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Dante exhaled a sigh trapped in his lungs for the past hour. Playing mind games with Emma Frost had drained him. After all, he lacked the experience Emma had accumulated through years. Any composure break would've revealed a weakness, which would be instantly used against him. The confidence from Death's link and his enhanced intelligence had made everything possible. Felicia's acting had also been flawless when it counted.
He couldn't afford a failure with Norman's symbiote army looming over them. As Death's lover, he should let people die. That was the natural order.
But Silvija's involvement had changed everything.
If the world learned that Wild Pack had protected a facility breeding alien monsters, Silvija's reputation would never recover. Most of Symkaria's lucrative contracts would be lost overnight. Everything she had built from the ashes of her father's legacy would crumble to nothing.
He couldn't allow that, obviously.
Besides, the whole situation gave him something productive to do. And there would be special pleasure in shattering a billionaire's god complex.
'Thank you, Null.'
Dante sent a silent thought to his always-helpful system. The mental defenses that could repel even Death's cosmic awareness naturally belonged to Null Repository. He had to ask Null's permission to lower it for a brief window.
'Null, what's the reason I'm immune to telepathy?'
[Administrator's consciousness is linked to Universe-X. Someone will have to be in Universe-X to use telepathy on you.]
Apparently he existed in this universe while simultaneously being present in this mysterious Universe-X.
'Isn't this just like the Matrix?'
[Incorrect. A force-field surrounding Administrator links you to Universe-X. This force-field enables Resonance Links and other abilities of Null Repository.]
He glanced down at his hands. 'Can it be exposed?'
[The probability of someone breaking it is… Null.]
Dante blinked. Null… made a joke. A terrible pun, but still. Perhaps it had started to adopt its Administrator's traits.
"What's got you gloomy like that?" Felicia's voice pulled him back to the present, back to Emma's private room in Hellmoon Club. "Norman giving you stress?"
He shook his head, managing a small smile. "Norman's way too weak for that. Just thinking about the future and stuff."
"Ooh, a future where you wake up in my bed?" Felicia's grin was pure mischief. "Okay, okay! Not the flick!" She raised both hands in surrender, laughing. "I'll stop teasing you. For now. Maybe. Probably not, actually."
Emma, who had been watching their exchange, finally spoke. "It's been a pleasure, Darling. But I'm afraid I must end our little gathering. I have some matters that require my... persuasive touch."
"Same here," Dante said, pulling out his phone. "Send me the lab address when you get a chance. And the security codes. I'd rather not break in if I don't have to."
They exchanged contacts. After which, Emma stared at Dante's phone with something resembling pity in her eyes.
"Dear… Is Silver Sable not paying you? I'm looking at a phone that should be in a museum. That model is probably older than some of my interns."
"It gets the job done. What else do I need?"
"I suppose that's very... practical of you."
"Practical is just another word for boring," Felicia whispered before grabbing the last piece of cake from Emma's plate. The dessert disappeared into her mouth in three aggressive bites, her cheeks bulging slightly.
"Mmph! So good!" she mumbled, licked frosting off each finger. "Okay, ready to leave."
Emma's nose wrinkled with thinly veiled disgust. "Your manners, Darling… they resemble a starved racoon."
"I'd prefer you call me cat," Felicia said before pointing at Dante. "You messed with me, and this guy knocked at your door. Doesn't that sound like the saying, 'It's bad luck if a black cat crosses your path'?"
"Acquainting myself with Death's boyfriend is bad luck?" Emma laughed. "Hardly, My Dear."
Felicia had no counter-argument since Emma ended up profiting in the end.
Just as Dante placed his hands on the armrests to stand, the door made a creaking noise. His instincts sensed threat and trouble, which was usually a bad combination.
The woman who entered proved his doubts correct.
A stunning beauty stepped through the doorway, her long black hair fluttering with the wind that flowed from the hallway. She was quite tall—just shy of six feet, a quite rare height for a Japanese woman. And quite athletic too as her bodysuit made her muscles more defined.
Everything combined with the red sheathed katana in her hand revealed her identity.
'Psylocke.'
Her gaze swept the room. It passed over Felicia with acknowledgment, then landed on Dante. Deep purple irises glowed with psychic energy, and then she rested a hand on her katana's hilt.
Her eyes stayed on him even as she moved to stand beside Emma.
"Careful," she whispered. "He is strong."
Emma glanced at Dante before shaking her head. "You talk as if you know him. Well, do you?"
"No. But he's triggering my psychic senses. I can't assess his threat either."
"That's on brand for him," Emma replied with a smile, reaching out to pat Psylocke's forearm reassuringly. "I just signed a deal to help him with certain matters."
Despite Emma's reassuring words, Psylocke's combat-ready stance never relaxed. She looked ready to draw her sword in a heartbeat.
"It's better if we don't antagonise him. We already have enough enemies waiting in the shadows."
"That's true." Emma nodded. "How was the tour? Did you have fun?"
Psylocke looked like she was resisting the urge to roll her eyes at Emma. "I'm not dealing with those children again."
Emma chuckled. "Get used to them, Sweetheart. You'll lead them against a new enemy soon."
"..."
Although they tried to keep their voice low, it was impossible to hide conversation from Dante, who sat directly across from Emma. The children in question had to be Hellions, the young mutants who were unfortunately killed and then later revived in the comics. It was hard to know if they would meet the same fate here since the timeline had been a total mess so far.
Dante raised his hand in a casual greeting. "Your bodyguard looks strong. Any chance I can hire her?"
He was curious if it was Betsy Braddock in Kwannon's body or just Kwannon. Psylocke was too complicated of a character in the comics.
Emma's chest puffed pridefully at the compliment. But the latter half of his words made her eyebrow arch. "Do you think I'll give her away after all that trouble?"
"What trouble?" Psylocke asked, her head turning to look at Emma, then swiveling back to Dante. Her purple eyes narrowed. "I feel like I should be aware of something."
"It's nothing, Darling."
For someone as boastful as Emma to not boast about the risk she took for Psylocke—it was as unusual as Emma having another psychic as her friend. Emma hated being vulnerable or exposed. She valued control and privacy, and other telepaths represented a threat to both.
'Is she embarrassed?'
He didn't even get a chance to talk to Psylocke since Felicia grabbed his sleeve and practically dragged him out of Hellmoon Club. Black Cat wasn't fond of Psylocke after their first encounter.
The sunlight outside was pale, despite it being afternoon. Dante's—well, technically Piotr's—motorcycle still waited outside. A 2008 Suzuki V-Strom 1000, its black paint was slightly faded but very functional.
"Watching Emma squirm was entertaining." Felicia stretched her arms above her head, working out the kinks from sitting still for over an hour. "Made all my acting worth it."
He handed her the helmet. "She won't try anything funny with you again."
Felicia secured it under her chin, then asked through the open visor, "Alright, where are we off to now?"
"Smokie's. Tell Gwen to meet us there."
"What?!" Felicia said just as she sat behind him. "Darling, I'm going to become Faticia at this rate! You ordered a week worth of meals yesterday at my apartment. Then those sugary treats at Emma's. Now you want more greasy food? Is this a strategy to assassinate me?"
He gave her a look-over from top to bottom and arched his brow. "You'll be fine."
"What does that mean?" She poked his back with a finger. "Hey, don't ignore me."
Dante swung his leg over the bike and started the engine. "Just get diet soda."
Felicia groaned but took a seat and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You're lucky I like you, Darling. Otherwise, I'd push you off this bike right now and steal it."
"I'm so lucky."
***
Smokie's.
They found a corner table with backs against the wall and a clear view of the entrance. Unfortunately, Felicia stole his advantage as she unintentionally settled on the same seat where he found Silvija in their first meeting. She immediately grabbed the menu, even though they both knew she wouldn't order anything substantial. Well, Dante had plans to convince her.
A teenager with a magnificent beard and a crooked name tag reading "KYLE" shuffled over. He held a pad and pen but didn't bother making eye contact. "So?"
"Get me your most expensive meal." Dante glanced at Felicia, whose eyes had gone distant, staring blankly at the menu in what appeared to be an existential crisis about whether her figure was worth sacrificing for momentary pleasure. "And a diet coke for her."
"...With extra ice." Being surrounded by the smoky flavor but only ordering diet soda made Felicia depressed.
Dante caught Kyle's attention with a meaningful look, jerking his head slightly toward Felicia while making a subtle gesture with two fingers. Kyle only took notice after several attempts, his glazed expression slowly focusing.
"...Dear customer, you've been chosen as our lucky customer of the day. Your order will be doubled for no extra cost."
"I don't think I can eat that much." Dante rubbed the back of his head. "Felicia… no, she is watching her calorie count."
The name drop dragged Felicia out of her mind. She blinked rapidly and then sighed like it couldn't be helped. "Let's take it, Dear. It'd be a waste to not accept freebies."
It was a perfect trap to lure in the cat. The word "freebies" always worked, especially on women, and especially on petty thieves.
"I'll swim an extra hour for this," Felicia whispered with a small smile. "Dear, let's give an extra tip for this gentleman."
"Of course."
Once Kyle left with a small smile, Felicia happily pulled out a small black tablet from inside her jacket.
"So." She tapped the screen, bringing up images of Oscorp Research Facility's schematics. "Let's talk specifics of our job until Gwen rolls around."
Dante leaned forward, lowering his voice even though the nearest occupied table sat ten feet away and the jukebox covered their conversation. "Equipment first. What have you got that's functioning?"
Felicia's face lit up. "Okay, so I've been working on several custom pieces. First up are these glass cutters, though I had to upgrade these for our prize in the vault."
She swiped the screen and showed it to him. The design showed a device resembling a thick pen, but the tip glowed with a faint blue light.
"Are you sure it'll cut through that?"
"Be patient, darling. Let the cat explain." Felicia zoomed in on the cutting tip. "The laser heats the glass along the cut line. Then the diamond blade vibrates super fast and follows the heated path through the weakened material. Norman's glass is probably three inches thick. That's two to three minutes per cut."
"Fifteen minutes for four cuts… no, that's too much time. Why don't you focus on weakening a section so I can break it?"
Felicia's eyes widened. "Darling, are you planning a full gun blazing entrance?"
"Not really."
He gently tugged the tablet from her loose grip and swiped through images until he reached a hand drawn professional map showing all routes of the underground facility. He had a feeling she'd have worked on this first. Her enthusiasm for stealing was second to none.
"Here's the plan. We'll smash open all the prison cells to distract everyone. Then we'll work on opening the vault and leave with Venom—codename for our prize."
Felicia narrowed her eyes in deep thoughts, as though mentally simulating the plan. While she was lost in thought, their order arrived.
"There's just one problem: those guards." Felicia grabbed a fry and dipped it in the sauce before biting it. Her face scrunched up. "Salty, just like my dear."
"...I can make us invisible to get past them."
Felicia didn't even blink and continued savoring the fries.
"Not gonna ask about it?"
"Oh please, Darling. Being invisible is just cute compared to being Death's boyfriend. At this point, you could tell me you can turn into a dragon and breathe fire, and I'd just ask the color of your scales."
"..."
"Anyway!" Felicia snatched back the tablet and browsed through the images. "Let me go through the rest of my gadgets. You already know the grappling hook. Ah, there's this cute spark."
What showed on the screen were tiny metal-like balls with colorful coating. "My EMP grenades. They'll knock out all electronics in a fifteen-foot radius. Perfect to get past security cams."
"You made EMPs." Dante's eyebrows rose. This wasn't amateur tinkering anymore.
"Modified them," she corrected, holding up one finger. "I bought base components from a contact. Then I rewired the capacitors to store more charge and tweaked its discharge rate in a lab."
"I'm guessing you broke into that lab cause no one is letting you work with EMPs on their watch."
"Borrowed access to my university lab," she corrected with a smirk. "Some Professor thought it'd be cute to use his birthday as his computer password. He was just asking to be exploited."
Dante shook his head. "You're a real menace."
"Thank you!" She took it as a compliment and scrolled to the next schematic. "Now, this is the most useful one for our work. We'll need this bad boy to crack the vault."
She spent the next five minutes gushing over the "basic" theory of the magnetic lock system and how her device would generate a counter-field to override the security system. It was probably the most passionate he'd seen her, completely absorbed in technical details.
"We need perfect choreography. This job won't tolerate 'oh shit we should've done that' moments." Felicia looked up from the table with a serious expression. "When do we strike?"
"We wait," Dante said. "It's only a matter of time before another attack happens. When it does, we move."
"To give plausible deniability to your girlfriend." Felicia nodded her head in appreciation. "Silver can claim she was busy defending the site when the symbiote disappeared."
"Exactly. Silvija's reputation matters."
Felicia studied him quietly for a moment with an expression he couldn't quite read. "For what it's worth, I think Silver Sable's lucky. Not many people would go through this much trouble."
"Should I not?"
Felicia wiped her mouth with a napkin before revealing a predatory smile. "Darling, you mentioned giving me gifts. Where are they?"
Before he could reply, the small brass bell above the restaurant's entrance chimed.
***
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