Ceremony, Part 2

With She-Hulk about to marry her longtime boyfriend Wyatt Wingfoot, she has come to the Keewazi reservation in Oklahoma to prepare for the wedding. Spending time with Wyatt's sister Rain Falling West, she gives Jennifer a shirt once owned by her father. Suddenly, She-Hulk vanishes and she finds herself in a smoky limbo dimension before CEO Carlton Beatrice. Beatrice demands that She-Hulk hand over an ancient Native American basket that is the last totem he needs to absorb all the female magic in the world. When she refuses, Carleton threatens to kill her, but She-Hulk points out that she knows the basket must be freely given to someone else, so killing her would be useless. Since he can't bluff She-Hulk into giving it away, Carlton banishes her back to Earth. She-Hulk appears miles in the air and comes crashing down. She lands near a number of Keewazi people who are entranced and walking toward a nearby town. She is joined by Wyatt and Rain who are going to investigate. They discover that everyone is being drawn to a nearby factor, and believe that this is the world of Carlton Beatrice.

Upon Carleton's command, the entrance Keewazi people suddenly try to subdue She-Hulk and the others. Trying to get away, they force themselves into an office and block the door. They are then confronted by Beatrice himself. Seeking a means of forcing She-Hulk to give up the basket, he decides to steal Wyatt's soul, turning it into a wafer in his hand. He then threatens to eat the soul if she doesn't give over the basket. Noticing that the souls of the Keewazi's are held in a jar on Carlton's desk, She-Hulk snatches it and dumps the contents into the basket. Suddenly, a swarm of butterflies come out of the basket. When they touch the souless people outside the room they are restored to normal. Carleton then warns She-Hulk once again to turn over the basket or Wyatt's soul will be consumed. With no other choice, she turns it over and Beatrice keep his end of the bargain. He drops Wyatt's soul wafer into the basket and it too turns into a butterfly that restores Wyatt back to normal. Carleton then teleports away before anyone can stop him. They are soon joined by Wyatt's grandmother Roberta Elk Step who knows what happens. After his experience, Wyatt finally believes what is happening and blames himself for being too stubborn to do anything about it. Regardless of this setback, Wyatt vows to protect his people no matter what. He and Roberta then disappear so that Wyatt can begin his shaman training.

When they return to the Keewazi reservation, they discover that Carleton Beatrice has managed to get his connections United States Department of the Interior to rescind the treaty with the Keewazi. This is effectively forcing them from their homes allowing Carleton Industries access to the minerals under their land. She-Huk has had enough and when wrecking crews come to demolish the Keewazi town, she wrecks the equipment. However, soldiers are also on the scene and they blast Jennifer with rocket launchers. When she survives this, she is then attacked by robots that quickly incapacitate her. With She-Hulk unconscious, the soldiers have her chained up and lifted out of the area via helicopter. It's then that Wyatt and Roberta reappear, as Wyatt's shaman training is complete and he is told what happened. Learning that her people have been forced from their land causes Roberta to suddenly drop dead. Meanwhile, She-Hulk wakes up still being carried aloft by the helicopter and breaks free from her bonds sending her painfully crashing into the ground.

She-Hulk wakes up in the hospital with Wyatt and Rain by her bedside. They explain to her that tonight Carleton Beatrice plans on completing the ceremony to steal the female magic from the world. They quickly return to the fenced off former Keewazi land. There, they find Wyatt's people standing guard. Wyatt and She-Hulk pass through the gates and find themselves transported to a rocky ridge where Beatrice has gathered all the totems. He suddenly completes the ceremony stealing all the souls in the world. While She-Hulk fights a pair of Anug-Ite's, Wyatt goes to confront Beatrice on his own. At the last moment, Wyatt gets in the way of the beam of souls before they can be absorbed by Carleton. However, the power is too much for him to contain on his own. She-Hulk manages to defeat the Anug-Ite's, which are destroyed by the powerful magic circulating around them. She-Hulk then joins Wyatt and their combined might allows them to contain all the souls and return them to their bodies. With all life restored, Carleton is baished, his only remains are his clothing and a strange black butterfly that flits out of them.

Returning to Earth, Wyatt announces that he is coming back to lead his people. Promising them that their move off their reservation will only be temporary as he fights to get their land back. In the aftermath of the battle, Wyatt and She-Hulk have a private moment where they admit that they no longer have feelings for each other now. It was something they felt when they were joined. With Wyatt needing to lead his tribe and Jennifer's having a life back in New York the pair say farewell. She-Hulk gives Wyatt the basket, telling him to give it to someone he truly loves. They kiss one last time for old times sake and then She-Hulk heads home and onward to a new chapter in her life without Wyatt Wingfoot at her side.

Recurring Characters

She-Hulk, Wyatt Wingfoot, Roberta Elk Step, Rain Falls West, Carlton Beatirce, Anung-Ite, Michel Souris

Continuity Notes

• This marks the official end of Wyatt and Jennifer's relationship. However, the two get back together during the course of Sensational She-Hulk #36-60 and briefly revisited again in FF (vol. 2) #4.