A/N: Hello, all! This is the chapter you've all been waiting for, the one that explains exactly what the heck is going on. Enjoy. :)
Special thanks to malfoyravenclow555, and Pink-Libra-Girl for reviewing the last chapter! I really, really appreciate it. malfoy, this chapter will answer your question. :) And Pink, thanks! I'm pretty proud of them. :D
Episode: Sort of Spike V. Spikette, but an AU set 2 months afterward where Kate's sonic scream nearly completely destroyed Chase's hearing.
Rating: This chapter is a solid T, guys. We've gotten to the dark bit.
Warnings: Violence, whump, angst. Nothing too terribly bad, but the villain's mean, just warning y'all.
Be the reason someone smiles today! :)
It feels weird typing that after a warning about how dark this is going to be. Oh, well.
Everyone had worked frantically, the entire week, covertly trying to figure out who they were up against, but there was nothing to find. The only hint was the one the villain had given them: That Donald should know them, if he thought about where he went to think. Donald had looked at it a thousand different ways, and still couldn't make any of it, and neither could Douglas.
Meanwhile, Leo and Adam couldn't help but feel guilty. Chase wouldn't have been on the mainland to be ambushed if they hadn't taken him with them. That made it at least partially their fault, no matter what anyone else said.
Adam sighed, checking his watch. It was an hour after he would usually eat lunch, and he'd barely noticed. None of them really wanted to leave the control center, hoping for news of one sort or another. The students had been very understanding, and Bree, Adam, and Donald had established temporary mentors and practice groups to keep them busy in the meantime. Donald and Douglas had each claimed a console, and worked in tandem to find any useful information, or plan of action. They hadn't come up with much, just surveillance camera footage of the abduction. Chase hadn't even seen them coming, hadn't had time to use any of the amazing abilities that could have saved him. It made Adam sick to see, his ridiculously thoughtful younger brother jumped, knocked unconscious, and literally thrown into the back of a plateless van. He never should have brought his little brother with him, put him in that position.
Adam knew he'd never forgive himself for that, not until they got Chase back safe and sound.
Maybe not even then.
At that moment, the map on Douglas's screen, the one up on the wall, flickered, fizzled, and died. Everyone stared silently at it for several moments in confusion.
"Localized power outage?" Douglas hazarded, almost shrugging. Donald opened his mouth to answer, but then the screen buzzed back to life, and an answer wasn't necessary. Because, standing on the screen was a well-known figure, easily identifiable as-
"Chase!" Bree exclaimed, echoed by rest. There the youngest bionic stood, looking more or less alright. His face was set, and his hair was shorter than usual. Instead of the civilian clothes he'd been wearing when taken, he wore something that looked something like his mission suit, a form-fitting jumpsuit made out of an unfamiliar material. It seemed almost to be made up of large, black, scales.
Donald's quick eyes noted the lines of stress and fatigue in his son's face, along with a lack of the lively spark of humor that usually lived in his eyes.
"Are you alright?" Donald asked, moving to the front of the group, so Chase could lipread better. "Are you hurt?"
Chase's mask of stoicism crumbled, and a lost look came into his eyes. "Guys..." His words were cut off as he flinched backwards, pain clear on his face.
"Chase!" Adam yelled, along with his siblings.
"Are you alright, Chase? Chase?" Donald nearly yelled. Douglas just stood, lips pressed hard together.
Chase stood there, eyes closed, not answering his family's flood of concern.
"Now, now," A suave voice spilled from off screen. "We talked about this." A handsome, middle-aged man strode on camera. His hair was thick and luxurious, a middle brown, and his eyes were also a warm brown, bright and lively. He was impeccably dressed in a dark suit and shoes. The man would have been handsome, if his face had been softer. As it was, he called to mind a well-dressed shark, predatory instinct oozing out of every inch of him.
Chase stiffened as the man approached, and, as they finally got a proper look at him, so did Donald and Douglas Davenport. Adam noticed that Chase never took his eyes off the man, and instantly hated the slimeball. Behind him, Douglas breathed a single word, full of loathing: "Templeton."
The man smiled, showing perfect, blindingly white teeth, too bright to be real. "I see you remember me. Good. I'm rather disappointed you didn't realize before." He almost pouted. "I even gave you a hint."
Donald closed his eyes, nodded resignedly. "School. Where we went to think. We went to school together."
"Bingo, Donald. Your children look confused, though. I'm hurt that you've never told them about me."
Leo looked at the man warily. He leaned over to Donald. "This isn't another dad/uncle/creator you forgot to mention, is it?"
Donald huffed an almost laugh, and Leo grinned a little in triumph. Donald had barely smiled since this whole thing had begun. "No, thankfully. Terrence Templeton went to school with Douglas and I. He was in our social circle, and his and our parents were great friends. We were close enough, one upon a time, that he was one of the original partners that helped to get Davenport Industries started."
"Indeed," Templeton hissed, expression suddenly murderous. "Then you betrayed me, and threw me out of the company."
Donald continued as if Templeton hadn't spoken. "Then he began to get unstable, proposing ridiculous and evil ideas. We had to dismiss him, and send him to get some help. He escaped from the mental facility his family sent him to, and hasn't been seen since. Until now." Donald took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, glaring at the screen. "What do you want, Templeton?"
Templeton grinned again, going from storm to sun in the blink of an eye. "Why, Donald," he said, jovially, clapping a hand on Chase's shoulder. Chase flinched, and Adam growled, older brotherly instincts roaring. He barely resisted punching the screen to pieces. Meanwhile, Templeton was going on. "I already have everything I want, as I already told you."
Donald remained calm. Barely. "Would you elaborate, please?" He asked, through gritted teeth.
"Of course," Templeton acquiesced, as if bestowing a great favor. "I wanted revenge on you, for throwing me out of the company I helped create. Then, I realized I won't live forever, and I began to look for an apprentice. While I was looking into the former, I found the latter. I discovered you, and your pet projects, your bionic children, and that one had super intelligence, with all sorts of delightful toys attached. I wanted it, so I took it, thus creating the perfect revenge in the process." Templeton tightened his grip on Chase's shoulder. He surveyed Chase with satisfaction, as though the boy were a particularly interesting piece of art. "And, of course, improved it, while I was at it."
Donald lost it. "Chase is not an it, Templeton! He's not a tool for your own gain, he's a person. And if you hurt him, I swear to you, I will hunt you down, and I will kill you!"
Templeton smiled, charmingly. "Then I guess you'll have to kill me," he said easily, completely unfazed by Donald's outburst. His expression shifted again, to one of slight disgust. "Did you really name him Chase?"
"Yes, not that it's relevant," Donald growled back. "What do you mean, I'll have to kill you?"
"Because I hurt him," Templeton said, casually, as if discussing the weather. "He's not very cooperative, you know," he complained, slightly plaintively. "You didn't train him very well." Templeton shook his head. "Honestly, though, I guess I could a name like Chase from a man who doesn't really think about names, but just sticks his name on everything he invents. Chase, the huntsman, the dweller of the hunting ground, the hunt. Not exactly a good name for the smart one, huh, Donald? Much better for the fast one, I think." Templeton laughed. "Though, I guess it is an appropriate name now. You are, after all, hunting for him." He laughed again at his own joke. "Still, though, I think he could use a new name, now that he's mine."
"He's not yours!" Douglas yelled angrily. He was ignored.
Templeton posed- that was the only word for it- and tapped his chin with a perfectly manicured hand. "Something polished," he murmured, walking around to stand almost between Chase and the camera. "Something significant, for that brilliant mind of his. Nothing too exotic, though..."
Over Templeton's left shoulder, Adam could see Chase's set face, focused on giving nothing away. But to someone who knew him as well as Adam did, fear could be seen behind those eyes, and a tiny smile, almost as if Chase was saying, 'can you believe this guy?'. Adam knew Chase was brave, stronger than he seemed, and through his terror for his little brother, Adam couldn't help but feel a rush of respect. It was amazing that Chase could be anything but terrified, could be thinking about anything but himself. Then again, that was precisely what made Chase so special, beyond the bionics. It was just who he was.
"I've got it, I think," Templeton proclaimed, after a moment. "I'll call him Tancred, thoughtful one, well thought, learned counsel. Far more fitting, for someone of his talents." He turned back to the camera, grinning, bouncing on the balls of his feet, gleefully. "I like it."
Then, all at once, his face grew stormy, and Donald checked himself. He'd been about to scream about how this madman couldn't just abduct and rename his son, and treat him like a tool to be used. He could see Templeton was getting serious, and the man was dangerous. He was thoroughly mad, of course, but he was also brilliant. He was insane, not stupid.
"Now, to business," Templeton said silkily, dangerously. He took a couple purposeful steps towards the camera, taking up more of it, suddenly huge and imposing. "You'll be seeing Tancred again, but he's not yours anymore. He's mine. I own him. I put a block on his chip, picking and choosing which abilities I let him control, and which I control." Templeton pulled on a chain around his neck, and pulled out a sleek, flat box. He pressed a button on the side to reveal a remote control, grinning nastily. "As I said, he's mine."
Douglas cursed quietly beside Adam, and Adam found himself agreeing. His little brother had been turned into a tool, a thing to be used, and his soul screamed in outrage.
"He's a handy little tool. Still, Donald, he was broken when I got him. Damaged. He couldn't hear."
It took a moment for the past tense to sink in.
"Hang on," Douglas interrupted, pushing past his brother to stand at the front of the group, hope igniting in his eyes. "You restored his hearing?"
Templeton sniffed. "Of course I did. He'd hardly be much use without it. Say hello, Tancred."
"Hello," Chase said, quietly, slight smile tugging at his lips despite the situation, "Tancred."
Templeton narrowed his eyes angrily, but he pulled himself together. "Yes, I restored his hearing. But with a failsafe, of course." He tapped the remote control hanging around his neck. "I can take it away again, with the click of a button. Or, I can use that clever super hearing against him. One click of a button, one tone sent to receptors I put in his ears," Templeton said, softly, finger hovering over a button, "and boom, instant debilitation." He pressed the button, and Chase's face crumpled. He slammed his hands over his ears, and curled into himself, slowly dropping to the floor as Templeton looked on with calm satisfaction.
Adam broke, screaming at Templeton to stop, to let Chase go, calling the monster every name he could think of. He wasn't alone, either, no one in the room with him able to stand by and watch Chase in such terrible pain.
Finally, finally, Templeton released the button, regret and disappointment covering his face. He sighed sadly, like a little boy whose toy has been taken away. "As I said, Donald, not very well trained. But as you can see, I've found a way around it. Tancred will do as I say, or suffer the consequences. And you won't try to get him back, either, or I will make sure both you and he will regret it. After awhile, of course, Tancred will understand that my way is the right one, and he'll help me willingly." Templeton smiled, widely, as if he hadn't just kidnapped and tortured a member of the family he was talking to. Or maybe, because he just had.
"You're mad," Bree said, speaking for the first time. "Absolutely mad. What makes you think Chase will ever help you?"
"Yeah," Leo chimed in. "He'll never help you."
Templeton smiled, mysteriously. "Of course he will. It's just a matter of time." He rolled up a sleeve briskly, to check an expensive gold watch. "I think that's all for today." He nonchalantly stepped over Chase, still curled in a ball on the floor. "Goodbye, Davenports. Remember, no interfering, or someone will face the consequences." He waved, cheerfully. "Ta!"
The screen went dark, and a heavy silence fell on the room, crushing the hearts of everyone in it.
A/N: -timidly pops up- I, um, like reviews, if you have a minute. -calmly hides behind a handy shield to escape the projectiles the Chase fans are presumably hurling my way-