episode 19
~ on the edge part one ~
"well, guys, it took a while, but we finally came up with s1's new name."
"we went through hundreds before we came up with the perfect one," jenna explained, having spent time with her and leo due to the fact that the blonde was still a student.
"what is it?" bree asked
"charlotte."
"taylor," the two girls spoke in unison, both giving leo a confused look after hearing his answer.
"right. taylor. my...second choice."
"i like it."
"yeah, great name."
"eh, doesn't really matter to me. i didn't remember your other name, and i'm not gonna remember this one, either," adam chuckled.
"hey, guys," mister davenport approached the group before either of the twins could get a word in. "i have some very exciting news."
"you're finally eligible for senior citizen discounts?"
"no. maybe. i don't wanna talk about it. look...the president called, and he's honoring you guys with a prestigious award for completing mission number 1,000."
"that's awesome. congratulations, guys," taylor exclaimed.
"thanks, but technically, if you count all the missions where our bionics were still a secret, then our number is actually 2,604–ouch," chase groaned, rubbing the spot on his head where valerie had hit him. "but who's counting?"
"you are. that's all you do is count."
"i do not. just for the record, that's the 53rd time that you've told me that."
"okay, babe, that's enough," jenna sighed, walking over to him and patting his back.
"this is gonna be great. it's about time i got honored for something," leo grinned. "so when is this little shindig?"
"uh, in a couple of weeks. there's gonna be a big, fancy ceremony on the mainland, but the president's only honoring the original team, adam, bree, chase, chris and valerie."
"what? how can he do that? i go on missions with them all the time. and plus, val and chris aren't even part of the original original team."
"i'm sure when they hand out awards for completing 32 1/2 missions, you'll get yours. and as for the twins, they've been on over a thousand missions."
"it's actually 31 1/2, but who's counting?"
"how are you not affected by this?" leo called out to jenna before she left.
"as much as i would love to get an award from the president, i haven't gone on enough missions so i understand. why can't you be happy for the others?"
not expecting to receive a response from an annoyed leo, jenna nodded and walked off, valerie and bree right behind her.
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"hey, adam, how's the fire prevention training going?"
"wait, you said fire prevention? ooh, well, it's too late to prevent that one," he pointed over in the direction in which an alarm was blaring. hearing the sudden noise, chris snorted and ordered the group of students to go undo whatever adam made them do.
"guys, you have to come see this. leo just did something super amazing."
"awh, leo's holding hands with a girl," valerie tilted her head to the side as everyone entered the training area. "if that isn't considered amazing then i don't know what is."
"we found a new ability," he informed, ignoring his best friend's comment. "check this out."
moving further apart, leo and taylor kept their hands interlocked, causing some sort of sphere to appear.
"now," leo smirked, and they launched the light to the screen on the other side of the room. the small explosion made the power go out and sent the whole academy into darkness.
"oh, man, now i can't see what the new ability is."
"that was the new ability."
"well, do you have another that turns you into a night light?" chris sarcastically asked.
"hold on. i'll bring the back-up system online," chase turned on his tablet, the device illuminating his face for a couple of seconds until the lights came back on.
"so? isn't our new ability cool? when we join hands, our laser spheres combine to create one large sphere that's so powerful, it sends out an electromagnetic pulse."
"emp's disable any piece of electrical technology they touch."
"dude, that was incredible. one day, i'm gonna be just like you," logan sighed.
"ah, thank you, son. now move along."
"uh, no offense, logan, but when did leo become your hero?"
"are you kidding? talk about an underdog. he was just a regular guy. all of a sudden, he got bionics and became an inspiration to the whole world."
"that is my story."
"and i love how he didn't let his scrawny body and inferior skill set stop him."
"we got it, logan."
"no, i don't think we do," this hispanic girl's smile grew.
"i'm a little worried about this new ability," chase spoke up. "emp's are very, very dangerous."
"but if we had this when krane was around, we could've shut down his triton app in a second."
"it doesn't matter, it's still dangerous. don't use it again until we've had time to study it in a controlled environment."
"come on, chase."
"no."
"if we just-"
"you heard me. no more emp's," the mentor raised his voice, ending the conversation with deep breath.
"boo," logan whispered as chase walked out, jenna mumbling her apologies and following after him.
"alright, guys, let's get back to work. next up, cpr training. uh, no, wait, cpr prevention."
"we should probably go with him," valerie looked over at her girlfriend, who quickly agreed.
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"we've really been on 1,000 missions? it felt more like six."
"nope," chase furrowed his eyebrows, "it was way more than that, and i remember all of them. literally. they're backed up on my hard drive."
"maybe you should clear a few out. you know, free up some space to add some personality, or a sense of humor," bree suggested.
"you know, a likable trait," valerie added.
"hey, leo."
"don't talk to me like i'm a child."
"all i said was 'hey, leo.'"
"well, i detected a tone."
"what's up with you?" chris questioned.
"i'll tell you what's up with me. i am tired of everyone treating me like some kind of non-existent bionic hero."
"hey, just because it's true doesn't mean you have to take it personally."
"oh, really? well, guess what. we're starting our own team," leo informed, gesturing to himself, logan and taylor. "that's right. you're looking at the next generation of bionic super humans. it's the other way like we rehearsed," he told logan, who posed facing the wrong way.
"oh, right."
"and, uh, who might be the leader of this new bionic team?"
"you're looking at him," taylor grinned, nodding over to leo, causing chase to laugh.
"are you kidding me? leo?"
"see, right there. there's that tone."
"look, you can't just become a leader by saying that you're a leader. it takes years of mission experience."
"you named yourself mission leader when you were fourteen."
"eh, wrong. i was twelve. good thing someone around here counts," chase corrected, dodging the crumpled up piece of paper that valerie threw at him. "you're not ready."
"oh, yes, i am, and i'm going to prove to you that i'm ready."
"sold!" logan raised his hand up in the air.
"you were already on board."
"and yet he sold me again. he's that good."
"is mister davenport okay with this?" bree spoke up just as the guy mentioned walked in.
"douglas thinks he's gonna beat me at my own game. i don't think so."
"hey, big d., is it cool if i start my own team?"
"yeah, leo, whatever. 'it's indestructible.'"
"ha! victory pose."
"other way, sir."
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"i just don't understand. how are we here right now?" chris dramatically asked, his sister agreeing with him.
"do you guys not find this crazy?"
"i find you two crazy," bree murmured, moving further away from the duo, only to be pulled back by her girlfriend.
"we are not crazy. it's just hyper-awareness. like, we're thinking, and we can feel it."
"i don't think i've ever been more happy to see chase," adam snorted in amusement.
"have any of you seen jenna?"
"i think leo's forcing her to be part of his team since she's stuck as a student," bree told the nerd, struggling to make valerie let go of her.
"they're in the training room i think," adam shrugged.
chase nodded in response and walked over to that area, the others following him.
"hey, leo," he announced their presence.
"break's over. everybody up."
"how's your new team doing?" he asked, glancing over at jenna, who seemed everything but happy.
"great. you see this right here? this is a little something we like to call leading and training."
"really? looks to me like standing and talking."
"we carried him all the way down an imaginary mountain."
"why?"
"because the guy weighs like sixty pounds. give him a break," logan pointed at his leader, who was annoyed at the comment.
"we've been working hard. we found a way to include logan and make our new ability even better."
"does that mean i don't have to follow you guys around anymore?" jenna asked, hope lacing her tone.
"we're trying to prove a point here, so you're stuck with us. anyways, check this out."
the three took their positions while the blonde moved over to chase, the couple interlocking hands just as leo and taylor did the same, the same sphere appearing.
"leo, i specifically told you not to do that again. it's too dangerous."
"too dangerous or too awesome?"
"now i'm gonna use my energy manipulation to guide their emp toward a target."
"not yet, junior. these kids came for a show. amp it up, tay tay."
"tay tay?" val whispered, confused by the nickname. "didn't he hate her like a couple of months ago?"
"okay, now i'm gonna-"
"not yet," leo interrupted logan, not seeing the way the sphere was affecting taylor.
"leo, it's too much for her!"
"oh, please, you're just jealous that your team isn't as powerful as mine."
"leo, stop!"
"back off! this is my team-"
before he could finish his sentence, the emp exploded and sent taylor across the room, knocking her out.
"taylor!"
"she's barely breathing. go get help," chase ordered.
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"mister davenport, how's taylor?" chase asked as his father came into sight, everyone else in the room quickly switching their attention over.
"the good news is, i flew in the best doctors money could buy, so she's in good hands."
"how seriously is she hurt?"
"she's in critical condition," he informed. "we'll know more when she wakes up."
"i'm sorry, big d. i feel terrible," leo chased after him.
"you should. what were you thinking? making her max out her abilities?"
"i didn't think she'd get hurt. i just wanted to show everyone what my new team could do."
"new team? who said you could have a new team?"
"you did," leo deadpanned. "earlier today when you walked through here."
"well, you should know better than to bother me when i'm focused on me. look, i have to get back to the infirmary. i'll let you guys know if there's any other news."
"you should've stopped when i told you to. this just proves you're not ready to lead your own team."
"hey," valerie raised her voice, pushing chase away from leo.
"i am more than ready," leo shouted back at his brother before the hispanic in the middle could say anything. "and maybe i wouldn't feel like i need to prove that to you guys if you weren't always looking down on me."
"leo, we don't look down on you."
"yeah, we have total respect for all of your shortcomings."
"when are you guys gonna stop treating me like i'm an idiot?"
"maybe when you stop acting like one."
"that's enough," valerie glared at both of them, only to be ignored once more.
"you know what? maybe quitting your team wasn't enough. maybe i need to quit being your brother, too."
"you need to learn when to back off and shut up," valerie mumbled, spinning on her heel and going after leo.
"so now it's my fault?" chase called out.
"i'm not saying that-"
"it sounds like it."
"leo knows he did something wrong. give him a break," chris finally said something, sliding away from the group.
"can we not argue?" bree whispered, knowing the twins could hear her.
"see you later."
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"chase, what's going on?"
"mister davenport has another update on taylor," he avoided eye contact with valerie, who let go of bree's hand and walked over to leo's side once he stopped in his tracks.
"hello."
"excuse me, sir," adam cleared his throat, "now that we aren't brothers, what should i call you?"
"hey, logan."
"hey, guys. good to see you."
"ahem!"
"oh, right. we're still mad at them. hey, guys, it is not good to see you."
"how is she?"
"awake. she's gonna make it," donald told them the good news.
"see? told ya. so what kind of bionic upgrades did you throw in? uh, rocket feet or rocket elbows? rocket hips? just sayin' the girl could use some rockets."
"no, leo. taylor made it, but the laser spheres damaged her retinas. she's lost her eyesight. she's blind."
"what?"
"we tried everything," martin entered the training area, taking off some gloves and tossing them in a trash can. "no amount of bionics will fix this."
"it's permanent."
"permanent for how long?" adam questioned.
"you can't just give up. there's gotta be something you can do. you have to keep trying."
"i'm sorry, kiddo," martin sighed, patting leo's shoulder.
"i can't believe it. she's never gonna see again. it's all because of me."
"but you said she was gonna be okay," logan softly spoke.
"let him go," bree held valerie back, the latter allowing bree to wrap her arms around her.
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"have you guys seen leo? he wasn't at breakfast this morning."
"that's because i was packing."
"leo, what are you doing? you're supposed to be training," chase said.
"i'm going back to mission creek. i don't belong here anymore. i'm quitting the academy."
"what?"
"wait, we can do that?"
"adam!" the three girls warned in unison.
"look, leo, i know you're upset about taylor, but it was an accident."
"no. chase was right. i'm not cut out to be a leader."
"i never meant for you to leave."
"part of being a leader is making mistakes. you learn from them and you move on. i mean, look at chase. think about all the mistakes he's made as mission leader."
"yeah. remember when the particle collider collapsed on us because of him?"
"or when he told sebastian about krane, and started the rebellion."
"or the other time-"
"mistakes were made. we get it!" chase growled, causing the mentors to chuckle.
"but his never hurt anyone. taylor has to live with my mistake for the rest of her life."
"so you're just gonna give up and leave? what about our team?"
"logan, you deserve a better team. or at least a better leader. i'm not gonna put you or anyone else here in danger ever again. here," leo handed mister davenport his mission suit, "give it to someone more deserving."
"leo, i'm not gonna let you-"
"yes, you are, because it's not your choice. it's mine. bye, guys. sorry i let you down."
~~~~
took me long enough-