"Elliot!" the blond boy's dad shouted from another room, "Come're we're gonna talk to Donnie and the kids while Krane is away. We have to warn them." Elliot jogged his way to him, positioning himself under his arm in a side hug. He typed away on his computer, one handed. Once Elliot's uncle had shown up on the screen he said, "Hello? Anybody home?" He gave them a sort of awkward chuckle, dragging me closer to him for comfort.
The teen's feet were uncomfortable in his wet socks. He wished dad and Krane would just buy a warmer, and drier, evil lair. His socks were squishy and wet. It couldn't be helped. He wasn't able wear shoes inside without Krane threatening to torture his dad on his behalf. Elliot tried to forget the feeling on his feet long enough to greet his family, "Hey guys.. Long time no see..." The last time he saw them his dad was helping him save the three.. Very unlike him if he was being honest.
Leo turns to his step-dad and asks, "He hacked you again? Would it kill you to spend forty bucks on some security software?"
"Technically he used my notes." Elliot added, seeing three of his scribble-covered notebooks scattered across Douglas's clutter covered desk. It paid to be the self-proclaimed second smartest man in the world.
"Love the new lab, Donny. Ooh, tunnels!" his dad said with another awkward chuckle.
"Industrial, yet classy." Elliot agreed. He was impressed, he had always been one for tacky decor, but that lab actually looked cool.
Donald looked angry. His fists were balled up and his face was red. And no one could blame him. "Take a hint, ex-family. There's a reason why none of us accepted your buddy requests." False.
"Oh, I accepted it." Adam shared with a big smile on his face. None of the others really seemed amused. "What? Their updates are hilarious. Like listen to Douglas's 'Looking forward to a weekend of evil, winky-face.'" He winked at the end of the quote, the smile never leaving his face.
"Mine are better." The blond teen grumbled.
Adam points at the screen in excitement, "True! The one where you said, 'Just about went blind again. Life's going great.' almost killed me."
Douglas sighed. He was losing valuable time. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time. Krane will be back soon. He... went out to get his head waxed." he said.
Donald glared, trying to kill the pair through the screen. "Fascinating. You know what? It might sound like I'm hanging up." he said, his hand went lower over the button to end the call.
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! This isn't another trick! You're in danger. Krane has completely lost it!" Douglas shouted, waving his hands around in the air. He was trying to prepare them the best he could, but they just wouldn't listen! He was becoming exasperated at the thought of them not listening, causing the desperate shouts to ring through the lair.
Chase rolled his eyes, sarcasm seeping into the actions and his next words. "Oh, wow! So, the guy who keeps implanting himself with bionics is unstable? Who could have seen that coming?" he asked rhetorically. He crossed his arms like a defiant toddler, at least in Elliot's eyes. His face was contorted in scrutiny and his eyes were fixed on the screen in a glare.
"Please guys," Elliot begged, "please listen to us. We're being serious!" His light blue, almost white, gaze was steadily switching to between the other Davenports. He may have looked calm on the outside, but on the inside he was an absolute mess. He just couldn't stop worrying. What if they hadn't gotten to them in time? What if Krane was already on their doorstep, waiting for them to walk outside? What if he was inside the lair, listening in from around the corner? What if? What if?
The exasperation had turned to frustration as Douglas shouted, "I'm serious! Krane is using my technology to give himself new abilities I didn't even know were possible! He's a ticking time-bomb, and he sees you three as a threat!" His big metal bracelets clinked together as he waved his arms around wildly. He swiped at the cup of pencils on his desk, the loud clatter on the ground caused both Douglas and Elliot to flinch.
Leo's jaw dropped. Clearly he was offended at the thought of not being a threat. "Hey! What about me?! I'm dangerous." he said, moving into an, admittedly pretty bad, fighting stance. Even Elliot could fight better than that, and he was a glorified calculator. At least in his humble opinion.
Elliot's dad deadpanned, "Yeah, there's always a chance you might faint on somebody." His spiky hair moved as he tilted his head. Elliot tried, and ultimately failed, to hold in his cackle.
Donald sighed, raking a hand through his precious hair. "Look, Adam, Bree, Chase... and Leo, can handle anything. And after all you've done to this family, why should we trust you?" he grunted.
Elliot sputtered, trying to think clearly for once in his life, "Well.. uhh.. There's.."
Douglas cut him off, stuttering and making a mess of a sentence on his own. "Well, I... give me a minute." he said, holding up a finger on each hand. The necklace around his neck moved with every breath he took, rubbing obnoxiously against the back of his neck. Elliot had gotten it for him, and he hadn't taken it off since. It was a simple little chain with a dog tag on the end, engraved with Elliot's initials and birthday. He often fiddled with it when nervous.
Donald smiled, raising a hand in mock surrender. "Take all the time you want." he advised with mocking sincerity. His gray tee shirt was entirely too small for him. Elliot could tell everyone else noticed too, especially by everyone in the labs' eyes flickering towards his chest with disgust.
His brother, though, couldn't tell he was mocking him. "Oh, thanks. I–" he managed to get out before the call ended. They had hung up! Even when Douglas was actually trying to help them for once! God, how stupid could they be?! "Dammit!" he shouted, kicking the chair that previously resided near his desk.
"I'm back!" Krane announced crudely, slamming the door open and scaring the father and son. "Tell me you've come up with something new." His black trench coat flowed behind him as he stomped through the building, sending loud echoing thumps through the damp lair. Sound verberated off the stone walls, shocking Elliot into place.
"Krane! Hello, nice to see you... How's your head doing..?" Douglas asked, trying not to anger the large man any further. He stepped in front of his son, protecting him from anything he may be about to face.
Elliot was completely frozen. Out of habit or out of fear, he didn't know. His breathing was borderline erratic and his head was killing him. He was going into a panic attack. 'What're five things you see?' he thought to himself, 'I can see my dad standing in front of me, the lair's gray walls, my black shirt sleeves, my notebooks on the desk, and extra pencils all over the floor.' His breathing was a little calmer. '4 things you can feel?' He shifted a little where he stood, careful not to attract the attention of the angry man. 'My sleeves on my wrists, my pants against my knees, my socks on my feet, and the water soaking through the fabric of said socks.' Slightly calmer breaths blew out of his nose. 'Three things you can hear, Elliot?' He listened carefully, trying to breathe a little quieter. 'I can hear the water dripping down from the ceiling, Krane and dad arguing, and my eyes clicking every time I blink.' His breathing was the calmest it had been yet. 'Two things you can smell?' He sniffed the air carefully, not wanting his breathing to pick back up again. 'Mold. I can definitely smell the mold in the walls. I can also smell the cologne Dad must've put on.' He was barely even panicking. 'Alright, and lastly, I can sort of taste the sandwich I had earlier.' he thought to himself again.
"So, has the kid done anything useful yet? Or is he taking after his father?" Krane asked, nodding to the boy behind Douglas. He didn't know Elliot was transgender, both his father and the boy in question had decided against it. It was for the best. He'd only ever know him as a male.
"The kid's decided to help me with the original three. And he wants to help implant your new bionics." Douglas said, gritting his teeth. He couldn't stand the thought of Elliot being anywhere near the man, but if it helped keep him alive? He'd do anything.
Once Krane was strapped to the table, and hooked up to the monitors, Elliot began the tedious task of implanting new bionics into the man. He tried not to jump at the screams that erupted from his mouth as he exclaimed in pure agony.
======
Elliot watched as Leo slammed his locker shut, only to jump when he saw Elliot and his father standing a few feet away. "AHH!" Leo let out a high pitched scream. "I mean.." he cleared his throat, "Ahh.." he corrected, in a much deeper, and clearly not natural, voice. He jumped into, yet another, horrible fighting stance.
"Relax." Douglas said. He held his hands up in surrender as tried to prove he wasn't a threat. At least, not at the moment he wasn't. He still hadn't changed out of his clothes from yesterday, nor had he taken off his giant bracelets. He dropped his hands at the look in the small boy's eyes.
"I am relaxed, I'm very relaxed! Let's do this, Spiky! Let's get real!" Leo shouted. He tried to land a hit on Douglas or the boy his age, but failed. They just blocked every "attack" he delivered. It was like he wasn't even trying, like he was throwing his hands anywhere he could reach.
"We aren't here to fight you Dooley." Elliot grumbled, slightly stepping in front of his father. He didn't think Leo could do any real damage, but there was always the possibility the trio was hiding around a corner somewhere. He took a couple more swings and he still didn't manage to hit either of them.
The man raised one hand back up in front of Elliot. "You done?" he asked. His hand was still raised before his son. The two were still big on protecting each other, even if there wasn't a true threat. It's the way it has always been between the pair.. And it's the way it would always be.
"Oh. Giving up, I see. What do you want?"
"You're smart, Leo." The man compliments the small boy. "You knew about me, Marcus, and Elliot before anybody else. So you have to believe us about Krane!"
As much as Leo wanted to argue with them, they used some great points. He was the one that knew about Marcus. He did also have to admit, he had an inkling about Krane being worse than the man in front of him. "Alright. Talk." he demanded, crossing his arms.
"He's getting worse, Leo. He's getting... harder to make happy." Elliot mumbled. His hands tightened around his sweater sleeves. He was rocking back and forth on his heels slightly. His breathing was fine though.
"Krane and I used to be on the same page; Get my other kids back, use 'em to rob banks, pull scams, you know, garden variety bad guy stuff. But I was never gonna hurt them." Douglas scrambled out.
Leo raised an eyebrow before shouting, "Marcus and Elliot tried to kill me!" False. Again. What was with that household being wrong all the time?
"I never tried to kill you!" Elliot scoffed, "Sure, I tried to cause you bodily harm... I never tried to kill you!" Elliot always did what his father asked.
"Plus, I said them!" Elliot's father defended. "Listen, Krane is completely out of control. He's got a serious score to settle with the world and now he has the bionics to do it." His boots squeaked against the waxy school flooring. The movement left behind scuff marks, not that Elliot or his father cared though, there were more pressing issues at hand.
"What does he want with Adam, Bree, and Chase?" Leo asked with worry seeping into his voice.
Douglas and his son scoffed out of frustration. "He doesn't want them, he wants to destroy them. They're the only ones who can stand in his way. Look, I'm scared, Leo, and you should be, too. Watch this." the man exclaims, pulling out his phone. He started playing a video with loud party music in the background. He sent Leo an apologetic glance. "Oh, sorry. That's my 40th birthday party. We had a burger truck." he chuckled.
"Stop it."
He swiped through his phone some more, finally landing on a video. "This is it." After pressing play, the video showed Elliot implanting the man with new bionics. What the video didn't show though, was the hours of degrading Elliot had gone through because of the man who had wanted to be all powerful. Krane screamed at Elliot for so long, the boy had trouble hearing anything below a shout for a while.
"Then why did you help him?" Leo looked at the blond haired boy standing next to Douglas. He'd refused to look at the screen.
"I had no choice in the matter." Elliot said, cutting the conversation at that. It was a touchy subject.
"Yeah, that dude's no joke. So, what am I supposed to do?" Leo looked to the only adult in the conversation.
"Talk to my brother. He'll believe you. I gotta get back before Krane blows a gasket. Literally. He has one right under here." he said, as he pointed at his shoulder. Both Douglas and Elliot turned away and walked out, heading back to the lair.
======
The pair walked into the moldy smelling lair, chatting a bit. Well actually, Douglas was talking and Elliot was nodding along whenever he felt was right. When they opened the door, they were met with an angry Krane. There suddenly wasn't enough air for Elliot in the room. The atmosphere was almost suffocating. Almost.
"Oh, hey. Sorry we're late. We... were at the grocery store. The girl from the deli says hello." Elliot's dad said with an undertone of fear in his gravelly voice.
"Nice try. I know where you've been." He seethed, venom pooling from his mouth. His glare shifted to Elliot, freezing the boy where he was restocking snack tubs.
"Yeah, you got us. We talked to the kid. But we were just trying to turn him over to our side." he chuckled out, bringing more groceries over to the table Elliot was working at.
Krane practically cackled. The veins on the top of his bald head popped out at the action. He threw his head back in disbelief. "Our side? I work alone now. I don't need you anymore." he declared, raising his fist at his side.
"O...kay... Well, you could have told me that before I gave you my share of this month's rent. Well, I, uh... I guess we'll just get going, then." Douglas sighs, wrapping an arm around Elliot's shoulder and trying to head back outside. He was yanked away by Krane's power and sent to the floor, automatically forcing Elliot's bionics into overdrive, triggering his Commando App.
Spine had returned.
"Good riddance." the crazy man said, walking over to the unconscious man's body.
"Don't touch him!" Spine shouted, sprinting in front of his father's body. His voice had dropped significantly and his testosterone levels shot through the roof. "Don't touch him you sorry mother fucker." He moved into a defensive stance, ready to throw down for family.
Krane stepped forward menacingly, "I think you forget who you're talking to, little boy." he glowered. He continued taking slow steps. Spine tensed a little more with each step. "I know how your programming works. I know the most you have right now is your strength." He stopped just out of arm's reach. "I also know that all it takes is a little..." he squeezed the boy's throat with his ability until he dropped to the ground next to his father. "Force," he finished. He walked away, leaving them to die.
======
Elliot had woken up an hour earlier and Douglas had quit faking his death, they both raced to try and protect their family. Even if the family in question didn't want their protection. "Well, this has been fun. But all good things... must come to an end!" Elliot heard Krane shout from inside the basement lab. Then the unmistakable sound of an energy ball forming fell upon his ears.
Douglas was carrying a giant energy blaster, prepared to take Krane's life before he took yet another person's. He ran through the tunnel opening, aiming the gun at Krane's back and shooting. Everything seemed to stop for a moment.. The team slowly turned their heads from where they laid on the ground to look at him. "Hi, kids. Good to see ya." he said, sporting his signature lopsided grin. He aimed the gun back at his old teammate.
Krane stared at the two in the doorway, Douglas with a gun pointed at the man, and Elliot with his Laser Trident ready to fight. He was surprised to see both of them awake, let alone so soon. "I thought I finished the two of you." he grunted.
"Yeah, that's what we wanted you to think." Douglas chuckled, "I'm gettin' pretty good at faking my own death."
"I was simply unconscious." Elliot said with a smirk. He twirled his trident around, the teal glow illuminating his eyes, the eyes that barely blinked.
"Good luck faking your way around this! " Krane launched a bright blue laser at the pair. Knocking them down and making Elliot's trident flicker out.
"Kids... You might wanna leave for this next part." Douglas coughed out, bringing his arms up to cover both him and his son. Krane built up a bright plasma ball which floated above his hand. He threw it, aiming to kill. But before anything could happen, Chase dove in. He covered them all with his force field. The ball bounced back at Krane, sending him flying across the room. He smacked into the wall with such force, it shook.
Adam cheered, "Dude! You finally did something!"
Douglas jumped to his feet. He raced over to stand above Krane, leaving Elliot with Chase, his brother/cousin. "I should've done this a long time ago!" he shouted, getting ready to blast the villain,
Tasha, Leo, and Donald ran into the room. They were absolutely dripping with sweat. "Guys!" Donald yelled, distracting his brother.
Douglas groaned furiously, shaking his head in disbelief at the remaining Geo-leaping particles. "Oh, no! You let him get away!" he grunted. Donald pointed his thermal blaster at him, forcing him to put the cannon down and back away with his hands in the air.
"Get out of my house!" he shouted, ready to fire. His fury bubbled over into his speech, showing his disdain for the man.
"No! Mr. Davenport, it's okay! Douglas and Elliot saved us from Krane!" Chase defended from beside Elliot. His hands were outstretched in a "pausing" signal. His hair was now slightly spikier than before, from the sweat in it.
"Saved you? He's the reason we're having to fight Krane in the first place." he questioned, not believing the words coming out of his son's mouth. He glared at his brother. Even while looking like he ran eight marathons, his glare still scared Elliot a bit.
"Don, I can explain!" Douglas defended, backing up a few steps until he was standing next to his son again.
"Please, Uncle Donald," Elliot begged, running hands through his hair, "just let us explain!" The words would've come pouring out of his mouth if Donald had let them. Everything was barely contained behind his pleading eyes.
"I'm sorry Elliot. But you're lucky I'm letting you go. Now get out of here before I change my mind!" Donald demanded, pointing back through the tunnel they came through. When the pair hesitated, his glare hardened.
Adam cleared his throat. "Hey, if you're gonna blast him, can you get it over with? 'Cause this is getting really uncomfortable!" he asked, pointing around the room.
With one last glance towards their family, Elliot and Douglas slowly turned and walked back through the tunnel from which they came.