M A G I K *

( @ofmagiks​ )

“what a strange curiosity you’ve become,“ stephen stated with a joyful lilt to his tone as he looked illyana over, a smile spreading on his lips from beneath his beard. “are you of the magi now? well, i suppose you always sort of have been, have you not?” he continued to muse as he took off his wizard’s hat and scratched at his long gray hair before replacing the hat and nodding to her. “what a pair we make.”

“i thought you were the strange one?” she was teasing – almost positively giddy at the change of events. this was the closest she’d come to having powers since their time here and it brought illyana a sense of thrill she’d rarely expressed before. “i don’t know what exactly is going on, but i want to hocus pocus the hell out of this place.” she grinned from where she was sitting – perched on a broomstick levitating just enough above the ground. “if i’m a stereotypical witch and you’re that old wizard guy, what exactly do you think we could pull off around here? can we turn doom into a frog?”

“oh no, it’s not rude at all. i’m fred jones from scooby-doo. it’s an american cartoon i grew up watching—well, until this little sight mishap happened anyway. but it’s about a group of friends who solve ghost mysteries.” he remembered being inspired by the mystery machine gang into going into detective work and make something for himself like his dad wanted him to but his blindness led him to another career path instead. not that he was unhappy with his law practice but he only just realised how connected it was to his childhood goal. “curious how he always calls himself handsome but he doesn’t show his face to everyone.” the lawyer found it ironic that a narcissist like doom would hide his face. “i don’t think anyone takes the overlord seriously. but best to stay out of his way considering he has miss frost working for him.”

illyana let out a quiet hum as he explained the costume further. “ah – my parents had farmland in russia, unfortunately no american cartoons. although, if we did, i think something about solving ghost mysteries would’ve been something i enjoyed.” she left out the part where the rest of her childhood was spent in a demonic hellscape – she’d learned not many people knew what to say to that. illyana wasn’t always the most graceful in conversation, but she was making the attempt. “he protests it too much. to be quite honest, i’m not sure i’d like to know what he looks like under that mask – and i can grow horns and turn into a demon.” so much for the tact. her tone was too blunt and honest. “but even so, miss frost doesn’t worry me much, i’m immune to most telepathy even if she had her abilities. i look forward to seeing what this man can throw at me.”

“I think spray paint would be fun, bring a bunch of different colors to really redecorate his portraits. I think a classic mustache over some of them would be hilarious.” Johnny is grinning at the thought, but he doesn’t really want to find out what’s in the doomgeuns which is why the boy has been behaving himself. “It’s nice to meet you, Illyana. Yeah, I can usually do that. HUMAN TORCH they call me, but with the dampeners around the city my powers only work enough to keep me alive at the moment.”

“i believe some facial hair in the style of stephen strange would truly make a statement.” she mused with a quiet grin. it was a rare time in which she seemed to act her age – as opposed to someone who had to grow up far too soon. “if i had the resources, i would do in rainbow.” illyana didn’t care much for the consequences, in fact, she was rather curious about them. “the power dampeners have been unfortunate. i’m also called magik – i’ve spent some time with the x-men, on and off. normally, i can create portal disks, but i also have an affinity for sorcery. not that it matters much in this place.”

When she spoke she immediately caught Gwen’s attention and she snorted in response. “Honestly, I’ve known some pretty self-absorbed guys in my life, but this really takes the cake.” Gwen had always been a fan of Halloween growing up, but in recent years she hadn’t really had the motivation to celebrate it anymore; being forced to now wasn’t winning Doom any popularity contests with her. “I’m sure there’s bound to be a marker here somewhere… Shouldn’t be too difficult to find.”

illyana turned to look at her a moment before humming in agreement. “he’s a laughable excuse for a ruler, that’s for certain.” she mused. normally, illyana behaved much older than people would expect from her, but every so often a more mischievous side found it’s way through. “unless he’s banned markers today.” her attention glanced back around them for anything she could use. “i believe these portraits are in dire need of an upgrade.”

matt had been planning on skipping the party and maybe hide out in his apartment. until, apparently, their dictator took it upon himself to make attendance and costumes mandatory so now he was here. stuck in a party. as fred jones from scooby doo. the irony of being the designated driver and leader of the mystery machine when matt was blind wasn’t lost on him but he can’t say he hated it; he grew up watching scooby doo—at least until he got caught up in the accident—after all. “i can imagine. is it his face or his mask on the wall?” if he heard the stories right, doom hasn’t shown his face in a while. “ah, fresh out of pens, sorry. although i wouldn’t recommend testing your artistic skills today. there are robots roaming about.”

illyana side glanced over to him as he spoke up, a look of confusion washing over her features as she tried to figure it out. “is it rude to ask what you’re dressed as?” admittedly, she hadn’t had much of a childhood that would’ve made her aware of the cartoon. her childhood home in russia didn’t have television – and well, neither did limbo. turning her attention back to the portraits, illyana hummed a moment. “the mask, i think there’s something wrong with his face that he doesn’t permit others to see it.” she mused before shaking her head, although aware that he couldn’t exactly see her do it. “i don’t fear the robots or his doomgeuns, as he calls it. it all sounds rather ridiculous, i can’t take it seriously.”

Johnny has always enjoyed dressing up — which doesn’t surprise anyone. He raises an eyebrow looking up at all the areas of the room that had DOOM plastered over it. “You know what? I usually carry one around because of my job, but it’s in my other pants.” He frowns at the disappointment, but is quick to smile again before anyone notices. “I’m sure someone has one if you REALLY want to make these paintings BETTER. I’m Johnny, by the way.” He extends a hand for a proper greeting.

the possible threat of being thrown in the doomgeuns or pit of doom for defacing the portraits didn’t cause illyana much fear. in fact, the young demon sorceress was curious what the man could possibly throw at her that as if she hadn’t already seen worse. “hm, next time i’ll have to remember to bring one, or perhaps spray paint. i think that would also do the trick.” she mused before glancing over to him with a hint of a grin on her lips before taking his hand in quick gretting. “illyana. you’re the one that can usually burst into flames, correct? i believe i’ve heard of you.”

erik blinked up at the grand walls of the castle, it was impressive but not nearly as wonderful as the genosha castle he had built for himself. with a bit of a sniff, he turned his attention away and used the walking cane he’d found for his costume as a way to push people aside as he moved towards the snack table. his attention was quickly caught by a young woman who seemed to be emanating a strange sort of energy, when she spoke he gave a bit of a smirk before glancing up at one of the portraits and sighing. “i’m sure i could find you something, he would deserve it - everything about this man is a mockery to true progress.” he turned swiftly to face her, a small smile on his lips. “i’m erik, but i suppose as for this evening i am lestat.”

it took her a moment, without her magic, to recognize him. she’d better known his as an older man, but the younger mutant was keen and recognized the features. “he deserves worse, but i’ll take what i can get right now.” her shoulders shrugged, glancing around for any type of marker that she could use, turning back to him quickly when a doombot strolled by. “illyana resputina.” she introduced, knowing that despite her recognizing who he was, he wouldn’t know her. “i’m a witch for the night, obviously.” she pointed to the witches hat on her head as if it were the most obvious thing, despite being the only telling part of her outfit. “it’s not a far stretch, normally people call me magik.”

Logan wasn’t social at the best of times, and this was far from the best of times. But so far the party was … bearable, if he just thought of it as a scouting opportunity to suss the place out, so that they could get round to burning it down to the ground in a hurry. 

He was distracted from his thoughts of pyrotechnics when someone spoke up, and he glanced over. “Yeah, and I thought Magneto had an ego problem.” He snorted. “This guy takes the cake.” 

Hunting around in his pockets, he produced a pen. “Here, it’s not marker, but I’m sure you can be creative. What’s your name, kid?”

illyana paused, taking a moment to look over logan – her initial reaction curious as to why he wouldn’t know her. she’d lived with the x-men as a child when piotr joined the team, and again after growing up in limbo when she’d joined them. “illyana rasputina.” she finally answered, accepting the pen. “are you from another timeline or reality? if i had my magic, i’d know without having to ask.” she questioned, taking the cap off the pen and promptly moving to one of doom’s portraits, doodling facial hair on the metal mask that resembled stephen strange’s. “my brother is piotr rasputin, colossus. some people are more familiar with him.”

illyana paused, quietly deliberating over the reaction to decide on an appropriate response. this has never been her strong point, she wasn’t great with people, let alone ones that seemed upset. “are you unhappy with one of the currently things banned?” she queried, figuring it was likely one of the obvious sources these days. “if it helps, it seems this man is prone to flights of fancy and the bans will change with his mood.” her shoulders shrugged, hand moving to push blond hair from her face. “perhaps tomorrow, he will trip on a chair and all chairs will be banned.”

“i don’t think I’m following your logic.” she commented, brows knitting in a moments confusion before thinking it over. “then again, logic doesn’t seem to be the commonplace here. i can’t even recall what’s been banned today, although i’m a bit curious as to what actually is in a pit of doom.” she mused, before getting back to the subject at hand. “but though they may not matter to the ruler of this land, facts will still matter to most people.”

illyana hummed in response, the blue hues of her eyes glancing over the building in question. she’d seen worse, but  could understand the sentiment regardless. “i believe it’s doom’s intention for everything to feel imposing.” she mused, having gathered the man was rather self-involved. everything seemed to need everything about him. “but i believe that’s all it is. a facade to make a man feel important and keep others in fear, no one can be more than him, more important or more powerful. spoiler alert, it never ends well for men like him.”

She was too clever … a bit like Morgan, if he thought about it, which made him miss his kid with a huge pang. Somewhat like taking a pike through the gut. Just more painful.

“Demonic tongues, huh? So… you talk to Bob a lot then?”

He paused as she mentioned the bedrooms, trying desperately to remember how loud they’d been. 

(The answer? Very.)

“You know, you remind me a lot of my kid. Way too perspective for her own good.” He grinned ruefully, giving up the attempt at diversion. “I bet you know that I’m moved in… and yes, I’m sharing Stephen’s bed, I only seduced him a little, the only magic I used was my usual charm, and if you hear him yelling at night, please don’t be alarmed.” He ticked off the points and thought about it.

“And what? Smell myself? No. Of course I didn’t. I was just checking something.” He waved vaguely. 

When she offered up details of her family, and the hint that she’d lost her parents young, his expression softened. “You know, I never knew you had a brother. How many other siblings do you have? And baking a potato’s a lot more than what I can do, so there you go. You should ask Stephen, though. The man can cook amazingly well. Maybe we should gang up on him, get him to whip up something - what’s your favourite dish?”

“i do – he’s polite for a demon and i find demons can make for easier conversation than most people.” it wasn’t really an insult to anyone, or not intended to be, but more of a personal preference. her more formative years were spent with demons and though they weren’t the polite sort, she’d learned how to communicate with them, understood how they seemed to work.

illyana remained passive as he gave in to her attempts at teasing, providing a few more details than she needed but this was tony stark and she should have expected as much. “hm. i’ll refrain from sending my demons to check on him at the occurrence of concerning sounds, then.” she commented casually. she didn’t think much of sex – she had other concerns when she’d hit the age that most people would’ve become interested in the topic – but even she knew the thought of them being interrupted with a limbo demon was rather amusing.

her head nodded, pausing to consider her family for a moment – they weren’t close, not anymore. “i have two older brothers. mikhail and piotr. mikhail is... troubled. piotr is with the x-men. colossus, large and often in a metal form.” she explained, and though she didn’t often speak with the russian accent of her childhood, it seemed to slip out at the topic. illy hummed quietly as she thought of foods, some she’d thought she’d forgotten. “i haven’t had a good stroganoff in a while, or pelmeni.”

Bobby nodded in the defeat of his theory and the inhaled. “Well, I know I shouldn’t be out here alone, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell Scott or Jean. I’m just looking for other people. The Sanctum is one of a couple places where I haven’t been. Most people don’t want to go down there with me.” He paused at her comment about the Genoshan Castle. “Oh yeah, it burned down. It fell even. I was inside it with John – Pyro as that happened.”

“right, i believe they’re recommending we all use the buddy system out here.” she only seemed to just remember that herself with a small nod of her head. “i won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me.” her shoulders shrugged. granted, despite her younger age compared to the rest, they rarely tried to tell her what to do. maybe they considered her mature of her age or they didn’t want to risk upsetting her. “then lets go look.” illyana didn’t hesitate much, already moving in the direction of the cave that contained the lower levels of the institute. “you were there? helping get people out, i’d assume?”

“Magic sorcerer,” Tony shot back immediately, grinning. Said grin fell off his face a moment later when Illyana mentioned it being a term of endearment.

“Ah,” he said intelligent, reaching up to scratch the back of his head in a nervous gesture. “Yes, that. Endearment. Funny you should mention it. I mean, almost like you know something. Do you know something?” He squinted at her.

He was stalling, of course, trying to find out just how much she knew. Gulping mentally, he wondered if she had magic enhanced senses. Could she smell Stephen on him? Did he smell like Stephen? Did it even work that way? Raising an arm, he sniffed at his sleeve.

Huh. No way of telling. 

“I’m not much of a cook either,” he said, jumping on the conversation topic in an attempt to divert and run as fast as he could away from the actual conversation topic. “My grandest cooking attempt was trying to make an omelette for Pepper to apologise. Took me three hours, and she didn’t even eat it. In fairness to me, however, I was trying to cook in a very small, and not very well equipped, plane kitchen. The only other time I tried, I managed to set the whole kitchen on fire. Smoothies, though– I’m king of smoothies.”

There, was that sufficient distraction?

“redundant.” she emphasized again, though it was a bit ironic for a sorceress whose codename was magik. her head tilted to the side, watching him with a nearly amused curiosity. his mannerisms and lack of answering gave her the answer she was looking for. “i know all sorts of things. i know russian, latin, english, and various demonic tongues for example.” maybe it was a little cruel, but illyana thought she’d make him sweat a little. “i also know i don’t sleep well at night, and the path i take to get from where i sleep in the attic, to bob the demon – who provides wonderful late night conversations – takes me past the other bedrooms.”

her arms folded in front of her, shifting her weight to one leg while black boots dug into the ground. “is there something i should know?” truthfully, illyana didn’t know anything for certain, but she could take some guesses. her brows furrowed quickly in confusion as she watched him. “did you just smell yourself?”

her head nodded as she followed along his quick jump to the availability of another topic, again, it sort of gave her the answer. her stance relaxed somewhat, still guarded, but having the opportunity to tease him some lightened her. “my brother does smoothies as well. i don’t think i understood them much. why liquify foods? is that not what our teeth are for?” she paused. “mama tried to teach me to cook. i was too young to remember it much, though i could probably bake a potato.”

limbo. otherplace. it wasn’t what people thought when they heard the word. not necessarily the place between life and death, not purgatory – though she could see why someone may think so. it was a pocket dimension, one of demons and magic. as it’s own dimension, it was allowed it’s own sorcerer supreme. belasco, the demon sorcerer, once held this title – but he was banished, and as the one to do it, illyana became the demon sorceress of limbo.

the only thing was, she hadn’t been there in some time. the savage lands left her unable to access her dimension, to maintain the hold she had over it. yet, it was where she found herself. but this wasn’t her limbo – the dimension altered itself to reflect it’s sorcerer – and this, the place she stood now, was the limbo of belasco. some part of her knew it wasn’t real, her mind was defensive against telepathy and her power would be amplified in the true limbo, unparalleled. yet, at that moment, she felt like she could barely touch her powers, they felt like a shadow, there but barely able to be grasped.

the further she moved into her nightmare, the further she felt her powers slip away. with what little she could access, she reached to the only other mind she knew could help her here. she could nudge at his mind, try to pull him in but he’d be able to fight it if he chose. illyana hoped stephen would recognize it as her and follow.

“this shouldn’t be here, it was the first thing i got rid of when i took this dimension.” she stood in front of a castle – the once home of belasco. the place the took her, the place he filled her with false promises and contorted her soul bit by bit. illyana paused, she didn’t have to turn to him to know he’d come. instead, her eyes fell on the small figure at the doors of the castle. a little girl with blonde hair that fell in front of her face as her head hung down, the russian words came from her with an innocence that illyana could barely recognize. “ты не должен быть здесь. он не любит перерывы.”

burnt umber: how stable is your muse, mentally and/or emotionally?