Pendragon: The beginning. "The Time of Greastest Need"

For As long as I can remember, I had always been fascinated with heroes…the more fantastic, the better. Whenever I watched or read about those people who went the extra mile in order to help those in need, I wasn’t just there with them...I was them. The knight in shining armor, the spaceship pilot and of course the superheroes...those amazing characters who, for whatever reason, were gifted with so many incredible abilities.
Some were born with their powers, while others worked hard, training their bodies and minds to face whatever challenge arose, while others had proven themselves to the cosmos and, having done so, were endowed with their super gifts. However they came into being, these defenders of humanity in their bright colors, flowing capes and and good deeds always captured the heart of the child I was, but also the child still deep inside me today. As thrilling as it was to see a hero swoop in and pick up a car, or save a cat from a tree...fight off evil attackers with bolts of lightning and waves of magical energy….what really stuck with me, until this very day, was how the heroes would never give up, no matter what they were facing.
Now, I am far from an angel….even though I try to be a good person, and do what is right, sometimes I make mistakes. I am only human...or, I think I am still human…


While on a simple shopping trip, I found a small, used book store.  Indulging in my love of books, I decided I had to stop in. Before me, there was a vast ocean of adventures, places and people, just waiting to be discovered, or revisited by me.  After an uncertain amount of time perusing the stacks, I came upon a find. A leather bound book, with intricate gold letters along the spine. I drew it from the shelf and examined the front cover. “Arthur of Camelot” was written out in the same golden letters, embossed into the surprisingly soft leather.
I decided I could not pass up this treasure, so I brought it to the older woman at the counter, waiting while she finished talking on the phone. Once she finished her phone call, she apologized for making me wait, which I replied it was no problem.
After maxing out a credit card that I had sworn to myself, was only for emergencies, and having a short, but pleasant conversation with the woman behind the counter, I gathered up my purchase, and decided to return home.
Once there, I took a few moments to put away the few other items away, before settling down to examine more closely, my literary find. I was already wondering what differences, subtle or bold, this retelling of the Arthur legend, I would find.
I gently opened the cover and there, on the first page, was a beautiful sketch rendering of the Sword in the Stone, softly accented with similar gold leaf as was used on the cover. I slid my fingers over the picture, feeling that it was not just drawn, but embossed onto the page. In rich, bold lettering above the image the caption “...in the time of the land’s greatest need…”
Then everything exploded in a bright, golden light, which both burned and relieved...comforted and hurt….then I fell into darkness.
When I awoke, I laid there, trying to make sense of everything. Why was I laying on the floor….why did my head hurt…..why did I feel like I had been set on fire. I sat there for an unknown amount of time, trying to take mental stock of what had happened, arguing with myself if, indeed, what I thought had happened, actually did  or  more likely, I had had a very strange dream.
I finally stood up, seeing the book on the floor, not far from where I had found myself. I reached down, carefully closing the cover, picked it up and placed it carefully on the coffee table. My gaze lingered on the dark leather cover...something seemed different, but I could not figure out what it was. With a shrug, I decided to go to bed. I had no idea how long I was unconscious, but I still felt tired. I took a quick check, to see if there had been any injuries. Finding none, and not feeling any pain other than a mild headache, I climbed under the covers and went to sleep

I was pulled from a deep sleep, by the unrelenting “BLAAT BLAAT BLAAT” of my alarm clock, leaving me with no memories of any dreams, if there had, in fact, been any. After a time, I stood, stretched and ran my fingers through what I was certain was a crop of messy hair, before I made my way to the bathroom….it took a moment to realize, something felt different. I could not place what it was. All I knew was, I felt good...better than I had for sometime. I felt energized….almost, dare I say….tingling.
I made my way to the mirror….there I saw the same face looking back at me, the way it had every morning….it had not changed, but, it looked leaner, more defined. It was then that I realized, my whole body felt more defined, more solid. I looked the same. I did not have massive muscles bulging all over the place, but everything felt solid, as if I had been rebuilt using all new, stronger material.
And the tingling grew into almost a subtle buzz, not that could be heard, but felt, running through all the nerves in my body. I felt as though I were filled with energy and my body adapted to accommodate. Even though I felt more solid, more durable, my movements felt more fluid. I was still me, but a better version of me….maybe even the best version of me there ever was.
I had to get out, get some air, clear my head…..prove to myself this was not some delusion,,,that I had not somehow lost my mind. I got cleaned up and dressed, made sure I had what I needed, and went out onto the sidewalk, opting to walk, instead of drive. It was a beautiful Sunday morning in May, perfect for a walk.
I barely noticed what was going on around me, my mind fixated on my apparent metamorphosis, trying to make sense out of something that made no sense, whatsoever. It had been quite a few years since I had partied, and even then, I never used anything psychedelic...at  least, not that I was ever aware of...I had not injured my head, to the best of my knowledge. There was no soreness to indicate I had done any damage. Possibly some sort of a stroke? I remember reading somewhere online, about some simple tests you could do, to see if maybe you had had a stroke, but I could not remember any of them. My balance felt normal…..better than normal, in fact. I had never felt quite so certain of my movements.
It was all so strange...amazing, but very strange.
I had gotten so wrapped up in my introspection, I almost missed my destination, a tiny little Mom and Pop diner, known simply as “ Good Eats”
Mom and Pop, better known as Elaine and Chuck, had been married about thirty-five years, dated ten years before that. They  had one daughter, Charlotte, who lived on the west coast. She was married to a high school science teacher, Michael , and had given them twin grandchildren, a boy and a girl, Russell and Rachel. Anyone who came into “Good Eats,” heard something about these people. Anyone who returned, if the lunch rush was not too hectic, learned all about them. It was a great place, from a simpler time. Regulars were family and everyone was welcome.
I sat down in a booth and waved to both of them. They waved back. Elaine added a raised finger, to tell me she would be free as soon as she could. Besides myself there were two older gentlemen sitting at the counter, arguing politics and a young couple a two tables away from me, taking turns trying to get their little girl to stay seated and eat her pancakes. The young lady was far more interested in Chuck’s large, colorful aquarium, set up along the wall opposite the entrance. She would try to point at the different fish as they swam by her, causing her to laugh and squeal. Her parents would try to get her attention back on her food, while glancing around to silently apologize. I smiled back at them, hoping they would understand I found it amusing and that I was not upset. I could not speak for the elderly gentlemen and I was pretty sure Chuck and Elaine did not mind the sound of a child laughing.
It was then that the diner was rocked, as if in an earthquake. Dishes fell in the back, the water in the aquarium sloshed and sprayed all over. The little girl’s laughter instantly became a terrified shriek. Through the cracked windows, we all witnessed our first Morphon powered villain.
It was a little taller than a regular sized person, possibly seven feet tall, with dark grey skin that almost resembled slate. There were what looked to be the tattered remains of clothing, hanging off its body, as though it had once been a person, but instantly erupted into this behemoth. It was thrashing around the street, smashing cars and causing damage to the buildings, terrorizing everyone around. The most disconcerting part was, it seemed to not just enjoy what it was doing...it seemed to revel in it.
I moved from the booth, and made my way first to the young couple, helping them and their daughter behind the counter, in hopes they would find some measure of safety there, then I helped the older gentlemen back with them. Before I joined them, I saw something else through the window..a dark haired woman, bathed in some sort of purple energy, trying to confront the beast while other people on the street ran. She was trying to give them time to get to safety.
The police were there also, barking  orders into bullhorns and firing at the thing, to no avail. It just laughed, making a sound resembling nails on a chalkboard. The thing would just reach down, grab a handful of pavement and throw it at either one of the police officers, or the dark haired woman.
One of its projectiles found its mark, knocking the woman to the ground. She lay still for a time as the thing lumbered toward her, reaching out to grab a sign post as it drew closer. I could not see her moving as the thing clomped ever closer, its rocky voice cackling in glee at the prospect of using the newly obtained weapon on its helpless target. There was slight movement from the woman, but it did not look like she would recover enough to avoid the oncoming attack.
The buzzing inside me raged like a hive of angry bees. Before I truly realized what I was doing, I was out the door, oblivious to the shouts from inside the diner. I ran at the beast, not thinking, just knowing I had to get to it before it attacked again. As it raised the makeshift ax above its head, laughing at its impending triumph and ignoring the rain of bullets that bounced off its skin, I launched myself at it, catching it mid swing and carrying the both of us away from the woman.
We both tumbled down the street, slamming into car and store fronts. Thankfully the police had gotten people off the street. Hopefully anyone left in the building were going to stay where they were. We returned to our feet as it became apparent, I had just made myself this thing’s new target. Having lost its weapon in the tumble, it instead swiped at me with a back hand swing. It moved quickly for something apparently made from stone. It missed me, but not by much, as I felt the breeze of the attack on my face
Deep inside me, my little voice of reason was screaming, asking what I thought I was doing facing this thing that laughed at bullets and seemed to live for  destruction. Amazingly it had not been able to hit me. It was focused on me, giving the woman a chance to recover, while I was able to side step its flailing limbs, which only seemed to enrage this thing even further. It raised its limbs over its head, locking what I can only assume were once fingers together, lamming down in hopes to crush my skull. I threw up my arms, instinctively and to my surprise, caught the thing’s arms, halting its attack. I could not read any facial expression on its mineral-like features, but I think it was as shocked as I was, by what I had just done.
To further both of our astonishment, I shoved the thing backwards, sending it toppling several yards. I didn’t have time to think who was the most surprised..myself, it or the police officers and few other people watching us. In moments it was back on its feet, reaching for another weapon.
Grabbing the remains of a minivan, the creature hurled it, not towards me, but at the diner. I had no idea if the other had gotten out. If not, they would be killed and I didn not know if I could get to them in time to save them.
It was then I heard a groan, as if someone were exerting a great effort. The projectile stopped in mid air, enveloped by a purple aura. It hovered for a moment before flying back toward the beast.
Then, as the minivan was just about to hit the monster, the energy inside me exploded. Without thought I leveled  my hands at the beast and felt something shoot forth, an energy that slammed into the beast at the same moment the van hit it. The monster flew back, crashing into the wall behind it, by the duel attack. For several long moments, the silence was deafening. I held my breath, watching to see if it were dead, not knowing if something like that could actually die. Time seemed to stand still as I waited. Finally I dared to look away, scanning the destruction until I saw the dark haired woman. She too watched, apparently hoping it was over. She appeared to be alright, minus a wound on the side of her head. She was standing there, exhausted from her effort. I understood how she felt, though still no idea how I was able to do these things.
She looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back and waved. I was going to move toward her when a tremendous roar came from above. At the same time we heard the scrape of metal as the minivan slid away from the wall, and there it stood, apparently unsteady on its feet. It raised its arms over its head and began to howl, when brightly clad figures came down the street and out of the sky to surround it. They all took varying defensive poses, ready for whatever would happen next. I didn’t see exactly how it happened, but the thing was ancases in a blue bubble of light, which lifted it into the air. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not get out of its prison. The heroes took their captive and exited the scene in a variety of  ways, flying, speeding and disappearing, to name a few.
I made my way to the dark haired woman, who had slumped down to sit on a large chunk of rubble.
“Are you ok?” I asked, my voice dry and rough
She nodded, “I will be. Thank You”
“Thank YOU,” I said “ I don’t know what I would have done, if you hadn’t been here”
She smiled at me
“Im Peter” I said, offering my hand, “ Peter Morgan”
She took my hand and replied, “ I’m Dr Maggie Lee. Very pleased to meet you”
“And I am very pleased to meet both of you,” boomed the voice from the imposing figure who had appeared next to us. He was tall, with white hair. He wore a black trench coat and what looked to be a high tech eye patch over his left eye.
“ I would like to talk with you both about the future, and your places in it.

Pendragon  ID 12782