บท 67: Illyana Rasputin

(Keep in mind that I don't particularly like the x-men world since the plot is so extremely weird, this will likely be the only movie/comic I will use from that (unless people really want it). I don't really like the movie from this character either so expect something fun. (also Illyana's backstory will be AU).)

On a small training courtyard, Illyana Rasputin stood holding her dragon doll, Lockheed. She tilted her head slightly, frowning as if listening to something only she could hear.

"What's up, Lockheed?" she asked. A beat of silence passed before she responded to the doll again. "Something's happening in Limbo?"

Her frown deepened as she studied the doll, waiting for an answer. "What's going on?" she murmured. ''I culled the stronger beasts there a while ago. What could be causing a disturbance now?" She paused again. "You don't know either, Lockheed?"

Illyana's strange behavior drew a glance from her classmates in the courtyard. Sam Guthrie, also known as Cannonball, watched her with a raised eyebrow as he wrapped a chain around himself, preparing for flight training. Beside him, Roberto da Costa, or Sunspot, just rolled his eyes before heading back inside, used to Illyana's one-sided conversations by now.

"Yes, Lockheed," Illyana finally said. "I'll go check it out." She opened a small blue portal in front of her, the place behind the portal was her home, her real home. But before she could step through, something flew out of the portal with terrifying speed. The object slammed into her, sending her flying backwards onto the grass.

"Блядь говно!" she cursed in Russian, groaning as she felt the heat coming from the thing that had hit her. A strange substance dripped onto her from the object, burning her arm. Gritting her teeth, she shoved the object off her and got up on her feet, glaring at it.

"What the hell?" she muttered, squinting at the figure. It was human—or at least it looked human—but its back was completely melted, with strange gray shards deep into its skin. The flesh on its back was still dripping to the ground, burning the grass where it fell.

"A person?" Illyana asked, her confusion growing. "They're not supposed to be in Limbo. That place is for me and Lockheed, not..." She trailed off, staring at the figure as it twitched slightly.

Sam landed nearby, stopping his flight training as he stared at the scene in disbelief. "What'd you do, Illyana?" he asked, with surprise on his face.

"I didn't do anything!" she snapped. "He came out of nowhere!" She gestured at the still-moving figure.

The burnt man groaned weakly, his body trembled, showing some signs of life.

"You might need to get someone, Sam," Illyana said, in a teasing tone. "It looks like its not dead yet."

The commotion drew the attention of the others in the courtyard. From the old hospital building behind them, Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane) and Dr. Reyes emerged, followed closely by Roberto, who had turned back when he heard the crash.

"What's going on, Illyana?" Dr. Reyes demanded, walking closer. She wore her usual lab coat and carried her notes around with her.

"I was training when this person suddenly appeared out of thin air," Illyana explained, gesturing at the burnt figure, smirking. "You might want to hurry, doc. It doesn't look like it's got much longer."

Dr. Reyes frowned, her eyes scanning the figure on the ground. She crouched beside him, noting the melted skin covering his back and the gray substance fused into his back. Her mind filled with thoughts. 'He's barely alive. These burns—it's like he was fighting Roberto.'

"What happened? Why is everyone just standing here?" Roberto asked, his eyes widening in horror as he stepped closer. He caught sight of the melted flesh and gagged, stumbling back and vomiting in the bushes.

Reyes ignored him and stood up quickly. "Illyana, Sam, carry him inside. Put him on a hospital bed." She turned to Roberto, wiping her hands. "Roberto, go to my office later. I need to speak with you."

Sam and Rahne exchanged uneasy looks as they approached the figure. Rahne started gagging, and almost puked at the smell of burnt flesh, but she somehow managed to keep herself together. "How did this happen?" she whispered.

"Whatever did this..." Sam muttered, shaking his head as they carefully lifted the figure. "It wasn't human."

"Don't be so dramatic," Illyana scoffed, leading the way. "Plenty of things could do this. You just haven't seen them yet."

As they carried the man, they kept his head facing down to avoid touching the melted skin on his back. The smell followed them through the corridors, making Rahne and Sam visibly pale. They turned a corner and arrived at a small room where Dr. Reyes was waiting with a hospital bed.

"Put him here, quickly," Reyes ordered, pushing the bed out to meet them. Once the figure was secured on the bed, she turned to the group. "All of you, go back to your rooms. Sam, find Roberto and tell him to stay in his room until I call for him."

The group hesitated but eventually listened, leaving Reyes to bring the burnt figure into the room and shut the door. She immediately began working, cooling the room and stabilizing the patient with IV fluids. As his body temperature dropped, she cleaned the burns carefully, applying sterile solutions to prevent infection.

Her eyes fell on the gray material embedded in his back. She grabbed a scalpel and pliers, attempting to cut away the strange substance, but the normal blade couldn't cut it. Frowning, she tried again with more force and a place further away from the black substance. Still, nothing.

"It's fused," she muttered, her brow furrowed. "The material and his skin—it seems like they are one. Even on the parts where it doesn't look grey, I can only cut the very surface." She set the tools aside with a frustrated sigh, focusing on removing the dead skin instead. Hours passed before she finally left the room, exhausted but intrigued.

"What a strange ability, it's like the grey parts have a mind of their own." Reyes mused, as she thought about all the possible mutations.

She had already reported the incident to her superiors. Their response from the very first second was predictable: 'Draw blood samples and keep him alive. Someone who can survive wounds like these can survive much more and be trained in a perfect weapon.'

------

Liam wandered through the familiar destroyed city he had visited many times before. This time, however, him being there felt completely different.

"This place again," he muttered. The sky, still completely filled with dark clouds. He traced the ancient runes carved into the city walls, the same ones he had examined countless times in the past. "None of this makes any sense," he admitted to himself.

He looked towards the center of the city. At the center was another wall, partially destroyed, barely visible from where Liam was. The last time he'd tried to explore the center, he'd been stopped by those strange figures.

"This time, I'll do something different," Liam decided. He turned away from the city and looked towards the massive walls behind him. "Let's see what's outside."

He stared up at the massive outer wall that surrounded the city. 'Now how will I climb this?'