Hey everybody! Thanks for all the support and reviews/follows/favorites. They mean a lot, as I'm sure you know! I'm happy you guys are liking the story so far! Hopefully you'll like this chapter as well.

I'm using a whole lot of big words in this story (and lots of alliteration in the titles) that you guys might not know. For example, if something is arcane, it is "known or understood by very few; secret." I forgot to mention that last time! No shame in pulling out that dictionary if you need it, folks! I may or may not have used a thesaurus to find that word anyway . . .

Chase might seem a little mean in this chapter because, let's face it, he can be mean. Especially to Adam. I actually felt surprisingly comfortable writing him that way and I thought he came out well. We all need to admit it: Chase can be a jerk sometimes. He's not perfect.

And this chapter ends on a cliffhanger as well! Why? 'Cause I can! Mwahaha! I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter! I don't own Lab Rats.

* * * Chapter 2: Bree's Bewilderment * * *

Bree closed her eyes as the oxygen-enriched air flowed through her capsule. She took deep breaths like her father was instructing her to do. Mouthfuls of air entered her throat and filled up her lungs. The burning pain in her throat slowly dissipated as she gulped the sweet air.

A few seconds later Bree could feel the air cease to circulate in her capsule. Everything returned to normal and Bree pushed on the front of her capsule gingerly. She saw her younger brother doing the same.

Leo sat at the cyberdesk, studying them from a distance. Mr. Davenport stood before then, a sorrowful look on his face as he surveyed his youngest bionics. Bree smiled at him, hoping to ease her father's conscience. It wasn't his fault. He had given them a mission to do and they had completed it. That was precisely what Chase said next.

"Mr. Davenport, please don't blame yourself," Chase said. Bree noted that her brother's voice sounded a little stronger now. "It was a mission. No more dangerous than usual."

"I didn't realize the fire was that big," Mr. Davenport mumbled. "Bridget said there was a fire, and that they were trapped. But she didn't say how big the fire was."

Bree cleared her throat so she wouldn't interrupt herself with coughing. "We saved the lives of over twenty people," she said. "It was worth a little discomfort."

"Smoke inhalation is more than just a little discomfort," Leo pointed out.

"We don't have smoke inhalation!" Chase snapped. Then he turned to Mr. Davenport. "Right?"

Mr. Davenport sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Luckily, no," their father told them. "But what if you had?"

"But we didn't!" Bree pointed out. "Your training prepared us. We knew exactly how to handle it."

"You're right; I am a fantastic trainer/father/inventor!" Mr. Davenport said. He placed his hands on his hips and flashed a cocky grin.

Bree just rolled her eyes. "Whatever you need to tell yourself," she said sarcastically. Her brothers chuckled. Her brothers. Suddenly Bree realized something.

"Where's Adam?" the female bionic asked. She surveyed the lab and saw no sign of her rather goofy older brother.

"Oh, I should probably check him too," Mr. Davenport said.

"Relax," Chase said calmly. "It's Adam; he's fine, I'm sure."

Bree frowned a little at the way Chase was acting so nonchalant. Didn't he even care? Adam had been in just as much danger as the two of them. Where could he even be right now? Bree hadn't seen him leave the lab.

They all headed upstairs in the elevator. When the four of them tumbled out, Tasha grinned at them from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready," she announced.

Bree took her seat at the table as Tasha brought the plates over. At this point Bree was no longer worried about Adam. If there was food to be eaten, he would be there. Three, two, one . . .

"Ooh, do I smell food?" Adam exclaimed as he charged down the stairs into the living room.

"Spaghetti and meatballs," Tasha called to her eldest son.

"Yeah!" Adam cheered as he slid into his seat. Bree noticed the way he tried to muffle a cough in his elbow. She frowned slightly.

"Are you okay, Adam?" Bree asked.

Adam opened his mouth to answer, but Chase cut him off. "Of course he's fine, Bree!" her younger brother said. "He's always alright!"

"Thanks, Chase," Bree said in an irritated tone. "But I wanted to hear it from Adam." Chase just shrugged and put another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

"I'm alright," Adam said. He twirled his spaghetti absentmindedly before putting the end of one noodle into his mouth and slurping it up loudly.

"You're sure?" Bree asked.

"Just got a cough is all," Adam said. "I'm fine though."

Bree squinted a little and shot him her 'I-don't-believe-you' look. Adam squirmed uncomfortably. Bree was just about to push her brother further when Leo suddenly piped up.

"What was the fire like?" her half-brother asked excitedly.

"Bright," Chase said.

"Hot," Bree supplied.

"Scary," Adam murmured.

Suddenly Bree heard Tasha hiss, "Donald! Put that away! We're eating right now."

Bree pivoted her head to look at her father. She noticed the way Mr. Davenport was looking down at his phone and not paying attention to any of the dinner table conversation. Tasha gave him a sharp jab in the arm. He scowled at her and glanced up at his family. Mr. Davenport cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

"I just got texts from a few of the people you guys got out of the building," their father explained.

"Is everyone okay now?" Chase asked.

"Yes, everyone's fine," Mr. Davenport said. "Two people had smoke inhalation, but they'll be okay. A few had burns, but not enough to warrant overnight stays in the hospital. Everyone is good."

"Is Suzie okay?" Adam asked suddenly.

"Who's Suzie?" Bree, Chase, and Leo all asked at once.

"She was one of the people we got out," Adam explained. "She didn't look so good. But her friend gave her CPR when I asked her to."

"Um . . ." Mr. Davenport said, sliding his thumb across his phone. "Suzie will have to stay in the hospital for a few days due to smoke inhalation, but it looks like she'll be alright. Good job, you three."

The rest of the dinner table conversation revolved around schoolwork, one of Mr. Davenport's new inventions, and some details about the rescues during the bionics' mission. After dinner Bree was getting up from the table when she noticed Adam heading upstairs.

Now, normally Bree couldn't care less about her brothers. But Adam had been acting pretty aloof lately. Bree couldn't help but feel like something was up. So she followed him upstairs, making sure to move quickly and quietly so he wouldn't know she was trailing him. Bree had a feeling that if he knew, he wouldn't really go where he wanted to go.

Adam walked to the end of a long hallway and opened a door at the end before slipping inside. Bree waited a few seconds before coming up to the door and opening it slowly. Adam was on the other side of the room, his back to his sister. Bree quietly slipped inside.

As Bree got a good look at the room, she let out a small gasp. Adam jumped and turned around at the sudden noise. "Bree!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing in here?"

Bree ignored his question. "Adam," she breathed, "did you do all this?"

Adam shuffled his feet uncomfortably and avoided his sister's gaze. "Uh, yeah," he replied slowly.

"This . . . this is incredible!" Bree told him excitedly.

Adam's face lit up like a light bulb. "Really?" he asked.

"Really!" Bree assured him. "I never knew you could do this!"

Cans of various colors of paint were strewn across the room. There was a stepladder near the middle. Some empty cans and buckets were filled with brushes of many different shapes and sizes. White tarps splattered with paint were covering every square inch of the floor. But the thing that caught Bree's eye was what was on the wall.

The wall was covered with pictures of the bionics' life. Each was masterfully painted with immense amounts of detail. All colors of the rainbow invaded every part of the wall. Bree gazed in awe at the spectacular images that surrounded her.

"That's when Leo first came into the lab," Bree said, motioning to a picture that was directly across from the doorway. It depicted her step-brother leaning against the console in front of the capsules. His head was tilted back in a mid-scream pose. The detail of the lab in the background was astonishing.

"And that's Marcus and Chase playing guitar," Bree said as she moved along the wall. The poses of the teenage boys were beautifully captured. The strange positions of the fingers that were required when playing guitar were portrayed in a most realistic way.

"And that's me when I was practicing for cheerleading," Bree observed. Bree studied the depiction of her own body. The unmoving image on the wall had one leg raised in a classic cheerleader pose. Bree smiled as she looked at the detail put into the clothing. The pom-poms looked like she could take them straight of the wall and cheer with them right then and there.

"You really did all this?" Bree asked again as she turned back to her brother.

"Yes," Adam said simply. He coughed into his sleeve. Whether due to discomfort or the smoke they had inhaled earlier, Bree wasn't sure.

"How long have you been working on all this?" Bree asked. "How long have you been able to do this? Adam, these are spectacular! I've never seen such detail. I had no idea . . ."

"Because I didn't tell you," Adam interrupted. "This was kinda my own little secret."

"But you clearly have a gift, Adam!" his sister said. "How could you not tell us? I mean, I thought you were only good at . . ." Bree trailed off a little, biting her lip as if hoping to take back her words.

"I'm only good at lifting heavy things," Adam finished for her. "And making obvious comments and cracking jokes and creating monkey fantasies. That's why I didn't say anything. You guys don't think I can do more."

"But you obviously can. Why didn't you prove us wrong?"

Bree' older brother shrugged. "I guess I just didn't feel like it," he mumbled. "By the way, please don't touch the wall behind you. It's still wet."

The female bionic turned to see the image behind her. She stared in fascination at what was on the wall. Bright orange and red entered her eyes and nearly blinded her. She gazed with a mixture of enthrallment and shock at the illustration on the wall. It was only half finished, but she could already tell what it was.

It was her younger brother. It was Chase surrounded by fire. The flames licked up around him as he lay helpless under a beam. It was another moment from Adam's life. One that had occurred too recently for Bree's liking.

"Why would you paint this?" Bree mumbled.

"Because it's something that happened," Adam told her simply. "Good or bad, it's something I want to remember. Maybe it will help push me to p-protect you guys better next t-time . . ." Adam trailed off suddenly.

Some part of that sentence made Bree's heart feel like it was breaking. "What do you mean?" she asked gently, turning to face her older brother. He was looking down at his hands, his face twisted in confusion. "Uh, Adam?" Bree questioned apprehensively.

Suddenly Adam burst into a violent fit of coughing like nothing Bree had ever heard before. He sank to his knees and placed one hand on the wall for support. Each cough made his entire body tremble fiercely.

"Adam!" Bree exclaimed. She rushed over and dropped down beside her brother.

Adam's hand slipped down the wall and the top half of his body slowly moved closer and closer to the floor. "B-Bree?" he muttered weakly during a respite from the coughing. "I-is th-that y–" Her older brother trailed off as the coughs racked his body once again.

"I'm here, Adam," Bree gulped as she placed a hand on her brother's back.

"I-I . . . I d-don't . . ." Adam attempted to gasp out, but was continuously interrupted by the coughs. "I-I don't f-feel g-g-good . . . Bree-e-e . . ." Adam fell flat on the ground, his body going limp under Bree's hand.

"Adam? ADAM!"

Wuh-oh. Will Adam be okay? Perhaps he will be saved by your reviews! Haha, I'm just kidding. You don't have to review, of course. But I would appreciate the support! See you guys soon!