Okay, okay. I'm going to take the kill your favorite character challenge (on OTL). Which means that, yet again, I let Illyana Rasputin die or slip away from the main story. Damn! This is too much like the comics. Okay, hush, I'll kill her. Just once. Besides...she's not really dead anyway. *smiles* I'll tell ya later. Don't want to ruin Marvel's little surprise. Bye for now, Magik P.S. I DO except feedback and if you want to archive just ask. Disclaimer: The characters are Marvels. The story is mine. Just Another Day by Magik The Present: The blood flowed thickly down her throat. God, she could feel it tickling her windpipe as it crept into her lungs. She coughed and watched as the thick, red liquid covered the ground next to her. She was dying. The Past: Illyana Rasputin gazed out the window of the room she shared with the X-Man Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat. Kitty was gone right now, though. She had gone home to see her parents. But after what had happened with Peter, Illyana didn't blame her a bit. The pair of cool blue eyes narrowed as the young girl watched her team mates in the New Mutants playing baseball outside. It had probably been Dani's stupid idea to go and play sports in this heat. Normally she would have been invited along. But today didn't seem to be very normal at all and besides she had just fought with all of them the past day. It had been a nothing, pointless fight really. But the fight had mainly been between herself and Dani which meant that every other member of the New Mutants would just have to get involoved. Dani had formed pretty close friendships with all the others and so they felt obligated to stick up for her even if Illyana had been right. Now as she sat, scowling, on her windowledge Illyana's thoughts drifted back to the whole stupid fight that had made her even more of an outcast from the otherwise tightknit group. The Flashback: "I don't understand why the hell we aren't doing anything?" Illyana questioned angrily as her blue eyes watched the television screen. Danielle Moonstar, who as Mirage was the New Mutants' main leader, tucked a strand of black hair, that escaped from one of her tight braids, behind her ear and sighed. "It's really not our place to interfere, Illyana." In a flash, Illyana glared at Dani with her startling ice blue eyes. Betrayal made her even more angry at the young Cheyenne because Dani was basically her only friend in this group. "It's our fight too, Dani," she hissed in a low, threatening voice. "We're just students, Illyana. Amateurs at best. Dani's right to keep us out of it," Roberto DaCosta added with clear disdain in his cultured voice. The young Brazilian was leaning against the doorjamb regarding Illyana coldly. "Stay out of this, `Berto. This is a discussion between Dani and me," Illyana had quickly corrected him. Dani had just sighed and toyed idly with the loose strand of hair. "We're not rushing out to help with this, Magik," she began showing her authority by using Illyana's field name. "It's just out of our league." "It's clean-up duty, Dani!" Illyana snapped, her voice full of rage and spite. "The Avengers are there cleaning up OUR mess but we aren't lifting a damn finger!" She jumped up from the chair and it clattered to the floor. With a few quick steps she was over by Dani's side, teeth starting to sharpen slightly and eyes glowing. "Back off, `Yana. It's not our mess. We didn' cause that," Samuel Guthrie drawled as he lightly pushed her away from Dani's seated form. "Ye leave Dani alone, ye heathen," small Rahne Sinclair shot out from her seat on the kitchen table. Illyana turned to face all of them, letting her eyes and voice harden. "We may not have caused this but we should take a little blame. If not for us, us collectivly as mutants, this," she waved her hand at the TV, "wouldn't have even happened." Douglas Ramsey rolled his large blue eyes. "Right, like the Sentinels wouldn't have just persecuted someone else." There was silence in the room for a long moment while Illyana silently fumed and waited for someone, anyone to say something that would set her off. Finally, Dani's clear voice broke the stillness. "Y'know, maybe it would be best if we all just cool off for a while. Find something to do where we won't be annoying each other all day." The words were simple enough but the glare in Illyana's direction clearly stated who this "cooling off" period was going to be used to isolate. "Fine with me, Chief. But if you need me don't bother askin' cause for the rest of this day, I don't know any of you!" Illyana had declared and then teleported herself upstairs. The Present: The large red puddle around Illyana's fallen body just kept growing. There wasn't enough life left within her to try and apply pressure to the wounds. More blood slid down her throat but she couldn't seem to be able to cough it up. The Past: Illyana kept her gaze on the scene outside the window. Apparently her "cooling off" period still wasn't over. Even once in a while one of the New Mutants would look up at her window, smile somewhat evilly, and then talk to the others. Something was wrong. They weren't acting like themsevles. The Present: Cough, girl. Cough, the thought drifted lazily through her mind. Come on, Rasputin, bloody well cough and keep the blood out of your lungs. Don't drown, bleed to death. Bleeding to death is slower and gives someone time to find you. Cough, girl, cough! The Past: After watching her team mates for nearly an hour, Illyana opened the door to the room she shared with Kitty and walked down the hall. It was strangly quiet in the large mansion and she had to remind herself time and time again that there was nothing wrong and the X-Men were just on another mission. The downstairs was just plain creepy. All the lights were off and nothing seemed to be working. She began to wonder if it was a joke the Mutants had devised to get back at her. Illyana opened the back door and stepped out. She expected to come face to face with `Berto or Sam or Dani. She hadn't expected to be greeted by an empty backyard that was strewn with baseball bats and gloves. Something was definitely wrong. When the attack came she didn't even register that something was wrong. It had just hit her, throwing her head first to the ground while her back felt as if it were on fire. The Present: Strangled gasps came out of her mouth as Illyana fought for her life and her breath. The thick, red liquid had almost filled her lungs and even now she could feel it trickling down her throat. She couldn't scream for help, she couldn't move. And as more scarlet liquid rushed out of her nose and mouth she knew. She wasn't going to bleed to death. No, she was going to be drowned with her own blood. The Past: Blue eyes fluttered open to see the stocky body of Sam leaning over her. He studied her the way a predator studies its injured prey. "Hey, Sam," she choked out. Her throat felt raw and burned. What had happened to her? With a small groan, Illyana tried to force herself to her feet to find that her hands were bound together with tight rope. "Sam, buddy, you want to help me." "I don't think anyone will be helping you anytime soon," a raspy voice said as Sam stepped away from her. "Sam, no. Sam, help me!" she cried. She knew that voice. God help her, she knew that terrible voice. "Sweet child, Sam can't hear you anymore," the voice snarled as Dani stepped into the light. "Damn you, Farouk!" Illyana spat as she saw one of her best friends being used by his foul being. "What did we ever do to you?" "You freed Karma. It was you, Illyana. If not for you I would have gotten away with all of it. Now, now, you're going to pay," Farouk's voice said through Dani's body. "No. No! The X-Men will find me. They'll save me." "Sorry, luv, but by the time the X-Men get home, you'll be dead and I'll be long gone. I didn't come to steal a new body. I came for revenge." With a low laugh the possessed body of Dani turned away to reveal the other New Mutants standing there, hate in their eyes. "Spit and bother!" Illyana screamed. "They'll find you, Farouk, and they'll make you pay!" "I find that highly unlikely. Children, she is yours. Make Poppa Farouk proud." `Berto's first punch knocked Illyana unconscious much to Farouk's disappointment. But he knew that by the time the girl drug herself back awake she'd be well on her way to Death's door. The Present: Illyana's blue eyes slowly closed and her breathing was irregular and faint as she fought for breath. She fought with every once of her strength but it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. And she slipped into the realm of Death, not with a scream or a tortured cry of hate, but with a small, low sigh. The Past: By the time Illyana dragged her eyes open, she knew. She knew that she was dying. The pain was spread out all over her body and there was so much goddamned blood. It was only a matter of time but maybe...maybe she could hold on long enough for the X-Men to come home and save her. Maybe. All she could do was try. The Present: Illyana Rasputin was laid to rest on a Wednesday. It did not rain. The sun was high in the sky and the birds were singing. She was buried on what would have been her seventeenth birthday. The X-Men were all there. Even Kitty had come back for the funeral. Everyone was suffering from the death of her shining star. But the New Mutants were suffering the most. For it had been their blows that had killed her yet they never uttered a word about it. There was no solace for them. None at all. Farouk got his revenge. He had killed Illyana first but left the others rotting slowly away from the inside out. There was nothing to be done about it. Maybe if Xavier had been there...maybe he could have helped. But Xavier had fled to the stars and Magnus was so very dim-witted when it came to taking care of the children. Slowly each and every member of the New Mutants committed suicide until the only one left was Warlock. And the only reason he was still alive was because he could't figure out how to kill himself. They were all laid to rest near Illyana's grave. But it rained on all of their funerals. Yes, it rained hard as if even the sky was upset that they had gone to the grave with the secret of Illyana's death unspoken on their lips. And somewhere, Farouk laughed and laughed and laughed. Yes, he had gotten his revenge.