“Then why? Why send those logs when you know what it will mean?”
“Because that is my duty.” J’Karra turned away and moved to the cot in the room. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Paragon gritted her teeth and pounded on the glass. “Sorry? Sorry? How dare you!”
An alert sounded and Zukov ran from a monitoring station at the end of the hall with two Cerberus guards flanking him. Zukov rushed to J’Karra’s cell, signaling for the guards to hold back.
“Stop it, are you crazy?” he asked.
Paragon stopped pounding, her hands flattening against the indestructible glass. She was breathing heavily and after a moment she took one deep breath and stepped away from the cell, turning to Zukov.
“Close the cell. If I look at her for one second longer, I’ll kill her myself.”
Zukov approached the console and entered a command. The glass went from translucent to opaque, hiding J’Karra from view. He saw Paragon already walking down the corridor towards the elevator and ran to catch up to her.
“What was that all about?” he asked. “What did she say?”
“She said this is just the beginning,” said Paragon. “We have to prepare for war.”
EPILOGUE
The Future
Chronos flew on his glider, keeping pace with Talon, whose speed with her wings was almost unreal. Ink also flew close to them, riding on a giant phoenix that had been birthed from a tattoo across her back.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“Home,” said the winged special. “Talon to Icarus, we’re bringing some company for dinner. Care to open the doors for us?”
Chronos stared out ahead but he could see nothing in the clouds above them. Still they continued to fly higher. He switched the views on his visor and now he could see there was some kind of cloaking technology in effect.
The cloak was disengaged and a massive, flying fortress was visible in the air. A giant V breaking out of an oval, much like the logo that both Ink and Talon wore on their uniforms, was emblazoned on the sides.
A compartment opened and Chronos followed Talon and Ink inside. As soon as they were aboard, the cloak was reactivated and the ship vanished from sight. Talon’s claws and her wings receded and she motioned for Chronos and Ink to follow her.
“Welcome,” she said, “to the Icarus.”
As they exited the airlock, they came to a balcony and Chronos looked up and down. There were several levels, all of which were filled with people. Many of them looked like they’d seen difficult times. Their clothes and skin were covered with dirt and filth and they huddled together.
“What is this?” asked Chronos.
“A refugee ship,” said Ink. “We try and save as many specials as we can before the Gunsmiths get to them.”
“There are so many…”
“And our numbers have been growing.” This was a new voice. Chronos turned from the balcony and saw two individuals standing in front of him. One was a woman with a bald head, green skin, and yellow eyes. The other towered over her, a kind of human/shark hybrid.
“Who’s this guy?” asked the shark-man.
“Calls himself Chronos, we saved him from some Gunsmiths on our patrol,” said Ink.
“Chronos?” asked the woman with a raised brow. She turned her head to Talon. “We have protocols for a reason here, young lady.”
“The guy was in trouble, what would you have me do?”
“Ease up on her,” said the shark hybrid, holding up his hand.
Talon rolled her eyes and huffed. “Say hello to Sharkskin and Shift.”
“Look, while I’d love to sit around and get to know you all better, there’s something very wrong here,” said Chronos.
“Yeah, no shit, son. It’s the end of the world,” said Sharkskin.
“I know, but it wasn’t supposed to happen this soon.”
“It’s been going on for twenty years,” said Shift.
“Right, but it’s supposed to happen decades from now! That’s why I went back in the first place, to prepare!” said Chronos.
“Went back?” asked Sharkskin. “The hell’s he talking about?”
“Let’s bring Chronos to him, he’ll know what to do,” said Shift.
“Bring me to who?” asked Chronos.
Sharkskin put his hand behind Chronos’ back and pushed him along gently. “C’mon, kid. We’re gonna go see the wizard.”
Talon and Ink followed Shift, Sharkskin, and Chronos. The five of them moved through the Icarus, taking an elevator down to a restricted level of the ship. When the doors opened, they were in a darkened room.
“Finally,” said a voice weathered by age, echoing in the darkness. “I knew some day we’d find a way to end this war.”
Chronos stepped forward and in the center of the room, a light turned on from the ceiling. A man sitting in a floating chair of some sort turned, his entire body encased in metal. Only his face was visible. He was bald, his skin wrinkled and aged. But he had a thin silver mustache and haunting eyes. And when he smiled, Chronos felt a chill.
“Welcome, Chronos,” said the old man. “You may call me the Analyst. And I believe you have much to tell us. About the past and the future. And about how you caused all this.”
To Be Continued in Season Three
CONTINUE THE ADVENTURE!
Thank you for reading Vanguard: The Complete Second Season! Be sure to follow the adventures of Vanguard in season three, beginning with Vanguard #11: Vengeance!
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ALSO BY PERCIVAL CONSTANTINE
THE MYTH HUNTER
All the legends of the world have some element of truth to them. And to track down those legends, there are the myth hunters. Some, like Elisa Hill, are explorers, trying to learn more about the world. And some are soldiers of fortune, whose only goal is pro t and exploitation, no matter the risk.
INFERNUM
A shadowy, globe-spanning network of operatives run by the mysterious power broker known as Dante. They hold allegiance to no one, existing as rogues on the fringes of society. No matter the job, Infernum has an operative to execute it—provided you have the means to pay for it!
VANGUARD
The world has changed. A mysterious event altered the genetic structure of humanity, granting a small percentage of the population superhuman powers. A small team of these specials has been formed to deal with potential threats. Paragon—telekinetic powerhouse; Zenith—hyper-intelligent automaton; Shift—shape-changing teenager; Wraith—teleporting shadow warrior; Sharkskin—human/shark hybrid. Led by the armored Gunsmith, they are Vanguard!
LUTHER CROSS
Luther Cross has been through Hell—literally. Born of a mother he watched die, conceived as part of a demonic ritual, and raised by monks after being saved by a mysterious, murderous individual, Cross now makes a living through confidence schemes...and the death of demons.
Visit PercivalConstantine.com/books/ for an up-to-date list of all titles!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Percival Constantine grew up on a fairly consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, video games, and TV shows. At the age of ten, he first began writing and has never really stopped.
Percival has been working in publishing since 2005 in various capacities—author, editor, formatter, letterer—and has written books, short stories, comics, and more. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Mass Media from Northeastern Illinois Universi
ty and a Master of Arts in English and Screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, Percival lives in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture, where he works as a literature and writing instructor at the Minami Academy.
If you’d like to know more about Percival, you can find links to his social media accounts, his blog, and other works at his website, PercivalConstantine.com.
COPYRIGHT
VANGUARD: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Percival Constantine
Stock Photo Credits:
Businessman looking to camera © Imagerymajestic
Good Looking Man on Black © Daniel_wiedemann
Ashlee Portrait © Weberfoto
Trendy African man © Rgbspace
Bald Girl © Dragosmanea
Portrait of Man with Beard © Kirsanovv
Stock photography all obtained from Stock Free Images
Published by Percival Constantine
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) Page 29