68 Jay Street – well, at least, it used to be.
'I can't. I'm not. This isn't happening!' Sharon King gasps as she stares at the space where her building used to stand. 'Where did it...go? How does a building just vanish?' Patsy Walker a.k.a. Hellcat wonders. While wearing a sweater with a large red Canadian mapleleaf on it, Ms America Chavez remarks that she isn't sure why she thought a giant hornet would be the weirdest thing to happen at one of Patsy's parties, while a forlorn Jubilee reminds everyone that her blood was in the building. 'No biting, Jubilee' Patsy warns her, to which Jubilee tells her to chill out, and assures her that she has a flask. 'Not making that mistake twice' Jubilee adds.
Bailey a.k.a. Attache remains silent as America picks up some broken pipe and reminds the others that she told them messing with Space-Time was best left to the experts. She adds that the building could be anywhere. 'This is. No. No. Nope. Nuh-uh' Sharon utters, dropping to her knees. Patsy tells her that it is okay, that if they lost it, they can get it back. 'This isn't a child's doll, Patsy! It's my building. It's my home!' Sharon snaps. 'Also, like, tons of things that get lost don't get found' America points out. 'Not helping, America! I just – oh no...' Patsy begins, before she sneezes again!
Meanwhile, in Hedy Wolfe's Upper Manhattan apartment, Hedy is in her dressing gown and sits on a sofa, brushing her small dog. 'There you go, precious! Just a few more brushes and you'll be the belle of the -' Hedy begins, when suddenly, her dog begins to bark, then glow. 'Betty! What -' Hedy begins, before she finds herself backwards on the floor, with her dog Betty gone and replaced by the giant tiger that is Mister Sniffles. 'I have returned from the depths to exact my fury! I am torment and despair!' Mister Sniffles declares. A voice from another room can be heard calling out to Hedy, asking her if she is okay. 'Help! There's a giant tiger in here and...' Patsy shouts back, before narrowing her eyes at the tiger, she tells it that she knows it.
Back where 68 Jay Street used to be, the women all look around, and America asks if anything changed. 'I'm still the same size. I think' Jubilee replies, while Patsy suggests that maybe she is cured. 'Oh, no you're not. Not this time, Walker' Sharon declares, pointing at Patsy, she warns her that if there is even one tiny clue up in those mystical sinuses as to her how building got evaporated, she wants to see it. Sharon adds that Dr Strange is a doctor, and tells Patsy to make him take a look. 'Okay, okay! I will!' Patsy replies, when suddenly, her phone rings. She answers it, telling Hedy that this isn't a great time. 'Actually, the only goot time would be never' Patsy adds, while Sharon asks her if she looked like she was done. America tells Patsy to knock it off, that they have to deal with this, to which Jubilee asks why Hedy is calling her now. 'Don't you two, like, hate each other?' she points out. 'Am I the only one who cares about the disappeared building?' Sharon shouts. 'Who? Mister Sniffles?' Patsy asks Hedy.
'Wow. The gang's all here' Hedy remarks as she opens the door while still in her dressing gown. Patsy looks exhausted from her illness, and tells Hedy that they came as fast as they could, before asking 'Wait – where's the tiger?' America asks Hedy if she killed it, and tells her that feels like a bad idea. 'This is a bit awkward' Hedy admits, before asking the others if they want to come in. Patsy asks Hedy what is going on, and whether this is some kind of trap. 'Because I swear, we're dealing with some pretty big -' she begins, as Hedy tells her that “they” know – and inside, sitting on her sofa, holding her dog Betty is the demon Belial. 'I hear you caught a cold. Nasty things, those' Belial remarks, smirking as he adds 'Especially if they come from my neck of the woods', while the dog licks his face. 'Belial! The hell demon? I can't, what I -' Patsy exclaims, before using her mystic ability to make her costume vanish, she frowns as she stands in civilian clothing, and supposses that at this point, she should just roll with it.
Hedy smiles as she snuggles up to Belial on the sofa, and tells Patsy that she guesses this is a strange way for her to find out. 'But when that tiger showed up, I knew it was yours. I remembered you having one just like it when we were kids. I figured something must be up... and then Benny made the connection' Hedy explains. 'I'm sorry, Benny?' Patsy asks. 'I mean, I wasn't about to start calling him Belly, if that's your issue' Hedy replies.
Patsy sits on a sofa opposite Hedy and “Benny”. America sits next to her, looking not too impressed, and Sharon sits on the other side of Patsy, somewhat nervously, while Jubilee and Attache stand behind the sofa. 'That is several thousand miles from my issue. Our issues could not survive a long-term relationship on account of the time difference because they are so far apart!' Patsy exclaims, to which Belial tells her to relax. I AM RELAXED!' Patsy screams. Calmly, she asks 'How did', before throwing her arms into the air enraged, finishes her sentence: 'This HAPPEN!?'
'Hmmm, how best to explain it?' Belial asks, while Hedy tells Patsy that, in a way, it is thanks to her. 'How. Why' Patsy replies. Looking at Belial, Hedy asks Patsy if she remembers when Hellstrom sent her to Benny's dimension. 'Yeah, I have a VAGUE MEMORY of that' Patsy snaps. 'Well...' Hedy begins.
Flashback:
'Hedy Wolfe, you lying, manipulative succubus!' a voice calls out to Hedy as she walks down a street in the middle of the night 'Oh, uh, hello, Daimon' Patsy replies, nervously as she turns to see Daimon Hellstrom standing behind her. Hellstrom tells her not to “hello” him and announces that they have a score to settle. 'So...you found out?' Hedy asks. Angrily, Daimon reminds Hedy that she cheated he and Mad-Dog, convincing them to attack Patsy Walker, who actually did nothing. 'You called on us to fight your battles and made us both into... PATSIES!' he exclaims. 'Really? Really. Really?' Hedy asks. 'You know what I mean!' the agitated Hellstrom tells her.
Present:
'Wait, he actually said that?' Patsy asks, smiling. 'I swear, I thought I was going to die' Hedy replies. “Patsies,” I just -' Patsy begins, as Hedy tells her that she knows. 'SORRY TO INTERRUPT, BUT -' Sharon yells at the women. 'Oh, right!' Patsy exclaims, while Hedy announces that she is almost done. 'So you know how Daimon has his mean streak right, so -'
Flashback:
'I sent her to HELL, Wolfe! To HELL!' Damon shouts at Hedy, who asks 'Wait, what? Why?' Daimon reminds her that she told him Patsy was after him, it was self-defense. Hedy tells Daimon that she isn't sure there is a single dimension where that excuse would fly. 'You wanted this!' Daimon reminds Hedy, who tells him that she wanted him to scare Patsy, maybe get her out of the picture for a while. 'Not... ugh, men!' Hedy mutters, to which Daimon gets aggressive and shouts DAMMIT WOMAN! YOU WILL NOT MAKE A MOCKERY OF MY DARK AND HORRIBLE POWER!' He then casts a pentagram around Hedy and warns her that she will suffer as he has suffered, and with that, Hedy Wolfe vanishes. Daimon pants, and calls out 'That's what you get for... for... Dammit, Daimon, we talked about this. Breathing exercises. You can't just banish people to... oh, frig' Daimon mutters to himself.
Present:
'And so...' Hedy begins, recalling her time in the hellish dimension.
Flashback:
'What... is this place?' Hedy wonders as she wanders a strange wasteland. She calls for Daimon and tells him that they can talk about this, that she thinks he is overreacting. 'Hellstrom?' Hedy calls out, but gets no response. 'You look lost' a voice calls out to the nervous-looking Hedy, who turns in surprise, as the demonic Belial looms over her. Belial tells her that she isn't Patsy Walker and asks who she is, wandering into his lair. Hedy smiles and assures Belial that she was sent here, she thinks by mistake. 'The Son of Satan lost his temper again, did he? I warned him' Belial tells Hedy, who admits to maybe misleading him, just a little. 'You're the one who sent him after the Hellcat. You tricked him, and the mutt' Belial remarks. Hedy blushes as she tells Belial that they have a history, but she didn't expect Hellstrom to take it so far. 'Really?' Belial asks, before remarking 'You have a knack for vengeance, Miss...'. 'Wolfe. Uh, Hedy' Hedy responds. 'Wolfe, eh? It suits you' Belial tells her. Hedy is lost for words, before Belial smiles at her and tells her that he likes her dress.
Present:
'And the rest is... history, I suppose' Hedy announces. 'You looked so stunning that night. You always do' Belial tells Hedy as they turn to each other and make kissy-faces. 'Stop that, you!' Hedy exclaims. 'C'mere, little wolf' Belial tells her, as Hedy starts to laugh and tells Belial to stop it.
Patsy looks unimpressed, as does Sharon, while the others appear quite happy for the newfound couple. Suddenly, there is a barking, and Patsy screams 'WHAT?', to which Hedy reveals that this morning, when Betty turned into Mister Sniffles, she knew something was up. Belial explains that he ran out of the shower and found Hedy pinned by a tiger. 'And here I thought Earth would be relaxing' he jokes, and reveals that when Hedy mentioned the connection, he knew right away – the pan-dimensional stress flu. 'It couldn't be more obvious' he smiles. 'Can you fix it? 'Cause, despite what everyone in this room seems to care about, we got bigger problems' Sharon declares, while Patsy asks Belial to go back – 'Pan-what? When did this happen?' Sharon turns to America and swears that she is going to lose it. 'I know, I know' America replies.
'You travelled to Hell. Then, I'm guessing, some other jumping between realms. Am I correct?' Belial asks. Hellcat reveals that they were inside Bailey's bag, which is some kind of alternate dimension. 'See? There you go!' Belial tells her, to which Hellcat informs him that Jubilee was there, and so was Ian, too. Belial reminds her that they weren't in Hell a couple of weeks before that, before telling her that is only half of it – the other half is stress. 'Are you stressed, Patsy?' he enquires. 'I'm fine -' Patsy begins, but then realizes her friends are all looking at her. 'WHAT?' she asks them, before Belial reaches across and takes her hands, claiming that when they met, he was in a bad place and had a lot og anger. 'You tried to convince me to become a rage demon' she reminds him. Belial explains that he was working through some issues, and admits that he shouldn't have pushed her so hard. He adds that people should be able to embrace their demonic energy in their own time – he sees that now.
Patsy points at Hedy and declares that she tried to ruin her life – multiple times! 'Oh, now, Pats, let's not say things we don't mean!' Hedy replies. Patsy throws her hands to her head and shouts that she isn't. 'You said horrible things! You – you tried to take my book rights, and my mom, and you sent my crappy ex-boyfriends after me, and... HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY WITH THIS?' Patsy shouts. Sharon tells Patsy to calm down, to which Patsy replies 'Calm – you were the one who just – I can't -' before she suddenly sneezes again. 'Bless you' Belial tells her.
'My, my – my building!' Sharon exclaims as she rushes over and hugs her desk. Hellcat, her friends, Hedy and Belial find themselves standing in 68 Jay Street. 'My jacket!' America shouts, looking at her red, white and blue jacket. 'My blood!' Jubilee calls out as she switches to her cloud form and floats out of the office. Patsy looks out the window, and notices that 68 Jay Street appears to be floating on a river of lava. 'Uh, Benny?' she calls out, asking him if he knows how to cure this personal-pan influenza. 'Actually...' Belial replies.
Soon, Patsy and her friends (and Hedy and Belial!) are seated in a circle on the floor, and Belial tells Patsy that they can chat. 'This is ridiculous' Patsy complains. 'Come on, sweetheart, let it all out, you're safe here' Hedy tells her. 'I'm at work, in Hell, with you' Patsy points out. Hedy tells Patsy that if she isn't going to try, they don't have to help. Belial smiles as he informs Patsy that he can right this wrong – send the building back, banish a tiger or two – but if she doesn't get a handle on this, it is going to keep happening, and it is going to get worse. Patsy sniffs, and declares that she is fine – before sneezing again, the results transforming Jubilee's costume into a traditional vampire outfit. 'Whoops, Sorry, Jubes' Patsy tells her. 'Whoa, check me out!' Jubilee exclaims. 'Done and done' America smiles, while Patsy asks Belial what he is proposing.
Hedy smiles and takes Patsy's hand, informing her that if they come from a place of openness, she knows they can beat it. 'What happened to you?' Patsy asks, glancing sideways. 'Love' Hedy announces, smiling at Belial. Hedy then tells Patsy that she is sorry for how she treated and cheated her all these years, admitting that she was selfish and put her own wealth and well-being above Patsy's, when she should have worked with her instead of taking her for granted. Hedy tells Patsy that she hopes she can forgive her.
'I... dunno...' Patsy replies as she pulls her hand away from Hedy's. Belial suddenly announces that he is sorry, too, telling Patsy that he should never have manipulated reality in order to try and seduce her into the realm of demons. He explains that he was awed by her anger and wanted to harness it to his own ends. He takes one of Patsy's hands, while Hedy re-grabs the other. They sit close to Patsy, and Belial tells her that he knows what she has been going through, and that he feels terrible for compounding her stress. 'For that, I hope you can forgive me, and let me help fix this' he adds. Patsy pulls away from them both, and looks annoyed, before turning to Belial and asking him if they can talk alone.
'Absolutely' Belial responds, before pointing a finger, and transporting himself and Patsy outside of 68 Jay Street, to a piece of land near the flaming river of lava. Patsy asks if the others are safe, and Belial assures her that they have the place to themselves. 'Good' Patsy tells him, before asking Belial to help her out – 'Where do I start?' Belial tells Patsy that her hates to press, but that, like he said, so much of this is tied into her emotional state. 'Right. So I need to... talk' Patsy remarks, gazing downwards. 'Dammit!' Patsy exclaims, turning away from Belial, she declares that it is so much easier when she can just punch things. Patsy informs Belial that she thought she could do this – run the agency, be a hero, deal with the fame, live some kind of a normal life. 'But then she left, and I... I...' her voice trails off.
'Oh, Hellcat' Belial replies, but when Patsy looks up at him, she sees She-Hulk standing over her. 'No! No! You don't get to do this again! You're not Jen!' Patsy exclaims. Belial, still posing as She-Hulk, tells Patsy that he knows, they both know, and that he is not trying to trick her, or hurt her, he just thought, maybe it would be easier to talk to her. 'I...if you tell anyone I cried, I swear -' Patsy warns him, as she hugs “She-Hulk”. Belial assures her that he won't.
Meanwhile, 68 Jay Street has been transported back to its rightful home – for real. 'We're back! Oh, Brooklyn! I've never loved your filthy, gentrified streets so much in all my life!' Sharon exclaims as she looks out a window. 'We lost Hellcat' Jubilee frowns at Hedy, who replies 'I don't think we did. Benny told me -' she begins, only for Jubilee, America, Sharon and Attache to angrily frown at Hedy, while Jubilee shakes her fist at her and asks 'You trapped her in HELL? AGAIN!?' America warns Hedy that she is going to punch a hole straight through a dimensional wall into Belial's creepy demon skull. Hedy tells the girls to stop, that it is nothing like that – Belial is trying to save her. Hedy admits to the others that Belial doesn't know what caused the “influenza” but they thought it would make sense. What Belial actually thinks is that the demon in Patsy, all her contact with the Underworld, her borrowing Strange's magic and shifting through worlds, on top of the stress, her body can't take it, and she is becoming an instability.
'She is, after all, only human' Hedy tells the others. 'Overrated, IMHO' Jubilee mutters, while Sharon asks Hedy if Belial can help. Hedy tells her that if Patsy is willing to help herself. 'But if I know stubborn, ol' Patsy Walker...' her voice trails off, as Jubilee narrows her eyes and points out that they might be here a while. The women all look at Hedy, unimpressed, until Hedy asks them if they like ramen. 'There's a place down the road that does, uh, these pork cutlet bowls, and...' her voice trails off as the women stare at her blankly, until Jubilee grins and announces that she could eat.
Back in Hell, Belial is still posing as She-Hulk, and is lying against a tree, with Patsy resting her head against him. Patsy explains that she thought the job would make sense – a temp agency – it's so simple but it's a nightmare, she can barely handle it. Patsy reveals that she keeps getting letters from film studios about the rights to the Patsy books, but she is scared – she likes her life small. 'I worked hard to find a place to curl up and feel... safe' Patsy tells Belial. As She-Hulk, Belial tells Patsy that when she came to her looking for work, she knew she wouldn't stay domesticated for long. 'I just... I miss you. I feel lost all the time' Patsy replies, wiping tears from her eyes. She-Hulk points out that Patsy tried to stay out of the game and ended up assembling a team of the outcasts of outcasts. 'You can't even help it, Patsy. You bring people together' She-Hulk remarks. 'That's why we love you' she tells her. 'Ha. Can't be her. She never gets that sentimental' Patsy remarks, before Belial switches back to his demonic form. 'She's not wrong, though' Belial smiles, before asking Patsy if she is feeling better. Patsy smiles and tells Belial that maybe he had a point. 'I guess I had some... stuff' she admits. Patys is about to sneeze again – and this time, nothing happens. 'I think I'm ready' she tells Belial, who opens a portal for her.
Belial tells Patsy that she can't come back here again. 'I don't mean this place, I mean -' he starts to explain, but Patsy tells him that she knows. She adds that she got so close this time, she almost touched it. But she thinks she gets it, and she is done running. 'I'm ready to be a hero again' Patsy announces.
Back on Earth, Patsy, with Belial at her side, walks towards her friends. Hedy is holding Patsy's old toy, Mister Sniffles, and smiles as Patsy approaches her – and hugs her.
