Blackthorne escapes Metlar's punishment and acquires Dr. Manglar's acid-rotted remains, employing D'Compose to resurrect them into a skeletal grotesquerie dubbed "Nightcrawler". Elsewhere, the Earth Corps team defeats the second Tendril creature, but the original manages to escape. Amid these events, Soviet forces initiate Operation: Surma, planning to flood Infernac to destroy the "primal core" in a massive explosion which will wipe out all Inhumanoids; however, the Soviets fail to realize that their plan will likely tear the planet itself asunder in the process. Earth Corps is forced to ally themselves with Metlar to protect the welfare of the planet. When Metlar double-crosses them, the team is saved by a turncoat Soviet military agent, Anatoly Kiev, who they gratefully welcome into their ranks. Kiev respectfully declines, thinking that it is better to independently continue on his quest against Infernac.
