Little is known of Cleo Nefertiti, the Asp, including her origins and nature of her powers. She was recruited by the villain Sidewinder in becoming a founding member of his newly-formed criminal team, the Serpent Society. As Asp, she stayed with the Serpent Society for its entire tenure, often clashing with Captain America.
At one point, the Asp, fearing the repercussions of the Mutant Registration Act contemplated by the U.S. Congress, fled into Canada. Her presence was noticed by members of the Canadian team Alpha Flight, who assembled to fight her and other villains who similarly arrived. Unknown to all, however, the villains were subconsciously controlled by the evil Llan the Sorcerer, who used the resulting violence of the confrontation to help him create a mystical convergence.
During her time in the Serpent Society, the Asp became great friends with her teammates Black Mamba and Diamondback. In fact, when Diamondback began dating Captain America, the others defeated many villains and diffused many trouble spots behind the scenes to ensure the success of the pair's first date. However, Diamondback was ultimately put on trial by the Society because of the relationship, and the Asp and Black Mamba had to contact Sidewinder to rescue her. The Society in turn imprisoned the Asp and Black Mamba, and in was Diamondback’s turn to rescue them, this time with the mercenary Paladin and Captain America.
The three women split from the Serpent Society, forming their own team with an acronym of their names: B.A.D. Girls, Inc. Almost immediately, the three were contacted by Superia to join her team of Femizons, but they ultimately sided with Captain America and Paladin to overthrow her. They also tried to help Diamondback overcome her greatest fear, the villain Snapdragon, during which time they stole a Serpent Saucer from the Society’s old headquarters, fought Sersi, and with their friend Impala, overthrew Superia during a weapons expo organized by A.I.M. Despite their successes, the mercenary team drifted apart and never worked very closely for very long.
The Asp rejoined the Serpent Society with Black Mamba when King Cobra again targeted Diamondback, but this proved to be only an LMD android. However, the BAD Girls, Inc. was nevertheless reunited. They were most recently hired by Cable to battle Deadpool over purloined new computer technology, but they joined forced to defeat the true thief, the Cat.
