Chapter 2! Yay!

The story's moving along. :3

Anyway, thanks to my reviewers, readers, random people who can't read but like looking at pretty black-and-white squiggles. :3 I would give you a flower, but my guinea pig eats them.

Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "…And here I go again on my own! Going down the only road I've ever known!..."

Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again"

AllAmericanSlurp: "…Do you think that I would be looking for a girlfriend if I could reach my various parts with my own mouth?!"

…Warning: Ask a question, and Hellcat might answer it…

Shinxshinx1595: Not a trilogy. Just a story.

RissA15: I don't…Did anyone understand the last part of that?

"Nope."

DisneyXDGirl: "Zara is currently trying to find a way to throw Hunter at you due to the fact that she established this multi-mother thing a long time ago."

He did not. He didn't kill Marcus. As I recall, back when he was Chase, he actually tried to save Marcus by warning him of the falling debris.

So, let's do this! Tasha?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."

"I am sorry my decisions do not meet with your approval, but nevertheless, they are mine, and the consequences are also mine."

Rachel Caine, The Dead Girls' Dance

"A teacher who loves learning earns the right and the ability to help others learn."

Ruth Beechick, An Easy Start in Arithmetic

Chase

"So…who's our mother?"

Douglas choked a bit on the coffee he was drinking. I suppose that asking him when he was swallowing something was a bad idea, but screw it. He sputtered and coughed a bit, his eyes widened with total surprise. I just watched him, trying my best to look like the adorable demon that I was.

Maybe if I looked like a cute kitty, he'd answer more questions.

You know better than that. If he doesn't want to, he won't answer anything, my lovely voice advised me.

I fought the urge to lower my ears at that. Technically, that was right, but Douglas was human. People liked cute things, right?

After a moment, Douglas regained composure. He stared at me for a second, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Looking up at him from her perch on his lap, Oly started laughing. "You broke him, Half-Breed."

This snapped Douglas out of whatever state he was in. He thumped Oly behind her ear before looking at me again, his expression suspicious and guarded. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I was curious."

Douglas frowned. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought it back," I countered, finishing the saying. I felt a satisfied smirk grow on my face at Douglas' glare. "Please?"

Several seconds passed before Douglas answered. "You don't want to go down this road, kid."

I tilted my head before sitting on the couch beside him. "Why not?"

"It's just not something you want to know," he answered ominously.

Which, of course, meant that I wanted to know it more. "Then why am I asking?"

"For Christ's sake, Hellcat," Douglas growled, rubbing his eyes. "Tasha's your mother. Let's just leave it at that."

"What about me?" Tasha asked as she walked in the room and entered the kitchen, opening the fridge to pull out some fruit.

"Nothing much," I answered. I poked Douglas. "Come on; she can't be that bad."

Tasha stopped what she was doing and raised an eyebrow, her hand on her hip.

Douglas held up a hand innocently. "Not you, Tasha." He turned his attention back to me. "Where is this even coming from, anyways? You weren't curious about your mother before."

I shrugged. "That lady you kept glaring at yesterday at the conference. By the way, what was that about?"

Douglas suddenly tensed. "Nothing," he answered tightly. "She's nobody."

"She didn't look like nobody to me," Oly argued.

Douglas shot her a look. "Look, who she is doesn't matter. Neither does your birth mother. And I'm not answering any questions about it."

I frowned and laid my ears back. What could be so bad that he didn't want to tell me? "But –"

"No buts," Douglas snapped, interrupting me.

I wanted to push it, but Leo ruined the moment by bursting in the front door and slamming it shut behind him, breathing heavily and looking terrified.

"What happened to you?" Tasha asked instantly, worry growing on her face.

Leo force a smile. "Nothing. Some football players just followed me home."

"So?" Douglas snorted. "Just beat them up."

"Douglas," Tasha warned from the kitchen.

Leo just shrugged. "I don't know how. They'd win in two seconds."

Douglas suddenly smacked my shoulder. "He's getting chased by football players, and you haven't taught him to defend himself?"

"Don't change the subject," I hissed. "Besides, he has Ysthry."

"Not out there, he doesn't," Douglas countered. "What kind of brother are you? Go teach him how to defend himself!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Tasha protested from the kitchen.

"Neither was summoning, but he learned that," Douglas pointed out cheekily.

I frowned. However, knowing that he had changed the subject because he was firmly done discussing it, I sighed and stood up. "Come on, Leo." Not even bothering to see if he was following, I turned on my heel and headed towards the elevator. The Lab had the most room for training someone.

Oly leapt onto my shoulder as I pressed the down button. "I want to see him fail."

Leo showed up beside me, following me into the elevator. "I'm not going to fail," he muttered.

"I'd learned that some things are best kept secret."

Nicholas Sparks, Dear John

"Your silence will not protect you."

Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Douglas

Tasha fixed him with a quizzical look the second the elevator door closed. After a moment, Douglas sighed. "What, Tasha?"

"Why won't you tell him about his mother?" she asked, tilting her head. "You know he's going to keep asking."

"It's not something he needs – or wants – to know," Douglas answered, narrowing his eyes. "It's not exactly pleasant."

"He's not a little kid," she countered. "You can't protect him from everything."

Douglas raised an eyebrow. "What would you possibly understand about it?"

Tasha smirked. "You aren't the only one with secrets, Douglas."

"That's vague and a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Douglas responded. However, he felt curiosity gnawing at him now. What dark secrets could Tasha possibly have?

Tasha almost laughed. "You're calling me dramatic? You won't even tell your kids about their mother." She started cutting up an apple, an amused grin on her face. "It's too horrible," she declared in a falsely dark voice.

Douglas rolled his eyes. "It's not horrible," he corrected. "It's not good, though."

"Since when is anything you're involved in ever good?"

Douglas actually chuckled. "Fair enough."

Tasha glanced at him. "Seriously, though; what could be so bad? Did she die some kind of horrifying death or something?"

Douglas shook his head. Say whatever you wanted about Tasha, but she had a way of making someone feel safe enough to be honest. It was the strangest thing, and she was the only person he had met who could do it. Douglas sighed. "No, Tasha; she didn't die. They…." He trailed off, wondering if he really wanted to tell someone else. Donnie was the only one who knew, and that was because he was there for it.

"Wait, they?" Tasha echoed.

Douglas shrugged, smiling. "I'm a ladies' man, Tasha. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be."

Tasha snorted. "Ladies' man," she scoffed, letting out a bit of laughter.

Douglas pressed a hand to his chest and gasped as if he had been mortally wounded.

Tasha rolled her eyes. "Anyways, what happened to their mothers if they didn't die?"

Douglas ground his teeth in aggravation. "Why is this so important?"

Tasha shrugged. "It's not. I'm just curious."

"You and Hellcat, both," Douglas found himself muttering.

"Fine," Tasha responded. "Then who was that woman yesterday?"

Douglas pinched the bridge of his nose. "Does she matter?"

Consideration crossed her face for a moment before she nodded. "Now, she matters."

Douglas fixed her with a look. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Tasha smirked and shook her head. "I can be just as stubborn as you."

Douglas sighed and looked around, making sure that none of the kids were around. "Fine." He stood up and walked closer to Tasha so that he could talk quietly. "Their mothers didn't want them. Bree's and Chase's signed full custody over to me. I haven't seen them since. Adam's just left him on my porch with a certificate of abandonment."

Tasha's eyes widened. "I can't imagine ever abandoning Leo," she breathed.

Douglas shrugged. "I don't know how they did it, but they did."

Tasha nodded slowly. "So…who was the woman in the crowd yesterday?"

Douglas swallowed, forcing his anger down. "She was Adam's mother."

"Adam's mother?" Tasha parroted, dropping her voice down to a whisper and leaning over the counter. "What was she doing?"

"Investing?" Douglas responded, rolling his eyes. "I don't think she intended to be there for the kids. I'm just glad she kept her distance."

Tasha nodded slowly and pursed her lips. "You know, they're going to keep asking until you tell them where they came from one day," she pointed out. "At least, Chase will."

Douglas looked at the elevator door wearily. "I know. That's what I'm worried about."

"True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information."

Winston Churchill

"People should not be protected from the world. It cripples them."

Josephine Humphreys, Rich in Love

Adam

"That woman yesterday was your mother!" Yahn whispered, his ear pressed against the wall.

Adam's eyes widened in disbelief. The dull throb in his legs that was born of his crouching position beside Yahn was suddenly forgotten. His mother? How could a random woman in the crowd be his mother? "No way," he responded quietly.

"It's true," Yahn confirmed, still listening at the wall.

"Then why didn't Douglas introduce us?" Adam hissed, utterly confused. If she was their mother, then why would Douglas not let them meet her? "I want to know our mother."

"She's just your mother," Yahn said. "Not Bree's or Half-Breed's. And – according to him – she abandoned you on his doorstep."

Adam felt like he had been punched in the gut. His mother had abandoned him? He shook his head vigorously. "No way," he responded. "She wouldn't do that."

"She did." Yahn frowned, finally pulling away from the wall. He climbed onto Adam's shoulder.

Adam suddenly regretted wanting to listen to the conversation the second Chase had mentioned their mothers. "Who does that?" he whispered, speaking to no one in particular.

Yahn patted Adam's shoulder. "Sometimes, people do desperate things when they are scared."

Adam stood up, stretching his legs out as he became aware of the pain again. "She didn't want me," he said miserably. He turned away and trotted back down the hallway, heading for the Lab. Maybe watching Chase become frustrated while trying to help Leo would take his mind off of things.

"Are you all right?" Yahn asked sympathetically. "Do you want to tell the others?"

Adam paused. He didn't know what to think. He had a swirling whirlpool of emotions threatening to overwhelm him at any time. He wanted to punch a wall in anger at her leaving him when he was a child. He wanted to curl up in a corner and cry at the idea that his own mother didn't want him. He wanted to confront Douglas about all of this, demand answers that he still didn't have.

He wanted to forget that he ever learned this.

Finally, he shook his head. "I don't want to tell Hellcat or Bree. Not yet."

Yahn nodded slowly. "What about your mother? Do you want to meet her?"

Adam found that he did want to meet her, if only to ask why she did it. However, he shook his head. "I have no way of finding her, so it doesn't matter."

Yahn sighed. "Obviously, it does matter. Of course, you're right. We couldn't find her unless Master gave us more information. And he won't do it."

Adam crossed his arms. "But he said he had a certificate, right? That has to have her name on it."

Yahn smiled. "There's no guarantee that he has it still," he pointed out. "But I could look."

Adam nodded before starting towards the Lab again. "Thank you." Even if he would never meet her, he at least wanted to know his mother's name.

Why does everybody have to hide around corners?!

It ruins everyone's plans!

Anyways, now Adam knows why that chick freaked Douglas out yesterday. :3

Anywho, we're going to have to wait until next time to find out what's going on. Because I love making people wait. It sates my sadistic tendencies. :P

So feel free to review. Or don't. Do I really have to keep saying it?

And enjoy.

*Bows and exits*