Illyana had been in hell for a long time.
Not literally. The residents of Limbo had corrected her on that more than once.
Still, eight years there felt close enough.
She hadn't known what to expect when she came back. Learning that barely a year had passed on Earth while she had endured nearly eight in Limbo had left her reeling. She had not handled it well.
Then Belasco attacked her almost immediately after her escape, and whatever fragile sense of normalcy she had dared to imagine was shattered on the spot.
And now this.
Part of her wondered if this was another dream. Maybe some twisted lesson Belasco was forcing on her. But even his mind shouldn't have been able to invent something this strange.
She sat quietly while Jack explained what sounded like secret lore about some hyper-advanced African country built on space metal. They were supposedly centuries ahead of the rest of the world technologically, yet deeply traditional and conservative at the same time.
Illyana nodded along, trying very hard not to look stupid. She had lived in a demonic wasteland ruled by monsters. She could handle a secret sci-fi kingdom.
Probably.
Her new companions were strange, but still better than most of the things in Limbo. Anna was a magic user too, and apparently a mutant, like Illyana herself. That part at least made sense. Jack had a literal lightsaber and seemed to know far more than he should. She vaguely remembered watching that movie before her life had gone sideways. She was a little curious to ask how he got an actual lightsaber.
At least here she didn't have to hide what she was. They were just as strange as she was.
"Illyana, is the plan okay?"
She blinked.
Oh. She hadn't been listening.
"Uh… can you explain it one more time?"
"Sure." Jack didn't seem annoyed. "Right now, we avoid the city as much as possible. There are a couple of outlying villages nearby. Our best bet is to get our hands on a phone and portal out of here."
She nodded slowly. She didn't really know how he knew all this, but she also didn't have many options. Trusting people felt strange to her. But it was better than being alone again.
"Can you use your power?" Anna asked gently.
Illyana flinched before she could stop herself. Her breathing hitched at even the idea of going back toward Limbo. "I… I can't. I think Limbo—"
"Oh, honey. It's okay. Sorry for asking."
Arms wrapped around her.
Illyana froze for half a second, then melted into the embrace. The warmth, the softness—how long had it been since someone had hugged her like this?
She stayed there longer than she probably should have.
"Feel better?" Anna asked, smiling down at her.
Heat rushed to Illyana's face. "Yeah. Thanks."
"Sorry to put you on the spot," Jack added, more careful this time. "But you wouldn't happen to have any spell that could help hide us?"
Illyana frowned, thinking it through.
Actually…
"Yeah," she said slowly. "I think I do. Just a basic charm, but it should work."
—
Knowing my luck, I had half expected to run straight into T'Challa the second we started moving. So I was pleasantly surprised that our trip to the nearest village went mostly undisturbed.
We had apparently landed somewhere along the outer edge of the Wakandan capital. Dense jungle surrounded us, thick with growth that made for good cover. A few times, we had to stop while humming aircraft glided overhead, but otherwise the trek was quiet.
Eventually, we reached the outskirts of one of the deliberately dingy "front" villages.
"So we can just walk right in?" I asked, eyeing the open stretch of land between us and the huts.
"Sort of." Illyana's fingers moved in slow, deliberate patterns as faint light wove between her hands. "It's more like an 'I don't care' filter. It makes us seem… normal. If we cause a scene or someone with magic looks too closely, they'll see through it easily. It's not really a stealth spell. The servants in Limbo used it to avoid bothering their masters."
We were crouched in undergrowth a good distance from the village, but beyond that was a flat clearing with almost nowhere to hide.
"Doesn't look like we've got much of a choice, sugar," Anna murmured.
"Do it," I said, nodding at Illyana.
She completed the last motion, and an orange shimmer washed over us. I felt a faint tingle across my skin.
Carefully, I stepped out of the brush and into the open.
The others followed, and the three of us walked at a steady, casual pace toward the village.
Up close, it was the textbook image of poverty. Brown clay buildings with straw roofs dotted the area, most no bigger than huts. Nothing looked overtly fake, but knowing what Wakanda really was made the whole setup feel almost comical in how perfectly it sold the illusion.
A pair of women carrying baskets approached from the opposite direction.
I held my breath as one of them clearly locked eyes with us.
Then, just as smoothly, her gaze slid past like we were just more villagers going about our day. She continued walking without a second glance.
All three of us exhaled.
"Let's hurry and find a phone," I muttered.
We kept moving, doing our best to look nonintrusive while scanning everything around us. But Wakanda was committed to the bit. Most of the houses really were just huts, and I didn't see so much as a hint of advanced tech on anyone.
Goddamn Wakanda and their obsessive seclusion policy.
It took a little patience, but I finally spotted an opportunity. A couple of men were sitting off to the side, playing cards. One of them had a phone resting on a stool.
Thunder Breathing sped up my body, and with Dexterous backing me up, pocketing it was easy.
It was a sleek, high-end phone. Way better than anything the general public got their hands on.
But apparently, even in Wakanda, infosec was still an issue. The guy had left his phone unlocked. I had to hold back a snort that even with all their vaunted progress, they couldn't beat human laziness.
I stepped a little farther from the card game and dialed the number. The line began to ring but…
If we get stranded because of fricking time zones, I'm going to be pissed.
"Hello?"
Oh, thank God.
"Wong. It's me."
"Jack," he replied, his voice thick with sleep. "Why are you calling so late?"
"It's… a long story, man," I said, equally tired.
I gave him the short version. Belasco's attack on the X-Mansion and the whole stepping-stone-to-Earth situation. From what Illyana had pieced together, Belasco had used her as a conduit to enter Earth, sort of like a secret door. I'm hoping Kamar-Taj could shore up their barrier so it doesn't happen again.
"I see…" Wong sounded more alert now. "I will bring this to the Ancient One."
"Is she even allowed to know that?"
"The Masters have jointly decided that, out of respect for her past service and her willingness to cooperate, she may continue acting as a protector. However, her actions are overseen by the masters of Kamar-Taj."
"Got it."
I glanced over. Anna and Illyana were talking quietly near a tree, heads bent close together.
"You mind letting her know our location?" I asked. "We're a bit stranded."
"Of course. What country are you in?"
"It's a small country in Africa called Wakanda."
"…Oh."
I did not like that pause.
"Wong?"
"Jack," he said carefully, "what do you know about gods?"
"…Fuck." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "It's their panther goddess, isn't it?"
"Yes… I'm surprised you knew. Kamar-Taj's mandate is to protect Earth from threats beyond it. We usually don't interfere with magical forces unless they threaten humanity. We have several treaties to prevent such conflicts."
"Let me guess," I muttered. "Sorcerers can't enter Wakanda."
"Exactly," Wong said, and now he sounded apologetic. "Due to a pact with their Goddess, no sorcerer from Kamar-Taj may step onto her land without permission. This includes sling ring portals."
Of course it did.
A headache started forming behind my eyes.
"If it is any consolation," Wong continued, "we can open a portal for you at the border."
"I see." I exhaled slowly. "I'll figure something out. Thanks, Wong."
The call ended. I deleted the log immediately, then took a steadying breath before slipping back over and placing the phone right where I'd taken it from.
Now the real problem.
Teleporting the entire way out of Wakanda was not happening. Even if it was geographically small, I'd still be looking at hundreds of jumps, probably more. Sure, my magic items helped with the vertigo, but if someone tagged me near the end of that chain? I'd be done.
And that didn't even factor in the two other people with me.
"No good?" Anna asked as I rejoined them.
I shook my head. "Kamar-Taj can't enter Wakanda. I'm not sure what the move is now."
"We could come clean," Anna joked. "See if they'll deport a magically illegal visitor."
"Yeah, that'll go over great." I snorted. "Illyana, do you have any—"
I stopped.
"Illyana?"
She wasn't listening. She was staring intently at the back of a man riding a bike away from the village.
I poked her lightly.
"Uh… sorry. What were you saying?"
"Why were you staring so hard at that guy's back?"
"Oh. It's… nothing." Illyana looked away, embarrassed.
Anna gently placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's just…" Illyana hesitated. "I don't know. He gave me a weird feeling. In Limbo, I had to get really sensitive to different races. You needed to if you wanted to survive. I don't sense any magic from him, but his aura felt… off."
I frowned.
As far as I knew, Wakanda didn't have some hidden demon subplot running in the background. But as much as I disliked Wakanda, I'd rather not see the country turn into a hellhole.
"We should follow him," Anna said. "Not like we have a better plan."
"Agreed." I nodded toward the man pedaling away. "Let's chase him. Good catch."
Illyana flushed slightly, a small smile tugging at her lips. I doubted she'd gotten many compliments in Limbo.
We slipped out of the village quietly. The guy on the bike wasn't moving that fast, which made tracking him easy. A few short teleports kept us at an easy following distance.
Still, I grew uneasy as we headed deeper into the vegetation, closer to Wakanda's hidden capital. I doubted Illyana's spell would hold up under a city full of cameras and high-tech surveillance.
Thankfully, it didn't come to that.
Our target veered off the road and into the thicker jungle. I signaled Anna and Illyana to hang back, then moved ahead alone.
My powers and items let me move almost like a ninja, climbing high into the trees and balancing along the branches as I followed him. The old rule held: people rarely look up.
I settled into position just as the biker slowed near another man waiting in a small clearing.
"What the hell took you so long?" the second man snapped.
"Sorry, sorry. This identity's family was being annoying," the biker replied. "How's progress?"
"Like crap. Those idiots messed up, and now the country's on high alert. The only saving grace is that they think it was a mechanical accident. But doubt that'll last long."
"Never liked working with these guys…" The biker shook his head. "What the hell is Gravik thinking?"
The other man scoffed. "You're only saying that because your last identity was Jewish. Get your head out of the gutter. We need to do this for our cause. Our home. Dancing to Fury's tune won't get us anywhere. Come on, we're needed at the extraction point."
"Yeah, yeah."
My eyes widened as their bodies began to shift.
Brown skin slowly morphed into green. Their ears lengthened into sharp points, their faces taking on a subtly reptilian cast.
What the hell are Skrulls doing here?
&&&
Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.
I have advanced chapters on Pa tre on/daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.