Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) (17 page)

“Have a look for yourself,” said Gunsmith, stopping in front of the aircraft.

Wraith looked up at the plane and a smile spread on his face, hidden by his mask. “Oh, never thought I’d see this old girl again.”

“Atlas was sealed up after we were disbanded, but Cerberus thought it best to keep their hands on this. Just in case.”

Sitting in front of the two was one of the most sophisticated planes ever created. Designed and built by their former teammate, Zenith, the Icarus served as the mode of transportation for Vanguard before they were disbanded.
 

“She still works?” asked Wraith.

Gunsmith took a deep breath. “I sure as hell hope so.”

They heard noises coming from outside and the sound of the door beeping. The door slid open and Gunsmith turned on his heel. He fired at the incoming guards, taking out two of them. More came through, though.

Wraith created a shadow portal in front of him that absorbed the gunfire from the Cerberus weapons. “Go, start it up!”

Gunsmith ran to the rear hatch, praying that his suit’s frequency still worked when he opened the compartment on his forearm. The Icarus responded and the hatch lowered to the ground. “Wraith!”

Wraith concentrated, using his powers to teleport a good portion of the guards back outside the hangar. He turned to the Icarus, running towards the hatch and teleporting inside. Once inside, he closed the hatch just as the Icarus began to rise.
 

The guards fired on the ship and Gunsmith sat at the controls, directing the guns on the Icarus’ underside to return the attack. He’d only begun to learn to fly the ship shortly before the team was disbanded and even that was months ago. But he hoped he still remembered enough to get them where they needed to go.

***

The Icarus came upon the carrier ship in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the same ship Gunsmith took Pyre to and fortunately, he was able to track its movements thanks to information from Zukov on the ship’s position.

As soon as it came upon the deck, Gunsmith activated the Icarus’ weapons. The teleforce guns beneath the hull and the wings opened fire, unleashing powerful bursts of energy on the soldiers atop the deck. Gunsmith took out several of the Cerberus planes immediately, leaving them with only ground forces.

Wraith teleported from the Icarus to the deck and worked to take out many of the soldiers on the surface. His shadow portals enabled him to jump from target to target, appearing behind them and taking them down, then vanishing before another soldier could fire on him.
 

“The specials are likely being held down below,” said Gunsmith, his voice transmitting to the comm-link in Wraith’s ear. “The inhibitor technology works from a central generator broadcasting a frequency to the collars. Disable that and they should be able to use their powers.”

Wraith delivered a swift kick to one guard who tried to ambush him from behind then turned and fired a shadow blast at another ready to fire on him. “Any idea where I could find that generator?”

“I’m trying to patch into their systems, but it’s a little difficult while avoiding gunfire and covering your ass,” said Gunsmith. “So how about you go the traditional route and try looking?”

Wraith groaned. “Back to being the leader for ten minutes and already you’re a prick.”

“Just go!”

Wraith jumped into a shadow portal to begin the search. Gunsmith pulled on the Icarus’ stick, evading the gunfire coming at him. But then something else happened and the plane was engulfed in electricity. The power surge was causing feedback with the system and the controls weren’t responding properly.
 

Gunsmith tried to aim the Icarus as best he could, diving towards the carrier deck. Just before impact, he hit the emergency eject and the canopy blew open. His seat shot into the air and released a parachute almost immediately. Gunsmith quickly unhooked his harness and dropped from the sky, just as shots from the teleforce blasters wielded by the Cerberus guards tore into his parachute.

He drew his guns and opened fire on the soldiers below. Gunsmith landed in a crouch and sprung to his feet. But just as he did, he was slammed into by what felt like a brick wall and he was thrown far across the deck.

The former Vanguardian struck the deck’s surface with his shoulder and skidded across, stopping just before going over the edge. Gunsmith shook his head and pulled himself to his feet. He gasped when he saw Bruiser charging at him.

Gunsmith unleashed several blasts on the high setting, but they barely slowed down the juggernaut. He jumped over his opponent’s head, hurling a small, explosive disc that stuck to the operative’s back.

Bruiser skidded to a stop after missing his target. Before he could turn, the lights on the disc flashed rapidly and blew. The force of the explosion threw him over the edge of the deck and into the water.

Zero jumped into the fray, bringing down a forcefield-generated blade on Gunsmith’s head. The suit’s eyepiece warned him of the danger and he crossed his arms over his head to protect him. The blade scraped against his armor and Zero pulled his arm back, moving into a fighting stance.

Gunsmith fired his weapons, but Zero was uncannily quick. He was able to easily dodge and weave the blasts, deflecting some with his forcefield blades. Zero cleared the distance between them and pounced. He flipped in the air and his feet connected with Gunsmith’s face. The assassin stood over him with his claws ready to tear into Gunsmith’s head.

CHAPTER 10

Below deck, Wraith stuck to the shadows. Their arrival had brought most of the guards up to the main deck, allowing him to move about in relative ease. But there was still the problem of finding what he searched for.

Wraith moved quickly through the decks, the sounds of the battle still reaching down below. He had to find the generator fast; Gunsmith wouldn’t be able to last long up there alone.
 

On one of the lowest decks, Wraith came to a door and opened it. It led to a series of catwalks above a bunch of cages. Cages that contained people. Looking down but staying out of sight, he could see Anita held prisoner in one of the cells. Wraith teleported to the ground much to the shock of the prisoners who rose from their cots when he saw them.

“Wraith!” said Anita, calling out to him.

“What are you waiting for?” asked Zephyr. “Get us out of here!”

Wraith narrowed his eyes at his former enemy. “Maybe I should leave you in here to rot.”

“Not the time,” said Anita. “How’d you know where we were? How’d you get here?”

“Long story. Gunsmith’s up top, but he won’t last long. Now how do I open these cells and turn of the inhibitors?”

Pyre stood at the bars of his cell, holding them tightly. “There’s a room next to this one. When they brought me in, the door was open and I saw some kind of equipment before they locked me up in here.”

Wraith nodded and left the pen area. The next door did have some kind of generator. He wasn’t sure if it was correct or not, but he figured it was better than nothing. There was a chair at the console and Wraith grunted as he raised it up, smashing it against the console.

Sparks flew as the machinery was ruined. And in the cages, the specials felt their abilities returning to them. Anita reached for her neck and tugged at the collar, rending it into scrap. She smiled and gripped the bars, pulling them apart enough for her to step through.

***

On the deck, Gunsmith was at the mercy of Zero. The assassin had his knees on each of Gunsmith’s stretched-out arms. There was only one chance to escape and he wasn’t sure it would even work.

The grapple in Gunsmith’s gauntlet shot out, latching onto the remains of one of the ships he’d destroyed with the Icarus. When the grapple retracted, Gunsmith was pulled out from under Zero, just as the assassin brought down his claws and scraped them on the deck.

Gunsmith released the grapple and got up to his feet. But then something hit him from behind. And then again in front. And in every direction. His legs were then encased in a block of solid ice and he couldn’t move one bit.

Coldsnap stepped from the shadows with Spark by his side. Zero joined them and flickering into view was Blindside, deactivating her cloak. And then another man joined them. Gunsmith struggled against the ice, but no use. Nathan Callus regarded him with a sneer.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Ellis. You had a chance to be part of something greater than yourself. To stand up for your race.”

“I’m not going to stand by and let you use people—one of my friends, no less—as your personal slaves,” said Gunsmith. He heard Wraith’s voice over his comm-link and knew what was coming. Just had to stall Callus for a few moments.

“People.” Callus scoffed. “You’d throw in with these freaks of nature.”

“They’re no different from us,” said Gunsmith. “Maybe if you’d done the research, you’d know that the Event changed
everyone
. The gene may be dormant in us, but it’s there all the same.”

“And just what did you expect to gain by this one-man assault?” asked Callus.
 

“Because it’s not a one-man assault,” said Gunsmith. “I’m just the distraction.”

Almost on cue, a portal opened on the deck, courtesy of the Ferryman. Callus and the Hellhounds spun to see the captive specials standing there, the collars no longer around their necks.
 

“Take ‘em out,” said Wraith. And the battle began.
 

As the Hellhounds and the remainder of the Cerberus soldiers fought the specials, Anita flew over to Gunsmith’s side. She bent down and drove her powerful fist into the ice, breaking it into shards. He kicked off what remained and nodded his thanks to her.

“Wish we could’ve met again under better circumstances,” she said.

“What, this isn’t good enough for you?” asked Gunsmith with a grin.

***

Pyre dove at Coldsnap, who brought his arms up and unleashed a torrent of ice. Pyre countered it with a fiery jet-stream from his palms, the two nearly canceling each other out. But whereas Pyre’s powers were natural, Coldsnap’s were technologically based and that technology had its limits. He was already pushing his suit to the limits of its power consumption, yet Pyre’s heat continued to rain down upon him. The suit sputtered out and Coldsnap was engulfed in Pyre’s flames. The material of the suit protected his body, but he could do little else to fight back.

Tuwa’s tremors kept Spark off her feet and Zephyr battered her with powerful winds. Without any sort of footing or the ability to aim, Spark’s electric bursts just flew harmlessly around. Zephyr killed her winds for just a moment, enough time for Fuerte to deliver the final blow, a punch with so much force that it almost took off the Hellhound’s head.

Gunsmith rejoined the battle with Zero, now getting used to the assassin’s movements. He deflected the blade strikes and delivered strategic shots with his blasters when he could. But it was the sudden appearance of Wraith that caught Zero off-guard. The former thief appeared behind him, using his shadow blasts to engulf Zero and leave the man a quivering mess, huddled into the fetal position.
 

Blindside was another matter, though. With her invisibility cloak, it made it impossible for Paragon to get a proper bead on her. Paragon rose into the air instead and shut her eyes, trying to concentrate hard on her powers. This was the only chance she would have to locate the woman and she had to try and pick her out from the sheer number of people onboard the deck. Even amidst all the chaos it was difficult, but finally Paragon located her. She shot down to the deck like a rocket, slamming into Blindside with such force that the impact left a small crater.
 

The Hellhounds were finished, their unconscious bodies lying around the deck of the ship. Pyre and Zephyr were ready to take it a step further, but Gunsmith held up his weapons.

“Kill them and you’ll be next,” he said.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” asked Zephyr.

“He’s right,” said Paragon, flying over to Gunsmith’s side. “It’s not how we do things.”

“We’re not you,” said Pyre.
 

“You have no idea what they put us through for months,” said Zephyr. “We’re not just going to let them walk away.”

“I’ll handle the rest,” said Gunsmith. “And be grateful that I’m letting you go free.”

Pyre grumbled but shot up into the sky without another word. Zephyr stood her ground and then Wraith and the rest of the specials sidled up beside Gunsmith and Paragon. If she wanted to push the issue, she’d have to take on all of them.

“To hell with this.” Zephyr raised herself with her aerokinesis and flew off over the Atlantic.

“That takes care of that,” said Wraith, looking at Gunsmith. “So what happens now?”

“Now Callus is going to—” Gunsmith stopped and looked around the deck. “Dammit.”

“What?” asked Paragon.

“Callus must’ve escaped during the fight,” said Gunsmith. “Can’t find any trace of him.”

“Cerberus will probably send a clean-up crew here soon. No doubt this caught some attention,” said Wraith. He looked at the wreckage of the Icarus. “And we don’t have a ride.”

“I can take care of that,” said the Ferryman. “Get you all somewhere safe.”

Gunsmith nodded. “Do that. I’ll stay.”

“What?” asked Paragon. “But why? They’ll pin this on you!”

Gunsmith shook his head. “This was just one part of the job. By now, Zukov will have presented all the evidence we gathered on Callus’ operation. He’ll be on the run and someone will have to answer questions about what happened here.”

“You sure about this?” asked Wraith.

“Go. I got this.”

Wraith nodded and he and Paragon joined the rest of the specials. The Ferryman opened a portal for them all and they walked through it, the portal closing after they passed.

Gunsmith looked up in the air and saw planes approaching. He holstered his weapons and lowered himself to his knees, clasping his hands behind his head.

EPILOGUE

Jim Ellis stepped from the shuttle and into the airlock of the Olympus space station. He was helped out of his space suit and then escorted from the airlock up to the command deck. One man stood in the center of the bustle of activity, with operatives milling about in Cerberus uniforms. Jim walked up to him and he turned to face him, holding out his hand.