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Magik Lore

Limbo Border

The flames rose high in the netherworld known as Limbo, and the sinister demons who dwelled in the accursed realm bowed in reverence. After all, it wasn't every day that two of the most powerful magicians in the Multiverse graced this dimension with their presence.

Wanda Maximoff may have been the Sorceress Supreme in her home reality, but despite her power and status, she was merely an honored guest. For in Limbo, none were as powerful or respected as the queen of the realm — Illyana Rasputin, the Mutant known as Magik.

Magik had recently returned from the battlefront of a timeline-spanning war against malevolent gods and demons that showed no signs of stopping. Limbo may have been no more than a scorched wasteland, but she had to admit, she was glad to be home. At least until the moment a portal opened and Wanda walked through. Because, in any reality, when the Scarlet Witch turned her eyes upon Mutants, there was no predicting what might happen next.

"What brings you to my kingdom, Witch?" Magik asked, her Russian accent sharpening her every word like tiny daggers. It was clear she was not thrilled to be called upon during her brief moment of respite. Illyana's cold gaze would likely have sent a chill down the spine of even the fieriest of her subjects. But Wanda Maximoff had seen far worse in her time defending her own collapsing reality and remained undeterred.

"I have come to gather allies for a great war beyond the ones here," responded Wanda.

"I already have plenty of allies," Magik said with a smile, motioning to the horde of demons kneeling nearby, awaiting her command. "And as for wars, are we not already facing too many here?"

"None like this," Wanda said. "Countless timestreams have become entangled. At first I thought it was merely my own dimension that was in peril, but Stephen showed me otherwise."

"Stephen…?" Magik paused. It had been ages since she had heard that name. Could it be that her former mentor in the mystic arts, Doctor Strange, was still alive?

"Yes," said Wanda. "Doctor Strange showed me that there are battles on the horizon far greater than any I could have comprehended."

"I can hardly imagine a conflict bigger than the one I've been facing," mused Magik. "But Stephen always taught me that the problems I can see are often meant to distract from the ones I can't."

"Indeed," Wanda concurred. "We have all become so embroiled in our own conflicts that we have been missing the bigger picture."

With that, the Scarlet Witch opened her palm and conjured up a swirl of red chaos magic. Inside the frenzied wisps of energy, an image coalesced, showing the greatest heroes from every reality clashing against one another.

"That… doesn't look good at all," Magik said, her confident smirk disappearing from her face for the first time since this meeting of mighty mystics began. "But if Stephen has you on his side, why would he need me? Clearly, your skills as a sorceress far surpass my own."

"I deal in chaos magic," Wanda replied. "But you… your magic taps into the soul. And when so many souls across so many dimensions are in peril, that kind of power may be just what we need."

"True, the soul is a powerful thing…" Magik said, as she reached her arm out to her side, clenching her hand into a fist. Within her grip, the hilt of a sword began to materialize, manifesting from energy drawn directly from Illyana's own essence. As the sword's blade — longer and wider than a young woman her size should have been able to comfortably wield — took form, Illyana raised it to point directly at the Scarlet Witch's throat.

"…but even a soul as pure as a snowflake can be corrupted." In a burst of hellfire, Magik herself began to transform. A pair of twisted horns emerged from her forehead as a pointed tail slithered out from the base of her spine. As eldritch armor wrapped her now demonic figure, Illyana gave a wicked smile that exposed her freshly-sharpened fangs. The denizens of Limbo hollered as their queen took her most majestic form, leaving Magik behind to become the Darkchild.

Wanda paused for a moment, wondering if perhaps she should have called upon a different version of Magik from another reality instead. One who had not yet fully embraced her place on Limbo's throne. But as she considered her next move, an unexpected voice broke the tense moment.

"Put down the sword, darlin'," the gruff voice said. "Wanda ain't lyin'. Not this time, at least. We're all on the same side here. And I don't care how big those horns of yours are these days…"

Through the towering spires of flame stepped a Mutant that Illyana knew well — the man called Logan. The Wolverine.

"…you'll always be that little girl I used to know."

It was clear that the creatures of Limbo knew Wolverine as well. Mere moments before, they had been building to a frenzy as they cheered their demon queen towards wanton violence. Now, their silence was tangible as they quaked with fear.

Logan's claws were fully extended, already dripping with the blood of demons foolish enough to stand in his way. They may have been her loyal subjects, but Magik felt no remorse for those who had fallen at Logan's hand. They should have known better than to cross his path.

"Logan? What brings you to this place?" Wanda inquired.

"Search and rescue mission," Logan replied. "We've been gatherin' lost Mutants. Bringin' 'em back home to Krakoa. In case ya didn't notice, the timestream is a bit of a mess. Krakoa's one of the few places that's still safe, in any timeline. At least for the moment."

"I hate to disappoint," Magik said, "but I am not in need of sanctuary. I have things under control."

"Uh huh. Sure ya do, sweetheart," Wolverine replied, his sarcasm palpable. "But I never said I came to get you."

"Then who?" asked Wanda curiously.

"Just a kid," Wolverine said. "Doesn't even have a codename yet. But she does have some sorta dimensional warpin' ability. Made a portal and got sucked into it. Lucky for her, the thing stayed open just long enough for me to jump through after her."

"She's probably terrified being lost in a realm like this," Wanda said. "Imagine the trauma…"

"I don't have to imagine it," mused Magik. "I lived it myself. And I won't let another Mutant go through what I did. Follow me."

As Magik began to run, her Darkchild form receded, and her true self took control once more.

"Shouldn't I be the one in the lead, darlin'?" asked Wolverine. "I'm the expert tracker here."

"And I am the queen of this dimension," replied Magik. "You will always have my respect, Logan… but in this place, I am in charge. Now, be a good boy and try not to disembowel any more of my subjects along the way, would you?"

"No promises," Wolverine muttered under his breath as the three heroes rushed across the rocky, fire strewn landscape in search of the missing Mutant. Although they each came to this place for different reasons, the queen, the witch, and the hunter, all managed to set aside their personal desires to serve the needs of one missing child. There was no doubt that, despite hailing from disparate realities, they all shared the same heroic spirit.

"I can sense her presence, just ahead," Wanda said as they reached the mouth of a small cave. "Reality is bending around her. But a simple hex can set that right…"

The Scarlet Witch moved her hands like an expert surgeon, weaving a complex spell to stabilize time and space. But chaos magic is not always predictable, and while reality itself may have stopped shifting, the rocks surrounding the cave's mouth had suddenly become dangerously displaced.

"Rockslide!" barked Logan as he raced forward, towards the hole in the cliff wall. But he was a split second too late. Debris blocked his path, and his efforts to slash through the dense boulders with his Adamantium claws yielded little progress.

Undeterred, the Queen of Limbo stepped forward towards the pile of rubble, casually opening a small circle in the sky in front of her with her own Mutant power. These stepping discs, as she called them, usually allowed her to traverse across distances and dimensions. This time, however, it provided a safe exit for a very frightened young girl.

"Nothin' to worry about now, kiddo," Logan said as the young Mutant child wrapped her arms around her hero tightly. "I'll get ya home, safe and sound."

"How will you do that?" asked Magik. "Her powers are too unpredictable. And, to be honest, my stepping discs haven't been much better for cross-dimensional travel since the timestream got turned upside down."

"This old dog's got a few new tricks," Logan grinned. He silently knelt down, pulling a small seed from one of the pouches on his belt. Popping a single claw to carve a hole in Limbo's rocky soil, he planted the seed in the ground — and within moments it began to sprout. A vine took form, growing and twisting into a shape that resembled a large doorway. Once the vine began to flower, the open, empty space it had encircled began to crackle with a strange energy. And suddenly, the flames of Limbo were no longer visible on the other side, but rather, the sun-kissed shores of the Mutant island Krakoa.

"Well," Logan said as he took his young ward by the hand and glanced back at Magik, "you comin' or not, Rasputin?"

Magik hesitated for a moment. She wished to witness firsthand the safe haven for her people that her old friend had spoken of. Yet she still had a war to fight in another dimension. And, more importantly, a critical discussion to finish with the Scarlet Witch. But perhaps this was the very opportunity that Wanda had spoken of. A chance to bring together a mix of forces from across realities to combat the dangers ahead. A chance to make a new kind of magic together. Not magic born from chaos or even from the soul… but from the heart.

"I will join you," Magik finally replied. "But only if Wanda can come as well."

"Sorry," Wolverine responded, "but Krakoa only lets Mutants pass through its gates. And last I checked, Wanda here was only Mutant-adjacent."

"Nothing a little chaos magic can't fix," Wanda said with a smile. With a gentle touch, the arcane energy of a hex danced across the organic outer edge of the Krakoan gateway. The white flowers on the vine turned to a deep crimson, surely a sign that Wanda was now welcome to pass through.

"You want chaos, Wanda?" muttered Wolverine as he led his new friends through the portal. "Just wait 'til Magneto gets a look at you…"