Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) (27 page)

They heard a klaxon from inside the base and guards rushed to the front where the gate opened to let them out. All of them brandished assault rifles and shouted in Korean as they brought up their weapons, prepared to fire. They formed a human barrier between Vanguard and the base, with the helicopter flying overhead and one of the passengers holding a gun from the open door.

“So much for not being seen, huh?” asked Wraith.

CHAPTER 6

“Take them out!” ordered Gunsmith.
 

Vanguard leapt into action to battle the North Korean soldiers that rushed from the base. The guards opened fire on the specials. Paragon’s invisible forcefield, Gunsmith’s exoskeleton, and Sentinel’s holographic armor protected them from the automatic rifles.
 

Wraith generated a massive portal in front of him, the bullets flying into the dark void. A portal opened above them, shooting the rounds harmlessly into the sky. Shift’s malleability allowed her to easily avoid most of the rounds, and Sharkskin moved fast enough to avoid the worst of the fire, while his tough hide protected him from most other damage.

Gunsmith aimed his blasters, the eyepiece targeting the soldiers and he opened fire. The teleforce blasters were set to stun, so they wouldn’t kill his enemies. He avoided incoming fire, moving as quickly as he could to target as many soldiers as possible.

Sentinel charged headlong into the midst of the soldiers, firing energy blasts from his palms. Once he got close enough to the guards, he took them on in hand-to-hand combat, the strength of the armor giving him a significant advantage over their attacks.
 

Wraith teleported behind a group of soldiers and held out his hands. Streams of ebon energy flowed from his fingertips, the effect of his blasts sending the soldiers into a state of despair and fear, collapsing to the ground.
 

“Ready to do that maneuver we practiced?” Shift asked Sharkskin. He smiled and motioned for her to come at him. Shift jumped at him and Sharkskin grabbed her legs, swinging her around before releasing her at a group of soldiers. Shift landed between them, her arms snaking out like tentacles and grabbing hold of the guns, pulling them away. She leapt from soldier to soldier, striking fast and hard.

Sharkskin leapt into the air and crashed into them as well, taking one down in his descent. His brute strength helped Shift in dispatching the last of them.

Paragon took to the air, drawing fire from the attack helicopter. It followed her as she intended and she allowed them to give her chase through the skies. She turned to the helicopter, ready to barrel right through it. The helicopter turned slightly and the soldiers inside unleashed a stream of fire from the Gatling gun. The force of the bullets was strong enough even to keep Paragon’s impressive shield at bay. She could barely push forward through the pressure.
 

A teleforce blast from above struck the gun. Zenith lowered from high above his arms transformed into cannons. He opened fire on the helicopter, destroying the blades and sending the vehicle into a rapid descent.

Paragon and Zenith both flew at the falling chopper. They broke their way into the helicopter and took hold of the soldiers inside, allowing the vehicle to crash unoccupied. As soon as they landed, the soldiers reached for their side-arms. But before they could open fire, Zenith raised his cannons and took them both out with stun blasts.

***

Inside the base, Azarov watched the security camera footage of Vanguard’s battle with the camp’s soldiers. Although most would be alarmed at the appearance of the team here, the Cold War Frankenstein couldn’t help the smile that spread along his face.

“Doctor?”

Azarov looked at the man who asked the question in English, an older, bespectacled Korean scientist named Han with silver hair. “Why are you smiling? This is a terrible turn of events! How did they know we were here?”

“Vanguard disappeared following the fall of the Khagan,” said Azarov. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that they return not long after Callus goes into hiding and Zukov takes over?”

“You think they know what we’ve been doing here?” asked Han.

“It would seem so,” said Azarov.
 

“We must notify General Bak, summon reinforcements.” Han picked up a phone from the console. But Azarov placed his finger on the hook, leaving Han unable to call. Han looked at the scientist. “What are you doing?”

“Do you see what these people can do? How quickly they’ve managed to dispatch our guards?” asked Azarov, pointing at the monitors. “Reinforcements would not help our position.”

“Then what do you suggest? We can’t risk them discovering proof of what we’ve been working on down here.”

“It’s simple, we take them prisoner,” said Azarov.

“What
what
?”

Azarov smiled and a look of horror fell over Han’s face.

“You cannot be serious!”

“It’s the only chance we have to contain Vanguard.”

“But those specimens…they will not be able to distinguish between Vanguard or our men!”

“Then our men will die valiantly in the service of the Supreme Leader.” Azarov took the phone from Han’s hand and dialed internally. He spoke in Korean when the voice on the other end answered. “Release the specimens.”

***

The team regrouped near the front gate of the prison camp. Wraith looked at Gunsmith and said, “So much for stealth, huh?”

Gunsmith grimaced. “Unfortunately. This may get a whole lot worse from here on out. Zenith, did you find anything before the attack?”

“Judging from Sentinel’s scans and an overhead view of the camp, there is a structure in the center that seems to be where the entrance for the underground levels can be accessed.”

“Then that’s where we go. Everyone, stay sharp. It was a lot of guards we took down, but I’m not so sure they’re the last.”

“God, this place reeks,” said Sharkskin.
 

“North Korea’s prison camps are some of the greatest human rights violators in the entire world,” said Paragon. “The things defectors have said about these things…you’d never imagine anyone with a soul capable of such depravity.”

Something flashed across Sentinel’s visor. He stopped and turned, looking around. “Huh?”

“What is it?” asked Shift.

“Motion sensor. Something just moved past, but it’s gone now.”

“Probably just a rat,” said Paragon. “They infest these camps.”

Sentinel shook his head. “That’s gotta be one big rat then.”

“He’s telling the truth, I just picked up something as well,” said Zenith.

“Me too,” said Gunsmith. “Sharkskin, you getting anything?”

“Just the same stench of death,” said Sharkskin. “It’s hard to sift through anything else.”

Wraith moved to the side of one of the buildings and peered around the edge. He saw what looked like a naked child on the ground, stuffing its face with something. The child looked extremely malnourished and yellowed skin was stretched taut over his bones. Moreover, the child was completely hairless. His head was bent low, busy devouring whatever was in his hands.
 

“Hey,” said Wraith. “I found it…it’s just some kid.”

The child’s head snapped up and Wraith realized it wasn’t a child at all. Its eyes were crimson, and it snarled with blood-stained teeth. Wraith could now see what was left of the rat the creature was eating, clutched between its bony, claw-like fingers.
 

“Dreks!” he shouted as the Drek leapt at him. Wraith fell back, holding out his hand and opening a portal that the Drek fell into. It rematerialized a few hundred feet away and Wraith scrambled to his feet as the rest of the team quickly joined him.

“Oh my god…” Shift covered her gaping mouth while Paragon narrowed her eyes in anger.

“Children. Azarov is experimenting on children now.”

They heard the inhuman chattering and spun around to watch as dozens of Dreks emerged from hiding. Their voices were like a chorus of screams and all of them were small, not much more than three or four feet tall. And with that smaller size came an increased speed.

“Close ranks!” Gunsmith ordered and the team gathered together. Zenith and Sentinel hovered above the group, using their energy blasts to try and keep the Dreks mostly at bay. Gunsmith and Wraith did so as well from the ground, a combination of energy blasts and portals to force them back. If any got through, Paragon, Shift, and Sharkskin would strike physically to throw them back.

But then something odd happened. Several of the Dreks didn’t attack at all. Some of them moved to the bodies of the unconscious guards who had fallen in the first wave. They opened their jaws wide and their tongues shot out, like tentacles and latched onto the necks of their victims. Both attacker and prey spasmed for a few moments and then the tongues disconnected. The Dreks turned away from their victims, but the strangest part was that the victims started to undergo a transformation of their own. They became larger, with an exaggerated skeletal structure and yellowed skin stretched taut over their bodies. More like the Dreks that Vanguard had encountered before.

“Holy shit,” said Sharkskin. “They’re some kind of breeders or something.”

It wasn’t long before most of the guards had been transformed into Dreks. And now they all attacked Vanguard at once. The team struggled to keep them at bay, with Zenith and Sentinel blasting away from the sky.

“Do not break formation! Maintain your position!” said Zenith.

Sentinel nodded in understanding. He had felt like flying low, swooping in to protect some of his teammates. But Zenith was right. From up here, he could do more good than below. And he couldn’t leave Zenith to fight these things on his own.

Gunsmith rotated his body, swinging his arms every direction possible, but maintaining the same position throughout. His guns fired off blast after blast. Wraith was by his side, trying a combination of his energy attacks and portals to keep the Dreks off them. But he was feeling the strain of trying to open and shut so many portals and Gunsmith could see it in his face. For Gunsmith, although he felt some fatigue, the suit was capable of pushing himself harder than most. Even though he knew he couldn’t hold out like this forever.

Shift’s tentacle arms flailed out, swatting back any Drek that tried to come too close. She took one side while Sharkskin took the other of the circle. He met the Dreks face to face, staring into their fangs and smelling their acrid breath with each screech they let out. He countered their claws with his own, hoping his strength could last out long enough.

Paragon did what she could as well, her forcefield protecting her from the worst of it. But while the others felt fatigue in their muscles, she felt it in her mind. With her powers being psionic in nature, every blow she took, every punch she threw put more strain on her mind.
 

“We can’t keep this up forever!” said Gunsmith. “Zenith, we need evac!”

“The Icarus’ auto-pilot is not sophisticated enough to handle take-off and landing, I cannot summon it!” said Zenith.
 

“Then guess we’ll have to survive without you,” said Gunsmith.
 

“If only we had time to finish the remote pilot…” muttered Sentinel.
 

“Stay on task, you will now be up here alone,” said Zenith. “I will return as soon as possible with the Icarus.”

Zenith activated his thrusters and flew off in the distance towards the Icarus. Sentinel tried his best to pick up the slack, but the Dreks were now piling on faster than before.

“Wraith, think you got enough juice in you to teleport all of us out?” asked Gunsmith.

“N-not really,” said Wraith. “I’m pretty much portaled out, I’m just relying on the ebon blasts now.”

“Wonderful…” Gunsmith reached for a compartment on his waist and hurled several small, disc-shaped objects with flashing lights. Each one struck a different Drek and the lights flashed even more rapidly before they exploded, taking several of the creatures with them.
 

Wraith made one last attempt to try and create a portal big enough to suck the team into, but the concentration needed for such an act left him open and a Drek slashed into his chest.
 

Gunsmith tried to move to his teammate’s defense, but he was soon overtaken by several Dreks, and as their claws pierced his body, he fell unconscious. Shift and Sharkskin were the next to fall, with both of them quickly overwhelmed by the Dreks.

Only Sentinel and Paragon left, their respective abilities protecting them from the paralytic enzyme in the Dreks’ claws. Sentinel lowered himself to the ground so he could fight alongside her and have her back.
 

“We have to fly out of here, get them to the Icarus!” said Sentinel. “You go first, I’ll get your back.”

Paragon nodded and picked up Sharkskin and Shift. She started to rise off the ground when a larger Drek grabbed her ankle and pulled her down to the ground, slamming her repeatedly until she fell unconscious. Sentinel looked over his shoulder and saw this new Drek was larger than all the others.
 

“Interesting technology you have,” said the Drek, in a deep voice tinged with a Russian accent. He placed one clawed finger against Shift’s neck and another against Wraith’s. “But it’s a pity your armor does not extend to your teammates. Surrender now or they die.”

“Zen, what’s the status?” asked Sentinel in a whisper.

“I have just reached the ship and am powering up now.”

“We’ve got a talking Drek, based on the files I’m guessing this is Azarov,” said Sentinel. “He’s threatening to kill them unless I surrender.”

“Team status?”

“All down except me.”

“Then surrender.”

“What?”

“Sentinel, listen to me. If we try to escape now, you will need to stall until I reach there. Then it will only be the two of us to gather our five teammates and transport them to the Icarus, while fighting off the Dreks and Azarov, without any back-up. But if Azarov wants you alive, then this could be the opportunity we need to get inside his operation.”