Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men movie franchise.

A few blocks away from the street where John had taken her, Rogue felt what was left of her resolve dwindle to nothing. She found herself in another alleyway backed up against a brick wall. Slowly she slid down the wall to sit on the ground and tightly clutched her knees.

When she left the mansion, there was only one plan in mind: get cured. Now, that was taken from her, just like so many others things in her life. She couldn't help herself as she grew more and more frustrated, finally letting out a grizzly cry. Soon her body was shaking as she heaved out sob after sob, not caring that snot ran down her nose and into her mouth, that her eyes were blurry with tears.

"God, I fucking hate this shit!" She screamed at no one in particular. It's not fair.

For once, it seemed like the voices in her head were quiet, ashamed even to be the cause of her despair. Her pity party soon came to an end when she heard footsteps approaching her spot in the alleyway. She stifled a moan as she crawled behind a nearby dumpster, now irritated that she couldn't even cry in peace. She prayed that whoever it was walking towards her would just turn around. Of course, they didn't.

As the steps grew closer, so did the accompanying voices, a man, and two women. The man appeared to be a businessman, donning a proper black suit, briefcase and all. Hanging off of his arm was a beautiful auburn haired women, straight out of a playboy magazine. She was dressed in a tight black mini dress with a very deep neckline, pastel pink blazer, and matching heels. Behind them trailed another woman in a head to toe leather get-up. Tattooed on her well-endowed chest was a black omega symbol. On her left cheek was another omega and a silver stud accentuated her bottom lip. She glared as the auburn haired woman finally brought the business man to a halt.

"You do this often, huh?" he chuckled easily as she deftly removed his suit jacket and let it fall to the ground. She only smiled in response, gazing deeply into his eyes. He spoke again, "can't your little body guard at least go stand around the corner. Christ. Or is she gonna join in on the fun too-"

He grunted and let his briefcase fall to the ground when her hand found the mound between his legs, the most sensitive part of his body. The woman leaned into him, making to kiss him, but instead a flutter of pink dust cascaded out of her lips with practised ease and was absorbed into his face instantly. His eyes turned glossy and she pushed him to a seat on the ground.

After a few seconds, the leather clad lady spoke, "Anything useful Dreamer?" This wasn't a new affair, it was a part of the weekly routine her team maintained to sustain their growing organization. Her and Dreamer would parade the streets of New York, with false promises of prostitution, luring in wealthy businessmen. It was by no means classy or their desired tactic, but it was the one with the least threat of detection.

"How many times do I need to tell you to not interrupt when I'm browsing Callisto!" Dreamer huffed. She was scanning through the man's memories, making mental notes of bank account passwords, card pin numbers, and anything else that might be of use, per her standard procedure. She wasn't exactly proud of her work, but she was no stranger to doing what was necessary to survive, and wasn't opposed to taking advantage of her good looks and powers. "I think I've got everything. Your turn," Dreamer murmured after she breathed her pink dust in the man's face again, implanting memories of a violent mugging into his mind.

Callisto only smirked and rolled her shoulders before coming to stand next to Dreamer. She delivered a swift kick to his temple and rendered him unconscious. Next, she bent down and collected his wallet, and a golden cross necklace from around his neck, pocketing them. Their next stop would be the bank, but first they would have to tackle their little observer.

"Someone's been watching us," Callisto smirked and nodded towards the dumpster. Up until this point, Rogue had been watching curiously, unable to draw her eyes away from the scene before her. She figured the women would leave and she could collect herself, but that was no longer the case. Rogue had spent her fair share of time in the street and knew that women, more often than men, were the ones that provided supply for illicit trades, kidnapping unsuspecting girls in the street. That fear was enough to spring her into action. Rogue hefted her duffel onto her shoulder and rose, sprinting towards the exit of the tunnel.

She only made a few short strides before colliding into Callisto's chest and falling to the ground. "What the hell are you doing here?" The woman grunted. The woman's enhanced speed allowed her to intercept Rogue. She wasn't going to give up that easily; Rogue wasted no time in jumping back to her feet and attempting to deliver a jab to Callisto's stomach. Callisto easily deflected this move, and with the combination of her enhanced speed and extensive martial arts training, pulled Rogue into a headlock before roughly shoving her to the ground.

"That's enough," Dreamer shouted, coming to stand by Rogue, "we don't want to hurt you." She offered Rogue her hand. Rogue ignored her and brought herself back up to a standing position, stumbling a few steps backward. She didn't need Logan and Magneto's voices to remind her to be weary of these strangers.

"I wouldn't have touched you if you didn't force my hand," Callisto stated firmly, "I'm Callisto. I know that you're a mutant. And not just any mutant, but a level 3 with the potential to attain omega status. You can absorb life force, memories, and powers for a short power of time through skin contact and you have the potential to retain and call on these powers at will,"

"No… that's wrong," Rogue began. She was amazed that this woman was able to accurately describe powers without ever seeing them in action, but she part of Callisto's explanation was wrong. Rogue wasn't able to call on the abilities of people she had absorbed before. She was barely able to maintain control of her body when she was tired, as the dominating personalities in her mind tried to take over her body. "I can't use any powers except my own,"

"But you have the potential to learn. You see, I am never wrong, defining powers is a part of my mutant abilities. I'm also gifted with enhanced speed as you have seen. My partner, Dreamer, is able to view, implant, and remove memories. We are part of the Omegas, an organization of mutants that is fighting for the rights of mutants," Callisto tried to choose her words carefully, in order to paint her group as one of rebel fighters and not terrorists. The strength of a level 3 mutant could be an invaluable asset to the team, and it was always more effective in the long run to have willing team members than ones with implanted memories.

Dreamer's memory implants worked well for a short time, but eventually the person afflicted by them begins to question their validity. Ultimately, they deflect, feeling betrayed by her. Dreamer and Callisto felt no guilt in altering memories, they saw it as doing what was necessary to advance their cause.

Rogue lifted her duffel that she had dropped earlier and hauled it over her should. "I'm sorry but I'm not interested in joining any groups," she said simply. Rogue really wasn't interested in mingling with other mutants, or anyone for that matter. At the mansion, she was treated as an outsider, avoided as if she was a rat carrying the bubonic plague. She preferred to be on her own, and Logan rumbled his agreement in her mind. Magneto on the other hand seemed very interested in the two women, and urged Rogue to at least explore the opportunity.

"We're not bad people, I promise you that," Dreamer stepped forward and gently wrapped her palm around Rogue's elbow.

"Then what did you do to that man," Rogue looked over to his crumpled form. She was not fond of violence, especially against innocent people.

"Don't worry about him, he's just enjoying a nice little nap while we max out his credit card," she chuckled and gave Rogue the once over look. "You fit the bill for a sexy, strong, woman. A perfect candidate for our group," she smiled at Rogue. Dreamer didn't know much about this girl, but she had been in Rogue's position once. She fled the foster home system when she was 16 after being rejected by yet another family. She knew that as promising as independence was, everyone yearned for a place to call home.

Callisto's face finally softened, "and we can help you with your powers. Just give it a chance. It's obvious you need somewhere to rest. If you don't like things you're free to return to the streets."

Rogue was at a crossroads. On the one hand, the two women seemed genuine and it wouldn't hurt to have a place to stay for a while. Dreamer had held her elbow even after hearing about her powers; it was a rare pleasure to have someone even stand near her. On the other hand, she was uncertain if her ideals would align with this Omega group. If John hadn't burned down the clinic, she would be cured now. I want to be normal. She really did wanted to live a normal life, but it seemed like that would just never be possible for a girl like her. "I guess it's worth a try," she said weakly, much to Dreamer and Callisto's delight.

"It's a pleasure…" Callisto began.

"Rogue," Rogue filled in the blank for her.

"Rogue," Callisto repeated. "Feisty. You won't regret your choice."

Hey guys! First I want to say thank you for reading! I know this chapter is on the shorter side, but I wanted to get something up for you guys and this is what I have done. It's currently finals week so I haven't had much time to write. Hopefully I'll have a new chapter up in less than a week. I've also updated the first two chapters. The content is pretty much the same, I just tried to improve my writing based on Anon87's review by adding some more of each character's thoughts and such, so you can better understand their motivations and reasons behind their words and actions. It's a work in progress. But I definitely owe a huge thanks to Anon87! I really appreciate the constructive criticism and it's super motivating to hear back from readers. Alright, enough rambling for now. What do you guys think? Is Rogue making the right choice? You're gonna have to wait and see.

Xoxo Crimsonguillotine