When the Demon Lord Belasco senses his former apprentice, Magik, due to the effects of M-Day when she is brought back to life, he goes on a rampage at the Xavier Institue kidnapping the students. Edit
The mutant student Blindfold tells a midnight "ghost" story to her fellow Xavier Academy classmates about a demond lord, Belasco and his history with a girl named Illyana Rasputin, Magik. Although Magik had died years earlier, the effects of M-Day brought her back to life. During the brief moments she was brought back, Belasco sensed her presence and tried to summon her to him in Limbo. But after M-Day was over, Illyana died again and when Belasco tried to summon her, he only got her body without a soul. Angered, he cast a spell on the Institute, kidnapping the students who he "smelled" Illyana's presence on, demanding to know where she is. Unfortunately, the students don't have any recollection of M-Day or Illyana and are helpless in the attack. Eventually the soulless Illyana, calling herself Darkchylde finds a group of the students and kills the demons attacking them. She knows that in order to defeat Belasco she must have a soulsword. Since she no longer has a soul she summons the innocent student Pixie in order to use her sould to create a soulsword. She only gets one fifth of the way through the spell when Pixie's classmates fight back against Illyana and instead of a full soulsword, Pixie is given a soul "knife." Illyana teaches Pixie a spell since the part of her soul that was broken has now been filled with black magic. They teleport to Belasco where Pixie throws her soulknife at Belasco, killing him.
Issues
·New x-men 37 (prelude)
·New x-men 38 (part 1 of 4)
·New x-men 39 (part 2 of 4)
·New x-men 40 (part 3 of 4)
·New x-men 41 (part 4 of 4)
Associated Issues
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Overview
“THE QUEST FOR MAGIK” – PRELUDE
Superstar artist Niko Henrichon (Pride of Baghdad) joins Paco Medina for a special prelude to the New X-Men adventure of the year. It’s story time for the New X-Men, and Blindfold is spinning them a tale that will plunge the students of the Xavier Institute into a hell (or is that Limbo?) they cannot imagine. And what does this have to do with House of M and Illyana Rasputin? Everything!
SPOILERS
Mercury continues to deal with the after-effects of her imprisonment by the Facility under the watchful eyes of her friends. Elixir convinces the Stepford Cuckoos to telepathically transfer all of Hank McCoy’s scientific knowledge into his mind to help him in the expanding use of his powers. Meanwhile, the Institute kids spend an evening telling stories around the fireplace. Blindfold’s tale of a young girl abducted and corrupted by a demon lord bears a striking resemblance to the origin of the New Mutant code-named Magik. Her tale takes an ominous tone when it stops being about Illyana’s past and begins to tell the recent return of Belasco and his conquest of Limbo following the reality shift called House of M. During this period, Belasco sensed the return of his mutant protégé who was resurrected during the Scarlet Witch’s reality warp. This drove Belasco on a bloody quest across dimension to reclaim his wayward apprentice. He began by reclaiming Limbo and casting out its current ruler, Amanda Sefton. With his seat of power there re-established he has traced Illyana to those who last saw her… the students of the Xavier Institute. As Blindfold concludes her tale, Anole realizes this is no imaginary story but a warning. His realization comes moments too late as the floor opens up to swallow them.
Overview
It all comes down to this! The New X-Men fight for their very souls against Belasco as the “Quest for Magik” concludes. Who will control Limbo? What is the fate of Illyana Rasputin? The Astonishing X-Men and Doctor Strange guest star as souls are shattered and lives are changed forever, and the very fate of the world rests on the children of the Xavier Institute.
FEATURING ENDANGERED SPECIES CHAPTER 8 - Beast’s dark decent plummets to terrible depths as he does the unthinkable—digging up long-dead remains on Genosha for scientific experimentation…
Overview
“QUEST FOR MAGIK” Part 3 of 4.
Things aren’t going well for the New X-Men in Limbo. Most are captives of the devil-ish Belasco who will kill them to get what he wants. But who is this girl who bears a striking resemblance to a certain Russian mutant who died years ago? And does she mean help or harm to the New X-Men? Either way, one has lost his heart. Another will lose her soul.
SPOILERS
(first story) Surge, Hellion and ONE officials travel to Germany where they resuscitate Amanda Sefton so she can get them to Limbo. The Darkchild draws two Bloodstones from Pixie to form the Soulsword she needs to defeat Belasco. Anole breaks free and saves Pixie using his newly regrown and more powerful arm. Rockslide reconstitutes his shattered form using the rocky landscape of Limbo. This grants him a larger form with a molten lava core… and an apparent immunity to magic! He stops Illyana from further corrupting Pixie, who now possesses a Souldagger! The remaining New X-Men battle Belasco who bounces back from every attack they can muster. He threatens to kill and resurrect them in an endless torturous cycle if they do not tell him where Illyana is. Amanda gets Surge, Hellion and an ONE Sentinel to Limbo where they are immediately attacked by a horde of demons!
(second story) The Beast pays a visit to Dr. Kavita Rao to solicit her help in finding a means of saving mutantkind from extinction. The irony of the situation is not lost on the pair considering that Rao developed a cure for mutantcy. But with mutantkind going the way of the dinosaurs, her career as a mutant geneticist has also reached an obsolete state. Kavita willingly gives Hank what remains of the DNA samples and data she received from Ord of Breakworld, though the samples themselves were rendered useless on M-Day. She also gives Beast an important piece of advice: No help may be better than the wrong help… especially some of the corrupt scientific minds her has already approached for help!
