Chapter 84

(Happy weekend. We technically haven't hit 2M yet, but we're so close....so double chapter. Have a nice day and enjoy.)

My energy level guttered out, and I came out of Devil Trigger.

I fell to my knee when my Devil Trigger winked out, out of breath and irritated. My limbs felt sluggish, and I instantly realized it was the Dragon's breath at work. Between all of the fighting, I hadn't had a chance to really sort out how to deal with it. I knew a simple healing potion wouldn't do, so I first tried channeling Angel regeneration to shake off the affliction. I felt my HP climb back up momentarily before it fell back down. Black Dragon's Breath was no joke.

If I was struggling this much, I wondered how Jean was faring.

I came out of the fight with 3,250 Red Orbs. 1000 was for fighting the douchebag Black Dragon Newt, 550 for the Garok, 500 for the Mesmer, and about 800 for all of the Harpies, Stygian, and Harpies I killed.

With the money, I had just enough for two purifying brews. The store description said it was powerful enough to clear most minor curses, afflictions, metaphysical infections, and magic. It had not covered Cosmic Burn, so I hadn't bothered with it earlier. Now, I was grateful I had enough Orbs to save our lives.

The brew manifested in a clear glass filled with a golden, murky substance. I rushed over to Jean, whose breathing was shallower than ever, and pulled her up, tilting back her head before emptying the bottle in her mouth. She swallowed without prompt but did not gain consciousness, and I bit my lips as the guilt came flooding in.

Did I push her too far? If I was not so intent on micro-managing my Stims, then maybe---

I caught myself before I continued to spiral. This was not the time nor place for that. Rin was nearly split in half. I needed to make sure he was still alive.

Rin was hacking up blood when I walked up to him with Jean in my arms. He looked more or less alive, but his wound hadn't healed all the way through. Kurt disappeared as I approached, ferrying the last mutants to the top.

"Jesus," I said, drawing his attention. "You look like shit." I summoned my last healing potion and tossed it to him, still holding onto Jean.

"You don't look much better either," he said. "Your jacket has seen better days, and your shirt is soaked in blood."

To be fair, most of the blood was mine. Even while constantly healing my cosmic burn wounds, I was still leaking. And he was right about my jacket.

"Touche."

His wounds rapidly knitted together as he drained the last of the bottle's content. "Thanks," he said, wiping his mouth before speaking up.

"You have to teach me!" he blurted out, startling me quite a bit. "I mean the way you fight, the phasing, and whatever that other form of yours was….And don't even get me started on the weapon-swapping…"

I raised my hand, stopping the gushing teen. I'd been in his position before, postrating myself before a fighter that was head and shoulder above me. I was about his age as well.

"I'm going to stop you right there. I wanted to talk about this when we were in a better situation, but I suppose this place is as good as any. You showed real initiative during this fight. And putting yourself in front of the mutants like that," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not sure I would've done it."

"But you have," Rin said. "Several times over. You saved me and Clint from that big metal monster and helped me when you didn't need to."

I froze. I did do that…on instinct. For all of my scheming and calculation, I was less villainous than I pretended to be. "Was I becoming some sort of bleeding-heart hero?"

Rin scratched his head awkwardly. "That's taking it a bit too far, boss."

I narrowed my eyes at the cheeky kid and huffed. "Fine, fine. You're officially my apprentice. I'll share the techniques I can, and when the time comes, I expect you to repay the bloody favor."

Rin gulped but nodded.

Kurt chose that exact moment to teleport back in. He regarded me with a complicated expression. I imagined it was a mix between respect and apprehension.

"Still remember the layout of this place?" I asked.

He nodded, a bit confused. "Why?"

"I'm thinking about popping down to the lower levels and picking up a few things," I said with a grin. If Fury wanted to play dirty, so could I. Even though Jean never confirmed it, I had a sneaking suspicion that there was Adamantium in this damn facility. Lady Deathstrike's brief presence practically confirmed it. If I could get my hand on some of it and learn how to make weapons from them…

I nearly burst out laughing like a madman. The demons won't know what hit them.

---

Fury

I stepped off my jet with Donald to my right and Natasha to my left. We'd come prepared for war. We had sonic rifles, high-caliber rounds, and a fortune in high-tech protective gear.

I was a bit nervous to take on the demon threat, but it had to be done. We couldn't keep relying on the kid to take on our enhanced problem. He was a solid asset, but controlling or containing him was proving to be a challenge.

Between Cap's return, Banner's formula, and Strucker's knowledge of mutant and human DNA, I was confident that I could make Prometheus happen.

Forty years of reacting and playing catch up.

No more.

The advance team approached the entrance of the secret lab—a well-disguised but abandoned farm.

"Alright, you know to do team," I yelled into my communicator. "Weapons live and—Dante?" I sputtered in shock as I saw somebody ease the door open. I was surprised when I saw the white hair. He'd dyed it this entire time.

One eager soldier pulled a trigger, and I watched in strange fascination as Dante disappeared and reappeared in front of me faster than I could blink. My heart leaped up my throat, and in an instant, I had my gun drawn. Donald fell on his ass while Natasha mirrored me.

Up close, I now noticed he'd been through the ringer. There were holes in his fresh jacket, he was bleeding all over, and just below the cuff of his shirt, I could still see the remnant of his burn wound.

The kid was a fucking machine.

"It's been handled," he said. "The mutants are in the barn waiting on you, though you'll have to head down to retrieve most of the supersoldier and demon bodies."

"And the girl?"

"She took a beating. Recovering at the Sanctum," he said, a bit brusquely. "We've done our parts. I hope you remember your promise, Fury."

He held my gaze for a long moment, and I gave a terse nod.

He vanished like he was never there.

"Set a meeting with the World Council," I said to Donald, then turned to Natasha. "I want a full mission report on my desk tomorrow morning. Leave nothing out."

---

Dante

Aaron's portal dumped me in front of Jean's Hut, physically fit for the most part but mentally drained. It'd been a hell of a day, and it had tragically ended the same way it'd begun—with Jean unconscious and I in a great deal of pain, except much had changed in those short hours. I eased open the door to find Jean seated beside the Ancient one, both sharing a pleasant but content look. It brought a bright smile out of me as I settled into a chair in the corner.

"Good, you're both here," I said. "There's much to discuss."

"You've been quite busy, as Jean tells it," she said with her mysterious smile. "You mean to become a smith like your parents? I thought you were interested in demonic spells and mastering your energy?"

I shrugged. "I'm talented enough to walk both paths. I'm preternaturally good at wielding weapons. It would be a shame to ignore that aspect of my power. Besides, I have an apprentice now. I couldn't very well allow him to fight without a weapon."

She narrowed her eyes. "I heard about that as well. Mighty bold of you."

I winced. "I know I should've asked first, but in my defense, I already have a solution lined up. Alaska!" I pronounced, and both of them shared a confused look, causing me to grin.

"We find a property with hundreds of acres, far enough away from the demon threat in New York, and a select few we need. Plus, it'll give us the space we need to train and grow, decompress, and fucking live like normal people for once. Plus, Yao gets her Hut back."

Yao narrowed her eyes at my comment.

"While you've certainly overstayed your welcome in some respects, you're vital to the survival of our planet," she said. "I cannot very well turn you away. Besides, you're family," she added with a faint smile. "Still, get the space if you think you need it. When the time comes, I will install an enchanted doorway to all of the major Sanctums. You and Jean will be able to be wherever we need you at a moment's notice."

I nodded, grateful, then asked. "Any new information about the Blood Orb?" I'd handed it to her before we headed out to deal with the World Council situation. Now that it was over.

"I've learned much," she said with a frown. "The demons are further along in their plans than we estimated. The cores are filled with the overflowing demonic energy of Corvus, the First and the most dangerous of them all," Yao's face twisted. "He's spent the last several hundred years experimenting with human and demon biology and has been a constant thorn in my side. If you know how many spells I had to create to combat his ever-evolving forces…" she sighed.

"The cores are an alchemical construct that forces evolution by burning the subject lifeforce and imbuing demonic energy. They don't work on mutants for now, but I fear those days are numbered."

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