Peter hovers in the doorway, glancing at both me and Clover. "Are you okay?" he asks me hesitantly, like he's afraid. Maybe he's afraid I'll start having a breakdown over Mystique's death and Scarlett being the one to kill her.
"I'm okay" I nod, giving Peter a smile. I don't think he's fooled but that's not my biggest concern at the moment. I turn my attention back to Clover. "How can we ensure Scarlett isn't involved?"
"Is Scarlett still a concern? She's full-on evil, she killed Mystique" Peter points out, looking uneasy, probably remembering all the times I defended Scarlett's name. Defending Scarlett is over, there's nothing to defend anymore, she killed Mystique so she could climb up the ranks, she's hungry for power and doesn't care who dies.
"There's a second cure" Clover admits, causing me and Peter to stare at her. Why didn't she stare this information yesterday? Our fight could've been avoided altogether. "Well, I'm not certain, but I have heard rumours."
If we use the cure on Scarlett, her powers are gone. She'll be forced to leave the x-men and flee, the x-men don't have time for people they can't use in battle. I close my eyes, would it stop Scarlett or just send her after use for revenge? Scarlett's shown multiple times just how ruthless she is, there's every chance she'll try to kill us for taking away her powers.
"Is this something you'd be able to do?" Peter asks seriously, sitting on the edge of my bed. He looks intensely at me, waiting for answer. I hesitate, can I use a cure on Scarlett? Her entire life as she knows it will be over, I can't imagine Scarlett adjusting to normal civilisation life. However, she does need to be stopped, all of them do. Her, Magneto, Hank, all of them are evil, they cannot be allowed to continue on as they are.
"I think so" I say, trying to ignore the doubt that creeps into my heart. I can't watch Scarlett die but I also can't sit back and watch her kill my friends. It might be selfish, but I think using the mutant cure on Scarlett is the best option.
I stare into my mirror, once again not recognising the girl that stares back at me. I guess I'm still sort of protecting Scarlett in my own way, but I think is mainly about protecting myself from the potential grief I might be forced to face. My blue eyes stare back at me, filled with confusion and uncertainty. At the x-men, I was never uncertain, I knew what I wanted in life and how to achieve it. Everything's different now, the people I once called enemies are my friends, and I'm going to end up in a war against people I once swore to protect with my life.
I glance down at my white carpet, noticing a small stain on it. One of my pillows has fallen off the edge of my bed onto the carpet. My room needs a tidy, maybe that's what I should focus my energy on.
"Tony offered to enrol me in your high school" Clover says, causing my head to snap up. Clover might be attending school with us. I smile at the thought. Graduating high school might give Clover a reason to stay.
"You should" I say, smiling at Clover. Clover smiles back at me and then looks down at her hands. "School does open up opportunities." I used to think there was no place for me in the normal world but attending high school and then college is getting more and more appealing by the day, I could start the normal life I thought I could never have.
"I might go shower, should we leave tomorrow morning to get the cure?" Clover asks me, I nod so she walks out of the room. Having the cure is for the best, regardless of whether we actually find a way to use it on Scarlett. Even using it on Magneto would make a huge difference, him and Mystique worked together to rule and take over, if Magneto is cured then both of them are gone. The x-men could fall on their own without their two ruthless leaders. Scarlett might be willing to do whatever it takes, but I don't think she can rule an organisation, at least not yet.
"She likes you" Peter says, grinning like a young child on Christmas. I raise an eyebrow; I think most people like their friends.
"Yeah, we're friends" I answer, not wanting to enter this conversation. I know what Peter is implying and it's just something that can't happen right now. Clover is my friend and she'll help us succeed in my mission; I'm not interested in screwing that up.
"Come on, I know you like her too. You've never smiled at me that way" Peter says, I roll my eyes but laugh slightly too.
"I don't even know if I like girls. I just know that I want Clover to stick around" I answer, when I was younger, I used to think I had a crush on Ashton but after kissing him a few times I realised I didn't like him in a romantic way. I've never really liked anyone romantically; I've never stopped to think about it.
"Do you want to kiss her?" Peter asks me, I groan, unsure why I entered this conversation. The image of Clover's full, pink lips enter my brain and I feel my cheeks flaming. "You do!" I raise a hand to stop Peter.
"This can't happen, we're getting ready for a war. There's no time for romance" I point out, all our thoughts and energy need to be on the future because there is a high chance of a war happening between the avengers and the x-men. If we're not prepared, we'll lose and if the avengers lose, there's nobody to resist the x-men.
Clover's beautiful and I'm grateful for her staying here and for not leaving me in the cave but I can't afford to be distracted, not when the enemy knows all of my strengths and all of my weaknesses. Then there's the fact Magneto is probably planning to kill me considering Scarlett will have told him how I murdered Mystique.
"Isn't that why it should happen? I hate to think like this but there's a chance we can die. Do you really want to die with all these things left unsaid?" Peter points out, his face and tone turning serious. I bite my lip, do I want to die without telling Clover how I feel? I'm honestly not sure, how do I even know if I like her for sure?
"You're not going to die, Peter, I'm going to protect you" I promise him, looking at him. None of the avengers will die if I can help it, the x-men have taken enough lives. I'm not naïve enough to genuinely believe no avengers will die, but I will protect them as best as I can. Especially Peter, he's been nothing but loyal from the minute I woke up here. Him, Tony, and Clover are the main ones I want to protect, also Natasha despite my hurt feelings at the moment. "I don't even know if I like Clover for sure."
"You'll never know if you don't try" Peter says. I suppose he's right, but I still think a relationship could be distracting and make us forget about our ultimate goal. I haven't even asked Clover how she feels about the x-men, is she hellbent on tearing them down or does she not really care? "Just see how your trip goes and try to think about how you feel."
I nod, I can do that. After we get the cure then maybe I can tell Clover how I feel, if I can figure out for sure how I feel by then.
*Author's Note* I love Storm and Peter's friendship so much
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...
