author note: unedited

TWO YEARS AGO

The dark streets were almost empty, illuminated by the dim light of the street lamps. The fourteen-years-old-girl walked quickly, her hood covering her face. Despite walking on those streets many many times before, she had never felt so lost.

She opened the door to the building, remembering clearly the last time she had been there. In a heartbeat, she rushed up the stairs to the second floor. Standing in front of the familiar black-colored wooden door, she lowered her hood, finally exposing herself. She shakily raised her hand towards the door and knocked.

She waited anxiously a few minutes before a click sound was heard. The door opened, revealing a sleepy-looking elder woman. She was wearing a light blue pajama and her silver hair was messy, meaning she had just woken up. Although, any trace of drowsiness completely disappeared once the elder woman realized who was standing in front of her.

Immediately, the elder went to slam the door closed but the girl was quick to act and put her foot in the door, preventing it from closing. Realizing that the girl was not going to give up, the elder woman let go of the door, rushing back into her apartment with a look that could only be described as utter fear.

"Get out of here!" The woman exclaimed as the brunette girl entered the small apartment.

"Please, I need help, Grandma—" Lainey pleaded, hoping that somehow her grandmother would be able to help.

"Don't call me that! You killed them!" Her grandmother cut her off, looking at the teenage girl with nothing but disgust, terror and hate.

Lainey's face paled at the mention of her family, "I-I didn't—" She started but once again was interrupted.

"You monster!" The elder woman roared, "You killed my daughter! You killed your father and your own brother!"

Every fiber of Lainey's body wanted to scream at the woman back. To tell her it wasn't her fault. But, Lainey didn't know that, and deep inside there was this constant voice which whispered that it was her fault. Instead, she just whispered back, "Please, I have no one else to turn to,"

The furniture in the apartment began to tremble slightly, but Lainey couldn't feel it since she herself was shaking so much.

"Get out!" The woman yelled again, showing no mercy or compassion to her grandchild. Before Lainey knew it, the woman had thrown something at her, missing Lainey's head by only a few inches and hitting the wall behind her. It was a small framed picture that had been taken only a few weeks ago; on Lainey's 14th birthday.

She was in that picture, smiling brightly along with her mother, father and brother. They looked so happy in that picture.

Now, she felt like that picture; Broken. Shattered. Crushed.

From the corner of her eye, she saw her grandmother screaming again, but Lainey couldn't hear a thing. Ignoring the throbbing pain she felt when the glass pieces cut and stabbed her fingers, Lainey took the picture out of the broken frame. The last reminder she had of her family.

She turned away from the last person she'd considered family for so long and she took off, running into the night. She was on her own now.

~~~

PRESENT DAY

Lainey didn't realize she was staring at the picture in her hands for so long until Clarice called her and told her John was gathering everyone. Knowing that it would probably be important, Lainey placed the picture back in her pocket and followed Clarice.

Lainey quickly sat down between Sage and Lauren as John started to talk.

"We know that Lorna is being held in a cell at the Sentinel Services Regional Headquarters. We believe that Reed Strucker is there with her. They're being moved soon to an ultra-secure facility. And we don't know much about it, except that the people who go don't come back," John informed them and Lainey saw Lauren whipping away a tear. It wasn't hard to realize Reed and Lorna's bad situation. They didn't have much time.

"That's why we got to move now. And I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. We're talking about attacking the Sentinel Services," John continued. People in the room instantly started to mutter and chatter among themselves. Facing the Sentinel Service was the last thing anyone in the Underground wanted to do.

"We lost six people the last time we went up against them directly." Sage spoke up, reminding everyone what happened on their last mission.

John told Lainey on how a few weeks before she arrived at the Headquarters, they had tried to break in into a mutant relocation facility in Georgia. Unfortunately, their plan failed since the facility's defense system of automated guns and infrared trackers were far more advanced than they had expected. John didn't really go into details but from what she understood, they had lost people there, and among them was John's best friend, Pulse. It was a sour subject for John, but Sonya, who always was a bit too chatty when it came to John, had briefly told her a few things about Pulse.

"I know that better than anyone," John said, letting out a quiet sigh.

"It won't be like last time," Marcos stated.

"You're right. Last time, we just hit a relocation center with a fence and some guard towers. This time it's a prison. Their systems have improved. Extrapolating from other attacks, we've got an 86.5% chance of failure," Sage said, determined that attacking the Sentinel Service would only put them at more risk.

"And if we do nothing, then there's a 100% chance we never see them again." Marcos explained. The realization that Lainey might never see Lorna again sent chills down Lainey's spine.

"I know we're new here, but please," Caitlin spoke up, pleading for help.

"Lorna's risked her life for everyone in this room," Marcos reminded them. He turned to the African-American man who was sitting next to Sonya, "Harry, your parents would be dead without her." He then looked back at Sage, "Sage, she pulled you out of a gutter, and she got you clean. I mean, she's... She needs us."

"Doesn't change the math, Marcos." Despite what Lorna did for her, Sage still objected, reminding them that the odds were against them.

"I don't care about the math. I care about Lorna." Marcos said firmly, "Who's with me?"

Sonya, Harry and Clarice were the only ones who volunteered. Lainey made a quick eye contact with John, nodding toward his direction, before she glanced back at Marcos and said, "You can count me in, too,"

"Okay," Marcos sighed, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice at the fact that only four people agreed to volunteer.

~~~

"Six people? Unbelievable." Marcos said in disbelief as he and John gathered everyone who volunteered to help at the monitoring cell. Lainey was standing next to Sonya and John as they were strategizing.

"Marcos, don't be so hard on 'em. A lot of 'em lost friends the last time." John told him, seeming more understanding than Marcos. Lainey knew that John was right, but she couldn't help but agree with Marcos. Lorna had done so much for everyone in the Underground and yet only the six of them were willing to help her.

Marcos let out a sigh, "Six of us to break into a prison."

"Um, seven, technically." Caitlin pipped in, standing up from the chair she was sitting on. Lainey didn't even notice she was standing in the room until now.

"I'm sorry, Caitlin, but—" Blink quickly interrupted Marcos.

"So how are we gonna do this?"

"The Sentinel Services are not going roll out a red carpet and let us go through the front door." Lainey said and then turned to look at Clarice, "You think you can portal us in?"

"If there's a window, sure, but there's gonna be guards and cameras," Clarice answered and Lainey frowned, knowing they would need to find a better plan to infiltrate the building without being caught.

"I can make the guards see this," Harry spoke up, raising his hand and using his abilities to cloak his hand and making it seem invisible, "But not the cameras."

"Well, if we go in like that, we're never coming out again," John said, understanding that they wouldn't have a chance to attack the Sentinel Service in their current situation.

"Exactly," Clarice agreed.

"What if we don't go in?" Caitlin suggested and the six mutants looked at her confusedly.

"What do you mean?" Lainey asked, curious to know what Caitlin had in mind.

"Look, I know I can't shoot lasers from my hands, but I do have an idea. Daniel said the place they're taking them is far away. To put them on a plane, they'd have to move them. Let's get them while they're moving." Caitlin explained and John, Marcos and Lainey shared a look.

"That's not a bad idea." Marcos replied, beginning to agree with Caitlin.

"It could work, but we don't know the route. Without that—" John started to say but he was cut off by Marcos.

"I think I might know how to get it."

"How? We don't have anyone with that kind of intel." John admitted.

"The network doesn't, but I might." Marcos told him.

"Wait, Marcos, you're not seriously thinking of turning to the cartel for help, are you?" Lainey asked, immediately objecting to the idea. She heard all the stories about the cartel. The people there were dangerous and untrustworthy. Frankly, she never truly understood how Marcos managed to become so involved with the cartel.

"They have people everywhere, Lainey." Marcos answered and Lainey shook her head, but she knew he was right. Going to the cartel for help might be their only way to save Lorna and Reed.

"The last time the cartel got their hooks in you, you barely got out." John said, showing that he was very much against the idea, too, "Marcos, you sure you want to go back to that?"

"No, but I'm out of better ideas."

~~~

It was late in the evening when Marcos decided to finally leave and go to the cartel. John said he would update them if anything happened, but from what she heard about the cartel, Lainey had a feeling they wouldn't get what they needed until the morning. She just hoped that Marcos knew what he was doing.

Lainey was feeling slightly distracted and she knew she had to find Sonya. When she finally did, she saw that Sonya was sitting on the couch, chatting with Sage and Shatter.

"Hey, Sonya, can I talk to you?" Lainey asked, avoiding Sage and Shatter's gaze. Part of her was still slightly mad at them for not volunteering to help Lorna and Reed.

"Sure," Sonya immediately answered, getting up and starting to walk with Lainey, "What is it?"

"I have this nightmare—" Lainey cut herself off. It felt wrong to call it a nightmare while she knew it wasn't. "It's actually a memory and ever since I lost conscious it's like... It's always there. Constantly nagging my mind."

"I can make you forget it if that's what you want," Sonya offered, exhaling pink-colored mist from her mouth.

"No! No, I want to remember it. It's something I don't want to forget..." Lainey quickly shook her head, leaning away from the red-headed woman. Sonya looked at the teenager with confusion, not quite understanding. Lainey sighed, knowing she couldn't really explain herself, "Can you just make it fade or something? It's like I can't really focus on anything else because this memory keeps popping out. It's just... It's messing with my head."

"Yeah, I noticed you weren't exactly yourself." Sonya told her, there was a mix of concern but also hesitation in her voice.

"Well, you're not the only who noticed," Lainey grumbled, immediately thinking of Andy and John.

"To be honest, Lainey, I don't know if I can do what you're asking me to," Sonya admitted, biting her lip, "I've never tried to suppress a memory like that. Besides, Johnny is not happy with me using my powers at the moment."

"What do you mean?" Lainey frowned at the red-headed woman. Sonya seemed speechless for a quick moment, looking like she'd been caught saying something she shouldn't have said.

"Nothing just... I'll think about it. Okay?" Without giving Lainey time to answer, Sonya quickly walked away, leaving the brunette feeling lost and frustrated.

~~~

The next day, John gathered Sonya, Clarice, Harry, Caitlin and Lainey again at the monitoring cell. Marcos hadn't returned from the cartel yet, but he managed to get some important information that would help them.

"Eclipse found out that a convoy of military vehicles is taking Lorna and Reed to a military airport. Now, based on the route, the best place to hit it is gonna be an old warehouse district off Peachtree." John told the five, showing a map of the area of the route. John looked at Clarice, "Can you open a portal, get us inside the transport bus?"

"Well, if the driver can see out, then I can see in, but if the bus is moving, then it can get messy real fast," Clarice replied.

"Stop the bus. Not gonna be easy." John said, knowing they would have to stop theconvoy      first, without arousing any suspicion, which obviously wouldn't be an easy task, "Gravity, you think you can do something?"

For a moment, Lainey resisted the urge to scoff. Just a few days ago he wouldn't let her get outside to help mutants in trouble and now he was asking her to stop a bus of the sentinel serves. It was amazing how things could so drastically change in a matter of days.

"Wait, are you serious?" Lainey asked, slightly shocked that he would actually suggest that. The look on his face told her he was completely serious. "We're talking about a driving bus that probably weights tons. That is way beyond my limits!"

"You don't know that," Sonya told her. She was right, Lainey didn't fully know the limits of her powers, she never had a reason to find out.

Lainey shook her head, "Look, even if I could, I don't have enough time to even practice. I could end up flipping the entire bus and hurt everybody inside."

Besides, Lainey knew that being concentrated was the only way she could fully control her powers, and concentrated was the last thing Lainey was at that moment. She barely got any sleep from the nightmares that plagued her mind in the last few days. Sonya was the only one who could do something, but unfortunately, she wasn't very keen to help.

"Maybe Marcos can, like, melt the tires," Clarice suggested.

"When is he getting us the time frame for the convoy?" Sonya asked John, knowing they wouldn't be able to act without the time frame, "He's been gone a while, Johnny."

"And he will be back. He's working on it now." John replied, reassuring the five.

"Okay, regardless, melting their tires with lasers is hardly subtle." Caitlin said, immediately objecting to the idea, "What do you think happens after that? A pitched battle. People die. Our goal isn't just to get Reed and Lorna. It's to get them alive."

John nodded, agreeing with Caitlin, "She's right. Our job is to get in and out without dropping bodies. We need another way to stop that bus."

After about an hour, Lainey, John and Caitlin were still in the monitoring room, trying to think of an idea to stop the bus. So far, they hadn't come out with any good ideas. Sonya and Harry left to take care of things in the Headquarters while Clarice left to get some rest.

Truthfully, Lainey was beginning to give up. They still hadn't heard a thing from Marcos, they couldn't think of a good plan and Lainey was feeling so so tired. She was about to tell John she needed to rest, too, but before she could, Andy and Lauren had burst into the room.

"We need to show you something," Lauren said, slightly breathless.

"What is it?" John asked, sounding a bit concern by the burst of the two siblings.

"We found a way to stop the bus," Lauren replied, smiling proudly.

"What?" Lainey's mouth fell open.

"How do you even know about that?" Caitlin questioned, looking at her kids with astonishment.

"It doesn't matter," Andy said quickly, smiling and seeming quite excited, "Now can you please just come with us?"

Soon, the five were outside the headquarters building. Andy and Lauren took a few steps forward, towards a rusty yellow cab. They both raised their hands and Lainey watched as their abilities combined. Andy's destructive powers seemed to be focused by Lauren's shields and in matters of seconds, the tire of the old cab was torn apart.

"Wow," Lainey couldn't help but mutter in awe. If Andy and Lauren could do the same on the bus, John and Marcos' plan on saving Lorna and Reed without hurting anyone might actually work out.

"Right?" Lauren smiled.

"That was pretty cool," John admitted, seeming impressed by the two.

"Yeah, more like incredible," Andy replied smugly, and the five walked toward the cab, inspecting it from a closer look. Although the tire was torn apart, no more damage was caused to the vehicle.

"You guys think you can do that at a longer range?" John asked the siblings.

"Yeah, definitely. Anything you need." Andy answered.

"The best part is no one will see where it came from, so—" Lauren started to say but she was interrupted by her mother

"No. Kids are-are not attacking a convoy." Caitlin immediately objected, fearing of the idea of putting her kids in danger.

"We don't have a good alternative here, Caitlin. We're running out of time." John tried to explain.

"What, so you're gonna use child soldiers now? Like you're doing with Lainey?" Caitlin continued, pointing at Lainey. The brunette narrowed her eyes at Caitlin. She didn't like how she accused John like that but at the same time, Lainey understood that Caitlin was just worried for Andy and Lauren so she stayed quiet and said nothing in return.

Andy glanced at Lainey for a second to see her reaction but then he turned to his mother "We're not kids like that anymore, Mom." Andy insisted.

"I said no." Caitlin told them and Andy let out a sigh.

Caitlin started to walk back into the headquarters but Lauren quickly stopped her, "Mom, please. I know you're scared. I'm scared, too," Lauren admitted and Caitlin turned back to her. Andy started to walk to his sister but he was held up by John, who knew it was better to stay behind, "But think about what you said last night. About how sometimes we have to take risks."

"Really? You're gonna use my own words against me? Look, this isn't going to visit your Uncle Daniel. This is about trained men with guns." Caitlin started to argue with her daughter, not having any of this.

"We want to fight for this," Lauren insisted, pleading her mom to let them join, "You always said that there are things worth fighting for. Was that all just talk? You said it yourself, there are risks worth taking."

Caitlin seemed troubled and hesitated, "If I say okay, I can't have them in harm's way."

"We just need them to stop the bus. They get out of there as soon as that's done," John reassured.

"Okay," Caitlin finally agreed and then walked away from the four. Lainey couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her face. Now, they were going to save Lorna and Reed.

~~~

There was a knocking sound and then someone opened the door to Lainey's room. The brunette teenager was laying on her bed, tossing the house piece she had used to play with Lauren and Andy the other day, lazily catching it. She found it and forgot to put it back because she was so busy with trying to block her memories and focus on their plan for tomorrow.

Her job was to be with Marcos, Sonya and Harry, and make sure to get Lorna and Reed safely out of the bus and get them back to the headquarters.

Glancing up, Lainey saw that it was John who entered the room. She sat up, placing the small black piece on a nearby drawer, happy to find someone who would distract her wandering thoughts.

"Hey," Lainey said to him. She noticed something was off right away, he seemed concerned more than usual, "Is everything okay?"

"There is something I need to talk to you about," John told her as he sat on a chair in front of her. Lainey frowned but nodded at him to continue. "That day, when Marcos and I went to get you and the Struckers..." He trailed off, carefully watching Lainey's reaction.

Lainey knew exactly where he was going with this. He was talking about the man she had attacked when they were hiding in Danny's house. She didn't mean to hurt that man, it just happened. She looked away, avoiding his gaze.

"I just need to know what happened there. This isn't like you," John went on and Lainey let out a shaken sigh.

"I don't know what exactly happened, okay? I just lost control," Lainey admitted, still refusing to meet John's dark eyes. A warm hand was placed on her shoulder and Lainey realized that John was now sitting next to her.

"Lainey—"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," John argued and Lainey looked up at him, knowing it was no use ignoring him, "It's obvious you're not sleeping well and you look like something is constantly bothering you," Lainey knew it wouldn't take long for someone to notice the dark circles beneath her eyes or the yawns that escape her mouth every once a while. John could read her like an open book.

"Listen, I want you to be with the Struckers tomorrow instead," John decided and Lainey opened her mouth to protest.

"What? Why?"

"Because I need someone I trust to be with them and make sure nothing goes wrong," John answered, sounding sincere, "You saw what they can do. The plan will not work without 'em."

Lainey pursed her lips, not saying anything in return for a moment. She knew he was right about Andy and Lauren, their combined ability was the only way to save Lorna and Reed. She thought about it for a second and reluctantly nodded her head.

"Okay. I'll go tell them about the plan," Lainey said and got up, starting to walk out of her room.

After grabbing a map from the monitoring cell, Lainey went to find the Struckers, which wasn't really a hard task considering she knew they would probably be in their room. The door to the room was wide open and Lainey saw that she was right. Andy and Lauren were sitting in front of each other, smiling and slightly laughing at something. The bond between the two siblings was so tight it was almost painful to watch. They cared so much about each other and it actually caused a slight ache in her heart.

"Hey, Lainey," Caitlin's voice snapped out Lainey, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, hey," Lainey entered the room, closing the door behind her and walking closer to the family, "I actually came to update you on the plan tomorrow,"

While Andy and Lauren seemed eager to hear more, Caitlin's face fell, still not happy with the idea of putting her children at risk. Lainey placed the map on a table in front of them.

"According to the route, the best place to hit it is an old warehouse district off Peachtree. Thunderbird and Blink will be in that warehouse and they will portal into the bus, while Eclipse, Dreamer and Trader will be hiding in that alleyway, ready to help in case anything goes wrong." Lainey started, looking at Lauren and Andy and pointing at the map to explain herself, "Of course, none of it matters if you two don't stop the bus. The four of us will be on the roof of the warehouse, completely out of sight."

Caitlin visibly relaxed at this, but Andy and Lauren seemed slightly confused.

"Wait, you're coming with us?" Andy asked Lainey and she nodded.

"Yeah, just for precaution," The brunette replied, "Anyway, our vehicle will be placed in the alley behind the building, so we could get out of there as soon as possible. We don't have the time frame yet but Marcos is working on it and we'll let you know once we get it."

"How would we know if the plan worked?" Lauren looked at Lainey.

"Sage will keep us updated with anything that comes on the radio, but other than that, we will just have to wait," Lainey told her. By the look on the siblings' faces it was quite obvious that they weren't happy with it, but they accepted it.

"What will we do if the plan doesn't work?" Andy said, suddenly seeming uncertain. Lainey knew how much risk was put at stake. They might never see Lorna and Reed again.

After seeing the look in Andy's dark brown eyes, Lainey felt that unexplained rush of confidence and told him, "We're not going to let it happen,"

~~~

Golden rays shone through the windows as the sun started to rise. From outside, the birds were chirping quietly and murmurs slowly filled the building. If Lainey didn't know better, it could be mistaken as a peaceful morning.

She was sitting on a couch, trying to repeat their plan in her mind over and over again. She'd left her room a few hours earlier, barely able to get any sleep. Lainey knew it wasn't healthy, that sooner or later her body might collapse from the lack of sleep and rest, but she couldn't help it. It seemed like every time she tried to close her eyes she was attacked by nightmares.

"You're awake early," A voice behind her said, causing her to turn her head backward.

"I actually didn't really sleep. I'm too nervous about today," Lainey told Andy as he sat on a chair in front of her. It wasn't entirely true but it wasn't a lie either.

"Yeah, I'm kinda nervous, too," Andy admitted, "I get them, too, you know?"

Lainey looked at him with confusion, not understanding what he was meaning.

"Nightmares," Andy explained and Lainey immediately looked away, avoiding his gaze. Of course, he didn't forget about what had happened that night at Danny's house. Andy continued, "It's like I'm back at school when I found out that I'm a mutant, and those bullies are there again, screaming at me and calling me nothing and I can't do anything to make them stop,"

That caused her to look back at him. She remembered the news that appeared on the TV when the Mutant Underground first heard of the Struckers. None of them knew what exactly happened, only that there was a mutant incident at Belleview High. Now, she knew a bit more.

"I'm sorry,"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Andy shrugged it off quickly like he didn't want to discuss it a lot or didn't want her to pity him, "Anyway, I never got to thank you,"

Once again, Lainey was confused, "For what?"

"For that day back at the warehouse and also for what you did to that man with the gun at Uncle Danny's house," Andy told her, "It was pretty awesome," He added and Lainey cracked a smile, slightly feeling better at the situation.

"You can thank me when we get your dad back,"

~~~

After making sure there were no Sentinel Service agents in the area, each group got in position, waiting for the convoy. As the four stood on the rooftops of the warehouse, Lainey noticed that Caitlin was struggling with something in her grasp.

"Here, let me help," Lainey offered, leaning towards the blonde woman.

"Thanks," Caitlin breathed out, "Getting some medical supplies ready, just in case."

"It's weird how quiet everything is," Andy noted, staring into the distance and waiting to spot the convoy.

"Not really. It's Sunday," Lauren said, but then it seemed like the realization dawned on her, "It's Sunday."

"You okay, honey?" Her mother asked worriedly, noticing the look on Lauren's face.

"Yeah," The teen replied, but despite her answer, Lainey saw a tear rolling down Lauren's face, "The football team's fund-raiser breakfast was this morning. I was supposed to make corn muffins. This isn't corn muffins."

Lauren let out a smile tight, trying to seem like she was okay, but under that brave mask that she wore, Lainey could easily tell that she wasn't. Her whole life had changed in a matter of days and Lainey knew exactly how it felt.

Before Caitlin could say anything, Andy immediately drew their attention, "Hey. They're coming."

Lainey stood up along with Caitlin and walked closer to the siblings. As the convoy got closer and closer, Andy and Lauren raised their hands and prepared to use their combined powers.

"Andy, go!" His sister told him, but nothing happened.

"Okay, I can't do it," Andy told them.

"What do you mean, you can't do it? You have to." Lainey demanded. The bus was getting closer and Lainey knew they had to stop it in the right place.

"I-It's I don't know. It's moving. It's just different," Andy tried to explain.

"You can do this. We believe in you." Caitlin encouraged him

"It's not what we practiced."

"Okay, just-just calm down." Caitlin said to Andy, trying to make him relax.

"I'm trying," Andy insisted. Lainey anxiously brushed her hand through her hair. If they didn't act fast they would lose any chance to see Lorna and Reed ever again and Lainey couldn't let that happen.

She had to do something.

"Ugh, stop treating him like he's a baby, Caitlin," Lainey walked in front of Andy and Lauren, facing the dark-haired boy. "You're the reason your family got stuck in this mess. You can't even save your dad. You can't do anything right,"

"Back off," Andy exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at her. He was getting angry.

"You know what I think? I think the bullies you told me about were right. You really are nothing," Lainey couldn't believe she had actually told that to Andy. He chose to tell her something that was obviously sensitive and personal, and here she was, using it against him. But it wasn't the time to feel guilty. They had to stop the convoy.

"If they're wrong, then prove it," Lainey challenged him and before she knew it, Andy pushed her aside, raising his hands. Not expecting this kind of reaction, Lainey tripped and fell backward to the ground. The ground started to shake under her fingertips and she knew that her plan worked and she managed to trigger his powers. "Lauren, now!"

Without wasting a second, Lauren raised her hands, too, focusing on the bus. There was a sound of explosion and Lainey saw that the convoy truly did stop. It worked.

"Sorry, anger is unreliable when it comes to abilities, but it's sure as hell effective." Lainey told to Andy as she got up, but the teen seemed to ignore her gaze much like she had done to him earlier that day.

"Look, we can argue later. We need to move." Caitlin said and grabbed her bag, knowing that they needed to leave.

As the four rushed down the halls of the warehouse, Lainey felt some kind of weird feeling overcoming her. Thinking it was probably adrenalin or something, Lainey just tried to concentrate on the plan and kept running. Just as the four finally found a way out of the building, loud gunshots were heard.

"Mom, they're shooting," Lauren said, "If Dad's out there—"

"We're getting out of here, you understand?" Caitlin told them, heading towards their car.

As they approached their car around the corner, the four stopped when they saw a sentinel service agent examining the vehicle.

"That's our car," Andy whispered, "That's our car."

Knowing that there was no other way, Lainey raised her right arm, ready to attack the agent or at least distract him, but nothing happened. She didn't feel that connection like she always felt while using her powers. It was like she was... disrupted.

"What?" Lainey whispered, eyes wide with confusion. Were her powers going crazy again? Had she lost her control?

"Maybe I can..." Lauren raised her hand toward their vehicle, ready to take out the agent with her shields, but again nothing happened. "Mom, it's not working,"

Lainey wasn't sure what she felt first; relieved that her powers weren't going crazy or panicked that something really bad was going on if Lauren couldn't use her powers as well.

"What-what do you mean? What are we gonna do?" Andy frantically asked, but his mother didn't say anything, just grabbed something from her bag. Caitlin quietly walked behind the agent and pulled out a needle. The agent grunted as she injected him with an unknown substance that caused him to fall unconscious within seconds.

"Here are the keys. Take the car and go," Caitlin instructed and handed Lauren the keys to the car.

"What about you?" Lainey frowned at her. That wasn't the plan, the four of them were supposed to get out.

"I'm going after Reed," Caitlin answered but her kids immediately objected.

"We're not gonna leave you,"

"We can't go by ourselves,"

"I am not losing the two of you," Caitlin insisted, putting her hands on her kids' shoulders, "I will find him, and we will meet you at the headquarters, but I need you to go now."

"Mom," Lauren said, her voice cracking and tears filling her light brown eyes.

"I love you," Caitlin pulled her kids into a tight hug, "I love you so much."

Just as Lainey was about to get into the car, Caitlin called her name, stopping her.

"Please make sure they get back," The blonde-haired woman pleaded and Lainey gave her a quick nodded, she was about to open the front door she was stopped once again, "And, Lainey?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe," Caitlin quickly told her and before Lainey could reply, the woman already rushed away towards the area of the convoy.

"Lauren, what if she..." Andy started as the three got into the car.

"No. Don't say it," Lauren told him, starting the car. As Lauren drove away, a tense silence filled the car since each one of them had the same fear.

"What happened back there, with our powers?" Lauren asked, breaking the silence and glancing at Lainey for a second in hopes to get an answer. Their powers just stopped working like they were cut off or something. For a moment, Lainey's mind went to Pulse who, according to Sonya, was able to disrupt mutants' abilities. But, it was impossible since he had died two years ago. So, what really happened back there?

"I'm not sure," Lainey admitted to the two.

"We should get back. They might need our help," Andy said, but Lainey quickly shook her head.

"No. You heard your mother, we need to get back to the HQ,"

No matter how much Lainey wanted to come back and help, she knew that fighting directly against the Sentinel Service and dragging Andy and Lauren along with her, might only put them in more danger than they already were. It was best to drive back to the Headquarters and ask Sage about any updates from John and the others.

"They will be fine," Lainey repeated it again, this time more to herself, "They'll be fine."

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Hey guys, sorry for disappearing for a while, I've been dealing with a lot of personal life problems and writer blocks but I'm back now! I'm not giving up on this story! I just really need to thank you for your support, Extraordinary just hit 5.4k reads which is insane!!! Thasnk you so much!

Also, what are your thoughts on the season's final? I absolutely loved it and I can't wait for season 2!!!

P.S. I swear Sonya's name was spelled Sonia -_- now I have to go back and re-edit it