|
|
"EXPLICIT LIBER REGIS QUONDAM REGISQUE FUTURI
THE BEGINNING"
- T H White, 'The Once and Future King'
The Green Knight watched as the two heroes ran over the Welsh plains towards the stone circle, the place where Caliburn, the Sword in the Stone had fallen after he had cast it away. Magical forces had guided it to the resting place, the enchantments on the sword would keep it safe and the power that the true Excalibur had infused within Caliburn would grant the Arthur's heir the power to fight the Evil Walkers and the Red Lord. It was all up to fate now and he hoped they reached it in time, as Pen Dragon was wounded and both he and the young woman were tiring. They'd not had much rest between their journey and the fight and he had to place his trust in destiny, as he always had, but he knew the Walkers were gaining.
They reached the circle, but as they got there Pen Dragon staggered, his injuries catching up with him, but with the power of Excalibur coursing through him that would fix things and they soon saw the sword. If he needed to breathe the Green Knight would have held his breath as he saw the man take hold of the sword. Both he and Merlyn had sensed that the one destined to wield the sword was and was not, the heir of Arthur. This made it impossible to divine the identity of the one, but it made sense that Pen Dragon would be the one - a man from this world, yet not from this world, but something was wrong. The sword would not pull free and the Green Knight was horrified. Had something gone wrong with the freeing of the sword? How could it be that the magic did not respond to the man? Then the Walkers arrived, and the Green Knight felt a depth of sorrow, thinking that the champions who had come so far were to be defeated now. Was this what destiny had chosen for them? It seemed unthinkable, but then the Green Knight saw that Pen Dragon wasn't finished yet and his companion grabbed the sword.
Then the Green Knight felt the call of the magic, as Jessica Drew pulled Caliburn free. He did not understand how she was and yet was not Arthur's heir, but the sword was meant for her. She was the true soul of the Pendragon, defender of the crown, champion of the Green and if she so desired she was also Queen of England. It shamed him that he had not considered her to be the one to free the sword, but then again whoever had said the heir of Arthur would be male?
Pen Dragon saw the looks on the faces of the six Evil Walkers and a smile crept over his lips. He knew when people were afraid and with Jess holding the legendary sword in the stone, he didn't blame them.
"And now it gets interesting," he said, almost in a whisper and he could see the change in her stature, her stance, her very presence. She was the same yet different and there was certainly a newfound power flowing through her. Pen wasn't sure how he could feel it, but it was there and whatever residual energies he was feeling, then the Walkers were getting the full effect.
"Take her!" Mordred commanded. Karadoc unleashed a barrage of flame as Sartac and Balor charged towards her, Gurien staying where he was, for while he knew he was stronger than the two of them, but his greater strength reduced his speed and she was very fast. Karadoc's mystic fire reached her first, but holding Excalibur before her, the flames parted around her, carved apart by the magic within the blade and Karadoc knew he needed a new strategy, but Sartac and Balor would ensure he didn't need it.
Or so they believed, but Jessica jumped up, kicking out and slamming her feet in to the faces of her oncoming attackers, as she spread her legs wide, bending so her arms were below her hips, pulling the rest of her body down with the momentum of the move. As she descended she fired two of venom blasts, which struck the Walkers with an intensity Dragon hadn't even seen her use on the Martians. While it didn't have such an explosive effect as it had on the aliens, it felled the two Walkers, bypassing their mystical defences and slamming them in to the mammoth pillars of the stone circle, bringing them down on top of them. Jessica landed in a crouch, one hand on the floor for support the other holding the sword, ready for the next attack.
"Impressive," said Cormac, drawing his own sword. "I often wondered what it would have been like to face Arthur in battle, for his skill with a sword awed even Mordred."
"Your memerismic powers have no effect on me," she said, cool resolve in her voice. "And you will never pull the sword from me with your telekinetics."
"So it will be a true battle," Cormac said and gave a slight bow and then the swords clashed, the clang of metal on metal echoing around. Strike was met with thrust was met with parry and Dragon had no idea of where Jessica had learned to use a sword, unless it was the sword itself guiding her hand. She was certainly giving the Walker a fight, but then Dragon realised that there were still other Walkers and the odds of them fighting fair… He could see the giant one trying to get behind Jess and while he wouldn't have been able to take him in a fist fight in normal circumstances, let alone with a huge gash in his side, he could shoot the bastard easily enough.
He unleashed a barrage of hot knives in to him and Gurien staggered under the assault of it. He turned around and looked at Dragon who smiled, and kept on firing hot knife after hot knife and Gurien stomped over to him and Dragon fired more and just as the Walker had him within reach he stumbled and fell, his skin marked and torn, his body ravaged and unable to keep going in spite of such incredible damage. Dragon gave a sigh of relief. That kind of assault would have reduced a normal man to ashes, but the Walker had taken almost everything he had. His own wound wasn't bleeding as much, but he was still weak, but Cormac and Jessica were still going for it, Cormac's armour protecting him and Jessica agility saving her. Mordred was obviously trying to do something with his magic, but something was protecting her from it.
"The power of Excalibur," he whispered and then Cormac did something fancy, twisting and spinning, knocking the blade from her hand and Excalibur sailed through the air and landed, embedding itself in the turf and Jessica seemed diminished without it.
"A good fight," Cormac said, holding her in place with his powers, as she struggled in the air to be free. "You were a worthy adversary, but this is the way it was always meant to end. It will be swift." He hefted his sword up in the air, ready to cleave to the young woman in two with one strike. Jessica knew it would be quick, but wondered if she would feel the blade before it slice her brain in two but before it came down, Dragon fired his hot knife, wrapping it around Cormac's hand and he wrenched the man forward, throwing off the blow and forcing the weapon from his hand. As Cormac stumbled, Jessica hit him with a venom blast, pushing him in to the floor
"MORDRED! If you want her, you have to go through me," he said, barely able to stand.
"The knight defends his queen," said Mordred, addressing Karadoc. "I had thought you of little consequence, Pen Dragon, but now I see why these others hold you in such high regard. You have felled Gurien and stopped Cormac from accomplishing his kill."
"And you're next," Dragon said.
Mordred laughed at the impudence of the man. "You can barely move and I suspect that you don't have the power left within you, otherwise you would have done more to Cormac." Then a cruel smile crept over his face. "Perhaps… I should turn you to stone and leave you here as a monument to all who take on the Bane. Forever alive, but forever helpless."
"Try it," said Dragon and as Mordred prepared his spell, Dragon used what little strength he had left to form one last hot knife, and send it out to where Excalibur was on the ground and he yanked it over. It reached his hand just as Mordred finished the incantation and the sword's power protected him, sending the spell back at the sorcerer, who watched aghast, and he screamed in defiance at his spell as it consumed him.
"Mordred!" Karadoc cried, knowing the sorcerer would be able to free himself eventually. In the meantime Cormac was on his feet again.
"JESS!" shouted Pen and threw her Excalibur and she caught it, and ran Cormac through. The Walker was wounded and out of the fight, but it left Karadoc open to attack Dragon and he unleashed his powers on him, engulfing the man in mystic fire, the smell of burning flesh filling the air as it did so and Karadoc looked at the Queen reborn. He couldn't take her, but he knew she wouldn't be able to take the Red Lord. Her other friends were captured and her companion dead.
"I will see you again," he said, "and you will beg for mercy."
"Not from you," said Dragon, emerging from the flames. "That all you got, pillock?" His clothing was gone and his skin was very red, but he was alive.
"Impossible," Karadoc said, in stunned awe. "None of mortal blood have survived the dragonfire."
"Always a first time," Dragon said and then Karadoc realised he'd forgotten Jessica and he turned and she rammed the blade through his gut.
"Beg for this," she said and twisted the sword. Karadoc's eyes went wide and then Jess lowered her arm and he slipped from the sword to the floor. The Walkers were powerful beings and perhaps they would survive, but for now they were defeated. Dragon gingerly touched his wounded side, feeling the wound that had been effectively seared up by the flames. He also felt a bit stronger too, and wondered if that was a residual thing from Excalibur and then he saw Jess drop the sword and fall to her knees. Exhaustion was consuming her and he ran over.
"You okay?" he said and she nodded.
"Mystical power," she said, almost inaudible. "Caliburn's power was enhanced by the stone circle. This is a sacred space."
"Caliburn? I thought it was Excalibur." Pen was getting confused.
"This is not the sword of power, but it contains aspects of it."
He cradled her head in his arms, seeing how weak she was now. "How do you know this?"
"I just do," she said. "I just do…" She closed her eyes and her head went limp. Whatever had gone on had taken a lot out of her and Dragon sighed as he took stock. Mordred was a lump of stone, Karadoc and Cormac were bleeding profusely, Gurien was out of things and that left Sartac and Balor, who would more than likely regain consciousness soon.
"Good," he muttered. They'd need to find out what was going on and they were the only ones who would be able to tell them. He just needed to keep docile and noticed the ring on Jessica's finger. "Her PPG. Wish I had mine, it'd have evened things up a bit." He smiled as he removed it, flicked it and produced a handgun, which came out and grew from it's Pym particle induced miniature form to normal size. "Perfect," he said, and wandered over to the Walkers. "Let's show the mages the wonders of science…"
The Red Clan delivered the captured warriors to the Red Lord's castle, as per his instructions. He had considered killing them, but there were things as yet unanswered, matters that the Bane wanted expansion on. He would only get those answers from the men and women that had been brought before him. They were battered, bruised and burnt, but they were alive and that was what counted. He knew the Walkers had been defeated, and he had sensed the spirit of Arthur return. That damned legend - Merlin had been a cunning mage and in England's darkest hour, the once and future king returned, if only for a little while.
"Curse you, Merlin," the Red Lord said, wondering how long the wizard had survived, entombed as he had been. It gave him some small cheer to think of Merlin dying of starvation, thirst or perhaps even suffocation. "May whatever demons that feast on your soul enjoy their meal."
However, before he turned his attention to that, the Bane had come a conclusion in regard of the alien. They had learnt enough from him and the ramifications of his continued presence in the timeline would create more problems than they would solve. They knew that they had to bide their time, and victory would come and they had also acquired these new champions to provide them with other details.
The creature was brought before him and The Red Lord smiled.
"Welcome, my friend," he said. "These are of your own timeline, if I am correct." The Martian looked over them.
"Yes," he said. "I recognise the some of them. They work for a Terran called Pen Dragon, who we believe to be also known as Pete Wisdom, but our reports suggested he was behind the Barrier." He looked at them, hatred in his alien eyes. "If he is still alive, you need best be aware."
"Oh believe me, I am." The Red Lord could feel this Pen Dragon, or whatever his name really was, was one of those people who caused mayhem wherever he went. Throughout history there had been wildcards, those for whom you couldn't plan, and your best bet was to either turn them or eradicate them. "We don't believe they will be the last to pursue you."
The alien took a step back, becoming wary of what was going on. "You knew this would come. I warned you."
"You did. However the cost of defending you has become more than anticipated. Your presence in this timeline…" He towered over the creature. "Is at an end." The Red Lord gestured and the alien was grabbed by dark mystical forces. It gave out a shrill cry, a sound unlike anything the Red Lord had ever heard, driving him mad. What would have been a clean end for the creature became a bloody death, as dark spirits appeared around the invader, pulling, shredding and pulping until there was nothing left but a large, dark patch of organic material on the floor, but the sound kept on regardless. "What is this trickery?" the Red Lord growled, and grabbed a torch and threw it at the patch, which ignited. As the remains burned with a dark green flame, the sound died.
The Red Lord was not happy - obviously the creature had some kind of warning device and who knew how far the signal would go - perhaps to it's own kind, wherever they were. Was this the incident that had caused them to come to Earth in the first place, or had they inadvertently caused the invasion of the planet to occur sooner than it would have done? Now more than ever, he needed the captives they had taken, and he had no other choice than to face the woman who held the sword. In a flash, he knew what needed to be done. The Bane needed to take possession of Caliburn…
Kate Pryde-Rasputin's eyes went wide in shock as the timeline altered before her. The defeat of the heroes of Earth at the hand of the Martians was no longer certain and the balance had been restored, but only for a moment, as things changed once more. Within the Barrier itself, what had been the England was nothing that she recognised. The legacy of the Pendragons had been consumed by the minions of the Red Lord, the power of the Green was threatened and Otherworld was under constant attack by the forces of the Bane.
The Barrier would still fall, but instead of the heroic forces behind it being unleashed on the invaders, the Bane would be freed across the globe, destroying the aliens and spreading it's influence to other worlds and, through Otherworld, across the Multiverse as well.
"It's not supposed to be like this," she said and as she tired to contact Pete via the medallion she had given him, she became aware she couldn't. She focused on the man with the viewing devices, she saw he'd lost it, perhaps in the battle he had fought, and she couldn't leave Limbo, because she needed to direct all her energies from keeping the timeline itself from collapsing from the stresses being placed on it. If she didn't act now, time itself would fall apart…
"The thing with hot knives is they're clean, they do what they need to do without leaving too much mess, or causing more pain than necessary. Guns, on the other hand… Guns are nasty."
Balor and Sartac had found that out to their cost as Dragon had restrained the both of them, and then shot both of their knees off, and he still had some bullets left. Their legs were useless, meaning they couldn't stand or fight back. The first time he shot them they'd been brave. They'd not been as brave the second time.
"I need answers," Pen said, as he crouched near them. "Now I've never heard of you, which means at some point you disappeared. Could be in the future. Could even be now." He pointed the gun at Balor, just out of reach of the man's grasp, in case he got upset and snapped his bonds. "The question is - do you feel lucky?" His finger gently stroked the trigger. "Well, do ya, punk?"
"How long have you wanted to do that?" Jessica asked, shaking her head in disbelief at what she was seeing.
"Ever since I joined SHIELD," Pen admitted, glancing back at her. "Oh, come on, Dirty Harry's a classic. Besides…" He looked at them. "It's quite apt."
"You'll get nothing from us," Sartac hissed. "The Red Lord will…." Pen stood on his injured knee and Sartac cried out in pain.
"Yeah, that hurts, doesn't it?" said Pen. He looked at Balor. "You know all about torture, don't you?" Balor's eyes were fixed on Dragon. "Wait until you see what we've come up with in the last few hundred years…" Balor looked in Pen Dragon's eyes and he could see something in them that he recognised - an unmitigated capacity for inflicting pain. There was blood on the man's soul. He'd killed men, women, children, babies, animals… Balor could respect that.
On the other hand, Jessica was uncomfortable with this, but she knew that they needed to get information from them and if the roles were reversed they'd do the same. She'd witnessed torture before, she'd been on the receiving end several times. She looked at Balor and Pen Dragon and she could see the similarities there, the way they looked at each other, the sheer sense of darkness they were radiating. Maybe it wa because of Caliburn, but she had never sensed this from Dragon before, even though he had been quite candid with his past. Whatever darkness, whatever demons he kept in check, he could quite easily release them as well. That was a scary thought and she was slightly comforted by the fact he was on her side.
"I'll tell you what you need to know," Balor said and Pen looked at him, with distrust.
"Really?" he said. "And without being pressured?"
"The Bane commands me to tell you," he said, with a smile. "To give you directions to the castle."
"It's a trap," said Jessica.
"Of course it is," Dragon said. "He wants you. Or the sword. Or both." He looked at her. "Either way, you know we have to go and face him, kill the alien, restore the timeline and then Kate can get us the hell out of here, back to stopping the invasion."
Balor chuckled. "You will never return to your world," he said. "The Bane has plans for you both."
"Then tell me where we can find the Red Lord." Pen wasn't impressed and Balor gave instructions as to how to find him. "Got it," he said and shot both Balor and Sartac in the gut. Balor's eyes asked why. "Well, it's a trap. Did you really think I'd let that go? Besides you're Walkers, you'll recover, in time."
"You should have finished us!" Sartac called as Pen and Jessica walked away. "You'll regret this in the coming times, Pen Dragon!"
"Why didn't you kill them?" Jessica said.
"Because they're not destined to die, yet," said Pen. "There's going to be a battle on Otherworld, a few hundred years from now. Captain Britain's going to be there and Brian told me all about it when we were in Excalibur together."
Jessica was confused. "But you said you'd never heard of them."
"I lied." She looked at him and shook her head. "What? You didn't think I was going to tell either of those two pillocks the truth? Kate said the timeline was in a mess - I'm not going to screw with that. Besides, I have a plan." Jessica rolled her eyes. "Trust me. If we're going to spring this trap, then we're going to need a few surprises."
"Such as?"
"I'm going to take on the Red Lord. Alone."
