“To be honest, yes.”
“Don’t be, this concerns a very serious issue to our nation’s security.” Lawson offered his hand to an open chair at the end of the table. “Please.”
Thorne took his seat and the President and Ramsey took theirs. “Before we begin, I’d like to just go on the record as saying that I understand the concern over President Hayworth’s decision to authorize the Vanguard project. But that being said, I still believe it was a good decision. Our presence allowed us to prevent several threats from becoming far greater incidents.”
“Is that so, Colonel?” asked Senator Sara Bosley. “Because some of us believe that the destruction of the White House and the slaughter of the President, his cabinet, and Vice-President would qualify as a severe incident.”
“With all due respect, Senator, if not for Vanguard, the Khagan would still be in control of the Olympus space station,” said Thorne. “I’m not trying to diminish the loss we suffered, and we did try to investigate the Khagan and the Red Fist before the incident.”
“Then what happened?” asked Bosley.
“We were told that the Red Fist was nothing more than a myth.” Thorne cast his eyes in Ramsey’s direction. “Once we had some measure of intelligence, Vanguard went after them. What we were met with was resistance from other specials—including one we had apprehended in the past.”
“This would be Chloe Grant?” asked Senator Kenneth Roessler.
“Zephyr. That’s correct,” said Thorne. “Every special we apprehended was turned over to the Defense Department for containment. Look at the list of people we apprehended.”
“I have it right here, as a matter of fact,” said Roessler. “In addition to Grant, there was also Callum King and Terrence Gibson.”
“Both were being held prisoner by the Red Fist. King was experimented on by another threat, Erik Azarov. That’s how the Khagan gained his abilities. And Gibson was used to power the teleforce weapon responsible for the destruction. There were also two other specials working with the Khagan against their will, Nina Murillo and Clarence Black. Controlled by a powerful telepath known only as the Analyst. And all these people have one thing in common—they all have links to the Defense Department.”
Senator Emily Geiger turned to Ramsey. “Secretary, do you have any comment?”
Ramsey cleared his throat. “We’ve already begun an internal review. It seems likely that the Khagan had some moles within the Defense Department and we’re working diligently to find them.”
“I’m sure you are,” said Thorne. “But a bigger concern is the purpose of this meeting. If this country—this world—is going to stand any chance against rogue specials, then there needs to be a first line of defense.”
“On that we’re agreed, Colonel. But it’s not going to be Vanguard,” said Lawson.
Thorne raised his eyebrows at the President. “Excuse me? I though the whole purpose of this meeting was to discuss whether or not Vanguard will continue. You have to at least give me an opportunity to—”
“Colonel, we respect all the good work you and your team have done. You’re right, your team has proven to be a great asset to the safety of an untold number of people,” said Senator Ted Drummond.
“But…?” asked Thorne.
Drummond sighed. “But the fact of the matter is Hayworth’s actions here raise some serious ethical questions. Especially given that at the same time, he was working with the United Nations on a treaty banning the military use of specials.”
“If this gets out, it could open the doors to rogue nations using specials to attack this country,” said Lawson.
“Be that as it may, you can’t just let this go,” said Thorne. “These threats are still out there. The Red Fist has proven what can happen when terrorist organizations get their hands on specials.”
“Agreed and that’s why the United Nations Security Council has come up with a solution,” said Lawson. “An international peacekeeping organization designed exclusively to deal with specials. With UN oversight, we can see to it that these sorts of threats are dealt with.”
Thorne leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. “Forgive me, but I’m not quite sure why I’m here.”
“You’re here because we’ve seen firsthand what sort of work you’ve done with Vanguard. You’ve proven that you’re a great leader and a great patriot. If there’s anyone here who understands how to deal with these rogue specials, it’s you,” said Lawson. “This organization will need someone to lead it and—pending Security Council approval, of course—we’d like you to be that man.”
Thorne was surprised at the request. But apparently not as surprised as Ramsey, whose jaw was practically on the floor. It gave the Colonel a smug sense of satisfaction. He cast his eyes back to the President.
“You’re certain of this, sir?”
“Nothing’s been decided on yet…” muttered Ramsey.
“The Secretary’s correct, we’re looking at several possible candidates, seeing if they’re interested. If you are, then this would be a great way for you to continue your work,” said Lawson.
“And my team? Would they be able to follow me?”
“A case could be made for Lieutenant Ellis, but not the specials,” said Roessler. “Not at this point, at least. Too many people are concerned about the potential threats they might pose.”
“So no matter what, Vanguard is finished,” said Thorne.
Lawson nodded. “I’m sorry, Colonel. But I just can’t risk drawing the ire of the international community. We need cooperation on a global scale if humanity is to have any hope of combatting these threats. There are already questions as to who was responsible for funding Vanguard, if it was us or another country. This is a very tenuous situation and I can’t risk anyone rocking the boat. You’re to go back to your team and inform them that their services are no longer required. Then, you will vacate the Atlas and leave it to us.”
Thorne sighed and stood from his seat. “Well, it seems you’ve made your decision. I’ll take your offer under consideration but in the meantime, I have some people to talk to.”
CHAPTER 3
Paragon saw Lucent race past Gunsmith and Sharkskin, coming straight for her. She clenched her fists and charged at the energy-manipulating special, delivering a powerful uppercut as she came within range of him. Lucent went flying, his body moving in an arc and falling hard on his back.
Gunsmith drew his weapons, firing the teleforce blasts at Wraith, but the special formed an array of portals in front of his body. When a blast went into one portal, it emerged from another Wraith opened behind his opponent. Gunsmith was hit in the back by his own attack.
Sharkskin towered over Shift, smiling a toothy grin as he looked down at her. Shift’s arms elongated into tentacles, wrapping around Sharkskin’s legs and she pulled hard, bringing him down with a crashing boom!
“Hey, no fair!” he protested.
Shift jumped over him and Gunsmith caught sight of her running across the room as he recovered from the shame of being struck by his own weapon. The yellow display over his right eye targeted her and he raised one of his teleforce guns, but when he fired, Shift vanished into a portal created by Wraith. Gunsmith huffed and looked at his opponent, who he was certain had a large grin beneath the mask that covered his jaw.
Shift emerged from the portal behind Paragon, who still scanned the battlefield looking for the next threat. The metamorph’s arms transformed into tentacles, slowly inching across the ground and trying to reach the metal ball that stood on a pike behind Paragon.
Paragon spun and grabbed Shift’s tentacles, yanking them and with them, the girl they belonged to. “Sorry about this, Erin,” said Paragon, hurling the teenage girl across the room where she fell into the waiting arms of Sharkskin.
“Remember me?” he said with a smile.
Shift gave a mischievous smirk of her own. “Oh, just wait.”
“Huh?” Sharkskin blinked a few times in confusion.
/> A flash of energy appeared behind Paragon. Lucent materialized, taking hold of the orb. Sharkskin noticed his appearance and shouted. “Anita, behind you!”
Paragon spun, just in time to experience an optic blast directly in the face from Lucent. He tossed the orb in the air and seemingly vanished, moving too fast to be glimpsed.
Shift’s body slimmed down, becoming almost like a snake as she moved out of Sharkskin’s grasp. He tried to grab hold of her, but she slithered up to his shoulders and jumped from them. Her hand stretched out to grab the orb when Gunsmith’s energy blast hit her in the chest before she could reach and she fell to the ground.
Paragon flew after the orb, but it vanished in a shadow portal just as she was about to grab it. The orb reappeared in Wraith’s hand who transported himself in a portal to the other side of the room. Sharkskin pounced on him, wrapping his burly arms around Wraith’s torso.
Wraith tossed the orb into the air and Lucent appeared in a sudden flash right where the orb fell, taking hold of it and moving across the finish line.
A klaxon blared in the large training room of the Atlas base. The team relaxed and two men approached from the observation booth. One was older with a gray beard and glasses—Dr. Howard McCabe, formerly of the Human Genome Project and advisor to Vanguard. The other man was young with a handsome brown face—Lee Parker, a special in his own right who had been forced into working for the Khagan.
“No fair!” said Sharkskin, his bulk decreasing and his skin changing from gray to beige. He now took his human form of Koji Asano and pointed an accusatory finger at the opposite team. “A teleporter and an energy being on one team is cheating!”
“Could say the same about two bruisers on one team.” Wraith pulled the mask away from his jaw and ran his fingers through his chin-length dark hair.
“He’s got a point,” said Gunsmith, holstering his weapons.
Koji looked between Wraith and Gunsmith, a dumbfounded expression on his face. “Jim Ellis agreeing with Dominic Vaughn? We got another mind-control situation on our hands?”
McCabe approached Lucent, who powered down and now stood as a human man with a bald head. “How are you doing in there, Zenith?”
“Still somewhat disconcerting, but I’m becoming more comfortable with Lucent’s abilities.” Though he was in the body of Lucent, Zenith was an artificial intelligence who once inhabited his own robotic body. That is, until Lucent absorbed his energy. At first, Zenith was believed dead, but as a side-effect of the Khagan’s manipulations, Zenith was able to assert control over Lucent’s body.
“How’s it coming with his body?” asked Erin, looking at Lee.
“Still working on it,” said Lee. “But with the future of the team up in the air, kind of working with slim parts. And there’s also figuring out just how we’re going to transfer Zenith back into the body.”
McCabe nodded. “That’s definitely a concern. Without knowing exactly how the transfer happened in the first place, reversing it will be difficult.”
“They can’t really shut us down though, right?” asked Koji. “I mean, we saved the world and all.”
“Bit more complicated than that, buddy,” said Jim.
The door to the training room opened and Colonel Thorne stepped inside, still wearing his military dress uniform. “Unfortunately Jim’s correct.”
“Do we have a verdict, Leo?” asked McCabe.
Thorne examined the faces of the team, the people who had become like family to him in the short time they’d been together. He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor.
“Why don’t you all hit the showers first and change. Meet in the monitor room in twenty minutes. There’s a lot we have to discuss.”
“Doesn’t sound too good, does it?” asked Erin as she walked beside Koji towards the exit.
“We don’t know that,” said Koji.
Jim, McCabe, and Lee stayed behind with Thorne after the rest of the team left the training room. Thorne looked at Lee first. “Go on ahead of us, we’ll be there soon.”
Lee hesitantly nodded and left the room. Thorne sighed and faced McCabe and Jim. He made eye contact with each man and shook his head.
Jim groaned. “Figured as much.”
“You and I have some other things to talk about,” said Thorne.
Jim raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Twenty minutes,” said Thorne.
***
After showering, the team met in the Atlas’ monitor room, surrounded by various displays and computers used to monitor events from around the globe. The group all gathered around the round table, dressed in comfortable clothes as opposed to the uniforms they wore in the field and during the training session. Once everyone was seated at the round table in the center of the room, Thorne rose from his seat and rested his palms on the table, leaning over it.
“It’s not good,” he said. “The President’s made good on his promise to discontinue his support for our little project here. The government will no longer fund Vanguard.”
A brief silence fell over the group. Thorne first told them of this possibility after they returned from Olympus last month, but nothing had been decided upon yet and most hoped Lawson would change his mind after seeing how Vanguard defeated the Khagan. But now, they were without words. Or almost all of them.
“So screw ‘em,” said Erin. “Lawson says he won’t support us, we go at it alone.”
“You think this kinda operation comes cheap?” asked Dom, holding a hand out to gesture to their surroundings. “How are you gonna keep the lights on?”
“Unfortunately, Vaughn’s right, but the ongoing funds are only one problem,” said Thorne. “All the equipment here—the computers, the training room, the Icarus, the damn base itself—that’s all government property.”
“But Zen created the Icarus,” said Erin, pointing at Zenith.
“And the government footed the bill,” said Thorne. “If we even wanted to try to keep going without government support, we’d be operating on a shoestring budget. We wouldn’t have a fraction of the resources we’d become accustomed to.”
“Why would they decide to shut us down?” asked Anita. “After everything we’ve done? After we stopped the Red Fist?”
Thorne sat back down and rested his chin on a closed fist. “I tried playing that card, but this all comes down to politics. Lawson wants international cooperation to deal with the specials and that means a treaty banning the use of specials for military purposes. He’s worried about consequences if the US violates that treaty by keeping an off-the-books operation.”
“So what’s his solution?” asked Jim. “If we’re not going to deal with the specials, then who is?”
“The UN Security Council is overseeing the formation of an international organization that will deal with rogue specials. And based on the work I’ve done here with Vanguard, they want me in charge,” said Thorne.
“So that’s the answer then,” said Koji with a smile. “We work for this organization, right? That still gets us the backing we need.” The look on Thorne’s face caused Koji’s smile to fade instantly. “Or not…”
“I thought about that, too, but the Security Council is nervous about having specials active in this service.” Thorne turned his head in Jim’s direction. “Which is what I wanted to talk to you about. You’re not a special and because of your work, they feel you’d be well-suited to serve in this organization, too.”
Jim blinked and looked around the table. Dom scoffed. “So keep the humans, get rid of the freaks, is that what this is about?”
“Calm down,” said Anita.
Dom threw his hands up. “Whatever. Never cared much for this three-ring circus any way.”
“Dom’s right,” said Erin. “What happens if someone like Zephyr gets loose again? Or what if Lucent takes back his body? How is this organization going to stand up to them?”
Thorne sighed. “I really don’t know.”
“What about Zenith?” ask
ed Lee. “He’s still trapped in that body, how are we gonna get him out?”
“That’s something I still plan to continue if I take this position,” said Thorne.
“‘If’?” asked Jim. “You’re having second thoughts?”
“With Vanguard, I had autonomy. But this new organization will have to answer to the Security Council and they can’t even agree on the weather.” Thorne gave a shake of his head. “I’m afraid the position will become mired in politics and bureaucracy.”
“On the other hand, if you turn down the position, who will they choose in your stead?” asked Zenith.
“And that right there is the biggest problem,” said Thorne. “I’ve got no idea who else they’d go with, and there’s always the very real chance they could pick someone who’s not exactly sympathetic to specials.”
Thorne stood up. “Whatever my decision, we’ve got a week before the government officially takes back control of the Atlas. That means you’ve got some packing to do and arrangements to make. I really wish things could’ve been different, but this is the hand we’ve been dealt. It’s been a true honor to work alongside you all these past few months.”
CHAPTER 4
General Nathan Callus walked down the halls of the underground facility, the guards saluting him as he passed by. He ignored them, continued on towards his goal. The two guards who stood at attention on either side saluted and then one opened the door for him.
The cell was small and chains ran from the ceiling and the floor, hooked to a woman in the center of the room whose arms were crossed over her chest and chained down, leaving her unable to move. She stared up at Callus with blue eyes that burned with anger—Callus couldn’t help thinking she would be cute if not for her anti-social tendencies.
“Ms. Grant,” said Callus with a smile. He removed his hat, revealing the short, brown hair that had begun to turn silver.
“My father’s lawyers are gonna have a field day with this,” said Chloe Grant.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 33
