Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks

A/N: Hey, world! This is my first ever published story on FanFiction so I'm really excited about it. I hope you all love this story as much as I do. Thanks for reading. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1

Upgraded

Bree

I walked home normally that day, meaning without super speed. It felt so weird to walk this way, one step at a time. Super speed was almost flying, gliding across the ground at light speed. The feeling is difficult to describe to someone who has never experienced it before. I missed the adrenaline rush, the world blazing past me in a blur. But today, I had good reason to be normal just for one afternoon. Ethan.

He offered to walk me home from school today when we found out we were in the same neighborhood. I had never really paid attention to my neighbors before thanks to Davenport drilling 'stranger danger' into my head for as long as I can remember. But this was great news. Now Ethan and I could see each other all the time! I jerked out of my thoughts when I felt something touching me. Looking down, I spied Ethan's hand tenderly closed around mine and automatically my defense mechanisms sprang into action.

My muscles tensed and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. He had never done that before. All of my martial arts training ran through my head in a rush and I couldn't explain it but I had a powerful urge to grab his arm, flip him, and promptly super speed my way back to the lab. This, of course, did not happen. I snapped my gaze back to the front and forced myself to calm down. I took a deep breath and told my dumb chip Ethan wasn't an attacking enemy and I didn't need to flip him.

Once my body returned to normal, I started to realise that it kind of felt... nice. It made me feel safe and secure, like as long as we held hands, nothing could crush us. I know, sounds ridiculous, right? But I left myself have that moment of pleasure before Ethan began talking again.

"You know your favorite band, Lemonade Mouth?" He asked me casually but I could sense something was coming.

"Yeah..." I replied warily, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

"Well, they're having an outdoor concert tomorrow only fifteen minutes away. I've got a car, so I can drive you there. We can go together." He offered. He just dropped the topic casually like it was no big deal but when I glanced his way, I could sense his hopeful anxiety as strongly as if it were my own. Then it dawned on me. He was asking me out on a date. Wow, our first date. My first date. Ethan and I had been together as a couple since we connected at the school dance but had never actually had a real first date. Until now.

I was at a loss for words. How is someone supposed to respond to something like this? Ethan was acting nonchalant about the whole thing, so should I play it cool too? I decided to do the same. First date? No biggie. Just another little event on the old planner.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. I'll be there." I smiled flirtatiously and inched a little closer to his side. I couldn't wait to get home so I could scream into a pillow and freak out like a girly girl. What? I'm not cool all the time. And just as it came up, we were rounding the last corner and approaching the end of our walk. I was on the verge of running around the world and back just for the fun of it. Ethan and I parted in front of my house.

"I'll text you the details!" He called over his shoulder as he strut away looking just as elated as I was. I paused to watch Ethan walk all the way until he turned the last corner to his house before I finally came inside my home. Tomorrow is going to rock.

An electrifying shock shot through me, sending chills down my spine. My neck felt frazzled and stiff afterwards like it always does when Davenport messes with my chip. I wanted so badly to scratch the back of my neck but he didn't give us the "all clear" sign yet. In the meantime, I tapped my fingers against the capsule's glass and wondered what kind of crazy ability I would get this time. But I had a feeling it wouldn't just be my crazy ability. On my right, Chase and Adam stirred in their capsules as the operation came to an end and all three of us began to wake.

That's what the shock was for, to wake us up. If we didn't get shocked, who knew how long we would be asleep under the medication? I looked back to the front just in time to catch Davenport's "all clear" sign. Thank goodness. I was ready to get out of there and go experience life. I stepped out of my capsule and started to stretch out my stiff muscles. Jeez, how long was I in there? Must have been some upgrade. Davenport drew his gaze over all three of us and sighed contentedly.

"That operation was flawless! I continue to amaze myself with my ingenious me." He flashed a movie star grin and I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe when you're done kissing your own butt, you can tell us what you did that was so genius." I said with mock curiosity.

Davenport shot me a glare while Chase snickered. "Ha ha. I'll have you know that I may have potentially made you three the most powerful force on Earth." Davenport paused dramatically to let his words sink in. I'd already known that we were powerful - especially compared to the average teen - but what had he done to make us all that he talked us up to be? Intrigued, I kept my mouth shut to let him explain.

"I was thinking about Chase's Commando App when I got the idea for this. Like the Commando App, the Absolute State activates in the face of an imminent threat but it takes a bit more push for activation because this is much, much more powerful. The Absolute State is de-activated when the threat has been eliminated. But when it activates, it affects all three of you at once, giving you incredible powers you've never even dreamed of possessing before." Davenport raked his gaze on the now perplexed three. A million questions ran through my head at once. What kind of powers did we get? And when he mentioned the threat being eliminated, did he mean dead? The thought of me killing someone because I had no control over myself made me feel sick. At that moment I couldn't care less about how much "power" I had. I didn't want to be a murderer!

"Like what kind of incredible powers are we talking about here? Do I get to fly? Or have swords for arms?" Adam asked enthusiastically. I had looked at Davenport the whole time but Adam's statement caught me off guard. I jerked my head to the side so I was gazing into his eager expression. How could he say that? Didn't he consider all the damage we were capable of doing now?

"Don't be silly, Adam. We have to think about this seriously." Chase argued. Thank goodness! At least someone else had some concerns about the ethics of this. Chase sometimes comes off as a straight-faced robot babbling about statistics all the time but I think underneath that emotionless exterior -

"We're probably just going to have the same abilities we have now only to extreme measures. Right, Davenport?" - is a cold, dead chip where his heart was supposed to be. So much for having someone on my side. Looks like it's a one-man fight, which is fine. I didn't need that jerk anyway.

"Yeah, I'll admit the Absolute State sounds pretty cool with the new powers and all, but have any of you considered what we're really capable of doing? With uncontrollable power running loose, we could destroy entire cities in pursuit of the 'threat'. And frankly, I'm not a fan of striking down all our enemies either." There, I said it. I spoke my mind, take it or leave it.

Three stunned pairs of eyes turned slowly to look at me. Under their astonished stares, my confidence began to ebb. Was I really so far out of line by speaking out against the upgrade? Finally Davenport cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Bree, the purpose of the Absolute State is to guarantee success. And during say, a battle, this could definitely come in handy because it will keep you completely focused on the fight and nothing else. It could very likely save your life one day." Davenport explained. But I still wasn't convinced.

"But what about the lives of others?" I pressed. I had come too far now to back down.

"Listen, as much as I hate to bring it up, you're not going to be training in this lab forever. One day, you'll be out on real do-or-die missions where you will do what you must to keep the world at peace. If that means killing someone, then it means killing someone. That's your destiny, the reason you were created. The Absolute State is there to help you save the world." Davenport looked boldly into my gaze, daring me to contradict him.

But I didn't have anything left in my fuel tank. He had played the destiny card. Hard to argue with that. I sighed recessively and refused to look him in the eyes. "I understand." I forced out the words out. To simply say that defeat tastes bitter would be a huge understatement. Davenport seemed satisfied with my answer and didn't bring up our 'little' conversation again for the rest of the day. But I couldn't stop thinking about it. One day, I get asked on my first date and the next it's like I'm enrolled in the military. But the way Davenport had put it, I might as well have been born a general.

Then it hit me. The date. Between the upgrade and the painful wake-up-call-conversation, I had completely forgotten about it! Ethan was to pick me up at my house with his car. Right. I frantically searched for a clock then remembered I had one built-in. It was 4:51:08. I had about nine minutes to get ready. I let out a sigh of relief. I was afraid I'd missed it. I had more than enough time to change into something cute and non-mission suit. I could even swing by the mall if I wanted something new. In the end, I decided on getting a whole new outfit. Hey, I deserved it.

I zipped back home in a matter of seconds feeling like I just stepped out of a fashion magazine. I stood critiquing myself in front of one of the many mirrors Davenport just had hanging randomly around the house. I must have adjusted hundreds of microscopic errors with my appearance before Adam and Chase strolled into the living room. I hardly glanced in their direction before straightening out my jeans - again. They must noticed have noticed all the fuss over my look because they started laughing and whispering to each other trying to get a rise out of me.

"Ah, don't you love nature - despite what it did to you?" Chase grinned mischievously. Here we go. This will probably end with two black eyes and one happy Bree. Will they ever learn?

"Yeah!" Adam added.

"I don't suppose you have anything worth dressing up for?" Silence. "Yeah, didn't think so." Bree - 1. Guys - 0.

"If case you've forgotten, we all just got an upgrade so the side-effects are bound to start kicking in any time now. But you obviously don't mind puking on your date. Poor kid. He'll never even know what hit him." Chase and Adam pretended to throw up all over the floor. I'd forgotten about the upgrade side-effects! They were late so that meant they were more likely to be severe, and by severe I mean driving me insane.

The one downside to getting upgrades is the ever annoying side-effects that last about 24 hours at best. What I've learned is the longer it takes for them to start-up, the harsher the side-affect. Adam and Chase were referring to my last upgrade when I got the ability to rappel off walls. I started throwing up and couldn't stop. I literally puked with nothing in my stomach. This went on for the entire stupid 24 hours. But I wasn't the only one to ever get an upgrade. I held back a sly grin as I recalled the time Chase got his Commando App. His voice cracked to the point where it was too embarrassing to talk at all because every time he said something to defend himself, he'd just make us laugh even harder. Hmm. Now there's an idea.

"I'm actually feeling just fine." I started. "But I can't say the same for you, Chase." I deliberately made my voice crack on that last statement to an exaggerated measure just to annoy him. He shot me his best death glare while Adam and I burst out laughing. I'd just brought back a bad memory and stolen his favorite partner in crime. More like a cute little side-kick, but still.

Suddenly Chase's death glare receded and shot to the door. The beginnings of a subtle smirk began to form on his face. "Ethan's only a block away." That was all he needed to say to turn me into a storm of panic. I completely forgot about the argument and whipped my attention back to the mirror. I did a quick scan and finally concluded that I looked okay. I super-sped to the door wishing I could speed all the way to his car so I wouldn't have to wait. The one thing I hate more than anything in the world is waiting. It practically kills me how slow the rest of the world is compared to me.

"Wait, you're actually going on a date today? With the upgrade and side-effects and everything?" It was the first time Adam had actually said his own sentence in the argument. Huh, I hadn't really thought about it that way before. On the other hand, this date was really important. It was my first one and besides, Lemonade Mouth was only playing that day and then they were off to the next town and it would be too late. It just couldn't miss it.

"Yes, I really am. I just can't miss it. I'll have to deal with the side-effects, whatever they are. This is important." I replied sincerely.

"Alright, your choice. But just so you know, if you end up killing the guy don't come crying to us." Chase smiled jokingly so I knew he didn't mean it. He may not have meant it, but his mention of me killing someone brought my mind back to the earlier conversation with Davenport and with the memory came the sickening dread of the concept. Would Ethan be the first to die under my new abilities?

But there was no time to ponder the dreaded question before the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down by convincing my brain that today was a day like any other. There is no danger. You and Ethan are perfectly safe. I thought, making the dread creep away for the moment. Putting on my most radiant, happy-go-lucky smile, I opened the door.

A/N: So, what did you guys think? And more importantly, what kind of train-wreck will this date turn out to be? Because we all know a train-wreck is a' comin'. ;)