A/N: Okay, it's been awhile since I lived in this area, so most of this chapter was written based off of memory. (With some aid from various tourguide books, encyclopedias, and travel websites.) So I apologize ahead of time if I portray Kentucky in any way inaccurately. It's my favorite state, so I hope not.

Fun fact: You can actually follow Chase's route through the U.S. if you want to by using Google Maps. All of the places and towns that will be mentioned during the journey are real and shouldn't be too hard to look up. Most of the locations are also places that I have personally visited (and some are places I have lived), so I tried to portray them as accurately as possible.

girlbird3: Yay, another fan of Flash and AOS! Yes, they're my favorite shows too! As far as Andy, I won't give anything away yet, but I will say that maybe you're right to hold just a little bit of suspicion towards him...
Dirtkid123: Oh my gosh, I never even realized that. O_o Wow, now everytime I write for Andy, I'll be hearing Baymax's voice in my head! XP Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. Thanks!
Stardust16: Hmm, never thought of it that way before, but I guess you're right. I'm glad you like Andy so much. That means a lot to me, so thanks! Also, it might be a little longer before it's revealed what happened to the rest of Chase's family. Saving that surprise for later...
Sarcasmisinmyblood: Thank you! Answers are on their way, I promise. (Yeah, I know, I've been saying that for awhile now... but honestly, they're coming!)
BluePeach007: Aww, thanks so much! Yeah, you can't complain about keeping readers in the dark when you have us dying of curiosity about Alexa in your story. Guess this is good payback, huh? ;)
PurpleNicole531: Sorry, still over 2000 miles between Chase and Mission Creek. :( Yes, "battle mode" Andy is a bit different from what Chase has seen of him so far, but more will be revealed about that later. Thanks so much!
BasketballQueen: Wow, I hope your laptop works again soon. And don't worry about the "late" review, I'm just glad you're enjoying the story. Yeah, I've gotten strange looks many times when getting too wrapped up in books/fanfics. Good thing everyone already knows I'm weird, they've learned just to deal with it. ;) (P.S. Don't worry, Katrine, I won't be giving Chase a love interest in this story. I know better than to incur your wrath!)

Thank you everyone for all the support! VERY much appreciated! Now, on with the story...

"Stars can't shine without darkness."

Chapter 6: The Incident

It turned out that the unknown attackers stopped the train along a stretch of track that ran just south of the Kentucky-Ohio border. They decided that their best bet was to catch a bus at the nearest possible location. Chase risked activating his GPS long enough to determine that there was a nice sized town, called Vanceburg, not too many miles West of their current location. Unfortunately, that town also held a detention center and Chase made a quick decision to avoid Vanceburg. They instead headed directly south through the forested hillsides with the idea that maybe any pursuing forces would expect them to head west.

Walking through steep, heavily wooded terrain with one badly wounded teen and another kid who has very short legs would be a difficult task even under normal circumstances. The fact that these two had to keep off of roads and out of sight as much as possible made things even more complicated. Andy helped cut down on their walking time by super-speeding them every so often, but they were afraid of wearing out his battery too soon. Stopping to let him recharge right now was out of the question.

With all of this against them, it was long after dark before they reached a small truck stop on Interstate-64. It had an old-fashioned diner and a large area for truck parking; the sign advertised it as the Smokey Valley Truck Stop. The boys didn't have any money for food, but at least they still had a few rations in their backpack. Andy went inside the diner alone to question the locals about where to find a bus station. They were advised to catch a bus at Mount Sterling and take that into Lexington where they could transfer to whichever bus they chose. This sounded like a feasible plan and they set out at once despite their obvious exhaustion. Keeping a good distance between themselves and the interstate, they followed the road all the way into Mt. Sterling.

It was decided that Andy would use their little remaining money to purchase the bus tickets and a few necessary supplies. Chase was supposed to keep away from the bus station until the time of departure so he would run less chance of being recognized by anyone. Unfortunately, that meant he had quite a bit of time to kill.

Chase found a relatively quiet part of the city to walk around in, hoping that the stroll might help him relax a bit. He kept the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up so his face wouldn't be as easily seen; plus, he figured that keeping the gash on the side of his head hidden would help him avoid any unwanted explaining. For the same reason, he also buried his hands into his sweatshirt's front pocket so his bandaged left hand remained unseen.

As he walked along, he couldn't help noticing how beautiful the crisp, cool air felt. It was so different from anything he was used to back in Mission Creek, or even on the bionic island. Too bad he was experiencing it all for the first time under such terrible circumstances. Maybe he could come back later on with his family to take a vacation in this area - if he ever saw his family again. He couldn't shake the bad feeling that something terrible had happened to them.

His thoughts wandered back to that bizarre dream he'd had while on the train. Was it really only a dream? Or was it an actual memory? He had the scars on his hand exactly as they'd been in the dream, and it also explained how he ended up in the warehouse unconscious. Also, there was a familiar feeling about the events on the rooftop, as if he'd already lived through all of it before. Was it possible? That would mean...

No, I couldn't have. I couldn't have killed my brother. I would never even hurt Adam; there's no way I shoved him off a roof. Did I? Is it possible Spike came out and attacked him? Was someone controlling me, like with the Triton App?

Unfortunately, he knew that neither of those explanations were possible. If he was under the control of either Spike or the Triton App, he wouldn't be able to remember anything that happened during that time. But he remembered all of the events from that fight so clearly. So what was the real explanation?

Adam's words came back to him. "It doesn't matter. You're dead now anyway." What did that mean? Did it have anything to do with the FBI chasing him? What did he do?

A nearby sound caught Chase's attention. It sounded like several pairs of sneakers walking along a sidewalk. He would have simply dismissed the sound as commonplace if it hadn't been for the way they were walking. There was a stealthy quality to their step that made it stand out. The noise was coming from the next street over and Chase decided he'd better check it out. As he was cutting through a backyard on his way towards the sound, he wondered again why his bionic senses seemed to be so much more sensitive than before. It was like being in a constant state of hyper-awareness. He'd been trying to adjust to it ever since waking up in the warehouse, but sometimes it was hard to ignore.

Deciding to put this to good use, he tried focusing on the direction the sounds were coming from in an effort to determine what he was about to walk in on. He could hear five distinct sets of footsteps and, when he focused hard enough, he could even hear the differences in the way they moved and their whispered voices. Even from this distance he could smell the traces of previously smoked cigarettes. As he rounded a corner, he finally spotted the group standing in the shadows of an alley across the street. It was dark enough in there that Chase probably wouldn't have noticed them without the aid of his heightened bionic vision. He also could see that two of them were holding large, heavy objects.

The reason for their suspicious gathering became apparent when a lone figure began strolling down the street. He was a small man carrying a bag of groceries and whistling to himself as he walked. The man looked like he was on his way home from work, probably the night shift at some nearby business. He would be passing in front of the alley entrance within a few dozen yards.

Chase didn't want to reveal his bionics out here in public. Not only would that draw a lot of attention to himself, but he also couldn't be sure exactly how human-and-bionic relations stood at the moment - especially if Andy had been correct in stating that the bionics were all gone. Choosing a less confrontational approach, Chase crossed the street and began walking towards the man from the opposite direction. They passed each other when the man still had quite a nice distance between himself and the alley entrance. Chase reached out, grabbed the man's arm, and whispered quickly in his ear.

"There are some people waiting in the alley to rob you. You should probably hang a left at the next corner."

The guy glanced down at him in surprise, but Chase turned and started walking away immediately. Apparently deciding to be safe rather than sorry, the man did as instructed and was soon gone from sight. Unfortunately, there wasn't too much opportunity for Chase to feel good about the near-save.

He heard their approach and spun around quickly to meet them head-on. The gang circled around him menacingly and the leader stepped forward. Up close, Chase was surprised to see that they were merely teenagers. The oldest was probably only seventeen. Despite their young age, however, they were all rather large and muscular.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" the leader asked angrily. He was probably only sixteen, but he was over-sized in both height and muscle. He also looked about as smart as a brick. Chase decided to file that information away in case it came in handy in the immediate future.

"What are you talking about?" Chase asked. "I didn't do anything."

"We saw you talking to that guy," the gang leader said. "You warned him off, didn't you? You have any idea how long we staked out the street to make sure we get him right after he get off work?"

Although it was hard, Chase managed to restrain himself from correcting the guy's grammar. He also had a feeling these delinquents had only put, at the most, a few hours' preparation into this attempted robbery. It was painfully evident in the way they acted and carried themselves. They were common bullies trying to take the next step into actual crime. Still, he'd prefer to avoid trouble at the moment.

"Look," he said. "I'm not trying to start anything here. Why don't we just go our separate ways and let this drop? Besides, statistics show that you have a large chance of ending up in prison if you continue to rob people like this. I mean, you don't exactly have a well organized group here."

The gang leader smirked and took a step closer. "Oh, is that right, Mr. Know-it-all? You think you're some kinda genius, don't you?"

"Actually..." Chase was tempted to say something about his IQ level, but he could almost hear Bree's voice in his head saying how dumb that would be at the moment. He decided to try for a new tactic. "Hey, I'm sorry if I ruined your evening, but I really have to be getting out of here."

"Yeah, it isn't gonna be that easy."

Oh, come on. It's like I'm a magnet for trouble today.

"Hey, if you want money from me, I don't have any. And I really need to get to the bus station, so..."

One of the other gang members suddenly stepped up behind Chase and shoved him forward a few steps. The gang leader took another step forward, boxing him in. The other teens formed a tight circle around them. Chase knew there wasn't much chance of avoiding trouble at this point. He also knew that he needed to get to the bus station before his ride left. The best option right now would probably be to make a run for it.

That was when the gang leader took things a step further. He shoved Chase back into the other gang member and grabbed a metal pipe from the ground. "Alright, Shorty, I'm gonna teach you not to mess with my gang's business."

Chase felt something strange growing inside him. It was a feeling he wasn't familiar with and he didn't know how to respond to it.

Take them down. They need to go down.

Chase shook his head, trying to clear it of those weird thoughts. He knew the majority of conflicts could be resolved without fighting; there was no logic in solving one's problems with violence. Besides, these guys were just kids.

No, they are my enemies. They need to go down.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" one of the gang members asked, noticing the odd expression creeping onto Chase's face.

Take them down.

Reaching out suddenly, Chase grabbed the gang leader's wrist in his good hand. The burly teen was visibly suprised by the strength behind the grip. Twisting the thug's arm around, he forced him down onto the sidewalk. One of the other gang members rushed forward to intervene, but Chase saw him coming and kicked out at him. His foot connected with the guy's ribs and sent him reeling backwards. Two more closed in and Chase had them on the ground before he even fully registered their approach. Most of the gang members were simply young punks looking for an easy mark and they quickly scattered as soon as they realized that this target wasn't going down easily. Less than a minute elapsed before the gang leader found himself alone on the sidewalk with Chase standing over him.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, look I don't want any trouble," he said in a pleading voice. "Just let me get out of here, okay? I won't bother you anymore."

Chase looked down at the frightened teen and felt like someone had just punched him in the gut.

What just happened?

The kid took off running at full speed and was soon gone. Chase didn't care. He wasn't even paying attention to him anymore. He was trying to figure what had come over him. The emotion that had taken him over was something completely foreign to him. Still, he had a feeling he knew what to call it. Aggression. It was pure aggression. He had no personal experience with it because usually, whenever it was needed, Spike would come out and be the aggressive one. Out of the two of them, Spike was the one who always carried the fiercer emotions such as hatred, anger, and violence. But Spike was definitely not to blame for attacking these teens. Chase had been in complete control the entire time. He'd intentionally tried to take down the gang members. He'd wanted to take them down, and that thought scared him.

Why? This isn't like me. What's happened to me?

He glanced across the street and noticed a digital clock in the window of an electronics store. According to the device, he had less than a few minutes before his bus would leave. He took off in the direction of the station, but the incident was not likely to be forgotten. Whatever had happened, Chase was determined to prevent it from happening again.

Nova Base
Central Facility

Cowan walked hurriedly down the corridor. The bright lighting and harsh white walls contrasted badly with the overall atmosphere of the place. He couldn't help thinking that a dim hallway with holes in the ceiling would better convey the feeling he got when walking through here. Reaching the end of the corridor, he rapped his knuckles on the metal door and opened it as soon as he heard a voice respond.

This room was also brightly lit with rather sparse decor. A large viewing screen covered one wall and displayed an overhead view of the entire complex, which was a low, sprawling concrete building nestled atop a forested hill. Seated at the expensive desk was the person he came here to speak to.

With as respectful a salute as he could make, Cowan walked hesitantly over to the desk and stood before it. He cleared his throat and began, "Leader, we've received word from Typhon Squad." He paused and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "There were some complications."

The Leader turned in his chair and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Complications? Could you be more specific?"

Cowan absent-mindedly began wringing his hands together behind his back. "They, uh, lost the target."

The voice that responded was eerily calm. "How?"

"The bionic subject managed to escape while Desmond was running an interrogation. The target was aided by a young boy who we believe is also bionic. Typhon Squad lost track of them in the mountains. However, we picked up a report of a teenager and young boy entering the bus station together in Lexington. We immediately sent another team to check up on that."

The Leader nodded thoughtfully. "Do we have a description of what he looked like?"

"The target?"

"No, the other one."

"Our agents didn't get a very good look at him. They said he's young and small, but apparently very strong. Our agent at the railway yard reported that he also has superspeed."

"Keep me informed. I want to know as soon as our agents locate the target. As for the other one, I believe he may be more of an asset than a problem - if my deduction is correct." The Leader waved his hand dismissively and Cowan quickly backed out of the room. As soon as the door shut, the Leader stood up and paced over to the viewscreen. He pressed a button on the control panel and the screen switched to show a satellite view of the Lexington area.

"If that is you out there, I will find you. Whether you want to or not, you are coming home."

A/N: After focusing on Chase for so long, I thought it'd be nice to switch perspectives and give you a peek at what's going on behind the scenes. (Although, admittedly, it's just a small peek for right now.) You'll be finding out more about the Leader soon. In the meantime, thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

P.S. I finally remembered to go back and add an OC warning at the beginning of Chapter 1. Sorry for not including that before now.