What was more terrifying than waking up shirtless in an unfamiliar room?
Waking up shirtless in an unfamiliar room with a 6'6" giant drawing on a canvas nearby.
The rational part of Dante's brain suggested he was probably safe. The irrational part thought about the worst case scenarios—he was about to be killed by a serial killer.
'And the victim, Dante, never suspected that his last moments would be immortalized in oil paint.'
He knew he was charming but not enough to drive men to kill him out of envy.
"You are awake, comrade," the mountain of a man said with a thick Russian accent and glanced at him. "I'll let the Commander know."
The man took out his phone and typed something.
"Commander?" Dante's voice came out rougher because of his dry throat.
Had he died from overusing Death's Resonance Link and then reincarnated again in a military setting? He called out to Null to confirm.
[Null Repository status: active.]
Relief washed over him. He was still Dante, still in the same universe, still Death's only companion, and still employed by the gorgeous boss of Silver Sable International. Silvija had just relocated him somewhere while he was unconscious.
"Who are you? And who's this commander?"
The big man finally turned from his canvas. He had a face with a square jaw, high cheekbones, and surprisingly gentle eyes. His black hair was cropped short, and he wore a simple gray henley that strained against huge and wide shoulders.
He didn't look older than his late twenties, maybe early thirties.
"Piotr Rasputin." Piotr set down his brush on the tray. "Commander Sablinova asked me to watch over you."
Dante sucked in a deep breath.
'Piotr Rasputin. Piotr fucking Rasputin.'
The mutant who could transform his entire body into organic steel to become virtually indestructible. Colossus. The gentle giant of the X-Men, the farm boy with the heart of gold who could tank nukes for his fellow X-Men.
'Shouldn't he be with the X-Men? Why is he working for Silvija?'
There was an interesting story behind his appearance born from strange divergences in the timeline, and it was most likely connected to his sister, Illyana Rasputin. Of course, Piotr wouldn't reveal anything to a stranger.
Dante swung his legs off the bed and stretched his arms overhead, feeling muscles pop in a satisfying cascade down his spine. "Oh that felt great. A good night's sleep really does wonders."
Piotr let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. "Comrade, you were dead for seventeen hours."
Dante froze in the middle of his stretching pose. "Seventeen... seventeen hours? No wonder I'm starved."
He might've spent more time sleeping in this new life than he did staying awake—an amusing but depressing fact.
He extended a hand toward Piotr. "Anyway, I'm Dante. You probably heard that from Silvija."
Piotr's handshake was careful, showing how conscious he was of his own strength. The respect in his eyes was genuine though. "I learned what you did for Commander, Comrade. You have the gratitude of everyone in Wild Pack."
"It wasn't a big deal."
"Perhaps not to you." Piotr smiled warmly. "But it matters for us, Comrade. Emma Frost with her resources would've been a nasty thorn in our operation."
Dante rubbed the back of his head. Nothing would get him used to purehearted compliments. "Well, thanks for watching over me while I was out."
Piotr winked like a mischievous kid. "Commander Sablinova also spent a lot of time by your side."
He fished out his phone and showed a photo of Silvija sitting by the bedside and holding his hand. He never thought Silvija Sablinova could look so distressed.
"That's so sweet."
"She is very kind to her people," Piotr said before gesturing toward the door. "There are clothes on the bathroom counter. I will let Anna fetch your meal."
"Appreciate it, big guy."
Saying goodbye to Piotr, he went through the morning routine like it wasn't evening. Afterward, he grabbed the folded clothes from the bathroom counter—simple black jeans and a gray winter hoodie—and turned on the shower.
He stood under the spray while thinking about the nerve-wrecking meeting with Emma Frost. Even the terror of death didn't get Emma to back down easily; she still tried tactics like intimidation, persuasion, and seduction. Her offer just had no temptation for him. Whatever she was offering could be easily earned on his own.
'She could've swayed me by revealing bad things about Silvija. I took her chance.'
He had kissed Silvija in front of Emma to disrupt Silvija's thoughts. The quickest telepathy was surface-level reading of thoughts and emotions. The deep dive required a moment, which he never gave to Emma. He had also shifted Emma's focus to himself with a shot at her ego, allowing Silvija to leave without being exposed to the telepathy.
'It's a good thing, but I'm a bit disappointed.'
He did want to hear Silvija's opinion of him, not to the extent of wanting Telepathy for it. He would still get it from Emma Frost's Resonance Link later as it was an amazing survival tool.
As for Emma Frost herself, he was quite certain this wasn't their last meeting.
"Null, did I suffer any backlash?"
[Prolonged rest allowed for full recovery. Administrator's vitals and neural pathways are in optimal condition.]
He nodded, dried off, and dressed quickly. Running his fingers through his still-damp hair, he gave it some semblance of style.
'Good enough.'
When he stepped back into the main room, Silvija was sitting on the couch, gulping down water like she had been thirsty for days.
She looked absolutely wrecked.
Her silver hair hung in loose, messy waves around her face. Her ice-blue eyes carried a redness from a lack of sleep. She looked like she hadn't caught a break since they went to Hellmoon Club.
He dropped onto the couch beside her. "Hey."
"You're awake." She sounded relieved like a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest. "Sorry I didn't have time to look after you myself or cook for you. The facility got attacked last night."
The apology hit him harder than it should have. She had probably spent the last seventeen hours dealing with her mercenary operation, yet she was apologizing for not personally preparing his meal.
"What was the scale?"
"Thirty Asian people in black gear, equipped with military-grade firearms. They attempted a breach around 4 AM."
"Aren't they afraid of alerting the NYPD?"
Silvija revealed a tired smile. "The people who hired these guys already paid off the upper echelon of the NYPD. They didn't even stop by in the morning for investigation."
"Corruption everywhere." He shook his head. "Any casualties on our side?"
"Not at all. We managed to kill ten with our defensive advantage. The rest retreated when they realized we weren't going to fold." She threw a leg across her knee, her fingers tapping her thighs, a telltale sign of stress. "It was probably a probe at our defenses. Next time they'll come with bigger numbers and more firepower. It'll keep escalating until we break, or Norman is done with his research."
Without thinking, Dante wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. She didn't resist, settling against him like she'd been waiting for it. "Don't worry. I'll be there to rain death upon those idiots."
She punched his chest, more out of irritation than the desire to beat him up. "You are an idiot."
"Excuse me?"
"You didn't need to do that last night," she said with barely concealed anger. "When you collapsed, I thought you would be gone for months…"
The fear of losing him had been eating away at her ever since he collapsed in the car.
Dante ran his fingers through her messy hair. "I overused my authority when I was already exhausted from our fight. It won't happen again, I promise."
Silvija pulled back enough to give him a skeptical look. "Did you say Authority? What are you, some kind of god?"
He laughed at her question. "Greater than gods, actually. My death authority is on a higher level than Hela."
If Emma Frost knew about his dominion over Death, it was only fair that Silvija did too. The woman genuinely cared about him, and had proven herself trustworthy.
"Who is Hela?" She blinked. "Did you use that power to scare Emma?"
Dante had forgotten about Odin erasing every trace of Hela from this world's history. "She is a goddess of death. Just like Thor and Odin. Before you ask, yes, they are also real."
The silence that followed was amusing. Silvija just stared at him, her face showing a multitude of emotions.
"I didn't know my low-class intel broker was a big deal." She reached out and touched his face. "I'll try not to betray your trust."
He leaned into her touch, with his best smile. "Just treat me normally. I'm your boyfriend, after all."
Something fierce blazed in Silvija's eyes. She grabbed his collar with both hands and yanked him down into a kiss. This wasn't like the teasing kiss in her car. This one was hungry, borderline desperate, the kiss of someone who'd spent seventeen hours terrified she'd never get to do this again.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, she smirked. "Only a boyfriend?"
Dante's hand slid down to rest on her butt, fingers sinking possessively. "I don't mind being more."
Silvija's eyes widened suddenly. "I forgot Piotr was—oh my god."
She shoved him away and straightened her tactical gear.
He clicked his tongue. "Piotr, your Commander is missing you."
After some rustling, Piotr emerged from the bedroom, his canvas tucked under one arm. His expression was carefully stoic, like he'd been deliberately not paying attention to the two.
"Commander, you should rest. I can handle the defense tonight."
The mere mention of sleep provoked a yawn from the mercenary queen. "I'd love to, but I have to be at the second site."
Dante frowned. "There's a second site now? Is that guy out of his mind?"
"The second research facility went active today—ahead of schedule," Silvija replied, walking toward the window to watch the New York sky fade into night. "He called this morning saying his timeline had accelerated. Now we're covering two locations with the same number of personnel."
"Norman Osborn mentioned the possibility of more facilities," Piotr added. "But Commander refused to take the contract for those."
"Damn right I did." Silvija glanced over her shoulder. "He can hire another group to handle them. I'm not risking it after the attack last night."
The expanding scale of Norman's plan sent warning bells through Dante's head. It might not be a cure for all diseases as Emma had suspected, but some sort of network across the city. Perhaps a hub for some ritual. He knew too little to reach any conclusion.
"I'm coming with you," he said firmly, already formulating a plan to sneak inside. If Norman was building some kind of distributed network of facilities, he needed to know what was really being developed before this entire situation exploded in their faces.
"Alright. I'll get changed in my room. Meet me at Anna's desk in thirty minutes."
Once Silvija left the room, Dante moved his attention to the kitchen. Multiple containers of chicken dishes, grilled, roasted, and some kind of curry waited for him.
It was truly a feast.
Eating alone brought down the experience. He had become too used to having the company of a beauty these days.
"Death," he called out softly, not really expecting a response. "Where are you? I miss my favorite lap pillow."
"Companion." The whisper reached him like a dream. "How are you faring without me?"
He nearly dropped his fork. "Uh—bad. Terrible. It's really hard."
Death gave a sinister chuckle. "I saw you savoring a kiss with her in the car. Such… human passion must be hard to contain."
He felt a chill on his nape. Death was absolutely upset with him. The worst part was that he had no idea what to say in this situation.
"Death, you said you won't mind."
"I do not mind it," Her voice became softer and gentle, which somehow made it infinitely worse. "I gave you permission. Why would I feel no slightest grievance towards you or that Silvija girl?"
"...You sound mad."
"I'm not mad, Companion. I'm simply curious. Is it nice having a 'girlfriend' to look after you?"
"..."
"Do her mortal lips feel sweeter and softer than mine? Is that why our kisses were so… brief?"
"I'm sorry, Death." Unable to take anymore, he gave a sincere apology. "I promise I'll kiss you as much as you want when you get back."
"I could return right now, but…" Her voice carried a sadness that he had never felt before. "Every life in this universe is fated to perish. I would like to stay here and watch over these souls in their final moments."
It sounded contradictory since she just showed the ability to be here while simultaneously being in another universe.
"Hmm, alright."
"I will return soon. You should be prepared to tell me everything that happened in my absence."
"We'll cuddle under a warm blanket for the storytime, then."
Her silence stretched long enough that he wondered if she'd already left.
"Okay…"
The shy agreement sounded nothing like the cosmic entity who'd resurrected him. It sounded like a nervous girl accepting her first date invitation. He was overcome with the urge to hug her. Unfortunately, she wasn't here, and that made him depressed.
"I'll chat with you later, Companion."
"See you."
He quickly finished the dinner and found Piotr in the bedroom, who was carefully adding shading to the sleeping tiger on the canvas. From the back, Piotr looked as if a brick wall had come to life, but his skills were first-grade.
"You're great at this."
Piotr glanced at him. "It's a symbolism for you, Comrade."
"Me? A tiger?"
Piotr set down his brush and turned to face him fully. "In Russia, we have a saying: 'Do not wake a sleeping tiger unless you want to be eaten.' It's a warning for children to not stir up trouble unless you're ready for the consequences… You got one over the most dangerous mutant in New York back. If you are not a sleeping tiger, comrade, then I do not know who is."
"You know about mutants?"
"Yes, most of us in Wild Pack have faced them in the past."
Dante's narrow eyes studied him carefully. "I'm curious about how you end up working for Silvija instead of… that place?"
Piotr flinched as his eyes widened. "Comrade, I didn't even reveal my secret to the Commander. How did you figure it out? Does your mutant power let you sense other mutants?"
"Maybe." Dante kept a soft smile on his face. "So, what brought you to Silvija?"
"When I was in Russia, Headmaster Charles Xavier approached me with an invite… I didn't go with him." Piotr looked hesitant to discuss the reasons for his rejection. "Then my younger sister disappeared. A relative suggested meeting Miss Sablinova. I didn't have money for her, so I asked her to hire me. She had resources to find my sister. I had experience beating people up."
Dante, of course, knew the sister in question. Illyana Rasputina, the young girl who was abducted to Limbo by Belasco.
'Didn't she return from Limbo on the same day?'
It was a curious case. Perhaps Illyana had returned from Limbo and went missing in some other place. Dante knew too little to make any assumptions.
"You'll stick with Wild Pack until we find your sister?"
"Commander is using all her contacts to help me search." He cracked his fists and suddenly he triggered his transformation, becoming bigger, heavier, and completely metal. "I want to be an invincible warrior for Commander. But I'm not allowed to reveal my mutant powers in fear of SHIELD. I want to swat them like flies!"
The giant clapped his hands, and the sound was like a thunderclap. He was a living weapon in his Colossus form.
Dante stepped back, feeling the room cramped because of this seven feet metal giant. "Easy, Piotr. No need to wreck the room. SHIELD isn't here."
To be honest, he was more afraid an accidental slap from Colossus would turn him into meat pulp.
Piotr's metal face softened into an apologetic expression. He shrank back down to his normal form and sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "Apologies, comrade. I become... passionate about Commander's kindness."
"It's alright, friend." He patted his shoulder. "Let's go meet up with Silvija."
***
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