Lee and her sisters arrived at the bright white portal behind the school's gym bleachers just as black clouds outside began to roll and rumble.
As she, Ella, Donna and Ellie stepped inside, her sisters crowed in behind their older sister.
"Mother?" Donna called out, her voice was echoing through the Flying Fortress.
"She won't be back in about an hour." Lee said. She hit the light switch on and used her blue magic to take out her favorite comic book Space Heroes.
As Donna unfurled the dark purple sweater she'd wore around her body and Ella pulled off her shoes, Ellie flopped back into the comfy black couch.
"Dude, I'm beat!" Ellie said with a big sigh. "I wonder what's on TV."
Lee stared at Ellie for a moment. "You know, I'm not surprised you've been hanging out with April. But aren't you taking this all a bit too lightly?"
"What are you talking about?" Ellie asked as she opened one lazy green re to gaze her oldest sister quizzically.
"You should be aware that she's watching us." Lee replied. "Don't you realize that?"
"Hey." Ellie said as she propped her feet up on the table. "April is a cool girl. Maybe she'll get a few headaches I can cast and she'll never know about us."
"Speak for yourself, dumbhead." Ella snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
"As soon as we see her again, we'll go ask her a few question." Donna suggested.
Lee nodded her head. "Until we know more, we'd better watch our steps and keep our eyes peeled."
Then, a tremendous thunderclap made Donna and Ellie jump onto Lee and Ella's arms and every light in the room flickered out.
"There go the lights." Donna said as she rolled her eyes and let her arms go from Ella.
"I'd keep my eyes peeled, Lee!" Ellie quipped as she continues to hold onto her oldest sister. "But I wouldn't see anything anyway!"
"That's because the lights are out, you doof!" Donna yelled.
"Don't worry, girls." Ella's voice called out next to the others. "I've got this."
Suddenly, Lee, Donna, and Ellie detected a bright glow dancing through the air. They spun around in time to see a tiny red fireball, bouncing playfully in Ella's palm. Ella let out a easy grin and held her hand up over her head to let the fireball hover in the air a few feet above her as she continues to send out more. They watched the fireballs bobbling around the living room, filling the space.
"Wow! Now I can feel the heat on them!" Ellie breathed as her hands pierced on the fireball. "Cool."
"They won't burn you unless I told them to." Ella said with a sly grin.
Ellie send out a glare with a pout on her face at Ella.
With a gleam in her eye, Donna walked back to her lab room.
"Okay." Donna announced. "Now it's my turn to show you guys something."
That got Michelle off the couch. She followed Donna into the kitchen with a exciting look in her eyes as Lee and Ella trailed after her.
"Come on out, XR." Donna said as she leaned with casualness against the wall.
"XR?" Ellie echoed, peering around the lab in confusion. "I don't see him."
"I'm here, Mistress Donna." A haughty British voice rang out through the lab. He stepped out of the shadows and walked next to Donna. He
Donna watched as Ellie screamed and stared at the robot.
"Whoa!" Ellie screeched, pointing at the robot. "He's so cool!"
"Ahem." XR said. "I should be able to fix the power system in no time."
"XR has very refined tastes, you see." Donna explained.
"He's so cool!" Ellie shrieked.
"Nice." Ella blinked at the robot.
"He's so cool!" Ellie yelled once more as she grabbed Ella by the shoulders and shaking her.
"All right already!" Ella snapped. "I'm not deaf!"
For five minutes after XR fixed the electrical system to turn the power on, Donna joined Lee at the kitchen table as Lee had finished pouring some drinks and pulled out a jar of cookies while Ella petted her black parasitic cat Samson and Ellie was still flopped on the couch, dully staring at the weather show.
"So what you think April thinks of us?" Donna asked.
"Beats me." Ella answered with a shrug. "But I'm more prepared about her motives on us."
"Ella's right." Lee said. "We must keep an eye on her."
"Speaking of which." Ellie said, turning away from the news. "I wanted to tell you guys something."
"Uh, girls!" Lee screamed, looking through the rain-spattered window in horror. "Mother's back!"
Donna, Ella, and Ellie were moving in closer behind Lee to their mother flying towards the fortress in a white bubble. With that, Lee spun around to point at the dozen of fireballs bobbing around.
"Ella!" Lee ordered. "The spheres!"
"I'm on it!" Ella saluted. She took a deep breath and felt a burst of warmth in her palm. "Fire, out!" Then, suddenly, the fireball had disappeared.
"XR, shut down!" Donna ordered her android.
XR nodded his head and ran back to the lab room as he was completely shut down inside of Donna's supercomputer. When Donna ran with Ella and Ellie toward the couch, Lee used her magic to straighten the entire room and sat with them.
Few seconds later, the front door swung open.
"Girls?" Saldana said as she poked her head through the door.
"Um, hi, mom!" Lee chirped nervously.
"Hiya, mom!" Ellie said as she waved at her mother with a big smile.
"What's up?" Ella said with a causal grin as Samson jumped onto her lap.
But Donna gulped as she quietly looked around the room to see XR is inside of her supercomputer.
"Some storm, huh?" Saldana said with a friendly smile. Then, she walked away to her room. "Sorry, I was late. Tomorrow, I want you to meet someone who was a friend of mine from a long time."
"Okay!" Lee, Ella, Donna, and Ellie smiled innocently in unison.