Yes, I know it's been forever. But as you can see, I have not abandoned this story. Although, it will be a bit longer than initially thought. Not that that's a bad thing. I've suddenly caught a second Lab Rats wind while not forgetting about my other stories, including my other Lab Rats stories. I hope no one's forgotten about this story like I almost did. Emphasis on 'almost.' Anyway, I hope you like it.

Brothers in Enemies

Chapter Two

"Riker!"

Chase and Bree rushed to his side.

"He's alive," Chase said, checking the shapeshifter's pulse. "His heart rate's a little low, but his breathing is steady."

"What was that?" His sister breathed in disbelief.

"I don't know. But whatever it was, it knocked Riker unconscious. It obviously has something to do with this healing power of his."

Bree was about to say something when they heard a soft, slightly raspy voice. "Chase?"

Chase stood up quickly. "Douglas?"

"Hey, kiddo," he replied, blinking rapidly and rubbing his eyes.

"How ya feelin'?"

"Okay. A little sore. Vision is real wonky. Really, really wonky." He took a deep breath and try to set up, immediately falling back. "Okay, that's not gonna happen." He paused briefly. "Someone else's here. Besides you and Bree."

"It's Riker. He just saved your life."

"Help me set up." As Chase helped him, he continued. "What happened?"

As he spoke, the hyper-lift opened, and the three superheroes stumbled out, shouting. "What happened down here?"

They all looked at the two. Three. Four?

"Douglas?" Oliver blinked, then said the man's name again. "Douglas?"

"Who's on the floor?" Skylar said slowly.

"Riker," Chase replied. "He just saved Douglas's life."

The three superheroes stared, stunned.

Kaz broke from his daze. "What the heck happened?"

Bree looked up. "Riker has healing powers."

A collective and rather shocked "what?" filled the room.

"He used it to save Douglas," Chase explained. "It must've taken a lot out of him. He collapsed when all Douglas's vitals went back to normal."

"He used his own lifeforce to heal me," Douglas said, turning to Chase. "Help me get the stuff off. We need to get him up here."

"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to be getting up?" Oliver asked. "I mean you were just healed after… And you're not…."

"I know. And no, I'm not sure it's a good idea. Besides, he –"

"Wait," Skylar interrupted. "How do you know he used his lifeforce?"

Douglas looked at her. "I can feel it." He slid off the bed, nearly falling as his knees buckled.

"You know… Dad," Chase began, a touch of sarcasm in his voice, helping him back up, "just because you've been healed, doesn't mean you're fully recovered."

"Yeah, yeah…. Just shut up and help me." He turned to the others. "Get him up here," then back to Chase, "I need you to check his vitals. I can't exactly see."

"Are you blind?" Kaz asked as he and Oliver laid Riker on the bed. "Wow… That's the first time I've ever said that when it's actually been a legitimate question."

"Yes, I am," Douglas replied. "And I doubt it's temporary."

Everyone fell quiet, but the silence didn't last long. "Hey," Oliver began, "if Riker used his own lifeforce to heal you, does that mean he transferred some of his superpowers to you?"

Douglas thought for a moment. "I don't know."

His siblings had disbursed, ceasing their destruction for the moment and he now sat alone in the room with his father. Both were quiet. It had been nearly two hours since Riker left. Although his face didn't show it, Roman was worried. His brother shouldn't be taking this long, whether he had been successful in his mission or not. Something was wrong.

"I should go get him," he finally said. "Riker's been gone too long."

"Patience, my son," Rodissius replied.

They fell into silence once again, which only allowed Roman's thoughts to run wild. Anything could've happened. Besides, he wasn't at full strength when their father sent him out to take care of Douglas. Riker had used his healing powers on their father, which only the two brothers knew he had, and which he never should have used in the first place. It was too dangerous for him. Another thought entered his mind; one that spelled disaster. But Riker wouldn't try that. He wouldn't be that stupid. And he definitely wouldn't use it on their enemy. Would he?

Having decided that time was irrelevant to him at the moment, Douglas had little concern for the question that he was going to be asked at any moment. Until that moment arrived, however, he would sit silently beside Riker's bedside. It felt strange to see in such a new way. Yes, he was blind, in that his sight was not the same as it once was. His vision was vastly different from those with sight and even those who were considered legally blind. At least, different from those whom he had spoken to that had lost their sight after years of having the ability. There was so much to understand about this new sight and it was likely something he would have to learn on his own; and that was perfectly fine with him.

Despite this rather significant loss, he couldn't put the project he had been working on before the attack went down on hold. It had to be finished. The project was simple, but severely needed. He now needed a pair of eyes to help him. Pulling any of the Elite Force to help him was out of the question. They needed to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. If anyone was going to help him, it needed to be the young man lying on the bed in front of him. Now that he was fully resting. Riker's vitals had gone back to normal; but he was still unconscious and likely would be for a while until his body healed. Douglas had a bad feeling for what was about to transpire. He knew as soon as Riker awoke he'd want to return to his family, regardless of how his personal mission had gone. It was unlikely he would be at full strength when he finally woke.

Douglas's ear twitched at the sound of movement. Riker was waking up. A soft groan emanated from the young shapeshifter's direction. Hmm…. He's waking up a lot quicker than I thought he would. I'm sure that's not a good thing.

Riker slowly opened his eyes, at first wondering where on earth he was. As his mind cleared, he realized he was still in Elite Force's mission command – or whatever they called it. Rubbing his eyes, he stared at the ceiling, laying still for a moment, before trying to sit up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

He slowly turned his head to see the man who he had nearly lost his own life to save. "I should be saying that to you," he said groggily.

Douglas smiled. "Perhaps. But I got the first words in." He paused. "How ya feelin'?"

Placing his arm over his eyes, Riker replied, "like I just got the life sucked out of me."

"Well… That's not too far from the truth."

Riker sighed heavily. "You're blind, aren't you?"

Douglas sighed as well. "Yeah, I am."

"Sorry I couldn't save your sight."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Riker. I'd be dead now if it wasn't for you." After a slight pause, Douglas continued, "which begs me to wonder…. Why? Clearly, it had a bit of a negative effect on you."

He forced himself to sit up. "Hold on, hotshot," Douglas said, standing and placing his hand on Riker's chest simultaneously. "Lay back down." Riker sighed and obeyed.

"I need to get back home," the young shapeshifter said, staring up at him.

"I know," Douglas replied softly. "But before you go… I need your help with something."

Riker raised an eyebrow. "My help?"

"Yes. Your help. I have a project I need to finish."

"What kind of project?"

"I need to upgrade Chase's chip." Riker stared at him. He shook a water bottle in front of the shapeshifter's face. "Thirsty?"

Riker nodded. "Yeah."

Douglas helped him sit up, slowly, and then handed him the bottle of water. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Douglas paused, allowing Riker to drink as much as he needed. "You still haven't answered my question."

The young shapeshifter hesitated. "When I saw you lying on that – this bed, all I could see was my own father. I knew exactly how Bree and Chase felt."

Douglas nodded. "And you knew what it would cost you?"

Riker, in turn, nodded. "Yeah."

"Not exactly something a villain would do."

The shapeshifter grimaced, pushing the sheets off himself and pulling his knees up. "No. I suppose not."

"You up for moving around?" Douglas asked, knowing full well the kid shouldn't be.

He nodded, even though he was still sore from head to toe. But he needed to get moving. Roman would definitely be coming after him at any moment.

"This won't take long," Douglas said as Riker slowly put his feet on the ground. "Careful." The kid was a bit wobbly, but okay.

"So, what exactly is this project you need my help with?" Riker asked. "More importantly, why do you need my help?"

Douglas grinned. "As I said, I need to upgrade Chase's chip. Kaz and Oliver can both fly, and Bree and Skylar have superspeed. Chase can't keep relying on them to get him from point A to point B. So… I'm upgrading his chip to include the geo-leaping app."

Riker furrowed his brow. "Whatever that is. Again, why do you need my help?"

Giving him a soft smile, Douglas leaned into his unfinished staff. "I need you to be my eyes."

Riker stared at him, unsure of what to do.

"You don't have to," Douglas continued softly. "You can go. I promise I'm not keeping you here. But I really do need your help."

Well, I've already defied my father, Riker thought. He nodded. "All right. I'll help."

"Thank you." Douglas walked over to the cyber desk with Riker following.

"Why do you trust me to help?"

Douglas turned to him, answering the shapeshifter's question with a question. "Why are you still here?"

Riker grimaced at the apparent rhetorical question. But the man had a point. He sighed. "So, what do I need to do?"

As he soared through the air back towards his home, his mind began to race. He couldn't believe what he had just done. Not only had he saved his enemy, but he had helped the man with his cause. What's gotten into me? He thought. More importantly, what was his father going to do to him? He shook off the thought. It wasn't important. What's done is done. And he had to deal with it. There was no turning back, no changing what had transpired. In all honesty, he didn't have the faintest idea of how his father would react. His sister on the other hand…. Well… Well, he didn't really care. He was sure she had gloated to Douglas that she was more powerful than both him and Roman. It was laughable.

Back in human form, he took a deep breath, staring at the entrance to his "home." "Well… Here goes nothing."

Roman found himself pacing around the room. It was now pushing five hours since Riker had left. The thoughts of something horrible having happened to him flooded Romans mind. His ear twitched at the sound of footsteps, then he saw his brother emerge from the darkened hallway.

"Riker." Roman rushed over to him. He was a little pale and definitely weaker. "What happened to you?"

"I couldn't do it," he said softly.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "What?" His brother turned his gaze to the floor. "Riker, what did you do?"

"I healed him."

He didn't know how much damage their sister had done to Douglas, but if his little brother went all-out to save the man…. He stopped his thought as he watched brother's knees buckle.

"Riker!" Roman caught him just before his knees hit the ground.

"I really don't feel so good," his brother said softly.

Before the doors of the hyper- lift opened, Douglas could hear the racket on the other side. The rest of his family was finally here. He smiled softly and as he stepped into the room he braced himself for the onslaught.

"Douglas!" He had figured the first one to rush him would have been Adam or Daniel. Or even Leo; possibly his brother. But it was Tasha who shouted his name in relief and put her arms around him; he reciprocated. Pulling out of the embrace, she placed her hands on his face, and proceeded to bombard him with questions. "How are you? Are you okay? Chase said you were blind. Can you see anything at all?"

He smiled as the questions tumbled out of her mouth. Taking her left hand in his right he said, "I love you, too, Tasha." A concerned – and slightly incredulous – look crossed her face. "I'm okay. Really. I promise."

She grimaced. "Okay… But if you need anything, anything at all, you tell me."

He smiled again, softly. "I will." After a brief pause, he started to speak again. "And ye –" but was cut off by a massive bearhug from Adam. "Missed you, too, Adam."

"I thought you were dead," he said, almost accusingly, letting Douglas go.

"I do give that impression a lot," Douglas replied, trying to add some levity; but failing, judging by the eldest Lab Rat's expression. "I promise I didn't do it on purpose this time."

Adam looked him over. "Good. And don't do it again."

"I'll try my best."

Leo stepped in front of Douglas, arms wide open. "Come on. You know you want a hug from me."

He shook his head at his nephew, grinning. "Yeah… You're right."

After giving Leo a hug, he called for his big brother. "Donnie."

Donald didn't respond verbally. He simply walked over to his little brother and pulled him into embrace, somewhat stunning Douglas. Quickly recovering from his initial shock, he let go of his staff and embraced his big brother.

"Thank God, you're okay," Donald said softly, a few tears escaping down his cheeks. "I thought I lost you for good this time."

"I thought I was a goner, too," the younger Davenport replied, shedding a few tears of his own. As he pulled away he continued, "but I got a little help from the most unlikely of places."

"Yeah, Chase informed us," Donald replied, wiping away his tears.

"Where's Daniel?" Douglas reflexively began looking around. "Daniel?"

A soft voice reached his ears. "Dad?"

He turned to the direction of the boy's voice. "Daniel."

Within moments the boy had his arms wrapped around his father, sobbing. Douglas immediately wrapped his arms around his youngest child in return, holding him tightly. Tears began streaming down his cheeks as he rested his chin on the top of his son's head.

"I thought you were gonna die," Daniel said through his tears. "I just found you. I can't lose you."

"I'm okay, pal. I may not have much in the way of eyesight and be a little worse for wear, but I'm okay."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, son." Douglas kissed him on the top of the head. Pulling away from their embrace, he put his arm around Daniel's shoulders and retrieved his staff, which had conveniently fallen nicely against the wall, with his free hand. He scanned the room, his ear twitching at the sounds of his family talking softly to each other.

"Can I ask you something?" Daniel queried.

"Of course," his dad replied.

"Can you see anything at all?"

The boy's question caught the attention of everyone in the room and a hush fell over them.

"Well, as I was gonna say before Adam decided to squeeze me like a stress ball," Douglas began, "yes, technically I am blind." He paused, thinking about how to describe his new visual perception. "But it's not like typical blindness."

"What do you mean?" Tasha asked.

"I don't know how to explain it." Douglas thought for a moment. "When I first woke up, I couldn't see at all. But after a few moments, my vision started to come back, just… All wrong." He paused again, everyone remained silent. Suddenly, it popped into his head; the closest description. "You remember in The Fellowship of the Ring when they showed what Frodo saw when he wore the ring? Just the visuals themselves?"

They all nodded.

"It's like that. Not exactly, but similar."

Kaz opened his mouth to speak, but Douglas turned to face him, cutting him off. "No, Kaz. I can't see Sauron." He opened his mouth again. "Or Ring Wraiths."

"Well, that's boring," Kaz commented, finally being allowed to speak. A few groans echoed through the room. "What?"

Donald shook his head, approaching his brother. "So, you can see?"

"Not details, but I can see well enough to navigate around without help." He paused momentarily as a thought entered his mind. "I suppose it'd be like looking through a window being pounded on by rain, except all the colors are muted, dull."

The elder Davenport pursed his lips. "I suppose we would have to experience it ourselves to understand."

"Well, I hope you never do experience it."

"Especially by getting blasted in the face," Kaz's voice rang.

Skylar jabbed him in the side. "Really?"

Douglas couldn't help smirking while everyone else stared at Kaz. However, he wasn't entirely sure if his smirk was for flyboy's comment or alien girl's reaction. "Yes, and I still have a headache."

Adam stood on the other end of the room opposite Douglas, thinking. "Hey, if you can see good enough, why do you need Gandalf's staff?"

Douglas grinned, taking his arm from around his youngest's shoulders and methodically walking over to his eldest. A wave of uncertainty washed over Adam. Douglas stopped in front of him and smiled. "So I can do this."

With one swift motion – at a speed that impressed both Bree and Skyler – Douglas took his staff to the back of his son's knees, sweeping him off his feet.

Adam landed on his back with a loud thud. He lay silently for a moment, stunned, then said, "that was awesome."

Douglas smiled, shaking his head as everyone else laughed. He sat down in the chair across from the couch, Donald pulling up a stool next to him. "So, what happened, exactly?" Donald asked as the rest of the group began milling about. "Chase left out a few details. He said it'd be better to ask you since he wasn't the one laying on his deathbed. All he could really tell me was Riker's decision to help and what he and Bree witnessed."

The younger Davenport sat quietly for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure myself. As absurd as it sounds, I know for a fact that Riker transferred his own lifeforce into me. I'm not sure what that really means, if anything." He paused, looking his lips. "I just… Feel different."

Before Donald could respond, Bree spoke up. "Where is Riker, anyway?"

"He left," Douglas replied, "went home."

"Why'd you let him go?" Oliver asked.

"I couldn't force him to stay. As much as I would've preferred that he did, at least until he fully healed, I couldn't make him stay. I owe him too much."

"Well, yeah," Kaz said, "but if Rodissius finds out what Riker did, he might –"

Douglas cut him off. "His father won't hurt him. If anything, we'll be blamed for his current state."

"Do you think he's gonna be okay?" Bree asked.

"I don't know," Douglas said. "If he's given enough time to heal he should be. But I can't guarantee anything." He stood up and walked to the kitchen. Looking out through the glass doors to the terrace, he caught the silhouette of a bird. He opened the doors and said, "Roman."

The rest of those gathered in the penthouse made their way towards Douglas as the shapeshifter changed back to his human form. He stepped in front of the spike-haired man, staring into his strange looking eyes. Roman made a mental note of the milky film covering the man's irises before speaking.

"What did you do to my brother?" There was no malice in his voice, rather concern; and though very small, fear, flooded Douglas's senses.

The members of Elite Force moved closer to protect the older man, but he stretched out his staff in front of them, stopping them and gesturing for them to stay back. "I know you know what happened," Douglas said. "You knew without him saying a word." Roman let out a sigh, not breaking eye contact with the man. "So, I ask you this, Roman. Why are you here?"

Elite Force

And there it is. I hope it was worth the hideously long wait. I'll try not to take another year-plus for the next update.

Until the next chapter.

Bye-bye.