01x06 - Follow the Leader

[bunniefuu]

What the...

(Screams) Intruder!

Perry!

Chaz?

It's Chase.

I know. I just like the name Chaz better.

What are you doing here?

I decided to take a little vacay from the academy.

So you left a tropical island to vacation in the windowless underbelly of a skyscraper?

Yep. I have to get my skin back to its natural state.

Pale and clammy.

Plus I'm from here.

You were born in Centium City?

Nope, under, in a network of tunnels underneath the ground.

Okay, how about we put the w*apon down?

Sorry.

When you're born in the bowels of a city, you learn to watch your back.

And you also learn that not everything that looks like meat is meat.

Time to go.

Great. Your blast broke the hyperlift.

You're the one that ducked out of the way.

(Alarm blaring)

(Screams)

Stop sh**ting things.

It's a mission alert.

Your blast put us on lockdown, and took out mission command's entire central nervous system.

We're trapped.

Communication's down, too.

(Frustrated groan)

What did you do that for?!

If we're gonna be stuck down here, I don't wanna have to look at your face.

Kaz'll be right down.

Where's Chase?

No idea.

That's weird. He's always the first one here for missions.

Having no life really frees up your calendar.

I'll call him real quick.

Greetings. You've reached Chase, the smartest man in the world.

I'm not here, but if you'd like to leave a message for Chase, the smartest man in the world, do it at the beep.

And if you didn't know that by now, you are definitely not the smartest man in the world.

(Beep)

Well, at least he shortened it.

What are we gonna do?

We can't go on our first mission without our leader.

There's no time to wait.

We have to get to the Centium City arch.

The glass floor on the observation desk is cracking, and tourists are trapped.

We need to get there now.

She's right. Kat, let's go!

(Rock music plays)

♪ Elite Force! ♪

What was that?

It's our first official mission.

When we show up, people need to know we're there.

(Power chord plays)

♪ Elite Force! ♪

Yeah, we're not doing that.

Man, the hyperlift took forever to fix.

Why'd you sh**t it a second time?

Why'd you duck a second time?

What's going on?

We just got back from the mission.

You went without me?

We had to. Where were you?

Perry and I were stuck downstairs.

What is she doing here?

Sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that.

What is it doing here?

Chase, this must be your mom.

The resemblance is uncanny.

Please. If my kid came out looking like that, I'd have put the robot parts on the outside.

Well, I'm Oliver, and this is Kaz.

Glen and Paul. Got it.

I'm Skylar.

(Gasps loudly) I know who you are.

Donny told me that the robots would be teaming with the superheroes.

I can't believe I'm in the presence of a real heroine.

Uh, hello.

You never acted that impressed around me.

Uh, that's 'cause she's a comic book hero come to life, and you're a manmade dolly.

(Mechanical noises)

Can we please get back to the mission?

How bad was it?

Actually, it was a complete success.

Yeah. Skylar had a really great idea and stepped up as mission leader.

Her?

Yes, me.

Who'd you think it was gonna be, Oliver?

No offense.

Yeah, she had me use my fire ability to seal the cracks on the floor.

Then I used my super strength to keep the floor stable, while Skylar and Bree rushed everyone to safety.

And everyone made it out alive?

Well, one guy twisted his ankle.

That's okay. I was able to walk it off.

I thought you guys did great out there. You should be proud.

Thanks, but we should really be proud of you, mission leader.

Hey, mission leader!

Yeah, they really needed you.

Everyone is counting on you.

If you can't do this, the entire tower can collapse.

I won't let you down.

Both: Superheroes.

Hey, where are all the cups?

Why? Just why?

It's this new game we invented called Topple the Tower.

You pull one item out, and try to put it back on top without knocking the whole thing over.

Well, when will you be done?

Could be a couple of minutes, could be a couple of days.

All right, there has gotta be a vacant apartment somewhere in this building.

Hey, Kaz, ready to work on that fire stream power?

Oh, yeah, Skylar already helped me with that.

What?!

Chase, can you flip out somewhere else?

Your frustration's always amusing, but it could knock our tower over.

Hey, guys.

What do you think you're doing?

First, you act like mission leader, now you're training Kaz.

The team needed someone to lead, so I did.

Kaz asked me for help, so I helped.

Kaz!

Wait a tick.

Okay, go ahead.

Why did you ask Skylar for help training when you already asked me?

You know, she was a great mission leader, and I just figured she would be great at that, too.

I was right.

Skylar... may I have a word?

Okay.

Look, I know you're new, to this team and Earth.

So I'm gonna let this one slide.

But around here, I'm mission leader.

I wasn't trying to step on your toes.

Yeah, well, you couldn't, because my toes would be way out ahead of you... leading!

The team needed me.

And I'm sorry, but if they need me again, then I'm going to lead them again.

(Scoffs)

Stick it to him, sister.

About time someone showed these robots who's boss.

You know what, Perry?

You're the reason this whole thing happened.

Now go pack your stuff and get out!

All right.

I'll go.

Guess I can stay with the one friend that will never leave me. Loneliness.

So aren't you gonna help me pack your stuff?

Nope.

I read all your comics.

We have so much in common.

We're both beautiful butt kickers, and we both have three bladders.

Why do you have three bladders?

Technically, they're all part of the same one.

But that's what you get when you use a half-off coupon for major surgery.

You're hilarious.

I don't get why Chase and Bree don't like you.

They don't?

No.

They say that you're a horrible, evil little troll.

Oh, that makes sense.

You guys seen the toaster?

Yes. It's up there.

I'd tell you to wait for it, but it's probably gonna break when the tower falls, so just buy a new one.

Guys, there's another mission alert.

A truck carrying toxic chemicals overturned in the Rogers tunnel.

It caused an expl*si*n, and hundreds of people are trapped inside.

Let's go.

Hey, wait. Where's Skylar?

I don't know.

Without her, who's gonna lead us?

I am!

Really? Do you think that's a wise decision?

Just go get your mission suits and head out.

I'll go find Skylar and meet you there.

(Alarm blaring)

It's a mission alert. I gotta go.

Oh, I guess balling my socks can wait.

It's not working. We're stuck.

Manual override. Hyperlift disabled.

Oops.

Keep going. We'll get the others.

Okay, guys, this is it.

(Rock music plays)

No!

There's smoke everywhere.

(Rumbling)

All right, listen up.

The truck crumbled the wall, blocking the other exit.

The only way to get people out is to bring them back through the smoke.

I'm here.

Where's Skylar?

I don't know.

I tried calling her, but she didn't respond.

I couldn't wait around all day, 'cause I've got a team to lead.

Well, should we maybe, like, try her again?

Guys, the smoke is getting thicker.

If we don't put it out soon, this whole tunnel's gonna be a toxic cloud.

Okay, I'll do a scan to locate the people who are trapped.

Oliver, use your cryo blast to extinguish the fire.

Bree, use your super speed to form a cyclone to clear the smoke.

Kaz, you fly in and evacuate people. Any questions?

Yeah. Do you think I should try calling Skylar?

She might not be answering 'cause it's you.

Just go!!

Why won't this thing work?

Let me try.

I'm a bit of a techy.

(Grunts)

That's all I got.

Just call the team.

I'm sure they already left. I can't slow them down.

Too bad we can't get to the underground tunnels behind these rock walls.

They should connect directly to the mission site.

Wait. There are tunnels behind here?

Yep. They go all over the city.

That's how I got in here.

But now they're locked because earlier, some nitwit sh*t the controls.

Wow!

And I thought my Uncle Cletus was cool when he popped his belly button in and out to "Yankee Doodle."

Well, till he pushed too hard and his insides sh*t out like a snake in a can.

Starting to wonder if we should really be friends.

Okay, that's everyone.

Great work, team.

We got everybody out in a safe and timely fashion.

And while that should be reward enough, let me throw this little cherry on top.

Thank you.

No worries.

Cool.

That's it?

No "Thank you, Chase, for your brilliant leadership"?

You're the best.

Thank you very much.

Hey, Chase is a great leader.

Okay, he's worked long and hard at it.

Thank you, Bree.

It's not his fault that Skylar just rolled out of bed and became a great one immediately.

Okay, you know what?

I'm taking back my cherry.

(Loud rumbling)

The ceiling's cracking.

This whole place is gonna come down.

We have to get outta here!

Wait.

(Footsteps echoing)

There's still people in there.

I'll get them.

Skylar?

How did you get out...

I mean...

Where were you?

We were stuck in mission command.

We had to escape through the underground tunnels.

Well, what's she doing here?

Skylar and I are besties now. Deal with it.

(Creaking)

The tunnel's coming down!

Don't worry. I'll blast us out.

No. It isn't stable.

The only thing preventing this tunnel from collapsing is this pile.

Blasting us out is a terrible idea... mission leader.

What do you suggest?

I'll put my force field around us.

That'll protect us if it collapses.

And leave us trapped underneath an even bigger pile of rubble not to mention crushing the rest of the team.

Stop arguing and focus on what's important.

Saving me.

Don't worry, we're all gonna get out of here.

Give her false hope. That's a great solution.

It's not hope.

I trust our team, and I know they'll rescue us.

How?

They're smart. They'll figure it out.

No, they aren't. No, they won't.

Can you guys hear me?

We have to get them outta there.

How? The people that tell us how to do that are both in there.

We are an elite force.

We can figure it out ourselves.

Right. We just have to think.

What would Chase or Skylar do?

Well, I know one of them would be beautiful.

I'm starting to wish that you were stuck in there, too.

You know, with Skylar, I'll take it.

I feel horrible, Chase.

You wouldn't even be stuck here if you weren't trying to save our lives.

Don't feel that bad.

He's the one that locked you in mission command.

What?!

What is she talking about?

Yeah. What are you talking about?

You purposely locked her in so that you could go on a mission without her and be leader again.

Is that true?

Come on, you're gonna believe a chronic liar?

I resent you calling me a chronic liar, and so would my nephew Abraham Lincoln.

I'm gonna ask you one last time, Chase.

Is it true?

Yes, it's true.

What, did you watch the security footage?

Nah. I just thought, what would I do if I was Chase, and was threatened by an amazing, vastly superior superhero?

Guess we're not that different after all.

You really could be my son.

We're running out of time. We have to figure out a way to remove one of those giant rocks so they can climb through.

But if we remove the wrong one, the entire tunnel will collapse.

Wait a second.

This is just like your Topple the Tower game.

Yeah, except when we play, almost no one dies.

Okay, but with all of your experience, you should have an advantage at picking the right rock.

You're right. This can work. That's genius, Bree.

Genius? I told you to move a rock. Settle down.

No, not that one. The one next to it.

Oliver, I am a pro at this.

I'm pretty sure it's that one.

Okay.

Put it back, put it back, put it back!

Look.

I'm sorry, okay?

I was afraid you were gonna take my job.

I told you, the only reason why I stepped in was because the team needed me.

I never wanted to be mission leader.

Yeah, but you could be.

You're really good at it.

When I saw how the team responded to you, I... I just panicked.

It's just a title, Chase.

No. Not to me.

Without that title, I don't know who I am.

I can tell you who you are, but you're not gonna like it.

It doesn't matter anyway.

We're either gonna die in here, or if we do somehow manage to get out, everyone is gonna find out what I did, and they'll never respect me enough to be mission leader again.

Either way, it's over for me.

Glen!

Uh, no, it's Paul actually.

Oliver's Glen.

Yes! I knew you guys could do it.

Really? 'Cause there was all sorts of self-doubt happening on this end.

Perry was amazing in the tunnels.

There were tons of rats down there, but when they saw her coming, they just scattered.

Yeah, she frightens most living things.

Hey, you never said how you got stuck in mission command.

Uh, I don't know.

I guess the hyperlift just broke.

Again?

Yeah. We really need to get that fixed.

You just got lucky.

If Skylar won't snitch, your secret's safe with me.

For now.

Hey, why didn't you say anything?

Because I get it.

When I lost my powers, I lost my identity.

I wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone.

Thank you.

All right, let's get outta here.

Hey.

You know what?

We're two for two on missions.

You know what that calls for.

(Rock music plays)

I said no!

Hey, so what did you guys think of your first missions?

I was just happy to be out there again.

Being a hero is what I was born to do.

And what I was implanted with a chip by an egotistical millionaire to do.

We just touched a space rock.

Both: Superheroes.

Everyone, I have an announcement to make.

I've decided to take on a new role.

Team member.

Awesome.

Now Bree can be leader.

Oh, yeah.

Or Kaz. Or me.

No one's gonna be leader!

Because... any one of us can step up and take control when needed.

You all proved that today.

Wow, Chase, I'm really impressed.

Scooch!

Why are you still here?

I'm gonna let Chase answer that.

Uh, I told Perry that I wanted her to stay.

What?

Yeah, um, by helping Skylar through the tunnels, she proved that she could be a valuable support member for the team, so I talked to Mr. Davenport, and he set her up with an apartment.

Right next door.

What are you doing?

My pad ain't gonna furnish itself.