Dystopia, Part One
WHAT HAS COME BEFORE : While in pitched battle with the Kree scientist known as Quark, the Black Knight found himself enveloped by a strange cloud of energy. In the year 2065, tracker Kelly La Croi stumbled upon the find of a lifetime -- the preserved body of the Black Knight....
Kelly La Croi stood in her small, ramshackle flat and watched the man before her with interest. It had only been a few hours since she and her digging unit, designated XL, had freed the man from his underground tomb. In the interim, she'd taken him back with her, not being sure what else to do with him. "Do you want some more food packets?"
Dane Whitman, the latest in a long line of Black Knights, looked up from the table at which he sat. His attention had been riveted to the news monitor in front of him, his face betraying his disgust at the world in which he'd somehow found himself. Mutant wars, eugenics programs and more had brought the world to the brink of annihilation... "No, thank you. I'm more concerned with how I ended up here. I was battling a Kree warrior named Quark* when a strange pocket of energy enveloped me -- is there anything in the science of this time capable of transporting beings through time?"
(*As seen in Black Knight : Destiny Walk # 7.)
Kelly shrugged, trying to reign in her telepathic abilities. As a Tracker, she used her mutant powers to earn a living for herself by scavenging for lost treasure. Those same powers also made it hard for her to interact with other humans, however, as they were always filling her head with outside thoughts. In the case of Dane Whitman, those thoughts spoke of other worlds and beings that Kelly thought of as legends. It was very, very unnerving. "Not that I know of. I mean, I've heard rumors that Baron Doom might have something like that. His forces raided the old Four Freedoms site back in the '30s...."
Dane stood up, letting the last of the food packets he'd been eating from fall to the table. He stepped over a number of pieces of junk that Kelly had littered her apartment with. "What about people like Dr. Strange? Are you familiar with him at all? His magic might have allowed him to survive to this date... He'd be able to send me home or at least explain what's going on."
Kelly shook her head, looking somewhat chagrined. "Sorry, but no. Never heard of him. Look -- I've seen on the vids that sometimes time anomalies happen. There's even an advisory board set up for that sort of thing, to help time-displaced individuals fit in. But there's no way to send you back. You're here now. Period."
Dane glanced over at her, sending a thrill through Kelly. He was incredibly good-looking, all the more so because she knew he hadn't been genetically enhanced or altered like most people in this day and age. He was all-natural... "I don't think so. I'm no stranger to bouncing around different time periods and realities, and I might have an easy way out -- Avalon. I am a bit hesitant to try and access Avalon, however -- since it exists outside space and time, I should be able to travel there and return home. But with the damage done to it recently*, I'm not sure if the Lady of the Lake or Avalon itself should be taxed in that way. Not until every other resource is exhausted anyway."
(*In the Avalon War storyline.)
Kelly started to reply, but held her tongue. She didn't know about the Avalon thing he was mentioning, but she didn't think it mattered. He really was trapped here.
Then again, looking into those confident eyes of his, she felt that he might be right. You, Mr. Whitman, just might be capable of anything....
Interlude: Garett Castle, England
Sersi was furious -- and the rage of an Eternal was nothing to sneer at. She stood in the chilly bedroom that she normally shared with Dane Whitman, peering out of her balcony window. Only hours before, she'd allowed Dane to talk her into leaving his battle with Quark. She hadn't seen or heard from him since, and the knowledge that she'd let him possibly go off alone to get hurt was chilling her to the bone. "Damn you, Dane -- I should have never listened to you and your testosterone-laced orders!"
She forced herself to remain calm and reached out with her mind, searching for any sign of her lover. Thanks to the Gann-Josin bond they'd once shared, she could still sometimes sense Dane's spirit -- but today, she found nothing.
"He's not in this timeline anymore."
The words shocked Sersi so much that she gasped audibly. Opening her eyes, she whirled about to face a man dressed in scarlet and black, a hood covering his face. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" Energy crackled around the Eternal's hands and her eyes glowed fiercely.
"My name is unimportant. All that should concern you is this : when he returns, a series of events called the Shaping will begin. You have to stand beside him. He'll need your love and your support."
"Your name is very important, stranger. How do you know what's going to happen to Dane -- and where is he? Have you done something with him?"
The hooded man sighed and shook his head. When he spoke again, his voice was tinged with affection. "God, Sersi... You're so feisty, aren't you? I can see why he loved you. Fine -- call me Pilgrim. It's as good a name as any." He held up his hand, soft tendrils of smoke snaking around it. An image began to form of Dane Whitman, in his armored persona of the Black Knight, standing in the ruins of a once-great city. A woman and her droid stood beside him. "There. You see? He's fine."
Sersi reached out, her hand going through the smoky image. "Dane?!" She glanced up at Pilgrim, her eyes wide. "You have to take me to him!"
Pilgrim pulled back. "Sorry, but I can't."
"Then why are you even here? You come to me and tell me Dane's going to be in danger and I should stand beside him -- but refuse to tell me what the threat is or when it's coming?!"
"You're right, I shouldn't have come. I just... couldn't resist seeing you. Please forgive me." The mysterious stranger faded away in a cloud of smoke, even as Sersi tried to grab him.
"Damn you!" The Eternal sighed, sinking to her knees. She hated feeling so helpless. "I'll find you, Dane. With or without Pilgrim's help...."
New Manhattan, 2065
"I can't believe it. When did this happen?" Dane Whitman, wearing a long coat to hide his armor and weaponry, stood on the site of the former Avengers Mansion. The building which he and his former teammates had called home was now a multi-level garage for aircars. Not even a plaque remained to mark the spot as noteworthy.
All around them, air cars zoomed past and dirty, violent-looking people scurried about on the ground. The air was thick with pollution, making every breath
"Most of the old heroes died in the Genoshan Wars that stripped mutants of their sentient rights. The mansion was knocked down and paved over back in '27, I think. I'm too young to remember." Kelly and her droid XL remained close by as Dane shook his head.
"Mutants treated as slaves, riots on all the colony worlds, no heroes to stand up for what's right... Doesn't anyone try to stop this madness?"
Kelly couldn't resist a smile. She considered herself quite hardened by a life, a cynic in a young girl's body. But Dane Whitman's spirit... it was infectious. "We have a few rebels here and there. There's a mutant resistance group that's fighting for homo superior liberation. And the Nova Corps sometime make appearances on or near Earth, if there's an interstellar crisis."
"And you use your mental powers to track down goods?" Dane glanced over at the young woman, impressed that she'd been able to survive on her own in an obviously dangerous world.
"Supposedly. I barely make enough to scrape by, though. Of course, that's better than a lot of folks."
Dane glanced up as a government ship sped overhead. The symbol of the world government was painted on its side -- a dull gary oval with the shape of a clenched fist within. "The government -- where is it based? And who runs things -- on the those news feeds you showed me, nobody ever mentioned who was in charge."
Kelly made a face, not trying to hide her distaste. "You mean Lord Exodus. He lives on Sanctuary, an island off the coast of Old Philadelphia."
Dane grabbed her arm so quickly it hurt her. "Exodus?! But he's a mutant himself, why would he do all these things?"
Kelly stared with open eyes into Dane's steely gaze. His sudden change in demeanor upset her, but she refused to break their connection. She could feel his fear, and anger, through her telepathy. "Lord Exodus took control of Genosha in the early part of the 21st Century. When the wars broke out, his side won -- his mutates were too much for the rest of the world to handle. He destroyed everyone who could be a threat to him -- mutants were enslaved so they wouldn't rise up against him, heroes like the Fantastic Four and the Warriors were killed or imprisoned."
Dane removed his hand from her arm. "Sorry, Kelly. It's just that Exodus and I go way back -- all the way to the Crusades*. Is there some way you can get me onto this Sanctuary island?"
(*See the Black Knight : Exodus oneshot from Marvel Comics)
Kelly rubbed her arm and winced. "I thought you wanted to go home. Why this sudden interest in Sanctuary?"
"Exodus is incredibly dangerous and what he's doing here is wrong -- I don't know what force took me from my battle with Quark, but it must have wanted me here for a reason. The people of this time need someone to rally around, they need to be shown that Exodus's way isn't the only way."
"Even if I got you on the island, you couldn't beat Exodus. He's surrounded by an army of mutates. You'd be killed before you ever got close enough to him to use your sword."
Dane smiled. "I'm willing to take that chance. Look -- I know you haven't had much experience with faith and I don't blame you for doubting me. Your whole life has seen one hero after another torn down in front of you -- but I believe in Destiny. The Lady of the Lake chose me to fight for what's right, regardless of where I am. And I won't leave here until Exodus is taken down. I swear this to you, in the name of Avalon."
Kelly La Croi could only nod dumbly. Deep inside her heart, she felt hope. It was a scary feeling that left her giddy and confused -- but very pleased.
Bennet du Paris stared out at the ocean, enjoying the view. As Exodus, he had lived far longer than any man had the right to, and he had come to appreciate much since his ascendancy to power. The fulfillment of realizing one's dreams was quite intoxicating. He had always seen himself as the true heir of Magneto, the man who would unite the mutant race and lead them to supremacy.
It was funny how things changed.
Eventually, Exodus had watched in frustration as Magneto's rulership of Genosha had wilted and crumbled. He had stood by as the human population of Genosha rose up and, bolstered by the Sentinels of North America, slew Magneto in 2005.
It had happened because Magneto had been weak. He had coddled the homo superior race and had refused to stamp out humanity's spirit. He had, in the end, listened to his son Pietro once too often.
Exodus had struck in the cold gray hours of June 12th, 2011. He had claimed Genosha through sheer force of will, dominating the mutates and binding them to his will. He had used the former seat of Magneto's power to spread his forces throughout the world. He had destroyed his enemies and, through trickery and genius, united the world under one government.
It wasn't the utopia he'd once envisioned for the homo superior race, but it was his. And it was very reminscent of the society in which he'd been born, during the height of the Crusades. A class-based system in which he was the God-King.
There was nothing to stand in his way. Nothing and no one.
Next Issue : "Dystopia" continues as the Black Knight and Kelly La Croi infiltrate Sanctuary. Have we learned the full story about Exodus and his rise to power? Who brought the Black Knight to the year 2065? And what dire plan has the Hellfire Club cooked up with Dr. Doom? Be here for the answers in Black Knight # 9!
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