Chapter 194

Peter Parker

A few minutes ago, in SHIELD HQ

The tension in the room was palpable when we arrived. The sorcerer had portaled the X-Men outside, leaving Rin to lead us into the meeting.

I may have my problems with him, but he handled the attention that the teams shot our way unflinchingly like Dante or Jean would.

But I couldn't help but notice that their looks at him were quite different from the ones they directed at us. They were a mix of wonder, bemusement, surprise, fear, hunger, and even searing hate.

Under the black Vibranium suit we all wore, goosebumps broke out on my skin. It'd come from Lauren, the leader of the Thunderbolts. According to the information packets Jean provided, her mutation was uncanny precision.

She could hit her mark consistently with any ranged weapon she had even an ounce of training in. She hid her true feelings well, though, underneath a mask of surprise and curiosity; it contrasted her friend, Armando's, which was mild curiosity bordering on indifference.

"What's all this?" a gruff voice called from the end of the table. It belonged to a monster of a man covered in shaggy fur. He had bright yellow eyes and canines that stuck out of his mouth, and he sat beside a naked woman with blue skin.

"The Avengers," Rin announced with a smile. "Dante's new team. He saw how hard you've been working to keep New York safe and thought you could use some help." He looked his girlfriend's way, Wanda, the Red Head Psychic.

"I, for one, appreciate the thought," Magneto's eyes roved over us hungrily, earning a glower from Jessica.

"What are you looking at, Old man?"

"Am I to assume that you've all been enhanced like my friend, Pietro?" he asked, and I swallowed.

"What about it?" Rin demanded, and Magneto flashed him an innocent smile.

"Just taking stock of our new teammates."

 Nick Fury, the only person I couldn't get a read on, finally spoke. "Let's get this strategy session over with."

"I think the Thunderbolts should guard the inside while the Avengers stick to the outside," Rin offered. Fury's jaw tightened when Rin said Avengers, but he nodded in agreement. There was an understanding between them. Fury didn't trust Dante and his people. And vice versa.

"I guess we're on the outside too, then," Pietro said, throwing his legs on the table and leaning back. "Like it better anyway. More room to move."

The door to the room eased open, and a familiar voice spoke. "The building has been secured, the cannons armed, and the surrounding buildings have been evacuated. They'll be no casualties if they attack."

"Holy shit!" Jessica blurted out. A strangled gasp died in my throat. Colleen Wing muttered something under her breath, and Matt Murdock took an unsteady step back.

"It's really him…"

Captain America stood in front of us, dressed in armor so advanced it was practically sci-fi. Beside him were a male and female agent similarly dressed. Behind them was Tony Stark, genius inventor and one of the smartest men in America.

"Please, please," he said, chuckling as he entered the room. "There's enough Tony to go around."

"Mr. Stark," I blurted out. "Oh wow. I know everything about you."

Tony raised a brow. "Who let the crazed fan in here?"

"Spider-man here is just star-struck," Rin explained, grabbing me by the shoulder. I almost shoved him off. He didn't like me much because Dante paid attention to me, and I didn't like him much because he was bloodthirsty and rude.

But then again, he was Dante's favorite student.

"He can't help it," he added before letting go. There was an explosion, and the entire building shook.

Fury's entire demeanor changed. "Control. Talk to me. What the hell is going on out there!"

"Uh sir, there seems to be a…Chinese Dragon outside. He's leading an army."

"What the hell did I sign up for," Jessica muttered, and Rin moved, tapping Mordo, who was standing at the back of the team.

"Give me a view from the roof. I need to see this by myself."

Mordo complied, and Rin stepped through, clothes billowing behind him. He had a look of concentration as he faced the Dragon.

True to the description, it was a Eastern Dragon. Two long horns stuck out of its elongated face and dark, baleful eyes. Its black scales shimmered in the sun as it hung lazily in the air, and its thick trunk made its small limb even smaller in comparison.

Its head reared back as fire gathered in its mouth. One moment, Rin was on the roof, and the next, he was in the air, a few feet from his mouth. The fire bathed him, forcing him into the side of an empty office building and threw him through several floors.

A few people gasped behind me, and I winced. It was never easy seeing him take a hard hit like that. None of us could take punishment like he did.

The air ruptured in a sonic boom as dust cleared out, and the Dragon flew back. It twisted in the air, blinking in confusion before it let out a roar. His demonic soldiers charged the building, but the first line never made it back to the barricade the agents set up. Turrets spurred to life, unloading 50 caliber shots that tore through several demons, and Scott gave a battle cry that ripped everyone from their seat, even as we watched across the portal.

The X-Men join the fray, charging into the monstrous wave that came down on the building.

I swallowed, the air pregnant with tension, and I looked around the room for direction before finally speaking.

"Should we get out there and join them?" I asked in a small voice.

"You might want to hold off on that," Fury spoke, his hand firmly placed on his earpiece. Rin darted back into the room at that moment, clothes covered in soot and burns, though he seemed hardly bothered by it.

"What is the hold-up?" he asked, looking our way. "You're on defense."

And it was then Fury told us about the attack on the Raft. There were sightings of flying demons in the vicinity, and several guard outposts had already fallen. The demons were leading a two-pronged approach, just like Dante had predicted.

"Get Dante on the phone," Fury ordered Rin. "He wanted to lead the operation. He gets to make the hard call of splitting up our forces."

Dante stuck to the initial plan he proposed while we were training, which included a few notable changes.

The X-Men and Wanda and Pietro were breaking off, responding to the Raft call. Rin and Mordo were peeling off to deal with the Hellfire Club, while the rest of us stayed behind to deal with the Dragon and his army.

"Uh, no offense to this big-brain plan of Dante," Johnny, the resident pyromaniac, spoke up, "but I think literal Dragon trumps prison break. We need our heavy hitters here. You know, where they can heavy hit."

I hate to admit it, but some timid part agreed with him. We'd all trained for the fight, but none of the Avengers were ready to take on the army. Hell, most of us haven't even taken a life before.

"Dante enhanced them like he did Pietro, remember?" Rin asked, one foot through the portal set to whisk him across town. "You underestimate just how much firepower they have between them. They can take down that Dragon if they put their mind to it. And if they can't, the boss left Magneto in charge," he said, looking at the ancient mutant who watched the entire conversation with a quiet smile.

"He says you should talk after this," Rin said before turning to the rest of the room. "If things get really bad, just call the boss. He can teleport back here and deal with the problem if it comes down to it. He also said the Adamantium knives are yours now."

That revelation caused equal parts excitement and discomfort. Before he departed, he looked at me in particular.

"The boss saw something special in you. Don't let him down."