I inwardly sigh as Fury walks into the room. Most of the avengers are seated at a long, clear table, waiting for Fury to come in and discuss Loki's deal. Wanda, Vision, and Sam aren't here, not that I care. The less people to sit around discussing whether or not Scarlett should he handed over to Loki, the better.
I am grateful that Fury gave us the night to sleep before interrogating us, since it gave me time to think and come up with potential plans, I wasn't able to sleep much, my brain was whirling around images of Clover and what could have happened, I just hope she's safe.
"I think we've all been in filled in" Fury guesses, glancing around. Everyone nods, Steve, Thor and Tony told everyone the minute we returned. The original six avengers have fought Loki before, they're aware of how crazy and dangerous he is.
"Why are we bothering to discuss this? Clover and MJ are in danger!" Peter exclaims from across the table, fiddling with his watch. Both of us wanted to go hunt down Loki immediately but Steve said Fury told them to arrest us and lock us up if we didn't return with them, we didn't exactly want to risk that.
I glance sideways at Steve who's sitting next to me, wondering what he thinks about all this. He's apparently against trading lives, but I'm not sure if that's the case when it's somebody like Scarlett, someone they think is evil with no redeeming qualities. I glance at Natasha, her and Clint's heads are together as they look down at an iPad.
"We will find Loki and free your friends, then Loki will face Asgardian justice" Thor says to Peter. "There's no need to bring the mutant girl into this." If it was so easy for Thor to do that, why hasn't he flown off to do it already?
"Loki could kill them, let's just hand over Scarlett!" Peter says, he glances over at Tony pleadingly. I glance at Tony, he looks tired, as usual, and uncertain. Tony glances at me so I quickly look down at my hands. I don't love this idea, but I will do whatever it takes to save Clover and MJ.
I glance around, trying to see what everyone else thinks. Rhodey and Bruce look hesitant, Natasha looks like she's considering it, Thor looks annoyed, and Steve looks deep in thought. I'm not going to defend Scarlett this time, not with Clover's life on the line.
"Mutants have been going missing, disappearing the same way Clover did" Clint announces, him and Natasha looking up. I raise an eyebrow, what does Loki want with the x-men, maybe he's trying to create an army or something. Still, if he's able to put x-men into a trance and bring them to him like he did with Clover, why can't he get Scarlett himself? "Liam, Summer, James, Bonnie, Henry" Clint starts to read out the missing x-men.
Henry. Of course, it had to be Henry going missing. One of my friends is a psychopath, one's locked up in a cell, and one is missing. I close my eyes, wishing again I didn't care about them anymore, my life would be so much easier.
My eyes widen. Henry! Scarlett cared for Henry, she loved him for years and I know he felt the same way. If Scarlett has any feelings left, they'll be for Henry. I can't trust Scarlett with saving Clover, but I might be able to trust that she'll want Henry safe. Plus, the other option is that I drag her to Loki myself in exchange for MJ and Clover.
I glance down at the grey chair I'm sitting on, glancing at my white runners, they're all dirty since we went to that stupid factory. Peter won't agree with me, but this way we might be able to save everyone. Summer's only twelve years old, I can't stand by and let Loki either kill her or mind control her into committing some terrible act. I also can't watch the same thing happen to Henry; he was one of my closest friends.
"Can I go?" I ask Tony who nods, not appearing to think anything's up. I stand up and walk slowly out of the room, waiting for Fury to order me to stay. He doesn't.
I glance up and down the hallway, nobody's here. It's silent, I can't hear anyone walking or moving around. I shrug and head up to my room, glancing at the white walls. This is easily the worst idea I've had in my life, but I think it could work. I know I'm counting on Scarlett's last shred of humanity, which is dangerous, but I have to believe it's there.
The avengers aren't going to hand Scarlett over, they'll fight Loki themselves. Peter won't be thrilled about that, he might even try to take Scarlett on by himself which could lead to his death, I'm not sure how unhinged Scarlett truly is.
I glance at the blanket on the end of my bed. I think of Clover, I wish I could send her a message to let her know I'm coming. She'd never show it, but I'm sure she's terrified. My heart aches as I think of Clover and MJ, probably afraid and terrified locked in some dark place. I hope they trust that we're coming for them. Once Clover gets back, I'm going to make sure to tell her just how much she means to me. She's never had anyone before, I need her to know that she'll always be my first choice.
I grab my bag, chucking a water bottle, some protein bars, and a spare set of clothes in. I'm going to break into the x-men institute, but hopefully I won't have to break out, not if Scarlett does have a tiny speck of humanity.
I glance at a picture on my desk, it's got Tony laughing at something I'm saying and I'm grinning too. I wish I could tell Tony my plan but then he'd probably support Fury locking me up until this was done and dealt with. I also wish I could tell Peter, but I know he'd be furious and accuse me of caring more about the girl who tried to kill me then my actual friends. This isn't about saving Scarlett; it's about saving everyone else.
I push the pictures face down, Peter will forgive me when he realises that I did for MJ, Clover, and the kidnapped mutants, not Scarlett. Tony won't be mad, but he'll worry about me which does make me feel guilty, but I can't let these people die or be brainwashed into serving Loki.
A lump forms in my throat as I close my door behind me. The avengers may think I'm betraying them and fleeing so I can save Scarlett's life, which I guess is partly true. I don't want Scarlett to die, but if it comes down to her and Clover, I will always choose Clover.
I pull a set of car keys out of my hoodie pocket; I stole this within the first week of arriving here and nobody's noticed yet. I walk into the grey garage, pressing the key. A blue sportscar flashes, this is actually kind of perfect. I make a note to apologise to Tony for stealing this when I get back, I'm pretty sure most of these cars are his.
This is the best way at saving everyone, Scarlett is an amazing fighter and has great powers, if she can do the right thing for once, we could have a shot at saving everyone. I'm not cocky enough to think we stand a chance against Loki, but we just have to get everyone out and then we can run like our lives depend on it. Because they will.
*Author's Note* How do you think Storm finding Scarlett will go?
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...
