River.

Chapter 167: Fate

A/N ^
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*music*
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Mara's P.O.V.

"Come on lets get out of here." Said Apollo after he finished helping me take out the rest of the men.

We began heading down the hall but were cut off by yet another group of men.

Standing in front of them was Mark.

"I knew you'd show up sooner or later." He stated with a smile. "You know, instead of making me black out, your friend Stormy probably should've just killed me."

"What do you want?" Apollo asked Mark.

"I just wanted to get you here. But I'm not the one that wants to talk to you."

He stepped aside as another man approached from behind him.

It was Peter.

"How are you-"

"Alive?" Peter cut him off. "Lets just say you two aren't the only gifted ones."

"But Raes literally decapitated you."

"Luckily I have the power of regeneration. Now...." He pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Apollo. "How about you and Mara lower down to the ground."

"You really think your guns are gonna make us bow down to you?" I asked.

"Mara just do it." Apollo insisted. "Those arent normal guns. Whatever they are, they were powerful enough to take out Rowan."

"I made them myself." Peter boasted. "I call them the mutant killers. Do you know just how many mutants I've killed with these guns? A lot. Mostly adults though. The kids are easier to get rid of."

"Kids?" I asked.

"Oh yea. You've gotta get rid of them before they get strong enough to try to kill you off like everyone else."

"But you and Mark are after Max and I specifically... Why?" Asked Apollo.

"You really think a man is just gonna let the people that killed his daughter live a full and happy life?"

"I don't kill women... Neither does Max..."

"Oh but you do kill teenagers."

"What are you talking about?"

"On the night of July 6th 2001, my daughter and I were taking a jog through the woods. 10 minutes into our jog we decided to go down a different path, not expecting two kids to be hiding behind a bush with shotguns. Before I could pull her out of the way it was too late. It all happened in the blink of an eye..."

"Your daughter? But I know your kids. You only have one daughter..."

"I had two. I kept my youngest out of the spotlight. Away from this life. For her own safety. Clearly that wasn't enough because you still managed to take her away from me."

I looked at Apollo and saw an expression of both disbelief and guilt.

"That was an accident. We wouldnt have pulled the trigger if we'd known it was a person. We were just kids that made a mindless mistake."

"Oh I know. Your daughter's death was a complete accident as well." Said Peter, instantly throwing Apollo off guard.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, quickly starting to get aggravated.

"I mean it actually wasn't an accident. It was something more along the lines of revenge. I hated to have to do it, she was such a pretty little girl. But her dad fucked up so she had to pay the price. Such a tragedy."

"You killed- my daughter?"

"Well yea, you killed mine."

"I was 12. It was an accident. Killing someone wasn't my intention..." Apollo's voice started to shake as his fists balled up.

"Doesn't matter if it was an accident or not. You killed my daughter, I killed yours. Simple and fair. Don't worry though, Max's daughter is next. Then after she's dead, I'm killing him. As for now though I'm making my way to the rift and killing every single person in there."

"You wont get anywhere near it."

"Oh yes I will. It should be fairly easy considering I already have people inside the rift that have been working for me for years now."

"I'm not letting you walk out of here alive..."

"Yea you are." He replied.

Then without warning, he pulled the trigger as the bullet struck Apollo in his chest. Then he pulled it once more, this time the bullet hit him directly in his heart.

"NO!" I yelled as Apollo fell over.

Peter and Mark laughed then walked away with their men, not once looking back.

"Mara you have to stop them. They can't get to the rift. If they kill all of the kids we wont stand a chance when the war comes."

"I'm not just gonna leave you here to die! We can just call Cato and let him know that Peter's coming so that they can prepare."

"You have to look at the big picture here. You know what the right thing to do is. "

"I don't wanna do the right thing if it causes you to die. If the situation was reversed and I was in your position you wouldnt leave me to die."

"You're right but that's where my weakness lies. I'm not capable of sacrificing those I love. You've learned to think how I think and that's what's stopping you from doing the right thing."

"I'm not leaving you here. And you're not changing my mind."

"I'm tired of fighting." He said, his voice a lot fainter now. "I've been fighting my whole life. I'm exhausted."

"But that's what we are. We're fighters. We fight until we can't fight anymore. YOU taught me that."

"Exactly... I can't fight anymore. I'm done."

"You're giving up."

"I'm not giving up. I'm giving in."

He grabbed my hand and held onto it for a few seconds then I felt something encompass me.

He was shielding me.

"Wait what are you doing?"

"What's necessary.... Peter can't leave this building."

He slowly let go of my hand and closed his eyes.

"Apollo don't do this! You're injured! You're just gonna kill yourself!"

"I know... Take care of yourself kid."

Before I could plead any longer there was a sudden blast that blinded me.... Then everything went quiet.