Appearing in "Night-Fire!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Dr. Sun
- Mae Li (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Chastity Jones
- Danny Summers
- Randolph (Death)
- Horatio Toombs
- Joshua Eshcol (Only in flashback)
- Ramon
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Night-Fire!"
Continued from last issue...
While seeking out the two stolen segments of the powerful Chimera statue, Dracula had inadvertently entered a trap set by the evil Dr. Sun. Trapped in a room with a trap ceiling that is dropping holy water into the room, Dracula has only one method of escape: Through the opening where the lethal water is coming from. Attempting to escape the room in bat form, Dracula finds the space between the opening and the water too slim and attempts it in his mist form. While Dracula manages to make it out alive, he is still horribly burned by the holy water and passes out from the excruciating pain.
While in South America, Frank Drake and Chastity Jones arrive in Brazil where they meet Danny, one of Frank's old colleagues. Driving into the jungle, Danny explains to Frank that he intends to make Frank a partner for his new company called "Summer Inc." While back in London, Rachel van Helsing visits Quincy Harker and asks for his advice about her relationship with Frank Drake. Quincy puts the situation into perspective for her by explaining that after blowing his entire fortune Frank has to go out and prove to himself that he just as independent as Rachel. Rachel hopes for the best, but can't help but wonder if she loves Frank the way he is, and if any changes to Frank's character could have a negative effect on their relationship.
Elsewhere in London, one of Dr. Sun's men brings only the head of the Chimera to him, claiming that the body and tail sections were missing and that they were attempting to find them. Detecting deceit, Sun would open activate a slowly opening trap door to a pit of acid and demand his lowly grunt to reveal it's location. Cracking under the possibility of a painful death, the hired thug tells Dr. Sun that he had stashed it in a safe deposit box for his own use. Doctor Sun kills the man anyway and sends his agent Mae Li to retrieve it.
Meanwhile, David Eshcol and Shiela Whittier continue their search for the missing components of the Chimera. They stop when they find Dracula, reviving on the side of the road. Happy to see her master Shiela comes to his side, and Dracula explains to David that he is truly the vampire Dracula and that he intends to use the Chimera to rule the world. Grabbing the tail portion, he proves to David that the Chimera does have all the power it's believed to have, by using the tail section to summon a flaming image of the Chimera in the sky, causing it to rain down fire on the world.
In far away India, Taj Nital is driving a jeep to go back to his wife when he notices the flaming Chimera in the sky, and his jeep is struck by the flaming rain and drives off the side of a cliff, however Taj survives the crash. Back in England, Dracula would then stop the display and summon rain to put the flames out, then command the Chimera to raise a legion of vampires from Highgate Cemetery. They feed on the grounds keeper before they carry out Dracula's orders: Find the rest of the Chimera.
Horrified by Dracula's bid for power, and not entirely believing his story of Dracula being a vampire, David makes a break for his car in the hopes of beating Dracula in finding the rest of the Chimera. Despite Shiela's attempts to stop him, Dracula pounces on David with the intent on feeding upon him. In a panic, David pulls out his Star of David, and the religious symbol plus David's belief in the religion it stands for is strong enough to not only burn Dracula at a touch but drive him back from his attack.
This proves short lived, as Dracula taunts David's belief and this causes his belief in the power of the Star of David to falter enough for Dracula to pounce on him. However, before Dracula can feed upon David, agents of Dr. Sun arrive on the scene with guns raised ordering them to surrender.
This story is continued next issue...
Notes
- It's never explained who moved Dracula from the room in which he passed out to the side of the road where he is found by David and Shiela.