Vanguard: The Complete Second Season: A Superhero Serial (Vanguard: The Collected Seasons Book 2) by Percival Constantine

side, you had those who believed specials were some kind of demons here to bring about the new world order. On the other, there were those who felt that Cerberus was actually murdering specials in secret, trying to contain their population and that Vanguard had been their first targets.
    Obviously Erin knew that wasn’t true, but she never participated in the discussions. She didn’t want to risk accidentally revealing something about Vanguard that could compromise her identity. In these days, Internet anonymity wasn’t quite as anonymous as many people thought. She had learned that from Zenith.
    As she scrolled through the posts, one of the topic threads caught her attention—labeled, “FREAK ISLAND?!”  
    Erin clicked the link. As she read the post, she started to doubt the veracity, like most things she’d read on these forums. But then another thought entered her mind—what if it were true? A place where specials could be themselves, free from persecution?

CHAPTER 2

    Koji swam beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean, his body shifting and gaining bulk as he moved through the water. His skin turned to a shade of gray and his hair retreated into his head. His eyes transformed into pitch-black orbs and the teeth lining his jaw elongated and sharpened.
    One of the perks to his Sharkskin form was his ability to breathe underwater without any difficulty. His speed and strength increased and his senses heightened to a superhuman level. Koji enjoyed this part of the day most of all, the time when he could just relish in his special abilities.  
    As he swam through the water, Koji blinked twice, catching sight of something off in the distance. He kicked his legs fiercely, realizing it looked like a person floating there above the sandy floor. But once he got within range, he saw the person change form, becoming a green-skinned woman with no hair and bright, yellow eyes, smiling at him. Koji shook his head and grabbed her arm, pulling her up to the surface.
    He changed back into his human form just an instant before his head broke through the water. When he pulled the girl up, she had changed as well, now sporting long, blond hair and fair skin.
    “The hell were you thinking, Erin?” he asked.
    Erin splashed water in his face. “Nice to see you, too. Dick.”
    Koji wiped the water from his face, a frown still present on his face. He then smiled and splashed her back. Erin squealed and retaliated, the two quickly escalating into a war of water, laughter coming from both of them.  
    Erin, at a loss of breath from laughter and the exertion, held up her arms. “Okay, okay! Truce?”
    Koji gave a nod. “All right. So you gonna tell me what you’re doing out here?”
    “Should we head in first?”
    Koji nodded. The two swam back to shore, walking out onto the dry sand. Koji had a beach towel spread out on the sand next to a backpack. He picked up the towel and started drying himself off. When he finished, he held the towel out to Erin, but found that she already appeared dry.
    “Huh?”
    “Shapeshifting, remember?”
    Koji frowned and tossed the towel onto his bag. “How come I can’t do that?”
    “Because I’m better than you?”
    Koji made a face at her before sitting on the sand. “Okay, so what’s going on? Why are you in Hawaii?”
    “Taking you up on your offer,” said Erin, sitting beside him. “Remember you said I could come out here and visit you?”
    “Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d come down a few days later without notice.”
    Erin smirked. “I stole my mom’s credit card.”
    Koji’s eyes bulged. “You what? ”
    Erin put a hand on his. “Relax, I had a good reason.”
    Koji was dumbfounded, looking away from her. “This isn’t like you.”
    “It’s fine, my mom’s out of town on business any way,” said Erin. “I’ve got my phone so I can easily make up some story if she calls.”
    “Not the point. You shouldn’t just run off like that.”
    “I said I had a good