EXCALIBUR #1: "Evolution Zero Part One: Flying Blind..."
by Thomas Deja and Darque Pheonyx

The Marvel: Year Two Fan Fiction group acknowledges that Marvel Comics owns the concepts behind Excalibur and ALL related characters and retains complete rights to said characters. These concepts are used WITHOUT permission for NO PROFIT, but rather a strong desire to peer into the future of the Marvel Universe. Also acknowledge that the concepts and original characters introduced here are the intellectual property of the author.

It was not the most auspicious of entrances.

Upon emerging from the teleport, Peter Wisdom stumbled away from the rest of the group and sank to his knees. Some horrible retching noises could be heard briefly from his general direction. This display caused one member of the 'Forward Squad' to smile archly, and another to roll his eyes.

"Is our leader always this delicate, Ms. Braddock?" Natalia Romanova, a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. The Black Widow asked in a stage whisper.

"Oh, no," Betsy replied, "Many times he's much worse."

"Jesus wept," Brian muttered, his disgust partially hidden by the cowl he was wearing. "I thought we all agreed to stick to code-names." He added a surprised yelp to the declaration, as his godmother Jaqueline Fallsworth soundly, quickly and smartly boxed his ears.

"I do recall tha' agreement, Albion," Sean Cassidy replied. He began sub-vocalizing, his neck swiveling from left to right.

"Children, children," Wisdom said firmly in a voice that was quiet, yet seemed to attract the attention of the room. "Let the sad sod have his delusional dream at least a little while longer before the internal tensions rip it apart."

"Agreed, Mr. Wisdom." Natalia shot the cuffs of her form-fitting leather bodysuit. If she was aware of the fact that two of the three men in her group were measuring her with their eyes, she did not let on. "Need I remind everyone that the only reason we are not besieged by guards is because of the suddenness of our arrival. That is, if this installation is still operating."

Betsy looked toward Sean. "Banshee...?"

The trilling stopped. Sean sloughed off his rucksack and nodded. "Wisdom's correct. There are certain echoes and weight variances in the ceiling above us. We're in a populated zone."

"Fairly remarkable, considering all Science Cities are officially decommissioned," Jacqueline offered, a bemused smile playing along her face.

The Irishman unzipped the sack. Inside were a set of handguns, SHIELD issue.

"Right, don't be greedy, folks-but don't be stingy when we're discovered. This is an act of liberation, but it's also an act of war." Pete reached in and grabbed one, checking the chamber. "Bloody marvelous, this American technology...plastic through and through for when you absolutely have to kill someone in a plane."

Betts held one out for Natalia. The redhead shook her head. "I have sufficient weaponry in this suit, Ms. Braddock...it would be a good idea for one of us to leave our shooting victims alive for questioning, yes?"

"Psylocke, time to switchboard."

Betsy nodded. An energy discharged, resembling a long-tailed butterfly, manifested over her eyes. The other members of the Excalibur Project felt gentle fingers entering their minds, connections being made so that all of the group were able to communicate silently with each other. Natalia shuddered for a moment, unfamiliar with the sensations of telepathy.

Peter looked at each in turn. [Right. Let's scatter into the previously agreed upon teams. I want any guests of this facility revived and given the option of safe passage-and if we can foment rebellion, so much the better.]

[I don't see why I have to go with him,] Brian sniffed.

[Because he's our leader, and ye can protect his delicate man-child form,] Sean shot back with a wry smile.

[Right-remember...once we're on the ground levels, it's lights out except for our pens in darkened areas. Banshee, use that sonar trick; Braddock; I imagine you'll be comfortable casting up some sort of night vision....] Peter looked to each in turn to see that they understood.

[One more thing,] Natalia added. [With Russia in the economic state it is in, there is a reason Evolution Zero is in operation...I think we all agree that if we find that reason, we expose it, yes?]

Betsy nodded, her face impossible to read. [Rather.]

[Enough of the tea talk. Break.] Pete looked at Psylocke and mouthed the words, 'be safe.' Before he could see any reaction, he hooked Albion's arm and headed off down the corridor.

She winked back at the irascible spy, mouthing back, 'but of course, luv' before she and the Spitfire headed off on their facet of the mission.

****

"I don't know what she sees in you," Albion hissed as he and Peter Wisdom ascended the service shaft to the next floor.

[Bloody Hell, man-what is the purpose of your sister setting up a psionic stealth network if you keep opening your damnable mouth?] Peter shot back, the tone in his mental voice twisted into a snarl.

"Some of us...." The bigger man started to say, then paused. [Some of us aren't used to things like psionic switchboards, Wisdom.]

[You can stay unused to them, as long as you do your part and put yourself between me and the pretty bullets.]

Brian continued climbing. He looked down at his partner with a frown. [This sortie was your idea, Wisdom,] he mindspoke. [I never asked to be part of your mad chara--]

There was a 'thunk' as he hit his head on the access hatch. Wisdom tried to hide his amusement, but the derisive sniggering still rose to meet Brian's ears.

[That's enough out of you, Wisdom. I'm onto you.] Brian retorted as he lifted the hatch door up.

[Onto me???] Pete replied, his voice barely hiding his amusement. He braced his back securely against the circular railing surrounding the access ladder. Feeling for the tab in the dark, he quickly flipped his collar and zipped the lapels up. "'white shirt will be seen by everyone' my arse," he mumbled under his breath.

[Yes, I'm onto you,] Brian mindspoke. [I know this is some mad attempt to drive a wedge between Besty and the people who really care about her, Wisdom. Well, it shan't work. I will make sure of it.]

Pete stared at him for a very long time. [Do they serve biscuits in that fantasy world you live in, Braddock?]

[Laugh now, Wisdom.] Brian turned away and climbed out of the hatch. It took a moment for Peter to register what Brian's intentions were. Once they did enter his mind, Pete reached out to grab at Brian's ankle, just barely missing...

...which meant that Brian Braddock's footfall was heavy on the floor of this strange installation, heavy enough that pressure plates were tripped, heavy enough that in this area of Evolution Zero, alarms went off...

****

Aged fingers tapped at terminal keys. Ancient eyes peered out at computer screens from behind the thick plexiglass of an environmental containment suit.

There was a time when the room he was in was full of scientists and military personnel, all deferring to him. Being the center of these men's lives made him feel alive, more alive than he imagined anyone ever felt. Now he sat in a specially designed chair, gel-filled plastic protecting too-brittle bones from breaking upon impact, and tried to do the work of a legion.

Small compressed air jets maneuvered his chair to consult the alert from Sector Three. His fingers danced on the terminal keys once more, calling up a visual scan of the Sector in question. The man programmed in an automatic sequence so that he received a visual snapshot of each five foot area I sequential order.

As he watched intently, the figure muttered to himself, "Have you come to release the bad boy, little ones? Have you come to take him away from Father Genesis?"

His aged fingers tapped at the console to his right. His good little girl should know about the bad people. And his good little girl and the tin soldiers should stop them.

****

Sean and the Russian woman made their way slowly and quietly along the gantries suspended next to the sluice that led to the camp's sewer system. The place stank to high heaven, almost suffocating Sean with its rankness. The two of them were attached at the waist by a thin nylon cord, and Sean was using a subsonic sonar technique to navigate for them. He and Wisdom had agreed that utilizing non-conventional navigation would help confound whoever protected Evolution...and there was nothing more non-conventional than this.

From above, there seemed to be some form of commotion. Sean looked up and muttered, "That dinnae take long."

"Yes," Natalia said plainly. "But does that not defeat the whole purpose of a covert 'Forward Squad?'"

"Not necessarily. After all, while Wisdom and Braddock attract all the attention, who'll be slippin' in th' back way?"

Natalia's brow furrowed. "What makes you think it is those two causing this chaos?"

Sean chuckled. "Can ye imagine th' ladies doing this so quickly?"

Natalia paused and said, a slight note of mirth creeping into her voice. "There is that."

****

[You know your brother and Wisdom are not the best pair to send off on a caper,] Jaquie muttered along the mind link that they kept to themselves. [We'll be lucky if they don't kill each other or bring this place down around our ears...]

[Don't' remind me,] Liz groaned, [Brian's about as subtle as a drunken bull in the proverbial china shop...in fact, for all his book smarts, he's rather oblivious to a lot of things, including the need for discretion and stealth. But those things make him a useful tool, and much as I should feel guilty about thinking of my own brother as a "weapon," that's what he's good for...]

[And he's better off under our supervision,] Jaquie added, knowing what her god-daughter was thinking. After all, she'd had a great deal of influence in the young woman's upbringing after the twin's socialite mother had passed away.

She knew there was a great deal more to Elizabeth than most people would give credit to, and she felt a definitive sense of pride, as though her current partner were her own daughter...

[Y'know, Spitfire, I've got a bad feeling about this...] Liz commented, as she shuddered for a brief moment...

****

When Brian Braddock was younger, he dreamed of adventure. The dreams themselves were shockingly typical of a British boy of his era-visions of derring-do in the name of history, dodging the Nazis and the evil knights and the criminals. He always imagined that the Bad Men, when they came, would come in a flurry of noise and pomp, flashing steel and loud proclamations.

After he tripped the alarms, Brian realized that the Bad Men were coming. This was his dream life of adventure made flesh; but there was no noise and pomp and loud proclamations, but instead the shuffling of feet and the clattering of loose metal in the semi-darkness...and hissing.

"What the Hell...." Brian muttered as he slipped into his idea of a fighting stand.

The illumination in the corridor was dim. The glow from Peter's hands, the fingers of which had taken on the appearance of angry red spikes, was barely brighter. "Welcome to my world, pillock," Pete muttered as he positioned himself so that he was protected by Brian's greater bulk, "This is what we're here for."

"What do I do?"

"You wait until you see something-and you hit it."

The enemy emerged slowly from the shadows, their gates slow and roiling, like drunks trying to retain their composure. The reason for the hissing became apparent immediately, as smoke and steamed escaped from seams and joints. Security, it seemed, was the purview of a group of automatons barely held together. They were a patchwork amalgam of parts, hastily put together, wires trailing after their bulk. And even though Pete was sure these sentries could do serious harm, there was a certain air of pathetic desperation about them.

It was Pete's turn to gasp, "What the Hell...?"

For a change, it was Brian's turn to make the deductive leap. "Of course! If this facility is officially decommissioned, supply lines may have been cut."

The first power blast went high over the two men's heads. Wisdom swiveled into view of the security automatons. Brian felt a wave of searing heat as razor thin plasma platelets found their mark in the lead creature's chest cavity. This was Wisdom's mutation, the ability to generate what he called 'hot knives,' blade shaped, super-heated plasma. "Not always-Evolution could have been black ticketed."

"What?" Brian asked. He was moving forward, hands curled into fists. Pete continued strafing the advancing security formation with one hand, unholstering his weapon with the other.

"I'll give you a full lesson later, Braddock-now hit things!"

Brian dove straight into the ramshackle amalgam of metal and wire. It felt good, having these things bend and snap under his fists. The robots scattered like tenpins, some now emitting thick, acrid smoke. Brian drove an elbow through one unit come up behind him. The unit's head disconnected with an audible pop and skidded across the floor, landing at Pete's feet.

Pete leapt back at the appearance of the decapitated 'head' but kept a pattern of movement up, not wishing to give these things a still target to home in on. He concentrated, reaching out through the psychic 'switchboard' to the others. [Braddock, Cassidy, Romanova. Take a look at the pictures I'm farsending. Do any of these things look familiar?]

Brian ducked out of the way of a clawed hand the size of his head. He executed a leg sweep and toppled the creatures immediately around him. "Some help?"

"Quiet, you pillock!" Peter hissed and emptied a clip of ammunition into the chest of an advancing patchwork automaton. He concentrated on throwing the images of these creatures out to his teammates.

[What the bloody hell did you stumble into, lover?] the telepath shot back, [I've never seen anything like that...]

****

In the sub-basements of the facility, Natalia stopped in her tracks. Her eyes closed as she concentrated on the visual. In front of her, Sean continued down the gantry.

[Wisdom, I think I recognize these constructs-or at least the individual parts.]

Peter's voice appeared in the Russian spy's head. It seemed to crackle and pop. Somehow, she knew that the static was the product of the man using his powers; much like solar flares, emiting the hi-intensitry heat platelets interfered with the frequency upon which the telepathic bond was made. [You're a godsend, love. What can you tell me?]

[These automatons, Wisdom,] Natalia said, [are chimeras-things made from disparate parts. The outer armor pieces are from various prototypes created in response to reports of a...war machine Stark International was supposed to be designing for the government. But if I remember the specs well, they are all woefully outmoded.]

[So I'm about to be murdered by museum pieces. Makes me feel lovely,] Wisdom shot back. [I need you to remember anything you can on the weak spots to these armors, and quickly...I don't know how long that pillock can keep up his pace.]

****

[Watch your back! I think the Banshee is about to find something,] she warned, another spine-tingling chill running up her back and down again as the precognitive aspect of her ESPer talent reared its ugly head again, [I'm Seeing something...something that someone doesn't want found.. only I think Irish's right on top of it!]

[It all comes in buckets, doesn't it,] Peter shot back bitterly. [Well if someone doesn't want it found, it must be what we're here for, innit?]

Sean heard the back and forth in the back of his head. He was preoccupied elsewhere, however. His sonar had detected an anomaly, some stress fractures in a wall ahead of them that shouldn't be there. He followed the pattern of broken metal slowly. This was a function of his sonic abilities that he used rarely, and it required a great deal of concentration to get even a vaguely accurate reading.

But there were stress fracturing in this wall deep under Evolution Zero, the sort of hairline cracks that would only occur if there was something on the other side of the wall, something decidedly colder that the warm sluices below him. He ran his fingers across the wall slowly, using them to guide and focus his sonic 'probes.'

"Romanova," he stage whispered. Natalia had fallen behind, preoccupied with guiding Wisdom.

[Not now, leprchaun,] Wisdom said mentally.

[Listen up, Wisdom. You told me this was t'be a liberation mission, aye? Well, I think I've found a secret chamber here-and th' chamber, it's givin' off enough cold t'make me think something's being kept in cryo-storage. I need me back-up an' I need it now!]

Carefully, Sean began modulating his tones, using his sonic scream like a scalpel on the stress fractures. In between breaths, he repeated, louder than before, "Romanova!"

[Wisdom, listen to me,] Natalia projected. [The thing to keep in mind is that these chimerae are outmoded. Look at them; there are exposed wires all over the place. They have probably not been maintained since the Science City was shut down.]

****

Wisdom looked ahead, and looked up. [Ah....comes the dawn. Go help the leprechaun.]

In front of him, Pete could see Brian was still in the thick of it. The chimerae were now massing around him, pushing their weight against him. He knew Betsy's brother was as tough as a tank....but even tanks could be overrun by superior forces.

Pete stood up, his fingers glowing red. "Down, Braddock!"

Brian turned to face Pete just as Wisdom threw his hands up in a wide arc, letting fly with a barrage of hot knives. The platelets of plasma, being thrown thusly, banked upwards, skidding along the corridor's ceiling before coming down in a rain on the chimerae surrounding Brian. Some of the automatons fell, smoke billowing from their wounds.

And at that moment, the sprinkler system came on.

****

Aged lips twisted into something akin to a smile. "Oh, you are clever, little visitors, quite clever. Father Genesis did not expect that, no."

Once more fingers danced on the keyboard, tapping out instructions. His mouth quivered involuntarily as he went about his work. "It is time to attack, my good girl, yes it is. Show the little visitors what Father Genesis has taught you."

Before he could elaborate, claxons sounded in Father Genesis' workroom. The compressed air jets moved Father's chair to the source of the noise. It was then that his eyes grew wide, and for a second he felt a searing pain across his chest.

Someone had found the Bad Boy.

****

The sonic lance Sean was wielding chipped away at the walls. It was arduous work, and Sean had found himself sweating with the exertion. From out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Romanova coming up behind him.

"Wisdom finally saw the solution. What have you discovered?"

"Ye might want to stand back," Sean warned. "These chips are sharp, and ye don't have th' protection me suit has."

Natalia shielded her eyes, but took a step back. "I shall manage, Mr. Cassidy." With her free hand she reached out and touched the wall. "Hmmmm....cryogenics?"

"My guess."

What was once miniscule stress fracturing had now become divots in the wall facing them. Sean continued sweeping his sonic lance right to left, eating away at the stone and metal.

"Is there a reason why you do not use your scream at full power here?," The Black Widow asked.

"That, m'dear, would be an act of war-and whatever is on the other side might be destroyed in th'crossfire."

The Widow put a hand on his companion's arm. "Wait-I think you've broken through."

Sean stopped his gentle assault. There were holes, small holes where he had broken completely through. The Widow's right hand reached unconsciously for her belt, which Sean had assumed was purely decorative-until she detached one of the golden pieces of tubing and knelt down before him.

"By all means," he said with a low chuckle. "Ladies first."

Natalia brought the tube to one of the cracks. "It's a monocular magnifier, Cassidy. I think it's wise that we both know what's in there before we go rushing in, yes?"

"Oh, certainly yes."

The Widow brought her eye to the device. It took several moments before she recognized what she was seeing, and another moment before she could determine if she should tell her partner or not.

****

The rains came down in the corridor, the shurring of the water being released from the sprinkler being like a song to Wisdom.

Almost immediately upon contact with the water, there were flashes where exposed circuitry and wiring started to short out. Smoke began to waft up from the chimerae, and Brian found himself punching slowing-then immobile-opponents. He looked toward Wisdom, who emerged from his sniping position, the sprinklers soaking him.

After a minute, Wisdom scowled. "You're welcome," he quipped.

"Here, I didn't see you getting yourself pummeled by these tossing things."

"That's why I'm the mission control and you're the front lines, Braddock. Now let's see...our playmates came from the West Quadrant, so the West Quadrant is most likely where we'll find scads of grateful mutants waiting to be led home."

Wisdom began slowly moving in the direction from whence the chimerae came. He passed Brian, who seemed rooted in place. "Next time, sod the guns; we bring umbrellas. You coming?"

"Ummm....Wisdom..." Brian replied, his voice gotten soft and whispery.

"What?"

Pete turned to see Darkness...not just any old darkness, but a Class A Darkness raging down the corridor towards them like water being brought to a boil, its speed growing with every second, the distance between it and the two men being eaten away with an urgent hunger.

"Bugger," Pete whispered. He farsended to his girlfriend, [Braddock, are you getti--]

And then some idiot turned out their lights.....

Next: Has the Excalibur Project already lost two of its members its first time out? What has Natalia discovered on the other side of the wall? Who is Father Genesis, and who is his 'good girl'? Can Psylocke and Spitfire figure out an effective evacuation plan? Find out as our tour of Evolution Zero continues with an "Atrocity Exhibition" in Excalibur #2.

For The Greater Good...

Somewhere on this website, our Editor-in-Chief refers to this title as (and I paraphrase here) the most radical example of how a Marvel Year Two title can differ from its inspiration. I just want to point out it's all our fault; Bill should take none of the blame.

You see, I have been friends with She-Who-Shall-Remain-Darque-Pheonyx for a couple of years now. We've participated in several pbems, and shared several interests-not the least of which was an admiration of the pre-nimbo Betsy Braddock. We had both read the Captain Britian series from which Betsy developed, and deplored what Chris Claremont did with her when he co-opted her into the X-titles.

As for me, I am a long-standing Peter Wisdom fan, frequently opting to play Peter in the pbems I was in with ol' Darque. I used Peter in a series proposal called The X-Pendables that went nowhere, and ended up revealing an untold meeting between him and Sean Cassidy in last year's X-Men Legends paperback anthology. Sometime during this time, I got the blessing of Wisdom creator Warren Ellis to write ol' Pete, and learned that I had made Darque a fan of everyone's cranky, fanatical Brit.

Darque and I wanted to work together for some time; we had played with the idea of a fan fiction series involving Pete and Betsy-and when Marvel Year Two came along, we took the opportunity to explore our vision of Pete and Betsy as potentially being the Marvel Universe's answer to Steed and Peel.

We're two issues in; what do you think so far?

--Thomas Deja (nywisdom@hotmail.com) and Darque Pheonyx (darquepheonyx@yahoo.com)