I sigh as the open doors, I'm sure it's Natasha or Tony coming in to try and play happy family so they can get information. They might've been surprised by the news but I'm sure the second thought was how they could use this.
I raise an eyebrow when I see Peter Parker walking into the room. I guess the avengers sent him in, they could have thought I'd be more likely to talk to him since we're the same age and know each other, not that we're close.
"Don't start" I say, I don't know whether he's here to gloat or simply here to tell me I am a terrible human being, and he wishes the avengers killed me before I regained consciousness, but I'm not interested in hearing either right now.
"Have you been crying?" Peter asks, standing up straight and observing me closely. Not exactly what I was expecting to hear. He begins to fiddle and fidget with his top. Usually I'd make a snappy, rude comment but I don't have the energy to fight with him.
"Go away" I say, sitting up and looking away from him. This day has been hell and the last thing I need is Peter adding more misery and stress, he seems to add those things without even trying. "Go away" I repeat as Peter ignores me and sits down in a chair.
"I'm so sorry" he says, I blink. He's sorry? That was unexpected. "I kidnapped you; I drugged you." He doesn't look at me, staring down at his hands. He bites his bottom lip.
"Well, I'm apparently a mass murderer so I'd say what you did doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things" I reply, causing him to look up at me sharply. Peter sighs and runs his hands through his brown hair.
"I've never done anything like this before" Peter tells me. I could've figured that one out on my own, I doubt he's even hurt a fly. "You didn't know, Storm, it's not on you. You were a child." I close my eyes; I am still the one who did it regardless. I'm the one who planted a bomb that went off and killed over a hundred people, that is my fault.
"Tell that to the families" I say quietly, another tear rolling down my cheek. God, I am so sick of crying. I've been trained not to show emotion, but my training isn't really working today, I don't even know what to do next. I can't pretend to be a hero and join the avengers, not after everything I've done, but I don't think I can go back and pretend I didn't learn any of this.
"Would you have done it if they asked?" Peter asks me.
"No, god no" I answer, if I had known I was carrying a bomb I would have taken it somewhere it couldn't have hurt anyone. I would never have killed innocent people, and the x-men never asked us to do anything like that, they were smarter than that. The easiest way to get people to commit evil acts is to make sure they never know.
"Are you here to make yourself feel better?" I ask, visiting a mass murderer would get rid of any guilt he has about drugging and kidnapping someone for sure. I sit back against the pillows. I have never been this confused in my life, I genuinely have no idea what to do next or even where I'd go if I did manage to escape. "Did Fury send you?"
There is no place in the world for me. I can't pretend to be a hero and fight alongside the avengers, but I also can't go back and join the x-men team knowing they could trick me into bombing innocent civilians again. If Scarlett was here, what would she do?
"I just thought you could use the company" Peter replies, interrupting my train of thought. I blink, why would he want to spend time with me? I've been nothing but rude and mean towards him from the minute we met. Maybe he hasn't got any friends since he's so annoying so he's hoping I'm desperate enough to befriend him.
"Why? I'm not even nice to you" I say honestly, I may as well be honest with him, I have nothing left to lose now. Everything has been taken from me in the past few hours – my childhood, whatever was left of my innocence, the way I viewed myself. My friends aren't here, would they still be my friends if they knew? I have to believe Scarlett would take my side; it hurts too much to imagine us against each other.
"We're not competing against each other anymore" Peter reminds me, we have long left the x-men class. "I figure we could both do with a friend, even if it's just for right now."
Peter may be the most annoying person I've ever met, but his genuine kindness and willingness to come and hang out with me does touch me – not that I'd ever admit it out loud. He's probably the only person here who is even close to my age and definitely the only person who would be willing to befriend me, so why not?
"I don't know what the hell I'm meant to do" I admit, looking at Peter. For the first time since I saw him, my glance isn't filled with suspicion or hatred, I'm just looking.
"The x-men used you and your friends to commit unspeakable acts, you can either be sad or you can get angry" Peter suggests, causing me to look at him. "Mad is healthier."
I close my eyes, memories flooding through my mind, are these memories tinted with anger or with sadness? The more I focus the more I feel my body getting hotter and my fists clenching. The x-men are turning kids into killers, they've made us take innocent lives without even knowing what we were doing.
"This can't continue" I say to Peter. I might have a twisted moral compass but turning children into killers is something that I can't turn a blind eye to, even if I tried. Scarlett has always been better than me, I know she will feel the same when she finds out. "I need to tell Scarlett."
"Well, you can't exactly break into the x-men school, there's a reason I had to pretend I wanted to join the x-men" Peter points out. He's right, the place is heavily guarded and has lots of security, they would find out I was there within seconds and then kill me or worse.
I can't leave Scarlett there, with me and Peter gone, she'll be the next one they will try to recruit to the x-men team. Once she joins, I'm guessing they'll tell her the real truth but twist it around, so she doesn't realise how insanely evil they all are. If they brainwash her, there is a chance I won't be able to save her. Mystique is a master manipulator, she fooled me my entire life, she fooled everyone.
"Work with us, you can help us stop them" Peter suggests, I look away from him. Helping to overthrow the x-men team is one thing, starting a war is another completely. Innocent people will die if the x-men and avengers go up against one another, including all my friends and the people I grew up with. Scarlett, Henry, Ashton, hell even Peter could all die if an all-out battle starts.
"Help you kill my friends?"
"The avengers aren't going to kill a bunch of mutant teenagers, the only reason I agreed to the plan is because they assured me that they wouldn't kill or torture you" Peter assures me. The avengers won't actively attempt to hurt my friends, but people die in battle, the x-men will get everyone to rise up and fight, there will be casualties.
"There are always casualties in battles, and besides, the avengers aren't going to trust me, not after what I did" I say, the painful memories are swirling around my brain once more. The avengers agreeing to work with a mass murderer is about as likely as Peter willingly killing someone.
"The only person blaming you is you" Peter says. "Just think about it, ok? If you agree I will do my best to ensure your friends are kept safe."
His best might not be enough, my friends will agree to stand up and fight with Mystique and Magneto, they will even come for us unless we get to them first and explain the entire story. Peter is powerful, not that I'll tell him that, but he doesn't understand how much Mystique and Magneto shaped my childhood into believing that the avengers are our biggest threat, that they would want us hunted down and experimented on once again.
"Okay, I'll think" I agree. Sometimes the right choice is the hardest choice to pick, the easy option isn't always the right one.
"I'll come see you later" Peter tells me, Ismile at him as he heads out of the room. My life might've spun out of controltoday, but I have Peter, I suppose.
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...
