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"Okay, where is the mansion?"
Dante had teleported away in high spirits, but forgot he had never been to the X-Men mansion. Magneto remained quiet, as if hoping that would save him.
"Westchester, which is about twenty-five miles from here," Death whispered. "Close your eyes. I will bring you there."
'You're quite supportive today. Not that it's a bad thing.'
The plan to evacuate Manhattan's civilians into a dream-state while the fight happened, then reverse the damage afterward—Death had suggested it without being asked.
"I love being a helpful companion. Watching you happy makes me smile."
There definitely was more to it. Seeing all his lovers and allies gathered in one place might have threatened her. Her usual argument about "mortal lovers" held no water now. He could find a dozen ways to make humans live for thousands of years now.
He didn't get the time to tease her as the shadows consumed him. When it settled, he stood on a gravel path in front of a large red-brick mansion. For a mansion of this size, having less than ten residents was absurd.
"Don't do anything rash," Erik said from beside him, still dangling in Dante's grip. "Xavier gave me no instructions. Coming after you tonight was my decision alone."
He felt pity about the old man's attempt to protect his friend when said friend had used him. "Do you know why I killed Teresia?"
Magneto shook his head.
"She had no remorse for killing the Hellions." He recalled Teresia's indifferent look as she stood beside Xavier. "She prioritized Xavier's mission over innocent lives. I get it was for the "mission", but there has to be a line. She crossed it when she went after my daughter."
The warning text she sent was never going to work. He was pretty sure a creep like Trevor would've been stalking Emma, never allowing Emma to escape. Trevor had been infatuated with this fantasy of conquering her. Dante would've spared Teresia if she had put in just a bit more effort than sending some text messages.
Erik's eyes grew wide in surprise. "Why would Teresia go after Emma's students?"
"Some political scheme. Selene even let out Trevor. He killed the kids and then he was going to assault Emma." Dante looked into Magneto's eyes. "And Teresia protected his mind throughout this."
Magneto lowered his head. "I am sorry for Emma Frost's loss."
"Don't be. I already revived them."
Erik clenched his fist. "...Thank you."
The Holocaust's trauma might have twisted and scarred him deeply, but he truly loved the mutantkind. The old man was just a broken man who believed violence was the only way to prevent the same tragedy from striking the mutants. Still, that didn't excuse ruining Dante's beautiful night with Felicia's family. For that, the old man needed to be punished.
He grabbed Erik by the scruff of his neck and flew the perimeter of the mansion until he found Xavier's window. He pulled the frame out of the wall and landed inside.
Xavier was sitting on the edge of his bed, hands on his knees, with his head lowered.
Dante pushed Erik down onto his knees. "You don't get to act cool after your pathetic attempt to kill me."
"Charles," Erik said, forcing him to sound composed. "Why hide what Teresia did?"
"She was innocent," Xavier said without looking away. "I sent her on that mission. Her actions were mine to answer for."
"A kind, young soul," Xavier's voice suddenly echoed throughout the room. "She was taken too soon."
Death emerged from a cloud of shadows, looking faintly pleased with herself. She had been only visible to him. "I projected his thoughts. Thank me later."
Xavier went rigid and put his hands on his temples. "What is going on?"
Dante ignored the professor and sent a thought to Death, "Can you connect it to all the X-Men?"
Exposing Charles to the X-Men would make Jean and Ororo less sad about what would happen in this room. With the Phoenix Force looming in the future, he had to keep Jean's emotions in check.
What he wished for was done with one snap of Death's fingers. Reading Xavier's mind would've been nearly impossible even for Jean. Death had streamlined the process for him, allowing every X-Men to see the real man behind the kindly professor mask.
From starting his new life to helping him out everyday—he couldn't give her enough credit. 'Genuinely the best.'
She revealed a smile. "Make sure to spend time with me later."
He nodded and turned to Xavier. "So, what do you think about me?"
Xavier's eyes widened. He shut his eyes, trying to keep thoughts straight. "It's you."
"I loathe you. I want you to burn forever in Hell. You vile demon took Teresia away from me. I will never hold her in my arms again."
Erik removed his helmet and stared at Xavier with wide eyes like he was meeting his friend for the first time today. "Charles, is that true? You really… had a relationship with Teresia?"
"Yes, I had an encounter with Teresia." Xavier's thoughts confessed. "You must understand how stressful it has been for me. Fury left me no breathing room. When Teresia came to me… I couldn't resist."
"It is not!" Charles turned to him desperately. "This is all a fabricated lie. These thoughts are not mine!"
"It wasn't my fault. She proactively sought me for years until we became each other's."
"This is not true!"
Xavier's thoughts told the real story, a story that Xavier desperately tried to deny.
"Her love drew me away from my infatuation with Jean Grey. Because of Skullfire, I will never see them again."
"This bastard Skullfire. It's all because of him. I wish he dies in the most painful way."
Dante revealed a look of disgust. "You had been their professor from when they were young. How can you develop feelings for them?"
"How can someone not admire them? The innocence and curious minds are… so fascinating."
Dante really wanted to punch Xavier, but he feared he might not be able to control his strength and accidentally kill him.
Xavier punched his knee, clenching his fists. He had rage boiling inside him, but he had no way to vent it out. Dante had complete immunity to his mind control shenanigans.
Erik took a deep breath. "Xavier, you deceived all of us."
"So what if I did? I have been saving everyone from SHIELD." Xavier's thoughts turned narcissistic. "I sacrificed everything to keep you safe. You should be grateful to me."
Dante raised his hands and applauded Xavier. "Thar patience and control to hide your true self is praiseworthy."
"I will kill you one day. I WILL AVENGE TERESIA. SHE DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE."
His thoughts turned into the howls of a madman and only stopped when his phone suddenly rang. He took it out and stared at the screen.
"Jean. Is she calling to come back? Will the mansion be blessed by her smile again?"
Dante was starting to feel creeped out at this point. Even Erik showed a similar expression.
Death waved her hand, snatching the phone from Xavier and bringing it to Dante. He instantly answered the call and put the phone on speaker mode.
"Professor, these voices…" Jean said in an uncertain tone. "Are they yours? Why am I hearing them? Is something wrong with my telepathy?"
"What?" Xavier asked. "Bastard, you did this."
Dante chuckled. "It's me, Jean. These are Xavier's unfiltered thoughts coming to you, courtesy of Death."
"This is real?!" Jean let out a surprised voice. "So Teresia and me…"
"Yep, your professor is a fraud. He slept with Teresia and held feelings for you."
Jean went silent for a few seconds, reconsidering every interaction she had with Xavier until now.
"Charles," Jean's voice had become furious. "All the times I went to seek counsel from him… he had been lusting over me. This is disgusting. Ugh, I want to vomit."
"He's here if you want to say anything directly." Dante angled the phone toward Xavier. "Go ahead."
"Go to Hell, you two-faced manipulator."
Just these few words revealed Jean had completely cut ties with him. This was for the best. Now, she could truly start her life as Phoenix without being weighed down by the X-Men.
Xavier clutched his chest, a look of despair on his face. "Jean, don't do this! I'll never hurt you. I'll give my life to protect my students."
"I never needed your protection. I never asked for it," Jean rebutted in a sharp voice. "Dante, please cut me from this telepathic link. I want nothing to do with him."
Death ended the connection with a flick of her fingers.
Dante looked behind just in time to see a red beam punching through the door. Scott in a casual outfit stormed in and grabbed Xavier by his collars.
"I—we trusted you with our lives. How could you betray us like this?"
Xavier avoided eye contact with Scott's visor. "Scott, you were the man of Jean's dreams and I couldn't even walk… I never liked you."
Dante burst into laughter. "Stop it, Prof. I'm getting second hand embarrassment."
"She never gave me any attention, even though I did everything for her. Her heart was always for you, Scott. But look at you now. Another man took her away, and you were left to cry in your room. It feels like justice to me."
Unable to control himself, Scott punched Charles in the face. "My whole life, I've followed every word… I looked up to you… but you thought this about me."
"I've been sacrificing my life here only for everyone to betray me. This is unfair to us mutants."
Erik rose to his feet and moved Scott aside. He towered over Charles, confronting in his mind who his oldest friend actually is versus who he believed him to be. "You manipulated me into fighting Skullfire."
Xavier hung his head even as blood flowed from his lips. "Yes, I did. You should know the loss of a loved one. You've been through this. As my friend, this should be natural. This is what friendship is all about."
Magneto's hands trembled. He was holding himself back from physically lashing out. Dante couldn't allow that restraint. He tapped into Biokinesis to make subtle adjustments to Magneto's brain chemistry. First was amplifying the threat of Xavier to the point that even harmless actions appeared personal for Magneto, which also made the betrayal cut deeper into his heart.
"Erik, you always flaunted yourself as the most powerful mutant. But tonight, the so-called Master of Magnetism couldn't scratch a young boy."
Erik closed his eyes, his fists clenched hard. "Charles, you're crossing the line."
Dante dampened the part responsible for suppressing impulses and tilted Magneto's neurochemistry, driving him toward sudden actions.
"Your powers are useless," Xavier's thoughts became sharper and insulting. "They couldn't protect your wife or kids. They couldn't avenge Teresia tonight. How can a man with such immense powers be this utterly useless?"
Finally, Dante triggered the fight-or-flight response. At the same time, he severed Xavier's connection to his X-Gene.
Magneto roared like a wild beast and gripped Charles' throat, choking him. Without a single use of telepathy, he had turned decades of friends into enemies at the drop of a dime.
Charles' eyes widened in horror as he realized he couldn't push Magneto away with his mind. The telepathy would've absolutely worked since Erik had taken off his helmet, but Dante took that option away.
Magneto looked possessed, and he wasn't letting go no matter what pitiful sounds escaped Xavier's mouth. Despite being older, Erik was far stronger than the crippled Xavier.
Xavier's face turned bluish from the lack of oxygen. He turned to Scott for help, only for Scott to turn away. He had organized his entire identity around Charles Xavier's vision of the world, given his childhood and his sense of purpose to this place. But Xavier had betrayed him.
In a last ditch effort, Xavier looked toward Dante with eyes full of desperation, begging to be rescued. Dante showed no reaction. He just watched life fade from the old professor's eyes.
'I spared him once already.'
But Charles had learnt nothing. Xavier's revenge tonight could've killed him. The only reason it hadn't worked was because of Magneto's lack of strength.
A few moments later, Xavier's hands dropped to his sides, going completely limp. Erik growled and shoved Xavier away. Charles collapsed on the bed, showing no signs of breathing.
Magneto stood there panting, still riding the wave of his heightened rage. Dante quietly reversed the biokinetic changes, letting the full weight of what he had just done crash down on him. This was Magneto's punishment for coming after him on this very peaceful night.
Having achieved what he had come here for, Dante turned around and walked out until he was out of the mansion.
"Charles?!" Magneto's painful roar sent the birds flying. The man had strict discipline, but even he failed to overcome his biological limitations.
Dante shook his head and reached for his phone, ready to call upon his lover for the promised night. Before he could even unlock the phone, the screen lit up with Jean as the caller name.
He swiped up and pressed the phone against his ear.
"Dante, come here." Her voice came through urgently. "Fury is arresting Ororo—you! Give me my phone…"
Jean's voice grew distant and inaudible. Someone had taken her phone away.
He looked up at the sky and sighed. Felicia's luck wouldn't let him have his moment with her.
***
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