Alpha Flight #48

Separtiste Ways

By Gregg Epstein 





Quebec 

“Ok, Northstar, you really got us into a mess this time,” Sasquatch said, as he swung punches at the Separtiste Terrorists who brandished weapons of mass destruction, aiming them at the Alphans; he, his wife, and her brother. They were toting rifles and guns, firing them into the crowd, killing people left and right and spouting gibberish of wanting a free and equal French Canada.

“Let’s shed some light on this subject, oui, brothair?” Aurora asked, as she and Northstar linked hands. This delicate action caused the two siblings to glow like a newborn sun and bathe the terrorists in a blinding white light.

“That worked, let’s hope,” Northstar said. But to his dismay and the dismay of all the other Alphans present, the evil men had been wearing special goggles to protect them from such an attack. “Sasquatch, if you please…”

“’Course, ‘Star, whatever you like,” Walter Langkowski said, throwing a punch in the air and making some of the rifles and weapons drop to the ground. ”How’s that fer starters?”

“Keep at it, ‘Squatch. We don’t know what else they will throw at us.” Northstar flew circles at the terrorists to get an aerial view.

“You should. You were one of them fer a while.” Sasquatch was a little bitter toward his wife’s brother. He professed to hate Walter with a vengeance. But then, he had his reasons, however stupid they may be.

“Don’t I know it!” screamed a new arrival. All the Alphans turned to the source of the voice and saw a man clad in body armour. Canada’s evil Iron Man. His name was Caliber and he had fought Alpha Flight before. “I ask you again, Jean-Paul; join us or die!!”

“He asked you to join his cause?!” Walter was flabbergasted. “No wonder you wanted us to stop him.”

“I’ll never join you,” Jean-Paul said firmly. “You’ll just have to kill me first.”

“I’d love to,” Caliber confirmed. “And it would be a pleasure.” With that, the armoured foe fired a blast from his machine gun arm, making the area around the

Alphans explode. They were propelled backwards against several smashed automobiles.

Seeing the terrorists flee, thinking that the heroes were dead, Sasquatch changed back into Walter Langkowski and folded his arms across his naked chest. “What now, fearless leader?”

“We let them escape for now.”

“Are you crazy? They didn’t escape. They thought we were dead and didn’t bother to check if we were still alive.”

“Shut up, Walter. I know where they’re stationed. It’s right outside of Quebec and we will find them there.” 



China 



Days before, the mystical spell that Talisman of Alpha Flight had woven transported Dei Guan to his native land of China. He arrived at his apartment left with his own lonliness. He knew that he wouldn’t be on a vacation for long because his main goal in coming here and leaving his friends would be to rejoin the ranks of China Force. China was still communist and he would be needed to defend the land.

The lights were dimmed to darkness but somehow his otherwordly senses told him that he was not the only person in this room.

He was on alert. He changed into the Jade Dragon, his dragon head touching the ceiling. He saw some figures scurrying behind his couch so he used his fiery breath to incinerate it. The figures ran in all different directions.

“Do not fight us,” a female voice said in Chinese. Clad in a brown jumpsuit, she pounced onto the neck of Jade Dragon and injected some poisons into his systems.

This caused him to change back to Dei Guan. His clothes ripped, he was now nearly naked. “Rat, why did you do that?” Dei Guan asked his compatriot.

Rabbit approached him, standing over his prone form. “She did that on my orders.”

“Why, Rabbit?” Dei Guan asked the leader of China Force.

“We had contacted Alpha Flight earlier to find out when you would return to us. Talisman told me that she had just transported you. We just wanted to properly welcome you into our ranks again.”

Dei Guan stood up. He picked up his clothes and threw them into the kindling of the couch. “I won’t need those anymore. Well, that’s why I’m here. We got off to a rocky start since you were controlled by the Dream Queen. Twice. But since all of us are free of her, I have no reason why I can’t trust you all.”

Rabbit extended her hand and the former member of Alpha Flight shook it. “Welcome back to China Force, Dei Guan.” 



Tokyo, Japan 



Like the Jade Dragon before him, Kamikaze arrived in his hometown only minutes before. He has had many adventures in Alpha Flight but recently, he has been searching for his past. His only living relative was his father, the original Kamikaze. The only thing that he knew about him was that he was a kamikaze pilot during Pearl Harbor. He was one of the few ones that escaped detonation against the hull of the huge ocean liner. He donned the identity of Kamikaze, ninja assassin. He fought Captain America in the war. Now, he just wanted some closure.

He entered the House of the Clan Harada. It was nearly empty. It looked like someone had broken in. The last time he was here was two years ago when he was training the new members of Beta Flight; Kane, Wyre, Marrina, and the Jade Dragon. But their training had turned into disaster when enemies from his past had come to haunt him.

He saw a note on the table. It was folded in half. He read it. It said that his father was kidnapped by Shadowhunter and the Kabuki Spiders. So, they had returned from their escape last time they fought. He took the note and tucked it into his tunic pocket.

He thought about contacting Alpha Flight, especially Diamond Lil (his darling Lillian) but she was pregnant and in no condition to fight his battles for him. So, this time he would have to go it alone.

He decided to search the House for clues. Any clue as to where they could have taken him. Up until this point, he thought his father was lost to him. Dead, perhaps. But he was glad that he was still alive but saddened that he was in danger at his frail age.

He sat cross legged on the mat, removed his mask, placed it by his side, and stretched his mind outwards, ever outwards in a meditative state. He had to relax his mind and body and think about nothing but his father and Shadowhunter. The Kabuki Spiders would come later. 



A warehouse in Quebec 



In his bestial form, Sasquatch punched the wrought-iron fence and door that protected the warehouse from invaders and provided an entrance to find the Terrorists and Caliber ready to battle the diminished Alpha Flight team.

“All right, let’s bust some heads, Alphans,’ Sasquatch said. He allowed Aurora and Northstar entry into the foul place. “Northstar, you know them the best, show them what it means to be a French Canadian!”

“Oui, brothair, go do some good,” his sister responded to her husband’s remarks. Right now, Aurora was floating right above Walter’s head. “For Canada, for Alpha Flight!”

Without saying a word, Northstar raced to where Caliber was and started punching him repeatedly in the chest. Caliber didn’t seem to feel any of the blows. He fired lasers from his machine gun arm at the ceiling and the floor, wherever Northstar wasn’t at. He was too fast for that.

But Caliber had speed all his own and he grabbed Jean-Paul by some of his costume, holding him high above his head. Then, Caliber brought his rifle to Northstar’s chest.

He fired endless rounds of his machine gun into the Alphan’s heart and body.

Northstar fell to the ground, inert.

“NOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

That protestation came from Aurora, with tears in her eyes. She raced to her brother’s side. Sasquatch was just in utter shock.

“Jean-Paul, no,” Aurora whispered in his ear, even though he couldn’t hear her. She cradled her brother in her arms. “You’ll be all right. That didn’t hurt much, did it?”

Then, she heard some sound come out of his bloody mouth. “Tell Walter I love him,” Jean-Paul whispered. “Tell him I wanted to love him more than you ever could…”

Jean-Paul went limp.

Aurora stood up, carrying her brother’s dead body in her arms. “Walter, get us out of here!”

“Gotcha, babe,” Sasquatch said, as he and Aurora walked back to the Omnijet.