Tyson sat with his back resting against the cool surface of a massive rock. Illyana was led between his legs, her head leaning back against his chest. Although they were in Limbo, the two seemed to have found a pocket of peace. Tyson's arms were securely ed around her, but he was cautious to ehere was no direct skin tact, knowing all too well the repercussions.

  He shifted slightly, feeling the hard grouh him. "You know," he began, his voice light and teasing, "we should think about bringing some fy chairs or maybe even a couext time. Make this pce a bit more... cozy."

  Illyana chuckled softly, the vibrations of her ughter warm against him. "I think once we've dealt with the never-ending hoard of demons, we sider a makeover," she replied.

  Tyson's face turned more serious. "Speaking of which, have we made any headway with them? Pushed them back a bit?"

  Illyaated, her firag patterns on Tyson's forearm. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "Holy? No," she admitted, a hint of frustration evident in her voice. "It's like every time we make some progress, more appear. They just... multiply."

  "You know," he began thoughtfully, "time here doesn't really... wht. I remember when you first sent me here. It felt like I had hours before you arrived, but when I returned, only moments had passed." Tyson looked at her, an idea f. "Maybe when you're not here, so much time pses that it gives the demons enough time to multiply."

  Illyana sidered this, her fingers pying with a strand of her hair. "It could be."

  Tysoured, "What if we tried staying longer? Spent weeks here, pushing back the demons, reg mround?"

  Illyana bit her lip. "It might work for you, but not for me," she responded softly. "I o eat and sleep. Limbo isn't a pce I simply live in. The enviro be as much of a threat as the demons are." She shook her head, "It's a catch-22. To make it habitable, we'd o clear out the demons. But to clear them out, we'd o speeime here, which I 't do."

  The two shared a heavy silence, realizing the difficulty of their situation. Illyana looked at Tyson, her blue eyes filled with a mix of amusement and . "You know what I think?" she started, drawing his attention.

  He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What?"

  She smirked, her tone pyful yet pointed. "I think you're stalling."

  Tyson ughed, a hint of embarrassment evident in his voice. "Yup, one hundred pert. Fag Mago again isn’t on my top ten list."

  She tilted her head, strands of blonde hair falling to frame her face. "You know, I could teleport us somewhere else in the base. We don't have to drht into Mago's p."

  He sighed, "It's not just Mago," he fessed, "There's another problem, a much bigger one."

  She straightened up, sensing the gravity in his voice. "What is it?"

  His face grew somber. "Stryker's pn. He's built a Cerebro here. If you aren't aware, it's a mae desigo amplify Professor Xavier's powers. And he's got a mutant who's maniputing the Professor, making him use Cerebro to find every mutant out there... and kill them. It’s the same mutant he used to create the mind trol serum"

  Illyana decred, "Then we go bad stop them. It's not so plicated."

  "That's not the end of it though." Tyson shook his head, "Mago ged the orders. Mystique posed as Stryker and altered the directive. Now, Professor X is set tet all humans, not mutants."

  Illyana's lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes narrowing. "So instead of eradig mutants, he's about to extermihe rest of humanity," she summarized.

  Tyson nodded. "Exactly."

  She thought for a moment, her fiapping against her thigh. "Well, regardless of who the target is, we still o stop them. We 't let either sario py out."

  He let out a humorless chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "And that's where the problem lies." He paused, colleg his thoughts. "her of us pull off a Stryker impersonation the way Mystique did. If I could just touch her, I could do it. But getting to her means going directly into Mago's grasp."

  Illyana frowhinking of their options. "What else we do?"

  Tyson's expression grew pehe other two options we have are a bit more... direct. One, I teleport i close to Xavier, and quickly touch him. By abs his powers, I could shield myself, and maybe us both prote from the mind-troller, potentially even teract it." Illyana raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to tinue. "Or," he tinued with a deep breath, "we go in guns bzing and try to take down the mind-troller. ralize the threat."

  Tyson furrowed his brow, aioned, "I have another idea." His voice betrayed the audacity of the pn that was f in his mind. "It's... pretty extreme. If it works, it could solve all our problems, but it's going to e with sequences." He hesitated, looking down. "Big ones. Like... getting booted from the Institute at minimum."

  She shrugged nontly, her blonde hair casg down her shoulders with the motion. "I already graduated," she said.

  Tyson's eyes widened, momentarily surprised that he hadn't realized Illyana was a senior. "I didn’t know you were a year ahead of me. Are you going to college then?"

  Illyana looked off into the distance, her expression turning thoughtful. "Haven't decided. My brother stayed at the Institute and became an assistant to the professors after his graduation. Thought I'd do something simir, at least at first."

  The fai smile pyed on Tyson's lips. "So, you're not worried about potential fallout?"

  She smirked, "Let's just say I'm used to ruffling a few feathers. What's your pn?"

  Illyana's demeanor softened as she tried to gauge the seriousness behind his words. At first, as Tyson began to y out his idea, she nodded, processing every word. But as the pieces came together, her brows furrowed, creating tiny ripples of on her forehead. The weight of what Tyson proposed pressed down on them both, rendering the atmosphere in Limbo even heavier. Tyson paused, his voice faltering as he sought validation in Illyana. "It's the only way I think of. Do you think it'll work?"

  She looked away for a moment, battling with her feelings. She had always beeo jump into danger but found herself questioning if his idea was even a reasoh. This wasn't about fag an oppo; it was about dealing with sequehat might ge their existence. Lig her lips nervously, she finally met his gaze. "It's risky. The fallout might be worse than simply killing the mind-troller."

  He let out a shaky breath, feeling both reassured a even more aware of the gravity of what they were pting. "But will you stand by me?"

  "Always," she murmured. Illyana's blue eyes searched Tyson's with deep . She took a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Will you be able to hahis? You've been through... a lot. One ssh from my Soulsword, or even your cws, and everything will go back to how it was. We don't have to follow this path."

  Tyson took a deep breath, his voice carried a hint of pain from his ret ordeals. "You're right. But if we did that, would it only be for our immediate be? Think about the bigger picture. How much mood could we do for everyone else?"

  Illyana paused, clearly torn. Her instincts warred with the logic of Tyson's words. She finally let out a sigh, pointing a fi him, "Fine, but the moment things seem even slightly off, I'm pulling the plug on this pn. We're out. Uood?"

  He he ers of his mouth curving up into a small smile of gratitude. "Agreed. And... thanks, Illyana, for looking out for me."

  If this worked, it wouldn't just be a victory. It would be a turning point in their lives.

  ~~ Rogue Rept ~~

  As Stryker made his way onto the helicopter, the bdes overhead roared to life, casting a gust of wind that sent loose gravel and dust flying in every dire. He gnced over at Yuriko, her unwavering expression refleg pure loyalty. Stryker grabbed the radio. "Detohe charges," he anded with a cold, calcuted tone.

  A brief aowledgment crackled over the radio, and moments ter, a series of thunderous booms echoed throughout the viity. The ground trembled beh the force, sending shockwaves that rippled across the water's surface.

  Around the dam, plumes of smoke and debris shot up as the explosive charges taping holes in its walls. Like wounds in a giant behemoth, they spewed forth torrents of water. The once mighty dam, which had stood tall and resilient for years, was now on the brink of colpse.

  The initial holes, while signifit, were just the start. The real threat y in the immense pressure that these breaches created. The uing force of the water began pushing against the weakened ses. A work of cracks began to s from the holes, brang out in all dires like a sinister web.

  Each crack grew, widening and deepening, allowing more and more water to seep through. The ominous creaking and groaning of the dam's structure protesting uhe strain could be heard. Stryker, watg the unfolding catastrophe with a sense of satisfa, responded, "Exactly as pnned." His lips curled into a sinister smile, a dark glint in his eyes as the helicopter asded into the sky.

  ~~ Rogue Rept ~~

  Illyana summoned a glowing, circur portal in front of them. As the swirling energy became more stable, a view of the hallway she had navigated before entering Mago’s group appeared. She stepped forward, with Tyson closely followihey emerged into the dimly lit corridor, attempting to remain ued.

  From the distance, Mago's voice echoed with palpable frustration. "Bst it!" The metallic resonance of his powers rippled through the hallway, causing the walls to vibrate slightly. Illyana and Tyson exged gnces, moving quickly to ftten themselves against the wall, ensuring they were out of sight. They waited; after a few mihe corridors became silent. Sensing it was safe to proceed, Tyson Illyana, and the pair quietly made their way toward Cerebro's entrance.

  As they approached the solid steel door, Tyson noticed the spicuous absence of the five blohat Mago had trapped. He put the thought out of his mind and cast a sideways g Illyana, a hint of uainty shadowing his features. "Do you o see io teleport?"

  Illyana shook her head, her voice low. "No. I create a small portal to check the area first. Once we're sure it's clear, we'll go in."

  Illyana's hand tightened on Tyson's shoulder, her tration alpable as she peered through the small portal she had jured. The interior of Cerebro was visible, yet eerily still and silent. The moment they stepped through, an uliiness greeted them.

  Noone was there.

  The air inside Cerebro felt heavy, charged with an unseen energy. But Tysohey were not alone. He recalled his knowledge about Jason, Stryker’s son, the mutant capable of crafting intricate illusions.

  Tyson wasn’t certain how the power worked, but he did know from his experiences with Xavier ahat his mind, crowded with the psyches ue and Sabertooth, offered him a modicum of resistao telepathy. So, he closed his eyes, fog inward, and reached out to the other presences within his psyche. He felt the distinct, feral edge of Sabertooth's sciousness and the profound sadness ue. She shied away, but he willingly joiogether, the fortifications around his mind fought against the psychitrusion they were fag.

  Tyson opened his eyes, his vision was still obscured by the illusion. He couldn't rely on sight; he needed another sense. Drawing on Sabertooth's enhanced abilities, Tyson inhaled deeply, filtering through the sts in the air. A distinct, pu odor cut through the sterile st of Cerebro; the smell of skunked chemicals and sweat.

  The st grew stronger and guided Tyson through the illusion honed by Sabertooth's instincts. Illyana watched him, her hand poised to strike with her sword should the need arise.

  As Tyson closed in on the source of the st, he envisiohe mutant. Suddenly, he lunged forward, his hand shooting out to grasp something unseen. His fingers found purchase around a neck, the skin was cmmy and cold. The sho Mutant 143's eyes was evident as Tyson's grip tightened.

  Mutant 143 gasped, his illusion faltering uhe physical assault. Tyson's unique ability to drain life surged forward, tendrils of energy pulling at the essence of the illusionist. Illyana stepped forward, ready to intervene, but Tyson's expression told her to hold back. His eyes flickered, a storm of emotions and memories swirling within.

  He pyed in the garden, creating miniature animals and pyful fairies using his powers, making his childhood a realm of wonder. His father sent him away to get help. He sat in a within a grand mansion filled with fellow mutants. His professor was trying to teach him trol, empathy, and responsibility. But he only smirked, choosing to disregard the lessons. He believed that his gifts were not to be tethered.

  His mother sat on a chair, her face pale and eyes wide with terror. With just a thought, he maed nightmarish illusions that danced arouaunting and teasing. The room echoed with her heart-wreng screams. She clutched her head, begging for the visions to end. And oeful day, the torment overwhelmed her fragile mind, leadio take her own life.

  He was caught off guard by a sudden ambush. They held him dowraining him. His father began horrific experiments, altering his very nature. He was left a shell of his former self, lobotomized and trapped within his own body. A mae was embedded in his brain, making him subservient to his father's will. Every and resonated loud and clear in his head. He couldn't resist, couldn't fight back. He pet, maniputed to serve his father's agendas. The pain was a stant torture, but he no longer possessed a will, so cared little about the orders he was given, merely fulfilled them.

  Illyana watched, her expression a mix of and awe, as Tyson's face torted with the influx of memories. She khe danger of what he was doing, yet she alshe y of their mission.

  As the memories receded, the depth of Jason's anguish and torment resonated with Tyson. But his grip remained firm as his surroundings began to shift and . The grimy, metallifines of the sed Cerebro melted away, revealing the pristine enviro of the Institute's Cerebro.

  Oform nearby stood a little girl with wide, impl eyes. She appeared no older than ten, "Stop! Please, stop!" she cried, her voice eg eerily through the vast chamber. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she reached out toward Tyson, her small hand trembling.

  The emotional weight of the situation weighed heavily on Tyson, but he knew he had to see this through.

  The moment Tyson accessed Jason’s power, the ambiance of Cerebro shifted dramatically. Tyson drew out every ounce of Jason's illusionary prowess from the memories he absorbed. In doing so he gained an i uanding of the power. He could craft illusions that altered what targets see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. This plunged an individual into airely different world, all of which sprung from his imagination and trol. The potentensified with direct eye tact, allowing him to nudge an individual's psyche, making them more susceptible to the ditions of the created illusion. This slight push served as a minor form of mind trol, ensuring that targets were not only ensnared within the illusion but also believed in its reality. And the lohey remained under his trol, the deeper his power would root. However, the power was not without its limitations. Particurly resistant minds, especially those with telepathic shields or defenses, could bypass aspects of the illusion or the ey of it.

  Tyson looked into Jason's eyes. They widened in fear, but his resistance was snuffed out before his defenses had a ce to rise. Tyson then walked over to Xavier and made eye tact with him before returning to Jason and pg his hands ba the illusionist. He o ensure he kept the power for the duration of his self-imposed mission. Both Jason and Xavier remained uyson's sway.

  The illusionary little girl, who had been frantid desperate, ceased her screams, her form became more solid as she turned her attention to Professor Xavier, who sat at the epiter of Cerebro.

  The little girl took a few deliberate steps toward the professor. Her voice was tinged with an eerie echo, " you help me find them? Find all the humans."

  Tyson amplified the little girl's and, making it impossible for the professor to resist. Xavier's eyes, which had been hazy and distant, snapped into focus. There was a momentary fsh of resistance, but Xavier responded meically, "I will find all the humans."

  The image in front of Xavier showcased the rotatih. It wasn't just a simple proje. This was the professor's magnifit telepathic power at work. The Earth was studded with billions of tiny, pulsating dots of light, each representing a human being. Their thoughts aions were all visible to the professor, creating a spectacur mosaic of life on the p.

  "I don’t want them to know about us. Make them all fet… Make them fet mutants ever existed. We’re nothing more than a myth." The little girl’s uling voice seemed to hang in the air as if it was eg with the profound implication of her and.

  The billions of lights representing human lives tio shimmer around them, reflected iruggle cast on Professor Xavier's face. His features, usually calm and posed, twisted momentarily with flict. He had always been a bea of hope for mutant-kind, and here he was, asked to erase their very existence from the collective memory of humanity. However, uhe pounded influence of Tyson and Jason's power, Xavier's resistance began to wane. His shoulders sagged slightly as he he a looking both relut and resigned.

  "Yes. I’ll make them fet about us," he murmured, voice eg softly amidst the hum of Cerebro. He closed his eyes, and an intense tration washed over his face. The Earth's representation before him began to shimmer more vibrantly, the dots of light pulsating with increased vigor.

  The room seemed to tremble slightly, the very atmosphere within Cerebro pulsating with raw energy. The hum of the maery grew louder. As Professor Xavier focused, the tours of his face etched deeper lines, revealing the iy of his tration. Around Xavier, the illuminated representation of the Earth grew brighter. A myriad of shining dots began to ripple like water in a pond after a stone was thrown. Bright streams of light started to emanate from Xavier's form, reag out and iwining with the glowing dots. The room seemed alive, awash with colors, an aurora borealis on steroids. Patterns formed within the sciousness of humanity. Thoughts of mutants were beily plucked, like notes from a harp, and repced with benign fetfulness. Moments of fear, hatred, love, and curiosity about mutants ebbed away, repced by bnk gaps or innoemories. As the assed through the dots of sciousness, Tyson's grip on Jason rexed. Xavier’s task was nearly plete, he could release his hold. But a voi his head pressed down on him.

  It snarled, He’s weak. Finish him

  A sed, feminine voice tered weakly. He’s just a victim of circumstances.

  But the first thought dominated. Jason, the boy who'd been so twisted by pain and hate that he'd tormented his mother until her death, the boy whose powers had been harnessed and onized by his father. He was the lin of all the misery that had unfolded.

  Tyson's thoughts turo the Professor, of the kindness and uanding that radiated from him. Charles Xavier preached uanding, peace, and coexistence. Ayson was, maniputing the man who’d offered him help and sanctuary.

  Tyson's grip sed. He reized Sabertooth’s influence, his invitation to bolster Tyson’s mental defenses had allowed the psychotic psyche greater sway over his as. Now, he pushed back against it, f Sabertooth bato the recesses of his mind. The pull of the darker voice started to wane, repced by a rising tide ret and guilt. But then he felt it…

  A sudden snap. As if a rubber band had been pulled too tightly, and then suddenly… broke.

  A surge of psioniergy washed over Tyson, his vision blurring momentarily. It felt like he was caught iide of a powerful wave. He staggered back, every inch of his existence pulsing with the newfound power. He could feel the power c through him, like a maelstrom in his mind. The voices from earlier were muted now, repced by the deafening roar of Jason’s power. But uhe others, there was no voice. It was like Jason no longer existed, like his essence was stripped away, and only his ability remained.

  Illyana, sensing the turmoil within Tyson, moved closer. "Tyson?" she called out, her voice tinged with .

  He looked at her, his eyes wide and filled with fusion. "It's... I held on too long…" he rasped, clutg his head with both hands as if trying to tain the whirlwind inside.

  She reached out to steady him, her fingers brushing against his arm. "Foy voice," she urged, her tone soothing, trying to pierce through the sting inside him. "Block everything else out. You're stronger. You trol it."

  Tyson, gritting his teeth, tried to trate on Illyana's voice, using it as an anidst the psionic tempest. He felt her drawing him close, her arms ed around him in a protective embrace.

  What was left of Jason's was now imprinted within Tyson. And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the rush subsided. The memories, while still present, receded to the back of his mind. Tyson's breathing slowly returo normal, though his body felt drained.

  "Tyson?" Illyana’s voice quivered with as she said his name.

  His eyelids fluttered open, revealing a deep well of sadness and uanding. "I... I feel it," Tyson murmured, his voice weak. "He's... a part of me now. But it's different."

  Illyana brushed a strand of hair from his face, her eyes moist. "We'll get through this. Together," she whispered.

  Tyson looked up at her, "I hope so," he replied, the weight of a life not his own now forever imprinted in his soul.

  As the room's glow began to diminish, the two mutants felt the weight of their choices. They had ged the course of history. But at what cost?

  Behind the ses

  - The plot for this chapter/plot point came about from the question: Why aren’t there mutants in the MCU? This is my attempt at expining it within this universe. Stryker tried to kill the mutants, Magried to kill the humans, but Tyson wao give them a ste. I thought it’d tie the X-Men arc up nicely ahe stage for the more familiar MCU that we all love. The cept artially inspired by M-Day/Decimation, and there will be some future refereo the ic titles paying homage in Arc 4.

  - Tyson is aware that his ges won’t adjust the ‘paper trail’ that proves muta. But it at least wipes out pre-existing prejudice.

  - Tyson and Illyana's thoughts/theories on how time passes in Limbo is based on their observations, but that's all aal. I sider Limbo outside of time. Kind of like the dark dimension is portrayed in the MCU. Even though Dr. Strange was rewinding time to tinuously front Dormammu, he wasn't running into his past selves who'd already been killed. Illyana's ‘time travel’ only works in the real world, and she has about as much trol over it as Tyson has over his life absorption, aka his quote from the Marvel Database summarizes it well. "It was a dimension that was unique in that it existed outside the time-stream and thus possessed no time. Universe in Temporal Limbo was prised of a single, ever-ging moment in which everything that ever was, is, and could be coexisted. Human beings within Temporal Limbo might have imagihat time passed there sihey were ditioo think in such a way, but they could not age there." - Avengers #267 - Vol 1.