"Steal Belasco's soul?" Laura scoffed. "Does he even have one?"
"Of course. He's just a man. Well, not a human one - I think. But you know what I mean. He's alive, so he has a soul. He just doesn't have it on him."
"I'm lost again," Scott whispered to Hope."
"Like I said, Belasco's sorcery is unmatched in Limbo. He performed a ritual to externalize his soul - and he hid it somewhere in Limbo. But I know where."
"Wonderful," Chris said. "We send the big guns in to get the soul, come back here and end the whole thing."
"Stealthier than that - something like only two people - I was thinking of Doctor Strange and myself. Belasco will be too busy conducting his war out here to notice such a small group enter Limbo."
"Child," Ororo said softly. "Going back there - that's quite the risk to delegate upon yourself."
"I agree," Kitty said. "Belasco wanted to drag you back there before. Going willingly seems like it would be playing into his hands."
"What are your thoughts, Stephen?" Carol asked. "Seeing as you're the one being volunteered."
Strange steepled his fingers and closed his eyes.
"There are certainly inherent risks - not the least of which being my removal from the front lines. But it's a calculated one. Getting leverage over Belasco immediately improves our chances - it could win the day."
He turned to Ororo and Kitty.
"I swear on my oath as a doctor to keep her safe. We make up a fair portion of Earth's magical capabilities between the two of us.'
"Thank you, Doctor," Illyana said.
"Okay, then that's that part settled," Hank said lightly. "What of the demon war on our side of the looking glass?"
As the bus lurched to a halt, the first person to exit was a disheveled man with a mustache, a black eye and a noticeable limp. Then came a tall, stout man in a shredded football jersey, nursing a gash in his head. Then came a woman, smiling satisfactorily as one of her two children adjusted his new 49ers cap. Finally, the hapless commuter, who somehow managed to escape the melee unscathed.
"Phew! People sure are crazy today," the man sighed.
"You're telling me pal," the bus said, munching on one of the bikes mounted to its front.
"Thanks for the care package, your highness," Carol said. "Thor and Val are a couple of heavy hitters we'll definitely need."
On the table before Carol was an image of T'Challa, the King of Wakanda and current bearer of the mantle of Black Panther. His visage was composed of some sort of magnetized sand made from processing Vibranium. Wakanda had all sorts of advanced technology based on the substance that Carol didn't pretend to understand.
"I only wish I could add my own strength to your forces, Captain," T'Challa said. "But these crises rarely occur at opportune times."
"Do you need backup? We have a lot of hands on deck here."
"No, no. Protecting this girl is important. I have the people, it is only a matter of getting them to work together."
T'Challa's face looked weary. Whatever was going on was weighing heavily on him. But Carol wouldn't press the issue.
"Offer stands. If we live, I'll buy you a drink after, you can tell me all about it."
"Hopefully we should be so lucky, Carol." T'Challa said gruffly. The transmission ended.
Strange entered as T'Challa signed off.
"He's hiding something."
"Not much I can do about it right now," Carol shrugged. "We have a lot of people to keep a hold of. I hope this Pryde woman can walk the talk."
"I think they'll manage. Their resume goes back longer than we realized."
He smirked.
"Nearly as long as yours."
"It's nice to have some fresh faces," Carol said. "This is just… fresher than I was hoping."
"You have concerns for their age."
"Well, yeah, Stephen! It kind of changes the whole thing doesn't it?"
"Let me ask you something," Strange looked at her from under his brow. "How many times does your life need to be in danger before you're considered an adult? These kids have all been in dangerous situations, just like we have. They all have powers like we do. They all want to help that girl."
"Like we do," Carol conceded. "Fair. But I'll be keeping my eye on them, in case things start to get weird."
"Oh, things haven't even begun to get weird."
"Stephen," Carol said, suspicious, "what does that mean?"
"All in good time, Captain."
"Everyone has their marching orders," Cyclops addressed the assembled heroes.
"Once we're in the city, each team has the primary objective of stopping any demon outbreaks they encounter, and the secondary one of finding Belasco. Do not engage Belasco if you do sight him. We'll need a unified front."
"Cool," Ant-Man clapped his hands. "Everyone packed? Go to the bathroom? I think we're ready to move out."
"There is just… one other thing," Strange said. All eyes fell on him.
"As this world begins to overlap with Limbo, it's being bombarded with spatio-magical background radiation."
"English, Doc," Carol insisted.
"Magic is entering this world from Limbo in waves. It's going to have some… effects on the way you perceive reality. It probably already is."
Valkyrie frowned.
"If he can do that, why bother with Illyana?"
"Belasco can open small rifts between here and Limbo," Illyana said. He isn't a prisoner there. But he wants to bring an army here."
"It would be like trying to move a beach one grain of sand at a time," Strange nodded.
"Wouldn't Captain Danvers and company have noticed if there was, er, magical shenanigans afoot?" Beast asked.
"Yeah, we've been up since before dawn getting ready," Hope said. "No anomalies reported, except for maybe the heat."
"But that's just it," Strange said. When I called you, it was already 10:30 in the morning on the East Coast. The sun should have been well up by that point."
"Don't you think we would have noticed that?" Ant-Man laughed incredulously.
"Consider the parable of the boiling frog, who cannot sense the water growing hotter around them. You do not see because for you there was nothing to see. For the more perceptive among us, like Miss Moonstrar here, being dropped right in causes the effects to be more… noticeable."
"What's your point, doctor?" Emma asked.
"Time is not flowing normally in this city," Strange said manically. "If the laws of time are starting to break down, the laws of space aren't going to hold on much longer. After that, who knows? Physics? Morality? As the Inferno grows in strength the laws of Limbo will begin to supersede our own."
"Are we… safe, right now?" Hisako asked.
"Well, no. Not particularly. That's the job. I suspect the plant life in the park has helped to shield us, somewhat. Or perhaps the quantum fields keeping the headquarters together. Magic isn't an exact science. But it won't last. The only remedy is to keep your wits about you."
"Then we don't have time to waste," Lorna said.
"Agreed," Thor nodded. "We depart at once."
Strange made a few motions with his hands, and some pale blue bands of energy surrounded his wrists.
"Illyana and I will stay here. Once we see signs that the portal is open - and thus that Belasco is otherwise preoccupied - we will infiltrate Limbo.
Kitty looked at her friend sadly.
"Good luck, Yana."
"Thanks. And be careful! We should be back before long."
They watched the X-Men and Avengers board the pods en route back to their regular sizes.
"Remember," Strange said as Kitty's pod sealed.
"What you see will be real. It's the believing part where things get dangerous."