InsaneJournal

So, a deadly flesh-eating virus has been released from a bunker under Mount Rushmore. As the Avengers and the government are struggling to contain it, the other obvious question is: who the hell is responsible? Well, as it turns out, the US government itself. The virus was a pet project of Secretary of Defense Dell Rusk and, when the notes are decoded, it turns out the original intent was to target minorities.

You know where this is going, right?

Well, Falcon and Gyrich (yes, that Gyrich, who was learning not to be an asshole in this arc) figure it out as well, but not before Falcon gets shot and T'challa and Tony Stark are kidnapped by commandos before they can finish synthesizing a cure. Responding to a distress call from Falcon, Cap learns what Falcon and Gyrich had already found out: the Secretary of Defense is the Red Skull in disguise.

They knock each other around a bit before the Skull reveals his ace in the hole.











In the next issue, Black Panther doesn't take too kindly to the potential plan of "blame Wakanda", and goes for Skull's throat. While they battle it out, Iron Man makes an attempt to get to Cap, only...



Panther and Skull continue to fight, until Panther decides he's not going to waste the fancy stuff on this bastard.





While Skull and Panther continue beating the shit out of each other...





He-llo.... anyway, that creepy eye thing Sam did in the last panel when he woke up? That was a distress call of an entirely different sort, and Skull suddenly gets swarmed by just about every predator bird within ten miles. Which gives T'challa the opening to keep a promise.





While this has been going on, Wanda's been pulling out the big magic guns to try and keep the virus cloud contained. Scientists from Stark Industries and Wakanda successfully finish the cure, and the government uses air drop helicopters to spread it through the air and kill off the cloud.

Ta-da.