Every Little Thing,
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What's Been Happening: The current Captain Britain -- Betsy Braddock -- has found herself investigating the mysterious appearance of a woman calling herself Lady Mandarin, the same identity that Betsy herself once used while under the thrall of the Mandarin. Betsy and her teammates in the Pendragons defeated Lady Mandarin and the Emissaries of the Dark, but the enigmatic woman managed to escape with two of her partners. To complicate matters, Alison Double -- an old ally of Betsy's -- has returned, with dire news indeed....
The Court Cairn at Cashtal yn Ard on the Isle of Man
"Why are we here?" the man whispered, staring about himself with growing concern. He was heavily insulated by his costume, but he still felt a shiver touch his spine and he marveled at the sensation. He was a servant of the Parliament of Darkness and had grown quite used to their presence -- as such, he hardly expected to feel the icy touch of fear just because he stood at midnight amidst the standing stones and tombs of an ancient cairn.
The armored woman known only as Lady Mandarin ignored him as she knelt in the center of the stones, her gauntleted hand drawing sigils in the grass and dirt. Her features were partially obscured by the helmet she wore, but even had she dispensed with the covering, no one could have recognized her. A spell -- no more than a common cantrip, but still effective -- kept a small shimmering effect over her face. It caused her features to shift and change from time to time, making her look Asian, British, Blonde, Brunette... "Come. Come to us. Your faithful servant has need of you."
Eddie Brock, a trouble reporter who found solace -- and vengeance -- as the human host of an alien symbiote, moved forward to stand beside Captain Englander. Venom was tall and broad-shouldered, matching well with his teammate, but Venom was far more inhuman. The costume that covered him like a second-skin was pitch-black with enormous white eyes and a spider symbol adorning his midsection. His mouth, full of razor-sharp teeth, was open in a wicked leer, his tongue lolling about with a life of its own. "What's she doing?"
Captain Englander fought to hide his disgust. He did not regret his escape from Darkmoor* but he had found this new group to be lacking in the team work and skill that the earlier Emissaries had possessed**. If he'd had his way, the three remaining members of this group would be hard at work freeing Englander's original teammates and regrouping for another go at the Pendragons. But this, unfortunately, was not his decision to make. "I have no idea, Venom... and our good Lady Mandarin isn't one for explanations."
(*See Pendragons # 26. **The original grouping known as the Emissaries of the Dark were defeated in Pendragons # 12.)
Venom narrowed his eyes, his tongue beginning to drip saliva onto the ground. "We're beginning to wonder if our place is really amongst the two of you... We're beginning to hunger for more than this."
Englander regarded his companion evenly. "We? I cannot tell you how tiresome I find your irregular use of pronouns. You are wearing a suit. It is not alive. You are only a brain-addled fool."
Venom began to lunge at Englander, his fists outstretched. "You'll be missing your brains when I'm through with you!"
"Enough!"
The two men halted, brought to a dead stop by the sheer force of the Lady Mandarin's tone. They turned to face her, their eyes widening as they beheld her, sans helmet. Her soft, elegant features bore an Asian cast to them and her long purple hair was blowing in a newly arisen breeze. Behind her, along where the sigils had been drawn into the dirt, shadowy forms had began to arise. They were reminiscent of men, though their elongated forms were far more insubstantial than true flesh, and their clawed hands caressed and rubbed at the Lady Mandarin's legs and torso.
Captain Englander's voice took on a hushed and almost reverent tone. "The Parliament of Darkness."
Venom stirred in confusion. "Who are they? They make our skin crawl...."
Lady Mandarin smiled seductively. "They are the creatures to whom you pledged your soul when you joined the Emissaries, Eddie Brock. They are an elder race of beings, of close relation to the Bane. Some say they were birthed of the same parents, in fact. But who are we to know?"
Captain Englander stepped towards her, keeping his eye on the shadow forms. He was a loyal servant but he knew they could turn and strike quickly. "Will you now tell us why we are here? And why you have called forth the Parliament?"
"Yes... I will." Lady Mandarin closed her eyes briefly, seeming to steel herself for what was to come. "We have come because the time for truths is at hand."
The Rumpole Cafe, Near Hyde Park
Betsy Braddock stepped into the cafe, surprised to find it more than half full, despite the late hour. Rumpole frequently stayed open until late in the evening -- or early in the morning, depending on one's point of view -- but Betsy had never known it to be so populated once the dinner crowd had moved out. Scanning the room for some sign of her friend, she noted that many of the customers were pale-skinned and thin, leading to a sudden realization that most of this beings were creatures of the night.
Pulling the collar of his jacket up higher about her neck, she moved through the crowd, trying hard not to pick up on any stray thoughts from those around her.
Betsy. Why are you trying to keep me out?
Betsy smiled at the warm, familiar sensation. Alison! she whispered back, opening her mind more fully. It hadn't occurred to her that trying to block the vampires' minds would also impede Alison's ability to speak to her. She focused in on her friend's mind and moved towards a shadowy booth located in the rear of the cafe.
Alison Double hadn't changed much over the years. She still had white-blonde hair which framed her pale face, with eyes hidden by dark glasses. Her taste in clothes remained conservative, almost mannish. She smiled softly. "Thank you for coming."
Betsy hugged her tightly, feeling a surge of emotion. Alison had been a part of her old life, a life that she had thought gone forever. A plethora of images danced through her mind: of her time in the telepath division of S.T.R.I.K.E.; of lying awake in the arms of Tom Lennox; and of being blinded by Slaymaster. She pulled back, her eyes wet with tears. "God, it's good to see you again. How have you been?"
Alison waited until they were both seated and Betsy had ordered a drink before answering fully. Her voice was just as quiet and sweet as Betsy remembered, but there was an underlying note of terror lurking just below the surface. "Busy with the Weird Happenings Organization. It's been good to feel valued again -- after all the nonsense the government's gone through in recent years, I'm glad they've elected to add some stability to the intelligence community."
Betsy nodded. "The Pendragons have worked with the new W.H.O. a few times. They seem on the up and up."
"They are. Absolutely smashing, really...."
Betsy leaned forward, sensing that her friend was already beginning to turn to the real matter behind her call. She felt a bit disappointed as she would have loved making small talk and catching up everything they'd missed, but she also knew that Alison was not one to exaggerate needlessly. If she felt something was truly wrong, then it was enough to worry Betsy. "Tell me, Ali."
It's about Thomas Wellington, Alison replied, switching to telepathic mode.
Betsy couldn't hide her surprise and it revealed itself not only in her face but also in her mind. The Deputy Prime Minister? I've met him a few times....
Well, part of the work I do for W.H.O. involves the monitoring of various members of the interim government. A safety precaution after what happened with Clive Winthrop*.
(*Clive Winthrop, the Prime Minister at the time of the Black Mass affair, was later revealed to be the demon Blackheart - see various issues of Ghost Rider U.K.)
Betsy winced at the memories of Blackheart's evil... the deaths of Gawain and Peter being foremost among his crimes. Understandable... You've found something about him that's worrisome, I take it?
More than that, Betsy. I've found out that he's the one who hired Death's Head to go after Doom*.
(*In Pendragons # 28)
Oh, no. That's just what we need now -- another government scandal. Why would he do such a thing?
I don't know, Betsy... but I'm fairly sure that I know where he got the idea. Alison reached into an interior pocket of her coat and withdrew a small envelope. She opened it and spread a series of photographs out on the table. Betsy only had to take one look before her heart began to thud in disbelief.
The photos showed Wellington having a private dinner with an attractive and very recognizable woman. It was obvious that they were intimate and in some of the pictures the woman was seen leaning forward to whisper in the older man's ear.
Betsy knew enough to know that the woman was not Wellington's wife. For all his practiced talk about being a devout Catholic, he certainly had his share of skeletons in the closet....
But that wasn't what disturbed Betsy about the pictures.
It was the fact that she was the woman in them.
The Court Cairn at Cashtal yn Ard on the Isle of Man
"I was the only child of a powerful Tai-Pan and my entire life was shaped by my father's disappointment that I could never be the son he craved." Lady Mandarin sat atop one of the overturned stones, the shadowy forms of the Parliament dancing about her skin. Her eyes had a haunted, faraway look to them and her voice sounded distracted, as if she were more interested in peering into her own past than in making her teammates understand her words. "My name was Zhang Xiaomei and I wasted most of my life in the pointless attempt to please a man who would never love me."
Captain Englander frowned, casting a quick glance up at the full moon that hung in the sky above. A serpentine shape with wings was flying past its surface and Englander realized just how much he hated this world, with its magic and its foul beasts. "You said was. Have you completely forsaken your true name?"
"I've merely replaced it with one that suits me more," came her reply. "Growing up, I learned everything there was to know about my father's business, becoming friends with his associates and slowly but surely proving myself the equal of any of them. When my father grew ill, I convinced him -- begrudgingly -- to grant me control of our interests. I ran them well, ruthlessly -- I was as violent and determined as any man, if not moreso. But then there came a day... a day when a woman with purple hair and blue armor called myself and three other crimelords together. She called herself Lady Mandarin and she demanded that we swear fealty to her lord. We refused, having lost all respect for the Mandarin after his many defeats at the hands of American superheroes...."
Venom swatted away one of the shadow forms as it drew too close for his liking. "And why did you take her name as your own?"
"Because she humiliated me. She destroyed me." Zhang rose to her feet, clenching her right hand into a fist and summoning her psi-blade. It flared before her, its purple light illuminating her features and giving her a mad appearance. "She defeated our warriors and forced us to kneel before her... My father was furious! He railed against me from his own bed, called me weak... He said that no son of his would have ever done such a thing!" Lady Mandarin's words were punctuated with a roar of anger and she slashed back with her blade. The energy construct slashed through the standing stone, reducing it to rubble. Panting she turned back to her teammates, the swirling darkness now seeming to respond to her move. It was swelling and pulsing. "My father threw me out. I was penniless. But my companions and I... we valued the true essence of revenge."
"You sold them your soul, didn't you?" Captain Englander asked. "You somehow summoned them and made a deal..."
Lady Mandarin smiled, straightening up and looking cold and beautiful. "Yes. I found a new strength and was remade, younger and more beautiful. I studied my enemy and mimicked her way of moving, her choice of attack. With sorcery I have taken on aspects of her power as well... and I have lothed myself in her shameful garments, so that she will be reminded of her own failures, her own weaknesses. I will teach her fear."
Venom snarled in anger. "My other and I have no desire to be pawns in your little games of revenge! You promised us power... you promised us freedom! You said nothing about being servants to demons!"
Lady Mandarin strode towards him quickly, the shadow forms licking at her heels. They swarmed upwards, forming a cloak of darkness. "The lord of the Bane has returned*. The day of the Green is past... You will stand with us in destroying our enemies and basking in the fruits of victory. Or you will die."
(*See Pendragons # 31)
"We will stand with you."
Venom whirled about to stare at Captain Englander, who had answered on his behalf. "You cannot speak for us!"
Englander leaned forward, his piercing blue eyes staring into those of his teammate. "I have destroyed worlds in service to the Parliament. I have seen them sap the strength of the holy and leave them screaming in their wake. I know their power, even if you do not. We will not stand against them. We cannot."
Lady Mandarin's laughter brought them both to a halt. Her voice, cold and mocking, echoed throughout the cairn. As she began to speak, her features shifted yet again, taking on the unmistakable appearance of Betsy Braddock. "Then we will strike quickly, before Betsy Braddock can rise up against us. The Emissaries of the Dark will stand triumphant over her corpse!"
Thomas Wellington's Home -- West London
Wellington sat in his study, watching the sun slowly rising through the window. He had always liked rising early, feeling the transition from night to day... It was inspiring to him, leaving feel fully charged for the day ahead. His wife usually slept late these days and with no kids in the house any longer, their home was generally a quiet place until around lunch time, when visitors began arriving.
Life, for the most part, was good. Thomas had made it a point to avoid the paganist trappings that were becoming so prevalent throughout England -- the good-luck charms that people hung over their doors, the sigils to keep out the undead... all signs of a lack of faith in God. For Wellington, his faith was enough to allow him to sleep at night, even in the face of such failures as his recent hiring of Death's Head II....
That thought froze the smile on his lips and made him grow more concerned. If he were discovered, no one would listen to his explanations. No one would care that he merely wanted to secure England's place in the new world order by removing its greatest threat. He would be ruined, all his life's work coming to nothing.
"I think that's going to happen regardless."
Wellington nearly dropped his cup of tea, turning so quickly that some of it splashed up onto his robe. Standing in the doorway to his study was Captain Britain, her costume looking strangely out of place amongst the furnishings of his home. "What in hell...? How did you get in?"
"It wasn't difficult for someone trained as a ninja, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister."
Wellington set down his tea, attempting to muster some sort of brave front. "What about my guard dogs...?"
"Unharmed, but they'll wake up in a grumpy mood." Captain Britain moved forward quickly, hefting Wellington up by the front of his robe. "Not nearly as grumpy as I am, however."
"I... I can explain...."
Betsy smiled coldly, tossing him easily aside. He landed atop a small couch, looking disheveled. "I can't wait to hear it -- and I'm not talking about the Latverian thing."
Wellington blinked in surprise, his amazement growing as Betsy reached up and removed her helmet. Underneath the costume was a face he knew quite well. "No...."
"My name is Betsy Braddock," she hissed, confirming what he now already knew. Only a few people in government -- the Prime Minister himself and a select few in the Weird Happenings Organization -- were privy to the secret identities of the Pendragons, but she'd had no choice but to out herself if she wanted answers. "And you and I have never been -- and never will be -- lovers. But I've seen pictures that suggest otherwise. Explain."
"I'd love to hear that myself...."
Betsy looked over her shoulder at the woman who had now entered. Wellington's wife was a handsome woman, with silvery hair and intelligent eyes. Her lips were drawn tight. "Mrs. Wellington," Betsy began.
"I... I'll tell you everything. Both of you." Wellington looked down, his eyes closed tightly. "And may God forgive me... It has to do with a woman named Zhang Xiaomei...."
Betsy's eyes grew wide and her mouth went dry. "Zhang," she whispered, realizing now just how bad this was going to be.
TO BE CONTINUED
Next Issue: "Every Little Thing" continues as Betsy and Alison make their move against Lady Mandarin. But the Emissaries of the Dark have one more surprise up their sleeves and it might mean the end of Betsy's days as Captain Britain....
Author's Notes
This issue deals with a number of Betsy-related subplots from the pages of the Pendragons series. I try to keep the two series somewhat separate but I felt that they warranted a storyline here in the title that, nominally at least, stars Captain Britain.
Zhang appeared in Uncanny X-Men # 257, though she went unnamed in that story. I have created her back story and pretty much everything concerning her.
Keep in touch,
Barry Reese
