Editor's Note: This story takes place before the "Inside a Broken Mirror" story arc in M2K's Defenders.

"Shaman, follow my lead," Snowbird said, as she transformed into her Sasquatch form. "We must find a way to put an end to Talisman's madness. There must be a way we can turn her to the side of good and Alpha Flight's benefactor again."

"Yes, my daughter, with my pouch fully functional again, I believe we can succeed. Watch me." Shaman sat cross-legged on the white tiled floor and prepared to do his magic on his biological daughter. Energy crackled around his form as he harnessed the magic that was at his disposal. He chanted different incantations, like the true medicine men did in eons past when the earth was but a young planet and Canada was all forestland.

"There, Michael, I believe it's working," Snowbird said. "Keep it up."

"The first step shall be the easiest, then it will increase with difficulty." Speaking to Snowbird of his plan was simplicity itself. The action itself was paramount to his cause and there lay the difficulty.

"You are failing, my father," Talisman said, as she felt the backlash of the power output. She reflected his blasts of pure magical power and then some. She had the power to act briefly but not overly so. "You are a failure, Michael Twoyoungmen. Oh, Shaman, just think how you failed me when you killed my mother and how you failed me when you told me to place this tiara on my forehead, but this will be your greatest failure of them all; how you failed to prevent your daughter from being a force for evil. Hahahaha! Die, Shaman!"

Energy lashed out of her fingertips as the magic of old harnessed within this young adult's body focused into her father's helpless form.

"Snowbird, protect me," Shaman said.

"Always, at your side," Snowbird said, as she used the form of the Great Beast to distract Talisman for the nonce. At times, Walter Langkowski gave in to the bloodlust that the Sasquatch form gave in to, but Snowbird would have to be careful that she didn't give in to it, also. "Your dreams of power conquest shall come to an end, O Talisman! Snowbird, the demi-goddess commands it!!"

"Never, weakling!"

The battle seen by casual observers looked something like a fairy tale creature of Big Foot tackling another mythical beast, a sorceress, with no quarter given. For several seconds, no quarter was indeed given and each side didn't look to be winning. Something had to give sooner or later.

"Hear me, Alpha Flight, the way to Talisman's freedom is to rid her of the hold that Brainwave has on her. Attack him and our side will win!" This last statement came from the weakened Shaman.

"Don't think that you will devour me so easily, Alphans," Pestilence said, as Alpha Flight assembled on his decaying form. He was able to know their plans before they made them, thanks to his psychic powers as Brainwave.

"You would be surprised what Alpha Flight can do," Guardian said. "I am told that we beat you once but we will do so again." Guardian blasted Pestilence with some of his E-M fields, as his wife Vindicator used her geothermal energies to do similarly to him. Both had little effect, as the Brainwave side of his personality made their aim go a little askew.

"You are supposed to be dead, Guardian. I can make you dead again with the mystical forces at my disposal. I'm sure you would enjoy such a torment. I know I will."

"Not on your life, mister!" Guardian blasted Pestilence's feet, causing him to trip himself and lose his balance. "Now, free Talisman from your spell so that we can beat you once and for all. If you don't do it willingly, I will have to force you to do it."

"Never, Guardian! Never!!" Then, Pestilence caused a crow and a pack of vultures to fly into the Alpha Complex. They converged on the helpless Alphans, who watted them away.

And Pestilence laughed some more.

"We must remove her tiara," Shaman said from a distance. It may have been a safe distance while Talisman regained her stance and energies, but soon it would be to no avail.

"Leave it to me, Shaman," Snowbird retorted, as she changed into an artic owl and flew about Talisman's head.

"Silly bird. You have no power over me and you will not succeed." Eldritch energy flashed around Snowbird's form and she changed back into Narya.

"Shaman, help me, I have failed you..."

"Never, daughter," Shaman shouted, as he neared his biological daughter, with mystical energy around both their forms. "I will save you."

Shaman reached into his pouch and took out his Spirit Staff. A white brillance exited the top of the staff and enveloped Talisman. He hoped that mystical means could undo the magic of Pestilence but it was to no avail. She simply laughed it off.

"Hahahaha!! Foolish, foolish man! Your parlor tricks mean nothing against my superior might. Die and perish, Shaman!"

"You can't fault me for trying, Elizabeth."

"There is no Elizabeth Twoyoungmen. I am Talisman, Talisman, Talisman! Remember it well! As you die!"

"No, you are my daughter. Talisman is just a title to identify super beings with. But you are Elizabeth. You will always be Elizabeth Twoyoungmen. And I am your father, Michael Twoyoungmen. We have been through a lot over the years, with the death of your mother. I felt so powerless against her cancer. Only recently did you forgive me for something that you repeatedly blamed me for. Even though you are evil now, I will forgive you, as only a father should. Elizabeth, please stop this madness."

"No, now you die!"

Dr. Stephen Strange probes into the depths of his mind with the far-famed Eye of Agomotto. This object of power fills the cramped room with an ecliptic brilliance that blankets it in pure, unbridled white. Concentrating, he sends his psyche into an almost non-existent state and utilizes his remaining senses to search for a certain imbalance within this plane of magi reality.

Wong carefully opens the door, covering his eyes immediately. Then, suddenly, Strange lets loose a terror-scream of such unbridled pain mixed with fear that he plummets to the ground like a stone.

Reacting accordingly, Wong races, feet and hearts and lungs pumping, into the room, at the same instant that the orb that contains the power of Agomotto dissipates like a passing wind.

"Stephen, oh my lord," Wong cries out as he kneels down at Dr. Strange's side, his body contorted into a ball. "Are you okay?"

Dr. Strange lolls his head to the side, staring into the darkest depths of infinity and eternity. "No," he breathes, "I am afraid that I am most definitely not."

"Do you need anything?" Wong adds. "Because if you do, it shall be yours. You only have to ask."

Strange utters a hoarse cough and clears his tired and raw throat. "I believe that a great danger shall befall someone close to me-- to one or two of my friends soon, Wong. The ones in Alpha Flight. I fear that Talisman and her team may be in dire trouble now. And I fear that there is nothing that I can do to prevent this tragedy. Nothing."

Wong was speechless.

Etobicoke, Canada. Kara Killgrave, who's nearly at the end of her spring break, decided this morn to just strut her stuff, show off a little, reveal to the world that she's number one, by a day of nonstop shopping. But, most of all, she wanted with all her heart to put on an ultimate display the new outfit that she purchased last week. And what an outfit it was-- tight-fitting like a second skin, spandex shorts, accompanied by a luscious pink-hued tank top that reveals more than most Canadians would dare to.

Every couple of minutes, men crowded around her. Naturally, she soaked up the adoration and admiration and knowing the best of strategies, pushed them aside, letting them want her all the more. But beneath all that happy-go-lucky exterior, there resides a young woman who is scared for her life. First up, she is a purple skinned mutant. That alone will give her the ability to control other people's minds and all the bigotry that goes along with that sacred gift.

But more important to her, two of her closest friends are gone from her life. The first of the two is a beast-woman called Goblyn, who, not a long time ago, was transported to another dimension, destined to never return to Earth. The second is Laura, Goblyn's sister who accompanies her in that other dimension.

But, for now, those cares and worries are far from her mind. All that she is concerned with at the moment is what she will buy and how much money she'll spend.

Not conscious of the fact, she turns a corner to enter a very dark, possibly scary alley way. It stinks to high heaven and garbage litters and floods the concrete pavement. The sight alone turns her stomach, never mind the foul stench.

She must have blinked when she first entered the 'hellhole' for now a shadow lingers at the end of the 'tunnel'. It is shaped like a man. A tall one at that, with greased-back hair and glasses.

Her first reaction is to run like hell. But, this ain't New York, for the Lord's sake. This is nice, peaceful Canada. There aren't any serial killers, rapists, or homicidal murderers crawling the streets at this time of day. There's nothing for her to be afraid of, she hopes.

Calming her racing heart and knotted stomach, she walks forward, thinking that she will ignore this man when she passes him. No such luck.

Before she can take another step, he blocks her path, not permitting her to go any further. Then, he speaks, his voice chilling all of her already-quivering bones: "The Alpha Flight wishes to speak with you, now, Persuasion."

"What the--?!"

Excerpted from the Canadian Times:

I have never been to Iran, not that I would ever want to. Especially Herot. It's right on the Afghanistan-Iranian border, the middle of a war zone. Not the safest places in this already chaotic world. But I guess someone had a little more guts than me. It is usually not common policy for superheroes to interfere in little wars like this, but I found out later that it was personal. About 8 AM a week ago, in one of the strongholds in Herot, Iran, a not-so-secret negotiations meeting was underway, the two parties involved being the Islamic J'Had and the Mujehedin. I can only guess that they were trying to settle the current situation in their countries. It was nearly noon when it was reported that a flying figure had appeared over the base. Soon, they realized that the "blip" was, in actuality, a member of the Canadian super-team, Alpha Flight called Northstar, also known as Jean-Paul Beaubier. The security guards that were the first line of defense were packing M-16s and ordinary shotguns. To put it simply, it was no contest. He plowed right through them in minutes and broke into the base, engaging the second line of defense. They proved no better than the former. A quarter of an hour later, he ripped the door open that led to the meeting room where the negotiations were taking place. Exactly four o'clock that day, I received a cassette that contained the conversation between Northstar and the combined leaders of the J'Had and the Mujehedin. When I first played it, I didn't know what to make of it. Briefly put, I heard Northstar telling of his early life as a Separatiste terrorist and how he always carried the burden of all the people that he had killed. Then, all at once, all the other speakers on the tape made fun of the Alphan for turning his back on them and how stuck-up he was as a superhero. I felt sorry for him but understood their arguments. I had to play it nearly ten times before I could comprehend everything that they were saying. Now, I was faced with a lot of problems. Should I release this tape to the public? There is no way to know who sent it--it was received anonymously. Does the public and media have the right to know that a popular superhero had associated himself with terrorists? Should I just burn the tape? What significance does this have to the world? And if I do release it, what will this do--or better yet, prove--to the rest of the superhuman population? Should there be a law preventing or allowing superheroes to interfere in internal affairs of third world or even, first power nations? Do they have the right to change the world? Or should we let the progress of all countries develop naturally? And if we do, what kind of human beings does that make us? In a nationwide press conference scheduled for next Monday, President George W. Bush and the Prime Minister of Canada will play the tape for all the world to hear. I hope that I have made the right choice. For if I have not, the entire world, as we know it, could be at the brink of utter armageddon.

The Alpha Complex

Two new figures had just arrived in his headquarters that Guardian had not recognized. He knew them from reading their files on Alphanex. And he was not pleased with their arrival. Not one bit.

The Dream Queen.

Llan the Sorcerer.

Along with Pestilence, who used to be the mutant telepath, Brainwave, and the brainwashed Talisman. All of them posed an immediate threat to the Flight.

Guardian gulped when he saw a very different Heather MacNiel Hudson walk towards him with a very unwheelchair-bound Jerry Jaxon beside her.

"Heather, why are you wearing your glasses? You don't need them anymore."

"I like them. They make me more sexy. Not that you ever noticed."

"What are you talking about? I appreciate you. I really do."

Jaxon approached them. The last time that Mac Hudson saw his former boss at Am-Can Petroleum he was wheelchair-bound.

"You destroyed me. You caused me to try to commit suicide. That caused me to be paralyzed. With my thirst for vengeance, I gathered the rest of the loose members of Beta and Gamma Flights to form Omega Flight.* You know what must come next. Sic him, Flashback!"

(* Referring to stuff that was revealed waaaayyy back in Marvel's Alpha Flight vol. 1, #12 -- Russ)

Turning to the costumed Flashback and his array of Future Men, Guardian said, "Looks like I'm going to have to put the Omega to Omega Flight."

"All I have to do is pull you down," Flashback said, as he conjured more and more Future Men to do just as he commanded to himself.

Then, a sea of Flashbacks surrounded Guardian.

And the Dream Queen laughed her loud, maniacal laugh.

The Sorcerer continued the laugh that the Dream Queen started as he approached Talisman, who was remarkably silent during the time of their arrival. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Talisman was broken out of the spell that held her for a short amount of time.

"What happened to me? Llan, here??" Talisman asked of the evil sorcerer.

"Yes, I am here, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen. I am here to kill you finally. Finally broken out of my temporal prison that you set up with that sorcerer supreme, Dr. Strange, many years ago."

"And I'll send you back there."

"Not if I can help it. And I will help it. You and your team of Alpha Flighters consider me to be the unbeatable opponent. And indeed I am. But what do you have to say in this sad state of affairs? Are you as unbeatable as you, the binder of spirits, are reputed to be? But I assure you, I am no mere spirit, but a living, breathing being of undeniable power that has slept for millenia."

"So you remind me. What are you doing here?"

"I am here because you brought me here, while you were under Brainwave's spell."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Search your memories for the answer, dear Talisman. You know the truth of my words."

She put her head in her hands. "Nonononono!!!! It can't be! I did it, I set you all free!!"

"Yes, oh yes, Talisman. You did. But don't fret, pet. I'll make sure you are the last to die in our conquest." He paused. "But there are two problems that I must correct before we conquer the world."

"And those are?"

"First Brainwave is a mutant telepath, like Professor Xavier. I only need Pestilence, not his host body. I will create a new host body for him. Next, one of these Alphans is not a true Alphan."

"That would be Kamikaze. He is a new member. It is time for your doom, Llan. I am Talisman, the binder of spirits, and I will be the one to destroy you once and for all!"

"So be it. Let's battle. And my first item of business is..."

First, Llan punched her in the mouth, catching her completely off-guard, and bringing her to her knees. He smiled. He liked his victims to be groveling on their knees, speaking his name in harsh whispers. He then shot her a burst of magical energies that had been coursing within him.

With a snap of his fingers, Llan and the two mystical beings vanished from thin air to plague them another day.

TO BE CONTINUED IN Alpha Flight Annual 2001