My heart freezes as I walk into Stark towers and most of the avengers surrounding something. Is that a body? I head towards it; I close my eyes. It better not be Clover's body. Please don't be Clover. Please don't be Clover.
"Storm, no, don't come any closer" Natasha says, stepping in front of me. I dodge her and my heart sinks as I see curly, messy blonde hair. It's not Clover. The body on the ground is Ashton. I shake my head, Ashton isn't dead. Ashton just escaped with Clover, he's not dead. I hadn't even bothered to think about the possibility of the body being Ashton, why would somebody kill Ashton?
"Storm" Peter says softly, placing his hand on my shoulder. I turn around and glance at Peter, no words come out of my mouth. Peter hugs me, I return the hug, grateful I don't have to look at Ashton's body again.
"What happened?" I ask Steve, Steve will probably know. Ashton escaped with Clover three days ago and now he's dead, this isn't good. My heart sinks even more as I think of Henry, has Henry been missing his best friend? Henry and Ashton were every bit as close as me and Scarlett. MJ and Ned come over to me and Peter, MJ places her hand on my back and Ned gives me a hug.
"We found his body this morning, but we don't know much else yet" Steve answers softly, concern evident in his blue eyes. "As soon as we know anything, I'll tell you." I nod, I need to know that Clover isn't responsible for this, maybe Ashton left with Clover and then tried to go back to the x-men, this could easily be Magneto's fault.
"Where's Tony?" Peter asks, I glance at the avengers, Tony and Bruce aren't here, they must be working on something in their lab.
"Tony needs to talk to you two, he's with Fury over there" Steve gestures to a room, I realise we've been in there before. Peter grabs MJ hand and looks at Ned, I can tell he wants them to come. I walk over to the room.
I sit down on a grey chair, across from Fury and Tony. Ned sits in a chair next to me and Peter and MJ sit on the grey couch, holding hands. I resist the urge to roll my eyes, I know I'm only jealous because Clover never loved me.
I glance at Tony; he's looking at me. He looks even tireder than normal. Who found Ashton's body? I wonder where it was. Fury is expressionless, as usual, and is glancing down at a sheet of paper. He looks over at Tony who gives him a small nod.
"Do you two think it's possible that Clover killed Ashton?" Fury asks, I glance at Peter. I don't see why Clover would kill Ashton, but it is weird that Ashton died not long after the two left here, it's a bit suspicious.
"Maybe" Peter admits. "She could've needed his help to kill Steve and then killed him because they failed, or to tie up a loose end." Do I agree with Peter? I'm honestly not sure. I want to believe that at least some parts of Clover were real, that it wasn't all a complete lie. The Clover I knew wouldn't hurt Ashton, but I don't know what parts of her were real or if any were real.
If Clover killed Ashton, that means I gave her access to him. Not only did I give Clover the opportunity to kill Steve, I gave her the opportunity to kill Ashton. If she had succeeded with Steve, it would be all my fault. Tears roll down my face, Ashton didn't deserve to die, I don't care whether it was Clover or not, he didn't deserve to die this soon. Ned reaches over and squeezes my hand, I'm grateful for the sense of comfort it brings.
"Storm, do you want us to do this another time?" Tony asks. I think he might've temporarily forgot that Ashton was my friend, I've known Ashton my entire life.
"Tony, I-"
"Fury, if she needs time then she can have time" Tony firmly interrupts him, narrowing his eyes as he looks at him. Fury doesn't say anything, he probably knows Tony isn't the type to back down just to please him.
"I'm fine" I say, wiping my cheek with my hand. "I just don't see why Clover would kill Ashton." She had her reasons for wanting Steve dead, but what would Ashton have done to Clover? I just can't see Clover as the type of person to kill someone because they were a lose end, and even if she was, she could've used Ashton's powers to her advantage at times.
Peter seems to be considering what I've said, MJ and Ned look uncertain, and I can't tell what Tony and Fury are thinking, do they think that Clover is this super evil person, or do they think she just wanted Steve dead because she held him responsible for her parents' death?
"I don't know why she'd kill Ashton either" Peter admits, glancing over at me. It just doesn't make a lot of sense. "But maybe we need to accept that we don't know Clover, maybe she is the type of person to kill someone when she doesn't need them anymore."
Fury and Tony look at me, probably waiting for me to jump to Clover's defence. I say silent, knowing Peter could very well be right. Some of Clover could have been genuine, but it also could have been fake.
"Unless Ashton realised that he had nowhere to go and returned to the x-men" I say, though I highly doubt it. He wouldn't be naïve enough to expect a nice welcome if he went back, the only way he'd be accepted would be if he brought back important information or if he'd killed someone important. Ashton knows this as well as I do. "But I think he'd know better."
"Alright, that's enough for now, thank you" Fury says standing up, he heads towards the door and opens it up, walking out of the room.
"Do you need anything?" Tony asks me, walking over to me. I stand up and pull Tony in for a hug, he hugs me tightly and kisses the top of my head. "It's okay, I promise."
"I'm okay, well I'm not but I mean I'll get there" I say to Tony. Tony nods.
"I'm going to see what they've learnt, come get me or Natasha if you need us. I'm thinking tomorrow the three of us can make breakfast together and then do some training?" Tony suggests, I nod eagerly. I appreciate that Natasha and Tony are trying to make the three of us spend more time together as a family. Tony heads out the door.
"I wish my dad was as sweet as Tony" MJ complains, causing me to smile. Tony is a deeply caring person, sometimes people think that he's selfish and self-centred, but all I see is how much he cares for others. I just wish he cared about himself that same way. "Anyway, we're all going to sleep over so you're not alone" MJ tells me.
"Thank you, but you don't have to, I'm fine" I say.
"We are, we all agreed" Ned tells me firmly. I smile as Peter places his arm around MJ's shoulders, and we all head out of the room. We start heading upstairs, I'm assuming we're going to use one of the bigger bedrooms if we're having a sleepover.
*Author's Note* Storm knew Ashton the longest, they were friends since they were babies.
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...
