Snowflake on Ice

Author's note: A series of short vignettes on Illyana's time in the X-Brig. During her incineration she had only minor roles, yet she had major impacts. Here are some possibilities on what may have done on during her imprisonment.

This is my update to the story after I wrote (There are no snowflakes in hell). I've also added new sections and corrected various typos (and likely added new typos, sigh...).

I added enhanced various sections and added three new sections. Gym time with Betty, A Hank and Emma discussion, and a secret guest star from my (in progress story) Top Gear X.

Additional update 5/25/15. I've added some dream sequences sections and did some minor updates. Yes this appears to be a never ending cycle as I keep all my on ice short stories merged into this document. Good ideas keep cropping up.

Additional update 6/24/15 Added another Dani story that also has a Illyana reflection in it and a brief encounter with Professor X (not quite sure I like the Professor X one but it is rather emotional).

Please email me any snowflake on ice ideas for a vignette if you have one.

As always reviews are wanted!

BONUS, the story ends with the battle with Dr. Strange (always wanted to have seen that story told).

Part 1 How do you confine one such as her?

"Thanks for all your help Stephan" Scott said.

Scott, Dr Stephan Strange, and Emma Frost were sitting in Scott's private reception area (comfy chairs scattered about the room each with a small drink table). Dr Strange had just put down his coffee mug (black no sugar) while Scott continued to sip from his (some coffee with his cream and sugar) and Emma sipped her tea (F&M imperial blend for those who want to know).

"Physical containment we can handle, but, well the mystical is a bit out of our league".

"No thanks needed Scott" Strange replied, "It's been awhile and I've always liked the bay area. Tell me though, how long do you plan on confining her, it's not everyday somebody plays Russian roulette with the fate of the world".

Emma and Scott glanced at each other. "Not really sure at this point" answered Emma "She risked everything and everybody for her own benefit, we can't trust her and we certainly can't let her loose".

Strange resumed an earlier conversational offer "And your sure you don't want to let the Avengers or Shield handle her? There are other organizations that have experience with incarcerating magical entities".

"No, not at this time" replied Scott "So far she's complied with all that has been demanded of her. Frankly I was concerned that she would refuse to allow her imprisonment and after this whole destruction of the elder gods episode we have to consider her quite dangerous. I'm glad that Illyana is complying. Now if she escapees or decides to no longer comply then we'll need to revisit the issue with you".

"No problem Scott, I understand, she's family to the X-Men" Strange replied with a slight nod. "Danger understands how to invoke the precast incantations and the confinement wards are self renewing. I'll check in every few weeks to make sure that the spells are still good".

"Is there anything else about your examination of her that we should know" Emma inquired?

"Mrs. Rasputin continues to be quite, well... intriguing" Dr. Strange mused while rubbing his chin with his right hand (all while trying to appear suitably mystical, mages must keep up appearances with the lay public).

"She is quite unique in that she was demonic and soulless but now actually appears to have an actual soul. In addition she appears oddly when viewed with certain examination spells".

"Oddly" asked Scott with some concern, "Could you provide more detail"?

"Think of a record or a spliced set of movie film" Dr Strange said after some thought.

"Mss Rasputin is jittery at an aura level. The record appears to keep skipping to different tracks, not continuously but from time to time. If I use a film analogy then she goes from 16mm to 72mm, black and white to color, faded and scratchy to new and shinny. Now jumble it together, 16mm black and white to 72mm Color, then it gets scratchy, then 16mm but still colored and scratchy, and then, well you get the point, jittery. I believe this is another indication that she really has regained her soul and is likely in some transitional state. How long will this transition state will last, assuming it ever ends, is unknown; assuming that this actually is a transitional state. This might just truly reflect what the aura of the demonic mixed with soul looks like".

Dr. Strange briefly thought upon his academia publishing plans "This should make for a good paper for Mystics quarterly; ha Victor and his weak paper on Latveria mystic standing stones and their uses in ritual folk dancing".

"Well, if you don't mind I'll be off", with an answering nod from Scott Dr Strange then crossed his arms while waving his hands with his fingers in certain positions and faded away (to fisherman's wharf to play tourist for an hour).

Emma stood up while Scott leaned back in the chair and stretched, "I still think she's better off confined elsewhere" Emma stated. "Strange is right, this is magical and we just don't really have the understanding".

"Yep, your right" Scott replied as he stood, "but as long as Illyana is complying the reasons for keeping her here are still valid", Scott started ticking off the points as they left the conference room.

"First, Peter would never allow us to send her away; she really is family for some of us".

"Second, teleporters of her abilities are rare to say the least, not to mention the ability to navigate time".

"Third, Stephan summed it up nicely with the word magical. We really don't have anybody who really understands magic, well with Magik we have our own in-house expert".

"Fourth, look how many Utopians we assembled in case she resisted, we have to confront the fact we actually don't know the real extent of Illyana's abilities or power levels. That power is better here under our care and frankly on our side".

"Fifth, her ability to plan and execute to plan is phenomenal. If you take her statement at face value then she manipulated everybody and even existence itself to arrive at the point where the elder gods ended up destroyed and she regained her soul. That kind of strategic and tactical planning we need on our side, not against us".

"Sixth, Illyana appears to actually want to stay here. Considering one through five it behooves us to retain she".

"And Seventh..."

"I know, I saw the power point slides as well" finished a slightly exasperated Emma. "Anybody who could have done all this could easily have planed for the outcomes that resulted. We could still be walking paths she has laid out for us. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer".

Part 2: Impoundment

"Ok Bobby, explain again why us"?

James Proudstar (Warpath) and Bobby Drake (Iceman) were standing outside of Illyana Rasputin's door to her domical on Utopia. The door was currently covered with an X of yellow warning tape and a yellow PostIt (from the desk of Frost) informing one and all that this room was off limits.

"Well..." Bobby slowly went over the reasons as they both looked at the sign behind the yellow warning tape.

Illyana's room had one of the those cute signs on it that denoted if the person was in the room or not; well the little skulls around it made it a bit less cute. Illyana's sign was a caricature of her in her current yellow/black new mutants uniform (think X-Babies). The sign currently read The Demon Sorcerers is: Incarcerated. The caricature of Illyana was behind bars with a little word bubble saying "Grrrrr" as Illyana hung onto the bars. Ordinarily that would be cute. Ordinarily. Illyana had been taken straight to her cell from the meeting room and had not been back to her room.

"Dani and all of her team frankly laughed at Scott. Said something about how they learned never to go into her room back at Xavier's and weren't about to get stupid now".

"Who put up the tape?"

"Northstar, did it as fast as he could".

"Did it say incarcerated then"?

"Nope, he said the sign said Busted".

"Ok, as if I wasn't before I am now official creeped out. Who else wimped"?

"Namor had official business, or so he said. Erik apparently agreed with Dani. None of the telepaths will even come close to this door; heck or even this floor. They had to install extra psychic shielding in her room as the telepaths kept insisting that she was giving them bad dreams. It also turns out nobody lives below her and nobody else currently lives on this floor. Oh, and Dr. Strange said, and I quote (Not on your life)".

"Not helping, that is so not helping" James grumbled as he took down the yellow tape.

"We were apparently next on the list and were dumb enough to say yes. You got that ritual sequence from Scott"?

"Yea. He said Illyana offered to take down the protection wards but they didn't trust her to not be planning something. She gave Scott a phrase that is apparently some kind of back door to the enchantments. She also said that there is nothing dangerous in her room. Strange said she was telling the truth but notice the vast group of onlookers we have".

Bobby looked around the empty hallway.

"Yep. Why do I feel that we just got handed the wrong end of the stick"?

"Because we did Bobby, we did. Ok, stand back". James took a sheet of paper from his pocket and clearly spoke the following words. "Indignum dumbasses appropinquaret exercitus. Da illis nolite malignari insipientibus in eis".

Bobby was rather offended. "Really? We get called dumbasses in Latin? She is so not funny".

"Ready"?

"Ready".

James waved the electromagnetic lock card at the door handle and the lock could be heard to click. James slowly opened the door (which opened without the ominous creak they had been expecting).

"Oh My God" James gasped in horror.

"What?! What?" Bobby asked trying to see around James.

"I don't think she's done laundry for over a week" James laughed as he stepped inside the room and now Bobby could see a laundry basket of dirty cloths lying on the bed.

"Bastard, you had me going there for a second" Bobby complained while giving a nervous laugh and punching James's shoulder. Bobby joined James in the room.

James did a brief verbal description as he examined the room, "Bit small, no windows, one closet. Just like the drawing and records show. Oh and she's apparently into thongs, like most of the woman here".

"James"!

"They are on the top of the basket Bobby, unlike you I looked at the contents of the room".

"So now what"? James asked as he opened the closet. "Nothing of interest in here either, just cloths and some stuffed animals. Are we supposed to tear the room apart looking for something"?

"Na, they just wanted us to take a look. They figured if Illyana actually went to the trouble to hide something then it would stay hid. Wait a second, stuffed animals"?

"Yea, old as well" James replied as he took the box out of the closet and placed it on the bed.

Bobby took a brief inventory. Kermit the frog, several other Muppets that he could not name, and an old torn dirty bear.

Bobby scratched his head, "Well that's weird, but she's a strange one" he mused as he put the box back in the closet. "We done"?

"Yea we're done for now. Delightfully anticlimactic. Let's get the hell out of here".

Bobby and James locked the door and put the tape back on and quickly walked away.

Unnoticed on the floor of the closet was a small dusty piece of paper that had fallen off the box of stuffed animal. Illyana, age 7, OBE, Not Fair! Kitty would have been able to identify the handwriting as it was hers. Back when she has packed up some of Illyana's things when Illyana 1.0 had first returned from Limbo.

The box was dusty, the animals were not.

Part 3: An unexpected visitor

Illyana was resigned to filling out a yet another questioner from the X-Club. A recent song that she had found, before she was imprisoned, was playing (One more by Journey) on the cell's speakers (at subdued volume, Danger controlled the volume controls).

Wicked prophets kill... speaking his name
In the glory of an innocent age
A king is born to a house filled with rage
One man's fear is another man's truth, one fear

The blind suffer at the hands of sin
Lines are drawn where the boundaries begin
Ten thousand broken, by the madness within
Broken

[Chorus:]
One more, cry in the night... one more
One more, war left to fight ...one more
One life, cut down by fire
Once child's, angry desire... one more

...

...

In general Illyana was not a Journey fan, but this was a good song. It spoke sometimes to some of her moods.

Question: Favorite TV show.

Answer: Hannibal on NBC

Ha, let them chew on that (although it actually was her favorite show). The broken aspects of Hannibal appealed to her, although Hannibal's journey was the opposite of her own. His was human to demon, while her's was... Well her's was still a work in progress.

Illyana was pondering the next question (Name a song that makes you feel happy) when Danger announced that she had an unscheduled, but approved, visitor and the music cut off.

The door to her cell block opened and Charles Xavier of all people walked in; dressed, as he was his want, in his usual brown two piece suit.

"Illyana I'd like some moments of your time".

Illyana was rather surprised by her visitor, although her face did not show it. She had avoided him from the outset and had been nothing but curt with him whenever there was any dialog or interaction that she could not avoid. She put down the questioner and sat up straighter.

"What would you like Professor"? Her helpful words not echoed by the coldness in her tone.

Xavier walked half way up to her transparent cell wall and crossed his arms. "I'm extremely upset and disappointed with you on how you used not only my son, but the X-men in general".

"You are not alone in that disapproval, hence my currently domicile".

"This is your only warning Illyana. Keep away from my son from now on. I finally have a chance to help him. To rectify his issues and I won't you or anybody else screw this up for me".

"Then you can rest easy on that point at least. The agreements between David and myself are complete. We have each done what was agreed between us. Any future interaction between us would be purely social. And..." Illyana held up her arms showing in more detail her bomb jacket "Not likely to be happening any time soon".

Xavier said nothing but simply glared at Illyana in concentration.

"Still can't get in I see" Illyana rebuked after a length of time while smiling a bitter mocking grin.

"No" Xavier grudgingly replied after a few more seconds. "Which leaves me having to trust your word, which I point out is quite lacking in value at this time. If you were to allow me access to your thoughts I could at attempt to verify the sincerity of your words; something that I think you owe me".

"Owe you"? Illyana's tone was no longer cold, instead it was rather incredulous.

"Yes owe me. You used my son. I feel it's only fair".

Illyana and Xavier exchanged stares for several long seconds while Illyana pondered the request. In the end Illyana replied with a soft "no" and broke eye contact. She shook her head several times and then paced up and down her cell a few times. In the end she actually ended up laying down on her bunk and staring at the ceiling.

"Have the courtesy to at least face me young lady".

"You should go Professor. You don't know what you ask for and you would not like the outcome, where as I... I think I'd like that so very much".

"No I simply will not just go. Explain yourself. The Illyana I remember was stubborn but never so rude or blatantly obnoxious as you have been".

"Yesss" Illyana slowly replied. "She remembers. Remembers far more then just simple courtesies". Illyana sat back up and faced Xavier, he was surprised to find her face filled with angry rage.

"She remembers many things. Such as how she thought of you as a type of surrogate father. Stern but fair. How she thought that you only wanted to help her. She also remembers how desperate she was to trying escape the road she was on. How one person forced her against her will back upon that road. Negated any free will. Took away her choices. A road that lead to her suicide in self loathing, madness and fear. Shards so much fear. All because just one time a telepath was able to access her mind and force her to do what HE thought was best".

"How you must of found her so annoying. A mind you could not read. A mind you could not alter. A mind that would remember if you altered everybody else's memories. I have to wonder if that was why you left and only came back after she was dead".

"How easy you convinced the others to accept your decision. How easy Karma acquiesced to your instructions to control her and force her back into limbo and once again assume her unwanted existence. Almost as if they had mental back doors that allowed you to influence them. Gee but that would have been wrong. But do as I say not as I do is oh so convenient. She checked afterwards, that was why she was somewhat estranged but not hateful towards them. She learned the oh so little trick that you pulled. Magik had magic, and she learned. She knew. And that broke yet another piece of her".

Xavier defended himself. "I acted with the best of intentions, I had the weigh the welfare of a group of children entrusted to me against the disagreements of one child. I had no way of knowing what your fate was to be".

"My fate..." Illyana's eyes narrowed with disdain. "My fate was to be created in her image, with all her suffering, only to have it amplified a million fold because I was insufficiently her. I really do want to open my mind to you just once. Just once. Just to let you experience what your decisions caused, what they made. What she and I went through because... You. Knew. Better. Illyana hated you for what you did to her. Where as I am what I am in no small thanks to you. Such is my inheritance and your legacy. Yes I owe you, but not what you think".

Illyana stood up and turned her back to him.

"I wish to speak with you no more. I meant what I said to Scott. I am done with vengeance for the past. I seek a better path. I seek to recall the better part of your dream. But not you. Not now, likely not ever".

Danger's voice filled the chamber. "Professor please exit the cell block. Your access to the prisoner has been temporally revoked. Interaction with you is apparently the stimuli in triggering all kinds of magical sensors and threshold level one has been breached. This is your one warning, failure to comply will be... Unpleasant for all involved".

Xavier looked like he wanted to argue with Danger, but remembered his access briefing. He silently turned and exited the cell, only pausing to state "I'm sorry that you suffered".

"Not more then I" Illyana softly whispered as he left, "Not more then her".

Part 4: The Dreaming

Illyana dreamed:

Sleep always came infrequently to Illyana 2.0. Like the original Illyana 1.0, this Illyana slept far less the than a normal baseline human. Being imprisoned in the X-brig just meant days were extra long and dreary for one such as her. Little to do, little to do it with. Sleep would ordinarily be the ideal escape for most prisoners so confined, but Illyana tended to dislike her dreams.

The distinctions between nightmares and dreams was mostly lost on Illyana, dreaming was mostly a chore to be done, not a pleasant activity. Dreams of things she had done, many of which were not her finer moments. Dreams of things that had been done to her, better left unrecalled as far as she was concerned. Dreams of things she wanted but knew she could never have, in many ways the worst of all.

But now her dreams had begun to change, were becoming... different. Her mindscape was changing. Memories that had for so long been painted in colorless shades of grey were now beginning blossom with color and detail. Complex emotions were also joining the party.

This resulted in some of the dreams actually being pleasant and enjoyable, even if they left her with longing. Simple things that had so long be absent from the dreaming were beginning to move back into the neighborhood as it were.

A game of hide and seek with Lockheed on the Xavier school grounds.

Flying in a jet far above the ground looking at the grand canyon.

Being back in school attending classes with the New Mutants, panicking over being late for a math test.

But some of the dreams were now much more unpleasant. Not because they had grown darker. No, they were just as dark as before; but now she didn't like the dark as much. She was beginning to have feelings about her actions, her past, and this was being reflected in her dreams.

It began with a dream about a shower. A long hot shower:

Illyana luxuriated beneath the pounding deluge of water. She hated wimpy showers, always preferred the drenching of a good waterfall like shower. The force of the water pummeling her body; symbolically sweeping away the minor filth of living and actions taken. Illyana closed her eyes and tilted her head forward and let the shower cascade over her back. Gods how she loved this shower, the heat, the steam, the force. Ahhhhhh.

The water started to cool, becoming only slight warm. Body temperature warm. The water now felt denser and more viscous. Illyana opened her eyes to behold a world in red. She was being drenched in warm salty blood. With a bit of a start she groped for the shower control, found it and turned off the crimson cascade. The onrush of blood dropped to a gruesome trickle. She scraped some of the blood from her face and hair and looked around her.

The shower was still there but the shower enclosures walls and door were gone. She looked up to see that the ceiling was now 40 feet above her head and the walls were covered with the dead bodies of her former teammates. Piping had been implanted into their bodies, providing the fluid for her hellish shower. A look of pain briefly crossed her face before it was hidden beneath her usual stoic visage.

"Another guilt dream I guess. Damnation, I was really enjoying that shower" Illyana hissed with some venom.

Most people find such an experience horrifying and terrorizing. It speaks of Illyana's state of mind and depths of trauma that she was rather blasé about it. She considered herself beyond most horrors.

She stepped out of the shower basin looking for some towels, none were to be had. With a sigh she wrung as much of the blood as she could from her hair and scraped off as much from her body as she could. Naked she started walking towards the only exit from the room, leaving bloody footprints. Illyana was in human form, but the bloody footprints were of cloven hooves.

The exit opened onto a hallway with two scrying mirrors running down either side. There was a closed wooden door at the end of the hallway. As Illyana walked down the hallway the mirror on the left showed frozen reflections of Illyana 1.0's past in her wake. The mirror on the right showed frozen reflections of Illyana 2.0's past. Illyana turned back to look at the hallway of frozen reflections and the bloody hoof prints when she reached the door.

"Subtle as a brick" she stated with some irritation.

She turned back and opened the door. A stark room was reveled. All was white marble, empty but for some coat racks, each holding a set of clothing. The far wall was obscured by fog. The sets of clothing were:

Her old New Mutants yellow and black costume

Her old purple Hellions uniform

Her old supposed graduation costume from Xavier's school

Her Darkchilde skimpy costume

Her current prison garb and bomb jacket

Illyana looked upon the choices of garb. She thought for a few moments, and then shook her head.

"No" she uttered as she walked past the choices and into the mists. "My past defines what I am, not what I have to be".

She groped sightless for a time in the mists. After a while she heard Peter's voice calling out. "Is there anybody there"?

She paused for a moment and then started to walk in the direction of his voice.

"Peter? Brother is that you"? She hesitantly called out. This was dream right? Oh shards what if this is not a dream? Suddenly she became self conscious about her nudity and her blood covered body; and the source of the blood. She sought to cover her breasts and crotch with her arms and hands.

The mists parted and again she was in a stark while marble room. Peter, in his human form, had his back turned to her while calling out "Sister"? He was dressed in a light blue shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Brother I'm behind you but I'm unclothed and... um... filthy. Please don't turn around".

"Where are we Yana? I went to sleep and woke up here".

"I don't know, I thought this to be a dream but now I'm uncertain". Please, please let this be a dream.

Peter begin to turn around. Illyana in some panic stated " Peter no! I am not fit to be seen".

"But that is ok sister. I have taken care of that". Peter finished turning around. He was eyeless. His eyes had been pulled from his head leaving just bloody holes. He held out this right hand, holding the missing eyes.

Peter smiled, "Now I can always look upon you snowflake and only see what I want to behold".

Illyana stared with shock upon the self maimed Peter. She had been wrong; there were still things that could horrify her. With an half sobbed half shouted "NO!" Illyana turned and fled back into the mists.

Illyana woke up shivering.

Part 5: One of Danielle's many visits (part A)

As usual Dani was in full rant.

"I can't believe you just left us to fend for our selves. We could have died, I mean what you did was blah blah blah blah". Her complaints went on and on.

As visitors went Dani was not the best. Always complaining, never really listening to what was said or not said. Illyana welcomed the company, but was somewhat tired of the repetitious interaction.

Dani comes in

Dani complains

Dani gets angry

Dani can't understand how Illyana could have done what she did

Dani gets huffy

Dani storms off

Illyana felt that most of the answers to Dani's questions were actually present in the questions if Dani would just bother to look.

How could Illyana do this? Simple, Illyana would not have, Darkchilde would and did.

Why would Illyana do this? Simple, overwhelming blinding need. Combined with the inability to discern another path.

Why was she not sorry? Because she wasn't. The hole in her life, the void that defined her very existence, was filled. The pain, the endless gnawing pain was finally mitigated. She was more herself then she had ever been.

How could she do this to her friends? Easy, because until recently she really could not discern or value friendships very well. At one point, early on, even the memory of her friends caused actual convulsions.

As Illyana listened to Dani ritual diatribe (hmm I see we've gotten to the hand waving part) she reflected back upon her earliest memories post that traumatic rape of her mind and body. She toyed with the idea of actually telling Dani what had happened to her, but in the end rejected it. It was too private, too shameful, too crazy, too... demonic. To tell it would be to relive it and that was not something Illyana wished to relive. She was not proud of what had happened to her friends, in fact had started to have regrets.

She was firmly convinced that there was no do-over's for her. Forgiveness and asking for forgiveness were still very inconceivable conceits.

BEGIN REFLECTION:

The early times has been bad.

She had been lost to herself.

At first there had only been the now of existence. No past, no future. Illyana had hidden herself in a part of Limbo where time ran faster. There was no plan in this, it was just a good place to hide. She was not mindless but she was completely feral. Reduced to barely more than an animal demon.

There she dwelled for a length of time she could never recall afterwards.

Sometimes she forgot that memory was pain and wondered who she was. Attempts at remembrances always brought the pain, the convolutions. During one such episode another predatory demon encountered her and attempted her harm.

Illyana was damaged. Broken in mind if no longer in body.

Broken does not necessarily mean helpless.

She ate his heart.

That was when time really began for her. As she licked her fingers clean a thought bubbled out of the depths of her mind. "It would have tasted better cooked".

Illyana froze. Cooked? Cooked. Yes, fire. The concept of cooking blossomed in her mind. "Yes next time I'll… cook it. Roast it over a fire".

And with that she went and found a cave and slept for the first time in her existence without any nightmares, or dreams. Just blessed stillness.

Her nightmares terrified her. Sometimes they were of the FATHER and she would weep in remembered and relived anguish. Other times the dreams were about… others. The other dreams were worse, they were about pleasant things; things that could not possibly exist.

They were about some other her, a different her. The dreams always started nice, filled with people and conceits that she somehow understood while dreaming but never could comprehend when awake. Places where she was loved (?love?) instead of being hurt (?no hurt, is that possible?). Nice places (?nice?). Places she wished she could go to (Please please please let me leave this place, be anywhere but here. Be anybody but me). The dreams always ended in agony once she realized what she was dreaming about. Everything would burn to ash and she would awaken convulsing, that voice screaming in her mind (NOT HER, YOU ARE NOT HER).

The dreams had to be lies. Just more ways to make her hurt, to cry, to suffer.

Illyana found a purpose after that first attack. Other demons lurked in this area, her area. She needed to do something about that. In the end the other demons either fled her or frankly fed her.

N'astirh was the first demon she did not kill. He had sought her out. Attempted to capture her. He failed.

Broken did not always mean weak.

She remembered him. He was from before. She knew that she hated him, but he was the first memory that did not bring the pain. He had called her Darkchilde, a name that also did not bring the pain.

He was smart, devious, cunning. He quickly learned that broken did not mean stupid or gullible, if anything Illyana 2.0 was smarter than the original.

He also learned that Illyana did not value anything he had to say and held all of his advice to be poison. Poison she "cured" by depriving him of the means of speech.

In many ways he was the beginning of her healing. She began to get very angry, no longer willing to just hide. No, she needed to confront the... FATHER, the pain clawed at her but for the first time she did not convulse. The FATHER, again the pain but no longer controlling. No, not just the FATHER, Belasco.

She could finally name her hate. As she pondered it she felt a beginning of a major spell being caste. Belasco was trying to summon something. Summon somebodies.

It was going to be a major summoning spell. She had some time yet and this little pocket of fast time gave her even more flexibility. Purpose blossomed into vengeance, the beginning of a plan.

She saw a way to attack, and in her broken feral state it made so much sense.

END REFLECTION:

"Just what the hell happened to you Illyana that could make you do that to your friends"?!

Dani's latest verbal discharge stirred Illyana from her reflections. For once she answered without thought.

"I died".

"I went to hell".

"No one heard my pleas".

"No one answered my cries".

"No one helped".

"I was..." she recovered herself before she shared too much "Harmed".

A look of sadness crossed Dani's face. "Oh. Yea. Sorry, I forgot about that for a moment".