Reflections of Life
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What's Been Happening: Otherworld teeters on the brink of revolution, as the manipulative Mandragon has spread dissent amongst the populace, who are beginning to wonder if King Brian isn't too weak to defend them adequately. Meanwhile, Brian remains distracted by the discovery of something called the Chamber of Failures, where the results of Merlin's genetic handiwork remained entombed. Other strange things, seemingly unconnected, are also ongoing: Betsy Braddock has learned that her sister-in-law, Queen Meggan, is hiding something of a personal nature; Meggan is laboring under the terror of having witnessed a ghostly vision while visiting Braddock Manor in England; and the brave Sir Benedict, sent to investigate the growing unrest in the countryside, has been waylaid by a traitor within House Braddock. Perhaps most unusual of all, however, is the sudden appearance of a younger version of Brian Braddock, on the fog-enshrouded plains of Darkmoor. How all of these things play into Mandragon's scheme has yet to be determined....
Braddock Manor, England
The Manor was alive with the spirits of the dead.
Though the sole resident of the estate was absent, the Manor was anything but quiet and empty. Each room was fully illuminated and numerous voices echoed throughout the interior of the home. The sounds of men arguing loudly mingled with the nervous titters of feminine excitement. From upstairs, someone screamed bloody murder over and over again, their words lost in an incoherent mingling of curses and moans.
If one had crept up to a window and peered inside, however, they would have seen nothing but sheet-covered furniture and the few visible signs that Betsy Braddock was once more calling the Manor home. There were paintings of the Braddock family on the walls, with various snapshots of Betsy and her twin brother, Brian, at the University. There were a few pics here and there of Jamie Braddock, the black sheep of the family.
But there were no people. Only vague shapes that sometimes drifted past one's range of vision.
Long through the night, this phantasmal party raged on, with the intensity of the voices rising and falling in time to some unseen stimulus.
The house gradually darkened as the sun began to appear and, by the time that a young man clad in a crimson uniform streaked through the sky above the Manor, all was silent, as well.
Brian Braddock landed at the rear of the Manor, near a secret entrance he'd installed a few months before. His Star Sceptre felt comfortably heavy in his right hand, gleaming in the early morning light. He'd only been Captain Britain for a relatively brief amount of time, but he'd already begun to gain a shocking amount of confidence. Gone was the somewhat uncertain Physics student -- in his place was a man charged by Merlin with the task of protecting England: Captain Britain.
Brian touched the medallion that hung around his neck, summoning the change that would cause his costume to disappear. Within seconds, he was dressed in slacks and an open-necked shirt, the medallion safely hidden beneath his shirt. "Emma? Are you up yet?" he asked, calling out to the family's beloved maid.
Hearing no answer, he began walking through the Manor house -- and felt a cold chill overtake his heart. Gone were all signs of a vibrant, living home. The house looked to be in a state of partial abandonment and many of the photographs above the sitting room fireplace were completely unfamiliar to him. A woman -- could it be Betsy? -- with purple hair was waving in one of them, a broad smile on her face. The woman was far too mature to be his twin, however, as Betsy had yet to develop the curves of the woman he now ogled. The woman in the photograph was beautiful, despite the somewhat odd choice of hair color. But her face and eyes, Brian thought. So very much like Betsy....
"Things look very different from how you remember, don't they?"
Brian whirled about, tensed for battle. Though it hadn't been very long since that horrible night when the Reaver's men had helped turn his life upside down, Brian was beginning to display signs of becoming a battle-hardened veteran. He relaxed a bit, however, when he saw the women who now stepped towards him. She wore a leather suit, cut in a military style, with strong overtones of Nazi-based imagery attached. Her blonde hair was cut in a modified page-boy manner, with one side falling heavily over one of her eyes. She was gorgeous -- and pure sex appeal, in a way that reminded him somewhat of his girlfriend, Courtney Ross. Courtney had the same effect on him, stirring up emotions both protective and lustful. "This is my family's home... What are you doing here?"
"My name," she answered, stopping a few feet from him. She was close enough that he could smell her perfume. "Is Sat-Yr-9. You and I will be friends someday."
Brian narrowed his eyes, her words suddenly hitting him. "Someday... You're saying I'm in the future!" He turned, staring hard at the photograph of Betsy.
"A dark, terrible future... that badly needs heroes."
Brian turned back to Sat-Yr-9, clenching a fist. "You know... don't you?"
"That you're Captain Britain?" she asked, smiling. "Oh, yes. A great champion... but one that, in this world, became dark and corrupt." She gestured at another photograph, showing a broad-shouldered brute with a glass of wine in his hand. Brian realized with a start that the man in the photograph was him... but he looked postively gigantic, with muscles that seemed impossibly overdeveloped. The man in the photograph looked very different from the slender young acrobat that the original Captain Britain thought of himself as. "Our Brian Braddock overthrew Merlin and seized power in the land of Otherworld. Wielding both the amulet and the sword, he has the power to remake the cosmos. His brother Jamie lies chained to a wall in the bowels of King Brian's castle... his sister Betsy has been twisted and remade, inside and out.... his bride is a shapechanging monster... and you can see how well he treats his beloved home." Sat-Yr-9 reached out and touched the young man's shoulder, bringing all her considerable powers of persuasion to bear. "The only one who can wield Excalibur and the Amulet at once is Brian Braddock... Thus, none of us who stand against him can deprive him of his power."
Brian stared into her eyes, seeing the pain and worry that filled them. Always a chivalrous sort in his heart, Brian felt an instant empathy for her. It boggled his mind that he -- in any reality -- could become a dictator, but that's what this woman was saying... and he couldn't find it within himself to believe that any creature as beautiful as this could possibly be lying. "You... brought me here. To fight against this evil version of myself?"
"Yes," she looked away, suddenly demure. "But it would ask so much of you, I know. I'd understand if you didn't believe me, if you wanted me to send you back...."
Brian reached up, grasping his medallion firmly. The change was as swift as it was impressive. Clad in his Captain Britain uniform, Brian replied "I'll fight for you, Sat-Yr-9. And if there's any chance of bringing the Brian Braddock of this reality back from the abyss, I'll find a way!"
Sat-Yr-9 pursed her lips approvingly. Mandragon had been quite brilliant in this gambit. A young, idealistic Brian Braddock... Filled with self-righteousness and oh-so easy to manipulate. And once you've claimed the power that belongs to you, young one, we'll see if it's Mandragon who's capable of pulling your strings... Or Sat-Yr-9.
Unknown to either of them, phantasmal eyes observed their every move. The being to which they belonged was most amused to see Sat-Yr-9 at work. So far she seemed most loyal, but he knew how disloyal women could be....
Otherworld
In his dreams, he flew over a London that was happy and free. He wore the red-and-white costume given him by Merlin as a reward for his service, the power-augmenting suit whose micro-circuitry had once been part of the Star-Sceptre. At his side was Meggan and Rachel Summers, the timelost young Phoenix who had once been Brian's teammate in Excalibur.
The three of them flew low, towards Braddock Manor, and Brian felt a lightness of spirit overtake him. He could see Betsy and Jamie down below, laughing at some joke Emma had made. The portly woman who had treasured the Braddock children like they'd been her own was no doubt dishing some new dirt about the Eastenders, her favorite telly program.
"It feels good to be home," Brian whispered.
"But it's not home, Brian."
"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to look at Rachel. The redhaired lass was floating beside him, the fiery Phoenix-Effect surrounding her. She wore her mother's green and yellow costume, with a sash that dangled from her waist. "That's the Manor, where I grew up."
"This is just a dream. It's not real."
Brian frowned at her words. This certainly felt real... He sensed a truth in them, though, and it pained him. "You shouldn't be here, Rachel. You're... You're gone."
Phoenix reached out to him, taking her hands in his. "Brian... You and I shared a soul*. I'll never be gone from you. There's a piece of me inside you, every day."
(*During the convoluted Excalibur storyline that led to Rachel's exit from the book.)
Brian heard a strange hissing sound behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see that Meggan was transformed... she now had a serpent's head and a huge, bloated belly. A forked tongue jerked out from her mouth and fresh venom oozed from sharp fangs. "Don't lissssten to her, Brian. Sssshe'ssss jealoussssss....."
"Brian!"
He looked back at Rachel, his eyes wide. "Meggan... What's wrong with Meggan?"
Phoenix looked about, at the rapidly darkening skies. Down below, the Manor was now in flames, with Betsy and Jamie howling in agony. Emma lay on the ground, her neck broken by Jamie. "We don't have much time, Brian. You're under attack. Someone's set things in motion that are designed to distract you and to spread your forces too thin. You can't go this alone, Brian. Remember that."
The Meggan-Thing snarled behind them, raising her hands high into the air. Her claws extended into small daggers and she plunged them into Brian's back. The pain was incredible and Brian screamed out as her claws extended through the front of his body, spreading Phoenix with his blood.
Brian woke with a sudden lurch, sitting up in his bed and clutching himself tightly. With only a few rays of sunlight drifting into the bedroom, Brian found himself staring into the murky darkness. He forced himself to calm down, telling himself over and over that it was just a dream.
He glanced over at Meggan's side of the bed, but saw only the warm imprint of her body. Brian heard her, then, in the bathroom they shared. She had suffered from terrible morning sickness as of late and Brian found himself thinking back to the dream he'd just had. She'd been a snake in it, turning on him at the last minute and stabbing him through the heart....
King Brian rose, moving over to the large walk-in closet. He threw it open and drew out the dark blue uniform that so closely resembled his father's. He'd claimed it as his own when the throne of Otherworld had become his and it was beginning to feel right to him.
By the time he'd gotten dressed, Meggan had stepped out of the bathroom, looking wan. "Brian... I don't feel well."
He moved to her quickly, catching her in his arms as she swooned. The poor girl's powers mimicked her moods so very well -- and right now she looked thin and brittle. He lifted her gently and set her on the bed. "Stay in today, luv. I'll make sure the nurse comes to see you." He hesitated. "I could heal you, Meggan... It would be so much easier on you."
Meggan smiled softly, reaching up to touch his cheek. "I want this to be natural, Brian. No magic."
"But we are magic. Both of us," he pointed out.
"I know, but... it's important to me. I want this to be so special."
Brian nodded. His dream was already beginning to fade into the recesses of his mind. This woman before him was the love of his life, and no dream -- no matter how horrible -- would change that.
Betsy Braddock lay one hand on Sir Benedict's chest, closing her eyes tightly as she did so. The current Captain Britain, Betsy had been spending a good bit of time lately here in Otherworld, assisting Meggan with her pregnancy and counseling her brother Brian as best she could. But this recent attack on Benedict by persons unknown had definitely intrigued her. The large warrior had aided them all during Brian's ascendance to the throne and it amazed that anyone within the castle walls could have felled him so badly.
Betsy reached out with her mind, trying hard not to think about the emotional turmoil that her life had become. Leadership of the Pendragons was weighing heavily on her, with some -- like Adam Crown -- openly questioning her suitability for the role. And then there was Warren, who seemed to hold no love for her any longer. And that's not even getting into the fact that Brian and I are still working past our recent problems. My life's a worse soap opera than those things Emma used to watch.
Emma.
The thought of the kindly woman brought a smile to Betsy's face. She was suddenly filled with longing for hot buttered scones and mint tea, served up by Emma in the family's sun room. Betsy could almost see her Mum's face, beaming at them from the doorway, her father standing just behind. They would look so proudly at their children, obviously pleased with them.
Life would be so perfect, so....
Betsy felt a hard slap to her face and she fell forward, onto the sun room floor. Brian, looked horribly twisted and evil, stood over, his fists clenched. "Stupid little cow! I should tear your eyes out for being such a tease! You even tease your own brother!" The Brian-Thing looked up at his parents, as if seeking approval. "You want a piece of her, dad?"
Betsy screamed, bringing up an arm to defend herself. She felt weak and scared, helpless and alone--
"Betsy?!"
Brian's worried voice made Betsy open her eyes with a start. She still sat beside Benedict in the palace hospital, but her fingers now shook with worry. "Bri... I don't know what happened. It was so intense...."
Brian, his eyes somewhat obscured by the flaming union jack that appeared whenever he was in an official capacity as king, knelt beside his twin. He stared at her, rubbing her arms for support. "What happened?"
Betsy shook her head, as if to shake away something that was trapped in her hair. "I don't know. It was like... a waking dream. But it was so real! It was like I was home again, at the Manor. But you -- mum and dad--! It was horrible!"
The twins clung to each other for a moment, before Betsy pulled away and wiped at her eyes. Brian stood, unsettled by all of this. His first reaction, born of years of self-destructiveness, was to bury his emotions and focus on his work. But he was not the same old fool who'd nearly blundered his happiness away. He was King Brian now and he would behave with more common sense than before. "Betsy... I had a dream also. Of the Manor. It was vile. Meggan... She turned on me in the dream. And Rachel Summers -- she warned me that someone was trying to divide us, to keep my attention from what was really important."
Betsy looked up. She seemed calmer now, though Brian suspected she'd used some ninja trick to shut down her emotions. Sure enough, her voice was distant and contemplative when she spoke up. "Interesting. Meggan's seemed on edge, as well. In fact, she's got a psi-shield around herself. At first, I thought it might have been erected to keep me out." She held up a hand to silence Brian. "But now I think that she might have put it up for a different reason. Maybe she thought it would cut down on dreams." She looked at Brian critically. "Has she slept well lately?"
"No, but..." Brian sighed. "And she wouldn't let me heal her. She must have thought I'd find out about the dreams...."
"And worry about her." Betsy finished for him. She rose, a butterfly-effect suddenly appearing around her eyes and face. A sign of telepathic abilities, she said "Yes... And there are others, too. I can sense a general unease about the palace, specifically in your counsel of advisors. Even Opal seems affected."
"It's related to Benedict's injury, too, isn't it?" Brian slammed a fist into his open palm. "Bugger me... I've been played for a fool. Opal and Benedict have been trying to tell me that there's unrest in the kingdom. Obviously, someone's moved past being discontent...."
"I should return to the Manor." Betsy started to move past her brother, but he grabbed her arm to stop her.
"The Manor...? Why?"
"Because both you and I have had visions that centered around it. And Meggan was very upset by something when she came to visit me there*. I've been away with the Pendragons and with you so often that I may have missed something important." She smiled at him. "I'll be careful, Brian."
(*In our first issue.)
He sighed. "I hate this. I want to fly off with you so bloody bad. I'm--"
Betsy laughed. "A man of action. I know." Her features took on a grave cast. "Watch yourself."
The Royal Court of Mandragon
Slaymaster detested this. It was an obvious sign of weakness on the part of the man called Mandragon, a symbol of the man's vanity that bordered on the obscene.
The recently designated Imperial General stood alongside several other members of Mandragon's inner circle, flanking the man himself, who wore a set of crimson robes. Mandragon's shaved head was smooth, gleaming in the bright lights of the Court. Before them were a number of soldiers, many of whom had once been simple farmers and laborers. Under Slaymaster's harsh tutelage, however, they were learning to wield weapons with great alacrity. At the moment, the soldiers were parrying and thrusting at one another with pikes, showcasing the moves the'd learned in a highly choreographed dance.
Slaymaster frowned deeply.
"Something wrong, General?" Mandragon, watching him with a sly smile, folded his hands over his stomach.
"Only the fact that I'm apparently training a troupe of ballerinas."
Mandragon turned to face him directly. Down below, the men continued to spar. "This is being beamed out to my followers on two dozen worlds. It will impress them. They will spread the word about this. And those people will tell other people, and so on. Until the tales say that my men fought to the death before me and numbered in the millions. Things grow in the telling, Slaymaster."
"If you are truly powerful, there is no need for hyperbole." Slaymaster took a step towards Mandragon, causing some of the inner circle guards to tense. There was no need, however -- if Slaymaster had chosen to kill Mandragon, there would have been no stopping him. He was a killer of the highest order, with a virtually flawless record of executions. "The Captains are capable foes. Waiting accomplishes nothing. We should strike first, before they are aware of us."
"I think you're merely hungering to face Ms. Braddock once more, Slaymaster." Mandragon placed a hand on the assassin's shoulder, causing the man known as Slaymaster to narrow his eyes. "This phase is one of distraction, of feints and false starts. Agents are in place to cause great uncertainty in King Brian... and when the time is right for us to strike, he will be totally off-guard."
Slaymaster started to respond but held his tongue as Sat-Yr-9 entered the Royal Chamber, followed by a vision fo the past. Slaymaster's eyes widened as the young Captain Britain glanced about himself, clutching the Star Sceptre in his right hand. "All praise Allah," Slaymaster whispered. "Do my eyes deceive me?"
Mandragon stepped forward, having turned his attentions to the new arrivals. "Sat-Yr-9! I see you've brought our guest with you."
The lovely blonde nodded, her eyes alight with pleasure. "Lord Mandragon... I give you the man who will free us from the tyranny of King Brian's oppression...."
As the younger Brian Braddock stepped forward, Slaymaster felt a cold smile form on his own features. The chance to mold one's own enemy, to take him into your confidence when he is but a child... to share the wonders of your knowledge with him. There can be no sweeter pleasure than this, he thought. I will make you into the man you could have been, Brian Braddock. And you will thank me for it.
Braddock Manor
Captain Britain stepped through the rooms of her home, experiencing a strange sense of unreality. In some ways, the things that now surrounded her were comforting and familiar but there was also a different feel to the house, as if someone else had moved in and claimed it as their own.
"Oh, God... My eyes...."
Betsy turned, her telepathy reaching out to feel for any other minds that were present. She encountered only a wall of pure mental force, blocking her. What she saw with her eyes, however, made her almost forget what she'd been searching for.
There, staggering towards her, was a duplicate of herself. The duplicate's costume was ripped and torn and she held a shaking hand over her butchered eyes, one of which dangled from the socket. Betsy recognized the scene, though she had never witnessed it herself, of course. This was how she'd looked immediately after Slaymaster had blinded her, had nearly killed her*.
(*Back in the classic Captain Britain # 13)
Betsy let the apparition stagger past her, focusing on channeling her mental energy into her psi-blade. The manifestation of her mental powers, the blade was capable of taking down even the strongest of foes. Betsy closed her eyes, ignoring the doppelganger. "I know that someone's here. Reveal yourself."
The sound of galloping hooves forced Betsy to open her eyes -- and find them staring into a figure from her past. An older man, with gray hair and a slightly pudgy form, was before her, astride a great white horse. He was sneering at her, his eyes full of dark delight. "I am here, Betsy Braddock. Have you forgotten me?"
Betsy slashed forward with her psychic-knife, cutting through the illusory horse. The man astride it flickered away, too, only to reappear on the far side of the room. "I remember you. But I thought you were dead."
"Faking my demise was child's-play for one such as me! But now I have new allies, ones who desire to see you and your accursed family suffer!"
Betsy cried out as a mental blast sent her to her knees. The man confronting her was known only as Dr. Synne*, a powerful telepath who had once turned her against her own brother. In the end, it had been revealed that he'd been a servant of the sentient computer Mastermind -- and he had apparently died in the ensuing conflict.
(*Waaaaaaay back in Captain Britain Weekly # 8. Dr. Synne apparently died in issue 13.)
Betsy forced herself back up, not backing down before the powerful mental assault. She'd trained under Charles Xavier, had been a part of the S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi-Division and had sparred with Jean Grey. She was not the naive young lass she'd been when Dr. Synne had first worked his powers of control on her. Betsy Braddock had been through hell and back, quite literally.
This pitiful old man would not stop her. She would not let him.
Captain Britain launched herself into the air, landing with her psi-blade pointing downwards. The blow hit Dr. Synne in the shoulders and immediately fried many of his synapses. The villain staggered back, his eyes and mouth open wide. He hit the ground with a loud thump and shook a few times with powerful convulsions.
Stepping over him, Betsy knelt with her psi-blade only inches away from the man's forehead. "Why are you here? And are you the one who's been causing so much trouble in Otherworld?"
The man wheezed for a moment, trying to catch his breath. "I've been living here for a few weeks, child. Watching you. Studying you. You're fascinating. I can see why Slaymaster covets you so."
That brought her up short. She hesitated for only a moment before driving the Psi-Blade through Dr. Synne's mind. The attack sent him into unconsciousness, which allowed her to query him mentally. Normally, she wouldn't have been so savage, but it was obvious the man was toying with her -- and if he was working with Slaymaster, then she had no time to waste.
She saw things that left her stunned and worried.
Mandragon, planting seeds of rebellion.
Slaymaster, training men and women in the arts of death and war.
Sat-Yr-9, working with the Reaver.
A younger version of Brian Braddock, whom they hoped would seize the powers of Excalibur and the Amulet from King Brian.
And she also saw Dr. Synne, playing his sick games of illusions and deceit. She saw him touching her things in the house, smelling them, treasuring them. And she saw him plant a bomb, triggered to go off if he were captured....
She gasped. In the room below, death blossomed.
And Braddock Manor exploded in a fireball the likes of which England had scarcely ever seen.
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Issue: "Reflections of Life" comes to a close as Slaymaster takes the young Brian Braddock under his wing and we confront the traitor in House Braddock. Plus: More on the fate of Betsy.
Author's Notes
Next issue will wrap up our first arc, which is actually Part I of The Otherworld War, which will run in various ways through issue 12. I hope someone out there recognizes Dr. Synne, who was the villain in one of my favorite storylines from the original Captain Britain series. As with some of the guys I used in the "Isles of Magick" crossover between Pendragons and Ghost Rider U.K., it's part of my ongoing attempt to revive some of the older Marvel UK villains. Look for the Hurricane soon, who was one of Cap's earliest villains.
Keep in touch,
Barry Reese
