"Please," Jessica said, pleading with Peter Wisdom, as she felt him pressing against her thigh. She'd been abused many times before, but she'd never been physically raped.

"If it's any consolation," said Farouk, "he doesn't want to do this and he's fighting me like a demon."

"Oh, God," she said, realising it wasn't really Pete. She should have remembered he didn't have access to his powers and the error had cost her dearly.

"See, you're getting in to this already," said The Shadow King, kissing her neck, as he parted her legs. "Time for baby to take her medicine." She could feel his head pressing in to her, and panic and fear flooded her at the intrusion in to her body and she knew she only had a moment before he was inside her fully. Her adrenaline surged and she felt a tingling in her body that was nothing to do with what Wisdom was doing to her.

"Get the hell off me," said Jessica, and she felt a build up in her that was suddenly released as a concussive force, sending Pete Wisdom flying back away from her. The sudden freedom she had won enabled her to breathe a sigh of relief, tears streaming down her face as she realised what sort of narrow escape she had just had. He'd almost raped her and for a moment she thought he had. She'd felt him pushing against her, she'd felt him in her...

"Oh God," she said. While it had not been sex, he had still entered her, tearing at her flesh, forcing it... "Stop it," she said, feeling herself start to shake. She was starting to go in to shock. She had to get out of there before Wisdom came after her again. She had to run but she couldn't feel her legs and her arms hurt from the burns. That had to affect her as well.

"That hurt," said Wisdom, suddenly bearing over her and she could feel the humiliation of what had happened overwhelming her.

"Please," she said, knowing that what she had done before wouldn't happen again, as she didn't know what it was. It had felt like her old bio blasts, but it had been different.

"Don't," he said, looking at her. "I'm not proud either, and for what it's worth I am so, so sorry, Jess."

"Pete?" she said, thinking she had fallen for this before.

"Yes," he said. "It's me. He's gone. Not here."

"How do I know that?" she said, backing away from him.

"Tie my hands up if you want," he said. "Beat the crap out of me, if you need to. God knows, I've got it coming."

"I can't, she said. "My arms..." He could see the burns from the metal he had melted with his hot knives and he looked at her.

"I'm going fucking have him," said Pete, the silent menace in his tone evident, as well as the fire in his eyes. "I'm gonna find a way, and I'm gonna tear him a new one." He would kill Farouk if it were the last thing he did in this lifetime. "Let's get the hell out of here. I'll lead."

"I can't walk," she said.

"Oh, we're so in trouble," said Pete. He knew he could never make this up to her. She would never trust him. "Fine, then you can rest and I'll... tie myself up." He ripped off some of his shirt and bound one of his arms using his free hand and his teeth. Then he looped the free end, slipped his arm in and pulled it tight like a noose with his teeth and his arms were bound in front of him. He could still see her wary of him and he did some acrobatics to manoeuvre the binds under his legs, over his feet and up his back. It twisted his arms to do it, but he got there.

"How's that?" he said, sweat coming from his brow she nodded her acceptance and sat down. He looked at his bare chest and he could see the red welt on his chest where her blast had hit him. Since it had, the Shadow King had been silent in his head. "Zola," he said, figuring it was the only possible explanation, and smiled. "Looks like the midget scored one on his master."

For now at any rate.

"Please take a seat," he said and picked up the telephone and pressed a button. "Brian, Agent Del Ruiz of SHIELD has arrived." He waited for an answer then he hung up the telephone. A few moments later the door to the office opened and the former Captain Britain, now a Member of Parliament in Her Majesty's British Government, greeted her.

"Miss Del Ruiz, please come in."

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, sir," she said as she entered the office.

"Not at all," he replied. "Could I offer you a cup of tea?" he asked as he gestured to a chair.

"That would be fine," she said taking a seat on the plush leather sofa. "Milk, no sugar."

"Of course," said Brian, as he poured a cup and took it to her.

"Thank you," she said as Brian picked up his own drink from his desk.

"No problem," he said. "So how can I help SHIELD?"

"It's… tricky," she said. "As you're aware I work with Peter Wisdom on the X-Force project, Nick Fury's mutant task force within SHIELD."

"Yes, I had heard about that. I also remember reading of your adventure in Madripoor. How are your injuries?"

"Healing, thank you, however I'm not on active field duty at the moment."

"Oh," said Brian, puzzled. "I thought this was a SHIELD assignment."

"Which is where it gets tricky," she said. "Allow me to explain." Lydia then regaled the story of the traitor within SHIELD, and how Pete had gathered evidence against it when he was attacked and, as far as the world was concerned, killed for what he knew.

"My God," said Brian, visibly shocked. "Pete's dead?"

"We don't believe so," said Lydia. "But it is still a possibility."

"I've not spoken with him in some time," said Brian, taking a sip of tea. "Not since he joined SHIELD certainly. I know he was having problems adjusting to life outside the spy game, but… We all drifted apart after the end of Excalibur. It's a shame, really. I'm an MP, Meggan's working on some of the environmental projects, Kurt's working to be a priest, Rachel's back, Kitty's working with SHIELD and the others are doing their thing as well. Where's the time gone…"

"I know," said Lydia. "My family all live in Genosha and I've not seen them since Magneto took over, and the time apart grows."

"So what do you need of me?" asked Brian. "It's the least I can do to assist you, seeing as it got Pete killed."

"I need you to get me in to the Hellfire Club." Brian whistled.

"That's a tall order," he said. "The HFC have undergone changes. The London branch fell out of favour during Pete's time with Excalibur, and the deaths of the Inner Circle some months ago has left the place almost empty. It certainly is cautious about who gets in and out."

"Can you do it?" asked Lydia. "I need to get in there to a specific email account, where Pete sent the evidence."

"In that case, yes," said Brian. "Tonight?"

"That would be fine," she replied. "I appreciate the help. I know how busy you are."

"If I can fight the good fight one more time, it's worth it," he said and he shook her hand. Lydia noticed it was firm but not strong which indicated that the reports of him losing his powers were true.

"If the reports I read were accurate," she said, "you've already done more than enough in your time."

"Thank you," said Brian, smiling. "Tonight then." She nodded and Brian escorted her out. "Feron, clear my calendar tonight, and page Meggan. Tell her we're going out for dinner."

"Yes, Brian," he replied then the telephone rang. "Brian Braddock's office… Yes, I'll let him know. Thank you." He hung up.

"Who was it?" asked Brian.

"That was Rock," said Feron. "The Excalibur Project has just been reactivated, and the members recalled to SHIELD."

"Interesting," said Brian, thinking it would have helped to have Rock with them tonight as back up. "Thank you, Feron." He went back in to the office, thinking that they were living in very interesting times.

"Good," said Maverick, as the team checked their gear. The mission plan was simple - they went in and stopped the Death's Head Commando's. The Cavern of the Nymphs was a short walk away, and according to Captain Taggart, that was where he and his partner had found them. Raven would keep them shielded from any of the tele-empathic powers of the Commando's and hopefully that would level the playing field. "You ready?" he asked Raven.

"Yeah," said Marcus. "Ah'll keep them busy, and with a bit of luck if they attack me with their powers, my defences will kick in and knock 'em for a loop."

"Right," said Maverick. That meant there'd be three of them as a strike force - Siryn, Shadowcat and himself. A nice tactical unit if ever there was one. His energy blasts, Terry's sonics and Kitty's phasing would give them a good edge over the teleporters and floaters of the Commando's. Hopefully their fabled technology wouldn't help them, but that was a wild card in what they were planning. "Okay, ladies, let's book."

They nodded and made their way out of the transport carrier and towards Mount Flaska. The cave had been closed down so there were no tourists about and from a ledge not far away Maverick used the telescopic visual scanner of his mask to check the guards. They were well armed and it would be difficult to get by without creating a disturbance.

"As we figured," he said. "Can't get in that way."

"Plan B?" asked Terry and North nodded. Her father Banshee had taught her to use her powers as a sonar and gauge how thick the walls of the mountain were and how far it was to the caverns. This would tell them how far they had to go and for how long they'd need to hold their breath as Shadowcat phased them all through the rock and in to the base. They made their way to the back of the mountain, where there were no guards because there was no way in to the caves. At least, no conventional way in.

With the other two acting as lookouts, Siryn looked towards the mountain and she used her powers to figure out what was needed. The pitch of her cry was at a level nobody would hear, however any dogs in the area would be howling at the noise. Then she stopped and rested a moment, gaining her breath back after her efforts.

"Twenty five meters of solid rock," she said. "Then it's clear."

"It's difficult," said Kitty, "but not impossible. Hold on tight and keep walking with me." She held out her hands and the others grabbed hold and she shifted herself and the others to a state of intangibility and they took a deep breath and entered the walls. It was pitch black and if it wasn't for the fact they were holding hands, they would have sworn they'd lost each other. It was quite easy to give in to panic while they were doing something like this, but all three knew that to do so would mean instant death.

Kitty had done this so many times since she had discovered her powers that it was as natural to her as writing her name, and while she wasn't exactly oblivious to the dangers, she had stopped worrying about them a long time ago. However it didn't stop her worrying for her friends who were with her on this

Kitty's injuries in her time as an X-Man meant that her intangible state was her natural state so there was no problems with her losing concentration and trapping them all in solid rock, but it was still pretty unnerving, Maverick thought.

Terry just keep walking, wondering if they'd make it in time. There was no air in there because it was a solid object and if they needed to breathe they couldn't. There were so many ways to die doing this, if they made a mistake. However they were all professionals and panicking was not in their nature, so they would endure.

Then they emerged on the other side and all three gasped for air. It had taken almost two minutes to get through the rock.

"Let's use the front door to leave," said Maverick, prodding himself to see that he was still there.

"Works for me," said Terry and Kitty just smiled.

"Right, let's take these people out," said North, and he pulled his side arm free of its holster, as did the women. There was work to do.

"Your work with poisons and such is very useful," said the Shadow King from the recesses of her mind. "However, I am concerned that I did not see this coming, or what he was doing."

"You have been taxing yourself of late," said Viper. "Your powers have limits, you know that."

"Yes," snarled the Shadow King. His powers were great, but in order to accomplish everything he wanted to do, he had indeed spread himself thinly, and the defeats time and again at the hands of Xavier and his brood had cost him. Absorbing emotions and altering perceptions was one thing, controlling vast amounts of people and creating order was another.

On the one hand he was able to work freely due to the bodiless nature of his current state, being a creature of pure mental energy, but without a proper host body to work from on a permanent basis he did not have the reserves of supremacy that he had once had. That would soon change, though, but first he would deal with the treacherous Zola.

"Have him brought before me," said Farouk. "I have a punishment in mind that he will appreciate…" Viper smiled as she knew that the Shadow King had ways of dealing with traitors that were most imaginative.

"What the?" said the guard in surprise and Kitty wasted no time in a roundhouse kick that knocked the Commando cold. Then she removed his mask.

"He's no alien," she said. "I know that much."

"Portable scanner," said Maverick as he knelt down by their victim and she passed it to him. "DNA scan says he's not a mutant, but he does have radioactive particles in his blood."

"Guess we've the source of their powers then," said Terry. "Doesn't explain why…" Then alarms started to sound. "Guess they noticed they're a man down."

"It was always going to be too good to last," said Maverick. "Let's do this." They started to fight and take out as many of the guards that came close. Since they were masked by Raven, the Commando's were teleporting in blind and being taken out by the three SHIELD agents quite quickly, as they moved throughout the complex.

"This is a little too easy," said Kitty, as she slammed her elbow in to the face on an unsuspecting Commando who just appeared.

"Yeah," said Maverick. "You don't suppose…"

"It's a trap?" said a voice and the three of them realised there was nobody else to fight.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Maverick. The man had a confidence to him, that was certain and from his demeanour it looked as if he were in charge."

"Let's just say that while we are all equal, some are more equal than others."

"I hate villains who quote literature," muttered Kitty. "That's what put me off Star Trek 2."

"Surrender now, and you won't get hurt," said Maverick.

"No, and never a possibility," said the man. "For example…" He pointed at them and there was a flash of white light. "That should take care of those rather annoying mutant abilities of yours."

"I cannae make a sound," said Terry.

"Uh oh," said Maverick as suddenly they were surrounded by guards.

"Did you think we would be unprepared for you and your ilk?" said their captor. "We knew someone would come at some point, and rest assured we are more than capable of taking out any of the so-called heroes of this world."

"Like hell," said Maverick and fired his gun, but the leader teleported out of the way before the bullet could hit him and the Commando's surged at them. X-Force held their own for a few moments but it wasn't enough against the numbers that were fighting them and they were soon captured. Maverick was the only one of them that managed to stay conscious, but he knew it was a losing battle and that he would collapse soon enough.

"The Doctor is waiting," said the leader who had reappeared. "Take them there now."

"We obey," said the Commandos and the place shifted. Maverick's perceptions were reeling from the effect of the teleport, but he could see a man dressed in white who was doing medical tests on another man.

"Ah," he said. "More test subjects." He looked at the monitors. "Mutants. How very interesting. Hopefully they will tell me more than this serum filled creation." Maverick could have sworn he recognised the other man, but before he could remember who it was, he felt a thud at the back of his head and he felt no more.

"No," said a voice. "I don't think we'll allow that to happen." Raven looked to see a commando in front of him. He hadn't felt him appear at all.

"Bring it on," he said and he engaged him in a psychic battle - his psionic powers against the alien tele-empathic skills. He smiled as he felt the commando meet the resistance that his powers created.

"No," said the Commando. "You are but one person - we are a race!" He surged forward andf Raven felt the power of thousands of thoughts combine against him. Even his defences couldn't hold against that so he closed his mind down to let the alien think he'd won, and maybe he'd find a way to beat him back. His thoughts stopped and he fell to the floor. "Excellent," said his opponent and Raven felt himself be teleported away.

His time would come.

"I don't like this," he said to himself. "Something's wrong," and he reached for the telephone, which rang before he could pick it up. He jumped, but recovered. "Taggart."

"Sir, you must see the STAR TV signal." Taggart switched the television on, and gasped. STAR's signal had been hijacked and the Commando's had control of the television station.

"People's of the world - hear me," said a masked man. "The Death's Head Commando's have returned. There are many terrorist groups in the world today, however they do nothing for fear of the ire of the Western nations. We do not fear these people - we defy them. Here are five of their champions."

The picture changed to show X-Force and the Greek hero Hellios being subjugated to various medical tests and in one case it looked as if surgery was being performed on Siryn.

"Dear God," said Taggart, picking up the telephone and calling the Helicarrier direct.

"We have beaten these super powered beings, taken them and now we are ensuring they will pose no threat to ourselves or our comrades across the planet. We have seized the island of Kalymnos, and soon we will control the Greek mainland as well. Prepare yourselves for war." The signal ended with the familiar STAR ident replaced by the Death's Head Commando insignia.

"I've seen it, Taggart. Half the damn planet's seen it by now," he said. "This has been a cluster foul up of gigantic proportions."

"They were better prepared than any of us could have predicted," said Taggart. "I'm going to need help."

"I know," said Fury. "These goons made a mistake by draggin' Hellios in ta this mess. I just mobilised Project Excalibur - they'll be with you as soon as possible, an' if we're lucky we can save Greece."

"And if we're not, sir?" asked Taggart.

"Then God help us all."

To be continued in Excalibur #7