Nestled within the Adirondack Mountains of New York was an Atlas F ICBM silo complex. Long since decommissioned, the complex remained and was renovated earlier in the year. What was once the Launch Control Center adjacent to the underground silo had been split into three floors, and one of those floors contained the office of Colonel Leonard Thorne.
He sat upright in the high-back leather chair, one hand rubbing his freshly shaved chin. Scattered across his desk were various documents, most of them files of the people he had recruited for a top-secret project authorized by President Curtis Hayworth. It was an off-the-books operation, with a very limited number of people in government aware of its existence.
Ever since what had been called The Event at the end of 2012, people all across the Earth began exhibiting superhuman abilities. Just a few short months after, the President called in Thorne and Dr. Howard McCabe of the Human Genome Project. The mandate was simple: create a response team composed of specials to deal with the potential threats that some of the specials may pose.
A team of superheroes. Project: Vanguard.
The knock at the door took his attention from his thoughts. “Enter.” The man who stepped through the door was Thorne’s partner in this endeavor, Dr. McCabe himself. Like Thorne, he was a man in his fifties, bald and sporting a thin, white beard in addition to his rimless glasses.
“Good morning, Colonel,” he said as he approached the mahogany desk with two cups of steaming coffee. He set one on the desk. “Extra cream, no sugar, right?”
Thorne rested his elbows on the desk’s surface and leaned forward, interlocking his hands. A smile appeared beneath his silver mustache. “Howard, we’re in this together. There’s no need to stand on ceremony.”
McCabe uttered a sheepish chuckle and sat in one of the two chairs that rested in front of the desk. He crossed his legs and sipped his own coffee. “Sorry, I guess I’m still a bit intimidated by this whole thing.”
“Mmm, can’t say I blame you.” He took hold of the coffee cup and sipped it lightly, looking back down on the documents. “Thanks for the coffee. How are the recruits coming along?”
“They’ve had some time to adjust to their new surroundings. Today we’re planning to begin the process of testing their abilities and running them through the training regimen.”
Thorne gathered the scattered documents together and collated them quickly. “Shall we review who we’ve got?”
McCabe nodded.
“Let’s start with the specials.” Thorne thumbed through the documents and pulled out one. The photo attached was a young woman with dark skin and short, black hair. “Anita Jordan, formerly of the Army Medical Corps. Exhibits a range of abilities—flight, superhuman strength, invulnerability. Definitely a powerhouse.”
“I actually have some theories on that.”
“We can test those when we begin with her session.” Thorne drew the next document. A young man, with pale skin and chin-length black hair. “Dominic Vaughn, professional thief. Shadow teleportation, and Zenith also said he’s got some sort of energy projection as well.”
He drew the next, a teenage girl with long, blond hair. “Erin Hastings, high school student. Shapeshifting. And finally…” The last of the specials was a young Asian man with short, dark hair. “Koji Asano, surfing instructor. Can transform into a shark-human hybrid.”
“Speaking of Koji, I’ve got him scheduled first for today,” said McCabe.
“And then we’ve got the rest of the team.” Another document drawn, and the photo here was a robot with blue LED lights for eyes. “Zenith. Discovered in the 1950s, been working secretly for the government since as part of the Zenith Project.”
“And someone you’re more familiar with than I am,” said McCabe. “How long were you with the Zenith Project before you were both assigned to this?”
“Few years. Last but not least, our field commander.” Thorne took the final document, which had a photo of a young man with short blond hair in military dress. “James Ellis, Navy SEAL before he was recruited by the CIA’s Special Operations Group. Are we ready to test him today, too?”
McCabe nodded. “Zenith has completed the calibrations on his suit.”
Thorne set the cup down. “Shall we go have a look at them?” He wheeled his chair back from the desk before rising. Once he stood, he retrieved the cup.
McCabe rose as well and gestured to the door. “After you, Colonel.”
Thorne smirked and wagged a finger at McCabe before leading the way from his office.
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Koji Asano stood in only a pair of swim trunks as McCabe placed various sensors on his bare skin. They stood at the edge of the pool, with their other teammates seated at one end and Thorne standing watch. Zenith stood beside Koji, calibrating each sensor as it was placed.
“Water training can be quite useful, particularly with your talents,” said McCabe. He placed the last sensor on and stood back. “Okay, that should do it. We good, Zenith?”
The robot nodded. “All sensors functioning and recording correctly.”
Koji stepped to the edge of the pool. “So what now?”
“Up until now, you’ve only managed to change form while under water, but I believe this to be a simple reflex as opposed to a prerequisite,” said McCabe. “So what I’d like you to do is concentrate when you come out on maintaining that form.”
Koji had a skeptical look on his face. “And you think that’ll work?”
McCabe shrugged. “How else are we going to find out?”
“Alright, here goes.” Koji jumped into the pool. As soon as he dove under the water, his skin changed, becoming gray, and his muscles even increased. He grew slightly larger, especially his head, which took on a strange shape, his nose and upper lip almost merging as they extended forward, his hair receding into his skull. Koji’s teeth elongated and came to form razor-sharp points, and his nails did likewise. His eyes were now jet-black, and he felt a sudden burst of speed. Koji made it to the other end of the olympic-sized pool in a matter of seconds.
He stuck his head out of the water, remembering what McCabe had said. Koji kept telling himself to remain like this, almost like trying to hold his breath for an extended period. He placed his hands on the edge of the pool and pulled himself up onto the surface.
“Shark-form is holding,” said Zenith, his scanners connected to the sensors on Koji’s body.
“Good work, Koji,” said McCabe, running from the other side of the pool. “Try walking around, get some movement.”
Koji did, walking towards the bench where his new teammates were sitting. Erin retracted somewhat, her eyes large with fear at what she was looking at. Koji paused when he saw this and backed off.
“It’s okay,” said Anita, putting her hand on Erin’s shoulder. “It’s still him.”
Erin nodded, but the fear was still present in her eyes. Koji was struck by that reaction. Part of him felt bad for scaring the girl, but another part of him also got a strange sense of satisfaction from it.
“Dr. McCabe, sensors are picking up a shift,” said Zenith.
Koji felt it as well. His enhanced senses started to fade, and he could feel the tight muscles beneath his skin beginning to slacken, losing their mighty form. He tried to hold onto it, but the shift came anyway, and he looked at his hands, watching as the hardened, pale skin changed back to the soft, human flesh.
“Damn…”
“Don’t feel too bad about it, son,” said Thorne. “For a first time effort, that was pretty impressive. Now that we know you can use your powers outside of the water, it’s time for you to work on using them for extended periods.”
“He’s right,” said McCabe. “You did good, Koji.”
Koji grinned. “Sharkskin.”
Thorne raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“We’re supposed to be superheroes, right?” asked Koji. “Then we’ll need names to go along with that. So call me Sharkskin.”
Thorne scoffed. “Kids.”
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Anita was seated in McCabe’s laboratory, watching with confusion as he connected diodes to her head. The wires were connected to a device on the table, which in turn was connected to a computer monitor. Zenith once again was monitoring and the rest of the group stood off to the side and watched.
“I don’t understand, Doctor,” she said. “I thought you were interested in measuring my powers, so what does this have to do with my head? Shouldn’t we be doing strength or endurance tests?”
“We should, but that’s only if your superhuman strength was connected to your muscles and not your mind,” said McCabe.
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“My mind?”
“Body scans reveal your muscles and skin to be within normal limits, so it is unlikely that they are any more durable or stronger than the average human,” said Zenith.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. The things I can do—”
“There is a field of energy surrounding your body,” said Zenith. “I detected it while we were performing the physical scans. There also appears to be some increased electrical activity in your brain.”
“What’s that mean?” asked Jim. “She’s doing it all with her mind?”
McCabe turned away from the sensors and examined the computer monitor. “That’s precisely what I believe is going on here. Anita, have you ever heard the term tactile telekinesis?”
“I’ve heard both those words, but never combined,” she said.
“What’s it mean?” asked Erin.
“Tactile comes from the Latin tactilis, which—”
“He’s saying I can move things with my mind, but only while I’m touching them,” said Anita. Zenith looked at her and she gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry to cut you off, but figured she wasn’t interested in the etymology.”
“It would also explain your ability to fly and a telekinetic field could account for your invulnerability,” said McCabe.
“So how are we testing it?” asked Anita.
“Like this.” Thorne drew a sidearm and fired. Erin screamed at the sound of the gunshot and Dominic and Koji flinched. Anita, having experienced this before, just remained still.
“There!” said McCabe, reviewing the recorded data. “There was a spike in brain activity when the bullet struck.”
“Are you crazy?” asked Erin. “You could have killed her!”
“Relax, both the Colonel and I knew the bullet wouldn’t hurt me,” said Anita.
“Oh…”
“Superhuman strength, flight, invulnerability,” said Koji. “Hey Colonel, think we’d get slapped with a lawsuit if Anita starts calling herself Supergirl?”
“Girl?” asked Anita.
“How about Paragon?” asked Dominic with a grin.
Anita smirked. “Flatterer.”
“Paragon, from the Italian—”
“Yeah, we get it,” said Erin.
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The training room was essentially one large, empty chamber, and with a far higher ceiling than the others. The elevator and stairwell were covered by an observation booth, from where the entire facility could be controlled.
“For now, there’s not much in here, but we’re hoping to install some devices to better test your abilities in combat scenarios,” said Thorne.
Dominic stood in the center of the room in track pants and a t-shirt. He shrugged as he looked around the room. Anita stood by his side, also wearing her work-out clothes. And Zenith made three, standing on the other side of Dominic.
“So what are we supposed to do out here?” asked Dominic.
“Your teleportation is a good skill, but not very useful if there aren’t any shadows for you to take advantage of,” said Thorne from the booth, his voice echoing over a speaker. “But according to Zenith, you’ve got another trick up your sleeve.”
“You used some sort of energy projection on me when we fought,” said Zenith. “But there was something more to it, I feel.”
Dominic motioned to Anita. “And you?”
“We have to see what it might mean for someone human,” said Anita. “And since I’m the invulnerable one around here, guess that means I drew the short straw.”
Dominic shook his head. “Oh no, I’m not blasting you when we don’t know what it even is I’m blasting you with.”
Anita stepped towards him, hands on her hips. “C’mon, you think I can’t take it?”
Dominic stepped away, his hands raised up. “Hey now, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“What are you afraid of, pretty boy?” asked Anita, grinning. “Worried that you might just end up pissing me off and I’ll kick your ass?”
Dominic scoffed and turned to the booth, holding his arms out to the side in annoyance. “Hey Thorne, what the hell?”
Anita shoved Dominic from behind and he tumbled forward, then fell on his face. He reluctantly got back to his feet, surprised at how far she’d sent him with just a little push. As he turned to her, the look on his face showing his patience grew thin.
“Don’t shove me, princess.”
“Princess?” Anita cracked her knuckles. “Ohh, now I’m starting to think you want a beat-down.”
From inside the booth, Jim sidled up next to Thorne. “You think this is a good idea?” he whispered. “Letting them get all riled up like this?”
Thorne glanced at McCabe. “What do you think, Doctor?”
“These abilities mostly seem to act on reflex, in response to emotional states,” said McCabe. “So it might be a way to get them to manifest, at least at first.”
Anita shoved Dominic again, and this one threw him up against the wall. He grunted, stretching out the pain he now felt along his back. “Okay, that’s twice. I’m warning you…”
“Warning me, huh?” asked Anita. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“This.” Dominic threw his hand forward and a stream of ebon energy erupted from his palm, just as it had when he battled Zenith during his recruitment. Except this didn’t seem concussive at all. When the energy faded, Anita was on her knees, her arms wrapped around her torso and her face overcome with sorrow.
“Anita…?” asked Dominic. “You okay?”
The others came running from the booth, with McCabe going to her side. He put his arm around her and helped her to her feet. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t know…” she said, still hugging herself. “I just…when that blast hit me, I felt…cold.”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” said Erin.
“Or maybe…” began Koji, patting Dominic on the back. “A Wraith.”
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McCabe peered through the microscope and scribbled in his notebook based on what he saw. He looked up from the scope and put his glasses back on, then turned to the computer. The microscope recorded what he saw and he played it back, watching as what was in the blood sample reacted, changing.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in.”
Erin entered the lab, still in her human form and wearing sweat pants and a tank top. “You wanted to see me, Doctor?”
“Yes, yes, come in.” McCabe stood and brought a second chair over next to his, then sat back in front of the computer. Erin accepted the chair he brought and McCabe pointed at the screen. “Do you know what this is, Erin?”
She looked at the monitor. They were multi-colored blobs, constantly changing their shape and color. Erin shook her head and looked at McCabe. “No, what is it?”
“Your blood,” said McCabe. “I’ve been studying your case and I’ve noticed something very interesting. Beyond just your outward appearance, your ability has given you a completely malleable molecular structure.”
“What’s that mean?” asked Erin.
“It means that through practice, you can find ways to do more with your powers than just look like other people,” said McCabe. “But I think it works better if you are in your natural state.”
Erin slid the chair back a little. McCabe offered a sympathetic smile. “You can’t hide who you are. All of us here, we’re working together. And we need everyone to try their best.”
“Yeah, but everyone else looks normal when they’re not using their powers,” said Erin. “But me, I look like…”
She paused and her features shifted, changing into her default form of an almost featureless pale green figure. Hair retreated into her pores, as she looked down at her hands.
McCabe patted her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with how you look, Erin. Around here, you can feel free to be yourself.”
She gave a tiny smile. “So this other stuff you think I can do…what kind of stuff?”
“Well…” said McCabe, looking around the lab. There was an empty Coke can on the desk. “Ah, let’s try something. Stay here.” McCabe picked up the can and walked to the other side of the room. He placed the can on a table and returned to Erin’s side. McCabe pointed across the room. “I want you to reach out and get me that can.”
Erin gave him a look of disbelief. “You’re joking, right?”
McCabe grinned. “You’re the one with the malleable molecular structure.”
“I don’t even know what you just said.”
“Just humor an old man, okay?”
Erin huffed. “Okay.” She held out her arm, stretching out her fingers. Erin groaned a little as she reached for the can and then relaxed her arm and faced McCabe. “Happy?”
McCabe sighed. “Why don’t you try it again? And this time, don’t act like it’s impossible, just imagine yourself reaching out for the can and taking it.”
She shook her head incredulously. “You’re losing it, Doc.”
“Close your eyes.”
“How am I supposed to reach for the can if I can’t see it?”
“Well, fumble around for it. I think you’re subconsciously limiting yourself. Just close your eyes, reach out for the can, and imagine picking it up.”
Erin sighed again, but nodded. The almond-shaped, pale yellow eyes closed and she reached out her hand. She pictured the can across the room on the table. And she pictured herself reaching for it from across the room. Erin imagined her arm elongating, stretching out over the distance. She pictured her fingers wrapping around the can. Then, she gasped.
“Oh god…” she said. “I can feel it!”
Erin opened her eyes and the instant she did, her arm snapped back to normal. She stood and pouted. “Ugh!”
McCabe stood with her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “No, no, that was great. You just did something incredible, Erin! You proved that shapeshifting goes beyond just mere appearance.”
“Shift,” she said.
“Pardon?”
“Y’know, how Koji said we should all have code-names or whatever?” Erin smiled. “Well, I think I want mine to be Shift.”
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Jim entered the training room’s control booth and found Thorne and Zenith waiting for him, with Thorne sitting at the control console. Instead of his usual clothes, Jim was decked out in a special suit that consisted of red body armor from his neck down. There was some headgear as well, but it only covered part of his head, with a yellow, plastic lens over his right eye.
“Not bad,” said Thorne with a smile. “How’s it feel?”
“Surprisingly not as uncomfortable as I thought,” said Jim. “Still a little unclear on the whole thing.”
“The suit is a lightweight form of body armor, designed to enhance your natural strength and speed to some extent,” said Zenith. “I’d been developing it over the past few years as a hobby.”
“And this?” Jim tapped the eyepiece.
“Targeting and built-in sensors,” said Zenith.
“If you’re going to be leading a team of specials, you’d better be able to keep up,” said Thorne.
“Wait, I’m sorry, what?” asked Jim. “Did you just say lead? I thought you wanted me to come on as an advisor, or maybe help out with some sort of stealth training. But you want me leading these guys?”
Thorne stood and stepped closer. “I need someone with training out there, Jim. Someone who responds to my orders. Someone I know I can trust.”
“What about Zenith? He’s far more capable than me,” said Jim.
“I cannot be trusted,” said Zenith.
“See, he’s perfectly capable of—wait what?” Jim looked at the robot. “What do you mean you can’t be trusted?”
“I assist the government, but there are many secrets I will not reveal to them, and I’ve made it quite clear I don’t want to be used as an instrument of war,” said Zenith. “Moreover, I lack humanity. This team needs someone who still knows what it is like to be powerless.”
“Hey now, powerless is a bit harsh—”
“He’s right,” said Thorne. “Listen Ellis, you’re a good soldier. You know what you’re doing out there, you’ve got the training and the skills I’m looking for in a field leader. You’re the best man for this job.”
Jim sighed. “Okay, in that case I’ll need some weapons, right? I mean you wouldn’t have given me this target-thing if you didn’t also plan on giving me some guns.”
Thorne turned to Zenith. “Show the man his early Christmas present.”
Zenith nodded and reached under the console for a large case. He opened it for Jim, holding it out for him. Jim looked inside and there were two oddly-shaped handguns. A model he had never seen in all his years serving.
“What are these?” he asked.
“Try ‘em out,” said Thorne.
Jim reached for one of the guns and found it was surprisingly light. Once he gripped it in his hand, sensor lights on the side turned from red to green.
“The guns are keyed to the suit’s gloves. Any attempt to fire them by someone not wearing your suit will result in an electric shock,” said Zenith.
Jim held the weapon in front of his face, turning it to examine the gun from all angles. “Where do I load the ammo?”
“You don’t,” said Thorne.
“Then what?” asked Jim, looking up from his new toy. “Am I supposed to throw it at the bad guys?”
“It’s a particle beam weapon,” said Zenith. “Powered by rechargeable battery packs. Two settings, stun and lethal. As one may surmise, the stun setting uses significantly less energy than lethal.”
Jim looked at the holster affixed to each thigh. He slid the gun in and realized it was a perfect fit, then did the same for the other gun.
“Perhaps we should consult Koji on your code-name,” said Zenith. “Or if I may suggest Deadeye?”
Jim shook his head. “I don’t think having ‘dead’ in my name will go over well. What do you think of Gunsmith?”