CHAPTER 14 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Can you believe this?! I've enrolled my fanfiction in a contest, guys, so there's that! Have a great and fantastical day(((:

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Hi, new follower ... I believe... !

Chase heaved, stumbling forward as he tried to take a peek back. He heard strange noises and saw odd shadows, but he convinced himself it was just his stupid glitching mind playing tricks on him. His breaths weren't steady, and he knew running would just wear down his already exhausted body. But what choice did he have?

"Chase!" Davenport hissed, a few feet ahead now, noticing his son had stopped for a breather. "Hurry, we could be being followed."

Chase doubted that. If Olivia wanted to come after them, they'd no longer be running, but restrained and back in that dreadful dungeon cell. Yet, he didn't want to remain in the darkest part of the ruined city. Anybody and everything dangerous roamed these streets. "Coming," he puffed, voice rusty. Davenport knitted his eyebrows together in concern for his son, but upon the common sound of gunshots, he took off with Chase limping behind.

"We need to figure out what went wrong in the past," Davenport sighed, ducking into an alley to try a different route to the friendlier parts of Mission Creek – which barely existed as is.

Chase rubbed at his wrists in pain, attempting to use all his strength to keep up with his father. 18 years had only brought increased athleticism to the salt and pepper man. "How would we do that?" he didn't mean to sound so rude, but if there was a way to connect with the past without any time machines, his daughter would be out of harms way right now.

Davenport acted as if didn't hear him, and continued to lead Chase down obscure pathways to the highschool, the only safe place avaliable these days.

Chase shifted uncomfortably. Silence was never golden with Davenport, because it took a lot to shut him up. "Davenport," he prodded, moving a little faster to catch up. "Davenport!" He tapped him on the shoulder, following back a few paces as a wave of nausea hit.

But, he had his father's attention by then. Davenport's shoulders drooped noticeably low, before he checked around him, and pulled Chase into the street corner right before Mission Creek High. "Okay, don't be mad." Chase clenched, already not liking where this was going. "When I sent Alexa off in the second time machine I became obsessive over the idea of communication with her." Chase furrowed his brows, his whole expression contorting with his thoughts. "I think it was the drive of talking to my granddaughter, but the next day I had a rudimentary way of doing so."

Chase's eye lit up. "Where is this device?"

Davenport dropped his gaze, nostrils flaring in frustration. "It was apprehended by the corrupted chief of police."

Chase bit his lip. So much had happened since he had been locked up. "Where is he holding it?"

"Where every 'dangerous' weapon threatening the big bossman goes," Davenport answered, balling his hands into fists. His son shut his eyes, concentrating on breathing to bring his brain up to speed.

"Do you have the blueprints?"

"That I do," Davenport answered. "But I haven't had any luck tracking down the specific parts I need."

"Let me take a look at the design, and we can go from there," Chase decided, obviously wanting to be impatient in this entire affair. But that meant for sloppy work, and they couldn't afford that.

Davenport nodded.

"And, Davenport ..." Chase paused, contemplating on asking the question that had been burning in his mind. "Have you had any word from Adam or Bree?" His father turned on his heels and marched off, shaking his head slowly as an unvoiced answer. Chase felt a lump sticking in the middle of his throat, blocking his airway. His siblings had been M.I.A for months now, but instead of wavering, his hope built when he was chained to a musty wall and forced to look at the face of his traitor wife. He held onto that tiny grip of could-be reality that his brother and sister had rejoined Davenport at the safe base, and had been helping plan his rescue.

Yet, it was now not reality, it was a fantasy that had been snuffed out. Adam and Bree were a-wall. That was the hard truth.

"Okay," Leo and Leo said together, frowning at each other. They both obviously concurred that the other would give way and tried again, "Okay, here's the plan." Older Leo nudged his younger self, telling him to cut it out. Leo merely pushed back.

Alexa was silent for a moment, studying their lip movement, before speaking on what she thought they were arguing about. "Anyway," she growled through her teeth, trying to control her voice range. "We need a distraction!" Her last sentence came out too loudly, and Chase quickly cupped her mouth as a warning.

"I was about the suggest that," Leo and Leo said in unison, the older elbowing the other.

Alexa stared – half out of not fully comprehending what they said – and Chase rubbed at his forehead.

"We were about to suggest that," Leo murmured, hanging his head.

"I vote Leo!" Alexa shouted, remoting in her mouth being covered again. She winced. This whole no ears thing had gotten old before it was even new.

"Hey," they both whispered quietly, noting a husband and wife entering the hospital behind them.

"Which one?" Older Leo asked, realizing he had a double. All of this and present and future nonsense could really mess a person up.

"Him, of course," Lexi answered, her voice nearly too low to hear, pointing at Past Leo. "I've been told stories about how great of a decoy he was." Her future uncle smiled, but Leo crossed his arms.

"I was a mission specialists, and now an actual bionic part of the team," Leo argued. Lexi shrugged, suddenly twisting her hair around and pretending to chew gum when a few paramedics rushed through the doors with a patient. Chase tilted his head in confusion.

"What are you ..." The paramedics started yelling out orders as they ran into the hospital. "That's your 'act natural' method?" He snickered, remembering to face her when he spoke. Alexa pouted, dropping her hair and returning to face her uncles.

"Look, it doesn't matter which one of you is the distraction," she said. "But we need to get Chase back into that room, and try to convince my m- Olivia to come with us!" Chase rolled his eyes. It was useless to help her stop yelling. She'd get the hang of the silence eventually.

"Well, why can't you do it?" Leo retorted, narrowing his eyes.

"Because I'm on the verge of disappearing into nonexistence," Lexi mumbled, drawing attention to her 'no ears and barely no hands' issue. "and I don't want to."

Leo glared, but voluntarily got up, and with wide eyes, barged into the hospital. The other three leaned closer to the doors, trying to catch a peek at what was going down. Leo was wobbling in the middle of the room, arms flapping randomly at his side. "I-I-I," he slurred, before collapsing and sprawling.

Alexa gasped, and almost ran in after him, before Chase held her back and she remembered.

The nurse behind the desk, the same judging one they had dealt with previously, screamed and went to check on the 'passed out' kid. She called for assistance, and before anyone could blink Leo was surrounded by doctors and nurses, and a pathway was made.

"Okay," Older Leo whispered, exaggerating his lip movement for the future girl's sake. "Let's go." His niece followed his footsteps, and Chase hers, who then risked a thumbs up in his brother's direction for encouragement.

"She's just going to scream like last time," Chase argued, abruptly stopping himself before he ran into Alexa, who was motionless. The door to Olivia's room was in front of them, and deja vu swept through Chase's mind.

"Well, then let's not let her," Future Leo grumbled simply, checking for nurses or Liv's parents through the uncurtained window. He nodded, and slowly reopened the door to Olivia and four other patient's room. Three of the four people inside were awake – some moreso than others – and thankfully Liv was one of them. At least they wouldn't surprise her this time.

"You again," Olivia's tired eyes popped in fear, about to press the alert button on her bed, before Future Leo ran forward with arms raised. Alexa squinted, mouthing her mother's words to download them into her head. It was harder to read lips from afar.

"Wait, please hear us out!" she suddenly begged, tucking her hair over her ears when she realized the gaps where they should be were showing.

Olivia pressed her lips together, thinking. "What do you want? I don't even know you."

"But you will," Older Leo said softly, realizing how insane that sounded. It probably wasn't the best approach to start out of the gate with that one.

Liv's fingers hovered over the button skeptically.

Alexa wrung her hands out, looking towards Chase for help. Chase shook his head, avoiding eye contact with Olivia. She noticed.

"Am I that ugly?" Liv asked, raising an indignat eyebrow. "For people who are trying to stop me from alerting security, you're doing a pretty unconvincing job." The blonde wriggled uncomfortably, cringing as the injury on her arm was jarred.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you our reasons," Chase murmured, sounding as if he hardly believed it himself.

"Try me," Olivia sighed, head falling down on the thin hospital pillow.

"Well, for one you weren't suppose to be laying in a hospital," Older Leo started.

"Weren't?" Olivia scoffed.

"That tunnel cave-in was suppose to turn out differently," Future Leo attempted to continue. Trying to explain all of this to a regular person seemed a lot easier in his head. He didn't quite realize how far-fetched it all sounded until it was said out loud.

"Like an alternate time-line," Olivia joked. She fell silent when she realized no one else was cracking a smile. "You're serious? You really believe that?" Her pointer finger rested gently on the button now, ready for when she had had enough.

"I know it's asking a lot for you to trust us," Chase said, uneasy. "But, we had met under different circumstances and now we really need your help."

Everyone paused. Liv said nothing. For a second, the others were bracing themselves to make a run for it when she alerted the doctors and nurses. Much to their surprise, however, Olivia dropped her hand to her side, and shut her eyes. "I'd usually label you clincally insane, but ... ever since that accident I've had this feeling-."

"-That this wasn't suppose to happen to you?" Older Leo finished, hopeful. Olivia nodded solemnly.

"I've been missing a part of myself that never existed, and it's been driving me mad," the blonde girl reopened her eyes, which were shimmering with tears. "Tell me about what should have been?"

Future Leo looked at Chase, noted his apprehension, and said, "You were saved, and you met someone that turned out to be really important to your future, and in turn, you become really important to someone else's." Future Leo refused his eyes to strain towards Lexi.

"And how do you know this?" Liv prodded. She attempted to sit up, but her joints creaked and her injuries hated her.

"Because I'm-"

"Yes?"

"I'm from the alternate future," Taller Leo stumbled out, catching his breath in his throat. Liv stared at him with an unreadable expression. If she didn't think they were crazy up to this point, now was when the line was crossed.

"Okay," Olivia mumbled. "Okay, Marty McFly." She winced. Liv had tried to keep the sarcasm from her voice, but she was exhausted and in pain and she just couldn't control it.

"I know," Older Leo said. "My claim seems impossible but-"

"No, no," Liv interrupted. "Improbable, maybe, unlikely, yes, but not impossible." Her eyebrows drew together. "Listen, however weird it sounds, your story is the first thing that is starting to make sense in my frazzled brain." Olivia glanced at the clock wearily. "I'm suppose to be checked out tomorrow and my parents are coming by soon to stay for the night, so ... meet me outside the hospital at 10, please?"

Older Leo backed up to his niece, pulling her in to reassure himself she was still with them. Tomorrow seemed too long for Alexa to go, but not many options were open for them and they were lucky enough to get this far with Liv. She was never the type to believe things like time travel or super-humans, not until met with proof. But, in the past she hadn't been given any for either of those things, so it was remarkable in itself she was allowing them an opportunity.

"Alright," Older Leo murmured softly, trying to sound cheery about the offer. "Tomorrow, then."