A blur of red and white swooped down from the night clouds, circling under the falling tower. Lithe, gloved hands that belied the power they held tightly gripped the structure and Paragon pushed, straining against the weight. The telekinetic field that fueled her strength struggled, and her head erupted with pain from the exertion.
Lucent approached her, arms crossed over his glowing chest. “You just can’t stay out of my way, can you?”
Paragon locked eyes with him, her teeth gritted while she pushed her powers—and her mind—to their limits. Like this, she was helpless against Lucent’s abilities. “I could…use some help!”
Lucent’s eyes crackled with raw force, and it was clear he was preparing an optic blast to end Paragon once and for all. But before he could fire, ebon energy engulfed his entire form. Lucent’s body seized and his mouth opened in a silent scream of agony.
From the street, Wraith held out his arm, the energy arcing from his palm and coursing into Lucent’s form. “Let’s see you absorb that, you sonnuva bitch!”
Lucent’s body curled in mid-air, moving into the fetal position. He summoned up the strength inside him, calling forth energy from around. Electricity from everywhere in his immediate radius—cars, buildings, street lamps—blew out their housings and surged towards him. It created a feedback loop that shot into Wraith, throwing him a good fifty feet where he landed flat on his back with a groan.
Zenith arrived next, crashing into Lucent’s form from above with a shattering elbow-strike against the villain’s back, which knocked Lucent from the sky and onto one of the abandoned cars left on the street. The vehicle’s roof caved in from the momentum of Lucent’s fall, now a mass of mangled steel and shattered glass.
Lucent shook the disorientation from him and rose back up, just as Zenith rocketed into him for another blow, this one hurling Lucent into the Bellagio Fountains.
The robotic warrior hovered on his jets, his scanners working overtime. Lucent’s signature suddenly vanished, meaning he had powered down—either involuntarily from the attack or purposefully to avoid Zenith’s sensors. He switched to other forms of scanning, using infrared to locate the target.
The scanner blared a warning as a rapid spike of Lucent’s unique signature suddenly appeared. The water from the pool burst up as if there were a bomb beneath the surface. Lucent emerged rapidly, leaving a trail of water in his wake with a loud whoosh. His arms were pulled tightly to his sides, elbows bent and his fingers clenched into tight fists with energy auras circling them.
“I’m getting real sick of you!” cursed Lucent before firmly clenching his teeth.
His energy readings were completely off the charts, to the point that were Zenith human, he would have seriously considered whether or not they were infinite.
And then, he vanished. At least to the naked eye. Zenith could still detect an energy trail, one that led to a spot directly behind him. But Zenith’s reaction time was too slow—perhaps the first instance of that ever happening—and once he turned, the azure fingers of Lucent were wrapped tightly around his mechanical throat.
Lucent stared into the LED lights that served as Zenith’s eyes and squinted. “You’re different from the others, aren’t you? Not really one of us, but just a machine. A particularly advanced machine, but a machine nonetheless. And like any machine, you require a power source, don’t you?”
Zenith offered no response. Lucent’s fingers were now like pistons, crushing into his metal shell. A part of him instinctively wanted to activate his arm-cannon, but that would only increase Lucent’s strength.
Paragon had finally managed to right the tower, but when she saw the battle, despair filled her eyes. She took off, flying towards the duo. “No!”
The ex-scientist gave Zenith a sly grin. “Yes, I can see it now, burning inside of that carapace. I wonder, what would happen to you if that energy were no longer there?”
Lucent thrust his free hand into Zenith’s chest, bursting past the armor like it were a piece of thin plaster. Zenith’s sensors went wild, warning that his armor was compromised. Lucent’s fingers moved around, drawing bits of the energy from Zenith’s core into his hand.
“Oh wow, that is some battery you’ve got!”
“D-don’t…” Those were the only words Zenith managed to squeeze out before he lost the ability to speak. His sensors went offline, and things were growing dark for him. He tried to send a last-minute warning to the others back at Proximo, but his connection was broken before he could transmit.
And then, there was nothing.
Lucent extracted his arm from the robot’s chest and dropped the body, letting it crash into the fountain below just as Paragon arrived. Lucent flexed his arms, his skin glowing even brighter than before.
“Now that’s what I call a rush!” He cast one final look at Paragon. “Thanks for the recharge, this will come in handy when I kill that bitch.”
Lucent’s laugh echoed in the air even after he vanished in a flash of light. Paragon was briefly blinded by the glimmer, but once she blinked the spots from her eyes, she dove for the fountain. Her hands found Zenith’s form and she pulled him out, laying him down on the street and looking him over, examining the fist-sized hole in his chest. Wraith appeared by her side, looking down at their teammate.
The LED lights that so often indicated the power within Zenith’s form were now deactivated. His eyes were completely vacant, void of whatever spark the artificial intelligence had once possessed.
Paragon looked away and hid her face in her hand, trying to hold back the grief she felt. Wraith could not peel his eyes away from Zenith, a powerful scowl held behind his mask. His fists clenched and he felt the urge to destroy something with his rage.
But for Zenith, all that was left was an empty shell.
***
Lucent’s light-speed travel came to a sudden stop above Proximo Labs, where he hovered high above and stared down at the complex. The same place he’d devoted years of his life to, working on various physics projects. Where he’d thought his genius was finally being recognized. All until Rowe stole everything from, including his freedom.
The clenching of his fists was involuntary, his blood boiling with rage. The surge he felt after absorbing Zenith’s essence was enough to make him feel more power than he’d ever had in his life. There was no way the surviving members of the squad that attacked him in Vegas could make it back here in time to stop him, which meant he only had to contend with whatever forces Vanguard still had.
Lucent dove for the facility, blowing through the roof with the force of a pile-driver. He’d find Miriam even if he had to level the entire complex first. With the speed he was capable of, he could search the facility in seconds, and that’s exactly the task he commenced.
***
Several floors below was another laboratory, nearly identical to the one Lucent had been kept prisoner in before, albeit much smaller. Charlie worked hard at the controls of the console, making sure all the systems were online. Miriam stood looking over his shoulder with Gunsmith standing at the elevator and Sharkskin at the emergency exit.
“We won’t have much time, Paragon said he was moving too fast to even see,” said Gunsmith, glancing over to the young technician. “Are you sure this will work?”
“Theoretically. We never really used it to try and drain the energy from Terry. And if he’s really become as powerful as you suggest, we run the risk of overloading the entire system,” said Charlie. “Still, there’s a chance it could work. You just have to get him inside.”
“Oh, is that all?” muttered Sharkskin from his position.
A klaxon sounded in the lab. “What’s happening?” asked Miriam.
“It’s Terry, he’s back!” said Charlie. “Security alarms have been tripped!”
Gunsmith heard a faint sound from behind the elevator doors. Miriam’s curiosity compelled her to move closer to him, watching intently as he placed his ear to the metal doors. It was a rumbling sound, and it quick
ly grew louder.
“Get back!” Gunsmith sprung from the doors, wrapping an arm around Miriam and pulling her with him. The pair tumbled to the ground below the platform, just in time as the elevator crashed down with a thundering boom!
Azure fingers burst through the tiny gap in the doors and pulled them apart. Lucent hovered into the chamber, glancing around the room. Sharkskin charged forward, springing up and reaching his meaty arms for his prey. Lucent fired an energy blast from his palm without even looking at his attacker, hurling Sharkskin against the metal wall with a loud clang.
“Stay behind me,” whispered Gunsmith, stepping between her and Lucent. He held a blaster in his right hand, holding it up with his targeting lens locked onto Lucent.
When the man of energy saw the gesture, he couldn’t help his laugh. “Oh please, go ahead and shoot. I could always use a recharge.”
“Fortunately, I’ve got other tricks up my sleeve.” With Lucent distracted by the gun, Gunsmith quickly reached for a compartment on his hip and threw a small, disc-like device with three flashing red lights. It struck the ground just below Lucent’s feet and his reaction was one of complete disinterest.
“And what’s that supposed to do, exactly?”
The flashes on the device came more rapidly and then stopped, remaining solid for about half a second before the small disc exploded, blowing Lucent back into the elevator.
“It’s a bomb,” said Gunsmith. “But I bet a smart guy like you figured that out already.”
Lucent recovered from the attack so quickly, it was like it didn’t even happened. His scowl was proof that it did agitate him quite a bit, however. He fired a blast at Gunsmith that knocked him back, leaving a clear path to Miriam.
“Wait…we can work something out…” said Miriam, inching slowly away from her would-be executioner—and moving closer to the chamber.
“You had your chance. Before you stole my project. Before you stole my freedom!”
Lucent was within arm’s reach of Miriam in the blink of an eye, his fingers wrapping around her throat and raising her above the ground. But then Miriam’s neck became extremely thin, allowing her to slip from his grasp.
“What—?”
By the time “Miriam” struck the ground, she had changed completely, back into the form of Shift. She threw an arm in his direction and it changed as she did, becoming a tendril that wrapped around his legs. Shift threw all her might into the next attack, hurling him into the chamber.
“Hurry!”
Shift’s order was to Charlie, who was working furiously at the controls. But they weren’t responding to his commands. “I-I can’t! There’s a hiccup in the power, probably caused by his entrance!”
Lucent’s skin grew hotter, and Shift had to retract her arm to keep him from melting through it. She changed it back to her normal hand, but when she looked at it, it was now scorched with burn marks.
He exited the chamber, staring down the last hero standing. The power coursing around his body cast the entire room in a soft, blue light. His eyes burned with anger, and Shift knew they were about to fire vaporizing blasts.
But then a pounding sound came from above, and a red and white figure burst through the ceiling. Paragon shot through the facility like a rocket, ending her rapid descent by connecting her fists with Lucent’s head, throwing the two of them into the ground with a magnificent boom!
Paragon raised Lucent by his throat, releasing him an instant before she delivered a strong uppercut that broke him free of gravity’s hold temporarily, sending him flying into the ceiling. Just as he was about to fall, she met him again, driving her fists into his chest and slamming him against the roof a second time.
Lucent clasped his hands on the sides of Paragon’s head before she could score another hit and sent energy coursing through her thin body. Paragon screamed while she convulsed, pain searing her nerve endings. Once Lucent released his grip, Paragon went limp. It was only Shift’s quick action—snaring her from mid-air—that kept her from painfully hitting the ground.
“You’re a tough bunch, I’ll give you that,” said Lucent, his body humming with the explosive power contained within. “But I’m done playing. If I have to kill you all to get what I need, then so be it.”
An illuminating aura coalesced around Lucent’s body, every muscle in his body tensing. The members of Vanguard could see what was coming next—he would vaporize all of Proximo in order to ensure they were no longer a threat to him. And once he was done with that, all knew his first task would be to track down Miriam Rowe and kill her as slowly as possible.
The azure light brightened the entire room, but what little shadows remained served as the perfect opening for the final member of Vanguard. Wraith appeared beside Sharkskin, touching him on his massive arm. “How’s your throwing arm?”
Sharkskin gave him a perplexed look, but it only lasted for a second before he realized his teammate’s intention. Sharkskin flashed a wide, toothy grin to indicate his cooperation. He grabbed Wraith’s collar with one hand, the other reaching between the straps of his cape and taking hold of his belt. Sharkskin spun with Wraith in his grip once, twice, and at the end of the third rotation, he let go.
Wraith flew at Lucent, whose attention came to him at the last moment. He saw Wraith’s jet-black eyes and the ebon energy swirling about his open palms just as the former thief tackled him.
It wasn’t enough momentum to throw Lucent from his position in the air, but Wraith placed both his hands against the man’s bare, blue chest. The ebon energy went directly into that spot, flowing from Wraith’s hands. Lucent felt the pain of despair surging through him once again, but it was even worse than before.
“This is for Zenith!” hissed Wraith, pushing forward as hard as he could with his assault. His rage at the loss of his teammate gave his ability more fuel.
Lucent felt disoriented, like falling into a deep, dark abyss. He couldn’t tell which way was up or down, and it was as if he was floating in a sea of nothingness.
Wraith increased his output, the blast powerful enough to separate the two men and throw them to opposite sides of the room. Lucent fell to the ground, and it only took an instant before Sharkskin was upon him, battering the man with superhumanly strong, gray fists. With each blow, Sharkskin hoped the next would cause Lucent’s head to cave in. When Paragon warned them of Lucent’s approach, she also told them what he’d done to their friend, and that was enough to drive Sharkskin into a rage that bordered on berserk.
“Enough!” said Paragon, stepping behind Sharkskin. He held back his next strike and stood, kicking Lucent once more for good measure. Paragon took Sharkskin’s place, standing over Lucent’s body, her feet on either side of his torso. She slammed a foot onto his chest and when she removed it, she knelt down so she could finish what Sharkskin had started.
“Paragon!” called out Gunsmith.
She could scarcely hear his words over the fury that clouded her head and the sound of her fists striking his head. Paragon wouldn’t let Lucent get away with killing one of their own, no matter what the consequences to herself were.
“Paragon, that’s enough!” shouted Gunsmith, raising his voice even more as he moved closer to her. Paragon had trouble restraining her blows, and delivered more, beginning to feel her eyes water. She clasped her hands together and raised them above her head, prepared to deliver the final, killing blow.
Gunsmith’s armor-powered arm grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. Paragon spun to him, her face contorted in anger. Gunsmith maintained his stoic, stern expression, and Paragon felt like a cloud began to lift from her eyes. She blinked and looked down at her foe’s battered body.
“The chamber, get him inside,” said Gunsmith.
Paragon stared down at Lucent, still feeling the temptation to just kill him right here, right now. But her logical mind took control of the wheel again, and her tight fists slowly unclenched, the fingers still tense and bent, craving blood. Still she kept her composure a
nd knelt down, lifting him in her arms. She hovered towards the chamber and tossed him inside.
“Charlie, do it,” said Gunsmith.
The technician had taken cover beneath his console, now slowly coming out. Once he saw Lucent inside the chamber, struggling to stand, he leapt into action and went to the controls. Charlie’s fingers danced across the keyboard as quickly as possible.
The glass tube sealed Lucent inside the chamber. He futilely pounded his fists against the clear prison, but it was for naught. Charlie entered a few more commands and activated the machinery.
Lucent glanced around the chamber nervously, and then the bright lights came on inside. As the sound of the machinery rose to a deafening crescendo, Lucent felt like he was being pulled in several directions at once. He grew weaker with each passing second, soon not even finding the strength to stand and he collapsed in a helpless pile on the floor of the chamber.
The azure hue to his skin faded, leaving a pinkish one in its place. Terry Gibson’s eyes returned to their normal, brown color, but soon, those were hidden by eyelids that became too heavy for him to hold up. Darkness finally swallowed him and he was left unconscious.
EPILOGUE
Zenith’s inert, robotic body lay splayed out on a gurney in Atlas’ infirmary, his Vanguard teammates surrounding the form he occupied until recently, along with both Colonel Thorne and Dr. McCabe.
Erin placed her hand on his metallic chest, her other clasped over her mouth. Her yellow eyes were filled with tears and she suddenly tore herself away from the body, burying her face in Koji’s chest. He laid a gentle hand on the back of her head, his free arm wrapping around her. Koji’s own eyes were clamped shut, not wanting to believe what he had seen.
Anita stood across from them on the other side of the gurney, a fist held over her mouth and an arm wrapped around her abdomen. “I saw the whole thing. Lucent just…absorbed everything that was inside of Zenith.”
“We should be able to start him back up, right?” asked Jim, not able to tear his eyes off the gaping hole in Zenith’s chest created by Lucent. “I mean, he’s just a robot.”
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 25