Skylar took and deep breath and let it out, trying to clear her head. She had a crushing feeling that the time for the truth had finally come. She was sure that when she turned Scarlett down, Scarlett's next order of business would be to reveal her secret to as many people she cared about as possible. She would rather Chase heard it from her.

"Chase," said Skylar. She balked at how quiet her voice sounded, but she forced herself to continue. "Chase, you might want to sit down. I have some things I need to tell you."

Chase looked suspicious, but he took a seat on the ground. Skylar sat beside him.

"So?" asked Chase. "What is it?"

Skylar took another calming breath, then began.

"Well, I suppose I should start by telling you I'm not really from Caldera."

Chase opened his mouth, but Skylar held up a hand to ask him to be quiet. "Please, Chase. Let me talk, you can ask questions when I'm finished."

Chase nodded, and Skylar continued with her story.

"I'm not actually from any alien planet, really. I'm from your planet. Earth is my home. And I'm not a superhero, I'm bionic. That's what Scarlett meant by me belonging with you; you're my kind. The Bionic kind."

"But that's impossible," said Chase, unable to help himself. "Who gave you your chip?"

"Your father did," answered Skylar. "Or, your uncle, or whomever he is to you. His name was Douglas."

"Douglas? Why?"

"Because my father told him too."

Skylar ran her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "Okay, I guess I need to start somewhere else. Maybe my family. I was born to a couple that thrived on power. A woman in love with power and a man driven for it. My father manipulated everything and everyone in his life until he could get his hands on every weapon, blueprint and army in the world. That is, until he was killed." Skylar looked up at Chase. "Until you and your siblings killed him."

Chase was confused for a moment, then realization dawned on his features. "Krane?" he asked, incredulous. "Krane was your father?"

"Yes," said Skylar slowly. "He was."

Chase clasped his hands in front of him, thinking quickly. Skylar could see a cloud of emotions on his face, but she couldn't read any. For a moment, they both just sat in tense silence. Then, Chase spoke.

"So Krane gave you bionics," he said slowly. "He got Douglas to give them to you; you were part of his bionic army, and somehow we didn't round you up with the rest. Once his control on you was over, you came here and became a superhero."

Skylar nodded.

"But that doesn't make sense," said Chase slowly. "You were under the control of the Triton app; the others all lost their memories when they lost Krane. How do know what happened?"

"Because I wasn't under the control of the Triton app. I wore green contacts to look like one of the masses, but my chip was never uploaded with the app."

Chase looked the most shocked at this news then he had been all day. "So you just followed Krane because you…believed in what he stood for? Did you want to take over and rule the world, too?"

"No!" exclaimed Skylar. "I never wanted any of that, I just didn't know any way out! Krane didn't use the Triton app on me because he thought it limited my potential for forward thinking. But he used other means of manipulation." Skylar shuddered. "He used them on my mother too, once we got deeper into his plan and she suddenly realized this life wasn't for her. He kept her working for him until once day he decided she wasn't pulling her weight, and he got rid of her."

Chase looked horrified. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be," said Skylar coldly. "She was an awful woman. Neither of my parents were the kind you would look back on fondly."

Chase slowly turned to look up at the ceiling above them. "So he pushed you into it," he said. Skylar nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Chase continued speaking aloud to the ceiling of rocks. "And when we killed Krane, you were free, but you didn't come to the academy."

Chase lowered his head to observe her. He studied her face closely for a second, then frowned. "But I don't recognize you. Were you there when we raided the warehouses and took out Krane?"

Skylar nodded. "When Experion found me and brought me to Caldera, he and Scarlett helped me change my features. All the Calderan girls look the same, and they wanted me to blend in and be safe."

"So who were you under Krane?"

Skylar took a deep breath. "My father called me S-1."

Chase sat up in shock. "S-1? You tried to kill my brother!"

"And you, and your sister, and your other brother," answered Skylar calmly. Chase was looking incredulous. "Chase, I know I've done some terrible things in the past, but I hope you know that I am truly sorry for all the pain that I caused you. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but I hope you will try. I'm on your side now."

Chase bit his lip and nodded, but he didn't answer right away. After a moment he began to speak again.

"So, Scarlett. What does she want?"

Skylar took the change of topic as a hint to move on to their present situation.

"She and Experion were part of the Opposition, the younger superheroes challenging the older Calderan leaders. I was part too, but I wasn't in it as strongly as they were. I suppose they saw me as a threat to their cause, and they staged a fight with the Annihilator that put me in the hospital for good until your father, Donald Davenport, came along and managed to repair my chip."

Chase nodded slowly, letting the information sink in.

"So I suppose," continued Skylar. "That Scarlett wants me to rejoin the cause and help them fight."

"And if you don't?" asked Chase.

"If she doesn't," said Scarlett. "Then all of her little friends will meet a very unfortunate end."

Skylar and Chase both jumped to their feet. Turning, they saw Scarlett come back into view, leading Experion and three other prisoners.

"Go on in, 'Earth's greatest heroes'," said Scarlett, smirking at the bound Bree, Kaz, and Oliver. "Join your friends in their cage."