CHAPTER THREE
RX
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One year ago
The Strucker family and I were all in a bowling alley having some fun since Reed's mother came for a visit.
It was a good game - girls against the boys - and luckily for our side, I was an excellent bowler.
Cait's ball rolls and hits a few pins, but not all of them. Everyone cheers for her and laughs.
"You may want to reconsider your professional bowling career," Andy's father comments.
"I told you, the ball is broken. You sure you don't want to play?" The woman's last sentence was going to Ellen Strucker.
"Hell no, I'm not going out there," Ellen replies.
The Strucker siblings and I laughed at the old woman's sassy words.
"Come on, Mom. Didn't you and Dad used to hit the lanes?" Reed asked.
"Oh, please. Love of bowling was one of the many things your father and I did not have in common."
Andy goes up to the lane and blows on his fingers.
"Observer the master," He says, cockily.
"Boo!" Both Lauren and I booed, from where we were sitting.
"Boo," He mocks.
The boy turned and runs the bowling ball onto the lane. The ball rolled and hit dead in the middle, earning the boy's team a strike.
As Reed and Andy cheer, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at my best friend's goofiness.
When Lauren goes up, Andy sits on the ball returner and giving me funny faces, to which I reply in a laugh.
Of course, as Lauren was going to bowl, Andy starts to beatbox, to make her lose focus.
"Seriously?" The older sibling smiled at her brother.
"I'm just giving you theme music," He rapped, continuing to beatbox.
Lauren though tried her best to ignore her brother and bowled the ball, earning us 9 out of 10.
The adult Struckers and I cheered for the girl, Andy gave her a jokingly remark, "Not as good as me."
When Lauren turned to sit down the last pin suddenly fell.
"It went down!" Ellen points out.
"Whoa!" Reed awed.
"Wait ago, Lauri~" I cheer on my friend.
Andy groans and sits beside me. I laugh as I gently elbowed him to lighten up, which made him grab my side and start to tickle me. I start to laugh hard with my cheeks blushing madly at Andy's touch.
"What's that muties deal?" A teenager said behind us.
"Why don't you just leave us alone?" A man said.
Andy and I stop and turn back to see a couple of teens start laughing at a small girl, who was... glitching, in a way; it must've been her abilities.
"Why is she shaking?"
"Her face looks like a washing machine."
The teens laughed.
My smile dropped as I saw this. Andy must've noticed because he held my hand to try to calm me down and he even tried to shake my shoulder to turn around.
I didn't look at him though, I was too focused on the situation.
"Dad. Do you see this?" Lauren exclaims, quietly, looking at the scenario like I was.
"Lauren, it's none of our business," Cait tells her daughter.
"Come on, Andy," Reed says to his son, acting as if nothing was happening.
Yet Andy didn't move. Lauren, Andy, and I had our eyes glued to the situation right next to us.
"That's enough! Leave her alone!" The angry father yells at the rude teenagers, who were still laughing and making their snarky remarks.
"Dad, don't please," The girl tried to calm her father down.
"She is a little girl!"
I looked around us. People were watching. People with a disgusted look for either the teenagers or the mutant girl and other people were just anxiously watching.
"What is wrong with you?!" The dad yells once again.
"Dad, stop!" The girl screams.
The girl accidentally set off her power. She made a powerful wave of wind, moving the tables, which pushed the food and drinks onto the teenagers.
Andy had the instinct to hold my waist and to pull me away when it happened, I just held the Strucker boy close to me.
The dad comforts the girl, who was in total distress.
I was shocked by the girl's actions, not in a judgmental way, just of shock.
The Strucker family turned to Reed because of his relations with his job and to try and help the two out; he decided to step in.
I couldn't help but cringe over what was happening.
"Sir." Reed made his way to them.
"Did you see what they were doing?" The dad says, in a defensive tone.
"I saw. And they were wrong. But you have to listen to me, right now. I'm a federal prosecutor. And what your daughter just did, damaging property with mutant abilities e-even accidentally, that's a serious crime."
"Wha——?"
"Ju-Just walk away before the situation gets any worse. Do it for her."
The angry man got fed up. "Fine. Come on, sweetie."
The father grabs his daughter and their things, before going out of the building.
"Everything is alright," Reed tells the family, but I wasn't having it.
"Is it?" I snap, "Why did they have to leave?"
Mr. Strucker only looked at me for a second before ignoring my comment.
"Come on, guys, let's bowl. Who's up?"
I moved away from Andy in total frustration and sat down at my seat.
As the game continued, I just stayed in my seat, holding my cup, which was creating ice cubes in my drink, and was freezing the cup slowly from how much anger I felt.
❅ ❅ ❅
Present day
"Is everyone alright?" The bulked man asked us.
"Where are we? W-What was that what just happened?" Andy questioned.
"Andy, calm down!" Cait grabs onto the boy's shoulder.
Everyone was confused and didn't know what to do. I was simply just dazed. Reed was left behind... with Sentinel Services. I felt like I couldn't breathe like a huge weight was on my chest.
"What just happened? Where are we?" Cait asked the two men in front of us.
"This is our headquarters," The man says.
"Where is my dad?"
"We need to go back!"
The siblings jump in panic.
"Just hang on. Hang on!" The man tried to straighten his head, as well as me.
"Hang on? My husband is in that warehouse. We can't just leave him there," She argues.
"We-We have to get back to him," Andy says.
"He was shot, we have to go back," Lauren continues.
"Please!" Mrs. Strucker begged.
I continued to say quietly.
The only person who made portals was in critical condition and by now, Sentinel Services most likely already have him. I start to feel tears in my eyes once again. Another person in my life was taken, this time it affected more than just me.
The muscled man straightened all of the Struckers out.
"Even if we could get back it is a very bad idea. I know you wanna help your dad, but that is suicide. It's not gonna help him if we all get killed. Right now, we need to take care of Clarice."
The two men take the woman with the portals, Clarice, and walked away from the Struckers.
Andy noticed my dazed sorrowful expression. He hugged me from behind and yet pulled me to follow the rest, with his hand holding mine.
"Where are you taking her?" Cait asked, about the purple-haired woman.
"You got to help us. Can you get us back to——" As Andy was gonna finished the sentence, I shake my head 'no' to him.
"It hurts. I've never gone that far," Clarice mumbled.
"She's in no..."
The purpled haired girl stumbled and the Latino man to catch her, with his friend.
The men picked her up and put her down on a bench.
As Lauren was gonna look at the woman, the Hispanic man pushed her aside.
"Give her some space."
"You've got to wake her up," Andy comments, in panic.
Everyone was all over the place trying to get Clarice awake and for Reed to come back.
"Hey! Can you wake her up, please?" Andy yells at the guys.
I scolded, "Andy!"
"Look, kid. Look, your dad was gonna help me get my girlfriend out of jail. I want him here just as much as you, but we cannot do this right now. Alright?" The Hispanic man exclaims.
Andy had accepted this and backed away slowly. I gave him a tight hug, knowing that he needed it. He didn't hesitate to hug me back, just wanting his dad there, beside him.
❅ ❅ ❅
As everyone was discussing what to do the Struckers and I, were in charge of watching Clarice, while the two men, who we found out was John - the muscular man - and Marcos - the Latino - discuss what will happen.
I was sitting down on a chair, just trying to calm my nerves down about everything that was happening.
"Something's wrong," Cait mumbles, examining the woman, "One of you go tell them something is wrong."
Lauren ran up to the stair, while Andy and I were standing from afar, trying to get out of the way.
She walked down the stairs with the men and a red-haired woman following.
"She's in respiratory distress, and her temperature is spiking," The mother states.
Marcos gave the blonde women a confused look, which she explains, "I'm a nurse. She needs help."
"She portalled for miles. The energy that must take," John comments.
"I can't, I can't breathe," Clarice mumbles.
"She needs medical attention," Mrs. Strucker informs.
Marco says, "We can't get a doctor, right now."
"Are you telling me you have this whole network, and you don't have a——"
"A what? A Blue Cross? Yeah, we are on the mutant plan. No, we got some First-Aid and some painkillers. Can you doing anything?"
I held onto Andy's hand this whole time, I was scared about this woman. She seemed to be in so much suffering, her whole body was covered in sweat.
"I-I took a one-week course on variant medicine in school."
"Mom," Lauren tells her mom, "She saves us. You can help her."
Caitlin agreed and examines Clarice once again. "Her heart rate is through the roof. Without running tests, I can't——"
Clarice suddenly gasped creating her purple electrics on her hands.
"Whoa, What is she doing?" Andy perplexed, backing us both a bit away from the woman.
"What is going on?" I ask.
"I-I'm not sure. She may be in shock. If her system is crashing, if it's unstable, it may be affecting her abilities," Mrs. Strucker assumes.
"What does she need?" John asked.
"Hypercortisone-D to stabilize her powers. Sodium polystyrene sulfonate for potassium. S-Something to restore her blood calcium. She needs a hospital."
John and Marcos looked at each other as if the woman was insane. I knew damn well that this isn't gonna turn out good.
Marcos exclaimed, "She's wanted. She'll go straight back to jail."
"I don't think you understand me. She could die here."
Clarice gasped in pain again, this time it was worst because I turn to see a ring of multi-color purples
"What's that?" Lauren looks at what was right in front of us.
It was a portal on an opening to a road, and unluckily a truck was driving on the road.
Everyone was in distress when it came closer and closer to us.
The horns honked and the car tires screeched.
Everyone dive out of the way, Andy and I held each other as Lauren and the both of us move out of the way, with John hovering over us when the end of the car came crashing through.
We all get up slowly and saw the end of a truck cut off that was only inches away from us.
I help Andy up and look for any injuries on Andy and me.
"Mom. Mom."
Lauren, Andy, and I crouch around Mrs. Strucker, who had a small gash to the head.
"Is anyone hurt?" Marcos shouts, after no one answered the orders, "Alright, alright, we gotta move her. Clear the table, now."
Everyone got up and went to Clarice, who was being set down to a metal table.
"I thought you said she was overextending her powers. How is she doing this?" Marcos asked Mrs. Strucker.
"I think I was pretty clear; I'm not an expert."
Clarice grunts in pain again, with the portal opening up in front of us again.
"Look! It's happening again." Andy points.
Inside was the road, with piled-up cars and the front half of the truck that had been cut off.
"It's the same road as before," I observe.
"This is a problem. They can see us," Marcos tells John.
I squinted my eyes to see closely and to see a man with a loading gun in hand. I gasp at the man, slowly pulling Andy and Mrs. Strucker behind me.
As Marcos was about to use his light abilities, John puts his hands down for him to stop.
"We're not getting into a pitched battle with innocent bystanders," John orders.
"Yeah? What about him?" The Hispanic looked at the man that seemed to be ready to pull the trigger.
Lauren steps in front of the two men and started to use her shields upon the portal.
Andy shouts, "Lauren, what are you——"
"Wait! Let her do this," I say to him, with my hand on his shirt to stop him from stopping his sister.
"Lauren, watch out!" Cait shouts to her daughter.
The blonde was closing the portal with the man ready to fire, the Strucker girl though quickly closed it with no bullet coming through.
Clarice then closed her eyes, becoming unconscious.
"Dude, what did you just do?" The boy asked his sister.
"I don't know. I just... I used my shields to close it. I didn't think it's work, but... I guess it did," Lauren stampers for an explanation.
"Yeah, it worked. For now. Clarice is in bad shape; that could happen again," John says.
My eyes widened, "Again? I-If people start coming through her portals, we're done."
"Hey. If we get you that medicine, can you help her from here?" John goes to the nurse.
Mrs. Strucker scoffs, "You can't just buy Hypercortisone-D at Walgreens. You have to get to the hospital, get in the Pyxis machine."
"Well, then we'll take you."
Marcos then asked Lauren, "If this happens again, can you do... whatever it is that you just did?"
"Yeah. I think so," The girl answers.
"No. I am not leaving my daughter here to close... space holes!" Cait argues.
"Mom, it's okay. I can do this."
❅ ❅ ❅
With Cait and Marcos gone, I was holding the job of cooling Clarice's body temperature, with my cold hands lightly giving the women an ice-cold touch, while Andy and Lauren were sitting down anxious with John watching us.
"So, who is she, anyways?" Andy muttered to John.
"She's a refugee, escaped from jail," He answers.
"Jail?" Lauren spoke.
"We found her."
"What did she do?"
"She used a portal to steal food from the back of a supermarket. Happens about with mutants who can't pass for human; they can't get jobs, one thing leads to another-"
Clarice again gasped, creating a portal at the same place as before.
John orders for everyone to get to safety, I felt my eyes glow pale blue and somewhat build up my powers in case of an emergency since police were now on the other side of the portal.
"Lauren, got this?" I raise an eyebrow.
The blonde girl goes in front of the portal closing it again, but this time it was a bit difficult for her.
"Lauren, hurry," John spoke, noticing more police coming out of their cars.
I try to continue to cool Clarice, yet couldn't because she squirmed so much. I wince in knowing that she was experiencing so much pain.
Finally, Lauren closed it, yet it looks a lot like her to do so.
"That was way too close," Andy comments.
"I'll be right back. Anything happens, you yell," John says before running out.
Clarice stops moving, which made me continue to cool the woman down smoothly. My eyes still glow blue, if Lauren couldn't close a portal it would be my turn to close the portal, in any way I can.
Lauren goes up and looks at Clarice to make sure she is alright.
I sigh from how much this is taking from me. I never had to be so delicate with my powers, if I were to use my powers normally, Clarice would freeze like a statute.
"What you're doing... it's insane," Andy compliments his sister.
"Thanks," She smiles, weakly.
Andy sits on the edge of the vault. "Do you think, um... Do you think mutants drink soda? I'm kinda thirsty."
The three of us chuckle.
I say to him, "We are mutants. Remember?"
"Right. Yeah. Still sinking in."
Lauren turns to me and noticed something. "Lux, your eyes... I didn't notice they could do that."
I sigh, "Yeah, it happens when I build up."
"So, when did you find out about your... powers?" Lauren asked me.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask that," Andy adds.
"Well..." I knew I had to tell them, even though I lied to them. "I wasn't alone. My brother was with me."
"Isn't your brother at that boarding school, right now?" Andy questions.
"That... was a lie, Andy."
The teen's face turned into confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Look... my brother, Jack, was a mutant as well. He helped me with my powers, taught me how to control it," My smile fell, "But something bad happened."
I then focused on Clarice. My brother was a hard subject to talk about, I felt uncomfortable talking about him.
"What happened——"
"Lauren, just stop. She doesn't have to tell us everything," Andy tells his sister, noticing my position. I looked at him in gratitude.
"I'm just——"
I interrupted their bickering, "It's fine, Lauri. Just one of those things, you know."
The Strucker nodded her head and sat down, waiting for anything to happen.
Clarice suddenly wakes up, which alerted everyone.
"She's burning up. This is getting worse," John examines, walking in and looking at the sweat dripping from Clarice's body.
"Can't you cool her down some more?" A red-headed woman asks me.
"I can't. This is the lightest I can go. It's either this or freezing her to death," I fire.
"It hurts. It hurts. I have to get away," Clarice groans.
"We need to start getting everyone out of here," orders John, to the red-haired woman.
"We are not gonna abandon this place."
"I don't see what choice we have. Alright? She's opening portals every few minutes now, and Lauren and Lux can't keep this up."
I looked back at Lauren, I noticed that she was tired, just as tired as me.
I felt my powers start to weaken from the constant flow of using my abilities, especially at such a light state, and the glow from my eyes was starting to fade.
Lauren says, "I can keep trying, but..."
"Mom has to be back soon, right?" Andy spoke up.
"Maybe. We need to consider the possibility——"
Clarice abruptly gasped yet again and squirmed quite roughly, which gives me a hard time to cool her body down.
John grabs a hold of the woman. "This could be it. We might need to evacuate. Clarice!"
I heard a portal open. I look up to see Lauren walking to it, yet this time I gasped from the sight of the SWAT team parking their trucks.
Lauren tried to close it, yet her powers weren't enough. "I can't hold it!"
The blonde lets go, which sends her back hitting a nearby wall and the ports wide open. The redhead woman came to check Lauren.
"Look out!" I shout to everyone.
"On the ground! On the ground now!" The SWAT teams yell at us.
I start to shake as they came to throw the portal and in the headquarters, Andy came to my side and held onto my shoulders.
John had fought off the only officer that went through the portal by slamming him on the bar wall and cement ceiling before throwing him back into the portal.
As more SWAT officers were about to attack, Andy ran to stepped in. He yells and sent the SWAT people flying away, hitting the ground and/or the cars. Andy's power though made John, Lauren, and the ginger woman fly back as well.
My eyes widen as Clarice and the table flipped, making me and her fly back, with my head hitting the thick vault door.
I start to become dizzy as I see the portal close and everyone rushing toward Clarice and me.
I was so tired, I felt the glow of my eyes quickly fade away and my head was killing me, I closed my eyes, just for a second before I fell out of complete consciousness.
❅ ❅ ❅
I woke up in a sweat.
I see Andy come right beside me with a happy smile on his face as soon as he saw me. I look around to see that I was laying on a small bed in a somewhat different location in the headquarters.
"Lux, you're okay! I-I was so worried, I-I thought you were in really bad shape... I-I——"
"Hey," I interrupted his stutter, "I'm fine... where is everyone?"
"Oh, They are helping people that got injured and finding space to put people."
"W-What happened?" I asked him, in a groggy tone, starting to feel a headache coming along.
He explains, "You passed out from using your powers too much... and from hitting your head. While you were out, Clarice's portals went out of wack, which caused the headquarters to be slightly destroyed, but luckily, my mom came with that medicine stuff. Now, everything is all good."
I sigh in relief and land back down. "Do you know what'll happen now?"
"I don't know. All I know is that we're gonna fight to get my dad back, a-and," I saw the look on his face, he seemed guilty and worried at the same time, "I'm sorry."
I raised my eyebrow. "For what?"
"You went unconscious for having your head hit on that vault door and that was my fault because I couldn't j-just control my powers. I'm so sorry, Lux."
I placed my hand on him to get his attention. "Andy, you're fine. You are okay. It wasn't your fault. Don't blame yourself for something accidental."
He only nodded, still having a guilty look on his face.
I figured now that we are apologizing for actions, I should just come clean with mine.
"I guess since we are giving apologies to each other... I gonna say that I'm sorry."
"Why? You did nothing wrong."
"Yes, I did."
I then explained myself, "If it weren't for me talking about your bullying to the principal... we wouldn't be here." Andy's eyes widen as I ramble on.
"Look, I know you told me not to tell anyone about Theo, but I-I couldn't stand by again, watching you get harassed again. If I didn't tell... we wouldn't be hiding right now, your dad would be here with you and your family, and my mom wouldn't disown me like I'm just some piece of trash."
And with my crummy speech, my eyes start to water. "I'm so sorry, Andy. I just wanted what was best for you a-and I screwed up——"
The Strucker boy cupped my face with his two hands and stated, "You did nothing wrong."
He then said, "Lux, you realize that there are millions of things that could've to lead up to be here? If Theo didn't choose to throw me in the showers if that guy didn't shoot that bullet that hit my dad... Lux, this isn't your fault, none of it was."
I smiled at the boy. For me, it felt right with him being here in his arms, like a completed puzzle piece.
He then gave me a tight genuine hug, which I, gladly accepted.
I hummed and yawned I reply, "You should get to sleep. You did use all of your energy."
I nodded and yet decided to ask a risky question, "Could you stay with me until I fall asleep?"
Andy was surprised that I asked, but nodded him, scooting me over jokingly, making room for him on the small bed, I laid my head on Andy's chest, slowly I slipped and fell asleep, hearing the sound of Andy's heartbeat, while Andy on the other hand, accidentally fell asleep right beside me.
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