⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰
𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦
𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒, 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒
𝐼'𝑚 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐼'𝑚 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢
𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝐼 𝑑𝑜?
𝑀𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑤
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜
𝑇𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑤, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐚
⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰
Gert drives her car down the road towards the construction site which consisted of a crowded and awkward car ride. Gert parks near a gate allowing Luna to be the first to open the door to get out and no longer be seated in the back. All the teens get out of the car in their nice dresses and tuxes, all but Molly who wore regular everyday clothing.
"All right, everyone double-check that your phone's off so our parents can't find us using WizKidTracker," Alex says making the teens take out their phones and turn them off, watching the screen go black after a couple of seconds
"The invention of which we can add to the long list of evil things my mom has done," Nico says as the teens all line up against the car with Alex standing in front of them
"We're a long way from Brentwood," Gert says looking around at their surrounding that were very unfamiliar.
"Hey, it's okay, we got this. Chase, Fistigons?" Alex says wanting to make sure they had everything before heading in to potentially save the world form catastrophic epidemics
"Got 'em" Chase responds taping the backpack that rest on his back allowing the teens to hear the shuffle of metal
Nico reaches into her own bag and pulls out her staff just as Alex turns to her and asks, "Staff?"
"Done" Nico allowing the golden staff to be powered off as she holds it against her chest
"How do you feel?" Alex asks Karolina who was tying her blond hair into a pony tail
"Ready"
"Molly?"
"I'm so good," Molly says with a smile while putting her arm up to the side to show off her muscles that were hidden under her hoodie
Luna who was smiling at Molly's response almost misses Alex turning to face her and asking, "Luna?"
"Hard to miss," Luna says as she touches the totem making it light up a bright red-orange for just a second and then touches it again to let the totem go back to its normal red gem color
"What about my secret weapon?" Gert asks referring to her dinosaur who still sat in the back of the car with a blanket over her
"Um, she stays in the car. For now." Alex says not knowing how they were to explain to the guard on shift that having a pet dinosaur was something everyone has
"Crack the windows, though. This is LA. If anybody sees an animal in the car, they'll call the cops, even if it is a dinosaur" Karolina says making Gert silently groan as she walks back to her car and makes sure the windows were down
"And what are you bringing to the party, Alex?" Nico asks their self-appointed leader
"Access. Stolen from my dad." Alex says as he takes out an ID card to hold up while looking back to the empty security booth behind him, "Now, once we get in there, we destroy as much as we can as fast as we can, then we get out. All right, I'm sure that there's plenty of security. Gonna need some help with that. Best case scenario, we don't get caught, we don't have to fight"
"When was the last time any of us experienced a best-case scenario?" Chase questions knowing that nothing they had planned as gone according to their plan because if it had, trying to expose PRIDE would have ended a while ago
"Look, I know that it's been a shitty couple of weeks," Alex says making Molly cut him off with saying an "Understatement" with a tight smile before Alex continues his pep talk, "But we're friends again, and I didn't think we ever would be. I wouldn't wanna save the world with any other crew. Let's go"
The teens then talk towards the gate the held a card key lock to which Alex was ready to unlock when a flashing light accompanied by a voice shouting at them makes them turn around, "Hey, excuse me! Stop right there!"
Alex moves from the back of their little crowd to the front to face the officer who was slowly running up to them with the flashlight still pointed straight at their eyesight, "Um, hi, I'm Alex. I think you, uh, know my dad, Geoffrey Wilder. This, uh, is his site"
"Wilder Construction's not in charge anymore. This site's being run by the Church of Gibborim now" the guard says taking the kids by surprise yet luckily they still had a way in
Karolina walks to the front taking over Alex's spot taking the guard by surprise knowing who she was, "Oh, maybe you should call my dad and have him authorize it"
"Oh" the guard says slightly embarrassed that he had not noticed her before
"We have a school photography project. He said it would be okay" Karolina lies flawlessly
"Karolina, uh, Miss Dean. This is a nice surprise" the guard says straightening himself up to seem presentable towards Karolina who he knew held a lot of power in the Church of Gibborim
"What's your name?" Karolina asks knowing she has a hold over him and knowing his name was having even more power over him
"Carl" the guard responds
"Ah, well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Carl, but if you could just hurry, - we have a lot of work to do," Karolina says turning her head to Alex who agrees with her
"Waited to the last minute, huh? I was like that" Carl says with a smile making Karolina fake a bigger smile as the rest of the teens still looked worried
"Mm-hmm. Do you need his number?" Karolina asks as the guard didn't seem to be quickly calling anyone
"No, I have it," the guard says before taking out his phone and calling Frank Dean, the teens were all worried as to what Frank was saying on the other end but it seemed to be going well as Carl had yet to give them an angry or look at them questionably. Carl ends the call and puts his phone away before speaking up leaving the teens in suspense, "You're good. Let's go"
The teens are all able to properly take a breath as they were in the clear, letting them walk behind the guard as he walks to open the gate allowing them entrance.
They all leave the guard behind as they run towards a huge contraption designed as if it were the Eiffel Tower only difference was the Nemo machine was purely white with a deep hole in the center of the ground. They all stop running when they get close to the edge of the whole letting them all look down in awe having not expected such a thing
"This is gonna be tougher than I thought," Alex says looking down at the hole that was being lit up with lights that were inserted every few feet
"One step at a time. Let's find a way to shut this down for good" Gert says trying to clearly see what needs to be done next now that they were all inside and everything was seeming to be going semi according to the plan
"My dad created this thing. Maybe I can find the controls" Chase says as he then looks to the side at Luna who nods in encouragement
"Molly, Karolina, let's see if we can move one of these trucks," Alex says turning around to point at one of the while trucks
"To where?" Molly questions not fully understanding why he needed them to move a truck
"There!" Karolina says pointing down at the hole in the ground. Alex also quickly explains to Molly by saying, "On top of the drill"
"I'll keep watch, shield you guys if something goes wrong," Nico says making all the teens look at each other and silently agree on everything before splitting up.
Nico stayed by the hole, Chase and Luna ran towards what seemed to be the main controls for the Nemo contraption, while Karolina, Molly, Alex and Gert ran towards the closest white truck. Luna having trouble in running her heels combined with her floor-length dress arrived at the controls slightly after Chase.
Chase quickly takes a look at the multiple controls and screens clicking buttons while Luna stops in front of the controls not knowing what she was doing or looking for.
"What is all of this? An on-off switch? 'Cause that's about all you can manage?" Luna snarky asks looking at the screens to see various diagrams and words that meant not to her. Luna was a great student but unlike Chase science was not her thing, being as why she was passing her classes with a low B.
"Are you mad at me about what happened between us?" Chase asks while looking at Luna and not paying attention to the screens in front of him
"You can say sex, Chase" Luna says which comes out angry making her run her hand through her hair while looking away from Chase to keep her emotions in check not wanting to feel insecure or anxious, yet that didn't stop her from saying, "We had sex in the middle of the Tennenbaum wedding and didn't even stop to talk about it or define the relationship?"
"That was an hour ago, and now we're trying to prevent California from dropping into the ocean! I'm not saying what happened wasn't also important-" Chase says wanting to talk about since the word 'relationship' was put out there but before he can Luna cuts him off not
"Actually, I think I'd be of a better use helping the team with the truck. Plus, we shouldn't have to talk about what happened because it was just a one-time thing" Luna says while taking a look back to see Molly and Karolina standing by the truck with Alex and Gert behind them not wanting to get in their way
"It was?" Chase asks the surprise evident in his voice makes Luna look up at him to see Chase's facial expression that made her believe he's upset and he was but doesn't know what to say because he is afraid to mess everything up
"Well yeah" Luna says trying to play everything as cool as possible knowing that defining what they now are is not something that matter at the moment, what mattered was stopping PRIDE "I-i was acting on hormones and in believing that we may die today, but being here now...I know it is not our last night on earth and we should probably not be talking about us now. Which is why I am going to use my powers to help Molly and Karolina move that truck because I am the worst at technology"
Without another word, Luna turns around and walks over to her group of friends that were to the side as Molly pushed the white truck to the direction of the hole. Karolina, and Gert cheer for Molly making Luna join in. In the midst of cheering Luna hears the sound of electricity firing away as if they were just exploded making Luna turn around wide-eyed
"Looks like he can handle himself," Gert says having noticed the worried expression the brunette wore making Luna mumble a "Yeah" before a beeping starts to be heard all around the area making Luna looking back to Molly deciding it was time to pitch in.
Luna touches the totem resting on her chest letting a red light illuminates her eyes for a second before the glow settles down.
Luna uncomfortably stretches out her arms in front of herself not exactly having her powers down to a T. She takes a deep breath in before thinking of the trucks wheels spinning forward allowing a cold breeze cover her palms and soon a clear as day white wind starts to surround the truck tires and they start to move to allow it to be easier for Molly to push the truck. The front part of the truck makes it's way into the hole, Luna stops moving the truck and quickly touches her tote to power it off
Molly keeps pushing the truck with everyone cheering her on at either side of her. Molly lets out another scream right before giving the truck a final push allowing it to fall down the hole. Having been using her powers and focusing on the truck, Molly doesn't realize how close to the edge she was making her lose her balance and for all the teens to reach for her so she wouldn't fall.
Molly had no longer be standing unbalanced at the edge of the hole looks down, as do the rest of the teens to see the truck still falling.
"Wow, that is one deep-ass hole" Alex comments just as they all hear the truck crash with the dirt all the way at the bottom
"Where are the guards?" Gert questions as the noise of the truck crashing and the beeping of Chase destroying the control panels was not something that a guard could have easily heard. No one saying anything other than look around to see that they were still alone
"Fill the hole!" Nico commands the staff she holds in her right hand making the circle at the top start to glow as if it was pulsing with electricity. The wind around the teens starts to pick up making it start circle around the teens allowing them to only be able to see each other in the sand storm.
While the teens looked around at the power of Nico's staff, abruptly the staff flies backward and out of Nico's hold. The teens turn around confused as to where the staff could possibly have flown to or why only to be met with all of the PRIDE parents.
"Stuck around for more lessons, I would've shown you how to do that" Tina says as she now held the staff and there was no more wind surrounding the teens allowing them to see the parents walking towards them
"It's time to come home, son," Geoffrey says directly to Alex
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Alex shouts
"Alex, please," Catherine says as the parents were still walking towards the teens as a collective group who held the power
"We know you have a lot of questions," Leslie tells the group of teens who were all lined up next to each other slightly away from the hole yet keeping a distance from the parents. Now between the two sides almost everything was out in the open
"You mean like how could you murder 15 kids?" Karolina questions making sure the parents knew about them discovering their secret
"We promise you everything we've done, we've done for you" Leslie calmly says as they all still walked collectively towards the kids
"How can you even say that!" Nico shouts angry
"Because it's true" Robert replies to his daughter
"We love you," Janet says speaking for everyone yet directly looking at her son
"You guys don't get it. We're not on the same side anymore" Chase tries to explain as the parents did not understand the kids wanted nothing to do with them
"Sides? There aren't any sides" Dale says confused yet in a calm voice just as Stacey speaks up in an equally calm and loving voice, "We're a family"
"We are a family," Gert says referring to the teens meaning that did not include the parents.
"And we'll fight you if we have to!" Molly says taking a step forwards while she shows them her glowing eyes making the parents take a collective step back scared.
Chase lifts up his Fistagons, Molly keeps her eyes glowing a bright orange, Luna touches her totem and keeps her hands in front of her yet her palms facing the floor, and Karolina takes off her bracelet allowing her to glow in various pink/purple/orange/blue colors
"Holy...shit" Dale and Stacey finish each other's exclamation, amazed by Karolina glowing. Who was by far the biggest surprise out of the teen's powers, even more than Molly's glowing eyes
"Did you know about this?" Geoffrey asks Leslie who looks at her daughter speechless
"No. But it's what I was afraid of" Leslie responds as she stares at her daughter glowing with lights that resemble those of a man, she has put all her faith in throughout the years
"Looks like all your kids have a little something extra," Catherine says as every one of the teens, except her son Alex, had a superpower or a mechanical device to help them
"Not Gert, all right? She's just a regular kid" Dale tries to lie just as an animalistic growl is heard making everyone turn in its direction to see a human-sized dinosaur walking towards the teens yet growling at the parents
Gert looks at the side, just like the rest of the teens, to get a look at her beloved dinosaur with a smile, "Disobeyed me. Good call"
"That could've only come from one place," Tina says scared knowing that only one pair of parents had the means and ideas to create such an animal
"I've been meaning to bring you all up to speed on that" Stacey tries to say honestly as Dale pulls out a tranquilizer gun aiming it towards their creating, Gert having seen the gun in her fathers hand shouts "No!" and makes her way towards the dinosaur but by the time she was by her side, the dinosaur had fallen to the ground unconscious
Luna knowing how much the dinosaur meant to Gert, she closes her eyes trying to think of a way to use her powers against the parents. She couldn't just push them back or to the floor, they would just get back up meaning she needed lots of practice to master her totem.
"Fine, if that's how they wanna play, then let's bring it!" Chase says before starting up his Fistagons and aiming them at the parents but before the magnitude could hit them, Tina commands the staff to create a forcefield around them. Protecting the parents from the blast
Karolina seeing that Chase's tech was not able to get past the forcefield, she takes a step forward and shoots lights from her hands which doesn't get past the forcefield but brightness takes the parents by surprise
"Karolina" Leslie says worried for her daughter using the powers but that doesn't make Karolina stop
"I can help her!" Molly says as she sprints towards a few stacked barrels and starts to pick one up. Luna worriedly turns her attention to Molly, just as she has a good hold on the barrel Molly turns around ready to throw it. Luna having seen a different light-colored light be directed towards Molly shouts "No!" but before she can do anything, the lights hit Molly making her fall backward against the rest of the barrels
Luna knowing that couldn't possibly have been Karolina turns around to see a walking figure from behind the parents. The parents knowing the only other person who had that type of colored lights turn around making a pathway for Jonah who right behind him followed Frank.
"Chase, run!" Janet shouts knowing that if Jonah knew everything the parents knew about the kids then, they couldn't protect their kids anymore
"Jonah, stop! Let's try to reason with them" Tina shouts just as she raises her staff at Jonah making him use his powers, that reflected those of Karolina, and with a simple flick of his hand throws the staff far away from Tinas hold
"Tina!" Robert shouts worried as his wife still had Jonah's powered up hand being pointed in front of her
"I swear, Jonah, if you hurt my son!"Geoffrey shouts angry making Catherine try to calm him knowing that they did not have the upper hand
Leslie walks closer to Jonah and pleads, "Jonah, this isn't necessary. Please. No"
Jonah being a man of action doesn't listen to the parents nor Leslie, letting his chest light up along with his hand which he extends towards the teens. Without a second guess, he throws a beam of light at the teens, hiding them like a forcefield and throwing them backward
The parents stare in disbelief and worry while also waiting for their kids to stands up to make sure they were okay.
Luna laid on the ground with her ears ringing making her close her eyes tightly and opening in them in hope that it would help. Along with the rest of the teens, which included Molly, she slowly stands up trying to feel if any bone was broken or anything hurt. While using her hands to balance herself and helping her stand up she notices that she had scrapped her right arm but other than that nothing else was causing her pain
The teens stand up and take a step forward slowly but together. Gert having seen that they were going to keep trying to go against the new guy she pulls out the tranquilizer from her dinosaur which allowed her to slowly regain momentum.
All seven of the teens, including the dinosaur, stand shoulder to shoulder as they walk towards their worried parents who stood behind Jonah. They stop when they stand a few feet away from the parents making Jonah fix his suit before taking a step towards the group
Karolina realizing that Jonah was mainly looking at her, she realizes what made him so special because it was what makes her special. "You guys have to go. He came for me"
The teens turn their focus to Karolina confused and worried as to what she was saying making Alex ask, "What?". As Chase followed up with, "Are you crazy?". Nico disliking the words that had left the blonde's mouth says, "No, we're not leaving you"
"I'll hold him off and I'll meet you outside, okay? It's the only way" Karolina says looking over Nico and to everyone else knowing it is the right thing to do
"Don't do this, please, I'm begging you!" Nico pleads while looking up at the blonde who couldn't yet meet her eyes, as she was looking at the parents who were all pleading for their kids to run away, "You can't do this alone!"
"Go. Go!" Karolina tells the teens making them listen to her and start to run away, Luna walking away not running as she was waiting for Nico
"I'm not leaving you," Nico says taking Karolina's arm making the blonde look her in the eyes not backing down, "Told you to go. Go. Nico, go. You have to go"
Luna seeing that Nico was still holding on to Karolina she grabs Nico's arm and pulls her away knowing it was now or never. Nico lets go of Karolina and starts to run alongside Luna, leaving the blonde alone to fight
~~
The teens ran as the lights above them flickered and the wind around them started to blow chaotically. They stop once they arrive behind a fence where Gert's car was parked.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Alex shouts as the teens stand around trying to catch their breath. Just as a warping sound is heard the lights start to spark out above the teens making them scream and duck as they make their way behind the car with shaky breaths. Soon all the lights around them were no longer lit
"Maybe Karolina won" Gert whispers as everything surrounding them had become silent, only with a few beeping car alarms in the distance
"Then where is she?" Nico asks Gert bitterly and worried making no one reply, the teens slowly stand up and Gert immediately opens the car's door to check the engine
Gert having left the key in the car turns them to see if the car would turn on, only for it to make no noise and nothing happen, "Car's dead"
Chase looks down at his Fistagons to check if the electric currency fried his invention, "So are these"
Alex tries to turn on his phone making him realize what caused everything electrical to stop working, "An EMP, it fried everything"
"Oh, my God, stop talking about how everything is fried and dead right now, please!" Nico says her voice breaking as she lightly hits the car door not wanting to think about the horrible possibilities
"Hey, maybe Karolina's okay. Maybe she escaped" Gert optimistically tries to say but that only agitates Nico more
"To where?!"
"Maybe she's hiding" Gert whispers as her eyes flicker away from Nico losing confidence in her own words
"I just, I can't take this anymore. I'm going back" Nico says standing up and starts to walk around the car ready to go back
"Come on, Nico." Alex pleads knowing going back is not something they can afford to do, "You've gotta be smart. I mean, look at us"
"Yeah. We're missing someone!" Nico says before turning around to walk over to the fence to try to get a look at what was happening. Luna was torn between staying with the group or following Nico, and since she disliked the idea of Nico going back in to spy on the parents alone and without protection, she took off her slip-on heals. Before anyone can protest she pushes her shoes into Alex's chest, since he was the closest, and runs after Nico, trying to not mind the rocks that started to stab at the bottom of her bare feet.
"We have to find the kids" Geoffrey speaks which echos to where Nico stood behind a fence that was covered with a green fabric with a small slit in the middle. Luna touches Nico's shoulder making her jump, "Don't worry it's just me"
There was no sign of Jonah, Karolina or Frank, only the PRIDE parents standing around. In a commanding voice, Tina says "Let's go"
"Stars!" Luna quietly exclaims as the parents were walking towards where the teens had ran away from. Making Nico and Luna turn around and run back towards the group of teens
"Guys! Guys!" Nico shouts catching everyone's attention making them walk towards the fence and look past the darkness only to see two figures turning towards them, "They're coming!"
"Gert! My bag!" Luna shouts knowing that she was not going to leave behind her small duffle bag that included her extra pair of shoes, which she regrets not having changed into beforehand, a first aid kit, and her wallet. Gert quickly walks over to the side of the car, opens the side door and reaches for the small duffle bag
Once Luna and Nico get past the fence everyone starts to run towards the street and away from the construction site.
The sun had started to rise as the teens kept walking down the empty streets of LA, pushing a shopping cart where a Dinosaur sat hidden beneath various blankets.
"I'm hungry. I'm so hungry, guys" Molly exclaims from behind everyone making Luna want to complain as to how tired she was, as she was never one to wake up before sunrise. So instead she folded up the sleeves of Chase's suit jacket, which she had borrowed once they had stopped and she put on her sneakers
"Let's try and find a liquor store or something," Alex says from the front of the line
"Sounds nourishing" Gert starkly yet tiredly replies
"I'm more concerned how hungry she is," Chase says as he continues to push the car with almost no help from anyone else. They finish crossing the street and stop to take a look around as they stand around the cart trying to hide any and all of it
A police siren is heard by the teens making them look to the side to spot a cop car stopping at the other end of the street from them.
"Unit 36, code three, one Adam 22" is heard from the car as the teens try to look anywhere from the stares of the two cops who were looking at them
"Just relax. Nothing going on here" Alex says looking away from the cops and towards Nico as he tries to block off the cops from seeing a dinosaurs head
"We have to get off the streets" Nico whispers as she looks around as casually as she could
"We're ten out" The teens are able to hear from the police car, followed by a "Copy that"
Sirens start to wail just as the car turns the street corner, driving away from the teens allowing them to keep walking without the worry of having a cop car around them. Alex having seen the structure of the Observatory standing on top of hills of trees gets and idea
The teens make their way towards the Observatory to hide in the various trees, and no technology. They had left the shopping cart at the bottom of the hill but they do each carry a blanket in their hands or around their shoulder. The dinosaur claims a spot on the ground making the teens stop deciding that then was the right place to stop
"What are we supposed to do now?" Nico asks out of breath, while Gert, Molly, and Luna extended out the blankets on the floor
"Oh, I can't think. I need sleep" Alex responds with his eyes closed and glasses in hand. Gert, Molly, and Luna sit next to each other on the blankets. Luna being exhausted lays down with her feet prompted up begin covered by her dresses that was now no longer one color.
"Who the hell can sleep?" Chase questions making Luna raise her hand
"Actually, I'm still a little wiped out" Molly says as she rests her head on Gert's shoulder
"What about after a very much needed good night's sleep, what happens then?" Luna asks while sitting up, wondering what the group was going to choose as it seemed they were divided on if they were to save Karolina or not, and if they were going to save her she needed to know so she could throw all hopes of sleep out the window
"We get out of town," Alex says just at the same time Nico says "We save Karolina"
Nico looks over to Alex seeing that he was serious about leaving town starts to get angry, "Wait, you'd seriously leave without her?"
"Look, Nico, we don't know where she is or how she is"
"Or if she still even is" Gert joins in making Luna look over at the purple head with wide eyes not enjoying the pessimistic thoughts being said out loud
"Look, I'm sorry, but we have to do what's best for the group" Alex leads making it sound like it was what everyone had to do
"No, I say we have to think about each other" Nico tells Alex as she drops the blankets she held at his feet
"If it was me in her place, I'd want you guys to go" Chase chimes in making Luna confused and slightly angry making her side with Nico
"Good to know, but this is not about you. This is about Karolina who did everything she could to protect us, so we are not going to leave anyone behind" Luna says as she was going to fight for them not to split up, especially when Karolina could be in danger and if she was in the blondes shoes, Luna would be holding out hope that they would save her
"That's true. Last night, Karolina could've saved herself, but she didn't" Molly chimes in making Luna smile as they were getting their rescue mission
"I see what's happening here. I like it" Gert says making Luna look up at Chase with an eyebrow raised as it was up to Alex and him to be on their side so they could have a unanimous quorum
"Screw it. Me too" Chase says, leaving Alex to decide while all eyes were on him
"Okay. We look for her"
~~
Chase, Nico, and Molly followed Luna to a thrift store where they were tasked with getting everyone a change of clothes. Alex and Gert stayed behind with the Dinosaur. When they were formulated a plan Luna knew exactly where they should go to get clothes. It was a thrift store where she occasionally shopped at and had donated her older clothes
Luna went to the back to talk to the manager who she knew to try to get their outfits to be at a lower price and also to get clothes from her secret pile in the back, needing to change out of the dress. While Nico, Molly and Chase were on the floor looking some clothes for themselves and the rest of the group
"So, we're going undercover" Nico tells Chase as she walks over to the isle he was in and hands the teen boy a black jacket from the pile of clothes she held in her arm "try this"
"Thanks" Chase says as the two walk over to the mirror near the curtain dressing rooms where Molly was changing but not without Nico adding a few more clothing items to her pile
"So, you want to talk about it?" Nico asks Chase knowing that he probably didn't have anyone to talk about what happened between Luna and him, while Luna had Gert and Molly to talk to
"Talk about what?" Chase asks oblivious as to what she wanted for him to speak up about while he slips on the black jacket over his white button-up shirt that had the top three buttons undone
"Well, when we found you at the dance last night, you reeked of hookup," Nico says with a small smile
"Yeah? Well, so did you." Chase says with a playful smile and when he sees Nico's smile vanish, "Relax, I'm not gonna tell Wilder. Though it does explain why Karolina wasn't into me. I knew there had to be a good reason."
"Well, what about the girl who is into you?" Nico asks keeping the conversation on Luna and him rather than on her own love life
"It's complicated" Chase says with a sad sigh, as he changes into a beige trench coat
"Right, because she really likes you," Nico says as she rolls her eyes knowing that it was evident that Luna has a crush on Chase, she just never noticed Chase being able to reciprocate those feelings
"No..." Chase says disappointed as from the mirrors view he is able to see Luna exit the manager's office wearing a new outfit and it was as if time was slowing down making Luna look stunning as she removes her hair from under her new bedazzled navy jacket. "Because I really, really like her"
Chases' confession takes Nico by surprise and isn't able to respond as a curtain clips rattle interrupts their conversation making the teens turn to face Molly exiting the fitting room with her new look. The youngest teen wore some short overalls, a pink sleeveless jacket, a simple pink stripped tee, a pink bandana with cat ears folded up and sunflower glasses
"Um, not really flying under the radar" Nico states knowing all the pink brought attention to the teen rather than shifting attention away
"Alex said 'undercover', not invisible." Molly says as her eyes then meet a bright green wig and she picks it up just as Luna arrives "Oh, my gosh, this wig is perfect for Gert. They're gonna be expecting a girl with purple hair, not green."
"Good thinking Molls" Luna says with a smile as she then turns to face the two other teens to inform them all of her conversation with the manager. She had gotten him to agree to them leaving the clothes them came in with, with the cashier and she would pay with half the cash she had in her wallet, which was fifty dollars "Everything is already paid for"
"Oh, look at us Brentwood's finest wearing crap other people threw away" Nico says sarcastically while looking into the mirror seeing everything that everyone wore
"Saving the world by doing so," Luna says knowing that shopping at the thrift store such as the ones they were in helped the environment because the alternative for the clothes not being in the store was that it would be on an island on a pile of trash.
Luna's eyes trail to look at Chase in the mirror only to look away not wanting to get caught. Luna takes a look at herself in the mirror, she had settled with a black shirt that had some random company name on the back, grey jeans, a bedazzled navy jacket and some used black boots. She came to the realization blue would only put more focus on her eyes meaning she needed another colored jacket or some sunglasses
"The struggle is real," Molly says as she looks at herself in the mirror through her sunflower sunglasses
~~
Gert was taking items she had boughten out of a plastic bag when she hears a ruffling sound behind her making her stop and turn around to be met with Alex walking up the hill with flyers in one hand and a water bottle in the other
"Where were you?" Gert asks making Alex raise up the flyers above his head
"That was quite a journey. I went down to Hollywood Boulevard hoping I could find someone at a coffee shop who would lend me their laptop" Alex says going to sit down on a rock looking up at Gert who stood in front of him
"And instead?"
"Instead I saw several grown men urinating. I had to stop a fistfight between two shoeless meth heads fighting over an empty cottage cheese container. Oh, and if you want a tour of stars' homes or catch a double feature, I can hook you up" Alex says placing the flyers beside him making Gert pick them up and reading the first one that had a listing of old movies
"Oh, I love old movies"
"Also, there's a map of the church in here, handed out by an alcoholic Elmo" Alex says just as Gert picks up a container, takes off the lips and throws a whole cooked chicken in the air which the Dinosaur catches in her mouth, eating it whole. "Wow"
"Did you know a chicken costs eight bucks?" Gert asks annoyed at how much money she had to spend in order to feed her hungry dinosaur
"Mm, you had to go to Whole Foods" Alex replies unsettled
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking. We need to save every cent we have with us, but I need to keep her fed, or honestly, I don't know what's gonna happen" Gert says just as the rest of the group arrives with bags of clothes and tired from the walk-up
"Phase one of the mission's complete," Molly says just as the rest of the teens pick up a water bottle and Nico fans herself as she was burning up with wearing layers of black
"What's next?"
Alex looks over at Gert knowing that his next few words would be tough on her "Uh, what's next is goodbye. Someone isn't coming on the rest of the mission"
"What? But she's good! She--she doesn't chase squirrels. She poops in the trees. We're a team! Okay, let's at least vote on it. Molly?" Gert asks the Latinx who looked down at the floor making Gert turn to Luna with a worried expression
"It's not safe, we will get caught, Gert. Or she will" Luna says knowing Gert doesn't want anything to happen to her emotional support animal, especially if other people knew of her existence.
Gert walks towards a clearing to have a word with her Dinosaur alone. Gert sat near a downhill with her Dinosaur at her side, "So, we're gonna be moving around, on the road a lot, and you don't exactly fit inside a duffel bag"
"It's as much for you as it is for me. You're special. One of a kind. It's important that you survive." Gert continues as she places her hand on the dinosaur's nose looking into her eye, "You need to stay hidden during the day, hunt at night. Be friends with a mountain lion, okay? When things calm down, I'll come for you. I'll find you. We have a connection. You're the Costello to my Abbott. The Harpo to my Groucho. The old lace to my arsenic. Goodbye, Old Lace"
With those final words and a name, Old Lace starts to walk away into the trees before she starts to run making Gert look away feeling the tears start to fall down her cheeks
~~
After the teens had a change of clothes and some sleep they planned out where they were going to begin making Luna chime in knowing exactly where they could find a weak link into the Dean's church. It is what led the teens to Timely Coffee shop where Luna once worked.
"'Yawn'? My name is Vaughn. What parent names their child 'Yawn'? Not to mention, I come in here every day" Vaugh the Church of Gibborum's receptionist starts to complain making it the perfect chance for Nico to pick up his drink and making Vaugh turn his direction to Nico who was walking away from him "Excuse me! Mistake! That's mine"
He walks into a corner of the shop where the teens stand up from their seats and Nico takes a sip of the drink while she leans on the wall making her look at Vaugh in disgust, "What the hell is this?"
"Six shots of espresso," Luna says knowing his order as it was the same thing every time like clockwork and just like clockwork everyone always misspelled his name
"Don't judge me. Caffeine is the only vice I have left. What is this?" Vaugh says looking at the teens confused as the teens looked out of place, yet luckily they were all now changed out of last nights clothes and into some semi-normal outfits
"We're friends of Karolina's. She's in trouble. We need your help" Gert voices in a worried tone
"What happened? Is she okay?" Vaugh asks worriedly for the blonde girl he secretly has a crush on and he was doing a terrible job on keeping it a secret
"We don't know. We think she's being held in the church" Alex adds as he stood in-between Gert and Chase
"Well, I'll call Leslie," Vaugh says ready walk away and take out his phone but Nico stops him from leaving their little secluded spot of the cafe
"She's a part of it"
"Part of what?" Vaugh says making the teen look at each other knowing they were once as oblivious as him and it was time for his bubble to be burst
Alex sighs before telling him "You ever notice that every year one of your young parishioners goes missing?"
"They're runaways. Sometimes they, you know, run away" Vaugh says with an airy chuckle not knowing what the grouped of teens were trying to get at
"Except these kids aren't coming back. Same time of year, every year, like clockwork" Luna says making Vaugh shake his head still not believing anything they were saying
"That doesn't mean that-"
"Karolina might be next?" Nico cuts off Vaugh making his skeptical look become neutral believing in their words even less now since it meant a mother he has known for a long time hurting her daughter who he knows she loves
"Leslie wouldn't hurt one of her congregants, let alone her own daughter"
"Maybe not, but that weirdo Jonah would" Molly adds as she stands next to Nico who was taking another sip of the coffee she held in her hand
"He's in control now, not Leslie" Alex states urgently but everything the teens were saying wasn't enough to convince Vaugh
"Jonah? Leslie's father's friend? Look, every day I come to work at the church is a day I feel at home. The Deans are my family, and the Gibborim, it helped get my life together when no one else would. Now a bunch of weird kids in bad wigs tell me it's all a sham?" Vaugh says shaking his head making Luna look away from him only to lock eyes with Chase. Vaugh looks over to Nico with his hand extend out"Can I have my coffee back?"
"No chance, dude," Molly says just as the same time Chase and Gert say "Absolutely not", "Brainwashed dick"
They then turn around leaving Luna to wait for Nico and Nico to keep looking at Vaugh, the coffee cup still in her hand
"I think I might actually like this" Nico says making Vaugh throw his hands up giving up and leaves