"I don't get it," Scott grumbled.
"We have the largest team of mutants possibly ever assembled, and the Avengers. So why does it feel like we're so outnumbered?"
"None of us expected to have to fight Belasco and Magneto at the same time," Kurt said. "I'm going to need a nap."
He suddenly pointed.
"Scott! Schau da!"
Coming over the hill was (what was left of) the Giant Team. Elixir and Josh lead them down to the group.
"Elixir? Am I glad to see you."
"Yes, this situation seems much more my speed. And young Laura's, I'd wager. Have you seen Anna, or the Captain?"
"Weren't they with you?" Kurt asked. His blood turned to ice hearing his sister's name.
"We got separated back there. As long as they're together I'm not too worried. I'd still like to know though. Perhaps Emma can run a search?"
Cyclops bowed his head.
"Emma… and Rachel… they got separated from us too."
"Oh, Scott. That's terrible. But they're strong. We just need a bit of faith."
She-Hulk, not sensing that the conversation would get any less awkward, decided to step up.
"Hi. I'm Jen. Can I assume that the dude in the helmet is a bad guy?"
Ant-Man grew into view.
"Correct! We haven't met either, I'm Scott. Would it be playing into stereotypes for me to suggest you smash?"
"Not at all," Jen winked. "He looks like he's about due."
Above the battle, Erik clashed with daughter.
"Your powers have grown strong," he said between blows. "We need not be enemies."
"Need and want are too different things, Dad. I've spent most of my life hating what you represented for our people."
"You wound me, Lorna," he said. "But in time you will come to forgive my perceived sins."
The sound of sarcastic laughter resonated from on high. Magneto looked up to see Belasco grinning with bemusement.
"And what would you know about sin?"
"You."
"Ah, the famous "Iron Angel" that's caused so much disruption amongst my ranks. Really, Erik, did you think a cute nom de plume would hide the identity of the metal-themed rebel leader living in the hills? The only reason that loathsome head of yours is still on your shoulders is that helmet you've deigned to hide it in."
"You have known power for too long, Belasco," Magneto replied. "You have forgotten its virtues. I have not. I knew as soon as I saw the influence you wielded over Limbo that if I could take some for my own, I could unmake you."
"You may have gleaned some of Limbo's magic. But I am still Sorcerer Supreme. And I cannot be bested by the likes of you."
"Do you dare take that chance?
This intense standoff was suddenly interrupted by the airborne arrival of Sym, smoking and scorched.
A shape wreathed in magenta fire came down from the sky and planted itself on Sym's chest.
"It's impossible…"
The resemblance is quite striking, a familiar voice went through his head. She certainly takes after her mother.
As the flames dissipated and Rachel came into view, Emma crested the hill.
"Oh thank goodness, you're alright," Scott collapsed.
"I gave you my word, Scott," Emma smiled tearfully as she ran to her partner. "I'm just glad it's still worth something."
"This is touching, really," Belasco sneered. "But you're simply more lambs to the slaughter."
A bolt of magic slashed him across the face, smoking from Magneto's hands.
"Not all of us are so meek."
"Such a succulent, sorrowful fruit," N'astirh preened over the ensorcelled Kitty. She stood stock still, a pained expression on her face.
"She yearns for the teammates that she lost, that I've assured her have all been taken by my mists. In this way has her heart fallen to despair, and desperation. Desperate to set right the mistakes of the past. Desperate too, to help her soulless friend, to tell her that everything will be alright."
He leaned over her, proudly grinning.
"A lie more venomous than anything. A shade of hope."
"I've heard enough," Thor bellowed. "Try to weave such curses without your head!"
He threw Stormbreaker in a wide arc. When N'astirh failed to move out of the way, Thor's eyes widened. The hammer clattered to the pavement a few paces short of its destination.
"What's wrong?" Valkyrie said.
"He's bound himself to her, through some enchantment."
"I can see it too, now," Dani said. "Like chains. No. Like strings. Like a puppeteer."
"I was almost hoping you'd be too meat headed to figure it out," N'astirh tittered.
"This young kitten and I share a life force, now. Any blow that I receive will be dealt in kind to her. I wonder, how many good chops from that mighty armament of yours would this frail creature be able to survive? Not many, I would wager."
Thor seethed.
"What foul sorcery-"
"A dead man's spell."
Doctor Strange floated down, observing the peculiar scene.
"A nasty piece of work. Befitting for one such as him, wouldn't you agree?"
"Doctor," Beast called up. "Perhaps you can break this spell our unfortunate headmistress has found herself under."
"I'm afraid not, Doctor McCoy. But Illyana could. If we could find her."
Colossus strode forward. "What do you mean? Where is my sister?"
"You're her brother? Good. Come with me. She'll need your help."
"Not without me," Dani said. "We'll call the others on the way."
Strange quickly conjured a portal and started herding Piotr and Dani into it.
"What about the rest of us?" Wasp asked.
"Stall," Strange said. "And kite him to the north. This battle will be decided there."
Illyana's shoes hit the ground in a dimly-lit room. Illyana, however, was not inside them. Their shared body now sported the black hair and red eyes of Darkchilde, with a pair of horns sprouting from the forehead.
Something about seeing that crystal, and the soul inside, had triggered something instinctual, something involuntary, in the core of her brain. After being on the inside looking out for so long, the sensations she was feeling were… surreal. She looked at her hand. It was still clutching Belasco's soul. She never imagined she would see it for herself.
She could finally…
Her blood turned to ice.
What am I supposed to do now?
She scoped out her new surroundings. It looked like the back of a barber shop. Beyond a curtain the outside light filtered through.
"It's her!" A small, gravelly voice shouted from somewhere in the room.
"The Darkchilde!" Another came from behind her.
All around her everyday objects in the shop were beginning to animate. Crawling pairs of scissors, hobbling jars of barbasol, cans of shaving cream, madly spinning chairs and hissing hair dryers. All creating a swarm that surrounded the raven haired girl, showering her with adoration.
"Darkchilde! Darkchilde!"
"We love you!"
"Fulfill your destiny!"
"No!"
"Take command of us!"
"The Inferno!"
"Stop!"
"Complete the Inferno!"
"Darkchilde!"
Through the cacophony, Darkchilde could hear one particular voice. Her voice.
She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. In her place was Illyana, a look of terror in her face.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"Because we're the same! I can feel your fear!"
"Just stop talking! Too many voices!"
"You don't have to be what they want you to be! Don't give in to the fear!" The blonde girl shouted, pounding on the inside of the glass.
"It isn't too late!"
Darkchilde ran from the barber shop. She needed someplace quiet to think. She didn't find it. Unknowingly having teleported into the heart of San Francisco, there was nothing between her and the full delirium of the Inferno.
Every part of the street writhed and undulated as a nightmarish mass. Motorists shrieked inside their vehicles as they looped endlessly down a Lombard Street that seems to fold in on itself, while thorny vines snapped at them from the flowerbeds. Subways corkscrewed vertically from the pavement, shooting upwards until they were lost in the amber fog choking the sky. Crossing signals flashed madly between "KILL" and "DIE" at every intersection, and trolleys crawled like pill bugs up the sides of buildings.
Everywhere she looked were eyes, or teeth. Legions of ravenous faces piled on top of one another, clicking and scratching and gnashing and whispering. Whispering at her.
As the Darkchilde ran deeper into the Inferno, Illyana's voice grew fainter.
"It isn't too late!"
The X-Men watched Magneto face off with Belasco from the ground.
"What do we do in this situation Mr. Summers?"
"You know what they say about the enemy of your enemy, Chris?"
"They're your friend," Laura said. "So who's the friend here?"
"We've dealt with Magneto before. He talks a big game, but he isn't the threat here."
"This was always about Illyana, and her soul," Hisako added. "We're going after the demonic overlord."
Wolverine popped out her claws.
"Pile it on, X-Men!"
Belasco laughed as he and Erik landed on the roof of a building.
"You've stolen a shred of Limbo's magic. Impressive. But a dire mistake. That magic is rightfully mine. There will be no end to your suffering for this transgression."
Magneto closed his fist, and the edge of a sign cut across Belasco's face at lightning speed. It reopened the wound left by Ororo in their battle some months ago.
"You cannot threaten me with violence. Where I come from - that is what true suffering looks like. You're a monster in a fairy tale."
Belasco coughed. A trickle of thick crimson ichor spilled from the scar. And for a moment, he lost his composure.
"You ignorant pretender. Every inch of this city dances to my dark rhythm. What do you hope to achieve here? To wage war on the very sement beneath your feet? You - and all of your mutant friends - are doomed!"
It felt incredible. Rogue had to wonder as she soared through the sky, was this what Captain Marvel felt like all the time? The wind surged through her hair, and in her chest it felt like a fire was churning. She blasted cyclops after cyclops, singing their hides and toppling them with her punches. And yet she felt like it was only the tiniest bit of what she was capable of. She reached inward and willed even more energy to the surface.
"Uh oh."
Too much. That fire inside her was beginning to spin out of control. She could see the energy welling up beneath her skin. It wanted out.
So I'd better put it to use! She thought as she made a beeline for the nearest giant.
Anna went supernova, the energy of the Tesseract bursting from her like a tiny star. The force melted the giant, but launched her several hundred yards away, where she landed in a pile of bricks that used to be an apartment complex.
It's a good thing I absorbed some of Carol's invulnerability too, she thought.
That was when she heard the rumbling.
The light of her attack had attracted multiple cyclopes to her position, their footsteps rattling the ground. She turned to fly off again, but found her escape blocked by one particularly large one-eyed brute. He laughed to himself, a guttural, disturbing sound. And then he lifted up his gargantuan foot to bring it down on top of the young mutant.
Rogue closed her eyes, and braced for the end…