Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) (24 page)

“Sir.”

Thorne grinned and saluted him back. “At ease, Lt. Ellis.”

Jim Ellis did as commanded. He shook his head in disbelief, still smiling. “My god. Anita said Callus suggested you might still be alive, but I didn’t want to believe it. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“For your own protection,” said Thorne. “We had to be sure Callus thought I was dead.”

“It’s how we were able to provide you with that information,” said Zenith.

Jim arched his eyebrows and pointed at Zenith. “That was
you
? When did you get back in your body?”

“Actually, it was Lee.” Zenith patted his young friend on the back and Lee just offered a sheepish smile. “As for my body, that’s a long story.”

“I imagine so,” said Jim. “Olympus picked up some unusual activity coming from here. And we thought this place was decommissioned. Never thought you’d be stupid enough to hide out here.”

“No better place to hide than in plain sight,” said Thorne.
 

“Wait, he said Olympus detected something? You’re here for Cerberus, aren’t you?” Lee’s hand went closer to his belt buckle.

“Relax.” Jim held out a hand. “Cerberus isn’t what it used to be. Callus is on the run and Zukov has been appointed interim director in the meantime.”

“Zukov?” asked Zenith. “You mean Abram Zukov, from our mission in Iskander?”

Jim nodded. “He’s the one who provided the Security Council with the information you gave me on Callus. Got in some hot water with some old friends, but we all managed to escape relatively unharmed. Now what can you tell me about this unusual activity we picked up?”

“Lucent,” said Thorne.

“That would explain it. Reports say the sky lit up like the Fourth of July.”

Thorne narrowed his eyes. “Why’d they send you, Jim? Why not the usual team they have doing sweeps of Atlas?”

“Because I’m not only here to investigate those readings,” said Jim. “I’m also here to get the base ready.”

“Ready? Ready for what?” asked Lee.

“Since Callus’ disappearance, we’ve discovered more evidence of some of the things he’s been up to, and it’s not pretty,” said Jim. “He was using specials for his own purposes. And there’s also evidence of illegal human experimentation in North Korea. Trying to create specials. Now who does that sound like?”

“Azarov,” said Zenith.

Jim gave a nod. “That’s right. Thanks to China’s spot on the Security Council, a Cerberus request to investigate has already been denied. Zukov’s hands are tied, unless he can get someone else to do it for him.”

Thorne stepped closer. “You saying what I think you’re saying?”

Jim smiled. “That’s right, Colonel. We’re getting the band back together. It’s time to reassemble Vanguard.”

#9 - THE COLLECTIVE

CHAPTER 1

The alien spacecraft broke through Earth’s atmosphere and flew towards the Asian continent. The Kotharian pilot, the ship’s sole occupant, expertly maneuvered the small craft through the night skies. She pulled back on the stick and the ship righted itself, switching to hover mode as it descended gently to the ground.
 

An energy field served as the canopy and it vanished. The Kotharian warrior climbed from the cockpit and with a mental command, the helmet she wore seemed to disintegrate, collapsing into its housings. Her skin was a reddish color and her long, yellow hair braided into locks. Catlike, golden eyes surveyed the land and she held up her arm, a holographic image projecting from her gauntlet. It was a topographic map of the area with bright lights concentrated on a spot not far.

The Chaknaar, the sacred energy that grants Kotharians the ability to commune with each other, was represented by those lights. Somehow, someone had managed to use the Chaknaar on the inhabitants of Earth. And J’Karra’s investigations on the orbiting moon suggested that it may have been a time traveler.

This spot was her first investigation. She activated a switch on her gauntlet and her ship seemingly vanished from sight. In reality, J’Karra had simply activated a cloaking system. It would remain invisible to any detection, including the naked eye.

She reactivated her helmet and set out towards the source of the Chaknaar, her armor projecting the map over her HUD. J’Karra’s ebon cape with gold trim flowed behind her, hanging from the shoulder-pads of the matching armor. It was night and extremely dark, but her eyesight was capable of seeing as clearly in these conditions as it was in daylight.
 

J’Karra stopped when she saw a warning flash over her HUD. She reached behind her back. Under her cape was a collapsed bow and she drew it out. It extended to its full size and she looked at the gates up ahead. A chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounded the grounds, with a guard station up ahead. Spotlights scanned from towers and J’Karra moved swiftly out of sight. She readied her bow and focused on one of the guard towers.
 

The Kotharian stepped out and raised the bow, drawing back the string. As she did, an arrow forged of energy appeared nocked. She released the string and the arrow flew, striking the guard square in his head. He collapsed instantly, leaving no trace of the weapon.
 

J’Karra’s bow collapsed and she returned it to its housing behind her back. She ran for the tower and jumped. Her gauntlets enabled her to latch onto the side of the tower and she easily scaled it, climbing up to the top. She crouched low behind the barrier so as not to be seen by the guard on the opposite tower. J’Karra readied her bow again and stood, firing an arrow at the guard, taking him down.
 

As she crouched again, she used her gauntlets to control her armor, trying to get more information about this base. Many lifeforms were within the fenced area, but below ground was a Chaknaar signature. A powerful one at that. J’Karra would need to get down there, and it looked like it would require her getting into the base to accomplish that feat.
 

But there was more. J’Karra could sense great suffering coming off this place. Whoever these people were, they were subjecting their fellow humans to unbelievable pain. She wondered if all of this planet’s inhabitants shared this same cruelty. And if so, she felt that it would be better if these beings were wiped from the universe.
 

J’Karra examined her HUD, trying to get a proper layout of the facility. There were numerous buildings within the camp, but the one in the center is what seemed to have the connection to the underground levels she needed to reach.
 

She leapt from the guard tower, landing on the roof of the closest building. J’Karra moved swiftly across, jumping to the next building and over the heads of unsuspecting guards. Their uniforms were a dark olive color with red markings, their hats adorned with a red star in the center. They all carried firearms of some kind, slung around their backs.
 

Skittering across the roofs of the buildings while crouching low enabled J’Karra to quickly reach her destination, the center complex. The HUD told her this was where she needed to go, but first she had to get inside. And the only entrance was flanked by two guards. J’Karra stood above them and drew her bow. She drew the string and two arrows appeared nocked. J’Karra flipped over the edge and hit the ground.

The guards instantly readied their weapons, but before they could pull the triggers or even say a word, J’Karra released the two energy arrows. Each guard was struck square in the chest and collapsed instantly. J’Karra checked the door. Locked from the inside. She raised her bow and fired another arrow, this one bursting open the door.
 

J’Karra dragged the two guards inside the door and closed it behind her. The top level was nothing special, just looked like an empty warehouse. But there was an elevator in the center of the room. J’Karra ran over to it and activated the switch. The platform lowered down into the basement levels. J’Karra kept her bow ready to strike at anything that would come out after her.
 

When the elevator reached its destination, there was just one corridor leading away from it. J’Karra moved into the tunnel, her HUD scanning for any lifeforms coming this way. She passed intersecting tunnels and her HUD told her there were lifeforms down those ways, but mostly few. The biggest concentration was also where the Chaknaar signature came from, and it was down this main tunnel.
 

After a lot of traversing the tunnels, J’Karra’s path was finally blocked by a heavy set of doors. The HUD told her the Chaknaar was behind them. She drew back her string, generating an arrow larger and more powerful than any she’d used thus far. J’Karra fired, and the arrow barely made a dent.

The Kotharian warrior took a deep breath and tried again. This second arrow caused the doors to give somewhat, but they still remained locked. Beneath her helmet, the strain on J’Karra’s face was evident. She pulled the string back again, channeling her energies as she’d been taught. This third and final arrow caused the doors to open.
 

She paused to regain her breath. The strain of devoting so much energy to those arrows had taken its toll, but she had to push forward. J’Karra stepped inside and this room was pitch-black. Even her own enhanced vision had difficulty seeing much of anything in this room.
 

The HUD confirmed the Chaknaar readings and there were several lifeforms in here. J’Karra could finally see them and she could sense something else, something far more powerful and primal than she had witnessed before.
 

And then J’Karra felt an incredible surge come over her. Her mind was on fire and her entire body seized up. J’Karra tried not to scream, but she couldn’t help it as she was overwhelmed by hundreds if not thousands of thoughts rushing at her at once. She dropped to her knees and then fell on her face.

The doors opened again and the guards used their guns for suppressing fire to keep back whatever was hidden within these doors. Other guards grabbed J’Karra’s legs and dragged her body from the room.

“Get those doors sealed up immediately!” The voice spoke Korean, but with a Russian-tinged accent. “We can’t risk it getting out!”

“What about the intruder?” asked one of the guards.

The man in charge was tall and gaunt. His skin was a pale yellow and his head was bald, lined with scars, with a beard adorning his chin. His left eye was gone, replaced with a fogged glass orb.
 

“Bring her to my lab,” said Erik Azarov. “I feel there is much we can learn about our mysterious visitor.”

CHAPTER 2

The Atlas-F ICBM silo deep within the Adirondacks appeared, for all intents and purposes, decommissioned. Nothing more than a relic of the Cold War. And though the tarmac and security station above-ground appeared unused for decades, below-ground was a completely different story.

But Anita Jordan, Dominic Vaughn, Koji Asano and Erin Hastings knew differently. These four civilians disembarked from the black helicopter marked with a red circle housing the silhouette of a three-headed hound. Also with them was the man who met them for pick-up—Jim Ellis, who had been working with the organization called Cerberus. But for Jim, these four were where his true allegiance lied.
 

Jim signaled to the helicopter pilot, who lifted off from the ground and receded off into the distance. Jim then faced his companions with a smile. They all had some luggage with them, but he refrained from telling them the specifics of the mission they were called together for.

Now that they were clear of any outside observation, Erin’s form shifted. She changed from a blond-haired teenager into a bald, light-green humanoid form with yellow eyes. Her natural state since her special gene was activated.

“That feels better,” she said.

“So we’re here now,” said Anita. “Care to tell us what this is all about?”

“Inside,” said Jim, walking forward and pointing at the security station. Once inside the small station, biometric scans were performed and the elevator hidden behind a wall opened. The group piled in and the elevator descended down to the real base below.

“Never thought I’d see this place again,” said Koji.
 

“Yeah, you an’ me both,” said Dom. “Bet it’ll take some time to clear out the cobwebs.”

A knowing smile played on Jim’s lips. “Oh, the base has still be in use…kind of. Actually saw some action pretty recently.”

The doors opened to the monitor room. These four guests had spent a lot of time in this room. It was where they underwent mission briefings before their team was shut down.
 

A young, bald man with dark skin stood from his console. He smiled when he saw them and approached the group. They all smiled back.

“Lee!” said Erin, giving him a quick hug. Lee Parker returned the hug and then shook hands with the rest.

“Good to see you all again,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get things up and running as quickly as possible, but it’s been a bit slow-going.”

“‘We’?” asked Anita.

“That’s correct, Anita.” The hollow voice came from below. A panel in the floor opened and a robot body rose up from below, hovering under the power of the propulsion systems in his feet.
 

“Oh my god, Zen!” Erin ran to the robot and threw her arms around him, embracing him longer than Lee. The rest of the group did the same, with Anita being the next to embrace him, followed by Koji. Dom just gave him a nod and the robot did the same.

“You’re back in your body, how’d that happen?” asked Koji.

“Lee helped repair the damage to it, but as for how we finally managed to transfer my consciousness back into it, that’s another story,” said Zenith.
 

“That’d be the action I referred to earlier,” said Jim.

“So you’ve been here, too?” asked Dom.

Jim shook his head. “Nah, unfortunately I missed it. Cleaning up Cerberus after Callus’ disappearing act.”

“Well, if it isn’t the laziest group of slobs I’ve ever laid eyes on. Hope you enjoyed relaxing while we were busy doing all the heavy lifting.”