Dirtkid123: :) Sorry, can't give anything away yet. But everything will be explained very soon. Thanks!
Asori: Ah, cool, you noticed that! Yeah, cyber-cloaks were a popular guess but it doesn't explain how Chase is able to remember the events so vividly. The answers will be revealed very soon, though. Thanks again!
PurpleNicole531: Those are some good theories, but I don't want to give away whether or not they are correct. The answers are coming very soon. And thank you for filling me in on what I missed last week. It sounds like it was a funny episode. Thank you!
Stardust16: Yes, everything about Andy's past will be revealed next chapter. And, yeah, their friendship is definitely going to take a change for the worse. All that will be covered in the next chapter. Thank you so much!
girlface187: Thank you, I'll try looking that up to find out more about it. I'll probably have to wait until they post that episode on Netflix, though. :( Thank you anyway, and thanks for the encouragement!

A/N: This is sort of a "Part 2" to last week's chapter, picking up right where that one left off. It was originally supposed to be all one chapter, but that would have made it really long, so I split it into two parts. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

"The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."
- Nelson Mandela

Chapter 10: Battle Lines

St. George, Utah

The FBI helicopter circled in low over the buildings in an attempt to locate a suitable landing place. Agent Bryant turned to his team and shouted loudly enough for them to hear him above the noise of the helicopter. "Okay, men, we're going to touch down on that roof in a moment. Get out and get down to the street as quickly as possible. We're going to try to box in the suspect. But remember that he is bionic and he may have a hostage with him. If you encounter him, do not engage. That's an order. Got it?"

The men nodded. A moment later, they touched down on the building's roof and scrambled out of the helicopter. The pilot waited until they were clear of the rotating blades before taking off again to continue surveillance from the air.

Bryant motioned to his team and said, "Okay, men, get moving. Try to keep him from entering any crowded parts of the city. We don't want civilian casualties. Move out."

Blackbriar One leaned carefully around the edge of the building, just enough to check on the FBI team's current position. Turning back to her squad, she said, "Okay, they're gone. Shadow Squad is already moving in to deal with them. Our job is to get the bionic. Remember, the Leader wants us to bring in the target alive, and that goes for the other kid as well. Any slip ups, and I'll personally see to it that you don't make it back to Nova Base alive. Got it?"

The rest of the squad nodded silently.

"Good. Let's move in." She paused as she noticed someone new join the group. He was tall, dark haired, and probably in his early twenties. "Who are you?"

"Agent Ward." The guy extended a hand in greeting but retracted it again when she merely glared at it. "I was sent in from Nova Base to assist in this operation."

"They said you were coming. Not sure why they thought we couldn't handle this, though."

"Well, this is sort of my area of expertise. With my experience in capturing bionics, I know more about the species than most people do."

"Not more than me, pal," she mumbled under her breath. Speaking up, she added, "Fine, let's get this over with. Ready, squad? Let's go."

Chase ducked into the doorway of a building and flattened himself against the metal door; Andy did the same. The helicopter passed overhead a moment later and, thankfully, didn't seem to notice them in their hiding place. They took off running in the opposite direction, making sure to keep themselves hidden in the shadows as much as possible.

Chase was really torn about what to do right now. He'd been on the run from the authorities once before - when his bionic secret had first been discovered - and he didn't like the idea any better now then he had at that time. On the one hand, he felt like it might be best to simply turn himself over to the FBI. If he really was guilty, he needed to face the consequences. Besides, he couldn't live the rest of his life hiding from the government. But there was another part of him that knew his family needed him. He had to figure out what was really going on.

He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and motioned for Andy to pause as well.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked in a whisper.

"I'm picking up something," Chase told him. He focused his bionic hearing on the sound to determine exactly what he'd heard. "That direction," Chase said, pointing off towards the left. "There's a group of eight guys a block over and headed this way. They're all carrying weapons and- wait a second. One of them is talking on the radio. It's the FBI."

"Then we should probably deviate from our current course," Andy said, tugging on Chase's arm.

"Hold on a minute. There's someone else headed this way from the opposite direction."

"Most likely another team of law enforcement men."

Chase shook his head. "No, it's a team of six people, but there's something different about them. There's something strange in the way they're moving. Also, they're a lot more heavily armed than the FBI would be."

"An elite squad perhaps," Andy said, pulling harder on Chase's arm. "We should probably evacuate the area before they arrive."

Chase continued to stare in the direction that the other team was approaching from before suddenly glancing down at the android with a strange expression. Andy backed up a step and lowered his eyes nervously. "Andy," Chase started to stay, keeping his voice as steady as possible, "did you-"

Before he could finish, a shot rang out in their direction. It was followed closely by several more. The two boys scrambled for cover behind a metal dumpster. The FBI had arrived on the scene faster than they'd anticipated.

A voice called out authoritatively, "Come out with your hands up. We have the area surrounded and we are prepared to do whatever is necessary if you do not come willingly."

Chase was slightly offended that they thought he would be so easily fooled. According to his area scans, this was the only FBI team in the immediate vacinity. The other teams had been radioed to, but it would definitely be several minutes before they could arrive. He was spared having to respond, however, by the sudden appearance of the mystery team. To Chase's surprise, the newcomers immediately spread out to take up strategic positions around the street before pointing their weapons directly at the FBI team. The squad leader motioned to his men and they began firing at the law officials.

"Well, that's an unexpected twist," Chase mumbled to himself. He leaned around the dumpster just enough to get a better view of the chaos. This would probably be the best time to make a hasty retreat, he decided.

Unfortunately, nothing ever seemed to work out for him. He was just about to make his escape from the area when one of the enemy squad members fired directly at the FBI man standing closest to the dumpster. The energy emission from the strange weapon shot towards the agent with amazing speed and deadly accuracy. Chase knew the man would be killed if he didn't do something. Leaping out of his cover, he ran the few yards distance and threw himself in front of the FBI agent. His force field activated without a moment to spare and the energy blast dissipated harmlessly on its surface. The agent stared at him in surprise and disbelief. Chase decided not to stick around long enough for the guy to overcome his shock and arrest him. Turning around, he headed for the nearest alley entrance at a dead run.

Reaching the alley unharmed, he hurried down it without slowing his speed for a moment. It wasn't until he'd emerged into a narrow street that he realized his traveling companion was nowhere around. Should he go back and get Andy?

He's been lying to me. I know that now. For all I know, he might be working for the enemy. I certainly can't trust him anymore. I was wrong to trust him in the first place.

But none of that mattered, Chase realized. Whatever his true motivations were, Andy had helped him out of so many dangerous situations over the last few days. On the train, he'd even risked himself to save Chase's life. There was no way he was going to leave the kid trapped in the middle of a shootout. Making his decision, Chase turned around to head back through the alley. That was when he heard a new voice speak up.

"So, you're the target, huh?"

Chase spun around to see a tall, young guy standing a few yards away. The stranger had been hiding against the wall of a building. "Who are you?"

"Name's Ward," the guy said casually, almost conversationally. "I guess it really doesn't matter if I tell you. This is the last conversation you'll have with anyone outside of the base."

"Base?" Chase's thoughts wandered back to the radio conversation he'd overheard on the train. "Nova Base?"

Ward glanced at him in mild surprise. "Where else? The Leader has been waiting to have a talk with you. Something tells me it won't be a pleasant one."

"Who is the 'Leader'? And why does he want me?"

"What is wrong with you?" Ward asked with a laugh. "It doesn't matter. Are you coming in peacefully or unconscious? Because it really doesn't make a difference to me."

Chase tried hard to recall any memories he might have of Nova Base or the Leader. It was obvious from the way Ward was speaking that these were things that should be common knowledge to him. But they weren't. He vaguely recognized the names, but nothing more. How did they fit into his life? Something told him that they were very significant, but he couldn't figure out why.

How do these things have anything to do with me? I'm from Mission Creek and I'm now a mentor at the Bionic Academy. So where does Nova Base come into that picture? Why do I get the feeling that I've been there before?

"So what's your decision?" Ward asked.

"Where's my family?" Chase demanded. "What did you guys do to the students?"

"Oh, come on, you're supposed to be some kind of genius. Figure it out for yourself. Now, are you coming nicely?"

Chase held out his fist and activated his laser bow. "I don't think so," he said angrily. "Tell me where my family is."

An amused grin came to Ward's face. "Make me," he challenged.

"Get inside that building behind us," Agent Bryant ordered one of his men. "Use that second story window to act as our sniper. Radio to me the positions of anyone you can sight." The man nodded and immediately hurried off to obey. Bryant turned to one of his other men and asked, "Anyone seen the suspect?"

The other agents shook their heads. "I haven't seen him since the shooting started," one of them said.

Bryant nodded and turned his attention back to the shootout. He needed to end this as quickly as possible before any civilians were endangered. The problem was, he had no idea who they were now up against. These newcomers could be more bionic people, or they could be someone else working with the assassin. There was also the slim possibility that there was a third group involved who was against both the FBI and the bionic kid, but that didn't seem extremely likely. Bryant needed to put an end to the shootout as well as locate the bionic suspect before he had a chance to disappear again.

He called to one of his men, "Get on the radio and call for air support from those helicopters. Also, figure out when that backup is coming."

"Yes, sir," the agent replied, grabbing his radio.

Another FBI agent suddenly joined their little group. Bryant recognized him as Veir - the youngest member of the team and one of their newest recruits. Veir crouched down behind the vehicles they were using as cover.

"Where have you been?" Bryant asked.

"Sorry, sir, I got pinned down over by the dumpster," Veir answered. "It took me a while to get out of there."

"Any sign of the bionic?"

"He was behind that dumpster right before the shooting started, but he ran off several minutes ago."

"Which direction?" Bryant asked quickly. He waited until the younger agent pointed out the nearby alley entrance before ordering the rest of the men, "As soon as that backup gets here, we rush that alley. Got it? We can't afford to let him get away again."

The other men nodded silently. Veir shifted uncomfortably and looked at his superior officer with an obvious question on his lips. Bryant motioned that it was okay for him to ask it.

"Well, sir, are we sure that this bionic is as dangerous as the reports claim?"

"Of course," Bryant said in surprise.

Veir looked at the ground nervously and continued, "It's just that he- well, he didn't seem like the killer I was expecting." He didn't want to mention the fact that the suspect had saved his life a few minutes ago. He had a feeling his superiors wouldn't be too pleased to hear that.

"Did you forget that this bionic murdered the president a few days ago?! Now follow your orders and help take down this assassin before he kills anyone else."

"Yes, sir," Veir said, but there was still a hint of doubt in his voice that Bryant knew he would have to address later.

Chase had to admit, this guy was good. It was obvious that Ward had fought bionics before, and that he knew exactly what he was doing. Chase had fought evil androids, rogue bionics, and even Victor Krane before, but he was struggling badly to keep the upper hand against this one regular human - although Chase blamed part of that on the fact that he was still not operating at peak health and didn't have full control of his bionics. Still, should he be having this much trouble?

Ward dodged away from a kick and managed to land a punch of his own. He followed up on it quickly by swinging his leg around and driving his foot into his opponent's stomach.

Chase was thrown backward by the kick and his back slammed into the alley wall. He recovered much faster than expected, though. Activating his force field, he managed to stop a brick that was flying his direction. Afterwards, he shrunk his force field down to a small sphere and let it go at his attacker. Ward was caught off guard and stumbled backward several paces. Chase sighted a large metal pipe nearby and used his magnetism app to throw it in Ward's direction. Before his opponent had a chance to retaliate, Chase ran forward and side tackled the guy straight into the wall. Ward didn't move from his sprawled position on the ground, and Chase took a deep breath in relief. Still, something made him check the pulse in Ward's neck to make sure no permanent damage had been done.

I shouldn't care, but I do. Why would I care about him? He's the enemy. If he lives, he will only continue to hunt me. Maybe even hurt my family. I shouldn't feel guilty if I end him right here and now. He's the enemy...

Shaking his head, Chase tried to clear it of those kind of thoughts. He knew it was the aggression app messing with him.

No, Ward isn't the enemy. He's a person. A human. Somewhere out there are family members or friends who will miss him if he's gone.

It felt like he was split into two halves that were at war with each other. The one half that felt only anger at the people who had taken his family away; the other half that couldn't hurt anyone, no matter how much they deserved it. At least the second half seemed to be winning right now. Chase felt his anger level coming down and the intrusive thoughts fled to the back of his mind.

Good. Now I have bigger things to worry about.

His bionic hearing picked up someone talking into a radio nearby.

"Blackbriar Squad, this is Blackbriar One. Agent Ward is down. Move in immediately."

The next second, three more people swarmed into the alley and surrounded him. They all took a quick step back as one of the squad members suddenly threw a small, round object onto the ground in front of Chase. With a chill, he recognized the device and what it was capable of doing. He immediately activated his force field and waited until the deadly weapon detonated with a blinding flash of light. As soon as the light was clear, he dropped his shield and looked around for where the new intruders had gotten to. Unfortunately, the bright light left him temporarily sightless and, in the time it took for his eyes to adjust, one of the squad members jumped forward and pointed a bionic signal interrupter at him. He heard the signal emit from the remote but, oddly, his bionics remained online. When his vision finally cleared enough to see everything, he was surprised to find that the man had been tackled to the ground and was now wrestling around on the alley floor with a very tiny - and very familiar looking - figure. The signal interrupter had fallen harmlessly to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chase saw another squad member move. He turned around just in time to see another of those round devices being thrown right at them.

"Andy!" Chase yelled a quick warning. "Force field. Now!"

The little android stopped struggling with the man on the ground and glanced over at the device. Immediately registering what must be happening, Andy looked up at Chase with a frightened expression. "I- I can't!"

With his bionic hearing, Chase was keeping track of the device's internal timer. It was about to detonate in less than a second. He jumped forward as quickly as he could and, landing in a huddle with Andy and the downed squad man, he activated his own force field. The protective blue shield surrounded all three of them an instant before the device detonated. This time, Chase was careful to close his eyes against the blinding glare. Even after it had passed, he kept the shield active. Looking over at Andy, he asked, "You ready?"

His partner nodded with a set look of determination. Chase deactivated his force field and stepped forward. Together, he and Andy charged the other two squad members and took them both down with little difficulty.

"FBI incoming," Andy warned, hearing the distinct sound of an approaching helicopter.

"Let's get out of here," Chase said.

Andy nodded and took off in the direction of the street. Chase was about to take off after him when something else caught his ear.

"Nova Base, this is Blackbriar One. Agent Ward down. Three squad members down. The target is escaping the scene. Should I pursue?"

Even with his newly heightened hearing, he could barely pick up the low voice that answered over the radio. "Negative, Blackbriar One. Return to contact point. Bring as many squad members as you can and leave the rest. There's been a change of orders."

"Roger, Nova Base. Blackbriar One out."

It didn't take long for Chase to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. What startled him was how familiar that voice had sounded. He quickly turned around and looked straight up to see a teenaged girl standing on the roof of the building overhead. The moon was behind her enough to keep her mostly in shadow and a baseball cap was pulled down low, casting her face into even deeper shadows. A moment after he glanced up at her, she was gone. Still, he had little doubt in his mind as to who that girl had been.

Turning, he took off down the alley to catch up with Andy. They would escape here as quickly as possible, he decided. They needed to get to Mission Creek. He needed to know where his family was. He needed to know the truth about the president's death and his fight with Adam. He needed to figure out how all of this was connected to Nova Base and the Leader. But, most important of all, he needed to know why his sister was helping the enemy hunt him.

A/N: So, only one more chapter before they reach Mission Creek! Do you think Chase was correct in guessing that Blackbriar One is Bree? (Remember, he only saw her for a second in the darkness.) And what do you think Chase found out about Andy? Answers are on their way very soon!

NEXT CHAPTER: (Wednesday, Dec. 16)
"Broken Trusts, Broken Friendships" - Chase learns the full truth behind where Andy came from and why.

CHAPTER 12: (Hopefully Dec. 23)
"Homecoming" - Chase finally arrives in Mission Creek, but more trouble awaits him at home...