Fighting Chance Book 10: Snake Bites

Captain America has tracked down a group of missing children to the castle of Baron Zemo. In the ensuing battle, Baron Zemo and his wife, Heike, seemingly perish in a boiling vat of Adhesive X. At first, Cap believes them dead until he remembers that Zemo had already cheated this sort of demise thanks to an escape pipe.[1] Sure enough, when Steve searches he finds the Zemos just as the emerge from the emergency pipe and handcuffs them. When Zemo complains about the Adhesive X trapping them in their costumes, Cap reveals that the Avengers have had a means of dissolving the glue for quite some time now.[2]

With the Zemo’s restrained, Cap then finds the children and tells them that he is going to take them home. One of the boys points out that their real parents were abusive to them, prompting Cap to assure them that he will make sure that they will be place in loving homes. Leading the children out of the castle, he finds Free Spirit knocked out on the floor. As he tries to revive her, he discovers one of Diamondback’s signature weapons and wonders where she is and what part she may have had in knocking Free Spirit out.

Meanwhile, in a small Arizona town, Fer-De-Lance and Rock Python of the Serpent Society have just pulled off a bank robbery. However, when they try to make their getaway they are ambushed by a new hero calling himself Jack Flagg. Flagg uses his modified boom box to disorientate them. With both of the crooks subdued, Jack Flagg is explaining that he wants to talk to their boss, King Cobra. That’s when Cobra shows up and demands to know what’s going on. Flagg explains that he interrupted the robbery because he wants to join up with the Serpent Society. King Cobra then has Anaconda knock Jack out and orders him to be taken back to their hideout.

Back at Castle Zemo, the Avengers have been called in to help secure the area and transport the children back to America. Doing a sweep of the castle, the Vision finds a letter addressed to Captain America. It’s from Diamondback who tells Cap that she is ending their relationship and says to ask Black Widow about why. Cap gets upset and demands to know what the Widow told Rachel to make her leave. Natasha explains that she told Diamondback that the other Avengers didn’t approve of Cap’s relationship with her.[3] She suggests that Steve give her some space to sort things out and figures she’ll come back to him eventually. As the Avengers are preparing to leave, Free Spirit asks Cap to help train her to be a more proficient fighter so she is better prepared when she catches up with Superia.[4] Steve agrees, deciding that training the next generation of heroes might be the best use of his time as his health continues to deteriorate.[5]

In Arizona, Jack Flagg wakes up inside the Serpent Society’s helicopter which is flying to some unknown desination. Flagg is pleased that everything is going according to plan. As it turns out, he wants to infiltrate the Serpent Society in order to shut them down from the inside. Jack and his brother Drake were members of Captain America’s Stars and Stripes network. However, in their free time they took to the street as vigilantes to combat drug dealers and muggers in their neighborhood. Tragedy struck when Drake was cornered by some thugs while by himself and was beaten so severely he ended up confined in a wheelchair. To make matters worse, Jack’s parents were tricked into thinking that their retirement home was built on a toxic waste dump and sold the property at a loss. In reality, this was a scam being run by the Serpent Society who turned the neighborhood into a private resort of sorts for super-villains. Deciding to avenge his family, Jack then started working out, built his high-tech boom box and created the Jack Flagg identity. Seeing that Jack is awake, King Cobra tells him that in order to join the Serpent Society he’s going to have to prove his worth. To this end, they are heading to Nevada where Cobra wants Jack to steal a valuable piece of art from a former associate of his.

While in New York City, Doctor Keith Kincaid is going over the latest tests on Captain America’s blood and discovers that his condition is not only getting worse, but accelerating. Even though Cap swore him to secrecy, Keith can no longer sit by and do nothing and puts in a call to Hank Pym.

As Captain America begins training Free Spirit at Castle Zemo, Jack Flagg breaks into a hideout in Reno to steal the artwork. He runs into King Cobra’s old partner Mister Hyde who is less than happy to find an intruder.[6] Hyde easily overpowers Jack, knocking him into a table full of chemicals. Seriously hurt, Jack throws some in Hyde’s face in order to get away. In rough shake, he barely makes it to a nearby pay phone to report the situation to the Stars and Stripes hotline.

By this time, Pym has answered Keith Kincaid’s call and looking at samples of Steve’s blood he comes upon a grim discovery: If Cap doesn’t slow down soon he could very well become completely paralyzed with no hope of recovery. As if on cue, Captain America’s training with Free Spirit comes to an abrupt end when the hero suddenly suffers muscle spasms so bad that he is briefly immobilized. When Free Spirit asks what happened, Captain America decides to let her in on the secret regarding his health.

Back in Arizona, Mister Hyde catches up with Jack Flag who has passed out from his injuries. Waking up in Hyde’s grasp, Jack is surprised when he is able to stagger his foe with a blow to the ears. Realizing that he must have gotten super-strength from being exposed to chemicals, Jack Flagg is able to steal the art and bring it back to King Cobra, who is very impressed that Jack made it back alive and in one piece.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Serpent Society (Cobra, Anaconda, Coachwhip, Fer-De-Lance, Puff Adder, Rock Python), Jack Flag, Free Spirit, Baron Zemo, Baroness Zemo, Mister Hyde, Avengers (Black Widow, Giant-Man, Quicksilver, Vision, Hercules, Crystal), Keith Kincaid

Continuity Notes

1. During Helmut Zemo’s first battle with Captain America, he fell into a vat of Adhesive X. Although he survived thanks to an escape pipe, his face was horribly burned in the process. See Captain America #168.

2. A means of dissolve Adhesive X was devised for the Avengers by Paste Pot Pete years earlier. See Avengers #6.

3. The Widow told Diamondback what the other Avengers thought of her in Captain America #431. Rachel started her career as a criminal as seen in Captain America #310. Becoming attracted to Cap, she decided to reform following the events of issue #344. She and Steve started dating back in Captain America #371.

4. Superia was responsible for creating the experiment that gave Free Spirit her powers. However, subliminal messaging involved made her attack a frathouse toga party shortly thereafter and she has been trying to find Superia since. See Captain America #431.

5. Captain America’s Super-Soldier Serum has been deteriorating since issue #425. This has manifested as muscle cramps and fatigue and will result in total disability before long. He will end up cured of this condition in Captain America #445.

6. Cobra and Mister Hyde often team-up in the past to fight their mutual enemy, Thor, as seen in starting in Journey into Mystery #105-106. However, the two have become enemies ever since the Cobra broke out of prison and left Hyde behind back in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #46.

Topical References

• Jack Flagg’s boom box is depicted as having a tape deck. This should be considered a topical reference as this is an obsolete technology.