The world has changed. A mysterious event altered the genetic structure of humanity, granting a small percentage of the population superhuman powers. A small team of these specials has been formed to deal with potential threats. Paragon—telekinetic powerhouse; Zenith—hyper-intelligent automaton; Shift—shape-changing teenager; Wraith—teleporting shadow warrior; Sharkskin—human/shark hybrid. Led by the armored Gunsmith, they are Vanguard!
Powers are a gift—trust is a liability
On December 21, 2012, the sky didn't fall-but something in it changed. A pulse of alien energy swept the globe undetected, seeding itself in human DNA. Some carried the mark and never knew it. Others found out the hard way.
A teenage girl in Wisconsin discovers she can wear anyone's face. A surfing instructor in Hawaii is overwhelmed by senses no human should have. A small-time con man in Cleveland vanishes from a police standoff and reappears blocks away. A college freshman puts a fist through drywall without meaning to. One by one, ordinary people are becoming something else-and the world isn't ready for what they're capable of.
The United States government isn't ready either, but it moves fast. Under the command of Colonel Leonard Thorne and the scientific guidance of Dr. Howard McCabe, a black-budget initiative called Operation: Vanguard begins hunting down the newly Awakened before they can hurt themselves, each other, or the public. Some are recruited. Some are contained. And some—like the mysterious figure calling himself the Exemplar—have plans of their own for a world on the verge of a new evolutionary age.
Out of the chaos, five strangers are pulled together into the government's first team of field-operational superhumans: a shapeshifter, a shark/human hybrid, a teleporting thief, and a woman whose strength defies her size. Backed by an android with secrets of his own and led by a soldier with a high-powered exoskeleton, they're given a name, a mission, and a mandate to keep the lid on a secret that's already starting to boil over.
But the Exemplar was never the only player on the board. Half a world away in the ashes of the Cold War, buried programs and old grudges are stirring back to life, and a new power is rising that calls itself the Red Fist. Vanguard is about to learn that saving the world is one thing-surviving the politics, the secrets, and the enemies already inside the wire is another.
Fast-paced, character-driven, and packed with twists, Vanguard: Heroes Forged kicks off a pulp superhero saga in the tradition of team-based comics and genre-bending science fiction, where the powers are only half the story-the people wielding them are the rest. If you're a fan of ensemble hero teams, government conspiracies, and origin stories with teeth, the first volume of Vanguard is your way in. From Percival Constantine, author of The Myth Hunter saga.
The stillness of Earth’s moon was interrupted by a figure who appeared suddenly on the surface. The man walked carefully along the dusty terrain in his spacesuit, one that was exactly like the AZL suits worn on the Apollo 11 lunar walk. In contrast to his outfit, by his side was a different creature, humanoid and completely silver, without a single identifying characteristic. Unlike the man in the suit, the automaton had no need to fear the vacuum of space. The robot bent his arm out in front of his face and a holographic image appeared above his wrist. It displayed a variety of information that flashed in rapid succession, far too quick for the human eye to discern, but for the robot, it was a simple matter to observe and analyze every last bit of data as if casually reading a magazine. Strangely, without even the benefit of eyesight.
The display vanished and he lowered his arm. “Transport was successful.” His voice had a definite tinny quality to it. “In the parlance of this era, the date is December Twenty-First, Two Thousand and Twelve.”
From behind the visor of his helmet, the man smiled. “Of course it was successful. Was there ever any doubt?”
“If I may query, what is the purpose of this garb?”
“Oh this?” He moved about in the suit, looking down at it. “This, my dear Progenitor, is a classic. While wearing this, mankind took his first steps onto a world other than their own. It was a milestone in human evolution, and it serves as fitting a point as any for what comes next.”
They continued to walk along the surface, the astronaut enjoying the feel of the moon’s low gravity as he jumped from one point to the next. Progenitor, however, simply followed along as normal, not comprehending his companion’s merriment.
Just over the horizon, they found a four-wheeled vehicle, left abandoned for decades. And not far from it was a pole; attached to the top was a plain, white flag. The astronaut approached the flag, touching its fabric between his gloved fingers.
“A place of historical significance. And from here, we can bring mankind into another turning point.” He faced his robotic companion. “Are we ready?”
Progenitor nodded. “Are you certain of this? Unleashing such a force on this species could have disastrous consequences.”
“We’ve both seen the future, my friend. If humanity is to survive, this action must be taken.”
“Why this date?”
The astronaut smiled again beneath his helmet. “There’s a long-standing myth that this particular day will mark the beginning of a new era. I’m partial to that kind of symmetry. Do you understand?”
“I comprehend your words, yet the meaning escapes me.”
“Then let’s just say I’m sentimental,” said the astronaut. “You can begin.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Progenitor held his arms out and stared up at the stars. He brought his legs together and slowly rose above the surface and remained there for several moments, seemingly doing nothing. His silver body began to pulse with a golden glow from within. Within moments, the Progenitor’s entire body was glowing, expanding ever-outward. A brilliant burst of energy shot forth from him, forming into a ball and growing larger as it traversed the distance from the Earth to the moon. Upon reaching the planet, the ball exploded into millions of small streaks of light, fading away as they pierced the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Progenitor lowered back to the surface, facing the astronaut. “It is done. The energy will linger in the atmosphere and over time, will be absorbed by the human genome and encoded into the DNA.”
“How long?” asked the astronaut.
“This depends upon the individual. Some will develop new traits immediately. For others, it may take months or years. But for many, the transformation will remain dormant in their genetic code, perhaps for generations.”
The astronaut frowned. “I suppose we can only work with what we’ve got. The important thing is that the new age has begun.”
Paradise has a price
After the fall of the Khagan, Vanguard has been disbanded, its heroes scattered and told their services are no longer needed. For Erin Hastings and Koji Asano, that means a chance to see what life could look like for "specials" who don't have a secret government team watching their backs-and they find it on Arcadia, a hidden island sanctuary built by their former enemy, the Exemplar, as a place where the powered can finally stop hiding.
It's supposed to be paradise. It isn't.
The moment Erin and Koji set foot on the island, they're branded traitors by a pack of vengeful shapeshifters who see Vanguard as the enemy of every special alive. When one of their own turns up dead, suspicion falls squarely on the outsiders-and the very man who built Arcadia as a refuge from persecution may be the only one who can decide their fate. Somewhere behind the accusations is a quiet manipulator capable of turning a community's fear into a weapon, and a nation built on the promise of justice for the world's outcasts is about to find out how easily that promise can curdle into something else entirely. Whether Arcadia survives its own founding ideals-and whether Erin and Koji survive Arcadia-is far from certain.
All the while, Vanguard's own remaining members are dealing with a crisis of their own: a mind trapped in a stolen body, a team pulled back into action off the books, and a growing sense that the world has bigger problems than either Vanguard's disbandment or Arcadia's unrest. A scout from beyond the stars is already watching Earth. And somewhere in the future, a war has already been lost.
Vanguard: Heroes Divided is a story about what happens when the outcasts finally get a home of their own-and how fragile that home turns out to be. Fans of The Umbrella Academy, Invincible, and superhero sagas that dig into the politics of power as much as the punches will find a fast-paced, morally messy ride that doesn't pull any of them in Percival Constantine's Vanguard!
The Future
The man known as Chronos stood amongst the ashes and rubble of New York’s Times Square. Once upon a time, this intersection was a constant bustle of life—brightly illuminated, with the sounds of traffic and thousands crossing through the streets.
Now darkness permeated the area, the massive screens displaying propaganda and ash and rubble replacing the people and cars that once populated the area. And hovering in the skies above were massive alien warships.
Chronos stared through his silver visor and bent his arm up to his face. A hologram displaying the current date projected from his gauntlet. He’d already checked it numerous times but still couldn’t believe his eyes.
“The invasion has come far too early,” said Chronos’ companion, the sleek, silver robot called the Progenitor.
“But why?” asked Chronos. “What brought the Kotharians here ahead of schedule?”
“Chronos, my sensors are detecting hostiles!”
Chronos’ own armor alerted him as well. He held out his arm and a small baton extended from his gauntlet and into his waiting hand. Once he gripped it, the baton telescoped into a long staff with a glowing point on the end.
A small, two-man Kotharian craft descended from the air, streaking towards them. Chronos took aim with his staff and fired an energy blast from the glowing tip. The ship curved to the side to evade and from the turret beneath its body, fired its own energy blasts. Chronos held up his free hand, an orb of orange energy surrounding him and shielding him from the blast.
The Progenitor rose in the air and unleashed azure blasts from his eyes and hands at their attacker. The Kotharian ship turned to the new threat and the Progenitor flew, the Kotharian pursuing him.
The robot flew higher and faster, shooting between the destroyed buildings. The Kotharian ship was surprisingly agile, keeping pace with every single one of his maneuvers. The Progenitor even tried flying through the destroyed floors of the building, too small for the ship to follow.
But much to his surprise, he found the ship waiting for him as he came out the other end. Its turrets spun, releasing a flurry of shots. The Progenitor rocketed up through the floors, the craft rising to follow him.
The Progenitor crashed through the ceiling and azure auras circled his clenched fists, his eyes burning brightly. The Progenitor launched himself down to the rising ship, his fists held out in front of him. He plowed into the Kotharian attacker, the ship exploding in the night sky.
Chronos jumped into the air, components from his leg armor sliding down and forming a circular platform beneath his feet. The platform hovered in the air and took Chronos towards the explosion caused by his companion. Chronos lowered the platform to the wreckage of the Kotharian ship and watched, not sure what to expect.
A gleaming, silver hand burst through the rubble and the Progenitor pulled himself out. Chronos breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the maker. Scared the hell outta me.”
“There will be reinforcements. We must travel back earlier in the timestream, discover when the invasion occurred.”
Chronos gave a nod. “Yeah, let’s get outta here.” He bent his arm in front of him, a holographic keyboard and display appearing above the gauntlet. Chronos entered some commands and on the display was a date selector. He changed it to the appropriate date and tried to activate the portal.
But nothing happened.
“Uhh…we’ve got a problem…”
“Yes, I know. I’m detecting more hostiles approaching.”
“No, not that!” said Chronos. “The suit’s not responding! I can’t activate the portal!”
“We are trapped?” asked the Progenitor.
Chronos looked up at his companion and gave a solemn nod. “Yeah…looks like…”
“Very well.” The Progenitor rose up in the air, his body glowing brightly, drawing the attention of the approaching Kotharian vessels.
“What are you doing?” asked Chronos.
“Providing you with an opportunity to escape,” said the Progenitor.
“What? What about you?”
“My role in this is over, now it is up to you to prevent the invasion. Repair the chronal emitter and return to the past!”
The Kotharians closed in and the Progenitor flew off into the night. The ships followed him, ignoring Chronos on the ground.
“Damn!” he cursed. He wanted nothing more than to go after them, to help fight off those Kotharians. But Chronos knew that the Progenitor was right. This was their last ditch effort to save humanity and something had clearly gone wrong. Now, Chronos’ only choice was to continue with the mission. Repair the suit and go back further, discover what changed to bring about the invasion so soon.
No sanctuary, no trust, no turning back
Vanguard survived an attack that leveled the White House, a collapsed government contract, and the fall of a sanctuary they never should have gotten caught in the middle of. Now they've struck an uneasy alliance with Cerberus, the very agency built to police people like them—and the world isn't sure whether to call that progress or a countdown to disaster.
Public opinion is turning fast. A trial meant to prove that specials deserve the same justice as anyone else is instead threatening to tear the fragile peace apart, with pundits fanning anti-special sentiment on every channel and protestors filling the streets outside the United Nations. Vanguard's newest arrangement with Cerberus was supposed to make the world safer. Instead, it's made them a target for anyone who thinks specials have gotten too much power—or not nearly enough.
One of those people has been both enemy and ally. Broken by everything he's lost, the man once known as the Exemplar has resurfaced—and he's done being reasonable. He's not interested in another sanctuary. He wants vengeance, and he's willing to burn down anyone who stands between him and the people he blames for taking everything. For a team that once found common ground with him, stopping him means confronting exactly how far he's willing to go, and how much of the man they knew is left underneath the rage.
And that may be the least of Vanguard's problems. The scout they've been holding prisoner was never going to stay quiet forever, and the empire she serves doesn't send warnings before it sends warships. When the Kotharians finally make their move, Earth's fledgling alliance of heroes and soldiers will find out just how unprepared they are for a war on a galactic scale—and just how much they need each other to survive it.
With new and old threats, a public that's losing faith, and an invasion decades in the making, Vanguard is about to be tested in ways it never has before. Vanguard: Heroes Resilient asks what's left of a team—and the people who depend on it—when every front is on fire at once.
Fans of The Umbrella Academy, Invincible, and superhero sagas that treat their heroes like people first and powers second will find a gripping, high-stakes chapter in Percival Constantine's Vanguard saga!
The Future
Chronos found himself in the bowels of a massive airship called the Icarus. Seated before him was a man whose entire body was encased in the metal of his hoverchair. Only his wrinkled face was visible, which bore a thin, silver mustache above his withered lips and haunting eyes that sent a chill through the time traveler.
“What did you say?” asked Chronos.
“I said you are responsible for what has happened to this world,” said the old man, who had introduced himself as the Analyst.
Chronos looked to the people who surrounded him, the members of the team called Vanguard—Sharkskin, Shift, Ink, and Talon. “No, that’s not right. I tried to stop the invasion!”
“What the hell’s going on here?” Sharkskin pointed at Chronos. “You mean to tell me the world has gone to shit because of this guy?”
“Of course not, that’s ridiculous!” said Chronos.
“Then what’s the Analyst talking about?” asked Shift.
“Your memories are open to me,” said the Analyst, his gaze never moving from Chronos. “The moment you set foot onto our ship, I scanned your mind. Now tell my team what I already know. Tell them where you come from.”
Chronos looked at the people surrounding him and gave a nod. “I’m a time traveler from the twenty-fifth century.”
Sharkskin chortled and Shift elbowed him in the side to get him to stop.
“About forty years from today, the Kotharian empire will begin an invasion of Earth. It was quick and brutal. Our forces were virtually wiped out overnight.”
“Uhh, gonna have to stop you there, buddy.” Ink was the one who spoke. She had long, dark hair tied behind her head. Her arms and back were exposed and lined with tattoos. “The Kotharians are here and they’ve been here since I was a baby.”
“I know, which means something’s not right,” said Chronos.
“Tell them about your history,” said the Analyst.
“I was born in the camps. When I was fifteen, a resistance attack allowed me to escape. Naturally, I signed up with the rebels to try and fight off the Kotharians. But it wasn’t easy,” said Chronos. “Until we learned about the Chaknaar.”
“That doesn’t make sense, we’ve known about the Chaknaar since before the invasion,” said Shift.
“Please, Erin. Allow our visitor to finish,” said the Analyst.
“Right, well the Kotharians have these psionic abilities and they’re gained through exposure to something they call the Chaknaar. We managed to get our hands on some of it and ran some trials. What we found was that if humans are exposed to it, they can also develop powers as well,” said Chronos. “Except it’s not completely compatible. The Chaknaar only worked on a small percentage of our test subjects. And the ones it did work on, their powers weren’t consistent, unlike the Kotharians.”
Chronos gestured to his body, showing off his armor. “The Kotharians also developed the chronal emitter, which is incorporated into my suit. A prototype device that allows the wearer to travel through time. My mission was to go to the dawn of the twenty-first century and release our Chaknaar reserves throughout the Earth. Even if only a subset of humanity gained powers, that subset would probably be able to fend off the invasion. It was hoped that the decades between would allow the Chaknaar to spread, give people time to develop and learn how to use their abilities. But then we tried jumping forward and something happened. The chronal emitter was damaged somehow in the trip and we landed here, centuries before our own era. And then we saw that the invasion had already happened.”
Sharkskin folded his arms across his broad chest. “So you’re saying you’re responsible for the Event?”
“What’s the Event?” asked Chronos.
“Decades ago, an anomalous gene was discovered in humanity, one that caused some of them to develop superhuman abilities,” said the Analyst. “We’ve referred to whatever caused this change as the Event.”
“You said ‘we’?” Talon was the youngest of the group, possibly late teens. Her skin was pale and when transformed, she possessed wings and razor-sharp talons for fingers, much like her namesake.
Chronos nodded. “When we raided a Kotharian facility, we found an artificial intelligence that had been enslaved by their human collaborators. We restored his autonomy and he joined our cause.”
“An AI?” asked Shift, perking up. “What was his name?”
“Actually, he couldn’t remember much from before the invasion,” said Chronos. “But he started calling himself the Progenitor. He’s the one who told us about the Chaknaar and helped us steal it. And he came back with me on the mission. But when we arrived here, we were attacked. He led the attackers away from me so I could escape, told me it was my duty to repair the chronal emitter and find out what’s going on here.”
Chronos looked at each of the specials, gesturing to them as he spoke. “But this isn’t right. I mean, look at you guys. Clearly, we were successful. So how did this happen? And why did it happen so much earlier than it was supposed to?”
The Analyst closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. “Chronos, do you believe in destiny?”
He shook his head. “I believe in free will. Do you think I’d even make this trip if I didn’t believe the future couldn’t be changed?”
“I’d say our current predicament is evidence against your beliefs,” said the Analyst. “Maybe there is no way to change the future. Maybe this is our destiny.”
“You can’t believe that,” said Shift. “If this is meant to happen, then why do we keep fighting?”
“I’m wondering that myself.” The Analyst looked at Chronos. “You see, it was the Chaknaar that drew the Kotharians to us. They could detect its presence across the galaxies. They sent a scout, who confirmed their readings. And then the invasion came.”
Chronos backed away. His heartbeat sped up and his breathing became labored. Vanguard stood around him, surrounding him. He knew what had happened here. He knew the cause of the invasion.
“Don’t you see?” asked the Analyst. “You tried to prevent the invasion. But all you did was hasten it.”
The heroes lost...but hope remains
Twenty years have passed since the Kotharians took Earth, and the war Vanguard once fought in the open has become one of survival in the shadows. What's left of the team leads a resistance from the Icarus, a stolen warship-turned-mobile sanctuary, sheltering refugees and training the next generation of specials willing to risk everything against an occupation that's had two decades to tighten its grip.
Then a stranger falls into their world with no memory of his own name, only fractured visions of a different timeline, and the belief that this brutal future is the price of that choice. He calls himself Chronos, and if his story is true, he may be the resistance's best chance at undoing what's been done. Vanguard isn't sure whether to trust him or fear him.
Chasing the technology that could fix the past means striking deep into occupied territory, and Vanguard is about to learn just how far the Kotharians and their human collaborators are willing to go to maintain control. Old wounds resurface. Loyalties are tested. And for a team that has already sacrificed so much to survive this long, the fight ahead demands more than any of them are prepared to give.
With an occupation that shows no mercy, a stranger who carries the weight of a war he started, and a future that may not be fixable, Vanguard: Heroes Fallen asks what's left to save when hope itself has had twenty years to die.
Fans of The Umbrella Academy, Invincible, and superhero sagas that treat their heroes like people first and powers second will find a gripping, high-stakes story in the penultimate chapter of Percival Constantine's Vanguard saga!
The Future
Chronos stood in front of a large window, leaning against the guardrail, looking out over the clouds. If he squinted, he could barely make out the lights of one of the cities far down below against the darkness of the night. He’d removed his armor and was given some clothes to wear—a pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt.
“You settled in?”
Chronos turned from the guardrail and saw the youngest member of Vanguard standing behind him. Her name was Talon and the name was an apt description of what her fingers transformed into. She could also sprout wings from her back at will. But now, she looked like just a normal, teenage girl. Chin-length, dark hair tied behind her head in a ponytail.
“More or less,” said Chronos. “Felt a little weird having the chance to take a real shower.”
Talon smiled and approached the guardrail, leaning against it beside him. “Beautiful, huh? Even though the world’s in hell, I still feel a little grateful that I got to grow up with a view like this.”
“You grew up on the Icarus?”
She nodded. “Pretty much. Uncle Lee built it when I was still a baby. Before that, my parents say that we mostly moved from location to location. Grandpa Leo had a lot of secret bases he knew about, I guess.”
“So it’s a family operation then?”
“Of sorts. Uncle Lee and Grandpa Leo, they weren’t blood relatives. But Dad always says that family’s the people who take you in, not always the people you share DNA with.”
“And Dad is…?”
Talon gave a smirk. “What, you couldn’t see the resemblance? You just got done talking with my parents.”
“Sharkskin and Shift,” said Chronos. “Yeah, you do look like your dad, I guess. And you clearly got the shapeshifting gift from both of them.”
“My name’s Vicky, by the way,” she said. “Vicky Asano.”
“I’m…just Chronos,” he said.
“No real name?”
He shook his head. “We weren’t given names in the camp. Just numbers.” Chronos turned his head so Vicky could see the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck.
Vicky reached a hand out, her fingers almost brushing against the barcode. But she retracted her arm before she could touch. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Chronos turned his head back around. “So this place…?”
“Yeah, Uncle Lee built it. Or renovated it, I guess. Vanguard took command of a Kotharian warship and after the battle, Uncle Lee did a lot of work gutting the Kotharian elements, anything that could track us, and launched it as our new mobile base. We kind of needed the extra room.”
“Why’s that?”
Vicky moved from the guardrail and waved her hand for Chronos to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Chronos jogged quickly to catch up to her. Vicky took him to the elevators and they rode up to the middle levels. When the doors opened, they found themselves in a large cafeteria. Staff were dispensing food to a line of people that included men, women, and children. Some of them had strange appearances, mutations that Chronos imagined were caused by the special gene.
“We’ve got a few hundred families onboard here,” said Vicky. “Nobody is turned away, but most work to help the cause. Some of them work in the kitchen or in maintenance here on the Icarus. Others may work in the infirmary or as teachers. We have a lot who monitor communications traffic, trying to figure out where any at-risk specials might be.”
“So everyone here’s a special?” asked Chronos.
“No, we’ve got humans mixed in as well,” said Vicky. “At first, the Kotharians were targeting specials. Then they started targeting humans who had a high probability of their special gene activating or who might have children who would be active specials. That barcode you have? We’ve got something similar. Genetic markers are injected into every newborn baby so the occupation government can monitor the special genes.”
Vicky and Chronos walked past the cafeteria tables, with a few people offering greetings to the youngest Vanguardian. She returned their greetings with smiles and pleasantries of her own.
“Basically, if you’re a human without any special potential, you get to live your life as you please,” said Vicky. “Most of the widespread fighting has ceased. There’s still a Kotharian military presence just outside of Earth’s orbit, but for the most part, the human co-conspirators are the ones in charge of the planet.”
“In some ways, things might be better for you guys than they were in my time,” said Chronos. “Everyone was born into slavery. Being able to turn the Earth’s population against a small minority is pretty useful. You can get them to do anything you want.”
“Uncle Zen used to say people in power have always been able to easily exploit humanity’s prejudices for their own benefit.”
“And Vanguard?” asked Chronos. “You guys seem to have an army onboard this ship. Why not take the fight to the Kotharians?”
“Because things aren’t always that simple.”
Chronos turned at the sound of a new voice. He saw a woman in her forties with brown skin and long, black hair standing behind him. She wore a green and brown uniform with the Vanguard symbol on it.
“Chronos, this is Tuwa,” said Vicky. “She and my parents were friends back before the war.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Chronos.
Tuwa didn’t offer a greeting, just eyed him with curiosity. “So I understand you’re the one to blame for the world being in this state?”
Chronos blinked. Vicky glared hard at Tuwa, but the older woman was unfazed. She fixed her gaze on the Icarus’ new arrival.
“And to answer your question, Chronos. Just because these people are specials doesn’t make them fighters,” she added. “We don’t force anyone to become a soldier. There are those who volunteer, however. We train them, send them on missions, and see what they can bring back.”
“Listen, I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just asking a question.”
“Just like you didn’t mean to bring the Kotharians to our doorstep?” Tuwa stepped closer, her brown eyes burning with barely restrained anger. “Do you know how many friends I’ve lost over the past twenty years?”
“I didn’t know.”
“And you didn’t even bother to consider the possibility of what ramifications could come from screwing with the timeline.” Tuwa pushed him out of the way and walked off.
Chronos watched her leave, his mouth hanging open. Vicky placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and he looked at her. She tried to flash a faint smile, but it was only a small comfort.
“Sorry about that. Mom says she wasn’t always like that.”
“What happened?” asked Chronos.
“I don’t really know,” said Vicky. “I asked Mom once and all she said was Tuwa lost someone very important. She mostly keeps to herself, barely interacts with anyone unless she has to. To be honest, I’m surprised to see her in the cafeteria.”
Vicky patted him on the back. “Anyway, come on. I’ll show you the rest of the ship.”
* * *
In the center of the darkened war room was a round table. The Analyst, in his mobile life-support unit, stared at the holographic map projected above the table. Both Koji Asano and Erin Hastings also stood around the table, looking at the map.
“This is our target,” said the Analyst. “According to my source, this is where the tachyon experiments are occurring. If we can get our hands on that technology, perhaps Chronos can use it to repair his chronal emitter.”
Koji folded his arms and frowned as he studied the projection. “I don’t like it, boss. How can we trust this mysterious source when you won’t tell us who it is?”
“It’s part of the arrangement, Mr. Asano, you know that,” said the Analyst.
“And you really believe that Chronos can do what he says? That he can somehow stop the invasion before it happens?”
“His story seems to be on the level,” said the Analyst. “His memories are a bit fractured, but they do paint a picture of an alternate timeline that he successfully changed.”
“Yeah, but that change brought the Kotharians here sooner,” said Koji. “Say he goes back again. What if this time he makes it so we’re being ruled by Nazi dinosaurs or something?”
The Analyst blinked a few times. “Koji, I am continually amazed at your ability to leave me dumbfounded and speechless.”
“It’s a gift,” said Koji. “But you see my point, right?”
“I do. And you’re right, we’re messing with forces we can’t even begin to comprehend. There is definitely a possibility of Chronos actually making things worse instead of better. But then again, isn’t that something we risk every time we undertake a mission against the Kotharians? We take these chances because to do nothing would be worse than failure.”
Koji clicked his tongue. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“What about the team?” asked Erin.
“You will lead a squad composed of your husband, Ink, Tuwa, Cache, and Talon,” said the Analyst.
Erin shook her head. “No way, not happening.”
The Analyst sighed. “Erin, we’ve spoken about this.”
“I’m not sending my daughter on a mission like this. Search and rescue, fine. She can handle the Gunsmiths. But going into a Kotharian research facility? Where security will be amped up? No way, it’s too dangerous.”
“We need her. Sentinel’s death has dealt a blow to our readiness.”
“Then get someone else,” said Erin. “Fuerte.”
“She’s off on a recon mission trying to intercept some specials being rounded up in Europe.”
“Pyre.”
“He’s off the grid,” said the Analyst. “I fear he may be dead or captured.”
“Then what about—”
“Erin, please,” said the Analyst. “I care for Victoria as if she were my own blood. But we need her in the field. She’s ready. Now, I understand your reluctance—”
“No, you don’t.” Erin turned from the table and marched out of the war room.
The Analyst sighed and looked at Koji. He closed his eyes and gave a nod. Koji chased after her, emerging into the corridor and calling out to her. “Hey, Erin!”
She stopped and turned, folding her arms over her chest. Koji approached her and looked into her yellow eyes. “Look, I know you’re scared. But the Analyst’s got a point. We’re running on fumes here and if Vic can help us turn the tide, then don’t we owe it to her and to ourselves to see that this mission is successful? And besides, she’s about the same age you were when you joined the team.”
“That was a different time,” said Erin. “We weren’t living under an alien dictatorship.”
“Yeah, I know. But if we pull it off, then we can change all that.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of…” Erin muttered under her breath.
Koji raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Changing the past. What if…what if it was the war that brought us together?” she asked. “Being prisoners back then? What if by changing the past, Vicky’s never born?”
Koji sighed. He wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her close to him. “We just gotta have faith.”
But in truth, that same worry had been plaguing him since the Analyst first mentioned his plan.
One desperate chance to save the future
Earth has never faced an enemy like the Kotharian Empire—and Vanguard has never faced so devastating a loss.
When a stranger falls out of the sky claiming to be a soldier from a future where the Kotharians won, Vanguard is forced to reckon with a truth no hero wants to hear: everything they've built can still fall. Talon carries scars from a war that hasn't happened yet, and the closer she gets to her team, the more she realizes she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself—even if saving the future means unraveling everything she knows about her own past.
As General M'Lak tightens his grip and the Kotharian war machine bears down on a planet still learning what it means to have "specials" walking among ordinary people, old alliances fracture and new ones form in the fire. Cerberus and Vanguard, once uneasy rivals, must decide whether they can trust each other long enough to survive. The team will be tested past their limits—and not everyone who takes the field will walk away from it.
This is the story fans have been building toward since the beginning: alliances forged under fire, sacrifices that can't be undone, and a final stand that will decide whether Earth's heroes rise to meet their darkest hour—or become a cautionary tale for whatever comes next.
Vanguard: Heroes Reborn is the explosive conclusion to Percival Constantine's superhero saga that pits ordinary people with extraordinary power against an invasion that could end them all. Packed with high-stakes action, hard choices, and the kind of team dynamics fans of classic team-book comics have always loved, this is where every thread comes together—and not everyone gets a happy ending!
Vicky Asano stared at the date on the newspaper, her eyes fixated on it. Twenty years in the past. Was it possible? Had M’Lak succeeded in his mad plan to open a portal through time?
Unless she was hallucinating, that seemed exactly what had happened. Vicky looked away from the date and her eyes traveled to the headline on the front page: VANGUARD DEFEATS ALIEN THREAT.
Defeated? Did that mean Chronos was successful? The Kotharians were gone? Or was this from a time before the invasion, when Vanguard had defeated J’Karra? Vicky looked at the date again. It didn’t mean much, though. She knew years, but not specific dates.
“Hey, you gonna buy that or what?”
Vicky was stunned by the newsstand owner’s call. She dropped the paper on the stack of others and quickly moved away. Even if she did have any money on her, there was no reason to believe it was the same currency used in this period. In fact, she could almost certainly guarantee it wasn’t.
No, her goal was obvious. First thing she had to do was find Vanguard. Go to their Atlas base, that’s what they were still using in this era. But then again, she was brought there by the Red Fist. Vicky herself had no real idea of how to find it.
Instinct told her to look at the smartwatch on her wrist, and so she did. But when she tried to activate it, the watch simply reported that there was no network available. Maybe with modifications, she could access the networks of this time, but Vicky had no idea how to make those changes herself—Cassie always took care of those things.
No, she had to find another way. Learn more about this era. Maybe then she could find a way to reach out to Vanguard. Of course, that in itself brought up a whole other host of issues. What was Vicky going to say to them? What was she going to say to her parents? She knew from her mother’s stories that they didn’t fall for each other until they were captives of the Kotharians. To tell them that she was their daughter from a possible apocalyptic future…? It might kill any chance they have of ever getting together, thus erasing Vicky herself from existence.
There had to be another way. Vicky simply wouldn’t tell them of her parentage. That did mean she’d need another surname. She thought back to her teammate, Ink—Reina Davis. Vicky Davis. Seemed just as good a name as any, no one would question her that way.
Vicky continued wandering the streets for what felt like hours. There was nothing she wanted to do more than unleash her wings and take to the skies. But she knew she had to stay grounded, at least for now.
Eventually, she came across a public library and went inside. Computers were available for public Internet usage and Vicky claimed an empty one for herself. Far slower than what she was used to. The Kotharians had accelerated technological development in her time—keep the humans entertained with flashy toys and they wouldn’t give a second thought to the fact that they were controlled by an occupation government.
Vicky clicked the web search and typed in VANGUARD. A host of articles and websites appeared. All of them extremely positive, praising the team for all the good they’ve done.
“That…doesn’t make sense…” She kept her voice low as she whispered the words. From the stories she’d heard growing up, Vanguard had their fair amount of detractors in the media. There was one her father mentioned a few times, and Vicky remembered his name. But entering “Eric Fox” into the search box returned very few results. The top one was an obituary.
Vicky clicked on the headline: TABLOID JOURNALIST COMMITS SUICIDE. After reading the obituary, she was more than a little stunned. The article mentioned drug use, a string of failed marriages, and numerous scandals, including a known bias against the world’s greatest heroes. It seemed like a strange route to take when you were supposed to be celebrating a reporter’s life.
She went back to researching the stories about Vanguard. All the top results were positive. It took several pages before she found some critical of the team. Yet these articles were mostly only stored on archive pages. Some conspiracy sites had particularly vile things to say about the group.
Maybe another path was needed, so she did a search for Cerberus. An article from a few months ago stated that the United Nations Security Council made the decision to integrate the Cerberus agency with Vanguard.
Vicky raised an eyebrow at that article. How much had things changed in this world? Vanguard universally loved without anyone having a bad thing to say about them? And now Cerberus and Vanguard together? There were things about this that didn’t add up for her.
Continuing her research into the alien threat, she discovered that it was indeed J’Karra Vanguard had stopped, killing her. Vicky wasn’t really a fan of that notion, but if it stopped the threat, all the better. Yet it wasn’t a guarantee—that meant there was still the chance the Kotharians under M’Lak’s leadership were still on their way.
Stopping J’Karra came at a cost. According to what Vicky had read, she’d managed to kill President Dennis Lawson before Vanguard took her down. The only thing Vicky could do now was locate her team. Was it Chronos’ warning that ordered them to kill her? And if so, did that also mean Chronos had killed Paragon?
Her accidental trip to this era only raised more questions than they answered. All this time, Vicky thought if she’d managed to make it back here, to see the history she’d grown up hearing stories about unfold before her eyes, that the things which had always confounded her would be made clear.
A news alert flashed across the screen. An attack by a rogue special in the middle of Times Square. Vicky looked up a route from her current location to Times Square, paying attention to the compass on the web-based map. Standing from the desk, she turned and walked briskly to the library’s exit. Part of her hoped this meant she could run into Vanguard if she went to the scene. Another part of her knew that whether or not Vanguard was there, she spent her whole life training for just these kinds of threats.
Once exiting the library, Vicky circled around the building until she was out of sight. After confirming the coast was clear, large, feathered wings sprung from her back, her eyes took on a golden color, and long claws grew from her fingertips, completing her transformation into Talon.
Several flaps of the wings gave her lift and soon, she’d built up enough speed to shoot through the air. Fortunately, the portal had dropped her just outside of New York City and so the trip wouldn’t take too much time to make under her own flight capability. Talon’s wings propelled her forward until she saw smoke rising up in the distance.
Talon flapped her wings harder, flying towards the smoke. On her approach, she saw the flaming cars on the ground and a man who hovered above the brightly lit square, a flaming man hurling fireballs at buildings, vehicles, and pedestrians.
Pyre. She recognized him. In her time, he’d even joined Vanguard, taking some jobs for them and aiding specials trying to hide from Cerberus. But in this time, before the invasion, he was still apparently on the wrong side of the law.
Talon wasted no time in diving towards him, preparing to strike.
