▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 ━︎━︎ 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎"𝐒𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 she anyways?" Andy questioned John.

     "She's a refugee escaped from jail." John answered, his eyes glancing towards Aphrodite who was sitting on the chair they had placed down for her, concentrating on trying to keep Clarice's powers under control. It seemed to be working so far.

      "Jail?" Lauren frowned.

     "We found her."

     "What did she do?"

     "She used a portal to steal food from the back of a supermarket. Happens a lot with mutants who can't pass for human; they can't get jobs, one thing leads to another. . ." John was quickly cut of by a gasp leaving Clarice's lips. Aphrodite clenched her jaw, trying her best to get control, but Clarice was beating her, a portal starting to open.

     "It's happening." Aphrodite muttered. "I can't control it."

     "Mom." Artemis frowned, watching a blood started falling from her mother's nose.

     "I'm fine." Aphrodite muttered. "Close the portal." Artemis did as her mother asked, walking over to Lauren and looking at her and watching as Lauren nodded before she grabbed onto the blonde's wrist, taking it upon herself to help Lauren close the portal.

     "That was way too close." Andy breathed.

     "I'll be back in a minute." John told them before his eyes landed on Artemis. "Anything happens, you yell."

     "Got it." Artemis nodded before watching him walk off. Artemis turned her head to look at the siblings, a small frown falling on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. When Andy commented about soda, Artemis walked out of the room before coming back with two sodas un her hands. "Here." She handed one to both of the siblings.

     "Thanks." Lauren smiled, to which Artemis nodded. Lauren watched the redhead for a moment, before walking over to her as she sat down on the bench. "Thanks for helping me."

     "I hadn't a doubt in my mind you could do it by yourself." Artemis told her. "I just felt dumb standing around and doing nothing, especially while my mom is stretching her powers in hopes of controlling whatever it is that's going on with Clarice."

     "She's your mom." Lauren whispered, a small smile falling on her face.

     "Best mom I could ask for." Artemis smiled, nodding her head. "We've been through so much together, after all the shit that happened with my asshole of a father, this is the last thing that we need. If we have to evacuate. . ."

     "We won't let that happen." Lauren grabbed her hand. "You and I, we'll try and close as many as we can, alright? We'll do our best to keep your home a stable place to live."

     "And if our best isn't enough?" Artemis whispered, tears in her eyes as she looked at the blonde.

     "We'll figure it out."

Aphrodite was straining herself, her nose was dripping with blood but no matter how many times Artemis tried to get her to stop, she wouldn't. She could do this. She had to do this. She wasn't going to let another home fall apart because she couldn't do what needed to be done. John and Sonya made their way down the steps, John pressing a hand against Clarice's forehead.

     "She's burning up. This is getting worse. Aph is controlling the portals, but she can't keep that up for much longer."

     "It hurts." Clarice whimpered. "It hurts. I have to get away."

     "We need to start getting everyone out of here."

     "We are not gonna abandon this place." Sonya snapped at him.

     "I don't see what choice we have." John argued. "All right? She's opening portals every few minutes now, and Lauren and Artemis can't keep this up, and neither can she." He nodded towards Aphrodite.

     "We can keep trying, but. . ." Lauren shook her head.

     "Mom has to be back soon, right?" Andy asked them.

     "Maybe. We need to consider the possibility―︎"

     "John." Aphrodite snapped. "I'm losing control." A gasp fell from Clarice, and Aphrodite was knocked from the woman's mind, causing her to stumble as a gasp fell from her own lips. Aphrodite stood up, and Artemis was quick to run over to her, allowing her mother to lean on her for support as she regained her strength back.

     "This may be it. We might have to evacuate." John informed. "Clarice!" That's when another portal opened, causing Lauren to turn her head to look at the portal. The cops were lined up right outside of it.

     "Sonya!" Artemis snapped, making the other redhead quickly take her place in holding Aphrodite up whilst the teenager walked over to Lauren. They watched as SWAT pulled up before the dup started trying to close the portal. Before they knew it, they were both losing control. Artemis grunted, managing to stand there and continue to attempt to close the portal after Lauren flew backwards. But then, Artemis was flying backwards too and John was quick to catch the girl.

     "On the ground!" One of the SWAT men came through the portal, pointing his gun at John. But John was quick to grab his wrist as two shots went off, throwing the man up to the ceiling before grabbing onto him as he fell to the ground and throwing him out of the portal. The men all aimed their guns at the mutants, but before any of them could start shooting, Andy ran forward, throwing his hand backwards and sending them flying. He managed to knock the mutants inside off their feet, including the table Clarice had been laying on.

     "Clarice!" Aphrodite shouted, running over to the girl. The portal closed and Aphrodite placed Clarice's face in her hands, trying to make sure she was okay. She looked up as John ran over, quickly kneeling down beside Clarice and begging her to wake up. That's when they looked up, watching as several portals started opening up and closing over and over again.

     "What's going on?" Lauren questioned.

     John looked at her before looking towards Sonya. "Get everyone out now. Go!" They did as he asked, but Aphrodite refused to leave Clarice's side. "Aph, you too."

     "I'm not leaving her." Aphrodite shook her head. She was stubborn, that was something that John always knew, and that's why he decided against arguing with her. The duo stayed their beside the girl, John looking up through one of the portals to see Caitlin standing there. Aphrodite looked up when John yelled for the woman to come on. She watched as Caitlin quickly jumped through the portal, just as it closed.

     "I got the medication." Caitlin quickly told them.

     "Have to go. . ." Clarice mumbled.

     "No, Clarice, you're staying here with us." Caitlin denied. "I need you to listen to me, and I need you to be strong." She started filling up a needle with a green liquid. "I have to stabilize her potassium levels." She injected the needle into Clarice's arm.

     "We're running out of time." John quickly urged.

     "Hold this." Caitlin handed the bottle filled with red liquid to Aphrodite before refilling the needle with it. "Okay, Clarice, deep breath. And be strong for me. Now!" She stabbed the needle into Clarice's shoulder. The three watched as Clarice opened her eyes with a gasp, the portals started to slowly disappear as she regained control.

     "Hey." Aphrodite whispered as Clarice looked at her. She nodded, offering her a gentle smile. "You're gonna be alright." Aphrodite looked towards Caitlin before offering the blonde a small nod. "Thank you."

When everything calmed down and everyone was back inside, tidying things up, Aphrodite was sitting there with a water in hand. Trying to help Clarice drained more power out of her than she expected, and the woman was tired. She looked up when she heard footsteps, offering John a small smile as he made his way towards her.

     "How are you feeling?" He asked, taking a seat beside of her.

     "Tired." She answered honestly, her eyes meeting his. "What about Clarice?"

     "She's awake, and she's alright." He nodded. "I told her we could talk after she got some rest."

     "Good." Aphrodite nodded. "I'm glad she's alright."

     "You should get some rest." John told her. "I know you want to help, but you need to do what's best for you, and that's allowing you to regain your strength." Aphrodite looked at him before sighing and nodding her head.

     "Don't let me sleep to long." She warned him.

     "I promise to wake you up." Aphrodite looked at him before nodding and walking away, finding a place to lay down before closing her eyes and allowing herself to fall into a much needed sleep.