"The Blackbird is fueled up and ready to go," Doug said. He, Polaris, and their students Sam and Bobby were on the second level of the hangar, overlooking the black and red aircraft.
"Let's hope it won't come down to using her, though," Lorna said. "Doctor Strange is going to portal us over, and Kitty called Clarice back from vacation as a backup."
"You should take us with you!" Sam said.
"We want to help Illyana!" Bobby nodded.
"The last time you 'wanted to help Illyana' you ran through a hell portal by yourselves and got five months of lawn mowing duty from Emma as punishment."
The boys' antics had many times now earned them Emma's ire. Lorna was half convinced she created this special class just to get them out of her hair.
"But that's not the only reason. We need some people back here in reserve, in case things get too hot for us to handle on the West Coast. The last thing Kitty wants is to leave the school high and dry again while the rest of us go on a dangerous Limbo Mission. Belasco wiped the X-Men off the map seventeen years ago. That fear is still very real."
"Okay," Sam frowned. "We'll be here if you need us."
"Good," Lorna said. "And uh, while you're here, keep an eye out for Piotr Rasputin."
"Colossus?" Bobby asked. "Why? He seemed pretty set about not coming back the last time."
"Illyana is about to go through the fight of her life," a Scottish woman joined them on the overhang.
"He will come for her."
"If only everyone had your heart, Rahne," Doug smiled.
"We need to have faith in our friends, Doug" Rahne said. "And the help they're going to get."
"Well isn't this a veritable army?" Hank said, looking over the team Kitty had assembled for the mission.
"If we're going to war, we'll need one," Strange nodded. Though in truth he wasn't very confident. Six teenagers, six twenty-somethings, and four adults. Sixteen more bodies he had to keep track of, most of them very young. He hoped they knew what they were doing.
"Keep close to me, Anna," Kurt whispered. "And if you see a demon, don't be afraid to let 'em have it!"
"Thanks, but I actually have more experience fighting demons than you do, now."
"And for our dear mother's sake, I should hope we don't make a habit of that."
Doctor Strange slipped on a two-fingered ring and began swinging his hand in a circle. A ring of orange sparks materialized in the air above the grass. Through it, they could see a park dappled in morning light.
"Right this way, mutants," Strange gestured. "Watch your step, please."
The mutants began filing out of the portal into the park.
Cessily had never been to San Francisco before. It was warmer than she imagined it would be.
"Where's the Golden Gate Bridge?" She asked.
"Several blocks north of here," Strange said. "This Golden Gate Park. It's a lot like our own Central Park, but larger overall, if I'm not mistaken..."
He was looking around, his brow furrowed. Something was wrong.
"You use these portals all the time, right?" Laura asked. "Should jet lag feel better or worse?"
"Anything's better than flying economy," Strange replied, still not taking his eyes off the sky, "But the instantaneous time zone changes can be tricky."
"I can't believe we're going on a mission with Doctor Strange!" Chris whispered as they stepped out of the portal.
"You're going to have to tone it down, Chris," Hisako whispered back, "I think he's taking us to meet the Avengers, and we can't just freak out whenever we see a cool superhero if we're going to the place they all live."
"Wizard!" A voice boomed from further away. A burly blonde man leaned on an umbrella near a bench opposite the gaggle of mutants. A brawny woman with dark braids and sunglasses fanned herself with her hand next to him.
"It is good to see you again."
Hisako's jaw dropped.
"You're… you're Thor!"
"Yes. I am," he said, not doing much to suppress a small grin. "And you just be one of the X-Men I've heard so much about. You're smaller than I imagined."
"You're… not. I had no idea you'd be here!"
"It's a surprise to me, too."
A woman with black hair pulled back into a ponytail emerged from behind a nearby tree. She was wheeling a suitcase behind her.
"I thought we'd be seeing a different king today."
"The Wakandans send their regards, Hope. T'Challa is dealing with an 'internal matter' right now, but wanted to contribute nonetheless."
He gestured to himself and the woman.
"Consider us the contribution."
"What does 'internal matter' mean?" Lorna asked.
"That we won't hear about it until it's over," the newcomer rolled her eyes.
"Where are my manners though? Hope Van Dyne, molecular physicist."
"Kitty Pryde," Kitty stepped forward and shook her hand. "And uh, we're the X-Men."
Chris smirked at Hisako as she rejoined the line.
"Everything good, Hope?" Strange asked, his face still scrunched inquisitively.
"Hm? Yeah. Everyone is already inside, just waiting on you guys. Might as well wait to talk business until we're all together."
She produced two small orbs from her pocket and tossed them into the path. They grew into glass pods with thick metal doors.
"I'm glad I brought both transports," Hope said. "If you squeeze together we ought to get everyone inside in one trip."
"One trip to where?" Scott asked.
"That would ruin the surprise," Hope grinned.
"Let's just keep this moving," Illyana said, heading for one of the pods.
"We don't have a lot of time."
The mutants filed into the transports one by one.
"You noticed it too, don't you?" Dani whispered to Strange as they boarded. "There's something weird in the air here."
Strange nodded.
"I can't be sure yet, but it can't be a coincidence."
"We're cramming into a little glass jar in the middle of the park to go chat with the Avengers," the woman accompanying Thor said, apparently having overheard. "What's weird about that?"
"Who are you again?" Dani asked.
"Call me Valkyrie, love. I may not show up on lunch boxes like his Majesty, but I can pull my weight."
Hope pressed some buttons on her wrist, and the two pods shrank down to a few inches in height. It was a feeling like being in a very fast elevator. The young mutants now found themselves looking up at an impossibly tall Hope amidst towering blades of grass. After a moment, Hope shrank herself, and flitted in place next to the pods. They both lifted into the air.
"So," her voice came through the speakers in the pods. "What do you think?"
Kitty's face was pale.
"I'd think I'd like to go inside now."
"I thought it might take you a second to get acclimated. But we haven't even gotten to the really cool part yet."
The pods began hovering towards the suitcase Hope had brought with her. Only now at this scale the X-Men could see it wasn't luggage at all.
"No way!" Chris shouted.
It was a building, disguised as a suitcase. The walls were featureless; no windows, only an embossed A in a circle towards the roof, and now two apertures opening ahead of the pods.
"Two for delivery, Scott." Hope announced.
"They have a Scott too," Lorna said.
"Oh, yes," Thor said. "Plenty of Steves, Peters, Scotts."
"Male dominated workplace," Emma rolled her eyes. Lorna snickered.
"Not many Thors anymore, though, I'm afraid. Very popular name in Midgard, once upon a time."
The pods entered into a hangar. Hope flew in after them.
"Hi, everybody!" A slim man waved down from the control booth.
"Wow, look how many of you there are!" Scott Lang shouted.
"I'm gonna get more folding chairs, I'll meet you in the briefing room!"
"Laura, do you-"
"See the giant ants everywhere? Yeah, Cess, I see them."
Here and there the hallway was punctuated by a glass column running up the wall, each one containing a line of man-sized ants heading up or down elsewhere in the building.
Cessily scrunched her face up in thought.
"I guess they're actually normal-sized ants. Because we got smaller."
"This is quite the impressive bit of tech, Miss Van Dyne," Beast said. "A whole little world, out of site from prying eyes. Science has come a long way."
"There's a lot of stuff you missed since '07," Hope said, walking alongside him, "Wizards, thunder gods, aliens. It can be a lot to adjust to."
"Oh, that aliens are real I'm quite aware," he chuckled. "I may have been in an interdimensional prison for a decade and a half, but I wasn't born yesterday."
"I can't say I've seen someone quite so… blue, as yourself."
"Mutants have been off the map for some time," Ororo explained. "Professor Xavier was an unparalleled telepath. He concealed the memory of mutants from the world."
"With a bit of help from the Sorcerer Supreme of the day," Strange added.
They came to the briefing room; a long, stately chamber in the core of the building. Columns of ants were at each corner of the room, with display cases along the walls between. Chris's eyes darted over rows of old Iron Man armors, samples of vibranium ore, mystical artifacts, and Asgardian weapons. At the end of the room was a tattered, star-spangled outfit with a shield held in front. The uniform of Captain America.
The center of the room was dominated by a dark wood table with eight chairs. At its head, in front of Captain America's display case, was a woman. She wore a brown leather bomber jacket, and had her back to the doorway until she heard the mutants enter.
"Welcome, everyone," Carol Danvers put her hands on the table and leaned forward. "Stephen, Thor, good to see you again."
"You've done some redecorating," Thor mused, impressed by the room.
"Eh, it's mostly reproductions. They put the real deal in the museums."
She glanced over at a 90's beeper with some strange modifications made to it.
"Not everything, though."
Kitty stepped forward and shook her hand.
"Kitty Pryde, codename Shadowcat. It's an honor to meet you, Captain."
"Likewise. I hear you've kept this Limbo situation locked down pretty tight before now. This is your team?"
"And some of my staff," Kitty replied. She ran through the list of mutants by their codenames, with the exception of Emma. Most of Captain Marvel's teammates; Doctor Strange, Thor, Valkyrie, and the Wasp, had already been introduced to the mutants in person.
Ant-Man eventually arrived with more chairs for the mutants. Carol and Laura both motioned that they'd rather stand.
"Alright, we have a lot of people in here so listen up," Carol said. "Doctor, you have the floor."
Strange nodded and stood.
"As I have briefed you, we are facing an imminent demonic emergence from the extradimensional forces of Limbo. Thanks to Illyana here, we now understand that the time of this attack is today - and the place is here, in San Francisco."
"Oh man," Scott whispered.
"Twenty of us versus an army of them?" Hope asked.
"There have been worse odds," Strange shrugged.
"And we have our share of heavy hitters, too," Cyclops said.
"How long do we have to prepare?" Carol asked.
"Hours, maybe," Illyana spoke up. "Belasco is likely in the city right now, waiting for the right time."
"To that end, we have two objectives today," Strange said. "Foremost, to repel Limbo's army from Earth, and minimize the damage they might cause. But also, to separate Belasco from ownership of Illyana's soul."
"The two are related," Illyana interjected again. "Whoever controls the Bloodstones can control the gateway between Limbo. Even if we were to beat back this invasion, he would still have the way across."
"So, fight any demons we see along the way, but prioritize looking for Belasco," Armor proposed. "We've seen the amulet before - we know what to grab."
"If you get a shot at the guy, take it," Kitty said, "But something tells me he isn't the sort to lead from the front."
"What do you know about this guy?" Valkyrie asked.
"He is the Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo," Illyana said. "Skilled in the mystic arts, but also deeply cunning and cruel. He won't engage you in a fight directly, and he definitely won't fight fair."
"I have a question," Thor raised his hand. "I understand why Belasco needs the girl to get to Earth. But what does he want with Earth in the first place? We're all quite fond of this planet, of course. But he has an entire dimension at his beck and call. There are no more Infinity Stones or other cosmic treasures here, to my knowledge. One planet seems beneath him.'
Doctor Strange moved as if to speak, but it was Ororo who answered.
"This dimension is merely a stepping stone. Between the upper planes of light and order that govern reality, and the places of deep and unspeakable darkness below Limbo. If Belasco takes the Earth, it will curry favor with beings even more terrible than he is."
She turned to Strange.
"Did I leave anything out?"
The sorcerer shook his head.
"Very thorough, Ms. Monroe."
Ant-Man frowned.
"So he could be anywhere in San Francisco, and he's going to bring a whole dimension's worth of dark magic to the table to keep us from Illyana's soul bits. How do we beat him?"
"We don't," Illyana said. "Not in a fistfight, anyway."
"You have something up your sleeve, dear?" Emma asked.
"It's… bold. But it's the only chance we have."
"Don't keep us in suspense," Carol said. "What's the play?"
Illyana brushed the bangs out of her eyes.
"Belasco stole my soul, right? I'm going to steal his."