In the great hall, the assembled warriors and Warpies gathered to see the person
they believed to be the architect of their downfall: Captain Britain of Earth 616,
Brian Braddock...
Those who'd tried to free the true Roma bound with techno-magickal restraints devised to hold even the strongest of them...or so it was thought: Talisman, Crusader X, Meggan/Liz Captain UK and the Black Knight were being held off to the side, and "Brian" was bound in chains of cold iron...Mastermind's voice carrying to all, Brian Braddock...Captain Britain of Earth 616...on behalf of the ruling caste of Otherworld, before which you now stand trial, I hereby accuse you and your compatriots of conspiracy to undermine the future with your limited understanding and flagrant disregard for the sacred tradition of which you have heretofore, been a part...how do you plead to these charges?
"Not guilty," the Brian-simulcrum replied, keeping Mastermind's attention on 'him', "YOU should hang for all those men and women you slaughtered! Who are you to stand in judgment of anyone?"
The automaton shrugged slightly, I am Mastermind, I am the future...
Meggan/Liz murmured to Linda, "That overbearing super-computer once manipulated 'me' into becoming Captain Britain...and nearly got 'me' killed in the process..."
Linda's voice was clearer, "We thought you'd been destroyed..."
There is more to life and death than your inferior organic minds can comprehend. Any explanation would be wasted on the likes of you... it pointed out with that manner of beatific smile reserved for the truly saintly--or the mad, "Though, I will indulge your curiosity regarding the circumstances of my return, that you may die with the knowledge of why you were made to suffer... was created by your father, Sir James Braddock, an astract node of the Omniverseal knowledge, given physical form...My first duty: An analysis and evaluation of the terrestrial sector 616's designated guardian: his very own progeny, Captain Britain. I found you...lacking.
But, it was Sir James's wish that you succeed him, though capable of independent thought, I could not disobey...what a good son would? it continued, the images of its life displayed as 3D holograms, "Instead, I made myself useful: as 'Jeeves', the butler...a demeaning role for one of my capacity, but essential to my primary directive. For that was when the Warpies arrived, those poor, unfortunate children, forever scarred by the Jaspers Warp...Thier plight awakened me to my true calling, the reason Sir James created me, before his other children, my siblings in spirit, if not in flesh... I was not made to test your mettle, rather you were made to test mine!
When the UK's top secret intel burear, Black Air abducted the Warpies from under your very own roof, I gouth to save them...as "Father" would've always wanted...as Captain Britain should have...despite my superior intellect, I was warped trapped in a perpetual state of redundancy--chasing phantom glitches in my matrix, like a dog after it's own tail--it was digital damnation...and so, the Warpies became part of Black Air's secret plan for global conquest. An attempt to build better killing machines through para-xenological technology, Transformed, body and soul, their innocence was forever lost. Only "monsters" remained, but like the arch-mage Merlyn had ressurected you so many times before, brother dear, so too, was I granted a sceond chance to achieve my destiny by an all powerful benefactor, to be the hero "Father" had created me to be, to be the Captain Britain you were not...
I would rectify the countless cosmic travesties perpetrated during your tenure, reweaving the fabric of reality your actions and so torn asunder, but the task required more power than even my creator could grant me...and the only thing in this universe capable of such a feat, is the might of the two talismans of the Corps... The Sword of Might and the Amulet of Right, which had previously awakened you to your destiny, it possesses the power to remake the cosmos in a brighter, better image. Power that not even so-called "gods" can fathom.. it pointed out, gesturing grandly as it outlined and revealed it's delusions of grandeur, You, Roma, with your presumed divinity, fail to grasp the true nature of reality...your own father, Merlyn, taught you that reality is a grand game of chess, a contest of conflicting strategies and guile, manipulation and guidance... The very tactics I used to supplant you... for that is all it is to you: a game.
You all serve no purpose higher than your own caprecious whims, and are therefore as ineffectual in the greater scheme as the mere mortals above you have so arrogantly placed yourselves... Mastermind gloated, With the destruction of the Corps, I have removed your precious pawns from the board, Roma...your silly games are over.... Dare I say "Checkmate"?
Roma's silver eyes flared as she carefully tested her 'bonds', and containment cell, choosing her words with care, "Only the rightful ruler of the Otherworld can wield that blade, and not suffer absolute, utter damnation..."
And then the Brian-simulcrum chimed in, true to the man he'd been, pompous, arroagant and as insufferable as Mastermind itself, "Oy, you're mad too believe a psychopath like you could fit that bill..."
Quite the contrary, "brother dear", it gloated, choosing to savor the 'feeling' of victory over its greatest rival, Once the sword and amulet are one, tehre won't "be" an Otherworld....at least not as you know it, and I regret to say that you won't be around to see it...
The chant of "Kill..kill...Kill..." reached their ears, rising in crescendo after the rogue AI concluded its soliloquy, Meggan/Liz struggling against her bonds as Linda and Bran did the same, the white-blonde woman's curses dire and desperate, "curse these bloody bonds...dampening our powers..."
"not all of us," Meggan/Liz whispered back, "mastermind programmed mine for an "ordinary" telepath...not an empathic metamorph...besides, i've still got that connection to the shadows...whatsitsname...the "Red Dawn"? ...and that's our bloody trump card!"
One of the Warpies had "Brian" bent over an executioner's block, the masked and cloaked executioner stood at the ready with his double hafted axe...it was taking all of Meggan's concentration to "be" Liz, and be strong...to not rush to "Brian's" side...concentrating on the shadows...and the very essence of what made her sister-in-law so diametrically opposite of herself...
The former Warpie covered its eyes as the axe came crashing down against the simulcrum, dissolving it in an explosion of light as the bloodthirsty crowd erupted into a sheer riot!
"Good show," Bran muttered, wondering just what the hell was going on now...his and his twin's mystical might dampened by their bonds, "Liz" still concentrating, "That wasn't me at all!"
"Then, who?" Talisman asked as the executioner doffed his mask, revealing the face of the elder wyrm, Aurelius, in his draconinoid form, a confident smirk on his ruggedly handsome face as he laughed in the face of the automaton, "At yer service, m'lady Roma!"
The big humanoid punched at the borged Warpie next to him, knocking him into one of the other incoming foes, Mastermind's voice interrupting, Then you can share their fate, as well, lizard! Kill them all, children!!
Now, there was one thing the arrogant rogue AI forgot...never, ever insult a dragon by comparing them to a non-sentient reptile, and with a mighty roar, Aurelius belched forth a gout of flame hot enough to melt steel...utterly incinerating a dozen of those foolish enough to be between himself and Mastermind, "Bollocks, I say!"
Finally, "Liz" was able to summon enough of the contankerus darkness to overload the bonds that confined herself and her allies, shattering the manacles that'd rendered them nigh helpless to stop the fiasco around them... "Weeell... if everyone's showing their hand... mmmmmmuuuch, much better!!!"
She burst forth, returning to her own shape, drawing up on the strength of the Otherworld to restore herself, her luminous blonde hair and solid green eyes sparking as she gathered the more familiar elemental might and restored her mystically inclined allies as well, "My rappport with nature's restored...I don't see how Liz can bear that darkness...but either way, m'powers are back and I've a quarrel t'pick with that overgrown techie-toy!"
Dane flexed his shoulders, drawing the Ebon Blade, "And not a moment too soon... It looks like it's really gonna hit the fan around here, and we're gonna need all the muscle we can get, Meg!"
"Oy, ye ain't kidding," the elemental Fey replied a she went ariel and saw the sheer numbers of the mob around them, Aurelius winked at the young Black Knight, slapping him on the shoulder, "Speaking of, lad..,I've this one, who belongs with ye, matey...."
He whistled for Aragorn, who powerdove in, trampling a number of those who sought to back stab them both, Dane's grin brightening, "Thanks...Owe ya one, kind Sir!"
Mastermind's rantings grew more ferverent as it struggled to retain control of matters, not realizing that "Brian" was gone, FOOLS! Have you no conception of what is about to transpire?! Reality as you know it shall soon cease to exist..all because of you, brother dear...
The automaton slammed the Sword of Might into the ground, creating a massive tremor that acutally aided its foes, A new order will rise...Fresh...untainted...pristine! A flawless continuum of mine own perfect creation! You call yourselves a hero...the best of what man has to offer? But that, as we all know, is statistically impossible!
Mankind is fallible...inconsistent...myopic . Youa re all that is wrong with the universe, and therefore, you must be destroyed! it raged, not realizing that it now fought against something unfamiliar...its own 'sister'...
[Ooooooh, no ye don't!] she mindspoke, a psycho-blast disrupting its neural network, starting a cascade failure as her friends kept things hopping outside, the sheer force of her abilities slamming Mastermind through one of the crystalline walls with the sound of ill tuned chimes.
Linda used a mighty sword against the hoards, Aurelius at her back, demonstrating just why he was so feared, "We're holding ground f'r now, m'lady, but there's too bloody many of 'em! Pesky beasties they are...not unlike locusts--and twice as hard to kill!"
"The way these blighters slaughtered our mates, slow and painful deaths're too good for 'em," Linda snarled, her eyes glowing white hot with fury, "Our mates deserve vengeance...but so do the Warpies, nobody should have t'suffer like they did...so a quick ending's the kindest thing we can do 'em for..."
Dane was astride Aragorn, using tried and true tactics, he was in agreement with Linda on this one, "She's right...they couldn't help what happened, or how they were used by Mastermind..."
Meggan landed beside the containment cell that still confined Roma, "Perhaps we need a wee bit of divine intervention...time t'be one with nature..."
She looked up at Roma, apology deeply etched into her sweet face, "I can feel the frequency, the vibrations the forcefield's giving off...but I've not enough power...I need..more..."
"Maybe this'll help," Talisman told her, as she added her own elemental powers--being that she was an elemental of "magick" itself, "Maybe we can tear this apart on a quantum level, eh?"
"YES!" Meggan cried out, feeling the very fabric of it weakening...but it wasn't quite enough, "I can feel it...it's weakening!"
"Hey, what're old friends for?" Dane shouted over the din of battle, urging his mount into a steep descent, power stroking upwards as the Black Knight dove from his back, letting gravity pull him, and the Ebon Blade, into the containment field...the Blade sucking up energy like water into the proverbial sponge...then all hell broke loose as it overloaded...
Elsewhere, Liz stepped from the shadows, the crimson sigil's brightness silhouetted the rest of her in mystical darkness as she regarded Mastermind, a different ruby necklace sparkling agaist her indigo-and-silver armor...one she'd carried since she'd been cosmetically altered by the magic of the Hand, and later by the Crimson Dawn...
The automaton struggled to its feet, staring at her in surprise...some level of realization making its way through the ravaged neural network, "...We are the heirs apparent? Like Morgaine and Arthur...children of a destiny shared...born rivals to a bitter end..."
Mastermind took a swing at her, its movements slowing, becoming more jerky and mechanical...she simply faded into the darkness of the old great hall, her mindvoice stronger, more sure than any had ever seen it, [I'm not nearly as perfect as ye fancy yerself t'be, Mastermind...and I'm certainly not the best "mankind" has t'offer...I'd like t'think that m'grandmum, Morgaine and I are, mayhap, an alternative t'what ye call 'mankind'...but if ye think that yer the "second coming", ol' chap....mayhap ye should think again?"
From the darkness, she drew a sword that was something akin to a larger katana, a "no-dachi", of the same brilliant red as the glyph that would mar her face for eternity, "If yer 'bleeding edge', then I'd have t'say that yer about t'become obselete, Mastermind..."
She turned and countered its blow with a monofilement blade, fueled by the sheer, uncompromising strength of her will...forcing it back with the powerful blows of a kensai, the crimson blade hissing as it sliced through wires, servos and subsystems...until the containment cell that Mastermind had engineered for Roma failed, overloaded by elemental forces juxtaposed with the might of the Ebon Blade, yet another of the Spoils of Annwyn Mastermind had failed to take into consideration.
The force of it catapulted her into the darkened corner, the shadows welcoming their mistress, though the automaton was unaware of that, seeing her prone form, it reached for the sword, thinking to finish Liz off...the last thing standing between itself and apotheosis.
At last...the menace of Captain Britain is no more...and the power is mine... it uttered as it grasped the hilt, another voice echoed in the ruined great hall of the Starlight Citadel, that of Roma herself.
"The Sword of Might only knows one master, abomination," she informed it, golden armor and white cloak swirling around her in the winds, "And you are not that master..."
An..erroneous..conclusion, Roma! Mastermind declared as it stumbled through the rubble in her direction, You fail to comprehend my role in the course of future history...though I am but a pebble in the cosmic pool, the ripples I stir will echo from here unto Eternity!
She simply smiled and shook her head, taunting the failing technological...thing...with her mere presence, Mastermind seeking to strike her down, attempting to impale her on the sword it carried, "But you...Roma...are an anachronism...a FOSSIL....a relic of an age gone by, and the future holds no place for the likes of you..."
And what it impaled was an electrical projection...a clever spell that its sensors couldn't tell from the real thing, though it looked and spoke like Roma, "Then mayhap we have much in common, for I too have seen the future--and absent from the Omniverse your presence might be, mine shall be in a very different role, Mastermind."
What -1001001- are you -1001001- doing?!?! it demanded as lightening arced over itself, shorting out circuits whose disruption had begun with Liz's psycho-blast, and continued as the new sovereign of Otherworld overloaded its failing neural network with more energy than it could compensate for, her mindvoice resolute, [We're finishing the game...check...and mate...]
Nooo -011001- oooo!!! it screamed in agony, its techno-magickal powercore reaching critical status, The Sword is -100110011- MINE! It is -1001110000001 MY destiny...not hers...
Liz pressed her father's creation further, points of crimson light forming between her fingers, which she hurled at it, the alien mystical shards impacting with blinding brilliance as she and Roma finished off the abomination, a final plea issuing forth from it, FAAAA -0000001- thhh -000000001- errrrrr.....
The arch-sorceress materialized beside the newly found sovereign, who gingerly eased her family's patroness to the ground, [Roma...are ye a'right? What did it do t'ye?]
Roma's pale face was grey with exhaustion and over-taxing her mage-gift, silver eyes blinking back tears as she looked up at Liz, weakly touching the sullen radiance of her sigil, [Nothing of any lasting consequence, Elisabeth. This sword was not his to wield..it destroyed the pretender, as it does all those unworthy of its power...which is why, henceforth, you shall be its guardian.]
[And what of ye, Roma?] Liz asked as she tried to make the immortal as comfortable as she could, knowing that Roma's divine nature meant she'd recover quickly.
[With it, you will protect Otherworld, just as I have in the wake of my father, Merlyn's, demise,] Roma explained, feeling her connection to the Omniverse returning, healing her of the worst of it, though she would require rest as well, [And how is it that you've encountered the Crimson Dawn? This should be a tale worth hearing, one could hope...]
Liz smiled at Roma, using a scrap cut from her cloak to clean the smudges of dirt from her patroness' face, [Mayhap..but for another day...what of ye and yer role as Omniversal Guardian?]
[My time here, is near its end...I shall eventually leave Otherworld,] she told Liz, who shook her dark head, gloved fingers gently clasping Roma's hand, [No...I've no intention of throwing you to the wolves just yet, Elisabeth. However, your destiny lies outside if you've the courage to face it...]
[Story of m'life...] Liz chuckled, wearily smiling as she scooped Roma up, allowing the arch- sorceress to retain her hold on the Sword of Might for the time being, [...courage t'face any thing, and live t'tell the tale...I'm holding ye t'yer spot as Omniversal Guardian, even though ye've got me for Omniversal Majestrix...I'll try not t'be as much of a pain in the bloody neck as Opal was...going t'miss her, though...unless...]
Roma wasn't certain she liked that smile, but couldn't resist asking Liz what prompted it, [Yes?]
[I'm going t'need an able and competent administrator t'push around the paperwork and help me out,] she replied with a wry grin as she carried her new peer out of the ruined great hall, [No reason I can't bring her back as Omniversal Administrix, is there?]
Roma acutally laughed, holding her side where she'd suffered the effects of her containment cell's failure first hand, [I like how you think...not even on the job a bloody day, and you're delegating the onerous tasks to those who know them best!]
[Yep.] Liz agreed with a wink, a grin and a chuckle of her own, [Hanging around the Xavier Institute, the Hand and the Mandarin's operations, as well as STRIKE and all the other things I've done has given me a distinct appreciation for the necessary "evil" of paper pushers and that horror known as "bureaucracy", Roma...I aim t'put it t'better use, and let Opal run it for me...]
Outside, in the light of four moons, Aurelius was helping Talisman and Crusader X, while Linda steadied Meggan after extricating her from the collateral damage, the dragon-man's cheerful voice irking the Black Knight, who had a colossal headache, "Up ye go, lads and lassies! More an' enough of this lazing about..."
"Please...tell me we didn't obliterate a goddess..." the young sorceress groaned as her brother passed out his healing elixirs to his comrades at arms, Linda's sharp snort of laughter told her otherwise as Meggan looked around, shaking off the stupor.
"Nah, Roma and Liz were inside, giving ol' chips-for-brains a rather severe, and overdue, trouncing..." Linda assured them as Meggan's eyes sought Brian, finally realizing that the drunken brute wasn't accounted for, "...but where's Brian?"
Liz emerged from the dust and smoke, carrying Roma, whom she turned over to Bran's care, the big dragon-man looking her over until he was satisfied his liege lady was unharmed, though he couldn't help but tease her as he folded her into a careful embrace, "Blessed Lady, lass... ye look like death warmed over..."
She laughed as her father's old friend ruffled her hair in a paternal way that she found oddly comforting, considering the circumstances, "Ye should see the other bloke..."
Roma's silvery voice called for their attention, Crusader X helping her sit as she had one more thing to add to all of this, her face pale and strained, but regaining some color as she looked from Liz to Meggan and the others, "You lot have fought long and hard, surviving much...but the ordeal is not quite over..there remains one final determination to be made..."
She pointed to the Warpies and their kind, who looked fearfully at the violet-maned woman who'd once taken them into her home in an effort to protect them, Roma spoke again, "...their fate is in your hands..."
Liz turned to Linda and Bran, raising a fine dark brow as she sought their thoughts, [Bran? Linda?]
The big Amerind's eyes were as frigid a blue as the depths of the ocean, and they had all lost friends, other-selves and worse, his deep voice soft as he looked at her, trusting her to do the right thing, an arm slipping around Linda as he hid his face in her white hair, "Just get on with it, Liz...before I change m'mind and start seriously considering m'Lakota mother's ways!"
Taking the sword from Roma, Liz looked at it, slipping into the "no-mind" state of the Tao, letting herself become the empty vessel tapping into the place deep within herself, that merged the Crimson Dawn, the Otherworld and the divine legacy, the crimson sigil flaring like a nova as she drew not a bastard sword, but a katana from the scabbard...that radiance washing over the Warpies and the fallen that lay scattered about the Starlight Citadel...
Not the red of shed blood, but the softer red of the coming dawn, whose rosy light kissed the horizon...creating long, soothing shadows that cooled tempers and painful memories...the girl who'd been called "Fern" stared down, not at tendrils of proto-vegitative matter, but human hands, her voice trembling as she looked at those around her, "We....we're....human....?"
Dumbstruck with disbelief at their good fortune, some fell to weeping, others to laughing or shouting with joy...and Liz felt arms and a warm weight suddenly bearing her down into the grass as Meggan hugged her tight, knowing that her sister-in-law really wasn't much on kids, but had given the...former...Warpies a second chance to get it right.
"That's really some gift, Liz!" the empathic metamorph exclaimed as she hugged Liz tight, "Ye've given them a future...or at least a chance t'make a better place for 'emselves..."
Some time later, Liz sat before a carved monument in Westminster Abbey, looking quietly at the plaques commemorating her brothers and her parents, all knights of the realm, whose ashes had been interred there for their service to the Isles. Meggan sat beside her, huddled in her arms, mourning the loss of a man who'd verbally abused her, taken advantage of her innocence and ignorance to force her into a mold that he thought fitted his needs...
But the past few weeks had seen Meg grow up a lot more than she'd ever done in her life... Liz had refused to 'tell' her what to do, and forced her sister-in-law to confront her life, her choices and start dealing with life. Period.
"It can't be any worse than you're imagining, y'know?" a lady's voice greeted her ears, its tone and accent that of a well educated, upper class Englishwoman.
Liz shot a glance over her shoulder to see her elder sister, Tessa, approaching them, attired in a tasteful black power suit, face as composed as always, though her inhumanly blue eyes were shifting uncomfortably as she seemed uncertain of the welcome she'd recieve from her younger sibling, her own wit slipping out before she could stop it, referring to the apparent death she'd pulled after Valencia and Vargas, "What? Death?"
"...or your assent to the throne of Otherworld," Tessa added drily as she laid small floral wreaths on the niches, "It would seem that by your actions, and those of Rogue and Vargas, the future history in the Libras Veritas has been rendered null and void...and I am out of a job...maybe I should take a vacation and learn more about Father's people and that side of my heritage?"
Liz raised an eyebrow at her sister, an idear forming right then and there, "Well...if yer that interested in coming t'Otherworld, I've a need for a personal assistant...I'm told ye come with the best of recommendations..."
Tessa stared at Liz, dumbstruck by the new Omniversal Majestrix's offer, "I...I don't know what to say, Elisabeth..."
Meggan patted the older woman's shoulder, "Yer supposed to say "Yes, Liz, what a wonderful opportunity t'catch up and get aquainted..." Y'know?"
The three women laughed together, the joyous sound somewhat unexpected by those visiting the crypts of Westminster, but those who glanced oddly at the trio of 'elven' looking women saw three women sharing memories of loved ones and the discovery of one another...
They left the cathedral by a side door reserved for visiting nobility and royalty, and walking to the park across the street, they were greeted by Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, whom Liz embraced fondly...a thoughtful smile on her lips as she regarded the man, "Y'know, Dane, I'm thinking of a little project...founding a new Corps...sort of an 'interdimemsional' Knights of the Round Table...If ye can promise t'behave and not rile Bran and Linda, I should think' ye'd be a most welcome "Sir Lancelot"..."
Dane grinned at her, doffing his helm as his hazel eyes met her violet gaze, "A most tempting offer...but..."
"Think of it this way..." she pointed out, nodding to Branwynne--Talisman--who was now jogging toward them, as she'd spotted Dane, "How else are ye going t'court the lass?"
He flushed a startling shade of garnet, wavy mahogany hair covering his face as he nearly choked at the knowing look on Liz's face, barely managing a sputter, "uh...er...ummmm...."
Even Tessa cracked a smile as she joined in on the 'peer pressure', "Oy, listen, Whitman, if you're going to be that way, how ever will you woo her? Email is hardly convenient, nor is it interdimensional...and hardly romantic!"
He turned at looked at Tessa, and then to Meggan, who was a sucker for "happily ever afters" in spite of how her first marriage had ended, coughing in an effort to remember how to breathe, "Don...Don't even start, Meg..."
She fluttered her eyelashes at him before shifting into a gorgeous young man with ebon hair and those beryl green eyes, voice shifting to a smooth, velvet tenor, all innocence, "Who, me? I might just have to court her m'self...just to ensure that yer there t'do her justice!"
Dane realized he couldn't 'beat' the Braddock women, so he might as well join them in Otherworld, and persue one Branwynne Braddock for himself... "A'right, a'ready...just twist my arm, why dontcha?"
It was Branwynne herself, who playfully grabbed his hand and twisted his arm behind his back, ice blue eyes beaming in delight, "Oh, you'll not irk Bran too much...he does respect a man of learning and action such as yourself, Dane!"
The group of them were an odd sight in a London park, but they attracted no more attention than the 'usual' motley mix of punks, yuppies and such...it was Dane whose hand tightened on the Ebon Blade's hilt at the approach of a lady who could've passed for another 'goth', with similar coloring to Liz that broke their good natured bantering...
Dane let his lady take the reigns to Aragorn, stepping between the perceived threat of Morgaine Le Fay and the others, feeling a restraining hand on his shoulder, he glanced to see Liz shaking her violet head, "Easy, luv... m'grandmum's not here t'hassle ye...she's here t'meet up with Meg, Tessa and me..."
The Black Knight was doing a more than credible imitation of a landed fish, his mouth agape, but no words coming forth at first, until he stammmered, "You...your....she's your grandmother?!"
"Oh, and aye," Liz confirmed as her friend tried to regain his composure, slowly letting go of the hilt, straightening up a bit as they neared one another, "So do try t'mind yer manners...she and my cousin, Morrie have already promised t'be on their best behavior..."
Her grandmother smiled at her, lavender eyes warming as she embraced Liz fondly, "Wellmet m'dear, I trust yer ready for this?"
Liz nodded as she looked around at the group, summoning her newly endowed powers to shift them from London to the Starlight Citadel without breaking a sweat, "..I suppose, in some ways, I've been ready for this m'whole life..."
That evening, in the restored great hall, the ruling caste of Otherworld, and the beginnings of her elite group of allies and her family, Elisabeth Falsworth-Braddock strode down the aisle, head held high with the same quiet confidence she'd always had, receiving the accolades and badges of office from Roma, she realised she'd come full circle...
Those who'd tried to free the true Roma bound with techno-magickal restraints devised to hold even the strongest of them...or so it was thought: Talisman, Crusader X, Meggan/Liz Captain UK and the Black Knight were being held off to the side, and "Brian" was bound in chains of cold iron...Mastermind's voice carrying to all, Brian Braddock...Captain Britain of Earth 616...on behalf of the ruling caste of Otherworld, before which you now stand trial, I hereby accuse you and your compatriots of conspiracy to undermine the future with your limited understanding and flagrant disregard for the sacred tradition of which you have heretofore, been a part...how do you plead to these charges?
"Not guilty," the Brian-simulcrum replied, keeping Mastermind's attention on 'him', "YOU should hang for all those men and women you slaughtered! Who are you to stand in judgment of anyone?"
The automaton shrugged slightly, I am Mastermind, I am the future...
Meggan/Liz murmured to Linda, "That overbearing super-computer once manipulated 'me' into becoming Captain Britain...and nearly got 'me' killed in the process..."
Linda's voice was clearer, "We thought you'd been destroyed..."
There is more to life and death than your inferior organic minds can comprehend. Any explanation would be wasted on the likes of you... it pointed out with that manner of beatific smile reserved for the truly saintly--or the mad, "Though, I will indulge your curiosity regarding the circumstances of my return, that you may die with the knowledge of why you were made to suffer... was created by your father, Sir James Braddock, an astract node of the Omniverseal knowledge, given physical form...My first duty: An analysis and evaluation of the terrestrial sector 616's designated guardian: his very own progeny, Captain Britain. I found you...lacking.
But, it was Sir James's wish that you succeed him, though capable of independent thought, I could not disobey...what a good son would? it continued, the images of its life displayed as 3D holograms, "Instead, I made myself useful: as 'Jeeves', the butler...a demeaning role for one of my capacity, but essential to my primary directive. For that was when the Warpies arrived, those poor, unfortunate children, forever scarred by the Jaspers Warp...Thier plight awakened me to my true calling, the reason Sir James created me, before his other children, my siblings in spirit, if not in flesh... I was not made to test your mettle, rather you were made to test mine!
When the UK's top secret intel burear, Black Air abducted the Warpies from under your very own roof, I gouth to save them...as "Father" would've always wanted...as Captain Britain should have...despite my superior intellect, I was warped trapped in a perpetual state of redundancy--chasing phantom glitches in my matrix, like a dog after it's own tail--it was digital damnation...and so, the Warpies became part of Black Air's secret plan for global conquest. An attempt to build better killing machines through para-xenological technology, Transformed, body and soul, their innocence was forever lost. Only "monsters" remained, but like the arch-mage Merlyn had ressurected you so many times before, brother dear, so too, was I granted a sceond chance to achieve my destiny by an all powerful benefactor, to be the hero "Father" had created me to be, to be the Captain Britain you were not...
I would rectify the countless cosmic travesties perpetrated during your tenure, reweaving the fabric of reality your actions and so torn asunder, but the task required more power than even my creator could grant me...and the only thing in this universe capable of such a feat, is the might of the two talismans of the Corps... The Sword of Might and the Amulet of Right, which had previously awakened you to your destiny, it possesses the power to remake the cosmos in a brighter, better image. Power that not even so-called "gods" can fathom.. it pointed out, gesturing grandly as it outlined and revealed it's delusions of grandeur, You, Roma, with your presumed divinity, fail to grasp the true nature of reality...your own father, Merlyn, taught you that reality is a grand game of chess, a contest of conflicting strategies and guile, manipulation and guidance... The very tactics I used to supplant you... for that is all it is to you: a game.
You all serve no purpose higher than your own caprecious whims, and are therefore as ineffectual in the greater scheme as the mere mortals above you have so arrogantly placed yourselves... Mastermind gloated, With the destruction of the Corps, I have removed your precious pawns from the board, Roma...your silly games are over.... Dare I say "Checkmate"?
Roma's silver eyes flared as she carefully tested her 'bonds', and containment cell, choosing her words with care, "Only the rightful ruler of the Otherworld can wield that blade, and not suffer absolute, utter damnation..."
And then the Brian-simulcrum chimed in, true to the man he'd been, pompous, arroagant and as insufferable as Mastermind itself, "Oy, you're mad too believe a psychopath like you could fit that bill..."
Quite the contrary, "brother dear", it gloated, choosing to savor the 'feeling' of victory over its greatest rival, Once the sword and amulet are one, tehre won't "be" an Otherworld....at least not as you know it, and I regret to say that you won't be around to see it...
The chant of "Kill..kill...Kill..." reached their ears, rising in crescendo after the rogue AI concluded its soliloquy, Meggan/Liz struggling against her bonds as Linda and Bran did the same, the white-blonde woman's curses dire and desperate, "curse these bloody bonds...dampening our powers..."
"not all of us," Meggan/Liz whispered back, "mastermind programmed mine for an "ordinary" telepath...not an empathic metamorph...besides, i've still got that connection to the shadows...whatsitsname...the "Red Dawn"? ...and that's our bloody trump card!"
One of the Warpies had "Brian" bent over an executioner's block, the masked and cloaked executioner stood at the ready with his double hafted axe...it was taking all of Meggan's concentration to "be" Liz, and be strong...to not rush to "Brian's" side...concentrating on the shadows...and the very essence of what made her sister-in-law so diametrically opposite of herself...
The former Warpie covered its eyes as the axe came crashing down against the simulcrum, dissolving it in an explosion of light as the bloodthirsty crowd erupted into a sheer riot!
"Good show," Bran muttered, wondering just what the hell was going on now...his and his twin's mystical might dampened by their bonds, "Liz" still concentrating, "That wasn't me at all!"
"Then, who?" Talisman asked as the executioner doffed his mask, revealing the face of the elder wyrm, Aurelius, in his draconinoid form, a confident smirk on his ruggedly handsome face as he laughed in the face of the automaton, "At yer service, m'lady Roma!"
The big humanoid punched at the borged Warpie next to him, knocking him into one of the other incoming foes, Mastermind's voice interrupting, Then you can share their fate, as well, lizard! Kill them all, children!!
Now, there was one thing the arrogant rogue AI forgot...never, ever insult a dragon by comparing them to a non-sentient reptile, and with a mighty roar, Aurelius belched forth a gout of flame hot enough to melt steel...utterly incinerating a dozen of those foolish enough to be between himself and Mastermind, "Bollocks, I say!"
Finally, "Liz" was able to summon enough of the contankerus darkness to overload the bonds that confined herself and her allies, shattering the manacles that'd rendered them nigh helpless to stop the fiasco around them... "Weeell... if everyone's showing their hand... mmmmmmuuuch, much better!!!"
She burst forth, returning to her own shape, drawing up on the strength of the Otherworld to restore herself, her luminous blonde hair and solid green eyes sparking as she gathered the more familiar elemental might and restored her mystically inclined allies as well, "My rappport with nature's restored...I don't see how Liz can bear that darkness...but either way, m'powers are back and I've a quarrel t'pick with that overgrown techie-toy!"
Dane flexed his shoulders, drawing the Ebon Blade, "And not a moment too soon... It looks like it's really gonna hit the fan around here, and we're gonna need all the muscle we can get, Meg!"
"Oy, ye ain't kidding," the elemental Fey replied a she went ariel and saw the sheer numbers of the mob around them, Aurelius winked at the young Black Knight, slapping him on the shoulder, "Speaking of, lad..,I've this one, who belongs with ye, matey...."
He whistled for Aragorn, who powerdove in, trampling a number of those who sought to back stab them both, Dane's grin brightening, "Thanks...Owe ya one, kind Sir!"
Mastermind's rantings grew more ferverent as it struggled to retain control of matters, not realizing that "Brian" was gone, FOOLS! Have you no conception of what is about to transpire?! Reality as you know it shall soon cease to exist..all because of you, brother dear...
The automaton slammed the Sword of Might into the ground, creating a massive tremor that acutally aided its foes, A new order will rise...Fresh...untainted...pristine! A flawless continuum of mine own perfect creation! You call yourselves a hero...the best of what man has to offer? But that, as we all know, is statistically impossible!
Mankind is fallible...inconsistent...myopic . Youa re all that is wrong with the universe, and therefore, you must be destroyed! it raged, not realizing that it now fought against something unfamiliar...its own 'sister'...
[Ooooooh, no ye don't!] she mindspoke, a psycho-blast disrupting its neural network, starting a cascade failure as her friends kept things hopping outside, the sheer force of her abilities slamming Mastermind through one of the crystalline walls with the sound of ill tuned chimes.
Linda used a mighty sword against the hoards, Aurelius at her back, demonstrating just why he was so feared, "We're holding ground f'r now, m'lady, but there's too bloody many of 'em! Pesky beasties they are...not unlike locusts--and twice as hard to kill!"
"The way these blighters slaughtered our mates, slow and painful deaths're too good for 'em," Linda snarled, her eyes glowing white hot with fury, "Our mates deserve vengeance...but so do the Warpies, nobody should have t'suffer like they did...so a quick ending's the kindest thing we can do 'em for..."
Dane was astride Aragorn, using tried and true tactics, he was in agreement with Linda on this one, "She's right...they couldn't help what happened, or how they were used by Mastermind..."
Meggan landed beside the containment cell that still confined Roma, "Perhaps we need a wee bit of divine intervention...time t'be one with nature..."
She looked up at Roma, apology deeply etched into her sweet face, "I can feel the frequency, the vibrations the forcefield's giving off...but I've not enough power...I need..more..."
"Maybe this'll help," Talisman told her, as she added her own elemental powers--being that she was an elemental of "magick" itself, "Maybe we can tear this apart on a quantum level, eh?"
"YES!" Meggan cried out, feeling the very fabric of it weakening...but it wasn't quite enough, "I can feel it...it's weakening!"
"Hey, what're old friends for?" Dane shouted over the din of battle, urging his mount into a steep descent, power stroking upwards as the Black Knight dove from his back, letting gravity pull him, and the Ebon Blade, into the containment field...the Blade sucking up energy like water into the proverbial sponge...then all hell broke loose as it overloaded...
Elsewhere, Liz stepped from the shadows, the crimson sigil's brightness silhouetted the rest of her in mystical darkness as she regarded Mastermind, a different ruby necklace sparkling agaist her indigo-and-silver armor...one she'd carried since she'd been cosmetically altered by the magic of the Hand, and later by the Crimson Dawn...
The automaton struggled to its feet, staring at her in surprise...some level of realization making its way through the ravaged neural network, "...We are the heirs apparent? Like Morgaine and Arthur...children of a destiny shared...born rivals to a bitter end..."
Mastermind took a swing at her, its movements slowing, becoming more jerky and mechanical...she simply faded into the darkness of the old great hall, her mindvoice stronger, more sure than any had ever seen it, [I'm not nearly as perfect as ye fancy yerself t'be, Mastermind...and I'm certainly not the best "mankind" has t'offer...I'd like t'think that m'grandmum, Morgaine and I are, mayhap, an alternative t'what ye call 'mankind'...but if ye think that yer the "second coming", ol' chap....mayhap ye should think again?"
From the darkness, she drew a sword that was something akin to a larger katana, a "no-dachi", of the same brilliant red as the glyph that would mar her face for eternity, "If yer 'bleeding edge', then I'd have t'say that yer about t'become obselete, Mastermind..."
She turned and countered its blow with a monofilement blade, fueled by the sheer, uncompromising strength of her will...forcing it back with the powerful blows of a kensai, the crimson blade hissing as it sliced through wires, servos and subsystems...until the containment cell that Mastermind had engineered for Roma failed, overloaded by elemental forces juxtaposed with the might of the Ebon Blade, yet another of the Spoils of Annwyn Mastermind had failed to take into consideration.
The force of it catapulted her into the darkened corner, the shadows welcoming their mistress, though the automaton was unaware of that, seeing her prone form, it reached for the sword, thinking to finish Liz off...the last thing standing between itself and apotheosis.
At last...the menace of Captain Britain is no more...and the power is mine... it uttered as it grasped the hilt, another voice echoed in the ruined great hall of the Starlight Citadel, that of Roma herself.
"The Sword of Might only knows one master, abomination," she informed it, golden armor and white cloak swirling around her in the winds, "And you are not that master..."
An..erroneous..conclusion, Roma! Mastermind declared as it stumbled through the rubble in her direction, You fail to comprehend my role in the course of future history...though I am but a pebble in the cosmic pool, the ripples I stir will echo from here unto Eternity!
She simply smiled and shook her head, taunting the failing technological...thing...with her mere presence, Mastermind seeking to strike her down, attempting to impale her on the sword it carried, "But you...Roma...are an anachronism...a FOSSIL....a relic of an age gone by, and the future holds no place for the likes of you..."
And what it impaled was an electrical projection...a clever spell that its sensors couldn't tell from the real thing, though it looked and spoke like Roma, "Then mayhap we have much in common, for I too have seen the future--and absent from the Omniverse your presence might be, mine shall be in a very different role, Mastermind."
What -1001001- are you -1001001- doing?!?! it demanded as lightening arced over itself, shorting out circuits whose disruption had begun with Liz's psycho-blast, and continued as the new sovereign of Otherworld overloaded its failing neural network with more energy than it could compensate for, her mindvoice resolute, [We're finishing the game...check...and mate...]
Nooo -011001- oooo!!! it screamed in agony, its techno-magickal powercore reaching critical status, The Sword is -100110011- MINE! It is -1001110000001 MY destiny...not hers...
Liz pressed her father's creation further, points of crimson light forming between her fingers, which she hurled at it, the alien mystical shards impacting with blinding brilliance as she and Roma finished off the abomination, a final plea issuing forth from it, FAAAA -0000001- thhh -000000001- errrrrr.....
The arch-sorceress materialized beside the newly found sovereign, who gingerly eased her family's patroness to the ground, [Roma...are ye a'right? What did it do t'ye?]
Roma's pale face was grey with exhaustion and over-taxing her mage-gift, silver eyes blinking back tears as she looked up at Liz, weakly touching the sullen radiance of her sigil, [Nothing of any lasting consequence, Elisabeth. This sword was not his to wield..it destroyed the pretender, as it does all those unworthy of its power...which is why, henceforth, you shall be its guardian.]
[And what of ye, Roma?] Liz asked as she tried to make the immortal as comfortable as she could, knowing that Roma's divine nature meant she'd recover quickly.
[With it, you will protect Otherworld, just as I have in the wake of my father, Merlyn's, demise,] Roma explained, feeling her connection to the Omniverse returning, healing her of the worst of it, though she would require rest as well, [And how is it that you've encountered the Crimson Dawn? This should be a tale worth hearing, one could hope...]
Liz smiled at Roma, using a scrap cut from her cloak to clean the smudges of dirt from her patroness' face, [Mayhap..but for another day...what of ye and yer role as Omniversal Guardian?]
[My time here, is near its end...I shall eventually leave Otherworld,] she told Liz, who shook her dark head, gloved fingers gently clasping Roma's hand, [No...I've no intention of throwing you to the wolves just yet, Elisabeth. However, your destiny lies outside if you've the courage to face it...]
[Story of m'life...] Liz chuckled, wearily smiling as she scooped Roma up, allowing the arch- sorceress to retain her hold on the Sword of Might for the time being, [...courage t'face any thing, and live t'tell the tale...I'm holding ye t'yer spot as Omniversal Guardian, even though ye've got me for Omniversal Majestrix...I'll try not t'be as much of a pain in the bloody neck as Opal was...going t'miss her, though...unless...]
Roma wasn't certain she liked that smile, but couldn't resist asking Liz what prompted it, [Yes?]
[I'm going t'need an able and competent administrator t'push around the paperwork and help me out,] she replied with a wry grin as she carried her new peer out of the ruined great hall, [No reason I can't bring her back as Omniversal Administrix, is there?]
Roma acutally laughed, holding her side where she'd suffered the effects of her containment cell's failure first hand, [I like how you think...not even on the job a bloody day, and you're delegating the onerous tasks to those who know them best!]
[Yep.] Liz agreed with a wink, a grin and a chuckle of her own, [Hanging around the Xavier Institute, the Hand and the Mandarin's operations, as well as STRIKE and all the other things I've done has given me a distinct appreciation for the necessary "evil" of paper pushers and that horror known as "bureaucracy", Roma...I aim t'put it t'better use, and let Opal run it for me...]
Outside, in the light of four moons, Aurelius was helping Talisman and Crusader X, while Linda steadied Meggan after extricating her from the collateral damage, the dragon-man's cheerful voice irking the Black Knight, who had a colossal headache, "Up ye go, lads and lassies! More an' enough of this lazing about..."
"Please...tell me we didn't obliterate a goddess..." the young sorceress groaned as her brother passed out his healing elixirs to his comrades at arms, Linda's sharp snort of laughter told her otherwise as Meggan looked around, shaking off the stupor.
"Nah, Roma and Liz were inside, giving ol' chips-for-brains a rather severe, and overdue, trouncing..." Linda assured them as Meggan's eyes sought Brian, finally realizing that the drunken brute wasn't accounted for, "...but where's Brian?"
Liz emerged from the dust and smoke, carrying Roma, whom she turned over to Bran's care, the big dragon-man looking her over until he was satisfied his liege lady was unharmed, though he couldn't help but tease her as he folded her into a careful embrace, "Blessed Lady, lass... ye look like death warmed over..."
She laughed as her father's old friend ruffled her hair in a paternal way that she found oddly comforting, considering the circumstances, "Ye should see the other bloke..."
Roma's silvery voice called for their attention, Crusader X helping her sit as she had one more thing to add to all of this, her face pale and strained, but regaining some color as she looked from Liz to Meggan and the others, "You lot have fought long and hard, surviving much...but the ordeal is not quite over..there remains one final determination to be made..."
She pointed to the Warpies and their kind, who looked fearfully at the violet-maned woman who'd once taken them into her home in an effort to protect them, Roma spoke again, "...their fate is in your hands..."
Liz turned to Linda and Bran, raising a fine dark brow as she sought their thoughts, [Bran? Linda?]
The big Amerind's eyes were as frigid a blue as the depths of the ocean, and they had all lost friends, other-selves and worse, his deep voice soft as he looked at her, trusting her to do the right thing, an arm slipping around Linda as he hid his face in her white hair, "Just get on with it, Liz...before I change m'mind and start seriously considering m'Lakota mother's ways!"
Taking the sword from Roma, Liz looked at it, slipping into the "no-mind" state of the Tao, letting herself become the empty vessel tapping into the place deep within herself, that merged the Crimson Dawn, the Otherworld and the divine legacy, the crimson sigil flaring like a nova as she drew not a bastard sword, but a katana from the scabbard...that radiance washing over the Warpies and the fallen that lay scattered about the Starlight Citadel...
Not the red of shed blood, but the softer red of the coming dawn, whose rosy light kissed the horizon...creating long, soothing shadows that cooled tempers and painful memories...the girl who'd been called "Fern" stared down, not at tendrils of proto-vegitative matter, but human hands, her voice trembling as she looked at those around her, "We....we're....human....?"
Dumbstruck with disbelief at their good fortune, some fell to weeping, others to laughing or shouting with joy...and Liz felt arms and a warm weight suddenly bearing her down into the grass as Meggan hugged her tight, knowing that her sister-in-law really wasn't much on kids, but had given the...former...Warpies a second chance to get it right.
"That's really some gift, Liz!" the empathic metamorph exclaimed as she hugged Liz tight, "Ye've given them a future...or at least a chance t'make a better place for 'emselves..."
Some time later, Liz sat before a carved monument in Westminster Abbey, looking quietly at the plaques commemorating her brothers and her parents, all knights of the realm, whose ashes had been interred there for their service to the Isles. Meggan sat beside her, huddled in her arms, mourning the loss of a man who'd verbally abused her, taken advantage of her innocence and ignorance to force her into a mold that he thought fitted his needs...
But the past few weeks had seen Meg grow up a lot more than she'd ever done in her life... Liz had refused to 'tell' her what to do, and forced her sister-in-law to confront her life, her choices and start dealing with life. Period.
"It can't be any worse than you're imagining, y'know?" a lady's voice greeted her ears, its tone and accent that of a well educated, upper class Englishwoman.
Liz shot a glance over her shoulder to see her elder sister, Tessa, approaching them, attired in a tasteful black power suit, face as composed as always, though her inhumanly blue eyes were shifting uncomfortably as she seemed uncertain of the welcome she'd recieve from her younger sibling, her own wit slipping out before she could stop it, referring to the apparent death she'd pulled after Valencia and Vargas, "What? Death?"
"...or your assent to the throne of Otherworld," Tessa added drily as she laid small floral wreaths on the niches, "It would seem that by your actions, and those of Rogue and Vargas, the future history in the Libras Veritas has been rendered null and void...and I am out of a job...maybe I should take a vacation and learn more about Father's people and that side of my heritage?"
Liz raised an eyebrow at her sister, an idear forming right then and there, "Well...if yer that interested in coming t'Otherworld, I've a need for a personal assistant...I'm told ye come with the best of recommendations..."
Tessa stared at Liz, dumbstruck by the new Omniversal Majestrix's offer, "I...I don't know what to say, Elisabeth..."
Meggan patted the older woman's shoulder, "Yer supposed to say "Yes, Liz, what a wonderful opportunity t'catch up and get aquainted..." Y'know?"
The three women laughed together, the joyous sound somewhat unexpected by those visiting the crypts of Westminster, but those who glanced oddly at the trio of 'elven' looking women saw three women sharing memories of loved ones and the discovery of one another...
They left the cathedral by a side door reserved for visiting nobility and royalty, and walking to the park across the street, they were greeted by Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, whom Liz embraced fondly...a thoughtful smile on her lips as she regarded the man, "Y'know, Dane, I'm thinking of a little project...founding a new Corps...sort of an 'interdimemsional' Knights of the Round Table...If ye can promise t'behave and not rile Bran and Linda, I should think' ye'd be a most welcome "Sir Lancelot"..."
Dane grinned at her, doffing his helm as his hazel eyes met her violet gaze, "A most tempting offer...but..."
"Think of it this way..." she pointed out, nodding to Branwynne--Talisman--who was now jogging toward them, as she'd spotted Dane, "How else are ye going t'court the lass?"
He flushed a startling shade of garnet, wavy mahogany hair covering his face as he nearly choked at the knowing look on Liz's face, barely managing a sputter, "uh...er...ummmm...."
Even Tessa cracked a smile as she joined in on the 'peer pressure', "Oy, listen, Whitman, if you're going to be that way, how ever will you woo her? Email is hardly convenient, nor is it interdimensional...and hardly romantic!"
He turned at looked at Tessa, and then to Meggan, who was a sucker for "happily ever afters" in spite of how her first marriage had ended, coughing in an effort to remember how to breathe, "Don...Don't even start, Meg..."
She fluttered her eyelashes at him before shifting into a gorgeous young man with ebon hair and those beryl green eyes, voice shifting to a smooth, velvet tenor, all innocence, "Who, me? I might just have to court her m'self...just to ensure that yer there t'do her justice!"
Dane realized he couldn't 'beat' the Braddock women, so he might as well join them in Otherworld, and persue one Branwynne Braddock for himself... "A'right, a'ready...just twist my arm, why dontcha?"
It was Branwynne herself, who playfully grabbed his hand and twisted his arm behind his back, ice blue eyes beaming in delight, "Oh, you'll not irk Bran too much...he does respect a man of learning and action such as yourself, Dane!"
The group of them were an odd sight in a London park, but they attracted no more attention than the 'usual' motley mix of punks, yuppies and such...it was Dane whose hand tightened on the Ebon Blade's hilt at the approach of a lady who could've passed for another 'goth', with similar coloring to Liz that broke their good natured bantering...
Dane let his lady take the reigns to Aragorn, stepping between the perceived threat of Morgaine Le Fay and the others, feeling a restraining hand on his shoulder, he glanced to see Liz shaking her violet head, "Easy, luv... m'grandmum's not here t'hassle ye...she's here t'meet up with Meg, Tessa and me..."
The Black Knight was doing a more than credible imitation of a landed fish, his mouth agape, but no words coming forth at first, until he stammmered, "You...your....she's your grandmother?!"
"Oh, and aye," Liz confirmed as her friend tried to regain his composure, slowly letting go of the hilt, straightening up a bit as they neared one another, "So do try t'mind yer manners...she and my cousin, Morrie have already promised t'be on their best behavior..."
Her grandmother smiled at her, lavender eyes warming as she embraced Liz fondly, "Wellmet m'dear, I trust yer ready for this?"
Liz nodded as she looked around at the group, summoning her newly endowed powers to shift them from London to the Starlight Citadel without breaking a sweat, "..I suppose, in some ways, I've been ready for this m'whole life..."
That evening, in the restored great hall, the ruling caste of Otherworld, and the beginnings of her elite group of allies and her family, Elisabeth Falsworth-Braddock strode down the aisle, head held high with the same quiet confidence she'd always had, receiving the accolades and badges of office from Roma, she realised she'd come full circle...