Dragon's Claws #13

"What shall we tell you? Tales, marvellous tales
Of ships and stars and isles where good men rest,
Where nevermore the rose of sunset pales,
And winds and shadows fall toward the West."
- James Elroy Flecker, 'The Golden Journey to Samarkand'

The group of heroes had ridden all day. Six horses, moving from London towards Wales. They had brought the Kang family with them, Kimiko with Elena who was using her powers to keep the young woman from drifting away. Jessica had done all she could, and Dragon had used his hot knives to seal the wounds. The risk of infection was lessened, but her face was ruined, and so far she had not said a word. Elena's mind scans had revealed how close she was to giving up and her job was to keep her with them. Fudo was riding with Dragon, as it was with him he felt most safe and Lei Kang riding with, Sam who had ensured that the man was bound and unable to escape.

They kept to the back roads, and the though they passed through many small hamlets, they were mostly unnoticed, or at least unnoticed by the people they passed by. They knew that at the end of the journey the Red Lord would be aware and waiting. There was 240 miles to go. The horses were travelling at about 24 miles an hour and they rested the animals every few hours and it would take them three days at the earliest. Along the way the team were talking, learning about each other and who they were, and a definite bond was forming. Dragon joked that this was what they needed - a road trip and they were definitely becoming closer as people, and as friends. Soon night was falling and they found a clearing in which to rest for the night, next to. A fire was started, water was found and wild animals were found for food so they could keep their strength up. There was a spot of rain starting so Sam had covered them with a metallic bubble to keep them dry and now they were talking once more.

"There's one thing I don't quite get," said Roberto, who'd learnt of Dragon's prior history and who he really was. "How did you - a consummate loner most of your life, end up as a ranking member of SHIELD, in charge of their mutant and metahuman programme?"

"The XSE?" said Dragon. "I told you about X-Force, and how that made me appreciate the role of a leader and teamwork… well, most of the time." There were chuckles. "We were told that X-Force would be disbanded and the XSE would be formed, based on X-Force. The problem was, we weren't that sure. There were fears we might be forced to go after friends, allies. There were even fears that we'd replace the X-Men. But there was one final mission that swung it, at least for me…"

Pen Dragon - The Last X-Force Story

Pete Wisdom sat in the X-Force office aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier. Or rather, what had been the X-Force office. Genesis, the computer programme that had been created by copying the soul of Forge and combining it with his own artificial intelligence systems before the man had sacrificed himself in a battle with demonic gods, had disbanded X-Force two days ago and created the XSE. The X-Force: Special Executive had been created to make more X-Force teams across the world, with the original team as the command unit.

That meant Wisdom was the main man, and he wasn't sure if he was up to the task. It wasn't something he'd sought, and he wasn't even sure if he wanted it, but here it was. The island that would be the headquarters of the XSE wasn't ready yet so, for now, they were using the X-Force office. Wisdom had looked over the schematics of the XSE, of the three teams that had currently been assembled and the things that were going on in the world. They were going after mutants and metahumans, as well as other jobs - jobs where only their specialised skills could get the job done - finding abducted children, hunting escaped murderers, taking on terrorist cells. It was one hell of a remit.

"How the hell am I supposed to do this?" he asked the air.

"One day at a time," Lydia said, as she entered the room.

"Hey you," he said, turning in his chair to face her. "What's the word?"

"Genosha? There's still trouble. The magistrates, the Thunderbolts… the place has been destabilised quite badly and Magneto's not… coping well. Too much, too soon. My dad…" She trailed off. "I'm going to speak to Genesis about contacting the Genoshan government - Pete, I want to see if we can establish a SHIELD presence there, to back Magnus up. It's still my home and Dad's the only family I have."

"XSE?" She shook her head. It'd be too controversial. "Regular SHIELD." She nodded.

"I thought I'd tell you first. If it happens, I'll be leaving."

"If it doesn't?"

She paused and looked away. "Then I'll be resigning my commission and going back anyway. I need to find my Dad. It…"

"Needs doing," he finished. "I get it. This isn't going to be as I pictured it." He looked at her. "I don't think Kate'll be sticking around either."

"Oh Pete," she said. Kate was pregnant and had decided on a termination. The father was either Wisdom or their team mate Maverick. Maverick had taken it better than Wisdom had and he and Kate weren't talking, making a working relationship difficult. "I…"

"Commander Wisdom." Genesis appeared before them. "We have a problem. San Fiorentino Island is under attack. It appears that someone wants to stop the XSE project before it begins."

"Bloody typical," said Wisdom, in annoyance. "One day, there's going to be a time when SHIELD can actually keep a sodding secret for longer than a week…" He shook his head and pressed a button on the panel. "Wisdom to X-Force, meet me at the HERMES chamber. We've one last mission…"

The six members of X-Force appeared in the middle of a war-zone. Wisdom, Lydia, Shadowcat, Maverick, Siryn and Marcus Raven looked around where armed men were shooting and attacking the main compound. The SHIELD staff currently on the island were mostly techs and engineers, as well as one of the X-Force teams that had been established. The other two were in the middle of training assignments and couldn't be recalled.

"Psionic shielding," Raven said. "Ah can't get anything more than rudimentary impressions from them, but we've got casualties."

Wisdom nodded. "Find out who these bastards are," he said. "I want to know how they found out." The team went to work in their own unique styles, Maverick, charging in, absorbing the kinetic impacts of the bullets striking his body armour and rechanneling it in to energy beams. Shadowcat was no less aggressive, using her martial arts skills and ability to phase to take down the enemies, while Siryn was using her sonic screams to do much the same from the air. Lydia's increased strength and agility due to her enhanced musculature was doing what they could and Wisdom was using his hot knives and in his opinion X-Force were doing what they did best - kicking arse and taking names.

That said, there was something familiar about these enemies, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. They weren't Hydra, and they weren't AIM, so who were they. He had to know and they'd find out soon enough.

"Sir, we have a problem." The Irishman turned to the field operative and looked at him. "Counterinsurgents have arrived. It appears one of the techs managed to get an alarm out before we locked the island down."

"That figures," he said. "Who?"

"We believe it's Wisdom and his former X-Force team." The Irishman closed his eyes, his heart sinking. He had known that the Byron Agency would come into conflict with Wisdom and his people sooner or later and he had hoped with the team in a state of disarray that they'd be vulnerable for a while. The Genosha situation, the termination, finding their feet within the new SHIELD structure. He was leading the charge against the new X-Force, trying to gain access to the main power complex and destroy the facility because the Agency would not allow the formation of the XSE. It was something that would run contrary to what they were after.

"I'll deal with this personally," he said.

"Yes, sir," said the operative, then he had a thought. "Sir, you know she's out there?"

The Irishman nodded. "Aye. I do. Terry was going to find out sooner or later." He engaged his sonic scream and Sean Cassidy flew out to confront X-Force and his daughter.

"Jesus," sighed Wisdom as they finished the last of the people who had taken the beach. "Secure?"

"We're secure," Raven confirmed, "but there are more inside."

"Many more?" asked Maverick. "These guys are well trained."

"Too well trained," said Wisdom. "I can't for the life of me figure out where they look familiar."

"There are elements of Xavier's in their fighting style," Kate said. "And something else…"

"Terry, we're done, you can kill the screaming," Wisdom said.

"It's nae me," she said. "It's…" The power of the scream intensified and the team dropped to their knees as the intensity of the sonic attack and Wisdom could see a familiar figure coming towards them. He couldn't focus enough to fire a hot knife towards the enemy. He couldn't even stand, but he managed to shout.

"TERRY, STOP HIM."

Teresa Rourke looked at her father.

"Yuir powers cannae effect me," she said.

"Likewise," Banshee replied. "I just have to hold you off for a while, let my people do their work."

"Yuir people?" she said, with incredulity. "This is who yuir working for? This is the Byron Agency?!"

"The XSE is a clear and present danger and despite whatever Genesis's intentions are, we can't allow it."

"What happened to you," she said, a bitterness in her voice. "Yuir nae my Da."

"I'll always be that," he said, softly. "The XSE is over."

"I willnae let you stop us," she said, tears streaking down her cheeks and she matched her father's powers with her own, countering the sonic cry he was using on the others. She had always been impressed by her father's ability to use his powers and speak at the same time and she'd worked hard on mastering the talent but had never quite managed it at the levels he did, but then again she was still very proficient in her powers. It gave the team a moment and Marcus hit Banshee with a telepathic shot, turning off his powers and the Irishman fell to the floor.

"Good work," said Wisdom, standing up, but he was very light-headed. "Stop the rest of them - I'm going to have a chat with Mr Cassidy here." The team were groggy but they did what he said and Wisdom walked over to Cassidy, who was picking himself up. "You piece of shit." He kicked him in the gut. "Byron Agency? Bollocks." Cassidy looked at him. "I know who you are. Black Air."

"Ye figured it out?" Cassidy smiled as he stood up. "We've been here before, Wisdom. Even if the positions are reversed." He was referring to a time when Wisdom had been working with Black Air and had conned Banshee in to helping him by pretending to be part of WHO. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. A former being put behind bars…"

"You can't take me," Banshee said. "You can barely stand, man, so you've no powers."

Wisdom smiled. "Go for it." The two men started to fight, wrestling for the future of the XSE. Wisdom wasn't proud of a lot of things he did with Black Air, and even if they did have a new name, he wasn't going to let them ruin this future. Cassidy was right though, he was still groggy and his punches weren't as focused as they were.

"The XSE is a bad idea, Wisdom. The world doesn't need it. One X-Force is more than enough - you're good at what you do, but there are things that don't concern you."

"Oh yeah?" said Wisdom and he put everything he had left in a double fisted shot, up to Banshee's jaw. "That's where you're wrong." Banshee moved back and Wisdom shoved his knee in to the man's crotch and the Irishman hit the floor and Wisdom just started kicking and kicking at him. "The XSE are needed now more than ever - aliens, demon gods, Hydra, other terrorists. The world's more dangerous than ever, and we can only do so much. The more X-Force teams out there the better, and people like you won't stop us." He stopped himself and looked at Banshee's body, battered, bruised and bloodied. "And the only reason I don't kill you is because Terry would never forgive me."

"You've gone soft, lad," Cassidy mumbled. "That's not the Wisdom I used to know."

"No," Pete said. "I'm better than that. Now."

"Stupid though," said Banshee and suddenly he was gone in a flash of light.

~Wisdom, they've gone~ Raven said through their telepathic link. ~We did it, it's over.~

"No," Wisdom said. "It's only just begun." The Byron Agency would be back, some way, some how. The XSE would have their hands full and he was probably the only one who could stop them. "And we've got work to do…"

"Banshee joined Black Air?" said Roberto. "I don't believe it."

"Neither could I," said Dragon. "But he had, and in his own way he'd given me what I needed to keep the XSE going. He gave me a reason, a need to do it. Lydia eventually went to Genosha, Kate left because… well, it didn't get better between us and that left me, Maverick, Raven and Terry. It was the last time we ever worked together as a team, and now…" He sighed and shook his head. "Now we never will be again."

"Your timeline's not the same?" asked Roberto. Dragon shook his head.

"It changed, around there. The XSE didn't form like that. Lydia knew it was going to happen as well. Told me she saw it in a dream and I mocked her because of it. Dunno how she knew it, but everything she said she dreamt of happened. Except there's a version of me already there. I can't go back, and I can't stay here forever either."

"What will you do?" asked Sam. "When the Barrier falls, I mean?"

"No idea," he replied. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but that's how I found myself with more responsibility than I ever imagined. And then I graduated to saving reality itself. Go figure." There was a slight chuckle, as that was about as profound as he got. "What about you, Bob? How the hell did you end up running with Magnus?"

"He was the only place left to go." Roberto said. "I was at Xavier's when the Martians arrived and was one of the few survivors."

"You feel up to telling it?" Sam asked, knowing that kind of thing could be painful and he nodded.

"I've told it a few times, so once more won't hurt…"

Roberto DaCosta - The Day The X-Men Died

The planet was on a high level of alert. The strange weather patterns had only been the beginning and now with the hostility in space and the loss of communication with the Inhumans on the moon, there was a need to find out what was going on and at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning, the X-Men and those of related teams who had been about at the time had gathered in the War Room to witness what was going on. The problems were originating from Mars by all accounts and it needed to be investigated at the source. Roberto kept his own counsel on what was going on, for he was as worried as the rest of them. They had faced many threats, but there was something different about this, they could all feel it. Most people attacked Earth directly, but this enemy was unseen, unknown and had struck with a malevolence. How and why had yet to be discovered, but it needed to be found and fast.

After a discussion between the United Nations, the CSA and SHIELD, a taskforce had been put together to investigate the happenings and the refitted Quinjet contained a joint collaboration between the X-Men and the Avengers, taking some of the most powerful and combining that power with the experience needed for a mission of this kind. Wolverine, Cyclops and Phoenix had joined with Moon Knight, Vision, Captain America and the Scarlet Witch. The shuttle was preparing to launch and everyone had their fingers crossed that the crisis could be solved. Reed Richards had been instructed to stay on Earth, but to remain in contact with the team and provide technical advice and Roberto's eyes turned to watch the founder of the group, the man who had brought them all together.

Charles Xavier looked at the view screen, almost staring through it as his thoughts and prayers went out to his students and their comrades - all people he considered to be friends and close allies. The low-key hum of the computers was the only silence in the war room as the rest of the teams also sat and watched. The stakes were high and they knew that, but they were the last line of defence should this fail. If it failed, they would have time to prepare, but this could be a misunderstanding. Then again, how often did that happen? Xavier had learnt the hard way that such things were all too rare. The shuttle engines flared and the Quinjet started to lift off when suddenly around the Institute alarms sounded. In a moment the X-Men were on their feet, examining what was happening, their attention diverted. It could have been anyone of their enemies, taking advantage but what happened next was something that none of them could have expected.

The Quinjet was suddenly smothered in shadow, then a light flashed and the vessel exploded and a single figure fell burning from the sky, the soul survivor of the attack. Xavier and Cable grabbed their heads in pain as they felt the deaths of Logan, Scott and Jean, and two of the most powerful X-Men were dropped in moments but before the other could react there was a deafening roar and the Institute was engulfed in energy and the mansion house was annihilated in a moment. The various members did what they could to protect themselves and the others, and the war room awarded a certain amount of protection but the lights went out and that was the last that Roberto knew until he felt a psionic nudge bringing him around.

"What happened?" he asked, his body trembling and his voice ragged.

"We were attacked," Cable replied. "Only just managed to get a TK shield up. I felt the energy, but I was too weak from the death of Scott and Jean. I couldn't save everyone, just those nearby…" His voice trailed off and Roberto knew that what had happened had wounded him greatly. The sky was filled with red and orange and it looked as if it were burning and Roberto couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight of alien ships in the air, scurrying through the sky.

"Sunspot!" Cable's voice's brought him around again. "I need you to help me." Roberto looked and for the first time he could see the true extent of the damage. The Institute was no more than a crater, expanding from the mansion to beyond the gates. Small pockets of fire were ablaze through the rubble, which was littered with other things - bodies. Many of the X-Men were dead, the remainder wounded in some way and Hank McCoy was cradling Charles Xavier in his arms, tears streaking the blue matted fur that covered his face. Roberto went over to him and he could see that there was blood and fluid leaking from Xavier's head and he knew that the man was gone.

"Hank," said Roberto, putting his hand on the senior X-Man's shoulder, but Hank didn't respond. "Hank," he said again. "We have to go, the aliens will come back."

"Let them," Hank said, a ferocity in his voice that Roberto had never heard before. "Let them come. I'll give them reasons to hate and fear us like we never gave humanity." Roberto was shocked, but he could understand it. Cable had managed to recover seven of the twenty-nine people who had been there. Beast, Rogue, Roberto, Domino, Polaris, Moonstar and Madrox.

"We can't stay, Hank," Cable said. "We're wounded, and they outnumber us. We can't avenger the others if we're dead."

"Is everyone dead?" asked Rogue. "We should check…"

"If they are, I can't feel them," Cable replied. "We have to go, and quickly."

"Go where?" Domino said. "We're being exterminated!" Cable sighed. He could feel the terror and panic on a global scale and he knew she was right - or she was at the moment. Who knew what the invaders were truly after - conquering and enslavement or just destruction. Either way there wasn't much of a choice

"There's only one safe refuge left for mutants - we should head for Genosha. We regroup there, find out who's left and we'll go from there."

"I won't leave them." Hank said nothing other than that and would not stand. "They need treating better than this."

"Dr McCoy," said Cable in what Roberto considered to be his commanding officer tone. Nathan Summers could be of the most commanding presence when he chose to be. "If you don't leave now, you'll surely die."

"My choice, Nathan," McCoy said, his head turning to face them. "I'll hold them off, giving you time to go."

"You don't have to do this Hank," Rogue said and Hank nodded.

"I want to." There was nothing more to be said. Cable split them in to two groups and then Polaris and himself gathered the others up as best they could and made the best possible speed for Genosha, leaving the ruined manor house alone and it was safe to say none of them would return for a very long time.

The trip to Genosha was hard, and took them a lot of doing, but by the time they got there, Magneto had been working with his people to repel the enemy and, as the country with the largest amount of super-powered individuals per capita, they were doing a fine job. Magnus welcomed them with open arms, and he grieved for the death of Xavier and the others. While they had not always been friends, there had been respect on either side and they had been friends and allies at times.

Magnus also brought them up to speed on what had happened, on who had died and what was being done. Heroes across the world had been forced underground, hunted and oppressed by the Martian invaders, whose death machines had been utilised to great effect. Roberto had watched the screens in horror as he saw the destruction unleashed on the major super teams in the same way as it had been done on the X-Men. There had been survivors and those who had lived had been taken away as prisoners and Roberto knew he had very little choice in what to do next, if he wanted to see his friends again.

"Magnus," he said, approaching him. "I need something to do, to pay these creatures back."

"Roberto." The Master of Magnetism regarded him. "I well remember how we worked together in the past to less than beneficial effects. My stewardship of the New Mutants…"

"Taught us more than you realise," Sunspot interrupted. "We've both grown as people since then. I wonder what it would have been like if we'd both been… more co-operative."

"We'll never know." Magnus turned away. "I don't know if I can trust you."

"I don't know if I can trust you either," came the reply and Magnus gave a low chuckle.

"Then that is a good place to start - we will earn each other's trust." He turned back and looked at the young man who had once been his student. "Genosha will be a sanctuary for my people, for our people, Roberto. Defend it, and in time I may find other uses for you."

"That's all I want," Roberto said.

In the days and weeks that followed, Roberto was true to his word. He never forgot that what he was fighting for in his own way was the dream of Xavier, of a united planet, and he could feel that after this was all over, humanity would be united in a way Xavier never dared imagine. To achieve that he needed to do things Magneto's way, but he was also his own man and in time Magnus came to trust him, give him more to do until Roberto had built his way up to being one of the most trusted lieutenants in Genosha. The remnants of SHIELD set up in Genosha and he became the liaison between the Genoshan High Command and the SHIELD forces. Magnus had gone to Asteroid M, and was fighting the war from there and he had convinced Forge to take over the stewardship of Genosha in his absence.

Old enmities were put aside as they worked towards a common goal - the freedom of the human race. Respect was gained, legends were made and heroes were created but Roberto knew only too well that if Magnus started to be more like the Magnus of old, there were people enough about to stop him. For now, the alien menace was their priority and they had work to do.

"You think he sent you to work with us so he could act with more freedom?" Dragon asked. "So he could further his own plans?"

"You thought I was one of his people," Roberto said, with a smile. "Changed your mind?"

"I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt." Dragon sighed. "The survivor from the Quinjet was Vision, right?"

"Yes," Jessica said. "They say the only things that survived were Logan's adamantium bones and Cap's shield, which allegedly fell from the sky and is embedded in the launch pad."

"What happened to Logan's skeleton?" he asked.

"Nobody knows," Sam answered. "The resistance wanted it, but we never managed to find out what happened to it. Even the Martians don't admit to having it."

"Another mystery for another time," Jessica said. "For now, we should rest. We've a long journey ahead of us." They all agreed and settled down for the night. There was far to go and much to do.

INTERLUDE

The Red Lord's forces had gathered and he had chosen six of his best warriors to face the latest champions of the Green. The Dark Walkers.

They were men of magic and power, men who perceived the old paths, the ley lines that connected the points of magic from long before the dawn of time. The power of the energy nexus that Merlyn had once contained, the power that was commanded by the Green. The Walkers passed their knowledge onto those men wise enough to understand, many of whom became the druids and it was rumoured that they had created the routes from Earth to Merlyn's domain, to Otherworld. They had been the original champions of the Green but the Bane could not allow that to continue and the forces of the Bane corrupted six of the twelve Walkers.

Now they created false paths, which led men to madness and death, usually via black magic. People became mistrustful of the old ways, mainly because of these six evil Walkers and. The Red Lord had used them to usher in what had become known as the age of intolerance. Witches were burned, creatures of Otherworld like faeries, elves, trolls, and dragons were shunned and forced to flee the Earth, and became scorned as myth. The legacy of the Knights of Camelot, the greatest power of the Pendragons, became little more than legend and the new heroes of the Green were sought out and killed as witches and as the old paths were discarded the remaining six Walkers, the noble or Proud Walkers, also withdrew from Earth, returning to Otherworld, waiting for an age in which they could return and restore the legacy of magic.

These evil or Dark Walkers remained on Earth, inhabiting the former pathways to Otherworld, protected by the Bane and ready to do whatever needed to be done. It was the Bane that had increased their powers, and it was to the Bane they owed their loyalty. How many champions had they defeated, corrupted and through their machinations had executed? The Walkers had used their powers between them they crafted the Black Mass Prophecies, drawing on dark magics, and now they would ensure that the Prophecies they made centuries ago would come to pass and the Red Lord regarded them as they stood there.

Sartac, the warlord. Fast, strong, powerful, his presence demanded respect and his love of battle has been the thing that led to his fall in to darkness.

Balor, the master warrior and apprentice of Sartac, his powers were similar to those of Sartac, but he lacked the raw power that Sartac had for his abilities, but he made up for it with a cruelty that kept his minions in line.

Cormac, the sword master with the powers of mesmerism and telekinesis. His sword skills were unmatched in this world or the next.

Gurien, bane of the mountain giants, those who had built the stone circles over the years. With his powers he had gained the physical attributes of the giants themselves, even though most of his former subjects were now trapped within Darkmoor.

Karadoc, the master of dragons. The dragons were gone now, but he had drank of their blood and with other arcane rituals he had gained the mastery of the elements of fire. His skin was blisteringly hot, yet unblemished and fire burned in his eyes.

And finally Mordred. The Lore Master, a powerful sorcerer and the first magi of the Bane. It was he who had written the Black Mass Prophecies, and his mystical prowess was a sight to behold but Mordred was not the original Walker Modred - rather he was the son of Arthur and Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay, with the spirit of the original within him, much like the way the souls of the Pendragons could be transferred along the ages. It had been something the Bane had been especially proud of for, some years before the birth of Mordred, Modred had faced Merlin, and the wizard had defeated him.

The Bane would not let this stand and he had used the jealousy Morgan had of Arthur to corrupt her. Morgan did not agree with the ideal that she could not be Queen, for she believed she was all that Arthur was and more. She had been mystical powers, learned from the mystic healers of the time, and Merlin had taught her other magics, knowing her potential as the half-sister of Arthur, however even Merlin was not infallible and the Bane had corrupted that potential, and brought her to the side of the Bane, by giving her the idea that if she could not be Queen, she would be the power behind the throne. To achieve this end she had seduced her brother to gain an heir to the throne, knowing the right time when she would conceive. She fell pregnant with the incestuous bastard son of the champion of the Green. That was where Bane's true agenda came in to play - for the Bane sought the spirit of Mordred to be reborn and it had been combined with that of the child, whom Morgan would name Mordred. The evil of the walker combined with the original sin of the child and the Evil Walker was reborn, and the Bane had new weapons against Arthur, which had led to the King's destruction, the fall of Camelot and the upper hand in the war with the Green.

Since then Mordred had gained a reputation of his own and now he and the original Walker were all but indistinguishable. Morgan and Mordred had been thought to be trapped between the realms since the old days, but that was what the Bane wanted people to think. Morgan had her own purposes, but now and forevermore Mordred was one of the Dark Walkers and the Red Lord knew that he would always be the antithesis of the champions of the Green.

"Welcome, my friends," the Red Lord finally said after regarding each in turn. "You know why you have been summoned here?"

"Yes," Balor said. "A new threat has arisen, a new threat that you would like us to deal with." The Red Lord smiled.

"Yes." He waved in the air and an image of the champions appeared as they travelled across the English countryside. "Be wary of them. They have powers, the like of which you have not encountered before. Prepare yourselves, for they will come to you."

Mordred sneered. "You want us to wait?"

"The Bane wants you to wait." That was the final sentence and the Dark Walkers bowed in sovereignty to the Red Lord. They had their instructions - it was all a matter of time.

As the team rode, they continued regaling each other with their stories, as they had done the night before, though they had woken later than they would have liked and now they were riding hard. It was a good way of passing the time and it certainly helped for them to get to know each other better. It was also quite easy to do when you were all mindlinked, as Elena had established a psychic connection between them all to save shouting. How they had joined SHIELD seemed to be the story of the moment, with Dragon telling them how he'd signed up originally and how the first mission had gone, which was quite interesting to the others to hear, and soon enough it was Elena's turn to tell her tale.

She told them of her relationship with Maverick, and of her confrontation with Sabretooth in which she had almost died. She then told them of how Maverick had been lost on a mission, and it had taken him a long time to come back afterwards, in which time she'd recovered from her injuries. Maverick had taken a long time to get over that mission, and his wounds and the two of them had shared some well-deserved downtime, but it became clear that things between them weren't right. Eventually Maverick had gone back adventuring and as far as she was concerned, that had ended their relationship. She only had one thing left to do - find Sabretooth and avenge her mother's death, but someone else stepped in and given her a new purpose instead.

Elena Ivanova - What Price Vengeance?

The pounding on the door of her apartment woke Elena up and she shook her head as she looked at the clock. It was a quarter to seven in the morning and she pulled on her dressing gown, thinking that if David North could think he could come back in to her life, then he was sadly mistaken. She opened the door, thinking she should have psi-scanned the people on the other side first as she did so, but then again villains very rarely knocked on doors. Standing before her were three people, dressed in blue combat uniforms with a red and black bird emblem on their shoulders. She'd been in Soviet intelligence long enough to know who they were supposedly from.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Miss Ivanova?" She shook her head and the agent looked puzzled.

"Ee-vah-noh-va, not I-van-a-vah." She sighed thinking they watched too much science fiction show with Russians in them. "I am she. May I see your credentials?" The agent reached in to his top pocket and produced his identification. She took it, looked at it and passed it back. "Well, Special Agent Roger Courcy, that seems to be in order." A rudimentary psi-scan checked him out.

"This is Agent Maxwell and Agent Taylor. We'd like you to come with us, ma'am."

"Why?"

"Your presence has been requested at SHIELD headquarters by Director Fury himself. We are aware of your past affiliations and the recent events in your life, and the Director would like to discuss your current situation."

Elena looked at them in askance. "Situation?"

"The fact you're an unauthorised immigrant in the United States and that as a former enemy of the state in a very hostile and suspicious environment that the US has become, how much longer you remain here is debatable." She was about to say something but Courcy continued. "Your status has always been such but Mr North had some influence with the US Immigration Department and has been able to keep you off the radar."

"But not anymore," she said with resignation. "I take it if I refuse, I will be deported?"

"Arrested and tried as a spy," said Agent Walker. "Mutant spies aren't looked on very favourably."

Elena's eyes narrowed "You are threatening me? I could make you forget all this."

"You could," Agent Courcy said. "However what would that solve in the long run? The Director just wishes to talk."

"Why me?"

"That's not for us to say, ma'am." Elena considered her options, considered them very carefully and came to a decision.

"I will change and be with you shortly. Please, wait out here." Courcy nodded and Elena went back to her room, wondering what a woman wore when she was about to meet the Director of SHIELD…

Half an hour later, she walked in to the room where Colonel Nicholas Fury was sitting. She'd chosen something simple. Black leather trousers, and a white blouse over which she wore a black sleeveless jacket. It was casual, but stylish enough to formal should the need be there. He looked her up and down.

"Take a seat," he said.

"Thank you," she said. "So is this business or pleasure?"

"Business," he said, without smiling. "Yer a fine looking lady, but you ain't my type. Nothing personal."

"Of course," Elena said. "However I will tell you this - I won't betray confidences. Those of Maverick and Russia."

"Good," Fury said. "Wasn't going to ask you to. You're here because we need telepaths, good ones."

Elena was curious. "You have a psi-division already. What do you need me for?"

"Because psi-division can't help at the moment. They ain't got enough raw psionic power and I have it on good authority that you're one of the best out there."

"From who?" She couldn't believe Maverick had told SHIELD too much about her.

"An old friend." He pressed a button and a cylindrical container emerged from the desk, smoke emergency from it and she could feel the cold from here. "He said that this was a gift, and that the 'puppy was neutered'." He put on a pair of gloves and undid the seal. Inside the container was a clawed hand, which seemed to have been cleanly severed from the arm it had been attached to. It was a hand she recognised.

"Creed."

"What's left of him anyway." Fury sat back. "That's all we could find after the battle."

Elena could feel the psionic taint still residing on the hand. "Wolverine did this." Fury nodded.

"Still not sure what happened, Logan wasn't in the mood to talk, but this was all we could find after the fight. We put in to storage just in case Creed is alive and wanted it back. Otherwise, he might have reattached it and let his healing factor do the rest. For all we know he could grow another to replace it."

Elena's eyes didn't leave the hand. "What do you need me for?"

"We want you to rebuild psi-division," Fury said. "Most telepaths are taken, and wear an X somewhere about their body. I want someone neutral, who knows the kind of things we do and has the power to handle any psychic threats that might arise. Plus you're a Russian and it'll keep the UN happy and show them SHIELD not a Yank's only club." He lit a cigar. "Damn bureaucrats."

"And I get?"

"Diplomatic immunity, a salary and the backing of SHIELD in future events."

"And you just want me to work with your psionics people?" Something was missing here. "That's it?" Fury smiled.

"Not quite. There is something else. Consider it a test, and if you like it, then maybe you'll stay."

"And if I don't?"

Fury shrugged. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He stood up. "Follow me."

They made their way down through the corridors of the SHIELD offices where Fury used his access codes to gain access to a sealed vault. Inside the vault was a machine, surrounded by various energy bands and force fields.

"Aldo Ferro -the Psi-borg, formerly of the Weapon X program." Fury stood back, keeping his distance. "The tech in here keeps his telepathic powers in check, but he's still dangerous You're the only person who managed to break through his mental blocks, those he installed in the Weapon X test subjects." Elena remembered her first meeting with Wolverine and how she had undone as much of the damage that had been done to him all those years ago. "Even Xavier didn't do that."

"Xavier didn't have my powers," Elena said. "One of my psi-talents is a cleansing fire. It…"

"Reveals thing, yeah, we know. Which is why we need you for this - Ferro won't let us get anything from him and there's a lot of gaps we could do with being filled in."

"How did you catch him?"

"We got lucky. Very, very lucky." She looked at him for further answers but none were coming. "I want you to get what you can out of him." She gasped.

"I don't know if I can."

"Try anyway. If you do, I'll sort immigration." She nodded and prepared herself. "We'll be outside, monitoring. It's… better that way. Being in here when we turn stuff off never goes well." He walked away and out of the room. "Good luck." The door closed and the two of them were alone and Elena smiled. Vengeance was in her heart, because if this was the man ultimately responsible for the Weapon X subjects, then he shared the responsibility with Sabretooth for her mother's death. Creed may have been dealt with but Aldo Ferro was hers and, unlike in her battle with Creed, this would definitely be in her arena and she felt the shields go down and the Psi-Borg's mind was freed.

"Hello, Ferro," she said as she released her consciousness and ascended to the astral plane, where the Psi-Borg was waiting.

"Little girl…" he replied. "Have you any idea how long it has been since I had a little girl like you?"

"Interesting, from your thoughts I believe your preference is for little boys." Psi-Borg chuckled and she felt her astral from held in a vice like grip.

"Either. Or." He was suddenly next to her, caressing her form. "You feel so good to the touch. I wondered when Fury would send in a real telepath, instead of those amateurs he keeps downstairs." Her form changed, revealing her pure, naked body and she involuntarily shivered in revulsion. "Most disintegrated under my psionic abilities, but you… you are strong. You will be mine very soon. Your psychic pain is delectable. Innate, from birth…"

"And from it I draw strength," she said. Psychic fire flared from her and Ferro staggered back. "Your powers are based on lies and deceit where mine comes from the truth. You have no hope against me, Ferro, and you will see and live exactly what you have done to many thousands of lives…" The psychic fire engulfed him and Ferro screamed in horror, in terror at his past actions. "Goodbye, Ferro…" Her astral form dissipated leaving the enemy to burn in the bright light of truth, the pain and suffering he had enjoyed from others coming back at him but this time he would see it from the other side.

"And that was that," Elena concluded. "Ferro never regained any form of sentience, it was as if he simply shut himself off to escape the truth. There was no trace of him anywhere and the Psi-borg was inert. Fury wasn't pleased, but I gleamed enough from the Psi-Borg to help them. There'll always be a part of his taint inside me, but he's dead now and my mother rests in peace."

"So you stayed with SHIELD?" said Roberto.

She chuckled. "Had to rebuild the psi-division. Apparently the confrontation sent out a psionic shockwave that incapacitated the SHIELD telepaths. Fury made sure that I didn't get much of a choice, but it was… enjoyable, for a while, until the Martians came."

"Fury was a bit more subtle than that with me," Jessica said. "Son of a bitch set me up, and I fell for it."

Pen's thoughts were akin to a laugh. "Nicely done. Didn't think the old boy still had it in him?"

Jessica smiled and gave a slight headshake. "He did have help," she admitted. "And it came from someone who knows sneaky and subtle all too well."

"Expand on that," Sam said. "Seeing as we're telling stories, it's your turn."

"Well," she said. "It started in Madripoor…"

Jessica Drew - Old Problems, New Solutions

Jessica looked out across the city and shook her head as she reflected on the last few months.

She had been helping Mattie Franklin, the latest heroine to take on the mantle of Spider-Woman. She'd trained her the best she could, but the young woman had gotten herself in to problems. There had been an addiction to a drug that gave or enhanced super-human powers and she'd teamed up with a private investigator called Jessica Jones to help rescue Mattie.

Mattie was now recovering and had - for now - given up being Spider-Woman, so Jessica had returned to Madripoor. New York had changed and Madripoor was one of the few places she felt she fitted in. She'd rebuilt her private investigation business and was doing quite well out of it, working as investigator and bodyguard to those who needed it - but only doing the jobs for those who needed her help. It was also a good place to be, for her old powers had slowly been coming back and she didn't want to be drawn in to her old life. The last time had cost her a great deal and she'd found herself being drawn back despite her promises to herself.

Then the barrier had appeared around Europe and things had changed. Global weather patterns had altered and the island of Madripoor had taken a pounding from the elements. Lowtown had been flooded and destroyed and a civil war had broken out and Jessica had been forced in to protecting the innocent people being caught in the crossfire. It could be argued that nobody in Madripoor was innocent, but it was keeping her busy.

"This is getting out of hand," she said. Viper's forces were taking on those loyal to the former criminal elements, taking advantage of the chaos. "I don't know what to do!"

"We end this," said a voice, one of an old friend. "Been a while darlin'."

"About damn time you got here," she said, relieved that finally he'd turned up. "It's good to see you again, Logan." The X-Man also known as Wolverine smiled and the two of them embraced. "What kept you?"

"Been run ragged with things in America," he said. "The X-Men, my own personal stuff and running in to dozens of other issues as well. Hardly had any time to get over here. There's just not been enough time, but I'm here now."

"What's the plan?"

"We need to stop the war. Viper's my ex-wife, but the others are no better. We need a truce; we need to scare them in to stopping things. I've an idea, but you'll need to do something that I can't do."

"What?" Jessica had no idea what it was she could do. "You know this place better than I ever could."

"I ain't had time to get back," he said. "I won't have time to become the law as well."

"The law? But how?"

"Join SHIELD. Become an agent - you'll be the law in Madripoor, backed by whatever Fury can give you. And he will, I'll make it happen." Jessica was stunned. Become an agent of SHIELD? "Can't do it without you, Jess, and who better than you? I've heard the rumours that you've got your powers back, pretty much as they were too. Will you do it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Always." She looked at him. She'd not always trusted him, especially after his marriage to Viper, but he'd always done right by her despite that. It was a leap of faith, and she could leap pretty far these days.

"I'll do it."

Logan grinned. "Told Fury you would. He owes me ten bucks." Her jaw dropped as he passed her the SHIELD ID he took out of his pocket. "Congrats, Agent Drew."

"You already agreed it?"

"Yup. Who else was he gonna turn to for help in setting up the new SHIELD super soldiers? He needed folk who ain't gonna try and kill him and take over the world."

"Are you?" He shook his head.

"Just setting it up. As I said, I've been busy. Now let's end a war. I juts happen to know there's a major league battle going on and everyone we need is gonna be right there."

"How?" Jessica had heard of coincidence, but this was ridiculous, but Logan smiled.

"Now, Jess, who'd you think set it up?"

The battle was raging when they arrived and Wolverine unsheathed his claws.

"We take out the grunts, corner the bosses and let them know what the deal is." Jessica nodded and prepared herself. She'd not been in such a battle in a long time but she was ready and this would be a full test of her abilities. She'd not been Spider-Woman in a long time, but then again she'd always been more than that and this would be a chance to find out just how good she still was.

Logan went right ahead in his own unique style, and she watched as the mutant did what he did best, if only for a moment. There was artistry in what he did, she had to admit it - even if wasn't pretty to watch. Then she joined the fray, using her bio-blasts and the proportionate strength of a spider to do what she did best. Between the two of them the warring factions had no real chance, except if they got a lucky shot in. It had happened before and Jessica didn't have the healing factor that Wolverine did so she had to take care of herself.

She fought the enemy one way as Logan went in the opposite direction, the two of them cutting a swath through the enemies, forging a path towards the director's of the conflict who were staying back away from the dealings. Logan was headed for Viper and she had Demos, the alleged illegitimate heir of Prince Baran, who had claimed his father's position and the rule of Madripoor as his own - something which Viper had flatly refused to yield, which was why the situation had arisen. Viper had the forces of Hydra that were still loyal to her backing her position, but Demos had the criminal element of Madripoor behind him. Demos' claim that he was the true heir to the throne was an issue that was suspect at best, but for now he was a figurehead and that was what the underworld had needed and he had made quite a criminal network. He was close now and she leapt over the heads of the guards, using the minions to as a vault, hitting the guards with bio-blasts as she moved through the air and she landed in front of the Prince.

"How dare you?!" he glowered at her but she stared him down as she showed him her badge.

"I dare because of this," she said as Demos recognised the crest. "This war is over."

"SHIELD has no authority here." Demos sneered, and she could see Baran in his stance and attitude. "You have no right to interfere."

"They do now," said Logan as he dragged his former wife towards them. "Shoulda done this months ago. He shoved her forward. "Here's the thing - SHIELD's gonna be taking an active interest in Madripoor over the coming months. They'll be seizing the old castle pretty soon and using it to station a troop of agents there. We're putting the law back in to this place."

"You self righteous…" Viper started but Jessica interrupted.

"He may be that, but for the longest time, he's been the closest thing to a sheriff in this town. That's me, now." The history between the two women caused an electricity in the air. "And given your ties to Hydra, you'd do well to keep off the SHIELD radar."

"You will both pay for this," Viper hissed, but she had been beaten down. Logan alone couldn't have done it, but with SHIELD backing his play, there was nothing she could do to stop this.

"And what of me?" said Demos. "I am the Prince. I am…"

"Bein' watched," Logan said. "If you rule wisely, then you won't have a problem. You'd both do well to remember I ain't far away, and that I've friends who can get me here a lot faster than I've been able to in the past." He looked at Jess. "Sheriff, huh?"

"It's a good title, while I get used to this whole SHIELD thing," she said. "What about this lot?"

"Let 'em go," Logan replied. "We can find them again another time. You know this place almost as well as me." Those who had stayed to listen took the hint and quickly vanished leaving their leaders with the heroes. Logan looked at Viper. "I'm cuttin' you a break. Leave an' don't come back." She stood there. "Now."

She started to make a move. "This isn't over."

"Didn't think it was." He sounded resigned to it, but he made no move. He wasn't about to kill her, or let her get taken. She was his ex-wife and for better or worse, he still had certain responsibilities towards her. "Madripoor needs a ruler, Demos. Be better than your father."

Demos was trapped and he knew it. "Do I have a choice?" Logan shrugged, and Demos shook his head. "You win."

Jessica nodded and stepped aside, letting him go. SHIELD certainly had clout even if it was just the badge and the fear behind the power it could command. Demos wouldn't be so foolish as to risk everything now. He'd gotten his inheritance, even if it wasn't what he thought it was going to be and Viper would be gone soon enough. Not bad for a day's work. "Fancy a drink?" she asked and Logan smiled.

"Thought you'd never ask."

"That seemed a little easy," said Roberto. "Madripoor wasn't that kind of place, not from what I remember."

Jessica nodded. "You have to remember the strange weather patterns. Floods came, and devastated Lowtown, so the borders of Hightown became New Lowtown. The place changed, and throw in Patch and SHIELD…"

"It means that they're a bit more intimidated than usual," Dragon said. "Nice plan he had."

"It wasn't long after that I was assigned to the Helicarrier as part of my Super Soldier duties," she said. "Took me out of the place, which was just as well as the Martians levelled it. If I'd still been there, I'd have been killed." She paused a moment. "In a roundabout way, Logan saved my life. I miss him." There was a sombre though as everyone thought of the people they'd lost to the Martians and Pen realised how alone he was, that he couldn't be a part of this reality any longer than necessary. It was the moments like these that showed him that he truly didn't belong here.

All in all, it had inadvertently put a serious dampener on the conversation and they kept on riding, almost in silence.

INTERLUDE 2

The metal smiths of Green had gathered the shards of Caliburn and they had been able to rebuild the fabled sword in the stone, and the Green Knight nodded his approval. Only one thing was now required, to restore and amplify the magic of the blade - Excalibur, the Sword of Might, and original sword of power. The power of the weapon transcended realities, and few knew the truth of the original forging of the sword, though many had speculated as to the origins. Perhaps one day the truth would be revealed, but for now it was a secret known only to three people, and they would never reveal such a prize.

Twenty four hours was up, and the Knight expected Merlyn to return with the Lady of the Lake, and Excalibur itself. The sorcerer would be tardy, he knew that, the question was by how much he would deign to test the limits of the Knight's patience. It was not as long as he had feared for Merlyn and the Lady returned, the mythical blade at his side and the Knight nodded. He knew what had been happening, but he did not need details - just knowing of it was something he disliked, but Merlyn had claimed his prize. If the Lady had affection for him, she did not show it, and she seemed as distant towards him as in all their previous encounters.

"Welcome back, Merlyn," he said. "I see you have the sword."

"Aye," the sorcerer said. "I believe I have acquired what I needed from you, however time will tell if it comes to pass."

"We will deal with that then." The Knight gestured to the Lady, who took his hand as he guided her to her place at his side. "Now to conclude our bargain." Merlyn nodded and the two of them made their way to the forging area. Heat, smoke and mystical energy flowed in here as Caliburn slowly cooled from it's white hot forging. Merlyn drew Excalibur and laid it down on top of the newly forged blade and the two weapons seemed to meld and Merlyn began incantations to beget the transfer of power and restore Caliburn to it's former glory. As he chanted the Green Knight focused and the power of the Green filled the room with a transcendent glory, enhancing the spells being cast, and the blades began to glow with a golden aura. Mystical energy flew from Merlyn's fingertips and in a deafening rush of sound the Sword of Might flew out and back in to his hand, the glow of magic making it sparkle and shimmer.

"It is done," he said. "Caliburn is now brother to Excalibur. Their fates and the fates of those who wield them are forever intertwined from this moment forth." The Green Knight nodded and retrieved Caliburn, the heat not affecting him. The magic seemed to have altered the blade so that it took on the attributes of the Sword of Power. They had similar shapes, and the blade was sharp without being tuned, and there was a distinctive song to the blade, a song of the Green and of Otherworld that would be unique to Caliburn and the only real way that the difference between Caliburn and Excalibur could be told.

"It may be used by many," Merlyn said, "but the power of the sword is meant only for those who have the spirit of Arthur, the legacy of the Pendragons and only the sword will know."

"As it was before, so it is now." The Green acknowledged it. The Sword in the Stone was reborn and was stronger now than it had been. Those who were destined to wield it would have the power of the Green infused within them, while those who were not chosen would only gain slight protection, thanks to the power of Otherworld. "But who will wield the sword?" he mused.

"Leave it to fate," Merlyn said, a gleam in his eye. "You and I both sense that one of these warriors will be able to use the power of Caliburn, if not who that is. One of them is, and yet also is not, the heir of Arthur. Because of the duality it is impossible to divine the identity of the true soul of Pendragon. Only the sword, with the combined might of the Green and the Matrix, will be able to do that." The Knight knew as much. The dominion of time was beyond his reach as it was that of the Bane. They could see enough to make vague predictions, but even they had limits, however he suspected Merlyn knew more than he was telling - even if the timeline was as strained as he claimed it was. "You know what must be done." Merlyn's voice was single and cut through the silence and the Green Knight gave no reaction.

"Choose wisely," he asked of the blade and with on mighty thrust he threw Caliburn out in to the night sky where it vanished from view, but he knew where it would land - the centre of a stone formation not far from where the warriors would camp fro the night. The blade would be safe there, and none but the true heir would be able to remove the sword from the stone.

"As it was before, so it is now," Merlyn replied. "I take my leave." The Green Knight looked out as the wizard vanished. It was in the hands of fate now.

Night had fallen once more and the travellers were resting after another hard day's ride. They'd made a lot of time and Jack thought they would be where they needed to be fairly soon in the morning. Talks of the past had largely faded since the last main discussion, but they were all more relaxed now. Fudo and Kimiko slept and Lei Kang sat in silence. Since the ride he had not said a word and for that Dragon was grateful. Fudo had been asking a lot of questions, which was to be expected as the boy had never been out of Japan before, let alone travelled in time. Kimiko was another matter. Her injuries had done more than physical damage - the emotional toll was great and she would always know that she had been scarred by the Dragon she and her family believed was a benevolent god.

Was it punishment for aiding her new husband or was it that her beliefs had been wrong? She spent a lot of the time with her eyes closed even though she wasn't asleep and Dragon was worried about her. She needed to stay strong if only for Fudo's sake. The rest they'd figure out when they got back to their own era. Somehow the talk had gotten on to family and Dragon noticed Sam was being quite cagey about hers.

"Are there any other members of the Destine family out there, or are most behind the barrier?"

"There are some," Sam said. "I was fortunate. I was outside the Barrier when it went up, travelling East Asia. The Barrier went up and I lost contact with almost all of my family." Her tone was wistful. "I don't even know what's happening to them behind the Barrier. It's strange, we were all apart for a long time and then we came back together and now we're apart again. Sometimes possessing a rather long lifespan has distinct disadvantages."

"So how did you get involved in SHIELD?" Jack asked. "You and your aren't that big on public displays. What was it you said you'd used to keep hidden?"

"The Relative Stranger Protocols," she said. "A system of keeping us, and our secret hidden, without compromising our family network. I'm not a mutant. I'm the progeny of a djinn and an immortal, so my powers are mystic in origin. I hoped that my powers would allow me to try and get past the barrier because I could feel it's mysticality. I borrowed a boat from a friend and went to try…"

Samantha Hasard - Legacy

Sam strapped the scuba gear to her back, checked everything was okay and then dived in to the water. She needed to know how far the Barrier went down, because there might be a way underneath it. She went down in to the depths of the Atlantic, going down quite some way, further than most normal humans could take, but she wasn't a normal human, and the water pressures were intense, but she could protect herself and her air tanks with an metallic ectoplasm sheath. She went down, and down, and down, but there was nothing to indicate that the barrier had limits and then she hit the basin and the barrier seemed to be a part of the very rock itself, and she cursed before heading back up. She'd done this several times now in various spots and still had been unable to find a gap in the barrier.

As she got to the surface of the water, she could sense that something was amiss, but she wasn't sure quite what. She released her tanks and prepared herself. She surfaced and realised that her boat was burning and she recognized some of the bodies on her boat. Omegans, from the time when the family had been attacked. They'd always wondered what had happened to them, but had never pursued it. Adam hadn't let them. The others were not Omegans. They looked like they were SHIELD and they were in the middle of a fight. It was her boat and she had no real choice as she went in to the fray, taking down a couple of the Omegans as she did so. SHIELD seemed appreciative of the hand and soon the Omegans had been defeated.

"Miss Hasard?" said one of them and he showed his badge. "My name's Colonel Bridge. I work for SHIELD. I apologise for the destruction of your boat, however we weren't given a great deal of choice."

"What happened here?" she asked.

"If you'll accompany me to a SHIELD transport vessel," Bridge said, "I'll explain things to you on the SHIELD Ocean-Platform. This boat… isn't safe." The fires were burning all over, and it was only a matter of time before the boat either exploded or sank, so Sam nodded and then realised she wasn't really wearing much more than her ectoplasmic armour over her swimming costume and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to change. "When we get there, do you think you could you possibly lend me some clothes?"

Aboard the Ocean-Platform, Sam changed in to a standard SHIELD uniform. She was surprised at how flexible and comfortable the thing was. It seemed that one sized fitted all and somehow the fabric was able to adapt to body shapes. She was then escorted to a briefing room, where Colonel Bridge was sat.

"Miss Hasard," he said, standing. "I hope you're okay with the uniform - we weren't expecting a civilian."

"It's fine, thank you." He gestured and she sat down.

"You have a very interesting file, Miss Hasard," he said, taking his own seat. "You're an artist, living in France. In the Pyrenees Orientales, if we're correct. You make a fair living with your metallic sculptures, and from what I saw on the boat, you've the power to create metal."

"You know much about me?" she said, curious. Her family had taken care not to be traceable.

"Yes," he said. "Did you know that if we translate your name in to English from the French, it would be chance, or fortune." He put the file down. "Which is interesting, because it ties in to the case I'm working on. A creature named Lenz was created by a group called Advanced Idea Mechanics and their leader Modok. We've been trying to trace the creature and through it we found the Omegans, but we also found a swath of victims. Maurice Fortuit. A woman named Kay Cera and we believe that Will Chance was attacked in Australia, though his media entourage deny it. Fortuit. Kay Cera. Chance. Then there's Hasard." Sam remained unflinching at the mention of her family.

"Interesting."

"Even more interesting that you were with Miss Ceras' daughter not long after her death and you were rescued by Spider-Man and two other unknown heroes."

"I met her in a club."

"How about this - you are family, mystical heritage, brothers and sisters of longer than average life-spans, all born with varying abilities. Not mutant but mystical. You accidentally got in the way of Lenz who was after the GRYPHON, which was being sought by the Omegans. The Omegans were hunted by Lenz as were your family and both sides thought the other was their enemy, until Lenz revealed himself, where after a long battle, Lenz and yourselves vanished back in to relative obscurity."

"It makes for a good fairy story." Sam was playing it cool, but she was officially concerned. She knew there had been exposure over the last few years, but she had considered it to be limited and there had been no lasting repercussions. So they'd thought.

"Miss Hasard," Bridge said, standing. "Or would you prefer Miss Destine?" Then she flinched and they both knew he was on to something. "I'm not after you, or your family. Unlike most people with powers, you keep out of sight and don't bother with the world unless it bothers you and you take care for it not to, and I like that. Makes things easier, but we do know you're out there."

"What do you want?" She was resigned to the fact the secret was out, but the point that SHIELD hadn't come after them was well made.

"I wanted Lenz, to put the finishing touches to the case. The thing is, we think he's behind the barrier, but the only tangible lead we have is the Omegans, who we are after as well. Genetically enhanced radicals? Damn right we're after them."

"If I tell you what happened, will you let me go? I just want to get back to my family." Bridge nodded and she retold the story of how her younger brother and sister had taken a device that both sides had needed, resulting in the hunting of her family by Lenz and the Omegans. Lenz had finally captured them and they had been rescued by their father Adam who had defeated Lenz and let him go. Lenz had disappeared, with Adam certain that he would never bother them or humanity again, and that Lenz would find his own place somewhere. Bridge noted it all down and when she'd finished he nodded.

"As long as it's not harm to us, and not under the control of AIM, then we're done as well. Case closed, and the LENZ taskforce is closed." He sighed and ran his hand through his beard. "I'll have some of my people escort you back to…" He looked at her. "Where will you go? France is off limits, thanks to the Barrier."

"I don't know," she admitted. "Australia perhaps."

"Ever thought about joining SHIELD? You're good with secrets and in a fight."

"All I ever wanted was to be left alone." She sighed. "I guess it's what everyone wants." He nodded.

"I could always assign you to the new taskforce - investigating the Barrier. It would keep you out of things."

She looked down. "I don't know," she said. "I'd need to think about it."

"Of course." He gestured and two agents came in. "See Miss Hasard gets to wherever she wants to go. Best possible speed." They nodded.

"What about the uniform?" she asked.

"Keep it safe. You never know - you might need it." He passed her a card. "Think about what we said, and when you have - give me a call." She nodded and allowed the agents to escort her out.

"I thought about it long and hard," she said to the rest of the team, "and I came to the conclusion that I'd hidden away long enough and without the rest of the family, I was going to need help. I consulted with my brothers and sisters outside the Barrier and they were supportive. I enrolled in SHIELD and was on the Barrier Taskforce until the invasion."

"SHIELD knew all about your family then?" Roberto said. "It makes you wonder how much they do know about people."

"You'd be surprised," said Dragon. "I know I was, though it does make for some fun reading."

"Wonder what they have on me?" Jack said. "Pretty big file to have my history."

Pen chuckled. "It's weird, but Bob, Elena and me are normal aged. You guys… look pretty good for senior citizens."

"Don't cheek your elders," Sam said, with a grin.

"The files on you are sketchy after you escaped the CSA," Jessica said, ignoring the banter as she didn't like to be reminded of how old she really was. "It's one of the reasons we had a hard time finding you."

"That's a good story to tell," Pen said. "What did Jack Monroe do after he was the Scourge?"

"I did the only thing I was ever really good at. I wandered the States, and became Nomad again. Well, maybe not right away. Everyone needs a break…"

Jack Monroe - Nomad Returns

Jack Monroe opened his eyes to the small, thin beam of sunlight that pierced the slight gap in the curtains. He closed his eyes again and gave a lazy smile, thinking that this was something he certainly enjoyed. It had been a year since the confrontation between the CSA and the Thunderbolts, a year since he had been freed from CSA control and a year since Nomad and the Scourge seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth. He wasn't even going by Jack Monroe anymore, assuming the name of Gavin Jacoby and he was earning a living as a forest ranger in British Columbia. He was good at what he did, but then having the super-soldier treatments that he'd had as well as other enhancements, he was in pretty good shape for that kind of manual labour.

He liked his job, he did it well and more than anything it kept him away from the rest of the world. He knew he'd have to go back someday, he always did, but for now he wanted to enjoy a career break as such and do something productive. He killed a lot of people as the Scourge and while he'd come to terms with the fact it wasn't his fault and he'd had no control of himself at the time, he'd still done it. He wasn't ready to be a hero again yet. He wanted to be a man first, and chopping down trees allowed him to do that. He gotten himself friends, the occasional lady companion for the colder nights and it was a good life to have. No work today though, and he had a plan to hike up the mountains and survey the wonder of the planet for a while. However if he wanted to do that, he needed to get up and he did, pulling on his dressing gown and heading for the kitchen area. He put the coffee on, showered and had his breakfast on the terrace of the small log cabin that was provided for him as part of the job. It wasn't much money, but it was enough for him to live on.

The sun was quite high and he gathered his walking gear. At the back of his closet, in a protective bag was the Scourge suit. It had long since run out of power and wasn't really of much use now, but he always knew that someday he might need it again. The CSA's stockpile was still out there, even if they weren't using it, but for now he was fine without it. He closed the closet door and went out in to the morning air and started the trek up the pathway to the mountains, avoiding the obvious tourist routes, for the roads that were less well travelled. He liked meeting and helping people, but today was for himself - a pilgrimage of his own to revel in the wonder of the world. It was always on his mind how close they came to losing it every so often and yet it was still here. He kept walking, thinking about the people he'd met, those he'd called friend, those who he had made enemies of and those who he'd not been able to save. As a hero you tried to save everyone, but as a man you knew it wasn't possible to do that. People died, either by accident or by error. Living with that was what you did and it either consumed you or you made sure you did better next time. Even the most powerful of heroes couldn't save everyone and he wasn't even close to their league.

By the early afternoon, he'd reached where he wanted to be, and was very high up on the mountainside. There was a slight chill, but the sun was ensuring it wasn't too cold and he took a drink of water as he looked out across the majestic vista. There was nobody else about, no sounds of civilisation, just nature and himself.

"To those who went before," he said, raising a toast and took another drink and he sat back against a boulder and thought of things, of his life, of the women he'd known, of Sally the woman he was seeing on and off now. He'd fought the good fight and now he was on a break and this was good and he closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

He was suddenly aware of the sound of shouting and he opened his eyes. The sun was a bit lower now and he looked at his watch. He'd had a few hours of sleep in the sun and he was a bit stiff. Then there was more shouting and he stood up, shaking the stiffness off and he looked about. The echoing of the valley below meant the shouting could be coming from anywhere and he looked about, seeing if there were some sign, something he was missing that would provide a clue as to what was going on. It could be kids messing about he thought, but then there was a scream and he knew that if it was kids, then they were in trouble and there was the sound of a gunshot. Birds flew up and Monroe could see where it was. It was going to take some doing to cover that distance in a short time but then again he was good for it. He had his badge with him and he grabbed his coat and set off running down the mountain, his agility and training ensuring that he was careful where he stepped as it would be a long fall if he made a mistake. He shook his head thinking that would be a lousy way to go after everything he'd been through and he could see the headline now - NOMAD KILLED IN MOUNTAIN ACCIDENT. He soon reached the valley floor and quickly headed for where he needed to go. There was nobody there now, but there was a bullet casing on the floor and blood as well. This place was so far away from any path that if there had been any doubt than it was anything more sinister than a prank, those doubts were gone. He could really do with some backup, if he were approaching this as Gavin Jacoby, but he wasn't sure he had time to go get help. He was going to have to do this another way, the old-fashioned way. No guns, no weapons, just a man whose only weapon was himself.

He checked the floor and the blood went in a specific direction, so that was the trail he followed. The further he got along the path, the more he could hear things. Voices, people moving and from the damage to the local flora and fauna he could tell it wasn't a gentle movement of people. As he tracked them he found something on the ground - an identification badge, belonging to a Jayne Maxwell of the Canadian Forestry Service. He highly doubted that Canadian officials would be doing this, but rather were having it done to them. He shook his head, wondering if he'd come across some kind of eco-terrorists, or just a new radical bunch of tree huggers. Either way, they were going to be dangerous. And he crept up to where there was a cliff top clearing, leading down to the river below. There were six people, dressed in robes standing around two posts to which a man and a woman were both bound. The woman wasn't moving and there was a dark red stain on her chest, and Monroe knew she'd been shot, possibly for her shouting.

"In the name of the spirits," one of the robed figures was pontificating, "for the actions that you and your people have committed, leading to the murder of the hamadryads, we will sacrifice you to the elder gods so that your lives will be atonement for your crimes."

"Jayne," the man was saying. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this." The man's voice was calm, but the sweat on his brow was real and showed how scared he really was as two of the acolytes doused them in something and then stepped back. "You can't do this to us!" he screamed. "For God's sake, this is inhuman!"

"We are dryads," the cult leader hissed. "Spirits of the trees and we will avenge our brethren."

"You're crazed!" The cult leader laughed at this "CRAZED!"

"Burn them," he commanded and two of the acolytes stepped forward, burning torches in their hands. Jack had seen enough and he ran in, grabbing one of the acolytes by the arm, twisting it with a snap and the arm hung loosely at the man's side as he writhed in agony. "STOP HIM!"

The Dryads dropped their torches and pulled guns out and started to fire, as Nomad dived for cover behind a nearby boulder, avoiding the bullets. Four of them, one of him. He didn't like the odds that much but then again… he picked up a loose rock, turned and threw it at one of the gunmen. His aim was true and it struck one of them in the side of the head, breaking the man's nose. Blood gushed forwards and the man grabbed his weapon.

"Help!" called the forestry service worker. "The torches…" Nomad looked and he could see whatever they'd been doused in was trickling towards the abandoned torches and he shook his head. He was going to have to do this and quickly and he ran from the cover. He felt the impacts of two of the bullets but he ignored it, dived and grabbed the torches, throwing one and then the other at the closest Dryads, igniting their robes and turning them in to the human bonfires that they had anticipated turning their captives in to. Their friend tried to help only to catch ablaze himself and now only the cult leader remained.

"It's over," Nomad said as the cult leader gave a slow hand clap. "Dryads? That's just insane. Whatever made you think you were dryads? For a start they're supposedly female and…" The leader took off his hood and Nomad's eyes went wide. "You are female?!" She had a very deep voice and a muscular physique. "No wonder you've gone insane." She shook her head and lightning flew from her hands and Nomad dived out of the way.

"I am a Dryad - though my parents were mortal. They cast me out in to the forests and I knew that I belonged here…" She fired lightning again.

"Oh great," said Monroe. She had to be a mutant or something and her parents must have abandoned her in the woods. He regretted his glib comment of earlier as it must have damaged her mind and she had found other people to help her. She needed help, but he had to stop her first. She was powerful in her own right and he charged at her.

"You cannot defeat me. The power of the spirits is within me!" she spoke but Nomad wrestled with her, the endless hours of training with Captain America amongst others coming in to play. She was strong, but he was trained and then she surrounded them in electricity and his body gave an involuntarily spasm. In doing so he kicked out and sent her flying.

"NO!" he said as she flew over the edge of the cliff and he could see her hand as she grabbed on to the edge. His injuries and electrocution made him sluggish and he scrambled as best he could towards her, but her grip was weakening. "Grab my hand," he said as he reached out and she held on, but there was very little strength left in his arms. "Climb, for God's sake, I can't hold you…" She looked at him and he looked at her and then she let go and fell. "No," he whispered as he watched her fall in to the river and the current swept her away and she was gone. "Dammit." He knew he'd saved two lives, two innocents, but she didn't need to die. He could have prevented it, he knew it, but he hadn't been Nomad for so long. He'd been Gavin Jacoby and it taught him a valuable lesson - no matter what name he had or what he chose to do with his life he would always be Nomad, or Bucky, or the Scourge or whatever codename he had.

He'd been chosen to be a hero and he knew that his break was over - there were things he needed to get back to, and he let the badge he had worn as a park ranger fall over the cliff. Gavin Jacoby's time was over, it was time for Jack Monroe to return.

"So what happened after that?" Jessica asked.

"There were questions asked," Jack replied, "paperwork to fill in. The woman spent a few weeks in intensive care but she made it in the end. Gavin Jacoby filed for leave of absence and then he just disappeared. I wandered around the States, doing my hero thing until the Martians attacked, when I just happened to be up in Victoria Falls. I stayed there and did what I could." He closed his eyes. "Now I'm here."

"Interesting," Elena said after a moment. "There are reasons we do what we do, and how we came to be here. So many similarities, but so many differences too."

"Synergy, love. The whole is greater than the sum of our parts," Dragon said.

"That's not synergy," Sam said. "Well it is, but it's not what Elena means."

"What does she mean then?" Pen asked, turning to look at her.

"I don't know," Sam replied, with a shrug. "But it's not synergy."

"Our group is full of synergy," said Pen.

"That's true," Elena answered. "But our origins and how we got here is not synergy. It is something else."

"My head hurts," Jack said with a groan. "Do we have to do this now?

Roberto nodded "Agreed. Guys, it's a bit late to be discussing semantics," he said. "How about we get some sleep and continue this in the morning?"

"Good plan," said Jessica. "We need to be at our best if we're going to face the Red Lord."

"Unfortunately, that's not an option," a voice boomed and the team were on their feet in a moment to see six figures standing there.

"Okay this isn't good," said Pen and the strangers laughed.

"Never a truer word was spoken," said the man who had previously spoken. "Now, you will die at the hands of the Evil Walkers…"

EPILOGUE

The Green Knight watched on wondering and hoping that the surprise arrival of the Evil Walkers would not have as dire an effect as the Bane had hoped. This was why they had reforged Caliburn, and though it was close to hand, it was not with the champions, not yet. However fate would have a hand as it always did, and he had placed his faith that fate would not steer them wrong.

"But which of them is Arthur's heir?"

"My lord," said one of the messengers arriving and bowing low in reverence to him, "the Lady has collapsed." In a moment the Green Knight was on his feet and he hurried to the chamber of the Lady of the Lake. At first he wondered what Merlyn had done to her, but it made no sense that he would do something negative to the object of his desires. It left one possibility, but that was not something he had contemplated. The power of the Green would have protected the Lady, but as he arrived close to her, he could sense no illness. Whatever affected her would in turn affect the Green, and if there were an illness he would have felt it. However there was something wrong with her and he gazed over her and examined the woman, the chosen one and he knew what had happened, what he had dreaded.

He knew that Merlyn had long lusted after her and he had assumed that it was because she was a female, but it was not merely her body he had wanted but her power as well. He bowed his head in respect.

"My lady," he said. "I had heard you had collapsed and was worried for you