Tossing and turning was not something that Winona did often. She was usually able to fall asleep with no problems. But tonight was different. For some reason, Winona was having trouble falling asleep.

She released an aggravated sigh and sat up in bed. Her tired eyes flitted across the dark room. A lamp turning on startled her and her eyes snapped to the direction of the source. Clarice was sitting up in bed as well and looking at her clock. "Can't sleep either?" Winona asked.

Clarice's startled gaze turned to Winona. She sighed and shook her head. "What's up? Is something bothering you?" Winona asked, scooting to the edge of her bed. "It's nothing," Clarice dismissed. "You sure? Because you look pretty out of it," Winona said.

"Yeah," Clarice sighed. "I can always read your mind and find out," Winona said. Clarice's green eyes widened. "But, I won't do that," Winona added, holding her hands out in front of her. Clarice sighed again. "I just keep thinking about something. This dream or memory of..." Clarice trailed off. "Of what?" Winona questioned. "Of me and John," she answered.

Winona felt a pang in her chest at the mention of his name. She didn't understand why this kept happening. "Oh," she said. "It's strange. It's almost as if it didn't happen but it's a memory so it must have, right? At least I think it's a memory," Clarice said. "What was it about?" Winona asked. Clarice hesitated. "I could show you. I mean, I think I can," she said.

"You want me to go into your head and look into your memories?" Winona asked. "Yeah. Maybe you can help me figure out if it's real or just a reoccurring dream," she replied. "Are you sure?" Winona asked, standing up from her bed. Clarice nodded. Winona walked over to Clarice's bed and sat down. "Just think about whatever it is you're seeing," Winona said.

Clarice nodded again and closed her eyes. Winona's eyes turned silver as she began seeing the memory. Clarice and John were having an intimate moment outside of headquarters. Winona pulled her mind out of Clarice's and frowned. "Wow. That was. Something," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clarice asked. "Well it's just that, you could've warned me about... the intimacy of the dream thingy," Winona said, choosing her words carefully. "Right. Sorry," Clarice mumbled. "I can understand your confusion. I can't really tell if it's real or not. It's... strange," Winona said, her voice apologetic.

"But if it isn't then, how did it get into my head?" Clarice asked.

····

"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 informed the group as he showed them the route on one of the computers. He turned to 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 answered. "Stop the bus. Not gonna be easy," John said. "Maybe Marcos can like, melt the tires," Clarice suggested. "When is he getting us the time frame for the convoy? He's been gone a while, Johnny," Sonya said.

"And he will be back. He's working on it now," John assured. "Okay, regardless, melting their tires with lasers is hardly subtle. 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," Caitlin said. "She's right. Our job is to get in and out without dropping bodies. We need another way to stop that bus," John said.

"I could always knock the driver out," Winona suggested. "That, is a horrible idea," Clarice said. "No, if I mentally render the driver unconscious, then the truck will stop... Eventually," Winona said. "Yeah, when it crashes into something, which could still get people killed," Sonya said.

"All right fine, no knocking people out," Winona muttered.

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The next morning, Winona was stood in one of the abandoned warehouses. The convoy would be driving through the area soon and she was preparing herself. She still wasn't sure what she would be doing, but she was there to help in whatever way she could.

Clarice and John were stood in front of her by the window. Clarice looked uncomfortable standing next to him and Winona felt bad for the girl. "Convoy's gonna be coming down this road. We should be able to see inside the transport bus from right here," John said.

Winona walked closer to the window to get a better view of the road. "Is this all right?" He then asked Clarice. "It's great," she replied before walking away from him. "Are you all right?" He asked her. "I'm also great. Just, uh, haven't been sleeping really well," Clarice answered. "And her unsettled mind has been keeping me up too," Winona said, examining the inside of one of the boxes that lined the wall.

"Yeah, well, living at the headquarters, people coming and going, that could be an adjustment," John said. "Yeah, well anything's better than jail, right?" Clarice said. An awkward silence ensued. "What about you? Was it hard for you at first?" Clarice asked taking a few steps closer to where he stood. "It was almost impossible," John said.

"Really?" Clarice inquired. "Yeah," he replied quietly. "You seem so, I don't know, soldier-y. Wouldn't think that anything was hard for you," Clarice said. "Clarice and I thought you were like, a cyborg or something because you're always so serious and emotionless," Winona said from across the room. Clarice's eyes narrowed at her friend. "Okay, I thought you were a cyborg. But she didn't disagree," Winona corrected. John shook his head at her.

"At first it was just me and Polaris and this impossible task, you know?" He said, going back to their original conversation. "You ever think about walking away?" Clarice asked. "All the time," John replied. Winona was shocked by his revelation and she turned to face him. "What's stopping you?" She asked, walking closer to the two. His eyes met hers.

"What we're doing here. This is important to me. But everybody finds their own reason to stay," he answered. His eyes never left hers. Clarice glanced between the two, a somewhat knowing look on her face. She nodded once to herself. Winona was the one to break eye contact. She awkwardly cleared her throat and looked around.

"I just have to ask. The night that we first met did we go outside together or something?" Clarice asked. Winona pretended to be interested in something else as she listened for his response. "No. Uh, we-we did not," he answered. Now Winona was beyond confused. "Right. That's what I thought. You know, I'd remember if we went outside and then came back in," Clarice was saying.

She walked over to where Winona was stood. The brown eyed girl gave her friend a small smile. "It must have just been a dream," Winona whispered. "Or a reoccurring nightmare," Clarice mumbled. "I don't think nightmares work like that. Or look like that," Winona said.

A few minutes later, the convoy began pulling into the area. "This is it," John said. Winona moved over to the window and looked out, seeing the trucks and other vehicles coming in. She watched as the bus drove past the window and furrowed her eyebrows. "Come on, we gotta move," John said. Winona and Clarice followed him out of the room.

They entered another room with different types of machinery. "Why didn't the bus stop in the right place?" Clarice asked as the two girls ran after him. "I don't know. It doesn't matter now. Let's find it," John replied. The man screamed before running through a wall. Winona's mouth fell agape. "Damn," she and Clarice said.

They quickly followed after him. The three entered another room. John ran over to a crate. "Up here," he said, jumping onto the crate. He held out his hand and Winona took ahold of it. John pulled her up onto the crate. Her body was pulled close to his as he spun the two around. Winona's eyes were wide as she looked up at him, her heart was thumping hard in her chest.

John looked down at her, his expression unreadable. He had nice eyes, she realized as she gazed into them. Neither of the two wanted to look away. "Ahem!" Clarice said. Winona blinked and released her hold on John's hand, pulling away from him. John cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. He turned to Clarice and grabbed her hand, pulling her up onto the crate.

Clarice looked at Winona with raised eyebrows. Winona looked away from the girl and out the window. "Can you portal us into that bus from here?" John asked Clarice. "Yeah," she replied before closing her eyes. She brought her hands together and began opening a portal. Winona felt something strange go through her body. Clarice's body then leaned forward slightly and the portal dissipated. "Whoa," Clarice said, her eyes opening.

Winona's eyebrows raised. "You okay?" She and John asked. Winona ignored the fact that his eyes were on her and looked at her friend in concern. "Yeah, I just felt something weird there," Clarice answered. "Yeah, I felt it too," John said. "Me too," Winona mumbled. Clarice closed her eyes again and attempted to open another portal. Nothing happened.

Her eyes opened and she stared at her hands in shock. "What's wrong?" Winona asked. "It's not working. Something's interfering with the portal," Clarice said, her eyes moving between John and Winona. "Let me see what's going on," he said, looking out of the window and closing his eyes. He tried concentrating but nothing happened. His eyes opened.

"I can't track," he said. "What's happening?" Clarice asked, her tone slightly fearful. "No, it's impossible," John whispered. "What's impossible?" Winona asked. He didn't respond. Instead, he jumped off the crate and began running again. "Come on," he called to the two. They jumped off of the crate and ran after him. "What are you doing?" Clarice asked him once they caught up.

"The only thing I've ever known that can disrupt mutant abilities like that is..." John trailed off and looked out of a window. "Is what?" Clarice asked. "Not what. Who," he replied. Winona looked out of the window as a man with blonde hair turned around. His eyes were glowing a yellow color. "You're saying that guy out there is what's messing us up?" Clarice questioned. "His name is Pulse. He has the power to disrupt systems, shut down electronics," John said.

"What does that have to do with us?" Clarice questioned. "He can also disrupt mutants. He can suppress abilities for at least two blocks," John said. "And he's working with them?" Clarice asked next. "Not when I knew him," John answered, turning to the two. "He was my best friend. I thought I saw him die on an attack at a Sentinel Services Relocation Center," he explained.

"Looks like you were wrong about that," Clarice muttered. Winona nudged her side and turned to John. "Is there anything that I can do?" She asked. He thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No. His abilities would be affecting yours too. You wouldn't be able to get into his mind or anything while he's using them," he said. "Great," Winona mumbled.

"I got to get to him. I got to stop him," John said. He turned to the two. "Go check on the others. I got to get out there," he said. Winona grabbed his arm before he could run off. "Go out there? Are you insane? They'll kill you on sight," she told him. "I have to stop him or else we'll all die," John replied. "And what makes you think that you can stop him? You're powerless too," Winona retorted.

"I gotta do something, all right? We don't have time for this. Go check on the others and don't worry about me," he said, removing his arm from her grasp. "I'll be fine," he assured before running off. Clarice touched her arm. "Come on," she urged. Winona nodded and the two ran out of the room.

Gunshots could be heard as they ran through the building. The two continuously ducked down with every shot. "Holy shit we're gonna die," Winona muttered. They entered a different room and Clarice went to the window. Winona reluctantly followed after her and looked out of it.

She could see a Sentinel Services agent with his gun up, firing it at something. Most likely someone. She could also see Sonya and Harry, who was lying on the ground, most likely injured. Winona pushed Clarice down as the man continued firing. After a few minutes, which felt more like hours, Winona could feel a sort of weight lifting off of her. Silver sparks shot off of her fingers and her eyes met Clarice's.

"I can feel my powers coming back," she informed the girl who nodded. "Yeah, me too," Clarice responded. Winona looked back out of the window and could see a few of the agents. She focused on their minds, her eyes turning silver. "Put down your guns," she said quietly. The men involuntarily placed their guns on the ground.

Suddenly, one of the police cars exploded. Clarice closed her eyes and began opening a portal. It opened up and the two could see Sonya and an injured Harry. Sonya helped the man up and the two moved toward the portal. "Hurry," Clarice urged. Sonya and Harry entered the portal and it closed behind them.

The four breathed heavily. Winona went to help support Harry. "We gotta get back," Sonya breathed out. Clarice nodded quickly and began opening another portal. As soon as it was open, they all entered it and were welcomed by the sight of the Underground.

°°°°

Here's chapter ten. This was another fun chapter to write. I hope you all enjoyed. Do not comment for me to update, ask me to update, say "please update", or anything along those lines.