(Re-uploaded this chapter because of errors that needed fixing and additional notes. ;) )

Ha! We're on time today!

Many thanks to ABEDFAN, LRW, Dirtkid123, Hithere, AlienGhostWizard14, and Casey Storm for the reviews! To the guest who left a prompt, I wanna thank you, too!

This is AlienGhostWizard14's prompt. AGW said flu season on the island, and that's what we have! They also mentioned about Queen from day two entry, about having her in another one-shot, so Leo's puppy is also here!

I had a lot of fun with this one. Thank you so much for this prompt, AlienGhostWizard14!

Onto day ten!

/day ten/

Prompt: (from AlienGhostWizard14) flu season in the island

Featured LR character(s): Leo, but his family's here, too

"Sick Duty"

A faulty programming made by a sickly Douglas causes the majority of the bionic populace on the island to get ill with flu symptoms. As the only healthy one out of his siblings, it only means one thing for Leo.

In preparation for the flu season, Donald and Douglas had decided to put something in place to protect the bionic kids living on the island from getting sick, and the method they had agreed to use to accomplish that was through a chip update. Adam had suggested that they just take everyone out to the mainland so they could get vaccinated like he and his siblings did the years before, but his father and uncle said that their solution would work much better. The program that Douglas would create, unlike the vaccine, only had to be introduced to their systems once. It would set their immune systems to quickly identify the pathogen and destroy it. It should also cause their bodies to adapt to new strains of the illness that would come in the future.

However, before they could begin creating the program, Donald had to leave for a business trip to London, so Douglas was left to work on it and execute it by himself. That wasn't a problem at first, but then the younger inventor got sick and became his own source material for his research. Still, he was able to finish the project in time. He uploaded the program into a drive then sent it to Chase, telling him to do the chip update by themselves since he couldn't come there.

The next day after he received it, Chase, along with Adam and Bree, told the students about the update and its purpose. Then, he set the program to instantly install via the capsules once the students go to sleep that night. He did the same for his, Adam's, and Bree's.

It seemed to have gone successfully in the beginning, but then as the day went along, it became evident to everyone that something had gone absolutely wrong.

Fevers developing suddenly. Chills. Body aches. Runny and stuffy noses. Sore throats. Coughing.

One by one, the bionic teens living in the island fell victim to these symptoms—and Leo was there to watch it all.

He alerted his stepfather that night about it (oddly, his calls to Douglas' phone automatically went to voicemail), and his stepfather promised to look into it once he finished with the business deal he was making that day. The phone call was cut short, and it pushed Leo to make the decisions on his own. Since he was the only one unaffected by the apparent plague, he was left to take care of his siblings and the other students. It was easy—for the first fifteen minutes. He realized quickly that looking after thirty ill teenagers was an overwhelming task.

He had called his mother and his grandmother for help, and they had agreed to come over with the food and medicine they needed to help out the others. However, because his mother was out on another state to do a report and because his grandmother was in a faraway city with his grandfather, they told him that it would be a while.

So, for one whole night, Leo had to tend to all of those who were sick by himself.

After finishing his rounds at the capsule dorms, Leo, with Queen trotting happily by his side, walked inside the quarters with a yawn. He took a quick look at his siblings as he made his way to the kitchen. All three of them still looked sickly. The peace that was usually on their faces as they slumbered was gone. Chase looked like he was in discomfort, Bree looked tired, and Adam looked sad.

Leo was irritated with the job that was suddenly heaped upon him, but deep down he did feel sorry for them. For everyone, really. The other students were terrified by this new experience. His siblings, on the other hand, were obviously taking a serious beating from the illness. It had been years since he had last gotten sick with a flu, but he still remembered how much he hated it, so he could empathize with his patients.

Taking out a big container of the chicken soup he brought in from the mainland last night from the fridge, he transferred it to another bowl then popped it in the microwave. Once he closed the door and set the time, he saw Queen in his periphery. He looked down at her. He smiled. "Are you hungry, too?" he asked.

There was a light groan. Then, "Leo?"

Leo looked up. "Hey, Chase," he said, grabbing the thermometer from the table as he walked towards his brother's capsule. "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible. Still," he said, his voice hoarse. He looked around. "Has Mr. Davenport or Tasha come yet?"

"No. You're stuck with me," Leo said. He stuck a plastic cover on the digital thermometer then held it in front of Chase. Chase obligingly took it then placed it in his mouth. When the device on his hand beeped, Leo grinned lightly. "100.6. That's an A plus, Chase," he joked as he pulled off the cover from the thermometer then disposed of it on the small plastic bag strapped on his makeshift utility belt.

"Ha ha. Funny," Chase said.

"Come on, dude. I'm just messing with you. I know you're not feeling good. Just trying to lighten you up," Leo said with a smile as he moved on to Bree, who was also waking up. "What about you? Any better?" he asked his sister while the thermometer was reading her temperature. There was a beep. Then, "Nope. You're not either."

"I'm hungry, Leo," Bree said as Leo checked Adam's temperature.

"I've reheated the soup. I'll get it together for you guys in a bit," Leo said after he finished Adam's reading.

Bree and Chase languidly stepped out of their capsules while Adam decided to stay in and go back to sleep. Bree stopped as Queen sat down in front of her, looking up at her hopefully. Bree smiled. "Hi, Queen," she said, her voice soft but raspy. "Leo, can I pick her up?"

"Yep," Leo said as he transferred the soup into two big mugs, leaving some for Adam in case he decided to have some later. Grabbing two teaspoons and three packages of saltine crackers from the cabinet, he proceeded towards the couch where his brother and sister reclined then gave them both their brunches. "Eat up," he told them.

"Chicken soup again?" Chase said as he looked down on his food with dismay.

"Yes. Again. That would make you feel better," Leo said. "I also got some medicine from the mainland last night. That should help."

Chase groaned but then started to eat.

Meanwhile, Bree absently worked on hers, keeping her face close to the steam because she felt cold.

Leo's phone then rang. Seeing the name on the screen, he decided to step out into the pool area, as far away from the quarters so as not to wake Adam up. "Big D?" he said, answering the video conference call. He frowned when he also saw Douglas, covered up and looking to be in a worse condition than his siblings.

"Leo? Hey. How's everything going?" his stepfather asked.

"Terrible. Everyone's very sick. A few of them threw up on me last night. Spin and Bob were frequent flyers on that plane," Leo said with a sardonic grin.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Donald said. "I'm really trying to get back as soon as I can, but I won't be able to leave for two more days. Has your mother come yet?"

"No. Not until this afternoon. Grandma's not coming until tonight," Leo said.

Donald sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry, okay?"

Leo waved a hand. "It's…fine," he said. "Have you found out yet what's going on?"

"Yep. There's a fault in the programming. Isn't that right, Douglas?" Donald asked his brother pointedly.

Douglas narrowed his eyes. "Have you ever tried making a program when you're delirious from a fever? It's not as easy as you think, you know," he said, his voice also hoarse. He coughed. "I was just trying to beat the clock, okay? I didn't want the kids to get sick."

"Well…"

"I know, okay? I know. You don't have to rub it in my face every time," Douglas told his brother unhappily before coughing again.

"Alright, guys. Come on," Leo said. Looking at his step uncle, he asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

"No. It still feels like a tractor's sitting on top of me," Douglas said. "But I already sent Donald a copy of the program, and he's supposed to fix what's wrong with it. Then he'll send you the updated version to upload when it's ready."

"What is wrong with it?"

"Instead of setting everyone's immune systems to identify the symptoms and attack it, the program set their bodies to mimic the symptoms," Donald said.

"So, these are just symptoms that they're experiencing, but they don't have the flu virus."

"Exactly."

Leo took a breath then sighed. "Alright."

"It's an easy fix. They should be well once I get it done," his stepfather told him.

Leo nodded. "Okay."

"You think you can still handle it?"

Leo smiled wearily. "Yeah, I'll try," he said.

"Alright. We'll let you go. Call me if a problem comes up," Donald told him.

"Will do," Leo said. Then, he hung up.

As soon as he did, he heard Adam yell, "Leo! Bree's not letting me hold Queen!"

There was a yelp from the puppy.

"Adam, back off!" Bree demanded.

"Careful! You guys almost made me spill my soup on me!" Chase protested.

"Soup? How come I don't have one?" Adam asked. "Leo? Where's mine?"

Leo sighed. "Alright, alright. I'm coming," he said, jogging back inside the quarters and inwardly hoping that help would come sooner.

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