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Dante slashed a robot in half and turned around to see another one charging at him. He dashed forward and hit it with a powerful thrust, destroying it in one clean strike. Another one tried to sneak him from the side, nearly landing a hit, but Dante quickly turned and stabbed it repeatedly—so fast and so hard that it was sliced into pieces in seconds.
A shot came flying toward him. He jumped into the air. While he was midair, another shot followed—but right before it could hit, a small blue platform appeared under his foot. He used it to jump again and dodged the blast. Then, still in the air, he pulled out his gun and shot the robot down.
He landed, looked around, and saw nothing else moving.
"All the robots are down. Danger protocol: turn off," he said.
The robots turned into pixels and floated away. Simulation complete.
It had been a week since he joined the school. So far, it was going great. He made friends with a lot of students, and the place was honestly more fun than he expected. That kid he bumped into on the first day? Apparently, he wasn't a mutant but a Brood—some alien race. But he was still considered a mutant here, since he was the only one of his kind who had intelligence and a personality. It was weird but interesting. The kid didn't even have a name, so Dante just called him Broo. It wasn't creative, but it worked.
Dante also got himself a uniform. The school let him choose between a standard one or something custom, and of course, he picked custom. He now wore a blue trench coat with the sleeves down, over a black shirt and pants. No gloves, no necklace. Just simple and cool—exactly his style.
(image)
They said he could pick a codename, too, but he still hadn't decided. Nothing sounded right yet.
He'd been training with his powers a lot. Every day since he got here, just experimenting with what he could do. He remembered when he fought in the forest for the first time—he had a strange instinct. He could do very simple stuff, or sometimes weirdly specific stuff, but not much in between. He didn't understand it at first.
Then on the second day, during training, he almost fell—but a small platform suddenly appeared under his foot, and he used it to jump again. After that, nothing. He couldn't use it again unless he touched the ground first. Kind of like a double jump in a video game.
It made him think.
Later, he tried to boost his body using the same energy that came from his left arm—the one that made blue flames. It was hard at first, but after a long time, he managed it. His speed and strength shot up like crazy. He even ran fast enough to keep up with a motorcycle. Wolverine was not impressed when he left him behind.
The next time he tried it, it was easier. Just like the double jump.
He didn't get it at first. But then something happened that made it all start to make sense.
He was testing other weapons in the Danger Room and eventually picked up a pair of regular handguns. His aim was perfect, thanks to his insane dexterity. He fired a ton of shots—nonstop—and didn't think much of it until Wolverine asked why he was still shooting.
The guns were empty.
But somehow, he had been creating bullets. And they were real. They picked them up after, and the bullets looked completely normal. Like they were made in a factory or something.
That's when he realized— it's like skills in video games but some of his powers just come out naturally, like the double jump or the bullets. Others, like the body boost, had to be trained or figured out. He doesn't know if he's just creating skills. And some of them come easier and some harder.
He didn't think too hard about it, but he noticed a pattern. Other than dexterity and enhancement, the rest of his powers seemed to fall into something like constructs a possible limitation. But he didn't dwell on it. He just knew he had to keep training and being creative.
Oh, and he finally got a custom-made pair of handguns.
Ebony & Ivory.
They looked awesome.
Dante walked out of the Danger Room, still catching his breath when he spotted Logan waiting for him near the entrance.
"That was nice, kid," Logan said with a slight nod.
"Thanks. It's all thanks to you," Dante replied with a small grin. "I wouldn't have improved this much without you."
"No, kid. That's all on you." Logan gave him a rare, approving look. "I barely use swords myself, to be honest. Haven't thought much about them either."
Dante chuckled a bit. "Well, you still helped a lot."
Logan had pointed out that while Dante could swing a sword really well, it wasn't actual swordsmanship—it was just raw skill and instincts. Logan admitted that he didn't use swords much either, but he started teaching Dante what he knew. Because of that, they'd been spending more time together lately. At first, Dante had been a little intimidated by him—this was Wolverine, after all—but the more they talked, the more he realized he liked the guy. Logan was actually pretty chill when you got to know him.
"So," Dante asked, "the school officially opens tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Logan said with a nod. "And the inspectors will come too. Future of the school depends on how that goes."
"That's honestly really nerve-racking," Dante said.
"You'll learn to deal with it," Logan replied.
Before Dante could respond, a portal suddenly opened next to them, swirling with arcane energy. A blonde woman stepped out of it, wielding a massive greatsword. Her eyes locked on Dante the second she saw him.
Without warning, she rushed straight at him and swung her sword down hard.
Dante didn't hesitate. He summoned Rebellion in an instant and raised it just in time to block the attack, the force of the blow shaking his arms.
Wolverine reacted immediately. "Hey!" he growled, lunging toward her, claws drawn. But the woman stepped back calmly and opened another portal behind her.
Wolverine didn't slow down. He dove into the portal right before it closed.
Dante looked around, confused, unsure where they'd gone—until he heard the sound of metal clashing echo from behind him. He turned quickly and spotted them through the Danger Room glass window.
They were fighting.
Without thinking, he ran for the door.
Through the glass, he could see the woman had the upper hand. She raised her greatsword, ready to slash Logan open from shoulder to waist—a killing blow.
Dante didn't even think.
He drew his gun, aimed at her through the glass, and fired.
He knew the bullet wouldn't reach her fast enough… but something happened. The bullet he created wasn't like before—it was stronger, faster, enhanced without him even trying. The gun responded the same way, empowered by his instinct.
The shot flew straight through the air, striking the woman's sword just before it could land.
She noticed it at the last second and blocked the shot cleanly, sliding back a little from the impact.
"That's enough, Illyana!" Logan shouted.
The woman—Illyana—paused and looked at him.
"Why are you here?" he asked. "Did Cyclops send you?"
"No. Cyclops has nothing to do with this."
She turned her gaze back to Dante, pointing her massive sword at him.
"I'm here to kill this demon."