Margali Szardos lay where she had been cast, against the back wall of a cage, and covered her face to block out the leers of the demons that thronged around her. "Perhaps", she thought, "he’ll give up this time. After all, Belasco has many other things to concern himself with in Limbo. Perhaps he’ll realize that I don’t intend to give him the sword, and just kill me." But she knew she was far more likely to give in to him than the other way around. She moaned, but then realized that something around her had changed. It was quiet - too quiet. She pulled her arm away from her face a bit, so she could just barely peek over. There were no demons in sight, but a white light just off to one side caught her attention. She raised her head, and saw a cloaked figure surrounded by a light so blinding that she couldn’t make out any features. Then the door to the cage flew open, and the figure spoke,

"Go, while you can. I can only hold the demons off for a minute or two at best, and it’s taking most of my concentration to hold the portal. Take the sword to Excalibur, and tell Kitty Pryde...well, tell her to take the sword and use it. Tell her about Belasco, and that only she can stop him…" The figure gestured toward its right, where a glowing disk had appeared. Margali rose, glanced about herself once more to make sure it wasn’t a demonic trick, and dove through the disk -

 - and found herself standing in the middle of a rural road. She dusted herself off as best she could, and trudged off down the road towards, she hoped, someone who could help her contact Excalibur.

Meanwhile, not terribly far away, a tall, thin man in a stark black suit stumbled out the door of The Chalk & Cheese, followed by a pair of laughing girls and a bemused-looking blond young man.

"Fine, be that way, ye stupid Scots!" shouted Pete Wisdom as he caught his balance and turned to shake his fist in what was meant to be a threatening manner, but which only caused the girls to double over in laughter. "A man works hard all day, battling villains and mutant aliens and purple dragons WHO DO TALK, I might add, and ye’d think he could count on a drink or two with some friends. But NOOO," he added, as fought with the lock on his child-proof lighter, "what does he get instead? A girlfriend who laughs at him, and a, a - Kitty, can ye get this blasted lighter to work, please?"

Kitty Pryde was still laughing as she threw her arm around Pete’s shoulders and flipped the locked lighter on, then held it so Pete could light his cigarette. "You know," she said, "maybe if you got drunk more often you’d quit smoking."

"Nah," he replied as he took a long drag and exhaled. "It irks MacTaggert too much. I’ll never quit, she’d be disappointed, not having that to gripe at me about. I’d just make friends with that fire-breathing rat of yours and let him light me cigarettes." They began walking down the road that led from the pub to where they had parked the Runner.

"Query?," asked Douglock, hurrying up to Wisdom’s other side, "if drinking inhibits your coordination, and smoking is-bad-for-your-health, as Moira always says, why do you continue..."

"Och, he’s just stubborn, Doug," Rahne said, as she caught up with the rest of the party. She was in her 99.9% human form, which retained the long hair of her transitional form and a slightly darker than natural complexion, but which was otherwise virtually indistinguishable from her original human shape. "He knows that he should nae be smoking, or drinking for that matter, but...Kitty, do ye see something over there? I thought I saw someone, but now I’m nae so sure..."

"I don’t see anything...no, wait," said Kitty, peering into the shadows along side the road. "Come on, guys, there is someone there, and maybe they’re hurt!" She ran towards the figure lying in the brush alongside the road, but took a step backwards when she reached it. "Oh my God, I don’t believe this," she said as the others caught up, Doug guiding Wisdom, Rahne in her fully wolven form. "You have a lot of gall showing up here!"

"It’s someone we know, then," Pete glared suspiciously toward the shadows. "I’ll bet that Braddock came after all, and couldn’t make it back to the Runner himself..."

"It does not appear to be Brian," Douglock said as he stretched his neck, literally, so he could see better. "In fact, it bears a startling resemblance to..."

"The Red Queen of the Hellfire Club, herself," said Kitty, her eyes hard. "Well, Margali, what brings you here? Care to blow up London again?"

"Kitty Pryde?" whispered Margali, pulling herself to her feet. "I was sent to find you."

"Me?" Kitty laughed bitterly. "What could you possibly have to say to me? You and your friends were responsible for the deaths of tons of people and for single-handedly turning the public’s view of Excalibur from ‘Britain’s Greatest Heroes’ to ‘more of those damn muties’. I can’t imagine what you could possibly say that I’d be interested in hearing."

"Perhaps not," said Margali, "but I’d imagine you’d be interested in the return of this." She bent over and lifted the Soul Sword from where it lay on the ground behind her. Kitty’s jaw dropped, and Rahne shifted to her transitional form.

"Is that Illyana’s sword?" she asked, peering at it. "I thought it was bonded to her - why did it nae disappear when she died?"

"It came to me," Kitty said. "And I - I couldn’t handle it. The only thing I had left of Illyana, and I gave it away to Amanda - that’s what happened to it, isn’t it? She gave it to you, and you turned on her!" Kitty’s voice grew louder and louder, until she was shouting at Margali, who stood implacable before her.

"And I have paid for my error in full at the hands of Belasco. I come to you now only to return this to you."

"Belasco?" both Kitty and Rahne cried out in unison. "What do ye mean?" Rahne added. "Is nae Belasco dead? I always thought Illyana had..."

"Umm, Kitty," interjected Pete Wisdom, who appeared to have sobered up quickly. "Would you mind filling me in? I feel like I’ve come in at the middle of the story.

"I’ll tell you all of it later. No Rahne," Kitty said, "Belasco escaped when Illyana took over Limbo. No one has seen him since. I think Illyana always wondered what happened to him."

"He’s taken over Limbo, as you should know. After all, he had you and your friends there for testing some time ago."

"I realized it was Limbo, and a test of some sort, but I hadn’t thought of Belasco - how did you escape?" Kitty asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I had help. She asked me to bring you the sword, and to tell you to use it against Belasco."

"Who did?" Kitty whispered.

"I don’t know. I couldn’t see her clearly. Here," said Margali, handing Kitty the Soul Sword. "I’ll be leaving now. Give my love to my daughter, and tell her I’ve paid in full for my folly, and my betrayal. The winding way does not always turn as we expect." She gestured, and disappeared.

"A neat vanishing act - hey, now that’s a trick, Pryde!" said Wisdom, as Kitty transformed before his eyes. "Why metal armor, though? I always liked the leather outfit that Yank wears on TV - Xena I think her name is."

"Oh, no," moaned Rahne. "Kitty, surely you dinnae plan to use that foul sword?" For Kitty stood before her, her hair pulled back into a pony tail and her body encased in eldritch armor. "Do ye nae know that Illyana gave everything she had to be free of it?"

"I know," said Kitty. "And I know I should have never given it away after she sent it to me. I had a responsibility to keep it safe, and to keep Limbo safe, and I simply GAVE it to Amanda. Well, never again," she said resolutely. "I know how to use it now, and who to use it against!"

"Rahne?" a confused looking Douglock asked quietly, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Yes Doug, what?"

"Would you please take a moment and explain to me what’s going on?"

---------

"Now, let me get this straight," Pete Wisdom said as he paced the kitchen of the Muir Island Research Facility. "A dead friend of yours -"

"My best friend," Kitty interjected from where she sat at the table, glaring suspiciously into a cup of Moira’s coffee. She’d never been completely convinced that it was actually drinkable, and suspected Moira siphoned it from the tanks of the Runner when no one was looking. She glanced across the table to where Rahne and Douglock were sitting, Rahne with her head on Doug’s shoulder, and tried not to smile. Douglock was obviously trying to figure out what he should be doing, and apparently had settled for remaining as still as possible. It looked rather as if Rahne was leaning on a Douglock-shaped pillar.

"Why is it all your ‘best friends’ are dead? No, don’t answer that - just never use the term to refer to me, I’d rather stay alive. Anyway, your best friend, who happened to be a demon sorceress - strange choice of occupation, that - sent you a sword when she died so you could be a demon sorceress too?"

"Nae," said Rahne from the other side of the table. "Illyana would nae do that. She gave up everything to stop the Inferno and to keep herself from becoming a demon sorceress in the first place. I dinnae understand why the sword came to you, though," she asked Kitty. "I thought that Illyana created it just before she escaped Limbo. If she was nae in Limbo all those years, the sword should nae have existed."

"That would imply a temporal anomaly," said Doug. "Perhaps things did not occur precisely as you thought."

"It’s hard to say," said Kitty. "Time doesn’t exist in Limbo - or if it does, it doesn’t follow the same rules as the rest of the universe. But I never considered the anomaly of the sword. I just know that it passed to me after Inferno, and some time later I left it in Limbo. Then it came to me again after Illyana died - you remember, don’t you, Douglock?" She finally lifted the cup, sniffed at it and, wrinkling her nose in disgust, crossed the kitchen to dump the coffee into the sink.

"When you burned Moira with a cigarette, and an evil sorcerer possessed Kurt...."

"You did WHAT, Pryde? Ye burned Moira with a cigarette? Oh, I would have given a lot to see that!" Pete Wisdom chuckled evilly.

"This isn’t getting us anywhere, and I wasn’t exactly myself at the time, thank you very much. I agreed - grudgingly I admit - to come back here with you to talk things through, but the bottom line is that I have to do something about Belasco. He can’t be allowed to remain in power in Limbo. And no matter what Illyana intended," Kitty turned to address Rahne, "I still have a responsibility toward Limbo, and a responsibility to ensure that Belasco never has the opportunity to do to another innocent child what he did to Illyana. ‘With great power comes great responsibility...’"

"‘Like it or not, want it or not’. Aye, I know, but Limbo is nae a place I truly want to see again."

"You don’t have to. Illyana was my friend, and Limbo is my responsibility, not yours," Kitty said. She turned to Pete. "I don’t know when I’ll be back..."

"Don’t even think you’re going off to some demon infested parallel dimension by yourself! I wouldn’t even ask my sister to do that, though, now that I think of it, she’d probably enjoy the trip."

"I wasn’t even going to suggest it. Actually," Kitty said, "I was going to ask Doug to come along."

"Certainly," said Douglock. "Is there any particular reason you wish my presence?"

"Actually, yes, though your company would be appreciated anyway." Kitty smiled. Since she’d come to grips with the idea that Douglock was not Doug Ramsey, she’d begun to realize he was an interesting individual in his own right. "Many of the demons were infected by the transmode virus by Warlock’s father, the Magus. Presumably you’re immune to the virus?"

"Correct. It would have no effect on me, but I would probably be able to drain the energy from those infected with the virus."

"Probably?"

"I’ve never encountered a demon before. It is conceivable that their physiology might mutate the virus..."

"Well, we’ll worry about that when the time comes. In the meantime," Kitty turned back to Pete, "if you could let Kurt know where we’ve gone, I’d appreciate it."

"You dinnae think you’re going without me, do ye?" asked Rahne.

"Rahne, I know you and Illyana were friends, but I also know how you feel about Limbo. I wouldn’t ask you to come, and I know if Illyana were here she would say the same."

"Nae," said Rahne, rising to her feet. "Illyana was a New Mutant, and we New Mutants always take care of our own. I may nae have been able to be with Illyana when the poor wee bairn passed on, but I can help you put her affairs to rights."

"Don’t think you’re going anywhere without me, Pryde. You’d probably stick yourself with the bloody sword within minutes. Besides, if you’re going to have any more urges to torch people, I’m the man with the supply."

"Well, I know better than to argue with any of you. Let’s get going, then."

"But Kitty, do ye nae remember? Illyana used her mutant ability to travel to Limbo, nae the sword. How will we get there?"

"Amanda."

--------

Amanda Sefton was in the shower of her New York apartment when the phone rang. As she turned off the water, she could here the beep of the answering machine. Grabbing a towel, she made a dash for the phone, but the caller was already leaving a message.

"Amanda, this is Kitty Pryde. I hope you get home soon, because I need to ask your help -

"Amanda here. Hi Kitty, what’s up?"

"Oh, hi. I was wondering if you could give a few of us a lift somewhere."

"Oh sure, no problem. I’ll be right over." She hung up the phone, and headed back to the bathroom, drying herself as she went. She tossed the towel into the hamper, and lifted her arms over her head. As she brought them back down slowly, her costume materialized around her. She glanced in the mirror to make sure everything came out right - her magic sometimes snaffooed when she was tired, and she’d gotten in late last night. But everything was OK, and she made the appropriate gestures.

Her next sight was Excalibur’s kitchen, and an armored Kitty Pryde.

"Kitty?" she floundered. "What’s going on? Where’s Kurt?"

"He’s not here. You have a lot to answer for, Daytripper. You gave Margali my soul sword, didn’t you?" Kitty stood defiantly, holding the sword in front of her.

"Well, yes. You gave it to me to dispose of, remember? I know I made a mistake, but - how did you get the sword back? Have you seen my mother?"

Kitty relented and told Amanda what had occurred thus far, including the message Margali had left for her. Amanda looked concerned, for her mother Kitty thought, but then shrugged her shoulders and said,

"Well, I’d like to help, but what do you want me to do?"

"Transport the four of us to Limbo."

"To Limbo? You must be crazy! I’ve heard about that place - and look what it did to Illyana. Kurt would never forgive me if I took you there. Besides, it’ll be dangerous if Belasco’s really back. Perhaps you should wait for the rest of Excalibur..."

"No, we can’t wait. If you can’t help us, I’ll have to come up with another plan. Maybe there’s something in the equipment X-Force salvaged from Doom’s castle..."

"Or we could go through what’s left of the Black Air museum, eh? Limbo sounds like their kind of place, maybe they’ve got something," interjected Wisdom.

"No, I didn’t say I couldn’t help." Amanda sank into a chair and thought for a few minutes. "All right, as you pointed you, some of this is my fault. I’ll take you there, and then come back here to wait for the rest of Excalibur."

"Fine," said Kitty determinedly. "Let’s get going, then. Belasco’s going to pay for what he did to Illyana." Behind her back, her teammates glanced at each other, and Rahne closed her eyes.

------

Minutes later, the five Excalibur members appeared on the gray plain that characterized most of Limbo. The gazed about them nervously, but no demons were in sight.

"Well, that’s what I call luck," said Amanda. "I’ll see you all soon when I bring the reinforcements. Be careful, please."

"I promise," said Kitty. As Amanda disappeared, she turned to the rest of her friends and said, "OK, here we are. Belasco’s probably in the throne room. Do you know where that is?" she asked Rahne.

"Aye, I think I can find it. What do we do when we find him?"

"Take him out, of course," said Wisdom. "Why else would Excalibur’s premiere attack squad be here?"

"Would not capturing him be more in accord with Excalibur’s modus operandi?" asked Douglock.

"Too good for him. No, if we find him, we kill him," said Kitty with a viciousness that made even Pete Wisdom draw back.

"Umm, Pryde, cool off a bit. I agree on principle, but this isn’t like you. Usually I’m the one urging mass destruction."

"I’m mistress of Limbo, now. I can’t afford to cool off," said Kitty.

"Mistress of Limbo? Isn’t that a bit premature?" said S’ym, appearing literally out of nowhere. Suddenly, the four members of Excalibur were surrounded by demons. "You might want to surrender now," S’ym chuckled. "Belasco wants you. He’d rather have you alive, but I’m sure he’d understand if there was an accident."

Kitty pulled out the soul sword as Pete brandished his hot knives, Rahne shifted to a more ferocious form, and Douglock stood, combat ready. They fought a brief but heroic fight, Doug draining the energy from the demons infected by the transmode virus while the others fought the more conventional demons, but it was soon obvious they were vastly outnumbered. Before long, all four were tied up and carried into the dungeons where, until recently, Margali had been incarcerated.

"Here you go, just stay put until Belasco’s ready to see you," S’ym said. Then he chuckled ominously and added, "This could be fun. It’s been a while since Baby Boss was here - I haven’t had anyone to play with in ages." He turned and left, audibly locking the door behind him.

"Hmm, like ropes or locks could keep me in," said Kitty, phasing through her bonds as soon as S’ym was gone. She untied her friends, who sat, rubbing their wrists for a few moments. "Well, at least we’re at Belasco’s fortress. That’s where we wanted to be, anyway."

"I dinnae understand it," said Rahne. "Why did the demons nae obey you? If you’re the Mistress of Limbo, they should hae done what you said, not S’ym.

"Perhaps," said a cloaked figure who suddenly appeared before them, "it’s because they know she’s not the true Mistress here. After all," she added, as the four turned toward her, "that’s my job!" She stepped out of the shadows and threw back the hood of her red cloak.

"Illyana!" exclaimed Kitty, as she and Rahne jumped to their feet. The three embraced joyously as Pete and Doug looked on. "But how did you...?" "Where have you been?" "Why didn’t you come sooner?" they chattered, then collapsed to the floor laughing in relief.

"Well, you’re looking great for someone who’s been dead for over a year," said Kitty.

"As someone once said, ‘Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," laughed Illyana. She looked exactly as Kitty always pictured her, the perfect blonde who’d attracted every guy they’d ever met. She wore here red and black "graduation costume", or a semblance thereof, since the original was probably destroyed in one of the many destructions of the mansion. "In any case, I’m here and alive. I was starting to wonder if you’d ever come, though. Who’d you bring with you, roomie?" For the first time, she looked at the two men sitting behind her one the floor, and the blood drained from her face. "Doug?" she asked hesitantly.

"Why is it," Douglock asked Wisdom. "That everyone has that same reaction when they see me?"

"Don’t ask me," said Pete, shrugging. "After all, you’ve seen one technoorganic being who looks like your dead friend, you’ve seen them all."

"It’s nae truly Doug," Rahne was explaining to Illyana. "We’re not sure how or why Douglock looks like him, and he has some of his memories, but Doug’s truly dead. I was nae sure at first, either, but I’m fine with it now. Kitty," she added, "required a bit more persuasion."

"We won’t get into that now, Rahne," said Kitty blushing. "I’m more interested in finding out how Illyana’s apparently still alive. How ‘bout it, roomie? You are really you, aren’t you?" Suddenly Kitty wasn’t sure that she wasn’t making the same mistake she had with Douglock.

"Me, dead? Never happen. Actually though, it might have if it hadn’t been for you, Rahne."

"Me? How?"

"Do you remember how you saved my younger self?"

"Aye, sure. And she appeared in your armor at the end. We thought ye negated yuir time in Limbo by rescuing yuirself before Belasco had a chance to corrupt you - oh, I’m sorry, Illyana. Ye know what I meant, right?"

"Of course, don’t worry about it. That’s what you were supposed to think. It fooled the demons, too, which was the main idea. Actually, I’d kind of hoped it would work, too. Unfortunately, we didn’t take into account the other team of X-Men."

"What other team?" asked Kitty. "Oh, the Storm who was the sorceress, and the Cat... but wasn’t their Illyana rescued while they stayed behind - oh!"

"Exactly. We didn’t change history at all. We just rescued ‘their’ Illyana, just as she was meant to be rescued. It sure fooled S’ym, though. Which was good, because after closing the gateway I wouldn’t have had enough strength to contend with him or N’astirh. But I’d expected," she glared kiddingly at Kitty, "for Kitty to figure it all out a bit sooner. A rescue would have been nice."

"Better late than never, no?" asked Wisdom. "By the way, don’t you think we could have the family reunion in a more private setting? There’d be more room for guests at Muir Island, and we could always send Amanda for some drinkables."

"We can’t go yet," said Kitty. "We still have to take out Belasco."

"Umm, Kitty, how about handing over my sword? I’ve kind of missed it, you know?"

"Oh sure, just take it back," Kitty said jokingly as she handed it over. "I didn’t even get to do anything interesting to Pete yet. Hey, I didn’t even introduce you two - Illyana, this is Pete Wisdom. Pete, Illyana Rasputin."

"Colossus’ sister? Oh, great, ye neglected to mention that part, Pryde, though I should have guessed from the demon sorceress bit. What’s this one going to do, kill me outright?"

"You and Piotr broke up, Kitty? That’s too bad. Nice to meet you, Wisdom. I don’t know what my brother did, but I rarely kill anyone. I send them here, instead. You know," she said to Rahne, "that actually came in handy. All the villains I sent here when I was a New Mutant, I mean. I gathered most of them together for one terrific terrorist army. They’ve been conducting a guerrilla war against the demons for some time. It kept S’ym’s attention off me until I could regain my strength. Unfortunately, by then Belasco had appeared, and I couldn’t just leave."

"Why not," asked Rahne. "Could ye nae have come and gotten us yuirself? Why send Margali instead?"

"I was afraid Belasco would follow me through the portal; or worse yet, that the demons would come through again. Or would you want another Inferno? Personally, I thought once was more than enough. No, we have to take care of things here, first. Besides, I have a plan."

And the four members of Excalibur drew closer around her in expectation.

---------

When S’ym appeared at the door to Excalibur’s cage, he wasn’t at all surprised that none of the prisoners were still tied up; in fact, he was very surprised that they were still there at all. Only one was missing, the technoorganic one, but the others were sitting calmly in the middle of the cell. He noticed that the Cat was no longer wearing the Darkchilde armor, but didn’t really think much about it. Baby boss had never kept hers on for long, either.

"Well, well, nearly all still here? Must be slipping, Cat - I expected you out and about in no time. Your predecessor would have never sat around this long. But it doesn’t really matter - Belasco’s ready to see you now, and when he’s done with you, you won’t be going much of anywhere. Or at least," he added as he opened the cell door and reached out to fondle Kitty’s cheek, "only where the Boss wants you to go - what the hell!?!" As his hand touched "Kitty", she turned and grasped his wrist, then began to transform into Douglock. The next thing S’ym knew, Doug was beginning to drain the technoorganic virus from his body.

"You were correct, Illyana," Douglock said as S’ym stood, paralyzed by the process, and Illyana and Kitty appeared before them. "I can remove the virus from the demon without draining his life force. While he is unable to move, is there anything you want to do?"

"No, let him go," she said, an evil grin appearing on her face. She held the soul sword by the hilt, point into the ground, and leaned on it as if it were a walking staff. "S’ym, how’s it going? Miss me?"

"Baby Boss?" S’ym asked, fear evident on his face. "Where’ve you been? You know, that whole Inferno thing...just a joke, you knew that, right?"

"Oh, S’ym, what am I going to do with you?" Illyana asked. "I can’t just let you go running to Belasco, even without the transmode virus, and I can’t trust you to stay here alone, now can I? I guess you’ll have to go with us. You’ll help me get rid of Belasco, won’t you?"

"Sure! Ya know, I always liked you best, Darkchilde," he added fawningly. "What dya want me to do?"

"You’re going to be our ticket into Belasco’s throne room. All you have to do is play jailer, take them to Belasco, just like you planned."

"All of ‘em?"

"No. Hmmm," said Illyana as she glanced at her companions. "Rahne, you’ll go with S’ym. You’ll be the perfect bait for Belasco - he won’t be able to resist the opportunity to corrupt you. Kitty, here," she handed her the soul sword. "You get one more chance to do something to Pete. Try not to make it anything permanent. Wisdom, you’re with them - watch their backs. Doug, er, Douglock, you’re with me. By the way, are you vulnerable to magic?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Doug replied, wincing at the thought of his treatment at the hands of the Hellfire Club.

"Well, stay behind me, then. I doubt Belasco can dish out much that I can’t take. Everyone knows what to do?" Affirmative answers all around. "Good. Let’s go!" She grabbed Douglock’s arm, and the two disappeared. S’ym gestured, and Rahne, Kitty, and Wisdom followed him out of the cage and down a hallway to Belasco’s throne room. When they arrived moments later, Belasco had his back toward them as he poured over an ancient tome. S’ym had to clear his throat to gain his attention.

"Ah, the mighty Excalibur returns!" Belasco said as he turned around. "But where is the alien? I really wanted to see what I could do with him. Ah well," he added walking towards the prisoners. "I must make do with what I get, I suppose. And you," he said as he raised Rahne’s chin with his hand, "are certainly worthwhile. This could be fun, after all. And of course, my favorite kitty," he said, moving in front of her in turn. "Your recent performance far surpassed anything your other self was capable of. We should have a very good time. I don’t know your friend," he gestured towards Wisdom, who glared at him, "but we’ll all have plenty of time to get to know each other. That’s the best thing about immortality, you know, you never have to rush. But I’m afraid I must insist that you give the sword over to me. It is mine, after all."

"Hah!" said Kitty. "Illyana created the soul sword. There’s nothing of you in it."

"That’s where you’re wrong. Illyana may have created the sword, but she drew it from that part of her that I’d twisted in my own image. So, ultimately, it is mine. In any case, it’s irrelevant. Illyana’s dead, and I claim the sword." He reached out to grab it from Kitty’s hand, but she slashed at him, leaving a slick line of blood down his arm in its wake. He stared at it for a moment, amazed, then turned back to Kitty. "Well, I’ve managed to underestimate you yet again. Your alternate self never managed to actually strike me. No matter, though. You’ll turn over the sword soon enough. I doubt that you’ll respond to threats directed toward yourself, but what about if I direct them towards your friend here," and he reached over to grab Rahne’s arm. She stiffened, then altered shape into full wolven form. As Belasco lost his grip on her arm, she twisted around and bit him.

"AAAHHH!" He screamed. "How dare you! I’ll...."

"Do what?" said Illyana, materializing before him.

"Illyana? Ah, it’s a regular reunion. I should have known you weren’t dead. There were signs, here and there, even before I regained power in Limbo. No matter, though. I’m more powerful than you are, now."

"That may be true," Illyana replied, catching the sword that Kitty tossed to her. "However, I’m not alone. And this time," she added, "I have no intention of leaving you capable of regaining power, or corrupting anyone else in your mad quest for the ancient gods. Doug?" Douglock stepped out from behind Illyana, and gripped Belasco by the shoulder. The transmode virus immediately began to infect him, but he only laughed."

"This is your idea of punishment? I saw what N’astirh was able to do when he was infected by the virus. Of course, I had to kill him for daring to steal my knowledge, but just think how he was able to use it? With your help, I’ll be able to escape Limbo once and for all!"

"That’s what you think. Go for it, Doug." Doug still maintained his grip on Belasco’s shoulder, but something different was occurring. Belasco froze suddenly, unable to understand what was occurring, then realized he couldn’t move.

"And that, my friends, is what can be done with a computer virus." Douglock said, releasing Belasco."

"Oooh, Doug! What did ye do to him?"

"Essentially, the same thing he Red Queen did to me. I’ve disabled his voluntary nervous system. He’s still aware of what’s going on around him, but he’s unable to react."

"And since you’re immortal," Illyana smiled sweetly, "you’ll be there for a long, long time. Have fun! S’ym, keep an eye on him, OK? Don’t let any of the demons use him as a target or anything. Well," she added, reconsidering, "not too often, anyway."

"Sure, Boss!" S’ym was saying as Illyana and Doug joined their teammates and got ready to teleport out. "And, no hard feelings, right?"

"We’ll see," replied Illyana. She gestured, and the five disappeared, reappearing in what appeared to be a garden.

"This was where Storm had her garden," Illyana said, looking around. "I’ve tried to restore it, but I’m afraid I don’t have her green thumb. Besides, I don’t have her inner peace. I wonder if I ever will."

"Who’s to say?" replied Kitty. "That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, though. Besides, you’re the one who finally overthrew Belasco."

"No, that’s where you’re wrong, roomie. WE," and she gestured to include herself and all four of the Excalibur members, "overthrew Belasco. I could have never done it without all of you!"

"While that’s undoubtedly true, suppose we head home now," said Wisdom. "I’ve had just about enough of demons. Purple dragons and a large amount of Scotch are looking better all the time!"

"I just have a few loose ends to wrap up. Just stay here." Illyana disappeared, reappearing a few moments later.

"That dinnae take long," said Rahne.

"Well, time in Limbo’s what you make of it. I just had to let my "army" know what was going on. Most of them elected to stay here - they like fighting the demons - but I dropped a few of them off on Earth, in appropriate prisons, of course." She giggled, then added, "I’ll give a lot to see the prison officials’ faces when they realize they have some new inmates - I didn’t exactly check them in or anything. Is everyone ready? Where’re we going?"

"Moira’s place, remember? Excalibur’s been using it for our headquarters," Kitty said. She put an arm around Illyana, and said, "I’m glad you’re back, kiddo.

"Me, too," said Illyana.

"Only one question," Kitty added. "Excalibur was here a few years ago, with Dr. Doom. Where were you then?"

"Now there’s a real story! I’ll tell you later," Illyana said, and the group disappeared.

----------

Daytripper stood in Excalibur’s kitchen before the remaining team members, explaining what had occurred.

"I can’t believe you took them to Limbo!" Colossus was saying, his head in his hands. "Do you not realize what a terrible place that is? Oh, Katya, wasn’t it bad enough that Illyana was lost? Must you join her?"

"Well, she couldn’t get back without us!" said Kitty as the group materialized. As the returning members of Excalibur were greeted by those who hadn’t made a trip to Limbo, Colossus stood up, staring pointedly at his sister.

"Snowflake?" he asked, and before she could answer, 7 feet of organic steel fell to the floor as he fainted.

"Now that," said Wisdom, lighting a cigarette, "makes the entire bloody trip worthwhile!"