In the park, Peter Parker is lying on the pavement studying ants, to Mary Jane’s annoyance. There is some friction between them since Peter, as Spidey, was seen kissing the Queen on television (at the end of issue #15) but he assures her that he was an unwilling participant in the act. What he doesn’t tell MJ is that he can’t get the Queen out of his mind….
Later, Captain America briefs several military and intelligence officers on the threat of the Queen. For security reasons he can’t divulge details but impresses them with the urgency of capturing her and Spider-Man within the next five or six days….
In her underground lair, the Queen explains to her minions that she was Adriana Soria, one of the first woman Marines at the end of World War II, drafted into a top secret experiment. Exposed to an eerie storm, she awoke in a hospital where Captain America betrayed her…. Her agent inside the military meeting warns her of Nick Fury’s interesting her but she is not concerned….
Peter has a dream that he is being pursued through cave by the Queen; he awakens and heads for the kitchen to get a snack. Hours later, MJ comes home to find him cowering in a darkened corner: his body is sprouting bristles and his eyes are segmenting….