𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐃𝐘━︎━︎ J. Proudstar

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨

     "Are you sure about this?" Sonya sighed, closing the car door. "Probably not smart to pick a fight with the cartel if we don't have to."

     "Trust me, we have to." Lorna said through clenched teeth as they walked up to the gate. "If Marcos came here, he's in serious trouble."

     "This is a bad idea." Aphrodite muttered, sharing a look with her sister who couldn't help but sigh in agreement. They stopped just in front of the gate, and Aphrodite watched as Lorna placed an innocent smile on her face.

     "Excuse me? Got a moment?"

     "Hey ladies." One of the guards greeted. "Looking good. There something I can help you with?" Lorna held out her hand, quickly causing for the strap of the guards gun to be placed around his neck as she held the gun up in the air.

     "Hey!" The other guard shouted, shooting his gun to which Lorna simply held up her other hand and blocked it before throwing the man to the side. She brought the guard who was being held up by the strap of his gun closer to the gate until he was face to face with Lorna.

     "So, I'm looking for Marcos Diaz and Carmen Guerra. Where'd they go?"

     "I got no idea." The man shook his head.

      "Oh," Lorna nodded. "Well, let's see if we can help you remember." She moved to the side, allowing Sonya to step forwards.

     "Loosen the strap a little. He needs to breathe." Sonya requested, and Lorna did as she asked. And then she used her powers on him. They easily grabbed the location of Marcos and Carmen from the man's memories, and once Sonya was done with him, she looked towards Aphrodite and nodded her head. Aphrodite softly sighed before taking her sister's place.

     "Forgive me." Aphrodite mumbled before her eyes started glowing purple. She placed her hand up to the man's temple before shooting her wisps into his head and allowing his worst nightmare to come true. She nodded towards Lorna, watching as the woman allowed the gun to drop before the three women turned on their heels and made their way back towards the car, and all Aphrodite could hope for was that it wasn't true, and that Marcos wasn't with them. But she had a feeling she was going to be very wrong about that.

They pulled up at the location, quickly stopping at the sound of gunshots and what sounded like explosions. The three women were quick to climb out of the car, Sonya and Aphrodite standing behind Lorna as she watched the scene play out before her. She ran a little closer, still staying out of sight. They watched as Marcos walked towards Carmen, the woman giving him a kiss on the cheek just as everything behind them exploded. A sigh fell from Aphrodite's lips as she exchanged looks with her sister.

     "Let's go." Lorna snarled, betrayal clear on her face. The two redhead's watched her with a deep frown before quickly doing as the green haired woman asked after denying the chance to talk to Marcos.

     This was her response: "No. He can save himself." And then they were driving back to the Mutant Underground.

As she walked through the facility, she frowned at the lack of her daughter attempting to bother her. She made her way towards her room, peeking through the open crack of the door to see Artemis laying on the bed, staring at the wall with a deep frown on her face. Aphrodite frowned before gently knocking on the door, causing Artemis' head to snap towards the door.

     "Hey, baby." Aphrodite entered the room, softly closing the door behind her. "You alright?"

     "Fine." Artemis nodded, forcing a small smile as she sat up. "Just tired, that's all."

     "Art, you can talk to me."

     She let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. I just don't want to talk right now, okay?"

     Aphrodite nodded in understanding. "Okay. Whenever you're ready, I'm here." She gave her daughter a kiss on the head. "You ate yet?"

     Artemis nodded. "Yeah. I, uh, Lauren gave me some food."

     "Good." She stood up. "You going to bed?"

     "Yeah. I'm a little exhausted. Helped a lot of the kids moving to the Augusta station pack today."

     "Well, get some rest." Aphrodite gave her daughter a small smile before walking out of the room. Her hands were in her pockets as she continued to the bottom floor, stopping to talk to a few of the other mutants before she heard footsteps. She turned her head and couldn't help the smile that fell on her face when she not only saw John, but Clarice as well.

     "Space girl?" Aphrodite questioned.

     Clarice managed a weak smile. "Hey, Winter." The two exchanged hugs.

     "You okay?"

     "Yeah. . . can we talk later?" Clarice questioned, and Aphrodite could tell something was really bothering her. She nodded.

     "Of course." She gave her a small smile. "Glad to have you back." Clarice nodded before walking away, and that's when Aphrodite looked up and met John's eyes. She smiled at him before making her way up the steps.

     "You're back." The woman breathed and it took everything in her not to kiss him, because she so desperately wanted to. But she held herself back. "And clearly you managed to convince Clarice back as well. I would ask how you'd manage, but I have a feeling that something happened, and she's only here because of that."

     "You'd be right." John nodded.

     Aphrodite softly sighed before offering John a small smile. "Goodnight, Birdy."

     "Night, Aph." And he watched her walk away, a frustrated sigh falling from his lips before forcing himself to turn away from her even though he wanted to chase her. When the next morning came, and the kids were leaving for the Augusta station, Aphrodite was startled awake when her daughter entered the room with tears in her eyes, and without saying anything, Aphrodite was quick to pull her in for a comforting hug, knowing exactly what that look was that filled her daughter's eyes: heartbreak.