Chapter 1 - New Beginnings

Lauren Strucker's arm shot out as the portal closed, her father disappearing mere inches from her grasp. A tear came to her eye immediately and rolled down her cheek before she wiped it away stubbornly. No, she didn't have the luxury to cry. The teen turned, seeing her mother and brother frozen as they stared ahead. "I-Is she o-okay?" she asked as the dark haired woman collapsed into another man's arms.

"I'm not sure," Marcos replied, looking over Clarice's pale face. "I think she may be exhausted."

"I'm sure she is," John snapped as he crossed the room and looked her over. "Let's get her to one of the cots. Dreamer can watch over her until she wakes up."

"Wh-What about Reed?!" Caitlin Strucker found her voice. "What about my husband?!"

"There's nothing we can do about him now," John turned back to her as Marcos carried Clarice downstairs.

"We can't just leave him there!" the frantic wife exclaimed. "He could die!"

"We could die if we go back now."

"But-"

"Mom," Lauren interjected, reaching over and placing a hand on her mother's arm. "He's right. You saw those things that were chasing us..."

Her mother took a deep breath. "We can't just sit back and do nothing!"

"We're not," the blonde replied patiently. "It's too dangerous right now, but in the morning we can figure something out." Talking her mother down was the only thing keeping her from panicking herself. Logic appealed to Lauren. Her mother was emotional while she was practical. If they were to go back now, they'd all die. Resting up and developing a plan was the better alternative.

"Your daughter is right," John spoke up, running his hand over his head. "We will try our best to get your husband back safely."

Lauren smiled softly at the older man as he ushered her mother away and motioned to two cots in the corner. "Come on, Andy." Her sisterly duties kicked in as she pulled her still mute brother to his feet and pushed him towards the cot. "You need some rest." Now she was sounding like her mother. Once he was seated, she flopped back onto the cot and took a deep breath.

Her hand came to her forehead as the events of the past couple of days came to mind. How did everything get so bad so fast? It was only supposed to be a dance. A stupid, high school dance.

"It's my fault, you know," Andy mumbled as if he'd been reading her mind.

"What is?"

"Dad...this...all of it," her brother mumbled as he looked around the strange area. "It's all my fault."

"It's not your fault..."

"Yes it is!"

"Careful," Lauren warned as the window panes shook slightly. After a moment of silence, she spoke again. "I should have told you sooner..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Andy inquired as he turned to face his sister. "What, did you think I was going to turn you in or something?"

The blonde shrugged as she looked down to her fingers, twining them together nervously. "No...I don't know... I just...I didn't want anyone to know, okay? You see how everybody acts! They treat us like we're freaks or something! We're not freaks, we're just..."

"Different," he finished quietly, looking down.

"Yeah..."

Andy stared at the floor for several minutes. "What do you think is going to happen to Dad?"

"He's going to be fine." Honestly, Lauren wasn't sure what would become of their father, but she couldn't let Andy know that. She had to be strong for him. She couldn't let him fall apart; he had already been through enough.

Her brother bit his lip, glancing over his shoulder as he shifted on the cot. "Do you think we can trust these people?"

"That's a stupid question," the teen frowned. "They got us this far, didn't they? They saved us from those...those...things! They're just like us, Andy! Why wouldn't they help us?"

"I don't know! We don't know who we can trust!"

"We can trust them," Lauren replied determinedly. "Now get some sleep." She turned onto her side, putting her back to him. She didn't mean to give Andy the cold shoulder, but she didn't have the energy to talk him through this. She needed to process it all herself before she could help Andy deal. Not only was her ability exposed, but now her brother had destroyed the school, they were on the run, and her father was in the hands of the Sentinel Services. Lauren closed her eyes tightly, trying to force sleep to take her, but her body would not cooperate.

Andy, on the other hand, was out like a light. The days had really taken a toll on him.

Lauren remembered feeling exhausted when first discovering her abilities. If only she could do things differently. She would have told her parents the second she knew that she was a mutant. Then they could have been monitoring Andy, and they wouldn't be here now. Separated. Her father possibly being tortured because of her. The teen let out a heavy sigh and pushed herself up from the cot. It was clear she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

The blonde cast a look to Andy before tip-toeing around the unfamiliar area. Where were they anyway? It seemed to be some run down warehouse turned...hide out? Cots scattered the downstairs area along with a makeshift kitchen area and a couple of closed doors, hopefully being bathrooms. Up here though was different. A desk, a couch, and a couple of cots. Clearly they were in a more secluded space. Maybe the secret meetings happened up here or something.

"Hey, you," Lauren cooed as a black and white collie trotted over to her with a chew toy. "What are you doing in a place like this?" she asked as she ruffled the dog's ear.

"She just showed up one day," a male voice spoke up.

The teen looked up and met John's gaze. "Is she yours?"

"She belongs to everybody," John shrugged, then cleared his throat. "I'm John, by the way..." The events of the day hadn't really allowed formal introductions.

"Lauren."

He nodded, studying her closely as she stroked the dog. "Thanks for helping us out today."

"Thank you for giving us a place to stay."

"Marcos didn't really give us much of a choice," the older man mumbled to himself before walking over and offering her a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Lauren twisted the cap as her gaze flicked over the area. "Are you the leader of this place?"

"I guess you could say that," he shrugged before dropping into the desk chair heavily.

The teen looked to her water bottle, swirling the liquid inside. "Why do they hate us so much?"

John pursed his lips a moment before speaking. "It's the fear of the unknown. Society fears what they can't understand. They automatically assume it's a threat, even if they don't know what it is."

Lauren nodded slowly. It made sense. "The woman who helped us... Clarice? I-Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She just overexerted herself today. It takes a lot to hold a portal open for six people."

Six, not seven.

The blonde bit her lip. "What's going to happen to my dad?"

John met her scared gaze before clearing his throat and pushing away from the desk. "Your mom and Marcos are discussing that now. You should get some rest though. It's been a long day."

"Right," Lauren rolled her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. Get some rest, get some rest. She was always being told to get some rest. They didn't care if she was rested or not; they were dismissing her from the adult worries and concerns. Despite being nearly eighteen, she was still being treated like a child. You'd think having a mutant ability would set her apart.

It wasn't like she was the one who had destroyed the school.

"Lauren?" John disrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking over her shoulder and meeting his gaze.

"We're going to get your dad back. I promise."

Something in his eyes told her that he meant it. No matter what it took, he would bring her family back together. And for the first time in a long time, Lauren felt safe.