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"I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore."
- Dante Gabriel Rosseti, 'Sudden Light'
"We're in England?" said Dragon, amazedly as he looked over the cityscape that was London, as numerous church bells rang out across the city, instilling a slight sense of nostalgia, but that was something he brushed aside with ease, as there were other things on his mind. "How are we here? Why are we here?" Then another thought occurred to him. "And how the hell am I still here?"
The majority of the others looked at him, without answers, and Dragon's neck craned forward slightly, as if by doing so the others would be intimidated enough to answer. There was no way that both he and the Pete Wisdom of this reality could be in the same timeline, and while the other was secure behind the Barrier, Pen was safe to remain.
"Temporal mechanics is a little out of my field of expertise," said Nomad, with a shrug. "I can tinker as best I can with the tech stuff at the Arsenal, but I was trained for that. This kind of thing is Richard's level science."
"Ask Kate," said Sam. "She might have the answers." Pen reached for his medallion, the communication device between himself and Kate Pryde-Rasputin in Limbo and he closed his eyes.
"Oh for fuck's sake," he cursed through gritted teeth. "It's not there." He remembered having it this morning when he got up and he'd had a shower… "I left it in my room." He felt really foolish about doing that but he'd decided he didn't want interrupting in the shower, which was why he'd taken it off. "Can you contact X?" Nomad shook his head.
"I've got nothing," he replied and then Pen looked at Jessica, who was looking down at London. It had been a very long time since she'd found herself there in the city of her birth.
"Jess?"
"I know I've not seen not London in ages, but I don't remember it looking like this." Pen looked as well and there were differences, as if the world behind the barrier had regressed. "It doesn't feel right."
Nomad coughed. "Guys, I can't get any signals at all. Maybe the Barrier's blocking the signal back home, but..."
"It doesn't explain why we can't get a signal to someone within the UK. WHO, F66, even the Pendragons would be good about now," Dragon answered. There were questions coming up and he wasn't sure he was going to like the answers. "Elena…"
"I'll try and find some answers," she replied, opening up her telepathy and scanning as Roberto came over.
"Kimiko's in a bad way," he said. "We need to get her medical attention." Dragon's wife had been assaulted by the Black Dragon of the Kai, saving Pen from it's talons by pushing him out of the way. Her wounds were extensive and her face had been slashed open. She would bear the scars of that the rest of her life, and it would take a selfless man indeed to go near her now. Pen shook his head. He'd no real love for the girl, but she was the mother of the child of this reality's version of himself and he felt some responsibility.
"Jess, you've field medic training?" asked Dragon, snapping her out of her reverie.
"What?" she asked.
"You've field medic training?"
"It's basic, but I've a bit of knowledge," she confirmed. "I'll do what I can… you know you're wounded too."
"Yeah," he said. "Sam, can you get the bullet out?" She came over and two metallic prongs formed in her hand. She looked at him and he nodded and she fished around in his arm, pulling it out. His arm was hurt and bleeding but the bullet was out and that meant he could do something about it. "Don't try this at home kiddies," he muttered as he summoned a hot knife and put it in to the wound, cauterising it.
"Did that hurt?" Fudo asked, the child that could have been his.
"Yeah," said Dragon.
"Why didn't you cry out?"
"I'm a big boy," said Dragon. "Big boys try not to cry out if they can help it." He looked at Lei Kang who was with his daughter. "Go to your Mum, kid. Don't be scared, she needs you now more than ever." Fudo nodded and went over as Pen looked at his team. Jess and Roberto were working on Kimiko, Jack was scanning frequencies and Elena was reaching out with her telepathy and why hadn't she said anything yet? That worried him, surely she should have found something. "Elena?" he said softly as he put his hand on her shoulder, but there was no response. "Elena?" His voice was firmer now. "What's wrong?"
"Everything," she muttered, as if she were in a trance. "It's all wrong…" Dragon looked at her. She was conscious, but only just. Whatever she had sensed out there had overwhelmed her. He hated it when that happened, because there were few ways of brining telepaths round and none of them were nice. He shrugged, gave it a moment and then slapped her across the face with a resounding thwack and her cheek went red with the welt of his handprint. Her eyes filled with fury and she started on him, cursing in Russian as she did and he held his hands up in surrender.
"Sorry, but I had to bring you around somehow, and that's the gentlest way I know." She said something else in Russian, a lot cruder than what she had been saying but he knew that word. He'd taken great pains to learn it because he'd used it on a certain Russian mutant who thought it had been fun to slap him around a couple of years back, but enough was enough. "Now that I do know. If you've had enough of insulting my mother, you want to tell me what you saw?"
"This isn't our world," she said. "We don't belong here." Dragon sighed, a sense of familiarity descending over him. Somehow the tesseract generator had screwed up and it had sent them to another reality, and without means of contacting Kate there was no way they could be rescued.
"Oh bloody hell," said Nomad. "I don't believe this."
"What?" Dragon asked.
"Look at the air quality," Jack replied. "It's not right."
"Go on," said Sam."It's not got the pollutants I'd expect." He shrugged. "There are elements that are missing that I'd have thought were there." The Scourge suit was pretty intense, designed as the ultimate combat body armour, more than just a suit that could disguise the wearer's appearance. It was a survival suit, an amplifier and more than that it was very useful in getting details on the immediate area.
"I think I know what's going on," Sam said. "I think I know where we are. Or rather, when."
"When?" said Pen. "You mean we've moved in time and space?"
"Look at St Paul's over there," she said. "It's not quite built yet. It was finished in the early 1700s, and as I don't hear 'Great Tom', I'd say that whenever we are, it's sometime between 1699 and 1708." They looked at her. "With my family, you get to know history pretty well. Some of them were there." Pen considered it for a minute. They had gone back in time, well beyond the capabilities of Sinister's tesseract portals. The fact he was here only served to solidify his opinion of what was going on.
"KITTY BLOODY PRYDE!!" Dragon shouted, raging at the sky above. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"But… She can't hear you," said Sam.
"Oh yes she bloody well can," Dragon growled and then he felt a hand on his shoulder. "What?" He spun and turned around to see Lei Kang standing there, and from the look on his face he was demanding an explanation. "Not. Now." Dragon glowered. "I'll explain later."
"How dare…" Lei Kang was silenced by the look on Dragon's face and even he was tempted to take a step back.
"KATHERINE ANNE PRYDE RASPUTIN! YOU GET YOUR IMMATERIAL ARSE OUT OF LIMBO AND GET IT DOWN HERE NOW!"
"Pen," said Jessica, touching his arm. They all seemed a little alarmed at the way he was reacting. "What's wrong?"
"We've been thrown back in time, without warning, without even being ASKED!" He shouted the last comment to the sky. "I am not her personal beck and call, and she's dragged you lot in to it as well. That's not on. YOU HEAR ME, PRYDE?!"
"Yes, I hear you," said Kate and Dragon turned around, fire in his eyes. "And before you start, you bloody great pillock, you're the one who left your medallion at the Arsenal. I'd have asked you, but I didn't have a choice - I've a limited window to do this…"
"Limited window?" said Pen, folding his arms. "You're in a reality outside of time! How can you not have time…"
"Because the timeline is stretched to almost breaking point," she shouted back. "If it breaks, and it's a very possible if, then there will be nothing I can do to stop it and there will be a catastrophe beyond anything you've ever seen." She forced herself to calm down. "Dinosaurs roaming the planet, sentinel rulers arriving from the future, and don't forget the chance that Apocalypse and his Infinites might suddenly arrive. It'd solve the Martian crisis by replacing it with something much more terrible. Paradox upon paradox, impossibilities becoming actualities. We're on a knife edge, Pete and I don't know if I can contain it. I don't know if anyone can." He looked at her and realised that she was afraid. "I brought you because I couldn't wait."
"What's going on, Kitty?" asked Jessica. "What's so important?"
"Let's just say that recently the universe was recreated after a cosmic happening. I'll explain later, but it resulted in more stress on time and there was a tear in the timeline. A Martian accidentally found it and went through. It's here now, preparing for the future, for when the Barrier falls the Martians will be ready for the heroes behind it and it'll be a massacre. It's not supposed to be like that, so I'm sending you after him. This was the strongest part of the timeline to bring you. The year is 1702, it's not long after the coronation of Queen Anne and the Martian's already had twenty years to establish himself."
"Twenty years?" said Dragon. "But how has he been unnoticed?"
"He knows that if he is there are enough heroes then they'll stop him," said Sam. "The Green and the Bane."
"I'm sorry?" said Jessica. "The what?"
"The Green and the Bane are two mythical forces," Dragon said. "Good and evil, yin and yang, that kind of thing. The Green is where things like the Lady of Lake, King Arthur and the like come from. The Bane is the antithesis of that. Mordred, Morgan le Faye and their ilk." He didn't mention that their ilk included the higher echelons of Black Air and that there had been a few times that he too had been directly working on the side of the Bane, as opposed to his more indirect connection to it.
"They're more than mythical," said Sam. "They're real, and they are both active. My family has known of them for most of their lives. Helped the Green from time to time as well. And once, for the Bane…" Her thoughts went to Vincent, her older brother and the final confrontation between Vincent and her father Adam…
"The Martian is being protected," Kate replied. "The Bane is more than likely involved, but you can't involve any of the heroes of this era - including your family, Samantha, as well as the Pendragons in this era - without doing risking the timeline. It would create… problems, as the Martians are not due to visit the planet until the late 19th century. Plus you're the only ones who can fight the Martian and his allies."
"So we're on our own?" said Dragon and Kate nodded.
"I'm sorry, but you're all I've got, but be careful with your powers - witchcraft is still a crime. It's how the Bane has influence in this era - many champions have been executed as witches." She let that sink in and then continued. "When you're done, you'll be returned to the 21st century. And Pete?" Dragon looked up at her and his medallion appeared. "Don't lose this one - leaving Limbo isn't something I can afford to do too often with the timeline in this state." He nodded and then she was gone, and he looked at the others.
"Well then," he said. "Guess we've got to stop the Martian."
"With all due respect, Pen, look at us," said Roberto. "No way we're going to be able to wander about unnoticed. For a start, I should be in chains or something."
"Image inducer for you, and Jack's got one in the suit," said Dragon. "As for the rest of us… I suggest that we find some period dress. Something roguish of course, so if anyone asks, we're thief-takers."
"18th century bounty hunters?" said Sam. "Interesting idea."
"It was either that or pirates and it means no period dress or insane wigs," said Dragon. "And we get to act with a degree of autonomy."
"What about Lei Kang, Kimiko and Fudo?" Elena asked. "She's still in a great deal of pain."
"Kang," Dragon said. "You can look after them while we're hunting?"
Kang stood up to him. "I understand little of what is going on here, but if you betray us…"
"You'll be brought back with us," Pen said. "Leaving you would create a lot of problems. But the first thing we need to do is go and get some clothing. Bob. Jack. You're with me. Girls, stash those three." Jessica nodded and the guys looked at each other. "Let's go."
"Where?" Roberto asked. "It's not like you know this timeline at all
"Let's just say there are some underworld places that were established long ago," said Pen. "Places I know very well indeed." He smiled. "Trust me."
"I sense… A new power."
He looked out from the fort of Foel Drygran, over to the Carn Menyn, past the remains of the stone circle known locally as Gors Fawr. There were other sites - tombs and other intricacies, but it was the mountains themselves in this region of the Preseli mountains that was what drew him, where his power currently lay. The Red Lord pondered, communing with the Bane and getting it's impression on the matter at hand.
The fabled bluestones were a conduit of mystical energies, which was why they had been used to construct so many monuments, such as Stonehenge and Bedd Arthur. In times past this had been a place of great significance, and now it was less so, but there was change in the air. For decades, England had been a time of good feeling, of a return of kings. The works put in place had been good, the royal line had been broken and England governed by a Lord Protector. Cromwell had not been evil, but he had been easily guided, as had many how had fallen under the influence of the Bane. While it was true there were those that were inherently evil, there were those who could be swayed quite easily, and through history that was what he had done. He thought back fondly of Morgan le Fay, whose jealousy had easily been stoked and turned a force for good to a force for evil. The good that she had once done was only remembered by a small sect of devotees, and the rise of the Christian god had done the rest. The struggle between the Green and the Bane continued, but somehow, the Green had managed to overcome once more.
The monarchy had been restored, and England - while forever changed - was at relative peace. They had tried to stir up rebellion and dissent with the Duke of Monmouth but that had been swiftly dealt with by James II and there had been a tolerance of religions established, at least in principle. That had been an affront and he had decided to play them at their own game and recalled William and Mary to England, deposing James and the tolerance of religions had been weakened substantially. The Bane had thought that would be enough, but somehow the Green's influence came through and there was still unity. The monarchy was stabilised, but he knew with the new Queen, perhaps he could once more work something, to lessen the power of the monarchy once more. The original plan of doing away with the monarchy would not work again, but perhaps with the politicians - those who had once opposed the monarchy and the royalists - the Bane could make influence. It would take time to achieve, but if what the alien told them was true, it was doable.
The Bane had gained an invaluable resource - a window to the future. While the information it had was uncertain he knew that in the future would come the Black Mass prophecies, written in a book bound in human flesh. Prophecies are tricky things, and he was well aware they were never quite what they intended, and that some were indeed thwartable, but he remembered when this one had been written.
From the Nether-Realms a dark lord returns, sealing away all glory and light. The blackest of hearts shall rule the land of Olde Kings and the most powerful of mages shall be struck down, his blood staining the floor of his Olde home. What shall come is most terrible and bleak, a world where the mystic arts flourish and mankind is assaulted by enemies of all types.
Apparently that had happened, the Barrier had risen, and England and much of Europe had been cut off from the rest of the world. This gave rise to the second.
In the midst of the darkness shall come sorrow and woe. A warrior of green shall die most horrible and the ancient evil shall ascend once more. The child cloaked in the raiment of his teacher will wither and change, his heart becoming one of ice and stone. The Black Mass will rise in pitch until the coming of the Red Lord and all life shall meet its Bane...
In essence it meant that he would eventually dominate this land, and the Bane would overcome, but careful preparation must be made for the creature came from the year of 2005, which was nearly 300 years away. Patience was a virtue and he would do all he could to make things difficult for the Green. After all, he had worked to start the witch trials, taking out many enemies and those behind it never realised the true magic behind the actions. It had been amusing to watch valiant allies of the Green hanged, burned, drowned, stoned or beheaded. He admitted it had also been a most useful way of disposing of former allies of his own, once they had run out of uses for him. The Bane was patient, but the Red Lord was unforgiving. Where the Bane used it's power to influence, the Red Lord would act with the appropriate action. Both were effective in their way and they were mutually beneficial towards the other. He served the Bane, did it's bidding and marshalled it's forces, and in the return the power of the Bane raised him up on high.
However there was a new power now, something special had happened and he knew that the Green had gained allies, allies neither he nor the Bane had previously sensed. It was not unexpected though, for the alien had warned that someone would come, that his disappearance would not be unnoticed, and that was why they were masked here in this castle, behind the illusion of a ruined fort that served the local communities. Being so close to the bluestones, the Bane could draw on their power without being detected easily by the Green. The mountains were vast and many an unwary traveller had come to an untimely end, even if they knew what they were looking for. Yet he knew that, in time, a new location would be needed and, some day, Darkmoor would be restored.
However they needed their alien ally for the moment, to learn all he could about them for when the Black Mass Barrier fell, as it one day would for the Green would not let such an affront remain in place for long and when the eternal enemy realised how to disrupt the Barrier, it would use it's champions to do so. When that happened the aliens would need to be dealt with and then, and only then, would the Bane be able to truly defeat the Green. In order to do that, the new power would have to be stopped and the Red Lord turned back from the mountains. He would send his warriors, his Red Clan, out to dispose of them and if they failed… he would step in himself, the eternal warrior, occasionally halted but never truly defeated. He always returned, such was the power of the Bane and the Bane would defeat these latest knights of Pendragon.
They had no idea what they were up against…
"The Crown public house. Established 1672."
Pen Dragon stood outside the place he knew in the 21st century as a place where intelligence operatives gathered for confabulations about the various activities they undertook. It had been a den for thieves, spies, mercenaries and all sorts of unsavoury types ever since it opened. Some things never changed, and the Crown - God bless it - was one of them. He'd been in here many a time and Roberto and Jack just looked at each other.
"Bit of a dump," said Roberto.
"One of the biggest fleapits in London," Pen said with a smile. "God, I love the place."
The other two were disguised via their image inducers and Pen would be able to pass for a commoner. The Japanese wedding clothes were torn and ragged after the fight with the aliens, his skin was streaked with blood and sweat and he was quite dishevelled.
"Are we going in?" asked Jack and Dragon shook his head. "Then what are we doing here?"
Dragon gave a chuckle. "It's a simple plan, Jack. We'll wait for some thugs to get drunk and when they come out, we'll beat them up and steal their clothes. And their horses too."
"What about finding the alien?" asked Roberto. "How…"
"Jack's suit scanners should be able to pick up any scientific anomalies, right? A stray signal, something that would be glaring."
"You mean, they won't be expecting us so why would they have their defences up?" Dragon nodded. "It's worth a shot, but let's get clear of London first." They nodded and waited. It wouldn't be long before someone appeared and then they'd make a start and they could get the mission over with.
"Question," said Roberto. "Will we understand what's being said?" Pen shook his head in disgust.
"I thought Xavier's was a top school," he sighed. "Someone needs to point out that standards are higher. Bob, this is the era of early-modern English. They're starting to talk like we do and have been for a few hundred years. We won't quite understand everything but we'll get enough and the basics."
"I was always better at math and business than I was at English and history," Roberto retorted.
"Explains a lot," Dragon muttered and then he saw what they were after, as three men emerged from the tavern. They weren't the lowest of the low, but they weren't that high on the social ladder either. Their clothing was nondescript, made of worn leather for durability and the owners were quite inebriated. They also had several ladies on their arms, also dressed the same. "Bounty hunters." Jack and Roberto nodded. "Remember, no active powers. This will just be a straight out street brawl."
Jack put on a hand on his shoulder. "Wait a sec, what about the ladies?" and Roberto gave a low chuckle.
"Somehow I don't think they're ladies, and will fight just as hard as their companions."
"The kid's learning," Dragon said as he went over to where the gentlemen were debating which horses to get on. He tapped one on the shoulder and as he turned around he planted his fist in the bloke face. They others turned in sheer surprise at what they'd just witnessed and because of that and the drink they had consumed they gave the others the moment or so they needed to get their strikes in again, but they were on their feet again and the women drew daggers and advanced, taking swipes with their weapons.
As one advanced, Dragon grabbed her wrist and twisted, the knife falling from her hand as he did. He twisted her arm back, turning her around and then slammed his free elbow in to the back of her neck, knocking her out and she hit the floor in a heap. Dragon barely had time to take stock before one of them men came for him, sword drawn and it cut through the air, just missing Dragon as he dropped to the floor, grabbing the dropped dagger as he did so and used it to fend off the oncoming blade. As he did so, he kicked out, striking the opponent in the shins and sending him back and then man fell to the floor, writhing and moaning in agony. Pen considered the idea that he might have broken the man's legs with the kick, because he didn't get up. This provided opportunity, so he kicked him in the head to shut him up and the man fell silent as he lost consciousness.
Roberto was doing quite well too, using a mix of precision attacks combined with a restrained kind of ruthlessness. His attacks could be devastatingly effective but he was holding back and so the power was diminished, but not so much he wasn't doing anything. The man hadn't had chance to draw his sword, or had forgotten he had it because he was trying to match Roberto blow for blow but wasn't getting anywhere. The other women and the final man were fighting with Nomad, but his enhanced strength, speed and agility meant he was able to overmatch all three and he did it without really hurting them as well. It was pretty much a few quick jabs and they were down and soon the three heroes were standing around the inert forms.
"Good work," Dragon said. "Right, let's steal their clothes." The he paused a moment, having a thought. "I just hope they're the right size…"
The guys had been gone for a while and the girls had been taking it in turns to keep watch. While it was a given that they could handle themselves, they didn't want to attract undo attention. Sam walked over to Jessica, where she was keeping an eye on the injured Kimiko.
"How is she?" she asked as Jessica finished tending to Kimiko's wounds.
"Elena's keeping her docile for the moment and I've bandaged the wounds with her dress. The bleeding's stopped, but there's a chance of infection and I she's certainly cold." She shook her head. "She's in shock and she needs the gashes tending to properly. There's not too much more we can do. I wish we had something to start a fire. Other than Pen, anyway."
"Fudo," Lei Kang said. "You can start a fire." Fudo looked at him. "Just this once, you may use your powers." Fudo concentrated and a small spark of fire ignited in the air next to his mother, in the shape of a small person.
"A fire imp," said Samantha and she squatted down to Fudo so she could look at him. "You can create fire imps?"
"They are mindless creations," Kang replied before the boy could speak. "They respond to simple directions, but nothing special. We have hoped that when he becomes more adept he will be able to create fire imps that are an extension of his own will, or perhaps even have independent motion control."
"Impressive powers for one so young," Elena replied. "I sense you teach him to use his abilities sparingly."
"He is still a child," the crime lord said. "Imagine the creatures he created going out of control and the damage they would cause. He used to cerate them whenever he felt like it; however it was swiftly beaten out of him."
"That's not the way to treat a child," said Jessica, annoyance entering her voice. "Nurturing them is more effective."
"You know nothing of our ways," Kang said, his voice cold. "A mere woman such as you…" Jessica took a step towards him, but Samantha stepped in to hold her back. Jessica looked at her and she shook her head and Kang smiled. "Maybe one day you would like to test your strength with mine," he mocked. "When you feel like a real fight." Jessica's clenched fist crunched in annoyance and then she spread her hand and let it drain from her.
"Hardly. You're more a warm up," she said, cooly. "I've faced bigger threats, and seeing as I'm the one helping your daughter, I suggest you get out of my face."
"I believe it is in your own interests to look after the wife of your commander," Kang responded, his voice soft and low and they looked to him and he smiled. "You didn't know? Pen Dragon married my daughter. The boy is his son."
"He's telling the truth," Elena confirmed. "At least as he sees it."
"The other Wisdom won't be thrilled about this," Sam, said shaking her head. "You know there's going to be trouble over this when the Barrier comes down."
"I think we already knew that though," Jess said with a shrug. "Now…" She turned but Kang was gone. "What the?" she muttered. "Son of a bitch…"
"I have him," Elena said. "He's heading towards the city."
"I'll stop him," Sam said but Jessica shook her head.
"He's mine." Elena pointed and Jessica moved off, hurrying and letting her natural agility and strength take over, the proportionate powers of the spider in her DNA coming to life and she soon caught him. "That was foolish. There's nowhere to go."
"You are the foolish one. Challenging me…" He tried to call on his powers, to summon the mystical energy given to him by the Black Dragon but there was nothing there. His eyes went wide in horror as realisation dawned on him. "No, this cannot be," he muttered and then Jessica's fist crashed in to his face, her incredible strength sending him flying and he slammed in to a tree and slumped to the floor, dazed and disorientated.
"Whatever you had in mind," she said, standing over him, "forget it." She hoisted him up over her shoulder and carried him back. "And have a little bit more respect for others." She unceremoniously dumped him next to Kimiko as the guys returned on horseback.
"Oh, now that I would have liked to have seen," said Dragon, guessing something had happened and Jessica had been forced to teach Kang a lesson. "Oh well, maybe next time." The men dismounted and Dragon passed the clothing to the girls. "Here you go." He nodded to the bushes. "It's a bit more private over there."
"That's uncommonly gentlemanlike of you," said Elena. "I wouldn't have thought you would have considered it."
"Maybe not, however there are children present," Dragon smirked. "I may be a bastard…"
"And then some," muttered Roberto, but Dragon ignored him and continued.
"But I'm not that much of a bastard." He'd already changed his old clothes and while it was a bit of a tight fit and not exactly comfortable compared to what he was used to, he'd worn worse things. The girls made their exit and Dragon went over to Nomad. The man had been using the suit to scan and it had taken quite some time to get there with the scanners at maximum range. "Anything?"
"There are one hundred twenty seven distinct energy signatures of highly advanced technology for this era, scattered across the world. I can give generalised directions but not much more than that." Pen shook his head. Time travel - what a brilliant idea that was.
"What about the UK?"
"Thirty seven."
"Thirty seven?!" Pen said. "Wait, how many here?"
"Twelve. Image inducer, scourge suit, six PPGs, three SHIELD bio-tracers and one Stark/Fujikawa passcard." He looked to Kang. "Coincidence?"
"Yeah, right," said Dragon. "Whoever the Black Dragon was, he was working with the resistance or SHIELD or maybe both, and he was using Kang to do his dirty work at the other side of the world."
"That's conjecture," Roberto reminded. "You've no proof."
"I'll find something," promised Dragon. "Count on that. Right, we're down to twenty five items. We need to narrow it down." He looked to the bushes. "SAM?" he called. "You decent yet?" She stepped out and he could see that the clothing was a little tight. It was quite attractive really. "Though I guess it depends on your definition of decent."
She shook her head. "Nice choice of clothing, Pen. Any smaller it would positively indecent."
"Oh well," said Pen. "We need your help anyway. How much do you know about the 1700s?"
"Not as much as some of my family. I…" She paused, as if what she was distracted and she stared out in to space.
"Sam?" Pen asked, but got no response. "Samantha?" Before he could take a move towards her she shook her head and then she looked at them.
"We need to go to Wales." Dragon looked at Monroe.
"There's a signal that way, yes."
"Why Wales?" Roberto asked.
"Because my mother told me so. The Green… The Green knows we're here and knows why we're here and is aware of the dangers to the timeline, but feels that contacting us, albeit indirectly, is justified. Only the Lady of the Lake and my mother are aware of us. The Martian is in Wales."
"Question," said Jessica, emerging from the cover, with Elena. "If the Green knows we're here, doesn't it stand to reason the Bane does as well?"
"Yes," Sam said. "The Bane and it's minions are aware of us. The Red Lord will be preparing his minions to come after us, if he hasn't already."
"It's going to take us several days to get to Wales," said Pen. "I don't like it, but we've got no choice. Ladies and gentlemen, as soon as we're ready, we ride for Wales…"
Dragon's Lair
Notes from the AuthorJust a quick note to say this issue was originally intended to be a standalone double size special. Every time I've done an #12 of a series I've made it big and grandiose because I've been writing the title a year and I like to celebrate. I know Dragon's Claws isn't that old a series, but I figured it was tradition. However when it got to the end of the issue I realised something - it was going to get bigger. Lots bigger.
Now normally 'lots bigger' isn't a problem for me, but the story was taking on a new shape and there are new ideas I want to do as well. Going from London to Wales was a long journey in the old days, and saying they arrived doesn't work for me, so I have something in mind, but it doesn't work in the context of the rest of the issue. Then I considered chopping this issue in half and having it as #12 and #13, with a little bit more here and there, but I looked at what would have been #12 and it didn't seem enough for just one issue so there was really only one thing for it. It's going to be an arc, which I hadn't considered when I started writing, but that's the way it goes. Sometimes things get away from you
So, next issue will be the journey between Wales and London, with a little more on the Red Lord and his minions as well. And it might be a larger than normal issue as well. It's going to get interesting, I know that.
David
May 23, 2005
