Kakashi looked at the blood coming out of Pietro's chest and his hand covered in his friend's blood. The lightning in his hand fizzled out as he looked in horror at what he had done. He had taken a friend's life… again.
Pietro's final words of comfort did not get to him as Kakashi got flashbacks. Flashbacks of his past. Flashbacks of the time during the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. Flashbacks of the time when he had killed Rin in a similar fashion.
The memory hit him like a physical blow. He saw it all again. The bridge. The Mist shinobi. The blood. Rin standing there. Her eyes wide with fear and acceptance. His hand covered in lightning. The Chidori piercing through her chest. The sound. The look on her face. The way her body went limp in his arms.
The guilt had never left him and become even bigger after realising what his actions had done to Obito.
He became someone who kept people at a distance. Who read silly books to forget the pain. Now it was happening again. Another friend. Another life taken by his own hand.
Pietro had smiled at him. Called him "bud." Trusted him. And Kakashi had killed him. The same way he had killed Rin.
Kakashi removed his hand from Pietro's chest as he held him in his arms. He muttered, "Rin…"
The name came out broken. All he felt was the weight of Pietro's body. The warmth leaving it. The blood on his hands. He had promised himself he would not let this happen again. He had tried to be better. To protect people. To find another way. But here he was. Holding another dead friend
The guilt crushed him. Made it hard to breathe. Made the world feel distant. He had failed again. Just like with Rin. Just like with so many others.
The title of Copy Ninja felt like a joke. What good was copying techniques if he could not even protect the people close to him?
Wanda who was saved from Pietro screamed as she held her hands over her head as she gazed at her dead brother. Her energy flowed through her fingers to her mind as her eyes and nose bled but finally she managed to snap out of Jean's control.
And when she did, she looked in horror at her brother. At her brother's dead body.
She first looked angrily at Kakashi and then turned her anger to Jean. The one truly responsible for all this.
"You… will pay for this," Wanda said as energy started gathering around her as she fired a blast at Jean.
Erik floated down as he looked at the dead body of his son with a hole in his chest. Another one of his kids had died and this time by a mutant.
'Why? Just why did he have to die?' Erik thought. Pietro had always been difficult. Never fully under his command. But he was his son. His blood. He had watched him grow from a distance.
Erik had never been good at showing love. He had been too focused on the cause. Too focused on the fight for mutant survival. He had pushed Pietro away many times. Told him to be stronger. To be useful. To be part of the Brotherhood. Now he was gone.
t felt like the world was punishing him for daring to dream of a better life for mutants. He regretted not spending more time with Pietro. Not listening when he talked about his own dreams. Not telling him he was proud of him. The words he never said now burned in his throat. He would carry this regret for the rest of his life.
Erik regretted not having a good relationship with Pietro. But he promised himself that he would not let his son's life go to waste.
Metal started screaming around them as they rushed towards Jean.
Charles said, "Wanda, Erik… I am sorry for your loss… our losses but you can't lose yourself in anger. Jean is… strong. And is only getting stronger. I am afraid there is no way we would be able to take her down so control your anger and think of something else to stop her because brute force would not work with her."
"That's not the only thing. The entire world's temperature is increasing. The gravity is also increasing. At this rate, she is going to burn down and destroy this entire planet," Tony said as he showed them what Jarvis had showed to him.
Everyone looked in horror at Tony's words.
"What do you mean…"
"The power she is releasing is continuing to increase. At this rate if she does not stop, then we don't have to worry about the Incursion destroying this world. She would do it herself."
"That's not the only thing. Jean's body would not be able to handle this much power. Already, there are cracks on her skin," Banner added and everyone turned to see Jean who really had cracks on her skin that looked like burns.
"So what do we do…" someone asked.
Charles said in a pained voice, "There is only one thing we could do."
He turned to see Kakashi who was still in the same state.
"Kakashi snap out of this. We need your help. You said that you can take a few mutants to your universe. We need you to do that."
Everyone was still in shock at Pietro's dead to process those words and what that meant. It meant abandoning their world and the rest of the people who live there.
Kakashi stayed still with Pietro's body still in his hand.
Charles tried to reach out to him but to no avail.
Wanda used all her energy to hold back Jean.
Natasha said walking to Kakashi, "I know it's not the right time but we need you Kakashi. We need the leader of the Avengers to get us out of this situation."
Kakashi was still not responding.
She said cupping his cheek covered by the mask, "I understand taking the loss of your friend by your hands. Believe me I do. But… Pietro would not want this. He jumped in front of you to save his sister. He made a choice. A brave one. He knew what he was doing. He told you himself. He said you were not responsible. He asked you to take care of the others. To look after his nephews. He smiled at the end. He was at peace with his decision. Don't let his sacrifice break you. He believed in you. We all do."
Her voice softened. "You have lost people before from what I could tell. I know that pain. I have carried it too. But you taught me that we keep moving. We honor them by continuing the fight. Pietro would want you to keep fighting."
That did the trick for Kakashi as his eyes regained some focus.
-----Author Notes---------
Y'all can now read the next 15 chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon.
https://pat*reon.com/Charizard6
[No star]
Thankyou for your support!