TITLE: A Game of New Mutants
AUTHOR: MikeJaffa
SYNPOSIS: Post GoT: after leaving Westeros, Arya meets a mysterious stranger. Spoilers for GoT finale and Uncanny X-Men #17.
DISCLAIMER: Game of Thrones is owned by HBO, and the X-Men and the New Mutants are owned by Marvel. I am making nothing off posting this fic
AUTHOR'S NOTE: First of all, I have watched hardly any Game of Thrones and checked out the last two episodes on Google Play. So my characterization of Arya is based on very few impressions. That said…what was it with the Starbucks cup? Here's an explanation for that…with more kvetching about X-Men #17. Yes, both at once.

Arya Stark hesitated in the door to her cabin aboard her ship, her eyes locked on the cup sitting on her table. It was white and had some kind of image in green on the side of it.

She cautiously approached the table and picked up the cup. It not metal or wood—she couldn't say what the material was. And warm to the touch. And the smell…whatever the brown liquid was, it didn't smell too bad, but was like nothing she had encountered before…at least not before the other cup. She had seen another one like it days before leaving Westeros, before the final conclusion to what some wags had called the "Game of Thrones." She'd thought she had left all that behind her. Had an assassin followed her? Or was it coincidence?

A woman's voice behind her said, "I'm sorry! I thought I had cleaned up after myself. I didn't. That's mine."

Arya turned. The woman who stood there was slightly taller with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a dark hooded cloak thrown back over her shoulder to reveal a yellow and black top with black pants, yellow boots, and yellow gloves.

"This?" Ayra said, motioning with the cup.

"Yes." The woman extended her hand. "May I?"

"Of course."

The woman accepted the cup from Arya and began drinking its contents, never taking her eyes off Arya. Arya found her stare disconcerting.

She said, "I've never seen a cup like it. What's it made of?"

"Styrofoam."

"I've never heard of that."

"It's…well, it's made by mixing a bunch of chemicals together."

"You mean it's the product of alchemy?"

"Chemistry."

"What's the difference?"

"Plenty."

Arya hadn't failed to notice the familiarity in the woman's tone. "You have me at a disadvantage, my lady. Have we met?"

"No, Arya, we've never met. But I was friends with…a relative of yours. And I have to say, the resemblance is uncanny. Can I ask you a personal question? Do you find you can smell things others can't? And how's your night vision?"

"Those are two questions, and I don't see what business they are of yours."

"Just curious."

"You say you know my family? Perhaps I have heard of you. What's your name?"

"Illyana Rasputin."

"Strange that I don't know that name. I knew everyone my family knew, but I have never heard of you."

"Of course not."

Illyana finished her drink and held the cup in front of her body. A disk of light about a foot wide appeared in front of her.

The head and body of a small creature with fangs and pointed ears emerged from the disk. It grabbed the cup from her. "Thanks, boss!" It retreated into the circle, which vanished.

"Demons," Illyana said. "They can't get enough of Styrofoam. I don't know what they do with it, but as long as they don't turn it into a monster that attacks me—they are a handful sometimes—it's better than dumping it in a landfill back-"

Arya drew her sword and aimed the tip at Illyana's throat. "Who are you? What are you?" she demanded. "A witch? A demon?"

Illyana laughed. "Wow! The way you said that. But yes, Arya, I'm both, a witch AND a demon. Well, technically part demon. It's complicate. But that light wasn't witchcraft. It was my mutant power."

"'Mew…tent'?"

"Yeah…how do I explain it? You know how someone can be born with a strange hair color or an extra toe or a birthmark that looks like Albania? Well, you can be born with a power."

"And yours is summoning demons?"

"Actually, controlling the disks to their home, where I'm the absolute ruler. But once I'm there, I can take another disk to any time or place I can visualize."

"And that's how you got here?" Arya asked.

"Yes," Illyana said. "I'm from what you would call the future."

"Really." Whoever or whatever this Illyana was, Arya found herself hoping she was telling the truth and not delusional. "And this relative of mine?"

Illyana smiled. "Your descendant," she said proudly, "a direct descendant of you and the young prince you're going to meet in…let me see….two years, three months, sixteen days, five hours, and 27 minutes…give or take a few minutes."

"Oh." Arya smiled. "I hope you won't keep me."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Your family line will stretch down through the centuries. And one day, there will be a girl who…who could be your twin. She will be born with great power, and your courage is in her, I can see that now. She'll be a fierce fighter, but a…" Illyana's voice caught. "…a loyal friend. No one could have a bigger heart…and…and if you give her a place…" Tears started running down Illyana's cheeks. "…she'll just…." Illyana couldn't go on. She touched Arya's sword and guided the blade to a point above her heart. "Please," Illyana begged through her sobs, "do it. Just do it."

All the clues in Illyana's speech and manner that Arya had wondered about made sense now. Arya sheathed her sword and pulled Illyana into a hug. She felt Illyana return the embrace and her body shake with sobs.

"Forgive me," Arya said. "I should have realized. What was her name?"

"Rahne…of the house of Sinclair."

"A fine name. A great house?"

"Actually, Rahne never knew her lineage. I didn't either. I got bored yesterday…for me…and decided to skip back through time and take a look. It's pretty amazing, really. As to Rahne herself, her mother was a…a harlot who died in childbirth. Her father raised her and didn't acknowledge her. And after her power emerged, he wanted to kill her. Eventually, he died at her hand, though I can't say he didn't deserve it."

"It would seem she inherited my luck as well."

They disengaged. Arya said, "Would you like to talk about it?"

Illyana nodded. They sat on Arya's bed.

As she wiped her tears, Illyana said, "There was a group of us. We were…I don't know, classmates, or a cadre. But we became like brothers and sisters. We went places you couldn't imagine and fought enemies you wouldn't see in your nightmares. When I grew up and formed my own cadre, I didn't hesitate to ask Rahne, and I was surprised at how fast she joined. But she was at my right hand, always showing me the right thing to do. And even after…" She trailed off.

"It's all right," Arya said gently. "Take your time."

"All the places we went," Illyana continued, "all the enemies and monsters we fought, after all that…four men. No weapons. No powers. Just four ordinary guys. It was in a public place…" Illyana broke off, and then added with intensity: "They beat her to death. She refused to fight them, and they beat her to death." She started crying again. "And I should be angry, seeking vengeance. Instead, I…I…" She broke down again.

"I'm sorry." Arya pulled Illyana into another hug. "I know how hard it is," Arya said. "When I was a girl, I thought my family was invincible. It wasn't. Even a great warrior can be caught unawares…."

"Not Rahne," Illyana protested, pulling out of the hug. "Not ever."

"I know how you feel, but you have to understand-"

"No," Illyana said as she got up, "you don't understand. There is no way, absolutely no way, those clowns should have got the drop on Rahne. But I just accepted it. We all just accepted it. But maybe that's what been wrong with me. I've been accepting the unacceptable, and some part of me knew it, and now that I can see that, it's time I stopped feeling sorry for myself, got off my butt, and did something about it."

Arya stood. "If I understand your meaning, you could find out everything was as you believed it was."

"I know. But I owe it to Rahne to find out. And if positions were reversed, Rahne would do the same for me."

"If she's anything like me, and you and she are friends, then she definitely would. I can say that for certain. But I worry you might get your hopes up and get hurt."

"I won't." Illyana smiled and they hugged again. "I'm glad I met you, Arya Stark."

"I'm glad I met you, too, Lady Illyana. I hope I've helped you."

"You have."

"And it pleases me I will found such a proud lineage." They disengaged. "I will, of course, keep your secret."

"I wouldn't worry about that."

"Excuse me?"

"Little spell I'm casting while I'm talking to you right now. Don't worry about it. Goodbye, Arya." A disk of light appeared under Illyana's feet and she disap…

…Arya blinked and looked around. She remembered coming to the door, but now she was standing by the bed, and she didn't remember how she got there.

She sat down. "You should make a point of resting during the voyage, my girl," she muttered to herself. "You'll need your strength if you're to become the matriarch of a great family." Then she frowned. Where had that thought come from?

8

8

"'Come with me to the bar with no doors,'" Danielle Moonstar quoted, sitting at a table across from Illyana in the aforementioned establishment. "'It's a cool place where sorcerers hang out. We can drink and talk.' I should have known it wouldn't be about the latest Hollywood gossip."

"Dani!"

"Ok, ok. First things first: Is the timeline intact? You didn't accidentally change anything?"

"First thing I checked when I got back to Limbo."

"You sure?"

"Do you know who Rahne Sinclair is?"

"Yes."

"Next question?"

"All right," Dani said. "I think maybe Arya had a point. Even knowing who I'm talking to, people who die usually don't come back from the dead, even among the spandex set."

"Assuming Rahne is dead," Illyana said.

"I felt her die, Illyana."

"And between Belasco and Doctor Strange, I know a dozen spells that can jam that 'signal' without you knowing it. More if I had no scruples about enslaving your soul."

"I'm also a Valkyrie. I'd know that way."

"That's ten more spells. And then there are all the telepaths and empaths out there we can't seem to get rid of. And that's just the ones we know of. There can always be new players, including a mastermind type who pulls the strings from behind the scenes until-"

"Ok, ok! You've made your point, Illyana. But with all that as a given—and I'm not disagreeing with any of it in case you haven't noticed-this could still be a wild goose chase."

"You really think that, Dani?"

"I can't not think it. And part of me thinks I should let Rahne go and move on with my life."

"Even knowing that if positions were reversed and Rahne suspected you were alive she wouldn't rest until she'd found the truth?"

"That's not fair, Illyana."

Illyana took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Dani. You're right. That was a low blow, and you didn't deserve it. So let me put it this way: if you can look me in the eye and tell me that you accept without question that Rahne was killed by four brain donors in Salem Center Community Park and that we really did just bury her, I will drop this right now and never mention it again."

Dani and Illyana looked at each other for a long moment. Then Dani said, "All right. I'm in, but on one condition: we find out everything is the way it seems, that's it. We go home and try to move on."

"Deal." They shook hands across the table.

They stood. As Illyana put money on the table, Dani said, "Could you really enslave my soul?"

"Yeah," Illyana said, "but I'd rather not. They're a pain in the butt to take care of."

"I can't tell if you're joking or if you're serious, and I don't think I want to know. All right. Where to now?"

"You're the team leader."

"Aw no. This is your crazy idea, and I had enough ulcers when we were teenagers. You run the show and I'll be right behind you to catch you if you fall."

Illyana smiled. "Just like old times."

"Not that bad, I hope!"

"You're right," Illyana said, "we'll make it bad for whomever has done this if I'm right. Rahne, wherever you are, hang in there. We're coming." And the two old friends vanished into a disk of light.

THE END(?)