The Crusaders

Chapter 1: The Thing From Another World

San Francisco, California, May 28, 2029

The sun rose above the Golden Gate Bridge, signalling another day of progress for the bustling city. People rushed to their forms of transportation, anxious to get to their jobs on time. However, one person was rushing a bit too quickly. The young working man rushed across the street without looking to see if anything was coming his way, and in his rush, was too absorbed to hear the incoming police sirens.

Then, before he found himself wrapped around the front end of the oncoming car, he was suddenly blown to the side of the street, with a set of strong hands gripping his sides. As he looked up with wide-eyed amazement, he saw a man floating in front of him. It could be barely be described as one, due to his seemingly inhuman physique, and his tall, powerful presence.  

His eyes, which were glowing a shade of electric blue, stared down at the jaywalker, and smiled a little comfortingly. "You alright?" The man nodded, then the sirens blaring and moving past them drew the floating man's attention away. He gave the businessman a quick salute. "Have a safe commute." Then, like a bolt of lightning, he flew after the cars. 

Ver'Zonn was the name he had been gifted when he was born on his planet, which was nothing like the one that he was on now. Here, the inhabitants knew him by a different name. Due to his inhuman abilities, he had been given the moniker of Megaton, due to the fact that he was as powerful as a nuclear bomb. Although Ver'Zonn hadn't fully understood the significance of that at first, he took a liking to the name.

Nowadays, things weren't as simple. Some people thought he was too dangerous to be a hero. He found himself not really caring what they thought, since he knew that he had to protect them. It was what he had been sent to do. So, he continued to do so, even though some people called him a criminal. Then, everything changed.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a horn blaring beneath him. He saw what he was looking for. A red car was weaving through traffic at a considerably high speed, endangering the lives of many civilians. To make matters worse, the driver was firing a machine gun out of the window, not aiming anywhere in particular, but still spraying bullets all over the place. He knew he had to stop them.

He saw that they were heading towards an intersection. Ver'Zonn smiled to himself. This would be easier than he expected. He increased his speed slightly, flying through the air quickly, and making it to the intersection a full minute before the car. As he saw it crest the hill, he felt his hand charge up with the electricity that was the same colour of his eyes, and then he simply raised it in front of him. 

The driver, whose name was Arnold Gillan, drove his car over the hill, his finger still down on the trigger, the gun kicking back in his hands. Then, as he looked forwards at the intersection, he saw a figure in a white and red outfit standing in the middle of the street, his hand raised out, like he was telling him to stop. He sneered, and pressed harder down on the accelerator.

Ver'Zonn saw the car getting closer, and sighed to himself. This was going to hurt. The car drove straight towards him, then stopped a few inches away from him and flipped into the air, the front of it crumpled, like it hit an invisible wall. As it hit, a blueish-purple wave passed through the air around Megaton, showing a sphere of energy around him. Then, the car landed behind him on it's roof, scraping a bit before finally stopping.

Megaton looked behind him, then walked over to the car and pulled off the driver's side door, before lifting Arnold out of the driver's seat. His head was bloody, and he wasn't moving. Ver'Zonn scanned his energy, and saw that he was alive, but unconscious. He turned around when the wailing of the sirens persisted, and saw the police cruisers behind him pull up to the wreckage.