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"Guys, I just want to say how deeply sorry I am that I didn't tell you that I was bionic- or the superhero Quake. There were a lot of times I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't..." I start while trailing off.
The five of us was in the lab, playing cards because they had got grounded last night for sneaking in after curfew.
"We know you're sorry, Des. Mr. Davenport told us that you just wanted to keep us safe and that you are actually the reason of us being heroes." Chase replied.
"Yeah, you basically have always been there for us, protecting us without any second thoughts about it." Bree added.
"So, when you're in your own home, do you also sleep in a capsule?" Leo asked curiously while looking up from his cards in his hand and at me.
"Sometimes, but mostly, in an actual bed." I answer truthfully.
"If we hadn't found out about Douglas, then would you have told us about your secret?" Chase asked.
"I'd like to think so... If I thought that you guys wouldn't be in danger because of it, then yes." I answer hesitantly. "So... Do you guys forgive me?"
"You're forgiven, Des." The trio and Leo said with no hesitation.
"I hate being grounded. Is the three weeks over yet?" Adam commented.
"It hasn't even been a day." Bree pointed out.
"Guys! Guys! I did it! I finally did it!" Davenport stated excitedly while running into the lab and over to us.
"Graduated to big boy shoes?" Leo said.
"No. I finally achieved something I have wanted my whole life." Davenport replied.
"A Presidential Award?" I guessed.
"Yes! I won the Presidential Metal for Scientific Achievement!" Donald replied.
"Mm. That's great."
"Yeah, I think I got one of those for doing pull-ups in gym class."
"I don't think so."
"Oh, yeah, you're right. It was push-ups." Adam corrected himself as I shake my head in amusement.
"This is the highest honor a scientist can receive." Davenport stated proudly, "My picture's gonna be plastered online and offline. If there's a line, my face if gonna be on it."
"So, what did you win it for?" I ask curiously.
"My Neural Scrambler." Donald answered while pulling out a small invention, "This thing is going to revolutionize the field of neurology."
"Huh?" Adam asked.
"The brain." Chase answered.
"Ohhh!" Adam replied.
"How does it work?" Leo asked.
"It can erase specified time increments of neural associations in the cerebral cortex-" Davenport began to explain.
"Huh?" Adam cut him off confused.
"The brain!" Chase replied towards him.
"Ohhhh!" Adam muttered.
"Basically, it will help doctors erase bad memories." I concluded.
"Oh, that's cool. Does it erase all memories or can it just zero in on... that?" Bree replied while gesturing to her brothers.
"Congrats, Donald! I got your text about the Presidential Award!" Tasha stated while entering the lab happily as Donald kissed her on the cheek. "Gosh, this is so exciting. What a big break for us."
"Us?" Donald asked while nodding.
"I was thinking I could interview you for my TV station. "Local reporter lands Presidential Award winner". Tasha Davenport Exclusive." Tasha answered, "This could be a really big break."
"Well, it would be a really big break for you. I mean, it would really help your faltering career-" Davenport started, making it worse for him.
I groan lightly and speak up in Donald's voice, "Thanks, Honey, you're right. That is great. I can't wait for the interview!"
Donald glanced over at me and then looked back at his wife who now had a satisfied grin on her face. "Thank you, Donald, and congrats again!" She kissed him and then left out of the lab.
Donald walked over to the table where the five of us sat still playing cards. "Thanks, Des." He said.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Big D." I reply with an innocent smile, slightly leaning on Chase's arm.
***
"Has it been three weeks yet?" Adam asked as we sat in the living room and kitchen.
"Stop! I hate being grounded! I am missing Stella Jordan's party, and I so wanted to be there when she doesn't get a car!" Bree complained.
Chase entered the room then. "Guys, I have an idea. We can use the Neural Scrambler to erase twenty-four hours of Mr. Davenport's memory." He said with the said invention in his hand.
I step back and lean against the counter, my arms lightly folded across my chest. "I want nothing to do with this idea."
"Wait. Sneaking in past curfew, you disobeying authority- who are you and what have you done with Chase?" Bree commented.
"No. I see where he's going with this. Mr. Davenport will forget he brought groceries yesterday, he'll go again today, and we'll have double the food!" Adam said.
"Or he'll totally forget that he grounded us." Chase replied.
"We'll see which one pans out." Adam said.
They started to talk about how safe or not safe it was. I tune part of the conversation out and had grabbed a bag of potato chips from the cabinet. They made their way over to Donald at his desk who was reading a biography about some man. I pop a chip into my mouth and chew it, watching the scene before my eyes.
They finally walked back over to me with pleased grins on their faces. "It worked." Chase told me.
"I saw that. Well, let's go to the movies." I reply with a shrug after setting my chips down on the counter.
***
Chase and I was waiting outside of the theater while Leo went to the bathroom because he had just chugged down an extra, extra large soda. "Hey, what'd you put inside of your locket, by the way?" Chase asked curiously, looking at the silver heart locket around my neck.
I hold it in my hand and open it to reveal two small photos, one on each side. One of the photos was Chase and me at the Robot Throwdown after we had beat Davenport. He had his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him as we both smiled at the camera.
"That's one of my favorite photos of us." Chase grinned.
"Mine, too." I smiled happily.
He looked at the second picture. It was me and my family. They were covered in frost and snow. We were laughing and gathered around each other. I was seven in this picture. This was the time I had froze the living room after they ate all of the candy and I didn't even get one piece. This was the first time that I had earned the nickname Frosty.
"Hey, how come you don't talk about your family at all anymore?" Chase curiously asked.
I smile sadly, looking into his hazel eyes. "Because... It's just Justin and me now... We're orphans." I didn't want to lie to any of them anymore, especially now that they actually know about me being the first bionic-super hybrid.
"I'm sorry, Des. I didn't know." Chase murmured while hugging me, his arms wrapped around me comfortingly.
"It's not your fault." I softly murmur. It's mine. I find myself finish that sentence inside my head.
***
"Uh, guys, we have a problem." Leo stated panicked while rushing into the living room and to the couch where the four of us was sitting at, me between Adam and Chase.
"What is it?" Bree asked.
Just as she had asked that, Donald came flying into the room on a rocket chair. "Rocket chair!" He exclaimed and then crashed.
"So what's the problem?" Adam asked.
Donald was now spinning round and round in the rocket chair as the five of us watched him. "Leo, what did you do?" I ask my best friend who Leo'd the situation up as always.
"You know that neural thing that we were all playing with?" Leo sheepishly answered.
"Yes." Chase replied.
"I tried to erase twenty-four hours and I accidentally erased twenty-four years. He's fifteen!" Leo explained as all of our eyes widened and watch Davenport.
"Whoo! This place is sick!" Donald exclaimed after getting a bit dizzy in the chair. "And now I'm gonna be sick!" He ran to a potted plant and barfed in it.
"I don't know why they have him the Presidential Medal. This thing is faulty!" Leo said.
"The device is fine. You're the problem. You Leo'd this up." Chase replied.
"You see what you start? They now use my word as a verb." Leo commented towards me and then faced the trio again, "And, hey, don't you turn my name into a verb!"
Donald climbed over the couch and looked at us in confusion. "Okay. Who are people and how did I get here?"
"Look, I know this is a lot for you to take in, but your brain lost twenty-four years of its memory because of a device that you created." Chase explained to Davenport.
"Whoah." Donald said in surprise and then picked up Chase's cell phone that was on the coffee table, "What's this?"
"That's his phone." I answer amused while pointing at Chase.
"Whoa." Davenport murmured while stepping away and began to play with the phone.
"What're we gonna do? Mr. Davenport is the only person who knows how the Neural Scrambler works." Chase said while turning towards us.
"Guys, relax. Mr. Davenport can help us." Adam commented, clearly not seeing the problem here.
"How?" Chase asked.
"Easy. We just have to wait twenty-four years." Adam answered.
"Okay. Look. We need to find out how to get our father back." Bree said.
Chase's phone began to ring as Davenport handed it towards him. "Hey, I think you got a phone call." Chase sighed and took the phone and put it to his ear, getting electrocuted. I cringe while also stifling back a laugh as the others laughed. "Burn! I'm a total tech whiz! I took that thing apart and rewired it and turned it into a zapper!"
Adam and Davenport high-fived. "That's not funny. Turn it back!" Chase said.
"I'm sorry. Just push '3' and it'll turn back to a regular phone." Davenport replied as Chase did just that and got electrocuted again. He laughed, "Double burn! This one. Not too bright."
"Man, I like him much better this way. Can we keep him?" Adam said.
"Adam, he's not a dog." I point out. Donald then licked out of the peanut butter and chewed it like a dog would.
"He's pretty much a dog." Adam replied.
"We still can't keep him like this." Chase commented.
"Yeah, when my mom finds out she's married to an idiotic teenager- Okay, maybe she's prepared for that." Leo said.
"Guys?" Tasha commented while walking into the room.
"Hey, who's that? Your grandma?" Donald replied.
"What's going on?" Tasha asked.
"Nothing much, Nana. What's up with you?" Donald answered as I elbow him in the ribs to be quiet.
"I mean, we're not doing anything, just getting ready for my interview and the Tasha Davenport Exclusive." I state in Donald's voice. Donald watched me with slightly wide eyes and an intrigued expression on his face.
"Oh. Okay then." Tasha replied.
"Quick. Get him out of here before we get busted!" Chase whispered to Adam.
"Where do I take him?" Adam asked.
"I don't know, just take him for a walk!" Chase answered.
"Oh, he's totally a dog." Adam said, leaning towards me. He guided Donald downstairs and out of the room.
***
The lab was trashed when Chase, Bree, Leo, and I walked inside it and saw Adam and Donald dismantling inventions and rewiring them to make them function differently. "Guys, what are you doing?" Chase asked.
"Yeah, you're ruining your million-dollar technology." I point out towards Davenport.
Davenport scoffed, "If by ruining, you mean making awesome."
"Yeah, unlike the other Davenport, this one invents cool stuff and is a lot like Des but more laid back." Adam added.
"Fair enough." I shrug, not taking any offense to what he just said.
"Yeah-huh. Check this out. I took this useless thingy-" Davenport said while going to an invention that now had meat inside it.
"Useless? That's an oxygen vacuum fire hose. It was going to revolutionize firefighting." Chase replied.
"Well, now it's gonna revolutionize grilled meat." Donald finished.
"Kabob me, Teen D!" Adam replied as Donald pressed a button and four pieces of meat flew onto Adam's stick. "Mm. See, I finally get science! This is saving lives!"
"So is this!" Davenport said while pressing a button on a small remote. A robot hand machine moved and reached behind Chase and gave him a wedgie. "Why create an artificial arm when you can create a real-life wedgie machine?"
"Science!" Adam said.
"Science!" Donald agreed, high-fiving Adam.
Bree looked over at something and furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, what's in our capsules?" There were different colored liquids in each capsule. Pink in Adam's, orange in Chase's, and green in Bree's.
"Capsules? You mean gigantic smoothie makers!" Donald said.
"I finally get to use my gigantic straw!" Adam exclaimed happily, retrieving a large straw and sticking it in the middle capsule of orange smoothie and began to drink some- or all of it.
"Hello? Can someone please get me down from here?" Chase asked annoyed.
"Sorry. Just push that little button on the back." Davenport answered.
"Wait, Chase, don't-" I start, already knowing what was fixing to happen. Chase pressed it and was electrocuted. "-press the button."
Donald laughed, bouncing up and down slightly. "Funny every time." He pressed a button as Chase fell down and landed flat on the floor with a thud. He laughed again just as Tasha walked in.
"What is going on? Donald, why aren't you dressed for your interview?" Tasha asked. "We go live at five."
"Live at five? Live at five? Dude, that totally rhymes!" Donald answered.
"Wait. The interview is today?!" Bree said in a slight panicky tone.
"Yeah! I was hoping for national coverage, but get this-" Tasha replied while walking over to us, "We are going worldwide!"
"What?!" The five of us, excluding Tasha and Donald, exclaimed in unison.
"A rep from the White House is flying out to present you with the medal during the interview. We go live one hour from now." Tasha continued.
Adam gasped while pulling out his phone to check the time. "That's one hour from now!"
"Nooo. That can't be." I sarcastically reply as Adam nodded, not detecting the sarcasm in my tone.
"It's gonna be the highlight of my career." Tasha said.
"It's definitely gonna go viral." I reply as Bree nudged me in the ribs with her elbow after Tasha glanced at me, "I mean, it's gonna be good. Can't wait to watch it." Tasha smiled.
"I am gonna be on TV! Sweet! Kabob me!" Donald exclaimed as Adam pressed a button on the machine and several chunks of meat flew out of it and hit Tasha instead.
"Science!" Adam stated.
"Science!" Davenport exclaimed also.
***
"Okay, I know you have no idea what's going on, but I need you to get through this interview as if you were an adult." Leo told Davenport while Chase was trying to fix the Neural Scrambler.
"Got it. Would you rather have a British accent or a fake mustache? 'Cause I can do both." Donald said and then put his finger on his upper lip like a mustache and turned to Bree, Adam, and me and spoke in a fake British accent, "Hello! This is my finger. As a grownup who knows about these kind of things-"
"Guys! Guys! I figured out how to get his memories back! See, if we recalibrate the aperture-" Chase started while running up to us.
"Blah blah blah! You're smart! Just do it!" Bree cut him off. Chase turned it on and flashed it in Davenport's face.
"Are you still fifteen years old?" Leo asked.
"No." Donald answered.
"You did it! It worked!" Leo replied to Chase.
"I'm this many." Donald said while holding up four fingers towards me.
"You're four?!" Bree commented.
"Four and a half!" Davenport corrected her.
"Oh, cool, I have a new little brother!" Adam replied.
"Toys! It's toys. Apple." Donald said while picking up a very large fake green apple and bit down on it.
"Fix this, Nerd!" Leo told Chase and then looked at me, "Fix it!"
"Man! I totally Leo'd this up." Chase murmured upset. I take the invention from his hand just as Leo grabbed it for some reason and accidentally pressed the on button, flashing it in my face. "Leo! What did you just do?"
I blink two times and look at everyone. "Des? You okay? How old are you?" Leo asked.
"Leo? Where are we? And I'm six." I answer innocently. "Who are they?"
"Six. The age she first met me and haven't really met you guys." Leo muttered. He turned towards a guy. "Chase, fix this gadget!"
"I can fix it." I point out.
"Come on then. Make sure he doesn't get into anymore trouble." The guy Leo called Chase told the others.
He led me downstairs and to the lab. I stop in my tracks and look around. "Whoah. Who's lab is this?" I ask.
"Uh, why?" Chase answered with another question.
I tilt my head to the side and then look at the guy. "Because it looks like the one a friend of mine owns... And I knew a Chase before. He had two siblings also."
"What a coincidence?" Chase said sheepishly.
I grab the Neural Scrambler and use my bionic eyes to scan over the machine, already figuring out what it does and how it functions. We begin to work on the invention together, but I was fixing the majority of the work.
***
The other teens and Leo walked in the lab through the elevator. A familiar man gasped and looked around, "Am I in a spaceship?"
"Big D?" I innocently ask, looking over at Chase who had looked at me, "You guys zapped him with this, erasing his memory, didn't you?"
"Wow. You're smart even at being six." Chase replied impressed.
"Are those space bathrooms?" Donald asked.
"Sometimes." Adam answered.
"Those are capsules..." I murmur as Chase looked over at me again.
"Hey! Hey! Those are mine! Put those down!" Leo exclaimed towards baby Davenport after he had picked up his toys and ran off with them as Leo followed.
Tasha walked into the room then, looking pretty upset. "What is going on? I want answers, and do not lie to me! I'll know. Leo! Des!"
"She'll know!" Leo said but was preoccupied with handling Davenport.
"She'll know!" I reply with slightly wide eyes and then continued to work on the invention.
"Okay. The Neural Scrambler erased thirty-three years of Mr. Davenport's memory and ten years of Des's memory."
"What? Ten years?" I comment with slightly narrowed eyes.
"However, I think Des and I can get it all back." Chase continued.
"You think?" Tasha said, "That White House Rep is walking out of here with that medal if we don't get it together- Not to mention I am blowing the biggest interview of my career! Fix Donald and Destiny! Leo!"
"Fix Donald and Destiny!" Leo repeated while still chasing after Davenport.
"I got it. We can reverse the Neural Scrambler by taking it apart and repurposing it-" I comment after Tasha left.
"Just the same way that Mr. Davenport did with his inventions." Chase finished, nodding at the idea and kissing the top of my head, "Good work, Des."
"Just do it!" Leo exclaimed while trying to get Davenport out of the furnace bin. Chase and Adam ran over to Leo and helped Davenport out of the bin. I hand Chase the invention as he flashed it in Donald's face.
"That's weird. Just lost my train of thought." Davenport said.
"How old are you?" Chase asked him.
"Old enough to know that you numskulls have Leo'd up my lab!" Davenport answered.
"Okay, that stops now!" Leo said.
"Hey, don't use Leo's name as a verb." I complained. Davenport looked over at me as I smile innocently.
"Hey, we didn't make any of this mess. It was all you." Bree pointed out to Davenport.
"Technically, it was Baby Davenport." Adam replied.
"Well, technically, it was Teen Davenport." Chase pointed out as I raise my eyebrows at them.
"Baby?! Teen?!" Donald stammered out, grabbing the invention out of Chase's hands, "Have you guys been messing with my Neural Scrambler?"
"Yes. Yes, we have. But, uh, in the end, Big D, I think we learned a very very valuable lesson. You were right. It is not easy raising teenagers." Leo answered. "Are we good?"
"No!" Davenport started.
"I don't mean to cut you off, but I still have no memory." I cut him off.
"You erased Des's memory, too?" Donald asked them as they sheepishly nodded. He moved over to stand beside me with the Neural Scrambler in his hands.
"Wait. Before I remember, did you live up to your promise? Did they turn out to be heroes?" I ask curiously.
Davenport smiled. "Yes, they are." I smiled at that answer and nodded as he flashed the invention in my face. I blink three times and look around. "Do you remember now?"
"Remember? Who erased my memory? Leo?" I ask and then look at my troublemaker of a best friend as did everyone else.
"See, what happened was- Oh, I'm glad you're back." Leo said, changing the subject while hugging me and then stepped back.
"And you guys are grounded forever!" Donald stated.
"I got this." Adam replied, walking over to Davenport while taking his invention out of his hands, "Mr. Davenport, would you say you got angry about thirty seconds ago?"
"Oh, give me that!" I answer while taking it out of Adam's hands and begin to type on it and readjust it. "There. Now, before you erase memories, it'll give you a warning." I hand the Neural Scrambler back to Davenport.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have go home because my brother is probably worried." I comment while heading over to the elevator, "Adios, amigos!"
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