by Andy Briggs
Jake dared not answer with what he really thought. He glanced at Mr. Grimm, who was staring at him intently.
“But don’t get me wrong. This is no petty power struggle. I have bigger, more impressive plans. The Council, the Foundation, they’re just speed bumps to my goals. I don’t want you working for me, either. You’re such an independent boy. Too clever to be a lackey, and too strong for me to completely trust you.”
Jake knew he was being buttered up, and he was embarrassed to discover it was working.
“I don’t understand what you want from me.”
“I want to trade favors. Virtually every established villain is currently applying to the Council for their crazy schemes to carve a patch on the globe they can call their own. With Primes hiding and no toy heroes left anymore, it’s becoming almost too easy. My problem is that idiots on my side respect the Council too much; they are terrified of breaking the rules. So I can’t trust them for what I have in mind. On the other hand you have those like Basilisk.” Jake bristled again at the mention of the name. A slight smile tugged the corner of Chromosome’s mouth. “I know you are very well acquainted with him. He most definitely can’t be trusted. He likes his secrets too much.”
Jake felt his skin crawl, then realized that it was because several spiders were creeping up his legs. He tried to shake them off but they wouldn’t budge.
“I want you to do me a little favor. Kidnap the president of the United States.”
Jake brushed the spiders off him; it was like batting away metal ornaments. “Why would I do that?”
Chromosome shrugged. “Why not? In return I will give you … Psych.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know I’m looking for him?” He instantly regretted speaking out. Like with Mr. Grimm, his comment had confirmed his intentions.
“Wouldn’t everybody seek out the one who snatched everything away? I can give you his exact whereabouts, daily routine … give you back your life. And no matter what that little reptile Chameleon may have told you, the process he used on your family is reversible. But only Psych can perform it. Only he possesses that ability. It was one of several powers deemed too dangerous to synthesize.”
She folded her arms and raised a perfect eyebrow.
“Do we have a deal?”
Jake gawked. While the task sounded feasible, the ramifications of kidnapping the president were huge. People would notice. But being handed Psych would save him so much trouble. Chromosome’s intentions were irrelevant to Jake. Once he had his family back he could then turn his attentions on the two warring factions of heroes and villains, and destroy them both.
“We have a deal.”
Chromosome looked pleased. “My associate Mr. Grimm will find you at the relevant time and give you the details of the operation. When you hand me the president, I will deliver you to Psych’s door.”
She headed back up the ramp of the ship, her Legion skittering after her.
“You better not betray me,” warned Jake.
Chromosome stopped and whirled around, a look of surprise on her face. “Whatever made you think that?”
“If you don’t do exactly what you promised, then I will destroy you.” Jake hoped that didn’t sound like an idle threat.
Chromosome’s surprised expression turned back into her winning smile. “They were right about you. Smart. How fast you boys grow up.”
Then she left, the Council shuttle silently taking off, heading back the way it had come. Jake momentarily thought about following, but decided against it. Although he didn’t like it, Jake just had to wait and see how things would turn out.
Lorna had been true to her word and was waiting for Jake as he cautiously approached her house. Once they were safely in the garage, he noticed that she looked immensely tired, but she shook off any questions by saying that she’d had a hectic day.
She had laid out a camping air mattress with several thick blankets and provided Jake with a clean set of clothes that she’d sneaked out of her brother’s closet. She had also prepared a chicken and rice frozen meal in the microwave, and there was juice to drink. To Jake it felt like paradise.
Lorna watched him with concern as he ate, and he deflected her questions about the arguments with his family by simply saying he didn’t want to talk about it. Instead they talked about movies they had seen recently, music, what they both didn’t like about school—although Jake’s list was much longer than Lorna’s—sports, and anything else they could think about.
Jake was used to talking to his sister, but talking to Lorna was a whole new experience. She was smart, but not in a way that made him feel stupid, and she was much funnier than his old gang. It wasn’t as though he was talking to a girl at all.
* * *
It was difficult to sleep. While thoughts of revenge powered his every step, the moment Jake sat down and had time to think, Chromosome’s ambitious plan to kidnap the president weighed on his mind. He had kidnapped before, a flabby Ukrainian businessman who wasn’t expecting to be snatched away by a supervillain. But the president was a different matter. He would be seriously protected. At the time Jake didn’t care why Chromosome wanted him to do it, but now the enormity of the task was making him wonder if the risks were worth it.
He shook the doubts away. Of course the risks were worth it. It was for his family.
No, he corrected himself, I’m doing it for me.
The following morning Jake and Lorna left her house very early before the rest of her family woke up. They decided to catch a train to a Six Flags theme park in the next town. Jake had asked for sunscreen to protect his skin. Since overdosing on the Villain.net powers he had become pale and sensitive to bright light. Even a cold winter sky could make his skin smart. He also asked for a cap. Lorna gave him her New York Yankees baseball cap, which he pulled low over his face. But he need not have worried as nobody took any notice of him.
The park was packed despite the cold, overcast day, but at least it wasn’t raining and people were enjoying the Christmas parades and jovial atmosphere. Lorna had paid for them both to get in, and bought hot dogs to eat in between multiple rides on roller coasters that had them screaming all the way—although Jake had to pretend he was scared as the experience was nothing compared to what he’d done over the last few weeks. But the rides and Lorna’s company prevented him from dwelling on the enormous task Chromosome had given him. He was determined to enjoy the moment and not think about the future. At least for today.
As they sat enjoying a Coke, he noticed that Lorna seemed thoughtful.
“What’s the matter?”
“I was just thinking that you’re much nicer than people think.”
Jake remained silent. If only he could tell her the truth.
Lorna continued, refusing to meet his gaze. “I mean, you’re fun. And not a total idiot.”
“Thanks,” Jake said, trying to decipher if that was a compliment or not.
“So I was wondering if this … you know, made us boyfriend-girlfriend?”
She looked embarrassed and Jake had to look away as he felt suddenly confused.
“Well, um … I …”
He closed his eyes; he was stammering like a fool. He took a deep breath and turned to Lorna. She was smiling, amused by his unease. Her hand snaked across the table and gently touched his.
Jake’s eyes went wide and he suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Oh my God!”
Lorna snapped her hand back, frightened and confused by his reaction. It took a second for her to realize that Jake was looking over her shoulder. She turned to see the massive figure of Teratoid smash through several snack kiosks, roaring like a gorilla as it batted away two orange-coated security guards.
Jake immediately knew the creature was after him. He grabbed Lorna’s hand.
“Listen to me. I … I’m going to call the police. Meet me at the gate!”
Lorna nodded. It didn’t occur to her to point out that Jake had a cell pho
ne and could have called from anywhere as they both ran.
Screams rippled through the crowds, and Jake found himself pushing against the crush of people trying to flee. He leaped over the counter of a shooting range stall to avoid the crowd. He couldn’t just face this foe in public, he’d be recognized instantly—and Lorna would know his secret. But luck was with Jake: a motorcycle helmet and a worn leather jacket lay behind the counter, left by an employee eager to save his skin. Jake put on the helmet, and pulled down the tinted visor. With the jacket it was a perfect disguise.
Jake soared into the air and unleashed a fireball at the monster below. The beast howled in rage and searched the skies to locate its attacker. That’s when Jake saw Teratoid’s face.
“Scuffer?” he said in astonishment.
Scuffer snarled. He recognized that the voice belonged to a mortal enemy. But the voice woke a painful memory. Now Scuffer didn’t see Jake as somebody he had to locate—he saw him as someone he had to destroy.
Flexing his mighty muscles, Scuffer leaped toward Jake—easily making a thirty-foot jump from a standing start. Scuffer slammed into Jake midair and they both fell back to earth, smashing through the wooden spars of an old roller coaster like demolition balls.
Jake rolled across the ground as they landed, splashing through one of the stagnant ponds that decorated the ride’s grounds. Scuffer was already on his feet and snarling with rage.
“Scuff, what the hell happened to you?”
Scuffer launched himself at Jake, smashing into him with a rugby tackle. Jake was winded and sure some of his bones had cracked. He was lucky, they would repair themselves in a few seconds’ time, but he still felt the pain.
They crashed into a steel support pole and the entire roller coaster rattled. A punch from Scuffer landed in his stomach so hard that he was lifted off his feet and flew two hundred feet through a variety of brick and plasterboard walls before hitting the raised pneumatic arm of a spinning Enterprise wheel—the ride was already at top speed, gravity pinning the riders to the wall of the cage fifteen yards above the ground. Jake ricocheted from the ride and crunched through the railing of the park and across a busy road. Cars honked their horns and skidded to avoid him. His head felt groggy, but he looked up as the sound of tearing metal caught his attention.
The entire Enterprise wheel was revolving with such force it wrenched itself from the damaged arm. Full of screaming people, the circular cage shot through the air like a Frisbee.
Lorna had been hiding around the side of the bumper cars, watching as the motorcycle-helmeted hero fought the brute. She wondered who the hero was and felt a stab of jealousy that he was taking the limelight. Lorna was a superhero too. Together with her brother and two friends, they had stumbled across Hero.com and had been downloading superpowers—until it had suddenly malfunctioned two days ago.
Typical, she thought. The moment for her to shine and actually act like a hero in the public eye was being snatched away because, with Hero.com off-line, her powers were unreliable. She should be saving the day and claiming the fame—something she had desired for so long.
Lorna flexed her arms. Though the powers were glitchy, she had some powers stored in her body after the Web site had exploded right in front of her. She looked up in time to see the creature smash the new hero through the roller-coaster stanchions.
She spotted a cart that offered monster masks as prizes and slipped on a rubber witch disguise. Lorna had trouble seeing through the narrow eye slits, and when she finally turned back to the action the hero was bouncing off the Enterprise wheel. The entire structure started to wobble, fragments of metal spinning off the gimbal arm—then the wheel tore itself free and shot through the sky toward her.
Lorna flung herself skyward—and fell flat on her face. The power of flight she thought she possessed had chosen that moment to vanish.
Jake saw that the wheel was going to land on an ugly witchlike figure picking herself up off the ground. The witch suddenly blew jets of ice from its hands. The ice rapidly formed between the ground and the wheel, plucking it from the air.
The disk’s momentum was too great for the ice to hold it, and several frozen columns shattered like glass before the wheel abruptly halted less than two feet from crushing the hero. People inside the wheel were flung against the cage walls, breaking bones and smashing noses—but at least they were alive.
A loud horn got Jake’s attention and he looked sidelong to see a bus feet away from crushing his head. …
WHAM! Scuffer bolted from the theme park and straight into the road, intent on getting Jake. Instead he got ten tons of bus in his back.
Jake flew upward like a jack-in-the-box and watched as the front of the bus buckled around Scuffer’s broad shoulders. They skidded together across the road, Scuffer’s feet gouging troughs in the tarmac.
Jake readied another fireball and blasted Scuffer. The front of the bus caught fire; the injured driver and his terrified passengers bailed out of emergency exits. Scuffer howled in pain as his hair caught fire, but rather than douse the flames he lashed out.
Lorna watched in astonishment as the mysterious helmeted superhero just about dodged a car the brute hurled at him. She glanced at her impromptu ice claw; it creaked ominously but seemed to be supporting the wheel.
Jake ducked as the unrelenting Scuffer threw more cars at him. The brute ran forward, effortlessly scooping up the vehicles. Not all of the cars were empty either; Jake had a fleeting glimpse of drivers and passengers screaming as they hurtled past, landing on top of other vehicles to form a massive pileup.
Jake had had enough. He felt his anger rise, and his body glowed green as the radioactive power he had mastered formed in his hands. The blast was powerful. Scuffer was pushed onto his back and surfed several yards down the street, crashing headfirst into the mangled bus.
Lorna ran through the hole in the fence and watched as the brute was thrown back into the bus. This close she could see its deformed face and she was reminded of the ugly kid who used to be Jake’s pal at school. She raised her hands and fired what she hoped was a fireball.
Jake watched as the witch unleashed a spray of water from her hands. It had the intensity of a fire hose, but did little to faze Scuffer. The witch stared at her hands as though she hadn’t expected that to happen. She was too distracted to see Scuffer lift the end of the bus and swing it around like a baseball bat—right at her.
Lorna looked up in time to see the massive bulk of twisted bus arc toward her. She raised her hands in a futile display of self-defense and looked to the helmeted hero.
“Help!”
Jake heard the plea and sneered, “Tough luck!” The visor hid his expression. The bus slammed into the witch with a hollow clang, sending her flying through the air like a struck baseball.
One lousy hero less, thought Jake.
WHAM! Jake didn’t see Scuffer swing the bus back. But he felt it connect with his body. He saw his shimmering shield take most of the impact before his vision was swamped with stars—and he was pitched back into the theme park.
Pain racked his body as he soared through the air and struck a steel drop tower—the kind of ride that shot people straight into the air before they plummeted back to earth in a free fall. Jake hit the tower and crumpled back to the ground with such force the concrete around him cracked, as did the motorcycle helmet.
Scuffer bellowed and charged at Jake.
“Oh boy!” Jake murmured, and raised his hands to fire at the seemingly indestructible mutant.
Scuffer suddenly stopped in his tracks and gripped his throat. He bellowed, clutching at the collar around his neck before he toppled over, unconscious. Jake stared at his hands. What had he done?
A long black Chinook helicopter thundered over the park, the tail ramp open and several armed Enforcers hanging from the back. The chopper landed at the side of the road, the rotor wash causing some of the stacked cars behind it to topple off one another.
Some Enforcers surroun
ded Scuffer. Two more ran to where Jake had been lying moments earlier.
“The kid’s gone!” an Enforcer shouted before they ran back to the chopper.
Across the park, Lorna yanked off her mask. She was drenched in sweat and thankful that her shield power had decided to activate at the crucial moment the bus struck. That’s what had saved her. She pushed through the crowds that had formed to watch the fight and ran for the entrance gate.
Jake was already there. She ran toward him and hugged him.
“That was horrible!” she said.
“I saw.”
Jake gritted his teeth as she squeezed him tightly; not all his bones had knitted back together yet. He pulled the cap over his eyes and guided Lorna away from the carnage as Scuffer was hoisted under the Chinook and it lifted off. Already the Enforcers were grouping witnesses together. Lorna was curious as to what excuse they could possibly spin to keep this story out of the press.
Jake’s mind was a jumble of thoughts. The witch had proved that there were some part-time heroes still out there. And the revelation that Scuffer was still alive had surprised him. Jake felt no compassion for what his ex-friend had become. In fact, it alleviated some of the guilt he had been feeling since he thought he’d killed Scuffer. At least the traitor got what he deserved, although Jake hoped they wouldn’t cross paths again. That was the first time he had suffered such a severe beating, and it wasn’t pleasant.
He was just glad Lorna had been smart enough to keep out of the way. At least she was a friend he could rely on to treat him like a normal person.
That’s just what he needed right now. Someone normal he could trust.
A New Home
Chameleon stood in a spacious aircraft hangar. On a normal day, it would be filled with Enforcer helicopters, but at the moment it only had one Chinook from which an unconscious Teratoid was being lifted and strapped back into his reinforced clamps. Reports of Enforcer losses were coming in heavy and fast since the fall of Hero.com. The United Nations had made a valiant effort to suppress the truth, but blaming the rising troubles across the globe on terrorists was becoming harder to swallow.