Alpha Flight # 133

THE ALPHA FLIGHT GATEFOLD

The Story Up Till Now ... Alpha Flight has been forced by the Master into hunting down and killing their former teammate, the supposedly dead MARRINA!

CAST OF CHARACTERS

GUARDIAN - James MacDonald Hudson; Mac was the founder of ALPHA and has been de-aged by Dept. H back to 19 years old under mysterious circumstances

VINDICATOR - Heather Hudson; estranged wife of Mac and sometime leader of ALPHA who's seen her husband die and return to life; has doubts about Mac's authenticity

SHAMAN - Michael Twoyoungmen; Shaman of Sarcee Tribe and accomplished surgeon who has at different times abandoned science for magic and magic for science

PUCK - Eugene Milton Judd; a long time adventurer who is considered the soul of ALPHA; has loved Heather from afar for years; Puck is a dwarf

SASQUATCH - Dr. Walter Langkowski; accomplished scientist and athlete, Walt can transform himself into a sasquatch and back with just a thought

AURORA - Jeanne-Marie Beaubier; suffers from a split personality between the reserved Jeanne-Marie and the outgoing Aurora, twin sister of Northstar

RADIUS - Jared Corbo; arrogant and impulsive, recruited from Hull House orphanage into ALPHA by the Mac regressing Dept. H, older half-brother of Flex

FLEX - Adrian Corbo; quiet and reserved, recruited from Hull House orphanage into ALPHA by the Mac regressing Dept. H, younger half-brother of Radius

MURMUR - Arlette Trufault; third new ALPHA recruit by Mac regressing Dept. H who enjoys flaunting her sexuality

BOX - Madison Jeffries; transmutor of metal, glass and plastic, has become BOX armor after the death of it's inventor and friend, Roger Bochs, wife of Diamond Lil

DIAMOND LIL - Lillian Crowley; one-time member of criminal Omega Flight who later joined ALPHA, wife of Madison Jeffries

Shelly Holmes - Langkowski's research assistant who has tagged along on the adventure, has demonstrated "ice" powers but the full extent is not known

NORTHERN BEAR PRODUCTIONS

Guardian and Vindicator floated above the small fishing village of Ross, Nova Scotia, stunned beyond words. On the western flats above the city, Sasquatch was having much the same reaction and newcomers Radius and Shelly Holmes were wondering if that … creature down below in the center of town really could be the long-thought dead Marrina.

They did not know of her except from what they had heard, either from the television or from government files, but still they found it disturbing that Marrina was at this moment covered in blood and feasting on the remains of somebody's pet dog.

"Mac … I … what is it?" Heather Hudson asked. Guardian noted that this was the first time since they'd been reunited that Heather had called him something other than Guardian. He also noted, with some concern, that Heather calling him Mac meant more to him than the apparent return of a former teammate.

The light generated by Aurora's light explosion* faded away and the town of Ross was once again plunged into darkness. Where Aurora was currently, no one had any idea.

Before the burst of light had come, the natural light of the full moon, combined with the reflection of the glow off the still ocean had provided more than enough lumination. But now, in the wake of the bright light, it took the members of Alpha Flight a few moments for their eyes to readjust.

"Revolting," the Master deadpanned as vomit spewed forth from Diamond Lil's mouth, covering her face and chest. Lil was but one of the former members of Alpha Flight that were dying as a result of the Master unleashing Mercury Bacteria into their bodies. Joining her on the cold metal tables inside the Master's spacecraft were her husband Madison Jeffries, Puck, Flex and Murmur.

The Mercury Bacteria was let loose by the Master, but it was developed and placed into their bodies by Department H, the arm of the government that ran the Alpha Flight program. It attacked the body quickly, rendering the victim unconscious in mere seconds and then slowly working them until death.

Or so they hoped. Department H had never actually tested the bacteria's effectiveness of a human subject. Jacques Clouvere, the new head of DH, hated himself for wondering just how effective the Mercury Bacteria would be. He wasn't involved in it's creation, but he was morbidly curious as to what it could do.

The Master turned his eyes from the bodies to Clouvere. "You're new at this, aren't you?" he smiled.

"This … superhuman melodrama that Alpha Flight and myself toil in? I can tell. Bold proclamations like, 'You shall not get away with it.' are a trifle … cliché."

"Jest? Oh, that's rich," the Master grinned. "I think I will - no, I think I shall like you quite a bit." The Master turned serious. "I just hope Alpha Flight doesn't kill you when they discover what Department H did to them."

Clouvere looked at the Master with concern. "I was unaware of your humor, Master."

"I enjoy what I do, Clouvere, something I don't think you could lay claim to," the Master spoke seriously. "How many among the weak in the world dream of conquering it? How many so-called super-villains dream of crushing their foes beneath their heels and laying claim to the Earth as their own?" The Master strode in close to Clouvere. "And how many of those can actually say they have a chance at accomplishing it? I do, Clouvere. I have as fine a chance as more than most. I have lived for thousands of years. Did you know that? I have - I was a prehistoric man, once, a long time ago. A man who came across an alien craft and was transformed - not by luck but through the sheer force of my will.

"I can conquer the world, Clouvere. A pox on you if you wonder why that makes me enjoy what I do."

Jacques Clouvere ignored the Master's ranting and walked past him to the shaking forms of the dying members of Alpha Flight.

The Master ignored the politician's silence. "I have coerced Alpha Flight into killing one of their former members. Pulling strings like that … that is not something to smile about?"

"I wouldn’t think so, Master," Clouvere asked as he took out his handkerchief and wiped the vomit away from Lil's face. "Seems to me a man of your 'obvious' importance wouldn’t need foot soldiers to kill one lowly little dead girl."

But she didn't. She felt like this was the place to be in the entire world. She stood under the light of the moon in a small town in Nova Scotia alongside Alpha Flight. When she took the research assignment with Dr. Walter Langkowski, this is exactly what she wanted to have happen.

Why should she feel out of place? Sure, she wasn't a superhero, but she did have superpowers. Langkowski had seen her cool Puck's body with her hands back at the research station.* Yeah, so she hadn't had them long and was still learning how to use them. 'Look at the folks around me,' she thought. 'You can't tell me these guys have it all together anymore than I do.'

Guardian, the supposed leader, looks younger than me. And nobody listens to him at all.

Vindicator has a chip on her shoulder - she's obviously got some problems she needs to work out.

Radius is moody, angry. He doesn’t want to be here - or more likely, he wants to be nowhere but here but won't admit it for some reason.

Walter - Sasquatch - has got it so bad for Aurora that it's clouding his vision. Guy's too much of a sentimentalist.

Aurora - that chick is flat out psycho. Walt says one thing to her and she takes it like he's trying to maul her in public,* then splits for who knows where.

Shelly shook her head and smiled to herself. If I stick around, I'll have to come up with a nickname … gotta be something cool, but not trendy … something classic, retro. Giant-Man. Spider-Man. Doctor Strange. Those were names. Something simplistic and classic. Descriptive and yet a little … off. Maybe Doctor something … since that's what I'm training for …

"We should split up," Guardian suggested, looking around at what he considered to be his team.

"There'd be no need to go find her if you hadn’t tried to get it on with her up on the hill," Radius chuckled.

"Aaaaarrrrggghhhh!" Sasquatch roared, taking a big step towards the smaller man.

"Enough, Walt!" Vindicator shot at him. "We find Marrina first and then Aurora. Aurora took off on her own, she can find her own way back."

'You tell him,' Shelly nodded, liking the confident way Heather just took charge of the situation. When she spoke, people listened, unlike Guardian. When he talked, people had to think about whether or not they wanted to do what he said, but Heather spoke and people acted. Such confidence, especially in the face of whatever personal issues she was going through, was almost inspiring to Shelly.

Sasquatch growled, but stepped back, going along with what Heather said. They had to remember why they were here. Most likely, Aurora was just playing for attention, anyway, Walt thought.

Alpha Flight spun on it's heels, turning to look as a large, monstrous dog walked out of the shadows. The greenish beast drooled, large drops of saliva spilling to the ground. The dog's face came even to the chests of Alpha Flight, it's powerful legs rippling with muscles.

"This isn't the time for jokes," Heather shot at Shelly, who didn't like being talked down to in the least - something Walt learned on her first day at work. Her reply was cut off before it started by Guardian.

"Thank you, Guar- oh!" Vindicator caught what Ma- Guardian, damnit, he's Guardian, not Mac - what Guardian saw and she took a small step backwards. "Close together, Alpha."

Shelly, Sasquatch and Radius tore their eyes off the monstrous dog to see what had them so worried.

"Great," Radius scoffed. "Just what we needed. Anybody want to guess what happened to all the people in town, now?"

Closing in around them were four more dogs and one very large, very disgusting green rat.

"What’s the plan?" Sasquatch asked as Alpha Flight stood back to back in a tight circle as the five dogs and one rat zeroed in on them.

"You need a plan, furry boy?" Radius shot at Sasquatch. "What's so tough to figure out? Attack!" Radius jumped forward, extending his force field out away from his body and kicked the dog nearest to him in the chest. The dog did nothing but growl and snapped at Radius with surprising quickness, catching him in it's jaw. Radius panicked and lost concentration on the force field. He could feel the hot stink of death in the dog's breath.

"Radius, you fool!" Vindicator screamed and unleashed waves of plasma from her uniform at the dog that held Jared Corbo in it's mouth. The dog screeched and reared back, but didn't drop him.

The other dogs and rat jumped forward, everyone picking a partner to square off against. The rat, however, hung back, seemingly unsure of itself. In the explosion of action, none in Alpha noticed.

Guardian used his suit's limited control of the electromagnetic forces around him to blow two of the dogs backwards to give Alpha some room to maneuver.

"Get off me you damn fool!" Radius exploded at the dog, extending his force field out quick and hard. The dog's lower jaw snapped and Jared tumbled to the ground. The creature howled in pain as best it could and Vindicator took dead aim at the beast. She fired a wide wave of plasma at the beast and cringed as it seared the flesh. Injured, the large green dog lashed out with animalistic fury. It leapt straight at Vindicator, who answered with more plasma, catching the dog in mid-flight.

Sasquatch had one of the dogs in his large arms and squeezed the creature across the ribs. He shook his head in disgust as he felt the creature's ribs crack beneath his own large arms. These were the Plodex, creatures like Marrina that were hatched from eggs and could take the form of whatever creature they came into contact with, though they should have been programmed to become humanoid, humans being the dominant life form on the planet.

Then they'd seek to eliminate everything they came across - their goal to prepare a world for the arrival of it's masters.

Walt felt the animal squeal it's last breath but held the animal in his tight grip a few moments more. It wasn't just that he wanted to make sure the animal was dead, but rather that he wanted to check on Shelly.

He knew Shelly would think she could handle herself - in the months they'd been working together there wasn't anything she wouldn't do or try, but this was different and he hoped she'd realize the stakes they were playing for. He looked to her and nearly gasped. He had to remind himself that she had powers - something he didn't know until she helped stabilize Puck.

She was practically toying with the dog that faced off against her. She was apparently controlling a puddle of water, using it to splash the dog in the face. When the dog shook the water off his green, slimy fur, Shelly hit him with it again. The dog growled and went to leap at her, but he couldn't move. He was stuck to the ground, frozen in place as Shelly had taken some of the water from the puddle and frozen the dog's paws to the ground.

"No you don't!" Sasquatch screamed back as the dog broke free of the ice and leapt at Shelly, pinning her to the ground. She screamed in panic at the surprise, and momentarily froze in place as the dog pinned her shoulders down and began to sniff at her face. It was another five seconds before she realized the dog was dead, impaled through the chest by a large white spear of ice.

"I-I didn't mean …" she gasped, stunned at what she had done. The fact that it was a perverse freak of nature meant nothing to her at that point. It was the fact that she had killed something.

Sasquatch moved in to force the impaled creature's dead form away from Shelly, content to let Guardian, Radius and Vindicator take care of the last three creatures.

His prostitutes from the night before, the one that mercenary Maverick had knocked unconscious when he came looking for files on Wakanda,* hadn't woken until 11 this morning. They were useless to him.

He had to sit here, in his penthouse suite and wait. Oh, he had fun ripping his high paid security forces for their horrible performance, but that provided only a temporary respite. Maverick had taken the files on Vibranium that Tsu had stolen. The move may have cost him billions of dollars.

To add insult to injury, he had also taken the files on Alpha Flight that Tsu had acquired, files that let him know all there was to know about the people in the super-team thanks to the extensive files Department H had kept. Tsu sighed as he poured himself a chocolate milk. He'd never drink it in front of anyone (in public, nothing but liquor - the more exotic the better), but while he was alone, he enjoyed drinking nothing more.

Home. Yes, home was beginning to sound like a very good idea. It would be good to return to the homeland of his mother for a while. He smiled. Revenge on Maverick would be a delicious time.

Because there were secrets to be had on Maverick, as well. His name had come up during some exchange or other and now that Tsu remembered what it was he was connected to, well, Maverick's life was about to become a little more interesting.

"To Montreal, then," he said to himself as he toasted Singapore goodbye with his chocolate milk.

They'd taken care of the last two giant dogs and now turned their attention towards the rat, which was trying to flee. For the only time during the battle, Alpha was glad that the creatures they were fighting were large than normal. The rat was the size of a medium-sized dog and they had a pretty easy time of following it.

Guardian and Vindicator took to the air and the rest followed in pursuit on foot. Shelly lagged behind, all traces of her smile gone. The rat led them through the empty town and down to the docks where it scurried aboard a large fishing vessel.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Heather brushed him aside with her arm as she took a step toward the large, open bulkhead that the rat had scurried down into.

"Yes, you and Radius should go first because of your- hey!" Vindicator stopped giving orders as Guardian shot past her and jumped down the open bulkhead. "Stupid kid!" she grumbled and leapt after him.

Sasquatch and Radius looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Vindicator through the bulkhead, not noticing that Shelly Holmes had stayed put. She stood on the deck alone, not wanting to follow. She hugged herself for warmth for the first time since she acquired her powers, hating being alone at this moment. Forcing herself to move, she walked to the opening and looked in.

Alpha Flight stood below her, pointing to the far corner, out of her view. Really, really, really not wanting to be alone, she jumped down behind them and looked to see what they had already captured their attention.

In the far corner, there was a shuffling of sound as something tried to hide itself away from view.

The creature in the shadows stepped into the light, the large rat nowhere to be seen, and revealed a small woman of light green skin. Alpha Flight gasped.

The Master and Jacques Clouvere stood looking at a street map of Ross, Nova Scotia. Several dots stood near a large green dot. "Genetic tracking devices as well," the Master smiled at Clouvere. "Very nice. Allows you to track them anywhere, doesn't it?"

"If Marrina is alive, then that is her. It is most definitely a Plodex creature and from the information I have gathered from my computers … yes, I would say that it is, in fact, Marrina."

"There is, of course, no way of knowing it until we see the body," the Master continued.

"Though my computers are, in fact, Plodex computers," the Master smiled at the surprised look on Clouvere's face, "there is no way for me to know exactly who - or what - it is that I think may be Marrina."

"Oh, it is most definitely a Human/Plodex mix," the Master shrugged, his eyes glued to the map. "But it could be another female Human/Plodexian. Truth be told, I don't really care."

"Then why send Alpha Flight in under the presumption to kill Marrina?" Clouvere asked, discovering that super-villains were just as obtuse as politicians.

"There is a hive of some kind in Ross," the Master chose to reveal. "It looks like here, at the large green dot, is a Queen Mother Plodex of some kind. The creatures apparently leave from this nest, kill something for their Queen and return it to her. Presumably, the Queen then eats the food, mates with the creature and gives birth to a new hatchling, who leaves the nest to repeat the process."

"I - I didn't know the Plodex operated like that," Clouvere admitted, scolding himself for telling the Master anything about himself that he didn't have to.

"Neither did I," the Master frowned. "And neither, apparently, did the Plodex-derived computers aboard my ship. But they have been damaged and rebuilt so many times that I can no longer be sure of the accuracy of their findings when it comes to the Plodex."

"You're mother?" Heather Hudson asked the frightened girl that even now she swore was Marrina. Alpha Flight simply looked on in shock. Guardian, most of all, was having a hard time finding words to say. His memories were so fuzzy about the details of Marrina and the Plodex. He felt dizzy.

The girl stepped back into the shadows and began to shake. "I-If I have offended you, I-I apologize for my lack of consideration … I d-did not mean to-"

"It's okay," Heather soothed as she took a cautious step forward. "We- we didn’t know Marrina had any children is all."

The girl's eyes popped wide open at the mention of Marrina, but they quickly fell to the ground. "You shouldn't be here. The Master could return at any moment. You must go."

"Shut it, Radius," Heather spat back at him, stopping him in his tracks with a glance.

"The Master makes me … makes me … breed," the frightened girl explained, her head bowed in shame. "I … lay eggs for him and they … they hatch and …" she shook her head and wrapped her arms together.

"I-I don't know. But they depart from here and … vanquish the villagers and animals … and then bring the ... bodies … back here to … to feast. We … we take the form of whatever animal it is we have consumed. If my … children … eat a cow, they become a hideous cow. If it a human they have feasted upon, they become human until they dine on another living being. Only I am predominantly … human and will always … revert to being human. If any such as we could be called human."

Alpha Flight looked on in horror at the girl's pain. "I do not eat humans!" the girl shrieked. "I-I can't. They remind me of my … mother." She hung her head. "But … I do not know if Marrina is my mother," she whimpered. "That is only what the Master has told me."

"We're out of here," Vindicator said strongly to Alpha Flight and then quieted as she turned back to the young Plodex. "You're going to come with us. We'll tell you all about Marrina."

"Then we'll protect you," Sasquatch said, stepping forward at his full height. "Come." He held out his hand to the frightened girl.

Shaking but overcome more by curiosity than fear, she reached out her hand and placed it in Sasquatch's palm. It was large and furry and to the frightened girl it was the greatest feeling in the world.

Alpha Flight's Leafjet approached the Master's much larger spacecraft and docked. They exited the craft, determined, but shocked by the ramifications of the girl's story. Something was wrong - most notably, they discussed in quiet whispers, how advanced her vocabulary and tone of speech seemed to be. It just felt wrong, somehow.

They entered the Master's control room to see their dying teammates strapped to a table and the Master and Clouvere standing there waiting for them. The map on the wall was gone - Clouvere and the Master didn't want Alpha to know their secrets just yet.

"Here's your so called Marrina," Sasquatch dropped the dog carcass on the ground with a wet thwack. "But I'm betting it isn't a surprise to you that this isn't Marrina."

"No, it's not," the Master spoke as he kicked at the lifeless carcass then backed away. The Plodex disgusted him. "My readings indicate that it's still alive," he added, him and Clouvere having watched the green dot travel with Alpha Flight back to his spacecraft.

"We'll kill it for good after you save our teammates," Guardian said forcefully, his head having cleared. "Since it's not Marrina, you can't doubt that we're going to kill it once you fulfill your end of the bargain. We don't want the Plodex around anymore than you do.

The Master eyed them all carefully. Vindicator, Guardian, Radius and Sasquatch stood strong. The blue-haired young woman looked like she might throw up. Aurora was missing, but it mattered not to him. "Very well." He walked to the unconscious bodies strapped to his table and, one-by-one, placed a device on their chests. In turn, each vomited up the Mercury Bacteria that had been infecting their bodies. Unlike Radius's rapid recovery, however, they were all groggy and not able to stand. "They were infected longer," the Master answered the unasked question.

Alpha moved in to help their teammates - Sasquatch moved in to pick up the dog carcass.

"We'll be going now," Sasquatch said without turning back to the Master or Clouvere.

The fates of all a nation are decided in small, luxurious rooms where men of power moves pieces around a game board you can not buy in any store.

"Absolutely not, gentlemen! The reformation of Alpha Flight is out of the question! We will sever all ties with that group of misfits and malcontents and start over. Canada needs a strong line of defense against all who would invade her borders. Alpha Flight has proven themselves to be incapable of doing that job to our satisfaction. They have grown too big and too unreliable."

"Irrelevant. They are out of the question. If they want to save Canada, they will do it on their own time and with their own money. We will no longer support them. We need other options, gentlemen. Does anyone have anything worth discussing?"

A man even younger than his thirty-three year old boss Jacques Clouvere, shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I do," Byron Jornson spoke. "The head of Dept. H, Mr. Clouvere has an … interesting proposal to say the least."

"This ought to be interesting. No doubt it will involve your Department regaining the stature and money we have so recently taken away from you."

"It does," the young man added nervously. "But when you see the proposal, you will see why it is Dept. H that has the best chance of pulling it off."

The young man nervously placed a large folder onto the table in front of him. "If you would just give me a few moments of your time, I will tell you just what I'd like to do with the Valley of Chance in northern Quebec and what we'd like to do to protect Canada's borders. They are related, though you'll have to bear with me. We've already taken the liberty of making first contact with the man central to this proposal."

The men and women sitting around the table had initially dismissed this young man. Dept. H was a failure and a drain on the budget and they all knew it. The young man's boss, Jacques Clouvere, was politically dead, getting the head of H gig as his introduction to the Premier's black list. No one wanted to touch them. But as they looked down at the manila folder on the table, they noticed, with much surprise, one word that demanded their attention …

A large, imposing figure watched his servant chiseling on a stone wall with complete concentration. The figure chiseled hieroglyphic renditions of Alpha Flight carrying away the young female Plodex.

"Your servant Aquanea has left, Master," the figure remarked without turning, his hammer and chisel making the only sound in the large cavern.

"Indeed she has, Ozymandias. Indeed she has," the large figure spoke in the same deep monotone voice he always spoke in, giving his servant no indication as to his feelings. "We shall see where that leads things."

Apocalypse turned and exited the room, leaving Ozymandias alone with his carvings.

Whoops, guess Marrina isn't back from the dead. <g> Let's see what the lettercol brings …

ALPHA FLIGHT #131

As Mark says in the next issue blurb, "Questions answered, questions raised."

Bull. Just questions raised. :)

I like this title. Sure, I could have enjoyed using some of the characters if Alpha got scattered to the winds, but... nah. Let 'em stay.

Knowing a little bit of MBQ's plans for the title, I can assure you all that you don't wanna miss Alpha. It starts off good, it continues to be good, and it'll end with a bang, I'm sure...

Hrm, does this qualify as a small bang, at least? And I did play fair and actually revealed some answers, didn't I? <g> As for the characters, my standard that I've developed elsewhere is in effect here, as well. If there's a character here that you want to use, ask, and we can see what we can work out. If I don't have anything particularly important coming up for a character, or if I think your plans are better, I'll be happy to let a character move on to better pastures.

Is it a new beginning or a new ending for Alpha Flight? Well, okay, I guess you know that Alpha Flight will be officially reformed next issue, so stay tuned to see who stays and who goes! Will Department H have a say in Alpha Flight? Will Aurora show up? Will Jean-Marie? And just what does the Canadian government want with Magneto?