It's the night of the Hellfire Gala, and the members of Excalibur are preparing to travel through the Krakoan gateway to join the festivities, although Rictor is hardly in a cheerful mood. Betsy's return is noticed by many people at the Gala, while Rictor is thinking about someone who isn't present – Apocalypse. Suddenly, Rictor is reunited with Shatterstar, who, drenched in blood, arrives at the Gala to be with him. Rictor is not impressed and storms away, leaving a confused Shatterstar behind. As the night goes on, the new X-Men team is announced – of which Rogue is revealed to be a member. Her Excalibur teammates are happy for her, and Gambit reveals that he plans to stay with Excalibur for now. Jubilee and Betsy try to cheer Rictor up, before Pete Wisdom finds Betsy and tells her what has been going on with Coven Akkaba since she was gone, as well as how Reuben Brousseau has become Britain's ambassador to the United Nations. Betsy strides into a meeting room where Xavier and Emma Frost are meeting with Brousseau, who announces that he is dissolving Great Britain's alliance with Krakoa. He informs the mutants that he will arrange for the documentation to be drawn up and for all of the mutant drugs to be returned to Krakoa. He also warns them that mutants who commit atrocities in Great Britain will face justice – in the form of Britain's own magic. Betsy argues with Brousseau, but it's a done deal. Brousseau starts to leave, only to discover Rictor has been listening in on the meeting. Rictor vows to do something about this. Elsewhere at the Gala, Meggan and Captain Avalon are enjoying some time together. Meggan appears in a strange mood, and Nightcrawler goes over to see her, and congratulates her on her delicate condition, which just confuses Meggan. Betsy and Rachel Summers spend some time together and enjoy a dance with each other. Pete Wisdom returns to England with Brousseau, and they arrive Coven Akkaba's meeting house, where Marianna Stern is waiting for them. Wisdom is then attacked by the Coven and seemingly killed as Marianna shoves a blade into his chest. At that moment, Morgan Le Fay breaks free from her restraints in the dungeon of Avalon – with King Jamie not present to keep her under his control. Morgan then takes out some guards and escapes Avalon through the portal. Rictor returns to the lighthouse and summons the druids. They answer his call and begin to reshape the land that the lighthouse sits on. When they finally finish, Rictor sits on the shore of a new island that the lighthouse towers over, off the coast of the mainland where it once stood. He looks up to the lighthouse as he sees a flare of energy when Morgan arrives, but before he gets a chance to investigate, Shatterstar appears. He apologizes for his actions at the Gala, and suggests they have a drink, holding up some cans of beer. Rictor smiles for the first time as they sit down leaning against each other on the shore of Braddock Isle.
Full Summary:
Braddock Lighthouse, where the members of Excalibur are wearing their glamorous Hellfire Gala costumes and gather near the Krakoan gateway as they prepare to step through the portal to the mutant nation. 'Jubilee! I ain't never seen you look more beautiful!' Rogue calls out as Jubilee walks towards her, carrying her son, Shogo. 'Got a hot date tonight, so I pulled out all the stops. Ain't that right, Shogo?' Jubilee asks. 'Paardeee!' Shogo utters. The shirtless Remy LeBeau a.k.a. Gambit adjusts his long coat while Betsy Braddock a.k.a. Captain Britain turns to Julio Richter a.k.a. Rictor, who stands with his arms folded, his cloak pulled over his head, and asks him if he is going to be in an ugly mood all night. 'Maybe! I hate parties' Rictor responds. 'Do you really? I've seen you party. A lot' Jubilee remarks. 'You're right. I just hate this one' Rictor replies. 'More celebratory #$%&#$*&%^&' he mutters. Jubilee puts an arm around one of Rictor's and tells him to come on, as it will be a good time. 'Indeed. It's always a good time to look incredible in front of someone you're mad at' Betsy smiles.
9:30 PM
The Gala is in full-swing as Excalibur arrive. 'It's her!' someone calls out as Betsy walks at the front of her teammates, psychic “butterflies” darting around her. 'It's Captain Britain!' another voice gasps. 'Along with Excalibur, the captain is making her first public appearance in months. Betsy Braddock is wearing a selection from the house of Jumbo Carnation -' another person remarks. 'Some great celebration of mutantkind' Rictor mumbles. He pulls his cloak back off of his head and tells his teammates that the only reason they are still around to do any of this and didn't get wiped out is because of someone who isn't here to see it. Rictor utters that he remembers Apocalypse. 'But you guys enjoy your canapes, I guess' he adds, hanging his head, while his teammates appear to have walked away from him.
Suddenly, a hand reaches out and grabs Rictor, who goes wide-eyed, 'Hey!' he calls out – a blood-drenched Shatterstar wearing nothing more than hot-pants and boots holds Rictor in his arms. 'Hello, Julio. Surprise, my love' Shatterstar smiles. Rictor is shocked, while several Gala attendees nearby – Warpath, Beast, Sage, Synch and Storm - look on and smile. 'You look... incredible' Shatterstar utters. 'What – the hell is wrong with you?' Rictor asks, pushing Shatterstar away. 'Are you joking? Are you... covered in blood? What would make you think this was a good idea?' Rictor asks. 'You're alive!' Shatterstar exclaims, while Banshee and Pixie can be seen nearby. 'Mon ami -' Gambit begins as he sees the situation. 'Come along, Ric -' Betsy calls out, while Shatterstar announces that he has been gone. 'Yeah – you have! I've been here. I've been busy' Rictor snaps. Betsy turns to Shatterstar and tells him that she is glad to see that he has returned safely, but she thinks he should go have a drink – somewhere else.
10:20 PM
'TO THE X-MEN!' a loud voice can be heard crying out, as the new X-Men line-up has been announced – including Excalibur's very own Rogue. Gambit embraces his wife and remarks that it is time to toast his favorite member of the X-Men. 'I'm glad you're not all weird that your wife got the gig and you didn't' Jubilee smiles at Gambit, while holding Shogo. 'You kidding? No thanks. I getta stay home with the cats' Gambit remarks. Betsy and Rictor are with them, while Cyclops, Angel, Colossus, Dani Moonstar and Magik can all be seen nearby. Rogue grins and tells her teammates that she is grateful, and reminds them that she didn't exactly choose to be part of their club, but she has had a damn fine time. 'Ah never thought I'd end up a member of Excalibur, but life among our kind has never been predictable' Rogue adds.
Rictor takes a glass of champagne that is offered to him, while Rogue jokes that it seems she is to move from the lighthouse to the treehouse, and reports that Gambit was thinking he and the cats would stay and keep a room at the lighthouse. 'If she got the night off work and we need to be alone, we'll keep a gate to the place on Krakoa' Gambit explains. 'Cats do provide a bit of magical luck' Betsy smiles, while Kate Pryde and Kyle Jinadu-Beaubier are seen nearby. Betsy then tells Gambit that he is always welcome at the lighthouse, and that she didn't expect him to want to stay. 'Don't you worry about me, chere. Rogue has plans – Gambit has plans, too' Gambit smiles.
Betsy goes over to one of the bars where Rictor has perched himself on a chair. 'Hey. You okay?' Jubilee calls out to Rictor. Prodigy can be seen walking nearby, while Nightcrawler is talking to someone on the other side of the bar. Storm is speaking with Magik, while Sunfire is smiling at Wiz-Kid. 'No' Rictor tells Jubilee. 'I already wanted to blow this party for a dozen reasons, and then my ex appeared straight from... MMA or something?' Rictor mutters, adding that he is '%$&^#$&^ not okay...'Betsy suggests to Rictor that he just figure out what he needs to have a good time tonight, to block it all out if he needs.
Suddenly: 'Pardon. Captain Britain. If you're not too busy with your revelry... may I have this dance?' Pete Wisdom asks as he takes Betsy's hand. 'My goodness! Pete Wisdom!' Betsy exclaims. Wisdom drags through a crowd, past Cyclops and Monet, while Betsy tells Wisdom that she didn't say yes, that she was merely stunned. 'I didn't think you’d be here' Betsy adds. 'Neither did I' Wisdom reports. They clasp hands and dance near Iceman who is talking to someone. Eye-Boy is nearby, too. 'You're lucky I can read your mind and know you're not getting fresh with me' Betsy tells Wisdom. 'You're not looking hard enough' Wisdom replies. 'Pete' Betsy replies, while Wisdom tells Betsy that he is glad to have her back, but that she needs to know what has happened while she has been gone.
Wisdom reports that Rogue's smart little lie to get Coven Akkaba off Betsy while Malice was in charge worked well enough, as the Coven was happy to cast Betsy as a pretender who took the title and absconded, leaving Britain undefended. Wisdom explains that the Coven really made sure everyone knows that Betsy is not English and not Krakoan, and then she vanished, and as such, trust in Captain Britain to defend Britain is at an all-time low. 'Ridiculous! I was shattered by Saturnyne's tricks -' a wide-eyed Betsy begins, but Wisdom interrupts her and tells her to stick to mind-talk, as the Coven are here. Betsy looks over and sees Reuben Brousseau and two of his associates walking through a crowd, passing Mystique, Selene and Mastermind. 'Tonight? Why?' Betsy asks, concerned. Wisdom informs her that they were invited, and insisted he attend with them, which spared him one of those ridiculous mutant fashions. Betsy asks who would invite the Coven, to which Wisdom explains that their fear-mongering in her absence got them named protectors of the realm, of a sort – and Reuben Brousseau is now Britain's ambassador to the United Nations, which means the UK's alliance with Krakoa is in danger.
11:00 PM
'You coward. You're so afraid of me, you'd cut off your own hand to get away from a mutant Captain Britain!' Betsy snaps as she and Wisdom rush into another room away from the Gala, and finds Ambassador Brousseau meeting with Charles Xavier and Emma Frost. 'You misunderstand, Braddock. I'm not avoiding you' Brousseau replies. 'You abandoned us' he declares. 'You're a monster' Betsy tells Brousseau, before asking Charles 'Is it true?' Xavier matter-of-factly states that he doesn't know what Ambassador Brousseau has called them here for yet, as their meeting hasn't begun, and it would be so rude as to pry. 'A rarity from you, I hear?' Brousseau smirks, before stating that he won't waste any more of their time. He explains that they requested attendance to the gala as it seemed like the appropriate place to inform mutantkind of the dissolution of Great Britain's alliance with Krakoa. 'I beg your pardon?' Emma Frost responds, standing up in her diamond form, while Charles frowns.
Brousseau reports that he will have the documents sent for their approval before they are officially forwarded to the relevant parties, but that effective immediately, Britain rejects Krakoa's deal. 'Your citizens are welcome on our land as foreign nationals – but your gates are not'. Wisdom folds his arms, while Betsy hangs her head, and Emma reminds the Ambassador that Britain is in possession of several tons of mutant drugs. 'All happily repossessed and ready to be returned' Brousseau assures her. He then announces that Britain is no longer interested in extradition – meaning witchbreed who commit atrocities on British soil will face their own justice, and if necessary, they can punish witchbreed crimes with their own magic. 'What magic?' Betsy snaps, reminding Brousseau that Britain has been cut off from Morgan Le Fay, and the king in Camelot is witchbreed, too. 'Mutants defended Avalon during a time of war and have loved it as our own! We hold the sword of Saturnyne, the seat at Camelot. The only entrance to Otherworld is through me and mine!' Betsy declares.
Brousseau tells Captain Britain that it is not her land, and that Arthur is the true king. 'He is gone. He has abandoned you. I am Captain Britain. I defend Avalon' Betsy reminds Brousseau. 'Your lighthouse perhaps. On our land though. And we will not stand for your control of it any longer' Brousseau states as he and his associates start to leave the room. '
...I hope someday your mind can change, Ambassador. For the good of your citizens' Xavier calls out. Brousseau doesn't respond as he opens the doors – and finds Rictor and Jubilee on the other side, listening. 'Ah. Spies listening at the door. The deal has been struck. It is done' Brousseau announces. 'Are you joking?' an unimpressed Rictor retorts. 'You're going to taunt us? With land? Do you know who the $%^& I am?' Rictor asks, pointing at Brousseau, who doesn't look at Rictor as he walks past him and tells him to step aside, and calls him a false druid. 'You have no idea -' Rictor begins, but Wisdom tells him that it isn't worth it, not here. 'Wisdom?' Brousseau calls out. 'You're not staying here with them, are you?' he asks. Wisdom follows Brousseau and tells Rictor that the two of them can do a pint tomorrow. 'Whatever, man' Rictor replies, before pulling his cloak up over his head and muttering that he is done with this place, he walks away from Betsy and Jubilee.
11:30 AM
'Good evening, Lady Braddock' Brian Braddock a.k.a. Captain Avalon remarks to his wife, Meggan a.k.a. Gloriana. Meggan giggles, 'Same to you, Lord Braddock' she replies. 'Champagne?' someone asks, walking past. Brian declines, and Meggan does, too. 'Not like my fairy queen to resist a glass of bubbles. Feeling all right?' Brian asks, kissing Meggan's hand. Meggan smiles and assures Brian that she is feeling lovely. She puts a hand on her stomach and admits to being a bit hungry. 'That's my girl' Brian smiles, while Nightcrawler and Colossus can be seen, watching from nearby. 'Let's see if I can't bring my lady a snack to win her favor' Brian remarks, bowing before Meggan. 'I await you, darling!' Meggan replies. Suddenly, she smells something: 'Is that... matches?' she asks, looking around, when at that moment, her longtime friend and teammate, Nightcrawler teleports up next to her. 'Hallo, elf-frau' Kurt Wagner smiles. 'Oh! Kurt! Haha, my goodness. You frightened me!' Meggan smiles back.
'You would be frightened of me? I may look like the horrible Nightcrawler, but we are old friends, ja?' Kurt remarks. 'You were so sudden' Meggan smiles. Kurt kisses Meggan's hand and asks her to forgive him, as it is the drinking that has gotten to him, and he knows he shouldn't startle her in her delicate condition. 'Which I must congratulate you on -' Kurt begins. Meggan giggles and tells Kurt that he is talking nonsense. 'Beg your pardon?' Brian asks as he returns with a plate of food. 'Forget I said anything! Congratulations!' Kurt remarks. 'What... is he talking about?' Brian asks. 'Nothing, my dear! Thank you for the cheese' Meggan responds, while Kurt backs away from his friends.
On another balcony, Betsy leans against the railing, while Rachel Summers a.k.a. Prestige stands next to her, holding her Warwolf pup, Amazing Baby. Rachel announces that she hasa question, and Betsy tells her to go ahead, as everyone else does. 'Has anyone asked you to dance tonight who wasn't trying to ply you for information?' Rachel enquires. 'No. Not yet. How sweet of you to remind me, Rachel' Betsy mutters. 'Lemme be the first?' Rachel asks, taking Betsy's hand. 'You may' Betsy replies. They dance closely together on the dancefloor, among other Gala attendees, including Pixie who can be seen nearby. Rachel then tells Betsy that she owes her an apology, and admits that she made a bad call – back when Malice had taken her over, she didn't pry, and she told others not to pry. 'All I could think about was if it was you in there... how much the real Betsy would hate them prying' Rachel explains. Betsy hugs Rachel and smiles and asks her to come around the lighthouse more, as it misses her.
Meanwhile, inside Coven Akkaba's meeting house in London. 'How went the proceedings?' High Priestess Marianna Stern asks as Reuben Brousseau approaches her. He reports that it went without any real incident, and asks Marianna if she is prepared. Marianna confirms that she is, and asks how the gala was, and whether the Captain was in attendance. 'She showed her face. Too little, too late' Brousseau replies, before pointing out that they have work they must begin. Wisdom looks around uncomfortably at the cloaked coven members nearby, while Marianna pulls a white sheet off of a table positioned in the center of an altar. 'My coven mates! The mutants use their gate to access the Otherworld. But we will use what we have always used – our faith! And our magic. And out fearlessness and devotion' Brousseau declares. '...guess I'll head out' Wisdom mutters, but Coven members gather around him, while Brousseau exclaims that their prayers have gone unanswered for too long, and that their queen lies in stasis, the victim of witchbreed magic – but that tonight, they will free her, break Morgan's chains and bring her home. 'With mutant blood!' Brousseau calls out, as the Coven members grab Wisdom and drag him towards the altar.
'Bastards – bastards! All of ye!' Wisdom calls out as he struggles to break free of their grasp. He even unleashes some of his hot-knives, energy blasts from his fingertips – but the Coven are relentless. 'I fought for Britain! People like you $%^&#!$&% make me ashamed a'me own home!' Wisdom exclaims as his shirt is ripped off, revealing his bare chest. Marianna Stern holds up a jagged blade and Wisdom looks at her, telling her that she won't be getting away with this. 'Captain Britain will make -' he begins, while his thoughts reach out to Captain Britain, asking her if she can hear him. 'Betsy! Help me!' he pleads – before he falls silent when the blade is shoved into his chest.
'Hail Morgan Le Fay. Witch queen of Avalon, fae lady, cursed woman of Camelot. Kept prisoner by the mad king inside his pretender's castle for too long. We break your chains with our will. We are your servants, the Coven Akkaba. Your High Priest and High Priestess call you home. We call to you on this night – when the witchbreed revel... and the mad king is away among the stars. And our hands are wet with mutant blood' Marianna calls out, raising her blood-drenched hands from Wisdom's body. Energy rises from Castle Avalon, as Morgan Le Fay is freed from the bonds that have imprisoned her for so long, while at the same time, King Jamie – Monarch – is currently on Mars, establishing a new kingdom for mutantkind there.
Elsewhere, Rictor walks across the ground near Excalibur's lighthouse, he makes it rumble and shouts 'Hey! Hail guardians! Hail druids of this land!' The rumbling continues as Rictor announces that he is ready, and that he is calling them in. 'I've never asked for anything from you guys. Not until now. It never seemed worth it' Rictor remarks. The land around him begins to shift, and he raises a hand overhead as he shouts 'But tonight – we need to take something away from someone who doesn't deserve it!' There is a cracking sound, and from the land, some green energy glows. 'Huh?' Ric wonders, taking the energy, it forms a staff, which he holds in his hand. Several druids emerge from the land beneath, as one of them explains 'It seeks the druid king who would wield it. It is yours'. 'You came' Rictor utters, before asking 'Can we do it? Can we really do this? I don't want to start and fail'. One of the druids tells him that they can, and another adds that by his word, they can do anything. Rictor holds the staff over his head and shouts 'TO ME, MY DRUIDS!' The druids surround him, and slam their hands into the ground, creating a massive booming sounds as the land begins to break apart.
In Avalon, Morgan Le Fay walks towards a Krakoan gateway, surprising the two guards who are standing over it. 'How did you get up here?' one of them asks, while the second asks her if she is injured. Morgan doesn't respond, while Marianna calls out 'Morgan Le Fay, priestess and queen! We have lit the way with a fire in our hearts. We have paid the toll with a sacrifice of mutant life. Now we open the door by bathing their own cursed vine in their own cursed blood'. Still silent, Morgan raises her arms, and releases magic energy which wraps around the guards, choking them and knocking them to the ground as she steps through the gate.
The coast of Britain where Excalibur's lighthouse once stood – it has changed. The lighthouse now sits on a small isle off the coast. 'A new coastline is born' one of the druids remarks. 'Hail the new island' another exclaims. 'She is beautiful, my lord' one of the other druids calls out to Rictor, who sits on the rocks at the lighthouse's new shore, covering his face with his hands. 'The selkies will guard her well' another druid assures him. At that moment, inside the lighthouse, Morgan steps through the portal from Otherworld. She raises an arm and magic swirls around her – then blasts through the lighthouse. '... what the hell was that?' Rictor asks, looking up at the lighthouse.
'Is this also a bad time?' a voice calls out. Rictor turns and sees Shatterstar walking towards him. Still only wearing his hot-pants, although it looks like he has cleaned himself up. 'Shatterstar. Gav. Hey'. 'It is nearly morning, but I wanted to try again' Shatterstar explains. Rictor remarks that he didn't feel Shatterstar teleport in, to which Shatterstar explains that he took the gate. He holds up a six-pack of beer, 'Za's vid, Julio. I've lost my manners. I should have just asked to have a drink sooner' Shatterstar admits. 'Yeah. It woulda been a start' Rictor replies, turning away from Shatterstar, before smiling and telling him to come on, so he can show him the beach he just made. They sit, leaning against each other on the shore, eaves lapping around their feet. 'You tell me where you've been. I tell you where I've been. And then we can figure out where we are now' Rictor suggests.
