Nick's hands were shaking as he picked up the phone. Trying to suppress his anger, he slowly pushed each button. He breathed deeply. He needed to remain calm for Olive. This was a hard time for her too. She needed him to be her reliable older brother. He hoped that after talking to... that man... he would still be capable of that. His father had a way of bringing out the worst in him.

The line rang once, twice, three times before the machine picked up. Nick rolled his eyes, irritated. The message played, "You've reached the home of Douglas Davenport. If this is the CIA, FBI, or, worst of all, the IRS, this is not the home of Douglas Davenport. Otherwise, leave a message after the beep." The high-pitched noise rang out.

"Pick up the phone, Douglas." Nick spoke impatiently. "I know you're listening."

Nothing.

"This is not the IRS."

Still nothing.

He sighed and then, softly, "It's Nick."

"Nick?" Immediately, the man snatched up his phone. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah."

Douglas sounded thrilled. "I thought that you were never talking to me again!"

"I wasn't planning on it. But you..." Nick's voice trembled with fury. "You went and contacted my little sister. And that's not okay." He glowered at the phone in his hand. "You stay far away from Olive," he growled. "After all this time... you finally decided to come crawling back to us. I knew it would happen, Douglas. I knew you would fail. You needed us. But you left us behind anyways. You said we were useless. You didn't even complete Fletcher and Angus! Their bionics are more unstable than any of ours!" he ranted. "They're not even genetically engineered! You're a cruel, merciless, psycho. Stay away from Olive and I."

"Nick, please..." Douglas sounded like he was about to start crying. "I know what I did was wr-wrong. I was an idiot. I admit it. But, please. I need you. And though you'll never admit it, you need me."

Nick almost chucked the phone across the room. "I..." he hissed, "do not. Need. You."

"Don't you? You've always wished that I'd been a better father to you and Olive. You used to beg me to let you come back. But now I'm begging you. I'd get on my knees if I had to, Nick!"

The bionic couldn't help but smirk at the mental image. "I'd like to see that," he admitted.

"Nick, please," Douglas said one more time. "Give me one more chance."

Nick bit his lip. He had told himself that he would never go back. That he hated Douglas. He had spent the last five years of his life wanting to kill the man. And now... was he really so desperate for a dad that he would go back to that evil creature? No. No. He didn't want to. He didn't need to! Then again... he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting a migraine.

"Nick?" Douglas asked tentatively.

"No," the boy spoke decisively, though he was far from sure. "I won't go crawling back to you. Not this time."

The inventor sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this. I tried being nice, Nick. Put Olive on the phone."

"No."

Olive came running into the room, her blue eyes narrow. She held out her hand demandingly. Nick internally cursed her bionic hearing. He scowled at her and shook his head.

"Give it to me," she commanded.

He shook his head again. "No."

A smirk crept onto her face and her hand snaked up to her temple. She tapped it twice. Nick stiffened. The dreaded override app. All the other bionics loathed it. Fletcher and Angus were always fearful she was going to use it against them, as were Bree and Adam. Chase, of course, had the app himself. Olive was basically a rough draft of Chase. She was engineered a year after, but her chip was installed first. It was practically an unimproved version of Chase's chip.

Nick's abilities closely mirrored Adam's, and Fletcher's were similar to Bree's. Angus was Douglas' attempt at irony. A bionic boy that had control over most technology. His mind was similar to Chase's, though he didn't have all of the apps that Chase did. Just the same thought process, and forcefields.

"Connect to Nick." Olive enunciated. Then she mimed removing the phone from her ear and holding it out. "Here you go, Olive."

Of course, Nick mimicked her. He tried to fight it, but his arm stretched out and locked into place. He glared at her, and, through grit teeth, said, "Here you go, Olive."

She smirked and plucked it out of his hand. "Dad?" Olive spoke hesitantly. "Yes, it's me," she paused. "I-I used the override app." Her eyes widened. "I could..." she got a guilty look on her face, "but... no, no, I do! I just... okay. I understand. Yes, dad."

She then hung up. Turning on Nick, she crossed her arms. "Take me to dad. He sent the coordinates to your chip. Drive me there."

"What about Fletcher and Angus?" Nick drawled sarcastically.

Olive tapped her temple. "Connect to Fletcher!" she asserted.

A second later, the artist zoomed in the door. His hair was messy and there was paint all over him. He looked baffled. "What the..." Then he spotted Olive. "Oh. That explains a lot."

Her eyes narrowed and she lifted her hand to her cheek. Fletcher let out a screech of protest as he slapped himself.

Nick shook his head. "This is ridiculous, Olive."

"No, it's not!" she yelled. "I want to see my dad again, Nick! Is that ridiculous? You know, not seeing your dad since you were four had an impact on some people. You were the one that told me I couldn't be around him. How do I know he's the bad guy? For all I know, it could be you!

"Olive!" Nick snapped. "You're being stupid!"

"Shut up!" the girl shouted. "Don't call me stupid, you laser-brained jerk."

Nick threw his hands in the air and looked at Fletcher, exasperated. "There's no arguing with her, is there?"

"Nope."

Olive scowled. "Connect to Angus," she instructed.

A few minutes later, the boy zoomed into the apartment in a rocket chair. He looked perplexed. "What's going on?" His eyes got huge as they landed on Fletcher, then Olive, then Nick. "Oh boy. This must be bad if the hermit's getting involved."

Nick shot a lazy laser at Angus' head. The boy casually deflected it with a forcefield, not even batting an eye. It bounced off and headed towards Fletcher, who super-sped away from it. It harmlessly hit the floor, leaving a scorch mark. Olive rolled her blue eyes.

"We don't have time for this," she complained. "Nick. Drive me there. Now."

"Where are we going?" Fletcher and Angus inquired in unison, both appearing extremely confused.

"To my dad," she answered nonchalantly.

Fletcher and Angus both turned to gape at the seething Nick. They knew how he felt about his dad. They both shifted nervously, not sure how to react. They were scared of Nick, and didn't want to risk making him angry.

"Um..." Fletcher began.

"Fletcher. Don't you argue with me," Olive warned, eyes blazing.

Nick crossed his arms. "Fletcher, don't worry about it. We're not going."

"Yes, we are!"

"No. We're not."

"Drive me now."

"No."

She sighed. "Then I have no choice." Her hand strayed to her temple. Fletcher and Angus both flinched, and even Nick wavered. They all hated the feeling of being controlled. Fletcher and Angus both immediately put their hands up in signs of surrender, just as they had used to do as kids. Olive ignored them and focused on Nick, whose arms stayed firmly crossed.

"I'm giving you one more chance, Nick," she warned, her hand hovering by her temple.

He chewed on his lip, clearly feeling dread in the pit of his stomach. Acting as Olive's puppet was the most unpleasant thing he had ever had to do. He shifted back and forth, glancing at Fletcher and Angus, his gaze stony. "Why, Olive?" he asked carefully, trying to keep his tone calm. It was a desperate attempt to distract her. "Why do you want to see him?"

She faltered. "Did... did you just ask... w-why?"

"That's right," he answered, taking a step closer to her. "If we're going to go visiting the most evil man that ever lived, I'd at least like to know why."

"Because," her hand twitched and she quickly balled it into a fist and tucked it behind her back, "I feel like I never got to know him. We were always cooped up separately from Adam, Bree, and Chase. Back then, you really took care of us. You were like the dad we never had. But I only saw our actual dad when he brought food or something. I was so young, I... I don't even remember it, really," her voice cracked. "Everyone tells me that he's evil, but honestly... how would I know? I've had maybe two conversations with him. I just... I want to know my dad, Nick." Eyes filled with tears, and her hand fell to her side.

"Olive... I can't let you go near him," her brother plead with her, feeling his will crumbling. "He'll use us. That's the plan, you know. We're supposed to defeat the three he actually cared about, so he can have them. Do you really want to be his grunts?"

"How do you know that's going to happen?" she demanded, tensing up.

Fletcher tried to help. "Olive, maybe you should listen to Nick. We were miserable when we lived with him."

"He's right," Angus agreed. "He was heartless. He was a cruel—"

"SHUT UP! EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!" she screamed, her right eye twitching uncontrollably. Her hands shook erratically, forcefields forming on the tips of her fingers. Things around them began floating, including Fletcher, who let out a high-pitched scream.

"O-Olive, put me down! I'm scared of h-h-heights!" he wailed.

Her eyes were glowing. They were now a terrifying neon blue, instead of their regular icy color. "I want to go see my dad," she growled. "You'll take me. Either by choice or under my control. One way is safer than the other, so make your choice, Nicholas."

Angus' eyes were the size of saucers as he stared up at the shouting Fletcher. "M-maybe you should drive her, Nick. Olive's glitches are scary."

"Liv," Nick spoke extra softly, his gaze gentle. "Liv, I love you, okay? I just don't want you to get hurt," he soothed. "I worry about you. You're my little sister. I've always protected you. The idea of not doing that anymore... it scares me. Please, Liv... calm down. I don't like seeing you out of control."

The forcefields fizzled out, and Fletcher fell to the ground. She looked exhausted. She fell into Nick's waiting arms. Breathing heavily, she looked up at him, vulnerability in her eyes. "Can... can we please go see him, Nick? I really want..." her eyelids fluttered closed and she slumped against him. Using her bionics that extensively had clearly drained her.

Nick sighed and scooped her up. Carrying her bridal style, he brought her into his room. A little frown on his face, he gently laid her down on the queen-size bed. He grabbed a blanket that was draped over the rocking chair in the corner, and gingerly placed it on top of her. He tucked her in, just like he had every night when they were children. Bending down, he kissed her forehead.

"Get some sleep, Liv," he whispered.

He turned to see Fletcher and Angus staring at him. His gaze darkened. "What are you two doing, standing there, gawking? She's trying to sleep, morons! You have five seconds to get out before I teach both of you the meaning of super-strength!"

Panicked expressions painting their faces, they both began apologizing profusely as they left.

"Sorry, Nick!"

"We weren't staring, really!"

"Don't kill us, we're really sorry!"

"Seriously, super sorry!"

"I don't want to die! I'm too young and handsome to die!"

"Kill him first!"

Nick rolled his eyes at them. They scrambled out and he turned back to his little sister. He sat down on the foot of her bed. "I really don't want you to see him, Livvy," he said quietly, pushing her blonde hair out of her peaceful face. "I don't want you to think that's he's something he's not. But... but if you really want to see him..." he closed his eyes, regretting the words before they even came out of his mouth, "I won't stop you. I'll come with you. I won't let you face him alone."

His heart constricted as he watched her for a second longer. Right now, in this moment, she was so innocent, so whole. He knew that being with Douglas again... it would break her. It would make her cold, hardened to the influence of the outside world. It would do to her what it had done to him.

He didn't want her to go through the pain of disappointment, of abandonment, of loathing your own father. He just wanted to her to be safe.

But clearly, she wasn't worried about her own safety.

With a heavy heart, Nick left the room, knowing what had to be done.