Black Air proverb- We are not searching for Wisdom. We already found him.
The hologram emitted a slight hum. It had appeared in the centre of the room. The hologram was of a woman in mid to late thirties. She wore a simple red gown with no embroidery.
A man's voice spoke from the darkness, saying simply "Begin".
The woman turned to face the place in the shadows. "It will begin with knowledge and lies. A green knight. A man of shadows. A woman kept from the truth. And a killer who must choose one of two roads. Both may lead to death."
BELIEF
Excalibur: MFS Issue 1
Written and created by Mark PeytonInspired by Dan Abnett, Alan Davis and Warren Ellis
Jack looked back up the corridor coolly. The others crouched or braced themselves to the walls around him. He turned so he looked towards the closed door. He drew his gun from its holster and held the barrel under his nose, breathing its scent. In the corner of his eye he spied Nocturne move forward. He stood up from his crouched position and walked with him to the door. Nocturne stopped and swept a gloved hand inches away from the portal. He gradually moved the hand closer till he touched the door itself. "We're clear," he said, turning to Jack.
Jack nodded. "Now check if it's locked." Somebody behind stifled a giggle. Nocturne turned the handle and pulled sharply stepping to the side. The door opened and Jack signalled the other two to catch up. He wasn't keen on the burden of heading a team. Especially a team with one man down. He'd only worked with a couple of these people before. Who knew what they'd heard about him. Trust Black Air to place him, Union, in charge.
Black Air Belief - No one within Black Air is more or less than one. We are greater as a whole and a part.
Tangerine blotted out the thoughts of uncertainty running through Union's mind. Her own worries were enough distraction without touching on his soiled mind. The only person she had known in this group was the one they were looking for. The one who had led them off their intended aim. 'Damn you Cham', she thought. 'This isn't like you.' She held her energy sword down as they moved forward. Union and Nocturne led the way, neither really looking at the other one. Behind them walked a strange little man she thought was called Scratch. He held his hands down by his sides, his fingers outstretched. The two at the front turned the corner and the swearing began. In a hail of profanity the two dived back round the corner as blasts whistled by. Tangerine brought the blade up and activated a small energy shield. Union and Nocturne caught their breath, resting against the wall, then stood up. Around the corner walked a misshapen amalgamation of techno-wizardry and bio-occultism. These were shells of people who had given themselves over centuries ago to their master. These were the Psycho Warriors. Once they had served the board of Mys-tech. Now they served simply the man called Crowe.
Black Air Belief - We are a brotherhood. If someone asks us for information we will provide it to the best of our knowledge. We have but one secret.
Scratch brought his hand up slashing across the Psycho Warrior's face. The word 'CUT' flashed through his mind as his razorsharp fingertips sliced through the thing's encounter suit and deep into its being. The black liquid running through its veins splattered onto Scratch and ran down his face and suit. The creature fell to its knees and he looked for a new opponent. At his side Tangerine blocked a laser blast with her shield and then struck with her energy sword. She looked away as the blow hit home. Scratch could not remember the last time he felt any sort of remorse, especially for an unliving thing. Jack had discarded his pistol and was fighting with his staff, attacking two at once. The calmness that had been on his face was now replaced with a savage intensity.
Seeing all adversaries accounted for Scratch lowered his hands and moved amidst the carnage carefully. He certainly looked a curious sight within the group. Jack, or Union as he was known on missions, wore a greeny grey cloak under which he was encased in a form fitting body armour. Nocturne was dressed in tight black clothes accentuating his slimness. If Scratch had known anything about twentieth century literature he might have likened Nocturne to one Elric of Melnibone. Nocturne seemed glad of the low lighting in their surroundings and was now the only one in the group who was not splattered with the Psycho Warrior's black liquid. Tangerine, on the other hand, was wiping the liquid from herself. She hid her eyes behind a black visor trying to mask her discomfort. One thing struck Scratch about her - her vivid red hair. Amidst all the dark clothes it was like a beacon of hope.
But there he stood in a simple business suit, now streaked with sweat and the life liquid of the Warriors on him. Torn between civilization and savagery. He moved forward and turned looking blankly. Tangerine caught him up and clasped her hands to her face. Shifting between nothingness and bloodied stillness was a man hung across a doorframe - Chameleon. Jack came forward and said said solemnly "Cut him down. Now!"
Tangerine stood holding her arms to herself. She couldn't take her eyes from Chameleon's torn body. The others kept their distance as if they were competing in some stoic macho competition. She wasn't going to break down in front of them. Her mind pushed almost instinctively for Cham's mind and found blankness. She shivered and cried within.
Jack held his staff at the ready. "Cover him up. Lets get this done quickly. And cause damage."
Black Air Belief - We have but one secret. We seek the sword that united a country. We seek Excalibur.
The front door blew as Jack walked out. A Psycho Warrior came at him, being met by his staff. Nocturne fought at his side felling his adversary. Jack turned to Nocturne and nodded. The dark clad mage threw out his arms and was enveloped by a portal of blackness. Jack breathed a sigh of relief - one safely away from his watch. Tangerine ran past in a flash of orange, blasting behind her. Jack looked back and shouted after her, "Where's Scratch?"
Tangerine kept running. "No idea. He disappeared into a bunch of Psychos in there."
Jack started after her. "Get out of here. I'll cover you and see if I can find Scratch." She nodded and leapt at the wall. Her hand took hold and she sommersaulted over. Jack looked on impressed, then swivelled and ran back into the complex. 'Where the hell was Scratch?' he thought.
With black liquid streaming down his face Scratch walked out of the building. Behind him lay chaos. He patted his pocket, smiled and walked away. There was a delivery to make.
Jack ran through the building, sidestepping bodies. 'This is hopeless.' Another room and yet more bodies. 'He's long gone. And I better be too.' He ran towards the outer shell of the building. A closed door lay ahead and he levelled his staff at it. Energy shot from the end striking the door as he came closer. The door began to glow and he shielded his head as it shattered. He burst through the other side as shots rang around him. The shapes came closer and he realised he was surrounded. 'No point running', he thought, stopping and swirling his staff. 'I stand here and fight.' The black shapes of the Psycho Warriors swarmed around and descended upon him like locusts. The green of his cloak was consumed by the darkness. He fought valiantly. If an old fashioned bard had been present songs would have been sung of the fight.
Ifs can haunt a life forever. If Jack, or Union as he was also known, had not been pulled from the Psycho Warrior's clutches he might not have had long to consider might have beens. But plucked he was. By a man unlike any other. One of the individuals left in the world who had witnessed the age of the Marvels and had walked through history from Medieval times. A man unlike any other and no records existed of either him nor the family he had spawned throughout his life. He was called Adam, a man of invulnerability and immortality- a gift from his wife. He was a Destine and it was he who pulled Jack from the clutches of the Psycho Warriors. So began the fall of Black Air and the quest for a sword.
Scratch handed the disk to the man and nodded. The room was lit moodily by small hanging lamps. He had only been in this room once before and had been sworn to secrecy about it. That was when he'd realised he enjoyed secrets. Black Air was all about openness and here, this room, was a secret it kept from itself. The man took the disk and said "You will be contacted soon. We thank you for this." Scratch nodded again and turned, catching a glimpse of what appeared to be two figures framed in the darkness. He walked from the room, leaving its denizens to their discussions.
As the door closed behind Scratch, the lights on the room began to illuminate. The man who had taken the disk walked to the figures. The figures were of a man and woman holding hands. As they looked towards the approaching man both their faces flickered with the same face. That of a man with long brown straggly hair and a wispy beard. It was the female form that spoke with his voice first. "I think that that man would make a good little dog soldier."
The other man nodded. "He's a killer alright and you are going to need more agents to carry out the missions ahead. Agents that know the truth."
The male form spoke this time with the same voice. "I am aware of that Albion. Do not infuriate me. If I should wish I could take your face as my own."
Albion stopped. "I've seen you do it to others. Why should I be any different."
"Because Albion you serve loyally and that keeps your body under your control. Now do Crowe's records point to any leads about the sword?" said the female form.
"Yes Mr Mountjoy I think we have a solid enough lead. We need to send agents into England."
"I thought we might. A trip to England will help convince doubters that they really are seeking Excalibur and keep them off our real goal. Now draw up a list of agents for me. My bodies need rest and so I must change." The two bodies, hand in hand, slowly walked past Albion as if in a world of their own and headed to be replaced.
Black Air Truth - We are being lied to.
Next issue - We learn more about who exactly our main characters are as some journey into England to meet a Fae Queen. More weird goings on and some truths as we witness some AWAKENINGS soon.
Welcome to the first issue of Excalibur: Future Shock. How do I explain this title? Firstly I'll attribute blame. The whole idea that I should write Excalibur was suggested by my friend Jericho Vilar, who held the position of this sites AEIC at the time. He and I share a mutual love of Warren Ellis and all he writes and he's seen me talk about how it was Warren Ellis alone that got me to buy Excalibur. And so he said that Excalibur as a title had been provisionally reserved for me. Now people who know my writing for DC Futures might have picked up on the fact that I'm a DC Nut. I buy very few Marvel titles leaving it to my brother Alex to be the Marvel Phile. But Jericho got me thinking.
Excalibur is to be a strange little series. After a couple of issues its true focus should become clear and you may even realise who the main characters are amongst the many you'll be introduced to. You should see lots of what Europe of this time is like as Black Air is a band of wanderers. You should also meet lots of characters, many of whom you may never have heard of. The inspiration for this series comes from many old Marvel UK titles. You'll see elements not only of Excalibur, but also Clandestine, Dark Angel and the Knights of Pendragon. Things have changed but you'll meet lots of quirky characters. And hopefully like some of them too.
This is a new site. We've got some excellent writers here all bringing their own energy and skill with them. I'd certainly suggest a look at Paul McNally's Hulk title, Robin Sutton's Spidey and Alex Peyton's Thunderbolts. All should be different, but all should compliment each other.
If you'd like to email me then send letters to starman26@hotmail.com We'll probably sort out a new address once things are up and running. So if you know what Mountjoy is really after or you want to lambast me for having Adam Destine, but no Crimson Crusader then mail me. I hope you stick around because things get hotter from here on in.
Mark
Mark Peyton is the current Assistant Editor in Chief for Marvel Future Shock. His other work includes Starman and Challengers of the Unknown (with Robin Sutton) for DC Futures and the forthcoming Sparks/Hawksmoor Oneshot (with Jericho Vilar) for Shattered Image. He probably writes too much and drinks too much Coke. All slander may or may not be true depending on who you heard it from and how much you paid them.