Chapter Four. Woo!
It was going to be different, but I hated it and rewrote the whole thing. XD
Also, while it's bugging me: Does anyone else remember the movie "Osmosis Jones," or am I just old?
Anywho, thanks to my reviewers, readers, and the teen mom who was smart enough to stop talking before I shanked her last night. I mean, pointing at a baby and saying you need clothes in "her size" doesn't help me help you! If you don't know your own baby's clothes size, you're too irresponsible to have a baby! Damn!
DarkestKing: I tried to think of ways to describe it, but, as always, Urban Dictionary did it better. "Similar to face palm, bridge pinch is the act of pinching the bridge of your nose with your middle finger and thumb in exasperation." It also kind of shows reluctant resignation to an idea. Or so is my opinion. :3
Moonlit: "I do like to think a lot. :3"
gg180000: Preach!
UnknownForNow: We'll find out eventually why Adam was silent. :3
AllAmericanSlurp: "Yay! I'm slowly getting taller!"
Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Don't be hugging me. O_o"
DisneyXDGirl: ...Adam? He's hiding now...
RissA15: Looks like the fangirls employ mob mentality.
"No discipline. We can easily destroy them! Just give the word!"
Soon, Douglas. Soon
This isn't the best chapter, but it's kind of okay. So here it is. Oly?
"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
Dr. Seuss
"No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse."
Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Chapter Four - Oops
Douglas
"Is there a way to turn off evil voices in your head?"
Douglas jumped slightly at the unexpected question and looked up from the laptop he was watching to see Chase standing just inside his room. I should pay more attention to my surroundings, he thought. However, that could wait for a second.
He just had to hear Chase say that sentence again. It was amusing.
"And don't make me say it again," Chase hissed, seeming to read Douglas' mind. "I'm being serious."
Damn. Way to suck the fun out of the situation. "All right," Douglas sighed. "What kind of evil voice? One that insists you commit a crime? One that's urging you to overthrow countries?" He clapped his hands together once and grinned. "Oh, I know: One that wants you to sacrifice babies to a six-headed god named Lou Finklestein! Is it that one?"
Chase - instead of laughing or smiling like he normally would - sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. "Forget it," he muttered, obviously frustrated. "It wasn't important, anyways."
"No, no, no," Douglas rapidly said as Chase turned to leave. "Come on; I was only kidding. Tell me what's going..." He trailed off as Chase vanished through the door, his tail lashing.
Douglas frowned, a bit confused. Why in the hell would Chase not stay? The kid was always one for opening up when he wanted to. Him asking a question and then just dropping it?
It wasn't normal.
Maybe he's just tired or something, Douglas reasoned. Chase would be fine. He probably needed a nap or something to eat. Maybe a shot of Jack Daniels, even.
Nah. Chase was probably a lightweight. He wouldn't be able to handle Jack Daniels. And Douglas didn't want an "underage drinking is bad" lecture, either. Besides, the last thing Chase needed was to be drunk off his ass and huffy about something. That was a problem waiting to happen.
Douglas would know; he'd gotten in trouble a few times that way.
He stared at the door a few more seconds with naïve hope - maybe Chase would come back - before he turned back to the computer that displayed a little blinking dot - Krane - in Italy. He had moved the tracking operation upstairs once the smell of burnt furniture became unbearable. The freaking dot hadn't moved in hours. He honestly had no idea why he was still watching the computer. It was obvious that Krane wasn't going anywhere soon! In fact, it bored him greatly.
Why wasn't Krane moving?! Go outside, kick a puppy, steal candy from toddlers and blame the guy next to you!
It was like no one knew how to be a criminal anymore.
A scratching sound filled the room. Curious, Douglas glanced at the window to see Oly scratching impatiently at the glass. "Let me in!" she huffed, her voice muffled.
He debated leaving her outside all night - the sun was setting, anyways; she wouldn't be out there for more than ten or so hours - but he got up after a moment with a sigh. As he walked to the window, Oly complained the whole time about how slow humans were.
He rolled his eyes. It wasn't like she didn't have a fucking eternity at her disposal.
When he opened the window, Oly leapt to the floor and shook herself like a dog, water droplets flying everywhere.
Including all over him.
He suddenly regretted letting Oly in.
Stifling a sigh, he closed the window. "Why didn't you just come in downstairs?"
"Half-Breed threw me out and locked the door," she explained, jumping into the chair Douglas had just evacuated. "No one would let me in."
Douglas chuckled and crossed his arms. "What did you do to piss him off?"
"He asked how to turn off mental voices," she answered, laying down and curling up. "I told him that they weren't into cheap dates. So I spent the past hour outside."
Maybe that was why Chase was in a bad mood? He'd have to ask about it. It couldn't be the first time Chase was annoyed at the little voice in his head. From what little Chase had said about it, Douglas gathered enough to know that he would want it gone if it were in his own head. "All right; but why are you wet?"
"I told that Eddy thing to let me in. He turned on the sprinklers."
That figured. Douglas nodded at her as she glanced at the laptop screen. "Eddy's an asshole."
"No kidding," Oly agreed before she pointed at the computer screen. "What do you think this guy will do next?"
"Hopefully, he'll give up," Douglas answered. "At this second, he's probably not doing anything but plotting."
Oly snorted. "Then why are you watching him? You should go beat manners into Half-Breed."
Well, maybe Douglas wouldn't do that, but he did want to find Chase. Besides, Oly was right; Krane was going nowhere. "Maybe I will," he said, starting for the door.
"I want to see!" Oly declared excitedly, hopping out of the chair and climbing up Douglas until she was perched on his shoulder.
Resisting the urge to push her off - she was getting water all over his shirt - he glanced at the laptop one more time.
Still stationary, the little dot blinked.
Satisfied that Krane was staying put, Douglas turned out the light and left the room.
Meanwhile, on the screen, the little red dot blinked every second or so.
Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
Gone.
The digital world map - now free of the tracking dot - that adorned the screen became the backdrop of a single red sentence as the screen dimmed and darkened, the computer entering standby mode.
Error: Signal lost.
"For there is no friend like a sister in calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands."
Christina Rossetti
"Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for."
Bob Marley
Bree
Oly!
The little snot had been stealing rhinestones again.
With a frustrated sigh, Bree tossed yet another ruined hair clip into the trash. She really should set a trap or something for the greedy little imp. Maybe a nice electric shock would keep the thief at bay.
She nudged carefully. He had been in a bad mood when he entered the Lab and sat beside her earlier. Hopefully, he would be willing to help. "Chase?"
He swiveled one ear towards her, but kept one pointed at Leo, who was trying to get a paper airplane to land in Adam's sling from across the room. Ysthry and Yahn were on the floor between the two, watching the little planes sail over their heads and occasionally swatting one down for fun.
Taking that as a signal to talk, she decided to just jump right in. "Do you think you could set up a trap that would keep Oly from stealing my rhinestones?"
He didn't answer for a moment. However, when he did speak, it wasn't helpful. "Oly is over 3,000 years old. There isn't a trap I could make that she can't get through."
"What about some kind of lock, then?" Bree insisted.
More silence passed before he finally nodded. "Maybe the Davenwall's fingerprint system could be put in a lock box so only you could open it." He finally looked at her. "Do you have a box?"
Bree nodded, standing up and speeding up to the second floor - passing Douglas - Oly on his shoulder - on the way and nearly knocking him over - and into the room she had claimed as her sanctuary for when she wanted privacy. She only had a plastic lock box - with a stupid key that wasn't even needed to open it - but it was better than nothing. Picking it up off the desk, she sped back downstairs - nearly knocking Douglas and Oly over a second time - and into the Lab, stopping beside Chase. "Will this work?"
"Easily," he answered. He stood up and began to mess around with the cyber desk a bit. His expression gradually went from frustrated and moody to serene and focused as he worked. It was amazing how something as simple as working on a technological project always seemed to put him in a better mood. Maybe he just enjoyed it that much? Or just liked to feel useful?
The reason didn't really matter. If it made him happy, then who cared?
About ten minutes later, the Chip Fabricator - one of Mr. Davenport's rather lame inventions - dinged, announcing the birth of a microchip.
"Find a way to take that old lock out," Chase told her before he went to examine the chip.
Bree frowned at the lock, examining it for a second before she rolled her eyes. A couple of screws held it in. That was all. How a thief couldn't break into that was inconceivable. Picking up a screwdriver, she quickly unscrewed the lock and pulled it free, leaving a big hole in the box.
Across the room, Chase was pressing the chip into a small device and securing the back. Bree noticed that the front was nothing but a jumble of tiny wires as he flipped it over. As she watched, Chase manipulated the wires - joined some, disconnected others - with the gentleness of one who was rubbing a newborn kitten behind the ears. It was like he was painting the next Mona Lisa.
Hell, maybe the little device was his idea of art.
"What is Chase doing?"
Bree jumped a bit at Douglas' question. Apparently, she wasn't observant enough to notice when he decided to stand right beside her. Oly was watching Adam and Leo throw airplanes, her head tilted curiously.
"He's building a fingerprint-activated lock," Bree answered.
"And it's ready for your fingerprint," Chase cut in from across the room as he fixed the little screen to the front, sealing away the wires. He carried it to the desk - holding it so that he didn't touch the screen - and held it out to her. "Press and hold."
She pressed her thumb to the screen gently. After a few seconds, it beeped and a little light at the top flashed green. Chase then inserted it into the gaping hole in her box. One minute of screwdriving and wire-running later, the lock beeped again, the small light flashing red.
Chase stood back. "That should do it."
Bree pressed her thumb to the lock. Almost immediately, it beeped and flashed green as the box popped open. Delighted, she closed it again, ignoring the little beep and red flash as it locked. "Awesome; thanks!"
Douglas patted his shoulder. "Nice lock," he complimented, causing Chase to purr. It was a strange sound - a deep rumble from deep in his chest somewhere - but it complimented the proud glow in Chase's eyes.
"Let's see you steal my stuff when you're trying to get past his lock, Oly!" Bree gently punched Chase's arm to accent her point, but was startled when he yelped and clapped and hand over the area she touched. "I didn't hit you that hard," she instantly defended.
Chase gave her a tight grin - his purr gone - and mumbled, "It's fine. I deserved it." Without another word, he turned and walked from the Lab, vanishing around the tunnel curve.
Bree was bewildered. Did she do something wrong?
And why did Chase think he deserved whatever she did?!
"What's his problem?" Adam asked, finally paying attention to his surroundings.
Douglas - rather than telling anyone - just took Bree's hand and held it up, pointing at a silver ring Owen had given her on their six-month anniversary.
Oh, wait: Fucking silver.
Oops.
What a good way to show appreciation. Hey, thanks for that. Here, let me pay you with a silver burn!
Some sister she was.
Where'd Krane go?! And is Oly gonna break through the lock anyways?
You'll just have to wait and see. :3
Also, bad Douglas for suggesting underaged drinking!
Feel free to review. Or don't. No fucks given here.
And enjoy.
*Bows and exits*