Illyana Rasputin

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Details

Character Journal: x_snowflake

Real Name: Illyana Nicolaevna Rasputin

Codename: None.

Aliases: None.

First Appearance: May 14, 2003

Date of Birth: September 7, 1996

Place of Birth: Ust-Ordynski, Siberia, Russia

Citizenship: Russian, American

Relatives: Piotr Rasputin

Education: Currently finishing high school.

Relationship Status: Single.

Occupation: Student.

Team Affiliation: None.

Biography

Childhood

Illyana Nikolaevna Rasputin was born on the Ust-Ordynski collective in Siberia, Russian Federation, on September 6th, 1996, the youngest Rasputin child and daughter of two farmers. Her brother, Piotr Rasputin, was substantially older than she was, and Illyana was very much the pampered baby of her family. Unfortunately, around the time that she turned six, the family farm began to experience difficulties, and when she turned six Illyana was sent to live at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to receive the benefits of a Western education.

Living At The X-Mansion

The Russian economy took a downturn in early 2002, and Illyana's parents' farm soon began to fail. When Illyana was six, she was sent to join her brother at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, where she was meant to get a Western education and to learn English. She was there for Stryker's attack on the school in May, 2003. Like her brother, she showed an interest in art, and she worked hard to improve her communication skills in English. She spent Christmas, 2003, in New York City with her brother, Warren Worthington and Jake Gavin.

At the end of January, 2004, Illyana was taken hostage by the Japanese yakuza to blackmail her brother, acting on orders from Shiro Yoshida's uncle. Though she recovered from the incident quickly, Illyana discovered that her parents had been killed, and withdrew from her brother, turning instead to Kitty Pryde for support. The rift may have healed in time, but before it could, disaster struck.

Belasco, a demon who controlled a dimension called Limbo, had been stalking Illyana for some time, hoping to use her as a human sacrifice in the bloodstone ritual, which would have allowed him to summon elder gods to Earth via the corrupted soul of a human. In late February, 2004, he kidnapped Illyana and took her there through a portal. Despite the best efforts of Kitty Pryde, Amanda Sefton, Remy LeBeau, Shiro Yoshida, Jubilation Lee, Sarah Morlocke, Cain Marko, Shinobi Shaw, and Jake Gavin, the portal closed, and Illyana was trapped in Limbo for eight years.

Limbo

Immediately after the portal closed, Belasco performed the first bloodstone ritual.

Illyana was not, however, alone in Limbo. Ten months after she arrived, she was rescued from Belasco by Cat, a mutant who had been magically transformed to resemble a wildcat, with ears and fur as well as some human features, leaving her with a strong resentment and distrust of anything magical. After some time together, Illyana discovered that Cat was a version of Kitty Pryde from an alternate dimension - and that the Illyana Rasputin of that dimension had died. Cat taught Illyana to survive in Limbo's inhospitable wilderness, as well as how to defend herself. However, after two years, Cat identified what she saw as the 'weakest' point in Limbo, where she might be able to phase herself and Illyana back to Earth. When she and Illyana attempted this plan, Belasco revealed that he had been tracking them all along, and used magic to turn Cat completely feral. Illyana was forced to kill her in self-defence, a fact which she has never shared with anyone since. Shortly thereafter, Belasco performed the second bloodstone ritual.

Illyana might have died, but Limbo had another unexpectedly familiar face: A powerful sorceress who, despite the loss of her mutant powers, still went by the name Storm. She spent several years teaching Illyana all the good magic she could. During this time, Illyana manifested as a teleporter, and struggled to control her abilities; though she could not leave Limbo, due to Belasco's control over it, she did gain increased mobility. However, when Belasco sought to destroy the alternate Storm's soul using magic that she could fight, enlisted Illyana to take her life, rather than have her soul corrupted and destroyed forever. Though she tried to escape, Belasco was able to perform a third bloodstone ritual, but, in a fit of anger, threw Illyana into the wilderness afterward, where she nearly died. Belasco's control over Limbo made it perpetual winter - nearly a year of it - but Illyana's growing grasp of magic allowed her to survive, at first, and then start to think of getting herself out. She used the creation magic Storm taught her to create the Soulsword. When she challenged Belasco with it, eight and a half years after entering Limbo, she was able to use it to strip him of his powers and send him out of Limbo, though she could not kill him without dramatic repercussions. This confrontation transferred 'ownership' of Limbo to Illyana.

Having won, Illyana teleported back to Earth, but to her surprise, she found that time passed differently in Limbo than on Earth: While she had been in Limbo for eight years, only five minutes had gone by on Earth. She reunited with her brother, Piotr, and was sent to the medlab for injuries.

Back Home: Skippy and Piotr

The adjustment period was difficult for Illyana, and she spent several months in the medlab, acclimatizing to Earth and its many viruses. However, she had changed fairly dramatically in her time away: Limbo made her suspicious, sarcastic, and very secretive, which did not endear her to some of her classmates, or to her brother, Piotr. She did not discuss what happened to her in Limbo, and, when pressed on the matter, either diverted attention away from the topic, or actively refused to disclose any information. When Jamie Madrox's duplicate, Skippy kidnapped Artie Maddicks and other children at the mansion, Illyana used her teleportation for the first time on Earth, rescuing Artie from harm before he could be harmed. Her ability to teleport was not known in the mansion, and the rescue put her under the suspicion of certain mansion residents, particularly Amanda Sefton, who felt that Illyana was hiding something important and possibly dangerous. Finally, Illyana admitted to being a teleporter and to having a knowledge of magic, although she still did not discuss the bloodstone rituals or what had transgressed in Limbo with anyone. These admissions finally culminated in a heated discussion with her brother Piotr, who, frustrated by his failed attempts to get to know his sister, and amid suspicions that she was not who she said she was, disowned her in July 2004. Though Illyana claimed not to care, she was hurt and angry.

Asgard

Illyana was transported to Asgard with other students and staff in August of 2004, where she was indentured as a servant to the goddess Hel. During her time serving Hel, and looking for a way back home, she met with Amanda Sefton, whom she believed to be the Enchantress's daughter. Later, Alison Blaire found her doing some of Hel's dirty work, and Illyana used the Soulsword to unbind herself from Hel's service. The time in Asgard reinforced to Illyana that she could fend for herself, in cases of dimensional difficulty, and brought her closer to Alison, who remained a tentative friend.

S'ym; the Repodemon

In early October 2004, Illyana, hot off an argument with Kitty Pryde regarding her dragon, Lockheed, went for a run to clear her head, unaware that in Limbo, Belasco's former right-hand demon S'ym was waiting for an opportunity to wrest control of the hell dimension from Illyana. He attacked her on the lawn, and although she was finally able to defeat him, she suffered fairly severe injuries - a badly-broken arm and a gash in her stomach that required surgery. She spent two weeks in the medlab, recovering, during which time she finally confessed the secret of the bloodstone rituals to Kitty. Later, when she was able, she gave Alison Blaire a fairly heavily edited version of her history for Alison to share with the staff. She still refused to tell anyone about Cat or Storm.

Later that month, on Halloween, Illyana was involved in the Repodemon incident, during which she was unable to use her Soulsword to defeat the demon. Though she was ineffective, her attempts to help others during the attack helped to ease the tension between Illyana and Amanda.

Bad Blood

When Alison Blaire was nearly murdered by Sabretooth in the summer of 2005, Clarice pulled her to the scene so that Amanda Sefton could access Limbo's power. Illyana and Amanda attempted to take Limbo's power out of Limbo twice, but realized that it was impossible: Magic from Limbo dispersed the moment they got back to Earth. Instead, they took Alison and Haroun al-Rashid to Limbo, where Illyana thrust the Soulsword through Amanda's hand, giving her access to the power that she needed. Although Alison was healed, the consequences of this action, if any, are still unclear.

The next year, Illyana allowed Cain Marko access to Limbo, where he defeated the elder god Cyttorak.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 140lb.

Eyes: Blue.

Hair: Mid-blonde.

Other Features: Some minor scarring from fights; freckles rather than tans in the summer.

Powers

Illyana is a teleporter who uses 'stepping disks' or portals to travel from place to place. Her powers are somewhat unique in that she must always pass through Limbo on her way to somewhere else - Limbo acts like a junction, so she teleports in, and can teleport out wherever she wants. Her range is at least intercontinental.

Illyana also has an intellectual knowledge of magic, but cannot use it except in Limbo. On earth, her access to magical power is extremely limited, such that the smallest of spells is almost too much for her.