Asunder
"I want to introduce you to someone!"
John's voice rang out over the din of chatter on the first floor, and Clarice paused her assault on a bag of chips, angling her body to the front door to see who he was so excited about. Her lips parted as his searching eyes found hers and he headed her way, the man following behind him so similar in appearance that for a moment, she was unsure which was which.
"Clarice, this is my little brother, James. James...this is Clarice."
Her ears caught the weight he sank in her name, no doubt James already knew who she was. She decided then that she liked that John had been discussing her. And, given James's answering smile, she'd gotten the Proudstar Seal of Approval. Clarice stood up and wiped her palms on her jeans before shaking James's hand.
"Yeah, 'this is Clarice'. You...look very much alike. Damn."
John chuckled and clapped James on the back and the younger Proudstar split into a grin so much like those she'd seen on John.
"Damn, huh? I'll take it."
Clarice knew right then they'd get along fine.
John raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms in that familiar way that said he was relaxed and attentive.
"He's here to help us with the mission tomorrow in Fredricksburg. Well, him and two others. Where did the, uh, ladies go that quick?"
He threw his brother a bemused look; he'd been so excited when he was outside and saw his brother's team approaching. He'd barely glanced at the rest of them before locking James in a bone crushing hug and now that he thought of it, he hadn't even seen them enter the safe house. He gave a cursory glance that was ultimately useless: it was hard to locate someone when you barely knew what they looked like, let alone memorized their energy signature.
"Oh, Alison and Kitty?" James's gaze swept across the first floor and tilted upward. "They've commandeered the upstairs bathroom. You probably won't get it back until we leave."
Clarice's eyes flicked upward at that same patch of ceiling and the corners of her mouth lifted in a subtle smile. She was distantly thankful that all of her toiletries were in a different bathroom.
"Thanks for the heads up."
"C'mon, I'll make tacos." John slipped into Big Brother Mode, which was unsurprisingly not too different from his usual self, and gestured for them to follow as he cut a path toward the kitchen. "Tell me you guys ate something other than gas station hotdogs on the way here."
James shrugged and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear as he claimed a barstool next to the counter. "Ranch Doritos. Slim Jims. I think there might've been a muffin."
John sighed with a hint of laughter behind it and pulled ingredients out of the fridge. Clarice moved around him and set to pouring James a cup of juice from a pitcher.
"Hope you like Kool Aide, it's all we got."
James nodded in thanks as he accepted the drink from her, taking a long gulp while John lit the stove and waited for the pan to heat. Clarice had already taken to slicing the tomatoes and John spared her a glance and a half smile as he turned and started his mixture of flour, salt, baking powder, and water in a bowl.
"This reminds me of when I used to make your after school snacks."
"Yeah? Let's hope your frybread has gotten better since then."
"Hey! Don't diss a man's frybread!" John tossed a look over his shoulder. Clarice snickered.
"It had holes!" James shot back.
"Everyone's does!"
"Welcome to The Great Frybread Debate of 2018." Clarice said under her breath, knowing both brothers could hear her.
"There's no debate, John couldn't form a whole piece to save his life."
"You're going to eat those words!"
"I could if everything didn't fall through the bread."
The tomatoes and onions were cut, the lettuce was shredded, and the meat was hitting the pan with a sizzle. Clarice claimed the seat to James's left as John worked on.
"So...you do the same things John does? Tracking, bulldozing, human shield stuff?"
"About three times better than him, but yeah."
"Nice. You guys are a two-man army."
James winced at the same time Clarice saw John's back tense and she wondered what she'd said wrong. She was putting together a change of conversation in her head when a girl almost ran into her – from out of the wall.
"Jimmy! Here you are. Alison, he's in here!"
Clarice eyed the stranger in surprise, and straightened up once she realized she'd been leaning away.
"Jimmy?" came John's teasing tone, preparing the plates.
James rolled his eyes. "Kitty, this is Clarice and that's my brother John. Guys, this is my teammate, Kitty. Also known as Shadowcat."
"And?" A voice came from around the corner as a statuesque strawberry-blonde emerged. "Am I too late for introductions?"
Clarice caught a twinkle in James's eyes at the sight of her, and she looked over to John to see if he'd caught it too. A wry smile told her he had.
"John, Clarice, this is Alison, also known as Karaoke Girl."
"Dazzler!"
"My name was better."
The blonde turned toward John and wrinkled her nose as she crossed her arms under her bust. "He doesn't get his sense of humor from you, does he?"
"Definitely not."
They ended up pulling stools all around the counter – Clarice and James on one side, John and Alison on the other, and Kitty on the corner. Clarice was captivated as she listened to the group discuss how things were running at the other Underground safehouse, how Kitty can travel through walls, and caught precious anecdotes from the Proudstar brothers' childhood, which she filed away in her brain for reflection later. The tacos disappeared and the conversation carried on, even as the house became quiet overall and room by room, lights were turned off. It wasn't until the snoring coming from the couch in the next room was drowning them out that they dispersed to their rooms for the night. When the shower finally stopped running and all of the lights were off, Clarice turned to prop her head on John's shoulder and smirked, the image of him in a speedo front and center of her thoughts.
"So, the swim team, huh?"
In the dark she saw his lips curve as he bent an arm around her, pulling her closer, and tucked her under his chin.
John awoke about an hour before the birds began singing in the trees; Clarice relented and rolled out of bed as the scent of coffee wafted into the room.
Most of the others were still asleep by the time the two of them padded downstairs, the exceptions clearly being Reed Strucker and Marcos, who were already up and chatting with James in the kitchen. Greetings were traded as John fixed himself a cup and Clarice took the last english muffin Marcos was neglecting. They talked strategy and waypoints and the latest word on Sentinel Services' movements, and when more than half an hour had passed, James went upstairs to retrieve Kitty and Alison.
Ninety minutes later, the group of five loaded into an SUV and were on their way. John drove the whole way to Fredricksburg, artfully staying along the feeder and backroads, only merging with the general traffic when absolutely necessary. He delivered them safely to a run down library, pulling up quietly to the back door. Intel had told them there were four mutants hunkered down inside, awaiting rescue. Intel, it seemed, had been outdated. Either that, or word had gotten around that help was coming because there were fifteen people scattered among the various aisles. All fifteen of them, plus the five man recon team, would not fit into one SUV.
Dazzler and Warpath stood guard outside as Shadowcat loaded the vehicle with as many people she could fit, which turned out to be only nine. Blink looked at Thunderbird, wordlessly conveying her readiness for her part, and he waved for them to go. All eyes watched the van rumble down the road, and Thunderbird looked to his brother.
"Will she really be okay, with just herself to protect them?"
Warpath turned around, his body casual and confident.
"A: She's done this type of thing a hundred times, and B: her power is to phase right through things. As long as all of them are together, nobody's getting shot and nobody's getting locked up. Worst case scenario is if Sentinel Services shows up, she might have some trouble shaking them. That's why we'll meet her fifteen miles out from base to make sure."
It was as much reassurance as they could hope for. John had contacted his brother for this mission because this particular stretch of territory was routinely patrolled by Sentinel Services; they'd needed some extra muscle and another escape artist in case things went sideways. So far it seemed that luck was on their side; they'd gotten to the group in time and there hadn't been any sign of SS...yet.
They filed into the library to brief the kids – some of them as young as seven, no wonder the mission had been classified as urgent – on what was about to happen.
"It's not going to hurt you and you're not going to feel anything. One of us will go first and the rest of you just follow behind, okay? It'll be just like stepping from one room into another. Just stay close and don't stop moving."
Clarice explained as simply as she could, though she saw every eye widen as she began opening the portal. It began the size of a grapefruit, then a basketball, until it was large enough to accommodate even Thunderbird's 6'2 frame. On the other side, the safehouse sat, promising safety and rest. Warpath went through first as a show of trust and stood beckoning. The others filed through, a mix of emotions playing on their faces as they crossed over. One hung back at a table, his uncertainty clear. Alison went to him, bending down and speaking in soft tones, but he wouldn't budge. Clarice looked into his brown eyes and felt sorry that a child no older than seven already had such little trust. She'd had her own rough childhood, but she had a hunch this kid had seen worse. John went over to him, and Clarice didn't hear what he said to him, but the boy clung to his side within moments. Alison looked at John with respect. John's attention snapped to the far wall; a quick tell that company had arrived.
"Any minute now, John!"
"We're coming!"
He picked the boy up and ran for the portal. Alison took a deep breath and produced what looked like a microphone from her jacket. Clarice was momentarily confused, but as the library doors were flung open, the blonde began belting out the first lyrics of Cher's If I Could Turn Back Time. Clarice couldn't believe it - even though there were no amps or speakers, Alison's voice seemed to be all around them, and there were actual colorful lights flickering everywhere. Alison walked backward as she sang, only turning around once her back foot had entered the portal, and Blink was only a half step behind as she walked through and allowed her portal to collapse on itself. She brushed her hands against each other to dispel the remaining tingle and looked around. James had his back to her, talking to two of the rescued mutants at the door, and John was on one knee talking to the last kid. She didn't see the van yet, and felt soothed by that fact. This was a bigger group than she was used to transporting, and sometimes things got wobbly. Sometimes, though the portal felt instant to her and everyone else who traveled though, hours passed on the other side. Blink hadn't figured it all out yet, but she was scraping together an idea that distance and the strain of holding open the portal had something to do with it. She was thankful this wasn't one of those times.
Looking over at the Honda Civic next to the house with it's bullet holes, crunched bumper and broken driver's seat, she flexed her fingers and readied herself to open another portal to meet Shadowcat and the others. Just then, Warpath came over, lines of worry stretching across his face as he glanced around in near paranoia.
"Where's Dazzler?"
Clarice's head snapped left, but found nobody there. John, overhearing, lent his eyes to the search as well, and came up short. Clarice was confused.
"She was just right here! I was behind her!"
James shook his head. "I don't sense her at all, there's no way she came through. You left her!"
He wasn't glaring at her, not yet, but Blink could see the anger rising up in him, a pot about to boil over.
"I didn't! She was right in front of me, I swear!"
She couldn't believe it, she'd never lost somebody before. There'd been a time once, when she was coerced into using her power for a location she didn't know and the person she portalled was never seen again. She'd assumed they'd either got stuck in a solid object or ended up in the middle of traffic, and honestly, she couldn't have cared less which. She'd never outright lost somebody, especially when she saw them go through with her own eyes. It was as if Alison had literally disappeared, between one blink of the eye and the next.
John put a steadying hand on James's shoulder, his expression worried but otherwise neutral, and Clarice could tell he was trying to not choose sides.
"We'll go back and look for her, I'll let Marcos and Wes know to meet the second group, give me a minute."
He took off back toward the house, and Blink was stuck with an angry Proudstar staring at her. All at once she felt inadequate and freakish.
"We'll find her." she mumbled because she couldn't bring herself to apologize. Apologizing would mean admitting that this was her fault, and she wasn't about to take the blame if it turned out that Dazzler had doubled back without a word, or if she'd wandered off to a corner of the portal instead of going straight ahead or-
"Damn right we will."
She wondered if the only thing keeping him from yelling at her was her status as John's girlfriend.
John saved them from further awkward tension by reemerging from the house and trotting up to them.
"Alright, we're set to go. Blink?"
Her heart pounded as she rubbed her hands together, curled her fingers, and began to reopen the portal. Two bullets whizzed out and Blink immediately let it close. One had hit James in the arm and fallen away, uselessly. The other had gone past them and John checked with the few people still in the yard to make sure nobody had been hurt. Everyone was fine, and judging by the lack of screams anywhere, the stray bullet hadn't hit anyone indoors either. James cursed and John ran a hand through his hair.
"We're going to have to think on this a bit more."