Peter's POV
Leaping back, I flipped out of the way of Jessica's fiery fist just before impact. Half the warehouse vanished in a flash of heat and light, and I landed beside Matt, a frown creasing my mask.
"Hey, watch where you're punching."
"I knew you'd dodge," Jessica said with a wide grin.
"What did you just do?" Matt demanded.
"Put a stop to whatever cartoonishly evil backup plan these numbnuts came up with," she said, sounding almost satisfied with herself. "Honestly, did you think we'd just let you power up?" She shook her head.
I liked Jessica. She was the only one on the team who didn't treat me like a fifteen-year-old. I was beginning to see how that might've made me overlook a lot.
The Hand leaders' faces were frozen in shock, but Gao spoke first.
"This shouldn't be possible. Black Sky—she is the vessel of the Beast. You can't just—"
"Wait, did you say vessel?" Matt snapped, turning to her. His jaw was tight, something approaching fear flickering behind the red vibranium contacts covering his eyes. "The Beast… it wouldn't happen to be a demon, would it?"
Not a word came from any of them, but their expressions said it all. The near-imperceptible tightening of jaws. The body language. Even the contact smirk playing at Bakuto's lips. It was different now. Deeper.
"I knew I recognized that energy somewhere," Colleen said bitterly. She'd lost students in the demon attacks.
"Demon or ninja zombie, it's still dead," Jessica said with a shrug.
"Is it?" Matt asked, turning toward the devastated half of the warehouse. It had been reduced mostly to ash. Not even the roof had survived, and it looked like a quarter of a nearby plant had been caught in the blast as well.
I winced. We were going to have to pay for that somehow.
In the middle of the swirling fire, I saw something…shift.
Matt saw it too, judging by the sudden change in his posture. He slipped into his usual fighting stance, batons raised. The girls noticed a second later and followed suit.
Bakuto began to laugh. The sound echoed through the warehouse, and a chill crawled up my spine. I dropped into a horse stance, sinking lower. It was where I felt most comfortable. It was the best suited to my unorthodox style.
A wave of darkness swept outward, choking out everything. Light. Sound. Thoughts. My heart thundered in my chest.
"Use your heat!" Matt roared beside me, but his voice sounded distant, distorted.
My hands flared like twin bonfires, but immediately I noticed something was wrong. They were supposed to be brighter.
Jessica's, Matt's, and Colleen's were dimmer too.
"What the fuck is going on?" Jessica cursed—and then it hit me. Bone-deep weariness. It felt like I'd given two bags of blood after running a marathon, and it was only getting worse by the second.
Whispers crept into my head, spoken in a tongue I wasn't sure was even human—yet I understood it perfectly. The voices fluctuated. One near, one far.
They urged me to give up. To question why I was even fighting in the first place. To submit.
And I found myself agreeing, against my better judgment.
After all, why fight? Why put Aunt May and Uncle Ben through—
My gauntlet lit up like a beacon, and it all evaporated. The doubts. The fear. None of it was mine. It belonged to Black Sky.
Through the darkness, I saw a vague silhouette staring back at me, its head tilted in fascination.
"Alright. That's enough of that horror-flick bullshit," a familiar voice said.
Dante snapped his fingers.
I was yanked off my feet and dragged hard into the air, coming to a stop just short of colliding with Matt. He looked just as disoriented as I felt, his beacon blazing as well. Jessica and Colleen floated nearby.
The weakness that plagued was also disappearing and quickly too.
Through the darkness, I could see Dante clearly. He wore a red leather jacket over a loose white shirt, jeans, and boots, like he was off to a lunch date or something.
He raised a finger, and a purple sun bloomed into existence. The darkness recoiled, shrinking back—and so did the Beast.
The body it inhabited had been twisted beyond belief. Its spine was elongated, skin blackened, clothing shredded. It looked vaguely feminine. Or at least, the body it wore had been.
"Ancient demon?" Dante mused, rubbing his chin. "You know, I always assumed the Hand were just jumped-up martial artists high on dragon bone—but you taught them how to drain lifeforce, didn't you?" His gaze sharpened on the Beast. "In exchange for what? Ah. Let me guess. A tithe."
"Moooon Breeaaaakeeer," it whispered, its multiple voices rippling through the mist.
"Wrong, brother," Dante said with a wide grin as he summoned a double-tipped spear. It was covered in runes, made from solid reddish, almost black metal, and glowed in the purple light. "I don't suppose you'll drop the domain?"
The demon twitched.
Dante twirled his spear, generating a massive vacuum that dragged the black fog inward. It vanished the instant it touched the metal haft of his spear. The weapon hummed, and Dante laughed.
The demon lunged, claws of shadow stretching toward him.
Dante shifted stances at the last possible moment, catching the blow on the tip of his spear. Metal rang. They separated, the demon sliding backward. It screeched and slammed its hands together.
Car-sized shadowy hands erupted from the darkness, snapping shut in a pincer aimed at Dante.
They were cleaved in half before they could reach him.
The smile vanished from Dante's face.
With a sigh, his hand shimmered—and suddenly, he was already thrusting. Textbook-perfect. The demon's head vanished.
"Well. That was disappointing," Dante muttered. "Just an avatar. Not the real thing."
My jaw dropped.
The black mist dissipated. Bits of brain matter and blackened blood rained down. Dante turned his attention to the Hand members, who looked just as stunned as I felt.
One blow.
I mean, I knew Dante was strong, but that was… a reminder.
At some point, they'd freed themselves and were trying to flee.
He rested his spear on his shoulder. "Now what to do about you?"
Bakuto recovered first, drawing himself up and puffing out his chest. "If you think—"
Dante yawned.
Bakuto slammed face-first into the ground. The air hummed.
"Anyone else got opinions?" Dante asked, sparing Gao and Alexandria a glance before turning to us with a smile. "Ladies. Gentlemen. Quite the night you're having, huh?"
I was grateful for the mask as I picked my jaw up off the floor. The rest of the team wasn't so lucky.
Jessica was hyperventilating.
"That was—I mean—a single tap. Holy shit."
Dante smirked. "Always happy to perform for an audience. Believe it or not, I don't get enough appreciation." He shot Matt a meaningful look.
The team leader grumbled.
"Can you let us down now?" Daredevil asked. "And please—don't kill him."
Dante snorted, rolled his eyes, and released the pressure on Bakuto as he mentally lowered us. Bakuto flipped over like a fish, coughing and writhing.
"Good to see you, too, Daredevil. Believe it or not, I was on my way to see you. Some sensitive legal matter. Very hush-hush," he said with a mischievous smile.
Matt folded his arms. "What did you do?" he asked flatly.
"Why do you assume it was my fault!" Dante said in mock outrage.
I shook my head. Right. It was easy to forget this side of him.
Matt waved around, as if to point to evidence. "It is kind of your M.O."
Dante huffed.
"Hey, this is not my fault, and the other thing wasn't either. You'll see when I tell you, preferably over booze and maybe some dinner. You're all invited, of course--right after you decide what you want me to do with these assholes. Incinerate or jail. I'm fine with either."
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