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Darkchylde slashed her own hair off with a vicious swipe of her claws the instant they arrived on the other side. The severed mane fluttered away in the early morning wind, and she dashed away, stopping a hundred meters away to face him. "You fell for it, insect."
Before she could leave, he closed the distance in an instant and locked his hand around her wrist. "Earth was supposed to be the second round. You're breaking the rules."
"I concede the first round to you, Skeleton." She smirked. "But you will not survive this round."
She reached into a spinning disc and drew the Soulsword.
Dante felt a cold feeling in his back. This was the most danger he had perceived, and it came from the burning red blade surrounded in roaring flames. All this time it had been collecting energy in Limbo. The compressed energy wouldn't be enough to kill him, but it might very well give him his first wound in his Hyperion Resonance state.
Darkchylde lazily ran the sword through her own wrist to free herself. "Witness my carnage."
With such ominous words, she moved into another stepping disc and arrived hundreds of meters above the island. Raising the Soulsword over her head, she held it firmly in her only hand. She was going to unleash an unparalleled level of destruction with the energy in her Soulsword. It wasn't to hurt him or Laura. No, she only did it in the name of carnage.
He discarded her severed hand.
'She is fucking crazy.'
He would be able to stop her, but that energy in her Soulsword would erupt one way or another. He wouldn't want to be anywhere near that thing when it exploded. Taking Laura and Piotr far away was a bigger priority.
He flew around the island and found them right where he had first met Illyana. They were sitting down in silence, waiting for his return.
Laura looked up first, catching his scent from over a hundred meters. Her shoulders relaxed in relief as a small smile appeared on her face. "Dante."
Piotr followed her line of sight and the hope on his face lasted one second before it was replaced by dejection. He seemed to have already braced himself for the worst. "Comrade, what happened? Where is Illya?"
"She is fine, but we have to go. NOW."
He scooped Laura up by the waist in his right arm. Piotr was still puzzled, but he didn't make things hard and extended his hand. Dante took it and crossed the distance to the bridge, throttling the speed so he didn't hurt them.
The wind howled past, but he kept his focus locked on the sky behind them.
Darkchylde's roar echoed through the island. "FOR LIMBO."
The sudden pressure made it hard to breathe for Piotr and Laura. He soared up to give them some breathing space and stopped to witness her carnage, where he felt sure they wouldn't be caught up in her radius.
Darkchylde brought the Soulsword down in a diagonal arc. A colossal blade of crimson energy, wider than the island itself, passed through its center. For a moment, the winter sky ignited blood-red. Then the deafening explosion engulfed the island, which certainly would awake everyone in New York.
The water erupted upward in columns of white spray.
One half of the island tilted first, then the other followed. Massive sections slid into the freezing black water with thunderous splashes, sending more waves crashing against the shoreline.
In under a minute, nothing was left in the name of Oscorp Island. Just churning water and scattered wreckage finding the surface.
He landed on the bridge and let them down.
"Wow," Laura whispered in awe. "So powerful…"
"Still want to fight her?"
Laura clenched her fists, releasing her Adamantium claws. "I'll fight anyone for you."
Still so unyielding to protect him. Maybe Laura was crazier than Darkchylde, but that didn't make her any less lovable.
Piotr's face twisted. "Dante, how much did Illya suffer to become like this? I… I am a failure as her brother."
Dante patted his shoulder. "We'll hear everything from her soon."
He nodded quietly, still bearing the guilt. Dante couldn't do anything to help Piotr besides getting Illyana back in control.
"Laura, leave with Piotr. I'll stop that lunatic."
The lunatic in question was already laughing and diving straight at him. He noticed her severed hand had already regenerated.
Laura squeezed his hand. "Put on your mask."
She was more concerned about his exposed face than he was, which was kind of cute and practical. Her face was well known, but her popularity was nowhere as crazy as his. People would recklessly swarm their safe haven just for a chance to meet him.
Piotr seemed unwilling to leave, but Laura dragged him away by his jacket.
"Comrade!" Piotr's voice grew distant and slightly panicked. "What are you doing?! My Illya is still—"
Dante turned back. "Death."
The skeletal mask settled over his face in a ripple of shadow. He was ready to kick some demon's ass.
[Assministrator's obsession will hinder his progress.]
[Would you like to try the memory wipe feature? It can erase your memory with Psylocke in her bedroom.]
'No!'
He would rather face death over forgetting such a life-defining moment.
Darkchylde was ready to spit something vile. He crossed the distance in an instant and punched her face before the first word left her lips. The feeling of unleashing a few percent of his power was satisfying. She crashed into the churning water, right where she had sunk the island.
A spinning portal ripped open right behind him. Darkchylde stepped through, drenched, her white mane lacking its glorious majesty. The dip in the East River didn't diminish her fury in the slightest. If anything, she looked like she couldn't wait to murder him.
He couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Too bad all the water in the world couldn't make that ugly face beautiful."
She pushed back the hair covering her face. "You have successfully enraged the Demon Queen. The consequences will make you weep for an eternity."
Another stepping disc made her disappear.
"Oh, crap. She is going for Laura."
He rushed in the direction Laura had headed and arrived just in time to see Laura blocking Darkchylde's Soulsword with her claws crossed, sparks flying.
'Thank fuck.'
Fortunately, Laura's instincts were on point today, and she was able to react to Darkchylde's ambush.
Darkchylde growled, "Adamantium."
Laura gritted her teeth and pushed back with all of her might, but her strength couldn't match Darkchylde. The symbiote slithered over her arms and wrapped around her to give her a boost.
Dante crossed the distance and grabbed Darkchylde by her throat. "Leave this dumbfuck to me."
Laura smiled softly and let the symbiote suit retreat within. "I'll head home."
He nodded, ignoring Darkchylde thrashing in his grip like an animal. "Piotr, get a grip."
"How can I do that when my little Illya is like this…?" the big man's voice cracked with fear. "Friend, promise—"
"Shush. I'll be back soon."
He teleported back to Limbo with Darkchylde in tow and threw her on the ground before planting his boot on her chest, pinning her flat on the ground. Tapping into his Biokinesis, he cut off her access to her X-Gene. He had never tried it on any mutant, even to his enemy, but Darkchylde had crossed the line by targeting Laura.
The mutant spark inside her went dark.
"Try running away now."
"My discs." Darkchylde's claws scrabbled at his leg, but she couldn't make him budge him an inch. "Release me at once, you insolent wretch! I command it!"
Left with no other options, she twisted the ground beneath her using her authority over Limbo, and once again, they were falling into the core of Limbo.
He groaned and took Darkchylde's hand, hovering with his powers. She tried to punch him with the other, but he held it too and pulled her flushed against him. He forced her arms behind her back in a restraining hold that could be seen as an embrace.
She sank his fangs in his shoulder. He felt the pressure and faint warmth. Her persistence drew out a few drops of blood, but she couldn't go deeper.
"Your blood," she growled. "Is full of solar energy."
"Is it yummy?"
"Disgusting."
He pulled her arms even deeper to make her body twist in pain. "You're still in there, Illyana. Fight for your brother."
She went back to biting him and thrashing her legs to desperately recover her freedom. He held her tight, unflinching even when the Limbo poured flames on him.
"Illyana, Piotr is waiting."
Her horns glowed and shrank until they were only an inch-long stubs. The red in her eyes pulsed and dimmed. Illyana was fighting Darkchylde from the inside.
"You aren't a demon," he said, hugging her tighter. "Piotr won't hate you. I won't hate you either."
She stopped biting and went quiet in his arms. Something warm dripped on his shoulders—her tears.
Being seen as a demon had been her biggest fear. Piotr had already seen her become one, which had killed her desire to fight back against Darkchylde's control.
She didn't know how to face Piotr now.
"That guy just wants his little sister back," he whispered in a soft voice. "Whatever form she comes in. He'll take it."
"No!" Darkchylde screamed in defiance. "You will not push me down!"
Darkchylde's desperation meant Illyana was forcing her back.
He took a few moments to think of something to motivate Illyana, which took him back to the day he had hung out with Piotr in his apartment.
"You know, your brother still keeps your stupid photo in his wallet. He is such a wholesome, stupid man."
"No! Only I get to call him stupid!" The layered demonic voice was gone, leaving only Illyana's voice that had a thick Russian accent. Only hers. "Stupid Darkchylde, only I can use this body!"
He released her hands and put his hands on her waist just in case she lost control again. "You're back."
The Soulsword flew into her grasp. She let out a vicious cry, and the corruption left her in a storm of dark, screeching bats. Hundreds of them flew up in a black whirlwind before vanishing into the Limbo sky like smoke.
The girl left standing was just Illyana, clutching her normal-sized Soulsword.
"You can let go of me now," she said, a little awkward, cheeks flushed. "I can't run away without my mutant power."
He let go. They drifted back to the surface together, landing on the cracked ground of Limbo. "How are you feeling?"
"A small headache. I'll survive." She glanced up at the burning sky of Limbo. "I should take my time familiarizing myself with Limbo. Its powers are too vast for the current me."
"True. Limbo isn't going anywhere."
"Thanks for the help." She turned to him with a tired smile. "My mutant power."
"I thought mutants wanted to be normal."
Her brow twitched. "You should've asked when that loser Belasco kidnapped me."
Now, her mutant powers had become a part of her life. She wouldn't let them go under any circumstances.
He used Biokinesis and reconnected her back to her X-Gene, allowing her to open a portal back to Earth.
She hesitated in taking the step, a look of fear flickering across her face. She was still scared Piotr would look at her and see the demon.
"You sure he won't despise me?"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her through before she could say another word. She was too tired to resist his strength.
They emerged on what was left of the access bridge. Now it was a useless stretch of concrete leading to nowhere. The island was gone, and that drew attention from everywhere. Blaring horns filled the area as cars clogged both ends. A few people filmed on their phones to post on their social media. Emergency choppers buzzed overhead and searchlights swept the dark water.
Dante took Illyana's hand and teleported them away before any cameras caught their faces. They reappeared in the gym section of Silver Sable International. The silence and the dim lights felt almost jarring after all the chaos they had just experienced.
"Darkchylde sure made one hell of a statement."
Illyana sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that."
He let out a chuckle. "Just be careful it doesn't happen again."
SHIELD might already be crawling all over the river, trying to figure out what the hell had just erased an entire private island. Or maybe they already knew through their satellites or whatever surveillance equipment they had. One thing was sure—Natasha or someone else from SHIELD would soon be knocking at his door.
'Ancient One is such a lazy bitch.'
He cursed the current Sorcerer Supreme for not showing her face yet again.
He took out his phone to call Piotr.
***
Five minutes later.
The gym's door swung open with a thud. Piotr rushed into the hallway and froze. Illyana sat on the bench, holding her Soulsword, waiting for Piotr with a cold look. Just a facade to hide her true anxiety.
"Illya!"
She showed a shaky smile at her brother's eagerness, which showed he wasn't bothered at all by her demonic side. "Stupid bear."
Piotr crossed the distance in two strides and kneeled before her bench. He hugged her thighs and cried. She gently stroked his head and glared at Dante in embarrassment.
The big man raised his head and nodded at Dante, tears still coming out of his eyes. Not a shred of embarrassment could be seen on his face. "Friend… come here."
Dante stepped back. "I don't fucking know you crybaby."
He teleported away, giving them the space to catch up after all these years.
...
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