Koji chuckled.
“How about you?” asked Erin. “You okay living out of Atlas again?”
He shrugged. “It’s definitely bigger than my place back in Hawaii was. And it’s cool having everyone around again. But a pool’s a poor substitute for the ocean.”
“Well, I’m glad you decided to stay here.”
Erin realized she’d placed her hand on top of Koji’s. She looked at him and saw he had noticed it, too. Koji’s eyes met hers and they stared at each other for a several moments in silence. Erin tried to open her mouth to speak a few times, but every time she did, no words came out.
Their heads were suddenly closer together. And moving in closer still. Erin closed her eyes, her heartbeat increasing. Their lips lightly brushed against each other.
“Guys?”
Erin and Koji both pulled away from each other instantly and she stared at the surface of the water. Koji stood from the edge to see who interrupted them. She heard Lee’s voice and looked up.
“What’s going on?” asked Koji.
“Something bad’s going down, Colonel wants all of us upstairs right away,” said Lee. “Erin? You…okay?”
Erin practically jumped up from the edge of the pool. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Lee studied her face. “You look like you’re blushing.”
“I—”
“It’s nothing,” said Koji. “I just got through telling her a dirty joke and she got a little embarrassed.”
Lee nodded, apparently satisfied with that. “So we should get moving.”
“Let me change and I’ll be right up.” Koji walked over to the bench and picked up his towel, using it to wipe the water from his skin.
“I’ll go on ahead,” said Erin and she ran off to the elevator.
“See you up there,” said Lee, watching her leave. Once the elevator doors closed, he looked at Koji. “I get the feeling I interrupted something.”
“Yeah, you might say that.” Koji dropped the towel and picked up the folded clothes on the bench.
“Wait…you mean the two of you?” asked Lee.
“Is that shocking or something?”
“No, I just mean—aren’t you like, twenty-five?”
Koji held out his arms. “Dude, I’m twenty-two.”
“Okay, but still. She’s only seventeen.”
Koji groaned. “Do we really have time for this?”
Lee shook his head. “No, you’re right. Sorry. Hurry up and get changed, they’re waiting for us.”
CHAPTER 8
“My name is the Exemplar. Many of you will no doubt remember me from my rash actions in Chicago over a year ago,” said the Exemplar, his face filling the large monitor. “I’ve since tried to make amends for those days, but it seems some people can’t get the message. With the help of others, I built a home for specials. A place called Arcadia where they could live free of oppression and bigotry.
“But Arcadia is now gone. Its people were captured and the land was razed by a group of well-armed soldiers.” He held up a Cerberus patch, torn from the uniforms of one of the operatives at the base. “They wore this logo.”
The Exemplar reduced the patch to ashes in his hand. “Cerberus declared war on the specials. And now they’ve turned our own people against us, by convincing Vanguard to join them in their attempts to crush us. They hunt down our kind, imprisoning them or worse.
“The Mojave Cerberus base is now under my command. I’m going to make a very simple set of demands—either Cerberus is shut down immediately and its high command brought up on charges for violation of human rights, or I will begin killing the people I have taken prisoner.
“We’ve had enough of your shit. You have twenty-four hours to comply with my demand. After that, for every hour that passes, I will kill someone on this base.”
The screen went black.
“This guy again,” said Dom, shaking his head. “Didn’t I say this would happen? Should’ve gone after him right after we dealt with J’Karra.”
“We never expected this,” said Erin, her shoulders sagging. “After what happened in Arcadia, I thought he’d turned over a new leaf.”
“That was before Cerberus took it all away from him,” said Dom.
“We’ve given him enough breaks. Let him off the hook after he helped us against the Khagan and we didn’t go searching for him when we reformed the team,” said Thorne. “He’s crossed the line, Erin.”
Erin sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”
“You and me both,” said Koji.
“So this Exemplar guy’s the real deal, huh?” asked Lee.
“Superhuman strength, invulnerability, flight, and energy projection,” said Zenith. “He’s quite the formidable opponent.”
“Took all of us to take him down last time we fought,” said Jim.
“And now he’s had more time to get better at using his powers,” muttered Koji.
“So have we,” added Jim. “We’ve also spent more time working together as a unit. He won’t know what hit him.”
“Another problem is those hostages,” said Thorne. “They’re Cerberus, so they knew there was a risk of casualty when they signed up for this job. But that doesn’t mean I want to see any of them dead.”
“Chicago was proof that the Exemplar cares little for collateral damage,” said Zenith.
“What about Anita?” asked Lee.
“We can’t wait for her,” said Thorne. “By the time she returns, who knows what could happen. I’ll brief her and have her meet you there.”
“Maybe we could try ending this without violence,” said Erin.
“That was Anita’s idea the first time we went up against him. Remember how that turned out?” asked Dom.
Erin scoffed. “There has to be something we can do.”
Jim shook his head. “I’m sorry, but King’s made his bed. We have to take him out before he hurts someone else. That’s just the way it’s gotta be.”
“There might be something,” said Koji.
All eyes turned to him.
“Go on,” said Thorne.
“Maybe King won’t listen to us. But what if there’s someone he would listen to?” asked Koji. “Someone he cares about?”
“His only remaining family is his estranged ex-wife. I doubt he would be likely to listen to her after everything that’s happened,” said Zenith.
Dom jerked a thumb in Erin’s direction. “And don’t forget, we tried that trick once. Erin took on wifey’s appearance and it only pissed him off.”
“Not his wife,” said Erin, a look of realization coming across her face. “I know someone who can help. But we have to find her first.” She looked over at Lee. “I don’t suppose you know a way to locate a specific special?”
Lee shrugged. “There is some experimental tech I’ve been working on. But we’d need to have some genetic record of them, something to zero in on.”
“With a full name or a photograph, I could try a more conventional search,” said Zenith.
Erin frowned. “I don’t think we’ve got either of those things.”
Jim sat forward. “Hold on a sec.” He pointed at Erin. “This special you’re talking about, was she also on Arcadia?”
Koji nodded. “Yeah, she was.”
“Then Cerberus has a record of her,” said Jim.
“And with our new arrangement, we have access to Cerberus’ database.” Zenith turned his head in Lee’s direction. “Would that be sufficient to locate her?”
Lee nodded. “Could probably get a general location.”
“That’s also time we’re wasting looking for her,” said Dom.
“I hate to agree with Vaughn, but he’s right,” said Thorne, gesturing to the screen. “Let’s not forget that King is still holding that base hostage. Every second we waste is an extra second we risk him exploding.”
“It’s worth a shot, especially if it means we can end this without bloodshed,” said Jim. “You said
it yourself, Colonel. We could potentially be looking at a lot of collateral damage.”
Thorne sighed and leaned over the table. He looked up at Lee. “Can you handle this tracking remotely or do you need to be here?”
“I think I could do it from the Icarus,” said Lee.
“Okay. Erin, I want you standing by until we get a location from Lee,” said Thorne. “Jim, get on the horn to the nearest Cerberus base. Tell them we’re going to need some air transportation, the fastest they’ve got.”
“I’ll make the call right now,” said Jim with a nod.
Thorne looked at the rest of the team. “The rest of you, suit up. Get to the Mojave base and try and hold him off, keep him away from those hostages.”
CHAPTER 9
The silo doors split in quarters and slid into their housings. The Icarus, an advanced aircraft designed by Zenith, rose into the air by virtue of the VTOL thrusters. Once the craft was high enough to clear the mountains, rear thrusters were engaged and the Icarus flew off in a westward direction, towards California.
Zenith sat at the controls of the Icarus and Gunsmith in the co-pilot’s seat. A partition served as the end of the cockpit and beyond that was a passenger bay with rows of seats. Both Wraith and Sharkskin sat here and just beyond the seats was a small medical bay with a gurney folded into the wall. Across from it was a small computer terminal where Sentinel was hard at work.
“Got anything?” asked Sharkskin, moving towards Sentinel. He peered over his teammate’s shoulder and saw the monitor split into two windows. A narrow one that took up a third of the screen had the face of the special they tracked and all the information Cerberus had on her. The other two-thirds were filled with a map of the world and a target that kept scanning from spot to spot.
“It’s still working,” said Sentinel. “Might take some time.”
“Don’t sweat it if it doesn’t,” said Wraith from his seat. “The others may be worried about Exemplar, but I’m not. We’ve taken him down before, we can do it again.”
“You don’t wanna underestimate him,” said Sharkskin, returning to his seat. “Until Anita and Erin get back, we’re not up to full strength.”
Wraith shrugged. “We got the new guy. I’m sure that holo-armor of his will do the job just fine.”
“You’re a little too cavalier about this,” said Sentinel. “I mean, I get that you want to be confident before a fight, but—”
“Don’t pay any attention to him, Lee.” Gunsmith stepped around the partition and leaned against it. He smirked as he looked at Wraith. “He’s an arrogant sonnuva bitch is all.”
Wraith held up his middle finger. “Boy scout just has trouble remembering all the times I’ve saved his ass.”
“Any word on Anita?” asked Sharkskin.
Gunsmith nodded. “Just got a message from her, she’s en route. We’ll have to start the party without her, but she’ll turn up.” He looked past the passenger bay to Lee’s workstation. “Do you have a location? Thorne’s getting a bit antsy.”
Sentinel nodded. “I think so. I’m sending the coordinates to Atlas now.”
“Good.” Gunsmith returned to his seat and glanced at Zenith. “Think we’re all set. Thorne and Erin should be on their way.”
Zenith offered no response and the rest of the flight to the Mojave base continued in relative silence. When the Icarus finally arrived, Zenith switched to hover mode and scanned the area below.
“The Exemplar is the only special on the base, so he is working alone,” said Zenith.
“That’ll make things a little easier,” said Gunsmith. Let’s get down there.”
Zenith activated the VTOL system and the Icarus lowered to the ground, landing just inside a clearing within the base’s walls. The rear hatch opened and a ramp extended, the team disembarking one at a time.
Gunsmith looked around the base’s ground level, seeing no one. It was as if the base had been abandoned. He drew his teleforce blasters from the housings on his thighs. “Stay sharp. He’s around here somewhere.”
Sentinel activated his holographic armor and Sharkskin mutated into his hybrid form. Zenith’s arms converted themselves into teleforce cannons while Wraith’s eyes turned pitch-black.
“I’ve got something!” said Sentinel.
They looked upwards and saw the Exemplar standing on the roof of one of the buildings. He hovered from his perch, arms folded over his chest as he lowered himself closer to them. But he still maintained a position in the air above their heads.
“I was wondering when Cerberus’ lapdogs would turn up.”
“C’mon man, don’t do this,” said Sharkskin. “I know you’re not really a bad guy. But doing something like this, it’s like you’re asking to be thrown in jail.”
“And what about all those people who were on Arcadia?” asked the Exemplar. “Were they asking to be attacked? To have their homes destroyed? To be taken prisoner?”
“That was then,” said Gunsmith. “The people responsible for that have been removed from power. Cerberus has changed.”
“And the people who were responsible? What happened to them?” asked the Exemplar. “Go ahead, Gunsmith. Tell me how Nathan Callus is rotting away in a hole somewhere?”
Gunsmith exhaled through his nostrils. “The search is ongoing.”
The Exemplar frowned. “Exactly as I thought. When it’s a special who crosses the line, you spare no expense or resource in finding them. But when it’s a human—a powerful one at that—the search isn’t really a priority, is it?”
“Think you need to read up on your history, nut job,” said Wraith. “Or did you forget how we let you off the hook, even though you belonged in a cell?”
“Wraith is correct—you were granted clemency despite your previous crimes,” said Zenith. “The only reason we are here now is because you have crossed the line once again.”
“Listen to me,” said Sharkskin. “I saw the kind of man you’re capable of being on Arcadia. Don’t let them drive you back into something you’re not.”
The Exemplar’s brow furrowed. He looked to the side and saw Henry and Lily staring at him with disapproval. “Time to be a man and stand up for what you believe,” they said.
“I know, you’re right,” he said.
“Uhh guys, anyone know who he’s talking to?” asked Sentinel in a low voice.
The Exemplar turned his head to face them again, but now his eyes burned with power. He held out his hands, generating a massive energy blast that forced the team to scatter.
After dodging the blast, Zenith flew to meet the Exemplar, holding out both arm-cannons and firing a volley of energy blasts. The Exemplar avoided some of them and deflected others with his own projectiles.
A portal opened above the Exemplar’s head and Wraith dropped from it, grasping onto the Exemplar’s back. He placed his hands on his opponent’s head, directing his ebon blasts directly into the Exemplar.
The Exemplar screamed and thrashed, chills running through his body. The voices of Henry and Lily grew ever stronger in his mind, like a deafening echo all around him as he huddled in the darkness.
“No!” The Exemplar grabbed Wraith’s wrists, channeling his own heat energy into the Vanguardian’s body.
Wraith cried in pain as he tried to pull himself free from the Exemplar’s grip. But the special was too strong and he pried Wraith’s hands from his head, his burning grip now increasing its pressure and Wraith felt his bones straining against it.
Energy blasts struck the Exemplar from three different directions. Both Zenith and Sentinel from the air and Gunsmith on the ground. The Exemplar threw Wraith in Zenith’s direction and the robot stopped firing to catch his teammate.
The Exemplar flew higher and Sentinel pursued him. The jetpack he wore pushed forward as fast as it could, but even still, the Exemplar was unusually fast for a natural flier. He was able to pull far ahead of Sentinel, until the young man could barely make him out.
“Sentinel? What’s t
he status?” asked Gunsmith over the comm-link.
“I…don’t know,” he said. “Maybe he decided to run aw—?” Sentinel cut himself off when he saw something flying towards him, growing larger as it barreled down. He braced himself, crossing his arms in front of him.
The Exemplar slammed into him and the force generated a shockwave in the middle of the air with a loud boom. Sentinel opened his eyes and was almost surprised to see his holographic armor was still intact.
“The new guy, huh?” asked the Exemplar, throwing another punch. “Do you even have any powers or is it just this fancy suit?”
Sentinel kept his arms crossed, channeling all available power into the gauntlets. But the armor couldn’t hold up forever, and the warnings that flashed on his visor’s HUD were quickly proving that point.
He shut down the jetpack and plummeted. But just for a bit before he reactivated it and thrust forward. Sentinel held out both hands, firing energy blasts from the units in his palms. The attacks kept the Exemplar busy long enough for Sentinel to close the distance between them. He recoiled his arm and threw it forward. The armor around his fist enlarged and slammed against the Exemplar, throwing him higher into the sky.
Sentinel flew above him and then dove down, ramming into the Exemplar’s back from above. The force of the blow sent the special crashing to the earth, the impact creating a tremor and a large crater.
He landed at the edge of the crater and looked inside, seeing the Exemplar lying motionless in the center. Sentinel grinned and turned away to look at his teammates.
“Turns out he wasn’t so tough after all.”
Powerful arms wrapped around Sentinel from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. Sentinel struggled against the Exemplar’s grip, which tightened. Armor integrity warnings flashed on his HUD and he strained to fight back, trying to channel the energy into the armor to strengthen the shields.
The Exemplar cried as he felt something tear into his back. He released Sentinel, who dropped to the ground and fell unconscious. The Exemplar turned to his attacker and saw Sharkskin standing behind him, snarling.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 63