CH 81
Dr. Bennet gaped at the X-rays. The Connor girl who was brought in was one string of surprises after another. When she was brought into the emergency room, the list of traumas indicated she was about to die. A very serious impact would that covered half her face and took her right ear off, fractured right leg, ripped musculature, multiple deep lacerations over her whole body, he thought the shock from all these injuries alone would kill her.
He had the X-ray machine waiting when she was brought in. There was no storing her in a cubicle, he had her taken directly to X-ray for a head view and a full body view. Only after the pictures were taken, did he have her taken to a room where nurses commenced to clean, sew and bandage the girl who looked like someone had beaten her severely with whips. The nurses also pulled bits of bark and wood out of her wounds. The mere fact she was alive was stunning.
Looking at the head X-ray, It shone brightly. Dr. Bennet had seen pins and inserted metal show bright spots on X-rays. Never had he see a whole skull show up so bright. He came to the unsettling conclusion her entire skull was metal. So was the few vertebrae that were caught in the shot. For how massive the impact had to have been to do so much damage to the right side of her head, he was expecting bone to be cracked, if not broken away. The picture he saw though was a solid, unmarked skull. Damn did she really have a skull made out of steel?
Unfortunately, her unusual skull also meant he could not see inside it. Also if brain surgery was required, there was no way to cut into that skull. This presented a host of medical problems. Reactiveness of her left pupil had been good, but she'd lost the right one. He couldn't check it. With the amnesia she was suffering, she well could have a clot that was choking off part of her brain. If she did, there was nothing they could do about it. Her brain must have been slammed hard against that metal shell that was her skull. With her metal skull shining brightly, there was no way to see the damage he was sure was there. Let alone try to do any surgery.
Looking at the full body X-ray, he shook his head in awe. It wasn't just her skull, she had a full metal skeleton! Even her tendons showed brighter than what they should be. Scrutinizing it for damage, he did see her right knee was misaligned. The lower part of her leg was shifted to the side at her knee joint. That had to be painful. For all the trauma over her body, he expected to find at least a few broken bones. Much more that just one misaligned joint.
Well, he did see damage that could be fixed, so he set off to do it.
.
Jackie laid on her back now on the hospital bed. Nurses were cleaning her wounds and applying bandages. With the left side of her face on the mattress and the big bandage on the right side, she couldn't see anything but some light.
"Just what happened to you? Someone beat you with a tree branch?" a nurse asked.
"From what I was told, I beat on the tree branches on my way down," she replied.
"On your way down?"
"Yeah, I fell from an airplane. The Army guy said I tried to knock over some trees on the way down."
"Next time, use a parachute."
"How is she doing?" a new female voice asked.
"Very well, considering the circumstances. To say she's been severely traumatized is an understatement. The doctor is looking at her X-rays now."
"She doesn't look too bad, that right knee joint is misaligned," the new voice said.
"I know you," Jackie said. The voice was familiar. She knew it, she just could not put a name to it.
The woman laughed, "You should, I'm your mother. Delilah?"
"Mommy Two!" she replied happily. Yes! She had two mothers, she remembered!
Delilah let out a sigh, "Looking at you, I have to wonder if you and Joan are in a competition to see who can get hurt worse and not die." After a pause she added, "Joan is Jackie's sister, she had an underwater fight with an alligator. She got away, but lost all the flesh off one arm. Now Jackie decided to leap out of a plane in flight."
"Mom, I had no choice," Jackie said. Yes she remembered Joan coming home with a skeletal arm. Yes, she was remembering things.
"You did the smart thing," Delilah assured her. "Still, you banged yourself up pretty good."
"Stupid trees," Jackie said with a smirk. Her mood was better. she was sure she was going to be all right now, and she was beginning to remember who she was.
"As soon as you ladies are done, I'll straighten that knee joint out," Delilah said.
"You are a doctor?" a nurse asked.
"Only with cybernetic patients," Delilah replied.
"Cybernetic?"
"Jackie is a cyborg, part Human, part Terminator." Delilah told her.
"How'd she get like that?"
"She was born that way. Thank you for getting all that debris out of her. If it healed like that, it could itch bad," Delilah told them.
Jackie's stomach complained again. "I'm really hungry," she said in a moan.
"I bet you are," Delilah replied. "I brought some good nutrients and nanite building food. Let the nurses finish, then I'll straighten out your knee so it stops hurting, then you can eat."
"K, Mom."
The nurses finished Jackie's back side. They and Delilah turned her over on her back. Jackie winced as her right leg was moved.
"Easy hon," Delilah said as she gripped just above her right knee, and her shin bone.
"Is this going to hurt?" Jackie asked.
Doctor Bennet came in. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking at Delilah.
"Be with you in a minute," Delilah said. "Jackie, relax you leg and do not tense up."
Jackie nodded.
Watching Jackie's kneecap, Delilah pulled then slowly twisted. Jackie let out a gasp. Seeing the kneecap lower, Delilah released the tension slowly. Jackie's sigh of relief told her the knee was back in place.
"Wow, that feels so much better!" Jackie said and sighed again.
Dr. Bennet looked at the woman who was tending his patient. "I am Doctor Bennet, Jackie's attending physician. And you are?" he asked in a hard tone.
"Delilah Connor, Jackie's mother and Cyborg Physician. We're a little different physically, than you are, Doctor."
His tone became more friendly. "Yes, I have seen that. Her knee joint is back in place?"
"Yes. From the damage to the side of her leg, it appears that is what caused her knee joint to dislocate. "Have you found any other deep damage?"
"Not directly, but I am very concerned that we cannot get an X-ray of inside her skull. Her amnesia and reported bouts of dizziness are very concerning," he told her.
Delilah nodded and said, "We have the ability to self repair, I just need to get her the proper nutrients. Flesh and nerve damage, Jackie will heal herself once the has the nutrients to do it."
"She can heal her own brain tissue?" he asked, surprised to hear this.
"She has been. Her nutrient supply must be very low now after a week of no food at all. Look at her, she's all but skin and bone." Delilah then turned to Jackie, "I'll return shortly."
Dr. Bennet left with Delilah. There was much more he wanted to know.
.
The lack of pain emanating from her right leg felt like she'd been freed from torture. It felt soooo good not to be in pain! The nurses had cared for her other wounds, The only thing left was her face and head. They carefully removed the bandages on her head and began cleaning off the dried blood.
"So, how bad is it?" Jackie asked.
The nurse she could see pursed her lips. "There might be an eye under this mess, but I'm afraid your ear is gone."
Jackie closed her left eye and said, "I can see colors with the light. Kinda like a prismatic thing. It's pretty."
"That's most likely your optic nerves getting random pulses," the nurse told her and gently wiped a solution over her eyebrow.
As they worked, a head peeked in the door. Daniel came in and asked, "Jackie?" in a squeak.
"Hey Daniel! Yeah, I'm kinda ugly now."
Daniel came up beside her bed on the other side from the nurses. He gripped her hand. "You're alive THAT is what matters," he said firmly. "I was terrified I'd lost you!"
Jackie smiled. "I'm pretty hard to kill. I'd give you a hug, but the nurses here are trying to pretty me up."
"Young man, we are busy," a nurse said firmly.
Jackie let out a huff. "Give him a bit of a break, OK? He won't get in your way."
"How did that happen?' Daniel asked, wincing at the large brown mass that used to be the right side of her face.
"I kissed a few trees going way to fast. They weren't very nice to me."
Daniel settled down in a chair on her left side, maintaining his clasp on her hand. "Barnabas said you fell from that airplane?"
"I jumped. One engine went boom, then the other one was burning," Jackie explained. "I saw a lake below us and decided hitting the water was better than ramming the ground, so I jumped out a hole in the plane. Unfortunately, I missed the lake. Before I hit the ground, I kissed a few tress on the way." She then closed her eye and opened it (since she couldn't wink) and said, "It's much safer kissing you."
Daniel grinned. "Then only kiss me from now on." His grin faded. "You know, when I though you'd died ... It just about killed me."
Jackie squeezed his hand gently. I'm really happy you came to see me... even when I'm like this."
"What, injured?" Daniel asked. "Jackie, I always want to see you."
"I might not have a right eye any more."
"Then walk on my left side so you don't run into things," he replied with a grin.
Jackie suppressed a giggle.
"Hold still, please," the nurse admonished.
Near the bottom of Jackie's forehead, the nurse coaxed off a chunk clot. Underneath was pink skin. Farther over near the edge of her forehead, another chunk came off. Watching, Daniel said, "It's looking good, you do have normal skin under that mess."
"Good, so I won't be as ugly."
Daniel frowned at her. "You're not ugly, only injured." Firmly he said, "Your beauty is much more than skin deep."
Delilah came back in with a tray cover with a dome cover. "Daniel! Could you hold this until the nurses are done?"
Jackie opened her eye wide. "Food?" she asked hopefully.
"Lots of food, metal salt, a can of root beer and a cup of milk to help you get better!" Delilah announced.
"Ohhh, I love you Mom!"
"I love you too, sweetie," Delilah said and gave the tray to Daniel.
"Metal salt?" one of the nurses asked.
"Yes, to help strengthen Jackie's knee before she tries to stand on it."
"People can't digest metal," the nurse stated.
"No, humans can't, but cyborgs can."
A nurse replaced the bandage on Jackie's head. "I think we got all we can for now." They took their things off the tray table and moved the tray table over the bed. Jackie used the bed controls to sit herself up.
Daniel put they tray on the table and removed the dome. The first thing Jackie grabbed was the milk and downed it in a series of gulps. She put the empty cup back on the tray and grabbed the metal salt shaker. She shook it vigorously, covering the meat, squash and creamy vegetable mix. he then paused and asked, "Sorry, Daniel did you want some?"
Daniel chuckled and shook his head. "Dig in, this will help you get better, right?"
Jackie did dig in. She savored every bite as she ate and kept her mouth full, working to satisfy her aching stomach. for some reason, this food tasted awesome!
.
Coach Baker got the word that Joan's sister was found alive and was now in the hospital with multiple injuries. It was the 4th quarter against Seattle, and the score was Austin 56, Seattle 55. The two minute warning had just sounded.
When it came to trick and surprise plays, Seattle was a master at it. Basically, they were a team of all-stars and they were damn good. Not that Austin couldn't get a touchdown, Joan did every time she went out. But with Seattle making no mistakes and guarding well against turnovers, and if their quarterback was in danger of being sacked, she'd throw the ball wild, usually into the stands. Every time Austin got a score, Seattle would answer it. With the score so close together, the crowd was loving it and both teams were trying their hardest.
Seattle had the ball and once again they were using the tactic that worked best against Austin, a slow running drive down the field. Each run was only 5 or so yards, but avoiding a turnover, they were making a goal at the end of every drive. Just once they had missed getting the extra point. The end of the game coming up, and with the score this close together, if they did make the end zone, they would most likely win.
This was a nailbiter of a match. He was not going to bother Joan at all until this was over, one way or the other.
.
Joan was watching the game intently. The plays and time left on the clock. Seattle was over halfway down field at 1:20. Getting used to Seattle's tricks, their defense was doing better at holding them back. A gain of three yards, then a gain of four. At fourth down and three yards to go, Joan was praying for a turnover. At the hike, the quarterback sneak passed to both running backs, then turned and charged the line. At the line, the runners were stopped short, no ball. The quarterback powered into the line, the linemen helped her push through the gaggle. Patty saw it and charged her. She brought the quarterback down. Three yard gain, first down.
Damn it! "Coach, let me in there! Please!" Joan begged.
Seattle was taking their time in the huddle, running the clock down so when they got close enough to score, Austin would not have enough time to answer their goal if they managed to get one. Coach Baker called time out and had a lineman come off the field. "Joan, get out there. Listen to Allison."
Joan nodded. She ran out.
Allison saw Joan and said, "Joan, take the center, Patty, beside her. Carla right safety, I'm left. We need to stop them!"
They lined up. the clock was down to 52 seconds. Joan eyed their quarterback. The quarterback avoided her gaze. She listen to the calls, and the hike. The instant she moved, Joan squatted low and pushed the center up and away as the lines clashed together. Not expecting to be flying backwards through the air, The Center windmilled, the ball she had been holding was free. It was an attempted quarterback sneak. Joan leaped up and caught the ball, tucking it tight. She was immediately driven to the ground. That was fine, she had the damn ball.
In the last two minutes, unless the clock was stopped by a touchdown, turnover or an out-of bounds, it kept running. They had 26 second left. Coach Baker slapped his knee. Right. Only one point ahead, they could not risk Seattle getting the ball again. Seattle didn't even change players on the field.
Joan got her offense in a normal line. Hiked, and dropped to her knee. This got the clock running. Another hike and knee brought them down to 12 seconds. Not even enough time to set up take formation and hike the ball.
The buzzer sounded and it was over, The announcer called, "Game over, Austin Acoustics take the Cup!"
Joan walked over to their quarterback. "Kendra!"
The woman turned to her.
"GREAT friggin game!" Joan said with a smile and extended her hand.
Kendra grew a grin, shook her hand and asked, "If we won, would you say that?"
"I would! You guys are top notch! This has been a fun game." Joan beamed.
Kendra laughed and hugged her, Joan responded by hugging her back."You are one of a kind, Joan Connor. Hope to see you here again, next year."
"Same to you, we do it again next year." Joan said then rejoined her team.
Coach Baker got the trophy, which was a tall cup on a base, and all the players removed their shoulder pads and helmets to put on Yellow T-shirts with National Champions and a big picture of the silver cup on it.
Coach Baker beamed at his players as cameras watched. "First off, great work by everyone! Now, Joan Connor, front and center!"
Joan moved up in front of him. He looked at the trophy cup and said, "You were instrumental in winning this. There is something even more important I have to tell you." he paused, then said, "I just got word. Your sister Jackie didn't die in that plane crash. She was found alive and is currently in the hospital in Jersey Shore, Pa. She is expected to recover."
Joan paused, then a big smile lit her face. "YES!" she roared and jumped up in the air. "ALLIE!" she cried as she turned.
"I heard!" Allison yelled back and plowed into her. They hugged in a bouncing dance, Joan crying in joy. Since the whole stadium was hearing what they said, the crowd got up and cheered a thunderous cheer.
This was one of the happiest days in Joan's life!
.
"Josh Turner," the Sheriff said as he stood over Judas in his cell, and handed him an ID.
Judas took the ID. "Who's Josh Turner?" he asked and looked at it.
"You are. That is your new name. The real Josh Turner died in Kansas when he was six months old. Now, you're him. Memorize your social security number, your birth certificate and high school graduation diploma is in a folder on my desk. Pick it up on your way out." the sheriff said firmly.
"That doesn't change who I am," Judas said weakly. "I will always be the traitor, and … HE asked me to turn Him in!"
"That was 2000 years ago, get over it," the sheriff said firmly. "Whining about it now isn't going to help. If you want forgiveness, go confess. If you want a job, the Lewis farm is looking for a hand." The sheriff then motioning him out of the cell.
Looking at the ID, Judas said, "But, this is a lie."
"No, you are Josh Turner. It says so, right there."
"It's fake, you made it up."
"I make a lot of things up. It will save you trouble and possibly keep you out of the nut house if you don't go telling everyone who you are," the sheriff said and pushed him out of the cell by his collar. "Honestly, I don't know how you survived as long as you have."
"I am condemned to walk the Earth forever," Josh said in a hollow tone.
"Then go walk, but you're not doing it in my office."
Going out to his office the sheriff gave him the folder, opened the door and walked Josh outside. There he let go of Josh's collar. "The Lewis farm is two miles to the south. You can always go north to Johnson City, but that is a much farther walk."
"I'm used to walking, believe me," Josh sand in a dull tone. He contemplated for a moment, then headed south.
The sheriff went back inside, rubbing his forehead. Things were so much simpler in the Scottish highlands! He truly missed those days way back when he had his smithing business and his Bonny Heather. The more the world moved on, the more complex it was getting.
.
Doctor Bennet was shocked at how quickly Jackie Connor healed up. After a mere two days, most of her injuries were gone and all but gone. She could walk and the mangled area of her head was down to around her eye and upper cheek. She even had the beginnings of the outside portion of her ear back and there was blonde stubble where her hairline used to be.
Jackie was checked out of the hospital. Barnabas had things to attend to, so he left Daniel in Delilah's care until he could pick him up this next weekend.
Daniel was excited to be able to stay and help Jackie. Well, help as much as she let him. Leaving the hospital, Jackie did walk on his left side, and held his hand on the way out. Although she could see to walk by herself, she thought it was sweet that 'needed' to walk with her.
They went to the airport, and Jackie looked at the planes coming and going. They were all propeller driven. "Mom, do we gotta ride those?" she asked.
"Unless you want to ride in a car for days," Delilah told her.
Jackie looked at her mother, then the planes outside, then back to her mother "I'm OK with that," she replied.
"Are you really that afraid the plane will crash?" Delilah asked.
"The last one did. I do not want to go through that again," Jackie said firmly.
Delilah frowned at nothing for a moment. Jackie should know by statistics that the possibility of a plane crashing was very small. One had less chance of crashing in a plane as one did crashing while riding a car. Still she also knew Jackie had spend a week of hell from the last plane she had ridden in. "All right. Stay here for a moment," she conceded. Delilah cancelled her fight and got her money back, then rented a vehicle. She did note that a good cheap vehicle was a U-haul pickup truck, and it did have 2 seats. She went with that and bought 5 days with 1700 miles usage with the truck. Delilah wasn't happy with driving from mid PA all the way to Texas, but she'd do it for Jackie.
Going out to the truck with the U-haul adds all over it, Jackie said meekly, "Thanks, Mom."
Delilah smirked and said, "If you had two eyes, you'd be driving. Get in."
Daniel opened the back door for Jackie. Once she was , he got in.
Delilah's first stop was to get a roadmap. She needed a little more information to get home that just 'head south'.
.
Cameron hacked into the airlines service records to see when the last time the plane Jackie had had been serviced. She was thinking maybe neglect has been a factor in why it crashed. She frowned when she saw it had been serviced the day of the flight. Outs of curiosity, she looked at the plane Delilah and Jackie were to ride today to come home. Looking at the airlines data, that plane too was serviced this morning. She checked passenger lists to make sure she had the right flight.
An alert came up on the data. Flight 482 which Delilah and Jackie had been scheduled to be on, reported a mayday after reaching 20,000 feet. She checked the passenger list again, Delilah had cancelled their tickets at the last moment. She called Delilah.
"Hello?"
"Delilah, it's Cam. Where are you?"
"Southbound in our U-haul-ass truck doing a little better than the speed limit. Jackie was nervous about getting on another plane, so we're driving home."
It sounded to Cameron like Delila had the phone on speaker. "Jackie was right. Your flight just called in a Mayday, it's in trouble."
"Again?" Jackie cried.
"Delilah, Drive straight home. Not stopping for the night," Cameorn told her. "I've been looking at some data. The plane Jackie was on was serviced only hours before it took off. The flight you didn't get on was serviced today also and it just called in an emergency … make that no response from communications requests by the tower."
Delilah was quiet for a moment, than asked, "Do you believe this was foul play?"
"Yes, there's a pattern here. It was many months ago, but the sheriff told me some men were using false ID to try and locate us. He took care of it. Joan, Allison and Bob got to Austin to play with their team, and Allison gets assaulted by a pair of strangers. Jackie flies to go see Daniel on the first comercial flight any one of us had taken, and the plane crashes. Now today, the plane you and Jackie were to take also experienced … I was going to say problems, but airline reported it just crashed. I believe some one is trying to kill us without confronting us directly. As I said, drive straight through, except for gas and food, do not stop."
"We'll stop when we get to Johnson City to turn in the truck."
"I'll meet you there. Delilah, if you have trouble with someone, don't call the police. We isolate and interrogate them. We need to work our way up the food chain to find out who's behind this."
"Is Daniel in danger?" Jackie asked.
"I don't know," Cameron told her.
Jackie spoke up. "When I was trying to get help, there was a man with dogs chasing me down. I did kill one dog, but this lady helped me up out of a ditch and then held the guy back with a shotgun," she explained. "He said he was just looking for me."
"Delilah, any idea who that was?"
"None, all I know it was Forest Ranger and Emergency crews. No one tried anything at the hospital."
Cameorn said, "I think whoever this is doesn't want to be discovered. Private flights only from now on. They don't turn in a passenger list until they are ready to leave. No one knows who's on the flight until the plane is on the runway. Also, from now on, no one goes anywhere alone."
"Right. Joan and company back yet?" Delilah asked.
"They have a victory celebration to attend, I expect them in two days." Cameorn replied. "Keep a low profile on your way home."
Delilah laughed. "We're riding in a big white and orange pickup that has big advertising signs painted on it, but I'll do what I can."
.
The hotel lounge in Las Vegas was filled with the Austin Acoustics. It was an awards ceremony, so everyone was in dresses and suits. Besides the players, all the spot people were there also. Managers, coaches, the primary team, the farm team, cameramen, even the secretaries and the janitor were present. In the front on the stage was the trophy Cup they had won. Of course the bar was open with free drinks for everyone on the Acoustics team. A bar tender and two waitresses were the only non-Acoustic people on the room.
Joan, Bob and Allison sat at one of the round tables, eating some snacks and sampling the contents o the bar. Allison had a pinkish drink with a little umbrella in it. Bob had whisky and ice in a glass. Joan had a vodka and orange. They sipped and talked as the room lights dimmed and the stage lights came on.
The team Manager came out in a dark blue suit with a loud, multicolored light sweater under it. He stepped up to the podium and said, " Welcome everyone!" He gestured to the Cup. "This award means you are the best women's football team in the country! I congratulate you all. Our team on the field this year was fantastic, as was the support they had to win. We had the best coaching staff, the best players, and great support. Besides just gratitude, everyone on the team also get a $1000 bonus for your hard work."
Everyone cheered. He smiled and said, "And now, Coach Baker has a few awards to give out." He stepped away. Coach Baker came took his position. He looked down and shuffled some papers there and said, "To be honest, They way you played this year, I wish I could give every one of you an MVP award. As it is, I can only give one award per position at the most. Some of you played dual positions, Offence and defense. That's a lot of time on the field, and doing that requires maximum stamina to stay out there the whole game. Especially rookies. So, the first award is for Rookie of the year. Allison young, come on up."
"Yay Allison!" Joan and Bob cried and applauded. The applause quickly grew as Allison approached the stage. She got up on stage by Coach Baker.
Coach Baker opened a blue leather folder and showed the parchment type papers inside. One side said 'Rookie of the year' , the other side in big letters said, 'MVP'. "Allison is also MVP of the year in Offensive Receiving, and defensive safety. Catching every pass thrown at her. Even a few the other team threw."
Some chuckles rose up.
"Allison Young was vital in winning most of our games," Coach Baker said proudly. "I also discovered her family has a lineage in football." he moved aside and motioned for Allison the stand at the podium.
Allison did, blushing. Sheepishly, she said, "I don't know if it's a lineage, But my older sister played College ball. I remember sitting on the barrier with Joan as we watched the teams play, one of our mothers would be right there with us. Even little we tried to play at home. It was great fun at the time to get Joan's grandmother to chase us around the house. It always started when her grandmother yelled 'Get back here!"
The audience laughed. Allison shrugged. "So we weren't the best behaved kids" she offered. "My Older sister and Joan's mother, Cameron Connor, did much to influence our interest in football and other things. She was high energy, and that rubbed off on us. For us, Playing Football just kind of seemed natural I guess. This last year has been a ton of fun for us. Thanks, guys."
There was more applause as she stepped down and waved to everyone.
"Next is our defensive MVP," Coach Baker said. "For the most sacks, average 5 per game, and average 11 tackles per game, Patty Gerregan, come on up."
Patty, her long read hair tied back in a pony tail, went up to the stage. She accepted her folder to a room full of applause and waver her pawed hand that had no fingers.
"Patty also had 7 interceptions this year. A hard enough task for someone who has full use of both hands." Coach Baker said.
Patty got behind the podium and said, "When I was young, I was discouraged from sports due to my, what they called, disability. I never saw my paw as that. I saw it as a challenge. I had several people tell me, 'You can't play football.' Guess what, I can play football, and I'm pretty good at it too! Others of you out there, who have a birth defect similar mine, don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it, if that's what you want to do! I am here, proof that you CAN do it! You are not disabled, you merely have a challenge to overcome. I urge you to overcome it."
Patty was met with a standing ovation from the entire room. The applause went on heartily as Patty returned to her seat.
Note : the character Patty is based the real life Bonnie Gellispie, a woman's American type football player in Australia who does have only a paw for a left hand and wins an MVP spot nearly every year.
Coach Baker return to his spot behind the podium. "If anyone can inspire young women to do their best, It's Patty."
"YAY PATTY!" Allison yelled, causing another round of applause. Patty blushed with a grin and took her seat.
Coach Baker smiled. "And now, everyone, I come to the person who I must admit, I've never seen anything like her before. Our offence never sees much time on the field at any one time, because this girl finds the end zone every time she get's the ball in her hands. She leads the league in passing yards, touchdowns, and because of her, we have the largest winning point spread in the league. Joan Connor, come on up."
The room again exploded in applause and cheers as Joan got up and went up to the stage. Joan grinned sheepishly and waved.
Coach Baker said, "First, we had this T-shirt made for you." He handed her the folded up white T-shirt. Joan looked at it and laughed. She shook it out to show on the front was a cartoon picture of a six stick bundle of dynamite with the fuse lit. The back side across the shoulders was only 3 bold letters : TNT.
The crowd laughed and clapped. Since she was wearing a dress, Joan didn't put if on, but folded it over her arm.
"Joan Connor," Coach Baker said, "I present to you not only the Austin MVP award for your Quarterbacking but also," he pulled out a gold colored MVP of four inch high letters with a gold football on top, the whole thing resting on a gold base. "The league quarterback MVP award."
There was some cheering the a few girls started in and soon it became a loud chant as others joined them.
TNT!
Joan's Dynamite!
TNT,
she'll with the fight!
TNT
She's a power load!
TNT
watch her explode!
TNT
Hoy! hoy! hoy!
They raised their fists in the air for another couple rounds of, 'hoy's, then the room exploded into applause and cheering.
.
There were a few people watching into the room, enjoying the awards ceremony. In the back of the group a pair of nondescript men stood close together.
"She's one of these cyborgs. Every attempt to disable and capture one had failed. They don't even die when their plane crashes! How can we collect her?"
"We have to get her alone first of all. Then figure out what she can't defend against. Come on, we need to plan."
The two men slipped away, un noticed.
.
