"Hey, you okay?" Maya asked Don, walking over to him. Her husband was drinking tea and watching the storm.
"I'm fine," Don ordered. "I just don't know what to do."
"Don't worry, these things always have a way of working themselves out," Maya assured him.
"I'm worried about Eva," Don confessed. "Two explosions, to two of the most important people in her life."
"Yes, I can't imagine how hard this must be for her," Maya agreed.
Eva groaned as she turned in her bed. Images of an exploding white star racer flashed through her mind. Instead of being the happy moment when Spirit rescued her, Maya perished in the crashed. Eva gasped, opening her eyes quickly. She sat up and clutched her blanket. "Get it together Eva! There are some things that you just may not be able to change."
Eva ran into the kitchen and sat next to her mother. Maya brushed some hair out of Eva's eyes and smiled.
"So, what's the news?" Maya asked.
"I've got good news and I've got bad news," Don sighed, holding up a scroll. "The good news is, we've been granted a rematch."
"That's great!" Jordan cheered.
"What's the bad news?" Eva asked, already knowing.
"What about Rick?" Molly asked.
"Rick will be out for at least a week," Don answered.
"No way," Stan gasped.
"How can we race without a pilot?" Koji asked.
"Are you guys forgetting something?" Maya asked. The three teen boys stared at her in confusion. Her implications clicked immediately in the minds of Don and Eva.
"Maya, you can't!" Don protested.
"You can't race!" Eva agreed.
"Yeah mommy, it's dangerous. Look at Rick," Molly said.
"Unless you have another idea, then I'm the only experienced pilot you've got," Maya reminded them.
"Jordan!" Don called. "As of this moment, you are promoted to replacement pilot."
"You really don't want me to race," Maya muttered in slight shock.
"Sir! There's a reason why I'm a gunner and not a pilot!" Jordan shouted.
Eva watched from the safety of inside the hangar as Jordan shakily flew off. The Arrow 2 quickly went out of control, and once it had landed, Jordan tumbled out, holding his stomach and covering his mouth. After the entire team had recovered from a collective near heart attack they were gathered around the front of the racer.
"I'm sorry guys, but I'm a gunner, it's my job to break things," Jordan sighed.
"It was a wonderful attempt sweetie," Maya assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"No it wasn't," Jordan sighed. "I said there was a reason why I was a gunner and not a pilot."
"And, why is that?" Koji asked.
"I've taken piloting lessons, plenty of them, and I've been horrible. I'm just not a pilot. My first instructor even retired after giving me a lesson," Jordan huffed.
"Wow…" Molly muttered.
"Stan, Koji," Don pleaded, looking at them hopefully.
"I'm sorry sir, we're just mechanics," Koji apologized.
"Yeah, we were never meant to fly," Stan agreed.
"We do have one more choice," Maya pointed out.
"Who, Don?" Stan asked.
"No, Eva," Maya smiled. "She's got the pilot genes, and she's great with her rocket seat. Plus, she's always racing, she's good at it. Why not?"
"Really!?" Eva gasped happily.
"No, sis, you'll get hurt!" Molly said.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Eva said with a small scoff.
"No way," Don protested. "I'm not losing either of you to this race," Don declared.
"That's sweet Don, but we don't have a choice," Maya reminded him.
"Fine, you get one test ride," Don huffed.
"Yes!" Eva cheered, climbing up the ladder and into the seat. She frowned and huffed when her legs didn't reach the pedals. "We have a problem," she said, standing up.
"What's wrong?" Jordan asked.
"This seat is built for Rick," Eva sighed.
"Yeah, we know," Stan nodded, confused.
"Um, what's one difference between me and Rick?" Eva huffed, placing her hands on her hips.
"Gender?" Jordan guessed.
"Age?" Koji suggested.
"Height," Maya grimaced.
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner," Eva sighed. "Rick is twice my height. How am I supposed to fit in his seat?"
"And we don't have time to build a new one," Stan hissed.
"But, we may be able to replace it with something she's used to," Maya smiled, pointing to the rocket seat.
"Yeah! Great idea!" Eva gasped. "We replace this seat with my rocket seat!"
"Can you do that?" Don asked.
"Well, it might be slightly unstable, but with a few quick adjustments, it'll be fine," Stan answered.
"Let's get to work," Koji nodded.
"We're running out of time," Eva huffed, as Stan and Koji made the last adjustments.
"Done!" They chorused, jumping off the star racer.
"You should have no problems driving her now," Stan smiled.
"Unfortunately we don't have time for a test drive," Don sighed "Good luck in the race."
"I'll do my best!" Eva smiled. "Let's go Jordan!"
"Right behind ya!" the gunner cheered, rushing into his turret.
"Good luck Eva!" Maya smiled, waving as Eva took off.
"Don't get hurt!" Molly ordered.
"I'll be sure to come back safe and sound," Eva told her. The teen managed to cleanly steer the ship. When it came to landing it…that was a bit rough. The glass dome for the cockpit slid back and Eva stood up.
"Pilot Eva reporting for the Earth team!" Eva stated. The judges talked amongst themselves before nodding.
"Take your places and let the race begin!" the lead judge ordered. Eva sat back down and slid the glass back up.
"Jordan? Are you ready?" Eva asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," Jordan sighed, gripping the handles. Eva shakily raised the star racer.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this," she smiled. The gate dropped down and the two raced forward, with Groor taking the lead. Eva smoothly turned the corners, riding it like a pro.
"Go Eva!" Maya cheered over the intercom. "You can do it sweetie!"
"Go Eva!" Molly cheered.
"Maya, let her concentrate on the race," Don huffed.
"But I want to cheer for her," Maya pouted.
"Why can't we cheer for sis?" Molly asked.
"Girls," Don growled.
"Okay, fine," Maya huffed.
"Well that was weird…" Eva muttered. "But mom thinks I can do it, and I know I can. This time, there's nothing wrong with the star racer. Plus, I have to prove to Molly that racing doesn't always result in a crash." Eva growled and tried to pass Groor but the alien slammed her Star racer into the wall. Eva gasped and gave herself an edge as she came to a thin tunnel. She righted the star ship once the tunnel ended. Groor slammed into her ship and Eva growled. Jordan's turret switched sides and he began shooting at Groor. Eva passed Groor but on the next turn, Groor took the lead once more.
"Eva, do something!" Jordan shouted.
"Alright," Eva muttered. She ducked under Groor's ship and Jordan began firing. Eva took the chance to take the lead. She sped through a tunnel and tried speeding up.
"Increase the side reactors, that should give you more speed," Koji told her.
"Alright," Eva nodded, pressing some buttons on her screen. The whizzing arrow II sped up and Eva zoomed out of the tunnel.
"Eva! He's right in front of us!" Jordan shouted. Eva gasped as Groor's ship landed on top of hers, pressing it to the ground.
"It can't end like this," Eva groaned.
"I could squash you like an insect," Groor's voice growled out. "But that would insult every single insect in the galaxy. Yesterday, you robbed Groor of his victory, and today you will be humiliated. Groor will give you a head start of 30 seconds. Use the time wisely."
"I need more power," Eva hissed, franticly pressing buttons.
"Sweetie, I need you to listen to me, alright," Maya spoke.
"Yeah mom?" Eva asked.
"Engage the hyper drive," Maya ordered.
"Alright," Eva nodded, pressing the buttons. The speedometer on screen increased, completing the circle. The star racer shot off like a rocket and Eva pulled herself closer to her rocket seat.
"Eva, get ready to turn," Maya told her.
"Alright," Eva nodded, turning quickly. She skid over the water and quickly went over the sand bank. The hyper drive disengaged and the star racer began slowing to a stop. "What's happening?" Eva asked as the wheels came down and she began slowly rolling across the sand. "Oh shit! The fuel!"
"The plasma tanks are empty," Stan informed her.
"And the emergency battery is gone as well. The hyper drive took everything," Koji added.
"Eva, don't let that get to you," Maya ordered. "You can reach the finish line if you crawl, now go!"
"Crawl as fast as you can!" Molly told her.
"Yes ma'am," Eva nodded, steering the star racer. Groor exited the chasm and began shooting at Eva and Jordan.
"Eva, Jordan! Get out of there now!" Don shouted.
"Don't get hurt!" Molly told her.
"Sorry dad, but the race isn't over yet," Eva growled, turning the racer. "I'm not about to give up. And I'm definitely not going to get hurt."
"That's my girl," Maya whispered.
"Jordan! Aim for the joints!" Eva shouted. "Full power!"
"I'm on it!" Jordan shouted, shooting at Groor's ship. One of the joints flew off his ship and the rest quickly followed. Groor's ship split in half and came to a halt not far from the whizzing arrow II. Eva smirked and slowly turned her star racer around, rolling towards the finish line. "We're alive? WE'RE ALIVE!" Jordan cheered.
"EXCELLENT!" Stan and Koji cheered. Eva smiled as she rolled across the gate and into the arena. The teen girl sighed in relief as the gong went off, declaring her the winner.
"You did it!" Maya smiled, hugging her daughter tightly. "I knew you could do it!"
"Sis! You scared me!" Molly cried, latching onto her.
"I'm sorry," Eva smiled, picking her up, and giving her a quick kiss.
"I can't believe this," Don huffed.
"What can't you believe?" Eva asked. "We won the race! Isn't that all that matters?"
"No, you recklessly endangered your life and the life of your teammate!" Don shouted. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to race! Groor could have killed you! And you don't even care!"
"I won the race though!" Eva shouted back.
"Don, aren't you being a little harsh on her?" Maya asked.
"No I am not," Don growled. "She endangered her life, Jordan's life, and she nearly gave me a heart attack! I don't want her to race again! We're withdrawing from the competition and going back home."
"Don, that isn't fair, she won the race," Maya reminded him. Eva growled, her fists tightening.
"I'm not changing my mind," Don huffed, walking up the steps. Eva growled and kicked a tool box, making it slam against the wall.
"I hate you!" She shouted before running out of the hangar. "I am so out of here!"
"Eva!" Maya shouted, watching her daughter leave. "Don, go after her and apologize!"
"No, she needs to learn that when she pulls stunts like that, there are consequences. That racing was reckless and she could have been killed. I am not moving in my decision." Don told his wife before entering the elevator.
"We are not done talking," Maya huffed, storming up the windows and pushing the elevator door open before it closed. The last thing Stan, Koji, and Jordan saw was Maya glaring at Don as the elevator door closed.
"Damn…Don Wei's screwed," Jordan whistled.
"Maybe she can talk him out of leaving," Koji suggested.
"I wouldn't count on it, Don's stubborn," Stan sighed. "Let's get packing, Koji."
"Alright," the Japanese boy sighed, following Stan into their room.
"It was fun here while it lasted," Molly muttered. "Daddy's never going to let us stay."
