We're more alike than you think

35. DNA

"So, you're helping the Americans now?" Irka asked the second the two of you sat down in the garden. You laughed low, nobody could say that Irka was shy, she would always cut to the chase. You looked over at her, she was wearing a long brown dress and she looked absolutely beautiful in it. You admired Irka, she had lived an exciting life, always doing what she thought was right, which of course had cost her a great deal. She choose to be in the X-men and not by her brothers side. She fought everyday and had lost many through the years. But what made Irka so special to you was the fact that she went through all that suffering and all that pain, but still could live a peaceful life out here in the countryside. It gave you hope.

"You remember I live there now?" you teased her back and took a sip of the water before you continued "I'm helping a dear friend that I believe in, it's nothing more than that" you explained to her.

"You know Karli and her people, they are not wrong" Irka said and you nodded softly "Wrong methods, right intention" you mumbled as Irka nodded in agreement. The two of you didn't have that different views on the world, but sometimes it helped that she could remind you where your heart belonged. The word was such a complicated place and sometimes all you needed was a compass, she worked like that for you.

"But what about that Baron inside, what are you doing with him? He isn't exactly that fond of superheros" she said and looked over at you. You bet your lip, unsure about where to even begin.

"Well, personally I don't think I'm gonna do that much with him" you said with a fake laugh and looked over at the flowers as you tried to mentally run away from the question.

"You see, long story short, he didn't know I was a mutant, since you know, I stopped using my powers... Than a friend from my past came along on this mission, who reminded me of my powers which made things a bit complicated and since that I've been a bit shaky on it, and not been able to use it correctly" the words were falling out as you continued

"And you see, the funny bit is that as you already know, Zemo hates powered people, but for some absurd reason he seemed to like to annoy me, so we kinda became close on the mission... He followed me out looking for this  guy Bucky, my friend from the past and suddenly some bounty hunters jumped us. I had control over the whole situation, until I felt a bullet flying towards Zemo" Your eyes were now staring intensely at your own hands.

"And I couldn't alter it with my powers, so I took the bullet instead" you whispered and moved slightly on the shirt so Irka could see the area you had been shot in. Her eyes were looking at you terrified. Your hands and your words started to shake "I had to alter it out, in front of him while we were driving over here" you whispered. Irka didn't say anything, she knew you needed time to think.

"He hasn't said a word about it since it happened..He's been acting extremely kind and I think it's all just because he feels guilty about me taking the shot" you said low. You finally looked up at her, ready to hear what she had to say.

"Have you considered tapping back into your powers?" she asked softly, you immediately shook your head and looked straight down at the grass. "Why?" she followed up. You were begging to yourself that she didn't start with the 'mutant and proud' crap at you, but you knew it was already too late. Looking back at your life, you never had used your powers for good, and the few people who had similar powers to yourself weren't exactly role models.

"Because my powers scare people... and it should, I only hurt people with them."

Irka looked at you, searching for the right words to say, without going over the line.

"You can't let your father define you," she said with caring eyes. It's kinda ironic, all the bad things you had done in the past were mainly motivated by the fact that you wanted to show your father and the world that you were nothing like him, but in reality you only became more and more like him. If it wasn't for Tony, you wouldn't be where you were today and you didn't even wanna think about how life  without him would have looked, you felt lucky if the answer was dead. "It's not that simple... if I don't use my powers I make sure that I don't hurt anyone and I'm clearly not like my father" you mumbled. Irka started to laugh and you looked up at her surprised by her reaction to your words.

"Y/n, when you choose to not use your powers, you do it because you are ashamed of your history, of your father, don't you realise that? And you have never tried to use your powers for good, so how can you even know that it only hurt people?" she said looking at you before she continued "I respect Tony Stark, and I will forever be grateful for him picking you up from the dark, but he was wrong when he forced you to cut yourself from your powers. Your power is your DNA and you can't change that!" She said as she stood up walking towards the flowers.

"I can't say anything about that man inside, he belongs in prison, but if him or anyone else has something against your powers, against your DNA and you choose to hide it because of them, you are the one giving them the power to define you and in the end you just compare yourself to Erik." She said with a much harsher tone.

She threw the water in her glass on the flowers before she looked back at you. Hearing her say his name made you want to run away, but you sat still and listened. You knew that every word she said was completely right, but it didn't make up for how difficult it felt. You nodded your head slowly, agreeing. She softened up and looked at you.

"Take your time... and I know you don't like it there, but Charles will always take you in and help you with your powers" she said and started to walk back to the entrance of the cottage. Maybe, just maybe after all of this, you could consider calling Charles, but right now you had to take one step at the time. "Let's check on the Baron before I leave the two of you" she said and opened the door for you.

Zemo sat on the couch reading by himself when the two of you came in. He immediately closed the book and stood up. It was pretty clear that he still felt uncomfortable around Irka for some reason, he almost seemed nervous to be around the two of you. Zemo stood by your side as Irka packed up her things and turned to us "I'll come back in five hours and make you some dinner" she said and hugged you carefully, aware of your wound. "Don't worry, I'll make us dinner" Zemo suddenly said out of the blue. You crossed your arms and looked up at him, did he plan to poison you? Irka seemed as shocked at what he said as you. Zemo looked at you offended by your reactions.

"I can cook, I made dinner for my family loads of time back home in Sokovia, okay?"

You started to laugh at how offended he looked by the two of you before you shook your head. After everything you guys had been through individually and together, it was easy to forget that he was a family man, he had a wife and a son. It was honestly hard to imagine him as a father after all your shared experiences. "Okay, then I choose to trust you to feed her properly," Irka said kindly and snapped you out of your bubble as she walked away. You looked up at Zemo who already were looking at you with a smile on his lips. 

"I'll make you a Sokovian dish."