What's a Worm-do?

<snip>Jelena only had time to scream before the blade severed her head.</snip>

Solvay bellowed like a buffalo taking a hot iron to the rump. Gomez's grisly demise had overloaded his senses only hours previously, and now... this. A young woman slaughtered in front of him, chopped as casually as if she were a courgette. If Alex had been a certain green Avenger, he'd have let his rage smash through his shackles then and there. Unfortunately, Alex wasn't an Avenger, but he wouldn't let that stop him busting out of his bonds. And his clothes if need be.
He narrowed his eyes at the Doombringer who was still in businessman form. It reminded him of an estate agent who'd totally smegged him over during a less than prosperous period. Alex hated estate agents more than he hated solicitors and traffic wardens put together. That was a whole lotta rage.

"Don't look so concerned, Mr. Solvay. You'll be joining your disgusting friend in a moment or two." The estate agent doombringer - or "Johnson" as Alex was starting to think of him - kicked the coin Alex's way, where it landed tails up.
"Well, would you look at that?"

There was a rumbling sound as the cell shook.
"Ah. Right on cue."

Seymour materialised, mid-air, equipped with a somewhat baffled expression and a sandy wheelchair.
"What's going onnnn?" He whined. Man and chair crashed to the ground with an unceremonious bonk-"ooof". The poor confused Niples glanced at the bloody mess on the floor and passed out.
Johnson laughed the cruel laugh that only the truly heartless can muster - again reminding Alex of the estate agent he'd known. "Wonderful, wonderful." The despicable being stepped around Seymour's inert form and lifted a floppy arm, letting it drop against a wheel with a thud. That would bruise later. "Strange creatures, humans..."

While Johnson was waffling on, Alex craned his neck as far forward as he could and tongued the $£ towards himself. Thankfully the Doombringer's contraptions were rather squat and close to the ground. The still musing beastie jerked its head his direction "Don't you agree? So frail, but so determined. What is this ridiculous sense of self righteousness that drives you people?" Alex quickly sucked the coin into his mouth before Johnson could notice, planning on using it to escape, somehow, when he got the chance.
Then Phil materialised with a WHOOMPH!
"'You people'?" He smirked "That's discriminatory!"
"Eh!?" Said Johnson, who was clearly not expecting another guest.
"You're a speciesist! And if there's one thing guaranteed to get me all 'shooty', it's speciesists."
He fired his bazookoid into Johnson's chest. It sent him flying across the cell with satisfying velocity, temporarily disabling him. Phil quickly released Solvay and slapped him on the back in friendly greeting. Alex accidentally swallowed the coin.
Hack hack cough splutter "Thanks, man. How'd you work out-"
"How to navigate the projection? Hello!? I am Phil!"
Alex grinned. Phil did too, until he noticed the gruesome display at the other guillotine, and both their faces dropped, solemn.
"We'll er, we'll sort her out somehow, back on the Dwarf."
Alex nodded.
"Now, let's bring Niples around and be on our merry way!"
"I like the cut of your jib."
"Flirt."
"Uh... Ew."
"You love it."

They tried rousing Seymour, but he was less responsive than a doctor's receptionist at 4.45 on a Friday afternoon.
"Come on, it won't work unless we're all conscious."
"Yeh, and Johnson looks like he's recovering" Alex screwed up his face at the Doombringer's twitching form. He preferred Green Gelatinous Oozy Johnson to Estate Agent Johnson, any day.

"AAARGH!" Seymour woke with a start and reflexively punched Alex in the back - apparently Phil had, somehow, somewhere*, found some ice and slipped it into his shirt. The shock and force caused Alex to choke again. The dollarpound coin flew out of his mouth with impressive momentum, lodging itself in Johnson's left nostril.

Alex and Phil looked at each other and nodded. With a half smile, Alex booted Johnson in the nose, causing the coin to lodge higher still, disabling him again.

Phil winked and grabbed the other two men "Nice one. Now quick! That should give us time to get out of here. Hold on to-" He did and said something which Alex didn't quite catch.

BWOOOPHF!

----
The wind tore around them, sand stung their faces, they could hardly catch their breath. Not only that, the floor wasn't exactly what you might call "stable".
They gripped on to what they could.
After a moment or two, Alex realised they were back in the desert and were indeed "riding the worm" as Phil had suggested. Smeg.
A gap in the merciless slapping sand allowed him to tear a glance at his companions. Seymour was wheelchairless, lying on his belly and looked as miserable as he felt "Mi mfed 'mfff thffd whss ghonnn!?'"
"Eh?!"
At last, the wind dropped.
"I said, 'I SAID what's going on?'"

Alex couldn't be bothered to waste energy thinking of a reply - he wasn't even sure he knew, anyway - so he rudely ignored Seymour and cocked his head Philwards instead.

FeBuggure was standing upright, in surfer stance, hanging on to some sort of leather strap. He was shouting something.
It sounded like "WOOO HOOOOOO! YEAAAH!"

If Alex could've let go of the worm to facepalm, he would've.

---

* "A wizard did it."