The Pendragons Issue # 30	Brought together in defense of Avalon and the British Isles, the Pendragons are the officially-sanctioned heroes of Great Britain. Originally led by the Black Knight, the group is composed of the remnants of the old Knights of Pendragon group, as well as several other heroes. Willing to die for their beliefs, the Pendragons stand united as England's best defense against threats of a superhuman nature. Special "Silver Anniversary" Pendragons logo created by Kell Carpenter, inspired by the logo created by Des Davies!
Written by Barry Reese

Kate McClellan's Flat

Cam helped support his mother as she stepped into her renovated flat. The smell of fresh paint greeted them and Kate let out a small gasp of astonishment as she looked around her home. The last time she'd seen it, the flat had been a shambles, nearly destroyed by the cyborg called Death's Head II... But now it looked almost as good as new. The furniture that she'd picked out herself was back in place and magically-lit lamps illuminated the room. "Cam...? How did you manage this?"

"Wynter did most of it," Cam admitted. "He knew several spells that helped speed things along."

Kate smiled at that. Her relationship with the enigmatic mage had deepened and blossomed since the two had left the Pendragons, but she still found his abilities amazing. "He did all this with just a wave of his hand, I bet."

"It took a bit more than that," Wynter answered, stepped from the kitchen into view. "But I wanted your return from the hospital to be a happy one."

Kate moved away from Cam, who worried that she might not be able to stand on her own. To his surprise, however, she made her way across the room with ease, sinking into Wynter's arms and smiling. "You're a very sweet man."

Cam grinned, catching Wynter's eye. The mage had a habit of hiding his emotions, but Cam could see pleasure lighting up the older man's eyes. "I'll go fetch your bags from the car, mum."

Kate nodded, waiting until Cam was safely out of sight before asking "So... Did you do as I asked?"

Wynter sighed, but his voice reflected little guilt. "Yes. You were right. Cam is hiding something."

Kate chewed her lip. "Bullocks. I feel like such shite for having asked you spy on him. But he's been so distant lately that... Is it drugs?"

Wynter shook his head. "No. That, at least, you don't have to worry about." The white-haired sorcerer strode over to the window, watching as Cam began to climb the stairs back to the flat, bags in hand. "I followed him to Symkaria."

He did not look back, but he could hear the shock in Kate's voice. "Symkaria... What on Earth would he be doing there?"

"I'm not certain. He entered an ancient structure that I've identified as Castle Masada... but his activities within were hidden from my scrying spell."

Kate moved up beside him, concern etched on her face. "Hidden? So there were sorcerous wards on the building?"

"Yes. Quite powerful ones, in fact." He looked at her and his eyes were narrowed with worry. "I'm going to continue finding out more about that Castle... Who it belongs to, for a start."

Kate looked towards the door as Cam stepped in. He noticed their stares and blinked. "What?"

Kate forced a smile. "Nothing, luv. It's just good to be home."

Castle Doom, Latveria

The man hidden behind the mask of Citizen V could hear the whisperings of his V-Battalion handler in his earpiece, demanding to know the current situation. He wasn't sure where, or how, to begin. As he rose to his feet, he triggered the magical device logged in one of his molars. It would transform his thoughts into words, allowing him to communicate with the others in Symkaria without ever uttering a word. I failed to stop Death's Head II and his partner Tuck from entering the castle... but I did render Tuck unconscious once inside. Unfortunately, the situation has gone from bad to worse with the arrival of Doom himself. Now I'm caught between a futuristic cyborg killer and one of the world's most dangerous tyrants. Lucky me, eh?

Doctor Doom glanced around the throne room, his words spoken at an even pitch but carrying greater weight than if he had shouted them. "Everyone! Outside now -- and alert the citizenry that the invaders have been dealt with."

"Jumpin' the gun a bit, aren't you?" Death's Head II muttered. He stepped over Tuck's fallen form, noting that her breathing was regular and even. He allowed the palace workers and guards to leave -- he was, after all, being paid only for Doom's head. He cast a thumb in Citizen V's direction. "You got flag-boy on the payroll?"

Doom cast a quick, and disapproving, glance at Citizen V. "What does the V-Battalion want in Latveria? I have left clear instructions to your leaders that your kind are not welcomed here."

Citizen V walked slowly away from both of them, eager to give himself some fighting room. "Believe it or not, I'm supposed to be here to help you. Destabilizing your government, corrupt though it may be, will only cast Europe into more chaos."

Doom grunted. "Corrupt? Surely you jest... I may be many things, but corrupt is hardly one of them. And as for your offer of assistance, it is most soundly rejected." Doom pointed a metallic finger in V's direction. "So begone! Or Doom will forget this moment of mercy and instead throw you into a prison cell for the rest of your days!"

The haughty tone in Doom's voice seemed to cause something to click in V's mind. He recalled, through a haze of half-forgotten memory, being in similar situations, facing down tyrants who wanted nothing more than to push their brand of order onto others. The words he next spoke were not truly his, for they had been spoken by his partner originally, but Citizen V felt confident and secure as he spoke them -- for he believed them just as much as his mentor ever had. "I don't fight for government leaders. I fight for the common man, for the people whose work and sweat built this nation." Citizen V raised his blade in a challenging manner. His next words were his own, through and through. "Battle between the two of you will cause incredible damage to the countryside. If the two of you will agree to step away, I'll leave gladly. But if you have to fight, then I'll be a part of it -- trying to minimize the damage to innocents."

Death's Head II altered his right hand into an energy cannon. "Geez. Contract or not, I think you're going down first, V. Somebody's gotta shut you the hell up...."

The cyborg launched a powerful energy assault at Citizen V, who sprang out of the way acrobatically. Doom, enraged at seeing his home being destroyed, launched his own attack at Death's Head.

The blows sent the cyborg flying backwards and his heavily-framed body embedded itself in the wall. Pulling himself free, the mercenary hissed. "A'ight... Now I'm pissed."

And then the room became alive with the sounds of warfare.

Darkmoor Castle

Shevaun Haldane sat in her lab, surrounded by an array of mystical tomes and hi-tech machinery. The dichotomy was an interesting one, but it was reflective of her background. The daughter of a Mys-Tech board member, Shevaun had learned the intricacies of science from an early age... but for every scientific achievement that she learned about, she had been taught a corresponding Dark Art. For her father had been both scientist and sorcerer, always pushing the boundaries of each.

Shevaun, dressed in a black bodysuit and green, checkered skirt, looked nothing like a prize-winning Chaos Theorist. She looked like she'd be more at home in a dance club, bopping her way through one of Kylie's latest chart-toppers. But her beauty belied her brilliance, causing some to doubt her at times. Their mistake.

She reached out with her mind, trying to make contact with the man she loved. There was no answer, however, as Micky Moran's mind was closed to hers. It made her feel sad... and very alone. She understood his reasons for going*, but she missed him... and she desperately wished he'd contact her and let her know how he was doing.

(*See Pendragons # 25 and Miracles, Inc. # 1 for more.)

Frowning, she gave up on trying to reach him and stood up. She arched her back, stretching the muscles. She'd been down her for too long and skipped dinner, to boot. But this latest experiment had really caught her attention... there'd been a sudden upsurge in magical energies around London in the past two months or so, but their wavelengths were very specific. This was old magic... Even older than that which had come from the Dragonstone recently. What had released it? And was it a threat somehow?

Shevaun closed her eyes, forgetting the computer graphs on the screen before her. She also put thoughts of Micky out of her head, though it was difficult. She sent out her astral self, spreading out her consciousness until the wavelengths of the universe around her appeared like tiny lines and circles before her. She was here, at the core of the world, the heart of the world, and she felt at peace.

Such magic as this would have been beyond even an experienced sorceress such as herself, had it not been for the fact that her costume was made of a fragment of the universal fabric. The costume was a second skin to her now, mimicking normal clothing when she wished. It was her greatest gift.

"Now... Where are you?" she whispered. Here, in the astral plane, she could look about her and move, focusing in on whatever caught her attention. She spotted her quarry immediately: a greenish-blue wave of pure magical energy, cascading about the planet and focusing in London. Dark Angel followed the trail, downward lower and lower. She saw the ghostly shadows of buildings and people take shape around her. She was down amongst the rest of the world now, but invisible to it.

And then she saw the magical energies swirling straight into the bodies of three women, two of whom she recognized... Satana, the brother to Daimon Hellstrom; and Jennifer Kale, the beauty who had served as host to Ghost Rider in recent times*. The third woman, dressed like a gypsy, was unfamiliar to her.

(*See Ghost Rider U.K. # 13.)

It was this woman who looked up, directly at the supposedly invisible Dark Angel. "We're being watched," she whispered.

The other two women reacted in very different manners. Satana responded as one who was used to being tormented. She tossed off a magical spell, aimed at Dark Angel. Jennifer Kale, meanwhile, reached out in a futile attempt to stop her friend. "Satana -- No! We don't know what--"

Dark Angel grunted in surprise. The magical blast hit her... and hurt. The force of the blow sent her hurtling back to her own flesh-and-blood form.

She opened her eyes with a gasp of pain. For a moment, she couldn't quite focus on the world around her... but then a sly smile touched her lips. Her costume absorbed energy... and it could catalog it.

Within seconds, she recognized the sort of magic that surrounded the three women... Earth-Magick. Gaea-based Magick. The women were saturated with it... and that meant that they had become Witches, champions of Gaea. "Wonder how Jennifer's role as the Spirit of Vengeance works with that," she muttered.

"It would seem to me, my dear, that you have far greater concerns than that."

Shevaun froze in place, her blooding chilled. That voice... "No," she whispered. "You're not here. It's not possible. I saw you die. I saw you in the afterlife. I freed your spirit so you could go on to the next stage...."

Yes, you did. Thank you, Shevaun. Because of you, I did advance to the next stage." Shevaun felt a strong hand on her shoulder, turning her round. She allowed him to do so, coming face-to-face with the handsome visage of Ranulph Haldane. Her father. Her very dead father, despite the apparent health of the man before her. "It's just that the next stage... Well, it was different than you and I ever thought it would be."

"Daddy...?"

Ranulph's next action was so abrupt that Shevaun never stood a chance. Her father's fingers locked around her throat, squeezing hard. With a grimace on his face, he generated a powerful magical pulse that sent sparks flying about Shevaun's face and torso. The woman sagged limply in his grasp and Ranulph let her drop to the floor. "Poor dear," he said. "You tried so hard to live up to my legacy. And you failed so miserably." He bent low and, with all the mystic strength he could bring to bear, he began to strip the fabric of the universe away from his daughter's form, leaving her naked and vulnerable.

Rising, he held the glittering black cloth out before him... and he smiled.

Castle Doom, Latveria

Death's Head II was beginning to think he should have held out for more money.

The cyborg's exterior was ripped and torn, showing the metallic skeleton that lurked beneath, with sinews made of steel and wire. The mercenary's armor was stronger than adamantium but Doom's armor was designed to batter through the armors of both Iron Man and Ultron, so he was one of the few beings on Earth capable of piercing it.

Death's Head II slashed out with his right hand, which was now transformed into a large scythe, and caught Doom in the shoulder. The tyrant's armor was incredible, withstanding even Death's Head's most powerful blows. But it was beginning to buckle and Death's Head heard the definite grunts of pain from Doom as the armored man staggered away.

The throne room around them was in flames, the much-valued portrait of Doom's mother a smoking ruin. Around the periphery of the battle, Citizen V lurked, striking when he could, but trying hard to avoid catching the full attention of either combatant. His entire body ached and he'd long since turned off the telepathic communicator that linked him to the V-Battalion. It was a distraction that he couldn't afford.

The lithe acrobat slid across the floor, bringing his sword up from beneath Death's Head. The sword drove home through a previously traumatized area, striking the soft inner-workings of the cyborg. Electricity encircled them both, but Citizen V's insulated costume kept him from crying out.

Doom, seeing both his foes in jeopardy, raised both hands high. He generated a powerful electromagnetic pulse that sent Death's Head toppling over onto his side. The blow also made Citizen V's mind explode in agony, sending blood pouring from his nostrils.

Doom stood over Death's Head II, marveling as the cyborg's systems immediately began repairing the damage. "Intriguing. Your technology is most impressive... there is much that I could do with such armor."

"Yeah?" Death's Head asked, his voice sounding hoarse and desperate. "Well, there's plenty more I can do with it, too..."

Before Doom could react, Death's Head had raised his right arm and fired a powerful plasma burst. The energy lifted Doom off the ground and caused a scream of almost unearthly horror to issue forth from the villains' throat. When he landed, he crumpled to the floor and lay panting.

Citizen V lay on his back, watching as Death's Head II slowly lifted himself up from the floor. V could feel that something horrible was wrong with him and he wondered what a point-blank burst of electromagnetism could do to a fellow. Were his brains turning to mush now? He groaned, rolling over to his side. With Death's Head moving to finish off Doom, Citizen V knew that his only possibility for escape was now presented to him. He moved as slowly as he could, hoping not to attract any attention -- either foe would be able to finish him off now. He crawled past Tuck, noting that a few of the spreading flames were headed towards her. He gritted his teeth and began dragging her towards the window with him.

Meanwhile, Death's Head II stood over Doom, his menacing expression seeming to reflect a growing mirth. Beneath him, Victor Von Doom sizzled and smoked, the stench of burnt flesh filling the room. "Lookie here. The great Doctor Doom, humbled. Can't say it breaks my heart, though. You're a real bastard."

"I am... the ruler of Latveria," Doom wheezed. "I have built this nation... into a power. And no robot, no matter how powerful... shall end my reign."

"Looks to me," Death's Head chuckled, "that you're mistaken about that." He raised his right hand, shifting the malleable metal into a large axe. "You're going in my top ten list of scraps, though. You earned that."

Doom looked up, the scarred flesh around his eyes narrowing in disgust. "If you meant to honor me, you failed. But your lack of foresight is now quite apparent...."

Death's Head II ignored the man's warnings, slashing down with his axe. The blow went straight through Doom, who merely laughed at the cyborg's failure. "What the hell...?"

Doom rose into the air, floating more than standing. "You are one of the most powerful beings on this or any other planet, Death's Head. I do believe you could actually destroy me, if I lacked my full range of abilities." Doom thrust out a fist, letting it pass through Death's Head's form. He held it, half-in and half-out. "But you forget that I am no mere scientist, cloaked in a suit of armor. I am a sorcerer. I am a magician, fully capable of manipulating the energies that now surround us. And you are nothing more than an amalgamation of stolen identities... identities to which you are not the rightful owner."

Death's Head II tried to respond, but something deep within him prevented it. He felt... no heard... so many voices that it drowned out his own. He saw, briefly, the face of Doctor Evelyn Necker... the A.I.M. scientist who had designed him in hopes that he could salvage the scientific organization. He had been built to absorb 105 personalities, amalgamating them all. But when Minion, his original designation, had tried to absorb the original Death's Head, it had been Minion who had been amalgamated... they had become something new. Something different.

It had become Death's Head II, sum of all those it had absorbed.

And now, one by one, Doom was peeling all those personalities apart.

The pain, the psychic horror, was enough to make Minion weep. But he was denied this, denied it by his cybernetic form...

In the end, the final two personalities -- Minion and Death's Head -- were left in the metal shell. They saw, together, Doom lean forward, until his masked face was only inches from theirs. "I shall tear you apart. And I shall use what I can learn from you."

"I... I..."

"You are nothing more than a machine. And you now belong to me."

Outside the castle, Citizen V lay in the underbrush, Tuck nestled against him. He could feel her stirring, whispering something about Minion, but he put a gloved hand over her mouth to silence her. He activated his telepathic communicator, saying Anybody receiving me?

To V's disappointment, Jim Hammond's cold, inhuman voice replied "I hear you, Barnes. You're still a bullheaded little prick."

Citizen V fought to hide his annoyance. Hammond had changed so much as of late... Far too much for V's taste. We need a transport. Right away.

"We?"

Yeah, I've got a girl with me. Tuck.

"Wonderful. Listen, we're reading lots of activity from the palace... What the hell happened?"

Long story, and I didn't stick around to see how it ended. But we're screwed, I guarantee it. No matter how it turned out.

"Can you make it to the pick-up point?"

I think so.

"Good. And when you get back, we're having a long talk about your performance."

Citizen V turned off the communicator with a sigh. "I used to respect you so much, Jim. But now... Now it's like I don't even know you."

Epilogue

Shevaun Haldane woke up to a world of hurt. Her naked flesh was bound painfully to a large apparatus that hung from the ceiling, stretching her limbs to their maximum. The pain in her joints made her moan aloud and reminded her, bitterly, of what had put her in this position.

She looked around the lab quickly, trying to find the thing that was masquerading as her father, Ranulph. It couldn't be him, she knew, and that thought was all that kept her from screaming in horror. She strained against the machinery, but found herself held tight... and, most disturbingly, she found that she was unable to teleport herself to freedom. My costume... It's gone.

"Welcome back to the world of the living."

Shevaun looked down, craning her neck to see behind her. The thing that was calling itself Ranulph was standing there, wearing her costume and armor. His face was split in a leer. "What are you?" she hissed.

 The father-thing stepped closer, laughing. "I am exactly what I appear to be. I am your father. And I am also the man who will end your life, so that a greater good can be served."

"A greater good...? That would be a first for you," she spat, unable to resist being baited into a conversation with this thing before her. "My father never cared for others, only himself."

"I quite agree," he replied, looking pleased. "The greater good is serving me. Now," he whispered," Are you ready to begin?"

"Begin....?"

Ranulph stepped over to a console and flipped a switch. The machinery around Shevaun begun to hum....

... And Shevaun began to scream.

Next Issue: A small group of Pendragons journey to Darkmoor Castle in hopes of uncovering the shocking truth behind Ranulph Haldane's return, while Rathoon encounters another dragon -- one that goes by the alliterative name of Fin Fang Foom! And, because you demanded it, the return of Ghost Rider! But which Ghost Rider...? Ah, now there's a question that begs to be answered....

Here's a bit of mail that we received about our last issue, courtesy of Harry VanHoudnos:Boy, OH BOY! Did DH II make a MAJOR MISTAKE! If you have to go into Doom's castle, do not, I repeat DO NOT, smash the portrait of his mother! Those who do so pay, and pay dearly! Now, lets see the battle between the Master of Latveria, and the Cyborg Mercenary from the Future!Heh. Hope it lived up to your expectations, Harry! Bringing DH II into the series was not something I had planned to do, but a couple of fans requested it... so who am I to deny them, eh? Once he was here, I got a few ideas for him that just couldn't be missed... including the circumstances that brought him to Latveria.

I hope everyone will check out Tales of the Pendragons, our new anthology series that will launch in the next few weeks. Look for some of our supporting characters to get a chance to shine there. Issue # 1 will star Tina Thunderfist and Rathoon!

You can reach me at aric_dacia@yahoo.com