Author's Note: Not gonna lie this is a little bit of a filler chapter but it's important for setting things up for whats to come. But I hope you still enjoy it.

Chapter 2

Clarice was reeling, her mind trying to process everything she had just been told. She could feel exhaustion seeping into her bones, all she wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep. It had been a long 24 hours, hell it had been a long year. But as much as she wanted to sleep she wanted, no needed to know more. She needed to know what had happened to the ones she loved, her family.

"What does that mean? Don't you know where they are? When was the last time you spoke to them?" She begged Glow for answers.

"I'm sorry Clarice but we just don't know much. Last time we spoke to them was right after The Morlock Massacre. They kept the people you got out at the junkyard for a few days and then Marcos contacted us. He asked us if we would take in the survivors. It was going to take some time to get everyone here. Marcos and The Struckers did alot of driving back and forth. We had got about half of them up here when the shit hit the fan. After the attack we tried reaching out and getting a hold of someone but we were just met with complete radio silence. So Erg went back to see if he could make contact with any of them. We got one last message from him 3 weeks later saying he'd found John and the others and that they were planning some big mission and to wait for him to contact us again. He never did."

Oh god she felt sick, worry and dread had taken a hold of her. She swallowed down the lump in her throat before asking. "Wait so Erg saw John and the others after the attack. So they survived that? But then what happened? What was this big mission Erg was talking about?"

This time it was Anna-Marie that answered her. "We don't know. Erg never went into details, he just told us to wait. And well we've been waiting ever since. Most of what we know are snippets of gossip that were overheard during supply runs topside."

Suddenly Clarice felt dizzy, she tried to swallow down the bile rising in her throat and then her world tilted. Anna-Marie caught her and sat her on the edge of the table. "Hey there now. Careful you've been through alot. Look how about we get you settled in your own space. You can get cleaned up and have a rest." Clarice nodded reluctantly and let Anna-Marie guide her down the tunnels. She brought her to a large cavern very similar to the one she lived in with the Morlocks in DC. In the corner was a metal frame set up with curtains hanging down. It made a kind of room. Glow held back the curtain for her as Anna-Marie guided her inside.

Inside there was a low bed with a duvet and two pillows. In the corner there was a large ceramic bowl for washing and above it someone had hung a mirror on the wall. As she approached the bed she saw that there was a child's drawing laid on it. Picking it up she found it was a picture of her. She had a fierce look on her face and her hair was spread out around her face like a lion's mane. She was holding open a portal while stick figures passed through it. Clarice suddenly felt choked up as she saw the writing underneath. In a child's untidy scrawl the word's 'You're My Hero' were written.

Glow gave her a wide smile. "Faith drew that for you. Actually she and some of the others from the DC tunnels that you saved help get this space set up for you."

Looking around the room more closely she spotted other little things. Someone had put some flowers in a vase on a night stand. Of course they would die soon with no light down here but Clarice was still touched by the gesture. There was a beaded bracelet, letters and cards that people had written to her. A child had left their teddy bear for her too; The note attached to the ribbon around its neck read 'So you don't get too lonely.'

Anna-Marie wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You know, to many people here you're a hero, there are so many of them that would have died in those tunnels if hadn't been for you. These..." She gestured around the room at all the tokens that had been left. "This is their way of showing you their gratitude. You should be proud of yourself Clarice. Now get some rest. There's some warm water in the bowl for you to get cleaned up a bit and there are some clean clothes in that dresser there." With one last parting smile Glow and Anna-Marie left her alone.

Clarice brushed away the tears and moved over to the table with the bowl and mirror. She stripped off her blood stained clothes and as she cleaned away the remains of the dried blood she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Pausing she lent closer and there under her other eye she saw that she had a new marking. It was the same shape and size as the other one. She softly brushed a finger along with it. Suddenly she was lost in a memory. She closed her eyes and remembered how John had once brushed his thumb across her markings. God, you are so beautiful. A sob was wrenched from her body; then another. She moved to the bed and curled up in a ball, clinging to the teddy bear that had been left for her, she tried with all her strength to ignore the dark void in her chest. She knew that it was a void that could only be filled by being with John again. All she could do for now was curl up tighter and pray that was enough to hold all the broken pieces of herself together. But it wasn't so instead she let herself crumble.

Clarice spent the next three days getting acquainted with her new surroundings and the people who lived there. There were quite a few familiar faces and yet it was also surreal. For them it had been two years since they had last seen her. Yet for her it had been no time at all. She had also spent the last three days running everything she had been told through her head. It was driving her crazy wondering where John was, whether he was safe. Which was why she was currently rushing down the tunnels to the meeting/ office room where Glow and Anna-Marie were. She had quickly learnt that in the absence of Erg they had become the defacto leaders here. As she walked her thoughts continued to go round in circles. What could the plan have been? Did it go wrong? Was that why nobody had contacted them? Were her friends dead? Was John? She couldn't bear to think of the possibility. He had to be safe, please let him be safe. Please let all of them be safe. Then she made up her mind, she'd never be able to live in peace unless she knew for sure. She could feel Glow's and Anna-Marie's eyes on her as she entered the room. She looked the two women right in the eye. "I'm going back." She told them with steely determination.

They both just looked at her like she was crazy. It was a few long minutes before Glow found her voice again. "Are you crazy?!" Clarice just shook her head and gave her a stubborn look. Glow sighed "Clarice you won't be able to get back into DC."

"Yes I will." Clarice answered simply. She could see Anna-Marie shaking her head with an incredulous look on her face.

"No Clarice, I don't think you understand. Nobody has been able to get in or out of DC since The Inner Circle took over. Trust me we've tried getting people in there. There's some kind of barrier; a wall around it. It looks like its made of obsidian or something. But whatever its made of there's something weird about it. Abilities don't seem to work against it. It's like it drains all of your energy or something. And on top of that the wall is guarded 24/7, there's no way you'll get in." Glow pleaded with her.

But Clarice just shrugged at her. "I'll portal past the wall. I lived in that city for 6 months. I know exactly where to portal to. I'll go at night."

This time it was Anna-Marie that tried reasoning with her. "Clarice you're not listening to us. You won't be able to portal past the wall, it's too strong. It'll just drain your energy and it'll alert the guards that you're there."

"No I'm strong enough." She told them confidently. Again they both just looked at her like she had grown a second head. "I don't know how to explain it. But ever since I came out of the portal I've felt different."

"Different how exactly?" Anna-Marie asked curiously.

"I don't know it's like...it's like." Clarice tried to find the right words to describe the feeling that had been building inside of her over the last few days. "I feel unstoppable." They were both still staring at her uncertainly. She sighed. "Look, I'm doing this and you can't stop me. I'm sorry guys, but I have to know what happened to my family." She told them hoping desperately that they'd understand. "So I guess I've come to say goodbye." She gave them both one last sad smile then turned away.

She was throwing things into a borrowed rucksack when they came barging in. Clarice stood upright and turned to face them both. "Look guys just give it up ok. I'm not going to change my mind."

"We know." Glow sighed.

"Which is why we're coming with you." Anna-Marie stated.

"You don't have to do that. It'll be dangerous."

"Oh we know!" Glow exclaimed. "But you're our friend and we can't in good conscience let you go alone so..." She shrugged.

"Besides you know nothing about this world, you'll stand a better chance with us." Anna-Marie insisted. "We have a safe house near the wall. We use it for surveillance on the wall."
p"You do surveillance on the wall, I thought nobody was fighting back."

p"We're not, but we'd be stupid not to keep an eye on things. If the Inner Circle makes any moves to expand their territory outside of DC then it's better that we know." Glow explained. Clarice nodded in agreement, they weren't wrong about that./p

"Well ok then. You guys ready?" Clarice asked them. They both nodded. Reaching out she gripped the energies and pulled them apart. She watched as Glow then Anna-Marie passed through, then followed.

They stayed at the safe house for a day. It was small but practical and the couple who owned it were very friendly. It was pretty obvious though that they thought the three of them were crazy. In fact Clarice wouldn't be surprised if they were already planning their funerals. She got the sense that Anna-Marie and Glow were both starting to have some second thoughts. As the day wore on they got more and more agitated. Maybe she was crazy but Clarice didn't care. When it came time for them to cross the wall she didn't feel nervous. Though she probably should. Anna-Marie and Glow looked terrified. But all Clarice could focus on was that John could be on the other side of that wall. And nothing was going to stop her from getting to him.

It was pitch black when they left the safe house. They were all dressed in black and had supplies in rucksack's on their backs. They moved quickly and silently through the night. Clarice almost gasped out loud when she saw the wall. It stretched right up into the night sky. Dark and foreboding; casting a shadow over everything below it.

Yet there was something kind of beautiful about it. The smooth flat surface of it was mirrored and Clarice could see the stars' reflections sparkling off it. Like the wall had trapped them within it. She couldn't describe the feeling it awoke in her. It was like it was calling to her, drawing her in, she felt hypnotized. At the same time it terrified her to the point where she could barely think straight.

"Yeah I know, mesmerizing isn't it." Glow whispered to her. Clarice could only nod blankly, her gaze transfixed on the wall.

"Try not to stare at it too long." Anna-Marie suggested. Clarice shook her head and gained back her focus. She turned to look at her companions. Silently asking them if they were still good. They both hesitated and Clarice could see the uncertainty in their eyes. But eventually they both nodded back. Clarice pulled up the image of where she wanted to go in her mind and then pulled open a portal.

The instant she started using her ability she felt something tug at her. As if something had reached out and taken hold of her very life force and was drawing it out of her. Her portal fluttered and shook. She could feel her energy ebbing away, at the same time it felt like there was something pushing on her chest trying to crush her.

She could feel herself getting weaker, she felt like she was slipping under water. She was being dragged down into the never ending nothingness. She saw her portal become unstable and begin to close. No, no she thought fiercely. She would not let this beat her. She reached down within herself. Harnessed the last of her strength, tapping into that feeling of undulating power that had existed inside her from the moment she fell out of that portal. As she connected with it she felt it rising, growing, stronger and stronger. Then her portal exploded open again.

Clarice followed her friends through the portal stepping out into a gloomy corridor. She'd done it, she thought with glee. They were passed the wall, they were inside and she was one step closer to finding John.

Trask Industries Reconditioning Compound, Washington DC

Her heeled boots clicked as she made her way hastily down the corridor. In the distance the wail of alarm sirens could be heard cutting their way through the still night. She noticed the curious and worried expressions of those that she passed. Many of them stepped out of her way as she approached. She didn't blame them for their alarm, she was the definition of an ice queen. Cool and collected at all times. So it was rare that anyone ever saw her flustered. And right now she was more than just flustered.

She reached the door at the end and knocked on it loudly and urgently.

"Come in!" His voice called from inside. He was sitting at the end of a long table. There were maps and other surveillance materials spread out across the table. He looked up and laid down the file he was holding as she entered. Thankfully he was alone. She closed the door behind her and approached him.

"Problem?" He asked her wearily. He looked tired but then he always looked tired these days.

"Possibly." She answered. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at her. "Something's happened. To be honest I can scarcely believe it."

She saw him sit up straighter in his seat and gesture for her to continue. "Someone got past the wall."

"What?! I thought that was impossible?" He exclaimed clearly shocked.

She nodded her head. "Yeah so did I. But our sensors picked up a disturbance in the dimensional energies. Then the sirens were triggered. There's a definite breach. The guards are out there looking for the intruder now."

She studied him as he processed the information trying to make out his facial expression. He looked up at her. "Whoever did this has to be one hell of a powerful mutant. Nobody has ever broken through the wall's defenses before." He stated. She nodded her head in agreement. "You said the guards are out looking for them."

"As we speak." She confirmed.

He locked eyes with her. "Find them." He commanded excitement in his eyes for the first time in a long while. "Find them and bring them to me."

She gave him a slow smile. "Consider it done." She gave him a nod and then went to work. She would not fail at this. A mutant as powerful as this meant endless possibilities. They could be a real gamechanger.

The Community of Mercy Clinic

Clarice could hear sirens wailing in the background. There was alot of movement outside of the building. Booted feet marching and orders being shouted. "We need to stay low and you need to follow me." She whispered to her companions. She moved down the hall. Needles and broken glass crunched under their feet as the made their way through the building.

"Where are we?" Anna-Marie asked quietly.

"It's a clinic." Clarice answered. "A friend of mine used to work here."

"Clarice why have you brought us here? We need to find a place to hide. You hear those sirens right. They know we're here." Glow's voice was shaking with fear.

"Relax, just trust me ok." Clarice tried to calm her as her hand searched for the trigger that opened the door to the hidden room. "Got it, quick inside." She whispered to the others.

Once inside she flicked on the light and turned to the others with a grin feeling elated. But neither of them were smiling, actually they looked petrified. She could see Glow's breathing getting more and more rapid. She's having a panic attack Clarice realized. "Glow it's ok calm down we did it." She tried soothe her. "We're ok now."

"We're OK NOW!" Glow exclaimed rather loudly as Anna-Marie shushed her. "Are you deluded?! You've set off every siren, every guard this place has is now out looking for us! And we're what? Hiding in a clinic?"

"Glow relax, just breathe. Look this room is hidden the only ones who knew it was here were the Mutant Underground. They're not going to find us. I think we just need to lie low for a day or two and once the search cools off we can start looking for John and the others." She reasoned with them. But Glow was too worked up, too scared to be reasoned with.

"No they're going to find us. What do you think she's going to do to us when she finds us huh? Did you think about that Clarice?"

"Ok Glow I know you're scared ok but you need to trust me. Look I'm not worried about Reeva, in fact I am so over Reeva, I'm going to find a way to stop her if it's the last thing I do." She tried to sound as confident as she could. Truth was she was scared. She was scared they were going to be found and yes she was scared of Reeva a little too. But mostly what she felt for Reeva was anger and hate.

When she looked up at them both they were looking at her in both horror and shock.

"Oh my god." Anna-Marie's voice trembled. "You've got no idea what you've gotten us into. I mean of course you don't how could you?"

Clarice was getting more confused by the moment. She shook her head. "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

Glow scoffed. "How are we suppose to trust you Clarice when it's pretty damn obvious that you're in way over your head?"

"Clarice." Anna-Marie sighed. "Reeva isn't the leader of the Inner Circle. She's dead. Someone much more powerful is. Someone pure evil."

Ok guys what did you think? Any ideas on what you think is going on? Who do you think is the leader of the Inner Circle now? Rest assured I have plenty more surprises to come. So I will try to post the next chapter asap so until next time my friends.