𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 -and lost just as many reasons to keep going.
Natalie Parker, once hidden in the shadows of history, is a mutant unlike any other. Bound to the earth by blood and power, her touch coaxes life from st...
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"goodbye,"
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
It had been years since Peter Maximoff had seen Charles Xavier. Years since he'd thought about anyone besides his mom, his stereo, and the occasional stolen Twinkie.
But today felt different.
The second he caught sight of the school — his school, the one from the card in his pocket, the one he had always meant to visit — something twisted in his gut. Something was wrong.
He spotted a yellow car packed with kids in the drive, one with blue skin and a tail hanging out the window, all of them staring at the building with wide, panicked eyes. Smoke was starting to curl through the trees. Heat kissed the wind.
Peter dropped his food and took off, dashing into the school at a pace so fast, time barely blinked.
Inside, time froze.
Debris floated mid-air. Fire had erupted through the walls. A girl with long chestnut hair, vines spiralling from her palms, stood motionless—arms extended in a protective gesture as if trying to contain the inferno. Natalie Parker.
She was still stunning, even frozen in fear. Peter tilted his head, then gently slid one arm around her waist and took her hand in his own.
"Let's get you out of here, goddess," he whispered, and off they went.
One by one, he cleared the school.
Hank. A teacher in yellow. A girl mid-dance. Another confused kid about to kiss the wrong girl — Peter shoved the guy off the balcony (gracefully). He rescued goldfish, mattresses, and even a pizza-loving dog. He ran on walls, flipped through flames, and turned disaster into ballet.
He moonwalked. He surfed on shattered tables. He caught the girl smiling out the window and saved her just before fire consumed her room.
He was faster than the end.
And he was proud of that.
As the explosion roared behind him, Peter sprinted along the stone fence — wind in his hair, music in his head, adrenaline in his bones.
He looked back, and the school was gone.
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
The world rushed back into motion.
A wave of heat knocked through the clearing. Natalie collapsed to her knees, her palms still glowing faintly as the last of her vines withered into dust.
All the students were there. Moira. Raven. Hank. And Peter — panting, hands on his knees, blinking like a man who just ran through hell and back.
"Wow," he huffed.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"Where—where did you—" Hank stammered.
Peter pointed vaguely behind him. "The usual way in."
Natalie stood slowly, eyes scanning the field. Her heart hammered. Something was wrong.
"Alex?" she called. Her voice cracked. "Baby?"
Peter looked at her, confused. "Uh—I got everyone, I think?"
She stepped forward, frantic. "He—he had long blonde hair. A brown jacket. No, light brown—" Her voice broke as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Hank closed his eyes. "Alex was closest to the blast."
The words hit like thunder.
Natalie buckled.
She let out a cry, so full of anguish it silenced the trees.
Falling to her knees, she clawed at the ground, trying to find anything solid to hold onto. Her grief cracked the air. The ground shook. Wind lashed the grass. Vines burst from beneath her, spiralling into the sky.
Then came the scream — a raw, primal wail of pain that knocked the others to the ground like a shockwave.
Peter shielded a nearby student, jaw slack with awe.
Raven stepped forward but hesitated.
"Natalie," Hank tried, kneeling beside her.
She couldn't hear him.
She couldn't hear anything except the silence where Alex used to be.
Hank pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice thick with grief.
Behind them, a car pulled up. Tires screeched.
Scott.
He stepped out, eyes now covered by red framed glasses. His body went still as he looked at the smoking wreck of the school.
Natalie turned to him. One look at her face—and he knew.
He ran. Jean followed, along with Kurt.
And all Natalie could do was watch.
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
Behind her, whispers rose.
"It's her," a girl said.
Raven stepped forward, blue-skinned, solemn.
"They look up to you now." Hank spoke gently. "They need you,"
"No," Raven said, shifting into her human form. "That's not what they need."
Above them, the rumble of rotors filled the air. A helicopter landed nearby, soldiers flooding out.
Moira stepped forward, badge in hand. "Moira MacTaggert! CIA. Thank god you're here."
Natalie's eyes sharpened.
Among them, a man in black, with a cap pulled low.
Major Stryker.
Something in her blood went cold.
"Wait!" Raven shouted.
"Fire!" Stryker commanded.
The sound hit like a thunderclap. And everything went white.
