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About a month ago, Illyana, aided by a number of X-Men and a variety of other heroes, put down an attempted mutiny in Limbo. The leader of the mutiny, a human soul that managed to escape from Hell via Limbo, was turned to a metallic statue in Illyana's domain. It's ugly. She uses it as a coat rack. She doesn't need a coat in Limbo, but she keeps one over the statue anyway so she doesn't have to look at it.
But part of the coup was an attempt by an army of demons to escape from Limbo to Earth, where they can do what they want. And what Limbo's demons like to do on Earth is generally to eat. Humans, by preference, though they're not that picky. Over the course of the past month, when she hasn't been assisting in saving mutant child soldiers in Africa, she's been hunting demons. And she's tracked one of them down.
For this she needs a team.
The demon is in Chicago, in the Old Federal Building, a mostly unused building, but several deaths have happened there — most of them centered around an elevator. Illyana can drag some help from the X-Men, or just people she has worked with, getting in touch with those she knows and poking them until they agree to come just to get her to stop bothering them. When she decided that was insufficient, she cast a spell, and a leaflets appeared around New York in places where the super set were likely to see them:
ARE YOU A SUPERHUMAN?!
ARE YOU BORED?!
If you answered yes to these two simple questions, you may be just what we're looking for. By touching this paper, you've already alerted us to your interest! Just step into the shining white disk and you'll be taken right where you're needed.
We're ready to make your life interesting!
In tiny letters at the bottom the leaflet reads, "Approved by the Committee to Stop Demons from Eating People."
And now Illyana, and those she brought with her, are outside the Federal Building in Chicago, waiting for their final recruits to arrive. Illyana herself is grim-faced, her sword in hand and silvery armor coating her from head to toe, pacing back and forth before the entrance, her heels clinking with each step.
Nightcrawler has never been to Chicago! Kurt is trying not to look all around at everything as they make their way to the building, but it's wonderful to see a city that isn't New York. "It is so different…" he says aloud, his own sword (gotten who knows where) in hand and his tail swishing back and forth in anticipation. He looks to Illyana and asks, "So will there be many or do you think just the one?"
Maaaan, coming to New York was the right damn thing to do. How in the hell would Jennifer Kale, aka the baddest witch in the southern states, would ever get any action. She wasn't superhuman, but she was so goddamned bored that she was seriously considering taking up a job licking stamps and spitting on hobos just to catch a little thrill. But then there was that magic parchment. And that sweet, slick stepping disk. Homegirl had -no- choice but to entertain these people who are of the Committee to Stop Demons from Eating People.
Legit.
She donned her robe and wizard hat..
Seriously it was just a pair of boots in case she had to step in some muck and a.. robe. Sans hat.
And stepped on the disk and -right- to Chicago she goes. Was Jennifer the final recruit? Probably not, but it was so totally swell to be one of the many ones to go hunting -demons-! "Ai'.." She hisses, clicking her tongue as she approaches the chick in the silver armor. "Kale atcha' service. Nice outfit, had one down in the swamps but them doggone ma-sketems kept snackin' on me like I was some sort of fruit tray." Her fingers dig into her blonde hair, then decidedly begins to roll up her sleeves, she was so ready to get to work that she was babbling for nothing. "One of them silvery ba-keenys. You got your drawers and you got this top and you ain't got no clue how they be hangin' on the bosom. Can you believe I even wore a ti-aruh? The hell.." Shoulders were rolling, fingers were flexing. She didn't look like much, but beast mode, here she comes!
Jessica Jones snatched the flyer from a kid in Mutant Town who'd picked it up, some dope with hair sticking straight up in the air who could make things vibrate. THe kind of power that would make his bed partner happy but probably wouldn't do much good against demons and shit.
"What the hell is this thing?" she mutters, when the disc suddenly appears to be stepped on.
Jessica looks at it for a long moment and takes a drag on her cigarette, the light of it dimmed, at least, by her cheap sunglasses.
She stares for a moment longer. Looks at the flyer. Looks at the disc.
"I am going to so fucking regret this," she mutters and steps on.
Speedball knew people as it turned out and was waaaaaay way not down with them being some super-terrestrial snack food. That would be, like a total complete bummer drag. He did like Chicago though, because pizza. Don't tell the people who mistake him for a native New Yorker, Chi-Town is winnin the pie game.
There he was, the Masked Marvel, the ….he needed another adjective that wasn't overused here- Speedball!
He was… almost mistakable for a matte finish blue non-silver surfer the way he was taking to that disk. "I so need one of these at home. So! We said something about Limbo? Well I limbered up, got some hot dogs, and know all the words but this… doesn't look like a party on Navy Pier." Wrong type of Limbo, Speedy. Wrong Limbo. He widened a grin to Kurt but, he didn't use names in suits. It was kinda rude. "Well alrighty then. Awkward…but awkward with food at least."
There is a face that isn't exactly unfamiliar to the X-Men, but this time, he's here in a more official capacity. That would be Kwabena Odame, lunatic cab driver and apparent mutant. He's dressed plainly for the occasion, his usual affair; blue jeans, a black tank top, and a denim jacket to ward off the chilly breeze. He's been told it's the Windy City, after all. He's near the back of the gathered group, with a burning cigarette in hand. For a few moments, he simply watches as Illyana paces, taking drags from his cigarette while the others begin to gather.
"Jesus," he murmurs, and forms a rueful smirk. "We ah bunch of fucking weirdos."
"I'm not weird, luv." Theresa points out, also probably not…well, no, she's a brand new still probably unfamiliar face. But she's got reasons to be here, it seems. Much like Kwabena she has dressed plainly for the adventure, a pair of slacks, a simple blouse, and a light jacket of her own, hands tucked into her pockets as she lingers, looking around at all the unfamiliar faces.
"Probably just the one," Illyana tells Kurt. "But despite the battle in Limbo, they can be a great deal more dangerous when they make it to Earth." Her attention turns toward the new arrivals, and she tips a wave to each as they come through their respective portals. Three. Three will do.
Though listening to Jennifer talk makes her eyes cross slightly.
"Thank you for coming," she says to the group. "I appreciate your help — and I promise, if you ask not to receive any of those leaflets again, you'll probably get them anyway. That said, you'll know better than to step through the disk. I'm Magik, and in this building there is a demon."
As if to punctuate her statement, there's a deep rumble from the building, a sound like large stones being rubbed together, almost a growl.
"It's killed at least half a dozen people," Illyana continues. "And I'd like to get rid of it. That's where all of you come in. So… if you'll step this way…"
Illyana pushes open the front door of the building and steps inside.
The services offered at the Old Federal Building have diminished in recent days as it's prepared for demolition. A new skyscraper is to go up, starting next year. But over the last few weeks, few people have wanted to come here at all. And no wonder. In the lobby is a stench of blood, and there's a grinding noise from the elevator bank off to one side. But there's nobody here to have summoned them.
Nightcrawler nods to Illyana and tilts his head as she introduces herself to the others by a different name. He pads over to her to whisper, "Should I use a different name too?" before he gives a cheery grin and wave to the others as they show up. At the mention of 'weirdos' he merely shrugs and asks right back, "Who wants to be like everyone else?" Golden eyes look about at the others, "I brought some Holy Water from the Church. I do not know if it will help but…every little thing, ja?"
At the grinding of the elevator banks, he teleports in a cloud of acrid smoke only to reappear perched on some surface above everyone.
Yes, Jennifer can cross eyes and dot T's. Little do people know, that's not her -real- accent. She actually sounds pretty nice! It's to ward away the.. "Oooh be still my heart, if that isn't the purtiest blue.." Yes, she was talking to Kurt. They were all freaks and weirdo's here, but nothing ever stopped Jennifer from ever making friends. Yet, when Illyana begins to speak, her game face was on. Listening and glancing around the area intently, her nose wrinkling faintly as she pops a finger into her mouth then sticks it into the air. Left and right that hand doth swing, and soon the robe comes off. Right when the building itself begins to tremble.
Yeah, she didn't -really- need it. What she needed were the arms exposed, for as she shakes out her right hand, she draws it towards her left.. where her skin, ladened with a green, emerald dragon style tattoo, begins to shift and shimmer. "That.. sounds like a big one.." She mutters to herself now, inwardly summoning the magics to allow the dragon itself to fall from the skin, like steam doused from a hot object. That green mist falls to the ground at her feet, complete with a quiet rumble as it winds up a leg, then down.. then to the other as she follows Magik inside. "We trapping it or killing it?" Important question.
Jessica Jones listens to the speech and looks around at the ragtag band, "Demons. Right. You're a funny lookin' priest, blondie, that's for damn sure, if we're goin' on an exorcism."
She takes a long drag on her cigarette and lets the others go ahead, "No, please, you first, I insist. Especially you, blue guy, you're clearly fuckin' prepared as fuck. Oh, look, it's that guy," she says, pointing at Kwabena, "Glad to see I'm not the only random scumbag tagging along. Don't worry, guys, I got the rear…wait, we're not even in New York…what the fuck?!?" she syas, looking around.
Then Jennifer starts doing here thing, with all the green mist and stuff and Jessica just sighs, "I've gotta meet some normal fucking people."
Speedball was taking a step in there and eyes Magik, "Woah, they sound, um, very rude. Sooooo in a hypothetical situation (asking for a friend here) were we to run, I dunno face first into it, how do we get it to where it needs to go? We smack it lots, throw water on it like that witch in that movie?" At Kurt's question there was an encouraging grin,, "Buddy, Always take a cool name when you can get it. Presentation? Very important. Like this fella in the building. Good ambiance. Bad eating people, bad demon. " He chided the empty building and looked to Jennifer and Kwabena, "Ya know, it's like they've got no manners at- woah. That's… that's pretty cool." An eyebrow arched up up up at that tiny dragon. Well maybe she'll let him play frisbee with it later. For now? Now was go time.
With a glance toward Theresa, Kwabena perks an eyebrow. "Hey, you might look normah…" Then, with a grin, he leaves it at that. He looks fairly normal too, clearly an African immigrant given his darker skin tone, heavy accent and use of English, but his eyes are a bright silver. At least he isn't hiding them with a pair of sunglasses, or that silly costume he bought in Brooklyn.
Jennifer, Kurt, Speedball, they were unfamiliar faces. Jessica Jones, however, he is very much surprised to be here. "I am Shift," he tells the first three, opting not to use his real name but the nickname the boys in the old neighborhood used when they were off being hoodlums and neerdowells. Jessica's pegging him as 'scumbag' earns her a sly grin. "Dizzy?" he asks her. He can't say he's enjoyed their method of travel here, but his head has been through worse. Okay, perhaps not worse, just… different. You try getting shot in the head repeatedly and see how your head feels.
As for tricks, Kwabena keeps his up his sleeve for now. He walks in behind some of the others, glancing around when Kurt disappears to try and see where he went. That's… something he hasn't seen before. Of course, he passes through the remains of that bamfcloud and when he does, his nose curls. "What de hell is dat, did demon drop ass?"
Illyana starts to reply to Jennifer's question, then pauses, looking at Jessica. "Tell you what," she says. "You don't call me 'blondie' and I won't call you a prepubescent Girl Scout. Deal? I'm no priestess. The demon came from my dimension. It's my responsibility." Finally she turns her attention back to Jennifer. "Catch it or kill it, doesn't matter to me. There are an awful lot more where that came from. One dead demon is a good start."
The noises from the elevator bank continue, and there is a loud creak, and then a slam, as the doors to one of the elevators open so fast that they come free of their tracks. One of them falls out into the hallway. And inside the elevator is a corpse — a security guard, based on the uniform, his face black from asphyxiation.
"Seven," Illyana mutters.
"Why were people coming in here if it was so dangerous?" Kurt asks before he grins brightly at Jennifer's compliment. "Danke schoen!" Well, that was certainly nice to hear! He blinks over to Jessica and offers, "The last time we fought demons, I was told to bring a sword. Und I did not have the Holy Water. This time, I do…it may not work," but it makes him feel better at least. Speedball's comment about the name has him thinking for a moment before he gives a nod, "Nightcrawler." His name in the Circus. Shift gets a roll of his eyes when there's the comment about his teleportation…he's heard it all before.
As the elevator opens he readies his blade but pauses as another corpse falls out from the car. "I suppose we should go down. I can try to go before the lift…I do not think it is a good idea for us to go -in- the lift."
There were quiet little snickers abound as Jennifer takes those few steps aside, the green mist crawling it's way up towards her neck, the ink showing within her skin and hair as the dragon appears to whisper something, and she listens. There were instructions and interruptions, names were being shared. Nightcrawler. Magik. Shift.. she looks at herself. "Meh. I'm Jennifer. Jennifer Kale. I ain't scared of yall." And it was the truth! There were worst things that go bump in the night, like that dragon for instance..
For when that dead body comes rattling out of the lift and onto the floor, she glances up towards Kurt with a wiggle of flirty fingers. "If you're going down, my little baby is going up." With a little purse of her lips, she turns towards the effigy upon her shoulders, muttering something softly as it hops down.
"Do becareful, sweetie!" She tells the dragon. "And if you need to grow, do so, but keep hidden, will ya love?" As the mist dissapates, Jennifer turns towards the group, her lips twisting faintly. "I'd offer a prayer or something, but with all of this in-fighting that may wind up happening, pretty sure I might just shield-guard yall and call it a day." Now, is when her hair is wenched into a ponytail. "Lets get ta work."
Jessica Jones just gives Illyana a non-plussed stare and then flicks her eyes back over to Kwabena, "Shift? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you the 9 to 5 or the 11 to 7? Do you come with a coffee break?"
Still, her irritation seems to be pushing her ahead, much as she played the part of hanging back and letting others take the point. She watches the dragon fly up and shakes her head, "I'm just Jessica. And I'm gonna be billing somebody for all this."
That poor cigarette is burnt down to the filter. Kwabena pinches it, and steps over toward one of those standing ashtrays that line the lobby, extinguishing it. His hand promptly flings up to flip Jessica a lonely bird before turning to watch as the elevator door is summarily dispatched, and a corpse falls out.
A funny little crackling sound starts to come from the Ghanaian. If one could watch ice freezing in rapid time, this might be the sound that would accompany it. Visually, where Kwabena's skin is exposed, his body is changing, or, well… shifting into a form that is super-solid. It's not as if he's growing bumps or rocky outcroppings or anything stupid like that, but his skin appears… different. Harder, somehow, like the surface of smooth rock.
"Where is it?" he murmurs to himself, silver eyes (also hardened, to where the whites have adopted a gray color) dancing around the room.
Speedball snerked but then there was a dead guy on the floor and his good mood faded. That was a real body and that was way uncool. There was a pause and a frown. "Dragon's I think got the best idea: something's got to be something up there dropping people down not up. There should be- yeahup. Stairwell's over there. Elevator has 'Demon lunchbox' written all over it in purple crayon. Jessica, when we get up there you have my permission to bill that demon into a lower tax bracket. C'mon. I'm thinking start with 'I-lean' over that that fell into the hallway." Because bodies dont just fall out of nowhere and because there was too much discussion and not enough action on that he went barreling that-a-way
Illyana approaches the elevator, though she doesn't step in, and certainly doesn't touch the body. She does murmur a few words, but without super hearing, nobody's likely to hear them. She turns back toward the others and says, "It's nearby. Very close. But… I can't pinpoint just where. Be prepared. It could attack at any mo…"
This is the moment, of course, when the dial above the elevator — the one that indicates what floor the car is on — opens like a huge, red eye, and teeth jut out of the top and bottom of the open doorway. A tongue lashes out, thick and grotesquely slimy, wraps around Illyana, and drags her into the elevator in a heartbeat. She vanishes into its maw.
A moment later the tongue reappears, runs around the teeth. There's a resounding belch, followed by a deep voice saying a single word: "Yum!"
It's one of the reasons why Kurt perched somewhere off the floor…just in case there was some sort of surprise. This, however, was unexpected. Golden eyes widen as Illyana is swallowed up and he looks to the others before announcing, "I am going in." The demon is there…he -could- just try and teleport inside and cut his way out. Like Hercules and the Hydra. Or something like that.
Another cackle, this Jessica person is a little bit of fun to be around. More her speed, sort of. When Jennifer is drunk. And yet, it almost sounded as if something were slowly aflame, like tinder or wood crackling at a campfire. Her eyes search around until they rest upon Shift, noticing the change and.. well.. "Heeey.." She lightly wiggles a finger towards him. "Did you just turn to stone? You one of Medusa's babies?" For Speedball, however, she was sizing the guy up. She looks down at her own legs and towards the stairs, ready to speak until .. the elevator comes alive. Right when it snatches up Illyana, Jennifer just stares towards it for a very, long.. unblinking moment.
"Right."
Nightcrawler was going in, Jennifer was staying out, wasting no time to get to work. Hands were already sticking into the backs of her pockets to retrieve a few tiny dabblets of dust, squeezed in between her fingers, her bracelet soon torn off of her wrist, thrown to the floor and stomped upon. If anyone wants to see ghetto magic, it's here! Now if anyone wants to witness destruction..
"Call to arms Dragon!" Yes, that country girl accent gone, it was serious business time. "Fortify my friends!" The green mist that was once gone appears again, flowing down the stairs to begin to tackle each and every one of her teammates by swirls around their feet. The dragon would act as a shield, at least until they were snatched and eaten like Magik was.
It was then, those packets were burst open, and Jennifer twirls in a circle, landing the dust perfectly there as she immediately begins to kneel.
"You all fight. Fight as hard as you can, and if you all fail, I will tear this goddamned building down all around us. No ones leaving alive. Now go!"
"Something like -" Shift starts to answer the funny Jennifer girl, when the elevator comes alive and… and eats Illyana. He forms fists, but then darts his attention to Jennifer. "Fight? Fight what?" he asks. "You want us to beat up elevatah?" He looks down at the green business at his feet, then back to Jennifer.
Then Kurt is teleporting.
"Fucksake," he murmurs, then turns toward Speedball. The fellow gets an upnod, and Jessica gets a… well, he's not gonna flip her off again. "Guess we ah beating up elevatah."
Interestingly, he does have a strategy for this. It ain't too complicated. Ever seen a wrecking ball?
He runs for the elevator, picking up speed rapidly. His boots leave cracking dents in the old marble flooring, for every footfall is more like an I-Beam being slammed into the floor from above. When he draws near the elevator, he pulls his arms close across his upper body, then lowers his head down toward the area where his forearms are crossed over. He's not aiming for the elevator itself, but rather, for the call button just to the side of that maw, and he's hell bent on bashing clear through the wall, through the call device, and into whatever lies beyond that wall.
Speedball went wide-eyed and yelled at the gaping demon, "You spit her out! Bad, demon, no biscuit!" That pissed him off. Blondi- Ms. Magik was super nice and sent a fancy invitation and everything. This was hella no way to respond to a dinner invite where people were NOT ON the menu (read the fine print).
He sized the thing up and glanced to Kurt and Kwabena arching an eyebrow. GO into it? Well if anyone could and stay in tact he figured he might as well try right. There was a brief grin tossed to Ms. Kale, "Heh if you bring the whole building down remember to charge the city for doing the demo job and see Ms. Jessica gets paid? That'd be super nice. We should do pizza later if, ya know, we don't die or get stuck in a dimension without pizza." He squint and thought about that one. "Wonder if that's what hell is: no pizza. We got ya Magik!" And with that he threw himself at the wall in the hallway to start building up speed off the ricochet until he was launching himself at the demon's face to fight that thing from inside. He saw this in a really sweet movie about a whale once. Man he really hoped it would work now.
Within the demon, Illyana is having a few problems. First off, there's the fact that she's tightly bound by the creature's esophagus, slowly dropping down into its gullet. This means that, though her mutant powers allow her to summon a stepping disk, she is entering it at a rate measurable in inches per hour. Much like a certain toothy sand beast from a desert planet in a movie that won't come out for another 19 years, Herman digests his food slowly.
Yes. The demon's name is Herman. You didn't think Pee Wee took the name because it sounded funny, did you?
Worse, she cannot actually breathe. This explains to her how the guard was asphyxiated. This knowledge doesn't help her much, admittedly, but it's nice to be aware. She does have a single advantage — her sword is out, and while its process is ALSO slow, it is penetrating the demon's throat, just by inches, and the sword is made to kill magical things. Herman is in a lot of pain — which explains the way he roars now, a combination of rage and agony.
Kurt will find few places into which he can teleport within the demon. Its stomach is one, and the gas in here is breathable, but smells very much like the gas that escapes Limbo when he teleports through. Enhanced by Jennifer's spell, his sword will cut through the demon's flesh and cause still more pain — but not, at the moment, enough to bring it down.
Kwabena, likewise, is hurting the demon, but not finding any organs that will kill it simply by smashing them. The problem with magical beasts is that they don't have to have organs that can be punctured for instant death. Smashing the elevator controls, though, and into what amounts to Herman's head (pun totally not intended) does seem to piss the creature off a bit more. It's being attacked on several fronts, and Speedball launching himself past Kwabena and down Herman's throat causes its latest roar to choke off as he tries to cough the blond boy up. Speedball's increasing supply of little orange balls of energy are causing the esophagus to swell, cutting off its trachea. Not that this really bothers Herman, except that it's very annoying.
At least Kurt made it into the stomach and can breathe some…sort of. He's never really had to deal with anything but the residuals of his teleportation so this is definitely educational. No wonder people complain! But he's going to work on cutting the demon from the inside…if he can see anywhere else maybe he can teleport there, but if not, this isn't a horrible place to attack, right? It's just…kind of disgusting.
The Dragon was doing it's due dilligence when it came to 'Jennifer's People'. With Kurt out of sight, the green mist dissipates from him leaving him unprotected, but yet the others would be more bolstered for protection. For instance, as soon as Kwabena and Speedball took off, the green mist arcs around them, keeping the line of attack from them open while protecting their sides. The remaining mist keeps Jennifer herself protected, all while she kneels within the circle of dust that she creates.
She wasn't quiet either; for the muttering and chanting that she starts begins to pick up, an errant wind coursing through the building as various parts along the wall where Kwabena attacks begins to pit with an attempt to crumble. Like heavy rocks, the size of a peach thrown into that area, other parts of these magical missiles begin to attack the wall above the elevator opening, and beyond.
Speedball was as indestructible as he was chewy really. Being made of kinetic energy had its uses. It was one of the primary laws of physics: A Speedball in motion will stay in motion until chewed on by an outside source or…something.
He tackled the face of this demon monster with- woah! death breath- ugh. And while he might talk a ridiculous game, the punches to the center of this thing's head were no joke. The first punch build up speed for the second building more speed for the third until his fist was doing a splendid imitation of a jackhammer to the demon's skull. "Cough. Up. Ms. Magik. Now. Dude!"
Illyana finds herself with a little breathing room — the bubbles that surround Speedball are opening the demon's throat a little, allowing air to travel down to her. And after a few deep breaths she yells up to whoever might hear her. "Hey! Come take my sword!"
The demon is not at all pleased with all of this activity, and has started to retaliate. There does not seem to be a huge amount Herman can do, for the moment, about the sword poking his stomach lining, nor about the person punching his skull from the inside… or the woman flinging rocks and debris at him… but he can change that.
Herman begins to pull himself out of the elevator shaft. Or rather, he, being the elevator and shaft, begins to pull himself out of the building with a croaking roar that would be far more impressive if his throat weren't full.
There now stands a sizable hole in the wall next to the possessed elevator. Kwabena, on the other size, slows himself down. His clothing is covered in plaster and debris, and he turns to take stock of their enemy.
There's a lot of noise, and the building rumbles beneath his feet. Eyes grow wider, and he takes a step toward the hole he just made, mouth ajar. When it finally begins clear what is happening, he spits. "Hell no!"
Charging back into the opening, Kwabena leaps into the air and makes to grab hold of whatever he can find, as long as it's being lifted. Seems he intents to go wherever Herman goes.
Nightcrawler hears the voice callung a little above him and he gives another jab to the demon's stomach lining before teleporting up towards Illyana's voice to try and get her sword. Teleporting blind is -not- his favorite thing to do but it helps some that he can see her. He just doesn't want to end up inside a hunk of muscle or something and unable to teleport out. At least her shouting means that she's still alive and for that, he'll risk it.
Risk is everything.
And maybe Herman will gag at the brimstone coming up from his stomach from the teleporting.
Jennifer was a little hard of hearing, so its a damn good reason as to why she didn't hear Illyana's call for someone to get her sword. Not to mention, her focus was quite practically dimensionally split. Her chanting, her focusing her energies upon the dragon to protect them, her firing missiles which soon take on a cylinder shape. Cylinder.. which soon turns -sharp and pointy-.
Here's to hoping her aim is true, for the last line of her own defense is to fire that blasted magic right towards the center of.. or what -could- be the center of the elevator demons forehead. And if that doesn't work? Tap out the magical reserve and kill everyone inside! Hoo!
Speedball just kept hitting the thing growing, "The power of dental hygiene compels you!" Maaaaan demon breath was stinky. He assured Illyana, "Worst game of limbo ever. Glad I limbered up for this." With one fist he cracked into the thing's head, all the bubbles making a nice gap. With no more thinking on it he reached back and took Magik's sword from her and pushed it through the gap, "'Crawler, catch!" Teamwork made easy. On the upshot he wasn't getting tired. Though he did wish this think has a uvula to use as a speed bag. He's always wanted to do that to a giant monster like the cartoons. Sadness.
With Speedball's help, Nightcrawler manages to get Illyana's sword and stab it into the demon. From the inside. Because apparently that's what needs to be done with demons who turn into elevators and asphyxiate people. He'll even stab with his own, non-magic sword just for good measure. Really, how often does he actually get to -use- swords? Sure, he's covered in demonic digestive juices, but somewhere in his mind, Nightcrawler is fighting some swashbuckling villain. Maybe it's that part of his imagination that allows him to stay so sane in these instances.
Illyana is more than happy to hand the sword off to Speedball. She truly doesn't care who wields it at this moment — she'll get it back afterwards, she's sure, but somebody has to do it and she's in no position to stab the demon. She's got no leverage whatsoever.
Herman is truly not much of a swashbuckler, and he's besieged from all sides — including from within. What has he done to deserve this? All he wanted to do was possess a skyscraper and eat people. Humans. They think they're all that. As he starts to climb free of the building, causing more bits of metal and stone and concrete to come loose around him, he finds himself grabbed by Kwabena, and while he tries to shake the Ghanaian off, he realizes he's being pierced by Jennifer's impromptu magic bullets. And then…
And then he screams. Illyana's sword pierces through his abdomen from within, followed shortly by Kurt's. The death by a thousand cuts he was suffering was bad enough, but Magik's sword was, as previously noted, made to cut magical things, and Herman is large enough that it isn't an instant death, the way it was when Illyana decapitated demons in the battle in Limbo.
No, Herman's flesh seems to disintegrate in silver blue flame, centered at the point where the sword cut through him. The little nicks in his throat weren't enough, but this is causing him to dissolve into ash, and apparently, from the sounds he is making, it's extremely painful.
Illyana frees herself as soon as she's able, as soon as Herman's throat loosens enough for her to drop through her own portal and land back in the building, not far from Jennifer.
Victory for Sylvannas! It was quite the little mess that was going on there, and while the dragon was busy at work protecting them from the fallen debris, Jennifer finally let up of her magical bullets with a heavy huff. Everything about her was drenched and worn out, her once bright features were pale, her magical reserves nearly tapped to the point that once the demon gives it's final call, there was no flash of the dragons return to her arm. It just appeared there, smacked upon her flesh as her head hangs low, a quick huff.. a puff.. and a teeter-totter over. Speedball? If you wanna get pizza! Piggy back Jennifer out of there asap!
Speedball muttered to himself "Just keep punching, just keep punching, punching, pun- AH! Watch where you're stabbin man!" But it screamed and there was an opening and with that made use of what physics he had to work with after they slingshot Illyana out of there. He hurled himself to the back of the beast so he was forcibly spat out with great aplomb. He bounced twice and rolled to a stop. A hand wiped his hair off so SO grateful for his kinetic shield right now. He ducked and let Jennifer hop up on his back and while this was not a 'fun' rid being hurdled away and out of buildings it was quick and effective. "In the words of James Brown, I got you!" And with that? Escape.
Deep breaths. Deep… not stale death air deep breaths.
He looked back to watch the demise of the beast where he knelt and arched an eyebrow, "Well it looks like he's too choked up to say goodbye." He grinned a little proud of that one. Glancing to the victors he said, "soooo we battled evil, and helped the city out by getting a jump start on their demo project aaaaand didn't die. I'd say it is the perfect time for some victory deep dish. If you have not had the wonders of Chicago deep dish pizza, I insist you must let us take you. Besides, the traffic back to New York is Hell." Literally. That is right, Chicago, he'll be here all night. Be sure to tip your waitress.
Illyana is about to say something, covered as she is by demon saliva, but at Speedball's words she stops, her mouth hanging open. And she stares at him for a long moment. "I'm queen of a hell dimension," she says at last, "but that was just evil." With a heavy sigh she shakes her head. "I need a shower. Anybody who wants to head back to New York, I can take you home now — and come back in a couple hours for anybody staying for pizza. With this she gathers up those who need to be delivered back to the city right away, and whisks them off in a shimmering disk of light.
The traffic is hell, sure, but at least there are few puns in Limbo.