X-Force Only - Rasputin

[xp_daytripper]

Just had a 'fun' meeting with Pyotr Rasputin, about his little sister, Illyana. I managed to get him calm enough to not try and throw me into orbit, but he's definitely on a crusade about Illyana and finding her. Including potentially getting to Limbo any way he can. Us dimensional "old timers" know how volatile things are with him about his family - that doesn't seem to have changed with the new version - and to avoid getting into the same sort of trouble we've had with the uneducated getting mixed up with the magical underworld and the types that will take advantage (cf: Warren, cf: Frankenberry Farouk), we probably should keep an eye on him.

Topaz, expect him to come your way next - you knew Illyana better than I did and he wants to know what sort of person she became. Sorry?

Comments

[xp_darcy]

Oh sure yeah that's just what we need, another idiot bumbling around with magic they're too impatient to understand. Awesome. Love that. Can't possibly end poorly for anyone.

[xp_topaz]

Brilliant, and I'm sure he just wants to talk about her shining personality. No questions at all about what I know re: dimensional travel.

I'll get my stories and why you don't mess with magic 101 speech ready

[xp_changeling]

Let me talk to Ivan. After an entire career about his culture as the main villain in my personal history, I know a thing or two about how they work.

Also, if he decides to turn me into hamburger, I'm likely to bounce back ahead of the rest of you.

[xp_daytripper]

I had a plan if it got to humburgerging stage - drop into New York and let the city smack him around for me. ;)

[xp_jubilee]

How’d that all happen?

This is probably where I’m meant to discourage him right and not ride him to Limbo in order to get my friend back, whether he survives or not.

[xp_daytripper]

1) We have no information that Illyana's in Limbo right now. All we know is she left Muir and hasn't been seen since.

2) When were you mates with Frankenberry Illyana? If I'd known, I would have sent the big hulking Russian to you.

[xp_jubilee]

Why do I keep forgetting we had a new Illyana?

Bah. I would like original Illyana flavor back please/thank you.

How about I just confuse him so badly with original stories that his brain explodes? Or is new Pyotr less of a douche than old Pyotr?

[xp_blackcat]

Nope. Nope nope nope.

[xp_artie]

I mean, you're alive and there's no property damage so it sounds like it went as well as it could.

We all knew this timebomb was sitting there waiting for us and now we've just got to hope that Petey doesn't kill too many people when he inevitably goes down to meet the kinds of people who promise you a one way trip to explore hell dimensions.

We're probably going to get further if we point him at Hungary or somewhere and let him look there. Plant false intel and keep him moving so that he doesn't try to make ties with the magic users.

[xp_darcy]

We don't need to do that to Hungary. Maybe the Darvaza gas crater? It even looks like a Hollywood-esque portal to Hell.

[xp_artie]

That's the end game, not the starting play.

[xp_darcy]

Not sure I wanna see the result of a giant metal man being manipulated by magic. I mean, maybe he'll get told often enough that it's a bad idea and back off, but based on limited interactions so far? Stubborn. And extremely suspicious of spies and their affiliates, so y'know, most of Team Magic.

You sure we can't just cut to the chase instead?

[xp_artie]

Cutting to the chase. I mean, that's basically murder him directly, rather than let the flaming pit do it. I feel like that's a little extreme.

[xp_darcy]

I mean he turns into a giant metal dude, what's a gun or my taser gonna do? Jack and shit, exactly.

The flaming pit is wide and deep, so if he survives it gives him plenty of time to think about why it's a terrible idea to pursue magic he doesn't understand. And get more pissed off, but he'd have to get out of the pit to do anything about it at that point.

Look I just really don't like the shitty things that happen when magic is angry or people go blundering into shit they don't understand. I'd rather do a few pounds of prevention than end up with another wormhole or possession or whatever.

[xp_artie]

Yeah, me either.

Strategically, someone like that, you take them when they're vulnerable. Sleeping, seeing a hooker, shitting.

Setting things up so someone might die leaves you as morally culpable as if you'd killed them directly, only with more loose ends.

To be honest, I'm more worried about what happens when he learns that we could have found him, because it's not our first time around.

You'd have liked OG Yana. She was a cute little kid before everything.

[xp_darcy]

Eh dude oughta be able to understand "sorry was told the world would end if we clued people in on the weird world mash shit." (Which like, I would ask questions but the universe couldn't handle two of me.)

I vaguely remember the Illyana that was here but we didn't have much cause for interaction and I was kinda living in the labs or in law school for most of that, I think. Answer unclear, don't ask Darcy about most of what happened between 2016 and 2019 because she does not remember.

Still don't like the idea of someone clueless and angry mucking about with magic.

[xp_jubilee]

If you want to see what happens when someone angry and clueless messes with Magic, go look up my file. Frankly, I’m tempted to send it to Pyotr with a nicely worded ‘Don’t be me.’

[xp_darcy]

I mean... if it would dissuade him not the worst idea, maybe.

[xp_jubilee]

Problem with that is that he doesn’t know me. People don’t usually listen to people they don’t know. (Well, unless you’re holding them off the side of a building. Then they usually listen very carefully)

[xp_darcy]

And given his known wariness of our lot, no guarantee he'd actually learn instead of assuming it was fabricated to discourage him.

This isn't actually dissuading me from the gas crater idea.

[xp_artie]

I'm not a fan of people playing with magic at all these days. I feel like every time something goes badly wrong, there's magic at the bottom of it.

As for understanding that the world might have ended? Look, I have never really had family in the classic sense of the world so I might underreact but I feel that he's not going to be the most forgiving about this, somehow.

[xp_darcy]

So are you sure I can't just drop him in a pit and save us the trouble?

[xp_artie]

Unfortunately. We don't have sufficient cause to start anything against him. Not really.

[xp_darcy]

Okay but when this blows up in our faces I'm reminding you of this moment.

[xp_artie]

I mean, that's fair. You should do that.

[xp_darcy]

This makes me want to rethink my stance on not drinking myself into oblivion.