“Is it possible?” asked J’Karra. “Could the humans have shot down a Kotharian research vessel?”
She needed answers. J’Karra searched out information on this “United States” and found that the head of the government was something called a “President” and that he resided in a “white house” in a place called Washington.
“Set course for this Washington,” said J’Karra. “I believe this President and I need to have a talk.”
CHAPTER 3
Howard McCabe felt at home in his old laboratory. It had been close to a year since he was able to set foot inside Atlas, the base that housed the team of specials called Vanguard. And he was glad to be back. Most of the work he was doing now on studying specials came directly out of his initial contact as an advisor to Vanguard.
But that was when Vanguard was a secret project initiated by the late President Curtis Hayworth. With Hayworth dead, his successor, Dennis Lawson, had terminated the program. Felt it was too risky given the international community’s consensus on prohibiting nations from using specials for their own purposes.
Anita Jordan lay on a gurney beside McCabe. As the geneticist typed away at the keyboard, an apparatus lowered from the ceiling, flashing a green light across Anita’s body. She closed her eyes as it passed over her.
As the light moved, a display of Anita’s body appeared on the screen. McCabe focused in on the brain, looking for any irregularities. He rubbed his gray beard as he contemplated the results.
Anita sat up from the gurney and looked at McCabe. “So what’s the verdict?”
McCabe hit a few keys and brought up a scan of Anita’s brain from before. “Well, one thing’s for certain, your mind’s definitely showing increased activity. That could be a result of your powers growing.” He looked away from the computer and focused on her. “How are you feeling? Any headaches like you experienced in the past?”
Anita shook her head. “Nothing. I feel fine, actually. All things considered.”
McCabe gave a solemn nod and lowered his eyes. “Leo told me what happened in North Korea. You know it wasn’t your fault, right?”
Anita held up her hand. “Please, don’t. It’s not a topic I feel like revisiting.”
“That’s fine.” McCabe turned away from the computer, sliding his chair closer to Anita. “I’m not going to push you. But I just want you to know that we’re here for you if you need anything.”
Anita gave a half-hearted smile. “I appreciate it. But right now, I’m more interested in how I was able to do it.”
McCabe took a breath. “Well, that’s a bit difficult to determine with any degree of certainty. Your powers are psionic in nature, though.”
“Yeah, but it’s just been a form of telekinesis, right?” asked Anita. “The forcefield around my body, my flight, my strength.”
“True, but telekinesis doesn’t rule out telepathic abilities.”
“But my telekinesis hasn’t even expanded. I still can’t lift things without physically touching them.”
“We’re in uncharted territory here with specials, there’s no way to say for certain how powers develop,” said McCabe. “Maybe it’s a result of your exposure to other psychics. A defense mechanism after what the Analyst did to you. Or maybe it was your encounter with the Collective or this J’Karra woman that unlocked these abilities.”
“I haven’t been able to use them since, though,” she said. “Whenever I try to read someone’s mind, I get nothing. It’s like—” She stopped herself and chuckled.
“What?” asked McCabe, not getting the joke.
“I was just going to say it’s like trying to fly,” she said.
“Sounds like you need some new analogies.”
Anita and McCabe looked to the door where the third voice came from. Jim Ellis, Vanguard’s field commander, stepped out of the elevator. He was clad in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and approached the pair.
“I hope you’re not giving her permission to slack off, Doc,” said Jim.
“Not at all. In fact, she’s the picture of health,” said McCabe, turning his gaze to Anita. “Provided she’s ready, I’d say she can go back in the field right away.”
Jim looked at her, too. Despite his comment about slacking off, his eyes showed genuine concern for his teammate. “What do you say?”
Anita stood from the gurney. “I’m ready whenever you guys are.”
“Good, because the old man wants everyone in the monitor room for a briefing,” said Jim.
“Watch it with the ‘old man’ cracks,” said McCabe.
Jim snickered. “Sorry, Doc. You’re more than welcome to join us, too. Might be able to give us some insight.”
“I appreciate the offer, but is that acceptable? I’m not officially part of this unit anymore.”
“This unit doesn’t officially exist anymore, so I don’t think we have a lot to worry about,” said Jim.
***
The entire team gathered around the round table in the monitor room. Colonel Leonard Thorne stood at the front of the group, with the robotic Zenith by his side. All the members of the team were dressed in regular street clothes. Anita, Jim, and McCabe were the last to arrive and they took the empty seats at the table.
“After everything that’s happened over the past few months, I thought it best to assess where we stand. Especially now that Atlas is up and running again,” said Thorne.
He and Zenith turned to the large monitor behind them. A grid appeared with various photographs on it. Each photograph was an enemy Vanguard had faced in the past.
“Both the Khagan and Lucent are accounted for. Cerberus has them both imprisoned,” said Zenith. The image of a white man with a Fu Manchu goatee and a glowing blue man both turned to black and white. “The others are still at large.”
“We can probably rule out Fuerte as a threat,” said Thorne. An image of a young Hispanic girl turned to black and white. “She only battled us while under the control of the Analyst and ever since we brought her in, Zukov said she’s been nothing but extremely cooperative. She’s been released and has returned to her studies.”
“Next, we have the Exemplar,” said Zenith. One of the images enlarged, this of a handsome man with short, dark hair and blue eyes.
“I don’t think we have to worry about him,” said Erin. “He helped Koji and me on Arcadia. Seems to be doing pretty well.”
“That was before,” said Jim. “When Callus was still in charge, he had Cerberus invade Arcadia. They took a number of prisoners but King wasn’t among them. According to reports, he managed to escape.”
“That could make him a threat,” said Thorne.
“The impression we got was that he was trying to get his life together, do something to help specials,” said Koji.
“This is a guy who nearly destroyed Chicago because his wife rejected him, he’s not exactly a model of stability,” said Dom. “Cerberus trashed his home. He’s going to want payback. And can’t say I blame him.”
“Me neither,” said Anita.
“Except it was Callus responsible for what happened to Arcadia and he’s gone,” said Jim. “If King goes after Cerberus, he’ll be punishing the wrong people.”
“Jim’s right, we have to keep an eye on him. But after he helped us on Olympus and given what Erin and Koji told us about their time in Arcadia, maybe he’ll be a little easier to deal with next time.” Thorne then added with a sigh, “Or at least I hope so.”
The image of the Exemplar returned to the grid, but remained colored. Two other images enlarged, one of a woman wearing a white motorcycle helmet and the other of a bald man on fire.
“Zephyr and Pyre,” said Thorne. “Although Pyre was controlled by the Analyst, he did try to kill me under Callus’ orders.”
“He helped us against Cerberus, but who knows where he’ll land now,” said Anita. “Zephyr was there, too.”
“She’s another one we need to keep an eye out for. Anyone who would willingly join the Khagan
is cause for concern,” said Thorne. “And next we’ve got the Analyst himself.”
The images of Zephyr and Pyre receded while one of the Analyst, a man with short, slicked-back hair and a mustache enlarged.
“He’s been missing ever since the Khagan was apprehended,” said Lee. “I’ve spent just about every free moment I’ve had scouring the Earth for this bastard and come up with nothing.”
“With his powers and his contacts, there’s virtually nowhere he couldn’t be hiding,” said Thorne. “But our biggest concern at the moment is these three.”
The final three images enlarged. One was of a man with short, graying hair. The other a man with a receding silver hairline and glasses. And the third of an bald, older man with yellowed skin, a glass eye, and a thin beard along his chin.
“Erik Azarov, Joseph Ramsey, and Nathan Callus,” said Zenith. “We know that Azarov was working in North Korea under orders from Callus and since we defeated the Collective, Azarov has disappeared. Callus has also been missing ever since his illegal activities were exposed. And Ramsey, of course, we know where he is.”
“Secretary of Defense and he’s untouchable,” muttered Thorne. “At least until we have some hard proof that he’s working with these people.”
“Basically, Ramsey links all this together,” said Jim. “He worked with the Red Fist, engineered Callus’ appointment as Cerberus Director, and probably encouraged Callus to send Azarov to North Korea. The question is why. What does he have to gain from all this?”
“To answer that, you have to go back further,” said McCabe.
All eyes fell on the geneticist. “What do you mean, Howard?” asked Thorne.
McCabe leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table’s surface. “I mean he’s the Secretary of Defense. He already has a large degree of power and influence. He’s also quite wealthy. So why would a man risk all that by helping out the Khagan?”
“He’d have to be a true believer,” said Anita.
“Exactly what I’m thinking. To understand what Ramsey is up to, we have to understand his motivations,” said McCabe.
“Another problem is the new player you encountered in North Korea, this J’Karra woman,” said Thorne. “She claims to be an alien, but we have no way of confirming that.”
“I think she’s telling the truth,” said Anita. “More than that, after North Korea, I saw something. A vision of things to come. I think she’s just the first in something bigger that’s about to happen.”
“You mean like an invasion or something?” asked Koji.
“Possibly,” said Anita. “I just can’t understand why. When I was fighting the Collective, J’Karra and I were connected. I got a sense of who she is. And I feel like she’s a good person, deep down.”
“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” said Thorne. “In any event, we have to—”
An alert went off in the monitor room. All eyes turned to the screen, with a flashing ALERT warning across. The image quickly changed and revealed Abram Zukov, currently the interim Director of Cerberus, on a live video feed from the Olympus space station.
“Abram, what’s happening?” asked Jim.
“We need your assistance!” said Zukov. “The White House is under attack!”
CHAPTER 4
After the Khagan took control of the Olympus space station, his first act was to punish the previous President by launching an assault. With the help of the teleforce technology utilized by Zenith, the Khagan destroyed the White House, with the President, Vice-President, and their staff still inside.
Once the Khagan was defeated, construction immediately began on a new White House. It had only recently been completed, with current President Lawson now residing inside. The regular operations of the house had begun almost immediately after the President took up residence. Security around the White House had increased ever since construction was completed, but J’Karra had no concerns about that.
She deactivated her ship’s stealth mode as she hovered above the building, instantly drawing stares and exclamations of shock and fear from the people on the ground. Secret Service agents rushed out to the lawn and drew their weapons, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
J’Karra’s ship touched down on the White House lawn and the canopy opened. The Kotharian warrior emerged, reaching behind her back and drawing her telescoping bow.
“She’s got a weapon!” shouted one of the agents. “Open fire, open fire!”
J’Karra leapt to avoid the bullets and held out her bow, drawing the string and firing several psionic arrows that hit their mark, taking out the first wave of guards. She charged at another, jumping just as he shot at her. J’Karra took him down with a kick to the face. The next agent was tripped by J’Karra’s bow and then the final one taken out with a psionic arrow to the face.
She stood, her black and gold cape billowing behind her in the wind. J’Karra approached the doors and kicked them in. Other guards, alerted by her presence outside, were already in the hall, hiding behind cover and waiting to strike.
J’Karra still wore her helmet and the HUD told her the location of each agent. She took the bow in both hands and it separated at the grip, the string retracting into one end, leaving her with a pair of battle staves. Running forward, there was an agent hiding to her left. He emerged from cover and raised his gun, but she jumped at the wall, pushed her foot up against it and spun, bringing down one of the staves on his head.
Another agent was positioned across the hall from her. He aimed the weapon and J’Karra hurled one of the staves, striking his weapon from his hand. She rushed him, grabbing the stave as it bounced back. J’Karra pounced and knocked him out with a direct strike from her helmet.
“Get her!”
The agents emerged from cover and stared firing. J’Karra’s armor protected her from their bullets and she reassembled the bow, connecting the string and firing off a flurry of psionic arrows. One by one, the Secret Service agents fell to her attacks.
She continued through the house, striking down anyone who got in her way. Her movements were graceful as she dodged their attacks, returning in full force with either her strength or her alien weaponry. There was a reason that J’Karra was chosen for this mission by the Matriarch—she was one of the finest warriors the Kotharian military had ever seen and once she began a mission, she would either complete it or she would be killed in the attempt. No other outcome was acceptable to the Kotharians.
Her HUD displayed a map of the grounds obtained from public records on the Internet. The Oval Office was her next stop and when she found it, she kicked down the door.
Several more agents were inside. They stood between J’Karra and her target, the man she knew as President Lawson from her research. Lawson huddled behind his guards and J’Karra saw another man beside him, one who obviously was not part of the guard detail.
“Put down the bow!” said an agent. J’Karra responded with a psionic arrow in his chest. He collapsed and another agent checked on him. No entry wound, not even a projectile. But he experienced the same fate as his colleague, falling after J’Karra shot him next.
J’Karra pulled the string several times in rapid succession. The arrows appeared, launched, and she pulled the string again. The movements were so rapid, it was almost impossible for the human eye to see them.
By the time all was said and done, it was just J’Karra, Lawson, and the third man standing there. Lawson’s mouth was open and he stared down at his agents. “My god…you killed them…”
“No,” she said, reaching a hand for the side of her helmet. It receded away, revealing her reddish-orange skin, yellow braids, and gold, catlike eyes. “They’ll live. Unlike you, I am not a murderer.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Lawson. “I didn’t kill anyone!”
“She’s one of them, Mr. President,” said the other man, with a receding hairline and glasses. “One of those specials.”
J’Karra turned her gaze to him. “And
you are?”
“Joseph Ramsey, Secretary of Defense,” he said.
“Then be silent, Joseph Ramsey, Secretary of Defense.” J’Karra took a step closer to Lawson, who took a step back to maintain the distance between them. She raised the bow, drawing the string and generating a psionic arrow ready to fire. “I am only after the man responsible for the death of my people.”
“I have no idea what you’re on about,” said Lawson. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“I know about the crash. Roswell, 1947. Your government shot down and took possession of a Kotharian research vessel,” said J’Karra. “I want to know where it and the crew are located.”
“Roswell?” asked Lawson, then followed up with a chuckle. “Are you out of your mind? There was no alien crash!”
“Liar!” She was about to fire the arrow, when she saw Ramsey make a break for the door. J’Karra turned her arrow to him, releasing the string. The arrow cut through the air and struck him in the back. Ramsey cried out just an instant before he fell face-first.
Lawson’s attention was on the Secretary, so he didn’t see J’Karra cross the distance that separated them. She held the bow against his neck, pinning him against the wall. Her yellow eyes stared into his blue ones and she gently laid her fingers on his forehead.
“If you do not tell me what I need to know, then I’ll pull the information from your mind.”
CHAPTER 5
As soon as Zukov informed Vanguard that the White House was under attack, they immediately suited up and boarded the Icarus. With the jet’s flight capabilities, they were able to make the trip in less than half the time it would take a normal plane. While en route, Zukov provided them with surveillance footage from the White House of the attack.
“Doesn’t make any sense,” said Shift, shaking her head as she watched the attacker take out the Secret Service. “Why would J’Karra attack the White House?”
“Who knows? We don’t even know why she attacked the same base in North Korea that we were after,” said Gunsmith.
Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) Page 25