The Red Star

Chapter 7

“I hope Jay's alright.” Crystal said as she pulled her jacket closer about her.

She was once again seated in the back of a Jeep that Steve was driving, with Charles in the passenger seat. At the bottom of the mountain there was a stop and Steve had placed his Mustang in their garage and rented a Jeep for the mountain roads, because they were not paved and barely anyone drove up them at all.

They were nearly half way up the mountain and snow was already a few inches high and Crystal became even more worried.

“You alright back there?” Steve asked as he glanced back a moment.

Crystal looked at him in the reflection of the mirror and shrugged.

“Just hope she's okay.” she added.

“She is. Bucky wouldn't let her get hurt.” Steve said with a chuckle.

“It's not your friend Bucky that bothers me.” Charles added, his dark head of curls glancing back at Crystal.

“What do you mean?” Crystal chimed in before Steve could say anything.

“I feel a presence, and a strong one at that.” Charles looked up suddenly.

Not a moment later there was a heavy thud on the roof and a long blade was driven down between Charles and Steve. Steve swerved to the side and the person on the roof slid to the side. Dangling from the side was a muscular man, dressed in black and red, with his whole face covered.

“Whoa!” his shouts were muffled a bit, “Road rage Shield Boy!!”

He then produced another blade in his other hand from its place on his back and drove it into the side of the car. Steve took a sharp turn and and slammed the side of the car into a tree. Crystal opened her eyes to feel the cold air from outside of the car flowing in. She blinked and looked beside her to see the side of the car smashed in and the man's body dangling in through the window. She was about to let out a moan of horror when the head popped up and he spoke,

“Really?! Drive me into a tree?!?! Brilliant plan!”

Crystal's face was a picture of horror but then she realized that he must have a healing factor of some sort. He looked at her and then said,

“Well hello there.”

“Crystal get out of the car now!” Steve said as he wrenched the seat-belt off of himself and grabbed his shield.

As Crystal made her way to the other door the man said,

“Wait! I think your cute!”

Crystal just turned and looked at him with a disgusted look on her face an they were all silent until he put up his hand and said,

“Deadpool. Nice to meet you.”

Crystal swung open the door and jumped out, making her way to Charles's door to open it.

“Hey!” Deadpool said.

With that he grabbed the door he was embedded into and pushed and with a grunt of effort, the car began to move. It began to move, when Charles pressed his right index finger against his temple and Deadpool froze.

“No fair!!” Deadpool shouted, “You can't use mind powers on me. I haven't even done anything yet!!”

Steve threw his shield against the windshield and shattered it. He climbed through the space as Crystal helped Charles out of his seat.

“It's alright.” Charles said to her.

“What?” she asked as Steve came beside her.

“I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you all.” he looked at Crystal and said, “That mutant that changed myself and Eric into our younger selves gave me my body to the form that it had before I was shot.”

“But--”

“Eric sees me as weak and that makes him pity me. It was partly his fault that it happened to me in the first place.”

Crystal couldn't speak, she only stepped back as Charles walked out into the snow. She shook her head then Charles said,

“I can't hold him for too long. He has a strong mind, despite his lack of intelligence .”

Steve took Crystal's arm lightly as he walked up the trail.

“How long can you hold him?” Steve asked.

“Not very long.” Charles looked at them and said, “Go as far as you can. I'll catch up with you.”

Steve nodded and at once the two were rushing up the slope through the snow. Steve was running so fast that he was practically dragging Crystal until she said,

“I'll fly Steve.”

He looked down at her and said,

“You fly too?”

“Yeah.” She added as a pair of white wings unfurled behind her.

“Ok. You fly ahead and I'll follow. If you find her and we aren't there. Tell Bucky that this Deadpool character is after Jay. He'll protect her. Now go.”

“But--”

“Go.” Steve said as he slipped his shield onto his arm.

With a moan of annoyance, Crystal flapped her wings once and she was in the air, above the trees.

“Jeez!!” she said almost instantly, “Cold!” She zipped up her jacket and looked down at Steve and he nodded to her before she shot forward farther up the mountain.

She had not gotten more than quarter of a mile when there was an explosion behind her. She spun around just in time to see Deadpool ram her from the side. She landed hard on the ground and groaned as she struggled to catch her breath. She blinked away the ache from her side and sat up with a moan.

“What the hell!” she said out loud.

She rubbed her eyes and when she opened them she saw Deadpool standing right in front of her.

“Um...” she said.

“Your cute. I like you.” he said.

“What did you to to them?!” Crystal tried to shout.

“I just used the car as a trampoline and grabbed you. I like trampolines! Do you like trampolines, because I like trampolines.”

“SHUT UP AND ANSWER MY QUESTION!!!!!” Crystal practically screamed at him as she stood on her feet.

“No shouting.” he said, “We'll have to work on that.”

“Where?!” Crystal shouted and a surge of energy flew from her and threw Deadpool back into the trees.

Crystal looked down at herself severely amazed and shocked.

“WHOA!!” Deadpool's head popped out from the snow and he turned to her, “THAT was awesome!!”

Crystal practically stomped through the snow and let the power surge through her again, this time Deadpool ending up embedded into the ground.

“Where are they?” she said.

“Can you check my shoe?” Deadpool said.

“What?”

And not a moment later the last thing she she saw was the bottom of his boot.