After Mr. Davenport sent them out of the lab and up to the kitchen to eat, Bree found herself in charge of Adam and Leo. Adam was easy enough to feed; he cooked the steak she'd been holding on her face with his laser vision. Shockingly, neither she nor Leo was inclined to share when Adam offered. Leo put together a bowl of cereal, and Bree stuck to finger foods like fruit and crakers. Her right eye was nearly swollen shut and it was very hard to see; she didn't want to try to eat off a spoon or a fork with only one good eye to guide her hand.
The meal was eaten mostly in silence, with none of the usual banter, teasing or arguing. There was a big, gaping hole where Chase was supposed to be but none of them wanted to address it. It didn't seem right to sit around and watch a movie or play games, and Mr. Davenport said they needed to try and sleep, so after eating everyone turned in.
Bree curled up on the couch Tasha picked out for her to match the décor in her room. Even though she'd gone back to sleeping down in the lab, this room was still considered "her" space - when the boys gave her ten minutes alone. Usually the cozy peach couch was her favorite spot to sit and relax. She even picked up her cell phone thinking she would call Kaitlyn as a distraction even though it was practically the middle of the night, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with Kaitlyn's babbling. What Bree wanted was someone to listen to her; but she could hardly call up Kaitlyn and explain how their evil creator had invaded their home, turned her brothers against one another and almost single-handedly destroyed everything! She couldn't help going over the events of the last few hours in her head.
Bree should've been more suspicious when Adam gestured her over to the rock wall; she assumed he was setting up a prank on Chase, but he didn't explain his goofy plan or giggle at something he had hidden. Adam was too quiet, but Bree didn't put it together until the handcuff snapped shut around her right wrist. Bree straightened up and pulled away in shock, and that's when she saw Douglas with the remote. Chase, Leo and Mr. Davenport walked into the lab moments later through the main set of double doors. Chase saw the danger before Bree had a chance to call out; he dove and dragged Leo to safety under his Mission Specialist console, but Mr. Davenport was hit by a blast of energy from another devise Douglas produced.
Bree watched helplessly as Mr. Davenport was hoisted to hover above Leo's station. Chase quickly got back on his feet and immediately tried to reason with Adam, but it was no use; Douglas was in complete control of Adam's bionics. Bree watched the boys stalk around the lab. It wasn't until Douglas switched to voice control that there was finally something Bree could do. Unfortunately, invoking her voice manipulation only ended up getting her smashed in the face and knocked unconscious.
When she roused shortly afterwards, Bree was dismayed to see how quickly the situation had gotten ugly. It was obvious that Spike had usurped Chase, and watching the boys fight each other made Bree feel sick. She once told Leo not to interfere when her brothers were squabbling and using their powers on each other; "they're bionic brothers…that's the way they roll," she'd said then. But that was when both of them were in their right minds and in control of their actions.
But worse than watching Adam and Chase destroy the lab while attempting to destroy each other was listening to the casual way Douglas talked about taking Adam and Bree away and leaving Chase's body for Mr. Davenport to bury. It chilled Bree down to her bones. That was the man who had all of Adam's super strength at his disposal!
With everyone's focus on the boys, Bree slowly climbed to her feet and tried to make a plan. She felt utterly useless – what good was her super speed when she was tied to one spot? Bree yanked her hand fruitlessly against the handcuff. But then she looked down at the steel bar that the other end of the cuff was chained to; it was rough, it looked almost serrated. If she could move the chained end of the handcuff fast enough against the rebar, she could create enough friction to melt herself out of the handcuffs. Bree kept half an eye on the lab as she turned her body to hide what she was doing. The handcuff on her wrist bit into her skin, but she ignored the pain; she could see the metal inside the rock wall heating up. Her plan was working!
In spite of her super speed, Bree still wasn't fast enough. She wasn't fast enough to stop Adam from nearly choking the life out of Chase. She wasn't fast enough to prevent Douglas from using Adam's energy blast against Chase. But when Adam resisted Douglas' orders, and Leo used Eddie to shut down the power, Bree was finally fast enough to make a difference. In a blur she raced between Adam and Douglas and whisked Chase out of his capsule. Bree's gut clenched as she remembered the feeling of Chase's dead weight on her back and the way his head bounced against her shoulder.
It was still unclear if the move she made came too late.
I could never tell Kaitlyn any of that! Frustrated, Bree dropped the cell phone on the side table. Her right foot tapped against the couch of its own volition. I can't just sit here!
Bree buzzed down to the first floor. She tidied up the living room, and then took the dishes out of the dishwasher and cleaned them by hand instead of letting the machine do it. But that took hardly any time at all. She sped upstairs to check on the boys; Adam had stationed himself in Leo's room and they both looked like they were sleeping; Bree was only a little jealous.
Mr. Davenport said they had to go upstairs to eat and try to sleep. Well, Bree had done both and he never said they couldn't come back down to the lab. Bree flashed downstairs – taking the secret staircase was so much quicker than waiting for the pokey elevator – but she didn't announce herself. Mr. Davenport was busy doing technical things. For the first time ever, Bree wished she had enough knowledge in order to do something useful and help. It was awful just standing around waiting for Chase to wake up.
Bree looked more keenly at Chase. He'd rolled back onto his back, but didn't look so still and as pale as he had in those first few hours. His left arm was down by his side, but his right hand lay across his stomach. It concerned Bree that, even in his sleep, Chase looked like he was in pain.
I bet those ice packs aren't cold any more.
Finally, there was something Bree could do! In a flash she was up to the kitchen and back down to the lab. She swiftly replaced the compresses on Chase's neck and it looked to her like the tension in his face eased. Bree returned the warm ice packs to the freezer and was startled by a crash and yelling from upstairs.
"Adam! Leo! Are you okay?" Bree asked in concern as she burst into Leo's bedroom.
"What the heck, Adam?!" Leo yelled simultaneously.
In the light from the hallway Adam looked shaken and pale. "Sorry. Sorry…I didn't mean…" He leaned heavily against the closet door as he tried to pull himself together. Leo glanced and Bree and she knew he was as concerned as she was about their biggest brother.
Leo broke the tension by announcing that they should all go get some hot chocolate. Bree jumped right on that bandwagon. "That sounds good, Leo," Bree answered for Adam and herself. "Why don't you go get that started? We'll be right there."
As soon as Leo headed for the hallway, Bree stepped closer to Adam. He was still shaky, but appeared to be a little calmer. "Adam?" Bree asked quietly. "Are you okay?"
"Just a bad dream. It's weird not sleeping in our capsules, you know?" Bree could tell that everything Adam said was true, but he refused to look her in the eye. He wasn't telling her everything. It wasn't like Adam to keep things to himself, but Bree didn't think this was the time to push him to share more, so she just nodded in agreement.
"Come have some hot chocolate," Bree stated as she headed for the door. She heard Adam move behind her, and then he froze. Bree winced. That was an order; she'd given Adam a direct order and he had no choice but to obey. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach as she whirled to face Adam.
"Adam, I'm so sorry," Bree apologized.
Adam waved her off and reached for the remote he had tucked into the pocket of his pajama pants. "It's okay, Bree." This time Adam did look her in the eye and that relieved Bree greatly. "I got this."
Bree hesitated, and then turned to leave the room. She felt like she had to say something before she left, and it was surprisingly hard not to phrase what she wanted to say as a command. She turned back to say, "I'll see you down there."
Bree left Adam standing in Leo's bedroom and trotted downstairs to join Leo in the kitchen. She had to give Leo credit; he was the king of comfort food. For Leo, having hot chocolate included marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint sticks, graham crackers and broken bits of chocolate bars.
When he saw her coming, Leo waved his arm over the counter like a game show host displaying a fabulous prize. "Get your hot chocolate on!" Leo grinned. He passed Bree a large mug, and had another ready for Adam when he joined them.
Leo juggled his mug and the huge comforter he was wrapped in as he made his way over to the L-shaped couch. He made himself a nest in the corner of the couch closest to the door. Bree settled in the middle, holding her mug in both hands; she liked the way the heat seeped into her fingers. Adam sat on the far side of the couch, his long legs stretched out on the cushions that made the short part of the L. None of them were in the mood for sleeping, but no one was in the mood for conversation either. Leo used the remote to turn on the television and picked a random movie channel to watch.
Time passed with very little meaning. One movie ended and and new one began. It was actually one of Chase's favorites; something about Shark Boy and his sidekick. It would've been so much better if…
A soft noise in the kitchen caught Bree's attention. Mr. Davenport stepped out of the elevator. Bree sat up straight, eager to hear some news. Then her jaw dropped. Mr. Davenport had stepped to the side to let Chase get by him.
"Chase!" Bree's cry was elated.
In a flash she was across both rooms and caught Chase up in a hug. It was a good thing Mr. Davenport was right there to hold him up or Bree would've knocked Chase right over with her momentum. Bree had never been so glad to feel Chase hug her back. Moments later Adam joined the group and picked up all three of them in his enthusiasm. Even Leo got in on the hug when he jumped like a spider monkey on Adam's back.
Best. Hug. Ever.
