At top speed Captain Britain flies toward his home Braddock Manor.
In the meantime, Brian Braddock enters his sister’s room, dressed only in a dressing gown. Betsy is sitting in a comfy chair, reading. She looks up, wondering about the strange way her brother looks at her.
That very moment Captain Britain crashes through the window.
Unsure, Betsy looks from one to the other. Cap takes off his helmet, feeling like looking into a fragmented mirror. His double just smiles smugly. Then, he touches a device on his wrist and his clothes change into his costume. The two men run at each other and their battle takes them through the ground into the wine cellar.
It is like an earthquake. The house shakes with fear. Meggan flies downwards, wondering what is wrong, ignoring Emma Collins’ warning. Held by Emma is the frail psychic Alison Double, who mutters, “Stop them… they’re killing each other.”
Meggan asks Betsy where the Captain is. Before Betsy can reply, Gatecrasher (who with her Technet has arrived as well) shoots her down. Betsy angrily asks her how dare she. Yap realizes Betsy is a psychoblaster and orders the tentacled Elmo to calm her.
Gatecrasher asks Yap how many more there are in the house. The target and his paraform are below, he replies, and there are two above. Both in mild systemic shock, though one can read them. Gatecrasher orders Fascination to fetch them to the party. The mute woman complies and the still angry Betsy, who’s helped up Meggan, still demands to know what’s going on. Emma, in the meantime, has decided this is all a horrible dream. Gatecrasher apologizes perfunctorily. They would have knocked but they were caught up in the excitement of the chase. “And the… err… door…” she points to the hole in the wall “…was open.”
She’d better not try to hurt Brian, Meggan snarls, adding, “you hippopotamus!” for good measure.
Undeterred, Gatecrasher remarks she hopes that hippopotamus is a term of deference. Meggan has definite possibilities. She shouldn’t squander hem. Yap sniggers, causing Gatecrasher to order him to stop.
Sternly, Gatecrasher looks down the hole where the noises of fighting are coming from. As for the creature “Brian,” she continues, and the possibility of hurting him, there has been some confusion of identity which judging from the horrendous sounds of combat will shortly be resolved… this way.
As if on cue, the two Captains, still fighting, come flying up. Truly spectacular, Gatecrasher remarks, before explaining that this is the perfect illustration of the problem. She asks Yap if he can identify their auras and stop pulling her hair and calling her mother. Yap apologizes, but they are too close together.
Betsy asks why there a two of him. Patronizing, Gatecrasher corrects her that there are many more than two him. The unnatural thing is that there are two of him present in this time and place. An anomaly which they intend to rectify.
Meggan orders her to stop talking riddles and tell them who they are or she’s going to go wild and then they’ll really see trouble… Oh, say not, my little chicken, Gatecrasher replies gently mocking. No more conflict, please. But perhaps she has neglected the niceties of social convention. She introduces them as Gatecrasher and the Technet. They have come to this time zone in pursuit of a ruthless fugitive. A thing they do for money.
Gatecrasher’s story:
It should have been a breeze. They had his imprint, but he had some pressing business (referring to Captain Britain’s fight with the Fury-infected Sidney Crumb). So they waited for their moment and shot him down. They were anxious to be away with their prisoner but something caused them to doubt, namely that the Captain knew Legion and the Special Executive, but not them. That did not match the target’s record.
It did not take long to establish that the electronic aura of the being’s suit had been altered to match that of the target. He’s been pulled by a decoy, Gatecrasher snarled at Yap. Apologies were brief but sincere, or so Gatecrasher claims. After a string of insults at Yap, she graced Cap with a brief “sorry.”
At the moment, they didn’t notice two strange men with scanning apparatus observing them. Yap scanned for Kaptain Briton and got a fix north, northwest. Cap immediately realized that’s where Braddock Manor and his sister are. He flew off, not heeding Gatecrasher’s warning.
The Legion lookalike alerted Gatecrasher to the observers and she ordered Yap to teleport them away, leaving the two agents.
Present:
Gatecrasher finishes her explanation, telling her listeners that, while the two Captains are fighting, Yap is unable to separate their electronic auras. If only Captain Britain had been a little less rash, they could have saved him so much trouble… Unaware of that, Cap battles on.
Elsewhere, an angry Dai Thomas addresses the agents, asking them what their special responsibilities for super-beings are – sweeping up after them? He’s told them who is responsible and if they won’t do anything about Brian Braddock, he will!
He is boring, isn’t he? the small blond agent with sunglasses remarks to his colleague before casually striking Thomas in the face. He tells him he thinks Thomas has failed to grasp that they have absolute control. Another agent holds Thomas from striking back. Disbelieving, he utters they can’t strike him and get away with it. He’s police! With a grin, the agent informs him that, if he wants Thomas to disappear, he will disappear…
Back at Braddock Manor… slowly, the strain begins to tell. Captain Britain knows he is going to win. He deals his foe a final blow and Kaptain Briton lies on he ground. With a triumphant smile, Captain Britain hovers over him.
Upstairs, the silence tells the others there is a victor. Gatecrasher warns her team to get ready for anything. Luckily, it is Captain Britain who emerges, carrying the loser by his costume. Here’s their fugitive, he tells the Technet. Do what they like with him, just get him out of his sight!
Gatecrasher orders Yap to check the Captain’s identity. Yap informs her the electron patterns coincide perfectly this time. Gatecrasher tells Betsy to telepathically scan them as well. Meggan protests that, of course, it is the real Captain! He won, didn’t he? The Captain always wins! Betsy apologizes but her head is full of cotton wool. Gatecrasher asks Alison to do it. The fragile telepath complies and agrees this is the real Brian. The fighting was so horrible! With a smile, he promises her it’s all over now.
Gatecrasher orders her group to hold the unconscious Kaptain Briton and perhaps label him, just in case. Accompanied by Yap’s mocking giggling, she asks Meggan if she’s sure she won’t come along for the ride? No, thank you! comes the forceful reply.
With a show of light, the Technet phase out while Captain Britain is still angry at the other man’s nerve, pretending to be him. He sorted him out though, Meggan states while being summarily ignored. Cap focuses all his attention on Betsy who admits she’s exhausted. That thing with tentacles did something to her brain. She’s numb. He’ll see her to her room, Brian promises.
Emma and Alison remark on the mess left behind, whereas Brian seems rather nonchalant about this as he leads Betsy up the stairs. Meggan calls almost pleadingly after them that she did try to help and again is ignored.
Betsy apologizes for being so helpless, but will he stay until she’s asleep? That damn creature’s blanked her out and she feels a bit vulnerable. Of course, he tells her and promises it will pass.
Betsy confides she’s glad he’s back. She knows he has a lot to do, but they need him here sometimes. He’ll stay as long as she likes, he promises and hugs her. After all, he is the master of the house, she tells him, feeling secure. Yes, yes he is, he replies. Suddenly, he kisses her hard and fondles her buttocks. No! she cries out unbelieving as he leers at her.
