X-Men #49 "A Sword out of Legend" Writer: JAC Delaney Assistant Editor: Elizabeth Celeste Dialogue Enhancement: Marysia Editor in Chief: Marysia The two opposing forces stood far apart, banners from both sides fluttered in the wind. It was the sundown of a dream; a dream of England united and the rule of law. The Roman Peace, the Pax Romana, had departed and the land had been ravaged by hordes from across the sea, savage Angles and Saxons. The Britons had united under the Banner of the Dragon for 3 generations. First under bloodthirsty Uther and then under indecisive Arthur. Now charismatic and brave Mordred dared challenge his father's rule. After all, the kingdom had been brought to the edge of ruin by his mad quest for vengeance against Lancelot. Arthur's last great lieutenant, Gawaine, had died in single combat with the man who had once been Arthur's greatest friend- Lancelot. Arthur's army was larger but it knew the sting of defeat and felt the ebbing of time running against them. It seemed at the moment that peace might prevail instead, as the two armies faced each other at last. Arthur strode forth carrying his sixty-odd years well but he was yesterday's news. Mordred would be king in all but name after this. It seemed that Arthur's oldest son, the bastard child of incest, would be king after all. And then an adder struck, biting a soldier in the ankle. He screamed in pain as he felt the venom coursing through his veins. Maddened by his own impending death and seeking vengeance on the cold reptile he drew his blade. It does not matter which army it was, merely that both sides saw steel flash, and peace dissolved into the screaming clash of swords. One last time Excalibur flashed in the morning sun and a king fell... and a dream died. Paris Bennet tore into the masonic temple, his eyes blazing with fire and righteous fury in his veins. He stared at the dark form of his enemy and the three who served him. "I beat you once," he howled, a cry born of desperation more than anything else. The few followers who still held to his name and his cause formed a tight knot behind him. "That was six hundred years ago Bennet," the dark figure reminded him. "I am greater now and I will be greater still." His acolytes turned. Bennet could see them all, God how he had been blind. But then crying to God was an option no longer open to him, it had not been for hundreds of years. He glared; Nathaniel Essex, Cynthia Bennet, and Jonathan Hawkwood; how had he failed to suspect them. He stared his last living descendant in the eyes, crushed at her betrayal. Last living descendant since this morning at least when she had betrayed all for the demon of the pit. As he had done so long ago. As his followers fell in a orgy of blood and fury, he drew the blade the lady had given him so long ago. One last time Excalibur flashed in the depths and the darkness as a demon fell and a dream died. They stood before the Air Marshall as he explained the situation and demonstrated how few options Air Command had to deal with the impending threat from the Acolytes of Magneto. So few, in such a desperate hour, against a foe who would not be stopped easily. Brian Braddock could not help but remember a similar story during England's darkest days. That come to be known as their finest hour. Perhaps, just perhaps, it was time to show that England was not weaker since but that there were still heroes willing to pay any price to keep her safe. The small band of men and women who would be heroes were Captain Britain, Meggan, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and Douglock. Across from them were Century and Spider- woman, two lone members of the once proud Avengers. The military types talked and they half listened as a juggernaut approached Britain. It had struck without warning and two towns had died in atomic fire. Not a quick death, they had used Neutron bombs. Meggan was especially affected by the scenes of horror on the monitor. Nobody was dead yet, but thousands wanted to be, just to stop the pain. That more had not followed already was a sign that this was an act of terror as much as an execution. "I don't think we can learn anything more by talking about this. It is obvious that Magneto has gone completely insane and talking about it won't stop a shipload of his followers from destroying Great Britain," the Captain declared. "Century, can you teleport us aboard?" "As you wish Captain." They filed towards him, grim and humourless as doom approached their fair land. One in particular wondered if an acolyte by the name of Peter Rasputin was on this ship and what she would say to him. One last time Excalibur flashed into the void as a man who would be a god fell and a dream stood on the edge of extinction. Main Prosh extended his sensors forth. The planet was scarred by two series of nuclear detonations. The one in the south polar region was by far the larger and more damaging. Nearly 100 megatons, it had literally pulverised a mountain when it went off. Closer examination showed the trace residue of anti-matter, not a true nuclear warhead at all. The other two were both on a large island in the northern hemisphere. They were in the half kiloton range, having hit small population centres. The dead were negligible now, but the death toll would be in the thousands eventually. The Earth simply didn't have the technology to treat this type of damage. If the ship that had launched them kept coming it was likely to lead to more such point- less deaths, and that Prosh would not abide. Prosh was once the Ship of X-Factor. In an alternate future it had gone on to become the sentient Professor of Greymalkin. Now it hovered over the world it had been sent to watch so long ago. Then it began to slowly descend. As Prosh it would slowly but surely kill the man named Cable. It was time to take a new form and begin once again. The wars that ravaged Britain were slowly coming to a close. Uther Pendragon had died and the land was without a king. Raiders ravaged the shores and German invaders took British land for their own. The Britons were disorganised and easy prey for the ferocious raiders. But a King had come and soon he would unify all of the isles beneath the dragon banner. Arthur Pendragon had come at last. Paris Bennet watched the dead being carried from the makeshift hospitals. Plague ravaged the land and men cried that the apocalypse had come. How right they were. He strode through the grimy streets of London. They were filled with the stench of death and the wailing of mourners. He had at last learned that this was no accident of nature, the coming of this plague had been engineered to reshape the face of the civilised world by a man whose soul was black as the pit. He had been given the option to serve this force of nature but had declined. He had been born a sorcerer, with powers that lesser men only dreamt of, and his blood was noble. He would stand against this creature, this being of metal and fire, even if it took his soul. Little did he realise the price of victory would truly be this high. Exodus had arrived. Exodus watched the monitors with a smile of gloating satisfaction. Distract the English, make them think the battle was about destroying their cities when the true target lay to the north. As if they could do anything about this anyway. The ship was far beyond the means of the Royal Air Force to defeat and he was able to shield it with his own awesome powers. The fools were doomed. He was almost able to forget the reason he chose those two towns to be incinerated, the dark tragedy that had occurred so long ago. He ran through the minds of his crew, the acolytes of Magneto. For a second he remembered acolytes of a different sort from long ago but he brushed the thought away. There was no relation. Unuscione was the only acolyte on the bridge. She was tightly focused on piloting the ship. Above he could sense Colossus guarding the weapons centre. The boy had claimed to be a man of peace, what a farce. He had killed as easily as any of them. Frenzy and Kleinstock stood outside the bridge doors, peering in at odd moments as the ship headed towards it's target. Skids was above on the observation deck. This was going to be too easy. Then, with a flash there were seven figures on the bridge. Excalibur had finally arrived. The first thing I did was to phase up through the ceiling while Exodus stood there speechless. I hated to leave my friends behind but all of the acolytes were there (except for Peter and Skids who really weren't anything of the kind, don'tcha know). I needed to disable the weapons systems of the ship as quickly as possible. Sometimes it comes in handy being a ninja-computer genius-mutant phaser. This was one of those times. Exodus was just sitting there with a silly look on his face so I figured I'd better help him out. I mean what else are fuzzy elf teleporters for? Of course he might debate my notion of help but you sure can't please everybody, can you? I must admit, if the look on his face when we appeared was priceless you should have seen the look he gave me after I knocked him out of that fancy chair. Of course that's when things really heated up. I felt it throbbing through me. Pure elemental evil and not just one type. One was the feeling of something hanging over everything, gloating at our pain. The second came from the dark haired man in the fancy clothes, a deep and ancient evil. I wanted so badly to run and hide and go far away. I grabbed Brian to protect him and he shoved me away. I fell sobbing to the floor. If you had felt what I felt you would have done the same. This unit wasn't really sure why they had brought it along. It stepped towards the person at the controls, they could hardly work if they were infiltrated by its prog- ramming and turned off. She turned and this unit saw a beautiful face framed by soft brown hair. But there was a terrible coldness in the eyes that spoke of deep hatred and bigotry. It should have done something at once but it was reminded of others and paused momentarily. But then an invisible cocoon wrapped itself around this unit and began to squeeze harder and harder. It heard something about it being a shame to kill it this young. It felt fear. It couldn't end like this could it? We ported onto the Bridge exactly as I had planned. That's when everything began to fall apart. Kitty, or should I be saying Kate now, did fine. She did as she was told. The rest just fell apart on me. Meggan collapsed on me sobbing and shifting shapes in an uncontrolled fashion, blocking my ability to get at Exodus. The rest can pretty much be blamed on this. I shoved her aside, I would deal with this later when we had more time and flung myself against Exodus. I was almost in time to save Nightcrawler. I saw the tall woman charge into the room. She would be no match for my blade, I figured. Until her first blow broke it into two pieces. I dodged her next punch and tripped her. Tough as she might be, she had little skill to match to her strength. The two men simply shot me. Everything erupted into confusion. The sweet young man, Douglock they called him (and boy would I like to take a look at his circuitry) was assaulted by the witch in the control chair. Bloody cow, let's see if she does as well against an Avenger as she does against an innocent young man. I formed a Psionic web to protect Century from the jerks firing into the bridge and went after the woman with a vengeance. Unuscione, the daughter of Unus the Untouchable, was about to find out the hard way to never mess with the Avengers and their friends. I could see the ship clearly with my visual sensors. The scan revealed a number of entities classed as friendly and a number classed as ambiguous. I closed in on the ship. Perhaps I could find a way to swing the balance. He claimed he had come from France. Not from Brittany like so many others but from the North. He was a lean, grey man with a serious face and a sober demeanour. He stood across the bridge, sword drawn, daring anybody to match him in arms. Arthur had already watched his best knights being taken apart by this man, his speed was unbelievable and his slim form belied an incredible strength. Arthur drew Excalibur and set forth across the bridge. The man's name was Lancelot. He was the best student Paris Bennet had ever had by far. In over 600 years he had never seen a man with this sort of aptitude for the natural sciences. A true genius if there ever was one. His warm laughter and disarming manner set everyone at ease, and if at times there was a disturbing intensity to his eyes everybody dismissed it. He was brilliant and popular and his future was bright. Bennet had finally given up his ancient crusade. His opponent had fallen and there would be no others after him to continue his mad quest. If the notions of that new fellow Darwin bore a superficial resemblance to the views he had fought so long ago, it was clear on inspection that they were nothing of the kind. Whatever the various debating societies claimed. Bennet had at last begun a family and the awful price he had once paid had faded from his mind. His sword was but an unusual feature over the mantelpiece. How naive he had been. Nothing was ever free and everything had to be paid for. The man's name was Nathaniel Essex. I was almost at Exodus when I saw the pattern of Bamfs end as Nightcrawler took a desperately needed rest from pummelling his foe. I grabbed the bloody bastard by the neck and held him up. "Surrender Exodus, end this before more people get hurt." "Foolish Captain," I heard him say. "You should have struck without mercy for against the glory of Exodus there are no second chances." A wall of fire blasted forth from his eyes and knocked me across the deck. I watched him grab Nightcrawler in some sort of psionic web. If only I had been a bit faster he wouldn't be so tired from multiple teleports. "No!" I cried. And then Frenzy was there attacking me. Unuscione was tough, there was absolutely no doubt about that. She used her psionic exoskeleton as if it were an extension of herself. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the poor dear could only face one target at a time. Unfortunately for me, she seemed more than capable of crushing the life out of me. I saw the brave young man reach down and turn the controls off somehow. Courageous to stand instead of running for his life. Then he crossed the border towards foolhardy and went after Unuscione by himself. The web blocking the door gave me a brief chance to recover from the energy blast. Frenzy seemed to have found some other target elsewhere and that was fine as far as I was concerned. Then I saw Nightcrawler being slowly crushed. He was trying to teleport so desperately and failing so miserably. I teleported over to Exodus and swung my axe with all my might. It bit deeply and crimson blood spewed from the deep wound. But the blood seemed wrong and then I realised something, the blood was burning like acid. My past was a mystery. I had no memory of where I came from or who I was before I came to earth. But in that moment I was seized with a deep certainty, a hideous foreboding. I had fought this man before and was only alive due to some horrible price. Or some treacherous betrayal! I hoped everyone was doing well back at the bridge. I hated leaving them like that but it was all part of this nifty plan we put together. You see, a SHIELD Battle carrier routes all of its weapons systems through the CIC (Combat Information centre don'tcha know). All I had to do was phase through the computers and this ship would be nothing more than a flying hulk. Simple and easy. What could possibly go wrong? I reached the CIC and phased through the door. Fantastic. Then I saw Peter standing at the controls, his eyes boring into mine. My head began to itch as a tele- pathic probe penetrated my defences, something had gone hideously wrong. It was his greatest victory. The warring Kings had fallen before his armies and order had been restored. It was the dawn of the glory that was Camelot. He surveyed the fields of Camlann and smiled, here, at the site of his greatest battle Arthur would build Camelot. This was before all that came ahead. Life was good. Exodus stood over the battered remains of his first and oldest foe, his heart still choked with horror at the awful price power had cost him. Apocalypse had fallen and the Knights Templar were victorious. Before him he could see only an endless succession of crusades, an endless series of battles until all who stood against the right path fell before him. Life was good. I landed softly on top of the ship. Tendrils shot forth from my much smaller form as I sought to connect to the onboard computers. I had spent most of my life fighting against this sort of madness, I was not going to cease doing so now. I had watched too many people I had admired fight and fall to this sort of evil. In an offhand way I wondered if Cable would remember me and if we would still be friends. Probably not, it is the way of the carbonites to move on after a loss quickly. Only a machine remembers forever. "Peter?" I said. I heard the most awful voice issue forth from his mouth. "Dear little scaredy-cat. Do you know the boy truly cares for you, I can sense his pain and his longing for you. How much better for me when I make him kill you." I hear laughter. This little problem won't be difficult to solve, I'll just phase past him and disable the computers. Then I'll see about restraining him somehow until I can get the professor to look at him. Imagine my surprise when I don't phase. "Poor little Kitty can't phase? I wonder if my telepathic interference has anything to do with that? Run little kitten but you can't hide. The boy won't get tired and I won't let him stop." I hear more of the same hideous laughter. I think I'm in trouble. I see Century and Nightcrawler fall in a hail of psionic energy as the bugger clutches his side. I see him dripping blood. I hammer at Frenzy with a fury I had forgotten I had. She staggers back under the force of my blows and falls. I don't even bother to check and see how badly she is hurt. I fly at Exodus, I have got to end this now or more people will be hurt or killed. Some of them are my friends, my team-mates. I see the boy grab Unuscione and begin to transform her arm into some sort of circuitry. She struggles but is unable to break free. Her exoskeleton drops me and grabs him, but I am on her too quickly. I grab her throat. "Let him go, you bitch!" I cry. She stares at me, hatred and resentment glower in her eyes but she does as I say. A quick blow to the back of her head ensures she will be causing no more trouble. I turn, the Klienstock brothers have to be subdued and quickly. From the corner of my eyes I can see Captain Britain pummelling Exodus. Good, he deserves it. Then the whole room goes black. The room is shattered by my energy blast. I see them all go down before the fury I have unleashed upon them. Poor deluded fools can't they see that it is hopeless to stand against me, I wonder what Magneto ever saw in these cattle. I followed him with zeal and enthusiasm because he rescued me from my long entombment and because I thought his cause was similar to mine. To rule the weak minded, to establish a dynasty to guide the destiny of mankind. But he was weak and a darker power taught me that all such dreams are dust. I should have learned such from Essex so long ago. Then beyond all chance, Captain Britain staggers to his feet. He won't be enough to stop me. I once almost destroyed Genosha with an energy globe, I will do the same to Muir Island. Then shall the skies above my homeland blaze with my fire. It was a cold afternoon when Arthur realised that he was not the brother of Kay after all but the son of a king. He had drawn forth the sword from the stone by pure accident, but it had proclaimed him King of England. But it was Merlin who taught him of what must be done and set his feet on the long, bloody trail of glory to give birth to a dream. The Lady of the Lake had given him Excalibur, to bear in her name against the horror that was sweeping over all of Europe. He pledged his life to her and his troth, swearing he would be true to his goals forever. But the dark sorcerer, fellow student of the Ancient One's master, had come to him and whispered of a greater power. One that would give him the strength to combat this dreadful evil, for the greater good of all humanity. So he coaxed the Lady, the one he loved most in all the world, and fed her to a demon in return for power. He waited outside the door as she screamed her dying cries and listened to the awful sounds of eating that followed. Then he entered and claimed his reward. A dark heritage bereft of glory. I could see the awful look on Peters face and hear the pleading in his voice as he begged me to stop him, to kill him. The sick sadist that was the Shadow King didn't even spare me that. I was ragged and hurt, only my training at the hands of Wolverine had given me the ability to survive this so long. I was leading him in a deliberate pattern, the Shadow King was so obsessed with what was going on that he never realised where we were until it was too late. I dodged a blow that would pulverise steel and hit the controls that opened the hatch on the observation deck. Then I turned and kicked with all my might. If he hadn't been distracted it wouldn't have worked but I caught him off balance, he slipped and began to fall. That much momentum and he wouldn't be able to stop. He would survive the fall and we could get him later when this mess was handled. I watched in shock and horror as he transformed back into human flash and heard the cold, mocking laughter of the Shadow King. I leapt for Peter and nearly grabbed his hand but a force field intercepted me at the last moment. All I could do was stare into his shocked face as he fell into the open air far below. My shock and horror nearly finished me as Skids came at me with a knife of some sort. She was the one who had prevented me from saving Peter. With uncharacteristic brutality I disarmed her by breaking her arm. The sleazy tramp was still using her force field to block me from Peter and so she deserved all the pain I could inflict. The slight, shallow slash she had given me was no cause for concern. One way or the other this ended now. (see Wolverine #99 for details of how the good doctor got here) I gestured to Wanda to keep silent. We were so near to the prize and I would not tolerate the interference of incompetents with my goal in sight. Exodus blazed with mystic power, power that rightfully belonged to Doom! I could see some foolish hero getting himself battered trying to stop Exodus from leaving. Let him take the beating, but Doom would gain the prize. I have died once and was beaten nearly to death on another occasion, and I fear death like I fear nothing else. But this is one of those times that the death of one man is meaningless. If this madman gets loose millions might die, and what I am compare to that. So I keep fighting even though I know the inevitable conclusion and I can see my death coming closer with every bolt. I'm not a hero, but I try to do what's right so hard. God rest my soul but it's the best I can ever seem to do. I feel a hot tear slide down my cheek, I wish to heaven I had a chance to tell Meggan how much I love her, that she is all the light in a life soon to end. Arthur cursed the cruel fates. Guinevere was the person he loved most and Lancelot was his best friend. But there they were, lying together in the fresh spring grass entwined together. He raised Excalibur above his head and thought to bring it down and murder them both. But he couldn't. Instead he stabbed the blade into the ground between them and left it. He turned his back on his dream and left. He'd see that blade only once again, at the very end, when all else had fallen apart and he had lost a war against his best friend. Paris Bennet let himself into his house, which of course doubled as his lab and study. He was looking forward to his chess match with Essex tonight, in all the long years Essex was the only player who could consistently beat him. He listened for his children's shouts, marrying at long last had been part of his acceptance that the long watch was over and that England was the ultimate expression of his dream. The white man's burden was hard. It was his dream to establish a world in which the best and the brightest stood far above mankind and guided its destiny. People were simply not capable of making their own decisions, or at least not yet. He frowned at the thought of Essex's recent discussions of Social Darwinism. The man never seemed to realise that mankind was a seed to nurtured and grown. Hacking at it to increase evolutionary pressure was just simply wrong. In a moment of honesty he realised that he had diverged greatly from his dream long ago. He stepped into the parlour. Where was everyone? The he saw them, butchered, torn apart. His papers looted and his works destroyed. They were all there except Cynthia and Essex, he had encouraged their love and now this betrayal. All that remained was an archaic blade and a message written in blood. Exodus called his dream forth one last time, summoned his followers and went into battle with Excalibur at the end. Take-over of the target vessel was nearly complete. All he needed was a bank of internal defences to be removed and this would be his new host form. Once again he would be the mighty Celestial Warship that had housed X-Factor so long ago, or nearly yesterday. Cable would have been proud. He wished that he could talk to Cable again. For so long they had fought together for the sake of a dream. One last group of security computers blocked his ability to take full control of the ship. All he needed was the help of one person aboard the ship. Wanda is easily overawed and manipulated, how could they have let her lead the Avengers! I tell myself she is a weak and helpless cow who doesn't deserve the little assistance I give her. Why then can't I stop thinking about her lush figure, her charming smile and the brilliant mind housed within all of this. I focus on the central problem. As Wanda downs the fool fighting Exodus with a Hex Bolt I step forth and begin to drain the power from him. It is a mighty source of mystic energy gained at an awful price, it would corrupt the weak of will but I am Doom and I am beyond such things. I start in surprise when the ship speaks to me. I am angry and ignore it as I head towards my goal but slowly it begins to make sense. What the heck, knocking out the security computers can't hurt. Arthur lay dying on the bloody soil, his dream in ashes and his kingdom gone. His best friend is watching him with sorrow in eyes. Excalibur is gone, he sent it with Belvidere to return to the Lady of the Lake. "I fear old friend that my time is at an end. Promise... promise you will take care of Gwen?" "My honour on it," the tall grey man says. Arthur Pendragon was taken in state to the Isle of Avalon by three Queens, including his long estranged sister. He lies there, perhaps one day to wake when a dream of hope is dreamed. Exodus lay, battered and bloody at the hands of Apocalypse. He wondered what hideous price Essex had paid for his allegiance to Apocalypse, he would never know now. He had disintegrated Hawkwood and beheaded Cynthia. The cry from Essex was all he needed to know that he had truly loved her. He had impaled Essex with Excalibur and seen the surprise in his eyes that he could still be hurt. The wound was almost certainly mortal. But his followers were dead and his oldest foe had triumphed. He glared at the mocking face and the glowing eyes. Excalibur had been torn from his grasp when he impaled Essex and was lost to him. His mystic powers had been drained in fierce battle with a foe older than time. He had lost his fight. Now, at the end of it all, he could see how he had let it all go wrong. How he had been tainted by the very magic that he had claimed, so many dark centuries ago. Somewhere, out in the wide world, a dark magician was laughing at how cheaply the soul of one so noble had been bought. He had betrayed everything and let himself grow weak. Weak enough that Apocalypse could triumph. And yet, Apocalypse had never been so strong, not when he had fought him before. He saw the dark figure raise his mighty fist to end it for him. Any man would have died, then and there. But Exodus was no longer human and he used his powers, those he was born with, to flee to the castle in which it had all began. There he lies, perhaps to wake once again at the biding of a dream of blood and conquest. The man with the scarred face stand before me in a loincloth. His female companion is clad identically. Savages seeking to deny me my due, I taught a nation how to deal with them once long ago. I strike at him and he absorbs my power. We lock in a struggle of wills, but I paid the price for the power and it knows me. Slowly, the stranger begins to lose. But the brown haired woman next to him (younger than she should be, I sense the mark of Apocalypse on her, did she too pay Essex's price?), joins in heedless of the risk to herself. What does she see in that scarred monster. I watch, helpless, too tightly locked in combat as the room transforms itself at the hand of some outside agency and the young mutant with the power to phase returns. Shadowcat- I remember her deception of the Acolytes with the hatred and contempt it deserves. "Well Ship," she says. "Can you do anything about this?" "One moment... Internal security engaged." Energy webs grab me and restrain me. I am too weak to fight against it. We are taken down instantly, and hard. I try to call my power forth but it is still trapped in a battle of wills. I am helpless. Strange little robots appear to tend to the fallen as I rage against my bonds, it can't end this way. It can't. I was born for glory and it is being taken from me. I scream a howl of rage but the ship has already compensated. I have fallen, it is the story of my life. Epilogue "... so wi' the intervention o' the advanced medical equipment o' the ship, casualties were minimised from the enhanced radiation weapons. We hae twa cases that are close calls but on the whole ah think we can hope an' pray that there'll be no dead as a result o' this attack." Moira lectured. "Now whit was that damn fool stunt ye pulled, don't ye hae onythin' better t' do than get yerselves injured?" "Give Herr Kaptain a break Moira," Nightcrawler interjected. "It was a good plan and it did work, although we had a little help" Spiderwoman just smiles. "This young man here saved my life, I forget to give you your heroes reward," she says in a sultry voice. She gives Douglock a deep probing kiss and watches him as for one of the first times in his life he is speechless. The room bursts into laughter. Too bad, she thinks that he, isn't five years older. Douglock stares at her dumbfounded, a faint memory stirs in the back of his mind but is gone before he can grasp it. Silently he analyses the taste of her lips to give himself something to do. "An' aw these prisoners, whit are we goin' t' do wi' them?" Moira mutters, cutting through the mirth. "It is a mutant detention centre..." Brian begins. Moira shoots him a withering look. "Dr. Doom isnae quite whit ah had in mind when ah created this centre an' Wanda is technically an Avenger!" "Offer him a deal," Kurt suggests. "If Herr Doktor helps with the Legacy virus he gets a full pardon when a cure is found..." Moira looks thoughtful. "As for you young lady, the dragon is bad enough but Ship is almost 2000 feet long. Exactly were ye expectin' t' store it?" "Ship is my friend, Moira, and he saved all our lives!" Kitty spins and leaves. 'What is up wi' that girl?" Moira demands, exasperated. "On second thoughts, dinna answer that. Okay, Brian, ye led the team so ye get t' explain the ship..." Brian unsuccessfully tries to struggle out of the hospital bed. - - - - - - - - Kitty looked out over the still waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Once Peter Rasputin had meant the world to her and seeing him killed that way... well it was simply wrong. "Any sign Ship?" "Still scanning Mistress Kate. However, you should know about a disturbance at the south pole..." Shadowcat let a flower fly from her hands to settle upon the cold waters of the North Atlantic in memory of a friend. Then she turned to get the others. Or maybe she should just have ship teleport them aboard. Excalibur was there once again, in spirit if not form, a banner of hope for mankind. And perhaps, just perhaps, somewhere an old king smiled. ---to be continued--- See Wolverine #99 "Tidings of War" for the final alliance against the Shadow King and Wolverine seeks to break free of his captor to join in the struggle. What is going on between Doom and Wanda? Will they have the ability defeat Apocalypse and lead an escape or will they all die in the attempt? And then be here for X-Men #50 'No Price too High" as Magneto and Jean Grey stand against the horror of the Shadow King. Then return for Wolverine 100 as the Madripoor Knights reunite in a last, desperate bid to defeat the Shadow King. If you liked Excalibur this issue they will be here at the end here too. Plus, X-men vs Magneto. Both of these will be published ahead of schedule to prevent the ending from being spoiled by UXM 330 - which deals with the Aftermath of the battle with the Shadow King.