The Limbo Embassy, New York:
Madelyne Pryor, the Goblin Queen, is snuggled up to her dying lover, Alex Summers aka Havok, whose flesh is rotting away and needs to be constantly replaced with demon skin. In a nostalgic mood, she asks if he remembers Australia. Him sunbathing and oblivious, she recalls how she seduced him. She felt like a monster that day.
He can’t say that her attentions were entirely unwelcome, he replies. All they’ve been through, she sighs. His poor body. She kisses him and promises to always keep him safe.
After she leaves, the demon K’yrb finally crawls out from under the bed where he has been hiding. Alex has second thoughts, though, about traveling to Limbo behind Madelyne’s back to find a cure. He can barely stand!
K’yrb gives him a disgusting potion. Grossed out, Alex refuses. K’yrb points out that there are worse things in movie theater hotdogs and orders him to drink. Actually, that’s not half bad, Alex decides, his stamina raised by the potion.
K’yrb thinks to himself, this is the most stupid thing he has ever done, but Alex stood up for him. K’yrb leads Alex to a pentagram - the portal to Limbo. Alex asks if he knows how to work it. Gambit busted his nose on that thing more than once. He’s a demon, K’yrb replies. He’s got this.
Once they are in Limbo, Alex muses how he always forgets how disgusting it smells, like Nightcrawler’s bamfs, only thicker and more. Annoyed, the demon tells him they are all adults here. Just say “fart.” And has he smelled himself lately?
K’yrb leads him to what look like several demonic buildings, but keeps mum on where they actually are going, certain that if he told Alex, he would refuse.
Suddenly, they hear cries for help. Alex sees what looks like his ex-lover Polaris being captured and torn apart by demons. He ignores K’yrb’s warning and climbs up toward her to find “Polaris” is just the upper part of giant caterpillar-like demon. He blasts it and finds the flesh on his arms decaying, while K’yrb casts a spell to drive the demon back. He tells Alex the demon blood only stabilized him. He’s got to conserve his power if he doesn’t want to cook his skin right off his bones.
They close in on the entrance of a cave guarded by two heavily armed demons. How’s his pop? one of them greets K’yrb, who reminds him he literally ate him. The demon apologizes. They weren’t close, K’yrb assures him and leads Alex through the entrance.
They are greeted by several demons playing a dissonant flute melody and a prisoner begging for a different tune.
Oh, come on, this #&/&$! Alex shouts as he sees the prisoner - the archdemon N’astirh, who is chained to the ground. Seeing him, Na’stirh leers that he feels slightly better being chained here for eternity by the Rasputin witch.
K’yrb explains that N’astirh can help him. Alex refuses. N’astirh replies, if botched necromancy is his problem, he can help. All Havok has to do is release him. K’yrb urges that the queen cannot help Alex like N’astirh can. Grudgingly, Alex agrees and melts N’astirh’s manacles with a blast.
Freed, N’astirh thanks him. Whatever their differences, he always respected Summers, then he corrects himself that isn’t true, but all the demons here have is their word. It binds them as surely as shackles.
While Alex moans about his injuries, N’astirh fires a spell at him, intent on healing him from the botched necromancy. However, Alex screams in agony and N’astirh shouts that he is ensorcelled. What gives? K’yrb asks. N’astirh replies that was no botched necromancy. He apologizes to Alex and explains the putrescence of his body is no accident… and beyond his power to remedy. The Goblin Queen did this to him… intentionally…
