The Guardians Volume II Chapter 4

Technical Difficulties

by

Eric Metcalf

A thin sliver of a crescent moon cast a pale light over rolling hills in the Maryland countryside. A twelve-foot high fence of barbed wire cut across the countryside like a scar. Signs on the fence proclaimed "Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Do Not Trespass."

A group of four black-garbed men slid up to the fence. They moved silently across the grass, like shadows in the moonlight. One produced a pair of wire-cutters and swiftly cut a section of fence loose, allowing the four to slide under it.

Once inside, they moved silently and surely, crossing the grassy fields and hills towards the small cluster of buildings on the proving ground. No sentries or roving guards interfered with their progress; indeed, none were posted at all. Aberdeen was a quiet post for all of its importance, and the staff had gotten lazy.

One of the buildings was a garage, and the four intruders headed for it. The side door was locked, but a set of lock picks made quick work of the simple lock. Inside, the intruders saw their objective: a ten-foot tall beast of dark-painted metal. Sponsons projected from both sides, with a long barrel projecting from each. Smaller barrels projected from the body of the vehicle itself. The letters "UAV-1" were stenciled on the sides in white paint, just behind the sponsons.

"Gotcha," one breathed as the four moved around the vehicle. One opened an access panel on the side of the vehicle, revealing a computer data port. Another pulled out a palm-top computer and a cable. The cable fit into the port easily, and the intruder pressed one button on the computer.

"Downloading new instructions," the screen flashed. A second later, it flashed, "Download complete."

"That's got it," the hacker breathed. "Let's get out of here." The four rapidly grouped up and headed out, still unspotted.

"Time for the Grim Reaper to live up to its name," the hacker whispered to one of the others. That one just nodded with a light chuckle as they left.

"Ten," the electronic voice intoned. Mindstar glanced to his left and right. The Guardians were lined up across the gym floor; Alpha team was around Mindstar, with Bravo team further down. Ten robots stood across from them; they were combat robots, designed to test the Guardians without doing, or taking, any permanent damage. The test today was a race: whichever team knocked out their five opponents faster would get the day off from the chores of the base. Alpha was taking a handicap, since there were only four of them versus five robots.

"Three," the voice intoned, louder this time. Mindstar locked onto the robot in front of him, readying a bolt of telekinetic force.

"One," the voice intoned, then a shrill beep sounded. Mindstar loosed his shot as the Guardians exploded into motion. His shot hit its target full on, slamming the robot back and stunning it. With one opponent down, he glanced at the situation as a whole.

Powergirl and Strongarm had downed their initial opponents, while Firemane's first shot had only staggered her opponent. Three down, two to go.

"Alpha, pairs," he yelled. Powergirl spun to her right, facing one of the remaining robots. The robot threw a straight right, but she slipped the punch easily and replied by grabbing the robot and tossing it towards Mindstar with a sharp hip turn. Mindstar slammed the robot out of the air with a telekinetic bolt.

A shrill tone sounded. "Match over. Alpha has won." Mindstar took and released a deep breath. Firemane and Powergirl high-fived, but there was no other celebration. Mindstar had told them before that showing up their teammates wasn't a good idea. Besides, this was becoming routine.

"Again?" Mind Mistress squawked. Wraith pounded his fist into the floor in frustration.

Crimson Knight just shook his head. "We've got you outnumbered, and you're going against tougher opponents. Why can't we win?"

"Experience," Mindstar said simply. "There may be more of you, but Mind Mistress isn't much help against robots, and you just don't have as much time fighting together was we do. That's why I assigned all of the new recruits to one team; Alpha is more effective with the most experienced members together. As you gain experience, you'll work together better. For now, take a break. We'll meet down here in one hour."

As they turned towards the door, all of them stopped. Brian Carpenter stood in the doorway with a young Hispanic man. Carpenter was in his suit; the Hispanic was wearing a set of urban combat fatigues, although Mike thought they looked stiffer than normal fabric did. The Hispanic stood even with Carpenter, although Mike saw that his combat boots were making up an inch or so of height difference. Carpenter motioned towards the Guardians, then started towards them.

"Guardians, listen up. This is Juan Cepeda, call sign Techno. I recruited him as technical support for the team and to round out the ten-person roster. Techno, meet Mindstar, Powergirl, Strongarm, Firemane, Crimson Knight, Mind Mistress, Aria, Wraith and Wind Shear, aka the Guardians."

"Hola, compadres," Techno said as he bowed, looking down the line. He shook hands with each of them in turn, kissing the hands of the women with shy winks and leers. When he got to Wind Shear at the end of the line, his attitude changed.

"A pleasure to meet you," he said, bowing deeper, his voice softer than before. Wind Shear blushed at the attention.

"Come on," Mindstar said, "you can get to know everyone later. They need a break. I'll show you around."

"Watch it with the attitude, compadre," Juan snarled. "I don't like being bossed. Maybe I want to get the know the ladies now?"

Mindstar's eyes popped open at Juan's tone, and started glowing orange. Powergirl stepped forward to calm him, but it was too late. "Watch the attitude? Watch it your damn self. In case Colonel Carpenter neglected to inform you, I am field commander of this team. That means you do what I say, when I say it. Not when you damn well feel like it, you do it now."

"At ease, Mindstar!" Carpenter bellowed. Mindstar instinctively snapped up, as did Crimson Knight. Techno just growled. "You're both out of line. Techno has been notified of the field command situation. He will follow orders when it counts. Now, you are all dismissed. Techno, Mindstar and I are going for a little walk and have a nice chat to settle this once and for all." Carpenter motioned for them to follow and stalked out of the gym. Mindstar waited for Techno to start following first then he fell in behind him.

"Now there's oil and water," Wraith said. "Just won't mix."

Powergirl shook her head. "Don't bet on it. Mike's just got a ramrod up his ass because Techno's new, and Techno's messing with him on general principles. Trust me, one good fight together and those two will hit it off. I just hope they don't kill each other first. Come on, last one upstairs loses all the hot water." As tired as they were, the threat of a cold shower motivated all of them.

Mindstar didn't hear the voices behind him or the commotion as the team ran towards the elevator. All he could think of was how to tell Carpenter that this whole thing was a bad idea and to get rid of this guy before he disobeyed an order in combat and got one of the others killed. There had to be a way to make Carpenter see reason.

Carpenter made a right out of the gym. The corridor was whitewashed concrete with a dark gray floor. Fluorescent panels along the ceiling lit the way as Carpenter stalked down to where the hall ran into the hangar. Carpenter then turned right again, leading them into a corner of the hangar.

Mindstar started to open his mouth, but Carpenter preempted him. "No, Mike, listen now. Techno, I told you before, Mindstar is the field commander of the Guardians. You will answer to him, no special exceptions. I know you have a problem with authority, but you will have to swallow that or you will not remain a Guardian long. We have had this conversation before?" Techno nodded, chastened.

"As for you, Mindstar, you are out of line and out of character. I know you have recruited all of the other Guardians yourself, but stop being so damned stubborn for once. Techno is not the only Guardian with an authority problem. You have shown a good touch with the others; use it now. The Guardians need someone with the kind of technical prowess that Juan has. You need his versatility and firepower. If he disobeys an order in action, then you can tell me just how wrong I am."

"I just hope I don't lose anyone doing it," Mindstar said under his breath. "Okay, deal." He turned to Techno. "You missed your chance with the girls; I heard them heading upstairs to shower. Now's as good a time as any for that tour."

Techno nodded. "Si, you're right about that."

"Well, we're in the hangar right now. Those are Protector One and Two. They're vertical take-off and landing capable, and can travel up to Mach One in level flight. We don't like to push them that hard, but they can make it. We have two so that we can deploy Alpha and Bravo teams independently if we need to, but each one has enough seating for the full roster."

"Including me?" Techno asked.

"Seating capacity is twelve," Mindstar replied. "Each plane has a pilot assigned to it. We've debated trying to train the Guardians to take over piloting chores, but there are several good reasons not to. Foremost of which is the fact that a dedicated pilot allows us to deploy from the aircraft without the aircraft actually landing."

"You para-drop?" Techno asked, incredulous.

Mindstar shook his head, half-smiling. "Nope, we've got enough fliers so that we can get everybody down by buddying up fliers and non-fliers. I'm not sure Wind Shear is a strong enough flier to carry two, so you'd be better off with your own flight capability."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Mindstar led them out of the hangar. "In case Carpenter didn't show you, the rest of the basement is laboratories. Electronic and mechanical labs are at the far end, and the weapons lab is to our right. They're outfitted with the best Uncle Sam has, or will fork over. Strongarm and I do some work in the electronics and mechanical labs, but there's plenty of room left over, and we don't have anyone else who's a competent weaponsmith, so that one's all yours."

"Much obliged."

The corridor flared out into an intersection ahead, with four pillars running down from the ceiling in a rectangular pattern. Mindstar punched a button on one pillar. The roof over the pillar whined and began descending, with each of the pillars holding a corner. The ceiling revealed itself as the floor of the conference room, with table and chairs on the platform. Mindstar, Carpenter and Techno moved onto the platform when it stopped. Carpenter took the head seat, and clicked a button under the table as soon as Mindstar and Techno were seated.

"This looks like a lot of effort to keep the base secret," Carpenter said, "even from those who get inside. However, we decided that it would be easier to conceal the base from attack than to put in the kind of defenses it would take to prevent a major attack. So, we rely on concealment in all areas, even inside. We're not immune to intrusion with the Guardians deployed, but it would take someone a good deal of effort to break in and get downstairs, where the really important stuff is stored." The platform came level with the first floor and locked into place.

"You've probably already seen the rest of the house," Mindstar said. Techno just nodded. "First floor is common areas, including kitchen, dining room and living room. TV, VCR and games computer in the living room; the work computer is upstairs. We don't have any house staff; the team does all the chores. Getting out of chores for a day is a common reward for good performance." The group had circled around to the rear of the house.

"Why no windows?" Techno asked. "Ugly neighbors?"

Mindstar chuckled. "No. How are you with orienting yourself?"

Techno shrugged. "Okay, nothing major."

"Right. Here's another question; what does an underground hangar need?"

Techno smiled and nodded. "Above-ground access. I got it; you've got an elevator to raise the birds up, and it comes out here. You've got no windows so that the engine blast doesn't scorch or shatter the windows." He nodded appreciatively. "That's nice."

"Thank you," Mindstar replied. He steered the group back around and up the stairs by the foyer. "Bedrooms are upstairs, along with a study that the White Queen uses a lot, a lounge with the work computer, and an office that I use for paperwork. You've got the last room on the right. That's the last room we've got available. The bedrooms are pretty basic, but it's a place to hang your hat and crash. Bathroom's attached to the bedroom. Okay, any questions?"

A hooting alarm cut in suddenly, and red lights began flashing. Carpenter darted over to an intercom speaker on the wall nearby with Mindstar and Techno close behind. "This is White King, report."

"Good to catch you, chief," a female voice reported. "We are currently monitoring an incident on I-95 just outside of Aberdeen, right up the road. We have received a verbal request from assistance from the Maryland State Police, and we expect the formal request to come through any minute."

"What are we dealing with?" Mindstar asked.

"Not quite sure," the controller replied. "Reports are confused, but we're definitely looking at some sort of armed ground vehicle; a tank or something similar."

"Relay any additional data to Protector One," Mindstar said. "We'll figure it out in the air. Techno, grab the rest of your gear and meet us at Protector One if you're coming."

"I'll be there," he shouted as he ran out with a whoop.

Mindstar shook his head, then reached out with his mind. "Rally to Protector One. We have an emergency," he sent to the team, then he turned to Carpenter. "Are you coming with us?"

Carpenter nodded. "My gear's back at the office, but the whole team should be enough to handle this. I'll deal with anybody who tries to interfere."

Mindstar nodded. "Then let's move. This thing's not getting any less dangerous."

They ran out of the room.

The rest of the Guardians had already assembled by the plane in its underground hanger as Mindstar and Carpenter came running up. "What's the situation?" Crimson Knight asked.

"I'll brief you onboard," Mindstar said. He glanced around. "Isn't Techno hear yet?"

"I'm here, boss, I'm here," Techno panted as he came running up, carrying a mish-mash array of equipment in his arms. "Sorry to dress on the plane, but I thought it was urgent."

"It is. Get on board and strap in. It'll be a short flight." The team boarded the jet quickly, taking their seats." As soon as they were all on board, the pilot activated the hanger door. Above them, the ground itself seemed to lower and retract, opening the ceiling to the bright sunshine. As the hanger door opened, the floor began to rise, moving up towards the opening.

Mindstar hit a button in his armrest. "Foundation One, this is Mindstar. Situation report."

"We have a live video feed coming in, I'm patching it through now." The screen in the front wall of the cabin came on. A flash of static gave way to a grainy, washed out picture characteristic of a video recorder. The scene was an interstate highway; two groups of lanes, divided by a grass median. A massive vehicle dominated the center of the scene; it was as tall as a tank, but almost ellipsoid in shape. Rather than a turret, a cannon barrel projected out of a semicircular sponson on the side of the hull. The vehicle's treads ran along the entire side of the vehicle, although they were under an armored screen across the top of the vehicle. The letters 'UAV-1' were in white paint on the camouflage exterior behind the weapon.

"We've ascertained that the designation stands for urban assault vehicle. This unit was a prototype that escaped from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds."

"The Grim Reaper," Techno said in a solemn voice. The aircraft shuddered as the pilot cut in the main engines. Protector One lifted straight up in the air, powered by a secondary engine beneath the body.

"You know this thing?" Mindstar asked.

Techno nodded. "They were working on it while I was still there. It's designed to defeat light infantry forces in urban terrain. Those guns aren't much use against tanks, but they'll blow holes in walls and tear up infantry in the open. The worse part is it's autonomous; there's no one inside. Somebody activated it's combat programming, and it's running wild."

"We are having temporary technical difficulties with our latest weapon of destruction," Wraith deadpanned. "Please stand by, or run for your lives."

"Can you deactivate it?"

Techno shook his head. "No way. You'd have to plug into the data port on the side and feed in new instructions. Kinda hard to do when it's shooting at you. Still, it's not invulnerable. It's still a prototype, and they shouldn't have all of the shielding in yet. Electrical and electromagnetic attacks should mess it up pretty bad. Most conventional attacks will just bounce off."

"We'll see about that," Powergirl said with a smile. The plane jerked as the pilot cut in the main engines and the plane shot forward.

"You'd better get ready," Mindstar said to Techno. "This thing's just down the road."

"Already on it," Techno replied. He disentangled the pile of equipment, revealing a chest-plate, a helmet, two large bracers, a backpack, a pistol and two heavy boots. With the ease of practice, Techno assembled the equipment onto his jumpsuit, plugging the helmet, gauntlets and boots into the backpack, and clipping the pistol onto his right hip. When he was finished, he reached up and turned a dial on the side of his helmet. Discordant sounds began issuing from the helmet, audible to those on the other side of the cabin.

"Can he hear with that on?" Aria said, distaste dripping from her words.

Mindstar smiled, then linked his mind to Techno's. "Just so you don't think you can hide from me with that. What is it anyway?"

"Psykosonik, Mortal Kombat," Techno yelled in reply. The others jumped at the sound. They jumped again as an explosion rattled the aircraft.

"The Grim Reaper's spotted us," the pilot yelled back on the intercom. "I can't get any closer."

"Airborne deployment," Mindstar yelled, releasing his harness and standing up. "Alpha leads. Techno, you're with Alpha. I want you where I can keep an eye on you."

"Fight's on," Techno replied. Powergirl stepped up to the door, with Mindstar standing behind her. Strongarm and Firemane came up behind them, with Bravo team forming up behind them.

Powergirl swung the door open. The wind wasn't blowing very fast, since the jet had come to a hover. The door was pointing directly at the Grim Reaper. It sat amid the wreckage of several cars. More cars, crushed as if a giant had stepped on them, dotted the highway behind it. The gun on this side tracked upwards.

"Deploy," Mindstar called. He stepped forward, grabbed Powergirl under her arms, and stepped out of the door. He activated his telekinesis, flying down towards the Grim Reaper on sheer mental power. He heard Firemane yell behind him as she activated her flight. Roars from behind him announced someone lighting off jets. Ignoring that for the moment, Mindstar looked for a good landing spot. A flat stretch of grass near the roadway looked like the best site.

Angling down, Mindstar set Powergirl down easily then landed himself. The others landed easily, Alpha beside Mindstar and Bravo behind him. The Grim Reaper's cannon depressed and began traversing towards them.

"Alpha, direct attack; Bravo, flank and engage," Mindstar called. Powergirl, Strongarm and Techno leapt forward, charging. Firemane jumped into the air, angling for a shot over them. Crimson Knight led his team around to the rear of the war machine; he, Wind Shear and Aria flew over Mind Mistress and Wraith.

Mindstar loosed a force blast and Firemane fired a flame bolt, both impacting just ahead of the three chargers. The armor buckled slightly under the impact of the blasts, then Powergirl and Strongarm barreled into the side, with Techno extending a wicked blade from one of his arm gauntlets and slicing at the armor. All three hit in the same instant. In that same instant, electrical discharges lit up the side of the vehicle and silhouetted the three Guardians in wreaths of electrical fire. Mindstar heard their shrieks of pain in his mind before the cries reached his ears.

"No," he yelled. The three collapsed by the side of the vehicle. "Firemane, retrieval. Bravo, cover. Do not come in contact with target." He took off, flying towards his downed comrades.

The Grim Reaper began turning to its left, but there was no way it could crush the three Guardians; they were too close. Still, it left Bravo team exposed to the fire of the left side cannon. The barrel belched fire. Wraith moved suddenly, shoving Mind Mistress down, out of the explosion. The fliers scattered from over them as they cleared out of the explosion's radius.

"Fire," Crimson Knight yelled. He cut loose with the blasters in his gauntlets. Aria loosed a sonic scream. The attacks both hit, but they did no noticeable damage.

Mindstar grabbed Powergirl and Techno and dragged them back, with Firemane pulling Strongarm away from the Grim Reaper. A dip in the grass gave the unconscious Guardians enough cover, and Mindstar glanced up. The Grim Reaper was resisting everything Bravo was throwing at it. It was looking more damaged, but they weren't penetrating it with enough force.

"Dammit," Techno groaned. "I should have known that was there. It was my own damned idea. Didn't know they'd implemented it."

"Good idea," Powergirl said, "if you're trying to defeat supers or anyone who likes punching on tanks."

"I designed it to defeat guys with demolition charges," Techno replied. "Works pretty well on us, too. Damn thing burned out my radio."

"Did your ears a world of good, then," Strongarm groaned as he rolled over. "What's the score?"

"It's winning," Mindtar said. Another explosion scattered Bravo again. "It's slow and not really smart, but it's tough as hell and armed well enough to give us trouble. Anybody got any bright ideas, I'm open for suggestions."

"Si," Techno said, pulling the pistol off of his hip. "An Electro-Magnetic Pulse Pistol. My personal design. Last I knew, that thing has no EMP shielding for the electronics. If I nail it with this, that should fry the electronics to heck and back, including that damage field."

"Why didn't you use that before?"

Techno smiled. "Only one shot. Didn't want to burn it out if I didn't need to. But it may not be enough."

"That gives me an idea," Mindstar said. "Get ready." He saw Wind Shear flying around, and linked to her mind. "Use your lightning on it."

"Yes, sir," she replied, then she stopped flying and stood straight in the air, one arm raised. "Lightning," she yelled. A cloud above loosed a massive lightning bolt down on the Grim Reaper. The thunder roared as the Grim Reaper stopped for a moment as if pierced by the lightning bolt. As the thunder died away, the crackle of shorted electronics became audible. The Grim Reaper began moving again, but it was just circling around itself.

"She's fried the computer brain," Mindstar said. "Now, Techno, your turn."

"Way ahead of you," he replied, hopping to his feet. "Time to fry, Reaper." Techno pointed the gun, set his feet, and pulled the trigger. The gun shrieked and roared, and a shimmering ball of energy erupted from the muzzle. The ball slammed directly into one of the main guns and erupted, blue lightning playing over the entire surface of the vehicle. The electronics gave an almost human shriek as they failed. The Grim Reaper stopped in the middle of the road, silent and smoking.

"Fatality," Techno announced as he straightened up. "Not bad for the first day, eh boss?"

Mindstar snorted, but he smiled. "All told, not bad at all. Now, if you can work on that attitude, we'll be fine."

"What's wrong with my attitude, jefe?" Techno replied. Powergirl took one look at them and started laughing.

Mindstar started to glare at her, but he couldn't help chuckling himself. He stuck out his hand to Techno. "Teammates."

Techno looked at him for a second, then nodded. "Teammates," he said, grasping Mindstar's hand. They shook hands firmly, then Techno motioned to the Grim Reaper. "Come on, let's go take a look at that thing. I want to see if anything's left of the computer. If there is, we can find out who did this."

Mindstar spotted a number of television crews and reporters coming their way. "You go check it out," he said distastefully. "I've got to go pose for the press."

"That's why you the boss," Techno replied as he hustled off.

"Come on, boss," Powergirl said, nudging him in the ribs. "If I can go on camera looking like I just stuck my finger in a light socket, you can go on looking like you just put on the uniform."

As they headed for the reporters, Firemane came running up. "Mindstar, Mindstar, Carlysa just contacted me. She says Alyina needs us back at base pronto."

Carpenter came jogging up at the same time. "I heard the same thing from Alyina herself. Go on, get out of here. I'll handle the newsies. That's why they pay me the big bucks. Move."

Grateful to be granted a reprieve, Mindstar contacted the Guardians quickly and ordered them to where Protector One had set down. As he jogged over, he couldn't help but wonder why the summons was so important. It must be that scroll, he thought, but what on it could be so important that it wouldn't wait another hour?

Arcanus gasped as he touched the mind. The sheer magical power was unbelievable. He smiled slowly as he returned to his body. He sat cross-legged inside a chalk pentagram. Candles around the edge of the design lit the small room. The ritual had worked. Now all he had to do was wait until the time was fully ripe. But, he thought, perhaps he could hurry that time along.