Kihonne: Alright guys, I'm back with another chapter of Legacies! I think you guys are going to like it, but first, it's shoutout time!
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LabGirl2001: I'm so glad you enjoyed it so much, especially the references. As for Sera and Noah, you'll see their relationship develop soon enough, so keep reading. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter too!
SzymonS: Well, in their defense, it's a weekend. I don't know any teenagers who get up before 9 on weekends. Yeah, the parents weren't the best role models for the kids. Douglas, everyone does love him, don't they? As for whether or not he's seeing anyone, you'll have to wait until he shows up in the story to see about that. I wouldn't worry too much about the twins not being telepathic – I've taken a different route on that that might be more interesting. Darius and Emily are kinda sweet, aren't they? It would be a shame if he turned out to be evil. Eddy will most likely make an appearance at sometime in the story, so don't worry, you'll see him again. Leo's second question, by the way, was about the apple. Calla's got a pretty big sweet tooth, so seeing her eating something healthy like an apple on her own is pretty unusual. I'm glad you like the ending – Calla's really conflicted about her decision, so I'm glad you liked how I managed to get that across. Good luck with your own exams, and no problem for mentioning the one shots. They are really good. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Algernon23: Wow, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. I'm glad it helped with your cabin fever. Yup, what teen gets up before noon on their own? You're absolutely right about how certain info has become subconscious – it feels like the world's always known about bionics, when realistically, it didn't happen until halfway through the series (and that's only if you include the Elite Force season in that count). The parents had a lot of good reasons for not talking about certain topics, but they may regret in the future. Some of that info could have been important for the kids to know. I had to go back reread the car exploding part, just to be sure, but it wasn't telepathy – the reason Emily didn't know about the car thing and Kameron did was because she was too focused on the GPS. Kameron saw what happened and told her, he wasn't told by Kira. Hope that clears things up :) And yes, they can definitely communicate without words, that's for sure. They may not have telepathy, but they do have ways of communicating and understanding each other that the others don't. Charlotte is definitely too much like Leo for her own good, in every way. Noah and Sera are going to have a very interesting relationship from here on out – you're right it's not the most expected one, but it will be fun. I'm glad you liked how I did the training simulations – I figured it would be more realistic if I showed their faults as well as their strengths. And yeah, I think "Real Perry ripped her head off" is one of my favorites references too, if not one of my favorite lines in the series. Darius and Emily do have some work to do on their relationship, but it's definitely an improvement. And yeah, Emily's not the best at apologizing, but neither was Chase. She didn't skip a grade though, actually – generally, students who were born from September through December tend to graduate when they're seventeen, since classes are based on the year you're born (Emily will graduate in 2039, which is the same year she'll turn 18, but since her birthday is in September, she won't have turned 18 yet). Charlotte, on the other hand, did skip a grade, hence why she's in Emily's classes. I figured Ben would be the best choice to talk to the adults as well – he's closer to the kids in age and attitude, but he's got the maturity that the adults will listen to. As for the witchcraft thing…let's just say it'll come up again, in one way or another. Being worried about the kids is definitely something you should be feeling – they come from completely different backgrounds, with completely different personalities and powers, and Calla needs to train them to face a threat she's not familiar with, on top of handling all her own stuff, and these new bad guys are not pulling any punches. The kids are definitely going to have to step up, big time, and Calla is certainly going to have her work cut out for her. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
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Kihonne: Alright, without further ado! It's chapter time!
Kira: Kihonne doesn't own lab rats, mighty med, or the Elite Force. Those are owned by Disney. She only owns myself, all OCs, this story, and anything else you don't recognize.
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Calla's POV
I stumbled back only a step, having managed to block the blow from the oncoming bo staff with a fair bit of ease. I didn't take more than a second to recover though, immediately lunging forward into my own attack instead. I drove my bo staff downwards, putting a fair bit of strength into the blow.
Emily raised her bo staff at the last minute, blocking the blow before spinning around to try and hit me from behind. I side-stepped the attack, pushing her forwards with my left hand.
"Too obvious. Anyone could see that coming." I told her, backing up to give her a brief break. She shook her head and looked at me.
"Dad was mission leader." She pointed out before coming at me again. This time, she moved to the side, sweeping her staff low to try and catch me off guard. I blocked it easily and smiled.
"I know he was; he still owns two T-shirts that say 'Mission Leader' on them." I agreed. She huffed in annoyance, then spun around to try and attack me again. Once again, I managed to block her attack, though this time she did almost got me - if I hadn't twisted my arm so that the bo staff blocked my upper right shoulder, she may have landed a blow.
"I've got powers, I've got the intelligence to strategize well, and being mission leader is literally in my blood." Emily insisted. I rolled my eyes, then stepped back as Emily spun around again, this time aiming for higher up. I raised my bo staff to catch her staff before giving her a look.
"You're not going to be mission leader, Emily." I told her sternly.
"Why not?" She protested. I raised an eyebrow, then spun around, sweeping my bo staff under her feet. She hit the ground with a thud and a noise of protest. I raised my bo staff again, pointing it at her chest.
Though I had absolutely no intention of actually hitting her, Helix immediately ran up to us, barking as he stepped between my daughter and the bo staff.
"Helix, no!" Emily sat up and reached for the Cavapoo, pulling her pet into her arms. "It's okay, buddy. It's just Mom."
I stood my bo staff up next to me. "What did you do wrong?" I asked patiently. Emily looked up at me, lips pressed together in a thin line.
"I agreed to a six AM sparring session with my mother who has been training with a bo staff for 25 years." She deadpanned I rolled my eyes and offered her my hand. She sighed and accepted it, allowing me to pull her up.
"No. Your fighting style is good, but you're basically just copying the moves from the training videos I showed you. You need to improvise, learn to adapt to your opponent." I explained. She sighed and I rubbed her shoulder. "You'll get it. It's the type of thing that comes with practice and experience."
"Is that why I'm not mission leader? Because I can't adapt?" She asked.
"Emily, this isn't about you not being a good choice for mission leader, okay? You're not a bad choice, but Naomi is the best choice." I told her. "Please don't take this personally. Maybe in the future, after you've gotten a little more experience and training, we'll talk about you maybe working with some of the bionic heroes."
"Really?" Emily's eyes widened.
"Maybe, in the future, we'll talk about it." I emphasized. "As in, after you've finished college. And I'm not promising anything."
"Got it." Emily nodded before biting back a yawn.
"You know," I mentioned as I grabbed a bottle of water off one of the computer desks. I forced myself to take a sip of it - my stomach was aching and feeling off, probably disagreeing with the two coffees I'd already had this morning - before handing it to my daughter, "if you didn't stay up so late, you wouldn't be tired in the mornings."
"Well, I didn't think you'd wake me up so early." Emily retorted. She looked at me. "Why were you so early anyway?"
"Had a weird dream about something going wrong with one of my prototypes, so I went to look over the schematics when I woke up instead of going back to sleep." I shrugged. I'd been sleeping weird since Chase left, not used to sleeping alone. It was hardly the first morning I'd woken up ridiculously early, unable to fall back asleep. Hell, it wasn't even the first time this week. "Besides, why are you complaining? You did say you wanted to get a little extra training."
"Yeah, not today. I thought you'd let me sleep in today of all days..." Emily muttered. I licked my lips and looked at her.
"Emily, it's not even a weekend. You had to get up at 7 anyway." I pointed out. She stared at me, blinking a few times.
"Yeah, but today..." She began. I shook my head.
"You having school does not exempt you from training. You literally asked for this, sweetie." I pointed out. She continued to stare at me.
"School? Is that what...you actually..." She seemed extremely confused. I rolled my eyes, glancing at my Davenwatch as I checked my texts.
"Alright, breakfast, c'mon." I told her after I was done, ushering her towards the hyperlift. She didn't protest, still evidently confused by my dismissal.
"Are you serious?" She asked, standing in front of the hyperlift. I nodded.
"Yes. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. C'mon." I encouraged. I pretended not to notice the look on her face as I gently pushed her into the hyperlift.
I smirked to myself as we were shot up to the main floor and couldn't help but laugh at Emily's expression when she saw what was waiting for her there.
In the hour that we'd been training, the rest of the kids had been busy. The living room had been filled with blue and yellow balloons, a pile of wrapped gifts and colorful bags had made its way onto the living room's coffee table, and in the kitchen, Kira was helping her brother light the candles on top of a cake-sized cinnamon bun.
Emily stared, dumbfounded at the scene before her as a chorus of "Happy Birthday" echoed around the room.
"Did you really think I'd forget your birthday?" I teased lightly, squeezing her shoulders gently before pushing her into the room.
Kira's POV
"So, we weren't entirely sure what you liked." Kameron admitted as Emily opened her birthday card. "Figured a gift card would be the way to go."
"Tech Town, awesome." Emily grinned, smiling at us. "Thanks, guys. I'll definitely put this to good use."
She placed the card and the gift card down on top of the pile of gifts she'd already unwrapped. There was a new tablet from Leo and Katherine, a microscope from Noah, a set of blue Christmas lights from Sera ("I thought we could decorate the room with them, I know blue is your favorite color," my cousin had explained sheepishly to a confused, but smiling, Emily), a new VR visor from Naomi and Ben, and a new 3D holodisk for her holo-computer from Calla.
"Okay, now mine." Charlotte was practically bouncing with excitement. Emily laughed.
"You told me to leave yours for last." She pointed out, even as the dark-skinned girl shoved a gift bag into her arms. Emily shook her head, laughing to herself as she pulled a grey sweatshirt out of the bag. She sighed when she saw the letters M.I.T. written in crimson on the front of the sweatshirt. "Charlotte, we haven't even applied there yet, let alone gotten in."
"We're totally going to get in." Charlotte insisted. "And that will be your first piece of merchandise."
"What happened to Caltech?" Leo called from the kitchen, where he, Calla, and Katherine were all leaning against the counter. Two empty plates sat in front of them, while Calla's piece of cake was left untouched.
"Papa!" Charlotte practically whined. "Why would I go to Caltech if I can go to M.I.T?"
"Yeah, honey, why would she go to Caltech if she can get into M.I.T?" Katherine cooed teasingly. She glanced at Calla and the two mothers laughed.
"I took a couple of online courses at Caltech! It was cool." Leo insisted. Emily and Charlotte just rolled their eyes, amused by his response. "What?"
"Alright guys, I want everyone home straight after school, okay? We're starting training today." Calla announced. "And then we're going out for dinner."
"Who's coming?" Emily inquired, moving off the floor to sit on the couch in order to get a better look at her mother.
"Everyone here, Spin, AJ…anyone else you want to invite?" Calla asked. "It is your birthday dinner."
"Ava – it's my first birthday since she moved here." Emily decided instantly. Noah glanced over at his cousin.
"Mind if I invite Blake?" He asked. She nodded.
"Sure. That's it, Mom. Just Ava and Blake." She replied.
"What about Matt and Darius?" Charlotte asked. To my surprise, Kameron rolled his eyes.
"She doesn't even like them, Char." He pointed out. Emily nodded.
"Yeah, no thanks." She agreed. Calla watched us in amusement.
"Alright, just Ava and Blake then." She decided. She glanced at her piece of cake in distaste. "Anyone want my piece? I don't think I can finish it."
"Is it not good?" Kameron questioned worriedly. Calla shook her head.
"No, it's very good, Kameron. I can definitely see who's the baking expert in the family." She complimented. He beamed with pride. "It's just that it's a little too sweet too early in the morning. Besides, I had something to eat before you guys were up. So, who wants it?"
"I'll take it." Noah and Ben both commented at once, before shooting each other a glare. Leo swiped it before any of them could grab it.
"Then you're going to have to fight me for it." The bionic man declared. Ben stood up from where he was leaning against the wall and crossed his arms. "On second thought, even though I can absolutely take you, I'm going to let you have it because I'm nice."
"Yes, that's why he's letting him have it." I heard Noah mumble to Emily as Leo passed Ben the piece of cake, who immediately split it with Naomi. "I could take him."
"Uncle Leo or Ben?" Emily shot back, smirking. "Because I'm pretty sure you'd lose to either of them."
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"I just don't get why we have to take classes on a language that we all already speak." Sera was saying as we made our way through the busy hallways. "I mean, it doesn't make sense."
"We need it to learn to write properly." I explained. She frowned, even more confused by my explanation.
"But doesn't your planet have voice command for almost everything?" She pointed out. Kameron laughed, clapping Sera on the shoulder.
"Look, you're absolutely right about what you're saying," he told her, leading her into the cafeteria. I looked around, trying to find Charlotte and Emily's table. I spotted them rather quickly, the two girls having lunch with Ava and her cousin Aaron at a corner table. I pointed them out to Kameron and Sera and we started towards them, "but unfortunately, they insist on keeping it part of the curriculum."
"Insist on keeping what part of the curriculum?" Aaron asked as we all sat down at the table. I smiled in greeting at the black-haired boy – we had first period Spanish with him, and he'd been really helpful in getting used to the new school. Glancing across the table, I immediately noticed another gift bag for Emily folded on the table with a package of planet-themed bath bombs on top of it, probably from Ava.
"English. I mean, name one successful person who studied English." Kameron challenged.
"Sally Ride." "Clarence Thomas." "John Mulaney." "William Bernbach." Emily, Ava, Charlotte, and Aaron all replied at once. Kameron huffed in annoyance.
"Well then." He muttered. Sera blinked owlishly.
"I don't know why any of them are." She muttered, half to herself. Charlotte stared at her.
"You don't know who John Mulaney is?" She demanded, sounding personally offended. Sera blinked, then smiled.
"Of course I do. Just wanted to see how you'd react." She teased. Charlotte stared at her for a second more before laughing.
"Alright, that's fair." She chuckled. Sera leaned close to me.
"You'll tell me who he is later, right?" She whispered. I nodded.
"Totally." I promised. She smiled gratefully just as Darius and Matt, the two boys from Charlotte and Emily's grade that they'd become quite close with (despite Emily's reservations), approached the table. Both of them were carrying lunch trays, though Darius was also carrying a plastic garbage bag in his right hand.
"Hey, mind if we sit down?" Matt asked, stopping at the table.
"No, not at all." "It's kinda full…" Charlotte and Kameron both answered at the same time. I glanced at my brother, getting some strange vibes from him. We weren't able to read each other's minds, but we had always been able to tell what each other was feeling (I'd once heard Dad telling Geminus that he thought it might be a less powerful version of Mom and Uncle Ollie's telepathy rather than just a weird twin thing, but we didn't really have a name for it yet) and all I could feel from Kameron was this strange, inexplicable annoyance directed at Matt.
"I'm sure we can make room." Emily sighed, as if it really didn't matter to her. Ava slid over on the bench so that Matt could slide in at the end, while Darius stole an empty chair from another table. He placed it at the end of the table, sitting between Emily and Matt.
"What's in the bag?" I inquired, leaning forward on the table. He glanced at the bag, then at Emily.
"Your dog's name is Helix, right?" He asked her. She nodded, frowning. He handed her the grocery bag. "Uh, happy birthday."
"How'd you know it was my birthday?" She asked, glancing inside the grocery bag. Her eyes widened and she grinned, pulling out a new dog collar. Circular studs on the outside of the collar revealed a DNA helix symbol designed into it. "This is so cool."
"I heard you mention it to Ava in class last week." Darius shrugged. He glanced at the dog collar and grimaced apologetically. "Sorry it's not wrapped or anything."
"No, this is awesome." Emily beamed, examining the dog collar. She looked up at Darius, still smiling. "Thank you."
"That's from both of us." Matt commented. Darius sent him a look, making it clear that that hadn't been part of the plan, but Matt had already turned his attention back to Charlotte.
"Hey, so," Matt looked at Charlotte, grinning, "I was wondering how you felt about motorcycles."
Charlotte raised her chin, mouth opening into an intrigued smile. "I love them." She told him, very serious when she spoke.
"Well, uh, well I'm building one." He admitted. She raised her eyebrows, impressed. "It's not done or anything, but I was wondering if you wanted to come take a look. Maybe help me out with it – you did say you were one of the top students in your mechanics class last year." Emily stared at him, a firm scowl on her face.
"Your parents are letting you build a motorcycle? God, I hate you." She muttered in annoyance. Darius and Matt just looked at her, confused. Charlotte chuckled and waved her hand.
"She's been asking for one for about a year now. Her parents won't even let her buy one." She explained. "And I would love to-"
"We have that thing later." Kameron pointed out. Charlotte sent him a look, then smiled apologetically at Matt.
"Another time. I would love to another time." She finished. "I do have a family thing later."
"I wasn't talking about tonight. I actually have some family stuff of my own to do tonight." He replied. "I just meant whenever you weren't busy."
"Sure, I'd love to. When I get the chance." She agreed. I glanced at my brother, noticing the annoyed look on his face.
"Kam," I murmured, getting his attention. He looked at me, immediately relaxing a little. "Wanna grab for smoothies before we go home?"
"Sure." He agreed reluctantly. I nodded, then looked at Darius.
"So, what about you? Do you have plans for tonight?" I asked, curious. He shook his head.
"Nah, not really. Mom's working, so it's just me, a movie, and some takeout." He shrugged. "Might do some homework."
"You're such a nerd." Matt commented.
"At least I'm going to graduate." Darius shot back. Emily glanced at him.
"Well…we're going out for dinner tonight, you know, because it's my birthday. You can come too if you want." She shrugged. "I'm sure my mom won't mind if we bring another person."
Darius smiled. "Okay, sure. Sounds fun." He agreed. She nodded.
"Cool. I'll text you the restaurant." She glanced at Matt, then sighed. "You want to come too?"
Charlotte looked at Emily, smiling so brightly that you'd have thought that Emily had just given her a million dollars, even though it was obvious that she only invited Matt because of Darius and Charlotte. To both Emily and Kameron's relief, and Charlotte's disappointment, Matt shook his head. "Family thing." He reminded her. "Thanks for the offer, though." He glanced at Darius. "You sure you'll have time though? You still have that homework to do, right?"
Darius rolled his eyes. "I'm sure I'll have time to do both." He sent Matt a look before grabbing his milk carton. "So, what's a guy got to do to get this milk switched out for a coffee?"
Ben's POV
When I got to the newsroom on campus, it was abuzz with life, as per usual. I could see a few different reporters standing in front of a holo-computer, discussing different perspectives they could take on one article, while another two people were looking over a spread on a different holo-computer.
"Hey, Grayson, you seen Naomi?" I asked, addressing one of the writers. "She messaged me, said she had something to show me?"
He frowned. "Try the back room. She's been holed up in there for an hour."
"Thanks, man." I replied before heading towards the back room. The door was closed, so I knocked on it before poking my head in. Naomi was standing in front of a holo-screen, frowning deeply as she looked at four photos that were too blurry to see properly from this side of the screen. "Hey, I brought lunch. Everything alright?"
"Good, you're here. Close the door behind you." Naomi waved me in. I did as she asked and placed our lunch – two coffees and a couple of club sandwiches in a paper bag – on the table. "Come here."
"What's going on?" I asked her, walking around the holo-computer. The pictures she was looking at were off some building, with a few people walking out of them.
"You know Lucas, the other photographer for the paper? Well, he managed to take these photos of the Blizzard Corporation from the day the cars went haywire." She explained, gesturing at the photos on the screen. "He already sent them to the police, but I got him to send me copies as well since he owed me a favor. Recognize anyone?"
I looked back at the photos, examining the people with more attention. The first two didn't look familiar in the slightest – one was a tall guy with black hair, wearing a black suit with a weird, redish-orange symbol on his chest and a black vizor over his face, while the other was a black-haired woman wearing a sleeveless-black top with dark pink sides, black gloves, and a black vizor over her face – but the third person, I knew instantly. "Saturn." I growled angrily.
Naomi nodded. "I know that the internal video surveillance of Blizzard Corp was knocked out, but I heard from Agent Swanson that they still managed to recover audio surveillance." She commented. "Did you get to hear any of it? Did you know Saturn was there?"
"No, I…" I frowned, thinking back to the audio recording. "Oh."
"Oh, what?" Naomi asked, confused. I looked over the other two thoughtfully. "Ben?"
"Miles did show Calla, Leo, and I the audio recording, but there was no mention of Saturn." I should have recognized his voice though; the audio recording we heard yesterday morning wasn't the best quality, but this guy had been my nemesis for years now. I should have realized he'd be involved. "There was a mention of two other names, but I didn't realize that they were actual names until I made the connection with Saturn."
"What are you talking about?" Naomi frowned. I pointed at the two masked strangers with Saturn.
"We heard the names Venus," I said, pointing at the woman, then at the other guy, "and Jupiter. We didn't realize what they were talking about – thought maybe it was a tech thing that we weren't family with, but they've got to be names, or at least codenames. I mean, they're all names of Roman gods."
"Or planets." Naomi gave me a look for not going straight to the more obvious connection. "Nerd."
"I will give your lunch to Grayson." I half-threatened. She raised her hands in surrender, moving to sit at the table.
"I'll be good." She promised, already pulling her sandwich out of the bag before I could make good on my threat. I stepped to the side, getting a better look at the criminals. "So, do you know what that symbol on Mr. Jupiter's chest is?" I shook my head, too deep in thought to care much for it. Because their names weren't the only thing that had been said in the audio recording. Something Naomi didn't know yet. "Me either. I'm going to show it to Calla later, see if she recognizes it, or at least to see if she can run it through the supervillain database. Maybe it's someone we know."
"Naomi." I said softly. She looked at me.
"What's wrong?" She asked, tone turning more serious as she realized how quiet I'd been.
"The audio recording…Venus said something other than just Jupiter's name." I told her, looking at her through the holo-screen. "She said that they needed to get back to the others."
"Others." Naomi repeated slowly. Her face fell. "That means there's more of them." I nodded solemnly. "How many?"
"I do not know." I muttered, staring back at the picture of Saturn. "I do not know."
Calla's POV
I sighed, leaning my neck against my hand as I stared at my screen, typing with one hand. I had a million things to get done, and I'd barely scratched the surface this morning. I had about six different prototypes that needed my approval, which would require me going over every aspect of the designs before I could do that. There was this weird glitch going on with the new Davenwatch update that resulted in calls being dropped despite having a good signal – I wanted to go over that one personally, given everything that happened at Blizzard Corp a couple of weeks ago. The board was on my ass about that little fiasco – some of the members thought that now would be the perfect time to release Davenport Industries' own self-driving car system, given that the Blizzard Corporation was losing sales, and only about a third of the board was agreeing with me about them being a dumb idea. If I was going to convince them to go a different way, I would have to come up with a new, brilliant idea and fast. Skylar Lewis was coming in around 2 to pitch an idea though, and since her past few ideas had been rather good, I was hoping that it would help me out with the board.
Still, even if the board agreed to do Lewis' idea, I still needed to go over the new weapons that we had in development for the government, including a new exoskeleton idea that Leo was working on. I'd been hoping to get more done on the hoverboard project by now as well, but between everything else on my plate, the new security features that were slowing down production, and my new side project, I barely had time to think about it. Which was exactly why, despite it being my lunch hour, I was still pouring over designs and pages upon pages of code.
"Hey Calla, sorry to interrupt." My secretary's voice came out of the intercom. I sighed.
"Is it important, Spencer?" I questioned tiredly. He hesitated before responding.
"Well, Mr. Dooley is here to see you." He replied. "Your call on whether that's important or not."
I chuckled, vaguely hearing an indignant shout on the other side of the call. "Meh, send him in anyway."
"Of course." Spencer replied. A moment later and Leo walked into my office.
"I don't like him." He told me. I snorted.
"Are you kidding? I love Spencer." I chuckled as he grabbed the coffee pot from its place on top of one of my counters and started pouring himself a mug. "I know he's only a temp, but I'm thinking of offering him a full-time job here once his term is over."
Leo rolled his eyes at that as he sat down on the couch near my desk. I glanced at him before looking back at my work. "Don't get comfortable." I warned him. "I'm busy."
He frowned. "Sorry, I figured you'd be on your lunch break." He apologized, about to get up. I shook my head.
"Working through it. Too much to do." I paused briefly to rub at my forehead as the ache that had been assaulting me for the past hour made itself known again.
"You eat yet? I can grab us a something from the cafeteria." He offered. I shook my head again.
"Not hungry." I muttered. He frowned, but I stopped him before he could reply. "I had a granola bar an hour ago, alright? Chill."
"Okay, sorry." He muttered. I stopped, realizing I'd snapped at him.
"I'm sorry." I apologized sincerely. "People are annoying, I've got a headache, my stomach feels weird, and I feel like I didn't sleep at all last night. And it's all making me cranky. I shouldn't take it out on you though. I'm sorry."
Leo shrugged and got off the couch, only to move to sit on the edge of my desk. I clasped my hands together, resting my chin on them as I looked up at him. "You coming down with something?" He asked, concerned. I shook my head tiredly.
"Just stressed." I assured him. He nodded thoughtfully, but that didn't erase the frown on his face. "I'm fine, Dooley. You don't have to worry about me."
"I kinda do. You're my best friend." He replied with a shrug. I frowned at him, something dawning on me.
"Chase asked you to check in on me, didn't he?" I guessed. He chuckled.
"More like he promised to back me up the next time I have an idea you don't like so long as I made sure you didn't run yourself into the ground or anything." He replied. I opened my mouth, trying not to smile as I shook my head.
"Of course he did." It was just like him. It was super sweet, I supposed, though we would definitely have words about him ganging up against me with Leo for this. Leo chuckled.
"How long until their first check-in?" He asked. I sighed, glancing at the highlighted mark on my holo-computer's calendar.
"October 31st." Exactly 44 days until I could see Chase again, and make sure the others were okay. By all means they should be – they won't have even reached Caldera yet, and I was more than confident in the ship they'd taken to go on the trip. After all, Davenport, Douglas, Leo, and I had all gone over the designs ourselves before letting them go. The biggest threat to any of them was boredom. After all, they were trapped in confined quarters for a long period of time with only each other to keep each other company. By now, I suspected that Kaz and Dani had done something to tick off the others, probably Chase and Skylar, and Oliver and Bree were trying to calm everyone down with Jaden watching from a safe distance. They shouldn't be in any danger yet, or at all, but I couldn't help but worry anyway. "I should be up there with them."
"We needed you here." Leo reminded me gently. I nodded.
"I know. Doesn't mean it's fair." I sighed, shaking my head. "I miss them."
"I can't believe they've only been gone for three weeks." Leo commented. He glanced at me. "How're the kids doing?"
"Oh my God." This was going to make my headache even worse. "I mean, they're okay and stuff, but oh my God, what was I thinking? Four kids? For eight months?"
Leo chuckled at that. "I have to admit, not your sanest decision."
"Don't get me wrong, I care about those kids, I really do. And I'm more than happy to help, especially since I'm the only one who stayed behind, but still. Three weeks and already Noah has bionics, they've somehow convinced me to train them as superheroes, Seraphina barely understands Earth education, Emily's got college applications due in less than a month, and Kameron keeps letting John roam free in the penthouse even though I've explicitly told him not to." I shook my head, leaning back in my chair. "How in the world did your parents do it?"
Leo thought about that for a moment. "Well, you can always shove three of them in the basement and brag about your money to the fourth to get them to kiss your ass for an allowance." He pointed out. I swatted his arm, even as I chuckled.
"Hey Calla, sorry to interrupt again, but Mr. Henigs-Krane is here to see you regarding the Davenwatch update." Spencer interrupted again. I sighed.
"Tell AJ I'll see him in a minute, Spencer." I replied.
"Of course." Spencer replied. I sighed and looked at Leo.
"You know what I need?" I asked.
"A personal assistant?" He guessed. I nodded, pointing at him.
"You read my mind, Dooley." I commented as he headed for the door. "You read my mind."
Kira's POV
"Here you go." I handed Kameron his smoothie from the stand – for all of Millennium Academy's faults, at least it was only about a minute away from both a smoothie place and a soft pretzel stand. Whoever the owners were, they were genius to set up shop here; they had to be making a ton of money off all the students coming here at lunch and after their classes.
"So?" He questioned, shoving one hand in his pocket as we started on the way back to the penthouse. I raised an eyebrow, not answering him. "What is it, Kira?"
"What's going on between you and Matt?" I inquired. He shrugged.
"Nothing." He told me, kicking at a rock on the ground.
"Really?" I hummed thoughtfully, not buying it. He rolled his forest green eyes, annoyed.
"Just because I'm not his new best friend doesn't mean I have a problem with him." He pointed out. I shrugged.
"I know, but it's like you hate the guy or something." I commented.
"I don't." He assured me. I nodded.
"Okay, then what gives? You're treating him as coldly as Emily is." I stated. He looked like he was about to protest, so I shook my head. "No, you are. I've seen it, and I'm sure he's noticed. So seriously, what's up? It's not like you have to deal with him being in half your classes like Em does."
"It's…shut up." He grumbled in frustrated. I shoved him gently.
"You shut up." I replied. He gave me a look and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Look, he's just…annoying, alright? Acting all cool, with his motorcycle and leather jackets and stuff." He commented with a shrug. "He feels fake. I don't like fake people."
Alright, that did seem like a valid argument. "But why do you care?" I pressed. "It's not like he's bragging about his motorcycle to you. He just asked…" And it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Oh."
"Oh, what?" Kameron questioned. I smiled, pressing my lips together tightly.
"Just oh." I replied, skipping ahead of him with a smirk on my face. That explained everything.
"Kira!" Kameron jogged to catch up with me. "Oh, what?"
"Oh, Charlotte." I said. He paused. "You like her. Which is why you don't like other guys, namely Matt, flirting with her."
"No, that's not it. I just don't like fake people." He insisted again. "He gives off weird vibes."
"Oh, sure. That's totally it." I agreed sarcastically as we turned down onto the correct street.
"I don't like her." Kameron argued with me. "Not like that, at least."
"Why not?" I stopped and looked at him. "She's pretty, she's funny, she's wicked smart, and she's a badass…actually," I paused, smirking a little, "if you don't ask her out, I might."
"That's not funny." He pushed past me, heading for Davenport Tower. I gaped at him for a moment before grinning.
"Oh my God, you do have a thing for her." I laughed. Kameron stopped and grabbed my wrist, preventing me from entering the building.
"I don't have a thing for her. She's just a friend. Don't make this a thing." He told me. He frowned. "Besides, even if I did have a thing for her, which I absolutely do not, it's pretty clear that she has a type. And I'm not it."
"I…" He did have a point. Charlotte did seem to have a bad-boy fascination going on, and Kameron and Matt were very different people. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, I don't like her like that, so nothing. I'm going to be her friend, because that's all we are." He insisted. I nodded. "Now, will you please drop it?"
"Drop what?" Emily asked as she and Charlotte walked over to us. Kameron shot me a warning look, but I just smiled warmly at the two girls.
"Well, I was just telling Kam that he should get Naomi to help him out with his English homework." I lied. "It's not his best subject."
"It's fine. I'll manage." Kameron insisted, acting annoyed. Charlotte frowned.
"What is your best subject?" She inquired, curious. Kameron shrugged.
"Biology, math." He replied. Emily paused and looked at him closely.
"Math and biology?" She repeated. He nodded slowly. "Are you sure you're a Broadman?"
"Nope. I'm half convinced Mom and Dad made up this twin thing to cover up the fact that he's adopted." I teased. Kameron rolled his eyes, pushing me into the lobby of Davenport Tower.
Ben's POV
"Whoa, hey." I stopped immediately upon entering my apartment, finding Noah and Blake on my living room couch. I turned around quickly, trying to avoid seeing anything I shouldn't. "Dude!"
"Chill, we're not doing anything." Noah chuckled. I cautiously turned back around, now noticing that they were both fully clothed.
"You better not be." I muttered before nodding in greeting at the blonde-haired girl. "Hi, Blake."
"Hi Ben. I was just leaving, anyway." She stood up. Noah grabbed at her hand.
"You sure?" He questioned. She smiled and leaned down to kiss him.
"I'll see you at dinner. Talk to your aunt." She told him, kissing him a second time before heading for the door. "Bye Ben. Have fun at the gym."
"Bye." I nodded to her. As soon as the door closed, Noah melted back into the couch. "The gym?"
"Told her you made me join your gym and start a workout thing." He explained. I stopped and gave him a look before grabbing a Coke out of the fridge. "Sorry, couldn't think of anything better to explain the training."
"That's fair." I shrugged.
"And don't worry, we weren't going to do anything on your couch." He added. I nodded.
"Good. I host company on that thing." He snorted in amusement at my response. "Calla wants her at her place for training in twenty minutes."
"Yeah, I know. I just stopped by to grab something to change into." He explained, holding up a gym bag, presumably with clothes in it. I nodded, then glanced at the door.
"So, what did she want you to talk to Calla about?" I asked. He sighed, leaning his head back against the couch.
"Take a guess." He muttered. I chuckled.
"She's right." I commented. He shook his head. "Look, let's face it; out of all your relatives, she's the second least likely to kill you for this. You might stand a chance with her."
"I know you meant that to be reassuring," Noah looked over at me, "but it wasn't."
"How long do you think you can keep this from her? You got lucky with your mom and dad going into space, but Calla will find out, one way or another. She's already not happy with you about the bionics thing."
"I know, okay?" Noah got up and walked over to the island before slumping down onto one of the stools. "And I'll come clean, eventually."
"Eventually." I repeated. He nodded.
"I just need a plan, alright?" He reasoned. I nodded – well, no shit kid. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that 'Hey Aunt Calla, I dropped out of college' will sound a lot better with 'but I know what I'm going to next' attached to it. Right?"
"Just leave out the part where I'm letting you crash on my couch." I suggested, only half joking. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Look, you don't need to be told that you messed up, Noah. But you are right that you need a plan. If you come to Calla with a solution rather than just a problem, I'm sure she'll go easier on you."
"She's still going to kill me." He commented. I nodded.
"Oh, one hundred percent." I agreed.
Xxx
Kihonne: Oh, Noah. What did you do? Calla really is going to kill him when she finds out, assuming that Bree's still too far away to do it themselves. Anyway guys, I want to know what you all thought about the chapter. Was it good, bad? Somewhere in between?
Anyway guys, there won't be a chapter this upcoming Friday (sorry, I've got exams and a new job to worry about), but I will be back soon. Here's the plan for the next several updates:
April 19th – Ch. 5: Sick Day
May 3rd – Ch. 6: Hostage Situation
May 10th – Ch. 7: Field Trip
Anyway, I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks. Until then, don't forget to review!