New Age of Heroes 1: The League of Protectors - Dawn of a New Age (2 page)

Shortly after the
exploding man incident, a college student working to become a
geneticists wrote a theory on extraordinary humans. He called them
Post Humans as their abilities surpassed the standards that define
humans. The word caught on and the President of the time officially
labeled extraordinary humans as Post Humans.

With the escalating
distrust and general disdain of the Post Human population, the
President authorized the formation of a response division to deal
with any Post Human related threats. Government Units Against Radical
Danger was the official name of this division.

The acronym
G.U.A.R.D was the name most commonly used. Their purpose was to
monitor and police the Post Human community. With the help of Mr.
Connors, who had become the foremost expert on Post Humans, G.U.A.R.D
members were trained properly on how to handle potential Post Human
problems.

Around the same
time as the formation of G.U.A.R.D, Mr. Connors devised a bold plan
to spin a positive light on the Post Human community. He reached out
to the Post Humans he felt would be a shinning image to the world;
individuals with extraordinary abilities that were responsible and
had high values. He thought back to the popularity that Jason
received for his actions and came to a controversial conclusion.

In order to
showcase Post Humans in a positive light, a team of Post Humans
needed to be created. A team whose job it was to be the standard of
what being a Post Human is all about.

The goal of this
team was to protect the world from any danger, be it internally or
internationally that required extraordinary help.

In 2007, six years
after leaving for the Marines, Jason returned from the military and
reentered the civilian world. He fulfilled his father’s vision
and joined Shaw Enterprises. Having served his country, Jason wanted
to use his superior knowledge to make the defenses of America top
notch. So he began working on defensive technology that would better
assist the soldiers in the field.

Shortly after
becoming Vice President of Shaw Enterprises, Jason joined up with Mr.
Connors and became the first member of the Professor's Post Human
team. Upon careful evaluation, Mr. Connors concluded that Jason was
one of the most powerful Post Humans in the world. Due to Jason's
talents, steady personality and military experience, Mr. Connors
named Jason the leader of his team.

In 2008, shortly
after the election of the new President, Mr. Connors established
friendly relations with the new administration. The previous
administration was very much against Post Humans. Mr. Connors feared
that if that administration won re-election, the lives of Post Humans
today would be vastly different, and not for the better. Although
there was still a lot of tension towards Post Humans, the new
administration worked side by side with the team when the situation
called for it.

In 2009 a
controversial prison was built. The prison was designed by Joseph
Stockton, the C.E.O of Stockton Incorporated. This jail was created
on Stone Ridge Island and was to be used specifically for Post
Humans. Surprisingly, there were many humans that voiced their
objections over the Post Human jail. Many complained that it was too
much of a reminder of the Holocaust and that it was just a matter of
time before all Post Humans were treated similarly.

The loudest protest
of course came from the Post Human community. Many riots and acts of
rebellion were created due to the prison's creation. Many within the
Post Human community began questioning Jason and the rest of the
team's motives when the team chose not to voice objection with the
prison.

1

The
Incident in Vallejo

The formation of
this team of Post Humans was initially for publicity. It was a way to
temper the mounting tension the public had towards Post Humans.
Individually, the members of this team engaged in battle from time to
time, but for the most part it was the G.U.A.R.D agents that dealt
with the Post Humans that abused their abilities.

Officially, Mr.
Connors' team was the only group of Post Humans with any sort of
government clearance. They were also the only Post Human entity with
permission to combat enemy threats in the name of the United States.
Much to the chagrin of several government officials and the general
public, the President authorized Mr. Connors' team to be trained by
the military.

Many feared that
with the abilities these Post Humans had and the training they
received, they would eventually use their skills against the country.
The President was confident the group Mr. Connors selected were the
“right sort of people.” The increasing presence of Post
Humans and the devastating destruction those that abused their
abilities caused, was a constant reminder to the public to just how
dangerous Post Humans are.

For every positive
accomplishment Mr. Connors' team achieved, there was always someone
outside his team that undermined all they had accomplished and were
trying to accomplish. There was always some Post Human bringing
negative attention to their kind.

The G.U.A.R.D
issued stealth jet, developed by Shaw Enterprises, touched down in
Vallejo, California. There was strong intel suggesting a Post Human
by the name of Olden Mars was somewhere in the vicinity.

Olden, a six foot
five inch powerhouse was on the top of G.U.A.R.D's most wanted list.
He was the type of Post Human that reinforced the fear the public had
in Post Humans. In the past month alone, Olden's actions have led to
the deaths of thirty civilians and three agents. Without question,
everyone involved were looking to quickly capture the criminal and
bring him to justice. According to reports G.U.A.R.D had on Olden,
his abilities included extraordinary strength, flight, durability,
telekinesis and the ability to absorb solar energy and use it as a
projectile weapon. For Olden’s solar abilities to be most
effective, it’s important that he remains in proximity to the
sun.

Agent Hardine was
the first field agent to touch the ground. He gave a quick survey of
the area and then silently motioned for his men to follow. Six well
trained G.U.A.R.D agents followed Special Agent Hardine out of the
stealth jet. The agents positioned themselves around the designated
area Agent Hardine directed them to.

“Target in
sight,” one of the agents whispered over his earpiece. The
agents aimed their weapons at Olden and prepared to fire on command.

“Negative, we
got about ten minutes before the sun goes down. Hold position until
the sun drops,” Special Agent Hardine ordered.

The agents
immediately stood down and followed Agent Hardine's order. Agent
Hardine was the command leader for the Alpha field team. Over the
years his list of accomplishments have included the successful
capture of several top priority Post Human criminals. Of all his
accomplishments, capturing Olden Mars this day would by far be his
greatest achievement to date.

Olden was lying
around, casually embracing the beautiful setting the Vallejo beach
offered. Agent Hardine watched as the large man seemed oblivious to
their presence. The calm of the water and the shoreline was
beautiful. It was great spot for anyone looking to relax.

Agent Hardine hoped
Olden’s relaxed nature would assist them in taking him out. As
soon as the sun went down they would have to move quickly. It was of
the utmost importance that the mission went flawless. Agent Hardine
knew they had one chance at this, and he didn't want to blow it.

“What’s
he doing?” an agent asked.

“I want radio
silence. I don’t want to take any chances of tipping this guy
off. We only got one shot at this and I want to make it a good one,”
Agent Hardine said.

The agents waited
patiently for the sun to go down. If Olden Mars was aware of their
presence he certainly wasn’t letting on. The beach was quite
packed as it usually was. This added extra pressure to the agents to
get the job down on the first try.

“Let’s
get ready to move,” Agent Hardine said.

The agents were
posing as civilians. Normally they were dressed in all black, but not
today. Today they didn't want anyone to know they were there. Olden
would spot G.U.A.R.D agents in a heartbeat if they approached his
location in uniform. Not to mention the public would inadvertently
alert him if they saw the agents as well.

Agent Henderson’s
unit found that out the hard way. Their presence caused a mass panic
with the civilians which helped the criminal they were after to evade
capture. Their failure that day was a major learning lesson for the
rest of the agents. Agent Hardine would not allow his unit to make
the same mistake.

“Go time
gentlemen get in position,” Agent Hardine ordered. The agents
subtly walked about the beach separately positioning themselves for a
coordinated attack. Olden, who was concentrating on the half naked
women passing by, was not aware of the agent’s presence. Agent
Hardine took up position last. He had to make sure his agents were
exactly where he wanted them to be before he proceeded with the
mission. “Remember, goal is to apprehend. We want Olden Mars
alive.” The agents clicked their radios twice confirming they
understood their orders.

“Now!”
Agent Hardine shouted. The six agents fired their inhibitor laced
darts at Olden Mars. The first two shots connected. One hit the man
in the neck and the other caught him in the leg. Those first two
shots were the only ones the agents were able to connect with. Olden
was able to impressively fight off the effects of the inhibitor
darts.

“What's the
point of shooting inhibitor darts if they aren't going to inhibit
this freak's abilities?” an agent shouted in frustration.

Olden used his
telekinesis to deflect the rest of the inhibitor darts shooting his
way.

“Crap!”
Agent Hardine shouted realizing the potency of the inhibitor darts
wasn’t enough. “Take him down! Take him down now!”
he ordered.

Olden staggered to
his feet and looked around at the agents. They had formed a circle, a
defensive measure to surround and trap the dangerous man. “You
think a little dart is enough to take me out? You fools should have
brought those traitors in to come deal with me. At least they
would've made things interesting.”

Sand began
levitating in the air. The sand twirled about like a dangerous
hurricane. Olden’s hands begin to spread and he used his
telekinesis to attack the agents. One of the agents cursed loudly as
the sand got in his eye. Every one of them, with the exception of
Agent Hardine, found themselves temporarily blinded by the effects of
the sand.

“I’m
the wrong one to mess with,” Olden warned as Agent Hardine
quickly ran closer to confront Olden. The agent fired off three shots
which Olden was able to easily redirected. He then used his
telekinesis to lift the agent off the ground.“Have you ever
wondered what it was like to fly Agent Hardine?” Olden asked.
“Well let’s find out.” Olden added.

Olden concentrated
and exerted a massive buildup of strength. Agent Hardine’s
heart began to race as Olden’s telekinesis lifted him higher
and higher. The Post Human flew straight up in the air and forced
Agent Hardine up in the sky along with him. The Agent was getting
dangerously close to suffocating due to lack of oxygen. If Olden
raised him up much higher, Agent Hardine would have been as good as
dead.

“How much
higher do you think we can go?”Agent Hardine was fading, he
could barely answer Olden even if he wanted to. “I wonder if
you can survive a drop from this far above?”

Olden knew Agent
Hardine could not survive such a drop, but he didn't care. With no
regard for the agent's life, Olden released the hold he had on him
and watched as the agent fell towards the ground.

With a rapid gush
of wind, Jason flew onto the scene. He flew at such a speed and
velocity, that the agents couldn’t see his arrival. The agents
watched with rather surprised looks as Jason flew into action. Jason
ascended to the sky while Agent Hardine descended to the ground.

“Got ya!”
Jason said to the agent, catching him with ease. The agent fell
gracefully in Jason’s arms. Jason slowly landed on the ground
and the agent climbed out of his arms. With a bit of embarrassment
and resentment, Agent Hardine thanked Jason for the assist.

Without warning,
Jason sped over to Olden and hit him with a right uppercut to the
face. The impact of the punch lifted Olden several feet into the air.
He landed with a loud thump. Jason rushed forward and delivered
several crushing blows to Olden’s ribs. Olden grimaced with
each punch.

“Your time of
terrorizing these people is over I’m bringing you in!”
Jason exclaimed.

“Not likely!”
Olden replied confidently. Olden looked down towards the end of the
block where several panicking civilians were running. He smiled with
sinister intent. He pushed his hands forward and forced several
frightened individuals to move towards him.

“I wonder how
fast you really are Jason!”

Jason looked at him
suspiciously. Olden used his telekinesis and flicked his wrist. The
motion sent several bystanders flying in different directions.
Jason’s eyes grew big with concern. No one was going to die
today, not on his watch, he wouldn't allow it! Jason sped off moving
in several directions with a sense of urgency. He got to each
individual before any harm could be done to them. Olden didn’t
care, his actions were simply to keep Jason occupied. It was nothing
more than a distraction.

Olden needed time
to concentrate. His intentions required a great deal of mental
strength and he couldn't have Jason interfering. Olden looked out
into the sea and closed his eyes.