Chapter 11 – Apocalyptic Plans
Nick Tabor sat with his head resting in his hands, elbows throbbing from how long he'd been contemplating the path he was on. Carlton Black, his boss, and mentor in the creation of Leviathans had him release 3 Leviathans in very close proximity. The wolf hybrid was right off the coast of Los Angeles, the next was in Pismo Beach, a few hours north, and the final newly released monster would breach this surface just south of Santa Cruz. The wolf would be up first, weakening the heroes that responded. The damage and deaths wood call even more powerful heroes from the secret backrooms of DOSA and get them on the front lines for the second titan. The second and more powerful leviathan, Was infused with the DNA of a peregrine Falcon. It would have the ability to fly and travel great distances, making it the first aerial leviathan predator that could travel the entire continent to spread as much damage as possible. The death toll and collateral damage would be like nothing that had ever been seen before. The third and final leviathan was mixed with a boa constrictor. Carlton Black was even uncertain as to what the final form of this creature would look like. He was extremely curious to see the results of the experimentation.
Nick’s eyes were bloodshot, and his mind was scattered. He knew the damage that his creations would cause, but what he had just done cemented what he now was... A villain. There were no more doubts and no more justifications. He was one of the bad guys, and there was no turning back. He had hidden his tears from one of the guards posted outside of his laboratory. He couldn't have them thanking he had any other motives or desires separate from Carlton’s work. They would surely tell Carlton of Nick’s weakness and there would be consequences.
Nick steadied himself and raised his head from his hands for the first time in 20 minutes. He tried to act and pass off his internal anguish as tired eyes from long hours of work. He walked steadily across the lab to the rest of the specimens that had been placed inside a stable stasis chamber within the lab. only ten of the original 14 were left. 10 baby leviathans waiting to be chosen for release. They all looked the same in their larval stage. No signs of the other creature that was used for binding. Even so, Nick knew which one was his special project. There were no physical signs or indicators, but Nick was staring right at it. Inside the protective casing was the swirling form of a sub-nautical creature in the early stages of its life. As he stared into it, he felt like he was connected to it mentally. It showed no signs of life other than the purple color they all shared, but it was very much alive.
Nick was still staring at his pet project when a blue-tinged hologram of Carlton Black’s face appeared over Nick's desk.
“Nicholas, how are the specimens?”
“Good Sir,” Nicholas said quickly as he turned to his boss. “All stable and awaiting release.” Nick gritted his teeth, unsure of how they had gotten to this point.
“Go ahead, speak your mind,” Carlton said obviously seeing something on Nick's mind.
“It’s just... You said we would only release one more if needed. We just released 3 on one coastline. What are we doing?” Nick couldn't understand.
“We must adapt to life as it unfolds Nicholas. The heroes killed our first much easier than I expected. After careful consideration, I deemed it necessary to up the ante. These three will just be the start. If needed, we'll release them all. But, I need to know that you are still on board. Your work here is crucial, and I cannot have my lead scientist bogged down by doubts and uncertainties.”
Carlton’s words were blatant threats against Nick’s poorly hidden shaken resolve.
“It's just, so many civilians are going to die. I know we were targeting DOSA, but it feels like we're hurting innocent people more than the government itself,” Nick spoke openly.
Nick was always thrilled at the idea of creating powerful leviathan creatures from the past. It had pretty much blinded him to the actual consequences of what they could do. When the first one was released, the thrill of seeing his first creation come to life blotted out anything else that could even resemble regret. People had died but it was very minimal for a leviathan attack. Nick would never say the words, but he was a little let down at how easily dispatched the elephant leviathan was. When Carlton told Nick to get more ready for release, he saw it as another chance to unleash the power he had created in the lab. He knew what the biological simulations had said about the wolf hybrid. So, when Carlton said he wanted it released, Nick started to feel like he would finally see the power. He knew there would be deaths, but he forcefully blocked that out of his mind as much as he could. Then, to Nick’s surprise, Carlton wanted the Peregrine Falcon released north of the wolf, and then the snake released a little farther up the road. The Titans would be spread out across hundreds of miles but the ability they potentially had for destruction was incalculable.
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The falcon, if it retained the ability to fly even with its massive weight, would be able to move around the world and cause destruction the likes of which had never been seen even in the previous leviathan war. It would probably be one of the fastest creatures that had ever been created as well. A normal peregrine falcon could fly at speeds up to 240 miles per hour. That type of speed enhanced by the Leviathan DNA would create something the world could never have imagined. A beast the size of a building, made of densely armored scales and powerful tentacles, traveling hundreds of mph would be like a meteor striking the earth. That was the realization that finally broke Nick's House of his fugue state. They thought of a creature he created being able to travel the entire world decimating entire cities and civilizations, potentially, gave him an inescapable feeling of doom that he had plagued across the world.
The snake was another matter. The boa constrictor DNA coupled with leviathan cells would produce something that their incubator projections couldn't classify. The possibilities generated by the machinery used to incubate the leviathans were always very accurate as to what type of creature would be born, and the ratio of leviathan-to-native creature would be achieved. However, the snake basically pumped out question marks across the screens of incubation chambers. Every time the simulations were run it was the same error screens neck could not register.
“We have a separate issue, Nick,” Carlton said, gaining Nick’s attention. “Scans of the fight in Sandusky revealed an energy signature separate from the leviathan. It shouldn't have been possible, but it was there amidst the fighting. Since then, it has appeared sporadically in different places around the country. It was at the old laboratory in New York, Nick. You missed it by a few hours. It showed up at other laboratories of mine there were known from the early days. I haven't used them in years, but I still maintain sensors to monitor activities in the area.”
“What is it? There's someone know about us?” next felt a surge of panic and fear shoot through his body. The hairs on the back of his neck started to rise as adrenaline pumped through his heart.
“There once was a leviathan attack that was thwarted very quickly. You might remember it,” Carlton offered to Nick. “Grand Isle, Louisiana. A shark leviathan that could have devastated the island and moved on to the entire state of Louisiana. It had great potential, but it was killed in an instant by a force more powerful than anything else I have ever seen on this Earth. But as quickly as it appeared and annihilated my creature, it disappeared. But” Carlton added with great satisfaction, “not before it left behind an energy signature my sensors picked up. it is the same signature I saw in Sandusky.”
nick started connecting a few dots. Things Carlton had said to him throughout their time together. One thing that Carlton hated above all else, even DOSA and the government, was the power superhumans had at their very fingertips when they never worked to earn it. He spoke of superhumans so powerful that the world wouldn't even believe they'd exist. At the moment Nick just thought he was Speaking of powerful heroes turning into DOSA agents that the world had never seen 20 years ago. However, now Nick was starting to understand that Carlton was referring to something specific. Someone else entirely.
“So, is all this to draw someone out?” Nick asked Carlton.
“That is a primary goal, but not crucial to our mission. If we succeed in what I have planned, it won't matter if he's still out there. The world of heroes will be left in ruins, and there will be nothing left but anger and hate for any superhumans left standing. just like we always planned...” Carlton said the last part in anger.
Nick didn't understand what his mentor meant, and he didn’t ask. Nick was starting to realize he was a small piece and a much larger game. Carlton was using him to continue something he had started a long time ago. Nick was involved so deeply now there was no turning back, and there was no way for him to fight against Carlton. Part of him didn't want civilians to die, while another part didn't want his leviathans to die. He worried more about his own creatures that he created in a laboratory than about human lives. He definitely didn't want them to die, and it even made him sick to his stomach. Though when he actually compared the two in his mind, the leviathans sat atop the humans.
A thought occurred to Nick. He did have one way. One way to throw a wrench and Carlton’s plans. Nick turned and looked to the stasis pod that held the remaining 10 larval stage monsters. He connected his eyes to the form of his special creation. The one that was hidden behind a fake simulation of a grizzly bear imbued with the leviathan DNA. He created the fake incubation simulation as a mask so Carlton would not see what he had done. The power of this leviathan would shock the world, and even Carlton Black himself. If Carlton wanted to Charge the next creatures into the superhumans for slaughter, the leviathans needed a champion.
Nick would bide his time. He could wait and see what happened with the three that were just released. He would wait until Carlton’s attention would be on the news feeds and satellite imagery of the three leviathans that were about to breach this surface on the Western Front. Once they were In the fight of their lives against the superhuman kill squads sent after them, Nick would make his move. He didn't understand exactly what would happen. But he knew that once he released the larva, and let the catalyst do what it was meant for, the Titan that would walk the earth would hinder Carlton’s plans and possibly save the rest of the leviathans. Whatever happened to Nick after this would be something he would have to deal with. With any hope, he could get out from under the influence of Carlton Black.
At that thought, Nick saw a television in corner of the lab cut from a scientific documentary to an emergency news broadcast. Nick’s eyes turned to watch as the world was informed. A new leviathan had just been detected and was approaching landfall.
“And it looks like we have begun,” Carlton spoke through the hologram.
Nick spoke under his breath, a mix of anguish and rage for the lives of his creatures, “No turning back now!”
As soon as Carlton was distracted, he was going to make his move.