CHAPTER NINE, taken

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The five teenagers were stood in the lab, checking out the motorcycle that belonged to Donald, who finally walked in, dressed in all black. "So, what do you think?" He asked.

"I think you're begging for a bang of bikers to do rotten things to you." Chase retorted, referring to the man's outfit and Emilia laughed.

"Are those my pants?" Bree questioned, receiving a chuckle from Donald. "Not anymore." He said before moving over to stand with the motorcycle and explain. "I call it 'A Daven-Cycle'. She's got auto-pilot, laser-guided weapon systems, and a tiny little flower vase, to brighten your day."

"Whoa, cool. Throw in a tiny basket for Chase to ride in and we're good to go." Adam teased, and in return, got an annoyed look from his brother.

"Hello? Anybody home?" A familiar voice called out and they turned around to find Douglas on the monitor. "He hacked you again?" Leo scoffed at this before directing his next words to his step-father. "Would it kill you to spend $40 on some security software?"

"Love the new lab, Donnie." Douglas mentioned as he observed the underground lab through the screen. "Ooh, tunnels! Industrial, yet classy."

"Take a hint, ex-brother. There's a reason why none of us accepted your buddy requests."

"Oh, I accepted it." Adam chuckled, making them all look at him in question. "What? His updates are hilarious!" He told them before imitating his voice through an example. "'Looking forward to a weekend of evil, winky-face'."

"Listen, I don't have a lot of time." Douglas began to say and Emilia smirked. Before the man could continue, she opened her mouth and said. "Why? You late to your hair appointment?" She asked and got an offended look from Douglas.

"No!" He denied. "My hair is perfectly fine, thank you!" Douglas sighed before going back to what he was going to say. "But, Krane will be back soon. He went out to get his head waxed."

"Fascinating." Donald nodded, and in a sarcastic manner, he continued. "You know what? It might sound like I'm hanging up." He said as he went to press the button but stopped when Douglas had interrupted him. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! This isn't another trick. You're in danger! Krane has completely lost it!"

"Oh, wow!" Chase pretended to be surprised by this. "So, the guy who keeps implanting himself with bionics is unstable? Who could have seen that coming?"

"I'm serious! Krane is using my technology to give himself new abilities I didn't even know were possible! He's a ticking time-bomb, and he sees you four as a threat!" Douglas explained to the team.

"Hey! What about me?!" An offended Leo asked, knowing Douglas was referring to the four bionic teenagers next to him. "I'm dangerous!" He tried to prove as he put up a fighting stance.

"Yeah, there's always a chance you might faint on somebody." Douglas remarked, leaving the boy to gape at the screen in shock while his friends tried not to laugh.

"Look, Adam, Bree, Chase, Emilia... and Leo, can handle anything. And after all you've done to this family, why should we trust you?" The Davenport man reminded Douglas of their past.

"Well, I... Give me a minute." The blonde-haired Davenport struggled to come up with an answer for that.

"Take all the time you want." Donald sarcastically told his brother, who didn't notice his tone as he said. "Oh—"

"Thanks." Donald interrupted by reaching for the button and hung up on him before walking away and voiced his thoughts. "Douglas is up to something. He's obviously trying to distract us with this Krane guy."

Meanwhile, Chase had followed him to the cyber desk. "Well, maybe so," He looked unsure about what Donald was saying, and since he had seen what Krane was like, he wondered. "but what if he's telling the truth?"

Bree nodded, agreeing with Chase. "Yeah. We've seen Krane face-to-face. He's a total creep." She told him, with Adam nodding along. "Yeah. Nice eyes, though." He thought.

But Donald wasn't convinced that Douglas could have been telling the truth. "Trust me, this is exactly what Douglas wants. Don't fall for this trap. My brother is the real threat."

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The next day, Emilia and Leo had already left for school when Donald made an announcement to the three bionic siblings that until he had figured out what was going on with Douglas, he didn't want any of them to go to school, leaving Tasha on her way to pick the other two up to take them back home.

As with Leo and Emilia in school, the latter of the two was walking down the stairs when she heard Leo scream. She looked over the railing and saw Douglas, making the girl quicken her pace to get to them.

"I mean..." Leo paused before he put up a fighting stance, making Emilia pull a face of amusement as she approached.

Douglas sighed. "Relax."

"I am relaxed. I'm very relaxed!" The Dooley boy argued. "Let's do this spiky! Let's get real!" He started throwing his hands at the man who easily dodged them before Emilia interrupted. "Alright, that's enough." She sighed, pulling Leo away.

Douglas raised a brow. "You done?"

"Oh. Giving up, I see." Leo hummed, making his friend whack him on the arm before she turned to Douglas herself and asked. "What the hell do you want?"

"You two are smart." The Davenport man started off by saying. "You knew about me and Marcus before anybody else, not including Nick. So you two have to believe me about Krane."

"All right. Talk." Leo sighed, as what he said was true. They still hadn't forgotten what he did to all of them, but it couldn't hurt to at least hear him out, right? Douglas held his arms out to the side before starting to explain. "Krane and I used to be on the same page, get my kids back, use 'em to rob banks, pull scams, you know, garden variety bad guy stuff. But I was never gonna hurt them."

"Marcus tried to kill me!"

"I said them!" Douglas excused before continuing what he was saying. "Listen, Krane is completely out of control! He's got a serious score to settle with the world, and now he has the bionics to do it."

"Why does he want Adam, Bree and Chase? And me, I guess." Emilia inquired.

"He doesn't want them, he wants to destroy them!" Douglas corrected before gesturing to the girl with his hand. "And he wants to make sure you won't stop him from doing so. You guys are the only ones who can stand in his way." He let out a sigh before concluding. "Look, I'm scared, guys. And you two should be, too. Watch this."

He pulled out his phone before moving it to show the duo a video of Krane charging himself up with more power.

"Yeah, that dude's no joke." The Dooley teenager shook his head before sighing. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

"Talk to my brother. He'll believe you two." He told them before he started to walk away. "I gotta get back before Krane blows a gasket. Literally. He has one right under here." Douglas pointed to his chest before finally leaving the school.

At that, Leo pulled his phone out before trying to contact Donald.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Big D, it's Leo. Listen—" Leo started to say before Donald interrupted him. "What? Speak up. I can't hear you."

"It's Leo!" He exclaimed. "Listen, Douglas just came by school, and I hate to say it, but... I think he's telling the truth about Krane."

"Ha ha, just kidding! You got my voicemail. Beep's on you."

"Oh, come on!" Emilia groaned as Leo pulled his phone away and hung up, after failing to get in contact with him.

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Back at home, Donald walked through the barrier with a worried sigh. "Something's wrong. Leo just left a message that Douglas showed up at school, and now I can't find him, Emilia or Tasha." He informed Adam, Bree and Chase who were still annoyed with him for trapping them in the lab so they couldn't leave.

"Oh, well I'm sure we'll find them if you keep us locked down here in the basement." Bree replied with sarcasm, receiving a narrowed-eyed look from the adult.

"Help! Help! Can anybody hear us?! Help us?!"

Recognising the familiar voices, the team turned around to look at the monitor to see Tasha and Leo tied up. "I knew it! Douglas has them!" The raven-haired man believed, finding similarities in the background from when Douglas called them the day before.

However, a new face that Donald didn't recognise appeared in view. "Guess again." They corrected, making Bree and Chase share a worried look at seeing Krane.

"Guys, don't worry." Chase called out and moved to stand next to Donald. "We'll get you out of there." He said, trying to reassure him before he furrowed his eyebrows at something.

"Chase, don't make promises you can't keep." His brother told him, receiving a glare from the boy before he turned back to the monitor and voiced his thoughts. "Wait a minute. Where's Emilia?"

"Oh her. I was waiting for one of you to ask." The man clicked his tongue, smirking evilly as he took a step away so they could get a clear view of the Hunter girl laying unconscious in the corner of the room and strapped to a torture device. "Oh. She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

Donald narrowed his eyes instantly. "That pretty little thing can shatter your skull with her voice if someone decided to teach her how." He spoke the truth. "So you're Victor Krane. Love the face. Do you get all the premium channels on that thing, or..."

"Enough. Hand over the bionic kids."

Donald scoffed. "Not gonna happen."

"This isn't a game. I've sent you my coordinates. They have ten minutes to get here, or I downsize your family." Krane threatened before hanging up on the call.

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With Emilia still unconscious, Krane had put her in a different room, while he could complete his plan on trapping Leo and Tasha in a box with an exothermic energy field surrounding them, like a microwave.

As his stubborn self still didn't want Adam, Bree and Chase to leave the lab, Donald went to be the hero and try to fight Krane off himself, only for his plan to go horribly wrong.

However, Donald didn't get to make the decision on whether or not he should turn off the security fence as it seemed like Adam, Bree and Chase did it for him after Krane spotted the alert he had gotten when the bionic siblings turned the fence off by themselves, leaving Donald in panic while Krane instantly geo-leaped away.

Meanwhile with the trio, they had rushed out of their capsules after changing into their mission suits, but unfortunately, they were blocked by Krane geo-leaping in front of them before they could cross the barrier.

Krane smirked. "Not so fast."

Adam quickly turned to Bree and Chase. "Quick! Turn the fence back on!" Although it was a bit too late for that and now the trio had traded places with Krane who taunted. "So... how would you like your lives to end?"

"Living on Mars. I accidentally take off my helmet." Adam answered. "Get him!" He snapped before activating his heat vision to hit Krane who managed to stop it and he created an energy ball before throwing it towards the trio, with them managing to dodge it just in time.

Bree super speeded over to grab the tablet. "Later freak." She said before pressing a button, making the ground open up underneath him and he fell down, but to their surprise, the man jumped back up and threw a bolt at Bree, sending her flying back into the wall.

"Bree!" Adam shouted in worry, and now angry, he turned to Krane before charging towards him and the two fell down the hole. While they were fighting, Chase ran over to help Bree up off the floor before their brother jumped back up with a breath. "Got him!"

Chase then quickly closed the hole in the ground before high-fiving Adam, only for them to fall in disappointment when Krane had geo-leaped back into the lab.

"Never mind, get him!" Adam yelled before him and his siblings went to step forward, only to be lifted off the floor before they fell back on the ground with a loud thud.

Krane did an evil laugh. "Well, this has been fun. But all good things... must come to an end!" He charged up an energy ball, causing electricity to spark between his hands as if he was ready to kill them, until he was suddenly flown back by an invisible force.

Adam, Bree and Chase turned their bodies to see Douglas holding a massive weapon, and next to him, was Emilia, with her signature smirk and her eyes glaring at Krane.

"Hi, Kids. Good to see ya." Douglas greeted with a grin before aiming the weapon at Krane as soon as he saw him get up from the ground.

"I thought I finished you." Krane said to Douglas who looked proud during his next words. "Yeah, that's what I wanted you to think. I'm getting pretty good at faking my own death."

"Good luck faking your way around this!" Krane snapped as sparks flashed in his hand before he shot it towards Emilia and Douglas — the former flying back into the wall, landing beside Douglas with a groan.

Douglas coughed. "Kids. You might wanna leave for this next part." He said and held his hands in front of him as Krane started to create an energy ball with his hands.

Chase looked between them, seeing his girlfriend struggle to do anything due to the wind being knocked out of her, and Douglas actually there to help save them, he knew he had to do something.

So he ran forward and slid across the floor to get to them before spinning his legs around so he was facing Krane and activated his force field just as Krane threw the energy ball, making it bounce of the shield and hit him, which sent him flying back and he hit the ground with a thud.

"Dude! You finally did something!" Adam smiled at his brother who was too busy helping Emilia up off the floor. "You okay?" He asked, looking at her in concern and in response, he got a small nod. "Oh thanks god." Chase sighed in relief and pulled her into a hug.

Pulling away, they turned around as Douglas was already on his feet with the weapon in hand, and aimed at Krane. "I should've done this a long time ago." He prepared to pull the trigger when Donald ran in through the tunnels with Leo and Tasha behind him. "Guys!"

Making the mistake by turning to look at Donald, this gave Krane the chance to easily geo-leap out of there. "Oh, no! You- you let him get away!" He yelled, suddenly backing away in surrender when his brother aimed his thermal blaster at him.

"Get out of my house." Donald ordered, seeing as he didn't see what had happened, so Chase was first to step forward and defend him. "No! Mr Davenport, it's okay! Douglas and Emilia saved us from Krane."

Emilia, he believed. Douglas, however, he did not believe he had a good side. "Saved you? He's the reason we're having to fight Krane in the first place." He scoffed, not having moved the position of the weapon.

"Don, I can explain..."

"You're lucky I'm letting you go. Now get out of here before I change my mind." Donald told his brother and they continued to glare at each other up until the point that Adam interrupted. "Hey, if you're gonna blast him, can you get it over with? Cause this is getting really uncomfortable."

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"Ew, ew, ew." Emilia let out as she walked into the lab. After what she had just been watching in the living room, she was glad that Donald had called her down to the lab.

"What's the matter? Is it Adam's stench?" Bree grimaced at this mention. "Because that does not smell good."

"Hey!" Adam looked at his sister offended before shrugging his shoulders. "It's true though."

Emilia shook her head at the siblings. "No, it's not that. Leo's been showing me some new dance moves he's learnt and can I say..." She pulled a look like she's been traumatised.

Chase chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

Emilia sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, it's like the duck floatie outfit all over again. Funny but... No!" The four shared a laugh before the Hunter girl reminded herself and looked at Donald in question. "So, what did you want me down here for?"

The Davenport man shared a smile with the trio before beginning to say. "We wanted to ask you a question, and it's up to you what you decide. It's completely your choice."

"What is it?" Emilia perked up before letting the man continue. "Well, because your training is all done, and what happened today just proved it. We wanted to know if you would want to join the team?" He questioned. "Emilia?" He called out, seeing the girl spaced out.

"Give me a minute to process." Emilia held up a finger to him before her eyebrows twitched upon looking at the trio's hopeful expressions on their faces. "Wow, you guys really want me too—" She muttered in surprise and took a moment to think about it before smiling. "Yes. I am happy to join the team."

With smiles on their faces, they all cheered at her answer, making her laugh before Chase picked her up and spun her around. "Okay, I am happy about this, trust me. But can you guys come upstairs with me? I really don't wanna see Leo dance again." She begged them, making Donald chuckle.

"Sure. Come on."

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MEGAN SPEAKS !

hope you enjoyed reading this
chapter! so, emilia's finally joined
the team, and it was about time!
thanks for reading, i love you all!! <33