After some intense deliberation – chairs were flying and stuff – Bree and I finally narrowed the options down to two of you suggestions. So it's up to you, people:

Pathokenesis: The ability to control the emotions of others.

The Sight: See the planes.

Vote now or forever hold your peace. :P

We didn't pick Weapon Manipulation because something huge is coming far down the road that would cause her to become extremely overpowered if she had that ability. Sorry, Hon'. :(

Meanwhile, thanks for all your reviews, people. :3 It makes me happy 'n' stuff.

DisneyXDGirl: It takes a tough person to run the Chalas Gauntlet. Perry was ill-prepared.

Vampire Girl: "Where was this Superman thing when we were fending off Jasper?! D: "

AllAmericanSlurp: On a rage scale of one to everybody's gonna die, Tasha's around a "Godzilla tearing through Tokyo after discovering that his girlfriend cheated on him" level. Douglas shouldn't make such lewd implications and Chase shouldn't steal. It pisses her off. :3

Moonlit: There you went! :D I was scouring the news for rumors of demon-related assassinations while you were gone. You covered your tracks very well. :3

This is still more filler, but I liked the end. It's all touching and one of those "you'll get it if you've been paying attention" moments.

Anyway, here's Chapter Eighteen. We're getting closer to the end, people. From there…we'll see….

Chase?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers. Also, can someone get me down from here…? I'm kind of trapped."

"Corruption: I want either less corruption or more opportunity to participate in it."

Unknown

"Please pass me that parenting handbook. I need to smack my kid with it."

Unknown

Chapter Eighteen – Shocking Politics and Family Bonds

Chase

Ask anyone else, and we were upstairs, plotting petty thefts, acts of arson and various public indecencies.

Truthfully, Douglas and I were hiding from a still-irate Tasha like the manly men we were.

Seriously; Jasper would run from her.

Oly had immediately flapped off and was currently nowhere to be found. She was more than likely digging through Bree's more shiny objects at the moment. Adam, Leo and Yahn had wisely vanished down to the Lab. Mr. Davenport remained, but he stayed quiet, just staring at me like he was disappointed and disturbed. Almost like I wasn't even his son anymore. Just a thieving stranger who happened to be staying under the same roof.

Even with Tasha yelling, his reaction bothered me the most. Come on: Homeless kids need money to eat, too. What I did wasn't the worst thing I could have done.

Anyways, it had taken ten minutes of verbal lashing before I found an excuse and fled to my room upstairs, abandoning Douglas to his fate.

Every demon for himself, right?

Of course, Douglas wasn't pleased when he showed up at my door twenty minutes after that.

Which is how I ended up as a cat, safely perched on top of a book case and out of his reach.

He was leaning against the wall beside the bookshelf, his arms crossed as he watched me. "Come on, Chasey," he coaxed, his voice gentle even though his eyes weren't. "I'm not mad."

Lies, I tells ya! He'd probably make me hold hands with Oly again. Or worse: Do math equations involving estimation. Like hell I was coming down! "I'm good up here. Thanks, though."

"I'll teach you how to pick pockets," he offered.

"I don't want to pick pockets, though," I informed him. Something about sticking your fingers in someone's pocket without them knowing just struck me as too intimate.

"What about tricks for conning, since you're already quite a quick-change artist?"

I laid down on my stomach, tucking my paws near my body and wrapping my tail around myself to let him know wordlessly that I was staying up there for a while.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes before looking at me again. "All right. Stay there. I have all day." He pushed away from the wall and crossed the room, picking up a book from my desk - the nerve of this guy, just messing up my perfectly organized desk by moving my Stephen King novel, Under the Dome: Part Two - and sitting on the foot of my bed, where he crossed his legs and started silently reading.

All right, Douglas. I could outlast you. Just watch me.

You could just kill him. Then, you could leave anytime you wanted.

It took all of five minutes to realize that he held the upper hand in the situation after all. He wouldn't have to deal with the itchy pain that came with maintaining different forms if this went on for a few hours, he had the freedom to come and go as he pleased while I was stuck on a narrow platform, and - this is the most important part – he had something to do.

That's right. I was basically treed and knew I'd be bored soon.

Well...kind of. I did still have Tasha's invitation. I had pulled it up with me when I heard him coming. I supposed I could stare at it indefinitely and try to think of more solid evidence to pin on it. Right now, all I had was speculation. We couldn't act on that.

I sat up and pawed at the folded letter - I wish cats had thumbs - until it opened. Placing my forepaw on the top of it and sitting on the bottom to keep it from folding, I examined the suspicious text again.

"What'cha got there?" Douglas asked absently, not taking his eyes off the book.

"A letter for Tasha," I answered, flicking my tail in his direction. "It's probably just me being paranoid, but..."

Paling a bit, Douglas' head snapped up, his eyes boring into me like lasers. "You stole that banshee's mail!? Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"Just look," I sighed, standing up and batting the paper onto the floor. I had just lost the only thing I could amuse myself with up there.

Douglas frowned, put the book down and pushed himself to his feet with a wince. It was my turn to frown as I watched him pick up the letter. "You know, you really should say something. It's not hard. Just walk up and say, 'Hey! I broke my rib because I can't gauge jumping distances accurately!'"

"I'm fine," he responded immediately, feigning indifference as he read the invitation. "Besides, you can't do anything about broken ribs."

"You're a stubborn idiot," I informed him, sitting and curling my tail around my paws. "There are probably a lot of painkillers around here just dying for you to take them."

He smiled a bit. "Since when are you a pill-whisperer?"

"Since two seconds ago," I answered, rolling my eyes. "Can't you hear them calling?"

"Still a smart-assed punk, I see," he remarked.

"Damn straight." I leaned over the edge of the shelf a bit, my whiskers twitching as I spoke. "So...am I seeing things where they aren't, or is that letter suspicious?"

"It's an unusual request," Douglas admitted with a frown of concentration. "But it could be nothing." After a second of hesitating, he added, "The place sounds familiar, though."

"I'd hit you if it didn't," I sniffed. "I mean, how much more obvious can you get than Mission Creek City Hall? Even if it's a new one, it's still pretty obvious that it's a city hall."

"Not that," he said, waving my words away. "I mean in regards to it holding an event." He looked at me again. "Still able to hook up to Wi-Fi, Chase?"

"Yes," I informed him. "Why?"

"Look this thing up," he said, sounding annoyed, like it should've been obvious what he was getting at.

Well, in hindsight….

I muttered a bit, but laid my head down on the bookshelf and rested my paws on top of it. When the screen popped up in front of my eyes, I switched Wi-Fi on before mumbling, "Look up new Mission Creek City Hall opening."

Information instantly flooded my vision. Addresses, times, the order of the ceremony. It was all fairly useless.

But for one thing.

"Lovett is the Master of Ceremonies," I informed Douglas as I shut down the information thread and moved my paws, raising my head and sitting up to look at him again.

"I knew it!" Douglas suddenly declared, his eyes flashing with excitement. "My memory is awesome!"

"I had to look it up for you," I protested.

He waved his hand at me, his attention now back on the letter. He was grinning like a maniac. It was slightly alarming, to be honest. Maybe I should've called the lovely men in the white coats to come take him away for a bit. "This is where he'll strike," he was mumbling rapidly. "Lovett, you genius. Taking out more than half of the Council all at once and us while advancing your political position. I admire thy planning skills!"

I rolled my eyes at his dramatic declaration. "Care to share with the rest of the class?"

Douglas paused and looked up at me as if he just remembered I was there. "Right, right; this kind of event is a common gathering place for summoners and the Council. I can't give you a full list – Oly failed to get one a few weeks back - but I know that several important people – Mission Creek's mayor, two state senators and a state representative, the California Land Commissioner; people like that – are going to show up to an event like this."

"Wait, all those people are summoners?" I asked, my eyes widening. "And why were you stalking them before we knew about this?"

"The Council has a lot of powerful members," Douglas informed me. "And I like to know where those people are. Sometimes, they need people who are…." He searched for the right phrasing. "Less lawfully inclined. And they pay a lot, too."

Of course. I mean, I wasn't exactly clean myself – I had done quite a few things I wasn't proud of in the three months I was on my own; conned a few people out of their money with false products, frequently did my quick-change trick with random cashiers, that sort of thing - but it wasn't like I was just looking for trouble. "You're going to get arrested someday," I warned.

"I'm taking you down with me," he threatened teasingly.

"The only thing that needs taking is that letter to everyone downstairs," I responded.

His whole excited demeanor suddenly dropped to one of reluctance and slight fear. "Maybe we should wait until Tasha's in a better mood. Say, tomorrow? This says it isn't for another week, anyways."

"This evening," I negotiated.

After several seconds of silence, he finally nodded. "On one condition: You give her the letter back. You might actually survive that encounter."

What a coward. "Fine."

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."

Tom Bodett

"My sister. My friend."

Unknown

Bree

Apparently, Tasha had been so upset that she didn't make dinner.

And, as selfish as it sounded, Bree was hungry and a little peeved that no one had made anything. It didn't help her mood that Adam and Yahn had been in the Lab the rest of the day with Leo, all three seeming to discuss when Chase became a thief. Bree had obviously missed something important when she left the room earlier when Perry was around, but she didn't really feel like asking. It was complicated enough getting used to Chase as a demon-thing. She didn't want to deal with the idea that he was a criminal, too.

She irritably pulled a bowl out of the cabinets, deciding that cereal was the easiest thing she could make on short notice. Neither Davenport nor Tasha were anywhere to be seen, that Oly thing was probably lurking around in the shadows somewhere, and Douglas and Chase were probably sheltering from Tasha's wrath, so Bree was all alone to her thoughts in the kitchen as she poured a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and pulled the milk out of the refrigerator. She wished fleetingly that someone was around that she could talk to, but dismissed the thought. With the household being as tense as it was over the past two days, she figured that any discussion would devolve into useless quarrels or uncomfortable silence.

Everything would be nice if Douglas would just leave. Just because his home burned down didn't mean that he had to stay with them. She was all for kicking him out, but Chase might leave with him, which wouldn't be nice. So, for the sake of keeping her younger brother around, she held her tongue when it came to Douglas and his two demon friends.

She pulled a spoon from a drawer and closed it a bit hard to help vent some of the frustration and stress.

"Bree?"

She jumped and whipped around to face the stairs, her spoon held like a weapon in front of her. Then, a second later, she nearly threw it at Chase, who was standing near the foot of the stairs now, holding a paper and appearing very upset, very nervous. He backed up a step, holding his hands up in a gesture that suggested innocence. "Calm down there," he said. "Are you all right, or do I have to fend off your spoon-fencing?"

"Don't sneak up on me," Bree hissed, stamping her foot a bit as she lowered the spoon.

"Noted," Chase responded, nodding a bit.

After several seconds of silence, Bree felt her irritation give way to concern. Chase still looked visibly torn, like he wanted to run, but wanted to stay at the same time. It was a bit alarming, to say the least. So, big sister instinct kicking in, she sighed and took a step towards him. "What's wrong?"

Chase looked at the paper in his hands for a moment. Just when Bree was afraid that he wasn't going to answer her, he looked at her again. Or, rather, at her feet. His voice, when he spoke, sounded small, as if he didn't know what to do. "I was looking for Tasha and Mr. Davenport –"

"I don't know where they are," Bree interrupted.

"I do," Chase responded, nodding down the hallway beside the kitchen. "They're in his office. I…I was going to give them this," he continued, waving the paper a bit, "but I don't think they want to be disturbed."

"What is it?" Bree asked, walking towards her brother now with her hand outstretched. He handed it to her shyly, his hand shaking. As Bree examined it – an obvious invitation with a sentence about Tasha bringing the whole family underlined and the word "Lovett" written neatly beside it – Chase ran a hand through his hair. His hair is getting kind of long, she noted with a slight jolt, feeling a little bad that she hadn't seen it before. It wasn't long enough to hang down, but his spiky style was less defined now. It was amazing what three months could do.

"I don't think they want to be disturbed, though," Chase finally said, shuffling his feet a bit as a signature pout showed up on his face. Oh yeah, something was bothering him.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" Bree asked again. He had started an explanation before. Maybe he would actually tell her this time.

"It's nothing," he answered. "They're just…talking…." He swallowed hard.

Oh, right. He had super-sensitive hearing. If his reaction was anything to go by, he must have heard them say something very distressing. "What did you hear?"

He shook his head, an insincere half-smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Like I said, it's nothing."

"Chase, this is obviously important," Bree countered, gesturing at the paper in her hands. "What are they saying that made you not want to tell them something like this?"

"Bree, just let it go," he said quietly.

She could've grabbed his shoulders and shaken him right then. She was trying to help, but he was just shutting her out. "Chase – "

"I found something for you."

Taken aback by his interruption – it was an extremely random one, to say the least; he was obviously hunting for a subject change – she found herself watching as he dug around in his pocket. "I found it in the back of the cop car a couple of nights ago," he explained. "I know it's not much, but I thought you might like it."

Whatever he held when he pulled his hand from his pocket was obscured from her view. "You found something in the back of a cop car that you want me to have?" she asked suspiciously. Who knew what he had?

He took her hand and dropped something into it. It felt small and round in her palm. "It's safe," he assured. "I promise." Before she could look at it, he closed her fist around the object. "Anyways, if you could not mention I was down here and just leave that on the counter or something, I'd really appreciate it."

"But can't you just take it to them?" Bree asked helplessly. Whatever they had said, Bree figured that it was better that they talked it out with Chase now. "They probably want to talk to you."

"Actually, they're talking about me," he responded quietly. "I don't want to listen to it anymore." After a second, he reached forward and took her shoulder in his hand. "You know that you're the best sister I could have asked for, right? Don't forget that. Ever." With that, he let go and trotted up the stairs, his wings in full view and his tail bobbing a bit until he was out of sight.

Bree watched him go, so taken aback by his declaration that it took her several seconds to open her hand and see what he had left there.

Nestled in the indention of her palm was a clear glass bead. It had two lines - one pink and one red - that spun around one another straight through the middle and caught the light in just the perfect way, causing the colors to almost dance when she moved her hand to make it roll a bit.

With a massive grin, she swallowed back tears – why she tended to cry when they were happy or touched, she would never fully understand – and closed her hand around the bead again.

Hmm…I wonder what Chase heard….

Actually, I don't. I already know.

HA HA HA HA HA!

So, don't forget to vote on Bree's new power/ability. Or don't and live with what the others choose.

And review. Or, again, don't. :P Really doesn't matter.

Enjoy.

*Bows and exits*