I stepped into a private elevator, dressed in my red jacket, a loose shirt that bore a healthy dash of cologne, and a pair of steel point boots. Fighting with my open cosmic wound was well and dandy, but the day-to-day was beginning to irk me, not that the constant AE expenditure had not been immensely valuable.
I had it up to 51 AE now.
It had been a week since the press conference, and I've been pushing myself to the brink. I spent every waking moment training with Mordo, Rin, or the Ancient one, smithing, fighting, and plotting.
Shin's forcefulness was becoming a legitimate concern, and I'd been working on countermeasures just in case he decided to do the unthinkable and cut me off somehow.
I never wanted the strength he gave me, but I was glad to have it. Fighting without weapons or skills would be difficult, but I'd done it before, and I could do it again. I hoped I wouldn't lose Rebellion though.
The Elevator door dinged.
"We're here," Jean announced, pulling me from my thoughts.
"You ready?" I asked her.
"No," she answered truthfully, "but I have to be. We've been waiting on this for weeks."
We stepped into a conference room filled with every mutant we've gathered so far.
Captain America, Nick Fury, Logan, Professor Hank, Magneto, Mystique, and finally, Yao.
"Now that you're both here, we can get this show on the road," Fury said. "We all know why we're here. It's the demons. They're at the top of our shit list and damn near every country's as well. We need a long-lasting and effective solution."
"I'm still a bit skeptical about this threat," Magneto said, "but I am inclined to believe the words of my second in command. Given, everything we've learned so far, the solution seems obvious, no? Annihilation."
I mentally chuckled. Classic Magneto. I didn't disagree though. My mouth watered at the thought of the Red Orbs.
"That cannot be feasible, can it?" Hank asked. "As I understand it, there's an entire world of them."
"That might not be as impossible as you think," I said slowly. "A few A-bombs sprinkled throughout the realm, and some judicious hunting, and we'll be home free.."
"You shouldn't joke about Genocide," Captain America said. "They're innocents among them too."
Innocents, really?
I raised a brow, throwing a look at Yao.
"We do not understand the greater complexities of their society," she explained, "but all evidence points to a hierarchical martial system, with quick-maturing offspring bred for war. All they've wanted in the last 400 years was to attack and conquer us, and with our primary protector gone, that dream might be finally possible for them."
"We had a protector?" Fury blinked, alarmed. Yao slowly nodded, pointing at me.
"His father," she said. "Sparda, the Dark Knight. An incomprehensively strong, nigh-immortal being who came to earth centuries ago. He chose to protect us from the demons, and it cost him his life."
Yao's comment earned me strange looks from every person present.
"Demon royalty and selfless too, huh?" Fury shook his head, "why am I not surprised."
Hank seemed more struck on the Immortal comment.
"I'm even more fascinated by the biology of your kind. It would also explain your tremendous growth."
I shrugged at Hank's assessment, but it was Magneto's gaze that caught my attention.
"Do you seek revenge for your father?"
"Not categorically," I said, somewhat honestly. "I barely knew the man…scratch that, demon. I'm more concerned with staying alive than anything else, which brings us back to my point. We can't afford to go easy on the demons. The time for negotiation and conversation has long passed. They struck the first blow when they attacked my father, and then they kidnapped thousands of mutants for the explicit purpose of experimentation. It is black and white. I say we build a super bomb and wash our hands of the situation."
Jean had a reluctant about her before she spoke up. "While I agree with Dante, I think we shouldn't write off an entire race just because of what the most vocal and powerful of them do," Jean said. "Heading over to Limbo, where the demons stay, will give us a real gauge of them, and the opportunity to rescue those we've lost."
Captain America nodded in approval. "Now, that's a mission I can get behind."
A small part of me was opposed to Jean's plan, even if my bomb tactic was rehearsed. I had no sympathy for the demons whatsoever, even after recognizing that every last one was not a piece of shit.
A superbomb just seemed like an easier, long-term solution. Ilyana and Ororo had to be out of Limbo for this plan, of course.
"That's all well and good," Dante said, "but according to the Ancient one, no one who has ever entered Limbo has escaped."
"Limbo itself is not heavily patrolled," Yao explained, "but the veil between our worlds is. They have an entire ministry of demon sorcerers adept with Space magic dedicated to it. We would be found in seconds, no matter how perfect our veil is."
I raised a brow at her comment, pulling up the description for Angel Evade and reading it again. "Not necessarily," I said, out loud. "One of my techniques might bypass that limitation."
Yao gave me a startled look. "Which one?"
I was a bit hesitant to air out my techniques like this, but it wasn't like they could do much with the information anyway, so I answered.
"Angel Evade."
The skill was fundamentally tied to Limbo, and I phased into the dimension each time I used the skill. If I drew on the connection to the skill and added in some actual magic, I figured I could open a portal to limbo.
"Of course," Yao muttered. "If what is saying is true, we might just have our way in and out."
"What about the demons on the surface," Logan asked. "There won't be a point to the rescue mission if they keep kidnapping mutants."
"True," Fury grunted, "but not everyone has to be on the rescue team. Between Dante's superhuman squad, the brotherhood, the captain, and the sorcerers, we have enough firepower to go on the offensive."
"Not nearly," Yao said with a dangerous glint in her eyes, "but we will soon enough. The demons broke the tentative ceasefire they had with the surface by attacking and kidnapping mutants everywhere worldwide. Typically, they limited themselves to espionage, asset and technological acquisition to avoid the ire of the most powerful factions on Earth. After the incident last week, however, their intent is clear. They're making a play for the surface, and it's high time we reminded the players of how dangerous these demons can be."
"Don't tell me you want to call on them?" Magneto frowned. "Nothing good will come of inviting the Hellfire Club into our coalition."
"They exist?" Fury said with a somewhat startled look. "My agents never confirmed it."
"They like to keep it that way," Magneto said. "They have a telepath among their ranks."
"Of course, they fucking do," Logan grunted. "I already have a headache coming on."
"Emma Frost is not as unreasonable as rigid as Xavier and can be won over if we convince her she has more to gain than lose if she sides with us," I said, as I pondered the identity of the other players. "Tony Stark is not a member of the club. Unfortunately, he is still in his party boy phase, but he can be swayed if he understands the risks. King T'Chaka of Wakanda is hard-headed, but his son will recognize the benefits of working with us."
My words earned my owlish looks from Magneto, Mystique, and the captain.
"It's the kid's thing," Logan explained, "knowing things he's not supposed to."
"Coulson did mention that," The Captain said, slowly regarding me. I noticed Magneto and Mystique's glare as well. She was a Master actress and manipulator, but her eyes gave her away. She couldn't help herself.
I did kill her childhood bestie, Xavier.
My eyes flashed red for effect. "It's closer to Clairvoyance," I said with a smile, "important difference."
I turned to Fury. "If we're going to stand a snowball's chance in hell, we need be able to take a Cambion on in a straight-up fight, which no offense, not a lot of people on our current roster can manage that. There are 50 of them. We're going to need a lot of training and resources. How's the government pocket looking these days?"
"For this, infinitely deep," Fury said. "We'll set you all up in SHIELD's strongest stronghold until you're ready. It should make someone even as powerful as Domina hesitate."
Ah, Domina. From everything Yao had told me about her, which was precious little, I had no delusions I was ready to take her. If her junior sister could fold me, she could probably atomize me.
"While I appreciate the enthusiasm," I began, sharing a look with Jean. "You can't protect us, only the sorcerers meaningfully can. The same goes for the Brotherhood. Best case scenario, we stay in safehouses spelled by powerful sorcerers."
"Establishing a link between multiple locations shouldn't be that much of a challenge. I planned to do that for Dante's new home anyway," Yao explained.
"Great," I nodded. "The X-men get one location, the brotherhood, another."
"Not so fast," Logan said. "I never agreed to nothing."
"You should reconsider," I said plainly. "As you are, you've got no heavy hitters on your team, except for maybe Bobby and yourself. Ororo and Ilyana need you strong and united with Jean if you're going to stand a chance."
"Some of the kids will not like this," Logan said, "but it might be for the best."
"Good then," I clapped. "We should all probably pick somebody important and try to recruit them while Fury is greasing the wheels of democracy and coordinating with other governments worldwide."
"What if we run into one of those things?" Mystique said with a slight shudder.
"Make a call and we'll portal straight over," Yao explained, causing Mystique to frown.
"You have no limitations on those strange portals you use?"
"Only sight," Yao said. "As long as I can see it, I can appear there. Through satellite imaging via the courtesy of SHIELD, there should be virtually no place on earth where you could run to that we wouldn't be able to find you."
"That's remarkable," Hank said in a low voice.
"We have to be," I said. "It's the only way we're getting through this."
(Read up to Chapter 118 on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting)