Special Defense Force

Episode 1: Awakening

The breeze blew through the quiet streets of Delta City's Market District as the people went around on their business. I was leaning against a light post, munching on a pretzel stick. I had come by on this day for some much needed R&R. Work and everything was going chaotic and I had to recharge. I chuckled to myself and started walking down the road. I was window shopping when I ran into somebody. She fell to the ground and I stumbled back. I caught myself, "I'm so sorry. Are you alright miss?" I helped her to her feet as she brushed off her skirt, "Yes, I'm fine. Just a little dirt." She smiled, "Thank you." I nodded, "My pleasure. And sorry again." I continued walking as she watched. She smiled to herself and looked at her wrist. A small device started beeping in my direction. Her eyes lit up slightly as she pulled out her cell phone, "Got one. Very strong. Heading west on Main Market Street. Get a test set up."

About an hour had passed and I found myself at the main square. I looked around at the shops and people, "I wonder what that lady is up to now?" I looked at the light, waiting for it to change when I heard tires squealing. I jerked my head in the direction of the noise to see a car out of control and heading for the crowd crossing the road. I raised my hand, my mind went blank and I saw in my head the crash being averted. Something blocking the impact. Something in the way. There was a loud crash and the car was stopped dead in its tracks. No one was hurt. The car was smoking but the driver was uninjured. I sighed and walked towards my home. As the sirens began sounding and officials doing their jobs, I couldn't get the image out of my head. Something I had seen that didn't make sense. Just when the car would have hit those people...

"I saw a Shield"

I walked into my basement and sat on my couch. I sighed as my parents walked down. My dad sighed, "You ok?" I nodded, "I wasn't close to the crash. And no one was hurt." Mom nodded at me, "Daniel, there is someone who would like to talk to you." I raised an eyebrow and walked upstairs to the living room. Sitting on the couch were two people, one of which was the woman I had met earlier.

I walked over and they stood up. The woman addressed me first, "Hello Daniel. Nice to see you again." I shook her hand, "The same. But how and why are you here?" The woman smiled at me, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Sarah. My companion is Dr. Adams." He smiled and shook my hand, "Nice to meet you." I nodded, "Pleasure's mine. But back to my questions." Dr. Sarah nodded and motioned for me to have a seat, "We have a lot to talk about Daniel." I sat and crossed my arms, "I guess so. I knock over a stranger on the street ad the next thing I know she and another stranger are in my house. I'm curious." Dr. Adams nodded, "We apologize for the intrusion, but the reason we are here is very important." Dr. Sarah took over at that point, "Daniel, our meeting today was by complete chance. However what you witnessed afterward was orchestrated." I grunted slightly, "What do you mean?" Dr. Sarah sighed, "My organization and I set up that out of control car accident. We..." I jumped to my feet in anger, "You did that?!" My dad held out a hand, "Daniel, calm down." I waved him off, "No, they just said they put innocent lives in danger deliberately. For what purpose? Answer me!" Dr. Adams stood and held out a hand, "Daniel, the driver, the pedestrians, even the emergency workers were all part of it. We had fail safes in place if the desired result was not achieved." I stood there in confusion, "I don't understand. What was your desired result?" Dr. Sarah smiled, "For the car to be stopped..." She stood and pointed at me, "By you."

I couldn't stop laughing. I sat back down, "Doctor, how could I stop a car?" She grinned and reached into her jacket, "The same way you will stop this." She turned sharply ad threw a small dagger at my Mom. I jumped to my feet and extended my hand. There was a bright flash and the dagger fell harmlessly to the floor. There was a slight humming in the room, but the attention was focused purely on the blue energy field in front of my parents. I lowered my hand and it disappeared. My parents looked at me and I sighed. Dr. Adams let a held breath out, "Sorry about that." Dr. Sarah handed the dagger to my Dad, "I apologize as well, but your powers respond to the need to protect. And we needed a demonstration." She smile and flicked the blade. It bent and wiggled. I chuckled slightly, "Rubber." She nodded and sat back down, "Daniel, people like you are very rare in this world. We don't really have a medical or scientific term for it yet. So, we refer to them simply as Specials." I nodded as I listened. She took a deep breath ad continued. "These Specials are humans who have a rare genetic trait that allows them to have super human abilities. These abilities are varied and incredibly powerful." I nodded in thought as she sighed, "Those who are just becoming aware of their abilities..." "I'm not new to this."