ANTOME MAX #3 Internationally renowned supercriminal Fantomex and Special Agent Rhona Flemyng have had more than a few flirtatious encounters in the past. Unfortunately, Flemyng’s bosses decided she’s failed to capture Fantomex one too many times and reassigned his apprehension to the secretive group known as Grover Lane, asking Flemyng to assist them as necessary. Grover Lane—a team whose motives and methods are questionable—want to use Fantomex to steal a key code that will enable them to take control of the Orbital Comet Defense initiative. This initiative was intended to use a high-powered laser to ward off an impending comet that will destroy the Earth in 2025. Grover Lane believe that with this in their control, they will be able to make a large profit. Inordertoget Fantomex tocomply with their pians, Grover Lane has taken Agent Flemyng hostage, demanding the superthief steal the key or else they will kill her Fantomex and his personal A.L., EVA, traced the key to the secretive underwater base of trillionaire genius Michael Shivas...but soon found himself underwater, stuck between a rock and a kraken’s mighty maw... Written by Art by Colors by Andrew Hope Shawn Crystal Lee Loughridge Letters by Cover art by Edited by - VC's Joe Sabino Francesco Francavilla Jordan D. White Editor in Chief Chief Creative Officer Publisher Executive Producer Axel Alonso Joe Quesada Dan Buckley Alan Fine (© 2013 Marvel Characters, Ino, Alrights reserved. All characters featured i this issue and the distinctive names and likenesses thereof, an all elated Indicla are tragemerks of Marvel Characters, nc. No similarity between any ofthe names, characters, persons, and/or Institutions inthis magazine wie ‘those of any living or dead person or institution fs intended, and any such similarity which may exsts purely coincidental, WIWW.MARVEL.COMSHE'S ALL YOURS, RICHARt 0. T SOFTENED HER OP FOR YOU. Is THAT TRUE? WHAT SHE JUST SAID? THAT YOU TWO "ARE PLANNING ON FUCKING ME OVER? 1S IT TRUE? WITH YOUR —_// ALEXANDRA. YOU FLEMYNG TOLD ‘ME YOU AND MAGREADY ARE TEAMING UP Q /— WHAT AMT q ‘SUPPOSED TO DO Wit THis? SHE'S USELESS TO ME IF ‘SHE WON'T FIGHT / BACK. / TILL BE FUCKED IF ‘THAT HAPPENS. IF YOU DON'T MAN UP AND TELL ME THE TRUTH, STIRLING, TLL SMASH THIS BASTARD'S SKULL LIKE A GODDAMN WHAT? Huet bow GNDERSTAND?, SET, AWAY FROM F wor unt OU TELL ME "THE TRUTH. ‘THE TRUTH? YOU WANT THESTOR LIT! rt Br STIRLING! STUART, NOLIT WAS THREE YEARS AGO, FEELS LONGER. A ROUTINE INVESTIGATION OF SOME MYSTERIOUS LIGHTS IN MONTE PATRIA WAS. ‘(DEAD END. WE DECIDED TO TAKE A SHORTCUT AND FLY OVER THE ANDES, TO TUDCUM, IN ARGENTINA. “THERE WERE FOUR OF US, BACK THEN: We WERE ONE DIVISION OF THE PARANORMAL INVESTIGATIONS DEPARTMENT YOU KNOW AS GROVER LANE. THE THREE OF Us, AND ‘ANTHONY TREMAYNE. “WE HADN'T COUNTED ON A LEAK INTHE FUEL LINE. T ASSUMED. WE'D STILL BE ABLE TO MAKE IT OVER THE RANGE AND GLIDE "TO SAFETY. im SRE ese eM mancucoen we uno, TS OUR (P| Receivers ace US Cua WITH NO ONE TO HELP US, OUR “BUT AS IT TURNED ‘OUT, We WEREN'TLONG TO FIND “IT DIDN'T TAKE IN" HIM.“TREMAYNE AND T WERE THE LONGEST SERVING AGENTS IN THE DIVISION. WE WERE THERE FROM THE START, RECRUITED STRAIGHT FROM ‘THE KOESTLER PARAPSYCHOLOGY UNIT IN EDINBURGH. °T WAS TERRIFIED. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME SEEING LIVING EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPECIES, ‘AND MY SURVIVAL DEPENDED ON ME KILLING TT “WAS A LOUSY SHOT. BARELY PASSED THE CLASS IN THE ACADEMY. ’BUT IT'S AMAZING WHAT THE HUMAN. SURVIVAL INSTINCT CAN DO. “I WAS ALWAYS ATTRACTED TO WEIRD STUFE WHEN T WAS A KID IT WAS ALL ABOUT COMICS BOOKS, SCI-FI MOVIES. ‘THe FIRST TIME 1 JERKED OFF, IT WAS. (OVER A PICTURE OF JACQUELINE PEARCE GUN HANGING ON THE END OF MY ‘ARM, THAT T REALIZED SOMETHING. T WAS BORN TO BE GREAT.YOU KNOW WHAT DESPERATE PEOPLE WILL DO. WE'VE ALL HEARD THOSE STORIES. DESPITE ARGUING ABOUT IT FOR DAYS, ‘OUR HUNGER BEAT US IN THE END. WE COULDN'T FACE CUTTING UP ANTHONY. .WE WERE DIFFERENT. BETTER, “WE MADE IT DOWN THE: MOUNTAINS IN HALF A Day. AND DECIDED TO KEEP OUR NEW ABILITIES SECRET.” THE ALIEN SMELLED LIKE STRAWBERRIES AS IT DECOMPOSED. IT MADE ‘SAMPLING THE MEAT (ESS...INTIMIDATING. “ONLY HOURS LATER, WE PAID THE PRICE. AT LEAST, WE THOUGHT, THE POISON WOULD BE A QUICK [ALTERNATIVE TO A LINGERING, FROZEN DEATH. “OF COURSE, WE DIDN'T DIE. INFACT, QUITE THE OPPOSITE, We SPENT THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR MONTHS SLEEPING, AND WHEN WE AWOKE. HAVING WORKED. FOR GROVER LANE, WE KNEW ALL TOO WELL WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO US IF WE REVEALED OURSELVES. WE'D ‘SEEN IT HAPPEN TO OTHERS BEFORE US.NOW THEN, NOW THEN, BR NOW THEN... “YOU'RE THis. REDEEMING F \ § (sexi Sue, - Rureith)| (genie euee, APES Re, Ry ee oe satis IN ANOTHER LIFE WE'D ‘SMARTEST MAN IN EAST G4 RerOnT er vORkG ‘ON FIRE, THINK. DO NOT DISTURB. Do YOu THINK HE HAS: A sister? BABY, WE NEED TO G0. TWAS ABLE TO GET THe KES ALGORITHM ; WE CAME POR, OP, 7/7, {HIGH LEVEL CLEARANCE," YO SAID? WELL, LET'S. ‘JUST SEE HOW NO! WE HAVE 2 G0. \ THOROUGH YOU WERE.‘MR. SHIVAS, T PRESUME. IN iis HOUSE AT R'LYEH, EAMING. Vi IAITS" ITS “WAITS n Ts DRenMNe ROT TES ORermiNcrw HieWE CERTAINLY DO! LOOK AT ALL THESE TOYS. Z COULD DO WITH ONE OF THESE, TO ADD TO THE COLLECTION. ITS me, BABY. WE NEED To TAU ABOUT LOTS OF THINGS: BABY LISTEN. PLEASE. ued age You IGNORE mE SOURE BENG ‘MEANT DONT Oke Ir IF YOU DONT LEAVE. Noul TU ERASE SOUR SECURITY PROFILE. THE ENTIRE BUILDING ULL BE FORGED 70 BESTROM Bi 1EED TO MAKE ‘STOP FIRST. >i /—_veRy weul; LET'S. 60. a yyAMT " INTERRUPTING HOW DID \ SOMETHING?, HE DOESN'T HAVE THE KEY! LOOK AT HIM, Tt OF FLEMYNG, ALEXANDRA,THE GREAT FANTOMEX. LOOK AT YOU, YOU'RE NOTHING. JUST ANOTHER COSTUMED "MORON. T CAN JUST IMAGINE WHAT YOU'RE THINKING: "HE BEAT ME 50 EASILY" IT MUST BE ‘MORTIFYING FOR YOU. NOW, I THINK YOU'VE GOT ‘SOMETHING FOR ME. DON'T FIGHT IT, OR FLL TURN YOUR MIND TO ‘SCRAMBLED EGG. ‘AH...THERE IT 1S. 6000 Boy. RIGHT AT THE FRONT. ENJOY YouR LAST FIVE MINUTES OF LIFE. THE CLOCK STARTS NOW. ALEXANDRA, YOU CAN RELIEVE YOURSELF OF AGENT FLEMYNG WHILE Z REPOSITION THE DEVICE. SHE'S NO USE TO ME ‘ANYMORE. iwract, Tae ont Aine wy Way none Lor ryeING |) eke) A TRICK LEARNED QUicKLy. T CUT ALL OF Hig MOTOR FUNCTIONS. you see, ALEXANDRA, WHY USE A SLEDGEHAMMER LIKE MR. GAUNT, WHEN ‘A LOCKPICK WILL DoF50 LONG, AGENT FLEMING. IT WAS NICE GETTING "TO KNOW YOU: ALEXANDRA, DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE VISITED ANTANANARIVO TO INVESTIGATE THE CONFEDERATE OF GHosts? 7 YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME! T WAS THE ONLY HAND THEY COULD PLAY. TT.WAS A. GOOD HAND, AGENT FLEMYNG...AND T'M NOT...BEATEN. — V7 HELD BACK \ THe TRUTH oom Y (! 5 SoUraND Mi eanA KING, HE THESE DAYS, PEOPLE ARE CALLED ME-HE_ JADED, FANTOMEX. THEY HEAR RECOGNIZED THE ABOUT DISASTERS, BUT THEY GROWING POWER “HAVE LOST THEIRe MEANING. EVERYTHING HAS BECOME ABSTRACT VIA TELEVISION. TT TRULY TAKES AN INSPIRED EFFORT TO ATTAIN THE KIND ‘OF POWER THAT I NOW HAVE IN MY POSSESSION. Te PLANNING ON SENDING ‘OUR DEMANDS? LovERCONCIDENT? THAPBORSNT SEEM, URE YOU AT ALL FANTOMEX, YOU ARE A MAN OF EXCEPTIONAL KNOWLEDGE. T'D BE ‘SURPRISED IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THE EXACT POPULATION OF. ANTANANARIVO AT THE LAST CENSUS,°FOR YOUR BENEFIT, AGENT FLEMYNG, IT ‘AT 3UsT STOOD UNDER TWO MILLION PEOPLE. ‘SPR ST EARLIER--THE DESTRUL CAPABILITY IS UNPRECEDENTED. ‘THE SPLENDOR