- Chapter Nine -

As lunch time rolled around, you began to make the team lunch, excluding Kaz and Oliver since they were planning to eat something else. You made the girls, Chase, and yourself sandwiches for lunch.

 As you did so, Chase came walking out from the Hyper-lift. "Got some news, Douglas will be coming in about twenty minutes or so."

"That's great. I haven't seen him in awhile." You stated as you pushed a plate towards Chase. "Your lunch is served."

Chase lifted the bread, looking at what was inside the sandwich. "How'd you know what I wanted?"

You picked up the girls' plates as you answered him. "Well, I know that turkey and lettuce is your favorite type of sandwich and also because that's basically the only type of sandwich you eat. I've lived with you for a little over a year now, kinda hard to miss."

"Point made." Chase nodded as he followed you out to the terrance. As you sat down on Bree's left. Chase looked over at Kaz who was sitting on the floor. "Kaz, buddy, there's plenty of room over here. You don't have to eat on the floor."

Kaz then stood up with hot dogs on a rake. "I'm not eating on the floor. I'm preparing my food on the floor."

You rose a brow, taking a bite of your sandwich as Oliver walked out. "Ooh, my favorite, hot dogs on a rake!" 

Oliver had ran over to Kaz as Chase sat on your left, while Bree spoke. "Wow, you actually made tubes of random animal parts even more disgusting."

"Hey, the only look gross because I haven't grilled them yet." Kaz pointed out as he ignited his arm aflame, grilling the hot dogs as Oliver twirled the rake. When they finished, both boys plucked a hot dog. "Who's disgusting now?" Kaz asked chucking as he bit into the hot dog. He gagged slightly as he pulled out a leaf from his mouth. "Oh, wet leaf."

You scrunched your nose in disgust as Skylar spoke. "Yeah. You do know I just used that rake to clean the gutters, right?"

"Mm, you can taste yesterday's rain." Oliver explained as he chewed his hot dog.

"You boys are ridiculous." Skylar stated as she stood while you continued eating. "Your powers are a gift. You shouldn't be wasting them on trivial things." 

As Skylar walked away Bree spoke up. "Yeah, you guys are always using your powers when you don't have to. Yesterday Oliver flew across the street just to go to the grocery store."

"That was an emergency." Kaz informed as he pointed at Bree. "We were out of Loopy loops." Kaz the began to walk forward. "And you know what, for your information, girls are just as bad. When Mr. Davenport called, you used your voice manipulation to pretend to be me."

"Okay, calm down. All I said was..." Bree used her vocal manipulation to sound like Kaz. "Bree's not here, stop calling old man." 

"Oh, so you make me look bad?" Kaz asked Bree.

"Yep, that was the goal." Bree nodded. "And yes, I occasionally use my bionics to make my life easier. But I can stop whenever I want. You guys are the ones that have no control."

"Oh, really?" Kaz asked. "Well I propose a challenge, guys versus girls, to see who can go the longest without using bionic abilities or superpowers. Last man or woman standing wins." 

Bree then stood, offering to shake Kaz's hand. "You're on."

"I'm in." Chase stated as he put his hand in. 

"I mean I guess." You shrugged, putting your hand in.

"Me too." Skylar agreed, putting her hand in as Oliver did too. 

"I just wanted to touch Skylar's hand." Oliver admitted as you all pulled apart.

"Wait, why am I even participating? I hardly ever use my bionics." You informed. 

"Yes, you do. You always zap Oliver and I." Kaz stated as he pointed to himself and Oliver.

"That's because you both are always getting on my nerves." You said as you gave Kaz a look. "Plus, I hardly use my Memory Absorption unless you guys wanna show me a memory."

"That is true." Chase nodded. "But you girls are going down." He had went on about how the boys were most likely to win and stuff which made you smile.

"Interesting." Bree nodded. "And how exactly did you calculate those odds?"

Chase looked up for a moment before speaking. "Yeah, I'm out."

Kaz then looked up at the sky. "Hey, [Name]? See that cloud over there?"

You followed his gaze and nodded. "That big fluffy one?"

"No, no. The really small wispy one next to it. If you squint you can see it." Kaz explained as he pointed at it. 

"Oh, yeah. What about it?" You asked, looking at the small cloud.

"Kind of reminds me of Chase's intelligence." Kaz stated as you began to laugh.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Chase glared as the rest of the team laughed along with you and Kaz.

~~~~~

As you went down into Mission Command, you saw that Douglas was over by the cyber desk.

"Hey, Douglas." You greeted as you stood besides him. "What are you up to?"

"Just fixing a little something. What about you?" He asked, keeping his gaze on the screen.

"Nothing much. Speaking of fixing, I was thinking if I could add a little something to my mission suit." You explained as Douglas looked up at you.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" He asked.

You shrugged nonchalantly. "I was thinking if I could add a little lighting bolt on my shoulder sleeve." You pointed to your upper left shoulder. "You know, sense I have electrokinesis."

Douglas nodded as he rubbed his chin. "I think I can work with that." 

You smiled in appreciation as Chase came from out of the Hyper-lift, walking towards you both. "Hey, guys. What are you guys up to?"

"Just looking for a place nearby to grab a nice macaroon." Douglas explained as he clicked his tongue. 

"A macaroon?" Chase asked puzzled. 

"Hey, just because I'm a little rough around the edges doesn't mean I can't enjoy a sophisticated treat." Douglas explained as he patted Chase's chest. "By the way, you need to be more careful. It's your job to secure this place and you left that rock wall open last night."

Chase scoffed. "What? No I didn't. I locked down the entire perimeter before I went to bed. Unless, someone decided to sneak out last night." Chase shot you an accusing look.

"Excuse me? Okay, yes I do sneak out but last night I didn't go anywhere." You told both of them. "That wasn't me."

"Well, I was the first down here this morning and it was wide open." Douglas explained.

"Let me check last night's security footage." Chase stated as you three walked to the cyber desk that was on the left side of the room. Chase quickly checked the footage but narrowed his eyes in confusion. "That's weird. It's been wiped. I bet it was Roman and Riker."

The rock wall then began to open, making you three rush forward. You stood in a defensive stance as Douglas grabbed his gun, yelling freeze. There stood a little boy in army green pants and a yellow and blue jacket. The boy was frighten, clutching his tablet tightly.

"Who are you?" Chase asked the boy. 

"My name's AJ. I live a floor below you guys." AJ answered. You scanned his face, trying to detect if he was lying but you could see he wasn't, nor did you get a bad vibe off him, which made you relax. "Are you gonna drop the weapon or are you really afraid of a little kid?"

Chase lowered his arms as you motioned Douglas to lower his gun, which he did as he spoke to AJ. "Why haven't we seen you before?"

"I like to keep to myself." AJ stated as he walked forward. "A man of...mystery if you will. But I know about you guys. The Elite Force!" 

"How did you even get down here?" Chase asked AJ. "It's surrounded by walls of solid rock."

"Well, I was checking on the building's energy consumption and I noticed a usually high drain coming from below the building." AJ explained. 

"Wait, you checked the building's energy consumption?" Douglas asked AJ.

"Of course. Gotta keep tabs on all the over-users. The future is green my man." AJ stated. "Anyway, I used a structural telemeter to scan the area and locate the room. Then I cracked the security code and I've been coming here ever since."

Your brows shot up in surprise as Douglas spoke. "Ever since? How often do you come here?"

AJ chuckled as he leaned against the cyber desk. "A lot more than you'd like. My parents work a lot so I figured why hang out at home when I can hang here with all this cool technology. I just had to copy your online calendar so I'd know when to slip in undetected."

You were really impressed with AJ to say the least as Chase spoke up. "You copied our calendar?!"

"Yeah, which reminds me...aren't you suppose to be at a dentist appointment right now?" AJ asked.

"No, no. He rescheduled it so he could sleep in." Chase answered. "Wait, why am I telling you this?!"

"I know I should be upset by this massive security breach, but you wiggling out over a ten year old is kinda fun to watch." Douglas told Chase as you nodded in agreement.    

"Okay, it's time for you to go." Chase told AJ as he walked him over to the rock wall. "I'm changing all the passwords so this doesn't happen again. Goodbye AJ."

"Fine, I'll go. But just so you know, I have a photographic memory which means the schedule's up here too." AJ pointed to his temple.

"Oh, yeah? Then what am I doing tomorrow night?" Chase asked, challenging AJ.

"Same thing you do every Saturday night. Nothing." AJ smiled, walking away as Chase rolled his eyes. 

You couldn't help but chuckle. "Damn, need some ice for that burn, Chase?"

Douglas barked out a laugh as Chase spoke with sarcasm. "Ha, ha. I forgot how to laugh."

"Chase, lighten up a bit." Douglas smiled.

"You know, what. I'm gonna update the security system." Chase informed as he went inside the Hyper-lift.

"Oh, [Name]. Can you see if my macaroons came? They should be arriving soon." Douglas explained as you nodded, heading in the Hyper-lift. 

Once you made it to the top, Kaz had quickly strode over to you. "Hey, did I ever tell you the story about how Oliver fell into cow poop?"

"No." You replied.

"Wanna see what happened?" Kaz asked, holding his arm out.

Bree then quickly ran over hand shoved Kaz's arm down. "No! He's trying to make you use your bionics!"

"Seriously Kaz?" You asked, quirking a brow.

"Eh, it was worth a shot." Kaz shrugged.

~~~~~

After checking to see if the macaroons arrived (which they hadn't) you, Chase, and Douglas went back down to Mission Command.

"So I've upgraded the entire Mission Command system." Chase informed as you walked out of the Hyper-lift. "No need to remember passwords anymore because I installed optical retina scans at every point of entry. There is no way that kid is getting back in here."

"That'll show 'em." 

Douglas and Chase jumped and screamed in fright by hearing AJ's voice while you were unfazed by it, already noticing him the moment you walked in. AJ had his feet propped up on the cyber desk.

"That's a side weapons area you got behind the rock wall. I can see why you'd want to keep people out of it." AJ stated.

"You know, if the smartest man in the world  is in charge of security and that kid got past it, doesn't that make him the smartest man in the world?" Douglas asked chuckling as Chase smiled.

"Well, I mean, you created me so technically that would make your failure." Chase shot back with a smile, poking Douglas' chest.

"Get out of here, kid." Douglas told AJ, trying to walk him out but AJ swiftly turned to Chase.

"Hold on. I came back to offer you a proposition." AJ told Chase. "You said that this place only for members of the Elite Force. But I know a lot about you guys and I think I can be an asset, so I want to join the team."

"Ha! You? Sorry, I don't think they make mission suits in an extra small." Chase smiled smugly, as Douglas rambled on about Chase's 'extra small' mission suit. "Just the pants!" 

"Look, I may only be ten," AJ started, "but I'm good with computers, I know every street in this city and well, it's glaringly obvious that you need help with the security system. I mean, retina scans? Why not just leave a key under the mat?"

"He does have a point." Douglas agreed as he walked over to Chase. "It would be good to have a pair of fresh eyes around here pointing out our weaknesses, making us up our game."

"No!" Chase shook his head disapprovingly. "We do not need this kid on the team."

"I think you do, and to prove it let's make a deal." AJ implored. "If I get back in here, I'm on the team."

"Fine, deal." Chase accepted, shaking AJ's hand. 

"You hands are sweaty. Nervous?" AJ asked.

"No. They're naturally clammy." Chase replied as he let go of AJ's hand.

The next day, Douglas sent you to see if his macaroons arrived, which they did. You had put some on a plate, leaving the rest in the kitchen before walking down to Mission Command and handing the plate over to Douglas. Just as he went to pick one up, you quickly swiped it up from his plate and bit into it.

Douglas gave you a look as you looked at him innocently. "What?"

You smiled as Chase took one and took a bite. "Mmm! You were right about these macaroons. They are great." Chase nodded approvingly before setting it down and focusing on his laptop. "Alright, last but not least, our online calendar is all secure. It'd take about two years of decoding for any outsider to even see when my birthday is."

"June 1st?" Douglas guessed.

Chase shot him a glare. "August 5th. But close...Dad."  

"Wow." You shook your head chuckling. "Father of the Year sure goes to Douglas."

"Well, twenty-four hours and no AJ." Chase stated as he stood. "I successfully locked him out. No one makes fun of Chase Davenport and gets away with it. No one!" Chase walked over to the cyber desk and began to disarm the security system, which made Douglas stand and walk over to him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Douglas asked.

"Disarming the security system I worked so hard to prefect." Chase shrugged as he continued.

"Why?" You asked, quirking a brow. 

"I don't know. My mind is telling me to do it even though I don't want to. Also, I'm proud to announce that I am the dumbest man in the world." Chase gasped, covering  his mouth as your eyes widen in surprise.

The rock wall then went up, revealing a laughing AJ.

Douglas walked over to AJ. "AJ. What did you do?" 

"I re-programmed Chase's bionic chip so I can control it." AJ smiled as he walked towards Chase. 

"You what?!"  Chase asked.

"That's right! I didn't have to break into Mission Command. I broke into you!" AJ laughed as Chase's mouth fell agape.

You couldn't help but be impressed by AJ, this kid had some serious skill.

Chase began clapping as he spoke. "I'm really impressed that you tapped into my chip. You are so much smarter than I am!" Chase stated as he continued to clap. "Hey, stop making me say things! And stop making me clap!"

"Fine." AJ smiled, tapping his tablet.

Chase then began dancing and you couldn't help but laugh, biting your knuckles to try and stifle your laughter. 

"Stop encouraging him, this is a major security breach!" Chase exclaimed as he began to twirl.

"Alright, fine! Fun's over! AJ, give me the tablet." Douglas informed as the tablet flew out of AJ's hands and onto Chase's arm. The metal objects around the room began to fly across and attach themselves to Chase. 

"Ow!" Chase grunted, hunched over and looking over at Douglas. "Douglas, what's going on?"

"When AJ tapped into your chip he must have caused a glitch. Your magnetism app has gone haywire." Douglas explained as the bracelet on his wrist began to shake. "Oh, no! It's heavy bracelet day!"

Douglas then stumbled forward, his arm smacking right into Chase's collarbone/neck. Douglas struggled trying to pull away, which made him press his foot onto Chase's leg.

"See, this is why kids shouldn't play with technology." AJ stated as Chase and Douglas shot him a look. 

Your hand then began to tremble, and when you looked down, you saw that you were wearing rings. "Oh, no." You groaned, trying to walk backwards but the pull was too strong. You ended up stumbling forward, your hand connecting to the side of Chase's head.

"Oww!" Chase groaned. 

"Sorry, just hold still." You stated, trying to remove your hand but Douglas was in the way. "Douglas!"

"Stay still. I can unsnap the bracelet." Douglas informed.

Once he was free and moved away, you began to try to gently remove your fingers out of the rings. As you wiggled your fingers out, Douglas had shouted at you to move away. Before you could register what was going on, Chase quickly spun you around, covering you with his body as a trashcan flew and hit him in the back. 

"Ow!" Chase grunted, his face scrunched up in a grimace. 

"Are you okay?" You asked, finally getting your fingers free, taking a step back as he nodded.

After a few minutes, every metal object had attached itself to Chase, and Chase was not pleased. You had moved over to Douglas and AJ by the cyber desk to avoid being hit by the metal objects. 

"Well this is unpleasant." Chase commented, shooting Douglas a glare.

"Kinda wish some of the metal would've covered his mouth." Douglas stated as Chase shot him another heated glare.

"Got any more bracelets?" AJ asked with a smile.

"Just do something!" Chase shouted.

"I'm trying here! Every time I try to fix your chip remotely, the magnate gets stronger." Douglas explained as another piece of metal landed on Chase's chest. 

"I hadn't noticed." Chase gritted in between his teeth.

"Can't you use your force field?" AJ asked Chase.

"No!" Chase gritted once more. "The glitch is overriding everything. I can't use any of abilities."  

"What of we create a human shield around you?" Douglas asked. "It won't stop the magnetic pull but by blocking its path with our bodies, we might slow it down." 

Douglas and AJ then hugged Chase from both sides as AJ spoke. "But if it doesn't work and the magnet just keeps getting stronger..."

"Every heavy thing in this room will take AJ and me first." Douglas finished.

"Yeah, I'm willing to take the risk." Chase nodded as the room began to shake.

"Oh, no! This is the worst room to be in. Donnie built it out of reinforced steel. We have to get you upstairs now!" Douglas explained.

"Lets go!" You shouted, as you helped lead the boys in the Hyper-lift. When you all made it up, you quickly stepped out so Douglas and AJ could walk Chase out.

"Aw, is it National Hug Day?" Oliver asked, smiling as he turned to Skylar. "Bring it in."

"It's gonna take more than a holiday to make that happen." Skylar replied as everyone walked forward. 

"What's going on?" Kaz asked.

"And who's the kid?" Bree added, pointing at AJ.

"That's AJ. He lives downstairs." You informed.

"He tapped into Chase's chip with his tablet and it's causing his magnetism app to glitch." Douglas explained. "Tragic but hysterical."

"Or maybe just hysterical." Kaz laughed.

"I have to find a way to fix his glitching remotely. But when I break the human shield every metal object in this room is gonna go flying toward Chase." Douglas explained.

"I'm not hearing a problem." Bree smiled.

"When I let go," Douglas began, "I need you guys to use your powers to protect Chase from being hit by all the heavy objects."

"Yeah, we can't do that." Skylar shook her head.

"Why not?" Douglas asked.

"Oh, see we're having this little challenge, guys versus girls to see who can go the longest without using their powers for trivial things." Kaz explained with a smile.

"Saving my life is not a trivial thing!" Chase shouted in agitation.

"I don't know, should we take a vote?" Oliver asked, holding his hand up.

"Just put the game on hold!" You stated, raising your voice in irritation.

"I need you guys to buy me some time so I can try to fix the glitch." Douglas explained as everyone sighed a fine.

When Douglas moved away from Chase, the metal objects in the room hurled themselves at Chase. You and the rest of the team were able to destroy the objects but soon enough the room began to shake.

"Oh, no. Kid's amping up. His magnetism app is gonna rip the framework of the room right out of the walls." Douglas explained worriedly.

"Wait a second," AJ started, "can't his capsule reset his operating system and bring his magnetism app back to his original state?" 

"Yes, yes it can." Douglas nodded in conformation.

The room began to shake once more, which made Skylar speak up. "Hurry, the whole room is going to explode!"

"Protect Chase. I'll use my super strength to bring his capsule down here." Oliver informed, ready to bolt up the stairs.

"Wait! I'll help you." Bree stated, grabbing Oliver as she super sped upstairs, coming back a moment later with Chase's capsule.

You all the pushed Chase into the capsule as Douglas quickly reset his capsule. "That...should...do it!"

Just then all the objects attached to Chase's body fell to the floor.

"You alright?" Skylar asked Chase.

"Yeah, I think so." Chase nodded before stretching his back. "But my back is killing me."

"Sorry to hear it." Kaz told Chase. "Contest back on!"

The rest of the team walked away to mind their own business as you just sighed.

~~~~~

You were down in Mission Command, surfing the internet and pretending to not notice that AJ was hiding behind the cyber desk. Moments later, Chase came down and walked straight over to you with a tired sigh. You smiled faintly as you watched him furrow his brows, tilting his head slightly as if he was listening to something. With you both having your upgraded bionics, including your bionic senses, you both were able to hear faint breathing.

Chase quirked a questioning brow, to which you answered with a nod as he sighed. "I know you're here."

"Hi, Chase." AJ greeted, popping up from behind the cyber desk, walking over to you both.

"What's the matter? Couldn't kill me the first time?" Chase asked AJ. "Come to finish the job?"

"No. I wanted to say I'm sorry. I was trying to show you what I could do, I didn't mean for all that to happen." AJ told Chase.

"Yeah, well, that's the reason I didn't want you around here in the first place." Chase said as he looked back at his laptop,

"I know, and I promise I won't come back. It's obvious I'm not ready to be apart of the team." AJ stated, walking over to the cyber desk to open the rock wall.

Just as he was about to leave, Chase had stopped him. "Wait." Chase turned around to face AJ as AJ turned to face him. "You coming in here, tapping into my chip, it's pretty impressive. And not just for a ten year old."

"Really?" AJ asked in astonishment. 

"Yeah. You think you know a little bit more than you actually do. And I kinda, barely, not really relate to that." Chase shrugged as you rolled your eyes. 

"So are you saying I'm part of the team?" AJ asked.

Chase laughed. "No!" You rolled your eyes again as he continued. "But if you wanted to come by, you know, occasionally...I won't keep you out."

You couldn't help but smile as AJ smiled up at Chase. "Thanks Chase. But for what's it's worth...you wouldn't be able to anyway."

Chase gave AJ a look as AJ walked away. 

"Aw, what a chick flick moment." You cooed teasingly, walking around the cyber desk and leaning against it. "You know, I like that kid."

"You do?" Chase asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah." You nodded, crossing your arms."He's smart, he's funny, not to mention the cutest ten year old I've ever seen."  

"Cute?" Chase questioned skeptically. 

"Yeah, he's a cute kid. Smart too, he might swoon the ladies when he's older." You shrugged.

Chase shrugged too before suddenly smiling. "You know, some people think I'm kind of nerdy-hot."

"Really, because I've never heard that, like ever." You said as he shot you a deadpanned look. You then smirked as you walked passed him towards the Hyper-lift. "Although, I always found intelligence really attractive." You winked at Chase as the Hyper-lift shot upwards, leaving a dumbfounded  Chase behind.