Excalibur #10 - Losses


Aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier, just off the coast of Greece, above the Mediterranean, the HERMES teleportation system flared to life and the battered and bruised heroes of Excalibur and X-Force were met by a medical team, who tended straightaway to Hellios, Nick Fury and Shadowcat. 

George Washington looked about and did a quick headcount of his team, and there was one notable absence. Tsunami hadn't returned with them. He had hoped she would have been brought aboard but the image of her limp hand exposed from the rock all the while they were being evacuated haunted him. He felt a hand on shoulder

"They didn't get her?" Union Jack spoke quietly, hardly able to believe they'd lost one of their own on their second mission.

"No," replied Bridge, softly. "She's gone."

"Damn," said Rock and his head dropped. Leyu Yoshida had been annoying and loud, but she had saved Nick Fury, she had saved all of them, and she had been drowned, a victim of her own powers in an enclosed area. 

"With any justice," said USAgent, "the rock fall would have knocked her out. She wouldn't have suffered. I doubt she'd even have known."

"Little consolation," said Bridge, his imagination running riot of the young woman underwater, her hand trapped leaving her unable to flee and nowhere to dispel the water to, then entering her mouth and nose, leaving her unable to scream and knowing that in a moment she would be dead, and it would be slow and agonising. He shook it off, because he had to attend to the living first.

"Hellios?" he asked.

"Not good," said the medic. "There was no fuel left in his tank and his heart gave out. We're working on it though."

"Thank you," said Bridge and turned to see how Fury was doing, except he noticed the room had gained a large amount of agents.

"Forge?" Maverick was standing before the former X-Man and X-Factor agent, who was standing there, dressed in a SHIELD uniform. Bridge instinctively didn't like this.

"Been a while, North," said Forge. "And I wish we could do this at some other time." He looked at the medics attending to Fury. "Is he awake?"

"Yes, sir," said one of them and Forge walked over.

"Colonel Nicholas Fury, I am placing you under arrest. The charges are treason, conspiring to pervert the course of justice, co-operating in a terrorist plot and attempted murder." Fury's jaw dropped and he had no reply such was his horror at what had just happened.

"What?" demanded both Bridge and Maverick at the same time, but for different reasons. Bridge was incensed at such a scandalous allegation, though he noticed that Maverick was more surprised by the timing rather than the announcement. What was going on here?

"We have evidence to support these charges," said Forge, "though I wish to God I didn't. As of 2200 hours, Fury's directorship was terminated. I am now in command of SHIELD."

"This is preposterous!" said Bridge. "I demand..."

"Leave it," said Maverick, standing in front of Bridge. "Like it or not we can't help him, not like this. Not yet." Out of the corner of his eye he could see Lydia standing, watching and waiting. "There's going to be questions asked of all of us."

"Agent North," said Forge, before Bridge could answer. "You and your team are to be checked out in medical bay 2, Excalibur are to report to bay 3. We've a lot of wounded, but your teams need to be treated for exposure to whatever they hit you with to suppress your mutant powers." He looked at the agents in the area. "Escort them please."

X-Force was led away, leaving them to wonder what kind of showdown there was going to be between Forge and Bridge.

"Now you wanted to say something, Agent Bridge?" said Forge. The medics kept doing what they were doing, despite really wanting to watch this. Hauptmann, Savitar, USAgent and Union Jack all stood behind the field leader.

"What kind of stunt are you pulling here, Forge," demanded Bridge, pulling himself up to his full height and towering over Forge, who looked up. "These charges... are complete garbage, and you know it."

"No, they're not," said Forge. "Don't tell me - Fury told you there was a traitor in SHIELD and wanted you to keep an eye out for him. To... trust no-one?"

"Something like that," said Bridge, fully imagining the looks on the faces of his people.

"Cleverly diverting your attention from him and admitting to it at the same time," said Forge. "You were suckered, GW. Suckered by a man more powerful than you know."

"He's been framed?" said Union Jack.

"There is a possibility," admitted Forge.

"Then let him go," said Hauptmann.

"But there's no proof," snapped Forge. "Where as the evidence against Fury is damning."

"Nick, say something," said Bridge.

"Let it go, Bridge," said Fury, quietly. "Tend to your people. This is my problem, not yours."

"Is it true?" said Bridge, but Fury didn't answer. "Tell me!"

"Stand down, Agent!" said Forge, his voice quiet yet commanding. "Don't test me, Bridge, I'm really not in the mood."

"That's a shame because I am," said Bridge, venting his anger and grief on the most convenient target.

"Place Agent Bridge under arrest as well," said Forge. "A night in the brig should cool him off some." He looked over to the other members of Excalibur, who were looking lost as to this rapid turn of events. "If you have a problem with this gentlemen, I will remind you that you are all guests on the Helicarrier. I can just as easily leave you in Greece."

"I think the UN would have a problem with that," said USAgent. "We answer to them, not you." He looked away from Forge to see Fury and Bridge being taken away.

"Then you can call them from Greece," said Forge. "Or you can stay and see to your injured colleagues."

"Colleagues?" asked Union Jack. "Hellios and...?"

"Sabra. She was brought aboard by Darkstar before we... lost her."

"What do you mean 'lost her'?" asked Hauptmann. "How do you lose a blond woman with that kind of power."

"When she's become one with the darkforce she wields," said Forge. "So you see, I really don't have time for this. Your choice, gentlemen."

"We'll stay," said Savitar, looking at the others, thinking that he needed the kind of treatment Excalibur would be getting to restore their mutant powers. "We've already lost one person today. Maybe we can help get Lanyia back."

"Thank you," said Forge and placed his hand on the brow of his head. It was going to be a long few days, and he had a lot to do. Welcome to SHIELD, he thought.



Bridge sat in his cell. He had eventually calmed down, but Fury was in the next cell and he needed to know what was going on here. He'd got some sleep but it was restless, with the voice of Leyu echoing in his mind about how he'd failed her and how he would have to face the fury of Sunfire. 

He looked at the clock on the other side of the brig. Almost ten hours since he'd come back aboard the Helicarrier, and he realised he didn't know squat about the rest of his team.

However there was nothing he could do about that, not yet. However he did have something he could do.

"Nick." There was no reply.

"Nick," he said again. "You awake?"

"Yeah," answered Fury's voice. "Guess you wanna know if it's all true?"

"Wouldn't mind," said Bridge. "I'll back you one hundred per cent but I need to know what's going on, and how we can fight this thing."

"I'm beginnin' ta remember," said Fury, his voice tight. "It goes back a while, before Excalibur was formed. Before X-Force was formed. You know about Logan and the traitor deal?"

"Yeah, I remember the briefing on that," said Bridge. "Cut and dry case."

"I know," said Fury, "which was why I didn't like it and I did some looking in to it. I knew Logan was looking in to his past and what happened back in the war, an' I did some diggin' of my own. I turned up the info on the Shadow King and I put the pieces together from the events on Muir Isle a few years ago. Except on the way to Madripoor to get Logan and Tyger Tiger I remember feeling a voice in my head, tellin' me I was powerless to help my friend."

"This Shadow King?"

"Yeah. Telepath on the level of Xavier and maybe greater. He entered my head with ease an' there was nothin' I could do."

"You know how that sounds?"

"Yup," responded Fury. "Didn't work for Logan, won't work for me. I'm finished, GW. Too many enemies out there been waiting for a piece o' the old man. They'll use this to break me, all they needed was the opportunity."

"They haven't won, not yet," decided Bridge. "I'm not letting this go. There has to be a way out of this. Where is the Shadow King now?"

"Last I remember of his presence was in the mountain - yeah, he was part of me then, controllin' me. I saw him leave my body and take on the Supreme Commando and then I passed out. Ain't been back in my head since, so I figure he's either dead or badly depleted."

"In either case," sighed Bridge, "if he's not there, what can we do?"

"Damned if I know," said Fury, and Bridge closed his eyes, wondering how the hell they got out of this one. Fury had made him a Colonel after the first Excalibur mission, so that was something, though it might also incriminate him. The Shadow King was a clever being, that was certain.

"Bridge," said a voice and he opened his eyes to see Forge standing there.

"Forge," he said, the disdain in his voice evident.

"Let him out," said the SHIELD director to the guard, who pressed a button and let the energy bars down, allowing Bridge his freedom. "We got off on the wrong foot," said Forge. "I came to apologise."

"I'll let you know later if I accept it."

"Fair enough. Walk with me, Agent." He nodded to Fury on his way out and Bridge followed. "So you know, I don't like the case against Nick and as soon as I can arrange it, I'm going to get my best people on the job, but after the battle, we've had some serious casualties and we're short-staffed."

"You're going to help him?" said Bridge, warily.

"Of course," said Forge. "He's my friend as well, and has been an ally more than once to both the X-Men and X-Factor. We repay our debts."

"Look," said Bridge. "I don't like this, I'll admit that but I guess we're going to have to work together."

"As long as we both know where we stand," said Forge. "That's the good news. The bad is we lost Hellios."

"Shit," said Bridge and slammed his fist in to a bulkhead. "I lost four people..."

"Two," said Forge. "Sabra's still undergoing emergency treatment, but she'll live. The question is now if she'll walk. And Darkstar... let's just say I have calls in to the top minds on the planet. Henry McCoy, Reed Richards. She's become one with the darkforce, Bridge. We're working on a way of getting her back, because her control is sketchy at best."

"That's something, I suppose," said Bridge. "What happens now?"

"I meet with X-Force and discuss the next move against the Shadow King."

"I want in."

"Not a chance, Bridge. Your involvement in this is already being questioned and I can only keep them off you back for so long. If I were you, I'd go to the rest of Excalibur and see how they are coping and figure out what they do next. The team needs rebuilding."

"As does Armory."

"I know," said Forge, with a smile. "Let's just say that I'm working on that as well." Then he turned around and walked away, leaving Bridge to wonder what he meant.

Then he realised and he too smiled and went to look for the rest of Excalibur. They were dressed in SHIELD uniforms looking over the information about Darkstar, and Bridge felt a moment's pride. His people were all working together for the first real time and he knew these were good people.

"I don't care what's happened in Wakanda, Jarvis," USAgent was saying to the image of the butler to the Avengers, "I need to speak to Hank Pym, as soon as possible. It's a matter of life and death. Look, just get him to contact me through SHIELD. I'm still a reserve Avenger and I need their help."

"Yes, sir," said Jarvis and the screen went black.

"Still no joy?" said Hauptmann.

"With the recent invasion and the deal in Wakanda, apparently Hank has issues at the moment," said Walker. 

"Don't we all?" said Neal. 

"Gentlemen," said Bridge.

"So they finally let you out?" said USAgent.

"Eventually," said Bridge. "What's going on?"

"We've been working on the Darkstar problem," said Rock. "We're looking for any kind of phenomenon like this before and how it was handled. So far there's been a few, but not with darkforce. The only thing close was the Dragon Lord in Madripoor but he wasn't transformed like Darkstar was."

"Hmm. He'd be in the Vault..." muttered Bridge. "Perhaps we can speak with him."

"Already got Jim Hammond on that," said Neal. "He's glad to help."

"Good," said Bridge. "Then we..." An alarm sounded aboard the Helicarrier. "Fury..." muttered Bridge. Instinct told him what was going on. "Stay here, I'll sort this," he told the others and ran back to the brig. Fury was not there and the guard was out cold. "Rookie..." 

Bridge ran through the corridors to the HERMES system control room and he saw the override trigger device was missing and he opened the viewing to the main ignition chamber below. He wasn't inside yet, so they had time and he pressed the comm. panel

"Bridge to Forge."

"Go ahead, Bridge."

"Fury's going to use the HERMES system. How do I stop him?"

"Type in the commands, exactly as I tell you," said Forge and Bridge could see the door of the chamber opening. "1... F... 9... B... B... 5... X... 3... 6... 7... A... Execute." Bridge hit the firing button to shut down the system, but an error message flashed up.

"Code not recognised!" said Bridge. 

"I cancelled his codes myself," said Forge, the urgency in his voice. "He couldn't have..." Fury was making his way inside. "There's nothing we can do!" Forge said after a second. "Damn it." Bridge pressed the button on the panel to open a channel between the control room and the ignition chamber to try and stop Nick from escaping.

"Please, Colonel..." said Maverick's voice before Bridge could say anything, but Fury didn't stop or perhaps couldn't and Bridge knew that David North was out of choices. Maverick fired his gun and the shot hit Fury square in the chest, the bullet entering his body and throwing him back in to the room. It was over, and Bridge turned away but a cry forced him to look back.

"NO!" shouted Maverick as Fury's finger pressed the button on the override trigger device and the firing sequence started. "STOP HIM!" Maverick commanded and Bridge looked on as the agents started to fire, to try and stop the system from working but all they did was wreck the system and when the sparks stopped flying, Fury was gone. 

"What's happening?" came Forge's voice.

"Fury's gone," said Bridge. "If he survived being shot."

"I see," said Forge. "You tried, Colonel. I'll speak to you later."

"Yes, sir," said Bridge. Fury's escape had ruined the man. No matter what happened now, Fury would be viewed as a criminal and traitor and they had lost. Bridge wandered back to Excalibur and told them of what had happened.

"It's out of our hands, now," said Hauptmann. "Let's hope Forge is as good a man as he claims to be."

"Yeah," said Bridge. "So do I. Darkstar?"

"There may be a way," said Rock. "The darkforce dimension is where the users of darkforce get their energies. What if that is where she is right now?"

"Is that possible?" asked Bridge, his knowledge of such things was limited but he did know dimensional travel was not that easy.

"Yeah," said USAgent. "There's a mutant called Cloak who was able to do so, but I've not heard much from him in years. But it is possible."

"We're going to need help on this one," said Forge who was now standing in the doorway.

"What do you suggest?" asked Bridge.

"We visit a doctor, you and I," said Forge. "We'll be in New York shortly, and there's a man in Greenwich."

"What do we do while you're gone?" asked USAgent. "Twiddle our thumbs?"

"No," said Forge. "You gentlemen will be working with Reed Richards on finding a way to protect yourself in the darkforce dimension. If one man can help you, it's Doctor Richards."

"So which Doctor are we visiting?" asked Bridge.

"Doctor Strange." Forge looked at him. "I just hope he's home..."



At the United Nations headquarters, the Secretary General read the information he had been sent on the Fury situation. The Shadow King still had some power left, he mused, and now Fury was in his thrall. Excellent, he smiled as he thought about it.

The effects of the alien invasion had been reversed but it had also given him something special, something the Mig-Na'cha had never contemplated. The time was coming and soon there would be a reckoning, but there was not the correct alignment yet. Much needed to happen first and the world was not yet ready but when it was ready the combined forces of every hero on the planet would be unable to stop it.

It was just a matter of time.