***
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.”
Sentinel gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to surrender, but he knew that Zenith had a point.
“Well, what is your answer?” asked Azarov.
“Call off your dogs.”
Azarov raised his hand and the Dreks all backed away, but still surrounded their target. Sentinel sighed and deactivated his armor, the holographic plates vanishing. He held up his arms in surrender.
CHAPTER 7
One by one, the members of Vanguard slowly stirred awake after falling unconscious to the enzymes secreted by the Dreks. Sentinel was already awake and sitting near them on the stone floor of their cell. A tiny lightbulb hung from the ceiling, providing the barest of illumination.
“Welcome back,” he said.
“What happened?” asked Gunsmith, pulling himself up to a sitting position. He’d been stripped of his armor and he cringed with every movement, his body sore from the battle and his head pounding.
“You guys were all taken down and there wasn’t much I could do to fight back. Had to surrender.” Sentinel lowered his head and sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“Not the first time we’ve been taken prisoner, kid,” said Wraith.
Shift began to ask, “What about Ze—?” but Sentinel held a finger to his lips to silence her. He mouthed the word, “camera,” and Shift withdrew her question. The room was being monitored by Azarov and his staff.
Paragon reached a hand for her neck, feeling the inhibitor collar around it. “Gee, wonder where they got this technology…”
Sentinel lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, I was the one who created those things for the Khagan.”
Paragon sighed. “That’s not what I meant. It’s not your fault, the Analyst made a lot of people do things they regret. No, I’m talking about Cerberus. They had to have supplied the North Koreans with the inhibitors.”
“Callus did, not Cerberus,” said Gunsmith. “There are good people working for Cerberus. If not for Zukov, we wouldn’t even know this was going on.”
“And if not for Cerberus in the first place, we wouldn’t even be here,” said Paragon.
Gunsmith fixed his blue eyes on her. “So let’s continue with this train of logic, Anita. If it wasn’t for you turning on us in Tora Bora, we never would’ve been captured by the Khagan. Then maybe we could have stopped him before he caused so much trouble.” He then pointed at Sentinel. “Or if Lee hadn’t been working with the Red Fist, the Khagan would never have had the means to blow up the White House.”
“Hey!” said Sentinel.
Paragon folded her arms over her chest, glaring at the team’s leader. “That’s so unfair and you know it.”
Gunsmith narrowed his eyes. “Now you know how it feels. This isn’t Zukov’s fault, just like nothing you and Lee did for the Khagan was your fault.”
Sharkskin, now restricted to his human form because of the collar, stood up and stepped between the two. “Look, we can fight over who did what when, or we could start thinking of a way to get out of here.”
“Now we’re talkin’,” said Wraith.
“Why are we even in here to begin with?” asked Sentinel. “Why didn’t Azarov just kill us?”
“The smaller Dreks weren’t trying to…I dunno, infect us or whatever like they did with those guards,” said Shift. “Any guesses as to why?”
“Jim’s armor would have protected him. As for the rest of us, maybe they can’t affect specials,” said Paragon.
“Or maybe Azarov didn’t want us dead,” said Wraith. “This is a guy who’s spent decades trying to jump-start human evolution. He wanted to cut me up back in Virey. And he also experimented on the Exemplar so he could give the Khagan those powers.”
“And he’s here in North Korea trying to figure out how to engineer specials,” said Gunsmith. “He needs all of you, active specials in order to further his work.”
“Guys, quiet!” said Shift. “I think I hear footsteps.”
They all fell into silence. The heavy metal door was opened and two guards shoved another prisoner inside. She stumbled and fell to the ground, getting up immediately and rushing for the door. It was slammed shut and locked before she reached it. She pounded futilely on the surface a few times, then relented. Turning around, she pushed her back against the door and took in her new cellmates. As she stared at them, surprised at their colorful outfits, they also stared at her, amazed by her reddish skin, yellow hair, catlike eyes and pointed ears.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Was just about to ask you the same question,” said Sharkskin.
She stood tall and proud. “I am J’Karra of the Kotharian Empire.”
Wraith snickered. “What?”
“A world far from this one,” she said.
Wraith pointed at her with his thumb and looked cynically at his teammates. “So what, now aliens are real, too?”
Sharkskin shrugged. “Dude, we’re a team of superheroes who just got our asses kicked by genetically engineered monsters.”
“What are you doing here?” asked Gunsmith, looking at J’Karra.
The Kotharian didn’t give a response. She fixed her yellow eyes on Gunsmith, steadfastly refusing to answer his question.
“Oookay, let’s try another one,” said Gunsmith. “How did yo
u get taken captive?”
Still nothing. Gunsmith shook his head and moved away. “I’m not hallucinating, am I? She was speaking English just a few minutes ago, right?”
“My mission is none of your concern,” she said.
Gunsmith looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “What mission would that be?”
“As I said, it is none of your concern,” said J’Karra. “All you need to know is that this place is producing something extremely dangerous.”
“Yeah, we know,” said Wraith, gesturing to the tears on his uniform. “Where do you think these scratches came from?”
“No, not those creatures. Something else.”
“Like what?” asked Paragon. “What else is Azarov working on here?”
J’Karra looked at her. “I do not know for sure. But it is far more powerful than his creations. This Azarov has created something far greater than even he realizes. And what is more, it may be too powerful to be properly contained.”
“Where were you when we woke up?” asked Paragon.
“Since my…arrival, Azarov has been running tests on me, trying to determine just what I am and how he can use me to further his goals,” said J’Karra.
“You’re wearing a collar, too,” said Sentinel, pointing at the device around J’Karra’s neck. “These things are designed to inhibit the powers of specials. But if you’re an alien, then why would he put one on you?”
J’Karra studied the confusion on their faces. “I do not know. Perhaps he believed I was one of you.”
Sentinel narrowed his eyes, studying her carefully. He didn’t quite buy her story. Even if Azarov believed at first that J’Karra was a special, after performing tests on her he would have discovered that she wasn’t of Earth. There was something this mysterious woman was hiding and that made Vanguard’s newest addition very uncomfortable.
***
Azarov entered his private office. It wasn’t very large, but he only needed minimal comforts. He approached the desk and removed a smartphone from a locked drawer, sitting in the chair and setting it down on his desk on a small stand. After turning it on, Azarov initiated a video call and the small screen filled with the face of a man with thinning gray hair and thick glasses. Another image appeared. This man was a bit younger and in better shape, but not far off in age from the first.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 53