Disclaimer: I don't own Lab Rats.

"You know what else is missing? … Your manhood." – Adam, Cyborg Shark Attack

Episode: 3x8, "Taken."

He'd had close calls before. Leo had struggled at first to stop cutting after his family had found out. It had taken a lot of therapy plus antidepressants to help him correct his thinking. Even after he'd stopped believing the Voice, he couldn't stop cutting. He'd tried as hard as he could, but it was an addiction. And itch he had to scratch.

It had taken months for Leo to stop completely. Rubber bands on his wrists took the place of razors, and soon enough ink flowers covered his body underneath his clothes. When he'd felt himself slipping, he would spend time with his family, distracting himself. Sometimes they'd known what he was doing. But as time went on and no blood had been drawn, they gradually forgot the reasons why Leo sometimes clung to them. Not literally, of course, because clinging is a weakness.

Leo had stopped the therapy sessions at long last, and a little while after that, flowers on his skin were less common. He was even trying to convince his mom to let him stop taking the antidepressants – surely he'd proved himself okay by then.

"Not okay as I thought I was," Leo murmured to himself.

He sat on the floor of his bedroom, out of sight of any spying Eddy's. His bedroom door was locked. Tears dripped down his nose as he drew shaky flowers on his wrist.

Useless.

"Stop it," he whispered harshly. The Voice was wrong. He wasn't useless.

Pathetic.

"You're wrong." His hand slipped. The flower was ruined. He sniffed, ignored the trembling of his lip, moved on to start another one.

Blabbermouth.

Leo pressed the tip of the marker harder against his skin. There was a dull pain, but not enough. Not nearly enough. He had a shaving razor in his bathroom –

Realizing where his thoughts were heading, Leo let go of the marker. It rolled under the bed. Leo covered his mouth with shaking hands. He needed – he needed –

"Distraction," he told himself. "Go play video games with Adam. Or go down to the lab. Or –"

Stop talking.

Leo choked on a sob. He'd been trying to help. He'd tried to be brave. To stand up for his family. To protect his mom. Krane was too powerful. Leo knew he hadn't stood a chance. Stupid little Leo had tried – however briefly – to confront him. Failed. And his mom… she had said …

"Sweetie, you gotta stop talking."

He'd been trying to help. He'd tried to encourage Mr. Davenport. Made it worse. Heat. So much heat. His insides were burning. And his mom, he'd put her in worse danger. By trying to help, he'd made it worse.

"Stop talking to him!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Leo tried, yet again, to distract himself.

Stop talking.

"I'm gonna go and… and…"

Stop talking.

"Maybe Mom needs help cooking dinner."

Stop talking. She doesn't need you.

"Maybe Chase and I can hang out."

Stop talking. He's too smart to be your friend.

Leo closed his eyes tight. He formed tight fists, nails leaving crescents in his palms. It wasn't true. None of it was true. He was just having a bad day.

And yet he found himself thinking about his shaving razor.

Leo let out a shaky sigh of defeat. Opening his eyes, he got to his feet. He started over towards his bathroom.

His bedroom door crashed open. Literally. It was off its hinges. Leo hastily wiped at his eyes. Adam stood there with the door lifted in one hand.

"Adam!" Leo gestured at the door. "That was locked for a reason!"

Adam grinned and chuckled a bit. "Sorry, dude. Guess I don't know my own strength."

"Did you need something or did you just want to tear down my door for the fun of it?"

Adam shrugged. "I can't remember." A moment later he added, "Oh, wait, now I do! Tasha says it's your turn to set the table."

Leo blinked. "Since when does anyone set the table? Remember when we tried that?" Having three bionic teenagers argue over the seating arrangement and showing off their abilities had caused a ruckus. It was easier and less painful to grab food from the kitchen and bringing it over with them. "A lot of fine china was lost that day." They hadn't use fine china since then, actually.

Wait, what had happened to the Voice?

Adam laughed, immediately cutting off Leo's train of thought. "Oh, yeah. That's true."

"So, can you leave?" Leo tried again, but he wasn't sure why he wanted Adam to leave. The Voice wasn't haunting his thoughts anymore. But, the itch…

"No." For a moment, Adam looked completely serious. His eyes flitted to Leo's wrist before studying the younger teen's face. Leo tugged his shirt sleeve over the flowers. The tension in the air had risen considerably.

Leo cleared his throat. "Adam." A pause. "Please leave." His voice didn't crack, nope, no sir.

"C'mon Leo, it's dinner time." Adam sounded as normal as ever, but his eyes never wavered, and his usual smile was absent.

"I'll be down in a minute." Leo headed towards the bathroom. Hey, washing hands before a meal is normal. He could cut just a little bit, really fast, just enough to get him through dinner. And yet the itch wasn't as strong as it had been before. It was bound to come back, though, right?

Adam had other plans. He set down the door and grabbed Leo in a hug from behind. It was relatively loose, but Leo had no illusion that he was going anywhere. Leo took a deep breath and released it before speaking.

"Okay," he said. "You win." The Voice had been silenced. The itch was barely there. He… could actually do this. Leo let a relieved and thankful smile creep onto his face.

"Great!" Adam yelled. "Now let's go eat!"

"Ow! Adam, that was my ear!"