Joey Chapman

USAgent

Sabra

Silverclaw

Scarlet Scarab

Cybermancer

New York, 15 miles out in the ocean.

If his friends were asked to describe Jonathon Exner with one word, they would all use ‘solitary’. Exner was hardly an anti social as he had many a friends, but more often than not Exner just preferred to be alone. That’s one reason why he took up fishing, and currently had his boat anchored so far off the coast of New York at the moment. Out here, he had little fear of running into someone else. Here, he could be alone to relax from the rigors of his life and career.

Every now and then, he would spare a glance skywards, ever since he’d caught a glimpse of the Avenger’s quinjet streaking overhead several years ago. As he did so now, he was rewarded with the rare site of a shining shooting star streaking overhead. Exner, feeling oddly contemplative today, leaned back and wondered about what life was like on other planets. What heights did they achieve? No doubt they threw off the shackles of dictators and petty concepts like greed and hatred long ago, he mused.

Exner wondered about the universe for about half a minute before he observed that at the shooting star he’d seen, had altered its course. Another ten seconds later, he realized that the shooting star was now on a collision course with his boat. He leapt to his feet, but it was far too late. The ‘shooting star’, in actuality a human figure surrounded by the fires of reentry, slammed thru his boat and then into the ocean, incinerating both Exner and his medium sized boat to less than ash in a second.

Underneath the waves, a grim and rocky figure smiled as he sank deeper and deeper towards the ocean floor. First blood was his. A trivial matter, true, but the alien warrior nevertheless took the death of the innocent man as a good omen for his plans of conquest. Steadily sinking towards ocean floor, the faux rock warrior touched the pitch-black ocean bottom, kicking up a small particle cloud. Those animals with constitutions strong enough to survive on the ocean floor instantly fled at the arrival of the figure, their primitive animal instincts divining the creature’s power and disposition.

With a combination of a sneer and smile, the creature stretched out its thick, muscle bound arms, like a maestro preparing an orchestra, and began issuing orders to the mass of earth around him. Unfazed by the total blackness of the ocean depths, he went about his work. As on a dozen worlds before, the planet complied with the obedience of a well-trained dog.

New York, New York

Joey Chapman, newly appointed director of Excalibur, awoke from his usual nightmares to the sound of his cell phone ringing. With a groan, he reached over and plucked it off the nightstand adjoining the bed. He flipped it open and pressed it against his ear, head still resting on the pillow.

“’ello?”

“Sir, it’s Delphi.” The voice of his assistant said, “You need to turn on the T.V now, sir.”

“Why?” Chapman asked, slightly miffed. He was the one who issued orders after all, though he held a great deal of respect for Delphi’s opinion. He sat up, reached for the remote to the T.V that sat at the far wall of his bed, and clicked it on.

“You’ll see, sir.”

“What channel?”

“Any news channel, sir.”

Chapman clicked the T.V on and was greeted by the image of a warmly dressed, brunette woman holding a microphone. Behind her was a lush, green forest of trees and flora of an almost alien nature, an alien paradise from all appearances.

“…Is Trish Tilby reporting about fifteen miles off of the United States. As incredible as it sounds, an island about twice the size of Central Park was created overnight by the two aliens behind me.”

The camera swiveled to the right, and displayed two powerfully built yet obviously alien men. The first was seemingly a man made out of rock wielding a long, silver axe that Chapman recognized as Terrax. The second figure, physically as impressive as the Hulk, wore a silver body armor with wore a blood red beard. The camera shifted back to Tilby.

“…Thus far, they have made no threats or made any demands, though they have said they have a message for our entire world. Attempts to reach the Fantastic Four or Avengers have been unsuccessful, and they are believed to be away on missions. Battle ships have been stationed off the island, but have made no aggressive moves.”

“Alien invasion? What, is it Tuesday already?” Chapman asked flippantly

“Then you see it sir?” Delphi asked

“Yes, sadly enough. What are those bloody reporters doing out there?”

“They were teleported out after they received a telepathic invitation according to our intelligence, sir. Terrax and Overmind are extraterrestrials, according to our files; though our information is limited. I believe the reporters are de facto hostages…”

“To keep the yanks from blowing them to hell before they’ve said their piece. Creating their little rock off the coast in international waters also lets them snub the U.S too. Smart buggers. No doubt the reporters are under some degree of telepathic influence.” Chapman deduced

“Course of action, sir?”

“Lets see what they want first, then decide how we’re going to kick their arse back to their home planet.” Chapman stated, “Get Excalibur together, and have them on standby.”

Chapman endured roughly twenty minutes of the media finding new and interesting ways of saying the same damn thing (that of we have no bloody idea what’s really going on) before finally the reporters stopped speaking, as if of one mind, and turned their cameras towards the two alien warriors.

“Hear me, people of earth. I am called Overmind, and long have I known of your world’s plight…”

“Here we go, what’s your game, mate?” Chapman muttered to himself as he watched them make their pitch.

“This great and wondrous planet is riddled with inequality, and it pains me to see it so. This planet has defied the mighty Galactus, beaten back the Brood, defeated the mighty Kree…”

“And kick you back to whatever pit you crawled out of.” Chapman added

“But there are still places that do not have running water, adequate housing or those who are dependant upon the dictatorial United States for protection. That is because the more advanced nations of this world need someone to look down upon, to snub their noses at. Well, I say no longer!”

“Oh, bloody fucking hell.” Chapman already knew exactly where this was going now, and it sent chills down his spine. Luckily, he’d still had his cell phone on with Delphi waiting patiently, “Delphi, is Excalibur assembled yet?”

“Negative sir. Most are on leave in their home countries. I’ve recalled them, but only I only have Sabra, Hellios and Darkstar with me at the moment.”

“Scramble them right bloody now! If this wanker is thinking what I think he’s thinking, we’re only a stones throw away from the worse crisis since I don’t know how long! I’ll get dressed and HERMES down.” Chapman slapped his cell closed and leaped out of bed. It was already one of those days…

Overmind smiled as gently as his warrior nature would allow him as he looked out over his enthralled audience, “No longer will a select few nations lord over the rest! As of now, I freely offer assistance to those nations ridiculed by the designation ‘third world’! To the minorities of the world who find themselves oppressed, to the down trodden, I offer salvation. Military assistance is yours for the asking, as is any other form of technology you could need. No longer will you be exploited under the heel of mightier nations! If you doubt our power, look at this very island we have created on the borders of this planet’s mightiest nation. Power we will willingly share with you!”

Overmind looked towards New York, and observed Hellios, Sabra and Darkstar flying towards his position like guided missiles. Overmind grinned widely at the sight of the oncoming U.N sponsored heroes.

“As we can see, even now other nations will do whatever it takes to prevent you from raising yourselves up to their exalted position.” Overmind reached outwards with his telepathic powers, “But that won’t deter us and our offer of aid.”

Sabra furrowed her brow in frustration, “We’ve been made. Brace yourselves for an attack.”

“Brace how?” Darkstar asked, “according to our three shreds of intelligence, one of the aliens is a powerful telepath. We’d…best attack from the north side.”

“Hellios, keep on course, I’ll deal with Darkstar.” Sabra lashed out with a glancing blow that knocked Darkstar from the sky and hurtling towards the water below, “Go!”

Darkstar righted herself and flew at Sabra, unleashing a blast darkforce at the superstrong heroine.

“You’re a smart one. I didn’t fool you for a moment, did I?” Darkstar asked, though her voice was overlapped by that of a more powerful and deeper, masculine voice.

“Complaints and tactical suggestions do not go hand in hand.” Sabra explained as she flew above a darkforce blast. Sabra brought her wrist blasters, armed with sedative needles forward and released a wave of them at the Russian mutant. Darkstar/Overmind brought up an ebony shield to protect herself, but the needles passed thru the shield and stuck the mutant before she could counter attack. Darkstar then fell from the sky like a rag doll.

“My needles are now charged slightly with microwave energy.” Sabra explained as she swooped down and grabbed Darkstar by the wrist, “always be prepared.”

Sabra looked towards the island where Hellios was charging headlong into danger, and said a small prayer on his behalf. Though she longed to assist him, Sabra was now burdened with protecting the helpless Darkstar and would thus be a liability in combat, and though she had no way of proving it, she knew that was exactly why Overmind had taken over Darkstar’s mind.

In essence, he was toying with them. That was how much these aliens respected Excalibur.

Terrax grinned wolfishly as he watched Hellios sped towards his person, intent on dishing out bodily harm upon the former herald. Terrax pointed his battleaxe, and unleashed a blast of cosmic energy so powerful all the reporters present has to look away to avoid being permanently blinded. With a grunt, Hellios met the cosmic blast head on, the energy slamming into him unrelentingly like waves upon the shore, and sent searing pain thru his entire chest. Pushing past the pain, Hellios kept on his collision course for Terrax and smashed into the former herald, carving out a slight trench with their bodies in the newly conceived island.

“Is this the best you have to offer?” Terrax demanded as he lashed out with both his feet and struck Hellios directly in his solar plexus, winding the solar powered hero. Terrax followed thru with a slash from his axe, raking it across Hellios’ chest. Though Hellios was strong enough to take the swing without being eviscerated, barely, it still hurt like hell as he had to grit his teeth to keep from crying out.

“Take your lies and your honeyed words elsewhere, earth doesn’t want your evil!” Hellios hissed as he blasted at Terrax with his solar vision. Terrax met the attack with his own energy and the two energy signatures struck one another in a dazzlingly display of light and power. For a moment, the two powerhouses were stalemated, but slowly, powered by righteous desire to defeat the alien arms dealer, Hellios’ power pressed closer and closer to the alien. Finally, only when his power was within several feet of the villain did Hellios feel something creeping up his leg. He spared a glance down, and couldn’t hide his astonishment. Both combatants ceased their power displays, Terrax desiring to savor the look on Hellios’ face as the solar powered hero was defeated.

“Diamonds!?” Hellios gasped as he watched in horror as his body subsumed in a think layer of diamonds that moved up his body like water. Hellios tried to fly away, but suddenly found he just couldn’t remember the mental mechanism he used for flight.

“The infernal telepath we were warned about, no doubt.” Hellios thought bitterly as he struggled to get free. Terrax watched as Hellios’ chest, neck and finally head disappeared underneath the diamond growth he’d created.

“You were amusing, but hardly the best I’ve ever had. So much power yet so little skill. And for that, I sentence you to a horrible death for wasting my time.” Terrax reached out with an open palm, concentrated, and then closed it. The diamond prison he’d entrapped Hellios shrunk inwards accordingly. Even Overmind grimaced, just a little. Terrax then turned towards his ally.

“I’ve had my sport, and we’ve made our statement. Let us be away.” Terrax stated.

“Agreed.” And a second later, the two aliens disappeared, carried away by their own personal teleporter. Sabra touched down on the island a split second later, set Darkstar down as gently as possible and then rushed towards the diamond structure as fast as her flightpack would carry her. Sabra slammed the diamond prison full speed, and then lit into it with all her incredible strength, to no effect. Like flies swarming a dead body, the media circled Sabra as she attempted in vain to free her teammate.

“Sabra, John Parker, News Channel 5, how do you feel about Overmind’s offer of assistance to oppressed minorities?”

“Sabra, what’s the United Nation’s stance on Overmind’s offer?”

“Sabra, News Channel Nine, how does the death of Hellios make you feel?”

“Scum!” Sabra hissed as she waved outwards with the back of her hand, knocking the media aside like tenpins, “A man has just died and you are foaming at the mouth to get ratings while standing on his coffin!”

Sabra was distracted from her rage when she heard a sound, much like the breaking of glass but only harder and louder. She turned and saw large cracks and tears forming in the diamond structure she’d been trying to break only moments before.

“Get back, give him room!” Sabra ordered as she roughly pushed the reporters away from the diamond tomb. Only moments later, it exploded in a shower of diamond fragments and shower of particle sized diamond dust. Hellios stood in the center of his former death trap, brushing off small fragments from his person. His face bore an odd expression of both irritation and relief, but he was, as ever, physically perfect.

“Well, I have to admit, I’m impressed.” Sabra stated.

“Thank you. I would have been out sooner, but that metal devil paralyzed my body with his powers.” Hellios explained, “Are you well?”

Sabra looked out over the Atlantic, “Two powerful alien arms dealers have freely offered to arm the angry, the disenchanted and downtrodden. I know I won’t be well until this is finished, and we have brought those two down.”

Several days later, Chechnya

Andrei Gurov, proud a proud member of the Russian infantry assigned to retake the break away republic of Chechnya, fought the urge to look over his shoulder at the giant monstrosity that had forced three battalions of the Russian army into a full retreat thru the muddy, rain softened ground. Seasoned veteran of the horrors of Urban warfare, Gurov was no coward. But that was only in regards to something that he had a chance in hell of beating.

Behind him, a robot akin to a griffin tore into the Russian army with a bloodlust surpassing any madman. The monster looked like nothing found in a child’s fairy tale it itself escaped from a monster’s nightmare, with bat shaped wings and standing two stories tall with steel and patches of green, faux flesh. A huge paw slapped out and smashed one tank thru the air, only to have it land on several soldiers, violently ending their lives. The beast then unleashed a plume of flame and dragged it from left to right slowly and back again, butchering wave after wave of soldiers with napalm that burned more powerfully than anything on earth. After several minutes of slaughter, the robotic monster stopped and surveyed the situation, and the operator inside the metal beast found he was quite satisfied with the destruction. He then commanded the beast to take flight. The operator knew full well he could never expect to get away with his actions, but he hoped to at least make it into Moscow, where his option of self-destruction would do his cause the most good.

The metal griffin lifted high into the air, and began rising higher and higher…

And in the span of several seconds, the giant robot was then sent careening back to the earth with a loud –tha-toom!- that shook the foundations of the nearby rubble that had once been a thriving town.

“Nice shot.” Eshu commented to Sabra as he hovered beside her, the lower half of his body formed into that of a rocket and impossibly keeping him aloft, “Was that a right or a left, sweet cheeks?”

“Left. I trained to be ambidextrous.” Sabra stated. She didn’t even deign to acknowledge the ‘sweet cheeks’ comment.

“Enough banter. This creature has slain innocent soldiers!” Darkstar barked at her teammates, “we need to end this threat now!”

“Yeah, so Russia can go back to pillaging this country and the United Nations can go back to not giving a damn! I mean, that is why we’re here as opposed to the Winter Guard.” Eshu said as he posed heroically with an American flag in one hand while his upper body transformed into an internationally recognized red, white and blue uniform. Eshu then saluted Darkstar, “And most of all, lets do it for those brave ashes who served their country as true rapists below.”

Darkstar, at least at first, was left completely breathless by Eshu’s sarcasm. Knowing it wouldn’t be wise to stick around and wait for the inevitable anger that was sure to come, Eshu immediately dropped down towards the beast.

“You two distract him, I’ll take a peak inside!” Eshu’s rear end suggested. He landed on the beast’s steel frame with a wet splat, and began forcing himself thru a tiny opening in the seams of the alien metal.

“That dog dropping is as likely to use that machine against us as stop it!” Darkstar shouted as she dodged a blast of flame.

“Tell me something I don’t know!” Sabra retorted

Eshu moved thru the mechanical beast at a casual pace, whistling to himself. He felt no great motivation to hurry, after all, he didn’t like his teammates, let alone what they represented. But still, regardless of his personal opinions, Eshu had a work ethic. You do a job, you do it right, that’s the way Eshu lived his life. Eshu traced what he suspected to be the power cables to the command module. Eshu shifted his molecules into the density of steel and shot straight up, shredding the controls of the beast and finding a single man, sitting in a steel chair at the controls. The man jumped back as energy arced all over the control boards, destroying his dreams of revenge.

Eshu morphed his hand into a red Stop! sign and said, “Sorry buddy, you can’t take this to Moscow. It’s an Allah free zone, and boy howdy do we need those!”

The man, his face covered in soot and looking as though he’d just walked off a battlefield (meaning he looked like every other civilian in the area), spat at Eshu’s face, “I am no Muslim you piece of shit! I’m a Christian who wants to see an end to an occupation that killed my son, raped my wife and disappeared my daughter!”

Eshu struck the man unconscious with a single punch, “I only represent the United Nations. Go tell someone who cares.”

India

A military barracks exploded in a display of firepower as twenty Thugee cultists, abandoned their disguises as militiamen and armed with powerful laser weapons began indiscriminately firing once their stolen transport had reached the center of the base.

“Forward! Kali shines upon us!” One cultist yelled as his men cut a bloody swath thru the militiamen to where their intelligence indicated where the experimental nuclear was held. Given the suddenness and ferocity of their attack, the Indian military fell like ripe wheat before the scythe.

“Terrible Kali will favor us for our sacrifice!” The leader announced as the group was within eyeshot of the building leading to the underground bunker where their objective was stored. They fought with renewed fervor, but each and everyone of them stopped dead in their tracks where a circular shield shot out and struck their leader and ricochet away.

“Anyone else getting a bad sense of deja ve, again?” U.S Agent asked as he caught his weapon. To his right Union Jack brandished his energy dagger while at his left, Silverclaw shifted into her half human half cat form and growled. Scarlet Scarab hovered above the group, his arms crossed in a casual manner

“It was Pakistan last time, actually.” Union Jack replied, “and you weren’t even there.”

“Like it matters? Come on, I got homework!” Silverclaw snapped as she leaped forward at the group.

“Scarab, would you be so kind as to box these buggers off?” Union Jack asked as he snapped kicked a cultist into unconsciousness.

“Of course, Jack.” Scarab flew above the mob and set down in front of them. A few cultists, those not occupied by the fists of Union Jack or U.S Agent or claws of Silverclaw, managed to fire off a lucky shot at Scarab. The Middle Eastern hero absorbed the blasts harmlessly, and stood vigilant, insuring that no Thugee escaped. Hopelessly outmatched, the worshippers of Kali folded within minutes.

“Okay, that was fun. Now can we get out of here?” Silverclaw asked, “I have trig homework!”

“Nutty aliens arming radical fundamentalists take precedence over book reports.” U.S Agent snorted.

“Maria is simply concerned about her education, Agent. There is nothing wrong with that.” Scarab opinioned

“Shut up, the lot of you.” A voice they all recognized as belonging to Joey Chapman ordered over the team’s comm. units, “Scarab, what is your report on the energy you absorbed from these men’s weapons?”

“It is the same energy as in all the other incidents.”

“I suspected as much. Assist the local authorities with cleanup, and get back here ASAP.” Chapman ordered.

United Nations Emergency Bunker

Delphi’s hands glided across her workstation, from activating Excalibur’s communication band to connecting to secret labs while Chapman stood over her shoulder. Delphi brought up a screen with Suzi Endo, dressed in her Cybermancer armor and surrounded by weapons of all kinds. Most obvious was the mechanical griffin Sabra, Darkstar and Eshu had defeated.

“What’s your report, Cybermancer?” Chapman asked

“You were right sir. It took some effort, but I discovered all the weapons Terrax and Overmind have given out and that Excalibur has confiscated, operate on the same frequency. What’s more, none of the weapons have anything that functions like a battery.”

“Which means Terrax and Overmind have the kill switches.”

“That’d be my guess, sir. Never let your weapons be turned against you, I’m sure that’s in ‘The Art of War’ somewhere.”

“No doubt. Good work, Cybermancer. Finish up there, and we’ll use the HERMES system to bring you back for mission planning.”

“So we’re finally going after these monsters?” Suzi asked.

“Oh yes. Finish up quickly so we can push the world back from the brink.”

“Will do, sir.”

Chapman terminated the communication, and allowed his thoughts to drift to another subject for a moment. Excalibur was operating out of the United Nations emergency bunker, underneath the main U.N building. While everything was functional, he had no quarters for his troops, possessed no training facilities, the bunker itself was doubtlessly bugged by every major intelligence agency in the world and simply wasn’t designed for long term use. Chapman had placed official requests for a base for Excalibur, but the politicians were predictably taking their time on the matter. It was almost enough to make Chapman regret beating the crap out of Pete Wisdom. Almost.

Later, in the defacto Excalibur briefing room

“Alright everyone, listen closely,” Chapman began as he addressed his team, (and thanked God his meeting table had been delivered at least), “Overmind and Terrax have been arming terrorists the world over with powerful weapons. They have deliberately targeted military personnel and bases worldwide, I believe to demonstrate both the power of their weapons and to show our powerlessness against them. So believe me when I say that the crisis’s we’ve squashed so far are nothing compared to what’s in store if this goes any longer. It’s time we took the fight to them. Cybermancer, you and Union Jack have reviewed all the data we’ve gathered so far. Have you developed a method to track them?”

“I’m afraid not.” Cybermancer confessed, “the energy they use shifts too quickly to lock onto and is nearly impossible to trace.”

“And lets me honest, whatever these blokes are using is light years ahead of us.” Rock added, “So our chances of find them that way were almost non existent to begin with. Why not shake down their buyers?”

Chapman rubbed his temples in frustration, “Scientists. Not a lick of common sense at times. Between their scanners and Overmind’s telepathy, we’d never get the drop on them by following a potential buyer. But we can still trace them.”

“How’s that?” U.S Agent asked, “I mean, Cybermancer and Rock are our big brains.”

“By following my orders. They’re not our only brains, after all. Cybermancer, interface your armor into the bunker computers. They’re tied into a satellite network that constantly scans the earth.” Chapman instructed, “Now, use your armor and create a holographic image of the earth using data from two days before our alien warriors came to earth, and let us see it.”

Cybermancer did as she was ordered, and a holographic display of the planet appeared in the center of the room.

“Now, add a blue tinge to represent all background energy. Microwave, gamma radiation, whatever.”

Cybermancer acknowledged the order, and the globe was then tinted with blue.

“Now, repeat everything you just did, only now using current data. Display any disruptions in normal background radiation in red.”

Cybermancer again did as she was ordered, and Excalibur gasped as they saw little red lines leading from Chechnya, Pakistan and other locations where they’d fought people armed by Overmind and Terrax, leading to a single location above the Atlantic Ocean.

“Got ‘em.” Chapman smiled.

“Umm, I got lost.” Silverclaw confessed, “What makes you so sure that’s where these guys are holed up?”

“Drop a stone in a pond, even an invisible one, and it creates ripples. We’ve just traced the ripples back to the source.” Chapman explained confidently.

“Chapman’s much smarter than we gave him credit for, it seems.” Sabra murmured to U.S Agent.

“Cap told me about him once. Said Chapman was a quick on his feet, cool under pressure. Makes sense he’s even cooler without the pressure.” Agent whispered back.

“So now that we know where they are, how do we reach them?” Hellios asked, “More importantly, how do we prevent Overmind from seizing control of our mind once we have reached them?”

Delphi, who stood behind Chapman picked up a white box and began handing out small gray, high tech armbands to the members of Excalibur.

“These armbands are miniature versions of the telepathic shields used all over the world, from the White House to the United Nations to Parliament in the UK. Personally designed by Tony Stark himself to block the strongest telepaths in the world.” Chapman explained, “These little toys would let you ignore Onslaught’s telepathy, that bugger who nearly killed the Avengers and FF a while back.”

“And how do we get to these men?” Scarab asked,

“I’ve that covered too. Relax, calm yourself, and don’t immediately start punching things when you see that you’re surrounded by heavily armed men, alright?” Chapman requested.

Immediately after Chapman had said that, Excalibur disappeared, sprinted away by the HERMES teleporter, and rematerialized in a room the size of a three football fields with a cement roof and what had to be spaceships as far as the eye could see. Some were obviously ancient; others laid in the open with their bowels strewn about on the floor and being dissected by scientists while others were in perfect condition.

And just as Chapman warned, heavily armed men surrounded the Excalibur team.

“Greetings. I’m Joey Chapman, director of Excalibur. You were told to expect me.” Chapman said with a cocky, disarming smile.

“Yeah, we know.” One soldier stated, “But with your record, trust but verify, Mr. Chapman.” The lead soldier lowered his weapon, though his men did not. He motioned for Excalibur to follow him.

Silverclaw looked on in awe as they passed the alien machines. Many had their guts and wires pulled out on display while scientists in stereotypical white lab coats examined them and took notes on clipboards, “These place looks like a prop room for Star Trek! What is this place?”

“This place, girl, is the end result of almost every half arsed attempted invasion or alien excursion into earth.” Chapman said without looking over his shoulder, “All alien crafts taken from the Shi’ar, Skrulls, Kree and any other alien who’s been forced to leave earth post haste thanks to a foot up the bum by some hero, comes here for analyst.”

“Quite an armada from the looks of it.” Hellios commented. He wondered for a moment if the alien craft responsible for his empowering formula made it’s way here.

“Not really.” Chapman corrected, “only about sixty percent are space worthy, and barely at that.”

“You’re not sending us into battle with an E.T version of a beat up old cab, are you?” Agent asked

“Oh, of course not, Walker.”

Excalibur turned a corner, and the sight they saw stopped them dead. In the center of a huge room sat an aircraft the size of a large charter plane and shaped like a missile with dozens upon dozens of weapons protruding from ports on every side.

“If anything, I’d give my team the space version of Blue Thunder.”

“Didn’t know you were into American action movies.” Agent said

“We all have our nasty little vices.” Chapman replied

U.S Agent looked the ship up and down like a jockey examining a horse before a race as Chapman led them to the ramp. Walker greedily rubbed his hands together and licked his lips like a dog just about to be given a big, juicy steak, “You know, I think I’m gonna like working with you, Chapman.”

The former Union Jack smiled slightly, “Sorry, mate, Suzi and Rock are driving.”

“Where’s the manual, then?” Rock asked

“Inside.” Chapman motioned for them to begin up the entry ramp, “I’ve some things to do back at the U.N. The boys here will see you out. Good luck.”

Chapman waited patiently as Excalibur entered the craft. He knew he should immediately HERMES back to the bunker as soon as possible, but there was just one thing he wanted to hear.

“Post its! The manual is post it notes!?” Rock shouted in disbelief

Chapman then teleported away

Much fussing and fretting later

“Okay, you can do this, you can do this.” Cybermancer told herself in a hushed tone as she sat in the co-pilots seat and took a few deep breaths while Union Jack carefully and meticulously went over the controls for the fifth time. Most of Excalibur were strapped into seats that had been imported and grafted onto the bridge, waiting for take off.

“Nervous Suzi Q?” A voice asked, startling the high-strung scientist.

“Gee, what makes you think that, John?” Suzi replied

“Guess. This is your first real mission, after all.” U.S Agent stated as he leaned up against the control panel in front her.

“Good guess. I am a little scared. I’ve only tested the armor, but not myself.” Suzi confided.

“You did pretty good when we first met, when Mandarin attacked Hong Cong, and that was before you had your spiffy armor. Level head, cool under fire.” U.S Agent said confidently, “You strike me as a sink or swim girl, and you haven’t sunk yet. If you don’t die on this mission, I can promise you that you’ll do fine as a hero.”

“You have an odd way of reassuring people, John, you know that?” Cybermancer said with a slight chuckle, “Just two things, for future reference.”

“What’s that?”

“One, don’t call me girl. I’m a woman.”

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”

“I know, but regardless. And two, no, I won’t let you drive.”

U.S Agent threw his hands up in anger and issued a string of highly imaginative profanities as he went back to his seat.

“He’s incorrigible, isn’t he?” Union Jack asked from his seat.

“That’s a little more polite than what I was thinking, but yes. Are we finally ready for take off?”

“Yes. I’ve signaled the base to open the hatches. We’re taking off now.”

The spacecraft rose into the air and began steadily climbing. Excalibur was quite, anticipating the coming battle and preparing themselves for the coming battle. Well, most were.

“Tell me, Scarab, when we reach these terrorists, will you coddle and scold them lightly in hopes that they will surrender?” Sabra asked sarcastically.

“Worry about yourself and your own actions, Sabra, and I will worry about mine.” Scarab replied, not bothering to look at the mutant Israeli.

“So what’s the plan? Just shoot our way in?” Eshu asked in the form of a western gun slinger, cutting thru the silence like a knife.

“That’s correct.” Union Jack replied, “Not much of one I admit, but it’s own only option.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort.” A voice broadcasted in all their minds. Excalibur attempted to spring into action, but found that what they thought, and what they actually did, were two completely different things.

“The psi dampeners! They’re not working!” Hellios exclaimed as he found himself a prisoner of his own body.

“The directions said this thing had a cloak, how’d they find us?!” Cybermancer shouted as she fought a futile battle to regain control of her body’s motor functions.

“Oh, that was easy…” Overmind said in their minds.

Union Jack, marshaling every last bit of his will power, slammed his palm down on the button labeled ‘weapons systems’. Instead of a dazzling display of firepower on their port side, a holographic image of Joey Chapman appeared.

“If you are seeing this, then it means my deal with Overmind is now complete. Sorry mates, but the power they promised me pales anything you could offer. So we made a deal. I give them Excalibur, a powerful source of biological weapons, and they will give me all the political power I want in their new world order. Ta”

“Your leader hand delivered you to us, as promised.” Overmind said smugly “You are now ours, Excalibur, to do with as we wish.”

Next Issue: Betrayed and captured, Excalibur is trapped in the belly of the beast. More betrayal is in store as plans are revealed, a hero’s strength is tested and Excalibur returns to earth the worst way possible

Sword Strokes

Issue 27 got me a letter from Jason E, master of the writing of the Widow and DD. Take it away, Jason!

“I am impressed.”

Rock on!

“Excalibur #27, the first issue by new writer David Ingram, is a rip-roaring roller coaster ride. Chock full of action, this story was a blast to read. David gives a great ending to the old era of Excalibur and a very smooth transition toward his new one.”

Had to put David’s baby to rest to smother…err, I mean finish his plots and head off in my direction. Glad you liked it

”If any out there haven't read Excalibur lately, read this issue. It's a great jumping on point, with hardly any of the baggage from David's run (though that baggage was great, too!)”

Standalone issues are cool, glad that did it for you

”I'm giving this issue 4.5 out of 5 "insert witty trademark review symbol here"'s. Looking really forward to future issues, David.

~Jason E.”

I hope I don’t disappoint, though the last two issues are action lacking. Rest assured, issue 3 will more than make up for that!

And last issue got me a letter from Gary Jones. Take it away, man!

“I liked the opening scene.
I liked the removal of Bridge from the team for the sole reason that it took Armory with him, the remote tele-presence unit did make the team seem a little like a low grade version of the Avengers, and Excalibur doesn't need that monkey on its back.”

Bah! Who needs the Avengers? That’s my motto :P

“I liked Eshu, it looks as if he is going to bring some real tension to a team that formally were all buddy buddy, and Sabra and the Scarab looks like a major internal battle to come.”

Glad you liked the changes. Eshu will bring a lot of tension to the team, though don’t look for Sabra and Scarab thing to be too big an issue. More like a constant, bitter cold war

“Putting Cybermancer into the team is an odd choice and I look forward to seeing Stark Enterprises response to having one of its main research scientists (She works for SE in China) press-ganged into a team, hey a possible future teamup right there.”

I thought she would work for Stark Fugiwhatever now ? Suzi was drafted mainly for tech support, and because her armor looks damn cool ;)

“However The addition of Silverclaw left me scratching my head. She seems in her brief appearence to bear little relation to her Marvel counterpart and more like your standard cheerleader type, although that is probably a deliberate move to take her away from her Marvel counterpart.”

Silverclaw has some very American mannerisms, and was forcefully drafted into Excalibur. Hence the ‘tude. We’ll see more of that later

“I loved the fight between Chapman and Wisdom in the bar, which proved that mutants do seem to relie a little too much on their powers and are lost when they can't use them, but did think that as a former spy Wisdom was tricked a little too easily by Delphi, but that is a small grumble.”

That’s not that fair to Wisdom, honestly. He knows how to fight well enough without his powers, but Chapman’s always only had his wits, a silver dagger and a gun and HE survived. He’s just a better fighter. As to how Delphi got so close, that’ll be explained in Excalibur 4

“As for the end scene, please lord tell me this isn't going to become another alien invasion or world takeover storyline.
Between Rames Xavier, the Sons of Set and the Shadow King/Hydra, I've about had my fill of them at M2K.”

As you saw this issue, the aliens in question were hardly invading. As to what exactly Overmind and Terrax have planned, you’ll see next issue

Also, the Champion of writers, Mike Exner gave me a review, which rules all.

“I only followed the 1st volume of Excalibur at M2K for a short while, so admittedly, I can't compare how this issue stands next to its predecessor. But I've enjoyed David Ingram's work on New Warriors and Force Works, so i decided to give it a shot.”

So you’re the second person of three to read my Warriors!

“I'm pleased with the decision to start this title back at one. David has decided to re-work the roster a bit, so it makes sense. I remember when Excalibur first came out, the roster was huge, so a little trimming of the fat makes loads of sense. The team is run by the UN, and the concept is still sound... take heroes from different nations, throw them together and make a team capable of meeting any international threat that might arise. Now that's what I call international relations.”

Heh, we’ll see a lot of that down the line. As for keeping the basic idea, if it’s not broken…

“Now, the roster leftover from before appears to be U.S. Agent (a fave), Union Jack (the billionth one), Darkstar, Sabra, and Hellios (a Greek 'Superman'). The former leader of the team Bridge (from SHIELD fame) has gone back to his old stomping grounds, and the UN has decided to appoint Joey Chapman as the new head honcho.”

I always thought an evil bastard should run a government team as the government is filled with evil bastards ? It’s really simple when you think about it

“David instills tension right away. As if Chapman wasn't enough of a distraction for UJ, the first person he recruits is the Scarlet Scarab. All I know about this guy is that he's rumbled with Thor, so that's a good thing, but another character on the team - Sabra - who's gone toe to toe with the Hulk and the Scarab don't exactly see eye to eye. All that power at odds, and you're just asking for trouble.”

Oh yeah. Don’t expect any hugs and kisses between Scarab and Sabra anytime soon. You’ll see why Sabra’s got a chip on her shoulder regarding Scarab in issue 4

“The rest of the characters file in, Cybermancer (China), Eshu, a mutant shapeshifter, and Silverclaw, who's been ignored up to this point in M2K which is great, because David can do with her basically whatever he'd like. The characters aren't the most popular, but they're diverse in culture and in power-level, which gives off a sense of a wealth of stories that could concievably be told.”

With Excalibur, I’ve got more stories than I know what to do with! Eshu will be especially fun to play with.

“David also mixes things up by granting leadership of the group to Union Jack. This is troublesome for two reasons. One, UJ is a lesser-powered character, and two, UJ and Chapman have somewhat of a history. David plays both of these off rather quickly, but you have the feeling trouble will arise again before long.”

There are two main reasons why Chapman appointed Rock as leader. One reason we’ve already seen. The other, we’ll see down the line

“The scene between Wisdom and Chapman in the bar was an entertaining fight, but a little confusing for someone not totally familiar with their history. That would be my only complaint there. A little more effort into explaining why things are happening when they do would aid Dave there.”

Yeah, seriously. That was a screw up I’ll admit to, though hopefully I’ve now inspired people to research why Chapman and Wisdom hate one another.

“The final scene is a nice addition, and I'm looking forward to the next issue. I would have liked a little more action from this issue, but it was good for what it was, a set-up for things to come. Hopefully David can keep it up and continue to improve on what he's built so far. 6.5 out of 10.”

I hope so to, and I’ll try with every issue. Thanks, Mike!