The one and only truth

Once again, my hand went to the back of my neck, looking for any clue that told me there once was a chip. And once again, I found nothing but my own smooth skin.

I cursed the doctors for taking away the one thing that made me who I am. But I gotta admit, they did a pretty great job covering up that place where my chip once had been. I mean, I could not even feel where it once was. And still, I try to find that one spot, that one uneven place that would tell everyone that I was right all along and they were wrong! Man, if that happened, they'd have to apologize for every lie they've been telling me – also for the fact that I always, on every free moment, checked if I still had a chip.

But I'm not obsessed with finding proof. I only do this, like, two to twenty times a day. It's become more of a habit, but I think it's kinda comforting. I think it means I'm still looking for the me they don't wanna see.

Luckily there's one guy who understands, and that's Mr. Davenport. If I'm right, he's gonna visit me today! I can't wait to see him again, and I hope he'll bring my siblings with them. it's been such a long time since I've seen them.

Well, trust my luck! Someone knocks on my door. One of the people in white comes in, along with Mr. Davenport! I wanna run to him and give him a hug, but I know that when I do that, they'll keep me away from him. I dunno why such a rule has been made, but it's a rule I don't wanna break. I wanna talk to him.

Behind Mr. Davenport, I saw Leo. He's my step-brother, because Mr. Davenport married his mom. I don't remember what happened to Mrs. Davenport, but she hasn't been around for a very long time. I almost forgot how she looks like. Mr. Davenport always says that I have her eyes, but I don't know if that's true because I can't remember her.

The woman in white leaves us alone in my room. For those who don't know how it looks like, it's got white walls and a bed, a closet, a chair and a table. There's one door leading to a small bathroom. It's nothing compared to the big house I used to live in with Mr. Davenport – it doesn't even have a capsule! – but it's something.

"Hey, Adam!" Leo says.

"Hey Leo! Hey Mr. Davenport!" I am smiling, and so is Leo, but Mr. Davenport isn't. Well, he is smiling, but it doesn't look like he means it. It looks like he forces himself to smile. I can see in his eyes he's sad about something. He never tells me what makes him sad. Or he does and I can't remember the last time he did. Can be both, can be neither. My memory isn't exactly what it used to be.

Then, I realize nobody else would come in except the people in white. I look at my only two family members who came to visit me. It was only Leo and Mr. Davenport, who are sitting on the chairs – I'm sitting on my bed. I like that they're actually visiting me, but why wouldn't Bree and Chase come? I mean, Leo told me last time they'd come over today.

"Where are Bree and Chase?" I ask them. They look at each other for a few seconds. I see Mr. Davenport opens his mouth, but Leo is faster.

"They're going to a concert," he says, "They've been wanting to go for a very long time. They told me to say 'hi' to you and apologize for not coming!" I nod and smile – they didn't forget me! When I look at Mr. Davenport, he is glaring at Leo. Then, I wonder what my step-brother had done wrong. He didn't do anything. He just told me where Bree and Chase are. But I can't understand why Chase would go to a concert, that's so not Chase-like.

"So, how's it going, Mr. Davenport?" I ask him. Normally, when they visit me, it's always about me they're talking. But today, I wanna know how they are doing. Yet, he sighs.

"Adam, would you call me 'dad'? Please?" he sounds desperate. I frown.

"But we've always called you Mr. Davenport." I say. I know it's true – me, Bree and Chase have always called him Mr. Davenport and not 'dad', like he wants me to call him. he always asks me this question when I call him 'Mr. Davenport'. That's something I'm always thinking about as well.

"We're doing great," Leo eventually says, "It's a good life! We just moved to a new house. It might not be big, but it's good enough." I frown.

"You moved? What's wrong with Mr. Davenport's villa?" It's a very big house with a great view! It has a secret lab under the house, where our capsules are. Why would they ever move out of such an awesome house? I think Mr. Davenport even built it, but I'm not sure.

"I never had a villa." Mr. Davenport says. When I heard him say these words, I knew this isn't gonna end well. I knew this would only be the beginning of a very long list of differences between our memories. I have already said something's wrong with my memory, but I mean there are just holes in it – I can't remember some stuff we've gone through. But I am very sure that we live in a big villa at a gigantic cliff with an awesome lab.

"Yes, you do," I say, because I know that whatever I say is the truth. "You have a villa. It's huge and it has a secret lab, where me and my siblings live."

"There is no villa and there is no secret lab." Mr. Davenport says very calmly. I can't believe my ears! Why would he lie to me? Why would they all lie to me? Yes, everyone is lying. They're all saying that I am not bionic. They say that I don't have siblings and that I don't live in a villa. The only one who isn't lying to me, is Leo, which I'm very grateful for. He proves that I'm not crazy. That's why Mr. Davenport brought me here in the first place. He's covering it up with some large words I can't pronounce and don't know the meaning of, but basically he's telling me that I'm crazy.

Told you this wasn't gonna end well.

Because I don't say anything back to him, Mr. Davenport continues. "Adam, I…" He sighs, "everything you think is true, didn't happen. I don't have a villa; I can't afford one."

"Yes, you do," I say.

"You're an only child," he continues, "you don't have any siblings."

"Bree and Chase are real," I say in their defense. How could he say something like that.

"There is no lab. You're not bionic. You…"

"I am bionic!" Only after saying these words, I realize I must've yelled. I am standing, looking at my step-brother and Mr. Davenport. Mr. Davenport looks like he could cry, but guess what, so could I! He looks at me, but I don't wanna look at him anymore. I see Leo just bows his head, as if he didn't want to see what's going on right now.

That's it. I walk into the bathroom and lock the door. I'm sitting on the toilet, hoping they'd leave soon. They don't try to get in, and I'm glad they leave me alone. But I can still hear their voices through the door. They don't sound happy – they sound like they were having a verbal fight.

"You just had to continue, didn't you, Big D?"

"He needs to remember."

"But what if he doesn't want to remember? If I had gone through the same, I'd also deny everything and make up a nice, new world where that didn't happen, where I was happy."

"But luckily you didn't. And the sooner he wants to remember, the sooner he can come back home. That's something we both want."

"Then don't push it and have him adapt to the situation." I hear footsteps, and a door slams. I think that means Leo has left my room. I close my eyes and hope this would be over soon. After a minute, Mr. Davenport (or Leo) knocks on the bathroom door.

"Adam?" Mr. Davenport says, "Adam, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have… you know…" he sighs "please forgive me."

I don't say anything in return. I don't want to say anything. I wait until he left my room, left this building with other kids like me. When I am sure he's gone, I close my eyes. I fight back the tears. I don't wanna cry. It's a sign that I'm weak, and I am not weak. I am strong. I'm one of the strongest people there is. I shouldn't be here, crying because Mr. Davenport was telling lies to me.

There they were again. I dunno how to describe them, but they're like flashbacks, except that I'm sure they never really happened. It's a woman. It's always a woman I see. She has the same eyes as I do. She's drunk, I can smell it. She hits me. She calls me dumb and weak and slow. She says that I'll never be what she wants me to be. She hits me again. She says that it's my fault we're not rich. She says that I'm useless, and that I'll never become a superhero lie my idol, Tecton. She hits me harder. I'm crying. Then my dad comes in and she pretends nothing happened. He carries me to my room and promises me this will all be over soon.

I know the woman is wrong. I am a hero. We are heroes, me and Bree and Chase. We're smart and strong and fast. We have a billionaire as father, even if we can't really call Mr. Davenport a father. We fight villains. I call them villains, but I dunno how Bree and Chase call them. I can prove her that I'm right. I have a chip in the back of my neck that proves we are bionic superheroes.

Once again, my hand slid to the back of my neck, looking for any clue that told me there once was a chip. And once again, I found nothing but my own smooth skin.

Hey guys! Here I am with my second Lab Rats one-shot! I totally loved writing this and going to that point. A challenge was writing from Adam's point of view, in first person, which is something I've never done before. Anyway, I still hope you enjoyed it.

-Writer207