The Deciding Factor
"A kid?" Logan spat. "A kid is in charge of Limbo?"
"I am no ordinary child!" The girl snarled in a Russian accent. "I am Magik! Mistress of Limbo! Future ruler of the Earth!"
"Ruler my tail!" Azazel snapped. "You're not even a demon! You're human!"
A collective gasp rang out from the demons. "What did you call me?" Magik's eyes narrowed.
"Uh oh…" S'ym gulped.
"You heard me…HUMAN!" Azazel snarled.
"Uh little warning here…" S'ym said nervously. "Don't call her that!"
"Why not! That's what she is!" Azazel snarled.
"No she's not!" S'ym said very quickly. He looked at his army. "Right guys?"
"Oh yeah! He's just playing with you boss! You're 100% demon all the way!" The soldiers said very quickly.
"Yes she is," Azazel glared at her. "I can tell."
"Look buddy do us all a favor and stop saying that," S'ym hissed. "You're gonna make her mad!"
"Oh am I gonna upset the cute little human girl?" Azazel said in a mock syrupy voice. "Is she gonna cry? Is she…"
That was when Magik let out a huge magical blast that knocked Azazel into the wall. "Going to beat the proverbial stuffing out of you?" She growled. "Yes!"
"Oh great," S'ym gulped as she saw her attack Azazel. "We're all dead!"
"Not if she tires out after killing all of them," Another demon reasoned. "Then she won't take it out on us!"
"Good point," S'ym nodded.
"The girl is quite formidable human or not," Dr. Strange was trying to stop her by using a magic barrier but she broke it. "Oh dear!"
"DIE!" Magik raised her sword. It was knocked out of her hands by a magic blast. "WHO DARES?"
"We do actually!" Benny grinned as he and Amanda appeared. "Sorry we're late guys but we were kind of tied up."
"YOU?" Magik snarled. "How did you escape your chains? Not even the most powerful sorcerer can escape those!"
"Powerful yes," Amanda grinned. "But we're only beginners."
"Plus the fact that I took a few escape artist classes at the beginning of my career," Benny grinned. "I was good at it too. But I stopped because for some reason the audience was always disappointed when I escaped. So I dropped it from my act and went into comedy."
"Who cares?" Azazel snarled. "Just help us trash this girl!"
However Magik's powers were formidable. She managed to use them to knock out Jean, Rogue and Dr. Strange with a magical force wave. "We gotta take her down!" Scott shouted as he readied his visor.
Peter was standing there in shock as he watched the scene. Then he saw what Scott was going to do. "Cyclops! NO!" He shoved Scott so that his beam missed her.
"Colossus what the hell is the matter with you?" Scott yelled. "Why'd you stop me?"
"I can't let you hurt her!" Peter shouted.
"Why the hell not? She's trying to hurt us?" Logan snarled.
"Illyana!" Peter shouted. "Illyana stop!"
Magik turned to him. "How do you know my name?" She gasped.
"It' s me! Your brother!" Peter reverted to human form. "Remember?"
"Pi-otor?" Magik blinked.
"What'd she say?" Tabitha asked.
"That's the Russian version of Peter's name," Kitty explained.
"My brother!" Magik gasped. "Is it really you?"
"Little Snowflake!" Peter shouted.
"Brother!" Magik released him and embraced him.
" Little Snowflake?" S'ym looked incredulously. "You gotta be kidding me!"
"But no…" Her face twisted. "You are dead. They killed you! That is why they must pay. Why…? NO! I AM A DEMON! NOT A HUMAN!"
"You are human Illyana," Xavier told her. "More specifically a mutant. I can see it in your memories. Let me help you." He reached out to her with his telepathy. Illyana screamed and fell to her knees. "Illyana don't fight them. These are your memories. Your life. This is who you really are!"
"Illyana!" Peter grabbed her as she fell. "My sister! It's me!"
"Piotor…" Illyana sobbed. "I missed you so much!"
"What did you do to the boss?" S'ym asked.
"I merely released her suppressed memories," Xavier told him. "The ones which Belasco tried to erase, but failed."
"Okay is anyone else totally lost or is it just me?" Benny raised his hand. "What the heck is going on here?"
"I believe I can explain," Xavier said. "From what I gathered in her memories it all began when Magneto tried to kidnap her years ago."
"What?" Peter gasped.
"Why am I not surprised that old bucket head is involved in this?" Remy folded his arms. "He's always been interested in keeping Colossus under his thumb."
"I get it. Magneto intended to kidnap your sister in order to get you to work for him," Kitty told Peter. "But how did she end up here?"
"I brought myself here…" Illyana told her. She looked confused. "But somehow…I know it was not by magic."
"Her mutant powers must be teleportation into other dimensions across time and space," Xavier mused. "When Magneto tried to kidnap her, her powers must have manifested and she found herself in Limbo."
"Yes…" Magik looked at him. "That is how it happened. I remember now. Belasco found me and he made me his apprentice. But then he did something to my head. He changed my thoughts. Made me try to hate humans. To think I was a demon so it would be easier to control me and have a powerful ally to take over the Earth."
"Let me see if I get this straight," Benny said. "Belasco made you his apprentice and you beat him for control of all Limbo?"
"Well he did empower me with magical abilities as well," Magik told him. "He tried to control me…but I do not like being controlled."
"So you rebelled and took over the dimension huh?" Logan folded his arms. "I'm impressed. And I thought your brother was the fighter in the family."
"I cannot believe what I have done, what I almost did," Magik shook her head. "Brother, can you ever forgive me?"
"Of course little sister," Peter hugged her. "It was not your fault. There is nothing to forgive."
"You mean we ain't gonna invade the Earth?" S'ym groaned. "Aw man!"
"You have a problem with that?" Magik growled at him.
"Nope!" S'ym said quickly. "Actually we could use the vacation! Right guys?" He flinched as Magik glared at him again. "Or it could be back to business as usual."
"Great now that the invasion's cancelled all we have to do is repair the rift in the dimensional fabric and we can go home," Benny clapped his hands.
"It will be easier if I repair it after you all have returned home," Magik told them. "I have done it several times before."
"But aren't you coming home with me?" Peter's face fell. "Illyana we've been apart for so long and now that I have finally found you…"
"Someday brother," Magik shook her head. "But for now, my place is here in Limbo. I am needed here. Someone has to keep them in line." She pointed to the demons.
"Well if you ever wish to come to the Institute you know where to find us," Xavier nodded.
Magik nodded and opened up a portal. "This should take you back to your home. You will find that only an hour will have passed while you were here, since time functions differently in Limbo. Farewell my brother, until we meet again."
The X-Men and the others soon left the portal and found themselves in the living room. "Didn't we come this way before?" Bobby asked.
"Well that was fun," Benny said.
"Yes, loads," Matt Burke appeared. He looked at himself. "Oh damn…"
"Children could all of you please leave us adults alone for a moment?" Dr. Strange frowned. "We grown ups need to have a talk!"