"It's not that we don't believe you; it's just that we don't care about the things you say." – Bree, Principal from Another Planet

Episode: 3x21, "First Day at Bionic Academy."

Worst. Day. Ever.

That's all Leo could think as he stood in the training room. He probably shouldn't be there – everyone else was either asleep or getting ready to – but he needed something to distract him. Now.

He knew the drill. He'd get upset about something stupid, and then he'd cry, and then he'd cut himself like some stupid emo kid. Leo let out a yell as he fired a laser orb at a target. He wouldn't let himself be that stupid, weak, pathetic –

No. He had to stop. The more he thought those things, the more he'd believe them. The more likely the Voice would return.

Leo loathed the Voice.

And here I thought we had something special.

Leo scoffed. "Great. So much for keeping you out of my head."

His heartrate increased. It wasn't because of the exercise.

He'd already heard the Voice. He knew it was a losing battle.

But like hell was he going to let himself fall without a fight. He hated the Voice, he hated cutting, he hated having the draw flowers on his body to keep them away. He hated being weak.

At last, you admit it.

Leo didn't bother answering. He'd gone to therapy three times now. He knew that the Voice wasn't real. That it was just another part of himself, the part of him that apparently wants to ruin his life and watch him sink into a pit of despair. Not this time.

Another laser orb was thrown. It missed the target.

And that's why you're a student and not a mentor.

Another yell of rage, another laser orb.

It doesn't matter that you've been with them for years. That you know how they train.

Leo turned and punched a dummy's head right off.

You're just weak little Leo.

"Shut up!"

A laser orb was flung across the room. It didn't do any damage to the wall.

Careful. You might damage the island again. That's all you do, you know. Mess things up for everyone else. Endanger the lives of others.

"That's not true!" Leo punched the dummy across the room, as well. It hit the wall, but did no damage to it. The dummy was permanently deformed, though.

Even your siblings and stepfather think that. Why else would they think you damaged the island on purpose?

Leo shook his head. Everyone had been scared of drowning and taken it out on him, that was all. They didn't think he was stupid enough, dangerous enough, to purposely knock the island off of its foundation.

Face it. You don't belong here. You don't even belong with them.

Leo inhaled sharply through his nose. He pushed back the tears that threatened to fall. He would not fall, he would not fail. Not this time.

But he knew the Voice was right. He didn't belong on the island. Everyone had already formed their friend groups. None of them would include him. And that would've been okay if Leo was part of Adam, Bree, and Chase's group. But they had split up a bit, too. And even when they were together, their mentor uniforms made the separation between them and him all too clear.

He didn't belong anywhere.

Leo hated the Voice.

He wondered how badly a laser orb on his skin would hurt. If it would scar. If it would get rid of the Voice. Maybe even get rid of him.

"No," Leo said, trying to focus. "No. I'm strong enough. I can beat this."

He focused on the one good thing of the day: Spin standing up for him. Despite everyone – every single person in the area – hating Leo and being mad at him, Spin had still spoken up. Reminded everyone that Leo had just made a mistake.

"A huge mistake."

"Shut up!" Leo fired a laser orb in a random direction.

"Leo?" Said teen froze. "What's going on?"

Leo turned and tried to get rid of the deer-caught-in-headlights look he was sure was on his face. He faced Chase, forced a grin. His fingers trembled.

Now look what you've done.

Leo's brow twitched, but he kept his response to the Voice quiet.

"Hey, Chase!" Leo said, a little too loud, and little too high-pitched to be casual. He tried again, careful of voice pitch. "I'm just, uh, doing some training. Yeah. Gotta perfect my bionics if I ever wanna be a mentor." His arms twitched, but he wasn't sure what pose to do, if he should do one at all. Should he show off? Make a super strength joke? He needed Chase to leave. Now.

Chase walked into the training room until he was right in front of Leo. "Are you okay?"

Leo caught Chase looking at his arms. He had to do something, and quick.

"Dude, are you seriously scanning me?" Leo asked, despite knowing the negative answer. "I told you, that is an invasion of my privacy."

"Lift your shirt up," Chase demanded.

Leo raised his eyebrows. "You feeling okay? 'Cuz I hate to remind you, but we're brothers. Which means this –" he gestured to both of them, "can't happen."

Chase let out a huff of irritation. He reached for Leo's shirt. "Just let me see."

Chase was able to lift the shirt up to Leo's chest before Leo backed away. The shirt flopped back down. "Hey, personal space!"

Chase let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, now that that's been checked." He looked Leo in the eye. "You need to talk to someone."

Leo backed up further and threw his hands up in the air. "Pssh, what're you talking about? I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?"

"I heard you with my bionic hearing," Chase said, crossing his arms. "You were talking to yourself. More specifically, you were arguing with that voice in your head, weren't you? Which means, you're not okay, and you need to talk to someone."

"Chase," Leo started slowly. He placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "You might be a genius. But sometimes you're wrong." He patted Chase's shoulder and turned to leave. "I'm going to bed now. G'night!"

Chase grabbed onto his arm before Leo could get away. "Not so fast." He turned Leo around so they were once again facing one another. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until I'm sure you're okay."

Leo went to make another silly comment but the joke died in his throat. He didn't have an urge to hurt himself, and the Voice had long since disappeared again, but the truth was, he didn't trust himself to be alone. He didn't want to go back down that path of despair and depression again. Why was he trying to get away from someone who'd noticed his struggle?

Leo nodded jerkily and let Chase lead him away. Knowing that Chase's bionic hearing would pick it up, he whispered under his breath, "Thank you."