X-Men Neo

Issue 4

"The Outside World"

Illyana Rasputin sat in her room, trying her best to read about human cultural and social history. It was, she hoped, a possible way for her to reach a greater understanding of the species she'd been born from. She hadn't had much luck with that over the past several weeks. As far as Illyana could tell from what she'd read of history books and records of the lives of some of the greatest former leaders of Earth history, humans were a lot like daemons. Revolutions that lead to historical liberations were usually brought about by only a few key people, most of them motivated by selfishness, while the general public had wallowed in miserable apathy, and those who stood up to conquer and rule were hailed as some of the greatest heroes of human history. Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, King Charlemagne, George Washington and so forth had all been warriors held in high regard for their prowess in both battle and tactics, and who were recognized as historic leaders long after their deaths by modern man. Even those like Napoleon Bonaparte and Attila the Hun who were recognized for their acts of barbarity by the history books were more frequently thought of in terms of their skill in the modern day.

During that current century, over half of the Earth's population lived in crushing, oppressive poverty, while a tiny percentage of the people enjoyed grotesquely opulent lifestyles, like gods, having earned their unfair position over their fellow man by manipulation alone. Illyana had to admit that she was impressed by the degree to which humans had allowed evil to infiltrate their lives. In fact, with every new bit of information that she gained about the human race, the evidence built more and more against the views that Piotr and his friends the X-men held about mankind. It seemed almost totally obvious that Belasco had been right about man, and that evil really was their true nature.

Illyana had had a lot of trouble recently, struggling to get used to the idea of dealing with her problems and the problems of her friends, without resorting to violence. It had been hard, because of all the time she'd spent in Limbo, always having to force her way around whenever she wanted to get any respect, or get anything done. Nothing ever got accomplished in Limbo without a lot of violence and bloodshed, and it had been hard to adjust to planet Earth, where nothing ever seemed to get accomplished, and yet, violence was utterly forbidden.

Both Illyana's feelings and her sense of reason told her that the path that the rest of the human race had chosen was a false one that would lead them to an evolutionary dead end, and yet despite all of the evidence that humans were foolish and weak, and needed to be taught several important lessons in progress and motivation, Illyana hadn't followed through on Belasco's plan to unleash Limbo's daemons on Earth. It had occurred to her very early on, to try letting a few daemons loose at a time, and see what happened. The thought had amused her a little, as she wondered what effect the sensible mentality of Limbo would have on Earth if introduced just a little at a time, but it had never gone beyond being an amusing notion. Perhaps Illyana still wanted to convince herself that she could choose to do right; that evil was not the only course that people could take, even thought it seemed to be the one most frequently chosen by men in power.

Of course, just because it was possible for her to choose peace over war didn't mean that Illyana believed in using peace to solve her problems, and it didn't mean that she enjoyed it. Frankly, she found the whole idea of trying to coexist peacefully with other humans to be annoying and unnecessarily complicated. It was an indulgence in what she considered foolishness and naiveté. At times, the temptation to leave Earth and return to Limbo for the rest of her life was great. There, at least, she knew where she stood, and the world's inhabitants were honest about it, and they didn't try to blame her for the results of their own silly mistakes.

One of the things that made life on Earth almost unbearable at times was that while she was struggling with her hatred of the way that Earth people did things, Piotr and his friends had asked Illyana to stay inside, away from genuine human beings. Obviously, they were afraid she'd wind up losing her temper and hurting some of the humans in the outside world, and there was a genuine risk of that, but Illyana knew that she couldn't learn what went on in the heads of her fellow man, unless she could actually go out and meet some of them for herself. She needed the chance to meet someone who viewed her as a person, and wouldn't feel threatened by her power or status as a daemon queen. In short, Illyana needed the chance to observe humans in their native habitat, and in all the time she'd stayed with them, the X-men had been almost constantly trying to prevent that.

As she thought those things over, Illyana realized that her mind hadn't absorbed any of the words she'd been reading recently, and in anger over allowing herself to become so distracted, she threw the book against the far wall. At last, she got up, angry at her brother, and angry with the X-men. She knew she couldn't allow it to go on any longer. Safety and security weren't effective tools, and cautiousness wasn't the best way to make use of Illyana's time. She needed the chance to take bigger risks and use her courage. She needed the chance for adventure, and to conquer the situation she'd been placed in, just like she had during her childhood.

In the end, a bright burst of power appeared all around Illyana as she made her decision. It hadn't been an easy decision to make, and she was almost certain that Nightcrawler would view it as betrayal, but she knew that for her own good, and for the good of both Earth and Limbo, she had to disobey her older brother, and leave the mansion. Whether the X-men thought she was "ready" or not, she had to start taking chances again.

Then, with that single flash of light, the mutant who'd come to be known as Magik disappeared from her bedroom.

Tick waited impatiently in her quarters on Asteroid M. She wasn't feeling angry or frustrated, although she was starting to get a little antsy as she wondered whether Quicksilver had forgotten the explanation that she'd promised to give him. It wasn't as if she was particularly eager to explain things to him, of course, but the tension of waiting for him to show up, not sure whether he would or not was hard for her. With his speed, she'd expected him to appear very quickly, but for whatever reason, it was taking him a while to arrive. Even though Tick didn't like talking about herself, it was a relief when Quicksilver finally appeared.

"Qu-quicksilver." Tick said swiftly, feigning a little surprise, although she hadn't screamed that time, at least. She wasn't frightened of Quicksilver anymore, because she knew that he was kind and reasonable. She wasn't even really startled by him the way she'd been in the past.

"When we talked at the Pentagon, you said you wanted to explain to me why you followed Magneto." Quicksilver said, getting right to the point, "I'm interested in understanding that, Tick. I'm worried about you. You're not like the other Allies. You don't want to fight. I can see that. Why are you going along with Magneto's plan?"

At last, the moment had come, and Tick knew she had to explain herself. Quicksilver was still looking for answers, and Tick didn't really want to keep him in the dark anymore.

"Alright." Tick said at last, "Sit down. This might take a while."

Hesitating for just a moment, Quicksilver took a seat nearby. He could tell that what Tick was about to tell him was very personal.

"When you first found out that you were a mutant..." Tick said, "When was it? Was it when you were born, or was it later?"

"I didn't find out until about a month ago." Quicksilver replied sadly, "I'm told it's different for some."

"I first found out about my powers when I was ten." Tick replied, looking miserable as she explained herself, "I was a spoiled child, and I didn't have any idea what kind of dangers were out in the world, or even just in my own home. I... I had a mother and a father, and... They never liked setting rules for me. They always caved, and I... and they..."

Tick paused for a second to reign in her emotions, before she tried to speak again.

"One evening, we were riding in our car down the highway, coming back from a meeting with some other family members, and I wanted them to go faster, so they were changing lanes, trying to get into the fast lane. I was so impatient, though. I wanted them to go faster. I... I willed it."

"The car did what I wanted." Tick said, "In between two lanes, the whole car sped up, and I felt my mutant energy draining away, as all the other cars slowed down to a crawl. My parents didn't know what was happening, or how fast we were going compared to everybody else. They had no idea. They tried to react, but... It was as if everybody had suddenly stopped short in front of them. The car was going too fast, and they couldn't stop in time. There... there was an accident... because of me."

"You didn't mean to." Quicksilver said sorrowfully, as Tick related her tale of tragedy, "I'm sure that's no comfort, however."

Tick just nodded, looking away as she said "There are things even I can't do with time, I guess. If I could, I'd have gone back and stopped myself, but I can't do that."

Quicksilver just nodded. It would, he decided, be a little disrespectful to interrupt at that point, even to ask her what had happened next.

"It wasn't long after the crash that Magneto found me." Tick continued sadly, "I think, at first, I went with him just because I was scared, and I wanted somebody to protect me, but after a while, he explained to me what he wanted to do. I didn't disagree with him, I guess. I mean, he sort of won me over a little when he told me that..."

Tick paused again, to try to compose her words a little better, and started over.

"A little after I'd first joined him, Magneto told me that he wanted to save mutants by changing the world, so that people were prepared to accept them. He said that mutants needed a different kind of upbringing and education than ordinary human beings, and that in the kind of world he wanted to create, we'd get that. He also said that if I'd been raised with care in the knowledge of my mutant powers by wise people who cared about mutants, or even about their fellow man, no one would have died because of me."

"What?" Quicksilver asked, horrified, "That's a terrible thing to say!"

"Yes..." Tick replied slowly, "He was right, though. People don't raise their kids wisely most of the time, and I was a victim of that. My parents wouldn't have known how to raise me if I'd been a human being, and they certainly weren't ready for a mutant child. If... If people respected mutants more... They might have had an easier time with that. They might have had the chance to teach me self-control, instead of always giving me what I thought I wanted. That's why I get scared so easily. I always had them to protect me."

"Even so, it's a brutal way to talk to someone about their closest relatives dying." Quicksilver objected, "If he'd said anything like that about my father, I never would have joined him."

"I guess I was just ready to hear it by then." Tick replied, "He knew I didn't want to fight, because I just don't have the courage to look someone in the eyes and attack them, but we'd found something we wanted to work together towards. That was why I started working with Magneto."

"Have you ever wanted to fight someone?" Pietro asked after a pause of only a few seconds, "Have you ever wanted to really oppose somebody and stop what they were doing by force?"

"I... I told you before," Tick replied nervously, "I wouldn't have the courage to..."

"That isn't what I asked you." Quicksilver replied as gently as he could, while still getting his message across, "Did you ever want to? I know you can't, but did you ever desire it? Did you ever want to overthrow someone else's system, or take the quick route to what you wanted by force?"

Tick looked away, and for several seconds, Pietro was afraid that she wouldn't answer his question. At last, however, she spoke.

"N-no. Never."

"Then you have no reason to keep working with Magneto." Quicksilver replied, "If we use our powers, we can survive among the human race. We don't need Magneto's help for that, and if you don't believe in the methods he's using to bring about mutant rights, just as I don't, then there isn't any reason for either of us to stay here."

"Do..." Tick began, terror shaking her voice as she spoke, "Do you think he'll just let us leave?"

"What do you mean?" Quicksilver asked, suddenly becoming very worried himself.

"I... I don't know if he told you this..." Tick muttered just loud enough for Pietro to hear, "But when he moved me up here, he told me that as payment for the accommodations, I was to use my powers to help him. He said that only the Allies of Magneto could live on this asteroid, and that he was just as intolerant of deadbeats as anyone. At first, my help only amounted to assisting with construction chores, but more and more recently, he's been taking me on missions, where I've had to use my powers against other mutants... If we told him we wanted to leave the Allies, do you think he'd just take us back to Earth, just like that, or would he be too upset that we'd deserted him?"

That thought hadn't occurred to Pietro for several reasons, but when Tick described her doubts, a plan started forming in Pietro's mind. Suddenly, he'd started to realize that he couldn't trust Magneto to be civil and polite about their desertion, and when he realized that, he knew that he and Tick needed to plan a means of escape as quickly as possible.

"We have to find some way to get out of here." Quicksilver said, "Maybe you're right, and maybe Magneto would be upset if we left. In that case, we'll need to wait for an opportunity. We're bound to have another mission sooner or later that takes us back to Earth. When that happens, we can make our move."

Tick shivered a little at the very thought, when he described it, however.

"You... You make it sound so dangerous..." Tick said sadly as she looked away.

"It might be dangerous," Pietro admitted, "and I can't force you to accept that danger with me. You have to face that danger by your own free will, unless you'd really rather stay here, living in fear of both the X-men and Magneto."

As he said that, however, Tick burst into tears and jumped to her feet, burying her face in Quicksilver's shoulder as she sobbed. He had plenty of time to get out of the way, but he didn't take that time. As much as she'd avoided her problems in the past, Tick had a right to cry, because she was about to make the most difficult decision she'd ever made.

One by one, the senators from all fifty states took their seats in the chairs assigned to them around the podium in the room's center. None of them were sure what to expect. They only knew that one of New York's senators had something he wanted to address with the rest of the senate; an issue that he considered to be "of the utmost importance." Most of them suspected that it had something to do with the attack on the Pentagon not long before, but as for what, precisely, Senator Kelly would be suggesting, that was harder to predict. His political views had never been completely reliable. In fact, he was something of a rogue candidate, and he often disagreed with even his own political party. The views that he was about to express that day, however, were some of the most controversial that he'd ever spoken.

As Senator Kelly got up in front of his peers, there was sadness in his voice. He'd been hoping that it would never be necessary to address the issue that had suddenly become such a major problem for both them and the United States, and as he took up the microphone, he knew he wasn't going to have any difficulty remembering what he had to say, because he'd been agonizing over it all through the previous evening.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate." Senator Kelly said into the microphone, "That is to say, I'm wishing for you all to have a good afternoon. However, I don't think there's anything particularly good about this afternoon, because right now, there's a threat that could destroy America, and it's sitting right on our doorstep."

"Now, you've all heard about the attack on the Pentagon, and that the attackers succeeded in damaging a very valuable prototype. What some of you may not be aware of is the reason why they managed to get so far, and accomplish so much."

"The group that attacked the Pentagon was composed of at least six members." the Senator continued, "With your permission, I'd like to read to you some excerpts from the reports on the subject by a general of the armed forces, who was there during the attack."

"'I've never seen anything like it before.'" the Senator read, "'One of them charged right through a rain of bullets as if they were nothing, while another one passed by us in the hall like a blur. A moment later, we came under attack by someone who seemed to be throwing fire at us with his hands, as well as another man, who I recognized as Magneto. I'm sure he was the most dangerous one of their whole group. They burst through our best defenses, and into the lower floors with almost no effort at all. In fact, it was only the interference of a team of masked vigilantes that, I feel, prevented them from escaping with a functional prototype.'"

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate..." Senator Kelly said sadly as he looked up at them again from the report he'd had in front of him, "These terrorists managed to get so far into one of our best-guarded installations because they were mutants, using special powers bestowed upon them by a process of natural evolution, apparently. Now, whether you believe in evolution or not, the fact is that lots of people are turning up with unusual powers, who seem to have either had them from birth, or developed them naturally later in life. In the scientific community, such people are called mutants, but they've been more of a theoretical concept, than a functional factor in society, until recently. Ladies and gentlemen, we have to face the facts. Mutants exist. They are real, and they are dangerous. I will now open the floor to any further questions about this."

Almost immediately, Texas Senator Ralston got to his feet, getting everyone's attention.

"Senator Kelly." Ralston said, "It's all well and good for you to say that mutants are dangerous. I'm sure they are. So are we. Anyone with power is dangerous. My question is; what are you suggesting that we do about this?"

Senator Kelly breathed deeply through his nose before replying. There was nothing else to do but make his statement and hope that he'd be forgiven if his choice turned out to be the wrong one.

"Right now, the Pentagon is trying to develop a more effective weapons and containment program, intended to function against all known mutant powers. Heavier yield weapons are impossible to deploy against individual mutants, and we're looking for a way to make that work using nonferrous materials, in case Magneto becomes a problem again. The real issue is that there are some mutants who are said to be able to control other people's very minds. Can you imagine how dangerous a person like that would be? Essentially, we need to redesign a soldier itself; make a non-human soldier, or at least develop a cheaper means of disrupting psychic control. As you might imagine, it's all very expensive research and production. I won't beat around the bush about that. The real reason I came to you today was to try to get funding for it. We need to write up a bill that would allot federal funding specifically targeted at the development and production of weapons capable of neutralizing the advantage of mutant powers."

However, as Senator Kelly turned to look back at the rest of the Senate, it was obvious that he hadn't changed the minds of most of the other Senators. Some looked a little scared, but mostly, they seemed to feel that new weapons weren't the answer. A moment later, Senator Ralston spoke up again, and vocally confirmed many of Kelly's fears.

"If the Pentagon doesn't get this funding, will they still be able to complete the weapons program you're suggesting?"

"Probably." Senator Kelly replied sadly, "but it might take years, or even decades. By that point, it might be too late for all of us. If we get enough funding, we may be able to finish production in just a couple of months."

Silence reigned in the Senate for several seconds, as the politicians all thought about what was being suggested. On the one hand, there was a threat to America, and to the American people, and yet, on the other hand, many weren't convinced that the answer lay in more and better weapons.

"I don't like the feel of this at all." Ralston said at last, drawing all eyes to him, "In the past, there have been lots of times when people have faced major threats to sensitive aspects of their lives and governments, and in the end, they always used weapons to subdue those threats, no matter how valid the complaints of the threatening faction were. I don't think we need any more weapons than we have, Senator Kelly. We just need a clear wit, and good reason. With those, I'm confident that we can find a solution to whatever these mutants are so upset about, in a way that can satisfy everyone."

"What if the mutants won't listen to reason?" Senator Kelly asked, trying in vain to sway the other senators back to his side of the argument, "What if we need to use force?"

"Well, you live in New York, senator." Ralston replied with an amused smile, "Just call for Miss Marvel. If you have to, you can even call in the entire Avengers. I've heard they're pretty good with that sort of thing."

Senator Kelly was furious. Where once, his position had been tentative, it was suddenly in serious jeopardy. If he'd tried to tell the other members of the Senate that he didn't think they could trust the Avengers either, no one would have taken him seriously, and yet, how else could he respond? What other response was there? If the Avengers were trustworthy, then no weapons were really all that useful anymore.

"Even the Avengers can't be everywhere at once." Senator Kelly replied, but it was too late, and he'd hesitated for too long. He hadn't been prepared for a debate, because he'd barely been sure about his course of action himself, and that was when Senator Kelly knew that only a few of the other Senators would agree with what he'd suggested.

It was hard to keep from panicking, considering what had just happened. The moment that Professor Xavier had heard that Illyana had left the building, he'd used his powers to scan the entire Institute for her, or anyone who might recently have seen her, but it was no use. She'd definitely left, and she was quite likely to hurt anyone she met if Jubilation's reports on her behavioral progress had been accurate. There was also, of course, no doubt that she was one of the largest physical threats on planet Earth, and if she ever decided to turn against them, she could easily go from being a minor annoyance around the institute, to an enormous danger to the entire planet.

The moment he'd realized the horrible potential danger they were all in, Professor Xavier knew he had to summon the X-men. It was a rotten kind of predicament, and it was bound to upset Piotr that they couldn't afford to trust Illyana, but it was the only choice Xavier had; he couldn't take risks with the safety of the whole planet.

"X-men." Xavier said silently into their thoughts all at once, "Please report to my office at once. Something terrible has happened."

Illyana Rasputin had reappeared in an alleyway just outside of one of New York's largest shopping malls. She had about five thousand dollars with her, which she'd obtained from a jewelery store, in exchange for a rather large, pure diamond that she'd retrieved from Limbo in moments. Naturally, Earth currency would have meant nothing in Limbo, but it seemed that the riches of Limbo meant a great deal to Earth people.

With the money in one of her pockets, Illyana stepped through the front doors of the shopping mall, and she must have been quite an unusual sight. She was still dressed in her royal uniform; a bright white affair, with a long cape and a ruby pendant to hold it in place. She neither wore her helmet, nor carried her axe, but she'd kept her enchanted bracelet on just in case. In Limbo, she'd learned that one could never be too careful.

Once inside the mall, Illyana had spent quite a while just pacing around, looking at the various items available for purchase. After just over an hour, however, she started to get hungry. While she'd been dwelling in the lower levels of Limbo, it would have been standard practice to simply kill a daemon, and cook their carcass over a fire, then eat what she could of them, and burn the rest. Her time in Belasco's palace had taught her to accept, and even enjoy the service of a chef, and since journeying to Earth, she found that nearly all food was prepared by chefs in either restaurants, or packaging in stores for later purchase. It was possible to acquire food without money, of course, but it upset fewer people, Illyana had been told, when she paid for it instead.

Illyana had no particular preferences on what she ate. Food was food. If she'd tried to be specialized in eating, she never would have survived in Limbo. When she arrived at the food court, she could see the names of several types of food listed in lights along the edges of the place. That was how she knew what they were selling. Burger, pizza, Chinese food, taco... All of it was in bright lights, as if people couldn't be bothered to notice their most basic necessity otherwise. Illyana was disappointed by the sight, but she knew that she needed to eat something. In moments, she'd stepped over to the counter under the "taco" sign.

As Illyana walked up to the taco counter, however, she became aware that everyone in the food court was staring at her. She didn't mind the attention, though. As queen of Limbo, she'd gotten used to that sort of reaction. Limbo's daemons almost always paid closest attention to the greatest threat, and no human was really a serious threat in comparison to her. She suspected, incorrectly, that they saw the bright colors she wore as what they were; a boast about her strength, implying that she no longer needed to worry about stealth or camouflage, and that they would be intimidated by the rich way in which she was dressed as well. In reality, it was more that her clothes were so strange, and she was an extremely abnormal sight in her long, flowing cape, ruby pendant, and long boots and gloves. They saw that she was odd in comparison to them, and it was that oddness; not intimidation of any kind, that had drawn their attention so powerfully.

"C-can I help you?" the man at the counter asked, despicably showing his weakness and nervousness in front of her. Illyana had to fight down the urge to attack him just based on that alone. In Limbo, one took advantage of every weakness.

"I desire food of some sort." Illyana said, "Since you work in this establishment, you must have some idea of what food is best today. What do you recommend?"

"Me?" the man asked, amazed by the stilted, stern, and yet flattering way in which he was being addressed, "Uh... I always go for the hot stuff myself. The chili tacos, for example."

Illyana had eaten hot food before in every sense of the word, and she did enjoy it. Grinning a little unpleasantly, she asked "What sort of drinks would you recommend?"

"Well, uh..." the man said, "Most people get coke, but I tend to go for lemonade. It's thick enough on the tongue, but it's not as bad for you."

"Very well." Illyana said, "That sounds sufficient. I will have what you've recommended. How long will it be before the food is ready?"

That was the kind of question the boy at the counter was used to, so he replied with a simple "It should be done in just a few seconds. We just have to heat it up."

"Satisfactory." Illyana noted. It was as far towards "very good" as she ever got. In Limbo, Illyana had rarely complimented anyone, including the chef.

In moments, the food had arrived, and it did look good. Illyana quickly paid the man at the counter and took her seat at a table near one edge of the food court, so that watching her back would be easier, sniffed the taco and the drink a few times, tasted each on the tip of her finger, and then took a large bite out of the taco.

It was probably the hottest item on the menu at the taco stand. It was a powerful kind of chili, prepared in a special sauce, that was intended to bring the most intense taste out of the food, even if it meant torturing the taste buds of the one eating it. It made Illyana's whole mouth feel like it was on fire, and her tongue felt very much as though it were being clawed apart repeatedly by a legion of tiny beasts. In fact, she realized quickly, it wasn't that much different from the food she'd gotten accustomed to eating in Limbo. A little weaker perhaps, but not by much. It wasn't disgustingly pleasant, at least, and it made her feel at home. Even the taste of the lemonade a moment later didn't drive that familiar, comforting sensation away completely.

She was only about halfway through her meal, however, when Illyana heard the voice of another human being, and realized that someone was actually trying to initiate a conversation with her. After debating silently with herself for a few seconds, she decided to play along.

"Excuse me..."

"Yes?" Illyana asked, looking up into the face of the young man whose voice she'd just heard. He had thick, curly, brown hair, and very enviable black eyes, and his features were long, and looked rather mature for someone his age, which was to say, not much older than her.

"I'm... uh... I'm not very good at talking to girls..." the boy muttered a little, trying his best to be honest, and seeming vulnerable in the process. Illyana wasn't impressed.

"A common enough ailment in these parts." Illyana replied, "Still, you may as well speak up. Speak strongly, because in the strength of your voice, I will hear your true will."

"It's... uh... It's not like that." the boy said, not sure how else to react to such a force-based and imposing mentality, in a girl her age, "I... um... What's your name?"

"I have several." Illyana replied, "As a girl, my name is Illyana Rasputin, although if you look to me as a warrior or a queen, you would do better to call me Magik."

"Il... Illyana?" the boy asked, captivated by her, "My name is Marcel Donhome."

"I see..." Illyana said, rapidly becoming bored with the boy.

"May... um... May I sit here?" Marcel asked. It was an odd question. Illyana didn't remember the last time someone had asked to sit with her. At the institute, people gave her plenty of space, and in Limbo, she'd been so feared, that no one had dared. It was a new and different kind of experience for her.

"You may." Illyana replied, "I should warn you, though. You have little strength in your voice, and I'm rapidly growing bored. Because you seem to lack strength of will, you've yet to impress me."

"I'm not trying to impress you." Marcel replied, a little surprised by her reaction, "I'm just curious about you is all. I mean... I mean... You're so different. I've never seen anybody like you before."

"No." Illyana replied, "You wouldn't have."

"I just... I want to know more about you, you know?" Marcel asked at last, losing hope that he was ever going to learn anything about the strange girl in the white cape, "I mean, you piqued my interest, and I'm not scared of you... I guess I was just a little nervous because I don't talk to girls much."

"You're not intimidated?" Illyana asked, confused and surprised.

"No." the boy said quickly, "No more than usual. I guess I'm just surprised, and a little confused. You come into the food court in the middle of the day, dressed like you're going to a costume party, and yet, you're obviously so proud of yourself, as if you're not afraid of what anybody's going to say. I mean, you even act like you might be a princess or something; like you'd be just as happy giving orders..."

"A princess?" Illyana asked, amused, "Nothing of the sort. I am queen over the realm of Limbo."

"That... uh... that sounds like a big job." Marcel replied, clearly a little worried for Illyana's sanity.

"Not as much as you might think." she replied quickly, "With a little fear, leadership is a simple matter. The human race would benefit from an acceptance of that fact."

Marcel felt lost again. Illyana was describing things to him that he didn't understand; things he'd never heard of, and found extremely confusing. It was far beyond his level of education to be able to debate political policies with her, so he just nodded instead.

"So what do you like to do?" Marcel asked, growing more and more interested in Illyana with every word she said to him.

Illyana thought about his question for a moment, but didn't quite answer it, partly because she wasn't entirely sure how to. At last she said with some reluctance, "A good question."

"At times, it seems like there is very little that I truly enjoy." Illyana explained, as Marcel started to settle down a little, "In Limbo, there is some enjoyment to be found in conquest, and the vanquishing of one's enemies. Even so, to say that I like to do that might be... Might be terrifying to my fellow man. People have more cause to hate me, the better they get to know me, because I am not a human girl. I'm the queen of all daemons. It's a great and terrible title."

"Of course," Illyana continued, "you're an average type of human. You won't believe any of this, I'm sure. To you, the world is such a small place, and there's nothing to challenge the dominance of human beings over nature. You won't believe that there are races capable of subduing man unless you see it for yourself."

However, to Illyana's surprise, Marcel had quickly started shaking his head.

"No." he said, though his eyes were open wide in amazement and fascination, "I believe you. I believe that there are demons, and I believe... uh..."

Illyana hadn't expected that kind of reply. She'd been cynical about humans, and how far they could take their faith, but when she looked into Marcel's eyes, trying to read his true emotions just a moment later, she realized with amazement that he hadn't completely been lying. He didn't really believe that she was a daemon queen, but he didn't want to believe that man was the ultimate life form either. He was filled with hope that the universe might be a bigger place than he'd been told in the past, and it was just a little encouraging to see that.

"Curious." Illyana remarked, and after a few seconds more of debating with herself, she made a choice that would change her life forever.

"I suppose if you really feel that way, I can permit you to serve as my guide for the next few hours. There's still much of this building that I'm unfamiliar with. In fact, I know very little about planet Earth in general. I would welcome the assistance of someone familiar with the customs of this world in helping me to understand what goes on here and why."

The suggestion brought a broad smile to Marcel's face. Nothing, he thought, would have made him happier.

The moment that he heard about what his sister had done, Piotr was in his metal form, slamming his left fist against his right palm with a furious clang. Logan cast him a short, suspicious glance when he did that. It was something he'd want to talk to Piotr about later.

"What was she thinking?" Piotr asked angrily, as he turned away.

"Illyana's thoughts and feelings are still fueled by the troubles she endured in Limbo." Xavier replied, "She fled the mansion because she was afraid that we were trying to hide something from her."

"Honestly, I've been expecting something like this for a while. Illyana is full of suspicion and pride at the moment. Her confidence in her own physical abilities have given her the illusion that she can handle anything that comes her way. Not too long ago, she tried to pass a test of civility and failed. I think that entire incident frustrated her, and may have been the reason she's done this. No one really understands Illyana enough to support her through this kind of trouble, and she might have a hard time grasping the concept of emotional support anyway."

"But we let her stay at the institute!" Piotr exclaimed angrily, "We gave her room and board!"

"I'm afraid that Illyana's time in Limbo has taught her to always question the motives of those who do you favors." Xavier replied sadly, "She's been expecting us to betray her, or try to use her for some time now. The fact that we continue to treat her fairly, and with respect may have only made her feel more uncomfortable. I think she sees our conduct as a ploy, and wants to know what's behind it. That may be the real reason she left; to get unfiltered information on us, and on humanity."

"I hope that information is all that she gets." Kurt said worriedly, "We should be there to stop her if she tries to hurt someone."

"You mean when she tries to hurt somebody." Jubes replied, "It's bound to happen sooner or later. She's never gotten through a training session without bashing some poor dummy's head open."

Hardly anything else needed to be said. Bobby didn't feel right about the whole thing somehow, but he knew that there was a genuine danger of Illyana flying off the handle and killing some poor fool. That was something the X-men couldn't allow.

Vincent Edison frowned as he looked across his desk at the man on the other side, sitting in a chair opposite his. The man looked proud and calm, as befitted a person of his political and social standing. He obviously had no idea who he was dealing with. He must have known that Edison was founder and majority shareholder of a large real estate company, as well as several repair and appliance companies, but there were things that he didn't know about Edison; things that might have struck fear into the heart of even a man like Senator Kelly.

"Now, would you care to explain what you meant in this letter?" Edison asked, handing the letter to the senator. It had been unfolded and read, and there was a look of interest in Edison's eyes.

"It's all explained in the letter." the senator replied.

"I'd rather hear it from your lips." Edison clarified, "If you're too embarrassed to actually say it, I could say it for you, but..."

"I'm not embarrassed." Senator Kelly replied indignantly, "The military is working on a new kind of weapon with the intention of counteracting the advantages that mutants, and other super-powered threats have. One of the experts they have working for them is a man named Doctor Bolivar Trask, and he's close to a breakthrough. He just needs funding for it."

"Curious." Edison noted, "You approached me with this for a reason, I'm sure. There must be some way that my company can benefit from it, though. If not, why come to me at all?"

"I'm authorized to offer you full access to all data, blueprints, and specifications of any technology that's developed from Doctor Trask's work if you provide funding for it." the senator replied, "I'll bet that with proper application, you could make a tidy profit off of that."

"Interesting." Edison said without the slightest tone of interest in his voice, "What kind of technology is Doctor Trask working on, precisely?"

"Since some mutants have the power to control people's thoughts, Doctor Trask is attempting to design a true artificial intelligence."

"Really?" Edison asked, suddenly amazed by the idea, "You mean a machine that can think for itself?"

"Mostly." the senator replied quickly, glad that Edison had suddenly become so interested, "It would be programmed to complete certain tasks, but within that programming, it would be able to think, reason, and learn; almost like a human being."

"Now that IS interesting." Edison replied with a smile that, to the senator, didn't quite look wholesome or pleasant, "I think I just might wind up funding your little military project, senator. How much do you need?"

It hadn't taken Marcel very long to stop smiling as he and Illyana had walked through the mall. Thanks to her wild outfit, morose expression, and tendency to talk about crazy, impossible things that could never happen, he'd seen her as a strange, new kind of person; someone he wanted to get to know better. Well, as it turned out, she certainly was all of that; she just wasn't very much fun to be around, entirely by her own choice.

As they'd journeyed through the mall together, Illyana hardly ever seemed to cast Marcel so much as a glance, or try to smile even in the slightest. Either she was absolutely miserable, or else, she was just being lazy about her own social conduct; maybe both. Marcel had a hard time dealing with people who refused to smile or laugh, no matter what you said or did. Those kinds of people brought everyone else down. He'd once thought that all he wanted was to know just one person who wasn't ordinary and boring, but Illyana wasn't either of those things, and she was still depressing to be around.

There was only one time that day, when Illyana showed any sign of having a sense of humor, and it was at the least appropriate moment. Marcel had been talking about the war in the middle east, and all of a sudden, Illyana's mouth formed into a wicked grin, then she started to chuckle a little. Marcel was almost worried that her whole face would fall to pieces from the strain of supporting such a laugh.

"What?" Marcel asked, "What's so funny?"

"People are such idiots." Illyana replied, "They call it war, as if there's anything else in the world. The places that are considered 'peaceful' are really just war zones that one side has given up fighting in."

"Well, yeah." Marcel replied after just a moment, causing Illyana's expression to return to normal, "But if one side gives up, the other side wins, right?"

"No. War is never truly won." Illyana replied condescendingly, "There are always those who fight against the regime that the victorious side imposes upon those who live in that area, and there are always those who will fight just to fight, because they crave power, and for no other reason. In the end, nothing changes. War is constant, and it has no resolution. There are victories and conquests to be had in war, of course, but they serve no higher purpose, and they can never stop war completely. War is the purest of evils, and like all pure evil, it can never truly be destroyed."

"Well, sure." Marcel responded, not certain what to say to that exactly, "But it's not just evil, you know. You can't stop people from doing good things either. It's like the light and the darkness."

Illyana, however, had thought the matter through already, and she knew that her viewpoint on that was going to differ from Marcel's sharply.

"Light and darkness, hmm?" Illyana asked, grinning again, "Look out at the night sky some time. If you strain to see, and if you're far enough away from the city, and its street lights, you might just make out the tiny points of light up there in the sky; the stars. In time, though, all of those stars will expand, then contract, becoming tiny dwarf stars. In the end, the life cycles of the stars will simply cease, and each and every one will either blink out, or will collapse into a black hole. At that time, space will be a very dark place, and there won't be even a tiny speck of light. You see, the darkness can exist by itself. It doesn't need the light's approval. The light, however, cannot exist on its own. There has never been a light that didn't cast a shadow, and the closer the light grows, the larger the shadow. In the end, it's evil that truly has the advantage. Every time someone uses the 'light and darkness' analogy on me, I make it a point to bring that up."

"I don't think I'd be able to survive if I thought about things that way," Marcel said just then, and Illyana was a little shocked by his words, "I've always thought that no matter how rotten, oppressive or cruel a person was, there was always a little bit of goodness deep down inside of them. I guess it's a little easier to see things that way."

"What's so easy about it?" Illyana asked, confused, "Doesn't that just obstruct the truth? People use that mentality to try to justify themselves in doing things that can't be justified, instead of just accepting their cruelty and wickedness. In a world full of so much self-denial, how can any true warriors be born?"

For several seconds, Marcel just stood and stared at Illyana, not sure whether to be astonished by her perspective, or feel sorry for her.

"Why do you think like that?" Marcel asked in deep worry, "I mean, why are you always talking about war and death like that's all there is to life?"

"Power and those who possess it are the only things about life that really make any difference." Illyana replied calmly, "That's understood very well in the place from which I hail; the place I grew up."

Marcel had started to see the truth about Illyana at that point, however. She had no understanding of simple things like love, compassion, and joy. It seemed that she just couldn't bring herself to take those things seriously, and that was when Marcel reached out and grabbed Illyana's hand in his own. She seemed to react with shock and amazement to the fact that he'd touched her, and yet, his touch hadn't been an attack of any sort. It was something Illyana wasn't used to.

"No." Marcel said, as he held her hand, "It's not like that. There's more to life than just having power, and forcing things to go your way. There's kindness, love, friendship... I guess it sounds a little corny talking about it like that, but if people couldn't even care about each other, life would be Hell."

"But that's not how things are." Illyana insisted, "Survival isn't helped by trying to deny the obvious. There are some who constrain themselves to a code of conduct that leads them to do right, but it's always because they want to think highly of themselves. They don't really care about..."

At that point, Marcel grabbed Illyana with his other arm, and in moments, he was hugging her tightly.

Illyana was uncomfortable with being hugged, and that made her upset. In moments, she'd begun casting a low-level spell around herself, just as she started to notice the smell of brimstone behind her. Obviously, Nightcrawler had found her, and would probably follow through on his threat, and try to kill her. It was a shame, but it seemed that the people of Earth were really as foolish as Illyana had always been taught.

However, just as Illyana was thinking those thoughts, she noticed something odd about Marcel's behavior. When Illyana had cast her spell, it had caused powerful waves of heat to radiate from her body, which had provoked intense surprise and discomfort in Marcel. As long as Illyana had already spent describing who she was, and what she was capable of, Marcel had never expected her to display such frightening powers, and obviously, the heat was quickly growing too oppressive for him, as droplets of sweat formed all over his body. That, however, wasn't the surprise. All of that had been intentional.

In that moment of pain and shock, Marcel wasn't letting go of Illyana. He wasn't defending himself, but he also wasn't releasing her.

"Let go of me, fool!" Illyana exclaimed, "If you don't, you'll be burnt to cinders!"

"What do you care?" Marcel asked, "Isn't it all about conquest, and battle, and claiming victory? Isn't that why you're doing this?"

"Dammit." Illyana muttered as Marcel clung to her, his clothes turning brown, and his hands and arms in intense pain. In moments, he knew, he'd be burned horribly, and that would be the end of it, but he couldn't let go, because in spite of his shock and amazement over what had happened, Illyana had proven to him that he had more reason than ever for clinging to her. When he'd first wanted to get to know her, it had been because she was so strange and interesting, and when he'd first embraced her, it had been because he was afraid that she had no understanding of love, and he wanted her to understand. Since the heat had started to form around her, all of those reasons had grown even stronger. He found her stranger and more interesting than ever, he was more afraid than ever that she knew nothing about love, and he wanted her to understand more than ever before. That was why, in spite of the danger, Marcel held on to Illyana, and when the heat around her started to die down, and he could feel his burns healing, and his body temperature decreasing, he was just as relieved for Illyana's sake, as for his own.

"I... um... I guess you really do care about me." Marcel said, as Illyana glared at him, "That must mean it's possible to care about somebody."

"I don't understand how this could be." Illyana replied angrily, "It doesn't make any sense."

"It makes sense to me." Marcel said with a smile, "I cared about you, and somewhere, deep down inside, I think you cared about me too. That's just how it is."

"Idiot." Illyana muttered, but Marcel wasn't going to let her go that easily; not after she'd just shown him the power that she had; the power of mercy and caring that she still possessed, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

"So... you can make heat?" Marcel asked, trying to start up the conversation again, as he finally released her.

"Among other things." Illyana replied, still glaring at him in anger.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Marcel asked, becoming concerned again, as Illyana stared at him in something that closely resembled contempt.

"It's because you made me feel uncomfortable when you embraced me." Illyana replied, still looking very angry the whole time.

"Well, caring about people can make you feel that way." Marcel said, "I guess if all you think about is how powerful you are, that saves you from having to really think about how people feel. Dealing with people's feelings can be scary, because they're pretty unpredictable."

"I'm not afraid." Illyana insisted, though in reality, she couldn't be sure whether she was or not. She feared no daemon, man, mutant, machine, weapon, or force of arms, and her philosophy of life, strength, and survival was virtually ironclad. None of those things had been altered in the slightest by the time she'd spent away from Limbo with her brother and the X-men, and yet, almost the very moment that she'd stepped off the grounds of the Xavier Institute, things had started changing for her, and whole new emotional experiences were unfolding before her. In Illyana's mind, it was full justification for her choice to leave the institute grounds unsupervised. It wasn't comfortable or satisfying to be out among ordinary human beings, but at least it was something new; something she hadn't learned about before. It was unpleasant, and yet, in its own way, it was just what she'd wanted.

The other X-men were all a little surprised when they received a message from Kurt, warning them all to stay away from Magik. Not one of them, including her own brother, had thought for even a moment that Illyana might be ready for human contact, and that news was some of the best they'd heard in weeks. It meant that Illyana was well on her way to being an ordinary girl again, and they could stop worrying about her blowing up the world, and move on to other concerns. The unfortunate thing, however, was that for the next few weeks, they'd have plenty to be concerned about.

That night, as Senator Kelly phoned Doctor Trask to let him know he'd be getting additional research funding, it was Trask who had the bigger news to give.

"Doctor." Kelly said into the phone with a smile, "I've got big news."

"I heard." Trask replied grimly into the telephone, "It's horrible."

"Really?" Kelly asked, both surprised that Trask had heard about the funding, and confused by his reaction, "But I thought the research funding was important to you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"What?" Trask asked back into the phone, "You got the funding? Did the senate...? But that doesn't matter. It's already too late."

"Trask, what are you talking about?" Kelly inquired, still confused, but suddenly starting to grow fearful as well, "Why is it too late?"

"You didn't hear?" Trask said in obvious shock, "Where are you, senator?"

"I'm at home." the senator answered, "Why?"

"Maybe you should turn on your television." Trask replied, "Turn to channel 10. They're replaying the message right now."

The senator was still incredibly confused, but he was eager to know what Trask was referring to, so he quickly rushed into the next room, and turned on the television. Almost as soon as he did, he saw an image of one of the most dangerous people in the world. It was the mutant who'd personally orchestrated the whole attack on the pentagon not that long ago; Magneto.

Kelly could see that he'd already missed whatever short introduction Magneto had given, so he switched to another news channel, and waited for them to report on the mutant's message. In moments, he saw Linda; the anchorwoman of that network, saying "We'll be replaying it one more time for those who missed it; Magneto's address to the people of the world."

Almost at once, the image of Magneto appeared, looking sad and concerned as he spoke into the camera. The resolution of the broadcast was pretty bad, but Kelly could tell that it was Magneto, and he could tell what the master of magnetism was saying.

"Good evening." Magneto said into the camera, "My name is Magneto, and I have an urgent message for everyone. There are people among you who aren't like everyone else; people who may look different from you, or who may look perfectly normal. People like myself, who look mostly normal. I speak, of course, of mutants. You may wonder what a mutant is. There's much debate over that. Some believe that mutants are the next step in humanity's evolution; a genetic leap forward along the evolutionary path. Others prefer to think that mutants are a supernatural thing, sent to Earth by God as a chastisement. Whatever you choose to believe about mutants, there are things about us that shouldn't be ignored. We have power which, in most ways, exceeds that of ordinary human beings; physical, mental, emotional... Mutant abilities can take many forms. Psychic powers, control over natural forces, simple enhanced abilities, or special powers and reactions to certain kinds of circumstances... Mutants can do all sorts of incredible things, and with proper guidance, they could become a very useful part of society."

"Unfortunately," Magneto continued, "Mutants aren't being given that proper guidance. In fact, they're frequently treated with fear and contempt, or even greeted with violence, merely because they can do things that ordinary humans can't. There's no good reason why people can't put thought and care into raising their children, whether they're mutants or not, and yet, it isn't happening. For that reason, I implore any parents watching this, to please turn off the television and spend the rest of the night with your children. If you're a young person, or you have no children, chances are that someday you might either be or encounter a mutant. I ask you not to react in fear when that day comes, but to be accepting of the differences within your mutant brothers and sisters. Mutant genes are something that a person is born with; people don't choose whether or not to be mutants, so they should be treated fairly, with a caring heart."

"If, however, you're a federal official, a member of a law enforcement agency, or working with a military organization, or any government in any way, this next message is for you. I would prefer if ordinary citizens didn't need to hear this, because it may come across as harsh."

"As governments, the nations of Earth have been colossal failures up to this point in every way that I can imagine." Magneto continued, his anger starting to show at last, "Whole nations are founded on the oppression of the poor and innocent, despots steal the charity that others would give to their starving citizens, in order to increase the size of their military. The young of planet Earth are butchered by the millions in order to permit their parents a comfortable lifestyle, and open persecution is not only tolerated, but endorsed by law in many nations that like to consider themselves civilized; even throughout Europe and the Americas. I have my eye most carefully on England, France, and the United States, because each seems to be struggling against those dangerous issues, and each seems to be losing that fight."

"I have appealed, more than once, to the sensibilities of the world powers, to change their policies, come to their senses, and welcome mutants with open arms, but I haven't been heeded, which is unfortunate. You see, mutants don't have a nation, a government, or a military to defend them. At least, they didn't until now."

Suddenly, the camera changed, to show a large ball of fire, falling from the sky, and colliding hard with the ground in the middle of a desert. The desert sands melted under its fiery touch, an accomplishment that the relentless heat of the scorching sun had never managed, and as the image of that small meteorite persisted on the camera, burning away in the middle of a large indentation in the ground, Magneto's voice could be heard again.

"These images are from a test that I ran earlier today, using a machine to draw meteorites closer to Earth. With proper calculation, and careful aim, they can be made to fall anywhere on Earth. This was the smallest of the meteorites I have at my disposal, and I tried to drop it in the least dangerous place I could think of. If I'd been trying to make war on any nation, I would have already succeeded."

With those words, the image of the desert faded from the screen, and Magneto reappeared, looking as stern as ever.

"I don't like to threaten people." Magneto said, "I'd prefer to think that the problems of mutants could be solved peacefully. Please, prove me right. I implore the world's governments to start changing their policies this very week. Don't let this situation get any further out of hand. Give mutants the chance to live their lives fairly. Give them the chance for peace. I know that many nations won't listen to me when I say this, even after what I've just shown you, but even if only one or two are willing to listen to reason, I'll dismantle my machine. Mutants are a fresh chance for all of you to prove that you're mature enough to face difficult problems with treaties and diplomacy, rather than with bombs. For the moment, I'll leave it at that. In one week, you'll hear from me again. What I say and do at that time will be largely determined by how you react. I implore you one last time; make the right choice."

Just then, the image of Magneto blinked back off, and Linda was on television again, saying "That was the message from the mutant terrorist Magneto, which was sent along all television broadcast signals just an hour ago, interrupting all other broadcasts at the time. We still await a response to Magneto's demands by federal officials, but at this point, it seems unlikely that..."

Kelly turned off the television at that point, though. He wasn't interested in Linda's speculation. He worked in government, and he knew what kind of people Magneto was trying to appeal to. There was no way they were going to react peacefully. They were politicians.

"Trask?" Kelly asked into the phone, "Are you still there?"

"Senator?" Trask replied nervously, "Did you see the broadcast?"

"Don't worry, Trask." Kelly said, "It's not too late. There's a chance this thing may work itself out, and even if it doesn't, that'll just mean that we need your new weapons more than ever."

"A-alright senator." Trask responded over the phone, not sure how else to react, "Things sure look pretty bad, though. I'd feel better if the sentinel program was in its production stages right now."

End