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Staring down the Metahuman Supremacy Front with a gaze that would’ve rivaled Medusa herself, Illyana felt her heart crumble as she spotted the large group gathered towards the side of the room away from the costumed villains before her. Her eyes darted around the faces of the hostages, taking in each and every one of them. Her eyes fixated on that of a young boy. He must’ve only been around five or six. His tear-stained face was frozen in a state of disbelief from her sudden appearance, the gag in his mouth probably the only thing keeping him from screaming in both excitement and terror. The gunmen gathered around them had raised their rifles towards her. That was something at least. At least the prisoners now had a sliver of hope that they wouldn’t be shot. 

The fear they were emoting pained her, yet she kept held her glare. She had to remain strong. 

How could she be so stupid though? 

Her mind raced. 

How was she meant to take down both the mutant terrorists and their armed goons?

She moved her gaze to the terrorists. There were three of them here. The obviously named Forearm, the guy she’d already knocked down who she could only assume was Kamikaze, and the red vixen herself Burnout; her eyes tearing into Illyana’s own with an intent to kill. The information the guard had reluctantly told her at the mercy of the [i]Flames of the Faltine[/i] seemed to have rung true, minus the inclusion of the innocents here. Now it was time for the real challenge. 

As if by some miracle, Burnout of all people gave her a fighting chance.

“Hold your fire boys,” She warned, flashing her eyes towards the goons. “She’s mine.”
. 
Illyana had barely a second to prepare herself before the Metahuman Supremacy Front were upon her. The largest of their group heaved his body towards her, leaping into the air with a mighty bound, all four of his muscular arms above his head in preparation for his strike. Yet despite the imminent threat of his strength breaking her in half, Magik held strong. Channeling the shield spell she’d performed earlier around the tip of her staff, she swung it forwards violently. The force sent Forearms flying as if a baseball being hit by a bat. As she watched the brute crash into a series of bookcases, a blur of red caught her attention in the corner of her eye. 

As she turned towards the oncoming speedster, she found herself too late to dodge the sharp edge of the crimson blade scraping across his side. Pain seared through her body as she rolled backward, narrowly avoiding two more lunges that would’ve definitely found their target if she hadn’t moved. 

“You some kind of Witch, Blondie?” Burnout jeered, lunging her gauntlet’s claws towards Magik’s throat.

The metal clanged loudly against the Soul Staff.

Illyana stayed silent. 

She pivoted backward raising it once more to defend herself from the numerous slashes that followed. Burnout moved quickly, yet as Magik grew to learn, she was clumsy. Unsure of her powers. She may have known how to fight, but not with this newfound speed. All she had to do was wait for her to slip up. Which was easier said than done when combatting someone with super speed. 

She moved backward, only to find herself attacked from a new angle as Burnout rushed around to her side in a flash. Illyana groaned as she went to parry, the continuous smiling on Burnout’s face doing nothing but angering her more. But as she moved, her foot slipped against the rubble beneath her feet. Tumbling backward, Illyana found herself falling from the balcony down onto the shelves below. 

Free Falling for half a second, she snapped to attention, focussing into her staff which lifted her back upwards into the center of the room with a whoosh of air. Illyana watched as the joy dropped from Burnout’s face, forming a scowl. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, however.

A sharp hiss filled the air, as Kamikaze found his footing below. His body radiated with fiery energy as he took to the air, rocketing towards the sorceress like a torpedo. 

He was moving with so much momentum that he couldn’t even stop at the sight of a stepping disc appearing in front of his target. Hitting the mutant energy, he vanished, only to materialize a second later. He’d only been moved a few feet, but it made all the difference. Appearing directly behind the blonde mutant, he shot up towards the balcony, finding a new target; Forearm, who’d been preparing to engage their attacker himself. The explosion rocked them both, shooting fireworks of red energy around the room as they were flung into unconsciousness. 

“Oh, you absolute bitch.”

Illyana nearly began to gloat before the shout from Burnout took her attention away. The speedster had leaped through the air, and in a manner of seconds, she was on her. The blade sank into her side, clawing through both her clothes and then her skin. Illyana yelped loudly as she dropped to the floor. The metal of the blade had reached her ribs. She could do nothing more than cough and splutter, blood spilling from her wound and mouth. 

How could she had been so stupid?

Her vision faded for a second. When it regained, the blade was gone, and the woman in red paced above her. Her body ached. Her side feeling as if she’d been torn apart. Burnout let out a laugh. Moving closer, she leaned down towards the broken witch. Using the bloody tip of her blade, she scraped it along Illyana’s chin, bringing it up to face her. Her ruby lipstick mirrored the blood that poured from her wounds. Her eyes were alive with the madness of a psychopath. 

“Aw, so you really thought you could just burst in here and save the day?” Burnout jeered, a false sense of childlike innocence in her voice. 

Illyana tried to tear her face away, her eyes falling on the boy from before. He was trembling. All hope was gone. He held to his mother’s hand as if his life depended on. 

Burnout caught her gaze. Her voice shifted as she continued, growing colder.  

“Get real, blondie. Like you ever had a chance.” She rose to her feet and turned towards the guards. Raising her arm, she pointed to the child’s mother, before calling out to the nearest guard. “Randall, now.”

The scream that escaped Illyana did nothing to muffle the ring of gunfire that echoed around the room. 

Her voice slowly faded, breaking down into a series of broken sobs and croaks. Her eyes fell to the wood of the floor, broken. She didn’t care for the pain that flooded her body. It was already over.

“Do you want to know the best part?” Despite being nothing more than a whisper, Burnout’s voice cut through Illyana’s cries, silencing her. The villain was leaning over her once more, speaking quietly into her ear. “The whole world is going to blame those dirty mutants for this. And we’re going to get away scot-free.”

Her laughter radiated. It made Illyana furious. 

Back in Limbo, Belasco cared not for the magics of mankind. He used his own instead. A home-brew blend of black magic; filled with hate. Filled with all manners of hate and anger. Filled with pain. He channels the edge of eternity. Perverting it. Giving it permission to spread like a virus. 

That hate. That energy of pain. That was the force that erupted from Magik’s cold body as she lay there on the ground. It erupted in a fury of blackened smoke, with the spirits of those that had perished in the carnage today radiating through it. The force lifted her to her feet, returning the blood and guts that had spilled out back to its rightful place as her wound sealed.

As the darkness cleared, Magik found all weapons in the room pointed at her. The guards moved slowly, their eyes wide and scared. Burnout was no exception. The smile was gone now. Instead, she gasped in disbelief. 

Magik looked down at her Soul Staff. The staff was a tangible extension of her soul. Its form was what came most naturally to her. Back when she had first called it into being, all she needed was a tool. A way of focussing her abilities. But not anymore.

Now she needed a weapon.

The sword that formed in her hand was black and elegant just like its former counterpart. A blade of energy ran like fire from the hilt, glowing a deep blue as it radiated with power. 

Ignoring the shouts and threats from the guards she took a step forward.

“[color=rosybrown]You had a chance. Now it’s time for you to feel your souls [/color][color=crimson][b]bleed[/b].[/color]”