Pendragon Comics - The Pendragons 22

The Pendragons

Issue # 22

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 vampire hunter known as Blade has formed an alliance with the Pendragons Spitfire and Union Jack, warning them that the evil Baroness is planning some sort of supernatural revolution in Europe. The danger posed by the Baroness is compounded when Blade reveals that Spitfire's deceased son, Kenneth, fathered a child with the vampire queen. Meanwhile, Adam Crown continues to struggle with the legacy of King Arthur, whose spirit resides somewhere deep within himself. After a series of bizarre visions, Adam has traveled to Glastonbury, where he has met with members of the Cult of Albion... and come face-to-face with the remains of King Arthur.

There are certain points in one's life when they feel disconnected from reality. Things move about them in an almost dreamlike way and they oftentimes suffer from a curious feeling that none of this real, that they are, in fact, trapped in some celluloid nightmare.

Adam Crown, a former history student, felt that way now. He stood in a small tent belonging to the so-called Cult of Albion, who had taken up residence on the outer grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. Before him lay the bones of an ancient warrior, cloaked in rusted and pitted armor. An empty scabbard lay at the corpse's side and the man's hands lay crossed over his chest.

All in all, it was a horrific sight, made all the more so because the corpse was Adam's own.

"Bloody amazing," he whispered. He felt a profound sense of reverence in this place and he kept his tones low, as if he were in church. Stepping forward, he reached out a shaking hand to touch the corpse's breastplate. "It's like seeing the past come alive...."

From behind him, he heard Ginny clear her throat. The sound made him jump and he pulled away his hand quickly, almost guiltily. He felt strangely embarrassed or ashamed, like he had been caught fondling something inappropriate.

When he looked back at her, she was smiling uncertainly at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Adam nodded, swallowing hard. "It's just... You've heard the stories? About me?"

"We all have," Brent said, stepping into view behind Ginny. The tall man was the leader of the Cult of Albion and it had been through the kindness of he and Ginny that Adam was now restored to health. They had found him after a strange vision had felled him, caring for him until he had reawakened. Brent bowed his head, displaying the same amount of respect for this long-dead king that Adam himself had felt. "They say you are Arthur, reborn. Returned to guide us in this most darkest of hours. Is that true?"

Adam hesitated. He knew that it was, but he'd felt so uncertain at times. Nothing at all like how he'd pictured the great and powerful Arthur. Licking his lips, he nodded. "Yes. I am Arthur, King of the Britons." He tried to inject confidence into his voice, but wasn't sure he succeeded. He did notice that Ginny beamed at his words, openly staring at him in admiration. He felt himself begin to smile in return. "And I will everything I can for England."

Brent's face split in a grin. He started to proclaim his faith in Adam when a strange creaking sound made them all glance in the direction of Arthur's bones.

The aged figure's lower jaw opened slowly before clamping shut once more. A bizarre light suddenly flared in Arthur's skull and the long-dead king rose with a clatter, glancing about with a definite air of authority.

Adam felt like he'd just suffered a blow to the head. He staggered back, automatically protecting both Ginny and Brent. The girl was holding on to his arm, fear radiating from her. Adam reached down to the sword at his waist and drew forth Excalibur. The magical blade had been given to him most recently by Brian Braddock, King of Otherworld, and Adam felt a new power flood into his sword arm as he hefted it into the air. Though always a sharp blade, the sword now shone with an unearthly light. Adam's voice seemed to reverberate through the small tent. "What in Avalon's name is going on here?!"

The bones of Arthur abruptly drew themselves up straight. The skull tilted to the side and a cold, almost mocking voice issued forth. "You fancy yourself a King? You? What do you know of Kingly duties, lad? You've never finished anything you've ever started... Remember what your father said to you when you left home" The skeleton's voice changed into an eerie imitation of Adam's own father. "Worthless bugger! You'll break your mum's heart, won't ya?"

Adam blinked in surprise. Never had he expected to hear such scorn from the creature before him. Was this truly the real Arthur, revived just to throw Adam's failures back at him? To reveal that Adam was nothing more than a fraud? "You can't be real. I am Arthur. The Lady of the Lake has said so."

"That cow?" the skeleton sneered. It staggered forward on unsteady legs. "She's nothing more than a little tart who doesn't know her place. Trust me -- I've seen her at her best and at her worst. She squeals like a little piggy!"

Adam saw the skeleton reach out a clawed hand to him, obviously intent on carving out a bit of flesh. Adam struck with his full power, driving Excalibur through the thing's arm, severing it. Energy seemed to rush through the sword, washing over the skeleton before drawing back to Adam himself.

In that moment, when present met past, he felt a connection to those old bones. They had borne his heart and his soul in another life, in a distant yesterday. They had loved and lost. They had been Arthur.

But Arthur's spirit did not inhabit those bones now. Adam saw that very clearly. The spirit of the King was, in fact, within Adam. For even Arthur had been a gangly youth at one time, trying so hard to unite his people that he sometimes came across as brash and surly. But he had gone into greatness and Adam saw, very clearly, that he would as well.

Adam stepped back, whipping Excalibur through the air in a graceful arc. He brandished it like a master now, for the blade had served him well many a time in the past, in the days of Camelot and Merlin and Guinevere. And though his memories of those days were still somewhat hazy, he remembered one thing clearly: the being who had slain him at the end, disregarding the blood tie that lay between them. "Exit those bones, Mordred. For they were not meant for the likes of you."

And the skeleton of Arthur fell forward like a marionette whose stings had been cut. Even as Adam jumped back to avoid a collision, a mist-like form seemed to take shape where the skeleton had once stood. It slowly solidified to reveal a bearded man dressed in emerald green armor. His eyes were filled with a jealous rage, as if he blamed the world for some slight, real or imagined.

Black-hearted Mordred sneered at Adam, saying "Such a pity for you, Adam... That you should come into your own just in time to die again."

And Adam suddenly found himself under attack, as Mordred unleashed magicks taught to him by Morgan Le Fey. Excalibur caught the first magic blast, absorbing it with little trouble. "Get out of here!" the Pendragon yelled, dodging a second burst of eldritch energy. "Mordred -- I sought a thousand ways to avoid killing you the first time we clashed but in the end, you forced me to it. This time, I might not bother hesitating...."

The tiny infant suckled greedily, its lips and gums smacking as it drank the precious life-giving fluid that seeped out of the young girl's breast. Pierced twice by long, thin needles, the girl's nipple oozed blood, which was hungrily swallowed down by the heir to the legacy of the Falsworth bloodline.

The woman who fed the child was only seventeen years old, but fiercely protective of the infant. She had served the Baroness well in this capacity, nurturing the vampire queen's young child and serving as its chief source of nourishment.

She heard the quick, anxious footsteps in the hall and rose, painfully pulling the infant away from her breast. Covering herself, she looked up just in time to see the Baroness step inside. The vampiress was followed by two men -- only one of whom the girl recognized: the necromancer named Nekros, who owned this ancient Keep. The other, thin and dressed in black, was a man of indeterminate age. The stranger regarded her with a look of amusement.

The Baroness took the child from the girl's arms and whispered, "Take care, Gloria. There may be danger before the night is through."

Gloria felt anxiety swell up in her belly. She couldn't bear the thought of either the Baroness or her beloved ward being caught up in anything painful. "The meeting didn't go well, m'lady?"

"It went well enough... Every night-creature and wizard in London will be buzzing about it. But there were some old friends who arrived -- and they may be in pursuit*." The Baroness turned to Nekros. "Get your zombies up and about. I want them ready in case--"

(*The meeting was shown from differing viewpoints in both Pendragons # 21 and Ghost Rider U.K. # 13. The stranger with Nekros and the Baroness is actually Flay, as shown in Ghost Rider.)

An explosion rocked the entire Keep, sending Gloria to the floor and causing Nekros to cry out in alarm. The aged necromancer, who had dallied with death his whole life, was suddenly terrified of what he would find on the other side, waiting for him. "We have to flee," he gasped. "They may have brought the other Pendragons with them!"

The Baroness stared at him with a look of disgust. "Shut up, you silly old fool! Do as I told you and everything will be well...."

"And what would you like me to do?" the elder being named Flay asked, with absolutely calmness in his voice. He alone had not lost his footing in the explosion and even now, as the acrid scent of smoke began to filter into the room, he seemed completely unruffled.

The Baroness regarded him evenly. "You are responsible for dealing with the vampire slayer, Flay. Kill him slowly and you'll elevate yourself in my eyes."

Flay smiled coldly. He had allied himself with the Baroness for the amusement of it all, really -- and things were already looking interesting.

Joey Chapman crept through the bottom floors of the Keep, ignoring the stench of death all around him. He was no stranger to the occult and he'd seen enough death to last him a lifetime. In a way, it disturbed him how cold he'd become about such things, and it served as a reminder of how far he had come since taking on the mantle of Union Jack.

He had battled alongside such luminaries as Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and Iron Man. He had gone from a downtrodden art student to one of the most recognizable heroes in all of England -- and now he was a Pendragon, an honor whose meaning was impossible for him to put into words. And so, instead, he focused on upholding the traditions of those who had come before him -- from the fabled Green Knight all the way through to the heroic sacrifices of Albion and Gawain.

And he tried to avoid thinking about the alien entity who now lived symbiotically with him.

The alien costume he'd acquired on Battleworld hummed against him, clothing him and keeping him warm and dry as he trudged through the muck. It was dark here, but he had no trouble seeing. As soon as he'd acknowledged the deepening shadows, the costume had snaked over his eyes and shifted his view into a slightly different spectrum. Now things seemed to glow with a purple light, illuminating his way.

Joey grasped his battle staff in his right hand, wishing that he'd fought against the decision to split the group in three. Jackie had been all for it and he knew why -- she wanted to face the Baroness alone. He couldn't blame her -- the witch had killed Kenneth, causing both Jackie and Joey immense amounts of pain. And Kenneth's son was being raised here...! The thought made Joey's blood boil.

Something moved to his left, near the doorway to which Joey had been heading. Blade's plastique had opened a sizable rift in the side of the Keep, allowing each member of the trio to spread out as they saw fit. For some reason, Joey had chosen to head downwards in hope of finding a hidden lab or, perhaps, even the crypt belonging to the Baroness herself....

What he saw staggering into view now was almost as good. The necromancer, Nekros, stepped inside, leaning heavily on his staff. The man looked much older and paler than the last time Joey had seen him -- as if he were in poor health.

Union Jack crouched down behind a series of boxes, watching as Nekros moved towards a far wall. The old man traced a design on the wall with his staff, a flaming sigil appearing as he did so. The bricks seemed to separate with a mind of their own, revealing a laboratory stocked with sewn-together corpses, chemistry equipment and -- most disturbing of all -- the perfectly preserved body of Peter Hunter.

Images tumbled through Joey's mind -- of seeing Peter's smoking corpse lying in the ruins of London, a victim of Blackheart's terrible campaign for power. Peter had healed much after that, as if the Pendragon spirit within him would not allow such a valiant warrior to rest in the ground in such a state. When they'd finally put him to rest in Highgate Cemetery, he'd almost looked like he was merely sleeping, at rest with himself.

Union Jack sprang forward, startling Nekros. The old man turned quickly, bringing up his staff just in time to meet Joey's attack. The quarterstaff, forged of the same material that made up Joey's uniform, snapped right through the other man's walking stick.

Nekros staggered back into the lab, his eyes wide. "Get out of here! This is my private sanctuary!"

Union Jack looked around, at the nude bodies of the man's zombie servants. The color of their flesh was mostly blueish-white and huge stitches knitted their limbs together. Bile rose in Joey's throat. "You're one sick bugger... Albion should have dealt with you back in the first World War."

The mention of his ancient enemy brought renewed strength to Nekros. The necromancer moved behind the table bearing Albion's body. "My old foe is dead, Union Jack. I have outlived him, as I knew I would. I only wish I had been able to slay him myself...."

"That's quite a fantasy. You never came close to being his equal." Union Jack whipped his quarterstaff through the air, making solid contact with the side of the villain's head. The old man tumbled backwards, the air knocked from his lungs.

At his words, the zombies in the room began to move, each shambling towards Union Jack with arms outstretched.

Union Jack felt a smile dance across his lips. At times like these, he felt almost at peace. Because there was no time for recriminations or self-doubt -- there was only the losing of oneself in physical exertion. Acting, not thinking... Joey Chapman's strong point.

"I don't understand... How can he not be Warren Worthington?" Cam McClellan, the son of former Pendragon Kate McClellan, was wearing his Albion armor, though his helmet lay on a table nearby. At Dark Angel's behest, the group had changed into their costumes, since she felt it added a layer of professionalism to the proceedings.

Cam was the youngest Pendragon on the team, having only recently taken over the power once possessed by Peter Hunter. But his words were ones that hit home with all those who were assembled: Dark Angel, Miracleman and Archangel.

Dark Angel sipped her tea and shrugged. "I'm not sure, Cam. But my mind probe definitely revealed that Warren's not who he thinks he is."

"Please. Let's not talk like I wasn't here, okay?" Warren's words sounded understandably harsh. He stood in the far corner of the room, away from the others, with arms folded over his chest. "What I want to know is whether or not I'm just crazy or if someone did this to me."

Warren looked over at Miracleman, who was now standing protectively close to Dark Angel. "Sorry, guys. I just..." he threw his hands up. "I feel totally lost now. Who am I? Why do I think I'm someone I'm not?!"

"The Barrier's had a lot of strange effects on people," Dark Angel pointed out. "Maybe you were thinking of him at the time and you were somehow changed into a copy of him...."

"Because it's too... I don't know. It doesn't feel right. There's something inside me saying that there's another answer here." Cam shrugged, looking uncomfortable that he couldn't put his thoughts into words better. Since becoming the new Albion, he'd frequently found himself with new insights into things and he wondered if this wasn't one of those times.

Warren, for one, seemed to accept Cam's beliefs at face value, however. "Okay. So what else could explain all this?"

"Maybe we should call in Betsy," Miracleman pointed out. "She was close to the real Warren and she has greater psi-powers than even you, Shevaun."

"I've tried," Dark Angel replied. "There's no message at Braddock Manor and I can't sense her mind at all. Maybe she's in Otherworld*."

Dark Angel moved forward first, her lips drawn thin. "Who are you? This is my home and--"

The girl held up a hand to stop Shevaun's words. She stared past Dark Angel, directly at Archangel. "Do you remember me, Calvin?" she asked, her voice betraying a slight emotional quality that Shevaun recognized at once. She's in love with him, Shevaun thought.

Clarice Ferguson, the extradimensional mutant known as Blink, smiled softly. "Yeah, it's me... And I've come to help you get your head screwed back on straight."

Spitfire tried to keep her mind off the horrors that she saw at every turn. This Keep was like some B-movie set, with zombies, body parts and arcane devices lying about openly.

None of that slowed her a bit, however, as she used her incredible speed to canvas the entire building. In all the years since the android Human Torch's blood had saved her life and given her these powers, she'd had many occasions where she thanked her lucky stars to have them. But none of them compared to this -- the notion that her grandchild, all that she had left of Kenneth, could be in the grip of the Baroness... it propelled her on even faster than before.

Spitfire came to a stop on the roof of the Keep, where she found exactly what she'd both feared and hoped for: her grandson, in the arms of the vampire queen. At the vampire's side was a young woman, with a beautiful, round face. The girl looked terrified as Spitfire came to a speeding halt, flames nipping at her heels. "Baroness! Give him to me!"

The Baroness smiled coldly. She held the child against her bosom like a shield. "He is beautiful, isn't he? He has Kenneth's eyes, I think."

Spitfire took a deep breath. They were very high up and if the Baroness were to throw the child from the roof, she wasn't sure at all that she'd be fast enough to catch him. "What do you want with a child, Baroness? Surely he's just a liability to you... Give him back to me. If you ever felt anything for Kenneth, do this. You know he'd want you to."

"Little Kenny needs his mother," the young girl shouted. She hid behind the Baroness like a frightened schoolgirl and Jackie felt surprise at the girl's vehemence.

"As you can see," the Baroness purred, "There are some who don't think I'm as bad an influence as you seem to. This is my child. Mine and Kenneth's. Our blood intermingled. And I will not give him up. Ever." Her eyes glinted darkly. "For he was born a vampire, an almost unique event in our world. And he needs the special guidance that only I can give."

"Shut your gob, Baroness. You don't love that child -- You can't even pretend you do. He's just a toy, a pawn -- just like my poor Kenneth was!"

The Baroness narrowed her eyes. "Ah, yes. Your poor Kenneth... It's not conceivable that he could have given himself to me, is it? That he could have been so tired of his recently rejuvenated mother acting like a little tart--"

Spitfire rushed forward, flames darting along her path. She grabbed her grandson quickly, tossing him to the frightened young girl. Jackie's words came in a rush as she began delivering a series of powerful blows to the Baroness. "Hereifyoucareforhim, dontlethimgethurt!"

The Baroness snarled in reply, backhanding the superheroine with her all undead strength. The force of the blow sent Jackie hurtling through the air and she landed with a bone-jarring crunch. She felt something snap in her left arm and pain shot through her brain, almost making her black out.

Jackie stared through the stars that threatened to obscure her vision, looking off the end of the roof. Down, far below, Blade was battling some strange black-garbed man. Lightning was flashing outwards from the man's fingers, striking Blade and lifting him off the ground. Thoughts of Joey rushed through her mind then, wondering what horrors he had encountered. Were they all going to die here? Had she led Blade and Joey to their deaths, like she had poor Kenneth?

Off in the distance, the sun began to rise. The Baroness was unconcerned, as she was immune to its rays, thanks to having drunk from the Holy Grail years before... but Jackie wondered if the sun would harm her grandchild.

"Stop doing this to yourself, Ms. Crichton," the Baroness said. The vampire was looming over Jackie now, her hands clenched into fists. "How long has it been since Kenneth died? And yet your whole world still revolves around him. Face it -- You were a failure as a mother and avenging his death won't make up for that."

Jackie felt like she'd just been punched in the gut. She reacted the only way she knew how -- by lashing out. She swept her foot out, knocking the vampire's feet out from under her. As soon as the Baroness hit the rooftop, Jackie was on her. She lacked a vampire's strenght, but she made up for that with the sheer fury of a mother wronged, a woman given youth once more only to see her child die before her.

One blow after another came down upon the Baroness and Jackie felt a warm wetness on her own face. Tears, mixed with splatters of blood that rained upwards from the vampire's head and face. A squelching sound began to replace the dull thud of knucles against flesh and the vampire's head was reduced to an almost liquid state as Jackie grabbed the woman's head and slammed it down repeatedly.

And when the violence ceased, Jackie felt her heart aching even worse than before. She pulled herself up and off the vampire, blood and gore dripping from her hands. She had failed Kenneth, in so many ways. And she had failed to pick up the pieces after his death... she'd been so unfair to Joey and to all the others. Her whole existence had become narrowed on this one aspect of her past....

"She's not dead, you know." Jackie turned to see the girl, Gloria, still standing nearby. She held the baby close to her chest. "The Baroness will return."

"No. She won't," Jackie answered. "Because I'm going to drive a stake through her heart and cut her head off. Then I'm going to burn the body and scatter the ashes from one side of England to the other."

Jackie, her face still splattered with blood, shook her head slowly. "Where's your mum, luv? Did you run away?"

"Yes... My dad was... mean to me. But the Baroness, she took me in." She looked down at the baby and her face softened. "She loved me and she gave me this pretty boy. He needs me. I've never been needed before...."

Jackie saw Joey step into view. His uniform was torn in places, but seemed to be regenerating. Gray matter -- brains, Jackie knew -- was splattered on his legs. He started to speak, to tell her that Nekros was tied up below, when he spotted Gloria with the baby. Jackie motioned for him to remain silent, keeping her attention focused on the girl. "He still needs you. I won't take him from you."

"No. He has... needs... that I don't understand. I need someone who loves him and knows him to teach me how to care for him." She offered a hand. "Please. Let me show you that I'm not a monster. And let me hold my grandson."

Gloria looked at her for a long moment, her eyes studying those of the older woman. With shaking hands, she passed the baby over to Spitfire, who held to her and smiled.

Jackie nodded, turning as Blade entered alongside Union Jack. Gloria watched them with trepidation, but Blade ignored her, saying "Some elder demon called Flay is still running around loose. I lost him. You get the Baroness?"

Union Jack glanced over at the soupy remains of the vampire's head. "I'd say that's a major yes, Blade." He turned back to Jackie and put an arm around her shoulders. Behind them all, the sun rose over the hills and shone down upon them. "You okay, Jackie?"

"Yes," she replied, bending forward to kiss the child's forehead. "How could I not be, Joey? It's the start of a whole new day."

For Mordred, this was quickly turning into a nightmare situation. He had been returned to Earth after that horrible experience in Battleworld, finding himself deposited here in Glastonbury. The reasonings behind his appearance here, of all places, was beyond him -- but then he'd had no clue why the Beyonder had taken him to Battleworld in the first place.

He'd lingered because he could sense something was coming... he could sense a most familiar presence.

And now he found himself face-to-face with the man who claimed to be Arthur reborn -- and who certainly seemed to possess Arthur's formidable fighting skills.

Hoping to throw his opponent off-balance, Mordred taunted him. "Stop this play-acting, Adam Crown! No matter what lies the Lady may have told you, you're not Arthur!"

Adam swung Excalibur in a mighty arc, catching Mordred in the side. The blow sent the villain to his knees, howling in pain. Adam placed the tip of his sword to Mordred's neck. "So you keep saying." He raised the point upwards, forcing Mordred to raise his chin. The villain could barely swallow without forcing the point through his tender skin. "Tell me this, Mordred... Why should I have pity on you? Why should I not decapitate you here and now?"

Mordred blinked. There was something in Adam's eyes now, a confidence that hadn't been there before. It was almost like looking into the eyes of... No! Arthur's dead! I killed him! But Morgan revived me... Perhaps he'd back as well....

Adam pushed the point harder, sending a small rivulet of blood on Mordred's neck. "No answer, then?"

"We... are... family. If you are Arthur, then I am of your blood. Surely you will not kill me...."

Adam glanced over his shoulder, to see that Ginny was watching from the tent entrance. What he did next would have been done even if she had not been watching, but the fact she was made it all the more important to him. He wanted her to know. He wanted her to tell the others. Because in the days to come, appearances would be important -- If one wishes to lead, they must do so based on merit and a measure of desire on the part of those who would be your followers. And so, Adam said "Mordred. I am not a murderer by nature. In times of war, however, sometimes one must do what is necessary."

Mordred's eyes grew wide as Adam drew back his sword and brought it down upon his head....

The pommel of the blade struck Mordred hard upon the head, sending him tumbling back.

Adam sheathed his sword and sighed. Mordred would have to be locked away once more, but his evil would no doubt return. That was the way with things of darkness and evil... they always slithered back into the sunlight at some point.

Adam turned towards Ginny, a smile on his handsome face. He could almost see himself in her eyes -- the living embodiment of her childhood dreams. A knight in shining armor, come forth to defend both her and her nation. It would not be that simple, unfortunately, but he would hope to live up to her fantasies. "Because these are not the Dark Ages any more. Here, and now, I will not kill, unless it is to save lives. I am a Pendragon, Ginny. Within me dwells the grace of the Lady of the Lake and the bravery of the Green Knight."

Adam stepped towards her and grasped her face in his hands. "Sweet girl, I am Adam Crown. Calling myself by any other name is only to invite comparisons that I would rather not have. Arthur has become a myth, a legend. And nothing I do will stand up to the deeds that have been ascribed to him. It's best that I forge my own destiny, my own path."

Adam nodded, putting a finger to her lips. "Yes... But we are not to speak of that in front of others. Let them draw their own conclusions. And when the day comes when England needs a leader, I will be there. But until then, I am only one of many. I am a Pendragon. Do you understand?"

Adam started to pull away, but he sensed a disappointment in her. At first, he feared that she disagreed with his decision to turn away from this matter of Arthur's legacy... but then he realized that there was something else at work here. "When you told me of your visions, Ginny... The ones that led you here...."

Ginny blushed furiously. She saw Adam lean in to her and she opened her mouth to say "Is this real, Adam? Any of it? All this magic, the old legends coming back... everything. Or is it a sweet, sweet dream?"

Next Issue: We've been dallying around the Archangel Mystery the last couple of issues, but it takes center stage in issue 23! What shocking answers does Blink bring with her -- and will it cost the Pendragons one of their newest members?

Issue 23 will reveal the truth about Archangel and will feature appearances by several of my favorite Marvel UK heroes! Issue 24 will be a Union Jack issue, as Joey deals with the alien costume in a pretty surprising way. And then comes issue 25, which will cross over with the Black Knight: Destiny Walk and Captain Britain: House Braddock titles!