Disclaimer: I don't own The Gifted!

A/N: Ahh, so, HQ will probably get discovered in the series at some point, but up until now in this AU, they've managed to keep the bank HQ hidden. But I love creating drama so yeah, HQ is getting raided. The Thunderblink kids JD and Hope are 8 and 4 in this one, and the Eclaris kiddo, Aurora, is 9. And it's multichaptered, so woo-hoo! Thanks, Amirah, for letting me headcanon about this family so often!

Take My Hand

Chapter 1

It was a siren sound that woke up Clarice, tearing through her dreams and making her sit straight up in bed, her skin crawling in protest. The noise filled the room, the volume increasing each second. It had to be Amp since no one else in the HQ could take a sound and manipulate it like that, giving it a slightly unnatural edge.

Clarice winced and automatically reached over, ready to clap her hands over John's ears, knowing that the noise would be too much for him. He might be physically invincible but having enhanced senses was actually a weakness in moments like this. But the other side of the bed was empty, reminding her that John was out on a supply run.

Her mind stumbled into action, and she slid out of bed. If Amp was using the siren, that meant HQ was under attack or would be very soon. She had to get the kids out of there, meet up with John, run. They needed to get as far away from HQ as possible.

They had known that it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. It had been too many years, even with all of the precautions and measures they took to keep the location a secret. Too many people knew about the HQ, and besides, Sentinel Services was getting smarter and pulling in more mutants for its program. Some decided to work for Sentinel Services willingly, whether for money or protection, while others were arrested and stuck in the Hound Program. It went without saying that Sentinel Services would eventually find the right combination of mutants to uncover the location of the Atlanta underground headquarters.

But Clarice had always thought there would be some sort of warning. That they would know through the scanners or one of Hope's premonition dreams or John's ability, that something would give them a heads up before their lives were turned upside down.

And she had always imagined John being there.

Clarice ripped open a portal to her daughter's room and leaped inside, looking around for her little four-year-old. Hope cowered in the corner of her room, holding her hands to her pointed ears. When she saw her mom, she jumped to her feet and raced over, her long dark purple and blue hair looking wild, just like her brown eyes. "Too loud!" she yelled, though the siren almost drowned her out.

Clarice picked her up and looked around, searching for a jacket, a coat, a – She snatched a hoodie off the floor and grabbed Hope's boots, hastily dressing the girl before clawing another portal into the air, one-handed, as she held Hope on her hip. This time she stepped into her son's bedroom.

JD was up and dragging on a coat, his sneakers already on. He looked up at her with huge green eyes, the same bright color as her own. He knew what was going on, that their lives were about to change.

Clarice was reaching for him when the siren sound abruptly stopped and gunfire cracked through the silence. That's when the screaming began. Hope gasped and buried her face in Clarice's neck while JD rushed to her side, grabbing onto her loose pajama t-shirt. Light green energy, as pale as JD's eyes, glowed around his fingers and wrists, his powers activating.

"Where's Dad?"

"He'll meet us soon," she said, hoping that was true. There was always the chance that Sentinel Services had… No, no, she couldn't think about that. John would meet them. He would be there or she would find him. There wasn't another option.

Clarice tore another portal into the air, this one opening into the cold winter forest near the HQ. There wasn't any snow, but it was still barely above freezing and none of them were really dressed for the weather. Still, it was far better than staying where they were. A muffled explosion boomed toward the entrance to HQ and Clarice hurried through the portal, JD following her. It shut behind them, taking the panic of headquarters with it.

Taking a deep breath of the sharp air, Clarice set Hope down and looked back in the direction of HQ. It was too bright, too lit up, and she knew that Sentinel Services had brought in floodlights. Overhead, a helicopter roared over the old bank, and Clarice shoved her kids down into a hollow. There was a hole in a nearby tree and she rushed up to it, yanking out the pieced-together sheet of old leaf-like ghillie suits. It had been John's idea, a leftover from his Marines days.

Hurrying back to the kids, Clarice bent down at the edge of the hollow. There was another explosion in the direction of the HQ and then arcs of energy burned through the air, massive and terrifying. The underground was fighting back, but really they all needed to run. And while Clarice wanted to take the kids and go, she knew she had to go back and try to get a few more people out and find John on the off chance he had already gotten back to HQ. The kids would be safe for a few precious minutes that might let her find him.

"I have to go—"

"No," JD said, staring up at her, "Mom, no, please, you can't—"

"Hey, I'll be right back," Clarice said. She reached down and brushed her hand over JD's messy black hair before bending over and hastily kissing Hope's forehead. "Look out for your sister, JD. Do not move from this spot unless you absolutely have to. Got it? I'll only be gone for a few minutes."

JD nodded and pulled Hope to him. The four-year-old was crying, tears rolling down her cheeks, and Clarice had to resist hugging her. She tossed the ghillie blanket over the kids and ran back toward the HQ, tearing open a portal when she was away from her children. She stepped into the computer room of HQ to find Sage and Shatter breaking everything in sight.

"Have you heard from John?" she demanded even as she grabbed one of the computers and smashed it. They had to destroy everything that could give the Sentinel Services the info they had gathered or any ideas about other HQ locations or safe houses.

"I texted him and Harry," Sage said, "So they know."

"And how close is Sentinel Services to getting in?"

"About three minutes and twenty four seconds," Sage answered quickly, "There's too many for us, we have a 94.5 percent likelihood for failure and losing everyone who's still in the building once they get in. You should get the kids and go, Clarice."

"Already did that," she said, trying ignore the goosebumps raising on her skin. Those were awful odds. "I'm going for Marcos and Lorna."

"Lorna's not going to want to leave," Shatter said, glancing over at Clarice.

Clarice made a face. "No shit." She already knew that Lorna was going to be all fury and rage and vengeance. Hopefully Marcos would be able to convince her to leave or at least drag her through a portal. "Sage, you guys need to go too." Out of all of them, Sage had the most information stored in her head.

"Yeah, I'm working on it. I'll go in a minute."

"I'll make sure she gets out," Shatter said.

Clarice nodded and headed downstairs, not using a portal. It didn't take her long to find Marcos and Lorna. They were ushering people out of the building through one of the actual tunnels that led out of the building. Their daughter Aurora was hiding behind Lorna.

"Guys, time to go," Clarice said, "We're outnumbered here."

"We just need a few more minutes," Lorna said, her teeth gritted.

"Well, guess what, that's all Sage says we have," Clarice said, "Here, take the rest of them out this way, and hurry." She grabbed at space and pulled open another portal, this one leading to another spot in the woods far away from HQ. The amount of portals she had created in such a short span of time was getting to her, she could feel them weighing on her, but she pushed through. People ran through the portal, dashing into the quiet black night in the forest.

"We'll call you, set up a place to meet," Marcos said as he grabbed Aurora. The blue-haired little girl was shaking as Marcos met Clarice's eyes. "You and John and the kids stay safe, hear me?"

"Gotcha, sunshine," Clarice grunted, "Now get out of here."

Lorna's eyes were dangerous as she looked at Clarice. "We'll get them back for this."

"Go already, Lorna," Clarice said, "We can do the revenge thing later."

Once that group was out, another explosion rocked the HQ, and she knew that this was the one that finally broke the defenses. Clarice ran, pulling open a portal and launching herself through it, back to the hiding spot where she left the kids. She stumbled out of the portal and strong hands caught her, keeping her on her feet. The touch was familiar and welcome.

"Are you hurt? Clarice, are you okay?" John's calloused hands traveled quickly over her face, her arms, her sides, searching for injuries. She snagged his wrists and stilled him.

"I'm fine, I'm good," she said, fighting back the threatening exhaustion.

"Don't portal anymore. We'll go on foot," he said.

She didn't even wonder how he had found them so quickly. Of course he had. "I can do this, John."

He looked at her searchingly and then nodded, not arguing anymore. Which was one of the many reasons why she loved him.

Overhead, the helicopter was making sweeps of the forest, searchlights wavering from its underbelly. As it came toward them, John pressed Clarice against a tree trunk, covering her, his arms over her head. He was already wearing dark clothes, the kind he always wore when they were out making illegal supply runs, so he blended better into the forest than her and her silky pajama pants and old t-shirt. For a second, John's forehead rested against the top of her head, his breath brushing through her hair.

The helicopter passed over them, and Clarice sighed. John pulled off his coat and put it around her shoulders before he walked over to the hollow and pulled the blanket off of the kids. They both scrambled to their feet, their pjs covered in decaying leaves and dirt.

"Dad!" JD cried, but John gently shushed him. JD latched onto John's side, getting in a quick hug before he darted over to Clarice. "You okay, Mom?"

"Yeah," she said, pulling him to her.

Hope raced into John's arms, and he picked her up, cuddling her for a moment before he walked back to Clarice and JD. He tossed the ghillie blanket over his shoulder, which told Clarice he thought they might need it again. His free hand grabbed hers, and he ran his thumb over the back of her hand before letting go, giving her the chance to drag a portal into existence.

They didn't say anything as they fled through the portal, John leading the way and leaving their home behind.