Kihonne: Okay guys, who is ready for a new season? I know I am, and I'm super pumped to get it started! But first, I still have shout outs left to do for the season 2 finale, so let's get onto that shall we?
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AlienGhostWizard14: I'm so glad you liked it! You are right about Kaz – there is a new lady in his life. I go into that a little in this chapter, but you'll see him and his new girlfriend together in the next. Anyway, thanks for everything, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Shadow-wolf78: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter! I hope you like this one too.
LabGirl2001: Yeah, I think a lot of people are feeling that way for Kaz and Dani. Their relationship hasn't been the most steady of relationships, but then again, their lives have been so crazy that that's almost to be expected. And yeah, our heroes didn't get much of a break, did they? Oh well, that's what happens when you're a hero. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Astronema2345: I don't intend on doing any more stories for this series, aside from the already planned Legacies story, so I won't be doing that. However, there is a chapter of this season in which Oliver and another member of the Elite Force are abducted, so I hope you'll enjoy that.
Algernon23: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the fight scene so much – I wanted to make it elaborate because I felt the Mr. Terror arc, for all of its importance in both Mighty Med and this past season of the Power of Seven, deserved such an explosive ending (pun totally intended). I don't think anyone was expecting me to destroy the Arcturion, to be honest. It was an interesting way to catch people off guard though, right? As for your theory, no members of the team, nor any of the villains, will be getting new powers because of the explosion. Though it's not a bad theory, I've got other plans. As you may know by now, Miles is dating Faith. Both of them will be recurring characters this season, which should be pretty interesting. As for Dani, she did what she felt she needed to do. She wasn't really in the best headspace after what happened – things were already tension-y with the team, and she just had to put her mom behind bars, and then she discovers that she didn't even manage to complete her job of putting them all behind bars, which was the reason she destroyed her relationship with the team itself…needless to say, her decision wasn't as well-thought out as she would claim. But don't worry, she's had a year to re-think things. I think you'll like what you see from her this season. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Bennyweirdlover17: Thanks! Enjoy!
GU3ST: I'm fairly ashamed to have not made that connection earlier. LOL.
MayLeaf2001: I'm so glad you loved it so much! Yeah, it was a crazy idea – it's Kaz though, do we really expect anything but crazy from him? It was, however, the best crazy idea they could come up with, and you're certainly right that it was instrumental in their victory. No one saw the Arcturion thing coming though – it surprised everyone. No, no one on the team, nor any of the villains got more powers because of the blast. As for Faith and Miles, I've got a couple of interesting arcs for them. No spoilers, but…well, they're certainly going to be fun characters to write into the season. Dani leaving was probably best for everyone. Everyone was still upset, she wasn't in a great headspace, a little time to cool off gave everyone perspective. It's going to be a fun season, so I hope you enjoy it. As for our missing friends…well, you're going to have to wait and see. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
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Kihonne: By the way, for anyone who skipped the story "The Year Between", I really suggest going back and reading it before reading this chapter. A lot of things will make more sense if you do. Now, without further ado, it's chapter time!
Kaz: Kihonne doesn't own Mighty Med, Lab Rats, or the Elite Force. She only owns this story, all the OCs, and anything else you don't recognize.
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Kaz's POV
"So what about Thursday?" Skylar's voice echoed in my ear, coming in through the comms. I didn't answer right away, instead leaping off the edge of the bridge. I flew downwards, the wind rushing past my face as I reached out, desperately trying to catch the girl who'd fallen. I grabbed ahold of her wrist, wincing when she cried out at the sudden stop, then flew us back into the air.
"Guys, we need to get this thing under control!" I called as I gently dropped the girl onto the road near the bridge. Above us, the ropes of the support bridge were beginning to snap, one by one.
"We're working on it!" Chase snapped irritably. "Setting this thing up isn't exactly easy, Kaz!"
"Thursday works for me, Skylar!" Oliver told his girlfriend. I could see him hovering near one of the towers of the support bridge, a tiny flying figure. The silhouette of Chase's body could just be seen as well, standing on the top of the tower as he tried to rig up one of Calla's latest inventions.
"Guys, focus! This thing's going to come down any minute!" Bree shouted, speeding past me as she collected several more people off the bridge. As if to prove her point, the bridge shook violently, threatening to fall apart any second.
"It's set up. I don't get why it's not working!" Chase snapped.
"Give it a second." Calla reassured him. Even through the comms, I could hear her typing away at her laptop from the safety of the Penthouse. "I sent the codes. It just needs to receive them."
"Well, it's taking too-" Jaden stopped himself midsentence as Calla's device came to life and several razor-thin, but extremely strong, plasma ropes burst from the device at the top of the bridge tower. They flew downwards, tying themselves around the ends of the snapped wires, pulling back just enough to level the bridge. The entire bridge stopped shaking as balance was returned to the structure. "Never mind."
"Told you it'd work." Calla teased lightly, pride in her tone.
"Shut up, CeeCee." Jaden grumbled. I heard her laugh in the background.
"Just get back here." She instructed, amused.
Xxx
"You know, maybe a mission isn't the best place to discuss when everyone's available for a group date?" Calla questioned as we walked back into the penthouse, giving us all exasperated looks. She was holding four-month-old Noah in her arms, the baby clutching a stuffed caterpillar in his chubby hands.
"Really? I thought it was the perfect time." I replied, walking past her into the kitchen. She rolled her eyes, handing Noah off to Bree.
"He missed you." She told her sister-in-law as Noah grabbed at his mother's hair. Bree chuckled, using her free hand to brush her hair behind her head as she balanced her son against her chest.
"No, bug." She shook her head at him, smiling affectionately. "Thanks for babysitting."
"Anytime. He's a good kid." Calla assured her.
"Ten bucks says your kid is the more difficult one." Oliver teased Chase, smirking.
"I'll take that bet!" I called to him. "No way their kid was anything but a goody-two-shoes."
Chase looked between us. "I feel like I should be offended, but I'm not sure by who."
A few of us laughed at that, just as Calla's phone rang. She frowned when she saw who it was. "It's the Academy. I've gotta take this."
She walked out of the room, answering the call. "Kieran and Taylor still AWOL?" Jaden guessed, walking past me to get started on lunch.
"Yeah. It's been two weeks now. Rio's freaking." Chase agreed. I nodded thoughtfully, understanding. Her brother and his girlfriend disappeared a couple of weeks ago after a mission, and normally, that would make them subject to numerous jokes about running off and eloping, except for the fact that Rio couldn't even contact her twin telepathically. There was very little in the world that could block a telepathic link, and none of them were good. "The problem is, everyone at the Academy is searching for them, which isn't good because we need them on missions worldwide, and the trail's gone cold as it is."
"Are you guys going to help them search?" Skylar asked, handing Jaden a tubaware of sliced ham from the fridge.
"Well, MISS is already actively searching for their GPS. If it pops up anywhere, then we'll know." Bree replied, sitting down on the couch. "If nothing's turned up in another week or so, we'll head down there, but I'm not really sure what else we can do."
"I'm sure they'll be fine." Oliver reasoned. "I mean, there ARE a few spots on the planet that are like dead zones where powers don't work. For all we know, they're just taking a vacation and don't realize they're in one."
"You really believe that?" Skylar questioned.
"…No, not at all. I'm just trying to be optimistic." He admitted.
"Thanks man." Chase patted his shoulder before grabbing his and Calla's lunches. "I've got work to do."
"And I have a shift at Mighty Med." Oliver added, glancing at his watch. He kissed Skylar on the cheek. "I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. Bree and I were going to go shopping." She replied, glancing at her friend. Bree nodded.
"I need a new outfit." She shrugged, before smiling at Noah.
"And diapers." Jaden added. We glanced at him. "He is a poop machine."
"He's not wrong." Bree agreed, adjusting her hold on Noah as she carried him over to his strolled, set to the side by the door. "C'mon, bug, let's go to the mall."
"Bye." We waved at Skylar, Bree, Noah, and Oliver as they headed out the door. When they were gone, I looked at Jaden.
"I've got that new Overwatch game if you want to play." I offered.
"Sweet!" He grinned, hopping the couch. I laughed and plopped down beside him.
Xxx
At first, I wasn't sure what had woken me. One minute, I was dreaming some odd dream involving football and dragons – I couldn't remember it exactly, but I knew it had been awesome – and the next, I was sitting up in bed, my hair standing on end. For a brief moment, I wondered if my dream had turned nightmarish and I just couldn't remember it, but then Oliver's voice whispered in the darkness of our room, "you heard that too, right?"
"Uh…maybe?" I replied, rolling over in the bed to switch on my bedside lap. "I don't know, but something woke me up."
"It sounded like someone was downstairs." Oliver mentioned, sliding out of bed.
"Maybe it was Chase?" I suggested. It wouldn't be the first time this week he'd been sent out in the middle of the night to get Calla some midnight snack. Ever since her cravings started to hit, he'd usually be going out at least once a week, if not twice.
"May-" Oliver cut off as a loud clatter came from the floor below, along with a muffled curse. We couldn't quite make out the voice itself, but I had a feeling it wasn't one of us. "I don't think that was Chase."
"Neither do I." I climbed out of bed and followed him out the door. I glanced at the other bedroom doors, half-expecting them to open up. But Calla and Chase's bedroom was the farthest from the stairs, and even from here, I could hear Skylar's loud snores through her door, so it was entirely likely that none of them had heard anything. "Let's check it out." I whispered to Oliver. There was no need to wake the others in case it was nothing.
Oliver and I quietly moved along the hallway, keeping our footsteps light as we stepped down the stairs. We stopped a couple of steps away from the floor. It was the perfect vantage point; we couldn't be seen because of the way the wall turned, but we could get a pretty good view of the living room. From here, we could see three shadows on the moonlight bathed floor, though only one of the people were in view. Her back was turned to us, but we could tell that she was wearing all black, head to toe.
She must be a robber! Were they really stealing from us?
I glanced at Oliver, then nodded my head towards the girl, motioning that I'd take her out if he took out her two partners. Judging by their shadows, they were near the entrance to the veranda, and Oliver's powers were always better at incapacitating from a distance. My best friend nodded and raised three fingers. He slowly counted down, dropping a finger each second, and the moment his fist closed completely, we attacked.
We both lunged out at the same time, Oliver raising his hand to cryoblast the intruders while I leaped to tackle the nearest girl. But in a split second, before either of us could get an attack off, something dark and heavy slammed into both of us, sending us crashing into the wall behind us. The weight that had hit us didn't let up, instead pinning us into the wall.
"Rani!" An Irish accent scolded in the darkness, just as heavy footsteps came from the second-floor hallway. A second later, Calla, Chase, and Skylar came running down the stairs, ready for a fight, and the lights turned on.
Wincing at the sudden brightness burning my retinas, I turned my face downwards, choosing to focus instead on the three 'intruders'. Alivia McLean was standing near the fireplace, pinching the bridge of her nose, already looking like she was regretting whatever crazy idea had brought them here, while Rani Shore stood near the stairs, exactly where she'd been when I tried to tackle her.
"Rani, put them down." There, standing by the light switch, stood Oliver's own sister, Dani Short.
God, how long had it been since we'd last seen her? More than a year, I thought, not since the morning after we'd put her Mom in prison. She'd changed her hair again, I noticed – it was short again, back in her old angled-bob style, but blonde with red highlights – and she looked…I don't know, different and the same at the same time? I wasn't sure what to call it, really. But it wasn't a bad thing, I knew that.
"Fine." Rani sighed dramatically in response to Dani's order. Suddenly, the dark weight – a physical shadow she must have projected – disappeared and Oliver and I dropped to the ground. "But it's their fault for attacking us. What the hell guys?"
"What the…" Oliver trailed off, staring at her. "You broke into our apartment! At two in the morning!"
"Semantics." Rani shrugged, unbothered by the accusation.
"Oh my god, this is not how you ask for help." Alivia sighed deeply, already done with Rani's troublemaking. We all exchanged looks.
"Help?" Chase repeated. The girls looked at each other.
"We've got problems." Dani announced after a moment.
Dani's POV
"Thanks," Alivia offered Calla a grateful smile as the genius handed out steaming mugs of coffee. I nodded at her, though Rani ignored her mug completely, instead choosing to pace behind the couch, impatient.
"Alright, I'm here." Bree walked into the penthouse. "Jaden's staying behind to watch Noah…Dani?"
"Hey." I greeted. Bree frowned, deeply confused.
"What's going on?" She asked, looking around at everyone.
"We were waiting for you." Chase replied before looking at Alivia. "Alright, what's the problem?"
"Some of our heroes have gone missing. We think they've been kidnapped, and that they were targeted." The red-head stated. She glanced at her hands. "They've taken Spotlight and the Scarlet Ace."
They all exchanged looks. "And before you ask, we're sure they were taken." Rani added, pausing in her pacing to cross her arms before continuing.
"How do you know they were taken?" Skylar asked. Alivia, Rani, and I all looked at her. "I'm not implying that they ran off or anything, but it wouldn't be the first time a hero's gone solo to take on a bad guy on their own."
I couldn't tell if that was an intentional dig at me or not, but nevertheless, it still hurt. "I think what Skylar's trying is ask is what proof do you have that they were taken?" Ollie asked. I gave him a small, grateful smile.
"The same people tried to take Tempest. He's one of our new recruits, only been a hero about a year now." I explained. "He was attacked by a group of masked goons out near Kansas while working a solo mission. They attempted to render him unconscious rather than take him out. He just barely made it out of there."
"This was only about a week or so after Lily disappeared. Liam went AWOL about two weeks before that." Alivia added. Calla frowned deeply, then stood up.
"Excuse me." She told us, her phone already in her hand as she stepped out on the veranda. Through her black tank top, I could see her stomach protruding. Not all that much, but enough to notice that something had changed. My guess, based off the stomach and the fact that literally everyone was drinking coffee but her, was that she was a few months pregnant. Had the circumstances not been what they were, I would have been happy for her.
"What's that about?" Rani questioned suspiciously. Chase craned his neck to get a better look at his wife, who, despite it being nearly three in the morning, was speaking with someone on the phone.
"I think I know, but I'll let her explain it." He replied. He looked at back at us. "Is this the first time something like this has happened? Don't you have ways to track where your guys are in case of an emergency?"
"Of course we do." Alivia snapped, taking his comments as a judgement. "But the GPS trackers in their suits went offline when they disappeared."
"And for some reason, my magic can't find them." Rani added. Chase frowned.
"Your magic?" He questioned.
"It's a long story." Kaz told him, a bit of a smirk on his lips. I smiled too, remembering how Chase reacted to finding out that aliens were real. Explaining that magic was as well would be an interesting venture to say the least.
"Look, I'm one of the best trackers in the League, second only to Lily." Rani told him, finally done pacing and now leaned on the back of the couch, her fists tightening in the cushions. "If I can't find them, something is seriously wrong."
"We believe you." Ollie assured her. "What do you need from us?"
Before Alivia could answer, Calla walked back into the room, a concerned look on her face. "I think they took Kieran and Taylor too." She announced. I frowned, recognizing the names as some of their bionic friends. "They went missing around the same time. We just thought they were goofing around or got lost or something, but now…"
"They may have been taken along with Liam and Lily." I realized. She nodded.
"Okay, they're definitely targeting people with abilities." Skylar frowned. "But why?"
"We have no idea." I replied. "We just know that they're taking our people. And that we need to find them."
"Absolutely." Chase nodded in agreement. Calla crossed her arms.
"Why don't you give me all the information you do have?" She offered. "I can relay it to our AI, and from there she can try to triangulate where they may have been taken from, or even taken too, and see if the MO matches any known criminals."
"What databases do you have access to?" Alivia questioned, standing up.
"Pretty much every one in the US. Chase, Bree, and I made a few high-positioned contacts back when the government got involved in the bionics program, and I had one of them set me up as a favor." She explained. Alivia nodded, impressed.
"Alright, sure. Sounds good." She paused, glancing at us. "You guys don't mind if we stay for a day or two, right?"
"Mi casa es tu casa." Bree replied. Everyone but Alivia, Rani, and I turned to look at her.
"You don't live here." Kaz stated, confused. She rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Su casa es tu casa." She corrected herself. I couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Uh, well, the guest room is not the baby room, but the couch in there is a pullout." Calla offered. "Aside from that, Davenport's room has a pretty nice king-size in there, and he hasn't stayed here in a few months, so it's all yours."
"And your bed is the way you left it." Skylar added, looking at me. I nodded at that.
"Thank you." I told them, sincerely. Calla started to lead Alivia towards the hidden elevator, clearly intending to get MISS working on the information, but paused before she opened it.
"Hey, one question." She turned around.
"Why'd we show up at 2 in the morning?" Rani guessed.
"Yeah." Kaz raised an eyebrow at that.
"Well, somebody was in charge of figuring out what time zone difference was so we could come at a decent hour, but somebody majorly screwed that up." She declared.
"That somebody was you, wasn't it?" Bree questioned, glancing at me. I nodded, smiling guiltily, and she sighed. "Nice to see you again, Dani."
Kaz's POV
In the end, no one ended up getting any sleep, all of us a little too preoccupied with the fact that four of our friends had been kidnapped to get any shut eye. Instead, Calla, Chase, and Alivia had spent the night in the lab going over the details we had on each kidnapping – there weren't many – to see if there were any similarities or connections – there weren't any. Skylar and I had worked the phones for over an hour, getting a hold of every hero, bionic or super, that wasn't already aware to both warn them and to see if they'd heard anything that might help. Oliver and Rani had gone to Mighty Med 2.0. to let Horace know what was going on, while Bree had caught Dani up on everything she'd missed over the past year, up until an hour ago when she went back to her place for a change of clothes.
"We have coffee and a baby!" Jaden announced, walking into the penthouse alongside Bree. True to his word, he was carrying a couple of trays of drinks, while Bree carried Noah in in one of those baby carrier baskets.
"All of it is two milk, two sugar." Bree added, more for our guest's benefit than ours. "Decaf for Calla, and tea for Rani."
"You remembered, thank you." Rani nodded at them appreciatively, taking her drink. Jaden grabbed a tray and headed for the elevator, probably to bring some down to Alivia and the nerds. Noticing that Dani was over in the kitchen, I grabbed a couple of paper cups and walked over.
"Here." I handed her a coffee. She looked up at me and smiled, taking it. "So…"
"So…" She smirked a little.
"You're back." I mentioned. She nodded.
"For a couple of days, yeah." She agreed, glancing at her drink. I let out a slow breath, then looked up at me. "Hey, I…"
"You…what?" I asked. She bit her lip, then turned back to look at the fridge.
"What is this?" She asked, gesturing at the small whiteboard that had been hanging on the fridge for the past couple of months. It was split into two sections, with about half a dozen names on each. The names on the left were all written in blue, while the ones on the right were in red.
"Oh, Calla and Chase had everyone, including themselves, pick a couple of baby names for them to choose between. Then when the baby comes, they'll choose their favorite." I explained. "They put their own ideas up there, but last time I talked to Chase, they were leaning a little closer to Skylar's suggestions."
"No, I guessed that. I mean this." She pointed at one of the red names, sitting snugly between Calla and Bree's suggestions of Quinn and Grace. I chuckled when I saw it. "Who suggested 'Hot Dog' as a baby's name?" (1)
"What? Tofu Pop didn't have the same ring to it." I insisted. She laughed.
"I should have guessed. I mean, your suggestion if it ends up being a boy is 'Kaz Junior'." She teased.
"Actually, that was Oliver's. My idea was Bradley." I replied. She looked at me, smiling as she tried to figure out if I was joking or not. I opened my mouth to reassure her that I was, but before I could, my phone rang.
I glanced at the caller ID, then back at the rest of the team, before deciding that what we were dealing with was too important to get distracted. "Do you need to get that?" Dani inquired. I shook my head and sent the call to voicemail, promising myself I'd call her back later.
"Nah, it's fine." I replied. She looked at me, a peculiar expression on her face.
"Is that…Jessica?" She asked slowly. I looked at her, surprised. "Ollie told me." Traitor. "Hey, don't not take the call on my account. I don't mind, really."
"Nah, I can call her later. Besides, by the looks of them," I gestured to Chase and Alivia, who were bent over a holographic map and speaking to each other in quick, low voices, "we might be on the move soon."
"Okay." She nodded thoughtfully. "I just…I didn't want it to be because of me. Because of…us. Or whatever."
"No." I shook my head. "No. I-I was going to tell you, I just…"
Before I could finish, I was cut off. "Mister Chase would like if all members of the team would join him, Miss Calla, and Miss Alivia down in Mission Command." MISS interrupted us, suddenly. "This includes Miss Dani and Miss Rani."
"Maybe they should name their baby Miss, as a joke." I suggested. Dani rolled her eyes and headed towards the elevator.
Xxx
"Okay, this is what we know." Calla declared as we all gathered around the holo-table in the middle of Mission Command. "Liam disappeared first, about four weeks ago, on his way back to the NLH base from Tampa Bay. Two weeks after that, Lily disappeared, near the Canadian border." She gestured at the holographic map, the area lighting up as she spoke. "Kieran and Taylor were taken from just outside of Fresno a week later, and Tempest was attacked at the state line between Kansas and Colorado a couple of days after that."
"Essentially, we know that they're operating out of the US, but they don't seem to have a specific hunting zone."
"Do we know anything about them at all?" Skylar questioned.
"Yeah, that's a no." Chase replied, only to receive a response of groans and annoyed grumbles. "However, we think we've managed to narrow down the exact locations where Liam and Lily were taken from."
"And that helps us how?" Rani questioned irritably.
"We might be able to find something that'll lead us to their kidnappers. Or at the very least, we might be able to find some forensics that'll give us information on the kidnappers that we can use." Calla explained.
"That sounds stupid." Rani replied. "I mean, it's been weeks; there's not going to be anything left to collect."
"Have you never seen a cop show? There'll be stuff." Dani insisted. Rani rolled her eyes. "When we get back home, I'm making you watch a cop show marathon."
"No." Rani retorted.
"Too late, we're doing it." Dani smirked triumphantly and turned back to Alivia, Chase, and Calla. "You were saying?"
"The plan is, we break into two teams, each take a location, then compare what we find." Alivia announced. "Oliver and Bree, you two, along with Dani and I, are going to check out Lily's last known coordinates. Rani, you're going to go with Jaden, Skylar, Kaz and Chase to check out Liam's."
"I'm going to be running Mission Command to make comparisons easier." Calla added.
"Look, hopefully, we'll be able to get enough from the scenes of the crime to find our guys, so don't screw this up, alright?" Chase added.
"Yes sir." I mock saluted him. He gave me a look. "I mean, let's do this!"
Dani's POV
"Alright, this should be the spot." Ollie announced as we reached the coordinates – a tiny walk path behind a coffee shop.
"Yeah, this is definitely the place." I agreed, looking over the area. There had definitely been a fight here – there was a broken fence on one side of the path, a massive dent in the dumpster, and, most concerningly, some sort of weird burn in the ground. It had burned away a small patch where grass met the asphalt, and left a weird, faded, blue-ish stain on the path.
"What in the world could have done this?" Bree questioned, bending down next to the stain and gesturing at it.
"It looks almost like someone spilled battery acid." I commented.
"If it were battery acid, it'd be orange, not blue." Ollie frowned.
"That's why I said almost." I retorted. He raised his hands, backing off. I glanced up at Alivia, about to ask if she thought we should scan the stain here and send Calla a digital copy of its chemical components or just bring a sample of it home with us, when I saw the deep frown on her face. "Hey." I called, getting her attention. She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Lils is scary tough, and wherever she is, she's got Liam, Kieran, and Taylor. A hundred bucks says they're fine."
"Do you even have a hundred bucks?" She questioned skeptically.
"Nope. That's how sure I am that I'm right." I replied. She smiled a little, despite herself.
"Alright. Let's get Calla and Chase a sample of this." She gestured at the stain before touching her comm piece. "Calla, we found the place. We're bringing something back for you to test."
"Let me guess. A weird, blue substance?" Calla questioned. We all exchanged looks.
"Are you psychic? Is the baby making you psychic?" Bree questioned. I looked at her. "What? I saw it on TV."
"Uh…no. And that was telepathic, not psychic." Calla replied, bemused. "Chase and the others found something similar where Liam was taken from."
"Any idea what it is?" Alivia asked as we began to search the rest of the area for clues.
"Well, I have to do some scanning to be sure, but I'm pretty sure it's some sort of chemical weapon." She replied, though she didn't sound as certain as she claimed. "I'll have more for you once I get a chance to look at it."
"Hey, there's some here too." Ollie called, gesturing at the dumpster. Together, he and Bree pushed the dumpster away from the coffee shop's wall to reveal a similar stain on the wall of the building, though this one was darker, with hints of grey in it. "Weird."
"Calla might be right about it being a weapon." I commented. I closed three fingers on my right hand, making it look like a gun. I pointed my finger-gun at the wall. "Say there's two of them. There's a fight and she uses her powers to slide the dumpster into them."
"But she misses one of them and that guy takes a shot." Bree continued, stepping in front of the stain. I mimicked shooting her, before she twisted to the side. "The shot misses and hits the wall."
"Then she goes after the guy who shot at her, and tackles them to the ground, which is why the first one shoots towards the ground rather than at eye-level." Ollie added. Bree and I exchanged looks before she walked over to me. I dropped to the ground, carefully avoiding the stain, and she dropped to her knees. "This shot misses as well…then what?"
"Well, Lily would have used her powers on him," Alivia frowned. "She would have pushed forward, so he would have gone flying…there." She pointed upwards, towards a fire escape. From down here, I could see that part of it was busted, one of the ladder's rods hanging loosely on one side. "But then, what about the fence?"
"What if there was a third guy?" Ollie commented after a moment's thought. We all looked at him. "Say Lily gets up after taking that guy out, but doesn't realize there's a third…"
"And he throws her through the fence." I finished, looking over towards the broken fence. I opened my mouth to theorize what happened next, but before I could, the sound of sirens hit our ears.
"Okay, that's too many sirens for it to just a passing ambulance." Bree decided as they steadily got louder.
"Let's check it out." I suggested. Not waiting for a response, I took off after the source of the sirens. After a couple of blocks, the sounds started to grow louder.
"Oh, shit." Bree swore, slowing to a walk next to me as we realized what the problem was. One of the apartment buildings nearby had caught fire, and by now, the entire top two floors were engulfed in flames, and, judging by the amount of smoke pouring out some of the windows on the third floor, it was steadily on its way to joining them.
"There are still people up there!" I heard one woman cry, a concerned look on her face. The rest of us all looked at each other.
"Well, frosty?" I asked my brother, gesturing at the building. He gave me a look. "You cool things down for us, and we get the people. Easy peesy."
"Never say easy peesy again." Bree requested. "First, it never is. Second, it's stupid."
"Noted." I gave her a mock salute.
"But she is right." Alivia commented. Ollie sighed dramatically.
"I have fires." He grumbled. I smirked, my hands on his shoulders as I pushed him towards the building. God, I missed doing missions with my brother.
Kaz's POV
"Well, it's about…time?" Calla trailed off as Dani, Oliver, Alivia, and Bree walked into Mission Command. Each and every one of them were covered head to feet in soot and ash, though none of them looked particularly unhappy. "What in the world happened to you?"
"Apartment building caught fire. We saved like twenty people." Bree replied, shrugging like it was no big deal, as she walked over to take Noah from Jaden. Dani sat down at one of the computer desks, smirking to herself.
"Why are you so happy?" Chase questioned. She shrugged.
"Because as much as I enjoy kicking bad guys' asses, and trust me, I enjoy that, it's also nice to do some actual saving every once in a while." She replied. I smiled, not disagreeing with her; it was always a better feeling than fighting people. Though that was pretty cool too.
"Oh, and here is your sample." Oliver handed Calla a vial of asphalt scrapings. She glowered at it, taking it.
"Thanks, but I already had MISS scan what they brought back." She jerked her thumb at me and the others.
"What type of chemical is it?" Alivia questioned. Calla crossed her arms, still glaring. She still wasn't happy with what she'd found.
"It's not. Check this out." She stood up and waved her hand towards the holo-table. It activated as she did, revealing an extremely magnified look at the substance that Jaden had collected off an alley wall. But instead of showing chemical particles or whatever it was that we'd been expecting to find, there were about forty miniature, orb-shaped robots.
"Wait, are those nanobots?" Bree questioned, recognizing the tech. She glanced at us. "Uh, Mr. Davenport used some a few years back."
"Yeah, he did." Chase nodded, stepping forward. "But these are smaller, faster, and their sole purpose is to destroy."
"The stain left behind is the immediate effect of the erosion they left behind. Most of these nanobots have been deactivated, so I think they've got some sort of shell-life. Had they been active longer, though, they would have eaten through it all by now." Calla finished.
"What would they have done to our friends?" Rani questioned. Chase glanced back at her.
"It's hard to say. I don't think they would have killed them, though they probably would have incapacitated them." He replied.
"There are easier ways to kidnap people. Even if those people are superheroes." Skylar commented, annoyed.
"Trust me, that's not the only concerning bit." Calla sighed irritably. She waited until she had all of our attentions. "Whoever coded these nanobots left their signature: 1908091820-0616."
"Oh no." Rani gasped dramatically. Calla gave her a look. "C'mon, like I'm only one who has no idea what that means."
"It's the same code we found on some high-tech weapons that hit the market a year. It's been popping up more and more in high-tech weapons over the past year." Bree explained.
"Any idea who the seller is?" Alivia asked. Jaden shook his head.
"I'm more concerned with who the engineer is. This stuff is top of the line." Calla insisted. "I mean, if they turn out not to be evil, I might offer them a job."
"They may have helped kidnap our friends." I pointed out.
"I might offer them a job." She insisted.
"So, basically what you're saying is you have no idea who sold, bought, or made the weapon?" Dani questioned. Calla shook her head. "Do we know anything?"
"It's a half-decent lead, but yeah, it's all we've got." Jaden told her apologetically. She, Rani, and Alivia sighed. "We're worried too, guys."
"Look, it's not a lot, but we're going to do anything we can to find them." Chase promised. They all nodded and he looked back at us, confirming that the agreement we'd made before they arrived was still the plan. "It'd be easier to work on this together, in person, than in different parts of the country."
"You think we should stay?" Alivia questioned.
"It does make sense." Skylar offered. Alivia considered it. "I mean, if you have to get back to the League, we understand, but…"
"I left Barry in charge. He knows what he's doing…mostly." She frowned deeply. "And Davenport Industries does have the best technological resources if these weapons are involved."
"Plus, with us, you won't have to pull any resources from the League." I pointed out. She considered it, then glanced at Rani and Dani.
"You guys have any objections?" She questioned.
"Nope." "I suppose not." Rani replied, Dani shortly after her. Alivia nodded.
"Then, we'll take you up on your offer." She smiled at us. "Thank you. Seriously."
"Always." Oliver promised her, patting her shoulder.
"I just hope Barry can manage." Dani mumbled. Rani rolled her eyes.
"He'll be with Alan and Surge. What's the worst that can happen?" She questioned. Alivia stared at her for a moment, then pulled out her phone.
"I'm just gonna…check in." She said hesitantly, heading for the elevator. Rani laughed once she was gone.
"Fair warning, she's a mother hen." She told us. I chuckled at that, amused. Meanwhile, Calla was still staring at the hologram, annoyed. "You're really bothered by this engineer, aren't you?"
"Whoever they are, they're almost better than me." She muttered. I raised an eyebrow at that. "Almost."
"Sure." Oliver nodded seriously. She rolled her eyes.
"I just wish we knew who they were." She replied.
The Engineer's POV
"Sir," I greeted, walking into the command center. My boss was sitting in his chair, silently staring into the surveillance feeds we had from sub-level B. Our 'guests' were visible on all four screens, three of them just sitting in their cells, talking to each other, while the rowdiest of them all – a pretty blonde guy with a large vocabulary of insults – paced in front of the power-nullifying bars impatiently. "Sir, the results of today's tests."
He took the file from me but didn't look at it. "We need more." He stated simply, impatiently. I nodded my agreement.
"I have an idea about that." I offered. He turned, waiting. "But I'm going to need your grandson's help."
Kihonne: So, what did you guys think of the first episode? I know, not very action-y (for everyone who is about to ask why I didn't include the scene in the fire, it's because I've already done a fire-rescue chapter this story and don't want to repeat scenes that are too similar), but it's definitely a pretty awesome set-up, right? Seriously, I want to know your opinions and your theories for the chapter and the season! It's been a while since I've heard from most of you, and I'm looking forward to your reviews! Anyway, here's the schedule for the next few updates:
February 12th – Reconnecting
February 19th – Lost and Found
February 26th – Abduction
(1) – What kind of Bradley Steven Perry fan would I be if I didn't even make one Good Luck Charlie reference in this story?