Welcome to Dead to Me, a one-shot based in my We Deserve Freedom universe. This story takes place between chapter 24 and chapter 29 of that story, and I recommend you read it after chapter 30 so you aren't spoiled.

Anyway, for those of you curious about The Sovereign, this story reveals many things about him, including his relationship with his (former) siblings. Also, I hope you'll enjoy the cameo appearances.

Story soundtrack: "Live Free or Let Me Die" by Skillet. I actually used this as a soundtrack for one of WDF's chapters, but it fits this just as well (if not even better). Highly recommended. Imagine Bree singing it to The Sovereign. Completely perfect! It describes the two of them amazingly!

Let's get on with it! I don't own Lab Rats or any of the characters. I do own any OCs and the plot of this story. Enjoy!

* * * Dead to Me * * *

The soldiers pinned my arms to my back, shoving me and Adam along. We marched through the bleak halls. My lips were pursed together, my face emotionless. They wouldn't get the pleasure of my screams. Through the corner of my eye, I could see Adam with a similar expression. Both of us were subtly resisting the soldiers. They ignored our pathetic fight, digging their hands into our arms even more fiercely.

"I've never liked you anyway," the soldier holding my wrists whispered in my ear.

"Ditto, sister," I growled back.

I didn't know exactly how to feel when this particular soldier with the gold band on her arm showed up at my cell door. It had been a good fifteen years since I had seen her. She was older, more menacing than ever. Then again, so was I.

The soldier escorting Adam also had a gold band. I barely recognized him; it had been years, and he was much older. Still, he had the same dark hair and lean stature. I remembered when he was just a child, held tight in Krane's grip. We had rescued him and his siblings, only to let them fall into the hands of another villain.

"So, S-1," Adam said in a casual manner, "what's it like to be a bad guy?"

"Shut up, prisoner!" the other soldier shouted.

"S-225, right?" I said. "The final soldier. You were that little kid."

He scowled. "I wasn't little. And I have the full power to execute you where you stand."

"No you don't," S-1 said.

"Shh!" her brother hissed.

"You won't kill us," I said. "We're too valuable to you. You and your master need us alive."

"You're right," S-1 said, tightening her grip. "The Sovereign probably won't kill you. But he'll do something far, far worse."

"Something you were subject to for many years and we finally freed you from. You should be down on your knees thanking us!"

S-1 kicked my ankles. "No talking, prisoners!"

Adam and I shared a look. I had tried that line so many times, but it never worked. It wasn't because they were ungrateful; I knew that. They were as much the victims as we were.

Nonetheless, we obeyed and remained silent. It was only a minute later when we arrived at the large doors. I had never been in there; I had hoped I never would. Oh well. Dreams were made to die.

The moment we walked into the room and stood before the dark man, a sickening feeling entered the pit of my stomach, just as it always did. Every time there was some shred of hope that he wasn't as evil as he seemed. It was one thing to fight him from the shadows, but to actually come face-to-face with the man I had hated—yes, I said hated—for so many years was both horrifying and frightfully upsetting. It had been so long since we had come in front of him, but at the same time, it felt like only yesterday.

"Leave us."

S-1 and S-225 shoved us to our knees and bowed, walking silently out of the room. That left Adam and I alone with that horrible tyrant. We stayed on our knees. To rise would be treason; not that treason was what we were worried about. We knew this man more than we wished to. We knew what he could do.

"Well, well, well," he said, a smile sliding across his face. The Sovereign sat on his "throne" in front of the window, staring down at us like we were mere insects.

"You couldn't have picked another line?" Adam asked. "I mean, that one is so cliché. Every villain uses it."

"Quiet," The Sovereign growled. The smile returned. It was evil and malicious, like always. "It's been too long."

"Not long enough," I muttered under my breath.

"Twelve years, I believe? Ah yes, now I remember. I killed that young man. I remember you going out with him in college, Bree. What was his name? Preston?"

The hair on the back of my neck bristled at my husband's name. My chest rose and fell slowly in a desperate effort to keep from lashing out. "Don't . . . call me . . . Bree," I said as I exhaled.

"What would you prefer I call you? Prisoner 1132? Or Mrs. Summers? I always forget: For a widow, is it Mrs. or Ms.?"

You're the super genius, you tell me.

That retort would've worked fine twenty years ago, but not here. Not anymore.

"Bree," Adam whispered in a warning tone.

Adam was right. I couldn't let The Sovereign get to me. He would try to push my buttons, but he couldn't be allowed to set me off. I had to keep my cool, no matter how impossible it seemed.

"I have dreamed of this day for a very long time." The Sovereign stood up and stepped off his little platform, walking towards us. "The day when I have finally captured the Davenports. The day when the Defiance is defeated. The day when you are down on your knees in front of me, completely overpowered and utterly pathetic, like you truly are."

"We're far from defeated," Adam said, looking right at The Sovereign. "Hope can never be destroyed. The Defiance will live on in the hearts and minds of the people long after we're dead."

"He's right!" I added. "And that's not something I say often. You can't truly defeat us."

The Sovereign threw back his head and laughed. A shiver went down my spine as I realized that he sounded exactly like Krane. What had he become?

"Don't you get tired of this?" I asked.

"Tired of what? Being all-powerful and ruling the world? Not at all."

"Living like this. You were a good man once. Don't you remember?" It was pointless to try to reason with him, but I couldn't stop myself. "You know you're going to lose. It's not too late. You can turn this all around."

"You're trying this again? In case you haven't noticed, I just won our little war. You lost. Where did your hope get you? You fought for your freedom only to lose it in the end. You are defeated. Accept it!"

"No," Adam said. He glared at the ground, and I had no doubt that if we weren't wearing bionic-signal-interrupting cuffs, his heat vision would be boring a hole straight through the floor. "We're never going to stop fighting, Sovereign. You're not going to destroy our pride."

The Sovereign pursed his lips and walked up to Adam. Without warning, he swung out and hit my brother in the face. Adam fell onto the floor, but he didn't move. He knew, as I did, that moving would only mean more pain.

"Adam!" I screamed, moving as if I would get up.

An invisible force gripped my body, rendering me immovable. The Sovereign stood with his arms outstretched. His fingers curled inwards and I gasped at the sudden spasm of pain. If his telekinetic grip got any tighter, he would surely snap my ribs.

"Bree!" This time it was Adam's turn to be stopped by the force. He managed to sit up, but, like me, he was trapped in The Sovereign's cruel grip.

"Struggling only makes it worse."

My body relaxed as he lowered his arms. Adam and I gasped for breath. It felt good to move my chest again. The Sovereign moved in front of me and bent over so we were eye-to-eye.

"You remember when I learned this power, don't you? You remember how much I loved it. It was raw power, beautiful power. I wouldn't change that day for anything. Remember that."

I looked up into his face. In fact, I took the bold move of looking into his eyes. Those hazel orbs stared back at me. They were muddied with evil desires and malicious goals. I remembered when they had been so innocent and carefree. It had been a long time since they looked like that.

This man had completely broken himself. I was there to see the whole thing, and it had been awful. Sometimes I wondered why I hadn't stopped him. Then I remembered that this was his fault. He turned himself into this monster. He gave in to the darkness. Maybe I could've done a better job of trying to save him, but would it really have helped?

The Defiance was our way of fighting this darkness. None of us wanted to become like him. We wanted freedom for the people. Defiance means to defy; to defy means to rebel. I would always, always rebel against The Sovereign. Nothing he did could make me stop. To my dying breath, I would defy him.

For a second, something flickered in The Sovereign's hazel eyes. Something that gave me hope. I couldn't describe it, but for just a moment I felt like there was some chance of getting him back. For years I had fought to turn him back to the light side, but he always resisted. I had all but given up. No, not even that little spark could save him now.

"Why?" I rasped. There was nothing else to say. "Why would you do this to us?"

"It's my destiny," he replied.

"What would you know of destiny?" Adam spat.

"I know that I am more powerful than all of you." The Sovereign narrowed his eyes and straightened. "I know that I've taken over the world and reformed it. If you would only stop fighting . . ."

"Fighting your tyranny!" Adam shouted.

"There is no need for this violence!" The Sovereign shouted back. "If you would only submit, you would not be hurt. You would not risk innocent lives!"

"Liar!" It was my turn to join in the shouting. "You murdered an entire city of innocents. Two cities. And that was only the beginning! You sent your soldiers after anyone you even thought would oppose you. You killed thousands in that first year alone. You were destroying innocent lives before the Defiance was even formed. You cannot blame this on us. You've killed your own officials on suspicion of treachery. You never had proof! You just killed as you felt like it. There are hundreds, thousands, millions every year who suffer because of you. That is not our fault."

"There is a price to war. I waged war on the world because it was broken. Lives lost in the beginning were only to get where we are today. You can't deny that things are better now."

"Yes I can!" Adam said. "You ruined earth for me. Why couldn't I have been born a Martian?"

"You'll never change." The Sovereign scowled.

"There's one thing we can agree on," I whispered.

"I won't deny that some people have died. But they were necessary for the advance of my empire. For the betterment of the world!"

"You're wrong," I said. My voice was barely audible, but I didn't need to shout to get my point across. "You've always been wrong. I knew you were you wrong from the moment you . . . you . . ."

"Killed Chase?" He smirked. "I remember it. The best moment of my life. When I let 'Chase' die, I felt liberated. Suddenly I didn't regret hurting you."

My face twitched. It hurt to hear those awful words. "Have I ever mentioned that I hate you?"

"The feelings are reciprocated." His eyes gleamed with evil mischief. "It's too bad that you could not understand my plan for the world."

"I'll never understand it," Adam said, "so long as it involves hurting other people. That's not what I was taught to do."

"No," The Sovereign said. "It's something you must learn on your own. Unfortunately, I don't think you ever will. As it is, I'll have to make you into weapons of destruction."

"You don't scare us," I said.

"I should. After all, it's only a matter of time before I get the old man to spill his guts about the secrets on your chips."

"What did you do to Mr. Davenport?" Adam yelled. He tried to move forward, but was immediately restrained by The Sovereign's psychokinetic grip.

"Nothing that concerns you," The Sovereign said, his glare ice-cold. "And believe me, he'll talk soon enough."

"You won't break him!" I said more confidently than I felt.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Another horrifying thought entered my mind: Mr. Davenport wasn't bionic. If The Sovereign got the information out of him—and I was praying he wouldn't—Mr. Davenport would become useless to him.

"If you kill my father," I said through gritted teeth, "so help me, I'll . . ."

"You'll what?" The Sovereign folded his arms. "I'd love to hear the end of that threat."

"I will make sure you die a slow, painful death."

"You can't kill me. We established that years ago. And what would it matter if I took away another member of your family? You've already lost so much. Your real father, all those years ago." The Sovereign started to walk behind us.

I caught Adam looking at me. Be strong. That was the message we shared with our eyes.

"Your husband, after he died to save you. Your brother; after all, I think we all know that Chase will never come back. And . . ."

And? Who is "and"? Those are the only people I've lost. Fear flooded my veins. No, there couldn't be anyone else. Please, no.

The Sovereign paused dramatically. Finally, he finished: "And your daughter."

"What did you do to Aspen?" I screamed.

"Nothing at all," he said calmly as he moved back in front of us. "In fact, it was her choice to die instead of joining me."

"No," I murmured. If she really had died as an alternative to following The Sovereign, then I was proud. But if she was dead . . . I couldn't even bear to think about it.

"It won't be long before I learn just how to control you again. Enjoy your final days of freedom. In jail, ironically." He snickered.

S-1 and S-225 came back in through the door. They picked us up and dragged us out of the room. The trip back through the mansion, the courtyard, and the prison was a blur. Next thing I knew, I was lying in a cold cell with Adam's arm around my shoulder.

"Aspen," I whispered.

"I'm sure he's just bluffing," my brother said, pulling me closer to him.

"What if he's not? Aspen and Scarlet never came back. I can't lose my daughter too. Adam, I can't." I buried my face in his chest. He patted my back.

"It'll be fine. Trust me, Bree, we always turn out all right."

"No, we really don't."

"Well, excuse me for being optimistic. Come on, Bree, don't give up now. Aspen's a smart girl. And The Sovereign's a liar. I'm sure she's fine."

"Maybe." I took a deep breath and looked up into Adam's eyes. "Hey, Adam? I, uh, have a confession."

"What?"

"When we were in there, and I was looking at The Sovereign . . . for just a second, I . . . I thought Chase was still alive."

Hurt flashed across Adam's face for a split-second. "Then I have a confession: me too."

"I know he's not. He's gone . . . he's really gone." I put my head down into Adam's shirt again. I was so happy that I still had Adam and Leo to be good brothers to me. Leo. Where was he?

"It's his choice. He changed, and we knew from that moment that we would never get him back."

"Yeah. I feel like I've lived three separate lives. The first one in the lab with just you and Chase and Mr. Davenport, the second after Leo found us and we were in the real world, and third is the nightmare we're living now. Now, where we're running for our lives from someone we used to love."

"Life is crazy. And it's never going to be normal, no matter how much you want it to be."

"True. You know, Adam, you're a lot smarter than we give you credit for."

"Thanks." He smiled.

Deafening silence reigned for a few seconds. It was too much. It was broken when I whispered, "Kill me."

"Bree Allison Davenport, we've been over this."

"And it still hurts. Life is still awful. I just . . . I just want it all to end."

"Listen." Adam grabbed my arms and forced me to look at him. "Listen to me. We've had nineteen years fighting against this guy. We promised a long time ago that we wouldn't let him ruin our lives."

"And yet, he has."

"You be quiet. You're my little sister, you always will be, and I can't lose you. I can't lose you to death, and I can't lose you to despair. You're the only one who knows exactly what I'm going through. You're the only one who was there with me the day it all changed. You can't give up now. You're strong, Bree. You always have been. Don't give up."

I nodded numbly. "I'll stick around if you do."

Adam smiled. "We've always been a team."

"One member of our team becoming a monster doesn't change the relationship between the two of us. The Sovereign can't break us apart. No one can."

"Yeah. We're like superglue . . . or duct tape. That stuff sticks to everything."

I chuckled. "Remember that swan you made out of duct tape?"

"Somehow my arms were completely wrapped up in tape and Mr. Davenport had to cut me out. I knew I should've made a duck. Ah, our childhood was interesting, wasn't it?"

"Adam, you did that last January."

"Oh, right."

I shook my head and smiled. "You're always going to be a child on the inside, aren't you."

"Pretty much."

I smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. "Well, if I'm not going to give up on life, can I at least get some sleep? I'm exhausted."

"Of course. Goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"Too late." I scratched my thigh. "Prisons are the worst."

Adam wrapped his arms around me. Instead of fighting the exhaustion, as I had been doing all day, I let sleep come. I laid my head down on Adam's chest and let my eyes close. I had no idea what the future held. I didn't know if we would wind up becoming mindless soldiers. I didn't know if the world would forever live under the shadow of The Sovereign. I didn't even know if my own daughter was alive.

The world was a mess, even more than it had been before. Yet, I was still able to sleep. There in that cold cell, with so much uncertainty and fear—and determination—I fell fast asleep.

"Chase, you need to stop this. Stop right now. We're going home."

"This is completely crazy. You're starting to scare me."

"You don't understand!"

"You've said that fifty times already. It doesn't change a thing."

"Enough!" Chase swung his arm out, and we went flying backwards. I landed on my back with a groan. When I looked up, Chase stood there with his hand outstretched. Confusion and conflict were written all over his face. His fingers curled backwards slightly. He spun back around without another word.

"Please," I pleaded, "you know this isn't right. We'll get you home. We'll get you help. You've been through a lot lately. We'll help you."

"I'm beyond help." His fingers gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white.

"If you're not with me . . . then you're against me." He held up a small remote and pressed the button. "Soldiers . . . attack Adam and Bree."

Adam and I sat down on the fallen log, trying to catch our breath. "What . . . what just happened?" I asked.

Adam looked me in the eye. It was one of the few times in my life I had seen him look serious. With a purely sorrowful expression, he said, "We just watched our brother die."

Ta-da! Oh, and hey, look at that. A few sneak peeks at Descent Into Madness, WDF's prequel. Those sections are subject to change, but they should remain roughly the same. I know exactly what I want that scene to look like. :)

So, anyone know who S-225 is? It should be kinda obvious. I had to pick a number for the final soldier, and 225 seemed good. It's a nice number, isn't it? So Krane had 225 soldiers, according to me.

How'd you like it? Thanks to all for reading! I really wanted to show how Bree felt about all this, and I think I pulled if off well. Your thoughts? Let me know in a review! I'll see you all soon. Bye, lovelies! :D