"Bilbo's the word, and slaughter will ensure."
- William Congreve, The Old Bachelor

---

It was all Samantha Hasard could do to watch in horror as the Tripod weapon fired the deadly beam of towards Pen Dragon, who could do nothing to get himself clear. He had only just managed to get Jessica Drew clear of the oncoming blast, with no time to save himself before the intense heat and light cascaded around him, and the man was engulfed by the violent flow of energy.

"WISDOM!" she shouted, using the name of the man they believed him to be, but there was nothing else she or Jessica or Jack Monroe could do about it, and he was lost from their view. The energy faded and nothing at all remained where the man had been standing but a crater where the ground simply had been burnt away by the fury of the alien weapon. Now the world seemed to be deathly still. No sound was, no movement was seen, not even from the Skorpsmen, and then it happened. A hand emerged from the crater, red but otherwise seemingly unscathed.

"Impossible," said Monroe as he watched Dragon emerge from the crater, his clothing burnt away, his body red and scorched, but he was alive. The Skorpsmen could do nothing but stare - nobody had ever survived a direct hit from a Tripod before, and the resistance fighters took advantage of it while Dragon stood there, the air shimmering with the intensity of the heat and he looked at the Tripod and fired everything he had at the thing. Hot knives formed around his body and they flew through the air, wave after wave striking at the Tripod in as many places as was possible, as well as striking the Skorpsmen, who tried to stop him. It wasn't long before the Tripod exploded under the repeated assault and the explosion echoed across the small town, as if it signalled the death knell of the alien presence in Victoria Falls.

"Now we're even," Dragon said, with an angry menace in his voice, and then he dropped to his knees, tiredness filling him. He'd expended a great deal of energy doing that little stunt, but it had been needed as the amount that he'd absorbed in from the blast would have overloaded his body and he would have simply combusted with a 360 degree wave of hot knives being shot out from the place he would have been standing. He knew there would be questions asked about this, but it couldn't be helped. "And good God, it's cold!"

"How the hell did you survive that?" said Jessica, coming over to him and putting her coat around him.

"Another time," he said as he looked at the other two who were coming over. The Skorpsmen were dead, the Tripod destroyed and there would be reprisals in the town when the Martians came to investigate. "These people smart enough to get the hell out of Dodge?"

Monroe nodded. "After what just went down, nobody in their right mind would stay here."

"Good. Sam, they ready for us yet?"

"Any time now," she replied. "Med teams are on standby."

Dragon chuckled. "Just need a new suit."

"Hold on to me," said Jessica. "That way they'll get a lock on you." He did as she said and a moment later he felt the effect of the teleportation system on his body as they relocated from Victoria Falls to Valhalla Base, where someone quickly wrapped him in a blanket.

"Good work," said Bridge, as he looked on. "Looks like you did quite an amount of damage on your first mission, Commander Dragon."

"Whatever gets the job done," Dragon said, with some weariness. "Any chance of some coffee and a place to get suited up?" Bridge nodded.

"Agent Curtis will escort you to your quarters. There'll be a debriefing later." Dragon nodded and Bridge turned to Jack Monroe. "But first, there's a few things we need to discuss."

"I'm all ears," Monroe said and Dragon smiled as he followed the Agent. So far it was all going according to plan.

---

Dragon went inside the quarters, and the first thing he noticed was how sparse they were, but then if they were living from day to day, there probably wasn't a great need for home comforts. He looked at himself in the mirror, knowing he'd need a medical at some point. His skin was all red and he suspected he'd almost maxed out his tolerance levels. He hated what had been done to him, how he'd been altered but it wasn't for the things that had happened in his former reality, then he'd have died.

"If I ever see Alastaire again, I'll thank him," he said, thinking back to the fight he'd had with the so-called Katan of the Apocalypse Dawn. "Still, I'll have a hell of a tan after this." On the cabinet beside the bed he could see some of the things he'd brought with him. To all intents and purposes it looked like a medium sized emblem of the shield of St Christopher imprinted on a golden medallion but it also had two unique properties when it was properly activated. The first was that it sent out a slight signal to over-ride any surveillance devices, and the second was it provided an extra-dimensional neural link between Dragon and the supercomputers in Limbo.

He put it around his neck and went to get a nice cool shower, knowing he would be able to think his thoughts undisturbed, then he'd be able to get changed and go for a mission debriefing. The timeline had been altered exactly how she'd wanted it and it was time to check in. He got in to the unit and gave an involuntary shiver as the water first hit him, and then it felt a lot more soothing than uncomfortable.

~Kate?~ he said. ~You reading me, babe?~

~Loud and clear~ came the answer from the governess of Limbo. ~Good work out there~

He shook his head, knowing he shouldn't really have been surprised. ~You were watching?~

~Just making sure nothing went wrong. Other than you getting fried like that. You're okay?~

~Wouldn't like to go through that again, and I know it's going to mean they ask some awkward questions later. What's the future looking like now? I make a difference?~

~The probability stats say there's a 25.073% chance that this generation of humanity will survive the Martian invasion~

~Wait, I thought you said it was going to be just over 50%?~

~It should be~ Kate replied and he knew that she would checking the systems Widget had created when he had rebuilt the supercomputers from his own self. ~Damn, you have to make sure that Nomad gets to the equipment. The aliens are still going to attack Valhalla Base~

~Oh shit~ He stepped out of the shower and quickly began to dry off. ~How long do I have?~

~Not very~ Kate sounded worried. ~Be careful, the timelines are still in flux. It could still go to hell~

~I'll contact you when I can~ he said.

~Good luck, Pete~ Kate said and Dragon smiled as the link between them broke off.

"Not anymore," he said to himself. "I'm Pen Dragon now."

---

"We can get you there, you can get us in. Will you help?" Bridge looked at Monroe, who was obviously considering it. "You're the only key we have to the Arsenal."

"Yes," he answered. "I'll get you in to the vaults."

"Colonel," said Elena entering the briefing room and Bridge turned.

"How's Sam doing?"

"Her arm is healing, but it's not that." Bridge raised an eyebrow. "There are unidentified craft, heading this way."

"Martians?" Jessica asked. There had been rumours of new Martian aircraft, but then there were always new rumours.

"We think so."

Bridge closed his eyes. "Sound the evacuation, and find me Pen Dragon."

Nomad looked at him. "You think Dragon had something to do with this?"

"We're not sure he is who he says he is. He could be a Martian decoy. It would explain how he survived the blast from the Tripod."

"It doesn't make sense," Monroe said. "Can they have tracked you any other ways?"

"Only by following the teleporter signature," said Elena. "But we scramble the frequencies and reroute the teleportation systems we have so that the Martian's don't know where we are."

"What's going on?" asked Dragon as he entered and the eyes turned to look at him. "And why do I think I'm in trouble?" Alarms sounded around the complex as Bridge grabbed Dragon by the throat and lifted him in the air. "Okay, that's impressive," he rasped.

"The Martians are attacking," said Bridge, his gaze locked on as tightly as his fist. "Our security procedures are in place, so that just leaves you…"

"Actually," said Nomad, as he pressed a few buttons on the Scourge battle suit. "There's an alien transmission signal coming from Valhalla Base. From me." He looked at Jessica. "And you."

"They tagged us in the battle," said Jessica. "Except Dragon…"

"Because I had no clothes," gurgled Dragon, struggling for air and Bridge released him, and Dragon rubbed his throat.

"Sorry," Bridge said. "It's just…"

"I know," said Dragon. "We have to protect HERMES, otherwise none of us will get out of here. This place is just a base. We can get another one." Then the complex shook. "I'm guessing they're here."

"I'll man the defences, try and buy us some time," Bridge said. "Get as many out as possible, and we'll regroup and the Alpha site."

"Martians have entered Valhalla Base," came a voice. "I repeat Martians have entered Valhalla Base."

"You shoot the ships, we'll repel the enemy," said Dragon. "Nomad, Elena, Jess, you're with me." Then he paused, turned and looked at Elena. "You can hit these bastards with your telepathy, can't you?"

"Oh yes," she said. "My mind fire abilities are as useful on them as they are on anyone else."

Dragon smiled. "Oh good," he said and he looked at Bridge who was entering a doorway at the other end of the room. "Colonel?"

"Get out of here, Dragon. Jess, get Monroe to the Arsenal. I'll be able to control the systems from here."

"Like a big suit of armour," said Dragon, liking what he saw as for a moment he was reminded of home.

"What do you expect when the systems were created by Tony Stark?" Jess said with a smile. "Now, let's go kill some fucking aliens…"

They left the room clearing the way with a barrage of hot-knives, bio-blasts, telepathic assaults and Nomad finishing off any stragglers the others somehow missed off. The four off them worked their way down the hallways, dodging Martian attacks and trying not to trip over the various dead Martians and SHIELD agents.

"Can we get to the Arsenal any other way than the main teleporter?" said Dragon, recognising the path they'd taken before. "There are other agents going in other directions…"

"No," shouted Jessica. "They're heading for the emergency booths. They only go to a specific location, but we need to go somewhere else."

"And make sure we're not followed," Elena replied. "They can't find out about Alpha Site or the Arsenal."

"So we'll set HERMES to explode," said Dragon. "Sounds simple enough."

Jessica disagreed. "We can't until Valhalla Base is clear. Without the mains, the emergency booths won't work…"

"It's never easy," cursed Dragon, as they entered the main HERMES chamber, where the agents were grappling with the Martians, knowing that if the teleporter went down it was over for everyone. Dragon moved quickly, his hot knives flying across the room, wrapping themselves around the necks of two of the Martians and yanking them back, pulling them off of the SHIELD agents as well as shearing the alien heads from their bodies. Jessica fired off her bio blasts as Elena checked the status of the HERMES system, and she shook her head. Nomad also shook his head after checking the SHIELD agents.

"We were too late," he said, softly. "We're losing this fight."

"We've lost," said Elena. "The systems haven't been used, our people aren't getting out."

"We need to leave," said Jessica, but Dragon shook his head.

"Not until the building is clear," he said. "We don't leave anyone behind. Elena?"

"There's not many life signs left," she said after a second. "There's Bridge, but he's wounded and Sam… she's saving people, but she's trapped."

"We'll get Sam," said Dragon. "You just need to get me in the right directioin because I have no idea where I'm going. Jess, Nomad, go for Bridge…"

"He says no," said Elena softly. "He's got a solution…" Dragon closed his eyes, knowing what that was, the only thing it could be. "He says Jess and Monroe should stay here and defend the HERMES system."

"We'll be right back," said Dragon. "If we're not, go without us because we won't be coming back." Then the two of them headed off.

---

Samantha held her arm. It was healing quickly, another special gift from her genie heritage, as were her powers, but it was still not fully healed. That said, she didn't have much of a choice. The evac alarms had sounded and then the announcement, so she had gotten out of the med-wing and had started to assist people getting out, using the emergency HERMES booths that were located around Valhalla Base. Luckily she had generated an armour that kept her arm safe for the moment and the cool of the metal on her arm helped a lot.

"Go, go, go," she said, as some of the SHIELD agents fired weaponry at the aliens. "I'll cover you..." Then they heard the thoom-thoom-thoom-thoom of massive quad-guns firing and she knew that someone had activated the outer defences, based on the repulsor technology created by Stark, firing intense particle beams, combined with microscopic pieces of matter, projected at the speed of light. The power it took to fire the weapons was intense, as was the need to cool down the weapons, but at the same time they needed to keep firing at the Martian ships, as that diverted their attention from the people escaping, but it would only be able to last for so long, otherwise the guns would overheat and a chain reaction would begin that would destroy Valhalla Base. She focused her powers, looking at the aliens and assessing that they would be close enough to hit before her ectoplasmic creations faded she flung out shards of metal which struck the aliens, dropping them quickly.

She had no idea what was behind her, or what was in front, but to buy the agents more time she needed to keep them from advancing, to allow the SHIELD agents to escape. She steeled herself and pushed forward, wondering how long she could last. She formed blades and went through the alien invaders, hacking and slashing at as many as she could, but there was too many and she knew it was just a matter of time. Then a stray blast from a Martian weapon struck her wounded arm and instinctively she grabbed hold of it, but realising quickly she'd made an error and the Martians pounced, taking her and pushing her to the floor, a foot resting on her throat.

"You like to fight, human?" the Skorpsman sneered. "You will make a good victim in the Arenas, or a breeding mare for your masters!" Sam struggled as Martian fingers caressed her body , feeling their repulsive touch through the metallic ectoplasm as acidic residue started to eat through the armour that protected her.

"Here we come to save the day!" sang a voice and behind the Martians she saw Dragon had appeared with Elena, they turned and were quickly felled by his hot knives and her bio-blasts.

"Mighty Mouse?" said Sam, shaking involuntarily from the ordeal.

"It worked, didn't it?" said Dragon, giving her a gentle hug. "We have to book. Everyone who's not got out so far is dead, or dying."

"But the teleporters?" she said.

"We've got the main system still online," Elena said. "The others have been taken out. Samantha, there's too many here. The quad-guns aren't going to help now."

"They're still firing," she said. "It…" Then she realised what was going on. "Vahalla Base."

"Bridge has got as many out as he could, he's working the controls, but he's not letting them get whatever the base has left."

"Which is why we have to go," Dragon said. "Monroe and Elena are waiting, and they won't be able to hold out too much longer. You up for the fight?"

"Yeah," said Sam and away they went, Dragon taking the lead with Elena keeping watch over Sam, who despite what she said was still shaky. Dragon carved his way through the enemy as much as he could with his hot knives, but it soon became apparent that their progress was slowing, and they were running out of time.

"Elena!" he called. "If there's something you can do, now would be a bloody good time!" The young Russian woman stopped moving and paused for a moment and Dragon stole a quick glance. There was definitely something in the air, as her blonde hair started to rise slightly, as if it were statically charged and he wondered exactly what her power levels were. It was going to be interesting to find out and then he felt the psionic power emanate from her, passing through his mind like a tidal wave, and he could feel his very being almost being swept away by it but there was a thought, a feeling, that he could hold on to and it kept him safe and secure and he focused on it for dear life. He opened his eyes, realising they were closed and looked about. Elena had collapsed on the floor and he and Sam were recovering from the psionic blast.

"It was all I could do to keep you from being lost," she whispered as they helped her up. "So… tired."

"I'll bet," Sam replied and Dragon shook his head. He'd seen some stunts in his time, but that had been impressive. "Pen, I think we'll have to carry her."

"You mean me, seeing as you have a bad arm," he said, with a wry smile. "Done." He picked Elena up and her arms locked around his neck for support and they headed towards the main teleporter chamber.

"I saw…" Elena murmured as they moved, her voice so soft that only he was able to hear it. "Saw images, glimpses… who are you?"

"Another time," Dragon answered just as softly, wondering how far had she gotten past his shielding, and how much she had seen. He would have words with Kate when he got five minutes, she'd said that it wasn't possible for them to find out that much. As they got to the chamber, they could see the other two were also finding their feet from the psychic attack. "You protected them too?" he said.

"Every human left on the base," she said, as he put her down. "Only Martians took the full effect."

"Now I'm very impressed," Dragon said. "Jess, we good to go?"

She nodded. "I've logged the co-ordinates, but we have a problem."

"Someone has to stay behind to destroy the system?" he said and she nodded again.

"Too soon, we'll be caught in mid-teleport. There wouldn't be much of us left at the other side." Dragon wandered over to the comms panel.

"Dragon to Bridge," he said. "We're clear. Can you get a sensor read on the HERMES chamber?"

"Yeah," came the laboured voice of George Washington Bridge. "I've downed two alien craft, but there are more coming. Get out of here, I'll finish this."

"Acknowledged, sir," said Dragon. "And, Colonel? It was a privilege." There was a silence in the air as they understood what was going to happen. The quad guns would overload, and the feedback would destroy Valhalla Base.

"Let's go," said Jessica and they all stepped in to the chamber and she pressed a button and the system engaged and they vanished, to be remolecularised on a small island.

"Where are we?" asked Dragon, as they took positions, waiting for any Martians to follow them through, if they did.

"A couple of hundred miles southwest of Florida," said Jessica. "Welcome to the Arsenal." Behind them was a bunker, protected by a vast door. It was big and solid. "Adamantium over tightly weaved vibranium meshing," she said. "Wolverine in his prime wouldn't even scratch the doors, and the ground beneath us is made of the same stuff."

"The whole island was constructed," said Monroe, in awe. "I knew they had resources, but still…" He couldn't see any panels or such. "How do I get in?"

"We were hoping you'd know," said Jessica. "The CSA logos are scattered here and there, so we know this a secret compound of theirs and to have such heavily protected island…"

Monroe went up to the doorway and ran his hand over the metal. "I don't know what to do…" he was saying and suddenly the door began to rise up.

"Welcome, Scourge," said a computerised voice. "Biological parameter scans indicate you are not under duress. You and your guests are free to enter."

Dragon raised an eyebrow slightly. "I'll swear I know that voice," he said as a whirring sound was heard about them, indicating whatever defences had been activated were now being deactivated.

"We have the invite," said Monroe. "Shall we?" Jessica nodded and the group entered the complex, the door sliding firmly shut behind them.