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Dante lowered Emma Frost and Jean Grey into the empty chairs and checked on them using his Biokinesis. They hadn't suffered any injury, only overused their minds in the telepathy. If nothing went wrong, they would regain consciousness in half an hour.
He looked back at the ruined table and thought of the bizarre kidnapping. Why did a demon suddenly decide to snatch a symbiote of all things? Sure, this one was unique with its hive-mind ability, but still wasn't enough to make a demon open a portal for it. Which meant he had missed something.
More importantly, what the hell was the Ancient One doing? Sorcerers were supposed to guard Earth from these types of threats.
Silvija approached him and asked in a soft voice, "Couldn't you kill the symbiote with your powers?"
He shook his head. "The hive-mind made it impossible. They are all synced up."
Norman could sync up with the hive-mind to connect with anyone in the network. But every symbiote in the network stayed connected all the time. Killing one would effectively achieve nothing. His plan had been to hijack the hive-mind through Emma and Jean, every symbiote in the city to converge on one location, and feed all the symbiotes to Venom. It would prevent every symbiote from flooding the streets at once.
"Silvy, look after them. They'll be up soon."
It would be unsafe to teleport unconscious bodies with his method. Death still refused to use any more of her power so decided to keep the two here with Silvija. Besides, the chances of someone coming to interrupt Norman's meeting unnotified were minuscule.
Silvija put her hand on his back. "I'll join you when they're up. They'll do the heavy lifting. I'll be their shield."
"That's not a bad strategy—"
Ding. The doors slid open with a soft, cheerful sound. MJ and Harry stepped out, looking a bit anxious. They must have heard the glass shatter when the portal opened.
And standing behind them, almost as if hiding her face, was Gwen.
The moment she saw Dante, her hand flew to her mouth. "Dante!"
She ignored the wrecked office and the corpse of the man who had tormented her. She rushed straight to him, scanning him like she was checking for wounds. Meanwhile, MJ and Harry stood there, still processing the scene.
"Thank god," she whispered. "You're alright."
Dante gave Silvija a quick nod—a silent 'I'll see you later'. Silvija returned a small smile and turned back to guard the telepaths.
He took Gwen's hand and pulled her into the elevator before pressing the lobby button. As the elevator doors closed, Harry's heartbreaking "Dad!" reached them.
Gwen flinched and her eyes flicked up to him. "Did you—"
"He is dead."
She swallowed at his easy confirmation. "There was… no other choice?"
He shook his head. Someone like Norman could never be redeemed. At the same time, he had too much money and influence to stay more than a month in prison.
Gwen lowered her gaze. "Do you remember the Maggia leader I brought to the NYPD?"
"From the island?"
She hummed softly. "He was found dead in the prison yesterday. My dad was restrained from acting on any report on the island. This system… it's a joke."
She wasn't angry or hurt. She was plainly disappointed. Which was probably the reason she hadn't crashed out at him for killing Norman. The old Gwen might have debated the morality of killing someone. But after what Norman had done to her father, to her, to Jefferson Morales, and to the thousand others on Roosevelt Island, something in her had changed.
She understood now that people like Norman could get away with anything in this world.
He patted her shoulder. "That's why it needs you more than ever."
For some reason, it made her wince like she had received a shock. He drew his hand back and let her regain her composure. Perhaps she still hadn't overcome her traumatic experience on the island.
"Harry will blame you," she whispered. "And Silvija."
Both Harry and MJ had seen Dante and Silvija. Then again, the detectives would find plenty of evidence painting Norman as the mastermind behind the symbiote attacks.
He shook his head again. "He can do whatever."
Harry could even become a villain through this experience and be Gwen's archnemesis. Dante couldn't care less about that at the moment.
"I believe you're worried about what's happening out there," Gwen said with a forced smile. "The worst scenario came true in the end."
"We almost had it. Well, this isn't that big of a deal."
Some people would die, but SHIELD would be forced to make better decisions or stop functioning as a secret defense organization.
She nodded, already planning to help out as much as she could. "Do you remember the officer… who died?"
"Yup. Did you check on Miles?"
It was tragic that Gwen's canon event included the death of Miles' dad. It could've been any other cop, but the world had to max out her and the other Spider Totem's emotional damage by giving Jefferson a brutal death.
She showed a small smile. "Dad is planning on adopting him."
"Adoption? Doesn't Miles have a mother?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You know Jeff and his son, but not how his wife died during childbirth."
That made him feel even worse for Miles. There might even be a chance Miles became his villain version in this world.
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't know"
The silence that followed was thick and awkward. Gwen kept stealing glances at him, clearly searching for something to break the tension in this hundred-plus-floor elevator that seemed annoyingly slow for Norman's bread and butter—Oscorp Tower.
"Nice fit. Black suits you."
Dante brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder. "You look pretty great."
He looked her over. Gwen had a green long coat over a black turtleneck and a snug violet mini-skirt. The black hairband to hold her blonde hair matched the turtleneck. The small hoop earrings with gold-tone finish complemented her blonde hair. Her fashion sense was pretty great, especially for a part-time masked vigilante and university student.
"Thanks." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking a little embarrassed at the compliment. "Sorry if I'm not level-headed right now. A little tired."
He chuckled. "This is the superhero life you signed up for. Anyway, why are you here?"
Gwen knew Norman was Sovereign, the person who had tortured her mentally on Roosevelt Island. Yet she had walked into his turf on his own.
Her expression became serious. "Oue Uni got attacked by some crime lord in symbiote suits. Classes are cancelled until the whole symbiote situation is solved."
"That doesn't explain why you came to Norman's turf."
"Gosh, relax. Let me breathe for a second."
"...Okay."
"So," she said, clearing her throat. "I told Harry and MJ about Norman. They didn't believe me."
"..."
"MJ has a screw loose. She wanted to hear it from Norman."
Dante's mouth twitched with disbelief. "So she walked into the lion's den… to ask if it's a lion."
It was stupid beyond belief. But then again, MJ had done even stupider things in comics. Some traits like Felicia's mischievousness and MJ's stupidity stayed constant in the multiverse.
'She was so much better in the older comics.'
The elevator dinged and opened to a busy lobby. Anxious people trying to look normal while clearly terrified of everything happening in Manhattan these days.
Gwen stepped out first, then turned back to him. "I'm gonna fetch my suit."
She hesitated, her eyes lingering on his face like she had something else to say. But she bit her lip and turned to leave.
Dante grabbed her hand. "Why not use Anti-Venom?"
"I despise that name," Venom rumbled from his mind. "How is my… off-spring my bane?"
He held back a chuckle at that. It would hurt him too if his kid turned out to be his greatest weakness.
Gwen seemed quite stiff when they stepped out of the building. She stared at it—or more specifically, their joined hands. The uncomfortable look on her face prompted him to immediately let go.
"I can't transform here," she whispered, glancing around. "Everyone will know."
He wrapped an arm around her waist, making her freeze. With a push of mystical energy, he teleported. The lobby vanished, replaced with Felicia's bedroom.
Gwen let out a shaky gasp, clutching her chest. The distance was so short that they barely spent a moment flowing through mystical energy. The displacement of astral and physical bodies still hit Gwen since she had never experienced it before.
He ignored Gwen and smiled at Felicia's current state in the bed. She was a mess in the most Felicia way possible: oversized hoodie twisted up, exposing her abs; pajama pulled slightly down from the waist to reveal her panties. It would have looked like a deliberate seduction attempt if he didn't know better. The sleep deprivation was caused by what she had been working on at her desk.
'Still working herself to the bone.'
For someone with cat genetics, she spent more time working than she did relaxing. It was quite something since adult cats could sleep up to sixteen hours a day.
That's why he had to make sure nothing happened to her father. Even if it did, he would use Death's Resonance to bring him back. This would upset Death. Some friction with Death was worth enduring to save Felicia's heart.
"That was something," Gwen whispered. "Felicia bragged about it. I didn't think I'd get to experience it so soon."
"You can transform here. I'm heading out."
"Wait, we'll go together!" Gwen said, then immediately flushed crimson. She moved to Felicia's closet and pulled out a bag. "My suit is in here. We were… improving it."
Dante raised an eyebrow. It seemed like these two had grown closer and become friends of sorts during his time in Asgard.
"Should I step outside?"
Gwen shook her head quickly. "Stay. I don't mind."
He minded why she agreed for him to stay and watch her undress. And the way she fumbled the buttons of her long coat painted an entirely different story. Even so, she took off her long coat and grabbed the hem of her turtleneck.
He looked away and sat on the edge of the bed to give Gwen some privacy.
"You really won't peek?"
The question caught him off-guard and for the right reasons. The city was under siege and somehow Gwen Stacy was worried about whether he wanted to see her naked. Or maybe she was worried that he didn't want it.
"We can talk about that later," he said without looking back. "About that kiss too."
She went quiet. Her mannerisms around him plainly conveyed some sense of feelings. It had to be left for after he had cleared off the symbiotes, helped Natasha, and dealt with Odin.
He shook Felicia's shoulder. "Wake up, princess."
Felicia stirred and rubbed her eyes. She blinked groggily. The moment her eyes focused on him, she gasped and threw herself into his arms.
"Darling!" She buried her face in his chest, breathing him in like she needed proof he was real. "You're back."
"Suit up," he said, smoothing her messy hair. "We're going out."
She looked up at him with a serious expression. "What happened?"
"Symbiotes."
That one word snapped her awake completely.
She glanced past him and saw Gwen in the Ghost Spider suit. After a quick nod, she fetched her Black Cat gear and began undressing behind him.
He closed his eyes, resetting his state of mind after that day-long battle with Hela. It would be a lie to say he didn't enjoy the battle. He very much did.
The newly trained Hela would be an even bigger threat to Asgard. He'd be quite happy to have her rule Asgard as long as she curbed her dream to rule the universe. Even at her peak, she wouldn't be powerful enough to turn that dream into reality.
The universe was just that dangerous.
"Darling."
He turned around to see both of them wearing their symbiote suits. The way Gwen tugged down her hood made it hard to decide who was his girlfriend and who was a normal friend between the two. She was confident in public but embarrassed in front of one man.
'Women.'
Felicia put a hand on her hip. "Shall we?"
Dante tapped into Hyperion's Resonance Link. The connection allowed him to instinctively understand the complex calculations of how Hyperion's body interacted with forces and vectors to levitate and fly at a ridiculous speed.
He lifted off the ground and hovered a few inches above. "This feels so great."
Both women stared in surprise.
"You can fly now?!" Gwen blurted out. "Since when?"
Felicia's eyes sparkled. "Oh. Oh, this is going to be fun."
Dante extended both hands. "Free taxi service."
Felicia grabbed his right hand immediately. "Gwen, shoo. I want to be carried like a princess. This will be Volume Two of Skullfire's romance saga."
Gwen stared at his outstretched hand, then she turned and walked to the window. "I'll see you on the streets."
The lack of life in her voice made him concerned about her emotional state.
"Wait!" Felicia called out. "Gwen, don't be so dramatic."
Gwen turned a blind eye to Felicia. She pulled open the window and jumped out.
Felicia looked at him with innocent eyes. "I was joking..."
"You can apologize later." He scooped her up in his arms. "We have a city to save."
Before he could fly out, the doorknob rattled. A moment later, two claws punched through the lock and shredded it.
The door creaked open.
Laura Kinney took back her claws and stared at him, wearing a set of winter clothes that looked suspiciously like the ones he had gifted her.
"Dante…"
He smiled at her messy, unkempt hair. Laura probably followed his scent the moment she woke up.
She walked up to him and punched his thigh. "For leaving me like that."
"Sorry," he said softly. "I'm back now."
Felicia pinched Laura's cheeks. "Why did you ruin my door?"
Laura shoved her hands away. "I thought Dante was avoiding responsibility."
"He what now?" Felicia glared at him. "Darling, how could you do her before me?"
"I did NOTHING like that."
Laura saw Felicia was in her symbiote suit and equipped her own symbiote. Having a mindless symbiote suited Laura perfectly. It wouldn't amplify her already volatile emotions. Honestly, it was a great thing for everyone. His relationships would've imploded already if Felicia and Silvija got normal symbiotes.
"Wanna get on my back?"
"Go," Laura said, shaking her head. "I'll follow."
As he floated toward the window, Death's mask formed over his face, because Death was always there, always watching.
'That does sound a bit unsettling.'
***
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