The Davenport family and Harper were scattered across the living room, each lost in their own activity. The atmosphere was a mix of playful energy and lighthearted chaos. Bree and Chase tossed a ball back and forth, using their enhanced bionic abilities to keep it from ever hitting the ground. Harper was there too, effortlessly catching the ball as she kept up with them.

Meanwhile, Adam was in the middle of a strength session with Leo, lifting him as part of his self-declared fitness regime.

"467, 468..." Leo counted as Adam flexed his bionic strength, barely breaking a sweat. "Put some muscle in it. 469-"

"Shh! I'm picking up radio free Singapore." Mr. Davenport interrupted from his spot near the kitchen, tuning in to a new radio device he'd been testing on his head. His voice shifted to sing a tune in a foreign language. "That's gonna be a hit you mark my words."

"Bree, go long!" Harper called out, throwing the ball across the room. Bree zipped across the room with her super speed, catching the ball and passing it back to Chase.

As the doorbell rang, the ball headed straight for Harper's face. With a swift motion, she caught it with one hand just before it hit her.

"It's my mother!" Tasha gasped.

"I'll be in the lab." Mr. Davenport said quickly and made a beeline for the lab.

"Quick! Turn invisible!" Tasha urged as she looked at Adam, Bree and Chase. They all stared at her in confusion. "Oh, come on, you have every other freaky ability. Just run and hide."

"Here, take this." Harper said, tossing the ball to Bree.

The bionic trio scrambled to hide behind the kitchen counter, leaving Tasha, Leo and Harper standing in the living room, trying to act casual as they prepared for Rose's entrance.

"Oh, good. It's unlocked." Rose said with a relieved sigh, entering the house and walking straight into the living room.

"Mum! You're here." Tasha greeted, stepping forward to hug her mother.

"Would have been here sooner if it hadn't been for your stupid gate."

"Oh, that's just Donald's titanium security fence."

"Well, if you ram it with your car hard enough, it pops right open." Rose quipped, putting her sunglasses in her purse before noticing Leo. "Leo. There's my baby. Come and give me some sugar." She wrapped her arms around Leo, pulling him into a tight hug and playfully squeezing his cheeks. "Let me see your face. Let me see your face. So cute!" She then dug into her bag, pulling out a treat. "Grandma brought your favorite bran fruitcake."

"Oh!" Leo yelped as he received the cake, surprised by its weight. "Wow. Grandma, you shouldn't have."

Rose smiled warmly. "Oh, baby."

"And when I say you shouldn't have..." Leo trailed off with a laugh.

Harper stepped forward with a bright smile."Hi, Rose! It's really good to see you again."

"Harper! There's my grandson's best friend." Rose beamed, pulling the teenager into a tight embrace. "It's good to see you too. How's your older sister doing?"

Harper smiled, feeling her usual sense of comfort in Rose's presence. "She's doing great. She's now working full-time in the sports department at the elementary school instead of volunteering."

Before Rose could respond, she turned her attention to the three bionic siblings, who were quietly sneaking away toward the Lab.

"Who are they?" Rose asked, pointing at them. Adam, Bree and Chase paused and turned to face her.

"They are the... staff!" Tasha announced, her voice a little too cheerful as she tried to cover up their obvious attempt to hide. "Big house."

"Staff? Oh, Tasha. Still so lazy."

"And you are still so.... my mother."

Rose eyed Adam curiously. "So what do you do?"

"Well, I collect rocks, I lift heavy things, I chase bugs." Adam explained.

"Adam is our.... chef." Tasha informed.

"Oh. Right. Chef. Normally, I wear a puffy hat and yell things in Italian. Bonjour!" He added with a dramatic flourish, causing everyone except Rose to burst into laughter.

"What a wonderful sense of humor." Tasha said sarcastically, shooting a glare at the teenagers, causing them to immediately stop.

Rose pointed at Bree. "And who is she?"

"Bree is... my personal trainer." Tasha responded without missing a beat.

"Oh, and what exactly does a personal trainer do?" Rose questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Bree smiled. "It's personal?"

"And Chase... Chase is..." Tasha hesitated, struggling to find the right words.

Harper, sensing the awkward moment, quickly interjected. "Leo's nanny."

"Harper's boyfriend." Tasha added at the same time.

The two exchanged surprised glances, realizing their conflicting statements. The room fell silent for a moment as everyone processed what had just been said. Rose's gaze flickered between Harper and Chase.

"Yep." Harper confirmed, standing awkwardly next to Chase, her hands fidgeting as she avoided eye contact. "Chase is my... boyfriend."

"He's also Leo's nanny. Man-nanny. Manny. He was Harper's boyfriend first, then I saw how caring he was so I got him to be Leo's nanny." Tasha clarified, as if that made it all make sense.

Rose eyed Chase for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "Aren't you a little too young to be a manny?"

Chase grinned nervously. "Aren't you a little young to be a grandma?"

"Oh, I like him. He's a keeper, Harper." Rose responded.

••••

Harper paced through the kitchen, her mind swirling with the events that had unfolded over the past few days. She opened the pantry and scanned the shelves for ingredients, trying to focus on the task at hand. Cooking had always been something she enjoyed, a small distraction from the chaos around her.

But today, it felt different. She couldn't shake the unease settling in her stomach. The idea of pretending to be Chase's girlfriend, even for a short while, made her uncomfortable. She didn't see him in that way- he was a friend, nothing more. The whole situation felt like a tangled mess.

As Harper sifted through the pantry, Tasha and Rose's voices drifted in from the hallway. Tasha was showing her mother around the mansion, giving her the grand tour of the house.

"Mmm-mm. See, there is too much technology around here." Rose remarked followed by a disapproving tsk as she and Tasha entered the kitchen. "In my day, we didn't have all these gizmos and gadgets. You had your family, it was horrible, and you lived with it. And don't get me started on your staff. I mean, how is my Leo supposed to learn how to do anything for himself?"

"Well, he'll learn without someone criticizing his every move." Tasha retorted. Rose shot her a look. "I'm guessing."

Rose approached Adam. "So, what is the master chef preparing anyway?"

"He's making...." Harper hesitated, opening a cookbook, flipping through the pages with a sense of urgency. "What's easy? What's easy?" She quickly tore out a page and handed it to Adam. "Spaghetti."

"I love how you always follow the directions. Exactly as written." Tasha told Adam, pointing at the recipe.

Bree stepped forward, a fresh energy in her step as she linked arms with Rose. "Hey, why don't we do some exercise?"

As Bree led Rose away, Harper grabbed Tasha by the arm and pulled her to the other side of the kitchen, away from the others.

"Tasha! Why did you tell Rose that Chase was my boyfriend?" She whispered angrily, her voice tight with frustration

Tasha winced, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, Harper. It just slipped out."

"You owe me for this." Harper muttered, a little more seriously now.

"Add one can of tomatoes." Adam read aloud as he grabbed the can and crushed it, emptying its contents into the saucepan. He scratched his head with a metal cooking spoon. "Simmer on low heat. Low heat.... Oh, okay!" He then covered one eye and used his heat vision to cook the tomatoes. "Yeah, I'm cooking!" Grandma Rose sent him a look from the living room. "Which I always do."

••••

As the night descended on the mansion, the atmosphere in the living room was bustling with activity. Bree and Tasha were engaged in an intense workout, with Bree effortlessly demonstrating her superhuman strength while Tasha tried to keep up. Meanwhile, Rose was seated on the couch, her arms crossed and her eyes scanning the room, clearly not impressed by the tech-filled surroundings.

Harper and Adam worked together in the kitchen, setting up the dinner table. Harper was determined to focus on the task at hand, trying to forget about the awkwardness of pretending to be Chase's girlfriend. She could feel the tension bubbling up in her chest whenever she thought about the charade.

She grabbed the plates and set them on the table, glancing over to Chase, who was entering the living room with Mr. Davenport and Leo.

"Donald!" Rose called out, getting up from the couch.

"Rose." Mr. Davenport greeted, jogging over to her with a nervous smile on his face.

"About time. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me." She told him.

"I was. Uh, sick. I mean I was sick. I was feeling very ill, and I had a very important phone call. Uh, it's not nearly as important as you." Mr. Davenport explained, his words coming out in a rapid, defensive manner.

Rose chuckled at his attempt to cover up. "Nice save."

"Thank you, I thought so." Mr. Davenport replied, before pointing at Adam and Bree in the Great Room. "Honey, what are Adam and Bree doing?"

"You mean our chef and trainer?" Tasha asked.

Mr. Davenport nodded. "That explains what they are doing."

"You know what? Let's just all sit down and have a nice dinner together." Tasha suggested, trying to smooth over the tension.

"We can sit down, but having a nice dinner just isn't gonna happen." Leo replied as he stood near Adam by the stove, eyeing the spaghetti with a skeptical expression.

Tasha shot Leo a glare, signaling him to be quiet.

Rose pointed at Chase, her sharp eyes landing on him. "Hey, you're Leo's manny and you're letting him near the hot stove?"

Chase quickly rushed over to Leo, pulling him away from the stove. "Watch it, Leo. You wanna get sent to bed without any supper?"

"Yes." Leo answered instantly.

Harper was about to take a seat when Chase beat her to it, pulling out her chair. She couldn't help but smile, a little flutter in her chest despite the awkward situation. They still had to maintain the pretense of being a couple and Chase's kind gesture made the act a little easier.

As everyone settled at the table, Adam confidently grabbed the pot and poured out burnt spaghetti onto Rose's plate.

"Pa-sphetti?" Adam asked with a sheepish grin.

Rose blinked in disbelief, staring at the mess on her plate. She turned to Tasha, completely baffled. "What in the name of Great Caesar's ghost is going on around here?"

"Trust me, there is nothing unusual going on here. Everything is completely normal." Tasha reassured her mother.

Then all of a sudden, the sound of crashing metal filled the room. The wall behind the kitchen, concealing the lab doors, was suddenly smashed open as the exoskeleton burst through, its heavy frame causing the entire room to shake.

The group jumped back, startled by the loud noise.

"That was horrible timing." Mr. Davenport remarked dryly.

Everyone stood up from their seats as the exoskeleton moved into the living room and began to wreak havoc on the counter.

"What is that?" Rose exclaimed in shock.

"That is another member of our staff." Leo lied, without missing a beat. "Go away, James. We don't need you right now."

"Boy, I'm old, not senile and that ain't no butler! I'm out." Rose said, clearly unconvinced. With that, she sprinted away, diving behind the couch.

Tasha, Adam, Bree, Mr. Davenport and Harper followed Rose, hiding behind the couch while Chase and Leo lurked behind the plants as the exoskeleton continued its rampage.

"Adam, don't just sit there. Go and take that thing down!" Bree yelled.

Tasha grabbed Adam's arm, pulling him down. "No! You do that.... and someone will know that someone has... certain abilities!"

The exoskeleton continued to throw objects around, including the electric oven, which flew across the room.

"Oh, well, great. Now dinner's ruined." Adam scolded, barely able to contain his frustration.

"Mr. Davenport, what is that thing? And why is it attacking us?" Harper asked, her voice shaky.

"It's my exoskeleton, my latest technology. It's as strong as ten men. I was going to showcase it for 'the call', but it malfunctioned." Mr. Davenport explained.

Rose raised an eyebrow, looking at Mr. Davenport as if he'd just lost his mind. "Donald, you're the man of the house, do something!"

"Right. I'll take care of this." Mr. Davenport said, trying to regain his composure. But as soon as he stood, the exoskeleton fired a laser at him, sending him diving for cover again.

"My hero." Rose said sarcastically. Leo quickly dashed away, narrowly avoiding the laser shot as Rose continued to vent about the malfunctioning tech. "Now you see! Your little gizmo's putting us all in danger. That robot's about to kill us. See, back when I was a kid back in the day-"

"Yeah, that's a fascinating story, Rose. Do you mind if we hear about it later?" Mr. Davenport interrupted, eyes darting between the exoskeleton and his family.

As the exoskeleton continued its rampage through the living room, Harper dodged yet another laser beam that shot dangerously close to her. The loud crackle of energy filled the air and Harper rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. Meanwhile, Mr. Davenport, in a mix of desperation and frustration, hurled pillows at the malfunctioning machine, hoping to slow it down.

In the chaos, Harper noticed something unsettling - Leo was missing. She crawled closer to Chase, eyes scanning the room

"Where's Leo?" She asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"I don't know. He said he had an idea and took off." Chase replied, glancing around the room.

Just as he said that, Leo came sprinting back into the room, holding something in his hand with a confident grin plastered on his face. "Time for this Exo to meet his match."

Chase's expression lit up, recognition dawning on him. "The electrofield de-stabilizer. Great idea, Leo."

"Thanks." Leo replied before rushing over to Chase and handing him the device. "Here. You should do it. Sorry for stealing your sizzle."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I just have to get used to the idea of having another brother around." Chase admitted.

Mr. Davenport turned to the brothers, clearly amused but also running low on resources to deal with the exoskeleton. "Guys, I'm really enjoying the heartfelt moment, but I'm running out of pillows here."

Leo shot a quick smirk at his brother. "Should we take this bad boy down together?"

"I'll flip, you zap?" Chase suggested, and Leo nodded. Chase stood up and waved his hands in the air to get the exoskeleton's attention. "Hey, Exo!"

Without missing a beat, Chase leaped over the plants and somersaulted over the couch, a move that left the exoskeleton distracted for just a moment. Taking full advantage of the opening, Leo charged at the exoskeleton, his feet pounding against the floor as he approached.

"Here comes the pain!" Leo exclaimed as he swung at the exoskeleton, but the machine blocked his attack effortlessly. With surprising strength, it grabbed him by the arms, holding him in place. Leo turned his body to face Chase, a look of confusion and mild panic crossing his features. "Hey, Chase, did we have a plan B?"

Before Chase could answer, Rose -who had been watching the scene unfold from behind a couch- suddenly jumped up with unexpected vigor.

"Hey!" She shouted, her voice fierce. "Nobody lays a hand on my grandson. It's time to pick up the hat!"

Harper's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Rose charge towards the exoskeleton. Without hesitation, the older woman kicked the mechanical creature, sending it staggering back and releasing its grip on Leo.

"Way to go, grandma! And you didn't even break a hip." Bree praised, sounding genuinely impressed. Rose smiled and gave Bree a thumbs-up, her confidence soaring.

The exoskeleton regained its posture and turned its attention back to Leo, who was still on the ground, a little dazed but recovering quickly.

"Look out, Leo!" Chase called out urgently. He slid across the floor, grabbing the electrofield de-stabilizer and Leo in one smooth motion. "Stay close."

Chase immediately formed a force field around them, the energy barrier blocking the laser fire from the exoskeleton. With a determined look, he struck the exoskeleton with the electrofield de-stabilizer and the machine was sent flying back, crashing into the wall before sparking and powering down.

Harper, who had been holding her breath through the entire ordeal, stood up from her hiding spot. A wide smile spread across her face as she made her way over to the bionic siblings and Leo in the middle of the living room.

"Somebody better tell me what's going on right now and right now just passed, so you're not talking fast enough." Rose demanded as she stood up from her spot, giving everyone a sharp look.

"Uh, Rose, there is a completely rational explanation for all of this. You are delusional." Mr. Davenport replied calmly. "Who wants dessert?"

Tasha sighed. "You know what, mum? This is our life. Our house may be high-tech and chaotic, but it is full of love and it may not be perfect for you, but it is perfect for our family."

"What family?" Rose questioned, clearly confused. "Wait a minute, who are these people?"

"They are my brother's kids. That I adopted when he died. Fell in a volcano." Mr. Davenport explained hesitantly.

Rose grinned, a knowing look on her face. "Well, why didn't you just say so? Now it all makes sense. You're just a modern family with a bunch of adorable kids, who is gonna need their grandma around all the time. I can stay for a few days in the spare room you got down the hall. Come on, baby. I got my overnight case in my car and Gladys is watching Poochie so it's no problem."

Tasha groaned, trailing behind her mother with a look of disbelief on her face. She shot a glance back at Mr. Davenport, who was unable to stop her, his hands raised in a gesture of helplessness. Harper couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all.

______________
PUBLISHED: 25.04.22
DEDICATIONS: Peters_suit_lady omgthatssocrazy WerecoyoteWitch97