Here's a shout-out to the following people who answered last chapter's question correctly! Lady Cougar-Trombone, AllAmericanSlurp, LRW (we'll take that ;) ), Someone, and Doomforzombies - great job to all of you! Spin did trick Bob into the mission by telling him they were going on a restaurant near the site.
My apologies to Doomforzombies, too - he answered a question correctly a chapter or two back, but I said that it wasn't right.
I know we're a few weeks in now, but Season Four! Can you believe it, guys? We're in the final one! Man. Lab Rats has been such an awesome show. Chris Peterson, Bryan Moore and their team certainly knew what they were (and are still!) doing. It's certainly become my favorite, and I think it's certainly gonna remain on the top list for a very, very long time.
Anyways, this is going to be fun! Who's ready for a new season?
Episode Tag to: Bionic Rebellion
Chronicle #048
"Ionic"
03/22/15
6:44 PM
You know, one of these days I'm going to stop speaking too soon.
I really thought we would be archenemy-free after Adam, Bree and Chase defeated Krane. Apparently, that's not true, just like those times when I thought that Douglas (who, spoiler alert, is good now) would never escape from the ice block he was in or when I thought that Krane's not going to be very hard to defeat. Another one stepped up to the plate this week and took on the responsibility of making our lives harder. Well, three of them stepped up, and they almost dragged the whole student body into it.
Like I said, I speak too soon.
Come to think about it, Sebastian was Eyebrows in disguise. Not literally, of course, but he pulled the same 'I'm a friend' cover story so he could gain people's trusts. What makes it bad is that this time, I bought into it, too. I guess him being part of the group who saved my life had something to do with it. He just seemed like this all-around good guy who cared about his family and who looked at the world optimistically. As it turned out, he's not. Maybe he did care about his siblings, even if just the tiniest bit, but he certainly didn't look at the world as something that's good. He viewed it and everyone in it as inferior, just like Krane did.
He really was his father's son.
Everything he did is upsetting. He betrayed us, almost killed our dad, almost killed me, and he almost killed Adam, Bree and Chase. You know what's the worst part of his plan? He almost had Spin and Bob do something awful. I mean, I knew they wouldn't do it. Spin, even if he's as annoying as can be, is a decent-ish kid, and Bob is nice to almost everyone. Still, what kind of a psychopath are you to make children do something they'd have nightmares about? Sebastian's a total nut job, I tell you.
I guess I have to own up, too, to the mess I found myself in. The students wouldn't have turned against me very easily if I haven't been bragging about being different from them, which, really, is not a lie. Adam, Bree and Chase are my siblings. Big D's my dad. No matter what angle you look at it, I'm with them. But really, I shouldn't have been so tactless in pointing that out. It came to me after all was said and done that, by me saying the things I said to them, I made the other students feel how I usually feel when I'm with them. I made them feel like they don't belong anywhere, and that's pretty cruel considering how it had probably already occurred to them that, unlike Adam, Bree, Chase and me, they don't have any parents to fuss at them or hug them and maybe even friends outside their family who would accept them no matter how crazy things get.
That's why it was easy for Sebastian to sway them into joining his twisted rebellion. They probably thought that, since Sebastian's the only one who (seemingly) cared about them, they should just join him. At least he wouldn't lie to them or exclude them or take things away from them, which would, ironically, turn out to be a lie and which would have disappointed them greatly.
I'm still working on a way to apologize. It'll be a bit awkward to do because most of them are still shaken up with what happened and are still upset with me, but I gotta do it. I have to say I'm sorry. I think. If not to everybody, then at least to just two or three of them. As Mom pointed out to me when I was a kid, there's no acceptable reason for being a jerk and not apologizing for it.
This weekend gave me a little bit more time to think about those. I decided to head for the mainland and stay here until tomorrow. Many things are going on in my head, and the island's not quite big enough for me to have the space I need to sort things out. Big D told Chase to go with me, too. Forced him, actually, because he didn't want to leave, but after Big D told him something I didn't really hear, he came.
Mom was happy, to put it mildly. It had been weeks since any of us were home, so Chase and I pretty much spent our first five minutes back being suffocated in a mama bear hug.
Not gonna lie—I thought it was nice. I did miss my mom.
It was great being on a bed for once, too. The couch at the living quarters is nice and all, but it's not as comfortable as my bed where I can toss and turn and sleep like a starfish if I want to. Being fed good breakfast to the point that all I could do was lay down on the floor because I was too full was also awesome. I think Chase felt the same way. He looked like it at least, after he staggered to the sectional then fell on it like a tree yesterday.
The best part of this, though, was being able to go out to other places. It's been a while since I went to the mall or ate out or even saw a movie. Granted, it's been and would be pretty tough to do those things, especially since some of the good citizens of Mission Creek still hate our guts, but I'm still entitled to them. So, I did it.
I was set on going alone yesterday afternoon after Mom allowed me to go. I got dressed, got my wallet, got my keys, got Mom's car's keys—surprisingly—and had said goodbye to her when I saw Chase sitting by himself at the library, reading a book. I was just going to tell him I was leaving at first, but something told me that I should probably invite him to come. "Hey, Chase, come on. Let's watch a movie," I told him.
He looked up from his book. "What?" he said, confused after being suddenly snapped out of something.
"Let's watch a movie," I repeated. I nodded towards the garage. "Come on. I'm driving."
His eyes slightly widened. "Uh, no, thanks. I'm good," he said.
I eyed him drily. "I know how to drive. You're going to be okay," I said.
He looked doubtful.
I sighed. "Fine. You can drive. Just—Let's go. Movie's starting soon."
At that time, he looked hesitant, as if debating whether he should come or not. Then, he excused, "I still need to finish this."
I stared at him sympathetically. "No, you don't. That's your favorite book. You told me last summer that you've read it fourteen times already," I said, subtly telling him that I knew he wasn't reading the book, he was staring at it. He was loaded down with something, too, and I knew. "Come on. Let's go," I said once he gave up. "This is your first weekend off from the Academy. You need to do something fun so you can rub it in Adam's and Bree's faces Monday."
Chase sighed. Closing the book, he said, "Okay."
The drive to the movie theater was interesting. It's both amusing and annoying at the same time having Chase behind the wheel. He was attentive to what was going on around him to the point of paranoia. He literally checked the rearview and side view mirrors every two minutes. He commented on people's bad driving skills then used those to teach me what not to do when I drive. I tried to change the topic because it was driving me crazy, but then he kept telling me that he had to concentrate and I have to wait until we pull into a parking lot.
That wasn't too bad compared to what happened when we got there. I had a movie in mind to watch, but then Chase saw that one of the movies he'd been waiting to see was already out so he told me he was going to go see that. He said we could just separate and meet up afterwards, but of course I couldn't let him do that. It'd just be weird. Plus, I noticed some people in there shooting Chase dirty looks, so I couldn't let him be by himself.
I tried to convince Chase to just watch the movie he chose later, but he wouldn't budge. He then insisted that he's not a kid who I need to watch out for, and he even reminded me that he's older than me anyways. I told him that we're not that far apart and that it'd be strange to separate when we came there together. He didn't want to listen, so we settled it the way grown men settle it: rock, paper, scissors.
Not a good idea. We ended up watching the movie he wanted to see.
I wasn't very happy with it, but it was fine. The movie was good. Chase enjoyed it and couldn't stop talking about it, which admittedly is a nice change from the Mentor Chase who I was always used to seeing. Instead of walking and talking like a strict teacher, he walked and talked like a teenager, for once.
We grabbed something to eat afterwards. We went to a burger place we used to go to before, when we still attended Mission Creek High. Mr. Patton, who owns the place and who cooks the most out of this world burgers, remembered us, and, because he said he knew that we were working hard to save other people, he told us that our meal would be on the house. Chase and I were excited about that, and we did intend on staying there to eat, but because we knew most of the people eating in there at that time and because they were making it awkward by staring at us, we had to tell Mr. Patton to make our food to-go.
Both of us felt bad, because the guy was excited to see us. It also seemed like he wanted us to be there so he could catch up with what's been happening (he always asked how we were doing even before anyways). He said, though, that he understood. "You and your siblings come back here whenever you can, alright? I'll give you guys free burgers again," Mr. Patton said before we left.
Chase and I were set on going home, but we were so hungry that we started eating before we could even leave the parking lot. It was radio silent in the car while we ate. I was a little worried for a second about Mom's car smelling like grease, cheese and salt because of the food, but then I figured we could just roll down the windows while we drive home to get it out.
After some minutes, I was done with my burger and was picking on the fries. Chase was determined to finish his but soon, he surrendered, groaning as he wrapped up his leftovers. "I shouldn't have eaten that much. I'm too full," he said. He looked at me then at the empty takeout bag at my feet. "You really finished the whole thing?"
"Uh-huh," I said, and then continued sipping on my smoothie while I watched the people passing by the sidewalk.
"What'd you do, swallow it whole?"
I grinned. "I almost did."
He frowned. Then he returned to what he was doing.
I smirked. "Not bad for a Saturday, is it."
"No. It was actually really great. It's just like old times," Chase said. After a pause, he asked, "What happened? The four of us used to do this almost every week."
I shrugged. "Things. They just happened," I said.
Chase nodded. "Yeah. I guess they did," he agreed. "It doesn't seem like it's been that long since Adam, Bree and I got back from running away. Now, one year later, we're teaching kids like us how to use their bionics to save people."
"Yep. You guys are busy people now."
"Too busy sometimes," Chase muttered. He looked at me. "I feel bad saying this, but I'm actually glad to be off the island."
I smiled. "It gave you time to think, didn't it?"
Chase chuckled. "Yeah. And it was nice to just be concerned with what I want instead of thinking about what other kids want and need. I have no problem with it, really. It's just that, I forgot I need time for myself, too," he said. He finished putting away all of his food. "Thanks for dragging me out here, by the way. I know it probably wasn't in the plans for me to come."
"Not a problem," I said. "Just remember that next time, it's my turn to pick a movie."
"Okay." Chase turned on the car, but instead of releasing the brakes and driving, he stayed put. He laughed bitterly, "I still can't believe that happened. I feel so stupid."
"Why? What happened?" I asked in a slight panic, knowing that if something happened to the car, Mom's going to hold me accountable for it. "Dude! You told me you'd be careful with the car!"
"What? No! It's not the car! Nothing happened to it. I meant what happened—almost happened—to us," Chase explained. "It's – I feel so gullible. Sebastian told me he wanted to be friends, and I bought into it. It's like I haven't learned from what happened with Marcus."
After calming down, I stared at him. I figured it was what was bothering him. Maybe that was why Big D had him take a weekend off. If he didn't sort it out, it would just get bottled up and, well, we may have another repeat of what happened before that battle with Krane. To try to lighten up the mood, I joked, "Right, because who would want to be friends with you?"
Instead of glaring at me or rolling his eyes, Chase just looked down at the steering wheel. "Yeah. I guess I should've remembered that," he said quietly.
I frowned, bothered by the sad tone in his voice. I raised my brows at him. "Chase, you know I was kidding, right?" I asked.
"No. You guys say it so often that I'm starting to believe it's true," he said. "It seems like it is."
Well, I felt like a jerk for making him feel more miserable. "Oh, come on, Chase. It's just a joke, believe me. It's not true. I don't mean anything by it," I said, hoping to make up for what I did. "Look. Marcus and Sebastian, right? They're bad people. You don't want to be friends with them anyways."
"No, what I'm saying is that I easily fall into believing that when someone says they're my friend, they're really my friend," Chase said. He sighed. He smiled sadly. "I don't know. I guess I've just fooled myself into thinking that everyone is good."
"Everyone is capable of being good, as much as they're capable of being bad. The only difference is the choices they make, so you're not completely wrong," I told him as a consolation. "It's not a bad thing to be the kind of person who sees the good in people, Chase. That's actually a good thing to be. It's just…" I shrugged as I thought of the right word, "better to keep an eye out for people who'd take advantage of that."
Chase chuckled. "Yeah."
"And as far as friends, I mean, you can have many of them, but in the end, you're only going to have a handful of real ones. That's just a fact," I said. "Remember last summer, when you, Adam and Bree got millions of follows and friend requests online?"
"Yeah." Chase scoffed. "After what happened, I've lost more than half of them."
"So you know where I'm going with this."
"Yep. That they call themselves my friends doesn't mean that they are."
I narrowed my eyes, smiling. "Well, not everyone, at least, because you do have some people who call themselves as your friends who are really your friends," he said. Then, I held up a fist towards him.
He glanced at it then smirked. He shook his head, rolled his eyes, but still bumped his fist against mine.
"So you're all good, right?" I asked as he restarted the car.
"Yeah, I'll be okay," Chase said. "What about you? Are you going to be okay?"
I looked at him and was set to ask what he meant when I realized that, like how I figured out what he'd been thinking, he figured out what had been bothering me. "Hm. It happens," I said as uncaringly as I could.
He grinned lightly. "Not what I asked," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I shrugged. "Nothing much to the story, so there's really no use," I said factually. "We just had an honest conversation over a video call, talked for an hour. We were as straightforward as we could be and – we realized that we're holding onto something that just wasn't working out." I looked at him with a wry grin. "So, yeah. The end."
Chase nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Me, too," I said. I took a breath then said, "But – we're still young, right? I'm just sixteen—"
"For just a few more weeks."
"For just a few more weeks, so it's not the end of the world."
"Leo?"
"Yeah."
"You know it's okay to be bummed about it. It's okay for you to be not okay for a while."
I nodded after thinking about that. "Yeah, I guess so," I said. I strapped on my seatbelt with a smirk. "Don't tell anyone else, okay? I don't want everybody treating me like I'm a kicked puppy for something normal."
Chase looked like he disagreed about the 'normal' part, but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he told me, "Sure." Then, he pulled the gear shift into drive and took us home. After he parked Mom's car into the garage half an hour later, he said, "Hey, seriously, if you need someone to talk to…"
I nodded with a smile. "Just come talk to you."
"Right."
And I did, this afternoon, which was sooner than what I was expecting. We were playing video games, and through the slew of topics we went through it came up again. I forgot that Chase actually have his own break-up story because of what happened with him and Sabrina. Later on, we realized that Bree and I did, too. For all of that love life teasing that he does, Adam's the only one who hasn't had a girlfriend yet, which we thought was very amusing and thus stored it for later if he comes at us again.
Writing all of these down, it's come to me that, after three years of being together, my family and I had been through a lot. It's an insane life, to say the least; it certainly wasn't what I was expecting when Mom said I do to Big D. Things that I've only just read in comic books before actually became my life, and how many teenagers can say that? I've come against an evil android, a psychotic bionic billionaire madman, and a trio of teen bionic rebels. There were actual villains in my life!
But, I think the best part of it all is that, with me, there are also heroes – and they're all my family. I have a stepdad who, let's face it, does have bragging rights because of the things he invents and manufactures in his basement. I have a mother who's the best I could have. I have an evil-turned-good mastermind for a step-uncle. I have an older brother who could bring down a building with his bare hands, an older sister who could outrun the wind, and an older brother who could do everything with his mind as my siblings/friends. We're like the West Coast version of the Avengers!
To be honest, I don't know what's going to happen in the future. Like I said, I always speak too soon, so this time I'll sit it out and wait. Maybe I am slightly worried, because now I know that with what we are, bad things will just happen, but I'm not too consumed by it.
I remember writing an entry more than a year ago about molecular bonds, and at that time I saw my family as only having a covalent bond, which, although strong, is still not the strongest. Well, now, I think our bond is ionic. Separation is still possible, but it's going to be hard. Like with sodium chloride. You need to put it through electrolysis if you want to separate sodium from the chlorine. It's doable, of course, but it's a complicated process that requires a lot of work.
The same with us. Someone can come along in the future to split us apart, but it's going to take work. We've reached the point that we've banded strongly, to the point that if we fight, we fight together, and if we lose, we'll fall side by side.
Let's see what happens this year, shall we?
Signed,
Leo Francis Dooley
03/22/15
10:59 PM
The Chase Chronicles
One hour special, so twofer question! First, what was the name of the two bionic teens who helped Sebastian in the rebellion? Second, what nicknames did Principal Perry give to the antihero trio? Reviews and answers are appreciated :)
Oh! Short disclaimer about that west coast version of the Avengers line: that's inspired by a line in Melancholy's Sunshine's story, Spreading. ;)
