Okay, so I'm working on the rewrite. I've gotten a chunk of the first chapter of Hybrid done. What I can say is if I end up going through with it, it's going to be a longer story. One of the things I saw when reading back was that I had a specific idea for what was going on and why, but I communicated it very poorly sometimes. Again, nothing of the plot will change, but there will be some extended (or even new) scenes. So that's something. Hopefully a good something.

Anyways, I don't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize.


"What a terrible feeling to love someone and not be able to help them."

Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places


Adam

Ysthry let out a screech of a roar, flapping in tight circles around him with her eyes rolling. Her blue scales were raised up like fur, rattling as she beat her wings. Mr. Davenport took several steps away from the imp, watching her stingers. Yahn had hopped on Adam's shoes and was climbing fast, catching Adam's arm to bury his face in Adam's shirt. He was trembling as he took a handful of fabric, his tail wrapping tightly around Adam's wrist.

Adam wasn't an expert on how demons and their senses worked, but he was pretty sure they weren't tracking anybody.

"What's wrong with them?" Mr. Davenport voice had gone up an octave as he watched, his eyes wide.

Adam stopped tracking Ysthry with his eye. The imp was moving too much for him to watch. It was a good thing they had left Los Angeles behind a while ago. He couldn't imagine how this would look to people in the city. He shrugged a shoulder as he scratched between Yahn's wings with his free hand. "Dunno." He looked down at Yahn, who was trying to cover himself more fully with his wings. "What's happening, buddy?"

"I don't know." Yahn tilted his head so a large yellow eye was focused on Adam. "The world shattered."

Adam furrowed his brow, looking at Mr. Davenport. Mr. Davenport's eyebrows had shot straight up at that, his head jerking back slightly. He didn't know what Yahn was talking about, either. "The world is fine."

Ysthry stopped flying in circles. She drew level to Mr. Davenport's face, hissing. "Not your world, moron. Ours."

"Otherworld?" Mr. Davenport's brows furrowed. This wasn't getting any easier to understand.

Yahn gave a shudder. "We felt it. I don't know what it was, but we felt it." He buried his face again, his voice muffled in the fabric. "It's like…the balance of power shifted or something."

"You know an earthquake? It's like that, but with essence," Ysthry said. She beat her wings again, backing up from Mr. Davenport in the air. "It's never happened before." At last, she landed on Adam's shoulder, inching her way closer to his neck as she folded her wings. Her scales started to lay down. "I don't know how else to describe it."

Adam leaned his head towards Ysthry so she could rub on his cheek. He had a feeling that he was the only reason they were calming down right now.

Mr. Davenport raised his hands, his eyes still wide. "Okay, look: we can't do anything about Otherworld here. We need to focus on finding Douglas and Tasha, okay?"

Ysthry extended her neck towards Mr. Davenport, her head lowering as she hissed. "You don't care because it's not your world! I bet if something awful happened here, it would matter then!"

Mr. Davenport clenched his jaw, his shoulders tensing. "Maybe we should've brought Leo," he muttered, ignoring Ysthry to focus on Adam.

Adam raised a hand, towards Mr. Davenport, sighing. He didn't need Leo to calm down a couple of imps. "Guys, it's not that we don't care. We're just worried about Tasha and Douglas, okay? He's right. We can't do anything about Otherworld here on Earth." He started scratching between Yahn's wings again.

Mr. Davenport still looked ready to throttle an imp or two, but he nodded all the same. "If we find Douglas and Tasha, we can go back to Los Angeles. Maybe then you can be Dismissed and see what's happening in Otherworld. That's not going to happen if we don't find them, okay?"

Adam bounced Yahn slightly with the arm that was holding him. "That sound good? I mean, the sooner we find your Master, the sooner we can ask him to send you home, if that's what you want."

More importantly, the imps were leading them towards Mission Creek. There was no good reason Adam could think of that Tasha would head that way. Douglas might, if he was looking for Kevin himself, but not Tasha. Add that to the scents of more people that Yahn picked up, and it wasn't looking good for either one of them. Mr. Davenport was convinced his wife and brother were kidnapped by now. Adam wasn't sure, himself – he hadn't been there – but it was hard to explain it some other way. Douglas wouldn't be able to convince Tasha to join a group and head off to Mission Creek. It didn't make sense for her to go voluntarily.

After a moment, Yahn nodded and exhaled heavily. He pulled back from Adam's shirt, letting go of the fabric. "Okay, okay." His tail unwrapped from Adam's wrist as he jumped down to the ground again. Ysthry stayed on Adam's shoulder, digging her claws in just enough to pierce his shirt as Yahn laid down on his belly. After a second, his tail started to twitch. "I think it's just a straight shot towards Mission Creek, if I'm honest." He sat up, looking back at Adam. "I don't know where else they could go right now."

Mr. Davenport closed his eyes, rubbing his face for a second. Adam could tell he was thinking of every awful thing that could have happened to them right then. Adam took the break to rub under Ysthry's chin with a finger. The imp rolled her head to the side so he could reach better as Mr. Davenport dropped his hand at last, gesturing ahead. "Come on, then."


"I need to stop getting into situations where all my options are potentially bad."

Jack Campbell, Dauntless


Leo

They hit logistics issues immediately.

First, Bree insisted on bringing her new sword along. As awesome as the blade was, nobody else thought it was a good idea to go walking around Los Angeles with a weapon out in the open. That was looking for trouble. The ultimate solution was one Chase had: Leo could cast a spell. It was beyond anything Leo had ever attempted before. He had to spend a good ten minutes arranging and rearranging how he was going to word what he wanted to accomplish. Bree, meanwhile, searched for an appropriate bracelet. It needed to have links large enough to accommodate charms. It took her speeding through Douglas' room to find one that was suitable for what they wanted to do.

Then, there was the source of the energy Leo would be using to pull the spell off: Chase.

Leo was used to Ysthry's energy. She was like a stream that was easy to direct and steer. Chase, in comparison, was a raging river. It was like Leo was standing in front of a dam as it broke open, the water sweeping him up as the pressure released. He couldn't imagine anybody using an afrit's energy for something if a djinni felt like this. It took him another few minutes to acclimate to that sensation enough to focus on what he needed to. It wouldn't be a good thing if he caught the wrong thing up in this spell of his. In the end, Leo had to stare hard at the paper he had written the words on to keep his mind on one thing, but he managed it.

The sword was now a small charm hanging from Bree's chosen bracelet. They had to test it a few times to make sure she could summon it back again when she wanted it, then send it back to the charm when she didn't, but it worked. For all the kinks and problems, the spell worked.

Leo was proud of that one.

The next issue was that Chase stopped them in the lobby, his arms out wide and his head cocked to the side as he listened. Trevor stood behind Leo, using him as a shield even though Chase looked human now. Bree had her arms crossed, her foot tapping as she watched Chase. Leo himself resisted shoving Chase between the shoulder blades to make him move. It wasn't until Chase spoke that Leo understood why he stopped. Chase turned around to face him, frowning with is brows knitted together. "Who's listening to Yosemite Sam?"

It took that simple sentence for the pieces to fall into place for Leo. His eyes widened as he grabbed Chase's shoulders. "Where is it coming from?"

Chase leaned back a bit, his head flinching back, but he pointed towards the front desk. "Somewhere over there. A back office, maybe?"

Leo leaned forward, sucking in a breath. There was no way things happened to line up like that. Days of Douglas' suspicion, the desk clerk being the last person to see his mother and Douglas after the two went missing, and now Yosemite Sam? Douglas must have heard it at some point, whether or not he acknowledged it. "Show me where it is."

That lead to issue number three. Chase flinched, stumbling a step back with a hiss, but he turned and started towards the desk. "Jesus, okay." He muttered a few insults as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Bree's eyes widened now. "What did you do?"

Leo clenched and unclenched his fists, his eyes still wide as Chase walked away. "I…might have forgotten to release his will."

"You what?" Bree scowled and smacked his shoulder with her good arm. Leo flinched away from the hit, wincing. She was stronger than he remembered. "Let him go!"

"I don't know how," Leo said, rubbing his shoulder. Chase, meanwhile, was leaning on the desk now, watching them. The desk clerk was watching him with through the side of his eyes, his brows furrowed. He didn't seem to be one of the guys that could see planes, then. Leo gestured for Chase to come back, prompting another wince as Chase started back towards them.

Chase was grinding his teeth now, letting his fangs show for emphasis. His hazel eyes flashed as he clenched his fists at his sides. "Would you stop? I hurt enough as it is right now."

Leo spread his hands out, holding them up even as he dropped his voice. "I don't know how. I've never released a demon's will before. Most of them would have killed me."

Trevor shifted quickly over to Bree as Chase approached, watching Leo with wide eyes as he took hold of her shirt. "Are you sure it won't kill somebody now?"

Chase ran a hand down his face, then gestured at Trevor. "I'm not an it, kid." He crossed his arms, glaring at Leo still. "You never asked Douglas how to do that?"

"It never came up. I didn't plan on Summoning you again," Leo protested. He pointed at Chase. "Do you-"

"I have no idea how to do it." Chase threw his hands up, stomping a foot. "Do I look like I can Summon anything?"

"Guys, stop." Bree shoved her shoulder between them, scowling still. She had a hand up on Chase's chest, prompting him to take a step back. "We need to find everybody right now. You can ask Douglas when we find him." She looked at Leo. "Until then, try not to order Hellcat around, okay? That's all we can do."

Chase straightened out his shirt, narrowing his eyes at Leo. Leo himself was grateful for Bree standing between them. Chase looked like he wanted to punch something, and there was nothing Leo could do to make the situation better. It was little wonder, too, if the orders hurt Chase as much as it seemed to hurt Ysthry. Leo lowered his hands. "I'm sorry."

Chase let out a huff, but nodded, anyways. "Look, we'll deal with whoever the Hunter here is later. Right now, let's just find where they took Douglas and Tasha and go from there." He spread his arms out and stepped back towards the lobby door. His nose was twitching as he did, like he was smelling the air before he turned around and made a beeline for the door.

Bree sighed, but jerked her head towards the door. "Come on." She reached around to press a hand into Trevor's back. "You, too."

Trevor balked for a second before following Chase. Bree was close behind him, likely the only reason Trevor was still willing to travel with them. Leo sure felt like he was skating on thin ice. He followed behind Bree, physically biting his tongue. He would have to keep quiet to stop himself from giving an order on accident. He could already feel 'hurry up' building in the back of his throat. He could stop himself, though. Chase was already headed down the sidewalk, slow enough for them to catch up at the moment. He was on the trail, at least. It was less frustrating than waiting around in the hotel room. When they caught up, though, he picked up the pace.

Leo glanced at the people around them on the sidewalk. How Chase could tell the difference between them and Mr. Davenport's scent in the air, Leo couldn't begin to guess. The idea of telling people apart by their scent wasn't something he would ever be able to wrap his mind around. As for Bree, she was watching Chase more than anyone else, her eyes flicking down towards his leg as he walked. She was trying to be discreet about it, but something was bothering her. She hadn't worried about his limp much before.

There was a long story about their time in Otherworld that Leo needed to hear, he guessed.

The sun was starting to dip in the sky when they reached the outskirts of town. Chase stopped, breathing hard as he did. He scratched at his side as everyone else caught up. Bree tilted her head, her eyebrows raised high as she stepped towards him. "Do we need to stop for a minute?"

Chase waved the words away, rolling his weight onto his good leg. "I'll be okay."

Bree's expression darkened at that. "Chase-"

"It's not like before," he interrupted. "I promise. I've just been holding the wrong form for too long."

It didn't look like that was the only issue Chase had. His limp had gotten more pronounced as the day wore on, and the broken ribs couldn't make breathing any easier for him. He had to sit for a while, at least. Leo could force him to do it, too, if Chase decided now was the time to be stubborn. As he shifted forms from his old human self to his normal demonic appearance, Leo watched as Bree sighed. Trevor stepped closer to her, sweat covering his face. He looked about as good as Leo felt. His own legs had started burning a while ago.

Maybe he didn't have to order Chase to do anything.

"Look, you might be fine, but he's not." Leo gestured towards Trevor, who jumped slightly when Chase turned his attention to the kid. Those pupils were unnerving when you weren't used to them. "He's a kid. He can't go as long as we can."

Bree's eyes lit up as she caught on. "Exactly." She patted Trevor's shoulder. "We can sit for a few minutes. We'll be okay."

Chase pressed his lips into a thin line, his eyes narrowed. Leo could see the wheels turning in the genius' head. There was no way Chase didn't know what they were doing already. Leo felt his muscles tense slightly at the sight as Chase started to twitch his tail. He might end up giving an order after all.

A tense moment passed.

At last, Chase sighed and sat down on the grass, curling his tail around himself as much as he could. "Okay, fine. We can sit for a minute." He pointed at Bree, his ears laid back. "But only a minute."

"I'll take it," Bree responded, plopping down beside him. She reached out to scratch between his wings, earning a slight smile and a purr.

Trevor walked off a few feet before sitting down, watching everyone now. Leo let out a sigh as he sat down, wiping sweat off his brow. "We should have brought some water, huh?"

Issue number four.

Chase and Bree exchanged a look at that, but didn't say anything. There was something they were communicating that Leo couldn't begin to understand. He frowned, looking between the two. "What?"

Chase rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms, letting out a small laugh. Bree offered Leo a smile, waving the words away. "It's nothing. Just getting used to Earth again, is all."