Joey Chapman

USAgent

Sabra

Silverclaw

Scarlet Scarab

Cybermancer

The story thus far : Two alien warriors Overmind and Terrax, for reasons thus far unknown, have come to earth offering powerful weaponry to anyone seeing themselves as oppressed and or wishing to increase the power of their military. After squashing several emergencies arising from this offer, Excalibur decided to take the fight to Overmind and Terrax, who were secreted away above the atmosphere in their own spacecraft. The counter attack failed miserably as Excalibur was easily captured by the duo, where it was revealed Chapman had sold them out!

“Welcome Excalibur, to the place where true power on your pathetic planet is meted out to the masses .” Overmind, an alien warlord boating a body that looked physically powerful enough to battle the Hulk adorned with a sleek sliver armor and empowered with incredible telepathic might, boasted proudly as he led the entranced down the corridor of his ship. The interior of the craft was as black as night, with lines that pulsated with an emerald energy that illuminated the interior. The ebony walls seemed to almost beat with a life of their own as energy coursed thru them.

Overmind motioned to the walls as he led Excalibur down the hall, who followed like loyal worker drones “ When I escaped a cosmic monster known as The Stranger who unfairly imprisoned me for years, this craft was amongst his collection of oddities. I took it for my own. This craft is alive somehow, and can even grow weapons.”

The alien tyrant turned another corner with Excalibur still following like zombies, “In my travels, I came across Terrax the Tamer. A kindred spirit, with a similar vendetta against your planet.”

They turned one final corner, and came upon an expansive room that could only be the strange alien craft's bridge. Terrax stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed behind his back in a business like manner, addressing the holographic display of an Asian Businessman.

“We agree with your assessment. Your Island more than deserves its independence from both the mainland and the United States . We will be in contact about your weapons shipment.” Terrax terminated the signal and then slammed his large fist down on the consul leaving an heavy imprint of his stony fist, “You slavering, spineless worm!”

“Temper, Terrax, patience is key to this endeavor .” Overmind chided, “Let the humans think we care about their welfare. We'll have reached our desired saturation point soon enough.”

“Yeah, shut your yap and spill the beans already.” Chapman sighed from his seat in the United Nations' emergency bunker. Thanks to a secret connection in Cybermancer's armor (so secret in fact, Ms. Endo had no idea it was there), Chapman was watching and recording everything the Chinese scientist, and by natural extension the rest of Excalibur, saw. Delphi sat at a command center in front of Chapman, always ready for any command.

“What makes you believe they will reveal their plans, sir?” Delphi asked, genuinely curious.

“Blokes like this Overmind love to hear their own voice. And besides, what's the point of crafting some brilliant plan if no one can appreciate it? They're like politicians, weak egos who need recognition of their ‘genius'.”

“Why have you brought those humans here?” Terrax demanded, “You should lock them in the brig or killed them outright! Their ilk are nothing but trouble!”

“ We have no uses for corpses, and I do not trust this ship to keep these humans imprisoned. My mental powers can hold them easily while we execute our plan.” Overmind calmly stated. Overmind then looked Excalibur with a raised eyebrow

“ What's my plan, you wonder? I can hear that question bouncing around with your tiny little skulls. Well, it's really quite simple. While I was a prisoner of the Stranger, I pulled an incredible secret from his mind. I discovered that your species is among the most adaptive ever in creation. Few have your ‘mutants' but no other race has beings like your Spiderman, your Fantastic Four, your Hulk. None. Just like no one else has beaten the might Galactus, or driven back so many advanced races so early in their history.

“If only a handful of individuals could accomplish so much, just imagine what an army can do! With this ship, our plan is simple. Arm people around the globe with our weapons, wait until we've armed enough of them, we will overload the weapons' power packs. Then, swoop down upon the devastated planet, conquer the severely weakened but powerfully mutated population with my vast mental powers and use them as cannon fodder as we pillage the universe.” Overmind explained in an off hand, casual manner

“Essentially, we're pirates in need of a crew.” Terrax offered, “And your fellow earthmen are perfect for what we need.” A sinister smile came across Terrax's lips, “After a few modifications, of course.”

“Pirates…?” Chapman asked aloud, “They've pushed our planet to the brink of war…for slaves for their oars?” Chapman slumped slightly in his chair, feeling a little numb. For the last several days, Chapman and Excalibur had been working double overtime to squash emergencies created by these monsters. That so many lives had been lost and even more, millions in fact, had been threatened simply because Overmind and Terrax wanted a pirate crew left Chapman utterly breathless.

“Sir? What's our next course of action?” Delphi asked.

Chapman steeplied his hands in front of his chin and didn't immediately reply. After several moments of thought, “First, start making copies of Red Beard and Stone Arse and start circulating it around the major news agencies. BBC, CNN, etc. Then, detonate the bombs we hid on the ship we gave Excalibur, that should force these bastards down to earth where we can better deal with them if Excalibur fails.”

“Understood sir.

“Oh,” Chapman added, almost in an after thought, “Lets actually turn on those Stark made telepathic dampeners on, shall we?”

Chapman watched with satisfaction as Delphi quickly executed her orders, which would turn Overmind and Terrax's plans on their head. Chapman only regretted he was there to see their faces, for he had something he wished to say to them in person. But though they couldn't hear him, he went ahead and said it aloud anyways.

“Boom, you sons of bitches.”

On the outer fringes of Earth's atmosphere

Overmind, Excalibur and Terrax fell from side to side as the very floor they stood upon lurched back and forth like a small boat caught in a typhoon only seconds after a massive explosion was heard from deep inside the bowels of the alien craft.

“Terrax, what's happened!” Overmind demanded as he struggled for footing, the craft still bucking like a mad bronco.

“What do you think has happened? We've been tricked!” Terrax spat as he gripped a section of the wall to keep from slamming into the more important parts of the bridge, “Their craft was filled with explosives! These humans were nothing but a diversion!”

“How is that possible? Their minds are an open book to me!” Overmind snapped as he stoop up. The ship was no longer swaying as much as before, and seemed to have stabilized somewhat, enabling the two villains to stand properly, “They're my puppets!"

“Correction, asshole.”

An indestructible shield, colored red white and black slammed into Overmind's nose, breaking it with a – crunch -. The shield ricocheted back and the straps on the back slid seamlessly onto a wrist covered in black combat leather.

“We were your puppets,” U.S. Agent stated. Behind him, the rest of Excalibur glared at Terrax and Overmind with looks of pure malice.

“Sabra, Scarab, Hellios! Front and center!” Union Jack ordered, “everyone else, interference!”

“Lets kick their ass!” Silverclaw shouted as she shifted into her were cat form and leaped forward. She didn't make it six inches before she felt a hand grab her belt from behind and gently toss her backwards on her rear.

“These men are out of your league, Maria.” Sabra warned as she then flew towards Overmind like a guided missile, but collided with Scarlet Scarab before making contact with the villain.

“Scarab!”

“I am not to blame, he was mine!”

“You call yourselves a team?” Overmind laughed, not bothering to reveal his telekinetic powers were to blame. He then blasted the two Middle Eastern heroes away with a single telekinetic blast, “ Hah !”

A block of darkforce the size of a small truck slammed into Overmind, knocking him backwards off his feet.

“We are a team because should one fall, another is ready to take their place!” Darkstar snapped as she unleashed another darkforce blast at the mental juggernaut.

“Come forward and face your death!” Terrax shouted. Hellios, eager for a rematch, flew forward to meet Terrax's challenge. Terrax ducked to the side and slashed his axe against Hellios' back as the Greek hero missed him. Hellios cried out in pain as Terrax once again came within inches of tearing his superstrong flesh.

“Raw power is useless against a warrior's born as myself!” Terrax swung his axe again and unleashed as much power cosmic as his powerful body could channel. The bolt of energy slammed into Hellios and expelled him out the side of the ship like a runaway comet and towards the green earth far, far below. The alien craft instantly sealed the wound before decompression could threaten Excalibur.

“Bah! Easy prey.” Terrax sneered. Terrax then felt a wet, slimy substance fall over his face, blinding him. The former herald grabbed the substance with his powerful hands and began pulling it away, but it was like trying to grip Jell-O. Chunks came away, but it still remained around his head

“What? You lookin' for a whuppin' or somethin'?” Eshu asked as he covered Terrax's upper body in his malleable flesh, “Well block head, we're more than willing to help ya there!”

“He's a male, he needs to build his ego.” Cybermancer quipped as she blasted Terrax's hide with repulsar blasts. Terrax swung his axe blindly, and Cybermancer would have been half the woman she once was had Union Jack not tackled her to the ground.

“Sabra! Terrax!” Union Jack ordered. Sabra slammed into the rock creature from behind as Union Jack helped Suzi up.

“We need you to get set this ship down, luv. We'll deal with these tossers!”

“Don't delude yourself, human trash.” Overmind blasted Scarlet Scarab away and depressed a button on the nearest wall. A panel opened to reveal dozens of robots, none looking too advanced but all were bulky and the size of professional quarter backs, “without the advantage of superior numbers, you don't stand a chance against us!”

“Bugger…” Rock muttered, “Agent, ‘Claw! We need to deal with those robots so the others can do their work!"

U.S Agent ploughed into the lead robot and swung outwards with his shield, striking down another three.

“Hurry up Rock, or I won't leave any for you!”

Suzi Endo tried to do her best to ignore the battles going on behind her and analyze the alien machinery. She was standing at what looked like the control panel (a round outcropping with many bright buttons) as behind her Darkstar hovered over a downed Scarlet Scarab while she blasted away at Overmind, keeping the alien on the defensive while Sabra struggled to contain Terrax, as his superior power overwhelmed her despite her skill. Suzi struggled to block it all out as she examined the controls in an attempt to decipher them. Removing a nano tech interface node from her wrist gauntlet, Suzi plugged it into what looked like an input center. Within moments, her onboard computer was nearly overloaded with bits and pieces of alien information. Were it not for special firewalls created beforehand, her armor would have crashed from overload.

“Damn, too much information to scowl thru.” Suzi realized, “If only this thing was written in English or Chinese and looked halfway normal!”

As if responding to her command, the alien craft began shifting and changing texture in response to Suzi's request. The ebony black walls and green conduits changed into a sleeker, more science fiction look, changing from the appearance of the inside of the belly of a beast to something out of Star Wars. It went without saying that this change did not go unnoticed.

“Stalin's balls! What has happened?” Darkstar exclaimed dumbfounded

“My ship! What have you done to my ship!” Overmind swatted Darkstar aside and rushed towards Cybermancer. But before he could reach the distracted scientist, twin beams of energy struck his back.

“I believe we have some issues to discuss.” Scarab stated, his hands glowing with his trademark crimson energy. Overmind scoffed wordlessly, and counter attacked.

“Suzi? What did you do to the ship?” Darkstar asked as she flew to her friend's side. Cybermancer said nothing in reply, and Darkstar tapped her on the shoulder in concern; and was rewarded with a thousand volts of electricity. Darkstar instinctively pulled away, but it was too late and she passed from consciousness seconds later.

Union Jack slashed outwards with his energy dagger and disabled one robot that'd gotten too close for comfort while behind him, U.S Agent decapitated another two with his indestructible shield while watching Union Jack's back. Off to the side of the pair, Silverclaw made easy work of the robots that came her way in her powerful sloth form (how Silverclaw's most powerful form could be a slough baffled Union Jack, but he didn't dwell on it. As long as it worked). The three braced for another attack, but the ship bucked again and threw everyone from their feet. The heroes scrambled back up, but there wasn't a single one of them who didn't notice that they felt noticeably lighter.

“This is not good, mates.” Union Jack observed as his heart dropped into his stomach.

“What is it?” Agent asked as he threw his shield at the recovering robots.

“That light feeling? That means we're falling.”

“Oh. Shit.”

“Exactly. Where the fecking hell is Hellios!” Union Jack demanded.

Sudan Desert

Niko Hrisalis, otherwise known as the Greek hero Hellios, grunted in pain as he stumbled out of the crater he formed when he came crashing back to earth via the Terrax express. Every inch of his body was sore and his head was pounding like an insane drummer, which was to be expected as he'd just survived reentry. But more annoying than the pain that wracked his entire body was the low buzzing in his ears. Hellios paused for a moment; that wasn't buzzing that he heard.

“…ellios? Are you there? This is Chapman, report!”

It was the micro thin communicator that was specially created to tap into the bio force field that gave Hellios his invulnerability, thus making it as durable as Hellios himself. With a snarl, he activated the two-way communicator circuit.

“Chapman!” Hellios hissed venomously, “When I get my hands upon you, you will wish you were never born!”

“Hellios, I sent you up against a mind reader with the wrong information in your head,” Chapman spat, “do the math.”

Hellios clenched his fists in anger and defeat, “What do you need, Chapman?”

“Terrax and Overmind's ship has begun to fall into the atmosphere. We need you to guide it down as gently as possible to minimize the damage.”

“Give me the coordinates.” Information instantly followed, and Hellios soared into the air towards where the alien spacecraft was projected to be.

“Word of warning, Hellios. The ship weighs over an estimated 1,000 tons.” Chapman stated.

“You'll have to forgive me, Chapman, my head is still pounding.” Hellios explained as he flew towards the coordinates he was being given, “What is that in the metric system?”

“You don't want to know, mate.”

Hellios finally came to a stop; high above the clouds where Chapman had said he could intercept the falling spacecraft. Hellios only had to wait three nano seconds before he saw the falling ship. He gasped as he saw the alien craft. It was coated in flames, but its outer hull was plain to see. Shaped like a sword larger than almost any skyscraper Hellios had ever seen and coated in sleek silver, Hellios thought it looked like the industrial sword of God. And it was speeding towards Hellios like the runaway comet it was. The tip ploughed into the solar powered hero's chest and just kept on its collision course. Stunned only for a second, Hellios marshaled every last bit of power at his command, embedded his fingers into the metal like it was clay, and pushed back with all his solar powered strength.

Veins made themselves visible, muscles bulged and tendons threatened to tear as Hellios' body begged him to stop as he pitted his incredible solar powered strength against the alien ship fall from the Heavens. But Hellios was not to be denied. As hard the ship pressed downwards, Hellios swore to press twice as hard against it, and he made steady progress. After several long seconds, Hellios felt the ship beginning to slow marginally. It was still going far too fast, but Hellios was beginning to feel more and more confident that he could safely bring the craft down. Chapman had suggested where he could direct the craft, but if he could just carry it away…

Suddenly, Hellios unwittingly tore thru the metal of the alien craft like a well-struck baseball going thru a kitchen window and flew into the upper atmosphere, hurtling straight up before bringing himself to a surprised stop. After a moment of confusion, he recognized the problem he currently faced.

“Too much pressure!” The Greek hero scowled. Though Hellios easily possessed enough strength to stop the falling craft, his comparatively small form meant that it was like pushing against a landslide with a pencil. Even with enough strength, the landslide, or metal in this case, would simply shift around the opposing force, negating it. Hellios streaked towards the front of the ship and readied himself again. All he had to do was use less pressure, he could still save Excalibur, and it was that simple. As Hellios once again went about breaking the fall of the alien craft, he ignored the nagging thought that he didn't know whether or not Excalibur was still alive.

“Okay, this is getting real old.” U.S Agent grumbled as he and everyone else picked themselves up off the floor for what had to be the millionth time.

“Just wish I knew what the hell was going on!” Union Jack swore as he fired a few explosive rounds from his pistol at the seemingly endless legion of robots Overmind had sent to occupy them.

“Hellios is using his strength to slow the ship's descent and guide it down.” A somewhat recognizable, albeit electronic, voice stated over what passed for the spaceship's intercom.

“Suzi, that you?” U.S Agent asked as he continued to fend off attacks.

“Gold star for you, John. I'm connected with this ship at the moment.” She explained.

“Can you shut down these bloody machines?” Union Jack asked as he ducked under a swipe intended to take his head off.

“No, I'm not strong enough, Overmind's telepathic powers are still running most of the ship. All I can do right now is use the inertia dampeners to keep us from being turned into pancakes.”

“So's all we have to do is take down Overmind and Terrax.” Silverclaw stated as she slammed two robots together, eavesdropping on the conversation, “No problem!”

Union Jack spared a glance to where the rest of his team was sparring with the two alien warriors responsible for this entire mess. Things were not exactly going well, as both Sabra and Scarab were barely holding their own against their respective foes.

“This is just one of those days…” Union Jack sighed.

“It is time for this foolishness to end.” Terrax growled as he felt Sabra's fist slammed into his face thru Eshu's putty like face. Terrax, though not as accomplished as other former heralds in manipulating his power cosmic, still possessed some small skill, that he used to superheat his body. Eshu screamed in pain and quickly slinked away like an abused animal. Terrax then turned his attention towards Sabra

“It's an honor to face a warrior born in combat, they are too rare on this planet.” Terrax commented as Sabra struck him across the jaw with a solid right hook. Terrax responded with a punch to Sabra's stomach, his first solid hit the entire fight. Sabra was sent hurtling backwards and embedded into the wall like a fly in plaster.

“Pity your courage and skill doesn't match your power.”

“I'm…not thru yet.” Sabra snarled thru clenched teeth. Not allowing herself a moment's rest, Sabra began to pull herself out of the human sized dent that'd been created with her superstrong body…

Wham!

Only to be sent back into the wall five feet deeper than before when Scarab's super strong body slammed into hers like a speeding comet.

“We…have to stop meeting like this, Sabra.” Scarlet Scarab groaned, “people will talk.”

Sabra didn't reply, she simply pushed him aside and began tearing her way out of the wall, ripping cords, circuit boards and conduits aside, with Scarab closely behind. The two heroes emerged from the wall at the same time, and saw Overmind and Terrax standing there waiting.

“Time for round two.” Scarab sighed wearily as the two Middle Eastern heroes stood back to back with their fists raised in preparation for action. Overmind had been wiping the floor with him before, while Scarab would never consider surrender, Scarab didn't expect the next round to be that different from the first.

“Perhaps, but not exactly as before.” Sabra grabbed Scarab's belt and threw him towards Terrax like a human spear. Scarab slammed into Terrax's midsection at over a hundred miles per hour while Sabra launched herself at Overmind.

“Think you'll do better than your friend? Doubtful.” Overmind drove home the point by blasting Sabra back with a telekinetic blast.

“One, Scarab is not my friend,” Sabra grabbed the armband that had been protecting her from Overmind's telepathy and crushed it into so much hi tech scrap, “And two, why don't you see what I think of you, you weak willed space dung!”

“Ha! You won't have time to regret that mistake!” Overmind taunted as he instantly reached out to Sabra's now unprotected mind with his powerful telepathy. His telepathic tentacles plunged into the deepest recesses of the Isreali secret agent's mind, her entire life laying bare before him. The discovery of her powers, her training at the Mossad, the birth of her son, everything. And then Overmind suddenly screamed as pain began lancing thru his skull like a blazing sword.

“What's…happening…what did you do...to me?” Overmind forced out, the pounding in his head getting stronger and more painful with every breath.

“A mental virus, created by specially trained Mossad telepaths. I'd have used it before, but I didn't know what effect it would have had on the rest of Excalibur.” Sabra explained as she punched Overmind across the face, “You know, if you'd attacked a few years sooner, you might have won.”

A roundhouse kick to the face.

“But with the likes of Shadow King and Onslaught, the world is no longer as vulnerable to telepaths as we were before.”

A foot sweep sent Overmind sprawling on his back.

“While still a deadly ability, it is one that can be guarded or planned against very effectively.”

Sabra leaped on Overmind's chest, and pulled her right fist back. Extending only her index and ring finger, Sabra then lashed out with a strike aimed just below Overmind's Adam's apple on his neck. Overmind gurgled sickly as the blow cut off his air supply and combined with the unbearable pain thundering in his brain, sent him spiraling into darkness.

“Tell me, what is your name, brightly garbed one?” Terrax asked Scarab as he slowly spun his as in preparation for glorious battle, “I would know as it will make it all the sweeter when I suck the marrow from your bones.”

“I am called the Scarlet Scarab, alien. Now will you fight, or talk me to death?” Scarab inquired. With a smirk, Terrax lumbered forward and swung his axe with the intent to behead Scarab. Scarab ducked under the swing and tackled Terrax. Wrapping his arms firmly around Terrax's waste, Scarab activated his ability to absorb energy and began siphoning the power cosmic from Terrax.

“What are you doing? You parasite, fight like a man!” Terrax ordered he his hands pounded on Scarab's back in an attempt to get free. Scarab, his strength and power boosted by his draining of the former herald, held firm, squeezing Terrax even tighter. Terrax fought like a madman to get free, but Scarab was just as determined to hold him place for as long as it took. Using one last burst of strength and creativity, Terrax slammed the sides of Scarab's head with the flat of his palms, forcing Scarab to release him.

“I'm not beaten yet.” Terrax warned, his voice raspy and dry.

“Easily rectified.” Scarab strode forward and unleashed a haymaker powered by Terrax's stolen cosmic energy that knocked the stone herald into the far wall. Terrax saw stars on the ends of his vision, and weakly tried to defend himself against another attack by holding his axe up in front of himself. Scarab chuckled, and unleashed the entirety of his stolen energy straight at Terrax. The alien warlord disappeared from view for a split second under the onslaught of energy, and when Terrax returned he was slumped forward, his stone skin chipped and cracked, his red and blue uniform charred in places and steam rising off his entire body.

“One problem solved.” Scarlet Scarab sighed as he brushed his hands off. He observed Overmind's defeated body with Sabra standing guard over him, and the deactivated robots that had been threatening Silverclaw, U.S Agent and Union Jack.

“Jack, should I go assist Hellios?”

“That won't be necessary.” Cybermancer said via the ship intercom. “Brace yourselves, everyone.”

Every member of Excalibur grabbed onto something, be it a part of the bridge, an entrance way or another teammate as the ship began slowly rumbling like a car preparing to stall. It was slow at first, then slowly began increasing in tempo. Within moments the team felt the vibrations in their teeth. Then, as quickly as it began, the rumbling subsided.

“This thing's about spoiled me on roller coasters.” U.S Agent commented, “What happened Suzi Q?”

“We've landed.”

“Please tell me not in or on a populated area.” Union Jack asked with baited breath.

“Course not! Give me some credit, Rock. Let me disconnect, and I'll explain.”

Excalibur looked towards where Cybermancer's form was standing like a statue, her armor still interfaced with the ship. Suddenly, she came to life, as if she'd suddenly awoken from a daydream. Suzi massaged her sore head, and on unsteady legs walked towards the rest of Excalibur.

“This ship, it's semi conscious, almost like a new born infant. Overmind was forcing it to do whatever he wanted. While he was distracted, Hellios and I safely brought us down.”

“Where did we land anyways?” Silverclaw inquired.

“Oh, you'll have to see it to believe it.” Suzi smiled

Hellios hovered above where Overmind's ship had embedded itself into the earth. The sun was setting on the sword shaped ship, which was embedded perfectly upright, pointing towards the heavens as it cast it's shadow on the island Terrax had created only days before. From his view, it was like what Hellios imagined King Arthur saw when he first laid his eyes upon the legendary sword from which Hellios' and his friends took their name.

Excalibur emerged from the craft, limping, battered and bleeding, but most importantly, victorious. Cybermancer had created some makeshift restraints for Overmind and Terrax, with Scarab was dragging their unconscious forms outside. Hellios dropped down from the sky and landed before his friends.

“It's so good to see you all alive!” Hellios exclaimed as he scooped Union Jack, U.S Agent and Sabra into his arms for a powerful group hug.

“Hellios, air!” Union Jack gasped. Hellios released them a moment later.

“I'm just fine, thank you.” Darkstar mumbled under her breath, off to the side. Before any other pleasantries could be exchanged, the team of international heroes saw the HERMES teleportation affect occur just off to the side

“Congratulations, Excalibur, you've saved the world.” Chapman observed, “And you survived to boot. I'm impressed.”

“Chapman!” Rock snapped

“You got a lot of nerve…” U.S Agent growled as he advanced towards the former hero. Delphi quickly stepped between Agent and Chapman, her hands raised in preparation for combat. Walker stopped, for as much as he wanted to rearrange Chapman's face, he didn't want to hit a woman to do it.

“Is there a problem?” Chapman asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, only the whole thing of… you selling us out!” Silverclaw snapped.

“Welcome to my Excalibur.” Chapman said evenly, “And to be accurate, I filled your hollow heads with false information because you were facing a bloke who could read your minds like an open book. I made you think what I needed you to think to get you close enough to complete your mission. You have a problem with that?”

“How am I supposed to lead this team if you're always plotting something behind my back!” Rock demanded.

“Simple, you let me worry about that. And Excalibur is my team, never forget that.”

“We're nothing but pawns to you, aren't we?” Darkstar asked

Chapman snorted, and took a moment to look each and every member of Excalibur in the eyes for two seconds before continuing, “I am charged with maintaining the stability of this entire world, and I will do so as I see fit. I will not throw your lives away needlessly, but I will sacrifice each and every one of you if that's what it takes to do my job and keep this world safe. You don't like it? That's too bleedin' bad. Welcome to the draft, as the yanks say. And before you get to high and mighty on me, may I remind you that not only are you still alive, but you completed your mission successfully because of steps I took. Does anyone have a problem with that?”

Excalibur let the silence answer for them.

“Good. Delphi , call SHIELD so they can pick up our trash, and then call the Security Council.”

Joey Chapman, both a hero and villain once upon a time, looked up and down the alien ship that was embedded in the newborn island with an approving smile

“I think Excalibur has found their new base. Avalon sound nice to anyone else?”

“Understood sir. We have a slight problem in the Balkans, however.”

“Oh, what's that?”

Delphi quickly explained the situation to Chapman. Chapman tapped his foot on the ground, contemplating what to do next and how to best react.

“Surgical strike. I'll use Scarab and Hellios only.” Chapman paused, “And I think I'll join them.”

***

Somewhere in the Balkans

Chairman Rugova finished brushing his teeth, and dressed in an old robe he'd been wearing to bed since long before the bombs and peacekeepers came, lumbered out of his bathroom and towards his bed. Today, dealing with the self-righteous Americans was made easier by secret knowledge contained inside the Chairman's head. Soon, they would no longer be needed. He pulled the sheets back, but before he could lie down for the night, he felt powerful hands grab him, and in the blink of an eye, literally, the Chairman found himself thrown face first into the soft ground of a hill country side. Standing several feet away with his hands crossed behind his back, looking down the mountain at the military base below and not even bothering to acknowledge the Chairman, was Joey Chapman.

“What is the meaning of this!” The Chairman shouted, “You have no right to kidnap a duly appointed leader like this!”

Chapman ignored the Chairman for a moment, choosing instead to look towards the sky. Finally, he spoke, “I know you, with the assistance of A.I.M, have been stockpiling alien weapons with the intent to make them again operational and use them to expel the United States and NATO forces from your country. That's unacceptable.”

The statement was then punctuated by several massive explosions from the base below. Hellios and Scarab could plainly be seen, even from the distance Chapman and the Chairman were at, making short work of the militiamen, not even deigning to use their fists. Rather, both men casually gutted the base with their respective energy blasts, barely noticing any resistance that they met. World War Two era tanks, second hand Soviet planes and anti-aircraft missile carriers were destroyed as easily as a child might destroy their old action figures.

“That's a lie! Those machines were mere terraformers that could have rebuilt our economy!”

“And use them in experiments to create superhumans and other weapons of mass destruction, among other things.” Chapman rolled his eyes, “I'm not an idiot sir, so don't treat me like one.”

“Those are lies! That technology can benefit my country in ways undreamed of!”

“Could. But I don't care. You can't have them. I happen to know of a few thousand ethnic Muslims who can only say one thing, that your government, people and military cannot be trusted with such technology.”

“By what right do you do this!” The Chairman demanded, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth, “By what right do countries like the United States , Russia , England and all the others keep hundreds of living weapons of mass destruction while the rest of the world is defenseless and completely dependant upon them! Why do you and yours get a monopoly on power!”

“Simple, really.” Chapman stopped looking up at the sky, and then turned towards the Chairman, “Because I said so.”

“Of all the arrogant, self righteous…”

“You and yours have been fighting and killing one another for hundreds of years over a simple land dispute,” Chapman hissed which such authority and venom it instantly silenced the Chairman, “I may be arrogant, but at least I'm not that petty. You've proven you can't be trusted, so like a good parent, I'm taking away your matches before you burn the house down, the house in this case being the planet in which we all live.”

The Chairman was beside himself, shaking with impotent fury, “How…dare you talk to me like that! I should have you killed!”

Joey Chapman smirked as he strode forward towards the Chairman. The fat man never saw the punch coming, and crumbled to the ground, unaccustomed to being struck with such force. Chapman placed his boot on the man's throat and pointed his pistol at the man's head and said in a low, menacing voice “Understand this, if word of your involvement in this pathetic not even little coup got out, you would be disappeared overnight. But I've pulled a few strings and kept you out of this. So as of now, you are my bitch. When I say bark, you will bark. When I say jump, you will ask how high, and you will be thankful for it.”

“Chapman, we are finished here.” Hellios and Scarab, their hands still smoldering with energy, dropped down from the sky several feet away from their commanding officer.

“I suppose we are.” Chapman removed his boot from the Chairman's throat, “Oh, one last thing, Mr. Chairman. If you ever, ever try something like this again, I will burn your country to the ground, salt the earth and defile each and every one of your dead. Are. We. Clear?”

“Yes…”

“Yes what?”

“Yes… master.”

Chapman smiled a cocky grin, “Good boy.”

The End

Next Issue: It's moving day as Excalibur claims their new base! Be here next issue as we learn Sabra's grudge against Scarlet Scarab, Silverclaw pouts, and a former Invader drops by to visit Chapman. All this, and Eshu gives himself boob job too! Honestly, what more could you want?

Sword Strokes

Issue 1 got me a letter from kick ass writer (I.E he kicks all our asses in terms of skill) Will Short!

EXCALIBUR Vol. 2, #1 @ Marvel 2000
by David Ingram
“This really doesn't feel that much like a first issue, which we say like, "Thank god!"  But are first issues really that bad?  They can be, I guess.  I don't think this one is.  Part of the reason it doesn't feel quite like a first issue is because it's the second volume of the series, carrying over some characters and stories from the last.  I think David could've done a tiny bit more to catch us up on who some of these characters were and what the status quo of the team is, but overall, I didn't feel like I was totally behind because I didn't read any of volume one.”

No worries there, because ya don't ;) While David's run was incredible, anything I take from his series will be explained in context of mine. That said, everyone should go read David's series just because it's damn good.

“Dialogue and characterization are pretty solid here.   I like the new additions to the team a lot.  Scarlet Scarab is a thoughtful choice (although the way Chapman introduces him is sort of like a condensed Marvel Universe handbook entry; "Here's this guy, these are his powers.") and his interaction with Sabra is good because there's bile there, but not childish stuff.  The exchange they have is smart and adult, and shows David's done his homework, although I hope these sorts of things aren't thrown in too much just because the author has done research.”

Glad you liked it. Funny you bring up the Marvel Handbook, as that was where I first learned about Scarab. I've always been drawn to Legacy heroes for some reason. And let me state for the record that Sabra's issues with Scarab are far from childish. I'll address that in issue 4

“I understand that it's a political title, that's not what I'm talking about; I just don't want this to be like ER, where there's constantly hospital talk that might as well be gibberish to you and me and is put in there for "realism", when it's really a justification for hours of research.  David doesn't fall into that trap here at all, don't worry.  Consider it just... A WARNING.

Duly noted, man ;) Excalibur, though it will be filled with political overtones, will be fairly straightforward

“Cybermancer and USAgent's reactions to each other is cool to me because it's short and sweet.  It doesn't seem like heroes are reunited as old friends that often these days; everybody seems to have a sordid past with one another that makes them all bitter.  And there are a few of those in this issue, too.  But they're balance out by Cybermancer and Agent's nice little back-and-forth.”

Happy reunions are too few, aren't they? All things considered, it just seemed natural that these two would be happy to see one another

“Is Eshu a new character, or just one I haven't heard of (and therefore, in my world, obscure)?  Either way, named yourself after an African trickster god is awesome.  The powers seem to match (although I was a little confused at first by exactly what they were; he's basically an elastic guy, I believe).”

He's a new character (sorta) who's there to represent some of the odder things about politics in the MU (I.E Genosha)

“ What's also interesting about these new members is that most of them either don't want to be here or aren't wanted here.  In Eshu's case, Chapman's treating him like crap, because the guy was forced on them by African government and is obviously not the most noble guy.  In the case of, say, Silverclaw (the last new addition, and a good idea for one at that), she looks upon being forced to join as a chore. Point is, this makes the situation more tense and more realistic. Not everyone's gonna want to take part in this, but not everyone's going to bitch about it, either.”

Yeah, I figure most people know when to put up and shut up. If you can't fight City Hall, how can you fight the UN?

“Joey Chapman as the new head guy for the team is okay.  It doesn't really bother me or anything, he does the job of "Not So Nice Guy as Head of Superteam" fine, but he doesn't really do anything in particular for me either.  Although how he gets the team's attention and the way he handles Pete Wisdom are fun.

Chapman will shine in upcoming issues, promise.

“That scene, with Pete, is overall pretty good.  It adds a little bit of a noir or espionage feel, with a bar, a pretty lady, and someone trying to kill you.  Pete's introduced quickly and well enough to readers who aren't that familiar with him.  You get a brawl, two men with guns at each other's heads, and then a funny bit about a drug Chapman slips Pete that I sort of saw coming, but was still entertaining, nonetheless.”

What's the point of writing a semi villainous guy if you don't have him go out and do something semi villainous? That's what I always say.

“My main problem with this scene is how much Chapman falls into the "And now I'll tell you how I did it, and what I plan to do after..." mold.  It's exposition that's at least in dialogue, but it still feels like the character's words are just the author's summarizations for part.”

I agree to a certain degree, but Chapman has developed something of a mean streak in regards to Wisdom and so taunting him is a requirement.     

One thing that threw me off right away with the issue (and I don't think this is something to blame David for, or really "blame" anyone, but...) was that there were only six headshots, which were mostly f or the characters new to the series.  When the scene started off with a number of older Excalibur members, I was confused; Darkstar in particular is just pretty much there, not getting much of an intro or a part in anything.

Yeah, Darkstar was something of a 5th wheel, but with some many characters someone's gotta get left out. She'll play a larger role down the line, promise

“The issue suffers from a few awkward word choices and grammatical problems.  The main one is how David uses periods with dialogue. 
Example:

"'Welcome to the madhouse, kid.' Agent commented."

There should be a comma at the end, not a period.  David does this throughout the issue, and it stopped bugging me once I realized it wasn't just randomly occurring, but it's still something that could be fixed.  Speaking of dialogue, David also uses "growled" in place of "said" a number of times in the issue.  Rereading can catch repetition like this.  Of course, if it's intentional, that's another thing, but they were spaced apart, used for different people, so I don't think that was the case.”

Problems with repetition and grammar seem to follow me everywhere. All I can say is that I'm still working on it ;)

“ I know I complained about not quite enough catching up this issue, but I also have to say that David spells a little bit *too* much for me out via narration.  Character's feelings or histories will suddenly be covered in the middle of a scene.  That sounds worse than I meant... I'm not talking ridiculous amounts here.  Not entire biographies.  But it doesn't come out very naturally and breaks story flow.

There were some things that I wanted and or needed to get out there for the sake of the current and future story. I'm not surprised I stumbled here and there

“The British characters in this story sound somewhat stiff when it comes to using their native slang.  I think David should work on this some, or even just tone it down for the most part.  It's not glaring or anything, but it's better not to include this stuff much if it doesn't really add anything.”

I've got two British characters I've gotta deal with. *cries*

“This is the sort of writing that makes for long, quality runs that aren't abandoned, overhyped, or plagued by any other fanfiction diseases.  It's not the sort of thing where the writer put every last piece of his energy into the one issue, then won't come back for a second.  It does feel like more could've happened in the issue, considering we're with the team then leave them just before they even get to know each other, but I think that's because David knows he's committed and can work these things at the pacing he wants and needs.  The cliffhanger itself honestly doesn't have that much interest for me, but I would be back to read some dependable writing and to see how the series develops, because David's got me to trust him on this one with just a single issue.

And I hope you enjoy yourself when you do, Will! I know I enjoyed writing it. And thanks loads for the review, man!

Plus, issue 2 got me a review from Champs writer, Mike Exner!

“Even though my cousin John died in the opening scene of Excalibur #2, I'm going to try reeeaaally hard to give it a fair and partial review.”

Think of it as a revenge killing for writing my characters better than me!

“Okay! The opening scene was actually pretty pimp, with a very mysterious air to it. Dave gets you involved with both characters - villain and victim - fairly quickly even without going in-depth into who they are or what their deal is.”

Gotta race towards that action!

“I thought the immediate switch from arrival of Terrax (villain mystery solved) to Chapman being summoned by his assistant because Terrax and Overmind had fashioned an island off the coast of the U.S. was a little jarring, but only because it was over the course of the first two scenes, so it seemed like it happened only seconds afterward, and we never really got an introduction to Overmind. But the dialogue between Chapman and Delphi was fun, as were Joey's comments overlapping Overmind's statements to the people of Earth.”

Glad you liked it. Chapman is always fun to write

“The plan of the two baddies is great. Apparently, Overmind and Terrax have come to Earth to offer technological might to the 'third world' countries, oppressed minorities, and terrorists kept 'in check' by the superpower nations. They mask their intention by telling the world it'll make everybody even, but what it would more than likely do is turn the planet into one big war, which would suit the warrior natures of Terrax and Overmind just fine.”

Not exactly the plan, though those two are hardly adverse to carnage

“In steps Hellios, Sabra and Darkstar, as the other members of the team are scattered about in their home countries. Overmind wastes, like, a second of time before controlling Darkstar. Sabra deals with the mind-controlled hottie in a pretty ingenious way, but this leaves Hellios alone to deal with the baddies, and it seems pretty apparent that the 'evil-doers' are only toying with the good guys.”

“Terrax puts a pretty good hurt on Hellios, but the big Greek puts up a decent fight. The impressive part of this scene is the easy way Dave describes the action. I've read battle-scenes from Dave before (Mr. Hyde vs. the New Warriors comes immediately to mind), but this scene is a cut above any other fight I've read from him. High quality work. My only issue was with why Terrax and Overmind left when they were easily winning the fight.”

Well, Hellios was ‘dead' and Sabra and Darkstar were non-factors. Glad you liked that little skirmish and hopefully you loved the full out action in this issue

“A few days go by, and the plan of Overmind and Terrax is in full swing. Eshu has joined Sabra and Darkstar to stop a giant griffin-machine from annihilating a Russian regiment. They're a little late, but they succeed in stopping the machine. Eshu's comments about what Overmind and Terrax are doing play well off of Darkstar's obvious loyalty to her country. The tension is palpable, and both heroines mistrust Eshu completely. Lovin' it. Especially since Eshu really just doesn't seem to care what anybody thinks or feels. He's just doing his thing.”

For a last minute addition, Eshu is sure fun to write!

“Across the globe things go down the same way. Extremists get mondo firepower from Terrax and Overmind, they cause some damage, Excalibur (neatly divided into strike teams)swoops in to clean up. As they do, Chapman gradually pieces together clues to help him figure out how to stop (or at least TRY to stop) the cosmic-juggernauts they're up against. The problem is they're also on a crappy U.N. budget. Excalibur needs a base, and more funding, but Chapman does the best with what he has, and this is where the issue really shines for me. See, Chapman isn't exactly the most powerful guy in the world, and he's running a team filled to the brim with powerhouses, scientists, malcontents, kids, you name it. Dave recognizes this, so when the rest of Excalibur is stumped on how to track the baddies, Chapman is there with a solution. It keeps the team in line, and respectful of Joey's leadership.”

Chapman's no dope. Someone's gotta point the heroes in the right direction!

“Chapman figures the best way to assault an alien stronghold is to hit it with an alien ship. The team teleports into a bunker filled with alien ships collected by the U.S. over the years, which is a great touch, and are ordered to fly it with nothing but 'post it' notes as a manual. As Cybermancer and Union Jack try to puzzle out the controls, the team waits impatiently and gets to bickering (as is their nature) until they're rudely interrupted by Overmind. Seems as though Chapman has betrayed the team, given their position to Overmind, and sabotauged the telepathic dampeners supplied to them. Raunchy. Dave supplies a great twist to a great ish, and I'm really looking forward to the next. Excalibur seems to really fit David's strengths, and I highly recommend this title to anyone. Hey, I read it, and David killed my cousin!”