Excalibur (4th series) #25

The Green Lagoon, Krakoa, where Captain Britain a.k.a. Betsy Braddock sits at a table. She stares blankly ahead, while her mind thinks back to Otherworld, specifically Rictor, Shatterstar and Bei the Blood Moon surrounding a Fury. '... Wisdom's been kind enough to take it upon himself to sort of acquaint us all with Krakoa – I like Pete, honestly! But I had a lot to think about. We all did...' someone sitting opposite Betsy remarks. Betsy remembers Otherworld again, this time, she is in battle, 'Got you!' she called out as she struck a Fury in the back of its neck with her Starlight Sword. '... so we settled on it. We're still STRIKE, and that's what we're going to do. They can't keep us from our home, and we won't let them' a man smiles at Betsy, telling her that Alison, Kevin, Vicki and he have a plan. Betsy glances down as she remembers the battle again, fighting alongside Ric, Star and Bei. 'He's hobbled – find out what it was that did it so we can do it again!' Betsy cried out to her allies.

'... Betsy?' the man sitting opposite Betsy calls out. 'You know I can literally see that something else is on your mind' the man remarks. Betsy looks up at him and calls him Tom as she tells him that she is sorry. Tom assures Betsy that it is all right, and remarks that he is not foolish – he didn't think they would just pick up where they left off if he rang her up for a drink – but he didn't know  what else to do. 'The last thing I remember was the Slaymaster's blade...l ooking down at it, and trying to make sense of it' Tom reveals. Betsy glances to her left, where she can see Kwannon on a date with John Greycrow, while Tom explains that it was someone behind him and before him at the same time, he felt like he had to yawn – and then felt nothing at all. Tom points out that he is now here in paradise, but Britain – the only hom he has ever known – won't have him back, because apparently he is a mutant, so he did what any man would – he called up the best-looking girlfriend he ever had and saw if she would still speak to him. 'You're still a charmer, Tom Lennox' Betsy smiles, as Tom takes her hand.

As Betsy looks over at Kwannon once more, Tom asks her if she is a friend of hers. While Kwannon walks away holding Greycrow's hand, Betsy responds by saying 'That's a very complicated answer. You're already adjusting to a lot, so I'll spare you'. 'Seeing her just reminds me...' Betsy begins, before looking back at Tom, the two of them holding hands, Betsy asks Tom if he knows how funny it is for him to come back now, and that tells him that she hasn't been this close to being that girl he knew in years. 'It's been such a strange journey to becoming...Captain Britain of all things' Betsy adds. Tom smiles as he reminds Betsy that this isn't her first go at it, and tells her that this job was meant for her. 'And look at how the world needs you now' Tom adds. 'How we need you' he begins, before announcing that he is going to London tonight, with STRIKE, and that it is dangerous work. 'We'd hoped to have Captain Britain with us' Tom declares, as the other members of STRIKE suddenly appear and sit down at the table. Kevin Mulhearn a.k.a. Xanth, Alison Double a.k.a. Albedo and Vicki Reppion a.k.a. Rubedo.

'Alison!' Betsy exclaims. 'Oh, and Kevin and Vicki...' Betsy's voice trails off, while Alison exclaims 'Hello, love. Been missing you'. Betsy looks around at her old friends as she takes Vicki's hand and puts her other hand on Alison's shoulder and tells them that she can't stay. She explains that the Britain they are rightfully fighting to change and the Britain she protects aren't the same. 'I'm fighting for something far older than Parliament and the Crown. There is a magic that belongs to outcasts like us. That's the magic of my family and my blood. The magic of Otherworld...it's the magic of mutantkind!' Betsy exclaims. Everyone puts their hands together in the center of the table as Betsy tells her friends that Camelot was something else once, too – a haven for everyone, not just the landed gentry who seat themselves there and claim God did it just for them. 'Camelot was for all. For every faith and kingdom' Betsy adds. She stands up as she tells STRIKE that they have to fight for it here, them and Pete Wisdom and any of them who want to go home again – they can't go unless they fight for it here. 'My brave friends. As long as you all will call me Captain Britain... that is who I will be' Betsy utters.

Shortly, inside Camelot, the castle at Avalon, where Captain Britain stands with her family, teammates and allies around a table, where her niece, Maggie, has set out several dolls and other toys and objects to represent various people and places on Otherworld. Gathered are Maggie's parents Brian and Meggan a.k.a. Captain Avalon and Gloriana, respectively, and her uncle, King Jamie a.k.a. Monarch. Betsy's teammates Remy LeBeau a.k.a. Gambit, Jubilee and her dragon son Shogo and Julio Richter a.k.a. Rictor, and his lover, Shatterstar. Rounding out the group is the Arakkii mutant Bei the Blood Moon. Matter-of-factly, Maggie thanks everyone for coming and announces that she will get right to it. 'The battle at the Citadel never really ended. We retracted back to the castle while the Captain Britain Corps – the dollies with swords, here – held the tower, but they are getting sleeping and the enemy has rallied' Maggie begins.

Saturnyne motions to the Spider-Man action figure and explains that he represents Saturnyne, at the Citadel, but unresponsive for now. Maggie presumes that Saturnyne has been deep in meditation using her magic to strengthen and heal the Captains. 'As for what Merlyn is quietly up to on his side, we can only guess' Maggie adds, before explaining that Merlyn is portrayed by the frog in the hat, and motions to the toy. 'I see. And the crackers, miss Maggie?' Betsy asks her niece, referring to the stacks of crackers piled up near the frog. 'Siege towers. Ballistas. They're building defenses' Maggie responds, adding that she thinks they are coming to stay. 'I see' Betsy frowns. She adds that, with any luck, they will be distracted back there, and suggests that they break into their line from the back and try to join up with the Corps as reinforcements.

'You'll have me' Brian tells his twin. 'And me' Meggan smiles, holding Brian's hand which he puts on her shoulder. 'And me?' Jamie asks, waving at Betsy. 'No, Jamie' Betsy tells him. Jamie goes over to his sister and reminds her that he has saved her arse a half dozen times, and gestated an entire space station. 'You still think I'm not to be trusted? Bring me along and you can bring the baby dragon, too. There's no mess he can make that I can't mend!' Jamie exclaims. But Betsy points out that if Brian and his guard are with her, then all that is left defending the castle is Jamie and the local peasants with sticks. 'They can't do what will need to be done if Arthur and Merlyn get through the rest of us and reach the gates' Betsy explains. Maggie looks thoughtfully at her diagram of toys and crackers while Betsy instructs Jamie to take Maggie and Shogo through the gate, and to destroy it as they go.

'do not let them through to Krakoa. To Earth' Betsy tells Jamie. 'Could they even get through a gate?' Jamie asks. 'He's Merlyn, he'd figure it out. Take the kids and go, if it comes to that' Betsy declares, before turning to Maggie and telling her that means her, too – and that she isn't to play hero. 'I prefer strategy to heroics, Auntie' Maggie replies, before asking if they can continue with her presentation. Maggie reports that the Captains send psychic dispatches when they can, but that they are fighting constantly and are exhausted, so her Mama asked the other things there – the elements and the air and the blades of grass, the bugs and the fairies – and they all told her the same thing: that Merlyn is casting a spell, day and night. They can feel it, everyone is holding back until the spell is cast. 'I know I promised strategy, but the best I can offer is that you must move fast' Maggie remarks.

Captain Britain tells her allies that they will go  now, and that by no means can they let Merlyn breach the Citadel – and if he does, then the priority is Saturnyne – they can't let her fall into Merlyn's hands. 'Understood' Gambit replies as he stands with Jubilee and Rictor. Brian tells his sister that Saturnyne doesn't deserve her, to which Betsy smiles and laughs. 'All right. Get your gear, Excalibur' she exclaims. Standing on the table still, Maggie urges everyone to be swift. 'If we're not careful.. the Citadel will fall!' she exclaims, kicking over a pitcher of juice which was placed atop some books to represent the Starlight Citadel. 'Maggie! DON'T SPILL JUICE!' Meggan exclaims, grabbing her daughter and yanking her off the table, while everyone else looks on and smiles, and the juice starts to spill to the floor.

Meanwhile, at the Starlight Citadel, several Captain Britains can be seen hovering around the Citadel to protect it, while on the outskirts of the grounds outside the Citadel, Arthur's forces  have set up camp. A vampire approaches Arthur as he strides across the camp. 'Speak' Arthur instructs the vampire, addressing him as Lirio Ironsights. The vampire reports that the Sevalithi think they have found a weakness on the Eastern border, and that if they move now, they can exploit it and get Lord Merlyn into the tower. 'No. We cannot move yet – damn the opportunities. Luck is for the fae' Arthur scowls, before glancing up to a platform where Merlyn is in the midst of conducting his spell. Arthur states that Lord Merlyn's spell nears completion, that he knows everything about Saturnyne's protective magic, and that he unmakes it even now, and when his spell is complete, the Citadel will be defenseless.

Suddenly, the vampire notices something in the air above. 'Shields up, men! Archers incoming!' Arthur calls out to his forces as dozens of Saturnyne's White Priestesses drop from the Starlight Citadel, blasting their white-light arrows at their enemies. 'For the Starlight Citadel – we fight!' one of them exclaims. 'Her Priestesses? She's getting desperate. Her students are fighting for her' Arthur remarks to the horde of vampires at his side. 'For Camelot!' Arthur shouts as he slams his sword into one of the Priestesses. At that moment, Captain Britain and her allies arrive on scene. 'This way – and don't be shy – let the Captains see we fight with them!' Captain Britain calls out. Meggan hovers above the others having replaced her red dress with her classic green costume, and the new fairy wings she is fond of sporting. Betsy asks Shatterstar and Bei if she can rely on them to keep the priestesses alive. 'Yes' Bei responds, while Shatterstar tells Betsy that it would be an honor. 'Come along, friend Bei!' Shatterstar calls out. 'I like that you two get along' Rictor remarks.

Nearby, Captain Avalon notices that Arthur's army has siege weapons but that they are not pointed at the Citadel. 'Oh God, Betsy! He's killing the Corps!' Captain Avalon cries out as the weapons are fired and strike several of the Captain Britain Corps members hovering in the air. Bodies begin to drop out of the air, while the shocked Captain Britain instructs the Corps to disperse and tells them that they will regroup once their weapons are spent. 'They're targeting us!' Captain Britain warns the Corps. 'Are you mad? Without us here defending, they'll breach the Citadel in no time!' one of the Corps calls back. But Betsy tells the Corps that Merlyn is building to something – they don't know what it is, and she needs every one of them. 'We can't die yet!' she exclaims, while Merlyn can be heard continuing to cast his spell. 'Go!' Betsy shouts as the Corps begins to retreat.

Suddenly, a blackness begins to wash upwards from the camp, towards the Citadel, slamming against the green bubble surrounding the Citadel. 'Oh no. Merlyn's speel it's -' someone calls out, while inside the Citadel, Saturnyne gasps: 'Antimagic! That devil -'. Captain Britain telepathically tells the Corps members to go. 'They will surge forward upon your retreat and we will hold them at the choke point!'

Arthur and his army race towards the citadel after the forcefield falls. 'Get up to the doorway!' Rictor calls out as he runs alongside Gambit and Jubilee. 'Attack, my knights, now – the cowardly Corps retreats!' Arthur exclaims. 'Get your backs into it – we hold that damn door!' Jubilee tells her companions as the three of them reach the main doors, where Captain Avalon, Meggan, Shatterstar and Bei are waiting. Everyone stands braced to defend the Citadel. 'Are you ready, Excalibur?' Jubilee asks. 'To die permanently, shortly after moving to an immortal paradise? No' Rictor replies, referring to the Resurrection Protocols no longer applying to mutant deaths that occur on Otherworld. Gambit tells his teammate not to worry, and that he will pull a card. 'And hope it's not the Death card' Captain Avalon suggests, while Meggan tells her husband that that card is just about change. 'We know, Meggan!' Gambit, Jubilee, Rictor and Shatterstar exclaim in unison as they engage the first wave of Arthur's army.

'Where is she, witchbreed? Bring me your betrayer Captain, who stole into the role like a snake when her brother bucked to Morgan Le Fay's charms!' Arthur calls out as he waves his sword around in front of him. Jubilee casts a series of her plasma fireworks blasts at Arthur's army, while Rictor raises the ground around them, knocking them back. 'Is he trying to provoke her or me?' Captain Avalon asks. Shatterstar swings one of his swords at several vampires as he remarks that Merlyn thinks he can stop their righteous advance with antimagic, and that wizards are so arrogant. 'My blades still cut true!' Shatterstar exclaims. Rictor knocks some of the enemy backwards with his seismic energy and points out that the enemy still have plenty of magic on their side, and that Merlyn just knocke out the magic of the Citadel, which means Saturnyne and all its other defenses. 'What of the Captain?' Shatterstar asks. 'Is her magic not borne of the Citadel?' Shatterstar asks. 'Oh, $#%&, you've been here for like five minutes and you figured that out -' Rictor replies, before calling out to Betsy, asking her where she went.

Betsy's telepathic signnal appears above her allies and tells them to get in the Citadel, now. Rictor announces that he is trying to block the door as he raises the ground up around it. 'They're right behind us!' Jubilee tells him. 'I said I'm trying!' Rictor snaps, before a Fury bursts through the door. '$#%&! A Fury! They're in!' Rictor exclaims. A moment later, Arthur appears at the now-destroyed Citadel door. 'Halt!' he calls out, stating that the Fury does what he says, and that they won't harm anyone unless he orders it. 'Bring me Captain Britain' Arthur demands. 'Let me slay the Witchbreed pretender, and then her mad fool of a brother who squats upon my throne' he states. Betsy telepathically tells everyone to leave Arthur to her, and urges them upstairs, and to get Saturnyne and get out. Bei and Captain Avalon lead the way, followed by Gambit and Meggan, then Rictor, who raises the ground around the staircase as Shatterstar and Jubilee make their way up the stairs, with Jubilee asking 'What's going on? Where are you, Bets?' 'GO!' Betsy urges on, telepathically.

Arthur points his sword forward and instructs his army to go after them. 'Clear the path for Merlyn's rise to the top of the Citadel! For Avalon -' Arthur shouts. 'For Sevalith -' one of the vampires snarls. 'For Merlyn's Holy Republic -' another begins. 'For all Otherworld!' Arthur declares. 'LONG MAY THEY REIGN!' much of the army shouts. When his army has gone, followed Excalibur upstairs, Arthur walks around the Citadel and remarks to himself that this holy Citadel should never have come to such ruin. 'But I have seen worse things broken in war' he reminds himself, before deciding that it is necessary bring about peace, and that only women and bards shed tears for broken things. 'If you will not give up this Citadel, we will take it from you. We have already taken your magic, Captain Britain' he calls out.

'You're Arthur? King Arthur? How stupid the legends are' Captain Britain, no longer wearing her costume, only some dark undergarments, calls out as she stands with a physical sword and looks at Arthur. 'You're just a man. And you've forgotten why you fear my kind' she tells him. 'I don't need this Citadel's power to stop you. I never have' Betsy exclaims as she leaps towards Arthur, who swings his sword, but Betsy dodges him, and then puts her fingers on his head, attacking him psychically, she warns him that she will not let him retake Avalon in hate. 'Can I make you understand? You will die first'

The other heroes rush into Saturnyne's chamber and find her lying in her scrying pool. 'There she is. Saturnyne, are you just in the bath?' someone calls out. 'I wouldn't put it past her' someone else replies. Bei lifts Saturnyne out of the water and tells her companions that they have to get Saturnyne out of here. She asks Rictor if he can sail them all on stones, to which Rictor tells her that he might be able to carry a few of them at a time, but that they don't have that kind of time. The door to the chamber slams open and Arthur's forces appear. 'There is nowhere left to run, witchbreed! We will escort Merlyn to the throne. Then we will feast on witch blood!' one of them excllaims. Suddenly, the wall of the Citadel seems to fade away, and Arthur's forces are knocked back. The heroes see Shogo hovering beside the Citadel, with Monarch standing on his dragon back. 'Shogo! Jamie, he is not supposed to be here!' Jubilee exclaims. 'He wanted to go outside. Not his fault Uncle Jamie can warp reality at will!'

Back down below, Betsy tells Arthur that they will not have their duel today, and that when she steps away from him, his mind won't be fit for one. She adds that Merlyn is beyond her forgiveness now, but that Arthur can still learn, as he has a son. 'Maybe he could forgive you, when he sees you again' Betsy suggests. Psychic energy radiates around Betsy as she tells Arthur that if he must move forward, she will duel him a hundred times – a thousand – and she will fighting him in the name of every single one of her kind. Arthur falls backwards, clutching his head, while Betsy tells him to think about that before his next advance, and that he is right to be afraid of her kind. 'We are becoming too wise for tyrants like you. Soon you'll have nowhere to go' Captain Britain declares.

Betsy then carries on through the Citadel, she calls out to Saturnyne, but gets no response. 'Come on, you insufferable woman -' Betsy mutters, before her brother, Jamie, calls out to her as he flies nearby on Shogo, with Bei at his side: 'Yoo hoo! Betsy with no armor on! There you are!' and then instructs Bei to go ahead and drop the Majestrix. Bei lets Saturnyne fall from the great height they fly at. 'Off she goes!' Monarch exclaims. 'Jamie! You $#%&, you madman -' Betsy begins, rushing forward, she leaps up, and suddenly appears in her Captain Britain costume once more. 'I've got you' she utters as she grabs Saturnyne. 'And it looks like we're out of Merlyn's anti-magic zone' Betsy realizes as they float through the air around the Citadel as she asks Saturnyne if she can hear her. Captain Avalon and Meggan can be seen flying nearby, while large winged creatures carry Rictor, Shatterstar, Jubilee and Gambit, as theyfollow Monarch and Bei on Shogo. Betsy instructs Excalibur to fall back to Avalon, because if Arthur's forces are just trying to claim the Citadel, they won't follow them.

'And leave the Citadel to Merlyn?' Brian asks as he flies over to his sister. 'We've got Saturnyne. We must protect her until we can restore her to the throne. For all her faults...' Betsy starts to reply. 'All right, Betsy. By your lead' Brian tells his sister. 'Avalon is our country. We'll carve a trench in the ground before we'll cede one more inch. We cannot let them get to Avalon, to the gates. There's no telling what they'll do' Captain Britain exclaims. The group flies on to Avalon, and Betsy tells Jamie to be prepared to repair reality as it burns. 'Shogo? One last time for Aunty Betsy, if you can...' Betsy asks the dragon. Jamie is straining as he hovers above everyone and tells his sister that he is holding it together with his bare hands, while Shogo releases dragonfire around the outside of Avalon. The heroes have set down on Avalon, surrounded by the flames, they look out over Otherworld, and Jubilee exclaims 'We did it!'

Holding Saturnyne in her arms, Captain Britain reports that Arthur's forces are blocked for now, and explains that Shogo has carved a trench in reality itself, while Jamie is doing all that he can to keep existence from collapsing. Betsy asks how the little one is doing, and as she touches her dragon-son's nose, Jubilee reports that Shogo is exhausted. 'Of course, he is. He doesn't know how to use his powers. He needs training, or he'll not live a long life...' Bei begins.

Suddenly, several large flying creatures can be seen moving towards Avalon. 'Lotd Merlyn! The witch Saturnyne is defeated. We have the Citadel. The doors have been barred to the Captain Britain Corps! Victory is ours!' one of Arthur's army remarks to Merlyn as they ride the large creatures towards Avalon. '...what victory?' Merlyn asks. 'We've driven them out! The throne is yours!' comes the response. 'Not while she lives. Not while any of them live!' Merlyn snarls as he raises a hand and begins to cast a spell. 'Begone from this place. No reality will hold you, witches' Merlyn utters, as his spell affects the ground Betsy and Saturnyne are standing on, causing them to begin to fall towards the trench around Avalon. 'I hope you two kill each other' Merlyn utters. 'It's sucking us in! Merlyn! I know it's him!' Betsy calls out, before asking Jamie to do something. Brian reaches out for his sister, but it's no use. 'Hands're a bit full!' Jamie exclaims as he watches in shock.

'It's pulling us in – I've got you, Saturnyne – I've got you -!' Captain Britain assures the unmoving Majestrix, while Meggan, Captain Avalon, Rictor, Shatterstar, Gambit, Jubilee and Bei gather around the edge of the trench in reality. 'Where have they gone?' Rictor asks. Shatterstar puts a hand on Ric's shoulder as he tells him that they will come back, as Betsy comes back from everything.

The Sea of Secrets, where an old rowboat creaks. 'Where... am I?' Betsy asks as she wakes, clutching her head. 'Oh good. You're awake. I've been thinking' Saturnyne remarks as she reclines in the rowboat, looking refreshed and calm. She reveals to Betsy that she has been here before, and that they will be here for a while. 'So why don't I finally keep my promise and tell you the story of how I took that Citadel from Merlyn? It might just prove useful...'