Scott came to get me at the crack of dawn and led me to the Professor's office. It was a spacious study with a Mahogany table, large windows that let in natural light, and low shelves stuffed with ancient leather-bound books.
"Take a Seat, Dante," the professor offered. He was a bald man in his forties with a smooth-shaven face and an elegant British voice.
"Don't mind if I do," I said, settling on the plush chair across from him.
"You know why I called you here," he said. "The staff are undecided whether we should keep or hand you over to the authorities. They've asked me to make the final decision."
"And which direction are you leaning?" I asked, crossing my legs.
"I barely know you," Charles said. "We've only just met."
"That's not entirely true," I said with a cunning smile. "You were in my head earlier, remember?"
"Logan and Professor Hank tell me you react rather explosively to any mental intrusion of any sort," Charles said with a measured tone. "I apologize for my actions earlier, but it was the only way to stop you from killing that man."
"I didn't actually plan on killing Night Kat," I said. "I thought I was being recorded at the time and wasn't going to put an even bigger target on my back by killing a member of the brotherhood."
"You intended to use him as leverage," Charles surmised.
"A plan which your X-men ruined, by the way," I huffed.
"Given your history, you'd forgive me for not believing you. When we ran into you yesterday, we only knew about the murders and the fire at the store, but now, we know of your crimes and reputation in Los Angeles. You're not exactly the misunderstood teenager you pretend to be."
"No, I am not," I admitted. "If you know about the crimes I've committed, you probably also know about my childhood."
"Yes, hunted by 'demons' and moved from foster home to foster home," Charles said with a voice thick with sarcasm. "Imaginary monsters are hardly justification for committing murder."
"Oh, there's nothing imaginary about them," I said, flashing my Devil's Eye, causing Charles to shift uncomfortably in his seat. "I've devoted my entire life to fighting them and men whose souls are just as black as the demons themselves."
"You're a demon?" Charles questioned, instantly making the connection. Revealing my heritage was a calculated risk, but knowing Xavier, he wouldn't be able to help himself.
He probably already concluded I was dangerous and too powerful not to be controlled or limited in some way.
And that was exactly what I wanted him to think.
"You'll have to ask my parents that," I said with a shrug.
"Given the unusual nature of your power, I'd argue that you were. It would explain why your mind felt unlike anything I've ever witnessed. That energy you used…it was unnatural."
"Story of my life. Been called that since I was a toddler."
Xavier winced, but he did not back down. "Still, your past does not excuse your actions. You hold little regard for life because of how you were raised, and I cannot be certain that you'd never bring harm to others if I let you go."
"You're right, of course," I said easily. "But you could say the same thing about Wolverine."
The Profesor's eyes went wide, speechless as I threw his hypocrisy back at him. "How did you…"
"Like I told the X-men, you don't cover your tracks as well as you think," I said with an enigmatic smile. "Look me in the eyes and tell me your X-men have not and will not kill?"
The Professor was quiet for a moment. "Those who have are different people now, whereas you were in a firefight only yesterday."
"A firefight that I was dragged into against my wishes," I said. "As I explained, I was visiting a friend when your enemies showed up. And who says I was not trying to change? I just got dealt a bad hand after bad hand. From the Shield agent to the Santos crew waiting to ambush me, every life I took was in self-defense."
Xavier turned pale.
"Wait, did you say a SHIELD agent tried to kill you? You didn't tell Logan or Storm that."
I smirked internally.
Hook, line, and sinker.
If SHIELD was active in this world, there was no way Xavier didn't know about them and what it's supposed to represent.
It would go against everything Professor X stood for him to tolerate SHIELD abducting people.
"Wolverine had claws pointed at me, and I was trying to de-escalate the situation. I didn't think there was any room for story time."
Professor X frowned. "Tell me what happened."
I retold the details of the night before I took over Dante's body, really emphasizing how suspicious the guy had been.
He hadn't introduced himself, offered any explanation, or anything. He'd just tried to jump me, and I'd fought him off. It was only after he was dead that Dante found out that he was a Shield agent.
Noting the complicated look on Xavier's face, I decided to twist the knife even deeper.
"SHIELD is not supposed to go around abducting people, are they?"
"No, they're not."
"I guessed as much. That's why I ran," I said. "I figured turning myself in was not an option. So, I stormed the Santos place, looking to get back some money their boss stole from me. After I left there, I went to an old pawn shop to try and retrieve my old guns. You already know how both interactions went. They fired first on both occasions, and things devolved."
Xavier massaged his nose bridge. "Your circumstances are extraordinary," he admitted. "But if you've found yourself on SHIELD's Radar, there's very little I can do to protect you."
"I'm not asking for your protection," I said, earning a curious look from Xavier. "I'm asking you to use your influence to help me negotiate a meeting with somebody high enough to trust. I can negotiate with him in good faith and find a mutually happy compromise."
The old man stared at me. I couldn't tell if he was more impressed or shocked. He could read in between the lines. I was offering my services to SHIELD as a contractor, and he was not in any position to refuse me. Fury would want to talk to me, given the implications of what I'd just described, and Charles could not keep me from him without endangering the lives of his students. Releasing me to fend for myself didn't seem like an option he wanted to entertain either.
Of course, I didn't want to go from a rookie devil hunter to a SHIELD mercenary without any time to prepare myself.
"Could you buy me at least a month to train before you set up the meet?" I asked. "I'd like to prepare myself physically."
I knew that a thousand and one things could go wrong during my negotiations with SHIELD, but I had a plan that guaranteed I walked out on top.
Xavier didn't need to know that, though.
It was a long moment before the Professor spoke. "Of course."
—
Xavier's POV
"What did you think of young Dante?" I asked Storm, who sat in the same chair Dante had a few hours ago. When he was dismissed, he'd asked to be pointed to the training area and ran off. Hank had shown me the video of his fight. He was quite the competent fighter, on par with some of the most accomplished martial artists I'd ever seen, but his demonic heritage and powers set me on edge.
After a single meeting, he'd been able to counter my mutant ability crudely.
"He's a wolf in sheep's clothing," Storm concluded. "Manipulative, powerful, and has the intelligence to back it up. I'm almost afraid of what SHIELD could do with somebody of his talent."
"Played you like a fiddle," Wolverine grunted in his seat across from Storm. "But he's owning up to his mistake. It's a shame to see a fighter of his caliber go. I re-watched his fight with Night Kat. He was lethal."
"That he was," I said, "and I'm afraid SHIELD will warp him into more of a monster than he already is. Given his parentage, I fear that might be an inevitability."
"You can't keep him," Logan said. "You know how Fury gets."
"We can't," I admitted. By announcing his connection with Shield, Dante had ensured we only had two options– turn him to the police where the brotherhood and the corrupt members of SHIELD could find him, or help him on his terms.
But I had a third and unconventional option.
"Logan, you're going to recruit Dante as your teaching assistant during his stay with us, and I'm going to be buying him two months instead of one. He has considerable fighting experience. Use it to train the children."
"Are you sure," Storm questioned. "He doesn't seem to respond well to threats of any kind."
Storm was, of course, referring to the startling trail of bodies he'd left behind when he made his daring escape out of Los Angeles.
"He may be violent, but he's not quick to anger. Otherwise, he would've killed Kat and fought you when you tried to bring him in. He can be reasoned with."
Logan seemed to be indifferent about the entire ordeal. "The kids could use a sparring partner close to their level."
"What is the point of forcing him to teach?" Storm asked.
"To keep the humanity in him alive," I answered. I also wanted to find a way to seal the demon in him away. Dante was like Jean in a way, flowing with untapped potential. I couldn't very well allow that type of violent power to grow unchecked. It could mean the end of us all.