by Andy Briggs
She swooped toward the western jetty. Jake glanced down; one of the news helicopters had fixed its beam on the surviving crew of the crashed chopper, who were treading water.
Jake gritted his teeth. Chromosome may be able to nullify his powers, but Jake’s were stronger than she imagined. He leaped like a diver off the crown and willed his flying power to take hold.
Instead he plummeted toward the earth like a rock. She had even negated his ability to fly.
The president watched the coast guard vessel bank around to dock with the L-shaped pier. He turned when he heard the helicopter crashing. Seconds later a winged monstrosity swooped across the island toward him. The Secret Service team had spotted the danger too. The president was tackled roughly to the floor as they threw themselves in front of him, guns blazing.
Bullets hit Chromosome, but they had no effect. She soared in low and plucked one of the Secret Service men into the air. She struggled for altitude with the increased weight—then threw him to the ground. The president looked away to avoid the upsetting sight. When he risked a glance back he saw that Chromosome was swooping in again. This time the coast guard crew, armed to deal with any terrorist attacks, unleashed machine guns on her. Again they had little effect. Time seemed to slow as Chromosome’s screaming jaws, lined with jagged teeth, bore straight for the president.
BLAM! A fireball hit Chromosome like a sledgehammer and threw her against the military boat with such force the craft rocked in the water and she tore a hole through the steel deck.
The president looked around, expecting to see Jake—instead he was looking at somebody else, hovering in the air. The president’s eyes widened with relief.
“Chameleon!”
“Mr. President! Sorry I’m late.”
Two coast guard crew members were thrown off the deck as Chromosome heaved herself out of the gash in the vessel. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted the hero.
“You! You will die here!” she screamed. Her muscles cracked as she increased mass right in front of them—doubling her size in seconds.
Chameleon expected an attack from her—what he didn’t expect was the horde of surviving Legion that suddenly ran out from the undergrowth. They fused together in a bubbling mass of flesh that formed a single tentacle. Anchored to the ground, it whipped around Chameleon’s waist, plucking him from the air.
Chromosome turned to face the president, oblivious to the shots still being fired by the Secret Service guys.
“Now, Mr. President, you will come with me.”
“I’d rather die!”
“That can be arranged.”
With heavy footfalls, Chromosome climbed onto the pier. The wood cracked underfoot. The president and his retinue began to run back to the island—but they stopped when they saw a massive shape flying toward them. Once more the president was wrestled to the ground by his entourage as a huge disk-shaped craft shot over their heads.
Chromosome watched in amazement as she saw her Council of Evil shuttle being hurled at her like a discus. It smashed into her with colossal force, ramming her back into the coast guard ship. The collision was so violent that the shuttle exploded around Chromosome, pinning her to the side of the boat. The combined weight rolled the cutter over with a massive splash. Chromosome’s screams turned into gurgles as the bright red keel of the boat was revealed when the boat flipped completely over.
The president looked back to the end of the pier to see Jake wiping his hands after the incredible throw. Jake gave him a brief nod.
“You okay?”
Before the president could answer, there was an explosion from Chameleon and the Legion tentacle was blown into its component spider pieces, each one aflame and scuttling randomly around before dying.
“Mr. President! Down!” yelled Chameleon as he unleashed a fireball at Jake.
“Wait a minute—” Jake started, but the fireball punched him through a line of trees, the boughs catching fire. Chameleon ran in pursuit.
Jake propped himself up on his elbows in time to see Chameleon hurl another ball of flame. He didn’t have time to move. It felt as if a bomb had gone off in front of his face. He was blown nearly three hundred feet back against the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Chameleon hesitated as a police helicopter circled around, stabbing its searchlight on him. He gestured frantically toward the president. The pilot must have understood because the searchlight then fixed on the president and his group.
Jake saw the police helicopter land across the island and knew the president would be taken safely on board. He turned to see Chameleon flying down the concourse toward him. He also became aware that he was no longer feeling weak now that Chromosome was out of the picture. He saw flames burst from Chameleon’s hands—and he launched himself straight up to avoid them. His flying power had returned.
Jake corkscrewed around the statue to make himself less of a target. Chameleon flew in pursuit, hurling small volleys of fireballs that hit the statue harmlessly.
“You made your last mistake, Hunter!”
“I don’t think so,” Jake shouted back—then immediately regretted opening his mouth when he realized how stupid that comment was.
Jake reached the Statue of Liberty’s head and landed before he fired straight down on Chameleon. It was a radioactive strand that punched Chameleon forcibly onto the statue’s right shoulder. Chameleon rolled across the copper shell, slamming into the raised arm that held the torch aloft, and prevented him from falling off.
“I was coming for you next, Chameleon!” Jake ran to the edge of the crown to look down on his target, who was groaning softly. “There’s no way you’re taking me back to Diablo Island to be your guinea pig.”
“Who said anything about bringing you in alive? You’ve proved too much of a threat for that. I’m going to have to kill you.”
Jake felt uneasy. It was all very well for a villain like Chromosome to threaten his life, but Chameleon was a hero, somebody who had just helped rescue the president. It didn’t seem right for him to say that. Once again Jake felt the line between hero and villain blur.
He dropped down onto the shoulder and walked toward Chameleon. This close, he could see Chameleon was hit pretty badly, and bleeding from a burn wound to his left arm.
“After what you did to me and my family—”
“What? I saved them from you! They are leading a much happier life now that you’re not around, Hunter.”
Jake’s anger snapped and his bullying instincts took over. Chameleon was weak and injured—a perfect target.
Jake unleashed electrical bolts from his fingers. Jagged lightning racked Chameleon’s body and he howled in pain.
“Stop!” he pleaded.
Jake had heard it all before, a hundred times in the school yard. He blasted Chameleon again. The helicopters were still flying around, fixing them with searchlights and camera lenses. Then one of the searchlights suddenly peeled away—focusing on something heading toward them. Jake saw it and was frozen to the spot in astonishment.
It was the coast guard vessel. Thrown at them by some Herculean force.
The twenty-foot cutter missed its mark, and the aluminum-hulled boat smashed through the back of Liberty’s head, tearing it in half and ripping the face off in a mass of bent metal as the vessel arced down toward the bay—narrowly missing a helicopter. It splashed in the water and immediately sank.
Both Jake and Chameleon looked back to see the enormous winged form of Chromosome bearing down on them. Without hesitation they both fired at the villain. One enormous fireball and stream of radioactive energy hit her full in the chest and she dropped from the sky.
Chameleon leaped to his feet and sneakily unleashed a fireball at Jake, who was standing next to him, watching Chromosome’s descent. Jake plowed into the statue’s fragmented neck and bounced off.
Jake caught himself in flight and yo-yoed back up in time to see Chromosome land on the back of the statue, claws gouging metal as she lumbered up like a mutant King Kong.
Chameleon leaned over the edge of the shoulder and fired down, his blast missing Chromosome’s face. Jake circled around and almost ran into the whirling blades of a news chopper. He fired from the opposite side of the statue—his fireball tore one of Chromosome’s wings in two and she howled in rage, flapping the jagged stump.
Chameleon turned and fired at Jake, but this time he was ready and bobbed out of the way of the shot.
“You idiot!” screamed Jake.
Then he fired a small blob of radioactive energy at Chameleon, who sidestepped it.
Chromosome made use of the distraction and a pair of intense blue laser bolts shot from her eyes. One caught Chameleon and sent him flying off the statue, while the other punctured a massive hole in Liberty’s right arm.
The arm, carrying the weight of the gilded torch, swayed, and then it snapped away and fell across the remains of Lady Liberty’s head.
Chromosome pressed herself against the back of the statue as the arm passed close by and smashed the rear viewing balcony on the plinth.
Chameleon and Jake zoomed around the statue, almost flying into each other. This time they turned their combined energies on Chromosome and fired.
From the choppers it was impossible to see what happened. The blaze of light was so intense that everybody had to look away.
Jake was stunned by the strength of the blast from his own hands, and he had to shake his fingers to get rid of the pins and needles that ran through them. Both his and Chameleon’s shot bored into Chromosome. She shrieked, her good wing on fire.
The Statue of Liberty pitched forward. It moved slowly, like a drunkard falling. The one-hundred-fifty-foot tall Lady Liberty toppled from her plinth—and two hundred and fifty tons smashed into the foundations below, splitting in half.
“Oh my God!” cried Chameleon.
Jake swooped low but couldn’t see Chromosome. “Where’d she go?”
He landed on the grass in between the two huge sections of the statue. Jake spun around to see Chameleon standing behind him with a twisted grin.
“Good-bye, Hunter.”
Chameleon had his hands raised, but Jake was looking beyond the hero—at the giant figure of Chromosome standing over him wielding a broken piece of the statue. She brought it down with crushing force on Chameleon.
Jake reacted without thinking and fired a fine crystalline beam at the hero. Chameleon was instantly encased as Chromosome hit him. It was like driving a nail into the ground—the solidified Chameleon was pushed into the grass by the impact.
“If anyone’s going to kill him, it’s going to be me,” shouted Jake.
Chromosome locked eyes with Jake and raised her makeshift club again. “You should have joined me!”
Jake used one hand to telekinetically bat the statue fragment out of Chromosome’s grasp, while simultaneously blasting a fireball from his other hand. He had never launched two attack powers before, nor had he seen anybody else do it. He felt himself weaken from the effort.
Chromosome was not expecting the blast and was propelled against the statue’s torso with a dull clang. The helicopter searchlights illuminated the area and Jake leaped forward, hands raised to shoot again.
Chromosome was lying on the ground, groaning. The giant insect legs unfolded from her back with a loud crack as she tried to get up. Her own arms and legs flailed uselessly. There was no way she could stand. Despite the danger, Jake couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He was reminded of a flipped beetle trying to right itself.
Chromosome hissed at Jake and pathetically scuttled off toward the trees. Jake hesitated. From his angle it looked as though a giant beetle was carrying her. Chromosome suddenly teleported away and Jake sagged with relief.
He used his telekinetic force to raise the frozen Chameleon from the ground. His nemesis seemed unharmed, despite Chromosome’s blow. Ironically Jake’s actions had saved the life of the hero who wanted to kill him, and the hero he wanted dead.
Jake laid his hands on Chameleon and teleported away from the destruction of Liberty Island as the helicopters surrounded them.
The Race Begins
The stone bounced from Chameleon’s head with a soft ping and clattered with the others in a small pile by his feet.
Jake stared at his nemesis, housed beneath the thin amber-colored sheen. He could see that Chameleon’s face was contorted in a snarl and his entire body was angled to unleash a fireball. When Jake had teleported back to the castle he had positioned Chameleon like an ornament, in the corner of the spacious lounge. He had been sitting on the sofa, idly throwing small stones at Chameleon for half an hour as he tried to relax. He soon drifted asleep.
He woke up an hour later to discover that Igor must have been in and left him a steaming cup of tea, and thoughtfully, a fresh pile of stones to pelt at Chameleon. Every muscle in Jake’s body ached, and he was thankful for the sugary liquid that helped him focus his senses. The battle with Chromosome had been brutal, and still he hadn’t defeated her. Just like he hadn’t defeated Scuffer. The thought of facing either monster again made him shudder. But at least his conscience felt lighter now that he had freed the president and his staff. People were not in his line of fire. Just superhumans.
Jake wondered if his approach of doing this alone was the right one. Mr. Grimm had proved that allies were useful. Jake’s experience with his so-called friends betraying him in Russia had taught him that trust was hard to come by. But what if he teamed up with some of the bigger sharks? The Hero Foundation wouldn’t trust him at all … but the Council of Evil might. They were out to capture him, but if he pretended to help them, in return using their forces to wipe out the heroes he despised … then he could ultimately turn on the Council from the inside. …
It was an attractive idea, but Jake brushed it aside. He worked better on his own.
At least the experience had delivered Chameleon to him. Jake had daydreamed about exacting revenge on the hero for the punishment he’d put him through on Diablo Island, and for making Psych erase his family’s memory. While he was in prison, Jake had fantasized about killing the scaly creep in a variety of original ways, but now that Chameleon was in his hands he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Perhaps keeping him as a permanent statue would be punishment enough? He wondered if Chameleon was still awake beneath the crystal, conscious of every passing second. That would be a living hell. Especially if he had an itch to scratch.
All he needed now was Basilisk and he could start a collection.
He mulled that idea over. It wasn’t too bad …
The room suddenly began to swim around him, and the tea mug fell from his hand and shattered on the floor. Jake steadied himself by gripping the sofa, and closed his eyes. The dizziness passed, but left him feeling weak. He experimentally raised his hand and saw that it was shaking. He needed to power up.
When he had returned from Liberty Island, Jake had made a conscious decision not to jump immediately on to Villain.net and load up with powers to quench his need. He knew he was too dependent on them, like a junkie needing a fix, and he was determined to wean himself off. But it wasn’t working. The longer he delayed recharging, the worse he felt. After he had won back his parents he resolved to find some cure for this addiction. Then he would find Basilisk. His to-do list was growing ever longer.
Jake found it very difficult to walk up the spiral staircase to his command tower. Midway up he stopped to catch his breath and realized he was wheezing like an old man.
He finally made it, slumped into a swivel chair, and closed his eyes. He must have nodded off for another half an hour because he awoke with a nervous jolt and a wave of nausea. Reluctantly he stared at the computer screen displaying Villain.net and selected the first two powers he saw. He didn’t care what they were, although he was beginning to recognize some of the icons and knew one power was teleportation—always handy. He decided to choose half the number he usually downloaded in an effort to try to reduce his habit. When they flowed into him he fel
t immediately refreshed.
Now alert, he checked the Villain.net news banner. It mentioned nothing of his clash with Chromosome, but it did mention the good news that Chameleon was missing.
Jake racked his brain. There had to be a way of tracking down Psych. Poking around Villain.net eventually yielded some information when he uncovered entire files on superheroes, including their powers, stomping grounds, and weaknesses. Very useful, except the entry on Psych was simply labeled: MEMBER OF THE JUSTICE FEDERATION. When Jake searched for files on that team he was taken to a page that declared the superhero group had disbanded.
“Great.” Jake moaned aloud. It was obvious that Chromosome had no idea where Psych was either, but it occurred to him that if she wanted to get Jake, then all she had to do was find Psych first. She had probably returned to the Council of Evil after their clash to nurse her wounds, and he was certain she had more resources available to track down Psych than he had. How could he prevent her from interfering again? Further confrontation was something Jake didn’t relish.
Then he had an idea. It was childish and simple, the kind of thing that made the troublemaker inside him laugh. He’d frame her. A quick search across Villain.net revealed a contact e-mail to report any intelligence. Like the Web site itself, it wasn’t a straightforward e-mail address, but it would do.
Jake couldn’t stop smiling as he typed the message, paying attention to the spelling in order to make it as professional as possible before he hit “send.” He took a deep breath, feeling very pleased with his devious scheme. He just hoped that e-mail was delivered to the right person.
His cell phone suddenly rang and he snatched it up, expecting to hear Grimm’s voice.
“Yeah?”
“Jake?”
Jake sat bolt upright in his seat. It was Lorna. He unconsciously ran a hand through his hair to smooth it out.
“Lorna, hi. How’re you?” He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Good. I saw I missed a call from you and, I … um …”
“It’s okay. Wasn’t anything important.” He immediately regretted saying that. “Where are you? Your voice sounds echoey.”