SPECIAL A/N, READ IT:

Disclaimer: I have no claim over the intellectual property of Lab Rats.

There is abuse. Violent, and probably graphic, abuse.

Oh, (slight spoilers) while Marcus and Bree are not related in this story, they are in canon, which puts their implied feelings in a grey dubious area that I've now realized basically promotes incest. Which is bad, so I don't condone that relationship anymore. But a heads up to readers (particularly newer ones)

A/N: I know I probably shouldn't have started another story with the one I have not close to done, but I couldn't resist. I think the idea for this is pretty good, and I want to share this. I struggled to get good length on this prologue, but I got there, eventually, with the help of the author's note…but it's the prologue…So, here's the first chapter of Mother Dearest!

Edit: WARNING! ABUSE AND OTHER HEAVY TOPICS (I think) SO BE WARNED! I NORMALLY DON'T DO THIS, BECAUSE I DON'T THINK, BUT IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION BASED ON A PREVIOUS REACTION THAT I SHOULD!

"Ugh…," a boy moaned, moving one of his hands towards the closed door. The hand weakly fell into the red pool of blood that surrounded his curled up form. It was sticky, and he could feel it through his clothes. That meant he had been lying here for some time, but the boy had hardly noticed the time pass. The boy gritted his teeth and attempted to roll onto his stomach, but he nearly screamed out from the pain. Beneath the blood soaking his arms, he saw that the bruises were already becoming black and purple.

Someone save me…please…, the boy begged in his mind, too weak to speak. Fresh blood pooled above his eyes and that's when he heard the footsteps. His whole body tensed up as the footsteps pounded louder and closer. He could hear them coming up the stairs…

Not again! No! Spare me, please! The boy tried harder to get up, pushing himself into a near push-up position, but his arms gave out and his chin slammed into the floor. He heard a crunch, but his tongue seemed to have made it out alright. He tasted blood as the door flew open. He tried harder to get up, but the man who had entered charged at him and pulled the boy up by the shirt collar. His whole body lifted from the floor as the man stood up to his full height and the boy's toes barely scraped the ground.

The boy began coughing as he choked from the man's grip on his shirt and the man's face contorted further in anger. A woman walked up and stopped at the doorway. She didn't move after placing a hand on the doorway and looking towards the two as the man held onto the boy. The boy turned his gaze at her, looking away from the man grasping him.

"Mother!" the boy cried out as the man's hand slipped and the chokehold lessened.

"There's nothing anyone can do you little-"

"Mother! Please, help me!" the boy cried, tears pooling in his eyes as the woman continued to stand there and just watch. The boy was released, but was punched in the jaw before he fell to the ground. He slammed, hard, to the floor and another moan escaped his lips.

"You brought this on yourself boy," the man said, kicking at the boy and knocking him into the wall. The boy whined, wishing it would stop. He had already had a beating, why was there another one so soon? The man began pounding his fists into the boy's flesh, and blood began to flow from old and new wounds and the boy's cries became fainter and fainter until it was hardly more than exhausted breathing. The boy was unaware of the time passing. It could have been a few minutes or several hours for all he knew. The only thing he knew was the pain and the terror of the beating.

The boy's face was soaked with his tears and blood, his hair stuck to his forehead. The man lifted the boy so that their noses were touching. The man grinned at him and the boy trembled under his gaze. This man inspired fear, and he enjoyed it. The boy felt spasms of pain as he shook, but he didn't stop, not while the man kept staring at him.

"Say goodbye to mummy," the man taunted, turning his head so the boy could wearily look at his mother. The man was clearly dismissing her as he shot the woman a glare, but the boy gave one last pleading look to his mother.

"Help me…," he groaned one last time before the woman turned and began walking away. The tears came harder as the boy saw someone watching from down the hall. It was another boy who just looked at him with cold eyes, a monster in the making. The boy hated the one who could hide from the man, the one who didn't incur such wrath upon himself. The boy gritted his teeth, even as he winced in pain from the action.

There's no one to help me…I'm going to die here… The boy closed his eyes as the man's fist came back around and slammed into his head. He cried out and felt himself slide across the floor, away from the man. He felt himself stop as he bumped into the wall, and felt his pain begin anew from the slide burns. He whimpered, but managed to open his eyes and look towards the man who tormented his every waking moment.

"What did I ever do father?" the boy moaned, and not for the first time since the beatings had started.

Why haven't they come for me…Is this my fate now, to die here at the mercy of this horrible excuse for a human being? The boy lamented to himself as he wearily watched the man, waiting for the answer that always came. Coherent thought began to ebb away with that final thought as the man opened his mouth once more to speak.

"You existed, that's reason enough," the man replied through gnashed teeth. The boy observed, almost as if the whole thing wasn't real, through his now blurred vision as his father strode towards him, leaned over him, and heaved one last fist at his face. The boy didn't have time to cry out as the fist connected with his face and he fell unconscious with that final blow.

A/N: Just a reminder to those who might plan to at the beginning but forget by this point…Review to let me know what you think, please! Oh, and do let me know if you see mistakes, because I'll go back and fix them! Oh, and in case I forget to mention it in later chapters, this is AU...completely and utterly...pretty much...sort of...It's AU and I feel you need to know that...So have a nice day!