Yay, I'm back! :D And holy cow, fifty reviews? You guys are amazing! :D Thanks for all the support! I'm glad you like the story so far.

Though to clarify something for MrMuddyPaws1022 (thanks for being such a thorough reviewer!) and anyone else who might be confused: The prologue takes place in 3020 ATE (so 3020 years after the Treaty of Evesent), and the first chapter takes place in 3033 ATE, thirteen years later. The Treaty of Evesent is only important as a marker for the formation of the Galactic Alliance of Planets (who had 3000 years of peace until the First Bionic War) and as a way of measuring years. Hopefully that makes a bit more sense. ^^; Let me know if it doesn't. I know it's a pretty crazy timeline! Hey, it's sci-fi, so lots of things have to change.

And for all of you who are freaking out about finding the foreshadowing, don't worry, I'd be shocked if you spotted it. You'd literally have to have psychic powers, because you have no clue what will happen next. Or you could stalk me and pin me down until I tell you the whole story, but I don't advise you do that. ;) This chapter's got even more foreshadowing, so in the future if you read this after reading the entire story, I bet you'll be able to spot it. But as of the time I'm posting this, you won't be able to find it, I'm sure.

This is the last fully-light-hearted chapter, seeing as how things really pick up at the end of chapter three. So enjoy the last look into Bree's everyday life! I don't own Lab Rats, but I do own anything you don't recognize. Enjoy!

Chapter 2 soundtrack: "Touch the Sky" by Julie Fowlis.

* * * Chapter 2: In Whom You Can Confide * * *

When Adam held out a pink slip with his name written in crisp cursive at the top, none of us were surprised. "So apparently it's against the rules to take a nap in class," he scoffed. "What a stupid rule."

"You say that every time you get in trouble for it," I pointed out.

"It's still stupid."

"I'm not waiting around for you. I'm going home to pack."

"You'll be going without me," Chase said. He leaned against his locker. "The engineering club is meeting in ten minutes."

"Nerd," I said, coughing into my hand.

"Make fun of me now," Chase said, glaring at me. "But someday you'll be flying in a ship designed by yours truly."

"Yours truly? I don't know anyone named Yours Truly."

"Adam . . ." Leo tried to say.

"Forget it," I interrupted. "It's not worth it."

Chase shook his head. "Adam, we can head home together later."

"Looks like it's you and me again, Leo," I said.

"Fine by me. You're not going to race home without me, right?"

"Mm, probably not."

Chase clapped Leo on the shoulder. "Good luck." He turned to walk down the hall. Adam began to walk with him, but Chase just shoved him towards the cafeteria where detention took place.

"All right, Leo, I think there're some things I should show you," I said.

"Uh oh, that doesn't sound good." His eyes widened.

I laughed. "Don't be so jumpy. Come on." We left the school through the large double doors. "I honestly love the days when I can walk home without Adam and Chase. But now I've got you."

"I'm . . . sorry?"

"No, no. Like I said this morning, you're not as annoying as they are. At least, not yet."

"Aw, you like me." Leo smiled, then suddenly it faded. "But, uh, you know, not like . . . gosh, that's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant. And ew!"

"We're really becoming siblings now, huh?"

"Yup, it seems that way. So, sibling, how would you like to see where I go when Adam and Chase aren't around?"

"You'd really show me?"

"Yeah. Would you like to go?"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "What kind of place are we talking about?"

I grabbed his hand. Without another word, I began speeding down the street. Colors blurred together as I ran the familiar path. Leo gripped my hand and screamed. It took several seconds to get to our destination. When we did, I stopped and let go of Leo. He bent over and gripped his knees.

"Don't do that again without warning me!" He rubbed his shoulder. "You nearly pulled my arm out of its socket."

"Don't be such a crybaby. Now, shut up and look."

"Why are we . . . oh!"

The cliff we were standing on overlooked the whole town of Creek. Yellow trees blended together and here and there houses peeked out through the leaves. The school was visible from our spot, as was Mr. Davenport's mansion outside of town. The blue-green waves of the Menetic Ocean could be seen on the horizon. Soft grass coated the cliff. Behind us was a long mountain range, covered in some of the few green trees on Mission.

"This place is beautiful," Leo said.

"Yeah. I love it up here. I've never taken anyone else to this spot; you can really only get up with super-speed."

"Why are you showing me?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe because . . . I think you can appreciate it. Adam would say something about the yellow trees looking like caramel candies, and Chase would probably try to tell me about the type of grass we're standing on. I just like it because time seems to stop up here. Up here, I'm not bionic or different or a freak. I'm a part of the world. Nothing more."

I pulled off my backpack and tossed it aside. I walked up to the edge of the cliff and sat down with my legs hanging off of it. There were about a hundred meters of air between my feet and the ground below the cliff, but I didn't care. Leo sat down beside me, but he sat cross-legged a few meters back.

"You're right," he said. "It's not something you can really think about."

"It's so normal. Nothing's trying to be something it's not." I paused. "That probably didn't make any sense."

"It . . . sort of did."

I pulled up my leg and rested my chin on my knee. The wind brushed against my cheeks. It was so freeing up here. I closed my eyes and sat there with the smell of grass all around me and sun warming my face.

"I think this is the happiest I've seen you since we met," Leo said.

"Yeah. This is one of my favorite places in the galaxy. Probably only topped by the Bionic Convention."

"And you're leaving for that in the morning, right?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"So, what's up with that? This whole convention thing, I mean."

"They have it every two months in this giant hotel-ship in the Falken System. Bionics from all over the galaxy gather together to play games and have contests and go to seminars. The scientists talk about the future and the latest advances in bionic technology and stuff. The talks aren't as much fun, but it's really great to meet people who are just like us. They have super-speed races that I go to every time."

"Sounds fun."

"Oh, it is. We didn't go last time because you guys were still moving in."

"Sorry about that."

I shrugged, pulling up some blades of grass and letting them fly free in the wind. "We don't go every time. But it really is great. There's a lot of training, but they find a way to make it fun. Even the safety stuff for missions."

"How dangerous do these missions get?"

"You'd be surprised. The galaxy might not be at war anymore, but there are still bad people out there. Bionics cooperate with others in their system to deal with local trouble. Like policemen or something. We're the only ones on Mission, but there are a few on Welker—you know, the next planet over."

"That's pretty awesome. You guys get to defeat the bad guys. You're like superheroes or something."

"We like to think of it that way." I smirked. "But, like I said, it's not easy. People get hurt all the time."

"It's still pretty awesome."

"You seem genuinely interested in all this."

"I'm getting thrown into this crazy world. I might as well learn about it."

A daisy swayed beside my wrist on the ground. I plucked it and started stroking the purple petals. It felt good that Leo really cared about learning about me. Most people wanted to "observe" me like I was some kind of freak. It got old quick. "It's a pretty crazy life."

"Plus, if I ever get bionics, I'll know how to handle them."

"Ah, so there is an ulterior motive." I frowned and shook my head. "Ugh, I'm starting to sound like Chase."

"I could see myself beating up a few bad guys. Maybe knocking someone out with super strength."

Leo fake-punched the air. He yelped suddenly and grabbed his bicep, cradling his arm to his body.

I laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Great going, champ. But trust me, getting bionics isn't a fun process."

"Do you remember getting yours?"

"No. I've had them all my life. But I've seen other people get them. The younger you are, the easier it is to do, and then they can grow and adapt with you as you get older. That's why so many bionics are teens and kids. But the scientists are wary about giving bionics to the wrong people—you know, after the whole 'Krane and mysterious traitor' thing. So in order to get bionics, you have to go through a grueling training process. And if you pass that, you get the surgery."

"That's not the only way people get bionics, right?"

"No. If you're injured, and your parents can afford them, they can be used to heal and possibly enhance the parts of your body that need it. Some people aren't even fully bionic—they'll have a bionic limb or eye or something like that. And then there's the guinea pigs."

"Do I even want to know what that means?"

"Probably not. They're test subjects whose families get paid a lot when they're experimented on. It can be questionable." I furrowed my brow.

"Wouldn't it be easy to fake all that, though?" Leo asked. "I mean, if you aced all those tests and still had evil desires in mind—or turned evil later on—then the scientists couldn't do anything, right?"

I sucked in my breath. "Not . . . necessarily."

"Really?"

"Bionics can be removed. So if it's discovered that you're misusing your abilities, the scientists can actually take them out of you."

Leo's eyebrows came together and his eyes went wide. "That doesn't sound fun."

I exhaled slowly. "Oh, it's not. It's only happened a few times in the history of bionics, I think. It's a surgery, the same way they put bionics in. But taking them out isn't quite as easy. There can be pretty awful side effects. Nerve damage, paralysis, burns . . ." I trailed off. "Chase could give you the whole list. Long story short, it's awful. We don't misuse our bionics. And they check up on us to make sure we're not."

"That makes sense. We don't need another maniac like Krane running around again."

"Yeah. Very true."

My hand went to the back of my neck, and I drew my fingers across the spot where my bionic chip rested under my skin. I looked over at Leo. He was staring out over the city, joy flashing in his eyes. Admittedly, I hadn't been too excited about getting another brother. But after a few months with him, he wasn't so bad. It was nice to have someone a little more normal in the family. Because let's face it, Mr. Davenport wasn't exactly normal. Leo and Tasha were great additions.

"How much can I trust you?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Huh?"

"I'm trying to decide whether I can tell you about our Scientist's Fingerprint or not."

"What in the galaxy does that mean?"

I laughed. "The Scientist's Fingerprint is basically slang for the 'fatal flaw' in a bionic system. It's actually pretty funny that they haven't worked it all out yet. A lot of newer systems don't have them anymore, but some still do. You see, each scientist designs bionic systems in a different way. No two systems are the same, but pretty much every one designed by the same scientist has the same flaw. We call it the 'Scientist's Fingerprint' because it's unique to the person who designs and installs it."

"They don't learn from their mistakes?"

"Oh, they do. But when they fix one mistake, there's always another one. The more scientists who work on a system, the less likely there will be a Scientist's Fingerprint. Plus, like I said, they've worked them out on most newer systems. But they still pop up. It's something that can't be fixed without completely redoing the bionics." I shrugged. "I guess no one's perfect."

"So, you guys have a Scientist's Fingerprint?"

"Yup. Adam, Chase, and I all have the same flaw."

"Tell me, tell me!" Leo leaned closer, a grin sliding up his face.

"Telling someone your Scientist's Fingerprint shows a lot of trust in that person. It's supposed to be a big secret. If it got out, our enemies could easily use it to defeat us. Promise you won't tell anyone!"

"I swear," Leo said. "Now, tell me!"

Why was I doing this again? Maybe because Leo was my brother now. I felt he should know our darkest secrets. Maybe someday he could protect us with this little bit of information. After looking over his scrawny body, however, I realized that was unlikely. Whatever. He still deserved to know.

"You know those electric stunners?" I asked.

Leo nodded, his eyes locked on me.

"They don't affect bionics as well as other humanoids—we have a special resistance. It takes a much higher level to stun a bionic than it takes to stun a regular person. That's also true for Adam, Chase, and me—unless they put it against our neck. If someone were to press a stunner to the same spot on our necks where our chips are, they could seriously damage our bionic systems—and kill us if it's up high enough. The lower levels won't do any major damage, but it will still knock us unconscious."

"Yikes. Those things are dangerous enough as they are."

"The sudden jolt of electricity applied directly to our chips can completely fry our systems. And remember, you can't tell anyone about this. It's a big secret. I figured you'd find out sooner or later."

"I promise I won't say anything. And nobody had better come at any of you with a stunner, or they'll have to go through me!"

"Thanks for the protection, buddy," I said with a chuckle.

"See, I'd make a great bionic hero. Could you make sure to mention that to my mom?"

"Leo, I told you, it's not all fun and games. We have an important job to do. We save lives. Like last week, when we stopped that hangar bay fire. And we take risks. Like the fact that I chipped a nail while doing it."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

I narrowed my eyes and shook a finger at him. "Don't judge me. I'm a teenage girl; I have the right to be concerned about that kind of thing."

Leo shrugged and looked down the cliff. "Quick question: how do we get down from here?"

I laughed. "Oh, you're about to find out how much fun bionics can really be."

"Wait, what?"

I grabbed Leo's hand and sped halfway down the side of the cliff. Without warning I stopped with my feet planted firmly on the side of the vertical cliff face. Leo clung to my right hand, his feet dangling over the fifty meters of thin air. "Are you crazy?" he shouted.

"I've got you; don't worry!" I called, laughing above the wind.

My brown hair fell into my eyes and I wiped it away. The rest of my body might be defying gravity, but my hair still fell towards the ground. As Leo screamed and swung wildly in midair, I grabbed him with my left hand as well to give him more assurance.

"How are you even doing this?" he yelled.

"Mr. Davenport calls it wall-sticking. I guess this is cliff-sticking, though. Ah, gravity sucks, doesn't it?"

"If I wanted to float in midair, I'd turn off the gravity stabilizers in a ship. Put me down!"

I scowled. "You're no fun."

With Leo still clinging to me, I ran down the rest of the cliff to flat ground. Leo let go of me and jumped backwards, brushing himself off and glaring at me.

"Stop being such a coward," I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"You dangled me off the side of a cliff!" Leo shouted.

"I thought you had the bravery of a bionic hero. Sure didn't seem like it when Welker could hear your girly screams."

"I'll have you know that my screams are a lot less girly than they used to be." Leo bit his lip. "That sounded better in my head."

"Ya think?" I glanced back up the cliff. "Blast. I left my backpack up there. Be right back."

I charged back up the cliff before Leo had a chance to complain. My backpack lay in the grass where I had left it. As I scooped it up, I took one last look at the beautiful landscape in front of me. It was amazing every time.

When I got back down to Leo, he had his arms folded across his chest and a smirk on his face. "Ready now?"

"Yes," I replied. "Let's just walk home, okay?"

"Why? I thought you'd be itching to pack up for the convention."

"Hmm, true. How about this: we could race back home."

"What? That's not fair!"

"I won't use my speed."

"Still no."

"Three, two, one . . ."

"Bree!"

"Go!"

The trees blurred past me as I ran. No super-speed, like I promised, but I was still a fast runner anyway—if I do say so myself. Leo charged after me, screaming my name. I only laughed and ran faster.

It took just a few minutes to reach the base of the hill where the Davenport mansion was. The upward climb was harder, but I planted my feet firmly and pushed myself up. That slope was far from the hardest I'd climbed, even without my speed.

Once I reached the top of the hill, I leaned against the wall of the house with a self-satisfied smirk on my face and my arms folded across my chest. Leo came up the hill, one hand pressed to his side and his chest heaving. He took the time to glare at me before approaching the front door.

"There's a reason . . . gym is my . . . least favorite class," he gasped as we went inside.

"When they ask what ability you want, don't say super-speed. That run was nothing."

Even though Leo was behind me, I could still feel his glare boring into my back. I grinned and kept walking.

I grabbed a pelchan fruit from the bowl on the counter and tossed it lightly from hand to hand. "I'm going upstairs to pack."

"Okay. I'll just . . . pass out on the couch." Leo fell onto the furniture with a huff.

I stared at him for a second. "'Kay." I turned and headed up the stairs to my room. I took a bite of the pelchan fruit and savored the delicious juices filling my mouth.

Ten minutes later I was sitting in the center of my room with my suitcase open in front of me and various articles of clothing strewn across the floor. It was only an overnight trip, but I still wanted to look great. Pre-planning what to wear was so hard.

While I was trying to decide between a green blouse and a blue one, I heard Adam and Chase come barreling through the door downstairs. Someone ran up the stairs, and I was willing to bet it was Chase. Sure enough, the door across from mine opened and closed. Adam and Leo would probably play some game for the rest of the afternoon, but Chase liked to get his homework done right away. What a nerd, I thought as I folded the blue blouse and placed it in my bag.

It took me nearly half an hour to figure out my clothing for the first day. When I finally finished, I sighed and leaned back against the footboard of my bed.

"Echewi, ro lono galvus."

Oh no.

"Chase!" I screamed. "My bed went all weird again!"

No answer. I stood up with a groan and stormed across the hall. "Chase!" I yelled as I knocked on his door. "Chase!"

"Go away, Bree."

Who was he to tell me what to do? I opened the door and leaned into his room. Chase looked up from his computerized desk. His eyebrows rose in an I'm-busy-leave-me-alone kind of way. His homework assignment was pulled up on the holographic screen. Again, nerd!

"My bed is speaking in another language. Help!"

He sighed and stood up. "How do you even do that?"

"I don't know!" I said as we walked back to my room. "I just leaned back against it and it started speaking to me in . . . some language I don't know."

Chase knelt down beside my bed and pressed the computerized screen centered on the footboard. He started playing with the controls. "You changed it to Galvu. I told you that you should've taken Galvu in school."

"Well, I wanted to take Sanchi. Sue me!"

"Everyone takes Sanchi. That's boring."

I scowled. "Oswu."

Chase glared at me. "Would you like to call me another name, or do you want me to fix your bed?"

I sighed. "Fine, just hurry up."

Our beds were specially made to connect to and repair our bionics while we slept. Downstairs in Mr. Davenport's lab we had capsules, which served pretty much the same purpose, and we still used those for major system updates. But Adam, Chase, and I liked having our own rooms, so Davenport got us beds. The only problem was that every time I so much as touched the footboard, something went wrong with the computer.

"There," Chase said after a few minutes. "It's back to Basic."

"System restart?" the computer asked in a monotone voice.

"Not now," Chase muttered, swiping something off the screen.

"Thanks. Now, out of my room. I'm getting ready for this weekend."

"You're still not ready?"

"I almost am. I know you're already packed, Mr. Prepared. Why don't you go bug Adam? You know he's not even going to think about packing until five minutes before we leave."

Chase nodded. I pulled him up and pushed him towards the door. He pressed back with his feet and resisted me.

"You know, this is our first bionic convention in four months. Word on the street is that they're going to announce something big."

"I don't care. Out."

Chase grabbed my doorframe as I tried to push him through. Ugh, why were little brothers so annoying?

"Some say they'll finally be opening up a bionic academy."

"Uh-huh."

"Don't you know what this means?"

"We could send you away and finally get some peace and quiet?"

"More formal training. Better bionic protection for the galaxy. Thousands of heroes trained every day." Chase spoke in an announcer-like voice. Why on Mission was this so exciting to him?

"A place to send obnoxious brothers who can't take a hint. For the last time, get out!"

Chase finally stopped resisting me. He let go of the doorframe and stepped into the hall. "Fine," he said. "But I have a feeling this convention is going to change everything."

I slammed the door shut. Finally, some peace. I walked back to my closet to find another pair of clothes to wear on the second day of the convention, and, of course, some good running clothes for the races. I sat down on the bed and held up different shirts for observation. I couldn't wait for the next day!

How'd you guys like that chapter? Still a little slow, I know, but setting things up. I had to tell you all that before we could move on in the story, and now that I have, you're ready for the real action to begin. Stay tuned!

You know, a lot of you guys have mentioned Star Wars in your reviews. Yes, I'm a huge SW nerd (not as much as I used to be, but I am still am!), so expect quite a few references. Already slipped one in this chapter; you'll know where once you read the glossary. :)

Fun fact: This chapter was originally supposed to be Bree and Owen have something of a date by a creek, but I changed it because I wanted to put in more Leo. He doesn't show up a lot in this story, unfortunately, but he plays a major role nonetheless, and I wanted to show some of his importance here. How'd you like the sibling bonding?

As always, don't forget to leave me a review and say what you think. I love your feedback! See you soon on Chapter 3: Away From Normal. Bye!

Glossary and Pronunciation Key

Basic - The most common language in the galaxy and the primary language of humans. (Real life comparison: English. Notes: In fact, Basic is, aside from a few select words, identical to English. Also, this is a Star Wars reference, so credit goes to them for the name.)

Bionic Convention - A bimonthly gathering of bionic beings from across the galaxy to train and learn about bionics.

Falken (fawlk-en) System - A group of planets in the inner-rim and the space around them, most notable for the location of the Bionic Convention.

Galvu (gahl-vue) - A language commonly used in the galaxy.

Menetic (men-uh-tick) Ocean - An ocean on Mission.

Pelchan (pell-chun) fruit - A round, red fruit.

Sanchi (san-chi) - A very common language in the galaxy and often taught to high school students. (Real life comparison: Spanish.)

Scientist's Fingerprint: A "fatal flaw" of sorts in a bionic system unique to the designer of the system.

Welker (well-kur) - A planet in the same system as Mission.