The Reluctant

A Graphic Novel Outline

Brad Wardell, July 2006

Chapter 4: My dad isn’t a hero
Chapter 3: You will do what we tell you to do…
Chapter 2: We're from the government...
Chapter 1: They're coming for you Ha Ha.

Inside a bunker. Inside a conference room. Around a long table men are meeting including agent Bill Gerard who is being interviewed by a general in dress uniform.

General: You say he threatened you.

Agent Gerard: He did more than that. He hurt my daughter.

General: How is that possible? Your daughter was 45 miles away.

Agent Gerard: You would have had to been there. It was the way he said it. He knew she had fallen and broken her leg. He caused it.

General: Our recordings show nothing. They just have him and you staring and each other and then you ordering the guard to take him home.

Agent Gerard: I can’t speak to that. But this man is dangerous. He may not be an intruder but he is definitely  not on our side either.

General: We have analyzed the footage of his encounter with the two Intruders. There is a 26% possibility that there is something unusual with him.  But his blood test was conclusive. Compare that to the two Intruders we’ve recovered – we can’t even take their blood. Their “skin” is completely invulnerable.  This DL Bradley can bleed, therefore he can die.

Agent Gerard: He may be human but he is a lot more than that. What if he can choose his level of invulnerability at a given time, make it so that we can take a blood sample?

General: Doctor, were there any anomalies in the blood tests?

A tall, thin doctor stands up.

Doctor: No. The only odd thing was that his DNA had a minor abnormality in protein 48.

General: What does that mean?

Doctor: Protein 48 is often used, crudely, in forensics to get a rough age of a suspect if we have a sample of their DNA.  As we grow older, the protein strand shrinks in size. Typically when someone dies of old age, nearly half of it is gone.

General: And what of DL Bradley’s protein?

Doctor: That’s the thing, he has no protein 48. Which means either he was born with an unusual genetic defect where he doesn’t have it or he’s so old that that protein has long since disappeared.

# # #

DL and Ethan head towards their house in the truck. The house is completely surrounded by reporters. The slowly make their way into the drive and rush into the house to avoid reporters who are now camping on the outskirts of their house.

DL: The fools. Don’t they realize that it’s only a matter of time before the Intruders come here and they’re killed?

Ethan: They think you’ll protect them, dad.

DL: That’s insane. The Intruders have killed millions of people. What do they think I’m going to do?

Ethan: You killed 3 of them already dad. I mean, no one has ever even hurt one and you killed three today! They think you are some sort of, I dunno, super hero.

DL: I’m no superhero.

Ethan: How did you really do it dad? You can tell me. The world needs a Superman. A superhero to protect them.

DL: This is the real world, Ethan. It doesn’t work that way.

Ethan: Well why not? Are you saying that if you had super powers you wouldn’t go save the world?

DL gets quiet for a moment and looks down, then looks at his son.

DL: No. I would not.

Ethan: How can you say that?

DL: How? Okay, let’s put Superman in the real world.

First off, he would have no life at all. His Clark Kent gig would fall apart instantly in the real world. Oh look, it’s Superman with glasses.  So his life would be over.

Secondly, the Superman comics wisely start with him in his twenties. But let’s assume that Superman stops aging when he is fully grown. How enthused would Superman be constantly saving the world after 50 years? 100 years? 5,000 years?

Ethan: I dunno, he’s Superman.

DL: Exactly. He’s a mythical being. But in the real world, a Superman would have a hard time being able to connect to other people outside those he cared for after awhile. The longer he lived, the more he’d realize how transient life really is. He would realize how futile it is to keep his never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American way.

Ethan: But these Intruders are bad people. They’re not some bank robbers, they’re aliens who steal people’s kids. They’re monsters.

DL: And I won’t let them hurt you, Ethan. I promise you that.  I’ve called your Papa here to pick you up and take you to his farm with Grandma.  You’ll be safe there.

Ethan: What about you?

DL: Sooner or later, the Intruders will come here and it won’t be safe for you. I will face the consequences of my actions but you will be safe.

Ethan: Someone’s at the door…

Next: Monsters & Eternity