Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) (25 page)

This voice was completely unexpected and the faces of the four new arrivals were frozen in shock. The man who entered the room was tall, with a short crop of silver hair and a mustache to match. What was even more surprising for them was his clothing. They were all used to seeing Colonel Leonard Thorne in military uniform. Except now he just wore jeans and a t-shirt with USMC printed across the front.

Everyone was silent, except for Dom, who summed up the thoughts that were running through all their minds with just two words: “Holy shit.”

“Good to see you, too, Vaughn,” said Thorne. He smiled broadly at them. “Real good to see all of you.”

More handshakes and hugs were exchanged as the team welcomed back their thought-dead leader. Questions were rapidly fired off almost immediately after the greetings passed and Thorne did his best to answer them as they came. Everyone gathered around the meeting table and relayed the events of the past few months since their team was disbanded.
 

“Why didn’t you try and contact any of us?” asked Erin. “I tried to reach out to Lee and Zen several times, but no luck.”

“We were trying to stay off the grid,” said Thorne. “I suspected that Callus was involved in my attempted assassination and if he thought I was still alive and saw me as a threat, I was concerned that he wouldn’t hesitate to strike at the rest of you.”

“So we remained in hiding, trying to collect whatever intelligence we could find on Cerberus’ activities,” said Zenith. “Without my body functional, it was difficult, but Lee proved very helpful in that.”

“Just trying to pull my own weight,” said Lee.
 

“Fortunately, Cerberus is under new management now,” said Jim. “After we revealed what Callus was up to, Abram was promoted to the interim director.”

“Zukov, that guy from Russia?” asked Koji. “Sure we can trust him?”

“He’s a good man, we were partnered together in Cerberus,” said Jim.
 

“I hate to be the one to throw cold water on all the happy, but I’ve got a ton of questions,” said Dom.

“That’s a lie, you
love
bringing everyone else down,” quipped Koji. The group laughed. Dom flashed a tiny smirk himself.

“Don’t make me get my harpoon gun, Jaws,” he said. “But seriously, why are we here? It’s not just for some reunion, is it? I kinda got the impression that we’re getting the band back together, but that raises a whole lot more questions.”

“He’s got a point. Lawson made it pretty clear that he’s not going to condone our activities anymore,” said Anita.

“The President’s not calling the shots here,” said Thorne.
 

“Then who is?” asked Dom.

“I am,” said Thorne.

Anita leaned forward, resting her hands on the table. “All due respect, sir, how does
that
work out? Once word gets out that Vanguard is operational again, you
know
Atlas will be the first place Lawson looks.”

“I’m in charge, but we’re not working alone.” Thorne looked at Zenith and gave a nod.

The robot’s LED eyes flashed and then the monitor screen turned on. The group turned their chairs so they could get a good look. On the monitor was a middle-aged man with dark hair that had gone white at the temples. He wore a Cerberus uniform and sat behind a desk.

“Hello, my friends. It’s an honor to speak to you again,” said Abram Zukov.
 

“What’s going on here, Thorne?” asked Dom.

“Not only are we going to need help to get Atlas back up to a hundred per cent, but Anita’s right—as soon as Lawson figures out Vanguard is active again, this is the first place he’d look. That’s where Zukov comes in.”

“Precisely. Cerberus will now provide assistance and aid to Vanguard as needed and we can also keep the various world governments off your back,” said Zukov.

“I thought the treaty prohibited the use of specials for military operations,” said Anita.

“Generally speaking, yes,” said Jim. “But there are certain conditions that would allow for specials to become assets. This situation qualifies.”

“So what is this situation? There’s gotta be a reason this is all happening now, right?” asked Koji.

“Correct. Zenith, if you please.”

With Zukov’s command, Zenith’s eyes flashed and the screen changed to a topographic map. Zukov provided the narration for the footage the team watched.

“This is North Korea,” he said. The map zoomed into a region. “Here in this mountainous northeastern region is believed to be the location of one of the nation’s infamous prison camps.”

“I don’t get it,” said Dom. “Why is this something that concerns us?”

Erin snapped at him. “Human rights abuses don’t concern you?”

He sighed. “That’s not what I mean. What I’m saying is this isn’t usually our type of deal. It also doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that Cerberus gets involved with. So what’s this all about?”

“It’s a valid question,” said Zukov. “After Callus’ disappearance, we investigated his files—whatever he didn’t destroy, that is. And it seems that he was in contact with the North Korean government, providing them with resources for some project.”

“What project?” asked Anita.

“We’re not exactly sure,” said Thorne. “But based on one of the names in there, we’ve got a pretty good guess.”

The image on the screen changed again, revealing the photograph of a man the team had all come to know and despise. Dom scoffed. “Sonnuva bitch. The Cold War Frankenstein himself.”

“We never discovered where he disappeared to following the fall of the Red Fist,” said Zenith. “If Azarov is working with the North Koreans, then it stands to reason that he is continuing his human experimentation.”

“Trying to activate the special gene in humans,” said Anita. “Just like he did with the Khagan.”

“Cerberus has tried to investigate, but we’ve been stonewalled by China,” said Zukov. “And then this happened.”

The monitor changed from Azarov’s photo to the map. There was a massive splash of blue on one location nestled in the valley of the mountains.

“What the hell is that?” asked Dom.

“A special’s power signature,” said Lee.
 

“Wait, that’s from
one
special?” asked Anita.

“That’s where things get strange.” Lee stood and the map changed to a different view entirely. “Here’s a satellite view of Atlas. When we activate our detectors, this is what comes up.” A few blue dots lit up on the map, each one corresponding to one of the Vanguardians.
 

“All of us combined don’t show up as bright as the one in North Korea,” said Erin.

“Which means this is something very powerful down there,” said Zenith. “But there is still more. Just two days ago, there was a new signature that appeared in this area. Still a special, yet somehow different. We have yet to discover what it is.”

“And that’s why Cerberus needs Vanguard’s assistance,” said Zukov. “You are the only ones who can get to the bottom of this matter. I’ll leave the rest to Jim. Good luck.”

The monitor turned off and Jim rose, standing before the group and drawing all eyes to him. “Okay, so that’s the basis of this mission. We’re to go in and investigate this power source. If we fall under fire, we strike back hard. Any questions?”

He was met with silence.

“Good. Then suit up.”

CHAPTER 3

The doors to the hangar opened and a broad smile spread on Shift’s face when she saw the hi-tech aircraft sitting in the middle of the room. “Wow, I thought this thing would’ve been snatched up by the military immediately.”

“It’s actually a newer model,” said Gunsmith, meeting the group and clad in his familiar crimson armor. “The last one ran into some trouble when we went after Callus.”

“How’d you get it fixed up so quick?” asked Wraith.
 

“We got to work on it the day Zukov took command. It was his first order to restore it to full capabilities,” said Gunsmith. He surveyed the four members in their suits. “How’s it feel to be back in costume?”

“Little tighter than I remember,” said Sharkskin, turning and stretching his body to get used to the suit again.

“Not possible, Koji,” came Zenith’s hollow voice. He flew from the Icarus’ open hatch. “The suits are weaved with nano-machines designed to adjust to your size and body type.”

Lee joined him as well, moving from under the Icarus, wearing a black suit with a specially-designed belt and gauntlets, with some sort of harness over his chest connected to a strange device on his back. “You could put on a hundred pounds and it would still fit.”

Paragon gave Lee a once-over. “What’s this?”

“Your newest teammate,” came Thorne’s voice as he entered the hangar.
 

Wraith scoffed and slapped Lee on the shoulder. “No offense, kid. But I don’t think talking to machines is gonna be a lot of help on this job.”

“He proved himself admirably during our confrontation with the Omega and Lucent,” said Zenith.

“More than that, he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.” Thorne looked at Lee. “Show ‘em what you got, kid.”

Lee nodded. An orange forcefield surrounded him. But it expanded to more than that, becoming like a translucent suit of armor surrounding the young man. The suit adjusted even more, becoming larger but keeping him in the center.

“And a little more than that,” said Lee. He began hovering, a jetpack on his back the cause. It allowed him to hover above the team and the armor also generated jet-like wings behind him. He dropped to the ground and smiled at the team. “Hard-light armor. Not bad, huh?”

“Dude, that is so badass,” said Sharkskin with a large smile. He glanced over at Zenith. “Looks like you’re no longer the team’s Iron Man.”

Zenith cocked his head to the side. “Of course not. My body is constructed from graphene.”

“That’s not what I—” Sharkskin sighed. “Never mind, dude.”

“So what do we call you?” asked Shift. “Koji picked pretty much all of our names.”

“Hmm…” Sharkskin rubbed his chin as he stared at Lee’s holographic armor. After a moment, he snapped his fingers. “I got it! How about Transformer?”

Shift cringed and frowned. “Transformer, really?”

“You’re usually much better at this,” said Wraith.
 

Sharkskin studied the uncertain looks from his teammates and shrugged. “What? He can be all massive hard-light mech, but it can also change into a bunch of different configurations. Seems to fit, I think.”

“Actually, I kind of have a name in mind already,” said Lee. “How about Sentinel?”

There were mutters of agreement amongst the team. Except for Sharkskin, who folded his arms and huffed. “Still think Transformer is cooler…”

“Aww, poor Koji,” said Shift, patting him on the back. “You got to name all of us, so let someone else get a chance.”

“Okay, you’ve all had your fun,” said Thorne, stepping into the group. “It’s been a long time since you’ve all worked together as a team. That means you’ll probably be a bit rusty. And you’ve also got a new members that you haven’t had a chance to train with. You may not be the well-oiled machine you used to be. So I want you to all be careful out there, got it? Watch each other’s backs. We can’t afford to lose any of you, or for this mission to go sideways.”

“Don’t worry, Colonel. You can count on us,” said Gunsmith.
 

Thorne gave a nod. Gunsmith signaled for the team to board the ship. “Okay group, time’s wasting and it’s a long flight across the Pacific.”

Vanguard exchanged their goodbyes with their overseer and boarded the ship. Thorne took a few steps back to get clear. Through the windshield, he could see Zenith sitting at the controls with Sentinel by his side. The silo doors above them opened, revealing the blue afternoon sky. The Icarus powered on and its teleforce VTOL jets activated, slowly raising the state-of-the-art aircraft above the Adirondacks. Once it reached a proper altitude, the thrusters activated and the Icarus shot off into the distance, the silo doors closing and leaving Thorne alone in the hangar.
 

The Colonel smiled. It had been a long time since he felt like things were working out for the best. Having his team taken away from him was far harder than he cared to admit and he was grateful to Zukov for providing him with the opportunity to bring them back together. For the first time in longer than he could remember, Leonard Thorne truly believed in the work he was doing.
 

CHAPTER 4

The front gates of the prison opened without delay for the military vehicles that stopped in front. The vehicles were driven around the base and past the prisoner housing to the central building. Waiting in front of the building was Erik Azarov, his hands clasped behind his back.
 

Men and women in military dress uniform emerged from the vehicles. One of them bore an insignia that identified his rank as that of general. The man was strongly-built and his face bore a few wrinkles from his age.
 

“General Bak, a pleasure to see you again,” said Azarov.
 

General Bak Dae-hyun simply huffed in response. He was a man of little humor and his entourage shared his disposition. “I’m here to see the specimen. The Supreme Leader demands an update on your progress.”

“Of course,” said Azarov. “Please, follow me.”

Azarov led the entourage into the building and they piled onto the elevator. The Cold War Frankenstein activated the lift and took them deep into the complex below ground.
 

“Tell me, how is the Supreme Leader?” asked Azarov.
 

“He has brought us another glorious day in our grand republic,” said Bak.
 

Azarov tried to hide his smile. He often wondered if Bak actually believed the Supreme Leader’s cult of personality or if he was just smart enough to know how to play the game.
 

“Yes, praise be to him,” said Azarov. The lift reached the ground floor and Azarov led them through the tunnels. “We have been diligently working to awaken the special gene in our test subjects. Here is one such testing regiment.”

He brought them to a cell with a clear glass door. The General and his entourage watched as a malnourished man was brutally beaten by three guards. Azarov led them down to another cell, where another man was subjected to water torture.