Hi guys! How's it going? Good? Good! I'm back with the twenty-fifth chapter of Just Another Girl. I'm sorry if there's not as much action as you were hoping for. I really struggled with the beginning of the chapter, so give me a break, please! This chapter's also a bit shorter, but that's just the way it turned out.

There are a number of Star Wars references in this chapter, just so you guys know. And one reference to "Avatar: The Last Airbender." (The TV show. The movie sucked.) Can any of you find it?

I have a soundtrack for this chapter! "Demons" by Imagine Dragons. I listened to it over and over again for this chapter. It goes perfectly. Just for any of you who listen to music while you read.

Now it's time to discover just how good I did with April. I don't own Lab Rats, just April and Steven and any others you don't recognize.

* * * Chapter 25: Your Hate Consumes You * * *

The group of six entered the large room. Six men and three women all glanced up at the new arrivals. All nine had on lab coats and looked to be between the ages of thirty and forty-five.

The room itself was quite amazing. Chase felt like he had stepped into something from a sci-fi movie. The walls were covered with computers, and desks and chairs were everywhere. Chase could've appreciated a set-up like this, but unfortunately it was made by a bunch of maniacal scientists – all of whom were currently scowling at the teens.

"We don't appreciate what you did to all our kids," one woman said crisply. She had brown hair and looked suspiciously like Yolanda, Zack, and Alyssa. Which, according to Stacy, would mean this was Dr. Sadie Vanderburgh.

"News flash," Adam said, "you guys are terrible parents."

Chase saw another scientist out of the corner of his eye as the man raised his fist. The man had a strange glove on. Chase's eyes widened and he ducked – just in time. A laser shot across the room and nearly hit the teens. They all jumped out of the way and the battle began.

Fighting a bunch of middle-aged scientists is harder than it sounds. The bionics found themselves struggling. The scientists had quite a few clever devices on their side. Lasers shot out from all angles of the room and at one point there was smoke filling up one of the corners.

After a surprisingly difficult hand-to-hand combat battle, Chase managed to get the sleep strip onto one of the female scientists. He glanced around and saw three others lying on the ground. Six to go; one for each bionic.

Chase heard his name being called and turned to see April run up to him. "Chase!" she gasped breathlessly.

"What?" Chase asked, dodging another wild laser beam.

"S-Steven," April choked out. "I saw him escape! He ran out! He slipped into a secret passageway behind those computer screens over there. I'm going to go after him."

"Want me to come with you?" Chase asked.

"No!" April snapped, catching Chase off-guard.

"Why not?" Chase asked.

April looked down at her hands and bit her lip. "You wouldn't understand," she mumbled.

"Try me," Chase said, keeping an eye on the battle raging around him to make sure his siblings didn't need help yet.

"Steven has hurt me and my siblings all my life," April said, not meeting Chase's gaze. "I need to do this. I need to take him down. Besides, you're needed here. I can do this by myself. I've been waiting for this moment my whole life."

"April," Chase said, slipping her hand into his. "April, look at me."

April complied, looked straight into Chase's eyes. He felt a shiver go down his spine. April's blue eyes were filled with something he couldn't quite identify. It was . . . anger? Fear? No, not quite, but something close to that. Her eyes were dangerous and Chase suddenly felt nervous, if not outright scared.

"April, please don't do anything foolish," he said. "You're kinda scaring me right now."

"I know," April mumbled, looking away from her boyfriend. "You . . . I . . . I need to go. Please. He's already really far down there. I have to get him. I'll come back when I'm done. Let me go, Chase. Your siblings need you." April tilted her head in the direction of the battle around them. She pulled her hand out of Chase's and backed away slowly.

April turned to go, but Chase called after her, "Hey, I love you."

April froze for a moment. She smiled over her shoulder and muttered something. If not for his super-hearing, Chase probably wouldn't have even heard it. "I know."

Chase turned back to the battle to see Bree on the ground. Above her stood one of the scientists, a frightening-looking gun in his hand. Chase felt rage in his heart and hurried over. He stuck a sleep strip to the back of the man's neck. The scientist dropped soundlessly to the ground.

"You okay?" Chase asked, offering a hand to his sister.

"Yeah," she replied as she stood up. "I was fine, though."

"Sure, that's why he was pointing a gun at you," Chase said sarcastically.

"Alright, smarty-pants," Bree said with a scowl. "Come on, we have a fight to win."

"April's got Steven," Chase said. "That means we've only got four left. Shouldn't be too hard. Let's go."

April slipped behind the floor-to-ceiling computer screens, heading down the stairs directly behind them. She left the sounds of raging battle behind her and felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Still, April knew they could handle it. And right now Steven was the bigger threat.

So what if it's cliché? April thought bitterly. I need to face him alone. Adam, Bree, and Chase . . . they could never understand! Understand the things he's done to me . . . understand the way I feel.

None of April's friends needed to see what would happen next. April was not a very merciful person; not in a situation like this. She planned to get her hands dirty while taking down Steven. April knew that Chase would only yell at her for that. But he could never understand. He would never understand the unquenchable anger that burned in her heart; the same anger she had carried all her life.

The fifteen-year-old ran down the underground hallway made of stone. Her feet slapped against the ground and she hurried along in the dim light. Steven wasn't a fast runner. April could catch him.

A figure came into April's view as she went around the corner and came to a long, straight section of hallway. "Steven!" April called. The figure froze.

"Oh, hello, dear," Steven said, turning around with a sick smile. He kept his hands behind his back as he and April stood staring at each other, about twenty feet apart.

"You're going down," April growled.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that," Steven said in a surprisingly calm voice. He pulled his hands out from behind his back and April gasped.

Her father was holding a sonic gun. Without any hesitation, Steven raised the weapon and leveled it at his daughter's chest. April gulped, realizing her mistake. One blast from that weapon was enough to tear the flesh off of a normal human. Not to mention the sound waves it made greatly disrupted April's bionic hearing.

"Oh, you didn't realize I had this, did you?" Steven said.

April licked her lips nervously. There was nothing she could do. She couldn't turn invisible, because then Steven would just fire anyway. And there was no way she could move out of the range fast enough.

"What do you want?" April asked, deciding not to beat around the bush. There had to be some way out of this. She needed a moment to think.

"I want you to come back with me," Steven said smoothly. "We'll begin your training again and you can become the perfect bionic weapon I always wanted."

"No way," April spat. "I won't go back with you, ever! You know, believe it or not, bionics can be used for good things too. My new friends – the Davenports – use their bionics for life-saving missions."

"How noble," Steven said sarcastically.

"I even got to help them out once or twice. It was great. Being the good guy is really cool."

Steven laughed harshly. "And you think you're a good guy?"

"Yes, I do! I was! Am!"

"Right . . ." Steven said, dragging out the word. He rolled his eyes.

"I am!" April shouted furiously.

"You could never be!" Steven roared suddenly, stunning April. "You were not designed to be. And besides, there's that thing you call a personality. I know you well enough, April. You're not good."

"My personality is just fine!" April insisted. "Chase seemed to manage to fall in love with it. And it's better than yours, anyway."

"But you have something that no one could ever love. You have hate, and lots of it, too."

April bit her lip. "Do not," she said, but her voice was low and raspy.

"Mmm hmm," Steven said, as if that proved his point. "You're a fan of Planet Wars. Tell me, April, what is it that destroys the hero and nearly turns him evil?" April looked down at the ground and remained silent. "You do know, don't you?"

Of course April knew. How could she forget? The scene in Planet Wars 3 where General Riken was facing off with the man who killed his parents was one of the most memorable moments of the movie. Riken was so out-of-control and crazy. To everyone in the theater it was obvious that his behavior was unacceptable.

"Hate nearly destroys him," Steven answered for her. "Just like it will destroy you."

April smirked. "If we're taking moral lessons from movies," she said icily, "then shouldn't you know that the bad guys always lose?"

Steven scowled. "Evil is a matter of opinion!"

"That's exactly what a villain would say."

"And you're not a villain? You go around with this fancy masquerade of being an innocent little girl. I bet those Davenport people think you're just dandy. They've never seen the real you. They don't know what you're capable of or what you would do. For goodness' sake, April, you've even hurt your own siblings before!"

"That was an accident!" April snapped. "And it was your fault!"

"Maybe so, but you still did it. Give it time, April, and you'll hurt your friends. That boy – Chase, was it? – that you claim to love so much: one day you'll spiral out of control. There'll be nothing you can do. You will lose it, you'll snap, and he'll suffer."

April squeezed her eyes shut. She felt nausea sweep through her body. Was it true? Would she really hurt Chase? No, no, it couldn't be true. Steven had to be lying. He always lies. Steven always lies. April repeated that line over and over in her head. Maybe then she would be able to believe it.

"And what are you trying to prove?" April asked harshly. "Yes, I hate you. There, I said it. I hate you. What are you hoping to gain out of this?"

"Just your downfall," Steven said with a smirk. "Your hatred blinds you."

"What does it matter?" April asked. "We're at a stalemate anyway. Neither of us can make a move."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Steven had a twisted smile curled up his face. April's heart sped up a bit and she felt as though her veins had turned to ice.

"W-What do you mean?" she stuttered.

Wordlessly, Steven lifted the sonic gun and pointed it straight at the ceiling. April watched, transfixed with horror, as he pulled the trigger and hit the stone right above her head.

April attempted to drown out the loud noise the entered her ears. One thought swan through her brain: run. April tried, she really did. She turned and fled, her brain calling out for Chase. She wished she had let him come with her. She needed Chase.

It was too late. The stone on the ceiling had loosened and came crumbling down. April wasn't fast enough. The rocks fell and April felt the weight of a hundred stones come piling down on top of her body. She heard her father's laugh in the distance as the rocks slammed into her on all sides.

April lay under the pile of rubble, pain slowly conquering her whole body. Darkness pressed in and threatened to take over. Right before she succumbed, April thought, I'm sorry, Chase. And I love you too.

So I'm sorry that the action wasn't quite as intense as you were hoping for. There'll be a tiny bit more at the beginning of the next chapter, but for the most part the action is over. Sorry.

And . . . cliffhanger! See, this is what I was saying when I said I would find out how good of a job I did with April. If you're concerned, then I did a good job. If you want her to die, then I think I failed at some point. :/

Did any of you catch the Avatar reference? If you want a hint: it's something Zuko says. Shout-out in the next chapter if you can guess it!

Okay, well, that's the end of that chapter. Only two more to go! Climaxes, yay! Did you guys like it? Leave a review and tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading and I'll see y'all next week. Bye!