Disclaimer: I do not own Lab Rats or any other Disney owned mention, only this FanFic which belongs to ME. © StripedFuzzySocks

A/N: You've probably been dying to know what happened after the last chapter ... well, here it is. I won't spoil it for you, so kick back and I'll let Bree take it from here...

Chapter 4

Believable Lies

Bree

There was nothing but infinite white as far as the eye could see. But I wasn't going to give up now, not after everything I've been through to get here. It felt like forever since I'd been this energized, this full of determination to complete my mission. I was so close, so close I could almost taste it. My little brother was out there somewhere in that snowstorm, and nothing would stop me from finding him. Nothing. If I squinted really hard, I could just make out the horizon line, the only thing in this freezing blizzard to remind me that there was something out there, however unlikely.

Katabatic winds roared furiously as it shoved me backwards with brute force. Windburn tears streaming, I pushed onwards, the thought of Chase going through all this enough to keep me going. I will find him. With each step forward I took, the storm swallowed up every trace my feet imprinted in the snow. None of it bothered me as I trudged on, led by sheer instinct that Chase was near. Not far now, I could feel it. I was so ready to see that familiar face. So ready to hear the sound of his voice. I needed him like I needed air. There!

A lone shadowy figure could just barely be distinguished against the mass of white, I almost thought I was imagining it. But it was enough proof for me, for somewhere deep inside of me I knew it was him. I quickly picked up speed, growing more and more excited. This was it, this was really it. But I never reached him. I was trapped in an endless cycle of running while the figure remained stationary, neither getting bigger or smaller. He was so close, yet so far. Is this how it ends? Am I doomed to run forever, but never reach him?

My eyes snapped open, wide with exhilaration. I was panting hard with a hand over my heart. Thank goodness, it was just a dream. But jeez, it was so vivid! What if that was real and this was a dream? I shook my head wearily, too tired to think straight. The last thing I remember with certainty was kissing Ethan. No, the last thing I remember is calling 911 after Ethan passed out. The whole episode was all so surreal and I was still trying to process everything that happened. As of right now, I had no idea where I was, if I was awake or asleep, dead or alive.

I tried to sit up and get a better look at my surroundings, but excruciating pain gripped my side, causing me to collapse back to my original position. Okay, so I wasn't dead. If I were dead, everything would be painless - I'm pretty sure. I rubbed my side to feel it wrapped up neatly with thick bandages. Did someone find me and treat my burn? That's when it hit me. I wasn't hot. In fact, other than my side injury, I felt totally fine. It was just as if nothing had happened at all. I checked my arms to be sure. Normal skin tone. Ugh, this was too bizarre, even for me.

I stared up at a blank, white ceiling, my only clue as to my whereabouts. So, I was indoors with bandages covering my burn... that on top of the overpowering antiseptic smell, my best guess was a hospital. Now... how to break out of a hospital? I wondered, just as the squeal of a door opening broke into my thoughts. Already, my muscles had tensed for battle and my hands were curled into fists. I guess old habits never truly go away. Not being able to simply turn around and see who it was, I tracked the mystery visitor by their footsteps, which clanked loudly against a tile floor.

"Oh, good! You're awake!" A gentle female voice exclaimed. She loomed over me, her thick blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Deep green eyes laid on my brown ones, which suddenly felt dull and simple. She seemed sympathetic, like she felt sorry for me or something. Like she cared. Now I was really suspicious. This had to be a trap. What if they were operating on me and found my chip by accident? What if I was trapped here as a hostage? Jeez, I need to get out more.

"Uh-huh." I answered simply, my eyes narrow and calculating. "So, do you mind telling me what's going on?" The woman smiled warmly and continued.

"You were in a terrible explosion, hun. You're very lucky your family showed up in time to give you CPR, you fainted from heat stroke. From these records, it's a miracle they managed to return your body back to normal homeostasis..." The woman puzzled at her clipboard as if trying to crack time travel.

"So, if my homeo-whatever's okay, why am I in a hospital?" I asked. The woman looked back at me startled, as if she'd forgotten I was there.

"You see, you also have a third-degree burn in your side. That's the severe kind. I'm afraid your surface nerves and tissues are badly damaged and you'll need to stay here for a few days to heal from your surgery. Oh, silly me! I forgot to tell you - you had surgery." The woman informed me solemnly. I quickly converted normal person healing time to bionic person healing time and concluded that it should only take a few hours. Chase isn't the only one who knows how to do math. I thought smugly and wondered what I was going to do all that time without a phone. I cursed under my breath before responding.

"Okay, where's my 'hearts-of-gold' family now?" I asked groggily. After my forest meltdown, I needed to pound some explanations out of Davenport. No more Mr. Nice Guy for him.

"They're waiting out in the hall. I'm sure they'll be just ecstatic to see that you're okay." More big smiles. I was starting to think she had a caffeine problem. "Ah, it's stories with happy endings like yours that remind me there is good in the world." What the ... ?

"What do you mean by that?" I gawked. Just when you think you've seen it all, a Dr. Barbie you've never met randomly says you're an inspiration. Huh, there was that sympathetic look again.

"Oh, I apologize if being adopted is a touchy subject for you. I know it's hard, I actually spent more than half of my childhood in an orphanage. But things have obviously worked out." She motioned towards her PhD framed on the wall. For a moment, I felt bad for her. She was pouring her heart out to the wrong person, what with me being a lab experiment and all. How was I going to tell her?

"I'm glad you were eventually adopted, but I think you have me confused with someone else. See, I wasn't adopted." I put as politely as I could. She looked confused for a moment, then seemed to redeem herself and return to a soft smile.

"The doctors performed a blood test as is the standard procedure before an operation. You're not related to Mr. Davenport, but instead originate from an entirely different bloodline. Did he not tell you already?" Dr. Barbie questioned, more warily this time. Something wasn't right... I was positive Davenport said he'd created us by extracting some of his own DNA into ours, so why wasn't his blood showing up in me? A little red flag went up in the back of my mind as I realised what this could mean. But that's impossible! Isn't it?

"N-no, he conveniently left that point out." I mumbled, half to myself. I brushed off the shock, I didn't know anything for sure yet. "What exactly do these test results say?" I practically growled, my voice like steel. Dr. Barbie was really startled now, blinking fast and hurriedly organizing her notes as she responded.

"I-I don't know, exactly! I'm just a nurse, I only know what the doctors tell me." She insisted.

Frustration gripped me harder than any burn. I needed to know! I bolted upright in my bed and immediately regretted it as raw pain seared my bandaged area mercilessly, causing me to wince in spite of myself. "What. Do. You. Mean." I forced out, ignoring all my physical pain. Dr. Barbie gasped and then recovered enough to gain some backbone for once in our 'little talk', her expression hardening sternly.

"Lay down at once or you'll risk re-opening your burn!" She ordered frantically. "I don't know who you real parents are, only that you don't share DNA with Mr. Davenport! Now, get down." I could tell she was trying to sound tough, but her voice was shaking. If this woman really knew anything, I had an idea of how to get her to talk, but it would hurt. Please don't make me do this. I willed silently. I placed a tentative hand on my masked wound in a threatening manner, not taking my eyes off the bewildered nurse.

"You wouldn't dare!" She whispered breathlessly, staring down my hand like a hawk. Do you know me? Oh, yes I would.

"Are you willing to risk it?" I argued. After several seconds of stunned silence, I slowly began to peel the bandage off, causing Dr. Barbie to shriek.

"Stop! I'll tell you what I know!" She hollered. That was good enough for me, I decided. I gratefully sealed the burn back up as best I could and faced her, hoping this wasn't a tease. She gulped in air, taking a few moments to catch her breath. Wow, I had really freaked her out.

"Okay, start talking." I said tensely.

"The doctors store all the patients' information on a super-computer in the basement. But it's restricted access only, I can't even get in. The security's tight and on 24/7. You're out of luck, kid. There's no way in." Dr. Barbie spilled, seemingly angry that she had given that much away.

"Thanks." I stated, slightly disappointed. But only slightly. I still had a fighting chance once I healed up, then it would only be a matter of time before I had some real answers in front of me. It might not be easy, but I don't need easy. I just need possible.

I zoomed effortlessly through the shadows of the night toward the hospital. Once I had reached the back wall, I cautiously weaved my way through some bushes, trying to make as little noise possible. It was dark out, finally. It had taken a whopping five hours for my burn to heal completely. And if you're bionic, that's saying something. I must have really hurt myself yesterday when my shirt caught fire. As expected, the doctors were shocked and amazed by my speedy recovery, but not even invasive science guys can argue with the fact that you can't keep a healthy patient trapped like an ill one. Thank goodness for hospital policies. Unfortunately, now I would have to backstab those policies.

It turned out Ethan was spending the night, due to severe hyperthermia (basically the opposite of hypothermia). I felt horrible about it, but at least he would be good to go for school tomorrow. And one good thing did come out of his condition: amnesia. Not only did he not remember my confessions, but the whole screwed up date was a blur to him. Talk about a life-saver, am I right? One less thing to worry about, now I could save room for other things. Like, my real parents, where I came from, maybe even my true purpose in life. Just a thought.

The embarrassing part of it all was how I was saved. As it turned out, Chase had the exact opposite side-effect of me but we were both brought back to normal when he... gave me mouth-to-mouth. Or in other words, EWWW. Note to self: never pass out again, ever. I had to admit, I was a little worried that Chase's super senses would pick up on my escape, but apparently those noise-canceling headphones worked because he never stirred. But finally, it was time. Back at the hospital, I'd tried my best to memorize the emergency exit hospital maps they have in every room.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and tried to remember its dimensions, but it was a blurred image. I could only recall the essentials that I made sure to know. Shaking my head in frustration, I was beginning to realise why Chase loved his eidetic memory so much. Of course, smarts could only go so far. Speed was the key in this break in. Keeping my guard up, I cautiously left the cover of the hedge and sped up a grassy hill. Next to the main building, there was a huge HVAC box that I wasted no time in unscrewing the cover off.

Just as I had expected, behind the cover was a razor-sharp high-speed fan. I let myself laugh softly under my breath at the words 'high-speed'. These people had no idea who they were dealing with. I zipped right through that sucker, no one could ever guess anyone was there. Except maybe the unscrewed cover, but I would deal with that on my way out. For now, I was in. Taking a deep breath, I started making my way through the air vent system. I carefully trekked through the endless metal tunnel, looking around, considering which way to go, for what felt like forever. I hated all the uncertainty.

Occasionally, I had to freeze when I heard someone coming, then continue nervously until I calmed down to regular precaution. But finally, I arrived at the main branch of the HVAC system. After a moment's hesitation, I toughed up and marched into the vent that led to the basement. Just a few more minutes, another couple hundred yards, and I would be at my ultimate destination. Let's do this.

I see no need to go into a lot of boring detail, but I found my way to the hospital's 'off-limits' data base. So far, the plan was working beautifully. I busted out the vent filter, half-expecting to hear loud motion detectors blare through the dark room, blowing my cover. I froze tensely in the shadows, but heard nothing other than the eerie silence of night. I allowed myself a soft sigh, since it looked like no one was around at the moment. Inspecting the abandoned computer room warily, I spied security cameras lining each corner of the room and made a mental note to take out the footage before I left.

Quickly, I zipped to the comically over-sized super computer and booted it up silently. I flinched at the bright, drowning screen light shattering the concealing darkness. So much for that camo, but if anything happened I knew what to do. A spark of determination glistening in my eyes, I started ripping open folders, examining files, staring stupidly at infinite lines of computer code... I had nothing. After an hour or two (yes, hours), I groaned furiously, my face buried in my hands as I pounded on the keyboard. The game plan had been foolproof, I had every move mapped out to the second. I was so excited about a solo mission and maybe, just maybe, finding out where I came from, that I had looked over one major flaw in my plan.

I didn't know nothing about the world of geeky technology. There was nothing here, nothing! And to think I actually thought I might find my real parents! Why was I so stupid? Deep down, I had kinda hoped that once I found out my real parents, they would be the perfect, loving cliché parents everyone raves about in cheesy Christmas movies. I always laughed at those picture perfect families with soggy-heart kids that might not last a day on their own. But that was just it. They didn't have to be super tough and independent all the time, they had people who loved them to take care of them.

Sure, Davenport did his best to act fatherly (especially in front of Leo), but sometimes I still catch him accidentally calling me Subject B behind my back. That was my name for the longest time, before I started to want something special. I slouched in the chair with my thinking face on, refusing to cry again. I was so sick of crying and feeling sorry for myself, I just wanted to punch my emotions away head on. That was more in my comfort zone. Even if I did find my real parents, what happens then? When I couldn't come up with an answer, I realised this was a wasted trip.

Sighing, I decided to just go home and forget this ever happened. I needed to put these soggy feelings behind me and get on with my life, and if that life was led in a lab, then that's how it is. Silently, I rose from the chair and focused on the security cameras above. Time to erase tonight. Before I moved a muscle, I heard a tiny clanking sound from behind me. I whipped around lightning-fast, just in time to spy the heavy metal door open with great effort. In less than a millisecond, I had turned the super-computer off and sped up onto the ceiling, clinging to the flat surface silently. I didn't dare breath as the figure closed the door behind him and calmly approached the computer.

While he busied himself with that, maybe I could just inch a little closer to the vent... the guy's head shot up without warning, looking me straight in the eye. A smug 'gotcha' grin played upon his face... that face. Oh my gosh, what was he doing here? I let myself nimbly drop down onto the floor next to him, easily landing on my feet. We were face to face now.

"What are you doing here?" I accused, bewildered.

A/N: Yay, Bree and Ethan aren't dead! But it looks like we have another problem on our hands... who do you think the stranger is? Meanwhile, thanks a whole big bunch to everyone that commented on my last chapter! You guys are truly inspiring! And once again, the more support I get on this story, the faster I write! See you all in Chapter 5. (: