Marvel: I'm a Symbiote-Symbiote 0337: Illyana (2/2)

“I guess I know what got Strange so amped up …” Illyana released her spiritual energy, which, while not comparable to Doctor Strange, was still a massive amount. An illusory rune formed in front of her before she slammed her palm on the ground.

The violent shaking suddenly stabilized with a ripple effect stemming from Illyana. She continued pouring her energy into the rune that she infused into the dimension.

“What happened?” Laura asked.

“Some kind of dimensional shockwave …” Illyana said. “I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but Limbo was destabilized due to some outside factor. I hadn’t realized because I was focused on getting you two to me. That’s why the vertigo you felt was so much worse than it should have been.”

“That’s why Strange was so horrified,” Laura said with an expression of understanding. “This probably isn’t a localized event.”

“Maybe,” Illyana responded. “My connection is limited to Limbo. Strange is contracted to far more dimensions, so he probably sensed their cry for help.”

“I see …” Laura nodded. “So what now?”

“Now? Now we get rid of the Death mark on you,” she said. “Thankfully, we have more than enough time here.”

“Why?”

“Time doesn’t flow the same in Limbo,” Illyana said. “Since I brought you all in, when we get out, not even a second will have passed.”

“Really?” Laura asked curiously. “How does that work?”

“This is the case with many dimensions. If I lost the anchor to my Earth, I would have to go around traveling through time to find the correct timeline.”

“How do you plan to help?” Laura asked. “With the Death mark.”

“Just give me a minute to set up the spell,” Illyana started creating a magic circle with multiple complex runes. “It’s a little convoluted since I have to first locate the mark, pull the trace of Death energy out, and discard it correctly without letting it corrupt me. See these runes? These are all for detection.”

“Well, I appreciate it. Since Apex seems to be busy with something and isn’t responding, your help means a lot. Thanks, Yana.”

“What’s with that?” Illyana frowned. “You keep calling me that. I don’t see you addressing Peter and Strange with cringeworthy endearing nicknames …”

“You think it’s endearing?” Laura showed a fawning smile.

“…” Illyana didn’t respond and continued looking at Laura dryly.

“It’s because Yana and Kitty are … were good friends of mine,” Laura said. “I haven’t met them in half a decade. Forgive me for getting a little overly familiar with a carbon copy of my friend.”

“I get that …” Illyana said. “More than you realize. I don’t mind being friends with you, but you have to take things slow. We can’t instantly turn into best friends, right? Ten minutes ago, you were a twelve-year-old kid in my eyes. Suddenly, that kid is in front of me, with a chest bigger than mine. Of course, I’m going to freak out a little.”

“Tone down the envy, Yana,” Laura said with a laugh. “If you want a bigger chest, I’ll let you in on a secret. But only when I think you’re ready.”

“I’m not getting a boob job.”

“Um … Ladies,” Peter’s voice made both Laura and Illyana pause. “What do we do about him?”

“Let me get rid of the mark on her first. Then I’ll take you back to meet with Kitty. She’ll know what to do.” Illyana didn’t seem embarrassed by Peter hearing their conversation. However, Laura stepped further away from Peter and Doctor Strange, with Illyana following her.

“You don’t need one,” Laura continued their previous talk as her outfit changed from the bodysuit back to the crop top and jeans. “Trust me, I know a trick.”

Illyana squinted her eyes at Laura, fully expressing her skepticism. Moments later, she completed her spell and slammed her hand forward. Laura didn’t even flinch; however, her gaze got a little dry as she noticed Illyana’s aim. She could’ve moved but decided not to, letting the woman get her satisfaction.

Illyana’s hand slammed into Laura’s chest as she cast the spell, locating and removing the mark Agatha had left on her.

“You gonna let go anytime soon?” Laura asked dryly as Illyana squeezed her chest.

“They’re real …” She pulled her hand away, looking at it in a daze.

“At least I know you’re just as much of a pervert in this reality,” Laura said. “You and Apex will get along splendidly.”

“That so?” Illyana said as she frowned again. “Speaking of … I don’t know about your symbiote, but these are parasitic life forms. They may be considered symbiotic because they give you a decent strength boost, but in exchange, you lose something vital. Your emotions. Peter had a run-in with the same kind of thing some time back. It wasn’t pretty.”

“Apex isn’t like that,” Laura said.

“All right,” Illyana shrugged. “I just thought I’d mention it. If you trust your friend, I won’t pry into it.”

[Alex, you there?] Laura spoke telepathically while gazing into the distance. [I miss you …]

[Just give me like five minutes …]

Laura’s expression changed at Alex's response.

“What happened?” Illyana noticed the change in her expression. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s great,” Laura said. “Apex is back.”

“What do you mean?” Illyana frowned. “You were using the symbiote’s abilities, were you not?”

“It’s a complicated situation,” Laura said. “Explaining it to you is more trouble than it’s worth. Why don’t you heal him up before we leave?” Laura gestured at Peter, who was trying to use his spiritual energy to wake Doctor Strange up.

“He just needs some time to recover his energy after exhausting it all,” Illyana said. “I’ll take you all to Kitty’s apartment in Hong Kong once he wakes up.”

“So just waiting, cool …” Laura said. “What do you do for fun around here? You must’ve spent quite a bit of time in Limbo.”

“I usually just use it to train my skills,” she responded. “Time does not pass here, but I do get bored after a while. So I usually just wing things. Kitty occasionally comes along to keep me company.” ƒreewebɳovel.com

“That sounds fun,” Laura said. “My friend … Yana, she loved killing the demons here. Her favorite pastime, she called it. It helped her …” Laura seemed to be considering the words.

“Cleanse her soul,” Illyana said. “I get it. I do the same sometimes to calm my mind. It’s like meditation … in its own twisted way.”

“Ahh, almost as if you two are copies of each other,” Laura smiled. “Say … In your reality, are you and Kitty … you know?”

“Oh no,” Illyana suddenly shook her head. “Definitely no. No … Well …”

“Go on,” Laura urged her on. “My friends were in a full-blown relationship, so if you’re conscious, you can say that there is precedent. Multiversal possibilities precedent, but precedent nonetheless.”

“Fine … We did have this thing once … We were training here, and things got a little … heated,” Illyana blushed, pushing her stray blonde hair behind her ear. “One thing led to another, and we ended up making out … quite passionately. It didn’t lead to anything more, and we ended up swearing never to talk about it again, though.”

“Oh?” Laura’s eyes glinted with interest. “Want me to play wingman? It doesn’t seem like you have the closure you want.”

“I don’t …” Illyana said. “But that said, I also need a guy. If only for the purpose of physical satisfaction … But I know Kitty wouldn’t be willing to open things up like that. Then again, we haven’t really talked about it … like ever. This is all just stuff in my head. Why am I even talking about this crap when we have a world overlord’s sword hanging above our heads?” Illyana shook her head.

“You know …” The glint in Laura’s eyes got brighter, the intensity in her gaze slightly creeping Illyana out. “I might just have a solution for you guys.”

“What?”

“I’ll tell you later. I need to talk to someone first. Not only that, I need to talk to Kitty as well. I need to see her stance on all of this.”