“Stop!”
The Exemplar paused his attack and righted himself, moving into a casual hover. Paragon looked up at him, breathing heavily. She shook her head and began to laugh. “Of all the people to shake me out of it…”
The Exemplar couldn’t help his own chuckle. “Lily always said I could be pretty charming when I wanted to be.”
***
The bay doors of Atlas opened to accept the incoming Icarus. The VTOL jets carefully lowered it down into the hangar, the landing gear extending and touching down on the surface. Colonel Thorne and Dr. McCabe stood to the side of the hangar near the door and approached the hatch once it lowered.
“We’re running short on time here and—” Thorne stopped both his speech and approach when he saw the man in the blue and white uniform who stepped off the ramp. His face contorted in anger and he jabbed a finger in the Exemplar’s direction while directing his gaze to Gunsmith. “Just what in the hell is he doing here?”
“Saving your team’s ass.” The Exemplar flashed a grin and extended his hand. “Hi, Callum King. And you are…?”
“This man’s a known terrorist!” spat Thorne.
“And he also broke me out of my conditioning,” said Paragon. “The Khagan has a psychic working for him, someone who was able to turn me against the team, probably through some sort of trigger.”
Thorne’s mouth fell open, but McCabe came up behind him to continue his side of the conversation. “If indeed the Exemplar managed to free you from this control, we are grateful. But bringing him here…”
“Thorne said it himself, we don’t have time,” said Wraith as he disembarked.
The Colonel watched him step off the ramp and move towards the doors leading to the elevator. “And what’s he doing here?”
“It’s a long story,” said Gunsmith. “Let’s focus on what we do know, okay? The Khagan has managed to kill both the President, Vice-President, and most of the cabinet. How’d he do it?”
Thorne kept his gaze fixed on the Exemplar, clearly uncomfortable with having a former enemy in their base. Still, he provided an explanation. “From what we can tell, it looked like a device similar to your blasters or Zenith’s cannon. In other words—”
“A teleforce weapon,” said Gunsmith.
“Right, but on a far larger scale than anything we’ve ever seen,” said Thorne. “How he was even able to get his hands on a weapon that isn’t even supposed to exist is still a mystery.”
“No it’s not,” said the Exemplar. “The Khagan has a special working with him who’s able to talk to machines, can build just about anything. With the right parts, that could also mean a giant space laser.”
“There’s more, we think Ramsey may be working with him,” said Gunsmith.
“What makes you think that?” asked McCabe.
“The Red Fist’s foot soldiers were wearing my armor. Only way they could have gotten the specs for it is from someone with knowledge of it,” said Gunsmith. “Paragon couldn’t have gotten access to those, which leaves only five people. Two of those are already dead, two are standing right in front of me, and one was conveniently away from the White House when the Khagan struck.”
“And he managed to get me from my prison not long after I was taken captive,” said the Exemplar.
“Plus Zephyr was one of the specials defending Tora Bora,” said Sharkskin.
“And Ramsey would have had access to all of them.” Thorne scoffed. “Never did like that guy.”
“So the question is what do we do now?” asked Paragon.
“Dennis Lawson has claimed the Presidency through the line of succession. He’s been calling, seems he already knows about our connection with Hayworth,” said Thorne. “The Khagan’s been quiet for now, but it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again. He wants the Presidency for himself.”
“No he doesn’t, he wants chaos,” said Paragon. “The Khagan’s not interested in fixing the system, he wants to tear it down and start again. At least that’s what I remember him saying when I met him.”
McCabe’s eyebrows rose at that statement. “I thought you couldn’t clearly remember what happened to you?”
“That was before, seems the fog on my memories is lifting.”
“Don’t forget that he’s also been experimenting on me,” said the Exemplar. “Guess he didn’t want me joining his little Injustice Gang, thought it’d be more fun to have Azarov run his little tests.”
“Azarov?” asked Thorne. “I thought he was dead?”
“Like I said, it’s a long story,” said Gunsmith. “Look, there’s a lot going on here, but the important thing is we know where the Khagan is and we have to stop him before he makes another move.”
“That’s going to be complicated.” Thorne turned on his heel and walked towards the elevator with the rest of the group following close behind. “We’ve been trying to get clearance for a shuttle launch, but it’s been slow-going. Especially since the attack on the White House. Without some sort of official clearance, we can’t even get up to Olympus.”
“So what do we do? Ask him nicely to meet us down here?” asked Wraith.
Thorne pressed the call button for the elevator and tossed a glance at the dark-haired special. “I really didn’t miss you, Vaughn.”
“Feeling’s mutual, old man.”
The elevator doors opened and Thorne stepped inside. “Right now there’s only one man who can help us.” The rest of the team followed him in and he hit the button for the next level down. “Unfortunately, I’ve been ducking his calls.”
***
In a secret bunker, the newly-appointed President at a long table with advisors from the CIA, NSA, FBI, various branches of the military, and Homeland Security all seated around him. Ramsey sat closest to him. At the other end of the table was a large monitor that displayed the face of Colonel Thorne.
“Your request for a private conference has been acknowledged and refused, Colonel,” said Lawson. “My predecessor had far too much secrecy and I’m not about to continue that trend. Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of these men as well.”
Thorne sighed but nodded and continued. “Very well, Mr. President.”
“We’ve been trying to reach you ever since Secretary Ramsey informed me of your…connection to the previous administration,” said Lawson. “Running a superhuman task force completely off the books?”
“It was necessary for plausible deniability, sir. And if we have to come out of the shadows in order to do our job, then my team is prepared to do just that,” said Thorne. “But we can’t do this alone. Our aircraft is highly advanced, but it’s not capable of space travel. We need your help in securing my team seats on a shuttle launch.”
Ramsey chortled. “Really, Colonel? How do we know you’re not in league with this madman? After all, one of your number has associated with him in the past.”
Thorne ignored Ramsey’s barb. As much as he wanted to out the man, all they had to go on was circumstantial evidence. Until he had something concrete to take to the President, he couldn’t tip off Ramsey. “Paragon was a prisoner of the Khagan, no one wants him taken down more than her.”
Lawson narrowed his brown eyes. “I highly doubt that, Colonel.”
“The Khagan’s already shown you what sort of power he has at his disposal. If we don’t act fast, then he will use it again. We need your help, sir. Get us on a shuttle so we can stop him once and for all.”
Lawson sat back in his chair. The advisors around him all threw out a multitude of differing opinions. Some suggested doing as Thorne asked, others said to let them do it on their own. A few even shared Ramsey’s accusation and believed that Vanguard was little more than an extension of the Red Fist.
The President stood and held up his hands. “Okay, that’s enough!” His voice rose above the sound of the chatter and silence quickly followed. Lawson leaned against the table and stared at the monitor. “You win, Colonel. I’ll see to it that you receive w
hat you need. But I have one condition.”
“Name it, sir.”
“After this, we have to have a serious discussion,” said Lawson. “My predecessor set up Vanguard without any concern for the consequences, and that’s something I plan on addressing.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you, Colonel. I’ll contact you again once the arrangements have been made.” Lawson ended the call from a small keyboard that rested on the table in front of his chair. The image of Thorne vanished and the monitor went black.
“Sir, let me just say that this is a suicide mission. You’re putting a lot of trust into the hands of a few freaks.”
Lawson locked eyes with Ramsey. “We do what we have to do, Secretary. Now, somebody put me in touch with the members of the UN Security Council. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
CHAPTER 7
A small shuttle emerged from Earth’s atmosphere, coming within range of the large space station. It hovered amongst the stars, like a tower surrounded with several rings surrounding it, with wings connecting the rings to the center. Mounted at the tower’s peak was a large satellite dish with a very unconventional antenna.
In addition to Vanguard and the Exemplar, the shuttle also contained a small crew of just three people. The team assembled in the docking bay as the shuttle approached and Gunsmith gave the crew their orders.
“We’ll need you to remain in range once we’ve secured the space station,” he said. “Do not, under any circumstances, initiate any docking procedures until you’ve heard from us. Understood?”
The crew acknowledged that they did and Gunsmith rejoined the team. “We’re all set.” He looked at Wraith. “You sure you’re up to this?”
Wraith nodded. “We’ve got the layout of the station, so I’m pretty sure I can get us all in without sticking anyone in a wall.”
“‘Pretty sure’?” asked the Exemplar.
“Relax. I’ve done this before.”
“You’ve teleported six people across the vacuum of space before?”
Wraith shrugged. “Well, when you put it that way…no.”
The Exemplar sighed. “Fantastic.”
“That’s really the hardest part,” said Gunsmith. “The shuttle the Khagan commandeered only had six people on the crew. We know that he’s there and so is the special King told us about—Parker. That means only four other grunts, likely all wearing duplicates of my armor.”
“Assuming he didn’t bring any specials with him,” said Paragon.
Gunsmith nodded reluctantly. “Right. We can only hope that assumption is correct. But from what we know of the Khagan, he doesn’t have any powers himself.”
“They have to be able to tell we’re coming though, right?” asked Shift. “How do we know they won’t use that death ray on the shuttle?”
“Not possible,” said the shuttle’s commander, Captain Scott Lloyd. “It would take too much for them to reposition the weapon. And we can easily reposition the shuttle if they do attempt to target us.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point,” said Paragon. “I just want to get my hands on that sonnuva bitch.”
“Get in line,” said the Exemplar.
“Alright, everyone get close,” said Wraith. “And be quiet, I need to concentrate. One distraction and we could end up floating in the middle of space.”
“Comforting,” said the Exemplar.
The team formed a circle around Wraith, moving as close as possible. He held his arms at his sides, fingers curling and he threw his head back, staring at the ceiling with his eyes glowing with the powerful ebon energies contained inside his body. Auras surrounded his hands and grew larger, forming a giant circle around the whole group. Darkness filled the area for a brief moment. And when it passed, the team was no longer on the shuttle. They were instead in the center of the command deck of the Olympus. And the four Red Fist agents clad in crimson armor instantly drew their weapons in surprise.
“Move!” Gunsmith ducked an energy blast from one of the soldiers and fired one in turn, blowing the gun from his hand. He fired a second shot that struck his foe square in the head.
Shift jumped into the air, her arms extending out and wrapping around the body of another guard. With a solid anchor, she drew herself to the platform he stood on and squeezed tightly until he fell unconscious.
Wraith nearly collapsed to the ground from the strain of his act, and the Exemplar was his only defense, acting as a human shield and taking each blast from the soldiers’ weapons. Paragon flew at one of the guards, driving her powerful fists into his chest.
The final one was Sharkskin’s prey, and he jumped and dodged every blast fired at him, running with incredible speed and raking his claws across the soldier’s chest. Sparks flew as Sharkskin’s strong claws tore through the metal and circuitry beneath. He raised the guard above his head and slammed him hard against the ground.
With all the guards now defeated, the group cast their eyes around the room to see the next threat. At first they saw nothing, but then they heard the sound of a slow clap.
A figure emerged from the shadows, wearing his dark, crimson robes with gold trim. The Khagan offered a slight smile at the new arrivals, eyeing each of them carefully.
“My compliments, they were my best men.”
Gunsmith held up his weapon, the targeting piece over his eye securing a dead-lock on the face of his enemy. “It’s over. This is your one chance to surrender. And I promise you that we will not ask twice.”
The Khagan scoffed. “Really, do you honestly believe those four were my only defense? I admit, I’m a little disappointed my people weren’t able to detain you in Tora Bora, but I’m a man who plans for every eventuality.”
“And what’s your contingency plan for this, you piece of shit? Gonna talk us to death?” asked Sharkskin.
The Khagan nodded his head in the Exemplar’s direction. “I see Mr. King is with you. Wonderful to see my efforts are already bringing enemies together. I’m sure he’s shared with you his…sessions with Professor Azarov.”
“What about it?” asked Paragon.
“From his experiments, the good Professor managed to synthesize a formula that activates the latent special gene. And he also added in something a little extra. Call it his own trademark.”
The Khagan removed the gold belt around his waist and slid the robe off his shoulders. It fell to the floor, revealing his naked, muscled torso with a pair of crimson pants and black boots the only other clothing he wore. The Khagan held his arms out to the side and bent backwards slightly, his skin beginning to change color, becoming paler and somewhat yellow. The sounds his throat produced could only be described as inhuman and his eyes emitted a scarlet glow. His bones and muscles grew, his skin stretching to keep up with the expansion. Sharp, bone claws tore through his fingertips and he hunched slightly, his teeth now razor-sharp.
“You see?” When the Khagan spoke, his voice became even deeper than before, almost echoing as it emerged from his mouth. “We are moving towards another phase of evolution.”
Seeing the man responsible for turning her against her friends filled Paragon with rage. Her hands balled into tight fists and she rocketed at the Khagan, striking him in the jaw with them. His head rocked, but he lowered it back and laughed before backhanding her with a blow strong enough to knock her against the far wall.
“I gave you an opportunity to join the revolution, Anita. You turned me away, forcing my hand,” he said.
“Join the revolution? You’re nothing more than another would-be dictator!” Gunsmith punctuated his slur with several blasts from his weapons. The Khagan moved with incredible speed, rolling and weaving to avoid the attacks and he charged at Gunsmith. He took a swipe at the soldier with his claws, and Gunsmith jumped back to evade them, but they still tore into his chest-plate.
With Gunsmith’s distraction, Sharkskin circled around and pounced on the Khagan from behind, trying to wrap his arm around the villain’s nec
k. The Khagan thrashed against the attack, but Shift’s arms transformed into tentacles and reached out, trying to hold him in place. Sharkskin dragged his claws across the Khagan’s face right before his enemy flew towards the ceiling of the large chamber, slamming Sharkskin against it.
Shift tried to hold on, but the Khagan gripped her arms and yanked on them, pulling her closer to him. Once she was within his grasp, he wrapped his hand around her throat and clutched it tightly.
An energy blast drew the Khagan’s attention from his prey and he locked eyes with the Exemplar, who hovered before him, hands glowing brightly with energy. “Evolution? Don’t make me laugh.”
Shift contracted her neck, making it thin enough so she could slip from the Khagan’s grasp. When she returned to the ground, Gunsmith was at her side as she coughed from the strain on her throat.
“You think you stand with us? That you’re one of us?” asked the Exemplar, hovering before his foe. “You are nothing. Just another weakling who thinks he’s entitled to power. You weren’t blessed with this gift, you stole it through twisted experimentation. Not to make the world better, but to give yourself power over the rest of us.”
The Khagan chuckled. “Oh please, this from an overgrown child who threw a tantrum over a woman’s rejection?”
The Exemplar chose to let his actions answer the Khagan’s barb and he did so by unleashing a massive burst of energy right in his foe’s face. It broke the Khagan’s hover and he fell to the ground. The Exemplar lowered down to face him as the Khagan rose up.
“Nice trick. I can do the same.” The Khagan held his palm out and a burst of energy, the same as the Exemplar’s, engulfed the would-be hero.
A burst of dark energy struck the Khagan. No physical damage, but he was overcome with a sudden surge of emotion. He was taken back to the atrocities he saw committed by his government and his fellow soldiers, what made him become the Khagan in the first place.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 31
