Villainy Returns

“How many specimens survived incubation?” the raspy voice asked over the speakerphone.

“Thirteen, sir. But that doesn’t include the one currently deployed,” Nick responded. He was feverishly packing a metallic case full of the thirteen live successes yet to be deployed.

“Fourteen successful,” he sounded pleased.

Nick felt a drop of tension at the relief of his boss’s voice, “Yes sir. Your recommendations were exactly what we needed. I think if you were to be here in person, we could have doubled it.”

“I have to say, I’m impressed with how quickly you’ve picked up the research. I wish I could join you, Nicholas, but you know I must remain hidden for now. Soon, my boy,” the voice spoke kindly to Nick.

“Thank you, sir,” Nick was eager to please his idol, but he did have questions. “Sir… I just wanted to ask; how many are we going to release?”

“We will only release one more if needed. We cannot play our hand too quickly before we get the second lab up and running. Speaking of,” the voice shifted gears, “you only have moments before our first leviathan breaks the surface. The world will soon see her, and the power she represents. It will only be a matter of time before DOSA will track it back to the lab. I need you secured in our new location as quickly as possible.”

“Yes sir. I only have a few more loose ends to tie up, and I will be at the front door.”

“Your transportation will be waiting,” the voice assured. “Be sure to take care, Nicholas. What you are carrying in that case is the most powerful force on the face of this earth, and it is our only shot at tearing down DOSA and every so-called hero with them.”

“We can always make more, sir,” Nicholas said, confused.

“You have to make it out of there first,” his boss replied.

“Yes sir,” Nick replied before his boss disconnected the call.

Nicholas scurried around the darkened laboratory, taking all the notes and paperwork he could carry. He stuffed his briefcase with as much research data as he could gather in the few moments he had left. Once ready, Nick stood over the opened metal case that held the thirteen live creatures. They were small now, stored in glass containers the size of a coaster, but they would soon become titans. These Leviathans were in their larval stage, only lacking the catalyst to activate and spur exponential growth. They had to be kept just above freezing, only to slow the catalytic progress. Nick knew the importance of taking care. He had thirteen ticking time bombs that needed transport to the new site.

Nick took a long, deep breath as he closed the case. He carefully snapped the lid down and initiated the case into transiting mode. The case was the only thing that would keep the Leviathan specimens in their young, dormant state. Even with the built-in systems, Nick would protect the case like it was a Fabergé egg. A hard enough blow could cause the case to fail, and the specimens would die, or worse, all evolve at once. The chosen DNA for each one was different. All Leviathan required outside DNA to latch onto and incorporate into their being, that part was natural. The catalyst is what turned them into walking titans.

Nick’s boss chose the DNA specifically for each Leviathan. He wanted specific strengths for specific locations where he knew certain heroes would be. They would release them strategically, at different times to split DOSA’s forces. The plan was not Nick’s, it came from his idol and he followed every instruction. However, Nick was a curious mind. He had his thoughts and ideas. He had notions that veered from his leaders’ instruction. So, when the stage for the incorporation of outside DNA came, Nick did something. When he was on the last specimen, the last chance to test a theory that had corrupted his thoughts, he did not put in the chosen DNA. He put in something else.

Nick had his briefcase of notes and data in one hand, and the case in the other. He walked with purpose out of the lab that would soon be turned to dust. Once outside, a black SUV was parked and running. The driver stepped out and helped Nick with the liftgate. In moments, they were off and driving to the new location. This would be the last time he saw the New York laboratory where he had spent most of the last two years. Nick reflected on everything that led him to these moments.

Nick Taber was a biology major. Marine biology was his interest. He was a senior at the University of New York when he found his mentor. He was in debt after years of student loans to further his studies at a very costly private college. He started looking for work outside of his studies to continue paying for his education. There were many medical studies he found that he could take part in to make money, but fate smiled upon him… or maybe he was targeted. Nick was an avid superhero enthusiast, as were most people in modern society. So, when an opportunity to study hypothetical theories on Leviathans presented itself, he took it.

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A man that presented himself as David Truss reached out to Nick. He offered him a position as a lab technician to assist him in his studies on the Leviathans that plagued the world a decade prior. Nick already had an interest in the mysterious beasts since they mostly presented characteristics with aquatic animals. Nick was not sure how David knew about his job search, or how he contacted him in the first place. However, Nick didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to make the money he needed. Plus, Leviathans… how could he pass up an opportunity like that.

It wasn’t until a few weeks of employment at his new job that he discovered David Truss’ true identity. David’s real name was Carlton Black, and he wasn’t a hero. Carlton Black was associated with a darker side of heroics from back in the day. Carlton, or Mr. Black as Nick referred to him, was in bed with high-level criminals. He was known for being involved in many exploits that resulted in super-human deaths. Carlton was a part of a team of people, right before DOSA appeared and took over, that was experimenting on super-humans. They were trying to rob them of their powers. They wanted to understand what made them different, and what powered them above the level of humans. They wanted power for themselves, and they killed many super-humans in the process. However, when DOSA appeared they fell to the wayside and vanished from anyone’s radar. DOSA’s hard stance and abrupt takeover of superhero activity gave many criminals a clean slate. The less-than-savory characters used this as an advantage and went underground.

Nick had heard Mr. Black’s name in conversation before from when he was younger, but he never knew what exactly Carlton was involved with. He never would have known how involved he was in the Leviathan threat. Once he gained Mr. Black’s trust, or maybe once he could be labeled as an accomplice, Carlton explained everything about the Leviathans.

Nick was a quick learner and took the knowledge with stride. He got everything he ever wanted with Mr. Black. Nick became a subject matter expert in marine biology. He knew things that no one else in the world did, and he relished it. He knew that the Leviathans that terrorized the world were not natural.

The Leviathan threat was created in a lab. They were created from a new species that was discovered in the deepest parts of the oceans. Scientists did not know what they were seeing upon the first discovery. On a deep-sea expedition, many creatures were discovered in a trench so dark and deep below the surface that no one could have ever possibly found them before. Whether these creatures were native to our planet, or if they came from somewhere else was irrelevant. These creatures were unlike anything else on the face of the earth. Deep in the trench, there was a multitude of creatures that all shared similar characteristics. There were squid-like appendages that came from, what looked like, other natural marine life. They resembled species that were native to lesser depths above their new dark home, but they were mutated and conjoined. It was like cancer took them over. Some creatures resembled sharks, whales, starfish, swordfish, you name it. They all were well below the depths they could normally survive, and they shared similar tentacle-like appendages.

After samples were taken, along with live specimens, studies were done in a remote tropical island laboratory that was isolated from the civilized world. Carlton Black was one of the researchers. It was soon discovered that the real creature was the part that made up the squid-like features. The strange creature consumed the DNA from local organisms, incorporated itself in them, and became an amalgamation. Dependent on which other organism it absorbed, these new hybrid creatures have varying characteristics and abilities. However, these were not the Leviathans the world would come to know. These were much smaller, normally sized creatures that resembled the originating organism’s dimensions. It wasn’t until the catalyst was discovered that the first true Leviathan was created.

The catalyst was part of a different series of experiments that was accidentally introduced into the Leviathan trials. The catalyst was part of a treatment for cancer in human subjects. It was supposed to be used as an enhancer for the body’s natural immune and healing systems to help stop the uninhibited growth of cancer cells and return cell function to normal. However, when introduced into an environment with a Leviathan organism, where the normal state is to replicate any DNA no matter the source, the effect was exactly opposite to what was found in human testing. Cell growth was exponential. When it happened, and the catalyst was first introduced with the new creatures from the deep, the world was changed; the first true Leviathan was born.

Carlton’s recollection of the event was spotty and hard to describe to Nick. Initially, Carlton did not reveal exactly how much the Leviathan scourge was his doing. But after seeing Nick’s commitment and interest in the creatures, Carlton explained his role fully. At that point, however, it did not matter. Nick was a biology major and all he saw was a chance to learn about things no one else knew.

After two years of studying, trial and error, and a bit of luck, Carlton and Nick re-created what had first been accomplished a decade prior. They had created larval-stage Leviathans. However, Nick was apprehensive about Carlton’s plans at first, unsure of what it would mean to release these fourteen beasts upon the world. It only took moments for Nick to agree, as he thought of the incubating Leviathans as his own creation… his children. The fourteenth Leviathan was special. It was the one that made Nick throw caution to the wind. Nick had always maintained the careful balance between morality and curiosity in his scientific endeavors, at least he had convinced himself of this. However, his curiosity overran any other part of his mind. He wanted to see his creation explode into its mature state and tower over the world. He was a scientist, and he wanted to test a theory. Unbeknownst to Nick, someone else before him, many years ago, did the very same thing.