by Andy Briggs
All except Jake. He gawked at Basilisk’s unmasked face. It was scarred and disfigured. The eyes had no white, but were completely neon blue. But Basilisk had one unmistakable quality.
He looked just like Jake.
A Race to the End
The blaze in Basilisk’s eyes cooled down. His face was pale and scarred; his skin had the texture of parchment, with small metal plates attached to it.
“How … how is this possible?” stammered Jake.
Basilisk drew in a deep breath; the wheezing had vanished along with the limp. His regeneration process was working.
“I told you all along, Hunter,” he said in a low voice that was barely louder than a whisper. “It was in your blood.”
Jake shook his head blankly, and took a step back as Basilisk advanced. Basilisk gestured between the two of them.
“You and I share the same DNA. Genetically there appears nothing to separate us. Any analysis of crime scenes would show that it was you who was there. Not me.”
Jake had already been splashed across the news, and now it appeared that if the authorities ever managed to decrypt the video and audio ransom demand he’d recorded, they would have both his face and voice. And his DNA was all over who knew how many crime scenes. And it was all over the nuclear bomb.
“You’ve been using me as a scapegoat? All this time you were setting me up so that you could just turn me in and ride victoriously off into the sunset?”
Basilisk raised his hands to placate Jake. “I admit that was my original intention. Let my genetic twin get caught so that I could escape. Even the Council of Evil disapproved. And when they knew I was going to let you access the V-net system, they feared the worst, which is why I left. Creative differences. But instead of bringing the Web site down, you changed into something … unexpected.”
“I should kill you right now like I did Chameleon. That would end this madness!” Jake advanced and was surprised to see Basilisk retreat a step.
“But things changed, Hunter. I got to see your potential. Downloading powers which had my—our—DNA in them, entwined you with Villain.net. You are absorbing all the powers at an incredible rate. Using them without training as though they were a natural extension of your body. That is unheard of. Now you are more important to me than this entire operation.”
Jake hesitated. He wasn’t convinced. Then again, Basilisk may be a liar, but he had yet to officially show his colors as a backstabber like Scuffer and the others. And he was certainly no less aggressive than the apparent superhero Chameleon.
“Sir!” chimed a technician who was monitoring the large display screen. “The vehicles will be landing in several minutes! We’ve identified them as Navy Seal Sea Crawlers. There must be about thirty Enforcers in them.”
Basilisk switched his gaze from the screen back to Jake. “If we don’t act now, then in a few minutes those Enforcers will storm the base and put a stop to all I have created.”
“I don’t care. You need to tell me everything—now.”
Basilisk sighed, and at least this time Jake could see the annoyed expression. “If they get in here, then you’ll never know the full extent of your own story. Hunter, right now you have more power flowing through you than you imagine. Only you can go out there and stop them. Then we will have time to talk.”
“There it was again,” thought Jake, “more orders. More bullying and being told what to do.” For a moment he wished he were back at school. Then he’d have the power to pick on those weaker than him.
Suddenly Jake paused. Common sense dictated you wouldn’t pick on somebody stronger than yourself. Unless that person didn’t realize they were stronger than you.
Was he stronger than Basilisk?
The villain had just said that Jake didn’t know his own power. He’d made no attempt to physically threaten Jake at any time, nor had he threatened to harm Jake’s family to coerce him, unlike the “good guys.” The more Jake thought about it, the more clearly he saw that he had willingly played along with events, never daring to challenge Basilisk, no matter what deep waters he had led him into.
With sudden clarity, Jake realized that he was afraid of Basilisk. Frightened of upsetting the balance in their relationship just by simply challenging him. Jake was experiencing the same fear that stopped the kids Jake bullied from punching back. He wasn’t made of metal; a firm left hook would double him over just like anybody else. It was fear that made those dorky kids curl up and take their punishment.
And now Jake was one of those kids. He was a victim of bullying.
“No!” he heard himself bellow. The force of the words made Basilisk hesitate. “I want to know exactly who you are! And no more stupid cover stories!”
Basilisk seemed to realize that he had pushed Jake too far. He began pacing once again and occasionally cast a glance at the screen. “You really want to know who I am? Do you think that will help you in any way?”
“Humor me.”
Basilisk sighed. “I have been walking this planet for many years. Centuries, in fact. You could say that I’m immortal.”
“You can’t die?”
“Yes, I can. But I found a method of cheating aging by moving from incarnation to incarnation. It was a power I had. A gift. Having the accumulated knowledge of the centuries has made me quite a scientist, and like all scientists I specialized. I chose genetics. That allowed me to study my powers and discover what was really happening. It was in the nineteen sixties when I found out how my incarnations actually worked.”
Basilisk paused, reflecting back on his memories of the time. Jake tried to imagine Basilisk in the 1960s with bell-bottoms and long hippie hair. The thought almost raised a smile.
Basilisk continued. “Genetic studies were one of my key inputs into Villain.net. I told you that we improvised in some areas. I fine-tuned the site’s ability to alter human genetic code so that a host would be capable of storing and using the superpowers. But the Hero Foundation had cracked the problem in a much more efficient way. They never suffered the side-effect issues we had in our version. But I came up with a quick solution that seemed to work. I developed a method of using the regeneration aspects of my own DNA strands to absorb the malign effects.”
Jake nodded in understanding. He was impressed with his new mental gymnastics, and wondered if he had superintelligence. “So when somebody downloaded a faulty power, your own DNA would repair it within the person’s body, and stop any side effects?”
“Very good. However, since you and I have the same DNA sequence it formed a feedback loop when you used Villain.net. It made your powers much stronger than anybody else’s, including the Prime’s original powers. But it came at a cost. Your body is breaking down from trying to contain the excessive energy, and, without constant exposure to the power source, you’ll wither away. Because of the feedback, the regeneration doesn’t work with you.”
“So you’ve killed me!” snapped Jake bitterly.
“You misunderstand, Hunter. Nobody knew this would happen. The Council suspected it might kill you, but being able to amplify the strength of your powers is something unforeseen. Something that both sides desperately want. Chameleon is not too concerned about stopping that bomb. He is more interested in you. Let me assure you that you have no friends on either side right now. Except me.”
That thought made Jake feel hollow inside.
“I chose you at your birth and have been watching you for a long time, subtly guiding your actions from afar in the hope you would grow up to be a warrior and not a coward like the rest of your friends.”
This was a lot of information for Jake to process. So he was unique in being able to amplify his powers, but that still didn’t explain why they originally shared the same DNA. What had Basilisk done?
“Sir! We’re running out of time! They’ve begun to land,” wailed the technician.
“If they are not stopped—,” he threw Jake a meaningful glance “—then evacuate the base and activate the self-destruct.
” He turned his attention back to Jake. “Your choice, Hunter.”
“What do you mean, since birth? Why me?”
Basilisk was apparently losing patience but he calmed himself down and fixed his gaze on Jake.
“As I said, to cheat death I have the ability to absorb DNA. Just a small sample is enough to rejuvenate my body and mind. I was dying. I needed to make a genetic regeneration quickly. Did your parents ever tell you the circumstances of your birth?”
“My mom gave birth to me on the way to the hospital.”
“Fortuitously for me, I was in the area. The younger the DNA I can clone, the longer I live. A newborn baby is much better than a teenager or an adult. Gives me a few more years. A little knockout gas took care of your parents for a few moments while I stole DNA from your wrist.” Jake looked at his wrist where he had had a circular dimple since birth. “Sorry, I was in a rush. The side effect of genetic rejuvenation is that I take on the physical characteristics of the donor—hence the family resemblance. I shall be like this until it is time for me to change once more, which will be very soon as you can tell from my appearance. Time is once more running out for me. Think of me as a genetic vampire, if you will. But I make a point of looking after my genetic counterpart, so I watched you and molded your development so you became strong and independent.”
“You made me callous and bitter?” snarled Jake. “Are you trying to say you made me into the kid that picks on everybody?”
“I certainly engineered it, yes. Your friends are the true unintelligent bullies. But I molded you to be a thinker and a leader. Why else would somebody from such a loving family become such a monster?” He said the last with a tinge of sarcasm.
“You ruined my life!”
“No. I gave you chances you would never have experienced!” He jabbed a finger at the intruders on the screen. “They are the people who ruined your life, made you a wanted man and took away your family’s memories! The people who think they are doing a good deed. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. You should be stopping them!”
Jake wanted nothing more than to lunge at Basilisk and beat the evil creep to a pulp. But that would still leave questions unanswered.
“You’ve done nothing but lie to me!”
“Sometimes I had to manipulate the truth.”
“You told me your name was Scott Baker, and that you were from Australia. Lies!”
“With each regeneration I needed a genuine identity to make my way around the world. I sometimes pick my identities from the deceased, acquiring their legal papers, bank accounts, that sort of thing. Otherwise, where would I put my money? Would you trust a bank run by villains? Sometimes lies are easier than the truth. But it is no lie that we have to stop those Enforcers from interfering. Please, Hunter. Do this.”
Jake hesitated. He was cornered and had no intention of allowing the Enforcers to capture him. Glaring at Basilisk he stalked from the command center without saying a further word, and slid his gloves on.
His mind was racing as he sprinted down the corridor. He wanted to cry at the injustice of it all—crying would be something he hadn’t done for a long time, but wouldn’t be appropriate right now. His thoughts turned to self-preservation. Could the feedback process be reversed? Then he thought about the fact that both heroes and villains wanted to experiment on him. Where did that leave Jake?
What do you call somebody stuck in the middle?
Jake entered the hangar and prepared to launch himself vertically through the hole in the roof. Something caught his attention: the SkyKar had been moved, and Chameleon’s body was nowhere to be seen.
“No!” shouted Jake. He ran to the spot and looked around. There was a little blood, but no sign of where the hero had run to. Well, that was a problem for Basilisk right now. He just hoped he could get to Chameleon before Basilisk did.
Jake focused on the task at hand. He had to stop the beach attack. With a warming surge as the powers flowed through him, Jake launched himself skyward.
Basilisk glared at the display screen as a second blip appeared in the center of the island: it was Jake. Basilisk was annoyed at himself for revealing so much to Jake so soon. But at least he still hadn’t revealed his ultimate intentions and so still had some control over the boy—and control was something he needed. He was beginning to regret selling his last pair of power-dampening handcuffs to Doc Tempest on his last visit. They would be handy now. If Jake was ever to find out the true extent of his mutated powers … Basilisk shivered. That thought was too dark even for him to consider.
“Incoming transmission,” shouted one of the technicians.
“On-screen,” commanded Basilisk.
The satellite map shrank away to a corner of the screen as the new transmission took over. Eight unusual figures appeared: the Council of Evil.
One spoke in a sibilant voice. “We have discovered your true plan, Basilisk! The real one, not the lies you’ve been spinning to the world’s governments! This is madness!”
“Doc Tempest betrayed you!” said a woman’s voice with a hint of glee. “He told us everything. Stabbed you in the back so he could have an official permit for his own plan.”
Basilisk smirked. “You think I was mad enough to turn the earth into a wasteland? What use is that to me? I intend to blow Villain.net and your pathetic Council off the face of the planet!”
“You’ll never get away with this!”
“I already have. And being one of the few people who knows your headquarters lies in an extinct volcano, I finally discovered a method of breaching all of your state-of-the-art defenses. No missile attacks, no swarming armies. I will just simply blow your lair apart from under your feet as you cower in terror!”
“Once again, you threaten to destroy the world!”
“I have taken precautions to ensure my lair was constructed at the precise point on the volcanic network to maximize the destruction of your base. My engineers have worked tirelessly to block magma channels in order to prevent other volcanoes from erupting. The earth’s pressure will build to such intensity that your extinct volcano will be magically resurrected. Then, by using Hunter’s amplified powers, all I have to do is take over Hero.com and I will control the only superpowers left. Nothing in the universe can stop me!”
Basilisk was swelling with his own self-importance. He stabbed a button and killed the connection with the Council. He turned to a technician. “Launch the Probe!”
Nothing happened. Then Basilisk noticed that three of the technicians were stuck fast to their seats by large globules of sticky glue that bound their arms and covered their mouths to silence them.
Basilisk turned to see that a fourth technician was standing close by and pointing a resin-rifle at him. Basilisk’s puzzlement vanished as the technician’s clothing and skin rippled into a vaguely reptilian form, and then into that of a young man dressed in black. Chameleon.
“The Council made such a pleasant diversion, didn’t it? Your insanity ends here.”
“This must be the same thrill a lion feels as it stalks its prey,” thought Jake as he felt the sand crunching under his boots. The figures in the trees were picked out like Christmas lights in his enhanced vision. They had nowhere to run. Black smoke drifted behind him from the damaged Sea Crawlers, polluting the clear tropical air.
The ground shook; he looked up. Beyond the cowering Enforcers a spectacular plume of red lava spewed from the lip of the volcano.
Jake looked at the Enforcers, who were twisting their necks between the erupting volcano behind and the ominous figure of death on the beach. Basilisk had said they were the real threat, but looking at them now he realized they were just normal men, trying to do a job without the aid of superpowers. Unlike Chameleon, who hid behind his powers.
“Who cares about these Enforcers?” thought Jake. They posed no threat. The erupting volcano signified that Basilisk had just launched the Core Probe and its nuclear payload.
Jake decided that it w
as time to take matters into his own hands.
The Enforcers cowered as Jake ran toward them. They were expecting another barrage of superpowers. But their assailant rose into the air and zoomed over the treetops, heading toward the eruption.
For once he was going to do some good. He was going to stop Basilisk.
Basilisk repeatedly slammed Chameleon’s head against the control panel with such ferocity he was drawing gloopy green blood. He had the superhero in a viselike grip amid the trashed command center.
“I should have dealt with you a long time ago!” Basilisk roared in his face.
Chameleon fired the resin-rifle at Basilisk in the hope it would restrain him, but instead the expanding glue-balls ricocheted from an invisible shield. Basilisk had retaliated with a blast that sent Chameleon soaring through the massive screen in an explosion of sparks and plasma fluid.
The three technicians, who were stuck to their chairs, still had the use of their feet and rolled their chairs toward the nearest exit.
Chameleon counterattacked by hurling fireballs across the room, decimating several computer banks. Basilisk had dived aside and activated the Core Probe’s remote launch sequence before Chameleon had a handle on what was happening. The superhero leaped onto Basilisk’s back to pull him away, but was too late.
The entire hangar started to tremble as the Core Probe thrust itself earthward. Rock bubbled and melted away as the device slowly lowered itself. It quickly vaporized the ground in its path and after a few feet it pierced a small magma chamber under the volcano. But that was enough to initiate a local eruption. The entire base shook as the volcano erupted far above the surface.
Basilisk and Chameleon struggled, limbs locked together on the floor as they rolled through chunks of burning control panel. Basilisk was proving to be the stronger of the two and twisted Chameleon around, gripping him tightly across the jaw.
Chameleon tried to shapeshift as Basilisk crushed his head repeatedly against the panels. But no matter what shape he took, Basilisk’s grip was relentless. He forced Chameleon to face him.
