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Dante walked on the bustling New York sidewalk while sipping from a bright red soft drink can through a straw. Death had conjured the perfectly chilled drink for him as a small but thoughtful gesture while he stalked Sinister's clone. He was still invisible so the clone had no clue his biggest obstacle was stalking him.
The clone moved with dramatic gestures, prancing down the street as if performing in some private one-man drama. To the passerby, he was one silly, flamboyant man.
At the curb, Sinister raised one hand to stop a cab. The vehicle screeched to a halt. The clone got into the backseat without a word.
The driver was a cheerful Indian man. He grinned widely in the rearview mirror. "You look like a very important person, sir. Dopinder will take you anywhere you need to go."
"Katonah. Be quick."
"Of course!"
Dopinder pulled into traffic just as Dante dropped on the cab's roof. As the cab merged into traffic, the driver couldn't resist striking up conversation with the unusual man in the backseat.
"You know, sir, I have been having quite an emotional week."
"..."
"My cousin Bandhu… he has been a problem in my life for many years. Last week, he won the heart of Gita. My Gita. The woman I have loved since we were children."
"Pathetic," Sinister muttered. "Abandon such distractions. Lust and emotional attachment are nothing but chains that bind the mind and weaken our focus. A truly superior man dedicates himself entirely to his goals. Only then can he achieve true clarity and greatness."
Dopinder suddenly slammed on the brakes, pulling the cab over to the curb with a loud screech.
"Sir…"
"What?"
"You words… they have enlightened me!" Dopinder's voice trembled like he had just reached a sudden spiritual awakening. "Just as Lord Krishna taught in the Bhagavad Gita! One must renounce all desires and attachments to attain Moksha! The path of detachment is the path of true liberation!"
"..."
"No more chasing after women or fleeting pleasures! Only duty and disciplined focus from this day forward!"
"Just drive." Sinister's patience snapped. "Idiot."
"Katonah, yes, very good."
Dopinder quickly pulled the cab back into traffic. Sinister's clone hadn't batted an eye when mind-controlling a normal person.
On the roof, Dante raised an eyebrow and took another sip of his drink.
'Isn't this Dopinder in Deadpool? Is Wade also in this universe?'
It would honestly make sense. Having Wolverine without Deadpool would be like having Bucky Barnes without Steve Rogers.
The ride afterward was mercifully short. They arrived at a modest, unassuming house in the quiet suburban town of Katonah. Sinister stepped out without paying, of course, and walked straight inside after unlocking the door. Dante dropped silently from the roof and followed the man closely.
The clone headed downstairs into the basement, shoved aside several pieces of old, dusty furniture. He pressed his palm flat against the dusty wall behind the mess.
With a soft beep, a hidden panel slid open with a hiss, revealing a narrow corridor. After another biometric scan, they stepped into a secret underground laboratory. Dozens of tall, transparent pods lined the walls, each containing a floating clone suspended in pale blue fluid. Xavier, Bobby, and Warren in various stages of development. These were backup bodies, ready to be activated the moment any of the originals were lost or damaged. On the bright side, he could kill Xavier until he was satisfied.
Sinister moved to the single computer at the corner desk and powered it on. The screen lit up yet another Mister Sinister clone leaning back into an extravagant chair. The background was clean, which offered no insight about his location.
"You're two hours late," the one on the screen said without a trace of respect. "What happened?"
"Multiple unexpected variables," the clone in the room said. "Where is Prime?"
"Occupied with Project Brood. He left me on command before he went." The clone took a pause before asking, "Status of our ultimate project?"
"We have run into an obstacle. Jean left the mansion for Skullfire. The probability of her returning on her own is below five percent. Should I pivot to the backup approach?"
"No." The screen Sinister shook his head firmly. "The child must be born naturally—the only way to guarantee it reaches its full genetic potential. The moment we introduce artificial methods, we compromise the outcome we've been working toward. Nothing changes at that point."
This was why Sinister hadn't involved telepathy or any other force. Otherwise, Sinister already would've succeeded in his plan with all the power he had in his hands right now. The problem now was that Jean was so thoroughly finished with Scott that she couldn't even stand the sight of his face. The original plan had no remaining foundation to stand on.
Both Sinister clones went quiet, lost in their schemes.
'Will he pivot to using Madelyne now?'
Jean's most well-known Clone, Madelyne Pryor, later known as the Goblin Queen—she was Sinister's creation.
""Skullfire has to be removed.""
Their united voice nearly made him jump in surprise.
The clone in the room crossed his arms. "How do we make a reliable elimination plan under these unexpected variables around him? On top of that, I've just entered a peace treaty with him specifically to stop him from interfering with our operations."
"Then use the treaty. While he believes the agreement is holding, we go after the people around him," Sinister said, a cold, calculated smile spreading across his pale face. "Once Jean sees everyone around Skullfire being hunted down like dogs, she will return to the safety of those she grew up with… like a frightened little bird flying back to its cage."
Dante wasn't even surprised. He had never trusted Sinister to keep his word for a single second.
The clone in the room clapped his hands together once. "Send reinforcements. The current slaves can't manage this."
"Silver Sable is departing today. For the rest, I'll send appropriate countermeasures to you. Make full use of them."
"When do I begin?"
The Sinister on the screen rubbed his chin, then glanced left and right, then covered the camera with his hand. "Two weeks."
The screen went dark.
The clone turned off the computer and snickered. "A hunt will be fun."
Dante shook his head. "Idiot."
Death materialized beside him without any sound. She was back in her mysterious long black dress that fell all the way to the floor and trailed behind her.
She looked at the clone across the room and then looked at Dante. "Companion, what will you do now?"
"He is naïve to think he can stomp my allies like bugs."
None of them were weak even when compared to the current X-Men. Not to mention they had Magik, who could be a real menace in a fight. He would train all of them hard before leaving for Egypt, preparing them for any situations. Sinister's countermeasures might be the best chance to make them even stronger. After all, real combat was the best teacher, especially for people who didn't have his cheat-like ability to learn through others' experiences.
"Not a terrible idea to enhance their capabilities," Death said, nodding approvingly as she fully materialized beside him in her flowing black dress. "Emma Frost, Jean, Laura, Felicia, Illyana… these girls have barely touched their true potential."
"Why did you sneak your bestie in there?" he asked with a smirk. "Because of the gift today?"
She nodded gently. "I might have gone a little overboard."
"Thanks."
"No, thank you," she whispered and vanished in a puff of dark smoke, suddenly feeling shy to elaborate on her feelings.
She was grateful to have another person caring deeply for her despite knowing her nature. Even though it might stem from Felicia's genetics, she had nothing but love for Death.
He waited for a few more minutes, but Sinister was just busy with the boring task of running diagnostic checks on Xavier's clone. Several copies acted out of character, forcing the mad scientist to mind-wipe and reprogram them repeatedly until their thought patterns matched the original almost perfectly.
Even Dante felt bad for Xavier watching this cruelty.
'Kinda deserved for being a predator.'
"Are you going to watch this madness for the rest of the day?"
He shook his head at Death's question. "I'll spend some quality time with Silvija. She'll eat me alive if I get Felicia pregnant before her."
He didn't leave right away. He spent the next thirty minutes setting up a thorough surveillance system using sorcery. All four corners of the lab were set up with invisible glyphs, creating a connected field, each rune having its own tasks to make them energy efficient, self-sufficient, and undetectable by ordinary means. One glyph for motion detection, one for energy signatures, one to act as ears, and the last to act as eyes. He linked the glyphs to his own mystic energy, allowing him to tap into these runes at any time.
Whenever someone crossed the threshold of this chamber or the place showed any activity, the detection rune would notify him right away.
After returning home, he took Laura and Silvija in the room and played games with them. Silvija was new to this, but she adapted quickly.
"Take that, brat. I'll show you who's the leader around here."
"I love a challenging fight. Come at me."
The rivalry between the two grew heated as they gave their best to beat each other in Street Fighter III.
He was having a blast watching them, but his fun time came to an end with the ringing of his phone.
'Felicia?'
He waved at the two, who had paused the game, looking at him with a worried look.
"Carry on."
He swiped up and pressed the phone against his ear. "Hey."
"Get over here, darling. We're under attack. Some green freak in a goblin costume is throwing explosives everywhere. We'll need your healing powers ASAP."
***
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