Dinner was tenser than usual. I gave them a condensed version of the same Cliff Notes I'd already given Jean.
I walked them through my discoveries in the demon world—the ancient clans I wiped out, the Kree involvement, and my theory that they may have created some mutants, or more accurately, Inhumans. I also covered my brother's banishment and the rescue operation.
"I'm sorry," Scott said, leaning forward. "Did you say mutants? How many?"
"A few hundred," I replied lazily. "They're all in stasis fields at the edge of the dimension."
Scott and the other mutants exchanged tense looks, the senior members especially.
"What?" I protested. "I don't have the space to house them here, or even a coherent plan yet. We're talking about people ripped out of Limbo. Trauma, culture shock, anger. And what happens when we relocate them to Earth? They have families, countries that want them back. How do I keep them from weaponizing their abilities?"
"It's not right to keep them locked up like that, bub," Logan said.
"And it's not smart to introduce hundreds of unknown variables into our population without safeguards," I shot back. "What happens when one of them hurts a kid?"
"You'll find any excuse," Scott said, standing.
"Don't do that," I said, rubbing my face. "Not the righteous indignation routine. This is a numbers game. People are dangerous. Traumatized people aren't exempt." If anything, they're usually worse.
"I'm already looking into legal counsel. There's a way out of this that doesn't end with riots or massacres. I just need time. I wouldn't have saved them if I planned to keep them frozen forever."
Scott opened his mouth again, but Jean placed a hand on his shoulder, and he stopped.
The silence lingered until Colossus spoke. "You are keeping your word. "
I smiled. "Always, big guy. "
"You will save Magik?" he asked.
"And bring you along if you'll have me," I said. "The offer goes out to everyone here at the table. See me after dinner, except for the kids, of course. Let me fit you with a suit designed with you in mind. Giving me some blood samples could probably show me how to further boost your mutations when you're wearing it," I said.
"You mean to go back?" Professor Hank asked me, seated in his human form. He's been rocking that more and more these days.
I explained that we were on borrowed time. Lauren was building a galactic force for reasons unknown and had recruited Corvus. Belasco was wearing Rogue's body, and an invasion wasn't a possibility—it was a certainty.
"We have days," I said. "If we're lucky."
"Why not attack her on the Astral plane?" Bobby asked, leaning on the table.
The looks he got were priceless. I laughed at the absurdity. The simplicity.
"I'm serious," Bobby continued. "She isn't splitting her consciousness every time she clones herself. If you hit the original, the rest should collapse."
Jean and I exchanged glances.
"They felt connected," Jean said slowly, "even with her heavy psychic defenses."
"And even if they aren't," I said, grinning, "I'll shut them down one at a time. Or better yet, infect her mind with something corrosive. Maybe trap her in her worst nightmare indefinitely."
I turned to Jean, another idea igniting. "Corvus. The Ascendants. Belasco. We could hit them all like this." And with the Time Stone, we could test outcomes before committing.
God. How did I miss that?
"Between the two of us, we could—"
"Dante, I can't," Jean said quietly.
"Why?"
"The Phoenix won't allow it. She says it would interfere with her pact with Shin. Diving into the Astral together would draw attention—old things, powerful things. She would have to shield us."
"But if I go alone?"
"You'll survive," she said. "Likely thrive. You have Anathema fire."
I nodded. True. Ridiculously so. Frankly, I was annoyed I hadn't leaned into my fire more.
"Ah, shit," I said suddenly, standing. Something just occurred to me."I left the demon world burning."
--
Belasco eventually smothered my fire using the same trick Rin, my armor, and Rogue relied on—energy absorption. Deprive a flame of fuel long enough, and even mystical fire dies.
I still managed to squeeze out two million Red Orbs before he succeeded, which meant I had even less time to train than I anticipated. Magik could open portals to anywhere and when, and I already knew Lauren was just biding her time.
Kamar-Taj had the most Astral expertise on Earth, and Jean wasn't ready to look into the future yet, so I portaled to the snowy peak to irritate the new Sorcerer Supreme again.
I froze when a beam of rainbow light slammed into the base of the mountain Jean and I once called home. Seven figures emerged—every one of them familiar.
Thor, Loki, and the Warrior Three were exepected.
"Captain Marvel?" I stared at the blonde. "What are you doing here? And how did you find me?"
She was dressed casually. Fury stood beside her, bundled in a jacket that was woefully inadequate for the altitude.
I almost pitied him.
God. When was the last time I felt cold?
"Heimdall," Thor said cheerfully.
I scowled up at the sky. "One of these days, you voyeuristic—"
Fandral laughed. "First man I've heard call the old man out on his shit."
"You're just angry he always finds you when you try to duck out of missions," Volstagg laughed.
Loki tutted, shaking his head.
"Look who is talking," Volstagg fumed.
"Now, now," Thor clapped his hands, "we may not like it, but Heimdall keeps us honest. He keeps the Nine realms honest, and don't think his job is a picnic either. Eternal vigilance is both honor and punishment."
Sif was about to speak when Fury mercifully cut in.
"Our satellites recorded your fight on Mercury," he said. "The world deserves answers."
"You mean you do," I said.
"So do I," Carol said, stepping forward. "And not as an accusation. We know you fought your brother. That couldn't have been easy."
"She means unbelievable," Loki added with a thin smirk, "though less so, considering your tools. Two Infinity Stones?"
I sighed. "Do we really need to do this now? On a mountain in Nepal, minutes before I go hunt the biggest existential threat this planet has?"
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