March 5th Tompkins House (Maddie's POV)-
"So you know how you've been talking to me about college?" I sat down at the kitchen bar.
"You mean how I asked you about college once like six months ago? Yeah. How do you even remember that?" Alex asked as he flipped the pancake that was on the stove.
"I remembered a few weeks back but that's besides the point." He placed a plate of pancakes in front of me. "I've been thinking about what I want to do and I have six schools I want to apply to."
"That's great. Where are you thinking?" He asked.
"Well Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and Cal tech are all great schools that are in state." He nodded telling me to continue. "Then there was a few other schools that I am looking at."
"And those are?" He waited for my answer.
"Well there's Cambridge but that's really far and not as great as the in state schools but it's an option." I said quickly.
"Munchkin, I know you well enough to know all those schools are too small for you. Where do you really want to go?" Alex asked, seeing right through me.
"Ok I know it's far but I really think MIT would be a good fit." I said in a rush or get it out.
"Well there's no way MIT won't accept you so what's the problem?" I was about to answer before he started again. "Wait no. I got it. You don't want to leave Chase."
"It's not fair that you know me this well." He laughed. "Yes. You're right, okay? I don't want to leave Chase. But I also want to give this a shot. Ugh I wish things were easier." I moved my plate to the slide and laid my head on the counter.
"You want to know what I think you should do? Just apply. You don't know where you will get in and on the off chance that you get to MIT you can talk to Chase. You guys can figure things out." He said. It was a good plan but I still didn't know what I would want to do. Before I could voice my opinion I got a text from Davenport.
Get to the lab now.
Just from the fact that he was texting me I knew something was up. "Hey I need to go. Thanks for breakfast. Bye!" I ran out the door leaving Alex alone.
I ran towards the Davenport house as fast as I could but apparently it didn't matter how fast I was going since Krane appeared directly in front of me. He can geo-leap! I tripped in my shock and hit the ground hard right before his feet.
Davenport Lab (Chase's POV)-
We were stuck, trapped, in the lab and waiting for Leo and Maddie to show up. It was vaguely reminiscent of the times where we'd be waiting for Maddie to come after school when we couldn't go. We all had different means of burning through time. Bree was watching some chick flic on her phone, Adam was throwing stuff at the electric fence, and I was trying to read and not worry about where Maddie could be.
"Oh-hoho! Awesome!" Adam said as his shoe bounced off the electric fence. "Uh, let's see, what else can I throw?" He turned to me.
"Don't even think about it." I commented without looking up from my book.
"Something's wrong." Davenport said as he rushed into the lab. "Leo just left a message that Douglas showed up at school, and now I can't find him or Tasha."
"What about Maddie?" I put down my book and the three of us joined him at the consul.
"Well I told her to get here over half an hour ago but I haven't heard anything but I reached out to Alex. He told me that Maddie left right after getting my text so she should've been here already." I felt worry build up in me as he spoke.
"Oh, well I'm sure we'll find them if you keep us locked down here in the basement." Bree always turned to sarcasm when she was nervous. It has been something I've been noticing more and more. Maddie explained it to me as a coping mechanism and told me it was normal for heroes to do this and separate themselves from the dark things they deal with.
The screen on the wall suddenly turned on and showed a live feed of Leo, Tasha, and Maddie tied down on chairs in Douglas's warehouse. The other two didn't look bad but Maddie had a scrape on her forehead and a large bruise on her cheek.
"Help!" Tasha and Leo yelled.
"Can anybody hear us?!" Tasha asked fearfully.
"Help us!" Leo begged.
"Don't come it's a trap!" Of course Maddie would do this. Push away help because she didn't want us getting hurt.
"I knew it! Douglas has them!" Davenport said as we watched the screen.
Suddenly Krane came into view. "Guess again."
"Guys! Don't worry. We'll get you out of there." I said mainly for Maddie but she looked more upset.
"Chase, don't make promises you can't keep!" Adam said over my shoulder.
"So you're Victor Krane. Love the face. Do you get all the premium channels on that thing, or...?" It was something we all wanted to ask.
"Enough. Hand over the bionic kids." He said menacingly.
"Not gonna happen." Mr. Davenport said with a scoff.
"This isn't a game. I've sent you my coordinates. They have ten minutes to get here, or I downsize your family." I felt my stomach twist as the screen went black. I was fighting to hold Spike back already.
I went over to the computer to back track the video signal. "I got him! He's at the corner of Prescott and Maple."
"Ooh, nice neighborhood. Crime does pay." Adam had that dumb smile on his face again.
"Let's go!" We all started towards our capsules.
"No!" Davenport stopped us. "There's too many unknowns with this Krane guy. This one I do alone." Adam laughed at his statement as we were all baffled.
"You?!" I asked.
"Yes, me!" He said offended.
"Aww, it's so cute when he gets all macho!" Adam said talking to him as if he were a child.
"Okay, no offense, but, if this guy's too dangerous for us, then how are you gonna beat him?" I asked seriously.
"With this." He showed us a cannon-like weapon on his wrist. "My thermal blaster. Trust me, you do not wanna be on the wrong end of this baby."
He quickly realized he had it pointed in the wrong direction and all my hope was lost. "This is the most powerful weapon I've ever created. It's like carrying around a lightning bolt. It will fry Krane's circuits for good."
"Or you can wear your motorcycle outfit and he'll die of laughter." Adam teased.
"Look, Mr. Davenport, you can't go alone. Krane is a powerhouse. He's the toughest enemy we've ever faced!" I wasn't exaggerating. We haven't even been able to beat Krance at three on one.
"And without my speed, you'll never make it!" Bree added.
"My DavenCycle will get me there in plenty of time. I'll have Maddie, Leo, and Tasha home by dinner!" He said confidently.
"Okay... But if you're not back by 6:30, we're eating without you." Adam said with full seriousness.
Krane Warehouse (Maddie's POV)-
"You know, I am a fairly well-known TV personality, and this could bring a lotta heat in your way." Tasha tried.
"I've seen your reporting. I'm doing the world a favor!" Krane said before pushing Tasha into a metal box.
"Hey! If you hurt my family, I will hunt you down, so you better take me out, too." Leo said, trying to sound tough.
"All right." Krane cracked his knuckles.
"Box it is!" Leo fled into the box like a scared little kid.
"Sweetie, you gotta stop talking!" Tasha said to him, before Krane turned to me.
"Get in the box." Krane said, dropping any humor from his already menacing voice.
"No thanks." I fought with a smirk. Clearly he wasn't a fan because he promptly picked me up using molecular kinesis. He choked me and threw me into the box slamming the door after me.
"Adam, Bree and Chase will be here any minute, and they will take care of you!" Tasha threatened.
"No, they won't. Your egocentric husband will try to be a hero and play right into my hands." Krane said and I didn't really believe Davenport would do something that stupid. Until he triumphantly opened the door only for it to slam back into his face.
"Sorry I'm late!" He called out as he finally got through the door.
"No." Even his laugh was menacing. "You're right on time!" Davenport fired his thermal blaster at Krane, but he was able to absorb the energy from the weapon.
"What's happening?!" Leo asked.
"I don't know how he's doing it, but he's draining all the power from my blaster!" Davenport strained to say that. "Okay, well that was the main thrust of my plan. I guess it's gonna be hand-to-hand combat."
"And we're doomed." I added.
Davenport blocked Krane's first hit but had no chance against his bionic attacks. "You blocked me outta the lab with your little security fence. Turn it off."
"Never!" Krane knocked an unwilling Davenport to the ground.
"I figured you'd say that, so I'm gonna give you a choice. Adam, Bree and Chase..." He turned to look at us in the box, "or them. It's up to you."
"I'll never make that choice." Davenport stood his ground.
"How 'bout now?" Krane had activated some kind of heating unit in the box and a red light cam over us.
"What is that?" Tasha asked in a panic.
"An exothermic energy field. It's like a microwave. Good for chicken." He shifted to a more menacing voice once again. "Bad for humans. They should be well-done in about... six minutes."
"Look, just let them go. Take me instead." Davenport tried.
"Well, that wouldn't be as much fun." He laughed. "But you can stop this. All you gotta do is turn off the security perimeter. Tick-tock."
Davenport Lab (Chase's POV)-
"Hurry! We have to get out of here and help them!" Bree said.
"I'm trying! I hacked through the encryption, but it won't let me go any further without a fingerprint." I explained.
"Ooh, I have a fingerprint!" Adam said excitedly.
"I meant Mr. Davenport's." I explained further.
"Why would I have Mr. Davenport's fingerprint? Think, Chase, think!" He made a point to point at his head.
"What about Maddie's?" Bree asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Right now any time Maddie was brought up my mind would turn into a huge mess of worry and anger.
"Well Maddie works on this stuff with him too right?" I nodded. "Then shouldn't her finger print have access to walk in and out, even if she didn't tell Davenport." She pointed out.
"Yes! You're right. Only Maddie would've never made it her finger print she always said that wasn't secure. But if I can look through the system I might be able to find... got it! Maddie used a retinal scan and vocal recognition with full body scan."
"Great, how are we gonna get that?" Adam groaned.
"Well Bree can mimic her voice and I can handle the rest." I added.
"How?" Bree asked.
"I have a full body scan of her." I turned to see their horrified faces. "Oh get your head out of the gutter. I scan her every time she gets hurt. It's for medical purposes only." I explained and they moved on.
"Okay, but, if that doesn't work," Adam held up all ten fingers. "I've got twelve of these bad boys and, odds are, one of 'em's bound to do something."
Krane Warehouse (Leo's POV)-
We had been locked up for a bit longer than a minute now but the heat had been excruciating. Maddie was looking a bit worse for wear. Apparently she had tried to take on Krane when he went to capture her but was quickly disarmed.
"Donald! Do something!" My mom yelled.
"Stop! They have nothing to do with it!" Big D was still trying to reason with Krane.
"And yet, they seem to have everything to do with it." He fought.
"Don't give in, Big D! We can take it!" Maddie was right earlier. This was a trap but we all need to hold on for as long as we could.
"Really?!" Krane turned up the heat after my comment and if things weren't burning before things felt a lot worse now.
"Oh yeah! Okay, that burns! Yeah!" I placed my jacket over my head to protect me head as well as I could. I noticed Maddie close to the ground and it looked like she was making a way out.
"Stop talking to him!" Mom chastised me.
"You're running out of time." Krane said to Davenport.
"Just stop!" Big D hit Krane's remote out of his hands but Krane quickly catched him and forces him to the ground.
"I thought you were smarter than this. You will never beat me. Give me Adam, Bree and Chase or you will lose everything." He offered one last time. Big D's watch started beeping and he began messing with it. "What's that?"
"Nothing, my fantasy football team is winning." He lied. It probably would've been believable if what happened next didn't happen.
"Lab security perimeter disengaged." The watch announced. The heat in the box started to dissipate slowly but it was already much better than before.
"Why'd you turn it off?" I asked through the door.
"I didn't!" Big D panicked as Krane laughed. "It's okay, I can re-arm it from here."
"Too late!" Krane laughed. Suddenly Maddie was behind Krane without a shirt. She kicked him in the back of his knee knocking him off balance and did that cool spinny thing where she flips onto someone's shoulders before the two of them Geo-leaped away.
"He can geo-leap?! I haven't even cracked that yet!" Big D exclaimed.
I turned around to see a three foot hole that Maddie had somehow made and her shirt laid ripped on the ground.
"How in the world?" I asked out loud as I helped my mom out of the box.
Davenport Lab (Chase's POV)-
We finally got the wall down and all suited up. "Come on, let's get outta here."
After one step Krane had appeared in front of us and threw Maddie on the ground.
"Not so fast." He ripped out the knife that was stuck in his shoulder and threw it next to an unconscious Maddie.
"Quick, turn the fence back on!" Adam whispered. We all moved to circle around Krane and cover Maddie.
"So... How would you like your lives to end?" He asked.
"Livin' on Mars. Accidentally take off my helmet." Krane was thrown off for a second and we all charged. "Get him!"
Adam used his heat vision but Krane caught the energy and threw it back at Adam. Bree sped past him and grabbed Leo's tablet. "Later, freak!" She opened the floor beneath him letting him drop into the empty storage unit. Krane jumped back out of the unit and fired an energy blast at Bree sending her into the wall.
"Bree!" Adam charged at Krane and tackled him into the same opening from before. As they fought I went to help Bree up and moved Maddie out of the way.
Adam jumped up from the opening, "Got him!" I closed the opening using the tablet Bree had left but Krane just geo-leaped back.
"Never mind, get him!" Adam yelled. We all charged at him before he lifted all three of us off the ground and slammed us all back down.
"Well, this has been fun. But all good things..." He began to form an energy blast to finish us off, "must come to an end!"
Before he could fire at us he was blasted across the room, we all looked up to see Douglas with a gun larger than him.
"Hi, kids. Good to see ya." He smiled before reaming the cannon at Krane.
"I thought I finished you." He groaned.
"Yeah, that's what I wanted you to think." He laughed. "I'm gettin' pretty good at faking my own death."
"Good luck faking your way around this!" Krane blasted Douglas and knocked him to the ground.
He was coughing in pain and shielding himself. "Kids... You might wanna leave for this next part."
I watched as Krane formed an energy blast larger than before and I couldn't leave Douglas defenseless even if he wasn't the best person he was still out father. I slid in front of him using my force field to protect the both of us.
"Dude! You finally did something!" Adam praised in his own way.
"I should've done this a long time ago!" Douglas grabbed his weapon and aimed at Krane.
"Guys!" Mr. Davenport, Tasha, and Leo ran in providing the distraction for Krane to get away. The knife that he had thrown down earlier just missed him and flew into the wall. I followed the angle to find Maddie trying to stand up. I ran over to help her and guided her over to everyone else.
"Oh, no! You let him get away!" Douglas groaned.
Mr. Davenport raised his thermal blaster at Douglas. "Get out of my house!"
"No! Mr. Davenport, it's okay! Douglas saved us from Krane!" I fought.
"Saved you? He's the reason we're having to fight Krane in the first place." Yeah I didn't know how to argue against that one.
"Don, I can explain!" Douglas tried.
"You're lucky I'm letting you go. Now get of here before I change my mind!" Douglas hesitated before leaving.
"Hey, if you're gonna blast him, can you get it over with? 'Cause this getting really uncomfortable!" Adam said bluntly before Douglas walked out.
. . .
"Can you please tell me what happened?" I asked Maddie and we sat down on the couch in the lab. "This morning we hadn't heard from you then all the sudden Krane pops in and throws you on the ground without a shirt on."
"Ugh don't remind me." She rubbed her eyes before leaning back. "This morning Davenport told me to get here, so I was on my was when Krane ambushed me. I had tried to fight him off but he took me out pretty easily. Then when he had us trapped in that heat chamber I used my knife to cut my way out." I picked up the knife from the table.
"When did you make this?" It was incredibly well crafted and very light. "And how is it so strong?"
"It was a project of mine from a few weeks back. It's made of graphene. My point was when he was about to geo leap here I ambushed him. He brought me to some in between place and threw me off him, we fought. I stabbed him and he blasted me and that's all I remember till I saw Douglas save your butts." She cuddled into my old sweatshirt.
"Wow I guess we both had eventful days. Speaking of, do you want to help us get back at Mr. Davenport?" I asked and I nuzzled my nose into her neck laying small kisses across her skin.
"I was gonna say yes either way but this... this is nice too." She blushed.
. . .
"Hey. What are you guys doing?" Mr. Davenport asked.
"Safely watching you from outside the cyber perimeter that we just turned on." Bree said with a smirked.
"Ah, I see. This is revenge for me trapping you in the lab." Davenport said. "Why are you on their side? I didn't lock you in here."
"Well I love him." She kissed my cheek to make her point. "And you were planning on keeping me in there too."
"Yeah, the real revenge will happen when you touch the fence. We upped the voltage. I should know, I touched it three times." You could still see a few faint burn marks on Adams hand.
"Yep. And then we upped it again. The slightest contact will short-circuit the entire house. And leave you hairless. Enjoy!" Maddie and I left first laughing and giggling until the power went out. Then we all went to hang out at her house.
A/N: Most likely the next two episodes will be merged into one. Please keep reading and voting.
