Disclaimer: Illyana, Vance, and everyone else appearing in this fic are the property of Marvel Comics. So are the original storylines that are mentioned. I'm making no money from using them, though if Marvel would like to offer me a job I'd be more than happy to discuss it with them.
This story takes place after "The Butterfly Effect" and "10 Things". The time references at the beginning of each section refer to each other rather than to the original story, so, for example, Inferno is taking place two months after Uncanny 230. Yes, I know they're not necessarily accurate. Neither was Marvel, so I'm guessing!
The More Things Change
***Three Weeks After "The Butterfly Effect"***
***The Morlock Massacre***
To: MagikalOne
From: TechGoddess
Re: What's up?
Hey, haven't heard from you in a couple of days; I'm hoping that means you're too busy sightseeing to check your mail and not that something's happened. You guys really should pick up a cell phone, or something with GPS tracking so I at least knew where you are. I suppose that would blow the whole spontaneous road trip thing though, huh? But it would make everyone worry a lot less.
Things are pretty bleak around here. No, beyond bleak. I'm not sure there's a strong enough adjective for how messed up things are right now, or at least not one I'm really comfortable using, but I really wish you were here. I don't know if you heard on the news (I'm not even 100% sure how they covered it on the news, because things were kind of busy here and I wasn't watching), but the Morlocks were attacked two days ago. By the time we made it down to the tunnels, nearly all of them were dead. Yana, it was possibly the most horrible thing I've ever seen. Annalee's dead, and her kids, and Piper, and a bunch of others I never even knew the names of, all of them butchered. Logan got into it with Sabertooth and he followed us home to the mansion, but Betsy (can you believe it?) took him down long enough to pick his brain and find out that it was the work of some group of mutants called the Marauders. Mutants. I still have a hard time accepting that - it wasn't as if the Morlocks were any kind of threat to anyone. Why would anyone do anything so-"
"What's wrong?"
Illyana turned to see Vance coming out of the bathroom, still toweling his hair though he'd already gotten dressed, and flipped the laptop shut. "Nothing," she assured him. "Just a really disturbing video on YouTube."
"Yana, come on. That wasn't a disturbing video frown." He came and sat down next to her on the awful maroon flowered bedspread, automatically folding the wet towel up as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. Hell, for him, it probably was. She wasn't sure she'd ever met anyone so obsessive about neatness. He'd even made the hotel bed he'd slept in the night before as soon as he got up.
Hers, needless to say, was still a tangled pile of sheets and pillows. But then, she was still sitting on it, so she didn't see any problem with that.
She sighed and tugged one end of the bedspread over her leg. "Just an e-mail from Kitty. It's no big deal."
"Did you reply?"
"Not yet." She rolled her eyes at the probing look he gave her, and sighed. "Look, I haven't even finished reading it yet. I'll get to it."
"And the one from your brother last week?"
"What're you doing, stalking my e-mail?" Irritated, she pushed the covers away, slid the laptop onto the bed, and got to her feet. "There wasn't anything to reply to in that. He just kept going on about how he was worried and asking when was I going to come home."
"Don't you think he'd maybe worry less if you replied?"
"Don't you think your mom would, too?" The words were out of her mouth before she knew it, and she spun in time to see a flicker of guilt on Vance's face before he could shrug it away.
"It's not the same," he said, sounding almost as if he were choking on the words. "Besides, I sent her a letter."
"Three weeks ago." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Look, I get why you don't want to go home-"
"No, you really don't.
"I'm not an idiot, Vance. Even leaving the stuff with Dani aside, something happened between you and your dad, and I don't have to be a genius to have a pretty good idea as to what. The whole thing is eating you up."
"Pretty sure you don't have room to talk, there." Vance sighed. "Look, I don't want to fight about this. If you don't want to reply to Kitty, you're right. It's really none of my business." He got to his feet and headed over to his side of room.
"Which is to say what happened between you and your dad isn't any of mine, right?"
As Illyana had half expected, there was no immediate response, and she let out a frustrated hmmph and went to take her turn in the bathroom. Checkout was in an hour or so, and she wanted to make sure she got in an extra shower before they had to leave.
"You're mad, aren't you?" Vance's voice, even muffled by the door, sounded concerned.
She rolled her eyes as she stripped off the t-shirt and shorts she'd worn to bed. "Jeez, whatever gave you that idea?"
Once again, there was no immediate answer, and she didn't wait for one before climbing into the shower and turning on the water.
This morning aside, the past three weeks had been, if not quite idyllic, at least pretty close. Vance was, overall, an awesome travelling companion; good humored, willing to do his share, and full of odd information you couldn't find in the tourist centers. They camped more often than not, which summoned up oddly fond memories of growing up with Cat in Limbo, and picked up enough odd one and two day jobs to keep themselves in food, gas, and the occasional motel room like the one they'd splurged on the night before. Granted, they weren't exactly making rapid progress across the US, but then, they weren't really trying to. The only things Illyana found herself missing were Kitty, Piotr, and the iPod charger she'd accidentally left behind on her nightstand.
She hadn't been to Limbo once, and she really didn't miss that, either.
There were times she missed the New Mutants, she admitted to herself as she rinsed the last of the shampoo from her hair and turned the water off. She knew from Kitty's earlier e-mails that they'd spent a week or so at the Massachusetts Academy, and that Emma'd done something to snap them out of the fog they'd been living in since the crap with the Beyonder had occurred. On the other hand, Sam was the only one of her former teammates who'd so much as sent an e-mail since she'd left, though he'd thrown in a question from Doug as to whether or not she'd taken off with his Panic at the Disco! T-shirt (she had, but wasn't admitting it), so she knew the others knew he'd written. But with Dani in Colorado, she doubted anyone was actually missing her. Hell, by now, Roberto had probably convinced himself that she'd been in league with the Beyonder all along. And Rahne-
Well, she was pretty sure that if Rahne could find a way, she'd be blaming her for global warming, so no big deal there one way or the other.
Wrapping the towel around herself, she padded out of the bathroom, head tilted to one side as she attempted to tap the water out of her ear. And blinked as she realized Vance was nowhere in sight.
"Great. One fight and he takes off," Illyana grumbled to herself as she crossed over to where she'd tossed her backpack the night before. She pulled out a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, glancing occasionally at the door. Despite her annoyance, she couldn't help but be concerned. It wasn't like Vance to just disappear. Normally if he went out, he at least left her a note.
On the other hand, she reminded herself, they'd never actually gotten into an argument before. Maybe he'd decided he'd had enough and just left?
Grimacing, she finished drying off and got dressed. The idea of Vance ileaving/i made her distinctly uncomfortable, though she wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't as if she knew him all that well, and his weird insistence on doing the right thing drove her nuts sometimes. Not, she had to admit, that he was anywhere near as annoying as Rahne was when she went off on one of her spiels. Still, he really shouldn't expect her to do the right thing. It wasn't really in her to care.
Strangely, though? Being with him was kind of like being with Kitty. When he was around, she almost wished that it was.
Sighing, she picked her laptop back up and re-opened her e-mail. What had happened to the Morlocks was horrible, but her eyes widened in shock as she continued reading. Her head snapped up as the door opened and Vance entered carrying a pair of sodas from the vending machine.
"We have to go back. Or at least, I have to go back," she blurted as soon as he entered. She set the laptop down and got to her feet to begin picking up clothing, shoes, and miscellaneous things she'd left lying around.
"What happened?" Vance set the sodas down on the tv stand/dresser and, without arguing what she'd said, began picking up his things as well.
Illyana gestured to her laptop, but began summarizing anyway. "There was a big fight. No, more like a slaughter, down in the Morlock tunnels. I told you about them, right?"
She glanced over at Vance for confirmation, and saw him nod confirmation, his expression grim. "What happened?"
"I don't know. Not the details. Some group calling themselves the Marauders." Illyana brushed that aside with a wave of her arm, because it just got worse from there. "That's bad. But while that was happening? The New Mutants went to check on Xi'an's brother and sister, and Warlock's father showed up." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Warlock's dead. And Doug...Doug got infected by the transmode virus, and everyone's a mess, and Kitty-" she broke off and gave him a pleading look.
Vance nodded. "I'll come with. If you want me to." He stuffed his things into his backpack and shouldered it. "Unless you'd rather I ride the bike back?"
"Would you rather? If so, it's okay. I just…" Travel through Limbo wasn't really on her priority list, but some situations demanded it. This was one of them.
"Hey, I trust you." Vance held up his hands and offered a faint smile. "I just wasn't sure if you could handle both of us and the bike."
"Oh. Yeah, not a problem." Her face warmed a little for no reason she could determine, and she turned and took one last look around the room. "I think I've got everything."
"Go ahead and double check. I'll go settle the bill with the office and drop off the key card, then meet you out front." He started towards the door, then paused and turned back. "Also? I thought about it, and you were right. Once we get there, I'll give my mom a call."
"Sounds like a plan." Illyana forced a faint smile and nodded, but let it slip as she turned back to her search. Somehow, whether he did or not didn't seem anywhere near as important as it had twenty minutes ago, but for his sake, she hoped he actually would..
***One Month Later***
***The Fall of the Mutants***
He'd met the original X-Men.
Despite being bone tired, Vance couldn't quite help but smile as Illyana's stepping disk opened in the mansion's living room. The New Mutants had unanimously decided to help out in New York once they'd seen the footage of Apocalypse's attack on TV, and while they'd primarily focused on rescuing the city's endangered residents and limiting property damage, X-Factor had actually stopped to thank them for their assistance, and Marvel Girl had actually shaken his hand and told him it was nice to meet a fellow telekinetic. Granted, the scene would've been better if his nose hadn't been bleeding at the time, but she hadn't seemed to care, and he'd been so awestruck that he hadn't even realized it until later.
It was, quite possibly, the coolest thing that had ever happened to him, and he was almost positive he wasn't just thinking that because it was 2am and he was ready to fall over.
"Someone turn on the TV?" Vance glanced over to see Illyana collapse onto the couch. "I want to see if there's anything about what happened in Dallas, and I don't have the energy."
"Ye can do it yourself-" Rahne began, but Sam shook his head and walked over to grab the remote.
"I got it. Dani, you wanta let Magneto know we're back?"
"Not really?" Dani made a face. She looked pale and even more exhausted than he himself felt, and Vance felt an all-too-familiar pang of guilt. She'd gotten back from Colorado just the week before, and Vance had worried, then, about how she'd react to his presence on the team. Much to his surprise, she'd shrugged off his apologies and welcomed him wholeheartedly, observing that "Shit happened." Given that Rahne had stopped at least half her scowling since, he was guessing Dani'd had a talk with her as well. Still, it was impossible to see her obviously exhausted and not feel bad about his part in it.
"Aww, come on. Take one for the team, Chief." Doug's gold-wired skin glinted as the TV lit up, but the grin on his face looked no different than it had in old pictures of Yana's that Vance had seen. "He's probably less mad at you than he is at the rest of us. You weren't around for the Bird Boy fiasco."
"Still not sure what you guys were thinking when you made that bet," Dani retorted. She shook her head. "Honestly. If I'd been here-"
"We might've won, and the Hellions wouldn't have gotten their hands on him. Shhhh, I think they're talking about what happened." Illyana straightened up and leaned forward. "Sam, can you turn up the volume?"
"Yeah." The volume rose to audible levels, and Vance went to sit down on the couch next to Illyana, reaching over to rest his hand on her back.
"...live from Dallas, where only a few people are now emerging from what was once Eagle Plaza." As the reporter began to recap the evening's events, the camera panned to where four people were exiting the building - a haunted eyed, middle aged Native American man who was leading a woman wearing a full face mask with, strangely enough, a knife hilt sticking out of it, a woman who looked uncannily like Jean Grey, and another man who, based on the camera he was carrying, was probably some kind of reporter.
"That's Forge, isn't it?" Doug asked as he settled down on the floor to lean against the end table.
"It looks like him." Illyana frowned. "And Maddie. And I think the girl is Dazzler. What's that on her face, though?"
"Looks like Destiny's mask. You know, the precog from Freedom Force? Not sure what's going on with the knife, though," Sam observed, then waved them quiet as the reporter came forward and started speaking. Casualties. The X-Men had given their lives to stop some kind of demonic invasion. Vance heard Rahne start crying quietly, and felt Illyana tense beside him. He turned to see her staring, wide-eyed, at the scene on the TV.
"No," she whispered. "No, they can't have…" She jumped to her feet and summoned a stepping disk.
"Yana, don't-" It was too late, though - she'd already disappeared. Vance stared at the space where she'd been, wondering just what he should do. Or should have done. He felt stunned, and sick, and he couldn't even imagine how she was feeling right now, with both her brother and Kitty in Dallas. Or having been in Dallas.
"Damn it!" Dani slammed her palm on the back of the couch, startling him and causing him to flinch away. Fortunately, she didn't seem to notice. "She couldn't have waited, could she?"
"Are ye surprised? She does nae ever think of anyone but herself."
"C'mon, furtop, that's not fair. Her brother's there. Or was there." Sam's voice faded out at the end, suggesting he'd just realized the implications of it all.
"And Kitty." Doug's voice was muffled, but when Vanced looked over at him, he saw that his face was buried in his hand, shoulders shaking with barely restrained emotion.
"The X-Men have cheated death before…" Vance offered. He'd heard the stories, after all.
"Not this time." This from Dani, whose jaw was working, fingers clenching and unclenching in the couch's upholstery. "Death was there. I could see him, looming over the building. They're gone."
Tears were flowing down Rahne's face, now, and she turned to bury it in Sam's chest. Vance watched as their co-leader pulled her in closer, absently rubbing her back as he continued to stare at the TV as if trying to will the reporter into admitting it was all just some kind of joke.
It wasn't, though, Vance knew. It was all too real.
A flash of light heralded Illyana's reappearance, and Vance jumped to his feet as he realized she was sporting the horns of her Darkchylde form and wielding her sword.
"Where'd you go?" Dani demanded.
"To Dallas. Or I tried. I can't get there. There's some kind of mystical barrier." Her eyes flashed red for a moment, her fingers clenching the hilt of her sword so hard the knuckles were turning white. "I tried to get through it, but I can't."
"Maybe if we went back-"
"I tried. Don't you think I tried that first?' Illyana's sword disappeared and her defiance crumbled. Vance stepped forward and caught her just as her knees gave out and she started to tumble forward. "I couldn't get through, no matter what I did, and they're dead. The scrying mirror confirmed it. I can't find them anywhere. They're all dead." She pounded on Vance's chest a few times, as if still trying to fight her way through, then gave up and clung to him, sobbing.
"'Yana?" Sam said softly. He met Vance's eyes over her shoulder, eyebrows raised in inquiry though his eyes had a suspicious shine to them as well. Vance shook his head, and held her as she broke down completely, rubbing slow circles on her back. He had her. He didn't have the same history with the X-Men that the others did, but he knew Yana. Maybe better than the others did, given the shocked expressions on most of their faces. Darkchylde or no, she'd just lost the two people in the world she cared about most, possibly the only two people in the world who really mattered to her. If she needed to cry, she should.
"C'mon," he said quietly after a few long minutes spent holding her close and letting her cry. "We'll go make some sandwiches or something. I don't think anyone's gonna be sleeping tonight."
He knew he wasn't. He also knew, right or wrong, that she'd regret breaking down in front of her teammates later, once she'd calmed down. If she calmed down. He wasn't altogether sure why her horns hadn't disappeared with her sword and armor, but he didn't suppose it meant anything good.
"We should have a meeting, figure out what to do next," Dani asserted.
"Let's be honest, Chief - you think anyone's up to it tonight? Ah know I'm not." Sam rubbed at his forehead. "We were all wiped even before this. If Yana can't get us to Dallas, there's not a lot we can do anyway that we won't be able to do better in the morning."
"We can pray for their souls." Rahne pulled away from Sam and glared at Yana as if daring her to contradict her.
Yana's head spun towards the Scot's girl, her mouth open to make a retort, but Sam jumped in. "Can't hurt none." His eyes met Vance's again, and he jerked his head, almost imperceptibly, towards the kitchen. "You said something about sandwiches? I'm thinking none of us have much appetite, but we should probably eat anyway. Just in case there's fallout."
Vance nodded. "We've got it." He steered Illyana towards the kitchen, pausing only long enough to reach down and give Doug's shoulder a squeeze. He wasn't even sure the younger boy noticed.
"It won't do any good," Illyana muttered as they left the room..
"Maybe not," Vance allowed carefully. "But it'll at least give Rahne something to do."
Illyana mumbled something he didn't quite catch, but that he was pretty sure involved suggestions on just what Rahne could do.
"It's not her fault."
"I know that." Illyana sniffled a little. "It's Forge's."
"We don't know that. All we know is what the reporter said."
Illyana shook her head. "I watched it in the scrying mirror. All of it, over and over again, trying to find some way in. Forge opened a portal years ago. The X-Men gave up their souls to close it. All the praying in the universe isn't going to change that."
"You think they'd begrudge that? They were heroes," Vance said softly. "Based on what the reporter said, they volunteered."
"I don't care." Illyana shook his off his arm and stalked towards the kitchen. "I'm not a hero. And I just want them back."
Vance hurried up to keep pace with her. "At the price of the universe?"
"Yes!" Illyana's reply was immediately, but she paused a moment later and took a breath. "No. Maybe. I don't know. I just want…"
"I know." And he did. It wasn't a choice he'd make, no, but he understood it, and was relieved to realize that it wasn't a choice he'd ever personally have to make. "Kitty wouldn't want that, you know. Even if you could go back and change it." That much he knew as well, even though he'd only known Illyana's friend for a month. He had little doubt that Kitty'd been one of the first to step up and volunteer.
"No." Illyana took another breath, and her horns receded, then disappeared altogether. "She wouldn't." She turned towards Vance, blue eyes once again welling with tears. "But I don't know what I'm going to do without her."
There was more to that than Vance really understood. He knew that. It had to do with Limbo, and the choice Yana'd made just before they'd first met, and an entire backstory that he suspected, based on bits she'd dropped here and there, had involved an entirely different Kitty altogether. Illyana had loved her brother, and would miss him. Whatever the bond with her and Kitty, it went far deeper. "The best you can?" he offered. "That's all anyone can do."
Illyana let out a soft, humorless snort. "My best isn't exactly great. Ask anyone."
"I don't have to. I know you." Vance met her eyes and shrugged. "Your best is better than you think it is. And if you need help, you've got me."
"You don't know what you're offering," Illyana warned.
"Probably not. But I'm offering it anyway." Without hesitation, though admittedly not without trepidation. Still, they were friends. If she needed him, he'd be there. He had the feeling the same could be said of most of her teammates, but it wasn't his place to point that out. It was theirs.
The problem was, she'd never think to ask them.
Illyana stared at him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I'll try not to have to take you up on it."
"Don't try too hard." He offered a faint smile, then held out his hand. "Sandwiches?"
"No one's going to eat them," she complained, but snuck her fingers into his anyway.
"Maybe not. But it's like Rahne's praying. It'll give us something to do other than think."
"I'd rather think of interesting ways to torture Forge."
Vance squeezed her hand and resumed their trek to the kitchen. "I know. That's why we're going to make sandwiches."
*** A Week Later ***
*** Christmas Caroling, Uncanny X-Men 230***
"This sucks."
"It is a wee bit chill out," Rahne admitted. Her shoulders were hunched and she looked miserable, but she sounded as if the words had been pulled from her against her will.
Illyana wasn't sure whether the Scottish girl's reluctance to agree had to do with the fact she was having to agree with her, or because there was something sacrilegious about agreeing that standing out in near freezing, sleeting rain singing Christmas carols as part of some dumb tree lighting wasn't high on her list of ways to spend the evening. Probably both, but ultimately, it didn't matter. It still sucked.
"C'mon, it's just for half an hour or so." Vance nudged her with his elbow, offering what was probably meant to be an encouraging smile. It would have been far more effective if he hadn't looked like a frozen half drowned rat.
"Half an hour of my life I'll never get back." This was muttered by Roberto, who'd finally gotten back from wherever it was he'd taken off to. Illyana still wasn't sure if she was relieved he was alright or disappointed he'd come back. Again, both seemed like it was probably the right answer.
"The Professor thinks we're not spending enough time socializing with the kids in Salem Center." Sam shrugged awkwardly. "Not like Ah disagree, exactly, but this doesn't seem much like socializing."
"Because we've had time to throw another slumber party lately?" Dani pushed her wet hair back from her face. "I mean, granted, the first one was fun, but…"
"The view was definitely appealing. Sam, Vance, tell them they should definitely throw another slumber party?"
Illyana groaned. Well, that definitely tipped the scale into disappointed that he'd returned. She really hadn't missed Roberto at all. "I'm out of here." She gave brief consideration to calling up a stepping disk there and then, reconsidered just because she didn't feel like listening to everyone bitch about it later, and turned her back on the others and stalked off.
She hadn't gotten more than a few dozen steps away before she heard footsteps running towards her.
"Yana, hold up!"
Sighing, she turned to look at Vance. "I'm not coming back. This is stupid. The X-Men died last week, and we're standing here singing Christmas songs in the pouring rain? Even for Magneto, this is a new low." Okay, maybe it seemed as if the rain was changing to snow, but still. Not a huge improvement.
"Maybe he figured it'd cheer everyone up?" Vance shrugged as if even he wasn't buying into his own explanation and sighed. "Anyway, I wasn't going to stop you. Just ask if you wanted company. I'm pretty sure no one's going to stick around long anyway, and I'm really not an expert on Christmas carols."
"Like I am?" Illyana wrinkled her nose and tugged her hood up, though it was probably pointless since her hair was already soaked. "Christmas isn't really my holiday. Last year I summoned demons to help decorate the tree. Rahne was mortified."
"Did you do it to mortify her?" Vance snuck his gloved hand into hers, and despite her lingering annoyance and preoccupation, she couldn't help but smile a little. He'd been doing that more and more lately. Part of her kind of wondered whether or not he meant anything by it. The rest wondered whether or not she should remind him she was a demon sorceress, just in case he'd somehow forgotten.
She wasn't going to say it now, though. Instead, she just shook her head. "Nah. I honestly figured it'd be the easiest way to get ornaments on the top of the tree." She grimaced. "This year I wouldn't chance it, even if I didn't know better."
"Are things really that bad?"
"I don't know." Illyana sighed in frustration. "Something's definitely not right. I haven't seen S'ym around for ages, and you know how he pops up. I'm not sure if he's hiding and plotting something and if that's why the lesser demons are getting worse and worse, or if it's because I haven't been spending enough time there to keep them in line. Or if it's me."
"Why would it be you - hey, you're shivering." Vance let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "Are you okay?"
"Just cold," she lied. She glanced back over her shoulder to confirm they were out of sight of the tree lighting group, trying to decide what to do next. If it had just been her, she'd have chanced Limbo, just to get away faster. With Vance…
Well, maybe it wasn't a bad idea anyway. If nothing else, it'd probably remind him that she wasn't anyone he wanted to get involved with. "Mind the express route home?"
"Are you sure you want to do that?" His expression was one of concern - for her, not the situation. "I'm okay with walking if you don't."
She took a deep breath. Why did he insist on making this so hard? "I'm sure." She called up a stepping disk, and a moment later, they were in Limbo, standing on the hill where she'd last left her sword.
It was, almost literally, the only bare spot in sight. Demons swarmed all around them, encroaching on the hill, and she felt Vance tense even as her armor responded to her own apprehension and formed around her.
"Has this happened before?"
One particularly brave demon began crawling up the hill towards them, and before she could react, she saw a blast of pink energy from Vance send it flying backwards into its fellows. She watched it shake its head and slink away, apparently discouraged. It wouldn't, she knew, be long before another took its place - or tried to, considering the pink-ish dome that appeared around and over them.
"Not that I know of? See, that's the thing. It really shouldn't be happening now." Unsure just how long Vance could hold the forcefield in place, she summoned a new disk and transported them back to the school - or more specifically, to the room that until recently she'd shared with Kitty. She'd packed up most of her roommate's things, but the boxes were still stacked haphazardly against one wall. Moving them still seemed too final.
Sighing, she headed into the bathroom, only to emerge a moment later with a pair of towels. She tossed one over to Vance, then used the other to begin drying her hair.
"Thanks." Vance shed his jacket and started toweling his own hair, causing it to stand on end so he looked like a damp, prickly hedgehog. "So, you were saying it might be because you haven't been spending enough time in Limbo?"
"Maybe." Illyana sighed and gestured for him to turn around. "Limbo reflects its ruler. When Belasco was in control, it was - well, Hell would probably be the closest analogy." She shrugged off her shirt and pulled a snowflake patterned blue sweater over her head, then dropped the jeans she'd been wearing and fished in her dresser for a pair of leggings that would match the sweater.. "I tried to make it better, but…it's me. There's only so much better it can really get."
"Because you're a sorceress?" Somehow, Vance managed to say it without sounding uncomfortable with either the topic or her changing, though she suspected he wasn't entirely okay with the first and knew he wasn't with the second.
"Not exactly." Illyana grimaced and straddled her desk chair, crossed her arms on the back and rested her chin on them. She'd managed to avoid this conversation for way longer than she'd expected, but it'd been inevitable, and she supposed now was as good a time as any. Now that the moment was here, though, she wasn't sure how to begin. Or if she wanted to.
Vance, apparently realizing she'd had plenty of time to get dressed, turned around and leaned back against Kitty's desk. "You don't have to tell me."
"Yeah, I think I kinda do." She took a breath and exhaled slowly. "When I was six years old, Belasco lured me into Limbo. He took a piece of my soul, and he reshaped it. Warped it." She stared down at the floor. "That's when the pinball game began."
"Pinball?" He pulled out Kitty's chair and sat down.
"Well, it felt like it. Belasco had me; he wanted to use me to open a portal for the Ancient Ones to come through to Earth. Ororo grabbed me from him - not ours, one from an alternate reality whose Illyana had been rescued while the X-Men were trapped. She was a sorceress, and wanted to train me to be her apprentice, because she figured I might be able to fight off Belasco's influence if I were stronger." She made a face. "Cat disagreed, so bam. A couple of years later, she stole me from Ororo, intending to send me back home. I was with her for a few years, trying to cross Limbo to get back to Belasco's castle, where the walls between the worlds were the thinnest."
Vance frowned. "Wasn't that dangerous? Taking you back to Belasco, I mean."
"There aren't any good choices in Limbo. Ever. It was the best she could think of. She said if I died, at least I'd die free of any taint." She made a face. "It was too late for her. Belasco'd reshaped her already; she still looked almost like herself, but with slit pupiled eyes and fangs. And after he caught us - well, she was more cat than human. Unrecognizable. A lesson, for me. An effective one. She'd been my best friend. After he was done, I mostly wasn't even sure she still knew who I was."
"You're talking about Kitty, aren't you?" Vance's voice was soft, unjudging, and she nodded.
"A different Kitty, but Kitty. She was all grown up there, and twisted, but still her. She taught me how to survive, how to fight. And eventually, I killed her."
"You what?"
The shock was obvious - whatever he'd expected her to say, it wasn't that. Illyana shook her head and got up, turning towards the window, away from whatever expression might be on Vance's face. "I didn't have a choice. I told you, there are no good choices in Limbo. She was under Belasco's control by then, and she tried to kill Ororo when she came to rescue me. I killed her." Her eyes closed and she sighed. "And then I killed Ororo, before Belasco could take her again. She...she would have wanted that. It was all I could do for her."
She heard Vance get up and come over, felt him lay his hand on her shoulder, but for the moment at least, he didn't say anything. Which was good, because she wasn't done. Not yet. "I could have killed Belasco," she continued, her voice almost a whisper. "Not then, but later. I beat him in a duel and because ruler of Limbo. I chose not to kill him, and I chose to call a stepping disk and return to Earth. To be human, or as human as I can be. But I'm still tainted. Three fifths of my soul is warped, more demon than human. And that's why Limbo is what it is. Because I am what I am."
There was a long pause, and she tensed, preparing herself for Vance's reaction. He knew the whole story, now, or at least the parts that would matter to anyone but her. More than anyone ever had, even Kitty, and she more than half expected - she didn't know what, actually. Not yelling. Vance didn't yell. Maybe for him to turn and walk away. She wouldn't blame him at all if he did.
Instead, finally, he exhaled and rubbed her shoulder. "Well, I asked, right?"
Surprised, she glanced back over her shoulder, to see his lips quirked just a little, a wry smile that held more sympathy than amusement. "You did."
"What would happen if you just gave up Limbo entirely? Just let the demons have it?"
The question was genuine, and Illyana let out a snort that was almost laughter and shook her head as she turned towards him. "I can't. It's not that easy." She paused and frowned. "Or...honestly, I'm not sure anymore. The last time I gave it up, it was because the Beyonder pulled the evil from my soul." Her lips quirked a little. "Right before I met you. Unfortunately, there's - there was - a link between me and Kitty, and control of Limbo went to her. The demons came after her, and - well, I had to take it back."
"The perfect present," Vance said as he put the pieces together. "A once in a lifetime chance. But with Kitty gone?"
Illyana shook her head. "I don't know. Just turning my back on it - I've been trying to do that. That's why I didn't go there the whole time we were on our road trip. But things are never that easy, and all that's happened is that things there have gone from bad to worse. I'm not sure if it's because something's going on there, or if it's because I've gotten worse."
"You don't seem to have changed," Vance observed.
Illyana snorted. "If you hadn't been there, I'd have gone after Forge as soon as I could after Dallas. And you don't want to know what I'd have done to him."
"But you didn't."
"No. But I wanted to." She sighed. "Intent matters. The way I feel inside matters. I kept it in check for Piotr and Kitty, but with them gone…" How much longer would she manage to hold out? And did she even care enough to try?
Vance met her eyes and reached up to stroke his fingers through her still damp hair, brushing it back from her face. "What about the New Mutants? They're your friends."
"You do realized they're all afraid of me?" Her eyebrows rose, daring him to contradict her. "Even the couple who honestly like me - Dani, Sam, Doug - they look at me as if they're just waiting for me to confirm their worst suspicions."
"I don't."
The words were simple, but Vance met her eyes levelly, almost but not quite as if daring her to dispute it. "Look, I know it could happen. But I'm not afraid of you, Yana. Maybe I should be, but - you stood by me, even after I nearly killed one of your best friends. You gave up your chance at everything you wanted, for Kitty. I may not be a genius, but I'm pretty sure that neither is the work of a demon." He smiled a little. "Besides, the horns? Not a bad look for you, but they really poke."
Illyana's vision got misty, and she didn't balk as Vance pulled her in closer and pressed a kiss into her hair. Like Piotr might have done, but it didn't feel at all the same as it did when her brother had done it. "I'm going to have to take back Limbo, aren't I?" It wasn't even really a question. It was her responsibility, the only real choice she could make based on the choices she already had.
"Probably." He pulled back a little and met her eyes. "Can it wait a couple of days? I promised my mom I'd come home for the last day of Hanukkah."
"I'm not asking you to help." She paused, her forehead furrowing. "Are you sure you want to do that? The going home part, I mean."
"No," Vance admitted. "But I said I would."
"So? Tell your mom something came up. Alien invasion, demon attack, Magneto grounded us again - pick one and go with it. She'd believe it." Hell, the last day of Hanukkah was still a couple of days away. By then, it might even be true.
"Maybe she would, but - Yana, I can't just stay away from home forever."
"Why not?" Her answer was immediate, flippant, and heartfelt. "I mean, I am. It's not that hard. You just stay here instead of going there."
"I can't. I promised."
"Yeah? Did your dad promise not to beat the shit out of you if you did? Because if not, I'm still voting for no."
Vance's jaw dropped a little, and he turned to avoid her eyes, his shoulders slumping. "You checked your scrying mirror."
Illyana shook her head. "No. I'm just not an idiot, Vance." She reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder blade. "You didn't want to talk about it? Fine. You were here, he was there, no harm, no foul. But I'm not going to just keep my mouth shut if you're going back."
"He said he wasn't going to do it again." Vance's voice was quiet, and he sounded as if he were trying to dampen down some kind of emotion, though she wasn't sure what. "Before I agreed to come home, back when...well, when I met you. My mom said he'd gotten help."
"You didn't believe it." She remembered the haunted look in his eyes as he'd pulled into the driveway. Scared. Resigned. It wasn't something she was likely to forget.
"I wanted to." He shook his head and took a breath. "But no, I didn't."
"Which is why you chased after me to loan me a hoodie."
"No." Vance turned to look at her, his eyes sad. "I chased after you because you looked lost."
Illyana opened her mouth to protest, then gave up and just shrugged. She probably had, there really wasn't any point in denying it. She'd definitely felt lost. "So, if you didn't believe him then, why do you now?"
Vance shook his head. "I don't know that I do. I do know I've got better control of my powers than I used to. If he does, I should be able to stop him."
Should be. Maybe. Unless he was surprised. Unless he froze up. Unless his dad was more determined than he'd realized. Unless...there were too many unlesses, and not enough definites, and Yana chewed at her lip. She knew all about maybes. They'd never worked out for her. "I still don't think it's a good idea."
Vance's eyebrows climbed and his mouth twitched, just a little, right at the corner. "This from the girl who wants to retake a demon realm?"
"Okay, point, but still. You already insisted on helping with that. I've got backup." She met his eyes. "Do you want backup? I did Hanukkah last year with Kitty, I can fake it. Or I can watch in my mirror, if you don't want me there."
"With demons all around you?"
"Well, I'd get rid of the demons first." She could. It wouldn't be pretty, but she was almost positive she could buy enough time to scry Saugerties.
Vance, instead of just pointing out further flaws in her logic, just rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. "My mom already thinks we're dating."
"She thinks what?" Illyana blinked, re-ran that through her head, and blinked again. "Why?"
"Well, we did take off on a road trip for a month. And then I came back to the school with you, and…" Vance shrugged. "I may have mentioned you a few times when I talked to her?"
Illyana smiled, ignoring the way her face warmed at his admission. "Well, then, perfectly reasonable for you to bring me along, right?" Her grin took on a impish cast. "I don't suppose you ever mentioned I'm a demon sorceress, huh?"
"It never really came up," he admitted. "But really, you don't have to do this."
Illyana shrugged. "Hey, probably the closest I'll ever come to being taken home to meet the parents. Could be fun." Even more so if she did manage a little time with the scrying mirror irst. There had to be something she could use to give Vance's dad a good scare.
"And if it was real? The taking you to meet my parents part?" Vance's eyes were open, honest - and nervous. Not the nervous most of her teammates sometimes got, though. Almost as if he…
Oh.
"You don't want to date me, Vance." She said it with certainty tinged with regret, and a sudden realization that if things were different, she'd be giving a different answer altogether. As it was, though? "You know what I am. Everything I touch gets tainted."
"Kitty didn't."
"Kitty did. I told you, my sword - and Limbo - always went to her if something happened to me." Illyana met his eyes. "Do you want to find yourself heir to Limbo? It could happen. Or worse, if things go wrong there." She reached up tentatively and brushed her fingers down his cheek, sighing softly as he turned his head and brushed his lips over her fingertips lightly in something that wasn't quite a kiss, more a caress. "I wish things were different."
"Me too." He smiled a little. "But I'll take my chances anyway?"
She should, Illyana knew, tell him no. She should remind him that just a week ago, her horns had been digging into his shoulder while he kept her from doing things to Forge of which she was positive he wouldn't have approved. Point out, again, that she was part demon, and explain in more detail just what that meant.
She should.
She was still reminding herself of that when she instead leaned in and kissed him slowly. Maybe, this once, she could manage to not ruin something she cared about. Maybe. If not, it had been his choice.
And then Vance's arms wrapped around her and he kissed her back, and for a while? She didn't think about anything at all.
***Two Months Later***
***Inferno***
It hadn't been her.
The words repeated in Vance's brain, over and over, until they'd nearly become a mantra. Meaningless syllables on endless replay as he stood in her room, boxing the contents of her desk.
Dani had offered to help. Rahne, much to his surprise, had stood in the doorway with tears in her eyes and offered to do it entirely and save him the trouble. And Sam had looked at him with understanding and told him to come and find him when he needed a break.
Doug hadn't said anything, just looked at him, with a thousand questions lurking behind his gold, metallic eyes. And Vance had nodded.
It hadn't been her.
None of it. Not the increase in demonic activity. Not the ever increasing corruption of Limbo. They'd spent the equivalent of six months there, trying to make things better, while two had passed on Earth. Trying to get to the root of the problem, to figure out what, exactly, was going on. He'd watched, helpless, as Illyana's appearance grew more and more demonic, as her temper grew shorter, as the mood swings grew worse. And he'd tried - damn it, he'd tried - not to let her see that he was noticing, because she'd needed someone to see her, not what she was becoming.
He'd tried. Ultimately, it hadn't been enough. But it still hadn't been her.
Madelyne Pryor-Summers. Vance picked up a photo album and flipped through it, skipping over photos of Illyana and Kitty, of Piotr, of Ororo and Logan and Kurt. He paused when he reached a picture of Madelyne, his eyes growing hard. She'd been a victim, too, cast aside by her husband, tricked and manipulated by a spell-casting demon even Illyana had never heard of before. Ultimately, though, it had been her choices that had enabled N'astirh to wrest control of Limbo from Illyana and make it his own, and to launch his attack on Earth. It had been her who'd tried to sacrifice her own child. If N'astirh hadn't had her…
He'd have found someone else. Vance sighed and closed the album, setting it into the box that already contained textbooks and magazines, clips of newspapers and comic books and unicorn erasers that he suspected Yana had borrowed from Kitty and never returned. Bits and pieces of a life that had never been lived.
Except, it had, hadn't it? He remembered Illyana. Remembered her laugh, and the way her eyes glistened when she was feeling mischievous, and the way they'd shadowed when she was thinking of something sad. Remembered the taste of her favorite raspberry lip gloss, and the kiwi scent of her shampoo, and that awful silvery-purple nail polish she'd liked so much. He remembered her, and how could he, if she'd never existed?
Vance sank down into her desk chair (hers, and how could it be hers if she'd done what they said she'd done?) and closed his eyes. How could they say none of it had happened? He remembered everything.
There's been small talk after they'd arrived, while his mother had finished the preparations. He hadn't said much, relieved to let his mother and Illyana carry the conversation. His father hadn't said much of anything either, which had put him on edge, and he'd been happy to wash the dishes, to set the table, to do the bits and pieces his mother had handed off to him with nervous smiles, even as she kept up a conversation with his new girlfriend..
"Illyana. It's such a pretty name. If you don't mind my asking-"
"It's Russian." Illyana'd smiled, the real, genuine smile she normally reserved for escapades with Kitty, for video games with Doug. For him. "I came to the US when I was little."
"Your parents are here, then?" his mother had asked. "Vance said you lived at the school." She'd glanced over at his father, just a little apprehensively. Vance understood - his school was an off limits subject, but there wasn't any real way to avoid it entirely, not with Illyana there.
Illyana had pretended oblivience. "With my brother. Piotr is - was - an X-Man. My parents are still in Russia."
His father had rustled his newspaper. The X-Men were also a subject that wasn't discussed in the Astrovik home. Vance braced himself or the inevitable explosion, but it didn't come.
"Do they know you're, well…"
"A mutant? I don't think so. I haven't told them, and I don't think my brother did either. They knew he was, though." She'd shrugged her shoulders. "With me there were...complications."
His mother had looked apprehensive, and Vance had, finally, decided to dive head first into the conversation. "Illyana's a chronospatial teleporter. Her age doesn't exactly match up with her birth certificate at this point."
"It's a little hard to explain how I'm older than I should be." Illyana had smiled at him, looking grateful for the explanation, however simplified. Or maybe because it had been simplified. "We were still trying to figure out how when Piotr died."
"How old are you?" his father had unexpectedly asked. "And what does he mean, chrono...whatever?"
"I'm sixteen, biologically. And chronospatial teleportation means I teleport through both time and space. Picture Doctor Who without a Tardis." She'd turned back to his mother and shrugged, offering an apologetic smile. "Vance is lucky - telekinesis is a lot easier to explain."
"Be even easier if he weren't a mutant to begin with," his father had muttered, turning back to his paper.
Illyana'd turned back to his father and smiled sweetly. Too sweetly; Vance had recognized that smile, and braced himself for what would come. Much to his surprise, though, her next words had seemed innocuous.
"No one can really do much about what they were born to be though, can they, Mr. Astrovik? You just are what you are, and you deal." She shrugged, all innocence, and gave him a pointed look. "Or if you can't, you hide it."
It was an even bigger surprise to see his father's face pale. He hadn't said much the rest of the night, but Vance had seen him staring at Yana. Not with anger, though there was a little of that, too. But mostly with fear, as if he were worried that she knew something she shouldn't.
He'd never asked what. And now, he might never get the chance.
"Are you okay?" a voice asked from the doorway, and Vance pulled himself out of his memories and turned to see Doug standing there.
"I guess." Vance gestured around the half-packed room. "There's a lot to do. And that's not even counting Kitty's stuff that Yana never packed up."
"Mmm, yeah. About that." Doug glanced back at the hallway, then shrugged and closed the door before coming in and grabbing another chair. "I figured you should see this." He held out his phone.
Vance's forehead furrowed as he accepted it, but if anything, a cursory scan of the header only confused him more.
To: BabelGuy
From: TechGoddess
Re: Don't freak
"Kitty?" he asked, not bothering to hide his disbelief. Granted, Yana'd always insisted that it was weird she hadn't felt Kitty die, but he'd figured that was just wishful thinking on her part.
"Kitty. Keep reading."
"I know this is going to be a huge shock, and I'm really sorry about that. About all of this, really. Ororo decided after Dallas that we should take advantage of everyone thinking we were dead (we really were dead briefly, it just didn't take) to go underground. Her reasoning is sound, but at the same time it isn't, and I figured I'd get in touch as soon as I could. Unfortunately, we ran into a few snags, and it took longer than I expected."
"A few snags?" Vance stared at the email incredulously. Did she even have any idea what they'd been dealing with? Did any of them?
Doug let out a snort. "Leave it to Kitty for understatement, huh? I had the same reaction. Just keep reading."
"I'll explain the whole thing later, I promise. But I jerry-rigged the computer system together to get this out, and Doug, I really need a reply, so hold off on being mad until later, okay? I promise to give you the chance to shout at me face to face.
"What's happened to Yana? A certain sword I'm sure you're familiar with appeared here yesterday, and I'm seriously freaking out. I've been scanning the news stations, so I know New York was invaded by demons, but-
"Just let me know if she's okay, please? I tried e-mailing and texting her but she hasn't answered, and I swear, if I don't hear something soon I'm going to get Gateway to send me there. I don't even care if it blows 'Ro's plan-"
"You realize what this means, right? It's the final confirmation." Doug's voice was soft but confident.
Instead of answering immediately, Vance turned and looked out the window. From where he was sitting, he could just barely catch glimpses of Rahne chasing an adorable, laughing, six year old blonde. The child who everyone had insisted was Illyana, rescued by her older self before Belasco'd ever gotten his hands on her. Everyone except Doug. And him.
Memories could be fooled, but the link between Yana and Kitty couldn't. And if Kitty had Yana's sword…he'd been right. He let his head fall into his hand, feeling, for the first time in twenty-four hours, as if he were actually able to breathe.
It wasn't her.
A few long minutes later, he pulled himself together and looked back over at Doug, who'd been watching him with a sympathetic expression. "Did you reply to Kitty?"
"Not yet. I figured I'd talk to you first, see how you wanted to handle it." Doug shrugged awkwardly. "It seems like it should be your call. I haven't told Sam or Dani, either."
Vance took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then nodded. Doug was right; if it was anyone's call, it was probably his, if only because trying to convince everyone would take more time and effort than it was worth. Sam had seen the flaws in Rahne's theory, yes, but none of the other New Mutants were going to want to believe that things weren't how they appeared to be. Neither was Magneto, who perhaps had even more reason than the others to be relieved that Yana'd apparently found a solution that had brought her some measure of peace.
The only flaw in that theory was that the child outside wasn't her.
"E-mail her and let her know what happened., Tell her we're going to need her. Yana told me once that Cat could phase to and from Limbo in places where the walls between the dimensions were thin. If she could, Kitty should be able to. I'd figured on getting in touch with Reed Richards, but this might be easier." He met Doug's eyes. "You're in, right?"
Doug offered a weak smile, but his nod was definite. "Try and stop me. I'm pretty sure she still has half my t-shirts, and one of these days when I get this damn virus under control I'm going to need them back."
Vance smiled back and nodded acknowledgement, then reached up and tugged at the chain around his neck, pulling from under his shirt the medallion Illyana had thrust into his hand just before she'd thrown her sword into the portal and disappeared in a flash of light . Thumbing it open, his smile brightened, just a little more. Three bloodstones full, two empty.
Yana was in trouble. But the six year old racing around the yard had never had the opportunity to create a soulsword, had never had bits of her soul ripped away and twisted into bloodstones. It definitely wasn't her, or at least, not the Illyana they'd known. And they were going to get theirs back.