Without Aurora-- without our special partnership-- There is little to bind me to the team. Perhaps that I will change-- but until then, I think I deserve to seek my own chance at happiness. 
Appearing in "The Gift: Part 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Berzerkers (Disbands)
- (Leaves)
- Master Builder (Paul Domenic) (Leaves)
- Earth-Mover (Jeanne Chretien) (Leaves)
- Lord of the Plants (Phil Descard) (Leaves)
- Cornucopia (Carla Ballinger) (Leaves)
- Brawler (Jacques Moreau) (Leaves)
- Beastmaster (Boyd Wilson) (Leaves)
- Pathfinder (Nick Rodriguez) (Death)
- Lore Lord (Sam Ross) (Leaves)
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Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Summers' Unborn Child (Mentioned)
- Katheryn Twoyoungmen (Mentioned)
- Fenris (Invoked)
- Ogun (Mentioned)
- Odin (Mentioned)
- Thor (Odinson) (Mentioned)
- DoFP Phoenix (Jean Grey) (Mentioned)
- DoFP Cyclops (Scott Summers) (Mentioned)
- Storm (Ororo Munroe) (Mentioned)
- Magik (Illyana Rasputina) (Mentioned)
- Amanda Sefton (Mentioned)
- Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) (Mentioned)
- Jean Grey (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Ten Realms
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- the Citadel
- Firefountain
- the Citadel
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- Gyrfalcon Islands (Referenced)
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- Arctic Circle (Mentioned)
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Items:
Vehicles:
- Lockheed L100 Hercules
Synopsis for "The Gift: Part 2"
Talisman explores the caverns beneath the citadel while searching for the X-Man Rachel Summers. Talisman finds Master Builder’s sketchbook, and when she is reunited with Kitty Pryde, the two find Rachel, but Rachel is too distraught and only after Kitty calms her, can they leave the Viking Village they discovered, though Earthshaker creates an avalanche, hoping to prevent the young girls from revealing their findings. While escaping, Talisman comes in contact with the Fire Fountain itself, and she actually cancels it out for a moment.
Afterwards, Kitty finds Wolverine, who was supposed to be in search of the missing Snowbird. Kitty tells Logan what she and the other girls found and reveals their suspicions about what is going on. Wolverine resumes his search for Snowbird and when he finds her, he has to battle Beastmaster and Pathfinder, which results in the death of Pathfinder. Back in the citadel, Rogue and Northstar share a dance, Northstar doing so to prove the others wrong, while Heather and Xavier discuss the teams’ predicaments. Talisman meets with Sam Ross who reveals to her that the runestone she found is a dedication to Loki, which Loki (who has been keeping an eye on Talisman) sees.
Back at the banquet, Wolverine returns with Snowbird and Beastmaster, whom he beat-up pretty bad, and when he reveals that the magics of the world are what feed the Fire Fountain and give people powers, though it kills anyone magical powers or a magical background. The X-Men and the Alpha Flight members take sides and only nine are all that can prevent the others and the meta-humans from making this New World a reality. While in battle, Talisman learns that when one is given a power, it takes away their ability to create, dream and imagine. When she recalls this to the others, Loki appears and the heroes are forced with a predicament -–to accept Loki’s gift and change the world, despite the few it will kill in the process. Talisman proves a deciding factor as she convinces Madelyne not to accept Loki’s gift. When Madelyne rejects the gift, she is forced to then accept it back when her dear friend Sam Ross is injured.
Before the heroes are forced to make any more choices, the Elder Gods appear and give Loki a warning. He gives the heroes one last chance to accept his gift, before they reject him again. They are forced to then face their own demons and flaws again and they think about what could have been. Snowbird is healed and like Northstar, leaves on her own, while the remaining Alphans, the X-Men and humans leave, only after Cyclops goes in search of a missing Rachel, who decides not to tell Scott she is his daughter.
Within the destruction of the Fire Fountain, a single rose blooms.
Notes
- Wraparound cover.
- This story takes place between Alpha Flight Vol 1 Vol 1 22 and Vol 1 23 and between the pages of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 192 (in the weeks after the team’s fight with Magus and before Xavier got attacked by human students).
- For more on Wolverine and Snowbird’s unique friendship, see Alpha Flight Special Vol 1 1 and Wolverine (2nd series) Vol 1 179.
- A sequel of sorts to this mini series was done, in which Alpha Flight returns to the Fountain to heal Northstar and Aurora. It was then that they learned everything was a lie, while also learning a new origin (that they are actually half faerie). This origin was of course, a lie as told by Loki. The more obvious sequel was the story told in New Mutants Special Edition Vol 1 1 and Uncanny X-Men Annual Vol 1 9, when Loki tried to get revenge on the X-Men.
- To flee the norse settlement, Kitty asks if Rachel can sense where the Firefountain is, but they got separated from their teammates before the Firefountain was introduced by the Berzerkers.
- Despite what Rachel states in her conversation with Cyclops, it had actually been clear to her from the moment she met the X-Men, that this is an alternate world to hers and not her past as too many things didn’t add up. And while the ending makes it appear that Cyclops guessed Rachel’s identity, apparently Chris Claremont and the editors quickly changed their minds on the subject, as later issues made it clear that Cyclops was utterly clueless about his link to Rachel.
- This two-part miniseries was also reprinted as X-Men/Alpha Flight: The Gift in May 1998, released in accordance with the second miniseries, both celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Alpha Flight.
- Regarding Kitty’s claim that she is in college, being a genius, she actually took undergrad courses even before joining the X-Men and continued to do so while Shadowcat was with the X-Men.
Trivia
- Wolverine saved Kitty from his old mentor Ogun in the Kitty Pryde & Wolverine limited series.
- While Pathfinder was killed this issue, the other seven humans changed by the fire Fountain are not seen again.