Kihonne: Hey guys. I know I said I'd update way earlier than this, but life got in the way a bit. I'm glad that most of you were patient with this, and I do appreciate those of you who were. I'm done apologizing for late chapters – life has a way of making it difficult to get these things done, and this is something all of us, myself included, have to accept – but you should know that they're less likely to be late now that I'm back in school and only working one on campus job as opposed to 2 jobs combined with a 90 minute commute each way. Anyway, I do have a longer chapter for you guys today. After taking another look at the plots for "Study Break" and "Camping Trip", I realized that they'd work better combined, so you're getting both plots mixed into one chapter. I think you're all going to like it. But first, it's shoutout time!
Xxx
Guest: Yes, Tecton has a son. He was born back in "The Days of Our Lives", in "The Key to Being a Hero", I believe.
Guest: Maybe you should get one. I don't know if you meant to come off rude, but you did. I have a life of my own, with a lot more responsibilities than writing fanfiction, and frankly, given that you're getting the content for free, I wouldn't complain when it takes a little while to get a chapter. Just saying.
LALALAGIRL: Honestly, I could totally see Naomi as a P.I. As for her being more spy worthy than superhero worthy, she, like the rest of the kids, are all still coming into their roles as superheroes. And besides, Dani's proven that superheroes can be spies. As for Ben and Naomi, they would be cute together, wouldn't they? And he is her go-to for support, so that helps. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Guest: Yes, poor Noah. In Blake's defense, she's really been left in the dark here, so she doesn't know what's going on with him, but he does need a bit of a confidence boost when it comes to girls right now. He'll get one soon enough though, so don't you worry.
Guest: If I did say 'he', it would have been a typo. Sorry, but the gender hasn't been decided yet, so I must have meant 'they' or 'them'. When I reveal the gender, it'll be in-story, not in an author's note or reader response. Sorry to get your hopes up, buddy, but hey, there's still a 50-50 chance.
Bennyboo: I'm so glad you like the chapter, as well as Naomi and Ben's ship worthiness! I guess we'll have to see if these best friends become something more. Keep reading though – I think you'll like what you see.
Applie: That's an interesting theory about the nephew thing. I'm not going to confirm or deny anything on that front, but there will be confirmation this chapter about how many of Roddiseus' children are on the loose, so hopefully that'll narrow things down a bit. I hope you enjoy the chapter.
TheRealHarrisonW: I have to admit, I was so disappointed with how Mighty Med handled Catastrophe. I wish we could have seen more of them. I like your title "The Cabal" for the team of villains. I hadn't really come up with a good one myself, so that's pretty good. I'm not going to comment on the Calderan thing – you'll have to read more to find out on that front – but I do want to answer the Faith question. She will not be appearing in this story or future ones. It's a long story, but she was based on real life person who I'm no longer on good terms with, and I don't feel comfortable using her character anymore for that reason. Besides, I have a few other characters I've always had better long-term plans for anyway, and new characters I'd like to focus on. As interesting as her character was, I think everyone's going to like what I've got planned instead. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Humanusscriptor: Reese will be better explained in this chapter. I'm so sorry again for your loss, and for not responding as quickly as I should have to your PMs.
SummerSunShine: Thank you so much! Yes, Naomi and Ben seem to be the talk of the town with this last chapter. They really would be cute together, wouldn't they? The two of them, along with Kam and Charlotte, would make some nice couples for the story. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the future for them. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter, especially the twist with bringing Carrie back into the fold, and I hope you like this one too.
BlabberMouth: Yes, we will be seeing Wallace and Clyde fairly soon. And that's actually pretty funny with the comic book store workers that you mentioned. Lol, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Toremainunnamed: Well, not everyone is going to like every character, so I respect that. But I will mention that 'magic' has been in the series since Rani Shore's first appearance in "The Days of Our Lives", and was a major aspect of "Love and War" and the final season of "The Power of Seven", so I'm a little surprised to hear about the dissatisfaction with it now rather than in previous stories. Still, it's nice to hear a difference of opinions, and I encourage you to review more. I'd like to hear more from you!
BingeReader9: Yes, I'm afraid that does seem to be a popular theme in many relationships for now. But don't worry, not everyone will have their heart broken by the end of the season. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and especially my action-calm-action chapter pattern. I'm breaking from that for a tiny bit for this 3 chapter arc I've got going, but I intend on going back to it soon. It's a good way to evenly space the chapters I find. Unfortunately, there will not be any more crossovers aside from the Mighty Med, Elite Force, Lab Rats universe ones. It would expand the universe, that is true, but as this is intended to be the last story in the universe, I wouldn't be comfortable adding so many new elements so close to the end, especially with anything Marvel (I have Marvel plans, and if I decide to keep writing fanfiction after the Lab Rats/Mighty Med universe is finished, the MCU is where I'll almost certainly be doing it). It's a great question though! I do have a lot more surprises and twists planned (believe me, I've been planning Season 2 longer than I have Season 1, and Season 3 will be the perfect plot to finish the series on), so you're still in for a treat, I'd say. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Matchmaker24: Maybe they are more, maybe they aren't. There's a lot of speculation on them lately, and even I have to admit they'd make a good couple. I guess you'll just have to keep reading to see what the future has planned for them.
Guest: Keep reading and you'll find out ;)
2: I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that things have been a little better since then. And if not, I hope this chapter is a good distraction.
ConfusedCurious: Yes, they are the same person. I know the nicknames are confusing to some readers, which is why I intend to have a lot of reminders in the text. This chapter, for example, breaks things down once again to say who is who, so hopefully that'll help.
Bashful: Yes, Carrie's back! I'm glad you liked it so much!
Untitled: Interesting theory about Matt. You'll definitely be finding out more about his character soon, so stay tuned.
MAGICHATER: They're adults now. Like it or not, they have to act mature, lol. I'm really glad you liked most aspects of the chapter. Believe it or not though, Rani and Nyssa's cameos were heavily requested, along with their magic. I know it doesn't sit well with all readers, but magic is as important an aspect to their world as aliens or mutants, so I can't promise that they won't be back. None of the main characters are magic users though, so you won't have to worry about seeing it any time soon.
LegaciesFan1: Yes, poor Noah. He's had a rough go lately, but as you pointed out, at least he has Sera to be nice to him. As for a new ship, I guess you'll just have to wait and see for that one. I'm glad you liked the chapter and that you like where this is all going. I hope you enjoy this one too.
LabGirl2001: I know, I kinda missed her too. She was one of my favorite characters to write. She'll cameo at least one more time though, so we don't have to say goodbye just yet. And yes, Carrie's back, along with Tank. As for Sebastian, he'll appear sometime, that's for sure. Him being Darius' father…interesting theory. She did have a crush on him…I guess you'll just have to wait to find out.
SzymonS: Well, at least someone seems to like Nyssa. I liked having her in there, and can't wait to have her back for another cameo later in the story. And a jealous Kira, that is kinda funny, I admit. Interesting guess with who Ben and Naomi would be meeting, and I did consider it, but it seemed like a little too much, too soon for me. Especially given what I've got planned for the next few chapters. No, Bridget isn't back yet and you do have a point about Mort. Well, he's in jail now. It would be interesting to see how Sera and the twins deal with Bridget. We'll see if I can ever logically fit something like that in there. Given my current plans for Season 3, it's a possibility. I'm glad you liked the whole Carrie-Calla interaction, as well as how the team discovered that Lexi was on the enemy's team. Lexi will certainly shake things up from here on out. Noah and Sera…they do have chemistry. And Blake…well, as you said, she didn't have much screen time. I originally intended for her to be in it more, but it just didn't work out. She may come back later though. So, the villains, do they have a witch or warlock on their team? That's a good question, one that will be answered later. Thanks for understanding about the not being able to write thing. I really appreciate it, especially given how slowly I've responded to PMs as well. So thanks, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Xxx
Kihonne: Anyway, I won't bore you with much more talk, though I do have another AN at the bottom. But for now, please enjoy the chapter!
Adam: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or the Elite Force. She only owns this story, any and all OCs, and anything else you don't recognize.
Xxx
Charlotte's POV
"It's so big." I whimpered, staring at the massive study booklet sitting on the table in front of me. Maybe it wouldn't have seem so bad if it were a PDF, or a holobook, but no, they had to give us a hard copy just to scare us more.
"It's not that bad." Darius reasoned. "It's only sixty-five pages."
"Sixty-five." Emily repeated, flipping through the pages. "That's kind of a lot."
"Not really." Darius insisted. I gave him a look, then raised my head to look over at the couch, where the others were all gathered. Kameron was nose deep in his biology homework, while Kira was trying to teach Seraphina how to play her new Space Rescue game. Noah was over at the kitchen counter, going through Davenport Industries reports on his holo-computer while making himself a snack.
"Guys, chime in here?" I called. "Is sixty-five a lot?"
"Depends on the context." Noah replied without looking up, just as the front door opened and Mama, Papa, and Calla walked in with groceries. "Sixty-five pages, no. Sixty-five murders, yes."
"Noah." Seraphina looked up and gave him a look.
"I'm sorry, did we just walk into the plotting of a mass murder?" Papa asked, raising an eyebrow at us.
All of us, except for Darius, exchanged looks, and in perfect unison, replied in a far too serious tone, "yes."
"Well, at least they're working together on something." Calla reasoned, heading past us to bring the groceries to the counter. She paused next to Noah, looking over the paper bags in her arms to check over his work. "Nice job, bud."
"Thanks." He replied.
"So, back ta this whole mass murder thin'," Mama commented as Papa took the groceries from her. Noah moved out of the kitchen with his holo-computer, trying to stay out of the way, while Kameron got up to help put things away, "Is it gonna be specific people, or are y'all just choosin' 'em at random?"
"Well, a bit of both, really." Kira shrugged, playing along. "Mostly random, but we might put a few people on there, like Ms. Perry."
"Dear god..." Darius muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. Emily laughed a little and rubbed his shoulder.
"You starting to think that Matt had the right idea of ducking out at the last minute?" She asked.
"You guys are crazy." He replied, even as he offered her a kind smile. Papa raised an eyebrow at him and went to lean on the back of one of the chairs.
"You must be Darius, right?" He inquired. Darius nodded. "So, you're friends with Matt, right?"
"Papa..." I warned. Darius nodded, glancing at me as if he wasn't sure what I wanted him to say.
"Yes, Mr. Dooley, sir." He said. Papa shook his head.
"Leo's fine." He assured him. "Tell me, is Matt a good guy? Like, would you let him date your sister?"
"Uh...I don't have a sister." Darius trailed off, a little caught off guard by the interrogation.
"But if you did, would you let him date her?" Papa pressed. I rolled my eyes and turned around to scowl at him.
"Matt's not even my boyfriend, yet, Papa. Stop interrogating Darius." I demanded.
"I'm just asking him a couple of questions." Papa insisted. "So, where is Matt this evening, anyway?"
"You don't have to answer him." Emily assured him quickly. Darius swallowed a bit.
"He wasn't feeling well, so he went home." He replied uneasily. Papa narrowed his eyes at Emily's boyfriend, not quite believing him, but thankfully, Mama was quick to come to the rescue.
"Leo. Stop." She gave him a stern look, to which Papa rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Yes dear." He sighed, walking away from the table. I shook my head and turned apologetically to Darius, who still looked a little nervous.
"I'm sorry about him. He can be a little overzealous sometimes." I apologized to Darius.
"Heard that." Papa called.
"Good." I replied. Calla laughed a little at that, amused.
"Are you staying for dinner, Darius?" She asked, pulling a box of hamburger patties from the freezer. "I promise we won't let Leo ask you a million questions about Charlotte's love life."
"I..." Emily's face fell at Darius' hesitation. "I shouldn't. I don't want to impose."
"Please, it'd be no imposition. In fact, I insist." Calla smiled warmly at him. He nodded after a moment.
"I...okay. I'll stay. Thank you." He added, almost as an after thought. Emily grinned.
"Alright, who wants cheese on their burgers?" She asked, looking around at us.
Noah's POV
"So, how's the studyin' goin'?" Katherine asked, glancing at Darius and the girls as the bowls of coleslaw, salad, and mashed potatoes were being passed around.
"Well, some of us seem to be more into it than others." Emily commented, glancing meaningfully at Charlotte, who responded by sticking her tongue out at our cousin.
"The SATs are hard, okay? And boring. It's hard to stay focused." She pointed out. She glanced at her parents sheepishly. "I'm trying though."
"Which is why it's good that you started studying so early. You guys started a few weeks ago, right?" Leo checked. Charlotte nodded.
"Yes, but they're Friday, Papa. Friday!" She sighed. "I just don't get why they have to do it before Christmas. Why not get them done after the break?" She complained.
"It's so you don't have to stress about them over the holidays. And for the students looking for early acceptance, I think." I replied immediately. A few of the others looked at me, and I shrugged. "I asked Naomi the same question last year."
"How'd you do on your SATs, Noah?" Sera asked curiously. I shook my head.
"I took the LSATs instead. They're kinda different." I explained.
"I hear they're for the mathematically challenged." Charlotte teased, sharing a smile with Emily and Darius as if they had some sort of inside joke on the matter. I pointedly ignored her.
"I did okay on mine. Nowhere near perfect, but good enough." I continued. Sera nodded, then looked at the parents.
"How'd you guys do?" She asked. Leo exchanged looks with Katherine.
"We didn't actually take them. By time we would have, we'd kinda decided that we weren't going to go to college." He explained. Calla looked up from her food.
"Chase and I took them." She pointed out. Leo frowned.
"Why?" He demanded incredulously. She hesitated and he groaned. "I swear to God Calla, if you say you took them for fun..."
"No..." Calla said insistently but didn't elaborate on why they actually took them. "Anyway, I'm sure you guys will do fine. Darius, I don't know about your grades, but Em and Char, you guys have always done well with school. Try not to stress about them too much."
"In that case, Darius'll be fine." Kira replied dismissively. She grinned at Darius. "Aren't you, like, top of the class or something?"
"Not really." He mumbled, kind of embarrassed.
"Ava said he actually is. Drives Em nuts." Kameron teased, jokingly.
"It does not." Emily growled.
"Moving on," I cleared my throat, and Emily and Darius both shot me a grateful smile, "did you guys remember to call Grandma Tasha?"
"I sent her a video message this morning." Charlotte replied proudly. Leo nodded.
"Mom's disappointed that we can't come and visit, but she understands that Char's got school and I can't abandon my current project." He replied.
"Well, I mean, I would have approved it if you'd asked. I'm sure your assistants could carry on without you for a few days…" Calla trailed off, giving him a look. Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Do you remember the last time we left Darren to work on a project solo?" He pointed out. Calla's eyes widened as she remembered.
"Right. Thanks for staying." She cleared her throat. Darius chuckled, amused.
"It's your grandmother's birthday, right?" He asked, looking at Emily. She nodded.
"Yeah. Naomi and Ben went to Mission Creek for the surprise party." She replied. He nodded.
"More coleslaw, Darius?" Calla offered, noticing that he'd finished all of his. He took the bowl with a grateful smile.
"Thanks." He replied, quickly filling his plate.
Naomi's POV
"So they're doing well?" Kieran asked as he tied a balloon closed, tossing it gently into the growing pile of green and yellow balloons. Everyone was helping to set up m mom's birthday party, and so far things were going smoothly. Rio had taken most of the kids out to help get dinner, while Taylor was helping Uncle Douglas finish up the desert. Ben was helping my oldest brother rearrange the tables in the training room, wanting to try and arrange them in a way so that the main table was smack dab in the middle of a circle of tables (Rio had insisted it would look nicer than the lines they'd been in earlier).
"I think so, though there a few hiccups. Sera's great in training, but she hesitates on actual missions. I think it's probably because she's less comfortable in the real world than the training sims, but I'm sure that'll go away with time." I reasoned. "Noah's been working on that with her."
"That's nice of him. The two of them really seem to get along." Kieran commented. I nodded.
"Yeah, they do. They make a great team, almost as good as Charlotte and Emily. The twins are pretty good together too – you can really see that they know each other's powers inside and out – but Kira's been giving me some trouble."
"Who's giving you trouble?" Adam asked as he and Ben came back into the room. Ben walked over to the counter, grabbed a couple of bottles of water, and tossed one to Adam. "Are we talking about a boyfriend? Leo and I can talk to him, if you want."
"Yeah, even if it was a boy, there's no way you two are 'talking' to him. Raphael Gilbert wouldn't come near me for two full months after your 'chat' with him." I scowled at him. Kieran and Ben both chuckled at that, while Adam didn't see why I was upset.
"Well, he shouldn't have been bullying you." He argued. I gave him a look.
"He pulled my hair, once. We were eight." I pointed out. Ben laughed some more, and I sighed. "It was sweet of you though."
"Damn straight it was." Adam grinned back.
"So, who's giving you trouble?" Ben asked, finishing off the last of his water.
"Kira." I replied. He nodded knowingly. I glanced at Kieran and Adam. "She doesn't get why someone without powers is in charge of the team. Frankly, I don't blame her. It is weird."
"Please. Calla didn't have powers, and she's a better leader than most of the bionic students we've had here." Adam rolled his eyes. Ben frowned.
"Calla has powers." He pointed out. He twisted his hands to mimic throwing a frisbee. "Her proton rings aren't tech."
"She didn't get those until after you were both born." Kieran pointed out. "She mentored us long before then."
"And she ran mission control for us before Davenport even started calling it 'mission command'." Adam agreed. He patted my shoulder. "Trust me, if Calla can do it, you can do it."
"Besides, you've got me." Ben added. I smirked.
"And you're so helpful." I teased. He grinned.
"I know." He joked. Adam chuckled and led Ben back into the training area. Kieran raised an eyebrow at me, eyes darting towards the door.
"So…" He asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes.
"So, did Taylor hear back from her guy at UPSEI?" I asked, changing the topic. His expression turned more serious.
"Uh, yeah, she did. Do you remember hearing about that earthquake a couple of years?" He asked. I nodded.
"Yeah, a bad earthquake caused some damage to the UPSEI prison, and a number of the inmates escaped. But I thought they were all recaptured the same night?" I asked.
"So, did we. Apparently, a couple of them avoided recapture, including lovely Reese. She's one of the shapeshifters who attacked Centium City just after you were born." He explained. I nodded, remembering the story well – that was when the public first learned about the Elite Force.
"And they kept it quiet?" I demanded, stunned that the government would hide the fact that such a dangerous criminal had escaped. He sighed.
"It was right before the election. Apparently, saying that they recaptured everyone looked good for the commissioner's campaign, and they were trying to avoid a PR scandal." He told me. I shook my head.
"You gotta love this country's politics." I commented sarcastically. "You got any good news?"
"Actually…If Carrie is right about Lexi being among your enemies, she's the only bionic rebel you have to worry about." He offered me a reassuring smile. "Sebastian Krane was arrested in Nebraska last year. He's been in UPSEI prison ever since."
"Has he had any contact with Lexi?" I asked sharply. Just because Sebastian was in prison, doesn't mean he wasn't in on this. Kieran shook his head.
"As far as we can tell, he hasn't had contact with anyone outside the prison." He replied. I nodded thoughtfully. "That doesn't mean he doesn't know anything though. He and Lexi were pretty close back in the day – I'm pretty sure they were sleeping with each other, to be honest. He might have some insight on her plans."
"Do you think he'd help us if we went to visit him?" I asked. He shrugged.
"It couldn't hurt. I bet after a year of no contact with the outside world, he might open up to someone." He replied. I nodded again, making a mental note to mention something to Ben, just as Dad walked into the room.
"Are you guys almost done?" He asked, looking around at the very large pile of balloons.
"Just finishing them off." I replied, grabbing one of the last, untouched balloons. He nodded.
"Good. Tasha's going to be here in about twenty minutes." He told us, grinning.
Charlotte's POV
I sighed in frustration, staring down at the booklet in front of me, before letting my gaze drift outside. Emily and Darius were gone, having left for the library half an hour ago, and without them, I just couldn't seem to focus on the work.
It wasn't that it was overly difficult or anything. The practice booklet was challenging, sure, but the questions themselves weren't all that difficult, and given some actually focus, I was sure I could do fairly well on the test. The problem was, I just couldn't focus.
"Whatcha doing?" I jumped a little as Kameron suddenly appeared behind me, a small bowl of fruit in his hands.
"Geez, could you be any quieter?" I grumbled. He chuckled a little.
"Sorry." He apologized before nodding at the booklet. "Are you still studying?"
"Trying to." I sighed, dropping my pencil. I rubbed my face tiredly. "I just can't focus on it."
"Why not?" He asked, sitting down. I shrugged.
"I just always study better in a group. It's why I make Ava and Emily join study groups with me at school." I explained. "And then they, and Matt and Darius, all ditched me."
"Why don't I help you study?" Kameron offered. I laughed a little at that. "I'm serious."
"That's sweet, Kam. But this stuff is, like, two grades ahead of you. You don't even learn some of this stuff until grade 11." I pointed out. He shook his head.
"No, we went over this last week." He insisted, pointing out a section in the book. I raised an eyebrow at that.
"And what algebra class are you taking?" I questioned. His cheeks flushed a little and he ducked his head a bit.
"The, uh, honors one." He admitted.
"Wait, you're taking honors classes?" That caught me a little off guard. He sighed.
"Yes, but don't tell Kira." He begged. "Algebra's really hard for her, and I don't want her to feel any worse about it than she does."
I grinned a little. "Okay." I agreed, shaking my head. "Honors."
"Shut up." He smacked my jokingly in the arm before leaning forward to look at the test better. "Okay, why I don't I quiz you first? That way we can see what parts you already know like the back of your hand?"
"Okay." I agreed again, smiling at him. He smiled back before looking at the pages to figure out where to start.
Naomi's POV
"I hate that you have to leave so soon." Mom sighed, giving me another hug as we finished gathering our bags.
"I know. I wish I could visit more, but between school and all the craziness going on back home..." I trailed off with a sigh. She nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She patted the covers, expecting me to sit down next to her.
"You know, you're doing a lot of good out there. You should be really proud of what you and Ben are doing." She told me.
"You really thing so? It feels like we're making no progress at all." I sighed. She shook her head.
"These things take time, sweetie. Becoming a team takes time." She assured me. She sighed. "I'm not going to pretend that I love that you're going into battles and fights like that; god knows that I hated it when your siblings went on missions, especially before Leo had bionics."
"He said that you hated it after too, that he had to tell you that he was running things from the safety of a van or something to keep you from freaking out?" I remembered. She nodded.
"Yes, he did tell me that. And by the way, thank you for being the only one of your siblings not to lie about the stupid stuff you do." She told me. I cracked a smile at that. "But listen to me, okay? It is dangerous, this kind of life, and I want you to be careful. Every time that your siblings have gone on a mission, they have always walked away from it alive, and you are not going to be my first baby who breaks from that tradition."
"I won't. And I'm always careful" I promised. Mom nodded.
"I know, and you've got Ben to watch your back, which I admit, I'm grateful for." She said. I smiled.
"It is nice having a best friend who's bullet-proof." I agreed. She raised an eyebrow.
"Best friend? Is that all?" She teased. I stared at her. "You two seem awfully close."
"We're just friends, Mom." I sighed. "Guys and girls can be best friends, can't they?"
"They can. But Chase and Calla were best friends, and so were Spin and AJ, and Logan and Kate, and-"
"Okay, okay. I get it." I sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "But really, Mom. He doesn't like me like that, and I don't like him like that."
"If you're sure." She sighed, placed her hands on her legs for a moment, then stood up. "Alright, I guess it's time to go."
"I guess." I agreed, following her into the kitchen. Dad, Ben, Adam, Rio, and Frank were in the living room. "See you, kiddo." I told Frank, giving him a quick.
"Bye Aunt Naomi." He told me before going back to messaging someone on his Davenwatch.
"Bye Naomi, bye Ben." Rio gave each of us a hug, then Adam came in his for him.
"Remember to call me if Calla manages to give anyone food poisoning before Jaden, Chase, Bree, and the others get back. Jaden and I made a bet before he left." My older brother instructed.
"Oh, trust me, you'll be hearing about it." Ben agreed as I went to hug my dad.
"Stay safe, listen to your sister-in-law. I love you." Dad told me, hugging me tightly.
"I love you too." I told him as Ben picked up my bag for me. I shot him a grateful smile before turning back to my parents. "Don't worry, I'll be back for Christmas. And I'll call you guys on Sunday, okay?"
"Fly safe!" Mom called after us as we headed out the door.
Noah's POV
"What about philosophy?" Kira asked, looking up from her holocomputer just as Aunt Calla walked into the living room. "You could focus on ethics."
"Uh..." Honestly, it didn't sound like the worst idea. "I'll put that in the maybe column."
"Hello school-aged children." Calla frowned at us, placing her bag down on one of the end tables by the couch. "What are all of you doing here on a school day?"
"They gave all the non-seniors the day off so that the only ones in the school are the ones doing SATs. Something about helping them focus more." Sera explained from where she was perched on a chair near me. "Which was probably a good idea. Did you see Emily this morning? She nearly ran out of here in her PJ top."
"I know. Why do you think I drove her to school? I thought some coffee might ease her nerves a little." Calla sighed. Kira gave her a look.
"You thought coffee would calm her nerves?" She asked incredulously.
"Us Parkers have a weird coffee tolerance." Calla replied. I nodded seriously in agreement, to which Sera laughed a little.
"Dad did say you were a bit of an addict when you all worked together." She mused. Calla smirked almost proudly at that, then looked around in confusion.
"Okay, two more questions: first, where is Kam?"
"Kameron went to grab lunch for him and Charlotte. He wanted to treat her out after the test since she was so stressed out for it." Kira explained with a smile. "They were up all night studying."
"Leo mentioned. It's very sweet of him to help her." Calla leaned on the back of the couch, placing herself between the two girls. "Hey, you'll tell me if they start dating, right? I'll need to put in some rules for the two of them so I can pretend I have some control over you teenagers."
"It's nice that you've come to realize your limited control over us." Kira teased. Calla raised an eyebrow, then leaned in a little closer.
"You do know that I still have control over the Wi-Fi?" She asked before getting up and walking around to sit properly on the couch while Kira took that in.
"I mean, absolutely. We'll tell you everything." Kira promised, earning a real laugh from Sera, Calla, and I.
"You had a second question?" Sera asked, grinning at Calla. She nodded, then jerked her chin towards me.
"Yeah, what are you doing?" She questioned. I looked back at the big white board I'd pulled out of mission command's storage. I'd divided it into 3 sections - 'Definitely Not' 'Possibly' and 'Interested', with various words underneath two of the sections' titles.
"I'm picking a college major?" I replied uncertaintly.
"And we're helping." Sera added. Calla nodded, then looked over the whiteboard more studiously.
"I see your 'Interested' column is still empty, and that you've put a lot of STEM majors under the 'Definitely Not'." She commented thoughtfully. I opened my mouth to defend my position, but she spoke up first. "What about Art History? Your mom majored in that."
"Uh, it doesn't really seem like me." I admitted, before scrawling it in the no section.
"Well," Calla cocked her head to the side as she thought about it. "You put journalism in the 'possibly' column. What about communications and..." she leaned over Kira shoulder to read off the university's holopage "...media studies."
I considered it. "Maybe." I agreed, writing it down under journalism. "Didn't Ben major in communications?"
"Yeah. It was a double major...I think the other one was history?" Calla shrugged uncertainly.
"History's boring. That's definitely a no." Kira commented.
"Isn't it, Noah's decision?" Sera asked.
"It's still a no." I replied, writing it down. Calla nodded approvingly.
"Good. I was with Kira on that one." She commented dryly.
"Oh! I've got it." Kira declared, sitting up. She smiled proudly, turning to me. "Women's studies!" Calla gave her a look. "What? It's perfect."
"Maybe not." Sera supplied.
Charlotte's POV
"Well?" Kameron was waiting for us when we exited the school, having just finished taking what could have possibly been the most important test in our lives. Well, probably not, but it certainly felt like that today.
"Well, I no longer feel like I'm going to puke." Ava announced, her tone full of relief. Emily was frowning deeply. "Oh no, I know that look. Char, she's overthinking it again."
"It's just that last essay. I think I may have made the totally wrong argument on it. I think I misunderstood what the question was..." She looked back at the school wistfully.
"I'm sure you did fine, Em. No one was better prepared for it." Kameron reassured her.
"Except me." I beamed before pulling the younger boy in for a hug. "Thank you, thank you for helping me study."
"It was nothing." He brushed it off, but he was smiling when I pulled away. "Forget about it."
"No way. Seriously, I couldn't have made it through that without you." I insisted.
"Hey guys." Matt and Darius appeared at that moment, Matt looking between Kameron and I curiously. "How'd it go?"
"Terribly. I think I failed." Emily sighed. Darius looked at her.
"Did you?" He asked, waiting. She thought about it.
"Well, I think I did okay on the math part." She admitted. He nodded.
"How good is okay?" He asked patiently. She shrugged.
"Well, I definitely got at least the first seventeen questions in the no calculator part of it right..." She trailed off. Darius smiled.
"That's a lot better than okay. Em, there were were only 20 questions in that section. How'd you do on the calculator section?" I tuned my attention back to Kameron and Matt by this point - Emily didn't need both Darius and I to stroke her ego.
"So, what about you?" I asked Matt.
"Perfect score." He grinned. I gave him a look. "I'm serious. I'm pretty sure I aced it. How'd you do?"
"Not THAT well, but I did pretty good." I admitted. He nodded.
"Sorry I couldn't help you study." He apologized. I shrugged.
"It's okay. Kameron helped me instead." I replied. Kameron grinned at that, looking at Matt. Matt frowned, looking annoyed, but it only lasted for a second before he was smiling again.
"So, listen," he grabbed my hand and pulled me off to the side a little, not out of earshot of Kameron and the others, but so that it felt at least a little more private, "most of the grade is going on a last minute camping trip tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go?"
"Yeah, Emily and I heard some kids talking about it earlier. We were going to go." I agreed. He worked his jaw a little, but was still smiling.
"I meant, did you want to go with me? Like it was a sort of date?" He offered. I smiled.
"Really?" I asked. He nodded, grinning. "I mean, yes, I'd love to."
"Awesome." He grinned, leaning in to kiss me. I pressed my lips against his eagerly, my entire mind screaming. After a brief moment, he pulled back and grinned at Kameron and the others.
"Emily, Darius, Ava, you guys are coming, right?" He requested.
"Sure. Sounds fun." Emily agreed, taking Darius' hand. He looked a little less enthusiastic, but nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we'll be there." He agreed. Ava cheered, clapping her hands together.
"Great. You two can tell your parents that you're sharing a tent with me, so they don't freak." She told me and Emily. Matt cleared his throat, then looked apologetically at Kameron.
"It's a seniors only thing, dude. Sorry." He apologized. Kameron nodded awkwardly.
"I get it." He sighed. He grabbed a couple of take out bags off of the bench next to him. "I should...I should go."
"Who's the lunch for?" Ava asked, noticing that there were two bags in his hands.
"Uh...Kira." He replied. He raised a hand in goodbye at us. "See ya around, I guess."
"Hey, did you guys want to go to that cafe on Elmer? It's my treat." Matt offered. Ava smiled, then glanced back at Kameron's retreating form. "Ava, he already has lunch for him and his sister. Otherwise, I'd invite him."
"I know. I'll catch up. I just want to talk to him for a moment." She replied before running after Kameron. I watched as she said something quickly to him, feeling guilty for not inviting him out with us. But Matt was right - he already bought lunch for him and Kira, and I didn't really want to interfere with twin time, right?
Noah's POV
"What about xenology?" Sera suggested. "You'd basically be studying superheroes. That's perfect for you."
"Emily took an online course last year about it. It's more biology and chemistry than superhero history. And as interesting as it is to learn about why pyrokinetics have stronger immune systems than cryokinetics, or the metabolism workings of super-strength people, it's not totally my thing. Thanks though."
"Did you really need to buy all new things?" Calla sighed, looking at the piles of camping gear that Emily and Charlotte had brought in hours before.
"We don't have any old stuff. You know, this is on you two." Emily commented, pulling at her shirt. She had decided to go a little less preppy, as she had put it, and found one of Naomi's old plaid shirts to wear to the camping trip tonight.
"Oh yeah, how so?" Calla questioned, crossing her arms.
"You never took me camping as a kid." Emily insisted. Calla laughed at that.
"You didn't want to go camping. We tried to take you camping, and you used your powers to shut down the car. You hung onto the edge of the door when we tried to leave. You'd have thought we were walking you to your execution, not a family vacation." Calla shook her head and walked back over to the mirror to check her reflection. "Alright, guys." She said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Leo and I are going out to a Davenport Industries fundraiser after we drop the girls off, so you're on your own for the night. Don't get too excited though - Naomi should be back around 11. There's money on top of the fridge for dinner."
"Can we order from Jumper's?" I asked, looking over my shoulder. Calla nodded.
"Only if someone gets me a chicken wrap for lunch tomorrow. Deal?" She looked at us all expectantly. Kira, Kameron, Sera, and I all nodded in agreement. "Good. Now, the banquet hall doesn't allow holowatches inside their premises, so Leo and I won't be reachable, but Katherine is just one floor down, in case of emergency or mission. Otherwise, Noah's in charge."
"Well, that's a great idea." Kira commented sarcastically.
"Am I allowed to withhold dinner as punishment for sass, Aunt Calla?" I inquired. She rolled her eyes.
"No." She told me before looking at Kira. "But play nice anyway."
"Hey, you ready to go?" Charlotte asked, bursting through the door excitedly, Leo right behind her.
"Yep. Look at what I found upstairs." Emily knelt down to show Charlotte something in her bag. Leo sighed.
"So, Emily, whose tent are you all sleeping in, tonight?" He asked.
"Ava's." Emily replied, blinking innocently. Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"He thinks I'm lying about who we're going with." She replied.
"I just want to be sure. I know how I was at your age." He sighed, giving Calla a look. "Camping with boys, what a great idea."
"It's the whole grade, Leo." Calla patted his shoulder before adjusting his blazer. "And they're old enough to be responsible. What's the worst that can happen?"
"Don't get me started." Leo grumbled. Calla rolled her eyes and grabbed one of the bags from the ground.
"We'll see you guys later. Stay out of trouble." She instructed before leading Leo and the girls out. As soon as the door was shut behind them, Kameron sat up from where he'd been slouching on the couch, a determined look on his face.
"We're crashing that camping trip." He announced. Kira beamed.
"Finally, someone has a good idea around here!" She exclaimed, on board already.
"What? No you're not." I told them. Kameron nodded.
"Yeah, we are." He insisted.
"You don't even know where they're camping." I pointed out. He grinned.
"Actually, Ava told me the location. It was her suggestion, to be honest." He grinned.
"I'm going to go grab some sleeping bags and supplies from the mission gear room." Kira announced, skipping towards the hyperlift. Kameron turned to Sera and I.
"You guys in?" He requested. Sera hesitated.
"I don't know...I don't think we're supposed to." She said. Kameron rolled his eyes.
"Doing something you're not supposed to is basically a human teenager right of passage, Seraphina. You have to come." He reasoned.
"Well..." She trailed off, considering it.
"Charlotte's going to be mad." I tried. Kameron shook his head.
"No way, she'll find it funny. I mean, it's not like we're going to ruin it. We're just tagging along." He pointed out. "And before you try to tell me we'll get in trouble, we're just going camping, Noah. It's not like we're breaking into a bar or something."
I sighed. "Fine. But I'm coming with you." I insisted. "At least then Calla can't say I wasn't somewhat responsible."
"You know, if we only go for a few hours, we should be back before Naomi and Ben arrive." Sera pointed out. "Calla doesn't even have to know."
"That's even better." Kameron agreed. I sighed, took one last glance at the whiteboard, then capped the marker and tossed it onto the end table.
"Fine. Camping it is." I agreed reluctantly.
Naomi's POV
I woke up to the dim lights of an airplane cabin and the soft sounds of people talking around us. "Oh." I sat up quickly, realizing that my head had been lying against Ben's shoulder. "Sorry."
"It's fine." The blonde superhero reassured me with a kind smile. "I konked out for a bit too."
"How much longer until we land?" I asked, sitting up properly and rubbing my eyes. He checked his watch, then shrugged.
"About an hour. You can go back to sleep if you want." He suggested. "My shoulder is very comfortable."
"Maybe later." I laughed a little at that. I looked over his shoulder at the holocomputer mini in his hands, watching the images of different people switch as he went through the profiles. "What are you doing?"
"Looking through old enemies of your siblings." He replied. I looked at him sharply. "Sebastian Krane may be in prison, but if Lexi is involved, then others may be too."
"I see." He stopped on one picture, this one of a woman about Chase's age, with darker skin and brown hair. "That's Reese Steinberg. She and one of her siblings - a brother, I think - escaped UPSEI about a year ago."
"Yeah, I know." He nodded. "I've been reading up on her. Even I have to admit, she's kind of a badass."
"And unfortunately, a badass who might be one of our enemies." I sighed.
"I'm pretty sure we're past 'might be'." He commented. He looked at me. "They have footage of the shapeshifters' attacks. I watched one of them turn into a buzzing swarm, just like Victoria did when she fought Emily and Kira."
"So, if Reese is Victoria, where does that leave us?" I asked thoughtfully. "We have Catastrophe, who was revived somehow, despite it being technically impossible."
"Saturn, the son of my father's greatest enemy." Ben counted. "Jupiter, who carries a symbol of Caldera and is probably from that planet."
"And Lexi, who is probably Venus, judging by the similarities in their appearances and her general age." I finished. "Not to mention Vulcan, Mars, Neptune, and Discordia, all of whom are still mysteries to us."
"Actually, I've been thinking about that..." He turned to face me fully. "What if we don't already know them? I mean, we've just been assuming they're old enemies of one of the Elite Force's since the rest of them are, but what if they're not? What if they're people we've never faced before?"
"Why would they be attacking us, then?" I frowned. "It doesn't make sense. They have no motive."
"Look at them." Ben pressed a holo button and the hologram changed to show what looked like footage from the Davenport Industries attack. Ben focused in on Mars, and we watched his behavior for a few minutes. "How does he act to you?"
"I don't know. A little overenthusiastic about the whole thing...I see why Calla nicknamed him 'Jumpy' when she first made her report about what happened." I replied. He nodded.
"Exactly. He's impulsive almost...like it was his first time doing this type of thing. He seems young to me." I frowned, following his line of thinking.
"Wait, you think he's a kid?" He was a little smaller, not quite as filled out as he probably could have been. Skinny too, like a lot of teenage boys.
"What if they all are?" Ben pressed. "Vulcan, and the two we haven't seen yet - Neptune and Discordia. What if that's why we can't find anyone alive in our records that match them?"
"Why would kids want to take over the city or attack the Elite Force?" I questioned. He pressed his lips together in a thin line.
"Why did Saturn make me his first target when he became a supervillain?" He asked in return. I frowned.
"Your dad put his in jail..." I trailed off as it hit me. "Just because they haven't fought us or the Elite Force, doesn't mean their parents haven't."
"If the Elite Force kicked their parents' asses, then it would give them one hell of a motive to go after the city they love." Ben declared, and I shivered as I realized how right he could be. How many enemies did we have now because of our parents' and families' past heroism?
Charlotte's POV
"This is nice." I smiled, brushing my hair out of my face, smiling at Matt as he tended to the fire. He shot me a grin before going back to it. I had to admit: I wasn't lying about liking it out here. Camping wasn't really Papa's thing (Aunt Rio joked that what he did was called 'glamping'), but Mama loved it outside. Before we came to the city, we used to go out to Grandpa and Grandma's cabin in the mountains every summer for at least a few weeks. Frank, Noah, and Justine would come, and it would just be a blast.
Emily, on the other hand, wasn't quite a fan of nature.
"Something's on my boot." My cousin complained, coming over to us.
"It's called 'mud'!" One of the boys from our class shouted at her as she passed, and she flipped him the bird crankily.
"It'll come off your boots easy." Ava assured her as Emily sat down on a log next to me and Matt.
"I don't like camping." She grumbled. Darius glanced at Matt, then crouched down next to Emily.
"You know, we could get out of here, if you want?" He murmured quietly, as if he didn't want us to hear him. I frowned, but chose to pretend as if I hadn't heard anything. "We can just sneak off when no one's looking and go see a movie or something."
"You're not leaving." Ava, on the other hand, didn't pretend not to hear. Darius shot her an alarmed look, disliking being caught, but the black-haired girl shot him a glare. "No one is leaving in the middle of the party."
"I don't see why not." Emily argued, crossing her arms. Ava glared at her for a second, then her gaze softened.
"I mean, I suppose you could, but it's dark out, and the woods are pretty thick. And looking at what happened at Halloween, I just don't think it's a good idea for anyone to go off on their own, is all." She reasoned. Emily held her gaze for a moment, then sighed.
"Okay." She agreed, much to Ava's pleasure. She smiled apologetically at Darius. "Maybe we can see a movie tomorrow night?"
He nodded, though he didn't look reassured. "I suppose..." He sighed. Ava clapped her hands together.
"Then it's decided. You're staying." She announced cheerfully, standing up. She looked around. "Ooh, I've got smores stuff in my bag. Darius, come help with me it."
The two of them got up to go get some smore stuff from her tent, just as Matt grabbed my attention again.
"Hey, you put your stuff in my tent, right?" He confirmed. "I know Emily's crashing with Darius..."
"Yep. Just the two of us, all night." I agreed with a smirk. He grinned and leaned in to kiss me again. Just as his lips touched mine, I heard Emily gasp.
"What are you guys doing here?" She demanded.
Noah's POV
"What are you guys doing here?" Charlotte turned at the sound of Emily's voice, staring at Kira, Kameron, Sera, and I as we walked out of the trees. Kira was beaming cheerfully, but Kameron was staring at Charlotte and Matt, who'd just started to kiss, with a pained look on his face.
"We're, uh..." He trailed off. Kira rolled her eyes.
"We're crashing the party!" She announced cheerfully. Charlotte frowned, looking at the others.
"I don't know if the other seniors will be okay with that..." She trailed off uncertainly. Kira, not bothered by the idea, dropped her bag on the ground, then stepped onto a log.
"Does anyone care that we're here? Anybody?" She cleared her throat loudly, but was ignored by almost everyone in the area. "Thank you for your lack of attention!"
"We don't have to stay. We just thought it'd be fun if we tagged along." Sera explained sheepishly. "We can leave if we're intruding."
"This was the twins' idea, not mine." I clarified. Emily smiled and shook her head.
"No, stay. Might make this whole 'outdoor camping' thing seem less..."
"Outdoors?" Matt supplied, forcing himself not to laugh.
"Precisely." Emily agreed. She looked back at us, Sera, and the twins. "With you here, I can pretend we're back home."
"You didn't have to come." Darius reminded her, walking back over to her. She smiled at him.
"But you were coming." She reasoned. Despite himself, he smiled at that. The rest of us made ourselves comfortable on logs as Ava passed out boxes of graham crackers, bags of marshmallows, and chocolate bars.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Darius stopped Emily as she went to pop a marshmallow into her mouth. "What about smores?"
"What about them?" She asked, dropping her hand with the marshmallow still in it. He looked at her.
"You're not going to make one?" He asked, surprised. She shrugged. "Don't you like them?"
"I've never had one." She admitted. He stared at her for a long moment. "Listen, if it wasn't obvious before, I'm not a camper."
"Still. Jesus, Em." He shook his head at her. He held his hand out. "Give it to me, c'mon."
"Fine." She relented, giving him the marshmallow. He put it on a metal rod (that Ava conveniently had enough of for everyone), still shaking his head as he showed her the proper way to make a smore. I chuckled at the sight.
"What's a smore?" Sera asked, her voice quiet and shy. I looked at her and noticed how she was staring at the others uncomfortably. "We don't have them back home."
"Okay, basically, you cook one of these on the fire," I held up a marshmallow, "then you place it between two of these," I lifted the box of graham crackers, "along with a piece of chocolate."
"Then what?" She asked, eyes wide. I grinned.
"Then you eat it. It's a desert." I explained. She nodded thoughtfully.
"Cool." She decided, taking a marshmallow from the bag. I glanced back at Darius and Emily to see how they were making out, frowning when I noticed the look on Darius' face. He was looking at my cousin with a conflicted look on his face, as if something was wrong.
"What's up with him?" I whispered to Ava as she reached over to take a piece of chocolate from one of the extra bars. She followed my gaze, then shrugged.
"He wanted to take her to a movie, but I insisted they stay and enjoy time with their class before we all graduate. They're fine." She assured me. "Darius just doesn't like being told what to do."
"Yeah, sure." Somehow, that didn't seem quite it, but who was I to argue?
Suddenly, Ava's Davenwatch went off, and we all started at the noise. "Hey, I thought you said we couldn't bring tech with us!" Emily whined in protest.
"My mom made me take it in case she needed to get in touch with me." Ava stood up, apologizing. "Just give me a sec."
"Hey, Em, listen-" Darius began, but was cut off by the sudden screams of his classmates.
Charlotte's POV
"What the hell?" I demanded, jumping to my feet just as an explosion rocked the campground, two of the tents at the edge of the campground. Kids ran screaming from the explosion as two figures - darkly clothes and visor-wearing - stepped out of the woods. One of them was Saturn, the other Victoria (if I was guessing right by the photos S.H.I.R.T. had managed to get ahold of), and both of them looked ready for trouble.
"Here? Really?" Emily muttered, standing up.
"We need to run, get out of here." Matt announced, grabbing my hand. I sent him a smile, glad that he at least wanted to be with me during all of this, but knowing that we couldn't really do that. With Ben and Naomi not due back for about another hour, we were all that was left to defend the city.
"No." Emily shook her head, refusing. She stood up. "I'm not going to let those idiots ruin my weekend."
"You didn't even want to come." Ava pointed out, staring at her.
"Doesn't matter. If anyone's going to ruin my plans, it'll be me." She declared, and ran towards her and Darius' tent, where her bag was.
"And on that cheery note, I guess we're staying." Noah began, but then, Saturn aimed another blast at the tents, specifically the tents Emily was running to.
"Em!" I screamed, and Emily started to stop, but it was too late - the massive blast of electricity hit the tents and blew them up, sending anything and anyone near them (including my cousin), flying.
"Emily!" Darius, Sera, Noah, and I ran towards her. "Em!"
Darius reached her first, dropping to his knees next to her unmoving body. "She's okay." He breathed a sigh of relief, checking her pulse. I winced at the sight of the blood dripping from a deep-looking gash on her head, just below her hairline. "I think she was just knocked out."
"Thank God." Noah sighed before looking over his shoulder. I followed his gaze, back to the mess of students and out of control fires.
"Wait, where did Kira and Kameron go?" Sera worried, realizing that she couldn't see her cousins. I looked around, and thought I spotted a speckle of fire coming from where I'd last seen Victoria. Then I realized, Matt was also missing.
"Where's Matt?" I added, standing up. Darius cleared his throat.
"You guys go find them. I'm going to get her out of here." He told us, gently but swiftly pulling Emily to her feet. She was slowly regaining consciousness, her feet moving clumsily in a failed attempt to help Darius get her standing, but not nearly quickly enough. Darius carefully put her arm around his shoulders, one of his arms wrapping around her waist.
"Be careful." I told him, glancing at Emily worriedly. He held my gaze, then nodded seriously.
"You too." His tone was solemn. He nodded once more before walking Emily into the woods, away from the dangers.
"I'll get Kameron," Sera announced, looking at us. "Noah, you find Kira, and Charlotte, find your boyfriend. Then we need to try and fend off them before they hurt any of the students."
"Right." I nodded in agreement before darting back into the middle of the campground. Most of the students had taken off into the woods, screaming or looking for help, so it was thankfully less chaotic out here than when the first attack had started.
In the end, I didn't find Matt so much as he found me. He slammed into me from the side, having been trying to escape an attack. "Hey!" I cried, grabbing at his wrist. He didn't miss a beat, turning his hand around to grab my wrist back before trying to tug me into the trees. "We have to get out of here!" He insisted, pulling me into the edges of the trees.
"No way. My friends are out there!" I insisted, even as he continued to pull me. His adrenaline must have been pushing him forward, I supposed, because I hadn't expected him to be this strong. Despite my struggles, he was still winning the tug of war. "Matt, stop! I have to go back for them!"
He stopped for a moment, nodded once to himself, and released me. "Okay, fine." He agreed, raising his hands as if to prove that he wouldn't grab me again. I smiled.
"I'll find you after." I promised him, before turning around. But before I could run back into the thick of things, there was a sharp pain in the back of my head, and everything went black.
Noah's POV
"Kira!" I shouted, reaching the younger girl fairly quickly. She was standing between two burning tents, the fires raging far higher than they should have been able to. One quick look told me she was the one making them grow, as she raised her hands, clenching them as she glared at Victoria. The criminal was smiling beneath her visor, clearly amused.
"What is your problem?" Kira demanded, eyes practically glowing in the firelight. Victoria just smirked before she suddenly morphed into one of those annoying swarm things. The swarm split and lunged at us, but Kira was ready for it. She raised her hands and the fire flew from the tents into the air before blasting towards the swarm. The swarm expertly avoided the hit, the first half of it diving upwards to avoid it while the other dived downwards and continued its path towards Kira.
I went to intervene, only for something moving very fast to hit me from behind. I landed hard on my stomach, but quickly rolled onto my back to try and get a good look at whatever had attacked me.
A woman in a visor was standing over me, a cocky smirk on her face. "Venus." I growled, recognizing her from our photos. She smirked a little more upon being recognized.
"I hear you're fast." She commented. "Let's see if you're as fast as your mother."
She didn't waste any more time before lunging at super speed towards Kira. I threw myself off the ground, forcing myself to go from 0 to 80 immediately. I just managed to catch Venus, hitting her from the side. The sudden impact sent us both sprawling onto the ground, but Kira was spared from having to deal with two super villains at once. The pyrokinetic girl was already focused on using her powers to try and keep the swarm from coming any closer to her - she wouldn't have been able to fend off both attacks at once.
"Stay away from my friends." I growled, pushing myself onto my feet. Venus, now sitting on her bottom with her hands on the ground, cocked her head at me.
"Interesting. You are fast." She admitted. She pushed herself into a running stance in one fluid motion. "I'm still faster though."
She sped off, this time heading straight into the woods. "Hey!" Kira called, and I spun around in time to see the swarm disappear into the night. "Yeah, you better run!"
"Why are they running?" I demanded, confused. Kira turned around, frowning.
"I don't know." She admitted. Suddenly, the sounds of sirens hit our ears. "That might be why." She took a breath before looking around, concerned. "Where's Kam and Sera? And Charlotte, Ava, Emily, Darius, and Matt?" She demanded.
"Guys!" We looked to see Sera, a little battered and bruises, but mostly alright, standing nearby. "Almost everyone went that way." She pointed towards the main entrance to the camping ground. We nodded and followed her down the path, meeting up with police men, S.H.I.R.T. agents, and paramedics on our way.
We eventually reached the main road, where multiple ambulances had gathered. Students were either talking to agents and cops, or being treated by paramedics, an air of panic still in the atmosphere.
"Kameron!" Kira cried in relief, running over to an ambulance. Emily was sitting on the bumper, Kameron patting a white cloth to her head while Darius talked to a nearby paramedic. His hand was resting on Emily's shoulder, squeezing it gently any time she whimpered in pain.
"Are you okay?" I demanded, walking over to my younger cousin.
"The only thing badly hurt is my ego." She assured me, wincing as the cloth came into contact with her wound again. "Kameron, I'm fine. The paramedic said I didn't even need stitches."
"It's still a nasty contusion." He replied, even as he softened his moments. "You need to keep it clean, otherwise you risk an infection."
"Yes, Dr. Broadman." Emily started to roll her eyes before wincing in regret at the action. She looked between me, Kira, and Sera before frowning. "Where are Charlotte and Matt?" She asked, confused. I frowned.
"I thought they were out here with you guys." I commented, looking around. A sinking feeling came over me as I realized that the two of them weren't in the crowd. "Oh no."
Charlotte's POV
I winced, opening my eyes to stare at a dimly lit, dirty floor. I rolled over onto my side, my head throbbing excruciatingly as I did so. I blinked a couple of times at the ceiling to try and clear my blurry vision, but as my gaze focuses, I almost came to regret that. I sat up in shock as my mind registered the blue, glowing bars jutting out from the ground. They surrounded me like the bars of a jail cell, imprisoning me in a small, cramped area just big enough for me to lie down in. "Hey!" I shouted. My head ached at the volume, but I was too confused to care. "Hey! What's going on?"
Frustrated, I raised my hand, intending on blasting the bars with an EMP blast. It wouldn't hurt me, even in such a tight area, but it would shut down whatever they were. But to my shock, nothing happened.
"Don't bother. The bars block your bionics." I looked up at the sound of Matt's voice and watched as he walked out of the shadows to stand in front of me. He was smiling cockily, arms crossed as he looked at me.
"Matt?" I demanded, staring at him. What...how...I couldn't comprehend the situation. He looked at the bars, amused.
"Boy, does this bring me back." He commented before turning his attention back to me. "We have a lot to talk about, don't we, Charlotte?"
"Matt, what's going on?" I demanded. I grabbed the bars desperately but let go with a cry as they shocked me.
"Well, for starters, my name isn't Matt." He replied, raising an eyebrow in amusement at the scene. He paused for a moment, grinning coldly. "It's Marcus."
Xxx
Kihonne: Okay, so at least one of you guys guessed the Marcus twist. For those of you wondering where I came up with the name 'Matt Ward', you should know that the actor who plays Marcus is named 'Mateus Ward'. I thought it would be a good Easter Egg for those of you who pay attention to that kind of thing. Anyway, what did you guys think? Good, bad, somewhere in between? Please let me know!
Okay, so I did promise you guys that once I was back in school, I'd give you guys a real schedule. Now that I am back on a more regular schedule, with slightly more time on my hands, I can promise more regular updates. I'm going to try my best to go back to an ordinary, weekly chapter update, but I'm warning you now, if it seems like a lot on top of school, I'm going to be changing it to every 2 weeks. We'll see.
Anyway, so the schedule (assuming I don't have to change it to an update every 2 weeks) for the next few chapters is:
September 27th: Abducted
October 4th: Poisoned
October 11th: Aftermath
Hopefully, I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks! Until then, don't forget to review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Also, the contest for baby name/gender is still open. I will likely be revealing the baby gender around/in chapter 15, so you have until then to make more suggestions!