Marvel: Death Dealer

The ship flew for a few minutes before they couldn’t proceed further. The skies ahead were a churning, chittering mass, so densely packed with broodlings that not a sliver of blue showed. At the center of this mass, one golden light refused to go out.

Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.

Her face was unrecognizable under the thick layer of dried green blood.

The Broodlings tried to coil around her legs like serpents, trying to drag her down by sheer weight of numbers. She roared and exploded with a golden light, blasting the horde away with powerful photon energy. Her relief only lasted for a moment when a new Broodling lashed its tail to bind her arms and another sank its mandibles in her shoulder. She snarled and punched its head, exploding it into green pulp. She ripped the other one’s tail and threw it into its own kin with so much force that both parties exploded.

A broodling dove for her face, but she caught it and crushed its skull with a punch, the shockwave folding four creatures behind it. She followed it up with a quick back elbow that shattered a jaw closing in on her nape.

They kept charging at her without end.

She threw both hands out and unleashed her power with a growl. Twin beams of stellar light energy carved a massive hold through the swarm. The Broodlings’ cooked bodies rained down in every direction. The attack bought her a few moments to breathe, then the battle restarted with the same crueling intensity.

Carol fought without an ounce of mercy, like she loathed Broodlings to her very core. The Broodlings also threw their bodies into the grinder just for the chance to bite her once before they died as though every one of them carried a personal grudge against her.

Inside the cockpit, Natasha exchanged a glance with Dante. “Are you gonna use Death’s power?”

He shook his head. “I’ll drop unconscious if I use it again.”

She hummed in her throat. “Then get out there. I can’t fly, so I’ll ram the ship through them.”

“Who decided you can’t fly?” He flexed his telekinesis and made Natasha float a few inches off the deck. “See?”

She spread her arms, trying to balance herself in the air. “New plan: throw me into the horde. My Hellfire will melt those bastards.”

“My type of plan.”

Natasha parked the ship down onto a rooftop and took her Hellfire back. They exited together into the roar of the battle.

“Now!”

He raised Natasha into the air with a thought and launched her. Natasha exploded mid-flight, blooming into a comet of Hellfire that punched a scorching tunnel through the horde. Broodlings didn’t burn; they turned to ash.

Dante withdrew the Heart of Eternal Darkness and amplified his psychic powers acquired through Jean’s Resonance Link. The change was immediate as his energy flooded out as a burning crimson aura. He soared into the sky without the faintest strain. Candra, Apocalypse, and Selene’s powers inside the gem gave him a near-infinite reservoir of psionic and psychokinetic energy.

‘Sorry, Mom. But this is mine now.’

He laughed and swept his hand lazily. A dozen Broodlings bunched up, their limbs flailing around helplessly.

“Die.”

A sickening, wet noise echoed as the Broodlings were crushed into a mass of flesh.

“This is kinda fun.”

Ripping alien monsters apart, limb from limb, wasn’t something he’d ever expected to find pleasure in. And yet, here he was, savoring every second of destroying these aliens.

He saw Natasha reach past the swarm and yanked her back. The second Hellfire wave bloomed even more beautifully than the first, killing hundreds of Broodlings in an instant.

Carol was finally free to move. She took that opportunity immediately as she shot toward him and came to hover a few meters away. Her chest heaved as green blood dripped from her chin. Her eyes, however, stayed bright and energetic.

“You must be Dante.”

“I’m so popular.” He sighed and waved his hand, summoning a translucent red dome. The psionic barrier came just in time to stop a horde from attacking Carol. “You can say thanks.”

Carol’s brows rose at the sight of a flimsy shield absorbing the combined assault of hundreds of Broodlings without so much as a ripple. “Is this mutant power?”

“Technically yes. But I’m not a mutant myself.”

Carol seemed confused by the explanation. “Fury didn’t list telekinesis as your power.”

“Fury isn’t omniscient.”

“True. He is a deeply flawed man.”

“That he is.”

“There’s no end to them,” she said, observing the horde crash uselessly against the shield. “They won’t stop until I’m dead.”

He frowned. Carol had many storylines fighting Brood, but that was in the comics. It was hard to know if the Captain Marvel before him was from MCU or comics since her features were completely covered.

‘There is one way to check.’

He dashed around her to look at her back. The round, juicy butt wrapped in her blue pants enlightened him.

‘Definitely the comic one.’

Carol turned around, looking at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Just making sure you’re the real Carol.”

His answer left her even more confused. “Pal, just say if you’re checking out my ass. I’m not gonna bite you.”

He cleared his throat. “Why do they want to kill you?”

“Their intel says I’m the only one in this world who can stop their invasion. They want me gone first before I become a problem.” She crossed her arms with a serious expression. “But now there’s you and possibly Natasha.”

“You can’t count on Natasha.”

Sinister was in bed with the Brood, and for the moment, Sinister held Natasha’s leash. She wouldn’t be able to make her decisions until Yelena and the other Widows were taken away from that man’s evil grasp.

Carol turned to watch the Ghost Rider. Natasha had landed on a rooftop and was swinging her chain in great arcs, each attack raining Hellfire across New York like a burning monsoon.

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated.” Dante paused, noticing the Broodlings hammering the barrier had abruptly stopped. They moved away from the barrier and took to the sky. “Looks like they got the memo.”

Sinister knew that attacking him with Broodlings was just wasting his precious army. No amount of Broodlings could hurt him.

Carol’s blood-covered expression didn’t ease in the slightest. “Don’t think this is the end. All you’ve accomplished is painting a target on your own back.”

“They can come at me any day of the week.” He dropped the barrier and reached out toward the retreating swarm. A huge sphere of swarm was lifted and taken to the sky, then crushed as though a giant hand had enclosed around them. “I’ll fuck them in ways it’ll traumatize their Supreme Empress across the galaxy.”

“...”

“Its not a boast, Danvers.”

He had Omega-level Biokinesis. When it came to organic lifeforms, nobody could perform experiments as intricate as him. Creativity wasn’t his strongest suit, but his intelligence could make up for it.

“I believe you aren’t lying,” Carol said after a moment. “I’m quite surprised you know about their Empress. Only a handful of people are aware of the Brood’s hierarchy. Natasha wasn’t exaggerating you one bit.”

She wasn’t hiding her appreciation in the slightest.

“Natasha mentioned me?” He grinned. “Did she tell you how much she adores me?”

She stared at him then burst into a chuckle. “Pal, what are you talking about? Natasha said you despise her.”

Off in the distance, Natasha had begun leaping rooftop to rooftop as she worked her way back toward them. “Well, we had our differences. But I wouldn’t say I ever hated her.”

“I see.” Carol nodded slowly, then straightened up, assuming a more formal posture. “Thank you for the assist, Dante. I’ll report this to Fury and see whether we can work out a long-term solution against the Brood.”

“Tell him he should take better care of his health.”

Carol’s lips twitched as she suppressed an urge to grin. “He’d be ‘thrilled’ to hear your concern for his wellbeing.”

He chuckled. “Fury and I had our differences, but I never hated him either.”

There was no point in hating Fury when the man was being mind-controlled, forced to act according to suggestions implanted in his mind. If anything, he pitied everyone in SHIELD. Infiltrated by HYDRA on one hand and clenched in the fist of a mutant supervillain on the other. Poor bastards couldn’t catch a break.

Carol lifted off, then stopped a few meters and glanced back. “Do you mind if I looped you into some SHIELD meetings?”

“I don’t do boring shit.” He waved a hand lazily. “Just let me know when the Brood resurfaces. I’ll be there to fuck them.”

“Fair enough.” She gave him a tired smile. “I’ll catch you later.”

She shot off into the distance, most certainly desperate for a long shower to blast the alien gunk out of every crevice in her body.

He landed beside Natasha, who had undone her Ghost Rider transformation. “Hey.”

“Are you free now?”

“Depends. If you’re asking for a date and a rendezvous in the sheets, I’ll unfortunately have to refuse. My night is already booked.”

She punched his chest. “Thinking of hitting a Chinese place. I’ll dine in if you come along. You know what people say, food tastes better with company.”

“I’m getting asked out on dates.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “Somebody pinch me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Just say yes or no. I don’t have all—” She turned her gaze to the distance and her shoulders dropped dejectedly. “Fuck. My ride home is here.”

He followed her line of sight. A SHIELD quinjet was flying low over the skyline, closing in fast. Once it was near their building, the jet’s vertical thrusters kicked in with a roar, allowing it to settle onto the rooftop.

Natasha let out a sigh. “Next time I see you… I hope it’s after you’ve made them safe.”

“And I hope you’ll be less hung up on being punished,” he murmured. “For the record, the only punishment I’m handing out is spanking.”

“Oh yeah?” She met his eyes steadily. “Spank me till my ass bleeds. A medieval torture-style punishment.”

Her expression was far too serious for it to be a joke. She was dead earnest about being punished in a perverted way. Maybe carrying the Ghost Rider had left her obsessed with penance; she had become uncompromising when it came to her own sins.

“That’s not medieval torture. That’s BDSM porn.”

She gently hit him with her elbow. “We’ll discuss this later.”

The quinjet’s hatch hissed open, making room for Fury to step out with that ever-present scowl on his face. He didn’t look remotely surprised to find Dante at Natasha’s side.

“Agent Romanoff.” His single eye drifted over to Dante. “Skullfire.”

Dante lifted his hand with a faint smile. “How’s it going, Director Fury?”

“Apart from the mess the Brood has made, nothing special.” He stared at Dante without blinking an eye. “Just here to pick up my agent.”

Natasha perked up on her heels and kissed Dante’s cheek. “Promise the next one will be on your lips or…” her gaze went down. “Wherever you want it to be.”

The way she let her eyes linger and the way she smirked left no room for misinterpretation about where that might be.

“I’ll look forward to it.” Dante draped an arm around her shoulders. “Director Fury, the woman you’re picking up is my bride. You should know, I take it very personally when my people are mistreated in any way. Make sure she is given the care she deserves.”

He would get her out soon, but there wasn’t any harm in making her remaining time in SHIELD’s custody comfortable.

Natasha nudged him again. “I told you they are treating me nicely.”

“I’m just doing the bare minimum.” He let his hand slide down to her lower back. “Can I visit you?”

Instead of answering him, Natasha turned toward Fury. “Can he?”

Fury’s single eye opened wide. “I thought you two… never mind, I’ll never understand you youngsters.” He shook his head. “No visitors allowed.”

Natasha pulled a tragic expression. “Video calls are our best bet.”

Dante gently kissed her cheek. “If I want to see someone, nobody can stop me.”

Fury seemed to be on the verge of cussing, but he held back. “Get inside, Romanoff. I’ve still got a whole city’s worth of Brood bullshit to clean up.”

Dante dropped his hand to her butt and gave it a light pat. “Don’t miss me too much.”

“No plans for that as of now.” She snorted, but failed to suppress the grin tugging at her mouth. “Be a good boy till we meet again.”

Natasha strolled toward the quinjet. Just before she stepped up the ramp, she threw one glance at him over her shoulder. A look that said more than the parting words. A look of unyielding belief.

Dante nodded at her. “Goodbye, Director Fury.”

Rather than leaving through a portal, he activated Death’s cloak to cover himself and vanished. He barely managed to slip through the closing hatch.