ISSUES

# 1 - BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE pt. 1
# 2 - BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE pt. 2
# 3 - BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE pt. 3
# 4 - AND SO IT BEGINS

 

Captain

W R I T E R - D A V I D / W H E A T L E Y

CAPTAIN BRITAIN # 1
BEGOTTEN, NOT MADE part 1 -- "Faith"
By David Wheatley

"Brian," said Alex Knox as he and the rest of the Office of Scientific Creation and Research, an executive agency of the Home Office that was commonly referred to as OSCAR, watched the TV debate. "Brian, it's starting."

Brian Braddock, senior physicist and Knox's number two at OSCAR didn't look up. He was working on the techniques behind the process that converted ambient solar energy in to beams of force. There had been reports of several mutants that were able to do this and the idea had fascinated him.

He'd put forward a proposal that if they could figure out how the process could be achieved in theory then there was a possibility that they could create new non-lethal weapons that could be used in law enforcement and possibly for other means as well. He'd been given the go ahead and now was the thing that took up his attention.

"Brian!" said Knox, a little louder and this time Brian looked up and turned his head to the television screen.

"Al," he said. "It's not the first time Courtney's been on TV. I do know what she does and everything. I'd be a pretty lousy fianc? if I didn't."

"Bri, Bri, Bri" said Alex, shaking his head with bemused wonder. "It's her first speech on the first results of the sub-committee's findings. You know this is the speech that will make her a household name."

"I can recite the speech backwards," said Brian, looking back down at his figures and conversion theory. "She's been practicing all bloody weekend."

"So you didn't get to Canterbury?" said Alex, sharing his friend's disappointment.

"Nope," said Brian, and his watch beeped for two o'clock. "Enjoy the show, Al."

Knox turned his attention back to the Parliament Channel and waited for Courtney Ross, Minister of State for the Home Office to begin speaking. She was speaking for the Home Office because the Secretary of State was at a meeting in Ecuador, and she was the next ranking official. This was the result of several months of work by the committee in to the problems with organised crime and the like within the UK. It was not a big a problem as it was in the States or Russia, but there was an increasing problem.

The committee, using information gathered from the Research and Statistics Directorate and evidence obtained and analysed by OSCAR, there had been definite progress made and as Courtney's portfolio contained the crime brief, she had been charged with finding a resolution. This speech was the first step in that direction, and Alex was proud of the fact that OSCAR had contributed to the decision. He'd seen the results of the committee for himself but today the results went public.


From his office in the MI6 offices on the banks of the Thames, W watched the television with interest. The government was taking a big gamble on this bold stance against crime and he wondered if it would blow up in their faces. He was the head of the XL unit, a group of mutant operatives in the employ of the secret service. James Bond stuff without the nifty gadgets. The XL unit had their talents and abilities but W knew the main reason they were used was their expendability. It was easier to waste a few mutants than properly trained agents but that didn't bother W in the slightest. He chose the right people for the right jobs and they got on and did it.

What bothered him was this kind of muck raking exercise. Taking out the mob was one thing, publicly having a go was another. This was either a report for the former or the latter and seeing as there had been nothing from his contacts, he knew it had to be the latter.

"Better make this good, sweetheart," he said as he drained a shot of whiskey and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He placed it in his mouth and placed his finger on the exposed tip, which quickly ignited at his touch. He smiled at the casual use of his powers and thought that it was better to use the gifts they'd been given to help their lives, not fight for them.


Vixen sat and watched the first fifteen minutes of the speech being given by Courtney Ross, with veiled amusement. She was the head of organised crime across the UK, with a power base that would give even the notorious Kingpin cause to stare. It was after those fifteen minutes that her amusement started to fade. Ross had outlined in detail what the problems were and now she was going through what the solutions were.

The solutions were not just hard hitting, but extreme. They involved a zero-tolerance campaign against any and all operatives of the organised crime syndicates, a special unit called the Inter Regional Taskforce set up in Scotland Yard for the sole purpose of investigating and hunting down organised crime. But it did not stop there as there would also be special technologies used to monitor suspected syndicate houses, new laws passed to revoke current privacy legislature and finally the suspension of all the bank accounts of the head of syndicates until their finances were passed by the IRT. It was going to be a major revamp of the laws and done in accordance with European legislation and anything against it would be done with their approval. If the methods adopted here were successful, then they would be spread across the continent.

She didn't know what deals had been done across parties and with the EU but this was not what she had been expecting. This upstart, this slip of a girl would cripple her organisation and wreck any chances for the Denouement to take place. The Vixen had not done all this, made so many sacrifices to be stopped by one such as Courtney Ross.

"No," muttered the Vixen, her anger rising. "I will not permit this to happen. Miss Ross is going to find out the full power of my, of our, wrath..." She picked up the telephone and started to make some calls. As she did so, her eyes blazed in a solid emerald green with the fire inside her.


"So how'd I do?" asked Courtney when she met Brian in the Central Lobby. It was fairly busy, as always in the Palace of Westminster, but the business made it possible for discretion. It was almost like being alone, thought Brian pondering of the oxymoron of the situation.

"You did great, love," he said, putting his arm around her. "There's a great future ahead of you in this game."

"Brian, you say the sweetest things," she said, unhooking herself from him and he grinned. "So what d'you want to do tonight, sweetheart?"

"How about we have a nice night in, take the 'phone of the hook, switch off the mobiles and let the world go away for a night," suggested Brian. "It's going to be a while until we get another one, now that this is done. You're on Newsnight tomorrow, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said, and slipped her arm in to Brian's as they made their way towards the exit. "This is the big one, we have to get it underway before the election fever sets in. So, tonight? No shop talk?"

"Expressly forbidden," he said, his false frown betrayed by the sparkle of his eyes. "It'll mean death by tickling."

"You vicious, vicious bastard," she said, and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's get a taxi and get the hell out of here."

"Yes, ma'am," said Brian, and picked up her briefcase. "If you'd follow me?"

"To Hades and back again," she breathed, as he held the door open for her. A taxi was waiting outside and they got in.

"Southward Street, Kensington," instructed Brian, and Courtney held his hand.

"Yes, mate," said the driver and pulled away from the buildings and took Brian and Courtney on their way home.


"Hello, Martin," said Vixen as she stood there in the doorway of the Rochester Club in the West End of London.

"Vixen," he gasped. "Didn't expect to see you here, not after the little speech today."

"Exactly why I'm here, dearest," she said. "Ready the boys, I have a small operation planned for them."

"Now?" said Martin. "But the Denouement?"

"Will get less focus if we do this. Imagine the fear, the terror, being struck in to the hearts and minds of the people?"

"What kind of hit?" said Martin, knowing it was obvious he wasn't thinking big enough. "Who is it?"

"The source of all our pain," she said. "Call the boys, get them ready. I've alerted our other people and they will be out of the way for the event itself. The United Kingdom will be burned at the core and the world will catch alight from the heat."

"You know this will push their opinions on the Syndicate to the limits?" said Martin, knowing that he didn't have the full details yet but also knowing that this could backfire on them.

"I know," she answered. "Except I have a very nice decoy lying in wait to take the blame."

"Who?"

"Why none other than the delectable Courtney Ross, MP," said Vixen, a smile coming over her wizened, face. "She's about to learn there's more in the darkness than just the criminal element." She gave a laugh and then looked at Martin. "Prepare your people then meet me and the Circle at the usual place at midnight."

"What will you be doing?" asked Martin.

"Paying a new friend a visit."


"Father!" called Roma, as she hurried through the corridors of the castle The fortress had been built many millennia ago by the elder gods, who now were content to do little more than watch. "Father, where are you?"

"I am here, my child," said the old man at the end of the corridor. His white hair flowed down his back, contrasting against the deep crimson of his garments. His eyes were a piercing blue, in which Roma could see the power that her father wielded, in accordance with the rules set down by the elder gods.

"Father," she said. "I have been reading in Scrolls of Prophecy - the time is coming, the time of the Denouement. We must prepare."

"I know," said Merlin. "I indeed know what the time is, for the portents have been showing themselves for days now. What else do the Prophecies tell you, my child?" Merlin knew that Roma was the only one who could read the Prophecies, written in a language so archaic that there were none left who could read it. Even he, for all his fabled power could not translate the words, and he was surprised that his daughter had one day been able to do so, and since then she had been the caretaker and scribe for the Scrolls.

"I am working on them," she said. "However the Prophecies have revealed a new aspect."

"Indeed?" asked the elder mage. "Explain."

"As I have told you, the scrolls write over themselves as the Prophecies come true or are defeated, however they no longer simply erase the past so the future can be seen. I have watched them rewrite the current Prophecies as well."

"Events are altering beyond our ability to contain them," said Merlin. "Curse my bones for not seeing this could happen. Denouement must not occur, for if the forces of darkness rise, the balance will be shifted."

"Father, is it..."

"Yes," he said, his brow furrowing. "This is Kahn's doing. She will unleash her demons on the world and the Earth will be sucked in to the Nether Dimension."

Merlin closed his eyes. If Earth were swallowed there would be a gaping hold in that state reality and a vortex would be created, dragging in the rest of the universe. Once the universe was gone, then the many aspects of reality would start to collapse inwards as the infinite began a state of regression. This process would give reality to the Nether Dimension and all would be lost. He knew that once the vortex was opened it could never be closed.

"How can she rewrite the Prophecies and push forward the Denouement?" asked Roma, the fear in her eyes. Merlin may not have been able to read the Scrolls, but he knew the lore behind them.

"There must be something happening on Earth something that Kahn is orchestrating so that events spiral out of control," concluded Merlin. "We are not ready for the war yet. If Kahn is changing the rules and the Elder Gods allow this, then we too must bend the rules. We can no longer simply use our powers to thwart her from Otherworld for we do not have the mystical energies to fight her yet."

"But we cannot openly work on Earth," gasped Roma. "The Elder Gods will not permit it."

"Agreed," said Merlin. "We cannot openly break the rules. However we can bend them, as does Kahn. If we cannot operate outside our dimension, then we must find someone who can act for us."

"An agent?"

"Yes," said Merlin. "However this is not the time of Arthur and a King with an enchanted sword will no longer suffice. Kahn has grown more powerful since the dark ages and even Excalibur's powers will not protect our champion from her touch."

"So what can we do?" asked Roma. "Whom can we call on?" Merlin looked directly at her neck, where her amulet lay.

"The Heart of the Lady," he said, no joy in his voice at what he asked. "We must use it, my daughter."

"No," she said, tears of shock and grief forming in her eyes. "Please, Father, there must be another way. It's all I have left."

"Roma," he said, softly, his fingers caressing her cheek. "We always knew that one day a price would be paid. Now is that time."

"Father..." the tears were flowing freely now

"Never be afraid to let go of your tears, my child," he said. "It tells us we are still mortal beings. Come, we must make ready."


Brian and Courtney sat at home, the candlelight flickering around the room, creating shadows across the walls and the curtains. Softly, almost inaudible, the music from the CD played in the background, as they passed tender moments with each other. There was no need for talking as they explored each other, the ros? wine cooling in the ice bucket, their glasses on the table waiting to be refilled.

Neither of them paid any heed to the trio of armed guards outside, the surveillance tapes that watched each side of the house, nor any of the security counter-measures that had been fitted by OSCAR to the house. You didn't make threats or promises like the ones the Government had done without preparing for reprisals of some kind.

As far as they were concerned the world consisted of only two people, and they were right with each other. However, neither of them realised that gas was entering the room until it was too late.

"BRIAN!" coughed Courtney in alarm as he tried the door, but to no avail and within moments they were both out cold. The door opened and several masked people came in and picked up Courtney.

"Both of them?" asked one of them, his voice muffled behind the gas mask.

"Both of them," came the reply. "The instructions specified them both." Two of them grabbed hold of Brian and carried him out. The cold air hit him and Brian was dimly aware of the guards lying dead, as if wild animals had mauled them. However they'd died, they'd done it silently and Brian passed out once more.

When he came to, he found himself bound to a chair, however the room was in almost total darkness and he couldn't see anything else.

"Courtney?" he asked, more worried for her than himself. "Courtney!"

"I'm sorry," said a voice, the voice of a woman he didn't know. "She won't be joining you, though she is quite safe. For now."

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, straining at the ropes that held him in place.

"I don't really feel like telling you that," she said. "However, very soon you won't have to worry about it." As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could swear he could see a knife.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, suddenly afraid and then a light came on and he could see his captor and his eyes went wide. The eight foot high demonic being before him struck terror in to his very soul. There were no pupils in its emerald green eyes, the snakes like scales that covered it's body gave way to wings on it's back and claws on its hands and feet. From each forearm came a spear-like device, which is what he had mistaken for the knife.

He could see from its naked body that it was female and for a moment he felt that there was almost an elegant beauty to her and though she terrified and repulsed him to the core of his being, he felt a rising lust for her. She laughed as she saw his reaction, her pointed tongue rippling between her fanged teeth.

"What do I want?" she echoed, coming close towards him and he could taste the death within her exhalation. "Easy," she whispered in his ear as he struggled to be free and tried to fight the desire he felt for her. "I want your blood," and then she bit in to his neck. Brian screamed as she began to drink on his blood, while she placed her hands on his temples, draining away a part of his soul.

Then the pain stopped as she released him and he knew he was dying. He looked at the demon who was now altering her shape, shrinking to a more petit form, skin wrapping itself around the scales and he saw her as a human creature.

"Thank you," she said and kissed his lips. "My love."

"Courtney?" he asked before closing his eyes, trying to fight the call of the quiet darkness, wondering why she had done this to him. He was barely aware of footsteps and her voice.

"Take him outside and lose him, I have what I need now." Then he surrendered to the darkness and the silence rang in his head.


He recovered to a blaze of light and a singing in his head and he looked about.

"Where am I?" he called out.

"You are in the countryside, 70 miles outside of London," came the voice of a woman and he could vaguely see her in front of him. This woman was no demon but a goddess.

"Are you an angel?" he asked. "Am I dead?"

"Alas," she said. "However you are indeed dead. Your body ceased to function about thirty seconds ago."

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Roma, daughter of Merlin. I am here to give you a gift."

"Why me?" asked Brian. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he was certain he was dead and the rules he had known no longer applied.

"Another time," she said. "However, I must warn you this gift is not without price."

"Go on," said Brian, his curiosity as a scientist getting the better of him.

"I will give you back your life," she said. "I will give you power, weapons and a cause to fight."

"What is the price I must pay?" he asked.

"You will be the defender of Earth against the demon Khan and her minions. The battle will be long, and you may never know peace again. Your loved ones will be a target as long as you take continue the path. Once accepted then you cannot resign the role without giving up your life."

"If I accept, will I be immortal?"

"No. I can restore you to life this one time only. Do you accept the role?"

"I don't have a choice."

"There is always a choice, young man" came a man's voice, which Brian assumed was Merlin. "Be aware of that."

"Yes, sir," said Brian. "I accept your gift, your cause is my own."

"You have chosen wisely," said the man, coming in to view. "The path ahead of you is filled with discovery. Be mindful of who you trust." He pulled a sword from beneath his scarlet cloak. "This is Excalibur. With it I dub thee 'Britain', warrior-knight of Earth." Merlin used the sword to touch each of Brian's shoulder and Brian felt a mystical power enter him, as if the sword accepted him to be its wielder. Then the lady Roma stood before him and removed the pendant around her neck.

"This is the Heart of the Lady," she said, placing it over his neck and it hung under his chin for a moment, a touch lopsided and rested just over his heart. Then Merlin raised Excalibur and plunged it through the pendant, through Brian's heart and out of his back.

"ARISE!" he commanded as he released the hilt and there was an explosion of mystical forces around them. Brian's hands instinctively grasped the hilt and he found the strength to remove the sword and the light abruptly faded and Merlin and Roma were gone.

The sword fell from his hand and for the final time, Brian Braddock surrendered to the quiet darkness that called his name.

To Be Continued....