Talon and Chronos were the first ones out of the plane, her wings and his glider respectively taking them right back towards Proximo Labs. The same place they’d attacked just a few days before. Already, repairs had been underway at the facility, and Talon smiled to herself at the thought of them having to start all over from scratch.
Pulse followed behind, his electromagnetic powers gently lowering him towards the ground. And Zephyr and the Red Fist soldiers were last. Her winds carried her and the half-dozen soldiers down to the ground.
As they approached, gunfire erupted from the Cerberus guards stationed there. The group flew easily to avoid the blasts. Chronos, Pulse, and the Red Fist troops returned fire, taking out as much of the opposition as possible before they hit the ground.
Talon dove, her wings occasionally providing more momentum for her descent. Her eyes turned yellow and her claws extended. She landed on a guard tower, taking down the soldier who manned it. Across from her was another tower and the guard there targeted her with his teleforce rifle. A blast from Chronos’ staff took him down.
When Pulse hit the ground, he released a wave of electromagnetic energy that pushed the guards from him. He channeled his power through his palms, firing force blasts that took down guards who attempted to come at him.
Above Pulse, Zephyr floated in the air, carried aloft on her winds. She lowered the Red Fist soldiers to the ground and they instantly opened fire on their opposition. Zephyr twirled her hands, forming a large sphere of compressed air, and shot it at the Proximo facility, blowing a hole right through the wall.
Alarms went off while the Proximo guards tried their best to repel the Red Fist. But with the aid of the specials, the odds were very much against the security forces. Men were being felled with ease, the specials calmly and efficiently taking them down without even a minimum of exertion.
And then the big guns were called in.
Several guards rushed out, carrying some sort of large containment pod. They set it down on the ground and one of them entered the security code on a panel to activate it. The pod’s lid opened and a man slowly rose from it. Talon saw and noticed he wore the same orange jumpsuit she had recently been forced to wear in the Garden.
His head was bald and he looked at the scene unfurling before his eyes. As soon as he saw the uniforms of the Red Fist soldiers with their familiar insignia, his eyes began to glow bright blue with a fierce intensity. Terrence Gibson held his arms out to the side, calling up his power.
An azure aura wrapped around his body. Energy emerged from every pore and his body became just as bright as his eyes. The aura around him crackled with raw power.
“I think we’ve got our man,” said Chronos.
Pulse grinned and turned his attention to Lucent. “Good.”
Lucent rose above the ground and saw Pulse approaching him. He stared intently at the unknown special, his eyes burning with power. Optic blasts fired from his retinas.
Pulse stood his ground and held a hand out in front of him. He waved it to the side and the blasts followed the path, avoiding him entirely. Lucent blinked in surprise, but made another attempt. Once again, Pulse easily redirected the blast.
“Looks like the Khagan found a willing lapdog,” said Lucent.
“What about you? Working for Proximo?” asked Pulse. “Didn’t they imprison you once?”
Lucent growled and charged. He raised his fists in front of himself, barreling towards Pulse. The special didn’t seem concerned in the least. He remained in position, holding his hands out to the sides, pulsing with electromagnetic energy.
Metal debris came from all corners of the area, rapidly moving towards the two combatants. Pulse easily used it to quickly form a barrier between him and Lucent, a barrier that Lucent didn’t anticipate and unable to quickly compensate for. He slammed right into the makeshift wall and Pulse dropped the debris.
He held a hand out, gesturing up and Lucent’s body obeyed his command. Pulse held him in place, studying the man. “I gotta say, from the stories I heard about you, I expected more.”
“Like this?” Lucent’s eyes opened and he flew right inside Pulse.
Pulse could feel Lucent’s essence inside his body. He couldn’t move, couldn’t expel him. Lucent had phased into his form and was destroying him from the inside-out. Pain erupted all over Pulse’s body.
Chronos fired a blast from his staff that knocked Pulse to the ground. Energy arced out from Pulse’s body, reforming into Lucent, who now looked at the new enemy. There was a flash of recognition in the special’s eyes—he remembered Chronos from the battle just a few short days ago. And his anger grew.
Lucent held out his hand, generating a forcefield around Chronos. A field that slowly began to shrink. Chronos held up his own, trying to use his armor’s forcefield to combat it. He strained against Lucent’s bubble, his armor’s personal field struggling, flashing integrity warnings.
Talon swooped down, dragging her claws along Lucent’s back. He cried out and his concentration on the field was broken. It dissipated, freeing Chronos from its confines. Lucent turned his rage on Talon, channeling electricity through all ten of his fingers.
Talon tried to avoid it, but there were too many arcs. She was struck, her body coursing with the electricity. She screamed, hovering in mid-air, her entire body tense as the power moved through her.
The force behind the electricity became less effective. Voltage dropped and Lucent could sense it, but he had no idea how or why. Then the electricity stopped altogether and Talon dropped from the sky. Chronos flew for her, but she was buoyed up in place by Zephyr’s winds and gently lowered to the ground.
Lucent examined his hand with shock in his eyes. He saw his aura weakening. And then he turned and saw the source.
Pulse knelt on the ground, evidently still having difficulty standing upright. One hand braced against the pavement while the other was extended, the illumination around that appendage matching the blue glow of his eyes. He extended all fingers fully, the muscles in them becoming taut, his hand vibrating slightly as he channeled his power through it.
Lucent was paralyzed. His power leeched off him, his aura growing weak and fading into nothing. The blue tint left his body, leaving him trapped in his human form.
“How is this possible?” he asked.
“You control and create energy—you are energy,” said Pulse. “And electromagnetism is my playground, buddy.”
There was a bright flash and when it faded, Lucent had collapsed. The glow faded from Pulse’s hand and eyes and he fell, too.
Chronos helped Talon to her feet, allowing her to use him to lean on as she tried to regain her footing. Zephyr lowered herself to their level. The Red Fist troops stood nearby, keeping their guns ready in case any of the remaining Proximo guards attempted anything.
“One down.” Chronos looked at Zephyr. “Now what?”
“We wait for the Khagan,” she said.
***
The distraction provided by their people allowed the Khagan and Ink to easily slip inside Proximo. There were still many vulnerabilities in their system after Vanguard’s previous attack and they couldn’t compensate for everything.
“You sure you know where you’re going?” asked Ink.
“Positive.”
The Khagan took the lead and she followed, uncertainty heavy in her heart. She knew the stories about this man, but at the same time, she also knew things weren’t always as black and white as Talon seemed to think. And if the Analyst could change, there’s no reason to believe the Khagan couldn’t. She was torn between the points of view offered by both Chronos and Talon, not certain who she should side with.
If the Khagan knew anything of her moral dilemma, he gave no outward indication. He remained silent as he led Ink through the corridors of Proximo, down into the bowels of the facility. They soon arrived at a door blocking their path, one which Khagan stepped aside for her to deal with.
“What would you do without me?” asked Ink, her tribal ta
ttoo snaking down her arm and forming large blades along her hand. She tore through the metal door as if it were butter.
“I have ways of my own.”
She scoffed. “Don’t think a sword would cut it.”
“No, not a sword.” His eyes briefly flashed red and it sent a chill down Ink’s spine. The Khagan stepped through the shredded door first and Ink followed a step or two behind.
The room wasn’t very large. There was a computer console, some equipment, and on a table, a small box with a keypad and biometric scanner to prevent access. The Khagan slowly walked towards the box.
“That’s it,” he said.
“You’re sure?”
He nodded and slowly moved closer. “At one point, I had many followers within the world’s military forces. Ramsey saw to it that many of them were recruited into Cerberus. And though he betrayed our ideals, my soldiers remained loyal. There are plenty within Cerberus who work for me.”
The Khagan moved closer to the tachyon generator. He heard the sound of a teleforce rifle powering up. The Khagan looked to the side and saw a figure move from the shadows. Her long, blond hair had now been cut short and her face showed quite a few more wrinkles. But the ice-cold eyes were unmistakable.
“Miriam Rowe,” said the Khagan. “It’s been ages.”
Rowe held the rifle trained on the Khagan, stoic as ever. “You should have stayed dead.”
Ink stepped forward, the tattoos on her body glowing. The Khagan held his hand up to keep her at bay. “That’s quite all right. I think I can handle an old woman.”
“Speaking of, you’re looking pretty good for your age,” said Rowe. “Azarov’s experiments suit you well.”
“Betrayal suits you, too,” said the Khagan. “You and Ramsey thought you could co-opt my organization and use it to serve your own goals. You were wrong.”
Rowe snickered. “I see it differently. You’re an underground nuisance. I don’t think the Kotharians even know you’re still alive—or care, for that matter. Now why don’t you leave the tachyon generator alone and calmly surrender.”
“Up yours, lady.” Ink pointed at the box containing the generator. “That’s coming with us whether you like it or not.”
Rowe chanced a quick look at Ink, then settled her gaze on the Khagan. “Your friend talks tough. Is she aware that I’ve got this rifle set to full-power, I have it aimed directly at your head, and I’m an excellent shot?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The Khagan’s eyes turned bright red. A crack formed in Rowe’s cool countenance as she watched the changed, the rifle wavering in her hand. As soon as she saw movement, she squeezed the trigger.
A flash of metal and the Khagan had his sword drawn, deflecting the teleforce blast. In another blur, he’d crossed the distance separating the pair. Rowe coughed up blood, red splotches staining the floor. As the Khagan drew his blade from her torso, she slumped to the ground, dead.
The Khagan flicked his sword, shaking as much of the blood loose as he could. He removed a cloth and wiped the metal clean before sheathing the blade. When he glanced up, he saw Ink staring at him.
“It was either her or us,” he said. “Now make yourself useful and grab the generator. We have work to do.”
CHAPTER 8
Cassie had received an emergency transmission that caused her to immediately summon Vanguard together. They all sat in the war room, around the familiar metal table. Once everyone was in place, at the Analyst’s command, Cassie played back the message. A holographic image of Chronos appeared above the table.
“I hope you guys get this. Vicky’s got me broadcasting on every frequency she can think that you’ve used. Hopefully you pick this up somewhere along the line,” he said. “Anyway, I’ll get to the point—we’re with an organization called the Red Fist, led by a man who goes by the name of Khagan. Vic says you already know him and she says don’t bother worrying about where he’s been for the past twenty years.
“I helped him and the Red Fist liberate the Garden, a camp where Vicky and Reina were being held. He was after some data on something called the Codex. I’m transmitting all the files I have along with it. Earlier today, we also hit Proximo Labs again. The Khagan wanted two things—Lucent and the tachyon generator. He says he’s got some plan to destroy the Codex using both of them. A plan that somehow involves one of his specials, a guy named Pulse who can control electromagnetic energy.
“I don’t know how much time we’ve got before he’s moving into action and I don’t know if this plan will work or not. What I do know is that this Codex? It sounds like bad news and maybe destroying it isn’t such a bad idea.”
Chronos continued his message. All of Vanguard watched with rapt attention, with the exception of Cassie. She was busy analyzing the data Chronos included with his transmission. And what she was reading began to terrify her.
“The Codex is apparently still inactive, and it’s housed in Atlas, which Vic says is your old base,” he continued. “I don’t know what this all means. But the three of us felt that we should give you a heads up, and that maybe with this data, you could see something we might be missing. Hopefully we’ll see you guys soon. Chronos out.”
His image vanished from the table. Silence followed for a few moments. Cassie could feel everyone’s eyes on her as she worked, but she just held up a finger to keep anyone from asking her questions yet.
“Azarov wasn’t lying,” said Erin. “The Khagan is alive. And apparently ready to make a pretty big splash.”
“What’s this Codex thing? And how is he gonna stop it?” asked Koji.
“I’ve been studying the decrypted information since before I called this meeting. It’s…it’s very bad news,” said Cassie with a look of fear on her face. She went on to explain everything about the Codex that was included in the files. How it was a being imprinted with the DNA of hundreds if not thousands of specials, that it was the result of years of research and experimentation conducted by Azarov, and that it seemed to be using the body of Zenith as the carrier.
“They’re using Zen for this thing?” Erin’s fingers curled into tight fists. “Of all the…”
“What’s this plan?” asked Alex. “Can it be done? Can they stop the Codex?”
“That’s…the other bad news,” said Cassie. “I’ve looked over the data Chronos sent us about the tachyon generator and the Khagan’s plans. And I think we could be in store for something really awful if we let them go through with this. You see, Zenith’s body was already pretty tough to destroy. But add to that all these abilities implanted in it, and the Codex could theoretically reconstruct itself.”
“Just like Azarov,” said the Analyst. “But the Khagan’s found a way around it?”
“Sort of,” said Cassie. “Years ago, Lucent drained Zenith’s power core.”
“Yeah, and ended up absorbing Zenith in the process,” said Koji. “For a short time, Zen was actually in control of Lucent’s body.”
“Right, well the Khagan is planning to have Lucent do something similar—but instead of draining Zenith, he’s going to have him drain the tachyon generator. And then use those absorbed tachyons and channel them into the Codex.”
Koji scratched his head. “I don’t get it. How would that do anything? If the Codex has all these powers, it probably also has Lucent’s, right?”
“Tachyons are what make time travel possible. If suddenly flooded with them, the Khagan’s hope is that they’ll result in the Codex getting trapped in a kind of temporal loop,” said Cassie.
“What’s that mean?” asked Alex.
“Meaning it will be stuck outside of time, unable to affect anything.”
“How is that a bad thing?” asked Tuwa.
“Because nothing happens in a vacuum,” said Cassie. “If the Khagan goes through with this, he could end up triggering a temporal calamity.”
“Temporal calamity…?” asked Jim.
“Think of a powerful earthquake—splitting open the gro
und, vibrations toppling buildings, triggering tsunamis…think of all that, but happening to time itself,” said Cassie.
“A…timequake?” asked Erin.
“Yeah, for lack of a better term,” said Cassie.
“What are the chances of that actually happening?” asked the Analyst. “Could he actually pull it off without generating this timequake?”
“It’s not guaranteed,” said Cassie. “But the chances are far higher than I’d like. High enough that I’m confident it’s not worth the risk. Especially when we have our back-up plan.”
“Chronos,” said Koji. “We get that tachyon generator, he can repair his armor and go back in time. Stop all this from happening.”
“That’s our best shot,” said Cassie. “Chronos’ armor can control the tachyon output, regulate it. Lucent can’t. Especially when he’s being controlled by this Pulse character.”
“And what about the Codex?” asked Jim. “We can’t just leave that thing in the hands of Cerberus.”
“We take it with,” said the Analyst. “You said it was still inactive, correct?”
Cassie nodded.
“Maybe Zen’s still in there somewhere,” said Erin. “If Cassie works on it, maybe we can—”
“Bad idea,” said Jim. “We can’t risk the chance of that thing ever being active.”
“But—”
“No, Gunsmith is correct,” said the Analyst. “The risk is too great. I’m sorry, but Zenith is dead.”
Erin wanted to say something further in defense of her friend. She felt her hand tightening into a fist again, followed by the feel of Koji’s fingers gently resting on her arm. She tried to calm herself.
“We have to go to Atlas, stop the Khagan, and retrieve the Codex, the tachyon generator, and our allies.” The Analyst’s eyes examined the men and women under his command. “Suit up. We leave immediately."
CHAPTER 9
Night fell over the Adirondacks. Nestled in a valley within the mountains was the remains of an old ICBM silo. Under orders from then-President Curtis Hayworth, the silo was converted into a state-of-the-art facility, equipped with some of the finest technology available, and christened the Atlas.
Vanguard: Season Four: A Superhero Adventure Page 14
