"… so that's over eight-thousand dollars in damage, and then add in Adam's little fiasco…" Mr. Davenport was muttering, pacing around the lab.
"I am so sorry, Mr. Davenport," Chase apologized for what seemed the millionth time.
Mr. Davenport stopped, turning to Chase and saying "Chase, for the last time, it wasn't your fault (that you destroyed in two-minutes projects I've been working on and investing in for two years)." Deep breath. "Just like with Spike, you can't control your glitches."
"What I don't understand is why this glitch was so massive and why it carried on for so long," Chase thought aloud. "It must have something to do with yesterday." He leaned back on the cyber-desk, watching Mr. Davenport begin to pace again.
"I just don't know what to do with you," the tech mogul said, shaking his head. "It depends on whether this is a permanent thing or only temporary."
"If it's temporary, we just wait it out, right?"
"Exactly, and hopefully no more harm will come."
"And if it's permanent, I guess I'll just have to live without the chip," Chase sighed despondently.
Mr. Davenport shook his head, saying "I'm sorry Chase, but you can't do that. The chip is the keystone of your body, so if you leave it out for too long, you'll simply… well, die."
Chase gaped at him. "Why didn't we know this before? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I found out when I worked on your chip yesterday, and in consulting my files it was confirmed. I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd need to know since you planned to keep it in. And besides, who would want to know that their entire existence rests with a chip?"
Chase frowned, mulling it over. "So if it's permanent…?" Chase turned his piercing gaze to his father-figure, who sighed.
"I might have to move you to an off-shore private facility so that you don't accidentally hurt anyone," Mr. Davenport said, looking at his biological nephew sadly.
Chase shook his head slowly, saying "No, you can't…. This is my home, you and the others are my family; despite what you think, I have friends, a good thing going in school, and I like being normal! You can't take that away from me!"
Mr. Davenport looked away.
"What about missions? Who will lead them? And what about the things only I can do? Adam and Bree may be Muscle and Hustle, but they don't have the intelligence and the other abilities I have. And what do you expect me to do on an isolated island all by myself, anyways?" Chase pressed. "I'd sure be useful then," he added sarcastically.
Mr. Davenport remained silent.
Chase looked at him incredulously. "You can't be serious! Would I ever be able to see any of you again? Would I ever see another human being again?"
"There are robots," Mr. Davenport said defensively.
"Oh yeah, we both know how well that worked out last time," Chase said sardonically. "On that island, all I would ever amount to – all I'd ever be – is a mistake."
Mr. Davenport was unable to look into Chase's eyes for very long, and Chase scowled, storming out of the room. There's no way this is going to be permanent, not on my watch! he thought to himself with determination.
When he entered into the main part of the house from the elevator, Chase was confronted by the picture of normalcy, which meant that Adam had gone back to playing a video game by himself, Leo and Bree were working on their Spanish project, and Tasha was down the hallway trying to clean up after the earlier incident.
"Did Big D give you a piece of his mind?" Leo asked Chase, looking up as he walked in. At that, Chase's already foul mood darkened even more.
"No, it's not like it was my fault," Chase said stiffly.
"Your next glitch might be our next mission," Bree commented.
Chase sighed angrily and turned away from the two of them. He knew that they were only giving him a hard time, but it really was a bad time for that. Their comments stung at the moment.
"Can I join you?" Chase asked his older brother, plopping down on the couch next to him. He wished only to take his mind off of his predicament at the moment.
"Sure, grab a controller," Adam said without taking his eyes off the screen. As soon as he finished the game, he saved his progress before going back to the home screen so that Chase could connect. "Ladies first," Adam smirked.
Chase glared at him, connecting his controller to the game software without saying a word.
"Oh, I didn't get a chance to ask you earlier, but how did you like Prince Charming? I know he was a little late, but –" Adam was saying when Chase suddenly stood up. He turned and grabbed the collar of Adam's shirt, pulling his face up close to his own.
"Don't say another word, punk, or I'll rip out your throat so that you can't say anything at all," Chase growled, his voice terribly low and terribly familiar.
"S-Spike?" Adam gasped.
"Got a problem with that?" Spike snarled.
AN: Again, a little AU, but I guess this is FanFiction, so... yeah.
Oh, and Spike's back.
That is all I'm going to say about the story itself, and before I go, I will again thank you all for the really nice comments... this should be no surprise, but you all are awesome! Reading the comments is my favorite part about coming on here :)
Anywho, stay tuned for Chapter 9! Asori out.