The bright lights of the Lab shone down on the glass bottle that Bree had plucked out of the garbage can upstairs. Julia McKnight spun the bottle, hoping it would land on her boyfriend who was sitting opposite her. For a second there, bright light reflected off of the bottle and shone into her eyes, blinding her. She swore that she would never see again until her vision cleared.  The cool tile of the Lab floor beneath her sent shivers up and down her spine as the bottle spun and spun around, slowly landing on . . . Leo Dooley. She looked up at him, grimacing. She so did not want to kiss him. 

His eyes met hers, and he had the same look on his face. However, it fell off when he saw her looking at him like that. Leo drew in a sharp breath, placing a hand on his chest like he was offended that she did not want to kiss him. "Excuse me, but you don't have to act that way when it lands on me," he said, glaring at Julia. She glared back at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "It was your idea to play this game, so don't be upset when it lands on someone other than your boyfriend."

She felt her neck tinge red and glanced down at her clasped hands in her lap. Her knuckles were turning white as she crushed her hands in her grip. She thought she was being inconspicuous enough, but her best friends could see right through her. That was another superpower of theirs. "Okay, let's not play this," Julia said, unclasping her hands. She brushed her dark brown bangs out of her eyes, trying not to catch anyone's gaze. She glanced up at Chase to see a similar panicked look on his face as he looked anywhere but at her. "It would be way too weird if the siblings landed on each other anyway."

"You got that right," Bree said, shuddering. Julia let out a little laugh at the sight of her best friend acting so disgusted. At least they hadn't played Spin-The-Bottle for a long time. Then, Bree looked at Julia with a glare. "I cannot believe you're dating my ugly brother. When are you going to realize that he's just a nerd?"

"Hey! Don't talk about Chase like that," Adam said, clapping his hand on Chase's shoulder. Julia watched as Chase fell backward onto the hard ground, groaning in pain. "Oops. I guess just forget how strong I am. Sorry, buddy." He helped Chase sit back up, and then Adam focused his gaze on Julia. She saw mischief playing behind his brown eyes. "How about we play Truth or Dare?"

"Um, no thanks," Julia said, shaking her head. She felt her dark braid fall onto her shoulder, so she flicked it away. She still couldn't look at Chase because his siblings were teasing them. It was early on in their romantic relationship, so she was afraid of anything. "Maybe Davenport has a board game we can play. Why don't you guys go and look? I'll stay down here, watching over the Lab."

"Why do you get to stay down here?" Chase asked her. She finally looked at him to see a confused look on his face. She noted the way his cheeks reddened when she caught his eye, and she smiled slightly. Oh, how she loved making him nervous. "It's not fair."

"You four live here. I don't."

"So?"

"Ooh, trouble in paradise," Leo said, snickering. Julia and Chase glared at him, and he slunk down in his spot next to Adam. "Sorry, sorry."

Julia crossed her arms over her chest, staring at her boyfriend. Even though they were dating, she still wanted to do things her way. "Who had track practice earlier today?" Nobody raised their hands besides Julia. Her mind flashed back to the intense rush of adrenaline that coursed through her body as she ran, feeling the way her body fought against her. She loved every second of it. "Okay, so that means I get to stay down here and wait for you guys to pick a board game."

"If you want, I'll stay down here with you," Chase said, giving her a sneaky look. She grinned at him but stopped when she heard someone gag in disgust. Glancing around the group of her friends, she saw Bree holding her stomach. "What's wrong with you?"

"God, you two are gross. I'll go and grab a board game by myself."

Julia watched as Bree stood up and stretched her hands over her head. Dropping her hands to her sides, she looked down at Julia, a funny look on her face. "You say you're a fast runner, but I'll show you who's faster." She flashed her a quick grin before running off toward the elevator. However, Bree had to stop to wait for the elevator to come. Soon enough, Bree was heading upstairs, leaving Julia and the boys alone. 

A strange humming noise started thrumming behind Julia, so she quickly looked over her shoulder. All that was behind her was the Davenport siblings' capsules, standing high and mighty like they were statues guarding the bionic siblings. The humming noise continued, but it was growing louder. She looked back at her friends and boyfriend to see the same confused look on their faces. 

"Do you hear that?" she whispered, scooting closer to Chase. He took her hand in his, squeezing it once. "What's that noise?"

"It could be Davenport coming home in his electric car," Chase said sensibly. Of course, he would be the sensible one. He always found logic in the crazy situations they found themselves in. "That has to be it."

"But we've heard Big D come home in the electric car a thousand times, and it never sounded like that," Leo pointed out. There was a terrified look on his face, and Julia would have thought it was funny if she wasn't so scared. "Adam, go check it out."

Adam gasped loudly, placing his hand over his heart. Julia couldn't help but snicker at his actions, but her smile soon fell off of her face as the lights flickered out, leaving them in the blackest of black night. She could have sworn that Davenport had put up emergency lights, but apparently, he didn't because it was so dark she couldn't see anything in front of her. Chase squeezed her hand once, and she was glad that he was still holding onto her. 

Until he wasn't. Something gripped her around the shoulders, yanking her away from everyone. She tried to cry out, but the person that was taking her away slapped a wet cloth onto her mouth. She breathed in, which was a horrible mistake. Her head started spinning as the person dragged her away, and she went limp. The last thing she heard was her best friends -- Chase, Adam, and Leo -- yelling, wondering where she may have gone. 

---

Julia could hardly open her eyes. There was a throbbing pain right behind her eyes, and it didn't help much when she tried to open them to see where she was. She could feel her head loll to the side as she tried lifting her head. There was something wrong with her, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember what had happened. It was like her memory couldn't go any further than what was happening right then, which was bad because she was sure that something bad happened to her. 

It felt like forever that she was stuck in limbo, waiting on her body to wake up. Her eyes finally fluttered open, and she saw a teenage boy sitting in front of her. He was staring off into space, but when he saw her move ever so slightly, his eyes shifted to hers. For a second there, Julia didn't see any emotion or life behind those glassy eyes, but then they flashed angrily. She tried to talk to him, but her voice wasn't cooperating with her. 

"Don't talk or move," the boy said, reaching out. He didn't touch her, though. He quickly drew his hand back to his side. There was a hollow look in his eyes, making Julia sad. What was wrong with this boy? "If you do, my father will hear you."

She managed to whisper, "Your father?"

"He's the one who kidnapped you. I guess it's because he's working for this guy that wants to make random, everyday people bionic like my father's first three creations." The boy's eyes flashed again. "But you aren't a random, everyday person, are you? You're friends with Adam, Bree, and Chase." Julia nodded once because it was all she could do. "That makes me feel like the man knew what he was doing."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did your father do this?"

"As I told you, some guy is paying him to do this. I think this man that my dad is working for knows more than he is letting on," the boy said. He shrugged, picking at the edge of his jeans. "I'm Marcus, by the way. My dad's name is Douglas. I'm not sure if your friends told you or not, but I'm their sibling." Julia's eyes widened, and a smile grew on the boy's face. There was no joy in his eyes, though. "I'm not sure if they see it like that, but technically, I am."

"What?"

Her voice echoed around the metallic area they were in. Marcus looked around, an angry look on his face. "I told you to be quiet, didn't I?" he snapped. Julia was starting to think that Marcus also wasn't a good guy. Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and Marcus sighed. "Look what you did. My father is coming."

A middle-aged man entered the room, and Julia noticed the crazy look in his eyes. He clapped his hands, saying, "She's awake! Why didn't you come and tell me, Marcus?"

"I was ensuring she was awake enough," Marcus said, standing up. He brushed his jeans off as he went and stood next to his father, and she noted the same crazy look in his eyes. She wanted to get off of the tiled floor, but her body still wasn't responding. "She's ready, Dad."

"Good. We'll have her a bionic in no time."

The man -- Douglas -- handed Marcus a rag, and she tried to move her body. Still nothing. She tried to dodge out of the way, but Marcus firmly pressed the cloth against her face. Julia tried not to breathe, but it was too hard, and she sucked in a breath. The same fuzzy feeling entered her body for the second time that day, and soon enough, she was surrounded by darkness. 

---

For a second time that day, Julia woke up from a drug-induced stupor, her heart thudding against her ribcage. This time, though, the back of her neck was throbbing painfully, and she tried to reach up to feel what was wrong, but her arm wasn't responding to her brain. She blinked, trying to wake herself up quicker, but nothing was working. She was struggling to get her body to listen to her brain. 

The first thing that started working was her hearing. She swore she could hear Adam yelling something, but that couldn't have been true. Adam wasn't where she was since no one knew where she was, including herself. Julia must have been dreaming, imagining her friends there. But then she heard Bree make a sarcastic remark and then a loud thud. Julia cleared her throat, trying to lift her head and see out of her fuzzy eyes. 

"Don't strain yourself," a soft voice said right beside her. Tears pricked her eyes when she heard the sweet voice of her boyfriend. Even though the edges of her eyesight were tinted in black, she saw his face, and relief crashed through her veins. "Adam and Bree are taking care of Marcus and Douglas. Leo and I got you."

Julia groaned, her eyes shutting for a second as someone brushed the back of her neck. She heard someone gasp in anger, and her eyes flashed open to see Leo glaring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. "If you don't want me here, then I'll leave," he said. 

Chase hit his arm as he pulled her up. She slumped into his arms, and then she felt Leo grab onto her as well before she could fall to the tiled ground. Her head lolled to the side, and she saw Bree and Adam taking down Marcus and Douglas. She knew they could handle it, but she was still worried about them. As Leo and Chase drag her forward, Julia's eyesight flickered, and she felt very faint like she was going to pass out. 

She wasn't sure how they ended up out of the building nor when Bree and Adam joined them, but they did all that. Her mind and body were still under the influence of whatever they used to put her under, and all she could do was allow Chase and Leo to bring her home. Soon enough, she found herself laying on the couch at the Davenport's house, staring up into a bright light. 

"She's awake!" a voice said to her right. She blinked while seeing stars float across her vision as people crowded around her. "Julia, how are you doing?"

"I'm blinded," she said, struggling to get the words out. Her throat was raw, and she knew that she was finally coming back after being drugged. "What happened?"

The bright light disappeared, and she was able to see her best friends and Mr. Davenport standing around her. Chase was wearing a look of pure anger, so she reached out and took his hand in hers. Whatever had happened, it was something bad based on how everyone was acting. For a while there, no one spoke, and Julia was growing frustrated. She wanted to know what happened to her. 

"While you were out," Mr. Davenport finally said, his voice quiet, "I did a full body scan on you. I was afraid that Douglas went along with what the villain told him to do." He nodded once, and Julia frowned, a headache forming behind her eyes. "You are now bionic, Julia."

"Wait, what?"

"We don't know what your powers are yet," Bree said, wearing an excited smile. She gave Julia two thumbs up like this wasn't a horrible experience for Julia. "You get to train with us!"

"Not now, Bree," Leo muttered. "She looks like she's going to pass out. Or puke. Or both."

"Please don't puke!" Adam yelled as Julia lay on the couch, feeling the ground beneath her shake unsteadily. The walls around her sheltered life were crashing down around her, sending icy shards into her head. She was bionic? How? "I'm not good with puke."

"We'll help you, Julia," Chase said softly. She could hear the anger in his voice, but she was glad that he was trying to be calm for her. Everyone else wasn't doing too well at that. "You have the option of moving here so we can help you control whatever powers Douglas may have given you. You'll have to talk to your parents about it, but I'm sure they'd be supportive."

Julia nodded, swallowing hard. She slowly sat up on the couch, wincing at the slight pain in her neck. She brushed the skin back there, her fingertips tingling when she touched the spot where they must have given her a bionic chip. A huge part of her was angry and upset at what those people did to her, but a small part of her was excited to be able to join her best friends on their missions. She always wanted to try her hand at fighting, so this was the perfect excuse. 

"I'll call them soon," she said, running a hand through her brown hair. She frowned when she felt all the tangles. "First, let me shower and get dressed in other clothes than these."

"Good plan," Mr. Davenport said. He motioned to his children, who all followed him as he walked away. The only person that stayed with her was Chase, her boyfriend. 

He gripped her hands in his, staring up at her with big brown eyes. "I was so worried about you," he said, shaking his head. "When I realized that you were gone, I went crazy. I didn't know how to find you, where you could have gone."

"I'm okay, Chase," Julia said, squeezing his hands. His eyes searched her face, so she gave him her happiest smile. "I promise you, I'm fine. I knew what I was signing up for when I became your family's friend and your girlfriend. There was always a risk that someone would find me, and I was okay with it."

"I was supposed to protect you!"

"I'm capable enough now," she said, giggling. Chase glared at her, so she swallowed her laughter. "Sorry. Don't worry about me. I'm resilient."

"I can't stop worrying about you because I love you, Julia," Chase said, pulling her into a tight hug. She melted into his embrace, feeling her heart flutter like a butterfly. He pressed a kiss against her temple, whispering, "We're a team now. Wherever you go, I go too."

Julia smiled in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. She was so thankful that she was loved by this bionic boy. No matter what had happened to her, she would be okay. She had other bionic people around her to show her the ropes, and she had the best boyfriend in the world that would watch over her for the rest of their days. Nothing could ruin what Julia had.