The science fair was to be held in Queens this year. Jeffery and Kenny accompanied them along with Skipper's dad. George had wanted to chat a bit with Jeffery and get to know him better so he could fully trust the man with Kowalski and Kenny's care should they live with their cousin in the future.

Some of the other kids from their school were there too, excitably waiting with their entries. After a long debate and finding a reasonable explanation for his creation, Kowalski was ready to go.

He set up next to a girl with dark wavy hair. Her project seemed to be a baking soda volcano. She saw Private and Kenny looking curiously at it.

"I know, kinda cliché, huh?" She asked.

Private jumped. "I don't mean to be rude." He said. Kenny just mumbled something incoherently.

"It's okay. I just did this so I could have something to do during the break and look at other projects. I'm more of an artist than a scientist, so I guess you could say I'm attracted to the art of science rather than the subject itself."

"That makes sense. However, I don't believe it's going to work." Kowalski observed.

"I followed the YouTube instructions and-oh crud." She'd looked inside. "I'm so dumb, I didn't do the baking soda."

"Hmm...hold on. Rico, do you mind sacrificing those new mints and your soda?"

"Okay." Rico said, swinging his backpack around and rummaging through it. He gave Kowalski a bag of mints and his Pepsi.

"You okay with a soda volcano?" Kowalski asked him and the girl.

"Yep." Rico said.

"Um...sure."

Kowalski got to work. He sighed happily when he was done. "I increased the mint flavor in Rico's breath mints. He wanted to test his levels of mint resistance."

"Don't ask the details." Skipper added.

"I won't." The girl laughed. "Thanks. Are you sure this will work?"

"About 89.6 percent sure."

"I'll take those odds."

"There's also a high chance it'll burst up like a geyser and rain down upon us instead of the imitation pyroclastic flow normally expected of these projects."

"Eh, every volcano's different." The girl shrugged. "I'm sorry, you helped me and I totally didn't ask your names. My bad. My name's Mikayla." She put out a hand.

"Kowalski, aspiring scientist and inventor." He shook her hand. "This is my little brother, Kenny."

"Hi." Kenny said shyly.

"These three are technically part of my project as well as moral support. I unofficially introduced my lab rat, Rico. Tech expert, maverick, and my boyfriend." Rico waved. "He's the one who insisted on being called a 'lab rat'. Skipper, the one who makes sure my inventions don't lead to anything apocalyptic."

"It's only been close twice." Skipper joked.

"Only twice so far." Private laughed. "I'm Private."

"The sassy but friendliest one." Kowalski added.

"Wow, I really don't have a description for me except girl and sophomore." Mikayla said. "I just started this year since I moved from Arizona, did you do a project last year?"

"No, I had...a lot...going on and just couldn't. But I am going to enter the decathlon too."

"Cool, I wish I could do that, but part of it involves speeches and/or interviews and people staring at me which I am not too great with."

"I cannot believe my eyes; Kowalski Taro is that you?" A voice echoed, attracting some attention. A boy with slicked back hair and a huge smile came up to them.

"Simon." Kowalski growled.

"I missed you last year."

"I didn't."

"Who's your girlfriend?"

Kowalski turned pink. "I just met her."

"Yeah, this is my first science fair." Mikayla said, trying to hide the slight blush that had appeared. "And he's spoken for."

"How do you know that?" Simon said.

"I told her, genius." Kowalski said.

"Yes, I am a genius, thank you."

Kowalski groaned. "I fell for it again..."

"Hold up, did you join the fair to meet guys?" Simon asked Mikayla. Mikayla blinked, unsure how to respond. "AHAHAHA! You weren't trying to win at all, were you? You just wanted a smart boyfriend, LOL."

"Excuse me, did you just-?" Skipper facepalmed. "Private, please tell me he didn't just say that."

"I really wish I could." Private sighed.

"You don't know my life." Mikayla finally said. "No, I'm not boyfriend fishing. I needed a reason to get out of the house, that's it. That's all anyone needs to know."

"I swear I saw you trying to flirt with him." Simon said. "Don't even try it, he's into this chick named Dorothy."

"It's Doris and we're just friends." Kowalski said.

"And I wasn't trying to flirt." Mikayla said defensively.

Before any of them could say anything, the judges announced that they would begin walking around soon. Simon hurried off, shooting them a smug look before he left.

The students were all checking their work. Mikayla was making last minute corrections to her written report.

Kowalski cleared his throat. "About that-"

"Don't worry." Mikayla said.

"For the record, I don't think you're boyfriend fishing." Kowalski said.

"I'm not. I'm just a girl from Arizona." Mikayla paused. "Admittedly, I do find you...cute." She looked him in the eye. "But you said Rico's your boyfriend and I respect that."

"Thanks." Kowalski said.

"I can see you all care for each other and I'm not trying to break up friendships or relationships." Mikayla told them.

Day one of the fair was usually just making sure everyone had their projects registered along with their names.

Once theirs was checked, Mikayla and the boys went to look at the other entries. The adults said they would watch over the two projects.

Simon refused to let anyone but the judges look at his, draping a cloth over it. Even those who saw it weren't sure how to describe it.

Later, Kowalski was challenged to chess as usual. There weren't many observers to their match, but Rico had brought a pack of playing cards so the boys wouldn't be too bored. Mikayla joined in.

None of them were quite sure how it was going since Simon was known to keep an annoying smirk on his face at all times.

"Check." Kowalski's voice made onlookers actually pay attention.

"Wait, what?!" Simon shrieked, letting his entire façade crumble.

"I call this the Rico maneuver." He'd done something with the knight, but Rico probably would smash the board.

"But that was-"

"Entirely legal." Kowalski said. "Just a reminder, this isn't a professional game and rules can change all the time. So, I'm making my own strategy within the rules. Almost a maverick."

Rico laughed. Simon shook his head.

"Why?"

"Isn't this a friendly match?" Kowalski asked lightly.

"Wipe that stupid smug grin off your-"

"You're one to talk." Skipper said.

"Alright, gents, let's not fight." Jeffery said. "I'm sure we can be nice about it."

"This is pure rivalry." Kenny told his cousin.

"Checkmate." Kowalski said.

"I don't accept this." Simon huffed.

"Then don't challenge me and never expect to lose."

"I'm a winner. Winners don't lose!" Simon hissed, his demeanor a stark contrast from how he was hours earlier. He groaned in frustration and threw up his hands. "Fine, whatever! At least my project will be better than whatever you're doing."

"I never knew he was such a sore loser." Kenny commented as Simon stomped off.

"Well, you learn stuff at science fairs." Private said. Kenny snorted.

Simon didn't approach them for the rest of the day.

Tuesday and Wednesday were the busiest days where the judges went through each project and listened to the students describing and demonstrating. They did this in alphabetical order so Kowalski and Simon's would be on Wednesday.

Mikayla was approached Tuesday afternoon about not having put a last name on her project. She turned red and started spluttering unintelligibly. The judges told her she had to have a last name, even if it was embarrassing.

"Didn't you tell me it was Smith?" Kowalski said once a judge told her she was about to be disqualified for not being cooperative.

"I did? I mean, I did!" Mikayla said.

The judges exchanged doubtful looks and one spoke up.

"Miss Smith, do we have your permission papers?"

Students needed to submit both a parent/guardian and a school permission slip since they were minors and representing their respective schools. Kowalski had written to the school board to explain his guardianship situation. They'd allowed him to have Jeffery sign the slip.

"I submitted mine a long time ago." Mikayla said.

"What's your school name and grade?"

"Astoria High." Mikayla looked nervous. "I-I'm in tenth grade."

"We'll be back." Another judge said.

Mikayla shakily stared at her project.

"What's going on?" Kowalski asked.

"I'm not lying…about school and being a sophomore." Mikayla mumbled.

"What's the deal with no last name?" Skipper asked. "I like to rip off the bandage sometimes, so spill it."

"D-do you really have a last name anymore if…you've been disowned?" She fought back tears as she ran out of the room.

"Skipper, was that necessary?" George asked.

"Yeah…I mean no…I'll go talk to her."

"No, I will." Kowalski said. "I may be able to relate to her better, speaking as someone who wants to shed a last name after this year."

Kenny and Kowalski had decided to take their mother's maiden name, but would wait until summer to make it official.

Kowalski knocked on the girl's bathroom door. "Mikayla? Are you in there?"

A muffled voice answered. He didn't know what she said, but he heard the sound of the paper towel roll.

"Don't scrub too hard." Kowalski said.

A minute later, a pink faced Mikayla exited. She stared down at her shoes.

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to."

Mikayla shook her head.

"In a way, I can relate to shedding my surname." Kowalski continued. "It's Taro. Sounds decent, but it's also attached to a terrible person. My brother and I are going to adopt our late mother's surname which is also our cousin's. I'll be Kowalski Harrison."

"W-who was the person?" Mikayla asked weakly.

"Our father." Kowalski tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Our mom died when we were small and our father took us far from anyone we knew and abused us for twelve years."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"I've learned that there are people you can seek help from. Do you need help?"

Mikayla shook her head. "I don't live with them anymore."

"That sounds like a good start. Do you live somewhere safe?"

She hesitated. "It's not horrible." She said. "But I get food, clothes, and roof over my head."

"Would you be able to tell someone if you needed help? Call someone?"

She sighed heavily. "I don't have any family or friends…or a phone. I have small change from doing odd jobs. My science teacher helped me with my project because he said he thinks I'm destined for great things. He also thinks filtered water is a conspiracy and refuses to explain."

"Still…" Kowalski took out his mini notepad and a pencil. He wrote on a blank page and tore it out, handing it to her. "Here's my cell number, please call if you need anything and the boys and I will be there. We're not just keeping Manhattan safe."

"O-kay." She took it and put it in her jeans pocket.

"Seriously, Skipper's family lives on Long Island. I don't remember how far from Astoria specifically, but they can get there fast enough."

Mikayla looked him in the eyes. "Why do you care so much?"

"As I've said, I've been there." Kowalski said. "I've lived through a lot more than any kid should and I don't want anyone else to suffer what my brother and I have."

"May I hug you?"

Kowalski nodded. Mikayla hugged him, trying not to cry on his shirt. He patted her back.

"Thank you for being a friend." Mikayla said once she let go. "I haven't had one in a long time."

"Much obliged." Kowalski said. They reentered the gym to see Rico glaring at a smug Simon.

"Ah, there they are." Simon said loudly. "Ask them if you don't believe me. As if Kowalski could actually be in a real relationship…" He laughed mockingly.

"This idiot says you were making out with her." Skipper stated bluntly.

"Simon, do you know what a hug is?" Kowalski asked, rolling his eyes. "Or the meaning of the word 'comfort'?"

"I told you, I respect that he's in a relationship." Mikala said, glaring fiercely at Simon.

"He just said that to get rid of you, little miss no-one." Simon sneered. "The only reason he even fakes having those emotions is because he's not good enough for an actual-WHAT?!"

Rico had abruptly turned, stomped over to Kowalski, and kissed him roughly. Rico shot a look back at Simon as Kowalski blinked, having been startled and confused by so much happening at once. Skipper, Private, and Kenny burst into laughter. Mikayla couldn't help but smile slightly. Jeffery, George, and some onlookers' eyebrows rose in surprise.

"C-could you do that without almost breaking my teeth next time?" Kowalski said, feeling his front teeth.

"Sorry." Rico said.

"But-but-but-" Simon spluttered. Having nothing else to say, he turned on his heel and stomped off yet again.

"Man, it's times like these that I miss Julien." Skipper said. "He's more entertaining…don't tell him I said that." His team and Kenny laughed.

"That's one way to tell us you have a boyfriend." Jeffery said.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag so you can decide if you still want anything to do with me." Kowalski mumbled.

"Of course I do. You two are family and the Blues were the closest thing I had since our moms died and you two were gone. You could be in love with a barbie doll and I would still love you because you're my baby cousin."

"Kowalski, we care about you and we will never stop caring." George said. "I promised your brother that and I'm promising you."

Kowalski didn't know what to say. Kenny hugged his brother.

Simon was too flustered and angry to challenge Kowalski to chess.

Wednesday was where things got interesting.

First off, Mikayla had been disqualified. It wasn't for lack of last name, but lack of proper signature from a parent or guardian. That and Simon told them that Kowalski was working on her project on Monday and she wasn't supposed to have had help at that time.

She still stuck around for Kowalski's project. She said she didn't really have anywhere else to go and she never really planned to win.

Second, Simon's project made the Penguins' jaws drop in shock. It wasn't because it was something to admire, but it was all too familiar.

"I call it, a spy puffling." Simon said to the judges, holding the little toy up. "It sends a live feed directly to an app on your phone. You can use it to see if anyone's stealing from you or if you want to know if your dog or cat is up to no good-"

"Or to see what a group of penguins are up to." Skipper muttered under his breath. Private and Rico were openly glaring at the boy. Kowalski was seething.

"-I wanted to present it last year, but it wasn't quite ready yet." He flashed a smile, his gaze lingered on the Penguins for a moment. "And one of my prototypes was damaged." He'd looked directly at Private when he said that. Private let out a slight squeak.

The four boys went back to the table guarded by Kenny and Mikayla and told them and the adults that that was the spy toy they encountered last year. They asked Mikayla not to question it, but that it led to Kenny and Rikki, Rico's sister, being kidnapped.

Mikayla could tell they wanted to talk alone so she volunteered to go find out more information about the puffling since Simon was showing off to a few other students. Jeffery and Kenny accompanied her.

"Simone…that last name's not familiar. I don't think he has family working for the organization or Blowhole." George whispered to the boys. "I thought you suspected Hans."

Skipper nodded. "I did, but what if Simon supplied the toy? Hans did give the thing to Barry to give to us. And he knew Barry was trying to get back into our good books…maybe he wanted to see if there would be another rift. More chaos…Hans wanted another fight."

"I think he was supposed to sneak it to one of us." Kowalski added. "Simon's too smart to try to depend on a loose connection. Hans defied whatever Simon told him to do."

They winced as the sound of squeaky shoes hit their ears. Kenny had hurried over, followed by his cousin and Mikayla.

"B-Barry says that-that's the toy…" The younger teen panted. He showed them his phone. There was a message from Barry under a sent picture of the puffling.

Barry: WTF that's the thing Hans gave me! Tell the guys not to trust whoever made that

"Tell him it was Simon and to keep an eye on any suspicious activity." Skipper said. Kenny nodded and started typing.

"Kowalski Taro, you're up." The judges had arrived. "Do all these people need to be here?"

"Actually, yes." Kowalski said. "As you can see by the poster, these three are part of the project." He indicated the poster board which had 'before' photos picked by Rico, Private, and Skipper. Then 'after' photos.

"Alright, you've got our interest."

Kowalski cleared his throat, putting aside his anger at Simon and getting into his scientist mindset.

"This here permanent hair dye that doesn't require the use of bleach-" He brought out a bottle of the liquid that had turned his team's hair black. "As you can see by the before photos, our natural hair colors were dark red, dark brown, and blond-"

He explained that the DNA structure of their hair had changed. They'd suffered no side effects, but it hadn't ever worn off. Kowalski was looking to try to reverse the process, but had no such luck yet.

Once his presentation was complete, the judges had questions.

"Is this safe to use?"

"Only if you're certain you want this specific color. My discovery was an accident."

"You used quite a bit of chemicals to make this."

"Yes. I think it's much better than the harmful effects of bleach."

"It seems a double-edged sword, Mr. Taro. While bleach can be harmful long term, you seem to have more chemicals than your average permanent hair dye session."

"Oh." Kowalski looked put down.

"I'm not saying it's a bad project, it's just not a very environmentally conscious one."

"Do I still count as a participant?"

"Yes, we'll take it into consideration." The judges moved on to the next project.

The boys discussed what to do about Simon. He obviously was up to something, but they couldn't think of how or why he'd be working against them beyond a school rivalry. He didn't go to school with Mikayla so she couldn't help them there.

The judges told them to wrap up early and the results would come the next day. The boys couldn't confront Simon since he was surrounded by students.

Thursday, the final day, usually was filled with excitement and anticipation and it was for most students. Six teens weren't as enthusiastic though.

"Using it against people without their knowledge has to be grounds for disqualification, right?" Kowalski asked.

"Yeah, what he did was illegal." Skipper said.

"The judges won't accept it without proof." George supplied.

"We have Barry-"

"Your friend who is three years younger than you. Plus the fact that the device and all evidence was destroyed a year ago."

"What do we do then?"

"Kowalski! Ready to lose?" Simon's singsong voice came as he approached them.

"You have quite the confidence coming over here." Skipper growled.

"What do you mean? Maybe I got a little ruffled when I lost the chess match, whatever, I'm so over that."

"When did you start working with Hans Riber?"

"Who?" Simon kept his smile on, reminding Skipper way too much of Hans back then. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know, I'm a private investigator." George said casually. "And this is my son. I don't take threats and endangerment to my son or his friends lightly. I will find out if you're hiding something."

Simon's smile faltered. "Hey, all I know is a kid named Hans bought the thing off me. What he did with it is his deal. As I said, I had more than one prototype. Haven't heard from him since, so I assumed it failed and worked on it longer."

George's eyebrows lowered, his face clearly saying he didn't believe the teen. Simon was intimidated, but tried not to show it.

"Judges are coming back." Kenny said. Simon hurried to his project.

"Well, Taro, you're the runner up." The head judge said.

Kowalski's mood brightened. "I am? I thought-"

"Don't worry too much about the specifics, it's not like we're marketing the product."

"Okay! Thank you!" Kowalski was trying really hard not to squeal in excitement.

"The winner of this year's fair is Marian McGrath for her extensive research on the effects of music on plant growth." The judge announced.

A girl squealed excitedly as she received her award. She was met by applause.

"Y'know, I'll take that." Kowalski said. "Simon didn't win and that's all that matters."

The boys all exchanged high fives.

Private's phone beeped, he checked it. "Barry said he got Savio to contact Hans about Simon using the puffin against us."

"Hans can talk where he is?"

George shrugged. "I have no idea where he'd be brought other than an interrogation room."

"GUYS!" Mikayla shouted, rushing towards them. She had been congratulating Marian. "Simon's gone. All his stuff is gone too. The kids around him said he packed his stuff without a word and left while the winner was being announced."

"He couldn't have known he was going to lose, could he?" Kowalski asked.

"They said he looked at his phone when he got back to his project."

"You don't think Hans-?" Kowalski looked at Skipper.

"Hans doesn't care about science fairs." Skipper said.

"No, but something must have happened between them. Him and Simon. I truly believe Savio has no idea what's happening. Barry has more of an idea than Savio. Mikayla has more of an idea."

"I do? I mean-yeah I do." Mikayla said.

"Simon's hair is lighter than Hans', so what gives? Was it a wig or dyed?" Skipper asked.

"Either way, we have a recording of him and a picture. We can ask around." Kowalski said.

"Wait, when did you take those?" Mikayla asked.

"Classified."

Mikayla was about to respond when a hiss sounded and Rico poured soda into the volcano, having exceeded his patience limit and been wanting it to go off.

BLUB

PSSSHHHH

It was like a freshly popped champagne bottle except it went straight up, almost to the ceiling, and rained down. Students screamed and scattered.

Rico tried to catch the soda with his mouth and the rest of the boys laughed. Mikayla couldn't help but laugh along.

Once they got over their initial shock, the judges made them clean up the mess.

Mikayla bid them farewell as the event was shutting down. She said she could make her way back by herself, but Kowalski insisted on asking one of the adults to drive her home. The adults and the rest of the boys also insisted once they saw her worn backpack and shoes. The drawback, in her opinion, was that at least one of the teens would see where she lived since Jeffery's car could only hold four passengers.

So she asked for Kowalski to come and they put their projects in George's car. The others were on their way to the Sorenson's house for the night, heading back to Central Park the next day. She asked them not to question where she lived which she said was a women's shelter. They found it a bit concerning that she was living in a home like this instead of a foster home, but she insisted it was fine.

She decided last minute to gift the volcano to Rico, telling Kowalski that it seemed like it meant a lot to him and she didn't have room anyway.

George stopped the car a few feet ahead after Mikayla had gone inside. A lady had waved them down.

"Are you alright?" George asked.

"Yes, I was wondering about that girl you just dropped off, does she volunteer there?"

"No, she told me she lived there."

"In a retirement home?"

"Was it? I didn't notice a sign." George said. He looked to Kowalski who shrugged.

"It just became one, it used to be a rehabilitation center for alcoholics."

"Is there a women's shelter nearby? Maybe she's visiting someone before she goes back home."

"The nearest one would be almost a mile away."

"I'll check on her." Kowalski said, his gut telling him there was something not quite right.

"Meet me in that parking lot over there, I'm in a red zone." George said.

Kowalski nodded, unbuckled, and exited the vehicle. He tried not to seem rushed or worried as he entered the building. He saw a business card and pamphlet and picked them up.

"Hello." A worker said. "Can I get your name and the name of the person you're visiting?"

"Oh, I'm not here to visit, I was wondering about that girl who came here." Kowalski said. "We just dropped her off, but I forgot to tell her something."

"I'm afraid you just missed her. She comes by sometimes to hang out with our lonelier residents who don't really have family, but she was just passing by today."

"Do you happen to know anything about her?"

"Other than her name's Mikayla and she's a high schooler, nothing. She's a sweet kid, want me to tell her you came by?"

"No, I-I'll call her." Kowalski lied. He had no number or address or even an idea if she was telling the truth about the shelter. "May I have these?" He indicated the pamphlet and card in his hand. The worker nodded.

Feeling a pit in his stomach, Kowalski returned to the car which was now in a restaurant parking lot. He explained what happened as George drove them to his house.

"W-what if this is her Seven-Four?" Kowalski asked. "What if she doesn't have a home? I just realized…she's been wearing the same jeans for four days and the same jacket. I didn't notice if she changed her shirt, but…"

"She didn't completely disappear." George told the pale teen. "She's still attending school and went to a science fair. We can only assume she didn't bring much or didn't want to go back to the motel room."

"Why would she lie about where she lived?"

"I don't know, kiddo."

They drove in silence to the Sorenson's house.

A/N: I've written a lot of background for different characters that might get a story of its own, maybe not. It helps me to understand them though. In this story, Kowalski sees Mikayla as a combination of himself and Kenny.