Kihonne: Hey guys, so sorry about the slight delay in the chapter – my dad's birthday plans got moved ahead a day, so I didn't get the chance to finish the last couple of scenes until today. But I'm back, with another chapter, and I think you guys are going to like it! But first, it's time for shoutouts!
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SzymonS: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Interesting theory about Matt; I guess we'll see if it pans out that way. I'm glad you liked the rule about the buses – I thought that would get a laugh. Yep, Emily's a nerd, but did we expect anything else? And yes, Perry. I couldn't resist including her. Yes, Calla, Leo, and the others are aware of her being their gym teacher – they find it hilariously ironic. As for Kameron and whether or not he still has feelings for Charlotte, all I'll say is that it's been a long time since he admitted to Kaz that he liked her. Even if he is still into her, the feelings have definitely muted a bit, which is why he's still able to act normal around her. Again, interesting theory about Matt and Darius. They are going to be important to the plot, but I can't yet say how. I'm glad you found the attack interesting like that – it does seem like something that could go from science-fiction to science-fact within the next couple of decades, so I thought it would make sense to include something like that. As for the grounding, she was actually talking to Emily about that (if she found out that Emily was involved, she would be grounded). Good ideas as to who may be responsible (Sienna is out of prison and living in Philadelphia now). I guess we'll see who it is later in the story. Until then, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Algernon23: Ah, poor Sera. Yeah, she's definitely out of her element now. It's going to take some adjustment for her, that's for sure. Yeah, the kids don't know everything about their parents' histories. Each of them kinda know a different amount, depending on who their parents were, and that's definitely going to come back and bite a few of them in the ass later. I'm glad you like the technological advancements I included – I figured that, given Calla's role in the scientific community, they'd have a lot of experience with the latest tech. Darius and Matt…they're going to be fun. Charlotte sure has her dad's habit of falling too fast, too hard, and Emily's got that stranger-danger caution from Calla and Chase. It'll be interesting to see which one of the girls is right. Ah, Perry. She's getting to torment a whole new generation of heroes. It's where she belongs. As for how much the kids know about her history with the Lab Rats…well, if they didn't know already, they're going to find out real quickly. There's actually going to be a lot of references to the old shows, particularly earlier seasons. There's a lot of things we can pull from the parents' past that would still affect the kids, especially given that not all of their enemies are new ones. You're right, peace doesn't last, especially not in Centium City. It is sad that those people died, but you're right that the kids definitely stepped up to the plate. Ben and the adults may not think it's a good idea, but they've certainly got what it takes. Naomi is more on the kids' side of things, but she has grown up around heroes – I think it makes sense that she would be interested in training a new team on her own, even if she herself doesn't have abilities. You're right, it's been about a week since the parents left (unless said otherwise, assume it's about a week in between each chapter), so the bad guys are definitely moving a lot faster than some of the villains from the past. Anyway, I hope your procedure goes well (I know getting your wisdom teeth out is only fun for the people who get to see you high on medication) and I hope that you enjoy this chapter too.
LabGirl2001: Interesting theory about Darius. I guess we'll see about that. As for Calla…yeah, she'll find out sooner rather than later, that's for sure. I'm glad you liked Perry's return, as well as the references to everybody's favorite psychopathic android as well as the self-driving cars. I thought it would be a nice call back to the original series. Oh, and I can guarantee you that Calla doesn't believe that Emily is innocent, but without proof, she can't really do anything. If Noah wants to take responsibility for all of it, she definitely respects that enough not to argue. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and I hope you like this one too!
Humanusscriptor: Glad you're feeling better! Yeah, Naomi's a bit like Peter Parker, isn't she? She's definitely got an eye for photography, but she's also into reporting too, so that's going to make her an interesting character. Adam would be proud of Noah for getting his own bionics, though I don't think Bree or Jaden will be hen they find out. Night surfing is pretty cool, but very difficult – I learned how to surf as a kid while my family was posted somewhere much warmer than Canada for a couple of years, and it's hard enough when you can see the board, let alone when it's too dark to see anything. Kameron is certainly his parent's child though for wanting to try. Ben is a really good friend, that's for sure. And ah, yes, Perry. Everyone seems to be pleasantly surprised by her reappearance. You're absolutely right about the incident being an accident waiting to happen – technology is so easy to mess with. And yes, Naomi! Going behind the adults' backs is such a Davenport family trait, isn't it?
Guest: Sera's powers are going to be explored in more detail here, but the short answer is: cryokinesis, super strength, and the signature Calderan agility/flexibility.
Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters so far! I won't have a chapter focusing on the parent's journey, as I'd like to focus on the kids, but you will get some updates from Calla every once in a while (keep in mind though, she too has limited communication with Chase and the others). We will get to see them all again, just not any time soon. I'm glad you liked the little jokes and references I included, especially Perry. Sera and Emily are going to have a very interesting friendship, that's for sure. As for Kameron's crush, it has been a long time since he told Kaz of his crush, so if he does still have feelings for her, they're not so much at the forefront of his mind. That being said, they would make a cute couple. You will get to see more of the twins though – I'm aware they haven't had much screen time, however, certain things need to be set up for the plot in the early chapters, which require more focus on certain characters. You'll see more of everyone's powers in this chapter – I knew people would be asking about what everyone's powers were, so I dedicated half a chapter to focusing on what almost everyone can do. As for appearances, there will be a little more description – there was a lot more focus on Sera and the twins' appearances in the first chapter, but that was because it wouldn't make sense for Naomi or Emily to put a great deal of thought into what Noah, Charlotte, Ava, or each other looked like since they saw each other every day, whereas Sera, Kira, and Kameron are almost strangers to them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
AlienGhostWizard14: Thanks! Enjoy!
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Kihonne: Apologies if I missed anyone's review – for some reason I didn't get emails for all of them and wouldn't have noticed if someone hadn't mentioned their review (one I hadn't noticed) in a PM to me. Anyway, without further ado!
Darius: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or the Elite Force. She only owns this story, any and all OCs in it, and anything else that you don't recognize from the original shows.
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Naomi's POV
"Okay, it is way too early for this." Charlotte yawned, rubbing the back of her neck as she walked into Mission Command. Her long, black hair was braided over her left shoulder, as per usual, but she was still in her PJs. Kira frowned at her.
"It's 8 AM." The blonde girl stated. Charlotte nodded.
"Exactly." She agreed. Kira furrowed her brow, having already been up for two hours, and in that time had gone for a run with Emily, made breakfast, and beat two levels on a video game she had brought with her from New York. Unlike Charlotte, she was fully dressed too - wearing a pair of pink shorts and a white t-shirt that read 'Cardio Princess' in matching pink letters.
"Well, now that we're all here," I cleared my throat. Seraphina raised her hand from where she was sitting behind one of the computer desks. "Yes, Seraphina?"
"Noah's not here." She pointed out.
"He got stuck working an early shift. Sucker." Emily told her, sitting cross-legged on the ground with Helix in her lap and a cup of coffee in her hands. She too was still in her PJs, her brown hair tied up loosely in a messy bun. "And I agree with Charlotte - it's too early for this."
"Didn't you have to be up in an hour anyway?" Sera questioned.
"Yeah, in an hour." She stressed the last word. Sera just shook her head at the technokinetic and shared an exasperated smile with Kira.
"Guys!" I tried again, this time getting everyone's attention. "Look, guys, we don't have too many opportunities to train in Mission Command like this. Luckily, Calla, Leo, and Ben got called into S.H.I.R.T. for the day, so we have free reign of the Mission Command until they get back."
"So what's the plan?" Charlotte questioned, finally sitting down next to Kameron.
"I thought we could run through some of my sibling's old missions, see how you guys all fare against the challenges. That way we can get a better idea of what your abilities are."
"Well, that's not fair." Kameron protested, much to my surprise. I looked at him.
"Okay?" I said questioningly. He gestured at Emily and Charlotte.
"They already know how their parents dealt with the missions. They'll have an advantage." He explained.
"What in the world would give you that idea?" Charlotte demanded. Emily snorted in amusement.
"They won't tell us half the stories we know they have." She agreed. Sera frowned.
"Your parents didn't tell you about all their missions from when they were younger?" She asked, seeming confused by the revelation. "My parents told me everything. At least, I think they told me everything."
"Well, in my mom's words, it's to 'not encourage behaviors like ma Papa's'." Charlotte explained, briefly adopting an accent similar to Katherine's.
"That, and S.H.I.R.T. all but classified everything that happened prior to Dad, Uncle Leo, Aunt Bree, and Uncle Adam agreeing to work with the government." Emily added with a shrug and a smirk. "I think it looks better for them if they try to pretend that they always worked for them, rather than acknowledge the fact that there were basically superheroes working for a millionaire with a basement lab without their knowledge."
"What do you know?" Kameron questioned, still a little suspicious. Emily thought about it for a moment.
"Some random stuff, mostly stuff from after they started working with the government. Before that...I think there was something about a train, maybe an avalanche, and there was something about Great Uncle Dougy, but we don't talk about that for some reason." She replied, a deep frown on her face.
"Dad says since he's not trying to kill anyone anymore and he makes great baba ghanoush, we should focus on that." Charlotte chimed in. Kameron stared at her for a moment, trying to see if she was serious.
"I want to meet your Great Uncle Dougy." He decided. Charlotte beamed.
"You should." She replied cheerfully. Sera looked at Kira.
"Did Uncle Kaz and Aunt Dani tell you guys all their stories?" She inquired.
"Mostly." Kameron replied. Kira paused.
"All except for the Grandma thing. Do you know what that's about?" She asked. Sera bit her lip, clearly not wanting to answer. "Oh my God, you do!"
"Who wants to go first for training?" I asked loudly, changing the topic. Emily raised her hand. "Awesome!"
"Actually, I was raising my hand to tell you I can't do training today." She admitted sheepishly. I gave her a look. "Hey, it's a school thing - I have to meet Darius at the library and work on this stupid project with him."
"You love chemistry." I pointed out, confused.
"The science isn't the problem, it's my partner." She admitted.
"He beat her in class last week." Charlotte added. Emily shot her a glare.
"Would you stop telling people that?" She demanded, sounding genuinely annoyed with her at this point. I chuckled.
"Alright, you're excused." I assured her. She nodded and climbed to her feet.
"C'mon Helix!" She patted her leg, leading the dog to the hyperlift. I looked at the others.
"Any other volunteers?" I inquired.
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"Alright, Kira, Kameron, I have a real treat for you guys." I clapped my hands together, smiling as the twins got ready for their first mission simulation. Charlotte had gone back to bed (it was a miracle that I'd managed to get her out of bed before 10 on a Saturday anyway), while Sera was upstairs, keeping an eye out for anyone we didn't want to see us doing this in mission command and keeping Kameron's tarantula company (she found the eight-legged creature a lot more interesting than Calla did). "You guys ready for this?"
"Please, we're basically superheroes already." Kameron insisted, running a hand through his spiky black hair. Beside him, his sister looked equally excited, her deep brown eyes sparking at the thought of the challenge.
"Alright, so this wasn't strictly a mission, per say, but it is a problem that Leo, Chase, Calla, and my dad had to deal with back in the day." I declared, stepping to the side so that they were facing the rock wall.
"Bring it." Kira insisted. I smiled a little at her enthusiasm, and hit a button on the tablet in front of me.
"And behind door number one is..." I announced loudly as the rock wall slid upwards to reveal their opponent. Standing at about 5'2 and clad in a black pantsuit was the metal robot fashioned to look like my siblings' old high school principal, all the way down to the red-haired wig, "...Robo Perry!"
Kira and Kameron stared at it for a second. "Are you kidding me?" Kira demanded.
"Why, why do you have a robot of our gym teacher?" Kameron questioned.
"I think the better question is why my dad has a robot of your gym teacher." I replied. I pressed a button on the tablet, activating the robot. The moment she moved, both twins flinched back, already wary of the machine. "Now, originally built for military use, Robo Perry here can match Aftershock in strength, and, for extra measure," I paused as a blast of laser vision shot from Robo Perry's eyes and hit the rock wall behind Kira. The blonde snapped her head towards where the blast had hit before turning back to stare at Robo Perry with wide eyes, "we added lasers."
"You're insane." Kameron informed me before glancing at his sister, silently asking her how she wanted to handle this. They didn't say anything, and I knew that they didn't have the same telepathic connection that Oliver and Dani had, so I was curious about how this would play out.
In the end, it was Kira that charged at the robot first. She flew at Robo Perry, feet not touching the ground but still staying rather closer to the ground, in an attempt to catch her off guard. Instead of trying to grab at Perry though, she instead raised her fist, and a ball of flames shot from her knuckles. The fire hit Perry directly in the chest, and Kira lunged at Perry, hoping to tackle her to the ground.
However, Robo Perry grabbed her by the wrist, twisting it hard and forcing Kira back to the ground. The pyrokinetic let out a whimper of pain, trying to get free, and Kameron sprung into action himself.
"Hey, metal-mouth!" Well, at least he was half-decent at coming up with insults for the villains we might face. That was something. Robo Perry looked towards Kameron just as he flew at her. He didn't bother using any power but his flight abilities, literally slamming into Robo Perry's shoulder. It wasn't much - it was harder than expected to catch a robot set to 'Search and Incapacitate' off guard - but the sudden blow did give Kira the chance to escape.
She stumbled backwards, away from Robo Perry just as Kameron flew back a couple of feet. "Blast her!" Kira shouted at him. Instead of doing as he was told, Kameron turned to stare at his twin.
"You want me to electrocute the metal robot, while you're standing on the same metal floor as it?" He asked. Kira didn't answer his question, just gesturing at the robot. I, meanwhile, was suddenly grateful that my shoes that rubber soles in them.
"Kam!" Kira shouted as Perry sent a laser beam at him. He turned around to try and defend himself, but it was too late - the laser caught him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.
"Kee!" He called, waving his hand at the robot. Kira nodded, clearly understanding more from that gesture than I did, and raised both her hands. A larger blast of fire hit Perry, strong enough to slide her back a foot.
Kameron, meanwhile, climbed to his feet. I raised my chin, trying to decide if he was hurt or not, but he waved me off before clearing his throat. Kira suddenly stopped her fiery blast and lunged at Robo Perry, just like before. This time, however, her arms were crossed and she aimed for Robo Perry's shoulder instead of her chest. The blow was enough to knock Robo Perry back a few more feet, into the tunnels.
"All yours!" Kira called, flying away from Robo Perry before she could get a hold of the pyrokinetic.
Kameron raised his hands, but instead of blasting Robo Perry, he raised his hands towards the ceiling and sent a blast of electricity towards the top of the tunnel's archway. The blast short circuited the tunnel door, and the rock wall slid back down, effectively cutting Robo Perry off from the twins.
"Does that count?" Kira asked me, a little breathless. I quickly de-activated Robo Perry from my tablet.
"I guess." I hadn't been entirely sure how that was going to go anyway.
"That could have gone better." Kameron commented. I shrugged. "How did Leo, Calla, Chase, and Mr. Davenport stop Robo Perry?"
"They didn't. Real Perry ripped her head off." I replied. Looking up, I saw the horrified looks on the twins' faces. "Have fun in gym class on Monday." I told them before starting to prepare the next simulation.
Emily's POV
"Well, this was a waste of time." I muttered, closing the book in front of me. Dad had always said that the one of the reasons we still had libraries were because books (real ones, not just the online ones) could still be extremely useful to us, but after hours of pouring over a stack of chemistry books with Darius, we still had no idea what we were going to do our term project on. Not that Darius had been particularly helpful - all of his ideas had come straight out of the textbook, and I'd wanted to do something really original for class.
"You do know that we don't need to give Mr. Perez the topic of our assignment for another three weeks, right? It's barely the second week of September." Darius pointed out, leaning back in his seat and rubbing at his eyes. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, but I'd like to get a head start on it. It's our senior year - we have college applications, SATs, exams, graduation...I don't want to have to worry about this while we're in the middle of all that." I explained. He shrugged. I sighed. "This isn't working though."
"Why don't we take a break?" Darius suggested. I looked at him and he gestured at the books. "We've been focusing for too long. Why don't we take a break and come back to it later with fresh eyes?"
"Okay." I agreed reluctantly. I glanced at the library's coffee shop. "You want to grab a late lunch?"
"You can if you want, I'm not hungry." Darius replied, closing his own book. I looked at him suspiciously.
"It's nearly three. We've been here all day. How are you not hungry?" I questioned, surprised. He licked his lips, glancing back at the coffee shop.
"I don't have any money on me." He admitted. I sighed and got up.
"C'mon," I gestured with my head at the coffee shop. "My treat."
"What's the catch?" He asked slowly, frowning at me.
"There has to be one?" I replied. He didn't move, so I shrugged. "I got you up early on a Saturday, figure I kinda owe you."
That got him moving, but he still looked confused. "You told me to be here by ten. How is that early?"
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Despite the fact that I offered to pay, Darius barely got anything, just grabbing a muffin and a small coffee. I got myself a salad and a latte, and was quite content to eat while skimming over the instructions for the chemistry project again. The teacher wasn't very specific, just that we had to come up with something that we could show at the science fair, and that it had to show our understanding of the stuff we were learning in class. Easy enough, but I wanted to make sure ours stood out. M.I.T. didn't take just anyone, after all.
I briefly glanced up as Darius' holophone vibrated. He picked up the device and a message appeared a few inches above it, though I couldn't quite read it from here.
"How come you don't have a holowatch?" I asked, curious. Most people were using them these days (I was proud to say that Davenport Industries was at the top of that market) and had given up on holophones ages ago.
"I like the phones better. You can do more on them." He reasoned. I frowned.
"But that's why the holowatches come with tablets...so you can play games and stuff." I replied. He shrugged. "So, who's texting you anyway?"
"Nosy, much?" He asked. I smirked, sensing that he wasn't really annoyed.
"I prefer 'curious'." I replied.
"Didn't curiosity kill the cat?" He teased.
"Yes, but satisfaction brought it back." I replied. "Plus, I'm a dog person."
He chuckled at that. "I'll keep that in mind." He told me. I shrugged.
"You don't have to tell me." I mentioned. He shook his head.
"I think I do, actually. It's from Matt." He replied. "Asking about Charlotte."
I must have made a face, because he frowned at me. "You don't like us, do you?"
"I didn't say that." I replied.
"Your face kinda did." He replied. "And the fact that anytime we've hung out with Charlotte outside of class, you avoid us. The only times you've talked to me have been in class, or today, while we were working on school stuff. What did we do?"
"Nothing, I..." I sighed, realizing that he did have a point. "I'm sorry. It's not you..."
"If you finish that sentence with 'it's me', I will walk out of here." Darius threatened. I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, what's up? For real?"
"Look, it's..." I tried to figure out how to explain. "It's Charlotte, actually."
"Charlotte?" He repeated. I nodded. "You wanna elaborate on that?"
I sighed. "Do not tell her I told you this." I warned. He nodded, making an X across his chest in a childish way. "She has a thing for your friend Matt-"
Darius chuckled at that. "Yeah, I didn't need you to tell me that. We know."
"Wonderful. Real subtle, Char." I muttered to myself.
"Hey, if it makes things better, he likes her too. His text was to see if you knew if she was seeing anyone." Darius offered. I shook my head.
"That doesn't make things better, actually." I replied. I looked at him. "She has this habit of falling too hard for guys that aren't worth it, and she gets hurt. The last time she had a crush like this, I had to buy her a smoothie every morning for a month just so that she wouldn't be miserable the entire day." I explained. I paused, realizing what I'd said. "No offense to you or Matt."
"You think he's going to hurt her though." It wasn't a question. I gave her an apologetic smile.
"I've met guys like him. The ones that seem too good to be true. So yeah, I do." I replied. He nodded thoughtfully.
"Okay, so why don't you like me?" He asked after a long moment. I blinked, surprised at the question.
"You're his best friend." I said, thinking it would have been obvious.
"So that automatically makes me just like him?" Darius challenged. I nodded. "Wow. Okay, you're...wow."
"What?" I demanded. He shook his head, looking annoyed.
"Charlotte's been going gaga over him for nearly a week now. She's overexcited half the time, really flirty, and was basically teaching our anthropology class with the way she kept interrupting the teacher to answer questions." He listed. "Should I assume that you're the same way?"
"No, anthropology is dumb." I replied. He raised a finger.
"I disagree. But you're right that I shouldn't assume you're the same way, because you're not exactly like her and that would be wrong." He told me, shaking his head. "You want to dislike Matt because you think he's bad for her? That's your prerogative. But don't make assumptions about me."
He turned back to his book, picking it up and diving into it immediately. I sighed. "You're right." I said after a while. "Sorry."
"You should be." He agreed, flipping the page. I blinked at him, not expecting that response.
"I'm really sorry?" I tried again. He glanced at me over the top of the book, then sighed and placed it down.
"How about this? I won't judge you based off of your terrible first impression," I opened my mouth at that, but was unable to argue, "and you don't judge me because of what you assume about Matt. Deal?"
"Deal." I agreed. He nodded and went back to his book, flipping the page again almost immediately. I shrugged and grabbed my fork, starting to dig into my salad.
"So, I guess this means you're not going to give me Charlotte's number to give to Matt?" He asked after a while, eyes trained on the page in front of him, even though his tone was light.
"God, no." I replied instantly, not even looking up from my food.
"Just checking."
Naomi's POV
"So how come I get to do my simulation solo?" Charlotte inquired, stretching a little as she walked into the tunnel from mission command. I glanced up from my tablet and smiled at her. "It's because I'm just that good, right?"
"Actually, it's because I'm already pretty familiar with your abilities, and because Noah's going to go with Seraphina when he gets back from work." I replied. She nodded.
"It's because I'm just that good." She decided, completely disregarding everything I'd just said. I chuckled a little.
"Sure. It's because you're just that good." I agreed, earning a grin from the younger girl. "Alright, did Leo ever tell you about the first time he went on a mission?"
"Yeah, he snuck onto a high-speed train. Ooh, do I get to stop a high-speed train?" She beamed. I frowned, glancing down at my notes.
"Okay, I think I mean the first time he officially went on a mission, because there's nothing in the train mission report about him being there." It wouldn't surprise me if he'd be removed from the report if he'd snuck on board the train, especially since the incident happened back before the world knew about bionics. "The one with the toxic gas leak?"
"No...meh, not as cool as stopping a high-speed train, but it'll do." Charlotte shrugged. "What happened?"
"Well, for some reason Adam, Bree, and Chase couldn't go on the mission, so Leo, my dad, Calla, and Eddy went without them."
"Eddy?" Charlotte repeated. "How did Eddy go on a mission?"
"Uh..." I wasn't sure, to be honest, though a better question would be why he went on the mission rather than how. I mean, it's not like Calla or Leo would have invited him. Hell, leaving him behind in Mission Creek was on my pro-list for going to school in Centium City. "We'll question that later. For now, let's focus on the mission. There was a major gas leak at a toxic chemical plant and they had to stop the plant from exploding and releasing the chemical into the air."
"Fun." Charlotte nodded sarcastically. I smiled a little.
"Okay, so obviously I'm not going to release a toxic chemical into the tunnels-" I began, only for Charlotte to cut me off with a smirk.
"Party Pooper." She teased. I gave her a look.
"Can you take this seriously?" I requested. She sighed and nodded.
"Okay, serious. Got it." She agreed.
"We're going to use tear gas instead." I continued, handing her a helmet off a rocky ledge. "It's got lower concentrations of most of the chemicals, so even if you breathe it in, it's not going to do any long term damage, but better safe than sorry. This thing at the back with filter in oxygen and filter out the gas, so you'll be able to breathe just fine with this on."
"Alright, so I just have to contain the leak and get in back in...where?" She questioned. I pointed to an air duct near the entrance to the tunnel.
"Right there. And you have to find a way to seal it so that it can't escape again. Without igniting the gas, either."
"So no using my EMPs, got it." Charlotte nodded, pulling on the helmet. I gestured to mission command.
"I'm going to be out there, but I'll be watching on the cameras, and I can hear you if anything goes wrong." I told her. She nodded before double checking that the helmet was working properly.
"Bring it." She told me, giving me a thumbs up. I nodded and walked back out to mission command, waving as I lowered the rock wall. I glanced at the screen on the wall to make sure I could see her perfectly, then pressed a button on my tablet to release the gas.
Through Charlotte's helmet, I could see this set, determined look on her face as the tear gas started spilling from the air duct. It was coming out fast, much faster than I'd thought it would, but in the end, it would better replicate a real-life scenario if it pushed her more. And besides, with Charlotte's abilities already cataloged, I was more testing to see how she could work under pressure.
After barely a moment's thought, Charlotte walked over to the air duct, only stopping when she was directly underneath it. She raised her hands, and her plasma force field began to form around her. She stretched her arms wide, growing the force field much larger than usual, until it encompassed the entirety of the air duct, as well as the rest of the gas that had escaped into the tunnel. I hummed thoughtfully - that was one way to contain it.
Then, she began to shrink the force field around her, keeping the force field up high so that, as it shrank, it still keep the air duct in the center of it. She shrank it as much as she could, keeping the gas inside of it even as she exited the force field. Now holding a plasma ball full of tear gas, and using its size to keep the rest of the gas from escaping into the room, Charlotte needed to figure out a way to prevent it anymore from escaping permanently - she couldn't just stand there forever, holding the plasma ball above her head.
She frowned as that seemed to occur to her too, clearly not having though this all the way through. She looked around the room desperately, then up at the air duct itself.
Charlotte adjusted her position a bit, trying to hold onto the plasma ball with one hand while reaching for the air duct with the other. She just barely managed it, slipping her fingers through the plasma ball so that she could touch the metal slates of the grate. One by one, she managed to close them so that no more gas could get out.
She stepped back, still holding the gas filled plasma ball. No more gas would try to enter the room, so technically the mission was complete, but she couldn't release the plasma ball without releasing the gas. Judging by her expression, she was stumped.
"How did Dad do this the first time?" She called. I glanced at the mission notes.
"They turned on a fan and killed Eddy." I replied, speaking through a microphone. Oh, maybe that's why they took him on the mission...
"Hey MISS?" Charlotte asked loudly.
"Killing me will accomplish nothing, Miss Charlotte." The AI replied instantly. Charlotte grinned, always pleased by the AI's rare attempts at humor.
"How much will turning on a fan accomplish?" She requested. In reply, a fan started gently sucking the air from the room. "Thanks, MISS." She called, releasing the plasma ball towards the fan. Once all the gas was gone, she turned to face the camera. "So, how was that?"
Calla's POV
"I've got a question for you." Leo caught up with me just as I made my way down the walkway towards the conference rooms in S.H.I.R.T.'s underground headquarters. "Make that two, actually."
"Well, if one of them is why Charlotte woke up at the crack of dawn to sneak into my apartment, I've got a theory, but no proof. Yet." I replied.
"Well, that does answer the question of 'do you know where Charlotte went this morning," Leo agreed. I nodded.
"What's the second question?" I inquired, pulling open the door to the conference room. Leo walked in, turning around as I followed him. Ben was already inside, playing on his phone.
"Are you eating an apple?" He questioned. I glanced at the piece of fruit in my hands, then shrugged.
"Chase must be getting to me. God knows I didn't eat this healthy before I married him." I joked. I hadn't really thought about it until now, just remembering to grab something out of habit. "Hey Ben. No Naomi?"
"Nah, she's helping Seraphina out with something." He replied. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Really?" I questioned suspiciously. He nodded, an innocent look on his face.
"Really. Are you eating an apple?" He asked, his tone equally suspicious.
"Oh my God, it's just an apple. Geez, it's like you've never seen me eat healthy before." I rolled my eyes.
"Guys, leave Calla alone." Miles told them as he walked into the room.
"Thank you." I grumbled.
"It's much more fun to make fun of her cooking than her food choices." He continued.
"I hate all of you." I declared loudly, earning chuckled from the men in the room. "Alright, why'd you call us in here, other than to make fun of me?"
"We need to discuss last week's attack." Miles explained, and the atmosphere turned serious. "We know it wasn't an accident, and I don't think it's a coincidence that they attacked Centium City."
"Why did they attack Centium City?" Ben inquired, frowning. "Because the Elite Force is gone?"
"There's no way whoever is behind this could figure that out so quickly. And besides, the team hasn't been active for years." Leo reasoned. "No, they most likely targeted Centium City because it's the biggest tech hub in the country at the moment."
"Between Davenport Industries, Blizzard Corp, and Explority, we're pretty much dominating the science world from this city." I agreed. "If you're looking for next level technology, this is the place to get it. The question is, is this the beginning?"
"We don't think so. All of our analysts agree that this points towards something bigger going on." Miles said. I shook my head; of course this would happen in the first couple of weeks since Chase left. As if I didn't have enough on my plate with the kids.
"Davenport Industries will help in whatever way we can. I'm not going to deny that Blizzard Corp's stock market falling isn't bad for business, but we could just as easily be next. I want to stop whoever these people are." I told him. He smiled.
"I appreciate that, but it may take more than just Davenport Industries. If there's another attack, we need more people defending the city." Miles started to pace. "With Chase gone, Leo and Katherine retired, and Spin splitting his time between here and Mission Creek, Ben can't do this alone."
"Katherine and I don't mind coming out of retirement for this." Leo said quickly. Miles nodded.
"Again, I appreciate that, but I don't think it'll be enough. We need more hands on deck, and with the NLH still dealing with the witchcraft fiasco from last year..." I grimaced at the memory; it hadn't been a great time for the League "...look, we just need more help and I don't know where we're going to get it."
"I might have an idea." Ben said slowly. We all looked at him, and he started, his tone cautious. "Look, I know we already told them no, but maybe Kira and the others have a point. They might be ready to take this on."
"Absolutely not." I shook my head. "We discussed this, Ben."
"Yes, but that was before we knew that the city could be under attack." He insisted. He looked at Leo and I pleadingly. "If someone attacks Centium City, they need to be ready. And you two are the best people to train them."
"I don't know, man. They're kids." Leo insisted. Ben gave him a look.
"I was seventeen when I started superheroing, and I know you guys started much younger than that." He pointed out. "Besides, you know them. They're going to do it anyway, with or without your permission. Might as well make sure they're doing it as safely as possible."
I pinched the bridge of my nose, leaning back in my chair. I didn't like the idea of this at all. It was reckless and dangerous and literally everyone on the space mission would kill me when they found out. But Ben did have a point - they would do it behind our backs if they felt they had to. Hell, I was pretty damn sure they were already doing it behind our backs. And if they didn't feel they could come to us, things could go from bad to worse just like that...
"Damn it." I muttered, shaking my head.
Naomi's POV
"Sorry, sorry. Blake dropped by work to surprise me and we started talking." Noah explained in a rush as he jogged into the tunnel, the long-haired brunet hastily pulling on a workout shirt so that he wouldn't risk getting his work uniform dirty. He stopped when he saw that Seraphina and I were waiting for him. "You guys haven't started without me, have you?"
"No, don't worry." I assured him. Sera cocked her head to the side, eyes narrowed curiously.
"Who's Blake?" She asked. Noah spared her a glance.
"My girlfriend. She goes to school at CCEU." He explained. "Sorry, I figure I can't really tell her about all of this, but I didn't want to lie to her either so I couldn't come up with an excuse to leave earlier."
"It's fine, but you're going to have to figure out how to keep it from her soon. Does she even know you're bionic?" I inquired. To my surprise, he nodded. "Noah!"
"Well, she had questions about the giant-ass capsule Emily and Ben set up in my dorm." He explained. I frowned.
"What capsule? Ben, bionic chips haven't needed to use capsules in ten years." I explained. He stared at me.
"Then why did Calla make them set up the capsule?" He demanded. "Why have I been sleeping in it?"
"Probably as punishment for getting the chip in the first place." I snickered. He glowered at me. "And technically, you do need something to recharge the bionic chip, but most bionic super humans use the portable chargers because they're quicker and less bulky."
"There are portable chargers?" Apparently Calla had completely left Noah in the dark. A little petty of her, maybe, but amusing to the rest of us.
"I'll steal you one next time I go back home, I promise." I assured him. "But basically you just scan your chip, your bionics will go offline for about an hour while it recharges, and then you're good to go."
"Seriously, Aunt Calla?" I heard him mutter. I tutted, shaking my head.
"You know, Emily really should have remembered that you'd need to charge your chip when she gave it to you." I mentioned. Noah sent me a look, but didn't say anything. I guess he was still adamant that my niece had nothing to do with his abilities. "Anyway, training time."
"Great." Noah looked relieved at the change of topic. Sera looked at me, a serious expression on her youthful features.
"What's the mission?" She asked. I smiled and gestured at the tunnel.
"It's an obstacle course. Technically, it's not based off an official mission, but I've heard Leo tell me the story a few times, so I think it counts." I explained.
"An obstacle course? That's it?" Sera seemed skeptical. I nodded.
"Don't underestimate it - Adam, Bree, Chase, Leo, and Calla all nearly died when they had to deal with this, and unlike them, you won't have a button you can press to shut everything down." I warned. "But yes, all you have to do is get through the obstacle course. Get to that line at the end, and then you're done."
"Easy as pie." Noah smirked. Sera nodded.
"Doesn't sound like it's too hard." She agreed. I nodded.
"Okay." I replied, hitting a button on my tablet. I'd spent four hours setting this part up, so I hoped it wasn't too easy for them to get past. "Whenever you're ready."
"There aren't any obstacles." Sera pointed out. I smiled.
"Whenever you're ready." I repeated myself. Noah and Sera exchanged looks, then slowly began to make their way forward, down the tunnel.
Their caution was smart - they'd barely made it more than a meter before a giant metal slate dropped from the ceiling to slam into the ground in front of them. There were two metal pipes on top of the slate, bringing it up and down so fast that any regular person that tried to get through there would be crushed.
"Whoa." Sera took a cautionary step back, watching it move. "That looks..."
"Yeah." Noah nodded, watching it uneasily. Sera licked her lips, then nodded to herself.
"I got this." She muttered, half to herself. She didn't try to explain herself before stepping closer to the crusher. She waited a few moments, watching the crusher carefully, before stepping halfway under it and grabbing it with her hand. To my and Noah's shock, she stopped the crusher in its tracks and though she was clearly struggling under its pressure, she did manage to successfully keep it still. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
"Right, sorry." Noah quickly ducked under the crusher, getting onto the other side of it. Sera quickly followed him, the crusher slamming into the ground inches behind her. "Super strength, nice."
Sera smiled, brushing her hair behind her shoulders. "Thank you."
"Nice job, Sera. Keep going, guys." I encouraged. They continued towards the end, only to stop when panels on either side of them opened up and metal blocks slid out, crashing into each other and then separating before crashing into each other again. They did this consistently, moving too fast for Sera to stop like she'd done with the previous obstacle.
"I don't know if I can stop that long enough for me to get through." Sera commented nervously, realizing the obvious. Noah nodded.
"No worries." He smiled and offered her his arm. "Grab on."
Sera didn't question him, only looping her arm around his. He very quickly sped through the obstacle as expected, the two of them moving so fast that they were a blur.
"You're halfway there, guys! Great work!" I called. They glanced back at me, then started down the tunnel once more. This time, it was four streams of fire jetting out of the roof of the tunnel.
"I think it's your turn." Noah commented to Sera. She rolled her eyes, then raised a hand. An icy mist burst from her hand, putting out the fires instantly. Not only did it extinguish the threat, but the ice coated the holes the fire had come from, buying them more time until more fire would melt the ice and shoot out once more. It wasn't much time, but more than enough for the two to get to the other side. Now, all they had to do was get past the final obstacle.
"Okay, this is ridiculous!" Noah shouted, wholly unimpressed with the giant spikes I had raise from the floor a few feet in front of them. The bed of spikes stretched three feet in front of them, and each of them were a foot in height. "What is this, a cartoon?"
"Can't get passed?" I asked.
"Oh, I didn't say that." Noah assured me. "This is just ridiculous."
He took a step back, then stepped forward and jumped into the air. To my surprise, he hovered about half a foot above the spikes for a moment before floating to the other side.
"You can fly?" I demanded once he landed. He shook his head, looking at the spikes in such a way that made me wonder if he had done that before.
"No, it's...it's more like controlled levitation. That was the highest I've managed." He explained.
"Oh, cool." I glanced at Sera, who was watching us with a frown. "If you can't do it, Sera, just let me know."
She shook her head. "Just waiting for Noah to move." She assured me. Noah frowned, but backed up several steps. She smirked and backed up a few feet, as far back as she could without getting singed by the fire.
Then, she rushed forward, leaping into the air at the last minute. She landed briefly on her hands, just in front of the spikes, before pushing off, propelling herself all the way across the spike bed before landing gracefully on her feet on the other side. Noah and I just stared at her, impressed by the feat of agility, while she looked confused. "What? Can't you guys do that?"
Noah and I exchanged looks. "No, no, that's definitely a Calderan thing." Noah told her, a slow grin forming on his face.
Calla's POV
"Hey," I greeted, walking through the door to the apartment. Unsurprisingly, everyone was home. Emily was on the couch, speaking with Naomi about something, while Noah was helping Sera with her homework and the twins were showing Charlotte some card game. "How was everyone's days?"
Everyone more or less said that it was good, keeping their answers short. I didn't miss the exchanged looks though, and neither did Leo.
"Oh, good, everyone's here." He smiled. Charlotte looked up, craning her head to look at him, obviously trying to guess why he'd come over. "Living room please."
The kids all exchanged looks as they moved to the living room. Naomi got up to make room for the rest, moving to lean against the wall next to Ben.
"So, how was your training today?" I got straight to the point.
Every single head except for Emily's turned to look at Naomi, who was staring at me in utter confusion.
"What training?" My daughter asked, pretending to be clueless. But she knew, and the rest of us knew, that everyone else's reactions had given them away.
"It doesn't matter." Leo commented, sitting on the back of the blue chair by the TV. "You guys won't be training behind our backs anymore."
"Because your training is being made official. Starting right now." Ben finished. Naomi looked at him quickly, staring at her best friend.
"What do you mean?" Kira asked quickly.
"We talked it over, and maybe you had a point about you being able to help people." I said slowly, watching their confusion turn to victory. "There will be rules," I warned before they could get too excited, "and Leo and I are in charge, so we get the final decision on everything, alright?"
"We're only agreeing to this because the city needs the extra help." Leo added. "The moment Chase, Bree, Jaden, Kaz, Dani, Oliver, and Skylar return, this team is retired, is that understood?"
"Got it." "Okay." "Sure." Each of them were quick to agree. I glanced at Leo.
"School still comes first, and again, absolutely no powers at school." I told them, having already agreed on the rules with Leo.
"Calla and I are in charge of training, but we won't be going out in the field with you." Leo continued. "If this is going to work, you need to be able to handle things on your own. That being said, if any mission comes up that we deem to dangerous, you will stay home while we handle it."
"If you're not going to be in charge in the field, who is? We need a leader." Emily pointed out, sitting up tall. I recognized the same prideful look in her eyes that Chase used to get before leading a mission; clearly she had an idea of who should be in charge.
"Naomi will be." Ben saved me from having to be the one to crush that idea.
"What? Why Naomi?" Kira demanded, frowning. The rest of them looked equally confused. Emily was staring at me, hurt written all over her face.
"She's done far more research than any one else on our past missions, for one. She may not have the actual experience, but she knows how we all would have dealt with similar situations in the past and therefore has an idea of what would work and what wouldn't." I explained, giving my daughter an apologetic look. I had known that she'd want to be mission leader, but the truth was, she wasn't right for the position, not yet anyway. Naomi was. "She's older, she's seen more than you guys have, and judging by the training exercises she put your through today, she had a good idea of what you guys can do and what you can handle."
"I don't have any abilities, or training." Naomi protested, looking at all of us, just as shocked as the others.
"You'll train with the rest of them." Leo assured her.
"And trust me, you don't need powers to be a hero." I added, giving her a reassuring smile. "I've got some toys you might like."
"You'll do fine." Ben promised her, squeezing her hand gently. He glanced at the others. "I'll be training with you guys as well, by the way. Naomi's going to be in charge in the field, but I'm going to be on the team as well."
"We'll start your training next week, once you're all a little more settled into school and after we've evaluated your abilities a little more." Leo explained. "Any questions?"
There was a brief pause, then Kameron raised his hand. "How'd you know we were training today?"
I smirked, sneaking a sly glance at Leo. "We can't reveal all our secrets." I told him, much to his disappointment. "Alright, anyone else?"
No one else seemed to have any other questions, so I set about to make dinner, while Leo and Charlotte went back home. I glanced at the kids, noticing the way Kameron and Noah started talking excitedly to themselves, while Kira a disappointed, but not quite sulking, Emily into telling her as many of the stories from my and Chase's youth as she knew. Naomi and Ben had gone out on the veranda to talk.
The others weren't going to be thrilled about this, I knew that already. Bree and Jaden had been very much against the idea of Noah and Justine growing up like Bree did, with all that danger and chaos in their lives. Skylar and Oliver had sent Seraphina here to protect her from becoming a vigilante. Chase and I had never intended for Emily to become a superhero, at least not before she finished school (we were both very pleased with how our lives turned out, but I knew my parents were still disappointed that I'd never gotten a college degree). Kaz and Dani…well, actually, they'd probably be super proud, but none of the others had ever planned for this to become their children's lives.
There wasn't much of a choice here – Miles was right, the city could be under attack, and it was better that the kids be prepared for the worst than be forced to deal with all that was to come without any preparation or training. But still, I couldn't help but wonder if that queasy feeling in my stomach was because I knew we might be making a big mistake.
Xxx
Kihonne: Alright guys, what did you all think? Good, bad? Somewhere in between? Seriously, let me know! Anyway, with exams are coming up fast, I know my update schedule can get a little confusing since I take some weeks off to focus on school, so here's the next few expected updates:
April 5th – Ch. 4: Balancing Act
April 19th – Ch. 5: Sick Day
May 3rd – Ch. 6: Hostage Situation
May 10th – Ch. 7: Field Trip
Once Field Trip is posted, things will most likely go back to normal as my exams will be finished. Alright guys, until next week, don't forget to review!
Oh, and before I forget, an author named SzymonS just wrote a couple of one shots related to the Power of Seven and the Lab Assistant. While they're not canon to the series, they are pretty good and I really recommend checking them out.