"Before you throw a punch at me because of Fury, of all people, let me give you the full breakdown of what you're getting into," I said, doing exactly what Fury did to me.
I laid it all out: Hydra flourishing under his nose, the Promethean project and the prototype that let him extend his life, the experiments with Tesseract energy, Armando, and alien DNA from extradimensionals.
Finally, I told her about the Thunderbolts—how he recruited kids to fight during the invasion. She pointed out that Spider-Man and Rin were also underage. I just shrugged.
"Rin and Peter wanted to fight. I gave them the tools to do it," I said. "Fury didn't leave Kurt and the others with any choice. Jail, an isolationist camp, or child soldier. You're too sanctimonious to back him if you knew all that."
"Fury told me the truth the moment I landed," Captain Marvel said firmly, arms folded.
I smiled. "Sure he did."
"This won't be the last time we talk," she said, her body lighting up as she readied for takeoff.
"Tell Fury he'd better straighten out the news and the foreign governments—or I'll tell them everything I just told you."
She froze mid-air, gaze turning to me. "You can't be serious."
"He started this, not me. The least he can do after I solved our demon problem is clean up his own mess."
She didn't engage, shooting me one last glare before blasting off in a blinding streak.
I huffed, watching her go.
"Poisoning the well," Jean muttered. "Didn't expect that from you."
"I took a page from Lauren's playbook," I said.
"Huh?" Rin frowned.
"She probably passed those tissue samples to the scientist and J. Jonah Jameson," I explained. "She helped kick off the media storm. The rest is on us."
"Do you think Fury can actually wave it all away?" Jean asked.
"Probably not," I admitted. "But I'd like him to try. He knows he's on the hook if he doesn't. He's got more to lose than we do."
"Does he?" Scott turned to me, narrowing his eyes. "You just pissed off the most powerful man in the world."
"He's hardly that," I dismissed. "Fury won't screw with mutants just to get at me. He needs Captain Marvel."
"You're assuming she's not as black-hearted as he is!" Scott snapped. "Even if she isn't, you gambled with our safety by pissing him off."
"All I asked for was basic courtesy," I jabbed a finger at his chest. "You fought Shin's monsters and helped with the rescue. You should feel the same way. Folding at the first sign of pressure is pathetic."
Scott batted my hand away. "I won't let mutants get caught in your pissing match with Fury. Maybe it's time we went our own way." He looked at Rin and Jean.
Really? After everything I'd done for him? I'd just empowered him for fuck sake. Whatever. Not my call. I wasn't a mutant.
Jean spoke first. "Dante's right. Fury and the government owe us. If they punish us for asking this much, they were never on our side to begin with."
Rin gave a small shrug, which looked funny considering his muscular frame. He'd really filled out over the past few weeks. "That Fury guy always rubbed me the wrong way. Always looking for ways to take out the boss and the team. Didn't even have the guts to sell us out to our faces. He'd have turned on us eventually."
I grinned and pointed at Rin. "What he said. But if you feel so unsafe, you can leave. Honestly, it's time we left Alaska anyway. Too many people know where we live. With the money we've got stashed, you could set up anywhere in the world."
Scott stayed quiet.
"Think it over," I said, snapping my fingers to open a portal to the mansion in my personal dimension. "Give the others an update."
He flew in with a complicated look, leaving me with Jean and Rin. They exchanged glances.
"This is about the Tesseract," I muttered.
"You were waiting for the other shoe to drop," Jean said. "This is it."
"Still, to go about it this way. He pushed for armor and weapons. I thought the supersoldier deal was generous."
"He already made up his mind about you," Rin said. "Expecting him to change now was wishful thinking."
I frowned, arms folded. Rin was right. Captain Marvel was right, too—I was compromised. I'd never felt more eager to purge the evil god from my system.
"So, boss, what's the new plan?" Rin asked.
"We go on the offensive."
First, I retrieved as many demon remains from New York as I could. The police and emergency services had gotten a head start, but I wasn't giving Fury more tools. Besides, the remains were valuable crafting materials now that I'd upgraded my crafting skills.
Next, I visited every friend and potential ally, trying to pull them away from Fury—or at least win their trust.
I healed Bucky, no strings attached. Jean helped without hesitation.
I healed Natasha's wounds after some coaxing from her sister, Yelena, and briefly considered adding her to my Widows, but ultimately decided she couldn't be trusted.
Then, I went to Banner's place alone.
Betty Ross answered the door to their penthouse. Fury had spared no expense. I respected the effort.
She froze when she saw me on the hallway camera. I'd just slipped past dozens of guards and a state-of-the-art security system. She blinked before finally speaking.
"We weren't expecting you, Mr. Dante. How can we help you?"
"I'm here to see Bruce. I promised him a way to control his inner beast. I'm here to deliver."
She shuffled off, then returned with a nervous Bruce. "Fury told me about your powers. I'm not comfortable with you using them on me."
I sighed. "You've held up your end. I asked you not to get involved with Fury, and you didn't."
"I didn't do it for you," he said quickly. "I don't trust you or Fury."
"Then why live in an apartment Fury paid for? Why stay with a scientist leading his illegal experiments? They tested on a child and are playing with Tesseract energy and alien DNA, for god sake. I may work for the devil, but Fury's trying to make his own."
Bruce's gaze flicked to Betty. This was an old argument.
"Betty and I talked," Banner said slowly. "We're better off with SHIELD for now. I can't let you merge me with that monster. Not after Antarctica. There's still hope for a cure."
I almost rolled my eyes. His only real shot at a cure was Vergil's sword. Anything else was as likely to kill him or make the beast stronger. But it was his choice. His funeral.
"If you change your mind, talk to one of the Avengers. They'll reach me," I said, vanishing.
My meeting with Stark went much better. Considerably so. He'd just finished his first Iron Man suit using infernal metal plating. Apparently, the metal was five times more durable than titanium, with the same weight.
"Huh," I hummed. "Never stress-tested it."
"You should have," he said rapidly. "This metal could revolutionize everything."
"You're unusually excited. Don't you have Vibranium?" I asked, taking the whiskey he offered as we sat.
"All government monitored," he said testily. "Every gram accounted for."
I whistled. "Fury's not taking any risks, is he?"
"Not before the invasion, and sure as hell not now," Stark said, sipping his drink.
"I'm surprised you'd see me, after Shin. Apparently, I'm persona non grata."
"Fury's paranoid. As for everyone else—call it overcorrection," he said.
"Even the media?"
"Especially the media. They'll rip you apart one day and sing your praises the next. Trust me, I know."
"Sleeping with someone's wife in high school isn't the same as leading a global assault team to kill demon spies in several governments and industries."
"Agree to disagree," he waved. "Point is, they loved you before and they'll love you again. Even Fury will come around."
"Not so sure. Not after yesterday. Not after Shin."
"Back to the evil god thing," Tony huffed. "Am I miffed you're tied to a hunger god? Slightly. But you didn't have a choice. Life or eternal torment. And you're not the villain you think you are. If Fury had your power, he'd have done far worse. You? You got with a hot mutant girl, protected a bunch of mutant kids, and saved the world a few times. Sounds pretty outstanding to me."
"You're just angling for more infernal metal."
Tony grinned. "Guilty as charged. "I don't mind throwing you more arc reactors, I just want the good stuff."
"Didn't Fury salvage a ton of weapons from the demon army?" I asked.
"Yeah, but none on the level of what you're casually packing," Tony said. "I want to work with you."
I tapped the side of his glass in thought, then smiled. "How about we start with an armor."
Read ahead on Patreon.com/artandcreativewriting