Chapter 11: “The Children Of Darkness.”
Written by: lin128@chardonnay.niagara.com (Adam Bourret)

  The Chief was not a man accustomed to quiet moments.  His ex-wife had been fond of meditation and tried several times to interest him in the practice.  He found it a waste of his valuable life.
  Now that he was not quite sure what his life *was, he had to take quite a few of them.  Just five minutes of silent peace to try and sort out his misplaced life.
    He was born the son of Tundra.  Centuries, no, eons ago was the date of his birth.  He lived those eons blissfully in endless days of glorious battles. Almost since the beginning of time to the day where he and his kind were imprisoned.  Locked in a silent realm forever.  The Beasts tried endlessly to send him back to Earth, to make way for their glorious rebirth. But he had gotten lost in the void-like dimension between all things.  He had wandered for centuries in the hallways of UnReality and the realms of
madness until at last he arrived on a beach in Victoria, his mind a blank slate, his past forgotten.
 He did not know how the government knew what he represented.  They kidnapped him, brainwashed him, made him into .. *this.  How they must have
laughed, he hissed to himself, to have the son of the beasts as their happy puppet.  He had been just that, all his known life.
 Then Retribution showed up. 

   The power of the other man had made everything clear, had wiped away the ash and soot of implanted memories.  Retribution, he learned, was the third offspring that the Beasts were able to send through.  He was the first, the second, Devolution, was lost somewhere.
   The door to his private office creaked open and announced the arrival of Retribution.  The beast spoke, not bothering anymore to use his phony French accent.
   “Good afternoon, Chief.”
    “Good afternoon,” annoyed that his head was not quite in order yet the chief tried a last time to shake of the effects of his editation. Retribution pressed a button on the desktop computer revealing a mosaic of classified files. “Fantastique,” the third offspring chuckled, “this will be perfect for use against Alpha Flight.”
   “Ironic is it not?” the general grinned, “the very organization that used me is now being used in return.”
   “To assist you in the very operation we sought to prevent,” said a voice neither recognize.  Both men wheeled to see a soldier in the doorway with his gun drawn.  “You are both under arrest.”

   “Who are you?” the general barked, “what are doing here?”
   “I am sergeant Michael Cobb,” the soldier barked back, “and I am ..” he paused, and then tilted his eyes upward, “dancing, on butterfly wings.  Me and Marie Bob, Marie Bob's a wonderful dancer, oh yes, and we'll have tea and cabbages and ..”
    Sergeant Cobb was now smiling giddyishly and rocking back and forth tossing his revolver into the air and trying to catch it.  He babbled on about Marie Bob and dancing and tea and cabbages, showing no sign of stopping or even catching a breath.
    “You're very funny Devolution,” sighed Retribution.
   The second brother entered with a flourishing bow.  “Thank you, I felt your presence here Retribution.  I've ignored my cause so long, I decided to help you.  Besides, I have an old friend here in Canada I need to pay a visit to.”
    “After the mission brother!” cried the chief.  Devolution looked at the general in confusion.  Sergeant Cobb kept on rambling, his face was turning blue from not breathing.

   “Chief, we'd best discuss this outside.  Go out and make sure there is no one there will you?”  The chief hastened out the door, Devolution looked on in interest.
   “You mean, he actually *believes* that he is another son of Tundra?”
   “My powers have developed since we last saw each other, just as you have the power to destroy a man's mind, I have the power to re-create it as I choose.”
   “But for how long?”

   Retribution didn't answer.  Cobb filled the silence with talk of dancing pigeons and Florida orange juice.
   That night Maggie arrived at the office.  For weeks now he had been ignored and she would tolerate it no longer.
   Maggie did not find her husband at the office.  Instead she found that all the military’s files had been copied from the computer and that Sergeant Cobb had died from asphyxiation on the floor.
 

Chapter 12: “A Gathering of Evil”
Written by: sengmah@iinet.net.au

 Judd sat cross-legged on the edge of the kitchen counter, staring at the woman he had long thought gone from this world. Despite his years of experience, he found it unnerving to see her alive and whole now, and, even stranger still, watch her nurse her baby. The child looked no different from any human infant, though he knew that it was the scion of both gods and men, and within it burned the eternal, divine flame of the Northern Gods. 
 Judd had not seen the resurrection of Snowbird and her child. The flash of divine light, as barriers between the physical and divine worlds were sundered, had stunned him as it had most of the other Alphans. When he had come to, Snowbird had risen from the dead, as had her baby. Jean Paul Beaubier -- Northstar -- was nowhere to be found. The others: Heather, Mac, Walt, Michael and Elizabeth buzzed happily around the woman called Narya, and her nameless child. Judd had expressed his own greeting, and clasped Snowbird's pale hands in his. Her touch was cold, alien, disturbing. Judd had gazed at the babe, pink, fragile, adorable, yet he could not shake off the feeling of ill-omen within him.
 “You are not yet used to my return, friend Judd?” Snowbird said suddenly, breaking the silence between them. “Or to see me nurse my child here as any human mother would do.”
 Judd nodded. “To be honest with you, Narya, this is something I hadn't thought was possible. I guess I'm still adjusting to you coming back, eh?”
 “There are many possibilities, Judd. I had thought that a man like you would have been aware of them.”
 Judd shrugged. “Maybe I'm just getting stodgy in my old age.” He shook his head and grinned. He slipped off the counter top and ambled over to mother and babe. “He's a beauty, isn't he?” he muttered. “His soul, so pure, so bright.”
 “You show remarkable sensitivity to our godhood,” Snowbird said. “That is a rare thing among mortals. But what am I saying, while I wear this body, I am mortal. And my child...” she gazed lovingly at the baby resting comfortable against her breast. “He is but a child, a young avatar...”
 “Yeah, well.” Judd cleared his throat. “He's more than that, eh.”
 Snowbird looked up at him, her expression perplexed. “What do you mean?”
 Judd shifted uneasily. “We gotta talk, 'Bird. I gotta tell you
something and I dunno if you're gonna believe me or not. But listen, eh.... “ He paused.  “I've just come back from Tibet....”
 Dr. Alexander Malone, accompanied by two hefty prison officers, stopped outside Holding Cell #341A and looked in through the plasti-glass panel.
 “How long has he been like this?” he asked.
 “Since yesterday, doc,” Officer Burlam replied sadly. “He looks harmless enough. You want me to open the door for you?”
  Dr. Malone nodded. Burlam drew a security card from his pocket and slid it across the scanner next to the cell door. After a short beep, he spoke into it: “Burlam 64-27.” The panel lit up and the door slid back and sideways.
  Burlam entered first, followed by the second officer, Coltrane. Malone followed only after the officers gave him the go-ahead.
  He walked towards the man strapped to the gurney: Officer Ryan O'Malley. O'Malley had been sedated and slept the sleep of oblivion. Occasionally, his eyelids fluttered, but for Malone, it confirmed that the man was obviously in REM sleep. Quickly, he skimmed the diagnostic report and frowned; checked it again, and scowled.
   “What's wrong, doc?” Officer Coltrane asked.
  Dr. Malone looked up at the two prison guards. “Who else has been here before me?”
  “No one, doc,” Burlam said. “S'far as Gus and I know, he was shipped here straight after questioning. Not that he answered any of the questions they asked.”
  “Then...” Dr. Malone drifted off. He looked from the report to the
patient in the gurney. “Then who's written this?” He held up the clipboard for both men to see.

“Who's Dr. D?” Burlam asked.
 “I am,” a voice behind them laughed.
 The officers whirled around, reaching for their weapons, when
another voice instructed: “Stop. Drop.”
 Both men froze in their steps, lowered themselves supine against the ground and lay there unmoving.
 Dr. Malone stared, stunned, at the two strangers walking casually into the cell. Both were dressed in elaborate overcoats. The first was dark, with a thick, tightly beaded hair. The second was sallow, almost to the point of looking jaundiced.
 “Allow me to introduce myself,” said the first. “I am Dr. D. 'D' for
Devolution.”
 “And I,” said the other, “am simply known as Retribution.”
 A third man squeezed in behind them. This one was broad, powerfully built, with bluff, square features and a heavy jaw. He looked like a thug, or a pugilist, and wore the uniform of a riot-policeman. “And I,” he rumbled, cracking his knuckles, “Am called Traction. Good name, huh. Now you and us, we gotta talk.”
 Malone backed away from the trio. “I'm calling for security,” he
threatened feebly.
 “You'll find that they're presently occupied elsewhere,” the one
called Retribution said. “But you have no need to fear, brother. We are hear to talk.”
 “Brother?” Malone stammered. “What do you..”
 “Mean?” Devolution finished. “Why, 'tis a long story, but I'm sure we have time, don't we brother Retribution?”
 The sallow man nodded, smiling. “And while you explain our history to 'Dr. Alexander Malone' here, I'll go play with these two boys. Okay, lads, time to get up.”
 At that, both officers, Coltrane and Burlam, rose and shuffled out after Retribution.

 “You would claim that my son is the incarnation of this lama you speak of?” Narya asked, incredulous. “It cannot be so! He has been with me in Paradise ere this while. You must be mistaken. Perhaps you have been misled in your search.”
 Judd stepped back, surprised by the ferocity of Snowbird's reaction. “Relax, 'Bird. I'm not saying anything like that, eh. Listen to me: All I'm saying is that I been tasked to look for the one who is destined to be the next lama -- the next 'wise, holy soul'. And all the clues is pointing to your boy.”
 “I cannot believe it. By Hodiak, this is a child of the Northern Gods, Judd.”

 “Alright, I ain't disputin' that, but I'm just telling you what I
know, eh.” Judd paced about nervously. He had not expected Snowbird to react in such a... human... manner. “And what I know is that there are great things prophesied for your boy, eh. And I'm part of what's gotta help him attain that.”
 Narya still looked doubtful. “Yes... I understand. Know this, Judd: my son and I hold the key to the survival of this world in the coming age. The scions of the Great Beasts rise once more, and it is time for a new confrontation. I sense that this will be more difficult, more bloody than the last.”
 “It all connects,” Judd said. “Don't it? This news that the Beasts are coming back; me coming back here, you and the tyke returning to us... It's that time, eh: Millenium's End. And all forces: good and bad come together for one final tussle to decide the fate of the world.”
 Snowbird's expression softened. “You are a wise man, Judd. Even a goddess must admit her folly once in a while. If you are indeed my son's protector, than I am glad that I have you by my side.”
 “No sweat, eh,” said Judd. “The little tyke needs someone to teach him and it looks like ol' uncle Judd's the man.”
 “I see you have been keeping yourself entertained,” the man known as Devolution told his brother.
 Retribution smiled. “Stop,” he said to the two prison-officers
tussling on the floor. Both men froze; Burlam's hands were locked around Coltrane's throat. Coltrane's face was red, his tongue protruded from his lips.
 “Isn't this all a trifle childish?” Devolution said.
 “Only to you, dear brother. Ah-- I see that he has been told.” He
looked beyond Devolution at the man who was once Dr. Alexander Malone accompanied by Traction out of the cell.   
 “Yes. You could say that I have been enlightened,” the fourth
brother said. He cast a glance at the two prison-officers locked in the pose and smiled. His eyes narrowed; abruptly, Burlam released Coltrane and both men collapsed gasping to the floor.

 Burlam looked up at the four men, confused, angry and afraid. “Doc? What...”
 “Silence,” the fourth brother snapped. “If you value your life,
officers, I suggest you keep silent and listen. Or I'll be forced to let
Brother Retribution loose on you again.” He sneered.
 “My, my, he's a nasty one,” Retribution said sardonically. “And what shall we call you?” he asked.
 “You may refer to me as Malignance.”
 “Ah.”
 “Now,” Malignance continued, turning to look at Burlam and Coltrane. “What shall we do with the both of you officers?”
 “I have a few ideas,” Devolution said.
 “As have I,” said Malignance.
 

Chapter 13: “Ghosts Of The Past”
 Written by: ellefson@winternet.com (Mountjoy)

  “Stop zis, you mad man!”

  “Oh, I don't think so, we've just started.  We shall destroy Alpha Flight utterly, and....poetically.  You see, Devolution was just using me, but he...also opened my eyes.  Now both you and he will die. And I will completely destroy the ones who almost had me killed!”  
  “But we didn't kill you, it was zat android, Ms. Cou...”  
  “Shutupshutupshutup!  You will all be killed, and thanks to me and my friends, it will be by all of your oppressors, all the “villains” 
Alpha Flight has ever faced. HA HA HA HA HA!!!”
  “Mon du, he iz mad” Aurora thinks to herself.  “How iz zat possible, many of zem are dead!”  she inquires out loud.
  “We've...found a way around that!  Oh Gravedigger!”  As he calls, a tall man walks in, if you can call him a man.  All that is visible is his bone with long pieces of dirt and weed hanging from them.  The bone is a pale brown, slightly lighter than the dirt itself.  He has a dead look in his eyes.  “This fellow here...” Flashback says as he walks toward him “...can reanimate the dead.  It isn't permanent, but it will last long enough for them to do the ...dirty deed, and our collection is almost complete.”  
 Just as Flashback starts to laugh again, a familiar amour suit walked in.  “They are on the move, sir.  Good, Caliber,
send the 'boys' outside to meet our guests.  I am sure they will get a kick out of it.  HA HA HA....”  Flashback then left his captive behind, planing his next move. 

* * * * * 

  “Ah!” Dr. Strange yelled as he fell to the floor, seconds later Elizabeth did the same.
  “What...” said Heather as she and the others tried to help them up.
  “Do not....touch them.” Shaman barley got out, as he was on his knees in pain.  All present knew the wisdom Shaman had gained over the years doubled them all, so them did as asked. “He...it...brakes the barrier..”  Then all three of the mystics got up, all a little dazed, but ok.  “We must hurry, come, we leave for the Eye of the World.”
 “Michael, what barrier, and Northstar hasn't come back yet, we just can't leave him out their by himself.” said Heather.
 “It is the mystic barrier the gods of the North put in place to keep the Great Beasts out of our realm, the one loose Beast is in the Eye trying to break it as we speak.”  Then Shaman thought long and hard.  “You are right, we need all the help we can get, send a small band to gather Northstar, the rest of us shall go immediately.”  Heather was not used to taking orders like that, be she figured Shaman took this gun-ho attitude because of the graveness of the situation.

 The two groups, consisting of Heather, Puck, and Doctor Strange; and Mac, Shaman, Talisman, Snowbird, and Sasquatch; go of on their separate ways immediately.  Strange uses the eye of Agamotto to direct them in their search.

* * * * * 

 “Down, in that forest!”  yells Strange to Heather, who is carrying Puck.  They set down in a clearing, which is apparently empty  “I don't get it doc, there ain't nothin' to see here...”  BBLLAASSTTT!!!! Almost in response, a high energy beam shoots right at Puck, and he barely avoids it in time.  “..or maybe there is.” Puck says sarcastically.
 All eyes look on there attacker.  Standing on the outskirts of the clearing are a new and improved Caliber, a feral Wild Child, Scramble, a small force of mutates [not mutants] presumably from Scramble, Diamond Lil, and......
 “Nooo.....y-your dead!” Heather screams as she looks right at the last member of the squad, and she should know, after all, she was the one who killed Bedlam.
 

Chapter 14: “Government Liaisons.”
Written by: 91001534@lambton.on.ca (Morgue)

 “Ladies and gentlemen, as you are about to see, I believe Canada is in grave danger”, agent Walker said to the high ranking government officials seated at the table in front of him.
 “Walker, why don’t you start from the beginning”, the balding gentleman sitting at the head of the table ordered.
 “Yes sir”, agent Walker replied.  “Let me first introduce you to the players.” A picture of Guardian and Vindicator appeared on the wall behind the young agent.  “This is Heather Hudson and James Macdonald Hudson.  Also known as Guardian and Vindicator.  James Hudson was the man responsible for setting up the original Department H.  Since the disbanding of Alpha Flight the couple has been up North doing some research.  They had a run in with a creature called 'The Hunter in Darkness'.  They have recently traveled to New York to visit a friend of theirs by the name of Wolverine, the original Weapon X.  But since I don’t have any jurisdiction in the States I am unaware of what transpired there.  As of late they have been up north relaxing.  We intercepted this phone call.  The two speakers are James Hudson and Eugene Judd, the former Alphan known as Puck.”  Agent Walker pressed play on a small tape recorder.
 “Hello”, came a voice from the speaker.
 “Mac, its Puck.  We need to re-assemble Alpha Flight.”
 “Why? What’s wrong?”
 “Just come to Toronto.  Heather’s already here.  Meet at Talisman's apartment.”  Walker pressed the stop button.
 “Agent Walker, how did you come across this message?”, asked a middle aged woman.

 “Wire tap sir.”  The pictures behind Walker changed.  A picture of Walter Langowski and a picture of his Sasquatch was displayed on the wall.  “This is Walter Langowski also known as Sasquatch.  He has been up North doing some radiation research.  He recently had a run in with the mercenary known as Deadpool.  He also had an incident in the Gulf of Mexico.  He has also turned up in Toronto with his former team mates.”
 The picture changed again, this time showing Elizabeth and Michael Twoyoungmen.  “This is Talisman and Shaman.  Talisman has recently returned to school and Shaman has done some work for the government since the disbanding of Alpha Flight.  They too are both in Toronto.”
 Once again the picture changed.  This time showing the twins Northstar and Aurora.  “Northstar has also reappear in Toronto.  He has simply been enjoying life.  However he left the apartment in a rather upset state.  We lost track of him.  Aurora has simply dropped from view.  We have no idea on where she is.”
 “Agent Walker, we know you are new and inexperienced at this, but she simply disappeared?  You were assigned to keep tabs on the people who formed Alpha Flight and one of them has simply disappeared?” asked the balding man.
 “Yes sir”, Walker replied.  He hated having his age and inexperience thrown in his face.  Sure he was only twenty five but he was one of the best agents the new Department H had to offer.  In his opinion anyway.
 “Please continue,” the lady of the group ordered.
  The picture changed again, this time showing the man known as Puck.  “This man was very difficult to keep tabs on.  We lost track of him several time, but he too has resurfaced in Toronto.  But the most disturbing reappearance was this Alphan.”  The picture behind Walker changed to show the mystical Snowbird.  “It is believed that she was killed in combat.  But she has returned, and so has her baby.  I, I, believe they dug up the bodies and somehow managed to resurrect them.”
 “And how do you know that this is Snowbird?”, asked another official.
 “That’s what they called her, sir.  We have bugs in Talisman's apartment.  They were placed there when the team, along with Madison Jeffries, went to dig up the bodies of Baby Thompson and Doug Thompson.  They recently left again.  Heather Hudson, Puck, and a gentleman called Dr. Strange left to look for Aurora.  James Hudson, Walter Langowski, Snowbird, Shaman, and Talisman are off to battle what they believe is the Great Beasts.  We have a tail on them.”
 “Agent Walker, what do you propose?” asked the balding man.
 “Well, since you ask,” Walker continued with a smile. “I believe we should re-establish Alpha Flight as a government sponsored super team.  The Avengers and Fantastic Four are gone.  Something doesn’t smell right about the Thunderbolts.  Canada needs a team to defend her.  You all know about the incident in Winnipeg, and the incident at the maximum security prison,  and the murder at the Royal Bank?  The video cameras caught the man change into several different animals.”  Walker was getting more excited as he talked.  “We NEED to re-assemble Alpha Flight.  These men and women are going off to defend Canada, risking life to do so, and how to we treat them?”  During his assignment of keeping tabs on Alpha Flight, he developed a strong respect for them.  He would love nothing more than to defend his country along side these people, these heroes.  “Sirs, I don’t ask this lightly.  I ask this for THE GOOD OF CANADA!”
 There was a strange silence as agent Walker finished his piece.
 The balding man spoke again.  “Walker, I want you to catch up to Mr. Hudson and the others, assist them in fighting these...Beasts as you called them, and then offer them official government support.  One catch though.  You will be the official government liaison between Alpha Flight and Department H.  Is that clear?”
 “Yes Sir!”  Walker turned to leave the room.
 “Walker!” yelled the balding man.
 “Sir?”
 “For God's sake, Donovan, be careful.”
 “Yes sir!”
 Then agent Walker left the room to catch up to Alpha Flight.

CHAPTER 15: “NO ASSEMBLY REQUIRED.”
 Written by: Adam-X@juno.com

 “Not sure just how you did it,” Puck said, as Heather set him down gently on the ground. Almost immediately, he was doing cart wheels to avoid Caliber, and his massive swings. “But things like this always happen, eh?”
 Caliber lunged at Puck again, but he was too dexterous to ever be captured by such a sluggish machine. “I mean, look who we're facing off against,” Puck said to no one in particular. Already Heather was flying into attack position, while Doc Strange hovered - none of them were apparently used, or were using - any forms of magic, which rendered Doctor Strange near helpless in this kind of battle. A feeling Puck was once all too familiar with. “We got Caliber - you're generic little villain in a big metal costume, eh?” Again, he dodged Caliber, making him furious. “What looks to be a cross breed between Wildchild and Wolverine on a bad day, with a pinch of Sabretooth, eh?” The apparent “Wildchild” lunged at him. “But there's only one thing wrong with this picture - both Wildchild and Diamond Lil aren't who they really seem!”
 “How can you be so sure?” Heather asked, as several bolts flew from her hands. 
 “You don't trust me?” Puck asked, in mock gesture, dodging Caliber yet again - without effort, making Caliber feel less than a gnat to Puck's dexterity and agility. “I have trained for a long time - been all around the world - and have walked my share of dark roads - one thing you take notice to, is everything about everyone. Those two aren't who they seem to be - I just can't figure it out as to why them.”
 “You haven't figured it out?” the voice spoke, with an echo, that sounded as if it were dying. “I am Omega. I am the End to the Beginning. This new team of Alpha Flight, seems like the Birth Of A New Dream - a new beginning - well, the time to realize that it is only a dream, and nothing comes of dreams - is now at hand!” The being known as Omega was once Jefferies brother - one known as Scramble. He's changed since then - and Alpha thought they had destroyed him.

 “Should have known you wouldn't stay dead,” Puck sneered to the pile of flesh. “Should have known you'd come back, like a poorly written comic book villain!” He found his last few words, a bit amusing for some reason.
 “Laugh dwarf,” Omega hissed. “It does not matter... keep dancing around me - soon, even you will grow tired... and when you do, I shall absorb you within me...”
 “That's it, isn't it?” Puck stopped for a second. “That's not Wildchild and Diamond Lil... they're people who were 'shaped' by your flesh churning powers... to throw us off, eh?” He laughed, and dodged Caliber who had tried to sneak up behind him. “Brilliant plan, eh? Too bad nothing gets by me.” He bounced off Omega's face, and added, while doing leaps through the air. “Not bad.... for a dwarf, eh?”

      * * * * * * * * * * * *

 “I can feel them,” Snowbird whispered, holding herself against the cold that bit into her bones. “They're reaching out...”
 “They already have some kind of anchor into our world, I am afraid*,” Shaman added, darkly looking to the night sky, whose blackness ran across the heavens like spilt ink. “Something is terribly wrong...”
 “Father,” Elizabeth added quietly, afraid to disturb her father's thoughts. “I have anchored us to Earth... we can't wait for Jean-Paul any more... with the passing seconds, I can feel their darkness around me, growing stronger...”
 Looking to the black skies, Shaman bowed his head. “I do not think Jean-Paul could have come with us... even if he wanted to...”
 Snowbird nodded her head in agreement. “Where we are about to go, only magic will help us travel...”
 “Wait a minute here,” Sasquatch cut in. “You're not planning on leaving me here, because I have no magic either - to tell JP why we're not here, do you?”
 “Actually,” Shaman smiled, almost sadly. “No. You're coming with us.”
 “But I don't have magic like you three do,” Sasquatch grumbled.
 “Yes,” Shaman corrected. “Yes you do.”
 “You are in essence a part of me,” Snowbird replied, still holding herself. “As I am in essence a part of you.”
 “Not to mention,” Talisman cut in. “You're a Great Beast.”
 “No longer is he one,” Snowbird corrected. “But at one time Walter's mind was possessed by the Great Beasts **, and thus knows what we are looking for subconsciously... And through shared cells, a slight amount of magic flows through his veins... not enough that he will ever be able to control or harness it, as we do... but enough to get him into The Gates Of Harven... Where in, lies The Key Of Argoni.”
 “Wait,” Sasquatch cut in. “We're going in there looking for a key?” He pointed to the swirling portal that Talisman was opening.
 “It is not a key in the sense that you mortals know,” Snowbird said, bowing her head, and perhaps praying to her Mother for guidance... and strength for what she was about to enter... for what she was about to endure...

* * * * * 
 

 “I can't believe this,” Alex moaned. “Why did this have to happen now? Our lives were so normal...” He paused in his pacing steps, and itched his chin for a moment. “Well, as normal as it could have been for Jean-Paul and I...”
 He peeked nervously into the room he was pacing in front of. “Jean-Paul and I had so many plans... so many things we wanted to do together... Then this happens... “ He rolled his eyes and threw his arms into the air in frustration. 
 Alex has every right to be mad tonight. And probably many long nights to come. Life was 'normal' for Alex and Jean-Paul... or, as he told himself seconds ago, as normal as it could be for the two of them. You see, they are both males; and they are very in love with each other; they are best friends; and yet, their love runs much deeper than that. They are lovers. Despite the world's supposed 'acceptance' of the gay community; Alex and Jean-Paul found that the people of the world were quicker to say, that 'Gay is Okay' - but when they saw it - so little as two men holding hands, they got looks of disgust. Jean-Paul's attitude had help forge Alex's strength and courage.
 That was a good thing. Those were two things he was needing right now. He peeked in the room, and moaned, “Oh no, he's doing it again!”
 Alex stormed into the room, and caught the baby. This was Snowbird's son - and as Alex was quickly learning. This was no ordinary baby - this was three times now, that Alex had peeked into the room, to see the baby glowing and levitating itself. Alex took a deep breath, and wondered when his life would go back to being normal again...
 If ever.

* * * * * 

 “You 'ave confused me,” Aurora admitted. “If you wanted Alpha Flight to 'elp you against this one you call Devolution, why do you send those creatures after 'hem?”
 “Devolution isn't a push over babe,” Flashback hissed. “Especially if it's true what I found out about him... Only the strong will survive the future I have foreseen,” Flashback said ominously. “And let me tell you, some of Alpha Flight will not be coming back from the battle against Devolution***...”
 “Are you sayin' dat some of dem will die?” Aurora asked, horrified.
 “Oh yes,” Flashback almost seemed to be enjoying the idea. “And not a pretty death either, I assure you... I need to make sure Alpha Flight is ready to deal with what lies ahead... The Avengers... The X-Men... The Fantastic Four... none of them will be any good to me, or the world, if Alpha Flight fails...”
 “I never considered Alpha that strong,” Aurora muttered.
 “Oh they're not the strongest team, but they're the only ones really experienced in magic... and that's what lies ahead... dark, evil magic...” Flashback seemed to shiver, as if memories raced down his spin. His faced paled. “So dark...”