Vanguard: Seasons 1-3: A Superhero Adventure

by Percival Constantine

  Gunsmith groaned and raised his head up. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at his opponent. M’Lak dropped the gun and just offered him a smile.

  “I’d hoped to delay this. But it seems it can’t be helped now. Perhaps it’s better this way. Speed things up a bit.”

  Gunsmith furrowed his brow. In this state, he had difficulty even speaking, but somehow he managed to grunt the word, “What?”

  “It’s the end for you and your little organization, Ellis.”

  Blue energy swirled around M’Lak. Gunsmith realized that he was teleporting. He slammed his fists on the ground and scrambled to his feet, charging at the Kotharian. But by the time his hands were within reach, M’Lak vanished.

  “WARNING! DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED. WARNING! DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED.”

  Gunsmith spun his head around. All the remaining computer monitors flashed the same message and the speakers continued to blare the warning.

  ***

  M’Lak rematerialized in his shuttle, still in stealth mode on the surface of the moon. He looked out the canopy at the Olympus space station. Flames exploded out from the center, taking each level apart in a silent explosion.

  He smiled and activated his shuttle’s comm-link. The image of Joseph Ramsey appeared on his screen.

  “It’s done. I hope you’re ready to meet your end of the bargain."

  CHAPTER 9

  Zephyr stood on a building across the street from the courthouse with Pyre by her side. She checked her cell phone and saw a text message from Desmond, informing her that he and the Ferryman were also in position.

  “Let’s get this party started.”

  Zephyr held out her arm and raised her fingers. She generated a pocket of wind beneath one of the parked cars and it shot into the air. Zephyr held it there for a moment and glanced to her companion.

  Flames engulfed Pyre’s body and he released a fireball from his palm, igniting the car. Zephyr threw the flaming vehicle at the courthouse, watching as the protestors and the security personnel all scattered to avoid the strike.

  “Oh, this is fun!” said Pyre with a smile.

  Zephyr raised another vehicle and Pyre repeated the process. But this car never made it to the courthouse. Instead, it vanished into a black hole generated right above the crowd.

  On the ground in front of the gathered people was Wraith, standing in his dark uniform and staring right back up at her, his eyes pitch-black.

  “Oh shit, Vanguard,” muttered Zephyr. She held her arms out to the side and rose above the building. Zephyr sensed something behind her and spun around, holding her hands out and generating a blast of compressed air that flew right into Paragon.

  Paragon shook it off but was quickly hit by another orb of compressed air. Zephyr smiled beneath her helmet. “Please, I could sense the shifts in the air as you tried to ambush me.”

  “What’s the meaning of this anyway, Zephyr?” asked Paragon.

  “Trying to liberate the oppressed!” Zephyr waved her arms, creating a vortex. She directed it at Paragon and the Vanguardian found herself swept into the tornado, trying to break free of it.

  ***

  Sharkskin and Shift emerged from one of Wraith’s portals in front of the courthouse. Shift immediately addressed the crowd. “We have to get you out of here!”

  “The hell you do!” shouted one of the anti-special protestors. “You think we’re gonna trust you freaks after this?”

  The ground trembled. Sharkskin looked to the source and found Desmond had landed a few feet away from him. “Shift, get them outta here, no matter what.”

  “Kinda not the time to play tough guy!” said Shift.

  “Whatever.” Sharkskin flashed his razor-sharp teeth at his opponent, moving into an attack stance.

  Desmond smiled and gestured for Sharkskin to attack. “Come on, boy. Let’s see what you’re made of.”

  Sharkskin dashed at his enemy and pounced. He roared as his claws came down. Desmond crossed his arms in front of him to block, the claws scraping against his tough hide. Desmond threw a punch that connected with Sharkskin’s jaw and the force was strong enough that Sharkskin was surprised his head was still connected to his neck.

  Sharkskin blocked Desmond’s next punch with his arm and drove a fist into Desmond’s face. The behemoth stumbled back but as Sharkskin came in for another attack, he charged forward. He went low, wrapping his arms around Sharkskin’s waist and used all his strength to throw the Vanguardian to the ground.

  Desmond stood while Sharkskin lay there stunned. There was the sound of metal and stone breaking. Sharkskin got to his feet, just in time for Desmond to strike him with a lamppost torn from the ground.

  “Hah! This is the best Vanguard can come up with?” Desmond raised the lamppost, ready to strike again.

  Green tendrils wrapped around the post, holding it back. Desmond followed them and saw Shift standing across from him, using all her strength to keep him from killing her teammate.

  “You’ll wanna let go, girl. Before I kill you, too.”

  “Nn-no chance!” she said.

  “You think you’re strong enough to hold on?”

  “Actually, no. I know I’m not,” said Shift. “I’m just the distraction.”

  “Dist—?”

  An energy blast flew from the sky, slamming Desmond face-first into the ground. He looked up and saw Zenith hovering, both his arms converted into teleforce cannons.

  “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure,” he said.

  Desmond pounced, trying to grab hold of Zenith, but the robot was able to easily avoid the strike. He returned fire with both barrels of the teleforce cannons, keeping the behemoth stunned.

  Desmond felt a sudden stabbing in his back and turned. He looked and saw that Shift had swiped past him, her fingers formed into long knives. And then he was struck by the same lamppost he’d previously wielded—by the same man he’d wielded it against.

  “How’s it feel, jackass?” asked Sharkskin.

  Desmond struggled to get back to his feet, but several more blasts from Zenith’s teleforce cannons kept him down for good this time.

  ***

  Pyre flew straight for the courthouse, generating a wall of flames all around the perimeter and keeping the battles and the bystanders trapped inside. He laughed as he did it, but then he saw a figure pass through the flames without hesitation or damage. A man who was surrounded by some sort of giant, translucent suit of armor.

  “What the hell?”

  “Don’t remember me from our Red Fist days, Pyre?” asked Sentinel.

  Pyre scoffed. “Ah right, the kid who talks to machines. Just what the hell is that thing?”

  “Thinkin’ of calling it holo-armor. You like?”

  Pyre shrugged. “Catchy. Too bad you won’t be around to enjoy it.”

  He dove for Sentinel, firing out a stream of flames from his palms. Sentinel just stood there and allowed the fire to come. The more Pyre tried to inflict pain on him, the less opportunity he had to turn his powers on the innocents.

  Sentinel held out a hand and fired an energy blast from his palm. The blast struck Pyre and brought him crashing to the ground. “Gonna have to do better than that, Clarence.”

  “Oh yeah? I’ll show you better!” Pyre quickly rose and flames burst up between him and Sentinel. As Pyre moved his hands, the flames took form and shape, rising into a humanoid figure that was just as tall as Sentinel’s holo-armor. In fact, it even seemed to resemble a flaming version of that same armor.

  “Oookay, that’s new…” muttered Sentinel.

  “That’s right, big guy. Two can play at this game!”

  The flaming avatar jumped, bringing its fiery fists down on Sentinel’s head. The holo-armor protected him for the most part, but the blows came fast and hit a lot harder than the Vanguardian expected.

  Sentinel tried to strike back, but the avatar quickly locked him in a hold. He could feel the heat of the flames even through the holo-armor, and
he was pushing his field generator to the limits of its power capacity to hold back the avatar.

  ***

  Paragon fought to maintain her flight in Zephyr’s vortex. The aerokinetic’s powers made it impossible for Paragon to even see straight. But what she could do instead was rely on her other abilities. Despite their physical manifestation, Paragon’s powers were psionic in nature.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated, reaching out with her mind to the closest one. Paragon could sense Zephyr’s surface thoughts, but it was hard getting a lock on her target. Still, she didn’t even need a lock.

  Paragon directed her mental energies to a psionic blast that attacked Zephyr’s mind. It wouldn’t take down Zephyr, but it would give Paragon the opportunity she needed.

  Zephyr groaned and fell to her knees, her hands going to her helmeted head. An intense migraine had struck her, powerful enough to temporarily stun her. It faded almost as quickly as it came, but the side-effect was Zephyr had lost control over the vortex.

  “Bad time to get a headache.”

  Zephyr looked up just as a red-gloved fist smashed into her helmet, cracking the visor and sending her flying from the roof. Zephyr held out her arms and used her control over the air to keep her aloft. She couldn’t see anything through the broken visor and so removed her helmet.

  “Where’d you go?” she muttered, and then she saw Paragon fly past her. Zephyr whipped up another tornado and sent it tearing after the special.

  Paragon looked over her shoulder and saw the vortex behind her. And she smiled. Zephyr was playing right into her hands. She pushed forward as fast as she could, flying through the flaming barrier Pyre had set up. Paragon flew right over Sentinel and Pyre’s fire avatar, the tornado following.

  “No, you idiot!” screamed Pyre at his teammate.

  Once Zephyr realized Paragon’s trick, it was too late to stop it. The vortex swallowed up Sentinel, Pyre, and the powerful winds extinguished the avatar.

  Sentinel was free within the vortex now and grabbed Pyre by his neck. He activated his jetpack and flew up, breaking free of the tornado. Sentinel quickly reversed course, slamming Pyre into the ground. With Pyre unconscious, the flaming barrier started to fade.

  “Damn you!” shouted Zephyr. Then she gripped her head, screaming as pain tore through her brain. Zephyr began to plummet from the air, but was rescued by Paragon, who grabbed her by her coat and flew her to safety.

  CHAPTER 10

  Opening statements had just begun at the trial of Callum King, with the prosecutor, Gavin Taylor, returning to his seat. King’s lawyer, Naomi Crawford, was about to stand to give her own speech when a portal suddenly opened right in the middle of the courtroom.

  Expressions of horror and surprise filled the room, and those only increased once the cloaked form of the Ferryman stepped from the portal. He glanced around the room and locked eyes with King, giving him a smile.

  “Cal, this whole trial is a farce.” He gestured to the portal behind him with his staff. “Come with me.”

  “Get him out of here!” shouted the judge.

  Cerberus agents stationed in the room drew their weapons and advanced on the special. The Ferryman pointed his staff at them and channeled his powers through the wood. Bursts of dark energy emerged from the tip and both agents vanished as soon as they were hit.

  The Ferryman now turned his attention to the judge. “You think we’re going to allow you to put away the best of us? We’re above your laws.”

  “No,” said King, rising from his seat. Even with the inhibitor blocking his powers, he was still kept in chains. “I agreed to this, Michael. By doing this, you’ll only make things worse.”

  The Ferryman balked. “What did they do to you? Are they threatening you with something?”

  A second portal opened in the middle of the courtroom and Wraith emerged. He held out his hand, ebon energy swirling around his closed fist. “I hate jury duty as much as the next guy, but come on. There are better ways to get out of it.”

  The Ferryman snarled and fired his staff. Wraith countered with his own ebon blasts. The two projectiles struck and cancelled each other out.

  “One of humanity’s sycophants,” said the Ferryman.

  Wraith ran at the Ferryman, unleashing more ebon blasts as he did. The Ferryman deflected each of them. Wraith jumped, seeming like he was about to pounce on his opponent. The Ferryman prepared himself for an attack, but Wraith vanished in a portal right before he would have struck.

  He emerged behind the Ferryman, but as a teleporter himself, the cloaked man expected this. The Ferryman spun and blocked Wraith’s kick with his staff. The Ferryman drew the staff back and thrust it forward, the tip striking Wraith in the center of his chest and stunning him.

  The Ferryman swept Wraith’s legs with his weapon and Wraith fell on his back. The Ferryman pinned his opponent with the staff, keeping him pinned to the ground. His eyes glowed as his temporal energies channeled through his weapon.

  “You’re a teleporter, too. As you probably know, we have to be pretty aware of where we’re going. Blind teleportation means we could end up inside a wall. But your range is limited—I can travel anywhere in the world. Same principles still apply, though. If I teleport someone blindly…there’s no telling where they’ll end up.”

  Wraith grunted and struggled, but the Ferryman’s grip was strong.

  “Take you, for example,” he said. “I don’t have a destination in mind for you. Maybe you’ll end up in the middle of a frozen tundra. Or inside a volcano. Or at the bottom of the ocean. Do you think you could teleport fast enough to avoid being killed in such a situation?”

  “You gonna do it, or you just gonna stand there yapping?” asked Wraith.

  The Ferryman grinned, the energies coursing through the staff. But before he could complete the act, he was tackled. By Callum King.

  King sat on the Ferryman’s torso, his hands around his former friend’s neck. “Stop this right now! You’re going to ruin everything!”

  Even with his chains, King still managed to strike the Ferryman, albeit not with the force he was used to. The Ferryman didn’t attempt to fight back, he just laid there as the man he came to rescue battered his face until it was bloody.

  “King, get off him,” said Wraith, holding out his hand, the dark energies swirling around. “Let me finish this.”

  King looked at his friend one final time and nodded, slowly rising off him. Wraith fired the ebon blast and it struck the Ferryman just as he started to stand. The Ferryman nearly collapsed again, but steadied himself with his staff.

  “Okay…you asked for it.”

  The Ferryman held out his staff and generated another surge of temporal energy. The blast flew from the tip and Wraith wasn’t quick enough to deflect or dodge the blast.

  “No!” King charged into the Ferryman in an attempt to throw off his aim. But all he managed to accomplish was throwing the two of them into Wraith just as the temporal energies sucked him away.

  All three of them vanished in a flash of light, leaving no trace they were ever there. With the threat gone, the courtroom erupted in a ruckus of raised voices and fear. The judge banged his gavel to try and silence the crowd, but it was to no avail.

  “Order! Order!” he screamed, over and over again.

  It wasn’t until the courtroom doors flew open that the entire crowd fell into silence. Standing in the doorway to the courtroom were the remaining members of Vanguard, with Paragon at the lead. She scanned the courtroom, looking for some sign of her teammate, but saw nothing.

  People watched the special stride through the courtroom and walk past the bar to face the judge. He rose from the bench and looked down at her.

  “What the hell happened here?” she asked.

  The judge relayed the story of the Ferryman’s attempt to rescue King and then Wraith’s intervention. The tale ended with the disappearance of all three of them, transported to parts unknown by the Ferryman’s powers.

&nb
sp; Paragon hung her head and turned away to look at her teammates. “Let’s get out of here. We have work to do.”

  She walked past the specials and out the courtroom doors. The rest of the team lingered for a moment before following her.

  CHAPTER 11

  Zenith and Lee stared at the map of the world on the large monitor in front of them. The words SCANNING appeared at the top and a reticule moved across the map, trying to find the target.

  “Anything yet?” asked Anita, entering the monitor room with Erin and Koji following behind her.

  “I’m afraid not,” said Zenith. “We’ve spent the past hour trying to locate Dominic’s signal with no result.”

  “What’s that mean?” asked Erin. “He’s not…”

  “Whoa, hold on,” said Lee, turning away from the monitor. “The signal comes from our comm-links, that’s all. All this means is that we can’t find his signal and there could be any number of reasons for that. Maybe he’s in a place with interference. Or maybe the comms were damaged in the fight.”

  “Lee’s correct,” said Zenith. “The signal or lack thereof has nothing to do with Dominic’s life. He could be dead and so long as the signal was still active, we could detect it.”

  Erin narrowed her eyes. “Not. Helping.”

  Zenith lowered his head. “My apologies, you’re right. I just meant that we don’t know anything at this moment.”

  “What about Jim? Any word yet?” asked Koji, walking over to the meeting table and taking a seat.

  Lee shook his head. “His signal’s also been offline. Which is pretty weird, too.”

  “So we’re missing two of our members with no lead on where they might be,” said Anita, moving to the table and sitting beside Koji. Erin joined them in her seat.

  “No word from Cerberus, either, so far as we know,” said Lee. “Thorne’s down in his office trying to make contact with them, figure out what the story is.”

  “I was watching TV before we came to check up on you guys,” said Erin. “The media’s going crazy over this. Some are saying that the Exemplar was in league with the Ferryman and that this was all a plot to help him escape.”