Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey.”

Chase couldn’t help involuntarily tensing when Kaz came up behind him in Mission Command. His mind immediately assumed the worst, being sure that Roman was back to kidnap him again.

He heard Kaz exhale, finding Chase’s hand to pull it from his work. Warm. Like it should be.

Kaz then moved it to rest over his heart. The correct beat. Phew. 

Chase sighed his relief, looking up at him. Kaz kissed his knuckles, gently setting it back down. It wasn't the first time Chase had reacted that way to him in Mission Command, nor would it be the last. Damned Roman.

“Whatcha workin’ on, Freaky Genius?”

“Not anything in particular. Just generally stressing myself out, you know how it goes.”

Kaz frowned. Both siblings had been incredibly off and upset since the terrace. He couldn’t blame them. The offer from Oliver to cheer him on while he bludgeoned Davenport was still standing.

Kaz rubbed his back. Chase winced. He hadn’t noticed how sore it was.

“Come on, babe.”

“Where?”

“To get food and water in your system. Maybe… hear me out, sleep too. I know it sounds crazy.”

“But I have to-”

“Nope,” Kaz grabbed him, flinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Chase squawked. “You asked for help in taking a break. I’m giving it.”

~*~

Chase’s eye scan told him not to. So unhealthy. His nose and stomach made him.

Skylar had had burgers and fries delivered to the tower a few hours ago. 

Chase sat on the couch under Kaz’s arm, two cats begging at his feet. Their owner wasn’t much better.

Chase gasped in offense when Kaz snatched a fry away and crammed it into his mouth before Chase could stop him. Kaz grinned innocently.

Chase, trust now shattered, leaned his plate away from Kaz, glaring suspiciously. Kaz snickered.

“I’m not gonna go for any more, babe. Your burger is-” he paused to theatrically gag. “Vegan,” he shuddered.

One of the cats jumped for the food. It smacked into a forcefield.

“I’m never trusting you again. This betrayal is immense.”

Chase leaned further. Kaz leaned with him, flopping onto Chase’s side and dramatically begging for Chase to graciously forgive him.

Chase shut him up by dropping the pickle slices into his mouth, as he did legitimately not want them, having always hated pickles with a passion. That had ripped his uncle’s heart to shreds when Douglas found out. He broke a fry in half, tossing it to the cats to satiate them. It was Kaz and Oliver’s fault for feeding them off their plates to make the cats think that begging would be fruitful.

He adjusted the ankle monitor for the billionth time, glancing away for half a second.

Two fries vanished. 

Chase blinked. 

“Bree-!”

Bree waggled her fingers at him from where she was stuck on the ceiling, smirking proudly.

“You know, you’d think you guys get starved around here,” Chase complained.

“Oh shit, Kaz, the mom voice-”

“I’m gonna ground you so hard, you little shit.”

Skylar and Oliver came down to see him putting the two in a headlock while they screeched. 

They shrugged, stole fries, and continued to the kitchen.

“Hey babygirl,” Skylar called.

“Yes, darling light of my life?” Chase answered.

“I’d worry more about the cats currently swarming your food if I were you.”

“Damn it!”

~*~

Giselle’s tools sparked on her newest creation.

“Patience there, Vicky. The payoff will be excellent.”

Krane harrumphed and left, nearly trampling her subordinate because of his sheer mountainous size.

“Do you need help?” Marcus called up in the massive white marble warehouse, full of her latest experiments.

“Leave me be.”

He nodded, exiting.

Marcus passed Sebastian as he leaned against the doorframe, not paying the walking migraine inducer any mind.

“Why are you so ugly?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” Marcus spat.

“As in, don’t you have Chase’s intelligence? Can’t you repair your eyesore of a face?”

Marcus’s fingers traced the holes in his false skin. He was suddenly very aware of the clicks and whirs.

“...No.”

“Knew it. She had to be lying somewhere about your abilities.”

Marcus scowled. “No. I do have the intelligence. But she’s the only one allowed to repair me.”

“Oh?”

“She only does it when I earn it,” Marcus mumbled, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Well, I guess we see how much favor you have,” Sebastian snickered. “Ta-ta, loser.”

A vein bulged in his neck.

“Yeah. Maybe. But y’know what, Seb?”  

“What?” Sebastian smirked amusedly, pausing.

“With his intelligence built in, I have more of Three than you ever will.”

Sebastian’s face darkened.

“Not for long.”

“Mm, forever, actually. Giselle wants him. She doesn't share. And guess what: your weak little ass can’t stand next to me. And Krane doesn’t give two shits about what you want. He won’t help you against me. And my job is to protect Giselle. So try me. I have beaten all three of those scums on my own. You couldn't win against one. I don't know what creepy hyper-fixation you have on Three, but from what I've garnered from the bug in One’s phone, the only reason you're alive is because he's dumber than a bag of rocks and Two didn’t see whatever you did at the time. Bold words from you, huh?”

Sebastian’s jaw clenched.

“Ta-ta,” Marcus waggled his fingers as he left. 

~*~

“Ew,” Oliver commented as he watched Kaz and Chase be overly romantic in the kitchen. Giggling, elbowing, far too many lip locks.

“They’re back to the puppy love stage,” Bree shuddered. They all remembered how nightmarish that time was.

“Drekk help us all,” Skylar cringed.

“Who’s that? You’ve said it a lot,” Bree continued playing with her curls from where she sat behind Skylar. 

“Calderan Elder,” the other two answered in sync.

Oliver looked up at the girls from where he was stomach down on the couch with their pets on his back. “I’d like to thank you two personally for being a normal couple.

“I thank us too.”

~*~

“So, what’s the next step?” Skylar asked.

“I dunno,” Chase sighed, flopping down on the couch against Kaz. Kaz put his arm around him. “Someone else figure it out for once.”

"Atta boy," Kaz smiled, stroking his hair.

The rest shrugged.

“The protest idea still stands,” Oliver suggested, feet tossed in Kaz’s lap. 

“Yeah, because that went well,” Bree said sarcastically.

“Well then, you come up with something miss-”

“Okay,” Skylar mediated. It’d be lovely to keep her girlfriend and best friend from jumping each other. “We need to try something new.”

“I was thinking about this,” Kaz started, rubbing up and down Chase’s arm as he snuggled into him. He pressed a kiss to his hair. “What if we cleaned the slate?”

The others stared at him.

“What if we start fixing small crime around here? Smaller disasters. Get cats outta trees, all of that. To rebuild rep. Once again, I think the people are the scariest right now. Not the FBI, not the shifters.”

Silence.

“Are you a shifter again?” Oliver asked. “What kinda concussion do you have to come up with decent ideas?”

“Hey-!”

“I love you and will buy you Loopy-Loops.”

“Forgiven.”

“Chase can probably build a police scanner so we can listen in,” Bree held her chin. “Right, bro?”

Quiet.

“Chase?”

“Oh!” Kaz whisper-exclaimed. He put a finger to his lips. Chase had literally passed out right there, most likely having not heard a damn word they said. Skylar chuckled. Bree rolled her eyes fondly.

“I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing,” Oliver pointed out.

“I’m gonna make it a bad thing if you wake up his super ears,” Kaz warned. 

Oliver put his hands up in surrender, doing the zipped lips motion. 

Kaz gently lifted him. Chase unconsciously curled in closer to his warmth, making a little noise.

His hair burst alight and cheeks puffed out as he strained. The others quietly cackled at the pure desperation in his face to not scream about how cute Chase was.

He took a breath to collect himself, extinguishing and walking to the stairs.

~*~

Kaz made it back down, smiling. “So-”

He shut up fast. 

Skylar was standing by the door. Oliver and Bree were a bit further off. A whole platoon of agents was there for the inspection. Right when the guy who wrangled them the best conked out from exhaustion- and would be awoken by these bastards destroying everything. 

Great.

Chapter Text

“You can’t be here!” Skylar put her arm out.

“Yes we can, young lady,” Whitlock scowled. 

“Yeah, buddy, keep being condescending,” Bree spat. “I oughtta-”

Oliver held her back, slapping his hand over her mouth.

“Where’s your leader?”

“I am their leader.”

“Then, leader, you should understand-”

“Understand what?” Chase walked down, shadows darker and pure pissed-offery on his face. “That I should’ve let you die in fiery explosion? That’s about what I think too.”

Whitlock swallowed.

“You have no jurisdiction. You are not allowed to show up unannounced anymore. You did your inspection for this week two days ago. You have no power over us. Get out of my tower.”

“You-”

“I didn’t stutter,” Chase gently pushed past Skylar to get in Whitlock’s space. “Have a nice day.”

He slammed the door in his face.

Chase turned around, being met with silence.

“Man, sometimes I love you, dude,” Bree informed.

“Thanks.”

“Chase,” Skylar untucked her pink streak. “Go back to sleep.”

“Can’t.”

“Yes, you can-”

“No,” he shook his head, turning to Kaz. “I legitimately cannot, Kazi. When I get woken up, I’m up. Just how my brain is wired. Unfortunately.”

“So, I’ve found another thing to add to my “I hate the FBI list”,” Kaz rolled his eyes, massaging Chase’s neck. He jolted slightly when he touched his chip.

“Sorry, man,” Skylar rubbed hers sheepishly. “I was trying to keep them quiet.”

“It’s alright, Sky. Super senses generally suck. We know that.” 

He walked over to the couch, flopping down and scratching Posh Spice’s fluffy head. “So, any plans?”

~*~

“Heard you got beat up by Davenport’s brat.”

“And you got defeated by a pollen allergy,” Experion shot back to the man who’d been bested by Solar Flare’s sneeze.

He was led through the hall to his cell. Something slipped into his pocket.

“They’ll check on you in twenty minutes.”

Experion slightly nodded.

He turned on his projector, broke the cuffs in half, and read the small piece of paper. He opened a portal, jumping in.

~*~

Scarlet sat on her throne, listening to reports about the enemy forces.  

A screen appeared, holding the visage of a woman with blonde and black waves.

Scarlet immediately took a knee, followed by her counsel.

“I have an assignment for you, dear.”

~*~

“This is boring,” Megahertz complained, holding far too many baskets of food for two arms, even if one was robotic.

“Yeah, well, spaghetti doesn’t make itself,” Tecton continued reading the grocery list.

“I cook, not shop-”

Tecton cut him off by kissing his cheek.

Silence.

Megahertz cleared his throat, bright red. “S-So, are onions next?”

Tecton smiled, leading him by the hand to the next aisle. 

~*~

Tasha held a frame as she sat at the glass table. 

One of her family. In better times. All six were gathered on their sectional, Bree shoving Leo away so her good side would be captured, Adam and Chase mid-slapping each other, Donald sneezing. 

She missed it. She loved her baby. She tolerated her brother-in-law. But she missed her older kids. Both missing them being home and wishing for them to be happy again. None of them were. Not anymore.

And she missed her husband. Missed the helicopter rides, the soft whispered “I love yous” in the morning, the quiet conversation they’d have while the kids slept, his gentle touch on her arm. The way he used to love the kids. The way he used to love her.

Where did it go wrong? Where did she go wrong?

And why.

Why did she have to watch her family crumble? She’d done all she could’ve. Right?

Right?

She was brought from her thoughts by a coffee mug being set in front of her.

“I’m headin’ to the island, T,” Douglas did a cheers motion with the cup he held. “Made it just how you like it. Naomi’s snoozin’ for a while. Get some rest.”

“Thank you,” Tasha chose to say. “Be safe. Tell Leo, Taylor, and Logan I say hi.”

“You got it, boss,” Douglas saluted, adjusting his travel bag.

Tasha smiled.

It faded when the front door shut.

~*~

Adam scribbled puppy doodles on his exam study book. 

The rain pattered on his private dorm’s window.

~*~

“Uncle Horace!”

“What?” Horace slid out from under the main desk where he was hunting for his disappeared bridge model. He’d found old photos of him and Skylar, pens, some quality lint, approximately thirty-two shoes, unidentifiable sludge, and the key of Kreln.

Alan showed him a brochure.

~*~

“...That’s not a bad idea,” Chase held his chin. He turned, ruffling Kaz’s hair. “Good job.”

“There are like a million apps,” Oliver scrolled through his phone. “But I dunno if they’re any good.”

“Please,” Chase rolled his eyes. “I could build one in two seconds flat.”

“Y’know…” Bree pet the puffball in her lap. “You might think you sound cool, but you actually sound like a dick. Love you.”

“Thanks,” Chase said sarcastically, making a face at her. She returned it in kind.

Skylar paused her rollerblading around the main penthouse. “So why don’t we start with the news in the meantime?”

“Good idea,” Chase nodded, doing their secret handshake over his shoulder. “I’ll start working on it.”

“Want company?” Kaz asked.

He smiled and nodded.

“Boys,” Bree lectured. “The longer you make out, the longer it takes to clear our name.”

“Ew!” Oliver shrieked.

“Bree!” Chase yelled, face turning tomato red. 

Kaz and Skylar laughed uproariously.

Bree smirked, proud of herself.

~*~

“Heya, bossman!”

“Ahh!” Leo shrieked, jumping a solid foot off the marble floor.

Logan burst into laughter. “Did I scare you?”

“What do you think?” Leo demanded, hand over his heart.

“Sorry, sorry,” Logan continued snickering. He came up next to Leo at the lobby console.

Leo blushed.

“Whatcha workin’ on?”

He shouldn’t make this connection. It was silly. But he knew that was something Kaz asked his brother. Took an interest. But no, Logan was a friend. A tall, muscly, sweet friend that made Leo’s heart skip a beat.

For being Sebastian’s twin, he was the opposite. Even when he was good, Sebastian always gave cold. Wintry. Logan was a full-blown blast of sunshiney warmth, be it the brown eyes, or tanned skin, or constant smile. His smile was so pretty.

Jeez, what was wrong with Leo? The sun hit him so well. 

Oh. My. God. Leo was getting frustrated with his brain’s betrayals.

Oh yeah, Logan asked him something.

“The camera Chase sent,” Leo answered, very aware of how close Logan was. “Uh- it’s so familiar. I don’t know how though.”

“Let me see,” Logan leaned into him to look at the blueprints. 

Leo’s face reddened. His lips were so close.

“Hey, brats.”

Leo screamed again at his step-uncle’s arrival, leaping feet away like he’d been caught. “Nothing!”

Douglas gave a look that seemed like he was going to try and ask, but gave up.

Taylor giggled.

“How long have you been here?” Leo’s voice raised an octave.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“Your mom said hi.”

Chapter Text

“Nice one,” Chase dodged Kaz’s punch. They were waiting for his power core to integrate into the scanner, as naturally Chase was extra and needed to make a super scanner. “But keep your guard up more on the left.”

“Left. Gotcha.”

They continued half-sparring half-training until Chase’s back was eventually pressed to his desk.

“Hey,” Kaz smiled.

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

He closed the gap, pulling Chase in.

Once they’d separated, Kaz smiled again. “You look great in your training outfit.”

“Do I?” Chase twirled Kaz’s hoodie strings and ignored the fact that he was absolutely flustered with Kaz’s arms on full display, throwing off his sparring game. No one needed to know that. He’d take the ego blow for losing over admittance any day.

“Yeah,” Kaz kissed his jaw. That was like the one thing your dad did right.”

Chase snorted, wrapping his arms around his neck. Kaz grinned, leaning in to kiss him again.

Kaz moved back, taking in the pretty blush on his pretty cheeks.

“Hyperlift?”

“Locked,” Chase confirmed.

Kaz began trailing down the column of his throat over the suit’s material. 

The Tecton theme song played.

Kaz pulled his phone out. It was Oliver. He hung up, slipping it back into his pocket.

He lifted Chase up onto the desk, nudging his legs apart to be able to press against him.

Kaz yanked him flush against him, kissing moved to his chest now. He swiped his thumb over Chase’s chip, making him shiver.

Chase breathed out his name, fingers tangling into black spikes.

Cue the Tecton theme.

Kaz groaned, pulling out to see that it was their favorite interruption at it again. He answered the call. The only excuse he’d accept for Oliver’s unparalleled cock-blocking abilities was if they were being attacked and dying upstairs.

“Dude, you are seriously throwing off my groove,” Kaz pouted.

Chase snickered, arms around his neck again. 

“What the hell kinda groove do you have to have to build a scanner?”

Chase heard the girls cackling knowingly in the background.

“You don’t understand. Probably never will.”

They then made an “ooooh” sound. Chase smothered his laugh in Kaz’s shoulder.

“What are you two laughing at?”

The girls laughed harder. 

Kaz listened for a moment.

“Oh, you’ve got a lead? Great. Never call me again, bye.”

Chase was still shaking.

“Is it that funny?”

“It is a little funny,” Chase kissed his forehead to make the grumpiness vanish. Kaz smiled, wrapping his arms around Chase’s middle. They stayed embracing in comfortable quiet for a five-count.

Tecton theme.

“Oh my fucking-”

~*~

Giselle’s watch beeped.

“Excellent,” she smiled behind her gas mask. “Marcus! S-3!”

Marcus zipped in, taking a knee before her. Sebastian dragged after, not nearly as invested.

“I put the coordinates in, Marcus. Go pick something up for me, will you?”

~*~

Adam sipped his coffee which was more sugar than anything through an ungodly amount of connected crazy straws. 

He tapped his finger on his desk, picking his phone up.

It rang for a few seconds.

“Hello?”

“Heya. Did Douglas leave?”

“Yeah, this morning.”

“‘Kay. I’m comin’ over for dinner.”

“Oh, honey, you don’t have to-”

“I’m gonna, Tasha. I’ll cook for you two tonight. So you can have some time off. ‘Sides all this school stuff is melting my brain.” And because I know you’re lonely. He didn’t need to add that. He was the only kid close enough for spontaneous visits, and he knew how much both of them missed his younger siblings.

“O-Oh, okay! See you soon, sweetie. Careful on the drive. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Adam stretched, popping his back. He slipped his shoes on and grabbed his car keys, pausing for a moment to stare at the same family picture she had been, unbeknownst to him.

He closed the door behind him.

~*~

“College?” Horace asked. “You want to go to college?”

“Most normo doctors go,” he looked at his nephew over the brochure. “My dad said I can stay with him.”

“Alan, Mighty Med is safer. And you have all the training you need.”

To be fair, he really didn’t. Trying electroshock on a water-based hero was not that smart. But Horace didn't want him to go for a reason he didn't quite get. Maybe because his daughter and the boys had already flocked from the coop.

“Please, Uncle Horace?” Alan gave him puppy dog eyes. Ones that looked just like Horace’s sister’s. He blinked. Then smiled softly.

“I’ll see about it.”

Alan jumped and hugged him excitedly. He then peeled away, just as confused as Horace as to why he did that. Horace snickered, watching him scamper off and try to save face.

~*~

Sebastian and Marcus landed from their geo-leap in the middle of the woods.

“Boo,” Sebastian said to a bear. It scrambled away.

Something was thrown at them. Marcus caught it. A container of bright orange phosphorescent sludge.

Experion and Scarlet stepped out from the shadows. Whatever they’d killed or fought to get this was something intense, given both warriors were rumpled.

“Heard you got your shit rocked by Three,” Marcus teased.

“Heard that happened to both of you too. Many times.”

“Pitiful,” Scarlet scoffed. “I cannot believe she even considers you worthy.”

“Enough fighting, kiddos,” Roman formed. Reese and Riker followed. “Seriously, all of you are headache-inducing. Uppity aliens and egocentric machines. Yeesh.”

“Cute,” Experion laughed. “Raise a hand to me. I dare you.”

Reese and Roman both squared.

The rest followed.

The ground between them burst apart. Riker stood there.

He looked at Roman.

Roman rolled his eyes. “He says: can we truly not have control of ourselves without our masters present like animals. Whatever. Give me the Grexalian sludge.”

“Where are your manners?” Experion asked, faux-hurt on his face. 

Scarlet snatched the container from his hand, tossing it over and whapping her companion in the back of the head. He turned with a hiss, eyes glowing. She merely shrugged and looked around, as if wondering who in the world did that.

The siblings vanished into fog.

“Hey,” Experion called before the other two left. They turned. “Make sure whatever your mistress concocts hurts the brainy guy. I have a bone to pick.”

“It’s a big club.”

~*~

Chase sneezed.

Oliver did an unintentional backflip because of his molecular kinesis, landing in Chase’s arms.

“Oh, someone’s talking about you,” Kaz noted from the kitchen. 

“What?” the three non-humans asked.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Everyone was quite tired, a bit sore from the long day of miscellaneous good deeds. Walking old ladies across the street, assisting rebuilding, running from cops, and yes, a cat stuck in a tree.

Honestly, none were sure how useful they were in the grand scheme of things, but the smallest drop would help, hopefully.

Chase carried Oliver over to the girls’ couch, dropping him on top of them and snickering at the shrieked protests from all three.

Bree, after shoving poor Oliver off, started up some random chick flick on Netflix.

“So I was thinking we open a website. A tipline. Like what Leo did.”

“Me too,” Chase agreed, sitting cross-legged on the free couch. “I’ll start it tomorrow.”

“Babe!” Kaz called.

“Got it.” 

Chase hovered the varying mugs over. Some had cocoa, some teas.

Skylar had gotten a custom-made set with their hero symbols for the team early on. Green with a triangle for Chase, red and a fire symbol for Kaz, pink with speed arrows for Bree, yellow and lightning for herself, and blue with a wave for Oliver. Frankly, Chase didn’t get the point nor the color choices, but she was happy so he’d live with it.

“Chomomille for you, my liege,” Kaz hopped next to him, carrying Chase’s himself to keep it warm. Chase giggled at the stupid face he made, trading mugs. It always made his heart flutter a little, how much care Kaz put into remembering how he liked his tea, or coffee, or food.

Eventually, as the movie continued, Kaz pulled Chase to where they were lengthwise on the couch with Chase’s back to his chest. He noticed when Kaz began massaging his shoulders, sighing contentedly.

~*~

“Good job, Bob!” Logan held his hand up for a high five. “You’re getting better and better at controlling your strength!”

Bob obliged. 

“Yeah, man, great work!” Leo held his hand up. He proceeded to get launched across the training room, fully forgetting about the kid’s aforementioned super strength.

“Oops,” Bob smacked his lips.

Taylor, laughing, helped him up.

“You’re good, bud,” Logan ruffled his hair. “Go get some lunch.”

He skipped away.

“That was i-incredible,” Taylor gasped, holding her ribs. “Gah- I can’t feel my sides!” 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Leo pouted.

“Oh, I’m gonna!” he could see why she and Bree were such good friends.

Logan joined them, arms around his sister’s shoulders as they talked.

Being here with them made Leo’s burden a lot easier.

~*~

“Hey ladies!” Tecton waved. “Come on in!”

Solar Flare and Gamma Girl waved back, entering Megahertz’s apartment. It was a lot less confusing than Tecton’s quite literally upside-down home.

“Smells good in here boys,” Gamma Girl signed.

“Are you surprised?” Tecton motioned as he spoke.

“Absolutely,” both said in unison.

“It’s because I’m cooking,” Megahertz leaned out.

They nodded, things making sense. 

“I hate all of you.”

They snickered.

“Where’s Richie?”

“Couldn’t make it,” Tecton led them to the small, cozy living room. “Make yourselves at home.”

~*~

“They’re all conked out,” Skylar whispered.

Bree snickered. They were watching the sequel to the movie the boys complained about- though Kaz and Oliver started crying at the end during the true love scene- well into the night. 

Chase and Kaz were tangled together on their couch. Oliver had made another blanket nest, sharing with the cats.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“You’re so pretty.”

“You’re prettier.”

“You play a dangerous game, Davenport.”

Bree giggled.

Skylar smiled, kissing her scalp.

Then quite evilly, she jabbed her fingers into her side. Bree squealed as quietly as possible, trying to escape the tickles.

Skylar laughed triumphantly.

Bree wiggled away, flipping up and landing on her lap.

“You better cease your shit, kid.”

“Or what?”

“I’ll kiss you.”

“Oops,” Skylar poked her again. “My hand slipped.”

Before Bree could dole out her punishment, a high-pitched shriek interrupted. 

Both girls froze. Chase shot up with a gasp. Then the balcony doors shattered.

Chapter Text

“Get down!” Chase yelled. 

He shoved Kaz off the couch, landing on top of him and conjuring a shield up. Skylar similarly threw Bree onto Oliver below and covered both of them with her own body.

The dust settled, minuscule pieces of glass floating in the air as their larger counterparts scattered in front of the veranda’s entrance, glittering in the moonlight.

“Everyone okay?” Skylar sat up, brushing shards from her curly hair.

“Yeah,” Kaz groaned, holding his head. “Rude awakening.”

Chase kissed his forehead before getting off of him.

The girls rolled off of Oliver, who gasped for air a bit too dramatically.

“What was that?” Bree demanded.

“I don’t know,” Chase muttered, walking over to the blast zone.

No attackers. No real damage. What was the point?

His nose picked up something.

Shit.

Chase stumbled back to where the others were. “Stop breathing!”

They stared at him.

“Any other plans?” Oliver suggested, remaining seated.

“Anesthesia! Don’t breathe in!”

~*~

Tasha jumped.

“You okay?” Adam asked from the kitchen where he was half-cooking, half-entertaining Naomi by using his lung capacity to blow her little walker away every time she came back with giggles.

“I- uh- y-yeah, fine. Have you talked to Bree or Chase recently?”

“Uh,” Adam scratched his cheek, tapping his chin with the butt of the wooden spoon he was using. “Like… two days ago? Three?”

Silence.

“Tasha, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head with a smile. She didn’t know what the hell sparked the sudden worry for them. It was probably nothing. Right?

~*~

Orange flashed around the chair contraption Rodissius was seated in.

It faded. 

He gasped, sweat tracking down his face.

“Did it work?” Reese whispered to her older sister who held the tablet.

“We will see,” Reyna adjusted her white hood.

~*~

Donald straightened out his stack of papers. He was in one of his many mansions, as his wife had a tendency for dramatics and refused to let him back to the main house after the last Centium City visit.

None of his family had spoken to him since.

Honestly, all of them were exhausting nowadays. It irked him that they didn’t listen anymore. That they thought they could blatantly defy him. That his control over his household was waning. Irked him deeply.

~*~

“Good night,” Tecton waved. 

“Don’t drink and fly, guys. We downed like four bottles,” Megahertz added. “Say hi to Benji for me.”

The Flames waved, getting into their cab.

Both men were enjoying the buzz that came with being drunk and also semi-coherent. Curse those two, they always brought out the party in them.

“Race you,” Tecton took off toward the stairs.

“Cheater!” Megahertz stumbled after him.

~*~

Giselle poured the Grexalean into her mixture, stirring.

“It’s almost ready.”

Krane exited after the confirmation.

~*~

Chase gasped awake.

His head spun and he nearly fell back down.

A hand he assumed belonged to Skylar- as it was too big for Bree and Oliver and too calloused to be Kaz’s- held him upright.

“What… happened?” his ears were ringing.

“I don’t know,” Skylar replied. Chase could make out her figure through the blur. “We were watching the movie. That’s all I’ve got.”

A breeze made him shiver.

Chase glanced over behind him. “Who the hell broke my doors? Again?”

“Good question.”

“Guys,” came Bree’s worry-laced voice. “There’s more important shit happening.”

The two leaders turned to her. She was knelt by Kaz and Oliver who were still very much unconscious. Chase scooted over with Skylar’s help, scanning them.

He exhaled in relief, combing his fingers through their hair. “They’re fine. It seems like some form of anesthesia. Our metabolisms are more advanced than theirs, but they should wake up soon.”

The girls sighed.

“What time is it?”

Chase’s internal clock seemed scrambled. He glanced over to the stove, squinting without his glasses. “Two. Sky, can you carry them?”

She got to her feet, picking up one boy on each side, and gliding to the stairs.

Bree helped Chase up. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing,” Chase’s eye went back to normal. “Nothing’s showing up. I’ll fix it tomorrow.”

~*~

“The fun begins,” Giselle said giddily, checking her watch as she added more of who knows what into her massive glowing vat.

“What do you mean?” Krane kept his arms folded. “I thought the project wouldn’t be done for much longer.”

“Oh no, it won’t be. But my nanobots that took samples have some other… fun capabilities. Who says we can’t break the brats mentally before the real torture begins?”

~*~

Chase yawned. 

He’d scanned the new hole in their penthouse multiple times over for the past hour, finding zilch with each attempt.

Sleeping whatever anesthetic was in his system should help. Both to clear his memory and to sharpen his scanners.

Chase gently creaked their door open, quietly tip-toeing in a practiced manner around all of Kaz’s junk and hoarding piles on the floor.

He sat at the edge of Kaz’s bed, plugging his phone in and stretching. Chase’s scars hurt a little. He should ask Kaz to help with that in the morning. He flicked the bathroom light off with his molecular kinesis.

Chase leaned over the familiar lump buried in the Tecton comforter, kissing black spikes and making him shift. Chase lay down beside him.

“Good night,” he whispered.

An arm draped around his middle and a chest pressed to his back.

“Sleep tight,” Sebastian murmured into Chase’s ear.

Chase screamed.

Chapter Text

Chase kicked and punched, landing Sebastian once or twice. He scrambled off the bed to get away from him.

“Aw, what’s this?” Sebastian stood, stalking after him. The scar on Chase’s knuckles and hip burned. Locusts buzzed in his ears. “No warm welcome? Not even a kiss? I’m here to take you with me. To where you belong. To who you belong.”

Chase couldn’t speak. Hell, he could hardly breathe. He continued backing away, vision tunneled on Sebastian.

“Don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be. You can’t fight me. You sure as hell can’t beat me. It’s pointless.”

Chase tripped on one of Kaz’s shirts, stumbling until his back hit the wall by the door.

“It’s all gonna be just like it used to,” Sebastian’s eyes glowed in the dark room, flashing off of his terrifying grin. “Just like it’s meant to be.”

Chase threw up a force field bubble. He hardly even registered the name he began crying out for.

~*~

Adam startled. 

“Are you alright?” Tasha asked, washing the dishes despite his protest since he cooked.

Adam didn’t answer. Naomi and Otis II looked at him quizzically from where they were playing together at his feet.

He pulled out his phone, calling Chase. Something was wrong.

~*~

Kaz snapped up the second Chase screamed. He’d noticed in his extraordinarily tired state that he’d opened the door, kissed him, and laid down. Kaz had rolled over to pull him in, nothing unusual for his late nights.

And then Chase screamed bloody murder, wrenching away. Before Kaz could react in any fashion, a fist cracked across his jaw and a foot slammed into his stomach as Chase flailed off the bed.

Kaz coughed, now winded.

He staggered up, seeing Oliver do the same as he was the lightest sleeper to walk the earth.

Chase stumbled away, tripping and landing against the wall. A shield bubble shimmered to life.

Kaz took two steps toward him.

“Kaz!” Oliver’s eyes were wide. “Stop!”

“What?”

“Stay where you are!”

“Are you out of your damn mind?” Kaz took another. An ice spike appeared in front of him.

“Listen to me!” Oliver was serious. Kaz knew from all their years of friendship that there was not a hint of joking on his face. “Don’t move!” 

“Adam!” Chase cried. Well, that didn’t make sense. Adam’s last visit was a while ago. 

Chase curled in on himself, rocking back and forth and repeatedly calling for his brother.

Kaz’s chest tightened. 

“Don’t,” Oliver ordered. “We have to figure out a way to contact-”

The door burst open. 

Bree rushed in, Skylar not far behind. Their hair was tangled and pajamas rumpled, making it pretty clear that they’d jumped from bed as quickly as the boys when they heard.

The former didn’t pay them any attention, immediately walking through the shield. Kaz didn’t know Chase could do that, authorize specific people in.

“Skylar-”

“On it.”

She grabbed Kaz’s t-shirt and Oliver’s pullover and swiftly yanked them out.

~*~

Douglas hummed to himself as he screwed in some bolts to a battle mech prototype.

“...Douglas?”

Douglas cursed, bumping his forehead on the metal from the start Leo’s voice gave him.

“Ooh, ouch. Sorry.” 

“What’s up, kid?”

“You’re bi, right?”

He hit his head again.

“Okay, that one’s not on me.”

“How did you-”

“Chase told me. And mom.”

“Jeez, would it kill this family to keep their mouths shut?”

“Probably.”

“So why does that matter?”

Leo crouched down to where Douglas was on his rolly bench.

“I have some… questions.”

~*~

“Chase has had bad things happen to him,” Skylar’s arms were folded as she addressed the boys on the couch. “There’s a state he can go into where he’s scared to be around men. When that happens, all you need to do is leave.”

“Okay,” Oliver nodded. “I wasn’t sure if that would scare him further-”

“No. I get where that’s coming from, but scaring him briefly by walking by is much better than staying put and exacerbating.”

“Why didn’t I know this?” Kaz demanded, rubbing at his bruising face.

“I only knew about it because I’ve seen it,” Oliver shrugged.

“What? When?”

He averted his eyes, hesitating. “When… when you burned him the second time. And in the alleyway.”

Kaz gaped. “...I triggered that? And no one told me?”

“It was more about keeping him calm than telling you,” Skylar put her hands on her hips. “Plus, I dunno if you remember as well as we do, but back then saying hi to you would cause an outburst.” 

Kaz went quiet.

“...What happened? To make him react like that?”

“He’ll tell you when he’s comfortable. If he’s ever comfortable,” Skylar said. “And if he isn’t, you need to support him.”

Kaz frowned.

~*~

The phone finally picked up when Adam was in the lab.

“Hey.”

“Dude, you sound girlier than normal.”

“It’s me, Adam.”

“Oh, hey dude.”

“Hi,” Bree sounded exhausted. Adam realized it was pretty late there. Early? 

“Why do you have Chasey’s phone?”

Silence.

“It happened again, didn’t it.”

“...Yeah. I just got Sky to take him to our room. He’s okay. It was bad, though.”

Adam scowled. “What do you mean?”

“...He started yelling for you.”

Shit. That always meant the very worst. It was a reflex now, according to Tasha. Because Adam protected him twice or so during the mess, his brain defaulted to wanting him to keep him safe when it was stripped of logic and left with pure terror. And it hurt Adam. A lot. Especially because he wasn’t there to answer his baby brother’s pleas.

“Can I talk to him?”

“He’s asleep.”

That was a rare occurrence. 

“...’Kay. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Night. Or morning. Whatever. Night for you.”

“Night.” 

~*~

“Move,” Skylar shoved Kaz over. 

“Ow,” he grumbled. “Yeah, sure, Sky, you can sleep in my bed. Thanks so much for asking.”

“Yeah, well, your boyfriend and my girlfriend are currently using mine. Cope with it.”

“Bossy.”

“Dick.”

“Stinkbug.”

“Gergensnik.”

“Ooh,” Oliver sleepily reacted across the room, cats curled up with him. For the one who hated pets the most, they seemed to like hanging with him. “She went there.”

Skylar huffed a laugh, flopping onto her stomach and hogging the comforter.

There was silence for a while. Nothing besides the ambient noise of their tower running and distant city sounds.

“...Sky?” Kaz whispered.

“What?”

“Did… did I cause it this time?”

She didn’t answer for a while. If it wasn’t for the fact that her freight train snoring hadn’t started, Kaz might’ve thought she’d fallen asleep, as according to her, according to Chase they all had some sort of anesthetic in their systems. Though with her Calderan biology, it was probably gone at this point.

“I don’t know. Go to bed.”

Yeah right, sleep with that knowledge.

~*~

Rodissius stayed hunched on the throne, gasping.

“Father!” his three eldest ran up.

“Unhand me!” Rodissius ordered, punching Roman in the cheek.

There was silence for a moment, before they remembered themselves and knelt before him.

“It did not succeed,” he growled. 

The siblings ignored his coughing fit after. That and the blood spattering his golden armor.

~*~

Kaz yawned as he padded down the stairs.

Three of the four remaining team were at the doors, the girls cleaning up the glass as they had the most durability, and Chase measuring the frames with his eye.

“Where’s Oli?”

“Getting the extra-reinforced polymer downstairs,” Skylar answered.

She and Bree walked past him, garbage bags full of glass on their shoulders.

Chase wordlessly passed Kaz a lightbulb, pointing to the fixture that had been busted.

“What happened last night?”

“Good question,” Chase didn’t look at him as Kaz glided up to replace the light. ‘It’s been scrubbed from our cameras. About an hour or so. And not due to the blast. I don’t like that. I was going to make a new tipline site because the FBI took down our other one, but now I’m going to spend all day fixing this mess.”

“Uh… okay. I kinda meant- like later last night.”

Chase jumped.

“...Nightmare.”

“Chase, Skylar told me everything.”

Chase dropped his tools. Was he shaking? Oh, shit, Kaz did it again.

Should he leave? Or say something?

“E-Everything?” Chase’s voice was meek.

“Yeah? Like how you can be scared of guys?”

“That’s a-all?”

“Yes?”

Chase exhaled, crouching down to pick his things up with trembling hands.

“Okay,” he sounded relieved, using his levitation to get a better look at the top of the doors. “Okay.”

“I just…” Kaz wrung his hands, still in the air. “They told me I caused it a few times. Did I do something last night?”

“Wh- woah-!”

Chase promptly fell from his hovering.

Kaz dove to catch him.

“No,” Chase said, now positioned in his arms. “Yes. No-”

“Huh?”

Chase held his temples, puffing his cheeks out in frustration. “Nightmare! You were there! But I thought you weren’t!”

“Huh?”

“No!”

“Uh. Okay?” 

They stared at each other. Before laughing at the pure absurdity of that conversation.

“Jeez, I can’t tell if we’re still drugged or are that big of dumbasses,” Chase brushed himself off when he was set down, going back to the doors.

“I raise you both.”

“Fair.”

“Wait… how was it a nightmare if you were awake?”

Chase turned to him in perplexion. 

“It was the second after you got in bed.”

“I… thought I fell asleep.”

Kaz shook his head. “I did the nightly routine of making you my glorified teddy bear.”

Chase half-smiled. It faded.

“That’s… strange.”

“Do you ever hallucinate while being conscious about whatever it is?”

“I haven’t for a while,” Chase held his chin.

Kaz walked over, doctor face on full blast.

He gently tilted Chase’s head, as if looking for bumps from when they’d rolled off the couch.

“I’m okay, Fireboy.”

“Okay…” Kaz moistened his lips. “Do you wanna… tell me about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he said that too quickly.

“Oh… okay. Hey.” 

“Yeah?”

“You’re beautiful. And smart. And-”

“Kaz,” Chase groaned. “I thought you forgot about that!”

Kaz snickered, tossing him over his shoulder. “Everyone come look at my genius handsome sweetheart boyfriend!”

“Kaz!”

~*~

Bree was speeding through the tunnels, sent on a wild goose chase by her brother to see if she could find any leads, as she and Kaz weren’t needed for the repair upstairs. Realistically, he wanted to keep them busy so they wouldn’t get in the way.

She continued fantasizing about wringing his geek neck for making her expend all this energy on something totally pointless, especially considering the sluggishness in her muscles that was still present. Combination of no rest and whatever the hell happened to the five last night.

She didn’t ever sleep easy after Chase’s nightmares, sue her. Maybe because of the paranoia of it not being a dream every time. She’d spent the majority quietly comforting him as he tossed and turned, whispering about Sebastian being there and wanting to hurt him again. Yeah, that wasn’t exactly a lullaby.

Bree paused in Mission Command, taking a break.

She rubbed her arms over the new goosebumps. Jeez, she knew it was always cold down here, but this was like a frozen locker.

“Can you seriously not do anything right?”

Bree jumped.

Davenport sat at Chase’s desk, looking at her with a special mix of perturbed disinterest.

“Wha- what are you-” Bree shook her head. “You’re not supposed to be here. Get out.”

“Why? Because mommy said so? She doesn’t make my choices Bree. I make the calls in this family.”

“Get out.”

“What, are you upset over your whole histrionics display on the balcony? You cried, didn’t you? Ashamed that I saw it?” 

Bree gritted her teeth. Her face grew hot.

“You’ve always been pathetic,” Donald put his feet up. “Yawnfest compared to your brothers. Nothing exceptional about you at all. Aren’t you tired of faking it?”

“You-”

“Adam Davenport the brave. Chase Davenport the wise. Bree Davenport, the selfish average middle-of-the-road, who is hardly even a hero in comparison.”

Bree’s mouth felt dry. She swallowed painfully. Her feet were locked in place, sweat building on her forehead.

“Look at Chase’s back. Look at Adam’s neck. Look in the mirror. That’s who did it,” Donald spun a pen on the desk, not breaking eye contact for a second. “Because she’s selfish. Mean. A terrible person, let alone the opposite of a hero. Remember what you did back then? Telling Chase to stay with him? Your baby brother, your “twin”, spurred on by you. The guilt must be crushing. How many times was he abused and beaten after that? How many times did he press on instead of escaping because of your advice?”

Cold washed over her. How did Davenport know she’d encouraged him? No one did.

“You’ve seen all three of your brothers nearly die. I told you to protect them. I honestly can’t tell if you’re simply too weak to or too petty over the fact that they’ll always be better than you.”

“St-Stop,” her voice was mild. Her eyes stayed glued to the floor.

“This family is crumbling. You’ve seen it. Leo is exhausted. Chase is falling for my every word. Adam angers at the drop of a hat. Your mother is drowning. Douglas is stuck, unable to fix it. You might think it’s me who’s done this, but you’re wrong. It’s you. Your fault.”

Tears crawled into the corners of her eyes.

She thought after the balcony that the next time she saw him, she’d let him have it. Pay him back. But she couldn’t move.

“There you go, crying again. Tch, you’re worthless, aren’t you?” Donald stood with a sigh, exiting through the tunnels.

~*~

“Logan, huh?”

“What?” Leo shrieked. 

“Yeah, okay, it’s him. Nice kid. Go for it.”

“Wh- no- b- I-”

Douglas cackled wheezily, sliding back under.

~*~

“He still in there?” Reese asked, pointing to the massive doors.

Riker nodded.

The throne room had been utterly demolished as their father raged.

“That’s gonna cost a lot.”

~*~

Giselle sprinkled her nanobots in.

“What is taking so long, Vickers,” Krane demanded, broken and rough voice being a cause for terror for anyone who could feel it. Giselle was not one of those.

“Patience, patience. We want to wear them down as much as possible,” Giselle hummed. “What’s the rush with the entertainment for our viewing pleasure?” 

They were watching the cameras as she stirred.

Bree was on her knees in their headquarters, shaking.

“There are some perks with this gig,” Sebastian smirked. Marcus nodded his rare agreement.

“Well, you’re welcome. Sneaking in cameras is kinda my schtick. On top of injecting with lethal viruses.”

~*~

Chase flinched. Oliver froze behind him.

“It’s me.”

“Okay,” he took a breath to steady himself. “Alright. Everything is fine. A little warning next time?”

“Of course. Sorry,” Oliver nodded rapidly as he picked up the glass. Chase ruffled his hair in unspoken forgiveness. 

They worked in silence, save for the much louder city ambiance due to the lack of barrier and the tick of the clock, signifying a large portion of time passing.

“Where’s Sky?” Oliver complained. “My arms are tired.”

Chase shrugged.

~*~

They got their answer.

The fireplace opened as blue light flashed. Skylar had her arm around Bree, guiding her gently.

Oliver didn’t pay much attention. Until Chase sprung off from where he was standing on his shoulders, causing him to fumble to regain his balance and not drop the sheet he held.

“What happened?” Chase demanded while glaring at Skylar, rushing over.

Oliver didn’t get what he was talking about. Nothing seemed amiss.

Skylar shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Took you long enough,” he sniffed.

“I was busy, jackass,” she glared, eyes sparking.

Oliver put his hands up in surrender.

Chase ripped his gloves off, uncharacteristically tossing them to the floor. He held Bree’s face up to examine it. Oliver saw now.

Her mascara was smeared, eyes red, cheeks tear-stained.

There was quiet as he studied her.

“Skylar, Oliver, continue without me for a little. You know enough.”

Chase grabbed Bree’s wrist, pulling her to the stairs.

~*~

Kaz smelled it.

Cheap beer. 

Filling his nasal cavities, pushing away any other air.

He knew that smell. 

He froze from searching on the roof. The breeze ruffled his hair. His lips were stuck together.

“Hey kid,” his father said. “Long time no see.”

Chapter Text

Bree didn’t like this. At all.

Not how gently Chase held her hands as he knelt before her on Skylar’s bed. Not the worry on his face. 

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Why did you cry?”

“I didn’t.”

“B-”

“Why was Davenport here?”

Chase’s face scrunched. “He… wasn’t? I haven’t seen or heard from him since…”

That day.

“That’s,” Bree shook her head. “That’s not right. I saw him. In Mission Command.”

“I haven’t authorized anyone inside, sis,” Chase frowned. “None of them would’ve let him in. And I would have noticed if the control panel was tampered with.”

Bree blinked. “Holy shit- was it a shifter-?”

Chase stood. “I need to check the cameras.”

~*~

Kaz’s knees felt wobbly. The liquid swishing in the liquor bottle made him sick.

“I can’t say any of us have missed you. Honestly, forgot you existed.”

His father took a swig, a pot-bellied fifty-something wearing a stained white button-up, a perfect representation of what lay behind the mask Kaz’s parents wore. Same eyes. Same hair, though graying.

“Maybe I should be proud, huh? That you’re so much like me.”

Fire flickered in his hair.

“There it is,” the man laughed wheezily. “You’re just like me, huh? Angry. Hurting everyone who cares about you. Funny, huh?”

Kaz smelt smoke curling from his fist.

“Think about it, huh? What you said to your friends. Trying to hurt them, unable to stop yourself. You burned him. No hero fantasy you had back then could stand to it. Sad, huh?”

The colors around Kaz grew less and less saturated. He ground his teeth.

“Go on then,” his father took another sip. “Get your revenge. I hurt you, huh? Hurt Katie and your older brothers. Do it. Prove that we’re one and the same. You know it as much as me, boy. Look at your eyes.”

Kaz blasted his flames next to his father. It almost passed through him.

“I knew it. Run along now. I need a smoke.”

“You-” Kaz rushed toward him. Glass breaking. Screams. Crying. 

His father sidestepped. Kaz went flying over the edge of the tower.

~*~

Solar Flare blinked awake. Her wife was already in their apartment’s kitchen, starting coffee. She smiled, coming up behind her. She put her hands on her shoulders, kissing her cheek

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“Go walk Benji, I’ll get breakfast done.”

“But I wanted to cook!” Solar Flare pouted.

“And he needs to piss, Vi,” Gamma Girl raised her eyebrows. Their pitbull wagged his tail. “Look at him, he craves walkies.”

Solar Flare gave her a face because she could, spinning to change into walking clothes. Gamma Girl whistled. Solar Flare rolled her eyes.

Eggo waffles today, I guess. She thought as she led Benji out.

~*~

“Right, Grey, I asked for my windows to explode,” Chase followed the intruder as she briskly walked to the almost repaired glass.

“I did not ask for sass, Davenport,” her stormy eyes glared. Skylar came up behind him protectively, leveling her with a silent warning. Grey wasn’t fazed. “Don’t let it happen again.”

“Oh okay,” Chase smiled. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Or explode. Ooh.”

Once she was gone, Bree and Oliver helpfully blew raspberries at her nonexistent presence.

“Where’s Kaz?” Chase frowned. “So help me, if someone says he’s tangled in the rope wall again-”

Everyone exchanged equally uninformed looks. He’d been gone a while. Chase’s heart involuntarily spiked. These damned nightmares always threw off his ability to be collected.

There was a loud crash on the terrace.

All four hurried over.

It was Kaz. 

He’d fallen, breaking the furniture he’d landed on.

“Kaz!” Chase cried out. He and Oliver ran to him, supporting him into a sitting position. He was breathing hard, sweat-covered and shaking.

“What happened?” Skylar demanded, crouching in front of them and looking around for whoever she needed to kill.

“Holy hell, did you fall from the roof?” Bree gaped.

Kaz shoved out of their hold, clumsily fumbling to his feet. “Who did it?”

They all stared.

“Who?” Kaz demanded, hair smoking and eyes wild. 

“Kaz, what are you-?”

“It was you wasn’t it?” Kaz turned to Oliver. Oliver jumped.

“Wh-What-?”

“You’re the only one who knows him- you-”

“Kaz, you sound insane,” Bree put her hands on her hips. 

“Stay out of this!” Kaz yelled. She blinked.

“Hey!” Skylar stood. “What the hell is your problem? You’re probably hurt, you need to-”

“Oliver!” Kaz shouted. Fire flickered in his eyes. “How dare you-”

“What did I d-do?”

“You let him in!”

Oliver paled. “What?”

“He was on the fucking roof. You let him in-”

“Kaz, I haven’t even spoken to him in years-”

“Don’t lie to me!” Kaz lunged. 

Skylar caught him, holding him back as he lit ablaze. Oliver gasped, staggering back from him. Chase stood in front of him, arm out to protect him.

“K-Kazi, I wouldn’t-”

“Don’t call me that!”

Oliver whimpered fearfully.

“Knock it off!” Skylar ordered. 

“Who’s him?” Chase muttered to Oliver.

“H-His dad? I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about, I’ve been helping you all day!”

Chase nodded. He walked up to Kaz.

“Was it you?” Kaz seethed. “You’re the one who authorizes-”

“Kaz. How’d he get on the roof? I don’t hear an extra heartbeat. How’d he come down?” Chase asked cooly. Kaz faltered. “How’d he dodge the flames?”

“How did you know I-”

“I didn’t. You just told me. I haven’t authorized anyone in for days. He wasn’t here.”

“Wh-What-?”

“Everyone, follow me.” 

~*~

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“Oh,” Tasha repeated. “I didn’t know you were staying here still, honey. I’m not opposed obviously, but.”

“Oh,” Adam shrugged, bouncing Naomi on his lap. Tasha had just been in a panic, waking to find her baby’s crib empty.

This explained it. It was a mix of comical and adorable how big his hands were compared to her little self.

“We’re just chillin’. Right, ‘omi?”

She gurgled in agreement.

Tasha smiled warmly. She wouldn’t forget Donald’s fear to let Adam near her when she was born, nor the small spark of her own. He was so big, so strong, and not the most careful person. It took Chase blowing up at Donald and Leo more quietly convincing him to let Adam hold Naomi for the first time. Then Bree’s finagling to allow him babysitting rights. 

Seeing them now, Tasha had zero doubts.

~*~

“I’ve found hallucinogens in whatever we were hit with, using my and Bree’s blood samples. All three of us saw things that weren’t there. We need to stay prepared for that to occur again, I’m not sure when it’ll end.”

Kaz continued playing Chase’s words. And Oliver’s flinch when he turned to him.

Damn it.

He glared at his own eyes in the newly fixed windows.

Damn it.

Kaz made it out, ignoring the pile of broken furniture in the corner.

“Hit me the fuck up.”

Bree passed him the half-burned joint in her two fingers.

He inhaled deeply, releasing smoke from his lungs when the sourness was overwhelming.

“I’m shitty.”

“Me too,” Bree agreed.

“I fucking hate my dad.”

“Me too.”

~*~

“You can apologize,” Tecton suggested. “And not overthink it.”

Kaz sighed, ending the phone call.

He leaned his head against the couch’s back, exhaling. There was a knot of anxiety swelling in his stomach, fluttering all his insides. No, he couldn’t go back. Fuck, the looks on everyone’s faces as they shared the same fear on the terrace.

“It’s okay to step back,” a hand found his shoulder. “As long as you acknowledge it and push forward.”

Kaz sighed again, kissing Chase’s knuckles. Chase dipped down to kiss his forehead, standing behind him. He walked around to sit next to him. Kaz pulled him closer, pecking the crown of his head. Chase kissed in retaliation.

“I know you’re scared of what happened,” he cupped Kaz’s face. Kaz leaned into it. “Just tell him you’re sorry. You guys have been friends forever. I think he’ll forgive you.”

Kaz dragged him even closer, free hand on Chase’s hip. He kissed him again.

“I really… can’t go back.”

“Yeah, I don’t think any of us can,” Chase snorted, rubbing Kaz’s collarbone to relax him. “But it’s okay. You feel bad, which is a great sign.”

Silence.

“Yeah, that sounded terrible.”

Kaz snickered, running his hand from his hip to upper thigh absently.

“You know what I mean though. It’s going to be fine,” Chase kissed the bridge of his nose.

Kaz kissed him longer this time.

He never much liked the rain. Not until Chase’s came along. Soothing, gentle, beautiful, maybe with a dash of melancholy always present. It helped keep the flames at bay.

“I love you, baby,” he leaned their heads together.

“What I don’t love is the smell of weed on you,” Chase raised his brow suspiciously.

“No comment.”

Chase rolled his eyes, reaching down to his ankle again.

Kaz frowned. “What I don’t love is this damn monitor bothering you.”

“Yeah, well,” Chase shrugged. “I’ve got metal in my neck. I’m a danger. I need to be monitored like some government experiment.”

Kaz scowled.

~*~

Douglas and Taylor smirked at Leo from behind Logan as the two chatted.

He shot them a death glare, even though only one would see.

They cackled, high-fiving.

~*~

Kaz entered their room nervously. 

Oliver jumped when he did, clutching the cat he held a bit tighter.

Kaz rubbed his neck awkwardly. Both avoided eye contact.

He eventually cleared his throat, wordlessly opening his arms.

Oliver hesitated, then dropped the cat.

Kaz always had moments when he pondered about when the actual hell did Oliver get so damn tall, and hugging was one of them. He missed the little guy. But still loved the big one ridiculously.

“Sorry.”

“You know I’d never do that if the choice came, right?”

Glass splintering.

“Yeah. I was… thrown off. I’m sorry, buddy.”

“It’s okay,” Oliver tightened his hold. He probably missed being smaller too, because Kaz notoriously gave excellent enveloping hugs. He used to bury into his chest and just stay there until Kaz told him to go away. Even now he was hunched over to almost mimic that, though he had almost half a foot on Kaz in the present day. “I feel fine. Knowing… that you’re not… y’know.”

You’re just like me, huh?

“Yes, yes I do.”

They stayed there for a heartbeat. 

Kaz smooched his hair instinctively.

“Ew, what the-”

“Complain more and I’ll do it again.”

~*~

Mr. Terror spun her pawn between her fingers in her expensive meeting room, adorned with banners around the square, four-seat table representing the factions.

Soon. 

~*~

Skylar sat with her arm around Bree on the couch. They were both in comfortable silence, Bree reading a magazine and Skylar on her phone. It was nice to have a person with where you could just be together, no words needed.

She leaned over to kiss Bree’s cheek.

“Dude. That’s kinda gay, not gonna lie.”

“Oh shit, really?” Skylar gasped.

“Yeah,” Bree nodded solemnly. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“This is news to me.”

Both giggled after that. They kissed.

“Ew,” Chase complained from the desk he was working on in the dining room, setting up a tip site for small things. They’d already been running around crazily the past few days.

Other than a few comments of anti posts on social media defending them and asking for it to be taken down, not much had changed. But progress is progress and all.

“Shut up, bro,” Bree scoffed. “Talking like we didn’t find you and Kaz making out on the couch fifteen minutes ago.”

A palpable quiet fell at his mention.

“He’s talking to Oli right now,” Chase broke it. “It’s okay. He’s okay. He won’t regress.”

“Are you sure?” Skylar folded her arms. “How do you know?”

“Because I know him.”

“So do I,” she straightened. Bree put a hand on her leg. “And I don’t know.”

“I do. I know, like, everything. Kinda my schtick.”

Skylar sighed. 

“I should go check on them.”

“No,” Chase frowned. “You should leave them alone. And try trusting him.”

Skylar frowned back. “You of all people shouldn’t trust him.”

“Excuse you-?”

“Okay,” Bree put her hands up. “Calm the hell down. If they’re gone for another ten minutes, she can check. Deal?”

Both muttered agreement.

Bree blew hair from her face. Playing mediator sucked. Especially mediating between the two who were always the mediators. Obviously, she’d never been scared of either of them, knowing both too well to fall for their facades. But still, she’d heard Kaz once say they were the scariest people to exist when angry, especially at each other, and she agreed.

It was pretty common for them to butt heads, both having extremely stubborn dispositions and sometimes getting under the other’s skin when it came to leading methods, even though they were maybe the closest two weirdly, besides Kaz and Oliver.

Now Bree understood how Chase felt when she and Kaz got into legitimate arguments, both with too strong of a personality to back down.

Chase’s computer beeped. 

“We have a hit!”

Chapter Text

“A fire?” Bree asked as she ran below.

“Yes! An apartment complex,” Chase pulled up the building schematics as Kaz flew him. “Structurally unsound. We have to hurry!”

~*~

The building was ten stories tall with a basement, and fully engulfed. 

“Stay back!” the officers present ordered the onlookers and escapees.

The team flew right over them.

They touched down, and three of them winced from the sheer heat emanating as the flames burst a few windows.

“Chase! Scan!” Skylar ordered.

“Twenty-two people! Some trapped upstairs!” Chase’s eye glowed. “Looks like around seven! I’m counting four on the second, five on the first landing, and six on the third! We have five minutes before collapse, and that’s generous!”

“Okay, Oliver, you’re with me! We need to slow it down by holding up the pillars!” she looked over Chase’s diagram. “Bree, use your vortex to remove as much flame as you can! Chase, Kaz, you’re on rescue! Our main goal is to get people out, focus that!”

Everyone nodded, dispersing to their tasks.

~*~

“What the hell are they doing?” Donald growled, watching the screen that showed his team in public disobeying him yet again.

This was unacceptable.

~*~

The building shuddered as Chase and Kaz made it to the stairs. 

“Sky and Oli,” Chase confirmed, eye going back to normal. “They’re buying us some time! C’mon!”

 Kaz followed him. They found about five civilians coughing on the stairs as the structure creaked and groaned around them.

“This way!” Chase shouted, trapping the smoke above in a shield. “Go!”

They staggered past him.

“My ankle!” a woman cried. 

Kaz scooped her up, shooting to the exit and passing her off to two onlookers that came to help.

He rejoined Chase as they pushed aside broken debris and stepped over books and toys ruined on the cheaply carpeted floor.

Chase scanned as they ran. Jeez, talk about skimping out on building safety. Doing the bare minimum to pass inspections, weakly made everything that also happened to be highly flammable.

He choked and gagged. Super senses were useful in just about no situation, in Chase’s opinion. Was that illogical? Perhaps. Was he miserable and in search of blame? Yep. His eyes were at least a bit helpful through the smoke. Nose? Ears? Zilch, what with the overwhelming sour black and building’s shuddering overlapping people’s yells for help.

“Chase?”

“Don’t worry about me!” Chase wiped his mouth. “Go up! Fly people down!”

Kaz swallowed, nodding and adjusting his mask for the more intense smoke. 

He took off up the stairs as Chase diverted to the second floor. 

A door rattled against the makeshift barricade of fallen planks.

Chase pulled them away with his molecular kinesis. The door flung open, and an elderly man and small boy spilled out.

Chase tossed the man over his shoulder and snatched the kid’s hand, breaking a window with his molecular kinesis and putting both on a circle forcefield to lower them down. Once they were safe, he continued to the next doors, pulling out a mouthpiece breather from his pouch.

He kicked the first one down.

“This is the Elite- the fire department! Anyone here?”

Nothing. He scanned to double-check.

Chase repeated the process again and again, locating a couple around Adam’s age at the end of the hall.

Both were gagging heavily.

Same Chase thought.

He grabbed both men, hoisting them to their feet. One of them was conscious enough to walk.

“Go!” Chase ordered, pointing to the hole he created. The man hesitated. “I’ve got him! Go!”

He listened. Chase tossed his partner over his shoulder, following. 

He dodged a flaming beam crashing down, flipping over it and slightly stumbling when he landed.

Chase made another platform.

The conscious man looked at him in awe before stepping on.

“You’re… Elite Force-”

“Nope!” Chase smiled. “I’m a fireman, you’re delusional from smoke inhalation.”

He shoved him onto the platform, hurriedly lowering them to start for the next floor.

Yeah, this had started with them wanting to rebuild relations, but the sirens outside gave Chase the inclination that they would be blamed for this.

There was simply no way to contain the blaze with all the blast holes in the building, allowing in oxygen to fuel. He’d have to wait for Bree’s help in that aspect.

He was going to have a word with whoever built this place, all the safety violations that never should have passed any inspections. It started on the eighth level, but according to Chase’s eye, the boiler was hissing below him from the stress. Shit. 

~*~

“Oh, hell,” Tecton muttered.

“What?” Megahertz and Horace paused sipping their beers. 

Tecton pointed to the tv at the bar. A report about the kids.

Oh hell.

~*~

Bree zipped around the outside, rapidly spinning her arms to suck as much fire away as she could.

Once she’d extinguished the flames closest to the structural supports, she dashed in.

She passed Chase on the stairs, not able to stop even as she longed to. This would be murder on his lungs. She’d only seen smoke this dark at the bridge.

She didn’t particularly appreciate that connection.

~*~

“Holy shit, are you kidding?” Douglas groaned.

“What?” Leo asked, his team following behind him as he meandered to the lobby’s desk.

“They’re trying real fuckin’ hard to get arrested and give me more paperwork, dammit.”

~*~

Skylar shoved against a crumbling pillar in the basement, forcing it into place.

It was hard to focus with the noise of the machines around them failing, the floors above breaking, and the liminal light from a couple of dim bulbs.

Oliver finished freezing the second pillar, going to the one she held next. They knew this wouldn’t solve shit in the long term- longer than the generous five minutes that is, but it would hopefully buy their friends time to get everyone out. Oliver was sweating profusely from the heat, though the basement was flameless for the moment. It was even starting to affect Skylar.

A weak cough caught both of their attention.

There was a middle-aged man dressed in a gray uniform that read maintenance, tucked behind the water heater- hence neither noticing him prior.

Well, shit.

“Oliver, get a rag from your pack and press it over his face once you’ve dampened it! I’ve got the pillars!” 

He nodded, rushing over.

Skylar went the opposite way, shoving into the next pillar. She repeated the process.

“Oh come on,” she stiffened. “What’s the point?”

Experion appeared from the pillar’s shadow.

“You can’t really think you’ll save them,” he looked at his nails. “Does the last apartment building you fucked with ring any bells?”

Skylar paled. "Shut up."

"You're the real talk of the town. The hero tabloids say you're turning villain again. Remember how many times you tried to hurt your two precious friends? How can you call yourself a hero when you had white in your hair? When you let a whole building slip from your ever-so-heroic grasp? Give it up, Sky. You know the truth as much as I do.'

"I said shut up!" she yelled, punching into the pillar where he stood. It cracked under her first. He clicked his tongue.

"Aw, honey. You're truly off your pedestal. No wonder the Annihilator stole your powers so easily."

Skylar ground her teeth. 

"Even now you got like what, half the abilities true Calderans possess? Yeesh."

Skylar punched again, busting the weak floor.

"Ooh, how about the part where you're a fucking joke who's pitiful in comparison to what you were?"

"Shut up!"

"Skylar!" the cold of Oliver's hand on her shoulder snapped her back. "It's not real! Whatever you're seeing isn't real!"

That's right. Hallucinogens.

"Maybe I'm not real," Experion shrugged noncommittally. "But the words I say are. You know them. I know them. Have fun playing hero, ta-ta."

"Where'd he go?" she demanded.

"It wasn't real," Oliver reiterated.

"But-"

"You've weakened the supports considerably! We gotta go!'

~*~

“What have they gotten themselves into now?” Alan grumbled to himself as the heroes and staff around him stayed glued to the screens. More and more normo authorities were pulling up. And not the kind with big trucks to put the fire out.

~*~

Kaz cleared a path for the tenants he found.

He counted as they rushed by him.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Shit, how many did Chase say were up here?

“There’s a family trapped back there!” a man got his attention. Kaz nodded.

He shouldered down the door, wiping his brow at the blast of heat, far more intense than before.

“Hello? I’m from the Elite Force! Where are you?”

“Here!” a child called.

“No!” a man hissed. “No, he’s a bad guy, remember?”

“We don’t have a choice, Charlie,” a woman countered. 

“Carmen, you can’t seriously want to put our lives in the hands of tyrants-”

“Here! In the corner!”

Kaz parted the flames by waving his hands, finding them crouched behind what was a couch.

“Come with me!” 

“Her first!” the father ordered through a clenched jaw, pushing a little girl into his hands.

Kaz flew out of a hole in the hall’s wall that had formed from the implosion.

He set her down the second her toes touched the grass, rocketing back up.

“Now her!” he pushed his wife.

“No!” she cried out.

“Yes, go!”

Part of the ceiling groaned.

He shoved her harder as the flaming paneling collapsed down.

Kaz hardly registered her scream of her husband’s name through the blood roaring in his ears.

He shot to the man, tackling him aside as the spot he’d been standing was scorched and crushed.

After which, Kaz kept a hold on his wrist, grabbing hers as well and rushing to the hole.

He took the woman first, flying her down to where her kid was waiting. She ran over, scooping her into her arms.

Kaz then flew back for the father, snatching his wrists and dropping him with them.

He immediately staggered over, wrapping his arms around both.

He regarded Kaz with astonishment. “...You… saved us?”

“Dude, what part of “hero” do you not get?” Kaz asked, turning back to the building.

He found Chase on the third floor, finishing the final rescue.

“Done?” he asked breathlessly.

Chase’s eye lit up.

“Scanning for biorhythms. Just Sky and Oliver! Bree’s out! Let’s go!”

Kaz looped his rapidly tiring arms around Chase’s middle, flying them away.

~*~

“Skylar, Oliver, it’s clear! Get out of there!”

“Oli, c’mon!”

“You take him out!” Oliver pointed to the maintenance man. “I’m gonna freeze the boiler over to give you time!”

Skylar nodded, lifting the man and running past Oliver.

~*~

“Fire? Psh,” Adam held Otis II as he noticed the report Tasha was keyed into. “We eat these things for breakfast. Literally almost,” he pointed to his burned neck.

“Of course it’s covered by Linda Monterras,” Tasha grouched. 

~*~

Skylar made it out of the building, meeting the others after passing the man to paramedics.

“Where’s Oliver?” Kaz asked, breathing hard. Smoke inhalation was a bitch and a half.

“He froze the boiler-” she blinked. “He’s not out yet?”

“He what?” Chase demanded. “You let him do that? That thing’s gonna blow any second!”

Skylar swallowed the lump in her throat.

Chase gritted his teeth, shoving past her. “I’ll get him! Keep the people away!”

He ran into the building.

There were about fifteen seconds of herding the crowd of onlookers and first responders back when the building gave a loud moan.

The remaining team turned, right in time for a giant bang to tear through and the entire structure to collapse.

Kaz put his arms in front of his face instinctively to block the debris.

His blood froze.

No.

He immediately charged forward.

Skylar stopped him by snatching his suit’s belt. “Stay back!”

“Let go of me!”

“Kaz!” she yelled, gripping his shoulders. “You can’t help here! Stay back!”

She and Bree raced to the pile. 

~*~

Tasha gasped, hand over her mouth. 

Adam’s jaw had reached the floor.

“He… he got out. He did. Right? Both of them?”

~*~

“No!” Leo shouted. His hands went to his coils, fingers tangling in.

“Calm down!” Douglas gritted over him. “They’re fine. Have to be.”

Logan drew Leo to his chest. “He’s okay. He’s fine.”

Taylor wrapped her arms around both of them.

~*~

The bar had fallen silent.

Horace swallowed in his desert-dry mouth, watching the girls desperately dig through the pile. 

~*~

“Goddammit, Chase,” Donald muttered.

~*~

Alan’s knees were shaky.

No one in the hospital lobby moved.

~*~

“Well,” Giselle smiled at the square table. “Isn’t that interesting?”

Not the collapse onscreen, no. The fact that the two boys behind her tensed when it happened. For two very different and fascinating reasons to glean from.

~*~

“I found them!” Skylar shouted.

Kaz almost tripped over himself to get over there. All three of them worked to get rid of the broken wood and tile. A few bystanders came running to assist.

They pushed through more and more, reaching the concrete pit that was the basement. There were a few more layers to get past.

It cleared to a blue glow. 

Chase’s shield. Oliver was curled into him, passed out but breathing, with Chase’s mouthpiece in his lips. Chase looked up from where he’d been protecting his head, noticing them for the first time. Both of them were blackened from soot and caked in grime. The girls looked much the same. Kaz probably did too. But holly hell, they were alive.

Kaz wanted to cry. 

“Oh, fuck-” his voice cracked. Twice now he thought he’d lost his whole world in a split-second. 

“He’s okay,” Chase coughed. “Smoke inhalation is all.”

Skylar and one of the civilian men grabbed Oliver’s arms to hoist him out. Then Kaz and another man pulled Chase free.

“I’m okay,” Chase reiterated to Kaz and Bree as they crowded him with worried faces. “I’m okay. Just really gross.”

Both of them huffed relieved laughs at that. Kaz kissed his head, uncaring if any citizens saw with the sheer emotion he felt at him being okay. Bree whacked Chase’s shoulder in her ever-affectionate ways.

Kaz looped Chase’s arm over his neck to support him while Skylar arrived with Oliver in her hold.

“Yeah. He’ll be fine,” Kaz confirmed in relief, ruffling the now ashy blond strands. “We need to get him some water and let him stay on the breather for a bit. But he’s gonna be fine.” 

Skylar moistened her lips, looking down at Oliver with guilt hidden in the curls that had sprung free from her braid.

“It’s not your fault, Sky,” Chase exhaled, lightly nudging her ankle with his toe. What a weird sensation without the monitor. “You got in your hero head. But everyone’s alright.”

Bree put her hand on her forearm. Skylar sighed.

“Thank you,” Chase nodded to those who came to help.

“Thank you,” one corrected, shaking his hand.

Kaz blinked. It was the father of the family he’d rescued.

“This was way too much publicity,” Chase murmured as cameras flashed. “We need to leave before-”

Sirens wailed. They’d set up a perimeter, using precious time for that instead of saving lives in the building.

“That happens,” Chase finished. “Go!”

Chapter Text

There was a knock on Chase’s capsule door.

He pulled his eyemask off one eye, squinting.

Oh.

The door hissed open, allowing Kaz to step inside.

Immediately, Chase’s lips were met with warmer ones. He wrapped his arms around his neck, feeling his back gently hit the glass in the compact space.

Sure, this was how more unfavorable acts that his father would have an aneurysm to know were happening in his billion-dollar technology had started in the past- hey, what else was the privacy setting for?-, but Chase knew what this was about.

“Aš čia, Fireboy. Man viskas gerai,” Chase promised, curling his fingers into the hair at the base of his skull. 

Kaz pressed soft kisses to his neck where he was buried. “I’m adding apartment fires to my list of least favorite shit, next to mud. And that one bootleg Tecton movie, you know which.”

Yes, yes he did. It was difficult to make Kaz shut up about his outrage over “destroying Tecton’s legacy” with the inaccuracy to the comics. Chase exhaled a laugh, kissing his temple.

Kaz’s hand trailed under Chase’s shirt, tracing the line of his spine.

Chase reached down to his monitor in tired routine.

“And ankle monitors,” Kaz glared at the metal ring. 

“Agreed on all accounts,” Chase sleepily kissed his nose, speaking around a yawn. He was truly drained from the day. Thankfully Douglas was -begrudgingly- working his magic to keep the cops back for the moment. “At least those people were okay.”

Kaz gave him a face. Chase smelled Oliver’s shampoo on him, wondering for the thousandth time why he was so opposed to buying his own. He was pretty sure Kaz didn’t know either. The team had quickly eaten and hydrated before getting cleaned up for bed. Kaz had wordlessly followed Chase into the shower. 

Not that Chase minded. It wasn’t like it was the first time, though those occurrences held different implications, that and he always like regular showers since discovering them, made him feel less like an expensive vehicle in a car wash with the capsule method. Hell, if Oliver hadn’t locked the door for his, who was to say Kaz wouldn’t have followed him to make sure he didn’t poof into thin air too? 

He’d stood outside the bathroom for the length of the shower, while Chase took the task of scratching four fuzzy ears upon himself before said cats went to go sleep in the girls’ room. They had their own beds in both, bouncing around between those, spare human beds, occupied human beds, and the couches throughout the night. They liked sleeping with Kaz especially because of his human heating pad status, which was why they hung out in his still-warm sheets with Chase for a bit.

“Yeah, but you two almost weren’t.”

“Don’t be mad at Skylar.”

“I didn’t say-” 

“Oh, but you just did,” Chase poked his scrunched nose. 

“I’m getting tired of you doing that.”

“She got distracted, Kaz. Focused on saving that guy, or maybe she hallucinated, who knows. Point is: cut her some slack.”

Kaz grumbled.

“What was that?”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

The capsule hummed for a heartbeat.

“So…” Kaz drummed his fingers on Chase’s hips where they were positioned. “I think you’ve done enough recalibrating to reset and other nerd terms, right?”

Chase rolled his eyes at the “nerd” comment, opening his chip’s internal hard drive. “Yeah, seems like it.”

“Then I suggest you skip the glass box and come to bed.”

It wasn’t a suggestion. Kaz pulled him to the front of his “box” offering his hand for him to step down. Chase sighed just for the fun of it, accepting. Kaz swiftly yanked him to the familiar covers, stepping over piles of Kazzery in a learned method for both. In a blink, he was burritoed half in a Tecton comforter and half in his boyfriend’s arms.

Yeah. a lot of things beat capsules, honestly.

~*~

“Done,” Giselle grinned. The five pods before her hissed steam as they opened. One by one, replicas of the Elite Force stepped out.

Silence.

“You made androids,” Krane noted. “Whoopie. Why did that take three weeks?”

Giselle laughed. She walked up behind Bree's copy, squeezing her shoulders. “Oh, but they aren’t regular old trash heaps,” Marcus bristled. Sebastian smirked. She sidestepped, twisting the alien's false curls in her finger. “Patience is a virtue, Vicky. Time to have some fun.”

Krane arched a brow.

Giselle squished Chase's expressionless face. "The payoff will be immense.'

He reached for the remote. She smacked his hand away.

“Ah ah ah,” she smirked. “I push the buttons in this partnership.”

“You aren’t wrong about that,” Krane glared.

~*~

Skylar inhaled the breeze. It was a nice day for some sitting on the roof time.

She glanced down absently, watching her feet lightly sway.

Something caught her attention.

A shock of white in her curls where pink should be.

Skylar gasped.

The blue sky turned black. The buildings around her were ablaze. Her palms soaked in red. She stumbled back, heel dipping into something warm. The second she turned, the world screeched to a halt.

Chase was broken on the ground, lighting scars all over him and his head partly smashed in. Kaz’s arm was across his chest from where he lay face down like he tried to protect him. There was a hole through his stomach from her energy beam. 

Oliver was splayed further off, eyes wide with surprise and his neck snapped. A small part of her was grateful that his seemed to be quick. Bree was curled at her feet, legs shattered and strangulation marks bruised into her throat. Her gaze held no surprise. No fear. Just utter despair and betrayal with tears trailing down.

Skylar dropped to her knees, splashing the puddle. She gently pulled Bree to her chest, rocking back and forth. She was so cold, drained of the sunlight she always brought to her sky.

No. No. No. No.

“Yeah,” Experion corrected, leaning against the wall. He stepped over Oliver casually. “This was you. It’s what you do now, right?”

“No!” Skylar stood with angry tears in her eyes. She needed something to blame. Someone to.

“Really?” Experion nodded to her hands. 

She held Horace and Alan by their throats.

Skylar gasped, letting go and stumbling away. She barely managed to stop herself before going right over the edge. She glanced down. It was the apartment. Calved in half. All the people who needed her. All the people she failed.

“Face it, princess,” Experion was right in front of her. “You’ll never escape what you’ve done.”

He poked her collarbone, and she tipped into freefall.

She wouldn’t fly.

Her powers abandoned her once again.

Skylar let out a scream, gasping as she shot up in bed.

She took a few breaths to calm her spinning head, noticing the soft glow of Bree’s capsule in the corner.

Skylar stood shakily, seeing her outline through the glass. It was a dream. It’s okay.

She fumbled toward the door, needing to make sure her boys were still breathing before she’d be able to sleep. Her shadow passed Bree’s vanity mirror. It morphed.

“You’ll never be a hero again,” The Annihilator grinned. “I took everything from you. And you’ll never regain it.”

Skylar punched the glass, shattering the whole thing. She fell to her knees after, gripping her hair.

“Skylar? Oh my g-”

The sound of slippered feet caught her attention.

Bree grabbed her shoulders, frantically looking over her. She paused when she saw her destroyed property.

“S-Sorry,” Skylar wheezed out. “I’ll buy you another one-”

“Shut the hell up,” Bree barked. “Do you honestly think I care about that?” 

Skylar blinked.

She found Skylar’s fists, looking them over. They were unmarred, of course.

Bree sighed. She kissed Skylar’s knuckles, bringing them to her chest. A heartbeat. Warmth. 

“What happened?”

Skylar’s stomach felt tight. 

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“Nothing.” 

“Nightmare?”

“I don’t get nightmares.”

“Uh,” Bree stared at her. “Yeah. Everyone does.”

“I do not,” Skylar reaffirmed.

Bree scowled. “What? Are you too strong for that?”

Skylar averted her eyes. This was so much easier to sell with the others who’d asked her in the past. It was a mask simple enough to keep up. She had many. Carefully crafted and cinched to her face. Those always seemed to clatter to the ground with Bree.

“My little brother is one of the strongest people I know. And he has nightmares like you’ve never seen.”

Skylar exhaled.

“When will I get it through your skull that vulnerability isn’t weak?”

“I know it’s not,” Skylar muttered.

“Yeah,” Bree tilted her head. “When it comes to other people. When it’s you? Crying is a sin, isn’t it?”

Skylar deflated. 

Bree exhaled. She leaned forward, gently holding her jaw to kiss the bridge of her nose.

“Blech. Sweaty,” she made a face. Skylar laughed through her nose.

“C’mon.”

“Where?” Skylar stood, hand still grasped in Bree’s comically small one. 

“Let’s go check in on our boys.”

They were okay.

All breathing, all ugly nerds still.

Skylar specifically stared at Chase’s head and Kaz’s stomach. She spent an extra second watching Oliver. Bree looked at her in confusion.

“I was too distracted by the hallucinations to think clearly,” Skylar whispered. “I mean, I could’ve pulled both of them out. He might’ve been hurt even worse.”

“But he wasn’t,” Bree put her palm on her arm. “And you’re human. Well, no you’re not- point is: distraction happens. And everyone is okay.”

Skylar sighed.

Silence.

“You don’t wanna leave, do you?”

“...No,” Skylar admitted. “I really don’t.”

“Okay,” Bree shrugged.

She walked over to where Chase was bundled like sushi in Kaz’s comforter, grabbing the edge and yanking.

Chase squawked at the sudden awakening as he was unfurled and tossed, landing on Kaz’s torso.

Kaz coughed violently as he too was startled to consciousness and heavily winded. His voice was wrought with sleep. “Baby, what the hell?”

Chase grunted in annoyance, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.

“What?” Kaz groaned as he saw the perpetrators. He wrapped his arms around Chase, pulling him onto his chest fully. He snuggled in angrily as Kaz warmed him. Bree always found it funny how grumpy he was when he woke up. Skylar thought it was cute. “I was dreaming about marriage n’ shit.”

“He’s not gonna say yes yet,” Bree pointed out. As if Kaz didn’t notice from his bi-weekly proposals.

“I know. Let a guy dream. Literally.”

“Shut up,” Oliver whined from his bed.

“Cope,” Bree shot back, shoving Kaz to the wall.

“Ow,” Kaz complained. “Why?”

“Because we can,” Bree got in first, patting beside her for Skylar. 

Kaz’s bed wasn’t really big enough for four people, especially when two were as bulky as Kaz and Skylar, but with the siblings mostly on their larger partners, they made it work. Bree rolled over, encircling Chase’s middle with her arms and pressing her forehead to his shoulder blades. Skylar followed suit, putting her right arm under Bree and tossing her left across all three.

Oliver sleepily meandered over. “Why do I have to be by your feet?”  

“Join or don’t,” came Bree’s muffled voice.

He chose the former, integrating into the cuddle pile at the foot of the bed. Their little furballs agreed, circling themselves in the spaces between their legs.

Skylar smiled, settling in.

~*~

"Here's another one," Solar Flare signed as she came in, having been made to walk Benji the next morning too.

Gamma Girl took the envelope, scratching Benji's head as he playfully bit at it. A letter from Oliver. They both read it silently, smiling and chuckling at intervals.

"He's such a sweet kid," Gamma Girl smiled.

"He is."

Neither woman brought up the prior evening's conversation as they lay together in bed, a bottle or three in. A suggestion to renovate their spare for him when he was done in Centium City. They didn't want to overstep, well aware that he was still sore over his mother, and probably always would be. 

But Oliver with his freckled face and big heart could win anyone over. The offer still stood as an option. Maybe they should wait until they vanquished the traitor and his children. 

Even still, they, Horace, Sam, and Leslie all felt heavily protective of those three kids. Parental even, which was interesting- for all except Horace who'd adopted Skylar years ago, not to say he didn't feel that toward the boys too, normos simply had a lot of legalities.

They should visit soon. Solar Flare still felt the need to vet Kaz and Skylar's partners, though she was pretty sure Leslie had given Chase quite the shovel talk back at Mighty Med.

~*~

Donald paused filing his nails when the stack of paperwork was dropped on his desk.

“I’m getting tired of this, Davenport,” Whitlock said.

“Me too.”

~*~

"They're spawned from our deepest fears, Sky," Chase swiped his wrist across his brow as he worked. "Our insecurities. The darkest corners of our thoughts. It wasn't your fault. That's why I thought …he was here. Especially because Asshole McGee keeps telling me I'm doomed to him."

Skylar reached across the desk, setting her hand on his arm. Perhaps she should've asked permission, but Skylar was pretty known for her protective affection. Even if that entailed punching someone in the stomach as hello or noogie-ing harder than a jackhammer.

"Ah," Chase waved her off pulling his hand back. "Roman's a lot of things, but he's not stupid. He's probably playing me. Probably did some research. Trying to throw me off. For all I know, you-know-who got hit by a bus the second he stepped free from his facility. Best case scenario, in my humble and always correct opinion."

Skylar half-smiled. "Well then, Squirt-"

"I'm older than you."

"And yet not near as hot. Wanna have a flip contest?"

"You're on, darling."

"Give it your best shot, snookums."

~*~

“How is he?” Roman asked.

Riker slowly shook his head.

Roman sighed.

~*~

Bree watched as Chase and Skylar came from upstairs, dressed in workout clothes and laughing.

She tousled his hair as he kicked at her ankle. It eventually escalated to full-on wrestling once they made it to the kitchen. 

“You ever wonder why they’re so weirdly close?” she asked Kaz. He was reading an old well-loved comic and she was flipping through a magazine, toe to toe on the couch. 

“What, like the flirting?” Kaz snorted amusedly. It was never offensive or disquieting to the two of them. Both because they trusted them and because it was so laughably absurd, having been built out of spite in the first place.

“No. I mean like…” she shrugged, trying to find the words. “They clicked almost immediately. Yeah, they argue but-”

“They have an understanding of each other that none of us could relate to,” Kaz shrugged back. “They get the burden of leadership. The pressures of a symbol. The faltering identity at the drop of a hat.”

Bree watched Skylar grab Chase around the middle and flip him as he shrieked.

“They care a lot for each other. And care a lot about us. There’s another bonder, dealing with the three of us,” Kaz chuckled.

“Yeah,” Bree smiled.

The relative peace was shattered by the door shooting open.

A small shape darted in.

“AJ?” Kaz asked.

“Damn it,” Chase walked over, crouching and putting his hands on his shoulders. “What did I tell you about not wanting you to get involved?”

“Stuff that for now,” AJ waved him off. “Where’s Oliver?”

“Here?” Oliver said, walking down the stairs phone in hand at perfect timing. 

AJ hopped over the couch, landing between Bree and Kaz. He grabbed the remote, pale. “You guys gotta see this.”

Chapter Text

“Oh my fuck,” Bree summarized.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Oliver groaned.

There were reports across the screen. CCTV of the team robbing stores, vandalizing authority buildings, posing for said security cameras to make it extra obvious. The five never noticed, still boycotting any and all news for sake of staying sane.

One captured Kaz and Oliver in Centium City town hall. They noticed the camera in its grainy and grey view. Kaz hovered up, flashing a peace sign before melting it to oblivion.

“I’d never do that!” Kaz exclaimed. Skylar and Oliver looked at him. “I mean, like, yeah, I’d never trash a place, but I wouldn’t do something so cringey before disabling security!”

“And you’ve thought about this why?” Skylar tilted her head.

“No reason.”

“...Chase?” AJ asked, turning to him.

Chase was silent as he stared at the screen.

“Dude,” Bree prompted.

Chase inhaled. He slowly stood, face shadowed in his hair. They watched as he opened the dishwasher that Kaz had forgotten to run. He casually pulled out a stack of plates. 

Everyone exchanged confused looks.

“Damn it!” Chase shouted, throwing one to the marble, shattering it immediately. Everyone jumped. He tossed another. “Damn it! What is it all for?”

More ceramic busted.

“We work so fucking hard for these ungrateful pigs-” another dropped. “And then those damn shifters come and- nothing we do is enough! Nothing I do is-”

Chase gripped the edge of the island.

He let out a frustrated yell, chucking the remainder of the stack into the kitchen wall.

Chase leaned over the island, head in his hands. Everything was too bright, too loud. He felt like his brain might explode. He couldn't do this. Fuck, he had to do this.

The sharp silence from the others pierced through the static in his ears.

“Yeah, fuck plates,” Kaz agreed. “Who needs ‘em?”

“Kaz,” Oliver hissed. Not the time for what he presumed was an awkward attempt to lighten the mood. Kaz ignored him, hovering over. 

“You’re exhausted,” he muttered just loud enough for Chase to hear. He put his arm around him, rubbing up and down, kissing his shoulder. “I know. Why don’t you take a break for today?”

Chase opened his mouth to protest, still hiding.

“Just for today, mielasis.”

“But t-the mess-”

“We’ll handle that. Sweeping isn’t hard. You want help to learn how to take a break, remember? Go lay down. I have pain meds in the drawer.” he knew the glass shattering wouldn’t have sounded nice.

“I know,” Chase straightened. “I love you for that. And other things.”

“I love you for other things as well,” Kaz snickered.

Chase smiled. Kaz leaned forward to kiss his head. 

“Go on then.”

“...uh,” Oliver started as Chase disappeared up the stairs. Kaz kind of forgot the others existed for a second. “What just happened?”

“He’s taking today off,” Kaz pointed. “E.T., broom me. Gather around kiddos, brainstorming sesh commencing.”

“Almost all of us are older than you,” Bree reminded. 

“He’s not.”

“And yet,” AJ sighed dramatically. “My brain is so much bigger.”

“And yet, I’m gonna shove my foot up your ass.”

~*~  

“Well okay then,” Adam muttered to himself. 

He’d awakened to his family on him. Naomi was curled up on his chest. Otis II was in between his legs and stomach. Tasha lay under his left arm. He was like… ninety-ten percent sure they weren’t there last night.

“G’morning,” he rumbled as Naomi sleepily lifted her head. She babbled in response, burying down again.

“Morning,” Tasha replied around a yawn. “Sorry, sweetie. She wouldn’t stop fussing until I brought her in last night.”

“Oh,” Adam smiled. He gently laid a hand on Naomi’s back, using his other to pull Tasha closer.

“You’re here for a reason.”

“Yeah?”

“What is it?”

“To keep you company.”

“I’m not an idiot, Adam.”

“I am though.”

Tasha fixed him with a mom look.

“I dunno, man.”

“It’s because of Donald, isn’t it? You don’t want to leave us alone?”

“...No?”

Tasha continued glaring.

“Yeah.”

“Honey, you don’t have to do that. I can defend us just fine.”

“I’m not tryin’ to say you can’t,” Adam sighed. “Tasha, all we knew was family growing up. I need family. Because he took them from me.”

Tasha sighed against his neck.

Naomi gurgled something that almost sounded like “shut up”.

The two adults blinked. 

Adam tried to contain his laughter.

“That’s the last time your sister babysits her.”

“It was probably Chase.”

“No, I bet it was Oliver.”

“Literally any of them would.”

“I know. I lived there for a month. Those kids are mean.”

~*~

It was a hallucination. 

Chase knew that. His breath was caught in his throat. Sebastian stood in the corner of his room, red sleeves, angry eyes. Just like back then.

It was fake.

It was fake.

The dread built in his chest.

Sebastian stared right into him. Unblinking, unmoving. 

Chase swallowed with difficulty. 

It was fake.

He slowly slipped out of Kaz’s covers, padding to the door and keeping his eyes on him. Sebastian stayed locked in too.

It was fake. 

His trembling hands didn’t agree.

He wanted to find Bree. Or anyone. To snap him out of this and tell the small inkling in his head that claimed this was real to shut the hell up.

Chase had his back to the door, fumbling for the handle.

It opened suddenly, making him stumble.

He landed on warmth. Chase whirled around, locking his arms around Kaz’s neck.

“Woah-” Kaz paused. “Uh. Hi?” 

Chase didn’t answer, taking a shuddery breath. He was safe. Kaz would protect him.

“We, uh, haven’t come up with much. I came to check on you. Everything okay?”

Chase exhaled. The eyes on his back were gone. He glanced behind him. Nothing but the Skylar Storm cutout that seemed to migrate across the house, despite Chase chiding her to confine her stuff in her room. Maybe Oli stole it again. They had a bizarre game of keep-away with that thing. Keep-away that messed up Chase’s penthouse. He honestly wasn’t sure if Skylar’s biggest fan was her best friend or herself. “Yes. Yes. More than.”

“Okay,” Kaz shrugged. “Cool.”

He moved his hands down, grabbing Chase’s thighs to hoist him up. Kaz walked him back to the bed. Chase didn’t let go.

“Stay?” his voice was small. “Please?”

“...Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

~*~

“Ugh.”

“Ugh?”

“Ugh,” Megahertz reiterated as he and Tecton awoke in Mighty Med. “How old are we?”

“It’s just that Horace and the girls bring out the crazy drunk part,” Tecton laughed, suit a mess.

“Why the hell do we have hangovers when he drank the most and is prancing around in the simulator?”

He pointed over to where Horace was indeed doing a mean prance.

“He’s three-thousand something. Big tolerance.”

“I swore off water for beer when I created my parts,” Megahertz complained.

“Boo hoo,” Tecton mocked playfully.

Megahertz scoffed, rolling over.

~*~

“We keep going,” Chase interrupted the back-and-forth. 

“What?” all four turned to him in surprise.

“We keep going,” Chase repeated. “We have no choice.”

Silence.

Chase combed his fingers through AJ’s curls as the boy dozed against his shoulder. It was getting late. Early, more accurately. Chase’s internal clock told him it was seven. They’d been up arguing for hours.

“Dude-”

“No dude,” Chase interrupted his sister.

“But-” Oliver tried.

“No buts. We have no other options.”

“Haha,” AJ murmured sleepily. “You said butts.”

Kaz snickered.

Chase rolled his eyes. “For a genius kid, you’re still a kid, huh?”

“Heh. Butts.”

Kaz coughed to conceal his full laugh.

“Smooth,” Bree rolled her eyes, looking almost identical to her brother. They really were twins. Mean twins.

“Mature,” Chase tacked on.

“Ugh, someone else say something!” Kaz hissed to his friends on either side. “I’m getting DavenDogpiled here!”

Both of them wisely put their hands up in surrender to avoid becoming a DavenTarget.

“Anyway,” Chase raised his eyebrows. “Time to set out. I’ve sent the video to Leo and Douglas for analysis. So they can see if it's provably fake.”

“What about the anesthesia?” Skylar inquired.

“Also being studied.”

Oliver fiddled with his shirt hem. “Chase. I don’t like this. Why would they do that for no reason?”

“I don’t know,” Chase admitted. “Roman is twisted. Maybe that’s how he gets his creepy little jollies. Come on. We need to go.”

“Ooh!” AJ was very much awake now.

“No,” Chase brushed off his jacket, straightening it.

AJ pouted. “Can I at least stay here and monitor?”

“No.”

“Please?” AJ stared up at him with puppy dog eyes.

Chase paused, hand hovering over the balcony doors.

“Please?”

“...Fine.”

“Wow,” Kaz whistled. 

“Teach me how to do that,” Bree nudged AJ.

“Yeah, yeah, yuck it up,” Chase stuck his tongue out. He opened his arm for Kaz to slip under to fly him down. 

The others began stretching for their runs and flights respectively.

“Don’t-”

“Open the doors to strangers, I know.”

“And-”

“Make sure I eat, I know.”

“Oh he gets to eat,” Kaz muttered.

Chase glared at him.

“Okay, okay, jeez.”

~*~

“These games aren’t doing anything, Vickers,” Krane growled. “You promised results.”

“And you should practice patience,” Giselle shrugged, tapping buttons on her console. The capsules behind her were growing horrors. 

Maybe those were worth waiting for.

Chapter Text

“No,” Chase pointed. “The supermarket is that way.”

“Oh,” the boy about Daniel’s age stared. 

“What?”

“You’re not gonna like… laser my face off?”

“Wh-” Chase massaged his temples. “First, my older brother is the one with heat vision. Secondly, we don’t laser people’s faces off. Get off the internet, kid.”

With that, he continued down the sidewalk, pausing only to hand a startled man his wallet that had slipped onto the concrete.

He ignored the fearful look, passing him. At least no one had called the cops on him yet. Was this illegal? Technically, yeah. Was Chase fairly disillusioned with the law by this point? Oh yeah.

He blinked twice, activating his contacts. 

How’s it going?

Running from the cops :D

Kaz, no. Skylar said.

I’m too fast it’s fine

I’ll get him. Bree resigned.

Why are there so many old ladies in this city? I’ve helped like seven cross the road. Oliver added.

If you guys are done complaining, we got some big action downtown. AJ interrupted. 

How so? Chase asked.

Bank robbers hunkering down in the mall. Police on the chase, yada yada- Georgiano, not the vase!

That was poetic. Kaz noted.

Chase chose to ignore all of that. Send the coordinates. Everyone, move out.

~*~

Donald removed his fist from the wall and the new hole he’d just punched. 

The blips on his map.

He’d had enough.

~*~

“Perfect. Phase three,” Giselle hit her remote. The Elite Force copies geo-leaped away.

~*~

The team arrived at the same time.

“What’s the take?” Bree asked. 

“Chaos, largely,” Chase discerned from his scan. “Six armed robbers. A lot of civilians.”

“Let’s go then,” Kaz started forward.

“Woah, hot shot,” Skylar grabbed his bicep. “We need a plan.”

“Split up,” Chase decided. “Bree, Oli, Kaz, you’re on crowd control. Sky, we’ll handle these morons.”

“I’m always on crowd control,” Kaz complained.

“You went into a blazing apartment building,” Oliver reminded.

“To control the crowd.”

“Whatever you do, get it done fast,” AJ interrupted. “Authorities are en route.”

“Go!”

They nodded, splitting into their groups.

~*~

“Hey, kid,” Douglas interjected, walking into where Leo and Logan were chatting. 

“What?” Leo was confused at the pang of annoyance he felt at being halted.

“You know that plasma upgrade I gave your arm?”

“Uh. Yeah? I was there.”

Logan snickered. That made Leo proud.

“Use it on me,” Douglas grinned. “Because those fucking kids are at it again.”

~*~

Chase and Skylar dashed through the panicked mall. 

There were abandoned bags trampled underfoot, parents yelling for their kids, people screaming and running in all directions, some frozen in fear or confusion. 

Definitely not helped by the garish fluorescents or colorful downed sale signs.

“Follow the worst of it!” Chase shouted over the noise to Skylar.

She nodded. They passed an overturned Louis’ Pretzels™ stand and a ruined Tecton cutout, both of which would equally break Kaz’s heart.

Chase counted the stores as they passed, eye active for the heat signatures it was locked onto. 

He narrowly avoided barreling through a signature that was much lower than eye level.

A little girl about six, tear-streaked.

“I can’t find my mommy!” she wailed. 

Chase gritted his teeth, watching the robbers move further. Dammit. 

“Hey,” he crouched. “It’s okay. I’ll find her.”

“She doesn’t like you,” the girl sniffled suspiciously, wringing her fists in her denim dress. “She says you’re the bad guys.”

“She’s wrong,” Chase squeezed her shoulders. Skylar walked over, offering her hands. She helped Chase up with one, holding the little girl’s with her other.

“I’ll keep going,” Chase said. “Hide her somewhere safe.”

Skylar nodded, gently lifting the girl onto her hip and going to the nearby shops.

~*~

“This way!” Bree called.

No one seemed to hear her, still scrambling around like a spooked herd.

“I got this,” Kaz set a hand on her shoulder, putting her behind him.

He cupped his hands over his mouth. “Everyone, in an orderly fashion, head forward! No rush.”

The crowd stood still, looking around. 

“Okay, maybe a little rush.”

They passed the three heroes. 

“Wow,” Bree blinked.

“Eleven siblings,” Kaz explained. “C’mon! Aren’t there like-”

“Eight floors. 756 shops. Not counting the food court,” Bree listed.

“I’m not even gonna ask how you know that.”

“You know how I know that. I can navigate this place with my eyes closed.”

“Okay great, let’s go,” Kaz waved. 

Bree followed.

Oliver did not.

“Oli?” Kaz slowed.

“Hello?” Bree asked.

Oliver stared into the distance.

His blue eyes were wide as saucers, face slack.

“Buddy,” Kaz prompted.

Nothing. 

He and Bree exchanged looks, gazing in the direction he did.

Nothing as well.

“Oliver,” Kaz snapped twice in front of his face, a gesture he’d picked up from his boyfriend- which he was normally on the receiving end of. 

Oliver’s lip wobbled as he stared through him. “Mama?”

~*~

“The police have not entered the Centium City shopping center yet,” Linda Monterras said, straightening her papers. Tasha, like Donald, always received notifications for Centium City’s crime to keep track of their kids. She cradled Naomi while the baby slept. “We’ve received reports and sightings of the Elite Force fugitives inside.”

Images of each face popped up onscreen from press conferences. Now it made sense why California would care about some random chase across the country.

“Could they be a bigger threat than the robbers to the public?”

“I never liked you,” Tasha growled, muting the tv.

~*~

“Hey!” Chase shouted, pausing the ski-masked robbers a few yards away.

They turned in tandem, before laughing, bags of stolen money slung over their shoulders. 

“Yeah, kid?” one said mockingly, hefting his gun.

Bullets popped out. 

Chase tossed up a massive shield to protect himself and the people around him from ricochets.

He heard their hearts spike.

“What?” he asked, spinning his laser into existence. “Too pea-brained recognize me without the costume?”

The ones closest to him stepped back.

“Stand down before I eat your brains,” he cartoonishly waggled his fingers. “Ooh.”

He heard a familiar heartbeat, glancing up to see Skylar fly toward him. She touched down, squaring up.

The robbers sweat more.

“Uh oh,” she did the same gesture. “I’ll eat your brains, you better run.”

“I already used that line.”

“Dammit.”

“Sorry, buttercup. Let’s take them down.”

“After you, doll,” she bowed.

Chase snickered.

“Stay back!” the lead man yelled. He grabbed a teenage girl a bit younger than them by the arm. He pressed the gun to her head.

Skylar and Chase froze.

~*~

“Mom,” Oliver whispered again, staggering forward.

“Oliver, it’s not real!” Kaz grabbed his shoulders.

Oliver pushed him away, sending him feet back with his strength.

Bree zipped to catch Kaz before he hit the pillar.

Oliver stumbled forward, tears shining in his eyes.

Bree gritted her teeth. She materialized in front of him, taking his forearm. “She’s not real, Oliver!”

Oliver tried to toss her away.

She dodged, twisting his arm to throw him to the floor. Bree lay on top of him, holding steady. Kaz’s first instinct was to pull her off. He steeled himself. “Oliver, listen! It’s a hallucination! Your mom isn’t here!”

The blankness turned to anger. 

“Get off!” Oliver shouted. He slammed his skull into her nose, resulting in a crack noise and red streaming into his blond hair. “You can’t take this from me!” 

He snatched her wrist, smashing her against the ground.

Kaz gaped. He was using more force on their friend than he’d ever seen him use in combat.

“You can’t!” Oliver repeated, frustrated and grief-filled tears pooled further, overflowing down his face. “There’s no more black in her curls! You can’t take her from me! Not again!”

Kaz wanted to cry. He had to break Oliver out of this. And break his heart while he was at it. This was too cruel.

The wedding. Oliver’s screams for Horace to use his Caduceo powers to heal her after she vanished on the bridge. Him believing through the floods of his eyes and the physical pain ripping through both boys at the Arcturion exposure that she was able to be saved. That it wasn’t her choice to betray him. That she was still there.

He’d dropped to his knees, clutching the fabric of Horace’s dress pants on that ruined road, begging for the man to save her.

Horace had pure despair on his face. Watching the little boy he cared so deeply for succumbing to the agony of knowing that he’d lost the woman they both loved.

Kaz had stared at them, his own tears forming at seeing Oliver’s destruction before his very eyes. He’d hardly felt Skylar wrap her arms around his neck and bury in, hardly noticed the charcoal smell on her dress, the car alarms and screams below them.

The despondency after. It was one of the worst times in Kaz’s life. He always knew what to say to Oliver. On bad dysphoria days, when his dad missed out on scheduled visits with a lame excuse, when his mother was too overbearing, when he got an A minus on that one quiz. But then he didn’t. For the first time. It was scary.

And now, he knew what to say. And hated that even more.

“Oli!” Kaz called. He stumbled to his feet, tripping a bit.

He was ignored as Oliver continued staggering to nothing, stepping through a fountain.

“Oliver!”

Kaz reached him, grabbing his now-soaked shoulders.

He gripped tightly when Oliver tried to wrench him away. Jeez, he was not used to Oliver being the strong one now of the two of them. 

“Oliver,” Kaz repeated. “She’s not here.”

“Yes she is!”

“Oli,” Kaz’s brows furrowed. This was too cruel. “You know she isn’t.”

“She’s right there!” Oliver pointed to the upstairs balcony. Nothing. “There’s no black, Kaz! She’s back! Why won’t you let me go to her?”

He started hovering up. Kaz fumbled to keep his hold.

“Oliver,” Kaz murmured. “You know I wouldn’t lie to you. About stealing your Loopy-Loops, or using your toothbrush, or copying your homework, yeah. But not this.”

Oliver faltered.

“Please,” Kaz said. “She isn’t here.”

“...No. No! You’re lying to me!” Oliver yelled in his face. “You always lie, Kaz! About everything! How can I trust a damn word from your deceitful mouth?”

Ouch. 

Kaz exhaled shakily. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

In the next breath, he cracked his fist across Oliver’s jaw. Oliver fell from his flight, landing in the fountain again. 

Kaz hit him again. Oliver shot up, grabbing his collar. Kaz mimicked a move Bree had taught him, well versed in opponents physically stronger than her, and used his own momentum against him. 

Oliver gasped, breaking the water’s surface he’d been plunged into. Kaz ripped a banner down from where it hung, quickly wrapping it around him to restrain Oliver.

Kaz grabbed his face from both sides, forcing his head in the direction he’d believed Bridget to be.

“Look, Oliver!” Kaz shouted over the spray. “No one’s there.”

He watched his eyes slowly clear. He didn’t know whether he was relieved or pained to see it.

The fight drained from his shoulders. Oliver made a whimpering sound, whirling around and burying into Kaz’s chest.

Kaz held him there, swallowing his own sob. He liked to brag about his being strong when other people broke down, but that never was the case with Oliver. Be it friendship since diapers or unhealthy co-dependency, he always felt everything his friend did.

And god, this was anguish.

He thought about Chase’s scream. Bree’s red streaks on her cheeks. Skylar’s telltale signs of a horrible nightmare. His father’s disgusting eyes that reflected on Kaz’s face as he looked at the rippling water.

Whoever had done this to them, Kaz would hunt down. 

“Oliver,” he muttered, dragging his fingers through damp strands. “We need to go help the others.

Oliver sniffled, allowing Kaz to drag him up and unfurl him from the impromptu wrapping.

Oliver waved his hand, pulling the water from both of them.

Kaz hurried over to Bree who was on her palms and knees. Her face was streaked with blood, nose crooked. 

“I’m fine,” she brushed Kaz’s hand away. Gunshots echoed from further in. “Had way worse. We need to go.”

Oliver avoided eye contact.

“Knock it off, Junior,” she whacked the back of his head. “Let’s go.”

He blinked. A tiny smile formed on his face. They followed behind her.

~*~

Tecton sighed at his phone.

Damn it, Kaz.

~*~

“Let me go!” the girl cried, fear making her voice heighten. “Someone help me!”

“Stay calm!” Chase shouted. Both to her and the man ready to put a bullet in her head.

He heard three more heartbeats join them. 

“What the hell?” Bree muttered. 

Her face was bloody. Chase would figure out why later.

“Get back!” more weapons were brandished. Assault rifles, AK-47s to be specific.

“Don’t shoot,” Chase raised his hands in a negotiation. “Let her go! We can talk about this.”

“Get talkin’ then!”

“What do you want?” 

“A car. To leave. Alleviation from the cops.”

Chase flicked his eyes toward Bree. A gesture she knew. She subtly stepped back to get a running start. Kaz and Oliver did the same for long-range support at the cue of her moving. Skylar shifted her foot. Disarm them and take them down on his mark.

Of course things went wrong.

Thumping steps roared up behind the team.

Chase turned. The police. With heavy gear, riot shields, and automatic guns hefted. Good. They’d actually shown up for once.

“Elite Force, put your hands in the air!” a voice over the megaphone ordered. All five jaws dropped. Were they serious?

“You’re kidding,” Chase said in disbelief.

“Hands where we can see them! You have until the count of five!”

“There are actual criminals about to blow a kid’s head off!” Chase yelled back. “Are you kidding me?”

“Three! Two!”

Chase gasped as gunfire blasted.

He saw in slow motion Bree grabbing Oliver and geo-leaping him to the balcony. Skylar moved in front of the girl with her arms outspread as a shield.

Chase felt himself be tackled.

Time snapped back into place when he heard the unmistakable sound of skin splitting.

Several robbers had been hit. Chase didn’t care about that. What he stared at in horror was his boyfriend clutching his bloodied ribcage, having stupidly tried to protect Chase.

Everything turned to static. His vision tunneled to Kaz and Kaz only. Not the police reloading, not Skylar tossing the unharmed girl to safety in a nearby store, not the cries of pain from the assailants, not Bree and Oliver's desperate shouts from above as they realized what had happened to Kaz.

 Just him. The crimson seeping from between his shaking fingers as Kaz stayed with his upper body on Chase’s legs.

Chase stood, suddenly out of his body. He watched himself turn to the officers with a face so terrifyingly blank. 

His hands were thrown out, launching all ten to the wall with his molecular kinesis and crushing them.

He didn’t know how long he did so. He hardly felt his sister’s hands on his cheeks, nor Skylar forcing him to the ground, nor Kaz’s blood on his shirt. He didn’t know when he blacked out.

~*~

Kaz, Oliver, and Bree sat outside the interrogation room, hands in cuffs and confined to this sterile and freezing building. They watched behind the soundproof glass as their also restrained leaders were shouted at by two detectives while Agent Bechard observed.

Skylar seemed to be yelling back. Chase just sat and glared with a mighty wrath. Man, how lucky they were for that glass separating them.

Kaz’s side hurt. Bree’s nose hurt. Oliver’s everything hurt.

“I just want to go home,” Oliver breathed, sliding down in his hard plastic chair.

The armed guards keeping them in “check” didn’t seem amused.

A familiar metal whir caught the team’s attention.

Newly arrived Douglas walked past them with purpose.

They watched him slam his hands on the table, tearing the questioners a verbal new one. Agent Bechard didn’t falter as easily. 

Another passed the trio.

Whitlock. 

Excellent.

He shouldered past Douglas, leaving the door open.

“They’ve been dismissed,” Whitlock glared at Bechard. “Effective immediately.”

“We aren’t finished here,” Bechard’s smile never wavered.

“Yeah, you are,” Whitlock hit a button on a remote. The cuffs clattered to the floor.

He tossed the remote to him, gesturing the three out.

“You haven’t been dismissed,” Whitlock muttered quietly. “I’ll handle that. We’re even now, Davenport. Leave.”

Chase nodded.

Douglas took his family’s arms, guiding them out with threatening glares at the guards in a warning.

The heroes followed.

~*~

“Yeah well,” Douglas continued his rant as they made it to the penthouse. “Assaulting cops doesn’t help prove your innocence!”

“Leave me alone!” Chase yelled back. “I can’t handle this right now!”

“I’m sticking my neck out 24/7 for you!” Douglas waved. “You could try to not undo everything!”

Skylar, Oliver, and AJ watched on in silence.

“I said I can’t handle this today, damn it!”

“And I’m exhausted with you!” Douglas’s volume increased. “Now I get why your dad wants nothing to do with you anymore!”

Shock overcame Chase’s features. Regret wrote on Douglas’s.

Silence.

“Fuck you, Douglas,” Chase spat, shouldering past him roughly to the stairs. Probably to check on Kaz and Bree whom Douglas had just treated.

“Shit,” Douglas sank down on the couch. “I can’t ever do anything right. Either I’m trying to murder him or I tear him down. Father of the year.”

Skylar reached over, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Both of you are stressed, Dougie. Neither of you meant that. And you both know it.”

“He told me it was enough. Which is Chase for he’s overwhelmed and every word gets him closer to breaking down. And I know that.  But nope. I had to run my stupid fuckin’ mouth. That’s something I lecture Donnie for. Forget father of the year. Hypocrite of the year.”

Quiet.

“C’mon. I’ll make you a coffee.”

Once they’d left for the kitchen, Oliver offered his arm. AJ slipped under it for comfort. Oliver started the tv.

“I’m gonna whoop you,” AJ informed, taking the controller he was offered.

“I know,” Oliver resigned.

~*~

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Chase seethed, arms folded as he stood.

Kaz sighed from where he sat under his covers. “It’s just a graze, babe. You’re freaking over nothing.”

“Nothing?” 

Kaz winced. Ooh, he’d just done himself in. His speak before thinking habit would literally be the death of him.

“It could’ve been a lot more than nothing,” Chase’s volume grew as he began pacing. “I don’t need you to kill yourself to be my hero! I’m so much more durable! It’d take thirty times the force to harm me than you! Stop chasing your dumb hero high for one goddamn second-”

“I wasn’t chasing any high,” Kaz scowled. “I wasn’t thinking at all. My body moved on its own. Sorry.”

“That’s not good enough Kaz!” Chase slammed his palms on the mattress, eye to eye with him now. “Do you understand how terrifying you even going into combat is for me? You’re so reckless, impulsive, stupid, human- just, would it kill you to fucking try to not give me a heart attack all the time?”

Kaz blinked. 

“God, all of you are so fucking frustrating!” Chase sat on the edge of the bed, fingers tangling into his hair. “Why the hell do I have to be on babysitting duty on top of leading this dumpster fire through a war?”

“...So,” Kaz smacked his lips. “I’m guessing this isn’t about me?”

“It is!” Chase snapped back to him. Kaz jumped. “It’s about all four of you! None of you could survive a day- hell, an hour in my shoes! And I’m so fucking tired of this! I’ve been doing it since I stepped out of my creation pod! I just want people to try! To cooperate! Before I lose my damn mind! Is that too much to ask? I don’t need acknowledgment. I don’t need appreciation for working myself to the bone every day. I just want to be able to do what has to be done without the people I love being idiots and trying to get their heads blown off! Is that too much to ask?”

Kaz’s brows pinched.

“I can’t do this,” Chase buried his head in his hands. “I can’t. It’s the loneliest feeling in the world to have to carry it on your own. And no one ever realizes how much I do.”

“...Chase,” he flinched from his touch. 

Silence, save for his capsule’s hum.

“I’m sorry,” Chase straightened. Shit. Kaz knew too well that that meant he was shoving everything down again. “Forget what I said. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Kaz exhaled. “The only reason I’m in bed is because you made me. Chase-”

“Good,” Chase ignored him. “Why have you been so passive lately?”

“Uh… huh?”

“Stop agreeing with me. Stop bowing to whatever I say.”

Kaz swallowed.

“You do understand we’re allowed to disagree?” Chase muttered. “That that’s healthier?”

Kaz’s fists buried into his Tecton comforter. He watched them bunch up and wrinkle the fabric.

“You can’t be so afraid to regress that you do that. It’s so not it, Kaz.”

Kaz sighed.

“We aren’t perfect. I don’t think I want us to be perfect. I like bickering occasionally. I like you having opinions. Not you doing everything I say without question. Can you promise me to stop that?” Chase’s hand rested on Kaz’s.

“...Okay.”

“Good,” Chase leaned forward, kissing his forehead. “I’ll let you rest.”

His weight left the bed.

“Chase,” Kaz called. “We need to talk about what you-”

He was out the door, suddenly deaf in all his super sense glory.

“-Said,” Kaz finished. 

Damn it.

~*~

“That’s what happened,” Kaz finished.

The four adult supers and Horace stood in their living room. Douglas and the bionic members were somewhere in the apartment, probably arguing.

“Guys, c’mon,” Tecton sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This game is ridiculous.”

“Game?” Oliver asked from where he and Kaz sat on the couch, a cat in each lap. “What does that mean?”

Tecton faltered. “Nothing.”

“No, what does that mean?” Kaz crossed his arms. Georgiano hopped off of him, going to Megahertz.

“Fine! I just think you two should leave saving the world to the real heroes,” Tecton admitted, throwing his hands up.

Silence.

“Tecton…” Kaz whispered. He smiled painfully. “Oh, I get it. Nice joke, man.”

“I’m not joking,” Tecton closed his eyes, folding his arms. “You two need to stop.”

“What-?”

“He means,” Solar Flare cut in. “You two are normos. And we worry. Both of you could’ve been hurt. It’s not a terrible idea to come back to the hospital. And give this stuff up, right?”

“You’re not serious,” Kaz’s mouth was dry. “Horace?”

Horace turned his head away.

“We were attacked more there. And we’ve worked so hard to do this. You do understand how far we’ve come?” Kaz asked incredulously. 

Oliver stayed silent, drawing his knees to his chest and dislodging the fluffball. He also went to Megahertz.

“Kaz, look,” Tecton leveled. “You’ve lived this fantasy long enough. It’s time to come back down.”

Kaz blinked. It felt like his heart got stabbed through. Hearing his role model say this to him.

“I think that’s enough,” Gamma Girl interjected, glaring something fierce at Tecton.

“I just think if you aren’t born a hero, you can’t be one,” Tecton exhaled frustratedly. 

“What’s that mean?” Megahertz asked.

“No, Leslie- that’s not-”

“He’s right,” Skylar piped up from the kitchen.

“Skylar?” Kaz’s shoulder lit. “You don’t mean that.” 

“I do,” she reiterated, casually pouring herself tea. “You’re normos, plain and simple. Everything’s getting more dangerous. It’s not a bad idea for you to quit after living your fantasy this long.”

Kaz felt like he’d been slapped across the face.

“This isn’t just a fantasy,” Chase’s earlier words replayed. “Is this really what you think?”

Megahertz shook his head without hesitation. Gamma Girl shot looks at the others. Solar Flare clasped her hands over her chest. Horace developed an interest in the wall. Tecton and Skylar nodded.

Kaz spoke around the lump in his throat.

“I think you guys should go.”

Once they’d left, Horace hitching a ride on Douglas’s jet, Kaz turned to Skylar. “What, not you too? Fucking traitor.”

“Kaz, quit taking it personally,” Skylar put her hands on her hips. “It’s true.”

“Okay, shut up,” Kaz held his hand up. “You aren’t gonna ruin tonight.”

“Or maybe you should get some maturity-”

“Both of you shut up!” Oliver shouted. They turned to him in surprise. “Enough already! Can’t we just recover from all that shit in peace without you two assholes fighting for once? How many years have you been doing this? It gets tiring real fast! Both of you are immature!”

He stormed away, leaving them silent behind him.

~*~

Chase frowned from the stairwell after the heroes left and Oliver stampeded up the stairs, not noticing him.

~*~

“Excellent,” Giselle smiled. “We’re in position. Now it is simply a matter of time.”

~*~

Chase jumped. 

The electricity cut, backup generator immediately humming in Mission Command. What? 

He slowly stood, cautiously making his way to the hyperlift. It was probably a blown fuse. Call him crazy for being on edge after that day.

Once Chase made it to the equally darkened penthouse, the edge grew sharper. It was empty. Yeah, the sun had set, but it was only around nine.

Where was his team?

Chase walked carefully, summoning his bo.

Were they under attack?

A shadow flew out from the darkness. Chase immediately struck. It dodged.

“Woah dude!” Skylar said. “Chill.”

Chase blinked, adjusting his eyes. Normally that would’ve happened instantly with his bionics, but Chase’s exhaustion made it harder.

All four of them stood there, hands full of indiscernibles. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Chase rubbed his temples.

“Kidnapping you,” she replied.

Before he registered, he was tossed over her shoulder.

“Seriously?” he complained. “Did you turn off the power for this?”

“For the atmosphere,” Bree informed, walking beside them onto the balcony. In the moonlight, Chase could tell she had a blanket under her arm.

“You took electricity from hundreds of residents to abduct me?”

“Yup.”

Kaz and Oliver had already stepped off. Skylar followed. Chase didn’t love the new perspective, having only barely gotten used to normal flying. Being upside-down wasn’t ideal.

He fought the nausea down as Skylar landed on the roof. 

“Can you put me down?”

“No.”

“Guys,” Chase didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “I don’t have time for this. I have so much to get done-”

“And open,” Skylar set him down.

“What?” Chase was getting tired of this.

He blinked when he turned. The blanket had been unfurled, a cooler and basket placed on it.

“Tada,” Oliver and Kaz gestured.

“Your little nerd meteor shower is tonight,” Bree explained as Skylar put her arm around her shoulders. Bree’s went to her back.

Chase forgot how to make his mouth work. “...You remembered?”

“Duh,” Kaz walked over, taking his arms.

Chase covered his face with his hands. “I’m such a jerk.”

“Yeah, you are,” Bree deadpanned. “C’mon jerk, Dougie and Kaz made all your favorites.”

Chase hid in Kaz’s neck. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, baby,” Kaz promised, softening to his “Chase” tone. 

“You’re fine, man,” Oliver reiterated. “I hear you’re in the market to learn how to take breaks.”

“Food?” Bree prompted. “Hello?” 

Chase smiled, allowing Kaz and Bree to pull him by the hands to the spot.

~*~

“What’s that?” Kaz gasped, pointing. Chase turned. He quickly tossed smuggled beers to the girls from the cooler, hiding one for himself. Impressive speed. Oliver snorted with an eye roll.

Don’t you snitch.

“That would be a wall,” Chase identified.

“Oh cool.”

“I’m not deaf, Kazimieras,” he informed from where he’d been tugged onto his lap, reaching around him and revealing the bottle.

“Really?” Kaz asked. “You seemed deaf during our earlier talk.”

Quiet fell.

The others braced for his reaction. Bree was similarly sitting in Skylar’s lap. Oliver had paused with a sandwich halfway to his mouth.

Chase laughed. 

That seemed to stun everyone further.

“I missed that,” Chase explained shakily, still laughing as he kissed Kaz.

Kaz started laughing too. As did the others. None of them really knew why. What they found so funny. But it was uncontrollable. And felt great. Even the tension between Skylar and Kaz eased.

Chase found a note in the basket. 

I’m sorry, kid. I’m shit at apologies. But I made you food because that’s normally what gets me outta hot water.

I actually like spending time around you because your eyes don’t glaze over when I talk about particle fusion. I didn’t mean what I said. Not in the slightest. Remind Kaz that there are toothpicks in the sandwiches. Don’t ask why, just know I learned the hard way that he’s got the shortest-term memory I’ve ever seen.

Have fun tonight.

-Douglas

Chase’s smile widened.

He watched Bree and Oliver sleeping about an hour later, snuggling into Kaz’s warmth under the shooting stars. Kaz covered him with his jacket, kissing his head in an unspoken permission for him to rest, as naturally, he was a sweetheart and keeping himself up to not pass out during what Kaz had been planning for the past few weeks since Chase had mentioned the meteor shower. He was surprised none of the team blabbed. He was surprised he didn’t blab.

He and Skylar looked at each other once Chase’s breaths evened. Bree was curled up against her, Oliver’s head on her lap.

She lifted her bottle. He raised his, clinking them in a truce as they watched the sky streak.

~*~

Chase pulled off his goggles the next afternoon.

“Uh… hi?”

“Hi,” Skylar said. The four of them stood in Mission Command. That never happened unless there was a meeting. Was he so swamped to forget? He rapidly scanned his internal logs to see. Zilch. 

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah. By letting us help you.”

Chase raised his eyebrows at Kaz specifically. Kaz whistled inconspicuously “Oh. Okay. Well-”  

“Give me the heavy-lifting jobs,” Bree interrupted. “I don’t get nerd shit.”

Chase rolled his eyes.

He leaned his back against the rock wall.

Before he said anything, he straightened. 

Everyone else froze too.

Chase held up one hand for silence, finger to his lips.

Hands broke through the stone, grabbing his wrists.

Chapter Text

“Chase!” Bree shouted. She and Kaz rushed forward, grabbing the fists that had taken his wrists through the wall and desperately yanking at them while Chase tried to struggle out.

Skylar and Oliver shoved both of them away from the clearly fruitless effort, taking their place. 

She managed to undo the fingers’ grip on his left, causing them to disappear into the new hole.

Oliver planted his foot on the rock, gritting his teeth in a strain. He shifted, pulling Chase’s wrist instead. This time it worked, leaving the second intruder to do the same as the first.

Chase held the damaged appendage to his chest, falling into Oliver from the momentum of the release coupled with him throwing his whole body weight to break free.

Oliver caught him while Bree slammed her palm on the scanner. She and the other two stepped in front of them, squaring themselves… to emptiness. Nothing there. No one there. Just the tunnel.

“Chase, you okay?” Skylar asked. 

“Fine,” he waved. “Go!”

They listened, running into the shadow.

“Crap, man, I-”

“Don’t apologize,” Chase interrupted. “You probably saved me from god knows what. Do the fastest splint job you can so we can help them.”

Oliver nodded, dashing over to grab his bag.

~*~ 

Whoever it was got away.

Naturally.

It was a few hours later, with four-fifths of the team sitting on the couches doing a whole lot of nothing.

The hyperlift opened. Chase spoke as he exited, scrolling on a holographic tablet.

“The results came in-”

“Tecton finally won most popular?” Kaz sat up excitedly.

Chase stared at him. “No. The blood tests. Those hallucinogens are out of our systems.”

“Oh.”

“Please, Kaz, sound less thrilled,” Bree quipped from where she was hanging on the ceiling. Oliver shrieked, having not noticed her.

“Stop doing that, you psycho!”

She blew him a kiss.

“That’s great, Chase,” Skylar segued. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Chase said in his motherly guilt-tripping tone. Kaz grabbed his forearm as he passed, tugging him onto his lap. “This is so strange.”

“What is?” Kaz poked over his shoulder. He got no reply, but enjoyed the adorable little scrunch on Chase’s nose that always popped up when he was deep in thought. He rubbed up and down his thigh absently, using his free hand to support the tablet and take the weight off of Chase’s bandaged wrist. “So anyway, I got one hallucination. How ‘bout you guys?”

“Me too,” Bree and Oliver said in unison.

“You’re turning our traumatizing mystery drugging into a competition?” Chase looked at him, eyebrow raised as he messed with his ankle monitor again.

Kaz grinned. “Yep.”

“Oh. I got two. Suck it.”

“Is that a promise?”

“I’m gonna cry,” Oliver warned.

“Bawl then,” Kaz went in for a kiss, meeting Chase’s palm as he shoved his face away, back to examining whatever he was looking at.

“I got two as well,” Skylar challenged. “Do nightmares count?”

“No,” the others answered.

“So since we’re counting nightmares, that’s three. I win. Suck that.”

“Not my type,” Kaz shrugged. “Unless it’s this cutie,” he squeezed Chase’s middle.

“Someone shoot me,” Oliver suggested.

“Me too,” Bree seconded, coming back to gravity. “I’d humbly request you keep your horniness for my brother to yourself, but we all know that won’t happen.”

“Aww, you noticed!” Kaz gushed.

She rolled her eyes, whapping the back of his head before joining her girlfriend on the couch. Skylar kissed her head.

"Well, I'm sorry you guys don't have partners this sexy. Don't take it out on me."

"Excuse you?" Skylar demanded.

"How about we aim at each other?" Oliver offered. 

"Deal," Bree agreed.

"It's it not too soon to talk about shooting when I have a bullet hole in my side?" Kaz asked dramatically.

"It's literally just a cut, drama queen," Skylar scratched Georgiano's head as he sauntered by.

"You never let me have anything."

“Skylar,” Chase had his “leaders only” voice on. He frowned at his screen, putting his palm on Kaz's shoulder to stand. “Follow me.”

Her expression turned serious as she did so.

"He's even more uptight," Bree noted, tossing her feet onto the coffee table.

"Yeah," Kaz sighed. "I was hoping the meteor shower would help that."

"Well," Oliver shoved her feet off with a disgusted face at her putting them on a surface he used. "Maybe we shouldn't have glammed it up like we were kidnapping him when he's been threatened that by our enemies."

"Ooh."

"I did not think about that."

"And also he was probably almost kidnapped four hours ago."

"It's fine," Chase called from the stairwell. The three of them jumped. "I have super hearing, I don't know how you guys always forget that. My sweet sugar plum cupcakes."

"Ew, ugh-" Bree shuddered.

"I'm being less uptight," he informed. "And boy do I love my big sissy wissy-"

"STOP. I get it!"

They heard him and Skylar cackle as they made their way up.

~*~

“Something, something-” Adam chewed his pen on the couch, textbooks splayed on the coffee table. “Girl, help me out.”

Naomi helpfully babbled, scooting around the living area in her baby walker. Otis II followed her curiously. 

“No, that wasn’t it.”

“Working hard?” Tasha asked, coming down the stairs and straightening her cream pantsuit.

“Yeah,” Adam said. “I’m tryin’ to remember the words to that one Glitter Head song Bree keeps sending me.”

“Honey, there are no words. That’s the whole point.”

“Oh yeahhh.”

Tasha shook her head fondly, grabbing some of Adam’s toast. She crouched down to kiss Naomi’s curls. The baby shrieked excitedly, making grabby hands. “Not now, love. I’ll be back later, promise.”

“Goin’ to work?”

“Yep,” she stood, kissing Adam’s head from behind the couch. “And so should you.”

Adam ignored the “mom” look and point at his empty classwork. 

“I’ll be home before dinner. Don’t burn the house down, love you.”

“Love you,” Adam noncommittally waved, going back to his pondering as the door shut.

~*~

“See?”

“What the fresh hell?” Skylar asked, eyes glued to the holographic screen. 

“Yeah, I know,” Chase zoomed in further on the cropped image from the security camera downstairs. One of the hands that grabbed him was very distinct. Golden brown, scarred, and black nail polish with a small lighting symbol in the middle, like the girl who sat next to him. “It gets weirder.”

He double-tapped to zoom out, then repeated to focus on the second. 

“That’s your hand?” Skylar blinked.

“Yeah. Same scars and all,” he splayed his fingers to show. “You didn’t do it. We know for sure I didn’t.”

“Shifters?” 

“That’s unlikely,” Chase held his chin, tucking the tablet under his arm. Skylar raised a brow. 

“It wouldn’t make sense. I’ve said this before- what with Roman being their de facto leader on the field- He’s smart. Too smart. Playing with fire when he attacked me and then doing this for no reason? Utterly pointless. And stupidly risky. Lighting doesn’t strike twice. Unless it’s you, of course.”

Skylar half-smiled. “...What could it be then?”

“That’s the scary part.”

~*~

“Oh, come on!” Leo complained, being bested on the holographic foosball table again. Spin smirked, high-fiving Bob in victory. 

“You say a word and I put you on patrol with Perry,” Leo warned.

“A word.”

“That’s it, get over here!” Spin cackled, proving his namesake as he tornadoed away.

“Can I go on patrol?” Bob asked excitedly.

Leo peeled himself off of the pillar he’d smacked into while chasing the other boy. “You. Want to willingly. Spend time. With Perry.”

“Yeah, it’s funny ‘cause she throws rocks at the seagulls.”

“Of course she does,” Leo snorted. “Sure, man. Knock yourself out.”

“That’s her job,” Bob informed as he scurried away.

Well, that wasn’t concerning at all.

“Leo to the lobby. We gotta talk,” Douglas’s voice crackled in his earpiece.

“What’s up?” Leo emerged from the hyperloop, obliging to the fist bumps his students offered as they passed.

“C’mere,” his uncle motioned him over. “Just a sec.”

Leo rocked on his heels while Douglas typed.

“I heard what you said to Chase.”

Douglas paused.

“I’m not here to stone you,” Leo put his hands up. “Just to tell you he’s not upset. Because you haven’t answered his calls.”

Since you know you were wrong and still hide from that kind of acknowledgment.

Quiet, save for the beeps of the keyboard.

“Honestly, that may be more upsetting,” Douglas sighed.

Leo did too. It was at this very academy where Chase seemed to have lost that obnoxious spine that the family loved so much. Leo didn’t know why. He could tell Douglas did. And his parents. And his older siblings. He knew something happened. Something bad. And he wished Chase and the others would view him as an adult for once and tell him. 

You’d think having an actual infant would elevate him from baby of the family status. Nope. If nothing else though, at least Chase’s ability to stay mad was coming back. Which sounded crazy to be happy for.

“Look at this,” Douglas brought Leo back. 

He glanced at the screens, showing the camera schematics and blood scans titled “C”, “S”, and “O”, since Douglas needed to check each possible affected biology- bionic, Calderan, and human- to see what they were working with.

“Okay,” Leo prompted, crossing his arms. He’d already seen all of these, having partnered with Chase and Douglas to put their heads together over these seemingly random overlaps. That and scouring Vermont for the shifters' headquarters.

“Look,” Douglas repeated, zooming in further.

“Nanobots?”

“Like your dad’s, but better. They breathed them in with the anesthesia. There’s the point.” 

“So, the drugging was for…?”

“Sick pleasure,” Douglas pressed on a black dot. “What an insane assumption that someone hates your siblings,” he said sarcastically. “God knows how many worlds of enemies Skylar brought with her. And according to Doctor Diaz, the boys weren’t exactly scot-free either. Here.”  

Leo blinked at the magnified speck. The same signature. As the camera.

“A connection?” his heart spiked with excitement for finally making a semblance of a step forward in months. 

“Yeah. Call your brother.”

~*~

“Oliver!” Chase called from upstairs.

“Yeah?” he yelled back at the sink. “I’m doing the dishes!”

 Oliver heard his steps as he turned back around, rinsing the pot used for Kaz’s homemade chicken and dumplings- one of his favorites and one of the best of Kaz’s grandma’s recipes, in his opinion.

“What’s up?” he sensed Chase come to his right. Chase took the dish, using molecular kinesis to dry it. 

“Have you seen this mark before?” a hologram was projected in front of Oliver. A strange symbol. 

“No,” Oliver squinted, scrubbing the tray Kaz used to make Chase a vegan version. “I don’t think so. It looks like a “V”. I don’t know any prolific V things.”

“It was a hail marry,” Chase shrugged. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Oliver turned back to washing.

“Ah, fuck-!” 

He turned at Chase’s exclamation. He was holding his wrist, nearly dropped ceramic hovering inches above the marble via molecular kineses. Olver felt a pang of guilt.

“Smartest person, everyone,” Chase snorted, unbothered. “Let's put a giant pan on a high shelf using my sprained wrist.”

Oliver chewed his cheek.

Chase softened. “I hear that. Stop it. Not good for you.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s your mouth,” Chase hovered the dish to its proper place.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, and I think it’s stupid,” Oliver blinked. “Please, Oliver, feel terrible for mildly injuring your friend while saving him from unknown assailants.”

Yeah, okay, that sounded dumb.

“And we’re even, anyway.”

“How?”

“For using a n- …ah, drawing your blood. I hate that I had to.”

“It’s fine,” Oliver ignored the prickling of his skin where it happened last night. “You had to test it.”

“We’re both ridiculous,” Chase laughed, drying the next. 

“No kidding,” Oliver smiled, removing the water from his hands.

“...I do get what having a crazy intense fear is like, though.”

“Claustrophobia, right?”

Chase looked at him.

“In the mudflats. You told me.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you sleep in a capsule then?”

“Why do you think I’ve been using Kaz’s bed more?”

“Touche.” 

“Oh,” Chase snapped his fingers. “Before I forget, here.”

He waved his hand to pull a package over. The new binders Oliver had ordered -the safer ones- at Chase’s pestering.

“Came today.”

“Kaz opened it?”

“Of course,” they answered in sync, before laughing. 

“Take it easy today,” Chase ruffled his hair. “There’s nausea pills in the cabinet.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

~*~

Chase exhaled. 

He’d just interrupted the girls’ movie night to see what Skylar knew about the symbol. Nothing.

Chase stared at the blue projection in his hand as he sat at his desk in his room. V. 

He remembered the conversation he and Douglas had had about the virus. 

What if it was her?

The very idea sent bile through his chest. He should take those nausea pills. He didn’t bring it up, not while Leo was there, but he knew Douglas was fearing the same.

Chase stood. Might as well get ahead on some projects. His phone rang.

“Chase Davenport,” he waited. “No, I don’t have time to figure out his production line. My father is a multi-billionaire, he can hire someone. I don’t care what he told you-”

Chase’s grip tightened. He exhaled.

“Okay. Fine. Let him know I’ll start in about five minu-”

He was cut off by the door sliding open and device being pulled out of his hand. 

“Heya,” Kaz said, putting his phone to his ear. “Oh, yeah, this is the one he likes the least talkin’. Could you pass a message? You can? Sick. “Hey there asshole, stop being a lazy, whiny bitch and run your company yourself.” That’s all. Thanks so much, byeee.”

Kaz hung up.

Chase gaped at him. 

“Why.”

“Because someone needs to stand up for you against him,” Kaz shrugged. “And he already hates me, so. Nothin’ to lose.”

“Kaz,” Chase groaned, covering his face with his hands. Davenport would be furious. He felt a stress headache building. “Damn it, why did you-”

He was interrupted by hands grabbing his wrists, yanking him to the bed.

“Kaz-” Chase started, frustration on full blast through his tone. 

Kaz conveniently ignored him. Chase jumped when Kaz removed his sweater, pushing him face-down on the pillows. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Chase demanded as he felt Kaz sit on the back of his thighs and open a drawer on his nightstand. He ignored the part of him that wanted to sink to sleep, what with the soft pillows and sheets and comfortable warmth- no, he couldn’t. “Do you have any idea how much work I’ve got to d- ooh.”

Kaz laughed quietly, using the shea butter he’d pulled out as he dragged his hands over Chase’s knotted back. Kaz rubbed circles into his shoulders, smoothing down to his hips.

“Still want to work?” he asked coyly, leaning down to Chase’s ear.

“I- you- shut up,” Chase decided on. Kaz snickered, kissing his scalp.

“Breaks aren’t bad, babe,” Kaz continued. He traced in a heart among his other massaging. Chase smiled into his pillow when he noticed. “Why don’t you tell me about something?”

“We finally found a link,” Chase’s voice was muffled and sleepy. “Apparently there were nanobots in our system. Same tech as the camera.”

“Really?” Kaz asked, pausing for a second.

“Yeah.”

“That’s good,” he started up again.

“It is-” the last word heightened in pitch. Chase grabbed Kaz’s wrist from where his fingers were working into his upper left trap. Kaz removed them immediately. 

He scowled. “How long has that been there?”

Chase didn’t answer.

“Why haven’t you taken anything for it?”

Silence again.

“Tch,” Kaz reached over to his table again, pulling out a bottle of pain meds and water. He popped the lid, rattling a few into his palm. “I keep these here for that reason. How damn hard is it to take two pills?”

Quiet. The arms tucked under Chase’s pillow tightened.

“I’m sorry.”

The smallness of his voice made Kaz splutter. 

“Fuck- shit- no, I’m not mad at you-”

“P-Please get off of me. N-Now. Please.”

He was shaking. Kaz swore, climbing to his feet. 

Chase maneuvered himself into a sitting position, quivering fingers curled into the blanket.

Kaz felt his heart pull. He knelt in front of him. 

“I’m sorry,” Kaz said softly, cupping his cheek. “I’m so sorry. I’m not mad, baby.”

Chase looked at him for the first time, nuzzling into the warm touch. Kaz caught his hand with his free one before his thumb could reach his mouth.

“...Okay, maybe I am. I just- I want you to take care of yourself,” Kaz gently turned his hand, pressing the medicine into his palm. “I love you. And it hurts to see you suffer. Especially when it’s because you don’t care enough about you to do simple solutions.”

Chase sighed through his nose, swallowing the pills. Kaz handed him the water. “I love you. I’m trying for you. I’m gonna keep trying for you. Can you do the same for me?”

Chase took an unnecessarily long sip. He glanced back at Kaz. 

“...I’ll try. That’s all I can promise.”

“It’s more than enough,” Kaz smiled in relief. “Do you want to continue?”

“...No,” Chase whispered. “It’s vulnerable. I can’t do that.”

Kaz’s stomach sank. What had he just permanently ruined between them?

“Not like that!” Chase scrambled, holding his jaw. “No, not like that. I’m more than alright with being vulnerable with you- like, emotionally. But… when you-” Chase squeezed his eyes shut. “When you started having an angry tone- there’re little things. That can remind me of… bad memories. Being pinned down when I thought you were mad- it felt too vulnerable. In a bad way.”

Kaz stared at the floor.

“You didn't do anything wrong,” Chase stroked his cheekbones. “I don’t even know what can cause them. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Kaz swallowed down the guilt. “...Do you want my jacket? Would that help?”

Chase deflated a bit, becoming small again as he hugged his bare shoulders, sweater lost to Kaz’s abyss of clutter. “Yes please.”

Kaz slid his flannel off, wrapping it around Chase.

“Thank you,” Chase pecked his lips.

“Tell me any time I do something that makes you uncomfortable,” Kaz’s eyes were intense. But Chase felt safe. He knew inside them was fire, yes, but one of protection and love. Not what it was back then. He pulled on the still-warm plaid properly, putting a hand on Kaz’s chest. Under his jacket was a stained, ratty, and old Tecton shirt that he’d had for years, which Chase had offered to replace, being met with adamant refusal.

Chase flicked his thumb in and out of one of the moth holes. “Okay. There's the assertiveness I missed.” he received a laugh and a tender kiss over the bandages on his inner wrist.

Kaz scooted down the bed, raising his eyebrow in question. Chase nodded. Kaz took his foot into his lap, beginning to massage it. “Talk to me.”

“About what?” Chase flapped the too-big sleeves in one of his stims that Kaz loved.

“Anything,” Kaz shrugged. He’d like to distract both of them. The seed just planted in Kaz’s mind made him sick. That kind of trigger was very specific. If anyone had hurt Chase like that, oh, just the idea made Kaz feel like a volcano on its way to erupting.

“Chase isn’t my name.”

“Cool,” Kaz froze. “Wait- woah- HUH?”

Chase snickered, piling up pillows behind him to sit comfortably. “It’s a nickname. My full name is Chasen.”

“Like the whisk?”

“No, it means huntsman- y’know what, yes Kaz, I named myself after a whisk.”

~*~

Bree laughed against Skylar’s collarbone.

“What?” Skylar smiled down at her. They’d moved from watching stupid chick flicks on Netflix to re-binging the newest season of The Bachelor. She’d been interrupted mid-rant over how all the girls were way too attractive to stoop low enough to go with milk toast stubbled guy of the week.

“It’s funny,” Bree looked up, tightening the hold around her middle where they lay snuggled up with Chase’s holographic projector beaming onto the ceiling, way too many snacks scattered on the covers for the giant dinner they’d all had. Kaz seemed to be the only person whose food would actually satiate the two girls. Skylar scratched Posh Spice’s back where he curled. “My dad, he had an open door rule for when I had boys over. He roomed us together. Jokes on him.”

“Now that’s crazy.”

“How so?”

“The way you speak makes it sound full homo. Like we aren’t just really good friends.”

“Gal pals.”

“I’ll slide the ring on your finger and people would think it’s a bestie band.”

“Ring? Full homo?”

“Full homo.”

“Sick,” Bree had a slight blush on her cheeks at the goofy promise that held serious connotations beneath.

Skylar smirked, cupping her face to kiss her.

Bree wrapped her arms around her neck, deepening it.

They separated, breath puffing on each other’s lips. They wordlessly stared at each other, lipstick smeared.

Bree vanished for a blink, sitting on Skylar’s stomach at her reappearance. “Locked.”

“Good,” Skylar smirked, reaching up to flip their positions.

“Oh ho ho,” Bree smiled from the pillows. “Is that how this is gonna go?”

“Yeah.” 

“Try me, Storm.”

“That is the plan,” Skylar joked, dipping down to kiss her again.

~*~

Adam stood when he heard the knock.

He stretched, nudging Otis II back with his foot to stop him from bolting out the door.

“Yello- oh?” 

The team stood on their doorstep.

Adam broke into a grin, dragging both of his siblings into a bear hug. They had no reaction. He dropped them, giving the same treatment to the other three.

“Is Tasha here?” Chase asked, blank-faced.

“Nah, man, she’s at work. What are you guys doing h-”

They pushed past him, entering the living area and stiffly sitting on the sectional. Otis II growled, fur standing up. Skylar and Oliver turned to him. He whimpered, cowering behind Adam’s leg.

Adam tiptoed to the back of the couch, ready to do the Bionic Brother Toss™.

Chase grabbed his wrist in a painfully tight grip.

“Ow! Ow, sorry man, jeez-” he was released.

Naomi crawled up to Bree and Chase’s feet excitedly, having just been let down from her high chair with baby food on her cheeks. 

They looked at her. Adam watched her freeze, confused as to why she stopped. Then she burst into tears. None of them moved to console her.

Adam hurried over, picking the screaming baby up and rocking her. He’d never heard her cry like that.

“Woah, woah,” Adam bounced her. “What’s wrong?”

He looked to Kaz or Skylar for assistance. Neither showed any emotion.

The cries intensified.

Adam frowned.

~*~

“Guys?” Oliver knocked on their door frame.

Chase and Kaz looked up from where they were curled together quietly talking, with Kaz’s thumb gently rolling on his sore spot.

“What’s up?” Chase asked, pulling himself into a sitting position.

“Douglas called. He wants the three of us downstairs for a call.”

“Just us?” Chase frowned.

Oliver shrugged.

“Okay,” Kaz spoke around a yawn, hoisting himself up.

“You should really get a new shirt,” Oliver noted as they waited by the hyperlift for Chase. 

“Nah,” Kaz shrugged. 

“Why?”

“I like it.”

“Touche, I guess.”

Chase exited the staircase, now wearing a gray turtleneck under the flannel that Kaz was prepared to never have ownership of again. He didn’t mind. It was cute how wholly the fabric swallowed Chase.

The fireplace moved aside, allowing entrance. 

~*~

Leo blinked. “Uh… guys?”

Taylor and Logan paused to turn to him. 

“Who was gonna tell me my siblings were visiting?” he pointed to the hyperloop.

“Bree! Chase!” Logan called excitedly.

He rushed to where the Elite Force stood, hugging both. Leo smiled. That was adorable.

“Hi!” Logan stuck his hand out to Oliver. “You might not remember me. I’m Logan!”

Oliver stared blankly.

Leo walked up. “A little warning next time?”

“You know how emotional he gets when he sees you two,” Taylor teased, following him. “He’s gotta get all the crying out before you arrive.”

“No. I. Do. Not!” Leo gave her a face. She snickered.

“Oh, what the hell?” Douglas asked, finished with the head count for lights out. “What are you guys doing here? I don’t need more paperwork.”

Silence.

Leo and Douglas exchanged looks.

~*~

Skylar stretched, watching the sunset.

Bree smiled, snuggling into her side.

The roof hatch closed. 

“Oh great,” Bree scoffed. “Our three favorite interruptions.”

Skylar laughed, turning. The cats bristled, hissing before dashing to the hatch and jumping in.

The boys were stone-faced.

Weird. 

~*~

Oliver tossed around his yo-yo as he and Kaz idly spun in their chairs, waiting for the call.

Chase was somewhere working on something, leaving them to their boredom for the past fifteen minutes.

Speak of the devil. 

He walked over, grabbing Kaz by the shirt to yank him up, nose-to-nose.

“Have some respect,” Oliver complained, primed to turn around and protect his eyes.

Crack.

Kaz stumbled, holding his face.

Oliver gasped, shooting to his feet. He caught him, glaring.

“Chase, what the hell?”

“What?” Chase’s voice came from somewhere else entirely. He poked out from the tunnel in confusion, wearing Kaz’s flannel.

The Chase before them with his fist hefted wasn’t.

“Oh, hell,” Oliver breathed.

Chapter Text

“Oh,” Tasha blinked as she entered. “Hello!”

The Elite Force turned to her. Her littlest was wailing, eldest frowning.

That was not her son. That was not her daughter.

There was no wrinkle under Chase’s eyes, no sparkle. Her boy always expressed himself through his hazel gaze. Bree’s hands were perfectly still, unaffected by her bionics. Unless they suddenly slowed after nineteen years, this was someone else. 

Those weren’t her kids. Were they the shifters Chase talked about?

Otis II ran to her, nervously rubbing her legs in circles with high-pitched whines and sitting at her feet like he was trying to protect her.

Adam grinned. “Hey, Tasha, welcome home!”

He walked up to her, passing the crying baby and hugging them to his chest.

“Those aren’t my siblings,” Adam muttered in her ear.

“I know,” Tasha whispered back, rocking Naomi. “Call your uncle.”

~*~

“That’s not Bree,” Leo swallowed. Students had come up to see his siblings and meet the team. His sister wasn’t capitalizing and taking selfies, nor hugging back. His brother was much the same, stony. He loved all five of them, but he knew they’d accept signing autographs in a heartbeat. This team was drained of the warmth and closeness Leo always associated with the Elite Force. A quinate of best friends. Not the distant disinterest in each other and the surrounding fans.

“No. It isn’t,” Douglas agreed. Taylor and Logan frowned from the outskirts, seemingly the only others to notice the discrepancies.

Douglas’s phone rang.

He picked it up.

~*~

“Jeez, guys, do you even know what privacy is?” Bree complained, neither looking at them.

At the long silence, free of witty comebacks or mocking, the girls glanced at each other, then behind them.

Right in time for fire to tear through the cool breeze.

~*~

“Yeah,” Adam nodded, phone to his ear. He was subtly positioned between his real family and the intruders.

“Five?”

“Five pizzas, yeah.”

“Yes, five,” Douglas confirmed. “They’re premade. In Centium City. The authentic kind. Just there. Nowhere else.”

“Extra pepperoni. Pickup?”

“Yeah. Pickup isn’t an option. Deliver to Davenport’s Bionic Academy. That’s the best idea.”

“Gotcha. Delivery. Like half-an-hour.”

“Thanks.”

“Thanks, man, bye.” 

Tasha was comforting Naomi, leaning against the kitchen counter where Adam made his call. There were ten eyes trained on them. She did her best to ignore them, act natural.

Adam looked at her. She understood. Evacuate. 

“Hey, guys,” Adam called. “We’re gonna go downstairs to get extra blankets for tonight. Be back soon!”

He took Tasha’s shoulders, pushing her in front of him to shield mother and daughter. He whistled for his puppy to follow.

They made it about three steps before Bree materialized in front of them. Adam blinked. Did he need to clean his glasses? Did this thing have his little sister’s bionics? Was it actually her? Had they been mind controlled?

Before his abnormally fast thoughts continued, a punch from her blurred. Tasha somehow caught it, yanking out one of her two pistol-sized blasters and sticking it into Bree’s mouth with no hesitation. Adam saw the remaining four stand and stalk toward them. 

She pulled the trigger. 

~*~

Oliver suppressed a scream, backing away from the fake Chase.

The suppression failed when a laser pushed through his chest. 

“Chase!” he gripped his best friend’s shoulders bruisingly tight.

“What are you-!”

Chase cut Kaz off by dragging his bo up until it exited through his skull, slicing the intruder in half like butter with a horrid squelch.

Before either could make another horrified exclamation, Chase plunged his hand into the mangled remains, fishing out what Oliver expected to be a heart. As he began the process of expelling the food he’d eaten that evening, he realized it was a metal box, orange pulsing inside.

“Calm down,” Chase ordered, awfully relaxed after murdering a copy of himself. “It’s an android.”

Both boys exhaled, untensing.

Chase did the opposite, paling as he examined the technology in his hand.

“Oh- O-Oh my g-” he was interrupted by a blast from the tunnel, exploding the box and grazing Kaz’s shoulder, eviscerating his sleeve and slicing into his flesh. He yelped, holding the wound. Oliver grabbed him in worry. 

Chase knew that attack. They all did. Fuck. 

He raised a shield as more of Skylar’s energy beams shrieked out. She, Bree, and the remaining two boys emerged from the opposite wall, geoleaping in.

Oliver was pressing his lilac hoodie sleeve over Kaz’s injury, gaping when he looked up.

“Chase? W-What is happening?”

Chase gritted his teeth, spinning his bo back into being.

~*~

Skylar dove, wrapping her body around Bree and feeling her jacket singe.

“Kaz, what the fuck?” she demanded, shooting to her feet.

Kaz simply hefted his arm again.

Bree moved faster. She zipped into him, tackling Kaz to the ground. “What is wrong with you? Have you just forgotten the whole “I don’t want to hurt you guys” thing?”

Kaz didn’t reply. Bree pinned his wrist to the ground before he could raise it.

She looked at Chase for some acknowledgment of his partner going crazy again. Chase stared at her with more coldness than she’d ever received in her life, let alone from her little brother.

Bree was frozen from the surprise long enough for fingers to curl into the back of her t-shirt collar, lifting her off the ground. She kicked and squirmed, looking into Oliver’s startlingly empty eyes. Frost spread on his free hand, forming a spike of ice.

Before he could use it, Skylar rammed her shoulder into him, causing the boy to fly backward and release Bree in the process.

Bree was snapped from her shocked staring, catching her brother’s fist with her thankfully quick bionic reflexes. Skylar kicked him in the stomach, sending him back too.

“That’s not them!” she grabbed Bree’s arm. “C’mon! It’s gotta be shi-”

The hatch opened before they made it. Skylar herself climbed out. 

Both girls balked.

“Shit,” they said in unison.

~*~

“I need to reach Chase and Bree,” Douglas murmured to his bent-down step-nephew. “Adam and your mom have them too. They’re on the way.”

“Are they shifters?” Taylor hushedly asked.

“No,” Leo and Douglas answered in unison.

“They look like Marcus,” Leo frowned, ignoring Douglas’s wince at the name. “The way they move.”

“So they have geo-leaping, strength, durability, and who knows what else,” Douglas, ever the optimist noted.

“What do they want?” Logan muttered to their now-quiet leader.

“What if we funnel them into the hyperloop?” Leo whispered to Douglas. “The suction lock should hold them. It’s bionic proof. And we have kids here with Chase’s shield abilities if nothing else.”

Douglas stared at him. “...Yeah. Yeah, that’ll do.”

Leo wanted to scoff at the surprise, but he moved to his team, sliding his hand into Taylor’s. Both understood. Logan stood in front of them, blocking the forming EMP.

Fake Chase seemed to notice, pushing through the crowd.

“Crap,” Leo hissed. It wasn’t strong enough yet. “C’mon. C’mon.”

Logan swallowed as the android neared him. Taylor clenched her jaw.

Chase was less than a foot away, as the rest of the false team shoved past the enamored students. 

“Now!” Leo shouted.

Logan grabbed the light sphere, jamming it into Chase before launching it at the others. 

All five fell.

The students gawked in confusion.

“Put them in the hyperloop!” Leo ordered.

No one moved.

“Do it now!” at Douglas’s command, they slung the limp forms over their shoulders, piling them in. 

Leo rushed forward, hitting the lockdown combination. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Solace, for now.

~*~

As soon as the fake Bree’s head exploded, Adam whirled around, shoving his hand through Kaz’s face. Whatever this thing was twitched twice before falling limp.

Adam used his heat vision to disarm Oliver, literally, leaving just a torso and head. He took two steps, slamming his foot through his chest.

Orange spattered his clothes, looking an awful lot like blood. He ignored the sick feeling of murdering people who looked like his friends, wheeling on Chase.

“Adam!” he froze. Chase suddenly had emotion, wrapping his arms around his middle. “Please- please don’t hurt me! Not again!”

Adam had ice spreading in his veins. Memories flashed by as quickly as the emotions swirling as a tempest through his head. Losing control and burning a permanent scar into his cheek. Having the reveal that his “roughhousing” actually bruised him. Made Chase flinch at the sound of his voice. That he’d unintentionally been hurting his baby brother for years. 

His hands hovered over Chase’s back. Unsure.

“Please don’t.” 

Tasha had no qualms. She wrapped her free arm around Chase’s neck, flipping him over her shoulder and planting her high heel on his throat. Her eyes were cold as she tucked Naomi’s face into her neck to shield her from the mangled mess of her sister which was soon to be added to.

“Don’t you ever use my baby’s voice like that again.”

She blasted his head off. 

Adam wrenched his gaze from his little siblings’ fake corpses.

Wait. 

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Adam wasn’t the best at math, but he was pretty sure someone was missing.

A massive force smashed into him. He staggered, turning to be met by Skylar. Yeah, they for sure had their powers. This girl was like a damn freight train. That was new for Adam. 

Krane was the only one he recollected having the ability to give him a true challenge. Plus Marcus and the other… androids. These were androids.

Skylar tackled him, breaking a portion of the kitchen counter off and tumbling with him through the space, fingers digging into his throat.

Adam clenched his teeth, trying to pry it off of him. 

Tasha shot at it. The blast bounced off, ricocheting into and decimating a family portrait.

Great. Bree said the true Skylar was even more durable than Adam, meaning the blasters were a no-go.

His vision began turning white. Tasha in pure desperation tried to pull it away.

Adam kicked, making holes in the marble as he struggled. Otis II grabbed its pant leg in his teeth and tugged, trying to help. 

No way. Adam wouldn’t go out like this.

You kiddin’?

His siblings would make fun of him for losing in such a stupid way.

Making fun of them was his job as the oldest. And he was gonna live to do it again.

Adam’s eyes heated up, shooting straight into Skylar’s. He heard the sound of the chemicals in it sizzling as its body locked up. Adam snapped its fingers off, pushing the fake so it toppled to the side like a statue, still poised like it was over him.

Adam sat up, coughing and clutching his throat.

It took a bit for the ringing to clear and for Adam to notice his mother’s equal parts relieved and worried kisses peppering his face.

“I’m okay,” he promised.

Tasha straightened his glasses. “You better stay that way. Or else I’ll kill you.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good answer.”

Otis II climbed into his lap, while Naomi leaned forward in Tasha’s arms to embrace him, hardly spanning the width of anything on Adam’s person.

“We gotta go,” Adam reminded after a beat, helping Tasha up with him.

“I’ll start the jet,” she nodded.

“Since when can you use technology?”

“I’m gonna ground you.”

Adam chuckled, winding an arm around her and stepping over Bree’s headless remnants. 

The bay windows exploded.

~*~

“We’re gonna die!”

“I have to see the new Tecton movie before I go! The last one was terrible and this one should be worse-”

“Kaz, we’re about to die, think of literally anything else for once!”

“You can’t tell my life how it’s supposed to flash before my eyes-!”

“Both of you, listen to me,” Chase cut through their panic.

They paused.

“We’ll make it out just fine. Get to your feet. Now.”

Both boys listened, fumbling up.

“How’s his shoulder?” Chase didn’t look at them, arm raised to maintain the shield.

“It’s fine,” Kaz said.

“It is,” Oliver confirmed, knowing Chase wouldn't believe him. If there was one thing the pair had in common, it was self-sabotaging. 

“Good. On my mark, I’ll drop the shield-”

“What?”

“Are you out of your mind-?”

“I didn’t say you could speak,” Chase informed them calmly. Both aptly shut up. “We’re going to funnel them to the hyperlift. Lock them there. The technology is bionic proof.”

“But we have superpowers-”

“I’m aware of that. We’ll try it. At least there’ll be no geoleaping. We need to enter the tunnels and get upstairs to find the girls to make sure they’re okay. We can figure out what to do after. Is that clear?”

“I’m more worried about us right now!” Kaz’s panic was evident.

“You two are heroes,” Chase’s face was so relaxed when he turned to them, the passing thought of it being one of the androids occurred. He must have dealt with this stuff thousands of times. “Not cowards. No excuses. You’re going to listen to me and follow your orders. Is that clear?”

Kaz and Oliver exchanged looks.

“...yes.”

“Good. Take a breath. We’ll be fine.”

They did so.

“Three. Two. One.”

The shield fizzled out. Chase clapped his hands, crushing Oliver’s copy between two cyberdesks. He dodged the projectiles fired by Skylar and Kaz as he dashed forward. 

These things had their abilities. Skylar was by far the most dangerous. Then Bree and himself. First things first. If he could get to the serum in the wall-

Chase’s thoughts were interrupted by his pretend sister materializing with her hand flat out to decapitate him. He put limbo champions to shame, bending backward as the fake flesh of its palm grazed the tip of his nose. He stumbled to a clumsy stop, sticking his staff through Kaz’s stomach and calving it in two.

His real boyfriend let out a choked noise. Chase whipped around, seeing him lifted in the air by an invisible Bree.

Oliver stood there shaking and pale, seemingly unable to move.

Chase’s vision tunneled, remembering the sound of Kaz being wounded, skin breaking, blood dripping, in that stupid mall. Never again. He rushed back to them, ripping Bree off of him and throwing it into the ground, beating its metal face in with his bare hands.

He didn’t hear or see much else, nor register that he was dismantling the image of one of the people he loved most. Or the frightening way his brain didn’t work anymore, just anger.

“Chase, move!”

Chase stilled at Kaz’s voice. He watched him tackle the staggering fake Oliver aside, driving his flaming fist into its mouth and melting it down for scrap.

Things were going okay until Chase felt the back of his jacket be grabbed. His temple was crashed into Kaz’s by Skylar, making the room spin with stars and both go sprawling onto the cold ground.

Oliver paled, scrambling back as the visage of his best friend wheeled on him.

Fight.

Fight, damn it!

He couldn’t breathe, mouth going dry.

Skylar raised its fist.

Then stopped. It contorted to a horrible angle, crushing inward into a twisted position before clattering to the ground. Oliver thought for the second time that he’d lose his dinner.

Chase breathed heavily, wiping his brow.

Kaz limped over, holding his head. He cupped Chase’s cheek in concern. Chase nodded.

“Dense metal. Hard to magnetize.”

“Thanks for your help, Oli,” Kaz muttered, following behind Chase.

Oliver swallowed.

“That’s enough,” Chase commanded by the hyperlift. “Being an ass isn’t going to accomplish anything. Oliver, are you alright?”

Kaz averted his eyes, folding his arms and wincing at the exacerbation of the wound.

Oliver held his own arms, staying quiet and slightly nodding.

“It’s already locked,” Chase murmured, examining the panel. “Probably by my copy.”

“That’s so like you,” Kaz snorted. “Only you would beat you to a plan.”

Chase half-smiled. “The tunnels are our only option. And probably trapped.”

“Great,” Kaz smacked his lips.

“Well then, right or left?”

“Right. It’s my second favorite hand,” Kaz decided. “Ambush, here we come.”

~*~

Skylar wrestled herself, tumbling in circles. 

Once they stopped with Not-Skylar pinning Skylar down at the roof’s edge, Bree supercharged her hand, vibrating it into the fake one’s neck. It didn’t budge. She yelped, holding it to her chest.

Skylar glanced down, seeing the nauseating view of the street several stories below.

She saw her girlfriend get attacked by herself- this was so damn confusing- clashing in bionic speeds, faster than she could catch. Until Bree was knocked from her velocity, rocketing back into the Davenhead on the roof, because Davenport just had to have two.

“Bree!” Skylar struggled to hold her copy’s wrist above her face before the plasma hit. “Trade dance partners!”

Skylar cracked her copy in the face, dislodging it with a kick to the stomach. Bree was there in a literal blink, using her cyclones to funnel the copy away. Skylar caught Bree’s mimic, snapping the arms in two and electrocuting whatever circuits they apparently had, given the dismantled boys at her feet.

She swallowed, containing the awful idea that this was like her nightmare to the pit of her stomach. This wasn’t Bree. No light, no sunshine. The charred remains tilted over stiffly, landing on Chase.

She turned, seeing her fake keel over, imitation skin blown to bits by the wind and hanging loosely.

Bree dusted off her hands. “We gotta get to our boys, like now.”

~*~

There were dozens. Upon dozens. Of Elite Force androids, launching into their home.

Adam stared in shock as it all slowed to a fly-in-amber pace. Furniture being knocked aside, pictures broken, vases shattered as they charged.

Time snapped into place when he heard Naomi cry.

“Tasha! Lab, now!” Adam ordered, a rarity for him as he positioned himself in front of them, charging his blast wave. “Get to the hanger!”

“B-But-!” 

“I’ll hold them off, go!” he turned to see her. 

They didn’t say goodbye. No I-love-yous. No I’m prouds. Because that meant farewell, and Tasha believed in him more than anyone ever had.

She nodded, steeling herself and scooping up the puppy in her free arm, kicking off her high heels to run.

Adam exhaled. He listened for the elevator. Once it dinged, and they were gone, he unleashed.

~*~

“Both of you stay behind me,” Chase had ordered, hefting his bo. “If we’re going to be jumped by mimicries of bionic and Calderan biology, no offense, you’re royally fucked- simply without the durability or skill to win. I love you two, but it’s the truth.”

Kaz wasn’t a big fan of being reminded of Tetcon’s “real heroes” bit, but he couldn’t deny Chase’s far outranking of two random kids who touched a rock and got glowy hair-altering powers.

Now they carefully followed behind him, Oliver pushed into the middle and Kaz in the back, not so subtly informing Oliver that if he can’t fight, he needs to stay between them. 

“Damn it,” Chase muttered. 

“What?” Kaz asked, taking his shoulders from behind.

“My security system. Which I’m excited to rub in AJ’s face for how impenetrable it is, but torn because we’re stuck now,” he pried his laser against the heavy metal wall closing them off. Then moved to his molecular kinesis and magnetism. No dice. “And most likely the other way is blocked. Epic.”

“Fun,” Kaz groaned, deflating. “Is it too much to ask to just go upstairs and eat a cheeseburger?”

“Up there,” Oliver spoke for the first time since they began the trek. The other boys glanced at where he pointed. A vent.

“Good find,” Chase gave up on trying to use his forcefield for short-circuiting the wall. “But-”

“It means whoever is attacking is trying to make us go that way,” Oliver finished with a hefty exhale. “Who is attacking?”

Chase darkened. “If it’s who I think it is, we’ll have bigger problems soon. C’mon.”

Oliver hovered up to pull the grate off. Before he entered, Chase levitated in another act of a mockery to be discreet, gently nudging him away to go first. Oliver sighed. 

Kaz didn’t offer much sympathy, gesturing him in. 

Oliver dropped the grate with a clatter, crawling up. Kaz followed. 

~*~

The girls made it into the penthouse.

“Chase!” Bree shouted. It was quiet. Calm. Far too calm for living with three boys left unsupervised for a few hours. The lights were off, not abnormal with Chase pointedly flicking them off when someone forgot to and giving them “mom” looks.

“Kaz! Oli!” Skylar cupped her hands over her mouth, walking further in. “Chase?”

They exchanged looks. 

“Oliver!” Bree yelled again. “Kaz!”

“Chase at least should’ve heard us,” Skylar scowled.

“What does that mean?”

“I dunno. Stay ready.”

They stepped further, back to back and with bated breath. 

A shadow flew out of the staircase. Skylar caught it, flipping it over her shoulder. 

Chase. He landed on his feet, charging her with his bo.

“Stop!” Bree shouted, throwing her hands out. “Stop! That’s him!”

Both parties paused.

“Bree? Sky?”

“Oh thank Drekk,” Skylar exhaled, yanking him into a bear hug.

“R-Ribs-” Chase choked.

“Sorry,” she set him down for Bree’s somehow stronger hug to take over. “Where are the boys?”

“It’s safe to c-come out n- OW!” Chase called, still being squeezed.

Kaz and Oliver slowly poked out from the wall. Both literally flew at Skylar. She caught them, breathing for the first time.

“How’d you know from the half a second?” Skylar glanced at Bree.

“We’re twins,” she said casually. Chase snorted, chin placed on her head.

 Skylar smiled, looking back at the other two. “...so we had the worst fuckin’ date, man.”

“Us too,” Kaz agreed. 

“Imitation androids?” Chase asked.

“So they were androids,” Bree said. “Yeah. What’s going on?” 

“...we need to call Douglas.”

“Oli, what’s wrong?” Skylar questioned as Chase attempted to pull up a screen, checking Kaz’s busted shoulder in the meantime.

“He froze up and left us to get killed,” Kaz grunted, brushing her off.

Oliver looked away.

“Kaz,” Chase lectured. “That’s not fair. Leave it be. I’ll handle it later.”

Kaz scoffed, turning away. Oliver didn’t seem thrilled about being handled later. Not that they’d blame him, Chase was scarier than any jabs Kaz could conjure.

“I can’t reach him,” Chase sighed. “This is getting annoying.”

Before anyone said anything else, the balcony doors shattered.

“Again?” Chase demanded. “Seriously?”

“There’s more?” Skylar’s fists crackled to life.

“Who cares about that, my fucking doors-”

He was cut off by a Skylar emerging from the shadows, grabbing both bionic heroes by the face. Electricity shrieked from its palms.

~*~

Tasha drove the heel of her shoe into the eye of a fake Oliver, stabbing the other one into its mouth, and dashing barefoot through the lab to the hanger.

She made it to the big black doors, ascending a spiral staircase, knocking a Kaz off in the process. She stopped, taking a knee to set her baby on and drawing both blasters, riddling the copy of her son-in-law to be with holes.

She shot another Oliver, climbing onto a jet she prayed was a fast one.

Normally she had her husband or one of her younger sons to tell her how to start these things, but she did her best.

Her best being pushing buttons until something changed.

It worked beautifully as the craft shuddered to life.

She buckled Naomi into a seat in the back, telling Otis II, skittish as the poor little guy was from it all, to stay where he was set beside the baby. He understood, crawling onto her tiny legs and sitting protectively.

C’mon, Adam.

She had faith, sure. He was the staple strongest of the family. He’d be fine. But they didn’t have all day.

Tasha pulled a level to open the hanger doors, revealing the beautiful Californian sky.

C’mon, Adam!

Like summoning, a dust cloud billowed behind them. Tasha saw Adam stumble to his feet from where he’d been thrown.

“Adam!” Tasha shouted into the loudspeaker. “Come on!”

“Start it!” Adam yelled over the chaos.

“Are you crazy?”

“Trust me!”

Tasha gritted her teeth.

She pulled it forward as Donald’s platforms rotated vehicles to clear her path.

Her stomach flipped, watching her son be dogpiled by copies of the kids.

He broke out, sending them flying. 

“Adam!”

“Go!” he grabbed another plane by its tail, tossing it into the mob.

She slammed her foot on the gas, shooting out.

Tasha saw a minuscule version of Adam run out the doors, managing to force them closed in strength that never failed to impress. His heat vision sealed the fissure, trapping their assailants. Tasha blinked. Was it a poor look on her as a mother to be surprised he came up with that? Maybe. For someone who isn’t Adam. Chase would be proud. She should tell him.

Tasha shook the errant thought, bringing the machine back around. Adam used his strength to jump, somersaulting into the open door. He closed it behind him, taking a second.

“Island?”

“Island,” Tasha released the breath she was holding. “Call your uncle.”

~*~

Kaz and Skylar rammed into the android without a second thought, toppling it. Skylar tore the head off.

They stilled for a heartbeat, before going to their respective partners.

Chase twitched in Kaz’s arms. Kaz pushed his hair from his grimaced face, worry evident on his own.

“O-Okay-” Chase jolted again. “Okay. Stu- St- Stupid ligh-ighting. N-No offense.”

Skylar waved him off, cradling Bree who was in much of the same state.

They had no time to breathe. Their front door was crashed down, followed by the wall it was attached to. Hordes of androids poured in.

Damn it.

“Go!” Chase ordered. “You three! Now!”

“What-?”

“Now!” Chase cut Kaz off, pushing away.

Oliver scooped Bree up, running to the balcony and stepping off.

“Kaz, listen to me!”

Kaz swore, following.

Skylar dragged Chase to his feet.

“On my count,” Chase’s eye lit. 

She nodded.

He furiously calculated, scanning each biorhythm and waiting for the perfect amount.

Almost.

Almost.

“Now!”

Skylar shoved him behind her, extending her arms to clap.

A gust erupted from the force, knocking the androids back.

“Go!”

Skylar did, hopping the rail. Oliver passed Bree to her.

“Chase, come on!”

Chase backed away, shield raised to fill the length of the room.

“Chase!”

He gritted his teeth, continuing to back toward them.

The small of Chase’s back hit the rail. He took a breath, drawing his arms back. He thrusted them forth, sending the shield and copies flying further into the penthouse.

He clumsily jumped back into Oliver’s arms, who caught him just as clumsily.

They flew a few hundred yards away, watching the recently reformed hole in the balcony entrance.

It was dark. Quiet. Undisturbed. 

Until it wasn’t.

The fake heroes flew out like a swarm of bugs, Brees zipping down the building to follow them from the streets, Chases jumping roof to roof.

“Of course they can fly,” Chase blew a hair from his face. “You guys fly faster!”

~*~

“Douglas!” Chase repeated. His uncle’s visage finally fizzled in through the static. 

“Is that you, kid? Like really you?”

“They’re there too?” Chase’s mouth dropped open.

“And flooding the house,” Leo added, appearing on the left. “Mom and Adam escaped with Otis II and Naomi. They’re flying here now. Are you guys okay? And in Centium City?”

“Yes,” Chase raised his voice over the wind. “The penthouse is swarmed too.”

“Get here,” Douglas decided. “We need to get to the bottom of this.”

“Is D- Mr. Davenport okay?”

“He’s fine. Untouched.”

Chase exhaled a sigh of relief. “Okay. We’re on our way.”

He spat the whipping blond hair out of his mouth, calling three new faces.

“Uh. Hello?”

“Mr. Diaz, is everything okay at the hospital?” Chase asked.

“Yes?”

“What about you guys?” Oliver addressed the other supers.

“We’re fine,” Kaz seemed less than thrilled at hearing Tecton’s voice. “What’s happening?”

“Stay vigilant,” Chase informed. “You could be in danger.”

They all nodded after a brief pause, clicking the call off.

“I’m sending the wormhole transporter to your location,” Horace said. “It’ll get you where you’re going faster.”

His screen clicked off. The machine appeared in front of Kaz. He nearly fumbled, managing to get a grip on it.

They stopped their movements, clustering together to teleport.

Chapter Text

“Adam!” Chase cried, seeing his mountain of a brother first for obvious reasons once they landed in the lobby. He and Bree started forward.

“Wait!” Adam brandished the wrench he’d pulled from the desk to play with while Leo and the adults talked boring science stuff. “How do I know you’re the real ones?”

Silence.

“Are you fucking stupid?” they said in unison.

Silence.

“There they are,” Tasha smiled.

“Without a doubt,” Douglas agreed.

“Oh yeah, that’s them,” Leo confirmed, standing to join the hug they’d been yanked into.

Tasha made her way over with open arms when the three were released, followed by Douglas.

As Adam squeezed the life out of the other two boys, Tasha did her own version, peppering her kids’ faces with kisses, smudging lipstick all over.

The chain continued, Douglas taking her place as she ferociously attacked Kaz and Oliver. Adam and Skylar had a hugging contest for a beat, seeing who could squeeze harder as probably the only people in existence who could handle maximum huggage from the other.

Once Douglas finished ruffling their already mussed hair, a loud gasp occurred.

“Bree!”

Bree squealed excitedly, opening her arms for Taylor to run into. Taylor picked the smaller girl up, spinning her around.

“I’m here too,” Chase snorted.

“Oh, hi!”

“Little late,” he lightly shoved Taylor’s face, causing her to drop Bree to attack him.

Bree was pretty soon tackled and lifted again. 

“Hey, it’s my favorite little dumbass!” she smiled, ruffling Logan’s hair. Adam made a heartbroken noise, lasering off the ankle monitors. “Second favorite.”

“Thank god it’s actually you!” Logan was out of breath as he set her down. “I liked the meanness versus being boring.”

“Thanks,” Bree rolled her eyes.

“There it is!”

Taylor stopped aggressively tickling Chase on the ground for him to stand up. And get immediately bowled over.

“Ow,” Chase laughed. “Hey buddy.”

Leo smiled. 

Tasha caught it, having unearthed herself from kissing Skylar’s bent-down head.

He shot her a glare. She smirked, putting her hands up.

Logan stood, looking at the other three suspiciously. He walked up to Oliver, sticking his hand out with narrowed eyes.

Oliver blinked in confusion, shaking it.

Logan grinned. “Can I hug you guys? I’m a hugger.”

“Uh-”

“Get in here, big guy,” Kaz confirmed.

Logan did so, lifting both of them.

After which, Leo strolled up, doing their secret handshake with Kaz. “What have you guys been up to?”

“Abject terror. Home invasion. Light murder. Typical Tuesday.”

Kaz and Leo grinned at each other, having an easy connection that others might find strange or unconventional. They clicked too well. In a “might accidentally commit arson” way.

“Where is everyone?” Bree inquired.

“In the dorms,” Leo answered, slinging an arm around Kaz’s shoulders. “Getting rest for now.”

Douglas messed with his mechanical appendages. “We need to talk. Figure out a game plan.”

Chase nodded. He and Douglas started off. Leo began to follow.

“Just Chase,” Douglas reiterated.

Leo frowned, stepping back.

~*~

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“What the fuck is your deal?” Bree sank down next to Kaz, crouching against the wall.

“Huh?”

“You’re acting so weirdly,” Bree continued. “You haven’t bickered with me for like, weeks. And then you got mad at Oliver for your petty bitch reasons like you used to. And now you’re all quiet again.”

Kaz sighed. “...It’s nothing.”

“Jeez, dude, just be a person again. Get mad. Be annoying. Stop worrying about relapsing.”

Kaz said nothing, staring at the training room’s floor.

“Kaz, c’mon,” Bree shoved his shoulder. “I’m brash. I’m loud. And it makes me me. Chase already told you he doesn’t like the meekness. It’s not you. And is way less healthy.”

She received a snort at the fact that Chase told her about their conversation. Keeping those twins from blabbing to each other was a Herculean task. 

Kaz chewed his cheek. “...I just… I can’t go back. I was just… angry. All the time. I hurt everyone I love. Physically when it comes to him. And almost physically with you and Oliver. Hell, if Sky wasn’t Calderan, who’s to say I wouldn’t have injured her too?”

Bree softened.

“And on… on the terrace. I almost hurt Oliver again. Stupidly thinking he invited that bastard in with open arms. And getting upset again today, it was scary.”

“You were stressed in those,” Bree put her hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not an excuse,” Kaz clenched his fist. “Yeah, I’m furious with him for locking up. Chase could’ve died. But… I know he’s got a lot of shit internally.”

“Don’t we all?” Bree exhaled, sitting fully.

Silence. 

“For the record,” Kaz snorted. “You are brash and loud. But I love that. One of your few redeeming qualities.”

“There he is! The jackass who’s the bane of my existence!”

“At your service,” Kaz mock-bowed.

~*~

“I wish they were copies of anyone else,” Adam sighed to himself.

“What?” Skylar asked. The two were patrolling the roof.

“Nothin’. Okay, somethin’.”

Skylar walked over, tilting her head inquisitively. 

“...I did a lot. That I’m not proud of. To Chase. Because the piece of shit who raised us never told me it was wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

Adam sighed again, squeezing his eyes shut. The first time Chase finally admitted that his bruises weren’t from bullies, but Adam, who was meant to be his protector, stayed in his sight no matter how hard he closed them. 

“I roughhoused. That’s what I thought it was, at least. I hit him. Threw him into steel walls. All kinds of stuff. He just took it. Only told me in therapy that it was me that left all those purpley splotches on his arms. Because I thought it was fine.”

Skylar frowned. “You didn’t know any better, man.”

“I know,” Adam exhaled. “That’s what Chase told me. The three of us have learned the hard way that a whole lot of things we’ve done or experienced weren’t normal. And it makes sense why Davenport told me to tone down in front of Tasha. Because she would know that it was wrong.”

“Jeez,” Skylar huffed. “Why’d he do that.”

“Probably to keep the dynamic of the team up,” Adam glared into the gray sky. “With Chase and I always competing. Because he’s weaker than me, and I’m dumber than him, so it was probably supposed to keep it that way.”

“Asshole.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.”

Silence. The creatures on the island were even quiet, like they sensed the foreboding tension the people could.

“How about you?”

“Hm?”

“How about you?” Adam repeated, turning to lean his back on the rail. Skylar raised a brow. “We’re pretty equal in “can accidentally destroy loved ones” territory.”

Skylar chewed her lip. “I did… stupid things when I was young. Hurt people I cared about. And with those damn hallucinations, I thought I hurt my team too. Plus losing focus and leaving my best friend in a nearly collapsed building was just…”

Silence once more.

“Y’know what Bree tells me?” 

“What?” Skylar exhaled through her nose.

“It’s not the muscle that makes us strong. It’s the control we have most times to be gentle. That’s true power, or some other mushy gross thing.”

Skylar smiled. She punched his shoulder. “I like you. If we survive this thing, how about some pizza?”

“If you’re paying,” Adam grinned back.

~*~

“Just Chase,” Leo muttered. 

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Oliver shrugged, helping Leo at the console. They’d just sent Perry, the two dogs, and Naomi back to the mainland before impending doom decided to strike, hiding them at Rose’s home since the mansion was obviously not an option. Douglas had gotten the message to Daniel and his adopted family to seek shelter there as well, just in case. Leo had tried his hardest to send his mother back too. She refused.

“What’s up with you, dude?” Leo asked. “You’re all spacey and quiet.”

He didn’t know Oliver that well, sure. But spending those weeks at the penthouse and sharing his room at the Mission Creek house made Leo pretty positive he was acting weird.

“...Kaz is mad at me.”

“I noticed. Why?”

“Because I… froze up. He and Chase were in danger, but when it came down to it, I did nothing. They had to save me.”

Leo sighed. “Battle jitters. I get it.”

“I used to attack supervillains as a normo with zero experience,” Oliver held his arms. “I’ve become a coward.”

“Don’t say that,” Leo interrupted. “It’s hard. To keep up a standard. Or get credit for trying.”

Just Chase.

“Anyway. Not your fault. You need to build confidence again.”

“Yeah… I guess.”

They continued in easier quiet.

“Leo!” Kaz waved as he and Bree walked up. “...Oliver.”

Oliver looked away.

“Hey,” Leo shared a fist bump. 

“Any ETA on nerdville?” Bree asked, hands on her hips. 

Leo would like to be a part of nerdville. “No. Still talking. Stop it, Kaz. I can hear you glaring.”

Kaz huffed, crossing his arms.

“When I said be petty, I didn’t mean this petty,” Bree rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, well. I’m not gonna be all gung ho with the guy that could’ve gotten my boyfriend killed.”

“He wasn’t trying to, buddy,” Leo exhaled.

“Yeah. Chill,” Bree seconded.

Kaz muttered some reply, stalking off.

“Leo, c’mere,” Bree gestured.

He followed suspiciously. 

“What the fuck is with you?”

“Language.”

“Fuck. Shit. Piss. Bitch.”  

“You suck.”

“Language,” Bree gasped, hand to her heart.

Leo rolled his eyes.

“So.”

“Nothing’s happening,” he stuffed his hands in his uniform’s pockets.

She looked him up and down. Damned sister intuition.

“Everyone to the training room for debriefing.”

Saved by the Chase.

He pointed at the intercom, scuttling away from his unconvinced sister.

~*~ 

Chase and Douglas stood before the gathered students. Leo was further off, bathed in the shadow of the platform.

“Our enemies have successfully replicated the physiology and powers of my team and I,” Chase’s hands were firmly clasped behind his back. “You all remember the earlier incident today. Our penthouse and the home in Mission Creek were attacked too. The only logical step is to prepare for an onslaught here.”

All the targets, corralled in one place.

Leo rubbed his arm, trying to ignore how keyed in everyone was to his brother. He knew Chase was a fantastic leader. Charismatic, calm, smart, whatever. But he kind of thought he could lead his students.

“Tasha, Oliver, Douglas, Kaz,” Chase looked to each of them in turn. “With your human biology, I want you to only fight the fake Kazzes and Olivers. It’s too dangerous for you to go against any others.”

They nodded.

“All of you with more intermediate abilities, you’ll be on the false Chases and Brees. You can go against the others, but not the Skylars.”

More nods.

“Taylor, Logan,” Chase turned to them. They snapped to attention like everyone else had when Chase addressed them. Leo never got that respect when he did a brief. There was always someone giggling or passing notes. No one dared breathe out of place during this. The worst part might’ve been that it wasn’t fear, but pure admiration for Chase. “Gather your strongest students. You guys, along with Sky, Adam, Bree, and I will focus on the Skylars. Be warned, the electrokinesis is extremely damaging to bionics, which is why if you are not assigned this group, avoid them at all costs.”

A wave of uneasiness rolled over the crowd. Skylar ignored all the fearful looks she received.

“These androids have the ability to shift into our clothing, tears and all,” Chase continued, gesturing to his bandaged face. “The way to tell my team from the fakes is the wounds. Now, everyone go to your capsules and recharge. Be ready at any moment. We can do this. We will do this. Dismissed.”

The students filed off.

Chase exhaled, brushing his hair from his face. Leo sighed too, not keen on attacking replicas of his siblings. He stepped off to get his arm capsule.

“Oh, Leo-” Chase startled. “I forgot about you. You’re on the Kazzes and Olivers too.”

Leo blinked. “What?”

“You’re human,” Chase explained, waving him off. “Go recharge your arm.”

Leo scowled.

~*~

“Mom, we have a big old arsenal in the armory,” Chase turned to the adults. “Can you show her, Douglas?”

“Sure,” Douglas ruffled his hair.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Hello,” Kaz’s arm wound around Chase, hand finding his waist. “Nice speech.”

“Thanks,” Chase pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning into Kaz.

“Not nice headache,” Kaz frowned.

“Electrokinesis,” Chase sighed.

“I’m still kinda twitchy,” Bree and Adam were cuddled up on the small couch. 

“Jeez,” Adam said, taking her arm to stop it from punching him in the face. He scowled. “Not a fan of lighting.”

“Me either,” Kaz agreed, rubbing Chase’s back. Skylar raised her brow. “Uh- unless it’s from you and not a murderous copy-”

“Save it.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Skylar snorted, ruffling his hair before sitting on the couch’s arm.

Oliver quietly stayed in the corner.

“What’s next, bro?” Adam addressed Chase.

Chase didn’t answer, glaring at the holographic screen projected behind him. He and Douglas had cobbled the makings of their threats by retrieving samples from the deactivated robots in the hyperloop. It was bad.

“We fight.”

~*~

They struck at dawn.

Kaz gasped awake to an alarm blaring.

He, Oliver, and Skylar shot to their feet, following their instructions. The three filed in with their groups outside the school, squinting into the blinding sunlight for their attackers.

There they were.

Droves of black dots poured into view like a giant storm cloud shooting across the ocean.

Chase stood at the very front of the forces. He took a breath, glancing back at Kaz. Kaz offered a small smile of encouragement. Chase returned it, facing forward. He and a few other students stepped forward.

The army approached closer and closer.

Bree, Taylor, and Logan stretched. Adam and Skylar cracked their knuckles. Next to him, Tasha calmly loaded her twin maximum-force blasters. Douglas altered the scope on his bazooka-looking one. Oliver took a shuddery breath.

They were a few dozen yards from the shore.

Chase didn’t give the order.

“Now,” Leo muttered to Kaz’s right. “It has to be now.”

The waves rippled from the force of the massive flight.

“Now-!”

“Now!” Chase commanded at the same time. 

He and the eight students at his side moved their arms in wide arcs in unison, thrusting them forward. A wall of water slammed into their enemies, taking down the first few lines.

“Charge!” Chase shouted above the racket.

The whole beach exploded into chaos.

~*~

Chase summoned his bo, tossing it like a javelin. It tore through a whole group, slicing the metal in half.

He dodged a fire blast, slicing Bree’s ankles in two before tackling a Skylar.

He saw the real Skylar blast through two more. Adam tore one to bits, blast-waving the next line. 

Logan and Taylor were further off, giving orders to their appropriately nervous cadets. Chase was pretty sure they hadn’t faced real combat since their memories were wiped.

A fair distance from the academy. No one dead yet.

Nothing catastrophic. So far, so good.

He kicked off of Skylar’s shoulders, maxing an “x” motion with his arms after rolling to a stop in the midst of a large group. All calved in half, sinking to the sand.

Chase swiped an arm across his brow, going back in.

A giant line formed.

Chase activated his eye. “Connect to Adam and Bree!”

It did so, working like an earpiece communicator when it was really just projected through his chip.

“Maneuver 17!” Chase ordered.

He saw their heat signatures, Bree speeding right to Adam’s location. Chase made it there not long after.

In a practiced formation from their childhood training, both younger siblings grabbed Adam’s arms. He raised them, chucking them to the line. Bree grabbed Chase’s wrist midair, launching him further with her own momentum. 

Chase landed behind their enemies, slamming his palms down with his magnetism, locking each and every one of this attack force in place for his older siblings to bash to bits. 

Once they were done, Adam discarded his busted glasses with a giant grin.

Chase and Bree snorted. “He’s always wanted to-”

“I always wanted t’ use that form.”

~*~

Kaz wondered if he should be concerned. Not about the giant army, no. but the fact that he watched Tasha blast a fake him to bits, cool as a cucumber. She was a total badass, yeah, but now Kaz’s body hurt- and not from getting punched by himself.

He dodged Oliver’s strike, blasting its face with a wave of flame.

Kaz shoved the real Oliver out of the way, flooding another group and melting them to goo.

He glared at Oliver and his continued non-action. Oliver avoided his eyes.

They ducked as a beam rocketed past them, feeling its heat from where they stood. A dozen mangled copies dropped. Douglas spat out his toothpick, blowing the smoke from his canon. 

“Get your asses in gear!” he yelled over the noise. 

“There’s no time to stand around!” Tasha fired into three more. “Get in the center and do some damage! We need to keep them from reaching the school!”

Kaz nodded, jumping into the fray. Oliver hesitatingly followed.

Both evaded a Skylar and Bree, following orders and not engaging.

~*~

Bree grunted as she was blasted into the trees. 

She staggered back to her feet, glaring at her girlfriend’s replicas as they slowly approached. 

Before she moved, lighting struck.

Bree jumped into the splits, narrowly avoiding the blast. She ducked to dodge another, using her speed to evade as even more were flung at her.

Bree nearly tripped on a rock and brained herself- ironic way to literally bite the dust- flapping her arms to propel herself back to a standing position.

Enough was enough.

She spat into the sand, cracking her knuckles.

The familiar twitch of her legs aching to run pulsed. 

Bree listened.

She supercharged her speed, charging through each dense metal contraption until none were left. All five or so dropped unceremoniously. Bree exhaled, catching her breath.

She saw another one, just by the back of its head peeking over the dune. 

Bree charged into a flying roundhouse kick, superspeed bashing it against the head.

“Ow- Drekk-”

Bree paused.

“Oh my god!” she shrieked, grabbing the real Skylar’s face. 

“Yep,” Skylar laughed, rubbing her cheek. “That would be me.”

“Shit, babe, I’m so sorry-” Bree pressed kisses all over her face. 

Skylar laughed again, pulling both to their feet. “C’mon. Let’s take these cheap fakes out.”

“To dinner?” Bree stretched as a flood started toward the pair. “Where?”

“McDonald’s.” 

“Ooh, fancy.”

They high-fived and charged.

~*~

Adam clenched both of his fists, bashing them down and flattening a Skylar like a soda can. 

He used the body as a shield against the next energy beam, chucking it into another line with a few explosions. 

Adam tried to find his family by instinct, using his unrivaled height on the battlefield. He didn’t spot any real siblings.

In that same thought, he lasered a Chase’s skull to creme brulee. 

He did see Tasha and Douglas further off, noticing them just in time for his uncle to bash an Oliver upside the head with his bazooka and his mother to duck, causing the two attackers on either side to incinerate. They seemed okay.

He saw the actual Kaz and Oliver right in the center. Most androids around them had more scorch marks than water or ice damage.

Wait. Where the hell was Leo?

~*~

Oliver narrowly dodged a strike, stumbling into Kaz.

Kaz fumbled, cursing under his breath. “Damn it, Oliver! If you can’t fight, get off the field!”

He planted his foot, bracing his hands to part a wave of fire that threatened to bake them.

The flame flooded on either side of them, with Oliver hiding behind Kaz. Oliver gritted his teeth.

He concentrated, clenching his fists, before slamming them down. A giant iceberg formed, crashing through and squashing several dozen adversaries when it landed.

Kaz gaped at him.

Oliver swallowed in his now hydration-less mouth.

“What happened out there today? Kaz or I could've been seriously hurt because of your actions- or lack thereof. Oli, as team leader, I can't accept your behavior. As someone who cares for you, I want to help.”

Oliver had gazed unflinchingly into nothing when Chase pulled him aside.

Chase crossed his arms. “...Kaz said you used to whack supervillains upside the head with bedpans as a regular child. You were fearless in his eyes.”

Oliver didn’t blink, feeling phantom hands close around his throat. Cold. Familiar. The same hands that directed every piece of his life, before letting him go forever.

“What happened to change that?”

If Kaz wanted fearless, Oliver would give him that. Kill himself on the battlefield if it meant his jackass of a  best friend would finally respect him again.

Oliver glared right at him, waving his hand to summon water from the grass instead of himself. He froze it into a staff, slamming it down and crushing the next Oliver flat.

Kaz stared.

“If you can’t fight, get off the field,” Oliver told him, rushing back in.

~*~

Chase jumped, grabbing a copy of himself by the jacket collar and flipping it over his shoulder. 

He stabbed it with his bo, extending the laser and swinging it in a wide arc to slice through the combination of the team’s fakes.

He wiped his brow again, taking a split-second to glance behind him.

They were nearing the academy.

If these things got in there, they’d have access to every bit of Davenport Industries' information. That would be a problem.

Two Chases surrounded him on either side while he was distracted. He punched his left and kicked at his right in sync, knocking them down.

Chase pushed off a charging Skylar’s back, launching up and landing in a somersault, swiping its legs off with his bo.

Chase looked around once more.

Taylor and Logan were pushing back a wave with the help of a few students. The other students were roughed up, but holding their own against the Chases and Brees. Adam and Skylar were bashing heads, while Bree zipped between the machines to confuse them, causing misfired projectiles to destroy each other. Tasha, Kaz, Oliver, and Douglas continued making their own dent. Leo was a few feet away from Chase, fending off a Skylar.

Wait.

Leo?!

Chase dodged a lighting-fast punch, nailing Bree in the stomach and pushing through to get to his younger idiot of a brother.

~*~

Leo yelped as he was batted back by super strength. 

He landed in the sand, head swimming from the blow.

He struggled to the palms of his hands to get up. He had to. This was his thing. He was finally in charge of something, finally got a sliver of respect. And then Chase swooped in to knock him off his pedestal. 

He blasted.

And missed.

Skylar continued to stalk toward him.

Leo was shaking from overexertion. He wasn’t a beginner. He wasn’t just going to fight alongside Kaz, Oliver, and his mother- all who had been in combat for only a year, if that. 

Maybe he bit off more than he could chew, going right to the top. But Chase wasn’t his leader. Not anymore.

Leo fired again. All this one did was singe its sleeve. He was seeing double, vision blurring.

Blue poked through its stomach. In one swipe, it was sliced in half. By Chase.

“What the hell are you doing?” Chase shouted over the chaos, face red with anger.

Leo blinked, taking a second to process.

Chase kicked another Skylar in the chest, tossing it away with molecular kinesis like it was nothing. That made Leo mad.

He stood, punching one’s face in.

“Get back to where I ordered you!” Chase demanded, using molecular kinesis to cut through more.

“I don’t take your orders anymore!” Leo bit back, kicking through a fake Chase’s abdomen with his bionic leg. That felt nice. 

Chase clenched his jaw like he was about to argue, cut off by more swarming. Leo ignored the glare, fighting alongside him.

~*~

Chase was seething. That put it lightly. 

Leave it to a Davenport to endanger a mission for pride.

Chase blocked a lightning blast with his shield, narrowly saving Leo from being fried. 

They were mere yards from the academy. Chase tossed his bo like a javelin, shishkebab-ing four enemies.  

“Let go of your ego long enough to fight with a team!” Chase yelled, back-to-back with Leo.

“That’s rich, coming from you!” Leo spat, blasting through a Kaz. 

“You’re so immature-”

“Oh, I know-” Leo’s eyes were angrier than Chase had ever seen from him. “That’s all I am! Some weak, useless kid who always needs to be protected by his great bionic siblings. I can’t do anything on my own, huh? Not even lead the force I built-”

“Go back to your post!” Chase grabbed his arm after spearing a Bree behind him. “It’s too dangerous!”

“Get off!” Leo shouted, shoving Chase to the sand. Chase coughed, holding his chest.

Leo’s angered breathing devolved into shaky shock at using his strength on Chase with actual malice. The frustrated tears on his face from the confrontation dried on his cheeks. 

Chase looked at him in equal surprise. Leo shook more and more.

A Skylar walked up behind him while he was distracted. 

Chase didn’t think. His mind was blank. And his feet moved.

~*~

Kaz’s stomach dropped when he heard the scream across the beach.

No.

He couldn’t see him, not through the mob of students and machines, but he knew that was the real one.

“Chase!” Kaz shouted, dashing in its direction. 

He was grabbed by Douglas. Oliver water-vortexed their area clear for the next few seconds. Tasha was also pushed back by her brother-in-law.

“No!” Kaz lurched out of Douglas’s grip, only being held by the wrist. He ignored the fact that his unheld arm was probably broken. An Oliver got a pretty clean hit on him. “Chase!”

“Stop it!” Douglas ordered.

Kaz drove his elbow into Douglas’s stomach, making it two steps before he was clocked in the temple by metal.

“I blew off dozens of your heads,” Douglas growled, holding his bazooka. “I suggest you don’t try me.”

Kaz glowered. Oliver grabbed his shoulders to hold him back.

Douglas straightened. “Oliver, you’re going to fly me over there. Tasha, Kaz- hold them off until he’s back.”

Tasha opened her mouth, stepping forward.

“Hey,” Douglas grabbed her much gentler. “He’ll be okay. I’ll take care of it. Promise.”

Tasha shakily nodded.

Douglas held his hand out to Oliver. “Come on, kid-”

He was cut off by a much louder roar and a flash of blue.

“Ooh-kay, so that’ll make getting to him easier,” Douglas noticed. 

Kaz heard Adam yell in anger again, mixed in with Bree now.

Douglas turned, met with a wall of androids. He gritted his teeth, hefting his weapon.

“If you sons of bitches don’t get outta my way-”

The nearest Kaz made a pop sound. Then another.

More rang out, from the sea. 

Every Kaz and Oliver fake across the beach began popping. Then they twisted jankily, moving like zombies. Some punched each other in the face, some walked into trees, and some faceplanted into the sea.

The four of them stared in surprise.

“Well okay then,” Kaz blinked.

~*~

Leo screamed Chase’s name. 

He’d been shoved hard, tumbling in the less-than-soft shore, feeling salty spray in his mouth.

Once the ringing stopped and his vision cleared, Leo’s blood drained to his feet. 

Chase was trembling wide-eyed on the sand, jacket burned alongside his shoulder blades. 

The Skylar whose energy beam did that slammed its foot onto his lower back. It raised its crackling hand for the kill.

Leo staggered to his feet, slipping as he was all but horizontally rushing toward them, head spinning all the way as the adrenaline made him shake.

He tackled the Skylar aside, bashing its face in.

When more approached, he grabbed Chase, pulling him to his chest where he crouched.

“Go,” Chase croaked. “Run.”

Leo ignored him, brandishing his bionic hand. “You wanna get him? Go through me first!” his vision was rimming red. “Want a piece of this? I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill you!”

Every one of the dozen exploded in the blue of a blast wave.

Adam was huffing in the wake, turning to the two.

Bree ran straight through four more.

Both of them stared at their little brothers.

They glared at the robots with a mighty fury.

“You’re dead,” Bree said.

In a blink, the whole column was demolished.

Leo gawked.

He was scooped up by Bree, seeing Adam gingerly do the same to Chase. 

As he was carried through the carnage, he saw Taylor and Logan wrapping up the rest of the fight. 

He didn't like how much red was spattered. At least the academy was safe.

That was Leo's last thought for a while.

~*~

Leo gasped awake.

He floundered in the sheets, scrambling as though he was still on the not-so-solid ground.

"Woah there, boss man," a hand found his shoulder, gently pushing him back down.

“...Logan?” Leo squinted.

“Hey,” Logan waved.

“What… happened?” 

“Everyone’s okay,” Logan started, knowing that was the most important to Leo. “There are a few gashes. Broken bones. Nothing serious.”

Leo exhaled, laying back down.

“Douglas said you were overexerted from trying to fight those Skylars,” Logan continued, rubbing Leo’s chest. “That’s why you passed out. Took a beating.”

Oh no. 

“Chase!” Leo tried to sit again. How did he forget? 

“Calm down,” Logan said patiently, continuing to draw shapes. “He’s okay. Resting now.”

“Can- Can I see him?”

“Not yet,” Logan shook his head. “You need to rest. I’m gonna stay here the whole time.”

Leo felt a blush gather on his cheek. “O-Okay.”

~*~

Chase’s eyes slowly opened. 

He was in a bed.

Okay.

He lay on something warm. Kaz’s arm. 

Chase blinked to clear the fuzz, looking up to meet loving and relieved brown eyes.

“Hi,” he rasped, snuggling into the boy who lay beside him.

“Hey,” Kaz’s voice was thick with fragile respite.

“Hello.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too,” Kaz smoothed his bangs from his face. “You’re beautiful.”

“That’s gay.”

“My bad.”

There was a loud ahem.

Chase looked away from Kaz for the first time.

“Yeah, we’re here too,” Bree snorted. 

Chase took notice that she was uninjured. Same with Adam and Skylar who stood behind her. Thank god.

He glanced to Kaz’s side. The man himself had one arm plastered and in a sling. Oliver sat in a chair, left ankle bandaged. Tasha had a stitched-up gash on her cheek. Douglas was using crutches. All the humans had varying bruises and band-aids everywhere too. But they were okay.

Chase exhaled, nosing into Kaz’s neck. His body was pleasantly numb.

“Androids?” 

“Gone,” Douglas confirmed.

“Students?”

“Nothing unrepairable.”

“Good,” Chase breathed.

“Ours were weird,” Oliver noted.

“Yeah, they ended up like- having a dance off to shut down,” Kaz added. “Mine totally won.”

“In your dreams-”

“How do you feel?” Bree interrupted, pushing Chase’s hair out of his eyes.

“Fine,” Chase giggled.

“Pfft, he’s still on the loopies,” Douglas snickered, elbowing Oliver. “He’s living his best life right now.”

“Loopies,” Chase echoed with another giggle. “Loopies.”

Chuckles were scattered around the group.

“Is Leo okay?”

“He’s fine,” Tasha stroked his hair. “Logan’s with him.”

“Ooh,” Chase sleepily teased.

Tasha laughed fully, seemingly getting what only Douglas and Chase understood.

“Tay and the others are doing the cleanup,” Adam added, awkwardly patting Chase’s ankle as his chosen contact.

Chase nodded. “Why’s… why’s my back tingly?”

Silence.

“You…” the guilt in Skylar’s voice was prevalent. “My energy beam-”

“You’re burned,” Adam muttered, hand crawling to his own scars. “Again.”

Bree flinched.

Kaz rubbed Chase’s arm sympathetically. 

Chase shrugged, feeling static in the area. “S’ what? It adds unique damage patterns to my other ones. Art form.”

There was a pause.

Skylar and Bree smiled fondly at him.

“I think that’s enough patterns for now,” Douglas snorted. “We’ll let you sleep.”

Everyone but Kaz, Adam, and Bree filed out. 

Chase sank into the safety and warmth, closing his eyes.

~*~

“I am in so much trouble,” Skylar leaned against the wall.

“Why?” Oliver asked.

“Remember my license? Being suspended? Yeah, me neither.”

“...Oh boy.”

“It was for heroic cause,” Kaz stepped out of the sliding door. “Saving innocents, yada yada, clause twenty-three a. You’re fine. Probably.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“Stretching my legs.”

Silence.

“AKA, Bree dragged me out to take a break because I’ve been there the whole 48 hours.”

“There it is,” Skylar snorted, sinking into a sitting position.

The boys joined her on either side. She wound her arms around them, leaning her head back to doze off.

Kaz was basically forced to look at Oliver, locked in by Calderan strength. 

“...Sorry,” Kaz muttered.

“Sorry,” Oliver countered.

“Shut up,” Skylar ordered.

They all laughed.

~*~

Bree was in Kaz’s previous spot, stroking Chase’s hair from where he was sleeping against her chest. She knew Adam would be there if he could fit.

Adam decided to make himself fit. He motioned for Bree to stand. She did so.

Adam tenderly lifted Chase upside-down to not touch his back, splaying one hand on his chest and the other on the front of his thighs. He carefully, tongue out and all, eased onto the bed, laying Chase on his chest. Whatever Douglas gave him for the pain worked wonders. Normally Chase would wake up from the slightest tap Adam would make inside his capsule.

He opened his other arm for Bree, allowing her to worm into his side.

Adam lightly laughed, remembering the similar way they would sneak into each other’s capsules as kids.

He smiled, pulling both in tighter.

~*~

Tasha peeked in a few minutes later, smiling at the sweet sleeping sight.

~*~

“Eight,” Kaz noted.

“What are you doing?” Chase asked amusedly. The two were sitting in the cafeteria, hands joined over the table. It was a few days later, meaning Chase could walk normally. 

“Eight,” Kaz repeated. He’d gotten two from that group that just passed. “So far, that’s how many kids have a crush on you.”

“Nonsense.”

“Sense,” Kaz corrected with a smile. “Can’t blame 'em.”

“I’d never date a student. For obvious reasons-” he squeezed Kaz’s hand. “But…”

Kaz raised an eyebrow.

Chase stared at the table.

“Babe?” Kaz squeezed back.

Chase startled.

“Uh- just… went badly. Do you want a tour?”

“Sure?”

Chase stood, looping his arms through Kaz’s good one.

Kaz examined the rooms he was shown. He’d been there before, but under whacky circumstances. Whacky plus ADHD didn’t help memory.

Eventually, they were interrupted by a gaggle of students rushing over to Chase.

“You were so cool out there!”

“Can you help me with my bionics?”

“You work in Centium City now?”

“We missed you!”

“Have you seen my progress?”

Chase seemed a bit flustered at the sudden attention and onslaught.

Kaz fondly watched as he answered what he could, seeing the equal fondness in Chase’s eyes as he talked to all his old students, kids who idolized him.

When they were done, Chase blinked.

“What?”

“I dunno… I was kind of a joke here at the academy. I had no clue these guys respected me so much.”

“You’re incredible. Anyone would.”

Chase shrugged, continuing the tour.

~*~ 

“He’s not upset at you,” Tasha reiterated.

Leo sighed.

“Frankly, Leonard Francis Dooley-Davenport, I’m tired of your moping. My boy doesn’t wallow.”

“Have you met me?”

“I pushed you out of me.”

“Ew.”

“You walked into that, just like Chase is about to walk in here.”

“I- wh- mom-!” Tasha ignored him, exiting. She was soon replaced by Chase.

There was an awkward silence.

Chase sighed, walking to the bed. He sat down, creaking it.

“...I asked you there because you’re human,” Chase started.

Leo frowned. “I’m not a child. I want some respect.”

“I know. I was the youngest once,” Chase sighed again.

Silence.

“Buddy, it’s not disrespect I have for you.”

“It sure feels like it.”

“Leo, you’re my baby brother. You- if you were hurt- o-or- worse-”

“I wasn’t,” Leo’s firmness wavered.

“But you could’ve been,” Chase whispered, dragging his palm down his face. “I couldn’t forgive myself if-”

Leo cut him off, wrapping his arms around him while being mindful of the bandaged parts.

“I’m sorry,” Leo murmured. “I’m sorry you got hurt because of me. I’m sorry I scared you. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“...Would it kill you to use your freakin’ shields for once?”

“See the opposite would kill me, using my shields would up survivability by a considerable-”

“Shut up,” Leo groaned.

Chase smirked, returning the hug.

~*~

“Giselle’s tech?”

“Yeah,” Douglas confirmed as he and Chase examined the monitors. “The nanobots, the virus, the camera, the androids. The shifters got their hands on it somehow.”

~*~

“Successful test,” Giselle hummed.

Rodissius banged his fist on the table, shaking it. “How? You left the hospital untouched, didn’t get Davenport’s information, lost an army, and two-fifths of them were defective-”

“Behave,” Mr. Terror said cheerily. “This is imported marble.”

He paled, sitting back

“A successful test,” Giselle repeated. “This Arcturion…” her eyes flashed over to the smiling woman at the head of the table. “…quite fascinating.”