Excalibur #99

Issue Details

Synopsis

Pete Wisdom wonders if an old acquaintance named Scratch kidnapped Douglock and suspects if he did, that Douglock is dead. Wisdom recalls a confrontation he had with Scratch in which he mutilated Scratch for bragging about killing people in a school to get to an alien artifact. Kitty remarks that Wisdom scares her sometimes. Meggan happens upon a file about bribe money going to members of Parliament to allow Black Air to take over the W.H.O. and that the money originated from "The Earl of Bute Society". Wisdom, surprised, tells Meggan that the Earl of Bute was the 8th century founder of the Hellfire Club. They piece together that Alistaire Stuart believed the Hellfire Club was paying for bribes to politicians and that Shinobi Shaw said they were doing the same.In London, Scribe tells Brian Braddock that the Hellfire Club is attempting to tap an ultimate power source beneath the city using the Red Queen as a radio. Braddock reaches for a phone. Back at Muir Island, Wisdom arranges to exchange some information with his friend Jardine that will help bring down Black Air and the Hellfire Club. After he hangs up, Braddock calls and explains what Scribe told him.At the Hellfire Club, the Black King is angry about the Black Queen and himself not being consulted regarding the Red Queen (Margali Szardos) testing their secret project before it was ready. The Red King explains they needed to test it and that they will have computer guided hellfire as a weapon. They move on to the Blackwall, the HQ for Black Air. The Black Queen (Ms. Steed) greets the Black Air representatives Scicluna and Threadgold as her servants. Threadgold doesn't appreciate it. The Red King explains that their project involves using magic once practiced by King James as written in the Malleus Maleficarium. He walks to a podium in the center of the room and takes a sheet off the head of Douglock whose strewn out body is to serve as their conduit to their power source. The Red Queen begins the physical link...