In the lab, Adam, Chase, and I are practicing our fighting skills while Bree is attacking a dummy. The four of us were wearing grey robes. "All right, guys, gather up." Mr. Davenport says as he enters the lab. "Today, we are going to be studying one of the most time-honored traditions in Japanese culture."
"Ooh! Nun chuck combat?" Bree says.
"Samurai sword fighting?" Chase says.
"Jujitsu?" I say.
"Wrestling ginormous dudes in diapers?" Adam says.
"We will be studying the great martial art of Aikido, the key principle of which is to deflect your aggressor's attack by using his own speed and strength against him." Mr. Davenport says.
"Can we just get to the part where I obliterate them?" I ask. Mr. Davenport's phone rings.
"I have to take this. Uh, it's about money. Which is not more important than you, but is a very close second." Mr. Davenport answers the phone and leaves the lab.
"Hey, Adam, attack me," Chase says.
"Okay, your hair is stupid, you're short, your face is weird," Adam says.
"I meant hit me," Chase says.
"Okay, good, because that was going to be a really long list," Adam says.
"Wait, wait, wait. Are you sure about this? Adam is ten times stronger than you." Bree says.
"Doesn't matter. With Aikido, a weak opponent can defeat a much stronger one." Chase says.
"Ah, but what if the weaker opponent fits neatly into an overhead storage bin?" Adam asks. Chase gives Adam a look. "I'm talking about you."
"Just hit me," Chase says. When Adam charges at Chase, Chase grabs Adam's arm and flips him over easily. "And that's all you need to know about Aikido."
"Oh, I get it," I say. I grab Chase's arm and flip him to the ground.
"Cass, that's not Aikido!" Chase says.
"Oh, really? My bad." I say. Adam and I do a handshake, and we both bow to Chase. When Adam and Bree leave the lab, Leo walks in as I help Chase up.
"Chase, Cassie, I need your help," Leo says. "The annual Mission Creek robot throwdown challenge is coming up."
"Leo, for the last time. I'm not a robot." Chase says. "I'm a man." Leo and I just look at him. "One day, I'll be a man."
"I'm not talking about you. It's a competition where remote control robots fight to the death." Leo says. "Here, take a look." Leo shows Chase and me a video of the robot competition on his laptop.
"Leo, that's cool and all, but I've got way better things to do than..." Chase begins to say, but Leo cuts him off.
"The grand prize is $500."
"And I'm in," Chase says.
"Me too," I say.
We see a guy on the screen. "Who's that guy?" Chase asks.
"Kevin Stone. That smug jerk wins every year. He thinks he's so much better than me." Leo says.
"Sounds like he is better than you," I say.
"That's not the point!" Leo says. "So I was thinking..."
"That if the three of us teamed up and built a robot together we could take Kevin down," Chase says. "That's a great idea. We'll make a perfect team. I'm an amazing engineer, a brilliant designer, and the most diligent person on the planet. And you...are the guy who picked me."
"What about me? I'm an artist. I can help you draw out the design." I say.
"Sure. Why not?" Chase says.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What do you think?" Chase asks as we were finishing the robot.
"This is awesome! Now, all it needs are laser cannons, flamethrowers, and satellite radio so we can pump up the jams." Leo says as he does a little dance.
"Leo, while your ideas are awesome, this is why you always lose to Kevin," I say.
"Yeah, you rely on flash when you should focus more on speed and stability," Chase says.
"Gotcha. So where do you want the flamethrowers?" Leo asks.
Mr. Davenport runs into the lab. "Ooh, are you guys working on a combat robot?"
"Yep. We're getting ready for the big robot throwdown!" Leo says.
"Mind if I take a look?" Mr. Davenport asks.
"Sure," Chase says.
"All right, very impressive." Mr. Davenport says as he takes a look at the robot. "Yeah, looks like you are on to something here. Can I make one suggestion, though?" The three of us nod our heads. "Let me join your team. I have made a fortune designing stuff like this. And if I am on your team, you are guaranteed to win."
"Fine with me," Chase says.
"Why not?" Leo says.
"I'm just here for the money," I say.
"Yes! I love robot competitions. They really bring out my inner geek." Mr. Davenport says.
"Wow, so there's an inner one, too?" Leo asks.
Chase and I snicker while Mr. Davenport looks at Leo.
Upstairs in the living room, Bree and her friend Caitlin were sitting on the couch doing nothing. "Caitlin, this is so boring. Wouldn't you rather go to a movie?" Bree asks.
"No," Caitlin says.
"Yogurt shop?"
"No."
"Buy matching pink cars and race across the country?"
"No."
"Okay, Caitlin, what is going on with you? All you ever want to do is hang out in my living room." Bree says.
"I guess I should tell you. The reason I always want to hang at your house is because I kind of have a crush on Adam." Caitlin says.
"Adam who? Wait, wait, my brother Adam? Ew, Caitlin, no." Bree says.
"Why not? Compared to my last two boyfriends, he's an upgrade. For starters, he's real." Caitlin says.
"Okay, first off, Adam's not here. And second, this whole thing is weirding me out." Bree says. "Let's just go to the mall."
"Will Adam be there?" Caitlin asks. Bree gives her a look. "I'm joking. Sort of. I'm not."
"Just wait right here, I'm gonna get my new jacket. Back in a sec." Bree says. She super-speeds out of the room just as Adam walks in through the front door. He sees Caitlin sitting on the couch.
"Oh. Caitlin. You're here. Again." Adam says. When Caitlin gets up from the couch, Bree super-speeds back into the living room. "Uh, Bree."
"Did I just..."
"Yep, you did," Adam says.
"I gotta go," Caitlin says.
"But...no, wait, Caitlin!" Bree says as she tries to stop Caitlin from leaving. Caitlin walks out the door. "I cannot believe I just used my super-speed in front of Caitlin! I totally blew our bionic secret!"
"Oh, great. Now we're gonna have to move far away and change our names. Quick, what do you think of Adam Davenport?" Adam asks.
"That's your name," Bree says.
"I know, I meant for Chase. I'm gonna be Steve Greenburg." Adam says.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that day, I was on my phone, texting Kyle about the robot throwdown. I told him how Chase, Leo, Mr. Davenport, and I were building our own robot for the competition. Kyle thought it was cool, and I said he could come with us to watch the competition. Once I had put my phone away, I walked down to the lab with Chase and Leo. When we walked in, we saw Mr. Davenport taking our robot apart.
"No!" We all shouted.
"Hey! You completely destroyed our robot!" Leo shouted.
"That's not true." Mr. Davenport picks up a hammer and smashes the robot. "Now it's true. I'm stripping it for parts because there were some major design flaws."
"Like what?" I ask.
"Well, for starters it smashes way too easily. Watch." Mr. Davenport smashes the robot with the hammer repeatedly. "See?"
"I can't believe you would do that!" Chase says.
"Guys, I'm just trying to help you build a better robot." Mr. Davenport says. "I mean, after all, I am a scientific genius. I'm a legendary thinker. I'm a man with hair that just won't quit."
"We don't want you hijacking our team," Chase says.
"Look, guys, you know how I work. I don't like sharing the spotlight." Mr. Davenport says. "I don't like listening to others. I'm a Maverick!"
"We've noticed. That's why we're kicking you off our team, Maverick." Leo says.
"What? You, You're serious?" Mr. Davenport asks. Leo and I shake our heads. "Okay. Fine." Mr. Davenport starts to leave, but he comes back around and continues to smash our broken robot with the hammer and then leaves the lab. Leo, Chase, and I looked at our broken robot in complete horror.
At school, when Adam and Bree walk into the hallway, they see recycling trash and a giant tire. "Oh! I love recycling drives! Lots of barrels, a gigantic tire. Bree, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Adam says.
"Probably not," Bree says.
"Duh! Gigantic tire bowling!" Adam exclaims. He picks up a trash can and stacks it on top of two other trash cans.
"Adam! That is not why we're here." Bree says.
"It's why I'm here," Adam says. "Just push me. And I know what you're thinking. But this is gonna work way better than trash bag skydiving!" He gets inside the giant tire.
"No. Adam. Stop." Bree says, getting Adam out of the tire. "We have to find Caitlin and stop her before she tells anyone."
"Okay, are you absolutely sure she saw you super-speed?" Adam asks.
"Well, she won't return my texts or calls. And why else would she have run off like that?" Bree says.
"Maybe she saw a squirrel. Always gets me running." Adam says. Bree sees Caitlin when she walks into the school carrying a bunch of empty water bottles.
"Hi, Caitlin," Bree says, walking up to Caitlin.
"What's going on?" Adam says.
"Oh, uh, nothing. Nothing at all." Caitlin says. "I, uh, I...I...bottles!" Caitlin drops the bottles and runs away.
"See? She definitely knows!" Bree says. "We can't let her expose our secret. But maybe we can give her something she wants in exchange for her silence."
"A hamster and a strawberry pie." Adam gasps.
"Or...there's a guy she likes," Bree says.
"Ah, I see where you're going with this. Maybe we can get him to hang out with her and then convince her she didn't see what she thinks she saw. Wait, see, saw, carry the one. Yeah, that tracks." Adam says. "So, who's the unlucky guy?"
"You," Bree says.
"Huh. Yu, the Japanese exchange student? Nice guy, I can see that working out." Adam says.
"No, Adam, she likes you," Bree says.
"Oh, no way, I'm not doing that. Caitlin's super weird. Plus, I'm not getting between her and that Japanese dude." Adam says.
"I'll push you for ten frames of gigantic tire bowling," Bree says.
"You've got yourself a deal," Adam says. "Clear out people! She's bowling, I'm rolling." Adam gets inside the tire.
"Well, I'd say put on a helmet, but at this point, I don't think it matters," Bree says.
"Let's do this," Adam says. Bree rolls the tire, and it crashes into several recycling bins, knocking them over. Adam gets out. "Really, Bree? A seven-ten split? Roll me back. Let's pick up the spare."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
At the Mission Creek Arena, before Chase, Leo, and I got into our teams, I met up with Kyle by the entrance. "Cassie!" Kyle says as he walks inside.
"Kyle! I'm so glad you could make it!" I say, hugging Kyle.
"Yeah, of course! I'm always here to support my number one girl!" Kyle says. I blushed when he said I was his number one girl.
"I got you a front-row seat. I cannot wait until you see our robot!" I say. I grabbed Kyle by the hand and led him to where Chase and Leo were.
"Hey, guys!" Kyle says.
"Hey, Kyle. I didn't know you were coming." Chase says.
"Cassie invited me. I came out here to cheer you guys on." Kyle says.
"Isn't he the greatest?" I say, wrapping my arms around him.
"Thanks, Kyle. It means a lot." Leo says.
"I better get in my seat. Good luck, guys." Kyle says. "Good luck, Cassie." Before he left, he gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead and goes to find his seat. I couldn't stop smiling after he kissed me on the forehead and noticed Chase and Leo were looking at me.
"What?" I ask.
"We all know you and Kyle like each other. When are you two going to admit it?" Chase says.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say.
"Oh, come on, Cassie. This has been going on for a year and a half now. Just tell him how you feel." Chase says.
"I'll tell him when I'm ready to tell him. Now, come on. Let's win this thing." I say. Once I stepped out onto the floor, Chase and Leo followed behind me, and we got our controllers ready. The three of us were wearing green jackets, and I had my hair in a ponytail.
"Next up, the competitor who's taken home the robot throwdown trophy five years running. Kevin Stone, and his robot, the Merchant of Menace!" The announcer says. The crowd cheers for Kevin Stone. "And finally, competing together for the first time, Leo Dooley, Chase, and Cassie Davenport and their robot, Josh." The crowd stopped cheering, and confused murmurs filled the room about our robot's name.
"Josh?" The announcer says.
"I didn't know the name was supposed to be scary," Chase says to Leo and me.
"The name is supposed to be scary," Leo says.
"Okay, let's get started..." A man walks up to the announcer and hands him a note. "Hold on, we have one more contestant. And he's asked us to turn down the lights." The lights dim and dramatic music starts playing. "Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for the mechanic who makes them panic, the robot freak of Mission Creek, the inventor with the splen...Okay, I ain't reading all these. Here he is, Donald Davenport!"
"Is that..."
"It can't be!"
"Uh, oh."
"It is." Leo, Chase, and I say. Mr. Davenport steps through a wall of fog and walks up to the announcer. He takes the microphone.
"Hey there, guys. Sorry, I'm late. But I was really busy building this!" Mr. Davenport unveils his menacing robot. "Behold the Predaraptor! Complete with hydraulic jaws of death! Boom! If you are pregnant, elderly, have a heart condition, or are under the age of thirteen, you should probably go home now!"
"Bet you wish we had the flamethrowers now," Leo says.
As we were getting ready for the competition, Mr. Davenport walks up to us. "Hey, guys. Kyle." Kyle waves as he stands next to me. "Hey, I got you something so you will never forget your first robot throwdown." Mr. Davenport holds up a t-shirt.
"I got crushed by the Davenport Predaraptor," I say as I read the shirt.
"Not available in stores!" Mr. Davenport says. He tosses us the shirts and walks away.
"Okay, everybody. It's time for the robot throwdown!" The announcer says. The throwdown begins, and Mr. Davenport's robot goes against a robot named Hammer Time. The Predaraptor defeats his opponent easily, crushing the robot. The next robot Mr. Davenport went against was called the Gear Stripper. The Predaraptor slams into the opponent's robot, crushing it.
"I think this bot's down for the count, folks." The announcer says. The opponent angrily throws his controller to the ground while Mr. Davenport dances. Kevin Stone's robot goes against Grease Master and easily wins that round. We were up next and went up against a robot name Bolt Buster. The three of us cheered when we defeated the robot. The next opponent Mr. Davenport went up against was an eight-year-old boy. This one was really sad because Mr. Davenport crushes the robot, and the kid starts crying as Mr. Davenport breaks into a dance.
"The Predaraptor takes down another one!" The announcer says.
"You just got preschooled!" Mr. Davenport says.
It was our turn again, and when we defeated a robot named Rotogeddon, we cheered, and Chase and I gave each other a high five.
"Team Josh advances to the semifinals to take on Kevin Stone and the Merchant of Menace!" The announcer says.
"Hey, guys." Mr. Davenport says, walking up to us. "I really hope you beat him."
"You do?" Chase says.
"Yes, so I can destroy you in the finals!" Mr. Davenport laughs. He starts dancing and singing. "You're going down, you're going down. You're going down, down, down."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Do I really have to do this?" Adam asks Bree as they stand on top of the school stairs.
"Hey, I just tire-bowled a 250. You're not backing out now." Bree says. Adam sighs and walks over to Caitlin.
"Hey, Caitlin," Adam says.
Caitlin screams and knocks over a bunch of water jugs. "Whoa. Just want to talk. So you don't have to freak out." Adam says.
"Freak out? I'm totally relaxed." Caitlin says. She flips her hair.
"So I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out some time. And trust me, you don't have to say yes." Adam says.
"Yes!" Caitlin says excitedly.
"You did just hear that last part, right?" Adam asks.
"Hey, why just hang out some of the time, when we can hang out all the time?" Caitlin says. "Starting tonight!"
"Oh, but I was gonna go to the robot throwdown finals," Adam says.
"Uh, Adam, there are two of us in this relationship now. It's not all about you." Caitlin says. "This is so exciting. Now, I don't have to hide behind trees when I follow you home from school every day!" She hugs Adam.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"And now it's time for our second semifinal match. The winner will advance to the finals and take on Donald Davenport and his Predaraptor." The announcer says.
"That's me, everybody. The T-shirt guy." Mr. Davenport says, making everyone in the audience throw t-shirts at him and booing him.
"Robots, take your starting positions, please." The announcer says. Chase, Leo, and I fight against Kevin's robot. "They're circling, feeling each other out. The Merchant has Josh on the rope. Look at that bot bob-and-weave! Now Josh has the Merchant on the ropes." Kevin looked at his robot in horror when we crushed it against the wall, making Leo, Chase, and I win the match. "Five-time champ, Kevin Stone, is out!"
"Whoo! Yes!" Chase exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah!" I say as Leo and I high-fived.
"We won! I can't believe this!" Leo says. Chase, Leo, and I stop short when Kevin angrily approaches us.
"Um, good match, Kevin," Chase says. "You are a worthy opponent, and, uh, a strong adversary."
"Because I consider myself a good sportsman, I'll wait until after you leave the arena to laugh, point, and gloat," Leo says.
"But I won't! You lost!" I say, pointing to Kevin.
"We won! You lose!" The three of us say. We start doing the robot as Kevin storms away.
At the house, Adam and Bree were sitting on the couch when the doorbell rang. "Oh, great. Caitlin's an hour early." Adam says. Caitlin starts pounding on the door.
"It's Caitlin! I know you're in there! I can hear your voices!" As she continues to pound on the door, Adam tries to leave, but Bree stops him.
"No, sit down," Bree whispered. She gets up from the couch and opens the door.
"Oh, hi," Caitlin says as she walks in.
"Hi, Caitlin," Bree says.
"Can you leave? I want to hang with Adam." Caitlin says.
"Yeah, sure. Just wanted to say..."
"Now, Bree," Caitlin says.
"Right. I'll go." Bree says. "Good luck with that," Bree says to Adam before leaving the living room.
"I brought five movies. I hope you like documentaries about Polish nuns who paint with their toes." Caitlin says to Adam.
"Look, Caitlin, I wanted to ask you..."
"Yes, the answer is yes!" Caitlin says.
"Look, I need to talk to you about why you ran out the other night. I think there was a misunderstanding about what you saw." Adam says.
"What are you talking about? I didn't see anything. I'm like, totally blind without my glasses." Caitlin says.
"What?" Adam and Bree both say. Bree was in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I wasn't wearing them, because I was afraid if you saw me, you'd think I was a dork." Caitlin puts on her glasses and laughs nasally.
"So why did you run out?" Adam asks.
"I got flustered when I heard your voice. Just like this morning at school. But that won't happen anymore, 'cause I'm totally comfortable around you now." Caitlin says. She puts Adam's arm around her, and he pulls away. She grabs him again and hugs him. "Love me!"
"Wait, are you kidding me? I missed the robot throwdown for this?" Adam says.
"Lucky you, huh?" Caitlin says. "Wow, you must be feeling the passion too. Your eyes are really red." When Bree sees that Adam was about to use his heat vision, she super speeds to Caitlin and pushes her to the couch, making her glasses fall off. Adam fires his heat vision uncontrollably, and Bree shoves him out of the room.
"What is that smell?" Caitlin asks. She was sitting next to one of the pillows on the couch that were burned from Adam's heat vision but couldn't see it without her glasses.
"Uh, I was smoking a turkey," Bree says.
"Can you help me find my glasses?" Caitlin asks. Bree steps on her glasses.
"Hmm. Oops. Found 'em. Guess you better go home and get some new ones." Bree says. She grabs Caitlin and shoves her out the door.
"Wait!"
"Out you go."
"Just let me tell Adam..."
Bree pushes her out and slams the door. Caitlin runs to the ramp outside the living room. "I'll be right back! Don't start the movies without me!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ladies and gentlemen, take your starting positions." The announcer says. "It's time for robot throwdown! And hurry this up. I gotta get this suit back to the funeral home."
"Whoo! You got this, Cassie!" Kyle cheers. I smile when I see him clapping for us and when the match starts, our robot Josh goes against Mr. Davenport's robot, the Predaraptor. Mr. Davenport laughs evilly as our robots fight each other.
"I wish you guys had built a better robot, so your pain would last longer!" Mr. Davenport cackles as the Predaraptor pushes Josh against the wall.
"Let's do this," Leo says to Chase and me. A metal ramp appears on Josh, and as the Predaraptor charges toward our robot, it is flipped over and crashes into a million pieces when it hits the ground.
"No!" Mr. Davenport shouts. The audience and Kyle cheered for us. Leo, Chase, and I cheered, and we hugged each other.
"It's all over! Josh takes the trophy!" The announcer says. "The robot with the stupid name wins!" We meet Mr. Davenport inside the arena.
"Yeah! Where's your t-shirt now?" Chase says.
"Oh, ha, ha, very funny. Very impressive, guys. How'd you figure that out?" Mr. Davenport asks.
"The principles of aikido. We used your own momentum and force against you." Chase says.
"So the students school the teacher. Very well played." Mr. Davenport says.
"Thank you. It takes a big man to say that." Chase says.
"But apparently, a little man can too," Leo says.
"You do realize you're shorter than me, right?" Mr. Davenport says.
"He just went down. You just went down." Chase, Leo, and I sing.
Once we were done with our victory dance, Kyle runs up to me. "Congratulations, Cass! I knew you could do it!" Kyle picks me up and spins me around, making me laugh.
"Thanks, Kyle. It really meant a lot that you were able to come out here." I say.
"Of course. Victory ice cream at your favorite ice cream shop?" Kyle says.
"You so get me," I say. "See you later, guys." Kyle and I leave the arena.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day at school, Bree was sitting on the bench in the hallway, texting on her phone, when Adam walked up to her. "So, I think I finally got Caitlin off my back," Adam says.
"How'd you do that?" Bree asks. "With a tranquilizer gun and a crowbar?"
"Nope. I just helped her realize who her real true crush is." Adam says.
"Who?" Bree asks.
"Leave me alone!" Chase groans as he walks into the school with Caitlin following behind him.
"Don't resist me, bookworm!" Caitlin says.
"Aw, he finally got a girl to pay attention to him," Bree says.