massachusetts delegation had prevailed. Carol hugged her longtime friend as they moved into the infield. Then she was joined by her jubilant teammates. When the final times were announced, both the Massachusetts delegation and the New York delegation had broken the old Junior Olympic records by .03 seconds. All five of the girls from Massachusetts squeezed on the gold medal platform to receive their Gold medals. Interestingly, enough, only 3 of them would be running in the 200 meter relay. That race was to be run two hours later. After the medal ceremony had concluded, Carol headed over to the swimming venue. She had about thirty minutes before her next race and she had to change into her swim gear. Once again, she thought about having to compete against a friend. This time it was going to be Marie who posed a threat to Carol. Mental fatigue was also beginning to set in. Carol wondered if she had overstretched herself by doing so many events. "Oh well," she thought. "I only have two more events to do and I will be finished." She also knew that she was likely facing the end of either her track and field or swimming career. Carol had decided that she could no longer continue the frantic training necessary to sustain so many events and would have to decide which events were most important to her. She and Betsy were both getting ready to enter their senior year in high school and needed to prepare for college choices. The fact that Betsy was now a mutant only complicated matters further. With a deep sigh, she changed into her swim gear for the final time in this Junior Olympics. Soon it was time to go to the pool. She was going to be in lane 4 and Marie was in lane 5. The two girls shook hands with all of the contestants and each other. Then they all got into the pool and moved to their lanes. The contestants all took their marks and positioned themselves against the wall. At the sound of the horn, they all launched themselves backward through the water. Carol and Marie flailed their arms rapidly over their heads as they looked up towards the sky. The two girls knifed through the water and were soon out in front of the rest of the field. At the first turn, Carol was ahead by one short stroke. As they made the turn, Marie suddenly exploded and took the lead. At the second wall, Carol was dead even with Marie. The two friends were clearly the class of the field and were going all out to win. They stayed neck and neck for the next five touches, neither one could establish any kind of lead. You could feel the tension in the air as they headed into the final lap. Both girls were approximately 10 lengths ahead of their nearest competitors. For everyone else, the race was for Bronze. It was clear that Carol and Marie were easily going to claim the Gold and Silver. The only question to be decided was who was going to get what. Carol stole a look to her left. At the same time, Marie was looking to her right. Both girls could feel the tiredness beginning to claim them. It seemed that both were slowing down in the ferocity of their strokes propelling them through the water. At the last possible instant, both girls hurled their bodies to the wall. Both lanes seemed to light up at the same time. Their times appeared to be identical. As had become so common in events they shared, the officials had to resort to a photo to try to determine the winner. The officials were looking at the photo for a long time but could not decide a winner. All of a sudden, a young man came forward. He was carrying a video camcorder. He had recorded the entire race because his daughter was in it and offered to show the tape to the officials in order to help them make a correct decision. The officials accepted his gracious offer. They watched the entire race, making sure there were no infractions by any of the contestants that could impact the outcome. There were no infractions at all. It had been a very clean race. They watched the race a second time and then a third. Finally, the officials saw what they were looking for. While it appeared that the lights had lit simultaneously, upon closer examination it appeared that lane five was touched first. Marie had touched the wall first. The margin of victory was literally the length of a closely cut fingernail. Both girls' times would have to be recorded to the nearest ten-thousandths of a second. Since none of the clocks were calibrated that precise, the officials decided to give approximate times differentiated by one ten-thousandth of a second. The race had been over about forty-five minutes before they finally made their decision. Marie was to be awarded the Gold in the closest swimming race in the history of the sport. She was ecstatic. Marie had finally done it. She had actually beaten Carol in a race. In a twist of irony, the man who had recorded the race saw his daughter take the bronze medal. Because the decision had taken so long, Marie and Carol finally had to tell the officials to postpone the medal ceremony as they both had to get over to the track venue for the finals of the 4x200-meter relay. Both girls had to run to get to the track in time. Fortunately, during the delay, both girls had taken the opportunity to change out of their swimsuits into their track clothes. They got to the track just in time. Both girls took their positions as the anchors for their respective teams. Marie was going to be in lane five while Carol was in lane 4. As the starter called the teams to the starting blocks, Carol and Marie were joined by their teammates who were to run the second portion of the relay. Carol was joined once again by Melody. Soon the race had been started. Angela once again got a fast start. She was about five meters in front of the Mississippi girl. Once she had handed off to Melody, she waited until all of the contestants had handed off, then she moved off the track, whispering to Carol to run like the wind. Then Melody moved across the infield to get to the finish line. As Carol moved onto the track she saw that Melody had increased the lead to about ten meters. Betsy had been moved into the third position because Carol had been so late getting to the track. Melody handed the baton to Betsy in her left hand and Betsy took off. The handoff took a bit of time and the girl from Mississippi had closed the gap when Betsy was able to get going. Soon, the third girl from Mississippi had caught up with Betsy and the two raced neck and neck around the track. Carol and Marie stood side by side in their lanes as the two girls closed in for their handoffs. Carol took the Baton from Betsy and took off at a full sprint. Marie was right beside her. As they came into the final straightaway, the two girls were leaving the rest of the field behind. Both girls closed in on the tape stretched before them. The officials were prepared this time. They had been alerted about the swimming race between these two girls and had someone videotaping the entire event. They had also seen two prior races themselves between these two girls end in dead heats. The person recording the race was a professional TV cameraman from the local TV station's news crew. Everyone watched with eager anticipation as the two girls closed in on the finish line. Both girls seemed to hit the tape at the exact same instant and then something bizarre happened. They had both crossed the finish line and the tape seemed to catch in both of their spikes, tripping both of them. They seemed to fall in slow motion. As they fell, each one reached out to break their fall. Contact was made between the two girls as they fell. Suddenly there seemed to be a series of bright flashes of light and then both girls were still, laying facedown on the track.
That is it for this chapter, folks. It appears that the track officials may have a dilemma on their hands. Who won the race and are both contestants going to be ok? What do you think? Let me know by using the little button marked review that is down in the lower left-hand corner. Fan fiction has provided this means to let authors know what you think, so please use it. The good folks at Fan Fiction and I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I am co-writing a story with Heartsyhawk, entitled The End Of The World. Please read that one as well and let us both know what you think, good or bad. Before you go please review this story.