Scarlet Shield Crossovers
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2021 1:07 pm
An Unexpected Gift
December 6, 2021
2:08 am
Redford, Michigan
Universe: 84
Was that the doorbell? Kenzie thought as she opened her eyes. Rolling over, she took her glasses from the nightstand on her side of the bed and put them on, then grabbed her smartphone, looked at it and groaned. Who would ring the doorbell at two in the morning? She rolled over again and gently shook Jen’s shoulder. “Hey,” she whispered. Jen stopped snoring, opened her eyes halfway and made an unintelligible sound. Kenzie shook her shoulder a second time. “I think someone rang the doorbell. Did you hear it?” Jen mumbled something, closed her eyes again and almost immediately resumed snoring.
“Dweeb,” Kenzie whispered with more than a hint of affection. She kissed her girlfriend lightly on the forehead and got out of bed. Grabbing her robe, she put it on as she left the bedroom and made her way across the small apartment she had shared with Jen for the past two years to peek through the peephole in the front door. Seeing nobody, she unlocked the deadbolt and cautiously opened the door. She went to step outside so she could look around but her foot connected with something on the doorstep, causing her to stumble. She looked down and saw a Christmas present. A label on the top said To: Scarlet Shield.
“Oh boy,” Kenzie whispered as she quickly grabbed the present and brought it inside, carefully closing the door behind her. The last thing she and Jen needed was for any of their neighbors to see that. She set the present on the coffee table then got a knife from the kitchen. Normally she would have put it under the tree and waited until Christmas, or at least Christmas Eve, to open it. But finding it on her doorstep in the middle of the night addressed to “Scarlet Shield” instead of “Kenzie Jacobs” bothered her and she didn’t think waiting almost three weeks was a good idea. Sitting down on the couch, she removed the ribbon and wrapping paper, and took a close look at the box. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it: it was just a plain, brown cardboard box sealed with clear packaging tape. The only markings on it were the box manufacturer’s logo and basic information in small print on the bottom, from a company she hadn’t heard of before.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” Kenzie muttered to herself. “But first...” The usual glow surrounded Kenzie as she activated her force field. At the same time a matching soft red, transparent orb formed around the box. “Can’t be too careful.” Kenzie reached through the orb and slowly cut the tape on top of the box with the knife, then opened the box. Three small objects floated upward from inside the box, bumping against the top of the orb. The objects were metallic, with bases about the size and shape of hockey pucks and raised sections on what Kenzie could only guess were the top or front of each one. She watched warily as they continued to push against the orb. Alarmingly, the orb flickered, then vanished completely.
Kenzie quickly stood and moved away from the couch and coffee table as the objects turned so that their raised sections faced her. She noticed that they had begun to glow with the same soft red energy that made up her force fields. “Jen,” she called as she formed a force wall between herself and the floating objects. The objects stopped for a moment when they reached the force wall, then passed through it as if it wasn’t there. “Jen!” Kenzie repeated, much more loudly.
The snoring in the bedroom stopped, followed by a thud, and a moment later Jen stood in the bedroom’s doorway, electric bass in hand. “Kenz, what’s wro-- what the fuck are those?!” Without waiting for an answer, she charged the closest of the three devices as they began to circle Kenzie. She swung the bass at it, but it flew upward to avoid the attack and returned to its original position once the instrument had passed harmlessly below it. She moved closer and tried to grab it, but it avoided her again.
“Wait,” Kenzie said, holding her hand out to stop Jen before she could continue attacking. The devices had begun to bathe her in red energy, causing her force field to glow more brightly than usual. “I think whoever made these sent them to help me, not hurt me. They’re feeding me energy. I want to try something.” Kenzie turned her force field off and the energy radiating toward her faded, though the devices kept glowing softly. “Try to touch one of them again. Don’t attack it, just touch it.”
“Sure,” Jen answered, “okay.” She did what Kenzie asked and tried to touch the nearest object, only to have it dodge her once again.
“Now let’s see what happens if I try to touch one of them.” She reached out to a device and it made no attempt to move away as she brushed it with her fingertips through the force field. She closed her hand around it, still meeting no resistance.
As Kenzie examined the device in her hand, Jen noticed the box on the coffee table and walked over to look at it. “Kenz, how close a look did you take in the box?” She reached into the box and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I never got the chance,” Kenzie replied. “These things came out on their own as soon as I opened it. Why?” Turning the metal object in her hand over, she pressed her thumb against its back, which pushed inward slightly under the pressure. The force field around it faded away. “I think I found the off switch.”
Jen, meanwhile, had unfolded the slip of paper and read what was written on it. She scoffed and held it out to Kenzie. “It’s for you.” Kenzie moved closer and set the inert device down on the coffee table, then took the page and read it:
Scarlet Shield
I had the lab develope these Portable/Detachable Shield Generators to give your defense more range in the fight against crime.
Merry Christmas,
Dr. Jihiro
The note was written on a page of Christmas-themed paper with a red border and a drawing of a sprig of holly in the upper right corner. In the lower right corner was a cartoon sketch of a man, probably Dr. Jihiro, with a full head of hair and a goatee.
“So who’s this Dr. Jihiro guy?” Jen asked as Kenzie refolded the note and dropped it back into the box.
“I don’t know,” Kenzie said as she picked up the shield generator from the table and put it in the box, then grabbed a second one. “I’ve never heard of him. Maybe he works for MAE?” She turned the second one off and put it away as well, then did the same with the third.
“Maybe,” Jen agreed. “We can ask Stillwell on Monday. He’ll know if anyone does.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Kenzie. “C’mon, let’s go back to bed and get some more sleep.” She turned toward the bedroom but Jen stopped her, taking her by the hand.
“Bed, yes,” Jen said with a mischievous smile. “Sleep? Nooo.” She pulled Kenzie closer and continued, “We’re wide awake now, so let’s stay that way for a few hours. It’s Sunday, we get to sleep in.”
“Ooh,” Kenzie practically purred as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s neck. “Sounds like an even better plan. I mean, it’s Monday, not Sunday. But still...” Eventually they made their way back to the bedroom, leaving Jen’s bass and Kenzie’s robe lying on the hallway floor when they finally closed the door behind them...
((I had planned on starting this thread a bit differently, with something that I’m still working on, but that changed when I noticed a submission to DeviantArt that seemed to fit the theme of the thread. Namely, a drawing by an artist there who calls himself The-One-Aardvark, featuring Scarlet Shield as part of what he calls “25 Days of Gifts-Mas”. The artwork itself can be seen at https://www.deviantart.com/the-one-aard ... -899855498. Many thanks to The-One-Aardvark for liking Scarlet Shield enough to include her in his annual event this year, and for allowing me to include his OC, Dr. Jihiro, in the first installment of my Scarlet Shield Crossovers thread.))
December 6, 2021
2:08 am
Redford, Michigan
Universe: 84
Was that the doorbell? Kenzie thought as she opened her eyes. Rolling over, she took her glasses from the nightstand on her side of the bed and put them on, then grabbed her smartphone, looked at it and groaned. Who would ring the doorbell at two in the morning? She rolled over again and gently shook Jen’s shoulder. “Hey,” she whispered. Jen stopped snoring, opened her eyes halfway and made an unintelligible sound. Kenzie shook her shoulder a second time. “I think someone rang the doorbell. Did you hear it?” Jen mumbled something, closed her eyes again and almost immediately resumed snoring.
“Dweeb,” Kenzie whispered with more than a hint of affection. She kissed her girlfriend lightly on the forehead and got out of bed. Grabbing her robe, she put it on as she left the bedroom and made her way across the small apartment she had shared with Jen for the past two years to peek through the peephole in the front door. Seeing nobody, she unlocked the deadbolt and cautiously opened the door. She went to step outside so she could look around but her foot connected with something on the doorstep, causing her to stumble. She looked down and saw a Christmas present. A label on the top said To: Scarlet Shield.
“Oh boy,” Kenzie whispered as she quickly grabbed the present and brought it inside, carefully closing the door behind her. The last thing she and Jen needed was for any of their neighbors to see that. She set the present on the coffee table then got a knife from the kitchen. Normally she would have put it under the tree and waited until Christmas, or at least Christmas Eve, to open it. But finding it on her doorstep in the middle of the night addressed to “Scarlet Shield” instead of “Kenzie Jacobs” bothered her and she didn’t think waiting almost three weeks was a good idea. Sitting down on the couch, she removed the ribbon and wrapping paper, and took a close look at the box. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it: it was just a plain, brown cardboard box sealed with clear packaging tape. The only markings on it were the box manufacturer’s logo and basic information in small print on the bottom, from a company she hadn’t heard of before.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” Kenzie muttered to herself. “But first...” The usual glow surrounded Kenzie as she activated her force field. At the same time a matching soft red, transparent orb formed around the box. “Can’t be too careful.” Kenzie reached through the orb and slowly cut the tape on top of the box with the knife, then opened the box. Three small objects floated upward from inside the box, bumping against the top of the orb. The objects were metallic, with bases about the size and shape of hockey pucks and raised sections on what Kenzie could only guess were the top or front of each one. She watched warily as they continued to push against the orb. Alarmingly, the orb flickered, then vanished completely.
Kenzie quickly stood and moved away from the couch and coffee table as the objects turned so that their raised sections faced her. She noticed that they had begun to glow with the same soft red energy that made up her force fields. “Jen,” she called as she formed a force wall between herself and the floating objects. The objects stopped for a moment when they reached the force wall, then passed through it as if it wasn’t there. “Jen!” Kenzie repeated, much more loudly.
The snoring in the bedroom stopped, followed by a thud, and a moment later Jen stood in the bedroom’s doorway, electric bass in hand. “Kenz, what’s wro-- what the fuck are those?!” Without waiting for an answer, she charged the closest of the three devices as they began to circle Kenzie. She swung the bass at it, but it flew upward to avoid the attack and returned to its original position once the instrument had passed harmlessly below it. She moved closer and tried to grab it, but it avoided her again.
“Wait,” Kenzie said, holding her hand out to stop Jen before she could continue attacking. The devices had begun to bathe her in red energy, causing her force field to glow more brightly than usual. “I think whoever made these sent them to help me, not hurt me. They’re feeding me energy. I want to try something.” Kenzie turned her force field off and the energy radiating toward her faded, though the devices kept glowing softly. “Try to touch one of them again. Don’t attack it, just touch it.”
“Sure,” Jen answered, “okay.” She did what Kenzie asked and tried to touch the nearest object, only to have it dodge her once again.
“Now let’s see what happens if I try to touch one of them.” She reached out to a device and it made no attempt to move away as she brushed it with her fingertips through the force field. She closed her hand around it, still meeting no resistance.
As Kenzie examined the device in her hand, Jen noticed the box on the coffee table and walked over to look at it. “Kenz, how close a look did you take in the box?” She reached into the box and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I never got the chance,” Kenzie replied. “These things came out on their own as soon as I opened it. Why?” Turning the metal object in her hand over, she pressed her thumb against its back, which pushed inward slightly under the pressure. The force field around it faded away. “I think I found the off switch.”
Jen, meanwhile, had unfolded the slip of paper and read what was written on it. She scoffed and held it out to Kenzie. “It’s for you.” Kenzie moved closer and set the inert device down on the coffee table, then took the page and read it:
Scarlet Shield
I had the lab develope these Portable/Detachable Shield Generators to give your defense more range in the fight against crime.
Merry Christmas,
Dr. Jihiro
The note was written on a page of Christmas-themed paper with a red border and a drawing of a sprig of holly in the upper right corner. In the lower right corner was a cartoon sketch of a man, probably Dr. Jihiro, with a full head of hair and a goatee.
“So who’s this Dr. Jihiro guy?” Jen asked as Kenzie refolded the note and dropped it back into the box.
“I don’t know,” Kenzie said as she picked up the shield generator from the table and put it in the box, then grabbed a second one. “I’ve never heard of him. Maybe he works for MAE?” She turned the second one off and put it away as well, then did the same with the third.
“Maybe,” Jen agreed. “We can ask Stillwell on Monday. He’ll know if anyone does.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Kenzie. “C’mon, let’s go back to bed and get some more sleep.” She turned toward the bedroom but Jen stopped her, taking her by the hand.
“Bed, yes,” Jen said with a mischievous smile. “Sleep? Nooo.” She pulled Kenzie closer and continued, “We’re wide awake now, so let’s stay that way for a few hours. It’s Sunday, we get to sleep in.”
“Ooh,” Kenzie practically purred as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s neck. “Sounds like an even better plan. I mean, it’s Monday, not Sunday. But still...” Eventually they made their way back to the bedroom, leaving Jen’s bass and Kenzie’s robe lying on the hallway floor when they finally closed the door behind them...
((I had planned on starting this thread a bit differently, with something that I’m still working on, but that changed when I noticed a submission to DeviantArt that seemed to fit the theme of the thread. Namely, a drawing by an artist there who calls himself The-One-Aardvark, featuring Scarlet Shield as part of what he calls “25 Days of Gifts-Mas”. The artwork itself can be seen at https://www.deviantart.com/the-one-aard ... -899855498. Many thanks to The-One-Aardvark for liking Scarlet Shield enough to include her in his annual event this year, and for allowing me to include his OC, Dr. Jihiro, in the first installment of my Scarlet Shield Crossovers thread.))