Titanium ••• Andy Strucker [Book 1]

threat of eXtinction

*flashback*

London, England. 1952

The sound of Franz Schubert's Erlkönig played throughout the room whilst Andreas Von Strucker wrote a postcard the Organisation he and his sister were apart of.
The phone rang pulling him away from his thoughts, as his sister Andrea Von Strucker and her best friend Kiara Reeves hurried in to the room.
"Andreas, wer hat diese Nummer?" Kiara questioned her friends brother in German.
"Nur die Organisation," he said standing up to answer the phone. "Hello?"
The sound of screeching tires sounded outside of the apartment.
"What's wrong?" Andrea said as her brother put down the phone. "What happened?" Kiara asked.
"They found us," Andreas grimaced.
The door burst open as multiple police officers barged in, "You are under arrest."
"Pity, I liked this place," Andreas said taking his sister's hand and Andrea took hold of her friends hand.
Their hands began to glow and the building and everything in it came apart.

"Hey guys, so we need to talk,.I know it's late but I just learned something. And it's important that you hear about it from me," Reed began.
"What's going on?" Lauren asked.
"Yeah you're kinda freaking me out," Andy said.
"You know that we've been looking into the Sentinel Services program that's turning mutants into weapons against other- well against all of us here."
"Yeah you were searching those computer drives," I said. "You found something?"
"I'm afraid so," he paused then continued, "Sentiel Services have been working with a defence contractor called Trask Industries."
"Wait the same Trask Industries where your father worked?" Caitlin said.
Andy looked at me with a worried expression.
"Yeah.
"You said Grandpa disappeared years ago. That he ran out on you and Grandma," Andy said taking my hand under the table.
"That's not entirely true. He lives up in Chattanooga."
"That's only two hours away," Lauren pointed out. "We've never even met him."
"Okay that was intentional," Caitlin said. "He wasn't good to your father growing up."
"He was a difficult man. He was always working, he was never home. We weren't close. "
Andy squeezed my hand gently. I knew why Andy and Reed had a similar relationship.
"I got sick when I was a kid. I almost died and he didn't even bother to come to the hospital."
"Harsh," Andy said.
Almost.
Lauren reached forward and took her father's hand.
"I haven't spoken to him since before you guys were born."
"Well I think you're gonna need to speak to him now," Caitlin said.

A few hours later John, Clarice and Marcos had returned to the HQ with more refugees.
While they were helping them one of the refugees turned out to be a spy and when they attempting to subdue her she lashed out and a kid who was there got his arm broken.
"Ivee can you go get something for him to bite down on when I pop his arm back into place," Caitlin asked me quietly.
"Yeah sure," I said, going to the supply room and finding a clean wash cloth.
"Okay it's gonna get worse for a second and then it's gonna get better, I have to pop it back in," Caitlin reassured the boy
I ran back up the stairs, sitting down next to him.
"Here bite down on this." The boy but down on the folded cloth. "Really hard, okay. 3.. 2.. 1."
The boy screamed into the cloth.
"There you go," Caitlin smiled. "All done. Right move your fingers." The boy wiggled his fingers
"Move your nose," Caitlin said and the boy giggled.
"I think you're gonna be okay," she smiled, carefully placing the boys arm against his chest "You got that?"
"Mmhmm."
"Can you get him his sling," Caitlin said to Andy who had walked over.
"Yeah, sling," he said picking it up and sitting beside the boy.
"Yo, I'm Andy," he said to the boy, laying the sling down on his lap and folding it. "We're gonna sing the sling song, okay. Join in any time." Andy put the sling under the boys arm.
I chuckled softly as Andy started beatboxing, "Sling!" He continued on the same beat and repeated the word.

Andy had his arm over my shoulders as we followed Caitlin, Marcos and Lorna.
"I can't be sure with out examining her," Caitlin said to Marcos, "But you could be right."
The spy they brought in seemed like she was suffering from a drug withdrawl.
"She's got all the symptoms of withdrawl."
"Ever seen a mutant on Kick?" Marcos asked.
"Um... what's Kick?" Andy asked.
"It's a mutant drug, Mr Santinelli, told us about it in social studies remember?" I said taking his arm off of my shoulders and holding his hand.
"It boosts you're powers for a while and makes you feel invincible," Lauren continued.
"Yeah and it gets you hooked before even know what hit you," Marcos finished.
"Well if that's the case we might be able to treat her," Caitlin decided.
"Wait a second, we're treating her?" Lorna asked. "Why don't we just bring her a fruit basket while we're at it."
"If we treat her she might be willing to co-operate," Marcos said trying to reason with Lorna.
"Yeah or she might just get stronger and try to kill us all again."
"Can you just listen for one second."
"Can you not be-"
"Stop it, both of you," Caitlin interrupted their bickering. "Let's try to remember we're fighting for a world where people can actually live together. That starts here," Caitlin sighed, "Now we just have to figure out a way to restrain her."