Aleesha vs. the Ants

Aleesha receives word from her frequent partner, [agency name redacted] Special Missions Operative David Paladin, that the devious Bug Master* is experimenting with a formula to enlarge insects to many times their normal sizes, in yet another bid to dominate the world. But their investigation leads them into a giant ant hill, where Aleesha is quickly set upon by warrior ants! Agent Paladin cannot come to her aid, because he's being cocooned by enormous caterpillars!

Each individual ant is a formidable opponent; but as soon as Aleesha can dispatch one, another rushes in... and then another... David sees in horror that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of ants waiting to vanquish Aleesha. (And as if they weren't bad enough... are those giant cockroaches looming in the depths of the cave?) Can even The Mighty Aleesha survive this insectoid onslaught, much less free David before he suffers a terrifying fate?

This pic is the product of several sources of inspiration: the classic old-time radio drama "Leiningen vs. the Ants", the 1950s monster movie Them!, the cover of an old pulp magazine, The Popular Magazine featuring "Morgo the Mighty" fighting a giant ant; even an old Underdog episode I remember from my childhood.

A couple of years ago I synthesized these elements into a story intended for Dyna the Damsel Dynamo, who would face a similar predicament. But then I got the idea to substitute Aleesha for Dyna, at least for this illustration.

The major inspiration for this pic was the magazine cover; I simply substituted Aleesha for Morgo. And instead of a "damsel in distress" cowering against a wall, I put in a... hmm, what's the male equivalent of a "DID"? Only instead of cowering against the wall, he'd be in there helping Aleesha (despite the fact he has no superpowers)... except he can't because he's... he's being cocooned by giant caterpillars (as in the aforementioned Underdog adventure)! But why is he there in the first place? Because... he's... ah! he's a "secret agent" with some worldwide peace-keeping agency (like U.N.C.L.E. or S.H.E.I.L.D.) (for which I haven't come with a good name), and... and Aleesha is sort of a "freelance adjunct" for this agency: not directly employed by them, but can be called in for unusual circumstances. Like a mad entomologist trying to take over the world with giant bugs...

The thing I haven't figured out yet is... how will Aleesha and Agent Paladin escape??

*Thinking about a gimmick with the villain names; they're all [blank] Master: Clone Master, Bug Master, Robot Master, etc.