Maeve stumbled away from the house, her breathing quickening with each step. She made her way to a small grove of trees before she had to stop. She sat down, nearly collapsing, clutching her chest. She could barely breathe. It felt like her heart was literally going to explode - she had never felt it beat so fast.

With shaking hands, Maeve tucked her hair into a loose ponytail. She looked up, trying to get more air into her lungs, but with every breath, she felt like she was going to die.

She didn't know how long she had been crying. Maeve pulled her knees up to her chest, gripping her arms so tight she could barely feel her fingers. The world around her began to shift and spin ever so slightly. She shut her eyes.

-

Maeve woke up some time in the night, her head pounding. She slowly pushed herself to her feet as her eyes adjusted to the moonlight. She didn't know where she was or how long she had been there.

But she knew that she had to find Douglas.

But where would he be?

Maeve remembered, years ago, when she first met Marcus, he had lived with Douglas in a small, relatively secluded home. It was just outside of her neighborhood.

Surprisingly, she still remembered the way. As Maeve walked the path she had once walked so many times, she felt like a child again, visiting Marcus.

Marcus.

She couldn't believe he was gone. She could not comprehend it. This was Marcus, the boy who had been her friend when everyone else thought she was weird. Marcus, who could complete any mission. Marcus, who never let anything stop him.

How could he be gone?

Maeve was jolted out of her thoughts when she nearly ran into Marcus' old home. It was a shack of a house, wooden planks so tilted it looked like the slightest breeze could knock the whole thing down. At some point, the sun had risen.

What was Maeve doing there?

She had no reason to believe Douglas would be there. He could literally be anywhere. Now she had spent all of this time going to this dumb shack when Douglas was probably off-

"I know you're out there, Maeve," a voice said from inside the house. Douglas' voice. Maeve furrowed her brow and opened the door.

Douglas was inside, cooking bacon and eggs. When she entered, he grinned.

"Glad to see ya!"

Maeve glared, her chest heaving.

Douglas sighed. "Look, I know, you're mad I left. And I'm sorry about Marcus. But I was just-"

"You left him to die!" Maeve interrupted.

"He would've died anyways," Douglas said.

Maeve paused, taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

Douglas sighed. "Marcus wasn't a bionic human like you. He was an android. He would've burnt out before his sixteenth birthday."

Maeve stood still while Douglas walked past her. Shocked, she turned to him. "And you just weren't gonna tell me this?"

"It didn't come up!" Douglas said, exasperated.

"Still. You left him. If you had stayed, you could've done something, and maybe he- maybe he would still be here."

"He was an android."

"He was my friend!"

"Maeve, you need to learn to get over things like this. With this job, you're not here to make friends. You're here to work."

Maeve shook her head. "He was your son."

"Look, Maeve," Douglas sat down with a plate of eggs and bacon. He paused, then pushed the plate slightly towards Maeve. "Bacon?"

Maeve glared. "I'm a vegetarian."

Douglas frowned and took a bite. "I'm not proud of what I did, but you've gotta understand. I did what I had to do."

Maeve shook her head, disgusted. "And that just had to include Marcus d-" she paused, swallowing. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes.

Douglas leaned towards her. "Maeve, I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me too. But you have to realize that in this world, you have to stick up for yourself."

Maeve stared back.

"Look, why don't you stay with me while we get back on our feet. Then we can try again."

"No. No. I am not doing this again," Maeve said, standing up suddenly. "You- I'm done. I won't hurt them anymore."

Douglas stared at her for a few moments, then breathed out. "I know, Maeve. It's okay. But I think you need to rest. Why don't you go take a nap? I'll build you a new capsule when I get better... conditions."

Reluctantly, Maeve followed Douglas to a bedroom in the back of the house. When Douglas left, she closed the door and shook some of the dust off the bedding. Her head still hurting, she climbed under the covers and rested.

-

Maeve opened her eyes, groggy. Her bed was sinking uncomfortably in the middle. She pulled out her phone to see that it was morning of the following day - she had slept over fifteen hours.

Maeve rose out of her bed and made her way into the kitchen.

"Morning, sunshine!" Smiled Douglas.

"Ew, you're still here," she groaned.

"Oh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!"

Maeve glared and opened the cabinet, seeing almost bare shelves.

"I'm a little low on groceries right now," Douglas explained. Maeve rolled her eyes and grabbed an apple, sitting down across from Douglas at the table.

Maeve ate while Douglas scrolled on his iPad.

"You didn't have time to save us, but you had time to grab that thing?" Maeve questioned. Douglas ignored her.

After a few moments, Maeve realized the apple she was holding had become completely frozen solid. She jumped back slightly in surprise.

Douglas glanced at her. "Yeah, I'm working on getting you a capsule again, but until then, you'll glitch."

Maeve sighed, laying her head on her arms and closing her eyes.

"Oh, Jesus," Douglas suddenly said under his breath.

"What? Did another one of your little androids die after you abandoned them?" Maeve replied snarkily, lifting her head.

Douglas rolled his eyes. "No. It's Chase. He's at a cytanium site in Antarctica - in the middle of a storm."

Maeve's smile dropped as she sat up straight. "What? He can't handle weather like that."

"I know." Douglas thought to himself for a moment. "We have to go get him."

"Wha- now?"

"No, during the next snow storm. Yes, now!" Douglas rose, grabbing a bag and placing various supplies in it.

"What are we gonna do? How are we gonna get there?"

"I nabbed one of Donnie's helicopters a few weeks back," Douglas laughed proudly. "This is our chance, Maeve. If we can get Chase to turn to our side, Adam and Bree will follow suit. And I think I know just how to do it."

Maeve frowned. What was "our side"? She was used to taking orders, but she had since lost her trust in Douglas.

"No," she said. "I told you. I'm done working as your little soldier."

Douglas sighed. "Maeve, this is different. I have a different goal now. I don't want to hurt Adam, Bree, and Chase - I just want to reconnect with them. They're my kids, Maeve." He stared at her until she sighed, giving up.

"Oh, and Maeve," Douglas continued, "You're gonna have to actually rescue him."

"What? Why me?"

"Are you forgetting you have the bionic ability to withstand this type of snowstorm? And," he grimaced, "I hate the cold."

Maeve rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "But after this, I am not working for you anymore. At all. For anything."

"Alright," Douglas lifted his hands up in surrender and the two ran out of the house.

-

When Douglas and Maeve landed in Antarctica, Douglas began setting up shelter while Maeve set to find Chase. She trudged through the snow, cursing herself for not having brought goggles.

After walking for what felt like forever, she came across large, beautiful mountains. Piles of snow indicated a recent avalanche. She checked her phone to see Chase's coordinates - right next to hers.

"He must be somewhere under here," she thought to herself, eyeing a mound of snow.

Maeve raised her arms. She hated messing with the natural cycle of nature, but this was an exception. She moved her hands through the air, guiding snow apart as she looked for Chase.

Suddenly, she heard a voice.

"Adam! Bree! I knew you would come for me! I'm in here!"

It was Chase. She had found him.

Maeve continued manipulating the snow to the sides until she saw Chase staring back at her.

He was obviously shocked to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your life," she replied. "Now get out of there before you freeze to death." Maeve moved more snow out of the way, forming a hole large enough for Chase to climb out. Maeve grabbed his hand to help pull him up.

"Dude, you're freezing," Maeve said, concerned.

Chase brushed snow off his hood. "Why are you here?"

"Sorry, I think you meant, 'Thanks for saving my life, Maeve! I owe ya one!'"

Chase furrowed his brow. "My siblings would have come for me either way. I don't need you."

Maeve paused, frowning. She knew he was justified in his anger, but she couldn't help but feel kind of hurt.

"Look, just come back to the tent with me. Douglas is there. He'll make you some food," Maeve said.

Chase scoffed. "No way." He turned to leave.

Maeve grabbed his arm. "Chase. Please. You'll die."

Chase considered this for a moment, staring Maeve square in the eyes. "Fine," he said reluctantly.

Maeve and Chase headed back to Douglas' tent. It wasn't too far away, but the snow made the walk feel longer. Chase didn't talk to Maeve, and she made no effort to start a conversation.

The two entered the tent. Douglas was inside, cooking soup.

"Good to see you, Chase," Douglas smiled.

"Wish I could say the same," replied Chase.

Maeve sat down on a blanket as Chase got settled. He took his coat off and hung it up to dry. Wearing his snow pants over his mission suit, he sat down next to the fire to warm up.

Maeve looked away when he caught her staring.

"Would you like some soup?" Douglas asked Chase. "I went to cooking school in the 90s. It's tuscan bean!"

Chase frowned. "Is it poison?"

"Yes," replied Douglas. "Maeve and I flew 10,000 miles around the world in a massive storm and risked our lives in an avalanche to rescue you... so I could then poison you."

Chase rolled his eyes and reached for the mug. "You make a pretty good soup for a diabolical maniac."

Maeve smiled and tapped Chase on the arm. "You should try his baked ziti."

"Yeah, maybe some other time," Chase said, standing up and grabbing his coat. "I'm leaving."

"Suit yourself," said Douglas. "But you'll freeze to death before anyone else gets here."

"I can survive in this suit. Mr. Davenport made it. It's built to withstand temperatures down to 45 below."

"It's 50 below," Maeve informed him.

"That explains the frostbite."

Maeve sent Chase a sympathetic look. He looked back at her, thinking.

"How did you survive out there, Maeve? Are you an android like Marcus?"

"No," Maeve said, then furrowed her brow. "No...?" she repeated, looking at Douglas.

Douglas rolled his eyes. "You're a human, don't worry."

"Well, I never know with you," Maeve replied, then turned back to Chase. "It's one of my bionics. Environmental adaptation."

"Guess that explains that day in biology where you caught-"

"Can we not talk about that day ever again?" Maeve grimaced at the memory.

Chase laughed for a moment, then frowned. "Well, I'm not worried. My siblings will come for me."

"They already have," said Douglas, looking at his iPad.

"What?"

"Oh, the weather must've been too much for them. Looks like Adam and Bree are going home without you," Douglas said, showing Chase the iPad with their coordinates. It displayed Adam and Bree, moving steadily away from Chase. "Those are their GPS signals. That's how I found you."

"You've been stalking us?!" Chase said angrily.

"You call it 'stalking', I call it 'lovingly lurking in the shadows'." Douglas scoffed. "Look, I'm gonna go make sure the tent is secure. You guys sit tight."

Douglas exited the tent, leaving Maeve and Chase sitting across from one another.

Maeve looked at him. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"I don't want anything from you," Chase frowned.

Maeve raised her eyebrows. "Nothing?" She asked, holding out her hand to produce a medium-sized flame, warming the air around it. Chase stared at her, and his expression softened just slightly. Maeve smiled softly, retracting the flames, leaving her with warm hands. She grabbed Chase's hand. He flinched at first, but then gave in. Maeve wrapped his cold hands in hers, transferring some of the heat. Chase was silent for a long while.

"I really trusted you," he finally said.

Maeve felt her heart break. She let go of Chase's hands and looked away. "Chase, can we please not talk about that right now?" Maeve pleaded, her voice quiet.

"Then when should we talk about it, Maeve?" Chase was growing angrier. "Do you know how much it hurt to see you standing with Douglas?"

Maeve opened her mouth to respond, but Douglas re-entered the tent.

"Hey, guys, just to let you know - I was not eavesdropping. But I did happen to catch a few things that were said," Douglas informed them, then turned to Chase. "Look, kid, if you're gonna be mad, be mad at me. Maeve was just doing what her father and I told her to do."

Maeve looked down.

Chase frowned and looked away, thinking. Douglas sat down.

"So, what's on your agenda for the day?" Chase asked him. "Build some bombs? Take over a tiny country? Steal money from old ladies?"

"Bombs are so bad for the environment," Maeve said, almost absentmindedly, shaking her head.

Douglas scoffed, ignoring Maeve. "No! Well, not in that order," he answered Chase's question. "Oh, come on, I'm not that bad of a guy."

"You trapped us in a dungeon and then tried to turn us into your bionic soldiers," Chase stated.

"Okay, okay. So I might've overreacted with that whole abduction thing. I was never gonna hurt anybody - I just wanted to get back at Donald!"

"When are the two of you just gonna grow up?"

"I'll grow up when he grows up!" Douglas whined, standing up. "Look, Chase. You and I have a lot more in common than you think. I know what it's like to be unappreciated, to have a sibling who always steals the spotlight. I know how hard it's been for you. And I can help."

Maeve recognized what Douglas was doing. It upset her, but she did not say anything.

When would she grow up and stand up to him?

"For the last time, I don't need your help," Chase said to Douglas.

"What if I told you you can be stronger than Adam and faster than Bree?" Douglas said. "I can make it so you have all three abilities: speed, strength, and intelligence."

Something in Chase's eyes shifted. "How?"

"You were the third one. By the time I got to you, I knew how to build in capacity for upgrades. But my brother took you away before I could finish." He sat down next to Chase. "Join us, Chase. I can help you be all that you were meant to be."

"But if I go with you, that means I'm abandoning my family."

Maeve relaxed a bit. There was no way Chase would agree. He was way too smart for that.

"The same family that mocks you and never gives you the credit you deserve? For anything?" Douglas replied.

Chase stood up. "What would I have to do?"

What?

"I just need to upgrade your bionic chip," Douglas answered. "As you can see, I... no longer have access to... state-of-the-art systems... so, we'll have to use Donald's cyberdesk."

Chase nodded. "Yeah, I guess I could sneak you guys into the lab. Mr. Davenport won't be there. It's Wednesday, which means... something's getting waxed."

Maeve widened her eyes in fear.

"He is hairy. He gets that from our mom," Douglas agreed. "It's perfect. We'll be in and out before anyone knows we're there." He held out his hand. "What do you say?"

"Alright, Mr. Davenport," Chase said, nodding. He shook Douglas' hand. "I'm in."

"Super," Douglas laughed. "If you want, you can call me 'Dad'."

Chase paused. "No, I'm good."

The trio began to pack up and head back to the helicopter. Maeve stood next to Chase.

"Chase, are you sure you wanna do this?" she asked.

Chase scoffed. "Like you've got room to talk."

-

In the Davenport's lab, Douglas and Chase worked while Maeve explored.

Douglas got zapped by something. "Ow!" he yelped, waving his hand in the air.

"The download is almost finished," Chase said.

"Three more minutes, and I can give you everything that Adam and Bree have... plus the capacity for more." He laughed.

At that moment, the doors to the lab opened. Douglas and Maeve ducked behind a storage unit as Donald, Adam, and Bree entered the lab.

"Don't give up, guys," Donald was saying. "There's still a chance we can find him." He stopped in his tracks when he saw Chase. "Chase!"

"You're alive!" Bree gasped.

Douglas and Maeve walked out from their little hiding spot. Donald's face dropped.

Adam gasped and he pointed at Douglas. "It's Evil Uncle Daddy!"

"Back away from them, Chase," Donald warned.

"It's too late, Donald," Douglas grinned, putting an arm around Chase. "He's with me now."

"What?" Donald said in disbelief.

"Chase, what's going on?" Bree asked.

"It's true," Douglas said. "I've finally taken back what was stolen from me!"

Suddenly, Leo came running into the lab, holding some sort of laser gun. "Alright, Big D. I know I'm not supposed to touch your stuff, but you know how sometimes things happen, and sometimes things happen when you really don't want them to happen, and that just happens to be what just happened. Upstairs."

Donald stared at Leo and gestured to Douglas and Maeve. Leo turned to them and shrieked.

"Whatever you're up to, Douglas, you're not gonna get away with it," Donald said.

The computer beeped. Douglas laughed and pulled the flash drive out from the cyberdesk. "I just did. The download's finished. I now have the power to give Chase all three bionic abilities. And now no one will be able to stop us!"

"Actually, they can," Chase said. "That USB drive you're holding is completely useless."

"What?!" Douglas exclaimed. "Well, then, what just took an hour and a half to download?!"

"A list of everything Adam's ever eaten," Chase answered. Maeve smiled to herself.

"Not my Incredible Edibles!" Adam gasped.

Douglas glared at Chase. "You double-crossed me."

"Did you really think I would betray my own family?"

Jesus. Chase may have double-crossed them both, but damn, was he fine when he was mad.

"Well, it's always worked for me!" Douglas said.

"Even if you could offer me every ability there is, I would never go to your side," Chase said, slowly cornering Douglas. "We're a team."

Adam and Donald nodded.

"And teams never quit on each other," Chase continued.

Douglas thought for a moment. "Alright!" He put his hands up in surrender. "You got me! What do you say we just out all this behind us and get down to the business of healing this family? Am I right? Bring it in, people. Let's hug it out."

Adam stepped forward to hug Douglas.

"Adam," Donald wanted, and Adam retreated.

"Well, you now what they say," Douglas said, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a laser gun. "If you can't join 'em-"

"Get down!" Chase exclaimed. He grabbed Leo's laser-gun-thing and shot it at Douglas, immediately encasing him in a huge block of ice.

Maeve took a step back, shocked. In the chaos, she ducked out of the lab.