Marvel: Death Dealer-Chapter 132: Humbled

Xavier had known of Dante’s formidability from the news. He had seen Dante fly at a speed that produced sonic bursts and defeat thousands of symbiotes without breaking a sweat. But he hadn’t expected Dante to walk through Scott’s beam without breaking a stride.

Someone with that speed could easily sidestep Scott’s beam and rush at him. The only reason he hadn’t done that was to protect Jean and Psylocke from being caught in the beams.

Scott yelled and dialed up the output even more as he retreated to match Dante’s pace. The beam blazed brighter. At the same time, a chunk of ice smashed into Dante’s back, shattering into a cascade of glittering fragments.

“Sorry, big bro!” Bobby apologized and opened both palms, which were pointing at Dante. A stream of frost beams came out of his hands and attacked Dante. It barely slowed him down. “Don’t take it personally, please.”

Warren looked between the two and considered his options. In the end, he made the decision to fly at Emma. “Frost, there is a peaceful way out of this.”

This place was the worst for an aerial fighter like Warren. So he utilized the diplomatic option, hoping to charm Emma into a peaceful resolution.

Emma stepped forward to meet him, leaving Psylocke to stand watch over Selene. The Witch had fallen unconscious when nobody was looking. Xavier suspected Dante had done it to prevent Selene from escaping using her magic. The Black Queen had many tricks up her sleeve.

“What’s the alternative, Angel boy?” Emma smashed her diamond fist into an open palm, a gesture that didn’t suit her elegant style. “Violence? You think I’m afraid of that?”

Warren cleared his throat. “Jean, are you going to watch your friend get beaten to a pulp?”

Jean shook her head. “Pretend I’m just a statue.”

“Jean—”

“I’m not here.”

“Do a favor for a friend,” Warren said, or rather, pleaded. “I know you don’t want to watch Scott get hurt.”

Jean’s gaze moved to Scott, who had switched his tactics. He went for smaller bursts of beam as he escaped Dante’s pursuit. Dante was laughing, having fun chasing her childhood friend around.

A complicated expression covered her face.

“I’m not joining the fight,” she said. “That’s the most I can offer without stepping on my new boss’ toes.”

She had drawn her line. Xavier knew he had lost Jean for good. This happened when he allowed a young passionate woman to live an oppressed life.

He turned his attention back to the fight. Scott had extraordinary potential in destruction and Bobby could manipulate ice like nobody else. But Dante wasn’t bothered by the two. The moment he decided to stop playing around, it would be over in seconds.

‘We need more strength.’

He noticed Selene’s attendant glancing at him.

‘Teresia.’

Xavier still remembered that day in Afghanistan. He had been in hot pursuit of the Shadow King, but ended up walking into one of his traps. He had reached out blindly with his telepathy, searching for any nearby mind that could help.

He had found Teresia Karisik, a survivor from a village torn apart by war. Her mutation granted her perfect memory and rapid analytical abilities, making her brain functions operate similarly to a computer. A valuable power for any one.

He had brought her to America and trained her as the first X-Men before sending her into the Hellmoon Club’s orbit. Her ability, her past experience, the sharpness, and her intelligence made her an excellent spy. He had to get to the bottom of why Selene had established this cult that involved so many rich elites and what she had been planning with the Externals, the other powerful mutants.

He reached out through his telepathy, “Teresia, come here.”

Teresia was pleasantly surprised to be called. She shuffled to his side. “Yes, Professor.”

“I’m going to unseal your powers.”

Xavier tapped into Teresia’s mind. She didn’t hesitate in lowering the psionic shields around her mind, allowing him to easily remove the restrictions he had placed there. Selene had to think of Teresia as an ordinary telepath. Her mutant powers made her too much of a dangerous factor to keep around for Selene so he had to make them disappear.

Teresia pressed her fingers to her temple. “It’s back.”

“Find us a way out with Selene.”

Her eyes moved across the chamber to gather as much information as possible before building a model in her mind.

Xavier had a small hope in her success, which didn’t last long as Dante arrived before Scott. “I haven’t done shit to you, but you treat me like some archnemesis.”

The young mutant tried to retreat, but Dante grabbed him by the collar and kicked his stomach. Scott left the ground, hit the floor several times, and rolled twice before stopping. Jean watched anxiously, only showing relief when she sensed Scott’s mind intact.

Dante had vanished after kicking Scott. Bobby was startled to find the God of Death had chosen him as the next victim. Rather than fighting, Bobby raised his hands in surrender and undid his ice form. “I’m done, dude. Why am I fighting a raid boss alone?”

“You’re smart, I’ll spare you for that.”

“I cannot find a viable strategy,” Teresia said in a calm voice. “The probability of Selene’s survival is zero percent.”

Teresia had considered taking someone hostage, threatening Dante that they would make someone’s mind explode. Except all three women on Dante’s side were telepaths.

Xavier could see that with his own eyes, but he wasn’t willing to give up just yet.

Teresia put a hand on the back of his wheelchair. “Professor, we should withdraw.”

Xavier let out a sigh and controlled his wheelchair to rotate toward the gate. “X-Men… withdraw.”

A single man had defeated the students he had trained for years now.

Any teacher would feel bitter in this situation. If Ororo had stayed and fought alongside Jean, the battle might have gone in their favor.

Warren flew toward Scott to pick him up, then Bobby and Warren retreated to Xavier’s side.

A gust of wind passed by, and Dante was standing in Teresia’s path. “You stay. The rest can leave.”

Xavier furrowed his brows. “What do you want with Teresia?”

Dante kept his gaze locked on Teresia, who wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him. “She’ll accompany her mistress to the grave.”

“I sent Emma a warning text,” Teresia said coldly. “It’s her fault for not acting on it.”

Dante glanced at Emma, who confirmed the information with a brief nod. “Doesn’t change what you did. Without you, Emma could’ve easily controlled Trevor.”

Xavier clenched his fist on the armrest of his wheelchair. “Teresia is my student. I had her act as a spy.”

He felt a little helpless. There was nothing he could do to make Dante back off. Dante’s pressure felt far worse than SHIELD’s oppression. He made Nick Fury look reasonable.

“Professor Xavier only asked me to report big movements in the Club.” Teresia crossed her arms. “I can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.”

Bobby and Warren exchanged a quiet glance. Teresia’s indifference toward the Hellions’ death made them uncomfortable. They still kept quiet in case they would anger the Professor.

“Dante,” Xavier said. “Don’t do anything—”

Dante snapped his fingers. Teresia’s eyes closed gently, and she dropped to the floor without a sound. “Make those excuses in the afterlife.”

Teresia’s thoughts became nothing. Her mind had gone completely quiet.

“Charles, I’m sparing you today because Jean is here. But there won’t be a next time.”

Dante didn’t glance at Xavier as he walked back and rejoined Emma, Jean, and Psylocke. He whispered something to Jean. She looked across at Xavier with an apologetic expression and shook her head once. The four of them disappeared from the chamber. And gone with them was Selene.

‘Teresia.’

Xavier sat in his wheel and heard nothing but his own heartbeat that was fast and shallow. His hands, resting in his lap, were not entirely steady. He felt tightness in his chest and the sweat beading on his forehead.

He drew a shaking breath and held it, repeating the process until he recovered.

What he had just experienced was a minor anxiety attack.

Warren crouched beside Teresia and held two fingers under her nose. “No breathing… she is gone.”

Xavier stared at the empty passage and clenched his right fist.

***

The top of the Empire State Building was cold and open in all directions.

Dante put away his mask and disengaged Hyperion’s Resonance Link. Solar radiation from the afternoon pale sun began to accumulate, slowly replenishing the nearly-empty Helio Reactor.

‘Too slow.’

The upper atmosphere filtered and scattered too much of what he needed. To absorb a meaningful amount, he’d have to go to Orbit and take it directly from the source.

‘What if I… put a space station next to the sun?’

He could imagine the routine of teleporting to the space station and relaxing an hour or two before coming back full.

‘Worth trying.’

Emma dropped Selene. The diamond on her skin receded in layers until she was herself again. “Xavier will be very angry. Jean, you—”

Jean turned and threw herself in Emma’s arms. Pressing herself in Emma’s chest, she cried. She had spent years building bonds with everyone at the mansion, especially her childhood friend. She had “betrayed” all of them today for her goals. Many would feel remorse or guilt when making such a decision. An empathetic woman like her felt it even heavier than others.

Emma seemed surprised for a moment. He glared at her, signaling with his eyes to shut it and comfort Jean. She smiled bitterly and wrapped her arms around Jean, patting her back. Emma probably wasn’t a great choice for this considering how much she relied on telepathy for basic interactions with others.

Psylocke merely glanced at the two and drifted to the ledge. She stood with her hands on her hips, the wind fluttering her dark purple hair. Unbothered by a thousand-plus feet drop, she took in the view.

He walked to her side. “Wanna jump together?”

She put a hand on her katana. “I still need to kill some old freaks.”

“How strong is the Hand?”

The MCU version would be a piece of cake for Psylocke. The comics version on the other hand… it would be near-impossible for current Psylocke. They served the Beast, a demon of unknown origins.

“Very,” Psylocke answered in one word. “Their roots are deep.”

“Train more with me. I have some tricks to make you stronger.”

Strengthening her body and refining her techniques were only ways to help without direct assistance, which she would reject anyway.

She looked at him, hesitation written all across her face. “You’re always busy.”

“I’ll make time to drop by.”

After Sharon became his adoptive daughter, he had to find a way to put everything aside and spend time with her. Being a father without a wife wasn’t something he expected, but he wouldn’t complain about having such a cute daughter.

“Thanks,” Psylocke answered. “I’m going to train with Laura.”

She took a step forward and dropped. He was about to follow her but stopped when a faint silhouette of butterfly wings manifested on her back. They slowed her fall considerably, allowing her to land on the street without any harm.

She put her wings away and walked away, unbothered by the looks from people on the street.

‘She could’ve asked me for a quick teleport.’

He turned back to see Jean had calmed down, though her eyes were still red. The tip of her nose was redder though, resembling a cherry tomato. “Jean, are you sure about this?”

He had asked once already if she wanted to go back after watching him kill one of Charles’ students without hesitation. He repeated the question just to make sure she had her heart in it. Otherwise, she might as well go back.

Jean frowned at him, slightly indignant at having her conviction double-checked. “I’m not going back.”

“Okay. What do you say about me killing that woman?”

“She could’ve abandoned the mission to save the Hellions. I’m never going to feel bad for someone like her.”

Emma chuckled. “I was worried for nothing. This girl has a natural for vileness.”

Jean gave her an exasperated look. “I’m still better than you are. Don’t act like I’ve forgotten what you were planning to do with your students.”

“Ancient history.” Emma kicked on Selene’s ribs just because she could. “This trash woman made me realize what those kids mean to me.”

Jean rubbed the back of her head, unable to find words for Emma’s honest words. “On a completely separate topic, couldn’t we have avoided a fight by teleporting away?”

Emma stared at Dante. “Dear, why did we waste our time?”

“You want me to run away like a coward?” He asked with a look of slight disgust. “They aren’t worthy.”

Running made sense when the odds were against him. He could stand in front of the X-Men all night and still not receive a scratch. They were the ones completely outclassed. They were the ones who had to run.

Jean could only shake her head in the face of his mentality. She had a lot to learn about the world.

Emma stopped on the black-haired witch’s breasts. “Is she dead?”

“I sent her into a coma.”

“...You’re scary.”

He grinned. “You still love me.”

“I don’t.” She snorted. “Why are we here?”

“Give me a second.”

He switched to Death’s Resonance. The cosmic awareness expanded his senses. He filtered it down layer by layer until the city and its million lives vanished in darkness, and only Selene remained.

Seven strands rose from her. Each one had a distinct color and texture, pointing in seven different directions. From up here he could see how scattered they were. Most of the Externals, aka the High Lords, had spread themselves across the world, fulfilling their mission to manipulate world events through different spheres of influence.

Only Apocalypse slumbered in Egypt.

Hunting the six of them would be hard and time-consuming.

‘Should I just kill Apocalypse?’

He thought about it properly. All Externals were relying on Apocalypse to wake and conquer the world. And through him, they would rise in power. Apocalypse and Selene’s permanent deaths would agitate them. They wouldn’t lash out because of SHIELD and their Anti-Mutant Sentinels. Rather, they would unite in one place to discuss the situation.

That would be his opportunity to swoop in and end them all together.

“Dear, I don’t like it when you’re quiet. It’s a sign you’re scheming something devious.”

He snapped out of his thoughts to see Emma looking at him with upturned eyes.

“I thought he was a noble hero when I first saw him,” Jean muttered under her breath. “He turned out to be a half-villain…”

He ignored Jean’s monologue. “I’d never scheme against my dear Emma.”

“I know that. I’m only worried you’ll keep me out of fun.”

“How could I?” He shook his head slowly and looked down at Selene’s unconscious form lying between them on the sun-warmed rooftop. “Get three tickets to Egypt for next week. For me, and our adopted daughter.”

“What…?”