Marvel: Death Dealer

Dante shook his head at Natasha. “Congrats on the release. Honestly, a bit disappointed you didn’t call for a lift.”

“I tried calling earlier,” Natasha said with a shrug. “We’ll catch up later. I need to help Carol.”

The familiar name made him frown. “Who is Carol?”

“Carol Danvers.” Natasha reached up to lift the hatch back open. “She is fighting Brood on her own.”

That wasn’t a name he expected to hear in the current timeline. But if she had arrived in SHIELD right now, there was a chance she had stumbled upon Sinister’s deep control over SHIELD. The worst possibility was Sinister mind-controlling Carol as well. Both situations would make things really messy.

Dante drew open a portal to his home. “All of you head back. I’ll clean this up with Natasha.”

Carol Danvers was too powerful ‌a factor to ignore. He couldn’t let her fly around blindly following Fury’s truth.

Laura stretched her arms over her head, arching her back with a lazy yawn. “Only if you promise I’m not sleeping alone tonight.”

Felicia wedged herself between them, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. “Or we can all share the bed. She’ll need someone experienced to show her the ropes. What do you say, Laura?”

Laura’s eyes glimmered with excitement. “The more the merrier!”

He caught Felicia by the arm and unceremoniously shoved her through the portal. The grinning Laura followed Felicia a moment later, the portal closing before she could say something from the other side. The conversation they were having was supposed to be private, but alas, both Felicia and Laura were utterly devoid of shame.

Lady Loki let out a whistle. “Your love life is quite… colorful, my lord.”

Death, Silvija, Felicia, Gwen, Laura—it would be objectively incorrect to call his love life anything less than colorful.

He smiled. “Well, Lady Loki, why don’t you add a little green to the palette?”

Loki coughed into her hand, then cleared her throat. “My lord. I shall await you in Asgard. The gifts I have prepared… I promise you’ll find them most to your liking.”

He still couldn’t fathom what gift could make her so insufferably confident. What could she have to be this certain she would win him over? Well, there was only one way to find out.

Waving his hand, he dismissed her. “Leave.”

She gave a deep bow before looking up. “Lady Sif, if you would please do the honor.”

The Bifrost’s pillar descended and took her back to Asgard.

‘Sif is in charge of Bifrost?’

Lady Sif would see Lady Loki in her real form. Just what had been happening in Asgard behind his back?

‘This is so weird.’

He’d know the full story when he returned to Asgard later to fetch Mystique. But for now, he had to focus on Earth’s business.

He crossed to Natasha and gestured toward the open hatch. “After you.”

Honestly, he wasn’t angry with her anymore; that fire had burned down to embers. So much had happened since. But he still didn’t quite know how to treat her. Should he just pretend it never happened and go back to being what they were before?

“Lover boy.” She teased with a laugh as she climbed inside the ship. A moment later, she popped her head back out and reached a hand out for him. “I forgot to say thanks. Asgard’s reinforcements made a huge difference today.”

He wondered what type of face she would make if she knew the Brood attack only happened for one reason, and that reason was him. Sinister’s whole plan had been built around taking Jean back after he took her away from X-Men. He was sure it wouldn’t be a pleasant expression.

He followed her into the ship and took up a position at her side as she settled behind the controls and started the ship.

“Congratulations, by the way,” he said, glancing around the cockpit. “This is a stellar ride.”

For a while, the only noise was the Hellfire Ship cruising through the air.

“I thought you’d be furious to see me after everything,” Natasha whispered. “But you’re pretty calm. It’s making me feel… I don’t know, worse?”

“You want me to be angry?”

She eased off the controls and turned, leaning her hips against the control panel. “Being hated beats being indifferent. At least hate means you still feel something. So, if it makes you happy, yeah. Treat me like crap. I deserve it.”

There wasn’t a mask this time. No sugarcoating. Only blunt truth. He preferred this over her ‘all-knowing’ act.

“I’m not gonna do that. Can’t give you what you haven’t earned.”

She tilted her head, genuinely caught off guard. “I have to work for my punishment? What type of messed-up logic is that?”

“Mine. You want to be my friend, you play by my rules.”

In the end, he decided to forgive her. There was no sense in holding one mistake over someone’s head forever, not when she had real remorse over it. But if she crossed him a second time, he wouldn’t be so kind.

She stared at him deeply, digesting his words. “No way. I won’t accept it.”

“Manipulating me for SHIELD was acceptable, but this isn’t?”

“It wasn’t acceptable…” She crossed her arms defensively. “I just didn’t think I had another choice.”

“There is always a choice, Nat,” he said with a sigh. “The alternative wasn’t even hard. All you had to was just ask.”

“A normal woman would’ve done that.” She eased the spaceship to a hover and stayed still for a moment. “The Red Room didn’t leave any of us normal. They rewired our brains. The thought of asking for help… it just flew over my head.”

The Red Room had been in her rearview mirror for years, but some scars would never fade. Some experiences had a permanent effect on people.

He put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I’m glad you can be straight with me about it.”

She turned to him, gently reaching out to take a hold of his collar in both hands. “You helped me a lot. I shouldn’t have done that to you. Didn’t realize I was burning something precious.”

“But this puts us in a bit of a bind. You won’t accept forgiveness and move on, and I won’t punish you. So how exactly do we resolve this?”

What she had attempted was wrong, but she had owned her mistake. And in the end, she never really got the chance to act on the manipulation scheme.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, letting go of his collar and dropping her gaze. “I want to go back to the way we were. But... is that even possible anymore?”

“You want to go back to being my bride? It’s not hard to be honest.” He slid his hands around her waist and leaned in to whisper against her ear. “You just have to say the three magical words.”

She glanced up at him through the flames. “I love you?”

He grinned. “‘Be my husband.’ Now say it like you mean—”

Rather than obeying him, she punched him in the chest, knocking him back a couple of staggering steps. He couldn’t see it under the skull mask, but he’d have bet his life she was blushing furiously.

He rubbed the spot she’d just punched. “Honey, what was that for?”

“The Bride who never was and the Groom who never will be,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “Why don’t we just… stick to being friends?”

He looked away and clicked his tongue. “Shame. Almost guilt-tripped her into marriage… Well, it doesn’t matter. Success always comes to those who work hard and smart.”

Natasha chuckled. “You nearly got me promoted from Widow to Wife. No man has come close to that. Be proud, lover boy.”

He let out a dramatic sigh. “But it didn’t happen.”

Natasha chuckled and started the ship again, which she shouldn’t have stopped in the first place. Their conversation could’ve happened after they were done helping Carol. Maybe Natasha didn’t think Carol was in any serious danger.

‘She’s too overpowered to die to some Broodlings.’

Natasha summoned two seats from the floor, both of which matched the heavy metal aesthetics of the ship.

He sat down at Natasha’s gesture. “How’s Fury treating you?”

“I’m still a SHIELD agent, their most effective weapon. They have no reason to treat me poorly.” A fire flickered in her hollow sockets. “It’s not Fury’s or anyone’s fault. They’re being controlled.”

“You don’t plan to do anything about it?”

She shook her head. “The cost is too high. Those girls are finally living something close to a normal life. I won’t be the one to torch it.”

“Then it’s not a problem if the girls are safe, right?”

If Natasha chose to cooperate, fulfilling the Spirit’s pact would go a great deal more smoothly. There wouldn’t be any hiccups in rescuing Natasha either. The most important reason was his own desire to be honest with her.

Her hollow eyes felt as though they could pierce right into his soul. “They’ve got personnel watching over them. One small mistake and everyone gets executed. On the spot.”

He put a hand on his chest, giving his most sincere expression. “I’ll take full responsibility if anything happens to them.”

“Of their corpses?” She crossed her arms, shaking her head again. “I’m not gambling with their lives.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“You know I trust you with my life, but this isn’t about that.”

“Then what is it?” He asked, keeping his gaze steady on her. “You just don’t think I can pull it off.”

Asking Natasha to hand over the safety of everyone she had loved in his hands—it was an enormous request. However, that was the whole point. It would be the real proof she had begun trusting him. Was he demanding too much from a woman who had spent her whole life doubting every hand extended toward her? Most certainly. But trust had to start somewhere. And frankly, he would feel a lot more comfortable trusting her once she had shown she could do the same with him first.

Natasha turned away and stared out at the skyline sliding past below, letting the silence stretch. He didn't need to be a telepath to know what was happening behind those hollow eyes. She was lining up excuses, hunting for the angle that would let her wriggle out of it. Too bad, she wasn’t getting one. He wouldn’t be leaving without hearing a yes.

He caught her hand and tugged gently. She started to resist on reflex, but a light pull of telekinesis took her by surprise, allowing him to guide her off her chair and down into his lap.

“Dante, you want to fuck me here?” She asked, pointing a bony finger at her own face. “You seriously shouldn’t find me attractive like this.”

She had clearly misunderstood his gesture.

“You’re always attractive.” He settled his hands over her hips. “Listen to me, Nat. You can’t let this go on.”

“Why?”

“When SHIELD finds a stronger agent than you, what happens then? That mastermind will discard an uncontrollable factor like you the second you stop being useful.”

This wasn’t him pulling reasons out of thin air. Nathaniel hated factors that were outside of his control. It was already a miracle he hadn’t kicked Natasha out. Maybe he was saving her for a different research project down the line. Anything was possible when it came to crazy people like Mr. Sinister.

Natasha froze upon hearing him. She reached out, putting her hands on his shoulders. “No, that won’t—he wouldn’t.”

“Did you think someone like me would show up in Manhattan one day? The world is crawling with people carrying powers you can’t dream of,” he continued with a serious expression. “Or do you think he isn’t cruel enough for it? Guess what, he is the one behind this Brood attack. That man has no moral boundaries.”

Natasha fell silent as though she couldn’t find any words in response.

“Nat, are you still gonna say no?”

She drew closer, resting her face against his shoulder. “Every rational cell in my body is telling me not to do this. Those girls are my everything. I don’t know what I’d be without them.”

“I know how much you cherish them. I’m not gonna fail you.”

She took a deep breath. “I can’t argue with you. One day I’ll outlive my usefulness like all do. When that happens…”

“Shhh. That day won’t come.” He stroked her back. “I promise.”

“If this goes wrong,” she murmured, “I’ll hold you and Death accountable.”

“My companion’s decisions are his alone,” Death said. “Do not drag me into this.”

Natasha glanced around, looking for the source of the disembodied voice. “Alright. It’s just him, then. If he actually pulls this off, I’ll leave SHIELD and join his faction.”

“I have a faction?” Dante asked with an exaggerated surprise. “Since when? Why does nobody tell me anything?”

“Or I can graduate from being a bride to a wife. You like the sound of that?”

Resting his chin on her shoulder, he hugged her. Her Hellfire licked warmly against him, brushing against his cheek. “I’d love that.”

He wasn’t sure about the depth of his attachment to Natasha, but he really wouldn’t mind having Natasha as a lover. Their chemistry was quite decent, all things considered. Another plus point was how attractive he found her.

“Just kidding.” She moved back and put her hands on his chest. “When a female Black Widow mates with a male, there is a small chance she eats her mate. Can you handle that?”

“He is no normal man.” Death’s voice echoed. “He is a god.”

Lately, Death had been taking a far more active hand in everything that touched him, but this wasn’t the moment for it. Natasha would think of it as Death trying to paint her lover in a better light, make him more appealing and charming.

“Uh…” Natasha stared at him. “Death, I didn’t mean it literally…”

“...”

Natasha hopped off his chair and stood before the control center. “Dante, I’m leaving them in your hands.”

“You can count on me.”