Baron Mordo laughed joyfully as he finally broke through the outer later of defenses, appearing with a massive displacement of air in the middle of Dr. Strange's inner sanctum. Artifacts of mystical power surrounded the black haired man on all sides, orbs, books, staffs and a hundred other objects, with only one thing standing in his way. "Come on out, Stephen!" the Baron roared, "Come out and face me!" He stood there for a few moments, waiting eagerly for a response. Finally, a sleepy looking young woman stumbled out of the back bedroom while pulling a robe on around her, stopping to tie it firmly before she looked up at the Baron and smiled. "I'm sorry," Kitty Pryde said, pushing her boyish brown hair back from her eyes, "but the Doctor's not available." There was quite a long stretch of silence while Mordo tried to digest that. "So where is he?" he finally demanded of her loudly. The look on Kitty's face clearly said that she didn't much like his attitude. "He's MIA" Kitty answered with a nonchalant shrug. "Missing in action," the Baron blinked. A broad smile suddenly appeared on his face, "Then that makes me the Sorcerer Supreme!" "Not quite," a cool sounding voice came from directly behind him. The Baron quickly turned around to see a sword being pointed at his head, silvery mystic fire dancing all along it's length, held in a metal gauntleted hand. Illyanna Rasputin had a particularly unpleasant expression on her beautiful face as she said, "We're filling in for him." "His apprentices are still on guard," Kitty said as Illyanna took a half step back from the Baron, "and you're trapped." "Fools," the Baron hissed, suddenly conjuring then throwing a mystical bolt at Kitty. It flew a few feet then seemed to hit something in front of him, and bounced right back at his face. He ducked down reflexedly, but the bolt hit another barrier right behind him and bounced yet again to hit him dead center of the back, "Oof!" "The sphere you're trapped in appeared around you as soon as you broke through the outer defenses," Kitty shrugged. "It's invisible, and mirrored on the inside, so any spell you try will bounce right back at you," she smirked. "Where do you want me to dump him?" Illyanna asked as she summoned a stepping disk under her and Mordo to teleport them away. "The Dark Dimension might be fun," Kitty tapped her chin as she mused, quite enjoying the panicked look on his face, "but maybe a bit harsh. Let's just drop him up in the Rocky Mountains for a bit. It'll be good for him." "Got it," Illyanna grinned, and they were gone. "Ahh!" Thump! Mordo hit the snow, rolling to a stop as soon as he hit a tree. Floating high above him Illyanna waved at the Baron cheerfully, "The spell will fade away in a day or so, but until them I wouldn't advise trying any magic. Could be hazardous. Have fun!" With a merry laugh she teleported away. Baron Mordo looked around him, jerking wildly as he heard a wolf's howl off in the distance. It began to snow, and he shivered as he pulled his sorcerer's garb around him. Very thin garb, at that. "I think I hate them," he murmured to no-one in particular. Illyanna reappeared in the sanctum, sans armor and sword, and gave Kitty a high-five. "The team supreme strike again," she grinned. "You got that right," Kitty smiled back at her. Illyanna laughed, "Hey, maybe Big Foot will get him." "I'll believe that when I see it," Kitty took Illyanna's hand in hers. "For a mystic," Illyanna chuckled, "You certainly have a pragmatic approach to things." "It must be due to my early exposure to science," Kitty laughed. The blonde and brown haired girls returned to their bedroom together, and she softly added, "Sometimes I can't believe that we're actually here." Only a few years ago, and Kitty had been the member of the X-Men known as Sprite, and along with her best friend Illyanna, she went off to see the wizard. Or in this case, the Doctor. Dr. Stephen Strange, an old friend of Professor Xavier's, was willing to consult on Illyanna's mystical powers, and Kitty had agreed to come along with her and the Prof. for moral support. They were visiting him because Illyanna had spent years trapped in another dimension called Limbo, and had been forced to become the apprentice of a demonic wizard named Belasco. Illyanna didn't talk about that time in her life very much, or about what happened to her then, but Kitty suspected that it was very bad. When they met him in his study, Dr. Strange had a kind smile on his face, with just a bit of silver marking his carefully trimmed beard. He was handsome, if you liked that type, but his eyes had a odd depth to them. It was like he had seen things men weren't really meant to, and that he carried a few scars because of it. Dr. Strange's red and blue cloak swirled around him as he drew a small jar down from an upper shelf. "This contains the Seraphic Fireflies, creatures drawn to mystical power, or it's potential. They're quite harmless, but they will help me gauge the potential talents of young Miss Rasputin," he smiled as he carefully opened the container. Like tiny stars they hovered all around Dr. Strange first, then they moved out to the other three in the room. A few danced around the Prof. for a moment, but the rest moved on, swirling about Illyanna. Then more and more moved on, until the shining fireflies were equally divided between the Doctor, Illyanna... and Kitty Pryde. "What in the world?" a wide eyed Kitty asked. "Oh, dear," Dr. Strange murmured softly. Only a few moments later, and Kitty and Illyanna had their ears pressed up to the study door to try and hear the Professor and Dr. Strange having a discussion within. And by the sound of it, it was getting quite heated, too. "Do you hear anything?" Illyanna asked Kitty quietly. "Shhh!" Kitty hissed as she heard them starting up again. "They both have magical potential?" the Professor asked. "Not just potential," Dr. Strange sighed, "but massive potential. Not to mention the link that seems to be forming between them." "I take it they need to be trained?" Professor Xavier asked. "Indeed," Dr. Strange sighed, "and the sooner the better, really. I hate to think what a dark magician might do if he got hold of them." They felt the Prof's mind-call at the same time, 'Kitty, Illyanna, would you please come in here?' There was a pause, 'That way, you can stop pressing your ears to that door.' They went into the room together, standing in front of the two men side by side. "Sorry, Professor," Illyanna said, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. "Sorry, sir," Kitty echoed. The Professor chuckled, "It's all right." Dr. Strange had a slight smile on his face, "As you've probably guessed, both of you have a great deal of potential mystic power. With your permission, I'd like to train you both in it's use." "I hate to ask," Kitty said tentatively, "but is this really necessary?" "Sadly, yes," the Doctor said, "untrained, a dark magician could tap your potential, using you like a battery to enhance his own power and draining you dry." "Eew," Kitty made a face at that mental image. She sighed softly, "But I don't want to leave the X-Men to do this..." "You may not have to," Professor Xavier reassured her, "Stephen, once she's completed her training, couldn't she return to the X-Men?" "Yes, if she so chooses," Dr.. Strange smiled. Illyanna smiled over at Kitty, "Looks like we're training together." "Study buddies," Kitty agreed, reaching over nervously to take her friend's hand.
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