13428/If you're going to be a hero, you gotta learn how to drive stick!

If you're going to be a hero, you gotta learn how to drive stick!
Date of Scene:	03 June 2021
Location:	Parking Garage - LexCorp Tower
Synopsis:	A driving lesson leads to a very human moment.
Cast of Characters:	John Connor, Cameron

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John Connor has posed:
The keys were in the ignition to the big, beautiful, black, Dodge Ram, which was surprisingly roomy inside, with features that a lot of people not used to modern trucks might find unusual. Trucks were, by and large, the same as modern cars, only they were bigger. The seats were bigger. The leg room was bigger. But the upholstery, the navigational system, the stereo, the air conditioning, the power steering, the cruise control, the lane assist, and everything else was just like a modern car.

John Connor sat in the steering wheel. His mother had been telling him for years that if he's going to be a hero, he'll have to learn how to drive stick. It was parked in an empty parking lot near the LexCorp Tower, and at night. His mother thought they were running a trip to Costco. "Tell me about the clutch again," he asked, taking a deep breath. He could drive automatic, but he had so little experience with manual transmissions.

Cameron has posed:
"It would be easier if you let me drive." Cameron was ever the source of helpful information that was not necessarily what he wanted to hear at the time. "The clutch is necessary for switching gears properly. You must push it down, all the way, before you change gears and then release it at the appropriate speed for the gear to kick in but without stalling the engine. Every vehicle is slightly different on that speed but you learn as you get the feel for the machine in question."

She was sitting in the passenger seat, no seatbelt on because they were not really running at any sort of speed at the moment. Throw in that if they did have an accident, she wasn't concerned that she wouldn't survive. She did, however, make sure he had his on.

John Connor has posed:
"Easier, yes, but if you always do it for me, how am I supposed to learn?" He looked at the clutch, and the gear shift. It was something so simple to many people, but he was new to this, and it felt like a difficult task to perform, let alone to master. Turning the key, the engine hummed to life. He depressed the clutch with his left foot, another oddity for him. When he drove, he used his right foot almost exclusively. He would shift into first gear, while still holding the clutch down, and press the accelerator pad, trying to feel for the engine. He would then take off the hand break, and then lift off the clutch and push down on the accelerator. "Shouldn't you be wearing a seatbelt? It's the law, and what would it look like if someone saw us?"

Cameron has posed:
As they lurched into movement while he was getting the feel for it, Cameron jerked slightly in her seat. "If someone were to see us, they would realize you are just learning how to drive stick shift and likely express amusement. Or attempt to hide their amusement. However, if you think it could be a problem." She reached over her shoulder to grab the seatbelt, sliding it into place over her shoulder and around her waist in a smooth movement then clicking tongue into buckle to secure it.

John Connor has posed:
"That bad huh?" John Connor asked, having caught her jerking slightly as he was driving around the parking lot. It was a big one, with many levels, and wasn't locked at night, so it was a good place to test out things. And a lot safer than being on the roads. Or so they thought. There were still a few people working overnight, coming or going, but they were rare. By the time the truck had reached the bottom level of the underground parking lot, he would do a three point turn, easier for him than shifting gears, and begin to head back up, except that there was another vehicle coming down, and it was quite insistent.

The black unmarked van came speeding through the parking lot, causing John to stop. It would continue past them, coming to an abrupt stop, and out of the back, several men would pop out dressed in all black, masks as well. There had to be a half dozen of them, their leader seemed to wear something more ornate, Japanese looking, with a silver mask that bore a striking resemblance to a monkey.

Cameron has posed:
As the van moved past, Cameron tracked it with her eyes then turned her head to continue the motion. When it came to a stop, she was already unhooking her seatbelt just in case she needed to get out of the vehicle.

Hopefully the people had something else they were intent on and not the Conners truck.

"Go. Now. Quickly," she told John as she prepared to protect him if necessary. At least the van was past them so they had an opening to head up the ramp again.

John Connor has posed:
John Connor would try to drive the truck, but he was still getting used to it. It jerked a bit forward, and he had misjudged the angle, so had to try and back up a bit to get to the ramp. Part of it had been the way he stopped when the other van came hurdling down, so it wasn't entirely John's fault, but a more experienced driver would have been able to compensate.

The leader in the Silver Monkey mask cast a gaze towards them, and raised a hand, which two of the men interpreted as instructions to go over there. The other four made their way to the door, cutting off the bolt with what looked to be a samurai sword. The leader calmly walked towards the door, hands behind its back, supremely confident that there would be no witnesses.

Cameron has posed:
"Unusual," Cameron commented out loud as she saw they used a sword on the lock. "Japanese katana, originally from feudal Japan, used by samurai along with their wakizashi." As though that was really important right now. All it established was they didn't seem to be using guns at the moment.

Seeing two of the men coming toward the truck as John maneuvered, she reached for her door handle. "I will confront them while you escape. Return home." She was talking like she actually expected him to listen.

Then she was out of the truck. She walked calmly toward the men that were approaching but she turned at the bed of the truck, tearing off the license plate (hopefully before they saw it) and throwing it into the bed of the truck, all the way up closest to the cab in the hopes it wouldn't fly out no matter the speed of his driving. At that spot, it should be out of the wind flow.

John Connor has posed:
It was a sight to behold Cameron in action. Most of the time, she looked to be a petite woman, but on a dime, she could become as scary as the worst supervillain. Too bad that John didn't really get to watch it. What he saw was out of his positioning mirrors, and the rear view one.

The two men, who appeared to be dressed as ninjas, League of Shadow ninjas for anyone in the know, looked to each other as the woman had the strength to rip the licence plate off, with her bare hand, and then flick it into the bed of the truck. Undetterred, they moved to take up a position on either side of her. One would throw a star at her, while the other came at her with his katana.

Meanwhile, John got the truck up the ramp, and then up another ramp, going two stories higher. He would park the truck, leaving the keys in it, and it unlocked, and then jump out, gun in hand, intending to go back for Cameron. These weren't, or didn't seem to be terminators, so his panic wasn't quite at its normal levels right now. Though he would keep the sides, where there were cars and other things to hide behind.

Cameron has posed:
As the truck took off, Cameron's expression was a bit darker, something clicked inside her programming that was overriding the facade of a normal young woman. Now she had become that which she was programmed to be. A machine designed to kill humans.

She didn't bother dodging as the star slammed into her shoulder, ripping through her jacket and the false skin that covered her metallic skeleton. It didn't hurt but a little blood showed on the denim jacket that it had penetrated, continuing that illusion she was human.

As the one with the katana attacked, she stepped into him, raising an arm to try and block the blow even as she pivoted on a foot and went for a roundhouse kick to the person wielding the weapon. The blade likely would cut deeply into her arm but, if it was a normal blade, it would stop as soon as it hit 'bone'.

John Connor has posed:
The body language of the ninjas shifted. They had begun with confidence, but it was rapidly eroding the longer this incident took place. The throwing star seemed to have minimal effect against her. The katana had minimal effect on her. Both cut flesh, but failed to cut through the metal frame, or whatever she was made of.

The roundhouse kick carried with it a great deal more oomph than it should have, and the formerly katana wielding ninja went flying. The blade seemed to stick in her, although she could remove it and face the other one.

John made his way down, shouting to her, "come on, let's go," hoping that his voice would trigger some sense into her. These men weren't exactly good, but they didn't deserve to die. Hopefully any damage she might have suffered wouldn't play with her programming, or else John would have a whole new problem on his hands.

Really, the only good part in all of this was that the four other ninjas, and their Silver Monkey maksed leader, seemed to be doing whatever they came here for in the building.

Cameron has posed:
Which might give the second ninja pause for a moment. Cameron looked at the weapon stuck in her arm and grabbed it by the hilt, yanking it out of the flesh of her left arm. Then she turned to face the remaining ninja, weapon in hand, and cool as could be despite the star still in her shoulder and the obvious damage to her sleeve and arm.

Hearing John's words, she frowned. Analysis said she should eliminate them. They had wanted to kill her and John, or they would not have attacked. A threat to John had to die. She was not required to listen to this John's orders. Yet, she ran the data through her head. They had seen their faces and a black truck. Maybe they knew the make and model of the truck. She was positive she removed the tag before they could read it so there was no threat of them tracking the home address on file at the DMV.

It was a low percentage that they might be able to track them down later.

"If you follow us, I will kill all of you." Simple words. Not a threat, a promise as it rang with that air of truth to it. Then she turned and began to run toward where John was calling from. Not at her highest speed as that might seem odd but at a fast clip for a human being.

John Connor has posed:
The second ninja did pause. And with the promise, it simply bowed its masked head, eyes never leaving her, but the sign of respect was there. Whatever she was, at least that ninja would not intend to follow. What the Silver Monkey masked one would say to that may have been another story.

John watched as Cameron came, and would begin running towards the truck, moving fast by his own standards, slow by hers. He would hop into the passenger seat, letting her drive them away. She was the better driver period, and she was especially better than him when driving a manual transmission.

When they were on the road, he would ask, "how long before you'll be patched up?"

Cameron has posed:
As they jumped into the truck, she automatically put the katana behind the seat before sliding in and slamming the door. She did take the extra moment to put on her seatbelt, knowing that they were not being pursued. The ninja had not followed.

She got them going quickly, heading for the exit to the garage and tearing out onto the roadway. Once there, she continued at a normal driving pace within the posted speed limits and following all laws. Otherwise, they might have some explaining to do about her condition. At the question, she glanced down long enough to pull the throwing star out of her shoulder and she dropped it on the floorboard. "Damage is minimal. The shoulder should be healed in a day. The arm a couple, as the wound is deeper but it was clean and no flesh was removed from the site." So analytical when talking about wounds.

John Connor has posed:
Breathing a sigh of relief, John shook his head and his eyes seem to roll up into the back of his head. All he had wanted was a driving lesson. Timing was everything. Though, he did look to her, "thank you, for saving my life." Had it not been for her, he might have gotten out of there alive, but there would have at least been one dead ninja, if not two. More likely was that there would be one dead John Connor, and two living ninjas.

"Pull over at the nearest all night pharmacy. We're going to have to get you some bandages, and a sling." Since tomorrow was a school day, and he did not expect for one moment that she would let him go there alone.

Cameron has posed:
Not a chance he would get to go to school alone. It had happened rarely, when she was with Sarah undercover investigating somewhere. But it was something Cameron did not like to have happen. Ever.

"Okay." And she seemed so very human as she said that simple word in response. A few miles up the road they did find the type of pharmacy in question. She pulled into the parking lot and shut off the truck. Unfastening her seatbelt, she prepared to get out of the truck to go in the caught sight of her sleeve. "Perhaps you should get the necessary supplies. I may cause a negative reaction by the employees. I will monitor you from outside." Then there was the faintest of frowns that appeared. "I liked this jacket. I will have to buy a new one."

John Connor has posed:
That was the thing about Cameron. John knew she was a Terminator. He knew that future John sent her back. She was a machine. But with a gesture, a smile, a simple word, she could seem so very human. In those moments, she was just a pretty girl that liked him. It made him feel good. But it was also very confusing. "Yeah," he agreed, "stay here. I think I can be safe in a pharmacy for a few minutes..." then he added, "as safe as I am anywhere." He was never safe. They both knew it. But when he was with Cameron, he felt safe.

He would go into the pharmacy, getting the sling, the bandages, some of it she needed, as it helped her wounds to heal faster, some of it was decorative. Though while he was in there, he caught sight of something as he walked down the aisle. Bending down, he would take a closer look, and take it, along with the bandages and sling. Paying for them at the counter, he would also grab two candy bars.

A moment later, he was in the car, bag in hand. He set it down between them. He would hand her the bandages, since mom would freak, and afterwards, a candy bar. A moment later, he would fish out the other item, which was a book, The Samurai: A Military History, by Stephen Turnbull. "I thought you might like this. You had a rough day."

Cameron has posed:
She was standing near the doors when he exited. Thankfully he was the only customer in there so no one had walked past to see the state of her arm. Not that it was hugely obvious but it was sliced and there was red staining the denim material from the little blood that her system used to keep her skin alive. It wasn't like a true circulatory system like a human had but a simplified version.

They walked to the truck together and she shrugged out of her jacket, tossing it into the floor board on his side as well. It was trash now anyway. Her arm had a clean slice that was deep but it should knit quite neatly. She quickly wrapped the wound, making sure it was pressed tightly so that it would be together for it to begin healing. Once it was secured, she put the rest of the bandages back into the bag.

The candy bar was accepted with a brief smile. "Thank you." Before she ripped it open, he offered the book and she took it, reading over the back cover for the summary. "This will be very helpful." Though she was already planning to ask Eric at the library for information on fighting techniques for katanas. Not that she was sharing that. Her little visits to the library were her little secret.

She ripped open the candy bar, taking a bite. Another indication she was different from other terminators since she could eat. In fact, he had gotten a Snickers for her, which was her favorite type of candy bar.

John Connor has posed:
John would have offered to help or double check if it were anyone but Cameron, but she knew more about medicine than he ever would, so it was futile to double check. Still, there was concern in his eyes, and other body language.

Though as she seemed to be sorted, and would settle into things, he watched with interest as she smiled at him, before thanking him for the candy bar. She could be so human-like. It was hard to remember she was a machine. She sounded, smelled, looked, and in every way his senses would accept, just a young woman.

He had gotten her favorite candy bar, which was noteworthy for two reasons. One, he had thought enough to remember it, and two that she actually had a favorite. She seemed to enjoy it too. The way she would lick her lips. So many little human emotions and actions. They can't have all been programmed into her, could they?

Meanwhile, he ate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Not just because of the name, but he did love the taste of them, and best of all, he could share them. He would have the first one, and seeing Cameron had finished her snickers, he held out a brown wrapped cup, "would you like one?"