Kihonne: Okay, I'm back with another chapter! Yes, some of you may have noticed that it's a Halloween chapter from the title! It's going to be a fun one; I think you're going to like it. Anyway, before we get onto to the chapter, it's shoutout time!
Xxx
SzymonS: Um, there were a number of things. The job certainly didn't help with everything going on, but it wasn't the only reason. Regardless, I'm getting back on track, and ideally the next chapter is on time as planned. And ouch, that sucks. I had a job last year where I had a 4AM wake up, but at least I was home by 4 at the latest. I'm glad you liked the Darius and Emily bit – they're certainly one of my favorite ships to write for. Interesting theory about Darius' mother – I guess we'll see if you're right or not. There will be more on Charlotte/Matt stuff soon, don't you worry. He knows better than to keep her waiting for too long. Calla is a pretty good aunt, and I totally get where Noah is coming from too. One of my friends went through something similar. Interesting guesses about the identities of the villains. You'll get the answer to one of those in this chapter, so stay tuned. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
LabGirl2001: I'm so glad you liked the chapter, especially the Calla bit. Yes, the swarm powers do sound a lot like Roddiseus' children (frankly, I just took a wild guess at the spelling and stuck with it), and the merging guy (Janus) does sound a lot like Wallace and Clyde doesn't he? I guess you'll have to see if that's who he turns out to be.
Guest: Well, it wasn't my intention, but you will be getting one. Look at the bottom A/N for details on that. I'm glad you liked the recap, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Nameless4AReason: Well, I do appreciate your criticism of the chapter, and I do see your point on the pizzazz comment. However, it was always the plan to do it this way – it seemed to be the most likely way for her to find out, given what I know from personal experience with dorms. I admit, writing hasn't been the biggest thing on my mind lately, but I assure you, no part of the plot for this chapter was rushed, nor will any future chapters be rushed in that way. The plan for all chapters from the beginning to the end of Season 2 have already been detailed out, so you don't have to worry about half-ass plots due to writer's block. I still very much appreciate the advice, and I hope to hear from you more in the future :)
Guest: Lol, sorry. I tend to go overboard sometimes when it comes to explaining stuff. Truce accepted. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
BingeReader9: I'm so glad you liked the Darius/Emily. Yes, he did ask her out on a date. It's going to be a very fun date too – I hope you like the chapter! As for Calla, she's never exactly been the type to start screaming at people, has she? It's just not her style. And the fact that Noah is her nephew and not her own child did certainly affect how she handled the situation. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Guest: Hmm…you have some interesting theories about Darius. Let's see how close you got to the mark. As for the recap, I'm glad you found it helpful – I figured people would start getting confused about now, given the number of villains, so I knew it would be important. Yes, I'm afraid it is a Halloween chapter, but I promise, it's too Halloween-y either. I'm sure you'll still enjoy it despite the few Halloween elements. If it helps, it was mostly so that I could keep track of the timeline (it being Halloween means it's been approximately 2 months since Chase and the others left for Venusia). I do hope you still like it.
Guest: I'm so glad I made your 4th of July weekend better! I'm sorry to have left you again – hopefully it won't happen again until my exams start in December! I'm glad you found the recap helpful – I figured a lot of people would – and I hope you enjoy this chapter too. As for the reward, I do have something planned at the end of the chapter, but it's not a cookie.
Guest: Lol, it certainly does keep people captivated.
Guest: He is lucky, isn't he? It's not so much that he's the favorite though – he's not her kid, and that makes a huge difference in how she deals with him, I assure you.
Guest: I'm so glad you're excited! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
SummerSunShine: No, we don't celebrate 4th of July, but we do have Canada Day, which is one July 1st, so we did have something to celebrate. I'm glad you enjoyed the Emily/Darius moment. They are kinda cute, aren't they? Their date is actually in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. Yes, Calla is getting the hang of the kids, right? She's certainly in charge, that's for sure. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Guest: Yes, he did escape her wrath, but to be fair, he's not her kid. How much could she really do? Working at Davenport Industries is definitely going to teach him some things, I agree. And he does have a number of options, he's just got to pick one.
GoneInAFlash: I know, right? Time just goes by so quickly that you don't realize it's passing. I'm really glad you're liking the story so far, and it's always good to hear from a new reviewer. Frankly, I'm not the happiest with Marvel or DC as of late. DC is too worried about trying to catch up with Marvel to really focus on good character development, and lately, Marvel's too concerned with keeping their secrets and surprising audiences to properly work with their actors to portray their characters (I could go on a full rant about that actually – if you look at the first Avengers movie, the character portrayals are so much better than the newer movies, and that was because the directors actually worked with the actors instead of giving them redacted scripts). Not that I think I'm a better writer than them – I do appreciate the compliments though – but they are going about it the wrong way.
Guest: You are absolutely right – nothing in a superhero world is easy. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry about the lateness of this one – yes a treat is being handed out. You'll see the details at the end of the chapter.
Guest: I'm glad you liked the chapter! I hope you enjoy this one too!
TheRealHarrisonW: I'm so glad you enjoy it, and I hope the recap made it easier to guess at the who the villains are. I'll start revealing identities soon, so stay tuned! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Guest: Lol, Calla's certainly not thrilled with her, that's for sure. Don't worry – she'll still get to go on her date. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Guest: No, the villaisn aren't from the planet Venusia. I don't know where you got that impression – they're all on Venusia, with the Elite Force. It's possible that one of the villains are from Caldera, but that doesn't mean all of them are. Anyway, I hope that clears things up a little, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Boredoutofmymind: I get you're disappointed that I didn't update, but I don't appreciate reviews like this, telling me that I'm late with an update. Frankly, it's rude. I don't owe anyone an update.
Guest: They went on a field trip to a government facility. They even joked about the thing being a field trip. I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm not a fan of that joke at the end though. I've been working really hard on these chapters, and I don't mean for the chapters to be late, but sometimes it happens.
Guest: There will be more Kira and Kameron in future chapters. Certainly plots require more focus on certain characters, but I assure you, each character will have their own plots to shine in.
Xxx
Kihonne: Anyway, on with the chapter!
Darius: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or the Elite Force. She only owns this story, ALL OCs, and anything else you don't recognize from the original series.
Xxx
Kira's POV
"So, the point is to scare people, and then give them candy?" Seraphina asked, frowning as she handed Noah a fake bat to hang above the big window.
"Yes." Kameron and I both said at once, looking up from the bowls in front of us. Ben chuckled and shook his head as he and Charlotte finished putting decorations around the living room.
"What are you guys even making?" Charlotte laughed.
"Fake blood." I replied, dragging my spoon through the thick liquid. "Mom taught us her recipe."
"Gross." Sera commented, wrinkling her nose. Noah smirked and looked down at her from where he was still standing on the ladder.
"Halloween's really just an excuse to dress up, eat junk food, and celebrate what is supposed to be the creepiest night of the year." He explained, just as his Davenwatch started going off. He looked over at Ben. "Hey, what time is the party tonight anyway?"
"In a couple of hours. Are you sure you don't want to grab dinner with Naomi and I?" Ben offered. Noah shook his head.
"Nah. Blake wants to meet up first, says she wants to talk about something."
"Maybe it has something to do with you dropping out of school." Charlotte muttered under her breath. Noah gave her a look. "Look, Calla may have cut you some slack, but you do realize your mom and dad are going to murder you when they get back, right?"
"I'm pretty sure that's why she cut him some slack." Kameron joked. Noah rolled his eyes, scowling as he went back to the decorations.
"Guys, lay off." Ben told everyone. Noah flashed him a grateful smile. Ben checked the time on his Davenwatch, then sighed and walked over to the stairs. "Naomi!" He called. "You guys done yet?"
"Perfection takes patience!" The journalism student shouted back.
"Only when it comes to Emily." Kameron joked. Charlotte gave him a look.
"Be nice." She told him. He shook his head and went back to making his mixture. "And no playing pranks on her tonight. This date is important to her."
"Relax, Char, this is for Matt's party." He assured her, grinning. "It's going to be awesome."
"I can't believe he invited you guys. Kameron, you don't even like him. Why are you going?" Charlotte questioned, peeved. She'd been so excited until she'd found out that she wasn't the only one invited.
"He invited Sera, Ava, and Aaron too." I pointed out before Kameron could try to come up with an answer. I knew he was only going because Charlotte was, but the bionic girl didn't seem to realize that herself. "And it's better than sitting around at home doing nothing."
"Right. There'd be no one here to prank except Helix and Josh." Kameron added. Josh's cage was out, the tarantula slowly making his way from one end to the other, while Helix was currently gnawing away at a bone, a black witch's hat sitting upon his head. "And that's just not the same."
"Alright." Naomi cleared her throat, coming down the stairs. "We're done."
"What were you guys doing, anyway?" Kameron asked as Emily followed Naomi downstairs. The younger girl was wearing a black tank top and an orange skirt, along with black leggings and boots.
"Working on a project." Emily explained, sitting down on the couch. "Mom's not the only person who invents stuff in their spare time."
"Well, hopefully your stuff will explode less often than Dad says hers did." Noah commented just as Calla walked in.
"I swear, I set his bedroom on fire one time, and he never lets it go." She shook her head. I frowned, noticing that something was wrong - her forehead was furrowed, her lips pressed together in a thin line.
"Hey, by the way, I thought I should ask this now: am I going to have to tell them about the...college thing when we talk later, or can I wait until they get back?" Noah asked, climbing off the ladder. "I don't want to distract them from their mission."
"And you don't want to get in trouble." Emily added teasingly.
"Actually, guys, I wanted to talk to you guys about that." Calla sighed. She moved to sit on the couch, right next to her daughter. The rest of us exchanged looks. She sounded serious.
"What's going on?" Sera asked, standing up from where she'd been kneeling by the decoration box. Calla sighed.
"I know you were all really excited to talk to your parents today," she began, and I felt my heart drop. Ever since Calla had confirmed what day Mom, Dad, and the others would be passing through a section where they'd have a strong enough signal to handle a video call, we'd all been counting down the days.
"We're not going to be able to talk to them, are we?" Kameron asked sadly, his shoulders slumped. Calla shook her head, an apologetic look on her face.
"We can't make contact." She apologized. "There have been bad solar flares lately that are most likely causing the disruption."
"Most likely." Emily repeated, staring at her. Calla nodded and petted the back of Emily's hair.
"There could be a million reasons for the disruption, but that's the most likely cause. Regardless, your parents are okay, I promise. But we just can't reach them today. I'm so sorry guys."
Well, that just ruined the rest of my day. I sank back in my chair, dissapointed. "When's the next check-in?" Even Noah, who'd been dreading that conversation, seemed upset by the news.
"About 54 days from now." Calla answered. "There might be some chances earlier, but 54 days gives us the best window for it."
"54 days...that's Christmas Eve." Kameron realized. Charlotte looked at him, a little surprised that he did the math before her, but smiled a little.
"I mean, that'll be a nice Christmas gift." She offered lightly.
"She's got a point." Sera said slowly, as if she wasn't sure if she completely agreed.
"I guess." "Fine." "Okay." Emily, Noah, and Kameron all agreed reluctantly. I just shrugged. That certainly did put a damper on today. Hopefully, Matt's party would be a good enough distraction to salvage some of the holiday.
Emily's POV
I buried my face in my hands, wishing that it was tomorrow already. Today was supposed to be great. Charlotte, Ava, and I had all sent in our college applications this morning, all three of us hoping to get early acceptance to our choice colleges. I was supposed to be able to talk to my Dad, tell him about everything that was going on and reassure myself that everything was going alright on my end. Then I was supposed to end the night with a perfect date. But now, I couldn't talk to my dad until Christmas, Charlotte had made the mistake of reminding me that SATs were coming up, which only stressed me out further, and now, to top it all off, I was being stood up.
I checked the time on my Davenwatch again, frowning at the time. Alright, he was nearly twenty minutes late. I wasn't going to wait forever. He could figure out how to make this up to me on Monday-
"I'm an ass, I'm so sorry." Almost as if on queue, he came up just then, apologies falling from his lips. "I got on the wrong bus, and then couldn't figure my way back here, and do you hate me?"
"Well, I'm not thril-what the hell happened?" It was only when I looked up did I notice the darkening bruise around his right eye. I stood up immedietly to get a better look. "Darius, what happened?"
"It's fine, it's nothing." He waved me off.
"That doesn't look like nothing." I insisted, looking at it. "What happened?"
"It was an accident. Don't worry about it." He assured me. I crossed my arms and gave him a look. He chuckled. "Seriously, Em. Matt and I were playing basketball, I wasn't paying attention, and he didn't realize that until after he threw the ball."
"You got this playing basketball?" I repeated. He nodded, smiling at me reassuringly. I bit my lip, not quite sure how believable that was, but then again... "You're an idiot."
"Thank you. Does that mean you forgive me for being late?" He asked, raising his eyebrows at me. I sighed.
"I guess." I replied, shaking my head. "Let's just go."
"...Alright." Darius frowned, but didn't argue with me. He didn't say much as we entered the restaurant, not even while we were choosing our meals. I didn't mind, barely really focusing anyway. "Emily?"
"Hmm?" I looked up to see him watching me. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Uh, yeah." He gave me this amused look. "I asked if you were okay?"
"I'm fine." I said quickly.
"You're a thousand miles away." He pointed out. I glanced down at my menu for a second. "I'm really sorry for being late."
"I'm not mad about that." I assured him quickly. "I just...I'm sorry. I've got a lot on my mind."
"Talk to me." He gave me an encouraging smile.
"It's my dad. I was supposed to talk to him today." I shrugged. He nodded.
"Right, he's still on that trip." He was quiet for a moment. "You said you were 'supposed to' talk to him today? What happened?"
"He can't be reached. It's complicated." I shrugged. He nodded.
"I'm really sorry, Emily." He told me seriously. I shook my head.
"It's not like it's your fault." I reasoned, sitting up. "Sorry. You'll have my full attention for the rest of the night."
"If you aren't feeling up to this, we can reschedule. I'd understand." He said slowly. I began to shake my head, but he stopped me. "I mean it. I won't be mad or anything."
"It's fine. I wanna be here." I smiled at him. He hesitated.
"You sure?" He checked. I smirked.
"You can't get rid of me that easily, Darius." I teased him. He chuckled.
"Alright, if you insist." He smirked. "So, what are you thinking of getting? I hear they have amazing fish and chips." He commented.
"I don't know. Feeling more in a pasta mood." I commented. "What time is the show, anyway?"
"Eight. We have time." He smiled at me. I smiled back. Maybe tonight was looking up after all.
Kira's POV
"Whoa. What is this place?" Kameron commented as Matt and Aaron led us into what looked like an abandoned subway station.
"My mom showed me this place." Ava explained, smirking back at us. "They say it used to be a super-villain lair, back in the day. You know, back when those shapeshifters attacked the city?"
I looked around at the graffitied walls and dirt-covered ground. If it had been a lair, it wasn't a very impressive one, that's for sure. Though, I had to admit, it was creepy, especially with the only light coming from a single, antique gas lantern that Ava had dug up from somewhere. "It's alright." I shrugged.
"I think it's cool." Charlotte smiled prettily at Matt. He grinned slowly at her.
"We should go exploring." He commented.
"No, we shouldn't." Kameron interjected. They both looked over at him, Charlotte particularly annoyed while Matt looked confused. "We could get lost down here." Kameron reasoned. "People get lost down here all the time, and it's not like we have any cell service. We'd never find our way out."
"He's got a point." I agreed, though I knew his reasoning wasn't so innocent. He just didn't want Charlotte and Matt going off on their own.
"Whatever. It's still a cool place for a sleepover." Matt commented, shrugging as he dropped his bag on the ground by the lantern. He leaned over and whispered something in Charlotte's ear, causing her to smile and my brother to scowl.
"So, we have snack right?" I cleared my throat, quickly changing the topic.
"Oh yeah, I have all the good stuff." Ava was just as happy to change the topic, sending Kameron a sympathetic look before opening her bag and beginning to pull things out.
"What are these for?" Sera asked, frowning as Aaron helped his cousin pull a box of crackers and a bag of marshmallows out of the bag.
"I thought we could do smores." Aaron commented. Sera frowned.
"What are smores?" She inquired, confused. Aaron looked at her.
"Smores." He repeated. She continued to frown at him. "Geez, what planet are you from?"
"Uh..." Sera stopped, unsure of how to answer.
"My aunt and uncle aren't big on sugary snacks." I said quickly, as Charlotte and Kameron were too distracted to cover for her.
"In that case, they're the best thing ever." Ava grabbed the box out of Aaron's hands and proceeded to explain to Seraphina how to make a smore and why it should be it's own vital food group. Meanwhile, I grabbed Kameron by the arm and dragged him off to the side.
"Would you play nice?" I scolded quietly. "They didn't have to invite us, but they did."
"It's just...what do you think they're talking about?" Kameron looked past me, where Charlotte and Matt were whispering to themselves.
"That's none of our business. Please, play nice." I begged. He sighed.
"Can't you be on my side for once?" He muttered. I crossed my arms.
"I'm trying, but you being a jerk to Matt isn't going to get Charlotte to like you." I pointed out.
"And you're such an expert on dating?" He questioned. I stopped and looked at him.
"I'm sorry?" I asked, crossing my arms. He closed his eyes for a second.
"Can we forget I said that?" He requested. I didn't answer him, instead fixing him with a cold look and walking over to Sera, Ava, and Aaron. Fine, if he wanted to be a jerk, then he was on his own.
Xxx
"Mmmm..." Serasphina hummed in pleasure, licking the last of the marshmallow off her lips. "Oh, I wish I'd discovered these sooner."
I laughed a little and offered her a piece of paper towel to clean off her hands. "We'll make sure that you're stocked up on graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate when you head back to Caldera." I assured her, keeping my voice low. Ava was asleep by what remained of the fire she'd started (well, I helped her out a little when she wasn't looking, but she didn't know that), and I was pretty sure that Aaron was too. Kameron's eyes were closed, but I knew he was still awake, feeling the frustration coming from him. While I was kinda annoyed at him, I didn't really blame him; Matt and Charlotte were huddled at the end of the room, the two of them looking like they were planning on sneaking away the moment the rest of us were asleep.
"Is it weird that I don't want to go back?" Seraphina confided in me. I looked at her, surprised. "I mean, I love Caldera, and my home. It's...well, it's my home, and I miss it, and Mom and Dad especially, but..." She shrugged. "Earth's nice too. And I'm going to miss you guys."
"Even Emily?" I teased. She laughed quietly. "We'll miss you too." I told her kindly. "But that's still months away. And maybe, now that we're all friends, we can convince my parents and your parents to let us hang more. I'd love to visit Caldera sometime."
"You should. The sunsets alone...they put this world to shame." She teased.
"Are they better than smores?" I asked jokingly. But before she could respond, a sharp bang hit our ears. We both turned towards the station's entrance, but there was no one there.
"You guys heard that, right?" I sat up, looking back at them.
"Heard what?" Charlotte called. Ava raised her head, frowning.
"What's going on?" She asked, looking around. Kameron sat up as well.
"We didn't hear anything." He told us, but he didn't sound like he didn't believe us. "What did you guys hear?"
"I'm not sure. It was like-" And all at once, the embers of the fire went cold and the lantern went out, leaving us in complete darkness. Then, not even a second later, something roughly pulled me to my feet, throwing me backwards.
Darius' POV
"Ouch." Emily winced sympathetically as General MacArthur dropped, having a rock dropped on his head from above. "Do you think they're using plastic or Styrofoam from the prop, I wonder?"
"Gotta be Styrofoam." I whispered back, quiet enough not to bother any of the other people watching the play. "It would have made a louder noise if it were plastic, right?"
"Maybe." She agreed absently, reaching to grab another piece of licorice from the pile. "This was such a good idea."
"Well, who could pass up 'And Then There Were None' in the park on Halloween?" I asked, silencing my phone as it vibrated again. "You seen it before?"
"No, but I read the e-book. I doubt they'll change the ending." She commented. I chuckled.
"Have you ever read a book that wasn't digital or on your holo-computer?" I asked, shaking my head. She looked at me, bemused.
"As opposed to what?" She asked. I shook my head, trying not to laugh at her.
"Nevermind." I had to admit, it was actually kinda amusing how technology-focused Emily was. Most people preferred the more advanced stuff, but in her case, it was like the idea of using the older stuff had never occurred to her at all. It was actually pretty cute, actually.
"Who keeps texting you?" Emily asked as my phone went off again. I sighed, quickly dismissing the text.
"My mom." I admitted, glancing briefly at the list of messages I'd gotten. A couple were from Aaron, but they were mostly Mom, asking me to do a million things I wasn't interested in doing. "Don't worry about it."
"Why's she on your back?" Emily frowned, craning her neck as she reached past me for another piece of licorice.
"Because she's crazy." I said, maybe a little too enthusiastically considering the look that Emily gave me. "She is, trust me."
"Believe me, I think my mom's crazy sometimes too." She assured me.
"Trust me, my mom's a different type of crazy." I commented, reading over some of the texts before pocketing my phone. "Just forget her. Tonight's just about us, not our psychotic parents."
She smiled, seemingly liking the sound of that. "Okay." She agreed, leaning closer to me as she turned her attention back to the play. I smiled back, wrapping my arm around her, wishing that we could have a lot more time that was just about us, and not about my mom, or her parents, or any of the other crazy shit happening in our lives.
Kira's POV
Three minutes ago, Seraphina and I were chatting about smores and Caldera, and now, something was attacking us in the dark. Not a great way to end the night.
Whatever was attacking me was different than most anything I'd ever fought before, even the few times I'd used the training simulator back at the HQ (sometimes Nyssa, Kameron, and I would get in a round or two before the Scarlet Ace or Spotlight found us and kicked us out). It was like I was being hit from all sides, small little blows not powerful enough to maim or badly injure, but definitely enough to leave bruises. The only ever time I'd fought something like this was...
I waved my hand into the air, creating ball of fire in it as I did. As expected, I could see the swarm's bugs (small little things, almost like flies the size of golf balls) move away from the fire. "Davenport Industries!" I exclaimed, crossing one hand over the other to shoot two streams of fire at the swarm. Was this the same woman who Emily and I had fought a few weeks ago when Calla, Leo, AJ, and the rest of the people at Davenport Industries were taken hostage?
Unfortunately, instead of completely scaring off the swarm, it came back with a vengeance, this time the entire swarm charging at my legs. The combined blow of all of them was more than enough to knock me off my feet and I hit the dirt, face first. I felt the air rush from my lungs and I laid there, stunned for a moment.
I could hear the others moving around, fighting as well, but unlike me, they didn't have the ability to create torches with their hands. They were trapped in the dark, fighting for what could be their lives. I couldn't hear Ava and Aaron anymore - I think one of them screamed when the lights first went out, but since then, it was eerily silent on their end.
I couldn't hear Seraphina, but I could feel the chill of her ice powers coming from my left. I would have expected to hear whoever she was fighting - you know, a groan of pain, or at least one scream - but if there was anything to be heard, I couldn't make it out over the overwhelming sound of the buzzing.
Before I could continue to contemplate where the rest might be, or how they were faring in their own fights, a hand grabbed me by my jacket and pulled me to my feet. I pushed away from whoever it was, spinning around in an effort to see who it was, but the swarm was back before I could. I raised my hand and shot blindly in the direction I'd been pulled in, only to just barely miss setting my brother's hair on fire.
"Kira!" Kameron exclaimed, ducking a little and shooting a quick shot of electricity just past me at the swarm. It parted to let the electricity through, not quite giving it the same berth it gave my fire, but still giving it a fair bit of room to avoid being hit. "Geez!"
"Sorry, can't see!" I exclaimed, turning around to send a wave a flames towards the swarm, while at the same time backing up so that Kameron and my backs were almost touching. "Can you?"
"See? No!" Kameron exclaimed, ducking as a part of the swarm broke off to target his head. I felt him twist behind me, and then there was a flash of light as he tried to hit the swarm. "There's two of them!"
"Are you sure?" I called back. It made sense - the swarm surrounding us felt too big to be one entity, but what were the odds that there were two of them with the same powers?
"Definitely!" He called back. Suddenly, a scream, partially muffled broke out from the darkness. "Charlotte!"
Kameron went to turn in the direction of the scream, and then suddenly he was gone, flying backwards with a shout of his own. "Kam!" I called, waving a flaming fist in his direction. All I could see was a dark figure on top of my brother, who was face down on the ground. "Kam!"
He struggled with the figure for a moment, his position on his stomach making it harder to get at him, but managed to push the guy off of him. He turned to go after the guy, and I shot a stream of fire in their direction, hoping that maybe, with enough light, we could identify at least one of the attackers with something more than 'guy with a visor', but the second I tried to, one of the swarms hit me from the side, knocking me to the ground.
I turned to try and deal with it, feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the constant attacks, but suddenly, the swarm in front of me froze. Literally, it quickly began to crystalize, becoming a frozen statue in seconds. I could barely make out Seraphina's figure behind her.
"Sera?" I called.
"I can't see, at all." She responded back, voice barely holding back a tremor of panic.
"It's alright, I'm here." I assured her, slowly getting to my feet. Suddenly, a chill came over me and I realized that it was quiet, too quiet. "Where are the other swarms?"
Sera paused. "Charlotte? Kameron? Aaron, Matt? Ava?"
Suddenly, the figure from before burst out of the darkness. I felt myself elbowed roughly to the ground, and heard a loud shattering sound coming from the direction I'd been facing. I heard Sera cry out in surprise, then, once again, silence.
"Guys?" I called, about to create a smile fire in my hand. I was beaten to the punch by Ava, who suddenly appeared, holding a flashlight. She looked a little disheveled, but overall okay. She shone it around the room, revealing the shattered remains of the frozen swarm. The swarm itself was gone, as were the other two and the shadowy figure, leaving the rest of us in the room.
"Is everyone okay?" Charlotte stumbled forward, rubbing her throat with a wince on her face. Sera was on her bottom, hands behind her, blinking in surprise, while Matt and Aaron came up behind her. Both boys, especially Matt, looked bruised and battered. "Kameron?"
I looked behind me to see Kameron gingerly sitting up, clutching his upper shoulder. "Kam?" I asked, crawling over to him. I could feel heat radiating from where he was clutching. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He muttered as I carefully pulled his hand back. It came away bloody, and I saw a large, but shallow looking gash in his shoulder. "I cut it when I fell. I'm fine."
"It might need stitches." I commented absently, looking it over. Out of the two of us, Kameron was better when it came to medical stuff - he'd helped Mom out a few times in the infirmary on bad days - but it didn't look too bad to me.
"Are you two okay?" Matt asked, looking around at Sera and Charlotte.
"Yeah." Charlotte was still rubbing her throat, which was concerning, but she forced a smile for her crush. Aaron, meanwhile, was staring at the ice shards on the ground.
"How did it freeze?" He asked, sounding confused. We all exchanged looks, trying to think of a way to explain that part.
"Climate change." Kameron said after a moment, his tone unusually serious. I looked over at him, an incredulous look on my face, and he gave me a one-shouldered shrugged before wincing in a way that told me he regretted the action.
Emily's POV
"You know, we could take a walk around the park." I suggested, holding Darius' hand as the park started to clear out. I looked up at him, smiling. "I know you said something about the ice cream parlor, but I was kinda hoping to go somewhere less crowded? It's going to be packed, what with their Halloween special."
"Actually, I was kinda set on that ice cream parlor." Darius shifted uncomfortably. "We could go to that party on 8th street though, if you prefer."
"Well, I was kinda hoping to go somewhere, just the two of us." I insisted, stopping to dismiss a call from Charlotte that was coming in. I'd see her after I got home and update her on how things went. Darius looked hesitant, so I put on my best puppy dog look. "What? Are you afraid to be alone with me?"
He hesitated, then looked around. "Emily, listen-" He began, just as my Davenwatch went off again. I sighed, noticing that it was Charlotte again.
"I'm sorry, this is the third time in an hour. I'll make it quick." I told him apologetically, hitting a button on my Davenwatch. "This had better be goo-"
"We were attacked." Charlotte's voice, urgent and unusually serious for her, spoke into my ear through the bluetooth pieces in my earrings.
"What?" I demanded. I looked up, realizing that Darius was right there. "Just give me a second." I told him, stepping away so he couldn't hear me. "What happened? Is anyone hurt?"
"It's a long story, I just wanted to make sure you were aware. You don't have to come home or anything, but I didn't want you in the dark, especially if one of you hear from Aaron, Matt, or Ava." She told me quickly.
"Is anyone hurt?" I repeated my earlier question.
"Kameron, but it's not bad, barely any stitches." Charlotte was quick to assure me. I cursed under my breath.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"Emily-" She began, but I wasn't hearing it.
"Where are you?" I demanded. She sighed on the other line.
"Mighty Med." She replied. I nodded to myself, calculating the bus route in my head.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes." I hung up before she could argue with me. I turned around to face Darius, who was texting on his phone. "I am so sorry, I have to go."
"Okay." He nodded in agreement. "Uh, tonight was..."
"It was great, I swear it was." I promised him, not wanting him to think I was bailing out because I didn't enjoy myself. "I am so sorry about this."
"It's fine, Em. Whatever it is, it's important." He assured me. I nodded, then stepped up to kiss him on the cheek.
"I am so sorry." I apologized. "Tonight was great. Can we talk on Monday?"
"Yeah, of course." He replied. I nodded, starting to leave. "Hey, Emily?"
I paused. "Yeah?" I asked, turning around. He gave me a kind smile.
"I had fun tonight." He told me.
"Me too." I smiled back at him, blushing.
Kira's POV
True to her word, Emily arrived almost exactly twenty minutes later, looking panicked for a long moment until her gaze rested on the ground of up, all gathered around a hospital gurney. "Are you okay?" She demanded, looking at Kameron. He itched self-consciously at his wrapped shoulder.
"It was, like, three stitches." He assured her. "You didn't have to leave your date. I told Charlotte to tell you not to."
"Yeah, well I'm told I don't listen very well." Emily retorted.
"I think that's the closest you've ever come to admitting you have flaws." Charlotte commented, giving her cousin a look. Emily rolled her eyes.
"Shh, I'm perfect. Not listening well is a choice, not a flaw." She insisted, much to the other's amusement. Emily looked over Kameron herself, then turned to Sera, Charlotte, and I. "Are you guys okay? What about Ava, Aaron, and Matt?"
"I thought you didn't like Matt." Ben commented. She shrugged.
"I don't, but I'd feel bad about going out with his best friend if he was lying dead in a ditch somewhere." She reasoned.
"Actually, it was a subway station." I commented. The look Emily gave me, a mixture of horror and surprise, was hilarious. "I'm kidding. He's fine, so are Ava and Aaron. They're a little confused, but aside from that, Kam was the only one hurt."
"Okay." She nodded to herself before sitting down between Ben and Noah. "So what happened?"
"Swarms, three of them, and another attacker not in a swarm form attacked us while we were on our sleepover. One of them tried to kidnap Charlotte." Seraphina explained. Emily's head snapped in Charlotte's direction.
"He tried to pull me away from the others. Relax, I threw him away from me really hard. I'm pretty sure he hit something." She assured her.
"And I'm pretty sure that something was me." Kameron added flippantly. Adrenaline was still pumping in all of our veins right now. Once it disappeared and shock settled in, I was sure we would all take tonight a little more seriously.
"What did we tell the others?" Emily asked.
"That freaks like that were probably responsible for that whole GPS thing a while back." I explained. Ben frowned disapprovingly at me. "What? There are already rumors going around that super villains were responsible, why not use them to our advantage? It's the only explanation that worked."
"I suppose." Ben sighed. Naomi shrugged.
"The best lie does have a speck of truth in it. Let's just hope they don't tell people." She replied.
"And now we're just waiting for Mama and Papa to come pick us up. They don't want us going home on our own." Charlotte finished. Emily nodded.
"Okay, yeah. I'm glad you guys are okay." She told us. I nodded.
"Us too." I agreed. I smirked, thinking of something that would get our minds off that disaster. "So, how was your date with Darius?"
"Did you kiss?" Kameron teased, picking up on where I was going with this. I sent him a smile as Emily groaned in annoyance.
Darius' POV
By time I walked through the door, everyone else was home, loudly arguing about tonight. I'd gotten a few of the details via text, so I already knew what had happened, but it still wasn't something I'd looked forward to coming home to.
"Well, you should have tried harder!" I heard someone shout upstairs. The response that came was both very creative and very rude, making me chuckle as I walked into the kitchen.
"Something funny?" Victoria questioned. She and my mom were sitting at the counter, looking over plans.
"No." I said quickly, wiping the smirk from my face. "No m'am."
"I didn't think so." She turned back to my mom. Breathing a sigh of relief, I went to the fridge, looking for something to drink. "Grabbing one of the kids is a mistake. We should take them all at once."
"That won't work." I commented, grabbing a carton of chocolate milk out of the fridge. I noticed it had the letter A written on it, but I ignored it - if she wanted more, she could buy some herself rather than taking from my place. "Tonight should have shown you that."
"Is that so?" She turned to me. Mom sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"Reese..." Mom warned, but Victoria and I both ignored her.
"I heard it was a bit chilly for you. Might want to watch out for Miss Storm." I chuckled. Victoria stood up, trying to intimidate me.
"At least I'm pulling my weight, kid." She told me before turning to leave. "We'll talk tomorrow, Venus."
"Good night." Mom told her as she walked out. Mom turned to me. "Was that necessary?"
"It's not my fault she had a bad plan." I commented, drinking from the carton. Mom frowned at the sight, but didn't call me out on it.
"You shouldn't be talking - what happened with Emily?" She asked. I sighed.
"I couldn't get her alone. Not my fault." I said quickly.
"It never is, is it?" She asked, sounding annoyed. I licked my lips worriedly, knowing I was walking a thin line. "She's right, Darius, it's time you pull your weight. The others are, even Discordia."
She shook her head and started to leave. "Do we have anything to do with them not being able to contact the Elite Force?" I called after her, causing her to stop at the stairs.
"Excuse me?" She asked, hand on the railing.
I sighed and looked away. "Look, if you want me to lie to her, at least tell me what I'm lying about. Them not being able to contact their parents, that can't be a coincidence." I commented. Mom looked at me for a second.
"That's not our doing." She replied. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and nodded to myself. "I'm serious. You know who your target is, start thinking of her like one. Start doing your part, or I'll pull you out of the job. Am I understood, Neptune?"
I swallowed, then slowly nodded. "Yes Mom, I understand."
Xxx
Kihonne: Alright guys, do you remember last update when I joked about giving you a treat if I was late with another update? Well, at the time, I was joking, but what the hell? Most of you have been patient with me, and I really want to thank you for that. So, instead of me picking the name and gender of Calla's baby, I'm going to leave it up to you.
I want you all to submit 1 name and gender. I'll pick the gender based off which one has more submissions, and then you guys can vote on the top 3 – 5 names. I can't tell you exactly when I'll announce the gender and then the winning names, but I can say that you do have some time to think about it if you'd like.
Anyway, here is the new update schedule. I promise to do my best to stick to it:
July 29th – House Guests
August 5th – Study Break
August 12th – Camping Trip
Until next time, guys! Don't forget to review!