Redemption

Chapter Twenty-nine

"Sorry," said Moonstone. "We got a little held up."

She walked over to help me up but I shook my head.

"I'm going to stay down here for a bit," I said. "I'm pretty sure I broke my back and an arm."

Moonstone laughed, "Good luck,"

"Was this your idea to get them?" I asked Osborn when he landed next to me.

"Yes, I contacted Venom," said Osborn, "but he must have found Moonstone on his own."

"I can't believe he actually got her to come back," I said. "The Dark Avengers are united!"

"Except for Sentry," said Ares, appearing next to Osborn.

"He's with us in spirit," I said.

I looked over to see Wolverine and Nightcrawler pushing themselves up.

"Regroup!" Logan bellowed. "Regroup!"

The remaining X-men grouped together.

"I know they got two new people," said Logan, "but we're the X-men. We're going to work as a team. They aren't a team. Let's exploit that."

Logan focused in on Daken, pulling Bullseye to his feet. Bullseye winced and Daken said something to him, making Bullseye nod.

"When do we attack?" Storm asked.

"Now!"

"Now!" Wolverine yelled.

Daken whirled around, claws flashing into existence. I raised my bow into the air and aimed at Wolverine, doing my best to ignore the pain in my broken arm and back. The X-men split, Jean Grey and Storm rose into the air and the remaining X-men on the ground ran at us. Wolverine charged straight at Daken and I. I let my arrow fly and it hit him directly in the head, making him fall back.

A few seconds later, Wolverine sat up and pulled the arrow out of his brain. I raised my bow again, another arrow ready but Daken stopped me.

"He's mine," he hissed. 

Logan pushed himself up onto his feet and cracked his knuckles.

"You're on, kid," he said.

He ran at me, his claws reflecting Storm's flashing lightning. Everything seemed to go slo-mo. I could see my father running toward me, his clawed fists slowly moving into attack position, his face filled with rage. I could see Bullseye out of the corner of my eye, firing an arrow up at Jean, who was focused on Osborn. Ares was swinging his axe high, ready to smash Beast into the earth. Storm and Moonstone were facing off in the air and behind them, Nightcrawler was teleporting away from Venom.

My eyes drifted to the school. I could see students watching with their noses, checks, and hands pressed against the glass, their breath fogging the glass. I see Rogue, running toward the fight, determination darkening her face.

I turned back to Logan and everything became normal.

Lightning crackled out of my fingertips. Moonstone shot out of the way and sent a photon blast at me which I dodged.

"Admit it!" Moonstone yelled at me. "You and your pesky X-men will lose!"

"No!" I yelled, summoning all my strength. "You came just in time for your loss!"

A big bolt of lightning struck Moonstone.

I saw Moonstone plummet to the ground. From the impact, she must have broken multiple bones. But that would only matter if she was still alive. Red magic pulled me into the air. Jean Grey had turned on me. I could see the red glint in her eye through the pouring rain of the storm. My bow slipped through my fingers and fell to the ground. I looked down and saw that it had snapped. I was fucked.

Something inside me told me that Bullseye was the one who had killed Scott. I pulled up into the air and watched as his bow slipped from his grasp and snapped on impact.

"You killed him!" I yelled. "You killed Scott?"

"So what?" he yelled. "You were only with Cyclops because you thought he was hot!"

"How dare you!" I bellowed. I could barely hear myself over the storm. "I loved Scott for who he was and he loved me for who I was back!"

"Admit it!" Bullseye called, rising higher. 

The only thing that's keeping me alive right now is my words. I'd never thought I'd be in a position like this. Taunting a person who could easily snap my neck in a second without any regrets.

"You're a monster," hissed Jean Grey. "You're a monster just like Daken."

"Aren't we all?"

I watched Bullseye fall from 50 feet up.