"Interesting how you left that bit out when you told me."

John appeared in the doorway and James jumped. It wasn't often that someone was able to sneak up on him, leave it to John to be the exception. James carefully eased off of the bed.

"Well, you know, it's just a theory. It's not confirmed. You wanted the facts, I gave you the facts."

John inclined his head and James took that as his cue to leave, slipping out of the room without so much as a look back. Clarice leaned back against the headboard.

"Don't be that way, John. He said it himself, it's just speculation."

"Hmm." John settled beside her and handed her a bowl of sliced fruit. She watched his eyes flit over her face for signs of lingering sickness and thought he might have made a very good doctor, in another life. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I'm floating. I think I lost ten pounds and I kind of want them back."

John smiled and placed a quick kiss on her temple. "That's my girl." He gave a pointed looked at the bowl and felt Clarice's heart rate spike when she looked at it. He huffed and moved closer, sliding it onto the nightstand and tucking his arm behind her. "Alright, then. I heard James's secondhand version of things, what's your version? What happened when you left with Kurt?"

"We moved twice; once with my ability, once with his. We weren't even talking that long, I started to get sick, so he brought me back."

"Why did you get sick?" His fingers rubbed a slow circle on her arm. John, she knew, wasn't trying to interrogate her so much as he was patiently trying to understand what had gone wrong. His cautious, attentive way about things was one of the traits she loved about him.

"I think I inhaled some sulphur."

John's fingers slowed and Clarice knew he was processing that new bit of information.

"That's what that was. Where did you go that there was so much of it?"

"Pfft! You'd never guess! Are you ready for this? He said it's called The Brimstone Dimension. Didn't get a look at it but I can tell you it's not just a fancy name."

John took a breath. "He took you...to another dimension? Another actual…..Jesus, Clarice."

Ah, there was The Tone™, the why didn't you tell me you were going to do that it wasn't in the plan tone that she knew so well. Except that it wasn't her decision this time, she was a passenger on this particular journey. Not that this was even about who was responsible for it; that was never relevant to John. What bothered him, what always bothered him about unknown variables, was that he didn't know if it was safe. If she would be safe. And as much as she wished to reassure him, that was something Clarice didn't have an answer for.

"Yeah. Never knew it existed until now but I'm willing to believe him on this one." He closed his eyes and buried his face into the side of her neck. Clarice poked him in the stomach. "Hey. Deactivate Worry Mode, I made it back fine. Also? I think we can trust Kurt. He passes through there all of the time and nothing bad's happened to him. I don't say this often, but he seemed like a cool guy, I don't think he would put me in danger."

"You just met him." She shifted her weight and turned so she could look into his eyes. She pinched the side of his cheek and he managed a wan smile that faded before it could fully bloom. "Six years in the Marines. Two tours in Afghanistan, and I've lost more mutants on rescue missions and supply runs than I ever did soldiers in the Middle East."

Clarice stumbled for words of comfort, for anything that might redirect John from going further down that train of thought. Any time his military days or his prizefighting came up, John fell back on judging his former self, and somehow the resulting repentance was always self sacrifice. She was starting to run out of creative ways to thwart his suicide missions.

"Every war is different. Every war is the same. Same script, different cast – but without the government funding."

John arched an eyebrow and his expression softened. "You watched Jarhead."

"I tried to watch Platoon too, but..." She made a face and John intuitively knew the movie had too much gore for her liking. Still, the notion that she'd tried to watch it, had made an attempt to understand his past, was enough for him. It was moments like this when he was incredibly grateful to have her for a girlfriend. He wasn't above teasing her, though.

"You know Platoon is Army-centric, right? Not Marines."

John watched the smirk cross Clarice's face and knew she really was feeling better.

"I don't know, all you camouflage guys kind of look the same."

"Oh, do we?" John leaned in, and it was all of the invitation Clarice needed.

Clarice knew the precise moment something went wrong. One minute she was taking vengeance for the nip he'd given her lower lip, the next, John had stilled and was pulling away from her. She reluctantly opened her eyes to see John staring off to the side, concentrating. Listening. Not that she didn't love John, but sometimes she thought his abilities were the most exasperating thing on Earth.

"Really?" John held up a hand. Before Clarice could turn her attention to her fruit salad, James appeared in the doorway looking tense.

"You hear that?"

"Yeah."

Clarice looked from one to the other. She hadn't heard anything, but whatever they were hearing had to be on that dog whistle range of pitch if it was catching both brothers' attention like it was. It was odd enough seeing John get all stiff and focused; seeing two people do it was trippy.

"Do you two need a moment? Should I go?"

She was half-serious. She became fully serious when two portals opened on the far wall, one beside the other. They were small, each no bigger than a dinner plate. Both ringed in familiar pinkish-purple outlines that branded them as hers despite the fact that she hadn't made any effort to do so. Let alone the fact that there was no energy nexus in the room. Clarice stared, transfixed and utterly confused. She felt John's hand on her upper back and he was quiet just long enough for her to realize he was tracking her heart rate.

Then came that maddeningly calm voice he used whenever things were getting dangerous. "Clarice? Are you still dizzy? Does your head hurt? Do I need to call a doctor?"

She tore her gaze away from the portals out of irritation alone. He was thinking about Atlanta, again. When she destroyed the safehouse. Was she never going to live that down?

"No," her tone came out more clipped than she intended, "I'm fine. I know what this looks like, but it's not me."

James turned to them. "I think we should call Kurt."

John gave Clarice one more look before sliding off of the bed and crossing the room in three quick strides. "We should definitely call Kurt. You stay with her, keep an eye on those. Throw back anything that comes through."

James nodded and handed over his phone and the elder Proudstar was out of the room and trailing down the hallway in seconds. James cautiously crept further into the room, his attentive gaze never leaving the portals as he came to stand near the bed. Clarice looked too, though the other side showed nothing but sky. A bright, sunlight sky that was clearly far from the lengthening shadows of evening outside. She tried to estimate the distance of the portal by the time difference. How many hours behind the East Coast was California? What about Alaska, would it still be sunny there? She hadn't been to either place, but maybe she and Kurt were more alike than she'd thought, maybe she'd seen a picture and her mind had conjured up a portal based on some tourism advertisement.

She slipped off of the bed and approached the portals, but a hand quickly wound around her upper arm in protest. James tugged lightly at her, his other hand reaching in a back pocket where – if he was like his brother – a knife hid in waiting just in case a threat did appear. Fine, she didn't need to be that close anyway. Clarice readied her hands and began trying to force the portals closed. Neither budged, and she took a quick break to catch her breath and try again. She grimaced shoving as much pure will as she could muster, the resistance taut like a bow in her hands, and pushed until she felt a sharp burning sensation beneath her left eye. She stopped with a yelp and quickly cupped her face. James moved between her and the portals, checking for incoming projectiles before turning towards her.

"What's wrong? What hap- arrgh!"

A shower of bright sparks fell from the portals and James jerked back, nudging Clarice out of the way. He misjudged the strength and Clarice toppled backwards rolling onto the bed, stopping just shy of the headboard. The sparks stopped as suddenly as they started and James glanced back.

"Shit! I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"A little warning would be nice." She mumbled back, one hand sweeping hair out of her face. She was surprised, but fine, even if her face was still burning. She supposed she took it for granted how careful John was never to do that. For all of their similarities, John and James had some colossal differences. It was like they were two sides of a coin; defense and offense. Or severity and salvation, and Clarice was pretty sure which was 'severity'. She shot James a glare and he offered a hand in apology. "What was that, anyway?"

"Dunno. Can portals be electrified?"

"Damn if I know."

"Only one way to find out, then."

"Uh, NO." She had a sudden flash of intuition of what it must have been like for Mama Proudstar, with two nearly indestructible children who were probably hellbent on testing the limits of their survival. James feigned a reach for the portal and Clarice latched onto his arm. "James,-"

At the mention of his name, the portals began to spark again and Clarice shrank back but James stood firm, watching the display. Distantly, Clarice thought she heard music drifting through the portal.

"Do you hear disco music or is it just me?"

"That's a Donna Summer song, Radio-something. It's one of Alison's favorite songs."

"This is getting weird."

Before she could protest, James stuck his hand under the spray of sparks. They didn't seem to burn him, though whether it was because they were harmless or because of his hyperdurability Clarice wasn't sure.

"It's a sign! This is definitely a sign from Ali, it has to be." James was getting worked up, his words coming out faster and his face bright with excitement. He stepped up to one portal and stuck his face in. "ALISON!"

Clarice yanked at his arm with all of her might.

"Do I need to explain to you why that's a bad idea?! You don't know what could be waiting on the other side of that or when it's going to close! James!" She struggled trying to wrestle him away and having little effect. In true Proudstar fashion, James seemed to have little regard for the danger, and Clarice decided bigger guns were needed. "John!"

John was barreling into the room half a second later, no doubt ready to destroy whatever upset her, and promptly peeled his brother away once he saw the stupidity in progress.

"It's Ali! Let me go, it's Ali! I know it's her!"

The brothers wrestled against each other and Clarice saw for the first time that they were evenly matched. She wasn't sure whether or not that fact worried her, but she was sure that she was becoming very uncomfortable with how their tussling was starting to escalate into a real fight; James had already elbowed John once and she'd seen the way his fingers had kept curling up, ready to deploy a fist at a moment's notice. When the portals suddenly closed a few seconds later, they were still going at it, more out of frustration than anything else.

"Liebchen, are you alright?" The voice behind her unintentionally caused a chain reaction of Clarice jumping, John shifting his focus to her, and James knocking John back a few paces. Kurt frowned and with a light, hesitating touch his oddly shaped hand reached up to caress just beneath her eye. The slight contact produced a twinge of pain that made her flinch and John took a step towards her on reflex. "This is new." She couldn't see her face, but she could guess what it was that he saw: a second pink marking, mirroring the first. Kurt removed his hand and Clarice gingerly touched the area with one finger.

"Another one, great. I really hit the jackpot with the whole 'get magical scars at random' mutation."

Kurt spared her a sympathetic look, then tilted his head. "But you did. There are more...inconvenient mutations, lieblich."

"So I'm told. I suppose it's asking for too much to want to know what causes them. 'Mystery' is like the founding molecule of the X gene." She glanced away, her eyes alighting first on the bowl of fruit, then to the area where the portals had been.

Huffing, James sent John one last irritated look before stepping closer to them. "Hate to tell you, but you missed the show. Portals left just like they came."

John edged closer too, and Clarice could see that he was bothered by Kurt's proximity to her yet trying not to be. She took a half step from Kurt, lest John do the whole put-my-arm-around-my-girl-so-you-get-the-point thing. They didn't need the added awkwardness that would bring. Kurt seemed unaware of the vibe and met John's eyes with the same openness as before.

"On ze phone, you said they formed suddenly, ja? Was there anything different about them?"

John canted his head to the side and frowned. "There was a sound, a few seconds before it. More of a steady tone; a hum in the air." James nodded and added "Sparks too. Like little fourth of July sparklers around the bottom of them."

He didn't say Alison's name, but Clarice knew she was still fresh on his mind. The popping sparks rimming the portals had somewhat looked like Dazzler's little fireworks that appeared when she sang. And there had been music, although she supposed that could've come from anywhere. James' conviction wasn't so far fetched. Kurt muttered something to himself none of them understood, caught himself, and clarified.

"Das portals to somewhere you don't know appear in a place with no access point. They look ze same, act ze same, but are not yours." Kurt nodded to himself. "Your problem is that someone else has ze key."

John came to stand beside Clarice then, a bit of worry blending into his features. "What key? There is no key….right?" He look at her for support and she had no answer for him. Days ago, she had no idea there was even another teleporter. For there to be so many elements to the technique she hadn't considered, she couldn't say anything for sure anymore. The world as she knew it was spinning off axis.

"I explain: I am a door. I want to go, I go. Sometimes I can bring another, if we hold together. I move, und I do not change anything but mich. You are a key. You open ze door; you make holes in ze barriers from here to there for others. Door opens without you, another person has ze key." He looked over at the space again where the portals had been, at the lack of energy buildup. "Ah, what word? Bone key? Skull key?"

"Skeleton key." John said, his lips pressing thin. James passed a hand over his face, as if it were too much for him to process, and Clarice crossed her arms. Kurt realized then that the news was unknown territory for all of them and that, just maybe, some steady footing was needed.

"Might I have a minute with das madchen?"

James walked out without another word. John touched Clarice's shoulder, and once she said It's okay, he let his hand slide away and followed his brother; the door conspicuously left open. Kurt sat crosslegged on the floor in one graceful movement and beckoned Clarice to do the same. She obeyed.

"I shall tell to you a story. Once upon a time, a little blue boy was an orphan. Nobody wants this boy! His look is too strange, and nobody wants to play with him and nobody wants to take him home until one day, ze circus comes to town. The circus, they loved this little blue boy, and they took him and fed him and taught him tricks and the boy was happy. One day, a trick did not go well, and the boy was falling from very high up, and the boy was so scared, all he could think of was home. Und the next thing he knew, he was home! And when his friends found him they were so surprised and begged him to show the trick, but he did not know how he did it. Many years later, when the boy was now a man, he was hurt very badly. He tried to get away, but fell asleep. When he woke up, he met a very strange man in a very strange place, and that man was called Father."

"You met your father in the Brimstone Dimension?"

"Ja. It is not empty, remember?"

"What does that mean?" Her mind whirled. When they met earlier, Kurt had described himself as only half mutant. If he met his father in another dimension, what did that make his other half?

"You and I, our gift is different from others. I have seen those who can fly, those who bend metal, make fire, make ice, read minds...they have the gift to change themselves or change the world around them. But you and I, we do not change! We only connect. What it means, I think, is zat only those who belong to two worlds can cross over such as you and I."

He sat there, quite proud of himself in his extended explanation and Clarice's heart raced, her breath coming in shallow. "...You're saying you think I'm from somewhere else? Is that what you're saying?"

"It is likely."

A tear crested Clarice's cheek and she smudged it away before it could go any further. Kurt had hinted at it before, but somehow having it said so plainly was all the more terrible. All of her life made sense at that point; the humans' hatred of her. Other mutants' distrust. She didn't belong and she never would belong because she was never meant to.

"This keeps getting better. No offense, but if I meet some stranger in a portal, they're getting punched. Didn't you ever get sick? Or bullied? Where was your father then?"

Her misery quickly turning to anger, Clarice thought about all the times kids pulled her hair, threw things at her. The times her foster father beat her. Nobody had come to save her or protect her.

"Trapped. Traveling for him is the same as for humans; he cannot leave."

Trapped, like Alison probably was. She tried to ignore the possibility of having a family on the other side and focused on Alison's disappearance. The whole thing was like some hellish puzzle that twisted and collapsed in on itself.

"I can't just pass out while making a portal, though. If I lose concentration, the portal closes, and anything in it gets split in half. You don't get hurt because you are the portal, but me...I can't half-ass it. I can't make an incomplete portal. Even when I was first learning, I couldn't do that."

"What happens if you do not close your portals?"

"I don't know. I can't usually hold them open for that long."

"How many can you open at a time?"

"A few. Why?"

Kurt's tail twitched idly behind him, reminding her of a cat ready to pounce.

"I have an idea."