"Chaaaaase," Adam moaned, lumbering into the lab with a pout plastered on his face. "I want a doooooggggg!"
Well too bad – that dog is not going to be me! Chase thought, sighing in irritation. For the past couple of days, Adam had been pestering the youngest bionic, and Chase was really starting to get sick of it.
"Come on, just one day?" Adam pleaded.
Chase ignored him.
"Adam, I don't think annoying Chase is going to work," Leo said.
Leo's right, you should listen to him, Chase thought, wishing he could say it aloud.
"But what if I told him that if he'd actually be a dog just for one day, I would stop?" Adam asked.
Chase shook his head with a sharp bark. No!
Adam heaved a sigh, saying "I didn't want to have to do this, but you force my hand, Chase." Going over to Chase's only hope of being human again, Adam lifted the machine-in-progress up into the air, looking about to smash it.
Chase and Leo's eyes went wide, Chase barking frantically as Leo shouted "No Adam, don't!"
Adam froze, grinning. "If Chase promises that he'll be a dog for a day, I promise that I won't break it."
Chase growled angrily.
Adam made as if to smash it again, giving Chase yet another near-heart attack. "I will break it if you don't promise!" Adam threatened. "And it has to be a whole day."
Uuugh, fine, I promise, Chase thought grudgingly.
"So what's it going to be?" Adam asked, raising his eyebrows.
Chase rolled his eyes and turned to his paper, using his molecular kinesis to write down the statement. Adam, not understanding what Chase was doing, thought that his little brother was ignoring him.
"Alright, you asked for it!" Adam said. Chase shot up in horror.
"No, wait Adam, don't!" Leo said quickly before Adam could follow through. "He's writing what he has to say."
"Oh. Sorry Chase," Adam said, not sounding all that sorry. He walked over to stand behind the bionic dog, reading what Chase had to say.
Fine, I promise to act like a dog for a whole day. Happy? Chase scrawled bitterly.
Adam grinned. "Very! We'll start tomorrow!"
"Alright, the first thing on our do-to list: we're going to play in the park!" Adam said excitedly, hooking the leash onto Chase's collar.
Chase rolled his eyes. It's a to-do list, not a do-to list.
Adam grabbed a Frisbee, a tennis ball, and a hot dog chew toy (the toy had been Adam's idea to get – Chase considered it as torture since he could eat nothing but dog food for the time being). Tucking the playthings under his arm, Adam opened the door and led Chase out of the house. They walked the short distance to the Mission Creek dog park, where they stopped in an open area of grass. There weren't many people around at the moment, which Chase appreciated.
"Alright – let's play with the hot dog first!" Adam exclaimed.
Chase shook his head vigorously. Nuh uh, not happening.
Adam frowned. "You said you'd be a dog, so be a dog already! If you don't, I will break your little machine!"
Chase clenched his jaw, glaring at his older brother.
"So are you going to play?" Adam asked.
After a moment, Chase reluctantly nodded. Adam's face lit up, and he unhooked Chase from the leash. Grabbing the chew toy, he held it in front of Chase's face, bonking his nose with it.
"Come on, Chance, let's play some tug of war!" Adam said tauntingly in his baby voice.
Internally grumbling, Chase grabbed the toy with his mouth, cringing at the taste. Adam began trying to extract it from Chase's mouth, but the bionic dog wasn't about to give up. Biting down harder, Chase attempted to keep his head steady even as Adam was dragging him around.
"Come on, you have to growl! Get into it!" Adam coached, laughing. "Try and take it from me!"
Chase rolled his eyes but did what he was told, awkwardly growling and shaking his head in order to wrench it from Adam's hand. Growing in confidence, Chase's growls became more passionate, and he gave it his best shot in taking the toy from Adam.
"There you go, now you're getting the hang of it!" Adam praised his little brother, giggling in delight.
They did this for a little while, but Chase soon grew bored (and tired). No matter what he did, Adam was always too strong for Chase to be victorious in trying to take the toy; he was no match for Adam's strength.
Adam seemed to sense this, and after a little while longer, he called it quits. "Let's play with the Frisbee now," he suggested.
Chase spit out the chew toy, working out the soreness of his jaws as Adam grabbed the Frisbee. Before the youngest bionic knew it, Adam had launched the Frisbee, yelling at Chase "Go get it! Fetch!"
Chase shot him a look of vexation before taking off as fast as his short legs would take him. The Frisbee was already on the ground by the time Chase reached it, and trying to avoid thinking about it, he picked it up in his mouth.
Ugh! This is so unsanitary! Chase thought in disgust as he recalled all of the things the soil contained that might make him ill.
"Hurry up, slow poke! You have to bring it back!" Adam shouted from where he still stood.
Chase shook his head in frustration before running back, dropping the Frisbee at Adam's feet. Within seconds the toy was airborne again, and Adam said "Fetch! And try to catch it this time."
Chase ran after the flying disk, tracking it and projecting its future course. Finding the point of intersection between his own path and that of the Frisbee, Chase made it to the point in time to jump up and catch the disk in his mouth.
Ow! Chase grumbled; the Frisbee had rammed into the corners of his mouth. Making the landing, he stood there panting for a moment, feeling pride grow into existence within him. I caught it! I actually caught it!
"Wow, and I thought you were the smart one," Adam said insultingly. "You know you have to bring it back once you catch it, right?"
Oh give me a break! Chase thought in exasperation.