Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, where a very special gathering of super heroes is taking place. ‘Holy gee…I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Northern Lights so clear from down this far!’ exclaims Eugene Milton Judd a.k.a. the diminutive Puck of Alpha Flight, when suddenly, from the brilliance appears his teammate, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier a.k.a. Aurora, who declares ‘I prefer you call it the aurora, Puck. I promise I won’t get confused’, before adding that this has to be the place, and she tells their teammate Dr Michael Twoyoungmen a.k.a. Shaman that he was right. ‘I knew I was’ the aged hero replies, adding that the sky spirits were too strong for this not to be. In amongst the dense bush, Alpha Flight’s leader James “Mac” MacDonald Hudson a.k.a. Guardian steps forward and states that he might call it ionic disruption, adding to the effect of the Earth’s magnetic field. ‘You would, Mac’ Puck remarks.
Motioning to the large glowing temple amongst the forest, Guardian states that it is still not half as strange as the Mayan temple here in the Canadian Rockies. ‘Is this what you expected to find?’ Mac asks, turning to General Thunderbolt Ross in his guise of the Red Hulk. ‘Wasn’t sure what it would be’ Red Hulk replies, before announcing that they need to tear it down. He starts to move down the cliffside towards the temple, accompanied by Guardian, Aurora, Puck, Shaman and the rest of Alpha Flight - Dr Walter Langkowski a.k.a. Sasquatch, the goddess Narya a.k.a. Snowbird, and the alien with attitude, Marrina. Joining them are Rick Jones, in his form known as “A-Bomb”, and Aaron Stack the Machine Man.
Snowbird flies behind the group in the form of the ookpik, while Guardian and Aurora fly overhead. ‘Whatever it is, I hate it!’ Marrina declares as she leaps alongside the Red Hulk, and Sasquatch, his mind in an alerted state, exclaims ‘Sasquatch smash with Red Hulk’, while the Machine Man announces that his scans have returned inconclusive structure, suggesting it is a hologram, but that it is affecting the wind around it. Aurora announces that she will go in for reconnaissance. ‘Give me five seconds!’ she tells everyone as she flies ahead, while A-Bomb warns everyone that this is quite a force they have got here, ‘But so are the things we’re up against’ he adds.
Flashback, two weeks ago:
Chichen Itza, Yucatan, where a bus of tourists drives through the lush landscape. The tour guide thanks everyone for their patience, and explains that they are limiting tours until some work is completed at the site. ‘And you’re the last one of the day!’ he adds. ‘Look, Ray, monkeys!’ a rather plump woman inside the bus exclaims to her husband, who is trying to turn the flash off the camera. ‘Where’s all this “work” that’s being done?’ Rick Jones asks, sitting towards the back of the bus, when suddenly, the tour guide announces that it is all inside.
The tourists and Rick pile out of the bus, while the guide announces that this is the Temple of Kukulkan, which he has been referring to as the Castle. As Rick looks around at the various artifacts and totem poles, the tour guide states that the first stage of the temple was built in the 19th century. ‘Most of you heard me talk about feathered serpent gods and how it works as a calendar on the way over’ he adds, remarking that for the past few years, their government has restricted public access to the pyramid. ‘But I have a special treat for you today!’ he exclaims, leading the group down to an opening on the side of the temple, he declares that since this is such a small group, he is going to let them see something only their archeologists are allowed to view.
‘Wow!’ someone gasps as they make their way down the narrow opening. ‘Aren’t there any lights in here?’ someone else asks. The tour guide reports that the Mayans would have used torches, and holding up a small light, tells everyone to stay close to him, and reports that they are about to start heading upwards. Rick pulls out his mobile phone: ‘Jen.. Lyra. I’m in El Castillo, Jones-mode’ he says into a video-link up with Jennifer Walters and Lyra, both known by the same alias of She-Hulk. Lyra reports that they are at Uxmal, and that they have stopped doing tours, so she and Jennifer are going in green. Jen tells Rick that they will all check in together in two hours, and wishes Rick luck. ‘You too’ Rick replies.
The tour guide leads the group into another part of the temple, ‘Cool!’ one of the tourists exclaims. ‘I thought we were going to the temple up top’ another begins, while the guide explains that this is the inner temple, and calls everyone inside, telling them that they don’t want to lose anybody. ‘Now, you heard me speak earlier about Mayan sacrifice…’ the tour guide begins, when suddenly, the door to the chamber slides closed. ‘Huh’ Rick mutters, while the tour guide holds a small dagger up over his own head. ‘Why did this entrance just seal up?’ Rick enquires. The tour guide ignores him, instead stating that sacrifice was usually done with enemies, as they might imagine, so among their own people, the Mayans would accept bloodletting.
The guide then slices the palm of his hand open with the tip of the blade, drawing blood. ‘Ha! That looks so real!’ someone gasps, while the guide lets the blood drip down onto a statue. He explains that the sharing of the blood transferred energy, making lasting bonds, adding that nothing delivered the power of complete sacrifice, for they would not let the life force return to the world. The eyes on the statue light up, and the guide reveals that it all went to the gods. A scantily-clad woman emerges from the statue, and green energy glows around her. ‘Ooooh!’ ‘Hey!’ ‘Awesome!’ ‘This is worth the extra money!’ the guests cry out, while the guide exclaims ‘Rise from the chac mool, Rider!’, and the exotic woman utters ‘I…need…more…’, and so the guide tells her that she will have more. He touches a button on a panel, and two of the tourists are engulfed in beams of energy.
‘What is this!’ one of them gasps. ‘Hey - HEY!’ the other exclaims, while the guide tells the mysterious woman that these should return her in full. Rick Jones suggests to everyone that they try and escape, as this isn’t a show. ‘Mom, I’m scared!’ a boy calls out to his mother, while Rick tries to help one of the tourists trapped in the beams of energy, but he is knocked backwards. ‘You’re right, young man. This is not a show!’ the tour guide declares, as his costume changes, from civilian clothing, into traditional Mayan garb. He continues, announcing that it is the dawn of a new age, and the two people trapped in the energy beams begin to wither, their bodies shuck inwards, until nothing remains but bones and clothing.
‘No!’ ‘Make it stop’ ‘Let us out of here!’ ‘NOW’ the remaining tourists plead. The woman smiles, ‘YES! The life is in me and I am one!’ she exclaims, glancing at the trapped tourists, while the guide looks at Rick and tells him that there are more Riders yet left before their thirteenth katun begins. ‘And your life force will bring them back!’ he exclaims. ‘No, they won’t’ Rick replies, his eyes glow yellow and he mutters that he knew this tour was going somewhere bad. ‘But you didn’t know this temple had an A-Bomb in it!’ Rick booms as he transforms himself into his alter-ego of A-Bomb. ‘It is him!’ the mysterious woman gasps, while the transformed guide declares ‘He has a human aspect now!’
The guide congratulates Rick on making it into one of their chambers, and the woman casts some energy above her, while A-Bomb tells them that he is going to drop it on their heads. ‘You people are going back into the ground!’ he warns them, while the woman tells him that his mind waves show confidence that they cannot hurt him. ‘This is true’ she declares, and her energy strikes some of the civilians, ‘They do not have your armor’ she points out as the tourists are disintegrated. ‘NOOO! Stop, dammit. Stop!’ A-Bomb pleads, only for the woman to tell him that his gamma-enhanced power cannot harm them on their own ground. ‘Please don’t do this!’ A-Bomb tells her, as more of the tourists are vaporized. ‘Richard!’ one of the women gasps, while a boy calls out to his father. A-Bomb suddenly grabs the civilian woman and her son, ‘Tuck in! We’re going…out!’ he exclaims as he hurls himself through the side of the temple, bursting out into the open.
They land away from the temple, ‘Are you all right - stupid question. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry’ A-Bomb tells the woman and her son, who calls out for his daddy. ‘Going to be okay’ the woman whispers to her son. The mysterious woman calls down to Rick, telling him that they were actually grateful to him, as he could have had a place in their new world. ‘Now there will be nowhere for you in it. Nowhere you can hide from us’ the transformed tour guide warns Rick. Rick watches as the mystery Mayans tell him that they know his human form now.
Flashback, one week ago:
Gamma Base, New Mexico, a monitor depicts someone approach from the south, someone with clearance, riding a motorcycle. ‘The file is coming up’ a voice reports, but General Thunderbolt Ross exclaims ‘No need. A motorcycle? It’s Rick’ he declares. ‘Identity: Richard Jones’ states Machine Man as he and the Life Model Decoy called Annie follow Thunderbolt Ross down a corridor. Machine Man states that Rick Jones trespassed on Gamma Base test site as a teenager, during the prime event blast, and later played a key role in bringing together the Avengers, while, for a time, fought alongside Captain America. Machine Man continues, adding that Rick Jones was recently subjected to experimental DNA from a hostile known as the Abomination, resulting in gamma-absorption ability.
Machine Man continues, stating that in his transmuted form, Jones is known as A-Bomb, with the following physical qualities - level 100 strength, near impervious armor and complete camouflaging cell structure. ‘Like I said, Rick’ Thunderbolt Ross declares. Rick enters the corridor, ‘Ross? I’ve screwed up’ he announces, adding that he has unleashed something horrible on the world. ‘Figured you’d know some things about that’ Rick adds, causing Ross to frown.
Present:
Red Hulk turns to A-Bomb and exclaims ‘You said when you first encountered these people, they were trapped in crystal underground. But they could still make you see them like they were free?’, to which A-Bomb replies that the Mayans tricked him into letting them out, and while the She-Hulks tried to stop him, he kept seeing them as monsters. Machine Man projects a recording from Rick’s Bannertech phone, which recorded the incident, showing She-Hulk and Lyra trying to keep A-Bomb at bay. ‘Thanks, Aaron. I’d like for everybody to see exactly how stupid I can be’ Rick mutters, while the recording shows She-Hulk telling A-Bomb that he was unleashing an ancient evil.
‘They have serious mental powers. You’ve opened Pandora’s Box’ Aurora remarks, while reminding him that he said the She-Hulks were helping him track the immortals, she asks where they are now. Rubbing his head, A-Bomb replies that he has no idea, for after the pyramid vanished in front of him, he tried to call them, but the temple they went to investigate is also gone, and the women with it. Puck leaps up into a tree, and asks ‘How’s we know this thing isn’t some big illusion, then? Or is moving pyramids thousands of miles only weird ta me?’ The heroes look towards the temple, which has a bright light glowing atop it. Red Hulk reports that at their base, they scanned satellite images looking for density and weight, and announces that it is real enough. ‘But if you’re saying it might be a trap, you’re right’ he adds, declaring that he and Rick will go in first.
Before Red Hulk and A-Bomb can move in, however, Guardian drops down in front of them, ‘I appreciate the gesture…and you following international protocol by informing us of action within our territory. But I want real intel on this before things go down’ Mac announces. He adds that if they want this scouted out, then there is none better than Aurora. ‘This will not take long’ Aurora replies as she once again flies ahead. Machine Man reports that he is reading erratic temporal fields from this, and shows an image of the Earth, suggesting that the pyramid occupies several temporal junctions around the world at once, and shifts focus between points. He adds that it may have even existed in Egypt for a while.
‘Then Thor Heyerdahl was righter than he knew’ Guardian remarks. ‘Where Thor?’ Sasquatch asks, but Snowbird, who has transformed into her default form, explains ‘Not that Thor’, to which Sasquatch exclaims ‘Not make fun at Sasquatch!’, but Guardian assures his old friend that no one is making fun of him. ‘But we may need you to switch back to Walter to help us analyze this situation’ Mac explains. However, the next voice that comes from Sasquatch is not that of Sasquatch, or Walter Langkowski. ‘I think you know all that you need to about us, Dr Hudson’ the voice utters, before Sasquatch roars, and knocks Guardian and Puck backwards, through rocks and trees. ‘Walter, no!’ Snowbird gasps.
‘They’ve gotten to him!’ Red Hulk exclaims as he and A-Bomb rush towards Sasquatch, while Snowbird begins to morph into a Wendigo, and tells Walter to turn human, to cast the evil ones out. But Sasquatch just growls at her, and prepares to strike her, until A-Bomb lunges in-between them, ‘Don’t hit the pretty morphing lady’ he exclaims, before Sasquatch punches him aside. ‘Calm down, Bigfoot. I’ll knock those invaders out of you!’ Red Hulk exclaims, smashing Sasquatch backwards against a tree. Shaman steps forward, ‘That will not free Sasquatch!’ he exclaims as he casts a spell, announcing that he can draw out the possessors.
Once again the strange voice inside Sasquatch speaks out: ‘Can you work the ancient forces? You must die above all’, before Guardian flies up towards Sasquatch, who Shaman has tangled amongst the trees with his mystical power. ‘Who are you people? Why are you here?’ Guardian calls out as he fires an electromagnetic blast of energy at Sasquatch. Sasquatch frees himself from the tangle, and drops to the ground, he rips a tree from its roots, and uses it to smack into the side of a cliff, causing large rocks to fall towards the heroes. ‘Before we were buried by traitors…we learned how to move across the world. You Northern Gods have power of the Earth. Your life is power’ the voice from within Sasquatch calls out.
Red Hulk struggles to hold a massive boulder back from striking the remaining heroes, and tells them to quit holding back with Sasquatch. In her Wendigo form, Snowbird lunges at Sasquatch, the voice within exclaims ‘You should listen to the Red God. Now your toy wants to battle’. Snowbird latches herself on to Sasquatch, while Machine Man raises a weapon and replies ‘If I am a toy, then I must require adult supervision’ as he begins firing - but the possessed Sasquatch throws Snowbird into the weapons fire, striking her in her Wendigo form. ‘Snowbird!’ someone cries out, concerned, while Red Hulk rises from the rubble of the boulder and asks Machine Man ‘What’s with your aim?’, to which Machine Man replies that they are coordinating the attack psychically, that unseen others are at work here.
‘They’re bringing us in closer!’ Red Hulk snarls, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly, ‘Hang on, team. I’m back!’ Marrina declares as she emerges from some rubble, while Red Hulk sees A-Bomb grab Sasquatch, and tells him to let go. Machine Man agrees, and announces that Sasquatch’s possessor is pulling them to the pyramid. Snowbird has recovered and still in her Wendigo form, latches on to her teammate, ‘Let us help you!’ she exclaims, while A-Bomb tries pulling Sasquatch away from the temple. Red Hulk lunges forward, ‘Rick! It’s a trap!’ he shouts, while a voice calls out ‘Pull them in…bring them all in!’. Sasquatch and Snowbird enter the temple, while Red Hulk manages to pull A-Bomb back by his leg. ‘Let…go!’ Red Hulk exclaims, while A-Bomb asks him what he is doing. ‘I’m not giving them what they want!’ Red-Hulk replies, as both behemoths are knocked to the ground.
An astral projection of the mysterious woman appears overhead, ‘Very perceptive, Hulk. Yet we have almost all we need now. And you brought them’ she exclaims, announcing that he put them ahead of schedule, and that the gamma race has been instrumental in their return here. ‘We have no more need for these…’ she adds, and A-Bomb looks down to the ground, ‘NO!’ he booms as the withered forms of She-Hulk and Lyra lay motionless before him….
