▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 ━︎━︎ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐳 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍 to sleep until the next morning, but she had been so tired and so mentally and physically exhausted, that she couldn't help but give in to the extra hours of sleep. When she awoke, she felt more at rest than she had for the past week. She sat up in the bed, pulling her hair free of the pony tail that she had accidentally slept in. She unbraided the small braid that was still in her hair, rolling her eyes at the fact that it was the only extremely wavy part of her slightly curly hair. She forced herself out of the bed, taking a quick shower before getting out, getting dressed, and braiding two small braids before connecting them together in the back, and then braiding that part as well.

She looked at herself in the mirror, her blue eyes staring back at her as she felt her wall start to build. She watched as her eyes became protected behind the wall that she hadn't had up since she had met Damien. She let out a breath, nodding to herself before walking out of her designated room.

"I see you slept well." Lorna spoke up, making the redhead turn her head. "You look a lot more ready for the day, and not exhausted."

"I didn't mean to sleep all day." Aphrodite admitted with a sheepish smile. "I didn't even realize that I was that exhausted."

"It happens to the best of us." Lorna assured. "Don't worry about it."

John appeared, his eyes landing on Aphrodite for a split second. She looked at him, and her shoulders suddenly relaxed. She didn't know why, but she was expecting him to feel pity for her for what she had to go through, but that wasn't what shone in his eyes. He seemed to be looking at her with slight admiration, making her offer him a small smile. He turned his attention to Lorna who already wore a smirk on her face.

"Ready?"

"Let's do it."

The trio arrived at a diner, taking a seat as they patiently waited for the mutant that they knew had a not so good background. John and Lorna sat on one side, whilst Aphrodite sat on the other. A waitress walked up to them, asking for their order to which the three mutants responded with coffee. Aphrodite thanked the woman once the coffee was given to her, before taking a spoon and stirring the drink around.

"So, who exactly is this guy?" Aphrodite asked, taking a sip of her drink before looking between the two.

"His name is Marcos Diaz. Works for a Cartel." John explained to the redhead. She nodded her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she sighed.

"So, we're taking in a person that sells drugs. That's cool." she nodded her head, earning an amused smile from Lorna. "Do we know what he can do? Or did you leave that part out too?" John looked at the redhead, trying to hide the amused smile that wanted to fall on his lips whilst Lorna sat there quietly chuckling and shaking her head.

"I like you." Lorna smiled.

"Well, when I'm not being an angry and obsessive bitch, I'd like to believe I'm a nice person." The redhead shrugged her shoulders. The door to the diner opened, making the woman glance up before catching eyes with a male. She nodded her head at him before moving over towards the window, allowing him to walk over to the table and take a seat beside her after shaking hands with John.

"Marcos, thanks for coming." John said, standing up and nodding at the man. Marcos nodded back before both males took a seat.

"Oh, so they're friends." Aphrodite raised an eyebrow, turning to look at Lorna who sent her another smirk of amusement.

"You bring me out to the sticks just to try the coffee, or what?" Marcos asked.

"If that's why you came out, prepare to be disappointed―︎the coffee sucks here." Lorna told him, using her gifts to spin the spoon around in her coffee cup.

"I've tasted worse." Aphrodite shrugged her shoulders. "Just add sugar."

"That sounds like something that would be on a commercial." Lorna responded.

"It probably is." Aphrodite smiled, taking a packet of sugar and pouring it into Lorna's coffee cup to prove her point. Lorna raised an eyebrow at the woman, before mixing in the sugar and taking a sip of the drink, nodding her head in agreement at Aphrodite's statement.

"Anyways," John spoke, as Lorna went back to using her gifts to spin the spoon in the cup. "This is Lorna. And that's Aphrodite, preferred to be called Winter. They're my partners on this thing."

"Oh, I'm not. She is though." Aphrodite told him. "I'm just here in hopes of finding my daughter."

John ignored the girl's comment as he finished. "Lorna, Winter, this is Marcos."

"Encantada." Marcos responded in Spanish.

"Hi." Lorna simply replied whilst Aphrodite just sent him a small smile in acknowledgement.

"I'll get right to it." John spoke up once more, Lorna stopping with her powers and placing her arm on the seat. Aphrodite took another sip of her coffee whilst John continued. "We've heard a lot about you, and what you can do."

"I haven't." Aphrodite spoke, raising her hand. "You never answered that question for me." Lorna sent a kick to the woman's leg, narrowing her eyes at her in a playful manner. Aphrodite just shrugged her shoulders once more and went back to drinking her coffee.

"We want you to join the Mutant Underground."

There was a pause as they looked at Marcos, before the male spoke up. "Listen, I'm flattered, but uh. . . I don't think you guys get my situation." Before Aphrodite could make a comment, Lorna kicked her again, making her keep her mouth shut. She could tell that she was amusing both Lorna and John, seeing as she hadn't been like this at all since she's been with them for the past week. It was who she truly was, and she liked to believe she was acting like this, because she wasn't searching high and low for her child, though it was still in her mind, she tried to push it back whilst they talked with this Marcos dude.

"Your situation's why we're here." Lorna told him. "We know your story. You're already helping mutants cross the border. We just want you to do it full time."

"That was just a side thing, okay? There was room in a couple of trucks, so I gave some people a ride, that's all."

"You really want to run drugs for the Guerra Cartel the rest of your life? You could make a difference." John tried.

"It's more complicated than that." Marcos responded.

"Is it though?" Aphrodite asked. "I'm sure that you can get a way out of it, you just have to stop hooking up with whoever it is you're hooking up with." She looked at Marcos, studying his reaction for a minute before she smirked. "The boss's daughter, huh?"

"Get a new girlfriend." Lorna agreed.

"That simple, huh?" Marcos asked, his eyes moving between the two women. "Just break it off?"

"Sure." Lorna shrugged, leaning back as she looked at him. "Tinder's full of girls that are all into mutants." At this comment, Aphrodite had to turn her head to keep herself from spitting out her coffee and laughing.

"Yeah, you don't know Carmen. She's, uh. . . she's tough."

"I don't know man," Aphrodite spoke, making the three look at her. "She just sounds like a bitch to me."

"Aph," John shushed. She raised an eyebrow at the nickname, smirking slightly before taking a sip of her drink once more.

"There are other tough chicks." Lorna shrugged. "You're sitting beside one of them."

"Think about it, Marcos. The X-Men are gone. The government's cracking down. If mutants are gonna survive, it's up to us." John informed him. Marcos looked at him before his gaze switched over to Lorna, then Aphrodite, before going back to John. He sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"How about this." Aphrodite spoke, gaining his attention. "You think about it, and if you've decided to come, one of us will meet you back here ten minutes before closing. And if you're not here, we know you've made your choice." Marcos glanced at the other two, who nodded in agreement at the suggestion before he nodded his head.

"Alright."

"Good." She hopped over the back of the seat, standing in the booth behind Marcos before hoping down from the seat so that she was standing at the table. "Maybe we'll see you later. Maybe not." With that Aphrodite turned on her heel and walked away, Lorna and John following after her.

They made it to the car and Aphrodite took a seat in the back seat whilst John got in the drivers, and Lorna sat in the passengers. Aphrodite spoke up. "You know, if you want me to come on you with these things, you at least got to fill me in."

"Well, we weren't exactly expecting you to talk." John truthfully told her. "You have barely spoken to us since you've arrived."

"Well, I didn't want to scare the new guy off. Apparently I'm scary to people when I just sit in silence and observe." Aphrodite told him, catching his eyes in the rearview mirror.

"No, I think I prefer not letting you in on things." Lorna said with an amused smile. "I was very entertained every time you spoke."

"Yes, I can tell that by the bruise that's now on my shin from you kicking me." Aphrodite sarcastically responded. Lorna chuckled at this whilst John managed to crack a smile, pulling out of the diner parking lot and making it back to base.