Hey everyone! You're probably here from I'm a Weapon. If you haven't read that yet, go do it now, because otherwise this story will not make any sense. I asked you guys if you wanted a sequel, and you seemed REALLY excited about it. I hope it lives up to your expectations! I'm working hard on it and I'm pretty excited about the ideas I have.

Now for a few things I didn't have room to put in the summary: First off, this is an AU story. It's in the same AU that I'm a Weapon was in, obviously. I won't go explaining it, because if you've read IAW you should know about it. Second: this story is rated a high T for torture, abuse, kidnappings, intense scenes, fights, blood, and possibly death later on. Just to warn you all!

Oh, and one more thing: just imagine the Davenport household the same as it is in the show, with the OLD lab. I just wanted to clarify that.

I don't believe I have anything else to say here. Just: Enjoy the story! I do not, of course, own Lab Rats.

* * * Prologue * * *

The past was gone. Douglas was gone. The Triton App was gone. Adam and Bree were here. His uncle, Tasha, and Leo were here. His new life-saving missions were here. The future was here.

Chase's life under Douglas's thumb finally faded. The past tried to haunt him, but it couldn't succeed. Though it still impacted him in subtle ways, Chase moved on. He lived for the present and the future. Without "weapon." Without "monster." Instead, with his family. Instead, with love.

But sadly it was not to last. Chase's life became increasingly harder around the time of the one-year anniversary of their freedom. Every day when Chase saw himself in the mirror it alarmed him how much he looked like Douglas. He realized how much he was acting like Douglas. The world seemed to conspire against Chase, taunting him mercilessly. Carelessly uttered words or images he had come to fear were thrown in his face. Chase tried to shove it aside, to act like nothing was wrong for the sake of his family. But it was becoming progressively harder to hide.

Chase was falling apart inside. He had a dreadful feeling that something awful was going to happen very soon. Though he didn't know it at the time, he was, unfortunately, correct. Everything that he held dear would be torn away. Everything that he had worked for over the past year would be ripped from his grasp. Everything would work to prove that what Chase had been trying to deny – that he was a weapon, a monster – was, in fact, the truth.

Chase Davenport studied his reflection in the mirror. He tried to bring himself to smile, but he couldn't. He didn't understand why. Chase had everything: a loving family, a roof over his head, and not to mention his awesome super-powers that he used to save the world on a weekly basis. But all that seemed to vanish when he caught glimpses of himself.

The bionic teen attempted to smooth down his hair. Maybe if he did, then Chase wouldn't look so much like him. But it didn't work. His spiky hair always just popped back up. It seemed determined to mock him. You look like him. Every day you look more and more like him. Have you noticed that you've been acting like him too?

Chase gasped suddenly and stumbled backwards. Then he sighed and tried to calm his nerves. "This is stupid," he muttered to himself. "I'm not like he was. I promised myself I would never become like him."

He's your dad, that internal voice attempted to argue. You can't help it. You'll go down the same path. You'll wind up just like he did. You'll do the same things as him.

"No!" Chase whispered hoarsely. He clutched his head and let out a soft moan. "I won't."

A knock on the bathroom door pulled Chase out of his tumultuous thoughts. "Hey!" a female voice called from the other side. "Are you almost done in there?"

Chase opened the door and managed to greet his sister with a grin. "Yeah," he said. "Bathroom's all yours!"

"I swear you take longer to get ready than I do," Bree muttered as she pushed past him. Chase just chuckled a little before heading back to the lab to finish getting ready for school.

When Chase entered the lab he found Adam and Leo arguing about whether the word "sure" was spelled with an "s" or an "s-h." Leo claimed the former; Adam was quite convinced of the latter.

"Sure!" Adam shouted. "Listen to how it sounds! It has to be an 's-h!'"

"I know it sounds that way, Adam!" Leo said exasperatedly. "But I know for a fact that it's only 's.' Oh, hey, Chase!" The younger boy waved Chase over. "Tell Adam that 'sure' is spelled with an 's,' not an 's-h.'"

Chase grabbed his notebook and flipped it open to a clean page. With his favorite green pencil he wrote the word "sure" in the top corner. "See, Adam?" the youngest bionic said, showing it to his brother. "That's how you spell 'sure.' With an 's.'"

"Aw man!" Adam said with a scowl.

"I swear he never changed in those seven years we were apart," Chase murmured to Leo. His step-cousin chuckled.

"I can tell you that for a fact," Leo put in. "I spent those seven years with him, remember?"

"Right," Chase muttered between gritted teeth. "You did." Admittedly there was a part of Chase that was jealous of the relationship Adam and Leo shared. After all, Adam was his brother. But Leo was the one who had been there for him in those years when Chase couldn't be.

Chase shook those jealous thoughts out of his head when his uncle walked into the lab. "You guys almost ready for school?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, Uncle D," Adam said. The oldest bionic swung his backpack over his shoulder. Leo nodded in concurrence. Chase didn't move.

"You okay, Chase?" Donald asked worriedly. Chase glanced up, hoping his eyes didn't convey the agitation he was feeling.

"Fine," Chase murmured. Donald walked up and placed a hand on his nephew's forehead. "What are you doing?" Chase demanded as he took a step back.

"Making sure you don't have a fever," Donald said levelly.

"I don't," Chase growled. He inwardly winced at how harsh his voice sounded. Too much like . . .

"You really don't look so good," Donald continued. "Do you want to just stay home today?"

"No!" Chase insisted. "I'm alright, really."

Donald frowned but finally consented, "Alright. But if you need to come home early just call me."

Chase did his best to smile. He knew that Donald understood. You don't come out of an environment like the one Chase had been in without some deep emotional scars. And while Chase could do a good job covering them up, they were still there. On days like today it was painfully obvious that they were still there.

About forty-five minutes later the kids arrived at school. Chase let himself forget about his past and everything that was weighing him down. School was an escape. And, with his super-intelligence, a breeze.

Chase was the all-around school nerd. But he was more, too. He was known as the kind of guy who would help you out with homework whenever you needed it. He was known for not taking things at face value. Chase took the time to examine and analyze. Chase was a likable person. Distant, but likable.

If only they knew, Chase thought as he walked down the halls and a few acquaintances waved at his passing. If only they knew all I've been through. All I've done. Would they like me then?

Douglas ran up and pressed his face to the bars. "You listen, boy!" he hissed. Chase froze. "What do you think you'll do now? You think everything I said was a lie? You're still a weapon."

"No," Chase insisted. "I'm a human."

Douglas let out a laugh that unnerved Chase. "You think the world will see you that way?" Douglas said. "They'll think you're a monster. Because guess what Chase: you are a monster. Go ahead, try to hide it. Push it down and imagine it doesn't exist. But someday you won't be able to deny it anymore. You'll cause damage, destroy something, hurt people.Then you'll realize how right I was. You'll realize that no matter how hard you try, you'll never be normal. You'll always be a weapon. You'll always be a monster."

Chase gasped as the memory flooded back into his mind. Without realizing it he sunk to his knees. The world started spinning around him. In the distance he was aware of the fact that his siblings were attempting to talk to him. Everything had a slow-moving, underwater-y feel to it. He felt very detached from reality.

". . . call Uncle Donald?" The end of Bree's question finally managed to snap Chase out of his trance. He jerked up, his breathing rapid.

"N-no," he said shakily. "I'm alright." He stood up slowly and glanced around at the people in the hallway who were staring at him. Chase shuffled his feet nervously and headed over to his locker.

"What was that about?" Leo asked once they were at Chase's locker and away from the hallway traffic.

"Nothing," Chase said through gritted teeth. "I'm okay, really."

"Are you sure, because . . ." Leo attempted to say, but Chase cut him off.

"I'm fine, really!" Chase shouted. "Would you all just leave me alone?"

Chase slammed his locker shut and stormed off to history class, leaving his siblings and cousin to gape after him. Chase squeezed his eyes shut at how rude he had sounded. That was so unlike him! And it was so much like . . . No! I've got to stop thinking that! I'm NOT like him. I will NEVER be like him.

The bionic teen entered the classroom and took a deep breath. He pushed his frightened thoughts to the back of his mind and began to focus on learning. He slid into his seat and smiled at a few of the people he knew. Rachel Webster gave a sly wave and giggled. Chase waved back with pursed lips and rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't like Rachel; she was just too nosy for him. The few times they had hung out together she had tried to ask him questions about his childhood. And that was a subject Chase went out of his way to avoid.

"Alright, class!" Mr. Franklin, the history teacher, yelled over the conversing students. "Settle down! Good. Now, today we're going to begin studying World War II. Can anyone tell me the main sides in this war? Yes, Mr. Davenport?"

"The Allied powers and the Axis," Chase said. He smiled a little to himself. It made him feel better to be the first one answering the teacher's questions, just like always. It made him feel so normal.

"Right. And what is one thing World War II is famous for?" Mr. Franklin asked.

"Hitler and the Nazis!" someone from the back shouted.

"Correct, but next time please raise –"

"Those guys were freaks!" someone else piped up. "Always killing people with their torture chambers and tanks and other nasty weapons.

Chase subconsciously winced at the use of the word 'weapon.' That was still something he hadn't quite gotten over. He slouched in his seat, hoping that the other kids wouldn't carry on the conversation. But he had no such luck.

"Hitler was a maniac!" a girl in the back said. "And so gross. How could someone do that to so many people?"

"I know, right?" another student said. "To kill that many people so easily? He must have been out of his mind."

Chase silently prayed that Mr. Franklin would stop the conversation. But he also knew that the history teacher liked letting students just talk. He promoted conversation he deemed thoughtful. Mr. Franklin must have thought this discussion was thoughtful, because he did nothing to stop it. Chase slumped further into his seat and attempted to ignore the talk, but to no avail.

"I don't know how anyone could be so evil."

"He was a complete psycho!"

"That guy was a monster!"

Chase lost it. He charged blindly out of the room, desperate to get away from the conversation. In the distance he could hear Mr. Franklin calling after him, but Chase didn't care. He charged into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror.

"I know they were talking about Hitler," Chase muttered to himself as he stared at his reflection. "But it sounded like they were talking about Douglas."

Chase leaned against the wall and slid down to a sitting position. He wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face in his knees. A single tear slipped down the bionic teen's cheek. "It sounded like they were talking about me."

So? Did you guys like it? Was it everything you dreamed it was going to be? Less? More? I for one was pretty proud of it. Prologues are so much fun to write. The next chapter will jump into the main plotline of the story.

And by the way, the line, "You don't come out of an environment like the one Chase had been in without some deep emotional scars," was actually inspired by a review from Lady Cougar-Trombone on I'm a Weapon. I just loved the way she worded it, so I decided to use it in my story. Hope you don't mind! :)

I don't have an exact schedule for updating. The story will go up as I write it. I think it would be awesome if I could update every other day, but I'm not sure if I'll always have the time. So don't get mad if I'm not updating every other day. We'll see how it goes, but life is pretty unpredictable. I'll do it when I can!

So anyway, no one is forcing you to review, but I would really love it if you could! Your support means a lot to me, and it's the only reason I wrote this sequel at all. So if you liked the story, please review/follow/favorite. See you all soon!