I knock on Magneto's office door as soon as I'm in front of it, he requested to see me, and I know better than to keep him waiting.
Magneto glances up from his desk, he's typing on a laptop. "Storm, take a seat" he says, giving me a small, brief smile that doesn't meet his eyes. I sit down in front of him, I'm probably going to get sent on another mission, they've been sending me on missions almost constantly for the past year, I feel like I'm barely at the X-Men school anymore.
"Is Scarlett coming?" I ask, we go on missions together. I've never gone on a mission without her from the minute we were paired together almost six years ago. I grew up here, but Scarlett didn't, she came here when she was ten.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" A voice says from behind me. A second figure appears, Mystique goes and sits down next to Magneto. I close my eyes; please tell me I'm not being sent on a mission with him.
"Take a seat, Peter" Magneto says. Peter sits down next to me; I avoid eye contact. Peter Parker came here three months ago, eager to show off his new powers and has quickly become one of Magneto's favourites. Rumour has it Magneto wants him to join the x-men team.
I've trained my entire life hoping to prove myself and join the x-men team, I've been sent on hundreds of missions which have all been successful, and yet Magneto wants to offer the spot to someone who's been here for three months.
Mystique gives me a reassuring smile. I've known Mystique my entire life, she found me when I was just three months old and took me in, she raised me and has taught me how to fight and how to control my abilities. She told me she thinks I'm ready to join the x-men.
"The two of you are both very talented individuals, we're impressed with the skills and determination you both have shown while you've been here. As you are aware, there is an opening for somebody to join the x-men and we both agreed it should be one of you" Magneto says, sharing a glance with Mystique. Peter doesn't have skills, he just has weird spider powers, I am the one who has spent my life trying to harness and control my abilities.
I think I understand what's going to happen and I hate the idea already. They're not seriously going to send me on a mission with Peter instead of Scarlett, are they? At least I'm working against him, not with him.
"How are you planning to decide?" I ask since Peter isn't saying anything. I have to be better than Peter, I have waited my entire life for this opportunity, and it would be amazing to be the youngest person ever to have joined the x-men, I'm not letting some random boy from Queens beat me, no matter what.
"We have a final mission for you both, whoever completes it will join the x-men team. It has to be fair, though, no using your powers or skills against one another" Mystique says, looking directly at me. I bite down on my cheek to stop myself from smiling, she knows me too well. I guess I'm like her in some ways, we'll both do whatever we have to get what we want.
"What's the mission? I'll do whatever it takes" Peter says, sounding every bit as determined as I am. He glances over at me. Despite my obvious dislike towards him, Peter has always been nothing but kind to me, I wonder if all this time he's been trying to manipulate me so he can win the spot on the x-men team.
"Whoever kills an avenger will be given a place on the x-men team" Magneto says, my eyes widen, and I blink. My world starts spinning, how the hell am I supposed to manage this? The X-Men team struggle to go up against the avengers, but I guess it's what I'd be doing if I joined the team anyway. I'm just starting a bit early.
"You want us to kill an avenger?" Peter clarifies, for once I'm glad he said something, it proves we're on the same page about this being unexpected and surprising. A thought occurs to me. Peter might hesitate, I don't think he has killed before, maybe I can help with that. I'm not allowed to use my powers against him, but I can use my brains.
"Yes, Tony Stark" Mystique replies. I blink, Iron Man? He's the most high-profile avenger, considering he was already famous and a billionaire before he revealed himself as iron man. Still, a part of me is just deeply glad it's not Thor or Scarlet Witch, but I don't think Magneto or Mystique are that cruel, even they haven't gone up directly against them.
"The avengers are trying to tear down the world we've built. Killing Tony Stark is the beginning of the end of the avengers" Magneto says, he glances directly at me. "Are you in?"
"Yes." I was always in.
"I'm in" Peter says, looking over at me.
"Alright, you leave tomorrow morning. Here is all the information we have" Mystique hands us two folders. I grab my folder and stand up; I'll look through it in my room.
I walk out of the room and roll my eyes as I realise Peter is following me. "Your room is in the other direction; you should know your way around by now."
"Have you killed before, Storm?" Peter asks, his voice laced with curiosity and perhaps a bit of fear and apprehension. I smile before turning to face him, quickly wiping my smile off. I didn't think he had killed but now I know for certain.
"Yes, more than once" I answer. My first kill was when I was about twelve, a man had information about Magneto he was going to leak to the public, so I was sent to stop him with Scarlett, we were told to stop him in any way possible and he refused to back down.
'Does it stay with you?" Peter asks me.
I take a shaky breath. "Of course, it does, Peter, killing isn't easy but it's necessary. It's almost like a piece of your soul chips away with every kill, it doesn't leave you" I really hope he is stupid enough to fall for this, but I do have to admit he is quite smart. I won't be surprised if he picks up on my manipulation.
"I guess I'll have to get used to it" Peter says, sounding quite uncertain about that idea. I nod, not really caring about what Peter is going to do. I don't trust him; I can't explain it but there's been something off about him since the second he arrived. Nobody believes me aside from Scarlett, everyone else assume I'm just worried about losing my spot as number one in class, but I genuinely think there is something fishy about him.
I walk to my room without another word, once I'm inside I shut my door and sit on my bed, opening the file. Nothing stands out at first, just basic information that I could easily access myself.
"Do we have a new mission?" Scarlett asks, causing me to jump. One of my best friend's powers is to turn invisible which she loves using to scare me to death.
"We've talked about this!" I exclaim. Scarlett begins to laugh, and I roll my eyes, when will she realise it's not funny?
"I like being invisible" Scarlett defends herself while laughing. I roll my eyes again but end up laughing too, god sometimes I wish I could be invisible, it would make some of my missions a lot easier.
"They're sending me and Peter" I say, biting my lip. I had always hoped the two of us would join at the same time, but they only want one person to join the X-Men team. "Whoever completes the mission gets to join the x-men team."
"That's amazing, Storm, it has to be you!" Scarlett says, jumping up and giving me a hug. "You have so much more experience than Peter Parker, you can do this."
"You're okay with it?" I ask, hopefully once I am on the team, I can get Mystique and Magneto to see how powerful and talented Scarlett is, she is every bit as good as I am. Hell, she can turn herself into animals, she'd be the perfect spy.
"Of course, my time will come, but right now you need to focus on beating him" Scarlett says firmly. She pulls her red hair back into a ponytail. "If he's up to something and he joins them, he could bring us down from the inside." I never thought of that, she's right. This is a lot more important than my own reasons, all the people I care about are inside this building so I can't let him harm them.
"If I can somehow trap my target in water, then it's just a matter of waiting them out" I say thoughtfully. I can breathe underwater, and I am a very, very fast swimmer.
"You can create water, it shouldn't be too hard" Scarlett points out, raising an eyebrow at me. I grin and she smiles, too. Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought.
"I'm going to see if Henry wants to train with me; I'll see you soon" Scarlett says standing up. She comes over and gives me a hug. "You've got this."
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Ruins
Action"Maybe there was a fleeting moment where I wanted to be a hero and believed I could be one, but the truth is I'm not, I won't ever be. My past does define me, it made me a villain" - Storm. Fifteen-year-old Storm is the daughter of Black Widow and I...
