Kihonne: Alright folks, I'm back! Sorry about the sudden break between chapters. It wasn't planned, I promise, but I had a nasty concussion and didn't feel up to working on my laptop for a bit. I hope you understand. Anyway, let's get onto the chapter, shall we?
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LabGirl2001: I wasn't sure either, but Dani and Kaz seem to be the most likely choice. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
FangirlIsh13: I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure how well Kaz's dream would translate, seeing as several part of it were illogical, as most dreams of that nature are. And as for Apollo/Meg, I guess that makes two of us. I mean, they're not my OTP, but I still think they're fairly cute together. You're really going to like how I get them together. As for Dani and Bridget, you do have an eye for detail. Dani's relationship with her mother is quite different than Oliver's, and I will explore that relationship more as the story develops, but for now I will just say that Dani's relationship with her mother will affect her decisions throughout not just this story, but her whole life. As for how it will affect the Mr. Terror arc, it's hard to say, mainly because I intend to alter the Mr. Terror plot slightly, but Dani's reaction to the news might be a little different than you'd expect.
Duggie Davenport: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm pumped too, especially for The Power of Seven. I have so many ideas for it, it's going to be even better than The Lab Assistant or The Days of Our Lives. My friends and I are basically nobodies too, at least to everyone else. I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you like this one just as much.
Algernon: I'm glad you liked it, and I'm glad the lab rats reference made sense to you. As for Dani and her mom, you aren't imagining things. Their relationship is complicated to say the least, but that's not to say that Dani doesn't love her mother. I don't want to say too much, because their relationship is impossible to explain in a few sentences, but Dani sees her mother's actions and her words from a much different perspective than Oliver. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Bluejack222: Eventually, yeah, they're going to be pairing. Enjoy the chapter!
Avaoreo1112: I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. I wasn't sure how well the dream would go over with people, since it wasn't the easiest to make sense of in writing, but I'm glad that people liked it. And believe me, I sympathize with having to get shots. I'm not the biggest fan of going to the doctors in general, but I hope things went well. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
KaciLoves: I won't be doing Lab Rats VS Mighty Med, since I already did that in the Lab Assistant. I spent an entire week working on it non-stop (I had no WIFI and it was the only video I had downloaded on my laptop at that moment). However, I will be posting a special original chapter set a couple of days after the events of Lab Rats VS Mighty Med to replace it, and I think you'll all really enjoy what I have planned.
RR4LIFE: I just love how excited you are about the series. And I do the same thing – I'll watch an episode of Lab Rats and wonder where the hell my characters are before remembering that mine's just a fanfiction. Seriously though, I'm glad you like both stories so much. As for Lester, I figure he never really existed. Zeus forced Apollo to turn into a mortal, then gave him just enough stuff – such as the driver's license – to make sure he'd survive more than a few days on his own. Plus, I think he added the driver's license to torment Apollo with the new mortal name. Anyway, thank you so much for the kind words, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Zephryr: First of all, cool name, seriously. I'm glad you like the stories and the characters. I agree that nothing really major has happened with Dani yet, though I have to blame the plotline for that. The two major things I've always hated about Mighty Med was that they wrapped up their stories in a way that it left little room for OCs to do much other than sass people, but it's also way too comedic to do anything major with. I've always done very well with suspense or drama, but none of that really appears until the season finale. I do have a few major things planned for Dani, but unfortunately, those plans won't appear for a couple of more chapters. You are right about Kaz and Dani's relationship – they are going to be a fair bit more argumentative than Chase and Calla are. As for your review, A, there's no way to review badly, and B, I LOVE getting reviews like this one. A lot of people usually just say 'loved it, update please' but now and then I get a really cool, long one that goes into depth about their opinion on the chapter, the story, or the characters. I really like getting ones like that, because they tell me what I should keep doing, what I should start doing, or what I should probably stop doing. They're a hell of a lot more helpful than the quick one-liner reviews, so please, I encourage you to review again. I'll be looking forward to your reviews. :)
Kittyeight9: Yes, Alivia has a girlfriend, and yes, she is gay. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, or her, but if you're going to dismiss an entire story just because of who she is, then it's your loss, not mine. However, you shouldn't bother waiting for my Elite Force story, because you'll be disappointed to learn that LGBTQ characters will be in that story too. I figured I'd stop you from wasting your time.
ElectroLord72: Patience, young padawan. It has arrived.
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Kihonne: Okay, now that I've said my piece and I responded to the reviews, let's go onto the chapter, shall we?
Agent Blaylock: Kihonne doesn't own Mighty Med. She only owns Dani, Alivia, and anything else that you don't recognize.
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Kaz's POV
The moment I walked into school this morning, I could tell something was different. The atmosphere felt…charged with energy, I guess I would call it, almost like something was about to happen. I might have ignored it, but then I caught sight of Oliver and Dani, two of the closest siblings I'd ever met, about two seconds away from ripping each other's heads off. Seriously, the two were at each other's throats, waving their hands dramatically as they argued about something.
I walked over to Skylar, who was watching the entire thing with raised eyebrows. "Uh, how long have they been like this?"
"Almost twenty minutes now." Skylar informed me. I looked at them, stunned. "Have you ever seen them fight like this?"
"Never." I admitted. "I mean, little arguments are one thing, but I've never seen them actually fight before. What happened?"
"From what I've gathered, Oliver broke a promise, and Dani's not too happy about it." She shrugged. "I really don't know."
"We should probably break them up, right?" She guessed after a moment. I looked back at the twins and decided that they probably weren't gonna stop any time soon.
"Definitely." I agreed, jogging up to my two best friends. I quickly stepped between them, putting my arms around their shoulders.
"Hey, hey, hey!" I said loudly, interrupting their bickering. "We're all friends here, right?"
"Go away, Kaz." Dani retorted, ducking under my arm to open her locker.
"You're so overly sensitive." Oliver muttered, opening his backpack. Dani scoffed at that.
"Yeah and you're-" Skylar cut her off before she could finish.
"What are you two fighting about?" She demanded.
"Butt out, Connie." Dani retorted. Skylar glared at her.
"Don't tell me to butt out!" The alien girl snapped. Dani laughed darkly.
"What are you going to do about? Use your powers on me?" She teased. Skylar looked at her for a moment, then lunged at her. Luckily, I had been expecting it, and pulled Dani out of harm's way before Skylar could rip her head off.
"Ladies, ladies! You're both pretty!" I joked, trying to calm them down. This was ridiculous! I mean, it wasn't like Dani to go so low as to bring up Skylar's powers, but it wasn't like Skylar was trying to avoid that fight either.
"Kaz," Stephanie smiled, smirked, walking over to us. "I'm glad you found someone else to hit on besides me."
She gestured at Dani, whom I was holding around the waist in order to stop her from attacking Skylar. I released her immediately. "I'm not hitting on Dani! Why would I hit on Dani?" I demanded.
"Hey!" The short haired girl exclaimed, glaring at me.
"Dude, don't hit on my sister!" Oliver snapped, pushing between us. Dani pushed him away.
"You don't get to decide who hits on me!" She growled.
"So you were hitting on her!" Stephanie exclaimed.
"No!" I shook my head. "Please, I'd sooner hit on…" I looked around for a nearby girl. "Connie."
Suddenly, Skylar slammed me into the nearest locker, holding me there with one hand. "You were hitting on me?"
"No! I wasn't hitting on you!" I protested, trying to escape, but my words only angered her further.
"So I'm not good enough to hit on?" She demanded, pressing on my collarbone even harder.
"Yeah, Connie's cute!" Oliver agreed. Skylar spun around, grabbing him by the front of his jacket, and shoved him into the locker next to me.
"Who are you calling cute?" She snarled as he stared at her in terror.
"I wasn't saying that you aren't cute, I was saying-" Before I could finish explaining, Connie pushed me back into the lockers.
"Who are you not calling not cute?" She demanded.
"So by negative inference, you are calling her cute!" Oliver realized. "Stop hitting on people!"
"And stop pushing people into lockers!" Dani snapped. "You don't get to treat them like that!"
"Guys, stop it!" I told them, trying to get in between them before they started throwing punches or something.
"Fight, fight, fight!" Gus appeared out of nowhere, trying to start a 'fight' chant just as the substitute teacher, Mr. Patterson, walked into the hall. The man was tall and black, and wearing a jogging suit as his gym teacher uniform.
"Kaz!" The large, overweight gym teacher scolded, pulling me away from both the girls. "Stop picking on Connie and Dani! What's wrong with you, fighting with a couple of girls?"
"We weren't fighting, Mr. Patterson!" I protested. Well, maybe they were, but I wasn't.
"Are you saying I don't know a fight when I see one?" He questioned. Gus grinned.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The shorter boy began to chant again.
"Oh, so now you want to fight a teacher?" Mr. Patterson demanded.
"I don't want to fight anyone!" I exclaimed in exasperation. How did I get myself mixed up in all of this? I should have just let the girls fight it out and watch them get in trouble! "Gus just keeps saying 'fight! Fight! Fight!'"
"There's a fight? Where?" Gus looked around curiously, then went off in search of said fight.
"What a weird kid." Mr. Patterson muttered before looking back at us. "Alright, you fou-Hey!"
Dani, Skylar, and I turned around just in time to see Oliver turn the corner, having bolt from the hallway.
"Did he seriously just run?" Dani questioned, skeptically.
"Yeah, I, uh, think he did." Normally, I would have laughed at that, the very thought of Oliver running away from trouble amusing me, but I was hardly in the best of moods right now.
"Uh, alright." Apparently, Mr. Patterson hadn't seen that one before. "You three, follow me."
When he led us outside the school and into the courtyard rather than the detention room, I groaned. That meant a physical punishment, like jumping jacks or something. I hated those; at least in detention I could nap or do something equally unproductive.
"This isn't fair! Why isn't Oliver getting in trouble?" I demanded, dumping my backpack on the ground.
"Because he ran away, and they don't pay me enough to chase people." The teacher replied. "Now drop and give me fifty sit-ups."
"Fine." I sat down on the ground between Skylar and Dani. "I'll do one and they can split the other 49 between themselves."
"Fifty each." Mr. Patterson clarified. I stared at him.
"Fifty each?!" I exclaimed in protest. Was this man trying to kill us or something?
Dani and Skylar both started doing their sit-ups quickly, not saying a word while they did so. I was half-way through my first when I glanced over at Mr. Patterson, who had his back turned to me. He took a step forward and disappeared through the doors, and I don't mean he opened the doors and walk through the door way. I mean he actually walked through the doors, as if they weren't there at all. I stopped in shock, staring. Then it all clicked.
The strange atmosphere in the air, everyone's ridiculously bad moods, and the walking through things…the only person who could do all that was the super villain Dr. Wrath. "Did you just see that?" I demanded. "Mr. Patterson just passed through those solid doors."
Both girls paused, but while Dani looked towards the doors with a considerate expression, Skylar just rolled her eyes. "I think you're hallucinating from the strain of your one sit-up."
"But it all makes sense. Mr. Patterson is the villain Dr. Wrath, who feeds off of negative energy." I explained. Skylar and Dani both sat up, listening. "Dr. Wrath can pass through matter, and all the fighting at school started when he showed up. He must be instigating the negativity to power himself."
"So the supervillain Dr. Wrath drives a fifteen-year-old car with a bumper missing?" Skylar questioned skeptically.
"It is a bit of a stretch, Kaz." Dani agreed.
"Does he even look like Dr. Wrath?" Skylar added.
"…Actually, no one knows what he looks like; he hides his appearance with a shroud. Not to mention, he always skipped picture day in high school." Dani mentioned, thinking about it. "But I don't know, Kaz."
"Okay, he just left, right? Not ten minutes ago, you two were trying to murder each other. You still feel like doing that now?" I questioned. They both sent each other guilty looks, but didn't answer my question. "See? Mr. Patterson is Dr. Wrath and we have to stop him!"
"Just let it go!" Skylar sighed audibly. "Just because you work at a superhero hospital doesn't make a superhero. Everyone thinks that they can battle evil, just like everyone always thinks they can sing."
"I can sing!" I retorted defensively. "I was getting over a sore throat the day that you heard me! And today, so don't ask."
Dani gave me a sympathetic smile. "No, sweetie, you can't sing."
"And you can?" I challenged. She laughed at that, a short, amused sound.
"No. I sound like a dying walrus when I sing." She admitted. "But at least I'm honest about it."
Suddenly, the doors to the courtyard swung open and Mr. Patterson walked out. "I have to go monitor detention. How many sit-ups have you done?" He questioned. I stood up.
"Uh, let's see. Zero plus zero…carry the zero…Zero." I stated, crossing my arms. Dani grabbed me by the arm, pulling me away.
"What are you doing?" She hissed.
"Getting detention so I can spy on him." I whispered back before turning to Mr. Patterson. "I refuse to do any stupid sit-ups."
"Fine. You know what your punishment will be?" He replied before gesturing at himself. "This in ten years."
"You're only twenty-five?" Skylar demanded, shocked.
"Scary isn't it?" He turned to go back inside, so I rushed to stop him.
"Hey, look at me!" I leaned on the edge of a bike. "I'm loitering."
"There's no rule against loitering. It's school; you're supposed to be here!" Mr. Patterson exclaimed. I tried to think.
"Is there a rule against lettering?" I start creating letters with my arms, just like in the YMCA song.
"Nope." He replied, unamused.
"Laddering?" I tried, climbing up a few steps on a nearby ladder.
"No." He shook his head. I looked around, then caught sight of Skylar's backpack. I raced towards it before she could stop me and dumped its contents on the ground.
"There is a rule against littering!" Mr. Patterson snapped at me before I could say anything. "Detention, all three of you!"
"But-" Dani's protest died in her throat. She turned to glare at me. "Thank you, Kaz."
"You are welcome." I smirked at her. Skylar looked at me.
"How did you take you four tries to get 'littering'?" She questioned incredulously. "There's a sign right there!"
I glanced back at the large red and white sign up on the wall that read 'No Littering' in big, bold letters, then shrugged. "I was too busy loitering, lettering, and laddering."
Oliver's POV
I checked my phone with my left hand as I headed into the rec room at Mighty Med, using my back to open the doors. After our fight this morning, I'd texted my sister to see if she wanted to talk, because though Dani completely over-reacted to what had happened, I was partially to blame as well.
"Hey, Oliver." I looked up to see Alivia and Jaime sitting on the couch, the latter' head resting on the latter's lap as they talked. A plate of pale brown squares sat on a plate on the table, an orangish-red sauce on the side.
"Hey guys." I smiled at them, placing my own lunch – a cheese steak sandwich – on the table. "Hey, Jaime, how's your knee feeling?"
"Better. The physical therapy's helping." The blonde superhero replied, reaching for a square off the plate. Alivia looked at me, a frown on her face.
"So, I've got a question." She looked at me. "Why is Dani, a person who despises guava, looking for places that sell guava?"
I sighed, realizing what my sister was up to. "Her famous strawberry and guava apology smoothies."
"What is she apologizing for?" Jaime questioned, confused.
"We got in a fight." I explained. Alivia raised an eyebrow at that.
"Why?" She waved her hand in a circle, motioning for me to continue.
"I promised her I'd help her with her community service project, and then kinda bailed on her." I admitted guilty.
"Well, I'm sure you had a good reason." She offered. I shook my head.
"I went to see a movie with Skylar." I smiled sheepishly at the looks on their faces. "I made Dani that promise a week ago! I forgot that we were supposed to go to the senior's center last night, and by time I remembered, she'd already gone without me. And I was going to apologize, but she wouldn't listen."
"Yeah, Kaz has a theory about that." Alivia agreed, looking at her phone. Both Jaime and I looked at her. "Long story; he thinks he found a supervillain."
"And what do you think?" Jaime questioned. Alivia smirked.
"Judging by his description of the suspect, I don't think he found a super villain." She shrugged. "Oh well, that should be an interesting story to hear about later. Oh, hello Alan."
I looked up to see that Alan had walked into the room. I nodded at him politely, then unwrapped my sandwich, and took a delicious bite out of it. I hummed pleasantly at the taste, savoring the sweetness for as long as I could.
"What are you so happy and annoying about?" Alan questioned, looking at me suspiciously.
"This here is the best thing ever; a cheese steak sandwich from Pierro's." I licked my lips. "I mean, if deliciousness was a crime, this sandwich would be on death row, and ask for this sandwich for its last meal. You want a bite?"
"Are you crazy? I refuse to eat Normo food. My diet consists only of nutrients squares." Alan replied as I continued to chow down on my lunch. "They're the building blocks of a healthy diet."
"And this hospital." Alivia added, nodding at a construction worker. He was repairing the far wall that had been damaged during a game of indoor tetherball with The Crusher (brilliant idea, Dani). To my surprise, he was rebuilding that damaged part of the wall with squares identical to the ones on Alivia and Jaime's plates.
Alan reached forward and grabbed one of them off their plate, much to Jaime's annoyance. The blonde haired superhero sat straight up, glaring daggers at Alan. "Hey! Give that back!"
"Make me." Alan retorted, taking a bite of the crunchy squares, earning an even more hateful look for Jaime. Before the girl could do anything, however, Alivia stopped her, grabbing her around the waist and lying her head on Jaime's shoulder.
"Let it go." She murmured to her girlfriend. "He can have one."
"Fine." Jaime muttered reluctantly, clearly still annoyed. Suddenly, I had an idea.
"Alan!" I grinned at him, much to his confusion. "I have an assignment for my community service class to change someone's life for the better."
"Perfect. You can start by leaving." Alan replied.
"And taking him with you." Jaime added, gesturing at Alan, who gave her a dirty look.
"Can't you guys just get along?" Alivia sighed tiredly.
"No, I'll get you to taste Normo food." I decided, standing up. "I'm about to change your life!"
"What makes you think I want to change my life?" Alan questioned, rolling his eyes at me.
"Common sense?" I replied, looking at him. He thought about it. "Here; just try a bit of my cheese steak."
Alan physically pulled away as I held the food out to him. "What's it made of?" He asked.
"Cheese and steak." I answered, wondering how hard that was to figure out.
"And what are those made of?" He insisted.
"Uh, well…steak is the cooked flesh of a dead cow, and cheese is coagulated curds of milk which is the white fluids created by a cow's utters…" I wrinkled my nose in disgust, suddenly losing my appetite. "You know; I think I'm starting to understand why my sister's a vegetarian."
Kaz's POV
Dr. Wrath led us into the detention room. A couple of students – Rhys from Biology and Gus – were already inside. Rhys was fast asleep at his desk, his head buried in his arms, while Gus was writing on the white board. Unhappy with what he saw, Dr. Wrath gestured at three empty desks near Rhys, then went to confront Gus. Connie and I sat down in the two near the front, with Dani right behind me and next to Rhys.
"Gus, I told you to write 'I will not start fights' one hundred times!" The overweight man snapped at the shorter boy. Glancing past him, I could see the words 'I will not start fights 100 times' written on the white board in Gus' messy scrawl.
"I did!" He protested. "And for the record, I've only started fights ninety-seven times."
Choosing to ignore that, I turned to Skylar and Dani, already formulating a plan. "Alright, I'm going to go through Dr. Wrath's stuff for evidence, but I'm going to need you guys to create a distraction."
"How?" Skylar questioned. Dani smirked.
"I got this." She assured us, turning around to face the front. We followed suit, looking towards the front as Dr. Wrath adjusted a wall picture. After a moment, Dani got up, and suddenly, pushed Rhys's desk over, throwing the slumbering boy to the ground.
"Connie!" She exclaimed as Rhys looked around in confusion. "Stop picking on Rhys! If you have an issue, use your words!"
"Seriously?" The Calderan hissed, glaring daggers at Dani.
"Really? Now I have to walk all the way over there?" Dr. Wrath complained. "Fine!"
The girls started to argue about who had pushed Rhys out of the seat, though I couldn't tell how much of it was pretend and how much of it was fake, earning themselves Dr. Wrath's complete and undivided attention. I took advantage of the opportunity and snuck over to the teacher's desk. I was about to go through the drawers when I caught sight of a brown duffle bag that just had to be Dr. Wrath's.
The contents of the bag confirmed my theory. I found a large, dark brown coat, which on its own wasn't that suspicious, and a strange looking, handheld high-tech weapon. No way would any Normo be able to get his hands on something like this, let alone a teacher. So Mr. Patterson WAS Dr. Wrath!
"I can't believe it." I murmured, turning the weapon over in my hands.
"I know!" I looked up to see Gus standing a few feet away from me, staring at the whiteboard. While we'd all been focusing on Dr. Wrath, Gus had recreated a famous Da Vinci painting with nothing but a pack of everyday white board markers. Even I was impressed by the image, but didn't have time to comment on it. I had to tell Skylar and Dani what I'd found.
Oliver's POV
"Alan!" I called, walking into the ER, carrying a large pizza box in my hands, the sweet scent of the meat lover's floating through the air. I found him sitting at one of the nurse's computers in the ER. Conveniently, he had a plate of those nutrients squares sitting directly in front of him. "New plan! Pizza!" I announced, placing the box on the counter and opening it up to reveal the food inside. "If you try a slice of this, I'll try one of your…dry wall squares."
Alan nodded thoughtfully. "That seems fair."
I nodded and grabbed one of the nutrient squares off the plate. Looking at it suspiciously, for it felt just like construction material, I took a hesitant nibble off the corner. As expected, it was hard and flavorless, and tasted like hardened sand. I gagged at the taste, but true to my word, I forced myself to swallow the tiny bite before looking back at Alan. He looked at me eagerly, waiting for my opinion.
I forced a fake smile onto my face. "Mmm…" I hummed, despite myself. "You can just taste the lack of seasoning and the chalky texture and the hint of…" I pulled something from my lips, "…fur." Gross. "Now, it's your turn."
"Oh, I'm not eating that." Alan retorted, shaking his head. I stared at him.
"We made a deal; you said it was fair!" I exclaimed.
"I said 'it seems fair'!" Alan snapped back before trying to walk away. I followed him, confused.
"Dude, everybody likes pizza. Why are you being so stubborn?" I questioned.
"I heard about a superhero who ate Normo food once, and turned into an elderly Chinese woman." Alan responded, his tone worried. "Which was weird, because she used to be an elderly, Brazilian woman."
I rolled my eyes at that; I'd asked Alivia earlier about the nutrients squares and while she had told me the same story, she'd also told me that many, many superheroes eat Normo food without consequence. "That's just an urban legend." I assured Alan. He frowned, confused.
"What's an urban legend?" He questioned.
"It's a rumor that people say happened, but isn't actually true." I explained. "Like how there are tons of alligators living in the New York City sewers."
Of course, Lizardman would choose that time to walk into the ER, having just returned from his vacation to the Big Apple. Instead of his usual cloak, he was wearing a white t-shirt with the words 'I love NY sewers' on it in bold, black letters. He handed Alan a slip of paper, nodded to me in greeting, then continued on his way. "That was a bad example." I admitted as we watched him go.
Kaz's POV
Unfortunately, after Dani and Skylar's little performance, Dr. Wrath had separated the three of us. Both girls ended up sitting on either sides of the classroom, making it impossible for me to tell them what I'd learned without tipping off the supervillain to my discovery.
By the time that the bell had rung to signify the end of the detention, a whole two hours later, I was fed up. I should just confront him and get it over with. After all, what's the worst that can happen?
"Okay, detention's over." Dr. Wrath announced, staring at Gus as he dragged the whiteboard out of the classroom with him, intending to show his parents his masterpiece.
"Goodbye Mr. Patterson." Skylar replied as she got up, shouldering her bag. Dani walked up to me, her own backpack slung over her shoulder, but I stepped up to Dr. Wrath, smirking.
"Yeah, goodbye Mr. Patterson…or should I say, Dr. Wrath?" I slammed my hands down on his desk, staring the man straight in the eyes.
"Uh, no you shouldn't." Skylar told me, trying to pull me out of there before I got myself in over my head, but I wasn't going to leave until I proved that I was right about him being a supervillain.
Dr. Wrath just stared at me, a falsely confused look on his face. "What do you think, Mr. Patterson?" I asked, referring to Skylar's comment. "Or should I say, Dr. Wrath?"
"What are you talking about?" Dr. Wrath feigned innocence.
"I think you know very well what I am talking about, Mr. Patterson." I retorted, before adding, "or should I say, Dr. Wrath?"
"You've already said that three times, and I am no doctor, as my mother reminds me every day." He replied, still trying to pull off his act. I raised an eyebrow, deciding to try a different tactic.
"Oh yeah?" I mused, walking around the side of the desk and reaching for his bag. I lifted it onto the desk and began pulling out its contents. "Then, if you're not Dr. Wrath, how do you explain this shroud and this…" I looked at the silvery blaster thing again "…thing?"
"Now you listen to me, punk." Dr. Wrath stood up, looking at us fiercely. "You're getting yourselves involved in something very dangerous-"
He reached forward for the high-tech weapon, and I reacted instantly, pulling the trigger in my surprise. A blue blast exploded from the end, hitting him right in the chest. Instead of knocking him out or anything, though, it just froze him in place.
"I did it." I laughed in surprise before glancing at Dani. "See? I told you I could stop-"
"Agent Blaylock of the Superhero Secret Service Division?" Skylar interrupted me. She was looking at what appeared to be a shiny gold badge in one of those badge-wallet things. I frowned, taking the badge from her and looking it over.
"I didn't know there was a Superhero Secret Service Division." I said, confused.
"That's because it's a secret." Dr. Wrath, correction, Agent Blaylock growled, glaring at me angrily.
"That explains why you can walk through walls." Dani realized.
"Yes." Agent Blaylock confirmed it. "And I know the three of you are from Mighty Med. That's why I tried so hard not to give you detention, but you were just too annoying."
I chuckled, nodding at the statement. "To be fair, that's what I do."
"I tracked Dr. Wrath to this school. I found his shroud this morning, and that's my neural-incapacitator." Agent Blaylock explained.
"Wait, if you're not Dr. Wrath, then who is?" I questioned, placing the neural-incapacitator down on the desk next to me.
"I am." We all (with the exception of Agent Blaylock) spun in time to see Stephanie walk through the closed door, a cocky smirk on the blonde's face.
"Wow, I did not see that coming." I admitted. She wasted no time, walking towards us and swiping the neural-incapacitator off the desk and aiming it at us. In three quick blasts, Skylar, Dani, and I were frozen solid, none of us able to move a muscle except in our faces.
"I take it you didn't see that coming either, did you?" Dani questioned, our shoulders touching.
Stephanie, the REAL Dr. Wrath, set to work quickly, getting rid of Agent Blaylock by sliding his frozen body out the door.
"I can't believe you're Dr. Wrath." I commented. "Although, it does kinda make sense because you are the most negative person on the planet."
"But why would you hide in a high school?" Dani questioned, confused. "I don't see the point."
"Well, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Dr. Wrath admitted. "So I'm totally going to tell you! My power comes from feeding on negative energy."
I smirked. "I know. I'm kinda an expert on Dr. Wrath."
Dani let out an annoyed groan, to my surprise. "Oh my gosh, would you stop flirting with her? She's the villain!"
"I wasn't flirting with her!" I retorted. Just because I wanted to boast about my extensive knowledge on a lesser-known villain in the superhero world didn't mean I was flirting.
"You totally were!" Dani snapped.
"Would you two shut up?" Skylar interrupted me before I could respond.
"As I was saying, high school is filled with drama and jealousy." Dr. Wrath began moving us around, pushing Skylar and Dani into positions so we were all back to back. "It's easy to create negative energy. But it's not enough. So, I'm building an ionic reactor in the chemistry lab."
"What good will that do?" I questioned.
"It will create limitless negativity in people all over the world!" Dr. Wrath proclaimed.
"What good will that do?" I repeated my question.
"Feeding off all that negativity will make me so powerful, I'll be the leader of a beautiful planet full of hate." She beamed proudly.
"Yeah, that makes sense." I admitted.
"Luckily, Kaz disabled Agent Blaylock before he could stop me. He's been hot on my trail." Oops. "And what's worse is he made me do, like, three sit-ups!"
"He made us do fifty!" I protested.
"You barely did one!" Dani and Skylar both shouted at the same time, effectively shutting me up.
"I'm going to go fire up the reactor." Dr. Wrath decided. "And then I'll deal with the three of you. But first, since you won't be completely immobile for much longer-" She raised her hands and a large, brightly glowing, gold chain shot out of the palm of her hand, wrapping itself around us tightly.
"Oh, and by the way? That chain totally clashes with your outfit." She sneered at Skylar before walking out without a second glance.
"Damn, these are tight." I wriggled as much as I could in an attempt to slide out of the massive chains.
"This is all your fault, Kaz!" Skylar accused, also struggling against the chains. "If you hadn't tried to be a hero, Agent Blaylock would have stopped her!"
"Ah!" I gasped as the chains grew tighter, squishing Skylar, Dani, and I together painfully.
"The chain is getting tighter!" Skylar exclaimed.
"No shit, Sherlock!" Dani retorted, squirming, her voice strained. "Alright, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-Dr-Wrath, what's happening?"
"They must feed on negative energy just like Dr. Wrath." I told her. "Us being mad at each other is making it stronger. We need to create positive energy. Quick, say something nice about each other."
"Well, if it's the only way to save the Earth…then goodbye world." Skylar muttered as the chains got even tighter.
"Dani, you want to go first?" I tried. Dani just gave me an annoyed glare. As she didn't say anything, the chains didn't grow tighter, but it was obvious that I was going to have to be the bigger person here.
"Fine, I'll go first." I offered, trying to think. "Skylar, I love how you treat everyone at school with respect; you even say hello to the weird kids."
For a brief moment, the chains loosened, then Skylar had to add her two-sense. "Well, I'm not going to just ignore you."
And just like before, the chains tightened. "Skylar!" I groaned.
"Sorry." She apologized.
"Getting a little hard to breathe here." Dani added.
"Alright, uh…you guys have been really cool about letting me hang with you, Alivia, and Oliver. You haven't made me feel like an outcast or tagalong and I appreciate that. You've both really helped me try to fit in."
The chains loosened again. "Keep going." I encouraged them.
"Skylar, you're a really good friend to us. You're kind and warm and loyal, especially to my brother and even though it means we don't spend as much time together as we used to, I'm really glad he's got someone like you in his life." Dani told her. "And I think it's really cool how you adapted so well to another planet without your powers. The way you dealt with everything that's happened to you is amazing."
"I can breathe again." Skylar murmured in relief as the chains got a bit looser. It wouldn't be long before we could get out of them.
"Dani…" I trailed off, not sure of what I was going to say exactly, but the short-haired girl beat me to it.
"I love you." I heard her murmur. I twisted my neck so I could try to get a better look at her, but she kept her head straight. "You…you're my best friend in the world, and you've always been there for me and Ollie when we needed you. You're protective and always there and I love you for it."
Before I could say anything in response to that – although I had no idea what I was going to respond with – the chains shattered, the tiny shards hitting the ground at our feet.
"It worked!" I beamed at them. "Now, was it that hard to say nice things about each other?"
We all exchanged looks before replying. "Yes." "Absolutely." "It was awful."
"C'mon. We have a supervillain to stop." Dani reminded us, already heading towards the door.
Xxx
"She's working on the reactor." Skylar informed us, sneaking away from the window she'd been peeking through. Dr. Wrath was just through that door, preparing to turn everyone in the world against each other.
"Alright, here's the plan." I decided. "Skylar, you distract Stephanie. Dani and I will deactivate the reactor."
"You know how to do that?" Skylar checked, a skeptical look on her face. I nodded.
"Yeah, I read about it in a comic book. I just have to cut the wires. Or cross the wires. Something to do with the wires." I said. Dani chuckled lightly.
"The way I figure, if we smash it enough times, it'll stop working." She shrugged. Skylar nodded, then burst through the door.
"Hey Stephanie!" She called, getting Dr. Wrath's attention. "Or should I say, Dr. Wrath?"
"You should; it's my name." Dr. Wrath replied.
"When she says it, it works." I muttered, annoyed. Dani rolled her eyes.
"C'mon." She grabbed my wrist, pulling me with her into the science lab as Skylar lunged at Dr. Wrath, kicking her in her midsection. It soon became obvious that Dr. Wrath wasn't as skilled at hand-to-hand combat as Skylar was, as the Calderan managed to block every one of Dr. Wrath's blows, and quickly got a few kicks in.
"Cross the wires, or cut them?" I hissed as Dani and I slipped over to the ionic reactor.
"Let's try cutting them." Dani whispered as she flipped open a portion of the metal reactor. Underneath the panel she'd removed were at least thirty wires, all of them different shades of blue, green, white and red. "Here." She handed me a pair of cutters.
"Why are you giving these to me?" I hissed.
"Your plan, you have to do it." She insisted.
"Fine." I snatched the pair of cutters out of her hands and looked up in time to see Dr. Wrath shoot a ball of ice at Skylar. She did a backwards cartwheel to avoid the hit, then a flip in the air to avoid the second one coming her way. I quickly turned back to the wires, trying to figure out which one to cut.
"No, not that one!" Dani hissed at me as I was about to cut one of the red wires. "Never cut the red wire."
"Why?" I demanded, looking at her.
"I've seen the movies; cutting the red wire always ends in a massive explosion!" She whispered as she kept her eyes on Skylar as our friend fought Dr. Wrath. I sighed, then proceeded to cut a couple of the blue and white wires.
"Guys, heads up!" My head shot up at the sound of Skylar's voice, just as Dani pulled me down to the ground. A ghostly white face made entirely out of a mist-like ice zoomed right through where our heads had been. Instead of hitting us – thanks to Dani's quick thinking, neither of us were in harm's way – it hit a glass breaker, shattering it and sending the blue liquid inside spilling over the edge of the counter.
"Uh…" I looked up at the reactor, noticing how it was now glowing brightly. Did I do that? I hope not. "It's gonna blow!"
There wasn't time for us to escape the room, and we all knew that. So, in hopes of protecting ourselves from a massive explosion, Dani and I slid behind a nearby counter, keeping our heads down. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Skylar pushing herself into the corner of the room, trying to get as far from the blast zone as possible.
The room shook violently as waves of energy flew from the device. After a particularly powerful wave of energy shot past our heads, everything seemed to stop. Hesitantly, as I was unsure if the device had really stopped, I climbed to my feet. Dani and Skylar both followed suit, keeping their gazes locked on the reactor.
I held my breath, praying that Dani's idea had worked. "Now the whole world is filled with negative energy!" Dr. Wrath cackled. "And now that it is, I'm going to make you…some popcorn!"
Even Dr. Wrath looked shocked that those words had escaped her lips.
"Wait! Why don't I feel like destroying you?" She demanded, racing over to her ionic reactor to see what had gone wrong. "You reversed the charge! The reactor's producing positive ions! You ruined my plan! I could kiss you for this."
"Don't even think about it." Dani hissed, assuming that I would go for it. Skylar looked at me.
"What did you do?" She questioned. I smirked proudly.
"What I do best." I replied smugly.
"Randomly pushing and pulling things with no actual plan?" Skylar guessed.
"You're welcome." I told her.
"You fools!" Dr. Wrath accused, furious. "With all that positive energy, I have no power!"
Suddenly, Dr. Wrath's body began to morph. In the span of a second, it changed from a pretty, blond-haired teenage girl to a tall, pale, bald man in a black uniform. He (or she?) screamed as his (her?) body began to disintegrated, turning to ash right before our eyes.
As he was destroyed, red sparks started to fly towards the reactor, causing it to glowing brighter and more threateningly. I opened my mouth to say something, to suggest that we move because that thing looked ready to explode, but was cut off by the device actually exploding.
Thankfully, it was a small explosion, only powerful enough to make us duck our heads for fear of being hit with debris. "Wow." I looked around at the mess.
"So, everything goes back to normal?" Dani questioned, frowning.
"Except for Stephanie; she's a pile of ashes." Skylar gestured at the pile on the ground.
"You flirted with that." Dani pointed out.
"I did not flirt with her!" I proclaimed. Why was she focusing so much on that? I mean, c'mon! I glanced back down at the ashes. "I can't believe she's gone, though. Who's going to make me feel bad about myself now?"
"I'll pick up the slack." Skylar offered.
"Jordan would equally be up for the job." Dani added, a little smirk on her face.
Oliver's POV
"Face it, Oliver. You're never going to get him to eat it." Alivia informed, nibbling on a piece of pizza.
"I will so." I retorted.
"How?" Jaime questioned, cocking her head to the side. "You've already tried peer pressure, talking to him like a baby, and tackling him to the ground."
"Well, this is going to work for sure." I insisted as Mesmira, the superhero famous for her hypnotic abilities, walked towards us. "Alright, time to get this show on the road."
I grabbed what was left of the pizza off the counter and led Mesmira into the rec room, where Alan was using his telekinesis to do 'mental bench-presses'. Alivia and Jaime both followed us in, sitting down on the couch to watch this all unfold.
"Mesmira, thanks again for agreeing to hypnotize Alan for me." I told the hero as she pulled back her sleeves, revealing the eyeball in the palm of her hand. "And sorry, again, for poking you in the eye when we shook on the deal."
She waved me off, letting me know it was alright, then followed me over to Alan.
"Hey Alan!" I grinned, getting his attention. He paused, mid-bench-press, to look at me.
"Oh, hey Mesmira. How's it-" Mesmira focused her abilities on Alan and he fell into a trance, the barbell slipping from his telekinetic grasp.
"Got it!" Jaime called, zipping forward and catching the barbell in her gloved hands, not at all thrown off by the 150 pounds the bar was holding. She casually placed the bar back in place on the stand before turning back to look at Alan.
"Alan, you will taste a slice of pizza." I ordered, opening the box for him. He reached into the box, a dull expression on his face. He slowly brought the slice up to his mouth and took a large bite of it, chewing slowly.
"Thank you, Mesmira." I smiled at the hero as she deactivated her powers and walked away. Alan looked around in confusion.
"What happened? Why's this food in my mouth?" He questioned as he continued to chew.
"Don't panic." I told him cautiously.
"I won't. Believe me, I've woken up many times with food in my mouth." He admitted.
"Charming." Jaime commented sarcastically before skipping over to sit with Alivia.
"But this…" Alan swallowed his food. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted."
I grinned. "See? I told you."
But I spoke too soon. Even as I said those words, Alan's head began to shrink and wrinkle, his hair going grey. Alivia, Jaime, and I all watched in horror as he turned into an old lady. "You're right." Alan agreed with me, oblivious to what was happening to him, "And there were no side effects at all. You've totally changed my life."
"You can say that again." Alivia agreed as she and Jaime got up, slowly backing up towards the door. Neither of them wanted to be in here when Alan discovered what had happened, and neither did I.
"Looks that way." I forced a smile onto my face as I followed the girls' leads, carefully stepping backwards.
"Can I have another piece?" Alan requested, stepping towards me.
"Um…I think you've had enough." I replied, fighting the urge to run. But as Alan got closer, I knew I had to get out of there. I scrambled out of the room as fast as I could, tearing down the hall until I reached the ER. Alivia and Jaime were already there, waiting for me.
"What did you do?" Alivia demanded, obviously torn between being shocked and amused.
Kaz's POV
"Check it out." I chuckled, sliding some test tubes onto my fingers. I wiggled them in front of Dani's face, earning a small laugh from the girl. "Witch fingers."
"Seriously?" Skylar looked at me, slightly amused. I shrugged, continued to wave them in front of my best friend's face until I heard someone else coming down the hall. I turned to see Agent Blaylock, finally released from his weapon's effects, storm into the room.
"Dr. Wrath." He called before any of us could say anything. He walked into the room, grabbing me by the shoulders. "I know you're a shapeshifter, and I know that's you."
"Uh, dude?" Dani looked past me at him before pointing at the pile of ash near her and Skylar's feet. "That's Dr. Wrath."
Agent Blaylock looked at the ashes, then back at me. "Then why were you acting like that?"
"Dude, if you leave a bunch of test tubes lying around, someone's going to make witch fingers." I replied, waving around my fingers to prove my point.
"I've been chasing Dr. Wrath for years now. Skylar Storm," he passed us and held his hand out to Skylar, "you're a real hero."
"Actually, you should be shaking Kaz and Dani's hands. They were the real heroes today." Skylar replied. Agent Blaylock turned to shake Dani's hand, then mine, but my fingers still had the test tubes on it.
"I'll…take these off." I decided when the handshake didn't turn out well. He nodded and walked over to the door, pulling a brush and dustpan out from behind it.
"And I'll take care of Dr. Wrath. I've been waiting years to do this." He began to brush the ashes into the pain. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be…surprising, because you're a pile of ashes."
And with that final note, he left me, Dani, and Skylar alone. "So…" Dani trailed off, looking at us.
"Listen, guys. I'm sorry for saying all those nice things about you." Skylar apologized sincerely.
"Same here." Dani agreed. "It was crazy back there, and a lot of that came out way too nice."
"You totally don't deserve all those complements." I agreed.
"Neither do you." Skylar agreed.
"Just acquaintances again?" Dani asked hopefully.
"Absolutely." Skylar nodded. I grinned in agreement.
"Okay, but seriously." Dani turned to Skylar, a guilty look on her face. "About this morning."
"Forget about it. Dr. Wrath was responsible for most of it anyway." Skylar told her, but Dani shook her head.
"Most of it, yeah, but…I was upset with Ollie and I was acting like a bratty little sister and I took it out on you and I'm sorry, okay?" She looked at her hopefully, and Skylar nodded.
"And I'm sorry for trying to rip your head off this morning." She added before looking at me. "And I'm sorry for getting on your back for acting like a hero. I guess I'm just feeling bad that I'm not one anymore."
"Oh, hey! You're still a hero." I assured her. She looked at me, a faint smile on her lips. "Not as much as I am though, but who is."
"Way to ruin the moment, Kaz." Skylar rolled her eyes.
"Guys!" We turned to see Gus walk into the room, his hand behind his back. To my surprise, Stephanie followed him in, a confused look on her face. "Look what I found in the janitor's office!" He pulled a toilet brush out from behind his back, an intrigued look in his eyes.
"Stephanie?" I questioned.
"Oh, yeah. Her too." Gus mentioned, still staring at his toilet brush.
"What's, like, going on?" Stephanie questioned.
"That's the real Stephanie." Dani said quietly, pulling both Skylar and I away for a moment. "I don't understand."
"Dr. Wrath must have shapeshifted into her form, then locked her in there." I realized.
"Are you okay?" Skylar demanded, walking back over to Stephanie. "How long were you in there?"
"I, like, don't remember. I don't really, like, remember anything." Stephanie replied. I glanced at Dani, then smirked, knowing that she would probably kill me for this later.
"So you don't remember that I'm your boyfriend?" I questioned.
Of course, Stephanie didn't buy it for a second. "Ew! Get away from me weirdo away from me!"
Still, it was totally worth it. Dani's face was frozen in a look of frustration, anger, and annoyance, much to my amusement.
"That's right. I'm your boyfriend." Gus told Stephanie. She nodded.
"I believe that." She replied as he put his arm around her and led her out of the room.
"I'm going to go too." Dani decided.
"Dee-" I began, but she shook her head.
"Mom's working again, and chances are Ollie hasn't had a chance to eat yet, so I'm gonna grab something for him and see if I can pick up some overtime. See ya."
She stalked out of the room and I winced. I expected her be annoyed, which would usually give me the chance to try and make her smile again, but not this upset. "Well, that was stupid of you." Skylar commented, grabbing a piece of plastic and beginning to brush the debris from the reactor into a nearby garbage can.
"Whatever." I retorted. She hummed, smirking.
"You should just ask her out." She told me, not even looking up. I stared at her, considering denying any feelings for Dani, but who was I kidding?
"I can't do that." I said instead.
"Why not?" Skylar questioned, confused. "You're both obviously interested in each other. I'm from a different planet and even I can tell."
"Because she's my best friend's sister and Oliver would kill me if I ever made a move on her." I pointed out. "Not to mention, we've been friends for so long it might screw things before things ever started happening and then I'd lose her completely."
"So, you're just going to settle for being her friend and nothing more?" She questioned skeptically.
"Yes." I retorted. She sighed and started to head for the door.
"You know, heroes take risks," She commented before walking out.
Oliver's POV
"Hey, food." I looked up from my paperwork to see Dani standing on the other side of the counter, a to-go cup, a container of oregano, and a container full of spaghetti sitting next to her. I smiled.
"Thanks." I grinned, taking the to-go cup and the spaghetti from her. I could smell the guava and strawberries in the drink, confirming my earlier guess. Dani pulled a sandwich from her bag for herself – goat cheese, lettuce and tomato – and her favorite water bottle and settled herself at the other side of the counter. "Hey, listen, about yesterday…"
"We both acted like children and we're both sorry, so let's move on?" My twin suggested. I nodded in agreement.
"Deal." I agreed, digging into my dinner. Despite the lack of hamburger meat in the spaghetti – not only did she refuse to eat meat, she refused to cook it either, which made the nights when it was her turn to cook dinner a little less than awesome – it was actually pretty good. "Hey, so, no Kaz?"
"Don't know, don't care." She replied.
"Oh, great, are you two fighting?" I sighed in exasperation. She shook her head.
"No, he just…he's being Kaz and he said something stupid and I'm a little annoyed." She replied.
"What, did he go overboard with his Dr. Wrath theory?" I guessed. She laughed lightly.
"Uh, this was something different, but you're absolutely right about him going overboard." She admitted. "Though, he was half-right."
"He was?" I questioned, scooping up a bit of the oregano and spreading it over my meal. She nodded.
"He was disguised as Stephanie, not Mr. Patterson." She explained, taking a bite of her sandwich. "But yeah, it was Dr. Wrath who was pissing everyone off at school."
"So what happened to Dr. Wrath?" I questioned, digging into my spaghetti. I was mid-chew when she smiled.
"I'll give you a hint; that's not oregano." She told me. I quickly spit out my food, much to her amusement.
"Brat." I accused.
"You love me anyway." She teased as Alan walked over to us. To my relief, his head had gone back to normal.
"Oliver!" He exclaimed, annoyed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that I was an elderly, Chinese woman!"
Dani stopped, a bemused look on her face. I faked a laugh, trying to pretend like I had no idea what he was talking about. "You were? I didn't notice."
"I guess it doesn't matter. After a few hours, I changed back." He shrugged. "But it was worth it. That pizza was amazing!"
"Sounds like you guys had fun today." Dani commented, giving me a look that clearly said that she wanted an explanation for the elderly Chinese woman comment.
"Hey, is that a Normo sandwich?" Alan licked his lips. Dani glanced at him.
"Uh, yeah?" She replied.
"Can I have the rest?" Alan questioned, taking it from her before she could reply. She threw her hands up a bit, annoyed, then walked around the counter. I slid my hand underneath, pulling out what remained of the pizza and handed her the box.
"Veggie, no onion." I told her before she could ask the type, then I looked at Alan. "I don't think you should eat that."
"Why not?" He questioned. "Pizza caused the problem, not all Normo foods!" He took a bite of Dani's sandwich, chewed it, and swallowed. The effects were instant, but instead of his head turning into that of an old lady, it shrank to one fifth of its normal size. "See? I'm fine!" Alan exclaimed as Dani and I stared at him.
"We should go." Dani told me, slowly backing away with the pizza box in her hands. Abandoning my spaghetti – because who knows if my sister was kidding about that oregano – I followed her out.
Kihonne: Alright, what did you guys think? Good or bad? Bad or good? I want to know what you guys have to say. Reviews encourage me to keep writing, you know? Anyway, here's the schedule for the next few updates:
Copy Kaz – Sept 5th
Free Wi-Fi – Sept 12th
There's a Strom Coming – Sept 19th
Anyway, don't forget to review, and I'll see you all next week!