Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Shaman, dressed in his original outfit, seems to be battling the demons of Ranaq when his daughter Talisman rips apart the veil of the Dreamlands to reveal that he is really sitting under a tree on Paradise Omega, in his current outfit, and demands he talk to her. Elizabeth Twoyoungmen tells him he may have fooled the Goddess but not her - she can tell he hasn't complete faith in her Crusade. Michael Twoyoungmen responds that he lost his faith in any god long ago - he's well aware that they exist but sincerely doubts their wisdom. Elizabeth accuses him of running away as usual to avoid his obligations. As he did when her mother died and he left her with others while he wallowed in grief. As he did when he told her she was the chosen Talisman and then dumped his responsibilities on her. And as he did when he abandoned Beta Flight after they got lost in a dimensional nexus (#98). Michael rebuts *that* 1 by telling her that while he was absent between that issue and when he got dragged into the Infinity War event in #110 he was continually searching for them.
Talisman doesn't believe him and slaps his face. He automatically retaliates by causing a tree branch to hurl her away. He immediately regrets it and rushes to see if she's hurt, but she responds by turning the whole environment against him. And then she encases him in amber. But she's actually only trapped an image he projected and he's really behind her and drops her with a nerve chop.
However he promises her unconscious form that this time he will stand up to his duty. He will go and bring a matter to Goddess' attention which he will offer to deal with. But he will do it for his daughter (and the universe) rather than Goddess.
This leads to the 2nd story in this issue.
Which opens with ex-Alpha Flight member Madison Jeffries flying in his Box armour in Toronto. He lands and enters his house, and his wife Lillian Crawley (Diamond Lil also ex-AF) punches him back out again. She's angry because once again he's proven he can't resist the lure of his metal suit.
Then Shaman appears before them (again in his old duds but with an image of Goddess' face beside him). He tells them that the future of this and other realities is in danger as evil forces conspire to disrupt the coming glory (ie Goddess' Rapture), and he's here to recruit them to help him.
Next scene they're with him (in their superhero togs) in an old native burial ground in Northern Ontario alongside Wyre (a recent addition to Beta Flight) and Nemesis (who used to lead Gamma Flight). Shaman tells them about the demon Carcass who has invaded the Sarcee Land Of The Dead where he has begun the Unmaking. Unless it is stopped it will spread into other spirit worlds and then to reality and it will dissolve everything back to the primordial chaos (which of course wouldn't suit Goddess). The 4 must put their faith in him as he takes them where no living mortal has ever gone. They all agree to it. But Michael tells himself that he is deceiving them just as Goddess has deceived her flock.
A spell takes them to the Land Of The Dead where they are attacked by Carcass' skeletal minions. They aren't necessarily human-looking but Shaman assures his troop that they are really noble ancestors - but nevertheless they must be destroyed. Box saves Lil from some of them until she regains her confidence and fights back. Nemesis' mystic sword cuts through the foes. But Wyre is consumed by the guilt of the many people he's killed and that some of them may be here. In firing his big gun and using his organic 'wires' he maybe killing someone for a 2nd time.
Now we see Carcass who seems to be made of lumps of flesh stuck together haphazardly and who's speech is made of letters in random styles and divided up into small chunks usually breaking in the middle of words. He congratulates Shaman on picking warriors without compunction against killing the dead but he knows that Michael himself is the weak link. And he faces him with the body of his dead wife Katheryn. Shaman can't fight her as she destroys the medicine pouch where he keeps his magic potions.
As his self-confidence fades so does the invulnerability of his troop. Diamond Lil's body becomes cuttable. Wyre's wires turn on him. Jeffries is torn from his Box (where usually he would phase out). Nemesis' blade is taken from her and used against her. Wyre begs Shaman to take them home. But Michael says he can't, because he misled them when he brought them here. To get to the Land Of The Dead they had to die.
And we see their bodies lying in the burial ground.