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The Clampdown, part 3
CNC Reporter Carol Brunett stands outside Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where a special session of the House will today consider Robert Hagon’s controversial Super Powers bill. Carol explains that it is only the first reading of the bill, but that it is widely considered whatever is ratified here today will swiftly become the law, and with the election only months away, she feels that the Prime Minister is sure to be aware of the current feeling of unease in Canada concerning so-called paranormal beings.
Carol explains that this concern was brought into sharp focus by the public hospitalization of a “mystery” hero suffering from what is rumored to be a highly contagious new disease. This situation raised the question Carol asks Robert Hagon as he entered Parliament Hill for today’s session: ‘Just how well protected are we from those who claim to be protecting us from others?’ Hagon replies by declaring his contention is that all super-powered beings, be they well-intentioned or otherwise, are walking time-bombs, and unless action is taken now, to give the man in the street the simple power to protect himself, the streets of Canada…will become a war zone!
Downtown Toronto currently looks like a war zone, for Canada’s premiere super hero team Alpha Flight had just been fighting the American criminals known as the Wrecking Crew. It is now a time of decision. Alpha Flight stand and watch under the orange-tinted skies as dozens of fire fighters set about putting out blazes that erupted during the fight. Eugene “Puck” Judd mentions that all of this could have been contained, perhaps even averted, if for once they thought with their heads instead of their fists. ‘The question now is…where do we go from here?’
As paramedics lift an injured man to safety, Alpha Flight’s champion leader Heather McNeil Hudson otherwise known as Guardian reminds Puck that Alpha Flight was doing their duty - their job, but Puck tells Heather that stopping Thunderball was their job, for he was out of control - a loose canon of the highest caliber, but as for the rest… ‘that was just us trying to prove we’re the biggest, baddest and toughest’.
Judd continues, exclaiming that they were all just flexing muscle without looking for an alternative, without stopping to consider that they might be making a bad situation worse. Turning to Alpha Flight’s “ally” Nemesis and Wildheart, formerly Weapon Omega, Judd declares that all this time, all the road traveled and they haven’t come a long way past “Hulk Smash!” Judd goes as far to say that their “duty” is to protect the citizens of Canada…’From ourselves if necessary’.
Nearby, young Albert Louis watches Carol Brunett’s report and a television in a shop window as he thinks to himself that Alpha Flight is here in Toronto right now - and knows he would be safe among his own kind. ‘My own kind!’ he thinks to himself, remembering that until a couple of days ago he dared to believe his own “kind” where normal, happy people, until it was all taken away. ‘Why? Because I’m a freak, because I’m different! Because -’ Albert’s thoughts are cut short when he sees a reflection of the Hardliner’s behind him!
Albert drops to the ground then begins to flee for his life - not just from the Hardliners who have been trailing his steps from Halifax in Nova Scotia, but also because Albert has been running all of his life - from the truth, from abilities that set him apart from his fellow man - from words like “mutant” and “paranormal”. But Albert Louis knows the running must stop. ‘Alpha Flight…I will be safe with Alpha Flight!’ he thinks to himself.
One of the Hardliner’s fires at Albert as he rounds the corner, declaring that when Albert slipped through their fingers last time, he was the one who looked bad - and his boss tore strips off him. ‘I guess Lord was speaking figuratively when he told us he wanted heads. Me, I’m thinking very literal!’
Meanwhile, at Department H headquarters, the home of Alpha Flight which also serves as a high-tech research facility. Several of Department H’s trained foot soldiers like dead, sprawled throughout the corridors. The assassin known only as Wyre makes his very naked way through the mighty building, which save for the flames burning from Witchfire’s quarters, is eerily silent. He thinks to himself that he owes Alpha Flight nothing, so whatever has occurred now is not his concern - so then why is he still here? His business with Wildheart is over, now he needs space to think
‘Blast it!’ he thinks as he jumps over the body of a foot soldier and leans against a wall before he rounds the corner to one of the med-labs. ‘The witch girl and the purple freak are both accounted for!’ comes a voice from within the lab where the body of Manikin currently lies inside a cocoon. ‘Good!’ the leader of the men who are currently rampaging through Department H declares, before exclaiming that it is time to show the world once and for all that they will no longer sit back as their country is overrun by these abominations.
Aiming his weapon at Manikin’s cocoon, he declares that with the destruction of this “thing”, they strike a blow for - ‘Sorry to interrupt such a pretty speech…but you missed one!’ exclaims Wyre as he enters the lab and interrupts the leader. Gritting his teeth, he remarks that while it is pointless for him to say it, he is obliged to suggest they drop their weapons and step away from the Manikin cocoon.
‘Get real!’ one of the members of Judgment is about to exclaim, but Wyre whacks his elbow down on the man’s back before he gets a chance, before kicking another man in the head, knocking him over, then slicing his sharp claws across another man’s chest. The leader of Judgment is about to shoot Wyre, but Wyre grabs one of the other members of Judgment and uses him as a human shield.
Judgment’s leader declares that Judgment balances a scaled tipped against the common man. The common man who sees their world overrun by monsters - but their cries of disgust and horror are choked off by rules and codes of conduct. ‘We see and we act. We do what they cannot. Do you see?’ he asks. ‘No. I don’t’ Wyre replies as tendrils start sprouting from his chest, and start cutting in to the man’s body. The leader of Judgment screams, before aiming his weapon at Manikin’s cocoon and firing. ‘Judgment…is passed’ he announces with his dying breath.
Inside the cocoon, more specifically the Mind Well, the young man whose body supposedly lies inside the cocoon, Doctor Whitman “Manikin” Knapp screams, before turning to his future self Highbrow and asking him what is happening. ‘It is the end’ replies Highbrow, informing Whit that the protective cocoon which their collective psyche formed around the damaged body is itself damaged, adding that the Mind Well, and all that is, thereby all of them - is in its final collapse.
‘But you said if that happens…I’m dead!’ Whit exclaims, clutching his head. Highbrow informs Whit that there is one chance, explaining that each time Whit uses his power to summon them forth, his power makes them whole, giving them substance, though they retain a portion of that power here, even in the Mind Well, for it kept them combat ready. Highbrow, Apeman and Proto form a circle around Whit, with Highbrow explaining that what they have taken, they are now returning to him. Whit realizes his other selves are sacrificing themselves to save him and exclaims that he wont allow it. Highbrow reminds Whit that they are him, but if he dies, they die. However they will live on, in his memories, should he survive.
Suddenly, Wyre witnesses a blinding light shine forth from the broken cocoon, and suddenly the lab is engulfed in brightness.
Back in downtown Toronto, Heather tells Alpha Flight that there is nothing else they can do here, so suggests they go home. Judd tells Heather that he doesn’t know - for what if Hagon is right? What if their very existence is helping nurture the menaces they fight? ‘And if we turn our backs and walk away?’ asks Heather, reminding everyone that Mac had a dream, not of simply protecting the country, though that must be their priority, but helping the new generation of super beings come to terms with the world.
‘What about them? The frightened, the lost - the ones who can be trained, who wanted to be helped? We give up…we give up on them too’. Judd warns Guardian that there is something else that they are not considering here, for if Hagon’s bill becomes law, paranormals will be enforced to register. ‘Who is going to enforce that law - US?’ he asks.
Suddenly, Albert Louis comes running down the street, panting heavily. ‘Please!’ he shouts. Alpha Flight and the members of Beta Flight that are present gather around him and Judd tells him to take it easy. Albert exclaims ‘They’re right behind me…need help!’ Judd begins to ask Albert who is behind him, when Albert turns and points at the Hardliners - ‘THEM!’ he shouts.
The Hardliners aim their weapons at Alpha Flight, ordering them to surrender Albert Louis and go home as this doesn’t concern them. One of the Hardliners explains that Louis is an unregistered paranormal and as such, they are empowered to bring him in. ‘ON WHOSE AUTHORITY?’ demands Heather, after all, she has always been the authority on this sort of matter, until now that is.
Heather tells the Hardliners that they are speaking as if Hagon’s bill has already been passed, before pointing out that the boy came to them for help, so they will not surrender him without first consulting their own superiors. ‘Fine. Have it your way’ one of the Hardliner’s declares before opening fire.
Colin Ashworth Hume a.k.a. Windshear springs into action by creating a wall of solid air to protect Albert from the blasts, while the rest of Alpha Flight also leap into battle formation. One of the Hardliner’s orders the others to use maximum intensity, ‘Lets’ see how good this stuff really is!’ Windshear is struck by the blasts, while one of the Hardliner’s laughs, commenting that it is funny it should come to this so soon, but feels that it was inevitable the new generation should oust the old. ‘As far as Canada’s concerned…we are the future!’ he boasts.
‘That is the WORST thing you could have said!’ exclaims Heather as she unleashes a mighty beam of electromagnetic energy spreads from her battle suit. While normally she would chose only one type of energy, this is an exception, and every form of power she has spills out. The Hardliner’s all convulse, and fall to the ground. ‘Well. That’s something I’ve never tried before’ Heather remarks as she touches down on the ground too. Alpha Flight gather round her as she frowns, and declares ‘I guess the future…just blew a fuse’.
Later…at Department H, Doctor Walter “Sasquatch” Langkowski exams Manikin, and every gathers round for the results. Walt announces that Whit has a normal pulse, making him the fittest dead man he has ever examined. Standing next to Heather, Wyre remarks that it was like birth, only… ’Ah! I don’t have the words’. Heather smiles and tells Wyre that he has her thanks for Manikin being alive, and adds that Witchfire will survive, before asking why he stayed - ‘You could have been away and clear’.
Looking over at Wildheart, Wyre explains that he wished to turn destructive into constructive. A solemn Manikin thinks to himself that Highbrow, Apeman and Proto are all gone, before Judd informs everyone that the news has just been announced. ‘We have ourselves a super-powers registration act’. Heather then calls a team meeting.
Shortly, nearly everyone involved with Alpha Flight has gathered. Jean-Paul “Northstar” Beaubier stands near Heather, his broken arm bandaged up. Sasquatch, Shaman, Aurora, Talisman, Puck, Windshear, Pathway and Goblyn, Wildheart and even Nemesis and Wyre, flank Guardian. Heather tells them that they all know the situation - when Hagon’s bill becomes law, they may end up having to hunt down paranormals like Albert Louis - people whose only real wish is to be left alone.
Heather points out that it is not a pleasant task and one which she will not order any of them to be a part of . She explains that in a moment she will ask each of them to simply say “in” or “out”, but before they do so, she warns them that if they step aside, leaving the way clear for the likes of the Hardliners who will hunt without compunction or mercy. She admits that Alpha Flight may be less than perfect themselves, but she believes they owe it to the Albert Louises of the world to weather the storm.
‘If one lone voice cries out for help…Alpha Flight must be there to answer it! So…in, or out?’ Sasquatch, Aurora, Talisman, Wildheart and Windshear all announce that they are in. Northstar declares that he is in for the moment, while Nemesis exclaims that she is out. Shaman officially rejoins Alpha Flight by his decision to stay in, and speaking on behalf of Goblyn, Pathway announces that they two are in also. Puck however pauses, before agreeing to remain. ‘Then it’s settled…Alpha Flight will fight on!’ exclaims Heather.


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Holy Terror, part 1 (First Story)<br> Brothers in Arms, part 1 (Second Story)
First Story:
‘Ye are Witchfire!’ the voices had muttered in that dark, secret place inside her head. ‘Ye are the key, the power that layeth open worlds. Ye are our destiny!’ But Witchfire would cry back ‘But who am I? Why can I not remember?’ ‘Soon, little one’, the voices would always reply…’Soon ye will know all!’ Dressed in a standard blue and red Department H training uniform, Witchfire attacks the mysterious genetically enhanced assassin known as Wyre, who is also wearing the standard training uniform, his tendrils breaking through the tight material over his chest.
Witchfire, whose long red hair has been cut extremely short after her recent injuries, mutters something in a demonic language as she strikes out at the man whom she and the other members of Beta and Alpha Flight’s know little about. This makes killing him all the more easier. The bulky man is blown backwards by Witchfire’s attack. He dies without a sound. Without a scream.
Suddenly, Goblyn, the un-human looking sister of Laura “Pathway” Dean lunges towards Witchfire. Because Goblyn exists in a twisted form, a mockery of human shape, Witchfire takes pity on her, so instead of disassembling her at a molecular level, she casts a time-loop that leaves Goblyn leaping through eternity.
But that attack is a diversion, allowing the former Purple Girl, Kara “Persuasion” Kilgrave the precious seconds she needs to step through Pathway’s portal and say: ‘You are in my power, you will do only what I say!’ But Witchfire doesn’t turn purple, and uttering more words in her dark language, she is about to do something to Kara, when suddenly, Wyre grabs her by the throat, before his tendrils extend from his chest and lift her high into the air, telling her to take note - for he is very hard to kill. Energy pours from Witchfire’s eyes and Wyre’s skin begins to boil. Claws burst from his glove and he cries out in pain.
Suddenly, the door to the Department H training facility known as “Combat Centrale” opens, and the leader of Alpha Flight, Canada’s premiere super hero team, Heather McNeil Hudson a.k.a. Guardian enters, demanding to know what is going on here, she terminates the program, before turning to Beta Flight and Wyre and asking if someone would kindly explain what is going on here. Turning to Pathway and Goblyn, she tells the girls that they are supposed to be in school, before looking at Witchfire and exclaiming that she is supposed to be recovering from… Heather’s voice trails off as she notices that Witchfire doesn’t seem to be listening to her.
‘And as for you!’ Heather exclaims as she spins around to look at Wyre, proclaiming that it is the fourth detention cell that he has broken out of in as many days. ‘So much for our so-called secure area’ she mutters, before declaring that it would be better, not to mention cheaper, if they just gave Wyre the run of Department H. Doctor Whitman Knapp a.k.a. Manikin steps forward with Pathway and tells Heather that this is down to him, that he figure the Beta’s were getting rusty just sitting around. ‘You know?’
Heather turns to the handsome young man and tells him that she doesn’t know, before pointing out that for starters this is not a scheduled training period, there is no senior team member present and the combat range has plenty of hazards and enemies programmed into it. ‘Fighting each other may work for the X-Men…but I don’t think it’s healthy!’
Heather leaves the training room with Wyre at her side. Wyre declares that he will not be caged, to which Heather tells him she will assign him some proper quarters until the powers-that-be decide what to do with him. She adds that if he is going to be their guest, he may as well be comfortable. Heather explains to Wyre that he can move freely within the confines of the building, when she suddenly exclaims that she is wasting her breath. ‘Do what you like! If you leave…I’ll have one less thing to worry about!’
Entering another corridor, Heather thinks to herself that it is days like this she seriously starts to consider - her train of thought is disrupted by a seductively dressed Aurora who walks past. Heather asks the founding Alphan where she is off to, to which Aurora replies she is going out. Aurora reveals that she has an apartment and a social life which are both in an extreme state of neglect, but she intends to put that right tonight - in a big way!
Aurora frankly remarks that Heather could do with the same treatment. ‘You’re looking…how shall I put this? Jaded’. With that, Aurora walks away, a forlorn Heather replies ‘Thanks’ while thinking to herself that Aurora does have a point, before reminding herself that it is so easy to get sucked into this business, that she forgets she has a life beyond Alpha Flight. ‘Time that changed!’
Meanwhile, at Algonquian Park, the last real expanse of wild land in Southern Ontario - where people come to leave the world behind, and touch a more primal self. Handsome jock-turned-scientist Doctor Walter Langkowski stands on a ridge as he thinks to himself that his whole life is Alpha Flight. ‘Face it, Langkowski, you’ve lost touch’. He recalls the three things his mother used to say: “Friends; Family; Faith” - the only three things a person needs to prosper. ‘How trite’ he thinks. ‘How true’.
Walt realizes that one by one, he has let them become substituted. Friends became colleagues, family became Alpha Flight, and faith became cold, unfeeling science. He decides that he needs to get back to his roots, and where better than right here. For this is where he always came when he wanted to rediscover Walter Langkowski. Stripping out of his clothes, Walt’s form shifts, and in his place, stands Sasquatch. ‘YES!’ he shouts, exclaiming that he can see it clearly now, more than anything, what he needs is faith - he needs a sign. A pentagram appears in the sky above Walt, and so it begins in the wilds of Algonquian Park…
…and within the walls of Department H…Elizabeth “Talisman” Twoyoungmen enters her father’s quarters, but Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen a.k.a. Shaman doesn’t acknowledge her, he just hovers in a trance, staring blankly ahead, so Elizabeth turns and leaves. A vision is granted to those with the sight. A vision, and with it…a call to arms!
Suddenly, Sasquatch, Talisman, Eugene “Puck” Judd and Colin Hume a.k.a. Windshear are gathered together, and the being known simply as the Goddess appears before them, in a form that most are familiar with - that of Nelvanna of the Northern Lights, mother of Snowbird. The Goddess announces that she has come to tear down the wall that separates the human spirits from celestial bliss. ‘I come to rescue mankind from eternal hellfire!’
The Goddess address Walt, Elizabeth, Judd and Windshear, and also Shaman, but Shaman does not answer. She asks them to join her in this holy calling, for with their aid, she will eliminate all evil from this plane of existence. She tells them to reach out for that miracle - join the Infinity Crusade - the ultimate battle for the universal order. The Goddess asks the Alphans if they will be her soldiers of light - will they serve her faithfully? Worldwide, the response if passionately cried…’YES!’
Meanwhile, in downtown Toronto, at a seafood restaurant, Lillian Crawley-Jeffries a.k.a. former Alphan Diamond Lil sits across from Heather and exclaims that this is just what she needed - the food, the company and of course all the gossip. ‘Walter and Jeanne-Marie, eh? Well, well!’ Lil remarks, before asking Heather if she has anything brewing. Heather smiles back at Lil, who is now sporting a massive perm, and says ‘You know me, Lil - lucky at cards’ before remarking that there is potential. Lil asks if it is anyone she knows, to which Heather replies it is, but she doesn’t want to say whom until she is sure of her own feelings, as there are problems.
‘Do tell’ offers Lil, before revealing to Heather that she and Madison, in all honesty, are not good. ‘Even with your new “do”?’ Heather asks, before offering support if Lil wants to talk. Lil replies that she does, and points out that she and Madison are not supposed to be Diamond Lil and Box anymore, they are supposed to be civilians, happily married, but Madison cannot seem to - BEEP BEEP suddenly Heather’s pager goes off. She apologizes to Lil before excusing herself to find a phone, for she knows something has happened.
Shortly later, back at Department H, only Heather, Jean-Paul “Northstar” Beaubier, Wildheart and Persuasion have gathered. Heather asks where Puck and the others are, exclaiming that they cant have just vanished. Jean-Paul asks Wildheart if the heli-jet is ready, to which Wildheart announces that he has the message from the Vision on tape if they want to see it.
Manikin walks up beside Kara, his former girlfriend and asks her what is going on. Kara reveals that there is some cosmic-type emergency at Avengers Mansion. Manikin supposes that the two of them get to stay here and “mind the store”. ‘Right’ replies Kara, ‘Together now, one, two, three…’ ‘BORING!’ they both exclaim.
Meanwhile, in “school”, Pathway and Goblyn are hooked up to a virtual reality system. But instead of geometry, something else is on display. Laura wonders what is happening. Goblyn growls as she can sense something wrong. Laura orders the computer to terminate the program, but it doesn’t respond. Suddenly, a hand, with very long fingernails, seems to cut into the computer system, and sitting in the virtual reality system, Laura and Goblyn both scream in pain, before being rendered unconscious - or worse.
Elsewhere in Department H, Wyre watches Heather, Northstar and Wildheart depart in the heli-jet. He wonders why he remains, knowing that he can escape at any time - but escape to what? Wyre thinks that the hunt for the breed was everything, but with that over, his life is now empty and meaningless. Wyre realizes that he doesn’t even have a home - just a series of sterile war bases that no longer serve a purpose. He wonders what to do now when someone approaches him from behind. ‘Oh, it’s you’ he remarks as he sees who approaches him - then he screams as he is thrown from the window in a burst of flames.
Nearby, Kara and Whit hear the commotion and wondering what it was, they run to its origin. Kara leads the way, so Whit asks her to wait, as there may be trouble, when suddenly, Kara screams, as she is knocked out by some power. Whit examines her and he sees that she is not breathing. Suddenly, Witchfire approaches him. Whit is shocked at her appearance - she now sports horns, and is followed by a horde of demons. In a demonic voice, Witchfire declares that at last her eyes have been opened and she knows all her dark heritage.
Witchfire exclaims that her father has spoken, and the new age of enlightenment must not come to pass. ‘The Goddess and all her kin will die…and no power in Heaven or Earth can save them!’ she exclaims as power surges from her hands, ready to attack Whit.
Second Story:
The Eden’s Bar ‘N’ Grill in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, a 24-hour retreat for the long distance itinerant. The home of the home-shy insomniac, or the die-hard intransigent. They all come here to lose themselves. To shut the real world out. A muscular blond man with a scar running down his face sits alone, nursing another mug of beer. He turns to the television which is displaying the news, where the newsreader exclaims that Robert Hagon’s bill effectively opens the door for enforced registration of all paranormals currently residing in Canada.
The newsreader announces that a spokesperson for Alpha Flight, Canada’s resident super team, said that as employees of the Canadian government they would of course enforce any such ruling as and when it became… no one can hear the rest of the announcement, for the blond man shouts ‘Is this what its come to?’ and after sculling his drink in one gulp, he tosses the table up and into the air.
‘Men and women hunted like dogs…because they don’t fit into some glory-mongers genetic norm? Makes me ashamed to be Canadian!’ he declares. Other men in the bar turn to him, angrily. ‘Dead meat!’ ‘Freak lover!’ ‘Hagon’s the man, you unpatriotic…’ The blond man frowns at them, before smiling, and single handedly he starts taking them down in a massive bar-brawl.
At Department H, the home and headquarters of Alpha Flight, the brawl is being relayed to their computer, where Eugene Milton Judd a.k.a. Puck is watching it. Heather Hudson, Alpha Flight’s leader, enters the communications room and asks Judd what they have got. Judd replies that it is a bar fight in Moosejaw, and the police are doing a standard check, wanting to know if they are dealing with a paranormal. ‘And are they?’ Heather asks.
Judd replies that they are, and tells Heather that he would like to handle this one alone. Heather tells Eugene that she would never pry, as she respects him too much for that, before pointing out that he never talks about his past, about who he was before they met. Heather asks if this man is a part of Judd’s past, to which Puck replies: ‘Heather…he IS my past!’
Back in Moosejaw, the bar is alight, bodies are littered around it, the police have arrived and have cornered the blond man in, though he is defending himself by barricading himself behind a upturned car. He exclaims that he should be past this thing, and declares that Canada is washed up, a corrupt shadow of the great nation he loved and fought for, but this is the final insult. One of the police officers asks another what it is he is shouting about, to which the other replies he doesn’t know, and suggests they take him out before he rams the car, which he is now pushing towards them, into them.
The bulky blond man pushes the car forward, muttering that he shouldn’t care, but he does! He declares that he isn’t going to sit back and just let it happen. ‘If you want me, its gonna get bloody!’ A police officer thinks to himself ‘Show you bloody! Put one right in the…gas tank!’ the bullet hits its destination, and a mighty explosion sends the blond man flying across the road and into a clothing store, where he crashes through the window.
Undeterred, he climbs up, ‘That’s better! Okay boys…I’m ready for more!’ he exclaims. Suddenly, Puck, Jean-Paul “Northstar” Beaubier and Wildheart arrive, ‘No. No more’ Judd declares, addressing the bulky blond man as Cleft, he tells him that it is over, it isn’t helping anyone. ‘Least of all yourself’. Cleft asks Puck if it is really him, and coming down from the shop window, his clothing in tatters, he remarks that he heard Judd had gone establishment, but never really believed it. He adds that he would bet Judd is still as wild as he ever was.
Judd remarks that when Heather Hudson dragged him out of that jail, she also dragged him out of a mire of bars and brawls. ‘Those days are over’. Cleft declares that he doesn’t believe it, and reminds Judd that the four of them forged bonds that no badge or uniform could ever break. ‘Deep down, where it counts, you’re still one of us!’
Judd is annoyed, for he is in charge of this operation, with minimal back up. He thinks that Heather went out on a limb here, she trusted him and yet, Cleft is right. There is a lot of history between the two of them, almost unwritten code. He knows that Alpha’s current brief is to bring in all unregistered paranormals, and Cleft is certainly one of them. But he doesn’t know if he can do it. There is a moment where no one does anything, until Judd orders Northstar and Wildheart to take Cleft down.
‘With pleasure!’ exclaims Northstar as he speeds swiftly past the bulky man and punches him in the back of the head, while Cleft curses Judd. Suddenly, the ground seems to explode beneath their feet, and Judd and Wildheart are both knocked to the ground. Turning and looking at the source of the small earthquake, Judd sees two men. ‘Oh. Oh no!’ he exclaims.
The dark-haired man addresses the man responsible for the earthquake as Depth Charge and remarks that it is the same thing every year, every time they get together, Cleft goes and starts without them. Depth Charge remarks that it is always down to the two of them to haul Cleft’s fat out of the fire, even if this time that includes wasting Puck, their old brother in arms!


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Dead Reckoning, part 1
From all directions they come, riding a razor wind - but Shaman, last of the Sarcee medicine men is resolute, he will not give in to Ranaq’s demon horde. But Shaman’s daughter, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen a.k.a. the phenomenal Talisman is searching for him. ‘Father! FATHER!’ she screams. ‘You can’t hide from me, not even here, in the Dream Lands!’
Elizabeth discovers her father, Michael Twoyoungmen, sitting at the foot of a large tree on Paradise Omega and tells him that they are going to talk, whether he likes it or not. She admits that he may have fooled the Goddess, but points out that she knows him too well, and that it is evident from his actions - or lack thereof - that his faith in the Goddess’s crusade is not all it should be.
The old man, sporting a new “costume” looks up at his stroppy daughter. ‘Faith?’ he asks, muttering that he lost it a long time ago, and asks if it is his fault that the Goddess mistook his greater sense of awareness for personal belief? Shaman declares that he has no doubt at all that powers exist beyond mankind’s limited perception, but as to their wisdom, he is not convinced of that.
Elizabeth leans forward and puts her hands on her father’s head, asking him what it is he does - he does what is always does when something is expected of him - ‘You run away!’ she yells, before reminding him that he ran away when her mother died, leaving her to live with the McNeil’s while he wallowed in his own selfish grief. Elizabeth points out that Shaman ran away once more when he revealed to her that she was the Chosen One of their people - the Talisman, thus unloading his responsibility onto her, regardless of the cost.
Shaman gets to his feet as Elizabeth reveals to him that she knows he broke off his search for the members of Beta Flight after he became separated at the Dimensional Nexus. ‘You abounded them!’ she exclaims. Shaman turns his back from his daughter and declares ‘No!’ before explaining that he was mystically protected from Pathway’s reflexive dimension jump, so he could only follow them a heartbeat later, but by then they were gone. He claims that he searched for weeks until he was summoned back to earth by the elders to confront the Magus. ‘I had no choice’.
‘No choice?’ asks an infuriated Talisman, exclaiming that he had a choice, but like always chose the path of least resistance. With that, Elizabeth slaps her father across the face. Shaman narrows his eyes, and a tree branch suddenly extends itself downwards and wraps itself around Elizabeth, tossing her several meters away. ‘Oh no, what have I done?’ Shaman exclaims as he rushes over to Elizabeth, asking her if she is hurt.
Talisman takes to the air, hovering his above her father, telling him if that is the way he wants it, then that is the way they will do it. ‘Elizabeth, don’t -’ Shaman begins, but Talisman cuts him off, asking him if he is worried, before telling him he should be, reminding him that unlike his few conjuring tricks, her magic comes from the very essence of the natural world. ‘To me…everything is a weapon!’
Talisman’s magic begins to swirl around Shaman as he pleads with her to not make him do this. But Elizabeth tells him that he isn’t going to get out of it so easy, as this has been a long time in coming. ‘You’re going to make a stand…whether you like it or not!’ she declares. Suddenly, some force surrounds the surprised Shaman, and traps him, as Talisman describes, like a fly in amber.
Talisman stands with her arms folded in front of her trapped father, declaring that she was right, that he is going to make a stand for as long as she says - Talisman cries out in pain and falls to the ground suddenly after being struck from behind - by Shaman. Twoyoungmen remarks that his daughter relies too much on magic, forgetting that as mortals, they can also resort to physical strength, and trickery.
Standing over his daughter’s unconscious body, he admits nevertheless that she is right, he has been lax in his duties and obligations, so he will go to the Goddess and offer his services in one particular matter - but it is not her he will be fighting with his heart and soul. ‘It is for you’ he tells Elizabeth, swearing that whatever the cost, he will not fail.
Meanwhile, night gives way to the morning in suburban Canada, as a semi-familiar figure flies across the skies. Sometimes he is known as Madison Jeffries, but now far removed from the sucking pit of unpaid bills, backaches and whining neighbors…he is Box! The armor is him. He is the armor - nothing else matters. Living metal thrums to a brass drum heartbeat, tidal waves of energy flood a body wide network of sensitized circuitry. Cables of hydraulic muscle bunch and flex, the power to crush buildings is held tantalizingly in check.
Box descends onto the front lawn of his home. In the armor, he is safe. Nothing can harm him - except of course his wife, Lillian Crawley-Jeffries a.k.a. Diamond Lil, who punches him so hard as he enters the house that he crashes back through the door and onto the front lawn. ‘You promised me! You swore!’ Lil exclaims, dressed only in her dressing gown as she walks out onto the lawn reminding Jeffries that he said he would stop wearing that thing. The brunette vixen grits her teeth and narrows her eyes, exclaiming that her husband is like a junkie, sneaking off in the middle of the night for his fix.
Marching over to Madison, Lil exclaims that she has had enough. Jeffries phases out of his re-designed armor, apologizing, but Lil grabs his throat and using her enhanced strength she lifts him into the air, exclaiming that she has really tried to understand this compulsion of his, but the bottom line is that it is more important to him than their marriage and - suddenly, Lil drops Jeffries, for an astral projection of Shaman appears before them. Shaman declares that the future of this and many other realities is in dire peril, for the forces of evil conspire to disrupt this cosmic glory. ‘And so Shaman calls Diamond Lil and Box to stand forth and do battle!’
Later, the suburbs of Toronto give way to the timeless wilds of Northern Ontario. Box, Diamond Lil and two of Alpha Flight’s current associates, the assassin know as Wyre and the vigilante Nemesis approach Shaman, who welcomes them to the Gateway to that which is beyond. Wearing her original green and gold diamond costume, Lil mutters that she is impressed as the next Joe with his grand entrance and fancy sales pitch, but would he mind telling them exactly why they are freezing their butts off in the forest at midnight, not to mention what exactly is this “menace” to life as they know it.
Eyes of pure white and wearing several face markings, Shaman reveals that it is known as Carcass, and its malevolent presence has invaded the sacred Lands of the Dead, and defiled his peoples resting place. Shaman explains that Carcass has begun the process known as “the Unmaking”, the final dissolution of reality into the chaos from which it sprung. Shaman explains that unless it is stopped, it will spread like a virus though the spirit worlds and into this reality - nothing will be spared.
He declares that he calls upon them to stand with him against this enemy, before telling them to understand what is required of them is an act of faith. He tells them they must put themselves utterly in his hands, for they journey where no living mortal has ever gone. Shaman asks Wyre if he is in, to which the mercenary smiles and exclaims that it sounds like a kick. When asked if she will participate, Nemesis replies in cryptic form as usual, ‘I am Fate’s angel. My path is already set’. Box tells Shaman that he can count him in, while Diamond Lil spouts some obscenities, before agreeing to join them.
Shaman declares that it is done, while thinking to himself that he betrays every ideal he once held dear. He asks for forgiveness for deceiving his braves as brutally as the Goddess deceived her “converted”. Shaman tells everyone to prepare themselves, then speaking in a strange language, something begins to happen, there is a loud “THUM” sound, it gets louder and louder, until suddenly there is a blinding light…
…and everyone soon finds themselves in a strange land. ‘The other side!’ exclaims Shaman. Everyone looks around and stands ready for battle. Lil exclaims that she thinks she might throw up - if she knew which way was up. Twoyoungmen informs everyone that Carcass is a disciple of Khaos, so the lands have been re-created in his own twisted image. He urges everyone to stand with him and draw from him, together they will endure. Shaman warns everyone to be ready, for Carcass is absolute master of this place and will know that they are here.
As if on cue, creatures begin to appear from beneath the ground. Lil asks what they are, to which Shaman reveals they are dead souls - Carcass’s playthings, his army. He unleashes some power on the minion of Carcass that attacks him. He tells his associates that they must forget these creatures were once proud warriors, noble men and women strong enough, willful enough to carry their “selves” to the afterlife. ‘They are simply the new enemy…and they must be destroyed!’
One of the creatures grabs Lil, who calls to Box for help as she is dragged away. Jeffries transmutates Box’s arm into a weapon, which fires at the creature, blowing it backwards and freeing Lil from its grasp. ‘It’s party time!’ Box shouts, before asking his wife if she is all right. Getting into battle and punching a few of the creatures, the sultry Lil tells her husband that she is fine now.
Lil watches her husband fight the creatures and thinks to herself that one day she will lose him to that armor, someday he just wont come out of it. One of the creatures lunges for Lil’s stomach, his claws outstretched. Lil just points out that if she was anyone else, the creature would have gutted them, but she is Diamond Lil, tough as her namesake and very hard to kill!
Box watches Lil get into the swing of things before turning to Nemesis and asking her how she is doing. Nemesis slices and dices her way through Carcass’s army, telling Box that her sword does what it must and that he should save his concern for Wyre, for he fights, but his heart is not in this battle. Nemesis claims that she is doing her best to watch both their backs, but that she fears she cannot do so for much longer.
As Wyre blasts away at his opponents, he wonders how many of those he has killed have been sent here, as he has killed so many. He thinks that it is almost like they have returned to take their revenge. His wires begin to extend from his muscular body, thinking that it is irrational and unprofessional, but his conscience is burdened enough, without killing twice as many people.
Shaman keeps his attackers at bay with his magical powers thinking that their foes are legion and yet they are still winning - as his allies, his “braves” draw strength from him, so to does he from they. But he realizes it does not alter the fact that he deceived them all - deceived them so that he may put his own house in order.
Meanwhile, in a citadel nearby, Carcass sits on his thrown, admitting that he has misjudged Shaman, for he has chosen warriors well, warriors who are unfettered by mortal restraint, and trusting in him completely. Carcass realizes that in time, Shaman may even threaten the unmaking, for he is the pivot, the fire from which they draw strength - but Carcass knows how to break him….
Back on the battle field, Shaman gets a most unsuspected visitor. ‘Hello Michael…it’s been quite a while!’ exclaims the woman standing in front of him. Shaman sees before him his wife…the long dead Kathryn Twoyoungmen. ‘I can’t fight you!’ he exclaims, to which Kathryn replies ‘I know!’ and waves her hand at Shaman, sending energies coursing through his body and causing him pain.
Shaman remembers his own words: ‘You must forget that these were once proud warriors, noble men and women strong enough, wilful enough to carry their selves into the afterlife’. He does nothing. His medicine pouch suddenly begins to dissolve before his very eyes - the source of his magic is gone. Shaman lies on the ground, broken once more, but knowing he has to do something, for the others are depending on him.
The others however are already in over their heads - Diamond Lil screams as a demon actually manages to cut her. Wyre’s wires begin to turn on him, while Jeffries is pulled from the Box armor by demons, not needing to phase from it. And Nemesis is given a taste of her own blade as one of the demons slices her with it.
Wyre calls to Shaman, ‘You got us here, get us out…now!’ Shaman replies that he can’t, and wonders to himself why he never told them, perhaps because if he trusted them with the truth, then he may have doomed them all. Shaman looks at his associates and informs them that he was speaking literally when he said they would journey to where no living mortal has ever gone.
‘To journey to the lands of the dead…you have to be dead!’ and back on Earth, lying at the foot of a Sarcee totem pole are the bodies of Shaman, Diamond Lil, Box, Nemesis and Wyre….


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Dead Reckoning, part 2 (First Story)<br> Trial and Error (Second Story)
(First Story: )
Where no one has gone before…no one living at least! ‘DEAD!’ shouts the assassin known as Wyre as he attacks Michael Twoyoungmen a.k.a. Shaman. ‘You killed us all!’ Wyre exclaims as his wires dig into the founding member of Alpha Flight, remarking that it seems only fair he shows the same consideration. Former member of Alpha Flight Lillian Crawley-Jeffries a.k.a. Diamond Lil who was dragged along for the battle tries to pull Wyre off of Shaman, while Nemesis tends to the injured Box, Lil’s husband.
Lil points out to Wyre that he can’t kill Shaman, as much as she would like to let him, because he is their only chance, for he got them here, so maybe he can get them back to the real world. ‘To what?’ asks Wyre angrily, pointing out that they are dead, Shaman told them so, for to journey to his ancestors’ land of the dead, he had to kill their physical forms. Nemesis tells Wyre to release Shaman, for there is more at stake here than they know, reminding him that if Shaman is to be believed, then the fate of all reality rests on their actions.
Angrily, Wyre leers at Shaman, pointing out that they trusted him and he used them, asking him what was wrong with the plain and simple truth. Shaman replies that he couldn’t risk them saying no, before revealing that their bodies are preserved, awaiting the return of their spirits. He is about to explain something else when Nemesis does it for him. She motions to where the being known as Carcass is standing and tells everyone that since Carcass now controls this realm, the only way they are going to get back is by defeating him first.
Wyre releases his hold on Shaman, muttering that it all seems a bit unlikely. He points out that they were all doing fine, until Shaman fell apart, ‘When she showed up,’ he remarks, motioning to the reanimated body of Shaman’s long dead wife Kathryn Twoyoungmen.
Carcass declares that it was an amusing distraction, but boasts that the heroes’ efforts were always destined to fail. He exclaims that the unmaking, the final dissolution of reality into the chaos from which it came has begun. He adds that with Shaman’s medicine pouch gone, all hope of stopping it is now gone too.
Wyre leaps at Carcass, boasting that they don’t need Twoyoungmen’s bag of tricks, all they need is - he doesn’t say what they need, for as he lashes out at Carcass, his hand is cut off. Carcass offers up his own hand to Wyre - which covers the assassin’s mouth, his strange pink body covering all of Wyre’s, before Diamond Lil attacks him as he laughs. ‘Laugh this off!’ she exclaims as she smacks him from behind.
Carcass turns to Lil, proclaiming that he knows she has tough skin and cannot be hurt, but casting some power upon her, Lil suddenly vomits all of her insides. Carcass declares that he will leave the skin alone, and Lil’s skin falls down beside the pile of bones and organs.
Carcass turns his attention back to Wyre as Shaman notices Jeffries ready to attack Carcass. Shaman tells him not to, that he cannot fight Carcass here because he is a Khaotic Mystic, master of reality. Jeffries tells at Shaman, telling him to shut up as he leaps at Carcass, reminding Shaman that Diamond Lil is his wife, he declares that Shaman may have given up fighting, but the rest of them haven’t.
Jeffries exclaims that even without his Box armor he will still be able to - he doesn’t get to say it, because Carcass grabs him, declaring that he knows Jeffries’ likes his shiny metal coat and wishes he would never have to come out of it. Jeffries is suddenly covered in liquid metal, screaming as it envelops his whole body, with Carcass exclaiming that he has given him his hearts desire.
Turning to Nemesis, Carcass asks her what game she would like to play with him. But the weakened Shaman calls to Carcass, telling him to leave Nemesis. ‘Torture me if you must, but leave the others alone!’ he pleads. ‘Torture you? Look at you!’ Carcass exclaims. As he turns to Shaman, the others all return to normal - Wyre’s hand is back, Lil and Jeffries’ bodies are both in tact and Nemesis has her sword once more.
The reanimated corpse of Kathryn Twoyoungmen stands beside Shaman as Carcass exclaims that his life force is all but spent keeping five vessels alive, reminds him that his medicine pouch is destroyed, and these sacred lands are defiled. Carcass tells Shaman that he must have known all along that among the dead souls, playthings he commands, was that of his dear wife. Kathryn’s body suddenly looks whole once more, and she smiles wickedly beside her husband.
Carcass declares that he has enjoyed playing with her. Kathryn’s body returns to its dead form as she smacks her husband across the face, telling him to watch as the unmaking spreads from the lands of the dead through all the known spirit worlds and into his own dimension. ‘And all order becomes glorious chaos!’ Carcass declares.
Carcass exclaims that the Goddess chose her champion badly, adding that she too can watch as her dream of universal order is destroyed. Suddenly, Carcass screams, as Shaman blasts him with some elemental fire. Twoyoungmen appears back to his normal self, gritting his teeth he stands ready for battle, asking Carcass if it hurt, adding that he intends to enjoy the next few minutes. Carcass exclaims that it is impossible, that Shaman cannot conjure without his medicine pouch.
Shaman reaches inside himself, revealing that he absorbed the pouch an instant before Kathryn struck him, for he knew it would be the only way to get close enough…’To do this!’ he shouts as he unleashes more power on Carcass. Carcass just laughs at Twoyoungmen, before using his own powers to send him backwards across the landscape. Once more, Shaman reaches inside of himself, and firing more power at Carcass, he tells him to burn.
Carcass tells Shaman that he seems to forget that the clay from which he sculpts is reality…’And Carcass is its master!’ Carcass begins to stretch Shaman’s body - an illusion, which Shaman has to keep reminding himself of, no matter how powerful it is. Though it causes some pain, Shaman manages to master the illusion, though the cold, hard claws of reanimated dead souls, including those of his wife, are waiting to claim him - and begin tearing at his body.
Carcass stands over Shaman’s weak body, declaring that it is over, when suddenly, Wyre creeps up from behind, and shoves his wires through Carcass’s body, holding him in place, enabling Lil to leap into action, ‘This time, Carcass…you’re all ours!’ she exclaims, kicking him forcefully with her diamond-hard body. Shoving her sword into Carcass’s body, Nemesis tells him that they understand this realm now, that he makes his own reality by force of will. Withdrawing her sword, she asks him if that felt real enough.
Jeffries rushes towards Carcass, declaring that if he wants his armor bad enough, he can have it - and so it appears. Drawing his metal hand into a fist and pulling it back, Box sends it forward, telling Carcass that he can have it. Carcass asks the group why they would help Shaman after all he did to them. Jeffries tells him that they may not like the way he did things, but that they all understand loss, and Carcass himself showed them Shaman’s pain, showed them why he did what he did. Jeffries remarks that it is funny, because Shaman picked the four of them for this mission for exactly the opposite reason, but in the end, it is because they do care, that they will stand or fall beside him.
Shaman gets to his feet, announcing that he finally sees, all the time he stooped to deception and trickery, he trod a path of damnation, and very nearly took them all with him. A battle begins, between Shaman and his associates and the reanimated souls of Shaman’s fellows, including his wife. Shaman asks Kathryn to forgive him. He tells her that he will never stop loving her, never forget her, but it is time he buried his dead. With that, Kathryn Twoyoungmen’s reanimated corpse is shattered.
Shaman turns to Carcass, telling him that he made him doubt himself, doubt his faith and power, but that in the end, that was his only real weapon, because the rest was just an illusion. Shaman creates a crystalline structure of pure order to hold Carcass. As it envelops Carcass, Shaman tells him that it is over, finished. But Carcass declares that it is never over, and tries to break the structure. Shaman urges him not to fight it, for the mix of chaos and order will - there is a loud sound and the crystalline structure shatters, taking Carcass’ body with it.
Suddenly, everything is gone, the heroes, or anti-heroes if you like, return to normal, and in an instant, they all return to Earth. Box tells Shaman that it was a heck of a trip, and that next time he needs help he should just ask. Shaman tells Box, Lil, Wyre and Nemesis that he owes them more than he can possibly repay. He admits that he was trapped, running from his grief, unable to share his pain with anyone - even Elizabeth, his own daughter. Shaman almost smiles as he tells them that thanks to them he will change, and can start living again.
(Second Story:)
Department H, in the Combat Central training facility, the young man dressed in a standard blue and red Department H uniform declares that his life as Albert Louis is over, and his new one begins here! He stands ready for action as four robot crab-like creatures rise from the sand. He reveals his new codename as he tells them to be prepared to taste the bio-electric wrath of Feedback!
The creatures race towards him and he is forced to jump out of the way. ‘Well that certainly impressed them!’ he thinks to himself. Standing to face them once more, he exclaims that he will just have to show them by example, and unleashes his mutant power upon them, destroying one of them - but another one comes up behind him. Albert realizes that he was so bust patting himself on the back that he wasn’t watching his back.
He is experiencing a lot of pain as the creature begins to crush him. He thinks hard about what to do, and begins to channel his power down into the arm of the creature - his plan works and the creature drops him, before being blown up. Feedback blocks the blast of another creature, glad he can extend his bio-electric aura just an inch or two above skin level to use it as a shield. He then uses a complete energy form of himself to finish the job, and his bio-electric self smashes the metal crab. Forgetting there is still one creature on the loose, Albert is busy gloating over the remains of the one he just destroyed, when the fourth comes up behind him and blasts him in the back.
Feedback calls himself useless, when Dr. Whitman Knapp a.k.a. Manikin of Beta Flight enters and asks him what is with all the self-recrimination. Whit tells Albert that in the past few weeks he has come on incredibly, adding that he is certainly faster than he was when he was in the Gamma Flight program. Albert asks Whit to run the program again, he wants to keep at it until he gets it right.
Whit urges Feedback to slow it down, explaining that he needs to examine the telemetry they got from this run first. Whit assures Feedback that they are slowly but surely building a picture of his body’s bio-electric generating abilities, but what is clear already is that his powers have limits, pointing out that he didn’t have anything left to deal with that last attack.
Manikin tells Albert that they need to find out what it is his body converts to energy, where to get it from and how quickly his system recharges it. Albert just grumbles something and kicks the floor. Whit realizes that there is so much anger in Albert, he knows that he didn’t want this life, but it was thrust upon him by the Hardliners, so he is reacting by pushing himself too hard, wanting it all at once. Albert kicks one of the metal crabs, and Whit just hopes that he hasn’t set his hopes too high, for in his experience, it is just further to fall.
Kara “Persuasion” Kilgrave calls to Whit and Feedback, informing them that what they want to watch is on the television. The trio enter a room where two more members of Beta Flight, the Dean twins, Laura a.k.a. Pathway and Goblyn are already watching. The newsreader announces that the Hardliners took it upon themselves to pre-empt the government’s Super Powers Act by becoming freelance paranormal hunters, no doubt anticipating a lucrative government contract in the offing.
The newsreader informs viewers that what the Hardliners got was time in court, facing criminal charges resulting from a battle with Canada’s super team, Alpha Flight, that laid waste to much of Toronto. The newsreader announces that the Hardliner’s intended target, Albert Louis, had this to say: ‘I’d just like to appeal to all unregistered paranormals - even those like me, whose only wish was to be left alone. Come forward voluntarily and register with Alpha Flight! Before what happened to me…happens to you!’
Albert watches himself on the television and exclaims that he was nothing to them, they tore his life apart for a P.R. stunt. He exclaims that this way, he made sure it is one that works in our favor. Suspiciously, Whit pays close attention to Feedback, wondering what he means by “our” favor, and if he was warning others, or getting even.
The newsreader informs viewers that there is some breaking news just in - the Hardliners are free! Outside the courthouse, a live feed is running, and the reporter Carol Brunnet announces that due to legal, technical difficulties and an offer from a mystery benefactor, to pay for all damages done to the city, the charges against the Hardliners have been dropped. Reginald Tork, the Hardliners had this to say: ‘This is a victory for all the decent normal people out there…who like us, want nothing more than to be protected against these dangerous rogue elements in society!’
Beta Flight and in particular Albert Louis are all in shock, and the sharp taste of victory turns to ashes in his mouth.
Elsewhere, the industrialist known as Joshua Lord is a manipulator of affairs both national and international, he is also a millionaire and much, much more. He too had been watching the events of the Hardliners unfold and mutters that Tork’s disobedience and incompetence has set his plans back considerably, though he has managed to limit its impact, as Albert Louis’ speech has damaged the Hardliner’s considerably. However, the act is in place, and the stage set for his grand designs - after all…’What is time to one such as I?…with that cryptic comment, Joshua Lord smiles.


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Faith (First Story)<br> Blind Fury (Second Story)
First Story:
Paradise Omega - where Earth’s greatest heroes bid to thwart the plans of the Goddess, knowing that to do so, they must first defeat the friends and colleagues she “converted” to her cause. While this may look like just another battle, it is not, it is a test. A test of faith. Canada’s premiere super hero team, Alpha Flight, are heavily involved in this test, with four of their number fighting for the Goddess, and the others fighting for what they believe in.
Heather McNeil Hudson a.k.a. Guardian, Alpha Flight’s leader, blasts the gritty hero known as Daredevil against a tree with her electromagnetic abilities, thinking to herself that Wolverine’s warning was right on the money, if it wasn’t for his uncanny sense of smell, then Daredevil would have nailed her for sure. As Daredevil begins to fall down the tree, breaking branches on his way, Heather hopes that she hasn’t hurt him badly.
Heather flies towards Daredevil and catches him, while cursing the Goddess, not only for forcing this confrontation, but for so cruelly using these heroes religious beliefs to enlist them to her twisted crusade. Heather admits that she doesn’t have much in the way of faith herself, but understands its importance to those who have. However, she thinks that if they are to protect the universe from whatever the Goddess has planned, they must first shatter that faith and expose her for the manipulator she really is.
Heather rests Daredevil on the ground, thinking that when the Goddess falls, many will fall with her. Checking Daredevil’s pulse, Heather is relieved that she only stunned him, meaning she judged the wavelength intensity of that electromagnetic blast just right. She mutters that if she can do the same about thirty times over, when she sees her dear friend Wolverine a.k.a. Logan attacking the hero known as Living Lightening.
Heather leaves Daredevil and races over to Logan, telling him to sheathe his claws, pointing out that they shouldn’t forget who the real enemy is. The two men struggle, when Logan sheathes his claws, admitting to Heather that she is right. He remarks that the converted are not pulling any punches and ads that it is easy to forget the Goddess is pulling their strings. Heather tells Logan to watch out, but it is too late, as the Living Lightening kicks him square in the face, knocking him backwards. ‘Blasphemer! Your unclean soul defiles this scared place! You must be purged!’ he exclaims.
‘Just great,’ Heather thinks to herself before taking to the skies once more, asking Wolverine if he can deal with the Living Lightening on his own. ‘Are you kidding?’ Logan replies. Heather is flying towards the place that she is most needed - a massive castle situated in Paradise Omega. Heather sighs as she thinks to herself how beautiful the castle is, though much like the Goddess’s work, it is rotten to the core!
Nearby, Michael “Shaman” Twoyoungmen has trapped X-Factor’s Strong Guy, and the Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange congratulates him. Strange informs Shaman that he is being summoned by the Goddess, and asks him to keep Strong Guy apprehended. AS Strange departs, Shaman smiles to himself, thinking that they do the Goddess’s biding so willingly, with no questions, no doubts. He remarks that their faith is a powerful force, and the Goddess has exploited it to perfection.
Shaman thinks that it is a shame the Goddess’s plan did not work with him, for although he believes in higher powers, he does not believe in their wisdom. Suddenly the bubble that Shaman trapped Strong Guy in explodes. Shaman realizes that their previous efforts to stop Strong Guy must have somehow been metabolized into strength enough to shatter the mystic force bubble.
Shaman exclaims that if it is kinetic energy which Strong Guy feeds on, then he will just have to slow things down. Strong Guy runs towards Twoyoungmen, but finds himself turning to crystal, unable to proceed any further as he is rooted to the ground. Shaman exclaims that this must stop, exclaiming that he has continued to feign allegiance to the Goddess, searching for the one spell that would break her hold on the converted. However, now he knows he has found it - it is only weakness on his own part that holds him back.
Twoyoungmen thinks of his daughter, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen a.k.a. the phenomenal Talisman and knows that within his medicine pouch resides the power to open her eyes and force her to confront the truth about the Goddess. However, he wonders what the cost will be, for his daughters power depends on the strength of her faith. Should she lose that faith, then a great force for good will be lost too. Shaman decides that before he acts, he must have proof that faith is strong enough and powerful enough to weather the storm he intends to conjure. And having none himself, it is within others that he must look.
Shaman’s astral form leaves his body and sees Wolverine racing towards him. He knows that he must make this next action convincing, when Heather flies to intercept Logan, declaring that he needs to give Shaman a chance and she is sure she can reach him. Wolverine tells Heather that he would like to oblige, but that he has the feeling that Michael isn’t home. Shaman unleashes a mystical bolt while thinking to himself that Wolverine’s words are very true.
Suddenly, Wonder Man smashes into Heather as she tells Shaman not to fight Wolverine. As Heather stumbles backwards in the air, she is thankful that her battle suit’s force field saved her. Heather doesn’t think she has the power to stop Wonder Man physically, so she unleashes a small does of sonics, which causes Wonder Man to stop his attack while he covers his ears. The effects soon wear off though, and Simon Williams once more flies towards Heather, who tells herself that she really doesn’t want to risk harming his body permanently, before deciding that perhaps the one who needs some faith around here, is her.
Shaman watches his earth-bound body fall under Wolverine, and is pleased, thinking that the Goddess will believe him to be fallen. Now, he is free to tread a very different path. He flies towards his teammate Sasquatch, who is battling the She-Hulk. Shaman’s plan is to get to the souls of his teammates, and his astral form floats down into Sasquatch. Shaman remarks that Walter Langkowski is noble and determined in a selfless quest for answers to questions that could aid his fellow man - then he was transformed into Sasquatch.
Shaman learns that Walter believed that no matter what he became, no matter how monstrous his appearance, his faith would anchor him to humanity. Shaman decides that in the heat of battle, when the man is buried and the beast holds sway, it is faith that brings him back.
Shaman flies over to where Aurora, or perhaps Jeanne-Marie, is running rings around the New Warrior known as Speedball. The two souls of Aurora are on the surface, diametrically opposed, but on closer examination as he learns entering her, the souls are co-existing in a strange symbiosis, bonded tighter than any normal twins. Far above and beyond religious faith, which one possesses and the other does not - there exists a far stronger faith - a deep and abiding trust in each other.
Eugene Judd a.k.a. Puck and Spider-Man are fighting side-by-side against the Thing and Firestar. Shaman proclaims that Puck is a true triumph of spirit over flesh, adding that in all the years he has known him, not once has he heard him complain about the pain that is his constant companion. Judd kicks Firestar to the ground while Shaman comments on how Judd accepts his lot without question, not pausing to wonder why his “god” saw fit to cruelly stunt his body. Judd’s only concern now, even controlled by the Goddess, is for the well-being of his fellow man - whatever the personal cost..
This is shown when the Thing does some serious damage to Spider-Man, and Judd rushes over to his aid - only to be shot in the back by Firestar and her microwave energies, causing him to fall to the ground, stunned.
Shaman’s astral form flies higher into the air, where Colin Hume a.k.a. Windshear is engaged in battle with the Avenger known as the Vision. Suddenly Shaman detects that Hume is somehow free from the Goddess’s influence - he has broken her hold! Judd wonders why Colin is still fighting her cause, when Colin is struck down by a blast from the Vision. Shaman knows that Windshear could have shielded himself from the blast by forming a wall of solid air, or simply turned the Vision solid, crushing him with his own weight.
Shaman realizes that Hume chose not to do one of the options available to him - he chose to defy the Goddess passively. His faith, in what he is, in what he will or will not do, survived intact, and thus Shaman has his proof. Shaman remarks that he is shamed by the strength demonstrated by all the Alphans, each has a pocket of faith too deep for the Goddess to touch. He declares that he too must be strong, and have faith in what he knows he must do.
Meanwhile, Wonder Man smashes into Heather, and again, knocking her backwards in the air. Blood streaming from her nose, Heather knows that she cannot take much more of this, and tells herself to put aside her doubts, to trust the inner strength she knows resides in each and every member of Alpha Flight. ‘They will endure…and so will I!’ she exclaims, turning and punching Wonder Man. Heather thinks that there has indeed been a test of faith here, her own faith, in what she is, in what she does as team leader. She feels that if she stops believing in herself then she has no right to wear this uniform.
In the end though, it is the Goddess herself, who reveals her duplicity. Friend and foe alike are suddenly consumed by a holy fire, an inferno of righteous fury that spreads through the universe - devouring everything in its path. None is spared. But in that instant, the final heartbeat of life, divided factions are united, brought closer than perhaps ever before, represented by Heather and Judd, who go to each other as the holy fire burns them.
For a time, there is nothing. Simple, sweet oblivion. A vertiginous sensation of being empty, stripped clean. And then… ‘Alive! We’re alive! Exclaims Judd, asking how. Judd asks if they were saved, to which Heather remarks that for the first time in her life, she wants to believe that. Shaman finds his daughter, Elizabeth and tells her that it is his eyes that have been opened, before admitting that she was right, that since her mother died, he has been running, scared of the pain that goes hand in hand with love. Talisman begins to cry when Shaman tells her that he would like the chance to start a fresh, to be a family again.
Alpha Flight gather together. The battle, one of their most fraught, is behind them. But for Guardian, Sasquatch, Northstar, Aurora, Talisman, Puck, Windshear, Wildheart and Shaman…the true ordeal is yet to begin!
Second Story:
Paradise Omega, and for a moment, here in this verdant oasis, it is just that. Paradise. The forest is still, its sounds and smells familiar and comforting, it would be easy to forget that danger and sudden death…are but a heartbeat away. The Alphan known as Wildheart turns quickly as Wolverine leaps towards him, claws outstretched and ready to do some damage.
Logan smacks Wildheart over, while Kyle thinks to himself that Wolverine must have been converted, and is out for blood - though he decides that it doesn’t fit the bill, it must be something else. Kyle asks the X-Man to talk to him, but Wolverine just swipes at him some more. Wildheart becomes Wild Child as he too leaps with claws outstretched, telling Wolverine if he wants it that way, ‘Let’s get bloody!’
‘That’s it’ Wolverine exclaims as he thinks of earlier finding Storm, and he lets the scene fuel his fury. Storm was dead. The scent on the wounds were fresh, unmistakable - Wild Child…Weapon Omega…Wildheart. As the two men continue to fight, Wolverine declares that he had figured Wildchild’s rehabilitation had to be either a sham or self deception, and exclaims that it is time to do what he should have done years ago.
(Flashback, takes place after Alpha Flight: First Flight Special)
The early days of Department H, the red-headed girl known as Stitch cowers against a wall, blood streaming down her face, while Wolverine has his hand around Wild Child’s throat, and his claws pointed towards his head. Logan exclaims that Wild Child was supposed to be training, but instead has nearly torn Stitch’s face off.
Suddenly, James MacDonald Hudson enters, telling Wolverine not to do anything. Logan asks why not, pointing out that Wild Child is a liability and untameable. He asks how they can ever trust him out in the field. Mac reminds Logan that there were those who said the same thing about him, and he didn’t listen to them until he reached the man inside the beast. ‘That’s all I ask of you now’.
Logan gets off Wild Child and storming out of the training room he declares that Wild Child is a monster pure and simple, and that he doesn’t need reaching, he needs putting down. Watching Wolverine leave, Wild Child thinks to himself, ‘Very well, if a monster is all you see - then that’s exactly what I’ll be!’
(Present)
The memory still burns as Wolverine leaps at Wildheart once more. Kyle thinks that Wolverine is so ready to believe the worst of him, and decides that it is tempting now, as then, to just be as Wolverine perceives him, to give into the bloodlust. Wildheart kicks Logan in the back, and begins to run off into the forest, thinking that he has come so far, progressed so much, he will not let himself be dragged back by blind justice.
With Wolverine hot on his heels, Kyle thinks that something must have set Wolverine off, something he heard or saw, and decides to back track along his scent in the hopes of finding something - but after doing so, he discovers nothing. ‘Nothing’ is on Wolverine’s mind too, as the two men come face to face once more, Logan remembers seeing the body of Storm, his senses confirmed it was real, but now there is nothing, not even a scent.
Suddenly, Wolverine senses it, another scent, though it was masked before. It belongs to Moondragon. Wolverine declares that Moondragon must have used her mental powers to project images and smells into his brain. Wolverine is about to apologize, but Wildheart doesn’t want it. It would be meaningless, for he proved today that he is more than sum of other people’s opinions. And that is what matters, Kyle decides as he walks away from Wolverine without a word.


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
No Future, part 1: Perfect World
Joshua Lord wakes with a fright - he had the dream again. The dream of streets crammed with bodies. Rivers of unwashed flesh, pooling in the strangled air. He rubs his eyes before he puts his glasses on. He sees the chaos, disorder and anarchy. But opening the door to his balcony, he reminds himself that it is just a dream after all. It is gone now, carried off on winds untainted by toxins, dispelled by gentle sunlight. Stepping onto his balcony, he sees that all is as it should be…in a perfect world.
Joshua Lord looks down upon New Montreal, the thriving city lives and breaths below him, a shining testament to all he has achieved. There is no conflict, no crime, no poverty and no pollution. He has torn the infant Canada kicking and screaming from its own mess and crafted an adult. ‘Utopia! Your beauty is mine to behold!’ he declares from his balcony.
In the old world, Lord was a man of wealth and power. The wealth was incidental, a means to an end. The power…was his birthright! He addresses the fancily-dressed people walking the streets below, exclaiming that they are free from the old and the flawed, he has given they who are the enhanced and the gifted a race of genetically superior beings.
Lord watches as a woman on the streets below uses her powers cruelly against a working man, knocking him backwards. Lord exclaims that he has taken the very best humanity had to offer, tampered where necessary, altered where desired, and cut away the excess! His hand becomes a fist as he remarks that soon, when the final rough edges are smoothed out, it will be the rest of the world’s turn!
Nearby, on the streets below, Jean-Paul Beaubier walks emotionless through the city. A strangely dressed woman wishes him a happy day, to which the hero known as Northstar seems quite surprised by, then quickly wishes her a happy day back. Suddenly, Jean-Paul and one of the working men bump into each other. ‘Clod! Watch where you’re going!’ Jean-Paul tells him, shoving him aside, before continuing to walk by. He doesn’t look back, indifferent it seems to the causal act of violence. But as so often in the life of Jean-Paul Beaubier, nothing is what it seems!
Rounding a corner, he thinks to himself that this masquerade is appalling, he hates it. However he knows they have no other option, for no one skulks, no one shuffles or bundles themselves in clothing. Therefore, in this topsy-turvy world, the only way to hide, is in plain sight. Jean-Paul is glad that in this respect at least, Lord’s vanity works to his teams advantage. For unwilling to admit there are still dissidents at large, the likenesses of Jean-Paul and his friends have not been circulated. He is glad also that the Hardliner patrols tend to steer clear of the city for fear of shattering the idyll.
Approaching a door, Jean-Paul looks around himself and sees that he is unobserved. He presses a button on the door, and inside, his image appears on a computer. Heather McNeil Hudson presses a button on a computer, and lets her teammate inside. Making his way through the room, Jean-Paul asks Heather how she is. The woman codenamed Guardian replies that she is as well as can be expected, and tells Northstar that it is good to see him.
Northstar informs Heather that he got her message, and asks what the verdict is. Solemnly, Heather tells Northstar that it is time to face facts, no matter how painful they may be - Canada is lost. ‘There are just too many of them and not enough of us’. Heather believes that there only chance is escape - to warn the rest of the world, so they must go tonight.
In his luxurious home, Joshua Lord is playing chess, and places his opponents piece in check. Two Hardliners are standing beside Lord, and asking him if they should step up or discontinue the search. A mysterious man stands in the shadows as Lord tells the Hardliners that with each progressive move, the black’s options become more limited, that its maneuvering power is anticipated and curtailed, until finally it has no place left to go. He knocks his opponents king piece over. ‘Sir?’ asks the Hardliners confused. Lord sighs, and orders the Hardliner patrols to be intensified - especially along the border.
Soon, Heather changes into her Guardian costume, and thinks back on recent events, right back to where their current predicament began - the moment Robert Hagon’s Super Powers Act became the law. It was then that they were beaten. Then came the Hardliners, a private army owned by billionaire Joshua Lord - Heather thinks that it was almost as if they were waiting for just such an opportunity. Which of course they had.
Heather recalls how Alpha Flight tried to beat the Hardliners to the punch, by brining in unregistered paranormals their own way, with restraints. But in the end, they were just doing Joshua Lord’s work for him. Alpha Flight had suspected the motivation to be financial, but it was one man gathering around him, the very cream of a nation’s paranormals…and discarding the rest!
Then Robert Hagon got elected Prime Minister…and everything broke loose. First there was the psi-web, an invisible wall of psychic energy designed to alter the perception of those entering or leaving Canada. To the rest of the world, it was just business as usual. But the real business in Canada was slaughter - the wholesale massacre of baseline normal humans, or the forced gene-engineering, changing “deserving” homo sapiens into homo superior.
Naturally, Alpha Flight’s charter was revoked - permanently, beginning with the deaths of Aurora and Sasquatch. Finally, there was no need for charades and deceptions, Robert Hagon was killed - for Joshua Lord ruled Canada.
‘I am Guardian. More than a name, it was a duty I inherited from me late husband, Mac, the original Guardian. A duty to safeguard the country we both hold dear. I failed. I will not fail the rest of the world’.
Night has fallen, and beyond the city limits and climate control. Six well-cloaked figures stand in the freezing snow, one of them is Guardian and she motions to the pink webbing spread across the area, asking the others if they see it, for it is the psi-web as it appears only to the minds eye. Heather tells the others that they all know the score - unless they punch a hole in Lord’s wall, escape becomes irrelevant, for they would reach the States with no awareness of all that has happened here.
Heather adds that this is as far as they can go under Talisman’s mystical cloaking, for the psi-webs will discover them visible or invisible. She remarks that their only chance now is surprise…and speed. With that, Alpha Flight: Guardian, Northstar, Diamond Lil, Talisman, Wildheart and Feedback leap into action. Northstar speeds towards the psi-webs. ‘Go Alpha Flight - go!’ shouts Heather as she takes to the skies. These six are all that remains of a dream…that became a nightmare.
Northstar races up close to one of the monitors where the psi-spiders cast their webs from. The psi-spiders scream loud enough to fry ones brain - but Northstar sets a detonator, and racing from the console, there is a large explosion - the first part of the mission is successful. Jean-Paul remarks that Heather wasn’t joking, for the bomb had a fuse almost as short as his.
Nearby, Wildheart is glad to be out at last, for hiding in that room was suffocating. After all, he thinks, he was not built to be caged. He thinks that this better end here tonight, than ever have to live that way again. Suddenly, the Hardliners leap up out of the snow. Wildheart leaps into action, roaring, and though his response is as instantaneous as it is blood curling, for Wildheart it ends here, tonight - as the Hardliners blast a hole right through his stomach.
Hovering nearby, Heather hears the commotion, and after seeing Kyle struck down, she fires an electromagnetic blast at the Hardliner that killed him. Lillian Crawley-Jeffries a.k.a. Diamond Lil blasts the Hardliners with a big gun of her own, urging one of her teammates to go, pointing out that it only needs one of them to make it through, adding that she owes these creeps big time for what they did to Madison - her husband, Box!
Dressed in a standard red and white Alpha Flight uniform, Lil is about to say something else, when she notices something behind her. Yet as she turns, there is nothing there. But looking to the sky, she sees the outline of a man - the “nothing” that kills. And this time, he kills her, as she falls to the ground with a scream.
Guardian had been blasting away at more Hardliners and exclaims that she doesn’t believe it, for Lil is practically invulnerable, she wonders what could have done it to her. Northstar speeds over to Lillian, declaring that her death will not go unanswered. Guardian tells Northstar that Lil was right, that they only need one of them to get through - and it has to be him. ‘Now go!’ she orders.
Holding the bloody body of his friend, Jean-Paul turns to the sky - and he sees it. But something naggingly familiar his mind cannot - will not - let him see. Regardless, Jean-Paul wants to stand and fight. However he does not. He races past the psi-webs - a heartbeat is measured in miles - and a second later he finds himself in the state of New York. ‘C’est impossible!’ he exclaims as that strangely familiar “non-entity” stands before him - and strikes him down.
Heather hears Jean-Paul scream through the communications device, while on the ground below her, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen a.k.a. the phenomenal Talisman and Albert Louis a.k.a. Feedback, both wearing the red and white costume are doing battle with the Hardliners. Talisman is creating raw lightening, and sending it straight into Feedback, enabling him to convert it into bio-electric energy which he can unleash on the Hardliners.
Feedback remarks that it is a far cry from his first run in with the Hardliners, and is about to tell Talisman the story, when he turns - and sees a mighty beast come up behind her - and lunge its powerful clawed fist into her back. Elizabeth falls to the ground, while Feedback is struck in the back of the head by one of the Hardliners, for he was distracted from the task at hand. The Hardliners stand over the bodies of the two young heroes - more blood to stain the snow red.
Guardian blasts the Hardliners from the safety of the air wondering what has happened, for they spent years of successfully thwarting Lord and his Hardliners, but here they fall apart in minutes. She knows it is down to her. She turns away from the Hardliners and thinks that this “thing” has got her so she can barely think straight. She decides that it has an unreal quality about it, like a bad dream seen in morning light - yet it has shape, and form - it exists.
‘So why can’t I fight it? She wonders, when suddenly, she is struck down by the mysterious assailant that she was just thinking about, the same one that murdered Northstar and Diamond Lil. Heather falls into the snow, her visor falls off during the process. Gathering herself, she discovers that her assailant took out her battle suit’s main cybernetic relay points - nothing functions anymore! She realizes her enemy knew exactly where to strike - when the mystery man leans over her. It’s finished. Over. The hopes, the trials, the dream. ‘Mac’ she thinks…and then there is no more….
(Present)
‘UUUUU!’ exclaims Heather, sitting up in a chair. Disorientated, she realizes she just had a dream. She leans back in her chair, where a newsreader on the television is relaying a message from Hagon, who believes that today heralds a new beginning for Canada - an era of peaceful co-existence between… Heather turns the television off, muttering that she should be so lucky, for she felt herself die. ‘I felt so empty, so lost!’
A figure hidden in the shadows holds out a glass of water, telling Heather that from the sounds of it, they had something of a shared experience. He puts a hand on Heather’s shoulder, telling her that he felt bullets tearing through him, then he woke up, convinced he was choking on his own blood. Heather drinks the water, remarking that if it wasn’t a dream, then what? Before asking if the others experienced it too. She declares that it was the future they saw - and they all died. Suddenly the priority alert alarm goes off, and a hand closes on her heart.
Soon, at Department H. Sasquatch, Northstar, Aurora, Wildheart and Wyre gather around Heather as a recorded message plays on the view screen before them - its Reginald Tork, the leader of the Hardliners, flanked by his men - who have Albert Louis a.k.a. Feedback in their possession. Tork tells Alpha Flight that if they wish to see Albert alive then they will have to meet at a place and time of his choosing. ‘And this time, Alpha Flight…the outcome will be very different!’
Heather asks Sasquatch a.k.a. Walter Langkowski who the man is. Walt replies that it is the Hardliner’s leader, Reginald Tork whom they trounced in Toronto not long ago. Walt explains that Tork was freed by the courts last week and all significant charges against he and his men have been dropped, and the damages tab picked up by a mysterious benefactor.
Heather declares that it must be Joshua Lord, before telling her team that they know they must free Feedback, before pointing out that something, or someone, has given them a warning - a glimpse of what may be in stall for them - for all of Canada. She remarks that the Hardliners are all a big part of it, so if they can use this to discredit them in the public eye, ‘Then perhaps it is a future we can derail!’ she says with determination.