Random art, also it'll be nice if yall voted with some power stones
Candra stood utterly frozen, her mind refusing to process the reality before her. In all her life, through the rise and fall of empires, she had never witnessed anything so impossible.
Dante stepped off the corpse and reached into a pouch. A beautiful red gem floated up from his palm and spun slowly. Deep blue threads of energy emerged from Apocalypse and began to converge upon the gem—Apocalypse's immense lifeforce was being pulled out of his body. It was exactly like watching one External devour another for their strength except it was a gem doing the devouring.
"My Heart of Eternal Darkness," Candra gasped, her hand flying to her chest. "He has the gem! All this time he had it on him…!"
The mystery thief she had sworn to torture turned out to be her own son.
'Isn't that impossible?'
The Heart of Eternal Darkness had gone missing over a decade ago. Dante had only recently left Manhattan—she knew that through her network, which meant someone else had taken the gem.
Before she could get a grasp on the thief's identity, she saw Dante open a dark rift and bring out a dark-robes figure. Selene, the Black Queen, slumbering peacefully. He casually slashed her neck with the scythe, putting an end to her life. Soon, Selene's dark red lifeforce poured into the gem alongside Apocalypse's.
For all their glory, for all their immortal eons of survival, Selene and Apocalypse both met insultingly lackluster deaths. At the hands of a youngster.
Candra had savoured every second of it.
When the absorption finished, Dante took the gem and walked toward her with a soft smile on his face. That wasn't the smile of a man who had just executed two immortal beings, but the smile of someone who had finished a mildly inconvenient errand.
"Candra, you want your gem back?"
"Mou, no need for that. Everything mine is yours, son," she said with a playful smile, though her eyes lingered on the beautiful gem. "Truth be told, I wouldn't object to having my precious heart back with me…"
He chuckled. "Nope. It's mine now."
Candra hadn't expected him to hand it over either. "What do you intend to do with your mother's heart?"
"Aren't the rest of the Externals working for Apocalypse?" He replied with a question of his own. "I'll kill them and pour their powers into the gem."
The Heart of Eternal Darkness had filled to the brim with the lifeforce of every External except herself—that would make her near-unstoppable. Even Apocalypse and his Celestial Armor wouldn't be a match for her then. Just the thought of it made her heart race.
A look of understanding dawned on Candra's face, and with it, came a delightful grin. "Play the gracious hostess and invite the rest to their doom—is that what you want from me?"
He gave her an appreciative look. "Very much. Will you help me?"
"I wouldn't mind…" She whispered. "But are you truly certain those two won't come back? Externals usually don't stay dead."
Dante lowered the scythe from his shoulder and rested one boot on the underside of its blade. "This blade is a manifestation of Death's authority. Only a few people in this universe can survive it. You High Lords are way below that standard."
"That cosmic entity Death?"
He nodded. "That Death."
Candra swallowed hard. So that was the truth. Her son hadn't merely grown strong. He had borrowed the power of Mistress Death, one of the cosmic entities of this universe. A being with unfathomable powers. He could be lying, but she didn't believe that to be the case. Dante had no reason to lie to her.
'Apocalypse is gone forever.'
The great shadow that had loomed over her entire life was finally… gone. For the first time in centuries, she could live her own life without fear.
"I'll help you," she said with a deep breath. "Let's kill those bastards."
With Apocalypse gone, the world had no further use for his subordinates anyway. They were loose ends. She would be delighted to help clean them up from this planet.
Dante nodded, his gaze drifting past her to her blonde bodyguard who had stood silent through the whole affair. "Who is she? And why didn't she lift a finger to help you?"
"I've got no superpowers," Bella Donna said gruffly, crossing her arms. "What did you expect me to do? Throw rocks to pull her down? It's already a miracle I made it here in one piece."
Candra chuckled and wrapped an arm around Bella Donna, tugging her closer. "This is Bella Donna Boudreaux. Guildmaster of the Assassins Guild. Super-abilities or not, she is a woman of considerable talent."
Bella Donna seemed like she was on the verge of rolling her eyes. "Benefactress, I'm not worthy of an introduction."
"True. You're just a figurehead in the grand scheme of things."
"..."
She saw Dante staring at Bella Donna with too much intensity in his eyes. "If you're into her, I'll let you keep her. Just treat her with decency."
"I have a question for her," Dante said. "Is she Remy LeBeau's ex-wife?"
Bella Donna's composure cracked at Remy's mention. "How... How do you know?"
"So you are."
Dante smiled, not bothering to answer Bella Donna. The blonde intended to ask a few more questions, but Candra shook her head. This wasn't the time nor place for that conversation. Candra was more concerned for why Dante had stopped speaking and began staring at an empty space.
A moment later, a shimmering disc portal split open and a masked woman arrived, carrying an unconscious man in her arms.
"Illyana," Dante said. "What happened to this dork?"
Illyana eyed the lingering aura of the scythe. "Why are you always doing cool poses every time I show up? Trying to impress me?"
"Do I have a reason to impress you?"
"Ouch. I'm not that ugly, am I?"
He shook his head before putting away the scythe and taking the big man from Illyana's arms. His telekinesis kept the unconscious man afloat in the air. "Who did this?"
"Sinister's henchman," Illyana looked around as she whispered. "Jean called her Anna Marie. That woman absorbed Pete's powers."
Candra reached out and laid a hand on Dante's shoulder. "Let me help, son. I'm quite gifted in medicine and alchemy."
Illyana looked past Dante, locking her eyes on Candra. "Your mother?"
"Not a chance."
Candra felt her heart ache. How delightful it would be to hear the word "Mom" from him. It might mean more than all the wealth in the world combined. Unfortunately, it wouldn't happen. Her lifelong absence had done too much damage to her image. Only a miracle would get Dante to call her mother.
"Illyana, right? I'm Candra."
Illyana nodded politely. "Dante, if she is good at this, we should leave Pete to her. We've got bigger fishes to worry about in New York."
"I have zero trust her in her skills. Not to mention my Omega-level Biokinesis is better than her centuries of experience."
Candra was left utterly speechless. Telekinesis, Flight, Solar powers, Death's scythe, and now Omega-level Biokinesis—was there no end to her son's abilities? Just how much had this child managed to accomplish at such a young age. Genius couldn't even begin to describe this miraculous growth.
She held her tongue and listened in on their conversation as Dante tended to Piotr. From the exchange, she pieced together the situation in New York. A mutant called Mister Sinister wanted Dante and every one of his allies dead. The man had crafted foolproof plans to murder them all, going as far to recruit hordes of giant alien insects to get the job done. Candra had to applaud the audacity of Mister Sinister's schemes even though she knew all of it was useless against Dante. Not was Dante powerful on his own, but he also had her Heart of Eternal Darkness that was filled with Selene and Apocalypse's powers. She also wouldn't stand idly if someone targeted her son.
Dante looked up from the unconscious Piotr. "He's fine. His powers should return in a few days."
Illyana breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."
Emma placed her hand on Illyana's shoulder, looking at Dante. "We should go."
"I know. Sinister would've capitalized on Illyana's absence." He turned to Candra. "Meet me in Manhattan."
Candra crossed her arms, smiling playfully. "You can use more hands on the situation. I'll be happy to help."
She wasn't willing to be brushed off so easily.
He considered for a moment before nodding his head. "Don't give me an excuse to harvest you like them."
Candra let out a breath of relief, only to feel goosebumps from a glare enough to freeze the desert air. Emma Frost radiated a generational level of hostility for her as if she had committed unforgivable sins against Emma. This wasn't lingering animosity from their little argument outside the pyramid. This was a warning to not try anything stupid against Dante; this was a woman protecting her man, which Candra found rather cute and amusing.
Illyana glanced at Emma. "Is she really his mother?"
"No," Emma said, keeping her gaze on Candra. "She's just an old lady."
Dante nodded. "Yup."
Candra clicked her tongue. She was trying to get in the good grace of her son to make up for the time she had lost because of Apocalypse. Frankly, if it wasn't for him, she would've raised him on her own. But Dante wouldn't understand her reasoning even if she told him.
'It's better than being his enemy.'
Now she had a base to build from. It was only a matter of time before she got him to acknowledge her as his mother.
***
Alex Summers, Havok, vaguely remembered his life before he met Nathaniel Essex. He had a normal family with parents and a sibling. All of those faces and memories had long since blurred into dreamy images. The plane crash years ago had separated them. After that, there had only been Nathaniel. He had pulled Alex from the wreckage of that old life and turned him into his protégé.
And today was Alex's chance to prove that all that patience and effort hadn't been wasted. He had to prove his worth, that Nathaniel hadn't been wrong to mentor him.
A soft beep sounded in his ear, prompting him to press the comm device.
"The first variable has been dealt with. However, two more have since arrived. The Broodlings will keep them occupied for a while. You're clear to move in with the Nasty Boys and Gambit and collect our prizes."
"Sir, Gambit is not here with me. He said he was going to help Shadow."
"That insolent Cajun…" Nathaniel sounded a tad bit annoyed with Gambit's rogue behavior. "Forget about him. He is aware that the price of disobedience is not one he can afford to pay. You may proceed with the objective."
Alex lowered his hand from the comm and turned to the corporate building—Silver Sable International. Two of their targets waited inside.
By all rights, one of them should already be in their custody. The Spider-Queen had been handed the girl on a silver platter, every advantage stacked in her favor, yet the woman had still managed to fail. Alex knew arrogant and egoistical people like Spider-Queen were incompetent to the very core.
He stepped in through the shattered remains of the lobby doors and found Gwen and Ororo sitting behind the reception desk. Off to the side, a young man in a strange pink-and-purple suit lounged across a lobby chair.
Gwen rose and walked around the desk. "More of Sinister's lapdogs, I assume."
"It would seem so," Ororo replied in a calm voice. "Illyana was right to insist you stay on guard."
The young man got up from the chair and stood at Gwen's side. "Sis, I swear you're a magnet for trouble. I barely had to wait for a fight."
"Pipe down, little bro," Gwen shot back with a grin. "Let's go mop the floor with their ugly mugs."
Alex was unbothered by her childish insult, but the same couldn't be said about the Nasty Boys. Their hackles rose and one by one they readied themselves for a fight.
Slab's body swelled, doubling in size as muscles piled onto muscle until he was like a three foot wall of meat. He grinned down at them. "Heh. Now it's eating time."
Gorgeous George was next. His purple, tar-slick body bubbled and stretched as he ballooned, his limbs extending into boneless, flexible tentacles. He rolled his shoulders.
"Aw, c'mon now, girl, don't make that face. You'll hurt my feelings." He stretched his right arm toward the ceiling and snapped it back. "Last time I got this loose, I drank myself stupid and forgot how long my own arms were supposed to be."
Hairbag crouched into a cat-like stance and bared a mouthful of razor fangs. The hair across his body stiffened into sharp quills. "I wanna eat her. But the Boss said we gotta deliver them alive. Makes me so sad."
Ramrod slammed his shillelagh on the floor, and the wooden staff writhed, sprouting jagged spikes along its shaft. This was his mutant power to reform wooden material. He gave his dangerous shillelagh a clumsy twirl, nearly fumbling it, then caught it in an awkward grip. "Eh? Eh? You see that, eh? Bet none of you can do that with a hunk of tree. I'm a one-man lumberyard."
"Loser." Ruckus, the arrogant peacock leader of the group, lifted a metal bat over one shoulder. He couldn't be bothered to lug around proper sound equipment for his power that was to absorb sound waves and send them back with concussive force. In his own grand estimation, he didn't need any equipment for his mutant ability. The world was already loud enough to feed on, and a plain bat suited a man far more.
He looked Gwen and her "little bro" up and down with open contempt and sneered. "Mop the floor with us? Kids like you make me wanna start a serial killer arc."
For a moment, Alex had the urge to throw them all out and finish the job on his own. But alas, Nathaniel wanted this dumbass group to gain some experience on the field against competent fighters. Either way, they wouldn't be able to touch Gwen even if she was exhausted from a tough battle.
***
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