THE OTHERWORLD SAGA

Part VI: The Highest Price

By David Wheatley

“We are gathered here today to commemorate the life of our fallen comrade.”

The remaining members of Excalibur looked uncomfortable. It wasn’t long since the funeral of Dai Thomas and now another of the group had fallen.

They’d tried to get in touch with the X-Men, mainly Kurt and Kitty but they were busy in the States and they hadn’t been able to reach them. They had only been a group a short time, but they all knew that was a gap now one of the six was missing, and it was a gap they could never fill.

It wouldn’t be fair to even try. All minds were on what had happened, the final battle for Otherworld against the evil of Sat-Yr-Nine and Ghath. They had known the risks from the moment they had left, but none of them really expected it to end like it did.

It may have been a heroic sacrifice, but in the end it was still another death. How had it gone so horribly, horribly wrong?

Brian and Meggan arrived at the charred ruin of the ‘lighthouse’, in truth a tower created by an elder god from a time prior to the creation of Atlantis on Earth 616, the essence of which was cast through the omniverse by the Phoenix force.

Merlyn had used the powers of the energy matrix to create Otherworld and using the tower, which appeared on every reality, used the Otherworld tower as a focus to power the Captain Britain Corps.

As a consequence of the coming of Necrom, Brian had been filled with the energy matrix, soaking it up as realities converged as it was concentrated and after Necrom was defeated, Meggan had used her powers to absorb the energy within Brian and unleash it on the tower, thereby destroying the tower in all it’s forms across reality.

The matrix was no longer a private power source to be tapped but a free flowing source of power, making all things equal once more, until the arrival of Ghath and his knowledge gained from the essence of Necrom himself which allowed him to survive as a formless pattern in the ether.

The trick was to now take the energy and give it to Brian, taking it from Ghath, and this seemed like the spot to do it, as this was the place it had been tied to for so very long.

Meggan smiled and took Brian’s hand as she looked across reality, observing the Alshra, the spirit plane, where all forms of energy can be seen and Meggan could alter it, manipulate it, for the threads of reality did not bind her as a shape shifter. That and her talents as an empath gave her an understanding of the energies and elementalism was the earthly extension of that spirit plane.

As she took a hold of it she somehow realised that the wrongness she had felt earlier was not from Otherworld, but from back home, where something was not right with the Alshra and it was her connection to it that was telling her so.

It needed looking at when they returned, but now they had other, more important things to do.

“Let’s do it,” said Brian, and Meggan reached out across Otherworld, asking the energy to come to her, to flow through her and in to Brian. Professor Richards had theorised that Meggan could do it by raising herself to become part of the Spirit plane itself, and had explained to her how to shape shift in to that kind of form so that she could exist on two planes of reality at once.

By doing this, Meggan could direct the energy, as she required it, knowing that the energy matrix was a living force, much like the Phoenix, which was why there had been a connection between herself and Rachel. There was a slight trickle of energy in to Brian, but there was resistance. Brian was not truly accepting the power, and Ghath was not willingly giving the power up.

“Brian,” she said, her voice echoing around him, sounding to him like the fall of snow through a rainbow, which was a concept he had never accepted as possible but seeing her like this, he knew that all things were. “Brian, you’re fighting it.”

“I can’t help it,” he answered. “I’m trying to believe in myself but…”

“Brian,” came another voice, and a hand touched his cheek, a cool soft palm on his hot, stubble-ridden skin. A sense of calm filled him and he knew he was in the presence of Roma. “Remember, and remember well.”

Brian felt his consciousness expand and his mind depart from his body as he began to review the past.

The choosing of the amulet, being dipped in magic and clothed in science the feeling of glory as he became Captain Britain, England’s own superhero, fighting with heroes in the United States such as Spider-Man and others, being chosen to participate in the Contest of Champions.

The feeling of success against James Jaspers and the Fury that replaced the sense of failure, the knowledge that he had died in their first fight and come back better than ever to defeat him. The sense of elation, tinged with bitter sadness at what they had lost, teaching him to be more of a man, to grow up and accept his responsibilities.

The look on Slaymaster’s face as Brian tricked him in to connecting the helmet of the Captain Britain suit to the rest of the stolen costume and thereby giving him control of his enemy and the means to defeat him.

The feeling of power that he had after he faced Slaymaster again, after he had blinded his sister Betsy who had been Captain Britain for a while. Slaymaster in his own power suit this time, and Brian without his own. The power that was within him without the suit, the satisfaction of driving the boulder down on to Slaymaster’s head, leaving nothing more than a thin layer of paste between two stone pieces.

His pep talk to Betsy when she had doubts about her choice just after she joined the X-Men about how she couldn’t let her fears about the new life she had chosen destroy her, after all she had been through, the pride he felt at knowing her, and how he was glad to call her both a friend and sister.

The formation of Excalibur, the words Rachel spoke, resonating within him as she made the proposal of the team, his thoughts at the imagery she had created with the flames of their campfire in Scotland, the imagery of the figure of King Arthur and the image of the sword Excalibur itself, described by Rachel as the light in the darkness of fear and ignorance and hate, and his vow to fight for that with all his heart.

His fight with the Nazi version of Excalibur – Lightning Force – not long after, the attacks of their Shadowcat disrupting his nervous system, the multiple teleport of their Nightcrawler, before Hauptmann Englande was about to smash him, when Brian smiled beneath the mask of his old uniform which almost completely covered his face and delivered a blow that sent Englande to the other side of London, and the feeling of pride in himself and his title as he landed the shot with perfect precision and power.

The sense of purpose and dignity as well as the power he felt facing off against the Shi’ar Imperial Guard with the Starjammers, driving them away and allowing them to stop Deathbird from draining the Phoenix Force from Rachel.

The love, duty and honour he experienced when he and Nightcrawler faced the ghost of the Changeling on the astral plane, when he used Meggan to try and return to life and gain revenge on Professor X who he blamed for causing his death years before. The power of Kurt’s soul and his own and their own repsetive loves for Meggan was enough to defeat him and free Meggan before his possession of her caused her death.

The feeling of glory as he used every talent, skill and resource he had within him to defeat a version of Air-Walker, a former herald of Galactus, who had been created by a mad scientist who wished the power of the herald for himself. Air-Walker would have conquered the world, yet Brian had defeated the mechanical monster by creating an explosion of the cosmic plane that destroyed the robot and left everything else untouched. A triumph for his powers and his scientific skill and reasoning.

The sense of responsibility at the climax to the Necrom affair where all Excalibur united to stop him, each having a specific requisite duty to perform. He knew his place, he knew his goal, he knew what he had to do, and he saw the synergy of the unification and what it truly meant. The power of emotional belonging and satisfaction as the main purpose of Excalibur was revealed.

The affirmation of duty as he reclaimed the mantle of Captain Britain after the period he was lost in the time stream. Britannic was replaced by Captain Britain, the old suit feeling as good as new as he took on Mountjoy and the Hellfire Club as he defeated them with a passion and pride he had not felt in a long time.

Then there were his wedding vows, when after all the years they had been together, he and Meggan had finally married. The sensation of fulfilment when he heard Meggan say ‘With all that I am, I do.’

He was Captain Britain. It was his duty, his responsibility and more important it was who he wanted to be, and as the energy began to enter him, his body began to grow, as the energies became his once again.

“NO!” shouted Ghath as he felt the powers of the energy matrix being stripped from him and he gripped his head as Merlyn took advantage of the assault.

Sat-Yr-Nine heard him cry out and decided that now was the time to cut him loose. Let the fool die, he had served his purpose – half the multiverse was hers, Otherworld was in ruins, and by the time things were restored here, they would never be able to take that which she had gained away.

However, there was still one matter remaining – Pete Wisdom. He had brought this defeat down on them; he had ruined her plans. If not for him, Roma and Merlyn would be dead. If not for him, Captain UK would have been captured long a go and Excalibur would never have gotten involved. Before she left, Pete Wisdom would take away a wound from which he would never recover.

She looked at the mask in her hands, and put it on. It was a very snug fit and now the trap was set.

She looked at Ghath who was clutching his head and decided to let others deal with him. He wasn’t worth her effort and made her way out.

However it was not in pain that Ghath was clutching his head, but concentration as he summoned the shade that had brought him this far – the one thing that could save him. He called forth the essence of Necrom and sent him out after those who were stealing his power.

On the battlefield Kylun, Khaos and Wisdom were making short work of the enemy. Now that Ghath was distracted they seemed to lose power and the illusions of Mastermind had convinced some of them that they were dead, and they lay on the floor as if they were.

The battle was soon under control and they were now mopping up a few stragglers. Mastermind released her illusion and fell to the floor, drained of energy after the total control she had exercised. She was exhausted, and though her illusion had ended, the enemy still lay inert.

“You just can’t get the staff,” said Pete. “Now that’s done with, we have work to do.”

“Ghath is mine,” said Khaos.

“Dibs Sat-Yr-Nine,” agreed Pete. “Kylun?”

“I’ll finish off round here, and protect Martinique.”

“Okay,” said Pete. “Let’s do this. I…” then he saw someone being held by one of the warriors they hadn’t got to. “Kitty?” he asked. He was nearly exhausted himself and it was the suit that was keeping him going, but Kitty was in trouble. It might not have been his Kitty Pryde, but she was one of them all the same and that meant he had to go to her aid. “Change of plan,” he said and willed himself to fly after the warrior who dragged her away.

Kylun and Khaos shrugged as they watched him go. They all had their own work to do.

“Later, my friend,” Kylun said to Khaos, who nodded. This was a blood debt and away he flew, expanding the wings from the pack on his back. Kylun wiped the blood from his sword on the grass and started to walk toward Martinique, when someone grabbed his leg. Khaos was out of range and Martinique was not moving. The warrior’s grip was vice like and Kylun fell to the floor, his sword falling from his hand and he hit one of the bodies of the fallen warriors.

“Uhh,” he sighed as the blow to his head stunned him, and he rolled over, and looked up to see the warrior who had grabbed him, holding the mystic blade in the air and then the he plunged it through Kylun’s throat. Kylun’s eyes went wide and then his head fell to the side.

The warrior smiled and took the other blade and began to walk towards Mastermind. Excalibur had counted the fight as won all too soon.

Necrom flew across the planes of Otherworld until he found the person he was looking for. As a shade he could not overtly influence the physical realm, nor could he touch the spirit of Captain Britain as his soul was protected by the magics of Roma.

That left the woman Meggan. He remembered her from the time he fought Phoenix, absorbing her memories as he drained the Phoenix force itself, until she willed the power of the universe itself in to him and he was discorporated across reality in a bust of energy across creation.

Killing her would be a sweet revenge on Rachel Summers, on Meryln and on those who had stopped him before. Though he was a shade there was still a trace of the Anti-Phoenix about him, which he retained due to his former status as a Sorcerer Supreme and he could challenge her. He saw existing on two planes at once and he knew she was vulnerable.

“Arrogant wench, did you think it would be this easy to claim the matrix?” He unleashed a burst of energy as she heard his voice and looked up only to be met with a power she could not deal with whilst manipulating the matrix. If she did, then they were finished, if she did not then she would die. She knew it.

“Then if my life is what it takes, then it will not be in vain.”

“Oh, I won’t kill you,” he said. “I will merge my spirit with your own and claim your life force for myself and I will live once more.”

On the astral plane, Merlyn noted the coming of Necrom and stopped his battle with Ghath. There was no contest here now, but unless he stopped Necrom from killing the shape shifter, then the victory would be short-lived, especially now that she could manipulate the energy matrix and he returned to his own body and made his way to the ruined tower, and prayed he would not be too late.

Ghath smiled as Merlyn withdrew. There was still enough power left within him to aid Necrom on the physical plane and a simple transportation spell was all that was required.

“The game’s not over yet, Merlyn,” he said.

“I quite agree,” said Khaos, brandishing his own swords, the mystical energy flowing in to them, and Ibic glowing brightly. “However we have unfinished business.”

“I have more than enough power to defeat you,” glowered Ghath, knowing he could not cast the spell with Khaos standing there.

“Then stop posturing and try it,” and they charged in to battle with each other.

Pete Wisdom followed the monster holding Kitty deep within the citadel, until he could follow no more and he dropped to his knees.

“Damn,” he cursed as he looked to the monster, which stopped and released her. “What the hell?” he asked himself as she walked over to him.

“Hello, Pete,” she said. “You came to rescue me and you failed. You failed me as much as you failed your mother. How could I ever love someone like you, a wretch, a mongrel, a man who couldn’t hack being dumped so he ran away.” Her voice and her eyes were almost hypnotic in effect.

Pete heard the words, and believed them, for they confirmed his worst fears, that she had lied to him all along, that all he had meant to her was a bit of fun, a younger woman being taught by an older man. Kitty went on and on belittling him, making him feel defeated inside. If Kitty couldn’t love him, what hope was there for him? He’d spent a lifetime looking for love and he had found it in her, and she had rejected him. Her perfect brown eyes saw him as nothing. Saw him as…

Then he looked at Kitty again. Her eyes were blue. No way cross time variances were that small and suddenly he was angry. His hand reached up and grabbed Kitty by the throat and pushed her to the floor, bringing his own body down on top of her.

“Who are you?” he demanded, the fury in his eyes at being manipulated like that. She didn’t answer but began to laugh, so he slapped her across the face, and the face moved. “Holy…” he said. It was skin he had touched but not attached to the face of the wearer and he peeled the mask away from the woman in front of him.

The face now before him was covered in blood from the underside of the skin, but it was unmistakable as to who she was. Sat-Yr-Nine. And in Pete’s mind there was only one way she could have obtained such an authentic mask.

She had to have sliced the skin off. From the touch of it, Kitty had to have been alive when it was done and even now he could imagine her screams as Sat-Yr-nine slipped the knife under her flesh and began to strip the beauty from her face, working it’s way up from under the chin, taking great care not to damage the skin as she peeled it away, taking even the hair from the top of her head.

He had seen too much with Black Air not to know how things like that were done.

“So you like men in uniform?” he said, his anger at what she had done to him doubling in anger at what she had done to whoever that Kitty Pryde had been. That added to the knowledge of what she had done to Linda made him certain of what he had to do. His weight pinned her down, and he moved his hand down her body.

“Why?” she said. “What do you have in mind?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” said Pete and lifted her up towards him as if to kiss her. As he did so she smiled as if it were what she wanted and Pete looked her straight in the eye.

Then he snapped her neck.

Martinique Jason slowly opened her eyes and looked up, to see one of the warriors that her team-mate’s had been fighting standing over her, brandishing a sword in the air above her.

She tried reaching out with her illusions but she was too drained from earlier and the warrior laughed at her before bringing the sword down towards her and she closed her eyes waiting for the blade to strike home and send her to meet her father.

She felt nothing and she opened her eyes. The warrior was gone and she looked about, to see Kylun standing there and the warrior decapitated before him..

“Sorry,” he said. “The shock of the blade going through my neck stunned me a moment. Thing with these blades is that they can’t harm anyone of true virtue and pure spirit.” He rubbed his neck. “Kind of glad the magic worked.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Because I’m not sure they’d have done the same for me.” Kylun looked at her.

“I know,” he said and he held out his hand to help her up. She had no reply for him. “Come on, let’s get to the others.” Then they set off towards the Starlight Citadel.

Roma winced as she saw what was happening, but knowing she had to protect Brian Braddock and not his wife. She prayed that he would forgive him when he returned to normal.

Necrom began to merge himself with Meggan, slowly making himself one with her, and she could feel herself slipping away.

“Goodbye, my love,” she said calling out to Brian knowing that she only had to hold out a few moments longer.

“NECROM!” called a voice, and the merging stopped as Necrom looked to see Merlyn, who was preparing himself.

“You,” hissed the shade. “You’re too late, Merlyn. She is mine!”

“I don’t think so,” said Merlyn moving his hands to create a spell. “And neither does he.”

“What?” asked Necrom, as he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Leave my wife alone,” said Brian in a form similar to that of Meggan, and smacked the shade with a mighty blow.

“How is this possible?” screamed the shade.

“Merlyn transferred the rest of the matrix in to me,” said Brian. “He still had some control, and now I am the living embodiment of what you seek. Except you seem to have forgotten something. You’re dead and you have no place in the realm of the living.”

The energy matrix crackled at his fingertips as Brian placed a hand on him and transferred himself by to the physical plane, taking the shade with him. Necrom screamed, as he had no body to exist in and he became nothing, death finally claiming him as Brian finished the job Rachel had started.

“It’s over,” he said, as Meggan returned to her normal form and she embraced her husband. “Let’s get with the others and finish the rest of this whole business.”

Ghath felt the energy matrix fade away and he knew that Necrom had lost, that Merlyn had beaten him and he turned and ran from the fight.

“Coward,” said Khaos and ran after him. As he ran Ibic began to speak to him.

“I have determined how he survived your last encounter,” reported the monkey statue and it explained as they ran.

“That isn’t good,” said Khaos. “Is there no other possible way?”

“No,” said Ibic. “For you to defeat him, I must be destroyed. He has placed a spell on himself that links the two of us. He created the spell when I was in his possession and I can only sense the spell when we are in proximity for a length of time.”

“Then that is what I must do,” said Khaos. “I am sorry, my friend.”

“Sorrow is not an emotional state you need to worry about,” said Ibic. “Your destiny will have been fulfilled and he will have been stopped. It is unfortunate he has created such a spell, but that is the way of things.”

“Ghath!” cried Khaos as he caught up with him in a corridor. “I know what you’ve done!”

“Khaos,” started Ghath but Khaos’s sword was flying through he air and it impaled Ghath against a stone pillar. Ghath cried out, then muttered. “Not him. Pete.”

The illusion faded to reveal Wisdom was the man Khaos had run through, and unlike Kylun, these blades had no such enchantment to protect the valiant and true.

“No,” whispered Khaos as he ran towards his friend. He pulled the sword free and tossed it aside, so he could catch Pete before he slumped to the floor. “Wisdom, forgive me.”

“He won’t get that chance,” said Ghath, from behind him, holding the sword Khaos had discarded. “Fooled by a simple illusion spell. What a tragic ending.” Khaos dropped Pete, knowing that he had only seconds to react, and he used his mental control over the other sword to get it as Ghath lunged forward.

Khaos’ jumped in the air, as his sword ran through Ghath, as Ghath struck him. Khaos knew he had to move it just right and Ibic was sliced in half as Ghath fell to the floor, Khaos’s sword sticking out of his back.

“You knew,” he said and then Ghath died, a smile on his face as he did so.

“What’s so funny?” Khaos asked as he looked down at the shattered Ibic. Then he felt a weakness, and he looked at himself. He was bleeding and he realised that Ghath’s blow had struck more than Ibic.

“No,” he muttered and spread his wings, as he gathered up Pete Wisdom. He winced as he did so, and he wondered if either of them would make it. They needed to find help or they were dead.

They left the old citadel to find the other members of Excalibur were heading their way and as he saw them, the last of Khaos strength faded and he fell to the floor.

“What do we do?” asked Kylun, checking them both.

“I can only save one of them,” said Meryln. “I have very little power left without access to the matrix.”

“Then I will release it,” said Brian.

“It’s not that simple,” said Roma. “I’m sorry, but only one of them will survive this.”

The team looked at Brian, waiting for his decision.

“I…” he said, uncertain.

“Save… Wisdom,” said Khaos. “My world is gone, my friends are dead, my enemy defeated and my totem destroyed. My work is over.”

“Not all your friends,” said Meggan.

“I promised to get you home,” said Brian, taking his hand.

“I go to a… far better place,” said Khaos. “For the first time… in years I can finally rest.” He paused a moment, his wound taking much of his concentration. “Save Wisdom.”

Brian clasped his hands over his mouth and nodded, respecting the man’s wishes and Merlyn cast the spell. Wisdom’s body glowed with power and energy, the gaping wound filling and the body repairing itself. He sat up with a start.

“What?” he muttered.

“Rest easy, Peter,” said Kylun. “We’ll explain later.” Then Pete saw Khaos and his head sagged. Brian moved over to the dead man, and closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Now we must restore the energy matrix,” said Merlyn. “Come with me, and we shall resolve this.”

“Father, I need the help of Martinique,” said Roma. “And Wisdom, if he feels up to it.”

“I’m there,” said Pete, a little subdued, his rage spent and his murder of Sat-Yr-Nine weighing on him. “And so’s she.”

Mastermind nodded and the three of them were transported away, whilst Merlyn transported the rest of them to the ruin of the tower.

“Peter,” said Roma as they arrived in the Starlight Citadel. “I need you to talk to Linda, to see if you can bring her around.”

“Why will she listen to me?” he asked.

“Because Mastermind will make you look like her husband.”

“With Pete making a proper substance person, it won’t be as difficult. I can’t keep it going for long though.”

Roma nodded and they set to work.

“Linda,” said Pete and to Linda it sounded and looked like Rick. She looked up, her eyes red from crying.

“Rick?” she asked and Pete nodded. He didn’t like lying to her, but there was no other way and he’d done far worse today.

“Yes,” he said. “I know what she did to you, I know how you felt…”

“How could you know?” she asked, and Pete was stumped. “She made love to me, she humiliated me, she spoke your name, asked if you made me feel the way she did and after a while I stopped fighting, stopped resisting. I… oh God…”

“Hey,” said Pete and pretended the only way he could do this was to act as if he were talking with Kitty. “Listen to me. Sometimes the best way to escape is to surrender. We’d all love to walk away, but sometimes fighting isn’t worth the heart ache and you just have to accept what’s happening. It doesn’t mean you have to enjoy it, or like what’s happening, no matter what it makes you do. It doesn’t make you any less of a person. It makes you human, and that’s something she could never have been.”

“But…”

“No buts. The way she treated you was wrong. Your reciprocation kept you alive.”

“What good is that? I wish I were dead.”

“I don’t. I love you, and nothing can ever stop that. Not Sat-Yr-Nine, not death, not anything.”

“I love you, Rick,” she said, as Pete crouched down and lightly brushed her hair from her face.

“And I love you too. Now get some sleep and we’ll talk later.” Linda nodded and she closed her eyes. She was still shaking but not as much as she had been. When she was asleep, Mastermind ended the illusion.

“What happens when she wakes?” asked Martinique.

“We’ll do what we can for her,” said Roma. “Thank you for your help.” Peter nodded and then they made their way outside to see what was happening with the others.

“So how can we restore the matrix?” asked Brian.

“I must choose a focal point and then you must unleash the power within,” said Merlyn. “Ideally I would choose the ruin of the tower but there is no convergence due, to allow such a feat.”

“What about the portals between worlds?” asked Meggan.

“The gateways are what provide the energy matrix,” explained Merlyn. “The energy is created by the exchange of exotic particles at each interface, and when they align they create an energy matrix. Your destruction of the tower meant the alignment was not in one place but released across the multiverse, which was what created this crisis.”

“So we need something to align them, which will keep the matrix in place and allow equal access,” said Kylun.

“A thread through a needle,” said Brian, visualising the concept. “I wonder.”

“What?” asked Merlyn.

“Meggan,” said Brian. “Can you open all the portals at once using the Alshra?”

“I can try,” she said and shifted to her true shape once more and asked for help on the spirit plane. “Yes.”

“Do it,” said Brian and Meggan opened all the portals in a flare of light. “Now guide the energy from me in to a channel so it flows through every portal, then close them.”

“They won’t close properly,” snapped Merlyn.

“I know,” said Brian, as Meggan began to do as he asked. “The partially open portals will create energy for all in equal amounts. However you will have to monitor the worlds a lot more closely. You won’t have time for any of your games.”

“I forbid it,” said Merlyn.

“Too late,” said Brian as he felt himself return to normal and the portals all closed on Meggan’s command. “Though it will make restoring the Corps easier for you.”

As he spoke, the others returned.

“Father,” said Roma, as her powers began to reassert themselves. “We have work to do, and worlds to fix.”

“Yes,” said Merlyn, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Captain Britain. “Twice you have done this. There shall not be a third.”

“I hope not,” said Brian. “Now it’s time we went home. It’s been a very hard few days and we have dead to bury.” Roma nodded.

“Don’t worry about Sat-Yr-Nine,” she said. “Peter has dealt with it.”

“I’ll tell you later,” said Pete as Brian looked at him.

“Fair enough,” said Brian and he looked at the others around him. “Let’s go home.”

NEXT ISSUE: Excalibur are home, and after their recent adventure a night at the pub beckons, to drown their sorrows, celebrate their victory, and to mourn the cost.