Chapter 215: Start of Something New (II)

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Dante looked past Remy to Candra, who hadn’t walked far from the elevator as her attention was fixed on a seemingly empty corner of the lobby.

’She noticed.’

Even Illyana hadn’t sensed anything wrong. The fact that Candra noticed spoke of her keenness. She wasn’t an ancient mutant for nothing.

"Candra, any reason you’re here?"

Her appearance was a surprise since he had yet to send her an invitation.

She raised her hand and wriggled her fingers at him in a playful wave. "Son, shouldn’t you begin by asking whether I slept well last night?"

"You’re the type who makes others lose sleep, so no. Now answer the question, please."

"What a terrible but remarkably accurate observation. Makes me feel seen as a mother," Candra said, smiling like he had just complimented her. "Ororo whispered to me your grand strategy against SHIELD. My adorable little son, how can Mommy not lend a hand?"

Ororo went stiff beside him, then nodded, fully accepting the blame. "I thought you already told her... I’m sorry."

He shook his head. "Not at all. I was going to call her regardless. We’re short on hands."

Candra shouldered past Gambit without so much as glancing at him and hopped up onto the reception desk beside Dante. She leaned against him, practically clinging to him. "Child, I got up early and dragged this Cajun thief here with me. Could you spare a few words of love for my foresight and motherly compassion?"

He put a hand on her forehead and pushed her face away. "Thanks. Happy now?"

She giggled and seized his arm with both hands, rubbing her face against his sleeve like a cat marking her territory. "Son, you light up my world with joy."

"I don’t—"

Ding! The elevator opened and the trio of Gwen, Felicia, and Laura came out, two chatting and one quietly listening as per usual.

Gwen stopped dead at the sight of the woman attached to his arm. "Who is that stunner?"

"His mom," Laura said with sharp eyes. "I thought he hated her."

"My guy can’t resist a pretty face."

Felicia’s sleepy eyes snapped wide open in an instant. She dashed at near-teleportation and grabbed his hand. "Love, blink twice if she is holding you hostage."

Dante genuinely couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry at her question. "You know nobody can do that. What happened?"

Felicia pointed a finger at Candra’s face. "Don’t fall for her sweet words. She is a vicious witch."

"Felicia, darling," Candra said chirpily, unmoved by the accusations. "Is this how you greet the highest authority in your dad’s workplace?"

"Dad left the guild a long time ago."

"There is no leaving the guild. Once you join, you belong to me forever."

"Screw off."

"Aww. And here I was, thinking the two of us had begun to get along so nicely. You had so many delightful questions for me yesterday."

"I thought you were some random old sorceress!" Felicia’s voice climbed. She was clearly unable to handle Candra’s provocations. "How was I supposed to know you were that snake Benefactress from Dad’s guild—ex-guild?"

Candra’s serene smile didn’t waver in the slightest, which Dante recognized as a deliberate choice. Nothing on earth infuriated Felicia Hardy faster than being handled calmly, and he had experienced that firsthand.

"Felicia Hardy, it is because of me that you were ever able to meet my wonderful son. And this is the gratitude I receive. How thoroughly graceless of you."

"I owe you one," Felicia admitted begrudgingly. "Now would you please kindly get the hell back to your guild? We don’t need your political, backstabbing bullshit under this roof."

Dante squeezed Felicia’s hand to make her look at him. "Relax. I won’t let that happen. Our house, our rules."

Felicia held his gaze for a long moment, realizing he didn’t want any conflict to happen at the moment. The fight drained from her shoulders as she pulled in two slow breaths and forced her surging temper back down. "Promise you’ll kick her out if she tries something funny."

"Without hesitation. She isn’t more important than you."

"Thanks."

Candra parted from him, making a pouty face. "This isn’t fair to your mother."

"Kinda deserving, no?"

She looked away, knowing that he was in the right. Regardless of the circumstances, she hadn’t stuck around to be his mother. A few moments later, she leaned against him. Immortality had taught her that persistence was a kind of ownership.

With the little conflict handled, everyone moved on. Gwen lunged at Sharon and showered her with kisses while Laura started small talk with Emma at the side, though all three had their attention split toward him.

After a few minutes, a motorcycle came snarling up to the curb outside. Piotr came through the doors, pulling off his sunglasses. He stopped upon realizing that everyone had been waiting for him and rubbed the back of his head. "Hah. Sorry. I had to take a drive. The winter wind shook off the hangover like nothing."

"Don’t fret it, brother," Illyana said. "Dante, can we start now?"

Dante turned his head toward the same empty corner Candra had been eyeing earlier. "Loki. Hela."

The illusion shattered as Odin’s blood and adopted daughters revealed themselves, making everyone wary in an instant. They realized it was the ladies who had helped them out in the Brood attack and lowered their guards.

Candra snickered into his shoulder. "I knew someone was lurking about."

"I missed that?!" Illyana whispered in awe. "Dammit, this sleepiness is messing up my head."

Lady Loki gave a dramatic bow. "Greetings, mortals all. I’m Loki from Asgard, a humble and devoted servant to Skullfire."

Hela flourished her cape, putting on an arrogant act. "Mortals, my introduction doesn’t matter... you may all call me Hela, the Goddess of Death."

Remy let out a whistle. "What’s the deal with these... goddesses and Asgard?"

"It’s my realm, in a different dimension." Dante gave a vague answer that explained nothing. "Hela, Lady Loki, take a seat. We need—never mind, she is here."

A Netherportal opened, courtesy of Mistress Death using her powers after a long time. From the dark portal, his future sister-in-law stepped out of it wearing that familiar cheeky grin.

"I’m back."

Ava’s grin turned awkward when she noticed the assembled crowd. She wasn’t the most social girl. Being thrust into a crowd of strangers (mostly) put her in an uncomfortable spot.

He shrugged off Candra, slid off the desk, and spread his arms with a big smile. "Ava."

Ava moved closer and gave him a hug that was quite timid for her usually fierce demeanor. "Dante... you douchebag."

He laughed, patting her back. "You look a lot better. I feel like you put on a few pounds."

"I’m fine, but you aren’t, big guy." She pushed back from him and looked up at his face with eyes that had seen too much for someone her age. "My amulet senses sadness in you. Really, you and sis can’t function without each other."

He gave an awkward smile. The truthful answer was that Silvija was not the source of what she was sensing. However, clarifying the point would earn him the douchebag title all over again with interest, so he chose to change the subject.

"Welcome to the team."

Illyana lightly kicked the back of his thigh. "Team what? Pick a name already."

Dante turned around, finding every single person in the lobby looking at him with the same anticipation Illyana had put into the kick.

Ororo and Jean wanted to move past the ghost of the X-Men, past a dream that had crumbled under pressure.

Gwen and Felicia probably found the whole concept of a team cool since they had almost no friends outside of this building.

Psylocke wanted, more than she would ever admit, a formally recognized place at his side rather than a job title. Being part of a family that wasn’t training her to kill.

Illyana wanted to fight beside him and protect this world. At the same time, she needed a place to belong after spending decades alone in a different universe.

Gambit wanted a roof and a paycheck and a legitimate excuse to stay within a hundred yards of Bella Donna.

Piotr was a goody-two shoe and an exceptional brother, both of which demanded he stayed here. Besides, he felt like he owed Dante a lot.

Laura and Ava, both with rough childhoods, wanted to be part of something that truly needed them.

Hela wanted strength, for which she needed him more than anything.

Lady Loki wanted to stay close to him to protect her mother. And being a part of his team would ensure that.

Even Emma was no exception as she couldn’t resist finding out what he would choose to call this team of misfits.

Dante took it all in and leaned back against the desk.

"Here goes nothing."

With a few small gestures of his hand, a life-like illusion unfolded across the lobby—a vast, ornate round table manifested, surrounded by twenty tables.

"This will be the Future Foundation."

At first, he was going with X-Force, but it felt contrary to the core operations of this team. This wasn’t his personal force; most of them wanted to use their powers to help others. Besides, X was commonly associated with mutants, and his team had mutants, goddesses, mutates, and a cosmic anomaly in him.

Death let out an amusing chuckle. "What if you ran into the original Fantastic Four’s team? Will you fight to decide who is the better Future Foundation?"

"I’ll solo their asses. Anyway, do you think I made the right choice?"

He hadn’t come here to start an organization or flaunt his power, but the current world simply lacked the firepower to stop a certain demon invasion of Hell-Lords. Then there was the threat of Brood, who would attack again soon, and he knew more crazier threats would pop up as soon as he got rid of them. He’d get tired quickly if he had to fight everything on his own.

He saw confusion ripple through the room as they stared at the table. He waved his hand again, and a dagger drove itself into the wood before each chair, and every blade pinned down a name. Silvija. Ava. Ororo. Jean. Laura. Psylocke. Gwen. Felicia. Piotr. Illyana. Gambit. Emma. Lady Loki. Hela. His own.

"Everyone here gets a seat regardless of their strength. The only requirements are—be a decent and reliable ally, to me or to anyone else at this table, and someone who wants to help others." He smiled. "And as for the reason it’s Future Foundation, look around you. We have some of the strongest individuals on the planet. And you have me. The future of this world depends on us."

That last part wasn’t him being arrogant. A single decision from him could preserve a million lives or end billions. He was the backbone of this faction. Even Jean with Phoenix Force wouldn’t be able to rival his impact because he had Death as his companion.

Laura crossed the floor without a word, drew out the chair with her name pinned in front of it, and sat down. "Ava, Felicia, get your asses here."

Felicia’s figure blurred, flickered, and reappeared already seated directly across from Laura with her chin propped on one hand. "We need better chairs, sweetheart. The heroes solving the world’s crises deserve a comfier chair."

Ava looked up at him. "Can I still be part of Wild Pack?"

"Didn’t Silvija kick you out?"

"...I don’t know."

He patted her back and gave her a gentle push. She moved to her seat which was close to Felicia’s. "Cat, don’t steal anything."

"Nothing here is yours," Felicia replied lazily.

"But he’s my sister’s," Ava said, pointing at Dante. "Which means whatever is his is my sister’s and everything of sis’s is mine."

"He is also mine. Another thing—I’m not a broke-ass student anymore. My daily merch sales alone can feed a dozen families."

"Good for you!" Ava replied sarcastically. "Folks will be really happy to know their beloved Black Cat is nothing more than a thief."

Gwen dropped into the seat between them. "Stop fighting like kindergarten kids. We got bigger fish to fry here."

"Yes, please," Jean said, trading a glance with Ororo. They moved to their respective seats right next to each other. "Try to be more positive."

"This is what Jean and I wished the X-Men could become," Ororo said, sitting with her hands folded on the table. "With a platform such as this one, we can extend our hands to mutants and to humans alike."

Gambit swept his staff and rested it over his shoulders as he leaned against the tabletop rather than sitting in the chair. The rogue in him refused to do things properly. "Remy doesn’t care for mutant politics and who’s beefing with who this week. This Cajun is gonna stay right here long as the paycheck comes monthly and he gets a good gaze at..."

His gaze lingered on Bella Donna. For the first time since their reunion, she didn’t respond with venom in her eyes. Rather, her eyes were calm and soft. Gambit’s roguish charm was perhaps reigniting the spark of emotions she once held for him.

Dante gestured to Hela. "Please?"

Hela didn’t walk to her seat. She manifested a necrosword and threw it without looking at the table. The blade struck the dagger bearing her name, knocked it spinning away, and buried itself in the wood in its place.

"The only seat I enjoy sitting on is my throne."

He knew another thing that Hela would greatly enjoy sitting upon, but saying that here would be quite... inappropriate.

Lady Loki shook her head mockingly. "Ungrateful creature." She drew out her own chair, dropped into it, and threw one leg over the other. "Hela, he has graced you with a seat of power, and this is the respect you show him."

"Loki," Hela said. "Watch your tongue, or I’ll rip it out."

Lady Loki pressed a hand to her face, smiling. "Go ahead. I’ll ask my gracious friend Dante to heal me."

"...You’re even more annoying in this form."

"My true form." Loki spread her arms. "I was expecting a more amusing reaction from you, to be honest. But I suppose my sister only shows real emotions for our Lord."

"Shut your mouth." Hela was barely resisting acting on her murderous urges. "You worm—"

"Hela, not here." He decided to intervene before one of them took this too far. "Settle it later."

Hela balled her fists, clenching as if she couldn’t wait to kill Loki.

Illyana pushed off the desk and followed Piotr over to claim her own place. She crossed her knees the way Loki had, but the resemblance ended there. Illyana sat with her spine straight and her chin level, her hands resting on the arms of the chair. The appearance wasn’t feminine grace like Lady Loki. The decades spent in the other universe’s Limbo had changed her bearing into that of a queen. A true queen of Limbo.

Psylocke slipped into her seat when everyone was focused on Illyana. Emma was the last to move. She was uncharacteristically quiet as she settled in, stroking Sharon’s fur all the while.

Dante turned to Candra. "You and Bella Donna aren’t there. I trust that’s not a problem."

She crossed her arms, lifting her chin arrogantly. "Consider this my probation period. I will perform exceptionally and earn myself a seat over there in due course."

The gleam that came into her eyes as she declared her intentions made him shake his head. If she kept approaching this as a ladder to climb, she would never sit at that table. Future Foundation wasn’t a vehicle for anyone’s personal ambition. They were here to fight world-ending threats and smaller ones in between them.

He gestured Candra to his empty seat. "You can sit there in the meantime."

Candra’s gaze drifted past it, stopping at the other vacant seat. She read the name pinned there in a whisper. "Silvija Sablinova. Why not this one?"

"No."

Candra pulled an exaggerated pout. "You elevated her tiny nation, making it more relevant than most countries, and you still feel like you owe her. Son, what did she do for you to treat her with this much care?"

"Stop wasting time."

He put a hand on her back and pushed her toward the seat she had been offered. Once Candra sat down, he started the meeting.

***

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