Jean's POV
Dante twitched and breathed, his body wrapped in the thinnest coats of cosmic fire, some granted by the Phoenix, but not all. He was evolving again. Into what, I had no idea, but the Phoenix did.
"A true immortal," she said. "My cosmic fire has completed a metamorphosis that started a long time ago."
I remembered it like it was yesterday. The battle at the mansion. The Phoenix had possessed Colossus and burned Dante during their exchange. She'd given her promise of a favor as payment for the inconvenience, as well as tasked him with keeping me close.
"He might've been too literal with my request."
My cheeks flushed slightly. I knew the Phoenix was teasing me, but I couldn't help myself.
I looked at Dante again. His skin had regained some of its color, and the markings he'd carved into himself didn't seem to be healing. If anything, they were melding into his skin, tattooed on like an extra layer of protection.
A discordant voice shattered my concentration. It was shrill, somehow male and female, and supremely angry.
"wE HaD a DeAl, BIrD. You WeRE NoT SuPPoSed to InTErFERe."
The words tumbled out from clones surrounding us in deep space. There were thousands of them, all occupying the space where Dante's constructs used to be.
"And you weren't supposed to come after my Avatar, but you did. Disappointment abounds, Glutton."
"tHiS SLiGHt WiLl noT Go UnANsWEred. QUeLLiTraX AnD ThE OTheR ELdRiTcH GoDS wIll CoME foR YoUr LIttLE UniVERse."
"And risk your hold on this Galaxy? I very much doubt you'll go that far. And if you do, I welcome the challenge. They'll all be kindling to my eternal fire. And after I burn them all, I will tell their father exactly who sent them to their deaths."
Lauren and Shin collectively shuddered.
"I will offer you a new deal, Glutton," the Phoenix spoke rapidly. "One I think is more than fair considering the circumstances. Break it, and we go to war, Shin. And you know what I'm like when I'm serious."
Shin scoffed through Lauren's mouth.
"You get one final round against him. Your Champion vs. Dante as they both are now. If he wins, you leave him forever, and if you win, I will no longer interfere."
"ThAT iS HaRDly FaIR."
"It's the deal you're getting," the Phoenix said flatly, some of my irritation creeping into her voice—or was it vice versa?
Shin was quiet for a while before he suddenly smirked.
"VeRy WeLL. I wiLl inSrTucT My AVaTAr tO GivE Him HeR FuLL AtTenTiOn."
My stomach tightened. I didn't like the sound of that at all, but I also recognized that it was necessary. It would take pressure off the other teams, Rin, and Earth. They could portal into New York and help now.
Captain America's POV
Loki's shield warped, magic rapidly bleeding out of the construct before brutally snapping back. A wall of kinetic energy slammed into my shield, sending me skidding a few feet backward, and my eyes snapped up to the Asgardian God, who was starting to look worried.
"What is that shield made of?" he demanded.
"Good old-fashioned American spirit."
I mentally triggered yet another enchantment on the shield—Dimensional Edge—and flung it directly at him. The rim lit up stellar white and bled off a faint energy signature invisible to the human eye.
Panic crossed Loki's face as he teleported, appearing behind me with the dagger he'd used to take down Fury.
I turned instinctively, snatching his hand, flipping him over my shoulder, and slamming him into the Arcanite floor.
My shield stopped dead in the wall, and a wave of my hand called it back to me, but not before Loki blasted me with a barrage of shadowy bolts, lifting me off my feet and chipping away at the substantial runic shield every piece of Dante-crafted armor had.
Loki split into a hundred copies, all charging at me.
My shield clicked into my hand. I switched enchantments and slammed it into the ground, pouring a tenth of the energy stores of my shield and armor combined into the strike.
The shockwave ripped through all the clones and crashed into the original, who'd barely managed to get his magic barrier up in time.
My attack ripped through it this time, and I teleported, appearing inside Loki's guard and punching him hard, putting the weight of my entire body into it.
The air split, and I heard bones snap and teeth shatter.
Loki flew like he'd been shot out of a cannon and pancaked against the training room wall, bleeding out.
Slowly, Loki dropped, spat out a mouthful of blood, and leveled me a harsh glare.
"How dare you! How dare you touch me, you mongrel!"
"Stay down, Loki," I said, charging the shield again. "I will not warn you twice."
Loki's jaw clicked back into place, and the bruise on his cheek rapidly faded.
"You are a dead man walki—"
A lightning-wreathed hammer dropped onto his head and bathed the room in white.
A thunderclap followed.
Then came the rage.
"Loki!" Thor Odinson roared.
Jessica Jones' POV
I looked out at the horizon with a knot in my stomach and fire in my Arcanite gauntlets.
Thousands upon thousands of fleshwarped demons poured out of floating organic spaceships that looked like something out of a horror flick.
"Jesus Christ," John Walker, A.K.A. Sentry, said beside me on the bridge of the ship Dante had personally gifted the Avengers.
I believe his exact words had been:
"You can't be a proper team without a ridiculous ship of some kind. So here's one I've poured a ridiculous amount of time and runes into."
And the thing really was ridiculous.
It was sleek, filled with padded chairs, telepathic controls, and a bridge view better than any TV or windscreen I'd ever looked through.
One thing they don't tell you about becoming super is that it ruins media for you—movies, music, even stories. Their flaws become so fucking obvious when you can see and hear with a fidelity most people can't even imagine.
"Do you ever get used to…this?" Sentry asked, waving at the approaching horde.
I blinked, unsure how to answer him.
"Not really," Matt answered for me as he stood from the captain's chair. "But the fight still needs to be fought, and we have the power to do something."
"Most of the Asgardians and the Global Defense Team will be joining us," Colleen said, stepping onto the Wing. Her katana sat snuggly on her back, attached telekinetically to the rest of her runic armor.
"Most?" John asked.
"There's been an incident at the hangar," she explained. "Fury's been injured but stabilized, and Hill has assumed command of the operation. The threat is being dealt with, and she wants us to continue with the attack plan."
John looked uncertain, like he wanted to check out the situation himself. Even though he was clearly the strongest human on the planet, it was obvious he wasn't used to operating independently.
"They'll be fine," I assured him.
He exhaled once, shut his eyes, and opened them again. They were bright golden orbs now.
He nodded once in acknowledgment.
Then he was gone, appearing in front of the ship just as we rapidly dropped out of stealth.
"Anathema beams ready," Matt said over the telepathic channel we all shared.
"Clearing a path now," Sentry called back and shot forward, his body becoming a yellow streak.
I'd been unsure about his choice of clothing when I'd first seen it, and I was still unsure now.
But I could admit there was a certain aesthetic to it.
Sentry was dressed in a unibody suit with a large "S" emblazoned upon it's chest.
The horde parted before him, hundreds of thousands dying from the force of his flight alone, giving us a clean shot at the mothership.
Matt took the first chance he got, launching dozens of concept-wiping beams.
Read up to Chapter 280