Hello, everyone! So this one is a bit shorter than the last, but I need to wrap up eXodus so I could move on to the next chapter.

So please do let me know what you think about this chapter and the last.

Enough talk on with the story!

Chapter 6 Problems

-Gunshots-

Everyone ducks in the car John gives it more gas. Marcos pulls out his burner calling HQ and puts it on speaker. "It's bad. We're heading your way." John says. "Hold on, Johnny. I-I thought you were getting the Struckers." Sonia says on the other line. "Yeah, we did. Things went sideways. We got the local mutant welcoming group on our heels." -Gunshots- "How many?" Sonia asks. "Eight, maybe ten. Either way, we can't afford a fight." He says. "What do you need?" She asks. "A way out of this that doesn't leave any corpses." Sonia gasps. "Get back here. I will figure something out." She hangs up. Marcos closes the burner.

Back at HQ...

"Clarice! Clarice! I need to talk to you. Johnny Thunderbird He's in trouble. They're all in trouble." Sonia says as she rushes over to her. "What?" Clarice stands up her lunch forgotten. "Look, I There's no time to explain. I need you to make a portal. Get a car off the road." Clarice's eyes widen. "A car. Are you insane?" Sonia tries again. "You have to." Clarice shakes her head. "I told you, I can't." Sonia grabs her shoulders. "You can if you have something to care about." Then she blows her pink smoke in Clarice's face. Why am I with John? What is going on? "What just happened?" Clarice asked still dazed. "Clarice, look at me. Johnny's in trouble out there, and I need you to make a portal. Can you do it?" Sonia asks again. "Yeah, of course. Where are they? Are you coming or what?" Clarice races downstairs with a new-found determination. With Sonia in tow.

-Gunshots-

Everybody ducks. "Lauren, can't you shield them?" Andy asks with urgency in his voice. "I can't shield what I can't see, okay?" Lauren says. "Just say down." Caitlin says looking back at her children.

-More gunshots-

"They'll be here any second. Get ready." Sonia says as they come out of the trees to the road. "Well, I I have to be able to see where I'm portalling to. If I can't-" Clarice is cut off. "There. Just get 'em there. Remember who you're doing this for. It's for Johnny." Sonia says. Clarice runs on the road she makes a portal with her hands then grunts as she starts to expand it.

"Where the hell are our people?" Marcos asks. "You heard Dreamer. They're working on it." John says. "Not fast enough. We're getting way too close to headquarters. We're gonna have to fight." John looks at Marcos then back at the road shaking his head.

Clarice almost has the portal big enough. When it's nearly there an image of John pops into her head. She grunts once more letting out a yell when the portal is big enough.

John makes a hard right they are a hell of a lot closer to HQ now. -Gunshots- they all duck. "Look, look there!" Caitlin points out the front window. A huge portal is open. "Go. Go. Go, go, go, go, go." Marcos says and John punches the gas and they speed through the portal. John looks back to see Sonia come through and then Clarice the portal closes. They are safe. "Is everyone in one piece?" Marcos asks. "Yeah." Lauren says. "Are you kids okay?" Caitlin asks. "Fine." Andy says. "Get everybody inside. I'll be there in a minute." John says to Marcos as he gets out of the car.

Clarice runs toward him with Sonia not far behind. Clarice races into his arms. "Hey. Are you, all right?" He catches her and holds her. "Yeah. I'm fine. We all are." John says slightly confused. "I can't believe it worked. I mean, a freaking SUV?" She pulls back from the hug and looks into his eyes. "I'm so glad it worked." She says with a smile and leans in John holds her at arm's length. "Go on inside and I'll see you there in a second." With some confusion in her jade eyes she says. "Yeah, okay." She releases him. "Yeah." She runs back inside giving John one last look. It's not real. Clarice has been closed off since she got here, till recently. There is no way she fell for me that hard, this quick.

He turns to Sonia. "What did you do?" He asks. Sonia rolls her eyes. "You needed help. She needed something to connect to so, I gave her a memory." John closes his eyes. "Man." And Sonia looks at the ground. "Of us." He glares at her. "Do you realize what you've done? What that could lead to?" Sonia looks up at him. "Believe me Johnny I do." Then she walks away heading the same why as Clarice leaving John there. After a while he goes in and immediately goes to talk to Sage. He's stressed out and needs some space from both Clarice and Sonia. Don't get him wrong he would want nothing more than for Clarice to be his girlfriend again, but not like this. He would eventually have to talk to Sonia and have her remove the memory.

After a couple of hours of shorting paper and bills he gets something to eat and it's not long before Caitlin comes into his office with Marcos. "What is it?" He asks. "I called, Danny he said he has some information about Reed and Lorna." At this John gets up. "What did he say?" John asks. "He wouldn't tell her over the phone he wants to meet her face to face." Marcos says. John nods. "Well, let's go then." Caitlin nods and they leave. When they arrive at the location John and Marcos stay by the car while Caitlin talks to her brother.

"You know I never said it earlier, but you are one hell of teacher John." Marcos says and pats him on his shoulder. "I would love to take the credit, but I don't deserve it." John says. Marcos frowns. "What happened?" Before John could speak Caitlin comes back and joins them with a new-found determination. They leave heading back to HQ. Caitlin tells both of them what her brother said which wasn't much, but it was a start. Then she leaves to go find her kids. "John." Marcos says. "Look if you want to give the credit to someone go talk to Sonia." John says a bit harshly then leaves to tell Sage what they had just found out.