Milo Skart had a terrible decision to make.
"Help me."
The pregnant teen girl stumbled into the lobby of the Atraville Hospital. Barefoot and tattered, she appeared ready to give birth.
"Help my baby."
However, the girl and her unborn child carrie...
Hock note: Shortly before Captain Max arrived to arrest Professor Aidan, Kwin had missed yet another goal. Now, as the Captain arrived, she sat on the bench.
It was Saturday morning, the week before their first game. An audience of her fans watched while Kwin sat on the bench. She hated sitting on the bench. Worse yet, Alec replaced her. She especially hated that.
Alec made sure to leer at her every chance he got.
He might be more muscular than her. He might have bionic knees and elbows, but he couldn't move like her. He couldn't block like her. He didn't deserve to play while she sat on the bench. Kwin wasn't boasting, she just knew what she could do. Coach Logan even said so herself.
While Kwin watched, Nedda took another shot at Alec's goal. Alec pumped his thick legs, soared through the air, and blocked the shot with his massive chest. Then he flew around, detouring to cross directly in front of Kwin, a big wide sneer across his spinning haughty face.
The ball floated beyond the laser field outline, triggering the out-of-bounds bell. Kwin jumped up from the bench. "Coach, he shoulda caught that one and sent it back into play."
Coach waved her off, then motioned for Alec to take the ball back in. Alec made sure to grin back at Kwin again before he threw the ball back. Kwin sat back down on the bench, steaming.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Although the sky was overcast, a soft warm breeze blew. The bench hovered just outside the laser field boundary. A net of extra soccer balls floated nearby, tied to the bench by supernatant rope. About a dozen others sat with her, second and third stringers such as Asher who barely made the team. All around, a scattering of fans cheered the scrimmage either from floating platforms, jets, or the soft green moss below. Across from her was the Gell-Mann administration building with its Gothic-styled columns and wide portico. To her left were Zweig, Newton, and the Hofstadter buildings, constructed of dark aluminum glass.
But she couldn't sit down. That wasn't her style. She was better than Alec. She was better than all of them. When she stood, her spectators hooted and cheered for her. They knew she shouldn't be on the bench. Instead, pumping her legs, yellow Pondus shoes churning the air, she zipped up and down the sideline, careful not to trip the laser field boundary. Every time Alec made the slightest mistake, Kwin was right there. And when the other side scored, she was outraged.
"Coach, he shoulda stopped it. You know that. I wouldn't've allowed a goal like that. I'm better than him and you know it."
Coach Logan looked good in her green and gold jersey. She hardly broke a sweat as she flew away without a glance back at Kwin.
But Kwin finally got her break when the Axion ship dropped down right through the middle of their scrimmage play. Everybody dove out of the way. When it landed on the central campus, the people on the ground ran for cover. Some captain and a bunch of robots jumped out heading to Newton Hall. After they entered the building, Coach reconvened the play, but she nodded for Kwin to replace Alec.
"You better not mess up again," Coach yelled at her.
As Kwin jumped back into the goalkeeper's box, she flashed a smile that could compete with the sun. Her fans loved it.
She was stoked to get back in the game again. It was the best feeling ever, pumping her legs, flying through the air. Her yellow Pondus shoes felt good on her feet when she blocked one goal after another. She was spinning good. She felt magnificent. She wouldn't mess up again.
Kwin had just thrown the ball back into play when the Axion captain burst out the front doors of Newton. As Kwin wondered about the arrest of Professor Aidan, she grew especially anxious over what might happen to the naughty boy with the welts.
But when the Axion captain left the building, Professor Aidan wasn't with her. Neither was the naughty boy. And why did the captain leave without her soldiers? Now the robots were being carried away like pieces of junk. What happened in there? It was so strange she forgot to pedal, and she completely missed it when the ball flew over her head.
