Grandma vs Exoskeleton

Chase's POV
"Hey Calla, hand me that monkey wrench please." I held out my hand as she tossed it to me. She was here earlier than usual for a Saturday, but that was because today was the day, the big invention sale called "The Call."
So anyway, we (Calla, Mr. Davenport and I) were all doing last minute checks on all the inventions. Meanwhile, Leo was walking in between the displays, looking at them in awe.
"What's this?" He asked, picking something up. I wasn't paying too much attention to him.
"No Leo, that's part of my put that down collection." Mr. Davenport ran up to him, pulling the device from Leo's hands.
"Oh, sweet pen." Leo's easily distracted mind must have found something new to play with. Mr. Davenport explained to Leo that it was a highly pressurized air canister and that it could inflate a blimp. Calla wanted to use it as a hair drier when this was all done.
"This little thing?" Leo didn't believe him. "Impossible."
Suddenly, a massive gust of wind hit us, nearly knocking me off my feet.
"This is why I suggested we Leo-proof the lab!" Calla hissed, grabbing onto the podium to keep herself standing. I stumbled over to Mr. Davenport and Leo to try and shut off the device. Mr. Davenport managed to wrestle it from Leo and shut it off before any of his inventions fell.
"You might want to put a little warning sign on that!" Leo exclaimed.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Calla commented dryly, pulling her now messy hair into a ponytail.
"So, what are you having? A garage sale for geeks?" Leo asked curiously. Mr. Davenport faked a laugh.
"No. We are preparing for…The Call." He finished dramatically. Calla and I smirked as his theatrics.
"Once a year, Mr. Davenport, Cal and I present his newest devices to all the international buyers." I explained.
"In other words, ka-ching!" she grinned, before doing our special handshake with me and Mr. Davenport. Leo intervened, trying to get our attention.
"I want to be in on…The Call." Leo copied Mr. Davenport. I chuckled.
"Yeah, sorry Leo. There's no more room. Right Calla?" Calla thought about it.
"Well, I could use a little more help getting my share ready." She said, looking at Mr. Davenport. "I'm a little behind because I was sick on Thursday. Maybe Leo could help me with that."
"Yeah, there's plenty of ways Leo can help out." Mr. Davenport agreed. I looked at him. "As long as someone follows him around everywhere he goes with a fire extinguisher." He amended.
"But Mr. Davenport!" I objected. "Calla and I are way better at selling the stuff than Leo."
"Please, I could sell anything. I could sell nun-chucks to a nun named Chuck." I looked at him.
"It's true. He did that last week on a dare. He own ten bucks and twenty from Sister Chuck." Calla agreed.
"I could sell this without even knowing what it is." Leo picked up an electro-field destabilizer and started showing it off to an imaginary audience.
"No Leo! That's an electro-field destabilizer. What ever you do…" Mr. Davenport said as the device touched the metal podium and Leo was sent flying into the lab doors. "…let it touch metal."
I laughed at the sigh. "I have to admit; a small part of me was hoping that would happen."
"Well, could a big part of you come over here and HELP ME UP?" Leo yelled. Calla sighed and ran forward, pulling Leo to his feet.
"There you go cranky. Oh and one more thing…" she went to the equipment room and came back, carrying a small fire extinguisher. She handed it to Leo. "You might need this."
"Yes mom, Leo and I are settling in just fine in our new house." Tasha said on the phone as Bree and I walked into the living room. She waved at us before going back to her phone call. Meanwhile, everyone else was doing their usual Saturday afternoon thing. Adam was lifting Leo to bulk up, Davenport was hopping around on one foot, singing some random pattern of sounds while wearing a weird-looking hat with antennas on it, and Calla was videotaping his dance while texting Rebeccka, Kaitlin and Jessica the answers for yesterday's chemistry homework. Bree disappeared for a second, and then reappeared, holding a red bouncy ball.
"Wanna play catch?" She asked. I nodded.
"Sure." We headed over to the kitchen table, tossing the ball at one another while I listened in on Tasha's conversation. It wasn't really eavesdropping; she was so loud while on the phone and my super sensitive hearing picked it up easily.
"Yes, you should come and visit." Tasha said, clearing not liking the idea one bit. She then looked around the room and decided that it wasn't a good idea. "But not today!"
I smirked, tossing the ball farther so that Bree would have a challenge. "Why? Because Donald's not feeling well." Mr. Davenport stopped and looked at Tasha. "I've got to go; he just threw up in my purse. Love you, bye."
She hung up the phone. "You know, we're going to have to have your mother over eventually." Mr. Davenport told her.
"No, we don't." Tasha replied. "Look, my mother doesn't just visit she has inspections. If she spots anything weird, she will use it as an excuse to move in."
I was a little distracted by the conversation and accidentally threw the ball to far. Bree ran over to catch it, stopping right next to Tasha and Mr. Davenport.
"Nothing weird here." She said cheerfully before coming back to our game.
"Honey, when your mother visits, I will shower her with love, I will make her feel welcome and I will do everything humanly possible to-" Mr. Davenport was cut off by the doorbell. Tasha freaked out immediately.
It's my mother!" she exclaimed. She really didn't need to though; Leo's grandmother's face was on our security screen.
"I'll be in the lab." Mr. Davenport panicked and ran downstairs. Calla picked up the video camera and looked into the lens.
"And that is why Leo's grandmother doesn't like Mr. Davenport. Because he's a coward." She said smiling before shutting off the camera. Tasha looked at Adam, Bree and I, still freaking out.
"Quick! Turn invisible!" she ordered. We all looked at her. "Oh come on! You have every other freaky ability. Just…run and hide!"
We all hid behind the counter, even Calla. Then she froze. "Wait, why am I hiding? I work here."
Bree gave her a look and pressed her finger to her lips. Calla sighed, but stopped talking as Leo's grandma came in.
"Oh good, it's unlocked." She said. Tasha faked a smile.
"Mom!" she cried hugging her. "You're here."
"Would have been here sooner if it hadn't been for your stupid gate." Leo's grandma complained.
"Oh, that's just Donald's titanium security fence." Tasha explained.
"Well if you ram it with your car hard enough, it pops right open." The grandma replied before looking at Leo. "Leo! There's my baby! Come here and give grandma a kiss."
Adam and Calla started mocking Leo quietly. Bree giggled. I gestured to the hallway.
"We can't stay here forever." I whispered. They all nodded and we started to leave. Leo's grandma kept talking.
"Grandma brought your favourite; bran fruit cake." she said, then trailed off unexpectedly. Then, in a very loud, questioning voice: "Who are they?"
We all froze and turned to see the family looking at us. Calla looked between us and Tasha, then straightened up. "Oh, we're uh…we're the staff."
"Staff?" Leo's grandma repeated. Calla nodded.
"Yeah well, it's a pretty big house." She replied. Leo's grandma looked at Tasha.
"Oh Tasha, still so lazy." She scolded with an amused tone. Tasha glared at her.
"And you're still so…my mother." She ended in a fake cheerful voice. Leo's grandma looked at Adam.
"So what do you do?" she asked. Adam grinned.
"Well, I collect rocks, I lift heavy things, I chase bugs-" he started to list all his weird and random hobbies, but Calla stopped him by elbowing him in the ribs.
"He's the chef." She informed Leo's grandma. Apparently, those lying lessons Mr. Davenport had insisted on actually worked.
"Oh, right." Adam seemed to get where this was going. "Usually I wear a puffy hat and shout things in Italian. Bonjour!"
We all laughed like it was a joke. "Adam, always the kidder." Tasha smiled convincingly. Leo's grandmother looked at Bree.
"And who is she?" she asked. Bree smiled shyly and Calla opened her mouth to speak, but Tasha beat her to it.
"Bree is my personal trainer." Tasha said. Leo's grandmother raised her eyebrow.
"And just what does a personal trainer do?" she asked suspiciously.
"It's personal?" Bree didn't sound too sure of her response, but Leo's grandmother bought it anyway. She turned to me.
"And Chase," Tasha walked over to me "Chase is Leo's…nanny." Leo and I both stared at her while Calla and my siblings tried to keep from laughing out loud. "Man nanny." Tasha corrected herself. "Manny."
"Aren't you a little young to be a manny?" Leo's grandmother asked. I smiled.
"Aren't you a little young to be a grandma?" I countered. Leo's grandmother blushed.
"I like you." She decided. Then she turned to Calla. "Since you seem to be the speaker of the group, what's your job?" she asked. Calla smiled politely.
"I'm Mr. Davenport's personal lab assistant. I help him with the bigger projects and personally manage a few of his smaller ones. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to work, seeing as Mr. Davenport is ill after all."
"Can I help?" Leo's head shot up. Calla shrugged.
"Sure, if you want. But you have to bring your manny?" Calla smirked at me. I returned the look with a glare of my own.
"Sure, come on Chase!" Calla, Leo and I headed down the hall down to the lab. The second we were out of listening range, the two burst out laughing.
"Manny!" Calla giggled. "Oh man, I was going to go with butler or doorman or hell, servant. But this is WAY better!"
"No it is not!" I objected as we hit the same floor as the lab.
"Yeah it is! That was hilarious!" Leo chuckled. I followed Calla and Leo into the lab where Mr. Davenport was working on some last touched. "Hey Big D. My grandma's here."
"Yeah, I know. Why do you think I'm down here?" he replied. "Uh, Chase, can you adjust the power levels on the quantum flux discombobulator?"
"Sure." I agreed, doing as he asked. Meanwhile, Calla started to rearrange the displays, "making them pretty" as she liked to put it. Leo and Mr. Davenport were joking around over in the corner. I glared at Leo, then I remembered what I had done earlier. "Hey, Cal!" I called, pulling out the presentation packets. I jogged over to Leo and Mr. Davenport and handed it to them, thinking they'd be thrilled. I was wrong.
"I say we just wing it." Leo suggested. Mr. Davenport nodded.
"Leo's right. We shouldn't over think it." He agreed. I looked at Calla for back up, but she had started doodling on the cover of her packet with a highlighter, trying to avoid attention.
"But guys, I wrote an entire script filled with our spontaneous yet witty banter." I objected. Calla smiled.
"And we'd all like to hear that…someday." She assured me. I gave her a look.
"But now, Big D, Cal, and Leo are chilling on the selling." Leo, Calla, and Mr. Davenport started to do a weird looking handshake.
"No, no, no handshakes!" I yelled. They all looked at me. I turned to Mr. Davenport. "I mean, Leo's great and all, but you, Calla and I are the terrific trio here. What if something happens? He could get electrocuted. Again."
"Yeah, but we could use the help." Mr. Davenport grinned. "I mean this year, I am unveiling my coup d'etat(1).
Leo gasped and put his hands over my ears. "With children in the room?" he asked, horrified. What did he think coup d'etat meant?
I slapped his hands away. "No, I am talking about a level of technology so amazing that I have to unveil it game show style!" Mr. Davenport hit a switch and the doors behind him opened. He held out his hands and presented to us what looked to be a giant robotic suit.
"It's my exoskeleton!" he announced. "And Leo, you have done such a great job helping, you're going to be in it when we make…The Call."
I stared at him, mouth agape. What? Why Leo? Why not me? Leo ran forward towards the exoskeleton, his eyes shining in awe at the invention. "What?" I demanded from Mr. Davenport. "No. You said that I was going to present the exoskeleton."
"Chase, you've been doing this for years." Mr. Davenport chided. "It's not going to kill you to let Leo demo one thing."
"Well, it might. Depends on whether or not he figures out the weapon systems." Calla mentioned. Leo looked at her.
"This has weapons?!" he shouted gleefully. Calla looked worried.
"Oh crap." She muttered. Then, in a more cheerful voice. "No Leo, it doesn't have weapons. I was just playing around."
"Besides, there will plenty of other small things for you and Calla to do." Mr. Davenport went back to our conversation.
"Yeah, like stand and point Vana." Leo mimicked the girl from Wheel of Fortune. Calla glared at him.
"Hey! I'm Vana!" she told him.
"It doesn't matter!" I was very frustrated with those two. Leo, for stealing my spot in the presentation, and Calla, for taking his side. Then, an idea hit me. I took a deep breath. "Sorry. Mr. Davenport's right. Leo, you should demo the exo."
"See, that's more like it." Mr. Davenport smiled proudly. I smiled at Leo.
"You deserve it." He grinned. Leo and Mr. Davenport went to go get Leo ready to present the machine, leaving Calla and I standing around. She looked at me.
"You took that awfully well." She commented suspiciously. I frowned, pretending to be confused.
"How else could I take it? Whining wasn't going to help my case." I replied. She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Why do I get the feeling that you're plotting something?" she asked. I shrugged.
"Because you have no ability to trust?" I suggested. She looked at me, clearly offended.
"What? I have the ability to trust!" she objected. I smirked.
"Then prove it. Trust me when I say I'm not up to anything." She crossed her arms.
"Fine. I will."
"Good." I nearly laughed at her expression.
"See you later." She stalked off in the other direction. I pulled out a screw driver and turned towards the exoskeleton.
"Buckle up exo; you're about to go on Mr. Leo's wild ride." It didn't take me long to change the settings on the exoskeleton. Calla and I had helped Mr. Davenport build it, so I knew exactly which wires to switch. This Call was going to be one none of us would ever forget.
Xxx
"Mr. Davenport!" Calla called, fiddling with the screen. Four people appeared on the screen.
"Hello, and welcome to…The Call." Mr. Davenport greeted the potential buyers. "I'm, as you obviously know, Donald Davenport and this is my sale. My assistants will show you some of the inventions for sale. Leo, Chase?"
Call turned the camera on us. I grinned as Leo picked up the first device. "Davenport Industries Tabletop Particle Collider." Leo held it up. "I have no idea what it does, but it sure looks pretty." Calla smirked. I rolled my eyes, but even the buyers seemed to find Leo amusing. I didn't.
"Isn't he cute?" I laughed, pushing Leo away. "Kids…Okay, up next we have something even more exciting."
Calla smiled again, but I couldn't tell why. Maybe she liked my pitch. "It's thrilling, yet mysterious. Exotic, but useful. I have no idea how any household has survived without the…" I turned to my right to present the invention to find the podium empty. Leo stepped in front of me, holding it proudly. "Leo!"
"Go on, you're doing great." Leo said, showing off the device.
"You stole my thunder." I accused. I turned to Mr. Davenport. "He stole my thunder."
"Who needs thunder when you've got lightning?" Leo asked, pretending to zap me with the device. I pulled it out of his hands while Calla signalled Mr. Davenport to step in. He grabbed us by the backs of our shirts and dragged us out of camera's view as Calla presented the device with a smile.
"Guys, now might be a good time to unveil my coup d'etat." He told us. I stopped, then smiled.
"Yes, Leo why don't you go do you demo?" I gestured towards the exoskeleton.
"One coup de Leo coming right up." Leo ran off to put on the suit. I presented one last invention with Calla and then Mr. Davenport shoved us out of the way.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is finally the moment you have all been waiting for." He announced, signalling Calla to switch the camera out of the close up view so that the buyers could see the whole thing. I grinned, getting out of the way.
"It's the moment I've been waiting for." I said under my breath. Leo came walked up to us, wearing the suit. He turned and faced the buyers.
"Exoskeleton in the house!" he announced to their stunned faces.
"Oh, this is going to get us a fortune!" Calla whispered to me gleefully. Mr. Davenport nodded, then went back on screen.
"That's right; the power of ten men in a one size fits all suit. Leo, please demonstrate by lifting this table." He stepped back, making room for Leo. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, note how elegantly," Leo slammed his fist down on the table, breaking it in two. "Smashes my table of priceless inventions!"
I couldn't help but laugh. Calla turned to me. "What did you do?" She demanded. I opened my mouth to answer, but saw Leo coming straight for us.
"Look out!" I yelled, pushing her out of the way as Leo swung at her. We both ran to the other side of the lab, soon followed by Mr. Davenport. "Gee, if only I had warned you that letting Leo help us was a bad idea."
"Leo! Stop!" Mr. Davenport screamed.
"I can't! I'm not doing anything!" Leo was panicking. "This thing is out of control." He crushed more inventions as he said that. "My bad! You didn't need that did you?" another crash. "Was that expensive?"
Mr. Davenport ran in front of the video screen while Calla and I hid behind the counter. "Live webcams. You know anything can and will happen." He joked, trying to save the sale. Unfortunately, I didn't think anything could at that point. My prank wasn't supposed to go this far.
Leo then smashed the camera though, so it didn't matter. Mr. Davenport ducked behind the counter along with me and Calla. "I don't get it! We must have tested it like a hundred and twenty times. I don't know what could have happened."
"Something must have gone haywire with the power source when I reversed the controls." I realized. Unfortunately, I said that out loud. "I guess?" I added hesitantly.
Mr. Davenport and Calla glared daggers at me. "I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I didn't mean for it go berserk. I just wanted to mess with Leo."
Mr. Davenport looked up as Calla's food and drink cooler went flying over out heads. "Well next time can you give him a wedgie like everyone else?" he yelled. The exoskeleton chose that moment to turn on us.
"Big D, I hoe this doesn't affect our friendship, but I think I'm about to crush you." Leo warned as he picked Mr. Davenport up by his collar.
"Not the face!" Mr. Davenport begged. Suddenly, the suit froze, then went limp, as if it had simply stopped working.
"I think you drained it's battery." Calla said from behind me. She leaned against the counter, weak with relief. "Not a moment to soon."
"Leo, get out of that thing!" Mr. Davenport ordered, flipping up the face mask. Leo smiled at Mr. Davenport.
"I know this wasn't exactly what you were going for Big D, but man, are we gonna sell a TON of these!" Mr. Davenport glared at him while Calla and I unlocked the suit from the back.
"Come on out Leo." Calla said as the suit finally opened up. Leo stepped out, still grinning. Mr. Davenport grabbed a drill and started to undo my mistake.
"Chase, how could you do this?" He demanded, not looking at me.
"With my mechanically inclined intelligence, how could I NOT do it?" I asked, a prideful smirk on my face. Mr. Davenport stopped.
"Well you did something alright; you ruined my biggest sale of the year." He accused. "Now I'm going to have to reschedule…The Ca-you know what, it's not even fun to say anymore!"
"Already on the rescheduling." Calla called from her desk as she typed an apology email. "I'm blaming this all on a practical joke done by the boys, so they know it was a design error."
"Good work Calla." Mr. Davenport commended her as Tasha stormed in.
"What on Earth is going on down here?" She demanded.
"The exoskeleton went berserk and almost crushed me." Mr. Davenport explained. Tasha looked at him.
"My mother is upstairs."
"Yeah, okay you win." Mr. Davenport agreed. Tasha crossed her arms, giving us all a stink eye.
"She's been asking where you guys are and I've been running out of excuses. I need everyone upstairs acting like a normal family NOW!" she yelled, stalking out in frustration. Mr. Davenport had a panicky look on his face.
"We'd better do as she says; she's more prone to violence than the exoskeleton." He said. We all nodded in agreement. Mr. Davenport started to walk out, but stopped in front of me. "But Chase, I'm very disappointed in you. I don't want you on the next call."
He walked off, leaving us all alone in the lab. Leo walked up to me. "I wasn't trying to bump you out." Leo said. "I was trying to show you up."
"Okay 1, what's the difference, and 2, did you really have to do that Leo?" Calla asked, spinning around in her chair to face us. She had this disapproving look on her face that I couldn't stand.
"If you're going to give me the riot act too, I don't want to hear it." I glared at her. She stood up, crossing her arms.
"I wasn't going to Chase. I was going to try and help you get back in the next call." She snapped. "But if you don't want me to, fine. If you need me, DON'T."
She stalked off. Leo gave me a side look. "Ten bucks says an angry Calla could take on the exoskeleton and win." He said before following her out.
Calla's POV
"Hey Adam." I skipped over to Adam as he stirred the acid like pasta. Leo followed me, having nothing better to do. "Watch-ya-doing?"
"Cooking!" Adam exclaimed happily, showing me the smoking pot. I nodded.
"Oh." I replied. Then a confused look appeared on my face. "Wait, that's food?"
"Ha-ha." Adam fake laughed as Big D walked in.
"Donald!" Leo's grandmother greeted. "It's about time. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."
"I was!" Mr. Davenport replied. "I mean, I was sick. I was feeling very ill. And I have a very important phone call that's not nearly as important as you."
"Smooth one Big D." Leo muttered. Adam and I laughed.
Leo's grandmother didn't buy it for a second. "Nice save."
"Thank you, I thought so." He looked around at Adam and Bree, who was doing jumping jacks in a corner. "Uh, Tasha…what are Adam and Bree doing?"
"You mean our chef and trainer?" Tasha asked. Mr. Davenport nodded.
"That explains what they're doing." He understood immediately. Adam lifted the spoon out of the bowl. It was smoking, so he shoved it back in.
"Just a couple more minutes!" he called. I looked at him.
"Until what? You melt the pot?" I asked. He gave me a look as Tasha walked over.
"You know what? Let's just all sit down and have a nice dinner together." Tasha smiled. Leo stared at his mother.
"We can sit down, but having a nice dinner just isn't going to happen." He stated. Tasha glared at him.
"Hey! You're Leo's manny and you're letting him near a hot stove?" Leo's grandmother demanded. I looked back at them to see her glaring at Chase, who was setting the table. Chase looked between the old woman and Leo, then ran over. He started to pull Leo away from the stove.
"Watch it Leo. Do you want to get sent to bed without any supper?" he asked. Leo looked at the whole setup, then back at Chase.
"Yes." He replied. I smirked.
"I'll sneak you some pizza under the door." I promised, texting my mom to tell her I wouldn't be home for dinner. We all sat down as Adam served his meal. It was supposed to be spaghetti. It looked like black, string-like rocks.
"What is this?" Leo's grandmother demanded in outrage. Adam shrugged helplessly.
"Um, pasketti?" he suggested.
"What in the name of great Caesar's ghost is going on around here?" Leo's grandmother looked to Tasha for answers.
"Trust me, there is nothing unusual going on around here." She assured her. "Everything is completely normal."
Suddenly, there was a large explosion as the exoskeleton burst through the kitchen wall. "Well that was just horrible timing." I remarked dryly right before it flipped over one of the counters.
We all stood up. Leo's grandmother looked at all of us. "What is that?" She demanded.
"Um, that's another one of our staff." Leo decided as it started to destroy the kitchen. "Go away Jaden, we don't need you right now!"
Leo's grandmother looked at him. 
"I may be old, but I'm not senile!"Sshe yelled. "And that's not butler! I'm out."
We all ran behind the couch for protection. Although, that was stupid in my opinion. That counter was granite. A couch isn't going to last half as long as the counter did.
"Adam! What are you waiting for? Go take that thing down!" Bree screamed. Adam started to stand up, but Tasha pulled him down.
"No! You can't!" She exclaimed. "Because if you do someone will know that someone has…certain abilities!"
Wow, nice job Tasha. That totally didn't tell Leo's grandma that we were keeping secrets. A chair went flying over our heads. Adam glared at the machine. 
"Well now, that's great! Now dinner's ruined!" he yelled.
"Not the priority here Adam!" I reminded him. Leo's grandmother looked at Mr. Davenport.
"Donald! You're the man of the house; do something!" She ordered. Mr. Davenport nodded, then threw a pillow at the exoskeleton. It batted it away like it was a fly. We all looked at him.
"What?" he asked. "It's called a throw pillow for a reason."
A commotion from behind me caught my attention. I turned my head to see Chase and Leo, the latter holding the electro-field destabilizer. Wow, we need shorter names for these things. I made a mental note to talk to Mr. Davenport about that later.
"You do it. I'm sorry for stealing your sizzle." Leo held the device out to Chase. Said bionic boy shook his head.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I just have to get used to having another brother around." Chase apologized. Mr. Davenport smiled.
"Guys, really liking the heart-felt moment here, but I'm running out of pillows." He reminded them, throwing the last blue pillow at the suit. Leo grinned.
"Should we take down this bad boy together?" he suggested. Chase nodded.
"I flip, you zap?" He suggested. Leo nodded as Chase stood up.
"Hey, exo!" He jumped, doing a flip over our heads, then landed between us and the exoskeleton. He then did another flip in front of the exoskeleton, drawing it's attention away from the rest of us. Leo ran up from behind the suit, holding the destabilizer. He went to zap the suit, but it was ready for him.
It knocked the device out of Leo's hands, then grabbed Leo by his arms. We all watched it like we were at the movies. It didn't seem real. Leo looked at Chase with a fearful expression on his face.
"Did we have a plan B?" he questioned. Chase bit his lip, thinking. Meanwhile, Leo's grandmother had other plans.
"Hey! No one lays a hand on my grandson!" she yelled, running forward and kicking the exoskeleton in the stomach. He stumbled back, releasing Leo as his grandmother ran back over to us.
"Way to go grandma!" Bree cheered. "And you didn't even break a hip."
I looked back at Leo and Chase. Chase still had a worried look on his face, but it was quickly replaced by determination. He sent a look at Leo's grandmother, then at Mr. Davenport. It took me a second to follow his thoughts. He was asking for permission to use his bionics. Mr. Davenport nodded as the exoskeleton chose Leo as his new target.
Chase ran forward, pulled Leo to his feet and created his force field, protecting them. "What is that?" Leo's grandmother exclaimed.
"Another one of Mr. Davenport's devices." I replied, lying quickly. "It's a plasma shield that he's been working on. Chase and I were testing it earlier."
Leo grabbed the destabilizer as I spoke, gripping it tightly. Both boys, still encased by the protective barrier, lunged forward, zapping the machine. It was sent flying across the room as it started to malfunction. It would take months of work before it was operational again. But just to be sure, I went over to it and kicked it softly. Nothing happened.
"It's done for." I called running over to the group. They all cheered, hugging each other in relief. The only one not happy was Leo's grandmother.
"Somebody had better tell me what's going on right now and right now just past, so you ain't talking fast enough." She glared at all of us.
"Uh, Rose, there's a completely rational explanation for all of this." Mr. Davenport said, trying to think. "You are…delusional. Who wants desert?"
I couldn't help it. I raised my hand along with Adam and Leo. The latter's grandmother glared at Mr. Davenport. Tasha sighed.
"Look Mom, this is our life. Our house may be high-tech and chaotic, but it is full of love. And it may not be perfect for you, perfect for our family." Tasha walked over to the others and hugged them all tightly. That left me and Leo's grandma standing all by our selves.
"What family?" Leo's grandmother was very confused. "Who are these people?"
"There are my brother's kids." Mr. Davenport lied. "I adopted them when he died. He…fell...in a volcano."
Leo's grandmother looked at them suspiciously, then smiled. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" she asked. "Now it all makes sense. You're just a modern family with a bunch of adorable kids." They all hugged and I stood there, twiddling my thumbs awkwardly. Leo's grandmother turned and looked at me.
"What about you?" she asked.
"Well, I actually DO work here for Mr. Davenport." I explained. "And since this is weird for me intruding on the cute family moment, I'm just going to take my dessert and go." I started to back out. Chase raised an eyebrow at me, then held out his arms.
"Cal…" I smiled, skipping forward and hugging them.
"Okay, thanks Chase." Leo's grandmother looked at me.
"You're the girlfriend of one of these boys, aren't you?" she smiled. We all started at her.
"No, I'm not…" "Grandma!" "She's not…" "Cool! Future sister-in-law!" "I want dessert!"
We all turned to Adam after his last comment. He stared at us blankly. "Seriously though, what about dessert?" he asked.