“Where were you during all this?” he asked.
“In my room,” said Zenith.
“Thought you didn’t sleep.”
“Not in the conventional sense. But after my time spent in Lucent’s body, I found a certain tranquility in the practice. So now when I have the opportunity, I place my body into low-power mode.”
The elevator arrived and both Lee and Zenith boarded it. After the doors closed, Dom scoffed.
“Did he have to pick today to be even weirder?”
“Let’s head up to the monitor room, figure out what went down and what our next move is,” said Thorne.
***
The team gathered in the monitor room, seated at the round table with a giant V engraved into its surface. On the monitor was a live feed from the cameras in the training room, where Zenith and Lee examined the scene.
“Unless he’s got some other powers we didn’t know about, Chronos had his armor when he escaped.” Lee knelt over the destroyed sentries. “They were taken out with energy blasts.”
“How’d he get his hands on the armor?” asked Anita.
“That’s the big question. Also look over here.” Lee stood from the sentries and walked over to the door. “It was sealed up when we got here, no damage whatsoever. After that trick he pulled downstairs, looks like he teleported through.”
“That part seems obvious,” said Dom.
“No, what I mean is that the door was never opened.”
“So his armor teleported to him?” asked Jim.
“It certainly seems that way,” said Zenith. “We performed some diagnostic scans on the armor that we can review. But my assumption would be that he possesses some cybernetic link with his armor that even works from a distance.”
“Have you checked the surveillance records?” asked Thorne. “Those cameras should have been running the whole time.”
“They are unfortunately unhelpful. See for yourself.”
Zenith’s image vanished, replaced with the security feed of the night. Chronos was asleep on the cot, the sentries standing guard. He sat up and then the screen went black. A message across the screen read, “DATA NOT FOUND.”
“He erased it,” said Jim. “That means he accessed our system.”
Zenith’s image appeared on the screen again. “Correct.”
Thorne turned his chair to face Anita. “Did he say anything to you?”
“Not much. Just something about needing to kill me to save the future.”
“Said the same thing to me when I jumped in,” said Erin. “He said Anita needs to die. And…it’s weird, but he seemed almost like he regretted having to do it.”
“Why would he think Anita’s a threat to the future?” asked Koji.
“Gee, I wonder…” muttered Dom under his breath.
“What, your theory that J’Karra is controlling me?” asked Anita.
“Even if that were true, no one’s going to die on my watch,” said Thorne. “Anita, did you see anything in his memories that could prove what he said?”
She shook her head. “They were jumbled, but no. Nothing I could make out anyway.”
“And you’d tell us, right?” asked Dom.
Erin glared at him. “Would you just shut up already?”
“We’ve gotta consider every possibility, right? Even if we don’t like where it leads. And if we’re facing down an alien invasion and Anita’s part of it in some way, then—”
“Then what?” asked Anita. “You want to kill me, Vaughn? Pull the trigger yourself?”
Dom sighed. “I didn’t say that. But maybe we should take some precautions, right?” He glanced at Jim. “Bet boy scout thinks it’s a good idea. After all, he agreed when he said there’s something to killing J’Karra to stop the invasion.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Jim pointed at Dom. His finger began to shake and he had to pull his hand down, covering it with the other and holding it on the table. “Anita’s one of our strongest members. If we’re going to face whatever’s coming or have a prayer of stopping Chronos, we need her out there.”
“Think we’re all forgetting something here,” said Lee. “If Chronos got into the mainframe to delete the footage, what else did he do?”
“He’s right,” said Thorne. “Zen, you got anything?”
“He was good at covering his tracks, but I do believe there’s something worth noting,” said Zenith. “If Chronos had full access to the system, that meant he was also able to download the Island’s GPS data.”
“He knows where the Island is,” said Anita. “And he’s going to kill J’Karra.”
“Everyone suit up and get to the hangar immediately,” said Thorne. “I’ll get in touch with Howard, let him know he’s expecting company.”
“What’s the rush?” asked Dom. “J’Karra almost killed us. Almost killed the damn President. And she’s destined to summon an alien invasion. If Chronos wants to take her out, I say, ‘faster, pussycat. Kill, kill.’”
Thorne stood from his seat and rested his hands on the table’s surface, leaning over and glaring at Dom. “In case you’ve forgotten, there are about a hundred or so Cerberus agents on that ship. Including the warden, a friend of everyone in this place. Not to mention the dangerous prisoners aboard. Or did you forget about the guy who almost fried your ass in Vegas?”
Dom sighed.
“It’s not just about killing J’Karra. If it were, I’d be on your side,” said Jim, placing a hand on Dom’s shoulder. “But this is about collateral damage. We can’t risk the lives of those agents, or a jailbreak for that matter. Chronos has to be stopped. Afterwards, we can debate the merits of killing someone to save the future.”
CHAPTER 11
The Island was first used by Nathan Callus, the former Cerberus director, as a means of rounding up and holding specials to be used in his experiments. It is a massive aircraft carrier constantly on the move so as to make the prospect of escape more difficult. Though Callus’ intentions were wrong, when Abram Zukov was appointed interim director of the agency, he found the concept of a mobile prison appealing, and so kept it on.
The Island moved through the southern waters of the Pacific Ocean. Bright, blue light shimmered in the sky above and Chronos materialized into being, hovering on his glider. His visor displayed his current location and he looked down at the ship.
Chronos made his descent, approaching the ship. As he came within range, his visor warned him of the potential for lethal force. The gun turrets on the deck rotated and pointed at his location. A radio transmission was broadcast on multiple frequencies and Chronos’ armor automatically tuned to them to hear the Island’s crew warning him to identify himself or be considered a hostile.
He ignored them.
The turrets opened fire, releasing teleforce energy blasts into the air. Chronos put his armor on auto-pilot and let it take care of the flying. The armor’s AI was much better at dodging things like the turret fire and easily swerved to avoid the teleforce blasts.
Other warnings appeared on the visor. Chronos looked to the source and saw Cerberus agents boarding small fighter planes. They used VTOL technology to rise above the Island without need for a runway and instantly shifted into battle mode, coming straight for him.
Chronos spun and flew off into the distance with the two jets following. Teleforce blasters beneath their noses delivered a constant stream of fire, but Chronos was still easily able to maneuver past those.
He glanced over his shoulder and the visor flashed an alert. The jets broke from formation but in their place were a pair of missiles flying straight for him. Chronos dove but the missiles followed him, evidently tracking him in some way.
The time traveler tried several twists and turns, looping around, ascending and descending to try and throw the missiles off, but they persisted. They were too close to him that if he tried to blast them, the explosion would probably affect him as well.
He activated the tachyons in his suit and an aura of bl
ue energy surrounded him. Chronos vanished from view and then reappeared behind. The missiles, having reacquired their target, turned and came at him once more. He raised his staff and unleashed a powerful blast that took both the missiles with him.
Chronos didn’t have a moment to celebrate his victory. The jets were back, firing again at him. He dove for the water, increasing his speed. One of the jets chased after him. Chronos left the dodging to the armor and pushed on ahead, the surface of the water growing closer and closer. Just as he came so close he could reach out and touch the surface, he pulled up in a ninety degree angle.
The jet didn’t have the same maneuverability and crashed into the ocean.
There was one jet left and Chronos took it on directly. He threw up a shield to deflect several energy blasts and charged ahead. With one hand in front of him to keep the shield up, the other held the baton, the tip crackling with energy.
The baton never expanded into its staff form. Instead, energy came from both ends, forming a laser staff. Chronos dropped the shield as he flew beneath the underside of the jet, raising the staff up and slicing through the metal of the body.
Chronos dropped from the jet and flew up. The glider retracted and he fell onto the jet’s canopy. The pilot, struggling with the controls, looked up and saw the attacker.
Chronos drove his fist through the canopy, shattering the glass. He grabbed the pilot and pulled his chair out, sending it flying into the air. Then he jumped from the jet and activated his glider, flying off as the fighter plane exploded.
He circled back towards the Island, flying over its surface. Orange balls of energy formed in his hands and he hurled them along the deck, the energy bombs exploding once they made contact and sending the Cerberus agents scattering.
Chronos’ baton resumed its staff form and he spun it to deflect teleforce blasts from the agents on the deck as well as return fire. His tachyons transported him through the air at rapid speeds, enabling him to gain some distance whenever the pressure became too much.
Though the Cerberus agents weren’t enough of a match for him, they were causing unexpected delays. Chronos had quite a lead on Vanguard, especially thanks to his suit’s tachyons. But it wouldn’t be long before they managed to catch up to him. He had to finish the mission before they came after him.
Chronos had a plan. It was radical and something he’d never tried before, but it was worth the effort. He activated the energy shield around his body and rocketed his glider at high speed towards the deck. Just an instant before he would have struck the surface, he activated the suit’s tachyons and vanished in a flash of blue light.
He rematerialized below-deck and disengaged his glider, tumbling to the ground and rolling along the floor. When he finally came to a stop, Chronos pulled himself to his feet with a groan. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked up at the ceiling.
He did it. He’d never tried teleporting past a structure while moving so fast and he was sure there was a chance he could have ended up teleporting too late and crashing into the deck or jumped either too far or not far enough and ended up in a wall.
Now he just had to find his target. His visor pulled up the schematics of the Island he’d downloaded from Atlas, showing the total layout of the facility. Alarms went off, which meant the Cerberus agents were searching for him. He would have to move fast and stay quiet.
But one way or another, his mission would end today.
CHAPTER 12
Aboard the Icarus, Sentinel sat at the back of the plane, working on a small device. The visor he wore as part of his armor magnified his view on the piece of technology, allowing him to view and manipulate the small components with ease. Sharkskin stood behind him, looking down at what he was working on.
“What is that?”
“I’ve been viewing the scans we took of Chronos’ armor,” he said. “Trying to work on a counter-measure.”
“What kind of counter-measure?”
Sentinel raised the visor and sighed. “Something that can send him back to his own time. Whether he wants to go or not.”
“You can do that?” asked Sharkskin.
Sentinel rubbed his face. “I’m not sure. If I activate his tachyon field, there’s a chance it can send him back to the origin point of his last jump. But there’s also a chance it could overload his tachyon emitter.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” said Sentinel. “Worst case scenario, it might scatter his molecules.”
“Oh…” muttered Sharkskin. “That sounds…messy.”
Sentinel nodded and rubbed his eyes. “Guess I better get to it, though.”
Sharkskin moved from Sentinel’s small workstation and into the passenger area. He took a seat beside Shift, who glanced over at him and then quickly turned away to stare out the window.
“Oh come on…” he muttered.
“I’m not talking to you.”
“Erin…”
“Shift. We’re on a mission.”
Sharkskin sighed and his body changed into its shark-form. “Fine, be that way.” He stood from the seat and moved across the aisle to sit next to Wraith, whose mask hung loosely around his neck.
“What, you making the rounds or something?”
“What is with everyone today?”
Wraith glanced around the Icarus. “Well, Lee’s having a nerdgasm over all this future tech. Boy scout’s struggling with whether or not he’s ready to be back in the field. Anita’s pissed at me for saying J’Karra could be playing her. The Tin Man’s pretty much the same as always. And as for you and Erin…that I’m clueless about.”
Sharkskin shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
“Seems pissed at you about something. What, did you forget to ask her to the homecoming dance?”
Sharkskin scoffed. “Why do I even talk to you?”
Wraith shrugged.
They sat in silence after that until Gunsmith stepped around the partition separating the passenger bay from the cockpit.
“We spoke to Zukov, and it looks like the Island lost contact shortly after sending a distress signal,” he said. “So it’s a good bet Chronos is already there.”
“Plan of attack?” asked Paragon.
“Sentinel’s working on something that might be able to take down Chronos. Wraith, since your powers seemed the most effective back in the Adirondacks, you’ll be backing up Sentinel with me. Sharkskin, if Chronos has already started an attack, there may be people in need of rescue. Since we’re in the middle of the ocean, you’re the best man for that job. Shift, you’re also on search and rescue, but your focus is the Island itself. Zenith will try to make sure none of the prisoner cells are compromised, keeping those guys locked up is one of our highest priorities.”
“And me?” asked Paragon.
“Find McCabe, get him to safety.”
“What?” Paragon began to rise from her seat, but Gunsmith held out a hand.
“Take it easy. The doc’s our friend and he needs protection.”
“And this has nothing to do with what Chronos said about me?”
Gunsmith sighed. “We have to be cautious.”
“We’re approaching the Island,” came Zenith’s voice over the speakers. “There appears to be some chaos on-deck and I’m picking up lifeforms in the water.”
Gunsmith nodded to Sharkskin, who stood and moved into position at the rear hatch. The door opened and he jumped from the Icarus, diving into the ocean below. The Icarus approached the deck of the Island, the VTOL system lowering the craft onto its surface.
***
Chronos crawled through the ducts on the Island, his visor displaying his current location. He looked through the vents as he saw Cerberus guards charging past, weapons in hand.
He’d already moved through a few levels, monitoring the location of the agents aboard the mobile prison. The duct he was in ended at a hall connected to the elevator. And the elevator was what he needed to reach his destination.
<
br /> Before exiting the duct, Chronos activated his armor’s built-in scrambler. It would cause interference with any security cameras and he pressed the elevator call button.
It wouldn’t respond. A security feature, shutting down elevator access in the event of an emergency.
Wires moved from Chronos’ gauntlet into access ports and overrode the lockdown. The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. A scanner was at eye-level with him and Chronos stared into it through his visor. The scanner passed over his visor and then he played a recording his armor saved: “Warden Howard McCabe, maximum security level.”
“Identity confirmed,” came the elevator’s robotic reply and the elevator began its descent towards the most secure level of the facility.
The doors opened into a long, empty corridor. Chronos stepped out, moving past the empty cells. The Cerberus files he’d accessed in Atlas told him that there were only three prisoners housed in here. A part of him was tempted to release the ones called Exemplar and Lucent. It would definitely provide a necessary distraction while he took care of J’Karra. But from what the files said, they were extremely dangerous and Chronos didn’t want to cause any unnecessary deaths.
He stopped at the cell his armor told him housed the target. The cell’s opaque screen became clear and he saw her standing with her back to him. J’Karra turned, eyeing him carefully with her catlike, golden eyes.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Chronos went to the control panel and overrode the system so the door slid open. He gritted his teeth. The baton fell into his waiting palm and he held it in front of him, activating the laser staff. J’Karra seemed unfazed by the gesture, but more curious about the level of technology he possessed.
“My name is Chronos,” he said. “Your people killed my family. Prepare to die.”
CHAPTER 13
Chronos charged into the cell, swinging the laser staff. J’Karra leapt over his head, flipping and landing behind him. She stood, spun on her heel, and the two faced each other. J’Karra’s yellow braids hung down her shoulders, framing her orange face and her eyes fixated on her liberator/would-be assassin.
Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure Page 74