Morningstar #32

The battle with Starblaster was brief and violent, as the desperate heroes threw everything they had at the inter-dimensional powerhouse. But in the end Starblaster was defeated and placed into a coma-like state by the psionic powers of Psylocke. With that, Morningstar quickly got in touch with Department H, relying to them all they had seen and that Powersurge had told them of the invasion force. Then, with the assurance that Alpha Flight would soon be dispatched, Morningstar, Psylocke and Kid Rock gathered up Starblaster's unconscious form and headed for a safe-house in the surroundings of Banff.

Once there, Psylocke again used her powers to bring the alien back to consciousness, but also to render him (temporarily) paralyzed. Nevertheless, the attempts to interrogate him, be it telepathically or conventionally, proved entirely fruitless. So, with the clock ticking, Alpha Flight neither here nor there at the moment, and the invaders undoubtedly already repairing the breach in their impenetrable forcefield, Morningstar came up with a plan to take out some of the soldiers and use their uniforms to gain entry into the towering obelisk undetected; thence to do some scouting about, locate any prisoners, and free Powersurge.

And so it went, with Psylocke and Kid Rock being left behind to guard Starblaster and keep everyone telepathically interfaced, as Morningstar effected his plan; taking out a small patrol of Vengarians, donning their leaders uniform, and walking straight through the obelisk's front door. He then had relatively little difficulty in locating the holding area; which contained, not only Powersurge but also a couple dozen high-profile residents of Banff.

Powersurge ordered Morningstar to get the civilians to safety, as he would be making his own way to the "forcefield nexus" at the summit of the obelisk in order to destroy it and ensure that Alpha Flight would be in a position to help when they at last arrived. En route he encountered some stiff resistence, but between his energy field, energy blasts, and ability to burning through walls and floors at will, the energy generating mutant at last fought his way to the nexus and once there, devastated the device and the upper floors of the obelisk with a pulse-blast that rocked the entire structure. The forcefield surrounding Banff was down.

In the meantime, Morningstar guided the civilians out of the structure, using his own fields of solid light to protect them and/or bar passage to any guards, and finally blasting a hole through an outer wall to freedom. When the last of the civilians exited however, Nightweaver appeared. She and Morningstar squared off and engaged in an epic struggle that at long last had Morningstar beaten and on his knees before her. Before she could deliver the coup de grace however, she let out a scream of pain and collapsed to the ground. Immediately following this a Vengarian scientist revealed himself; helping the synthoid back to his feat as he explained that he was against his people's imperialistic conquests and inspired by this world's heroes. He refused to follow Morningstar to freedom however, explaining that he and his had much left to do in their home dimension.

And even as these events unfolded, Starblaster somehow managed to emerge out of Psylocke's telepathically imposed coma. While deprived of his gauntlet's, which were the source of his own powers of flight and energy generations, the Vengarian powerhouse nevertheless launched a fearless assault on Kid Rock ... KO'ing Psylocke as his opening gambit. Mighty though the alien was, Kid Rock's ability to absorb rock and use it to increase his size, his strength, and even his resistance to damage, proved to be too much for the veteran combatant and in the end, Starblaster was defeated.

Within the hour, a recovered Powersurge met up with Morningstar, Kid Rock and Psylocke, and were informed that Alpha Flight was only a few minutes off. Effecting a junction, the collective might of Canada's most powerful superheroes was then unleashed, and the Vengarian invasion force sent into full retreat.

Department H laid claim to all remaining alien technology, and General Clarke himself made an appearance on scene, congratulating the heroes on their efforts and assuring them that even now the Prime Minister was organizing a hero-celebration for the lot of them.