Chapter 8: Use Every Weapon (You Hold More Than You Know)
Peter's P.O.V.
One minute I'm laughing with my partner in crime ;) and the next the hairs on my neck stand up and my skull throbs in warning. In one second I'm yelling for her to duck, the next she's on the ground twitching. I call her alias as I run over to help her up. Calliste's eyes continuously switch from glazed to glowing as she twitches on the ground behind her behind her midnight blue, crimson red, and silver streaked mask. Expression
rapidly switched from slack and expressionless to angry snarling. With fangs? Behind electric blue lipstick. Eyes sparking with lightning and settling on a glowing blend of blue and green, fangs fully extend from Cali's mouth with a roar as she surges forward. She has a tail and claws and there are cat ears on her head, and then wings sprout from her back.
Well sprout wouldn't really be the right word.
They shred from her spine, ripping through her back, ouch, and dripping in blood. Her wings shine and shift slightly and in the next moment, she sails through the air towards Max. Electric man? Sparky? Electro?
And, using both wings and arms, shreds through him. Sparks fly everywhere as Crimson seems to grab and crush something. She stalks back smoothly, with all the grace of a predator, almost as if she's floating with the shadows around her feet.
My Spidey sense continues to go off as Calliste stops in front of me head snapping onto a point in the distance, searching for something. Reaching an arm out she drops a tiny pile of crumpled metal in my hand, still searching. I guess she finds it because her gait and pace increase as she walks off in the previously mentioned direction.
Another growl erupts from her throat, tail going up like an angry cat's as she walks over to a group in matching uniforms that's been watching us fight. I jog over to where she's stopped. X-men. Why are they here? What do they want? Why is she-
My train of thought is interrupted by shrill piercing noise in my skull as my partner in crime launches at the guy in front. My arms shoot out and I grab her mid flight.
"No. We don't attack heros." The growling ceases.
Like some switch flipping she goes limp and relaxes in my arms. I let go and my senses tell me to step back as she is engulfed in a swirling vortex of white-blue fire and shadows. She regains her usual appearance and drops like a sack of bricks.
Back to Calliste's P.O.V.
A sense of calm floods me as I wake up on the ground. Getting up with a stretch, I yawn. Peter stands there seemingly frozen in place still in Spiderman spandex.
"Why does it smell like barbeque? And when did the X-twerps get here?"
Peter, ending his temporary stint as a statue, quietly replies with, "Let's go somewhere private to talk."
"Fine. But they're not coming to my apartment."
The junior x-people cautiously follow behind as I lead them to a warehouse by the docks. Peter looks around inquisitively as he takes in all the weapons, ammo, and other supplies stocked in the fully furnished area. And grab a rag to clean off my knives, attempting not to focus on the smell of blood and the pain in my spine. Turning to face Peter who is currently staring at the tech on my workbench, the stench is overwhelming. My eye twitches.
"Whoever is bleeding, get a band-aid and stop." The only responses I get are the dumb found expressions of everyone in the room.
The red head looks up at me and says slowly, "It's from your wings."
"What the fuck Garfield? Did you inhale the white powder? You're already high as a kite. It's probably cocaine," I say. "Fucking Demitri, I knew he'd use my stuff when I died," I finish with a mumble.
"She's not high, C you're covered in blood. It is everywhere," the web slinger says, a bit withdrawn.
"Meh blood is normal. I'll wash it off later, but first..." I turn to them, my demeanor changing completely. "Why are you here? There are plenty of supers in New York and we are very territorial. If I were double D, your kneecaps would be smashed right now." I state, staring at the group as the room seemingly grows cold and darker. "You'll find I'm much, much worse. Now answer me. Who are you? And, why. Are. you. Here?" ending with a growl that would make Daredevil proud.
"I'm Shadowcat, that's Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Jean," the brown haired one states, pointing to each person respectively. "Professor X sent us to bring you in for training."
"Hmm… Well I don't need your training, I am already very skilled. I'm sure your professor already knows this so I don't know why you're bothering me. And thank you for all the unwanted attention you've gained me. There were shield people tailing us on the way here, so now I get to lose my favorite warehouse. спасибо дуракам за то, что сделали мою жизнь в десять раз тяжелее." (Thank you, fools for making my life 10 times harder.) I reply growing annoyed.
"You need to come with us. We can help you, teach you control." Cyclops, what a stupid name, says. They're just trying to control you. "If you don't learn control you'll hurt somebody," they continue. *Just listen, go with them.* ~Don't listen to the coward. They could never teach what we need to learn, but I can.~ They fear power, even their own. The redhead is being controlled. THEY'VE DESECRATED HER WINGS.~ My skull throbs, body pulses as my knees lock.
I convulse and Peter tries to ground me. He reaches for my hand as a shockwave erupts from my fingertips.
{This can't hurt you, not really. It's all superficial in the end. Just be stronger. You are strong aren't you? Our family can't afford to be weak. Your mother would be disappointed. But she can't, can she? Not now.}
We go down together. His body spasms. *This is why we should obey.*
And at that moment I, for once in my life, decide to listen. And I freak out.