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Dante slept only for an hour before his eyes snapped open.
The room was dark, save for the faint glow of the city lights filtering through the curtains. Silvija lay beside him using his arm as a pillow, her left arm draped across his chest.
The aftermath of their first time lingered in the air. They had gone overboard in helping her forget responsibilities. The woman had lowered every wall and trusted him with her vulnerabilities.
'She gave me everything.'
Now he had to be worthy of that so she never regretted her choice.
He had to become stronger for her, for Felicia, and for Death too.
'I should start another Resonance Link. Which one do I go for?'
He had to choose with caution now that Silvija and Felicia depended on him. His greatest fear wasn't his own death, but the thought of the people he cared about dying. He needed a Resonance Link that could enhance them to keep them alive in his absence. That was easier said than done in this world with mutants, celestials, gods, and cosmic beings.
'Mutants.'
He thought about X-Men, Xavier's dream, Magneto's fury, Scott's beam, and the heart of their group—Jean Gray. The redhead telepath always had a primal force associated with her—the Phoenix Force, the cosmic entity that had empowered countless beings across this universe.
'Can't I resonate with it?'
The Phoenix Force was incredibly powerful and versatile, roughly on the same power level as Death. And like Death, its powers wouldn't drain him dry just from activation. He had grown stronger since his first Resonance Link. His willpower had been tempered through constant use, and his mind had evolved. He should be able to survive a deeper dive into a cosmic entity's consciousness now.
The only thing that gave him pause was the risk. Using the Phoenix Force's power might send up a flare across the multiverse: Hey, I'm the anomaly in the timeline, come poke me with sticks!
'It shouldn't be hostile towards me.'
Like Death, Phoenix Force existed for a certain purpose: seeking constant evolution and destroying anything that halted growth and evolution. Anything threatening the future of creation was treated as its mortal enemy.
As long as he didn't actively work against those goals, the Phoenix Force should mind its own business. The same couldn't be said about other cosmic entities. Some of them were quite nosy.
He decided to wait until he could use Death's Resonance Link for an hour without passing out. Only then he should think about messing with cosmic entities and the likes.
'Symbiotes aren't good either.'
He doubted Silvija and Felicia would appreciate looking like alien monsters just to gain power. Appearances aside, symbiotes came with psychological burden that amplified certain tendencies. He had to save this method for emergency measures.
'Null, show me a list of characters who can empower others.'
The Null Repository responded instantly, projecting a mental list in neat categorical rows.
[Odin - Empowering others through Odinforce]
[Hela - Empowering her servants through Asgardian magical gifts]
[Stephen Strange (Doctor Strange) - Magical enhancements, blessings, and power boosts through mystic spells]
[Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch) - Reality manipulation/Sorcery]
[Joshua Foley (Elixir) - Physical and mutation enhancement through Biokinesis]
[Hope Summers - Amplification and synchronization of the powers of mutants]
[En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse) - Celestial technology, energy fusion, and genetic alteration]
[Nathaniel Essex (Mr. Sinister) - Genetic alteration]
[Beyonder…]
The names went on and on from here, listing all the high-tier reality manipulators and cosmic forces such as Phoenix Force, Enigma Force and more. The sheer volume of choices was overwhelming, especially considering he could only safely attempt a new Resonance Link every two or three days without losing his mind.
'Odin and Hela are out of the question.'
The All-Father would sense someone else wielding Odinforce the moment Dante activated the link. He would leave Asgard immediately to investigate, and he wouldn't be gentle when he finds Dante. Hela presented similar problems as her power came with too many strings attached.
He needed something powerful but under the radar. Something that wouldn't trigger alarms across the Nine Realms or summon cosmic entities to Earth.
Another look over the list gave him a pause.
'Actually… Elixir makes the most sense,'
Joshua Foley—codename Elixir. An Omega-level mutant with biokinesis. He could heal any wound, cure any disease, and manipulate biological systems at the cellular level. He could induce disease and death with a touch, manipulate life-force itself, and even transfer life-force from one being to another.
Elixir also possessed genius-level knowledge of human and mutant biology, anatomy, genetics, physiology, and medicine. That knowledge alone would be invaluable to understand symbiotes and develop a better countermeasure.
And there was Felicia's father. Walter Hardy was dying. No conventional medicine could help him. But with Elixir's biokinesis, Dante could cure him.
Beyond that, he could use the biokinesis to optimize Silvija and Felicia's bodies and push them to peak human condition by restructuring their cells to operate at maximum efficiency. They would become stronger, faster, and more durable without any of the side effects or dependencies of artificial augmentation.
Mr. Sinister's Resonance Link would offer even greater benefits. However, living through those memories would ruin his currently good mood. Nathaniel Essex, after all, had spent centuries using humans and mutants as experimental subjects, conducting horrific experiments in the name of evolutionary progress.
'Elixir first. Phoenix Force and Mr. Sinister can wait. Null, search for Elixir in your database.'
[Searching…]
[Search completed.]
[Character Joshua Foley found in Universe-X's database.]
[Requesting permission to begin the transfer process.]
He glanced at Silvija, who was sleeping peacefully, and closed his eyes. "Granted."
***
(Silvija's POV)
The shrill buzz of the phone dragged Silvija out of her deep sleep. Every muscle in her body ached. She stretched one arm back across the ruined sheets to fumble for the device vibrating on the nightstand.
She swiped to answer without checking the caller ID. "Silver Sable speaking."
"Miss Sable, it's Phil Coulson." Phil Coulson's voice was the same professional and pleasant to the ears. "I apologize for the late night call. I haven't received any reply regarding our previous discussion."
"I'll let you meet him, but when and where it happens will be up to him."
She had to draw that line with SHIELD. Dante wasn't just her employee or an asset. He was her Vice-Commander. Her lover. And maybe the father of her child. Her cycle was regular enough that she knew her ovulating time would come the day after tomorrow. With the amount of unprotected sex they had, the chances of her being pregnant would be over fifty percent.
The thought should've terrified her. Instead, she had to consciously suppress a smile. Finally, Symkaria would receive a worthy heir. The Sablinova bloodline would continue through an exceptional descendant.
"Don't make it too late, Miss Sable." Phil's tone was sharp enough to make it a subtle threat. "We'll provide him with suitable compensation since one of our best agents went missing investigating the symbiote life forms—the black alien parasites you saw on all news channels today."
It could be the truth or a trap—Silvija couldn't decide which one it would be when it came to SHIELD.
"I'll convey your message when he wakes up."
"Thank you, Miss Sable. It would be an honor to work alongside you and your mysterious employee."
"Likewise, Phil Coulson." The polite words felt grating on her tongue, but she had to do it to maintain some resemblance of a good relationship with SHIELD. "Thanks for helping us with Felicia. We couldn't have found her in time without your tracking."
"It was my pleasure to help our country's youth in crisis," Phil replied smoothly. "Goodnight, Miss Sable. We'll be in touch."
Silvija lowered the phone and sat up slowly. Her abs felt tender and overworked from all the positions he had bent her into. Every muscle in her body felt like they had been through hell like she had been cage fighting.
She turned her head to look at the man responsible for her current state. He looked insanely handsome even in sleep, giving off the air of a gentle and sweet boyfriend. No one would associate him with the crack in the headboard or the feathers from a ripped pillow covering her black lace bra and panties on the floor.
He was a literal beast when it came to sex.
Silvija carefully slid her legs over the side of the bed. Standing required a level of core strength that wasn't present in her at the moment. She managed it anyway. Sablinovas weren't the type to quit.
She dragged herself to the bathroom and immediately noticed the full extent of damage on her body in the mirror.
Her silver hair was tangled and knotted no amount of finger-combing would fix. Her lips looked dry after losing all the sheen of lipstick and moisture. A generous amount of purple hickeys were on her neck, shoulders, and three alone on her left breast. There were bruises on her thighs, her hips, and on her forearms where he had gripped her.
She should be furious since these marks would undermine her authority. Instead, the woman looked satisfied like she had found something she hadn't known was missing.
The bond had shown her what true freedom felt like. What happiness tasted like. What it meant to just be without any responsibilities.
It was addictive and perfect.
She still had the urge to crawl back into that bed, curl against his warmth, and forget about the world.
Not only was her lover shining like a sun, he had become one in this relationship. Stay too close and she would eventually burn—fall victim to this addiction. That wouldn't just ruin her but also all of Symkaria and everything she had built.
She had to find a balance. Only now she was thankful for Death and Felicia being part of this relationship. The two would keep this beast in check while she recovered.
'Only once a week—no, twice a week.'
Once a week would give Felicia too much space to have a bigger place in his heart than hers. Two nights of relief and five days of duty sounded reasonable.
She watched the bathtub fill with steaming water. No emergency calls meant the facilities were fine. Right now, she was useless as a combatant. Forget about rifles, she couldn't handle Glocks properly.
She sank back against the tub, letting her legs stretch out fully until her toes touched the far end. "Mhmm, that feels good."
She grabbed the bodywash and started applying it on her body. Then suddenly, her phone rang from the bedroom.
She considered wrapping herself in a towel to maintain some pretense of modesty. Then dismissed the thought entirely. There was no point. The only person in the room had already seen everything, touched everything, and even tasted—she cut that thought off before it could spiral. Her body was already responding to the memories by making heat low in her belly.
She walked to the door, only to see that Dante had answered the call. Opening a crack barely wide enough to see through, she shamelessly eavesdropped. He was still in bed, stretching his arms above his head, and the lights were on.
"M'lady!" Amy Chen's voice came through. He had made eavesdropping easier by putting the phone on the speaker.
"Amy?"
"Hades?!" Amy's voice jumped. "What are you doing with M'lady's phone? It's so late!"
His expression turned skeptical. "Why can't I spend time in my girlfriend's bedroom?"
"Bedroom?! Y-You already—!" Amy sounded like she was choking on something.
"Of course." Pure smugness in his two word answer. "Now either speak your business or I'm hanging up. I've got better things to do."
"Give the phone to M'lady! I'll only talk to her."
"Then goodbye—"
"Wait! I'll speak." Amy's sigh crackled through the speaker. "I need to brief M'lady about a development. There's been strange activity around the first site."
Dante's gaze flicked toward her hiding spot, and Silvija jerked back instinctively. "Silvija is in the shower. Brief me. Don't forget I'm your Vice-Commander."
A beat of silence followed. Amy processed the chain of command versus her desire to talk to Silvija directly. "Vice-Commander… A few black vehicles have been positioned around the island, like they're keeping an eye on us."
Silvija was glad Amy's professionalism won.
"Is it the Hand?"
"How did you know?"
"Their last attack was just them testing the water. Today will be the real deal."
Silvija peered again, seeing a reckless smirk on his face—the same one he had when he went to confront Emma Frost for her. Today, it meant he was going to steal the core symbiote in the middle of their defense against the Hand's attack.
'I can't do anything in this state.'
Regret filled her heart. She should have waited a day before jumping in the bed. Now, she couldn't even participate in the battle. If she had waited just one more day before jumping into bed with him, she would be combat-ready right now, capable of leading the defense.
"I just received another update from our scouts," Amy said. "We sighted three more cars, which makes the total seven."
"Hold all defensive positions," Dante ordered in an authoritative tone. "Don't engage unless they start attacking. We'll be there shortly."
"Understood, Vice-Commander. I'll relay the command to Wild Pack."
"Good. Keep me updated on any changes. You're dismissed."
He ended the call and rolled out of the bed. Walking straight to the mirror, completely naked, he stretched and flexed. "So many love bites… Silvija sure loves me."
She couldn't stop the eye roll even as heat crept up her neck. His ego was already insufferable without encouraging it.
When he glanced in her direction, she realized he was doing it on purpose.
Silvija wrapped a towel around herself and walked right up behind him to kick him square on his muscular ass.
"Stop messing around. Didn't you hear what Amy said?"
He spun around, a grin plastered on his face. "I knew my little queen was eavesdropping."
"I wasn't." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring up at him. "You had the phone on speaker."
He reached for her hand with that heated look in his eyes, trying to embrace her. She saw it coming from a mile away and swatted his hand.
"No."
"Silvija…"
"Not now, Lover." She kept her voice firm, despite her traitorous body wanting to lean into him. "We have work to do."
He gave her those completely unfair puppy-dog eyes. Big, hopeful, and just vulnerable enough to make her chest ache. She would've lost to her temptations if her father hadn't drilled discipline into her bones from a young age.
He let out a disappointing sigh. "There is no love left in this world."
Before she could think better of it, Silvija pushed up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Happy?"
He showed a pleased smile. "Yes. Let me give you some energy before we deal with the hand."
"Energy? What are you talking about—" The question became meaningless when she watched his skin begin to change. Gold spread across his body. "What the hell is that?"
"A new power." He took her hands and closed her eyes. "Now, relax. I'll make you feel better."
She wanted to ask more questions, but the words never made it out. The instant his hands met hers, her body responded on its own. Every muscle relaxed, surrendering to him. Their primal sex had trained her body to recognize his touch as safe, as home, as permission to stop being Silver Sable the mercenary queen and just be Silvija the woman.
Dark orange energy sparked to life around him, looking almost alive as they flowed into her.
She couldn't help but moan in pleasure. The persistent knots in her back dissolved. Her muscles shifted, reorganized from within, somehow becoming both more malleable and more powerful. The deep, bone-weary exhaustion melted away like it had never existed.
Even the skin on her hands looked softer but also firmer as if she had aged in reverse.
She arched her back and stretched her neck muscles. Everything moved smoothly, effortlessly, like she just had the best sleep of her life, like she had gone back to the time before she had abused her body with training.
She dropped the towel to see what he had done. Her eyes moved frantically to the mirror, searching for what had been lost in this transformation.
The scars—every mark that told the story of her life remained exactly where it should be. Even the hickeys he had left last night were still there.
Relief flooded through her. He hadn't erased her history or tried to make her into some perfect being. He had healed her without changing who she was.
"Lover..." She looked up at him, his golden glow already starting to fade back to normal skin tone. "What did you just do to me?"
He smiled softly, clearly pleased with his accomplishments. "I restructured your entire cellular matrix to operate at peak potential."
Her brow furrowed. "Explain to me like I'm an idiot."
She had spent more time holding a gun than holding a pen.
"Your muscles," he gestured at her arms and then her abs. "I've reorganized density and optimized every cell. You're stronger now without adding bulk. More explosive power, but also better endurance."
She looked down at her arms. They felt different, denser, yet also flexible.
"Your skeleton's been reinforced—just know I've fully unlocked your genetic potential. You're performing at the theoretical peak of what a human body can achieve."
She was left in awe. The top one-percent would spend millions or even billions for such change, but he had handed it to her like some candy. "This is... I don't know how to thank you."
"Why?" A mischievous smirk came back to his face as his gaze scanned her from top to bottom. "It means we can fuck longer. Enhanced stamina applies to all physical activities, you know?"
Her warm gratitude evaporated instantly. She immediately picked up the towel to cover herself. "Of all the benefits you gave me, sex is what you want to discuss."
"I'm a man." He spread his hands like that explained everything. "Of course that's where my mind goes."
She twisted the skin on his waist hard. He barely flinched, but the gesture conveyed her feelings perfectly. "Go, clean yourself. We have to leave."
"Ow. Okay, stop."
He walked toward the bathroom, only to pause in the bathroom doorway, "You know you're even more beautiful when you're threatening me. That commander voice does things—"
"Out!"
He disappeared into the bathroom, his laughter coming from the other side.
She took her tactical gear out of her closer.
'Faster, stronger, and more durable.'
The enhanced stamina thing wasn't actually a terrible side benefit. She would be getting the most out of two days every week. Of course, she would never tell him that.
***
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