In Marvel As Dante

Armando's POV

Lauren was waiting for me when I returned to the common area. She had a big smile on her face, still dressed in snowwear from the mission.

"How was Antarctica?" I asked.

"Duller without you there," she said, wrapping me up in a tight hug and kissing me deeply.

My lips spread slightly. "The feeling is mutual."

She lifted up her sniper case and made her way towards her quarters. I followed behind her.

"How was training?"

"The 'skills' are doing wonders," I said. I had been a bit skeptical when she approached me with a plan to save all of us and downright dismissive when she started talking about a god, but my tune changed when she showed me her skills and offered me a few of my own.

She'd called it a bloodline.

A race change that conferred a lot of benefits, the least being video game-like skills. It felt deeper, like a fundamental shift akin to awakening a mutation again.

It unlocked two potent skills to start me off. Adaptive Combat Instinct and Shapeshifting.

The former was responsible for my growing combat prowess, and the latter helped with the form changes, partial transformation, and recalling Adaptations.

"Good," she smiled. "You'll be ready for him in a few months now that we have the Eldritch DNA and samples of both Vibranium sources."

My brows furrowed in thought, and Lauren caught it.

"I get it. You're scared, but you're doing the right thing. The mission all but confirmed the Prophecy," she said, holding my hand. "The telepath girl saw it. He's betrayed the Earth for power. It won't be the demons that take us out or the machines. It will be Dante Sparda. And you're the only one who can defeat him."

"I know," I said. "It's just that he saved our lives and is a friend of Kurt's. It's taking some time to adjust."

Lauren squeezed my hands. "You'll get there."

---

Dante

I reappeared at the mansion with a crack and frowned as I stepped out of my study and scanned the building.

There was no sign of Rin. My perception picked up on everybody except him.

I appeared in the common room where Bobby and Kitty were in the middle of a conversation. Both jumped when they saw me.

"How's it hanging," I smiled.

"Good?" Kitty answered uncertainly. It was barely perceptible, but she was trembling. I terrified her.

"Where is Rin?" I asked.

"He's in New York," Bobby answered. "On a date with Wanda, I think."

"Wanda…" I murmured darkly. I didn't blame the Scarlet Witch for what she did, but the situation still upset me. Some part of me wanted to thank her for the exposure, but the suddenness of it all still irked me. I was just hitting my stride. The plan was going well, and now this.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Rin's number. Before it went through, a text message buzzed in.

I'll do it.

A smile blossomed on my face. It was from Banner. He was in. I rang Rin several times, only to have my call go straight to voicemail. Eventually, I got sick of calling and decided to portal into New York

My Astral wing stretched out, freshly formed, and I took the city in. I sped up, breaking the sound barrier as I activated my Telepathy.

I started from the residential tower that the Brotherhood kept and circled out, searching for them. Several times, people pointed at me as I flew all over. I found Wanda's mental signature before I found Rin's. They were seated in a Diner, sharing breakfast, when I teleported into the building.

A waiter nearly dropped her tray, and a girl jumped, nearly bumping into her boyfriend. I used Telekinesis to prevent both accidents, drawing even more attention to me. There was a lot of whispering and pointing until somebody came out and said it.

"You're that demon kid, right?"

I didn't respond, looking straight at Rin.

Wanda stared at me, her expression a mix of apprehension and anger.

Considering what happened a few days ago, I thought it best not to connect to his mind suddenly. I pulled out my phone instead and sent a text message.

Meet me on the roof and don't bring her.

I vanished with a pop, reappearing on the roof of the building, and Rin came up with me with Wanda in tow. My jaw tightened when I saw her.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

No Boss this time around.

"I should've trusted you," I started with a flat-out apology. Bullshitting and grandstanding won't work with him. He deserved the best from me. "You've been by my side since Hydra, and you should've heard the full truth from me, not some doctored version from your girlfriend."

"Don't you dare," Wanda said. "I saw you."

"You saw whatever the Alien showed you. Was most of it true? Yes. Is it missing a lot of context? Yes."

"I could say the same thing about you," she said. "He told me what you said to them when you got back. There's no guarantee you're telling the whole truth either."

"True," I admitted. "I guess it's just a question of trust. Have I betrayed it so thoroughly that you cannot believe me anymore?"

Rin's lips quivered.

"I do believe you, boss, or at least I'm trying to."

I smiled. He called me boss.

"So. What do I got to do to set things right between us."

Rin looked at Wanda's way before he started speaking. "I'd like you to stop treating me like a kid. I went into the deep end with the Alien squid fight, and I handled that Shadow ninja guy well enough before you stepped in."

"He was about to bisect you," I pointed out.

"That's not the point," Rin glared at me, and I raised my hands in surrender.

 "Alright. Alright"

"I just want to handle some missions on my own. Maybe help out in New York. I hear the fighting between the mutants and the Purifiers is really getting insane. I don't want to be in your shadow for the rest of my life."

Harsh but fair. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and looked at him for a long moment. "Anything else?"

He bunched his hands. "I also want Stryker. You promised me I could have him all those months ago. And you've done nothing about it."

I blinked, giving it some thought. Nobody on our crew was vulnerable to the Sentinels or any other hell beast Fury could cook up. And even if they were, I could end Fury's budding Sentinel project if I so chose.

"I'll drain Trask and trade him for Stryker," I said. "But it has to be after we deal with the demon threat. Fury and I aren't understandably on the best terms now."

Rin nodded reluctantly but added one last amendment that shocked me.

"If it's possible…I want us to use Unity on each other."

My eyebrow shot up, and my aura swelled out. It had evolved again. It was now a mixture of my Angel and demon powers intermingled. It sent Wanda staggering, and Rin froze.

"Sorry," I said quickly, pulling back my aura. "I hadn't meant…"

"It's fine," he said. "I didn't tell her what it was."

"And what's stopping her from looking into your mind anyways and ripping out the answers?"

"I'd never!" Wanda shot me a look, and Rin held her hand.

"I trust her," he said firmly, "kind of like how you trust Jean.

I scoffed.

"If it makes you feel any better my mental shield is stronger than ever.

"Is it now?"

The last time I checked, his shield was in its infancy. It was potent against smaller threats and amateurs, but against a true prodigy and future witch like her, I wasn't sure even I could hold out indefinitely.

Scanning his mind changed my mind somewhat, though. The shield was, in fact, robust. Far more robust than mine was when I first obtained Telepathy.

My eyes wandered from Rin to Wanda and settled back on Rin.

"Just be careful."

He nodded but still looked at me expectantly.

"Yes," I said. "Obviously, don't expect it to happen anytime soon, but it's something I will definitely visit in the future after you've adjusted to your recent bump in power and have squeezed every ounce of potential out of your body. I'm not just holding out on you because I feel like it. Giving you hard skin is one thing. This might open you up to Shin."

"Oh," Rin swallowed.

"Bet you didn't think of that," I said. "I know you're desperate for some kind of balance or certainty, but pumping yourself full of power you can barely control will help neither of us."

I pulled out my phone and texted Tony Stark. He replied immediately. He was in a penthouse he was renting in New York and would love to meet me.

"I need to get going. I have another meeting to get to, and you two have a date to finish."

With a loud crack, space split open in front of me, and I slipped through, reappearing on the balcony in front of Stark's apartment.

I floated there, held up by Telekinesis, and placed a call. Tony picked up.

"I'm outside."

"Then tell the doorman to buzz you in," he said. "I left your name at the desk."

"Look outside," I said. Tony's eyes widened as he stepped out of his office.

"Well. That's not something you see every day," he said. "Jarvis. Get the door, will you?"

"Of course, Master Stark," said an animated voice from somewhere deep inside the house.

"I really appreciate you not just barging in here," Tony said, walking over to the bar. He poured himself a glass and another for me. "I feel like I know you so well, yet this is the first time we're meeting one-on-one."

"I could say the same thing about you. Playboy Philanthropist turned warmonger and weapon's developer for an autocratic government agency."

"Autocratic?" Stark chuckled. "Come on. We aren't in a 6 v 1 meeting. You don't actually believe that."

"I didn't," I said, "until Fury started experimenting with things you know should be left damn well alone. Do you know what it took to actually put that bastard down?"

I joined him at the bar.

"I have some idea," he admitted. "Most of the satellite photos are blurs, but we've been able to piece it all together."

"If Fury succeeds with his little Prometheus project, you'll have another Quellitrax on the loose, only one we might not have the firepower to bring down."

Tony smirked. "With how quickly you're growing. I have complete faith in you."

I rolled my eyes. "All I can do is say my piece. What you decide to do afterward is entirely up to you."

"You're right about that," Tony said, taking a sip. "So, why don't we do something about that."

I raised a brow. "What do you have in mind?"

"Another deal," he said. "I saw that armor of yours in action, and I have done the calculations. With the speeds you were moving at and the power of his hits, even Vibranium would've cracked. And it's not made out of that stuff you had the other soldiers carrying, either. This…is something new."

Leave it to Tony Stark to figure it all out. "My payment first. Then we can talk."

"Of course," he said, setting his glass down. He walked over to the back wall and punched in several codes into something that looked like a mirror. A laser line flashed out and scanned his retina before the frame holding the mirror swung open, revealing a full-body length Safe. Tony reached into the upper compartment, pulling a case. The door shut as he walked away from it, and he set it in front of me.

My Predator's Gaze scanned it, and I sensed the electrical energy pouring out of it. It was like staring into several reactors.

"These will do nicely."

"So. The deal?"

I vanished the case with a wave.

"The metal from my armor is far too heavy for you," I said, switching into My Twilight Sentinel armor. The ground quivered slightly, and Tony's eyes fixed on the various joints, the dull hum of energy, and the dozens of runes.

"Tons of enchantments go into keeping this thing light enough for even me to use. You won't be able to build a portable exoskeleton armor with this, much less any mobile machinery, for that matter. You're better off with a lighter alloy I've been working on. It uses Vibranium as a base, paired with some Adamantium and a shit ton of my energy."

"Did you say Adamantium?" Tony sputtered. "How did you even...You made it, didn't you? That explains the weight."

I nodded. "So, how much metal do you need exactly?"

"Enough to build several suits," he said.

"That can be arranged," I said, "but you'll have to call me in to do the final casting. These metals are not very malleable once set."

"I gathered," Tony said. "So, what do you want in exchange for a virtually indestructible suit of armor?"

"Schematics to your Iron Man suit projects outfitted with a version of Jarvis that answers only to me."

Tony's eyes went wide, and he took a step back. "That's—I never told anyone about the Iron Man project, and I always have a dampener nearby. There's no way you could've known."

I smiled. "Come on, Tony. You really didn't think a mental blocker could stop me, did you? So, the deal. Are you game?"

Tony visibly cycled through a myriad of emotions before he settled on blind confidence. He laughed. "Fuck it. I'll show you my secrets if you show me yours. I want to study your energy. I want something you've enchanted filled with a ton of it and access to more should I need it."

I looked at him sideways. I could've said no, but curiosity got the better of me. I was excited to see what he'd come up with. I switched out the armor for my Skinwalker suit, which fit me snugly and produced a slab of unused Twilight Vibranium. I stepped into the air with Telekinesis and shifted into Devil Trigger with as much control as I could manage. I shook the apartment, but I didn't knock out Tony Stark.

Several Tiny Adamantium blades appeared from my inventory as the slab heated from the inside out from Nether fire. The knives ran up and down the brick, covering it in layers and layers of storage runes. When I was done, the brick had the capacity to hold 2000 AE and DE, surprising even me. Maybe it was time I revisited my bomb designs. I could do so much better now. 

The energy flowed out of me in a flash, and I switched to Angel Ascension and did the same.

The entire process took me less than 3 minutes. I stepped down from the air and floated him the chunk of Vibranium.

"Do we have a deal?" Tony eyed the slab greedily.

"We most certainly do."

I left his home with Jarvis's Source code, schematics to the Iron Man armor, and enough Arc reactors to flatten a city.