Angels and Demons

White Christmas

- Chapter Thirteen - 

"How much time do we have left?"

"Not much" Checking your phone, you say: "They're gonna be here any minute."

Heart fluttering and stomach twisting, you exhale a sigh to calm your jittering nerves. To see Leo and Adam for the holidays brought you much joy and as much as you're excited, you can't help but be anxious. Because it wasn't just them that were coming over, it was Grandma Rose as well.

Laying a hand on your knee, Chase squeezes it gently. "Everything is gonna be fine."

"Oh really?" Cracking an eye open, you say, "A penthouse full of chaotic powered-up kids and tired no-nonsense adults being trapped under one roof for Christmas is gonna be fine?"

Chase tilts his head and nods. "Perhaps you're right. There's an eighty-two percent chance that something is either gonna set on fire or explode."

"That's promising." Swirling a little on your stool, you look over at Chase's laptop. "What's so interesting about my abilities anyway? You already know what I've got."

Thumbing the little metal device on your neck, Chase scrolls through your list of abilities. "I want to know your hidden abilities. Giselle packed you with so many hidden ones that I think you'll outrank a good chunk of us."

"Chase, I could care less about outranking anyone. I'm perfectly fine with the abilities I have now."

"You have super intelligence." Leaning toward the screen, Chase scans the screen. "Geo-leaping, indivisibility, sonic scream…" Eyebrows furrowing, Chase looks over at you. "You disabled your commando app?"

"Of course I did. Douglas is trying to find a way to disable it permanently. However, he's hit a roadblock. Even if he can't do it, the app being temporarily disabled is better than it is on."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

You shrug a shoulder. "I know you're struggling with disabling your own as well. Your technology was outdated compared to Giselle's. She may have added a bunch of abilities in my chip, but I don't want any more. I don't want the commando app, Lucy is extremely aggressive and I don't want her being in control."

Chase looks back at the screen with a thoughtful expression. "You really don't want any more abilities. Not even super intelligence?"

You shake your head with a smile. "You can keep super intelligence to yourself. I don't think the others will be able to handle the both of us any longer if we both had it. Besides, I can live without it."

He can't help but smile. "That's very true. I haven't even been able to temporarily disable my commando app."

"Giselle was far ahead in the game when it came to technology. Douglas told me you and he were close, so don't quit yet." Phone buzzing, you check it and sigh in relief when you see that it's just a weather report. Right arm itching in its cast, you take the ruler from the hyper-desk and stick it in your cast. You've saved some blank space on your cast for Adam and Leo to doodle on, however, your mind immediately shifts to Grandma Rose again for the umpteenth time. 

"Hey." Chase nudges your chin gently to look at him. "Don't worry about Grandma Rose. We're all here for you."

"I know." Closing your eyes, you say, "I just want to earn her respect, but I don't think she'll even tolerate me. She knows everything, Chase."

He grabs your left hand, letting your casted arm rest in your lap. "No matter what happens or what she says, you'll have all of us in your corner."