What's up, Lab Rats fans? It's me again, daphrose. Now if you've read my other stories, you know that I write about Chase a lot. Well, I wanted to give one of the other lab rats a shot as well. So I chose Adam. Why Adam? A few reasons. First of all, I want to get better at writing him, since he can be hard for me. Second, there don't seem to be that many Adam stories out there. I could be wrong, but I've seen very few. Third, Adam is the oldest out of three siblings (and Leo too, I guess, but he didn't grow up with Leo) just like I am. So some of Adam's thoughts are based off of ones I've had in the past. Don't get me wrong, my parents didn't play favorites or anything, but sometimes it seems that as the oldest you're automatically called to be the strongest.

When I first started writing this story it was going to be rated K plus "just to be safe." I changed it to T because I wound up writing some pretty intense scenes. And I get super-paranoid about this stuff. It could probably slip by with a K plus rating, but I wanted to play it safe.

By the way, I don't necessarily have a set time-line for this story, but I imagined it to take place in the old lab. Just because I love the old lab more. So it would probably be best to picture the old lab when you read or some of it might not make sense.

Well, that was my rather long author's note. I hope you guys will enjoy the story! I do not own Lab Rats or Adam, Bree, and Chase. I do own Suzie and anything else you don't recognize.

* * * Chapter 1: Adam's Ability * * *

"AHHHH!"

Adam knew that scream. He had heard it many times before. Too many for his liking. Although in truth it was amusing. The scream was too high-pitched and girly for its owner.

"Chase, hold on!" Adam yelled. He coughed a few times as the smoke entered his throat. He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled across the floor. Mr. Davenport had said that it was better to stay near the ground where there was less smoke. Adam didn't understand it, but he was going to obey anyway.

"Chase?" Adam called out again. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" Chase's strained voice called out before bursting into a fit of coughing.

Adam crawled in the direction of the noise. The smoke was making his eyes water and his throat feel like he had swallowed a bucket of sand. His lips were dry and cracked and he yearned for water. But he kept pushing forward. Flames licked the ceiling above him. The sound of cracking support beams entered his ears. Adam tried to clear his mind of all that and focus on something else. Bunnies. Bunnies were cute, right? But every time he tried to picture a bunny all he could think of was one being trapped in a burning building. And that was not a pleasing picture at all.

Instead Adam tried focusing on images of his siblings. He imagined Chase sitting back home in the lab, working on homework. He imagined Bree texting some boy on her phone. Those were pleasant pictures. Adam allowed a small grin to slide up his face as he imagined his siblings safe and happy back home.

The sound of Chase's violent coughing caused Adam to snap out of his little trance. As much as he wanted his siblings to be safe right now, they weren't. And as big brother it was his duty to make sure that they were. Chase only sounded a few feet away now. Adam crawled in that general direction and his heart skipped a beat when he saw his younger brother lying under a large support beam.

"Can't get it off!" Chase choked out when he saw Adam.

"Hang on, buddy. I got ya!" Adam said. He crawled over and gently lifted the beam off of his brother using his super-strength. He patted his brother, tying to make sure Chase hadn't broken anything.

"I'm fine," Chase said in an irritated tone as he pushed Adam off. Adam frowned a little but decided to ignore his brother's rudeness.

"Do you know where Bree is?" Adam asked.

"No, we got separated," Chase said between coughs. "I think she went that way . . ."

Chase was cut off when Bree super-sped up next to them and collapsed onto the ground. Her shoulders heaved with the coughing and Adam patted her gently on the back.

"Found her!" Adam said with a goofy grin, trying to lighten the mood. All he received in return were glares from his siblings.

"Bree, can you . . . can you speed us out of here?" Chase gasped.

"I think so!" Bree replied.

"Wait!" Adam said suddenly. "Did you get everyone out? Our mission comes first."

"As far as I know, yes, I got everyone out," Bree said snarkily.

"Chase, why don't you use your super-hearing to see if you hear anybody still in the building?" Adam instructed. He noticed the glare his sister was giving him. "Just to be safe," he added quickly.

Chase nodded and pushed back the hair next to his ear. He placed two fingers on his temple and squinted in concentration. For a few seconds the only noises Adam heard were his and his siblings' raspy breathing and the crackling of the fire all around them.

"I don't hear anyone else," Chase murmured weakly. "Let's get out of here."

"Grab on," Bree instructed. She slowly pushed herself to her feet and stumbled a little before managing to balance herself.

"Bree, can you still run if I put my force field around us?" Chase asked. "That way we would be safe from any of the fire or debris."

"If you can move it fast enough, then sure," Bree replied.

Chase and Adam both hooked their arms under Bree's. Chase raised his left arm and a blue shield appeared around them. Adam immediately felt much safer. Bree charged out of the building. She went a little slower than normal so Chase could keep the force field up. Yet they still bumped into the front of it a few times.

The three siblings crashed through the door into the warm air outside. The force field disappeared and they all collapsed. Adam was hoping that they would have fresher air outside, but instead the smoke was only slightly thinner. Adam glanced up at the black plumes of smoke rising from the building and coughed mechanically. But there was no time to sit here and feel sorry for himself.

Adam hopped up, swaying a little as he did. He then walked over to the crowd of about twenty or so people who were standing in front of the building. Those who weren't coughing violently were gazing in awe at the blazing two-story building.

"Is everyone alright?" the bionic teen attempted to shout. His voice came out weak and cracked, but everyone still seemed to hear him.

"Suzie!" someone cried. "You've got to help Suzie!"

The crowd parted, revealing a young woman – college age – who looked like she was about to pass out. She was lying flat on the ground. Her face was pale and she was shaking. Several people were crouched on the ground in front of her. Adam rushed over and knelt down in front of Suzie. He bit his lip, not quite sure what to do. What would Chase do?

"Does anyone know CPR?" Adam called.

"Wait a second, I do!" one woman said, stepping up. "And Suzie's my friend." Adam stood up and motioned to Suzie. The woman obliged.

A few seconds later Adam heard the sound of sirens getting closer. He was both relieved and distraught. "You guys won't tell anyone about me and my siblings, right?" Adam asked the crowd around him.

"Kid," one of the men said, "your dad is our boss. Of course we won't say anything."

"Good," Adam sighed. He glanced down one more time at Suzie. She looked a little better after her friend had administered the CPR. "Bye, then."

"Thank you for saving us!" one of the women called as Adam sprinted back to his siblings. Adam grinned and felt a warm feeling enter his heart. It was nice to be thanked. It wasn't always something he got.

Chase and Bree were still on the ground, breathing heavily. "Come on, guys," Adam said, helping his siblings to their feet. "We've got to get out of here before the fire trucks show up."

"Right!" Chase said weakly. "Let's . . . let's get back to the, um . . ."

"Helicopter," Adam supplied. Chase nodded in reply.

The three of them stumbled back into the woods behind the building. Adam turned back for one last glance. The fire trucks had pulled up to the front of the facility and he could see the people being helped. The Davenport Industries logo on the front of building was being eaten away by the flames. The entire building was charred beyond recognition.

"Davenport won't be happy," Adam muttered.

"But we got everyone out," Bree reminded him. "We completed the mission. Now can we go home, please?"

"Sure," Adam told her gently. "Here we are. Get in, guys."

The three of them climbed into the helicopter together. Adam pressed a few buttons and set it on autopilot with a course for home. He leaned back in the seat. He knew the ride would only be ten minutes at most; Mr. Davenport had let them take one of the high-speed helicopters.

Bree was on one side of Adam and Chase was on the other. They were both coughing like crazy. Adam frowned and placed an arm around each of their shoulders. Neither of them looked at him or moved any closer. Adam tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. I wish I could've protected them better, he thought.

Adam entered the lab slowly. He was crouched down a little and had a sibling leaning on each of his shoulders. Mr. Davenport and Leo rushed up to them. Leo immediately began asking a hundred questions at once.

"What happened? Are you all okay? Did you get everyone out? What was the fire like? Was it hot? Was there a lot of smoke?"

Adam did his best to answer all the questions. "Long story. I'm not sure. Yes. Scary. Very. A whole lot."

"You two, in your capsules!" Mr. Davenport instructed. He grabbed Chase's arm and Leo grabbed Bree's. They put both the youngest bionics in their capsules and Mr. Davenport hurried over to the console.

"I am so sorry guys," he whispered. "I never would've sent you if I had known it would be that dangerous."

"It's alright, Mr. Dav–" Bree was interrupted by another coughing fit.

"We had a mission to do," Chase interjected. "And we completed it."

By now Adam was on the other side of the lab, completely forgotten. That wasn't unusual. Adam was the oldest. He could be overlooked sometimes. Chase was the baby of the family and Bree was Mr. Davenport's "little girl." Adam was . . . Adam. That's all he would ever be.

Was Adam mad at his family for that? No. He could sometimes feel a little hurt when his younger siblings were given special attention, but he never let it get to him. He knew that Bree and Chase did need the attention. They weren't as strong as him – in more ways than one.

No one noticed as Adam slipped out the lab doors. He headed upstairs and wandered through the house. Soon he came to a room in the back of the house on the second floor. Nobody ever came over here, so it was the perfect place for Adam to escape. He slipped inside and flipped the switch on the wall. A dim light flooded the room.

Adam found a blank spot on the wall and dragged his supplies over. He knew exactly what he was going to do here. He could already see it in his mind's eye. He dipped one of the brushes into a can of paint and held his arm up. He breathed in the smell of fresh paint before letting his creativity take over.

Golds and reds and yellows mixed together in a spectacular display. Orange and brown ran together, creating a bright scene on the wall. The vivid shades blended to create a perfect representation of the fire Adam has just witnessed. The flames he created licked up the wall with all the ferocity of a real fire. The colors were so bright they were almost blinding.

Adam mixed tan and pink together and held his brush up to the wall. For just a second he faltered. Did he really want to paint this? Yes, he did, he decided. It was a memory. Good or bad, it was something he wanted to capture. So Adam placed his brush on the wall and began work on a face.

The oldest bionic coughed suddenly, causing his hand to slip. He gazed at his image in horror. The pinkish-tan was now streaked across the flames. Thinking fast – which doesn't happen often for Adam – he grabbed a wet sponge and wiped it off. He breathed a sigh of relief as the streak disappeared, although it took some of the flames with it. Adam postponed his work on the face to fix the fire.

The bright colors of the room swirled around Adam. Pictures from his life were beautifully captured on the walls. Here was a place where Adam could be content. No missions, no worrying about his siblings, no problems with his schoolwork. Here Adam was free to do what he wanted.

Adam's family never knew where he went when he disappeared for hours on end. But he was always here. They didn't know about this room; they didn't know what Adam could do. Part of Adam wondered if they would even care.

How did you guys like it? I personally was pretty proud of all the descriptions. Fire is a fun thing to describe. I'm sorry if anyone seemed OOC, but I thought I did a pretty decent job. And I know how much you all love protective Adam.

I did a TON of research for this story. My internet searches over the past few days include "burns," "smoke inhalation," "fires," and "carbon monoxide poisoning." I'm not going to use all that research, so don't go assuming that those mean anything for the next two chapters (thought they might). But I basically searched everything related to fires and thoroughly investigated all the directions I could take this story. I hope I depicted it well!

Don't forget to review/follow/favorite if you liked it! You don't have to, of course, but I would really appreciate it if you did! Your support means the world to me. See you guys again soon!