Vanguard: Season Four: A Superhero Adventure

by Percival Constantine

  Koji shook his head. “Looks like it was a set-up. No tachyon generator and so we’ve still got no way of sending Chronos back in time. But that’s not even the worst of it.”

  Alex furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about?”

  Koji sighed and placed his hand on Alex’s arm. “You missed a lot.”

  “So fill me in.”

  Koji took a breath and explained how they went to meet Gunsmith and while they were gone, Cerberus attacked the Icarus. He told Alex all about how Vicky, Reina, and Chronos were missing and they had no way of knowing where they were.

  “Jesus…” muttered Alex. “So now what?”

  “Ellis is checking Cerberus records, trying to see if they’ve been captured.”

  “You trust him?”

  “I dunno.” Koji sat back in his chair beside Alex’s bed. “When we saw him at his place, I was ready to tear his throat out. But when Tuwa attacked him, I stopped her. Kinda feel like a hypocrite.”

  “He was your buddy, not surprising you’re conflicted.”

  “Something about it just doesn’t smell right,” said Koji. “I mean, I can’t put my finger on it. Before we left the Icarus, I was all set to believe that Jim sold us out. But once I saw him in person, heard what he had to say…call me crazy, but I believed him when he said he had nothing to do with it.”

  “But there’s still the question of who tipped off Cerberus,” said Alex. “Do you really think it could’ve been someone onboard?”

  “I got a theory, actually.”

  Alex held his arms out to the side. “Lay it on me, brother.”

  “Nah, it’s insane.”

  “It’s all over your face, you wanna get it off your chest. So go on.”

  Koji rose from his seat and checked in the corridor outside the room. He stepped back inside, closing the door behind him. Alex watched his friend’s movements with curiosity. Koji approached the bed and knelt down by its side, whispering.

  “What if it’s the Analyst?”

  Alex’s brows shot right up. “The Analyst?”

  “Keep your voice down!”

  “All right, I’m sorry.” Alex lowered his volume. “What makes you think that?”

  “Look man, you only ever knew him as one of us,” said Koji. “But me an’ Erin, we went up against him. He worked for the friggin’ Khagan for crying out loud. He turned Anita against us.”

  “Yeah, but he changed, right?”

  “Disappeared after we took down the Red Fist, didn’t re-emerge until the war had already started,” said Koji. “When he finally resurfaced, he wanted to help us take down the Kotharians.”

  “What makes you think he would be working with Cerberus?”

  “The guy’s past makes me uneasy. That and before the invasion, there was a pro-Red Fist faction within Cerberus. And who else could it be?”

  “My money’s still on the guy we know’s been working with the enemy,” said Alex.

  A knock came at the door. Koji tapped a finger against his lips, a signal to Alex not to mention what they were talking about. Alex flashed a thumbs-up to indicate his compliance.

  “Come in,” said Koji.

  The door opened and Tuwa stepped inside the room. She walked across to Alex’s bed and studied his face for a brief moment. After folding her arms, she gave a snort. “You’re milking this, aren’t you?”

  “You know it.” Alex flashed a grin.

  “He up to speed?” asked Tuwa. Koji nodded. “Well, the Analyst wants you in the war room. Ellis finished his search.”

  “Gimme a few minutes to put on some clothes that don’t have me flashing my ass,” said Alex.

  Tuwa shook her head. “No, you’re still injured.”

  “While I was stuck in this bed, those three were doing the job I should’ve been doing,” said Alex. “So I’m part of whatever operation we’re setting up.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for it?” asked Tuwa.

  Alex’s eyes crackled with what little energy he still had stored within his cells. Tuwa took a breath and spun on her heels. “Fine, then don’t keep us waiting. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

  ***

  Jim had his hands braced against the table, staring at the V engraved into the surface. It had been so long since he got a good look at this thing. He thought he’d never see it again, and yet here he was. He looked up and saw Erin standing across from him. The fact that she’d barely aged a day in the past twenty years was something he still found a little surprising. He stood upright and rubbed his beard, which had started to produce a few white hairs in its surface.

  “Staring pretty hard at that table,” she said.

  “Just surprised is all,” said Jim. “Expected this thing to be destroyed with the rest of Atlas.”

  “It was, that’s a replica. After the team sprung me and Koji, I insisted we get one just like it. Wouldn’t seem like Vanguard without it, would we?”

  Jim released a quick chuckle. “No, I guess not.” He stood upright as the Analyst’s hoverchair approached the table and nodded to him.

  “Your information is sound?” asked the old man.

  “Yessir,” said Jim.

  They heard the sound of the door opening and the three looked to its origin. Koji, Tuwa, and Alex entered the room, joining them at the table. The Analyst studied Alex.

  “Shouldn’t you be recuperating?”

  “Don’t even bother, I already tried,” said Tuwa. “Man’s got a death wish.”

  “I got a job to do, I’m gonna do it,” said Alex.

  “Good, then let’s get started.” Jim entered some commands on the console and brought up recent images of both Talon and Ink. “Asano, Victoria. Davis, Reina. Both apprehended by Cerberus troops.”

  “You’re sure about that?” asked Koji.

  Jim nodded. “No doubt about it. DNA scans confirmed their identities. At the moment, they’re just listed as apprehended specials. No mention in the files of being members of Vanguard. That means they’re being treated as regular prisoners, which is good news for us. Means standard security.”

  “What about Chronos?” asked the Analyst.

  “No record of anyone apprehended matching his description,” said Jim. “Not sure what happened to this Chronos, but it looks like he managed to get away somehow.”

  “I don’t think so,” said the Analyst.

  “We can worry about him later.” Erin turned her gaze from the Analyst to Jim. “Where are Vicky and Reina being held?”

  “That’s…” Jim took a breath. “That’s where it gets tricky. You see, their location is classified.”

  “So how do we declassify it?” asked Koji. “Aren’t you supposed to be a general or something?”

  “Yes, but it’s not that simple. I’m military, pure and simple. Ink and Talon are being held in a facility managed by research and development. That’s not my area. You need someone in that department who can tell you the specifics of where they are.”

  “You know someone like that?” asked Erin.

  “I do. Someone we can lean on, someone who can tell you everything you need to know about what sort of research Cerberus is conducting. Not only in regards to your missing teammates, but also about that tachyon generator you need.”

  “Who is it and where can we find them?” asked Koji.

  “Do you remember Adam Bradshaw?”

  Koji’s sight drifted to the ceiling, trying to recall the name. It was Erin who finally asked about it. “The guy behind those underground fight clubs. The one who experimented on you.”

  “That’s right. Seems he cut a deal with Cerberus and they allowed him to return to working for Proximo. He’ll be able to provide us with the information we need.” A smile tugged at the edges of Jim’s lips. “And on a personal note, I wouldn’t mind roughing him up a bit. Guy certainly has it coming.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Reina’s entire body felt weak. She wasn’t aware how long she’d been in the pod and she pass
ed out a few times, but she imagined it must have been several hours. Azarov said nothing else as he went about his experiments. Whatever gas he fed into the pod kept her docile. Automated devices inside the pod injected her with substances, drew fluid from her body, and took scans of her every reaction.

  Her eyes kept drifting to the tattoos along her arms, trying to will them to life. Intellectually, she knew it was useless. But to stop trying meant giving up hope of escape. She wasn’t ready to resign herself to the fate of a lab rat. She only wished Vicky was fighting back as well.

  She felt her head begin to clear. Reina blinked a few times to clear her vision. Azarov stood at the console, his eye fixed on the monitor in front of him. The door opened and another man entered. He looked older, probably seventies or so. Of course that didn’t mean much in this day and age. Thanks to Kotharian technology, human co-conspirators were kept healthy way beyond their average lifespan.

  “So here they are,” he said. Reina studied him as he approached to examine her through the forcefield. He wore a Cerberus dress uniform and the name-tag on his jacket read CALLUS.

  “Cal…lus…” She tested the name on her tongue, mostly to see if she could still speak. He evidently heard her and stared her right in the eyes.

  “I need them to talk, Doctor,” said Callus.

  “You needn’t concern yourself, General,” said Azarov. “The sedative will wear off in a few minutes.”

  “Get everything you need from them?”

  Azarov gave a nod. “Indeed I did. Fascinating samples. Although I doubt Ms. Davis’ genetic material will prove very useful. Requires a good deal of imagination, you see. But Ms. Asano? Although I’d prefer her mother, this will provide us with some very useful possibilities.”

  “Good, the Kotharians will want a progress update soon,” said Callus.

  “In that case, I should see that the codex is updated,” said Azarov. “Try not to make a mess, General.”

  Azarov left Reina and Vicky in Callus’ care, exiting the lab and closing the door behind him. Callus approached Reina’s pod and she could see him clearly through the forcefield.

  “Awake yet? Because I have some questions I need answered. About your team, about who provided you with access to Proximo, and about your friend, Chronos.”

  “Sorry, it’s difficult to hear you. Why don’t you try deactivating the forcefield, should clear things right up,” said Reina.

  Callus scoffed. “Very funny, young lady. Let’s start with Proximo.” He looked at his smartwatch and entered a few commands. It emitted a holographic projection of Chronos—footage recorded from the battle at Proximo against Lucent. The image froze and Callus looked at Reina. “This man. Where is he?”

  “Hard to recall. You see, I was a little busy getting shot at by your people.”

  “How did you get into Proximo? How did you know the tachyon generator was there?”

  “Just so happens one of my secret powers is sniffing out tachyons. And as for how we got in, we just knocked on the front door and they opened it right up.”

  Callus grimaced. “Think this is funny, don’t you? Why don’t I try questioning your catatonic friend over here?”

  Reina slammed her palms against the field. “Leave her alone, you sonnuva bitch.”

  Callus smirked. “A reaction? How nice. You care about her, don’t you?”

  Reina offered no response. She fixated on the tattoo but nothing moved. Callus took a few, cautious steps towards Vicky’s pod. He placed his hand on the side of the pod, deactivating the field, then reached a hand inside and pulled Vicky free. Callus held her firm in his grip, wrapping a hand around her throat. He gave Reina a twisted smile as he tightened his fingers around her neck.

  “You bastard, I’ll kill you!” she barked at him.

  “How are you going to do that, Ink?” He emphasized her codename in a mocking tone of voice. “Tough, little orphan. Grew up on the streets, running from the Gunsmiths. I know all about you, lady. You’re no different from the hundreds of specials I’ve killed in the past two decades. Just because you got taken in by the remnants of some obsolete team of wannabe superheroes doesn’t mean jack.”

  Reina pounded on the field, trying to do something. She never felt more helpless than at this moment. And finally, the urge to do something she promised never to do in front of a Cerberus agent started to overcome her. Reina’s head dropped and she closed her eyes.

  “Please…I’m begging you.” Her pleading was just barely above the volume of a whisper. “She’s just a kid.”

  “Begging, that’s what I like to hear.” Callus’ smile widened. “Chronos. Is it true about him? Can the tachyon generator really send him back in time?”

  Reina took a deep breath and she nodded. “Yes.” She looked up and saw something flash within Vicky’s eyes. Reina blinked, not sure if it wishful thinking was affecting her perceptions, or if it was something more.

  Vicky answered that question for her, driving her elbow into Callus’ abdomen. He released her throat and she pulled away from him, flipping him forward and he landed on his back. Vicky placed her hand on the side of Reina’s pod, toggling the switch that disengaged the forcefield.

  “Vic, you’re okay?” asked Reina.

  “Playing possum, figured if I acted helpless, sooner or later they’d slip up around me,” said Vicky. “I was going to do something once Callus pulled me out of the pod, but figured I’d wait for him to tell us what he knew.”

  “I both hate and love you right now,” said Reina.

  “I hate-love you, too,” said Vicky. “Now hand me one of those scalpels.”

  Reina looked and saw a gurney with surgical instruments laid across the top. She went over to it and took a scalpel, quickly returning to Vicky’s side. She handed the scalpel to Vicky, who now crouched on Callus’ chest and brought the blade right to the edge of his eye.

  “Can’t use my talons right now, so I have to improvise,” she said. “How do we remove the inhibitors?”

  Callus wouldn’t say a word at first, but then Vicky drew some blood from just below his brow. Blood trickled into his eye and he cringed, blinking to get it out.

  “You don’t wanna mess with me, General,” said Vicky. “I was trained by the Analyst. And he wasn’t exactly the heroic type.”

  “Receiving,” said Callus. “It’s where they fit all the inhibitors. Only they can take it off.”

  “And Chronos. How’d you know about him?”

  “I only know what they told me. They gave me all the intel on him, had us set up a trap for you at Proximo. You weren’t supposed to escape, but you did. So we went after the Icarus next.”

  “How did Cerberus know where to find us?” asked Reina, kneeling down next to them.

  “I honestly don’t know. They didn’t tell me where the information came from.”

  Reina looked at Vicky. “You believe him?”

  Vicky sighed. “I don’t know. But we should get moving, stop wasting time with him.” She delivered a punch to Callus’ face and pulled him off the ground. With Reina’s help, she shoved him into the pod and activated the forcefield.

  “See how he likes it in there,” said Reina.

  They moved from the pod and went to the lab’s door. Before Vicky could open it, Reina moved in front of her and blocked her path. Vicky sighed.

  “What?”

  “So you were playing the helpless, little waif the whole time? Right from the start? Was all that stuff you told me about being born in one of these places just a load of crap?”

  Vicky gave her a hard stare. “No. And at first…” She hesitated, looking down at her feet. “At first, I wasn’t faking.”

  Reina gave her a sympathetic look.

  “But I snapped out of it sooner than I let on.” Vicky looked up, her composure regained and her face as hard as steel.

  “You could’ve filled me in. Let me know I wasn’t on my own.”

  “I needed your reaction to be genuine.”

&n
bsp; Reina scoffed. “Well it damn-well was. I thought you’d gone completely nuts.”

  “Good, then I did my job correctly. Now can we get moving, please? The longer we stay in one place, the greater the chance of someone finding us.”

  “And how exactly are we going to get to receiving?” asked Reina.

  “I was awake when they brought us in. I memorized the route.”

  “How many guards between here and there?”

  Vicky huffed. Reina gave a nod.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “I never said it was going to be easy, but it’s the only way out of here,” said Vicky. “Unless you’d rather stay and be Azarov’s lab rat.”

  “Hell no. But I think we should have a plan. An escape attempt without a plan to actually get on the other side of those walls won’t help us much.”

  “Fine.” Vicky folded her arms. “So what’s your plan?”

  CHAPTER 7

  Following the war, Adam Bradshaw willingly offered his services to the Kotharians. The only thing he ever cared about was self-preservation. He didn’t care much for the specials to begin with and if that was all the Kotharians wanted, he was happy to play ball with them in order to save his own skin.

  Under Miriam Rowe’s guidance, Proximo Labs had become one of the biggest research contractors for the Kotharian Empire. Bradshaw was quickly promoted through the ranks of the company. Both Rowe and Joseph Ramsey were well-connected with the Kotharians and vouched for his talents as a scientist.

  Now he was in charge of Proximo’s east coast operations. Rowe controlled the west coast, including the original Proximo facility in Nevada. They almost never encountered each other and for Bradshaw, that was just fine.

  In the parking garage, a private elevator was located right beside his reserved parking spot. Bradshaw stepped out of his car and locked it, then walked up to the elevator doors. A retinal scan confirmed his identity and the doors opened.

  Bradshaw stepped inside and turned around, looking out the glass tube at the city of New York. The elevator rose, taking him up to its only destination—the top floor, where his office was located. Bradshaw adjusted his glasses as he watched the city—the flow of traffic, the orderly movement of pedestrians, the patrols by Cerberus squadrons. One thing was certain—the Kotharians had brought order to the planet.