Council of Evil (19 page)

Jake decided to intervene. “It's a nuclear warhead.”

Basilisk turned to Jake, seething with anger. Ruben froze, and for a moment Jake thought Basilisk had somehow paralyzed him. Then the engineer fell back in his chair, his voice softening.

“A nuclear bomb? Are you mad?”

“Madness is a matter of opinion,” muttered Basilisk. “Get me those calculations.”

“Do you realize what would happen if you detonated a bomb?”

Jake stared at Basilisk defiantly. “The earth will spin off its axis, scattering seasons, thawing the poles, and turning the deserts into oceans?”

Ruben frowned and shook his head. “No, not with a single warhead.”

Jake breathed a sigh of relief, but he was almost afraid to believe what Ruben had just told him. “There's just the one.” From Ruben's expression Jake suddenly had a bad feeling that yet another lie was about to be revealed.

Ruben licked his dry lips. “Detonating a nuclear warhead in a
volcanic
system, like this island, would set off a global chain reaction in
other
volcanoes.”

Basilisk stepped back, as though encouraging Ruben to speak. Jake looked at the two men. “A volcanic system? But I thought you were going to send the Probe to the center of the earth and detonate it there?”

Basilisk shrugged. “You had to believe something. Why not that?”

Ruben continued. “The volcano system around the world is like the earth's pressure release and they're all linked together. Basically, when things get tight under the surface we have volcanic eruptions to ease pressure. Detonating a bomb in that system would cause a mass volcanic eruption across the world. If all the volcanoes explode simultaneously, that would cause earthquakes, tidal waves, and it would send massive amounts
of ash into the atmosphere, blotting the sun. Effectively turning the world into night.”

For a few seconds silence filled the command center. Then one of the technicians' mobile phones rang an irritatingly cheery tune. He had the good grace to silence it immediately.

Basilisk nodded. “Of course you are right. But I am only taking out
one
volcano. And to achieve maximum effect I need that Probe to be at a precise depth. Are you going to program the coordinates, as per our deal?”

Jake couldn't hold his temper in this time. “You lied to me again!”

“I did not! I told you the plan—”

“You told me a bluff. The demands, the money, weapons—it's all a big extravagant bluff. You're doing all this, ruining
my
life, just to destroy one single volcano? What's so special about it?”

Basilisk ignored Jake and placed a heavy hand on Ruben's shoulder. Ruben stared at the floor for a moment, wiping his palms against his shorts. Then he slowly stood and looked defiantly at Basilisk.

“No. I will not be part of this. I demand you let me leave immediately.”

He took a step forward, but Basilisk shot a hand up against the man's chest to stop him.

“We have a contract.” The tone in Basilisk's voice was menacing enough to prevent Jake from ranting again. “I
am not an unreasonable man and appreciate we all make rash decisions in the heat of the moment. You have already calculated the densities of the rock?”

“Yes.”

“And computed the tunneling time to our agreed detonation point in the volcanic chambers?”

Ruben hesitated as it dawned on him that there wasn't much use for him after all. Basilisk had come to the same conclusion.

“Then you have completed your task?”

A flicker of confidence crossed Ruben's face. “You still cannot do it without me. The cargo weight has been factored in, but the shape of this bomb you have attached could create drag on the Core Probe that would turn it off course. Then it would be pointless sending it down. So you listen to me, or I go to the authorities.”

“Running the Core Probe off course is a minor risk, my friend. You have completed the contract. But I cannot permit you to run free to the authorities running your mouth.”

Ruben gathered his nerves and managed to look defiant. “So what are you going to do? Kill me?”

“What an insightful idea.”

Basilisk's palm shot around the man's throat and he effortlessly hoisted him off the ground. Ruben's feet swung free and both his hands gripped the fiend's wrist, fruitlessly clawing at the stone arm as he choked.
With one hand Basilisk lifted the man so they were nose to nose. Then he pulled back his hood.

Jake could not see Basilisk's face. But what he could see was the back of a pale head that looked heavily burned. Patches of blond hair clung to the scalp, and the skin was pulled tight across the skull.

Ruben's eyes boggled in terror at the face he saw. His thrashing became wilder, his feet kicking Basilisk in the groin and chest, but the villain didn't flinch. Then, Jake heard a cracking sound like the noise ice cubes make when they rapidly melt in a drink. Ruben's face lost its color as he was petrified. In five seconds the Dutchman had been turned to stone from head to foot, silencing his screams. For an instant, Jake could just see the blue light of Basilisk's eyes reflected from the man's frozen face. Then Basilisk let go of the Ruben-statue and it shattered on the floor. Basilisk made a point of crushing several larger chunks under the heel of his boot.

Jake was aware that everybody in the room had stopped what they were doing and were staring at the execution in silence. As Basilisk spun around, everybody looked back at their work.

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.

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.