The
medical heroes Valkyrie, Doctor Strange, Night Nurse, Cardiac, Excalibur, and
Manikin stare in awe at the Death of Death, the monster coming to kill off
Death. A few words from Strange are needed to keep Val from panic but the
others all have coping mechanisms to take it in stride. Aware that they are
inhabiting a living metaphor, the enter Death’s house to search for their
patient. They encounter a river of pus with a ferryman who tells them that one
of them must die for the others to cross the river. Excalibur jams her sword
into the river, destroying it—but she must stay behind to ensure it doesn’t
come back. They come to an art gallery with a single painting: Val sees a burning
car crash and recognizes it as the deaths of her ex-husband and son; the others
also see it as the deaths of someone close to them as the disease tries to
discourage them from aiding Death who has harmed them in these ways. As Strange
looks, Cardiac creeps up behind him and shocks him into insensibility with his
staff, insisting they should not be trying to help Death but to let her die and
save everyone’s life. Manikin knows that they have been called to help a
patient and their oaths compel them to do so; to disarm Cardiac, he takes on
his Proto form and is electrocuted, causing Cardiac to break down in tears. Val
looks closely and sees that only his Proto form is dead, Whit, Homo Erectus,
and Highbrow are alive and trapped within the puddle. Leaving the others, Val
passes through the doors to see her patient…
…and
Jane walks into a darkened room where Death, a Goth girl, lies on a hospital
bed and the Death of Death asks her “Do we need Death?” Jane responds that a
world without death would be a cancerverse. And Death is healed because Death
of Death is convinced. Jane passes through the door…
…and Val is back at the clinic where she
announces “Death will always be with us. We did not lose. But did we win?” And
she sees the vision of Death by the burning car crash.