Marvel: Incursio

Sweat started forming above Liam's eyebrows as he walked towards Illyana's room.

'I'm in deep trouble, aren't I?' Liam thought, remembering his last conversation with Illyana as he made his way through the corridors.

He had completely forgotten to visit her with all the testing and fighting he had been doing over the past few days, maybe even weeks.

'It feels weird,' Liam thought, smiling softly. 'Time passes by like a blur now whenever I train or fight. It never used to be like that.'

''I really must have changed, huh. Maybe I adapted to the harsher world around me, like Incursio,'' he mused as he arrived in front of Illyana's room.

Liam knocked on the door and waited. Not long after, he heard a click from the door as it opened.

Liam quickly stepped to the side as he saw a batch of dimensional energy shoot toward him.

Hearing a loud clang, Liam turned to see a round hole in the wall behind him. Flying through the hole from the other side was Lockheed, who had grown to twice its size in the time Liam hadn't seen him.

'Damn,' went through Liam's mind as he leaned back to see the hole in the wall behind Lockheed before looking over at Lockheed himself.

'These walls, even if they are just corridor walls, should be protected with a low amount of energy,' he thought, letting out a low whistle. 'Looks like Lockheed is going to catch a nice beating.'

Looking back into the room, Liam found Illyana sitting on her bed with her arms and legs crossed, staring at him.

''Heya,'' Liam said, waving his hand awkwardly.

''Looks like someone finally remembered where my room is, isn't that right, Lockheed?'' Illyana said in an angry tone with a perfect Russian accent.

Lockheed looked between Illyana and Liam, not knowing what to do, before quickly nodding.

Liam couldn't help but smile awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

As he scratched his head, Illyana's eyes followed his hand, and her gaze fell on the top of Liam's head. Seeing his new appearance, she hopped off her bed and walked towards him in a fast pace.

''What are you doing?'' Liam asked as she closed the distance between them.

Ignoring Liam, she stood right in front of him. Reaching for the top of his head, her hands fell on his hair and slowly moved towards the horns as she mumbled something.

''What did you say?'' Liam asked, not at all feeling uncomfortable with what she was doing.

''Why did this happen?'' she asked in a lower tone than usual, pulling her hand away from his head.

''Can we go inside first? It's kind of a long story,'' Liam said, smiling.

He could hear the concern in her voice, making him feel genuine relief and happiness. 

After walking in, they both sat down around her table on the right side of the room. Meanwhile, Lockheed closed its eyes, resting against Liam as it fell asleep.

Illyana looked at Liam with an expectant and concerned expression, wanting to know the answer to her earlier question. She had seen the news articles and knew he had been in Greece, but with so many fake news, she couldn't tell what exactly had happened.

''It's quite simple, actually,'' Liam mused, still smiling from ear to ear. ''I thought it would be an unfair advantage in appearance if you were the only one with such beautiful horns.''

Illyana's face went through many emotions in a split second—happiness, concern, sadness, gratitude, —but then she started frowning, anger beginning to show clearly on her face.

''Alright, alright,'' Liam quickly said before Illyana could say a word. ''It's a bit of a long story, but I'll start from the beginning.''

Having seen her quick changes in emotion, Liam decided to tell the full story immediately. If there was one thing his combined life experiences had taught him, it would be that a woman shouldn't be angered unnecessarily.

Liam started from the very beginning: his journey to Greece after learning of a large tear there, the encounter with the harpies, the dead town, the stone giant. He told his story exactly as it had happened. The only thing he barely spoke about was the pain he had felt, even leaving out entirely that he had lost an arm.

After he told his entire adventure to Illyana, silence fell over the room.

Illyana looked at him with relief that he was still alive, but also with deep concern. She was still worried about the horns he had grown, knowing what pain she had gone through when she grew her own. She understood the pain he must have endured, despite him not mentioning it.

It also didn't help that she had just read the books regarding corruption, given to her as some kind of homework by the Ancient One.

''But as you can see, I'm completely fine now,'' Liam said, trying to lighten the mood.

''Why?'' Illyana asked. ''Why do you go so far for these people?''

Many of the news reports she had read, cursed Liam for his actions and questioned his motives. She truly couldn't understand why he would go through so much pain to protect the cities around the mountain.

''Well…'' Liam said, contemplating for a moment. ''I am doing whatever I can to survive, but I think it's only right to protect people where and when I can.''

Liam paused for a moment, before continuing, ''I would've liked someone else to do the same if I were an ordinary person.''

Illyana looked at him in silence. After a short moment, she nodded, falling deep into her own thoughts.

She thought back to all her years in Limbo. Those years had taught her to always rely on herself. Since her time in Limbo, she had believed in herself alone, especially with the Dark Chylde side forcing her true emotions away. Only recently had she been able to open herself up to someone else.

Eventually, Illyana sighed softly, her expression shifting back to a happy one.

''So, what are you doing now?'' Liam asked.

''Just training my control over energy with the Ancient One,'' she said. ''Thanks to her, I can finally feel my own emotions again.''

''I no longer have the dark energy disrupting every emotion and causing my mood swings. I only rarely slip up and let it influence me now,'' she continued.

Illyana shared how the past couple of weeks had been for her, while Liam chatted along. Time passed quickly as the two of them kept talking for hours. Before Liam knew it, he realized he needed to end the conversation and continue with his next goal.

''So, what are you going to do now?'' Illyana asked as they both stood up.

''I'll be experimenting with my new powers, but after that, I will start my own organization,'' Liam said.

''Organization?'' Illyana asked, curious. ''What for?''

''Many things, mainly dealing with threats to this dimension. Like the Sanctum, but more known and widespread,'' Liam answered, while walking to the door.

''I'm in,'' Illyana immediately said from behind him.

''Are you sure?'' Liam asked, turning around. ''This will be dangerous, and this isn't even your own dimension.''

''Yes, I'm sure,'' Illyana said. ''I'm so sure, I even know that you will be taking me with you the next time you go to dimensional tears.''

Liam raised an eyebrow at that statement.

''I barely have any real attachments to my own dimension anyway,'' Illyana continued. ''And that is completely different in this one.''