I walk silently into Stark towers with Clover, neither of us said much on the way home, aside from Clover deciding she wanted to come back here with me.
Steve is waiting in the lobby with Tony and Natasha; I close my eyes. This is just what I need, Steve deciding I'm a traitor because I failed my mission. Mystique might be evil but at least she wasn't annoying. My heart sinks as I realise, I'll have to start referring to Mystique in the past tense.
"The cure was destroyed, and Scarlett slit Mystique's throat open" I say, wanting to get this conversation over and done with. This isn't a conversation I can handle having more than once. I look at Tony whose eyes widen slightly.
Steve opens his mouth and then shuts it, looking sideways at Tony who looks every bit as surprised as him. Natasha is staring down at the white tiles but then looks over at Steve and then at me, I wonder what she'll have to say.
"Scarlett did what now?" Natasha asks, I think this is the first time I've seen her genuinely surprised about something, she glances at me and then at Clover. I glance at Clover, who nods slightly, understanding I can't repeat this again.
"We were fighting, Scarlett smashed the cure then slit Mystique's throat and said she was going to tell everyone Storm did it" Clover answers, glancing over at me. Magneto will want Mystique's murderer to pay, he'll want me dead. He might even come after me himself, he loved her like a sister.
"I'm going to my room" I say, walking past Steve, Tony, and Natasha. I enter the lift without a word and head up to my room, walking in and lying down on my bed. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, I'm not crying over Mystique dying, not after everything she's done and everything I've learnt. I refuse to waste energy mourning her, she was willing to kill me not once but twice.
God, when Mystique sent me on this mission to kill Tony, I was so proud, I really thought that it was an honour and would be the start of me joining the x-men. I cannot believe how stupid I was, not seeing the giant red flag – a teenager shouldn't be sent to fight and kill an avenger. Fury might've been manipulating me, but he was right when he said someone who loves you wouldn't do this, you don't want your loved ones to turn into killers.
I stare at the white pillow on the end of my bed, remembering the time Mystique came to check on me after my first kill, if only I'd known it wasn't my first kill. Mystique had been so nice, gentle at that time, I really believed she was proud of me. She wasn't, just glad I was happy to be the monster she made me into. I close my eyes, Mystique is evil, but I don't think anyone deserves to die, not like that.
"I don't want to talk about it, Tony, I'm fine" I say, not bothering to check if it is Tony, I'm sure it is. He'll be wanting to make sure I'm okay even though his best friend is currently paralysed because of me. He's a better father than I deserve, he's everything I would have asked for when I was younger if I had known what to ask for.
"You loved Mystique and viewed her as a mother and then found out she got you to bomb a building, I don't think you're okay" Clover says, I roll my eyes, still not bothering to sit up. Clover probably would've been my second guess. I'm not wasting tears over Mystique, and I've cried over Scarlett enough, there's no need to cry over Scarlett again.
Clover sits down on the edge of my bed, looking at me. I sit up next to her, I shiver when Clover grabs my hand, not sure why it sent chills down my spine.
"Why did you stay? They could've killed us" I say, glancing at Clover. She's close enough that I can the small cut under her lip she must have gotten from Scarlett. My heart begins to race though I'm not sure why.
"I wasn't going to leave you, I think I knew that from the moment you nodded at me to go" Clover says softly, giving me a small but genuine smile. She brushes her fingers through her white-blond hair. I reach up and push a strand of hair out of her face.
Clover is physically perfect. She has neatly shaped eyebrows, full, plum lips, and gorgeous green eyes. She is one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen but there's more than that to her. She's blunt but also kind and she's brave, brave enough to be willing to fight Mystique and Scarlett.
"I haven't really had anyone to care about so this is new for me, but today I realised I wasn't ready to leave you. You're one of the few people who's been nice to me without any malicious intentions" Clover says, looking at me. She quickly looks away and begins to fiddle with a loose thread on one of my pillows.
My cheeks flush at her words, the minute I saw Clover I knew I had to get to know her. Something about her was just so appealing and when I started to know her, the feeling didn't go away, there's just something about her.
"I'm glad you stayed" I say softly, meaning it. The only good thing that's happened today is Clover deciding she wants to stay at Stark towers, the rest of the day was pretty terrible.
"I can't believe Scarlett killed Mystique" Clover says, I glance down at my fingers, Scarlett killing Mystique makes me feel physically ill, like I can't breathe. I cannot see any traces of the girl I once called my best friend; she's too far gone.
"I don't want Scarlett to die but I'm worried it could happen if there's an all-out war between the x-men and avengers" I admit, looking at Clover. Of course, I want Clover, Peter, and my parents safe but the difference is that I can protect them, Scarlett on the other hand will probably be trying to kill me if there's a battle. I wish I could just remove Scarlett from the equation, we'll never be friends again, but I don't want to see her die, I can't.
"What if there was a way to ensure she wasn't involved?" Clover asks me. I open my mouth to respond but someone knocks on the door.
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Ruins
Aksi"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...
