I stopped by Peter Parker's room just before midnight. He fell out of his chair with a shriek when he saw me. My Twilight Devourer suit didn't help either.
His Uncle Ben came running up the stairs, and I vanished just before the door swung open.
"You alright, Peter?"
"Yeah…" he coughed. "Just saw a spider."
A smile slowly spread across Uncle Ben's face.
"Don't stay up all night."
The door eased shut, and I waited a few more seconds for Uncle Ben to leave before teleporting back into his room. "Long time no see, little homie."
"Dante?" he whispered. "You scared the piss out of me."
"Didn't mean to…okay, maybe I did mean it the slightest bit, but I'm here to recruit you. Your Uncle Ben is A-Okay; you've been putting the cash to use, now I'm calling upon you…that is if you'd have me?"
Peter blinked, his heart speeding up, as he hurriedly put away notes with lines of calculations and theories. A chunk of them looked like gibberish. "Wow, this is really happening. I thought I had months, at least, with how busy you are."
"Time flies by really fast when you're a mercenary for the government," I folded my arms, disappearing the mask that covered my face. "A big fight is coming soon. It'll likely rock all of New York, and it's happening tomorrow, so we have about a week of dilated time."
Peter blinked. "Wait, you have a hyperbolic time chamber."
"The magical equivalent," I answered, grabbing his shoulder. "Pack a bag. Your life is about to change. Once you become enhanced, there's no going back. Knowing you, you'd feel compelled to help people, and that means your life stops being your own. It'll belong to the people of New York. The world. College, Girlfriends, Jobs—everything takes a back seat. And don't get me started on the many challenges of having sex when enhanced…"
Peter clamped his ears. "Okay. I get the picture."
"Do you? Because this is how I look 90% of the time," I said, gesturing to my suit. "It's a lot, but I love it."
Peter scrunched his face in thought before getting up from his chair and walking to his wardrobe. "Not many people get the opportunity to make a real difference. Steve Rogers didn't back down when the call came."
I snorted. "And you're not in the army."
"True. But you saved me and Uncle Ben when no one else would. I just want the chance to do that for somebody."
"That's as good a reason as any, I suppose," I said with more emotion than I intended. It was the first genuine thank you I've gotten since I've been outed. I wondered if he'd still feel the same way once I told him about my overlord.
"Pack your things, and leave your Uncle and Aunt a note just in case we don't make it back before you have to wake up. We have a few more stops."
Daredevil was running for his life when I found him teamed up with some girl around my age with black hair and a leather jacket. She was chucking hand ninjas left and right while Peter and I watched from the roof.
"Aren't you going to help him?" he asked.
"Jean's vetted him, but I want to see what he got."
He was a blur, striking and flipping with his batons. All his blows were nonlethal but devastating. Knees, liver, necks, heads, even privates. Nothing was off limits.
"Oof," I made a face as he took down yet another ninja with a body throw. The fight ended as Jessica clotheslined an acrobatic ninja.
"He can move…" Peter said.
"Oh, he can," I said. "But you'll move even better when I'm done with you. Come on, let's go say hello."
I leaped off the rooftop and landed with barely a thud. The impact absorption on my Twilight Devourer armor was no joke. Daredevil's and Jessica's head whipped in our direction.
"Uh…Dante, I don't think I can—Aaaaaah."
Peter screamed his head off as I levitated him down the building, and Jessica growled.
"It's not enough that you're chasing us. You bring kids into this, too?" She rushed straight at me and hurled a punch at my face.
"Jessica, wait," Daredevil warned, and I smirked underneath my mask.
The punch landed with a dull slap against my outstretched palm. "Decent power," I commented. Her eyes went wide in surprise, and she pulled back. I let her.
I vanished my mask. "You should know who I am?"
Jessica blinked. "You're that demon kid that Jameson can't stop talking about."
"Dante Sparda," Daredevil said. "I'm acutely aware of who you are and your methods."
"You don't approve, I take it?"
"Killing makes you no better than them," he said firmly, and I snorted.
"Oddly simplistic considering what you do during the day, Daredevil," I said. "You, of all people, should know better."
Daredevil put away his batons.
"Killing is only acceptable under very strict conditions," he said firmly, "otherwise, where does it stop? We're vigilantes; we shouldn't get to decide who gets to live and die."
"But I do," I said firmly, "and the world is better off for it. Do you know how many thousands of demons, enemy supers' soldiers, and mercenaries I put down to prevent a repeat of what happened in New York? And when that didn't work, who do you think they called to clean it up?"
My aura slowly unspooled, pressing on him, but his resolve never waned.
"Because you can do all that is precisely why killing should be a last resort for powered people. Once you start killing, you forget where the line is. And your past tells me you might've never even found that line to begin with. You're suspected of murdering dozens of drug dealers, a store owner, and a fixer in Vegas. Who's going to stop you if you ever go over the edge?"
"You, hopefully," I said, stunning Peter and even Jessica.
"What?" Daredevil said slowly.
"Espousing absolute morality is easy when you don't have to make the big calls. You want to keep people that are on my level in check? Accept my offer.
"Okay. That just took an interesting turn," Jessica muttered.
"You want to make me like Captain America," Daredevil said.
"Stronger, faster, and more durable than that," I said, "with far better senses and eyesight, of course."
Matt stood there in silence for a long moment before he shook his head. "I'm happy where I am."
"That's awfully convenient, isn't it?" I said, my tone slowly turning colder. "I'm giving you the means and opportunity to shut down Domina and the rest of her psychotic family and save billions of lives in the process, but you're afraid that you'll be just as bad as I am?" I scoffed. "Maybe you're not the man you thought you were."
"You can't tempt me into taking your offer!" Daredevil growled, and I rolled my eyes.
"I don't have to bait you. Do you know why I chose you and not any other bruiser off the street, Daredevil? Because you're one of the only people alive with the morals, skills, and personal stake to win this fight. You've been called. Are you serious about saving the world, or are you just talk?"
Daredevil visibly deflated. My words seem to have taken the fight straight out of him. The ball was in his court now, but I had a feeling he was leaning in my direction.
I turned to Jessica.
"You're going to be a pain in the ass to work with, but you've got skill, no doubt, and the desire to do the right thing. The options are open to you too if you want it."
Jessica blinked, pointing to herself. "Me? Really? Listen...I think I already have all the superpowers I can stomach. Plus, fighting the head of a super-secret shadow organization doesn't seem like my scene."
"Neither is internment camps and slavery, I bet," I said casually. That got me strange looks. "What? That's their endgame. They want to take over our planet. Subjugated populations don't typically flourish under the boot of tyranny."
Jessica swallowed.
"You left that part out," Peter muttered, and I hummed.
"Did I?"
I turned back to Jessica. "So, are you onboard?"
"I'm going to need to see proof," she said tersely.
"I would expect you to," I nodded, then turned to Daredevil, whose skin was several shades paler.
"I will not kill," he insisted, and I shrugged.
"Just make sure they stay down, and we won't have problems."
Unlike Peter, neither of them wanted a go-bag. I grabbed them by the shoulder, and we vanished, reappearing on an Island in my dimension. I left them to Jean before we started playing twenty questions while I swung by the apartment of my next recruit.
Colleen Wing.
She jumped at the opportunity to get payback for her students. Relations between her and Bakudo had just broken down, and she was about to go on the run.
Next, I visited Yelena.
She had a dark-skinned Widow in an arm bar as she rattled off questions, and they answered through gritted teeth. I let the scene play out with peculiar interest. Once she was satisfied, she let go, and I teleported between them.
"And I thought I was a hardass," I chuckled at Yelena.
"Still miles better than getting a mental colonoscopy," she said.
"I take it you've narrowed down your list."
"10," she pronounced. "There are only ten other people that I trust."
I nodded. "Round them up. It's time."
"Something's happening?"
"We're going on the offensive."
I teleported the girls to orientation, where Jean would explain the broad strokes of our plan. Kamar-Taj was next, and finally, I dropped by the mansion in Alaska and whisked away some of our heaviest hitters. I also offered some of the kids, including Scott, a chance to become part of the program upon Jean's request.
"So, are you in?" I asked, hands on waist akimbo. "You've seen what Logan can do now? Given what's coming, it just makes sense to empower all of you."
"I'm obviously concerned about the enhancements and how they'd manifest in each of us, but you've proven they're safe enough," Professor Hank said diplomatically. "Ultimately, it's a question of trust."
"Obviously, the answer is no," Scott scoffed, and I rolled my eyes.
"Jean asked for this. So, trust in her word, not mine," I said to the small group gathered in front. Bobby looked anxious but hopeful, and Kitty's eyes searched around the gathering. Logan already decided he trusted me, and Rin was on board.
Without word to the contrary, I figured everyone was on the same page.
I clapped. A few sorcerers from Kamar-Taj will watch over the kids while we are away, but there was one mutant I wanted to get off the street before things started to spin out of control. Rogue.
At first, everyone except Logan was hesitant to help me locate the lost girl, but they quickly changed their attitude when I told them of her mutation.
Power Absorption. She was probably the only mutant that could take me down aside Rin.
Rogue was the most powerful piece on the board, and no one knew it yet. She had to be protected at all costs. To my utter horror, we could not find her after nearly an hour of searching with Cerebro. I grew hysterical at some point, even questioning Professor Hank's expertise, but the truth was simpler and more worrisome.
She'd either been taken by the Demons or Shin's men. I didn't know which was worse.