So...I think that my guinea pig is bionic...

I was holding him - he insisted on sitting in my lap by rearing back on his hind legs and scratching at his cage bars until I picked him up - and he sneezed, shooting a little snot-rocket on my shirt.

He's so strange.

Anyways, thanks to my readers and reviewers. And that fangirl you volunteered to blow up. Someone push her into the mines already!

Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Whatever, Hon'."

Moonlit: "But-"

Dude, Leo: Haters gonna hate.

shinxshinx1595: "See? She wants me to light things on fire!"

God damn it, Chase. No!

DisneyXDGirl: "Get those leaves outta here!"

AllAmericanSlurp: "God damn it, people! Stop with the leaves! You're messing up my hair! D:{ "

gg180000: "Oh-"

No!

DarkestKing: After evaluating our options - and your threat to throw us to the fangirls one at a time - we've decided to hedge our bets here. Thanks, though. :3

UnknownForNow: Ha! I like the sound of that! Douglas Davenport: Casual Genius!

RissA15: Yeah! For Chase! Come on already!

This chapter is kind of filler again, but it moves things forward. So, who wants to do this? Hellcat?

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

"I'm devious, cruel, cunning and addictive."

Anthony Hopkins

"I'm pretty instinctive. I'm a quick learner."

Shannon Elizabeth

Chapter Twelve - Remember?

Chase

Watching Bree try to build a fence was great.

It wasn't even a proper fence. It was just a single strand of wire that needed to be run through some holders.

And - somehow - she couldn't get it to work.

Douglas was beside himself with petty mirth. If Bree was failing, than his plan was working better than Mr. Davenport's. Not that Douglas liked seeing Bree grow more frustrated each time she ran around the property in a blur just to find that the wire was still not taut.

"Didn't Mr. Davenport say that he would get someone to build this thing?" I called out as she slid to a stop to find that she had to start over yet again. I was leaning on the railing of the backyard's deck in the hopes of winning a bet against Douglas. Not whether or not Bree would succeed, mind you. No, our bet was how long it would take for her to give up.

I only had a few more minutes left before Douglas - who had bet that she had inherited his stubborn streak and would keep trying long beyond what I proposed - would become ten dollars richer. Therefore, I decided to try and influence her decision.

"Don't listen to him!" Douglas called, cupping his hands around his mouth to increase the volume at which his voice projected. "You can do this, princess! I have faith in you!" He raised a fist in a gesture of victory to accent his point.

"Don't call me 'princess!'" Bree snapped loudly before taking off along the fence again.

"Does 'princess' piss her off?" Douglas asked, frowning.

"Yep," I confirmed. "Not sure why."

Douglas nodded. "Good to know." Then, he grinned and nudged me. "Ready to pay up, Hellcat?"

I pinned my ears. "She could stop in the next ten minutes," I growled determinedly.

Did I mention that he had taken to calling me 'Hellcat?' I guessed that he thought it fit when Leo yelled it at me two days earlier.

Speaking of Leo, he had spent his free time after the Council meeting the day before with Yahn and Adam, learning the art of performing magic using demonic energy. I know, I know: It sounded evil when put like that, but it wasn't. I promise.

Well, kind of. It depended on who was doing it.

Bree came around again and stopped before crying out in frustration. "Why isn't this working?!"

"Because you need to try harder!" Douglas encouraged.

"Don't listen to him!" I called out. "He just wants to see how long you can run. Let the professional do it. It's why Mr. Davenport is hiring the guy!"

"Listen to the lack of confidence he has," Douglas rebutted.

Bree glared at the fence for a moment before she threw her hands up in a gesture of defeat. "I can't do it."

"Don't think so negatively!" Douglas desperately encouraged as she stormed towards us. "You're so close!"

She climbed up the steps and stopped in front of Douglas. "I don't know how to build a fence," she growled. "I'm not wasting my time on it anymore." With that, she turned on her heel and entered the house.

After a second of silence, I checked my watch. Grinning, I held out my hand. "Three minutes to spare!"

Douglas rolled his eyes and pulled his wallet out of his pocket, opening it and handing me ten dollars. He sighed as I folded the bill and slid it in my pocket. "This is the first and last bet that you'll ever win against me."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. Whatever he had to tell himself to nurse his wounded pride, I supposed. Instead of responding to his statement, I perked my ears. "Well, that plan is on hold," I noted. I knew it was an obvious statement, but I wanted a segue. "And, speaking of plans...what's our next move? How do we get Leo in with Hall?"

Douglas smiled halfway. "We need a demonstration of prowess. Leo's a...smart kid." Ha! Douglas almost choked on that admission. He looked like he was in physical pain. "And he learns fast. We need him to show that off somehow."

I frowned and gestured at him. "Well, you're the Summoner. What impresses you guys? Wearing top hats and doing elaborate musical numbers?"

Douglas crossed his arms. "As a matter of fact, we love that. However, that won't catch Hall's attention. He needs to demonstrate understanding of something very complicated the first time he hears it. Remember how I asked you all of those questions about your demonic half the very first time I summoned you?"

I nodded slowly. Honestly, I had forgotten about it. Now that he had reminded me, I was curious. "What did you ever do with all of that?"

"Well, I had been hired to do that research for Hall," he explained. "Didn't get paid much, but money's money. You made it easier; I was at a dead-end with regular demons. Anyway, all the answers you gave me went to him."

"So if I explained some of it to Leo," I pieced together slowly, "and he asks Hall to explain some of it, then he'll have an 'instant' understanding of everything."

"He'll show off his skill and his eagerness to learn," Douglas concluded.

I nodded and grinned. "Remind me never to piss you off. You'd come up with some complicated revenge scheme."

"With you?" He scoffed. "I'd just do this." He reached towards me rapidly and ran his finger over my right ear, tracing the torn tip.

I pinned my ears and hissed loudly, rubbing where he touched. "Are you kidding me?"

He grinned cheekily at me. "Nope. You have a built-in discipline system."

I glared at him, silently wishing that I wasn't so annoyed when people touched my ears.

"There is no failure except in no longer trying."

Elbert Hubbard

"Titles are but nicknames, and every nickname is a title."

Thomas Paine

Bree

"Did you finally give up?"

Bree shot Oly a look. The little imp was perched on the kitchen counter, her head tilted. With a sigh, Bree opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water, nodding. "Fences are hard." She twisted the lid off of the bottle and took a massive swig. She was tired and frustrated, having tried for an hour to make the fence work. She raised her arms and swung her elbows behind her in an attempt to loosen up her shirt, which was stuck to her skin from her sweat.

It was disgusting.

Oly snorted. "I told you that you couldn't do it."

Bree pointed the top of her water bottle at Oly and growled, "Listen here, you little -"

"Oly, get off the counter!"

Tasha's voice interrupted Bree as she entered the room, swatting at Oly with a magazine. Bree smirked as Oly leapt to the floor, fleeing upstairs to escape the irate Tasha.

Tasha shook her makeshift weapon at Oly one more time before she nodded at Bree. "Did you get the fence done?"

Bree shook her head. "I can't get that stupid wire to stay tight."

Tasha patted Bree's shoulder. "Let the professional build it, Hon'. It's his job."

Bree nodded. "I was just hoping to get it done as soon as possible," she sighed. "We've been waiting for two days. The guy won't even be out here for a few more days. That's more than enough time for someone to break in again."

"No one broke in the first time," Tasha pointed out.

"Because Hellcat caught him first," Bree muttered.

"Is everybody going to call me 'Hellcat' now?!"

Bree and Tasha looked at the deck door to see Chase standing in the doorway.

Douglas - stuck behind Chase as he blocked the doorway - poked him between the wings. "You're letting the bugs in," he groused. "I don't want to be eaten alive by insects tonight."

As Chase rolled his eyes and moved out of the way, Bree shrugged at him. Honestly, she had heard Leo and Adam referring to Chase as 'Hellcat' earlier that day. Whatever the reason for the nickname, it was extremely catchy.

Tasha sighed. "When did this 'hellcat' thing pop up?"

Visibly surprised that Tasha wasn't flipping out about the first half of the name, Douglas crossed his arms as Chase gently kicked the door shut. "Leo coined it a few nights ago. It was catchy."

"Speaking of Leo," Chase cut in, "where is he? We need to discuss something."

"He was down in the Lab earlier," Tasha answered, gesturing over her shoulder towards the elevator.

Chase nodded before he padded - yes; he was stepping so lightly that it could only be described as "padding" - to the elevator, Douglas following.

While they waited for the elevator, Bree frowned. "What do you need to talk to him about?"

"You know," Douglas answered, shrugging, "plotting random acts of violence, teaching him how to wire bombs; things like that."

Tasha shot him a severe look. "I will kick you out."

Douglas winced. "Relax, lady. We're just planning our next move on the Council."

Tasha crossed her arms, rolling her weight back on one heel and frowning. "I still don't like him spying on the Council."

"He'll be fine," Chase assured as the elevator door opened. "We'll watch him." With that, he and Douglas entered the elevator and disappeared when the door closed.

Tasha sighed. "That man is going to drive me crazy," she muttered.

Bree grinned. "He keeps things interesting, though."

How many of you forgot the first time Chase was summoned? That wasn't just insignificant bonding fluff. I was going places with it. xD

Resourceful guy, that Douglas.

Anywho, feel free to review. Or don't. Whatever.

And enjoy.

*Bows and exits*