Sharkskin growled and fell back into attack position. His movement startled not only the FSB agents, but also Tsert and the rest of Vanguard.
“That stench is back, and it’s getting stronger,” said Sharkskin.
“What is your pet babbling about?” asked Levitan, earning a growl from Sharkskin.
Gunsmith’s hands went to the holsters on his legs and drew his teleforce blasters. “Whatever killed those two kids is back.”
Zukov drew a Serdyukov SPS handgun from under his jacket, while saying something in Russian to his partner. Levitan drew his own weapon, but went to Tsert and took him by the arm, speaking to him in Russian. Levitan pulled Tsert with him, moving back down the hill while staying on alert.
“And where are they going?” asked Wraith.
“Levitan is taking him back to the town,” said Zukov. “I do not want to risk another civilian.”
Zenith hovered above the ground. Machinery whirred as his left forearm transformed, shifting into cannon mode with crackling energy at the barrel. “Three targets, closing in rapidly.”
“God, I can smell it now, too.” Shift’s nostrils closed off in response to the odor.
A chorus of inhuman screeches tore through the afternoon air from beyond a ridge not far away. The group moved closer and two things rose above the ridge, looking over them.
Wraith’s eyes bulged. “Holy shit…”
What faced them were two creatures of some kind. Their bodies were stretched out and emaciated, yellow skin taut over their bones. They were hunched over, with heads larger than their bodies. Deep-set eyes with a prominent brow and fangs for teeth. The yellow skin ended at their knuckles, with long, curved, razor-sharp bones serving as fingers.
Their high-pitched wail had a wet, almost gurgling sound. One pounced at Sharkskin. He tumbled with it, rolling down the hill as they grappled. Despite its emaciated shape, the creature possessed inhuman strength, powerful enough even for Sharkskin’s own. Their tumble came to a stop and the creature was on top. It roared and raised its claws in preparation to impale its prey, but an energy blast from Zenith threw it from Sharkskin. The robot helped his teammate to his feet and Sharkskin nodded his thanks, then ran after the creature.
The second creature bared its fangs and claws, jumping when Gunsmith and Zukov opened fire. The beast bounced off a tree-trunk, hopping to grip another branch and then swung from it to a third. Zukov and Gunsmith chased, continuing to fire on it, but not scoring a single hit.
Paragon took off after the creature. “I’m on it!”
Zukov ejected the spent magazine from his Serdyukov and drew a spare from beneath his jacket. Before he could load it, Wraith grabbed him by his tie, and he dropped both the gun and the clip.
“You could’ve told us what we were up against!”
“Let him go,” said Gunsmith.
Wraith narrowed his eyes at his leader. “You crazy? He’s hiding something!”
“I saw his face when they appeared.” Gunsmith’s eyes moved their focus to Zukov. “You were just as surprised by those things as us, weren’t you?”
Zukov gave a nod. “Da. We received no accounts from any eye-witnesses. All we knew is what they were capable of.”
“See?”
Wraith still kept his grip, narrowing his eyes. He released Zukov, shoving him back as he did. “I’m watching you.”
More wails came from the surrounding area.
“Hey guys?” Shift’s large eyes examined the tree-tops. “Didn’t Zenith say there were three of these?”
“Shit,” muttered Wraith, looking sky-ward as well.
***
Sharkskin chased after the creature, trying to keep up. The beast was extremely quick, moving like a yellow blur across the forested hills. It ran through a valley, but skidded to a stop when Zenith lowered in front of it. The beast wasn’t intimidated by the robot and lashed out at him with its knife-like claws. The bone material scraped against Zenith’s outer shell, generating a piercing screech that made Sharkskin cringe as he approached. It also caused the creature to pull back, the palms of its hands going to the holes on the sides of its head.
Zenith readied his cannon for another blast, but the creature seemed to have learned from the previous. When Zenith fired, the creature back-flipped, jumping over Sharkskin and putting the Vanguardian between it and Zenith.
“Argh!” Sharkskin was thrown to the ground by the blast, and he struggled for a minute. Zenith went to his teammate’s side, trying to help him up.
“I apologize, my friend.”
“I’m fine, just get it before it runs off again!”
Zenith nodded and looked up. The creature had vanished again. Sharkskin stood, sniffing the air, then flinching. “It’s still here. That stench is too strong.”
An inhuman wail echoed from above. The creature pounced from a ridge, both claws and teeth bared. Sharkskin jumped up to meet the creature on its descent, his own clawed hand gripping its neck, then twisting with it and throwing it onto the ground. Sharkskin turned and brought his elbow crashing down on the beast’s back with a loud crack.
The thing still squirmed beneath Sharkskin, and so he gripped it, one hand under its jaw, the other atop its head. He pulled it up, the beast now thrashing. Sharkskin roughly twisted and the creature went limp.
***
Gunsmith retrieved the Serdyukov and the magazine. He snapped the ammunition into place and held the gun by the barrel, offering it to its owner. Zukov straightened his tie and jacket, staring at the offering.
“Way I see it, we’ve both got a common enemy at the moment,” said Gunsmith. “Think we can agree to postpone the pissing match for now?”
Zukov nodded and took his weapon. “For now. But once we kill these things, you and I will have words.”
“On that we’re agreed.”
The pair joined Wraith and Shift, who were both on alert. The four stood in place, their eyes scanning for some trace of the creatures.
“How are we supposed to find these things without Zenith or Ko—” Shift froze in the middle of her sentence, realizing she’d almost used a real name. The glare from Gunsmith drove home the mistake and she corrected herself. “I mean, without Sharkskin?”
“Do not worry. They will come to us,” said Zukov.
“That is what I’m worried about.”
The high-pitched wail came again from somewhere in the forest. Leaves rustled and Wraith spun on his heel, unleashing one of his dark energy bursts. The only thing it hit was air. Zukov smirked at the attack.
“Yes, you showed that wind a thing or two.”
“Keep it up, Boris. I’ll show you a few things.”
“Button it,” said Gunsmith. “Stay on—”
A screech and one of the creatures burst from the brush, leaping right in front of Gunsmith. He jumped back, firing on it with his teleforce blasters. But the beast took hold of his wrists and pounced on him, pinning him down. It roared in Gunsmith’s face, its breath holding a metallic stink.
Zukov’s Serdyukov drew the creature’s attention, the rounds slamming into the side of its face. It turned to its new prey, and Zukov backed away as fast as possible. With each step, the creature’s speed increased, and Zukov fired shot after shot. The gun clicked after its final shot and with it, Zukov turned and ran.
As he ran from the creature, Zukov stumbled, tripping and falling. The creature was almost on top of him, but then something grabbed Zukov by his arm and yanked him up into the trees. The creature wailed its annoyance at losing its prey, while Zukov looked up to his savior. Shift was perched on the tree, her elongated arm wrapped around Zukov’s wrist. The arm retracted, pulling the FSB agent onto the branch with her.
The creature drove its claws into the trunk, pulling itself up. A burst of ebon energy struck the beast and it froze, its entire body stiffening. Wraith stood on another tree, his arm extended and palm outstretched, with the aura of his power still circling his hand.
“Look at tha
t, you are afraid of something.”
Wraith generated a portal that transported him from the tree to ground level. He kept his hand aimed at the strange monster as he approached it. When he got closer, he got an idea of what Sharkskin had felt with the beast’s scent. It reeked of decay.
“Ugh, what the hell?”
The creature’s arm twitched.
“Wraith, look out!” cried Shift.
The beast’s arm moved with great speed, and it raked its claws over Wraith’s chest. He grunted and dropped to his knees. The wounds burned with a searing pain, but it was only momentary. The pain vanished almost as quickly as it came. Unfortunately that’s not the only thing that vanished.
“Wraith, get out of there!”
“I-I can’t! It did something to me!”
The creature towered over its prey. Spittle dripped from its gaping maw, the scent of copper wafting from its mouth. Several teleforce blasts slammed into the beast’s head. The beast recoiled and this was followed by Gunsmith charging towards it. He changed a setting on his blaster and fired again. This time a small, round device with three blinking lights struck the beast.
Gunsmith grabbed Wraith’s limp body and dragged him off. “Shift, fire in the hole!”
Shift nodded and one of her arms wrapped several times around Zukov’s torso. “Hold on.” She jumped from the tree, holding tightly to him and her free arm extended, snaking around the branch of another tree. Shift swung the two of them to a safe distance, just as Gunsmith detonated the bomb he planted on the creature. Its cry of anger and fear was silenced by the small explosion that blew it apart.
***
When they returned to regroup, Sharkskin and Zenith found their teammates standing around the remnants of a crater stained with blood and bone. Sharkskin had to hold back from the stink, which was the reason why it was Zenith who carried the body of the creature they had defeated.
“Why’d you bring that thing?” Wraith sat on the ground, his back resting against a tree.
“Zenith thought we should study it.” Sharkskin stared at Wraith for a few seconds, a grin creeping on his face. “You comfy?”
“Paralyzed,” said Wraith. “Damn thing hit me with its claws.”
Zenith dropped the dead beast, then went to Wraith’s side and knelt before him. Cold, metal hands examined the injury and the robot’s scanners went to work on the wound. “There appears to be some sort of residue on these wounds. I will need to examine you at the Icarus.”
“Excuse me,” said Zukov. “What is this about studying it?”
“We have to know what it is we’re up against,” said Gunsmith.
“You’ve killed them, what more do you need to know?” asked Zukov.
“We were jumped by three of those things,” said Wraith. “What we’ve got now is one corpse and one mess, so do the math. Or in Soviet Russia, does two plus two equal five?”
Zukov stared down at Wraith, pointing a finger in his face. “Do not forget that you are in my country illegally. I am within my full authority to shoot you where you sit.”
“Look, clearly you were as thrown by those things as we were,” said Gunsmith. “You saw how tough they were. Paragon is still tracking one and what if there are more? We’re better equipped to deal with these things than you.”
Zukov backed away from Wraith, looking down at his feet. He didn’t like the idea of the interference of outsiders, especially given how secretive the FSB had been about this investigation. The briefing he was given was especially light on the details, and Zukov had been in this business long enough to know when something was off. If he backed off, perhaps that meant these interlopers would have a better chance of getting to the truth.
“We were attacked by a single creature, which was disposed of with the aid of the American super-humans called Vanguard,” he said.
Gunsmith nodded. “Thank you, Agent Zukov.”
“Do not thank me. Just find out what these things are. And stop them.”
Once Zukov began his trek from the forest, Gunsmith activated his comms unit. “Paragon, what’s your status?”
“Still trying to find the one that got away. Damn thing’s fast.”
“Leave it for now.”
“What? But—”
“I need you back at the Icarus. We managed to take one down and we need an autopsy. And out here in the field, you’re the only one qualified for that sort of procedure.”
CHAPTER 3
The Icarus was equipped with an onboard med-bay, designed for emergency treatment of injuries and to stabilize victims during transport to a proper medical facility. But now, the gurney, which folded down from a compartment in the wall, housed the strange creature that Sharkskin had killed near Iskander.
Gunsmith was in the process of removing his armor when Paragon returned to the Icarus. She first recoiled at the sight of the creature up close, but quickly recovered. In addition to Gunsmith, the only other member of the team who was in the med-bay was Zenith.
“The others are in the cabin,” said Jim as he removed the last bit of his armor.
“What about Dom?” asked Anita as she removed her gloves and cape.
“His paralysis appears to be wearing off,” said Zenith. “Also, I have opened a communications channel with Dr. McCabe at the Atlas base.”
A monitor opposite the gurney turned on, revealing the face of McCabe. “I’m sorry I can’t be there with you to conduct this autopsy myself.”
“No problem, Doc.” Anita opened a compartment near the med-bay that housed disposable smocks, masks, gloves, and caps. She took a set and passed it to Jim before donning one herself.
“Zenith has given me access to his visual receptors, so I see whatever he sees,” said McCabe.
“Got it.” Anita took a scalpel and moved over to the creature. She looked up at Jim. “We ready?”
Jim finished tying his cap on his head and pulled on the latex gloves. He gave her a nod. Anita placed her free hand on the creature’s yellowed skin, and then rubbed it slightly. “The texture…it’s very leathery. Seems to be taut, like it’s been stretched to its limit.”
She touched the scalpel to the chest, applying pressure to make the first incision. But what she met instead was incredible resistance. Anita pushed down harder, trying to be careful with her own superhuman strength.
“Something the matter?” asked McCabe.
“The skin…it’s tough. I’m trying to break it, but—” Anita huffed and relaxed her shoulders. She held up the scalpel—the blade had bent. “Great.” She dropped the scalpel into the waste compartment and faced the monitor. “Doc, we’re gonna need something stronger if we’re going to open this thing up.”
“May I?”
Anita looked at Zenith. “May you what?”
“Perhaps a high-intensity laser would prove sufficient.” Zenith pointed at the creature’s chest, his index finger hovering just above the surface. A fine, concentrated beam of blue energy emerged from the tip. It broke against the yellowed skin and Zenith moved from the beast’s left shoulder down to the sternum, then made an identical mark on the right side. From the sternum at the point where the two incisions met, Zenith moved down the torso in a straight line, forming a large Y on the creature. Once he finished, he retracted his finger and took a step back, offering a nod to Anita.
“Thanks, I guess. Let’s get started.”
“Zenith, collect a sample of the blood,” said McCabe. “While you and Anita are conducting the autopsy, I can run some tests to locate the genetic markers.”
Jim stared inside the open cavity, cringing as he examined the beast’s insides. “Is it just me, or are those bones—?”
Anita gave a nod of agreement. “Yeah, they’re not normal.”
The visible bones appeared to have grown wild, beyond the traditional parameters of the human body. They were abnormally sized, misshapen, and disproportionate. Anita bent closer to get a better look at them.
“It looks a bit like skele
tal dysplasia.”
“Dysplasia?” asked Jim.
“Better known as dwarfism.”
“This thing is far from a dwarf.”
Anita stood upright. “I know. But the condition seems the same, just in reverse.”
“Is that even possible?”
“The special gene has fundamentally altered the human species,” said Zenith. “Erin is able to alter her bone structure at will. We may be witnessing a similar event.”
“Except whereas Erin’s is fluid, this guy is fixed,” said Anita. “There’s also something else. If this thing is a special, then that means it’s human, right?”
“As far as we know, there are no cases of any species other than humans with the special gene,” said McCabe.
“Right, so what’s missing?” asked Anita.
Jim and Zenith stepped back and gave the body a thorough look. “Seems like a lot,” said Jim.
“Exactly. No defining characteristics. Especially…” She paused and gestured to the pelvis.
“No genitalia,” said Zenith.
Jim folded his arms and looked at McCabe’s face in the monitor. “Have you seen any specials like this, Doctor?”
McCabe shook his head. “No, this is all new territory. Then again, so is the concept of specials.”
“More than that,” said Anita. “We know there were at least three of these things, all pretty much identical. So the question is how do three separate people in the same area undergo the same specific and rare mutation? Doesn’t that seem odd?”
“I think you’re onto something, Anita. If it were a coincidence, it would be one of staggering proportions.”
“Could specific mutations be passed on to successive generations?” asked Zenith.
“The special gene is new, just revealing itself within the past few years,” said Anita. “So if these things are part of the same family, how did they reproduce without reproductive organs? And how did they grow to such an extent in just a few short years?”
***
Koji stirred from his nap and stretched his arms with a yawn. Erin sat across the aisle from him, earphones plugged into a smartphone and listening to music. She removed the plugs and looked at him.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 13
