Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms #2
Into the Fire
After being chased by the agents of Comte St. Germain who are seeking out the Amulet of Z, Johnny and Sue Storm, Sue's friend Cammie and her uncle Max Perish have come to Empire State University to break into the office of Cammie's recently deceased father to learn what they can from his notes about the Amulet. Max holds Johnny over the office window while the girl keeps an eye out. After deactivating the silent alarm, Johnny breaks into the office and begins checking the computer for information. Johnny quickly remembers that only Max can figure it out and goes up to the door to the roof to unlock it and let him in. While outside Cammie and Sue are keeping a lookout. Sue thinks back to the events that lead them to this moment...
... They had just escaped the minions of Comte St. Germain, as Cammie finally comes to terms with the fact that her father is dead, Max suggests that they turn the Amulet of Z over to the authorities. As the teens head back to their home they spot St. Germains car outside of Cammie's home. They double back to the Storm house to catch their breaths. While the girls figure out their next move, Johnny is down in his garage. When he opens one of his tool drawers he is surprised to find the Amulet of Z in there. Before he can shout out, Max puts a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. With Cammie and Sue rejoining them, Max explains that the amulet disappeared out of his pocket not long after he parted ways with the others. With things as bizarre as they are, Max suggests that they take a more proactive approach to deal with their problem, without the authorities.
... Inside Professor Brendeis office looking at what they can about the Amulet of Z or the people who are following them. Remembering the license plate number on the car that was chasing them, Max looks it up and they learn the identity of their pursuer. As they are discussing the historical implications of the man they are facing, the book that was prompting the window open suddenly falls out and lands in Cammie's lap below. Without the bookkeeping, the window propped open the silent alarm goes off. To make matters worse, Johnny and Max spot more of St. Germian's minions heading their way. Watching this from afar, Comte gloats over his impending victory. Suddenly he is struck by a mental bolt from his master Dracula who is still not impressed with the progress of this mission. He orders St. Germain to recover the amulet immediately.
Back at ESU, Max and Johnny come to the aid of Sue and Cammie. During the fight with the vampires, Johnny discovers that the amulet has materialized in his pockets again. Max grabs it and tells Cammie and Johnny to get out of there. As they drive away Sue comes to Max's aid with a water gun hoping to bluff their attackers but it doesn't work. However, the vampires are forced to flee members of NYPD arrive at the scene. After feeding the officer with a convincing story, Sue and Max regroup. When Sue laments over the loss of the Medallion, Max explains that it wasn't taken by the Comte's minions, but materialized back in Johnny's hands once he got far enough away, as he planned. Somewhere not far away, Johnny is working on Cammie's car after the damage caused by the vampires. Cammie takes this moment to go over the book that landed in her lap and she discovers that someone had torn a page out of it.
The page in question is regarding the Amulet of Z, and is being studied by Cammie's Uncle Max while getting his wounds patched up by Sue. When Max tells Sue to call Johnny and Cammie and tell them to meet at his home, Sue can't help but think about how Max reminds her of Reed Richards -- a Columbia graduate that used to rent a room from her aunt. After Cammie establishes that she and Johnny are safe, Johnny notices that the book that landed in her lap is not the book he used to prop up the window back at ESU. When Cammie is freaked out and wants to stay out in the open, Johnny tells her that it's not safe where they are and forces her to start up the engine. Back at Max's house, Perish tells Sue about the history of Comte St. Germain. As he explains the historical implications of their foe, they are unaware when a humanoid form composed of energy begins to materialize elsewhere in the house. The strange light then transports itself into the back seat of Cammie's car, who is explaining to Johnny who the Comte is. The glowing creature warns both Johnny and Cammie and Sue and Max that their foe is approaching. Max and Sue decide to make a run for it and get into the lobby of the building just as Johnny and Cammie arrive. They also run into the Comte St. Germain who has decided to recover the Amulet of Z by himself. He tells them to hand over the amulet, telling them that it is of great importance to his master, the vampire lord known as Dracula.
Recurring Characters
Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, Cammy Brandeis, Max Parrish, Comte St. Germaine, Dracula, Zarathos
Continuity Notes
The Amulet of Z is actually the so-called Medallion of Power first seen in Ghost Rider Vol 3 #1 where it gave Danny Ketch the power to become the Ghost Rider.
Max Perish reminds Sue of Reed Richards, her future husband. Sue mentions how he used to rent a room from his aunt. This fact was first mentioned in Fantastic Four #291.
At the time of this story, Dracula was trapped with a stake in his heart in his castle in Transylvania following his battle against the Scotsman, as seen in Tomb of Dracula #15.
