The Destiny Walk
Part Four
"Finis"

It's funny how much of my life has been wrapped around these Pendragons. Their adventures have consumed me in a way that few could ever understand... and their eventual passing will leave a hole in my life. Melodramatic, I know, but it's true.

My name is Willem Duhart and I was there the day that Lyonesse rose from the sea¹. I'd been with the Royal Navy for some eight years before I met Albion , but everything that preceded that moment seems to have lost its luster somehow. Standing in the presence of a living legend made me feel like I'd accomplished nothing in my life, despite the medals and commendations I'd gained.

After Albion had told me that the Pendragons would like to claim the newly risen Isle for their own use, I returned with my crew to our base and set about recording my thoughts and feelings in a journal that I kept. It was lost to me during the horrors of the Black Mass, along with most of my belongings. The house I shared with my wife and our daughter Wendy was one of those engulfed in flames... and my wife was one of the ones whose soul was sucked from her body by the spell that Zarathos and Blackheart cast. We had been huddled together in the living room, watching the telly, which was filled with reports of strange apparitions and fearful warnings. I told my wife to not be afraid, that the Pendragons were on the watch and that they'd deal with those beasts in no time. 

She died in my arms, suddenly and without warning, while Wendy looked on and screamed. 

When I read the next morning that Albion had died², as well, it seemed to me to be fitting somehow. My love had died because of his failure, after all. The heroes had not saved the day… not for me, at least.

The Captain Britain Corps was overwhelmed. Faced with an army numbering in the millions, with many of its members the animated dead, the Corps was doing all it could to avoid being slaughtered. Captain Airstrip-Two narrowly avoided being decapitated, surviving only when his attacker was felled by a blow from a youthful alternate reality version of Brian Braddock. This youthful Braddock had been tutored in the arts of combat by no less than Slaymaster and he was one of the Corps' most effective fighters. He knew how to ignore the screams of the dying and focus on only one thing: victory.

King Brian watched his doppelganger from afar, impressed with how the young man handled himself. He'd never been able to lose himself in battle like that. His mind was always busy, always planning two steps ahead. Even now, he held one mummified soldier by the neck, using his incredible strength to snap the supernaturally strong bones in two. He tossed aside the body, punching a hand through the torso of a living foe next. It was violent, gory work, this battle... but King Brian felt a flush of pleasure nonetheless. The endgame had arrived... and soon enough, it would all be over. 

A voice nagged at him from the depths of his consciousness, warning him not to become overconfident, but he silenced it easily enough.

Barely suppressing a grin across his handsome face, King Brian soared upwards, leaving behind the warfare below. Up above, it almost seemed peaceful here in Limbo. He eyed the citadel into which the Pendragons had entered, hoping to take down the leaders of this foul army. "Hold on," he whispered. "I'm on my way." 

It was just over one week after the Black Mass affair that I first began to feel the change. I suppose it’s possible that it was already happening and I was just too wound up to notice. The funeral, the family visitations, comforting my daughter… it’s all a blur to me, even today. I guess that’s a blessing. I know that the pain I felt was bloody awful. How do you keep going after the best thing in your life has been snuffed out? I still had Wendy, but I’m ashamed to say that for a few days after the funeral I couldn’t stand to be around her. She was a constant reminder of her mother. When I looked into her blue eyes, I felt angry at her very existence, which only fueled my self-loathing.

But there came a day when I woke up to a pounding in my head. It wasn’t quite like a headache, for it seemed to be somehow far worse. It felt like some fleshy beast was lurking about in my skull, whipping about long tentacles that lashed at my brain. Colors seemed more vibrant, noises more intense and even the smells of the house were more evocative than ever before. It felt a bit like the one time I tried marijuana… the feelings were incredible but when I began to come down from my high, there was this brief but awful period when I felt both stronger and more wretched at the same time. My friends claimed the drug had been laced with something and the experience was not typical but it was enough to scare me off the stuff forever.

I stumbled downstairs to hear news reports about the Pendragons had been involved in some kind of battle at the Whitelys shopping center in Bayswater³. I fixed cereal for Wendy and myself, feeling a bit of resentment at these heroes of ours. Everyone in the papers had gone on and on about the team’s losses, which included not only Albion but Gawain as well, but all I could think was that they’d come out of all this smelling like roses. Before the Barrier, they’d been just one more superhero group in a world teeming with them. Now they were far more than just the local heroes… they were the bloody Avengers times two. They were Britain ’s only hope of remaining strong in a world that was suddenly overrun by creatures that were straight out of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale collection.

The story of their battle with Jack O’Lantern was followed by one examining the stunning numbers of people experiencing sudden powers and visions. It seemed the Barrier had not just unleashed magic and monsters, it had also unlocked the potential for greatness within so many.

My headache worsened.

Betsy Braddock felt cold all over. It was like the heat of life was seeping away through the wound in her chest... She stared down at her hands, covered in blood, and felt like she was in a dream. All of that blood couldn't possibly be hers, not from a single blow....

Linda McQuillan took in a tear-wracked sob, staring at Betsy with wide open eyes. Betsy thought that Captain UK looked a bit silly like that, but then she saw the blood dripping from the woman's knife and all the humor seemed to die.

Just like I'm about to, she thought to herself. Aloud, Betsy said "If you think they're going to give you back Rick, you're wrong. They're just going to betray you." The last few words were almost incomprehensible, for there was a wet sound to them. A small ripple of blood welled up in Betsy's throat and she coughed up small chunks of something wet and red.

"It's the only hope I have," Linda replied. She took a step back from Betsy, as if she was afraid that the blood would splatter upon her and mark her for all time as a traitor.

"Betsy! We need the two of you!"  Spitfire's words came in a terrific rush as she ran back to join the two women. Most of the Pendragons had gone ahead to find the villains of the piece, but Jackie had noticed quickly that two of their most powerful members were missing and had gone back to find them. A brief telepathic flash from Betsy had said something about a traitor but it had been so quick and full of psychic pain that none of the Pendragons understood its meaning. 

What Jackie saw as she sped around the corner froze the blood in her veins and caused her to hesitate before speaking. She stared wide-eyed from Betsy to Linda and back again. "What in the name of Avalon...? Linda, what did you do?"

Captain UK lunged forward, attempting to catch Jackie with a backhanded blow. Spitfire was too fast for her, dodging the attack. "You don't understand!" Linda yelled, but in the seconds it took her to speak, her teammate was upon her, stripping the knife from her hand and rocketing back up the hallway.

"Pendragons! There's an emergency! Come quickly!" Spitfire stumbled in her haste, slipping to her knees painfully. She heard a crack in her left kneecap and a rivulet of blood dripped from her lips where she’d accidentally bitten down on it with her teeth.

“Hush, Jackie. There’s help here now.”

Jackie felt herself lifted up into Brian Braddock’s strong hands. The King of Otherworld looked resplendent in his blue and white uniform, with only a few traces of blood and gore marring its surface. He was staring at his sister with concern in his eyes. “Brian,” Jackie whispered. “Linda’s betrayed us.”

Brian gently set Jackie to the side, letting her lean against the wall for support. He strode towards Betsy, taking her in his arms. While this was happening, Linda turned away from the scene and closed her eyes tightly. Things had progressed too far for her to ever win anyone’s sympathy now. She would have to accept whatever role was left for her.

Brian, Betsy thought weakly. Heal me.

Brian smiled softly into her eyes. Healing her was certainly possible, for he had done much more than that since gaining his current powers. Indeed, Roma had told him to use his power to heal whenever possible, rather than to utilize his abilities to make war, which was his usual way. “Don’t worry, luv,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “You don’t have to worry about Linda or the Pendragons or anything else. Ever again.”

Betsy’s eyes opened wide as her brother allowed her access to his mind. What she saw there was enough to make her cry out, but no words would come. Darkness crept into her vision, wrapping its foul tendrils about her consciousness and dragging it downwards. When oblivion came for her, it was almost a blessed release.

“Brian?” Jackie asked from behind him. “Is she going to be okay?”

The former Captain Britain rose to his feet, cradling his sister’s body against him. She was still breathing but it was faint and irregular. The loss of blood would soon doom her. Brian turned to face the terrified Spitfire and an odd smile touched his lips. “Let me tell you a story.”

 When the Pendragons went missing, I had to stop myself from cheering. I’d returned to work by then, which had helped me return to some feeling of normalcy in my life, but there were the continuing headaches and the nonstop barrage of people apologizing for my wife’s death. It had been gratifying at first to know that so many of my friends recognized my loss, my pain, but after a time it became harder and harder to avoid snapping at them. I’d boxed up all of her things and thrown them into the attic, despite Wendy’s pleas for me not to. My wife was dead and gone… but for some reason, her ghost hung like a specter over me.

I hoped that everyone’s fascination with the heroes who’d failed us would pass with their disappearance, but it didn’t. It intensified somehow. Especially after the so-called New Pendragons were unleashed upon us⁴. Every tabloid in the country followed their every move and when they captured Jack O’Lantern at last, you’d have thought they’d saved the bloody Queen.

I began drinking around this time and during my increasingly rare moments of sobriety, I began to hear voices.

 “Where the hell are they?” Union Jack asked, crouching outside the room where the sons of Kang – the Scarlet Centurion and Ramades – rested in conversation. Joey Chapman’s words were directed at Dark Angel, who seemed equally concerned.

“Maybe they ran into a trap,” she offered. “My telepathy isn’t picking up any trace of them.”

“Doesn’t that strike you as a bad sign?” he hissed, worry over his wife making him seem even more terse than normal.

“We’ll have to go on without them,” the Black Knight said. He held up a hand to ward off Joey’s angry response. “They’re strong women. They can take care of themselves. And if we don’t deal with the leaders of that army out there now, while we still can, we’re not going to be in any position to help them out later on.”

Nocturne and Polaris nodded in agreement with the Knight. Gray Poldark understood Joey’s anxiousness better than anyone, given that he was engaged to Betsy Braddock, but he also knew that Betsy would want them to strike fast and hard.

“Mind if I join you?” Brian Braddock asked, stepping up to join them. The Black Knight could scarcely hide his astonishment. “Brian? I thought you were out with the rest of the Corps!”

“The battle’s going well. The element of surprise certainly seemed to help us. I thought I might lend a hand here. Where’s Betsy? Or Linda and Jackie, for that matter?”

“I was hoping you’d be able to answer that,” Union Jack replied. “You didn’t see them? Jackie took off down that same hall you just came from….”

“I didn’t see any sign of them,” Brian answered. “Maybe I should go look for them.”

“No!” Dane hissed. “We just finished arguing over that same point! You being here will help offset the power we’ve lost from Betsy and Linda not being here.”

“Something’s wrong,” Polaris whispered.

“What do you mean?” Dane listened to the voices from the other room but they didn’t seem to have varied in tone.

“I just heard one of them – Marcus, I think – say something about Pride or Pryde or something similar.”

“So?”

“He said that very same thing like a minute ago.”

Nocturne strained to hear their words and then he nodded in confusion. “She’s right. They’re repeating their words.”

Union Jack jumped into the room, brandishing his pistol. The figures of Ramades and the Scarlet Centurion remained where they were, speaking to each other as if Joey wasn’t even there.

“Pryde is confused by the whole thing,” the Centurion was saying.

“I agree… and so are the Pendragons. The plan seems to be proceeding perfectly,” Ramades replied.

Union Jack glanced over at his teammates as they entered the room. “Check this out,” he said. He waved a hand through the Centurion’s form. “Holograms.”

“What’s going on?” Polaris asked, moving over to examine the false Ramades.

“It’s a trap,” Dark Angel murmured. “Has to be. Somehow they knew we were coming and—“

“Hid themselves away,” Brian agreed. “They’re probably off somewhere laughing at us.”

“If it’s a trap, then we’d best get out of here.” The Black Knight sheathed his blade. “The whole building could be wired to explode!”

“Dane?” Brian asked.

“What is it?”

“For once in your life, stop giving orders.”

Before Dane could respond, Brian had lashed out with a vicious backhand. It sent the former Lord of the Lake to the ground with a broken jaw. Brian whirled on Union Jack, summoning the powers that were his as King of Otherworld. He channeled mystic energy straight into Joey’s body, causing the man to scream in agony. “And you… you died once⁵. It’s like bad fiction the way you Pendragons keep coming back to life⁶.”

“I don’t know who you are or what you’ve done with Brian, but you’ve made a terrible mistake!” Shevaun yelled, bombarding Brian with a mixture of eldritch energy and cosmic power generated by her costume. Dark Angel was one of the most powerful beings in existence but Brian merely laughed at her as a force field shimmered into view around him.

“Your father had so much potential but he was undone by his foolish nature⁷. The same could be said of you,” Brian taunted. He launched himself towards Shevaun, wrapping his hands about her throat and arm. His eyes flashed with cosmic energy and he pulled at the Fabric of the Universe she wore, causing intense pain to flood through her. The Fabric had bonded with her, becoming her skin… but now it ripped like tissue paper, spreading blood and tiny droplets of power through the air. “Let’s see how you fare without this suit of yours, shall we?”

Brian grunted in pain as Polaris brought her magnetism to bear on him. He turned towards her, the skin on his face rippling like water as she tried to take control of the iron in his blood. Lorna’s voice was taught from strain. “Stop this! If someone’s controlling you, we can help!”

Nocturne struck then, pressing their advantage. He wrapped the electrified tendrils housed in his gauntlets around Brian’s waist and ignited them. Energy crackled around Brian’s form.

Brian hissed, grabbing hold of Nocturne’s tendrils and snatching him off his feet. He tossed Gray like a sack of potatoes, slamming him hard into Lorna’s side. “You held creation at your fingertips⁸,” he bellowed at her. The two Pendragons were on the ground, trying to rise, as he bore down upon them. “And what did you do? Make a few meaningless changes. You could have ended racism, fed the poor, given yourself better hair.” He snatched them both up by the necks, holding one in each hand. “You, more than any of the others, make me sick.”

Gray gasped for air, struggling in vain to pry himself free. “Stop… Brian!”

“Don’t call me that,” the King of Otherworld replied. “Call me Kang.”

Wendy’s problems at school brought me under closer scrutiny. I’d been placed on medical leave from the Navy and forcibly enrolled in a rehab program. My drinking slowed but never stopped. It was the only way I could put the voices on hold.

They cried out to me almost every night, telling me their secret fantasies, their deepest fears, their most childish memories. Some of the voices came from people I knew, like the Morrisons across the street. Danny was having an affair with his secretary while Julie had become to change from the effects of the Barrier. She’d become a hermaphrodite, which had put a strain things with Danny. It would have been kind of funny, had it not been so nonstop. Even Wendy’s thoughts were coming into mine and it sometimes broke my heart to see what she thought of me. Children are so unabashed in their emotions, with no filters on anything.

I’d become one of those Barrier freaks and I didn’t quite know how to react. Before the Black Mass, I’d idolized the Capes just like everyone else. But when they’d failed us, I couldn’t help but hate them. Albion had seemed so damned perfect… and everyone loved them and patted them on the back for defeating Blackheart… despite the fact that thousands had died. Thousands! Did the Pendragons even know who those people were? Did they care?

It was a few weeks after reports of the Pendragons battling the Emissaries of Evil in Bavaria⁹ that I got the letter in the mail. It had the return address of Lyonesse. I didn’t know what to make of it at first and I sat at the kitchen table for what felt like hours, just staring at the damned thing, too afraid to open it. I heard Wendy playing in the other room while birds sang in the yard. Out the window I could see a winged lizard soaring past the sun. I tell you these things because I remember them all with crystal clarity.

Inside the envelope was a single handwritten sheet of paper. The words were immediately burned into my mind:

"I beg your forgiveness that it has taken so long for this letter to reach you. In the aftermath of the Black Mass, all of us have been so very busy. In addition, gaining the names and addresses of those who died during that horrible night was a time consuming process -- and, unfortunately, I'm sure that we'll never be able to reach everyone that we should.

All of us affiliated with the Pendragons would like to offer our condolences for your loss. We wish we could have tried harder to stop all of this from happening. Our own pain is great but we would never think to compare it to your own. At least we chose the path we took, the roles we played. We knew death was a possibility. But for all the innocents out there, whose lives ended so suddenly... there was no choice given. For that, I apologize.

Be Well.

Betsy Braddock, aka Captain Britain, on behalf of the Pendragons"

I looked up from the letter to see that Wendy was watching me, her eyes wide. I reached up to touch my cheeks and suddenly realized the reason for her concern. I was crying. This silly little form letter had acted like an ice pick, poking away at the walls around my heart. I snatched up my daughter and held her tight.

It was later that night that I realized that Ms. Braddock was wrong on one matter, however. 

All of us choose who we are and what we stand for. I chose to enter the navy, chose to spend time away from my wife and daughter. My wife chose to be a teacher, educating those who would be the next generation. We made those choices. Maybe no one came to us in the night and asked if she wanted to die... but really, does anyone get that offer? All those months I'd wasted blaming myself, blaming others, for taking her away from me... what I was really upset about was all the things we'd never get to share, never get to do together. But we had done so much and that was what I should have been celebrating.

A form letter was all that it took. Gods, what I fool I am.

Betsy Braddock opened her eyes, for a moment wondering where she was. Then memories came flooding back to her, of the sudden assault that came from Linda and the far worse realization about her brother. She looked about herself, finding that she and the rest of the Pendragons were all restrained hand and foot to a massive wall. Before them stood Brian, his face bare but the rest of him garbed in the armor of Kang the Conqueror. At his side, kissing his cheek, was Ravonna, who had masterminded so much of the recent turmoil in their lives¹⁰.

"Lying bastard," Betsy said, raising her voice so that they might hear. It hurt to speak but not nearly as bad as it should have... obviously she'd been healed enough so that she might live, but not much more than that.

Kang looked up at her in amusement. "Ah, the first to awaken is the team's leader. I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose. You've long embodied the best of them."

"How did you do it?" she asked, her eyes narrowed. She tested her bonds and found them too strong to break. Likewise, her telepathy seemed unable to pierce the barriers around Kang or Ravonna's minds. She did, however, find that she could nudge her teammates into consciousness and she began to do so, eliciting pained groans from them. "And where's my brother?"

"Right here, of course." Kang tapped the side of his head. "Don't you recall what I told you when you returned from Battleworld¹¹? The explanation for how your brother ended up on the throne of Otherworld and why he'd done all the things since?"

"That Kang had maneuvered Brian into being a pawn. Someone whom he could project his consciousness in to if things went poorly in the Forever War. But that didn't happen."

"It's true that I survived the Forever War but not long after, your idiot brother Jamie and Jim Jaspers began monkeying about with the Forever Crystal¹²! They wiped out all versions of myself, past and future... it was by the slimmest of margins that I managed to protect myself. I slid deeply into your brother's subconscious but was far too weak to reveal myself at first. I could only nudge him into decisions that I desired. Sending you to Battleworld, aiding you in ending Jaspers and his threat. As time passed, I was able to come to the fore but it was only a few weeks ago that I began exerting enough control to actively direct him. Now your brother lies in a psychic prison, forced to watch as I gain the power that should rightfully be mine!"

"Where's your kids?" Union Jack asked, still sounding a bit groggy. He managed to nod at his wife, who offered a wan smile in return. He noticed that the only Pendragon missing was Captain UK. "And what about Linda? She manage to get away?"

"My heirs are safely away from here, planning the next stage of the campaign. You have no idea how worried I was when Brian's sister gained knowledge of my plans... and I knew that Whitman would slowly begin to see it as well. I had to use all of Brian's power to hide the truth from them. If I'd had my way, Betsy never would have revived from coma¹³. Unfortunately, Brian was able to keep me from slaying her." Kang took Ravonna's hand in his own and smiled. "As for Linda... come forth, my pet."

"Don't call me that." Captain UK moved into view, having hidden herself in the corner of the room. She avoided locking eyes with her imprisoned teammates. 

"No," Lorna whispered. "You didn't...."

"I had to, you cow!" Linda exclaimed. "It's all your fault! You could have brought him back! You had the power! But you left poor Rick dead...."

"You know that's not right," Betsy warned. "Now shut up and pray that we're forgiving when we get free."

Linda flinched at the fury in her friend's words but she knew it was warranted. 

"I've promised her a world in which she can be reunited with her lover," Kang explained. "A paltry gift, for one who has aided me so well. Outside these walls, the Corps falls. The trap has been lain with careful care. And now the only ones who could have truly stopped me from overrunning the Earth will perish."

"Be serious," Nocturne said with a wry grin. "Brian wouldn't let you kill Betsy before... but you think he will now? Hell, I bet he's the one who stopped you from killing all of us just now? Why wait for us to wake up? Why give us the chance to come back to beat you? I bet it's because Brian's in there, fighting you ever inch of the way."

"A nice fantasy... but one sorely lacking in reality." Kang raised a gauntleted hand. "Now... who wants to die first?"

It was Wendy's idea to use my powers for more than mental voyeurism. She told me I should go to Lyonesse and join the Pendragons... but I laughed that off. Besides, they had more than enough problems without trying to tutor a newbie like me. There was a group of Young Pendragons¹⁴ running about and they'd fought a vampire -- or something much like one -- in a nightclub in London¹⁵. I was privately a bit titillated by their exploits now, because I couldn't get Wendy's suggestion out of my head. I enrolled in a self-defense course and realized that I was faster and stronger than ever before. Not like the Hulk or anything, but enough to handle most blokes twice my size. And with my telepathy becoming more focused, I was able to use it to predict my opponent's moves before they even started in on them.

Right after the attack on Parliament that the Emissaries launched^16, I decided to give it a go. I wasn't sure how to go about it all... I mean, do you just wander around until you find a mugging or something? I put on a dark jogging suit and a ski mask which was altogether too hard to breathe out of and set out through town. Four hours later, I was tired as hell and hadn't fought a single criminal.

Pathetic.

Linda McQuillan looked up as Kang made his pronouncement, her hearth pounding so hard in her chest that it ached. She believed that he would grant her the wish she'd made but at what cost? Was getting Rick back worth losing everything about yourself that you valued.

In the end, who did she choose to be? What did she stand for?

She knew who Rick had been... and she knew what he had stood for....

"And it wouldn't be for this," she said aloud.

Ravonna glanced over at her, concern marring her pretty features. "What did you say, pet?"

Linda clenched her fingers into a fist. "I told the two of you not to call me that." She slammed her fist into Ravonna's nose, shattering it. 

Kang turned away from the Pendragons, his surprise making him momentarily pause. In that moment, Linda was upon him, kicking and punching. He gripped the sides of her head as they tumbled to the ground, applying direct pressure to the sides of her skull. She howled in pain but continued attacking. As her vision darkened, she thought she heard Rick's voice in her head, telling her to continue, to never let up.

One of her blows cracked open Kang's lower lip, another darkened his eye. She bit through the side of his wrist, tearing away skin and blood. It was then that Kang decided that he had toyed with her enough. A blast of pure elemental energy shot forth from his eyes, eradicating Linda's head and leaving only a headless corpse in its wake.

"My lord...." Ravonna whispered.

Kang rolled to his knees, coughing up blood, before looking up at her. What he saw gave him pause once more. The Pendragons were free and the Lady Kang was held tightly in Dane's grip, his magical blade pressed tightly against her throat. While Kang watched, Dane applied more pressure, drawing a thin line of blood from Ravonna's neck. "How....?"

"That was me," Spitfire said with a smile. "Used my powers to move back and forth so quickly that it caused my bonds to snap. Linda's attack was the perfect time for me to move -- and freeing the others at superspeed was no problem at all."

Kang rose to his feet. "Fine. Then you die with your hands free. It matters not."

"Surrender or she dies," the Black Knight warned.

"Kill her then," Kang said, ignoring the look of surprise in his lover's eyes. "I can always rewrite history and bring her back."

"You have no shame, do you?" Betsy said. "None at all. Jackie... let's do this."

At a nod from her captain, Spitfire shot forward. She grabbed Betsy about the waist and propelled her forward, even as Betsy activated her psi-blade. Kang responded quickly, spraying them with painful energy but Jackie was too quick and had too much momentum on her side. She and Betsy barreled into him and the two Captain Britains became locked in a fierce battle. Betsy jammed her knife into Brian's skull again and again, knowing that she ran the risk of killing her only remaining family... but knowing that Brian would want her to risk it.

Flesh peeled from Betsy's body as they grappled together and the other Pendragons were forced to turn away from the bright light that surrounded them.

"Get out of my brother's body! Now!" she yelled, driving the blade into him one final time. In that second, she saw Brian's eyes clear and he was there, in her arms, for one eternal second. She heard his final words loud and distinct in her head: Thank you. Take care of Meggan.

And then he was gone.

Lyonesse sank beneath the waves last night. No one saw it happen. One moment it was there... and then it was gone again, like a dream.

Speaking of dreams, I had a bizarre one this afternoon, as I lay exhausted on the couch, recovering from one of my hardest workouts yet. I saw Betsy Braddock ascending the steps leading to a throne, with hundreds -- if not thousands -- of her subjects cheering her name. She looked sad, like someone who had lost their best mate, but somehow all the more beautiful for it. The Pendragons... most of 'em anyway, the ones who hadn't died fighting the Martians or any of their numerous villains... were there watching and clapping. 

Spitfire and Union Jack, hand in hand.

Polaris, alone but content.

Dark Angel, proud for her best friend but sad at the passing of an era.

And many more that I won't bother to name. What's the point in making a list? I'm not sure if this world will ever see the like of them again. But I remember what she said in her dream as she turned to face them all and I'm reminded once more of the greatest gift the Pendragons could ever give: they inspired others. They gave hope when there ought to be none. And maybe an age has passed... but there will still be heroes. I promise you that.

Betsy Braddock, Queen of Otherworld, took a deep breath before speaking. She was still weary from the events of the past few days and it showed in every line on her face. Kang's army had collapsed upon the news that he was dead and his sons had fled into the timestream. Ravonna was held captive and paraded before all who cared to see her. There was still a war to be fought back on Earth but it wasn't Betsy's any longer. She was now responsible for safeguarding the Omniverse, a daunting task to say the least. Her teammates were going to be returning to Earth in a few days, uniting with the other heroes of the world in repelling the Martians. A part of her wished she and Gray were going with them, but she knew that there were many tasks before her that needed doing. Finding the remaining Heirs of Kang, smoothing out the wrinkles in the timestream... and getting married, of course. That last thought made her feel warm and safe inside, in counterpoint to most of her current emotions. Her brother was dead and the Pendragons, at least as they had been, were no more.

The Green Knight had pulled back, deeper into Avalon. The cycle was moving on, the eternal struggle between the Green and their ancient enemies the Bane altering into a new form. What it would take she didn't know... but it would be a far different war than before. Her friends might elect to continue calling themselves Pendragons -- and that was certainly their right -- but there would be no more calling upon the forces of Avalon for assistance.

Betsy cast a brief glance over Meggan, who had abdicated her claim to the throne. The shape changer looked woefully depressed, her emotional state dictating the form she held. I'll keep to my promise, Betsy thought. You'll never want for anything, Meggan.

Taking a deep breath, Betsy began to speak. "Thank you for all your support." The words seemed awkward at first but they came easier as she pressed on. "The Pendragons has meant so much to so many... but to me it's been about family. And responsibility. There are times we'd all like to run and hide, to protect what's ours and not risk anything of value. But we bear a greater responsibility than that. We owe it to ourselves and our neighbors to care... to offer an open hand... to stand with them when the skies are dark and the chill winds threaten to drive us back into our homes. There are cycles to all things and this is no different. For every ending is a new beginning and every beginning is the ending of some old story. I cannot promise to be the equal of my brother. I cannot promise to cure all your ills or right all your wrongs. But I swear to you this: I will try to the very best of my ability." She reached down to the sword buckled at her waist and drew it forth. "Our memories will always remain... of the best of times and of the worst. Of stories never told and those that will never be forgotten. As you stand to salute me, I salute you."

All of us choose who we are and what we stand for, she thought to herself. The sudden inspiration confused her for only a moment, but then she realized that it came in her brother's voice. With a smile, she accepted the applause of those around her, knowing that like her brother she would choose the path of what was right... but rarely what was easiest.

AUTHOR'S NOTES  

I've been working on this series off and on for about seven years... I'm excited and a little bit scared about the ending of it all. Am I sad about not making it to #100? Only in the sense that I'd set that as a goal for quite awhile now... but #100 is only a number and if you count all the issues of Captain Britain, Tales of the Pendragons, Ghost Rider UK and Young Pendragons I've written, I went over 100 issues a looooooong time ago. It's time for me to end this phase of my life.

Favorite memories or arcs:

Issue 6 is my "Avengers #4" issue. You know, the one where things come together. In Avengers 4, Captain America joins up and you know for the first time that the Hulk really might not come back... Pendragons # 6 saw Betsy Braddock join the group as Captain Britain and she's become the heart of the series for me. We needed that iconic figure at the front, I think, and she works in a way that Brian wouldn't have. The later storyline where Spitfire filled in for her as leader was specifically designed to show how important Betsy is.

"Isles of Magick" worked really well, I think. Fun, classic superhero stuff and I think I shocked a lot of folks by killing off Albion, who had seemed so essential to that point. When Grace died during the Collision, I liked that Albion was waiting for her in Avalon. One of the sweetest moments in the series.

"The Shaping" that crossed over with Black Knight... I remain convinced that it's one of the best fanfic crossovers *ever* because it just makes so much sense from both sides. Dane *would* view Brian's actions as scary and Brian would view Dane's as dangerous and unstable. It made sense for the groups to clash and Gary Dreslinski's storylines meshed with mine so perfectly.

"Tempus Fugit"... the series was getting a little stale for me so bringing in Mad Jim, (temporarily) killing off Union Jack and doing a story so epic that the Ultimate Nullifier was needed to wrap it up really reenergized me.

Issue 50 was a good one, I thought. I loved how I tied in the Phoenix and the idea of the Leader growing out of the Hulk's back was just awesome, lol.

Red Sonja/Mary Jane was a fun little experiment. Ultimately didn't do as much with her as I'd liked but it was great to see all the folks get upset when she was tempted to have an affair with Micromax.

The Collision... I have lots of things about this storyline I wish I'd done differently but the aftermath was handled well, I think, and some elements of it tie in to the end of the series, so it was important.

The Union Jack/Spitfire romance that started off so slow, then became an inferno, then survived Joey's death and resurrection. Theirs is the love affair of the Pendragons Universe, merging the past with the present.

I've loved the whole run, with all the tie-ins by other authors... but those are things that jump out at me as fond memories I'll take with me.

The notes for the issue:  

1. Pendragons # 1, the very first scene

2. Pendragons # 9, the climax to the “Isles of Magick” storyline

3. Pendragons # 13

4. Pendragons # 16, during the “A Secret War” storyline

5.  Pendragons # 36, the first part of the “Tempus Fugit” arc

6.  Pendragons # 59 saw the return of Joey Chapman

7.  Pendragons # 31-33 saw a closer examination of Dark Angel’s relationship with her father Ranulph Haldane

8.  Pendragons # 75 explained how Lorna Dane restarted the universe following the events known as the Collision

9. Pendragons # 61-63 saw the Pendragons battle their old foes at an abandoned Hydra Base

10. Most notably in Pendragons # 71-75, the Collision storyline

11. Pendragons # 18: Brian’s exact quote during this exchange was "Because, at the time, he was engaged in a war with his variant self, Immortus. Kang wanted to protect his universe so he placed a 'marker' in it -- me. What we've always thought of as the multiverse is actually just a small part in something much larger, something that defies description. Kang planned to return to this universe if he failed in the Forever War, projecting his consciousness into my own body and then rebuilding his base of power from here. Things conspired to prevent that from coming to pass, thankfully." The Forever War that's referenced took place in Marvel's Avengers Forever series.

12. Pendragons # 15-18, 25 and 36-40 for more on these things

13. Betsy fell into a coma in Pendragons # 66

14. The Young Pendragons debuted in Pendragons # 76 and then spun off into their own series

15. Pendragons # 78

16. Pendragons # 84-86

We have a couple of letters to close out our final issue, starting with Gary Halpin:

Oh wow...

One of the best things you have ever written, and definitely the best cliffhanger.

I've never seen Captain UK so well-written.

Counting the seconds to 91...

Thanks for the kind words. I've always liked Captain UK and one of my few regrets is that she didn't get more of a chance to shine in the Pendragons series. 

Next up is Gary Jones:

While I've never understood the desire by Betsy to take down the barrier to fight the Martians, since the barrier can quite easily be gotten around, I'd been enjoying the build up to its removal, hell I was thrilled when I read that the gap had actually opened up over London but I was sorely disappointed how the storyline just leapt forward in time.

Part of what I was looking forward to when I read the part where the gap opened up over London was the furious attempt to evacuate the city as the invaders poured in, a few desperate heroes trying to hold them off until their fellows could arrive to help out, instead I got taken straight to the aftermath, which while it is being well handled has left me with kind of an empty feeling.

I was hoping to take readers by surprise with the time-jump and I think I accomplished that. I understand that you were hoping to see something different done, but that would have taken the story in a different direction that I wanted to go. I've never seen this series as being about the Barrier. The Barrier was a plot device that served its purpose well, but I wanted to go out with a story that dealt with the real heart of the matter: the characters and where they stand in terms of their beliefs.

It's over. Turn out the lights.

Bye.

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