Belasco stood on the roof of his palace, staring out over the barren, desolate landscape that made up the dimension of Limbo. His yellow eyes burned brightly, contrasting against his red skin. Once he sense a presence moving behind him, he turned.

“You sent for me?”

Belasco approached the new arrival, a man who wore a tattered, black trench coat over a purple bodysuit and respirator affixed to his mouth. His long, gray hair jutted out in spikes, the color matching that of his skin tone. The sclera of his eyes was black with bright red, beady pupils staring out.

“The fallen queen has returned to Limbo, and she’s brought the X-Men,” said Belasco.

“Excellent,” said Emplate, his voice heavy between deep breaths through the respirator. “Now that my hunger is under control, it will be extremely satisfying to kill them once and for all.”

“Just remember who gave you the power to separate the souls that make up Penance,” said Belasco. “If not for me, you wouldn’t have a docile, inexhaustible food source.”

Emplate growled. “I don’t appreciate being lorded over, Belasco. The souls of Claudette and Nicole is what gave you the power to expand Limbo and cause the spillover into our dimension. And you would not have access to those souls if not for me. Such a waste to offer the twisted Earth to the Elder Gods.”

Belasco scoffed. “Your view is too…limited, Marius. There are forces far, far beyond those of mere mutants and mortals.”

Belasco turned from Emplate, linking his hands behind his back. He approached a fountain, staring down into the murky water. Emplate approached his side and Belasco inserted a finger into the pool, slowly moving it around in large circles. The water changed with each movement, the flickers of an image appearing in its surface.

“Both teams of X-Men are in the midst of battle,” said Belasco. “Shall we watch?”

“Of course,” said Emplate.

BLACK MAGIK

Part IV

By Hunter Lambright and Dino Pollard

with plot assists from Chris Munn and Gavin McMahon

Illyana Rasputin narrowed her eyes, fixing them on the demonic forms of Kierrok and N’astirh. She held the Soulsword in her grip, the blade casting an ethereal blue glow across the chamber her and her fellow X-Men stood in. As the blade of Magik hummed with her sorcerous power, her eldritch armor formed over her body.

“You dare betray me?” she hissed, her eyes crackling with eldritch power. “What do you think will happen once Belasco is through with you?”

“If need be, we shall deal with Belasco at a later date. Time is fluid in Limbo, and our memories are long,” said N’astirh.

“You came to the wrong place, Darkchilde. Now, you and your followers shall perish!” shouted Kierrok.

Out of the darkness, a horde of N’Garai and N’astiri emerged from the shadows. They were demons who served both Kierrok and N’astirh. They quickly surrounded not only Magik, but also the three X-Men who accompanied her into the dimension—Banshee, Shadowcat, and Colossus.

“Seems I sent our firepower to the wrong place,” muttered Banshee. “Brace yourselves.”

Sean Cassidy took a deep breath and opened his mouth wide. An ear-splitting scream emerged from his vocal cords. The noise caused the demons to cringe and back away from the sheer force of it, his teammates protected thanks to reflexive earplugs designed by Forge.

Colossus’ flesh transformed into organic steel as he charged forward. But rather than making contact with the demons who stood before him, he sprung into the air. Powerful leg muscles sent him soaring over the hordes. He coiled his fist, making contact with N’astirh’s face.

Shadowcat ran into the horde, claws emerging from her gauntlets. She tore into several of the demons, but then phased as they tried to strike back, their own claws passing harmlessly through her body. She solidified again to strike when possible and phasing through their retaliatory attacks. As they came upon her, she maintained her intangibility, the demons slicing into each other.

Magik moved through portals, keeping herself mobile and appearing behind demons and cleaving through their bodies with the Soulsword. Horns poked through her forehead and blond bangs, a tail emerging from her lower back. With one hand clutching the hilt of the Soulsword, she held out her free hand, palm forward, and magic flames engulfed a group of demons.

Banshee used his sonics to elevate his body into the air, moving to the top of the chamber. He directed his sonic screams at the demons, providing aerial support for his teammates. As Magik and Shadowcat gained the upper hand against their foes, Banshee turned his attention to Kierrok. He channeled his sonic power into a focused blast that struck the demon square in the chest, slamming him against the wall of the cavern.

N’astirh’s form grew larger and mystic shield appeared in front of his body to block Colossus’ powerful blows. He raised his arm, slamming his massive palm down on Colossus, flattening the Russian X-Man to the ground. Colossus struggled against the pressure.

“Snowflake!” he called out to his sister. “Pomogite!”

Magik ignored her brother’s call for assistance. She cleared a path through the N’Garai and N’astiri, directing her gaze at Kierrok. She jumped into a stepping disc, emerging above Kierrok’s head and holding her Soulsword with the blade pointed down. She fell towards him, directing her energies into the strike.

Kierrok’s wings took him from the spot and Magik missed her strike. He retaliated, using his claws to slice into her back. Her eldritch armor protected her from the brunt of the attack, and from the toxin secreted by his claws, but it was powerful enough to throw her to the ground.

N’astirh picked up Colossus and slammed him into the ceiling. When he removed his hand, Colossus fell unconscious to the ground. Banshee flew in to come to his teammate’s aid, but N’astirh held out his hand and a magical blast from his palm knocked the X-Men’s leader from the sky. N’astirh extended his arm, his hand wrapping around Banshee’s neck.

Only Shadowcat was left, and the demons backed away from her. Her breathing was heavy, she was getting exhausted. And worse, she was now alone in the fight.

“Impressive, Kitty-cat.”

Shadowcat looked to N’astirh and saw he held Banshee in his grasp, his claws positioned right above her teammate’s abdomen.

“You could phase through such an attack,” said N’astirh. “But your friend? He would not be so lucky, now would he? Surrender, or I paint this cavern with his innards.”

“You sonnuva bitch,” she cursed, narrowing her eyes.

“Your move.”

Shadowcat sighed and solidified. And then the demons swarmed her.

“Do not kill them, my children,” ordered N’astirh.

“Belasssco will be very happy with ussss,” said Kierrok as the demons collected the fallen X-Men.

In another part of Limbo, Cannonball wasted no words. He activated his blast field, propelling him straight into S’ym. The kinetic energy protected him from harm and also increased the strength behind his attacks.

“Take no prisoners!” shouted Cyclops, directing his optic blasts through his visor at the various demons surrounding them.

Phoenix hovered in the air, the avatar of her flaming namesake surrounding her body. Her telekinesis turned the demons on each other, redirecting their claw strikes so they would harm only their brethren.

Forge laid down cover fire for the team, bristling at Cyclops’ command. Banshee was supposed to be the X-Men’s leader and he put the Maker in charge of this squad. But old habits apparently died hard for Cyclops. And Forge, consummate professional he was, didn’t protest the order.

With the powers she permanently absorbed from Ms. Marvel, Rogue was one of the X-Men’s most powerful members, second only to Phoenix. But under such numbers, superhuman strength and flight could only take her so far. And the demons seemed to have no instinct for self-preservation, charging directly into battle with her.

Claws tore through her green and white uniform. And when the demons made contact with her bare flesh, it triggered Rogue’s ability to absorb the energy of others. The emotions of the demons rushed through her mind, overwhelming her and causing her to scream in pain.

S’ym drove a powerful fist against Cannonball’s face. Even through his blast field, Cannonball could feel the impact. Cannonball returned fire, wrapping his hands around S’ym’s throat and blasting forward. His control over his field was so great that he could keep it only around his body and he blasted around the arena, slamming S’ym into the denizens of Limbo.

Phoenix saw Rogue fall and used her telekinesis to throw away the demons converging on her. Jean went to her teammate’s side, using her psychic powers to reach into Rogue’s mind. She saw the rush of demonic thoughts inside and did her best to try and expel their influence in an effort to bring Rogue back into the fight.

But with her concentration split, it enabled one of the demons to get in a lucky swipe, claws cutting across her back. Phoenix turned to her attacker and unleashed a TK burst that threw him across the field.

Cyclops witnessed his wife being struck and it distracted him long enough for a demon to deal him a glancing blow. Scott Summers took it, but when he turned his head back onto the demon, he opened his visor to its widest possible with and the demon was engulfed by the massive burst of solar energy that emerged from his eyes.

Cannonball slammed S’ym into the ground, creating a massive crater and generating a tremor through the area. He still had his hands around the demon’s throat, but S’ym simply smiled through the purple blood streaming down his face.

“S’ym knew you would come. Damn-near invulnerable…does that apply to magic?” S’ym held up an amulet and Cannonball’s grip loosened.

The X-Man backed away as S’ym rose, his arm stretched forward. The amulet dangled on a chain that hung from his closed fist and the forcefield surrounding Sam Guthrie’s body flickered and faded.

“Belasco cooked this up just for you,” said S’ym. The amulet glowed and a bolt of energy arced from the gem in the center. A bolt of energy arced from the gem in the center, but before it reached Cannonball, he vanished in a flash of pink light.

S’ym blinked in confusion. “Eh? Where did you go, you little gnat?”

Another flash of pink energy and then S’ym found himself blinded by a sudden burst of multicolored orbs of energy exploding in front of his face. He recoiled, raising his arms to shield him from the sudden burst of energy.

“Hey, ugly.”

S’ym turned to see a young, Chinese woman with short, dark hair, her eyes concealed by a visor. She wore a yellow coat over her uniform and threw her hands forward. More bursts of light emerged from Jubilee’s fingertips, exploding all around the demon.

M dove into a horde of the demons, her strength and invulnerability aiding her as she tore through them. Chamber came to her aid as well, torching the demons with the aid of the psionic furnace that burned where his lower jaw and sternum once were.

{M, Chamber, I could use some assistance here,} said Phoenix, transmitting her thoughts to the two psychic mutants.

M and Chamber added their power to Phoenix’s own considerable might and the three of them together were able to shut down a good portion of the demons that remained. Wither, Pixie, and Trance emerged from another portal, and the three students immediately went to work. Wither’s touch was able to demolish the organics that made up the demons, while Trance’s energy form scrambled the minds of any demon she blew through. Pixie flew above, scattering the dust that was her namesake across the demons, causing even more confusion.

Thanks to Phoenix’s aid, Rogue shook her head, the last of the demonic thoughts fading from her mind. A metallic hand reached out for her and Rogue took it, allowing herself to be helped to her feet by Husk.

“Ready for round two?” she asked.

Rogue gave the younger mutant a smile that said, “Hell yes.” The two of them moved back-to-back, using brute strength to decimate any demon that came within arm’s reach.

Jubilee, Cyclops, and Forge handled the clean-up, their long-range abilities allowing for them to clear out a large portion as the rest of their group handled the brawling.

“No, this is not right!” S’ym turned to flee, sensing that it was the best option. But before he could get anywhere, he was slammed back down again.

Cannonball stood above him with Blink by his side, who twirled one of her javelins in her hand.

“D’ya really think you had a prayer of winnin’ this?” asked Cannonball.

Without waiting for a response, he channeled all of his field’s power into his fist, slamming it into S’ym’s head with such force that it sent the demon flying into the air. Once S’ym crashed to the ground, he didn’t get back up.

“Didn’t think so,” said Cannonball, dusting off his hands.

With the battle over, the two teams reunited. Cannonball and Husk immediately embraced each other, both happy that their sibling was alive and well. Sam moved from his sister and greeted his students next, as Jubilee hugged Cyclops and Phoenix, glad to see two of her former mentors here.

Blink spoke with Forge and Rogue, informing them of what had happened in Paris and ever since they were sucked into Limbo. M, not much for social situations, hovered above the group, scanning with both her eyes and her telepathy for any further threats that might converge upon them.

Chamber remained apart from the group. Until Paris, he’d been running with Havok’s X-Men, and he could sense the feelings of distrust that emanated off Forge and Rogue in particular. He also sensed some animosity thrown in Scott’s direction, but not Jean’s.

{They don’t know about my role in Alex’s plan,} said Jean in a telepathic message to Chamber. Through her telepathy, she quickly brought Jono up to speed on what had happened since he left Genosha—Alex’s betrayal of his team, the capture that followed, and their disappearance from prison since.

{Seems like I chose the right time for a vacation,} said Chamber.

{We can discuss it later,} she responded.

“What the hell was S’ym doin’ here? An’ Limbo demons?” asked Cannonball. “Thought we were in the N’Garai dimension.” He looked at Paige. “An’ we thought Paris got sucked into Limbo.”

“There seems to be some sort of dimensional convergence,” said M. “We were taken to Limbo, but since then it seems that the two dimensions are now linked.”

“That don’t sound good,” said Rogue.

“It gets worse,” said Phoenix. “We sent a team into Limbo after Generation X while our job was to rescue the students. But if we’re in a dimensional convergence, I should be able to sense the others.”

“And?” asked Blink.

Jean shook her head.

“Good bet Belasco’s got ‘em,” said Jubilee.

“My brother is involved as well,” said M.

“So we got Belasco, the N’Garai, Emplate, and N’astirh t’ deal with,” said Rogue.

“Quadruple threat,” said Jubilee with a nod.

“Any theories?” asked Cyclops.

“My sisters—Penance—is the key that led to this,” said M.

“How?” asked Phoenix.

M shook her head. “It’s among the precious few facts I don’t know, Ms. Grey-Summers. What we do know ”

“Okay, then this is officially a rescue mission,” said Forge. “Let’s get our teammates, save Paris, then get the hell out of Hell.”

“Technically, the realm of the N’Garai and Limbo are hell-esque dimensions, not the actual Hell,” said M.

Forge groaned. “She always like this?”

“You got no idea,” said Jubilee with a roll of her eyes.

“My Lord Belasco…” said N’astirh as he stepped into the throne room of the ruler of Limbo.

Belasco rose from his throne, casting a glance to Emplate, who kept himself bathed in the shadows. The demonic ruler linked his arms behind his back and approached N’astirh, who bowed in servitude.

“We have captured several of the X-Men, including the Darkchilde,” said N’astirh.

“Very good,” said Belasco. “Bring her forth, but keep a close eye on the others. I have dealt with the X-Men enough times to know that they cannot be underestimated.”

N’astirh backed out of the throne room and into the great chamber. When he returned, it was with Kierrok at his side. The two of them approached Belasco and Kierrok gently laid Magik’s prone form before his master’s feet.

Belasco snapped his fingers and Magik floated from the ground, hovering before him. He smiled, brandishing his fangs as he took her in. “How the mighty have fallen.” Belasco’s face contorted in anger and then confusion. He back-handed Magik and she was thrown to the ground.

“It would appear I am no longer the great influencer when it comes to you, Illyana,” said Belasco. “I no longer have power over you. Instead, you now belong to…another.”

Magik rolled over and jumped to her feet. She drew the Soulsword from her chest and held it out, the tip of the blade just inches from Belasco’s throat. Her eyes flashed with mystic power as her eldritch armor surrounded her.

“Be that as it may, I’ve still learned a thing or two from you. As long as I am in Limbo, its ties to my soul linger.” A crackle of black lightning surrounded Magik, transforming her into her demonic form, that of the Darkchilde. “Belasco, I challenge you for control of Limbo. Do you accept, or yield?”

Belasco scoffed. “There is an unknown quantity at play here.” He turned his gaze to his shadowed companion. “Emplate, I am calling in your debt.”

“What?” asked Emplate.

“In accordance with the customs of Limbo, I am free to nominate a champion.” Belasco gestured towards the mutant and grinned. “Emplate shall fight in my stead.”

To be continued…