Kihonne: Alright guys, it's time for the midseason finale, Mother May I? It's going to be an exciting chapter, but first, it's shoutout time!
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Amazingchichi741: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I hope you like this chapter too!
LabGirl2001: I missed Spike too. I hated that he wasn't in the Elite Force season. Anyway, thanks for understanding and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
SzymonS: I'm glad you enjoyed the Spike chapter. As for the mid-season finale, not all midseason finales actually land on the middle episode. Most of them are just around the middle and are chosen to be the midseason finale because the events in the episode affect the rest of the season. Look at Lab Rats; the last three mid-season finales introduced Douglas, Krane, and then Giselle, but none of them were directly the middle episode. As this is a big chapter, event-wise, and it's around the middle of the season, that's why I chose it as the midseason finale. Anyway, I'm glad you're excited for it, and I hope you enjoy it.
AlienGhostWizard14: I'm glad you enjoyed it. It sucked that they didn't have Spike in Elite Force – he was such a key element to the series. Thank you and everything is okay now – my brother broke his arm, which sucks, but it could be worse. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Bennyweirlover17: Thanks and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
MayLeaf2001: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter. Yes, Jaden's here and he's here to stay. I have to admit, I missed writing him and Bree. As for Dani, you'll find out the answer to that question this chapter. Skylar…well, that's going to be dealt with next chapter, for reasons that may be obvious once you've finished reading the chapter. I have to say, the time travel chapter is the one I'm most excited about. Partially because of the characters I get work with and partially because of the surprise I've got for everyone ;) Oh, and yes, everything is better now. Well, my brother broke his arm and that doesn't heal in a couple of weeks, but aside from that, everything is good. Anyway, I hope you find the chapter interesting at the very least.
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Kihonne: Alright guys, not the moment we've all been waiting for…
Dani: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or Elite Force. She only owns this story, myself and anyone other OCs, and anything else you don't recognize.
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Kaz's POV
"Man, I really hate Mort and his new pals." I complained, dropping my mission bag onto the ground by the couch. Bree nodded in agreement.
"Me too. I mean this just crossed the line." She agreed, arms crossed.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Jaden questioned, walking out the from the kitchen. We all looked at him, briefly confused why he was here instead of his own apartment. "Oh, Bree texted me about the early mission. I figured you'd want breakfast." He gestured at the kitchen counter, where seven steaming plates of pancakes, bacon and eggs awaited us.
"Best brother ever." Calla grinned, pecking him on the cheek before grabbing a plate. Jaden chuckled, amused. "And yeah, I guess it went well."
"I guess?" Jaden furrowed his brow, confused.
"Benjamin and Jennifer VanOver." Oliver explained, grabbing a couple of plates and handing one to Skylar. "AKA, Baby Tecton and his mother. We included Benjamin on the list after he started showing signs of his father's powers. Lexi must have gotten their location off of it before attacking them."
"Baby Tecton? How old is this kid?" Jaden demanded, alarmed. Skylar sighed, sitting down at the table next to Oliver.
"Two and a half, almost three." She sighed. "I mean, they're okay. Lexi bolted when she saw us, without hurting them, and we managed to get them moved to a safer location, but still. Who attacks a kid that young?"
"Well, actually, the list didn't have ages or anything on it. Just information on their home locations, and speaking of which, I thought that Jennifer left after Tecton died." Dani commented, confused as she sat down. "I thought that they were moving to Los Angeles, not staying in Cincinnati."
"They moved back after Jennifer's mom passed away." I explained. "Sorry, I thought I told you."
"Well, you didn't." She snapped, annoyed. I looked at her, surprised. Why did it matter now? They were gone, moved elsewhere for their own protection. "Sorry, I'm just…frustrated."
"We all are." Chase agreed, sitting down on the couch next to Calla. He wrung his hands together. "Lexi, Mort, and Tank and whoever they're working for are getting out on control. I mean, we've connected Lexi to the attack on Mr. Davenport's submarine, several of the attacks at landmarks around the city, and obviously, the attack here."
"They're not working on their own." Oliver commented. "Mort's a henchman…actually, last I checked, he was a lackey, not even a henchman. He's not smart enough to do this on his own."
"Neither are Lexi or Tank. Tank doesn't even speak and while Lexi can be manipulative, she wouldn't be the kind to put all this together." Bree agreed. She looked at Calla, Jaden, and Chase. "And even if you know who is helping them, he doesn't have the resources to do this on his own."
"Wait, you know who?" Dani's voice dropped into a hushed whisper, her eyes lit up in awe. "Hogwarts is real?"
"You know, I can't tell if she's joking or not." Jaden commented, regarding Dani warily. She smirked and stuck her tongue out at him teasingly before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the blue chair with her.
"She means Sebastian. He was arrested at the same time as Lexi and Tank." Chase explained. "He tried to overtake the Academy after he found out we stopped his father from taking over the world."
"You know, maybe Krane's back." Calla commented, looking up in concern.
"But he's dead." Bree pointed out before any one of us could ask who they were talking about. "He blew up in space, remember?"
"It wouldn't exactly be the first time we wrong about him being dead though, now would it?" Calla countered, taking a bite of her pancakes.
"Give me." Dani took my plate and fork from me, a disgusted look on her face as she used my utensil to slide the bacon from her plate onto mine.
"What makes you so sure it's a bionic villain anyway?" Oliver questioned.
"Well, the only one other enemies we have that would be able to pull this off would be Giselle, but she's definitely dead." Chase replied.
"What about one of ours? A supervillain?" I offered. The others exchanged looks.
"Uh, no offense guys, but from all the supervillains we've met, none of them have had what it takes to pull something like this off. Bionic villains are just…eviler. That's a word right?" Bree looked at her brother for validation.
"You're right about most of them; most villains are just your garden variety criminal with powers, but we've had some pretty dark ones." Skylar insisted. "The Annihilator, Wallace and Clyde…Bridget."
I felt Dani stiffen besides me. I took her hand, offering her a cheeky smile. "C'mon, even she's not cruel enough to attack a toddler."
"You don't know my mother that well then." Oliver grumbled. When Dani shifted uncomfortably, I stepped in.
"I think the point is, we don't know who they're working with." I pointed out. "It could be anyone of those, or someone completely new. We don't know."
"Well, we might soon." Calla commented offhandedly. We all looked at her and she smirked deviously. "I hit Lexi with a tracker."
"You're tracking her?" Dani asked, surprised. Calla shook her head.
"Well, no, not anymore. The tracker went offline twenty minutes, near an abandoned subway tunnel. BUT," She emphasized the word, "I do have MISS monitoring the area. The moment whoever they're working for steps into view, we'll have satellite of their identity."
"Why not just storm the place?" I questioned.
"It's better to know what we're facing rather than going in blind." Chase advised. Calla nodded in agreement.
"Besides, it's not like this'll take long – I'm sure we'll know who we're up against by the end of the day." She added. Dani sighed irritably and got to her feet. "Impatient, much?"
"This waiting is killing me. I need a tofu pop." She declared, heading over to the fridge. She opened it and let out a disappointed sound. "We're out of tofu pops."
"Sorry, my bad. I put it on the grocery list." I apologized. She shook her head.
"Anyone else need something? I'm going to the store." She decided, grabbing her purse. When no one else spoke up, she walked out, the door swinging closed behind her. I sighed and looked at Skylar.
"You had to bring up Bridget?" I questioned in resignation. She knew that was a sensitive topic for Dee, whether or not my girlfriend wanted to admit it. Oliver sighed.
"I'll go talk to her." He offered. He glanced at Calla. "Text me when you know who's bossing Mort and the evil bionics around."
"Will do." Calla agreed, finishing her breakfast. As Oliver left, she licked her lips, looked down at her empty plate, then over at Oliver's. "Dibs on his bacon."
Dani's POV
"You took your time getting here." Mom observed as I walked into the subway tunnel. I bent down, hands on my knees as I recovered my breath.
"Sorry, I ran here, but I had to take the long way through the tunnels." I gestured at the opposite side of the subway tunnel. "Calla got a tracker on Lexi and now she's got our AI watching the entrance like a hawk."
"Thank you for the warning, dear." Mom nodded thoughtfully. I stared at her incredulously.
"Thank you? That's it?" I demanded. She looked at me sharply.
"Was there something else?" She questioned. I nodded.
"Yeah! You attacked a two-year-old, Mom! What the hell?" I demanded, pissed. She gave me a look.
"I was unaware of the child's age. Even I wouldn't kill a child in cold blood, especially not when he's still too young to have chosen a side. Who knows, perhaps he'll be an asset to us one day." She wondered aloud. When she saw the look on my face, she rolled her eyes. "The moment Lexi realized how young he was, she called me for instructions. I told her to leave the boy and get out of there before your team arrived."
"Still." I didn't like that she'd gone after Baby Tecton. "That crosses the line."
"It was an honest mistake, dear. It would not have happened if the information you gave me was updated with the child's age." She retorted, her tone accusing. "In fact, much of the information you gave me was incomplete. Inaccurate."
"A lot of the superheroes move around a lot to keep themselves safe, and besides, Kaz is in charge of keeping the list up to date. It's not my fault if he hasn't been doing his job." I shrugged in annoyance. "You wanted the information, I gave you what we had."
"And I don't doubt that." Mom assured me. "As for those that do, you're going to have the chance to prove yourself to them."
"When?" I questioned, frustrated. She'd said that already, sure, but that was ages ago. I was getting impatient with being left on the outside of things, taking all these risks without any kind of reward.
"Today." I raised an eyebrow, surprise.
"How?"
Mom gave me a look. "You'll know the moment when it comes." She assured me. Her phone buzzed then and she looked it. "You should go. Before your team notices you're missing."
I hesitated. "What are you going to do?"
Mom smiled, the same smile she used to give me when she knew something I didn't. The same smile that had scared me for years. "Send a message."
I frowned, confused, but when I pressed her for more information, she refused to elaborate. I sighed in annoyance. "Alright." I agreed reluctantly, taking a few steps back. "I guess I will see you soon then."
I turned on my heel and started down the dark, damp tunnel. Eventually, it would lead to the tunnels that my team and I used to get around the city – it was faster and generally safer late at night – but for now, I was forced to trudge through the subway.
I thought back to what Mom had said about having the chance to prove myself. She had hinted at that before, though it had been implied that I would have to choose between her and my team. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. This was never supposed to go this far, and after what happened with Baby Tecton this morning-
I stopped in my tracks, suddenly hearing the sound of gravel moving behind me. I sighed, shaking my head. "Was there something else, Mom?" I questioned as I turned around. But my voice caught in my throat when I saw that it wasn't Mom standing behind me. Ollie stood a few feet away, staring at me, slack-jawed and wide-eyed. "Shit."
Kaz's POV
"How are you so good at this?" Skylar questioned, sighing as Bree swept up all the Oreos we were using as poker chips in her arms. The speedster smirked, taking the deck and shuffling it together.
"Calla brought a poker set into the lab about a month after we met. And between her being overcompetitive and Chase cheating, I had to learn a few tricks to finally beat them." She explained, dealing out hands. Chase, the only one of us not playing, looked up from his book, offended.
"I do not cheat." He retorted.
"Hate to break it to you babe, but using a bionic ability to calculate the odds of specific cards being in the river or flop." Calla told him teasingly, glancing at her cards. She paused, something catching her eye. "You know, Kaz, you'd probably be doing a lot better if you stopped eating your chips."
"Well then maybe you shouldn't have suggested we use cookies as chips instead of real ones." I retorted, purposefully taking a bite out of another cookie. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she tossed a cookie into the pot.
"I think I left my set of chips back at the Academ-"
"Sorry to interrupt, Miss Calla," MISS cut her off mid-sentence. "But you asked to be informed as soon as movement was captured at the possible location for Lexi's base of operations."
We all exchanged looks. "Kaz, call Oliver and Dani, tell them to get back here. MISS, if you could show the images on the main screen?" Chase requested, standing up.
I pulled out my phone as the TV screen turned on, showing an image of the entrance to the subway tunnel. There was a person on screen, exiting the tunnel, but they were too far away to get a good view. "Can you get a closer look, MISS?" Calla asked hopefully.
MISS complied, focusing in on the image, the person finally coming into focus. I was about halfway through dialing Dani's number when I realized that I knew the woman on the screen.
"Uh…Kaz?" Skylar looked at me, eyes widening as she recognized her too. Calla, Bree, Chase, and Jaden all looked at us, confused.
"You guys know her? Is she a supervillain?" Jaden questioned, looking at us. I dropped my hand, my phone still clutching in my hand.
"Yeah, we do. That's Mr. Terror." Skylar answered, a concerned frown on her face. "She's Oliver and Dani's mother."
Oliver's POV
"What the hell, Dani?!" I shouted, completely stunned. I'd followed her to make sure she was okay – I'd thought Mom was a sensitive topic for her, but clearly I was wrong about that.
My sister gulped nervously, glancing over her shoulder as if to check that she hadn't been followed. "H-How much of that did you hear?" She asked, her voice shaking nervously.
"I heard enough." I retorted. "You're talking to…you're working with Mom, are you kidding me?"
She winced at the loudness in my voice. "It's not that simple, Ollie."
"Then explain what's going on!" I demanded. "Seriously, Dani, what in the actual hell are you thinking?"
"I…I don't think that's actually a phrase…" She laughed nervously. I glared at her. "Look, Ollie, it's…it's complicated."
"Then make it simple. Explain." Maybe there was a logical explanation for all of this, because right now, I couldn't figure it out. Dani and Mom, they were like fire and ice. They'd never gotten along, not even back when we just thought Mom was being overprotective. And now they were supposedly working together? I just couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Ollie…"
"The truth, Dani." I insisted, angry. She nodded, a guilty look crossing over her face.
"Mom contacted me a few days ago, said she wanted to meet in person." She began. "I…thought I could maybe talk her into turning herself in or something."
"That's not what it sounded like to me." I commented. She waved her hand.
"You must have missed part of the conversation. As for the last part, I didn't expect things to go that way either." Dani admitted. "I only agreed with her in there because I wasn't sure what she'd do if I didn't."
I guess that sorta made sense, and if I did miss part of that conversation, it could explain a bit about the things I did hear. "Why didn't you tell me that she got into contact with you?"
"I wasn't sure what you'd say, and you wouldn't have let me come in here like I did." She admitted. I nodded.
"Damn straight I wouldn't have. Dani, this wasn't just dangerous, it was stupid dangerous!" I scolded.
"I had to try." She murmured. She looked at me, eyes pleading. "Skylar, she wants to take Mom down like we would any villain, and if that means Mom dying like…like Roddiseus, then she's okay with that. But as crappy a mother as she was, she's still our mother."
I sighed, not exactly disagreeing. "Skylar understands that."
"No, she doesn't." Dani replied, not unkindly. "Skylar never had a mom, or any parents for that matter. She doesn't understand this – she can't. And while I don't blame her for that, that doesn't mean I have to agree with her either. And the others, they're on board with it too. They just see her as another villain, not like she's our mother. I had to at least try, Ollie."
God, this was SO Dani – doing something stupid because she thought it was right. Still, a small part of me wondered if she was lying to me, if there was something, more dangerous going on.
"Are you sure that's it, Dee?" I asked. She looked at me, a small frown on her face.
"What else would there be?" She asked softly, giving me a confused look. I sighed. No, as much as I loved Dani, she wasn't smart enough (or stupid enough, depending on your point of view) to hide something that big from me.
"We have to tell the others." I told her. She bit her lip, not liking the idea. "Dee, we have to. They'll understand, and maybe we can make sure Mom gets a fair trial."
"Maybe." She agreed reluctantly. I smiled, satisfied.
"C'mon." I ushered her towards the tunnels. "Let's go."
Kaz's POV
We were already suited up, ready to go, when the twins walked in. "Hey guys, we need to talk." Oliver started as they came in, though he paused when he saw that we were all prepped. "Was there a mission alert while we were gone?"
"No, um…" We all exchanged looks. After we realized it was Bridget, we weren't sure whether to call them or not. It might be easier, dealing with this without them, but then again, they had the right to know. "You guys might want to sit down."
"…Why?" Dani questioned, frowning.
"We got a hit on who's been working with Lexi, Mort, and Tank. We think she's their boss, actually." Calla began hesitantly, looking at Skylar and I in hopes that we'd take over.
"Uh, their boss…" I started, but Dani cut me off.
"It's Mom, isn't it?" She guessed.
"How'd you know?" Chase asked sharply. Oliver stepped forward before Dani could speak.
"She contacted us. Wants us to work with her." He explained, sending Dani a glance over his shoulder. "Obviously, we're not interested. That's why we came straight here."
"Good move." Bree agreed.
"So, we're storming the place?" Dani asked softly.
"Something like that, yeah." Chase nodded.
"You guys don't have to come, not if you don't feel up to it." Jaden added, stepping out of the hyperlift, carrying a large blaster. He gave the twins a smile. "We'd get it."
"No, we're in." Dani replied, shaking her head. She gave her brother a small smile. "Our mom, our responsibility."
"She's right." Oliver nodded.
"Glad to hear it." I grinned, putting my arms around their shoulders. "Suit up, and let's go kick Mort's ass."
Before they could respond, MISS spoke up again. "Lexi's tracker is on the move again." She announced. The image on the TV screen switched to a map of Centium City. A flashing red dot slowly moved along one of the streets. "Judging by her trajectory, it appears that they're heading to a private airstrip, just south of the city."
"The airport? Why?" Oliver questioned, frowning. He looked over at Dani, but my girlfriend shrugged, as confused as we were.
"Doesn't matter. We need to get there and stop them before they do whatever it is that they're planning." Calla decided. She looked at us. "Let's go."
Dani's POV
I couldn't believe it; Ollie covered for me. I lied straight to his face, something I was too good at for comfort, and not only did he believe every word, but he also took my side in things with the others. I should be pleased, but instead, there was a big ball of guilt building up in my stomach, almost making me nauseous. I hated lying to Ollie, always had, but this? I didn't even hesitate, and it didn't even bother me in the moment. Not just that, but I took advantage of the trust we'd always had in each other, and used that against him. That was wrong, that was incredibly wrong and I felt horrible for it, but I couldn't take the action back now. All I could do was hope that things turned out okay.
Not that they would. Mom had something big planned, and I suspected that she expected me to publicly change to her side, maybe even attack the others. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, the rock being what I really wanted but the hard place being the right thing to do. No matter what I chose, there would be serious consequences. It felt like my heart was tearing itself in half, trying to decide which family to go with.
I flew past a skyscraper, hurtling towards the air strip, Ollie and Kaz at my sides. Bree and Skylar were below us, our flight matching their average running speed. Calla, Chase, and Jaden weren't far behind, having grabbed a couple of the Davencycles from the garage. Maybe I should just come clean, tell them everything. Maybe they wouldn't be that mad. Hell, maybe they'd even understand why all this had to happen…Aw, who was I kidding? They'll be pissed when they find out the truth; we were a team, we were supposed to trust each other, and I pretty much threw all that out the window the moment I got my mother on the phone.
What felt like both too soon and too long at the same time, we arrived at the air strip. But when Kaz, Ollie, and I landed on the tarmac, it was too late; we watched as a small, private jet started to take off. Standing some ways away were Mort, Lexi, and Tank, watching the plane go. "Oh no." Bree said as she and Skylar skidded to a stop next to us. "We're too late."
"Where's Mr. Terror?" Chase demanded as he, Calla, and Jaden's Davencycles stopped a few feet away.
"You're too late!" Mort mocked as he, Lexi, and Tank approached us. He smirked cockily, obviously pleased that they beat us here.
"Don't be so smug; she left you behind, remember?" Skylar snapped, narrowing her eyes at the villains.
"We need to go after her." Chase decided.
"Yeah, not gonna happen." Lexi sneered before speeding forward as it to attack. Bree sped up first, though, blocking her path.
"Try it." Our speedster challenged. Tank and Mort came up behind Lexi, ready to fight. We all stepped forward, not about to let them get away, but paused when Calla spoke up.
"We've got this." She murmured as she created a pair of proton disks in her hands. "Chase, take Skylar and the twins and grab Davenport's jet. Follow Mr. Terror and stop her. We'll take care of these losers."
"You sure?" Chase asked, hesitant. His wife gave him a smirk.
"Oh yeah." She assured him before lunging forward, her proton disks flying towards Mort. Bree and Jaden also jumped into action, the former speeding forward towards Lexi, limbs flying at impossible speeds, while the latter took aim at Tank with his Concussion Blaster. Kaz spared Ollie and I a look before following suit, clearly wishing he could go with us. But Calla's suggestion was smart – my mother was far more dangerous than these guys, and Skylar, Ollie, and I were some of the bigger powerhouses on the team.
"Be careful!" I called, slowly starting to follow Chase, Skylar, and my brother away from the fight. I knew we needed to get out of there fast – Kaz and the others would stand a better chance of beating Lexi, Mort, and Tank if they didn't have to worry about giving us time to escape, but honestly, I wasn't sure if I was ready for whatever Mom was planning.
"Dani, c'mon!" I heard Skylar shouted. I lingered behind for another moment, watched Kaz send a burst of flames towards Mort, then turned on my heel and raced after the others.
"So, where is she going?" I demanded as we grabbed the Davecycles. Having never rode anything like them before, Ollie and I climbed on behind Skylar and Chase, barely managing to get our helmets on before speeding away from the air strip. "Chase?"
"I'm tracking the jet's trajectory now. We should have a location by time we get to Mr. Davenport's plane." He replied, swerving through traffic. I tightened my grip around his waist, looking over my shoulder in hopes of catching Ollie's eye. He and Skylar were a few feet behind us, careful to stay close enough that they wouldn't get left behind in traffic. Thankfully, Davenport's jet was waiting for us at a nearby airstrip, very similar to the one we just left; we were there in a matter of minutes.
"Skylar, you're my co-pilot." Chase ordered as we entered the cockpit. She nodded silently, taking a seat next to him.
"So where's our Mom going?" Ollie questioned. Chase frowned and concentrated.
"Well, according to her flight path, she's headed to…" He trailed off. "Shit."
"What?" I demanded. He cursed under his breath, flipping switches.
"She's headed for Facility X." He informed us. "We have to get there before she does."
"Facility X? Isn't that where we stored the Arcturion?" Skylar demanded, eyes going wide.
"I guess she wants more powers." That explained it. That was what Mom had wanted all along, though honestly, I should have guessed it earlier.
"But how did she find out it was there?" Skylar frowned, confused. Ollie spared me a glance.
"Dani, tell me you didn't." He pleaded with me telepathically.
"Would I really give her access to all that power? C'mon, Ollie, I'm not that stupid." I sent back, keeping the conversation brief. I'd been keeping our telepathic connection at a distance; I didn't want him seeing more than what I allowed, not even by accident. Now that he was already suspicious, my personal thoughts would just make things dangerous.
"We have to stop her before she gets ahold of it." Skylar fretted.
"Well, luckily, Mr. Davenport's private jet is one of the fastest in the world." Chase assured her. "They have a head start, but we might just be able to catch up with them. Oliver, Dani, sit down and buckle up; it might be a bumpy ride."
Oliver's POV
"So, where's the Arcturion?" Dani questioned as we entered the facility. "And where is all the security?"
"There wasn't much; no one ever comes out here." Chase explained. He had a point; the facility was an unassuming building in the middle of a massive forest near the Canadian border. No one would end up here by accident, and it was hard enough to spot from the air with all these trees. "There should be a few guards here though, protecting the secure storage area. Which is right around…"
Chase cut himself off as we turned the corner, the genius stopping in his tracks. Kneeling by a pair of unconscious guards was a tall, square-jawed guy with spiky brown hair. He looked about our age, and wore mostly black, along with a camo-green vest. He looked up as we came in, then smirked to himself.
"Chase!" He greeted, standing up. "It's been a long time."
"Sebastian." Chase gritted his teeth together. "I should have guessed you'd be working for Mr. Terror."
"Well, she makes one hell of a boss." He laughed before raising a hand. A bo staff, similar to Chase's, but glowing red instead of blue, appeared in his palm. He swung it around himself, showing it off, before falling into a fighting stance. "About time I got my rematch."
"You'll lose." Chase retorted, whipping out his own plasma bo staff. He charged at Sebastian, the bo staff held high above his head. He swung it down on Sebastian, but the bionic villain raised his in protection, blocking the attack. He then spun around, as if to gain momentum for his bo staff, but at the last moment, he raised his other hand, and a blast of electricity burst from it. The blast hit Chase directly in the chest, throwing him back into the wall behind him.
Chase slid the ground with a groan just as Skylar tried her luck, lunging at Sebastian, only to cartwheel away at the last moment. She shot a blast of energy at him, but unfortunately, he deflected it with his bo staff.
"Secure the Arcturion." Chase ordered, pushing himself to his feet. Dani didn't even hesitate, already racing towards the secure storage room. I followed after her, staying close as Skylar and Chase took on Sebastian. Surprisingly, he didn't seem too interested in stopping us from entering the storage, his focus only on defeating Chase and Skylar.
We burst into the secure storage room – a small, white room with shelves lining the wall – only to find that Mom had beat us here. My mother stood in the middle of the room, right next to a podium that held the Arcturion space rock.
"Mom." Dani called, letting her know we were here. My mother looked up, drawing her hand back, away from the Arcturion.
"Danica, Oliver. Good, I've been waiting for you." She greeted, smiling in satisfaction.
"You can't get more powers from it." I told her, nodding at the Arcturion. "Not without killing yourself."
"You don't have to worry about that, dear. I've found someone to help with that." She assured me. "It can give us all powers, more than you already have. We'd be the most powerful family on the planet."
"We don't want any more powers." I snapped. "And we're no family; you destroyed that a year and a half ago."
"Perhaps I didn't handle things with you two the way I should, but that's all in the past." She assured me. "We can move past that, go back to my original plan."
"To take over the world?" I challenged. "No thanks."
"To make it safer. For you." She assured me. "To protect the people you care about."
"Please. The moment they got in the way, you'd get rid of them so you could 'protect' us." I argued. "This isn't protection, this is you wanting control, whether you see it or not."
"Oh, Oliver, I was hoping you would see our side." She sounded so disappointed, as if she really thought I would join her. But neither Dani or I were stupid enough to fall for whatever she said. I stiffened as she picked the Arcturion up, turning the pyramid over in her hands.
"Stop. Mom, stop." I told her, stepping forward. I looked at her pleadingly. "We can't join you, but we don't want to fight you either. So, put down the Arcturion and let me take you to UPSEI, alright?"
"I can't do that, honey." She told me, giving me a bittersweet smile. "I have to do this. You'll understand one day."
"No, I won't. Now put down the Arcturion, or we'll have to make you put it down." I raised my hand, creating a ball of ice in the palm to show her I was serious. She gave me a condescending look, the same she used to give us when she was amused by our inability to do something. "Fine. I'm sorry, Mom, but you gave us no choice."
I crushed the ice ball and prepared to send a blast of ice her way (just powerful enough to incapacitate her), but before I could, a bolt of lightning struck the ground by my feet. I jumped back in surprise, then looked up, wide-eyed, at my sister. She stepped towards Mom, but her hands were aimed at me, a ball of electrical energy held tightly in one. "Dani?"
"I can't let you do that, Ollie." She told me, giving me an apologetic look. I stared at her, not understanding.
"Dani, what are you doing?" I whispered, horrified. She gave me a saddened look.
"I'm sorry, Ollie, but I have to do what I think is right." She answered, taking a shaky breath. I went to take a step towards her, but she zapped the ground again, stopping me dead in my tracks. "Don't…please don't."
"Or what, you'll attack me? Your own brother?" I demanded. She nodded stiffly, eyes watering a little.
"If I have to." She breathed, guilt crossing her face. I shook my head at her in disbelief.
"I don't know who are anymore." I murmured, absolutely thunderstruck. She flinched at my words, but didn't respond to them. Suddenly, Sebastian appeared in the room, geo-leaping in from the other. He was bleeding from a cut on his lip.
"If we're going to bail, we need to do it now." He told my mother. She nodded, smiled, then took the Arcturion in her hands. She placed her hand on Sebastian's shoulder, then looked at my sister expectantly.
"Are you coming, dear?" She inquired.
"Dani, don't!" I shouted. My sister sent me one last, devastatingly apologetic look, then grabbed Sebastian's arm. I lunged forward to pull her away, but they were gone in an instant.
I stared at the spot where they had been standing, trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened. I couldn't believe that Dani had just done that, had just left us, left our team, just like that?
I heard footsteps come up behind me. "Oliver!" Skylar called as she and Chase ran into the room. "Where's Mr. Terror and the Arcturion?" When I didn't answer, she grabbed my hand. "Oliver, where's Dani?"
Kaz's POV
"She's been brainwashed!" I declared, pacing around the penthouse. After Lexi, Mort, and Tank had geo-leap away in the middle of our battle, Calla, Jaden, Bree, and I had come back to the penthouse. Minutes later, the rest of our teams, sans Dani, arrived with the news. "It's the only thing that makes sense."
"Yes, brainwashing must be the only logical explanation." Calla commented sarcastically. "Dude, no."
"Calla." Chase warned her, giving her a look. I looked around at the others, but no one was saying.
"C'mon, it fits, and it wouldn't be the first time we'd seen it." I insisted. I looked at Bree, hoping she'd back me up on this. "What was that thing you were telling me about? The Titan App?"
"Triton App." Bree corrected, even as she shook her head. "But it wasn't that. The only device capable of using it on humans was destroyed."
"She wasn't brainwashed." I looked over at Oliver when he spoke up, the first time since they'd come back. He shook his head, closing his eyes. "I would know if there was something wrong with her mind, and she was acting…well, she wasn't acting brainwashed."
"Then Mr. Terror did something to her. Made her evil, like…like the Annihilator made you evil." I spun around, looking at Skylar.
"Maybe…" She sighed, looking and sounding doubtful.
"Kaz, buddy, I know you don't want to admit it, but Dani joined her mother of her own free will." Chase told me, his tone sympathetic.
"No, she didn't. She couldn't have." I refused to believe it. I looked around at the others, but they all had the same, betrayed, defeated looks on their faces. "Guys, it's Dani we're talking about. Miss Animal-Loving, Bridget-Hating, Soccer-Playing Dani! She'd never work for her mother."
"Except, that's exactly what's been happening." Calla sighed, leaning her head on her fist as she looked up at me. "Mort told me there was a mole, but…I didn't believe him. Turns out, he was telling the truth."
"I don't believe this. I don't." I argued with them. If they didn't want to believe in Dani, fine, but I would. "There's something else going on here. She's not evil."
Dani's POV
"…And that's when I decided to move our base of operations down here…" I barely listened as Mom droned on and on about her new base of the operations. Under different circumstances, I would be excited to be down here – her new base was a stylish, modern-designed series of rooms and tunnels underground, complete with bright lights and a cool waterfall in the lounge area – but right now, I could care less.
I hadn't wanted things to end like that, especially not between Ollie and I. God, he must hate me now. I suppose I deserved that, but it still wasn't a good feeling. I hadn't wanted to hurt him, or the team, but my back had been against the wall, and I didn't know what else to do except follow the plan.
"Danica, are you listening to me?" My mother stopped, looking at me.
"Sorry." I shook my head to clear it. "Sorry, just…distracted, is all."
Mom gave me a sympathetic look. "He'll come around, dear. Once he sees what we're capable of, your brother will join us."
"Yeah…yeah, you're right." I agreed, if only to get her to drop it. I needed to shake this, to distract myself with something else. Perhaps she sensed this, because the next thing I knew, Mom was leading me into another room, this time a kitchen. Mort, Lexi, Sebastian, and Tank were all inside, talking over cups of coffee.
"Hey, when are we going to crack into the Arcturion? You promised us more abilities." Sebastian called upon seeing us. He looked me over briefly, sizing me up, before looking back at my mother. She gave him a look.
"Soon. I'm waiting on my expert so he can find a way for us to use it without the side effects." She promised him. She cleared her throat. "In the meantime, I want you all to get acquainted. The Elite Force has its flaws, but their teamwork has shown to be a useful skill. As of now, I want you all to work as a team. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Mr. Terror." The others all replied. Mom looked at me and I nodded softly.
"Good. I'll leave you to it." She declared, walking away. Once she was gone, Sebastian scoffed.
"Mr. Terror. Sounds stupid." He commented, shaking his head.
"It makes her feel powerful." I replied, taking a seat next to him. He looked at me, surprised that I would challenge his opinion like that. "Most villains use code names anyway."
"True. We haven't been introduced. I'm Sebastian." He held out his hand. I went to shake it and tell him my own name when a long-forgotten memory hit me. If you're going to play a part, you should commit. Calla had had a point when she'd told me that. And maybe she had a point. This was a new role for me; I should commit to it, at least more than I already was. And I did have the perfect villain name…
"Call me Short Circuit." I introduced myself, shaking his hand. He smirked.
"Well, this should be interesting." He commented.
Xxx
Kihonne: Oh, Dani, what have you done? Alright, guys, leave me a review. Good or bad, I'm excited to hear them. Anyway, here's the schedule for the next few weeks:
August 28th: Reunion
September 4th: Broken Hearts
September 11th: Bionics VS Superpowers
Oh, and before I forget, there's going to be an 8 month time jump between this chapter and the next. I'll remind people when I post again, but just a heads up. Anyway, I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks. Don't forget to review!