Shield

Shield is one of a team of heroic Chromobots from the Chromatic Star Federation. Perhaps the most thoughtful and empathetic of the Chromobots, Shield appreciates the beauty of planet Earth and remains dedicated to preserving it and its lifeforms. Shield's main distinguishing feature is the force weapon he has in place of a right arm. It is capable of creating defensive "force bubbles" to protect himself and others, which he can manipulate as a means of travel, as well as more localised "force shields" for use as bludgeoning weaponry.

Fiction

Shield was a member of a trio of Chromobots from the Chromatic Star Federation. The team was dispatched to Earth on one of two starships, with the mission of capturing or eliminating the escaped criminal, Predator. The Chromobots issue 16

Transmute and Mikros spent two weeks on Earth, looking for Predator with their human ally Dudley. Issue 17 Shield caught up with them in a cityscape at night, arriving just in time to catch Mikros in a force bubble and prevent him from becoming scrap metal on the pavement. Shield expressed disbelief that his fellow Chromobots could get into such trouble without him; Mikros introduced him to Dudley, but quickly drew their attention to the flash of energy at the top of the skyscraper. Issue 19

After their encounter with Predator, Dudley and the Chromobots returned to the boy's bedroom. When Shield's psionic scan revealed that Dudley's dad had been awoken by their arrival, they each scrambled to hide, with Shield himself using his force weapon to alter his Chromatic/organic molecular structure and turn invisible. After his dad left, Dudley whispered for the other Chromobots to come out of hiding. Shield volunteered to return to their ship to update the Chromatic Star Federation, and Transmute declared that they wouldn't fail in overcoming Predator – though his allies laughed at his Humph the Cat disguise. Issue 20

While approaching the ship in Earth's orbit, Shield noted that while it was no Chromos Five, the planet was nonetheless beautiful. Shield used the ship's communications array to contact Chromos Five Central Control, and after a delay to the transmission that gave him pause, he was put in touch with Cygnet, to whom he offered a thousand sorries for the interval since his previous report. Cygnet explained to Shield that Predator's supposed teleportation left behind a distinct pattern or vibration, which they had detected at least three times in the wider area around Dudley's house. Shield wandered off from the communications station before she could tell him the "teleports" had a property that suggested time travel. Issue 21

Following Cygnet's intel, Shield took Dudley and the other Chromobots in a force bubble to search the countryside for Predator. Transmute's psionic scan picked up a signal, which he and Shield discovered was the unconscious body of the abducted woman. Before they could take her to the ship for organic repair, the team was suddenly transported to a ruined city in the 26th Century. Issue 22 His readings confirmed that they had travelled at least 550 years into the future: 2535 AD. Shield pitied poor Dudley, who'd never asked to get involved in their mission, let alone lost in time. Shield and Transmute reasoned that the abducted woman's body had been bait to lure them into the time shift. Issue 23

Notes

• Shield was included as part of a competition in issue 21 which required readers to pair characters with their opposites.