Adam?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."


"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it."

Arnold H. Glasow


"The wisest are the most annoyed at the loss of time."

Dante Alighieri


Adam

"How much farther?" Adam found himself whining for what had to be the hundredth time.

"We'll probably be there by evening, Adam," Mr. Davenport practically forced out, annoyance plain on his features.

Adam sighed heavily while Yahn shifted his perch on Adam's shoulder. Leaving Mission Creek had been intense, stressful, and somewhat exciting. The threat of demon patrols, Hunter raids and even Soad himself had added a dangerous thrill to the endeavor, especially when Bree had to be coaxed the entire way. It added an addictive adrenaline rush to an otherwise normal walk.

Not that Adam liked his little sister in her vegetative state. He wished Chase would get his tail in gear and fix her already.

Now, though, they were well out of the ruins of Mission Creek. With the bulk of the threat behind them, their journey had become…well, tedious. It was nothing more than walking along the highway, their focus on the skyline of Los Angeles ahead.

It was nothing but grass and pavement. The sun had decided to heat the earth quite a bit today, too, so it wasn't only boring, it was also annoyingly warm. There wasn't even a merciful breeze to cool them down. Combine that with the lovely gnawing hunger in his stomach – they hadn't eaten since the morning before - and he wasn't having fun.

Several minutes passed silently, except for Bree's noisy, stumbling footsteps. A few cars passed them, but no one stopped to offer them a ride into town. What gave? They had saved the world before, and this was the thanks they got? Forced to walk from one town to the next like animals. A few more cars passed before Adam sighed, unable to contain himself. "How much far-"

A loud hiss from Yahn interrupted him as the imp jumped from his perch to the shoulder on Adam's blind side, digging his claws into Adam's shirt as something jolted him. Mr. Davenport disappeared from Adam's view, switching rapidly to his blind spot. Tasha had stopped Bree and was rubbing her eyes, sighing. Adam didn't even have to turn his head to figure out what everyone was focused on at the moment. Douglas was howling his rage to the heavens.

When Adam did actually turn his head to look – he missed having the use of both eyes – Mr. Davenport and Leo were holding Douglas back, Ysthry roaring her small, high-pitched roar and flying around them all, acid dripping regularly from her mouth. Douglas himself was struggling hard, brandishing a large stick towards Adam. "God damn it, Adam, shut the hell up!"

Adam frowned. "I was just asking."

"For the millionth time!" Douglas practically roared, straining hard towards Adam again. "Can you just be fucking quiet?"

"Don't yell at Adam just because you're upset about Kevin," Yahn huffed, picking at a splinter in his hand. Adam smiled slightly at the realization that Yahn had caught the stick when Douglas swung it the first time. It was nice to have a friend.

Especially if that friend was a guardian gargoyle imp.

"You shut up, too," Douglas hissed, narrowing his eyes at Yahn.

The imp winced, falling silent.

"Look, everyone just relax," Mr. Davenport said calmly.

"I'll relax when we tape his mouth shut," Douglas snapped, twisting away from Leo and Mr. Davenport. For a second, Adam was worried that Douglas would charge him again, but the irate man just glared at him.

"You're more than welcome to walk by yourself," Tasha offered, gesturing towards Los Angeles with her free hand. The other held firmly onto Bree's, who stared ahead blankly.

"We can't abandon him," Leo protested. At practically everyone's startled looks, he shrugged. "He'll just get bored and steal or destroy something."

A second of silence passed before everyone – Douglas included – nodded in agreement. After a moment, Douglas pointed the stick at Adam. "One more word about how long it's going to take to get there, and I swear…."

Amid the eye-rolling that followed, Adam fished around in his pocket until he found his phone. "Fine. I'll just play a game or something." He smiled slightly at the weather report that popped up on his home screen. "Oh, and it's going to rain later. How's that for good news?" At everyone's astonished looks, Adam frowned. "What?"

"You're getting live weather reports on your phone?" Leo asked.

Adam nodded, shrugging. "Duh. I have it set up like that."

Mr. Davenport sighed. "Adam, if you're getting live reports, than it means that you're getting a signal."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Yep."

Tasha practically jumped for joy. "We must be close enough to the city for the towers to be working again! We can call someone to come get us!"

Douglas wrinkled his nose. "Like a taxi or something? Do you know what happens in taxis?"

"People get rides to places?" Leo replied, rolling his eyes.

Douglas snorted. "Okay, let me tell you some of my experiences in a taxi."

"Family friendly," Mr. Davenport warned, focused on finding a number he could call to get them a ride.

Douglas was quiet for a moment, obviously lost in thought. He rubbed at the beard that had started to grow in on his chin, then shrugged. "I don't have any family friendly stories about taxis. Just know that they aren't the most sanitary places."

While Adam was confused about this vague statement (for only a moment), Tasha wrinkled her nose as Leo visibly suppressed a gag. "That's disgusting."

Douglas shrugged. "Alcohol makes me impulsive. Don't judge. Besides, I was younger back then."

Mr. Davenport cuffed the back of Douglas' head gently, his missing fingers softening the blow considerably. "I didn't say you could disguise it in an implication."

"You're lucky I dialed it back to that," Douglas retorted, crossing his arms.

Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes. "Anyways, we're not even using a taxi. Imagine it: Me in a taxi. Me. No, we're calling a limo."

Douglas smirked. "Want me to tell you about the back of limos, too? More room back there."

Adam swallowed bile. "Maybe we should just walk the rest of the way."

"Or," Leo began, "we could-"

"Douglas is making up the part about limos," Mr. Davenport interrupted.

"How do you know, Don?" Douglas challenged.

"Because, nine times out of ten, I had to pay the cab fare when you arrived," Mr. Davenport snorted. "Never once had to pay for a limo."

Douglas muttered something inappropriate, his cheeks turning a bit red at having been discredited.

In the uncomfortable silence that followed, Mr. Davenport arranged to have them picked up. When he finally hung up the phone, he smiled at Adam. "To answer your question, Adam, we'll be there within the hour."

Adam grinned. "Then we get to eat?"

Mr. Davenport nodded again.

Adam let out a whoop. "Let's go!"

"We have to wait for the limo to get here," Tasha responded.

Adam frowned, looked at the road, and looked back at Tasha. "So…how much longer?"