Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #12

Jun 23

Jun 23 Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #12

Poison Tomorrow

AIM is launching a decoy attack on the World Bank headquarters in order to force the Secret Service to evacuate the Vice President to a military facility. This is all part of a plan to set off a bacterial bomb to unleash the various viruses that are being kept at said facility. As the Scorpion commandeers a motorcycle, AIM’s Wakers ambush the Secret Service agents escorting to Vice President and board the train with their bomb, using the Vice President and Troy Goddard — the Scoprion’s friend — as hostages. As Carmilla follows the secret underground train, she is fed intel by her SHIELD handler, Derek Khanata. Along the way, she demands he explain the mystery surrounding the death of her adopted parents, who she just recently learned were AIM sleeper agents. She was originally told that they were murdered by AIM, but she was later told by Lars Branco — the head of the AIM chemical attack plot — that it was actually SHIELD who killed her adopted parents. Derek tells her that

The Scorpion’s approach is noticed by the AIM Wakers and Lars orders them to kill her. Following orders, Njeri Damphousse and Hyun Rahman begin shooting are Carmilla with machine guns. Lucking, the Scorpion’s specially made bodysuit is bulletproof and she is unharmed. However, by this point, the train is reaching the switching station. Lars gives the proper clearance code, which makes an unknowing government operative to switch tracks so the subway train can continue to the military facility. Seeing the train change tracks, the Scorpion jumps her bike onto the top of the subway car, knocking Njeri onto the tracks.She then knocks out Hyun with a single punch. Leaping into the subway car, Carmilla is then attacked by Betty Sumitro, who is armed with a pair of sais. Hearing the battle, the other AIM operatives detach the train car that the Scorpion and Betty are fighting in. However, Carmilla easily defeats her opponent and leaps onto the train before it can get too far away.

This whole time, the Vice President and Troy Goddard have been handcuffed to the bomb AIM intends to set off. The Vice President tries to convince Troy that he should work for his father’s business instead of backpacking across the world. Troy can’t believe that he is having this conversation in the middle of all of this. That’s when the AIM Wakers activate the timer on the bomb. As the train pulls up at the station, Lars and a masked AIM operative begin opening fire on the soldiers waiting to receive the Vice President. Inside the subway train, Abu-Jamal Rodriguez prepares to shoot Troy and the Vice President but is knocked out by the Scorpion. She frees Troy and the Vice President to run for it as the timer has almost run out. Outside, the masked AIM operative has gone into the facility and recovered a sample of a deadly bacteria. At the same time, Lars has noticed that their prisoners are escaping just as the bomb goes off. However, instead of unleashing its deadly bacteria, the Scorpion uses her stinger to absorb all the bacteria.

The masked operatives is coming out of the facility as Lars confronts the Scorpion, prepared to kill her. The masked operative, actually Monica Rappaccini, realizes that the Scorpion is her daughter. Removing her helmet, she uses a gauntlet to kill Lars for daring to threaten her daughter. Happy to see her daughter for the first time in almost 20 years, Monica asks her to take off her mask. Carmilla complies but demands to know why she had her adopted parents murdered. Monica tries to convince her that it was SHIELD who killed the Blacks, but Carmilla already knows the truth. That’s when Derek Khanata arrives with a bunch of soldiers to put everyone under arrest. Monica decides that this is only a mere setback and tells her daughter that they’ll meet again soon and teleports away. When the soldiers are attempting to arrest Carmilla, Derek intentionally turns off the light, allowing the Scorpion to escape as well.

For his actions, Derek Khanata is put in front of a SHIELD tribunal led by Nick Fury to be debriefed and determine if there is going to be punished if any, for Khanata’s unorthodox actions. Particularly, the Defense Minister of Sudan is demanding harsh punishment. However, when Fury learns that Derek has groomed a superhuman that they can use as an undercover operative to spy on the superhero community, Fury decides that Khanata is not to be punished.

Later, Carmilla and Troy Goddard are spending time vacationing in Rome when suddenly, Carmilla gets a call from SHIELD. Although she tells Troy that she is just going to powder her nose, she is actually going into action as the Scorpion to stop an AIM cell from contaminating a supply of flu vaccine that is for the entire Mediterranean.

Recurring Characters

Scorpion, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Derek Khanata, Noriko Nagayoshi, Ayna Sareva), AIM (Monica Rappaccini, Abu-Jamal Rodriguez, Betty Sumitro, Njeri Damphousse, Hyun Rahman, Lars Branco), Troy Goddard

Topical References

The vice president in this story is depicted to look like Dick Chaney.

In Sheep’s Clothing

A tabloid reporter named Louis has finally found a buyer who believes the information he has on Nina Price. He meets with this man and insists that Nina Price is a vampire. The man pays Louis a tidy sum for this information then threatens him with a gun, telling the tabloid reporter that he is never to tell this story ever again.

Meanwhile, Inger Rinfeld — Nina’s new secretary — is settling into her new job but doesn’t feel comfortable with all the killing involved. She reminds herself that she spends her time finding violent criminals, like serial killers, for Nina to feed upon. Although Nina is the most dangerous woman alive at night, Inger considers how vulnerable she is during the day, where her fame attracts a lot of unwanted attention. Recently, Inger has noticed the same man seemingly following them whenever they are in Los Angeles. She was ready to dismiss it as paranoia until one day she saw the same man following them in Toronto.

That evening, Inger accompanies Nina on her latest hunt to observe and come up with a way to streamline her attacks. When her target arrives at a cabin in the woods, Nina attacks him. However, a second man comes out of hiding in the car and sprays her with garlic gas. They under the guidance of the man who paid Louis for information earlier, put Nina under arrest, telling her that she’ll now be working for SHIELD.

However, that’s when a werewolf attacks the two SHIELD agents. While they are busy with the werewolf, Nina breaks free from her handcuffs. That’s when one of the SHIELD agents tries to stab Nina through the heart with a wooden stake. However, due to her dual nature as both a vampire and a werewolf, this is not a weakness to Nina and she and the other werewolf kill the two agents. When the sun begins to come up, the werewolf begins to turn back to human form and he asks Nina if he knows who she is. However, Nina knew from the moment he attack that this was none other than his uncle, Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night.

With their current attempt to capture Nina Prince a failure, the head of this SHIELD mission, actually Dum Dum Dugan, decides to go with another plan, certain that he will turn Nina Price into a commando yet. In the aftermath of the battle, Jack tells Nina that he came to check on his niece to see if she had inherited the family curse and wasn’t expecting to find out that she was also a vampire as well. He then suggests that he, Nina, and Inger go find someplace to talk.

This story continues in Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos #1….