Ten months ago

It had been about a month since Winona met Renee and her husband, Edward. And she had been staying with the two for the entirety of that month.

Renee had been teaching Winona how to control her telepathy. Winona was now able to control when she read someone's mind. For the most part at least. There were still occasional instances where she was unintentionally reading another's mind. Even more than one person at once. But, she was getting better.

While Renee taught Winona how to control her power and advance it, Edward taught Winona how to fight. Or as he liked to say, defend herself. Being ex military and a current FBI agent, he sure had his skills. Those skills were shown as he, once again, knocked Winona to the ground.

She groaned loudly and he rolled his eyes. "Get up," Edward commanded. "I would but, I'm nice and comfortable on this floor," she replied. "Well I hope you'll be nice and comfortable in a casket. Because that's where you'll end up if you don't learn this," he said.

"Don't you think you're being a little bit dramatic, Ed?" Renee questioned as she walked into the room. "No, I don't. She needs to learn this in the case that the police or Sentinel Services find her. So she can defend herself," Edward replied. "Or if someone tries to mug me," Winona commented as she pushed herself off of the ground.

"Fighting a police officer or government agent could put her into deeper shit than she's already in," Renee pointed out. "Not really. I'm already wanted for murder and uh, terrorism. I'd be put away for life. Assaulting an officer would probably add years, but I'd be dead before my sentence is up. At least I hope I'll be dead," Winona said.

"Well, let's just hope that you don't get caught," Renee muttered. "All right, Winnie, let's go again," Edward said. Winona sighed but nodded her head. "No. Your time is up. It's my turn with her," Renee said. "Just give me ten more minutes," he pleaded. "I gave you ten more minutes, thirty minutes ago," Renee said, her eyes narrowed. Edward sighed and nodded his head. "She's all yours," he mumbled.

Renee smiled and pressed a short kiss to his lips. She then turned to Winona and beckoned her to follow. To say Winona was relieved to get out of that training room would be an understatement. The two women entered the living room and Winona took a seat in a chair.

"All right. So today we're gonna take things a step further. I'm gonna try to teach you how to communicate telepathically. We can have conversations. You can even put thoughts into another person's mind," Renee began.

Winona nodded her head slowly at the information. "What do you say? You think you're ready for this? Or do you want to still focus on perfecting when you read minds?" Renee asked. Winona weighed her options for a moment before nodding.

"I'm up for learning something new."

····

A few days since the incident had passed. Winona had regained most of her strength but she still wasn't one hundred percent. She and Clarice sat in plush chairs in the upstairs portion of the bank, close to the hole in the ground.

"I still don't get why you risked your life to save me. I mean, you barely know me," Clarice said from beside Winona. "Like I said, I was trying to save everyone. You were dying and opening portals that could've gotten us all killed. I risked my life for the greater good," Winona explained.

Clarice scoffed, "The greater good? Really?" Winona rolled her eyes. "For the mutants of the Underground," she reiterated. "Even though they don't like you," Clarice stated. "Yeah well, what did you expect? For me to be petty and just let them all die because they don't like me?" Winona asked. Clarice shrugged, "I guess not."

"Anyway, I think they're all starting to warm up to me now," Winona added. "And all it took was for you to save their asses," Clarice muttered, her tone angry. "Funny how the world works, isn't it?" Winona asked with a sarcastic smile.

"I don't think I ever thanked you for what you did. So, thank you," Clarice said quietly. "No problem. And thank you for not dying. I almost died trying to save you. It would've been pretty shitty if you died on me," Winona said, her tone taking a teasing turn. "Uh, you're welcome?" Clarice said.

Winona grinned at the girl. Clarice looked the girl next to her over and shrugged. "I think it's pretty cool," she noted. Winona's eyebrows furrowed. "What is?" She questioned. "The hair," Clarice stated. Winona involuntarily ran her fingers through her hair. "The silver makes you look cool," Clarice added.

"No, it makes me look weird. But thanks," Winona muttered. "You don't look weird, Winnie. Just different and different is good. Besides, you could always dye it if you don't like it," Clarice said. "That's true. Where can I get some hair dye around here?" Winona joked. Clarice chuckled. The two continued conversing as John approached them.

"Clarice, can we talk?" He asked her. She nodded her head and sat up straighter. His eyes moved to Winona. "Alone," he added. "Oh no, I'm far too comfortable to move. Just pretend I'm not here," Winona said with a grin. He sighed before taking a seat on the coffee table in front of them. "Marcos thinks that you can help us get Lorna. That you can use your portals to get her out," John began.

Winona rolled her eyes and shook her head. She looked to Clarice who sighed. "This Lorna chick went to jail saving my ass. I owe her. But it won't work. I can't do anything," Clarice said. She then held out her hands and attempted to create a portal. A small ball of purple formed but a portal did not.

"See? Nothing," Clarice said before lowering her hands. "And you want me to help you get into a jail? You'd be better off with a couple glow sticks and a hacksaw," she added. Winona smiled whilst John chuckled lightly. "Something changed after I got sick. I woke up with this new beauty mark here," Clarice began, pointing at the new purple mark on her face. "And my powers, I don't know they're, they're broken," she concluded.

"Hey. Abilities don't break. Most mutants first access their abilities from strong emotions. Fear, anger, pain. But those are all unreliable. The challenge is to tap into something positive," John said. "Positive?" Clarice questioned. John nodded in confirmation. "Like, what, we do some hot yoga and find my spirit animal?" She continued.

"I wonder what my spirit animal is," Winona commented. Clarice gave her a look and she shrugged. "Um no, thanks. I'm pretty sure your spirit animal would bite me," John said to Clarice. "No. It'd rip your head off," Clarice said. "I don't doubt that," Winona muttered. "No, it's impossible. My head can't be ripped off," John said.

"I'm sure it would still find a way to rip your head off," Winona said. "You know it's hard to pretend that you're not here when you keep talking," he said, turning to Winona. "I never said I'd be quiet," she replied. He turned back to Clarice. "Hey. We're gonna work on it. See you in the morning," he said as he stood.

"Oh, and you too Winnie," he added. "What do you mean? I'm fine. I can still read minds and everything. You're wondering if it's actually possible for Clarice's spirit animal to rip you head off. See, I'm good," Winona protested. John gave her an unimpressed look. "I don't mean your telepathy. I mean your other ability," he said.

She gave him a confused look. "You know, the uh, screaming thing. Or did you forget about that?" He elaborated. "Oh, right. That. No thanks. I don't need to work on that," she declined. "So you've got that power under control then?" He asked. "Yup," she said. "All right. Show me," he said. "What? Right now? I can't do it now," she protested.

"Can't or won't?" John questioned. Winona didn't answer and looked at her hands. John walked back over and sat on the coffee table again. "I get it. You're afraid to use that power because of past experiences. But you can't let what happened in the past get to you. You're strong and you can control this, all right?" He said, placing a comforting hand on her knee. His hand sent a jolt up her knee and she stared at it, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

She nodded mutely. John stood again. "Oh and, stop snooping through my head. It's an invasion of privacy," he added. A grin overtook Winona's face and he walked away. When he was out of hearing range, Winona leaned closer to Clarice. "It could so rip his head off," she said. "Right?" Clarice exclaimed.

····

The next morning, Winona trudged outside. She squinted at the brightness of the sun and scanned the area. John and Clarice were standing a little ways away from the building.

Winona used her hand to block out the sun and made her way over to them. "You're late," John said, not sparing her a glance. "Excuse me for trying to get some sleep," Winona muttered, coming to a stop next to him. "More like trying to avoid this little lesson," Clarice muttered. Winona sent her a glare.

"Well, now that you're here, let's get to work on you," John said, finally turning to face her. "Why don't we start with Clarice? I'm sure she has bigger issues to work out," Winona suggested. This time, Clarice was the one glaring. "Clarice has had a few go's. It's not there yet but we'll keep working. But now, it's your turn," he said.

"Yeah. It's your turn," Clarice said. Winona rolled her eyes. "Fine. What am I supposed to do?" She said. "For starters, stop being afraid," John said. "That's easier said than done," Winona responded, her eyes narrowed. "When you let fear control you, you won't be effective in what you do. And this goes beyond being a mutant and being able to control your powers," he continued.

"All right, Yoda, how do I stop being afraid?" She asked. John was thoughtful for a moment. He then placed his hands on Winona's shoulders and turned her to face him. "Scream," he commanded. "Excuse me?" Winona said. "You heard me, scream. Directly at me," he said. "I don't see how this is supposed to help," Winona admitted. "You'll see when you do it," John said.

"I don't think I will," she muttered under her breath. Winona then took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Ah!" She exclaimed, dragging out the word before slowly letting it die out on her lips. Clarice laughed heartily and John shook his head. "What? You said scream," Winona defended. "You know that's not what I meant," John said.

"Well, you weren't exactly clear when you said scream," Winona muttered. "I meant, scream the way you did in that store over a year ago. Scream like that," John clarified. "You said that I need to not be afraid. When I was screaming in that store, I was terrified. So, I can't exactly scream like I did then," Winona said.

"Oh just do your acousti-whatever thing and get it over with," Clarice said. Winona looked down at the dirt below her feet. "What are you so afraid of?" John asked softly. Winona shrugged. "You're afraid of hurting someone if you do it. Is that it?" He said, realization hitting him. "Maybe," she mumbled.

"Winnie, if you don't do this, if you don't learn to control it and use it to your benefit, the chances of you hurting somebody else are gonna be high," he said. "I've gone a year without using it and I've been fine," she replied. "If you get into a situation similar to the one in that store, that ability might come up again," he said. "Not necessarily--" John's glare cut Clarice off mid-sentence.

Clarice held up her hands and backed away. Winona nodded at his words and looked up at him. "Sound is an interesting thing. There are different frequencies to think about. When you manipulate that sound, you can do all sorts of things. Mimic it, intensify it, hush it, distort it. You can even warp, strengthen, echo, speed up, and slow down sound," John began.

"Thanks for the physics lesson. But what does this information have to do with me controlling this power?" Winona said. John smiled, "I was getting to that." She nodded and gestured for him to continue. "My point is that you can manipulate sound in all kinds of ways. And it won't necessarily be fatal to anyone who happens to get in your way. It all depends on the frequency of the sound," he concluded.

"And how do you know so much about this?" Clarice asked. "It's called paying attention in school," he answered. "I don't recall learning that much about sound in school," Winona mumbled. "We didn't exactly go to the same schools," John pointed out. Winona scoffed, "You don't know what schools I went to."

"You're changing the subject. Look, I just need you to focus. You focus--" John cut himself off. His eyes widened slightly as he looked off into space. "Are you having a stroke?" Clarice asked. John moved past her and walked a few steps forward before crouching down. "Nope, this is just him doing his thing," Winona whispered.

The two looked at him as he stayed in his crouched position. He then stood up and walked forward, Winona and Clarice following after him. He touched a broken tree branch and examined it in his hand. "Yo. Sherlock. What's going on?" Clarice asked. John looked back at the two. "We have a problem," he announced.

The girls followed him back into the building and he quickly filled them in on what was going on. John then walked briskly away from them, leaving the two behind. "Okay, we'll just catch up with you later," Winona called after him. She looked at Clarice. "Or not?" She said unsurely. Clarice rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Come on, let's go work on opening those portals of yours," Winona said, beckoning for Clarice to follow. "Only if we work on your siren scream," Clarice replied. "Are you gonna call it that now?" Winona asked in annoyance. "Yup."

°°°°

Here's chapter seven. This was kind of a fun one to write. I hope you guys liked it. Do not comment for me to update, ask me to update, say "please update", or anything along those lines. I tried updating yesterday but Wattpad messed it up so idk if this is gonna publish or not to where you can actually see words. Bye!