Ghost (X-men fanfic)

Chapter 25

Serene POV

Everything was dark. The sky and all of nature seemed to be mourning. The trip home was silent. No one spoke a word. And how could we? There was nothing more to say. Raven was dead. And there was nothing we could do about it.

When we landed back in the bunker, Charles was the first to get out, followed by Kurt. And behind him, Storm and I carried a stretcher with an unconscious Peter on it. He was covered in scratches and bruises that made my anger at Jean continue to rise more. And Hank carried Raven's body.

"We are at war. At war with ourselves." Charles said. "And Raven had been waging that war for most of her life. I hope now she's found peace." We all stood in a circle around a small grave covered in flowers. Everyone else had umbrellas except for Hank and I. "Raven died doing what she did best...saving a friend, a friend she looked to as a sister. She is not gone. She lives on, through me, through us...and through the spirit of the X-Men."

Hank and I sat at the small kitchen table in silence. In the dark. Always in the dark. Until the light flicked on and Charles came in. He went over to the counter, grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine, then came over.

"Do you know, this is where I first met Raven." Charles said. "She was just this little girl, and...she'd broken in, looking for food." He poured a small bit of wine into the glass. "I said she could stay, and that she'd never have to go hungry again. And then, I think I promised her a better life."

"And then you took it from her." Hank said angrily.

"I beg your pardon?" Charles asked.

"You heard him." I muttered.

"Hank..." Charles said.

"This is your fault, Charles." Hank continued. "It's your fault she's dead."

"Come on, that's not fair." Charles stated.

"Fair? No, don't talk about fair." I scoffed. "You messed with the mind of an eight-year-old girl. You pushed down all that pain and anger..."

"Jean?" Charles asked

"..where do you think it's gonna go?"

"I did that to help her. What I do, I do to help all of them."

"Please, come on, please." Hank said. "You still can't see what you did wrong?"

"It's just..." Charles muttered, reaching to grab the wine bottle. But before he could, I moved it with my mind so fast and full of rage that it shattered.

"Serene.." Charles said with surprise.

"No, you need to face this, Charles!" I yelled. "You need to face it. Come on, admit it to me right now. Come on! Admit it. Charles, just admit you were wrong, please." But Charles just stared at me and didn't say a word. I clenched my fist hard.

"Screw you." I muttered before swiftly getting up and walking away. I could still hear Charles and Hank arguing behind me, but I didn't care.

In my room, I laid back in my bed and stared at the ceiling. I could feel the anger boiling inside of me again, not just at Jean but at Jean and Charles. I had never been mad at Charles before this, but then again there's a first time for everything. I couldn't get the image of Raven pushing me out of the way out of my head. It was supposed to be me. Not Raven. Raven didn't deserve this.

She did this. Now you need to kill her. The voices whispered.

No power can last that long, be that powerful. It tips the scale. Put her in her place.

In the ground.

Next to the one she killed.

But this time, I didn't try to silence the voices. I let them pass over me like waves. I didn't care anymore. I wanted justice. Justice for Raven's death. And then it hit me. Someone else who cared about Raven the way Hank did. Someone who would help get the justice that needed to be served.