Clint
When Dante told me the Professor was grooming Scott to take over the mutants, I started looking forward to the fight. Sure, he didn't make that great of a first impression.
If I hadn't had the RX-29 on me, his teenage melodrama could've cost us the only reliable weapon we had to eliminate Jean should it come down to it, but I held out hope for the kid.
Dante had praised his martial prowess, and he clearly held authority with the older generation despite his age. He couldn't have been that bad.
I was disappointed when he opened his mouth.
"A bow and arrow, really? Are you sure you don't want to use that big rifle strapped to your back? At least your friends had the sense not to bring a 5th-century weapon to a superhuman fight." he snickered.
"Has it occurred to you that there might be a reason why I use a bow?"
Scott scoffed, and I shook my head.
A foam arrow left my bow before Scott could reach his visor. It coated his half-raised arm, nose, and visor in adhesive foam, neutralizing the git.
Scott tumbled to the ground, yelling at the top of his lungs. He was so afraid it didn't even occur to him to try and breathe through his mouth.
So, I walked over and slapped the shit out of him.
"Breathe through your mouth before you pass out, kid."
That snapped him out of his delirium, and he did as he was told, but not without getting a word in first.
"This is not over."
"Yeah, it is," I said as I stepped over him, turning my attention to Natasha. Her fight was heating up, as were the junior agents and the pyrokinetic kid.
However, what truly held my attention was the dark clouds gathering above us.
Storm, the weather control mutant, looked like she didn't appreciate Drumm's advances one bit.
With a shout, a burst of air swept through two of the three illusionary clones of the Sorcerer, and I smelt ozone. She was about to bring lightning down on us.
Not on my watch.
I knocked another foam arrow, felt the wind with the tip of my finger, and fired. The arrow rode the air and slammed into the weather mutant's chest, wrapping her body tightly in foam.
The last strings of golden restraints holding her suddenly faded instantly before red glowing bands shot out the adjacent portal and dragged her through.
She yelped in surprise as she hit the floor. Lightning started to gather again before Drumm crossed his hand, generating a prismatic shield around her, and looked at me.
"A knock-out arrow, if you'd please."
I blinked before answering. "You got it, chief."
My arrow was airborne in a fraction of a second, and it penetrated through the prismatic prison, releasing a potent concoction that knocked out the mutant.
Damn, I whistled. These sorcerers don't play around.
Yet, I found him a lot less intimidating than the kid. The memory of him taking down that eldritch monster was still fresh.
The explosions, the raw strength, and the killer instinct it was all on display again in the fight with the big metal guy.
—
Dante
The fight with Colossus started as a one-sided affair, but the big guy caught up pretty quickly. He avoided my axe like it was the plague, even when it wasn't overflowing with demonic energy, and always turtled up before I used Burst in any capacity, but it didn't make that much of a difference.
I was basically untouchable for somebody as slow as he was. For all his strength, Piotr was not very fast. All it took was a wicked combo to bring him to his knees.
I stepped into Piotr's guard with two light burst-infused punches and weaved past the first jab that came at me and the feint that followed, setting me up for a brutal leg kick.
I had picked up on his patterns a while back, but unlike most MMA fighters, I had the durability, speed, and reaction time to spot the deviations before they occurred.
Although his muscles were all metal, I saw him pulling back as he set up the feint. I weaved under it to get a charge of Demon Evade double damage and phased through a low kick as it came. Mid-air, I rapidly switched directions with a demonic burst and Rebellion drawn.
I spun in the air, body and blade, all the while filling up my weapon with demonic energy. The flat of Rebellion's blade slammed into the side of the big guy's head and sent him head-over-ass into a tree that subsequently snapped in half.
I double-jumped, reaching directly above him before going down full force with the blunt end of Arbiter's head soaked in demon energy.
The sound of Piotr's scream melded with the explosion.
The hit created a small crater, yet the big guy came swinging a second later. The hit clipped me in the ear, and I flipped back and pulled Ebony.
I started to charge a focused shot as he climbed out of the crater.
He had a deep gash on his chest that made me wince. I could scarcely imagine how much worse the wound would've been if I had used the sharp edge.
"It's over, big guy," I said. "Everyone is down except for you, and we will take them all into custody if you don't stop fighting me and let me help Jean already."
"You're not the man I thought you were, Dante. The Professor said you brought this upon us," he said with a heavy breath, staring up at me. "You tampered with the Seal that he placed on the monster inside Jean."
"If y'all had been patient enough to listen to the damn tape, you would've heard me explain to Xavier that creating that Seal was the worst thing he could've ever done. The monster inside of her is a thinking, feeling thing, and it doesn't like being shackled.
I'm just here trying to fix Xavier's cock up. Let us take her away and try and help her. Don't risk your and your sister's life out of loyalty to a man who doesn't deserve it."
Colossus's eyes clouded over, and words followed, contemplative and slow. "I…I…find you fascinating."
His thick baritone voice was buried beneath a high-pitched tenor, but to my utter horror, his lips hadn't moved, but I'd heard it clearly all the same.
He had breached my Adept Tier Mental Resistance Skill without me ever noticing.
My stomach dropped, and sweat broke out across my back and face. I was rooted in place by absolute terror.
And then Colossus's body combusted. White and red fire poured out of his orifices and palms, knitting wounds that bled silver, revitalizing the waning giant.
He grinned at me, and I made the mistake of activating Devil's Eye.
A burning phoenix made of cosmic white fire floated, superimposed on Colossus's mind and body.
The sheer presence of the beast burned through my retinas and touched my soul.
I shrunk back.
"Fuck me."
The sight reinforced my worst fears and brought me to that moment with Shin. The helplessness I felt, the primal fear that overwhelmed me.
And just like then, there was nowhere to run. Yet, I wasn't the weakling I used to be, and I had people relying on me now.
I couldn't entertain fear.
"Drumm, send the fallen X-men away and get the team into that Mansion," I ordered through my comms. "The Phoenix is here."
"Say no more," the man said.
"Talk to me, Dante? What's going on?" Clint asked.
"Charles failed," I said plainly. "The Phoenix is loose. Your only hope now is Drumm. If he can get her the Artic, maybe there's a chance."
"Chance of what?" Coulson asked.
"Not dying horrible death along with the rest of New York and the continent," Drumm said evenly.
"Is that all?" Clint's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"I'll hold off the big guy while you all make a break for the Mansion," I said.
"You're the only one Jean trusts," Natasha pointed out. "How are we supposed to get through to her?"
Was she being serious? I was about to fight the embodiment of Psychic energy, Life, and Rebirth. The least she could do was have some fucking initiative.
"You'll figure something out," I yelled. "Now get on a move on!"
At those words, I finally fired the focused energy beam I'd been holding all this while. It carved a brutal path through the air and clapped against the waiting double palms of Colossus.
The energy wavered for a moment before exploding violently.
Phoenix-Colossus stared at his burnt palm with some fascination before completely healing it with a flash of white fire.
While the Phoenix was in a daze, Drumm opened up glowing portals, ferrying every member of the team and the fallen X-Men deeper into the Mansion. I breathed a little easier, but that was a mistake.
When I turned back to the fight, phoenix-Colossus's fist was a few inches away from my face. I whipped out Osiris and swung it while channeling angel energy.
Angelic energy bathed my scythe, generating a small arc that shoved back the Phoenix's fist.
I didn't come out of the exchange unscathed, either. The hit pushed me several meters back, and my bones ached, but I got a notification that made the entire exchange worth it.
Angel Technique: Parry (Basic)
Generate a wave of angel energy that reflects 50% of the damage inflicted and reduces the damage received by 65%. Cost 5 AE
(Second to last chapter for the week. We're still off from the 1100 Powerstone goal for the week, but the double chapter is still locked in for Sunday. Anyhow...I just got this new review that really burned my chaps.
I've gotten a few 2 and 1 star reviews from people who are salty about Dante being nerfed or not liking the X-men taking Dante how they did, but something about this one really fucking got to me.
The worst part is that his complaints were not even valid. They talked about how Dante made terrible decisions at every turn, and I'm not going to say his earlier decisions were not dogshit. Choosing to raid the Santos den could've gotten him killed, but everything after that WAS methodical. He went with the X-men because they could kick his ass. He spares Xavier because he is a decent tool. He becomes a mercenary with Fury because he gets paid, has more freedom, and gets access to the stones. I mean... goddamn.
I think above all else...Dante is more measured than the stereotypical protagonist. He can't act recklessly and stand up to people he can't take in a fight. And even when he does plan...things don't often work out in his favor (cue Xavier nearly lobotomizing him). He's not just that guy.
Dante is scrappy, duplicitous, and cares above his survival above looking good. And whoever says you can't play the long game.
I'm too upset for a Patreon plug....psyche. I'm far too shameless for that. We're at Chapter 61 today. Catch up on Patreon.com/ArtandCreativeWriting.)