CAPTAIN BRITAIN (Betsy Braddock)	CYBERMANCER (Suzi Endo)	DARK ANGEL (Shevaun Haldane)	GHOST RIDER (Dan Ketch)	KILLRAVEN (Jonathan Raven)
NOCTURNE (Gray Poldark)	POLARIS (Lorna Dane)	SPITFIRE (Jacqueline Chapman)	UNION JACK (Joseph Chapman)

Reflections

"I'm fine, Betsy. I'm just busy."

Betsy Braddock exchanged a glance with Jackie Chapman. They were standing in the doorway to Suzi Endo's lab on Lyonesse, where the woman had pretty much locked herself away since the death of Nathaniel Essex. "We're going shopping in a bit... I think it would do you some good to get out."

Suzi picked up a large stack of papers, grunting as she carried over to another table. The lab was a mess, which was very unusual for her. She had acquired a reputation for being incredibly organized. "Gully put you up to this, didn't he?"

Jackie barely suppressed a grin. Gulliver Jones, the former Pendragon known as Captain Kerosene, was now a holographic life form... and Suzi's frequent partner in her experiments. "He might have mentioned something about you not getting enough sleep."

Suzi turned to face them, her expression one of intermingled frustration and concern. Putting her hands on her hips she said, "I appreciate what you're trying to do. Honestly. But I'm fulfilling a contract with the Weird Happenings Organization and I'm past my deadline. I can't afford to take a break."

"You haven't even mentioned Nathaniel since we got back," Betsy pointed out. "It's got to be tearing you up inside."

"I... made peace with him at the end. Even if he couldn't hear me, I forgave him for lying to me. I miss him," Suzi shrugged and looked away, "But life is like that. You can't always get what you want."

"Well... we just want you to know we're here for you," Jackie said. "I've lived long enough that I've had to bury lots of men and it never gets easier."

Suzi nodded and turned back to her work. "Thank you. And now I really do need to get back to work." She shuffled her papers until both of her friends were gone... and then she reached up to wipe away a tear that had begun to drip from her left eye.

Dun-shi Hill, located near Aberfoyle graveyard on the shore of Loch Ard, Scotland, was a place that felt magical even to those who weren't blessed with the power of Avalon. Nocturne could feel the energy in the air and it made his head swim. He walked to the top of the hill, kneeling to scrape away at the moist soil. The magical ward that had helped Blackheart cast the spell leading to the Black Mass Barrier was still there, embedded in the earth. He tugged hard on it and it finally gave way. It was heavier than it appeared, carved out of some ancient stone and engraved with symbols of unholy power. "Found it, Lorna!"

Polaris jumped at the sound of Gray Poldark's voice. She was at the bottom of the hill, staring out across the Loch. "Coming," she yelled back, using her magnetic powers to levitate herself until she was able to set herself down at Nocturne's side. "Doesn't look like much," she said, nodding at the small disc in her teammate's hand.

"By itself, it probably can't accomplish anything," he replied. "But with the other wards and with the right spell behind them all... it was enough to cut Europe off from the rest of the world."

"Do you think I did the right thing when I restarted the universe*?"

(*In our 75th issue)

"Considering the alternative, yes." Nocturne laughed, surprised at the turn of conversation, but he grew silent when he saw that she wasn't laughing in return. "Look... if you're still concerned about not saving the lives of those who died... you could only do so much. Hell, making any more changes than you did would have destroyed the timeline! And I'm impressed that your subconscious didn't alter more than it did. If I'd been the one holding the keys to the universe, we'd have pulp heroes on the same pedestal as Mickey Mouse."

"Yeah, well I thought about making teenage pop stars like Britney Spears extinct," Lorna smiled. She ran a hand through her long green-tinted hair. "You know that I've had mental problems in the past, right?"

"Betsy said something about it. But you're over those, aren't you?" Nocturne placed the disc in a specially designed sleeve that Wynter had created and placed it in a pouch on his belt. 

"I thought so. I was doing better even before I came under the Barrier... and then when I became a Pendragon.... Gray, there's things I haven't told anyone."

"Like what?"

Lorna hesitated, not knowing how far to go with this. "I wasn't recruited into the Pendragons by the Green Knight."

Nocturne held up a hand. "Stop. We know about the whole thing with Dane. It's okay."

Lorna's expression was so incredulous that Gray grinned in return. "How...? When....?"

"After Betsy woke up from her coma and we set about reforming the Pendragons, we consulted the Green Knight for advice. He told us about your pact with Dane. How you were supposed to spy on us from within."

"Then why did you accept me back on the team?"

"Because you'd proven yourself. And we figured you'd tell us the truth when you were ready." Nocturne looked up into the gray sky. "Rain's coming. We better head back to Lyonesse."

"There's more," Lorna said, touching his arm. "I had an incident the other night, right before we went after Suzi. My windows shattered and something flew into my room... it was a helmet. The helmet of Magneto."

Nocturne paused before answering. "He's outside the Barrier. On Asteroid M."

"I came through the Barrier... Why couldn't he? But the really strange thing is that the helmet disappeared."

"And you're worried you might be losing your mind," Nocturne whispered. He squeezed her hand. "When we get back, let Betsy give you a really deep mental scan, okay? And if there's more going on than that, we'll figure it out. Don't worry."

Lorna nodded, but didn't seem all that convinced. Since seeing Magneto's helmet, she'd felt unsteady and confused... just as she had during her prolonged mental illness. The knowledge that the Pendragons had forgiven her for her deception warmed her somewhat, however. "Thanks, Gray. You're a good friend."

"I'd like to call this session of the Hellfire Club Inner Circle to order." The Red King rose from his seat, pushing back the long red cloak that he wore. He held up a glass of wine, looking at the other men and women gathered around the table. The surroundings were opulent, for they had gathered in the private room of London's most prestigious hotel. It was fitting, for the Hellfire Club was composed of Britain's best and brightest... at least, in theory. This grouping is a bit beneath our usual standards, the Red King mused. Not in terms of power, perhaps, but certainly in breeding.

The current Black King was a monstrosity known as Lord Pumpkin. Stick-thin, the pumpkin-headed lunatic reclined in his chair, allowing green-black smoke to spill from his carved mouth. He had seized power months ago but his failure to poison Avalon had left him much quieter than before*. The Red King, for one, was very glad for this. It allowed him to rise to the top of the Club's pecking order.

(*In the "Unity" storyline that ran in issues 55-59)

The Black Queen, Oonagh Mullarkey, was by far the most brilliant of the group. Former scientist for Gena-Sys and the woman responsible for a number of British metahumans, including Plasmer, the current Thunderfists and Killpower, Oonagh wore only a black shift that barely covered her ample curves. The garment shifted and moved, oozing about her body. It was an alien symbiont, once bonded to the Pendragon Union Jack*. Like its kindred entity, Venom, it was capable of great power when roused. It had been turned over to the Weird Happenings Organization for study, but had mysteriously 'vanished' soon after Mullarkey came to study it.

(*Joey Chapman rid himself of the symbiont in Pendragons 24)

The young Red Queen raised her glass the highest of all at the table, a beguiling smile on her face. She was no more than twenty years old, if that, with long red hair pulled tight into a ponytail. On the sides of her head, the hair had been shaved short and she sported a gold ring in her left eyebrow. "To the renewed Hellfire Club! Long may we reign!" She chugged down her wine in a way that made the Ring King wince, finishing it off with a magical flourish of fire that emanated from her fingertips.

The Black Rook, John Puri, was an enormously obese man of Indian heritage. He gave the impression of a great slug, moving slowly and painfully. His breath came in loud, ragged gasps. He sipped his wine, a little bit of it rolling down his double chin. "Here, here," he muttered with great gravity. A mutant, Puri was able to induce seizures in anyone within twenty feet of him. 

The final member of the group was the Red Rook, a highly desirable young woman who possessed vast telepathic and teleportation abilities. She had become the Red King's most trusted ally and his lover, as well. "You have good news for us, milord?" she prompted, after everyone had taken their wine.

"That I do. As all of you know, I've been calling in old favors and re-establishing our control over certain politicians. Our power base has always been political as well as financial and I felt that it was essential that we return to our former ways. While speaking with one of our pet members of Parliament, I came across someone who was at once familiar and disconcerting. I have invited him here today... to take a position with our group. I would like to recommend our guest for the vacant position of Red Bishop." The Red King's words were capped off by the dramatic darkening of the room's lights. A man appeared from thin air in the center of the meeting hall, dressed in a black suit. His features were known to all, for they had been emblazoned across television screens and newspaper front pages for months on end. "I give you Clive Winthrop."

Lord Pumpkin was on his feet in a moment, his eyes narrowing. "No way am I working with Blackheart!"

"That demon stole my identity and left me to die. I was saved by my mentor... the man to whom I will now dedicate the rest of my life." Winthrop strode towards an empty seat and started to take it, when Pumpkin reached out to stop him. 

"I'm the Black King... I think I get a say in who joins this party."

Winthrop smiled coldly. "You're wondering what I bring to the group, aren't you?"

"Among other things, yeah."

"I have been reborn," Winthrop said. "I am now a hybrid of science and magic. I can 'hear' machines... I can control them from afar. Want me to deposit a few million Pounds into your account? Or would you prefer Euros? I can also manipulate ambient magic. Like this...." 

Pumpkin felt invisible hands grip the side of his head. The pressure was incredible and he barely had time to mutter "This is gonna hurt like hell growing back..." before his pumpkin head caved in. Bits of pumpkin flew everywhere, staining the table top and eliciting a snort of derision from the Black Rook.

Winthrop pushed aside the Black King's body and sat down. 

"I'd say you're in, Clive." The Black Queen smiled at him and the others joined in.

"Please," he replied, "Call me Sinister."

Sheavun Haldane tried not to look... but it was virtually impossible not to. 

Jon Raven, the freedom fighter known as Killraven in his own time and place, was showering in the next room and he'd left the door to the bathroom standing wide open. If she leaned back in her seat, Shevaun could see him reflected perfectly through the clear shower doors and mirror. He was amazingly handsome, with a well-muscled body and long reddish colored hair. When the shower went off and he stepped out to grab a towel, Shevaun found that her mouth had gone quite dry. Obviously, standards of modesty were quite different in the future... from what he'd told her, he'd probably been forced to use communal showers throughout his childhood.

He strode from the bathroom, shaking out his long mane of hair. "Have you come to any conclusions?" he asked. If he noticed her unabashed stare, he didn't comment on it.

Shevaun had changed out of her Dark Angel costume, instead choosing to lounge about her small apartment in jeans and a black t-shirt with an of the Gallagher brothers from Oasis on the front. "I've tried every spell I know to track down this Lady Kang... and no luck. Maybe she wasn't trying to help you at all, but just wanted to get you out of your native timeline so your friends would die."

"No," he said, frowning. "I don't think so. She seemed to genuinely want to avoid the horrors of my time." He moved to a calendar and stared at it. "I'm five years old in this timeline. My mother and brother are just days away from escaping a major Martian attack on New York City. The Martians will capture us later, though... Joshua and I will be separated. And my mother...."

Shevaun rose from her seat, sensing his pain. "But we changed the timeline. The Pendragons and some of the Avengers from your era brought down the mothership. The Martians aren't cruising to an easy victory like they did in your world."

"You're right... and yet my universe remained unchanged. Perhaps T'Challa and the others didn't do enough to alter this world's history."

Shevaun felt a flush rise to her cheeks when he turned back to face her. He wasn't as gorgeous as her last lover -- Miracleman -- but he was certainly more than enough to make her heart flutter. "Look, I was planning to return to Britain soon. Why not come with me?"

"I don't see how that would help my situation...."

"Well, I've been sending messages back and forth to some friends on the other side. I happen to know that the Pendragons ran into your Lady Kang not too long ago. If anybody would know what she's up to, it'd be them. Maybe it's related to her last scheme." She reached into a pocket and withdrew a small glowing disc, bearing eldritch runes. "Besides, I want to give them this. It's the ward that was kept at the Doubler Stones. I used a spell to bring it to me a few days ago -- I figured it'd make a nice gift for the guys when I went home. Once the Pendragons have this one, they should have all the wards... and then that damned Barrier can come down."

Killraven looked back at the calendar before answering. "Do you mind if we make one stop before we leave?"

Shevaun smiled, knowing what he wanted. "We'll make sure your family gets away this time."

Dan Ketch placed the flowers on the ground, choking back tears. "I'm sorry, Stace. More than you could ever know."

Joey Chapman stood a short distance away, feeling out of place. When Dan had asked him to come along, he'd been surprised but touched. But they simply didn't know each other very well... and being present while Dan stood over the grave of his dead girlfriend was a bit intimate. 

Dan glanced over his shoulder, looking apologetic. "We can head out if you want."

"Nah, mate. You take all the time you need. I can go for a walk or something."

"I'm done, I think." Dan wiped at his eyes with the back of his jacket sleeve. "I just feel horrible. Her life was so screwed up because of Ghost Rider. She wouldn't even be under this Barrier if it wasn't because of her connection to me."

"She made her own choices, Danny. She loved you."

Dan was silent as they walked back to his motorcycle. "I'm going to kill him the next time I see him, Joey. For real, this time."

Joey pursed his lips. "Who? Blackout?"

"No. He was just a pawn. It was Blackheart who was really to blame. It's always Blackheart."

Joey put a hand on Dan's shoulder. "Listen. I know you're all wrapped up in this vengeance riff but it won't bring her back."

"I know that. But of the entire group, you're the one who'd understand the best. You've killed, haven't you?"

"I... I usually strike down the undead. That's a bit different."

"Noble doesn't approve, either. But he'll do what I want. This time, he will." Dan looked at him with such haunting in his eyes that Joey pulled his hand away. "And you'll help me. Right?"

Joey took a deep breath before answering. He knew the kind of pain that Dan was feeling... he'd felt it himself after Kenneth had died. Through a bizarre series of circumstances, Kenneth was back these days, but it wasn't the same. It couldn't be, as long as Kenneth was a vampire and Joey was a member of the living. "I'll help you, mate. You have my word."

Unseen Hands: Precursors (Part 1 of 2)
Written by Joseph Connell

For those who are wondering about the collection of the mystic wards (also referred to as discs or medallions), the Pendragons started their hunt for them in issue 77. Way back in issue 66, Betsy saw a way to remove the Barrier. Though we don't know all the details, we do know that she believes it's essential to have all the medallions brought back together. Once the team gets the disc from Dark Angel, we'll know if she's right or not....

The next few issues also feature backup tales from Joseph Connell, helping set the stage for the big stuff coming as we near # 100.