Lab Rats- Dawn

Adam Steps Up

"All right, listen up, guys." Chase's voice cut through the chatter as the academy students turned their attention to him. Moments ago, they had been absorbed in their own conversations, but his commanding tone quickly silenced the room. "We're introducing a new element to training—the bionic battle." He stepped confidently into the center of the room. "Each week, two of you will be pitted against each other in a physical challenge."

"To the death?" Spin asked, his eyes gleaming with over-the-top excitement as he hunched forward like an eager predator. "Yes, Big D built this multi-million-dollar facility to train and house you just so we could pick you off one by one." Leo replied sarcastically, stepping up beside Spin with a smirk.

Chase smirked, amused and continued. "So each week's winner will earn points toward advancing to the next bionic skill level. And the loser gets... well..." He hesitated, searching for the right word. "...gets humiliated." I finished with a grin. Chase gave me a nod of agreement, while murmurs of anxiety spread among the students.

"Spin, since you're the youngest, you get to choose an opponent first." Bree announced with a teasing smile. "Yes!" Spin cheered, eyes scanning the older students as he stalked forward dramatically. "Scared? You should be." He mimicked an animalistic lunge, attempting to intimidate them but none of them flinched. Chase scoffed at the youngest's words as I chimed in, excited for this upcoming week, wishing I had popcorn. "Ooh."

"No... and no." Chase said, directing both rejections towards Spin and me. "This isn't about scaring people. No one's going to get hurt." He clapped his hands for emphasis, only to yelp as a basketball struck his back, making him recoil in pain. "Ow!" Chase fed up, marched toward the common area with Bree and I trailing behind, only to find Adam, Bob and their friends randomly shooting hoops.

"What are you doing?" I asked the duo, my arms crossed. "We're throwing this thing at that thing." Bob replied earnestly, pointing to the basketball and then the hoop. "I'm an athlete." Bob answered or rather likely echoed what Adam said to him. Bree turned to Adam, clearly unimpressed. "Adam, you're a mentor now. You have to start acting like one." "Yeah, like asking me to join is a very good start." I held up my hands innocently, as Bree and Chase rolled their eyes.

"I am." Adam insisted. "We're supposed to teach them how to use their abilities. So... we're havin' a bionic slam dunk contest."

"Incoming!" He grinned as Bob suddenly dashed forward and launched himself into the air, using his bionic strength to slam the ball through the hoop.

"Whoa!" I muttered, stunned, as I thought back to the beginning of when we took the siblings to school with us. "He's actually better than Leo was in gym class." No one acknowledged me, their eyes glued to Bob, who now dangled precariously from the hoop. "Bob, get down from there!" Bree shouted in alarm.

"Sorry, little lady. No can do." Bob called back nervously. "Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid of heights!" His voice trembled, causing me to furrow my brows in confusion. "But you can levitate."

"Oh, I'm good going up. It's the going down part that never ends well." His voice continued to waver. Chase sighed, looking at us with an annoyed look, placing his hands on his hips. "I'll have to use my molecular kinesis to get him down."

"Or you could just use a ladder." Bree muttered under her breath as Chase walked off, rolling her eyes in disbelief.

Before I could blink, Chase touched a finger to his temple as Bob began to twitch, flailing midair before dropping like a rock right on top of Chase, bringing the hoop down with them, both of them groaning in pain.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bob. That ended very well."

...

Later in the training area, Chase, Bree, and I were offering students tips on enhancing their bionic control. The session was cut short, hearing Mr. Davenport walk in, talking to someone on the phone. "Okay, Tasha. I—I got it honey." he said, stopping beside us. Then, as her voice rose on the other end, he instinctively lifted a hand, as if trying to calm her down—even though she couldn't see him. "Okay... now you're just growling." he muttered, frowning.