Y/N smoothed out her blanket, trying to get comfy on the cot the Davenport's dragged out for her to sleep on. For some reason, they wanted her to sleep in their basement, with all the high-tech stuff and the bionics' capsules, among the strongest and best heroes the world had ever known. Well, not known since they acted in secret. But she knew what she meant. They were her heroes, and that was all that mattered.

"Aren't you just so excited for this sleepover?" Bree asked her excitedly, popping up next to her. Y/N nearly fell out of the cot in surprise and glared at her best friend. "I am. You know, I've never really had a sleepover before. What do girls do at sleepovers?"

"Well, for one thing, we don't have boys invade our space," Y/N said, gesturing to Adam, Chase, and Leo, who were all arguing about something completely random near the supercomputer. "They're not really supposed to be here, but I guess they can't leave. Well, Leo can since he has his own room, but you know what I mean."

"Sometimes," Bree said in a whisper, "I wish I could get rid of them for a few days. What would my life be like without them?"

"Quieter. And more boring."

Bree sighed and shook her head. "I guess you're right."

"Okay," Chase said, clapping his hands together, "I think we should get some sleep. It's getting late, and we all need our rest."

"I sure do," Adam said, nodding enthusiastically. "I need all the rest I can get or else I wake up grumpy. And you don't want to deal with a grumpy Adam."

"Grumpy Adam's are the worst," Leo agreed.

Chase turned off the lights, though it was still a little bright in the basement because of all the computers and technology. That was also pretty bad about sleeping down here on the most uncomfortable cot in the entire world. But Y/N didn't want to go against their wishes, especially with the threat of Douglas Davenport, the bionics' very own uncle. He was out to get them sooner or later, and they all wanted to be safe together. Y/N wasn't sure why she had to be protected, too, but she didn't want to pass on a sleepover with her best friends. 

Y/N laid down on the cot and pulled the blanket closer to her chin. Yet the blanket wasn't as long as she had anticipated because her toes were suddenly sticking out. Ugh, this was going to be an awful night, she just knew it. This wasn't the sleepover she had planned. She wished they played some games before Chase shut down all the fun. Hopefully, they'd be able to have fun in the morning. It was going to have to do. 

She drifted off to the humming noise of the electronics, but she couldn't stay asleep. The rock-hard cot beneath her was so uncomfortable, and she flipped over, her feet sticking out the end. She groaned to herself, wishing she got the blow-up bed Leo had across the basement. She curled up and tried to go back to sleep. 

Suddenly, a hand holding a strange smelling cloth went over her mouth while another hand grabbed onto her arm, dragging her out of the uncomfortable cot. Y/N didn't have the chance to scream at all. Whoever had a hold of her dragged her backward toward the doors that led outside. Her vision started getting darker and darker the longer the person held the cloth over her mouth, and soon enough, she passed out.

---

Y/N smelled cleaning supplies. She couldn't open her eyes, but at least she could smell something. She laid on the cold, hard ground, slowly waking up the rest of her body. She popped one eye open with success. However, her vision blurred as tears ran down her face. Her memory slowly came back to her, and her heart thudded against her chest. 

Someone kidnapped her. Y/N didn't see who kidnapped her, but they did, and now she was somewhere. She forced her eyes to open, lifting her hands to her face. They flopped back to her sides, and she gritted her teeth together. Whatever chemical they used to knock her out really worked. She wasn't sure how much time passed, but soon enough, she was able to sit up. Her head spun, but she didn't care. She needed to figure out where she was and get out of there. 

Y/N brushed her hair out of her eyes and peered out of the cage she found herself in. The metal bars hummed with electricity, so she knew she couldn't touch them. Thankfully, she sat in the middle of the cage, far away from the electricity. The room beyond the cage was dark, but the overwhelming smell of cleaning supplies meant something, right? She wasn't sure. She couldn't think very well without wanting to throw up. 

Then, someone cleared their throat. Bright lights shone down from the ceiling, and Y/N had to cover her eyes from the intensity. "Finally, you woke up," a voice said. She knew that voice -- it belonged to Marcus Davenport, her best friends' weird brother/cousin. She peeked through her hands and saw him standing close to the bars of her cage. "I didn't think you would."

The tears streamed down her face even though she wanted to appear tough. Before Marcus showed his true colors, she thought he was cute. She had the biggest crush on him, but after seeing who he truly was, she stopped liking him. Well, she tried, but she wondered if the guy she liked was deep down. 

"Why am I here?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Why'd you kidnap me?"

"Because my dad wants Chase. He should have joined our side, and now he's getting punished for that choice."

"How do you know he'll come after me?"

"He's your friend. He'd never let his friends suffer," he said, a bitter tone in his voice. Marcus shook his head, looking away from her. She dropped her hands in front of her, finally used to the bright light. "I'm sure the others are going to be with him, too." He looked back at her, and his face softened. "Stop crying, Y/N. We're not going to hurt you."

"But you're going to hurt Chase, Leo, Bree, and Adam." Marcus stayed silent. Y/N looked at the boy who showed her a different side to him way before any of this happened. She said, "You don't have to do this. The nice and kind boy I know is in there."

"No, he isn't."

"Yes, he is. Get me out of this cage, and I'll show you the real you," she said, slowly standing up. Tears still streamed down her face, but they slowed down. She stumbled toward the bars of the cage, nearly falling into them. "You have a choice, Marcus. You don't have to follow what Douglas says."

"I don't have a choice!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the room. Y/N hoped that Douglas couldn't hear them talking. "He's making me do this."

"Just stop. My friends -- our friends will take care of Douglas, and you can stop this."

Marcus looked at her for a second that felt like a thousand years before clicking a button. The bars of the cage rose into the air, and she fell out. Marcus caught her, holding her tightly as the sound of a yell sounded from a different part of the place they were. She realized that his shoulders were shaking, so she wrapped her arms around him, too, holding him until Leo, Chase, Adam, and Bree found them.

---

"I'm sorry," Marcus said, hanging his head. He sat on the white couch in the Davenport living room. Everyone was up tonight, even though it was nearing midnight. Tasha and Davenport stood next to the TV, both with their arms crossed over their rumpled pajamas. Adam and Chase sat on either side of Marcus, ready to handle the problem if it arose. Leo, Y/N, and Bree sat in the other chairs. "I didn't want any of this to happen. Not at all. Douglas just . . . he has this vendetta against you, Chase, and I couldn't stop him."

"But you're the one who kidnapped Y/N," Davenport said, frowning at Marcus. "I saw it on the cameras. You could have just run away, but you listened to him and kidnapped her from our home."

"I know." Marcus shook his head, and Adam looked like he was about to clock him in the face. Y/N tried to catch his eyes, but he kept them remained on Marcus. "I should have stopped it before it got worse. I'm truly sorry about all of it."

"Guys, he let me out when he wasn't supposed to," Y/N said. She knew it was time for her to speak up before the others cast him out for kidnapping her. "Yes, he did kidnap me, but that's because Douglas would have hurt him if he didn't. But he finally stood up to Douglas. Doesn't that show courage?"

"No, it shows cowardice," Leo said. He shook his head furiously. "You didn't do anything until we got there."

"Leo, let the boy explain himself," Tasha said softly. Y/N glanced over at her to find a compassionate look on her face, and she prayed that Tasha was seriously contemplating that Marcus was actually a good guy. "We don't know what people are going through unless we ask."

"Douglas didn't give me a chance at all. I was supposed to do everything he said, whenever he said it. I was too scared to go against him because he would hurt me." Marcus stopped talking suddenly, and Y/N really wanted to hug him and tell him that he was okay now. She didn't dare move, though. "I didn't know what to do anymore, but Y/N encouraged me to go against him because she knew you guys were coming for her. She helped me, and I can't thank her enough."

"You can stay here until you get back on your feet. I understand that you were scared and didn't really know how to handle it, and you would never do that again," Tasha said gently to Marcus. He smiled softly at her. "We have plenty of room, as you can see."

"Are you sure?" Marcus asked hopefully.

"Yes," Davenport said, nodding. "We'll keep you safe from my brother."

"Thank you so much."

"Now, I think we all need to go to bed," Tasha said, laughing. "Go to bed. Everyone. Marcus, we have a cot set up downstairs already that you can sleep on. Leo, let Y/N sleep in your bed tonight."

"What?" Leo asked angrily. "That's not fair for me!"

"Leo."

"Ugh, fine. Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"The couch."

Everyone shuffled toward their respective bedrooms, though Leo was supposed to stay yet hadn't as he followed the bionics downstairs, most likely to talk about the unfair treatment his mother just gave him. Marcus and Y/N stayed exactly where they were. They remained silent for a few minutes until she said, "Thank you for what you did earlier."

"What?"

"You let me go when you weren't supposed to."

"Y/N, you really did help me make that decision. Somehow, I knew I would be safe with you."

She smiled softly at him. Sure, he had kidnapped her earlier today. But he was doing it against his will. The real Marcus was sweet and soft, and she wanted to get to know him more. Standing up, Y/N reached out and took his hand for just a moment. And, in that moment, she knew that he was going to be so special to her, and that sent her heart soaring into the clouds.