Chapter 147

"Built different?" Klaue sounded almost offended. "Well, we'll see, won't we?"

Several panels opened up in the wall and ceilings, and in an instant, I was bathed in fire hot enough to melt bone. My clothes and face-changing mask vanished just before the fire touched my skin. The heat was like a warm shower, washing away the grime and dirt I'd accumulated during the day.

The burn lasted for nearly 60 seconds. When it waned, I stood there, smirking, naked.

"I—It's you?" Klaue said with a gasp before he devolved into a raucous laugh. "Christmas in fucking July. Inferno knight in my home. Ha! And to think you'd just walk straight in. Couldn't have planned it better."

"You're delusional if you think you can take me," I said, taunting Klaue once more. "Haven't you seen the news?"

"I have, and I'm not like those fucking amateurs. I've dealt with plenty of your type. I know how to make you really hurt."

A foreign presence snuck through the mental protection of Promethean body faster than I could react. It commandeered my five senses almost without alerting me and superimposed a mental projection of Vibranium-tipped harpoons firing out of the wall and spearing through my limbs. They pulled back, compelling my physical body to obey, and held me taut as I screamed in agonizing pain.

I saw the illusion for what it was, but it didn't hurt any less. With the little control of demonic energy I retained, I started gathering energy, folding it in on itself and compressing it.

The presence noticed my resistance and slipped up momentarily, letting a flash of panic slip through. I heard a loud hiss as the Vibranium wall blocking off the corridor hissed and raised upwards. A large black man came through. He was easily over seven feet tall and was dressed in an outfit that barely contained his bulk.

He charged me with a startling speed as I detonated the accumulating energy, flooding the hallway in Nether fire.

The black man howled.

"Shit!" Klaue hollered over the speakers.

The detonation also had the convenient side-effect of flushing the Telepath from my mind. I rocketed forward with a Gust as I activated Density Increase for the 40% strength spike and packed Arbiter's Axehead with demonic energy.

I spiked the density of the axehead the moment it impacted the man, sending him rocketing down the corridor.

I slid past the falling Vibranium wall and came face to face with a pair of women. My demonic energy and control flooded back, returning me to my full strength, and I immediately used Devil Eye on a pair of women I found in the corridor.

Regan Wyngarde (Lady Mastermind)

Daughter of the infamous Mastermind, an old enemy of Xavier, she's a second-generation mutant turned mercenary currently employed by Sebastian Shaw. She's spying on Ulysses Klaue and her team, masquerading as help seeking asylum in his Vibranium Tower against demons hunting mutants worldwide.

She is a powerful Telepath and mental illusionist.

Philippa Sontag (AKA Arclight)

A bloodthirsty ex-soldier who awakened her mutation that granted her superhuman strength, durability, stamina, and the generation and manipulation of shockwaves. Currently employed by Ulysses Klaue but secretly loyal to Sebastian Shaw.

Huh. Good to know. I quickly looked back at the big black guy and read his information.

Michael Baer (AKA Blockbuster)

A mutant with a physique unlike any other. His strength, endurance, and durability dwarfs some of the strongest physical Marvel players. Serves Klaue momentarily but secretly works for Shaw.

"So, this is how you maintain control," I said as Blockbuster pushed himself to his feet, panting and stamping away the fire. "I almost feel bad for what's about to happen."

"You're certainly overconfident," Arclight said as waves of vibrational energy rolled off her. "Good."

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"Don't underestimate him," Mirage warned. "His fire could kill you."

"You're going to pay for that you little freak," Blockbuster said after he finally recovered.

I smirked. "Now's it's a party."

They charged as one, and the world ground to a halt when Blockbuster's fist were inches from my face. I pushed to the left, pulling Ebony and firing off multiple body shots at Mirage while activating Mind Cloak. My Telepathy range spiked, and my mind opened up as I received a flat boost to my mental speed, perception, and energy control.

I tapped into Arclight's mind and immediately shut her down, bombarding her with multiple instances of a detailed early morning jog with Rin.

The world picked up speed before I finished uploading the information, and I leaned to the side, barely dodging Block Buster's charge, earning me an instance of Demon Evade.

Arclight stopped mid-step, crumbling with a startled scream overlapping Mirage's. Five bullet holes suddenly appeared on her torso, dropping her to the floor.

That only left Blockbuster, who looked at his downed partners, a bit anxious, especially by what I'd done to Arclight.

I sucker punched him in the jaw with three Burst as I accelerated near-instantaneously with Gust. It was reaching the upper-limit of its Basic level and I was expecting an upgrade any day now.

It laid him out, but he got up fairly quickly checking his lip. It was bloody.

The blow had not hurt him as badly as the fire had. His back was still covered in second-degree burns from it, and his chest was bleeding, but Blockbuster was not under any delusions that he could take me.

If he was faster maybe, but my speed was a big fucking problem. And don’t get him started on the strange invisibility thing he’d seen me do on the news, the disappearing weapons, and whatever invisible attack I’d used to ground Arclight.

"You should run," I said. "You're not getting paid enough to risk your life. I'm sure Shaw will understand."

Baer's eyes went wide.

"How did you—"

"Just point me in Klaue's direction, and I won't have to give you an aneurysm."

Baer's mouth flopped open and closed before his face hardened, and he looked at me. "Let them go, and you have a deal."

"Don't run far. We need to have a conversation about your other employer."

Blockbuster's eyes went wide.

He couldn’t believe I was psychic on top of everything he’d already seen.

I was a major player who appeared seemingly overnight and was bad fucking news for his employer. Shaw wouldn't be pleased that I'd derailed months of preparation in an instant. They'd been hoping to use the team to infiltrate Wakanda when the Dora Milaje and the new Black Panther eventually try their hand at Klaue.

The plan was to take down their border defenses and hold it open for a strike team personally assembled by the Hellfire club and a powerful backer.

Shaw was hoping to topple the Nation and seize its assets and tech, making the Hellfire club the most powerful faction in the world overnight.

The plan had taken years to set up, and the team had even gone as far as eliminating Klaue's former protection, not that the eccentric asshole needed it. Anybody that made it past his corridor would have to deal with the man and his armor, and not even he could contend against that.

"I knew you were no good from the second I hired you!" Klaue roared over the intercoms. "You should know better than to double-cross me. You'll never make it off the Island."

"Nothing personal Klaue," he said. "Just looking out for my people."

"You better pray the mercenaries and the other players get to you before I do," Klaue hissed across the speakers before it abruptly cut off.

There was a bit more emotion than I expected from the trickster thief, but Blockbuster seemed genuinely rattled by the threat. I turned to Blockbuster.

"You know what kind of nasty surprise he has waiting for me?"

"No idea," he said without flinching, lying straight to my face. I could've gone through the trouble of tracking him down later for intel, but I was fresh out of fucks to give.

I summoned my lighting whip and struck, seizing the startled man.

Thick bands of lightning surged down the whip, holding the asshole in place while I raided his mind. Mirage tried to pit her will against mine so I gave her something to worry about.

Ebony materialized in my free hand and I put another shot in her stomach, eliciting a shocked gasp from her.

Blockbuster roared like a beast unchained and tugged hard against the bone and infernal metal links. I slapped on Gravitational Touch channeling it through the whip, and grounded him.

He was drooling in seconds as I forcibly ripped information from his brain.

When I began to untangle the information I learned, I knew it’d been the right call.

Domina had been busy.

She recently approached the Hellfire club, bringing gifts, namely the super soldier serum and other goodies. Shaw had had the formula flown to Madripoor, where Oscorp's most powerful minds were currently dissecting it, but the Black King was certain it wouldn't be long now before he could start mass-manufacturing supersoldiers.

But that was not the bit I found the most interesting. Shaw's mysterious backers wanted Vibranium to make more powerful weapons but were also eager to seize Wakanda for reasons Shaw was not entirely clear on.

He had no intention of giving it up, but Domina didn't need to know that.

I guessed that the demons wanted to knock off two of the four remaining Array points they'd been unable to erect successfully.

The third point was in Antarctica, and the final was in an underwater trench not far from the Yutacan region.

Shaw had been so desperate to conquer Wakanda that he'd forced the only major player with the power and the experience to topple a nation out of retirement by orchestrating the assassination of his wife.

It was Mirage's first illusion job for the Black King, and her effortless success had cemented her place in their organization.

I smirked. It'd be a real shame if Wenwu ever found out.

Now that Shaw had the Hand and the demon's backing, he was deliberating how to play both sides for maximum benefit.

I laughed out loud at the sheer ambition. Fuck, Shaw deserved the protagonist title more than I did, but I was going to change that.

I was about to ruin his year.