episode 20
~ on the edge part two ~
"it's really weird not having you here, leo. everybody really misses you," bree spoke, her eyes glued to the screen that showed the younger boy's face as she leaned back against valerie.
"it's been two weeks. when are you coming back?"
"i'm sorry, guys. when i said i was done, i meant it. i've hung up my mission suit forever."
"then can i have it?" adam asked, excitement lacing his tone. "i found a guy in japan who's willing to pay top dollar."
"are you sure we can't change your mind?" valerie spoke up for the first time since their last call, still upset about her best friend leaving the academy.
"sorry, guys, i'm staying here. i gotta go. mom's hosting her book club tonight, and i'm in charge of dessert. turns out my laser sphere has caramelized the perfect creme brûlée."
"whoo, that sounds good. do i, uh, have to read a book to get in on that?"
"can you even read?" chris raised an eyebrow, uncrossing his arms and taking a drink from his water bottle.
"later, guys," leo hung up, the screen going back to its usual shades of blue.
"i feel bad. we should've given him more credit."
"i know," chase sighed. "and he deserves to be up there with us at the award ceremony tomorrow."
"so does jenna," bree added, sharing a smile with the blonde.
"couldn't agree with you more. and that's why they're gonna be. say hello to the newest members of the bionic team. cardboard leo and jenna," adam revealed the cutouts, causing the twins to burst out into laughter.
"what is that?" chase exclaimed.
"uh, it's a life size cardboard cutout of both leo and jenna, hence the name cardboard leo and cardboard jenna. pay attention, chase. this stuff isn't that hard."
"i'm right here," jenna murmured, not knowing how to react, especially after being shushed by adam.
"i think what he means is, are you crazy? we can't bring that to the ceremony," bree raised her voice, hitting val every time she heard her snort in amusement.
"of course we can, and if things get boring, i'm gonna fold leo into an airplane and fly him around. and i'll do the same with cardboard jenna if things get extra boring. whee!"
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"so, 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, we'll take the hydro loop to the mainland, and we will travel to the president's award ceremony in my self-driving limo," mister davenport informed.
"i call shotgun!"
"adam, it's a limo. everyone rides in the back."
"you sit where you want. i will still be holding the shotgun," he replied, placing his arm on chris' shoulder due to the height difference and ignoring the latter's wide eyes.
"shotgun?" the hispanic boy whispered.
"once the president is dazzled, i will undoubtedly be showered with a big, fat contract and piles of cash, which i just might share with you five."
"really?"
"no."
"wait, wait, wait. so even though it's our award ceremony, now it's become all about you?" chase clarified.
"you know, for the smartest man in the world, it really took you a long time to figure that out."
"taylor," bree caught the other mentors' attention after spotting the girl.
"taylor," chase repeated.
"hey," valerie mumbled, wrapping her arms around the student, moving over to the side to hug her father as well.
"hey! good to see you up and around," adam spoke loudly. "just so you know, this is adam."
"i lost my vision, not my hearing."
"she obviously didn't lose that nasty attitude either," he scoffed.
"what are those glasses?"
"my latest piece of technology that i customized for her,"
douglas hummed. "high tech lenses that use a series of laser-guided sensors to enhance her spatial awareness."
"they don't allow me to see in the traditional sense, but they vibrate to let me know when there's an obstacle in my path," taylor demonstrated by walking over to the cypher desk.
"that's so cool. i wanna try," logan grinned, reaching out for her glasses, only to have his arm pinned behind his back within seconds. "ow. so sorry, sorry. please don't hurt me."
"hey, i'm impressed, taylor. you've made a lot of progress in a few weeks."
"thanks. i have been working really hard. have any of you guys spoken to leo? i was hoping someone convinced him to come back to the academy by now."
"if valerie or jenna can't do it then we have no hope," chris said without thinking.
"we talked to him earlier today," valerie brushed off her brother's comment. "no luck. he won't change his mind."
"oh, yeah, it's really annoying when people don't understand what you're going through," adam continued to shout, causing taylor to throw her hands up in despair and walk away. "you see, there's that attitude again."
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"you look gorgeous," valerie told her girlfriend as left their living quarters.
"well, you clean up nicely," bree chuckled, wrapping her arms around val's and taking a quick glance around the area. "how was training?"
"alright. i'm glad taylor is doing better because i really needed douglas' help. and my dad got in contact with horace and they've been helping, but i still don't know if it's enough."
"enough for what? babe, are you still doubting yourself?"
"how can i not? i just suddenly feel like i have all this pressure on my shoulders with these new powers."
"we gotta go," mister davenport interrupted, passing by the couple and heading towards the hydro loop, gesturing for them to follow.
"look, i don't know how many times i have to say this but you're doing amazing. you'll master these powers, you just need to believe in yourself the way we believe in you. it'll just take, and we have a lot of that."
"is it too young to get married?" val suddenly blurted out, her eyes widened when she realized what words came out of her mouth. "shit."
"oh my god, i love you," bree laughed, leaning in for a short, sweet kiss before walking off in the direction mister davenport went.
"so, how'd you guys get this thing to the mainland?"
"we had to helicopter it in from the island," douglas explained.
"it was hung from incredibly strong cables. the same ones they used to pour mister davenport into his tux pants," bree joked.
"for your information, i got into these pants without any help from technology."
"it's true. he used a girdle. and i had to tie it. and that thing did not want to be tied. i have rope burns."
"i'm sorry about jenna not being able to come," mister davenport quickly changed the topic.
"it's alright," chase softly smiled, switching his attention to the opening door.
"make some room for leo and jenna," adam announced after chris hopped in and made himself comfortable next to chase.
"hey, watch the face. that's my money."
"i thought your brains were your money."
"no, i mean actual money. i just had $50,000 worth of work done to this thing."
"that explains a lot," chris scoffed, waving his hands in surrender as the adult glared at him.
"is martin watching the academy while we're gone?" douglas assured, receiving a nod in response from his brother.
"these things could not be more in the way."
"exactly. just like the real leo and jenna."
"jenna isn't ever in the way," valerie trailed off.
"seatbelts, everyone. drive to presidential award ceremony."
"whoa. this thing does whatever you tell it to?" adam questioned. "cool! pop a wheelie."
"no!"
"it's okay. it's okay. the first thing i taught the computer was to tune out adam's voice," donny said, causing chris to smirk. "and chris'."
"lame."
"pop a wheelie!"
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"how long is this ride?" valerie groaned under her breath, snuggling closer to bree and making sure not to mess up her own makeup and hair.
choosing to ignore her girlfriend and not wanting anyone to answer the hispanic, bree looked around and attempted to find something to talk about. "i gotta hand it to you, mister davenport. this is the smoothest ride i've ever been in."
"driver error is the number-one cause of car accidents. this little baby will make automobile transportation a hundred times safer."
"hey, what's it doing?" chris furrowed his eyebrows, pointing over to one of the screens.
"oh, the limo's computer's plotting the location of neighboring vehicles and predicting their movement at twenty times a second."
"yeah, i don't know why i asked," he mumbled, leaning back and making himself comfortable.
"where's the butt warmers?"
"in case of an emergency, the entire vehicle goes into lockdown. you are safer here than anywhere in the world."
"listen, anywhere without windows that can easily break is safe for me," val slightly joked.
"what is it with your opponents always tossing you out windows?" douglas inquired while laughing along with the others.
"i would like to know. it's like they all collectively agree to do it."
"i wish they'd stop. i've had to replace too many windows because of you," mister davenport shuddered.
"oh, cool. we're going over the burst memorial bridge. interesting fact. it's one of the largest suspension bridges in the world. erected in 1951 by a small group-"
"here's another interesting fact," bree stopped her brother's dialogue, "no one cares."
"what was that?" douglas exclaimed after the brakes screeched.
"i don't know. partition down."
"what's happening?"
"the bridge cables are snapping."
"put it up, put it up!"
"partition up. everybody hold on," mister davenport ordered.
"don't do it," bree whispered to valerie, knowing the latter would try to use her x-ray vision to see more. thankfully, bree's comment was ignored due to the fact that the limo began to lose control.
"is everybody okay?"
"yeah."
"i'm a little hungry," adam replied, his grip tight on the two cardboard cutouts,
"wait, why are we rocking?" chris panted.
"the limo must be wedged over something."
"what do you think it is?"
"the edge," valerie held in her breath, squeezing her eyes shut and wishing she would've listened to the girl next to her.
"partition down," mister davenport said, prepared to close his eyes.
"ooh, look. clouds. i didn't know this thing could fly. can i get a ginger ale and a bag of peanuts?"
"we're not flying. we're dangling off the bridge!"
"i'm pretty sure this is where we die," chris huffed.
"we have to get out of here. why won't the doors open? val, chris, geo-leap us out of here."
"the limo's computer sensed the emergency and put the car into immediate lockdown mode."
"the technology that makes it impossible to get inside the limo also makes it impossible to get out. and the twins can't geo-leap because the sudden movement can make things worse for us," douglas explained.
"i'm not just gonna sit here all day. i'm busting us out," adam proceeded to punch the side of the limo, causing the vehicle to shake.
"everyone stop moving. stay calm, donnie. we'll figure a way out of this."
"it's not that," he continued to hyperventilate. "i gotta figure a way out of this girdle."
"oh, no. if that thing bursts, it'll take us out before the bridge does."
"wait," chase trailed off, slowly turning to his right, which was where valerie was seated. "how'd you know we were on the edge of the bridge before mister davenport brought the partition down?"
"just a hunch?" she answered, opening her eyes to watch the news.
"oh. good idea, mister davenport. turn on a good movie to take our minds off this tragic situation."
"that's leo. he came to save us. leo, jenna, can you hear me?"
"yes, big d., i can hear you. we're coming to get you."
"no," he demanded. "it's too unstable. i don't want you to get hurt. listen to me very carefully. we're locked in. see that silver shark fin on the rear windshield?"
"we see it," jenna informed.
"that's the housing unit for the computer system. i need you to find a way to disable it. then it will release the locks, and we can climb out."
"got it."
"they can do this. right?"
"what do you think? our lives are in the hands of a newbie, a quitter, a blind girl, and a girl who forgets what bionics she has sometimes."
"we can still hear you!"
"then, boy, aren't we lucky?" douglas stammered out.
"fuck, fuck, fuck," valerie blurted out, pulling her hand out of the seat, causing chase and adam to look at her weirdly.
"language," adam dramatically gasped.
"i thought you discovered all your hidden abilities," chase looked around, realizing that he didn't know something.
"now is not the time for this conversation," bree slipped a device onto val's wrist to prohibit her from using her superpowers.
"hello. we're sliding off a bridge over here!"
"hang on. we have a plan."
"you know, based on the last forty times that he said that, i'd say we have, oh, a ten percent chance of making it. now, what am i missing here?"
"hey, hey, he came all the way out here to save us. give the kid some credit. twelve percent."
"we can still hear you!" leo yelled. "alright, logan, jenna, now!"
something hit the top of the limo, causing it to go offline and bring them out of lockdown mode.
"they did it. let's get outta here."
"yes!"
"whoa, whoa, whoa. single file people. me first."
"wait, wait, wait. open the sun roof. bree can super speed us out one by one."
chase shared a look with the twins and they switched spots while mister davenport and douglas got out, but the commotion was too much.
the limo began to tilt over even more, and leo's grunted was soon heard.
"chris, take chase and get out of here," valerie ordered, giving them a nod. reluctantly, he did as told and geo-leaped himself and chase to the end of the bridge, meeting up with the others.
"val!" leo screamed, falling to the ground after the vehicle slid off the bridge and fell into the water with a loud splash.
"i just wanna take a nap," her voice was heard and the boy loudly shrieked, jumping up to his feet and slowly peering over the edge.
"you-how-what? wait, there's someone floating in the water. is that me?"
"and jenna. don't worry. just pieces of cardboard," she panted, carefully getting up and hugging leo. sadly, their moment was interrupted by the bridge once again shaking. "hold on."
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
"these individuals before you are the epitome of what a hero should be. they are the most selfless, humble people that i know. because of their courageous actions, the world is a better place. heroes come in all shapes and sizes, but the real way to measure a true hero is by their determination to never give up," the president grinned, looking over at leo.
applause scattered all over the room as the younger boy giggled.
"people of our nation, and our planet, are beyond grateful for the contributions that you seven have made to our safety and well-being. there is no way we can repay you for all that you've done."
"well, don't let that stop you from writing a big, fat check. did i just say that out loud?" adam's eyes widened, but he smirked when he received no answer.
~~~
leo's now back at the island and is officially now a mentor, but he wouldn't let that happen without jenna becoming one too because that's just the person he is
also chase, our dear chase, has made some important discoveries