▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Another day, another fruitless attempt at contacting Adam.
But first a quick rundown.
Since Krane's attack and the subsequent exposure of the bionics, a week has passed. And this week was nothing but weird.
First of all, the bionics weren't yet allowed to return to school as the government had still things to sort out with them. Secondly, Jordyn also was prohibited from attending school due to her concussion, which required rest and the avoidance of strenuous physical or mental activity. Thirdly, Jordyn had to relocate out of the Davenports' home because, to everyone's dismay, more agents were pouring in and out on a daily basis. Therefore, Tasha had made it her mission to come over and care for her whenever she could.
But all this wasn't reason for Jordyn's heightened anxiety in the past few days. Instead, it was the fact that throughout her whole recovery, her contact was solely limited to Tasha, Donald, Leo and Douglas.
Even weirder, Chase also kept himself updated on her condition as Leo told her during one of their calls.
Quite the opposite was the case with her supposed best friend, Adam. Whenever Joe tried calling Adam, she would always be sent to his mailbox. Additionally, every single of her texts was left on delivered.
She had no idea what had happened to cause his sudden indifference toward her and she would be lying if she said she didn't analyze every single bit of conversation they have held before the incident. But still, she found nothing.
Jordyn wanted to blame herself, but it was hard since she didn't know what for.
However, today would be the day.
It was not only her first day back in school but also the bionics – a perfect opportunity to reunite with her friends, as well as clear things up with Adam.
Right now, she stood at her locker, looking at her reflection in the small mirror. Recognizing the wrinkles on her forehead, she reminded herself to calm down and stop worrying. But as time progressed, and there was still no sign of her friends, Jordyn couldn't stop herself from frowning.
As a distraction, Jordyn picked a concealer from her make-up bag and started to cover the dark rings under her eyes. They weren't uncommon to her and they didn't bother her as much as a few months back but she still chose to make an effort at concealing them before important events.
She just finished blending it in, when all students started moving toward the entrance and swarmed around the doors. Must be something major, Jordyn thought as she gently shut her locker and walked after the others.
It quickly became way too overwhelming when more and more students appeared from all sides and pushed and pressed to get to the front. While Jordyn did pride herself on having learned how to handle crowds, it didn't mean that her fear was completely lost. This moment was a great example of it.
The girl hurriedly withdrew from the crowd and opted to climb the stairs instead, in order to look over everyone's heads. Jordyn doesn't know what exactly she expected but it definitely wasn't what it revealed to be.
Her mouth hung wide open as Graham introduced the bionics as if they were some sort of celebrity and they all walked in together, happily taking in the camera flashes and applause.
Jordyn slowly gathered herself and descended the stairs. Her course was set on Bree and Chase, who she spotted giving autographs amongst the crowd, about to give them a serious piece of her mind.
Unfortunately, her plans were thwarted by a bodyguard moving in front of her and blocking her way. "No cutting in line." He nodded toward the line of people to her right who all seemingly waited to talk to Bree and Chase.
She turned back after examining the line and crossed her arms. "I don't want an autograph. I just wanna talk to my friends." With that, she was about to round the man but he took a step to the side and blocked her once more.
"Maybe you'll find your friends in the line over there."
Jordyn gave the man a glare, offended he would believe her to be such a bad liar. "Just move away and you'll see."
The bodyguard laughed this time and shook his head. "Yeah, yeah. And I'm friends with Santa. Now, I gotta ask you to follow my orders or I'll have to remove you from the premises."
"These premises are my school."
The man's stoic gaze didn't waver and Jordyn knew he'd go through with his threat. But as luck would have it, at that very moment she saw Adam walking behind the bodyguard to give a girl an autograph on her forehead.
She took her chance and slipped away from the guard who had assumed she would advance to his left instead of his right and therefore grasped for air.
"Add!" She exclaimed as she jogged over to him, just when he had finished the autograph. To her bewilderment, he didn't react to her and stayed silent while tucking away the pen he used. Assuming he was just lost in thought, she repeated herself and walked closer to him.
"Hey, Add. Sorry, I know you must be busy with all those people wanting your autographs," she rolled her eyes with a chuckle and continued, even though Adam didn't react, "I wanted to speak to you. Because of the past few days... You didn't answer my calls or messages and I-"
"Jordyn, stop talking," Adam cut her off with an eye roll and dismissive wave.
The girl was stunned. Never did she hear such coldness in his voice and his gaze passed through her as if she was a ghost. Jordyn opened her mouth to say something, anything. But she closed it right away when she noticed there wasn't anything to say, nothing.
Adam turned, breaking off the tension, and walked away.
Just like that, he left Jordyn alone.
And she immediately felt it.
She felt the loneliness strike her – once again.
And she greeted it like the old friend that it was.
"Friends, my arse. They always say they're friends."
The guard's mumble struck her – hard.
But after this, there was nothing. She felt nothing.
Numbness completely enveloped her being.
And so, she didn't put up a fight when the bodyguard grabbed her arm. And she didn't put up a fight when he guided her outside. Not when he left her alone again.
Not when she sunk down to the floor.
She didn't pick up a fight at all.
Not with him.
Not with herself.
She simply accepted it all.
Accepted this as the end.
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
Classes ended, Jordyn was free to go home. She was ready to get in bed, put on her headphones and cry.
Jordyn had initially wanted to spend the rest of her day on the floor next to the entrance but Perry soon tripped over her and yelled at her to get to her classes. The girl did, although there was no added value to her being there.
Her plans to wallow in self-pity were hindered by a text message.
Daven McDonaldport
Come to the lab.
be there in a few
And so, she was forced to drive to the last place she wanted to be.
To escape the agents she had seen chatting in the driveway, she chose the back door. Upon entering, she was instantly met with a broad chest. The agent looked down with a glare but rounded her and continued on his way through the hallway.
"Ahh, you're here," Donald's voice pulled her gaze from the departing agent. She turned toward the man and was surprised to see a frustrated grimace adorning his features.
"What's wrong? You okay?"
Donald was equally confused by Jordyn's disgruntled appearance – her hair messier than usual, her makeup patchy. "Are you?"
Jordyn quickly nodded, not about to indulge in the topic in the middle of what she thought to be an emergency.
"Adam, Bree and Chase aren't answering my messages or returning my calls. They'll be late for their training." He paused to look at the watch on his wrist. "They are late for their training."
"Weird. I saw them leave with Graham. I thought he would drive them here."
Donald closed his eyes, put his hands forward as if to break someone's neck and let out a grunt. The girl observed him, knowing to not mess with his way of dealing with stress, and let him take deep breaths.
"Better?"
"Better," he said and opened his eyes, sporting a far more relaxed expression.
This didn't last very long since there was a loud bang in the distance, followed by an apology. At this point, Donald seemed to have reached his breaking point because he immediately lost his cool and clutched his head. "Why are there so many people in my house?!"
Worried, as well as weirded out, by his behavior, Jordyn gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Can't you just throw them all out? It's your property after all."
Donald harshly gripped Jordyn by her shoulders and shook her. "I have no say against the government," he murmured while staring right into her eyes.
"Okay," she stressed and removed his hands from her shoulders with a nervous chuckle. "How about you," she pointed at his chest, "go down to the lab and prepare everything or whatever you need to do... and I," she pointed at herself, "take care of them. Good? Great."
She turned the man by his arms and pushed him toward the lab stairs. He followed her orders and went off, mumbling something to himself.
Bionics + Joe
Adam-Add
Bree-Bro
Chase-Chase
Leo-Lee
5.06 p.m.
guys where the fuck are all of you
its good ol training o clock!
also
who changed the name
i feel offended
Lee
JOE!
Well you see...
I got into this little predicament
Oh, and it was me
Thought the name needed an update
firstly, f u
its awful
secondly
as much as id not like to help you rn
this isnt bout you
whats up with the others
not even brees lookin at those
shes always on her damn phone
Lee
So about this predicament...
Lee is typing...
Putting her phone in her back pocket, Jordyn blew a strand of hair from her face and bit her lip. She knew that if they didn't look at their text messages, they wouldn't pick up a call either, especially when listening to one of Graham's sickening stories about himself.
She decided to go down to the lab and relay the bad news to Donald. She took the stairs and was just about to turn the corner when she heard Donald's loud complaining, "No don't get up. I got it."
Jordyn immediately picked up some speed and soon enough saw Donald straining to lift a heavy barrel through the lab. She rounded him and picked up the other side, so the man didn't have to carry all the burden alone.
They carried it over to a table and put it down next to it. Although Donald's frustration was on the forefront of his mind, he didn't miss the girl flinching at the metal hitting the ground. It was honestly very hard to miss how she instantly snapped her arms up, protecting the back of her head. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and averted his gaze to the ground – guilt clouding his mind.
Noticing no movement, Jordyn slowly looked up and only after making sure there was no threat, left her arms fall back to her sides. Her gaze darted toward Donald but he appeared busy with his own thoughts.
There was no time to dwell on Jordyn's unusual reaction because laughs traveled through the tunnel and finally Adam, Bree and Chase appeared, accompanied by Graham.
Jordyn couldn't help but fix her attention on Adam. It was disappointing to note, however, that he seemed intent on looking anywhere but in her direction. Once again, Jordyn was reminded of their morning 'conversation' and got lost in thought.
It was amazing how Adam could just go about his business as usual, acting more or less as if nothing had ever transpired between them – as if she never existed to him.
It wasn't until Jordyn noticed Graham approaching her and Donald in the corner of her eye that she let her gaze drift away from Adam and tuned back into the conversation.
"-training's been put on hold until further notice. Didn't you read the memo? Oh, that's right. You're not on the memo list."
"They need their training to maintain their bionics, not to mention their missions-"
"Yes, but right now the most important mission is getting our faces out there. That's why we're going on an international press tour."
Jordyn scoffed, "Important mission my ass. What about all the endangered-"
"Wait," Graham intervened, squinting his eyes at the girl. He also tried to slightly crouch as someone would speak to a child before noticing that Jordyn was, in fact, nearly as tall as him, so he straightened back up and asked, "Are you on the memo list?"
Jordyn frowned, shaking her head no.
"Then no talking."
He even possessed the audacity to pat her head before turning back to challenge Donald. She glared at the side of his face and started fidgeting with her bracelet.
"Wait, no training and we get to travel? Oh, can we go to Paris?" Bree excitedly spoke up.
"Only after we go to London."
"Yes!"
Jordyn wanted to gag at Graham's insincerity and seriously questioned how anyone could believe this pompous act. Yet, Graham somehow topped himself with his next sentence.
"Look, I know we kind of got off on the wrong foot with the whole 'me arresting you'-thing."
The bionics all waved it off and Jordyn sarcastically added, "Minor bump in the road." She huffed as they all nodded and pointed in agreement. Obviously, Donald and Jordyn couldn't help but exchange eye rolls.
"Hey, just tell me we're going to Des Moines and all is forgiven," Adam said.
"Then I guess we're going to Des Moines!"
"Yes! I love being owned by the government."
Donald intervened with the plans and raised his arms to call for their attention, "Who, whoa, whoa. Guys, this is completely irresponsible."
"Mr. Davenport, we've been training our whole lives. Don't we deserve just a little bit of fun?" Bree asked.
"I think you do," Graham instantly replied, "I also think you deserve a little thanks for all you've done for mankind. Don't you agree, Mr. Davenport?"
Donald had been forced into a corner, so he attempted one last thing to save it all, "Yes, of course, I do. But, Chase, tell him how important training is."
"Well, Mr. Davenport does have a point."
"Thank god. At least you've still kept your brain," Jordyn sighed in relief.
"I can show you where they keep Einstein's brain."
"Training, Schmaning."
"Spoken too soon," Jordyn mumbled to Donald, who silently nodded.
Meanwhile, Graham ordered, "Go pack your gear. Wheels up to New York in 15 minutes."
"Ah, New York. The Des Moines of the East."
With that, Adam, Bree and Chase all left, without as much as looking back.
Jordyn's gaze slowly returned to the two men who remained. From Donald's posture alone, she recognized where this conversation would lead and she was not about to leave him.
"This is insane. You're not qualified to lead them. You don't even understand how their bionic infrastructure works," Donald argued.
"And I really don't care," Graham answered, placing his hands on his hips. Carefully nearing Donald and invading his personal space, he added, "How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my way?"
It took everything in Jordyn to fight the urge to go for this asshole's throat. She really wanted to channel all her internalized rage and tell Graham exactly what she thought of him and his fame-hungry attitude. But she knew she couldn't or he'd throw her out.
As a sign of resignation, Donald lifted his arms and broke eye contact. "Fine. I get it. You're in charge. But I'm not gonna stop being involved in their lives," Donald stressed.
Meanwhile, Graham rounded the man and moved to take a seat at one of the desks. "Don't worry. There's still plenty for you to do," he paused to prop his feet on the cyber desk, ignoring Jordyn's shocked gasp, "We'll call you our Mission Specialist."
"Mission Specialist? That's like being an intern," Donald blurted out. A slap to his arm and an arched brow made him rethink and correct his statement. "I mean, Leo is our Mission Specialist."
"Then you can be his assistant. And since he's not here right now, you have the honor of going on a smoothie run."
"Seriously? I'm a world-renowned scientist and you're gonna send me on a smoothie run?"
Graham hissed and nodded. "You're right. That was inappropriate. You better clear it with your supervisor Leo."
Donald gave the agent a deadpan look, which made him retract his phone with a shrug. However, now it was Jordyn's turn to be belittled.
"And you, girl? What are you doing here?"
"She's my assistant," Donald voiced swiftly, forcing the girl to retreat by moving in front of her.
Graham hummed, putting his feet back on the ground, instead leaning his elbows on the table. "Good, so you're not needed here anymore. Go pack all your stuff and don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Jordyn narrowed her eyes. "You can't fire me."
"I just did."
She was about to reply when she noted Donald's warning glance and she let him speak for her once more, "You actually can't. She's my assistant regarding Davenport Industries, which isn't under your control. Therefore, you have no say over her."
Donald's final remark was plainly directed at the girl since he openly turned to face her and raised his brows. Despite her furrowing brows, Jordyn quickly grasped what he intended to convey.
Graham waved a dismissive hand, incredibly unaware of the exchange. "Still you have no reason to stay here."
With Donald's blessing, it was now show-time.
"That's false," Jordyn stated.
"Excuse me?"
"Your statement is false."
"This lab is home to the bionic secrets and training, which you are not to be involved with. You have no authority in this lab."
"False, again," She repeated, drawing in closer to the man who had risen during their exchange.
"You're forbidden to enter this lab. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes but no."
The man, who was so vehemently attempting to assert his dominance over the girl, was irritated by Jordyn's nonchalant smirk. Naturally, he was failing.
"I do not want to repeat myself, Miss..."
Jordyn pretended to be surprised and her eyes expanded to give the impression that she was a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, worry not. You don't have to repeat yourself." She took the last step to close the distance that separated them and her features turned cold as she looked him in the eyes.
"You don't have to repeat any of the nonsense you spout. I know what I can and can't do, legally. I know my rights. But you do not only lack knowledge on bionics but common sense as well. This lab is my workplace, which I am freely allowed to enter. My authority on these premises, as Mr. Davenport's assistant, is way over yours. And all that while I'm just an intern. So, to make it clear, once and for all and so I don't have to repeat myself, only Mr. Davenport is permitted to decide on where I am allowed to be. I get that you feel all high and mighty, now that you 'own' three bionic humans but you should remember your place.
To clarify, it's a couple hundred miles below your ego."
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
"Ya really said it? To his face? Amazin'."
"What happened then?"
"I left. Obviously. It wouldn't have been, like, half as cool if it wasn't this big, epic mic-drop moment."
Jordyn was currently on a video call with her mamá and Douglas, reporting on her day. Naturally, with the day she had, it mostly consisted of complaints about Graham and his arrogant attitude.
Douglas was able to contribute to her complaints with a story of his own. One time, Douglas and Graham randomly met in a hallway whereupon Graham insisted on throwing 'the homeless man' out on the streets where he supposedly belonged. Graham didn't care that he already met Douglas, nor for Douglas' reintroduction.
"Also, Adam, Bree and Chase eat it all up. All his bullshit! Graham managed to blind them with all the talk about fame and now they act like I don't exist."
"Muñeca," Eliana cooed and Douglas mimicked her teasingly. "Doug, shut it or you won't be invited next time."
"Whoa, no reason to pull out the big guns. Mouth's shut."
Jordyn rolled her eyes at the adults and shifted on her bed. She rolled onto her stomach and placed her phone in front of her, laying her head in her arms.
"Are you two done? I'm having a major teenage crisis over her."
Douglas snorted, "Oh boy, just wait 'til your first breakup."
Eliana and Jordyn both raised their brows and huffed.
"Been there, done that."
"Wasn't pretty," Eliana added with a smirk and Jordyn would have been offended if she wasn't so right. That time wasn't pretty indeed.
As Jordyn suddenly seemed lost in thought, Eliana sighed and spoke up in hope to regain her child's attention, "Jody, there's something bugging you."
Jordyn lifted her head to look at the screen and shook her head.
"It's pretty obvious, kid."
"Ugh, guess there's nothing you two won't notice. Scott's bugging me about work."
Douglas grinned and puffed his chest out, "We know you pretty well."
Eliana cleared her throat but smiled. "We do. Now, do tell what's actually on your mind. I know for a fact that Scott's not the problem."
"Shame, thought it'd work. Anyway. Okay, so... I guess, it's all because of Adam. I mean... Okay, look. Before the bionics got revealed and Krane appeared, everything was great, normal. We hung out, played games, watched our soaps. After that incident... It all kinda changed. We didn't talk at all, he was busy with the government thingies and I was recovering. But still... He didn't visit, he didn't call, didn't text, didn't even ask Leo for updates. I don't understand where all this comes from. And then, today, all of a sudden he tells me to shut up when all I did was say hey. And I don't know where we stand and if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore and if he hates me and-"
"Breathe," Douglas interrupted with a soft smile, which eased Jordyn's mind for a second.
"Seems tough," Eliana commented and hummed.
"I know, right?!"
All of a sudden, Douglas snapped his fingers and pointed at the screen with wide eyes. "Ahh! I know what's up. I may have overheard some talk in the halls."
"What?"
"Yeah, Bree and Adam were talkin' 'bout somethin' and then they said your name, so I kinda stayed around to listen... Anyway, Adam told Bree about how ya were mean to him and ignoring him on the day when their bionics leaked. Told her how you haven't talked to him since. Bree just said how weird it was you were on Chase's side. But also 'cause you told Adam to shut up or somethin'. She told him to ignore you as well. Karma, she called it."
Jordyn's eyes widen in realization and she groaned, burying her face in a pillow. Tears welled up in her eyes and she exhaled to calm herself down. "I was so stressed, I didn't think about it. Ugh, I messed up. Real-time."
Eliana and Douglas stayed silent, their face full of sympathy for the girl. Their comforting words simply bounced off of her and she felt like bawling her eyes out.
"What words did you use exactly?" Eliana asked but Jordyn only scoffed.
"As if that would change anything," she replied. It was true. She messed up and had to live with the consequences of her actions. She messed up. It always ended like that. It always ended with her alone.
Jordyn didn't notice Douglas telling Eliana to wait, or how he stood up and left the room, or how he returned. She only heard his next words.
"So I asked Eddy. And to repeat what Jordyn said 'Adam, stop talking.'"
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Jordyn put her hands over her ears to muffle the voices who were about to tell her more nonsense and how it wasn't her fault and bla...
Jordyn had heard enough of that bullshit already.
Eliana rolled her eyes and demanded, "Sit up, Jody." As her daughter didn't listen, she tried again. "Jordyn." She waited but nothing. "Jordyn Dolorea Soto-Barkeley, sit up."
Begrudgingly, Jordyn followed her mother's order and sat straight, looking at the screen. "Hm," she hummed.
"Let me tell you something, Jordyn. It's a life lesson if you will. Friendships aren't always easy, muñeca. A common misconception about friendships is that it's all about peace, love and support. But that's not true. It's unrealistic.
Friends fight. Ugly sometimes. It's normal that someone you spend so much time with may even annoy you at times but the important thing is, that in the end, you still love each other.
Also, being friends doesn't mean unconditional support. A true friend knows when to call you out. They keep you reasonable. Levelheaded. A true friend realizes when you're in the wrong, when you're under stress, when you're talking nonsense."
"So Adam isn't a true friend?" The girl asked between her hiccups, her voice undoubtedly clouded by sadness.
"Don't interrupt me and listen." Jordyn hummed, prompting Eliana to continue, "Yet a true friend can also misunderstand you. Sometimes you're both so deep in your own minds that you don't realize that the other person is feeling just as bad as you are. That they are also suffering.
Jody, I'm sure all of this is simply a big misunderstanding and as soon as his anger passes, he'll come speak to you."
Jordyn stayed silent, letting the words sink in. Her mind worked ridiculously slow at processing the information.
"Yeah, your mother's right, y'know? Adam has a lot of stuff on his plate right now. With the bionic secret out and this grand, exciting press tour there's no time to reflect on what happened. I'm sure you two will find back together. Just give him some time," Douglas added.
Jordyn sniffled, however, a small smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you, guys."
The comfortable tranquility that followed, didn't last long. A loud alarm sounded on Jordyn's phone, which startled her horribly and nearly made her fall off her bed.
A mission alert.
As the realization dawned on her, she instantly grabbed her phone and jumped to her feet, picking up her bag on the way out of the room. She made a short stop to look down at her phone and said her goodbyes.
"Gotta go. Love you, mamá. See you, Doug."
When sure that she hung up, Jordyn started in a full-on sprint to her car.
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
"I'm here!" Jordyn yelled, coming to a slithering halt in the middle of the lab.
To her surprise, the lab was deserted – not a single soul far and wide. No agent, no Donald, Leo or other teen. It was just her amidst the whirring and whizzing.
"Hello?" She called out.
Her echo was the only response.
Jordyn sighed and then inhaled deeply, still struggling to breathe after rushing from the car all the way down the stairs.
"I did not run for it to be a false alarm!"
"You didn't."
Jordyn jumped and shrieked as Donald emerged from one of the storage rooms behind her. She snapped her head toward him, her eyes narrowed but she held off on cursing him out upon seeing the look on his face. His posture was slouched in disappointment and worry lines were present on his forehead.
He didn't look good.
"Where are the others?" She asked with furrowed brows. There was no sign of anyone else being down here with Donald.
"Great question," the man answered and went to grab a jacket, which was thrown mindlessly over a chair.
Jordyn's frown deepened. "I'm already late 'cause of traffic, so how are they not here before me? Where are they?"
"Somewhere in America, I presume," he said and paused to shrug the jacket on, "Their phones are off."
Jordyn wanted to ask more questions but she finally took the time to examine Donald's attire and recognized it as his mission outfit. She remembered why she was here in the first place and chose to sort her priorities. And so she asked the only relevant question.
"What's the mission?"
"Fire in an oil company, several workers trapped by debris. Firemen need support."
Realizing how dangerous this mission would be, she shifted from one foot to the other and wrung her hands. "Shall I call them again?"
"If they didn't answer my 10+ calls, I doubt they'll answer you. I'll go there myself, I'm ready."
"No way, I'm coming with you," Jordyn argued and stepped toward him.
"Absolutely not."
"It's way too dangerous for you to go alone!"
"And it won't be any safer with you around. Jordyn, you just recovered from your concussion and you're not even trained for this. I can't and won't let you risk your life again. Now, stay here and follow my orders."
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
The next morning, a Saturday morning, was spent caring for her boss' wounds. Donald had gone on the mission alone, as he said, and had taken directions from Jordyn. She proved herself to be of great help during and after the mission. Even though some guilt was gnawing at her as they weren't able to save everyone.
Right now, she was on her way to the storage room, where somewhere a box of bandages hid, which she needed to care for one of Donald's more serious cuts.
Jordyn has been amazed by Donald's persistence to save as many people as he could, accepting injuries as long as another did not succumb to theirs. However, this heroism also meant a harder job for her, as it was her that had to care for them due to Tasha's inability to focus in her worried state.
Soon, she spotted the box on the very top shelf and moved closer. She stretched but found it to be just out of reach, her fingertips only slightly grazing the plastic.
Looking around for any useful tool, she had to shake away the nauseous feeling in her abdomen when she thought how Adam would have easily reached it for her. A somewhat stable folding chair caught her attention and she dragged it to the right spot.
With a triumphant hum, Jordyn grabbed the bandages and gracefully hopped down, adding a spin for good measure. Smiling, she made her way out to return to Donald.
"Okay, so I got the bandages but you know what I remem-," Jordyn had to cut herself off when she turned the corner to discover not only agents buzzing around the lab but also the bionics standing opposite Donald.
"Oh."
That's when Graham walked into the lab, saying, "Ah, good news, team. This weekend we're off to Paris."
Donald, who had had enough, made his way over to the agent. His anger was radiating from him as he told him, "Alright. Enough with the press tour. They have important work to do. Because of you, they missed a mission and people got hurt."
"Well, that's unfortunate, but they have other priorities right now."
"Other priorities?!" Jordyn scoffed, furious with Graham who just calmly left.
Donald turned to his kids, his anger shifting into disappointment. "Oh, so getting your faces in front of the camera is more important than saving lives."
"We didn't say that. It's just... Things have changed," Chase spoke up.
"Well, I'm glad we had 16 years of bionic training so you could do the weather for AM San Diego."
"That's tomorrow," Bree corrected, slightly uncomfortable.
Donald shook his head. "You know what? I'm really disappointed in you guys. All our hard work and all you care about is being famous." He made his way toward the exit but was stopped by Chase's voice.
"Mr. Davenport-"
Donald whirled around and concluded, "You know what? Save it. I thought you guys were heroes...but I guess I was wrong."
Jordyn, who had stayed silent during the whole ordeal, watched as Donald's figure disappeared around the corner. Her feet slowly carried her after him yet refused to move over the door sill.
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before turning around to tell the trio one last thing, "It's time for you to reassess your priorities and decide which path to take."
Her gaze automatically wandered over to Adam. And for the first time in days, Adam and Joe looked each other in the eyes. They stood like that for a few seconds but Jordyn broke the eye contact and turned, ultimately leaving the siblings alone.
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃
On Sunday, Jordyn definitely wasn't expecting to be woken by a phone call from Chase.
"Hey, can I ask you for a little favor?"
"Depends on the favor. Probably not gonna do it, though."
That's how she ended up in the lab at 9 am on a Sunday morning, her hair messily put into a bun and her outfit consisting of joggers and a sweater with an obvious coffee stain – coffee mug in hand.
"That's what you choose to wear to meet the president?" Chase asked the girl as he walked over to her upon her arrival.
Jordyn put on a sarcastic smile, tilting her head slightly as she said, "Thanks to you, the president won't even pay attention to my outfit. Your face is way worse."
Chase matched her sarcastic smile, and they averted their gazes with an eye roll. Her eyes met Adam's and he threw a tight-lipped smile, which she returned.
The awkwardness luckily dispersed when Bree entered with Donald.
"I don't care if the President is coming. I don't want any part of it."
"Yeah, well, you were demoted so you don't have a say," Bree said and made her way over to her brothers, throwing Jordyn a small smile in passing.
Jordyn frowned at the bionic's sudden change of heart but took her place next to Donald, exchanging quick greetings.
"Fell out of bed?" Donald asked teasingly, to which Jordyn could only roll her eyes.
"I wish. Wouldn't be here if I did."
It was then that Graham came running into the lab and hurriedly gestured toward the three siblings. "He's here, he's here. Everyone in position."
They did as told and Graham quickly sorted out his hair and tie.
Soon, the President and two bodyguards entered. Jordyn had to hold back an excited squeak and instantly regret her previous indifference about her appearance.
"Mr. President, welcome to the home of the world's first bionic superhumans," Graham introduced and shook the president's hand.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. President. I'm Chase-"
Adam interrupted Chase with a deep curtsy and pushed him aside while addressing the president in an absurdly high voice, "Good tidings, my lordship."
Joe audibly snorted at Adam's antics and the boy turned around to give her a genuine smile this time.
"You must be Adam."
"And you must be disappointed," Bree chuckled, "I'm Bree."
"Very nice to meet you. I just wanted to thank you for all the lives you've saved."
"It was our honor, sir," Chase replied.
Graham intervened and clapped his hands once, "Okay, team, it's time to show our Commander-in-Chief how your bionics work. Bree, you're up." He walked across the room to make space for them. When Jordyn and Donald realized he was headed in their direction, they quickly moved away behind a desk, throwing matching glares at him.
"Absolutely, Agent Graham." She turned to the President and told him, "This is my super speed." She then super sped around the lab. All of a sudden, she sped over to Graham, circling him and causing him to fall. Two agents instantly moved to help him up while Bree stopped running and wore a smug smile.
The President confusedly looked between Bree and agent Graham, as did Donald and Jordyn.
"What's the matter with you?" Graham whispered to Bree who answered with a shrug.
"I don't know. I guess I've spent so much time being a celebrity instead of training that I can't control my bionics," she pointedly said.
Graham scowled at her and was pulled up by his colleagues. They continued to dust him off but he shrugged them off with a tut and slapped their hands away. While he whispered with them, Donald pulled Bree to the side.
"Bree, would you stop messing around? The President is standing right there."
"I know the President's standing right there," Bree whispered back and returned to her brothers.
"Ahh," Donald and Jordyn exclaimed in unison, finally understanding what this was all about.
Now it made sense why she was here in the first place. And why Chase called her.
Actually, that part still didn't make sense but Jordyn shook the thought away as Graham stepped back toward the President and she wasn't about to miss the show. She leaned on the desk in front of her and smirked, anticipating the next bionic display.
"Sorry about that, sir."
"Mr. President, how about I demonstrate my molecular kinesis?" Chase proposed and stepped forward, holding up a hand.
"Sure."
Chase got into position and used his molecular kinesis to lift the coffee mug out of Jordyn's hand. She let go of it as soon as she felt the pull and observed with wide eyes as the coffee levitated over Graham's head. The agent himself just smiled at the seemingly successful presentation and turned to watch the president's reaction.
However, Chase started moving his hand left to right as if struggling to hold the mug up. Then it happened. He flicked his wrist and dumped the coffee on Graham's head. The brown liquid ran down his face and shoulders.
No one paid mind to Chase returning the mug to Jordyn and their exchange of sneaky smirks. Normally, Jordyn would be mad at Chase for wasting her precious coffee but she deemed dumping it on an annoying agent's head a valid reason for it.
"Oopsie," Chase exclaimed with a smile.
"Graham, what is going on?" The president demanded, sensing something wrong.
Graham chuckled, overplaying his urge to break down in front of everyone, "It's fine. Everything's fine. Adam, why don't you show the President that thing you do with your eyes?"
Adam stepped over to the President after sluggishly uncrossing his arms. He got up extremely close and stared at him with wide-open eyes.
"Not that. The laser beam thing."
"Oh. You mean this?" He stepped forward and used his laser vision. He started shooting the lasers aimlessly through the lab, although oddly enough they all were directed at Graham and missed him every time with utmost precision.
Jordyn was absolutely fascinated by Adam's control of his bionics and got reminded of how they had trained for years to achieve these results. She faintly noticed a slight push to her upper body, which forced her to take a step back. Only then, did she notice how close she was to being accidentally hit by one of the lasers.
"Okay, that's enough. Enough!" Graham stressed. Yet Adam did not stop and continued to shoot lasers.
"His laser vision must be stuck," Chase explained to the president and shrugged, not moving to help.
"Davenport, do something!" Graham cried out, taking cover behind one of the cyber desks.
Donald laughed. "Oh, look who finally needs my help."
Graham, still cowering behind the desk, yelled, "Don't worry, Mr. President. I'm sure one of these buttons will take care of everything." He peeked out his head and hit a variety of buttons without realizing what he was doing.
"No, no, no!" Despite Donald's warning and advance toward the man, the catastrophe had already taken place. The floor under the President and his bodyguards vanished, and they all dropped down. Adam's lasers ceased instantly, and everyone raced toward the hole.
"Uh-oh."
"Get me out of here!" The president's yell was heard from the depths of the floor and without much thinking, Jordyn turned on her heel and dashed out of the lab to help them.
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Roughly ten minutes passed until Jordyn and the president's laughs could be heard through the tunnel. Jordyn could be seen jokingly hitting the president's bicep after he whispered something in her ear and everyone watched with wide eyes as she made her way to her former place behind a cyber desk, shaking her head with a grin.
A pleased smile appeared on Jordyn's face as she leaned on the desk with her elbows, awaiting the president's big announcement.
While rescuing the president and his bodyguards from the labyrinth, which were the compartmentalized floors, Jordyn may have mentioned one or two – or a lot – things wrong with Graham and why he wasn't suited for this or any other position in the government.
To her surprise, the president gladly listened to all the stories Jordyn had to tell about him and agreed with her on how his behavior was absolutely unacceptable. Turns out, the president is way easier to talk to than Jordyn ever imagined and he told her a few things he had experienced in his lifetime.
Good thing the way back was so long.
Graham stepped forward as soon as they were back and spoke up, "So, uh, Mr. President, anything else you'd like to see?"
"Yes. Your qualifications for this job. Call Washington, have them send a replacement for this clown immediately."
"What? No," Graham exclaimed simultaneously to a rather loud, "Yes." Jordyn didn't mind the looks on her as she punched the air in celebration.
"Uh, Mr. President, we have a replacement," Bree said and pointed at Donald. "Him."
"The smoothie guy?"
"He's not the smoothie guy, he's our father and our real leader," Chase explained.
"Agent Graham doesn't care about our missions or helping people. He just wants to make money off of us."
The president exchanged a look with Jordyn, who smiled triumphantly as she had told him exactly that. He then turned toward Graham and asked, "Is this true?"
"Sir, with all due respect, we can't let a civilian control the world's most powerful weapons," Graham responded.
"Weapons? They're not weapons. They're his children. You're done, Graham. Get him out of here."
The bodyguards instantly followed his orders and took Graham away.
"But, Mr. President," Graham tried to argue as he was escorted out.
"Wait," Adam stopped the guards holding Graham, making them pause."I just want you to know, we'll always have Des Moines."
When the guards and Graham finally disappeared from sight, the President spoke up once more, "Mr. Davenport, the government owes you an apology. We had no right to come between you and your family."
"And, Mr. President, we owe you an apology, too. Our bionics didn't really glitch. We just had to expose Graham and show you that he wasn't qualified to lead us," Chase apologized.
The President nodded with a smile. "I figured something was up. I saw you push Jordyn out of harm's way with your bionics and I've also seen footage of your abilities. They're quite impressive."
Chase pursed his lips as the president openly revealed his action to everyone and looked at Jordyn to see her reaction. However, she was observing the president and Donald with a small smile on her lips.
"Listen, if you can keep me briefed, I see no reason why you shouldn't resume control here."
"Thank you, Mr. President."
They shook hands and exchanged smiles. Jordyn also moved closer to say goodbye to the president. They exchanged a handshake and smirk.
"Thank you for getting me out of there."
"Thank you for enlightening me on what places to avoid." They chuckled and the president shook his head at her.
"Oh, before I leave, I need to do one more thing." He pulled out his phone, moving unexpectedly between Adam, Bree and Chase and taking a quick selfie. "Bam! Bionic selfie." He paused upon the confused smiles thrown his way and elaborated, "It's for my daughter."
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When the president insisted on having the girl accompany him out of the mansion, Jordyn was ecstatic. The girl couldn't help but gush about it for the remainder of the day and Donald was more than happy to listen, wanting to know every tiny detail of their exchange.
After dinner, Jordyn observed as Adam, Bree and Chase asked to speak to Donald in private. She gave the man a thumbs-up to encourage him and then returned to wash the dishes with Tasha.
From the look on all their faces when they got back half an hour later, the conversation was successful and cleared all the prior tension between the family.
"Oh, I can't imagine how it is to deal with all those assholes. I truly admire how calm you stay in this kind of situation."
Tasha laid a gentle hand on Jordyn's arm and flashed her a big smile. "You're too sweet, Jody."
A cough next to the women made them pause their conversation and look to the culprit. With his hands laced behind his back and an uneasy expression on his face, Adam appeared very uncomfortable as he stood there. His gaze constantly switched between Jordyn and the floor and his mouth was opened as if to speak, but no actual sound escaped.
"Are you okay, Adam?" Tasha asked, worried by his behavior.
The boy nodded and lifted his hand to scratch his neck. "Err, yeah, yeah. I just... Can we talk?"
Jordyn met Adam's eyes and gulped. Although this was exactly what the girl had hoped for, she was suddenly extremely nervous. She nodded and turned into the hallway, Adam following not far behind.
She led them to the terrace where she took a seat on the garden swing. Adam, unsure if he should sit down next to her, positioned himself in front of her and leaned on an armrest of a chair.
Silence ensued. They both sank into their own thoughts and didn't know where to start. Jordyn pushed herself slightly off the ground so that the swing gently rocked.
The last few days – weeks even – felt surreal. So much has happened and therefore changed. It was like one of Jordyn's biggest nightmares became reality. She lost touch with the person she cherished most.
"I'm sorry," Adam broke the silence first. This prompted Jordyn to look up but not yet to speak. "I'm... sorry for ignoring you and not wanting to talk to you when you made the first step," he paused and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to gather the courage for his next words, "I was just, really mad at you 'cause you ignored me first and I didn't know what to do. So I kinda imitated your behavior to show you how it felt for me."
Jordyn sighed and let her gaze fall to the floor. "Yeah, that was tough," she agreed.
"But I won't apologize for it."
Adam's head snapped toward her and a scowl overtook his features. His shoulders fell and it felt like the final seal to the end of their friendship. "Oh."
Jordyn let her face fall in her hands and let out a sound of pure frustration. "Adam, look. I won't apologize to you because it wouldn't be genuine. I'm not sorry for ignoring you because I wasn't ignoring you on purpose. The past week... It was a real tough time for all of us."
"All of us?"
Jordyn raised her head and nodded. She became confused when Adam's jaw clenched at her words.
"It's not your secret that got out, is it?"
She blinked, surprised by Adam's sudden anger. "No, but-"
"It's not you that got nearly whisked up by the government and isolated from your whole family to be experimented on, was it?"
"No, Adam-"
"So stop talking as if you were the biggest victim here. You don't have the right to ignore whoever you want 'cause of some little stress you had when our life was completely changed!"
Tears welled up in Jordyn's eyes but this time she didn't know if they were caused by sadness or anger. Probably both. She couldn't believe Adam's accusations. She couldn't believe how insensitive the boy was being.
"It's not about you."
This was Jordyn's breaking point. She had enough.
"It's not but it still affected me and I-"
"Jordyn, stop-"
"No, you stop! Adam, I know this is hard to deal with. I know you want the best for everyone but just listen to what you're saying! I know that all this wasn't about me. I know that you all suffered way more than me. But I was still affected! Not as intensely as you were but I was! And though I know it wasn't 'bout me it felt like it.
It felt like... like, like the whole world conspired against me to take everything from me. No matter how much I fought against it..."
She took a moment to hard-bite her lip. She looked up to see Adam's eyes as the tears started to fall. Her voice hardly rose above a whisper as she continued to speak.
"I was so scared. So, so scared. I thought... I thought you'd leave me. That they'd take you away. That I'd never see you again. I thought it was the end."
Adam gulped as his muscles relaxed and all his prior anger dissipated. He couldn't fight the tears that rose up when looking at his friend, who looked so weak, so helpless, curled up in that swing. He wanted to reach out, hug her and apologize once more for everything. Yet he knew she had to let it all out first.
"I only ignored you because I knew that the moment I laid eyes on you would be the moment I'd break down. And we didn't need that. Not at the time. I had to find a way to save you. I couldn't be reminded that those were possibly the last moments I had with you. I wanted to suppress all my unnecessary feelings and thoughts-"
A sob interrupted her and Adam couldn't hold back anymore. He sat down next to her and fully embraced her, putting a gentle hand to the back of her head. She immediately melted into the hug and gripped at his shirt.
"I know it was selfish of me but I didn't want to say goodbye to you. I didn't want you to leave. I knew that if we talked, I would've asked you to stay and cause more harm than good, but that would have been even more selfish of me, so I just... I just chose not to talk to you at all. I'm sorry for not taking your feelings into account... I..."
"Shh," Adam cooed and brushed through her curls, "It's okay. I'm here. You're here. We're here."
Joe continued sobbing and circled her arms around the boy, pulling him closer. Adam's tears fell as well and he took his chance to speak,
"I knew you didn't mean it like that. But I was so, so angry. There were these stupid doubts that I wasn't important to you, that you didn't care what happened to me. I knew it wasn't true but still... And I was so angry that you got into trouble. Without me. Once Tasha heard about Leo and you in the hospital I didn't know what to do. I was so worried about both of you. And I was so scared I wouldn't see you again. Then, the last few days you started acting as if nothing happened and my anger and frustration and fear just all kind of told me to give you the same treatment you gave me. Because in my mind you deserved to be unsure, like I was. And I'm sorry I thought like this."
"Don't be sorry. It's my fault, I know it," Joe mumbled into his shirt.
"I'm partly to blame as well."
They both turned silent again, reveling in the comfort of each other's arms.
Neither of them knew how much time passed when they saw the sun slowly set behind the trees.
Joe sniffled one last time and tilted her head laying on Adam's shoulder to look at his face. "I guess we're both assholes, huh?"
Adam chuckled and he tilted his own head to watch Joe's face. "Yeah, we are. But at least we're assholes together."
Joe hummed and closed her eyes, exhausted after all the sobbing. She felt a light flutter of lips against her her forehead and smiled.
"I love you, Joe."
"I love you too, Add."
And they both understood.
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so this was an emotional rollercoaster, am i right?
I'm very excited for the future chapters as they are some of my favorite episodes and i hope i can do them justice with my own spin to them
also, hope you all had a wonderful start to the new year
love, honeytale