The Tomorrow Man

by Percival Constantine

  Though Anita’s psychic capabilities were still extremely limited, she was training every day to try and perfect them. It was an uphill climb and in comparison to her other powers, there was a lot more struggle for only limited gain.

  One thing that came out of this was a kind of precognition. Anita wasn’t sure if it was actually her seeing the future or if it was just what J’Karra believed would happen. But Anita knew danger was en route, and she believed it was J’Karra’s people coming to Earth. For what purpose, she still wasn’t quite sure. All she knew was that it had something to do with the specials.

  The visions she saw were of the Earth in chaos. War erupting all across the globe, with ships capable of leveling cities and warriors every bit as powerful as J’Karra marching mankind to slavery.

  But as Anita struggled to focus on these disparate images, something happened. They shifted and changed. It was like they were becoming harder to see. There was something wrong, something interfering with her premonition.

  Cracks appeared across the visions. Like glass shattering. Anita’s eyes snapped open and she gasped.

  CHAPTER 3

  Atlas was located below-ground in a decommissioned ICBM silo nestled within the Adirondacks. The artificial intelligence called Zenith flew above that very silo, his robotic body’s thrusters carrying him through the night sky.

  These days, he found himself often going on these nightly jaunts. During the brief time that Zenith’s consciousness was in possession of a human body, he’d enjoyed the feel of the air on his skin. Although he no longer had that sensation, these flights reminded him of what he’d once had.

  Unlike his teammates, Zenith wasn’t even remotely human. There were still mysteries behind his creation. All he knew is that he awoke in a metal body federal authorities found in the home of the deceased Nikola Tesla. But he’d never known his supposed creator, and over the decades, not he nor anyone he worked with could ever discover the secret behind his existence.

  Zenith tried not to dwell too much on the past, though. He spent decades aiding the United States government with research and development. And now with Vanguard, he’d found a place he could call home and people he could call family.

  Despite the trust between them, he still felt like he wasn’t completely part of that family. He was still somewhat apart from them. Even though Jim and Thorne weren’t specials, they were human and they shared that connection with the rest of the team. Zenith was completely different.

  He stopped in the air. Something appeared on his scanners, a strange signature he’d never detected before. Zenith did another scan and found something coming towards him. Too small to be a plane, but it also had no trace of the unique energy signature radiated by specials.

  It rose above the mountains and came towards him, slowing on approach. Zenith used his telescopic capabilities to zoom in on the approaching figure. It was a man in a kind of armor, standing on a platform that was his means of transportation.

  “Can I help you?” asked Zenith.

  “You,” he said, looking up and down the robot through his reflective visor. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

  “‘Them’?”

  “Vanguard.”

  “I am. And you are?”

  “Chronos. I need to get inside Atlas.”

  Zenith cocked his head to the side. “I see. And why is that?”

  “I need information inside your computers.”

  “I cannot allow that.”

  “It’s the only way to save the future.”

  “My apologies, but I cannot simply allow you to access our facility. I’ll give you the opportunity to return to wherever it is you came from.”

  Chronos held out his hand and his gauntlet fed a baton into his palm. He held the baton in front of him and it telescoped into a staff, the tips crackling with orange energy.

  “One chance,” he said. “Let me pass or I’ll go through you.”

  “If that is what you wish.” Zenith held his arms out to the sides and his hands reformed into teleforce cannons. “But I warn you, I am not so easily deterred.”

  “That makes two of us, tin man.” Chronos’ glider shot him towards Zenith, swinging his staff.

  Zenith dodged the attempted attacks and fired a few teleforce blasts in response. The setting was on stun, and though Chronos took the blasts directly, he was completely unscathed. His armor was apparently extremely durable. Zenith scanned the armor but was surprised at the complexity of it. It was far beyond anything he’d ever seen before, although there was something familiar about it.

  “Your armor, where did you get it?”

  “From the enemy.” Chronos moved back on his glider, putting some distance between him and Zenith. He held his staff with the tip pointed at his target and energy blasts launched from the crackling end.

  Zenith used teleforce blasts to deflect a few of Chronos’ shots while quickly strafing to avoid others. As he moved, he unleashed several blasts of his own. The beams streaked through the air, but Chronos used his staff to swat them away, firing deflection shots at a few others.

  Chronos surged towards Zenith but just as the robot fired at him, he seemingly vanished. Zenith checked his scanners but found no trace of his target.

  Then however, he picked up an energy signature from behind. Zenith spun but he wasn’t fast enough and Chronos’ staff struck him on his head. Chronos thrust the staff against Zenith’s chest, the tip unleashing a powerful energy blast at point-blank range.

  Zenith was thrown back, his sensors warning him that he’d sustained damage. He ignored them and righted himself, his thrusters activating at full-speed. As he rocketed towards his opponent, he sent an emergency summons to the rest of Vanguard inside Atlas.

  Chronos vanished just moments before Zenith would have rocketed into him and the robot passed through empty air, coming to a stop. Once again, this man was able to avoid him without any trace on his sensors. Zenith wasn’t sure if it was some sort of teleportation ability or superhuman speed combined with cloaking technology. But it was certainly unprecedented.

  Still, Zenith recalled what happened the last time. He stood patient and waited. As soon as the same amount of time had passed, he turned and fired his cannons. An instant before the blasts left the barrels, Chronos appeared right in their path and was struck right in the face.

  The armored man tumbled in the air, his shock making it difficult for him to control his glider. Zenith flew below, retracting one of his arms and the cannon reverting back to a hand. His fist connected with the falling man’s back and the force threw him back towards the sky.

  Chronos’ glider fired up and he righted himself once more. He shook his head, trying to focus. Zenith flew closer and the two hovered across from each other, staring each other down.

  “You’re putting the entire world at risk,” said Chronos. “I need that information.”

  “I’m not in the habit of giving strangers who attack me access to our base,” said Zenith.

  “You’re good, but you’re not good enough,” said Chronos. “Sooner or later, I’ll go through you if I have to.”

  “Then it’s fortunate for me that I won’t be alone,” said Zenith.

  CHAPTER 4

  Once Zenith’s message was broadcast throughout Atlas, the rest of Vanguard quickly assembled in the monitor room. Lee was the first one there, already bringing up the stream of the battle from the cameras in Zenith’s eyes. He displayed the feed on the monitor and the team watched as Zenith battled the mysterious, armored man.

  “Whoa, that’s some nice tech…” muttered Lee.

  “Not really the time,” said Erin.

  “Who is this guy?” asked Koji.

  “Only one way to find out.” Jim moved away from the gathered group and approached the wall where there was a small touch panel. He placed his hand against the panel and it scanned him before a compartment opened and revealed his Gunsmith armor.

  “Get suited up and help Zenith,” s
aid Thorne.

  The rest of the team followed his command and went off to execute it. Thorne walked up to Jim, who was already in the process of donning the armor’s underclothing.

  “Sure you’re up for this?”

  Jim began affixing the armor’s components onto his body. “We don’t have time to debate this, Leo. If this guy attacked Zenith here, that means he must have been heading to Atlas. Our location’s been compromised and we have to deal with it.”

  Thorne sighed. He didn’t think Jim was ready to go back out in the field but he knew he had to trust his team’s leader. “I’ll keep watch from here. You be careful up top.”

  Jim gave him a nod as he finished donning the armor. As soon as he did, the rest of the team returned, ready to go into battle.

  “It’s just one guy up there, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble,” said Jim, addressing his teammates. “But he may have a few more tricks up his sleeve, so stay on alert. There’s no telling what that armor’s capable of.”

  Nods of acknowledgment followed and Gunsmith led the team into the elevator. The doors closed, leaving Thorne alone in the monitor room and the elevator rose to ground level and the small building that served as the access point into the base.

  The team went straight towards the target area. Paragon took hold of Gunsmith’s hands and carried him into the air with her, while Sentinel’s holographic armor activated and he carried both Sharkskin and Shift. Wraith moved of his own accord, via his shadow portals.

  Gunsmith tapped the side of his headset and the display over his eye flashed targeting information into his retina. He was locked onto Zenith’s signal and the mysterious enemy. As they flew over the mountains, the two combatants quickly came into view.

  “Throw me,” ordered Gunsmith.

  “You sure?” asked Paragon.

  “Do it!”

  Paragon swung with all her might, hurling Gunsmith into the air. He crossed the distance between him and Chronos, drawing his teleforce blasters during his ascent. Just as he was about to open fire, Chronos suddenly turned and fired a blast from his staff that threw Gunsmith back.

  Gunsmith extended his arm and from his gauntlet, a small piton fired, connected to a cable. It wrapped around Chronos’ glider and when the wire went taut, Gunsmith swung from it.

  The sudden addition of weight caused Chronos to lose control of his flight and he was pulled down with Gunsmith. Vanguard’s leader retracted the cable, pulling the two men closer together. As Gunsmith came within range, he opened fire, right into Chronos’ chest.

  Chronos’ glider disassembled, the components sliding back up into his armor and breaking the cable in the process. The two men fell, but as soon as Chronos was free of Gunsmith, he reactivated his glider and it quickly reassembled, sending him flying into the air once more.

  Gunsmith flipped in the air and landed on the ground in a crouch, his armor absorbing the force of the impact. He looked up and saw Paragon fly at Chronos. She slammed her fists right into his face and Chronos was rocked by the blow. She gave him no respite, quickly raining down more punches on him.

  Chronos vanished from sight, reappearing behind Paragon and blasting her in the back. He flew at her and rammed his staff into her back once more, throwing her into the mountain range.

  Sentinel flew behind Chronos, holding out his hands and unleashing energy blasts from the palms of his gauntlets. Chronos turned and held up his hand. An orange energy shield wrapped around him, protecting him from the blasts. Chronos’ staff collapsed and returned to his gauntlet. He dropped the shield and extended both arms. Small orange orbs of energy flew from his gauntlets.

  Sentinel hovered and watched as the orbs circled around him. Then he realized the orbs were coming towards him. He moved to try and dodge them, but they followed his movements. Sentinel tried to retaliate by shooting them from the sky, but they were too nimble and he couldn’t tag them. The orbs closed in on him, exploding against his holographic armor and throwing him to the ground.

  A green tentacle wrapped around Chronos’ neck and pulled him down. As he was dragged to the ground, he tried to fight back by using his glider. There was a tug of war between him and Shift, who stood on one of the mountain ridges. She extended her other arm, that one also transforming into a tentacle and trying to pull him down.

  Chronos was starting to push back against her strength when he felt the addition of more weight on his glider. He looked down and saw the gray figure of Sharkskin join him on the glider, snarling as his claws scraped against Chronos’ armor.

  But what Chronos said next caused the Vanguardian to pause. He looked right into Sharkskin’s black eyes and said, “Koji…?”

  Sharkskin blinked. “How do you—?”

  Shift pulled harder and her tentacles finally pulled Chronos towards the mountain ridge. Sharkskin fell after him, grabbing Chronos by the throat and slamming his fist against the time traveler’s face.

  The two men crashed into the rocky surface, with Chronos taking the brunt of the damage. A small crater had formed from their impact. Sharkskin stood upright, looking down at his opponent, his hand still wrapped around his throat.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry,” said Chronos.

  Electricity flowed through Chronos’ suit and into Sharkskin’s body. The young man convulsed before collapsing. Chronos stood, ready to attack again. But he was enveloped by a sudden surge of darkness.

  His entire body went numb and he fell to his knees, curling over. Standing behind him was Wraith, ebon energy extending from his hand and into Chronos. The energy stopped once Chronos succumbed to the power, falling unconscious.

  The team regrouped, surrounding their fallen enemy. Zenith looked down at Chronos, scanning the technology.

  “Anything that might tell us who he is or where he comes from?” asked Gunsmith.

  “We should get him inside and get that armor off him,” said Zenith. “There are many questions to be answered.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Zenith and Lee stood in the room that was once Dr. McCabe’s laboratory but had since become Lee’s workshop. Both sat at a long table, examining the components of Chronos’ armor. The door to the workshop opened and the rest of the team filed into the room, with Thorne at the lead.

  “How’s our prisoner?” asked Lee, glancing up.

  “Still unconscious. We’ve got him locked in the training room with the bots keeping an eye on him,” said Thorne. “Do you have any answers for me?”

  Lee shook his head. “This stuff is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s so far over my head, it’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it Kotharian?” asked Anita.

  “There is certainly a resemblance but overall, this is about as different from Kotharian technology as Kotharian technology is from ours,” said Zenith.

  “So where’d it come from?” asked Dom.

  “Hell if I know,” said Lee. He looked at Koji. “He recognized you, right?”

  Koji nodded. “Yeah, called me by name. My real name that is, not Sharkskin.”

  “So we’re looking at someone who knows our identities and where Atlas is,” said Erin.

  “Could be Cerberus? A rogue agent?” asked Anita. “The Hellhounds had some pretty advanced tech.”

  “Not possible,” said Jim. “Even if he was with Cerberus, we don’t have anything like this.”

  “He said something about needing to save the future,” said Zenith.

  “What’s that mean?” asked Thorne.

  “I’m not certain, but scans showed something quite interesting.” Zenith pointed to one of the monitors and the screen changed, showing scan results from his examination of Chronos’ body. “He’s human.”

  “What’s so strange about that?” asked Erin.

  “I mean completely human,” said Zenith. “No special gene.”

  “And everyone’s supposed to have one, even if it’s latent,” said Thorne.

  “Correct. The last time
we saw something like this was Azarov’s Dreks.”

  “There’s some strange energy that this suit generates, too,” said Lee. One of the monitors changed to show the results he’d discovered.

  Thorne folded his arms and stared at the monitor. His lips tightened as he tried to make sense of the information on the screen. “What am I looking at?”

  “Something that until now, has only been theoretical,” said Lee. “I think these are tachyon particles.”

  “In English?” asked Dom.

  “Tachyons are hypothetical particles capable of faster-than-light travel,” said Lee.

  “That explains how he moved so fast,” said Anita. “It was like he was teleporting.”

  “He very well could have been, but not in the way you think. We also discovered this.” Zenith picked up Chronos’ gauntlet and held it out so everyone could see. A holographic image was projected from it, showing today’s date and a time several hours in the past. The image changed and showed “PREVIOUS DATE.” And the date was twenty years in the future.

  “So what, this his calendar or something?” asked Koji.

  “Another potential application of tachyon particles is time travel,” said Zenith. “His statement about saving the future, his advanced technology, the potential presence of tachyon particles in his suit, and his knowledge of Atlas and Koji all suggest that he may be a time traveler.”

  Dom chuckled. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Says the teleporting superhero talking to his robot buddy,” said Koji,

  Dom grunted. “Point taken.”

  “Hold on,” said Anita. “If he’s from the future, then how come he doesn’t have the special gene? If all of mankind has been altered, shouldn’t he still possess it?”

  “Perhaps it was cured at some point,” said Zenith. “Or perhaps he comes from an alternate timeline, one where the Event never occurred.”