This is NOT set in the same universe as We all have our scars

Disclaimer: I own nothing

WARNINGS: TORTURE

Porcupine hair startled Leo so badly, he threw a basket of used tissues at him.

Leo was home sick. Leo didn't get sick very often, but when he did, he got sick badly. He was glad he hadn't started throwing up yet, although his teacher practically kicked him out of school when he sneezed and soaked a page of his textbook with mucus.

Leo had gotten bored after an hour of staring at the ceiling in his room and failing to sleep because of his stuffy nose. Therefore, he'd gone to the lab to work on some basic assignments while Big D was out getting groceries (his mom had some news story to report on, so Big D had to do the shopping today).

Leo typed, his fingers clicking against the keyboard while he occasionally coughed into his fist or blew his nose.

"So you're the one who discovered Marcus was evil? I guess your brains make up for your lack of muscle."

Leo squealed (something he's not proud of), and he spun around, chucking a basket of used tissues at a man with spiky, porcupine hair.

The man yelped, muttering his disgust as he tossed the wet tissues to the ground and unstuck them from his jacket.

Leo made a break for the elevator, but the doors slid shut before he got within two feet of them (the guy probably hacked into the doors or however that thing worked).

"No where to run, kid," the guy said.

Leo didn't even have time to turn around before he felt a small electric shock hit him from behind. He barely had time to register that he'd been shot with a stun gun before the world went black.

When Leo came to, he was in some sort of cage with electric blue bars, radiating with power.

"Where am I?" He mumbled as he sat up on the hard, cold floor.

"Don't you recognize this place?" A familiar voice drawled.

"Marcus," Leo spat as he turned to face Captain Eyebrows.

Marcus raised his eyebrow. "Yes?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Dude, stop. That eyebrow trick is getting old."

It was Marcus's turn to roll his eyes. "You really aren't in any position to be giving me orders."

Leo saw his point, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Why did you take me?"

Marcus smiled. "You're smart, Leo. You knew I was evil from the beginning. I'm sure you can figure it out."

Leo considered the clues he'd been given and the information he'd gathered from watching Marcus like a hawk for multiple months.

Marcus: evil

Marcus hanging out with Adam, Bree, and Chase

Mr. Porcupine Hair kidnapping Leo

Oh, no.

"You want to capture Adam, Bree, and Chase, so you kidnapped me to lead them here," Leo realized.

Marcus nodded. "Exactly. I knew I should've gotten rid of you earlier. My dad always told me to beware the smart ones. I thought he was referring to Chase but how wrong I was.."

"Was that a compliment or a threat?" Leo asked.

Marcus shrugged. "Both."

"Well, Adam, Bree, and Chase will never fall for your trap!" Leo said, confidently.

Marcus smirked. "We'll see about that…"

Marcus sat in front of a computer screen that was facing Leo, and he typed in a few codes before an image of the lab came up with Big D and the three Bionics standing around Big D's cyber desk.

"You've been spying on us," Leo snapped.

"Only since I first visited your house," Marcus responded with a snotty tone.

Leo muttered under his breath. Him and Big D had been so worried about Marcus discovering their secrets when he found the lab that Leo hadn't even considered Marcus hooking up a camera to spy on them.

"Where's Leo?" Bree asked.

Big D shrugged. "I haven't seen him. He's sick, so he's probably resting."

"Looking for something?" Marcus drawled.

The four of them whipped around, immediately morphing into combative poses with their fists out and their bionics at the ready.

"Marcus," Adam snapped.

"Leo was right about you," Chase added.

Marcus laughed. It's funny, actually. My father always told me to beware the smart ones. I thought that meant you, but Leo figured it from the beginning. You guys should've listened to him."

Guilt was plastered across their faces.

"Let. Him. Go," Big D demanded.

"You want him?" Marcus said. "Come and get him."

"Guys, don't, it's a tra-" Leo was interrupted by the small beep-boop the computer made as the image of the lab vanished.

Marcus snarled. "Why would you say that? Come here."

Leo shook his head and backed up in the cage as much as possible. His plan was to dance around the cage until Marcus got tired of chasing him all over the place, but he'd forgotten about Marcus's telekinesis.

Marcus thrust his hand forward, palm up, and flicked his fingers back towards himself. Leo was dragged across the floor until Marcus was grasping his collar.

Marcus grabbed Leo's wrist, and Leo tried to fight him off, but even if Marcus wasn't bionic, he'd be stronger than Leo. Lasers shot out of Marcus's eyes and onto Leo's wrist, right where his hand met his wrist, and Leo screamed. The pain was enough to distract him and make him stop moving long enough for Marcus to withdraw a syringe from his pocket and jab it into Leo's inner elbow.

The world went black.

"What did you do to him?" a female voice demanded.

Bree, Leo comprehended.

Leo felt so tired, so sluggish and lethargic that he didn't think he'd be able to move if he wanted to. It was a painful kind of exhaustion, and Leo resisted the urge to fall back into the sea of blackness immediately.

"Just a little drug to put him to sleep," Marcus replied. "He should be coming around here soon, but he probably won't be moving for a while. Good luck getting him out of here if he can't even stand."

"Let him go!" Adam snarled.

"If you want to see him so badly, you can join him."

Leo heard a few thumps and multiple pairs of feet appeared in his line of vision, although he could only half see them through his half lidded eyes.

"You mastered short distance teleportation before I did?" Big D grumbled. "I've been working on that for years."

Someone gave a mocking laugh, and someone knelt beside Leo.

"Leo? Leo, can you hear me?"

"Ch…ase?" Leo mumbled.

"Yeah," Chase replied. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Leo managed to open his eyes a little more, and with Chase quietly urging him on, Leo managed to pry his eyes all the way open. Big D, Bree, Adam, and Big D came into view.

"How are you feeling?" Big D murmured.

Leo nodded. "Tired… but otherwise, okay."

Chase nodded. "Adam's going to pick you up. We're going to get out of here, okay?"

"I wouldn't try it," an unfamiliar voice called as Adam reached for Leo. "Within those bars, your bionics are disabled."

"What?" Bree demanded. Leo heard her shoes hit the ground and assumed she'd tried to use her super speed and failed.

"I've got nothing," Chase confessed.

Leo rolled his head to the side and noticed the monitor and Porcupine Hair sitting beside it.

"Marcus," he called down the hall. "It's time for the plan."

Nothing.

"Marcus!" he repeated.

Still nothing.

"Where is that android?" Porcupine Hair muttered before stomping down the hall.

Android?

Not the time to wonder about that.

"Big D," Leo coughed as he sat up.

"Don't try to sit up," Bree said, grabbing Leo's shoulder to prevent him from falling backwards.

"No. I have an idea," Leo said. "Use something to reflect the beam and fry the… com… com… pu-"

"Leo, you okay?" Adam asked.

Leo was already slipping back into unconsciousness, beginning to slump over in Bree's arms.

"Leo, stay awake," Big D ordered. "I know you're tired and drugged, but we need you awake until we get out of here."

Leo nodded. "Okay."

Leo watched in a half asleep trance as Bree used Big D's belt buckle and the wrapper from Adam's granola bar (only Adam would carry food in a place meant for a weapon) to deflect the electric blue beam.

The bars dimmed and retreated into multiple holes in the base of the cell.

"Adam, grab Leo," Bree ordered.

"I don't think so."

Leo turned in Adam's hold (Adam had been in the process of picking him up and had one arm around his shoulders and another under his knees) and noticed Porcupine Hair and Marcus had returned.

So close.

"Adam, get Leo out of here!" Chase snapped before him and Bree raced to take on Marcus. Big D dashed towards Porcupine Hair.

Marcus calmly raised his hand and pressed a button on a remote.

In that moment, Leo felt the worst pain imaginable. It was a mixture of getting shocked by electricity, burned by fire, and being drowned all at once. His lungs burned as air refused to enter them; his body shook like he was having a grand mal seizure, and he screamed so loudly, Chase had to cover his sensitive ears.

"Leo!" Adam yelled, and he knelt beside Leo to rest him fully on the floor. He held Leo's hand as Leo convulsed, and Leo could tell Adam was on the verge of panicking; he could sense that through the enormous amounts of pain coursing through his body.

Porcupine Hair smacked Marcus lightly in the stomach, more to get his attention than anything else.

"Stop it," he said.

"Why?" Marcus laughed. "This is fun."

"No, it's not," Porcupine Hair disagreed. "We don't want to cause any real damage. Let up. Besides, I thought we agreed that we wouldn't use that unless we had to."

Marcus shrugged. "Sorry, Dad, but I've wanted to do that since the beginning. Just a little longer?"

Porcupine Hair snatched the remote and pressed the off button. Leo went limp on the floor, stuck in the narrow area between consciousness and unconsciousness. The excruciating pain had been a severe ache and the aftermath consisted of twitches and shaky breathing, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.

Leo was in too much pain to notice, but Mr. Davenport was staring at Porcupine Hair, like he was taking a trip down memory lane. The far away gaze.

"Douglas…" Donald whispered.

In that moment, Donald saw a sliver of the brother he used to know- the kind, helpful, good one- shine through the mask of evil.

"Yeah, yeah," Douglas muttered. "I took mercy on your step son, but that doesn't mean I'll take mercy on you. Marcus, contain the Bionic Three and the little brother. I'll take care of my brother."

He lunged at Donald, and Donald grabbed his arm and managed to get a few words in, each one meaningful.

"Son," Donald said. "Leo's not just my stepson. He is my son. If you're going to mention him at all, call him by the right title."

Douglas didn't know how to react to that, so he chose to attack Donald and begin the battle.

Chase and Bree fought Marcus (and were unfortunately failing at defeating him) while Adam stood guard over Leo until his other siblings could retrieve the remote.

"A-dam," Leo murmured.

"Yeah, Leo?" Adam said.

"I know we're not blood siblings, but you, Chase, and Bree… are the best big siblings I could ask for."

Leo was getting weaker. Adam could tell.

Adam smiled. "You're the best little brother in my entire universe. And I will protect you. I promise."

Leo smiled, even weaker than before, and he slipped into unconsciousness. His chest was barely moving, and Adam knew that one more zap from that remote would kill his little brother.

Marcus pulled away from Bree and Chase and raised the remote.

"One step, and I press this button!" Marcus threatened.

"You're the best little brother in my entire universe."

Chase and Bree didn't move a muscle.

Marcus chuckled. "Are you seriously going to risk your freedom to protect that little runt?"

"And I will protect you. I promise."

"Big mistake," Marcus smirked before raising his thumb over the button. Even Bree wouldn't beat Marcus's speed to hit the button.

Adam stood up to his full height, and he saw red.

"Stay… away from him!" Adam shouted.

Waves of energy traveled through the air, wrapping around Adam like a silvery coat. The lair began shaking, and the ceiling began to crumble. Soon enough, the whole place would collapse.

Adam didn't see Mr. Davenport's brother anywhere, and Marcus was too astonished to move.

"We need to get out of here!" Bree yelled over the rumbling of the collapsing building. "Adam, get Leo."

Adam was way ahead of her. By the time she finished her statement, Adam had picked up his little brother and was at the door with his siblings and father (or was it uncle? Adam was very confused about that).

"Where's Douglas?" Mr. Davenport questioned.

"Come on," Bree demanded. Mr. Davenport took one look at Leo and raced towards the exit. His brother was probably long gone by now, heading for the opposite side of the country or crafting a disguise or whatever his plan was. Right now, Donald Davenport had a son to worry about.

The Bionics, Adam carrying Leo, and Davenport bolted out of the house. Seconds later, the entire building caved in on itself until it was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

As far as they knew, Marcus was gone for good. And if Douglas ever returned… well, he knew better than to come near Leo at least.

When Leo came around, he was in so much pain, he couldn't even put it into words.

He groaned in agony, and Chase appeared at his side, followed by Bree, Adam, and Mr. Davenport.

"He's coming around," Chase muttered.

"Painfully," Leo added, sputtering as the words scratched his throat, which was already raw from screaming.

Mr. Davenport handed him a glass of water, and Leo practically chugged the whole thing in one gulp.

"Geesh," Bree chuckled. "Thirsty?"

Leo nodded as he handed the glass back to Mr. Davenport.

"What happened after I passed out?"

The four of them told him the whole story- from Adam saving their butts to Big D finding a metal chip in Leo's inner elbow that caused the pain when Marcus pressed a button.

"It made you pass out the first time because your body couldn't handle the original pain. You probably didn't even feel it because the minute it started, before it even became severe, you would've been out like a light. I researched it, and other than phantom pains, there will be no physical damage from it."

Leo nodded. "Thanks, Big D."

Big D handed him a small pill.

"It's a sleeping pills that will also help with the pain. I know you probably don't want anymore drugs, but you need all the rest you can get."

Leo nodded and swallowed it. The strong sleeping pill immediately made him feel tired. Leo could barely last ten minutes on a 3 Mg melatonin pill. This pill was five times as strong as that; combine that with Leo's already present exhaustion, and Leo was falling asleep within seconds.

"Thanks, Adam, Bree, Chase," Leo muttered. "For looking out for me. And… thanks for being there, Dad," Leo added, directing the statement at Mr. Davenport. He didn't even notice as he slipped into slumber, but Mr. Davenport certainly did, and it warmed his heart.

That was the first time Leo had ever called him Dad.

What'd you think?