t it necessary to make sure they knew the stage couldn't handle
the weight of the car. As Mandi settled to hover about a foot above the stage,
he paled slightly and prayed that she'd remember not to touch down.
Grabbing the mike from the stand a few feet in front of Mandi, Paul cleared
his throat and said in an odd tone of somber astonishment, "Ladies and
gentlemen... this is Mandi Steele!" His voice firmed up and he very clearly and
in a strong tone repeated, "Mandi Steele!"
The crowd gasped and there were a few shouts, but not because of Paul's
introduction. Mandi had shifted the car from her shoulders upward and was now
holding it by its frame at arm's length above her head.
With a pause as he glanced back at her, Paul continued speaking by reading
from a prepared note, detailing her accomplishment of the day by which she saved
downtown Atlanta from a similar Crown Victoria packed with explosives.
WNN's camera guys continued circling Mandi at the extreme edges of the stage
as the woman with the mike bit her lip and dared herself to step forward to
speak with a smiling woman who was holding a car rock-steady over her head and
who wasn't touching the stage.
To the woman with the mike, Mandi quietly said, "Catch me outside when I put
the car down."
The woman nodded and stepped back as Mandi flipped the car onto its nose and
grabbed the front axle, then flipped it completely end over end and caught it at
the same point.
Some people in the front rows screamed and a couple of them fainted. Cade
was amused to see that one of the fainters was the Klingon woman from Brooklyn.
"Paul," said Mandi. "It's time to say hi."
Paul nodded and approached her with his microphone.
"Hi, everybody," said Mandi. "I decided to go public after those pictures of
me appeared on the news. DragonCon seemed like a perfect place for someone like
me to do that."
There were some chuckles and some barks of laughter from the crowd as Mandi
held still for the cameras. After a few moments she lowered the car to one
shoulder. Paul dropped the mike at her feet and ducked almost convulsively away.
"Aww, I scared him," Mandi said with a grin. "Sorry, Paul. My bad. People, I
have to take this car back out to the parking lot now. Since this is the end of
the show, you're all welcome to follow me outside."
Mandi flew toward the doors and people made way for her without having to be
told.