Vanguard Europe field team
  • Drake Marshall a.k.a. NightWatch - field leader
  • Edmund Gaunt
  • Lady Lykopis
  • Adem Different
  • Icarus Sidewinder
  • Ozzy Baxter
  • Tommy Foxe
  • Victor Reilly


Vanguard Europe support staff
  • Dr. William Paragon - president
  • Penny Goodweather - secretary
  • Dr. Ian McGregor - team medic
  • Jym - technical support and services
  • Gustave


Tommy Foxe had already been on a few missions with the Vanguard Europe field team... but he still wore his excitement right out there on his sleeve. Never had he been more glad to be a part of such a group. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about this team - at this time - that made him proud to be here. He was sure he loved these people...

These people... Victor Reilly thought, his eyes darting around the mahogany meeting room table. Never before had the trained assassin been offered such a unique challenge - seven super-powered beings assembled in one place. Ever since he'd first seen them, his brain had been running dozens of fight simulations per second. The only wildcard... Ozzy Baxter. The allegedly indestructible man. How do you destroy a man who can't be harmed? Reilly's scenarios continued to run almost subconsciously, as he stared daggers through the man. Throw him into a vaccuum... bury him at the center of the earth... jettison him into deep space... into a black hole... or the sun...

"Black hole sun, won't you come... wash it down the drain..." Icarus Sidewinder whispered the song to himself, pounding his index fingers on the table in order to keep beat. "Black hole sun, won't you come... won't you come..." As he sang, he tapped his foot, attempting to keep time...

Time is the fire in which we burn... Edmund Gaunt grunted slightly as he contemplated the extent of his duties. There was so much left to do and, literally, no time accomplish it in. There was the whispers of the nether-entity encroaching upon this reality from the abyss. That would require attention, though likely not immediate attention. Still, other things needed looking into - there was talk of another uprising within the Kqwir'l Continuum, a possible anti-matter breach along the Great Wall of China, and the usual maintenance of the barzakh in order to keep the djinn population in check. And that was only for starters. There was too little time... and simply too much to be done...

Done, Adem Different thought contentedly, closing the covers of his leather-bound Hercule Poirot collector's edition. The book was quite large, to be certain, but Adem enjoyed reading what many on this planet considered the "classics" of mystery. Although some of these so-called mysteries seemed a little far-fetched to him. Perhaps being an alien tainted his perspective. However, it still seemed odd to him that a man would know to kill a man by stabbing him while in a trunk with a dagger...

A dagger. Just a dagger. Lykopis would have to check into the armory before she left for this next mission. She had stayed at Todd's last night and, because of that, was slightly unprepared to be called in. This is something, she decided, that Todd would have to get used to... because there was no way she was going to continue showing up at team meetings without at least her sword. Maybe some other weapons...

Weapons were worthless to Oswald Baxter. The man's one-two punch had laid out more men than he could count. And he would know... Ozzy himself had stopped counting somewhere around 273. However, in his quiet moments - like this one - Ozzy found himself reliving former glories. Pounding the shit out of Hero I... delivering a powerhouse right hook to knock out Tommy "The Machine" Gunn (Stupid name anyway... asshole, Ozzy thought) all those years ago... and even sparring with Lady Lykopis not too long ago. Right now, however, Ozzy was mentally trading punches with Tyler O'Neil at one of B.T. Polford's infamous 'underground' matches. A quick jab to the face followed by a kick to the Adam's apple...

Apples, milk, cookies... uh... detergent... Drake Marshall thought, jotting little notes on a pad he kept with him. Jessica had expected him to pick up a few things on his way home. The only problem was she had read him the list in rapid fire, so the task of remembering was coming a bit difficult. C'mon, Drake, the vigilante formerly known as Nightwatch thought to himself. You've solved murders, hunted criminals, and been in two branches of Vanguard... this should be a walk in the park!

Sadly, Drake's thoughts were interrupted as the meeting hall doors opened, revealing Dr. William Paragon, dressed in his typical neatly-tailored white suit, followed by a tanned man dressed in a neat black suit. The two men could not have looked more like opposites.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Paragon said as he entered, not wasting any time before starting the briefing. But then... that was Paragon. "Gentlemen... m'lady," he said, making a quick nod to Lykopis, who nodded in return. "May I introduce Special Agent Hernando Alvarez of the... well, the Spanish equivalent of the FBI."

The man stepped forward, nodding to the assembled members of Vanguard Europe. "Thank you, Doctor," he said, nodding to Penny who had followed him into the room. At his signal, the secretary began dropping files in front of every member of the team. "In front of you are casefiles from a case that has caused a lot of disruption in Spain as of late. Thirteen missing people, all ranging from the ages of eighteen to twenty-five. All single and all missing under... mysterious circumstances."

"Care to be more specific, Agent Alvarez?" Drake asked, looking up as he thumbed through the pages before him.

"I wish I could, Sr. Marshall, but I'm afraid I cannot," the Spanish agent shook his head. "It was as though they were taken out of thin air itself."

Adem looked up, a gleam in his eye. "Interesting..." he said, putting his hand to his chin as he had seen detectives do on TV.

"Indeed," Alvarez opened a file himself. "Each person disappeared from a locked room. No noticeable entry or exit points. It was literally as though they simply... disappeared."

The Shadow Chancellor sat back in his seat, contemplating what he was being told. Closing his eyes, he brooded a bit going over in his mind just how many ways he knew for people to 'simply disappear'.

"We have very little evidence at this point and no leads," Alvarez continued solemnly. "However, at the behest of my superiors, I am handing this case over to you. Following what I heard of your escapades from the European media, it is our thought that this case might be right up your alley."

There was a silence in the room as the agent looked over the assembled members of Vanguard Europe.

"Is that it?" Icarus chimed in, having not even opened his briefing notes. "Thirteen people missing, no leads or evidence to speak of, and... you expect us to... what? Find out where all these people are? How do we even know where to start?"

"Madrid," Adem Different piped up, not even raising his head from his notes. "Every disappearance took place in Madrid, Spain. Please, Senor Alvarez, tell me," he continued, shooting a sidelong glance at the agent, "are there any factors that connect these thirteen people, other than their proximity in age?"

Alvarez stiffened a bit. "Well, as I mentioned before, none of them were married or seeing anyone," he said authoritatively. "We also know that they were all deeply religious."

"What faith did they profess?" Gaunt asked ominously.

"Catholicism to the best of my knowledge," Alvarez answered. "Except for one." Alvarez seemed lost in thought for a few moments. Icarus nudged Reilly and made an obscene gesture towards the agent. Reilly grinned humorlously and returned to his briefing information. "Yes, it should be in your packet. One of the men who disappeared - Carlos Oldera - filed 'Other' under religion on his last tax return."

"And the name in the blank?" Gaunt asked.

"La Casa de Humo y Espejos," Alzarez answered, reading from the dossier of Oldera in the notes.

Gaunt's eyes narrowed beneath his dark glasses as Adem Different steepled his fingers. "The House of Smoke and Mirrors," he said.

"Si," Alvarez nodded. "Though I must confess, I know nothing of the religion myself."

"Edmund?" Paragon asked, looking to the Shadow Chancellor expectantly. "Have you heard of them?"

"I am... uncertain," came the reply. "I will have to do some questioning among my... contacts. I have heard nothing as of yet."

"If you come up with anything be sure to let us know," Paragon responded. "Anything else? Lady Lykopis, you've been uncharacteristically silent this meeting."

"Merely thinking of what weapons I shall be packing for this mission," the She-Wolf answered, cracking her knuckles.

"What are we waiting for, then?" Tommy spoke up, a little too anxious to start the mission. "Let's go to Spain!"

"Spain..." Ozzy said, running his hand over his hair. "Geez... never thought I'd be going back there..." Lykopis smirked a bit at this remark, wondering what exactly it was that made Ozzy so uncertain about going there.

"Alright, then," Paragon said, taking control of the briefing once again, "it's settled. Your transport will be leaving at 07:30. That gives you half an hour to prepare. Dismissed."