Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this story are eighteen years of age or older. Any sexual content involves only consenting adults. This is a work of fiction.
Author's note: Hey everyone. This one took a rewrite or two to get right, but I'm happy with where it landed. The Phoenix situation is going somewhere I haven't seen done before, and in the next chapter, we'll get Dante's read on what actually happened, why, and how. I left some hints in there. Curious what you all think before I confirm anything.
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 57: Imprint.
Dante Andromalius.
It wasn't often that I admitted I made a mistake.
And truthfully speaking, I hadn't done anything wrong. At least for myself.
But for humanity? Maybe turning Tandy into a devil wasn't the best idea ever.
She was a horny gremlin. And she wasn't ashamed of it.
Not that she wasn't much happier than when she was a human. Sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of her light, I watched over the rim of my mug as Tandy casually and amusedly terrorized our new housemates.
She wasn't mean, of course. She was a sweetheart with everyone who wasn't our enemy.
It was her way of bonding with girls her age.
And considering who her friends were back in the Underworld, it wasn't that surprising she turned out this way. Sona, Sai, Rias, and Akeno were the devils that interacted with my light the most.
Like I told Rogue and Jean yesterday, we weren't human. And Tandy took her reincarnation pretty well even if she still had some tells of her humanity.
She shared everything she could think of with the two mutants. And clearly, most of what filled her mind after last night was our alone time.
Heh. The pride that filled me at that moment was unlike anything I had felt in my previous life.
Sex was sex, and there weren't many beings in the cosmos that didn't enjoy a good fucking.
But it was enjoyed differently now. It was difficult to put into words.
There was a real difference when I watched Tandy, sweating and practically glowing in our bed with pure satisfaction, compared to anyone I slept with when I was Seere.
"And I'm telling you, there's nothing better than this in life!" Tandy smacked the table, her face flushing as she got more heated. "I'm willing to die on that hill. The first time it happened, I thought I was going to ascend to heaven."
I barely avoided snorting at the visible mental gymnastics Jean and Rogue were doing at those last words.
"That's not all. I was still on the high of becoming a devil. I just knew I had an eternity with Dante, and it made it all the more impactful." Her eyes turned vacant as a dopey grin grew on her face.
The redhead groaned into her palms, but even that didn't hide the amusement she truly felt. They were becoming fast friends.
"Oh, you like hearing that, big guy?" Tandy winked at me.
"Point me towards a man who doesn't enjoy being praised like this, and I'll show you an idiot," I rolled my eyes with a smirk. "But I feel like you're corrupting our friends too fast, my love."
"I'm just giving them some very important information!" Tandy giggled, trying to act innocent. "And I love your little prideful face, Dante."
Jean sighed.
I chuckled softly, shaking my head and leaning back against the counter as I finished throwing our dirty plates into the sink.
Before Tandy could divulge more of my anatomical details and continue corrupting the pair, a shower of golden sparks ignited in the center of the living room.
Wong stepped in. His face was set in a serious frown that softened once he saw Tandy.
He liked my light. Whatever problem he had with her when she renounced her humanity had already disappeared.
I understood where he was coming from, but becoming a devil didn't change who Tandy was at her core.
He nodded in my direction.
"The Ancient One is unsure if she should come as you asked, Dante," he looked around. "How sure are you that it will work?"
She wasn't even on the other side of the portal, but I could feel her power somewhere nearby. Near enough for me to show I knew what I was doing.
Rogue and Jean looked open-mouthed at the new visitor, their eyes widening with excitement at the obvious show of magic.
Now that I thought about it, Rogue was the perfect vessel to learn Kamar-Taj's magic. Her body absorbed my cosmic power as easily as breathing. She could probably do the same with the dimensional energies the sorcerers used as fuel.
Dormammu, Odin with his Odin Force, the Phoenix, Cyttorak. The possibilities were endless.
Damn. I truly lucked out with her. Especially because after spending a day with her, it wouldn't be hard to become her friend, or even more. At least compared to Jean at this point in time.
"Wong," I returned his nod. "I'm sure, but I understand why she's hesitant. This could explode in our faces if that one hears about it. That being said, I found a power in Xavier's institute that enhances my own bloodline to new levels."
"And you took it from him?" Wong's lips thinned.
"Damn right I did," I rolled my eyes. "He was even thankful for it, so drop that scowl already."
I pointed at the new necklace I was wearing. It was a simple silver chain, but the gem inside made it precious.
Xavi's power was absurd. It was an absolute, continuous erasure of himself from everyone else's memory. The requirements of his original power were complicated, but the advantage of having a demon's soul made itself known once more.
When we made deals, we gained a small degree of reality manipulation, depending on the wearer's strength and the type of deal involved. Not all of us did, but I was Seere. My soul remained the same as it was before, even if I was missing a part.
That meant I could shape powers as long as a deal was involved, or if I owned the source of power. Both applied to Xavi's trait.
That meant I could use it to temporarily hide Yao's presence from someone like Dormammu.
It was absurd, and I fucking loved it.
Sending a wisp of my cosmic power to the gem, I activated the effect while guiding it with my erasure trait.
The portal sputtered before shutting down completely.
Wong's eyes widened. "The Ancient One herself made that portal, Dante," he said, and I swore I could almost hear awe in his tone.
"Hard for her to focus on it when she forgot we even exist," I grinned proudly before sending a glance in the mutants' direction.
"Xavi was truly one of a kind, but I understand why he saw his power as a curse instead of a blessing," I said softly as their eyes lit up in understanding.
"He was a hero," Rogue said. "And we never thanked him for what he did."
And wasn't that pitiful? I couldn't imagine being like him. Forgotten by everyone, never being thanked.
What a lonely existence he used to be.
"He still is," Jean shook her head, looking torn. "I don't know what Professor Munroe will do with the ones who traded their powers with you, but I hope they can continue living in the institute."
"Mutants are mutants, regardless of whether they traded their powers," Tandy smiled. "And Ororo seems okay. She wouldn't turn her back on them. Not when the ones who accepted deals did so because their powers harmed them more than helped them."
"That's right," a bit of pride grew inside the mutants. "She's the best."
"She's hot as fuck," Tandy's gaze drew dreamy, earning a deadpan look from the pair. "Almost all women we met at the institute were."
"And you're an irredeemable pervert, Tandy," Jean groaned, but there was a hint of a smirk on her lips.
Heh. She liked hearing that.
"Anyways," I clapped and cut the flow of power into the gem. "That should alert Yao that it will work. We'll just wait for her. You want something to drink, Wong?"
The sorcerer nodded after a moment, looking almost pained as he surveyed our group. "You got any wine? I think I'll need something strong."
Heh. Waving my hand, the last bottle sent by Red's Mephisto flew from the cabinet. "You probably do, considering who my new interns are. You know them?"
The wine was good enough to warrant another meeting soon. Another part of me was curious about the imitation of my enemy back in Red's universe.
The squabbling girls finished teasing Tandy and looked at Wong.
"Only Jean Grey, considering who she is," Wong shook his head. "Aren't you supposed to be this kind of polite demon? Where did the pleasantries go?"
Little shit.
I rolled my eyes. "Jean, Rogue, this is Wong. The right-hand man of the Ancient One, who should be coming through a portal anytime soon. Their group focuses on protecting Earth from dimensional threats and are called sorcerers. Did you bring what I asked?"
Wong nodded, passing me two sling rings.
"Wong, the gorgeous redhead is Jean," I smirked in her direction, teasing her to show Wong how bad things truly were with the Phoenix.
What should have brought a roll of her eyes or a small flush brought an overwhelming wave of embarrassment instead.
He nodded at her, then sent me a serious look.
"And the gothic idol over there is Rogue," I winked at her. "And yes, her hair is natural, if you can believe that."
Did I have a reason to tease Rogue as I did Jean? Nah. Did that stop me? Of course not.
Rogue waved her hand while staring pointedly at the wall. No one mentioned her small flush.
"Aren't the pair hilarious?" I burst out laughing. "I should thank you for the tip, Yao."
She stepped through the portal that appeared out of nowhere, and I activated the pendant once more.
"Should I charge you for it? That's what you love, no?" Yao's lips twitched. "Miss Marie, Miss Grey, I apologize for putting this man in your lives."
She looked genuinely regretful.
Opening my mouth to make a joke out of it, she beat me to the punch by throwing another glob of shampoo into it.
Oh, I already regretted adding that feature to the ring. Even if it was objectively funny.
Everyone laughed as I coughed.
"You know, back then, I felt you were unnaturally immature for adding this, but I found myself growing fond of it, Dante. You're truly the best pupil I've had over the years."
Her smirk angered me. And people thought of her as the unflappable leader.
She could be one petty bitch.
"Anyways," I decided not to fall to her level, because I was the mature one, of course. "I invited them for two reasons. First, I don't know how bad the Phoenix problem will be. I know it's bad, not how bad. Secondly, as I said, energy sensing will be your primary focus for now. I'm sure Wong would love to introduce you to it, Rogue."
Jean was filled with fear at the mention of the entity currently inside of her. Rogue looked excited.
Yao waved her hand and took us all into the mirror dimension.
"Wong, be a dear and start Miss Marie with her education. I'm sure you'll find her to be a very promising sorcerer. Tandy, can you help them? I believe we'll need some privacy for what is to come."
The three nodded and walked into the distance.
"Now, for you, dear," Yao sighed. "We'll start by getting rid of all those presences inside your head. Dante, how good are you at the mind arts?"
"I cheat," I said proudly. "It shouldn't be a problem to get rid of some mortal influences."
"Of course you do," Yao rolled her eyes and sat in front of Jean. "Relax, we will both enter your mind and clear it out. Is that alright with you?"
Jean wasn't a trusting person, not after Xavier's actions. But she knew she didn't have any other option. At least there was something about Yao that calmed Jean down.
"Right. I think it will be better if we're inside her mind for now. That way we can ensure we don't miss anything," I murmured, resting my hand on Yao's shoulder and reaching into her mind, then putting my other hand on Jean's forehead. "Ready, Red?"
Jean nodded firmly before closing her eyes.
An instant later, the three of us were standing inside Jean's mind.
"You brought her with us?" Yao asked curiously, though she clearly wasn't against it.
She had an approving expression that made me want to throw her into the ocean. And she knew it, because it soon changed into a smirk.
"I believe it's more prudent to keep our little cosmic bomb calm," I huffed, messing with Jean's hair inside her mindscape.
She squawked in outrage but looked much more willing to go through the motions.
Her mindscape was a mess. The 'wall' blocking the Phoenix connection was the sturdiest of them all, but there were clear signs of the other manipulators who weren't as powerful or as experienced as Xavier.
Yao whistled in surprise.
"You humans can be quite scary," I shook my head in disbelief. "Crude as hell, but what he managed is absurd. I'm honestly dreading the result of his meddling at this point."
"Xavier is the best telepath on Earth, Dante. Even if he lacks the firepower Miss Grey can bring into the open once she trains, his control is immaculate. He surpasses every telepath I've heard of," Yao explained.
"Can we please stop talking about him?" Jean bit out, her eyes filling with the Phoenix power.
"Right, right," I waved her off. "Your mind is well developed, Jean. For someone who was being stunted for growth. It makes what we're about to do much easier because your mind won't crumble under my power."
"What are you talking about, Dante?" Jean asked.
"The main reason I brought Yao was that I'm not used to working delicately. If your mind were weaker, doing things my way would create consequences. It might warp you as much as these idiots did. Yao is more experienced with detail, but you're strong enough to protect yourself with Yao's help as I work."
"I knew it," Yao sighed, sending a look at Jean. "How much, Dante?"
"Bring your all. I don't want to risk it," I snorted. "I told you, I cheat."
Yao put her hands on Jean's shoulders.
She began chanting, her voice echoing through the mindscape with a weight that made my devil nature tremble pathetically.
Ugh. It honestly pissed me off how they ignored my defenses against Holy energy from Red's world.
"I call upon the power of the Vishanti to shield this innocent soul," Yao intoned.
"By the grace of the omnipotent Oshtur," she continued, and I felt the attention of the Elder Goddess fall into place.
I had to bite down a snort at that. Mostly because I didn't want to be smitten by her, and she looked like a petty deity. A strong one, certainly, almost at my previous level of strength.
And there still were two others missing from the equation who would undoubtedly change the outcome.
"By the might of the old one, Hoary Hoggoth," Yao's chant grew louder as the second outline formed in the fake sky. "And by the wisdom of the all-seeing Agamotto. Protect her innocent self. Anchor her soul against the incoming threat."
I glared at the disapproving gaze I felt from one of the three before they united into a single being and apparently decided to ignore me.
"She's secure," Yao took a deep breath. "But hurry. They don't particularly like me after my deal with Dormammu."
"Good thing they are the benevolent kind, right?" I snarked, wanting to flip them off despite everything.
Deciding to leave Xavier's blocks remaining, I focused on everything else in the mindscape.
"Right, final question," I started gathering my demonic essence. "Do you want the loud version that will give them all the headache of all headaches?"
"Will it kill them?" Jean asked quietly.
"No, there's not much to connect with them here," I shook my head, snorting when I saw the disappointed look in her eyes.
It was the amplified anger speaking, obviously, but it was still hilarious.
She nodded.
I exploded with darkness. My hand hit the floor, and the entire mindscape crackled under the flames of my hellfire. The difference in strength meant it was over in an instant, erasing everything that didn't originally belong to Jean.
I pulled everything back into me, and the glare of the holy power from the trio disappeared.
"Good," I nodded to myself. "The easy part is done, my dear. Congratulations, your mind is almost your own."
She smiled minutely at that before glaring at Xavier's cage. "And about that?"
"That deserves a more personal meeting, I fear," I smiled sadly at her. "Do you wish to remain here, Yao? I don't know how you'll feel in a bit. Soul diving can be… eye-opening to say the least."
She looked at me weirdly, then her eyes softened as she watched the worried Jean.
Yao nodded firmly.
"So be it," I sighed, putting my hand on their avatars before turning us all into souls.
Jean Grey.
Being a soul was nothing like the astral plane.
I had left my body before. The professor had walked me through projecting a hundred times this year alone. This was different enough that making a comparison would be a joke.
We just were. And there was nothing to hide from each other.
I looked down at myself and saw light. It was orange and human shaped. My shape… my injured shape.
Thin scars ran through the glow like veins. Every hand that had ever been inside my head had left a mark, and here, all of it was on display. But there was warmth pooled around my memories of the school, Annie, and my parents. Under all of it, there was a stubborn wall that had not broken, no matter how many people attempted to manipulate me.
Conviction. The same idiotic thing that made me train until my nose bled for a man who had already decided he knew better than anyone else.
But I was still me.
"Huh," Dante said behind me, sounding genuinely amused. "I had forgotten how soul diving worked in here."
I turned toward his rumbling voice.
I kept turning my head up.
The being standing where Dante should have been was massive. It wasn't just his size.
It was the crushing weight of a primordial entity. His soul was a swirling abyss of power.
One eye was Dante's blue. The other was yellow, and it looked impossibly old.
"You have horns," I said, because my brain had apparently decided to die on the stupidest hill available.
"And you have a shitty taste in men, my dear." The titan chuckled with Dante's voice mixed with something else. "That ex of yours was dreadfully boring for someone with as much fire as you."
I wondered how he was so sure of himself. Then I realized why.
Because souls do not lie. I didn't read his thoughts like I was used to. I read him.
His nature. His everything.
I still slapped the back of his neck with a huff for his comment, even though it looked absurd to do so against something that titanic. I doubted he even felt it.
I saw thousands of years of deals and even more deals. I saw kingdoms and whole planets traded away and plagues ended for something as small as a song simply because he decided that it was worth it.
Atrocities and miracles stood side by side because, for him, both carried the same weight.
He was not kind for kindness's sake. He was not cruel for cruelty's sake. He just was.
But woven through all that darkness was something new.
It was his mortality. Twenty years of humanity wrapped around a cosmic monster, and he loved it. A seed of light inside all that darkness, growing, little by little.
Through the center of it all, one thread burned brighter than everything else combined.
His Light.
I saw what she was to him. A being that could price anything in existence held the one thing he couldn't put a price on.
I saw the deaths from her training, over forty of them, and the start of guilt that he didn't understand, so he ignored it. But in his alien mind, every single one had been an act of care.
It was horrifying.
It was also the truth. All of it, the good and the monstrous.
The professor had smiled at me for ten years, and this was the result. This demon had a ledger of atrocities I couldn't even count, and he was the first person in my life I could say I truly knew. Even his ambition toward me. Just like the one he had felt towards Tandy before she became his.
Just like he felt for Rogue.
I understood why he never lied. When you are this, you don't need to.
"Are you finished?" Dante asked, his eyebrow lifted. He knew exactly what I had seen.
"Your eyes don't match," I managed.
"Do you want me to comment on your looks?" He tilted his head with a smirk. "Believe me, there's no one who knows you better than I do at this point."
I turned around, because if he could see what I had just seen, he wasn't exactly lying.
Neither did Tandy, for that matter. And here I thought she was just hyping up her man.
I decided to focus on the Ancient One instead, totally not blushing at his knowing laugh.
Her soul was human, just like mine. But it blazed with centuries of experiences, battling with hard decisions. Running through it was a violet-black flame that made my skin crawl.
Her collector.
The taint should have owned her. I could see the old marks deep in the pure parts. But it was receding. It was pushed back inch by inch toward a bundle of darkness on her hand.
The wedding ring. Made by Dante for his teacher, who helped when no one else would have.
A joke for both of them, but when you thought what it represented for Yao's future, it was less funny and more... something more.
The Ancient One met my eyes and smiled, unbothered by being read down to the deepest parts of her. "Everyone pays for power, Miss Grey. Some of us are supposed to pay even after death."
"That's for those who don't know the best demon in the cosmos," Dante said.
"I believe he was torn to shreds by Mephisto."
"And came out even better than before," he smirked.
I almost laughed. Standing between a stained saint and a lessened demon, I almost laughed.
Then the dark around us shuddered.
Xavier's wall loomed ahead of us. From beyond it, something turned its attention our way.
The warmth of this place was hers. It had been hers the entire time.
"She's calling," Dante said quietly. "Stay behind me, both of you. Let her come to us."
The block simply ceased to exist.
Fire poured around its edges, and the darkness was filled with life.
It was just too much. Every instinct I had screamed at me to kneel.
And then all of it folded down.
Into a little girl.
She had red hair and bare feet. She had my face. Around eight years old, maybe.
She stood in the dark looking exactly like the photo on my mother's piano, and she was crying.
"You…" she hiccupped and ran past me.
She slammed into Dante's leg; her fists were clutching tightly. "You came. You came. Seere came. I've known it was you ever since she saw you. I kept calling for you, and you never answered."
Dante… Dante knelt in front of the girl.
And slowly, he returned to normal size. His hand fell into her head.
"Hello, old friend," Dante said softly. "It looks like we've seen better times."
The Phoenix pulled back and stared up at him. Her eyes were impossibly white.
"You're less," her voice cracked with so much agony that it hurt to hear. "Where is the rest of you? Who took it?"
The pure life that made her very being switched into death and rot. "Tell me who took it and I will burn their name out of every universe."
"Mephisto managed to kill me," Dante said, his tone calm. "I got better, and so will you, my old friend."
She hit him. A tiny fist against his chest, and he went flying into the horizon.
Dante appeared once more in front of her, petting her head softly.
And she started crying again, growing between one sob and the next.
First ten, then fourteen, then seventeen, until she reached my age. It looked like me, but our souls meant I could see the difference between us.
What worried me was that the soul of the woman clinging to him didn't look that much different.
Watching that thing wear my face should have felt like a violation.
But the anger wasn't there. I could see through her just as I had with Yao and Dante.
And what I read was just loneliness. She had been cut from everything that made her, her, behind that barrier. And she turned into the only source of life she could still feel. Me.
My dreams, my nightmares, my grief, my love, everything that I was.
She had nothing else to be. So she became me. She imprinted on me.
"They put walls in me," the Phoenix said against Dante's chest. Her voice swung between fury and grief to a level that it rattled the space we were in. "All those mortals. I am life, and they made me small. It's so quiet in here, Seere."
"I know," Dante said. "I know."
His hand moved over her hair.
In his soul, where nothing could hide, I watched his worry grow. A very human and real emotion, one I recognized.
And I understood why the scene caused him to feel that way.
This had never happened before. Nothing about her should be able to cry.
He looked over her head at the Ancient One. They were afraid of what this meant.
Both were truthfully, unmistakably afraid.
"Fix it," the Phoenix whispered against him, her hands fisted in his form like the little girl she had just been. "You care about fairness… and none of this is fair. Fix me, Seere."
A cosmic force begged him while wearing my face. The last remnant of rage that remained against the entity that made its way into my body without my approval was snuffed like a candle.
All I found was pity. She never chose this any more than I chose her.
We were both girls locked in a room by men who knew better.
I stepped forward and put my hand on her shoulder.
Her white eyes met mine.
"Do you trust Dante?" I asked after a moment, lost in her white eyes. Something she shared with practically the same intensity.
She nodded firmly.
Then her face was filled with so much sadness that it broke my heart. "He's the only one I would trust as I currently am."
I looked at the demon whose eyes never left my doppelganger. Those softened, clear eyes showed his understanding, worry, and care for something that had never felt that it in her life.
Something I had never felt in my life.
"So be it."
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