Kihonne: Hey guys! I'm back! Okay, so I'm going to make this short because I have a birthday party to go to. So, shout out time!
Xxx
Humanusscriptor: Well, Leo/Calla was always the backup plan pairing, in case for whatever reason the readers hated the idea of Challa. And I didn't really plan to have an appearance, but a reader sent in a question that I could only answer and I really wanted to do it in person, so…yeah. And don't worry, I'm going to do another talk show chapter in the future, so you can ask your questions then.
Lois117: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for sending in the question. And I'm pretty sure everyone agrees with you on that one, except Cat is a little stranger while Adam's just plain dumb.
Guest: I'm glad you liked it and I do plan on doing more in the future.
The goodness of fangirls: Thanks! And yes, I will do more in the future.
Paolasalas: Thanks.
Grapejuice101: Thanks! I hope you like the chapter.
Evelyn: Thanks, and don't worry – Rebeccka's not too offended. And I will definitely do this again sometime. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. :)
Guest: Thank you so much. As for Bionic Revenge, I'm going to post one of five stories (info on the profile) in mid July. If you want that story to be Bionic Revenge, vote on the poll.
AllAmericanSlurp: Thanks and I hope you like this chapter too. As for Chore Wars, I believe I already added that to the list and if not, I'm going to put it on now.
Snooptastic: Okay, your review made me laugh so hard. Seriously, it made my dad. And Jaden's answer "working on it" is basically the same as "the chapter we get together in is already written and now Kihonne's just waiting for the perfect time to post it". Don't worry, they'll get together very soon. And thank you so much for your compliments about me doing better than Disney. It means so much. And I would like to see Chase and Douglas kick Adam and Donald's butts…And by the way, I LOVED your dramatic exit.
Xxx
Kihonne: Alright, before I do the disclaimer, I have just one more thing to say. This chapter is actually dedicated to someone very special, so listen up.
Dedication: This chapter goes out to my little brother Kieran. You've come up with so many lines or ideas in this story, I can't even count them. Thank you so much for inspiring me and helping me out. I love you, little bro and I hope you have a wonderful birthday.
Kihonne: Alright, so Jaden's going to do the disclaimer this time.
Jaden: Kihonne doesn't own lab rats. She just owns me, my sister and whatever else you don't recognize.
Calla's POV
"You got me a tablet?!" Jaden exclaimed, pulling the new device out of the colourful box. "Calla, I love you!"
I giggled. "Well, just don't expect a Christmas present this year. I'm totally broke." I informed my brother. We were all sitting in my living room, celebrating Jaden's birthday. Open boxes surrounded us. So far he'd gotten the tablet, a new pair of cleats (from Leo), a new football helmet (Chase's gift) and that new Grand Theft Auto video game (that came from Adam). They were all piled on the table behind us. Sitting beside them was a tray of chocolate cupcakes with the letter J in red icing.
"You're awesome, CeeCee!" Jaden laughed, eyes gleaming.
"Happy eighteenth, big bro." I hugged him tightly, ignoring the use of my nickname just this once. Bree smiled from her spot on the couch next to him.
"Open your next gift!" She urged him. He reached for the small box.
"The surprise party is awesome guys, really." He told us while trying to open the box.
"That was all Calla and Leo, actually." Chase told him. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "We're not allowed to plan surprise parties anymore."
"Why not?" Jaden asked, frowning.
"Well, the first one we planned didn't exactly go so well." Bree admitted. Leo glared at her.
"Didn't go so well?" he questioned. "That's an understatement!"
"What happened?" Jaden asked, curious.
"Well…"
FLASHBACK CHAPTER!
Still Calla's POV
"This is so cool." Leo grinned at the computer screen. I couldn't help but agree with him. Adam, Bree, and Chase were testing the new fight simulator. Leo and I weren't allowed to use it because we were normal people, so we had to watch. But it was quite a show.
Anyway, Adam, Bree, and Chase were surrounded by ninjas. As soon as two of them lunged at Bree, she sped away to the other side of the virtual room. Chase, on the other hand, decided to take them head on.
Chase did a spinning kick, mid air and swung at the nearest ninja. He missed, but managed to dodge his two opponents' blows. He kicked one in the chest, then grabbed the other before he could attack.
"Adam!" Chase called, pushing the ninja towards his older brother. Adam grabbed him and threw him into the air. His two siblings quickly surrounded ran over to him and congratulated each other.
Mr. Davenport, who had been watching the scene over my and Leo's shoulders, sighed audibly. He reached over and pulled the cyber key out of its slot. The virtual simulator shut down and my screen went black.
Leo and I looked over at Adam, Bree, and Chase, who were standing on the platform next to us. They looked around in confusion, unsure of why their simulator goggles went black.
"Adam, that was the rebel leader. The whole purpose of today's mission simulation was to interrogate him." Mr. Davenport reminded them as they took off their goggles.
"I did." Adam replied with a grin. "His answer was 'AHHHH!'."
I smirked and took the goggles from him and Chase. Bree walked over to Mr. Davenport. "Hey, next time could you maybe throw in a cute blue-eyed rebel?" she asked. Mr. Davenport looked at her like she was crazy. "What? I'm just saying that it's not going to kill you to add a little something-something for the ladies."
I nodded eagerly. "Make him tall too." I smiled at Bree. "Tall guys are cute."
"Yeah they are." She agreed. Mr. Davenport just stared at the two of us. I knew that he'd never understand the mind of a boy crazy teenage girl, so I didn't bother trying to explain.
Suddenly, Leo pulled a pair of goggles out of my hands. "Step aside amateurs." He ordered, putting the goggles on. He stepped onto the platform, completely oblivious to the fact that we were all looking at him. "Go ahead, Big D. Set it to awesome."
"Leo, these goggles are not a toy." Mr. Davenport said, pulling them off his head with extreme care. Leo looked at him.
"Come on! My birthday's coming up, globally known as DI De Leo." He objected. I rolled my eyes. He'd been going on about his birthday all week, demanding hints as to what his gift was. I refused to give him any. Mainly because I hadn't bought it yet.
"Leo, I designed the mission simulator to fine-tune their bionics, not to go one 3D joy rides." Mr. Davenport continued. "Besides, you're not trained for it."
"Well," Leo started following Mr. Davenport around the lab. "Why not as a birthday present, you give me a bionic ability."
"Or," Mr. Davenport chuckled, "I could gift wrap reality and you could play with that for a while."
He walked off, picking up the list of components he needed to order. Leo sighed, kinda upset, so we went to cheer him up.
"So Leo's having a birthday." Chase mused, crossing his arms. "What are? Like nine?"
Leo stared at him. "Fourteen." He corrected him. Chase chuckled.
"No, seriously." He smirked. Leo looked at me, as if he was asking if Chase was serious.
"He's turning fourteen." I informed Chase. Bree looked at Leo curiously.
"How are you going to celebrate?" she asked. Leo smirked.
"We're all going to celebrate." He replied. "Every year my mom throws me a big surprise party."
"Really?" Adam asked eagerly. Leo nodded.
"Last year, she baked a cake the size of me." He replied. We looked at him, eyes wide. "I'm not going to brag, but I was delicious."
"…alright then." I decided it was better not to comment on that.
"Calla!" Mr. Davenport called. I ran over to the desk and he brought up several different documents. "I want you to fill out these forms and send them in. I need the parts for a new invention of mine."
"Yes sir." No sooner had I sat down at my desk had Tasha ran in, smiling cheerfully.
"Guess what!" She was practically singing. "I just found out I won an award for my undercover reporting on expired produce, Something In The Crisper Can Kill You."
"Congratulations! That's so great!" Mr. Davenport hugged his wife.
"Aww, thank you…" she trailed off, her smile fading. "But the awards banquet is the same night as Leo's birthday."
Leo looked at her. "I'm sorry honey, but I can't miss it." Tasha apologized. "If I don't show up, I'm afraid they're going to give my award to that screen hog Linda Montieriez."
Leo took it a lot more calmly than I thought he would. "It's okay, Mom. Go have fun. You deserve it."
I raised an eyebrow at that, then followed him to where Adam, Bree, and Chase were waiting. Bree immediately grabbed him by the arm, visibly upset. "I thought she was going to throw you a party. I was promised a party!"
Leo only smiled. "Every year she comes up with a lame excuse to make me think she's not throwing me a party. Award?" he smirked. "Please, have you seen her reporting?"
Honestly, I didn't understand why everyone thought she was such a terrible reporter. Sure, Linda Montieriez was better, but Tasha wasn't that bad.
Tasha walked back over to us. "Leo, are you sure you're not mad?" she asked. "We've never been apart on your birthday."
"Tasha, don't worry. He'll have plenty of birthdays, but who knows if you'll ever win anything ever again." Adam assured her, smiling. Tasha and Mr. Davenport glared at him, but it was hard to stay mad at Adam when he didn't even realize that he had insulted you.
"Mom, go get your award." Leo told her. He fake coughed into his hand. "and chocolate frosting!"
"I promise we will celebrate the following night." She told him.
Suddenly, I realized something. Judging by the look on Chase's face, he realized it to. He raised a finger to his lips, eyes begging me to keep my mouth shut. For once, I didn't object to being told what to do by him.
"Hey, how come we haven't ever had a birthday party?" Bree asked, looking at Mr. Davenport. Tasha looked at him too, shocked.
"Donald! You never celebrated their birthdays?" she questioned. Mr. Davenport smiled guiltily.
"Of course I've celebrated their birthdays." He lied. He looked at the others for confirmation. "You remember when we…when we went to the…" Chase just kept shaking his head. Mr. Davenport sighed. "Yeah, I never celebrated their birthdays."
He didn't, but we'd had our own little parties. Well, it wasn't really a party. I'd come over with a batch of cupcakes, a letter written on them depending on who's birthday it was. I'd also bring something they might like. For Adam it was colouring books. For Bree, it was magazines. And I usually bought Chase some sort of video game or a couple of books.
Tasha shook her head at Mr. Davenport, still a little surprised that he hadn't celebrated their birthday's before. "Did you also eat all the cookies before Santa came down the chimney?" she asked. Adam, Bree, and even Chase frowned at looked at Tasha in confusion.
"What's Santa?" Bree asked, her voice quiet. Tasha's eyes widened and she glared at Mr. Davenport.
"Oh, come on!" She walked out of the room, Mr. Davenport following her.
"Why would you give him cookies?" he questioned as the lab doors closed behind them. Leo turned back to us, a massive grin on his face.
"This is going to be the BEST birthday ever!" he exclaimed. "The size of the party is equal to the size of the excuse. I'm going to go work on my surprise face." He demonstrated his surprise face as he left the lab.
Adam grinned as Leo left. "Woo-hoo! Leo's having a surprise party."
Chase and I exchanged looks, silently trying to decide which one of us would break the news to Adam. "Adam, if Leo was having a surprise party, don't you think we'd be invited?"
Adam stopped. "Yeah, you're right! Who does Tasha think she is, not inviting us?"
"No, Tasha and Mr. Davenport really are going to an awards ceremony." I explained to him. "There's no surprise party."
"This is horrible!" Bree exclaimed. "Leo's going to be so disappointed."
Suddenly, Chase's face lit up, the way it usually did when he had an idea. "Unless, we throw him a surprise party and invite everyone from school."
"What do we know about throwing a surprise party?" Bree asked. Adam grinned.
"Well, if it was me, I'd want a bouncy house. And a piñata. And a clown. No wait, put the piñata on the clown in the bouncy house and hit everything at once!" He exclaimed, grinning. We all stared at him, slightly disturbed. "Candy's bound to come out of somewhere."
Bree grinned, getting into the celebratory mood. "Oh! Let's invite Glitterhead! She's that internet star that sings her songs in sign-language. I just got her new CD, Talk To The Hand."
Chase shook his head, smiling. "No, no, no. Leo would want something cool at his party, like those sci-fi mutants from his favourite television show, Sharkman and Flipperboy."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "That's your favourite TV show." I pointed out.
"It could be his also." Chase snapped defensively.
Bree smiled. "You know, Leo's a great brother. Why don't we just get him all three?" she suggested. I didn't object. It might be a little costly (the appearances from Glitterhead, Sharkman and Flipperboy alone would cost a LOT) but they were a billionaire's kids, so that didn't really matter.
"Sure, why not?" I agreed. Adam grinned.
"Whoo-hoo! We're having a party!" he cheered. "Leo's going to be so surprised. I'm going to go tell him."
"Adam!" Chase stopped him just as he reached the doors.
"Oh, right!" Adam gasped after a second. "Well, I'm going to go tell Leo he's not having a surprise party." He smiled. "That was close. He almost found out."
"Bree, stop him." I ordered. Bree ran after him and I turned to Chase. "Get your jacket and your wallet. We've got shopping to do. We're going to need decorations, stuff to make cupcakes, oh! And I need to get him a gift."
"Sure, I'm coming." Chase grabbed his jacket off the back of my chair. "Hey Calla?" he asked as we headed out the back door. "I've got a question for you."
"What's up, buttercup?" I asked, using my mom's favourite phrase. He frowned, looking almost embarrassed to have to ask me this question.
"What is Santa?" I stared at him.
"Oh my god, I thought Bree was joking." I breathed. He shook his head. Wow, these dudes were pathetic. "Alright, well Santa's this really jolly fat dude that wears red a lot and…"
Leo's POV
I jogged down the stairs the night of my birthday, ready for my surprise party. Big D was on the main floor, wearing a tux. I couldn't believe it. My mom was really getting him into this surprise party.
"Wow, a tuxedo." I grinned. "You are really committing to this thing."
Big D smirked, the smiled sadly at me. "Look Leo, I'm really sorry we're missing your birthday but wait until you see the gift I got you. It is whoa-amazing-I-can't-believe-he's-my-stepdad-tastic!"
I grinned. "Is it a robotic snake?" I questioned. He shook his head.
"Is it a remote control tank that fires real lasers?" I guessed. He shook his head again. "Is it a real tank that fires fake lasers?"
Once again, he shook his head. "I hope you kept the receipt." I told him before walking down into the lab.
"Hey guys." Adam, Bree, and Chase were waiting down there, standing by the cyberdesk. I frowned, noticing that Bree was the only girl in the room. "Where's Calla?"
"We think she caught the flu from Jaden. I had to walk her home an hour ago because she wasn't feeling well." Chase replied. My shoulders sagged. I'd been hoping to see what Calla had gotten me as a present. I'd been wanting to know all week, but she refused to give me any hints.
"She's not here?" I asked. Chase shook his head.
"Sorry. Why? Did you need to talk to her about something?" He asked. I shook my head.
"Nah, it's nothing." I replied. Bree glanced down at her watch.
"Oh Leo, you might want to go say goodbye to your mom and Davenport before they leave." She suggested. I grinned and nodded. Time for the party!
"Leo, we're leaving!" My mom called as I walked back onto the main floor. I leapt out from behind the wall…only to find that the floor was empty. "We're on our way out." My mom told me. I nodded, realizing that the guests must be outside.
"Oh…Well, I will just walk you to the door then." I walked ahead of them. "I am approaching the front door." I announced, giving the guests a heads up. "I have my hand on the handle. I'm going to open it."
Without further ado, I flung open the door and ran outside. No one was there. I turned back to see Big D and my mom looking at me strangely.
"Thanks for the play-by-play." Big D smirked, then walked my mom through the door. I followed them out onto the porch and watched in disappointment as they drove away.
I couldn't believe it. They actually left. They weren't throwing me my surprise party.
Calla's POV
"Hey…whoa, nice balloons." I walked into the lab, holding two boxes in my hands and found that the lab was full of multicolour balloons.
"Cool huh?" Chase grinned. I nodded.
"One question though; how are you going to get all of them upstairs without Leo noticing?"
Chase stopped, obviously not having thought of that. Adam, however, shrugged.
"No problem." He grabbed a pen off my desk and proceeded to pop all the balloons, except for the balloon hat he was wearing. Chase and I both stared at him, and he stared back, confused as to why we were looking at him like that.
Suddenly, the lab doors opened. "Leo doesn't know you're here! Hide!" Chase hissed, pushing me behind the consol. I sighed and crouched under it. Meanwhile, the boys were desperately trying to hide all the balloons and my two boxes before Leo saw them.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Chase asked. I heard Leo sigh.
"My mom's actually going to an awards banquet. She's not throwing me a surprise party!"
"Aww…" "No, that's awful." Man, those two (especially Chase) were really bad at acting. Leo didn't seem to notice though.
"We got to go!" "Later, bro!" Adam and Chase fled from the lab, totally forgetting about me.
"Seriously? Idiots…" I muttered under my breath. After a minute, Leo must have gotten annoyed with being ditched on his birthday.
"Eddy, open these doors." He ordered.
"But if I did that, I would ruin the surprise party they're planning for you." Eddy replied. I banged my head against the counter in exasperation.
"They're throwing me a surprise party?" Leo gasped, sounding happy.
"Yeah, what a bunch of lamos. I wouldn't expect much." Eddy replied. I sighed. Well, if I was going to be stuck down here with Leo while I waited for the party to start, I might as well entertain the kid.
"SURPRISE!" I shouted, jumping out from behind the consol. Leo shouted in surprise, jumping back. I laughed. "Oh my god…the look on your face! Priceless!"
"I thought you were sick." Leo frowned.
"Yeah, whoever told you that is a liar, liar pants on fire." I replied.
"Shouldn't you be setting up for the party then?" Leo asked in confusion. I nodded.
"Yeah, they locked me down here. Oh well." I shrugged and grabbed my two box out from where Chase had stuffed them. I handed them to Leo.
"What's this?" he asked excitedly. He opened the first one and pulled out a cupcake. It was chocolate flavour with a giant green L on it.
"It's a tradition." I explained. He nodded and opened the second box.
"No way!" He pulled out the brand new skate board I got him. "This is the new Delta Board! They're not supposed to be in stores for months! How'd you get one?"
I shrugged. "My brother knows a guy." I replied. He grinned.
"Thanks Calla!" He exclaimed, then looked at the doors. "So, when is this party supposed to start?"
"At seven." It was six-thirty now. Leo and I decided to play chess to pass the time. We played four games, as no one had come to get us yet.
"Hey, what time is it?" Leo asked as I knocked over his king. I checked my phone, eyes widening when I saw the time.
"Eight-oh-five! What the…" Don't tell me they seriously forgot about us! Nah…they wouldn't be that stupid. "Eddy, let us out right now."
"I can't do that. I'm waiting for the signal." Eddy replied, almost sounding smug.
"Eddy!" Leo glared at the AI. "Bring up the living room on the monitor."
Eddy's face disappeared, only to be replaced by a live feed. It was of Adam, climbing over a limbo stick.
"What?" Leo gasped as a clown followed Adam's example. "Eddy, unlock this door!"
Eddy's face reappeared. "Not until I get the signal. Otherwise, it could ruin the surprise."
"They're celebrating without me!" Leo objected.
"That's nothing. Wait until they start opening your gifts." Eddy replied. Leo stared at him, then flung himself at the monitor.
"Open the door! Open this door! OPEN THE DOOR!" He screamed. I sighed. Apparently, the others were stupid enough to forget about us.
Leo's POV
Today was my worst birthday ever. It was already eleven at night and I was still trapped in the lab. The only company I had was Calla. There was nothing for us to do either. In the end, I was so bored that I offered to help her with her work.
Actually, the work was kind of cool. I might have to ask Big D to let my work with him in the lab sometime. Not that I actually expected him to say yes.
Well, that wasn't the only thing we did down there. Calla had made four dozen cupcakes (meant to be shared with everyone at the party) and obviously we couldn't eat them all. So instead, we played a new game called 'The Great Cupcake Toss' and used Adam, Bree, and Chase's capsules as targets.
So far, I was winning with a total of 1550 points while Calla only had 1475. I was about to throw my last cupcake when Eddy's screen suddenly turned on again. It showed the living room. No one was there, except for my family.
"Where's Leo?" My mom asked.
"He's right here." Eddy sang. I glared at the screen, certain that they could see me.
"Where I've been for the past FOUR HOURS!" I shouted the last bit. I saw my siblings look at each other guiltily.
"Yep. Just waiting for the signal." Eddy told them. Chase groaned in annoyance.
"Eddy, let Leo upstairs. Now." He ordered. The doors opened.
"Finally!" I exclaimed, storming through them. Calla was right at my heels, carrying the now empty cupcake box under her arm.
"You know they probably didn't mean to-" I cut her off with a glare.
"I don't want to hear it." I growled. She nodded and remained silent as we entered the elevator. I didn't say a word until we reached the main floor.
When the elevator doors opened into the kitchen, they all shouted "SURPRISE!" Calla face palmed behind me and I didn't blame her. It was truly, truly pathetic.
"I thought my first birthday with you guys was going to be awesome." I announced, trying to keep from yelling. "And you know what? It was probably but I would know BECAUSE I WASN'T INVITED!"
With that final word, I stormed off to my room.
Calla's POV
"Good morning." I greeted as I walked through the front door. Usually, I didn't work this early on weekends, but Chase had asked me to come over to study for Monday's chemistry test.
Anyway, everyone was in the kitchen having breakfast when I showed up. Well, almost everyone. Adam was nowhere in sight. Tasha was talking to Leo, whom was sitting at the counter. He looked kind of depressed, but after yesterday's epic fail of a party, I didn't blame him.
"What's going on?" I asked, leaning against the counter next to Chase. He grinned.
"Mr. Davenport's going to give Leo his gift." He explained. I nodded, smiling.
"Cool." I replied as Adam walked out carrying the Hexacopter box. For those of you who don't know, the Hexacopter is like one of those really cool remote control helicopters, but with a better design. Plus, you could control it with your mind. It was supposed to be epic.
Leo grinned like a kid on Christmas, running up to his present. But his smile fell from his face when he opened the box. He slowly lifted the broken toy out of the box. And I don't mean broken as in could be fixed with tape. I mean broken as in it looked as if it was thrown against a wall.
Leo stared at Mr. Davenport, shocked. "Well great Leo. You broke it." The inventor said, obviously trying to cover the fact that he had broken it. He was very bad at hiding it though; you could see the guilt all over his face.
Leo dropped the toy and stormed off again, likely heading to his room. I looked at the family. "Wow, you guys are really bad at this whole birthday thing, aren't you?"
They nodded silently. I sighed and grabbed Chase by his arm. "Come on Boy Wonder. We need to study."
"Hey Calla?" Bree ran over to me and Chase as we headed for the elevator. Adam and Mr. Davenport followed suit.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Do you know why there was all that chocolate frosting on our capsules yesterday?"
"…No…" I lied as the elevator hit the lab floor. I walked over to my desk, but everyone else just sat down, looking quite upset.
After several minutes of awkward and depressing silence, Mr. Davenport spoke. 'I am the worst dad ever."
No one said anything, and he looked slightly offended. "Well, don't all disagree with me at once." Again, silence. He sighed. "You know, I'm just going to glue his Hexacopter back together."
"Well yeah, sure. Now he'll forgive you, but what about us?" Chase questioned. Mr. Davenport smirked in amusement.
"Guys, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kinda in the me business." He reminded them before walking out.
"I feel terrible." Bree muttered. "We should have just done what Leo wanted."
Suddenly, Chase's idea face appeared. "Wait a second. What Leo really wanted was to go one a mission with us in the simulator. So that's exactly what we have to do."
"Mr. Davenport said he couldn't." I objected. Chase grinned.
"We'll just 'borrow' the cyber key away from Mr. Davenport so we can start the simulator ourselves." He replied. Bree stood up and looked at her brothers.
"That is sneaky, conniving, and totally rebellious." She told them. She grinned. "We are finally normal teenagers!"
I chuckled at her excitement. "So, how are we going to get the cyber key from Mr. Davenport?"
"Let me handle this." Adam offered. He walked into the second part of the lab, the part where Mr. Davenport occasionally worked. Sure enough, he sat at his desk, trying to fix the Hexacopter.
"Okay, Mr. Davenport keeps the cyber key on the left side of his desk." I told him. "But we're going to have to be stealthy."
Adam nodded, then walked up to Mr. Davenport. "Hello Mr. Davenport." He greeted. "Look at you, playing with your big boy toys."
"Hey Adam." Mr. Davenport greeted. Suddenly, Adam gasped loudly.
"What is that?" he demanded, pointing to Mr. Davenport's right. When Mr. Davenport turned to see what Adam was pointing at, the boy grabbed the cyber key and stuffed it into his back pocket.
"That would be a wall, Adam." Mr. Davenport replied after a moment.
"You are correct sir." Adam replied before rushing off. We followed him, completely stunned that his plan actually worked.
Leo's POV
"What is this all about?" I questioned as Adam, Bree, Chase and Calla led me down to the lab. I wasn't really in a mood for another one of their surprises.
"Let me guess: you're going to lock me down here and go on vacation." I mumbled unenthusiastically. They just smiled, like they had been for the past ten minutes.
"Leo, it's time for your birthday mission." He held out a pair of simulator goggles. I took them, confused.
"But Big D said I'm not supposed to play with these." I reminded him. I looked around. "But Big D isn't here. Alright, let's go!"
I hopped up onto the simulator platform, Adam, Bree, and Chase following me. I frowned at Calla, who sat down at her desk. "Aren't you coming?" I asked. She shook her head.
"It's their present to you, not mine. And besides, someone needs run the program." She explained as Adam, Bree, and Chase put on their own goggles. "Ready?"
"Let's do this!" I grinned. She pressed a button and suddenly, Adam, Bree, Chase and I were standing in a barren wasteland. I looked around, slightly disappointed. "No offense guys, but this is a seriously expensive let down."
Buildings and cars suddenly appeared around us. "Hey, now we're talking." I looked around again and saw the other addition. Several ninjas making their way towards us. "What do we do?" I demanded.
Adam grinned. "Chase, show him how it's done."
Chase charged at the two nearest ninjas. One of them made the mistake of trying to punch him. He stopped the first ninja by grabbing his arm, then kicked the other one in the gut. Then he elbowed the first ninja in the ribs, sending him stumbling back into Adam. Both of my step-brothers grabbed a ninja and shoved them towards each other. They hit their heads and fell to the ground with a groan.
Chase looked at me. "Leo, you're up! Use your force field."
I stared at him as if he was nuts. "What? I don't have a-" A ninja charged at me. I put up my hands to shield myself and suddenly, a white version of Chase's force field surrounded me. The ninja bounced off and hit the ground.
I looked at my hands as the force field disappeared. "I have a force field!" I exclaimed, stunned. "I'M BIONIC! YES! YES! FINALLY!"
Bree ran over to me just then, smiling widely. "Time to get your blur on." She told me. I looked at noticed that there was a ninja on either side of us. They ran at us, going at full speed. "Go!" Bree shouted.
I sped off in the opposite direction as Bree, completely enjoying the rush that came with the superspeed. The two ninjas, on the other hand, ran right into each other.
I continued to speed along, unable to stop. Luckily, Adam grabbed me before I could run into a wall. I looked at him, an idea coming to me. "Wait, if I can do this…"
Adam grinned. "Go ahead, birthday boy. Throw me across the room."
I didn't even have to think about it. I grabbed him by the shirt and tossed him as hard as I could. He flew through the air, crashing into a wall at the opposite end of the simulator. I ran over to him, grinning.
"How do you resist the temptation to do that to me everyday?" I demanded. He smirked, picking himself off the floor. He walked off, rubbing his chest painful as another ninja came up to me.
This one seemed different though. Just the way he moved. It was as if this was a video game and he was the boss you had to defeat to move onto another level. The ninja didn't attack, but gestured for me to make the first move. I grinned.
"Oh, you want some of this?" I asked. He gestured again. "Welcome to DI De Leo!"
I swung a fist at him, only for him to stop me by grabbing it in the palm of his hand. He twisted my wrist downwards and pushed me back.
Chase attacked next, doing a cartwheel for momentum. He threw several strikes at the ninja, all of them either dodged or blocked.7 Chase sent a final punch at him. The ninja grabbed his wrist and turned him around at a painful angle.
I jumped to my feet and tried to punch the ninja, only to be stopped again by his hand.
"I don't understand!" Chase cried. "This rebel is programmed with more sophisticated fighting skills than I've ever seen!"
Suddenly, we were released. Chase and I both fell to the floor. The ninja walked up to me, clapping his hands together. I gulped nervously.
"Hey, it's not cool to make me lose on DI De Leo." I wanted him.
"Yeah," the ninja pulled off his mask, revealing that he was in fact Big D, "and it's not cool to take someone's cyber key."
I groaned. Great, we were busted.
"Aw man! You were supposed to be good looking!" Bree exclaimed. Big D stared at her, offended. "I mean no offense. I'm sure you're eye candy to old people."
Big D stared at her for another moment, then turned to me. "Leo, I told you to stay out of the simulator. You're not prepared for it."
I was about to apologize when I saw another ninja storm at us. "Big D watch out!" I shouted, aiming a kick at the ninja's rib cage. He fell back with a pained groan.
"…or maybe you are." Big D admitted. "That was great Leo, awesome!"
I grinned. "So, does that mean I can use the simulator whenever I want?" I asked hopefully.
"No." Big D replied with a smirk. "Its just means I have to crank up the difficulty about a hundred percent to make it challenging for these guys…" He looked at Adam, Bree, and Chase "…who are in big trouble."
"We're sorry we took your cyber key." Chase apologized. "We had to make it up to Leo for messing up his birthday."
I looked at Big D. "And if they had been given parties of their own, they may not have had to hijack mine." I added. He rolled his eyes.
"Got it. Birthday's matter." He agreed. Chase smirked.
"Yeah, you should know. You've had enough of them. What are you? Like fifty?" He asked.
"I'm thirty-eight." Big D corrected him. We all laughed.
"No, seriously." Chase looked at him. Big D rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha." He fake laughed, then he smirked. "So, who's up for some kick-boxing on Mars?"
We all grinned and nodded. "See? This is birthdays are about – kicking butt as a family." We all came together for a group hug.
Calla's POV
"This is so weird." I muttered as I looked away from my monitor. Obviously, the scene looked normal there because I could see them and what they were doing. But outside the simulator, they just looked plain weird.
I looked away from the family just as Tasha walked in. She stared at her family, all of whom were hugging the air lovingly. She looked at me. "This place is never going to stop being weird, is it?"
"Nope." I replied, getting up to go get some popcorn.
FLASHBACK OVER!
Still Calla's POV
"…And that's why they aren't allowed to throw surprise parties anymore." I announced. Jaden chuckled.
"Why am I not even surprised by that story?" he asked. He glanced at Leo. "So, did you ever get a new Hexacopter?"
Leo smiled guiltily. "Yes, but I broke it…twenty seconds after getting it."
"Of course you did." Jaden agreed. I guess nothing these guys did surprised him anymore. He picked Bree's present up again. "Now, onto the presents."
He opened the box, eyes widening in shock when he saw what it contained. He pulled out the brand new, really expensive (I know, I was there when she bought it) watch.
"Bree, this is amazing." He grinned, putting it on. "I'm definitely going to wear this everyday from now on."
"I'm glad you liked it." She smiled brightly. "Happy birthday."
Kihonne: Alright, so what did you think? Did you like the way the entire chapter was a flashback, or would you have preferred I did it a different way? Oh, and I'll be back on the 1st of June with Dude, Where's My Lab? See you all then!