Magik1

Real Name: Illyana Rasputin

Powers: Magik was both a superhumanly powerful mutant and a highly trained sorceress. Magik's mutant power was the ability to teleport herself and others through time and space by creating "stepping discs" of an unknown form of energy. If she teleported herself or someone else from one place on Earth to another, the person being teleported passed through Magik's Limbo in the process. Magik could also teleport herself or someone else into Limbo or out of it. Apparently she could mentally scan Limbo while on Earth in order to locate whomever she wished to teleport to Earth from it.

History: Illyana Rasputina was the younger sister of the former X-Man ~Colossus , who left their home in Siberia when Illyana was a small child. A few years later, Illyana was kidnapped by the woman known only as Miss Locke, assistant to the eccentric assassin Arcade.

One of Doctor Doom's robotic counterparts was holding Arcade hostage, and Miss Locke kidnapped several people near and dear to the X-Men in order to force them to save Arcade. The Main team of X-Men battled the Doom robot and released Arcade, while a second team of X-Men freed Illyana and her fellow captives from Miss Locke. Since he was a defector from the Soviet Union, Piotr could not risk returning to Siberia with the 7 year old Illyana, so he decided to have Illyana stay with him at Xavier's Mansion in Westchester.

Several months later, Illyana and the X-Men were kidnapped by the sorcerer Belasco, and taken to his extradimensional realm, Limbo. A group of X-Men from a divergent universe had been trapped in Limbo earlier, and the Illyana from their timeline had escaped while they were trapped in Limbo. All but three of these alternate X-Men had died. The survivors were an aged Storm, an adult Kitty Pryde who was called Cat, and NightCrawler. Storm had lost her ability to control the weather and had become a sorceress instead, using her magic and Cat's fighting skills to oppose Belasco. NightCrawler had become one of Belasco's servants. Determined to prevent another massacre of the X-Men, Storm helped them escape back to Earth. But just as they were about to escape, Belasco tore Illyana from Kitty Pryde's grip and held her captive in Limbo.

Using his sorcery, Belasco took a part of Illyana's soul and corrupted it, turning it demonic in nature and giving that part of her a tendency towards evil. This part of her soul she called her DarkSoul. During this process, Belasco also conjured a "bloodstone" from Illyana's soul and placed it within the Beatrice Medallion. Belasco knew that if her could conjure five bloodstones for the medallion, Illyana would become entirely demonic in nature. At this point she would be the DarkChilde, and she would be able to conquer Earth in the name of the Elder Gods.

Belasco's spell gave Illyana's DarkSoul considerable sorcerous power. Hoping to help Illyana resist Belasco's evil influence, the sorceress Storm began to teach Illyana how to utilize magic. Fearing that the more Illyana knew of magic, the easier it would prove for Belasco to corrupt her, Cat took Illyana from Storm and taught her to fight instead. two years (limbo time) later Belasco transformed Cat completely into a feline creature, and made Illyana his apprentice in sorcery.

Due to Belasco's spells, Illyana's DarkSoul reveled in serving him, and his influence over her grew continually stronger, no matter how hard she resisted. The true, good side of Illyana's nature remained in control, and as she studied sorcery under Belasco's tutelage, she searched for a means to destroy him. When Illyana was twelve, she accidentally discovered that by controlling the placement of the naturally occurring "stepping discs" she could transport herself through time and space. The stepping discs not only accessed all times and places within Limbo, but also on Earth and on other worlds. (In reality the stepping discs were nothing more than gaps in the time-space continuum, wormholes if you will.)

While practicing the creation and use of her "stepping discs," Illyana accidentally transported herself backwards in time, to the very moment when Storm had battled Belasco for rulership of Limbo and the freedom of the alternate X-Men. Storm was winning, and when Belasco begged for mercy she showed none; becoming more and more demonic looking, Storm killed Belasco. Storm had no chance to savor her victory though, because Belasco reappeared, telling Storm that he, as absolute ruler of Limbo, was immune to death while within his kingdom. In reality she had destroyed the last shreds of her innocence by killing a foe who had surrendered. It was at this moment that the strongest willed and most noble of the X-Men had become "totally, irrevocably corrupt" by giving in to her rage, hate and lust for blood and revenge. By proving herself no better than the creature she fought, Storm became bound to Belasco, body and soul.

Illyana became frightened and returned to the present, where she found Storm again engaged in battle with Belasco. Storm was determined to rescue Illyana from the clutches of Belasco, or die trying. Illyana realized that Storm had no chance of winning this time - she was old and weak and had lost her control of the weather. Belasco had ordered Cat to fight Storm, and 'Yana - afraid that one of her friends would die in the battle - tried to send a stepping disc to take Storm back to her garden, but she missed. Cat mortally wounded Storm. Illyana fought Cat to keep her from hurting Storm further. Belasco ordered Cat to attack Illyana, and Illyana was forced to kill Cat to save herself. Belasco knew that he would now be able to conjure a third bloodstone from Illyana's soul. He planned to force Illyana to sacrifice Storm's soul to the Elder Gods, but Illyana killed Storm to save her from this dreadful fate. She escaped back to Ororo's garden with the body, and buried her there.

In the garden, Illyana was attacked by Belasco's demons, and she somehow managed to step to her parents' home in Siberia. Since her parents still believed that their Illyana was a 6 year old child in the care of Charles Xavier, they rejected her and told her to go home to her own parents. Then Belasco's demons recaptured her, returning to Limbo with her. There, he formed the third bloodstone in the Beatrice Medallion, and cast enchantments that forced her to remain in the decimated garden throughout the harsh winter of Limbo.

Too stubborn to give up, Illyana took sustenance and shelter from Ororo's oak tree, the only living thing left in the garden. When Ororo had gained her freedom from Belasco, she had cast her first spell, creating a single perfect acorn. The oak tree had been grown from that acorn. Through her long years as Belasco's apprentice, Illyana had mastered the magic in Belasco's books. She realized that Ororo's power and goodness had been sustained by her perfect creation - that somehow it had centered her goodness and become a source for her magic. Illyana believed that she could create an acorn of her own and grow it, and that it would become a source for her magic, a weapon with which to defeat Belasco. Time and again, Illyana attempted to make her acorn, but each one she created was rotten at the core. Eventually the oak died, all its sustenance taken from it.