Chase, Bree, Adam, Maeve, and Leo made their way into school. Everyone, including Principal Perry, was murmuring and watching something on their phones. When Maeve and her friends walked in, the students looked at them.

"What's everybody looking at?" Bree asked.

"A new viral video," said Perry. "Guess what it's called? 'The world's first bionic humans'!"

Maeve's heart dropped.

"What?!" Chase and Bree exclaimed.

"Wait, there are other bionic people?" Adam asked. "They why are we working so hard?"

Chase glared. "She's talking about us."

"Yeah, look!" Perry showed them her iPad. On YouTube was a video, clear as day, of Maeve and the others on their previous mission, when they had fixed a leaking natural gas pipeline.

"That's yesterday's mission," said Chase.

"Somebody filmed us?" Maeve breathed.

Leo looked at them. "Your secret's out. Everybody is gonna know you're bionic."

"Never mind that," said Perry. "Now I can't blackmail Daddy Big Bucks anymore. My gravy train just ran right off the tracks!"

Bree looked around the foyer. "Everyone's looking at us."

"Hey, quit your staring! Scram!" Perry yelled at a group of students. "So they're bionic. Get to class before they mow you down with their finger missiles."

The students scattered as Perry retreated to her office.

"How could this happen?" Bree exclaimed. "What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know," said Chase, shaking his head. "We're in big trouble."

Leo's eyes lit up. "Wait, I know how we can fix this. We'll convince everyone the video was made with special effects! You know, like those fake videos Adam's always watching."

"So 'Giant baby eats Tokyo' is fake?" Adam frowned. "I should have known. Where are they gonna get a diaper that big?"

"Leo," said Chase, "that might actually work."

"Well, first, we better go tell Mr. Davenport," said Bree.

"Wait, wait, hold on," said Adam as they turned to leave. "Is 'Giant baby eats London' fake too? Because I just sent 50 bucks to the victims' relief fund."

-

"Mr. Davenport!" Chase exclaimed, running into the house.

Donald and Tasha walked in from the study room, and Douglas joined them.

"We just heard," said Donald.

"What are we gonna do?" Tasha frowned.

Adam exhaled. "I say we sell Chase to the circus and use the money to start our new life."

"Big D, I know how we can spin this," said Leo.

"Oh, no, we're way past spinning, Leo," Douglas said. "That video is all over the news. Experts have verified the footage wasn't manipulated."

He grabbed a remote and turned on the TV to a news channel displaying the video.

"People all over the world are freaking out," Douglas said.

"Ah, of course they are," said Adam. "They just saw Chase in a skintight mission suit."

Donald shook his head solemnly. "Douglas is right. This is way too big to spin."

"I can't believe this," said Tasha. "You guys are the biggest news story ever, and I got scooped!"

"How could this happen?" Asked Donald, typing on his iPad.

"I don't know," Chase frowned. "I did a thermal scan of the mission site. No one was there."

"Well, the footage from my Daven-Earth satellite says otherwise," he said, showing them a satellite image of the site. He zoomed in to reveal someone, a girl, crouched in the bushes. "See? Someone standing right there."

"What? But I scanned the site," Chase said.

"Yeah, well, you missed a spot, and now the entire family is in danger," said Donald.

Chase turned to Maeve, his expression sad. She traced her fingers gently across his arm.

"It's okay," she murmured.

"Come on, Donny," said Douglas, turning off the TV. "The kid made a mistake. Could've happened to anyone."

"Yeah, not really," Adam said. "He's the only one who thermal scans."

Maeve hit Adam on the shoulder.

"So what's our next move?" Leo asked Donald.

"Give Tasha Davenport an exclusive interview?" Tasha grinned. "It's my job to ask."

"Don't worry, guys. I've prepared for this. I've got a safe house in a secure location, you four will hide there. It's got capsules, food, everything you'll need for a year's worth of survival," Donald explained.

"A year?" Bree echoed.

Donald thought for a moment. "Well, 343 days. After that, play rock-paper-scissors, and eat the loser. In the meantime, I'm gonna hold a press conference and prove to the world that you're not dangerous. When they're ready to accept you, you'll come home. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I finally decided to whiten my teeth," Adam said. "Wait, that's not a question. So yeah, no questions."

"Everybody, get your stuff. We leave in five minutes," Donald instructed.

-

Maeve, Chase, and Leo stood in the lab. Maeve's packed duffel bag sat by the door ready to go.

"I don't get it," Chase said, packing his bag. "I know I scanned the mission site. How did I not notice that girl?"

"Chase, you can't worry about that right now," Maeve said, running her hand through his hair. "No one's mad at you. I promise."

"It's not just that," he said. "I'm confused. I'm gonna check my chip log."

Chase moved to the cyberdesk as Douglas walked in, holding a box.

"Guys, hurry up," he said. "See, this is why I should have raised all of you. Then you'd know how to abandon a building."

Maeve nodded in agreement.

"Aha! Look!" Chase pulled up his thermal scan on the screen.

It was a simple recording of the mission site, with a blue-green thermal energy detector scanning across the screen. They watched as it scanned across the area - including where the girl had been standing.

And nothing.

"What the hell?" Maeve breathed.

"Chase is right," said Leo. "He did do a thermal scan of the mission site."

"Yes!" Chase beamed. "I knew it! Still perfect."

Maeve laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist in triumph.

"Alright, first things first," Douglas said, setting his box down. "What's going on here?"

He gestured at Maeve and Chase.

"Oh, that's right! They're a couple now," Leo informed him.

For a solid minute, Douglas looked back and forth between Maeve and Chase, until he finally looked towards Maeve. "Are you okay? Is he holding you against your will?"

Chase frowned.

"I really wish people would stop asking me that," Maeve said.

"Look," said Leo, pulling up Donald's satellite image on the other screen. "The time codes match... and that's the spot where the girl showed up on Big D's satellite footage, but on your chip log, she's nowhere to be found."

"That's impossible," said Chase, folding his arms. "Something weird is going on. I'm gonna go tell Mr. Davenport."

"Good idea," said Douglas. "But leave out the part about being perfect. It just makes people wanna punch you in the face."

Chase rolled his eyes and moved out of the lab, Maeve following behind him. They ran into the kitchen.

"Guys, where is Mr. Davenport?" Chase asked Adam and Bree, who were in the living room.

"He's still upstairs," Bree answered. "What's going on?"

"I was right," he said. "I did scan the site, but that girl didn't show up on my chip log."

"So what does that mean?" Adam asked.

Suddenly, the lights shut off. The front door burst open. Maeve and the others whipped around to see a group of heavily armored agents storming in, pointing their flashlights around. Chase grabbed Maeve's arm.

"Go! Go!" The agents were shouting, swarming the entire living room. One of them rolled a smoke bomb on the ground, filling the room with fog.

"Get down on the ground!" An agent yelled, grabbing Maeve and pushing her down. He repeated it with the others, until Adam, Bree, Chase, and Maeve were all laying on the carpet. 

They looked up to see another man walk in, this one less armored.

"Secure the perimeter," he demanded, then looked at them. "Don't try anything. We have more than enough firepower to take you down. Hit the lights, I need eyes on them."

Someone turned on the lights as a few agents allowed Maeve and her friends to stand up again.

"Who are you?" Chase asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Maeve said.

"Quiet! I ask the questions," said the man. He grabbed his walkie talkie and raised it to his face. "We got 'em. Bionic targets have been secured."

Adam stepped forward, grabbing the radio and imitating the man's voice. "...Is what I would say if I found them, but I haven't."

He shot a thumbs-up at his friends.

"Look, no," said Bree. "You've got it all wrong, we're not a threat!

"You obviously saw the video of us fixing the pipeline," Maeve said.

"We're on your team," Chase continued.

"I'll decide whose team you're on," said the man.

"Oh, you know what will help?" Said Adam. "If we do shirts and skins. Come on, guys."

He began to take off his shirt.

"Keep your shirt on," the man frowned.

"Fine, you be skins," said Adam. "I was just trying to be nice. I know how you old guys are about showing your love handles."

At that moment, they could see Tasha and Donald being ushered downstairs by an agent.

"Okay, okay," said Tasha. "I know my rights. You cannot barge in here without a warrant."

The man grabbed a search warrant out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Oh. Well, aren't you just Mr. Prepared?"

"Mr. Davenport, talk to them." Chase said.

"Tell them to let us go," Bree frowned.

"Guys, there's nothing I can do," Donald said after examining the warrant. "It's over."

The next hour or so seemed like forever. They separated Tasha and Mr. Davenport to the lab while they questioned the bionic teens in the living room. The agents poked, prodded, and pushed them around with no concern for their well-being.

"Stop! I can't take it anymore!" Adam yelled.

The agent kept waving the metal detector.

Adam burst out laughing. "Man, you found giggle spots I didn't even know I had."

"Well, this is fun," Bree said. "I wonder how Mr. Davenport's holding up."

"He's the one who trained us on how to handle interrogations. I'm sure he's fine," said Chase.

A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened. Tasha and Donald walked out, along with a group of agents and the head agent.

"Great news, guys," Tasha grinned. "They got nothing on you. You're free to go."

"I never said that," the head agent said.

"But you don't have any evidence that they-" Donald started.

"They're bionic humans. I don't need any more evidence. But I will be taking them away for a much more thorough examination."

"Where?" Bree asked.

"A secure testing facility in the desert," the head agent responded.

"Ooh, is it Area 51?" Adam smiled excitedly.

"No."

"Area 52?"

"No."

"Area 53?"

"No!" He shouted.

Adam smirked at Maeve. "He's getting madder. I must be getting closer."

Chase turned to the agents. "You guys are gonna love working with him."

"Wait, but what about Mr. Davenport? What's gonna happen to him?" Bree asked the head agent.

"He's been harboring unauthorized weapons of mass destruction. He'll be taken into custody pending my full report."

"It doesn't matter what happens to me," said Donald, "but admit it. You're never gonna let them go."

"Don't worry," he said. "Lots of people thrive in solitary confinement."

Solitary confinement?

"Wait, you're gonna split them up?" Donald asked.

"Absolutely. They're too dangerous to leave together, so they'll be separated until they're no longer a threat."

"What does that mean?" Asked Bree.

"It means you're never gonna see each other again," Donald frowned.

The bionic teens turned to one another.

"How can they do this?" Maeve frowned. "We didn't do anything wrong."

"Unfortunately, they see your existence as a crime," Donald said.

The head agent put down his radio. "Transport's on its way."

Chase sighed. "We're not even gonna get to say goodbye to Leo."

"I'm gonna miss him so much," Bree said, her voice breaking.

"Yeah, I mean, as far as friends go, he's definitely in my top 50," said Adam.

"I can't believe this is happening," said Maeve. Chase wrapped her hand in his and she leaned into his shoulder.

"Don't worry, guys," said Tasha. "We're gonna get through this."

Donald nodded. "Guys, I wanna give you something to remember me by. When times get rough, I hope this will get you through."

He reached behind the couch and grabbed a life-sizes cardboard cutout of himself. Maeve rolled her eyes.

"Hey, but... we can't take that," said Bree.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because it's broken," she shrugged, then violently ripped off the cardboard head.