Learning Curve, a x-men fanfic

TITLE: Learning Curve
SYNOPSIS: Rahne's thinks back over her history with Illayan. Set after New Mutants Dead Souls #6
DISCLAIMER: Marvel owns the characters. I do not own the rights to the lyrics for "The Promise" by When In Rome. I made no money off this fic
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Working through my reaction to the end of Dead Souls and my latest attempt to fill in the gaps of Rahne and Illyana's history.

"What do you want, Shan?" Rahne Sinclair said impatiently. She was sitting on one side of the table in a visiting room of the SHIELD hellicarrier's brig. "I don't have all day, so let's make this quick."

"Yes," Xi'an Coy Manh said smoothly, "I wanted to see how my old teammates are doing. No traces of the technorganic virus, I see?" She was seated on the other side of the table, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, handcuffs, and a metal collar on her neck with blinking LEDs on it. Nicholas Fury stood by the door, hand never too far from his sidearm.

"No thanks to you," Rahne replied. For her, the last week had been a mind-numbing blur, beginning with Illyana leading Rahne and the other New Mutants in a break-in of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. Thirty-six hours later she had found herself fighting beside Illyana against…Rahne still wasn't sure what. Somehow Dani had merged with Warlock and created copies of Rahne, Illyana, and the other "O. G." New Mutants. (Illyana wasn't O. G. strictly speaking, although Megan and the other New X-Men said she was, so in Rahne's mind it stuck.) Rahne had been infected with the T-O virus, absorbed into her duplicate, and then things got messy. She had flashes of being in Limbo with a flurry of spells and a flash of stepping disks, not only to restore Warlock and his old teammates but rescue a boy named Chris McKnight and his mother from an explosion three months earlier by getting them out at the last nanosecond. When it was done, Illyana had called Kitty, who had called the Avengers who were still talking to her, who had contacted SHIELD, and SHIELD had arrested Shan and raided every Hatchi Corporation facility on Earth. The company was dead and Shan was imprisoned with an inhibitor collar preventing her from using her powers.

And just when Rahne thought she would catch a breather, Shan's lawyer had called her out of the blue and had said Shan wanted to meet.

"Yes," Shan said, "and you have Illyana to thank for your restoration—her and her black magic."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Black Magic, Rahne. I may not be a sorceress in my own right, but I did a considerable amount of research on the subject. I know that black magic corrupts even when the spell is supposed to be beneficial. A healing spell being used on a cut, for instance, will still leave a 'mark' on the subject that never goes away. And you've been exposed to a lot of her black magic over the years. Word is that when I was…away, she once performed an exorcism on you. That's heavy duty."

"Me and Roberto, actually. So?"

"So how does someone with your deeply held religious beliefs reconcile with that?"

A towel draped around her shoulders and sweaty in her leotards, 14-year-old Rahne padded down the hall from the danger room under Professor Xavier's mansion, towards the noises that sounded like quick footsteps, clanging metal, and heavy breathing. She supposed it was nothing; X-Men and New Mutants were training every day. But in the week since that business at St. Anne's church, when she and Roberto had been possessed by Cloak and Dagger's powers, and Illyana had dragged her two teammates Limbo for an impromptu exorcism that had gone wrong, Rahne had been on edge. She hadn't trusted Illyana from the start, but now she had seen the witch's true soul. Rahne had been watching her back ever since.

She peaked in the door to a smaller workout room and her jaw dropped. Illyana and Wolverine were facing each other, his claws out while she wielded a Japanese sword. They had bestial expressions on their faces as they fought back and forth, her blade clanging on his adamantium claws.

Illyana dodged one of Wolverine's strikes and in the same movement slashed the outside of his thigh. He fell to one knee as she continued with the motion, spinning to bring her sword around for a killing blow.

"NO!" Rahne shifted to wolf as she leaped at Illyana. The sorceress' eyes met hers, and Illyana vanished into a stepping disk a split second before Rahne's teeth could sink into Illyana's throat.

Rhane landed and spun as Illyana appeared out of a stepping disk across the room.

Illyana shouted, "Damn it, Rahne! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? I could have cut your head off!"

Rahne shifted to half wolf. "You're welcome to try, witch! You won't find me to be that easy a mark."

"Are you serious? With his healing factor? We were sparring! Look!"

Rahne turned and saw Logan had got his feet; the wound in his leg was closing as she watched.

Rahne shifted all the way back to human. "I'm sorry—I—I thought-"

"Oh, I know what you thought!" Illyana said as she crossed to Rahne. "Everybody knows what you thought. What do I have to-"

"All right!" Logan interrupted. "That's enough out of both of you. 'Yana, you go upstairs and change."

"Fine." Illyana handed the sword to Wolverine and left the room without looking back.

Wolverine nodded to the door. "Rahne, you hit the showers." He meant the showers in the nearby locker room. His intention was to keep Illyana and Rahne apart until everyone had cooled down.

Rahne understood. "Yes, sir." She headed for the door.

"And squirt?"

Rahne stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

"You ever think I'm that easy to get the drop on, you're welcome to try. But just remember I don't teleport out of the way at the last second."

Rahne shuddered, feeling doubly foolish for characterizing Logan as an 'easy mark.' "Uh, yes, I'll remember."

Rahne had just finished putting on her street clothes when she heard Professor X's voice in her mind: 'Rahne, would you please join me in my study?'

"Of course, Professor," she said out loud.

When Rahne got to the main floor, she caught a trace of Illyana's scent very strongly in the study. She had just been there. Rahne had a feeling she knew why.

The professor was behind his desk. He motioned to a chair. "Have a seat."

Rahne sat.

"Rahne, you haven't been home to Scotland since you joined the school, have you?"

Alarm shot through Rahne's body. "Are you expelling me?"

"I hope it won't come to that. Rahne, your religious beliefs are your own business, and I respect the beliefs of all the students under my roof. But you've had issues with them ever since you joined the school, and it seems to have got worse since Illyana joined your team. And today's incident was not the first time there had been a…misunderstanding between you, was it?"

"No, sir."

"Now, if you were just ordinary teenagers and this was just an ordinary private school run by an eccentric gentleman, it wouldn't matter. But—and although this was not my intent at the start, it seems to have gone that way—one of the things I am trying to do is forge you into a team that can, one day, be the equal of the X-Men. That only works if the members of the team can rely on each other. They don't have to love each other. But they should be able to sublimate any interpersonal issues for the good of the team, to ensure they all return home safely. If one member of the team cannot do that, that individual is a liability that could get endanger his or her teammates…even the ones the individual likes. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now, Lady Moira has contacted me about an issue with one of her patients. And I would like her insights in evaluating Warlock. And since she's adopting you, she wants to meet your friends. Danielle and Douglas have already expressed an interest in going if you agree to accompany me and Warlock to Scotland. It shouldn't be long, at most two weeks, but that should give you time to clear your head and work through any issues you have. How do you like that idea?"

"I...yes, I think maybe that will help."

"Then I'll let Moira know to expect us in a few days."

"Thank you, Professor. Oh, and can I go to Bible study after dinner?"

"Of course."

Bible study ended up cycling through verses from the New Testament highlighting Jesus' compassion. She only half paid attention to the analysis; 'Even the Lord is making me feel foolish,' she thought.

The bus ride back to Graymalkin Lane wasn't long, but Rahne couldn't help but think that Illyana could get her home in a matter of seconds, even if it meant quick passage through Limbo.

When she got home, she found Dani, Doug, Sam, 'Berto, and Warlock in the den, watching TV.

The only thing more conspicuous than Illyana's absence was the mood hanging over the group, and how no one turned to greet her.

"Where's Illyana?" Rahne asked as she shed her jacket and her backpack. "What's wrong?"

No answer.

"Come on, please, tell me."

Dani kept her eyes on the TV as she said, "After you left, Illyana made an announcement. She's leaving."

"What do you mean leaving?"

Dani looked at Rahne. "I mean leaving. She's quitting, leaving the school. I guess your spat today was the straw that broke the camel's back. She wants to go back to Russia and live with her parents."

"But…" Rahne said, "her parents, I thought they didn't know what happened, her being in Limbo for all those years."

"They don't," Dani said, "and that's how the prof persuaded her to put this off until after we get back from Scotland. But she thinks she, Peter, and the professor can pull it off. So after we get home, she packs her bags and goes."

"No, no, no, not because of me." She started to leave the den.

"I wouldn't," Dani said.

Rahne ignored her and headed up the stairs.

Dani's words followed her: "Your funeral."

"You won't have to come," Rahne called over her shoulder. At the top of the stairs, she turned into the X-Men's wing and found Illyana's door. She stood before it, not a little bit nervous, and knocked.

"Who is it?" Illyana called

"Me. May I come in please?"

The door opened. Illyana was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Her hair was tussled, and her mouth was a thin, hard line below scowling eyes. She turned from the door and walked over to her desk.

Rahne entered and closed the door.

"I'll save you some time," Illyana said. "I don't care to hear your apology. I'm not interested in whatever you're going to promise. You're just upset that this time, being mean to me got you in trouble, but after I'm gone, it'll blow over and it'll be as if I was never here. Thank you for stopping by. Have a nice evening. Please close the door quietly on your way out." She turned away.

"Well…" Rahne said quietly, "you're finally wrong about something."

"What?"

"It's not just because I got in trouble. I am sorry, and I don't want you to go."

"Really?" Illyana turned back. "This'll be interesting."

"I didn't have many friends in Scotland," Rahne said, "and the ones I had turned on me when the wolf first came out. I lost everything. Everything I have here, Lady Moira bought for me. It makes me not want to lose the friends I have."

"Oh!" Illyana snorted. "We're friends all of a sudden?"

"Well…yeah, I suppose. Not close, but yes."

"You've got a funny way of showing it." Illyana looked away, then looked back, her hard exterior cracking. "I'm tired, Rahne," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I can't keep fighting you day in and day out. Everyone's scared of me. I can deal with that. Everyone has trouble trusting me. I know I have to earn it. But the others are giving me a fair chance. You're not even trying. If I saved you from being eaten by an ogre, instead of thanking me, you'd say I did it as part of a plot. And to be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure you'd be wrong. But just knowing you feel that way about me hurts."

"Oh…Illyana…" Rahne couldn't help herself—she took a couple of steps forward and pulled Illyana into a hug. Illyana returned the embrace, and Rahne felt the other girl's body shudder with sobs.

Finally, Illyana said, "I can't take it anymore. I don't have it in me to keep fighting. I give up. You win."

"No, no, no, you're right," Rahne said. She found herself crying, too. "I have treated you poorly, and for that I am very sorry. There's no excuse for it. I'm…I'm not sure what I wanted, but I know I don't want this. So give me one more chance. Just one. Say you'll stay, and I promise I'll make it right. I'll never call you 'witch' or any other name again. On my mother's soul I swear. If I blow it, you can take me to Limbo and do whatever you want with me."

Long seconds dragged by without an answer.

"Please," Rahne pleaded.

"One chance," Illyana said. "One and only one."

"Yes."

"All right." They disengaged. They wiped tears from their cheeks. Illyana looked at her wet finger. She smiled slightly. "I thought I couldn't do that anymore. All right, Rahne. I'll stay, and you get another chance. You can tell the others if you want."

Fur spread over Rahne's body. After a few seconds, it vanished. "Dani knows."

"I didn't mean that quickly."

"Well what did you expect?"

"That's a point."

"Will you be coming down?"

"In a few minutes. You go ahead."

Rahne turned to the door.

"Rahne."

Rahne paused in the door. "Yes?"

"I mean it—only one chance. After this, I won't give you another one."

"One way or another, you won't have to."

Years later in a room on the SHIELD hellicarrier, Rahne said to Shan, "Old news, Shan. We worked through those issues a long time ago."

"Are you sure?" Shan said. "I did some checking. After she…returned, you had no contact with her. I know that because of the…situation between you and Dani, you weren't invited to join her new clique—I mean, team—but there were a few times when you and Illyana were in the same place at the same time, and you didn't even try to catch up with her. And yet when Illyana recruited you for the team, you joined without hesitation. What was that all about?"

"I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while, Mummy," Rahne said, standing over Lady Moira MacTaggert's grave in a cemetery the Scottish Highlands. "You know what these crazy lives are like. But I wanted to talk to you. This is important.

"Illyana is back from the dead…maybe. There's some confusion as to whether it's her or a copy of her. No one is really sure. But she's been back for, oh, four, five years now. And I've managed to find reasons to avoid her. I told myself she wouldn't want me around because she'd fallen in with Sam and Dani and I'd buggered things with Dani so badly, well, as Dani goes, so go the New Mutants. I didn't try to catch up those times I as at Utopia because I didn't have the time and all h-e-double-hockey-sticks was breaking loose on a daily basis. Then she was locked up for a time and I thought, 'Well, she's too much trouble.'

"But the truth is I was afraid. It broke my heart to lose her, and I lost her twice—once at the end of what ended up calling Inferno, and again when Wee Illyana died of the legacy virus. I couldn't….I didn't want to find out she was a fake or a lie or an enemy pretending to be Illyana, I just couldn't bear the thought having her back and losing her again. So I stayed away. But I worried that if it was her, I'd be squandering an opportunity.

"So, anyway, Illyana called me. Out of the blue, just like that. She has a job offer for me. I guess this is as good a time as any to face the music. I wish you were here to give me your advice."

There was no sound; Rahne didn't a hear a voice. But a peaceful feeling swept over her.

Rahne smiled. "I guess you've given me your blessing. All right then."

Rahne entered the pub and peered through the midday crowd. She spotted Illyana's blonde head at a far booth just as the Russian started waving.

When Rahne got to the table, Illyana rose and they hugged. Illyana said, "Hey, carrot top."

"Good to see you, 'Yana."

They sat. Illyana spread her fingers over the table and a pentagram of fire briefly appeared on it and vanished. "We can talk freely," Illyana said.

"What does that spell do? No one else can hear us?"

"No, but they won't pay attention to what I don't want them to."

"All right then," Rahne said. "So, what's this job? I'm qualified to be a werewolf and a church deacon, and I doubt you're founding a church."

Illyana chuckled. "No," she said, "Shan wants to hire her own x-team. It'll be just like the old days…only we get paid for it."

"That would be a nice change. Where's this going to be?"

"We'll be based in her corporate HQ. She's set aside a floor just for our living quarters."

"How are we going to get around?"

Illyana cocked her head slightly.

"Right," Rahne said, "Limbo Express."

"And you'll be relieved to know I've got the transit through Limbo down to a fraction of a second. Unless S'Ym farts just as we go through, you won't notice it."

"As long as you get us where we're supposed to go."

"No worries there."

"And what are we supposed to be doing?"

"Something about paranormal phenomena."

"Right up a sorceress' ally, although I suppose a super sensitive nose will come in handy."

"Yes, and so will your conscience, your sense of right and wrong. I really don't have one anymore, and I will be leaning on you when I hit a moral dilemma."

"I see." Rahne leaned on her elbows. This was the conversation she had been dreading. "I guess there's no dodging it. There's something I need to know: Who and what are you exactly?"

Illyana grimaced. "Yulchhh. That's a question. Warlock once called me Illyana 2.0, but that's not quite accurate."

"But you're not Wee Illyana."

"No. I've heard a little about her, but I'm not her."

"But not exactly Magik either."

"No. But yes, sort of. I know! I'm a sorceress and I understand all this and even I get confused. One way of looking at it is I…she…was split in two. One part, Wee Illyana as you call her, went back to Earth with no memory of her previous life and died of the Legacy Virus. The other part was sucked into Limbo and, for lack of a better way to put it, was blown to smithereens and the smithereens were splattered all over Limbo. Belasco used some really, *really* black magic to gather up the bits and mix in some other things and create me. So technically, I'm not the Illyana you lost in Inferno. But I remember the original Illyana's life, everything we…I mean she…did in the New Mutants…so I can understand why I'm treated as the same person because I treat me that way too. And that's about as simple as I can make it without making you my apprentice and spending seven years teaching you black magic. So, clear as mud?"

"Yeah."

"If you need some time to make up your mind-"

"No, I've decided…"

"I see. Well, Rahne, it was good seeing you again…or meeting you for the first time, however…"

"…I'm in. Can you help me move to the new digs?"

"…you want to look at it, and I'm sorry you didn't—wait, what did you say?"

"I'm in. Did you think I would say no?"

"Um, well, yeah."

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were…you…and I'm still not sure. But you look like my friend, you smell like my friend, and you sound about as comprehensible as my friend. And where everyone else I love is either dead or not speaking to me, you made me feel wanted for the first time in a long time. That's good enough for me."

"Ok. And you wanted me to help you move?"

"If you don't mind having something to eat first."

Illyana smiled. "I don't mind at all, and I already have a corporate credit card. My treat."

Months later in the SHIELD Hellicarrier, Rahne said to Shan, "I may not be the smartest New Mutant, but I can see what you're doing here. I won't play your game. I came only to see if you were at all redeemable. I have my answer now. Goodbye, Shan." She stood and looked at Fury. "I'm ready to leave now."

Rahne didn't look back as she left.

Rahne made one last inspection of her makeup in her bathroom mirror and left the bathroom. She and Illyana had agreed to have dinner after Rahne was back from her visit with Shan. Rahne headed down the hall of the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach, to the room Kitty was letting her have while Rahne found a new place to live. Dressed in a yellow blouse and black skirt, she had wedged her feet into yellow high heels and put on her black jacket when her cell phone rang.

Rahne put it to her ear. "Hello, Luv…yes, I'm ready to go…No, I won't freak out…I do remember who I'm talking to…ok…" She went to stand at a wall and put her hand on it. "…Yes, I'm doing it…no, I won't be alarmed…" A moment later, her hand sank into the wall as if she was phasing through it.

Rahne's eyes widened slightly, but she stayed calm. "…Ok, yes, I feel it…and just walk forward…ok…"

Rahne stepped forward. Her body followed her arm through the wall…

…and found herself in a darkened bar, Illyana holding Rahne's other hand. Illyana wore a sleeveless red dress.

Illyana let go of Rahne's hand and they put away their cell phones. Illyana said, "Welcome to civvies night at the Bar With No Doors."

"Never heard of it."

"Of course not. It's in a pocket dimension under Manhattan and traditionally it's been true magicians only—we're the only ones who could get here. But…a good chunk of the clientele was slaughtered by the Empirilkul, so the owner decided to allow non-magical plus ones."

A man's voice said smoothly, "And that change is long overdue." Rahne turned and saw Loki standing there.

Rahne smiled. "Loki! So I guess they'll let anyone in now?"

"I'm not just a god. I'm a sorcerer, and as long as I respect this bar's status as neutral territory where all are welcomed, I'm allowed."

"I see." Rahne held her smile. "Loki, may I give you a bit of advice for dealing with us mortals?"

"You mean you think you know something I don't? All right. I'll play along."

"Never try and chat up someone you have a history with, especially when her first instinct is to rip your throat out with her teeth. And yes, that is a hint."

Completely unruffled, Loki turned away.

Rahne heard a laugh and saw the Scarlet Witch laughing at a nearby table.

She gave Rahne a thumb's up. "That was great! He hits on everybody. I have to tell my girlfriends about this." She turned to her phone and started texting.

The female faerie who flew over to seat them had to be half the size of the menus but had no problem carrying them as she led Illyan and Rahne down a short hall to a dining room where they took a table. They gave their order, and the waitress took the menus and flew away.

Illyana said, "What did Shan have to say?"

"Nothing that's worth repeating," Rahne replied.

"You sure?"

Rahne pulled a necklace out from under her blouse and took it off. "Have I ever shown you this?"

Illyana accepted it. "Robert the Bruce gave it to you, right?"

"Aye. It has a wee secret compartment. Open it."

Illyana opened it and smiled at the tiny group photo of the New Mutants. "Dani told me about this. This is awesome! We look so young."

"If there's one thing that I think we have in common," Rahne said, "is the New Mutants was the time of our lives, in no small part because that was all we had. Oh, you had Kitty and your brother, but we learned your secrets before anyone else, didn't we? And you spent almost every waking moment with us."

"Kurt did this great David Attenburough: 'And here we see the herd of New Mutants on the move. Remarkable creatures. Let's watch.'"

Rahne laughed. "With his German accent? But aye, we did everything together. We weren't just classmates. We were a family."

"Kitty used to complain I'd been kidnapped by the X-Babies and when I came back to the room, teased me that I'd escaped." She closed the compartment and passed the necklace back. "Is that why you're wearing those colors?"

"Shan was the first New Mutant," Rahne said as she put the necklace back on, "and our first team leader. She abused that and lied to all of us, but we shouldn't let that soil our memories of the good times or preclude the possibility of the team being revived again."

"Isn't there something in the Bible about throwing away childish things?"

"There's also something about coming to the lord as little children. And last I knew, you're still the dark-*child.* Doesn't matter to me. That team made us who we are today. I'll consider myself a New Mutant forever and proudly wear these colors when I'm old and gray."

"You're right." Illyana rose from her chair and stood next to the table. "Be right back." She vanished into a stepping disk. She reappeared a second later wearing a yellow halter top, black skirt, and yellow boots. As she sat, the faerie came back with their plates and their wine.

"I was going to say that was fast," Rahne said, "but magic, right?"

"Oddly enough, spells related to food still work pretty well."

"I guess the Empiri-whatsis wanted to eat."

"I guess so."

They raised their glasses. Illyana said, "So what do we drink to? The time of our lives?"

"That," Rahne said, "and to knowing who our true friends are, even if some of us are a bit slow figuring that out."

"I'll drink to that."

"If you need a friend,
Don't look to a stranger
You know in the end,
I'll always be there.
And when you're in doubt,
And when you're in danger,
Take a look all around,
And I'll be there."

-When in Rome, "The Promise."

THE END