“I hate to be the one to throw cold water on all the happy, but I’ve got a ton of questions,” said Dom.
“That’s a lie, you love bringing everyone else down,” quipped Koji. The group laughed. Dom flashed a tiny smirk himself.
“Don’t make me get my harpoon gun, Jaws,” he said. “But seriously, why are we here? It’s not just for some reunion, is it? I kinda got the impression that we’re getting the band back together, but that raises a whole lot more questions.”
“He’s got a point. Lawson made it pretty clear that he’s not going to condone our activities anymore,” said Anita.
“The President’s not calling the shots here,” said Thorne.
“Then who is?” asked Dom.
“I am,” said Thorne.
Anita leaned forward, resting her hands on the table. “All due respect, sir, how does that work out? Once word gets out that Vanguard is operational again, you know Atlas will be the first place Lawson looks.”
“I’m in charge, but we’re not working alone.” Thorne looked at Zenith and gave a nod.
The robot’s LED eyes flashed and then the monitor screen turned on. The group turned their chairs so they could get a good look. On the monitor was a middle-aged man with dark hair that had gone white at the temples. He wore a Cerberus uniform and sat behind a desk.
“Hello, my friends. It’s an honor to speak to you again,” said Abram Zukov.
“What’s going on here, Thorne?” asked Dom.
“Not only are we going to need help to get Atlas back up to a hundred per cent, but Anita’s right—as soon as Lawson figures out Vanguard is active again, this is the first place he’d look. That’s where Zukov comes in.”
“Precisely. Cerberus will now provide assistance and aid to Vanguard as needed and we can also keep the various world governments off your back,” said Zukov.
“I thought the treaty prohibited the use of specials for military operations,” said Anita.
“Generally speaking, yes,” said Jim. “But there are certain conditions that would allow for specials to become assets. This situation qualifies.”
“So what is this situation? There’s gotta be a reason this is all happening now, right?” asked Koji.
“Correct. Zenith, if you please.”
With Zukov’s command, Zenith’s eyes flashed and the screen changed to a topographic map. Zukov provided the narration for the footage the team watched.
“This is North Korea,” he said. The map zoomed into a region. “Here in this mountainous northeastern region is believed to be the location of one of the nation’s infamous prison camps.”
“I don’t get it,” said Dom. “Why is this something that concerns us?”
Erin snapped at him. “Human rights abuses don’t concern you?”
He sighed. “That’s not what I mean. What I’m saying is this isn’t usually our type of deal. It also doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that Cerberus gets involved with. So what’s this all about?”
“It’s a valid question,” said Zukov. “After Callus’ disappearance, we investigated his files—whatever he didn’t destroy, that is. And it seems that he was in contact with the North Korean government, providing them with resources for some project.”
“What project?” asked Anita.
“We’re not exactly sure,” said Thorne. “But based on one of the names in there, we’ve got a pretty good guess.”
The image on the screen changed again, revealing the photograph of a man the team had all come to know and despise. Dom scoffed. “Sonnuva bitch. The Cold War Frankenstein himself.”
“We never discovered where he disappeared to following the fall of the Red Fist,” said Zenith. “If Azarov is working with the North Koreans, then it stands to reason that he is continuing his human experimentation.”
“Trying to activate the special gene in humans,” said Anita. “Just like he did with the Khagan.”
“Cerberus has tried to investigate, but we’ve been stonewalled by China,” said Zukov. “And then this happened.”
The monitor changed from Azarov’s photo to the map. There was a massive splash of blue on one location nestled in the valley of the mountains.
“What the hell is that?” asked Dom.
“A special’s power signature,” said Lee.
“Wait, that’s from one special?” asked Anita.
“That’s where things get strange.” Lee stood and the map changed to a different view entirely. “Here’s a satellite view of Atlas. When we activate our detectors, this is what comes up.” A few blue dots lit up on the map, each one corresponding to one of the Vanguardians.
“All of us combined don’t show up as bright as the one in North Korea,” said Erin.
“Which means this is something very powerful down there,” said Zenith. “But there is still more. Just two days ago, there was a new signature that appeared in this area. Still a special, yet somehow different. We have yet to discover what it is.”
“And that’s why Cerberus needs Vanguard’s assistance,” said Zukov. “You are the only ones who can get to the bottom of this matter. I’ll leave the rest to Jim. Good luck.”
The monitor turned off and Jim rose, standing before the group and drawing all eyes to him. “Okay, so that’s the basis of this mission. We’re to go in and investigate this power source. If we fall under fire, we strike back hard. Any questions?”
He was met with silence.
“Good. Then suit up.”
CHAPTER 3
The doors to the hangar opened and a broad smile spread on Shift’s face when she saw the hi-tech aircraft sitting in the middle of the room. “Wow, I thought this thing would’ve been snatched up by the military immediately.”
“It’s actually a newer model,” said Gunsmith, meeting the group and clad in his familiar crimson armor. “The last one ran into some trouble when we went after Callus.”
“How’d you get it fixed up so quick?” asked Wraith.
“We got to work on it the day Zukov took command. It was his first order to restore it to full capabilities,” said Gunsmith. He surveyed the four members in their suits. “How’s it feel to be back in costume?”
“Little tighter than I remember,” said Sharkskin, turning and stretching his body to get used to the suit again.
“Not possible, Koji,” came Zenith’s hollow voice. He flew from the Icarus’ open hatch. “The suits are weaved with nano-machines designed to adjust to your size and body type.”
Lee joined him as well, moving from under the Icarus, wearing a black suit with a specially-designed belt and gauntlets, with some sort of harness over his chest connected to a strange device on his back. “You could put on a hundred pounds and it would still fit.”
Paragon gave Lee a once-over. “What’s this?”
“Your newest teammate,” came Thorne’s voice as he entered the hangar.
Wraith scoffed and slapped Lee on the shoulder. “No offense, kid. But I don’t think talking to machines is gonna be a lot of help on this job.”
“He proved himself admirably during our confrontation with the Omega and Lucent,” said Zenith.
“More than that, he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.” Thorne looked at Lee. “Show ‘em what you got, kid.”
Lee nodded. An orange forcefield surrounded him. But it expanded to more than that, becoming like a translucent suit of armor surrounding the young man. The suit adjusted even more, becoming larger but keeping him in the center.
“And a little more than that,” said Lee. He began hovering, a jetpack on his back the cause. It allowed him to hover above the team and the armor also generated jet-like wings behind him. He dropped to the ground and smiled at the team. “Hard-light armor. Not bad, huh?”
“Dude, that is so badass,” said Sharkskin with a large smile. He glanced over at Zenith. “Looks like you’re no longer the team’s Iron Man.”
Zenith cocked his head to the side. “Of course not. My body is constru
cted from graphene.”
“That’s not what I—” Sharkskin sighed. “Never mind, dude.”
“So what do we call you?” asked Shift. “Koji picked pretty much all of our names.”
“Hmm…” Sharkskin rubbed his chin as he stared at Lee’s holographic armor. After a moment, he snapped his fingers. “I got it! How about Transformer?”
Shift cringed and frowned. “Transformer, really?”
“You’re usually much better at this,” said Wraith.
Sharkskin studied the uncertain looks from his teammates and shrugged. “What? He can be all massive hard-light mech, but it can also change into a bunch of different configurations. Seems to fit, I think.”
“Actually, I kind of have a name in mind already,” said Lee. “How about Sentinel?”
There were mutters of agreement amongst the team. Except for Sharkskin, who folded his arms and huffed. “Still think Transformer is cooler…”
“Aww, poor Koji,” said Shift, patting him on the back. “You got to name all of us, so let someone else get a chance.”
“Okay, you’ve all had your fun,” said Thorne, stepping into the group. “It’s been a long time since you’ve all worked together as a team. That means you’ll probably be a bit rusty. And you’ve also got a new members that you haven’t had a chance to train with. You may not be the well-oiled machine you used to be. So I want you to all be careful out there, got it? Watch each other’s backs. We can’t afford to lose any of you, or for this mission to go sideways.”
“Don’t worry, Colonel. You can count on us,” said Gunsmith.
Thorne gave a nod. Gunsmith signaled for the team to board the ship. “Okay group, time’s wasting and it’s a long flight across the Pacific.”
Vanguard exchanged their goodbyes with their overseer and boarded the ship. Thorne took a few steps back to get clear. Through the windshield, he could see Zenith sitting at the controls with Sentinel by his side. The silo doors above them opened, revealing the blue afternoon sky. The Icarus powered on and its teleforce VTOL jets activated, slowly raising the state-of-the-art aircraft above the Adirondacks. Once it reached a proper altitude, the thrusters activated and the Icarus shot off into the distance, the silo doors closing and leaving Thorne alone in the hangar.
The Colonel smiled. It had been a long time since he felt like things were working out for the best. Having his team taken away from him was far harder than he cared to admit and he was grateful to Zukov for providing him with the opportunity to bring them back together. For the first time in longer than he could remember, Leonard Thorne truly believed in the work he was doing.
CHAPTER 4
The front gates of the prison opened without delay for the military vehicles that stopped in front. The vehicles were driven around the base and past the prisoner housing to the central building. Waiting in front of the building was Erik Azarov, his hands clasped behind his back.
Men and women in military dress uniform emerged from the vehicles. One of them bore an insignia that identified his rank as that of general. The man was strongly-built and his face bore a few wrinkles from his age.
“General Bak, a pleasure to see you again,” said Azarov.
General Bak Dae-hyun simply huffed in response. He was a man of little humor and his entourage shared his disposition. “I’m here to see the specimen. The Supreme Leader demands an update on your progress.”
“Of course,” said Azarov. “Please, follow me.”
Azarov led the entourage into the building and they piled onto the elevator. The Cold War Frankenstein activated the lift and took them deep into the complex below ground.
“Tell me, how is the Supreme Leader?” asked Azarov.
“He has brought us another glorious day in our grand republic,” said Bak.
Azarov tried to hide his smile. He often wondered if Bak actually believed the Supreme Leader’s cult of personality or if he was just smart enough to know how to play the game.
“Yes, praise be to him,” said Azarov. The lift reached the ground floor and Azarov led them through the tunnels. “We have been diligently working to awaken the special gene in our test subjects. Here is one such testing regiment.”
He brought them to a cell with a clear glass door. The General and his entourage watched as a malnourished man was brutally beaten by three guards. Azarov led them down to another cell, where another man was subjected to water torture.
“We expose them to a variety of drugs of my own design and then subject them to intense physical trials,” said Azarov. “Most of the studies I’ve done indicate that special genes tend to activate under extreme circumstances. Of course there is no guarantee that duress will lead to activation, but it is one area of research we are pursuing.”
“And the harvesting?” asked Bak.
“Yes, that is another area. Genetic treatments on pregnant women and harvesting the fetus. This has led to some new applications and we have made some progress here. But nothing conclusive as of yet.”
“What of the specimen you recently acquired?” asked Bak.
“Right, follow me.” Azarov gestured with his hand and continued down the tunnels. He took them to a cell isolated from the others. The cell was larger than most, with heavy iron bars preventing escape.
J’Karra sat inside the cell, her legs crossed and her eyes closed. Around her neck was an inhibitor collar. The entourage all studied her strange features closely—the reddish-orange skin, the bright yellow hair, the pointed ears.
“We know nothing about her yet,” said Azarov. “She’s been deprived of food and yet she shows no adverse reaction. The inhibitor collar seems to do its job, but studies on blood drawn from her have brought to light some very unusual results.”
“Results such as what?” asked Bak.
“Her DNA is unlike anything on this planet. It is completely different from humans and any other living creature we have on record. I have seen almost nothing like it before.”
“What are you saying, Doctor? Is she an alien?”
“Whatever she is, she is not of this world,” said Azarov.
“You said you have seen almost nothing like her before. Elaborate on that.”
“There is one aspect of her that is similar. At first we believed her to be a special, as she did trigger our sensors. And the inhibitor collar succeeded in suppressing her abilities,” said Azarov. “But when examining her DNA and finding how different it was, it made me wonder. Her genetic code also holds the special gene—almost identical to the one found in our own specials here on Earth.”
Bak blinked at the revelation. “How is such a thing possible? If she is not of this Earth…”
“Then perhaps the special gene itself is alien in nature,” said Azarov. “There is much we still have to learn about the Event that transformed the world. I believe she could be the key to unlocking those secrets. And I believe she can provide us with the answer to the question we seek. She can show us how to activate the special gene.”
“It had better,” said Bak. He studied J’Karra through the bars, perplexed at her calm. “Is she sedated?”
“No, she’s been like that ever since we put her in the cell. We’ve been monitoring her, but she has neither said nor done a thing since awakening.”
“But you say she is a special? What sort of abilities does she possess?”
“As near as we can tell, she can generate some sort of bio-energy into projectiles. She used a bow and would create the arrows from nothing. Perhaps she needs something tangible in order to focus the energies. Follow me.”
Azarov led General Bak into a small room with computer consoles and monitors lining the walls, keeping tabs on their various prisoners. He pointed to one of the monitors, which had a scan of a brain with various colored overlays.
“This is her mind. We’ve been running scans on it, and she has some kind of heightened brain activity. Her powers could be psionic in nature,” said Azarov. “We cannot know for sure unless we remove the
collar.”
“And we will not be doing that,” said Bak.
“Of course not.”
“Finish your work quickly, Doctor.” Bak turned his back, but his words piqued Azarov’s interest.
“General, has time become something of an essence now?” he asked.
Bak turned on his heel. He took a deep breath and sighed. “Cerberus is asking questions. The new director has uncovered some evidence that links us to General Callus. Our friends in China have managed to stonewall Zukov’s efforts for now, but I do not believe it will last long. The Supreme Leader has ordered our efforts to be sped up.”
“I will do what I can, but you must understand, General. This work is very delicate and very, very experimental. There is no guarantee that I can do what I have been tasked with, especially on such a timeframe.”
“You will do it, Doctor. Or you will be punished for your insubordination.” The General fixed his cold eyes on Azarov’s. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, quite,” said Azarov. “Just make sure you keep the power running to this facility.”
The General nodded. “Very well. Back to work, Doctor. These super soldiers will not create themselves."
CHAPTER 5
Zenith sat behind the controls of the Icarus and switched over to the auto-pilot. He turned his seat and rose from it. Sentinel, who sat beside him, followed his lead. The two walked around the partition separating the cockpit from the cabin and looked at the team seated before them. The monitor on the partition activated and it showed a split-screen with Thorne on one side and Zukov on the other.
“Stealth mode has been activated,” said Zenith. “We will be entering North Korean airspace shortly.”
“Be careful out there,” said Zukov. “I can only do so much to keep the Security Council at bay. Zenith, I will need you to transmit any proof you record immediately so that we can use it to our advantage.”
Zenith gave a nod.
“Big question is why would Callus bother with North Korea in the first place? Why not go to the Russians? Azarov’s already got an in with them,” said Wraith.
Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) Page 20
