X-MEN ETERNITY

eXcalibur #3: "Slaying the Dragon"
Rated PG-13 for violence and language

by R. John Burke

X-Men Eternity Message Board: http://solofan.proboards76.com/index.cgi

DISCLAIMER: The X-Men are a copyright of Marvel Comics. I don't own them, but this is only non-profit fan fiction. No money is involved and no infringement is intended.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: X-Men Eternity started (in Uncanny #1: The Shattering) with the events at the end of "House of M" and went in a different direction. Nothing that happened after that is cannon for our purposes, and in fact a few things have changed; the team is now spread through time and space. "eXcalibur: Eternity" deals with a part of the team trapped in an alternate reality in the time of King Arthur.

***************************************************************

The first light of morning peeked in through a hole in the roof and slugged Sean Cassidy in the eye. The man called Banshee groaned, tried to roll over, and realized that only hurt more. His entire body felt like one great bruise.

"It's okay," said a female voice, from beside the bed. "Good morning, Mr. Cassidy. You're going to be okay."

Sean tried to remember what had happened the previous night; he didn't have great success. That probably meant it had been one of the finer donnybrooks in his experience, and he'd experienced more than a few. (* see eXcalibur #2)

More than the fight, though, Sean remembered the woman. Moira Kinross, the spitting image of his dearest love, had been there. As he thought back on the previous night, he remembered snippets-- she'd nursed him back to health. Sean exhaled slowly, feeling better just at the thought of her.

"Moira...?" he asked.

"No," said the voice. "She's gone home to sleep. She'll be back in a few hours, to check on you."

"An' who is this I'm hearin', then?"

Sean blinked; it was, in fact, a mere slip of a girl. Mindee Cuckoo sat in a chair beside the bed, her eyes blue for once, instead of glowing white as they did when she was in contact with her sisters as part of the Five-in-One. She looked disheveled, and vaguely troubled.

"How long have yeh...?"

"All night," she said, and almost smiled. "We owe you a lot, Mr. Cassidy. A night's sleep isn't much."

"Well," Sean said, sitting halfway up with a groan, "get some now, lass, thank yeh. On me honor, the ol' Banshee t'aint gonna expire on yeh while yeh sleep."

She nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Cassidy. I think I will go for a while..."

"There's a girl."

"...but not to sleep. I have something to do." The girl tossed Moira's cloak about her shoulders and turned for the door. Sean winced-- his eyes hurt when he tried to focus-- but he reached out toward her.

"Wait, wait now. Where d'yeh think yer off to?"

"Out." Now the eyes were white, and canny. "Someone's got to make sure they slay the right dragon."

Sean frowned. "Yer a strange young bird, m'dear."

"Thank you," she said, and left.

Sean would have argued further, but the miniature Sentinel blasting the back of his eyes with a compressed energy beam argued against it. He sank back into bed, and into a deep, almost immediate sleep.

He dreamed of Moira, as he often did. Now the dreams were lighter, because he knew they could be made true.

****

"Okay," said Alex Summers, "nobody panic."

The assembled denizens of the King's court heard this sage counsel, weighed it for perhaps two-thirds of a second, and promptly panicked. Alex didn't blame them a bit.

They stood on a field in the first rays of dawn-- a field of battle where they'd gathered to see Alex thrashed by the super-strong mutant calling himself Lancelot. (* last issue) That fight had now been suspended by the appearance in the sky of a greenish-gold, rip-roaring, fire-spewing dragon.

Oh, and a spaceship. But that was telepathically cloaked, so mostly the dragon.

Alex took a deep breath and focused solar energy through his arms. As Havok, he'd simply fry the beast, or take his best shot at so doing. He reached out...

...and felt the voice of his team leader, Jean Grey, in his mind, as he had during the battle: --Let Lancelot do it.--

Alex groaned. He thought: *C'mon, Jeannie! I'm STILL holding back?*

He frowned at the mutant "knight" beside him, who stood with sword brandished, long hair blowing in the wind. The fellow looked puzzled, as though he'd just hit a snag in a day that had been going perfectly well up through the nearly-killing-Alex part. Alex wasn't sure he could handle a kitten, much less a dragon, in such a state.

--The dragon is hard light,-- Jean explained. --A hologram generated by the ship. It's got to be defeated by Lancelot, that's why it EXISTS. If he plays the hero, hopefully it'll soothe his pride and his grudge against you, while also embarrassing us and quashing the silly idea about making you guys knights. (* see Issue #1)--

Alex blinked. *So... we're gonna act like craven cowards and humiliate ourselves. On purpose.*

--Essentially. It's for a good cause.--

He sighed. *Jeannie, no offense, but d'you mind if *I* make the next plan?*

Jean sent a distinct note of disapproval along with the words: --Just give it a try. We'll handle the rest.--

The dragon swooped low over the field and shot another gout of flame at a knot of panicked villagers. It missed, thanks to Jean's teke and Lorna Dane's magnetic powers. The two women fanned out through the crowd, yanking innocents out of the dragon's path without engaging it directly. The thing touched ground, roaring and stomping its claws.

Alex stood in the middle of the field, feeling vaguely foolish. He turned to Lancelot. "Are you gonna get that?"

The knight scowled. He glanced across the field at Merlin, the other major player in this scenario. A brooding telepath/telekinetic who'd reshaped the whole world in the image of King Arthur, he stood with the king and queen, ostensibly protecting them with his almighty mojo. In reality, he knew there was nothing to fear-- because the dragon was programmed not to bite the hand that fed it.

Merlin had planned to use his pet to kill Jean and her team. (*issue #1) The wizard didn't want Lancelot striking the first blow anymore than Jean wanted Alex to do it-- if he actually defeated the thing, a perfectly good evil plan went out the window. It was, in a certain cold light, a game of chicken: whoever blinked first at risking the lives of innocents would lose. Alex didn't like their chances under those conditions, but he'd followed Jeannie's lead so far, and would see it through.

Just to make the stakes interesting, Merlin turned and gestured-- and the dragon took off with a vengeance after a stampeding crowd of about a hundred terrified peasants. The ground shook when it moved, and it shot a tremendous burst of fire--

Which struck a telekinetic barrier as it neared the crowd and evaporated. If Alex squinted, he thought he saw the silhouette of a ghostly bird. Meanwhile, the medieval Jurassic Park continued, to the tune of screaming.

--Can you watch this?-- said Merlin's voice, in his head. --Does not your heart cry out to save them?--

Alex bit his tongue and answered: *Sorry, I'm off the clock. The union has rules about this sort of thing.*

--Then perhaps you will respond to more... personal stakes.--

Merlin gestured, and the dragon changed course. It stormed away from the crowd, toward Lorna, who fluttered at the edge of the field, protecting a group of children with a magnetic barrier. The thing snapped its jaws at her. Lorna reinforced the field with all her strength, as the people around her screamed.

--I'll bet she tires before my pet does. Do you really want to play the game this way?--

"Damn you," Alex murmured aloud. He couldn't stand by and...

He was almost knocked off his feet by a running man, who fell down before them, kissed Lancelot's feet, and cried: "Sire, please, save us!"

A young woman joined him. "Please, Sir Lancelot, we beg you! We shall perish!"

The knight glanced at Alex, an angry gleam in his eye. He was a proud man. He *liked* being a hero to these people. Merlin might have been winning his private battle with Jean... but he was losing his lieutenant.

*Come on,* Alex thought at him. *Come ON. Be a hero...*

Another woman fell at Lancelot's feet, cradling her weeping child. Then an old man. They were *begging*. If the knight didn't falter in about another three seconds, Alex would...

"Fear not," said Lancelot, with a poisonous glance at his master. He hefted his sword. "Fear not. I am here."

He started toward the dragon. Alex breathed a sigh; he could almost *feel* Merlin bellowing at the fool telepathically. The dragon swung away from its attack on Lorna and faced Lancelot. She levitated herself and the kids straight off the ground and flew them away.

"Hey, pal!" Alex called to Lancelot. "Need an assist?"

The knight frowned at him, then nodded. They charged the dragon together, its flames skirting off one of Jean's teke shields. Alex blasted the ground beneath its feet, provoking a startled snort. As it lost its balance, Lancelot leaped at it with his enhanced strength, coming down on its back. He plunged his sword into its neck. The creature bellowed and threw him off...

--I've got him,-- said Lorna's voice, via Jean's telepathic connection. The knight floated to earth unharmed, while the dragon staggered. The crowd roared its approval. They *loved* him...

That should have been the end. The dragon had a big freaking sword through its neck, courtesy of the man who was destined to slay it. Lancelot had been split from Merlin; without him, the wizard's power base would erode. The X-Men had hardly been seen to lift a finger, so they couldn't get the blame or credit for anything. Jean's plan had worked perfectly...

Until the dragon's jaws snapped closed around Lancelot's waist, biting him in half. He never even screamed.

"NO!" Lorna cried.

Alex turned toward Merlin in mute shock. The wizard's smile betrayed no regret at losing his most powerful ally.

--This ends when -I- say it ends,-- he told the heroes. --Not before.--

The dragon redoubled its attack, while Merlin ushered the king and queen off the field...

The air in front of them burst into flames. The bird shape Alex had seen in silhouette appeared now in the midst of everyone, accompanied by a piercing raptor scream...

--You're going NOWHERE,-- said a woman's telepathic voice.

Merlin turned. Alex turned the same way, eyes wide. Jean Grey strode across the field, her eyes burning-- she'd shed her period costume in favor of the green uniform of the Phoenix. Sometimes the green almost shaded toward red...

*Jeannie...* he said in his mind.

--Stop the dragon, Alex,-- she said, very cold. --I'll handle this.--

Alex might have been mistaken, but he rather thought the color had drained from Merlin's face...

****

Cain Marko lay on a slab inside the modified Shi'ar shuttlecraft, hardly moving. He'd been trapped in a cave-in while buying them time to lead the dragon to the field of battle at the right moment. (*- last issue) Once, no mere weight of rocks could have hurt the Juggernaut, or even given him pause.

But Cain Marko wasn't really the Juggernaut anymore-- not in the sense of being the unstoppable embodiment of Cyttorak. He'd given up that life, and was now little more than a hard-nosed brawler with super-strength and a desire to make right his past wrongs. According to the ship's medical diagnostic-- assuming Jamie Madrox had read the thing right-- he'd been barely alive when the dragon had finally dug itself, and Marko, out of the grave he'd dug for it.

Rahne Sinclair-- Wolfsbane-- had risked her life to bring him back into the ship, along with a couple of Madrox's dupes. She'd been lucky to make it. The dupes hadn't been so fortunate. Their loss had weakened the Multiple Man, and now that they'd landed the shuttle, he sat near the cockpit, looking morose. Rahne sat at Marko's bedside, her eyes red and watering, only half from the healthy dose of soot she'd inhaled. She'd never forgive herself if...

"Ye know," she said to Jamie, "when he's peaceful like this, he reminds o' Guido."

"Yeah," said Jamie, thinking of his best friend, the mutant called Strong Guy.

"What d'ye suppose happened to Guido? Why's he missin' th' great fun?"

Jamie shook his head. "According to Emma Frost back home, they've tracked down most of the missing heroes (* who were stranded through time in Uncanny #1), but a few... Guido, Dani Moonstar, Sage... are still MIA. Nobody's sure if they're in another timeline that we don't have contact with, or incognito, or just... gone."

Rahne sighed. "Didnae think I'd admit it, but I miss th' great lummox."

"Me, too." Jamie was quiet for a moment. "Damn, I have a headache. My dupes did not fare well last night."

"None of us did." Rahne growled, feeling the wolf inside her.

--How is he?-- said a new voice.

Rahne turned to behold Jean Gray's astral form. "What d'ye care? Ye didnae even want us t'go back for him..."

--We had to hurry. We still do. I need you two to destroy this ship.--

Jamie jumped out of his chair. "You told me *not* to..."

--Yes, that was when things were going well. Now they've gone wrong. You have to shut off the dragon any way you can.--

Rahne advanced on the image, morphing as she did. She bared her fangs. "D'ye mean to say it didna work? We sacrificed Marko for yer mad plan, and it *didna... even... WORK?*"

--There have been complications.--

"Complications, my wee fuzzy..." Rahne caught herself. She gestured toward the bed. "The computer's helpin' tae keep him stable. If we destroy it now, he might..."

--He's harder to kill than you think,-- said Jean. --I know. But now I have no time for this."

"Then MAKE th' time, ye flamin' patronizing cow! After what ye did tae him, I dinnae know that I trust ye to look after his interests..."

--Good. You should never trust the Phoenix, but I do need you to obey. Destroy it.--

Then she was gone. Rahne roared and bolted for the door. Jamie got in her way.

"Calm down," he said. "Where do you think you're going?"

"T' kill her, where else?" Rahne snarled again.

"No."

"Jamie, boy, get out o' me way. I dinnae want t' hurt ye."

He stared her down, maddeningly calm. "You won't."

"She's cost us Marko, an' now she's reversin' course on us! Tell me, Jamie, how d'we know she's Jean Grey, an' nae th' Dark Phoenix?"

"We don't," Jamie admitted. "But I won't let you do this."

Rahne stooped over him-- normally, he was taller, but in her transitional state, she dwarfed him. Saliva dripped from her fangs and she studied him like a bit of rare steak.

"Yer no match fer me, Jamie. Get out o' me way."

"No," he said.

"Ye agree with her, then?"

"Nope. Don't even care about her right now." Their eyes met. "I care about you. Go ahead, if that's what you're going to do. Attack. Hell, for all you know, I'm just another dupe. You could probably cut me up and only cause Jamie Madrox a migraine."

She growled again. "That's right, I could."

"But if you do that-- attack me, go after Jean-- then the wolf's in control. It wins. There's nothing left of Rahne. Dammit, you *know* this. We'll have this out with her later, I promise. Now's not the time."

Rahne stared at him. He didn't blink. She morphed back to her usual form.

"Aye," she said, ashamed to look at him. "I suppose yer right. Thank ye, Jamie."

"Just looking out for my employees." He touched her shoulder. "C'mon, let's blow this crate."

He turned for the cockpit. Rahne cast a final look at Cain Marko, then ran after him.

****

All his life, Alex Summers had worried about containing his power-- always afraid of hurting those around him. Now, faced with a rampaging beast of Cretaceous appearance and Medieval temperament, he wondered for the first time if he owned power *enough* for the job.

"Lorna, get everybody back!" he cried, as the dragon addressed itself to him.

"Alex, what are..."

"HURRY!"

Lorna waved her hand and sent out a pulse of magnetic force, knocking everybody backward by a few meters. Meanwhile, Alex Summers was counting down to detonation.

The dragon cocked its head at him. Alex could almost see the thing's AI computing probabilities. He took a deep breath.

"C'mon, Dino, you know you're still hungry..."

Instead of snapping, it opened its mouth and spewed flame. Alex threw himself out of the way, landing hard on his shoulder. He howled, still burning from all the energy he had stored, and looked up...

*Now* the creature snapped at him, all glistening white teeth and bottomless gullet.

BOOM-- he detonated his energy right in its face. The thing jerked back a stump that should have been its neck. Alex rose to a round of cheers while the thing twitched and spasmed. He grinned across the field at Lorna-- *How's -that- for a bit of heroing, babe? I'm pretty impressed if I do say so...*

Lorna held out her hand and knocked him backward, just as she'd done the crowd a moment before. The gesture saved Alex's life, because a split second later *one* of the dragon's heads snapped its jaws shut on the ground where he had been. The second head-- for two now grew out of its neck where only one had been before-- turned in his direction.

"...the HELL?" Alex growled. "It's a dragon, not a freaking HYDRA!"

"No," said Lorna, now standing beside him. "it's a computer projection. It obeys its programmer, not the laws of physics. If it doesn't *want* to die, it doesn't *have* to..."

Alex dodged another strike; his shoulder screamed at him. "Come on, though! How unfair is THAT?"

"Alex, dear, maybe you'd better clear out and let Polaris handle this..."

Before he could object, Lorna drew the dragon's attention to her. She spiraled high into the air and it took off after her with a sweep of its wings...

Which was exactly what Lorna wanted. She drew metal from everywhere-- from the nearby buildings, from the ground, coalescing particles out of the air itself-- and built a cage for the beast. It solidified around him even as he tried to follow her, halting his momentum. The improvised jail crashed to earth and took the dragon with it. He shrieked and roared, blasting its uneven surface with flame.

Lorna hit the ground beside Alex, looking a little dazed.

"Can you hold him?" Alex asked.

"Not for long..."

Alex glanced at the landed Shi'ar craft, wondering what was taking Madrox so long in there. Then he glanced at Jean and Merlin, and wished he hadn't.

The Phoenix signature burned like a neon sign with letters extending high into the air, as Jean cast her considerable mental energies in the wizard's direction. But there was another power signature, too, a creeping darkness that seemed to be holding its ground, nipping at the edges of Jean's flame, then beginning to consume it...

"Holy..." Alex murmured. "He's *winning*..."

"It's no less than she deserves, the witch." Lorna was still unhappy about the way Jean had treated her at the start of the battle. (* last issue) "Still, I suppose we'd better help her. Can you...?"

Alex shook his head. "They're fighting on the astral plane. I don't think *anybody* can help..."

He didn't see the cloaked figure on the edge of the field, tucked in amidst a crowd of onlookers. They didn't pay much attention to her, themselves. After all, Mindee Cuckoo was hardly more than a girl...

****

"Surprised, Jean Grey?" asked Merlin, in the black space where they met. "Did you think me defenseless against your power?"

"Not really." Although she was extending her powers dangerously, Jean stood her ground. "I do think you're a little bit full of yourself, but we'll cure you of that..."

"Look who's talking."

Merlin grinned and gestured with a shadowy hand. Darkness bit into Jean's defenses. She shored them up and battled back to a standstill.

"What you've done to this world... these people..." Jean said. "They should be about ready for William the Conqueror, forging one of the greatest nations in human history. Instead, you've made them your toys in this eternal Camelot. It's a perversion."

He grinned. "And a fiery bird that kills stars with a thought isn't? We both cherish our power, m'lady. No matter how many times you try to lay it down for the greater good, you always pick it up again. I understand. You cannot help yourself. You love it so."

Jean's eyes blazed; she cast a fiery bolt at the wizard, but he parried.

"I love *them* so," she said. "I will always return when my friends need me."

Merlin laughed. "The Phoenix cares nothing for people..."

"This Phoenix does."

"You forget yourself, m'lady. You are merely an avatar; whatever *you* wish, in the end, you will do what you always do. How did you put it? Burn away what doesn't work."

Jean couldn't hide surprise on the astral plane; it exploded outward like a shockwave. Merlin caught it and turned it back against her. They struggled...

"How do you know so much?" Jean asked. "Have you been watching me, in the future?"

She felt his pleasure, but his assault did not lessen. "Do you know, Lady Grey, the Phoenix is a very different creature in Eastern mythology? The Chinese call it Fenghuang, the Japanese Hou-ou. It's represented as the Dragon's eternal lover... but they can also be mortal enemies."

"I'm liking the second one," said Jean, and she blasted him. Merlin staggered.

"He fears you, you know," said the wizard "Scott does. Do you think he really prefers that hussy to you? But he understands... she is, at least, a woman, and he a man. You're beyond him, Jean. You're beyond all of them. Let them go."

"Shut up," said Jean. She battered his defenses, harder and harder. He fell to his knees.

"If you kill me, you will only prove it's true. Jean Gray did not believe in killing. But no mere morality binds the Phoenix. Isn't that right?"

"YES, THAT'S RIGHT!" Fire blazed from Jean's hands, scorching him down to the bone. She laughed. "You call yourself a wizard? You're *nothing* to me."

"That's my girl," said a voice that seemed to come from the charred remains of him. "That's my girl..."

Jean advanced on him. "You've done all this... why? For your amusement?"

"For you, m'lady. This world gives you something to fight."

Jean wasn't listening. She raised her hands. "None of your people can see you for what you are, but I can. I should have done this the first moment I arrived here."

"Yes..."

"You're right about the Phoenix, what she does. I judge you not to work. So I guess it's time to burn."

Power surged through Jean; she blasted away Merlin's defenses as though they didn't exist, stripping away layers of his mind, blazing straight to his core, where she would extinguish the last glimmer of human thought in this monster...

Except his core wasn't human. It was something... else, a shadow, dark and slippery. A pinprick at first, but it called to Jean, drawing her in deeper, encompassing everything. She couldn't help herself-- she followed the call, further and further, until...

"NO!" she gasped, and collapsed both on the astral plane and the physical world.

Merlin's charred remains vanished, a mere illusion, and the wizard reappeared, chuckling to himself. He stood over Jean's prone form, toeing her with his boot.

"Ah, Jean... how would you put it, m'lady? They always fall for that one." He shrugged. "You could have beaten me, given the chance. You could have joined me... even better. Still... this way is for the best. This reality's Jean Grey is so... dedicated. Others are far more interesting. But it could have been glorious, love."

He reached out to her, to absorb her essence and powers, shadows billowing around him as he reverted to his true form, feeding on such raw potential as he'd rarely tasted. His eyes rolled back in his head, in a feeding frenzy as he grabbed for more...

"Excuse me," said a small voice.

Merlin flinched. He stepped away from Jean... but there was only a girl on the astral plane with him, a delicate blonde with faintly glowing eyes. He laughed.

"Well... this is unexpected."

"We try," said the girl, stepping forward. "My sisters and I."

"Ah, yes... the Five-in-One. I'd been wondering about you." While he summoned his best smile, Merlin also summoned his powers. "You've been meddling."

She smiled, too. "That's a rude way of putting it."

"You're an anomaly." He advanced, leaving scant inches between them, his shadows trailing after him like storm clouds-- but they parted around the girl, as though the light from her eyes drove them away. Merlin carefully concealed his surprise. "I know you children, in *all* realities. You're not so powerful."

"Unless we have to be."

He grabbed her chin and made her look at him; her placid little smirk never wavered. "You told them the Scarlet Witch brought back your sisters (* Uncanny X-Men #1), but that's a lie. I helped manipulate the Witch, and I assure you, I had no need of you. Any of you."

"Well," Mindee said, "that's chaos for you. You never know what you might set in motion."

Merlin released her and stepped back. "Why are you here?"

Mindee deliberately placed herself between him and Jean. "I'm here for Miss Grey."

"Are you, now?"

"Yes."

"You're too late. I've claimed her."

"But you'll give her back to me," said Mindee, very calm.

Merlin narrowed his eyes. "You're very sure of yourself."

"Yes, for good reason. You see..." She stepped toward Merlin, standing on tiptoe to whisper almost in his ear: "We know what you are."

***

"Okay, so that's the propulsion and that's the shields, and that one's the... wait, what th' hell is this one, then?" Jamie Madrox pressed a button on the Shi'ar control panel. An unholy, echoing chant-- almost a cosmic madrigal-- blasted through the cockpit. "Cool. Stereo."

"Jamie, stop piddling about an' let me at th' thing!"

Rahne Sinclair pushed her friend out of the way and bared her claws, which she raked across the control panel with great enthusiasm. It sparked and shorted, and for a moment the cockpit went dark.

"Huh," said Jamie. "Didn't think it'd be that easy..."

ZZAAAP!!! A laser burst incinerated the part of the wall where his forehead had been a split-second earlier. Jamie hit the dirt; Rahne followed a second later, yelping as another burst winged her. From the other chambers of the ship, she heard Jamie's dupes cry out under a similar barrage.

"Rahne! You okay?"

"Grand," she said. "Jamie, what th'..."

A voice echoed through the cockpit: "Ee cabaya sii-kath ryaj n'jah..."

"Th' what an' th' what?" Rahne asked.

Jamie groaned. "I think this old ship predates translator technology. Jean could talk to it telepathically, but I have to translate the ancient Shi'ar and that takes a while, so bear with me..."

Rahne blinked. "Ye speak ancient Shi'ar?"

"I have a lot of time on my hands," he said.

"Jamie, boy, I think it's time we find ye a girlfriend..."

"Sure thing. Can you find one for all forty of me?" He shrugged apologetically. "Like I said: *Lot* of time on my hands."

Rahne growled. "All right, then, so what's she on about?"

"The ship? Um..." Jamie concentrated. "Oh, good. Seems the sentient programs now think we're... pirates."

"Pirates? Of all th'..."

"Or squirrels. Ancient Shi'ar has a number of ambiguous words. But I think pirates makes more sense in context."

"D'ye think so?" Another laser burst nicked Rahne; she morphed back to her less-obtrusive human form and scooted further underneath the pilot's console. "Jamie, d'ye think possibly ye could talk to it an' convince it we're, say, NOT pirates?"

"Love to," said Jamie. A burst hit near his nose, and he flinched. "It's just that I understand the language better than I pronounce it, and..."

"JAMIE!"

"Yeah, okay." Jamie took a deep breath and poked his head out of the console. "Ship! *Rija m'karu... umm... shi k'ana... err, isko?"

The lasers fell silent. Rahne dared to breathe. Jamie started to rise... until twenty lasers took aim and blasted him back under the console.

"Jamie!" Rahne cried, afraid to look.

"I'm okay..." he groaned. "Just a little singed. But yeah, so I can't talk to it."

"I think ye insulted its mother..." Rahne growled again, thinking dark thoughts. Chief among them: *Where the hell is Jean Grey now that we need her?*

***

Alex Summers was engaged in the business of pumping a couple of nuclear bombs worth of solar energy into an imaginary dragon when he saw Jean fall.

"Jeannie, no!" He cursed. "Lorna, we've got to..."

"What?" Lorna demanded. She was on her knees, determined lines etched in her face, as she fought to keep the cage intact and the dragon fought to demolish it. She couldn't even turn and look.

"I don't understand," Alex said. "Merlin's got her down, but he's just *standing* there... are they still fighting on the astal plane? But how--"

"Alex, *I really don't care just now!* Help me!"

Alex sighed, turned, and fired again. He blasted another head clean off; a moment later, the thing had *three* heads.

"I thought I asked you to stop doing that," Lorna said.

"Sorry, bad aim." He paced a little. "C'mon, think! What we've got do is shut down that ship! Can you generate an EMP pulse to knock it out, or..."

"Tried that," Lorna said. "It's shielded. I don't think even you could blast through it."

The dragon smashed in one of its cage walls; she built it up, her green hair matted with sweat. The dragon roared at her and she snarled back, pushing herself toward the limit of what even her biological father Magneto could have accomplished. And it just wasn't going to be enough, unless...

"Interference, then," said Alex. "Can't you generate some kind of magnetic interference between here and the ship? Something to get in the way of its holographic projectors?"

Lorna sighed. "Maybe. But if it doesn't work and I let go of this thing, our friend's going to have plenty of time to come out and play before I can try again..."

"Let me handle that. Do it."

"Okay." Polaris took a deep breath, and: "Here goes..."

She turned from the cage; the dragon smashed it immediately, and Alex staggered it with a full-strength plasma blast. Meanwhile, Lorna raised hell with all the magnetic energy between them and the ship. The dragon shimmered, stuttered and vanished like a picture from a fuzzy TV screen. The crowd's reaction pretty much mirrored Alex's own: Cheers mixed with "What the hell just happened?"

"So... that's it?" he said.

Lorna laughed, a sound without humor. "Not really. It's still transmitting, so I've got to keep up the interference constantly-- and I'm pretty tired already. You've got about three minutes to fix this, Alex."

"Okay..."

But fix what? Alex looked from left to right Should he try to blast into the ship, maybe help shut it down? Or help Jean, who still lay unconscious at Merlin's feet? The lady or the tiger, so to speak?

He never got to decide. Instead there came a thunder of hoofbeats, and before Alex knew what was going on, he and Lorna were surrounded by half a dozen of Merlin's mutant knights. Each of them was without their armor. They'd seen the kind of tricks Lorna could pull on men in shiny metal outfits.

"Hey, guys," Alex said, looking up at them. "Late to the party, aren't you?"

The beardless, handsome young fellow in the lead cast a horrified look across the field at Lancelot's body, then thrust his wooden lance under Alex's throat.

He winced. "I guess you two knew each other?"

"I am Sir Galahad," said the boy. "This man was my father."

"I'm sorry. Listen, I really don't have a lot of..."

The boy tossed aside his lance, leaped off his mount with unnatural agility, and grabbed Alex by the throat. Plates of biological armor like his father's snapped into place around his chest and neck.

"...but I guess I'll make the time."

"Alex..." Lorna warned. "I can't hold him much longer..."

"Then I suggest you don't."

"But he'll..."

"Not seeing a lot of options here, Lorna," said Alex, as the knight began to squeeze.

"Right." Lorna sighed. "Have fun, boys."

Her shoulders slumped. Galahad swore and threw Alex to the ground, while his knights raised their weapons in the direction of the fire-breathing dragon that had reappeared in their midst.

***

Merlin staggered on the astral plane as though struck, putting as much distance as he could between himself and this strange child. He raised his hands to defensive posture. She didn't even move.

"How can you know?" he demanded. "A child alone couldn't..."

"We're not children. And we're not alone; we are Five. Plus something extra."

"Five or fifty, it matters not!" He gestured as though he could sweep her away with the palm of his hand. "It won't do you any good, even if you tell them. I am the essence of that which cannot be defeated."

"Except by one."

Merlin's eyes grew wide and hungry. "Xavier..."

"I'm taking Miss Grey," said the girl, and she turned.

Merlin covered the space between them in two strides, snatched her by the throat, and lifted her high in the air. Mindee yelped and struggled, but his grip was unshakable as iron.

"Where is he?"

"You'll never know," she said.

Black fire raced down Merlin's arm and leaped onto the girl. She screamed as her flesh began to burn, and the fire spread down her body...

"Where is Xavier? I want him NOW!"

"If you kill me, you'll never find him."

"Won't I?" Merlin laughed. "You've slipped up, girl. I only steered clear of you and your sisters in the hope you'd reveal your secret. Now I know what it is. If you won't tell me, the others will. One in particular."

The glow left Mindee's eyes; for a moment, she was nothing but a frightened child. "Esme...!"

"Such a delightfully selfish young thing. It will be my pleasure to teach her. She might even stand beside me, in time..."

"She won't." Mindee stuck out her lower lip, defiant. "We are one."

"I don't think so. I don't think I need you, either..."

The fire spread. Mindee screamed. Merlin reveled in his power, anticipating making a light snack of the girl before turning back to Jean Grey...

A brilliant light burst forth from the child, the combined strength of the Five-in-One wielded in a single, hard blow, like a punch to the jaw. Merlin dropped her, more surprised than hurt. He reached for her again...

"Don't," said Mindee, very cold. Her flesh should have been blackened and peeled, as Merlin's had been under Jean's assault, but she shook herself and shed the injuries like a second skin.

"That's better," said the girl, eyes returned to a healthy glow. "You won't hurt me."

"Watch me." Merlin summoned all the power at his disposal, including that which he'd drained from Jean, and focused it for an overwhelming assault...

"We're prepared to kill them."

She said it so quietly, so matter-of-fact, that Merlin needed a moment to realize what she'd said, and stalled his attack at the last instant. He scanned her as deeply as he could manage. The center of Mindee's essence was a blank, a white hole of sorts in communication with four Universes at once. The rest of her revealed nothing.

"You wouldn't," he said at length. "That would defeat your purpose. You wish to protect Xavier's students."

"Do we?"

He paced around her, a shark circling its prey. Mindee kept turning so that her glow ever opposed his shadow, and still she revealed nothing.

"You expect me to believe you'd just... murder all your friends? In their sleep, perhaps? You're not so cold, girl."

"The Five-in-One doesn't have friends." Mindee shrugged. "Besides, it doesn't have to be all of them. Just the *right* ones."

He stopped short. "You know which--"

"Bobby Drake. Clarice Ferguson. Jonothon Starsmore. Kitty Pryde." She ticked the names off on her fingers. "Shall I go on?"

"No," he whispered. "If you were willing, you'd have killed them already. The stakes are too high..."

"But the game is fun." Another little smile.

"You're bluffing."

"Hurt miss Grey," she said. "Find out."

Merlin regarded the girl. Deceit was a part of him; he could *smell* it. But the light surrounding her hurt his senses. He couldn't get a reliable reading. He couldn't risk being wrong.

"Take her," he said, and turned. "I don't need to destroy her. Today."

"Then you won't be destroyed in turn. Today."

He growled softly. "Don't exult in your victory, child. This is only beginning."

"Oh, I know," said Mindee. "You'll be seeing us again."

Merlin dissolved to shadow and was gone. Mindee Cuckoo knelt beside the fallen redhead and exhaled a slow sigh of relief. "It's all right, Miss Grey, you can wake up. We chased the dragon away. For now... just for now."

****

"All right," said Jamie Madrox. "I'll create a protective wall of dupes, and while they take the brunt of the lasers, you can..."

Rahne Sinclair snarled. "Ach, Jamie, losin' that many dupes in that short a span may cripple ye! An' even if it doesna, t'would have to be me shuttin' down th' console, an' suppose I only make it worse again?"

"Well, Rahne, I concede those points. I would only reply that the ship *really* doesn't like us now, and I'd rather not wait around for it to think of something even worse to do to us! So if you don't like that plan, what's yours?"

"I..." Rahne rubbed at the bridge of her nose; she had a monster headache of her own brewing. "None. I've got none."

"Okay." One of Jamie's gloved hands reached around from the other side of the console. "We go for it, then. And if it doesn't work out, Rahne, it's been a hell of a lot of fun."

She squeezed his hand. "That it has. Jamie, I..."

WHAM! Before she could finish her sentence-- or even really decide what she was planning to say-- something crumpled the cockpit door like tissue paper. It hit the console in front of Rahhe and dropped down, followed by the echo of heavy boots.

"Awright, who's in charge a' wakeup calls in this crummy joint?"

"Marko!"

Rahne said a prayer; Jamie started to laugh. Cain Marko stood in the middle of the cockpit with lasers ricocheting off his armor for a minute; then, like a man annoyed by biting gnats, he took two steps forward and swatted the console-- hard. For Rahne, trapped in a tiny echoing space underneath, it was not the most pleasant experience-- but when she dug herself out from what was left of it, the lasers had fallen silent and the cockpit was dark.

"Ach, ye dimwitted-- this time I've got t' kiss ye!"

And she did-- throwing herself into Cain's arms and planting one on his cheek. The Juggernaut appeared a bit too distracted to enjoy the moment. Rahne barely heard the groan.

"That's okay, nobody needs to help me, I've got dupes, after all..."

A moment later, when Jamie had reabsorbed the two Madri that dug him out of the wreckage, he slapped Cain Marko's back.

"Nice sense of timing," he conceded. "So... wait... the *interior-defense lasers* woke you up?"

"Wuzzat what they were?" The Juggernaut shrugged. "Hell, that ain't nothin'. Got woke up by the Hulk once. Now *that's* a funny story..."

"Tell it later," said Rahne. "We may be needed outside..."

****

But they really weren't. The dragon had barely engaged with the flummoxed knights when Alex loaded up a full-strength plasma blast and struck it head-on. The last several blasts of that caliber hadn't really bothered it...

This one, as far as anyone on the field could tell, proved quite effective. Striking at just the moment the Juggernaut shorted out the controls, it created a brilliant flash... and when those assembled blinked the spots from their eyes, the dragon was gone.

Lorna frowned at Alex. "Did you just...?"

"Not to my knowledge. But hey, if that's what they think happened..."

He didn't get much time to enjoy his notoriety before Galahad was at his throat again. "And now, cur, you will face justice for my father's death..."

Lorna made a face. "Okay, back off, Bunky, or you are *so*..."

"Hold!" said another voice: King Arthur, or the kingdom's shabby imitation of him, who approached the knot of combatants along with Guinevere, Merlin... and, to Alex's relief, a somewhat shaken Jean Grey, who was supported on her feet by Mindee Cuckoo.

"You accuse this man falsely," said the Queen. "In fact, the beast slew your father in full view of us all. Lady Grey's friend has done nothing but avenge him."

"But..." said Galahad.

"Enough, Knight," said Merlin, with a glare at Jean. "There will be another day."

Guinevere said, "I hope, Alexander, that we can depend on you and your lady to defend us upon that day. From what we have seen, there can be no doubt you are true knights."

"Yes, but..." Alex glanced at Jean, who shrugged. The whole point of the exercise had been to avoid those responsibilities and whatever traps Merlin would lay along with them. But when the queen called you a hero in front of her whole kingdom, what was a guy supposed to do?

They knighted them that evening, to great acclaim, and held a party afterward. Nobody on either side looked very happy about it, so Alex supposed that amounted to a compromise.

****

Jean didn't attend. Mindee took her straight to bed and looked after her all evening-- along with Sean Cassidy, who had also gotten hurt and missed the whole adventure. Alex was feeling a little too heroic and much too full of mead to ask how.

He didn't forget to check in on Jean, though. He knocked on her door about midnight, and to his surprise, received an immediate answer. He stepped inside, shutting it quietly behind him.

Jean was sitting up in bed, looking troubled. Alex took a chair beside her and just sat there for a time without speaking.

"I'm sorry," Jean said at length. "I was convinced I had it all under control... but no part of my plan worked. I could have gotten you all killed today."

"The plan was fine. That was one tough sucker of a dragon. It happens."

Jean shook her head. "You should take over the team, Alex. I... I'm not even sure I trust myself anymore."

"Forget it; it's all yours." He sighed. "Look, Jeannie... I'll back you to the gates of Hell, but I'm not Scott and I'm sick of trying to be him."

"Oh, will you stop that? Stop comparing yourself to Scott! In some ways, you're better than... I mean, I doubt you'd ever... on the other hand, he wouldn't have made a mistake like..." Jean trailed off. "Maybe I should take my own advice."

"Bingo," said Alex. He took her hand. "Jeannie... what happened today, between you and Merlin?"

Jean appeared far away for a moment. "I Phoenixed on him, Alex. I mean, I completely *lost* it and... and Phoenixed on him. And he didn't even blink."

"How's that possible?"

"I don't know. He's not entirely human, I'll tell you that. There was something in him... that I wasn't expecting. But I won't make that mistake again."

"You think he has some connection to the Slayer?" Alex asked, naming the apparently cosmic entity they'd heard of through Rogue's team (* see X-Factor: Eternity).

"Alex, I think it might be worse than that. I think maybe he *is* the Slayer... and I have no idea the limits of his power."

Alex nodded slowly. "Well... it can't be too bad, right? You fought him to a draw. You must have. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let you live."

"Right. I must have."

Jean didn't look convinced. She looked out through the window and shivered. Alex took a shawl off a nearby table, wrapped it around her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head.

"Get some rest, boss. We start knighting tomorrow. Lord help the kingdom."

Jean laughed. Alex started to go, then paused at the door.

"Oh, and stay away from Rahne for a few days. She's a little upset."

Jean nodded. "She's not alone... but thanks, Alex. For everything."

She blew out the candle and settled into bed. Alex nodded and walked away.

****

Outside, in the nighttime chill, a somewhat battered Sean Cassidy was looking out across the city when Lorna Dane fluttered onto the balcony beside him.

"The spaceship's stowed away, back in the mountains," she said. "Luckily for us, Merlin's about as invested as we are in keeping it hidden."

"Thank th' Good Lord for small favors," Sean said.

Lorna glanced across the courtyard, at the window of Jean Gray's room, where the light had just gone out. "Why do you suppose she always confides in him?"

Sean cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, lass, you an' I have had our... issues, haven't we? An' Rahne don't trust her an' Madrox has always been a wild card. Would yeh have her make plans with the Juggernaut?"

"I'd have her stop treating us like pawns."

"Alex is the one she trusts," Sean finished, "an' rightly so. What concern is it of yours, if yeh don't mind me askin'? I thought yeh were with Bobby."

"I..." Lorna started, then laughed. "To tell you the truth, Sean, even I don't remember anymore..."

He shared the chuckle-- of all the ongoing soap operas the X-Men attracted, none was so long-running as Alex/Lorna/Bobby, and everyone knew it. Then, sobering, the Banshee said, "I'd give it no thought a'tall. There's never been anything between 'em."

"New time and place, Sean. Strange situation. New rules, maybe. For instance... a man we trusted might start lying to us?"

Sean whirled, and saw Lorna looking at him a little slyly. He waited for her to continue...

"You told Jean... what? You were in a scrape at the tavern? Since when is the Banshee thrashed by an English peasant?"

"Well..." Sean tried to look sheepish and innocent. He failed at both. "I didn't care t' scream on 'im. And I had a few pints in me."

"Right." Lorna stepped forward. "I've been Quicksilver's teammate, Sean. I recognize his attack pattern. Now, why don't you tell me your game... and where I can find my dear brother?"

Sean Cassidy stared at her, and stammered, and couldn't think of a thing to say.

END

In Issue #4: Family Reunion!

See the other Eternity series: Uncanny X-Men, New X-Men, X-Force, and X-Factor, online now!

Next Up: Uncanny X-Men #4: "White Queen, Black King." Coming soon!