Pendragon Comics - The Pendragons 20

The Pendragons

Issue # 20

Brought together in defense of Avalon and the British Isles, the Pendragons are the officially-sanctioned heroes of Great Britain. Originally led by the Black Knight, the group is composed of the remnants of the old Knights of Pendragon group, as well as several other heroes. Willing to die for their beliefs, the Pendragons stand united as England's best defense against threats of a superhuman nature.

Pendragons logo created by Des Davies!

Written by Barry Reese

What's Been Happening: The Pendragons have restructured their lineup, with some members leaving as part of Brian Braddock's new Dark Guard and others retiring from adventuring. What remains is a slimmed-down 8-member squad: Captain Britain, Miracleman, Union Jack, Spitfire, Adam Crown, Dark Angel, Archangel and the team's newest member -- Cam McClellan, who now wears the armor and identity of Albion. Meanwhile, the evil Nekros has entered into an unholy alliance with the Baroness, one that threatens to despoil the happiness that Joey Chapman and Jacqueline Crichton have recently claimed....

Cold, gray skies reflected the pall that hung over the area, where a woman ached with loss and a man struggled to understand the twists and turns of fate. Fog rolled, thick and fat, through the trees and there seemed to be an almost dreamlike quality to life here, where the men and women of nobility had danced and dined.

Jaqueline Crichton's estate was a sprawling piece of beauty, with acres of lush woodland and a house large enough to hold a party of epic proportions. It had, in fact, been used for such purposes many times. In the years immediately following her sudden reversion to her youth, Jackie had relished the opportunity to be a free spirit, frequently acting as young as her own son, Kenneth. This had driven a small wedge between them, one that had never been successfully filled. And then Kenneth had died, been reborn and died again.

Jackie knelt before her son's grave, placing a small bouquet of flowers atop the earth. She ran a finger through the cold dirt, feeling several small clumps shatter at her touch. "I'm so sorry, Kenneth. I should have been there for you -- I should have protected you better. There are so many things I wish I'd said...."

Footsteps from behind her made her pause. She lowered her head, saying "Sometimes I almost wish he'd still be alive when we'd found him in Birmingham. Even as a vampire, he was still my son. Perhaps I could have soothed him, could have mothered him. My son could have lived forever."

The deep voice brought Jackie about with a whirl. She was immediately on guard, prepared to use her superspeed to bring down this new arrival if necessary. Where she'd assumed her lover, Joey Chapman, would be standing, there was instead a man with dark brown skin and short-cropped hair. A series of lines had been shaved into his hair on the sides and he wore a long dark coat over a suit of lightweight body armor. Two swords -- sharp, dangerous-looking things -- were crossed over his back. "Who are you? And what are you doing on my land?"

The man brought up a gloved hand, as if to ward off any thoughts of attack. "My name is Blade. I'm the one who ended your son's cursed existence."

Jackie's eyes opened wide at that and before even she could realize it, she was in motion. She pummeled Blade hard and quick, knocking the vampire slayer backwards. He tumbled, but did an impressive handstand to right himself once more. He drew a sword in a practiced motion and crouched, holding it high above him in a frightening pose.

Jackie stood panting, staring at him in shock and horror. "You killed my son!"

"No. I freed him. The one who killed him wasn't me -- it was the Baroness. And she's still out there."

Jackie forced herself to think rationally. In a very real sense, Blade was right... Kenneth had been seduced and murdered by Baroness Blood, who saw Kenneth as a means of keeping the original Baron's bloodline alive through her. "Why are you here?"

Blade relaxed slightly, seeing a rational light come into her eyes. He lowered his blade, but kept it unsheathed. As fog snaked about his legs, he said "I am sorry for your loss. If there had been any way to save him, I would have tried. Believe me. But if you really want to honor your son's memory, you'll help destroy the monster who took him down the road to hell." The vampire slayer moved towards her, keeping his voice neutral and non-threatening. "I'm trapped here in Europe, thanks to that damned Barrier... but there's plenty to keep a man like me busy. Vampires, werewolves, the undead... Europe's crawling with them now. And someone's forming the equivalent of a vampire cartel, with plans to use the Barrier to their advantage. They see it as a means of keeping humans in, keeping us trapped like cattle. There are plans for a Vampire State in Europe."

Jackie wrinkled her nose. Her beautiful, youthful features were lined with concern. How many children like Kenneth were going to be destroyed by the Baroness and her kind? It sickened her to think of them supping on blood beneath the night skies. "The Baroness is behind all of this?"

"I think so. I came here because there's something you should know. The Baroness took more than your son's life." Jackie felt a cold chill pass over her spirit, as her worst fears were voiced. "She's given birth to your grandchild."

Inside one of the many sitting rooms of the manor, Joey Chapman sat hunched over a series of papers he'd taken from the Pendragons' files. The words on the paper seemed to burn themselves into his brain: ...the alien costume eventually attempted to meld itself fully with Spider-Man, resulting in the web-slinger's visit to Prof. Reed Richards, who managed to separate the two. Sometime thereafter, the symbiont merged with a disgraced journalist named Eddie Brock, forming the killer known as Venom.

Joey closed the folder and stood, his mind awash in strange thoughts. He looked down at his clothes and willed them to change. They did so, forming themselves into his Union Jack uniform. He felt so strong, so vital! But there were the strange dreams of the past few nights, of slipping out after Jackie had fallen asleep... of wandering the grounds, seeking something. "Are you mucking about with my head?" he asked the costume, but there was no answer. It seemed almost contemplative, though Joey would have been hard-pressed to explain how a set of clothes could seem thoughtful.

Joey willed the costume away from him, ordering it to remove itself from his body. The suit visibly resisted, clinging to him like a second skin. Furious panic seemed to set in then and Joey pulled the costume with his hands, cursing under his breath.

The two lifeforms wrestled like that for a moment before Joey cried out. The suit had deliberately constricted, cutting off his ability to breathe without pain. He fell to his knees and heard (no, felt) a softly whispering voice in his head. We could be so strong. Together.

"Joey?" Union Jack looked up at the closed door. Jackie knocked, saying "Are you in there, luv? We need to talk -- right away."

Joey recognized that tone in her voice, half fear and half iron determination. She'd only used that voice on several occasions and they had all dealt with Kenneth. Forcing himself to rise, he mentally said Let's call a truce for now, shall we? My lady friend needs me.

A hissing whisper was the only reply, as the alien costume relaxed its grip on him. This one, it mused, had a strong will, but it would be broken eventually. And then their true union could begin.

Shevaun Haldane stepped through the grass, her eyes following the lazy path of a fairy as it flittered by. The little creature was nude, its tiny body looking pencil thin and frail, but a smile on its face showed how much it enjoyed basking in the sun. Truth be told, Shevaun felt like doing some basking herself. England, like the rest of Europe, had labored under food shortages and riots since the Barrier had gone up, but there were signs that things were beginning to stabilize.

The woman sometimes called Dark Angel blinked in surprise. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and looked at Betsy Braddock with a slight flush on her cheek. "Sorry, could you repeat?"

Betsy, dressed in a light summer frock, laughed to herself. "You have it so bad, don't you?"

"I mean -- you and Micky have been snogging non-stop lately," Betsy said, teasingly pinching Shevaun on the arm. "I don't blame you, though. He's absolutely stunning."

"Yes... It's funny. I grew up reading about him. I even had a poster of him, Young Miracleman and Kid Miracleman... And now we're together. He's like no one I've ever known before."

Betsy smiled at that. Shevaun had a bit of anti-establishment in her, choosing to adorn her body with numerous piercings and other body modifications. Micky, on the other hand, was a sweet, gentle guy with the power of a God. "I think you two are adorable. And you both deserve some happiness."

"Don't we all?" Shevaun asked, stopping before a group of satyrs who were prancing about with pipes in hand. A small crowd of school children were watching and laughing as the magical creatures danced about, singing a song that bordered on the rude. "What about you and Warren?"

Betsy's smile fell away. "He doesn't love me. It's nothing personal, he just doesn't remember much of our time together. Bloody awful, isn't it?"

Shevaun slipped an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Give it time. He fell in love with you once, let him do it again."

Betsy nodded, looking off in the distance. Micky, dressed in a nice suit that made him look like he was going off to get married, was warmly embracing another man. Both of them looked like they were close to tears of joy. Off to the side, an attractive woman was smiling at them. "Looks like Linda and Rick have arrived. Want to join them?"

"Nah," Shevaune said. "Let Micky have his reunion. I can meet them in a bit. Besides, I'd rather spend more time with you. We never should let our friendship falter, Bets."

Adam Crown stood before the Prime Minister of England, a look of determination set on his handsome features. Behind him were the two newest members of the Pendragons -- the American mutant known as Archangel and Cam McClellan, wearing the suit and name of Albion. "Why would the EU keep us in the dark about this?"

The Prime Minister sighed, taking a seat behind his desk. It was lined with reports, most of them dealing with food and energy shortages throughout Great Britain. "Because the other members of the European community believe that we're partly to blame for all of us. It was Clive Winthrop, acting in his duty as Prime Minister, who led us to the state in which we now found ourselves. Not to mention the fact that we continue to play diplomacy games with Doom while most of them are caving in to his overtures... There's a fair bit of resentment towards us."

"It looks like it could be a good thing to me," Albion said. Filtered through the magic armor he wore, the young man's voice sounded deep and confident. Inside, he was anything but. "We could offer to share information regarding the criminal element."

Archangel grinned. Cam was trying hard to make himself appear cool and collected, but referring to the metahuman underworld as the 'criminal element' was a bit too much for Warren. Still, he wanted to be seen as supporting Cam, so he said "I agree, Mr. Prime Minister. Let the European Union Commission found their own hero group. That allows the Pendragons to keep our focus on Great Britain."

Adam shook his head, crossing his arms before him. The great sword Excalibur rested in its scabbard at his waist, drawing the Prime Minister's gaze repeatedly. The weapon was the stuff of pure legend and was enough to make even a grown man stare in awe. Crown, however, seemed all too mortal. "They'll be pawns of Doom, no doubt. A metahuman strike force, all his own. Have we heard who's making up the roster?"

The Prime Minister picked up a paper from his desk. "The full membership hasn't been revealed, but we do know three of the members -- the Red Guardian, Blitzkrieg and Le Peregrine."

Archangel whistled. "Peregrine's good. I've squared off with him before. But I thought the Guardian had changed his name?"

"The Barrier only covers a portion of Russia -- and it's allowed the communist hard-liners to seize control again. This Red Guardian serves their interests. No idea if it's the most recent Guardian, Josef Petkus, under the mask."

"The Commonwealth. A full press conference is expected by the end of the week. They'll be based out of Berlin initially."

"Well, we appreciate the head's up in this," Adam said. "If we're asked for any kind of statement, shall we try and sound upbeat?"

"If you would, gentlemen, then yes. No need to stir up more debate than necessary."

Adam started to reply but his words were lost in a sudden, incoherent cry of pain. He grabbed his head, staggering forward and falling to his knees. His vision swam, slowly clearing to reveal a spreading pool of blood beneath him. He felt cold, so cold, and he heard the sounds of battle all around him. Men screamed as steel bit into flesh and a dream, so pure and so strong, fell to ashes.

"Get up, old man," a sneering voice whispered. Adam felt strong hands grab the back of his head and pull his face up. There, leering down at him, was Mordred. Evil, hated Mordred. The man who had helped bring down Camelot. The man who, with the Parliament of the Dark, had ravaged both Avalon and the Lady of the Lake.

"Craven youth, Camelot shall not fall by the likes of you." The voice that came from Adam's lips was similar to his own, but also so very different. It was the voice of a leader of men, a king. It was the voice of Arthur, King of the Britons.

With a tremendous show of strength, Adam pushed himself back to his feet, knocking aside Mordred's hands. The two men, united by blood, slashed at one another on the field of battle. They spoke to each other as the fought, though their words were but harsh whispers lost on the wind.

Adam felt a great weariness threatening to overtake him and he swung his sword in an almost graceful arc, all of his strength left in that one great attack. Mordred, sensing an opening, plunged his own weapon forward. The blade pierced Adam's helmet, sinking into yielding flesh and striking bone. Adam's own blow hit almost simultaneously, burying his blade deep in Mordred's neck, almost severing his head.

Adam fell forward, his arms awkwardly surrounding his foe's body. In a grotesque parody of a familial embrace, they tumbled to the ground, together.

"...the Grail gave her the ability to walk in sunlight. She's a Daywalker now. That makes her all the more dangerous." Blade stood in the center of the sitting room, looking woefully out of place amidst the refined setting. He was a warrior, a killer. Gentility was obviously foreign to him.

"Can you find her?" Spitfire had changed into her costume, looking anxious for some excuse to wear it.

One corner of Blade's mouth tilted upwards. "So it is. I've had dealings with the skull-rider, though. He's not involved in this and we'd be better off keeping it that way."

"I believe that she's on the move, gone into hiding, perhaps. There are signs she's in an alliance with a sorcerer by the name of Nekros."

Union Jack whispered "That bugger again? We kicked his ars six ways to Sunday the last time we faced him!"

Blade shrugged. "You didn't do a good enough job, Englishman. He's still out there, digging up bodies." Looking back at Spitfire, he said "I came to you because I plan to make a strike. Tomorrow night, there's a meeting of sorts in London. A lot of the more militant supernatural types are going to be there... and word on the street is that the Baroness is going to make her pitch to them. I can't promise you that your grandchild isn't a vampire -- he may be. And let me tell you this, there's nothing sadder than a child who has to drink blood to live. Holy terrors. But if he's able to be saved, I want you to have that chance."

"That's very kind of you," Spitfire said. "We can call in the Pendragons, raid this--"

"No," Blade said, with a bit more force than was necessary. "I don't work well with capes. My work tends to be rather bloody. I'm making an exception for you and your boyfriend because I have... lingering issues... with regards to mothers and babies. If you want to come with me, feel free -- but it's just the three of us. Nobody else."

Spitfire looked at her lover, studying his face. "Joey? What do you think? Kenneth was your friend...."

Adam Crown opened his eyes, seeing the familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling above him. Casting a quick glance about, he saw that he'd been transported back to Lyonesse.

Adam peered into the dim lighting of the room, seeing Captain Britain step forward. He fought to keep a scowl from appearing on his face. He'd campaigned hard for the role of team leader, but had not received a single vote when the time came. Instead, the group had turned to Betsy Braddock for leadership, which galled Adam to no end. "I had a vision of Arthur...."

"I know. I peered into your mind when they brought you back -- it was like some sort of movie replaying over and over. You and Mordred..." Betsy sat down on the edge of his bed, reaching out to touch his leg. "If you want, we can call on Wynter. He might be better at sorting out what this means. I have a feeling it's more than a telepath can handle."

"I can handle it myself, thank you." Adam pulled away from her, swinging his feet to the floor. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't poke into my head without permission."

Crown turned, staring at her through slitted eyes. "How much sifting did you do?!"

Captain Britain sighed. "Nothing more than what I told you. But it's obvious to everyone, telepath or not, that you're trying to live up to Arthur's ideal. And I think you need to relax -- So much of Arthur's legend is that... a legend. He was a man, with all the faults that you'd expect. Just wait and you'll grow into who you. And it might be someone very different from Arthur. Just because you're his reincarnation doesn't mean you're fated to be him again."

"Please don't lecture me, Betsy." There was a cold, bitter tone to his voice. "You don't understand. When I first recognized the Pendragon within me, I fought against it. I didn't want to be Arthur. I wanted to be Adam Crown. But then... then I died. The Lady of the Lake preserved me in Avalon and brought me back to life. I rose again. In England's time of need, I rose again!" Adam stared at his hands now, his voice taking on a strangely pleading quality that made the hairs on Betsy's arms stand on end. "And I have to find out how to be Arthur. England needs that. Deserves it. I was brought back for it!"

Betsy quickly crossed the room to him. "You're putting too much pressure on yourself -- The Pendragons isn't a one-man band. We're mates, all of us."

Adam looked up, about to answer her, when his mouth fell open in a gape. He stared over Betsy's shoulder, causing the telepath to follow his gaze. She saw only the two of them, reflected in the room's mirror.

Betsy felt another chill rush down her spine and she saw a change come over Adam's features. He looked older suddenly, with deep lines in his face. Lines brought about from a lifetime of warfare and shattered dreams. His eyes bespoke of days long past, lives long lost. "Adam? You're frightening me, luv...."

Adam moved past her, reaching out to touch the mirror. There, written in a flowing script that only he could see, was a single word: Glastonbury.

Next Issue: "Deeds of Blood and Valor" continues, as Adam Crown journeys to Glastonbury in search of answers. Meanwhile, the Baroness and Nekros announce their dread plan, while Spitfire, Union Jack and Blade try to crash the party. Plus: the Cult of Albion.

The following was posted to the Avengers 2000 Mailing List -- my replies are inserted within the appropriate spaces:

The quiet, calm after the storm issues are always my favourites, and this was no exception.

Barry does some very interesting things with the line-up this issue. I was pleasantly surprised by the line-up shift, as it was different than what I was expecting but still intriguing.

Some random points:

* I love the fact that Betsy is the team leader. Well deserved. I was surprised not to see Adam Crown's reaction though.

Glad you agree that it's deserved. Besides, she *is* Captain Britain -- who better to lead the Pendragons? As for Adam's reaction, you'll see plenty of it in issue 20, where he begins a quest to fully claim his heritage -- and prove to the Pendragons and everyone else that he deserves a bit more respect.

* The Cam / Shamrock flirtation was fun. I was not expecting him to join the team, but I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. The passing of the baton scene between Cam and Peter was very fitting, and served as a good contrast to the horrific scene with Peter's corpse.

I'd been planning for Cam to pick up the torch at some point, but wanted to wait until a decent amount of time had passed from Peter's death in issue 9. The Nekros scene is a harbinger of things to come, don't worry.

* Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the Baroness Blood.

Of all the characters out there, the Baroness was the most obvious one for me to use, since she was left in such an open state at the end of Marvel Union Jack limited series. Since she was so obvious, I held off on using her for quite awhile, but it's time. Look for Spitfire and Union Jack to get a major focus put on them in a few issues.

* Glad to see Jack's guilt over Wolverine wasn't forgotten.

* I'll miss Thunderfist. I expected some of the other characters to leave, but for some reason Robbie has grown on me. Will we see more of him in the Captain Britain series?

A bit, yes. He and the rest of the Dark Guard had a small appearance in issue one of Captain Britain: House Braddock.

* Warren is on the team. I knew he'd be staying in the book, but I wasn't expecting that.

I plan to do some interesting stuff with him, including dealing with his relationship with Betsy.
Some of that will spill over into House Braddock, as well, but I'll try to keep it where you don't have to read both titles to follow things.

Every one is reading this, right?

I'm pretty sure they're not (judging from my page's hit count), but I wish they would. The Pendragons stuff, despite being about copyrighted characters engaging in fisticuffs in a fantasy setting, is the most personal work I've done in fanfiction.