Another update as mentioned! Thank you to EmeraldTulip, Susz, and Guest for the reviews.

Chapter Ten.

The four heroes just stood still for a minute. Leo was looking with wide eyes at Chase, Adam had a nervous grin on his face, Douglas was looking at the ground, not liking what was going to happen, and Chase just glared daggers at Leo. Finally, Leo couldn't take it anymore. "Chase, look, man, it's not what you think. I was—" Leo began, but was cut off by the irate boy genius.

"I gave you a direct order to stay here and keep a look out. But, you abandoned your station. And we were all attacked because you couldn't do your job." Pausing for a second, Chase walked over to the slightly younger boy. "What were you thinking?"

"Look, Chase, it's not like that," Leo said calmly though he had narrowed his eyes. "I was standing here, just like you said. But then two of the soldiers appeared behind me, so I went and hid."

"So you ran away. That totally makes up for bailing on us," Chase deadpanned.

At this, Leo got closer, his calm voice gaining volume. "It was more complicated than that. You assigned me alone, and I didn't want to be ambushed two-to-one. Even if I would have beaten them, the noise would have attracted more soldiers, and I would have been destroyed. I just did what I thought was best."

His eyes narrowing more, Chase spat out, "You thought wrong."

Hearing this, Douglas looked up, shocked at what his nephew said. "Chase, stop."

His words fell on deaf ears though. "I knew you weren't cut out for this. Because of you, Bree, Daniel, and Mr. Davenport are off fighting a battle we could have been prepared for. All because you are a coward."

Silence fell on the four. Then Adam spoke. "Ooh, you did not just go there." Everyone looked at the oldest sibling in annoyance, before staring back at the argument before them.

"Well, at least while you were thinking about ways I failed, I was actually doing something important."

Chase snarled at that, but also raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I found the data circuit-terminating equipment. I severed it, so the chances of Krane successfully uplinking anything to the satellite is probably not as good anymore," Leo responded.

"You really did?" Douglas asked. "How did you know what it was?"

"I've seen it somewhere before," Leo told him, but then bitterly, he said to Chase, "But it doesn't matter to you, does it? 'Cause I disobeyed you, and that's all you're ever going to see."

"That's all I'm ever going to see because your actions have consequences."

"I didn't sign up for this team to be your lapdog! You're forgetting the fact that I'm aware of the things you're aware of, too. I can think like you do. I'm fighting for my family like you are. But no matter what I say, no matter what the truth is, you will always think I'm wrong, or that I'm the bad guy. You've fully convinced yourself of that, even when you don't know anything about me."

"I know you always use the good that you do as an excuse for your insubordination."

"Insubordination? Dude, do you even hear yourself? You sound just like Krane! You're starting to act like him! You're treating me like I'm one of your soldiers, like I have to act as you tell me to when you snap your fingers because that's what I'm supposed to do. You have a plan, and everybody else needs to fall in line."

"I'm not like Krane," Chase argued.

"You may not be evil like him, but you sure are getting pretty good at making it clear that I'm disposable, just like he did with S-1." Still fuming but working hard to maintain his calmness, Leo said, "Don't worry. Next time you assign me to a post and I get outnumbered, I'll stay there, just as you say. Then maybe afterwards, when things go south for me, you can have the honor of telling my mom that I finally got offed. That's what it takes to prove to you that I'm on the same team, right? As long as I don't come back from being almost dead because your dad and your uncle took pity on me and do something to save my life, that's good, isn't it?"

Chase glowered at him, his jaws locked and brows furrowed in anger.

"Look, guys, let's just chill about this, alright?" Adam intermediated. "As intriguing as this is, Bree, Daniel, and Mr. Davenport are still out there, probably getting whooped. We don't have time for this, so let's go."

Chase, though still brimming with words to say, decided to let it go for the moment and follow his older brother as he jogged away.

Douglas was also set to follow, but a thought caused him to stop momentarily and turn towards Leo.

He was unsure what to say, and Leo was able to tell through the thoughtful look on his face. "I know," he said quietly to the inventor. "Good job, follow orders, be more understanding. Mr. Davenport already told me." Then he began to walk away.

Douglas stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around, he said, "Good job, follow orders, but follow your instincts more. Be patient. Be smart. It will be over soon." He left after that.

. . .

Daniel panted, laboring hard to catch his breath after that last feat. Putting his hands on his hips, he gazed at the unconscious forms of the bionic soldiers scattered across the yard in disbelief. "I don't know about you, but I'm starting to really dislike the sight of bionic teenagers," he told his sister.

Bree smirked. "You're a bionic teenager, Daniel," she pointed out.

"I know. It's awful," he said, making his sister laugh. "That speed tornado was a good idea, though. How'd you come up with that?"

Bree shrugged. "TV show."

Daniel grinned, pointing at her. "Ah," he said. Bree only grinned.

"Have either of you seen the rest of our team?" Donald asked as he joined the two, his EMP blaster drawn up after encountering a group. He looked around the area and asked, "Where are they?"

"I haven't seen Adam since the soldiers started showing up," Daniel said, waiting to see if any soldiers would suddenly appear.

"And Chase disappeared when we took down S-3 and his goons," Bree added.

"Oh man, where are they? We need all the help we can get," Donald said. Aiming his gun, he fired it at two oncoming soldiers, successfully disabling them.

"Guys!" the three heard from their right. Turning, they saw Adam, Chase, Douglas and Leo heading towards them.

"There you four are. Where have you been?"

"Sorry, we had to deal with a...situation," Chase said, giving a look to Leo.

Donald noticed that. "What do you mean by a..." He wasn't able to finish, as ten more soldiers appeared around them.

Adam's shoulders sagged as he sighed. "Okay, can we call for a timeout? 'Cause this is just too much. I haven't even had dinner yet," he said.

"Uh, how are we gonna handle this?" Daniel asked as he stared wide-eyed at the teenagers drawing closer.

"Seven of us, ten of them." Chase smirked. "Shouldn't be too bad, right?"

Before anyone could answer, the ten began to attack. Each of them was lost in a flurry of defending themselves for the next few minutes. When everything had settled, they were the only ones left standing though their hearts and nerves pounded madly at the near misses.

"We really have to shut this whole thing down," Donald said as he gazed at the unconscious teenagers scattered around them. "Children shouldn't be forced to live like this."

Douglas smirked. "Well, they probably won't be," he said. Donald's brows furrowed in curiosity.

"The satellite will be going active in three minutes. We have to hurry," Chase reminded them.

"Right. It's this way." Then, Donald led the group, holding onto a desperate but improbable hope that the area would be as relatively empty as when he and his brother left it earlier.

However, that was shattered by the sight they came to when they arrived. Standing in between them was a barricade of bionic soldiers, poised to defend the satellite and Krane against anyone who would come too close. Unseeing, merciless eyes watched the seven of them as they stopped and took in the situation.

A cold smile pulled on Krane's mouth as he gazed at his enemies. From where he stood behind the laptop, the satellite ready a few feet behind him, the intruders' chances of succeeding was non-existent. "After the things that all of you have done, and it still came down to this," he said. "Isn't it pathetic? You nearly stopped me, and now the world is minutes away from falling into my hands."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Chase said.

"No? Look around you," Krane said, gesturing at his army. "You're outnumbered. What hope do you have in stopping me? Even if you can successfully get through them, by then, it would be too late." He looked at their faces, one by one, savoring the satisfaction of seeing how much they loathed him. However, the sight of an unexpected person in their camp temporarily took away the smirk on his face. "You lived," he told Leo. No matter, he thought even though he was deeply puzzled. "You should've died. It would have been much better compared to what's coming."

Leo's hands balled into fists, his jaw locking as he remembered everything that Krane's actions have put him and his family through.

"Keep 'em at bay!" Krane commanded his soldiers as he finalized the program. "There's only one minute left."

Though the teenagers took a stronger stand out of compliance to him, Douglas, Adam, and Chase only looked at each other, not even the least bit inclined to make an effort to stop Krane. Seeing their reactions confused Donald, Daniel and Bree. "Guys, what are you doing? We only have a few seconds left! We need to get through to the satellite!" Donald said, the EMP blaster drawn up in front of him.

Chase crossed his arms as he defiantly turned his eyes towards Krane. "It's not necessary," he said, and it called to Krane's attention.

Douglas snickered as he saw the look on the bionic madman's face. He sighed contentedly before saying, "You're so busy telling us what almost didn't happen that you overlooked the fact that it already did." He nodded at the laptop. "When was the last time you checked your connection?"

The pure confidence on their faces caused Krane to doubt the surety of his plan, and he was moved to consult the systems involved.

As a shadow of defeat began to descend on Krane's face, Chase smiled a sly smile. "The equipment you need to uplink the Triton app's been destroyed, Krane. By the time you get a replacement, the satellite will be out of range – not that we'd let you get another chance," he said. "Give it up. You've lost. It's over."

Rage trickled then poured torrentially into Krane as he was forced to accept the unexpected failure of his plans. The timer was at zero, and the program was ineffective due to the absence of its necessary complimentary part. "No!" he thundered.

"Yes," Douglas said.

Krane fumed as he glowered at them. "Let. Them. Through," he commanded his soldiers in a low, stern tone. As the crowd parted, allowing the seven to have a clear access, he watched his enemies with fury. "You have fooled yourselves into thinking that stopping me will be easy."

"Well, the satellite was half of it. Our chances couldn't be as bad now," Adam replied.

His statement only went ignored. "Whatever you do, the world will always hate you. You should've seen that it's never gonna be worth saving," Krane said.

"To you it isn't, but to us it is. They may not like us, and that may never change, but we're not blind like you to the reality that there are people who would accept us for what we are." You don't get it, do you? I don't care what your kids are. Chase's heart sank in regret as he remembered what Tasha had said and as he thought of what Leo had done for him and his siblings. "There are some who even see us as people who are worth their lives," he added. He shook his head. "We will never let you hurt them."

"So is that what this is, then? You view yourselves as beacons of hope? Don't you realize that they can turn around and rip everything away from you?" A foreboding chuckle bubbled from Krane as his anger was overturned by an idea. "Then maybe that's what I will do. Take away their light." He looked at Adam, Bree, Chase and Daniel. "If I can't control the world, then I'll control their heroes. That way they will have no choice but to submit to me."

Then, he clicked on a button in his laptop.

Leo screamed in agony when an unseen force suddenly hit him. He felt as if he had been hit on the skull by a sledgehammer. The pressure that continued to throb within his head caused him to collapse to the ground, clutching his head as he became oblivious of anything else but the pain.

"Leo!"

"I don't know what you think you're doing, Krane," Douglas said defensively after watching Donald come to Leo's side. "If you're trying to put Adam, Bree, and Chase under the Triton app, you might as well forget it. Their chips are blocked. They won't be affected by your updated program. It's not gonna work."

Krane stared at them, dreading for a brief moment that for the second time that night, he had failed. Then, something caught his attention that caused him to smile victoriously. "Oh, I think it just did," he said before nodding at the person standing in the middle of their group.

Following his gaze, Adam, Bree, Chase and Douglas looked. The familiar face that was once filled with courage and determination was now empty. His eyes were vacant, and his ears were unhearing.

"No," Bree breathed out, staring in horror. "Daniel."

Daniel looked up, and all they saw was the neon green glow.

to be continued.