Dracula: Lord of the Undead #2

Issue Details

Synopsis

Following up on information provided by his minions, Dracula locates the Laemmle Auction Gallery in London, where he sees his stolen possessions about to be sold off. He confronts the auctioneer, Audra Pennington, and hypnotizes her, forcing her to cancel the sale and dismiss the buyers. Interrogating her, Dracula learns the stolen goods were sold to her by an Anton Florescu. He compels Audra to make arrangements to have his possessions shipped back to Castle Dracula. He exits the gallery, and flies off in his bat form, only to be struck with an arrow. He tackles his fleeing assailant, who turns out to be Florescu. Rather than give up any information, the man snaps his own neck and dies. Elsewhere in England, Dr. Charles Seward, having completed the development of his vampiric suppression serum, enjoys a reunion dinner with his wife Jane, and their two daughters. However, his joy is shattered when he sees TV news reports of a viral plague decimating the people of the town of Littlepool, where he first used his untested serum. As he realizes his culpability for the outbreak, he receives a phone call from his unseen employer who orders Seward back to work to correct the side effect. Against Jane's protests, he leaves. Dracula, oddly hungering though he recently fed, chances upon the quarantined Littlepool, and noting the dozens of corpses in the streets, descends to investigate. He finds his minion, Maltz, who disintegrates before his eyes. He then discovers Seward, who is taking samples from bodies. Seward surmises that since his own blood was used as the base of the serum, he is immune to the virus. Dracula confronts the doctor, who introduces himself as the great-grandson of Dr. John Seward, an adversary of the vampire from a century before. As Seward explains the nature of this plague and the possibility of it wiping out humanity, and thus Dracula's only food source, the vampire lord feels an overwhelming hunger as well as finding flesh is withering at an accelerated pace. Dracula concludes the arrow he was struck with must have been coated with Seward's serum. Dracula accuses Seward of orchestrating all his recent woes, but Seward explains he developed the serum under the orders of his employer. Dracula demands to meet this person, intent on revenge.