Specs was saying this looked like a natural breach that had been further opened by opportunity, so not a deliberate invasion, or there would have been literal legions marching through here. We were out in The Mess, so these things were hardly unexpected. It was just a matter of time before the Planar Lord noticed and Sealed it up, and maybe would be nice enough to banish or destroy any invaders, too.

A Dispelling Blast from Function blew through the Portal, promptly frying everything within a certain radius from it as planar disruptions and lightning had kittens together. Vivus exploded behind us, rapidly changing nature and dimming to the natural energy of this realm as it rose to eat it, and the local Veil began to strengthen.

I put up the Interdiction, and watched it ripple across the Veil, hit this Portal, and dim, sparking flames raged across the gash and gap in the Plane’s defenses, Sealing it up and cutting off the supply of howling diabolic reinforcements.

The devils naturally noticed the friendly gushing of diabolic energies being cut off. They looked back to see the rip in space was now gone, and there I was, all girt in lightning and obviously responsible for that.

The team was plowing into the fringes of the devil’s assault already. Monster truck tires suddenly snapped out blades and rolled over Fiends, dividing them into pieces with enthusiasm. Mr. Hill was lashing right and left with his Flail at full extension, aiming for the bigger ones who didn’t want to be facing a supersonic spiked Ball of metal moving that fast.

The others were shooting. This wasn’t The Road, so sustained fire massacre was totally possible here, and they were making use of it. Anything flying in the sky that got close came plummeting to the ground, and was immediately sniped off or run right over. The front of the battlevan was covered in burning gore, Natalya was brrrrrrting through whole hordes of devils when she lined up shots, and the biggest guys became Blade’s special targets, blowing burning white holes completely through them.

Wanda was Hexing the literal Hell out of whole companies, drowning them in sustained fire crits as Gun and Shotski cut them down. Blaze was firing non-stop, ghostly hellfire of vengeance against hellfire of scorn, riding down fallen fliers by preference, or picking off the smaller devils one by one. The Mick was herding, bunching them up for the other shooters to have fun with, while Chopsaw was driving right for any lines forming up and turning them into burning mulch under his massive wheels.

I just battled my way down the lines of devils coming back for the Portal, making sure to track and kill them all. They couldn’t match my speed; they definitely didn’t like lightning, Holiness, and Banefire coming together; and I was just a crackling, snapping whirlwind of lightning strokes ripping through their lines and sending burning devils every which way as I dismembered them.

It took the team remarkably little time to chew through the devils outside the village, forcing them into the streets. The van and truck were a bit big to head into the town, so they drew up outside it, Bunny and Wheels took the flanks, and everyone else piled in with guns blazing towards the center, following the wedge that Mr. Hill and Dealer plowed through. Blaze and Torch had no problems on their bikes, and simply rode where Wanda pointed, wherever it hurt the devils most to go.

It was hard not to see them coming, and the cheers and increased fire from the defenders inside the Crimson Shield of Cyttorak were both immediately noticeable. Mr. Hill was stomping his way through desperate throngs of devils trying to get past him or bowl him over. Dealer’s Diamonds were punching through the most reluctant of those to die, and white streaks of autofire from the team were matched up by the occasional need to put something sharp somewhere in something that hadn’t had the sense to die before it reached them. Castle and Chopsaw were actually the anchors there, as the hellfire and other attacks from magic swept into their Nulls and vanished impotently, quite the frustrating thing to see for the other side.

Ben was playing batter-up on his Disk, Monkey Stick sending broken devils flying two and three at a time, or maybe he just brought it down and crushed them flat. Blaze was riding over them and shooting them, Wanda was dumping Hexes to help them inherit quick deaths, and Torch was swallowing them in golden-white flames, devouring them in screams of disbelief at eating sacred fires here.

I came smashing into the far side of town as the devils were retreating, putting up a wall of lightning in front of them and arcing up and around in chains of movement for those who could fly and who had run out of the Mountain’s Stillflight Field. It was very hard to ignore, and the fleeing devils all ground to a halt, whereupon the gunners behind them all cut them down with bullets bearing tri-color flames.

The Heavens-Up Display was abruptly showing all clear as I cleared one cluster of neo-lithic gargoyles of the burning maw kind out of one of the streets just before they hit the edge of the Stillflight, and I also cast my eyes around in my Detect Evil field, finding nothing.

“I’m showing clear on the area scope. Focusing...” Dealer’s Voice called out calmly, focusing ahead, and pivoting exactly sixty degrees at a time. “Small number to the right, Dyna?”

=============

Unfortunately, not all scopes are reading clear for the story...

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=============

I zipped over that way in a racing trail of voltage, and the fleeing devils were in my Detect soon enough. About fifteen seconds after that, they weren’t, but a new patch of shadowy flames was burning.

There were some still alive and wounded out in the fields around the village. Several Cards went up into the skies, rains of Diamonds came down with lethal finality, and soon it was all over.

------

“Clea!”

“Wanda! Dealer!” The three were embracing as I zipped back into the village, the residents thereof looking around in relief. Even most of the buildings had stayed remarkably intact, the fires licking at them summarily expunged by Dealer. “Dynamo!” the silken-haired daughter of Umar called out, giving me a hug as well. “It is good to see you all. Mr. Hill, if I may?” she smiled, opening her arms, and Mr. Hill valiantly hid a big smile as he allowed himself to be embraced.

“Ah, this is the dread Mr. Castle’s team,” she winked at the ex-Marine afterwards, extending her hand and receiving a firm shake for it.

“Dispatcher Clea,” he winked at her, recognizing her voice if not having met her. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the team.” He efficiently introduced the others, everyone there having heard of her, even if she had not met them. The pairs outside had come in when the all-clear was sounded.

“You seem to be missing some?” she asked, looking about. “Where are Mr. Spears, Mr. Spector, Mr. Hannibal, Mr. Morbius, and Mr. Russel?”

“Spears had a Ritual Graduation to attend. The Moon Squad had some Crux business in Raleigh,” Castle grunted. “They stay on top of any new vampire and werewolf business that doesn’t require numbers. Blade goes along if they need help, and pulls others in if it gets heavy.”

“Which leaves us free to do Hellrides,” The Mick grinned cheerfully. “Shaved off a few minutes this time, but that’s because we had a couple newbies along.” He winked at Ben and Torch, who were being given careful berths by the locals.

Both of them collapsed their flames and earth together, snapping back down into lightly clothed human forms, startling everyone. “Yeah, just fresh fish along,” Ben said casually, him and Torch instantly by far the most harmless-looking of the team. Torch in particular was getting new appraisals from the local women.

“Is this an ongoing problem, Clea?” I asked her, getting to the point.

“It is a symptom of my uncle disappearing,” she explained in resignation. “Such instabilities are not uncommon, but taking advantage of them was a good way to draw his ire. The other planar lords are testing my mother’s patience and willingness to fight...” Her head jerked up sharply, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “And here she is...”

Everyone turned to look up as a wave of magic broke over us, and all the villagers went down on one knee instantly, old and young alike. An imperious and regal woman’s face, crowned with the Flames of Regency of the Dark Dimension, glowered down at us from up in the sky haughtily.

“Daughter,” she said, the word cold and conveying no love or feeling, merely acknowledgement. “I see you have dealt with the incursion here...” Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at us all. “Mortals? Uninvited in my realm?!” she exclaimed, her eyes starting to light up angrily.

Of all people, The Mick stepped forwards casually. “Yer welcome, Yer Flaming Faltineness. Ya needn’t fear, we’ll be back on The Road afore long. When we call in the favor, ‘twill be of proper time and place for payment, it will.”

Her burning eyes focused on him. “A Rider from The Road,” she mused after studying him a moment. “See that you and your iron steeds do not tarry overlong, Rider!” she warned him.

The Mick just smiled. “I’m a Driver, not a stayer, Yer Worshipfulness. We’ll be travelin’ soon enough.”

“Hmmph!” Her eyes flashed with intrigue, glancing over the Sorceress at his side once, and then drifting over to Mr. Hill, standing nearby and smoking a cigar already. “I see Strange’s stony brute has made it here.” Her tone changed the words to a compliment somehow.

“Just out for a Sunday drive with the boys,” Mr. Hill replied casually, puffing away on his post-fighting cigar. “Don’t mind me, woman. I already been paid.”

Her eyebrows arched in interest. “So noted. Dealer, darling, when is your next game?” she called out, her burning dark eyes dancing. “I demand an invitation this time!”

“Satanna agreed to host a gala next month, but you will have to leave political discussions at the door, Your Majesty!” Dealer replied courteously, bowing perfectly. I.e., no armies clashing for amusement.

“How droll,” Umar sighed. I noticed her gaze did not linger on Blaze or Wanda, and completely skipped Castle, Chopsaw, Wheels, Spotski, Gunn, and Bunny. Then she turned away, the image vanishing as it did.

“Nice. She didn’t deny the favor,” I complimented The Mick, watching as the greatly relieved villagers all got back to their feet, and quickly began running around to assess the damage.

It wasn’t the mortal plane, but the energy of the dead devils was going to be giving their fields a bumper crop and more. I’d have to mention they should rapidly expand along the path to where the Rift had been, if they could...

“Not paying back Road Warriors coming to her aid would get around quick. The Lords of Limbo ain’t idiots about debts,” The Mick said calmly. “Lady Clea, any more of these Rifts around to be earnin’ favors from the Unrivaled Umar the Unrelenting?” he asked in amusement.

Clea lifted her own eyebrows and looked around at us, and noted nobody saying anything against the idea. “It is very likely. Mother was not checking up on me; she likely has been closing the Rifts and annihilating invaders, and noticed this one closed itself without her hand.”

“Favors from a Planar Lord. Pricey stuff,” Mr. Hill commented knowingly. He was no stranger to magic shit even before Strange started using him.

“Find us a fight, Dispatcher Clea,” Frank Castle noted, earning a knowing smile from her. “Everyone else, check ammo and charge Shields again.” My hands sparked up. “If we need to resupply, make it quick!”

----

I stepped through the Portal, and paused as the four muscular men stacking up boxes and crates all turned to look at me. All of them, save for the guy in the full-face white mask, had fangs.

“Mr. Spector. Gentlemen. Back from your admonishing?” I asked them, as Castle and the rest shuffled quickly into the storehouse, exchanging nods and grabbing ammunition boxes, some right out of the hands of the Moon Squad.

“We’ve three more trucks to unload,” Khonshu’s champion replied, jerking a finger at the back of the truck backed into the common armory. It went without saying that Castle’s people went through a LOT of ammunition, and often ended up confiscating a lot of firearms. SHIELD occasionally swooped by and removed the contents of the spillover building quietly, sending them off to who knew where.

“Well, I can unload them quickly, if you’d like to join in on the excitement?” I tossed a finger over my shoulder at the weird sky showing on the other side, and they didn’t hide their interest. They were fully aware Karma waited for no man.