Magik Bus
Author's note: KittyViolet felt that I should expand upon the narrative of my story Teleportation Fringe Benefits (one down side being that you're the bus), so… I did.
And a humorous reason that Illyana is not on any X-Teams at the moment. And the real reason Kitty and the old Excalibur gang flew commercial air (coach of all things) to go visit Meggan and Brian Braddock (Captain Britain) when they told the old Excalibur crew that they had a baby girl (as shown in X-Men Gold Annual 1). A reading of the X-Men comics shows that not only are they flying the Black Bird and other airplanes, they are flying them even when Illyana is present, so… teleportation appears to be off the table.
A few comments are, of course, plugs for some of my other stories.
Dedicated to KittyViolet as it was her idea that I enhance this.
Part1a: Disadvantages of being a teleporter (you are the bus)
The Mansion had just been removed from Limbo and placed in New York's Central Park (per Kitty's request). A very significant magical (and Magikal) feat. Feats that Illyana was getting tired of performing. Illyana had found that that the ability to do mass teleportation was a two edged social sword as it were Illyana had mused to herself. Not bitterly, just rather ironically and with a bit of self humor.
It used to be the fear of Limbo, and her, rather crimped most folks desire to travel via Illyana's light disks as you did have to pass though Limbo, and of course you did have to involve her.
Hells, to give an example, after she had come back from her multi year journey (she traveled back in time at the end of it), the first mission of the reformed New Mutants had taken an X-Jet rather then use Illyana's transportation abilities, which was fine with her. And now that she thought upon it, almost all of the reformed New Mutant activity had not involved her teleportation disks, they'd even taken a helicopter to that retreat that Sam had put on, just before she regained her soul.
Now Scott had made use of her abilities, but at first it was mostly just moving equipment from Marin County to the island of Utopia (the former Asteroid M now floating off of San Francisco due to the efforts of the X-Club scientific staff). After that he'd mostly refrained. Although some folks had used her abilities to sneak off to and return from San Francisco from time to time (no big deal as it was infrequent).
After she got locked up, that put a closed until further notice sign on using her abilities.
She supposed the whole Magik Bus thing started to happen once she was placed on Scot's extinction team (still wearing a bomb jacket when they let her out of her cell). He needed instant transportation abilities anywhere on the globe, and she was the only arrow in his quiver. The extinction team didn't really make use of her other abilities, which made sense. After all, how can you confine one such has herself while allowing her use of her magical powers. Of course she could have pointed out that actually she was free regardless once she entered Limbo, but no need to point out what was obvious to Scott but apparently not obvious to most.
Restrictions that had been removed once the Avengers started that stupid war of theirs over Hope and Scott had set Illyana free in all ways. Her first act was to take down Dr. Strange (which had been quite fun) and to teleport all the mutants off of Utopia. A war where she was transporting folks left and right. Right up to the time on the blue spot on the moon and the whole resulting Phoenix Five mess because of stupid Iron Man and his stupid let's blow up the Phoenix plan.
During the Phoenix Five event she had still provide transpiration services, but mostly to non Phoenix entities as the other Phoenix entities could now transport if they put enough effort into it.
But really, it was after the whole Phoenix thing went belly up that the use of her abilities as a mule really exploded. Moving Magneto around, freeing Scott and Emma from the prison, building the new school. Acquiring supplies. Acquiring students. Continually jaunting off to the Jean Grey whenever Scott felt like it. Then the confrontation with the Avengers in Australia (and she so could have killed Captain America, Scott was just wrong about that, but…glad that she didn't). That's when it hit her, when it was plain what she had become. What she has was.
She'd become the MagikBus.
Just a shleper to use the Yiddish phrase. A hauler of people and things. Transport.
She wasn't angry about it. But she'd become a transport enabler. And that was… inconvenient. Why use an X-plane or a BlackBird when in a flicker of light you could be anywhere on earth, or in the Galaxy as the Black Vortex had shown (that was a mistake showing that she had galactic range and accuracy).
Hell, she'd even been reduced to the take-out pickup girl as she kept getting takeout at the breakfast place they all liked in New Orleans.
Then it was the need to hide the School in Limbo, that was a moving job (which she'd had help from others). And to rescue mutants, and supply runs. Not to mention having to help Forge create the little access devices so the X-Men could move into and out of Limbo without her (thank the abyss that all of the devices were now all dysfunctional as she know how to create planned obsolescence in the magical components she'd created).
Then moving the School out of Limbo to Central Park (she still got giggles over that as to just how much mischief that was going to cause).
That's when she put her foot down as it were. That was it.
The end.
Done.
Finished.
Time to cut the cord.
Make them use the X-Jets and the BlackBird like they used to.
This bus has stopped!
Think I'll just go hit things with my sword for a while, which was ok as she did like hitting things.
But she did admit to herself it was fun getting rid of irritants by throwing them into the sun (See Tag I'm it, chapter 6).
Part1b: You want WHO as an Avenger?! (A bit of humor)
Captain America was appalled at the suggestion.
"MAGIK? You're actually proposing Magik as an Avenger?"
"Benefits." Replied the unnamed nominator. "Magic for one, and just think of the teleportation potential. Be anywhere instantly."
Steve was not having any of it.
"She imprisoned and tortured at least half of the Avengers on this planet. She facilitated known fugitives and broke Scott Summers out of prison. She's a know killer and is notorious for not following orders."
"Hasn't stopped you from making use of her from time to time. And I don't' recall you trying to arrest her each time you encounter her." Was the reply.
Captain Marvel chimed in as she recounted her Avengers vs. X-men experiences. "I was tortured for weeks! Weeks in that Limbo hell of hers! Not to mention Hawkeye, Spider Woman, Luke Cage, Quicksilver, and a host of others!"
Black Widow chimed in as well. "Not to mention what she did to our underwear drawers! Bitch needs to pay!"
Everybody got silent as the ones that were there remembered Widow's very private toy vibrating across the room to her utter horror. The ones who were not there inquired as the calamity, but received no answer as all were sworn to silence (See the story Magik Mischief for details).
Steve cut the discussion off at the knees. "That prank got pranked back and we all know how well that worked out for us." (See chapter 5 and 6 of What to do about Magik. Ahh, some of my finest humor work).
Steve finished. "Magik's nomination is officially off the table for the moment."
Hawkeye raised his hand.
"Yes Hawkeye?"
"I'm switching apartments next week, you don't think that she'd mind if I ask her help in…"
Part1c: Time Travel
And of course there were always the folks who wanted her to do a little time travel for them. Old Man Logan had been the worst. As always she said no and of course some of them just had to find some other way to time travel; and of course it went straight to hell just like she said it would.
But no… nobody listens to the Hell Lord.
After all, what does she know about the topic?
Sigh…
