Author's Note: Wow, guys, I am so sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was throw down a big cliffhanger and leave you hanging for a week, but that is exactly what I did. I am truly sorry. Real life stuff, and busy, and blah blah blah…

Anyway, this is the final chapter of "Traitor." It's pretty long and I almost divided it up, but I think it flows pretty well so I'm going to leave it together. Besides, why should you have to wait any longer?

I was nervous when I first posted this story and didn't know what to expect. But I've honestly been blown away by the kind, enthusiastic, and intelligent reviews so many of you have left. I love hearing from you, and I feel like I've made some new friends in this fandom. Thank you for taking this journey with me. -88Keys

CHAPTER NINE- The Resolution

Donald's mind raced. There were a thousand things he wanted to do and say to his brother. Most of which involved punching him in the face and saying something along the lines of "How could you do this to a kid who is basically your son?" But there was no time to talk. Chase was growing weaker and more confused by the second. Adam and Bree were helping to hold him up, and both looked at Donald with confusion and fear on their faces.

"What's wrong with him?" Bree asked.

Donald ignored Douglas's chuckling behind him and rushed over to his children. "Bree, get Chase home now, and then come back for me. Hurry." She immediately obeyed, and the two of them were up the stairs and out the front door in a flash.

"Adam, stay here with Douglas until the authorities arrive. Don't listen to anything he says or let him talk you into doing anything. Above all, do not let him out of the capsule. Make sure he doesn't get away. You can drive my car back home." He finished by tossing Adam the keys.

"Better hurry, Donnie!" Douglas called out gleefully as Bree rushed back into the room. "Do you have ten minutes left? Five? One?!"

Donald resisted the urge to shut his brother up permanently as he climbed on Bree's back. He knew the boys took these rides with their sister all the time, but it was all new to him. It was definitely more bumpy and windy than riding in his super-speed car, but right now he didn't care. His only thought was to get back to Chase. Thankfully, they were home within a couple of minutes.

Chase was kneeling in front of his capsule, apparently now too weak to stand. His hands were shaking, and he kept blinking his eyes and looking around in confusion, as if he were having trouble seeing.

"What's wrong with him?" Bree asked again. "What do we do?"

Donald wasn't sure, but he had a pretty good guess. "Get me the chip extractor. Now!" It was in his hand within a second.

Donald knelt down next to Chase. The boy was now shaking all over, and it was too hard for Donald to hold the extractor against his neck. He gently pushed Chase down onto the floor.

"Bree, hold him down!"

Chase's breath was coming in short gasps now. Donald knew there were only seconds left. He pushed the extractor against Chase's neck as hard as he could and pulled the handle. After a few agonizing seconds, the chip appeared.

Donald grabbed it and tossed it across the room. He shook his finger- the chip was hot to the touch. He and Bree watched as the chip changed from gray to yellow to red. Finally it exploded with a loud "POP!", sending a shower of sparks into the air.

Donald and Bree were still staring at the destroyed chip when they heard a shaky voice from below them.

"Mr. Davenport? What just happened?"

He and Bree quickly helped Chase to his feet. "Chase, are you all right?" Donald asked, checking him over for burns. "Do you feel any weakness? How's your vision? And your hearing?"

"I feel OK," Chase said, blinking his eyes and turning his head. "I can see. And hear. But what happened? Why did my chip explode like that?"

Donald hesitated, not wanting to tell Chase that his father had tried to destroy him. "Well, your chip…malfunctioned. I'll have to do a scan to be sure, but I think it was sending out electric impulses which were affecting your nerves, muscles, vision, etc. That's why you were getting dizzy and having trouble seeing."

Donald could almost see Chase's inquisitive mind working all this out. "So if you hadn't removed it…"

Donald glanced at Bree, then back at Chase. He sighed. There was no point in lying. Chase was too smart for that, and he deserved to know the truth. "Most likely, the explosion would have fried your bionic network. And it probably…well, it probably would have stopped your heart."

Chase stared hard at him. "Why did it malfunction? Was it Douglas?"

"Chase…"

"He tried to kill me."

Donald swallowed hard. "Chase, I'm sorry."

Bree looked surprised, then angry, but Chase just looked down at the floor. "No, I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have gone off alone, and I shouldn't have confronted Douglas…I just-"

"Chase, stop." Donald put a hand on his shoulder. "Just stop. You don't need to apologize or explain anything. Not right now. Right now, you need to get something to eat and get some rest." He sniffed the air a couple of times. "And maybe a shower." Chase managed to raise his head and smile at this.

Donald pulled him into a quick hug. "Are you sure you're OK? Douglas didn't hurt you?"

"I'm fine. Really," Chase responded. "Just really glad to be home. And really hungry."

Donald's eyes narrowed. "Didn't Douglas feed you while you were gone?"

Chase shrugged. "A little."

That urge to smash his brother's face in became even stronger, but before he could go off on a tirade, Bree intervened. "Come on, Chase," she said, taking her brother by the arm. "Let's go find something to eat."

The three of them found Tasha and Leo upstairs. After hugging and fussing over Chase, Tasha began emptying the fridge and cabinets and laying the contents on the kitchen counter. The five of them were about to dig in to the hastily assembled meal of leftovers when Adam walked in the front door. His eyes went first to Chase, then lit up as he saw the assemblage of food lying out on the counter.

"Did the authorities come for Douglas?" Donald asked him.

"Yup," Adam answered simply. He tossed the car keys to Donald and grabbed a slice of leftover pizza for himself.

"Did they have any trouble taking him into custody?"

"Nope." Adam took a large bite of pizza and said something unintelligible around it.

"Adam, swallow first, then talk," Bree said, turning away in disgust at the sight of Adam chewing with his mouth wide open.

Adam swallowed and then repeated himself. "I said 'he was unconscious when they got there.'"

The others stared at him in confusion. "Why was he unconscious?" Donald asked.

Adam shrugged. "He wouldn't shut up, and I got sick of listening to him. So I made him be quiet." He grinned, looking pleased with himself, and Donald couldn't stop himself from grinning back. Even Chase looked at him with a mix of surprise and gratitude.

"Hey, cool! Sandwiches!" Adam said, grabbing one in each hand.

For a while, they were mostly quiet as they focused on eating. The pile of food gradually got smaller. Eventually, Tasha noticed that Chase had slowed his eating and was mostly picking at his food.

"Chase?" she asked. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah," he answered, "but there's something I need to say." He turned his head to the side so that he was facing Adam and Bree.

"Guys, I'm …I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have gone off alone. Douglas contacted me after school a couple of days ago. He told me he could upgrade my chip, and give me even more abilities. I thought I could take him down, bring him back to Mr. Davenport. Get him out of our lives for good."

"Why didn't you tell us, Chase?" Bree asked.

"Because I didn't want to put you in danger. I don't know exactly how, but Douglas has been spying on us, and listening to us. If I told you guys, he would have been onto my plan." Chase hesitated for a moment, but then continued.

"And maybe a part of me thought it would be awesome if I could take him down myself. Show you guys that I'm not just a big brain, and that I don't need "hustle and muscle" to get the job done." He looked down at his nearly empty plate. "I know it was really stupid of me."

Adam and Bree glanced at each other. "We're the stupid ones," Adam said sadly.

"Yeah," Bree agreed. "We never meant to make you feel like you weren't part of the team. You're our leader, and we need you. Probably more than you need us."

Chase looked surprised. "That's not true."

"No, it isn't," Donald agreed. "You guys are a team for a reason. Your abilities are made to complement one another. Together, you're greater than the sum of your parts. And none of you should be going off on missions by yourselves, for any reason."

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore, anyway," Chase said. "I mean…with my chip destroyed, I'm…I'm not bionic anymore, am I?"

Adam, Leo, and Tasha looked at Chase, confused. "Not bionic anymore?" Leo asked. "What do you mean?"

None of them knew what had happened in the lab earlier. But Bree did. Her eyes widened at Chase's words. The full implications of what had happened had not occurred to her until just then. Being bionic was a part of who each of them was. And now, thanks to Douglas, Chase had just lost a massive part of himself.

Everyone at the table looked at Donald with mild panic in their eyes, except for Chase, who was staring sadly down at his plate. "Mr. Davenport," Bree asked desperately. "Isn't there something you can do?"

Donald held up his hand. "Take it easy, everyone. Don't panic. As usual, I have a solution."

"After our last encounter with Douglas, I started thinking that making a back-up copy of each of your chips would be a good idea. We never know when one of them will get damaged beyond repair. Plus, with new chips with different GPS signals, it would make it harder for Douglas to locate you. The technology in the chips is very complicated and hard to replicate, so I've been working on them for months now." Donald looked reassuringly at Chase. "Give me a few more days, Chase, and I think I can finish yours up and install it."

Chase smiled the first genuine and grateful smile anyone had seen out of him in days. "Thank you, Mr. Davenport."

"And as soon as I can finish them, I want you two to get new chips as well. Like I said, it will make it harder for Douglas to track you in the future."

"I thought you said he was going to jail," Adam said.

"He is, but I don't want to take any chances. We've underestimated him too many times," Donald replied.

"You know, Big D, if you don't have any plans for the old chips, I know someone who would be open to trying one out," Leo said hopefully.

"NO," Tasha said forcefully. She handed Leo her empty plate. "Why don't you use your powers of tidiness to clear the table?"

Leo frowned as he stood and began gathering the empty plates. "You know my powers of tidiness are non-existent," he grumbled.

"Here, Leo. I'll help you," Bree said. She and her brothers all pitched in, picking up the dishes and leftover food.

Tasha and Donald looked at each other, surprised but pleased to see their children working together instead of arguing over who had to clean up the kitchen after a meal. Donald put his arm around his wife and she leaned on him gratefully, suddenly realizing how tired she felt.

"Just put the extra food in the fridge and pile the dishes in the sink," she told the kids. "We can deal with them tomorrow. I think everyone needs to head straight to bed and get some sleep."

For once, none of the kids argued about having an early bedtime.

"Chase," Donald called out as the bionic siblings started to head down to the lab. "Douglas was right about your chip having the capacity for upgrades. If you want, I could try to add the additional abilities he gave you onto the new chip. Speed, strength-"

"NO!" Chase cried so forcefully that his siblings looked up in surprise. "I don't want anything of his to be a part of me. I mean, I know all of our abilities came from him, but I…I just want things to go back to the way they were before."

Donald nodded. "No problem. I'll start on it first thing in the morning."

Adam pushed the button to open the elevator doors and watched Chase intently as he stepped inside. "Here, I'll hit the button for you. Do you need me to carry you to your capsule? Oh, and brush your teeth for you?" He reached out to pick up his little brother, who shoved him away good-naturedly.

"Adam, chill out. I'm fine."

Two days later

Chase yawned sleepily and opened his eyes. It was night, and he was in his capsule at home, trying to sleep. So far, since he had returned, he had not had any nightmares. Still, he found himself waking several times a night. Automatically, his eyes roamed the lab, checking to make sure it was secure and his siblings were safe in their capsules.

Adam was still to his right, snoring away. But when he looked to the left, Chase was surprised to see that Bree's capsule was empty. He looked out into the lab just in time to see a flash of long brown hair as the elevator doors closed.

For a moment, he mentally debated whether or not to follow her. Bree craved privacy from her brothers more than anything. Plus, her leaving her capsule could be nothing more than the desire for a late night snack or a phone call to Caitlin. Still, something told Chase that he should check on her. They hadn't really talked since that evening in the study, before he went with Douglas. Although his siblings had been more than nice to him since his return, Chase knew there were still things that had been left unsaid between his sister and him.

He found her in the living room, sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest. She looked up as he entered the room, but didn't say anything.

"Bree? Are you OK?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly. "Just couldn't sleep."

"Bad dream?" he asked as he crossed the living room and sat down next to his sister on the couch.

She shook her head. "No. Just…thinking, I guess."

"About what?"

Bree was silent for a moment before finally answering. "Chase…why did you go off alone?"

"You mean with Douglas?"

"No…I mean, yeah, that...but not just that. Why did you go to Antarctica alone?"

Chase was surprised. "Antarctica? Why do you want to know about that? That was a long time ago."

"Well, you're always lecturing Adam and I about safety, and about working together as a team, but you went on a dangerous mission all by yourself. Why did you do it?"

Now it was Chase's turn to think for a moment. "Well, I guess…I guess I wanted to prove to you and Adam that I could handle a mission without you. That I didn't need speed or strength to be effective. And apparently, I was wrong."

He looked over at Bree, but she was looking down at the floor. "Have you been upset with me about that this whole time?"

"No," Bree said quickly. Then she sighed. "I mean, yeah, I guess I have, a little bit. Chase… you almost died. When we pulled you out of the snow…I thought you were dead." She finally dared to raise her head and look at her brother directly. "You really scared me."

"I didn't mean to-"

"And then," she interrupted, her voice rising in pitch as she spoke, "as if that wasn't enough, you go off and try to capture Douglas by yourself. And it was after we had that big fight, and I guess I thought, maybe…maybe Adam and I drove you away. Like, we were too hard on you or something, so you decided to leave us."

Chase stared at his sister in surprise. "Well…you and Adam do pick on me a lot. You make fun of my genius. And I guess it does get to me, sometimes."

"Well," she replied, "you do kind of throw your genius in our faces a lot."

Chase looked down. "I know I do. But it's all I have, you know? Being smart and leading missions is who I am. It's all I'm good at."

Bree gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Are you serious? You're good at everything, Chase. Computers, robots, gadgets, school, missions-"

"Because of my bionics!" Chase interrupted.

"What?"

Chase sighed. "If you take away Adam's strength, he's still going to be Adam. If you take away your speed, you're still Bree. My bionics affect my brain. If I wasn't smart…I don't know who I would be."

Bree stared in shock at this revelation. She had never really thought of Chase as insecure. In fact, she usually thought he was the opposite. She had never considered that his bionics might cause him to question himself as a person, or that there was a difference between a physical ability and a mental one.

Somehow, she knew that her response was going to be very important to Chase. She reached down carefully and patted him on the hand.

"You would still be our brother. Who we…you know…love."

Chase looked down at their hands. "And you guys are my family. I would never betray you, no matter how much you annoyed me. I went with Douglas on my own. It was my own choice. And it was really, really stupid of me. He knew exactly what to say to suck me in, and I fell for it. I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was."

"You're still smart, Chase," Bree explained patiently. "And you're still a good leader, even though Adam and I sometimes act like you aren't. You just made a mistake. We all do that, sometimes. Even me."

Chase faked surprise. "You make mistakes? Really?"

Bree smiled for the first time since she and Chase began talking. "I know it's hard to believe, but it happens. Like…not being honest with you, and letting the fight go on too long. Those were mistakes."

"Well, I did try to strangle you, so I'd saw we're even now."

His tried to sound light-hearted, but Bree didn't laugh. Instead, she looked at him fiercely.

"Don't ever say that. I told you, it wasn't you."

"But I could have killed you," he replied, becoming more distressed.

Bree shook her head. "Not you. Douglas."

"You still have bruises on your neck!"

Bree looked him directly in the eyes. "It. Wasn't. You. I don't blame you, and I don't want you to blame yourself. OK?"

Chase looked at her, but did not respond.

"OK?!" she repeated forcefully.

"OK! Jeez," he finally said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I get it."

They both sat in silence for a few moments, until Chase yawned. "So," he said, "now that we got all that worked out, wanna go back to bed?"

Bree shook her head. "I'm wide awake now. What do you usually do when you can't sleep?"

Chase reached over and picked up the remote control. "Well, I find a session of fighting demons and slaughtering zombies to be soothing most of the time."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Video games? Lame."

Chase turned on the TV. "Afraid you'll lose?"

Bree narrowed her eyes. "To you? Please. I can slaughter circles around you."

Chase tossed her the controller. "Prove it."

After a few minutes of playing, Chase quickly realized that winning wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally thought. Bree wasn't familiar with the game, but her natural speed meant she could hit the controller buttons much faster than Chase. Even by accident, she managed to take his character down in record time.

"No fair using bionics!" Chase whined as Bree's character rapidly circled his own.

"You guys are having an all-night video game session, and you didn't tell me?"

Chase turned around as Leo's voice unexpectedly sounded behind them. "Leo?"

The sound of an explosion on-screen made him turn back around. "Bree! What was that?!"

"My plasma grenade." Bree smiled sweetly as "GAME OVER" flashed on the screen.

"I've got winner!" Leo cried as he jumped over the back of the couch and settled next to his sister.

Donald Davenport was used to being the first one up in his house hold. This was often because he had stayed up most of the night, either working his newest invention or thinking about his next big idea.

After the stress of searching for his missing son, Donald had slept soundly the past two nights. Today he rose early, determined to finish Chase's new chip and get it installed. Tasha donned her bath robe and joined him, and together they made their way down the stairs. In the living room, they found an unexpected sight.

Leo was stretched out on the far end of the couch, sound asleep. In the middle was Bree, lying with her head in the opposite direction, towards the kitchen. Chase sat next to her, his head thrown back over the couch cushions, snoring softly. The television was still on, displaying the start screen of "Demon Zombie Deathmatch" over and over again.

Donald and Tasha looked at each other, surprised but pleased. "Looks like they made up," she said softly, gently touching Donald's arm.

Across the room, the elevator doors opened and Adam stepped out, still in his pajamas. He caught sight of the group on the couch and threw up his hands in frustration.

"Did I miss another all-night video game session?!"

THE END