Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Despite Megahertz bursting through the doors of Mighty Med less than twenty four hours ago, it was a typical day’s work for Doctor Diaz Junior. The damage had been minimal, taking sixteen minutes to clean up and to rearrange the main entrance hall, and a further twenty two minutes to locate missing patients and collect the remaining staff members and heroes from the panic room. Unfortunately, Megahertz escaped before they could throw him into Mighty Max, but a healed Tecton had been chasing after him ever since, allowing everyone at Mighty Med to continue to save the people who save people.

Waking up at exactly seven am, Chase had a quick shower, ate a freshly baked croissant and strawberries for breakfast, and drove to Mighty Med with his Dad and Alan. Whilst Chase spent the morning in surgeries with his Dad, Alan did… whatever Alan did, but joined Chase for lunch in the Workout Room at fifteen minutes past one pm. He then had a fairly peaceful two hours, visiting healing patients, and checking over newcomers with minor injuries, before a rather hectic twenty eight minutes when a patient declined to critical condition. When his Dad forced him into an induced coma, he shooed Chase out of the room, so that he didn’t watch and mope for the rest of his shift. Knowing he needed to distract himself, Chase located Solar Flare to listen to her gossip, supervised physical therapy in the Workout Room, and organised files in the main entrance hall.

“Sup dude.” Kaz greeted as he threw himself into a wheelie chair. “Whatcha working on?”

Chase didn’t look up from his files. “I’m filing loose sheets and putting our folders back into alphabetical order.” He explained.

“Man, that’s so boring - you’re waaaaaaay too smart for that!“

“I don’t mind.” Chase reassured him. “I like the simplicity and repetition of organising. Besides, someone has to do it.“

“Yeah like Alan.” Kaz argued. The normo did have a point. The job could easily be completed by Alan — as long as he had the attention span to complete the task (which he didn’t). “I can’t believe he snitched on us to the Super Hero News Network!” Kaz huffed, crossing his arms, and sinking into the chair.

Chase scoffed. “I can. Alan hates normos. He always has. Even when we were younger, he would go out of his way to ignore and avoid normos at all cost, believing that they are inherently evil and a plague to the Earth.”

“But you don’t hate us, right?” Kaz frowned. “Is that what you think of normos, too?”

It was ironic, really, that his cousin hated normos when Chase, himself, was one of them. The only reason Chase seemed super was his bionics, if the chip in his neck malfunctioned or was removed, he’d be a simple normo like Kaz and Oliver, so no, he couldn’t hate normos — not when he was born to two normo parents just as they were. “I don’t hate you, nor do I have the same views on normos as Alan does. I’m not my cousin, Kaz.”

“Dude, don’t worry, I’ve noticed.” Kaz laughed, raising his hands beside his head. “Uhh, thank you, by the way… for giving me and Oliver a chance.”

“Oliver and I,” Chase corrected, “And you’re welcome.” He told Kaz, continuing his organising. “Where is Oliver, by the way?”

Kaz let out a stiffened chuckle. “Watching Skylar.”

“I assume he’s going to be doing that regularly.” Chase observed. “I’ve heard him giggling and squealing about her in the workout room. Skylar’s his favourite superhero, isn’t she?”

“Favourite is an understatement!” Kaz replied. “Oliver adores Skylar. He hero worships her more than I hero worship Tecton! …And that’s saying something because I love Tecton! She was his biggest inspiration growing up. Skylar made him believe that he could do anything! He’s read every Skylar Storm comic a billion times, and he has every Skylar Storm merchandise ever created!”

“That’s… objectively impossible,” Chase told him, “But I get the idea.”

“It must be awesome being best friends with superheroes.” Kaz gushed.

“Oh, myself and Skylar aren’t best friends,” Chase corrected,” And I am strictly professional with all of my patients… well, the majority of my patients, and I wouldn’t call them my friends. I’m afraid I’m not particularly close to any of your childhood heroes. Sure, I heal them, and my enhanced hearing picks up all the latest gossip, for better or for worse, but they are here for the best medical care that the super hero world can provide and I am here to provide it.”

“Enhanced hearing?!” Kaz gasped. “How many powers do you have?”

“Super intelligence, enhanced senses, enhanced durability, a force field, molecularkinesis, a laser bo, scan vision, microscopic vision, night vision, and sonar vision, mathematical and chemical analysis, thermal scanning, speed reading, facial and fingerprint recognition, magnetism, acid spit—“

“Dude — what the heck? That’s awesome!” Kaz exclaimed, jumping up from the chair. “Seriously, how did you get so lucky in the powers department?”

“Flight, invisibility, and telepathy would have been nice.” Chase pointed out.

“Dude, you have like a million powers—“

“Not a million—“

“—and you’re wasting them by doing all the boring jobs around here!” Kaz continued. “You should be a superhero!”

‘I can’t.’ Chase wanted to say. ‘I don’t want to fulfil my destiny as my Father’s and Uncle’s weapon, Subject C, alongside Adam and Bree. I’m safe here. They haven’t found me. I won’t let them take me back’. “My place is here, Kaz. I like being a superhero doctor. Mighty Med is my home, I grew up here - it’s where I belong.”

“Why not do both?” Kaz asked. “Why can’t you save people and save other people who save people?”

Chase sighed. “It’s… not that simple. It’s complicated. Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah, sure, dude.” Kaz frowned. “I-I didn’t mean to—“

“It’s okay, Kaz. You… didn’t do anything wrong.” Chase sighed, pulling his hands through his hair. “Hey… all our admin is back to its rightful place, so why don’t we spar in the Workout Room?”

Kaz gasped. “Seriously?!” He exclaimed. “Heck, yeah! That’ll be awesome! I want a baton! Can I have a baton? If you use your laser-bo, I should get a baton!” Kaz rambled, excitedly. His eyes looked as though they were injected with so much glitter and sparkles that they were going to explode, and his smile was so wide and bright that for a moment, Chase assumed he was staring into a sun. No one had looked at him in that way before. It was… strange… although the fuzzy feelings in Chase’s chest implied that it was a good sort of strange.

“You can have a baton.” Chase chuckled, leading Kaz through the rows of beds and into the Workout Room. Whilst a few staff members were taking their break, sipping coffees and chatting quietly to themselves, the rest of the space was free for them to jump about. Chase walked over to a long baton leaning against the wall, picking it up, and threw it at Kaz, who clumsily caught it. “On guard.” Chase smirked, activating his laser-bo and taking his first jab at Kaz. Although heavy handed, Kaz blocked Chase’s attack. His inexperienced showed in his footwork and hold, so Chase decided to go easy on his attacks to help Kaz build his confidence. “Your left hand is slipping. When you’re defending, keep both hands on the baton at all times, so your grip is stronger.” Chase advised. Increasing the frequency of his hits, Chase forced Kaz to stumble backwards. “Ground your feet. Don’t let me move you.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” Kaz tried to laugh through a wheeze. “You were born with super strength and a lightsaber that comes out of your hand!”

Chase frowned. “I don’t have super strength,” He told Kaz, their sticks clashing, “And it’s called a laser-bo — not a lightsaber.”

“Tomayto, tomahto.” Kaz shrugged. “Same thing.”

“It’s really not.” Chase argued. “Lightsabers are fictional weapons… and no, toys don’t count, because they’re not made using kyber crystals.”

“Ah, man, Star Wars isn’t real, too?” Kaz pouted.

Chase rolled his eyes. “One piece of media, based on facts, does not prove that a separate piece of media is also based on real events.” Chase told Kaz, varying his attacks to test his ability to defend both of his sides. “Only comics written by Ambrose are considered ‘canon’ for our universe.”

“Ambrose?” Kaz frowned. “Who’s that?” He asked, his defence becoming sloppy.

“A story for another time.” Chase told him. If the normo wanted to learn the secrets of the super hero world, he’d have to work for them. Swinging his laser-bo lower than his previous strikes, Chase caught Kaz off guard and sent him flying into a table. Chase winced.

“Ouch.” Kaz grimaced, sitting up, and rubbed his head with the palm of his left hand. “That hurt.”

“Sorry.” Chase apologised, sheepishly. “I was going easy on you.”

“Thanks.” Kaz replied. Chase sensed sarcasm. He stood up, groaning, and stretched, rolling his shoulders backwards. “Next time, let me get some hits in first, alright, smarties?”

“Next time?” Chase echoed, a foreign sort of hopefulness warming up his chest.

“Yeah?” Kaz smiled. “You can’t suggest to spar with me and it be a one off thing! That’s not how a training montage works!”

Amused, Chase grinned back as he used his molecularkinesis to pick up the baton and rest it back against the wall. “Prove yourself at work and I’ll teach you how to strike.”

“Ewww, work, no.” Kaz moaned.

“Mini Diaz! Doctor Diaz requests your presence in surgery!” Benny called.

Kaz gave Chase a salut. “Duty calls you, sir. Good luck, my friend.”

Chase chuckled and shook his head. “See you later, Kazi.”

It took him five minutes and six point eight five seconds for Chase to realise what he’d said. ‘Kazi’ — really? Fuck.

Chapter Text

“The good news is that I’ve figured out what is causing your pains. The bad news is that I’ve figured out what is causing your pains.” Chase reported to Alley Cat.

“Oh get on with it.” She groaned, rolling her eyes at him. “What’s wrong, doc? Hit me with it.”

“I can see, what I assume to be, the skeletons of small rodents, inside your large intestines. Some are… moving, others are not, but either way, dead or alive, these animals are causing a blockage for the foods and liquids inside of your intestine. You are now in danger of having a bowel obstruction, so we will need to perform surgery to prevent your intestine collapsing.”

“Ouch.” Kaz commented, popping up from behind Chase. “How’d’ya do that, Alley Cat?”

“Well, I swallowed some flies, and I didn’t like how I could feel them moving around inside of me, so I swallowed a spider to catch the flies, but then the spider laid eggs, and all those baby spiders wiggling inside of me felt even worse, so I swallowed some mice to eat the spiders.” Alley Cat explained.

However, unlike Chase, who was dumbfounded by his new knowledge, Kaz seemed unfazed by the story. “Ah, well there’s your problem. You shouldn’t have swallowed the mice. To catch the spiders, you should have swallowed a bird.“

“Or-or maybe not swallow any living creature on purpose!” Chase exclaimed.

“Well, the mice were magic, so—“

Squeezing shut his eyes, Chase slapped his face, and let out a deep, frustrated sigh. “You did not swallow magic mice to eat the offspring of a spider you swallowed to eat some flies you swallowed.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure she did.” Kaz smirked. “Do I get to carry out the surgery?” He asked, suddenly holding large metal scissors.

“No!” Both Chase and Alley Cat cried out. “And put those down!” Chase added, scoldingly. (With a pout, Kaz reluctantly put the scissors on top of a small mobile drawers cabinet.) “Kaz, can you please prepare an operating room for Alley Cat?”

“Hold on!” He replied. “I’ve got an idea! I know Alley Cat is, well, a cat, but what if she swallows an actual cat to eat the mice in her intestine?”

Chase huffed. “Kaz, that’s ridicu— huh… that… could just work.” He muttered to himself. “Alan!” Chase called out. No matter where or when Chase called for his cousin, he always managed to find him.

“What is it?” Alan groaned, walking up to the doctoring duo. “Can’t you see I’m tired?”

“You’ve done nothing all day.” Chase pointed out.

“Ugh, whatever, what is it?” Alan huffed, crossing his arms, while sticking his tongue out at Kaz. “Tell me before I’m bored.”

“I need you to transform into a moth in order for Alley Cat to swallow you, and then transform into a cat to eat some mice, which are trapped inside of her.” Chase explained, in a simple, matter-of-factly matter.

“What?!” Alan exclaimed. “I’m not doing that! Why would you think I would do that?” He cried out, stomping and pulling down his sweater.

“It’s for the greater good, Al. You’ll be saving Alley Cat. She needs you.” Chase replied with his ‘you don’t have a choice’ voice.

“Ugh, fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!” Alan groaned after a moment of silence. “But you better do my chores for a week! No - two weeks!”

“Al, I already complete all of your chores. You might as well have none because doing chores is not in your nature,” Chase reminded him, “But thank you for agreeing to the procedure.”

Kaz watched on, slightly astonished, but mostly grossed out, as Alan was swallowed by Alley Cat. “Well that just happened.” Kaz reacted, stunned by the scene.

Having witnessed many bizarre circumstances at Mighty Med, Chase was unfazed by what they had seen, but had a little giggle at Kaz’s dramatic reaction. “I’ve heard the cafeteria has a new vending machine for normo food. Do you want to check it out?”

Kaz’s eyes widened. “You’re not going to supervise? Aren’t you worried about your cousin, who’s just been swallowed by a super hero?” Kaz gaped, heavily accenting the word ‘swallowed’.

“He’ll be fine.” Chase replied, brushing off Kaz’s comment. Alley Cat screamed. “…Probably.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Kaz began as his scrunched expression and the shock on his face slowly morphed into a smile, “Then, let’s go!”

…

“And where have you been?” His Dad asked, from behind his desk, as Chase entered his office. Despite trying to portray a stern front, all Chase could hear was the amusement, and slightly teasing tone, in his Dad’s voice. “Alan almost suffocated in Alley Cat’s stomach because you told her to swallow him.”

Chase fought back a laugh. “If she ‘almost’ suffocated him, Alan lived, so what’s the problem? I’m sure he’s fine.”

“The problem? The problem! Do you know how hard it was to guide Alan out of her? Alley Cat had to use the litter box!” He exclaimed, also trying to hold back his laughter. “I can’t believe you left him in there!”

“You can’t believe I’d take an opportunity to have an hour’s rest from having to listen to his constant moaning and the stamping of his feet, due to yet another tantrum of two normos working here?” Chase argued with a complete seriousness. “I‘ve seen you do the same thing multiple times a day.”

“That’s different.” His Dad huffed, crossing his arms. “You’re his cousin, I brought you up as twins ; you’re supposed to be best friends.”

“We are best friends,” Chase replied, honestly, “But that doesn’t make Alan less annoying, and, if you must know, I was hanging out with Kaz.” Time slipped away as they messed about in the cafeteria. Patients and staff members alike only journeyed to the cafeteria when they were desperately hungry, as the sickeningly sloppy and burnt to a crisp tray baked foods were horrific, so they could’ve had a food fight in the abandoned hall without any objections. (They should have, Chase decided, with him and Skylar on one team and Oliver and Kaz on the other — maybe they could have one in the future…?) Chase used his molecularkinesis to provide himself and Kaz with an unlimited supply of snacks, and from chocolate bars and packets of sweets to energy and fizzy drinks, the two teens sampled every item inside of the machine. Chase hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. It was fun. Doing anything with Kaz was fun.

“Kaz…?” His Dad replied, puzzled. “Do you mean Other Oliver?”

“Yes, ‘Other Oliver’.” Chase sniggered. The normos had been working at Mighty Med for twelve days — his Dad should’ve picked up their names by then! “I enjoy his company. I think we’re friends, now.”

Raising his eyebrows at him, Chase’s Dad’s confused expression was softened by curiosity, as he paused what he was working on. “I was under the impression you weren’t interested in forming friendships with our coworkers.”

“And you were correct,” Chase agreed, “But it was due to the fact that all our coworkers were over the age of eighteen, and I did not believe it was essential for me to develop friendships with people I have no interest in getting to know. Kaz is… he’s funny, Dad, and kind-hearted, and considerate. Yes, he’s clumsy and silly, but he’s brave, and trustworthy, and he means well ; even if he doesn’t always show it. Kaz doesn’t feel like a coworker. He feels like a kid… he makes me feel like a kid, too.” Chase admitted. There was something special about the normo, something that set him apart from Oliver, and made a home for him inside of Chase’s mind. Kaz gave him life.

“Good for you.” His Dad replied, honestly, and with a soft smile. “You’re only fifteen once. Enjoy yourself… without inventing new ways to kill Alan.”

Chase laughed. “I’ll try.” He joked, and it was just another day’s work at Mighty Med Hospital.

Chapter Text

“Someone has vomited!” Benny exclaimed, hopping over the expanding puddle of sick. “I repeat - someone has vomited!”

“Here’s a mop!” Doctor Levine shouted over the background noise, using her mind to throw a mop and a bucket at Benny. “I need a IV drip for bed four!”

“Watch out!” Philip yelled, pushing a nurse out of the way of a blast. “Titanio’s cyborg arm is glitching!”

Lizard Man cried in lizard.

“All drips are in use!” Doctor Frankel shouted back as he dodged another blast. “Someone needs to constrain Titanio and pull his arm off!”

Doctor Victrola leapt over a fainted patient. “Has anyone seen the infrared sculfor?” He asked through song. “And someone needs to see Tecton!”

“How can it be watery and chunky at the same time?” Benny squealed, as he pathetically attempted to clean up the puddle of sick. “This is disgusting!”

“The vomit is the least of our conserrrrrrrrrrrsons!” Doctor Kevin exclaimed as he, ironically, slipped over due to the sick, and fell onto his bottom. “Oh for fucks sake!”

’For fucks sake — indeed.’ Chase hadn’t witnessed the main entrance of Mighty Med so packed with heroes in a long time (seven hundred and forty two days to be exact), and none of his fellow staff members were prepared on what to do. As every bed was taken, a queue of patients snaked around the circular counter, and extra beds were set up in the corridors and cafeteria for the injured unable to sit down or stand up. However, these simple arrangements did little to ease the flow of patients, and Mighty Med’s doctors didn’t have a system for which patients to see first. The chaos had erupted past the point of control. There was no “quick fix” Chase could put in place to calm the storm.

Ears overwhelmed by the layers of panicked shrieks and shrills, Chase’s hands shook violently as he used his molecularkinesis to distribute first aid kits and medicine parcels to nurses and fluids, pillows, and pain relief pills to patients. His Dad was performing emergency surgery, and work came first, so Chase didn’t want to bother him ; even if he really did need him. Chase jumped out of his skin at a sneeze and winced as another blast from Titanio’s failing arm blinded everyone in a four metre radius. Alan had scurried away as a cat eleven minutes prior. Someone had to take responsibility for their patients. They couldn’t all flee. There was another blast and Chase forced the palms of his hands against his ears. They burned. He stood in the centre of the chaos : his legs too heavy with fear to move. Chase’s breath caught in his throat and he gasped for air. His heart was beating at an average of one hundred and ten beats per minute. Chase couldn’t breathe.

“That’s it. I can’t do this.” Chase admitted in a mutter. With silent tears sketching out the shape of his face and his heart skipping a beat, Chase stumbled backwards, eventually gaining enough momentum to turn around, flee out of the main entrance, and stagger along the corridor. He couldn’t look at the patients, passed out, lining the wall, and threw himself at the closest door. Behind was a storage closet. Instantly, Chase shut the door behind him, and collapsed onto the floor.

He could still hear the chaos. His ears burned. He couldn’t breathe. Whining, Chase pulled his knees to his chest, and covered his ears. Out of all the abilities his birth Father had come up with, why did he have to end up with the enhanced hearing? Why couldn’t his birth Father have given him super speed to escape this blasted situation, instead? Chase rocked himself back and forth. It didn’t help much to calm his shivers and shakes. It wasn’t funny how much his ears burned. The noise level was torture. Chase couldn’t breathe.

“There you are.” Kaz murmured, the quietest Chase had ever heard him, as the door creaked open. His hair a mess and his eyes frantically darting from one spot to another, Chase could tell he was struggling with the number of their patients, too. “Nobody knew where you were. I was starting to worry that you had been squashed.” Kaz let out a small, broken chuckle, as if he was trying to tell a joke, and rolled back and forth on his toes.

“Too loud.” Chase forced out. “It’s too loud. T-too much. ‘Still hear everything.” From Titanio and a runaway trolley adding injury to the already injured super heroes to Lizard Man having a breakdown as Benny distracted their other staff members with his whining, each voice in the chaos wrapped around each other to create a giant explosion of noise.

Frowning, Kaz turned around, and slid his back down the wall, until he was sitting beside Chase. “Whenever my siblings are being too loud, I listen to music.” Kaz told him, soft and gentle as if he feared anything more would scare Chase away. “Concentrating on the music drowns out the unwanted noise. I don’t know if it’s different with your enhanced hearing, but we won’t know, until we try.” Kaz produced his phone from out of his hoodie’s pocket, along with long black wired headphones. Plugging in the headphones, Kaz tapped away at the screen, before pressing the earphones into Chase’s ears, and passing him his phone.

A pianist, alongside percussionists, a guitarist, and, what Chase assumed to be, trumpet, saxophone, and trombone players, began to play inside of his ears. Complex rhythms, played by what his brain supplied to be claves, timbales, conga, and bongo drums, weaved between the chaos of Mighty Med ; a syncopated dance from Kaz’s phone to his ears.

“It’s Cubop. Afro-Cuban Jazz. I prefer listening to reggaeton, but I thought this would be more of your thing.” Kaz explained. “It usually works for Kaylie studying, so…”

“I like it.” Chase replied, because although he would never choose to listen to jazz, he wasn’t paying attention to Benny’s whining and Philip’s panicked screams anymore. “It’s… different, but my ears aren’t burning.”

Kaz beamed. “Awesome. That’s great. I’m glad.”

Chase only hummed in return. A track later and his head had found a place on Kaz’s shoulder. Kaz didn’t complain. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. The two took comfort in each other, without words, until Chase’s eyelids grew heavy, and he dozed off.

Kaz found him a pillow and a blue frayed blanket. They didn’t speak about what happened the next day. Chase was glad. Kaz was a good friend.

Chapter Text

Sprawled across the floor of his Dad’s office, Chase kicked his legs back and forth as his fingers speedily tapped the keys of his laptop. On lazy days, Chase enjoyed fixing Mighty Med’s futuristic gadgets, playing with random forgotten machinery parts to give them new life, and working through his complex list of brainchild programming projects. Although Chase had convinced himself that he was born to be a doctor, he knew it was not what he was created for. His chip was designed for the problem solving, critical thinking, and mathematical analysis needed for coding, mechanical engineering, and material science. Chase may have received the heart of a Diaz, but he was given the head of a Davenport, first. Diaz’s were doctors by nature. Davenport’s were inventors by nature. Chase was a Davenport. As much as he wished for it not to be the case, he would always be a Davenport on the inside. Subject C. The human experiment. Douglas Orville Davenport’s biological son.

Chase’s mind was in a constant battle between, who he was now, and who he was supposed to be. His biological Father had never reached out, via his chip or the bench, and so much time had passed since his disappearance that Chase hoped his Uncle had given up on finding him. There was no reason for him to be so attached to his past. Chase was safe. He was safe and he was home and they couldn’t hurt him. It was more of the fact that Chase would always know. Everybody thought he was a superhero, and he would spend the rest of his life allowing them to believe that he was a superhero, but Chase would always know that he wasn’t one of them. He would always know that he was a normo experiment and that his bionics made him more of a weapon than a living organism. He would always know that he lied, and that guilt followed Chase everywhere.

“Sup, dude.” A voice encouraged Chase to escape from his thoughts. He didn’t need to look up to know Kaz was leaning against the door, dressed in his doctor’s cloak with his school rucksack slung over one shoulder. “Whatcha doing?”

“I’m working on the code for a device, which can scan and detect invisible objects from a range of distances.” Chase replied. “Mostly because I’m tired of locating the invisible ambulance.”

“Seriously!” Kaz huffed, crashing onto his Dad’s bridge-patterned couch. “Tell me about it! I’m so sick of crashing into that thing!”

Rewatching the ambulance almost run over Kaz and Oliver the day before, Chase used his left hand to hide his laughs.

“Hurt like a bitch.” Kaz grumbled.

Chase snorted. “I’m sure it did.”

“Uuuuugggghhhh!” Kaz groaned into a pillow. “Why can’t you have a normal ambulance?”

“Because nothing about Mighty Med is normal.” Chase replied, simply.

“True, true… that’s why Mighty Med feels so magical. Everything is new and exciting, and nothing makes sense. I can’t imagine what it was life growing up here… it must have been awesome.” Kaz gushed.

“Yeah… it was.” Chase smiled, softly, to himself. “Allan and I embarked on a new adventure everyday.”

“Were you close?”

“We still are.” Chase told Kaz. “We’re tight… tight as a knot, I’ll always have his back, and I know he’ll always have mine, too. We’re a good team when he doesn’t run away like a coward… or huff about something… or do a Benny…”

Kaz chuckled. “He’s a funny one, that Allan Diaz, isn’t he?” He sneered, putting on a strange accent Chase couldn’t recognise. “Has he always worn sweaters?”

Chase grinned. “You would think he was born in one!” He exclaimed. “His closet is overflowing with them!”

“Don’t tell me he wears them in summer...”

“Of course he does!” Chase replied, his tone suddenly serious, and they both howled with laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

Chase flinched. Too distracted by the normo on the couch, he hadn’t noticed the appearance of a second one. Silenced by Oliver’s question, Chase stiffened, and forced himself into a sitting position. “Oliver, h-hi!” He squeaked, feeling like a small child, caught in an act, and about to be scolded.

Kaz gave Oliver a deathly scare. “We’re just hanging out.”

“Sure.” His best friend replied, rolling his eyes. “Just hanging out.” He mimicked, sending back a look to Kaz, which only the two of them could understand. “You said that you were going to look for a quiet space to do your homework.”

“I was going to—“

“It’s due tomorrow, Kaz!” Oliver exclaimed.

“What subject is it? I can help.” Chase offered.

Oliver crossed his arms. “You say help, but Kaz will make you do it all.” He huffed, ignoring Chase’s question.

“I would not!” Kaz argued.

“Would, too!” Oliver argued back. “You’re so lazy, and Chase’s job is to help people, not to mention he’s the king of nerds, so he wouldn’t complain about doing it!”

“Kaz wouldn’t be learning if I completed it for him.” Chase told him.

“See!” Kaz exclaimed. “Chase wouldn’t do all of my homework for me! He’s not a cheater!”

Kaz was wrong. He would. Chase would do it all for him. If he gave him puppy dog eyes, and if he begged enough, Chase wouldn’t be able to say no to completing his homework. He would do anything for Kaz. Anything. Just like how he would do anything for Adam and Bree and Allan and Skylar.

Chase saved his files and shut down his laptop. “Dad’s booked into meetings all afternoon, so we can have a study sesh in here. I’ll find the cushions and blankets if you both find snacks.”

“Awesome!” Kaz agreed, leaping from the couch, and immediately grabbing Oliver by the arm. “Come on, Oli-Pop, let’s go to the vending machine!”

Chase shook his head at the scene and smiled. He could see himself getting attached to Mighty Med’s normo doctors. In fact, he probably already was.

Chapter Text

Chase finished wrapping the bandages tightly about Spotlight’s hands. “You won’t be able to use your powers for at least a week, but if your hands are still aching in a month, you should come back, and I’ll prescribe you some stronger painkillers. After showering, apply the cream to your knuckles, and replace the dressing.” Chase instructed, firmly. “Is that clear?”

Spotlight dropped his head in shame and nodded. The hero was cute, but god was he reckless. His youthful naivety was just as bad as Skylar’s — if not worse! At least, with his hands out of order, he couldn’t accidentally blind all the staff and fellow patients!

As Chase updated Spotlight’s paper file, the normo entrance door flew open, revealing Mighty Med’s newest doctors, Kaz and Oliver. (Was it embarrassing that his eyes lit up when they reached Kaz’s smile?) Forgetting about Spotlight in an instant, Chase dropped his file on the countertop, and walked up to the normos to greet them. “You’re early.” He raised an eyebrow at them. “How was school?”

Oliver gave Kaz side eyes and scowled, causing Kaz to break into a sheepish smile. “Me and our friend, Gus, may have accidentally set the fire alarm off…” He squeaked out, scratching the back of his head.

Oliver crossed his arms. “They started a fire in the bin of the boy’s bathroom.”

“By accident!” Kaz exclaimed.

What was Chase saying about how reckless Skylar and Spotlight were? Oh yeah — so was Kaz. “Right.” Chase nodded. “Because fires just start in bathrooms.”

“Chase.” Kaz whined. “You don’t have to rub it in. I know I was stupid.”

“How large was this fire?” Chase asked, furrowing his brows, curiously. “It’s impressive you weren’t able to use the tap water to put it out.”

“It’s out now,” Oliver huffed, his arms still closed, as he glanced disapprovingly across at his best friend. “But we got to leave two hours early, so that our school could ensure the building is safe for tomorrow.”

“Why are you saying that like it’s a bad thing?” Kaz whined, turning towards him. “We got to miss maths! Who wants to sit through an hour of maths in the afternoon?”

“Me?” Chase spoke up. “Mathematics is fundamental. It is a constant in the universe. The foundation for science. The shared language between organics and inorganics. It’s everywhere and helps to explain everything. There’s nothing wrong with an hour of maths in the afternoon.” Chase argued.

“If you’re smart.” Kaz sighed. “Numbers hurt my head.”

“In his defence, we don’t have the greatest teacher.” Oliver walked over to the counter and dropped his backpack behind it. “That’s not a reason to start a fire, though.”

“It was an accident!” Kaz whined, waving his arms. “We didn’t start the fire to skip maths! It just happened that way!”

“Would you like to play chess?” Chase asked, changing the subject. “The workout room has a new set, and I want to use it before it’s lost and broken, or my Dad finds out a way to make it bridge themed.”

Oliver beamed. “You like chess? Of course you like chess, you’re a brain-box, but yes! Yes, let’s play chess!” He squealed, grabbing Kaz’s hand. “Come on, Kaz, let’s go!”

“Seriously? Chess?” Kaz sighed, not fighting Oliver, as he was dragged to the workout room. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“You can be on my team.” Chase blurted. “I can teach you, and Oliver can teach Skylar.”

Oliver’s eyes lit up at the name drop of his favourite super hero. “I’ll find her now!” He exclaimed, dropping Kaz’s hand, and darting out the workout room in excitement.

Chuckling, Chase rolled his eyes at Oliver, as he carefully began setting up the chess board on the table. “Have you played before?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so?” Kaz replied. Pulling out a chair, he sat opposite to Chase, and started to fiddle nervously with his sleeves. “I mean, my family have a chess set somewhere, and I know Oliver and Gus play sometimes, but I just like messing around with the horses, you know?”

“The knights.” Chase corrected as he held up the black knight. “You can play with the captured pieces if you want.”

“I can?” Kaz raised a cautious eyebrow at him. “You won’t get annoyed?”

“The pieces are useless after they’re captured.” Chase shrugged. “You can do whatever you want with them, and not kaz up the game.”

“Awesome!” Kaz grinned. “What colour are we?”

“White.” Chase finished lining up the pawns. “Then, we can move first.”

“Smart.” Kaz nodded, and god, did the praise go to his head. The normo could say anything to him and Chase would melt on the spot. Everything that came out of his mouth was a song. “There’s no way we can lose! Unless, Calderans have chess. They don’t play chess, do they?”

Chase let out a happy little laugh at Kaz’s semi-panicked face, and shook his head. “Calderans are a warrior race. They play by completing physical challenges, and roughhousing each other. They’re too busy biting each other to play normo board games.”

“Oh, so we’re so going to win, then.” Kaz smiled back. (That smile was going to kill Chase. What was wrong with him today? He needed to keep it together!)

“We’re here!” Oliver squealed, followed into the room by a confused looking Skylar.

“Great.” Chase pulled out the chair next to Kaz, and sat down. “Perfect timing. We’re all set up.”

They played three games in two hours, occasionally interrupted by bored patients, until Alan stormed in and demanded Chase’s full attention. Chase did, in fact, win all three games, and Kaz played with the pieces. Oliver pouted, but took the losses fairly well. Skylar was just happy to be included. It was fun to have friends.

Chapter Text

It was a typical day at Mighty Med Hospital, and everybody was busy saving the people who save people. Chase, along with his assistant, Kaz, were doing the rounds, redressing wounds, refilling drips, and checking blood pressures, when Kaz’s phone buzzed in his back pocket.

“Oops. That’s me.” He smiled, sheepishly, as he pulled out his phone, unlocking it and checking his notifications. “It’s Oliver. He’s waiting for me at The Domain.”

“Can I come?” Chase blurted.

“Come where?” Kaz asked, wearing his signature ‘Kaz is confused’ face, and raised his eyebrows at him. “To the Domain?”

Chase frowned, instantly feeling unsure of himself. “Yeah…?” He confirmed, biting his lip, and shuffling his feet. He was enjoying Kaz’s company, and wasn’t prepared to let it go so soon. Besides, they both earned a break, and it would interesting to finally see the place the two normos adored so much.

“Are you sure?” Kaz pressed. “It won’t just be Oliver. Jordan and Gus will be there, too.”

Oh. Oh. Kaz didn’t want Chase to meet his friends. It made sense. After all, if Kaz hadn’t stumbled over Mighty Med, they never would have met. Of course Kaz didn’t want him to be a part of his civilian life! Just because they worked together didn’t mean they had to do everything together! Kaz was probably bored of him, already. What if he was embarrassed to introduce him to his friends? “Forget about it.” Chase snapped, withdrawing into himself, and forced his eyes to stare at the floor. “You go to the Domain to spend time with your friends, and I’m your colleague - it would be wrong to intrude. I get it… honest. I-I understand.”

“No, Smarties, that’s… that’s not it. You can come to the Domain if you want to. I was surprised that you would ask… I mean you’re probably bored to death with superheroes, considering you’ve been surrounded by them your entire life, a-and I didn’t think reading comics was your thing. I didn’t want you to come because you thought you had to.”

“Kaz, it’s… it’s okay.” Chase forced out, even though Kaz’s rejection was destroying him from the inside out. “You don’t need to soften the blow with fake excuses. Just because we’re civil with each other at work doesn’t mean we have to be friends outside of work.”

“Civil?” Kaz frowned, letting out a shaky laugh. “I think we’re more than just civil with each other, aren’t we? We’re more than workmates, we’re friends. We are friends, right?” He checked, running his own nervous hand through his hair.

“You… you really think of me as a friend?” Chase asked, quietly, as the butterflies in his stomach fluttered about in apprehensive glee.

“Yeah, Smarty Bits, you’re awesome ; I love spending time with you.” Kaz smiled. “Seriously, dude, I mean it. You’re a good friend.”

“I like being your friend, too.” Chase smiled back, his chest warm, and… gloopy…? He felt all gooey and mushy and soft… something that only happened when he was talking to Kaz. (Weird). “So I can come to the Domain with you?”

“Yeah!” Kaz grinned. “You can come to the Domain with me whenever you want, you freaky little genius!”

Chase pulled off his lab coat, catching Benny in his line of sight as he walked by, and throwing it at him. “I’m going out with Kaz. Tell Dad I’ll meet him back at home.”

Benny saluted back at him. “Okay, Mini Diaz!”

“Is it far?” Chase asked, turning back to Kaz as Kaz picked up his school backpack, and swung it over his shoulder.

“Nah.” Kaz wrapped an arm around Chase’s shoulders, and guided him towards the normo entrance to Mighty Med. “It’s not that far. A ten minute walk, maybe?”

Chase instinctively leant into the touch. (If anyone other than his Dad or Alan dared to touch him without permission, Chase would have whacked them around the head with his laser-bo, but something about Kaz’s touch was incredibly addictive to his skin.) “That’s fine.” Chase replied. “I don’t mind the walk.”

They snuck out of the supplies closet and through the busy reception area of the normo hospital. “We’ve already told Jordan and Gus about you… that’s okay, right?” Kaz checked, running a hand through his hair.

Chase raised an eyebrow at him. He hadn’t expected him and Oliver to talk about him at school. That meant Kaz thought about him outside of Mighty Med! Chase forced himself to not show his surprised glee. “What did you say?”

“Nothing bad!” Kaz reassured him as they left the building. “They don’t know anything about Mighty Med or that we have a job. Only, when they ask us where we were if we disappeared, we say that we were hanging around with you! I told them we met when I was injured at the hospital, and your Dad was my doctor.”

Chase nodded. “Then, if they ever catch you at the hospital, it won’t look suspicious that you’re there. Good plan.”

“Yeah, exactly!” Kaz grinned. “We should really exchange numbers, instead of relying on the MM200 comms.” He added, taking his phone out of his pocket. “You do have a phone, don’t you?”

Chuckling, Chase rolled his eyes at Kaz as he took his phone. “Of course I do. What did you think we used? Owls?” He created a new contact in Kaz’s phone, labelled ‘Chase Diaz’, with both his personal number and email, and passed it back to him.

“Awesome! Thanks, dude!” Kaz grinned, putting his phone in his hoodie’s pocket. “I’m going to send you so many memes.”

“As long as you don’t call me at one am every morning.” Chase warned, scoffing slightly, even though his heart was cheering at the fact Kaz wanted to text him at all. “What are Jordan and Gus like?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot to tell you about them! Jordan and Gus are characters, but you’ll get used to them!” Kaz laughed. “Jordan is a tomboy, who prefers animals to people, and is really good at arcade games. She’s always got a grudge against someone and likes watching people fail, but secretly cares about us. Probably. Gus, on the other hand, is the opposite side of a cool metre. He’s geeky, and has weird hobbies, and you should never open his backpack. Ever! You don’t want to know about all the random and disgusting stuff he carries around all day!”

Chase bit back his questions about his bottomless backpack. “Noted.” He nodded, deciding it was better to keep it a mystery.

“Gus is funny and clueless, but he means well.” Kaz continued. “He’ll be a lot, but you’ll get used to him. Hopefully.”

“I can imagine he’s a lot. You two did start a fire this week…”

Kaz groaned. “Oh, dude, don’t remind me! It’s a freaking miracle we haven’t been caught as the culprits!”

“I would be concerned if you were. Cameras in the bathroom would be… uncomfortable.” A shiver travelled down Chase’s spine as he imagined being watched while doing his, uh, business.

“I didn’t think of that!” Kaz’s eyes widened. “That would be gross! Ew!”

Chase looked both ways, out of habit, as they crossed the road. (Even with his enhanced senses and force field, he could never be too careful.) “What’s school, like, by the way? I’ve never met anyone, who’s gone to a normo school, before.”

“School is school.” Kaz shrugged. “Logan High is fine, I guess. It’s not posh or snotty, but rich kids do go there, like Oliver, Gus, and Ollie’s neighbour, Stephanie, even though it’s like the most basic and generic public school there is. The education is fine, we learn… stuff, and there’s plenty of clubs to join if you want to keep busy. I don’t know how else to describe it to you. School’s just… meh. I go because I have to ; not because it’s fun.”

“Sounds like I’m not missing out, then.” Chase smiled, giving Kaz a small yet playful nudge. “I loved growing up in Mighty Med, but sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to go to a normo school.”

“You’re too smart for normo school, dude.” Kaz made an effort to smile as he nudged Chase back. “All the smarty bits in your head would be wasted in public education. You were meant to work at Mighty Med. Saving the people, who save people, is your calling. It’s what you were born to do.”

“And I can’t go to school and work at Mighty Med like you?” Chase argued, gently.

Kaz shook his head. “That’s different. I’m not a super genius, I’m just a kid, so I have to go to school. If you went to Logan High, you wouldn’t learn anything. You would just go because you’re bored, and it would make you even more bored. It would be pointless and you’d be wasting your time.”

“I don’t know. Would I be wasting my time if I got to hang out with you more?” He asked, the words slipping out, before Chase could comprehend what he was saying.

For a split second, Kaz looked as though he was blushing, but he quickly shook off any signs of surprise or shock from his face. “You can hang out with me whenever you want, Chase.” Kaz told him, softly. “You don’t need to use work as an excuse. I told you, we’re friends. I like hanging out with you and so does Oliver. You’re… lonely, aren’t you?”

Chase dropped his head. “Guilty as charged.” He murmured. He bit down on his bottom lip, and avoided Kaz’s caring eyes. “Alan and I… we didn’t grow up around other kids our age. It’s… refreshing to be able to talk to my peers.”

Kaz wrapped his arm around Chase’s shoulders. “Hey, dude, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to explain yourself. I get it. You and your Dad are freaking super hero doctors. Your childhood wasn’t going to be exactly normal, was it? It’s okay to want to do normo things, or act your age, and now I have your number, we can text anytime, yeah?”

Chase smiled. “I’d… like that. Thank you, Kaz.”

“Hey, don’t mention it. It’s what friends do.” Kaz’s arm fell to his side as they approached The Domain. “Well, this is it.” Kaz smiled sheepishly, and opened the door for Chase. “Let’s go see what the weirdos are up to.”

Offering Kaz a similar smile, Chase followed him inside the Domain, where Jordan, Gus, and Oliver were crowding around Asteroid Assassin. Jordan was the first to notice their arrival. Turning towards them, she raised an eyebrow at Chase, and crossed her arms. “Could it be the infamous Chase Diaz? You didn’t drag him here against his will, did you Kaz?”

“Who do you think I am?” Kaz raised his hands in defence. “I didn’t do anything! He wanted to come!”

Oliver looked surprised to see Chase, but smiled back at him all the same. “Hey, dude. Welcome to the domain.” Oliver greeted him, scratching the back of his head. “Gus, Jordan, this is Chase. Chase, these are our school friends, Gus and Jordan.”

“Hey.” Chase gave them a nervous half wave. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Jordan smirked. From the look in her eyes, alone, Chase could tell she was up to something…

“He’s Bi, you know?” She whispered to Chase. The others were too occupied reading the latest Tecton comic to notice her pulling the newbie to the side.

Chase frowned. “Huh?”

Jordan let out a small scoff, and rolled her eyes at him. “Kaz. He’s bisexual. I see the way you look at him. You like him.”

“I…” Chase trailed off, blushing in embarrassment at the fact he was caught.

“Hey, I’m not a homophobe, I won’t tell anyone if you like him.” Jordan added. “I mean, boys are gross, but each to their own. It’s okay to like Kaz. He’s not the worst person to crush on. I think you’ll look good together.”

Chase bit down on his bottom lip and gulped. “You… you really think I have a chance? I don’t want to ruin our friendship… I thought he liked blondes…”

“That’s your argument?” Jordan scoffed. “Your hair colour doesn’t matter. You should go for it. Kaz won’t stop being your friend if you confess. He’s not like that.”

Chase sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

“There you go.” Jordan smirked, patting him on the back, before rejoining the group.

Chase had a lot of thinking to do. Fortunately, that was what he did best, and he had all the time for it.

“Hey, Chase! ‘You okay back there?”

As long as Kaz stopped smiling like the sun at him, that was. Chase had a crush, didn’t he? Chase had a crush on Kazimieras Queens.