Pendragon Comics - The Pendragons

The Pendragons

Issue # 88

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 surviving members of the old Knights of Pendragon group, as well as several other heroes. Willing to die for their beliefs, the Pendragons stand united as Britain's best defense against threats of a superhuman nature.

Special "Silver Anniversary" Pendragons logo created by Kell Carpenter, inspired by the logo created by Des Davies!

Written by Barry Reese

The Destiny Walk
Part One
"The Best Laid Plans..."

“Why are we here again?” Gray Poldark asked. He was dressed in a tweed coat and slacks, his hands pushed deep into his pockets. There was a chill wind out today and it made him shiver down deep in his bones.

The green-haired woman at his side grimaced a bit, looking around the opulent grounds of Hampton Court . Lorna Dane had read a bit about the place’s history on the way over, learning that it had been Cardinal Wolsey's palace before being confiscated by Henry VIII. Famous both for its massive indoor tennis/squash court and for its hedge mazes, Hampton Court was one of Britain ’s little gems. That didn’t save it from being a damned drafty mess, she thought. “Betsy says she and Wynter came up with a list of spots that have the right magical ambience for us to do the spell properly.” She gestured about herself. “This was number one on the list.”

“You’d think we’d be at Glastonbury . Or Stonehenge . Or just about any place besides here.”

“Well, it is a bit pretty,” she pointed out. She shivered against the wind, wrapping her arms tightly about herself. She was heavily bundled up, having never quite gotten the hang of English weather. If the temperature soared above eighty degrees, the Brits were out in bikinis. It was days like this that made her miss the U.S. “But I have to admit, I’d rather be back at the castle in front of the fireplace.”

“You’ll have to put off stoking the embers for a bit more, I’m afraid.” Dane Whitman, the erstwhile Black Knight, stepped up to join them. He was smiling, looking quite pleased with himself. Lorna thought he was a handsome fellow but a little too aware of his good looks. Knowing of his scientific background, she’d anticipated him being a bit more awkward in social graces but that was far from the truth. He had a smooth way of talking and enough confidence to bolster any group. Now that his responsibilities as Lord of the Lake were set aside, he’d been full of good cheer. “We’re going to do it here. Everything checks out perfectly.”

“And how do you verify something like that?” Gray asked. He hadn’t been part of the Pendragons back during Dane’s expulsion from the ranks but it was obvious that he’d heard enough about it to develop a healthy sense of distrust where the Black Knight was concerned.

“The warding stones glow when they’re near areas of great mystical power,” Dane replied, seeming not to notice Gray’s tone. “See for yourself.” He held out one of the discs that Blackheart and Zarathos had used to first raise the Black Mass Barrier. The stone was glowing with a faintly reddish-orange color.

"And that's a good thing, is it?" Gray reached out to the touch the stone but drew his hand back quickly when a small bit of electricity arced above the stone. "Why doesn't it hurt you when you touch it?"

"I still have a small connection to Avalon, I suppose." Dane pocketed the stone once more and looked skyward. Clouds were beginning to form and he could smell rain in the air. "We're almost to the anniversary, you know. One more month and we'll be there to the day."

Both Gray and Lorna knew what he meant. The rising of the Black Mass Barrier had altered the world forever, plunging Europe into a new age of mysticism while the the rest of Earth suddenly found themselves repelling an invasion from the stars.

Gray's voice was lowered when he spoke next, as if the coming fall of the Barrier was something to be spoken of in respectful tones. "When do we start this mess?"

"As soon as the other Pendragons arrive," Dane answered. "I just hope their findings are as positive as ours have been."

"We shouldn't be doing this," Jackie whispered, allowing her husband to kiss her again. They were in an alleyway just outside the flat that Kate McClellan shared with the enigmatic Wynter, the first few chilly drops of rain beginning to fall about them.

Joey didn't answer her, at least not with words. Their lips met, parted, then crashed together once more. There had been a time when Joey's attraction to his best friend's mum had seemed awkward and confused but that was long in the past. Now there was only the familiar heat between them, the intimacy of regular lovers where there is no fumbling or mistakes. Each knew what the other wanted and needed.

Jackie felt his hands slip under the blouse she wore, gasping a bit at the cold touch of his fingers. With a tremendous effort of will, she caught and stopped his upward progression. His fingers grazed the skin just beneath her bra and she ached to let him continue. "We're acting like a pair of lovestruck teenagers," she laughed.

Joey stared into her eyes, that roguish smile that she loved appearing on his lips. "You look bloody fantastic. I like it when your hair gets a little wild like this."

Jackie pulled away, self-consciously smoothing down the hair he'd mussed. "They're waiting for us," she reminded him. Though her words were somewhat chiding, she didn't really mind. It was good to know that he still wanted her badly enough to drag her into strange places and molest her. With all the seriousness that plagued the Pendragons, it felt wonderful to act a bit silly from time to time.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Wynter's probably gazing in his crystal ball right now, getting an eyeful of the two of us."

"You're a rascal, Joseph!" Jackie made sure her blouse looked decent. "How do I look?"

"You look fine," Wynter said from above. The wizard was hovering above them, an umbrella in his hand. His long white hair blew gently in the breeze. "I do wish you'd come inside, however, and stop entertaining the neighbors. We have a guest bedroom if you can't contain yourself any longer."

Jackie flashed her husband an embarrassed frown and said "It's good to see you again, Wynter. We were just--"

"I know." Wynter descended, landing gently beside them. He placed his umbrella over Jackie's head, shielding her from the rain. "I've completed my work, by the way. I trust you were coming here to check on that? Or is my alleyway just a favorite spot of yours?"

Wynter nodded, leading them around to the front of the building. "Kate's making some potato soup if you'd like some."

"No thanks. We ate before we left Lyonesse." Jackie stepped inside and barely suppressed a groan of appreciation. It was so warm and toasty inside that she felt like she'd died and gone to heaven. The smells coming from the kitchen were equally nice. "Shevaun's anxious to get started on the spell but she wanted you to double-check everything before she started on it."

Joey watched Wynter and Jackie step into the living room. He lingered back a bit, looking at all the pictures on the walls. He recognized Ben Gallagher in one, his arm around Kate's shoulders. Ben had been a part of the old Knights of Pendragon; he'd died years ago and most of the current Pendragons didn't have a clue about who he was. It struck Joey as simply awful how some people could be so easily forgotten.

When Joey turned to face her, he saw that she was wiping her hands on a dishtowel and was staring at the same picture he'd been looking at. "Sorry," he mumbled, feeling bad for having reminded her of the loss.

"Nothing to be sorry for. I'm quite happy with Wynter these days. Ben's an important part of my past, though, and I'd never forget that."

"He wouldn't have wanted to be a martyr, Joey. As long as his friends remember him, that's all that matters."

"Seems unfair, though... that some of us get to come back from the dead and others don't."

Kate smiled, taking her friend's arm. "How can you be so morose right after necking with your girl?"

In the living room, they found that Spitfire was looking at a strip of parchment adorned with various magical runes. She glanced up as her husband entered, saying "It's right here, Joey. Wynter says it'll start working almost immediately! All Shevaun has to do is conduct the spell according to these runes."

"A breach will open in the Barrier," Wynter answered. "It will grow larger and larger until eventually the Barrier is too porous to stand."

"And then we go to war with the Martians," Kate sighed. "It's got to be done, I suppose... but I'm not looking forward to it."

"Life sucks and then you die," Joey muttered. When he saw the shocked look on his wife's face, he added "Not that my life sucks, mind you. Just saying."

"They're going to try it tonight" Salome whispered, stretching out luxuriously on the couch. Saunders thought she had the longest legs he'd ever seen on a woman. He licked his lips as he watched her, aware that she knew his eyes were upon her.

"The tampering we made to the discs should make for an interesting evening. I wonder if they'll die or if something worse will happen."

Salome glanced over at her partner. They made an excellent team, having taken several steps towards their ultimate goal*. She knew she couldn't fully trust Saunders, but that didn't matter. All that concerned her was whether or not they were stronger together than separately -- and that had certainly proven to be the case. "I'm a bit surprised that Wynter didn't notice what we'd done."

"He's as arrogant as his father. Besides, we were so subtle that no one short of the Sorcerer Supreme would be able to find our fingerprints on them."

She placed a finger over his bottom lip, dragging it downwards until her fingernail raked across the flesh and drew a small dab of blood. "Guess," she whispered in a husky voice.

Dark Angel and Captain Britain stepped back and examined the pentagram they'd drawn on the floor of the Hampton Court dining room. Shevaun shook her head and said "Can't believe you got us permission to do this."

"I promised we'd clean up the mess," Betsy replied. She looked over as the rest of the active roster stepped in. Spitfire rushed forward, seeming to teleport from one spot to another, but actually moving at superhuman speed. "Did you get it?"

"Here it is," Jackie said, offering the parchment to the team's leader. "While Shevaun's performing the spell, what are the rest of us supposed to be doing?"

"In the original Black Mass ritual," Shevaun said, "Zarathos and Blackheart used the souls of innocents to help raise the Barrier. Our spell will tap into some of the residual magic found in the stones, but I'll need all of you to help me gain extra strength. We won't need actual souls to power our spell since we're not looking to knock down the Barrier, just poke a hole in it... but I'm going to tap into your collective spirits."

"It's not as dangerous as it sounds," Betsy assured everyone. "Basically we'll just concentrate on helping Shevaun. Visualize the fall of the Barrier and she'll draw on your willpower."

"Sounds like a bunch of bloody nonsense," Union Jack said. All of the team had shifted into their uniforms and Joey felt a bit silly standing in somebody's dining room dressed like a national icon.

The Black Knight looked at Joey and shook his head. "Show some respect, Joey. Wynter and Shevaun know what they're doing."

That's enough! Betsy shouted in their heads. Her telepathic slap had the desired effect, making both men pause and clutch at their foreheads. Aloud, she continued "Any negative emotions will impair the spell's effect. Let's remember why we're doing this, shall we? A massive armada is coming and we have to get this Barrier down before it hits."

"What about the armada on the other side of the Barrier?" Lorna asked. "What if the Martians come pouring in as soon as the breach appears?"

"Cybermancer's leading a group of Pendragons who are going to be monitoring the breach. Any Martians coming in will get a nasty surprise."

"Shall we begin?" Shevaun asked. Betsy noticed that her friend looked a bit flushed and excited and she couldn't fault her for that. Even with war with the Martians looming, she was anxious to see the rest of the world again. There had been so many losses in the war that she wanted a chance to pay her respects, as well. "Betsy?" Shevaun asked. "You ready?"

"Of course." Betsy took a spot in the circle of Pendragons that lined the pentagram, each holding the hands of those nearest to them. Dark Angel knelt in the center of the pentagram, with the mystic stones spread about her.

Shevaun took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her friends' hopes and fears. If this worked, so much would change. Shevaun had faith in Betsy and knew that her friend though this to be the best course of action but there were secret doubts that she felt. She'd been on outside of the Barrier and had seen the horrors that awaited Europe. "Incantum domini masso finitum," Shevaun said, raising her voice until it echoed in the high ceilings. "Exilis momenti!"

Lorna Dane felt the hair stand up on the nape of her neck and she unconsciously squeezed Nocturne's hand harder. There were tiny whispers reaching her ears and she glanced around to see if someone had entered. She saw nothing, save for shadows that grew long and dangerous in the corners of the room. Lorna tried to visualize the falling of the Barrier but as the shadows began to snake towards them and the whispers turned to howling, she found it increasingly difficult. "Something's wrong," she tried to say but her voice was being drowned out. Somewhere amidst the din she thought she heard Shevaun, still chanting.

Is it supposed to be like this? Betsy projected to Dark Angel. She sensed the other woman's confusion and fear, mounting as the storm in the room worsened. Wind was blowing so hard now that all of them were staggering, their feet dragging across the floor.

I don't know what's happening, Shevaun answered. The stones aren't glowing anymore! They're not behaving the way they should be!

The structure about them began to creak under the strain and Betsy looked up to see a long crack developing in the ceiling. Do something! Get us out of here!

Dark Angel opened up her power to its full potential, wrapping her teammates up in a bundle of energy. She concentrated on teleporting them away from here but there were so many that she felt her control buckling. The Pendragons vanished in a flash of light just before the Hampton Court began to cave in on itself. A bolt of mystic energy, burning with the stench of brimstone, shot forth from the wreckage, exploding in the rain-filled clouds. The breach in the Barrier opened, though it was not where Shevaun had expected... for this breach was right above southwest London...

When all the world was very young
And mountain magic heavy hung
The supermen would walk in file
Guardians of a loveless isle
And gloomy browed with superfear their tragic endless lives

Could heave nor sigh
In solemn, perverse serenity, wondrous beings chained to life

Strange games they would play then
No death for the perfect men
Life rolls into one for them
So softly a supergod cries

Where all were minds in uni-thought
Power weird by mystics taught
No pain, no joy, no power too great
Colossal strength to grasp a fate
Where sad-eyed mermen tossed in slumbers

Nightmare dreams no mortal mind could hold
A man would tear his brother's flesh, a chance to die
To turn to mold.

Far out in the red-sky
Far out from the sad eyes
Strange, mad celebration
So softly a supergod cries

Far out in the red-sky
Far out from the sad eyes
Strange, mad celebration
So softly a supergod dies

The Pendragons materialized on the shores of Lyonesse, each of them lying on their backs as the rains fell and the tide washed over the beach. Betsy sat up first, her head pounding. "How could we have missed it? A trap...."

The Black Knight rolled over onto his knees, coughing up a bit of blood. The teleportation had been a rough one, tainted by the magic that had been all around them when Shevaun had used her powers. "The air tastes horrible."

"What's wrong?" Joey asked, reaching out to grasp his wife's arm. Spitfire was sitting up, staring towards the castle. Joey followed her shocked gaze and felt his heart skip a beat. "Shevaun," he hissed. "Where the hell did you send us?"

Dark Angel groaned. She laying half submerged by water, her body shaking from the strain of what she'd done. At the end it had felt like the shadows were trying to hold them back.... "What do you mean?" she managed.

Dark Angel and the rest of the Pendragons glanced up, their mouths falling open one by one. The castle that they'd called home was battered and broken, with one of the mighty ramparts sheared completely off. A Martian tripod rested quiet and still next to the castle, while a number of ships roared overhead. Some of them bore the markings of SHIELD but most were of an alien design.

"I tried to send us to Avalon," Dark Angel whispered, "but something interfered. We must have moved through time as well as space. But we can't be very far in the future...."

"A few months, I'd say," the Black Knight said, rising to his feet unsteadily. "It was November when we left and this feels like... what? April?"

"The Barrier's gone," Betsy realized. "The sky's not pink anymore. We destroyed the Barrier!"

"But at what price?" Union Jack whispered. He looked towards London and saw only a plume of smoke rising from the mainland. "Bloody hell, what have we done.....?"

The Destiny Walk Part One "The Best Laid Plans..."

The Destiny Walk
Part One
"The Best Laid Plans..."