Four years ago.

"I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe we let them leave," Carolina Martin said as she paced around the living room. From his seated position, Warren Martin lifted his head out of his hands and looked at her. "We had to, Carolina. It was the only way to keep them safe," he said.

"We were supposed to keep them safe. That was the one thing that we had to do," Carolina said. "We didn't know that this would happen," Warren tried. "How did this even happen? Elaine's powers were never supposed to manifest like this. We made sure of that," Carolina said. Warren sighed and rubbed his temples. "There are a lot of things about the X gene that we still don't know or understand. But we knew that there was a chance that her abilities would grow stronger and that Winona's would still become present," he replied.

"Winona's powers are gonna come now too," she muttered. "Most likely, yes. You know who her mother is. How powerful she is. The possibility of Winona having that power is high, especially after, you know..." he trailed off and Carolina nodded. The two were quiet for a few minutes, immersed in their own thoughts. "What if they find them? What if us doing what we did will put them in even more danger? We shouldn't have let them go," Carolina said.

"We had a plan in case this happened, remember? The chances of them finding the girls was higher if they stayed. We did the right thing," he said. Carolina sighed heavily. "I hope you're right."

····

"I just want to make something clear.
We're working with you on this because the Hound program is a threat to all of us. But if any of you think that being here means—" One of the Frost sisters cut Marcos off. "We're friends now?" She asked. "Oh, you made it clear we're not," another said. "We're just here to get a job done, same as you," the third added.

Winona rolled her eyes at them. She pushed herself off of the metal bars of the cage that she was leaning against and went to say something but Renee placed a hand on her arm. Winona halted and turned to look at her. Renee shook her head and Winona sighed. From beside her, Clarice was glaring intensely at the Frosts. Elaine remained indifferent with the conversation going on, almost bored with it all.

Edward and Dominic stood watching the Frosts carefully whilst Marcos, John, and Lorna did most of the talking. "Marcos, they're right. Stay cool," John said. Winona wanted nothing more than to slap him in that moment. "I don't see a move here. The Hounds are already out there. They're kicking our asses," Lorna said.

"It's a secret program. We can kill it, but it has to happen soon. Our sources tell us Dr. Campbell is working his political connection to take it national," the triplet in the middle, most likely Esme, said. Winona's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?" She and John asked in unison. She kept her eyes on Esme when John turned to look at her, ignoring his gaze. He returned his attention to the sisters when one of them began to speak.

The other two had watched the exchange between Winona and John with knowing smirks on their faces. "He's attending the Humanity Today Summit in Charlotte, tomorrow," the blonde said. "'Humanity Today'? That's seriously what they call it?" Clarice asked. Someone hummed. "I guess it sounded better than 'Kill the Muties'," Esme said. Winona pursed her lips in distaste.

"Every major anti-mutant figure will be there.
Politicians, business leaders," the blonde continued. "Purifiers," the three said simultaneously before looking at Clarice. Winona crossed her arms. "Security will be massive. All right? There's gotta be a better—" John was cut off.

"We're out of time. This is our chance to grab Campbell and use him to smash the program," one of the Frosts said. "So we're kidnappers now? I thought we were supposed to be the good guys," Clarice said, looking at the others. Winona nodded slightly. She did not want to do this. Esme released a small breath. "Let's not get so high and mighty. I don't suppose you've shared your criminal past with everyone here?" She said.

Winona narrowed her eyes at the blonde before looking to Clarice. "Do they not know about your old friends? Because we do," Esme continued. All eyes were now on Clarice. "So now you're into digging up people's pasts? Haven't you ever heard of minding your own business?" Winona spoke up, turning to look at Esme. "You should be happy that we're not bringing up your past," the blonde said.

Winona's eyes narrowed into a glare. "Because we know the things you did in order to get information on your sister," Phoebe and Sophie said. The attention diverted to Winona, who remained glaring at the three. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied. The three smirked, slightly tilting their heads to the side in unison.

"Oh really? I think Cyrus would disagree," Esme said. "And Andre," Phoebe added. "And Iliana," Sophie concluded. Winona could feel her anger rising. "You remember them, don't you?" Phoebe asked. "Do you remember what you did for them?" Sophie asked. "Because we know all about your illegal escapades," Esme finished.

Winona's arms remained crossed as she balled her hands into fists. She could feel the stares of those around her as her eyes remained on Esme. "What are they talking about?" John asked. "It doesn't matter. The past is in the past. Right, Winona?" Esme answered for the girl. The blonde then turned to the others. "Right now, we have work to do," she concluded.

She looked at Winona again with a smirk. Winona looked away from the blonde before walking away from the group. She could hear footsteps following behind her, which she ignored. Renee grabbed her arm and turned the girl to face her. "Not now, Renee," Winona said once she saw who it was. "Don't you, 'Not now, Renee' me. What the hell were those psycho sisters talking about?" Renee said.

Winona pulled her arm from Renee's grip and gave her a look. "I don't wanna talk about this," she said, turning away. Renee grabbed her arm and turned her around again. "So, when did this happen, exactly? All of the illegal shit? It must have been after you left Edward and I's. Yeah, that's the only thing that makes sense. So, you left our place and then started doing what? Robbing banks and burning down buildings?" Renee rambled.

The Martin girl sighed in annoyance. "Drop it, Renee," she said exasperatedly. "No, I will not drop it. Winnie, you can't just do illegal shit, all right? It's illegal and you're kinda wanted, in case you've forgotten," Renee said. "I know, Renee. I know. That's why I stopped," Winona said. Renee gave her a look. "I didn't know what was gonna happen when I met them. I told them I'd do anything to find my sister. I didn't think that they would think that I meant it literally. When I realized that they weren't gonna help me, I left. End of story," Winona explained.

She began walking again and Renee followed. "So, what exactly did you do?" She asked. Winona rolled her eyes. "If I told you, that'd make you an accomplice," she answered. Renee huffed in annoyance. "Fine. Don't tell me. But, maybe you should tell 'you know who'," Renee said. "Elaine doesn't need to know anything," Winona said. "I didn't mean Elaine," Renee said. The Martin girl turned to look at her in confusion.

"John seemed pretty upset when the Frosts brought up your criminal past. He looked, kinda betrayed," Renee explained. Winona sighed and Renee patted her shoulder before walking back to the others.

····

Clarice had explained to Winona about her past and her connection to The Brotherhood. Winona had assured the girl that it was unnecessary but Clarice was adamant on explaining herself. So, she did. And in return, Winona did the same. The two had more in common than either of them thought. Now, Winona was on the hunt for John. She figured that she owed him an explanation most of all.

When she spotted the man, she quickly made her way over to him. "John!" She called. She could see his shoulders deflate slightly and she stopped. He turned to face her for only a moment before turning back around and beginning to walk again. "Look, whatever the Frosts said about your past, I don't," he stopped talking and sighed.

"Listen, John. It's not what you think," she said. "You don't have to—" She cut him off. "Yes, I do." Winona sighed as she continued to follow after him. "Winona, we have a lot to do right now, okay?" John said. "Will you shut up and let me speak?" Winona questioned, growing annoyed. The two stopped at a table that held backpacks for their journey to Charlotte on it.

John looked over at her expectantly. "When I was out there looking for Elaine, I didn't have much luck. Not even with Edward and Renee. So I left and tried to find her on my own again. Instead I found some people who specialize in finding others. They know people, have connections and stuff. I figured that they could help me and they agreed to do it for a price. I didn't know what that price was until later on. And when it got to be too much, I left," she explained.

"What did they make you do?" He asked. Winona looked down, biting her lip. She contemplated on telling him before deciding to tell him the bare minimum. "Rob places. Some other stuff I'm not proud of," she answered and he sighed. "Look, I've done my fair share of wrong, okay? But that's not who I am. I'm not a bad guy," Winona said. "Did what you did have any relation to The Brotherhood?" He asked. Winona looked at him in confusion.

"You talked to Clarice about her past?" She asked. "More like she talked to me. I listened," he answered. Winona pursed her lips before speaking. "To answer your question, I don't know," she said. He scoffed, "You don't know? Really?" Winona rolled her eyes, "We didn't exactly sit down and discuss our affiliations over tea and scones." John rolled his eyes.

"But, they had connections. It wouldn't surprise me if the were apart of The Brotherhood. Or even the Hellfire Club," Winona admitted after a moment of silence. "And you just didn't think to mention this when we brought you here?" He asked incredulously. "You guys were the ones who came looking for me. You're the ones that convinced me to come here. I didn't realize that I had to spill my whole life's story to a bunch of strangers," Winona defended.

"You don't get it," he said, growing angry as he shoved more things into his bag. "Get what?" Winona asked in exasperation. "Maybe you didn't have to tell us when we first met, okay? I get why you didn't. But you hid it from us, as if you didn't trust us enough to handle it," he said. "I do trust you. I just didn't think it was a big deal," she replied. He scoffed, "Of course you wouldn't."

Winona was taken aback. "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. "It means that you, don't think about how what you do affects others," he said. She looked at him in disbelief. "Are you serious right now?" She asked. He shoved more things into his bag. "Is this really what you're gonna be mad at me for right now? Because in case you've forgotten, I've done a lot worse than steal some money from a few gas stations," she said.

"You seriously think I'm angry because of that? Really?" He questioned incredulously. "If not that then what?" She asked. Her patience was running thin and she just wanted to understand. "I thought you were one of us! I thought that I could trust you!" He almost shouted. Winona's mouth fell open in surprise. John sighed and briefly closed his eyes before looking at her again.

"Now, I'm not so sure about either of those things," he concluded in a calmer manner. He grabbed the bag by one of its straps and pulled it off the table. He threw it over his shoulder and walked away from her. Winona sighed, placing her hands on the table and closing her eyes.

"That looked intense," Elaine said after she whistled. Winona sighed and opened her eyes, looking over at the girl as she approached. "Come to yell at me too? Tell me that you can't trust me either?" She asked. Elaine rolled her eyes. "No. I've come to calmly ask you what the hell kind of criminal activity you were doing while I was in prison," she answered.

Winona ran a hand down her face and nodded before giving the girl an explanation.

°°°°

That was intense. I love writing angst. Anyway, I would like to thank you all for getting this book to 50k reads! This is so amazing! Thank you guys for reading this book and voting and commenting.  I really hope that you're enjoying it. I love and appreciate you guys so much! You all rock! I also wanted to share that I have a new fanfic. It's called Beautiful People and it's a Peter Kavinsky (from To All The Boys I've Loved Before) fanfic. It would mean the world to me if you could check it out. Again, thank you guys for reading and I hope you have a great day.

-N