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Chapter Three.

His confidence in his decision to investigate what was happening diminished significantly with each step he took. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind told him that this was not a place he should be in. The hall leading into the entrance warned him strongly of this. It was poorly lit at best, and with the numerous industrial articles blocking much of the path, a quick escape was evidently not a commodity one could have if it was needed. The air was thick with tension, and the walls reverberated with agitation.

Then again, that agitation may have just been coming from him. His heart was pounding so madly that it was causing his mind to distort everything around him.

He ducked instinctively when a loud bang went off. He was positive it was caused by something, or maybe even someone, slamming against the wall to his right. "Adam!" he heard a girl's muffled yell coming from the other side. Man, you need to get out of here, he told himself as he stared in fear.

However, looking ahead, he saw that the entrance was not that far away. He might as well continue. Plus, he was already in there. Someone evidently needed help. Though Xavier's probably already called the police, it would take them minutes to arrive.

He took a deep breath, and then decided to discreetly head on over to the mass of barrels sitting close to the entrance.

After making sure that he was out of sight, he tried his best to stay still. His nerves were live wires, and the last thing he wanted was to be so clumsy that he gets himself in trouble, too. Once he was set, he slowly and very carefully peeked out from his hiding place to scope out the area, clutching the invention he forgot he had brought in as if it was his lifeline.

There was a tall man in dark clothing inside the room, and it was evident he only meant harm. There was a mad look in his eyes, and he seemed very pleased to see his victims fallen. The girl beside him was no different. In fact, their expressions were identical, only that there was an added air of arrogance in the way she looked down on their preys.

Leo turned his attention next towards the objects of their hatred to see what it was about them that brought out the sick sense of triumph from the two.

He withdrew quickly to the safety of the barrel he was leaning against when he saw the girl and one of the boys. He recognized them. He knew who they were. They had been on the news since yesterday. What were their names again? He knew the last name was Davenport because they were identified as the children of the tech titan Donald Davenport. Bea? Bria…Bree! Bree. Her name is Bree, and her brother… Her brother's name is Chase, like the bank.

Yes. That was it. Bree and Chase Davenport. Teenage bionic superhumans.

His jaws locked when he realized what he had gotten himself into. Why do you have to be so stubborn!, he chided himself mentally.

The dark-clothed man started to laugh at the two bionics struggling to get away. He lifted up his arm and created...A fireball! This guy is making fire with his bare hands! Okay, that's it, I'm out, Leo thought as he began to get up from his hiding spot.

That was until he heard a barbaric scream from the other side of the room. Turning, he saw the other bionic teenager – Allen...no, Adam – getting up from his spot on the ground next to two other people. One was a blond-haired kid, probably the youngest person in the room, who seemed to be unconscious. The other was a man who was trying to hold on to the boy, but even from a distance, Leo could tell he was barely holding on to consciousness and was using all his strength to stay awake.

Adam tried to rush to the madman, but that only made their enemy's evil smirk grow. Right before the teenager could touch him, he vanished, reappearing right behind him. Adam, confused, looked around. Hearing a low chuckle from behind him, he saw the man throw his fist at his face, causing him to fall back in a daze right beside his siblings.

"Adam!" Bree cried, rushing over to her brother.

Leo, seeing his opportunity, started to silently slink back into the hallway. It had been minutes since he spoke with Xavier, so the cops should be almost there. Then, they would take down this madman and his sidekick and help the three teens. Right?

Adam, finally coming out of his daze, looked up, staring intensely at the girl in black. Then, instead of a sarcastic remark or confident phrase, he said, "Okay, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think we can date after all!"

Everyone in the room looked at the eldest bionic for a moment before the sidekick made her move. In an instant, she summoned what looked like a cage made out of electricity, detaining the three bionic superhumans.

The man chuckled, patting the girl on the shoulder. "Very good, S-1. Very good indeed," he said, looking over the three. Leo now saw the right side of his face and was creeped out by seeing a bunch of wiring and circuits melded with his skin. The man went over to the corner, picked up the unconscious blond-haired boy, and threw him in the cage, much to the protest of the man left behind.

It was starting to become too much for Leo to bear. Looking behind him though, he saw he only had a few more steps 'til he reached freedom. He could make his escape, run away before anyone knew he was there. It wasn't his problem anyway.

But all those thoughts vanished when he looked back at the scene in the room. The three imprisoned teens looked scared of the man looming over them. They looked absolutely helpless, like they knew that that was going to be the end for them.

That thought made Leo stop completely. This was probably going to be their last moments alive. No one was around to save them. The police weren't there yet, and when they do arrive, those three would be dead and that psychopath would probably be long gone. The only one who could help them at that moment was him.

Looking down at his hand, he eyed the EMP gun. Leo guessed that the only way that man was using those powers was with bionics, too. Which meant a blast from the gun would shut him down, if only for a moment. Reaching a decision, he headed back to his spot behind the barrels where he would have a better visual.

The man continued to laugh evilly. "Finally. Finally I have all four of you where I want you." The siblings started to huddle around each other, trying to protect one another. "All of you in one place, where I can finally destroy you." Leo got the gun positioned, ready to take his shot. "Where you will die knowing that soon, the world will be mine." The man started to build up a ball of lightning in his hands while the teenagers looked at him in defiance. "Any last words?"

"Yeah," Leo muttered under his breath. "See you later, Terminator." And he took his shot.

An invisible wave went off after the device emitted a muted electrical sound. The only telling sign that it had worked was the effect it had on the two people standing in its path. Though not the intended target, the girl called S-1 yelped in pain then collapsed to the floor after she was hit. On the other hand, the man also screamed in pain and fell to the floor, but his agony seemed to be twice as much compared to the other because of the wires sparking on his face as it shorted out.

Leo retreated back behind the barrels, unable to watch. The man may have been a bad guy, but he couldn't bear to watch him in torture.

After a moment had passed and when the room was silent, he peered out again from behind his hiding place to see what was happening. Because the girl in black was knocked unconscious, the electric cage was deactivated, and that freed the four teenagers. The oldest three, however, looked shocked and very lost. They searched around for an answer as they wondered what just took place and what had caused the sudden downfall of their enemies.

"Okay…?" Adam said as he stared at the two unmoving figures on the floor.

"What happened?" asked someone from inside the room who Leo couldn't see.

Chase shook his head. "I don't know. We didn't—"

The three of them – and even Leo – were startled when the man suddenly moved. With an angry grunt, he stirred and then struggled to get up. Despite being heavily weighed down by the pain that came from the blast, he rose to his feet.

Leo couldn't move. Shock only allowed him to watch.

The man in the black attire seethed as he looked around. He wasn't interested in the people in front of him anymore. Instead, he wanted to find the one who caused his humiliation and the destruction of his plan.

A pure, frigid sense of fear exploded inside Leo's chest when, in a matter of a few seconds, the man found him and was staring straight at him.

Losing grip of the EMP gun, Leo slowly got up and then bolted towards the exit. As he ran, he kept his eyes trained ahead, hoping that he would be fast enough to outrun the madman. However, his expectation of getting to safety unscathed was shattered when a cloud of dark mist burst at the gate then materialized into the man that was after him.

Leo skidded into a halt. Although they were still a few feet apart, he could sense the man's anger through his deathly glare. He found no mercy in his eyes as energy gathered into his arms, and he saw no regret in what he was about to do.

As his heart pounded madly against his chest, Leo backed away. He had to make it out of there alive. It would break his mother if he never came home again. However, before he could make another move, the man deployed the blast of energy, and the powerful impact threw him backwards.

"No!"

Sounds and color subsided all at once as everything within him failed function. There was pain, so much of it, for a moment.

Then, suddenly, there was nothing.

to be continued.