Zenith activated his thrusters and Paragon flew after him, the two diving for the deck and the fiery wreckage there. Once they were close enough, they saw Cerberus agents clad in Gunsmith armor firing teleforce rifles at them.
Paragon twisted and turned in the air, avoiding the blasts. She saw Zenith do the same, then his arms shifted into cannons and he returned fire. Unfortunately for Paragon, she had no such capabilities and had to wait until she was close enough to deal out punishment with her fists.
Her hands balled into fists and she held them out in front. Paragon increased her speed, channeling her energy into her telekinetic field. She slammed her fists onto the surface. The shockwave that followed toppled a few of the Cerberus troops, although most were able to stay firm with the aid of their armor.
Paragon lunged for one, grabbing his rifle and crushing the barrel with one hand. Her other hand reached for his chest-plate, tearing it free from the armor. She delivered a kick that threw him across the deck. She crumpled the remains of the rifle and threw it like a ball into another trooper.
Something hit her from behind and she stumbled forward. Paragon turned to find the source and then another blow came—this time from right in front of her.
April Roque—Blindside. She’d been there when Cerberus tried to capture them inside Atlas. Her armor made her invisible to the naked eye, but it didn’t block her mind.
Paragon concentrated as best she could, firing off a psychic bolt of energy. A scream came from the seemingly empty space in front of her and then Blindside flickered into view. Paragon coiled her fist, prepared to punch, but she was suddenly hefted off the ground, pulled by her cape.
“Been waitin’ for a rematch with you!” The voice belonged to Bruiser, another of Blindside’s team. His armor was built like a massive tank and greatly increased his strength.
Bruiser tossed Paragon into the air and held out his fist. The arm extended, the fist slamming into her body. Paragon landed flat on her face in the middle of the deck. She could hear Bruiser’s heavy footfalls and looked up.
He suddenly stopped mid-stride as teleforce blasts rained down upon him. Zenith descended from the sky, cutting his thrusters and flipping around so his legs could plow right into the armored man’s head.
Paragon pulled herself up, then screamed as electricity flowed through her body. She fell again, limply rolling onto her back. Another armored woman appeared in her line of sight.
“Thought you got rid of us, huh?” asked Spark. “Surprise, the Hellhounds are back!”
Paragon heard a crash come from the side. She looked over and saw Bruiser’s rocket-arm slam Zenith into the deck. Zenith recovered quickly, but ice quickly formed around his body, courtesy of another Hellhound—Coldsnap.
Blindside appeared beside Spark, staring down at Paragon. “You’re not getting away this time, Paragon.” The leader looked at Spark. “Finish her.”
Spark placed both hands on Paragon’s chest. Her armor generated a massive amount of electricity, all of it channeling directly into Paragon’s body. The special cried out as she felt her entire form convulse on the deck of the ship.
Paragon’s head fell back and her vision blurred. Even with the benefit of her telekinetic forcefield, Spark was pushing her past her limits. It wouldn’t be long before death claimed her.
And then, it stopped.
Paragon raised her head and blinked, things slowly starting to come into focus. Spark no longer stood over her. Paragon pulled herself to her feet and saw Spark thrown into the water. Coldsnap and Bruiser were now trying to fight a single man together, a man who could fly and fire energy blasts from his hands.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and spun, instantly on the defense.
CHAPTER 14
Once she saw the face of the new arrival, Paragon threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly for a brief moment. Beneath his mask, Wraith smiled and returned the hug quickly before pulling away.
“I thought you were dead,” she said.
“The Ferryman took us to where Arcadia used to be,” said Wraith. “Would’ve been stuck there, too, but I managed to teleport King’s inhibitor off his neck without killing him.”
“How did you know where we were?” she asked.
“We got to the west coast and we were about to head out to New York to see if there was anything we could do, but then I got hit with this massive headache,” said Wraith. “And a message from you, telling us where to go. Coordinates and all.”
Paragon’s jaw nearly dropped. She hadn’t expected her attempt at telepathy to work, especially over such a great distance. But apparently it did.
“So we get here and it looks like right in the nick of time,” said Wraith. “Where are the others?”
“Shift and Sharkskin were captured, and Zenith—oh my god, Zenith!” Paragon moved from Wraith’s side to the giant block of ice on the deck. She punched through it, breaking as much of it free as she could. After she started to break through, she was given assistance from the inside and teleforce blasts shot out the ice prison.
Zenith broke free, the ice collapsing all around him. He almost stumbled, but Paragon helped him up. Zenith looked up and saw Wraith. If he could smile, he would have.
“I’m glad you are safe,” said the robot.
“Yeah, me too,” said Wraith. “Now how about we help the big, bad superhero against these guys?”
Zenith and Paragon nodded and joined Wraith, moving into battle. Paragon flew right at Bruiser, who was busy slugging it out with the Exemplar. The armored man now had two super-strong specials to contend with, and trying to split his attention between the both of them proved more trouble than expected.
Zenith focused his attacks on Coldsnap. The Hellhound tried to use his freeze blasts on the robot again, but Wraith aided in the effort, using his portals to send them right back at the man who generated them. Coldsnap’s armor was frozen over almost in minutes that way.
Blindside struck Wraith from behind and he stumbled forward. Zenith, however, could see in far more spectrums than normal humans. And against him, Blindside’s invisibility was completely useless.
He rocketed into her, tearing components off her armor to prevent her from using invisibility at all. As Zenith tangled with her, he shouted at Wraith.
“Get to McCabe!”
“McCabe, why?” asked Wraith, now focusing his attention on the Cerberus troops.
“We need reinforcements! Release the prisoners!”
“Deja vu.” Wraith smirked under his mask. When he and Gunsmith attacked the Island some time ago, he was ordered to do the same exact thing. Wraith unleashed a few ebon blasts at the approaching guards, then disappeared into a portal.
***
When Wraith rematerialized, it was inside Howard McCabe’s office and the familiar doctor sat behind his desk. McCabe instantly stood as soon as he saw Wraith there.
“Hey Doc,” said Wraith. “Sorry we don’t have time for pleasantries.”
“What are you talking about?” asked McCabe. “What’s going on?”
“Anita and Zen are up top. The Hellhounds are here and they’re…well, raising hell. Zen says you gotta spring the prisoners. Gonna need reinforcements.”
“So they’re here then?” asked McCabe. “Paragon and Zenith?”
“Yeah, that’s what I just said,” said Wraith. “Now c’mon, we gotta get the prisoners out of here.”
“Yes. Yes, of course,” said McCabe. “I locked myself in my office once Callus’ men arrived. They might be on the levels.”
“No problem, just stay behind me.” Wraith turned to the door and stepped towards it.
Before he could open it, something wrapped around his throat. A tentacle. Wraith struggled against it, but was thrown back into the wall. Wraith fell on the ground and looked up. He saw the tentacle was attached to McCabe’s arm and it slithered back into place. Then he saw McCabe’s body change shape.
“E-Erin…?”
Shift held h
er arm out and the tentacle formed again, wrapping around Wraith’s neck. He strained against it, trying to summon his powers. But her grip tightened and he couldn’t breathe. He stared into her eyes and saw no hint of recognition in them. They were just yellow and blank. Her form shifted into that of Paragon and the tentacle formed into a hand. Shift twisted.
Crack!
She calmly exited the room as Paragon. A moment later, she returned, in her normal form. She looked at Wraith’s dead body. Life returned to her eyes and she gasped.
“Oh god, Dom!”
She ran to his side, futilely pounding her fist against his chest and trying to wake him. He didn’t move and Erin felt tears welling up in her eyes. She let his body slump back to the ground and she backed away from it.
Her foot hit something else. She looked down and gasped once more. Howard McCabe’s body lay prone behind the desk.
“What…what happened?” she asked herself, whispering.
Memories flashed through her mind. She remembered walking in and watching as Wraith’s neck was broken by someone tall. A woman. With short, black hair. And dressed in a red and white uniform.
Shift collapsed to her knees and covered her sobbing face with her hands. “My god…Anita, what did you do?”
***
Kotharian warships descended upon the Island. Zenith flew up to try and contend with them, but he was instantly blasted by several at once and he crashed into the water. Paragon and Exemplar readied themselves for further battle, and they were quickly surrounded by swirling, blue energy.
Kotharian soldiers now joined Cerberus and the Hellhounds on the deck of the Island. Paragon and Exemplar were now back-to-back, but with nowhere to run or hide. There were too many of them to fight and if they tried to run, the Kotharian ships would take them out as easily as they had Zenith.
Another swirl of blue energy appeared right in front of the two specials. This one was another Kotharian and Paragon recognized him, both from the memories she’d seen in J’Karra’s mind as well as from the broadcast.
“M’Lak.”
“It’s over,” said M’Lak. “Surrender or be destroyed.”
“I’m willing to go out fighting if you are,” whispered the Exemplar.
Paragon was tempted to do the same. But instead, she responded with, “No, stand down.”
She concentrated her thoughts into a message she sent to the Exemplar’s mind: “If we die now, we’re all screwed. But if we surrender, we can find a way to escape.”
“You sure about that?” he responded.
“It’s our only chance.”
The Exemplar and Paragon both raised their hands in surrender. And M’Lak smiled.
EPILOGUE
A buzzing sound woke J’Karra from her sleep. It was the alert in her cell, telling her she had a visitor. She rose from the cot and stepped towards the opaque glass. It changed to translucent and then she gasped upon seeing General M’Lak standing before her.
“Hello, J’Karra,” he said in Kotharian.
“General?” she asked, responding the same. “How is this possible?”
M’Lak entered commands on the console by the side of her cell. The glass rose, granting him entrance and he easily strode inside. J’Karra continued to watch him with shock.
“The invasion has begun,” he said. “Vanguard has been crushed and we have human conspirators on our side. Soon, the Earth will become another jewel in the crown of the Kotharian Empire.”
“But…but I never submitted a recommendation for invasion,” said J’Karra. “You were to wait until you received word from me.”
“We knew enough,” said M’Lak. “The Matriarch thanks you for your service to the Empire.”
J’Karra noticed the weapon in his hand. She backed away, but M’Lak lunged forward and wrapped his hand around her neck. He pulled her forward and held the small baton close to her abdomen.
With a thought, M’Lak’s weapon activated. The energy blade shot through her body and she went limp, eyes bulging. M’Lak released his grip on her and deactivated the weapon, allowing J’Karra’s body to collapse on the ground, her eyes fixed in an open position.
“Unfortunately, your services will no longer be required,” he said.
To be continued…
***
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CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE!
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ALSO BY PERCIVAL CONSTANTINE
THE MYTH HUNTER
All the legends of the world have some element of truth to them. And to track down those legends, there are the myth hunters. Some, like Elisa Hill, are explorers, trying to learn more about the world. And some are soldiers of fortune, whose only goal is pro t and exploitation, no matter the risk.
INFERNUM
A shadowy, globe-spanning network of operatives run by the mysterious power broker known as Dante. They hold allegiance to no one, existing as rogues on the fringes of society. No matter the job, Infernum has an operative to execute it—provided you have the means to pay for it!
VANGUARD
The world has changed. A mysterious event altered the genetic structure of humanity, granting a small percentage of the population superhuman powers. A small team of these specials has been formed to deal with potential threats. Paragon—telekinetic powerhouse; Zenith—hyper-intelligent automaton; Shift—shape-changing teenager; Wraith—teleporting shadow warrior; Sharkskin—human/shark hybrid. Led by the armored Gunsmith, they are Vanguard!
LUTHER CROSS
Luther Cross has been through Hell—literally. Born of a mother he watched die, conceived as part of a demonic ritual, and raised by monks after being saved by a mysterious, murderous individual, Cross now makes a living through confidence schemes...and the death of demons.
Visit PercivalConstantine.com/books/ for an up-to-date list of all titles!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Percival Constantine grew up on a fairly consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, video games, and TV shows. At the age of ten, he first began writing and has never really stopped.
Percival has been working in publishing since 2005 in various capacities—author, editor, formatter, letterer—and has written books, short stories, comics, and more. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Mass Media from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in English and Screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, Percival lives in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, where he works as a literature and writing instructor at the Minami Academy.
If you’d like to know more about Percival, you can find links to his social media accounts, his blog, and other works at his website, PercivalConstantine.com.
COPYRIGHT
VANGUARD: SEASONS 1-3
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, li
ving or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015, 2016 Percival Constantine
Published by Percival Constantine
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 85
