Kihonne: Alright guys, it's time for the season finale! I know you're all excited to see how this turns out, so I won't babble for very long. First off, I'll say Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends, and then we'll move straight onto shoutouts, shall we?
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LabGirl2001: No, she does not. As for Bree's baby, I felt it was important that she participate in this mission, considering how much work they've already put into stopping Bridget and with so much on the line. But don't worry, Jaden will protect them. As for Bridget's plan, that's a good thought, but you'll get to hear what it really was later this chapter. As for why it usually ends up two against one, my opinion is that it's because usually, writers (in TV, movies, and literature) prefer to write hero characters rather than villain characters, and as such end up writing more heroes. By time they look at their cast of characters, they usually end up having around twice as many heroes as there are villains, and it's easier to have them team up rather than finding something else for the extra heroes to do. At least that's what I've always found, though I like your theory too. As for Skylar's opinion, I'm not saying she's right or wrong, but she does have every reason to believe that - Dani's involvement directly got the team involved, and possibly moved up Bridget's time table. Would it all have happened anyway? Probably, but Dani did make the first move, so it's not totally crazy for Skylar to think that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Algernon23: Yeah, it's pretty bad plan, but to be fair, they really have no good options. Anyway, looking forward to your overall review, and I hope you enjoy the chapter, just as much as I hope you have a good Thanksgiving!
Shadow-Wolf78: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
AlienGhostWizard14: Good questions. First, it's pronounced like the metal. As for Leo's bionic arm and leg, even though they don't have the same capabilities as a person with a bionic chip does, they do technically have to be connected wirelessly through a system (which I assume would be the same as the others). Otherwise, it would be impossible to ever update the tech, which they would reasonably need to do as programs can corrupt and such. Reasonably, I would assume (both in the actual show, and my story) that they have some sort of wireless chip (even though it's not a bionic chip) that connects Leo's arm and leg to the same system as Adam, Bree, and Chase's chips. So, in summary, yes, they would be affected. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter.
SzymonS: Really, they're just hoping their experience will be enough. But keep in mind, Adam, Bree, and Chase did beat Giselle and her guys without powers, so I'd say they've got a bit of chance. As for the bad guys plan, I'm going to elaborate more on that in this chapter. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter.
Guest: My favorite characters are Leo and Chase. I really couldn't choose between them. They're both pretty awesome.
MayLeaf2001: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for the compliments. I will admit that I really look forward to your reviews. I suppose you're right about finding stuff out a little before I reveal it for real. I'm glad you're excited about the pregnancy and the wedding – those are going to be fun to work with. As for the weapon designer, trust me, that's going to take you by surprise. They are just one of a few new characters I plan on introducing for the third and final season. Yes, I agree that it would be pretty odd if Calla hadn't guessed that Bree was pregnant, or at the very least that something wasn't normal with her. The team really didn't have any good options there. As for Dani's relationship with the team…well, all I can say is that their relationship, trust and all, will be seriously impacted by the time skip, particularly by certain decisions that will be made in this chapter as well as some of the events of The Year Between. Though yes, Jaden and Bree are definitely going to have their hands full, though the baby won't be the only big thing that they, and the rest of the team, are going to be dealing with. As for AJ, I promise you that this will not be the last time we see him. I'm not having him move just to get rid of the kid, that's for sure. Titanium is just a regular villain who happened to picked up by Bridget. He might make future appearances though, depending on how certain chapters play out. And I think Oliver had a heart attack too. I'm glad you liked the guest appearances. Unfortunately, this might be the final appearance of both Leo and Adam in the Power of Seven story (don't worry, they're in The Year Between), but you will be seeing more Alivia. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one just as much.
Xxx
Kihonne: Alright folks, time for the season finale!
Bridget: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or Elite Force. She only owns this story, all the OCs, and anything else you don't recognize.
Xxx
Oliver's POV
"Don't injure my children too severely, but feel free to kill the others." My mother told her minions, giving them one last order. We all exchanged looks, not entirely surprised by her words; we hadn't expected them to give up without a fight.
"I've got Lexi!" Bree shouted before racing after her nemesis, her boyfriend (possible fiancé, if I had to guess what the news they'd wanted to share with the team was) chasing after them. The speedster bolted just out of their weapons' range, sticking close enough to tease Bree for her lack of speed.
Unsurprisingly, Alivia went after Titanium on her own. Her father had always considered him one of his greatest enemies, and it wasn't a shock to anyone that the Irish superhero would want to take down the metal manipulator for him.
Though our original plan had been to go after our Mom – our mother, our responsibility after all – but unfortunately, Mort got to us first, cutting us off from the others with a well-aimed shot of his spit. Dani and I stopped in our tracks, turning to face him. He paced around us slowly, tongue flicking through his teeth.
Dani and I exchanged looks before aiming our weapons at him. If we had to go through him to get to our mother, so be it.
Kaz's POV
I ducked as a blast of green energy flew past my head, just narrowly missing me. A blast of blue plasma was shot back at Gao from where Calla was taking cover behind a tree, though unfortunately, Gao geoleaped just out of harm's way. It looked like the criminal mastermind had given himself just about every bionic ability in the book, and things weren't going well.
"Ah!" Calla cried out as Gao sent a massive fireball towards her, setting the tree on fire. She backed away from it, falling back on her butt to avoid being roasted alive by a secondary blast.
"Hey, Gao!" I shouted, trying to get his attention off her for a second. I aimed my plasma gun at him and fired a couple of shots, only for them to miss by half a foot. I scowled, annoyed – I was far better with my pyrokinesis than I was with one of Calla's weapons – but at least it had the effect I'd been hoping for: Gao's attention was now solely focused on me, giving Calla the chance to come up with a new strategy to take him down.
I dodged to the left as a half-plasma, half-fire ball soared past me, then jumped as high as I could as Gao shot one at my legs, probably trying to catch me off guard. I landed back on the ground a second later, unhurt but with the soles of my boots hotter than they should have been. "Any time now, genius bar!" I shouted. A moment later, she complied, and a series of rapid-fire plasma balls shot out from behind a giant oak tree.
One of them managed to catch Gao in the shoulder, knocking him off balance. I took advantage of the blow and charged at him, tackling him to the ground. But before I could slam him into the dirt, he disappeared, geoleaping God knows where. "Where'd he go?" Calla demanded, stepping out from behind her tree. I shook my head helplessly, unsure. I was about to voice my opinion that maybe he went to attack one of the others when Gao suddenly reappeared directly behind.
"Behind you!" I shouted, but it was too late. Gao put her in a headlock, holding his arm against her throat so hard that I could tell he was cutting off her oxygen supply. Calla struggled against his grasp, slamming her elbow into his stomach as hard as she could, but with no effect. I raised my weapon, pointing it at Gao, but unwilling to pull the trigger with such a bad shot.
Calla and I locked gazes, and to my surprise, there was more confidence in her gaze than fear. She gave me a small smirk, even as she struggled to breathe, then slammed her head back against his right shoulder. To the naked eye, it would have looked like a useless attempt at escape, but I knew my teammate well enough to know that she was trying to give me a message. Taking a deep breath and praying that I didn't miss, I raised the plasma gun and pulled the trigger, the plasma ball aimed right at his shoulder. Calla twisted at the last second, doing everything in her power to turn her back to my target just before the blast hit its mark.
The plasma ball knocked Gao back, the blow allowing Calla to drop to her knees, escaping Gao's clutches. The mastermind disappeared once more, and I ran over to Calla. "You alright?" I demanded, helping her to her feet. She grinned at me.
"Good aim." She complimented as she adjusted her plasma glove. She looked around, a frown deepening on her face. "This was a mistake."
I couldn't deny the truth in her words. We really hadn't had much of a choice in coming out here – I didn't know what Bridget had been planning, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good – but we were getting our asses handed to us. In my peripheral vision, I could see the Davenport brothers near the fountain, facing off against Sebastian. They were holding their ground, sure, but just barely – Sebastian was far more powerful than I'd ever seen him, alternating between holding Chase off with a crimson plasma bo staff and fighting Adam with blasts of pure, dark energy.
Alivia wasn't doing much better, the red head barely managing to avoid these flying metal balls that Titanium was controlling. Her experience fighting him was obviously coming in handy – from what I could see, none, if any, of Titanium's attacks had hit its mark, but without her signature ability to multiply herself, she wasn't able to do much more than play on the defense.
Dani and Oliver were standing their ground over by the entrance to the park, Mort holding them off with surprising agility. He'd already hit Dani with his disgusting spit, the glob holding her left leg to the ground. She tried to twist around, aiming her bow at him as she leapt around, using a combination of inhuman agility and speed to keep her and Oliver off balance. My best friend was faring slightly better than his sister, as he was completely free of the lizard-like villain's incapacitating spit, but every one of the shots he produced from his paragun were being blocked with ease.
Bree and Jaden were still fighting off Lexi, but without much luck. Surprisingly, Bree wasn't going in physically for the kill, like she usually preferred to do, but instead hung back, choosing to keep her attacks limited to shooting blasts from her paragun from a distance. It was strange, but maybe a good idea since she didn't have her speed. Jaden was closer than her, probably because A, he was the type of guy who'd want to put himself between his girl and whatever danger they faced, despite how capable she was of taking care of herself, and B, the blasts from his plasma gun did a lot more dangerous than the paragun. His backpack was slung over his shoulder, the Arcturion Space Rock hastily shoved inside. It would hopefully be safe there – despite the fact that Lexi was dodging every single one of their blasts, they were still able to keep her at a safe distance from the powerful artifact.
Leo and Skylar were at the other end of the park, trying in vain to take down Bridget on their own. The villainous mother looked genuinely bored with them, fending them off with some sort of storm ability, if I had to guess based off the bolts of lightning that kept targeting the two. They were okay for the time being, able to predict and avoid the blasts based off the looks of the dark clouds hovering in the sky above them, but I knew that their endurance wouldn't last forever.
That was the biggest problem. None of the villains were attacking us at full force, and I knew why: they wanted to tire ourselves out. They wanted our endurance to give out so they could kill us all the easier (and presumably kidnap Dani and Oliver while they were exhausted, if Bridget had anything to do with it). And unfortunately, unless we came up with something better, it would work.
"We need a new plan. This isn't going to work." I murmured breathlessly to Calla.
"You have a better plan?" She retorted, keeping her eye out for Gao.
"You're the smart one!" I snapped. She gave me an exasperated look, then opened her mouth to say something. Instead though, she snapped it shut and aimed her plasma glove just past my head. I turned around just in time to see her shoot a plasma ball directly at Gao. He dodged the blast before sending a massive fireball at us, about the size of a dinner plate. Calla and I both leapt in opposite directions as it soared at us. We managed to get out of its path just in time, but not quick enough avoid a little bit of the singe. I winced in pain as the flames licked the back of my neck, missing my invulnerability to fire even more now.
"We need a distraction. If we can divide their attention or give them something new to focus on, maybe we can get the advantage." Calla's voice echoed in my comm link. I looked over at her, watching as she scrambled behind a park bench for some cover. She ducked as a plasma ball flew over her head. "I miss my lab." She admitted. "I miss telling people what to do on missions rather than getting shot at myself."
I looked around, trying to think of something we can use as a distraction. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to work with: a few fountains, a couple of park benches, the public restrooms…wait.
"Huh." I hummed to myself. "Hey, the bathrooms here have electricity, right?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah." Oliver replied a moment later, his tone sounding exhausted.
"Kaz, I seriously doubt the bad guys are going to put everything on pause so you can take a pee break." Jaden commented.
"No, not what I meant. If they have electricity, there must be an electrical box, right?" I asked rhetorically. I aimed a plasma shot at Gao, scowling in frustration when it missed. He aimed a couple of blasts back at me, only for Calla to draw his fire by running out from the safety of her rock. She aimed a few blasts at his chest before ducking behind a massive tree. "Does anyone have eyes on it?"
There was a pause, the sound of blasts and shouts of frustration in the background. "I do. North side, a few feet off the ground." Alivia informed me, realizing I was serious when I asked about the bathrooms.
"What's the plan?" Adam called from where he was wrestling with Sebastian. I could see Chase slowly getting up from the ground a few feet away from, winded from the last attack.
"We need to distract them with something if we're going to win. Since the bathrooms are empty, who wants to help me blow them up?" I questioned, grinning.
"Well, that would be distracting." Bree agreed after a moment. In the background, I could hear her paragun go off.
"You'd need something to set it off. Something big and hot should work." Leo commented.
"My plasma gun should work. I mean" I reminded him, taking the chance to send a blast at Gao.
"Yeah, but it's not powerful enough." Chase commented. "If you can get it to me, I can boost its power. But I'll need someone to cover me."
"Go!" Calla shouted to me. She jerked her head at Gao. "I've got him."
I looked at her, the nodded and made a break for it. I ducked past Gao's latest attack – yet another plasma/fire ball – and raced towards where Chase and Adam were fighting Sebastian. When Adam saw me coming, he charged at Sebastian, tackling him to the ground and giving Chase the chance to run over to me.
"You sure you can do this without your bionic brain?" I questioned, even as I handed my weapon over to him. He rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a total idiot without my chip, Kaz." He rolled his eyes, producing a small screwdriver from one of the pockets in his mission suit – I guess he kept it there for missions. "True, I'm not as smart as I was and Calla could probably outsmart me without it, but I still know what I'm doing."
"Hurry please!" Bree called. I looked over my shoulder to see her duck as one of Titanium's metal balls flew past Alivia and nearly punctured the former speedster's chest.
"Got it!" Chase announced a second later. He handed me the now improved weapon. "You're still going to need something to expose the electrical panel.
"I've got that!" Dani called. I looked over to where she and Oliver were. While Oliver distracted Mort by sending a series of rapid-fire blasts at the lizard-like villain, my girlfriend twisted around as best as she could with her foot still glued to the ground, pulled a green-tipped arrow out of her quiver, and took aim at the electrical panel. She released the arrow and it flew through the air before burying itself in the concrete just above the metal electrical box. To my surprise, a thin liquid began to spill out of the arrow's tip, dripping onto the electrical box door. The door began to melt before my eyes, revealing the wires underneath. "Oh, and Calla, those acid arrows? Best idea ever."
"I know." The girl genius replied cockily.
"Kaz, just shoot already!" Skylar shouted. I didn't waste anymore time. I raised the plasma gun and aimed it at the electrical box. After making sure I'd aimed it correctly, I pulled the trigger.
The plasma ball, much larger than before, soared through the air just as Gao tackled me to the ground. But he was too late – we watched as the plasma ball hit its mark. The affect was instantaneous, the electrical box creating a massive explosion. There was just one little problem: it was bigger than we'd anticipated.
Oliver's POV
I pushed myself off the ground, my head throbbing. We'd all expected the explosion to be big, sure, but not this big. My entire field of vision had gone white when it start, the roar of the explosion temporarily deafening me. Dani, Mort, and I had all been thrown to the ground, but in the midst of the smoke cloud the explosion had created, I couldn't possibly tell where they'd landed. I coughed roughly, stumbling to my feet.
"Ollie?" I sighed in relief as my sister's voice echoed in my head. "I can't see you. Are you okay?"
"A little disoriented, but alright." I reassured her. Suddenly, I tripped over something big and heavy. And unfortunately, familiar. "Shit, Jaden. You alright?"
The older boy didn't respond in words, but rather with a groan as he closed his eyes even tighter. He must have been too close to the explosion.
His backpack lay discarded a couple of feet away from him, wide open and empty. "The Arcturion…" I muttered, realizing that it must have fallen out. I started making my way through the smoke, trying to locate it. I made it a few feet before I rain into someone. But it wasn't one of my teammates; it was my mother.
And to make matters worse, she'd found the Arcturion before I could.
"Hello Oliver." She spared me a small smile before returning her awestruck gaze to the Arcturion space rock. She held it up in her hands, admiring the glowing purple orb inside the glass case.
"Mom." I said slowly, wishing that I had some better back up than a clearly dazed chef, even if that chef was Jaden. "Give me the Arcturion."
"And why would I do that?" She asked softly, still staring into the Arcturion.
"Because you want this to be over as much as we do." I replied, holding my left hand out in hopes that she would actually listen. My right hand gripped the paragun in my grasp, trembling slightly. "Because you're tired of fighting us. Because there's still a chance we can all have a happy ending."
"If I gave in, your team would lock me up and throw the key away, Oliver. You should know that." She scolded, sounding just like she did when Dani and I were little kids and used to ask what she deemed were 'dumb' questions. She sighed. "We could have been the most powerful family in the world."
I stared at her. "I never wanted the power." I told her, shaking my head. "I just wanted my family. That's all Dani and I ever wanted."
In the comm link, I could hear the others talking. "Mort's down!" Adam declared victoriously.
"We've got Sebastian." Calla announced.
"I think I've got an idea to take out Titanium!" Skylar offered.
Mom just shook her head at me, completely oblivious to the small victories we were making over her minions. "You'll understand when you're older." She dismissed me.
"If that's the case, then I don't want to understand." I retorted. "If growing up means changing your definition of right and wrong, then I don't want to grow up."
"Protecting my family is the right thing to do." Mom insisted. "You may not agree with my methods, but I'm doing the right thing, honey. You'll see."
"Every villain thinks that what they're doing is right. They're usually wrong." I snapped. In the background, I could hear Leo announce that between he, Alivia, and Adam were gaining ground against Dr. Gao. "What was your plan, Mom? You had to have known that we'd only be powerless for a couple of days."
"A couple of days was all I needed. That New League of Heroes your friend Geminus has been building? Without their powers, they would have been easy to take out. And then nothing would have stood in my way from taking total control of the planet." She sighed. She shrugged. "Your little ploy with the Arcturion was cute, trying to distract us. But with its power, it'll just make it easier to destroy them. All you've done is buy them a few more days."
I gulped, knowing she was right. The New League of Heroes was really only just starting out, with very few of the members having much experience or particularly powerful abilities. Even if they got their powers back before she came for them, they wouldn't last ten minutes against the power of the Arcturion.
"I can't let you do that." I raised my paragun, but before I could even think of pulling the trigger, my Mom raised her hand and blasted the weapon with a powerful cryoblast that not only knocked it out of my hands, but froze the weapon solid. "You have ice and electricity powers?" I questioned, exasperated. Actually, I should have guessed that she would have powers identical to either Dani or I's. What I hadn't expected was that she'd have both our powers, or that they'd be at the level they were. As they stood now, they were twice, if not thrice, as powerful as ours, even combined.
I looked up at my mother, suddenly very afraid. I knew she hadn't wanted to hurt me, but with this kind of power, I wasn't so sure about my friends' safety. I glanced back at Jaden, hoping that he'd have recovered, but the explosion had really knocked him out.
Suddenly, a silver arrow flew past me, and imbedded itself in the ground behind my Mom, missing her by a couple of inches. Dani stepped out of the smoke, her bow raised and a second arrow already in her hands. "Give it up, Mother." She called, stepping up next to me. "We've already taken down Gao, Mort, and Titanium. The others are going after Lexi and Sebastian as we speak. You've lost."
Mom rolled her eyes and raised her hand at the bow. Before I could warn Dani, the cryoblast burst from my mother's hand and hit the bow. It froze in Dani's hand instantly, but a second later, the bow (including the metal string) started to glow red. The ice melted off it and Dani smirked. "Oh, did I not mention that Calla tricked it out?" She teased, adjusting the arrow. "Now surrender, or I'll shoot."
Mom smirked confidently. "You wouldn't shoot me."
"Try me." My sister growled. But Mom was unfazed.
"Darling, you won't shoot me. At least not to kill." She replied.
"I've killed before." Dani sniffed defensively.
"You won't kill me." Mom insisted. "I'm the only one who understands you, who understands the darkness inside you."
"You don't get me at all." Dani retorted. Mom gave her a look.
"You can't tell me you hated all of it. You liked being powerful, you liked being in charge. You liked not having to follow orders you didn't agree with. Are you telling me that you don't miss that?" She questioned. Dani hesitated.
"Doesn't mean she's anything like you." I commented. Dani smiled gratefully, though she didn't take her eyes off of Mom.
"Nevertheless, this is your last chance. Put down your weapons and stop fighting. It's better for everyone involved." Mom insisted. Dani hesitated again.
"You expect us to let you get away with the Arcturion?" Behind us, Jaden was slowly climbing to his knees. "And then what? You're going to take over the world with it?"
"It's better than letting you heroes keep it." Mom replied. "All that power…it would be such a waste."
Dani hesitated, then, to my shock, she slowly lowered her bow. "You're right Mom; I'm not going to shoot you."
Mom smiled proudly as I stared at my sister. Then, Dani's sullen frown turned upwards, the corner tugging it into a smirk. "I don't have to shoot you to win." She added, before snapping her bow back into place. She pulled back on the string before Mom could stop her and let the arrow go flying.
Before anyone could do anything, the arrow crashed through the glass case and imbedded itself in the Arcturion sphere. For a very, very tense moment, nothing happened. Then, the Arcturion orb started to glow brighter, turning white, just like…shit.
"Get down!" I shouted. Jaden, Dani, and I all hit the dirt as the Arcturion exploded.
Dani's POV
I watched silently as a couple of agents from UPSEI loaded my mother, still unconscious from the blast the Arcturion let out, into a truck. She was strapped tightly into a gurney by power-nullifying straps, both for her protection during transport, and for the protection of the agents. "Are you sure she'll be okay?" Ollie questioned again, looking at the tall, blonde haired 26-year-old who was in charge.
"Yes. UPSEI has some of the best medical officers in the world." Agent Miles DeCook replied, giving Ollie and I a reassuring smile. "They'll make sure she's taken care of medically before we lock her behind bars."
"And she won't get out?" I confirmed. Agent DeCook gave me a smile.
"Your mother is in good hands, Miss Short." He promised. Alivia, Calla, and Chase walked over.
"Thanks, Miles." Alivia smiled at him. He nodded at her.
"Geminus, Elite Force." He said in goodbye before heading over to the second truck. Calla and Chase frowned, watching him go.
"You know, I swear I know him from somewhere." Chase mentioned.
"I think he's dating my cousin." Calla cocked her head, as if to look at him from a different angle. I wasn't really paying attention to Agent DeCook though – my eyes were on the second truck. Through its window, I could see Gao, Sebastian, Mort, and Titanium, all glaring daggers at each other, as if to blame them.
"I can't believe Lexi got away." Ollie grumbled.
"Well, that's a battle for another day." Chase assured him. I gave him a thin smile, personally disagreeing with him.
"Well, I'm heading back to New York." Alivia announced. She smiled at us. "Despite the circumstances, it's been good to see you guys."
"You too." "Good to see ya." "Take care." "Give Lily, Liam, Barry, and Alan our love." We all replied. She walked away, already pulling her phone out to order a plane ticket.
"We're heading back to the penthouse. We'll catch up with you guys?" Calla smiled kindly at us, realizing that we would want to watch them leave. She and Chase walked away, and Ollie and I turned back to the scene before us.
"I can't believe we finally beat her." I murmured.
"I can't believe you tried to blow her up." Ollie commented. I stared at him. He didn't really think that, did he?
"I didn't know it would explode!" I exclaimed defensively. "I just thought it would break and then she'd have nothing."
"Dee, relax. I know." He reassured me. He shook his head.
"I can't believe it's over." He sighed.
"It's not." I sighed. Ollie looked at me. "Lexi got away."
"We'll get her." He assured me. I shook my head.
"It's not going to be that easy. Gao's chip made her just as fast as Bree, if not faster, and she's got a head start. She could be anywhere by now." I muttered. Ollie looked at me, frowning.
"That's not the only thing bugging you, is it?" He guessed. I sighed.
"I need to tell you something, Ollie." I sighed.
Kaz's POV
"Alright, let's try this again." Bree clapped her hands together as we all gathered in the living room once more. Skylar reached out and grabbed the TV remote, muting the news as it played clip after clip of our heroic battle against Mr. Terror and her minions. None of us had realized that we were being filmed, but now we were on pretty much every screen in the city, if not the state.
"Okay, so we have an announcement." Jaden announced. Calla and I exchanged looks, remembering our little bet. Jaden took a deep breath. "Bree and I are getting married!"
While Skylar, Chase, Oliver, Dani, Adam, Leo, and AJ all clapped for them, Calla scowled, pulling a twenty out of her wallet and handing it to me. I smirked, taking the cash from her.
"And I'm pregnant." Bree added, a nervous smile on her face. My face fell as Calla let out a short, victorious laugh and ripped the cash out of my hands.
"Oh my God, guys, that's amazing." Skylar cooed, hugging Bree. Calla jumped up and hugged her brother, before Jaden fist-bumped with Oliver and Chase.
"There is one other thing." Bree sighed after a couple of seconds. "Yesterday was my last mission. I'm quitting the team."
"Because of the baby?" I guessed. She nodded and rubbed her stomach.
"Just until my little bug here comes out. Then, we'll see." She replied.
"We should celebrate." Calla suggested, beaming. The others looked at her, listening. "I mean, sure Lexi got away, but we stopped not one, but five powerful villains today. Plus, we need to celebrate your engagement and pregnancy," She added, gesturing at her brother and her sister-in-law, "and it is AJ's last night in Centium City."
"So we celebrate." Adam smiled, agreeing with the idea.
"Let's grab dinner." Leo suggested. Most of us all agreed instantly, grabbing our coats, purses, and wallets. All except for Dani.
"You know, I'm not really feeling up to it." She admitted.
"Dani," AJ complained. "C'mon."
"Sorry." She apologized. "You guys go on ahead. Don't let me ruin your fun."
"You know what, I'm going to stay behind too." I added, looking at her worriedly.
"…Alright." Jaden and the others didn't argue. "We'll bring you guys back something."
"Thanks." I watched them file out before turning to Dani. "Want me to cook up some tofu burgers or something? I think we have some left."
"No thanks." She murmured, walking out onto the veranda. I followed her out into the night air and leaned against the wall of the veranda next to her. From here, we could see the entire city, the dark buildings lit up by lights all over, the atmosphere almost serene.
"I'm not going to like what you have to say, am I?" I guessed, looking at her seriously. She shook her head slowly, not looking at me.
"No, I don't think so." She admitted. I sighed, though I expected that answer, and turned to look back at the skyline. She ducked her head, looking at her hands, before looking back up. "I'm leaving, Kaz."
I looked at her, a little surprised. "…For how long?"
"I don't know." She admitted, biting the inside of her cheek. I blinked, confused.
"Why?" I demanded, turning to face her. She looked at me, finally.
"Lexi has to be stopped." She reasoned. I rolled my eyes.
"The team can stop her." I dismissed it. She shook her head.
"She's not stupid enough to stay in Centium. She's long gone, maybe even out of the country." She replied.
"Then let the League handle her. It's not your problem." I assured her. She nodded.
"Yeah, it is. This is my responsibility." She insisted. I shook my head. "It is, Kaz."
"How?" I challenged. "Why?"
"Carson Bosetti." Her reply confused me for a second. Then it hit me.
"The scientist your Mom kidnapped." I realized.
"The scientist my mother murdered. After I helped kidnap him." She reminded me. I sighed.
"You don't know that he's dead." I said softly. "He may have escaped."
I mean, it was extremely unlikely, but still. However, Dani seemed to anticipate my response, and pulled out a newspaper article. It was an obituary for the scientist. I sighed. "Where did you even get that?"
"AJ." She smiled bitterly. "Remember how we all thought that Bosetti's name was familiar? That's because he's the kid's uncle." I sighed, taking all that in. "I'm guessing, since AJ doesn't hate me yet, that no one told him what happened."
We hadn't made the connection ourselves, and really there'd been no need to get into the more gruesome details with the thirteen-year-old. I sighed, wishing things hadn't take this turn of events. "You didn't have any good options. If you'd tried to save him, they would have found out. And then Gao would have brainwashed you, and you'd be as good as dead."
"I should have done something." She insisted. "But Mom's right. I'm too much like her."
"No, you're not. She wouldn't have felt guilty about this. You do." I pointed out. "That shows you're better than her."
Dani shook her head. "I have darkness inside me. She wasn't wrong when she said that."
"News flash, but nobody's perfect. Even though Chase thinks he is." I added, hoping to get a tiny smile out of her. It didn't work.
"I can't make up for his death. But I can make sure that everyone who hurt him is behind bars. And that means going after Lexi." She insisted. She looked at me. "Kaz, I have to do this. Otherwise, it will eat me up."
I looked at her, realizing that she meant it. "Then I'll come with you." She was already shaking her head. "C'mon Dee, you and me."
"The team needs you." She reminded me. I rolled my eyes.
"They can manage." I assured her. She shook her head.
"Bree's quitting, and AJ's moving. They can't afford to lose both of us." She told me. "They need you."
"I need you." I replied. She gave me a sad smile.
"No, you don't." I gave her a look, but continued. "I love you, Kaz, but you don't need me. We're great together, but you are so amazing without me too."
"Dani…" She raised her hand to stop me, that sad smile still on her face.
"It's not a feel-sorry-for-me thing. It's the truth." She said kindly. "The truth is, you are an amazing superhero, with or without me. You'll be okay."
I looked away, hating how the truth rang in her words. "That's the first time you said you loved me." I mumbled, trying to think of something to say. She nodded.
"I know. I needed to say it, just once." She admitted. "And I mean it, I do, but…"
"But what?" I questioned. She hesitated, not meeting my gaze. "Dani, are you breaking up with me?"
"I don't…I…" She sighed, tears prickling the corner of her eyes. I went to wipe them away, but she pulled back. "Kaz, even if I catch Lexi, I don't know if or when I'm coming back."
"You don't?"
"Look…my mother said a lot of things that we true about me. And they're not things I'm proud of. Ignoring my mission of catching Lexi, I need to get my head straight, figure out what's next for me. Tracking down Lexi…well, that'll be good for me."
"I don't think Oliver will agree." I mentioned, hoping he could change her mind. She pressed her lips together in a thin line. "You already talked to him."
"He agrees that it might be a good idea." She admitted.
"Of course he does." I muttered, turning back to the cityscape. She put her hand on my arm, forcing me to turn back to her.
"The point is, I may not be back for a long time, if I come back at all. And you deserve better than someone you might not see again for a very long time." She told me. She gave me a smile. "You deserve to be happy."
"Well, you make me happy." I argued. She blushed a little, looking away.
"You'll find someone else. Someone better." She promised. I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she cut me off. "Kaz, stop." Her voice shook and wavered. "This is already really hard for me. Please."
I looked away. I could never say no to her, no matter how hard I tried. "Do you have to leave tonight?" I eventually asked. It was clear by now that she'd made up her mind and wouldn't be persuaded differently.
"I was going to go in the morning." She replied softly, a little confused by where I was going with this. I nodded.
"Good. Then you can break up with me in the morning." I decided. She let out a confused sound, her brow furrowed. "Look, you want to do this, fine. I'm not happy about it, but fine. But we are not broken up until you leave, got it?"
"Kaz…" She smiled sadly, looking at me with a mixture of amusement, love, and grief in her eyes.
"You said you wanted me to be happy." I reasoned. "Well, you want to know what would make me happy? One last night."
"Kaz…" She tried again.
"One last night." I insisted. After a moment, her resolve broke and she sighed.
"One last night." She agreed.
Xxx
Kihonne: Will Dani return? Who knows! (Well, I know, but I ain't going to tell you). So aside from those of you who hate me for breaking up their favorite couple, what did you guys think of the chapter? Good, bad? In-between? You know I love reviews!
Anyway, just a reminder that this story is going on HIATUS for the next couple of months while I deal with school work. But never fear, the first chapter of my one-shot series, The Year Between, will be up this Friday, December 1st. I will see you guys all then!
*Just a heads up, I won't be answering the reviews on this chapter until I post the season 3 premier, so if you have any questions you can not possibly wait to hear the answer to, feel free to PM me!*