Chapter 2

Tech finished examining the scale from the monster they had defeated. Kelly was the only other one in the lab.

"So what is it?" Kelly asked.

"Whatever it was, someone in the Acme Labs is doing illegal work with the chemicals and animals there," Tech explained.

"Then all we have to do is go down there and figure who's doing what and stop it. No big deal."

"Whoa, very big deal. Did you not see what happened this morning? If it weren't for Danni, your sister would be octopus feed right now, and that place very well could be crawling with those things." Daniella had been given that nickname before the kids were born. They didn't call her that often, but they still did whenever they could.

"But she's not. And now that we're prepared for that, we can go in. And I will have the other Loonakids with me, you know."

"Oh, joy. Now instead of 4 lives on the line we have 9. Kelly, you're not going."

"If we're not going how are we supposed to fix this? And, in case you haven't noticed, we have powers of our own, too, you know. We can handle ourselves."

"You don't have any offensive powers."

"Yeah, but my friends do and I'm psychic, as well. We can do this is you just let us try."

"Not going to happen."

"WHY ARE YOU TREATING ME LIKE SUCH A BABY?"

"Because you're acting like one!"

"Rev would let me go!"

"That's it. No skating for a week."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me!"

"But, DAD!"

"No, Kelly, not another word."

The anger in his eyes told her that he was serious. "Fine. How about 3? I HATE YOU!" She ran out of the lab and straight to her room, crying.

Tech immediately felt sorry for what he had done. He then remembered the words spoken to him by the dead in his dreams 14 years before. "His children will become of the darkness…" No, he wouldn't let that happen. And he wasn't going to let their words get to him. At that moment, he noticed Kelly had left her backpack on the floor. He went over, opened it and saw her blades at the top of the pile inside. He quickly took them out and locked them in the closet.

* * *

Everyone besides Tech was in the living room listening to Kelly rant. "I have never said anything like that to him before. But, he just wasn't making any sense and I got so mad and—" She sat down and groaned. "I hate him for making me say that I hate him!"

"You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you're…" Ryan started.

"Don't say it!" Kelly and Sarah both shouted.

"Sorry."

"Hey, whatever happened in there," Daniella said, "think of it as just another sacrifice. And remember this: he's made sacrifices for you."

"Name 1." Kelly said.

"Don't you remember what happened 4 years ago?" Lexi asked.

Kelly stopped talking. She did remember that night. A Vampire had taken her and her dad captive and given him a single choice: one would die, the other would go free. Tech's only response was to hang his head and start crying, making his choice very clear. The thought that her father had almost allowed himself to be killed so that she could survive was too much for her. She didn't dare cry after all that had happened, though.

At that moment, Tech walked in. Kelly shot him a look of anger and stomped off to her room.

"I take it that it didn't go so well," Duck said.

"You think?" Tech answered, sitting down where Kelly had been.

"Hey, by the way, Dad," Ryan said, "if she's so upset with you, does that mean that I'm your favorite kid now?"

"RYAN!" Sarah, Michael, and Tech all yelled at the same time.

"Sorry again." I'll take that as a "yes."

"Don't worry, Dad," Sarah said, "It'll all blow over eventually. I mean, it's not like you took away her skating."

"Uh…"

"YOU DID WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"No, but I do have sensitive ears!"

"And me, too, over here, to an even greater extent!" Lexi said, massaging her head.

"Sorry," Sarah said, "but Kelly and skating are the like me with baking. Complete and total obsession."

"Uh oh," Tech said, realizing his mistake.

"Understatement of the century," Nadine said.

"Worse," Lucy said, "Understatement of the millennium."

Sarah loved baking, and Kelly loved skating. If their obsessions truly were one and the same, than Kelly and skating were like pancakes and syrup. One couldn't be without the other. Tech laid back into the couch and didn't say anything. What have I gotten myself into?

Alright, I know I took a lot of the lines from that "Hannah Montana" episode, but I love that show and it was great inspiration for this chapter. Just read on. You'll see what happens when father and daughter coyotes get in a fight.