"Guys, I need to prep you for a very important mission, and to demonstrate, Leo-"

"Ah ah. Mission Specialist Dooley." Leo corrected, making Donald sigh. Apparently after a recent mission, Donald made Leo the Mission Specialist after he helped stop a major gas leak. He now would help in planning out missions. "I'll be adding a little more audio-visual "pizzazzle" to the usual snooze-fest."

"Tonight I'm sending you to gather intelligence." Chase turned to Adam.

"Oh, you hear that, Adam? You'd better bring a big basket." I choked on the gulp of soda I just took, making everyone look at me for a second. Clearing my throat, I motioned for Donald to continue and went back to focusing on the mission except for Chase who looked at me with amusement. I shook my head at him, hiding the fact that what he said was kind of funny.

"I was satellite-scouting industrial sites when I found this warehouse that I think is a front for environmental criminals." He pointed to a specific area that had a bunch of barrels stacked, "See these barrels? They're full of toxic chemicals. They're expensive to dispose of properly, so they're probably just gonna dump them into the sea."

" Which could harm ocean life and obliterate the coastline." Leo finished seriously. When Bree laughed we all turned to look at her, wondering why she'd be laughing about something like this. But she was on her phone, and I bet I know who she's talking to.

"Owen, you are so sweet. Yes, I will "Bree" your valentine." She looked at us, "See, he took my name and-"

"Yeah, we got it." Chase interrupted, annoyed.

"Even I got it." Adam told her before turning to me with a confused look. "I didn't get it."

"Don't hurt yourself trying to figure it out." I told him.

"What is going on?" Donald asked us and Adam answered.

"She's talking to Owen again."

"He's an artist, and he claims that Bree is his muse." Chase added, looking disgusted at the thought.

" Well, I for one, am not a-mused." Donald said, looking rather proud of himself for the play on words. Leo pressed his tablet and it played a "wah-wah-wah" tone. Donald swiped the device from Leo, losing his patience.

" Gimme that! And you, off the phone!" Bree rolled her eyes.

"Ugh! Fine. Just tell us what you invented, what went wrong, and how long till it blows up." That does seem to be what a lot of their missions involve.

"Look, the police cannot bust these guys without evidence, so I need you to sneak in there and gather samples. Show 'em the barrel." Leo lifted a white sheet to reveal a barell identical to the ones in the picture. "Now, there's only one safe way to get the samples, and Leo..." Said boy cleared his throat and looked at Donald expectantly.

"Sorry. 'Mission Specialist Dooley' will demonstrate. First, take the canister and attach it to the spout. Push down and turn 45 degrees..." Leo grunted with effort, and was clearly having a hard time turning the canister so Donald casually did it with little exertion on his part. "...to create an airtight seal. Then pull the handle." Bree laughed again and I rolled my eyes.

"LOL, Owen!" She said while grinning at her phone.

"Bree!" Donald shouted. Bree groaned dramatically.

"Come on! Why do I have to pay attention all the time? Strong. Smart. Fast. Let's just do this already." She turned and super sped into the closed lab doors, falling to the floor.

"Bree, how many times have I told you? No texting while super speeding!" I smirked at Bree.

"That's something you don't hear everyday." I said jokingly, making Bree glare at me from the floor. I go over and offer a hand to help her which she accepts.

"Now let's go have dinner so you guys can get ready for the mission."

"Staying for dinner?" Bree asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know..." I said as we all piled into the elevator. I was stuck between her and Chase against the back wall.

"Come on, I want someone around who understands what it's like to be a normal teenage girl. These guys don't know what it's like to want to hang out with someone they like...or who likes them back." She added as a joke making us chuckle while we got glares from the boys. "Have you ever had a boyfriend? " I held up a hand.

"Woah, that's kind of a personal question don't you think?" I asked, and Chase chuckled beside me.

"I'll take that as a no." Chase said with a smirk in my direction and I scoffed.

"Oh yeah, how many girls have you dated?" I shot back and his smirk dropped which answered my question, "Exactly. And if you must know, I have been on a few dates, just never had a boyfriend per se." I said to Bree and Adam who was to the left of us spoke up.

"Thats crazy. You're fun, cool, and mean to Chase. Any guy would be lucky to have you." He said and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uh, thank you?" I said to Adam, who smiled at me while everyone looked at him weirdly. I was more than eager to get out of the elevator when it stopped on the main level.

"Hey Harper, are you staying for dinner?" Tasha asked as we all came into the dining room/ kitchen.

"She'd love to!" Bree answered for me and I was practically shoved into a chair.

"Apparently I would. " I said glaring at Bree who just smiled back as she sat across from me. Chase took the chair next to me. Adam was by Bree and Mr. and Mrs. Davenport took the final two seats by each of the boys.

I tried to not gawk at all the food that was prepared. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad, dinner rolls. Do they eat like this every night? I thought people only ate like this on TV.

"Hey." I jumped and looked at Chase who held a bowl with mashed potatoes and I took it from him and put a small amount on my plate, same with everything else. "That's all you're having?" He asked.

"I just don't want to take all of it." I told him before taking a tentative bite of the meatloaf and I was amazed at how good it tasted. I've never had it before.

I quickly took another bite, then another until my plate was empty before anyone else's. I was hungry for more but reasoned that I'd had enough. "Wow, you ate faster than Adam does." Chase commented and I felt my face flush from embarrassment.

"Theres more if you want sweetie." Tasha offered and I looked at her surprised.

"Really? That's ok?" I asked before I realized how weird that might seem. I'm not used to having this much food.

"Unless you don't like it..."

"Oh, no it was fine. Fantastic. Best meal I've had in a long time. Thank you. " I told her sincerely.

"Does your mom not cook food for you?" Bree asked, looking concerned. I played with my fork, getting uncomfortable but I brought this on myself and had to answer.

"Well, she's busy most of the time so I just usually have something simple for meals. Nothing like this. I can't cook to save my life." I don't know why I said all of this and was now even more embarrassed. I busy myself and get some more food while there's an awkward silence that I created.

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us for dinner whenever you want. There's plenty to go around." Tasha offered and I gave her a small smile but shook my head.

"Uh, thanks but I don't want to be a bother. I'm already here enough as it is. " More than I would like is what I wanted to say but couldn't for obvious reasons.

"It'll be nice to have someone who appreciates what I make. " She gave pointed looks to each of the other four teens and they all automatically thanked her for dinner. I told Tasha I'll think about it and that seemed enough to satisfy her.

I left as soon as I could, knowing Douglas would be impatiently waiting for me to get back. But there was a small warmth in my chest that stayed there for the rest of the night.

I received a call from Leo, which is weird because I don't remember ever giving him my phone number. Apparently Bree exposed herself to some chemical and is supposed to be quarantined in her capsule.

Even before he told me where she was I instantly knew she would be at the big art show at the school because Owen would be featuring some of his own art there. So she'd sacrifice her health to hang out with a boy. I shook my head as I entered the school where I'm supposed to meet Leo and help him convince Bree to go home. This was after I made sure that whatever Bree was exposed to wouldn't affect me.

I saw Owen head down the stairs and figured he'd know where Bree was.

"Hey Owen!" I called as I walked over to him, "You wouldn't happen to know where Bree is do you?"

"Up those stairs, talking to Leo." He said while pointing to said place. Owen was one of the few people in this school who was nice to me, though it's probably because he's dating Bree and I'm considered her friend.

"Thanks." I headed up the stairs and spotted the pair arguing with each other. Leo was relieved upon seeing me.

"Harper, thank goodness. Talk some sense into her, she won't listen to me." I looked at Bree sternly. Sometimes I feel like a mother to her instead of a friend.

"You've had your fun. Donny needs you to stay in your capsule. Let's go." I said sternly.

"Guys, he is overreacting. I am perfectly fine." She held her arm straight out and wiggled her fingers. "See? Haven't had one single side effect." Suddenly her arm dropped limply to her side. I raised an eyebrow and she chuckled nervously.

"That's- that's nothing." Using her other hand, she tried to stuff the limp one into her pants pocket while trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong. I just stepped back and watched with amusement and annoyance. "See? I am trying to come off casual so Owen but doesn't sense how desperate I am."

"It's not working." Leo told her flatly and I nodded, showing I agreed with him. Then one of her legs gave out and I reached out to help her but she waved off my concern.

"Uh. I'm good." Before we could stop her, her other leg gave out and she went tumbling down the stairs. Everyone who saw gasped and oooh'd, looking very worried.

"See? That is performance art." Bree said to the crowd trying to come off as casual and failing miserably. She tried to pull her body up using the stair railing and her one good arm. It wasn't working. "I call it "Falling Uncontrollably Down The Stairs.""

Leo and I hurried down the stairs and helped her get over to one of the circular beaches. Now her entire body was limp as we helped her to sit up.

"Bree, Davenport's gonna freak out. We have to go." I told her. And I wasn't only referring to Donald. Douglas told me to make sure she didn't ruin her bionics because he wanted all three of them.

"Harper, I can't even stand up. Everything is numb. Look!" She tried to move, but ended up falling backwards on the bench. "Just help me get out of here before it gets worth." Leo and I looked at each other when her speech changed. "It's worth!"

"What's happening?" Leo asked. When Bree spoke it sounded like she had a really bad lisp.

"The numbness spread to my tongue! I can't talk!" She looked on the verge of tears.

"Finally, a positive side effect." Leo stated and I slapped his shoulder lightly to tell him this wasn't the time for jokes. Some people were staring at us at this point.

"Let's get you up." Leo grabbed one of her arms and I took the other. With the dead weight Bree felt twice as heavy and for a second I wished I had my super strength. "Here we go. Here we go." Leo encouraged and he led her over to a rolling stool that happened to be out here. I wasn't sure what he was planning until he let go and without his help I fell forward with Bree who landed on the stool on her stomach while I landed on my knees on the floor.

"A little warning would have been nice!" I exclaimed to Leo as I got back up. I looked at Bree and wondered if we should at least get her to sit up. But more people were staring and Bree wasn't complaining so it's probably best to just leave her that way.

"Okay. Once we get outside, I'll upgrade you to a nice shopping cart. How's that?" Leo said as he started to roll her in the direction of the doors.

And guess who showed up?

"Bree! There you are." Owen said, and he was to distracted to notice her current position. "I'm about to unveil the centerpiece of my exhibit. Are you okay?" He finally asked after looking down at her.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. She's fine." I said and I helped Leo to get Bree standing again. "Your art is just so good, she's getting... emotional." I lied, thankful again that I could come up with excuses so easily.

"That's good, that's good." Bree said to me and I rolled my eyes, wanting to get the heck out of here.

"Come on." Owen grabbed the arm wrapped around Leo's shoulders and dragged Bree, Leo, and I to a tall white sheet covering something. While Owen kept talking we tried to lean Bree against the pillar. "I've been waiting all night to show you this. I wasn't kidding when I said that you were my muse. You've inspired me to create my most deeply meaningful piece yet. I call it "My Most Deeply Meaningful Piece Yet."" Owen ripped the sheet away, revealing a large painting of Bree. Leo let go of Bree and went to look at the painting closer. I caught her before she fell to the ground and struggled to get her to the bench nearby as Owen explained his art to Leo. I barely got her to halfway sit up by practically leaning on me when Owen asked her what she thought.

"Bree?" He asked, looking rather concerned at our current positions. Bree tried to say something but it sounded like a baby with a thick tongue was speaking. I barely made out the word beautiful in the end.

"She had the same reaction to the Mona Lisa." Leo said and he rushed over to help get Bree standing again. "Well, we have to go." He said but Bree protested.

"Unh-unh."

"Uh-huh." Leo replied firmly.

"Unh-unh."

"Uh-huh!" I said, copying Leo but mine was more angry sounding.

"Mnh-mnh!"

"Uh-huh!" Leo for some reason lost his grip as we turned around and I did too so Bree was sent flying into Owen's arms. They gazed into each other's eyes for a brief moment until Leo went over to get Bree.

"Yeah, that's enough, that's enough. Come on." I realized I should have gone to help Leo but thought he could handle her for a moment so I could catch my breath and calm down because I was close to screaming in frustration at this point. But poor little Leo ended up throwing Bree into Owens' painting and she fell through it, ultimately destroying it.

"We'll take it!" Leo said, thinking it would make everything better. Owen looked shocked and was speechless. I dragged Leo over to Bree and decided to just grab her feet and drag her out no matter what weird looks we'd get.

"Bye, Owen!" Bree said as we left the building, going left towards the parking lot.

"How do we get her home?" Leo asked and I sighed while running a hand through my hair as I thought for a second.

"Stay here, I have an idea." I said, going back into the school.

...

I ended up getting something from the janitor's closet that we could put Bree on and it had wheels. When the elevator opened we wheeled her into the lab.

"Okay, let's just get you back in your capsule before we both get in a lot of trouble." I walked ahead to make sure nothing was in our path and saw Donald, Adam, and Chase sitting in the lab first.

I heard Leo shriek behind me and suddenly Bree flew into my back and we both fell to the floor. I tried to put my hands out to stop my face from planting into the floor but with Bree's weight they buckled and my face made contact with hard concrete. Instantly the taste of metal filled my mouth.

"Cleanup, aisle Bree." Leo announced while laughing and I growled while trying to get up but I had a paralyzed girl holding me down.

"Leo, you were supposed to watch her!" Donald exclaimed as they rushed over to help up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Somehow the fastest person in the world managed to sneak past me." Leo shot back as they got Bree off me and they left me there without offering me a hand.

"That's fine, I can get up myself. Not like I'm injured or anything. " I mumbled while standing and I pressed my sleeve against my lip. When I looked at the sleeve I saw red on it. Yep, split my lip.

"Let's hope there's enough time left for the antidote to work." When Mr. Davenport brought out a big needle I suddenly felt a little faint and went to sit down.

"Bree, are you okay?" Chase asked.

She groaned."I feel funny. Funny. Fun-nay. Funny... funny..." her voice was back to normal! "I'm cured!"

"Oh! This is such a relief! It'll be so much more enjoyable to punish you now that you're healthy!" He shouted the last word in her face. "What were you thinking? You could have put us all in danger!"

"Sorry. I just wanted to be like every other girl and hang out with the boy that I like. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you're not like every other girl." Donald took a deep breath to calm down and continued, "You're part of a team, and your decisions affect us all."

"Yeah. Because of you, I had to go to an art show." Leo said, pretending to gag.

" Yeah! And I haven't eaten since 2:30!" Adam added. Chase rolled his eyes and I did too.

"Also, on a lesser note, we all could have been killed!" Chase said, clearly annoyed.

"Look, you can have a social life. Just don't let it interfere with your bionic life." Bree nodded.

" I get it. From now on when a mission comes up, it gets my full attention." Donald seemed to accept this and clapped his hands.

" Okay, well, I think we've all learned a valuable lesson, so let's just go get something to eat. Waddya say? All right?" Everyone liked that idea and headed for the elevator. Well, except Bree who collapsed.

"Oh. Forgot to mention, might take a little while for the antidote to get to the rest of her body, so everybody grab a limb." Donald instructed. Adam grabbed his own arms. "One of her limbs, Adam." Donald corrected without thinking twice about it. "Thank you."

I just sat there, waiting to see if anyone would notice me sitting down with a bleeding lip but they all left, carrying Bree. I rolled my eyes and began talking to the empty room.

"Hey Harper, your lips' bleeding!

Oh really, I didn't notice.

Would a tissue help?

Sure, better than using the sleeve of my good shirt." I finished, not happy that my best shirt was probably ruined.

Eventually Bree and Chase must have realized I wasn't there and came looking for me. I was still in the same spot at Leo's desk, trying to get my lip to stop bleeding. But every time I did, I'd immediately forget and go to bite my lip like I do when I'm nervous or thinking and then more blood would come. It's strange how the sight of blood doesn't faze me, but just the thought of a needle could make me pass out if I dwelled on it long enough.

"Hey, sorry we- what happened to your lip!" Bree exclaimed and I scowled.

"Oh, just from when you fell on me. But it's nothing." I told them.

"Bree, go get a rag with some water and an ice pack." Chase said, ignoring me when I said it was nothing.

"There's no need. I'm fine." My protest fell on deaf ears as Bree went to get what her brother ordered.

While Bree did that Chase grabbed a chair and sat in front of me. "What are you doing?" I asked, not comfortable with how close he was.

"I need to check and make sure it isn't serious."

"I think I would know if it's serious." I told him with my sleeve still pressed against my lip so it sounded kind of funny.

"Can you just let me check?" He asked with pleading eyes. I rolled my eyes at how concerned he was but moved my hand so he could get a better look. He would keep bugging me until I said yes anyway.

I wouldn't say I was flustered when he leaned closer to my face, but more like I was uncomfortable having anyone this close to me. I chose to focus on something else and ended up staring at the capsules, trying to keep my leg from bouncing up and down as I grew more and more uneasy.

I don't know when my eyes shifted and ended up looking at Chase while he finished his examination. When he noticed I was looking at him I turned away and he put some space between us. Not sure why I decided to stare at him.

"Well, it doesn't look too bad. Just need to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding and ice it afterwards."

"Told you." I said, and when I tried to press my sleeve onto the wound he put a hand on my arm to stop me.

"Wait for Bree to come back with the clean rag." He suggested, and I rolled my eyes again.

"Alright, Dr. Chase. Geez." He chuckled too, not taking offense to my sarcasm, which surprised me a little.

It took longer than it should for Bree to come back with the rag and ice pack. Turns out Owen had called and still wanted to hang out even after all that had happened. Owen must like Bree a lot if he was willing to look past the fact Bree ruined his painting.

Eventually I got a text from Douglas ordering me to come back and I left, with careful instructions from Chase to put a bandaid on before going to bed and to eat carefully for the next couple of days. I assured him I would, though I doubt that'll happen if I'm with Douglas.