Dante stepped out of the shower with a towel slung low around his hips, dragging a second one across his hair. He barely made it two steps into the bedroom before he froze.

Felicia stood right in the middle of the room wearing nothing but one of his oversized black shirts that barely covered her ass. She was gently rocking a fluffy black cat plushie in her arms like it was a real baby, cooing in the softest, sweetest voice he’d ever heard from her. The same could be said about her gentle expression.

“Who’s a good little boy? Yes you are, cutie. Yes you are~ Such a strong, handsome boy already… Gonna grow up big and tough just like your daddy…”

He blinked as water dripped from his jaw. “What the fuck, Felicia.”

“Practice,” she said and kissed the plushie. After one more rock, she lowered it gently onto the pillow. “Death can’t get pregnant, obviously. So someone has to be the one to pop a little one out for her.”

“You’ll do it for her?”

She smoothed the plushie with her thumbs and turned to him with arched brows. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do after university… I might as well help my bestie with something.”

“It’s a big decision. You should think more about it.”

“My mind is set. If it wasn’t for Death, I never would’ve met you. My dad would still be…” She trailed off, then shrugged the thought away. “She is a friend. Statistically speaking, us Hardys have a pretty damn good record of being great to our friends.”

He could understand her sentiment to an extent. That day, she had come looking for him earlier because Death had been invisible to everyone else. Still, it was a major decision.

“Besides, I just like talking to her,” Felicia added, a teasing smirk tugging at her lips. “It’s hard to explain. When I’m with you, I feel like everything’s gonna be okay no matter how sideways the boat rocks. But with Death…? I don’t know. I feel… relaxed around her.”

Because of her cat genetics, probably. Cats had always had a keen natural instinct toward the entity that sat at the end of all things.

The air beside Felicia shimmered. Death materialized out of thin air and wrapped her arms around Felicia from the side in a gentle, almost shy hug.

Felicia jumped a little, then laughed warmly. “Whoa! Hey there, bestie.”

“Thank you, Felicia,” Death said softly. “I’m glad to have you as my friend.”

A black aura wrapped around Felicia momentarily then disappeared like it was never there. Dante knew Felicia had just been blessed by Death like Sharon had been. It was still unknown how it would affect Felicia’s luck. Would it take a turn for the worse or finally improve?

He couldn't care less at the moment. He pulled them both into a hug, pressing his face into the space between their heads, breathing them both in. Before he could enjoy the warmth properly, Felicia playfully shoved him back and hugged Death tighter, pressing her cheek against the cosmic entity’s shoulder.

“Nope. She’s mine right now. My best friend.”

Death let out a chuckle. “Companion, don’t be greedy now. We spoiled you enough last night.”

He smirked, rubbing the back of his neck. His stomach still felt weirdly full from all the milk he had guzzled. To say he was spoiled would be putting it mildly.

Their cozy little bubble burst when they heard two sets of distinct footsteps coming from downstairs, followed by a firm knock on the door. He smiled, recognizing the two just from the sounds alone.

‘What are they doing here so early?’

Felicia pulled away from Death. Her whole face lit up with a bright, mischievous grin. “Girl couldn’t wait to see her man.”

Death gave him one last soft smile before vanishing into swirling dark shadows. He flicked his wrist, casting a quick illusion that dressed him in simple clothes. He didn’t exactly keep spare clothes at Felicia’s place.

Felicia crossed the room in a blur. She unlocked the door and yanked it open. “Good morning, Silver! Laura too~”

Both women had barely processed the excited greeting before Felicia’s arms were around them. Silvija and Laura stiffened in surprise, clearly caught off guard. It was probably the first group hug for them.

Laura was the first to snap. She shoved Felicia with a growl and retreated to Dante’s side, scowling at the overly excited cat. “This cat is annoying and creepy. And why does she smell like… milk…?”

As always, nothing got past her nose.

Felicia stepped back in the room, rubbing her nose embarrassedly. “Cats drink a lot of milk. It helps with growth.”

The slight jab at her height made Laura scowl even harder. “I’m gonna kill you.”

He rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “Relax, Laura. Felicia’s just happy.”

Laura narrowed her eyes, glancing between him and Felicia. “Why? Because you fucked her brains out last night?”

Her brutal honesty left him stunned. He might have to dial down her internet access. Laura, from a week ago, wouldn’t have used this to describe sex.

Felicia blinked and laughed. “You bet he did.”

Silvija had a sharp look for a moment before she quickly composed herself. She’d accepted this messy relationship, but that didn’t mean certain emotions didn’t still hit her. It would be impossible not to feel a certain way about this. He could only do his best to make sure these emotions didn’t pile up and become a problem later on, and to give her even more happier memories.

“We can discuss this later,” Silvija said. “Something strange happened this morning.”

She quickly explained why she had rushed over first thing in the morning. Their new maid had vanished without a trace. On its own, that was unusual but not alarming. What made it strange was when Silvija asked the receptionist Anna, who had personally recommended the maid, about her. Anna swore she had no memory of ever meeting or recommending the maid. It was like the maid had never existed in Anna’s mind at all.

He already found Anna and the maid suspicious and this only made him want to dig deeper about their reason to be lurking around him, or rather, Silvija Sablinova.

“A telepath, most likely,” he muttered. “Did you ask Jean to check her?”

Until he found the motivation to build a new Resonance Link, Jean had to be his personal telepath for everything.

Silvija shook her head. Jean wouldn’t have rejected helping Silvija, but she didn’t want to come across as commanding. So she sought him to make the request on her behalf.

Felicia raised her hand, flashing the sleek ring with the black gem on her finger. “Darling, I do believe this is the perfect time to start putting these on everyone.”

He agreed with her wholeheartedly. Too many telepaths were running around for him to feel safe about letting his loved ones go out without the rings.

Silvija took Felicia’s hand, turning it to inspect the ring with focused attention. “What exactly is this for?”

Felicia grinned mischievously. “You’re asking a very silly question. What does it look like?”

“An engagement ring?”

Felicia’s eyes sparkled. “Darling, did you hear that? We’re engaged now.”

Silvija realized she was being played and shot Felicia a blank look before she turned to Dante with a slightly unhappy expression. “Where are mine and Laura’s?”

“I can’t wear one.” Laura popped her claws out and straightened her fingers, showing how little space there was between them when they were extended. “It’ll just get in the way.”

He smiled faintly. “These gems make you completely immune to telepathy. Still think they’ll get in your way?”

Laura’s expression changed like a switch had been flipped. “Give me one!”

It wasn’t a request, but a demand. One weakness she shared with her father was their lack of resistance to telepaths. Even though the weapon program had reinforced their mental defenses, a powerful telepath could still easily slip inside and exploit them.

Even Silvija started showing real interest in possessing a ring. Together, they pestered him until he raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright, alright. Give me some time to make yours.”

Laura pinched his arm lightly. “Make mine a pendant with black and white gems.”

When she gazed at his hair while saying that, it wasn’t hard to understand where this preference came from. Silvija left the specifics for him to decide. She was more for practicality and function than the looks.

Felicia looked satisfied with how things had turned out. “Let’s get you all something to eat.”

Silvija tried to argue that they were in a hurry, but Felicia refused to let them leave without breakfast. In the end, they gave in and sat around the table. Felicia’s mom had quite a lot of love for Silvija. Still, it was strange neither of her parents hadn’t brought up why he was in a relationship with multiple women.

After breakfast, Felicia escorted them out.

“I have to focus on classes,” she said with a sigh. “Finals are in a week. I’ll be a little busy with that.”

Silvija paused at the driver’s side door and looked back over her shoulder. “Give me a call if you need a recommendation for internships.”

“Thanks, Silver.”

Silvija shook her head and slid into the driver’s seat.

“She is so easily embarrassed,” Felicia whispered, tugging at Dante’s arm with an expectant grin. “Drop by tonight, okay? Someone has to empty these jugs.”

She had firmly denied it when he had asked to return her body back to normal. She had fallen in love with this just like him.

“Jugs?” Laura asked in a confused voice, looking between them. “What jugs?”

Felicia reached out and ruffled Laura’s hair. “You’re too young, girl.”

Laura growled and swung at her, but Felicia had already retreated with her acceleration ability and closed the door shut.

“Later~!”

“I’m twenty.” Laura clicked her tongue and reached for the backseat door. “Get in.”

Silvija gave a small, understanding smile. “It’s alright.”

Even though she was leaving tomorrow, she wasn’t being selfish. She probably felt a little guilty for putting her duties ahead of spending more time with him.

He took Laura’s hand off the door and gave her a light knee to her ass at just the right angle. She went tumbling into the backseat with a startled yelp that was very unfitting of a lethal assassin.

He closed the door with a solid thud and walked around to sit in the passenger seat beside Silvija. “Let’s go.”

For the next week, even months, she would be busy making Symkaria better with his share of Shaw Industries. In a way, he had dumped even more responsibility on her shoulders. She wouldn’t get to spend much time with him.

Laura, who was pouting in the backseat, would get plenty of chances to be with him whenever she wanted. She was his go-to partner for playing games.

Silvija started the car, smiling faintly at the road ahead.

***

Laura returned to her room after reminding him to play games with her later. She had only tagged along with Silvija as a temporary bodyguard, and now that the errand was done, she was going back to her room to enjoy her trashy romance novels.

Back in his room, Dante dropped the illusion and put on real clothes. Once dressed, he sat down on the bed and got to work on Silvija’s ring while she went to fetch Jean and Ororo.

The process for enchanting a psychic ward ring was simple but time-consuming. First, the gem had to be purged of residual energies, basically any emotional or psychic “imprint” left in the material. Afterward, it had to be aligned to a neutral state to prevent interference and ensure the ward wouldn’t degrade overtime. Fortunately, he had already done the most boring and time-consuming process for all the gemstones beforehand. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

For the next process, he cast a magic circle, letting the ring drift to its center. The magic circle acted as a binding scaffold, anchoring the gemstone to the astral and physical planes. Layer by layer, he built the Sigil Matrix, a connection of sigils constituting the core of the psychic ward. The ward only required three types of glyphs to function. A detection glyph to recognize incoming telepathic intrusion, a rejection glyph to block those signals, and an absorption glyph connecting them both to the mystical energy dimension so it could function without an energy source.

He designed the rings as a closed loop system rather than a spell that would eventually burn out.

The third and final process was attuning the Ward to the Wearer. Across the astral plane, he linked the gem to Silvija’s astral signature, giving it a baseline “authorized pattern” of thought. Anything foreign would be flagged as intrusion and repelled.

The protection wouldn’t last against a powerful telepath. But the moment the ward broke, he would be alerted about it.

The magic circle dissolved, and the ring dropped into his palm. He glanced at the clock and smiled. Two and half minutes—it was his fastest enchantment attempt yet.

He pocketed the ring and leaned back, waiting for Silvija’s return. The three women arrived a minute later.

Jean and Ororo wore proper winter gear that somehow still looked effortlessly stylish.

The redhead had a long green coat over a deep burgundy turtleneck, a wide knit muffler wrapped twice around her neck and tucked in at the collar, with dark trousers disappearing into high boots.

Ororo’s coat was longer, a deep steel-grey that reached her calves. Beneath it, a pale silver-blue sweater and a thin scarf in the same color looped loosely at her throat. She even wore simple warm gloves, which she was in the process of pulling off when they walked in.

“Are we leaving?” Jean asked right away.

“Not yet. I want you to check up on our receptionist Anna. I’m afraid someone has tempered her memories about our maid.” He looked at Silvija. “What was the maid’s name again?”

“Marie Anna,” Silvija replied, shifting her attention to her phone. “I’ll call Anna here.”

He sat there with a frown on his face. Marie Anna—a near-perfect switch-up of Anna Marie. Rogue’s real name. He would’ve called that a coincidence if he hadn’t met Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit, last night.

Jean adjusted her muffler with a thoughtful look. “I’ll do my best to find the truth.”

“You will,” Ororo said and looked at him directly. “Dante, how are you planning to resolve the situation with Charles and Erik?”

Jean turned to him, eager to hear his answer. But Dante already knew it wasn’t going to be the one they wanted to hear.

“Whether this Xavier is the real one or a fake,” he said flatly. “I’m getting rid of him. After that, you two can decide whether the rest of the team wants to live in reality… or keep living under whatever brainwashing he’s running.”

Neither of them argued. They knew he was right in this decision. Xavier had immense hatred for Dante, the likes of which wouldn’t be quenched easily. Leaving that variable in play while he traveled to Egypt wasn’t something he was willing to do.

The best case scenario would be baiting out Mister Sinister through Charles. However, the problem with Sinister was his damn clones. The man had built himself an insurance policy in the form of hundreds of clones, scattered through every possible variation of appearance and gender. With a shapeshift ability, the clones could be anyone, anywhere. Even if he used cosmic awareness, there was no reliable way to locate all of them at once.

That would be assuming he was dealing with Mister Sinister. But he was almost certain it was. Gambit, in his early years, was pretty much a Mister Sinister’s lackey. If Mister Sinister controlled SHIELD, Gambit serving Director Fury would make sense.

‘I’ll get Natasha out first.’

With Natasha, SHIELD had a way to threaten him. He had to get that leverage from their hands before going all out against Mister Sinister. Which meant his original plan to spend a few lazy days with Sharon and Emma had officially gone out the window. He needed to be quick and efficient in dispatching Apocalypse.

‘There is also the explosion guy.’

Jean, Felicia, and Gwen were supposed to investigate it with Natasha’s help, but she had been imprisoned. Jean was busy with Xavier’s situation. Felicia and Gwen had finals coming up.

‘Death, can you guide their investigation later? Let’s just get this guy outta here.’

“I’ll nudge Gwen to the culprit then.”

‘Thanks.’

Silvija came back into the room and looked at Jean and Ororo standing deep in thought. Before she could ask what was wrong, he took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger without ceremony.

“There you go.”

She turned her hand slowly to examine the ring carefully and gave a satisfied nod. “Silver gem and minimal design. Exactly what I would’ve chosen.”

He smiled and walked to the nightstand to fetch more gemstone rings. Anna might need some time to free herself from the reception work. Rather than sitting around, he might as well work on more rings.

“Ororo,” he said as he sorted through the rings by hand. “What’s your favorite color?”

Ororo looked a little confused by the sudden question but answered honestly. “Sky blue. Sometimes purple or silver, depending on things.”

He picked out a ring with a beautiful sky-blue gem, returned to the bed, and started the whole enchanting process again. All three of them watched it closely, even though they knew nothing about magic and sorcery.

In just over two minutes, another psychic ward ring was complete.

He tossed the ring across to Ororo. She caught it clean and held it between her fingers. “Any reason for this?”

“It’ll keep you safe from telepaths.”

Her skeptical expression vanished in an instant. She put it on without hesitation. “I have always maintained strong discipline to avoid being controlled by a telepath… this would have saved a great deal of time over the years.”

He shook his head. “The ring is just a tool in the end.”

“You’re correct,” she said softly. “In return, I will give you a gemstone I’ve been keeping from my time in Cairo, Egypt.”

“Alright, bring it to me. I’ll enchant it for you—”

KNOCK. KNOCK.

Ann had arrived.

It was time to figure out what the hell was really going on with his angel.