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"Dignity, the hallmark of our action. Shaking hands with history. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom, until the end of my days"
- Nelson Mandela
There was nothing the others could do but watch in horror and disbelief as the Red Lord closed his hand around Pen Dragon's extracted heart and crushed it, the organ becoming a dark red mush between his fingers.
"NO!" Jessica shouted, knowing this wasn't the way it was supposed to play out as the minions of the Bane entered the room, surrounding the Claws, but then she caught the nod from Dragon, in the last few moments of his life and she knew what he was telling her. She was the one that held Caliburn, she was the Pendragon now. He'd been a man from another world, orphaned by his reality and trying to find himself a place in the multiverse. He was done and the story of this Pete Wisdom was over, and a wave of sadness hit her as she realised just how much she was going to miss him.
"Kick his arse," he said, his final words and then he closed his eyes and his body went limp. He was gone and now she was angry.
"Take them," she told the others, her gaze fixed firmly on the Red Lord. "He's mine."
"And what makes you think you can best me, without this?" he said, waving Caliburn at her and she smiled.
"Did you really think I'd give you the sword?"
The Red Lord's cocky swagger faltered. "What? I feel the magic…"
"That would be Elena projecting my thoughts to you," Jess said and she flicked her PPG, opening the ring and the real Caliburn was released, growing in to her hand. "Sam made the thing you're holding." She stood apart from him and to anyone looking on it was as if a scene in history was being replayed - The Red Lord of the Bane versus the Champion of the Green.
"You cannot beat me, a mere woman…" The Red Lord hissed, in fury at being so easily fooled by the deception and in his mind he could hear the spirit of Pen Dragon laughing at him, for focusing solely on him, as the man had so obviously always planned.
Jess smiled, thinking it was an irony the only time she was ever going to say this and he wasn't here to hear it. "My boss just told me to kick your arse. Guess what happens next?"
She charged at him and the Red Lord swung the sword he held towards her, the blades meeting and connecting with a resounding clang. In that moment, everything made sense to Jessica, why she had always felt different, even before she had been Spider-Woman, why she had gained powers through the experiments of the High Evolutionary, the mystical potential she had within her being transformed in to something else, and why Morgan Le Fay had pursued her with such vehemence, eventually resulting in the loss of her powers.
Morgan must have seen the spirit of Arthur within her, even if it couldn't be released and the two of them had battled to it's dire conclusion. Only the aid of Stephen Strange had saved Jessica then, and she wondered if Strange had seen the truth of what she should have been. She would make it a point of seeking him out when they got home and finding the whole truth. It didn't explain the effect of her powers on the Martian's though, but what was life without it's mysteries?
The Red Lord was a master swordsman and master of power of the Bane. His strength and skill were enormous, but Jessica had the proportionate strength of a spider, and as Spider-Man had proven time and again, the limits of that were quite high, even if he didn't utilise it all the time. Neither did Jessica, but she was putting everything she had in to the fight now, using acrobatics, incredible strength and the ability to stick to walls. Her pheromones had no effect on him, and she had hoped that he would desire her, and it would make him hesitant, but the mystical energy seemed to protect him. That meant it would be a fair fight, as much as it could be. Every parry, every thrust, every jab, every stroke was met and countered in a display of swordsmanship that had not been displayed in a long age, but there were few paying attention as the four remaining Claws used their own powers and skills to fight of minions of the Bane, minions who weren't used to such powers.
Elena's mental might was as effective on these beings as any she had known, and it was enjoyable for her to cut loose, confusing and distracting her enemies with her psionics, as well as using the powers to strike down any of them that got too close to her. Her control over them was effective and allowed the others to do what they had to do: get in there and take the fight to the enemy. They had never intended to be Dragon's Claws, but it was what they'd become in spite of themselves, and with their leader gone, they knew they had to show him that he had meant a lot to them, from whatever Hell he was watching them from. In truth, a man like him was never destined for anywhere else, and they all knew that.
Nomad was also enjoying the freedom away from the Scourge suit and he began to realise it had been holding him back, that he had become too reliant on the technology instead of using his natural skills. He could have been the next Captain America, and when the world was restored to normal, he might yet be. For the first time in a long time, he remembered what the symbolism of Cap had meant to people, had meant to him. He was more than a soldier, he was an inspiration, a way of turning the tide when everything seemed lost. Steve Rogers was one in a million, a man who could be emulated, but never repeated. Jack Monroe had lost that somewhere along the way, but he had found it again, found a deeper sense of purpose and the sins of the past were gone now. They'd been gone a long time, but he hadn't let go. What had started with the destruction of the Scourge suit had reached it's ultimate conclusion and Jack Monroe had been reborn. It was time to show these people that and he went to town, fighting with every bit of skill and power he had, showing them why he had always been enamoured of the legend that was Captain America, even if these people had no idea what that meant. It was enough for him to know that.
Samantha was different, almost savage in her attacks. Her body was coated in the armour she formed from her metallic ectoplasm, but it was different to what it had been before. Her armour had always been reflective of her artistic mind, but her mind was filled with grief and anger over the death of Pen. She had trusted him when others hadn't, she had seen him in action first hand and she knew what kind of person he truly was. She'd grown to like him, and feel genuine affection. There was something about him… Now her amour was spiked, and rippled, genuinely defensive. Claws spread from the wrists, and she held a broadsword in her hand. She was intent on vengeance and destruction and as she moved through the minions with a flowing grace, she hacked, slashed and cut with something less that gracefulness. It was akin to butchery, and blood ran freely as she fought. It was not enough that these creatures had made her suffer, had killed her friend and had tried to pervert the course of history - they had cut her off from her family in the future and now it was the chance for her revenge. They died and died hard, but it was not hard enough for her liking.
Roberto was doing his bit as well. Fire cascaded down from the air, burning some and igniting others as he let out his own anger at what had happened, what they had witnessed, what they had been unable to stop. Another person he knew, struck down before him and yet again he'd not been able to do anything. He knew he was an alpha-class mutant, one whose power levels went off the charts, but for all his power, he seemed at times to be as helpless as any flatscan. Roberto knew in his heart he was capably of great evil, and the greatest of all those was simply letting things happen. He had promised long ago he wouldn't do that, but circumstances conspired against him. He unleashed everything he could from the air, letting loose bursts of super-heated energy at the assailants below. Occasionally one of them would take to the air themselves and he would smash them down with his great strength. Roberto DaCosta was a man of fierce temper, and though he had more control thanks to the many Askani teachings Cable had shown him, he was still ready to unleash it and he promised that Dragon's demise would not be in vain and that the Bane would long remember Dragon's Claws and hate the name as it hated the Pendragons themselves.
From the castle of the Green Knight, the Knight and the Lady of the Lake watched as the battle ensued, both silently grieving for the death of Pen Dragon. The man had fought valiantly and given his life for the cause, because the need was their. He wasn't a perfect man, and he had done much in his life that could never be forgotten, but his atonement had been a remarkable one. Now the people that had worked with him were fighting in his name, and that was something. The minions of the Red Lord were being held at bay and the Red Lord himself was taking some punishment at the hands of Arthur's heir.
"The loss of only one of them is perfectly acceptable," said Merlyn, appearing behind them. "I really had thought they'd have lost half their company by now. Most… encouraging."
"Merlyn," said the Green Knight, seeing him for the first time since the sword had been reforged. "Have you any idea what you have done?"
"Oh yes," said Merlyn, looking at the scrying pool at the assault on the Bane. "Indeed I do. This is a repayment of an old debt…" His thoughts turned to Necrom and the chaos that had been unleashed. He knew the sorcerer had been corrupted by the Bane and though it had worked out well enough for him, Merlyn did not forget the cause of the troubles, and he was also well aware that one day Necrom would return. However plans were already in hand for that eventuality.
"I meant with the Lady," the Knight growled, in annoyance at the sorcerer.
"Of course I do," snapped Merlyn and he looked at her. "She knows well of my feelings, as I of hers."
"She is with child," the Green Knight said. "Do you realise what that means?"
"I do," said Merlyn, pleased with himself at what had accomplished. "She will give birth and the child will be heir to the throne of Otherworld and the power of the Green. The child will be a power the Bane can never touch, a greater power than you or I could ever imagine. They will unite Otherworld and the Green and a new era will begin. A masterful plan, born of love, born of magic."
"You're a fool," chided the Knight, knowing the mage did not yet understand what he had wrought. "Twins, Merlyn. There are two children growing within her - the power is divided still!"
The wizard's eyes went wide. "Impossible," Merlyn whispered. "It cannot be…"
"But it can," the Green Knight answered with a sigh. "Your mastery is not absolute. A boy and a girl." Merlyn seemed to shrink, pondering the matter. He had not foreseen this.
"It changes nothing," he said. "It must not. The two houses must be joined…"
"Not this way," the other said. "However that is something we will go in to in due course." Merlyn moved over to the Lady and lightly kissed her on the forehead.
"Forgive me," he said and the Green Knight looked on. He had never seen this side of the man. He was arrogant, condescending and cruel - but he had never acted with such tenderness. "It will be worth it, in the end. I will find a way."
"The battle continues," the Lady said and Merlyn nodded.
"The Bane has made a grave miscalculation," he said. "In the heart of the stone circle, Caliburn gained great power from the mystic stones, channelling magic direct from the energy matrix itself." He seemed almost amused by that. "How else would a mortal woman take down the Dark Walkers?"
"I had wondered," the Green Knight said. "Did you…"
"Direct the sword to fall in to a nexus point?" Merlyn interrupted. "You over-estimate my abilities."
"Of course," the Green Knight said, not believing that for a moment. "And now?"
"The Bane is housed within the stones, until now masking itself from our sight. Through the sword we can see in to their heart, and the sword will take from the same power as the Bane does." He gave in to a low, throaty chuckle. "There will be a reckoning for this, I know, but for now…" He smiled at them both. "For now, let us watch a great happening. We will not see it's like again for many an age…"
The Claws were battered, bloodied and bruised but they had done their part in the battle. The minions of the Bane were broken, dying and dead about them, the remainder had fled and as the forces had dwindled and they'd realised there was nothing more that could be gained here. It was down to their Lord and master, who was involved in the best fight he had been in for many a year.
He had to admit that the reactions of his opponent were impressive and perhaps superior to his own, and he wondered if the many years of inferior opponents had weakened him, if he had let things slide, but one thing was clear now - this was a fight to the death and he could not afford to hesitate to focus and call on magic to aid him in this, for the moment he took time to cast even the briefest of spells she would be on him and he couldn't get away. The others had taken a position around him, creating a circle of power in which the duel occurred, leaving a gap between himself and the corpse of Pen Dragon. It was then and only then that the Red Lord realised what had happened, where they were standing the circle wasn't a circle at all - for if you included the position of the corpse of Pen Dragon, the lines between them all joined up and formed a pentagram. Surely this was by coincidence, rather than by design for none of them possessed any mystical skill, but it was too much of a coincidence that the battle was equally matched and as the Red Lord tried to step beyond what would have been the boundaries of the imagined pentagram, he found he could not.
It was the sword, subconsciously guiding them, it had to be and for the first time in centuries the Red Lord suddenly felt true fear and he doubted whether he could win this, but then he wondered - how was it that the Pentagram was formed? Pen Dragon was dead, his body ruined. Could his spirit still be here, was the laughter he had heard in his mind earlier be more than imagination?
I was as surprised as you are.
The Red Lord heard the voice as clearly as if it were spoken, but nobody else seemed to and for a moment he lowered his defences and Jessica struck. The Red Lord tried to react in time, but failed as Caliburn passed through his armour, deep inside him and out of the other side. She twisted the blade, pulling it free again as she did so and the Red Lord knew he'd been mortally wounded. The sword, with the mystical power of the pentagram had tapped in to the same power the Bane had used to hide itself away and it had created the opportunity. There was little choice in the matter - he needed to retreat, to draw upon the power of the Bane before his body died and retreat to a safe place, a limbo-like dimension between the worlds, and he knew that doing so would cause the other remnants of the Bane to be drawn in with him. They would not be able to return to this plane in a physical state for many years, if ever, though the Bane would always be able to influence the weak-minded.
Using their own pentagram against them, the Red Lord marshalled the power he needed and cast his spell, a giant void opening up in the skies above them, sucking and pulling the forces of the Bane in to it, reaching as far and as wide as the Walkers, wounded and trapped in the stone circle where Pen Dragon and the Lady Drew had left them. As the Red Lord let himself drift in to the void, he felt a clarity from the Bane - that this was they way things had meant to be. At last they saw it and realised something that gave them all much comfort. One way or another, time would not be denied.
Much had been learnt of this encounter, but much had been lost as well and the Red Lord knew that the Green had needed help in doing this. Pen Dragon had the taint of Merlyn about him and the Bane would have it's vengeance on the Otherworldly sorcerer and in time it would have it's revenge on Dragon's Claws as well. There was plenty of planning and opportunity between now and the rise of the Black Mass Barrier. They had lost this battle, but there was some comfort in knowing they would win the war and the future would be theirs…
"What happened?" cried Jessica as the castle began to crumble around them, the violent mystical winds raging about them.
"Couldn't move!" Sam shouted. "Whatever he did to cast this thing held us in place."
"Let's get the hell out of here," said Jack. "We're dead if we stay."
"I'll get Pen," Jess said, but as she tried to get to him the castle walls crumbled, falling and covering the body. "NO!" she shouted, in defiant despair. They couldn't leave him here, they couldn't, and she tried to get over there, to uncover him.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME!" Roberto shouted. "WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" Each of them felt the same, that no matter what they shouldn't leave him, but it was Dragon's body or their lives. He wouldn't have wanted that and they hurried, making their way out as fast as they could, only just escaping as the castle collapsed and was gone, reduced to nothing more than a ruined shell.
"Pen," said Jessica, tears streaming down her face. "What the hell did you have to do that for?"
"It was what was needed," said Sam, also crying as she put her hand on Jessica's shoulder. "You… we… did what we had to do." She looked at Caliburn. "You're the leader now. The sword chose you."
"Good job we're not British," said Jack. "Means we don't have to bow, or whatever." The joke was meant to lighten the mood, but it didn't and they stood there in silence, as if expecting Pen to emerge, make light of it all and astound them with his miraculous escape. He didn't, but they waited nonetheless.
"What happened?" Lei Kang asked, as he, Kimiko and Fudo emerged from the shadows and Jessica explained. "How can we get home without him?"
"I can send you," said Kate Pryde-Rasputin, appearing to them. "The timeline is restored, I can take you home. Jessica, the sword…"
"We'll find a lake before we go," said Jessica. "Cast it in to the water. The Lady of the Lake will find it, no matter where the lake is. Can you find the things that shouldn't be here and… get rid of them?" Kate nodded.
"The nearest lake is about a mile north of here," she said. "When you're done, call my name, and I'll take you home." Jessica nodded and she and the others started to make their way from the place in silence, leaving Kate to do what she needed to do. The guardian of time looked to the burial mound of her friend, her one-time lover. It wasn't the same man as she had known and been with, she knew that, but at the same time... What she owed this man was invaluable and even though she had no tears as a spirit form, she was crying on the inside.
"Goodbye, Pete," she whispered and then she got on with what she needed to do.
