Author's Note: Hey guys I finally finished this chapter and I'm actually really excited to share this one with you guys. This is the one that the last couple of chapters have been building towards so you can look forward to some more reveals and maybe a few more questions. There's also some lighter moments in this chapter not all doom and gloom. I actually made a plan for this chapter but it turned out nothing like it when I actually sat down and wrote it lol. But anyway I hope you all enjoy and as always let me know what you think I always appreciate all your comments.
Chapter 4
Trask Industries Reconditioning Compound
Tick. Tick. Tick. He sat alone in his office waiting for confirmation that the mutant had been secured. He focused on the sound of the time passing with each tick of the clock. He could feel tiredness creeping in on him but he shook it away. Tick. Tick. Tick. He tried to focus on all the other sounds around him. The drumming of his fingers on the desk. The hum of the computer. The sound of his own heartbeat. But his attention still kept being pulled back to the sound of that damn clock.
Tick. Tick. Tick. This was taking too long he was growing more impatient or maybe it was anticipation. He found it more difficult to differentiate his feelings nowadays, that's on the rare occasion he felt anything at all. It had been this way ever since... No don't think about her. He shut the thought down. It was just too painful. Better to feel nothing. He sighed and looked back at the clock but not even a minute had passed. Tick. Tick. Tick
Then came the knock at the door. Deafening in the quiet of the room. Esme entered before he could even call out for her to come in. He looked at her expectantly, hopefully.
She smiled and nodded in confirmation. "The guards just radioed it in, they caught two female mutants. Seems like they were attempting to rescue their friend. What do you want us to do? Put them in with the other one, Anna-Marie?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No I'm going to deal with this one myself." He noticed Esme start to voice her concern about that but he shook his head and continued. "If one of these mutants is the one that got passed the wall, which I think we can assume they are considering they somehow also got passed our own defenses; then it's too risky. Call as many available guards to the main hall, if this mutant is as powerful as they seem then we're going to need all the manpower we can get. Also call the other members of leadership, They're going to need to be there too. And you of course."
Esme nodded her head to show she understood and then set out to gather everyone up. He took a deep breath and pushed away the ghosts of his past that were trying to sneak into his thoughts again. .Tick. He composed himself letting the ticking sound push his darker thoughts away and then made his way to the main hall. It was about time he finally met this mutant that had caused such a fuss since their arrival.
Clarice's POV
Clarice struggled against the vice like grip that was around her upper arm, trying desperately to break free. But whoever was leading her was too strong.
She tried to calm her heart rate and slow her breathing, knowing she was on the verge of panicking. She couldn't see anything through the thick material of the black sack that was over her head. She could hear muffled sounds around her, she thought they might be voices but she couldn't be sure. The uncertainty of her situation only made her fear increase. She had no idea what these people were going to do to her or to Glow. She couldn't help but wonder about Anna-Marie. Was she ok? Had they killed her already? But most of all the thought that kept coming to the forefront of her mind was that she had failed she hadn't been able to find John. If she died now it was without ever seeing him again. The memory of the last time she saw him came to her. The look of terror on his face, the devastation. That was all she was left with now.
All of a sudden she was pulled to a stop and shoved to her knees. She could feel more than see or hear the people around her. There seemed to be alot of them. She could just make out the buzz of their excited chatter.
The hood was ripped from her head and a gasp went around the room and then it went eerily silent. She noticed that the large booted feet of the man that had been approaching her had suddenly stopped. She heard Glow beside her left out a breath.
Clarice slowly let her eyes travel up the man's body. Like the men who had ambushed them he was wearing black combat pants. A knife was sitting in a thigh holster. Reaching his torso she saw that unlike the others he wasn't wearing a flak jacket but instead just had on a plain black t-shirt. Then her gaze landed on his face. Her heart skipped a beat and the air caught in her lungs. She took in his long dark hair and his warm brown eyes that were staring at her in shock. He had dark circles under his eyes and his complexion looked a little pale almost sickly. He had grown some facial hair. The stubble gave him a somewhat unkempt look but it didn't look bad on him. She took him all in as a smile spread across her face joy warming her chest. "John!" She whispered in delight.
She struggled to her feet and tried to reach out to him, forgetting for a moment that her hands were still cuffed behind her back. He just continued staring at her in disbelief. She could see a writhing mess of emotions in his eyes. Shock, pain, grief, joy, relief, wariness, love.
He started to reach a hand out to touch her but then seemed to think better of it, instead curling it into a tight fist and returning it to his side.
She broke her gaze away from him to quickly look around the room. There were a lot of unfamiliar faces there, mostly guards. But she recognized some of them. She spotted Caitlin Strucker off to the left. She too was staring at Clarice like she couldn't believe her eyes. Her hair was longer with a little more grey in it and her eyes had a haunted look. Clarice noted that the rest of the Struckers were nowhere to be seen and had to push away an uneasy feeling.
Just behind John to his right was one of the Frost sisters. That too made Clarice a little unsettled. What was she doing here? She couldn't be sure but she thought it might be Esme, something about the way she was holding herself. But then it was always hard to tell the difference between them.
To John's left was Marcos. He was flicking his gaze between her and Glow and again he looked like he was in shock. Yet when she caught his eyes for a split second he had the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She waited for someone to say something but the hall continued to stay eerily silent, you could hear a pin drop. She could feel the tension in the air growing and she could feel every set of eyes in the room transfixed on her.
Eventually it all became too much for Clarice. So she decided to break the silence herself. Locking her eyes back on John she quipped "What's wrong with you all? You look like you've seen a ghost." Her attempt at breaking the ice was only met by more silence. Sighing she tried again. "So the weirdest thing happened to me about a week back. There I was chilling in the sewers with the Morlocks when a bunch of asshole Purifiers showed up and shot me. Then I fell into my own portal only to be told when I fell out again that two whole years had gone by. So what's new with you guys?" She said flippantly
John just started shaking his head in denial, he seemed to be struggling to believe what was right in front of him. "No you're not real. You're one of Selene's tricks."
"No John, I'm not a trick, Look I know it's been long time for you but it's really me." But he only continued to shake his head, avoiding her eyes. She was starting to feel frustrated, desperate. This wasn't how she imagined their reunion going. She wanted to reach out and grip his chin and force him to look back at her like somehow that would convince him she was real, but she was still restrained by the stupid cuffs. "When I got shot something weird happened with my portal, I don't really understand what happened, I think I was trapped for a while but then when I got out I was in Pittsburgh..."
"Wait what are you saying?" It was Marcos that spoke. "That for you you've only been gone a week? And that you what somehow time traveled and landed in Pittsburgh? How did you survive the gunshot wounds?"
Before she could answer the Frost sister (whichever one she was) beat her to it. "Anna-Marie, she's a healer. That explains it..."
"NO!" John cut across her sharply. "No it doesn't explain it, this is one of Selene's tricks. One that we've all fallen for before and I won't do that again. This isn't Clarice we lost her, she died two years ago." The pain in his voice radiated from him and into to her, sinking into her heart and tearing at it. God what had happened to him in the last two years?
She could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She swallowed trying to fight them down. "John, please you have to believe me! I really am me, I really am here." But now he was backing away from her. "I'm telling you the truth!" She could feel despair setting in she wasn't going to be able to convince him was she?
"Look John I know Selene has used people you've lost against you before but I really do think that maybe this time Clarice is telling the truth. I mean alot of it adds up." Marcos interjected. "Glow is with her and I know that Glow was sent to Pittsburgh so that she could get help from a healing mutant. When Esme read Anna-Marie's thoughts she found out that she was from Pittsburgh and that she was a healing mutant. Also we know a mutant got passed the wall, Clarice could theoretically get past the wall with one of her portals. All the pieces fit." He tried reasoning with John. But John still looked unsure.
Then Clarice got an idea. "Let her read my mind." She gestured at Esme. "I might be able to lie to everyone else in this room but I won't be able to lie to her." John looked between the two of them for a moment clearly conflicted. But then he nodded.
"Ok, stayed relaxed and try not to push back against me ok." Esme instructed. Clarice nodded. Then she felt a curious sensation, like a prodding feeling in her head. Then a building pressure and she could feel Esme there. Images started flitting across her mind. She saw herself get shot again, felt the pain. She saw that swirling vortex of energy. Her time in Pittsburgh. Portalling passed the wall. Hiding in the clinic. Anna-Marie's abduction and then their own capture. Then the pressure in her head eased and she was alone in her own head again.
Esme looked back at John she was smiling but she also looked a little in awe like she couldn't really believe what she had seen. "She's telling the truth. It's really her." Clarice looked back at John who stared back at her searching her eyes for something. She smiled at him reassuringly. But he still didn't look entirely convinced. It looked as if he desperately wanted it to be real and yet he was terrified that it would turn out that it was all just some trick.
"But it still doesn't make sense to me. If you were safe in Pittsburgh why would you risk coming back to DC. I mean I'm assuming Glow and Anna-Marie told you about the wall and Selene and how dangerous it was. Why come back here?" John still argued. Still fought to understand and make sense of it all.
"Oh believe me we tried telling her how dangerous it was! Girl does not know how to listen." Glow muttered half under her breath.
Marcos chuckled in response. "Yup that sounds like Clarice." He bantered while giving Clarice a wink.
She just rolled her eyes at Marcos and answered. "Oh I don't know John maybe because this is where I last saw you. I came here looking for you! I've spent every minute since I got out of my portal trying to get back to you."
John met her eyes and Clarice could see tears starting to form in them she could also see the mix of emotions. The battle between hope and mistrust.
That was when Caitlin approached and gently put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly. "Maybe this time we really have just been granted a miracle. So she time-traveled then got healed by a mutant and managed to portal past an energy sucking wall. It's hardly the strangest thing that's happened over the last few years. Anything's possible right?" She smiled at Clarice. "I think maybe instead of questioning it too much we should just be grateful that we've got Clarice back. That she's safe."
John looked back at Clarice. The look of hopefulness and pain and grief on his face broke her heart, he looked so lost. His voice shook as he quietly asked. "It's really you?"
"Yeah babe. It's really me." She reassured him softly tears falling down her cheeks. She saw him swallow and try and get his own tears under control. Then he gestured to a guard behind her. She felt the man unlock her cuffs and she let out a groan of relief as she stretched her arms out and rubbed at the sore points on her wrists. The guard then moved over and did the same for Glow. Clarice wanted to rush to John and wrap her arms around him, to touch him, to breath him in. But he still seemed a little off with her, some what distant.
"Our friend Anna-Marie. Is she ok?" Glow asked looking between John, Esme and Marcos.
"Oh yeah she's fine we've got her contained in another room but she hasn't been harmed." Marcos reassured them both. Clarice sighed in relief as Marcos continued. "Look we're sorry about the hand cuffs and the hoods and everything. It's just we've got to be careful with Selene's people about. It's just security you know?"
"It's ok Marcos." Clarice assured him. "We get it. It's a darker, meaner, rougher place out there nowadays. You're just protecting your own." She smiled at him before locking her gaze back on John trying to figure out what he was thinking. Why wasn't he holding her yet? Why was he still keeping so much distance between them?
John cleared his throat then looked over at Glow. "Esme will take you to see Anna-Marie now. She'll get some food sorted out for you both and some clean clothes. We'll also get some rooms set up for you, we don't exactly have a five star set up here but we've got fairly comfortable beds and blankets, it's warm." He informed her before turning his attention back to Clarice. "Can we talk?"
Clarice nodded and turned to Marcos then Caitlin pulling them both into tight hugs. "I'll catch up with you guys later ok." They both smiled and nodded back. She turned and caught Glow's eye, she nodded her head and smile comfortingly at Glow's uncertain look. Glow smiled back and then followed Esme out. Clarice turned back to John and followed him through a nearby door.
He led her down several hallways and then into a room. It was a decent size but kind of generic. It had plain white walls and a grey threadbare carpet. There was a double bed and a desk with some files and a laptop on it and a wardrobe in the corner but that was it.
John was standing with his back to her. She reached out a tentative hand, no longer able to resist the urge to touch him, and gently placed it on his shoulder. She felt his breath catch and then he turned and yanked her towards him. She collided with his chest as his lips came crashing down on hers. He had one hand on her lower back and the other tangled in her hair.
After a few heated moments he went to pull back but Clarice wrapped her fingers into the hair at the base of his neck and wrapped her other arm around his shoulders pulling him back to her, bringing their lips back together. God she had missed the taste of him. She was so wrapped up in him that she hadn't even realized they were moving until her back hit the door. He moved in closer as she tugged him tighter to her wanting no space between them.
John's hands left her waist and he ran them up her arms to the hands that were gripping his shoulders. He gently pinned them to the door on either side of her head. He rubbed her wrists softly with his thumbs as he broke away from her lips and began placing little kisses across her cheek, then her ear, down her neck. The tickle of his facial hair against the skin of her neck was a new sensation, a testament to how much time had passed for him, but she didn't mind it.
Clarice let out a soft sigh, nuzzling into his shoulder and breathing in the familiar scent of him, he smelt the same way the air does right before the rain falls. She gasped as she felt his tongue flick against her pulse point. Then he kissed her lips again deeper this time, intensely like he might not ever get to kiss her again.
Clarice felt hot, flushed and her heart was racing as she breathed in and out rapidly. John broke their kiss and pulled back a little to look into her eyes. He cupped her cheek stroking it gently. "God, I love you so much." He whispered oh so softly.
She smiled warmly at him, leaning forward to brush her nose against his. "I love you too." He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. They stood like that for a few heartbeats just enjoying being together again. As he breathed out she breathed in, the both of them sharing the same air. She reached up onto her tiptoes and kissed him again tenderly, once, twice before he cupped the back of her neck and deepened it. She gently pushed on his shoulder and turned them so that he was the one with his back to the door. She broke away and gave him a mischievously playful smile. Tugging on his hands she backed up towards the bed.
As they fell down onto the soft mattress together Clarice relished in the feeling of his weight above her, enveloping her. Maybe it ought to scare her but she only felt safe. To her John was like an approaching thunderstorm, he made the air around them hotter and thicker. Made it crackled with electricity and excitement. He was that feeling of anticipation that hangs in the air as you wait for that first flash of lightening or the rumble of thunder that rattles through you and makes you feel more alive. And yet he was also that feeling of calm that washes over you as the first drops of rain water fall down and brush over your skin, clinging to you. Clarice let her eyes fall shut and just let herself get lost in him as he became lost in her.
John's POV
He felt the tendrils of sleep unfurling from him, slowly releasing him as he drifted awake. The first thing he became aware of was Clarice. She was nestled against him. Her bare back was pressed against his chest. The warmth of her soft skin was radiating through him causing that warmth to spread through his chest making his heart ache with how much he had missed her, how much he loved her. He buried his face into the space between her shoulder and neck, breathed in deeply. She smelt the same as she always did, like the floral scent of her shampoo that still lingered and static. He guessed that was from the energy of her portals. He shuffled in closer to her, he would never be close enough to her.
He thought back on the last two years he had spent without her. The grief and pain that her 'death' had brought him. He had never felt pain like it. Then he remembered how that pain had faded into nothingness. Just the feeling of being numb. It was just easier that way to not let himself feel anything. To keep a tight rein on his emotions. Stay in control.
That all ended when they pulled that hood off Clarice. All of those oppressed feelings came pouring out like a tidal wave, overwhelming him. He had been so shocked to see her and yet he didn't want to let himself believe that she was truly here with him. Selene had got him with that trick before. But this time it was real. She was real and she was here and he would be damned if he ever let anyone take her from him again. He subconsciously tightened the arm that was wrapped around Clarice's waist causing her to moan in protest as he accidentally jostled her awake. "Sorry babe." He apologized gently as she turned to face him.
But she just smiled brightly at him, making his heart skip a beat. God, how could anyone be as beautiful as she was. She snuggled into him and ran her hand over his chest, resting it over his heart. She moved so that her head was resting on his chest, she lay silently for a moment listening to his heartbeat. "Mmm, I love that sound." She told him tenderly. Placing a kiss on the skin over the spot. He smiled down at her while playing with her hair.
She reached up and ran a hand over the hair of his beard chuckling to herself. "What?" He asked teasingly. "Don't you like it?"
She looked at him with that playful glint that he loved so much. "Hmm I'm not sure yet, it's definitely different. And it tickles." She giggled making him chuckle in turn. "What made you grow it?" She asked curiously.
"Well it adds to my Johnny Depp vibe, so..." He joked. Clarice bursts out laughing which only made him grin wider.
"You do kinda look like Johnny Depp." She wheezed out. Then she tried to take a few gulping breaths and get her laughter under control. And then tried to muffle the sound in his shoulder when she couldn't. That set John off to as her laughter had always been infectious to him. He let the laughter roll through him till his ribs hurt from laughing so much. But damn if it didn't feel good to laugh again.
Eventually they were able to get themselves under control again and he lent into her. "I'll shave it off if you like, I can always grow it back if you miss it too much." He smiled at her and was rewarded with beaming grin and a quick kiss to the lips. He tried to remember the last time he felt this happy, this content.
Then the light from the morning sun glinted through the window and danced over the skin of her back. He tensed as he spotted three small round scars on her back. He had been so caught up in the heat and urgency of last night that he hadn't seen them. "Hey what's wrong?" Clarice asked sensing his tension. He slowly ran a finger over one of the bullet wound scars. Clarice just gave him a sad look and an attempt at a reassuring smile. Shifting from under her John slowly lowered his head and lightly kissed the first scar. He heard Clarice sigh softly. His breath ghosted across her skin making goosebumps appear as he moved to the next one and pressed his lips to her skin again as she reached for his hand and linked their fingers together. He moved to the last one that was nearer the top of her back placing another kiss there too. He felt Clarice shift and roll over. It was then that the saw that she had three matching scars on her stomach too. The bullets had gone right through her. He met her eyes again, an intense look passed between them, all of their emotions were conveyed in that one look, the pain, the grief, the fear and heartbreak, the relief at finally being back together again and the all consuming love they felt for the other. He let his lips drop back down to her skin again tasting that first scar. As he did Clarice threaded her fingers into his hair holding him against her. As he moved onto soothe the next scar he noticed that Clarice's chest was rising and falling with each deep breath. He gently rubbed reassuring circles on her hip.
He rested his cheek against her stomach as he stared at that last bullet wound. Tears slipped from his eyes and ran down the skin of her stomach. She sought to comfort him by stroking his hair behind his ear. He had seen enough gunshot wounds in Afghanistan and knew enough about human anatomy to know that the bullet had come dangerously close to her heart. He kissed her skin again this time lingering longer wishing he could take away the pain he knows she must of experienced when those bullets tore through her. He kissed each scar over and over again feeling the muscles of her stomach twitch with pleasure. When she saw those scars in the future he didn't want her to have to remember that pain, he wanted her to remember the sensation of his kisses against her skin.
After a while Clarice tugged at his arm bringing him up to kiss her on the mouth. He loved the taste of her, it was sweeter than any other treat. As they broke apart again Clarice reached up and brushed away his tears. "Hey." She whispered gently to him. "It's ok, I'm here now, and your here. We're together and that's all that matters." He smiled at her and then pulled her back into his embrace. They laid there for a while in a comfortable silence. They both knew they had a lot to talk about. About their time apart, about the issues they had before everything happened, about the future. But for now they were content to just exist together.
That couldn't last though and they both knew it, so after some time Clarice sighed and looked up at him. "John what happened while I was gone? Where are the others? You know the rest of the Struckers, Lorna, Erg? Why are you in a Trask facility? And what happened to Reeva? Also who is this Selene woman because before today I had never heard of her?"
John let out a big breath wondering where the hell to start and then figured well probably the beginning. "Ok I'll tell you all about it. But you should know it's a really long story and it all starts the day you were shot."
Author's Note: Yay John and Clarice and reunited once more and it feels so good. So as a little sneak peek next chapter is going to be a flashback chapter so we'll get to learn what happened to everyone else after Clarice fell into the portal. So you'll have a few more answers there too. If you have any theories feel free to leave a review I love reading peoples thoughts on it and it gives me a little kick when my readers do figure things out. Anyway one last little tidbit I gave John a beard in this fic originally because I wanted to show that he was in more of a depressive state and so not making as much effort with his appearance, to make him seem a bit more disheveled and unkempt. Also to highlight the effect losing Clarice has had on him. That really silly scene between thunderblink where they talk about him looking like johnny depp was inspired by a photo blair put on his instagram where he had grown a beard. Like 90% of the comments were about how he looked like a young johnny depp and once I saw it I couldn't unsee it and I found it kinda funny so I figured why not and I added it in. Anyway that's enough rambling for one day and I'll will post again as soon as I can.