The down side to being a super genius is that your brain works far too fast for the rest of you to keep up. Donald Davenport had a list of about eight hundred and twelve things his brain was telling him to do right now. Of those eight hundred and twelve things he'd only done one – he chartered a flight and called Tasha asking her to come back from her assignment in New York. There were so many things he had to do, but he couldn't leave the kids unsupervised in the condition they were in. There was no one other than Tasha he could trust with their care until they were all back on their feet.
Once Tasha got home then Donald could really get to work on all the things that needed to be addressed: upgrade their home security; get Adam out from under the control of Douglas' remote; replace the capsules and reprogram their operating systems completely. Donald already had a team of technicians on standby ready to swoop into the lab and replace all the equipment. Of course they didn't know that they'd have their memories wiped of all that they helped accomplish, but they'd have a nice bonus in their bank accounts to compensate for the confusion.
Davenport's mind wandered as he fiddled with a gadget at his work station; he was reluctant to start anything until Chase was awake and out of the lab. He was probably overreacting with the decision to replace the capsules completely, especially since the bionic teens would be without them in these first crucial days while they were healing, but he wasn't willing to take the risk. Douglas was too good at programming and too driven with revenge for Donald to believe that although he was unable to go through with his plan that he hadn't left a few encoded landmines behind. There was no way in hell that Donald was letting Chase get back into that capsule without being absolutely sure that Douglas hadn't left some nasty surprises behind.
"Mr. Davenport?"
Donald whirled around from the station where he was working; and all thoughts of his psychopathic brother flew out of his head. Chase was awake and looking at him.
"Chase!" Donald jumped up out of his chair and stepped over to the medical stretcher where the youngest bionic teen had been sleeping. He couldn't prevent the gigantic smile that spread across his face, and Chase responded with a weary smile of his own.
Donald put a hand on Chase's chest when the boy struggled to sit up asking, "Where's Adam? Bree?"
"Hold on...hold on, Chase. Not so fast." Donald did a little dance, stretching to reach his equipment on the table without losing contact with Chase and keeping him in place. It took Donald a second to realize why Chase wasn't listening to him; he gave up his efforts to grab a scanner and turned back to Chase. The teen's expression was filled with anxiety.
"They're upstairs."
Chase froze as he processed the information. Donald continued quickly. "I sent them upstairs to eat and get some sleep hours ago."
Chase's hazel eyes were wide as he searched Davenport's face praying that what he was being told was actually the truth. Chase clutched the hand on his chest with his right hand while he propped himself up on his left elbow.
"They're okay? Bree's okay? Leo too?" Chase swallowed hard. "And Adam? Where's Douglas?"
Donald could see that Chase wasn't going to relax until he had more information. He was actually very relieved that Chase was talking and asking so many questions; there was no way to assess how Adam's energy pulse effected Chase's bionic brain until he started using it. Davenport nodded as he assisted Chase into a seated position.
"I'll explain everything, let's just get you settled."
Chase used Donald as support as he swung his legs over the side of the cot. The questions stopped as Chase oriented himself; he used his left hand to brace himself, and still had his right hand holding on to Donald to keep himself upright. Donald was a little concerned about overall muscle weakness.
"Head rush," Chase mumbled in explanation.
"Can you sit by yourself for a second while I get my equipment?" asked Donald. Chase nodded and managed not to fall off the stretcher; Davenport took that as a good sign.
Gathering up the equipment gave Donald a chance to strategize and work out what he wanted to tell Chase. Of everyone who was in the lab when Douglas invaded, Chase would be the one who remembered the least. The teen never had any memory of what he did when Spike usurped his programming, and then he'd been knocked out by the blast from Adam. Donald knew that the holes in his memory deeply disturbed Chase because he felt profoundly responsible for whatever Spike had done when Chase wasn't in control; and it was likely the last thing he remembered was the impulse to go after and destroy Adam.
Davenport turned back to the cot. Chase's head was down but he wasn't using his arms to keep himself steady any longer. His hands were clasped loosely in his lap and his legs dangled over the edge of the cot.
"The good news is everyone's fine." Donald began with no preamble. Chase's head came up as he looked over to listen. "A few more bumps and bruises than usual..."
Chase's gaze clouded; Davenport didn't know if he was thinking about Bree's injury, which had upset Chase enough to make him glitch and send him into Commando Mode, or the unknown damage he caused to Adam while Spike was in control.
Donald stepped in front of Chase. "You've actually got most of the worst of them," Davenport mused as he brushed the bruising on the right side of Chase's neck with his fingertips.
Chase blinked, and his fingertips followed Donald's. It was as though he only just realized he'd been injured too.
Donald shone a small flashlight in Chase's eyes to check his pupil reactions. It was one small thing in their favor that it didn't look like Chase had a concussion on top of everything else. "How's your head?" Donald asked as he gently probed the bump on Chase's left temple.
Again Chase's hand drifted up to explore an injury he didn't remember getting. "Uh...a little achy."
"And your vision? Is anything blurry? Any pixilation?" asked Davenport.
Chase squinted and peered across the lab. "Nope. If that mangled piece of steel is all that's left of that stool in the corner, then I can see just fine."
Donald threw a glance of his shoulder. Although they had cleaned up a lot, there was still plenty of wreckage in the lab. But now that Chase was awake, Donald could move forward with the next part of his plan.
"Mr. Davenport, what about the others?" Even though he wasn't on top of his game, Chase was hard to sidetrack.
"Maybe it'd be best if you could see for yourself," Donald suggested. Chase lit up at the suggestion. Davenport looked down at his watch. It was close to 4 a.m. and in the condition they were in he wasn't sending anyone to school – no doubt he'd be getting another call from Principal Perry about them being absent - so Donald had no qualms about waking people up if it helped Chase settle down.
Chase made an attempt to hop off the cot. The hopping part was alright, but staying on his feet afterward…not so much. Chase smacked his right hand to the middle of his forehead as Donald helped him stay upright.
"Head rush," they said together.
"Why don't we take it easy heading for the elevator, okay?" Donald recommended. Chase really had no choice but to take it slow; his legs were still rubbery underneath him.
"Why am I so wobbly?" Chase asked once they entered the elevator and he leaned against the wall, though he seemed more interested in information than concerned about the unusual weakness.
"Your muscles absorbed a massive amount of energy…they still need time to rebound and shake it off." explained Donald.
The elevator stopped at the kitchen and Donald stepped out. He was a little surprised to see all of the lights on, and hear the television going in the other room. Looking up he could see Leo, Bree and Adam camped out on the couch from left to right. Donald smiled; Chase was going to get the answers to his questions more promptly than anticipated.
Davenport stepped back slightly and made room for Chase to step into the kitchen in front of him. He kept a hand on the teen's back because he remained unsteady. Bree's delighted cry of, "Chase!" barely made it across the room before she did. Donald had anticipated something of the sort and was ready to catch Chase when Bree knocked him over. But he wasn't prepared for when Adam joined the group and lifted all three of them off the floor.
Bree, being the closest to Adam and hugged by Chase got the worst of the enthusiastic squishing, but she just laughed. Donald had to laugh as well; it was such a relief after all the intensity and uncertainty of the night before to have everybody there and in one piece.
"Adam! Put us down!" Chase called out in fond exasperation from the middle of the pile.
Adam nearly dropped them with the speed he put the group down. He opened his arms wide and took a step back. Davenport could see Adam fighting the impulse to follow the direct order, but at the same time, he didn't want to do any more damage to Chase. Davenport saw Adam's hand go to the remote in his pocket. That was the next thing to address on his very long agenda.
Meanwhile, Bree, Chase and Leo missed all of the by-play. Bree was busy hugging Chase and sympathetically checking his injuries while Leo enjoyed the view from his perch on Adam's back. Then Leo jumped down to get a hug of his own.
"Chase! I'm so glad to see you!" Leo called out with genuine relief in his voice.
"Thanks Leo. You too." Chase warmly hugged the younger boy back.
Davenport was concerned that Chase and Adam might have more difficulty reconnecting, but he needn't have worried. By the time Chase released Leo the bionic brothers were both heading toward each other. Adam engulfed Chase in a bear hug, and Chase returned the gesture with all the strength he could muster.
When the boys broke apart the silence was palpable. Donald knew that there was so much to say, particularly between the two boys, but it didn't have to be addressed immediately. Davenport began to give directions, and then he stopped himself. When he had better phrasing in his head he started again.
"I think it's a good idea for Chase to sit down. Why don't you all go back over to the couch?" Donald suggested.
Obediently the teens headed over toward the living room area. Adam was particularly attentive walking Chase from the kitchen to the couch. While they got settled, Davenport gathered ingredients for a shake for Chase. A can of protein drink, a banana, some milk, ice and a handful of the nutrition pellets all went into the blender. If any of the other kids wanted something to eat, they were on their own.
When Donald joined the group in the living room they were in the middle of quiet conversation. Chase was encased in Leo's blanket sitting between Adam and Bree; Davenport didn't know if they realized they arranged themselves in capsule order. Chase was most concerned about the bruising on Bree's face; as far as Donald could see, the swelling was much less and the black and purple bruising was already fading to yellow around the edges, but this was the first time Chase saw the injury since it happened and he was disturbed. Bree's genetically engineered immune system and her enhanced metabolism were already healing her five times more swiftly than a regular human. If she'd been able to sleep in her capsule, the injury would virtually be gone, but all things considered she was healing quite nicely.
"It's not so bad, Chase," Bree tried to reassure him. She let her long brown hair fall in waves around her face because Chase's dismay made her feel self-conscious.
"It really does look so much better," Leo offered. "Before it was puffy, like out to here and she couldn't even use her right eye…" Leo held his hand inches away from his cheek and squeezed his right eye shut in a pantomime of what Bree looked like earlier.
"Leo!" Donald admonished. Leo might have been oblivious to how his comment affected Adam, but Donald wasn't. But at least he could distract them by offering Chase something to eat. "Here Chase, drink this."
Chase obligingly took the offered shake.
Then Davenport seated himself on the end of the couch near Leo's feet and took a small tool kit out of his pocket. "Adam, may I see the remote?"
Chase's head whipped around to his right and he immediately winced as the muscles in his neck protested. "Why do you still have that thing?" he asked in alarm.
Adam shrugged a little as leaned across Chase and Bree to pass the remote to Donald. "It's okay, Chase. I'm giving myself the orders."
"Which could be a little scary," added Bree as an aside.
Chase keenly watched Donald as he took the casing apart. "Mr. Davenport, has Adam been under the influence of that thing all this time? How long has it been?"
Davenport distractedly responded, "It's just been a few hours…" as he fiddled with the internal mechanics.
"Twelve." Adam stated.
"What?" Chase replied.
"Twelve hours. It's been twelve hours. Douglas got the jump on me right after school on the way home and now it's four in the morning."
Chase was horrified. "Why did you wait so long, Mr. Davenport?"
Donald rolled his eyes. "There's been a lot going on, Chase!" He held up his hand to forestall further conversation. "You keep drinking. I'll take care of this," he gestured to the remote in his hand.
It was unusual to work in front of such an attentive audience. Even Adam, who generally had very little patience or interested in technical things was understandably focused on what Donald was doing. It was unnervingly quiet until Chase got to the bottom of his shake and the silence was shattered by loud slurping sounds.
"Good one!" Adam said approvingly.
He held out his hand for a fist-bump which Chase returned with a grin. Donald grinned too and than said, "Adam, stand on your head."
Adam replied, "With or without my shoes on?"
Leo did a huge double take, and then everyone paused. Donald waited. He caught Chase's eye and winked. They both waited. Bree grabbed Chase's hand and an expression of understanding bloomed on Leo's face. They all waited.
"It makes a difference with the balance, you know?" Adam explained as he remained seated on the couch. Then he blinked. He pointed at Donald. "Hey, wait! You just gave me a direct order."
Davenport laughed. "And you didn't follow it…"
"YES!" Adam exclaimed as he jumped up from the couch and promptly fell over his own feet.
Davenport's brows drew down into a frown as he jumped up and helped Adam back onto the couch. "Hmm…that may be an unaccounted for side-effect…"
Adam was unfazed by his recent encounter with the carpet. "Give me another one," he demanded.
"Go take a bath!" ordered Leo.
"No!" Adam responded gleefully.
"That's not really a challenge, he doesn't do that anyway." snerked Bree. "Go take a lap!" she yelled pointing toward the glass doors out to the patio.
"NO!" Adam yelled back.
"Quiet down," Davenport urged the increasingly noisy group.
"NO!" the three of them yelled back together.
Donald raised his hands in a "be quiet" gesture and pointed at Chase; not that the noise really mattered, he'd fallen asleep with all the yelling so more yelling would most likely not wake him up. In all the excitement about Adam being free from Douglas' remote, Chase curled himself up into a ball and promptly went to sleep.
"What happened?" asked Adam in concern. "Is he…" he changed his volume to a dramatic stage whisper which was just about as loud as his regular speaking voice, "is he supposed to do that?"
Davenport smiled fondly at the lump under the blanket. "I was hoping that would happen." He walked over and reseated himself near Leo. "Right now the best thing for Chase is to sleep, just look at how much Bree has improved with just a few hours of rest. The combination of the protein shake and the bionic pellets should give Chase what he needs to start healing, and the best way for him to do that is getting lots and lots of sleep."
Leo sat with his arms folded across his chest. He nodded as Donald explained but then he added, "But does he need to do it with my blanket?"