NINE | 'FANATIC'

Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats: Elite Force but I do own Ventura 'Hex' Mallory and her original story-line and dialogue, as well as any other character who is a part of Ventura's family.

THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO Layla AND Guest FOR REVIEWING! I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU LIKE THIS STORY AND CONTINUE TO SUPPORT IT THROUGH REVIEWING!

"Guys, I just found out they're having an Olympic send-off celebration at the park this afternoon," Oliver cried, running into the penthouse. There was a poster clutched in his hand and Hex looked up at him in confusion.

The witch was seated beside Kaz on the couch, flicking a hex orb over and around her fingers, bored out of her mind. The Mallory girl was still virtually emotionless but when she did show emotion, it was harsh and somewhat cruel. There really wasn't anything to do in the penthouse – Davenport was still away, so no one to tease about their massive head. Hex realised she could always tease Chase about his arrogance but she decided against it, the younger Davenport could throw her across the room with his bionics.

Even though she was ninety-nine percent sure that he wouldn't. It was best not to risk it.

"Ooh, will there be a piñata?" Kaz asked, face alight with hope. "Because if so, my candy-whackin' arm is locked and loaded." He rolled his shoulder, massaging his right arm and Hex shoved it down before he hit her in the face.

"It's a pep rally where fans can meet Olympic athletes before they fly to Rio to compete in the Games," Oliver corrected. He unfurled the poster in excitement, "And best of all Clutch will be there!"

Bree smiled in mock-enthusiasm, "That's awesome! I have no idea who that is."

Kaz and Hex shook their heads as well and Oliver's face dropped, "He's only the greatest weightlifter ever and a shoo-in to win gold. They call him Clutch because he always comes through in the clutch. Also because his real name has fourteen syllables and won't fit on the back of a tank top." Hex didn't say a word and only rolled her eyes but she was secretly glad that Oliver still had something to have a childhood excitement for. "I've seen all of Clutch's competitions. One year I even dressed up like him for Halloween."

"And that was what? One, two years ago?" Hex inquired, face blank and Oliver pouted slightly with a frown. Emotionless Hex was affecting him more than the others, mainly because he depended on her a lot as an older sister-figure

Chase wandered over from the kitchen, "Oliver, instead of some meathead jock why not idolize a real hero? Like a president, or a Nobel-winning scientist." He grinned widely and pointed at himself, "Or me."

Hex shook her head. "Don't do that…ever."

"Or you could idolize a cool athlete like Tom Brady. Or me," Kaz suggested. "I'm great at foos-ball."

"No, you aren't."

"I can't wait to meet Clutch." Oliver froze, growing worried, "Wait, what am I gonna say? What am I gonna wear? Ooh! I wonder if my Halloween costume still fits." Skylar walked down the stairs as Oliver hurried to his room, "Guess what, Skylar? It's Clutch time!"

The water-manipulator zipped off to his room, leaving Skylar to her confusion, "Was he flirting with me or threatening me? I can never tell with his little boy energy."

"Oliver can't flirt to save his life. Or threaten you…to save everyone's lives," Hex sneered at the alien girl. She was still angry at Skylar for getting Crossbow killed – even though she was alive now – and Hex hadn't spoken an actual nice thing to Skylar since. It didn't help that Skylar refused to apologize, not seeing herself in the wrong even when everyone else in the penthouse was urging her to beg for Hex's forgiveness.

"Yeah, don't worry about him," Kaz told Skylar, trying to get rid of the tension between the alien and the witch. "He's just excited to meet his hero who's in the summer Olympics."

Skylar raised a finger, "Girl from another planet question: What are the summer Olympics?"

Bree pushed herself out of her chair and began to explain to her friend, "Oh, they're a series of events for the world's best athletes. The winner takes a gold medal, second takes silver, third takes bronze."

"Oh, yeah, they have that where I'm from too. Except on my planet they don't hand out medals. There if you get second they melt down your bones to build a podium for the winner," Skylar laughed as if that was a good thing.

"I'm sure you think that's a lovely thing," Hex said coldly. "Tell me: how many friends have you laughed at the deaths of? I'm sure you've stood on the bones of one of your friends before or even, I don't know, caused their death."

No one spoke, the room deadly silent before the female bionic coughed lightly.

"Anyway, our Olympics represent sport in the truest form." Bree listed, "There's pageantry, sportsmanship and super-hot guys from countries I've never even heard of."

She sat back down and Chase huffed, "You know, I have always wanted to compete in the Olympics, but my bionics would give me an unfair advantage."

Hex tilted her head, "You have too many dreams for a boy of only seventeen."

"I could arrange for you to compete on my planet," Skylar offered.

Chase's eyes widened, "Yeah, I'm good."

Oliver thundered down the stairs, wearing his Clutch costume and Hex burst into a coughing fit. The superhero posed, "Look! It still fits!"

"Uh, no," Kaz disagreed. "No, it doesn't."

Oliver made a face and did another pose, flexing his arms.

"It is burning our eyes though," Hex informed the boy who was like a brother to her. Even without much feeling, the witch still cared to some extent, something the others were beginning to realize. "So…" She blanketed his form with a long robe of purple magic and clapped lightly as Oliver gave her a dejected look. "That's better."

XXXXX

"This is so exciting!" Oliver cheered, the only one really happy as the group of teenagers walked into the park. "Clutch is gonna be here any second. Ooh, I'm gonna have him sign my bicep!"

"Let's hope he has a fine-tip pen," Skylar commented, nodding at Oliver, who was flexing. Oliver lost his smile and lowered his arm.

Hex tugged her burgundy cardigan closer around her. "Is it just me or is it freezing out here?"

Kaz gave Hex a confused look, it was quite warm, Skylar and Bree were wearing tank-tops and they seemed fine. He glanced around, "Cool, so no piñata. Guess I brought this for nothing." Kaz lifted the piñata stick he was holding and tossed it to Hex, who caught it easily. "Can you magic that back to my room?"

"Told you not to," the witch reminded the fire-manipulator and she threw the stick into the bushes. Kaz watched with a sad look on his face. "It's in your room – the wild."

"Guys, guys," Chase exclaimed, "a fencing demonstration."

"You just threw away my stick," Kaz grumbled to Hex, who gave him a look that said 'you're welcome.' Hex was still awfully sarcastic for a girl who didn't find joy in anything.

"I wish I could compete in the Olympics so bad," Chase continued. "My laser bow would have this thing locked up."

Bree frowned at her brother, "Your laser bow would slice them in half."

Chase smiled, his eyes wide, "Yeah, but I'd win."

"You have a real obsession with winning," Hex noted and Chase nodded quickly. "Knew I put up with you for a reason. Come on."

The witch and bionic wandered off to see the fencing demonstration as Oliver saw Clutch enter the park and started yelling, "It's Clutch! Over here, Clutch! I love you, Clutch!"

"People of Centium City, I give you Clutch!" The weightlifter announced his own entrance. "Uh-oh, people, you know what that means. It's time for you to clap while Clutch lifts heavy things."

XXXXX

Clutch lifted a park bench over his head. "Talk about a walk in the park."

Hex was few feet away, sitting down, still with Chase at the fencing demonstration. She yawned and one of the boards on the park bench fell off and hit Clutch over the head. The man frowned and gently placed the bench down.

XXXXX

"Talk about a bike rack in the park," Clutch commented as he lifted a bike rack, with bikes still attached, above his head.

Hex sneezed and one fell loose, almost landing on Clutch's foot. The weightlifter jumped, eyes wide and put the bike rack down, worried about all the bad luck he seemed to be attracting.

XXXXX

"Talk about lifting a hot dog cart in the park," Oliver called out.

"Hey," Clutch stopped moving the hot dog cart and Oliver shrunk in on himself. "That's Clutch's line."

The burgundy-haired witch coughed, a tickle in her throat and hot dogs began to fall from the cart, pelting Clutch in the face. He stared up, wide-eyed, sure that he had emptied the cart before he lifted it.

XXXXX

"Aw, look, it's a mini version of the Olympics for kids," Bree cooed, pointing at a stall. Chase and Hex were behind her, the witch still wrapped up in her cardigan to keep warm as Chase grumbled.

"Yeah sure, let's give everyone a chance to compete except for Chase." He pointed across the park, "Oh, look, there's a baby. Somebody hand him a javelin!"

Hex snickered quickly – too quickly for the Davenport siblings to notice. She pointed at a boy near them, the boy stretching and making odd noises as he did. "He's getting into it."

"Wait," Bree narrowed her eyes to squint at the boy, "is that Bob?"

The trio headed over to the boy who smiled widely as soon as he saw the female bionic, "Bree!"

"Is this one of the bionic kids?" Hex asked and Bob nodded, waving at her.

"I'm Bob."

"Bob, this is Ventura." Hex waved back to the boy, blank-faced and Chase frowned at the younger bionic, "Why aren't you at the academy?"

"I heard about this contest. Where the winner and a friend gets to run with the Olympic torch. I'm gonna win, then invite Bree to run with me." The boy smiled at Bree, "Ya know, 'cause running is your thing. And, uh, by the way, I'm fourteen now, in case you're still worried about the age difference."

Hex turned to Chase slightly, "Who the Hell is this kid?" The Davenport boy opened his mouth but then closed it and waved the question away with an 'I'll tell you later' look.

"I'm worried about a lot of things, and age isn't one of them," Bree wrinkled her nose, shaking her head. "Look, Bob, you can't compete in this contest. You have bionics. It'd be cheating."

"Yeah, but don't you see? We'll carry the Olympic flame. Which can never be extinguished." Bob added softly, "Like my love for you."

"Aww," Bree cooed.

"Eww," Hex said at the same time.

Bob looked hopeful, "So you in?"

"No," Bree said bluntly and walked away.

Hex set her jaw and poked at Chase's stomach, telling him, "No getting ideas, Mister," before she followed after Bree.

XXXXX

The announcer's voice came over the intercom as Bree and Hex stood to the side, "Our next competitor in the Mini Olympics shot-put event: Bob!"

Bob picked up the shot-put easily, ignoring the look the man who had been struggling with it gave him. He threw it, the metal sphere sailing out of sight. Bree pursed her lips as the crowd clapped.

"Is that good?" Bob asked the crowd. "I-I honestly have no idea what I'm doing."

"Bob," Bree called, gaining the younger bionic's attention. "What is going on here? I thought I told you, you couldn't compete in the Mini Olympics because you're bionic."

"I know. But my new coach told me it was okay," Bob told the two girls.

"What new coach?" Bree asked, confused.

Hex smiled at her friend, a cold twitch of her lips, "I told him 'don't get any ideas, Mister.' What is this? An idea! Does your brother never listen?"

Bree tossed her head back in realization as Chase walked over to Bob, instructing, "No talking to lookie-loos. Focus, Bob. Focus."

"Chase?" Bree demanded, "What're you up to?"

"Look, since I can't compete in the real Olympics, running with the torch is the closest I'll ever get. And when you so rudely turned Bob down, I stepped in." Chase threw his arm around Bob's shoulders and shrieked like a child, "I'm gonna run with the torch!"

"What if they think you're cheating and disqualify you? You're not 'gonna run with the torch!'" Hex told Chase, mimicking his spastic jump.

"It's totally cheating," Bree agreed with her burgundy-haired friend.

"Ah, technically it isn't," Chase disagreed. "You see, the real Olympics have very strict rules. But since this is just a rinky-dink challenge for kids, the only rule is: 'Have fun.' Which means Bob can compete."

"Unless I hex his legs so they're permanently glued together." Bob had no idea what the burgundy-haired girl meant but he still gulped in worry when her sharp green eyes narrowed on him.

"Okay, well it may not be cheating, but it's still not fair," Bree allowed Chase's point. "All these kids, they wanna win and you're crushing their dreams."

"Well, yeah, but…I'm gonna run with the torch!" Chase repeated, yelling out the last part.

"Oh my God," Hex grabbed Chase's shoulders. "Enough with the jumping, it's annoying! Or I'll get Kaz to make you into a torch!"

Hex stalked off and the two Davenport siblings looked at each other with wide, surprised eyes. Hex had been annoyed – she'd felt something. With a slight shake of his head, an almost self-serving smile, Chase pulled Bob away from his blank-faced sister. He'd made Ventura Mallory feel.

XXXXX

"Hey, guys," Bree greeted Bob and Chase beside the start line. A small, pretty girl in a pink shirt was beside her and Hex was behind them, playing Candy Crush on her phone. "Say hello to Zoe. You know, she really wants to win the mini Olympics, but since you two are playing unfair, she needs a little help. So, I'm gonna be her coach."

"What?"

"Yep," Bree nodded at her younger brother. "Since you're using your bionics, I'm gonna use mine to make sure that you don't win. Isn't that right, Zoe?"

Zoe looked up at the bionic girl, "I don't even know you. I'm supposed to be doing this with my dad." Zoe pointed at Hex, "She had some weird purple stuff and she—" the girl gestured to Bree "—just grabbed me and dragged me over here."

Hex glanced up and shrugged, before going back to her game. Bree laughed nervously and bent down to Zoe's height, "Well, you wanna win, right?"

"More than anything," Zoe nodded.

Bree held up a hand for a high-five, "Well, then I say we show them serious girl power."

"Okay," Zoe chirped, clapping her hand to Bree's. The little girl was a neck and head shorter than Bob and she poked the boy in the chest. "I'm gonna kick your butt."

Bob turned to Chase, gripping his shoulder. "Chase, I'm nervous." The older boy rolled his eyes as Bob fearfully finished, "Girl power scares me."

"Oh, yeah," Hex muttered, glancing up and flashing purple eyes at Bob and Chase over the other girls' shoulders. "Be very afraid."

Bob gulped just as the announcer spoke, "Next up for the long jump: Bob!"

"Just remember to use your super strength to push off," Chase instructed and stepped back.

Bob took a breath and didn't even run, only jumping straight away, yelling, "Cannonball!" He landed with a thud in the long jump pit and looked around as the people standing nearby coughed and waved sand clouds away. "Where'd all the sand go?"

After a few minutes waiting for the organizers to replace the sand for the long jump event, the announcer called, "Next up, we have Zoe!"

"Okay, you just try to keep your legs out in front of you, and I'm gonna do the rest with my invisibility app," Bree told the little girl in front of her. "You ready?"

"Let's do this!" Zoe took off at a slow run and Bree turned invisible, lifting the girl just as she jumped and putting her down gently in the sand.

Bree became visible again, making it look like she came out of the bushes, "Yay! You did it."

"Hey, that's not fair," Chase complained, walking over to his sister.

"Why not?" Bree questioned. "You said it yourself the only rule is to have fun. And I am having a blast. Come on, Zoe."

The two girls walked away, Zoe calling back with a sarcastic wave, "See you later, sandman."

Bob gaped and placed a hand over his chest, offended. Chase crossed his arms and swung around to look at Hex, "Can't you do something?"

"Like what?" Hex asked blankly. "Hex your sister and make her chip fizzle out? Or maybe, the big, bad, Olympics fanatic wants the witch to hurt a little girl?" Chase looked down in shame and Hex heaved a sigh, pocketing her phone and grabbing the bionic's hands, "Listen, Chase. This is just a silly game for kids, don't get so invested in it. Okay?"

Chase nodded slightly, squeezing Hex's hands back, "I just really want this."

Hex's shoulders slumped slightly. "Well, then I can't stop you. But please, don't crush either of those kids' dreams. That don't deserve that shit."

"I'll try not to," Chase promised.

Hex nodded slowly and impulsively, leant forward, pressing a kiss to Chase's cheek before she walked away. Chase stayed still, face red and eyes unfocused for a few moments until Bob made a cooing noise and the Davenport boy turned to smack Bob in the back of the head.

XXXXX

"After four events, our two finalists for the Mini Olympics are Zoe and Bob!" Bob and Zoe were stretching at the start line, their 'mentors' and Hex standing to the side in support. Bree clapped enthusiastically while both Chase and Hex clapped slowly. "The deciding event is a one mile race around the park." Zoe did the splits and smiled innocently at Bob, who threw his hands up.

"Hey," Chase said, making Bree turn to him. "Since we've both used our bionics to our advantage, what do you say in the spirit of sportsmanship we make this one fair?"

Bree hummed and tilted her head, "You're only saying that because it's a race and you know I'm gonna use my super-speed to help Zoe win."

"Yeah. But I threw in all that stuff about sportsmanship so it's sorta legit."

"Nice try, Chase," Bree condescendingly patted her brother's shoulder.

"Fine, go ahead and use your super-speed since you obviously think that Zoe can't win on her own."

Zoe looked up at Chase's words, "Hey, I can win on my own!"

"Oh, really? Because your coach doesn't think so," Chase told the little girl, bobbing down to her height.

"You don't?"

Bree laughed nervously and Hex intervened, "Of course she does, sweetie. That's why she's not going to use her bionics to help you win – neither of them will."

"We won't?" Bree asked. She saw Chase staring intently at her before quickly muttering, "Of course we won't."

Chase smirked, putting his arm around the Mallory girl beside him, "Okay, Bree, if you insist."

"Yeah."

"Runners, take your marks."

Chase headed over to both runners with Hex, "All right, Bob, remember what I told you."

"Keep asking Bree out 'cause it's funny?"

"No, Bob, 'Pace yourself,'" Chase corrected and broke into a smile. "But yes, you should definitely keep asking her out."

"Good luck, sweetie," Hex told Zoe who hugged her lightly with a smile. The little girl quite liked the blank-faced older girl's company and thought she was quite nice. Hex turned to Bob, "Can I suggest something?" Bob nodded and Hex leant closer to whisper to the young bionic boy.

The witch stepped back, Bob nodding and smiling at her as the announcer called, "Get set, go."

The two kids took off, their 'mentor's yelling encouragement to them. Hex knew that wasn't going to last long as Zoe finished her first lap and Bree encouraged her. "Run, Bob, run!" was the only thing Chase yelled at Bob after he finally ran past, huffing and puffing.

Chase turned to his sister, "There's no way he can catch up. I gotta do something."

"Hey, no, no, no," Bree stopped him. "We said we were not going to use bionics to help our kid win."

"Yes," Chase admitted, "but we never said anything about using our bionics to make sure the other kid doesn't win."

Chase ran off, Bree following after him, yelling, "Oh, no, you don't!"

Hex stayed put beside the finish line, "I'm so going to hex them both later."

XXXXX

"Here they come to the finish line!"

"I'm almost there," Zoe breathed happily.

Chase moved closer and lifted a hand, pushing Zoe back, "I don't think so."

"I'm gonna win. I'm gonna win!" Bob cheered, running around the corner.

"Oh, no, you're not," Bree super-sped Bob back, away from the finish line.

Bob looked around in confusion, "Hey, how'd I get back here?"

The two Davenports began to bicker, pulling at each other and Hex casually walked over to Bob and Zoe and flicked her hands, purple magic rocketing the two kids forward and past the finish line.

"And the winner is Bob!" The announcer yelled over the speakers and Hex shot Bob a 'you know what to do' look. Bob nodded with a smile, having spoken to her beforehand about what he should do if he won.

"Yes! Yes! I won! The torch is mine!" Chase yelled, jumping over to Bob and snatching the torch from his hand.

"Give me that," Bob grumbled, snatching it back. "I don't want to run with you."

"What?"

Bob turned to Zoe, "Ventura suggested something and I think she's right." Hex flicking her fingers in a wave. "You should run with your dad."

"Really?" Zoe asked, surprised.

Bob nodded, "Yeah. You're the only one who played fair. And besides, I've decided to retire on top and never run again."

"Fine by me." Zoe took the torch and let out a yell of happiness as she ran off, "Whoo hoo!"

"Hey, I'm really proud of you, Bob," Bree told the younger bionic with a smile. "You did the right thing. You know, this is sportsmanship at its best."

"Yeah. And this is my magnetism app at its best," Chase held out a hand, pulling the torch back to him. Zoe yelled out a loud 'hey!' and Chase sent her a wave, "See you in Rio."

The youngest Davenport ran off, Bree chasing after him. Hex uttered a soft 'bye Bob' and ran after the two Davenports, using a purple whip of magic to snatch at Chase's ankle and drag him to the ground. He gave a groan of pain and Hex deftly sat on his back, stopping him from moving as Bree took the torch.

"That is girl power," Bree teased with a grin and fist-bumped Hex.

XXXXX

Bree, Chase, Hex and Bob walked back into the penthouse of Davenport Tower, the witch pausing at seeing Clutch, the weightlifter, in front of them.

"Hey, guys, remember Clutch?" Kaz asked with a smile.

"Oh, hey, Clutch," Chase greeted and then leant into to mutter to Kaz, "Why is he in our house?"

"Ah, well, Oliver shattered his foot. And then Skylar abducted him from the hospital. Then we fixed him in our top secret command center where no one's ever supposed to go." Kaz trailed off and turned back to Chase, "So how was your day?"

"Great, we used our bionics to crush the dreams of innocent children," Bree sugar-coated their day and Chase smiled.

"Wow, we really are an Elite Force."

Hex frowned, "You're more ruthless than me and I'm an ex-supervillain."

The others all shrugged while Clutch and Bob's jaws dropped, "Whaaat!?"

XXXXX

So, Hex is still pretty down in the dumps and it's not 'cause she's depressed or anything. There is an actual reason for it. And here in this chapter, Hex is bringing Chase's ego slightly back down to Earth.

Please review!

~ Raven