Kihonne: Hey guys, I'm so sorry I'm late with the chapter. Time just flew by, and before I realized it, I was buried in school work and had to put the story on hold for a little bit while I dealt with that and some family stuff. But, good news is that I'm back, and I don't want to waste much more of your time, so I'll get straight on to shoutouts.
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LabGirl2001: I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much, especially everyone working together and Calla's pregnancy. And yes, the Good Luck Charlie reference – I loved that show. You're correct that the weapons from both Missing and Train Job were engineered by the same person. As for the identity of the Engineer, that's going to be an interest surprise. Is it AJ? Well, that is an interesting guess. I won't confirm or deny that one, but I will say that he does have an interesting role to play in the season. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
SzymonS: I'm glad you liked what I did with your idea. The organization was an interesting twist to bring to the season, though I do admit, I already had a similar idea a while back. As for the Engineer and the Boss…well, one of them you've met and the other you haven't. That's all I'll say about that for now. I'm glad you like that Dani's back – it's going to be interesting writing her and Kaz this season, that's for sure. Anyway, I'm play you liked it and I hope you enjoy the season!
Algernon23: You may not like being confused, but I have to admit, it's pretty fun for me to sit back and watch all of you try to figure out who the big bad is this season. I'm enjoying it way too much. I wouldn't get too hung up on the grandson/grandparent thing just yet – trust me, there'll be bigger clues spread throughout the season. Though, in terms of his identity…well, it's going to be one hell of a twist, let's just say that. You are, however, on the right track as to your question of why the bad guys are doing what they're doing. Keep asking yourself that question throughout the season – why is the Engineer doing this, why does the Boss think that – and you might just figure it out. Though, I have to admit, I think it's going to take most people, if not everyone, off guard by the revelation. But if you do have any guessed, please send them. I won't confirm/deny most of them (unless they're completely wrong), but I'm interested in seeing where my reader's heads are at. Anyways, I'm glad you finals went well, thanks for the advice about the Death Cure, and I hope you enjoy the season.
TheRealHarrisonW: I'm so glad you're excited about the new season! I'm glad you like the atmosphere I have with this season. The Flash didn't have much of an influence when I first came up with the idea for the villains, but it has gotten me in a really good mindset to write certain things out. Though the Engineer will be more like Eobard Thawne than DeVoe. That being said, DeVoe VS Chase would be the coolest thing ever. No idea who would win though.
Guest: This season is set a little more than a year after the events of season 2. If you'd like to know what you missed in that year, please check out my other story "The Year Between". I'm expecting the season to be about 14 – 16 chapters, depending on whether I cut certain ones into two parts, and if I include the flashback chapter I'm considering.
MayLeaf2001: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks so much for the compliment! I'm glad you like that Liam, Lily, Rani, and Alivia will be in the season – they're going to be fun additions to the team. As for the others, they will be making one more appearance each – there's going to be an episode in which Alivia and a few others head back to New York to join them on a mission. It's going to be pretty exciting. Dani and Rani are going to particularly fun to write this season, especially Rani and her black magic. It's such a different concept compared to the vast majority of technology that I've introduced over the past couple of years, and Rani's attitude is going to be just as interesting to mix in with the rest of the team. As for Dani and Kaz, that's going to be equally interesting to write. I've got a couple of twists and turns for them – Kaz's relationship with Jessica is certainly going to affect the story in a few different ways – but overall, I think you're going to like how I play things with them. So, interesting guess about AJ's uncle. I assume you mean an uncle that I haven't introduced yet, or is your theory that I bring the uncle I did introduce back from dead to be the villain? Honestly, with me, neither would be totally our of character for me to do. As such, I won't confirm nor deny that the boss has any relation to AJ, though I will confirm that Miles is not the Engineer, as he would have recognized Spotlight and the Scarlet Ace due to his past dealings with the NLH. When you think you've figured it out, please let me know though – I may not confirm/deny it, but I am curious as to what everyone's thinking. I'm glad you enjoyed the Good Luck Charlie reference – I mean, it's Bradley Steven Perry, how couldn't I slip one in? – and I hope you enjoy the rest of the season.
Amazingchichi741: I'm glad you're excited for the chapter. I hope you enjoy.
Guest 21418: I'm glad that I'm able to take your mind off things. What happened in Florida was nothing short of a tragedy and I'm relieved to hear that your friend was not injured or worse. I want you and your friend to know that he, his classmates, and his teachers are all in my prayers. If you ever need to talk, please PM me – I'm always available for anyone who needs me. I wish I could do more to help, but as this is the best I can do, I sincerely hope that this chapter can distract you from reality for a little while longer.
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Kihonne: And on with the chapter!
Skylar: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Elite Force, or Mighty Med. She only owns this story, this chapter, all the OCs, and anything else you don't recognize.
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Dani's POV
"Alright, four guys inside, six hostages. One of which is a four-year-old, so take extra precaution guys." Calla warned, voice coming in through my comm. "The quicker the better; we don't want to traumatize the poor child."
"Thanks babe. Okay, here's the plan: Bree, you go in through the delivery entrance in the back – usually, it would be guarded, but I doubt the robbers have more than one guy watching that end. Distract them and try to draw as many as you can away from the hostages. Kaz, go with her. Skylar, Dani, you're with me. We go in through the front, take out the bank robbers, alright?" He glanced back at us, waiting for a response. Once we'd all shown him that we understood, he jerked his head to motion for Bree and Kaz to get moving.
I watched them go, feeling the familiar energy of adrenaline flooding through my system. It had been too long since I'd been on a mission with my old friends, and truth be told, I missed it. When they'd asked for volunteers to deal with the bank robbers – there weren't enough of them to warrant the entire team coming – I'd offered right away.
I just hoped it went well.
Jaden's POV
"Well, that went terribly." Bree announced as she, Dani, Kaz, Skylar, and Chase walked into the penthouse. I raised an eyebrow, but she didn't elaborate, instead dropping to her knees right next to me. She put on a fake smile as she looked down at our son, Noah, who was content to lying on his back for the time being. "Hey Bug."
"What happened?" Oliver questioned just as the fireplace split in two. Calla walked out of the hidden elevator, alternating stern looks between Skylar and Dani.
"Are you two serious? What the hell?" She demanded, arms crossed.
"What happened?" I repeated Oliver's question.
"These two started both wanted to take out the last robber, but neither would give in." Chase explained, also annoyed. "And they spent so much time trying to take out the same guy that the other three got away."
"Damn." I whistled. Tough break. "Was anyone hurt?"
"No, all the hostages got out okay." Calla assured me, taking a seat on the couch near me.
"Thanks to Kaz, Chase, and I." Bree added.
"Look, it was an accident. I thought she would go join you guys." Skylar explained, her tone apologetic. Dani nodded eagerly.
"It was just a communication mistake." She added. She glanced at Skylar. "It's probably my fault, since I've been gone for so long. We're sorry guys, really."
Chase observed them for a minute, then sighed. "I suppose the cops can track down the robbers. But next time, a mistake like that might end up worse than a couple of bad guys getting away. People could get hurt." He told them. They both nodded solemnly. "I guess we're just going to have to get used to working with you, Rani, and Alivia again."
"We'll figure it out." Skylar promised him. He nodded, then glanced at his clothes.
"Alright. I'm going to go shower." He decided, heading for the stairs. Kaz nodded.
"Yeah, I should change too – Jessica's going to be here any minute for our lunch date." He declared before following Chase. Dani watched him go, then looked around.
"Liv already leave for New York?" She asked, slightly disappointed. Alivia had been planning to make a quick trip back to the NLH base, intending to catch Barry up to speed in person as well as pick up some things for the girls.
"Yeah, left an hour ago. Don't worry; I reminded her to grab Katy." Rani assured her, not looking up from her book. She'd been at the desk by the window all morning, taking vague notes on the information in the book in a language I didn't recognize or understand. "God knows what that homicidal little monster will do to Alan's pets if you leave her there alone."
"I take it you're not a fan of cats?" I guessed.
"Cats, yes. Whatever that thing is, no." The umbrakinetic replied with a scowl. "She trained that thing to hate me, I swear."
For her part, Dani looked pretty pleased with herself for that fact. "What are you doing anyway?" Bree questioned, curious. Rani tilted her book upwards for us to see.
"Trying to find a spell that can get past whatever's hiding Liam and the others from us. There's no spell that will directly find them, but if I can find a loophole, maybe we can track them down." She explained.
"Sorry, you're looking for a what?" I questioned, turning around to look at her briefly until Noah's hand slapped my knee. I turned back to my son, giving him a friendly smile.
"I'm a master of the dark arts." Rani replied, pride in her voice. "Black magic is kind of my thing."
"Magic?" Calla laughed at that. Rani looked at her, offended. "Oh c'mon, you can't be serious."
"And why can't I?" She demanded, annoyed.
"Magic isn't actually real. You do know that?" My sister asked.
"You know, I'm going to go flying." Dani said softly, slowly backing out of the room and onto the veranda.
"Excuse me, but I think I know whether magic is real or not. I use it every day." Rani snapped. She furrowed her brow. "You work with superheroes…you have superpowers. How can you not believe in these things?"
"Superpowers have basis in science. Dani's cells got supercharged when she made indirect contact with the Arcturion, while Oliver's were distilled cryogenically like liquid nitrogen. That is a scientific explanation for superpowers. Magic, on the other hand, isn't real magic." Calla explained slowly, amused by Rani's insistence on her gifts. Rani quirked an eyebrow at that.
"Tablet te detrahet me." She declared, and the tablet in Calla's hands floated into the air and flew towards Rani. She caught it with ease, a smirk on her face.
"What do you call that?" She challenged, placing the tablet down on the desk next to her.
"Unexplained science." Rani rolled her eyes at Calla's response. "I mean, that's all magic ever was – science that we don't know enough about."
"I think magic is a little better than your science." Rani sneered. Skylar raised an eyebrow at that.
"I'm going to go for a jog." She announced, heading for the door. A part of me wondered if maybe Skylar and Dani had the right idea to get out of here while they still could. Calla could be extremely stubborn on a regular day, and even though I didn't know her very well, I had the feeling that Rani could be equally bullheaded about the things she believed in.
"Please. Anything you can do with your 'magic'" Rani fumed at Calla's air quotes, "I can do with my tech."
"Is that so?" Rani mused, standing up and closing her book. Yep, the girls were smart to get out of here. "Well, why don't we test that, shall we?"
Calla shifted her jaw, interested. "What do you propose?"
"A challenge. I name three spells, and you have to recreate their effects perfectly." She emphasized the last word. "But when you can't, because you really can't, you have to admit that my magic isn't just real, but is also better than your stupid science."
"Alright, but when I win, you have to admit that magic is just weaker science." Calla retorted.
"You're on." The witch smirked triumphant to herself. My sister glanced at us.
"But I get Oliver, Jaden, and Bree's help on this." She added. Rani considered it, then nodded in agreement.
"Actually, I'm kinda with Rani on this." Bree commented, giving Calla an apologetic. Calla rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Help Rani choose the spells." She sighed irritably. I looked at her, frowning.
"Why do we have to help you?" I demanded. She raised an eyebrow at me.
"You really want to argue with me about this?" She questioned, her tone steely cold.
"No." Oliver answered for us. Calla smirked and clapped her hands together.
"Great. You two pick out your spells, and you guys meet me down in mission command in ten minutes." She instructed, pushing herself off the couch and heading for the hidden elevator. Oliver and I exchanged glances. This was going to be nothing if not interesting.
Dani's POV
So, if I knew Calla and Rani, entering the Penthouse any time within the next eight hours would just end with me getting dragged into one side of a completely pointless argument – both of them were ridiculously stubborn and hated to be wrong at all costs. Which meant that I had a good eight hours to track down the robbers that escaped.
This morning had been my fault, really. Well, and Skylar's. We'd never been the best of friends, at least not like Kaz and Ollie were, but we used to be close, we used to be a well-oiled machine. Now…well, I guess my leaving had strained both our working and personal relationship mores than I originally thought. I wasn't sure there was anything I could do to change that, but I could find those robbers and make sure they ended up behind bars.
"Alright, if I were an evil bank robber, where would I go?" I muttered to myself as I walked through the bank. It was still closed by the police, as it was a crime scene, but I was hoping that the criminals had left something behind that would give me some clue to their identity or, at the very least, their next target. I looked around, trying to pick out anything they would have left behind; perhaps Rani could use of her tracking spells on it.
"Oh." I looked up to see Skylar stride into the bank, eyes widening when she noticed me. "I didn't realize…I guess we had the same idea."
"I guess." I pressed my lips into a thin line. I glanced around. "Well, there's not exactly much left here. Wanna split up? I can finish up here, bring whatever I find back to Rani to track, while you hit the streets?"
"Or I could take a blood sample back to Calla so we can identify the criminals." Skylar gestured at a small blood stain left on the banker's counter from when Chase had thrown the robber he was fighting into it.
"Yeah, maybe." I hadn't thought of that. Skylar sighed.
"You know, this probably won't need the both of us on it. I can take care of it." She offered, hands on her hips as she frowned thoughtfully. "Why don't you head back to the Penthouse, see if you can help Rani with her spells?"
"Nah, it's okay." I flashed her a smile. "I'd rather stay out of the whole science versus magic thing. I don't see it ending well."
"Are you sure?" She pressed. I paused, then stood up.
"Do you not want me here?" I questioned, offended. She shook her head.
"I didn't say that." She insisted. But her tone, her body language gave her away pretty quickly. She was clearly not pleased to see that I'd opted to go after the bad guys as well, but I couldn't tell if this was a wanting-alone-time problem or a me problem.
"Look, if this is about this morning," I began, only for her to shake her head. "I know it didn't go well, but it's just going to take us a little time to get used to working together again."
"It wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't left in the first place." Skylar grumbled. I raised my chin, realizing what this was about.
"You're upset that I left." I observed. She didn't answer, instead turning on her heel and walking out. I quickly swiped up a blood sample, then raced after her. "Skylar!" I called to her, catching up to her as she turned down a small, mostly deserted street. She didn't stop, so I jogged to keep up with her. "Look, I get you're upset, but I'm not going to apologize."
"Why would I expect you to?" She retorted, annoyed to find that I was following her.
"It was the right thing to do." I insisted, starting to lose my own patience. "I needed to at least try and stop Lexi, and besides, it wasn't like you wanted me around." At that, she gave me a stern look. "You didn't trust me, Skylar. After what I did, I didn't blame you for that, but I also wasn't going to stick around somewhere I wasn't trusted."
"How were we supposed to learn to trust you again if, five minutes as we stopped Bridget, you left?" Skylar laughed accusingly, her tone dark. "Again?"
I stopped. "I…I had some stuff to work through. I needed some time, some space."
"You needed a full year?" Skylar questioned, her tone softening a little as she turned to face me. She didn't look so angry now, more disappointed. "Look, I'm glad you found a place with the New League of Heroes, it really sounds like you found a good home there. And I admit, I thought a break would be good for you, but you left for a full year, and you didn't even say goodbye to half of us. Most of us didn't realize you were gone until Oliver told us the next day at lunch."
"Skylar-" I began, but she raised a hand, cutting me off.
"I'm not expecting you to apologize for not being at home here anymore. People change, they start needing different things. But what you did, the way you did it, that was unfair to everyone. Especially Oliver and Kaz."
I looked away, pushing down any feelings of guilt that were starting to rise in my stomach. "Ollie thought it was a good idea."
"No," She scoffed at that, amused, "he didn't. But you told him it was what you needed and you know as well as I do that he'll always support you. He may call you an idiot while he does, but if you tell him you're having a hard time and need something, he'll support you even if it hurts him." She shook her head. "You didn't even call him for almost eight months, Dani. That wasn't fair to him, or any of us."
I swallowed past a lump in my throat. "I know."
Skylar sighed. "Look, I just…it's hard to work with someone you don't trust who could leave again at any possible moment." She told me. I frowned at her. "Face it; the moment Liam and Lily are safe, you, them, Liv, and Rani are heading back to New York, are you not?"
"I suppose…" I agreed reluctantly. I'd been so focused on saving my friends that I hadn't thought about what would happen once we found them. And here I was, trying to rekindle my old friendships with people I was just going to leave again. I sighed. "Skylar, we have to work together, like it or not. We'll never be able to get anything accomplished if we don't." She scowled, though she didn't argue my point. "I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm just…I'm asking you to give me the chance to earn your trust again."
She frowned, considering it. "Fine. Did you get a sample?"
"Of course." I handed her the vial. She pulled out a small, handheld device that sorta looked like a graphing calculator. She pressed the vial into a section on the side of the device, and I watched the glass light up blue. Skylar then reached up to activate her comm. "Hey, MISS, do you think you can get Calla to run this through our database? We're hoping to get an ID." She paused listening, then sighed. "Good enough, thanks."
"Let me guess, MISS is going to do it herself because Calla and Rani are too busy trying to prove who is better?" I guessed. She sighed.
"I swear, sometimes…" She shook her head.
Jaden's POV
"For the record, I think this is very stupid." I commented as Rani, Bree, and Oliver walked into mission command. Dani, Chase, Kaz, and Skylar, were all right to get out of here while they could; knowing these two, even if one of them proved their point, the other would just keep going until they themselves won.
"Yeah, yeah. Suck it up, Jay. I'm paying in babysitting hours, am I not?" She retorted, crossing her arms at Rani. "You ready for this?"
Rani cocked her head to the side, smirking to herself. "Are you?" She challenged.
"Play nice, guys." Bree cautioned, adjusting her grip on Noah. He stared up at her, completely mesmerized by her face as she addressed the two overly-competitive girls. "It's a friendly competition, alright?"
"Sure, sure." Calla dismissed her. Bree and I exchanged looks, knowing that Calla wasn't going to let this go until her precious science proved supreme. "Let's do this then."
"Oliver faciet avolare." Rani declared, not even moving. Suddenly, Oliver floated into the air, his look of surprise revealing that his sudden flight was not his idea. She smirked and gestured at me. "Make your brother fly, genius girl."
"Easy." Calla had laughed at that once Bree told her it was on the list of spells that Rani was intending on using. She pressed a button on her phone and the anti-gravity belt she'd forced me to wear activated, pulling me, against my will, into the air. "You wanna try again?"
Rani frowned, annoyed, then grabbed a stress ball off one of the computer desks. "Hoc pila quasi exspiravit." She declared, one hand hovering over the ball before she threw it directly at Calla. It flew through her harmlessly, as intangible as a ghost. It flew through the wall behind her, presumably to continue its path through the hidden tunnels. "Let's see you mimic that."
"Rio can do that with her chip. As for me," She zipped up her mission jacket, frowning in displeasure when it proved to be a little too-tight over her stomach. Nevertheless, she pulled the hood up and pressed a button on her tech watch. "I added that upgrade," She walked backwards through the same wall the ball had gone through before reappearing a minute later, smirking, "last month."
"Enough!" Rani fumed, ticked off at Calla's smug appearance. She raised her hand towards my sister, brow furrowed. "Rigescunt indutae!" She cried, and a blue, almost white, blast of energy burst from her hand.
Calla reacted instantly, pressing another button on her tech watch to project a plasma force field, almost identical to Chase's, though this one was tinged green. The blast hit the force field, leaving an icy blast mark that quickly melted away.
Calla didn't even hesitate, her plasma gun already loaded and aimed at Rani. She pulled the trigger quickly, before any of us could intervene. Rani didn't seem to care, however, as she raised her hand. Her shadow seemed to peel its way off the ground and rose to full height, acting like a bodyguard for Rani as the shot was absorbed in the thick darkness.
"Okay, when you said you were adding attack spells to the list, I thought you'd be doing target practice on one of the rock walls, not on each other." Bree scolded, stepping in between them after handing Noah off to me.
"Field tests are so much better than target practice." The former villainess reasoned, as if she hadn't just attacked my sister.
"I mean…she's not wrong." Calla commented offhandedly. Bree sent her a look. "What? It does show a better demonstration of the attack. A lot of experiments do try to replicate real-life situations for that reason."
"Teammates do not attack each other. For magical or scientific experiments." She sounded exasperated at the fact that she even had to explain that to two grown adults. Rani let out a long breath, clearly still peeved.
"Looks like it's a draw then." She decided unhappily.
"Looks like." Calla agreed, equally displeased. Rani nodded once, almost to herself, then walked away. Noah suddenly started crying, so Bree went to set him down for a nap, and Calla headed for the elevator. Leaving Oliver and I still floating in the air.
"Get us down from here!" Oliver shouted, kicking his feet at the ground, trying to force himself to land.
"Uh, guys?" I called, but they were already gone. "Somebody?"
Dani's POV
"Alright, according to MISS, this is the most likely place for the robbers to go back to." Skylar frowned, double-checking the coordinates as I watched the side of the apartment building for any sign of which apartment our criminals would be in. "At least, the guy whose blood you took – someone named Charles Canberra – frequents this place a lot, according to his bus pass."
"He rents apartment C17." Chase supplied, walking over to us. He nodded at us appreciatively. "Thanks for the heads up about their location."
"Yeah, well, I thought it would be better with even odds." Skylar commented, shrugging. Chase glanced between the two of us.
"…Are we good?" He questioned, sensing the lingering tension between us. I glanced at Skylar, and we both nodded.
"Let's go." I insisted, already heading for building's entrance.
Xxx
Skylar and I stood against the wall on either side of the door labelled C17, while Chase prepared himself in front of it. He looked at the two of us to make sure we were ready, then nodded at me. I placed my hand on the wall, sending an electrical surge through the wiring, strong enough to blow even the fuses in the hall. The lights flickered then cut out, leaving us alone in the dark. Chase waited a moment, listening for the robbers inside the room, before hitting the door with his forcefield, shrunken into the size and shape of a very deadly basketball. The force field knocked the door completely off its hinges, and we charged into the room, the only sources of light coming from either the two windows near the back of the apartment or my own flashlight hands.
We took the robbers completely off guard, and overpowering them was easy enough – already, Chase had one on the ground, trying to wrestle a pair of hand cuffs onto the man – and Skylar, despite her difficulty in the darkness – humans couldn't see particularly great in the dark, but Calderan night-vision was even worse – was combatting another, keeping him close enough to the window that she could see him.
My guy, on the other hand, was a useless fighter, completely incompetent with his fists…which is probably why he immediately scrambled for a gun. I lunged at him as he tried to get a good grip on it, slamming my elbow into his arm at the last minute to knock the weapon from his hands. He twisted under me, trying to flip me off of him. It somewhat worked – he was larger than me, and used his weight to his advantage, much to my annoyance – as I was thrown backwards a bit, just enough time for him to grab the gun, aim it at me, and pull the trigger.
I dropped to my knees at the last second, narrowly avoiding having my brains blown out, but the gunshot was enough to catch the others off guard. It worked out for Chase, who finally managed to cuff his bad guy thanks to the distraction, but Skylar's opponent recovered from the surprise much faster than she did and slammed her into the nearest wall.
I aimed a blast of electricity at the robber, just enough to knock him out, and leapt to my feet in search of the handcuffs I'd dropped in our fight. I spotted them nearby and swiped them up, bending down to cuff the guy when another voice spoke.
"Step away from Charlie, girl." I looked up to see the largest of the three thugs glaring at him, his arm tight around Skylar's neck. She struggled in his grip, able to breathe, but clearly trapped. He visibly tightened his grip and Skylar winced painfully, fingers gripping his arm but failing to remove it. "Now."
I sucked in a breath, trying to figure a way out of this. Chase was of no help – his criminal was still fighting back, despite the handcuffs – and the best plan I could come up with was blasting the guy, but with Skylar so close to him, it would be risky. Too risky.
"Dani." Skylar called, her voice eerily calm. I looked at her and gave me a small nod, even as the criminal pulled her back a step. I took another breath, this one calmer, deeper, and clenched my fist. Then, Skylar nodded again.
Two things happened at the exact same time: one, Skylar went limp in the criminal's arms, her sudden deadweight making him drop his guard for half a second, and two, I sent a blast of lightning his way. It hit him in the shoulder while he was still trying to adjust to Skylar's actions, and knocked him backwards, his grip on her loosening enough for her to escape. She spun around instantly, landing a painful-looking kick to his stomach. He fell to the ground, his head catching the edge of a table on his way down.
"Well, I'd say he's down for the count." I commented dryly. Skylar gave me a look, almost as if to say 'well duh', and I couldn't help but smirk.
"You guys alright?" Chase questioned as he dragged his criminal, still trying desperately trying to get away, over to us. He shoved the guy onto his butt, sighing in annoyance when he tried to get back up. "Dude, give it a rest. It's over."
"Here." I offered as I handcuffed the guy I'd knocked out. I grabbed a secondary pair of handcuffs, handcuffing their hands together so that they wouldn't be able to get away so easily.
"We're fine." Skylar assured him. She gave me a nod. "Nice shot."
I smiled but didn't say anything as she cuffed her guy. "I'm going to call the police to come pick these guys up." Chase told us, stepping into the hall, his cell phone already in his hands. I stood up, wincing as my bruises from the fight made themselves known.
"That's going to ache in the morning." I commented, stretching. Skylar nodded her agreement, then sighed.
"About earlier…" She began. I shook my head, stopping her.
"It's fine." I told her. She shook her head.
"I know you weren't trying to hurt us, and if I implied that you were, I'm sorry." She told me, sincere. "I just…I don't mean to sound so mean about it, it's just…"
"You needed to call me out on it. I get it." I nodded. "You're just looking out for Ollie and the rest of the team, and I appreciate that."
She sighed. "He's going to hate it when you leave again." She commented. I nodded.
"…I can't promise that I won't leave. I probably will, but it won't be like last time. I'll stay in touch, I won't disappear again." I promised. She nodded, accepting the assurance.
"Talk once a week?" She guessed. I smirked.
"I mean, I could call, like, every night, but I can't guarantee that I won't be totally annoying about it." I told her. She almost laughed at that.
"You, annoying? I never would have thought." She teased lightly.
Xxx
"I wonder who won Calla and Rani's little contest?" Skylar questioned as we headed towards the penthouse. The criminals had been picked up by the CCPD, and we were already almost home.
"Ten bucks on Rani, but only because she'd do anything to win." I commented. Chase chuckled at that.
"You clearly don't know my wife if you think she's capable of giving up." He replied as we reached the same street as Davenport Tower. "Oh…"
I paused mid-step when I saw that Kaz and a tall, blonde woman standing near the entrance. I recognized Jessica instantly, having met her at Calla and Chase's wedding a couple of years ago. "Oh, hey guys." Kaz greeted us when he noticed us.
"Hey, how was dinner?" I forced a bright smile onto my face as we approached them. I'd promised myself, once I found out that Kaz was seeing someone, that I was going to be nothing but supportive of it, even if it killed me.
"Good. Uh, Jess, you remember Dani?" He replied. Jessica sent him a hesitant glass before reaching out to shake my hand.
"Uh, yeah. I thought you moved away." She commented, surprised to see me. I nodded.
"I did, but I'm back in town for some Elite Force business." I mentioned, increasing the smile as my heart clenched. I glanced at Skylar and Chase, hoping either of them would give me an excuse to get out of here.
"Uh, we should go and brief the rest of the team." Skylar commented, flashing me a smile. She nodded at Kaz. "We caught the rest of the robbers."
"Oh, awesome." Kaz grinned. "Nice job, guys."
"We'll see you in a bit, man." Chase clapped him on the back before grabbing the door to the building and holding it open for Skylar and I. We walked in, her a little in front of me. I shoved my hands in my pockets, refraining from looking back at them. Jessica was fairly pretty, and really nice, if I recalled. Kaz looked pretty happy with her too. I wanted to be happy for him, I did, but…well, this was going to be a lot harder than I thought.
Rani's POV
"Hey." I looked up from my book to see Calla standing over me, a mug of hot chocolate and one with the string of a tea bag still hanging out of it in her hands. "Peace offering?"
I sighed and closed my spell book. "Thanks." I accepted the drink appreciatively. She pulled up a chair and sat across from me, and I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I get caught up in the heat of things sometimes – that's how we'd handle stuff back when it was my brother, Chaz, and I, and I sometimes have trouble remembering that that's not how I'm supposed to handle things."
"I could have been a little less smug about things." She shrugged. "So, I was thinking-"
Before she could continue, the front door opened and Dani, Skylar, and Chase walked in. Dani didn't say anything, instead heading upstairs, while Skylar and Chase joined Calla, Bree, and I. A moment later, Kaz came in to join us.
"Where were you?" Calla questioned, noticing that the two of them were in their mission uniforms.
"Oh, we went after some of the robbers from this morning. It's all good." Chase promised, kissing his wife on the forehead.
"So? Who won?" Skylar questioned.
"It was a tie." Calla and I responded at the same time.
"They both tried to kill each other." Bree added. Skylar and Chase exchanged vaguely amused looks.
"I'm not exactly surprised." Chase sighed.
"No, it's fine. Actually, I was going to talk to you about something." Calla turned back to me. "So, something occurred me during our little competition. Science and magic, regardless of which you believe is better, are just two different methods of doing the same thing."
"Yes. And two plus two is four, and the sky is blue, and the earth is round. Thank you for the update, Captain Obvious." I commented. Calla gave me a look.
"Actually, the sky is technically grey and just looks blue because of the way light works, but that's not the point." She shook her head. "I was thinking, right now we're fighting over which one is better and we're using them separately, but what if we combined them?"
"Like weaving my magic into your technology?" I asked, frowning at her as I considered the idea.
"Is that even possible?" Skylar questioned, glancing at me. I bit my lip, thinking.
"I mean, maybe. But I don't have any technology-compatible spells in my spell book." I told them. They looked disappointed, so I added, "I mean, I'm sure there's spells out there, but I'd need a more powerful spell book."
"Where would we be able to find one?" Kaz questioned. I shook my head.
"I don't know. Real spells books aren't exactly easy to find." I commented.
"So I take it I wouldn't be able to ask a clerk at Barnes & Noble to help me, now would I?" Calla guessed.
"No, not really." I replied. She nodded to herself.
"In that case, I'm going to have MISS set to search for mentions of them." She decided. "Maybe the reason we haven't been able to track down the others is because we've been looking the wrong way."
"Maybe." I hummed thoughtfully. Kaz suddenly frowned and looked around.
"Hey, where's Oliver?" He questioned. Calla and I suddenly looked at each other, remembering.
"Oh, they're not going to be happy with us." The genius realized, a guilty smile appearing on her face.
The Engineer's POV
"In that case, I'm going to have MISS set to search for mentions of them." I smiled at the sound of Calla's voice, pleased that the sound was so clear, despite the distance between the bug and our base of operations. "Maybe the reason we haven't been able to track down the others is because we've been looking the wrong way."
"Maybe." Another voice, one that we'd identified as belonging to a former student of Dr. Wrath, commented. I muted the live stream, knowing that the recording would be unaffected, and turned to my boss.
"I told you our spy would be able to get us ears inside the penthouse." I told him, pleased with myself. He nodded, though he didn't look all that impressed.
"Find those spell books before they do." He ordered. I nodded.
"I'll send our best guy." I assured him.
Xxx
Kihonne: Well? C'mon guys, you know what comes next; I beg you to review and tell me what you think, some of you review, and I get more excited and pumped to write the more reviews I get. Anyway, here's the new updating schedule:
February 26th – Lost and Found
March 5th – Abducted
March 12th – Fantasy Leagues and Baby Showers
Anyway, I promise I will see you guys on Monday. And don't forget to review!