In Marvel As Dante

My next call was to the Sorcerer Supreme to update her on the situation.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," She said. "You're now complete."

"I still have a chunk of my soul missing, but pretty much yeah…"

"From what you tell me, it won't be a problem in the long term," she said.

And she was right. I had the entire thing mapped out. After the demon threat was dealt with, I was going to hunt down the Infinity stones and use them to permanently enhance every aspect of myself, including my Soul and Mind—give me more time to prep for the final sever.

When Jean and I grow powerful enough, I'll finally call in my chit with the Phoenix and extricate Shin from what's left of my soul.

"Probably…" I finally answered. "I want to have a talk with the big guy before we sent him back. Is he okay by the way?"

"As fine as he could possibly be considering he's spent the last few weeks as mental prisoner to that monster."

"Here's to hoping he's lucid enough to strike a deal."

Our conversation turned more theoretical and technical. Our plans rapidly changed now that Lumos was dead—a fact that still stunned Yao. There had been opportunities to take out the high-ranking demons, but she'd always stayed her hand because of the potential fallout.

Now that shit was about to hit the fan, Yao figured, why not bust out the big guns. She agreed with the more direct approach and went even further with her plan than I did. Since I could penetrate the Japan Relay station, she figured why not target all of the other teleportation relay stations the demons have on the surface and take them out.

It would put them out of commission and buy us time to prepare for the big conflict. While the Sorcerer Supreme was at it, she also suggested creating a killing ground for Domina now that I could teleport—aka a location where she couldn't use Demon Energy. My angel side was strong enough to beat her unenhanced.

I teleported to the desert after Yao texted me a picture of a Dune. There was a slight twinkle in her eyes as I emerged. My appearance also drew the attention of Bruce Banner and Kaecilius, who had been tasked with helping him.

"Fascinating," she muttered.

"It sure is," I said. "And I barely understand how it works."

She tilted her head. "It's like one of our gates, but wilder. Careful when you use this new ability. There's no telling where you'll end up if it becomes unstable."

"So, it's true then, you killed Lumos?" Kaecilus stepped up.

I nodded. "Loped off his head after we killed the Squid Alien. Took a lot out of me though."

"I see…" Kaecilius tentatively said. I could see his next question coming from a mile away.

"Does this mean we can finally end Isha? Her biggest supporter is dead. You've already know everything she does. There's only so much maneuvering you can do with her now."

"Not necessarily," I said. "Look, I know you're eager to get revenge, and I'm sure you'll get it. But we're back to square one. We can't afford to play it safe."

"Were you ever going to tell us?" Kaecilius asked. I tried scanning his mind, but I noticed numerous barriers set up.

He finally figured something out. Good for him.

"Tell you what?"

"About the deal to sell us all out. Scott texted. Everyone who you've ever worked with knows."

"Word sure gets around fast," I scratched my chin and contemplated a viable answer.

"People told me I was being paranoid and unfair, but you're just as dangerous as your brother."

"Probably," I said honestly, surprising Yao quite a bit. "I mean I've lived since the first moment I've met you, but the difference is that while he might've fucked over an entire planet, I don't think I could have that on my conscience. Several exit strategies are in the works, none of which I can trust you with. Yao is familiar with the details. If you want to know. Ask her…Until then, I think I'm going to talk to Bruce Banner."

I walked past a clearly fuming Kaecilius, who was glaring at Yao, and stepped into the massive array Yao had set up for Banner. Despite spending several weeks with Ulyetrix, he looked no worse off than when Jean last laid eyes on him, but his mental health was in shambles.

I didn't need to be a Telepath to realize it.

At the center of the array was a mat covered in delicious foods. A temperature control spell regulated the heat that filtered into the array, and there seemed to be some mental spell that basically blunted most negative emotions.

I settled down across from Banner, and he looked up at me.

"I suppose I have you to thank for my rescue," he said.

"And the Government," I said honestly. "They paid me, but I would've come for you regardless. It'd have been sooner if I knew that monster had its hooks in you."

"It arrived the second day," he said in a thin voice. "I was moments away from freezing to death when it attacked me. It used to be as big as a wolf…but it grew fast."

I whistled. "I know this probably doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry this happened to you?"

"Are you?" he asked with as much emotion as he could muster under the array. "I've had a long time to think on what your partner said. She said you had plans for me, and that I was important for the fight to come. Your team came for me before things started spiraling out of control. I got the impression that you knew what was about to happen, and the…Thing confirmed it. Did you feed me to that monster."

I could've denied it, tried to engender myself to him, but he deserved the truth after everything.

"I have some idea of how the future is supposed to play out, and sometimes what I've seen comes true. Other times, an Eldritch Alien spawns in the North pole and attacks the foremost expert on Gamma radiation," I said.

"But you knew about the other guy?"

"Yes," I said. "He will be a very big part of the fight to come."

"I've had enough fighting to last a lifetime," Banner said, arms hugging his sides. "I won't be your soldier."

"You should probably tell Fury that when you find Betty," I said. "She spearheaded the whole rescue thing. And some promises were made on your behalf."

He had this distant look in her eyes. "I…suppose I will thank her. But I will not fight."

I shrugged. "I very much doubt that. It's in your nature. You stepped up the last time the Reactor started overheating. If the world is in genuine danger, I think you'll help, and if you don't, I'm still here."

"What do you want from me?" he asked. "You don't strike me as the sentimental sort."

"Fair enough," I conceded. "I'm here to help you with your Jekyll and Hyde problem."

Bruce's eyes widened. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your body language indicates otherwise," I said. "Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. You were not in the driver's seat the entire time the Alien was excoriating your brain. You were spared from the worst of it by the Other guy. The personality that comes with the beast. He might've been a welcome advantage in that difficult situation, but now that it's all over. You're having a hard time keeping him in check…It's the anger that triggers it. It's why you're hesitant about seeing her again."

"That's enough!" Bruce yelled, and his irises shone green.

"There it is," I said. "How does it feel?"

"Paralyzing," he breathed.

"I imagine it would," I said. "I have come with an offer Bruce. I will solve your green man problem, and in exchange, you promise to stay out the fight between me and Nick Fury."

"He knows about your past, doesn't he?" Bruce realized.

"What is your answer?"

Bruce turned pensive. "What kind of solutions are you offering exactly? I don't want to get rid of that side of me… for better or worse."

"And you shouldn't," I said. "With the threats on the horizon, you'd want some type of protection for you and Betty. What I am offering is to merge both sides of you, elevating your mind and body."

Bruce looked understandably apprehensive, so I explained further.

"It will shave years off of therapy and will saddle you with a ton of rage, but you will be lucid at all times," I said. "It's certainly better than the alternative."

"Out of curiosity. Could you remove him?"

"No," I said honestly. "If an Alien energy thief couldn't rip that part out of you, I don't stand much of a chance."

Banner didn't seem entirely convinced, but he took my answer at face value, likely realizing that I wouldn't get rid of the Hulk even if I could.

"Think on it," I said, standing up. "You have twelve hours to give me a response." I also tossed him a Cell phone. "Call your lady. I'm sure she's worried."

After bidding Yao goodbye, I moved on to the next stage of my plan—finding the Red Room. We were too early in the timeline for the head asshole to have a floating fortress. So, it was still anyone's guess where the Widows were trained.

Luckily, I still had two fresh leads trapped in the basement of Kamar-Taj to help with that search.

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