A/N: Thank you so much to those who are still reading this! One more chapter to go! Let's see if we can get these guys safely out of Moon's Secret Lair/Super-Modern Mansion.

They only made it ten steps before the atmosphere in the shelter shifted; a background noise went silent. Catgirl froze and everyone else looked around nervously.

"Is that bad?" Carlos hefted the nozzle in his hand, ready to attack anything that moved with his flame thrower.

"Steady," Penny whispered to him, her gaze roaming the atrium. "That was the air being shut off."

They waited five...long...seconds.

"Can I use it now?" Carlos whispered.

"No," Kendall snapped. "You have to- "

Everyone jumped as a ringtone cut through the silence. "Don't aim it at me," Kendall groused. "That's just my phone."

"Sorry," Carlos said meekly, pointing it at the ground. "Who is it?"

"Hello?...Logan?"

Outside the Manor, surrounded by early morning mist and emergency vehicles of every type, Logan was yelling into his phone.

"What the hell were you thinking? How could you take Carlos? And how are you both not dead right now?!" He paused and then shook his head at Kendall's lame answer. "Yeah, but that means nothing when you leave me behind like an outdated textbook! ... You found James?...And he's okay?" Kendall sounded shaky and unsure of himself as he answered, triggering Logan's worry to spiral even higher. "Did...was it Anton? Did he...what - "

Thank God Kendall interrupted him before he had to ask anything else. The good news was that Catgirl had rescued James and bandaged his wounds so that he was somehow up and moving around. This information Logan quickly passed on to Mama Knight and Katie, who were anxiously standing by. Katie drew in close to get a distracted hug from Logan.

But Kendall wasn't done talking and the next part of the story blew Logan's mind. "Wait - what did you say? What about Camile?" As Kendall explained, Logan's mind spun in three different directions at once. It was true that he'd lost touch with Camile after tour had begun. She'd been mad because he forgot to remind her to mail in an audition tape, causing her to miss the deadline. It really hadn't been his fault, per se, but she wouldn't listen to Logan's very valid excuse: that BTR had been practicing non-stop in order to get ready for tour.

So. Apparently since they'd last spoken, she linked up with Atticus Moon and became his sidekick? Then she betrayed said slime bag...which meant that the amazingly hot Catgirl who had rescued him from the elevator shaft was none other than his on-again, off-again love: Camile.

"Logan, are you okay?" came Kendall's voice from his phone.

"Yeah. And she's there?"

"She's helping us take down Moon. He's turning the whole robo-mansion against us. It's gonna' be tough to get James out safely."

"And you, Kendall," Logan heard James say loudly from the background. "We have to get you out, too! And 'Los! And Penny! And...Catgirl! And the kitties!"

"Okay. Okay, James," Kendall said. "We will."

"Wow. Is he..." Logan began, not knowing how to finish the question.

"High on pain medicine? Yes," Kendall said emphatically. "But at least he can move now. Anyway, we're trying to try to get out of here as quickly as we can."

"That's why I'm calling," Logan finally remembered to say. "Katie strong-armed the law enforcement agencies into taking this seriously and we have about twenty squad cars, thirty cops and an entire SWAT team here. They're infiltrating from the back right now. Sounds like they're battling roving robot guards at the moment."

"Carlos would love to see that."

"Yeah. Anyway, they should be able to make it in and help you guys soon. I wish I could help, butI'm kinda' useless right now," he said, raising his arm, "with my arm in a cast and my sprained ankle in a boot and still on pain meds...Yeah, I know that's why you left me, but I still hate it, okay?" Logan had to pause a moment as his throat clenched up tightly. "Just... be careful. All of you."

"On it. Tell Katie she's awesome and tell Mom we'll be out soon. And call an ambulance if there's not one already. "

"We've got three out here waiting."

"Good. See you on the other side."

Logan snorted. "Like I'm not going to call you again."

"Good point. Talk to you later."

Logan hung up with a smile on his face, but it didn't last long. From the back yard came an explosion and shouts. He grimaced and glanced over at the man who seemed to be in charge. The large man dressed in SWAT gear and sunglasses was snapping orders into cell phone, unconcerned by all the noise. That probably meant everything was okay, but Logan was having a difficult time being chill about this with all his best friends still inside the mansion.

But he also knew Kendall. No matter how extensive Moon's security system was or how many circus freaks he employed, Logan would bet on Kendall Schmidt every single time.

Catgirl eased the door open to the first floor hallway, Kendall peering over her shoulder. Given that part of the basement had been a dungeon, he really wasn't sure what he would find on this level, but sedate, carved-wood paneling in dark tones was the opposite of what he expected. The walls were narrow and it seemed dim. Where were the flamboyant billionaire touches? Where was the-

Oh. There it is.

Farther ahead was a well-lit atrium with an enormous marble statue. From here, all Kendall could see was a gigantic marble butt seated on a marble plinth, but he pretty much knew whose butt that was going to be.

"Avert your eyes," Catgirl advised, turning back to look at all of them. "It's Moon as 'The Thinker.' Unfortunately, we'll have to go right past it."

"I wanna' see it!" Carlos said.

"No. You just think you do," Catgirl explained. "If you haven't used your flamethrower by then, maybe you should use it for target practice."

"Really?"

"Hell yeah. Least we can do," Kendall said, enjoying the excitement in Carlos' eyes before turning to Catgirl. "So we have to get all the way across without touching the floor?"

"Yes. If anything hits the floor, it sets off alarms and traps, depending on where you are. And the front door is even worse. So, no touching the floor because I really don't want to swim in this suit."

"Swim?" James asked, dread in his voice.

"Only if we touch the floor," Kendall replied, looking back to check on his friend. James' eyes were unfocused and blank, hopefully because of the pain meds and not because of pain. "Remember, buddy, we are World Champions at The Floor is Lava. We got this." He turned to Catgirl. "We once went an entire week without touching the floor."

"It was awesome," Carlos said dreamily. "We only gave in because Mama Knight was so annoyed with the furniture being moved all the time. It was a new record for us."

"Perfect," Catgirl said. "Then follow me."

Just as they had said, the boys were amazing at the Floor is Lava. They followed Catgirl as she leapt from bureau to chest of drawers to side table to overstuffed chair with little problem. There was only one section they had to use rope to swing across. Everywhere else, there were plenty of furniture options up and down the long hallway. Some of them creaked and cracked and groaned under their weight - especially with James and Penny sticking together. But they held up.

James, who was the least mobile, also had the longest legs and the longest reach of everyone. He was mostly able to step from one side to the other, just needing help to balance. But every movement hurt more and more the longer they went and every impact, no matter how small, jarred his healing wounds. After twenty minutes, his torso was on fire and Penny was starting to worry.

"I think we need a break," she called ahead, one hand pushed against James' chest to keep him leaning back on the wall. The rectangular end table they were sharing was barely big enough for both of them.

"You got it," Catgirl called back, not relaxing her position a bit. From the top of a chest-of-drawers she had a great view of anything coming from any of the eight doorways leading into the hall. So far, all was quiet and she hoped it stayed that way.

Back down the hall, Carlos was standing in a slim, wooden chair and eyeing the dresser beside him.

"Just wait, Carlos," Catgirl told him. He nodded but looked antsy, shifting from one side to the other. Somehow, his sprained foot didn't seem to be hindering him at all. Kendall was the next one, sitting on a long, slim table. He was studying the controls on the slim chainsaw slung over one shoulder. Farther down, James was standing on an end table, Penny just in front of him, looking up at him worriedly. How much more could he take?

James let his head fall back against the wall, eyes closed, breathing shallowly. Penny could see his vest flashing alerts: Blood pressure low. Heartbeat high. Administering pain medicine...

"No - not now," Penny whispered to the vest, but it was too late. James jerked and groaned, sliding down the wall, his weight falling forward against Penny. She pressed back, trying to avoid irritating any injuries as they went down to their knees. The table was barely big enough to hold them both. "I'm sorry, darling, but it will help with the pain." After a few more breaths, she let him slump forward and put his head on her shoulder. He was completely lax, but still conscious.

In seconds, Kendall was there, standing on the chair a foot away. "James?" He reached out to feel his neck then his arm. His frantic eyes flicked up to meet Penny's.

"The vest administered another shot. I think he's simply exhausted."

Kendall shook his head. "This is too hard. I wish we could have left him to rest but I don't trust Moon - or those carnies."

"Don't wanna' be left...behind," James slurred out.

"I know, buddy. Do you need a rest? " Kendall looked at Penny. "Maybe he should sit in the chair."

"I've got him," Penny insisted, enjoying James' heavy, solid weight against her. It was comforting, a reminder that he was here and alive. But when he went completely limp, she started struggling. "I think he's passed out," Penny said breathlessly.

"Let's trade," Kendall said as he knelt and pulled off the chain saw from around his neck, setting it on the back of the chair. "Just don't knock this off; the floor is lava."

Penny nodded as she shifted James to the side carefully, letting him move backward into Kendall's waiting arms. Kendall sank back in the comfy chair, holding James' head and shoulders against his chest. After a minute of detangling, he was able to arrange James' long legs over the side of the chair off the floor so they didn't hit the floor. James sighed and once again went limp.

Penny sat on the end table, rotating her sore wrists. "I really need to focus more on strength training," she berated herself. Her arms were shaking with fatigue.

"You did great," Kendall told her. Even though they needed to move, he forced himself to let James rest. There was already blood leaking from the bandage on James' thigh, staining his sweatpants. Kendall's gut churned. They really needed to get him to -

"Carlos - no!"

Kendall whipped around to see Carlos lunging to catch the nozzle on his flamethrower, grabbing it midair. Yes! He caught the nozzle, but his shoulder knocked a vase off a shelf above. It teetered...

"Get it!" Kendall shouted. "The - "

CRASH!

It shattered on the floor.

Immediately, a loud klaxon went off. "Shit. Everybody hold on," Catgirl warned.

There was a loud grinding, like an enormous chain being pulled through giant gears. The floor trembled beneath them, sounding so much like an earthquake that Kendall began to wonder if actual lava was on its way. Moon was definitely capable of it.

Catgirl yelled over the noise. "Moon - turn it off! You've done enough!"

But the noise continued. Kendall looked down and was unnerved to see water leaking out from under the walls.

SHHHHHHHUNK!

Kendall jumped as a thick steel plate fell in front of the doorway across from him. Up and down the hall echoed more SHHHHUNKs as plates fell in front of them. Now there was no way out of the hallway and the water was rising...

"We need to get to the other end before it fills up," Catgirl called down to them. "Hurry!"

"I'm sorry," Carlos called out as he splashed down in the ankle-high water. "I'm such a klutz!"

"We needed to move faster anyway," Kendall called out to him, shifting James so that his feet hit the inches-deep water.

Penny helped Kendall stand. "I don't know if the vest is waterproof or not."

"Hold him for a second." Penny held him up while Kendall bent and hauled James over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. It was going to be hell on James' wounds, but he needed to be out of the water as much as possible. "I've got him," he reassured Penny.

"Let's move," Catgirl called back to them.

Penny pulled out her laser gun and followed Kendall, keeping watch for surprises.

As they neared the atrium, it was appalling to see the large size of Moon's butt on the plinth, but they tried to ignore it.

"I wanna' burn it," Carlos warned as he waded by, the water up to his knees.

"No time," came the answer. "Kendall, can you move faster?"

Kendall grunted and ignored the question. James was heavy and walking against the pull of the water was proving to be a workout that only grew harder by the minute. Doubts were already beginning to surface in his mind, but he shoved them aside, just like he had the cool chainsaw that he didn't get to use. There was still a handgun in his waist holster and that would have to do. Whatever it took to get his friends out safely, he would do it.

Penny was the last to cross the atrium, and instinct told her to guard the perimeter. She turned and held her stun gun aloft, waiting for the attack. The ceiling was lofty here, high enough to allow for Moon's ridiculous statue and partially made of glass to let in natural light. The giant head was given a halo of light that was far more dramatic than it deserved.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Penny jerked to attention as a motorized whirring sound came from the atrium above her. "Keep at the ready," she called out.

Then a small drone helicopter appeared, about three-feet long, dropping down and hovering in the hallway. Penny cursed and aimed her stun gun.

"Carlos! Get your flamethrower ready!" Catgirl yelled.

Penny kept her stun gun trained on the craft, but it was able to dodge every pulse she shot. "I need back-up, please!" she cried.

"Oh, whatever shall you do," Moon's smug voice said in the atrium. "The water is rrrrising and my Galactic Drone Fleet is attacking."

"Galactic, my ass," Kendall snorted, but he was too winded to say more. His phone rang - probably Logan - but he couldn't stop to answer it. With James' torso set right across his shoulders, Kendall was gripping one of his friend's arms and behind one of James' knees. It was a struggle to try and keep him from shifting too much which might aggravate his wounds.

Penny dodged a thin laser-beam from the drone and aimed again. This time, she clipped its wing right as it singed her arm. "Bollucks!" The hole in her padded kevlar armor was perfectly round and extremely painful. If it hit any of the boys, it was going to do major damage.

By now, Carlos had splashed his way to Penny. "Flame on?" he asked breathlessly. He had carried the flamethrower over his head, trying to keep water from getting inside.

"Flame on, Carlos!" Kendall yelled over his shoulder, now trudging through thigh-deep water.

"Who-hoo!" Carlos yelled, pulling out the nozzle and switching on gas. Then he let a stream of fire loose that traveled all the way to the drone. It dodged and dipped to evade, but the steady stream eventually burned through the fire-resistant coating and into the wiring. In seconds, the propellers were stopped and it fell from the air with a dramatic splash.

"Another one!"

Penny and Carlos both aimed at the new drone, alarmed to see a third right behind it - and a fourth. Then Catgirl joined them, whipping out a blade that caught one of the new drones directly in its propellers, causing it to lose altitude and heave itself into a wall before dropping.

"Nice shot!"

Kendall kept trudging, not even trying to watch the fight behind him. He had his sights set on the door at the end of the hallway. It had been covered by a steel plate as well, but Catgirl seemed sure she could open it. So it was a far bigger concern to Kendall that he might not be able to breathe by the time they got there. The cold water had crept up to his hips and the drag of it against him and against James' dangling legs and arms was formidable. The walk became a slow slog, pushing through the water with every movement forward. Kendall's muscles were burning, his breath coming out in a pant and his arms shaking with fatigue.

Behind him, drones were being downed with victorious shouts.

"No, not the - "

"Whoops," Carlos said. "I guess that wallpaper is kinda' flammable?"

"Really?" Catgirl snapped. Another klaxon sounded and then the sprinklers located up and down the hallway started sending water down on them.

Perfect. Kendall was miserable with cold water sprinkling down on him, frigid water rising up on him and ten feet still to go. Ten hard, painful feet left. Was James' vest waterproof or would it short out with all the water surrounding it? It was too late to take it off, either way.

Kendall flung his wet hair out of his face just as someone was coming up behind him.

"I'll start working on the code," Catgirl said as she passed him. "The drones are all down."

Kendall grimaced an attempt at a smile. "Yes. We need that door open."

The others came splashing up behind as Kendall took his last steps to the door. By then, Catgirl had a panel open in the wall and was putting in a password. Then she whipped off her gloves to give it a thumbprint. "He tried to lock me out, but I put in a backdoor code." Kendall suddenly realized that she was kneeling on a table and the water would be over her head if she weren't. Carlos and Penny must be perching on something as well.

Kendall had to shift James up high enough that his face stayed above water.

"There's a chair, Kenny. Over here," Carlos called to him. Kendall agreed and slowly made his way over. Carlos and Penny helped pull him up and bought them a few more moments of safety from the water.

Just when Kendall had caught his breath, there was another grinding sound that came from the walls, or was it under the floors? It was impossible to tell, but the emergence of a wrought-iron grid from the ceiling made him curse loudly. "Hurry!" he ground out.

Catgirl was putting on her gloves. "There's a back-up panel he switched on because Moon's an asshole. Be right back." With that, she dove forward into the water, swimming to the bottom of the door.

Penny climbed over and onto the chair beside Kendall, checking James over before looking up. "The grid is lowering more quickly than the water is rising." Kendall nodded, shifting James, trying to fight back the panic rising in him. The grid was already three feet down, but with these tall ceilings, they had time. "Do you need a rest," she asked him.

Kendall shook his head, completely locked in. No one was getting James out of his arms until they were out of this goddamn hallway.

SHUNK!

The steel plate moved and lifted. The grid froze above them and the miraculous sound of water draining filled the air. Catgirl had saved them.

"Who-hoooo!" Carlos cheered. As soon as she appeared above the water, they all cheered. Then the door popped open and the remaining water flooded out through into the stairwell.

Kendall carefully stepped down with Penny's help and waded through the quickly-lowering water. It was a relief to stagger out into the stairwell and toward the comfy chair in the corner. He had no idea why someone would put a chair, an end table and a lamp in a stairwell, but it was very handy now. Penny and Carlos took James from Kendall's arms and settled him, eyes half-lidded, in the chair. Kendall winced and shook his arms out. He moved away a few steps to stretch out his back, using the exercises they had shown him at the hospital to combat his neurogenic stress. The deep-down ache was definitely back, but it was worth the pain to have James with them.

Kendall sat on the stairs with a sigh, resting his head in his hands. Nearby, Penny and Carlos murmured as they got James more settled. His vest was still keeping him warm, so it must be waterproof after all. Kendall wouldn't mind having one himself about now. Catgirl closed the door to the hallway, cutting off the noise from the sprinklers and what sounded like another drone approaching. There were several sighs around the room, but no one broke the comfortable silence for at least a minute.

The Servants Staircase wasn't what Kendall expected. He knew that old mansions had hidden rooms and doors to hide the service staff, even giving them their own stairways. But this spiral staircase of some dark metal alloy had wide, shallow steps and walls at hip height all the way up. Maybe it wouldn't be too hard to climb, but Kendall was too tired to try, much less figure out how to get James up them.

His adrenaline had fled, taking his anger along with it. Maybe they could just hide out here until the SWAT team made it inside? It wasn't a bad idea. From what he could see on the walls, there were no cameras in here. Moon wouldn't be able to watch them.

He glanced over at Catgirl to find her looking just as shattered as he felt. Diving underwater must have really taken it out of her. Carlos had sat heavily on the bottom step, shrugging out of his soaking wet shirt to squeeze out some of the water. Kendall decided to join him. A stream of water came out and splattered on the wet floor. It wasn't pleasant putting it back on and Carlos grinned at all the faces Kendall made.

"I hate being wet," he summed up.

"Not me," James said quietly from where he was nestled in the chair, eyes closed. Penny sat on the arm of the chair, leaning back and holding James' hand with hers. "Too many good memories from the beach and the lake house back home." There was a small smile on his face.

Kendall was still trying to find the energy to stand and begin the slog to the infamous Cat Room. Catgirl was thinking about Logan and how much she wished he was inside with them right now. She always felt braver when he was around.

Penny forced herself to think about her weapons. The water had soaked the grenades and gotten into the stun gun during those last few minutes. It could be that she had no weaponry left to protect James which was unacceptable. She was going to have to improvise.

Carlos's mind wandered back to Moon's collection of Lego builds that were now destroyed. That was the first time he'd even seen a Hogwarts castle fully-built and it was amazing...before it had been smashed by Kendall's rage. Maybe after all of this was over, he could go back to the Lego room...

Once the silence had fully ripened, James took a breath - the kind of breath that caught Kendall's attention, the kind that meant his friend had decided now was a great time to sing. Really? Now?

James kept his eyes closed and sang quietly. "I can't win, I can't reign. I will never win this game without you,...without you." Kendall smiled. His friend's voice was small and rough but he was singing a song by Usher that he often pulled out when he thought they needed to hear it. "I am lost, I am vain. I will never be the same without yoooou,...withoooout you."

James' voice cleared up and soared as he moved up an octave. "I won't run. I won't flyyyyy. I will never make it byyy without yoooouuu,...without yoooouuu." The tall room had stunning acoustics, which James had somehow figured out, and his thank you to them was bringing Kendall to tears.

"I can't rest. I caaaan't fiiiiight. All I need is you and I - without yooooouuu... withooooooouuuuuut yoooooooooooooou."

Carlos joined in on the chorus, a third higher to give a fuller sound. "Ooooouuuuut you-ooo-ou...you-ooo-ou...you-ooo-ou." Kendall helped on the final words, a third lower to fill it out perfectly. "Withooooouuuuuuut you-ooo-ou... Withooooout you."

By the end, all the boys were grinning, James' eyes were open and they were feeling connected as they hadn't been in a while. Kendall was reminded of what they had been through and how important it was that they got out here.

"If Logan were here, that would have sounded perfect," Catgirl said wistfully.

"Well. He's waiting for us outside," Kendall said, pulling himself up by the railing. "Let's see if we can get up these stairs and find the Cat Room."

"Yay!" cheered James and Carlos. The smaller boy jumped up and headed over to help James stand.

"Oh, getting up the stairs won't be a problem." Catgirl walked over to a section of the wall and pushed it. It popped open and revealed a control panel with a numbered keypad and several rows of flashing lights.

"Cool!" Carlos was there peering right over her shoulder. "What does that control?"

"Everything," she said as she punched in the correct codes. "From here I can turn off all the alarms and traps and he can't stop me. There."

"Nice!"

"I guess that will help the SWAT team get in faster," Kendall noted.

"And I can turn these stairs into an escalator...with the push of one...button." There was a CLUNK and a whirring sound and then the stairs trembled. With a click, each step locked in place and began gliding upwards.

"Dude!" Carlos ran over to see how it worked, but all the mechanisms were hidden by the dark, shiny sides of the staircase/escalator. "No way!"

"Way. It took the engineers a couple of tries to get it right. But Moon loves to come this way to see the cats because there's no security cameras in here. Hop on," Catgirl invited them.

A/N: Thank you and please review!